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(Redirected from Theories)
Theory is a contemplative and rational type of abstract or generalizing thinking, or the results of such thinking. Depending on the context, the results might for example include generalized explanations of how nature works, or even how divine or metaphysical matters are thought to work.
Quotes are arranged in chronological order
Antiquity through eighteenth century[edit]
- All men suppose what is called Wisdom to deal with the first causes and the principles of things; so that, as has been said before, the man of experience is thought to be wiser than the possessors of any sense-perception whatever, the artist wiser than the men of experience, the masterworker than the mechanic, and the theoretical kinds of knowledge to be more of the nature of Wisdom than the productive.
- Aristotle, Metaphysics, 982a1, Complete Works, vol. 2, p. 1553
- Practical life is not necessarily directed toward other people, as some think; and it is not the case that practical thoughts are only those which result from action for the sake of what ensues. On the contrary, much more practical are those mental activities and reflections which have their goal in themselves and take place for their own sake.
- Aristotle, Politics, VII, 3, 8, 1325b16-20
- Never call yourself a philosopher, nor talk a great deal among the unlearned about theorems, but act conformably to them.
- Epictetus, Enchiridion, 46
19th century[edit]
- Theories usually result from the precipitate reasoning of an impatient mind which would like to be rid of phenomena and replace them with images, concepts, indeed often with mere words.
- Goethe, Maxims and Reflections, E. Stopp, trans. (Penguin: 1998) #428
- It is clear that the arm of criticism cannot replace the criticism of arms. Material force can only be overthrown by material force, but theory itself becomes a material force when it has seized the masses. Theory is capable of seizing the masses when it demonstrates ad hominem, and it demonstrates ad hominem as soon as it becomes radical. To be radical is to grasp things by the root. But for man the root is man himself. What proves beyond doubt the radicalism of German theory, and thus its practical energy, is that it begins from the resolute positive abolition of religion. The criticism of religion ends with the doctrine that man is the supreme being for man. It ends, therefore, with the categorical imperative to overthrow all those conditions in which man is an abased, enslaved, abandoned, contemptible being—conditions which can hardly be better described than in the exclamation of a Frenchman on the occasion of a proposed tax upon dogs: 'Wretched dogs! They want to treat you like men!'
- Karl Marx, Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right (1843)
- 19th century, second part
- Philosophical theories or ideas, as points of view, instruments of criticism, may help us to gather up what might otherwise pass unregarded by us. "Philosophy is the microscope of thought." The theory or idea or system which requires of us the sacrifice of any part of this experience, in consideration of some interest into which we cannot enter, or some abstract theory we have not identified with ourselves, or what is only conventional, has no real claim upon us.
- Walter Pater (1873), The Renaissance, Conclusion
- During all those years of experimentation and research, I never once made a discovery. All my work was deductive, and the results I achieved were those of invention, pure and simple. I would construct a theory and work on its lines until I found it was untenable. Then it would be discarded at once and another theory evolved. This was the only possible way for me to work out the problem. … I speak without exaggeration when I say that I have constructed 3,000 different theories in connection with the electric light, each one of them reasonable and apparently likely to be true. Yet only in two cases did my experiments prove the truth of my theory. My chief difficulty was in constructing the carbon filament. . . . Every quarter of the globe was ransacked by my agents, and all sorts of the queerest materials used, until finally the shred of bamboo, now utilized by us, was settled upon.
- Thomas Edison on his years of research in developing the electric light bulb, as quoted in "Talks with Edison" by George Parsons Arthropod in Harper magazine, Vol. 80 (February 1890), p. 425.
- It is a condition which confronts us — not a theory.
- Grover Cleveland, third annual message to Congress (December 6, 1887); reported in George F. Parker, ed., The Writings and Speeches of Grover Cleveland (1892), p. 86. Cleveland was referring to the tariff.
- Their ideas seemed to him fruitful when he was reading or was himself seeking arguments to refute other theories, especially those of the materialists; but as soon as he began to read or sought for himself a solution of problems, the same thing always happened. As long as he followed the fixed definition of obscure words such as spirit, will, freedom, essence, purposely letting himself go into the snare of words the philosophers set for him, he seemed to comprehend something. But he had only to forget the artificial train of reasoning, and to turn from life itself to what had satisfied him while thinking in accordance with the fixed definitions, and all this artificial edifice fell to pieces at once like a house of cards, and it became clear that the edifice had been built up out of those transposed words, apart from anything in life.
- Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, C. Garnett, trans. (New York: 2003), Part 8, Chapter 9, p. 728
- And don't all the theories of philosophy do the same, trying by the path of thought, which is strange and not natural to man, to bring him to a knowledge of what he has known long ago, and knows so certainly that he could not live at all without it? Isn't it distinctly to be seen in the development of each philosopher's theory, that he knows what is the chief significance of life beforehand, just as positively as the peasant Fyodor, and not a bit more clearly than he, and is simply trying by a dubious intellectual path to come back to what everyone knows?
- Leo Tolstoy, Levin, Anna Karenina, C. Garnett, trans. (New York: 2003), Part 8, Chapter 13, p. 737
20th century, first part[edit]
- 1900s
- We sometimes speak of stubborn facts. Nonsense! A fact is a mere babe when compared with a stubborn theory.
- Samuel McChord Crothers, "Quixotism," The Gentle Reader (1903), p. 277
- 1910s
- There is no great harm in the theorist who makes up a new theory to fit a new event. But the theorist who starts with a false theory and then sees everything as making it come true is the most dangerous enemy of human reason.
- Things and events explain themselves, and the business of thought is to brush aside the verbal and conceptual impediments which prevent them from doing so. Start with the notion that it is you who explain the Object, and not the Object that explains itself, and you are bound to end in explaining it away. It ceases to exist, its place being taken by a parcel of concepts, a string of symbols, a form of words, and you find yourself contemplating, not the thing, but your theory of the thing.
- L. P. Jacks, The Usurpation Of Language (1910)
- 1920s
- I firmly believe people have hitherto been a great deal too much taken up about doctrine and far too little about practice. The word doctrine, as used in the Bible, means teaching of duty, not theory. I preached a sermon about this. We are far too anxious to be definite and to have finished, well-polished, sharp-edged systems — forgetting that the more perfect a theory about the infinite, the surer it is to be wrong, the more impossible it is to be right.
- George MacDonald, in a letter to his father, quoted in George MacDonald and His Wife (1924) by Greville MacDonald
- 1940s
- Conservatives feel instinctively that it is new ideas more than anything else that cause change. But, from its point of view rightly, conservatism fears new ideas because it has no distinctive principles of its own to oppose them; and, by its distrust of theory and its lack of imagination concerning anything except that which experience has already proved, it deprives itself of the weapons needed in the struggle of ideas. Unlike liberalism, with its fundamental belief in the long-range power of ideas, conservatism is bound by the stock of ideas inherited at a given time. And since it does not really believe in the power of argument, its last resort is generally a claim to superior wisdom, based on some self-arrogated superior quality.
- Friedrich Hayek (1948) Individualism and Economic Order
20th century, second part[edit]
- 1960s
- The final test of a theory is its capacity to solve the problems which originated it.
- George Dantzig (1963) Linear Programming and Extensions, Princeton University Press, p. vii.
- 1970s
- There may thus well exist better "scientific" evidence for a false theory, which will be accepted because it is more "scientific", than for a valid explanation, which is rejected because there is no sufficient quantitative evidence for it.
- Friedrich Hayek, Nobel Prize lecture, December 11, 1974
- No single theory ever agrees with all the facts in its domain.
- Paul Feyerabend, Against Method (1975) p. 33
- How can we possibly test, or improve upon the truth of a theory if it is built in such a manner then any conceivable event can be described, and explained, in terms of its principles? The only way of investigating such all-embracing principles would be to compare them with a different set of equally all embracing principles- but this procedure has been excluded from the very beginning.
- Paul Feyerabend, Against Method (1975) pp. 44-45
- Experience arises together with theoretical assumptions not before them, and an experience without theory is just as incomprehensible as is (allegedly) a theory without experience.
- Paul Feyerabend, Against Method (1975) p. 151.
- Not only are facts and theories in constant disharmony, they are never as neatly separated as everyone makes them out to be.
- Paul Feyerabend, Against Method (1975) p. 66
- 1980s
- Facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts do not go away while scientists debate rival theories for explaining them.
- Stephen Jay Gould "Evolution as Fact and Theory", pp. 254–55, originally appeared in Discover Magazine, May 1981.
- 1990s
- Great theories are expansive; failures mire us in dogmatism and tunnel vision.
- Stephen Jay Gould, Eight Little Piggies (1993), "More Light on Leaves".
- During the period that began with classical Greece and ended with late pagan antiquity, philosophy was more than merely a theoretical discipline. Even when Aristotle identified philosophy with "theory," his purpose is to argue ... that a life of theoretical activity, the life of philosophy, was the best life that human beings could lead.
- Alexander Nehamas, The Art of Living (1998)
21th century[edit]
- In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.
- Attributed to Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut in: Doug Rosenberg and Matt Stephens (2007) Use Case Driven Object Modeling with UMLTheory and Practice p. xxvii; Quote is also cited without attribution in Doug Rosenberg and Kendall Scott (2001) Applying Use Case Driven Object Modeling With UML, p. 1
- The ultimate goal of science is to understand the natural world in terms of scientific theories, which are concepts that join together well-supported and related hypotheses. In ordinary speech, the word theory refers to a speculative idea. In contrast, a scientific theory is supported by a broad range of observations, experiments, and data often from a variety of disciplines.
- Sylvia S. Mader, Biology (10th ed., 2010), Ch. 1. A View of Life
- If you refuse to take account of theory, then you have forgotten that practice is often an offspring of theory.
- Fausto Cercignani in: Brian Morris, Simply Transcribed. Quotations from Writings by Fausto Cercignani, 2014, quote 54.


