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Are you worried about the impact a second lockdown is having on your mental health? We asked Tory Adams, a Specialist Mentor in Marjon's Student Support team, to share some tips for taking care of ourselves.
- Make a list of positive things you can do and choose different things from it depending on how you feel. Discuss with others what you might add to it as this could help you both.
2. Try to exercise. Set targets of how many times you go up and down the stairs if you are unable to go out due to self-isolating or shielding. If you have limited mobility try lighter adapted exercises such as our low mobility workouts.
3. The main thing is setting goals that suit you and being kind to yourself. Know that it is OK if you need to adjust your goals for different days depending on how you are doing.
4. Listening to music, reading or watching TV can be so important for many of us. Have some favourite music/books/tv to hand and make time to enjoy something every day. The days we least want to do something we may usually enjoy can be the days we most need it most.
5. Likewise arts, crafts and drawing are a creative outlet and a definite must for some people. Try some drawing time, it's arguably one of the best distractions.
6. Recognise what you are able to do, and what is within your control, no matter how small those things might seem. Remind yourself of them. This idea always reminds me of the serenity prayer which goes:
"God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference."
7. Arrange a time to talk, video call or meet outside with a friend, colleague or family member. Don't just wait for it to happen as it can be easy for the whole day to pass by if you don't make a plan.
Study and online group work can be a positive distraction too. Arrange to meet with course mates via MS Teams while you are on campus less, or suggest people stay online for post lecture catch ups.
8. Set yourself small goals and recognise when you have achieved them; watch back that lecture, try that recipe, do that washing, go for that walk, play with the dog!
9. Having a routine – even a flexible routine – that includes selfcare can be really helpful for some people. It may be really small things like ensuring you get 10 minutes outside each day or that you open all the curtains by 10am. Others prefer a very structured routine with regular bed and wake times. It really does depend on the individual; consider what works best for you, try a routine and you can always change it until it feels helpful to you.
10. Check out the wellbeing resources in the student handbook – you'll find lots of useful links including to Student Minds, Devon Mind and sleep resources.


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The "Tzedek Boxes: Justice Shall You Pursue" group exhibit opened January 25, 2023.
The work is inventive and thoughtful.
My piece, "Ha Lamaot (The Whys)" is featured on ejewishphilanthropy's Your Daily Phil 1/25/23 Pic of the Day (scroll down on web page almost to the end)
The show has been extended through June, 2023.
The HUC Heller Museum (Backman Gallery, downstairs)
1 West 4th Street, NYC
Admission is free. Proof of Covid vaccination required.
Open Monday to Thursday, 9:30AM-5:30PM
Listen to short Artists' Statements posted on Heller Museum on the BLOOMBERG CONNECTS App

subset: commoncrawl


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His effort is part of a decades-long Bogotá-based nation-building mission to mine the music of coastal areas, pioneered by artists like Ivan Benavides, once a Carlos Vives bandmember; Richard Blair, a British expatriate who founded his group Sidestepper with Bogotá-based musicians; and Bomba Estéreo, whose keyboardist and programmer Simón Mejía recently premiered "El Duende," a short documentary about an African-descended family that makes marimbas and lives on Colombia's Pacific Coast.
"Meridian Brothers and El Grupo Renacimiento" has a stripped-down aesthetic, which is the essence of salsa itself — an uptown, urban genre born after the decline and fall of the flashy big-band Palladium Mambo era, much like punk arose in the wake of grandiloquent British progressive arena rock. Álvarez focuses most of his attention on a dubby, echoing psychedelic electric guitar and tinny keyboards, supplemented by a synched-in rhythm section of timbales and congas. You can hear hints of West African highlife and Congo-derived soukous, a hybrid of Cuban rumba.
With his skanking guitar marking time at the center of the riffs, Álvarez's lyrics comment on police brutality ("La Policía"), the purity of roots salsa ("Poema del Salsero Resentido") and concern over nuclear weapons ("Bomba Atómica"). "Descarga Profética," which imagines a Bogotá salsa jam as an ancient Greek algorithm with African influences, dizzily riffs on the 1930s Cuban classic "El Manisero."
In the mockumentary, Artemio Morelia says that his bandmates' interests ranged from vallenato to Italian ballads, but that he felt compelled to play the kind of lo-fi, roots salsa practiced by the '60s Venezuelan group Federico y su Combo (who released a song called "Llegó la Salsa," one of the first to mention the term, in 1967). He also cites Ray Pérez, the legendary Afro-Puerto Rican bandleader Rafael Cortijo, and most importantly, Brooklyn's Lebrón Brothers, a group central to the creation of salsa that evolved from early experiments with English-language, Cuban-derived boogaloo and hit its stride with "Salsa y Control" in 1969, yet saw little commercial success.
"I identify with the rejection that the Lebrón Brothers experienced in their time," Álvarez said. "I was attracted to their way of playing, the aggressiveness, but also their slowness, their introverted-ness."


