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Jefferson County sheriff
Arrested: Michael Wells, no age given, 416 South Fifth St., Steubenville, failure to appear, Saturday.
Theft: The tail light was taken from a vehicle parked at a residence on Island Creek Township Road 378. The theft was reported Friday.
Arrested: Eric D. Smith, 22, 418 Spring Ave., Steubenville, trespassing, Friday.
Arrested: Warrants for failure to appear to Chad Yelich, 21, 3130 West St., Weirton; Terry Spear, 41, 727 Rosswell Ave., Steu-benville; and Ian J. Mitchell, 20, 209 Hollywood Blvd., Steu-benville.
Arrested: Daniel Duncan, 34, Apartment 3, 615 Carnegie St., Steubenville, assault on an officer, Friday.
Arrested: Shane Habig, 25, Bridgeport, Ohio, disorderly conduct, Saturday.
Arrested: Charles H. Johnson, 48, Columbus, domestic violence, disorderly conduct and aggravated menacing, Saturday.
Cited: Carol J. Dorsey, 41, 339 Fernwood Road, Wintersville, expired plates; Jesscia B. Snyder, 28, Apartment H, 815 Market St., Steubenville, no operator's license and marked lanes violation; Melissa J. Brubaker, 30, Apartment 2, 1140 Main St., Follansbee, marked lanes violation; Courtney A. Lachance, 20, 11 Gullette Lane, Weirton, loud exhaust; Dennis R. Robinson, 21, 180 North Fourth St., Steubenville, public indecency; Robert J. Mavromatis, 46, 144 Raynes Road, Mingo Junction, expired license and headlight violation; and Eric Varlas, 32, 508 Locust St., Weirton, speeding.
Theft: A garage at a residence in the 1600 block of Roosevelt Avenue was broken into and several tools, including welding rods, were taken late Friday.
Vandalism: A filmy solution was thrown onto the windshield of a vehicle from the overpass at Sixth and Washington streets Friday evening.
Shots fired: City Police responded to a report of shots fired in the area of Oregon Avenue and Pittsburgh Street Friday night but found no shell casings.
Theft: A charcoal grill was taken from outside a home in the 100 block of McDowell Avenue Friday night.


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December 13, 2012
Cape Town reviews on TripAdvisor: Global travellers love the Mother City
Capetonians are justifiably proud of their city and use every opportunity to promote its amazing natural, historical, cultural, gastronomic and adventure-based tourist attractions.
However, they're not the only ones who think the Mother City is Africa's most awesome tourist destination. See what independent TripAdvisor reviewers from other continents have to say …
Table Bay Hotel
"Last October, we spent four nights at this hotel and it was perfect. It has everything that you expect from a five-star hotel. Where it is located is also the best place to stay in Cape Town. Day or night you can access everything you need (restaurants, shopping, hop-on, hop-off bus lines, boat trips, etc) within short walking distance."
Shanghai, China
City Sightseeing
"This is a real deal for an overview of the city of Cape Town. Open-air double-decker with headphones for narration of route. Went to Table Mountain tram station, V&A Waterfront, through town. Get off anywhere, re-board later."
Colorado, United States
Cape Town Tandem Paragliding
"Never been paragliding before. Wasn't brave enough to do the abseiling off Table Mountain and did this instead. Great bunch of guys who keep you very settled. Was exceptional being about 700m above the ground and just hovering. Not for the faint-hearted but such an amazing experience. Would definitely recommend for those who are keen to try ... not to forget the insane panoramic views you get from being above Lion's Head where you get to see both sides of Cape Town and the ocean."
Dhanvee K
Perth, Australia
Green Point Stadium
"We took a 45-minute paid tour and it was money well spent. The guide was very informative with good insights about the ground and its history. The tour included visits to the changerooms, executive suites and media gallery, among others. We could not go onto the pitch as there was practice going on, but would recommend this visit to any sports enthusiast."
Mumbai, India
Atlanticview Cape Town Boutique Hotel
"We had a great time at Atlanticview – which is just that. Magnificent views from our room, both front and back. Staff are very friendly and always helpful. We went on some great trips around the Cape of Good Hope and did a wine tour to Stellenbosch."
Maureen F
York, United Kingdom
The Harbour House
"Right on top of the water in the harbour. Very lively with a fantastic atmosphere. Our waitress, Samantha, was fantastic. Fun, professional, informative and quick. We were nine people and everyone was delighted. Seafood platter was amazing (lobster, mussels, calamari, prawns, linefish like kingklip and yellowtail). Also delicious oysters as a surprise."
Madrid, Spain
The Cape of Good Hope
"The ride with the guide to the Cape of Good Hope was full of interesting sites and gave time for the guide to give us a sense of the history of South Africa. There the scenery was breathtaking and made for great picture taking."
Melanie Cohen
Illinois, United States
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden
"The setting is superb; the fauna very rich. I spent two hours there but I wish I could have stayed the whole afternoon. I will definitively return."
Paris, France
Table Mountain
"Spectacular views of the Cape and nice wildlife and fauna on top. Good value as you can even walk it if you're feeling fit."
London, United Kingdom
Table Mountain Aerial Cableway
"Quickest way up to the top. Great views but pick a clear day and enjoy the ride. Do pre-book to avoid the queues and DO use the Red Bus tour as part of the trip. Well worth the money."
Driffield, United Kingdom
"The beaches are beautiful (there are four of them; #4 is the famous one and more crowded). The setting with the rocks is amazing. You park up on the main road and have to carry your things down to the beach via many steps, which is less comfortable coming up!"
New York, United States
Langa Township
"Our tour guide arranged a tour for us around Langa and I absolutely loved it. We also got to drink the traditional home brew and visited a school where the children performed some dancing for us. Amazing day."
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
St George's Cathedral
"I stopped by the cloisters to have a cappuccino and a delicious piece of pie and to meditate on apartheid. There are some interesting and touching photographs of those times and the demonstrations and marches that were held. This is Archbishop Desmond Tutu's stately old cathedral."
Michigan, United States
Iziko Slave Lodge
"Until I visited the Slave Lodge I really had no grasp of the extent of slavery here and the impact it must have had on the development of the various cultures in South Africa. If you are interested in the roots of cultures and history it is a must-visit."
Plymouth, United Kingdom

subset: commoncrawl


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Looking for a good scare
"Nothing can live up to the memory of a good scare, especially if administered to one who is young and impressionable."
That's Stephen King in the note to his newest novel, Doctor Sleep, a sequel to The Shining and a book he suggests wasn't meant to be as frightening as its predecessor. I don't plan on reading it, and not just because of the questionable return on time likely to be invested. It's that I don't want it to ruin my memory of The Shining, which I read in seventh grade, polishing it off within forty-eight hours of finding a paperback copy at the public library. That led me to Salem's Lot and Carrie and then, a slight detour, to The Amityville Horror—not King—begun and completed in a couple of terrifying hours one gray November day home alone after school. Good scares, and "administered" is the only way to describe the method by which they were transmitted. I was young and impressionable and can't say I necessarily enjoyed these experiences in the moment, though each was over before I knew it.
King's probably right that nothing can live up to the memory. If you were scared by the film version of The Exorcist on its release forty (yes, forty) years ago, try watching it now. But scary reads are still out there, light on schlock, zombies, and vampires and unencumbered by genre conventions. And they're not just by Henry James or Shirley Jackson.
There is, for example, Richard Hughes's High Wind in Jamaica, published in 1929 and reissued by the New York Review of Books in 1999. The basic plot: British plantation owners in Jamaica deem the surroundings too primitive and dangerous for their children, whom they ship home to England but who en route are captured by pirates. This is not a seafaring tale, though; the scenes set in Jamaica resemble the mood and feel of the Peter Weir film Picnic at Hanging Rock: hallucinatory and haunting, with disquieting depictions of natural forces like overgrowth, earthquake, and storm hinting at what's to come—namely, the fraught and truly unsettling interactions between child and adult in scenes set aboard the pirate vessel. The writing remains spare and direct and doesn't labor to make points, as Francine Prose notes in the book's forward:
Unlike William Golding's far more simplistic The Lord of the Flies ... the novel resists any attempts to extract from it a moral or sociological lesson, a bit of received wisdom or home truth. In fact, it's hard to think of another fiction so blithe in its refusal to throw us the tiniest crumb of solace or consolation… . In the end, everything in this novel is so much the reverse of what we think it should be, or what we would expect, that we are left entirely disoriented—unsure of what anything is, or should be.
Thomas Tryon's The Other, published in 1971 and reissued by NYRB in 2012, is similarly disorienting, and also about kids—the troubled Perry twins. Sinister pranks and gruesome "accidents" abound, with animals and human beings the victims, and there are also mysterious boxes and family secrets and, as a writer of jacket copy might put it, a singularly horrifying discovery. Plus no small amount of legerdemain, as the writer Dan Chaon expounds in the book's afterward (afterward, because a forward would necessarily give most of The Other's many secrets away). When did Chaon first read The Other? The summer he turned thirteen:
I can vividly remember how deeply the book impressed me and messed with my head. "Legerdemain" was a word I discovered in the pages of The Other, a word that even now I associate with the Gothic, dreamlike world of the Perry family farm. Legerdemain—sleight of hand—a good word for this book, a novel that is never quite as it seems, a novel that fools the reader repeatedly with its chimeric form, its elusive shifts and turns.
Chaon, applying the lessons of that summer, has proven no slouch in literary horror himself (his collection Among the Missing was a finalist for the national Book Award in 2002), and much of his work also focuses on childhood. His 2009 novel Await Your Reply begins with a boy on the way to the hospital, his severed hand in a cooler. "Here is a snake with a girl in his mouth" and "You aren't going to hurt her, but you single her out right away as someone you maybe would like to hurt" are representative opening lines from his short stories, which as The New Republic has noted are not just "edgy" and "spooky" but have over time "turned the corner into the frankly uncanny. … Horror, to alter the metaphor, fits Chaon like a glove." Chaon has said that Psychology Today was one of the first magazines he started reading, "back when I was thirteen or fourteen, because I was the kind of kid that was curious about the mysterious human mind - I hoped to learn about telekenisis, multiple personalities, psychosis, and various other cool and terrible things that happened inside people's heads." He's a writer who deserves to be read more.
What are some other forgotten, overlooked, or lesser known scary stories? Any you remember being especially scared by when young – or even not so young?
About the Author
Dominic Preziosi is Commonweal's digital editor.
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One of the scariest books I remember reading as a kid was "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson. Wikipedia states ... "Stephen King, in his book Danse Macabre, a non-fiction review of the horror genre, lists The Haunting of Hill House as one of the finest horror novels of the late 20th century and provides a lengthy review." ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunting_of_Hill_House
To me Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, short though it is, is just about the most horrible story imaginable, a hideous combination of the organized and the random. And it happens in broad daylight.
Someone needs to inform this guy of this thread:
I find Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" scary on many levels. We read it every Halloween. One of my colleagues had his students read "A Rose for Emily" by Faulkner. They were gratifiyingly horrified. I creeped out my kid one time by reading "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by flashlight on the back porch in the dark of the moon.
FWIW, I enjoyed "Dr. Sleep," though it was nothing like "The Shining," and perhaps not even as well written. But it had more heart (I might as well be corny, since I've already revealed myself as having low-brow literary tastes on this here high-brow blog). King clearly used his own experiences to nail the complicated relationship many alcoholics have with AA.
Well, you asked for the forgotten and overlooked, so forgive me while I mention the noted and remembered.
Generally, I think that the scariest stories are ghost stories, and that ghost stories achieved their zenith in the Victorian period. My personal recommendation? An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street, a very early story by the master, J. S. Le Fanu.
H.P. Lovecraft's stories are generally about as scary as The Poky Little Puppy, but he has one story--The Colour Out of Space--that is genuinely creepy.
Last but not least, anyone under the age of 40 knows that the epitome of terror is Alvin Schwartz' Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (plus the two sequels). Schwartz took a folklorist approach to collecting ghost stories and urban legends, and was skilled in retelling them in a pure, spare way ideal for kids to read aloud to one another. The stories are scary in themselves, but--and everyone knows this--the real horror stemmed from the nightmare generating illustrations by Stephen Gammel. They were creepy, gross, and made certain that any innocent kid looking at them understood that they were not much more than worm-fodder.
Two years ago, HarperCollins had the brilliant idea of reissuing the Schwartz books with new illustrations by Brett Helquist. Well, just look at this article to see how the old and new illustrations stack up next to each other:
"It" . Nothing is worse than a killer clown.
"The Other" really scared me. And "Harvest Home" about that creepy fertility festival was really scary too.
Oh, I remember Harves Home being scary too :) Also scary, Strieber's The Wolfen and The Grays. I've read a lot of Stephen King but many of his stories seem more sad than scary ... Firestarter, The Dead Zone, Pet Semitary, etc.
We had remarkably similar experiences, and at the same age, Dominic. I, too, picked up The Shining in seventh grade (though I bought mine in a bookstore with quarters I had collected around the house). I too was completely taken hold of by it -- what a thrill. I still have that battered old paperback with its slate gray cover, as a memento of the experience, though I've long since thrown out almost all my other books from those days. Then I worked my way through the rest of King's stuff, as you did. Unlike you, I've never quite been able to let King go, much to my disappointment at times (Rose Madder and Cell are two onerous examples). So I probably will read Doctor Sleep, as well. But it's surely true -- there's just nothing like reading The Shining in seventh grade.
"The Exorcist" was also stone scary. I think I was a little too young to have been reading it, it terrified me.
Barry - I believe this would have been the cover you mentioned? This was the cover of the copy I discovered in a drawer marked "paperbacks" at that public library. You can follow this link to see more Signet edition covers from the era -- including King's Carrie, The Stand, Salems Lot, and Nightshift (the one with the eyes in the hand), along with a bunch of others I had forgotten about (The Twins, The Swarm) or would never imagined having been written, much less published (Slugs, anyone? Killer Crabs? Gila! -- exclamation point theirs, not mine). Anyway, it's worth about two minutes of your time to scroll through.
That's the one, Dominic. I remember that I knew nothing of Stephen King or any of the other authors at the time, and that cover caught my eye because it was -- alongside all the screaming and bloody images and titles alongside it (maybe Gila! was there) -- so understated. By the way, I checked today, out of curiosity: it had a cover price of $3.95.
"Lord of the flies" was horrifying to read as a child.