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Results 1 to 4 of 4
19th October 2013 06:41 PM #1
- Join Date
- Oct 2013
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- 10
I want my Husband in the Delivery Room!
Im preparing myself for labour and starting to plan things out. I want my husband in the delivery room and I shared this with him. Many were against especially my husband. But i really want to show him how I deliver our baby and to gain some support from him. My OB only allowed this if he will not faint since he's actually afraid of blood. Others said that I shouldn't do it and they have so many reasons. My husband agreed but his actions tells otherwise. Would it be good if i still forced my decision? Or is it good if I let my husband in during labour and delivery? They said it would be better if I choose my mum to come in rather than my husband but it's not my first baby.
22nd October 2013 06:42 AM #2
Dear Akima0523,
Thank you for this interesting question.
My main thought in all of this is that you, the birthing mother who is bringing your and your husband's baby into the world, should ultimately have the birthing partner in the room with you that you want. You say that 'many were against this' but I feel that this decision should really only be down to you and your husband. Birth is a sacred, beautiful and empowering time and it is not a time for other family members or friends to give their opinions as to who they would want to be the birthing partner.
It sounds like you really want your husband to be there with you, alongside you. If he misses it then he will obviously never be able to turn the clock back and experience the arrival of your new baby into the world.
Some couples, myself included, choose to have a doula present at the birth as well as the husband/ partner. A doula is an experienced women who offers practical and emotional support to the couple (or woman) during pregnancy, birth and with the new baby. A doula is not there to take on any of the clinical role (this is for the midwives or doctor) but helps to empower the woman to have the birth that she wants and can also help with calming techniques, relaxation breathing and hypnobirthing (the later of the is really just a very deep level of relaxation brought about by self-hypnosis).
In terms of any blood, your husband could stay near your head for the actual delivery. It certainly is not your doctor's place to deny your husband being present at the birth; you have a right to have who you want as a birth partner.
Have you thought about having midwife-led care as a birth option? I ask this because research shows that midwife-led births are more likely to be quicker, smoother and result in less interventions. This then means breastfeeding is more likely to get established quicker and mum and baby also make a quicker recovery from the birth. Is there a medical reason why you need a birth led by a doctor?
Another point to consider is that whoever you choose to have as your birth partner needs to be calm during the birth and follow your wishes. Michael Odent wrote this contraversal article about fathers being present at birth and some of the possible disadvantages of this. Whilst I disagree with the thrust of this article, I do agree that if a dad is present at the birth then they need to follow the woman's lead and not hinder the birth. This may mean sitting for hours in silence or providing light touch massage or helping the birthing woman to keep cool. Anthony Wilson in his article A Father's Point of View expresses an opposing opinion to Odent when he writes: 'Any man who has not seen his wife give birth has an incomplete view of what it means to be a mother. He underappreciates mother-hood.'
You sound like you want your husband to be there; so I think he should be there. You can have extra support (through a doula or good childbirth education courses). Talk more to your husband about your wishes for the birth and how you would like him to support you at this time.
I'd love to hear what you think about all this now.
Thinking of you.
Warm wishes,
Last edited by ljmarsden; 22nd October 2013 at 07:21 AM.
22nd October 2013 02:39 PM #3
- Join Date
- Oct 2013
- Posts
- 10
I feel relieved reading your response and suggestion. I would consider about the doula but its my third time giving birth. I only wanted for my husband to be there in time of delivery. I greatly appreciated your response and now i am resolved and would like to talk to my husband again so that i could explain more base on your message. I am much more confident now. Thanks LJ
23rd October 2013 07:10 AM #4
That is really good to hear Akima.
Please could I ask who was present at your previous births? Would you want someone else to support you through the first stage of labour (i.e. before the pushing stage)? Were your two previous births positive experiences?
Warm wishes,

subset: commoncrawl


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NFL Draft > 2009 Prospects > OL > Eugene Monroe
Eugene Monroe Scouting Report
|Virginia Cavaliers
|Jersey Number:
|Height & Weight:
|6'6 - 315 lbs.
2009 NFL Combine Results
|40-Yard Dash
|Bench press
|Broad jump
2009 NFL Draft Prospect Scouting Report:
Eugene Monroe, OL, Virginia
After Mississippi's Michael Oher and Alabama's Andre Smith, Eugene Monroe will be the third offensive tackle on most lists. Monroe went through the 2007 season at Virginia pretty underrated and off the radar. But that will not last much longer and Monroe will get plenty of recognition after he wraps up his senior season with the Cavaliers. At 6-6 and 315 pounds, Monroe has plenty of size, but it is his nimbleness that makes him special. He has some of the best feet anyone will see from an offensive lineman in college this year and he knows how to use them. However, his strength (especially in his legs) is a concern and so is his focus. He will need to address those issues in order to develop into a Pro Bowl caliber left tackle, but he has the pure skill to be a great player in the NFL for a long time. Even if Monroe does not gain strength between now and the draft, he will still be a first round pick. If he has a solid 2008 season and a solid combine, he could surpass Oher and Smith on some boards and be one of the top few picks in April. 11/24 Update: Monroe has done nothing to make scouts believe that he is not the third best offensive tackle in the draft. In fact, many will have Monroe above Andre Smith of Alabama and only behind Mississippi's Michael Oher. Monroe will still need to have a solid Senior Week and Combine to cement his spot in the top ten, but it is very likely that he will be gone very quickly on draft day. 3/24 Update: Monroe had a solid NFL Combine, but there is more to the story as to why Monroe is considered a top five selection. Alabama's Andre Smith and Mississippi's Michael Oher had disappointing showings and that catapulted Monroe (as well as Baylor's Jason Smith) into the top of the list as far as offensive tackles are concerned. Even if Monroe is the second tackle taken, he will likely be in the top five or six picks in the 2009 NFL Draft.
Last Updated Mar-24-2009 by Joel Welser
1 Comment | Add Yours
Prediction: 1st Round
Monroe is a stud and will likely be the first OL drafted.
Posted by:
jeff 02/17/09 12:50 PM
jeff 02/17/09 12:50 PM


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February 19, 2009
IMPORTANT UPDATE: CONGRESS TO CONSIDER TRANSFORMING 9/11 INTO A NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE AND REMEMBRANCE The founders of MyGoodDeed.org along with other 9/11 leaders were in Washington DC last week to meet with key legislators in support of the proposal to establish 9/11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of all 9/11 victims. Thanks to these efforts and others, there appears to be an historic opportunity right now to finally secure passage of long sought legislation that would establish 9/11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. (To learn more about this seven year quest, visit http://www.mygooddeed.org/OurRoots/About-Us/ ) You can help in the following ways:
1) Contact your State Senators' Offices To find your Senators' telephone and email addresses go to: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/
The following are some suggested talking points:• Express your support for establishing 9/11 as a national day of service and remembrance. • Say that you are calling to urge the senator to introduce an amendment to the Kennedy-Hatch, Serve America Bill (S. 277) that would authorize support for establishing 9/11 as a national day of service and remembrance. This bill is now in committee and we need the senator to act as soon as possible. It would be good to include your own thoughts on why this is important to you. Please call and email if you can. The calls are most important.
2) Contact your local Representative in Congress.
To find your Representative's telephone number and email address go to: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/
Ask them to call Representative Carolyn McCarthy and Rep. George Miller and express their support for including the 9/11 day of service language in the proposed Give Act (H.R. 524). The House Committee is holding a hearing on this bill next week. Lastly, please spread the word to others....and ask them to help as well.


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Most people know some of the basic skills in a cook's arsenal, however many of the most important aspects of a great dish are overlooked because people simply do not know what they are. By reading this article, you will learn some very important tips that will help you improve in your cooking skills.
Perfect pasta every time. Never add oil to the water when you are boiling pasta. It prevents the sauce from coating the pasta properly. Just before you drain the pasta, set aside about 1/3 cup of the cooked pasta water. When you mix the sauce with the pasta, add a little of the cooking liquid. The starch in the water adds body and flavor to the sauce.
Always add oil to the side of the pan when sautéing. If you find that you need more oil in your pan while you are cooking, never put it right in the middle. Add it to the side of your pan. That way, it will be sufficiently heated by the time it reaches the food.
To improve your level of convenience in the kitchen, one of the things that you can do is to freeze the excess sauces that you create, in ice cube trays. This will allow you to reheat them when you need sauce again and also to save money on the excess sauce that you kept.
And of course having a beautiful and functional kitchen always helps – Alno Kitchens would be our recommendation for this
When trying out a new marinade or seasoning, test it on a small piece of meat before you cook the entire meal. Take care when seasoning foods like hamburgers, meatloaf or meatballs. You should not cook the dish entirely after seasoning it. You should cook a smaller patty first, so that you can make sure that the seasoning is delicious. After you have tested this piece, you can adjust the level of seasoning as necessary or cook the rest as is.
Make sure that when you are making your pasta, not to use oil in the water upon cooking. This will reduce the risk that the pasta will stick to the sauce, which can ruin the quality of your meal. Avoid oil in water when you are cooking pasta for maximum results.
If you've forgotten to soak your beans over night, quick soak them instead. Just put the beans in a very large pot and cover with water. Bring this to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for about two hours. This method is just as effective as an over night soak and can save you time.
If you want to add a unique touch to your dinner, use fruit as a side dish. Fruit will help to flush down the thick pieces of meat that you just ate and will serve to re-energize your body after consuming a lot of calories. Add oranges, pears and apples to your dinner to optimize your experience.
Quickly cooking vegetables allows them to retain much of their nutritional value. Taste and nutritional value suffer when vegetables are slow-cooked. These cooking techniques make the vegetables more healthy overall. It is worth it to take the time to use cooking methods that preserve the most nutrients.
Never use oil when you are boiling pasta. Try not to let any oil get in the pot when you are boiling water to cook your pasta. The oil will transfer to the pasta. This will leave the noodles slick, which means any sauce you put on them later will not stick.
Always continue to taste test all of your food as you cook them. Cooking a sauce, and you're not sure if it needs more salt? Just taste it and you'll know right away. Getting into a habit of testing all of your foods will keep you from accidentally over-spicing or under-spicing it.
When cooking a meal for vegetarians and non-vegetarians, make separate sauces can be the best way to make sure everyone has enough to eat and knows what they can eat. Make rice or pasta, then let guests choose from a meatless sauce and one with meat. A dish with multiple components saves you from having to make two separate meals, and it makes both meat-eaters and vegetarians happy.
By applying the tips learned above, you could easily increase your cooking skill with a little elbow grease. Expert cooking is not an unattainable goal even for a novice level cook. Take what you know, and what you have learned and go to your kitchen to try it out soon.