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Himachal Pradesh
This largely hilly and mountainous state to the north of Delhi is home to several iconic hill stations and while travel here is inevitably slow due to the sometimes tortuous roads, the rewards are significant.
Himachal Pradesh City Guide
Most famous of all the hill stations here is probably Shimla which served as the summer capital for the British Raj towards the end of their imperial period. Other noteworthy get away from it all spots include Manali where the forests stretch right down to the edges of the town and Lahaul and Spiti with their serene Buddhist.
Shimla can be approached on the Himalayan Queen 'toy train' which ascends steeply from the plains below an unforgettable journey.
Easier to reach, in the west of the state, you'll find picturesque Dalhousie and, at McLeod Ganj, the home of the Tibetan Government in exile.
Most of these places are best visited between late February and early May (crowds build up to bursting point as the main Indian summer holiday start in May). The monsoon months from June to September see access problems due to slips and so on.
Himachal Pradesh Packages
Himachal Pradesh Tourist Attraction
Popular Cities To Visit in India
Only a few countries in the world can be at par with the diversity of India which has everything a global traveler looks for


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Eureka Scented Stickers Booklet
Looking for a lot of scratch and sniff stickers? This Sticker Booklet includes 304 scented stickers (Bubble Gum, Strawberry, Jelly Bean, & Pizza) featuring fun designs! Each sticker has praise words on them.
- 4 different scents - 2 sheets of each scent.
- 304 total stickers/8 sheets
- Conveniently packaged in an easy to use pad
- Scented stickers
- Recommended for age 3+
- Great for Teachers
- Made by Eureka


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He thought he told you that he won't stop! Puff Daddy has once again re-upped his Bad Boy Entertainment with a new deal that promises to bring new music from the Hip-hop label.
Puff has just inked a new deal with Epic Records to handle distribution, promotion, marketing and sales, according to a press release.
L.A. Reid, the current CEO of Epic, made a statement in the release that reminded fans of the personal and professional history that the two music moguls have with each other. "[Puff] and I have been musical collaborators since the 1990s, when we both ran independent record labels. Over the years, we not only enjoyed incredible success together, but we also became lifelong friends." Many music industry enthusiasts remember that Bad Boy's first major label deal was through Arista Records, which at the time was also home to L.A. Reid's LaFace Records.
Read entire story here.


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Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we're up to by signing up here.
Starlet Shiva Rose is The Chalkboard's November guest editor. Taking a note from her blog The Local Rose (which she affectionately calls a "Hippie Goop"), the LA-based actress/activist will grace Pressed Juicery's health blog with insights on "vintage fashion, local artisans, organic recipes and natural beauty products." [The Chalkboard; Previously]


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When the weather is too cold to be comfortable, your home needs protection just like your body. Instead of wrapping it in a jacket, however, you can use these tips for preparing your home for winter.
1. Fix Your Appliances
If you've been hearing odd squeaks from your basement, it's time to get them fixed. A professional company devoted to heating and cooling in Neenah, WI, can help you, and they can get your furnace, boiler, thermostat and zone controls in good working order. All that it takes is a home visit.
2. Seal the Cracks
Have you noticed a draft? It's much more than an inconvenience. You could be losing hundreds of dollars per year because of a cracked window or faulty weather stripping on a door. To save money, pull out the caulk and get to work.
3. Improve Your Insulation
Insulation is one of your best weapons against a harsh winter, and it's much easier to install than you might think. You don't need an expensive overhaul of your entire house. You can get started with simple foam insulation in an attic that will trickle the warmth down and help everyone stay toasty.
These are just a few tips for winterizing your home. For more information, contact Bob's Quality Heating and Cooling. They're one of the premiere companies for heating and cooling in Neenah, WI, and they can help you with everything from furnace fixes to new HVAC pumps.