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Hello and welcome to a special post!
Usually, Fern and I each write our own posts on our respective sides of the world. This time, however, we're writing this post together before we make it public. That's because this one features an unusual amount of files and requires more background than is customary to explain them properly. It might have been easier to split this up into many smaller posts, but I feel they belong together and wanted to keep them all together in one place. As it turns out, we kept finding better versions of each file as we were writing this post, so perhaps keeping it here all catalogued in one easy to find place will be a very good thing.
Normally when I write a post, I pretty much "wing it" and rely perhaps less on sleuthing and research and more on how I felt watching the piece. This time I couldn't do that and really needed Fern's help!
All the videos in this post are "re-enactments", featuring modern Beijing Opera stars lip syncing over archival recordings of historically important past masters. These videos were part of an extensive effort by the Chinese Ministry of Culture a few years ago to preserve and disseminate rare and important, but poor-sounding, recordings of jingju.
In past posts here on operabeijing.com as well as on Ear Candy, Fern talked about an impressive box set of VCDs of these strange performances along with a performance of the White Snake (with Li Jie) here, I posted a Unicorn Purse with Zhang Huoding (now added to this post), and Fern posted a Jade Hairpin (with Zhang Huoding again) here (which we are also re-posting below).
Recently, links to a slew of rare videos popped up on the zhanghuoding.com web site forum. I posted three of these in a row a few weekends ago. At the same time there were links to this collection of operas that Zhang Huoding acted over either Cheng Yanqiu's or Zhao Rongchen's voices, operas which were part of the out-of-print box set of VCDs Fern mentioned.
A VCD, in case you didn't know, is simply a regular old style CD-ROM disk with a big MPG video file on it along with a small (and usually dated) executable to allow you to view it. The video size of VCDs was originally intended for old 640 by 480 resolution computer monitors, and seem small by today's standards. To "rip" a VCD, all that is required is to copy the largest file and rename it to an .MPG file name extension. There is no quality loss involved.
One could guess that the hardcore Zhang Huoding fans have been getting antsy because of the latest rumours (unsubstantiated, but credible) that our favourite singer has decided to retire for good, fed up with gruelling schedules and having to perform live when not in top shape or even sick. "The tickets have already been sold, what can you do?" It's looking grim, so the fans could be seen as digging up those lost treasures. However the source of these files are all over the Chinese web sites, in various forms. A lot of people treasure these re-enactments.
As this is a post focusing on the Cheng school of Beijing Opera, let's start by recalling some of the most well-known figures of that school here, although of course we can't mention everyone.
The most well-known direct and formally accepted disciples of Cheng Yanqiu are Zhao Rongchen (赵荣琛) and Wang Yinqiu (王吟秋). Besides their own achievements, our generation most likely remembers them as the masters of Zhang Huoding, Chi Xiaoqiu, and Li Peihong.
Cheng Yanqiu had numerous although not formally accepted female disciples, among them Xin Yanqiu (新艳秋) and Li Shiji (李世济), two names that frequently pop up when Cheng school art is discussed. Liu Guijuan and Li Haiyan are both Li Shiji's disciples.
From the third generation, Li Haiyan (李海燕), Zhang Huoding (张火丁), Chi Xiaoqiu (迟小秋), Li Peihong (李佩红) and Liu Guijuan (刘桂娟) are famed as the "five young Cheng dan".
We also should keep an eye open for the newest talents, like Lü Yang (吕洋), Guo Wei (郭伟), Yang Lei (杨磊) (boy), Zhou Jing (周婧), Zhao Huan (赵欢), Jiang Zhi (江汁) and more.
Cheng Yanqiu's repertoire included more than 80 plays, from which the most well-known operas were featured in the lip-synced series. Interestingly, although so closely associated with Zhang Huoding, Tale of the White Snake isn't a traditional Cheng school play.
Getting back to the videos, it is important to specify that if you are new to Beijing Opera, then you should not begin with these videos as they are tiny sized, generally slow-paced and with "bad sound" — in fact, recorded before the birth of stereo in the mid 20th century.
My feeling on watching them?
Well, the first thing that struck me was how well synced the actors are. You might think Zhang Huoding would have performed some of these operas more extensively after learning the parts down cold the way she did. I am second guessing this is because of aesthetic and artistic choices on her part rather than logistics. She seems more comfortable in smaller and simpler productions, and less cumbersome costumes: as Wenji, she seems weighed down by her outfit.
The second thing that struck me was that although there is a lot in that voice to miss, nevertheless you can really get into the groove of watching the play. The masters weren't masters by name only.
That said, here are the plays.
Opera 马昭仪 Ma Zhaoyi, audio with Cheng Yanqiu and Yu Shiwen, acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding and Wang Lijun.
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1954, live sound recording
Ma Zhaoyi: Cheng Yanqiu (程砚秋); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Wu Yun (Wu Zixu): Yu Shiwen (于世文); Wang Lijun (王立军)
King Ping of Chu: Guan Shengji (贯盛吉); Lang Shilin (郎石林)
Crown Prince Jian: Liu Xuetao (刘雪涛); Song Xiaochuan (宋小川)
Meng Ying, the Qin princess: Li Danlin (李丹林); Li Haiqing (李海青)
Wu She, father of Wu Zixu: Qian Yuantong (钱元通); Huang Wenjun (黄文俊)
Fei Wuji: Xiao Yuelou (筱月楼); Zhu Jinhua (朱锦华)
Zhang Hua: Yao Yuanxiu (姚元秀); Song Yuanbin (宋元斌)
Art consultant: Li Danlin (李丹林), Yu Shiwen (于世文)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing, 2001/09
Photo of Cheng Yanqiu as Ma Zhaoyi:
Ma Zhaoyi was written by Cheng Yanqiu himself, founder of the Cheng school, and in its early years Mei Lanfang also performed it. Alternative titles of this play are《禅宇寺》Chen Yu Si (Chenyu Temple),《武昭关》Wu Zhao Guan (Wuzhao Pass) and《楚宫秋》Chu Gong Qiu (Fall in Chu Palace). Later around 1960, the Jingju Troupe of Beijing staged the re-adapted version of the drama with the leading cast of Zhang Junqiu, Tan Fuying and Liu Xuetao. The title was changed to《楚宫恨》Chu Gong Hen (Sorrow in Chu Palace), a title more frequently seen.
Three of the key characters of this play, the obnoxious King Ping of Chu, the imperial tutor Wu She and his son Wu Zixu were already discussed in this previous post.
The story:
King Ping sends his treacherous official, Fei Wuji, to the state of Qin to find a bride for his son, Prince Jian. Seeing the beauty of the Qin princess, King Ping decides to keep her for himself as a concubine, and forces the servant maid, Ma Zhaoyi, to impersonate the princess and marry his son.
Three years after, the king's conspiracy gets revealed, so the king's next evil plan is to murder Crown Prince Jian. The honest Wu She openly criticises the king, and gets in big trouble. The crown prince entrusts Ma Zhaoyi and their little son to Wu She's brave son, Wu Zixu, and flees.
Ma Zhaoyi follows him with Wu Zixu to protect her, and they arrive to a Buddhist shrine called Chen Yu Si. The soldiers chasing them surround the temple. Ma Zhaoyi realises there's no way out, so she entrusts her baby to Wu Zixu, then jumps into a well and dies. Wu Zixu later manages to break out of the trap, and escapes with the young prince.
Wang Lijun, first-class wusheng of the Jingju Theater of Tianjin, is a noted and much appreciated performer in Beijing Opera circles, with a Plum Blossom Prize (1986), a Mei Lanfang Gold Medal and a White Magnolia Award in pocket. His representative plays are Tiao Hua Che (Overturning the War Chariots), Lianhuantao (A Chain of Traps), Changbanpo – Hanjinkou (Changban Slope – Hanjin Pass), Yezhulin (Wildboar Forest) and more. He also works as laosheng with the plays Da Yu Sha Jia (The Fishermen's Revenge) and Zuo Gong (Sitting in the Palace) in his repertoire. If you're fond of Beijing Opera military dramas, you will frequently encounter Wang Lijun!
Opera 三堂会审 San Tang Hui Shen (Su San's Interrogation), audio with Cheng Yanqiu and Ye Shenglan, acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding and Ye Shaolan.
Click here to download the video
(2013-12-07 update)
Click here to get the same opera in bigger format, with CCTV watermark
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1946, Shanghai Tianchan Stage, live sound recording
string section lead: Zhou Changhua (周长华)
percussion section lead: Bai Dengyun(白登云)
Su San: Cheng Yanqiu (程砚秋); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Wang Jinlong: Ye Shenglan (叶盛兰); Ye Shaolan (叶少兰)
Liu Bingyi: Wang Shaolou (王少楼); Zhang Xuehai (张学海)
Pan Bizheng: Zhang Chunyan (张春彦); Sun Hongxun (孙洪勋)
Chong Gongdao: Xiao Shengxuan (萧盛萱); Zhu Jinhua (朱锦华)
Art consultant: Li Shiji (李世济)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing, 2001/11
The script of this play is based on the middle part of larger opera《玉堂春》Yu Tangchun (Story of Su San). This epic story has had numerous adaptations and there are different Beijing Opera versions. For example, Mei Lanfang and Xun Huisheng inserted a scene between the "interrogation" and the "reunion" parts.
The preceding scene, Su San Sent Under Escort has already been discussed briefly here. Su San (her other name is Yu Tangchun) is falsely accused with a crime, and she is transported to Taiyuan under the guard of Chong Gongdao, in order to review her judicial case. This scene is often staged separately, it's either titled 《女起解》Nü Qi Jie (Woman Sent Under Escort) or《苏三起解》Su San Qi Jie (Su San Sent Under Escort), they are one and the same.
The story continues with the interrogation. The literal meaning of the title, San Tang Hui Shen is "Three Office Joint Hearing". This refers to the juridical process when the highest level senior officials from three departments hear the details of the a case together at the same time and place. If you can imagine a woman in chains, standing before three high magistrates to defend herself — tremendous pressure! What's more, one of the interrogators is Wang Jinlong, Su San's true love, who suffers a nervous breakdown during the trial. Fortunately the other two officials, Pan Bizheng and Liu Bingyi, are honest and examine the details carefully.
In the end, Su San is freed and rehabilitated.
Opera 文姬归汉 Wenji Gui Han (Wenji Returns to her Homeland), audio with Cheng Yanqiu and Yu Shiwen, acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding and Zhang Xuehai.
[I posted an aria from this opera performed by Zhang Huoding here].
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1953, Shanghai, live sound recording
string section lead: Zhong Shizhang (钟世章)
percussion section lead: Zhang Lanyou (张澜友)
Cai Wenji: Cheng Yanqiu (程砚秋); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Zhou Jin: Yu Shiwen (于世文); Zhang Xuehai (张学海)
Zuo Xianwang: Li Danlin (李丹林); Song Xiaochuan (宋小川)
Cao Cao: Luo Ronggui (罗荣贵); Luo Changde (罗长德)
Art consultant: Li Shiji (李世济)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing
Photo of Cheng Yanqiu as Cai Wenji:
Cheng Yanqiu wrote this opera based on Liu Shang's Hujia Shiba Pai, a series of songs about the life of Cai Yan.
The story:
Li Que, Guo Si and Yang Feng attempt to overthrow Emperor Xian of Han (Liu Xie). Meanwhile, King of the Southern Xiongnu state seizes the opportunity of general disorder and sends Zuo Xianwang and Bai Boshuai to invade inner Han territories. Minister Cai Yong's daughter, Cai Yan (Wenji) flees from calamity, but Zuo Xianwang captures her. After relocating in Xiongnu land, Cai Wenji becomes Zuo's concubine and bears him two sons.
Twelve years later, Han minister Cao Cao finds out that Cai Wenji lives in the Xiongnu state, and dispatches envoy Zhou Jin to claim her back. Cai Yan loves her husband, but as a patriot she feels compelled to go. She visits Wang Zhaojun's tomb, another political bride, and cries bitterly. At the border of the two states, she bids farewell to her sons, and finally returns to her home country.
Opera 春闺梦 Chun Gui Meng (Dream in a Girl's Chamber), audio with Cheng Yanqiu and Chu Jinpeng, acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding and Song Xiaochuan.
Often the Girl's "Chamber" is translated as the Girl's "Boudoir", which is quite accurate in French, but has gained a pejorative meaning in English over the years.
Zhang Huoding has of course performed this opera herself (see top photo). I posted a full-length version here as well as a DVD excerpt here and a New Year's Gala excerpt here.
Click here to download the video
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1946, Shanghai Tianchan Stage, live sound recording
string section lead: Zhou Changhua (周长华)
percussion section lead: Bai Dengyun (白登云)
Mrs. Zhang: Cheng Yanqiu (程砚秋); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Wang Hui: Chu Jinpeng (储金鹏); Song Xiaochuan (宋小川)
Servant maid: Ci Shaoquan (慈少泉); Lü Kunshan (吕昆山)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing, 2002/01
To repeat the story:
In the 3rd Century of the late Han Dynasty, the armies of two warlords battle each other. A young woman's newly wedded husband is taken away to join a warlord's force and is killed in battle a short time later. Day by day, she begins dreaming of her husband returning to her. In the end, she realises he is truly gone.
There are few Beijing operas as "out there" as this one.