text:
Randy Moss heaps praise on 49ers' Colin Kaepernick
- Around the NFL Writer
- Published: Dec. 13, 2012 at 08:54 a.m.
- Updated: Dec. 13, 2012 at 09:25 p.m.
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Best Of :: Arts & Entertainment
McGrath, a Miami Beach resident and professor at Florida International University, moved here a few years ago and then set for himself a Whitmanesque challenge: Write a defining poem about his adopted home state. And then he had the temerity to call it "The Florida Poem." This piece, a highlight of the book, is long, sardonic, and conversational, and as the poem threads its way through the conquistadors and swamp-draining history it is often sad. But McGrath is a romantic optimist, and so he offers hope: "And yet, all it takes/is a day at the beach/to see the slate scrubbed clean/and scribbled anew/by the beautiful coquinas, to witness/the laws of hydraulics rendered moot by the munificent/tranquility of their variegated colonies/thriving amid the chaos of wave-break and overwash."
The Lincoln Theatre is intimate enough that everyone in the audience can watch artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas's expressions -- they tell the story. His enthusiasm and excitement about music are written all over his face, as when he introduced an evening of works by Soviet-era composers, part of the contemporary-music series he has put together for his youthful orchestra called Sounds of the Times. So you get lucky with a Shostakovich or two from a big, conservative orchestra. But three twentieth-century Russians in one evening? The series opened with a visiting conductor, Reinbert de Leeuw, who led the symphony through four modern French compositions, though Thomas's ardor for new music was clearly present. Then we had American Lukas Foss conducting his own work on his 80th birthday. Great stuff, but you don't have to wait for a special series like this one to come around. All season the orchestra plays fresh and fascinating concerts, from Mahler and Hindemith to Weber and Britten. Okay, so NWS has the dedicated funding that frees it from having to do Beethoven on the beach -- or anywhere else -- to stay in business. Still the mind for programming a gem like Sounds of the Times is rare, and Miami is lucky to have it. With visionary Thomas holding the baton we surely will be treated to more.
It seems shortsighted to begrudge the rain in a year following such a serious drought, but if the rain had to fall so infrequently, why did it always seem to pour on the Rhythm Foundation's outdoor summer concerts? Colombia's vallenato king, accordionist Alvaro Meza, was completely washed out of the 73rd Street bandshell and showers kept crowds away from a cardiac arrest-inducing performance by Congolese soukous star Diblo Dibala. And the elements had nothing to do with the terrible events of September 11, the global reverberations of which kept Senegal's superhero Youssou N'Dour not just off the stage at Level but away from our shores. Yet all was glory on the cloudless night when saxophonist Paulo Moura performed the old-time Brazilian ballroom music gafieira beneath the stars. And when the Rhythm Foundation teamed up with the Miami Light Project to bring Los Muñequitos de Matanzas to Miami for the first time in the Cuban folkloric institution's 50-year career, there was no greater pleasure to be found in this world or any other. Which just goes to show that the Rhythm Foundation can do more in a couple of shows than most presenters can manage in a full season.
She first dazzled the world, or at least her fifth-grade class, with her rendition of "Be a Lion" in an elementary school production of The Wiz. That might explain her courage. After scoring as a dance diva with "Miracle" in 1998, Henry has opted for a much more challenging career built not on the beat but on the shades of emotion the trained actress turned singer casts with her voice. As a songwriter -- even after September 11 -- Henry is not afraid to remind us of trouble in the home of the brave with her sizzling "Red, White, and Blues." Nor is she timid about identifying with the lowest of the low-down, looking at life "through the bottom of a bottle" in the heart-wrenching "Just Like Me." Henry is even a bit of a lioness when she performs standards, songs that before hearing her fearless reconstructions, we thought we knew. In her smoke and honey tones, "Georgia on My Mind" is all hazy afternoon seduction; John Lennon's "Imagine" is a Delta anthem; and an unplugged take on disco ditty "Bad Girls" is deeper than Donna Summer ever dreamed. Buoyed by the guitar wizardry of co-writer, collaborator, and straight man Lou Duzin, the visually and aurally striking Henry is the complete package: brash, brainy, brawny, beautiful.
The Lincoln Theatre is best known as the home of the New World Symphony (NWS), Michael Tilson Thomas's "training" outfit, who regularly blow their older Philharmonic peers out of the water. But as anyone knows who's caught a concert here when musicians of the NWS have hung their strings up for the night, the Lincoln is one of Miami's premier concert spots -- period. With stellar acoustics, comfortable seats, excellent sightlines, and a residual classical vibe that's stately without being stuffy, the Lincoln has provided a welcome home to visiting musicians as varied as Panamanian jazz pianist Danilo Perez and Cuban balladeers Los Fakires. The lack of live music venues is a continual local refrain -- here's hoping the Lincoln's management takes advantage of the NWS's summer hiatus to keep picking up the slack.
Guitarist Josh Sonntag and singer-songwriter Catty Tasso make for the perfect rock-and-roll marriage -- literally. When Tasso advertised for an axe man on a Guitar Center bulletin board in 1999, Sonntag offered her not only a pair of the best plucking hands in town but also his hand in matrimony. The happy ending is Moxi, a band that weds Tasso's hard-hitting rasp to Sonntag's sophisticated stylings in a refreshing brand of intelligent yet accessible rock. With drummer Frankie Martinez and bassist Raul Ramirez as attendants, the pair has been further blessed by the extracurricular participation of Estefan Enterprises young-gun producer Sebastian Krys, who takes a break from pop-polish to deliver Moxi's self-titled debut CD with powerful punch. Moxi captures the burning intensity of the band's live shows, where Tasso's voice breaks in perfect union with Sonntag's guitar mastery. Distributed across the Americas by indie enabler DLN and supported by an upcoming tour, Moxi may make this our last chance to hail Moxi as a local band. Mazel tov.
BEST BOOK BY A LOCAL AUTHOR: Florida Poems
By Campbell McGrath


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2012 Fliers' and Explorers' Globe Signing Ceremony, 10 April 2012, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation: Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova prepares to sign the Fliers' and Explorers' Globe as Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov looks on.
On April 10, 2012, two Russian Cosmonauts signed the globe in the very first globe-signing ceremony held out of the United States. Cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Valentina Tereshkova signed the globe in the presence of the Geography-elite of Russia. AGS President, Dr. Jerome Dobson represented the Members and Council of AGS and presided over the signing following an address by Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Russian Geographical Society's (RGS) Board of Trustees.
On March 18, 1965, Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov stepped out of his spacecraft, Voskhod 2, into history as the first human to walk in space. He floated near his tiny spacecraft for more than 12 minutes with his safety tether allowing him to range more than 5 meters away. This mission conclusively proved that a human being could survive in the hostile and technically challenging environment of extravehicular space. Leonov is one of the original space pioneers, having been selected in 1959 to serve with the first 20 cosmonauts. In 1975 he commanded the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, the first linking of Soviet and American spacecraft.
On June 16, 1963, Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. During her three-day mission on Vostok 6, Cosmonaut Tereshkova performed various tests on herself to study the female body's reaction to spaceflight. She orbited the earth 48 times and took photographs later used in studies of aerosol layers within the atmosphere.
The April 10th globe-signing was part of the Annual Meeting for the Russian Geographical Society's Board of Trustees. This meeting was held for the first time in the newly restored historic headquarters of the RGS in St. Petersburg. Besides the members of the Board of Trustees, in attendance were many of Russia's leading business executives as well as special guests from government and academia.