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Aug 27, 2020
Welcome to episode 43 of Activist #MMT. Today I talk with third year MMT activist, Andrea Granger, who is an economics major and environmental activist based in the UK. Andrea and I first talk about the dark reality of climate change and how she and other millennials like her suffer from what she calls "eco grief" because of what is becoming increasingly likely. She discovered MMT in 2017 and said it first appealed to her because she wanted it to be true. After diving into its twenty-five years of academic literature, she's now convinced that it is.
Andrea is currently pursuing a degree in politics philosophy, and economics at Open University. She describes how she deals with learning what is obviously wrong, primarily because it is what is necessary in order to get a job. Her experience inspired me to give my own reflection on how late UMKC professor Fred Lee's 2006 book, the History of Heterodox Economics, had a great influence on me and this podcast.
We also talk about how Andrea spent eight months living in a plot of land in order to block the expansion of Heathrow airport. This protest has been going on for eight years and involves literal tree houses and skinny tunnels in order to prevent invasion by tractors and otherwise; and bike powered showers, meditation, and obtaining not too old food from local restaurants.
We talk about how society currently reward selfishness, greed, and destruction, and how a MMT is only one element on the facet of the gemstone that is the truth, and without knowing the truth, it is not possible to know that there even is a problem, let alone determine and then execute its solution.
Finally, you can see Andrea's 2018 article about sustainable prosperity at the Gower initiative website. [A link to which can be found in the show notes.]
Before we get started a correction: Near the end of my story about Fred Lee's book, I say that my podcast, this podcast, "is substantially dedicated to documenting the intellectual history of MMT." I meant to say community history. The intellectual history is the academic concepts, the community history is about the context in which those concepts exist, and the people who promote and develop them.
Now. Onto our conversation.
For an overview of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) with many reliable sources to learn more, here is a good place to start:
We shouldn't have to beg,
but we do have to beg.
So it's not *that* we beg,
but *who* we beg.
I am choosing to beg you, my listeners, to financially support this show.
For even a dollar a month, you'll get exclusive patron-only content and updates, highlighted by around four-days access to every episode, before they're released to the public. However, you'll also get super-early access to several episodes, weeks, and sometimes even months in advance.
To be clear, however, all episodes of Activist #MMT are free, for all, forever. Patrons only get the opportunity to hear them before the public.
Take a listen. If you like what you hear, please consider becoming a monthly patron of Activist #MMT. You can start here: https://www.patreon.com/activistmmt.
✌, ❤, and #MMT 🦉


text:
To our customers, please see below for links to email communications and resources that Farmers National Bank has sent out in regards to COVID-19. We continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation and take any additional steps, if need be, to ensure the safety of our customers and our Associates.
If you would like additional information about Coronavirus (COVID-19), please visit the CDC website at www.cdc.gov.
(3/13): Important Information on COVID-19: What You Can Do
(3/19): Ohio AG Warns of an Outbreak of Scam Related to Coronavirus
(3/20): Lobbies Closing - Drive Thru Only
(3/23): Beware of Criminals Pretending to be World Health Organization
(3/31): Contactless Banking You Can Count On
(4/2): 9 Must-Haves for a Home Office
(4/6): Don't Let Thieves Snatch Your COVID-19 Stimulus Money
(4/7): Stand Strong With Farmers National Bank
(4/10): Online Security Tips for Working From Home
(4/16): Make Your Move With the Farmers Mobile Mortgage App
(4/18): Boredom Busters: 11 Fun Indoor Family Activities
(4/22): Farmers Trust Company 2nd Quarter 2020 Commentary
(4/23): Open an Account Online
(4/27): Now You're Cooking ... Healthy
(4/30): Fight Identity Theft by Regularly Monitoring and Reviewing Your Credit Report
(5/5): 7 Ways to Take a Break from Home During COVID-19
(5/8): A Guide to Productivity While Working From Home
(5/11): Five Tips for Protecting Your Mobile Devices
(5/18): Watch Out for These Signs of Identity Theft
(5/20): 6 Branch Lobbies are Now Open
(5/27): 7 Easy Do-It-Yourself Projects to Improve Your Home
(5/30): How to Talk to Kids About Money at Every Age
(6/4): 7 Additional Branch Lobbies are Now Open
(6/17): More Branch Lobbies are Now Open
(6/23): Beware of Malware: Think Before You Click!