During the Chinese Civil War, Cheng Yanqiu was deeply touched by the fate of the homeless and destitute people. He wrote Chun Gui Meng in 1931, in the year of the Central China floods. Although for us of non-Chinese origin it's harder to spot social criticism in ethereally beautiful Beijing Opera pieces, Wenji Returns to her Homeland, Tears on Barren Hill, or even Dream in a Girl's Chamber are fundamentally patriotic plays, emphasising the ideas of social justice.
Photo of Cheng Yanqiu and Yu Zhenfei (俞振飞) in Chun Gui Meng:
Opera 春闺梦 Chun Gui Meng (Dream in a Girl's Chamber), this time with audio starring Zhao Rongchen and acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding.
Fern found this complete broadcast of the VCD performance with better picture, a video we previously just couldn't manage to get a complete file of up until now.
The Cheng Yanqiu and Zhao Rongchen versions have a noticeable difference with Zhang Huoding's own staging of the play: the lively servant girl huadan role is played here by a man in comic fashion as a caidan role.
The endings of the plays are also very different, with "Mrs. Zhang" standing in stony silence and ambiguously suggesting the dreams might continue in the Zhao Rongchen version, or singing an aria of love lost in the Cheng Yanqiu version, or finally in Zhang Huoding's own productions, with the servant girl slowly leading her mistress away, supporting her, to clearly indicate Mrs. Zhang is a woman broken by the realisation that the dreams have ended.
I think Zhang Huoding made some excellent choices for her own production, and these videos have helped me gain a better understanding of what she brought in herself to the "Dream in a Girl's Chamber".
Click here to download the video
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1983/03/20, People's Theatre Beijing, live sound recording
Commemorating the 25th anniversary of Cheng Yanqiu's demise
string section lead: Zhong Shizhang (钟世章)
erhu: Xia Kuilian (夏魁连)
percussion section lead: Bai Dengyun (白登云)
Mrs. Zhang: Zhao Rongchen (赵荣琛); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Wang Hui: Yu Zhenfei (俞振飞) (before), Yao Yucheng (姚玉成) (after); Song Xiaochuan (宋小川)
Mrs. Sun (caidan): Lang Shilin (郎石林); Lang Shilin (郎石林)
Li Xin (chou): Wang Yang (汪洋); Li Dongjie (李冬杰)
Mrs. Liu (laodan): Qian Yuantong (钱元通); Song Yuanbin (宋元斌)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing, 2002/05
Photo of Zhao Rongchen as Mrs. Zhang:
(Fern adds her personal observations)
Dream in a Girl's Chamber is a thought-provoking play. To add to what Bertrand mentioned about the differences between the three stagings: in Zhang Huoding's version, the play ends with the maid supporting her, and we can hear a sorrowful chorus singing two lines from Chen Tao's poem, Journey to Longxi (陇西行):
"Have pity on the white skeletons of the Wuding River, for they are men now only in the dreams of young women."
Wikipedia had pity on me and provided the above translation. I found that this poem circulates in two versions on the net, with a single character difference: the expression in question can be read as "deep boudoir dream" or "joyful boudoir dream", the latter, chun gui meng, is exactly the title of this play.
However, neither the longer (full), nor the shorter (featured in the lip-synched production) original scripts of Cheng Yanqiu have such ending line, so I dare to say it's a distinctive feature in Zhang Huoding's version.
The full opera features a whole variety of characters: brave generals, a comical auntie, a noble old woman, a cowardly soldier who escapes the battlefield — different people who all behave differently in the times of distress, while the shorter version by Cheng Yanqiu focuses on the "dream" scene only.
Personally I always found this "dream" analogous to the "Awaken from a dream" (惊梦) scene of The Peony Pavilion. Du Liniang has a rendezvous with her cousin, Liu Mengmei in her dream (of course their love is forbidden in reality). When she wakes up and realizes it was only a sweet dream, she hardly can endure the pain, her servant maid has to lead her away."
Opera 窦娥冤 Dou E Yuan (The Injustice Done to Dou E), audio with Zhao Rongchen and acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding.
[I posted an aria from this opera performed by Zhang Huoding here].
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1962, live sound recording
string section lead: Zhong Shizhang (钟世章)
percussion section lead: Bai Dengyun (白登云)
Dou E: Zhao Rongchen (赵荣琛); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Dou Tianzhang: Yu Shiwen (于世文); Huang Shixiang (黄世骧)
Mother Cai: Sun Zhenquan (孙振泉); Zhang Gang (张岗)
Cai Changzong: Yao Yugang (姚玉刚); Song Xiaochuan (宋小川)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing, 1999/01
"Being the very last disciple of and learning from Mr. Zhao was an exceptional honour for me, it is thanks to him that I was able to truly understand the art of the Cheng school. " (Zhang Huoding, Follower of the Cheng School documentary)
We are very grateful to Zhao Rongchen too. After the academy rejected the fragile Huoding six times, Mr. Zhao was the only one who spotted she had Cheng school qualities. The rest is history.
Zhao Rongchen teaching the young Zhang Huoding
This opera is also known as《六月雪》Liu Yue Xue (Snowfall in June). It's based on the original play by Guan Hanqing, whom we briefly mentioned here before. Download this pdf booklet if you would like to read Guan Hanqing's "Snow In Midsummer" story in English.
The synopsis:
Dou Tianzhang decides to take the imperial civil service exams, so that he can marry off his daughter, Dou E to a fellow villager, Cai Changzong. Cai also leaves the village to take the exams, and the son of his housekeeper, Zhang Lü'er (Zhang "Donkey") accompanies him on the road.
On the way, Zhang Lü'er tosses Cai Changzong into the river, hoping he can marry Dou E himself, then informs Cai's mother that her son is dead. Mrs. Cai falls sick. Lü'er poisons Mrs. Cai's lamb soup, but accidentally his own mother eats it and dies.
Lü'er accuses Dou E of the crime, who cannot endure the sight of her mother being interrogated violently. She decides to take the rap for the murder and confesses to the crime. The county official orders Dou E's execution. She is to be executed in June, but the day of the execution from the sky falls December snow, an omen, and the governor realizes there has been a miscarriage of justice. Lü'er is taken away in chains, and Dou E is rehabilitated.
Moreover, it turns out that Cai Changzong wasn't drowned: now a high official, he returns and the family is reunited.
坐宫别宫 Zuo Gong · Bie Gong (Sitting in the Palace – Leaving the Palace) from 四郎探母 Silang Tan Mu (Silang Visits his Mother), audio with Zhao Rongchen and acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding.
Click here to download the video
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1984, stage recording without audience
string section lead: Huang Jinliu (黄金陆)
percussion section lead: Ni Yibin (倪义斌)
Princess Tiejing: Zhao Rongchen (赵荣琛); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Yang Yanhui: Ye Peng (叶蓬); Ye Peng (叶蓬)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing, 2003/01
Photo of Cheng Yanqiu as Princess Tiejing (sadly we couldn't find a photo of Zhao Rongchen in the same role):
Loosely relevant but interesting information that Cheng Yanqiu is of Manchu origin himself. His birth name was Cheng Lin (承麟), but after moving to Beijing, he changed the character of his family name to Cheng (程), which is a Han name.
Sitting in the Palace was featured so many times so far that it really doesn't need any introduction. In this production, Ye Peng is lip-syncing himself. He comes from a family of jingju artists and is the direct disciple of school-founder Yang Baosen (杨宝森). It's very easy to like Yang style, a good choice when you start to listen to Beijing Opera. (At least Fern thinks so because it worked for her.)
Opera 柳迎春 (Liu Yingchun) audio with Cheng Yanqiu and Yu Shiwen, acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding and Zhao Shipu.
Click here to download video part 1
Click here to download video part 2
Click here to download video part 3
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1954, live sound recording
string section lead: Zhong Shizhang (钟世章)
percussion section lead: Zhang Laiyou (张来有)
Liu Yingchun: Cheng Yanqiu (程砚秋); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Xue Rengui: Yu Shiwen (于世文); Zhao Shipu (赵世璞)
Mrs. Feng (caidan): Guan Shengji (贯盛吉); Zhu Jinhua (朱锦华)
Liu Run: Su Shenggui (苏盛贵); Huang Wenjun (黄文俊)
Nanny (laodan): Qian Yuantong (钱元通); Zhang Gang (张岗)
Mrs. Liu (laodan): Yao Yuanxiu (姚元秀); Ye Ping (叶萍)
Yingchun's sister-in-law (huadan): Li Danlin (李丹林); Li Haiqing (李海青)
Art consultant: Wang Yinqiu (王吟秋)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing, 2000/04
Photo of Cheng Yanqiu as Liu Yingchun:
There seems to be a Chinese language movie based on this story translated as "The Gardener and a Lady" from 1941 based on this story.
Story can be found in Chinese (Google translate not up to task here) at http://www.zhongguoxijuchang.com/xijumingju/xjmj1020406liuyingchun.htm
We had never heard of this opera, we don't know why it is so rare.
This opera was written by Cheng Yanqiu, based on another play,《汾河湾》Fen He Wan (Fen River Bay) and the old narrative story of famous Tang general Xue Rengui and his wife, Liu Yingchun.
The story:
Before his military achievements, Xue Rengui was working in the home of Liu Run. One day when he was standing in the rain outside, the daughter of his employer, Liu Yingchun, took pity on him and gave him her red coat.
Seeing the coat, Liu Run believes that Xue and his daughter have had an affair and expels Rengui from his house and forces Yingchun to commit suicide. Mrs. Liu secretly orders her daughter to escape, and with the help of Yingchun's nanny, in the miserable hut of Rengui the two outcasts get married.
Later, Rengui joins the army and builds his career. After 18 years, he meets a young man who shoots two wild ducks with one arrow. It turns out that the boy is his own son, and finally the family has a reunion.
Wikipedia about the real Xue Rengui:
"Xue Rengui was born in 614, during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, but his early activities were not recorded, other than that his wife had the surname Liu (柳). It was said that he was poor and was a farmer. Around the time that Tang Dynasty's second emperor Emperor Taizong was set to launch a major campaign against Goguryeo in 644, Xue was planning to rebury his ancestors, when Lady Liu told him:
"You have abilities higher than most people, and you need to know when to use them. Now, the Son of Heaven is ready to attack Liaodong and he is seeking for fierce warriors. These times do not come often. Is it not the case that you want to have achievements to show yourself? Once you received great honors, it will not be too late to rebury your ancestors."
Fern's main source: liyuan.xikao.com, a superb collection of archive sound recordings, with cast lists, info and short play synopses.
Opera 荒山泪 Huang Shan Lei (Tears On Barren Mountain) audio with Cheng Yanqiu, acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding
("Barren Mountain" and "Barren Hill" are both used)
We posted a full length version of this opera sung by Zhang Huoding here, and we later compared it to another full-length version of the same opera sung by Guo Wei here. This is an opera Zhang Huoding has frequently performed herself, in a way purists of the form have appreciated a great deal. It is the most tragic play in her repertoire, and for that reason in not mentioned as often as the more feel-good White Snake or Unicorn Purse.
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1954, People's Grand Stage Shanghai, live sound recording
string section lead: Zhong Shizhang (钟世章)
percussion section lead: Zhang Laiyou (张来有)
Zhang Huizhu: Cheng Yanqiu (程砚秋); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Bao Shide: Yu Shiwen (于世文); Huang Shixiang (黄世骧)
Wang Sixiang: Li Shaoguang (李少广); Li Shaoguang (李少广)
Cui Defu: Xiao Yulou (筱玉楼); Lang Shilin (郎石林)
Hu Tailai: Guan Shengji (贯盛吉); Zhu Jinhua (朱锦华)
Gao Liangmin: Su Shenggui (苏盛贵); Song Yuanbin (宋元斌)
Mrs. Chen: Yao Yuanxiu (姚元秀); Huang Wenjun (黄文俊)
Gao Zhong: Qian Yuantong (钱元通); Li Yuanzhen (李元真)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing, 2000/09
Photo of Cheng Yanqiu as Zhang Huizhu:
Repeating Fern's superb synopsis from last year:
The story is set during the reign of the last Ming emperor, the muddle-headed Chongzen, born Zhu Youjian.
It's a tragic story of a family of five members: the poor farmer Gao Liangmin, his wife Mrs. Chen, his son Gao Zhong, his daughter-in-law Zhang Huizhu and his grandson Bao Lian.
The emperor is continuously levying higher taxes, further deepening the suffering of the people. Furthermore, there is a severe drought in Henan that has lasted for months and farmers can't harvest any crops. This year famine will strike. On top of everything else, the Minister of War Yang Sichang is ordered by the emperor to put down the peasant rebellion led by Li Zhicheng; this results in more taxes and forced military service. More and more desperate people join the uprising, and the Ming empire will soon collapse.
Zhang Huizhu is weaving silk fabric day and night and Bao Lian is selling it at the market, to be able to pay the taxes.
One day, Gao Liangmin and his son are going to the forest to collect herbs. They are warned by Gao Liangmin's good friend, Bao Shide, that the hills are extremely dangerous, because there are man-eating tigers on the loose which have already killed a woodcutter and a traveler. But Gao Liangmin is more afraid of the government than the tiger, so they go nevertheless.
