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In my last post, I talked about my first visit to the new Kabuki-za, a few weeks back. The show that night was Yotsuya Kaidan, probably the most widely known ghost story in kabuki, featuring the wronged wife Oiwa. This was, if I remember correctly, my first time seeing a tôshi kyôgen ("going through the [whole] play"). Usually, only certain select scenes are performed, combined with scenes from other plays to form an evening's program. So, I went into the theatre that night not realizing the program was roughly four and a half hours long (including several intermissions). But, it was fine, because the program was excellent.
Above: A woodblock print depicting Oiwa and her baby, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1836), featuring Onoe Kikugorô III in the role, ten years after he appeared in that role in the premiere.
Since it was a tôshi kyôgen, there was plenty of plot, and more than enough characters for me to become thoroughly confused. For those interested in the fuller plot, you can check out the wonderfully thorough description on Kabuki21.com. According to the description there, the play usually includes a section in which a stage guard comes onstage, between scenes, and explains who is playing each role, who each role is, and their relationships to one another. I sure could have used such an explanation.
But, basically here's the key bits: Oiwa has a baby with her husband Iemon, but Iemon's basically a bad guy, and he hates his marriage. And there's a Naosuke, and a Kohei, and an Osode, and I'm really not sure how they all fit in… But, Oiwa, and/or the baby, are kind of ill, and need some medicine. Then the Itô family, who figures into this somehow (I think Iemon is in love with their daughter?), gives Oiwa some horrible poison, telling her it's medicine. And, so, long story short, she gets horribly disfigured, and then accidentally kills herself and becomes a vengeful ghost, and that's where the shit really hits the fan.
Yikes. That's terribly unfortunate. This is what happens when you take poisons thinking it's medicine. (Image thanks to I Can Haz Cheeseburger.)
Okay. So, the first few acts, I'm sorry to say, did sort of feel like they dragged on. As with basically all things in traditional Japanese arts, kabuki follows the form of jo-ha-kyû – a slow build-up (jo), a break (ha), and then a rapid and dramatic conclusion (kyû). I'm not saying I don't appreciate the earlier parts of the play – if one claims to appreciate the art, or aims to appreciate the art, then one must strive to appreciate more of it, more facets, and on deeper levels. Such as the skillful acting, and the restrained emotional scenes. But, I just have to say, more so than perhaps any other play that I've seen, in this play, wow but the kyû is amazing.
That said, throughout the play, including in the earlier sections, there were some great action scenes, the costumes were beautiful of course, and the sets incredible as well. While many kabuki plays use rather colorful, bright, clean-looking sets, Yotsuya Kaidan was acclaimed even in its own time, for its relatively realistic, down-to-earth depiction of a dirty, run-down, low class home. The shôji is stained, and poked through with holes in some places; and the lantern's run out of oil. It could not be more perfect for such an emotional, such a tragic story. And such a creepy, frightening ghost story, too. But we'll get back to that.
A model of the stage set for the final scene at a temple retreat. This isn't quite the same set (or scene) as Iemon & Oiwa's rundown house, but it gives the impression, I hope, of the aesthetic of the show.
Returning to my not-so-step-by-step run through of the play, we come to Oiwa's transformation scene, after taking the "medicine," that is, the poison given her by the scheming Itô family. I was surprised at how long the transformation took, but, I keep rethinking about it, because this drawing-out, combined with a near absence of music or percussion, also allowed the emotion, and the tragedy, of the scene to really just hang there in the air for a long drawn out moment. I have heard on numerous occasions, including from my own kabuki choreography/dance teacher, as well as in reading an interview with the late Danjûrô himself, that it is in the pauses that so much actually comes through, and is conveyed. And, so, as Oiwa very slowly, gradually, begins to feel the effects of the poison, the actor, and the audience, are given ample time to really focus in on the complex emotional tenor of the scene – Oiwa's hope that this medicine will make things better, her love for her child, her frustration and sadness at her baby's unhappiness or discomfort, and at her own situation, living in this run-down house with an abusive husband; we see as she begins to feel strange, and to worry about what the medicine is doing to her, before she finally retreats into the back room, the drums booming, raising the tension and foreshadowing what is to come.