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Qantas boarding passes are as ubiquitous in the hands of Australian frequent flyers as the words "currently in" are in the Instagram bios of amateur travel bloggers.
Given Qantas' penchant for taking over the news (see, in the last few months alone, The Points Plane, the re-assignment of the A330 and the frequent flyer overhaul) this is unlikely to change anytime soon.
However, Virgin Australia — once an airline for backpackers; now a bona fide competitor — has long been creeping on Qantas' market.
While Qantas is unlikely to drop the 'cultural capital' mantle for the foreseeable future, many travellers are switching to Virgin enticed by the 220+ destinations on offer, its wider range of tickets, its (slightly) more varied fleet, its friendly service and its less-trumpeted-but-equally-awesome frequent flyer program.
Plus: it's always a bit of a thrill to be ~different~. But maybe that's just us. To get the inside scoop we scraped the depths the travel industry, trawling Finder, Simple Flying, TripAdvisor, AusBT, Reddit and Traveller for the reasons people switch from Qantas to Virgin.
Here they are:
Virgin Australia Flies To More Destinations
With 200+ destinations on its hit list, Virgin Australia helps you earn Velocity Points when travelling to the obscure regions of Africa, Asia & The Pacific, Europe, The Americas and The Middle East. While Qantas will also fly you to each of the aforementioned regions, Finder reports that it only has 70+ destinations on its list.
While Qantas' range of Oneworld partners somewhat makes up for this, relying on this as a method to earn points comes with a whole other set of problems, as one of our correspondents recently discovered, spending 15 hours in the worst seat on Emirates' A380 Business Class.
Virgin Australia Is (Slightly) Cheaper
This varies case by case, however, in general, Economy tends to be cheaper on Virgin. For example, a Virgin flight from Sydney to Melbourne on a Thursday morning (for the purpose of this comparison, the 18th July) at 6am will cost you $229 — 30% cheaper than the $321 Qantas alternative for the same route on the same day.
Virgin Australia Has A More Flexible Frequent Flyer Program
Although you might earn slightly more points per trip (and have a slightly easier time redeeming your points for flights) on Qantas, "Virgin Australia's frequent flyer program is more flexible when it comes to collecting points, point expiry and sharing points," (Finder).
As one frequent flyer puts it: "I switched from Qantas to Virgin Australia after Virgin got 'serious' about business travel and took advantage of their status match promotion on my Qantas Platinum card, so I could try them out with full Velocity Platinum privileges."
"Once the new business class was rolled out across most of the (Virgin) fleet I was pretty happy and definitely wanted to show my support of the new 'challenger' (plus) its cheaper fares didn't hurt."
Also — while Qantas' recent frequent flyer overhaul just made 'points bought' Economy seats cheaper (and easier to access) its business class seats now require even more points than before.
The Virgin Australia Flight Attendants Are Younger
While one snooty-beyond-his-years ABT commenter complained, "I'm 23 years old, and many Virgin crew are around my age. I've found the service to be decidedly subpar and aloof from the majority of these crew members. Experience counts," a TripAdvisor thread dedicated to the topic suggested the exact opposite, with passengers making the following observations.
- "I've flown both and the service on VA far outweighs anything I have experienced on Qantas."
- "I gave up with Qantas years ago."
- "Virgin have an excellent record with service/on time etc."
- "I certainly will not fly domestically on a carrier that has flight attendants older than my workplace boss."
With Virgin Australia, You Know Exactly What You Are Sitting Yourself Into (Especially With Business Class)
As Australian Business Traveller pointed out, in an article entitled, Why I Switched From Qantas To Virgin, "Regardless of which plane you're on you pretty much know what (seat) you are going to get." While Qantas has improved its fleet in recent years, Virgin is still ahead in terms of 'seat quality consistency' across jets.
Virgin Australia Converts Don't Like Lounging About
While Qantas still has superior airline lounges, those who switched to Virgin say they aren't too fussed about this aspect of the flight.
"I don't ask for much from a domestic airport lounge," (ABT).
They also said that "it's refreshing being an airline customer who is made to feel wanted, rather than expected to fly just because its the national carrier," (ABT).
The conclusion? Switching from Qantas to Virgin is a bit like switching from iPhone to Android: you might feel dirty at first — but once you get your head around it you'll be insufferable.