Two tax collectors (Wang Sixiang and Cui Defu) come to the Gao house, and though Mrs. Chen says they already paid the tax before, they demand more. Zhang Huizhu tells them that they can pay as soon as Bao Lian comes back from the market, so the duo is waiting until he arrives. The tax collectors take away 5000 coins, half of the amount brought in. Mrs. Chen is upset, but Bao Lian tries to comfort them that when his father and grandfather come back from the mountains, they can get a good price for the herbs on the market.
It's late at night, Bao Lian is waiting for his dad and grandpa to return. He falls asleep after a while, his mother comes and affectionately covering him. Zhang Huizhu is still weaving at the night, but continuously makes mistakes. She worries that it's a bad omen, and something has happened to her husband and father-in-law. Why are they staying away so long, what could happen to them? Are they lost in the forest?
Next morning Bao Shide comes with devastating news: both Gao Liangmin and his son were killed by the man-eating tiger. Hearing the news, Mrs. Chen coughs blood and collapses. Bao Shide runs for a doctor.
The two tax collectors return again, and this time they take 3000 coins, no matter how Zhang Huizhu begs them not to. What's more, Minister of War Yang Sichang arrives as well, forcefully taking away Bao Lian for obligatory military service despite his young age and family conditions. Mrs. Chen, hearing chaotic voices outside, gets up from the bed and tries to stumble to the door, but she falls to the ground and dies. Zhang Huizhu, who has lost all of her family members by now, doesn't even have enough money to bury the old lady.
But there's no end to the disaster. Though the people are already extremely desperate, the imperial court want to implement exorbitant taxation. Even Wang Sixiang and Cui Defu say that it's not possible, so the county magistrate punishes them, both getting 20 strokes of the whip. In the end the two tax collectors return to Zhang Huizhu again, claiming 4000 coins from her. She has only 1000 left. The tax collectors allow her some time to find more money and go elsewhere first. As soon as they exit, Zhang Huizhu takes a knife and escapes to the Wangwu mountains, which once were like paradise but now are desolate.
Bao Shide follows Zhang Huizhu to the mountains, trying to hold her back, warning her about the tigers. Zhang Huizhu says she's not afraid of the tigers, that if they eat her, it will be a blessing.
The two tax collectors catch up with her on the mountain pass, where they have pursued her.
When they see she's holding a dagger, they say they were just ordered on, it's nothing personal. Zhang Huizhu fiercely tells her opinion about the whole social situation the country is in, that people are poor, desperate, houses are empty, and that nobody cares about the common people…
As a final protest against tyranny she commits suicide, slicing her own throat with the dagger.
Opera 荒山泪 Huang Shan Lei (Tears On Barren Mountain) audio with Zhao Rongchen, acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding
The same opera with a different audio track and a different performance.
Fern and I discussed the presence of the performer in the tiger costume in this other post comparing the staging between Zhang Huoding's and Guo Wei's own productions of this opera. Both Fern and I dislike Beijing opera performers in silly animal costumes, we find it both a bit ridiculous and demeaning to the highly trained jingju artist who has to don the costume. I think Zhang Huoding must sort of feel the same way: in this video which predates her own performances we have both tiger and Zhang Huoding. In her own production later, the tiger is gone.
Guo Wei's production, on the other hand, respected the original staging.
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1979, live sound recording
string section lead: Zhong Shizhang (钟世章)
percussion section lead: Li Zhenshan (栗振珊)
Zhang Huizhu: Zhao Rongchen (赵荣琛); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Bao Shide: Huang Shixiang (黄世骧); Huang Shixiang (黄世骧);
Wang Sixiang: Guo Yunhe (郭韵和); Li Shaoguang (李少广)
Cui Defu: Zhao Yueming (赵月明); Lü Kunshan (吕昆山)
Hu Tailai: Sheng Shixian (绳世先); Ma Zengshou (马增寿)
Gao Liangmin: — ; Wang Zhilian (王志廉)
Mrs. Chen: Geng Shihua (耿世华); Huang Wenjun (黄文俊)
Gao Zhong: — ; Li Yuanzhen (李元真)
Filmed in: The Northern Kunqu Opera Theatre, Beijing, 1998/06
Photo of Zhao Rongchen as Zhang Huizhu:
Opera 锁麟囊 Suo Lin Nang (Unicorn Purse) audio with Cheng Yanqiu, acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding
This video was posted a while ago and relocated here.
Click here to download the video
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1954, live sound recording
string section lead: Zhong Shizhang (钟世章)
percussion section lead: Zhang Laiyou (张来有)
Xue Xiangling: Cheng Yanqiu (程砚秋); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Zhao Shouzhen: Li Danlin (李丹林); Li Haiqing (李海青)
Xue Liang: Yu Shiwen (于世文); Huang Wenjun (黄文俊)
Biyu: Guan Shengji (贯盛吉); Zhu Jinhua (朱锦华)
Granny Hu: Li Shaoguang (李少广); Li Shaoguang (李少广)
Meixiang: Wang Yuanzhi (王元芝); Jin Jianping (金建萍)
Mrs. Xue: Yao Yuanxiu (姚元秀); Zhang Gang (张岗)
Zhao Luhan: Su Shenggui (苏盛贵); Li Yuanzhen (李元真)
Zhou Tingxun: Chen Xiaochun (陈孝椿); Song Xiaochuan (宋小川)
Lu Shengshou: Qian Yuantong (钱元通); Xu Shangbin (徐尚宾)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing, 2000/01
Photo of Cheng Yanqiu as Xue Xiangling:
This play is very popular today, all of today's actresses of the Cheng school have performed it. Shi Yihong, not of the Cheng school, performed it as well recently. Surprisingly, it is a recent play, written during World War 2 at Cheng Yanqiu's request.
I have to get a little personal here. Certainly one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me was Fern out of the blue translating this opera scene by scene into English, an opera which totally fascinates me to this day and was *the one* that got me seriously interested in Jingju. It's hard for me to express how much I consider Zhang Huoding performing this play among mankind's greatest artistic achievements. The French have a saying, "C'est mon grand frisson", roughly meaning this is it, the one that has given me the greatest and most undefinable thrills of pleasure.
I posted two full versions of her starring in the Unicorn purse here and this one which is among our top picks and which features Fern's scene by scene. I also own the two-disc DVD of this. The 2004 "top pick" performance is in my opinion untoppable by anyone.
The story in brief:
A spoiled and rich bride sets out to marry in a luxurious bridal chariot. On the way she hears another bride-to-be weeping in her own run-down transportation, because she is ashamed of being so poor and ridiculous on her wedding day. The rich girl in an unexplained moment of generosity anonymously gives the poor girl her own lucky unicorn purse containing a large dowry. They each go their separate way. Years later, the floods come and the rich girl loses everything, her husband and child as well. Destitute, she is picked up unknowingly by the family she helped with the unicorn purse, now wealthy and well-to-do. She helps watch after their child which reminds her bitterly of her own lost child and her past follies.
The play ends happily as the unicorn purse is matched with its former owner, and generosity is rewarded as the former rich girl is miraculously reunited with her own family.
Opera 锁麟囊 Suo Lin Nang (Unicorn Purse) audio with Zhao Rongchen, acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding
Another version of this opera.
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1962, live sound recording
string section lead: Zhong Shizhang (钟世章)
percussion section lead: Bai Dengyun(白登云)
Xue Xiangling: Zhao Rongchen (赵荣琛); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Zhao Shouzhen: Zhang Manjun (张曼君); Li Haiqing (李海青)
Xue Liang: Yu Shiwen (于世文); Huang Shixiang (黄世骧)
Biyu: Jia Songling (贾松龄); Ma Zengshou (马增寿)
Granny Hu: Luo Xiaokui (罗小奎); Li Shaoguang (李少广)
Meixiang: Li Shengfang (李盛芳); Zhu Jinhua (朱锦华)
Mrs. Xue: Sun Zhenquan (孙振泉); Sun Zhenquan (孙振泉)
Zhao Luhan: Su Shenggui (苏盛贵); Huang Wenjun (黄文俊)
Zhou Tingxun: Yao Yugang (姚玉刚); Zhang Zhibin (仉志斌)
Lu Shengshou: Wang Zhilian (王志廉); Xu Shangbin (徐尚宾)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing, 1998/08
Photo of Zhao Rongchen as Xue Xiangling:
Opera 碧玉簪 Biyu Zan (The Green Jade Hairpin)
There seems to be more than one "Jade Hairpin" opera, with different stories. The original "The Jade Hairpin" [玉簪记 Yu Zan Ji (The Jade Hairpin)] was originally written by Ming dynasty playwright Gao Lian (1527-1609), but this is not that story. I got it wrong too, and Fern busted me! But that's alright, because this story is spicier!
Click here to download the video
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1954, live sound recording
string section lead: Zhong Shizhang (钟世章)
percussion section lead: Bai Dengyun(白登云)
Zhang Yuzhen: Cheng Yanqiu (程砚秋); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Xiaohui: Xiao Cuihua (筱翠花); Liu Shuyun (刘淑云)
Zhao Qixian: Li Danlin (李丹林); Yu Wanzheng (于万增)
Zhang Ruihua: Yu Shiwen (于世文); Huang Shixiang (黄世骧)
Liu Shaozhuang: Guan Shengji (贯盛吉); Zhu Jinhua (朱锦华)
Matchmaker Gu: Jia Duocai (贾多才); Kou Chunhua (寇春华)
Mrs. Zhao (Qixian's mom): Yao Yuanxiu (姚元秀); Zhang Gang (张岗)
Mrs. Zhang (Yuzhen's mom): —; Li Haiqing (李海青)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing, 1999/04
Our Jade Hairpin story goes like this:
The Minister of Rites Zhang Ruihua, has a daughter, Zhang Yuzhen, is now engaged to the talented scholar, Zhao Qixian. Yuzhen's cousin, Liu Shaozhuang, had previously proposed marriage to her as well, but had been rejected by Yuzhen. The vengeful Liu bribes the matchmaker and gets hold of Yuzhen's jade hairpin. He fabricates a fake love letter and hides the envelope in the inner bridal chamber.
On their wedding night, Zhao Qixian finds the envelope, questions Yuzhen's chastity and leaves furious. The sorrowful Yuzhen falls ill. Her maid, Xiaohui, informs Qixian's mother about what happened. Zhang Ruihua also returns home, and they go to the Zhao residence to investigate the case.
They interrogate the matchmaker too, who finally confesses and the truth gets revealed. The pathetic Liu Shaozhuang is so afraid of being arrested that he collapses and dies.
Zhao Qixian falls to his knees and begs for apology. Finally Yuzhen takes her wedding clothes back, and man and wife are reconciled.
Opera 火焰驹 Huo Yan Ju (Fire Steed or Precious Horse ) audio with Zhao Rongchen and Wang Yinqiu, acting pantomime by Zhang Huoding and Lü Yang
This file is last minute addition, once again found by Fern. I'd never even heard of this opera before!
Cast of the sound recording, with the acting performers after semicolon:
1960, stage recording without audience
Huang Guiying: Zhao Rongchen (赵荣琛); Zhang Huoding (张火丁)
Mo Lan: Wang Yinqiu (王吟秋); Lü Yang (吕洋)
Li Yangui: Yao Yugang (姚玉刚); Song Xiaochuan (宋小川)
Huang Zhang: Luo Ronggui (罗荣贵); Luo Changde (罗长德)
Ai Qian (wusheng): Li Yuanchun (李元春); Li Yuanzhen (李元真)
Li's mother: Jia Songling (贾松龄); Huang Wenjun (黄文俊)
Mrs. Zhou: Zhang Manjun (张曼君); Zhao Naihua (赵乃华)
Li Yanrong: Yu Shiwen (于世文); Huang Shixiang (黄世骧)
Filmed in: Jingju Theater of Beijing, 2005/02
For the interest of Cheng school fans, the annoying horizontal scrolling text appearing from time to time throughout the video provides additional information about this opera. It mentions that after Cheng Yanqiu passed away in 1958, Zhao Rongchen and Wang Yinqiu were in charge of new Cheng school plays. Besides Huo Yan Ju, Zhao Rongchen performed several other new operas, for example《苗青娘》Miao Qingniang,《李师师》Li Shishi,《婉娘与紫燕》Wan Niang and Zi Yan…
It seems that nowadays no-one shows interest in learning these newly written theater pieces, are they doomed to extinction, just like some of the "first generation" Cheng school plays?
As a little bonus, click here to download a very nice 9 mins long clip with an excerpt from Miao Qingniang, performed by Jiang Zhi (江汁), a Cheng school actress from Jiangsu.
Here is the story:
Set in the Song dynasty, Court councilor Li Shou's son, Li Yangui, and Huang Zhang's daughter Huang Guiying are engaged to be married since childhood. Greedy for power and in order to obtain the precious horse Huoyanju, Huang Zhang falsely accuses Li Shou who is sent to prison.
Li Shou's other older son is ordered to the frontier, so the younger Li Yangui remains behind alone and destitute. Huang Zhang then tries to break up the engagement, but Guiying disobeys and cannot forget her sweetheart. Her servant girl, Mo Lan, arranges a meeting between her with Li Yangui. They meet in the garden, and Guiying gives him silver to help him, and admits about her inner feelings for him.
But tragedy strikes again. Li Yangui is sent to prison on false charges and sentenced to death. Guiying goes to the execution ground in the rain to offer sacrifice, she meets Li's mother and his older brother's wife (Mrs. Zhou) on the way. When Li's mother learns Guiying is the daughter of Huang, she wants to beat her, but when she realizes Guiying really loves her son, they go together to the execution ground.
At the same time, the precious horse, Huoyanju runs to the border station and Li's older brother, Li Yanrong returns from the frontier. Huang's evil deeds get revealed and things turn out well in the nick of time!
In conclusion, although looking at this treasure vault of material was quite exhilarating, and I am sure I will come back to view it often in the future, I am a bit sad. We've finally rounded up the very last few full-length videos my favourite singer has performed in. There might not be more to come. Let's pause to think about that and bow our heads. (It's not pretty to see a grown man cry).
I'm personally hoping Zhang Huoding will finally turn to HD video production and make the world a much better place to live in. That is my daydream and I will cling to it.
In the meanwhile, enjoy!
(And thank you Fern, you were stupendous!)