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Astronomers spot most earth-like planet yet
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Astronomers have discovered what they say is the most earth-like planet yet detected - a distant, rocky world that's similar in size to our planet and exists in the goldilocks zone where it's not too hot and not too cold for life.
Thursday's announcement excited planet hunters who have been scouring the milky way for potentially habitable planets outside our solar system.
NASA's Kepler telescope detected the planet. It's 10 percent larger than earth and orbits a red dwarf star 500 light-years away. It resides in the habitable zone around its star where liquid water may exist without freezing or boiling away.
While earth revolves around the sun in 365 days, this planet completes an orbit of its star every 130 days.
The discovery will appear in Friday's Science Journal.
Photo Credit Getty Images


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5 U.S. Code § 8420 - Insurable interest reductions
§ 8420.
Insurable interest reductions
At the time of retiring under section 8412, 8413, or 8414, an employee or Member who is found to be in good health by the Office may elect to have such employee's or Member's annuity (as computed under section 8415) reduced under paragraph (2) in order to provide an annuity under section 8444 for an individual having an insurable interest in the employee or Member. Such individual shall be designated by the employee or Member in writing.
The annuity of the employee or Member making the election is reduced by 10 percent, and by 5 percent for each full 5 years the individual named is younger than the retiring employee or Member, except that the total reduction may not exceed 40 percent.
In the case of a married employee or Member, an election under this section on behalf of the spouse may be made only if any right of such spouse to a survivor annuity based on the service of such employee or Member is waived in accordance with section 8416(a).
(Added Pub. L. 99–335, title I, § 101(a), June 6, 1986, 100 Stat. 532.)
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII.


text: Say WHAAAT!?! When I first contacted Justin about Rock Beyond Belief 2 my primary motivation was to meet other foxhole atheists. I can honestly say there are more of us out there than the numbers truly reveal! Most of us are just content to live and let live. Perhaps, in that, I am the exception [Read More…]


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This week's flight is going to take us over the second section of Genesis, which is biographical in nature and focuses on the lives of four key people. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. We'll travel through the time era known as the Age of the Patriarchs. If you look at your window, we'll be passing over Canaan and Egypt, Canaan is modern day Israel.
Genesis is also a book of firsts. The first time things are mentioned in the Bible, special significance should be given.
Here are some examples of things that were mentioned for the first time:
1. The first time husbandry is mentioned - 4:2
2. The first time agriculture is mentioned - 4:2
3. The first time offerings are mentioned - 4:3
4. The first time murder is mentioned - 4:3
5. The first time musicians are mentioned - 4:21
Keep a sheet of paper and write down the first time something of significance is mentioned in the Bible. Ask yourself these questions: Why are they important enough to be included in the Bible? What is the significance from God's standpoint? How does this apply to my life?
Creation, the Flood, the Tower of Babel
c. 2166 - 1991 B.C. .....
Abraham, born in Ur of the Chaldeans, lived 175 years
c. 2091 - 2090 B.C. .....
Abraham travels to Canaan
c. 2066 B.C. .....
Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed
c. 2066 - 1886 B.C. .....
Isaac, born to Abraham and Sarah, lived 180 years
c. 2006 - 1859 B.C. .....
Jacob, born to Isaac and Rebekah, lived 147 years
c. 1991 B.C. .....
Abraham dies in Canaan
c. 1915 - 1805 B.C. .....
Joseph, born to Jacob and Rachel, lived 110 years
c. 1897 B.C. .....
Joseph sold to Egypt
c. 1886 B.C. .....
Isaac dies in Canaan
c. 1876 B.C. .....
Jacob and his family move to Egypt
c. 1859 B.C. .....
Jacob dies in Egypt
c. 1805 B.C. .....
Joseph dies in Egypt
Genesis can be easily divided into two sections. The second section from Genesis 11:10 - 50:26 is biographical in nature and focuses on the lives of four key people. This time is also known as the Age of the Patriarchs. The setting for this section of Genesis occurs in Canaan and Egypt. Canaan is modern day Israel.
1. Abraham: 11:10 - 25:8
2. Isaac: 25:19 - 26:35
3. Jacob: 27:1 - 36:43
4. Joseph: 37:1 - 50:26
Salem - the ancient name for Jerusalem.
Sodom and Gomorrah - Mount Sodom is located at the south end of the Dead Sea. This is believed to be the location of the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Archaeologists have found cities turned to ash and evidence of millions of round golf ball sized sulfur balls.
Ur - The ruins of the ancient city of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, are located 140 miles south of Babylon in modern day Iraq near the Euphrates river. The site is now known as Tall al Muqayyar, Iraq. The great ziggurat of Ur is still standing.
Abram - Abram is the first name of Abraham. God changes Abram's name to Abraham. Abram means "exalted father." Abraham means "father of a multitude."
Ishmael - The son of Abraham and Hagar. Ishmael is a symbol of the work of the flesh in that Abram and Sarai did not believe that God would provide a son through their union. Sarai gives Abram her maidservant to bear a son. The descendents of Ishmael formed the nations from Egypt to Assyria, but were not the only tribes in the Arabian desert.
Melchizedek - The King of Salem during the time of Abram. Genesis describes Melchizedek as the priest of the most High God and Abram brings a tithe and offering to him. The mysterious appearance of Melchizedek lead most theologians to believe that this is a Theophony - an Old Testament appearance of Jesus.
CALENDAR YEAR - The Jewish calendar year is 360 days and based on a lunar cycle. Each month begins on the first sliver of light after a new moon (when the moon is completely dark). The Gregorian calendar year that we use is 365.2425 days and is based on the time it takes for the Earth to complete one orbit around the sun.
PENTATEUCH - Genesis is the first of five books referred to as the Pentateuch which means "fivefold vessels." The Jews refer to these five books as the Torah or "law." The five books include: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
COVENANT - A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties, some conditional and some unconditional. Conditional covenants were only binding when the conditions of the covenant were made. Unconditional covenants were made by a superior to someone lesser. It was based solely on the ability of the superior to fulfill the conditions of the covenant. God initiated eight covenants with man. Listed here are five of the eight covenants:
1. Abrahamic Covenant: This covenant is between God and Abraham. There are four elements to this covenant. (1) I will bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you, (2) You will be a Father of many nations, (3) I will be Your God, (4) God gives the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession. The sign of this covenant is circumcision. This covenant is unconditional.
2. Palestinian / Canaan Covenant: This covenant is between God and the nation of Israel. God promises that Israel would live in the land of Canaan that was given to them. This covenant is unconditional provided that certain conditions were met. (1) The nation would loose the land due to unfaithfulness, (2) Israel would be restored when they repented, (3) Israel will be converted as a nation, (4) Israel's enemies will be judged, (5) Messiah will return. This covenant is unconditional with conditional elements.
3. The Mosaic Covenant: This covenant is between God and the nation of Israel. It is based on the Mosaic law. If Israel obeys, they will be blessed and cursed if they disobey. This covenant is conditional.
4. The Davidic Covenant: This covenant is between God and David. (1) David's throne is established forever, (2) One of David's descendents would rule over Israel forever, (3) The Messiah would come through David's lineage. This covenant is unconditional.
5. New Covenant: This covenant is between God and the nation of Israel. (1) God will write his law in their minds and hearts, (2) God will forgive their iniquity, (3) God will restore the land to Israel, (4) God will give a new heart and Spirit, (5) God will restore relationship with Israel and live amongst them, (6) The Gentiles will be included in this covenant. The sign of this covenant is the Messiah. This covenant is unconditional.
Abraham's Journey from Ur


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HGTV designer and host Joe Ruggiero raffled off eight one-of-a-kind handbags at La Maison Interiors to benefit Fresh Start Women's Foundation.
The raffle featured original Joe Ruggiero designs made with decorative but durable Sunbrella fabrics. The bags varied in style to cater to every situation, from a sophisticated night on the town to a lazy afternoon on the beach.
Catering to all needs is similar to the goal of the Fresh Start Women's Foundation. Brandy Schade, self esteem manager for the foundation, says Fresh Start is a comprehensive center that helps women of all walks of life with a variety of fields. They offer everything from career coaching and legal counseling to providing professional wardrobes.
Alan K. Reinken, founder of La Maison Interiors, says he was happy to host and present "Fabric and Fashion for a Fresh Start" and thinks it is important for the store to give back.
Ruggiero agrees and has worked with the foundation before.
"I think it's a great benefit and idea, and I think anything that helps anyone, male or female, get a job these days is great," Ruggiero says.
Some of the bags offered at the raffle were work appropriate as well. The versatility of the bags was shown in a casual fashion show while guests enjoyed wine and hors d'oeuvres awaiting the announcement of the winners.
At the end of the night, all the money raised by the raffle was donated to the Fresh Start Women's Foundation.
"Fresh Start is thrilled to partner with La Maison and Joe Ruggiero, and we are flattered to be receiving some of the proceeds tonight at this event," Schade says.


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- 11:12 AM, Jul 22
On The Set of Movie Can a Song Save Your Life?
Photo credit: Ivan Nikolov / WENN
To fit your screen, we scale this picture smaller than its actual size. The original picture size is 1000x694 pixels and this photo has been viewed 3837 times since July 18, 2012