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Because of the complexity of plot and theme in 1984, many students may have difficulty reading and understanding the book. To help students understand the themes of dehumanization, isolation, repression, loneliness, social class disparity, and abuse of power, 1984 may be taught as part of a thematic unit. If the themes of 1984 are studied in less complex literature, especially works dealing with actual historical events or fictional situations familiar to teenagers, students will be able to relate the happenings of 1984 to their own lives and their own futures. Books to use in thematic units are suggested in the bibliography at the end of this study guide. In addition to theme and plot, the literary techniques of irony and paradox used in this work are difficult and should be introduced to the students.
Also, students should look at the publication date and the title and discuss the historical context of the book. Research into Orwell's background should provide some interesting clues as to why he wrote the book when he did.
In addition, the idea of the genre should be introduced. The work is "soft" science fiction, based in the social sciences, in this case political science. 1984 depicts a dystopia or "negative utopia" as it is called in Erich Fromm's Afterword. Students probably have never encountered this genre and may be confused by it.
And finally, because state guidelines for English education often include the teaching of literary terms, the activities and questions in this study guide are labeled according to the following: plot, character, setting, theme(s), point of view, irony/paradox, language/logic. A term in brackets denotes the focus of the question or activity.
Before Reading the Book
It is helpful to have students consider questions or engage in activities that relate to themes in the book before reading it. The following suggestions may be used as group or individual activities.
1. Surprise attack. On the first day you begin 1984, inform your students as they walk into class that a new set of classroom rules will be followed from today forward. Make the rules unnecessarily stringent and inflexible and enforce them for 15-20 minutes. When the exercise is over, ask students to respond, discussing their feelings and thoughts about the activity.
2. List the freedoms you enjoy both in your home and in your community. List the freedoms you are denied. What is the reason for the denials? Do you accept the reasons? Possible follow-up activities could include writing an essay on the subject or creating a collage depicting freedoms enjoyed.
3. What is your fear? Write an essay describing your worst fear and why it is that you fear that thing. Artwork would be a good edition to this essay.
4. Keep a diary for a week. Record everyday happenings, thoughts, feelings, and dreams. After a week, ask yourself what are some of the advantages to keeping a diary.
5. Examine the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights to find freedoms granted to you as an American citizen. Are some of these freedoms denied to citizens of other countries? Which ones?
6. Discuss: Are there ways in which government or the private sector intrudes upon the privacy of U.S. citizens? What are some of these ways?
7. Interview people who lived in 1949 when the book was published and find out what life during and after World War II was like.
Questions - Part I
Questions can be discussed or used as topics for writing assignments.
1. Language/Logic, Setting: What does the opening sentence suggest about the book? ("...the clocks were striking thirteen" denotes another time and place not familiar to us.)
2. Irony, Language/Logic, Character: The name "Winston" means "from a friendly country." "Smith" is a common last name. From these names, can you suggest a possible irony? Also, consider the association of Winston Smith with Winston Churchill. What similarities do you see between the two? What else do we know about Winston concerning his age, abilities, and occupation? (/Winston is actually from a very unfriendly country and the irony of "Smith" is that he is not common. He is one of the few people who ever rebels. This strength and his perseverance are what link him to the great British leader. Winston is thirty-nine, has a higher than average intelligence and is employed by the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth.)
3. Irony/Paradox, Language/Logic: What are the Party mottos? What is unusual about them? (They are the opposite of what is expected and accepted by most people in America as well as contradictory.)
4. Language/Logic, Theme: What is Newspeak? What is its purpose? (A look at the Appendix might be helpful here.) Why is it essential for the Party to rid the language of synonyms and antonyms? (The official language of Oceania. The purpose is to repress the citizens by limiting their language and hence their ability to express themselves.)
5. Language/Logic: Who is Big Brother and what is the significance of his name? (The dictator of Oceania. The name gives the impression that he is there to guide and protect the citizens for their own good, watching over them like a big brother.)
6. Language/Logic: What is facecrime? Why is it so easy to commit? (An improper expression on one's face. Facial expression is almost an involuntary act.)
7. Theme, Irony/Paradox: How does the Party control history? Why? (In order to control the future, they must erase the past so the citizens won't question or challenge what is done in the present.)
8. Plot, Theme: Who is Emmanuel Goldstein and how is he presented to the people of Oceania? What is the probable significance of using the obviously Jewish name? (Leader of the Brotherhood, an underground rebel organization. He wrote, or perhaps wrote, the book read by Winston. He is the object of the daily Two Minutes Hate exercise designed to direct citizen frustration away from the Party. Considering the fact that World War II with its horror of the holocaust had just ended, the use of Goldstein as a scapegoat parallels the Nazis' attempt to blame their problems on the Jews.)
Activities for Part One