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This section contains 8,630 words
(approx. 29 pages at 300 words per page)
SOURCE: Doherty, Francis. "Paf, Hop, Bing and Ping." Journal of the Short Story in English, no. 17 (autumn 1991): 23-41.
In the following essay, Doherty provides a stylistic examination of Ping and traces its revisions to gather further insight into the story.
Beckett's short prose work, Ping, of 1967 is a complex text which presents the reader with many difficulties. In the first place, the sentences which the reader has to confront are daunting in their tonelessness, their fragmentariness and their apparent randomness. Repetition of over-repeated collocations seems to have the effect of neutral counters endlessly shifted in patterns, without the usual comforting illusion of a voice apparently speaking through language and of some kind of a story being told. We seem to have come into a world of language stripped of significance with a slab of text which refuses the conditions of narrative. Readers have grown...
This section contains 8,630 words
(approx. 29 pages at 300 words per page)


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For example, while having lunch with your coworkers and you have to attend some matter soon, what would be a natural way to leave the table? I think that in this case saying お先に失礼します would be wrong.
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I won't say お先に失礼します is completely out of place, but you should at least mention why you're leaving, so as to assure that you're not offended or anything:
Abruptly announcing お先に失礼します is probably too closely tied to the idiomatic usage (when leaving work).
先に戻ります or 先に行きます can also work as a substitution for 先に失礼します.
If you're unsure about which verb to use, just cut it short with a trailing ellipsis (see Axioplase's and Dave's answer):
If your colleagues already know you have something to attend to, or your KY radar is all clear, you can get as brief as:
Some people may think it's too informal for work, but you'll be ok as long as other people around you are using it.
ごちそうさまでした works best when you're eating your bentos together. See Dave's answer for a complete explanation.
I usually say something like "あ、すみません、あのう…少し用事があるのですが…". When I get visual acknowledgement, I stand up, bow and go away saying, "あ、では、失礼します。"
お先に失礼します is appropriate. You can drop the お if there's something before 先に失礼します:
-(今日は仕事が忙しいので or any other reason)先に失礼します
-Or you have the obvious ごちそうさまでした
In any case, both sentences are a little abrupt. Saying 皆さんゆっくり食べて(ください)ね works well.
ごちそうさま[でした] is the closest you could get to a meal-closing expression. It can be "dangerous", in that it has the implied sense of being treated by whoever you are saying this to (and would therefore be extraordinarily rude, if that is not the case, like saying "thanks for inviting me" when the bill comes, and you were not invited). However, it is perfectly fine in a casual context where it is clear nobody's treating anybody else, such as a work cafeteria lunch.
In your particular case, perhaps a simple short excuse ("会議がありますので...") while getting up might do.
It is also very common (particularly for younger people and women) to do a very small bow-with-praying-hands at the end of a meal (usually while saying ごちそうさま[でした]), similar to the way you open with (bow-with-hands-together, saying "いただきます"): this is the way children are taught to behave at a table, but I think it's still perfectly OK as an adult (albeit played down a little not to sound too childish) and does send the message you are getting up from the table.
Would Gochisousama deshita be inappropriate here?