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5 Cold Weather Skin Care Myths Debunked!
Margot Grant Witz of Elizabeth Grant Skin Care dishes secrets to keep skin looking beautiful throughout cold winter months.
-Margot Grant Witz
The winds of change are upon us, and the temperatures have begun to drop: freezing cold floors in the morning are the worst! As a Canadian, I'm no stranger with dealing with cold weather. By this point in my life, I've learned to cope with icy roads and what static electricity does to my hair. I have also learned a thing or two on how to take care of my skin through this harsh season. You may think your winter beauty routine has been perfected, but the Elizabeth Grant team and I have studied hard to debunk the top myths for you!
Myth number 1: SPF is only for the summer time.
First of all, don't be fooled by the dwindling amount of sunlight during the day. SPF is not only for the summer time! This is the biggest myth out there. Even though the sun is shining the strongest in the summer time, it doesn't mean the sun isn't out for 365 days a year. Even on cloudy days, the sun can be damaging to unprotected skin. How? UVA rays penetrate even the thickest of clouds, and act as one of the most, if not the most potent aging factors in the environment. Use a SPF everyday of the year and in 10 to 20 years you and your baby-soft skin will thank me.
Myth number 2 : "I don't need to wash my face tonight. I'm not wearing any makeup. And it's cold… I haven't been sweating or anything!"
After the sun does go down, it's easy to curl up in a warm blanket and fall into a deep hibernation. But before you hit the sack, don't forget to wash your face, even if you're not wearing make-up or haven't sweated during the day. Even if you've been makeup free on a chilly fall day, dirt, oil and environmental residue can make you break out. Not a good enough reason? Think of it this way…all of the air you've hit throughout the day has particles in it, sticking to your skin. Once you lay down on your pillowcase, this dirt is transferred, and ready to breed bacteria. GROSS! Change your pillowcase weekly to avoid this, and hair-care residue transfer, from creating a prime pore clogging culprit.
Myth number 3: "I'm broke from holiday shopping and can't afford quality skin care that is expensive."
Holiday shopping got you and your budget for skin care products down? When it comes to skin care, it is not the packaging or the price that matters; it is the active ingredients. You don't have to spend tons of dough on products. Look for lower-priced brands that have these key ingredients: Collagen to firm, a combination of Salicylic Acid and Glycolic Acid to rid and prevent blemishes ands oil and Vitamin C to refresh your skin.
Read Ariel Tweto of 'Flying Wild Alaska' Dishes on Her Top Tips for Staying in Shape
Myth number 4: "I have good genes; I don't need a skin care routine."
So many people think that just because they have good genes means they don't need a skin care routine. They're wrong. Of course good genes go a long way, but by practicing a good skin care regime, this'll help make sure that the harmful effects of nature don't take their toll on your skin. Remember, skin care doesn't work overnight to take away or resolve your skin concerns, and if it does, its not long term. Have some patience, and within 4 to 8 weeks, you'll start to really see the difference.
Myth number 5: "My skin feels tight because it's cold out."
You may be tempted to assume that your skin is tight because it's cold out, don't be deceived by the change in temperature! Tight skin actually means your face is stripped of its natural oils, kicking your skin into overdrive. What does that mean? It means the appearance of your skin takes a toll. Fine lines may be more noticeable and your skin may break out due to having to produce more oil. All in all, listen to your skin. Skin care is about caring for your skin. Not harming it.
And there you have it, the Elizabeth Grant approved secrets for cold weather skin care are out! At the end of the day, we all have different skin needs, so curtail your regimen around your specific needs.
Tell us: what are the craziest skin care myths you've been told?


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How many times throughout the day have you taken notice to some form of pain, suffering, chaos, conflict or any other annoying activities? You may notice this either in your outer or inner environment, or both. If you do not notice anything at all then I suggest you check your heartbeat because you might be walking dead. For me, there are numerous times throughout the day where I witness and feel the "prick" of the world. Just the other day I was driving in LA; where the traffic, over populat … [Read more...]
Instant Relief with Adam C Hall
Symbiosis in Nature With Adam C. Hall
With out symbiosis (the interaction of two or more organisms for the benefit of all), nothing would exist on the planet earth. For example, Clownfish and the sea anemones have a symbiotic relationship. The sea anemone protects the clownfish from predators and provides food. The clownfish in return defends the sea anemone from predators and parasites. The symbiosis that occurs with trees and air give us life. Air is used in photosynthesis. It is composed of, 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% a … [Read more...]
Shedding Skin with Adam C. Hall
I would never thought that the snake holds valuable wisdom. However, when the snake sheds its skin all at once it shares a little secret about life. Each year the snake sheds its entire skin enabling it to release the old and stretch into the new.The epidermis,the skin, is the largest living aspect of the human body.Its function and value are beyond the scope of this blog. However, the skin of the snake metaphorically represents the amalgamation of pain, suffering,woundings, strife, an … [Read more...]
G.L.U.E. The Secret Sauce with Adam C. Hall
The first version of my self opened the gate of hell, the second version opened the gate of paradise. For most of this life, I lived in an on again off again hell. Much of it was spent managing the chaos, creating wealth, seeking self worth, and licking my wounds. There were moments of joy with family and friends, vacations abroad or reclining on the couch with a good book. However, life was a seesaw. I enjoyed rocking back and forth when I was young but as an adult, it quickly … [Read more...]
BE with Adam C. Hall
BE Be like the Tree Be the Peace Be like the Sun Be the Love Be like the Flower Be the Kindness Be like the Hummingbird Be the Forgiven Be like God Be the One Be, Be, Be Just Be your innocent, loving, magnificent Self Oh, won't you please just Be, Be, Be Adam C. Hall … [Read more...]
Un-Developing Imbalance with Adam C. Hall
Have you been tipping the scales of life lately? Do your often feel out of balance?Imbalance occurs in all facets of life. It could be your weight, or an imbalance in your emotional physical state of being, or chemical, financial, love life, and so on. Sadly,for many residents on our abundant planet, there is a steep imbalance in the basics such as, food, water and shelter. When balanced, Body, Mind, Spirit and Earth, are all working cohesively to support your hearts truest desire. When I r … [Read more...]
The E Factor with Adam C Hall
Balancing the Mind, Body, and Spirit (MBS), has long been advocated as a practice. For many of us, it's a mere concept. For 42 years of my life, MBS was nothing more than a slogan I saw in advertisements. Suddenly it dawned on me that through diet, exercise, and meditation, I could possibly find a balance in life. During the past ten years, as I have developed a more consistent practice of MBS, I realized that in order to achieve real balance, I needed to experience something more than just MBS. … [Read more...]
Rejection: A sign of Success with Adam C. Hall
I lost count of the number of times I have been turned down for one thing or another. Sometimes I really did not care. Screw them, I thought. Others times, however, I felt downright depressed. Rejection, being turned away as unacceptable, can have powerful and long lasting effects on the psyche. When perpetuated time and time again, it can destroy a sense of self worth. Rejection can cast a long shadow over relationships, work, and the connection to the inner and outer environment. Es … [Read more...]
The Elephant in the Living Room with Adam C. Hall
"May I come in?" The elephant is a gentle giant. They are the largest living terrestrial amimals. Male African elephants can reach a height of 13 ft and weigh 15,000 pounds. The elephant's large ears flap to control the temperature of its body. They live in a fission-fusion society where multiple family groups come together to commune and socialize. Elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild. They communicate by touch, sight, and sound. Elephants socialize over long distances wi … [Read more...]


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When I connect my Alfa usb device to the BT3 VM...the following commands work fine:
iwconfig wlan0 mode monitor
ifconfig wlan0 down
But if I do:
ifconfig wlan0 up
airmon-ng start wlan0
airodump-ng wlan0
They all just hang...can't ctrl-c out or anything...I have to disconnect the device from the VM.
I've used my Alfa usb flawlessly with both the cd and usb distros...so not sure what's up...assuming something to do with vmware?
Many thanks.
There are a couple issues with VM's and doing the strange things we do with USB wireless cards:
1. Your hardware needs to support USB 2.0
2. You need to upgrade your Virtual Machine (the image) to the latest version of VM that you are using (you need 6.0 or newer to fully support USB 2.0)
I use VM Workstation 6.5 and once I upgraded my image, most of the problems I was having went away.
There is more info on the aircrack-ng site about these issues.
Make sure you use the latest ver. of Vmware, it should works well and I dont have any problem with the Alfa or any usb base connection (mostly).
Agreed, updating the VM to 6.5 does help, no doubt, with the usb 2.0 support...and though I do still encounter occasional hangs, it's not nearly as bad as it was without the update...usually disconnecting and reconnecting the device sorts it out.
Found Deathray's post last night, so sorry for the redundant post.
Thanks for your replies.
And let me also state that BT3 in a VM is frickin awesome!
i'm using vmvare fusion, had the same problem as you, solution:
disable some kind of network manager in BT3, simply right click on the icon on the taskbar, and quit. everything works fine after that
Hello, i've been a lurker on these forums for a little while now & alot of these posts are very much helpful & Im quite thankful to all that are willing to spare that extra information someone may need! I'd like to shed light on this particular thread because I, also, am having this issue... I have downloaded the latest VMware Workstation 6.5.2 & I am using Backtrack 3 Final & also using the very popular Alfa AWUS036H I have been experiencing the EXACT same problems as Tornalis & I have downloaded the most recent VMware to see if this would fix my issue, but to no prevail. Is their anything that I may be missing? Any patch for BT3 that may be needed? Thank you.


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It was a sad day in The Shire on Friday, as Sir Ian McKellen completed filming his final scene in "The Hobbit" trilogy.
"Seconds ago we finished our last shot with Gandalf," director Peter Jackson posted on his Facebook page late Friday evening in New Zealand.
"The end of an incredible adventure that began in 1999," he added. "I'm feeling very sad right now."
WATCH IT NOW: Ian McKellen: How Does 'The Hobbit' Compare To 'The Lord Of The Rings'?
Peter posted a photo of himself next to a costumed Ian, with the two of them both looking a little down.
Ian first appeared as Gandalf in the "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" in 2011. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor award at the 2002 Oscars for the first film.
PHOTOS: Meet 'The Hobbit's' Dwarves!
"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," the second film in Peter's "Hobbit" trilogy, will be released on December 13, 2013.
The third film, "The Hobbit: There and Back Again," will drop on December 17, 2014.
-- Jolie Lash
Copyright 2013 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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^^^oh shiiiit!
whats going on here!?!? i dont even know!
Even dogs love it!
oh, fuck yes.... frogurt waffle cone.
Attachment 17875
One of my pictures. To the left of this little girl there's a yogurt eating bird that used to come into my shop.
and i thought i had seen everything, who knows what next weekend will hold
tony as a child (not much has changed)
maby some lemon drizzle cake?
you wanna bring cake into this? oh boy... thats a whole nother level of awesome!!!
mother fucking chocolate valentino cake with some fuckin coffee ice cream... YOU KNOW YOU FUCKING WANT IT.
i take it back, this thread was definetily what his dieing forum needed
well done 2mor
i spelt dieing wrong, twice
do you even know what this is??? no, you don't.
but i bet you wanna find out.
that is a homemade ice cream cake
you may never know.
viagra ice cream
octopus ice cream
everybody loves ice cream, even the negros!