1. Language/Logic: Create a Newspeak dictionary, prepare a speech written in Newspeak, or rewrite a newspaper article in Newspeak. Present it to the class.
2. Point of View: Make a cassette recording of Winston's secret diary.
3. Plot, Character: Act out scenes or give a dramatic reading of a scene from Part One.
4. Theme: Winston says that "Your worst enemy...was your own nervous system." Have you ever experienced a time when you felt this way? Have you ever felt helpless or not in control of your own life? Write a short essay explaining the situation and how you dealt with it.
5. Irony/Paradox: Identify examples of doublethink in Part One. Discuss examples of doublethink from recent history.
6. Language/Logic, Theme: Discuss how language is important to freedom.
Questions - Part Two
1. Character: In what ways are Julia and Winston alike? In what ways are they different? (Like Winston, Julia works at the Ministry of Truth and she rebels against the party. The difference is in the way in which they rebel. Rather than becoming a part of a grand scheme to overthrow the government, Julia carries on her own private war by doing things she knows are forbidden simply for the sake of rebelling.)
2. Theme: Why does the party permit couples to marry but discourage love? (The sole purpose of marriage is to have children. Encouraging love would endanger the Party by directing people's loyalties away from the government.)
3. Plot: O'Brien asks Winston and Julia what they are willing to do for the Brotherhood. What are they willing to do? (pp. 142-143) What is the one thing they are unwilling to do? (Separate and never see each other again.) What types of things does O'Brien tell them they might have to face as members of the Brotherhood? (Change of identity, plastic surgery, torture, death.)
4. Irony/Paradox: Julia tells Winston that even though the Party can torture a person and make him say anything, they cannot make him believe it. How do you feel about this statement? How easy is it to brainwash a person? Do you think governments actually use brainwashing? Discuss. (See also the discussion of the term "blackwhite.")
5. Plot: Why are the three superpowers always at war according to the Brotherhood's handbook? (To use the products of the country without raising the standard of living.)
6. Plot, Irony/Paradox: How are Winston and Julia betrayed? (Mr. Charrington, a member of the Thought Police, has had a telescreen rigged behind the picture on the wall. O'Brien is also involved; both have been working to capture Winston and Julia.)
Activities for Part Two
1. Point of View: Write a diary from Julia's point of view (or O'Brien's or Parsons'.)
2. Language/Logic: Create a constitution or bill of rights for the Brotherhood. Include rules, constraints, rights. Use the U.S. Constitution as a guide for form.
3. Character: By the end of Part Two, all the characters have been revealed. Choose one and become that character for a class period. Dress, speak, and act as that character would.
4. Language/Logic: Write a poem or short story with the same tone as that of 1984.
5. Language/Logic: Debate: Laws protect freedom.
6. Language/Logic: The doublethink concepts of "ignorance is strength" and "war is peace" are discussed in the book of the Brotherhood. Outline the argument of the doublethink concepts. Discuss why the Party's conclusions are ironic.
7. Setting: Examine a world map of the 1980s. Color in the countries of the Eastern bloc. What has happened recently regarding these power blocs? Color in the countries of the Western alliance. How close were Orwell's superstates?
8. Theme: On page 169, Winston reads from Goldsmith's book that "The invention of print, however, made it easier to manipulate public opinion." Explore the history of using print to influence opinion.
9. Theme: Explore the symbolic significance of the clock, the paperweight, the song the prole woman sings, and the nursery rhyme about the bells.
Questions - Part Three
1. Character, Irony/Paradox: How does Parsons feel about being imprisoned as a result of his own daughter reporting him for thoughtcrime? (He is proud of her and feels he must have committed the crime even though he doesn't remember doing so.)
2. Theme, Plot: Before Winston is interrogated, he sees many prisoners escorted off to Room 101. From their reactions, he gathers the room is extremely unpleasant. What is in Room 101? (Whatever the prisoner fears most.)
3. Plot: When and in what way does Winston betray Julia? (After months of torture, Winston admits he still loves Julia and he is taken to Room 101. There he faces his greatest fear: rats. In a moment of terror he begs O'Brien to let the rats at Julia instead of at him.)
4. Plot: Why does O'Brien say prisoners are brought to the Ministry of Love? (To cure them of their insanity.)
5. Plot: What happens to Julia? (Winston see her in the Park and she admits that she betrayed him as well after being tortured.)
6. Theme, Irony/Paradox: How does Winston ultimately feel about Big Brother? (He loves Big Brother.)
Activities for Part Three
1. Language/Logic: The concept of memory and existence discussed on pages 203 and 204 provides an interesting debate point topic: Does the past exist if no one remembers it? How can it be proven? Debate this topic after reviewing O'Brien's argument.
2. Theme: Who wrote Goldstein's book? If it was the Party, then why? Discuss.
3. Theme: On page 216, O'Brien says the proles will never revolt, yet on page 181, Winston came to the conclusion that the future's only hope lay with the proles. What brings each man to say what he does? Discuss.
4. Theme: What is power? What makes a person powerful? Write an essay explaining your opinion, then create a collage depicting scenes of power in action and/or powerful people.
5. Language/Logic, Irony/Paradox: What is ironic about the Chestnut Tree Cafe? The significance of the Chestnut Tree is revealed on page 241. Write an essay explaining your interpretation of the final lines of the song about the Chestnut Tree. What, for example, is the meaning of the word "lies?" As an alternative exercise, you might want to illustrate the final scene in the cafe.