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6 Mind Blowing Ways 'Starship Troopers' Predicted the Future
#3. Prisoners
In The Film:
Now, here's where we have to make something completely clear: the whole point of Starship Troopers is that the humans may not be the good guys. Earth's government has clearly been taken over by Fascism, and the propaganda is clearly meant to be a satirical mockery of wartime culture in the same way that Verhoeven's Robocop was meant to be a mockery of the greed and violence of the Reagan 80s. When we say that Verhoeven accidentally made a War on Terror parody with Starship Troopers, we're not saying that that post-9/11 America was just as bad as the Nazi uniform-wearing protagonists of that movie. It'd be like saying the Reagan administration literally turned us all into murderous psychopaths and cyborgs.
So in the film, events are broken up by propaganda newsreels which give an insight into the human society depicted in Starship Troopers, and which drop several heavy hints that these aren't actually the good guys that we're rooting for here. One of these hints comes in the form of casual prisoner abuse. Check it out at 0:50:
Yeah, that's Doogie Howser showing you how to wound and properly kill an Arachnid soldier. An enemy combatant that they have captured, and keep in a cage, and mutilate and execute live on camera. Then, look at what they do to this brain bug they catch at the end:
"After tireless research, our top scientists have discovered that the bugs hate this."
That thing outwitted the humans earlier in the movie, it's capable of planning and reasoning...
It even has a face! That or it walks everywhere backwards.
And there they are, shoving huge sharp things into its mouth(?) and broadcasting the footage with evident glee. It's only shown briefly, but these scenes of bug torture are there to tweak the audience. We're supposed to feel a twinge there -- even though this is the enemy, the good guys are still torturing their captives, without a second thought.
In Real Life:
Remember the Abu Ghraib scandal? Sure you do: that was when those photos surfaced of American soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners pretty horribly. It was a dark time for us, and the photos are pretty grim, so rather than show them here, we will instead show you these spoofs from the sitcom Arrested Development:
Of course, unlike the folks in Starship Troopers, we, the public, were horrified by this, (because we're real people, and have never been and will never be directed by Paul Verhoeven to do anything).
This is where our assertion that Paul Verhoeven is a time traveler starts to look pretty good. If you were doing a movie about war in general, or doing a satire of any previous war, why would you include a bit about how the supposed Good Guys treat their prisoners at all? There's so much more prominent stuff you can cover. But if you're satirizing the War on Terror? You'd need to bring up the prisoner thing at some point. Which is weird because, again, we're talking about a movie that came out four years before the War on Terror and one which was directed by the guy who made Showgirls.
By the way, it's a minor point, but as we said, the whole latter part of Starship Troopers revolves around the humans trying to locate and capture the elusive brain bug. It became a major objective for the whole war effort. And they eventually do find it, hiding in a cave. A hole, you might say. With a bunch of critters that look like spiders. A... spider hole?
#2. The Propaganda
In The Film:
The universe of Starship Troopers is saturated with propaganda, mainly dispensed by the newsreels, of which there are six in the movie, (here, here, here, here, here, and here). All of Verhoeven's most insultingly heavy-handed satire happens in these newsreels. They're all aggressively patriotic, so patriotic that it almost borders on strongly encouraged racism.
"The only good bug is a dead bug!"- Actual line from movie.
In Real Life:
Of course, we don't have a Fascist government, and if the American government did release cheerleading newsreels, people would just point and laugh. No, in the real world, effective propaganda has to come from someplace other than the government.
Sure, we could point out the Fox News cheerleading of the war effort, and the anchors saying the US military was simply trying to "spread love" to the Middle East:
But that's not as openly goofy and stupid as the propaganda in Starship Troopers. No, to find that, we have to go to the world of country music. Or, to quote Charlie Daniels, "This ain't no rag, it's a flag, and we don't wear it on our heads." Enjoy:
Or, we could go with the even less subtle Tobey Keith tune, "Courtesy of the Red White and Blue." Sample lyrics:
And the eagle will fly and it's gonna be hell,
When you hear Mother Freedom start ringing her bell.
And it'll feel like the whole wide world is raining down on you.
Ah, brought to you, courtesy of the red, white and blue.
Oh, justice will be served and the battle will rage:
This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage.
An' you'll be sorry that you messed with the U.S. of A.
'Cos we'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way.
Now compare those videos to the newsreels from Starship Troopers. Holy shit, they make the fictional propaganda look even-handed and intelligent.
"My only regret is that I could not fit more flags on my stage."
#1. The End
In The Film:
The film does not end with the end of the war. It doesn't end with a peace treaty, or the bugs surrendering.
No, the film ends with Neil Patrick Harris explaining to the main character that, now that they have a brain bug, they'll soon be able to understand how the Arachnids think, and confidently predicting that this is the turning point of the war. This is followed by a final recruitment ad that ends the movie.
But not before that guard from The Shawshank Redemption saves the day.
They may say they're winning, but the final message is the government desperately begging for soldiers, with key phrases like "we need soldiers!" and the slightly desperate-sounding reminder that "Service guarantees citizenship!"
In other words, the truth is that either the humans are fighting a losing battle against the Arachnids, or they're stuck in an unpleasant stalemate: the humans too technologically advanced to be beaten back, the Arachnids too entrenched and determined to give up. The optimism of the main characters at the end of the movie amounts to nothing more than a premature, presumptuous, and ultimately false declaration of victory.
In Real Life:
Seriously now, is it just us? The events of the movie match up beat for beat, exactly the way an anti-war satirist would draw it up. But even weirder, we can't find another war that matches up as well (that is, one a non-time traveling Paul Verhoeven could have had in mind). Vietnam? That war didn't kick off with a sudden attack on a civilian target. World War II? That didn't turn into an unexpected quagmire. Neither did the first gulf war (ie Operation Desert Storm). Nothing else matches up.
See, that's the thing about Starship Troopers -- to this day, lots of people don't realize it's a satire. They think it's just a really shitty action movie that does a bad job of building sympathy for the protagonists. The reason so many people don't get the satire is because at the time it wasn't clear what war it was satirizing ("A quagmire in the desert, triggered by an attack on the homeland? Shit, when has that happened?") and that's because the war it was satirizing hadn't happened yet.
Because Paul Verhoeven is a time traveler.
Note: We are told the Onion AV Club made this point last year. We promise we didn't steal it, and take it as sign of a growing consensus that Paul Verhoeven is in fact a time traveler.
For more articles in which we give too much thought to movies, check out 5 Reasons The Greatest Movie Villain Ever is the 'Good' Witch from the Wizard of Oz and 8 Classic Movies That Got Away With Gaping Plot Holes.