Right: ©Nihonhaiyukyokai/Aoki Shinji, from web-japan.org.
Her husband returns home, and Oiwa emerges from the back room carrying her child, and clutching her face. She eventually lets down the handkerchief, and he sees her disfigured visage. Iemon leaves, taking basically everything of value – that means, chiefly, all Oiwa's kimono, and even the baby's swaddling wrap. Oiwa still doesn't know exactly what's happened to her… and, when the servant finally offers her a mirror, she realizes what has happened, realizes the Itô family has betrayed her, and in another famous and very sad, tragic scene, she tries to comb over her hair to make herself presentable, to go visit the Itô house and confront them. Sad, and tragic, because of the impossibility of the act, her appearance having been so disfigured by the poison. The hair comes out in clumps, and blood drips onto the floor. In the process of combing out her hair, too, of course, she lets it down; this, combined with her increasingly angry, vengeful disposition, have taking on even more so the appearance of the ghost, even before she accidentally kills herself, slicing her throat on a blade that somehow became lodged in one of the pillars of the house earlier.
In the next scene, Iemon meets with the Itô family, and is tricked by the ghost into killing several of them… the scene ends dramatically with green flame and ghostly hands reaching out towards him. I actually was using my opera glasses at that moment, to look more closely at some secondary thing happening on the other end of the stage – my sensei, thankfully, poked me, and when I saw the green will-o'-wisps, wow… this is really a ghost play!
Kabuki normally takes a considerable degree of suspension of disbelief. It takes place in a different aesthetic world, and you just have to go with it, and immerse yourself into it, and not get hung up on the absurdity or unfamiliarity of the costumes or speech patterns. In a way, it's actually kind of like watching cartoons – you need to put aside how colorful they are, how unrealistically they're drawn, and indeed the idea that they're drawn at all, and just take them as characters, as people, connecting to their emotions, and to the world and the plot, the storyline they live in. Yotsuya Kaidan is not your typical kabuki, though. I came into it thinking, okay, sure, it's a ghost play, but I've seen fox plays and god plays and samurai plays, and they were all more or less the same – this one will be too. No. With Yotsuya Kaidan, as a ghost play, as a horror story, they do it up right. At various points in the play, with all the lights out, the only light in the entire theatre being a few lanterns on stage, and the set being the dingy, sketchy, creepy setting that it was, I must admit I was never truly, actually scared, per se, but, you could absolutely sense the atmosphere they were creating, the creepy atmosphere, that sends chills down your spine – chills, which is precisely what you want during the heat of summer, which is why most of the greatest ghost plays take place during summer, and are performed in the summer.
Ukiyo-e woodblock print diptych by Utagawa Toyokuni III/Kunisada (1786 – 1864). Image of this public domain object, from FujiArts.com.
There is another intervening scene at the riverbank, which I am assured is especially famous, and contains some really famous & popular moments, including a skillful hayagawari (quick-change) as a single actor transforms from the role (and hair and costume and face) of Oiwa into that of Kohei in mere moments. But, it is after that scene, finally, during the kyû, that all hell really breaks loose. If they'd shown just these scenes (and maybe the transformation scene through Oiwa's accidental death to lead into it) at the National Theatre, what a brilliant, captivating introduction to kabuki that would have been!
Iemon seeks refuge at a temple. As he lights a small lantern to light his way, a large one behind him starts to glow, brighter and brighter until it bursts into flames – yes, full actual flames on stage – destroying the lantern, and revealing the ghost of Oiwa, who flies out of it at him. I can't remember precisely how each step of this final scene goes, as the Kabuki21 summary isn't quite that detailed, and as the classic 1956 version I've been looking at on YouTube to refresh my memory cuts out this entire last scene. But, suffice it to say there are some incredible moments, as the ghost reaches out from behind the wall, through a scroll hanging inside the temple, to grab one of the devotees and pull him through the wall, into darkness, where he is never seen again. A group of people rush into the temple, fleeing something outside (perhaps, the ghost herself), but once they are inside, Oiwa steps out from amongst them – she was truly hidden, I nearly jumped when she appeared from behind that group – and flies around the room. The people huddle together, and try to form a circle to protect themselves, but she swoops down and grabs one of them, tossing him too into the darkness.