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Sometimes, a film contains something so utterly bizarre that there's just no accounting for it. Whether it's pausing the action for a quick striptease or karaoke session or an attitude to physical science that can only be described as cavalier, here are the moments that made us double-take this year - along with a couple of short explanations of how these things came about from the people who made them happen.
Obviously, beware spoilers - and if in doubt, navigate from this landing page.
Film: Star Trek Into Darkness
What happens? Dr Carol Marcus (Alice Eve), new science officer on the USS Enterprise, has just revealed to Chris Pine's Captain Kirk that she came aboard under a false name (Wallace) and is actually Admiral Marcus' daughter. She has suspicions about the strange new torpedoes her father has developed, and to check them out safely, she needs to take a shuttle to a deserted rock and open one. Apparently she'll need to wear a flight suit for the trip – so she strips off her uniform in front of the commanding officer she's just met so she can change ASAP.
WTF? Possible excuses: there's some flirtation going on. Pop culture has it that the mere presence of James T. Kirk makes women's clothes fall off (he wasn't actually that much of a dog in the original series). Or maybe they're really casual about nudity in the 23rd century. The problem with those explanations: vanishingly few smart women 'flirt' by stripping; surely there's a time and a place for Kirk to work his mojo; if they were all that casual, she wouldn't express shock when he turns around a moment later.
Even the director and writers have admitted this was a gratuitous moment for the fanboys and apologised.
The lesson: If you're going to get one of your "strong female characters" naked, at least put a little thought into it.
Film: Only God Forgives
What happens? Every time that he tracks down another ne'er-do-well and makes Bangkok a little safer for law-abiding citizens, Vithaya Pansringarm's Lieutenant Chang unwinds with a little Thai karaoke at his favourite club, while his loyal officers sit around and listen to their hero. Truth is, he's not bad – his tone's a little thin in the higher registers, maybe – but even if he were, who's going to tell him?
WTF? Well, karaoke is wildly popular all over the world – Empire's been known to indulge – and especially in the Far East. So if you're going to let off steam, we suppose it's not a bad option. The real mystery here is Chang himself: audiences were slow to realise that Ryan Gosling's Julian is not the hero of the film; that's the endlessly moral, physically unstoppable police Lieutenant. Join in with him here.
The lesson: It takes a true hero to stand up and sing.
Film: Upstream Color
What happens? So there's a grub, and people dig it up and put it in a pill? Anyone who takes the pill becomes utterly obedient and might sign over their entire life, until the grub (now a worm) is dug out of their body and implanted into a pig? Later, a woman who was given this pill and lost everything meets a man who's been through the same experience, and they find the pig farmer? There are also some blue flowers by a river that seem to be part of the drug's cycle. And… stuff?
WTF? Darned if we know. The idea of casting something out of a human and into a pig seems Biblical, but the whole film focuses more on the life cycle of this mysterious, will-sapping drug and how it might be disrupted, while also offering a sort of love story between damaged people. In any case, this is the sort of film you're supposed to argue about afterwards, so let's chalk up our lack of understanding as a success for writer / director / star / producer / composer / editor Shane Carruth (who you can listen to on the Empire Podcast here), and note that we loved the film anyway.
The lesson: Don't do drugs? Or do. We're not sure.
Film: Fast And Furious 6
What happens? Michelle Rodriguez' Letty is propelled into the air when the tank she's road-surfing on (as you do) comes to a sudden stop due to the car it's dragging getting wrapped around a lamppost. Letty is thrown across the divide between motorway carriageways… but not to worry! Vin Diesel's Dominic Toretto is also surfing in his convertible, and launches himself into space where he catches her, spins around and lands back on the bonnet of a car, safely on his side of the road.
WTF? Honestly, we've had some top physicists in the office, wearing white coats and writing on windows, and none of them has been able to explain the laws of momentum and gravity in a way that accounts for all of this. The forces acting on the pair, the comparative weights of Diesel and Rodriguez and the velocity each had should surely have resulted in them both splatting to the ground hundreds of feet below, between the two bridges – and yet here we are, with pen marks blocking our view of the street and no closer to figuring it out.
The lesson: Newton was wrong. Justin Lin has rewritten the laws of physics.
Film: World War Z
What happens? At the end of the zombie movie, we learn that Peter Capaldi's character – who we meet at a World Health Organisation facility in Wales – is credited simply as W.H.O. Doctor. No big deal except that just six weeks later, on August 4, Matt Smith's successor as the star of Doctor Who was announced as… Peter Capaldi.
WTF? Coincidence, folks, or a really insane stunt to get BBC executives to consider his candidacy. We know Capaldi's a fan of Doctor Who: he's already played two characters in it and wrote a fan letter in his teens that's still on record – so we imagine he was pleased with his WWZ credit long before the BBC deal was finalised. But we're reasonably sure it's not the result of a series of time-travel escapades to totally change the end of Marc Forster's film in order to set up an elaborate joke. Probably.
The lesson: Subliminal advertising works, kids!
Film: The Hangover: Part III
What happens? Following the wedding of Alan (Galifianakis) and his blushing / aggressive bride Cassie (Melissa McCarthy), the Wolf Pack awaken some days later in the ruins of the wedding venue along with their nearest and dearest. There is chaos everywhere – but perhaps the biggest surprise is that the unfortunate Stu (Ed Helm) now has full, pouting breasts. And there we leave the franchise, apparently forever.
WTF? While it certainly one-ups extracting your own tooth or getting a full-face tattoo, we're not sure how plausible this is. While Empire is not personally experienced in breast augmentation, it's our understanding that you're talking about a serious medical procedure following which you'll spend quite some time with more bandages on your bosom than The Mummy. However many drugs Alan gave them this time, we're not convinced. And of course they're going for social realism so they'll be devastated by that.
The lesson: Don't do drugs, kids!
Film: This Is The End
What happens? Heaven according to the stars of this apoca-comedy looks a bit like the heaven of A Matter Of Life And Death or Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey: everyone wears a lot of white, and you meet interesting figures from history. Of course here all the women wear bikinis and there's more ganja than usual. Oh, and the music is provided by The Backstreet Boys, who launch into a rendition of 'Everybody (Backstreet's Back)' to really get the celestial party started.
WTF? We'll hand over to the Backstreet Boys themselves for this one, since they came into the office to explain the whole deal. Seriously.
listen to 'The Backstreet Boys on their appearance in This Is The End' on Audioboo
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The lesson: As long as there'll be music, they'll be comin' back again. In heaven.
Film: Behind The Candelabra
What happens? Everything is rolling along normally. Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are dating – as Liberace and his assistant Scott Thorson – when Lib decides that he needs a bit of a pick-me-up. In comes expert plastic surgeon Dr. Jack Startz (Rob Lowe) to make him look younger, boasting his own surgically augmented features. He looks – to put it kindly – like The Joker got a coathanger stuck in his mouth and then accidentally glued his eyelids shut while pulling his eyes towards opposing compass points. When your mum said that if the wind changed your face would get stuck like that, this is what she meant.
WTF? It took about an hour and 45 minutes to get Lowe looking like that every day, and he suffered migraines as a result of having his face so tightly taped up for long periods. The character is largely a creation of Lowe, Soderbergh and the script, since the surgeon on which he's based didn't look so extreme, but it's a wonderfully bizarre figure to put Lib's mere flamboyance into context.
The lesson: Stick to the natural look, please.
Film: Pain And Gain
What happens? In Michael Bay's adaptation of the true story reported in the Miami News, what's amazing is what he didn't add. Amid muscly men and pneumatic, scantily-clad women, an explosion or two and a number of instances of unsafe driving, Bay actually takes the time to remind us that the least believable stuff is actually true. They really did barbecue a human hand, for instance, in a lunk-headed attempt to dispose of evidence of a murder.
WTF? Seriously, that really did happen. The great shame of Pain & Gain is that people were hesitant to credit it with any relationship to real life because Michael Bay made it, but if you read the story itself, all the most ludicrous stuff basically came from court documents.
The lesson: Sometimes people are weird.
Film: Safe Haven
What happens? We know, by this point, that Julianne Hough's winsome fugitive is actually the battered wife of a corrupt cop rather than a fleeing murderer or something, but this Nicholas Sparks film has one more twist in the tale. It turns out that her new friend Jo, the girl next door, is in fact the ghost of the dead wife of hunky widower and Kate's love interest, Alex (Josh Duhamel)!
WTF? Yes, they Tyler Durden-ed his dead wife. It turns out she's been there, advising Hough's Katie, all along. On the bright side, this means that she can rest assured that she has his dead wife's blessing for her new relationship. On the down side, we imagine it could put a dampener on things if she sticks around past the wedding date.
The lesson: When making a new friend, poke them to check they're real, and insist on introducing them to other people to be sure they're universally visible.
Film: This Is The End
What happens? Yes, it's a second entry for This Is The End, but both these developments were so thoroughly weird that they earned their place. As the Biblical apocalypse continues, Our Heroes venture outside in search of food, water and a chance at the Rapture. Instead, they find Danny McBride holding a semi-naked and utterly sanguine Magic Mike on a leash and insisting that he exchange sexual favours for (human) meat.
WTF? We'll let Goldberg and Rogen explain this one. As far as it can be explained...
listen to 'Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg on Channing Tatum's cameo in This Is The End' on Audioboo
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Film: Man Of Steel
What happens? After laying waste to huge swathes of Metropolis and Smallville in his attempts to terraform Kryton-form the Earth, Zod (Michael Shannon) has seen his ship and team destroyed. But he's still swinging at Superman (Henry Cavill). The pair rampage through the city, but when they crash to a halt in Metropolis Central Station, Zod threatens a human family with his heat vision and Superman reacts under pressure by snapping the General's neck.