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Of course, the 7.2-channel RX-A1020 has all of the features you would expect from an A/V receiver in its class. It boasts eight assignable HDMI inputs and two HDMI outputs (simultaneous), which carry 3D video, Deep Color, x.v. Color and allow for an Audio Return Channel. They can also upscale analog video to 4K/full HD 1080p for crisp, clear imaging from any source input. With built-in decoding for several high definition audio formats including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, you can enjoy true immersion in your entertainment.
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I have set canvas to have fluid size, but after resizing window of browser, size of iframe doesn't change. It stays permanently at 760px.
I need it becouse my client wants to have resposive front-end in fb application, but I'm not sure if it is possible anyway.
The question is: how to make it works?


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Magical Lasso Rope Wine Bottle Holder for $13.99
Using balance, you can put any wine bottle through the opening at the top of the rope, and it will stay there, suspended in mid air, waiting to be taken out and used for whatever fun occasion you have planned for the evening. The rope itself is outfitted with real rope, which cleverly disguises the steel and metal frame on the inside, giving off the amazing illusion of an ordinary rope freely supporting a wine bottle.
Hurry though, because this deal will disappear at midnight!
For more info, please go to: www.todays1.com


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Home. 22 years in the wilderness but finally were home.
In 1987, the Kilcoyne family, who owned Shamrock Rovers since 1972 and had recently bought Glenmalure Park from the Jesuits, decided to sell the stadium to property developers. They stated that their aim was to move Rovers to Tolka Park to share with Home Farm F.C. The last match at Milltown was an FAI Cup semi-final between Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers on the 12th of April 1987, attended by some 6,000 people. This game saw a pitch invasion and protest by fans objecting to the sale of the ground. Some Shamrock Rovers supporters occupied the pitch at half-time were joined by Sligo fans in solidarity. They had to be persuaded to leave the pitch before the game could restart.
The following season Shamrock Rovers fans formed an organisation called 'Keep Rovers at Milltown' (KRAM) and placed a picket on home games at Tolka Park, effectively bankrupting the club's owners. KRAM collected money to purchase Glenmalure Park but could not match the offer of a property developer to whom the Kilcoynes eventually sold the site.After a lengthy appeals process, Glenmalure Park was demolished in the summer of 1990 and an apartment complex was built there. It is now marked by a permanent memorial erected by Shamrock Rovers supporters on Thursday the 21st of May 1998.
On Thursday the 12th of April 2007 a ceremony was held at the monument to commemorate 20 years since the last competitive game was played at the famous old ground.
Shamrock Rovers played in Tolka Park, Richmond Park, Dalymount Park, The RDS and Morton Stadium on the long road to Tallaght. 13 March 2009, finally home.
The first game was at HOME was against Bray and Shane Robinson hit a brace from the right wing to seal a magical win on a magical night.
Bray were the party poopers in the League Cup a few weeks later when they beat us one nil but I didnt care. Tinpot competition.
The cup, our cup. Galway thrashed us 3-0. Next year.
Following the departure of Coad in 1960 and an unsuccessful season under Albie Murphy, Seán Thomas took on the role of rebuilding the Rovers team which had suffered from the break up of the Coads Colts. Paddy Ambrose and Ronnie Nolan had remained with the club and were soon joined by a whole host of signings including Irish internationals, Frank ONeill and Johnny Fullam. The decision by Liam Tuohy to return to Rovers as captain following four successful years at Newcastle United effectively saw the completion of Thomas side. The club won every domestic honour except the Top Four Competition in the 196364 season and were narrowly defeated by holders and eventual finalists Valencia CF in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Thomas, however, quit the Hoops at the end of the season following a dispute with the Cunninghams (Owners) over team selection. Liam Tuohy took over as player-manager and led the club to a further five FAI Cups in succession, completing a run of six Cup wins in a row, including a 30 defeat of league champions Waterford in 1968 in front of 40,000 people at Dalymount Park. The following season saw Rovers player Mick Leech score a total of 56 goals, including two in the last Cup final of the six in a row period, against Cork Celtic. 24 cups including 6 in a row. Ours.
In the League we challenged all year but finished 4th, only 6 points of top. Next year.
9.3, some updates done by myself on the LOI.
There are other seasons that I have done and will post later


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I'm trying to figure out how do execute a stored procedure with php5.3/pdo_sqlsrv on sql server 2008.
I've found this code:
$sql = new PDO( "sqlsrv:server=$server;Database = $database", $user, $password);
$query = "{? = CALL sp_Login(?, ?)}";
$stmt = $sql->prepare( $query );
$returnVariable = 0;
$inputVariable1 = 'input1';
$inputVariable2 = 'input2';
echo "Return value: ".$returnVariable;
the stored procedure has two input and one output paramter, but it seems it returns nothing, return value is still 0..
I can run select/insert queries, so it's not the connection.
Is there any good documentation about stored procedures with pdo_sqlsrv?


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IREAD-K, IREAD-1, and IREAD-2 were created to help schools monitor student progress and provide appropriate instruction prior to grade three. Schools may choose to use these "no-stakes" comprehensive literacy assessments, which provide teachers with the feedback necessary to track student progress and to make instructional decisions that will help ensure student success on IREAD-3. These assessments can be administered during the last four to five weeks of the school year.
Item Samplers
The purpose of this Item Sampler is to provide parents, teachers, and students with examples of the types of questions that may appear on the Indiana Reading Evaluation And Determination K-2 (IREAD K-2) Assessments.
Additional Resources
Student results will be kept on file locally.
John Wolf
Literacy Specialist
Telephone: (317) 234-6702


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Happy Independence Day! Are you flying the flag?
I am. Hope everyone else is, too. If you can't have a big flag, please display a little one. This is OUR day to be proud of our country.
Love the U.S.! Have a great 4th, with family, friends and delicious food, too. Fireworks are icing on the cake. Take care, but enjoy. I so love sparklers...do they still sell those? And ladyfingers?
12 Answers answer
I don't have a flag to fly, here away from home. But I do feel a little more comfortable being patriotic, now in Brazil, than I did in China, haha.
I'm wearing red-white-blue colors, and making sure everyone in the office knows that it's our great homeland's birthday!
Later, for dinner, I'm going to do the most American thing I can here, and find a McDonald's in this city :)
Happy 4th everyone! Fly a flag for me, while I do my best to represent us abroad!
We have the flag on a permanent place at the front of the house.
Off topic, but a question that's been on my mind for a week.
@dmaz: Were you ever asked to be on TV in China?
@gideonfrost: Not on television (that I know of), but I did make local news. A lot of my friends in Qingdao (a nearby, more international city) were on TV for various promotions and events. I was surprised at how common it was!
I was asked to model, though.
Of course!
Small but yes it is there
Every day.
@dmaz: Would you like me to send you one? It would be a privilege to do so.
@magic cave: Really? I would feel very honored! It's a long way for mail to travel to Brazil, though!
@dmaz: If you'll PM me with an address, I'll send one along. Is 3'x5' a good size for you? It's what we fly at our house, and it's large enough to be nicely visible yet small enough for easy handling. It'll take me a few days to get one in hand, and then I'll send it along to you.
@dmaz: Can you PM me your address?


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SALADO (November 28, 2012)--The annual Christmas Stroll and Home Tour is just around the corner, with a parade to kick things off Thursday.
The Christmas Parade will begin at 5 p.m. and will stroll its way north on Main Street to the Historic Civic Center where children can meet and greet Santa, enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and watch the lighting of the Christmas tree.
Beginning Friday, community members are sure to get in the Christmas spirit with the decorations, live nativity scene and an exterior tour of the historical homes that help make the town unique.
The Tour of Homes is an annual fundraiser for the Salado Historical Society.
Tickets are $15 and children under 12 can participate for free.
The tour includes an old cemetery, churches, plantation house and more and is available from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets can be purchased at the Salado Visitors Center.
Along with food tasting, musical entertainment, book signings, giveaways and visits with Santa, the Tablerock Amphitheatre will perform "A Christmas Carol" at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and the Silver Spur Theatre will host a comedic play entitled "Christmas is on the Air."
The fun will last all weekend and end on Sunday.


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Why banking websites always ask me to authenticate my PC even after I'd chosen to Remember my PC? This is the case with all banking websites
Why banking websites always ask me to authenticate my PC even after I'd chosen to "Remember my Computer"?
migrated from superuser.com Oct 31 '11 at 23:24
This question came from our site for computer enthusiasts and power users.
An aspect of security which more and more banks are implementing is to try not to trust anything sent by a computer, as an attacker could theoretically change the responses sent to the bank.
Imagine you have authenticated your PC, and an attacker has captured your traffic and has your cookies. If they then try to log on to your account and the bank doesn't ask them to authenticate their PC, that is one less hurdle for them to beat in order to get at your money. So the bank can insist that their cookies are not stored, or that specific ones are wiped on logout.
From a general security perspective, I wouldn't let my PC remember any details from an internet banking site, or in fact any site that could be used to steal sensitive usernames or passwords.
Financial institutions use patten recognition to 'remember your computer'.
It is similar to licensing schemes where a software license is locked to a specific computer.
Some input that they use to determine identity on your computer is likely not static.
It coule be: a browser cookie, your IP address, the MAC address of your ethernet or WiFi card, your username, the amount of available RAM in your computer, your hard drive serial number, your motherboard model, the id value of your CPU, your operating system version, or any one of a number a things that a financial instution might believe would not chaange on most customer's computers, but does on yours.
It remembers you, but it's double-checking to make sure it really is you.
When you click "Remember my PC", it puts a cookie on your computer that remembers your session. However, your current privileges of the session timeout. For example, once you've entered your password, you can probably check your account balance for days. But after a few hours, if you try to withdraw money, you'll have to re-enter your password. That prevents you from walking away from your computer, and having somebody else walk up and withdraw money.
Likewise, if you go to account settings, you can view your mailing address, but if you try to change it, the site will yet again ask you to authenticate.


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The Historic RailPark and Train Museum in Bowling Green is unveiling a piece of civil rights history this week.
The museum found a Jim Crow Car in Glasgow in 2009.
Through donations, grants, and several years of hard work, the museum and its volunteers have restored the car to historical accuracy.
L&N Depot Board Member, Larry Bailey says when they found the car rotting away behind the old Glasgow Train Depot.
"Pieces of the wood were used as a pattern. We had an architect go through and write every piece of the car and design all the documents to rebuild the car and restore it. When you see the car from what it was, I think most people will be absolutely astounded," Bailey says.
The restored Jim Crow car will be loaded and moved to the Bowling Green Historic RailPark Monday.