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Colin Quinn: Red State, Blue State
In Colin Quinn's Red State Blue State, Quinn uses comedy to discuss the state of our politics, and by extension, our union. By using comedy to broach the polarizing nature of our politics, his art, and the laughs, are able to reveal the truths that may be difficult to accept otherwise.
Colin Quinn was scheduled for four sets across two days this March. While that couldn't happen, we look forward to bringing him back in the future!


text:
It was Easter, which is a perfect time to smoke Cubans, so I bought some, but I didn't expect that in the near future the thought would cross my mind that actually one of them would be the last cigar I'd ever smoke.
A friend of mine moved to London, for work, for his girl. During Easter he came back to town, Rotterdam. We decided to meetup. Reconnect. I could smoke aforementioned cigars. This guy is always on a tight schedule. Very amiable, and knows a lot of people. The most chill brother I know. Therefore, time with him is always precious.
But also shared. I met up with G, but it wasn't a one-on-one, which was fine, cos one of them was another brother I've known for twenty plus years. Me, G, and M. Three guys from high school. Fine. But the fourth wasn't. He was a friend of G, from uni days. E had a strange vibe about him. He seemed aloof, which was okay, since people accuse me of that.
Arrogant, or cocky even, which was okay again, cos don't judge a book by its cover, and again, people accuse me of all kinds of similar shit. Do unto others as you would like they'd do to you.
I wasn't making any huge assumptions, but my gut warned me.
We went for ice cream first, and I bonded with M again, and G. Sometimes it's months that we don't speak. I talked a bit with E. Worked an office job, had his own place, squared away. But still something off. It was his face maybe. Not a lot of emotions going on there. Then again he was Asian, like me, and they say I have a Yakuza mask. Stone.
It was weekend and I had wanted to go out, but I was with G and M and E. So we all went for drinks together. There's this famous street in Rotterdam. The White Street. Just a long street with bars on both sides. Lots of tables to sit down. We found a joint and had whiskey. Ball out. G took care of the tab like a G. I pulled out a stick, a Partagas maduro no.1, and lit up. Not a lot of people in Rotterdam smoke sticks, so it was something special. Oh look at him. Oh he's actually smoking cigars. Oh wow. All that, but I don't care.
After the drink we move back to E's place. Wasn't that far away. We'd have some pre-drinks, before we'd hit some bar. They didn't know which bar to go, so we'd go to the watering hole I frequent. Bar3. I like the joint, and sometimes the bartenders are dicks, and refuse to offer me my triple vodka shots, but you can meet girls and the music is good and sometimes it's popping.
At E's place we sit down, play some video games. We play some guitar, and have a general good time. I finish the last part of the Partagas, on the balcony. I'd saved it, which was a mistake, since the draw was really bad, and the butt was wet now. A bad smoke. We waited for G, who had gone back home, to get a bottle of baijiu. Chinese rice clear liquor.
He came with the bottle and we lined up four shots on the table. The stuff was sixty per cent ABV, or higher. G said be careful that shit hits hard. I said whatever I'm Vodka Man. We hit the shots, and M made a face, and coughed. Light drinker. E took it like a champ, but the way he handled his liquor says a lot about him. Says a lot about a man. You could tell he was posing, for a lack of a better word. Like trying to be brave while he's not. Like look at me I can handle my liquor. There's a fine line between competence and arrogance. Confidence and cockiness. Something in the back of my mind tingled again, as I saw him pound the shot. G took the drink, very chill. G is very laid back and it oozes through everything he does. He could be the exact opposite of E. Not a poser. This shot was utterly disgusting by the way. It tasted like, for lack of imagination, rat poison.
We played some Smash Bros on the Switch and had some more shots. I could tell this wasn't the crowd to go out with, but the shots were hitting, and it was weekend, and I hadn't gone out in a while. Let's go, I said.
We went to my bar, and went inside, and walked through the long joint, all the way to the back. Sat down at this table. The energy was low, and G went to get drinks. I ordered vodka Red Bull. M was taking it easy, low on the drinking, and had some tea. The conversation wasn't there, and the chemistry of the four was off, not like musketeers, swashbuckling.
I had one last cigar with me, an Arturo Fuente Queen bee, with a tapered end, like a torpedo. I walked to this wooden bench, and climbed on top. I pulled out the stick, and lit up. I asked a guy to my right, if he could take a picture.
Memorialize the moment. The smoke was one the best smokes I've had ever. Period. Punto banco. Fuente is Dominican. So it tasted less woody than Cubans. But the pull was almost perfect. Which is important, as sticks with bad draws don't enable you to draw in the smoke optimally. Then the hit doesn't take. The flavors don't come out. Effectively, you're not smoking. The flavor was sweet and mellow and the smoke was thick and smooth. I wonder if I smoke it again if it will taste the same, as sticks are almost never the same. Transcendental.
I was enjoying the best cigar of my life, and was Zen with myself the night and the moment when G joins. I get it. He wants to bro up. We hadn't seen each other a long time, so me sitting alone is maybe a dick move. But I smoke, and the others don't. So I had gone outside alone, and also the conversation had been dead.
But when G joined, E joined. That's when my smoking stick ritual started to get sour, and here's why. We were sitting on the wooden bench, the three of us. And from the right a Moroccan darted by. He looked at us.
He said, 'Chino.'
He darted off to the left.
Fifty million things happened at that instant. Time seemed to slow down, as in moments of action. First, I was too busy with the stogie to notice any sign of malice from the guy. It could've been derogatory, or maybe not, but I just didn't care. Too busy with smoking. Cigars are like a good woman. They keep you enveloped. Then I started to do some thinking. The way he said it. It wasn't, Chino! I've been insulted before, and with way worse words. Look at also the word selection.