WTF? In Kal-El's defence, he's making a split-second decision under extreme circumstances after a difficult few days, and Zod seems to have a death wish by this point, which is perhaps unsurprising given the destruction of all he holds dear and his whole crazy honour code. Superman is also acting to save innocent lives (for the first time in about an hour, mutter mutter). But the fact remains that Superman, icon of truth, justice and the American way, just straight-up executed someone. Find out just why director Zack Snyder and writer David S. Goyer did it on our special Man Of Steel spoiler podcast.
The lesson: Nobody's hands are clean, we guess.
Film: Don Jon
What happens? Jon (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and Barbara (Scarlett Johansson) go on a date to the cinema, where they see a film called Special Someone. The poster advertises that its stars are Conner Verreaux and Emily Lombardo, but hold on just a cotton-pickin' minute: that's really Channing Tatum and Anne Hathaway!
WTF? It helps to have famous friends when making your directorial debut, we guess – and both Tatum and Hathaway have shown willing to poke fun at themselves in the past. In this case, they recorded the scenes from their execrable-looking fake rom-com in a couple of days to help Gordon-Levitt's film. You'll never look at Dear John or Love And Other Drugs the same way again.
The lesson: When making a movie-within-a-movie, make sure to recruit real movie stars.
Film: Thor: The Dark World
What happens? There you are, merrily watching the Thor sequel and just about supressing the urge to question all this cosmic-alignment and aether stuff, when the mid-credits scene takes an abrupt left turn and we see Sif (Jamie Alexander) and Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) bring a small container holding the aether to a mysteriously-wigged figure played by Benicio del Toro. Who the heck is this guy? And what the heck is going on with his make-up?
WTF? That, of course, is Taneleer Tivan, The Collector, and del Toro's character in James Gunn's upcoming Guardians Of The Galaxy, Marvel's barmy space-opera adventure. The Collector is an Elder of the galaxy and about 3 billion years old, and occupies his days collecting (hence the name) objects of particular significance. The film features the same interestingly-hued aliens that you see briefly here, and stars a talking raccoon and talking tree with a one-phrase vocabulary, so it's a risk to say the least, but it also looks like bags of fun, and del Toro's weird little cameo here just made us more intrigued.
The lesson: Remember to stay through the credits of a Marvel movie.
Film: White House Down
What happens? John Cale (Channing Tatum, in an incredible third WTF moment this year) is a US Capitol police officer assigned to guard the Speaker Of The House. But on arriving to collect his boss one morning, he takes time out to berate a squirrel that has taken to raiding the politician's bird house, pleading with the rodent to leave so that Cale won't have to shoot him. Um.
WTF? It's just an attempt to inject some humour into the film before all the action kicks off – and in fairness, Tatum kind of sells it. His likeably meatheaded and slightly self-deprecating air means that he can get away with the sort of ridiculousness that would die a million deaths if any of the other action leads out there tried it (except, perhaps, his G.I. Joe: Retaliation co-star The Rock). Still, we are watching a grown man attempt to intimidate a squirrel by showing it his gun, so it's a weird moment even by the standards of Roland Emmerich films.
The lesson: Always try to negotiate first, then blow that big-tailed sucker away.
Film: One Direction: This Is Us
What happens? Martin Scorsese is the Oscar-winning, universally acclaimed director of such films as Raging Bull, Goodfellas and The Departed, the man who made notable music documentaries like Shine A Light and The Last Waltz. He's an authority on cinema history and a major force in film preservation. And then he turned up in the One Direction documentary and every parent in the audience who'd been dragged along by their offspring went, "EH?"
WTF? Well, Scorsese also has a daughter who appears to be a fan of the band, so he attended their Madison Square Garden gig and apparently got invited backstage – and you'd expect the red-carpet treatment for such a luminary. It's also worth remembering that the director of the film is respectable documentarian Morgan Spurlock, so it's possible he talked him into it. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is that the film is actually OK, even when you put Scorsese's cameo to one side.
The lesson: "I've been listening to your stuff. I like it!" Scorsese tells the band. Maybe we need to give these guys another chance?
Film: We're The Millers
What happens? David Clark (Jason Sudeikis) is a drug dealer posing as a family man on vacation in order to smuggle a large amount of pot across the US / Mexican border. His 'family' includes Kenny (Will Poulter), David's neighbour, who has an unfortunate episode where a tarantula that stowed aboard their RV in a fruit basket gets loose, crawls up Kenny's trousers and bites him on the unmentionables. He suffers an allergic reaction to the bite, and drops trou to reveal a ballsack swollen to the size of a grapefruit that makes everyone in the audience physically recoil in horror.
WTF? The good news is that there is no reliable record of a tarantula bite causing a human fatality, but that's probably cold comfort to Kenny, or Kenny's privates. You will be profoundly relieved to know that this was a prosthetic – ain't nobody going method for something like this – but it's still one of the most extreme scenes in the film and an unexpected moment even by the standards of modern comedies, which don't generally shy away from gross-out humour.
The lesson: Spiders are bad.
Film: Sunshine On Leith
What happens? A drunken Edinburgh bum stumbles out of a pub – which is full of punters busy singing The Proclaimers' 'Over And Done With' like they're in some sort of musical – swiftly hiccoughs, then farts. Loudly. You can't believe you've just heard what you've just heard, and check around the cinema to see if you can spot any guilty-looking faces, but no, it's true, you've just watched an old soak toot a very loud toot – and that old soak is played by the film's director, Dexter Fletcher.
WTF? Soap himself, The Man Who Was Babyface, the proper-serious-grown-up director of Wild Bill (where he cameos as someone called 'Mysterious Barry'), has farted in your general direction. The way Fletcher himself tells it on the Empire Podcast, he was forced into the cameo by his director of photography, George Richmond, and he didn't go method. For a similar WTF moment in another Edinburgh-set film released in 2013, check out the madder-than-a-bag-of-spanners dream sequence in Filth, where David Soul plays a cabbie and everyone sings 'Silver Lady'.
The lesson: Farts are still funny, no matter how much you want to believe otherwise.
Film: Django Unchained
What happens? Lara-Lee Candie Fitzwilly (Laura Cayouette) is very much on board with her brother Calvin's (Leonardo DiCaprio) slave-owning ethos, so while it's a shock to see Django (Jamie Foxx) turn his shotgun on her when she tries to interfere with his vengeance, it's not exactly an unwelcome one. The real surprise is when the hit causes her to fly backwards about 15 feet as if propelled from a cannon.
WTF? It's almost certainly down to Quentin Tarantino's commitment to giving Django's bloody revenge as much operatic scope as possible – even if that does mean displaying a flagrant disregard for the normal laws of physics. And hey, maybe physics were different in the 19th century; did you ever think of that?
The lesson: Don't trust the scientist, trust in QT.
Film: After Earth
What happens? It's an alien beast that hunts humans by literally sensing their fear. But how? When Kitai (Jaden Smith) overcomes his fear, he instantly becomes invisible to the beast, despite the fact that he's been terrified for several days and presumably stinks of terror. While we're at it, how come everything on Earth has evolved so fast when it's only been a thousand years? And why are they so vicious to humans when there haven't been any for a millennium (possibly a Willenium)?
WTF? The ursa really only work as a metaphor and not even remotely as an actual way of hunting people. If the alien civilisation that created them could add the ability to psychically sense fear or whatever, couldn't they make that an extra sense and not a substitution? How can they know humanity well enough to spot how we get scared and not also spot eyes and ears and useful things like that to work with instead? It doesn't make any sense on a story level, but as a physical representation of our own weaknesses, it's a good bit stronger.
The lesson: Emphasise the "sub" in "sub-text" and make sure it all works on the upper level too.
[]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p2%29 [![Only God Forgives]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-2.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p3%29 [![Upstream Color]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-3.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p4%29 [![Fast And Furious 6]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-4.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p5%29 [![World War Z]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-5.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p6%29 [![The Hangover: Part III]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-6.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p7%29 [![This Is The End]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-7.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p8%29 [![Behind The Candelabra]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-8.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p9%29 [![Pain And Gain]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-9.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p10%29 [![Safe Haven]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-10.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p11%29 [![This Is The End]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-11.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p12%29 [![Man Of Steel]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-12.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p13%29 [![Don Jon]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-13.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p14%29 [![Thor: The Dark World]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-14.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p15%29 [![White House Down]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-15.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p16%29 [![On Direction: This Is Us]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-16.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p17%29 [![We're The Millers]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-17.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p18%29 [![Sunhine On Leith]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-18.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p19%29 [![Django Unchained]%28/images/uploaded/wtf-moments-in-movies-2013-19.jpg%29]%28http://www.empireonline.com/features/2013-biggest-movie-wtf-moments/p20%29