From that same model/display at the Edo-Tokyo Museum. A mirror reveals bits backstage, showing how the various special effects (keren) are accomplished. Frankly, I couldn't make heads or tails of what they were trying to show, but, maybe you can, and then you can explain it to me in the comments. ;)
And so Oiwa's tragic tale ends. She gets her revenge, killing Iemon and several others, while the rest of her betrayers (the Itô family) are all killed by Iemon himself – the synopsis on Kabuki21 says the ghosts trick Iemon into doing it, but I like the possibility, too, that Iemon himself is so wracked by his guilt, that he is, in a sense, tormented by his own demons, in the figurative sense of the term, seeing Oiwa and Kohei, whose deaths he caused, everywhere he looks, and so when he lashes out against these demons, these spectres, these visions from his own imagination, he ends up killing those he loves, and destroying everything the schemes were meant to create for him.
I'm hoping to see some more kabuki before the end of the summer, as I leave Japan in just a few weeks, but I suppose we shall have to see how things work out…


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Westport weather: More wet weather
The overnight rain is expected to ease this morning, but scattered precipitation remains possible the rest of the day, according to the National Weather Service.
Skies will be mostly today cloudy across southwestern Connecticut as the daytime high temperature will rise to the mid-40s. There will be an east wind about 7 mph, and a chance of precipitation rated at 30 percent by the NWS.
Tonight, there will be steady rain again across the region, mainly after 11 p.m., as well as patchy fog as the temperature dips to a low of about 40 degrees. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent.
Rain is likely tomorrow as well, primarily before 11 a.m., with scattered showers possible after noon. It will be cloudy and the temperature will reach a high in the mid-50s. Odds of precipitation are about 70 percent.
Tomorrow night there is a slight chance of showers before 11 p.m. as the low temperature registers in the mid-30s. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.
Wednesday should be mostly sunny, with a high temperature in the mid-40s. It also will be breezy, with a northwest wind 14 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 31 mph. Nighttime will be mostly clear, with a low temperature in the low-30s.
Thursday should be mostly cloudy, with a high temperature in the mid-40s. Rain is likely Thursday night, with a low temperature in the mid-30s. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent.
The outlook for Friday, according to the weather service, is cloudy, temperatures in the 40s and possible precipitation.

subset: commoncrawl


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Best Last-Minute Holiday Gift Cards 2012
Keep Calm, Gift On: 11 Last-Minute Presents That Will Save You
Keep Calm, Gift On: 11 Last-Minute Presents That Will Save You
Correct us if we're wrong, but there's a bit of a generally acknowledged truth that last-minute gifts tend to be haphazard and less thoughtful. If you are guilty of this "crime" or, at the very least, currently think this way, we're here to disprove all of your really, really last-minute theories. In fact, we're offering up 11 pretty awesome gift ideas — with only a handful of days to spare — and chances are, you'll be on the receiving end of that oh-so-gratifying nod of approval. For the girl who needs her daily caffeine jolt as much as she does a serious style fix, we have only to say "the Rodarte Starbucks card" to you. For the girl on the go, there's something indulgent, helpful, and delicious in there. And for everyone else on your list, don't worry, there's definitely a gift option inside that's sure to satisfy. Don't waste a moment more. It's down to the wire, so get clicking, get shopping, and happy holidays!


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Worcester Police Officer Mike Gervais places a frozen swan onto the warm hood of his cruiser Thursday afternoon after rescuing the bird from Coes Pond.
Police Capt. Jack Harrington, working a nearby construction detail, first noticed the bird frozen to the surface of the pond. When Officer Gervais arrived, the two policemen walked onto the ice and used a multi-tool to chip away ice and free the bird.
Animal control personnel drove the swan to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in Grafton. A Cummings spokeswoman said the animal did not survive.


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'The Walking Dead' Returns — 10 Things To Check Out This Week
Zombies return to the tube this week alongside a DC Comics superhero and the of clueless crew from Paddy's Pub. Also, Ben Affleck continues to impress with his latest big screen effort, Christopher Walken joins six other psychopaths, and an award-winning graphic novelists releases his latest book. Read on for 10 Things To Check Out This Week.