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Empress (Paperback)
One of China's most controversial figures, Empress Wu was its first and only female emperor, emerging in the seventh century during the great Tang Dynasty to usher in a golden age. Throughout history, her name has been defamed and her story distorted. But now, after thirteen centuries, Empress Wu flings open the gates of the Forbidden City and tells her own astonishing tale--revealing a fascinating, complex figure who in many ways remains modern to this day.
Writing with epic assurance, poetry, and vivid historic detail, Shan Sa plumbs the psychological and philosophical depths of what it means to be a striving mortal in a tumultuous, power-hungry world. Empress is a great literary feat and a revelation for the ages.
About the Author
Shan Sa was born in Beijing and had her first poems, essays, and stories published at the age of eight. In 2001 her novel The Girl Who Played Go won the Goncourt Prize. The author of Empress, she is also a celebrated artist who has had prominent exhibitions in Paris and New York.
Praise For…
"Luxurious and intelligent . . . part pageant, part politics as ballet; a lavish portrayal of life in early civilized China."
-Alan Cheuse, NPR.org
"A compelling read and surprisingly easy to follow, given its exotic complexity."
-Kirkus Reviews
"Brilliant . . . illuminates the life and times of one of the ancient world's most powerful, capable, and overlooked women."


text:
An area Task Force is telling people in Grayson County to be on the lookout for the club drug ecstasy.
Larry Woosley, director of the greater Hardin County Narcotics Task Force, says a major shipment of ecstasy was intercepted in southern Hardin County after a traffic stop.
Woosley says the Grayson County Sheriff's K-9 Department responded to a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation on Highway 313.
The K-9 found a small amount of marijuana and 1,000 ecstasy tablets in the vehicle.
Task Force officers and the Drug Enforcement Administration obtained a search warrant for the female's apartment in Louisville where they found 5,000 more tablets of the illegal drug and a half-pound of marijuana.
wbko.com Extended Web Coverage
Ecstasy Facts
Health Hazards
Use Among Teens
Source: www.nida.org (National Institute on Drug Abuse Web site) contributed to this report.


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13 Jul 2009 9:59 PM #1
Modal Window Background Transparency
Hi All,
I have a Window that I am using as a Modal Popup. What is the best way to alter the transparency of the modal background css, ie -> I want to make it less transparent. Can you configure this in the JS or do I have to go through the CSS manually.
By the background I am referring to the grey layer that is brought up behind a modal window when it is opened.
Thanks in advance.
13 Jul 2009 10:10 PM #2
It's managed by the css class ext-el-mask
The default opacity is 0.5 meaning 50%.
13 Jul 2009 10:16 PM #3
Thanks Danh.
So I manually alter the ExtJS css file is this correct? I was hoping that I could alter this within the JS library but couldn't find anything in the API, as I would prefer not to alter the ExtJS files as these changes will be lost if I ever upgrade to a lter version, but I guess that is only a small concern.
13 Jul 2009 10:20 PM #4
13 Jul 2009 10:33 PM #5
Yep that makes sense!!
Thanks, you have been super helpful!


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hourly and daily parking is available within walking distance of the terminal. Hourly parking is located in front of the terminal and there are two daily car parks: Garage 1 and Garage 2, both linked with the terminal. A free shuttle also runs between the garages and the terminal, as well as to four long-term car parks. Valet parking is available directly in front of the main terminal (tel: (703) 572 4540).
Car hire
Car hire companies represented at Washington Dulles International Airport include: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz and National. Courtesy telephones can be found in the ground transportation centre on the lower level of the main terminal. Shuttle buses, leaving from outside the terminal building, take passengers to hire car pick-up areas.


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FORT HOOD (November 10, 2012)--Two of Fort Food's child development centers started a health initiative today after two months of administrators revising the plan.
Starting today, about 150 children will walk from their school to the two daycares.
This is part of First Lady Michelle Obama's "Let's move" initiative to encourage a more-active lifestyle.
Instead of this walk happening daily at several daycare centers as it was once intended, it will only be once a month at two centers.
Also, it's no longer mandatory but optional with some incentives for the children and parents.
Incentives such as prizes for the children and discounts of daycare services for the parents.
Some parents were excited with the new plan, while others still had concerns.
Nick and Karen Deshong said they were very concerned when they first received word that their four-year-old daughter Kallie would start walking to and from school from her daycare at Fort Hood.
"I'm quite sure this isn't what the First Lady had in mind," said Karen.
"Seeing today, it's good, but we were here, and what would happen if the parents weren't here?" Nicke said.
The Deshongs said they're also concerned for Kallie's asthma and severe allergies.
"Would this be the thing that would push her over the edge and make her more ill?" Karen said.
Nick and Karen walked with Kallie from Meadows Elementary School to Meadows Child Development Center, about half a mile walk.
They said although they appreciate the changes and the push toward a healthier lifestyle for their daughter, they still feel that there are still questions that need answers, like the motive behind this health initiative.
"I'd like to see some fine tuning because I noticed today they didn't have backpacks, so they had a van come over to the school, pick up the backpacks and bring them here, which if you're addressing cost cutting measures, now we've not only walked and spent twice as much time walking them, but we still sent a vehicle over," Karen said.
Daycare administrators said patience and willingness to work with them is key to the children's success.
They also said they're doing everything they can to ensure the children are safe.
"We actually coordinated with the department of emergency services and community policing to train our staff on crossing guard familiarization so that they're more comfortable in taking those children out on those busy streets," said Kimberly Bleakley-Sias, a child development services administrator at Meadows Child Development Center.


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Innergie 95W Universal Adapter (New) for $29.99 + $5.00 shipping
Multi Purpose Universal Adapter: Carry one single adapter to power up your notebook and USB chargeable devices at the same time
Fast USB Charging x 2: With specially designed USB power ports. It gives you the capability of charging all your standard USB devices two at a time
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10 Comments add a comment
Welcome to moofi tibb.......s! :-D MayI call you tibbs? @tibbarderacs is soooooo long.
Farewell @brutherford. You will be missed.
Welcome to the show @tibbarderacs. You've got a lot of proving yourself to do.
@tibbarderacs: Hi and welcome aboard!
Not a bad price for a new universal adapter. Woot had posted a Targus recertified one for $9.99 + $5 shipping a month ago though.
And if ya don't feel like splicing wires, these are a great alternative to making your own out of scraps you find in the closet!
Just as a for instance.. I got a new hp laptop adapter on e-bay for $6.97 delivered last week. shipped from So. Cal. I realize the multi plug aspect is a plus for some but you could buy a couple for less $
@videowallart: And that's great if all you've got are devices that only take that one input!
Need something like this for a portable dvd player would it work. I'd hate to waste 30 bucks if not
BEWARE OF CHEAP ADAPTERS : http://www.arcfn.com/2012/10/a-dozen-usb-chargers-in-lab-apple-is.html
@isuftin: Funny thing is... the company sells different models. so unless you have over 5 laptops that you are never going to want to use at the same time...
@rulzwrld: I saw that article, good one. I have a little experience with a knock-off Apple Cube adapter, and I do concur. Also, I wooted the HP TouchPad and found a good deal on the charging stand, so I even have a spare HP TouchPad adapter, which is the top shelf in their tests.
@jhaywire: Props for mentioning the hacker method! I have the pieces, soldering iron, heat-shrink tubing, etc. to Frankenstein up a 95W adapter for my girlfriend's Dell...


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The Carmi Police Department is investigating an early morning Friday incident in which an adult female was allegedly targeted for abduction.
A written press release from Chief Randy Hamblin said the suspect was described as a white male wearing a ball cap. The suspect was driving a dark-colored car with deeply tinted windows.
No other details about the incident were provided, other than the adult female victim was walking alone at the time of the incident.
"The Carmi Police Department's number one concern is for the safety of our citizens," the press release said. "We are taking this report seriously, and we are requesting that the public use extra caution and immediately report any suspicious activity."
Location, ST | website.com


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Metal Tablecloth Weights
Sleeping Cherub Statue
Ever Brite™
Adjustable Shelf Riser
4-Piece Microwave Cooking Set
Bluetooth Speakers
Hydratrak® Bottle
Artwork Frame
Shucker Paddy Oyster Knife
(4¼" x 3")
Part gift box. Part game. 100% fun. Recipients will be a-MAZE-d when they set their sights on these gift and game teasers. To get the gift, they'll have to work their way through a challenging puzzle. Solve it and they "win" what's inside. Movie Maze™ accommodates DVDs, CDs, video games and books. Gift Maze™offers creative gifting for money, checks and gift cards. The Money Maze™ (3½"-Sq.) is a combo puzzle and bank. Simply slip the gift inside and lock the door!
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Neuroendocrine Tumors and Niacin Supplements
Last Modified: January 7, 2013
What are your recommendations regarding niacin supplements? Should you take them if you have NETs, if so, how much?
Nevena Damjanov, MD, Medical Oncologist at Penn Medicine responds.
Niacin supplements are used to treat pellagra, a disease caused by severe niacin deficiency. Some people with carcinoid develop niacin deficiency because the tryptophan is used for excess serotonin production (causing carcinoid symptoms). In that case, niacin supplementation is recommended. Your doctor would recommend a dose at that time.
This question and answer was part of the OncoLink Brown Bag Chat Series. View the entire transcript from the Focus on Neuroendocrine Tumors Webchat.


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WELLSBURG - Mr. and Mrs. Frank Cipoletti of Wellsburg will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on Thursday.
They were married May 31, 1952, at St. John the Evangelist Church with the Rev. Leopold Hermanns officiating.
She is the former Mary Margaret Gunion, daughter of the late Mary and Richard Gunion. She is a homemaker and retired from the Ohio Valley Wholesale Co.
Article Photos
He is the son of the late Assunta and Julius Cipoletti. He is an Army veteran of World War II and is retired from Allegheny Power Co. He retired from A.J. Cipriani Realty.
They are the parents of four daughters: Marian Voelker of Savannah, Ga.; Jayne Query of Whispering Pines, N.C.; Francine Adkins of Kingsport, Tenn.; and Linda Stockel of Richmond, Va. There are seven grandchildren and two great-grandsons.
They will celebrate their anniversary with family in June at the Outer Banks in North Carolina.


text: A genuine breakthrough in ferret nutrition! Rich in nutrients, this high protein, low carb diet ensures your ferret receives a healthy diet for a strong immune system. Features chicken meal and pork proteins as the primary ingredients, includes guaranteed percentages of Vitamin A, Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, and Copper, and provides oils for a healthy coat.


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I was wondering if there was a standard way to display a GIS diploma for email signatures/business cards.
closed as off topic by iant♦, whuber♦ Sep 28 '12 at 15:00
Questions on Geographic Information Systems Stack Exchange are expected to relate to geographic information systems within the scope defined by the community. Consider editing the question or leaving comments for improvement if you believe the question can be reworded to fit within the scope. Read more about reopening questions here.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
I would suggest showing your title as opposed to your diploma, unless you have a doctorate. Suggested titles include GIS analyst, GIS programmer, GIS technician, or a similar, appropriate title. These are suitable whether you currently have a job in the field, or are seeking a GIS job.
The GIS Certification Institute offers certification as a GIS Professional (GISP). Anyone who has been certified by them is entitled/authorized to put "GISP" after their name on emails, etc.