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Amanda and Shane Garrett of Trenton announce the birth of a son Zackery Adma Garrett, born March 4, 2008.
The baby weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces.
Grandparents are Angie and the late Clinton Garrett of Fanning Springs, Shirley and Bobby Stickle of Trenton and Suzie and Mike Johnson of South Carolina.
The baby has an older brother Dalton.
Tasha and John Gulledge of Chiefland announce the birth of a son Payton Allan Gulledge, born Dec. 19, 2007 at North Florida Regional.
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With Thor hitting theatres on May 6, the announcement has finally been made that Tales of Asgard will see the light of day on May 17. Pre-orders for the single disc DVD and the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack are now up on Amazon.
The story will go back to Thor's earlier years, before he ever lifted his mighty hammer. It follows the upstart god's quest for the legendary Lost Sword of Surtur. To help in the search, Thor teams up with his loyal brother Loki, a budding sorcerer with a knack for conjuring up trouble, and the fabled Warriors Three, a band of boastful travelers. But what starts out as a harmless treasure hunt quickly turns deadly, and Thor must now prove himself worthy of his destiny by saving Asgard itself.


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Female engineers should get creative
An enhanced focus on creativity in engineering along with a reduced emphasis on classical tool collection may encourage women students to remain in the profession.
The November 2013 editorial "Wanted: Female Engineers" prompts this piece. I'm a chemical engineering professor, the husband of a female engineer, the father of two daughters, the grandfather of five females, and the great-grandfather of six great-granddaughters. Thus, from personal experience, the question "Are females different from males?" is easy to answer. Young or old, they most certainly are! So it should be no surprise to find that female engineers are also different from their male counterparts, before and after formal graduation. But do we want female engineers to be different?
Of course we do, because the profession needs different approaches for all problems—and women can supply these. However, it seems to be well-established that only about one-tenth of employed engineers are women and this fraction clearly should be substantially greater. Unfortunately, the dropout rate of women students in the engineering disciplines is high, and this must be reduced if the total number of female engineers in the profession is to be augmented.
To encourage women to enter and remain in this currently male-dominated profession, this gender difference must be recognized and rewarded. How is this to be done? Unfortunately, there are many adverse misconceptions out there, discouraging women, propagated by the President on down, that must be dispelled. Foremost among these is the propagandizing use of the acronym STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), which is widely proclaimed to be the key to an engineering career in the future.
Notwithstanding this misinformation, ask yourself: Could either the President or the First Lady solve a differential equation today? Recall that when undergraduates, both on their way to law school, taking math, chemistry, or physics was mandatory. However, these are only tools. They're very wonderful and powerful, but still just tools. Often, like the fancy screwdriver in a toolbox, they're never used.
Ideas are actually needed in real life as well as in an engineering career. These originate from creativity. This is a mental quality that every girl and woman already possesses and only needs to be released by encouragement. An engineer, male or female, can go for years without using some of the tools learned in formal classes, but creativity is demanded every day. Here is an important example that every female engineer can contemplate without being "good" at math, physics, or chemistry: "What will the diaper look like 10 years from now?"
Stimulating questions like this are asked at the University of Washington Chemical Engineering Department in Seattle, as part of a Creativity & Innovation course that is taken by some 200 students every spring quarter. A related online offering, Creativity & Society, is now available fall, winter, and summer.
About half of the students in these classes are young women. The class requirements include keeping a "creative idea diary" where items of creativity are recorded daily. In the wrap-up class evaluations, women often state how much they have enjoyed this assignment. Comments like this do not turn up in conventional STEM class evaluations. For the midterm exam, all students must select one of their 50 or so new ideas and define the first innovation step needed to carry the idea forward to reality. An account of what happened when this was attempted is the basis for the final exam. Again, women students report especially enjoying the novel challenges of the combination of creativity and innovation in the midterm and final exams, rather than the typical regurgitation of old problems called for in standard STEM tests.
Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX and a key player at other companies, was recently featured on CNN's GPS with Fareed Zakaria. In the interview, which focused on how truly creative people excel, Musk said that, in regard to creativity, "the first order of business is to try." He went on to explain that "You have to think until your brain hurts." Without creativity—and a good solid education in physics or engineering—new concepts will not be created.
Although only anecdotal, these observations over many years suggest that an enhanced focus on the importance of creativity in engineering together with a reduced emphasis on classical tool collection would encourage women students to remain in the profession. Why? Because exercising one's creativity every day is exciting as well as fun. Together engineering then becomes an enjoyable career for women and a female engineer a more valuable person in any organization.
Graham Allan is a professor in the chemical engineering department and in the college of the environment of the University of Washington in Seattle. He has written more than 300 technical articles and book chapters, has been awarded about 70 patents, and consults for both industry and federal authorities.
Log in or create an account to submit your comment for this article.
Are you kidding??
As one of the "females" in the engineering field, technical ability is not the primary reason women leave. It's beliefs like this that say we are different, less capable, less interested in participating. It's not only the college environment- it's the workplace especially. How many times have I been passed over for field work because it's assumed I don't want to "get dirty" (read: experience), spoken to differently (read: inclusion), and been told that I am somehow more special than other women for embarking on, and staying in, an industry that interested me, despite these managerial offenses.
Creativity is always a welcome commodity in any engineering field, but curiosity based in science is better. In either case, don't ever pretend that science can be replaced, and don't weaken the field by allowing graduates who do not excel in these areas. Would you employ a firefighter even if she couldn't carry the equipment? Of course not. But you would if she was able to carry you out of that burning building. The question is, would she stay if she was treated as "other"?
The answer to women remaining in engineering as much about engaging girls early in their schooling as it is about treating them fairly and equally in the workplace. Success means asking them and requiring them to participate, showing students what is possible and employees what is required. It means listening to their ideas with the same level of intention as their male counterparts. It means not fearing that they'll take their manager to HR if they interact more than once a week.
One of the best aspects of math and science is that equations and equipment don't care what gender you are. An unfortunate aspect of people is that some of them care very much, and write articles like this. So don't pretend women don't continue in engineering because they can't. Can't and Won't are very different things.
Jennifer Thurber, PE
Senior Mechanical Engineer
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Annual Salary Survey
Before the calendar turned, 2016 already had the makings of a pivotal year for manufacturing, and for the world.
There were the big events for the year, including the United States as Partner Country at Hannover Messe in April and the 2016 International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago in September. There's also the matter of the U.S. presidential elections in November, which promise to shape policy in manufacturing for years to come.
But the year started with global economic turmoil, as a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing triggered a worldwide stock hiccup that sent values plummeting. The continued plunge in world oil prices has resulted in a slowdown in exploration and, by extension, the manufacture of exploration equipment.
Read more: 2015 Salary Survey


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DETROIT (AP) — Matthew Stafford's 1-yard lunge over a pile of linemen with 12 seconds left and Calvin Johnson's 329 yards receiving lifted the Detroit Lions to a 31-30 comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Stafford threw a 22-yard pass to Johnson, who had the second-most yards
receiving in NFL history, to set up his winning score. The quarterback
seemed to catch his hometown Cowboys by surprise — some of them
appeared to expect him to spike the ball.
Johnson's total trails only the 336 yards receiving Flipper Anderson
had for the Los Angeles Rams against New Orleans on Nov. 26, 1989, in a
game that went into overtime.
The Lions (5-3) overcame four turnovers and a 10-point deficit in the
fourth quarter against Dallas (4-4).
Kansas CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Smith threw for 225 yards and two
touchdowns, and the Kansas City Chiefs held off the scrappy Cleveland Browns late in the fourth quarter to preserve a victory and remain the
NFL's lone undefeated team.
The Chiefs (8-0), off to their best start since 2003, built a 20-7 lead
late in the first half before the Browns (3-4) made it a game.
Jason Campbell, starting in place of the ineffective Brandon Weeden,
threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns for the Browns.
The Chiefs kept stopping the Browns down the stretch. They forced a
turnover on downs with just over 2 minutes left, and Ryan Succop kicked
his third field goal in the closing seconds to help seal the victory.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Drew Brees passed for five touchdowns and 332 yards,
and the New Orleans Saints pulled away for a victory over the Buffalo Bills.
Saints tight end Jimmy Graham played after missing practice most of the
week with a left foot injury and scored on 13- and 15-yard passes over
the middle, powering through tackles at the goal line both times.
Rookie Kenny Stills had touchdowns of 69 and 42 yards for the Saints
(6-1) and Lance Moore snagged a 15-yard scoring pass in his return from
a hand injury that sidelined him three games.
Thad Lewis was sacked four times, intercepted once, lost two fumbles
and appeared shaken up at times, but stayed in the game for the Bills
(3-5), finishing with 234 yards passing and one touchdown. Buffalo's
Fred Jackson scored on a 1-yard run.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots shook off a dismal
first half and another mediocre performance by Tom Brady to beat the
Miami Dolphins.
Trailing 17-3 after gaining just 59 yards in the half, the Patriots
quickly turned the game around in the third quarter with two touchdowns
in a span of seven plays.
The Patriots (6-2) outscored the Dolphins (3-4) in the third quarter
17-0. Miami lost its fourth straight game.
Brady completed 13 of 22 passes for just 116 yards, but threw a 14-yard
touchdown pass to Aaron Dobson with 6:32 gone in the third quarter that
began the comeback.
LONDON (AP) — Colin Kaepernick led the way with his arm and with his
feet, throwing for one touchdown and running for two more to lead the
San Francisco 49ers over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium.
Kaepernick ended up with 164 yards passing and 54 yards rushing, and
Frank Gore also ran for two scores for the 49ers (6-2).
The Jaguars (0-8) were the "home" team at London's iconic soccer venue,
playing in the British capital for the first of their four-year run of
regular-season NFL games in London. It was the eighth regular-season
NFL game at Wembley, the home of England's national soccer team, and
the second this year. The Minnesota Vikings beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-27 last month.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Josh Brown kicked a career-high five field goals,
Eli Manning played error-free and the New York Giants beat the
Philadelphia Eagles.
Michael Vick returned for the Eagles (3-5) after missing 2½ games with
a hamstring injury, but clearly wasn't healthy and was removed for
rookie Matt Barkley late in the second quarter.
The Giants (2-6) snapped an eight-game road losing streak while
extending Philadelphia's home losing streak to 10 games. The Eagles'
last win at the Linc was over the Giants on Sept. 30, 2012.
Chip Kelly's high-flying offense that racked up at least 425 yards in
each of the first six games has been grounded. The Eagles followed a
17-3 loss to Dallas with another poor offensive effort. They had just
201 yards of offense and have totaled 479 the past two weeks.
NFL Capsules: Week 8
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