'The Walking Dead' Season 3 Premiere
Zombie-lovers the nation over are anticipating the season three premiere of AMC's 'The Walking Dead.' The show returns Sunday at 9 p.m. for more human drama set in a bloody, creepy, zombie-infested world. The survivors stumble into a prison while seeking shelter in this season premiere. But Rick and his fellow zombie killers will have to fight the undead and the living to protect their sanctuary. Check out the Season 3 trailer.
Director and star Ben Affleck is already racking up high praise for 'Argo,' his new '70s-set political thriller based on a true story. The film re-enacts the CIA's covert mission to rescue six U.S. diplomats following the Iran hostage crisis. The mission involves having the diplomats and CIA agents pose as Hollywood filmmakers making a sci-fi flick. 'Argo' hits theaters on Friday.
Seven Psychopaths
One of our recent Crushes of the Day, Olga Kurylenko, stars in this subversive gangster flick alongside Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson and Tom Waits. 'In Bruges' director Mark McDonagh is behind this darkly comic shoot-em-up that looks like an excuse to have some of our favorite character actors chew some scenery for 90 minutes. 'Seven Psychopaths' opens wide Friday.
Chris Ware's 'Building Stories'
Eisner Award winning comic book artist and cartoonist Chris Ware releases his latest graphic novel, 'Building Stories,' on Wednesday. His latest colorful, deep and meticulous examination of human life centers on the inhabitants of a Chicago apartment house, including an arguing couple and a spinster landlady.
'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' Season 8 Premiere
We have no idea what the hell is going on this season on 'Sunny,' but we're sure it'll be funny. The show premieres Thursday at 10 p.m. on FX. Here's a promo that promises some interesting cast shake-ups.
'Arrow' Series Premiere
DC Comics hero Green Arrow jumps to the small screen in The CW's latest comic book adaptation. Stephen Amil stars as Oliver Queen, a Bruce Wayne-esque rich boy who dons a mask and uses a bow and arrow to fight crime in the big city. Katie Cassidy, Emily Bett Rickards and Willa Holland are among the hot women who enter his life, either as friends or foes. 'Arrow' premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m.
This one looks like a downer, but a promising downer with a great cast. 'Breaking Bad' actor Aaron Paul and one of our favorite crushes, Elizabeth Winstead, star in this well-received indie about what happens when one half of a drunk couple decides to go sober. 'Smashed' opens in limited release this Friday.
Here Comes the Boom
Someone thought it was a good idea to build a big screen MMA comedy around Kevin James. But hey, at least Salma Hayek and Henry Winkler are co-starring. And I'm sure we'll get to see James knocked out a few times, which could be worth the price of a ticket. 'Here Comes the Boom' opens Friday.
'Prometheus' on Blu-ray
Ridley Scott's mind-bending trip into high-concept sci-fi, 'Prometheus,' hit digital download a few weeks ago, but now you can see it in crisp HD starting this Tuesday. Get ready to be amazed by the ambition and elegant visuals on display (and ultimately disappointed by the lackluster story).
This horror flick starring Ethan Hawke goes into wide release on Friday. This one looks pretty standard, but 'Sinister' also looks like it delivers enough scares for a fun midnight screening.


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By Alan Higgins, M.S.
Evansville, Indiana – nestled in southwestern Indiana at its juncture with Illinois and Kentucky – is certainly not a place that comes to mind when thinking about modern architecture. Guarded in tradition and a conservative aesthetic, Evansville can be likened to many communities throughout the country in that more recent architectural narratives have been overshadowed or simply neglected or forgotten, depreciated against more traditional concepts. Put simply, modern architecture has gone unnoticed in Evansville.
Image (left): Cover for forthcoming book, Unnoticed Modern: The Midcentury Architecture of Evansville.