Not chink eyes. Or Jackie Chan, or Bruce Lee. Which are champions by the way, but people always have this very distinct tone, to annoy the living hell out of you, to make you feel like an outsider. Like a piece of shit. That's what they aim to do. So again. I didn't hear that bad intent from the guy. I heard just a guy passing by in the night, and saluting another stranger in the dark, with a term which is familiar to him, me and the streets. Chino. Nod. I remember him nodding.
Then to my left there was G. His face winced a little bit. But he was very chill, and let it go, and didn't make much of it. I wonder if he had heard the tone, and word selection. Perhaps not. People don't insult him half as much as they do me.
But there was E. And he started to unravel. Like a chump. His smug arrogant bastard mask slipped on again. He was being brave again.
He said, 'Nigga.'
Not softly. But exactly loud enough to stop the darting Moroccan in his tracks. His swaggering stride stopped dead on. Like a statue. He turned around and dashed back to us, and he was full on in E's face. Not G, not me. We looked. I smoked. It was around that time M came back from the toilet, joined us, and just looked at what was happening.
In hindsight, I made some bad calls in the whole ordeal.
Here's what happened.
Moroccan actually wants some kind of explanation. And he's not really dark, but uses the insult as an excuse to escalate. And at each attempt of the Moroccan, to extract an apology, E says exactly the wrong thing. He was escalating too. He was like, Oh come on then bro. I don't care. You shouldn't call me chino. It's your fault. You're a nigga then. And it wasn't even the things he was saying. But it was the tone. The tough guy tone.
The Moroccan caught on, and said E was being all tough in front of us. This struck me odd, as I just met the guy. But I remember how he took the rat poison shot, and admired my stories of drinking and debauchery and outsider status. There was this thing about him. Wanting to be one of the big boys. That's the best way to explain it. He needed some kind of validation. He had no internal pride or maybe his life was shit or he had pent up anger or was bad with women or hated his life. I don't know. But he was being a dick.
Then the Moroccan called his cousin over. Then shit started flaring up more. He started saying he'd beat us up. And that's when I saw how this was going bad real soon. Real sour. M is always pretty situationally aware and tensed up. Fight, or flight. And G was remaining his cool, but didn't say anything. And that's what I didn't like. He didn't say anything to E. It was his friend. The whole time he could've said something to E. Like E pipe down. It's fine. Let it go, man. Something along those lines.
Now, I didn't say anything either. And here's why I take full ownership of that part and why I blame myself for the situation a bit. My main argument was, He wasn't my friend and it's not my business. But the cousin of the Moroccan started involving all of us. As with such chaotic disagreements. He asked his cousin, Who said nigga? But the cousin didn't respond, so we were all in it now 'together'. Which was utter bullshit and G or I should've said something. But, like M, I just didn't feel it was my business.
Then the guard of the bar came to intervene. I kept smoking, but the stick wasn't good anymore. Not cos of the flavor or draw or anything. No. Cos of the annoying little shit E was and how he ruined the best cigar of my life. Looking back, I don't know what I find worse. The fact that he dragged me into the situation. Or that he ruined my stick. My Arturo Fuente. Queen Bee. Especially bought for Easter. With the intent of relaxing. With the intent of finally having a good time, time off work. Fuck. Me.
I looked at M as I smoked the Dominican. M his hands were by his side, clamped tight to his torso. His feet were pointed away, towards the right, to the street. Escape. G was chill but not his natural chill but a brave chill. He was feeling it too. And E was still making the situation worse, and kept yelling things at the two Moroccans, with the guard standing in between. This ominous huge black man dressed in black.
My cigar petered to its end and I didn't notice the final flavors and was too focused on a potential fight. The whole time my left hand was smoking, my right was clenched. I thought, If this is gonna be my last cigar, let me make it last. I pulled hard on the stick like it was my last. I threw away the butt, and it cindered off, and the disagreement was over. The cousin had promised it wasn't over, and that he'd be back. With more.
I wanted to bounce locations, and go somewhere else. But the energy was now officially dead, and the guys weren't festive anymore. Far from it. So we decided to go home, and I went to grab my bike. G followed me. M went to grab his bike, and E would jump on back. M had seen the boys in the distance, at the end of the street. Waiting for us. With more. Not just the two, but at least two more guys.
I walk to my bike. Locked. I turn my back to the guys, but they're in the distance. Some feet away. But I feel the tension. I see the worried look in the chill mask of G. He looks at me. My bike falls down. It takes time. Time is slow. It always is. In action. In tension. In fights. Potentially then. My brain races but my internal dialogue is calm. I steady my hands, unlock my bike. G jumps on and we bike away. M and E follow suit.
I hadn't looked back to see if the guys followed us, but M had said that they did. Not running, but casually walking. Like marking their terrain. Fine by me. But the last thing about the whole situation is that E also kinda ruined one of my favorite joints. Maybe the guy would remember me. I stood out. Wore a floral red and black shirt with a blazer. Almost all buttons loose. And if he wouldn't recognize me, I'd still remember this night, when I'd come back. Like a bitter aftertaste. That fucker E.
This thing taught me two things. First, going out alone is sometimes better than with a group. Especially with people you don't know. Next time I'll follow my gut, and vet better. Finally, don't smoke sticks with people who give you the wrong vibes. Their attitude might ruin the best cigar of your life.


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