To be fair, Evansville can be considered a "typical" town in that it was never truly consumed by the modernism of midcentury. With a swelling population that jumped approximately 30% between 1940 and 1950, and averaging roughly 130,000 persons between 1950 and 1980, Evansville was certainly characterized by the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in the construction of homes, businesses, and community goods designed to serve a new generation. Yet, for the most part, such endeavors emerged with the vernacular regularity to be expected at midcentury, reflected in the large swaths of ranch houses, rectilinear strip malls, and simplified boxes. Added to this is a recognized absence of commissions by nationally-recognized firms or by Indiana-based architects of thus recognized significance, such work being limited to one 1970s residential commission by Indianapolis-based modernist Avriel Shull; three works by the Indianapolis-based firm of McGuire and Shook; and two downtown bank buildings by the prolific Bank Building and Equipment Corporation of America. The effect of all this is that Evansville was never really "put on the map" for its architecture.
Yet, amidst it all, there's a forgotten and presently unnoticed legacy of local modernism, which appeared in pockets of noteworthy expression during the period. To be certain, the idea of a forgotten or unnoticed legacy of local modernism is not exclusive to Evansville, but is something that many small-to-medium-sized communities throughout the country face. The unfortunate side of this is that, while it's great for a community to be able to boast the work of a recognized master, the stories and importance of local modernisms are often lost or marginalized when they should be equally – or more so – celebrated. From the earth-hugging profiles of modernist residential design to the inspiring angles of ecclesiastical design, these places are "of the community" in which they are located. That is, they weren't drawn at the hand of outside architects but were crafted by an influential pool of, in this case, Evansville-based architects from the ideas, desires, and needs of the local citizenry to provide places to live, work, and play. Rooted in emerging principles in design, and, more importantly, the local context, the local architectural dialogue resulted in a rich and varied tapestry of design cast amidst the physical fabric of years past, forming the backdrop of everyday life at midcentury.
Image (right): Cover for forthcoming book, Vision & Legacy: The Work of Hironimus-Knapp-Given Associates.
Recognizing this lost legacy in Evansville, the project Unnoticed Modern: The Midcentury Architecture of Evansville was begun in 2012 to engage Evansville's local brand of modernism. Not designed to be an academic exercise, the project concept is directed at public education with the goal of raising awareness of and stimulating conversation about Evansville's more recent architectural narrative, which, like that of preceding years, contributes to the city's rich continuum of history, continuity of place, and community identity. In addition to ongoing presentations, articles, photography exhibits, and other programming, the project will result in two freely available books: Unnoticed Modern: The Midcentury Architecture of Evansville, which looks at domestic, commercial, ecclesiastical, and community-based architecture throughout the city, and Vision & Legacy: The Work of Hironimus-Knapp-Given Associates, a retrospective on the prominent Evansville-based firm .
Image (left): Bob Knapp in his self-designed home, 1952. Courtesy of Kristie Knapp Kirsch.
A product of research, documentation, and engagement, the project has also been one of discovery – particularly of the lost legacy of architect Ralph Robert (Bob) Knapp, who, with partners John Hironimus and Wally Given, promoted contemporary design throughout Evansville and the tri-state region. Unapologetically true to his times, Knapp was — perhaps like no other in Evansville—a modernist in all facets of his life, from his skinny neck ties to the clean lines of his residential designs. His affinity for the contemporary was matched only by his frankness, openness, and good humor, through which he built relationships and inspired others in the shared vision of Evansville's future. Convicted by an unshakable belief in both his work and his community, Knapp embraced life, his profession, and the City of Evansville, taking leadership in both the professional (he was the first president of the Evansville district of the Indiana Society of Architects, an affiliate of the AIA) and local community, imprinting his desires for a better city.
A native of Evansville, Knapp was born in 1925 to Ralph Paul and Leona Knapp; his father was an industrial designer and draftsman in the architectural department of the Evansville Planing Mill Company. Much of his early childhood split between Evansville and Chicago, Knapp returned to Evansville in 1941, enrolling at Bosse High School and taking courses at the Mechanic Arts School. Although graduated in 1943, Knapp never had the opportunity to attend his own graduation. Swept up in the war effort, he had enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of seventeen, and was ordered to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago. Stationed on multiple vessels during his tenure, Knapp, a second class aviation ordnanceman, notably served as a turret gunner with Torpedo Squadron No. 80, attached to the U.S.S. Ticonderoga in the Pacific, with which he completed more than twenty combat missions.[1]
Released from the Navy in May 1946, Knapp formalized his education, enrolling in the Architecture program of the School of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Knapp also bolstered his education with practical experience, spending summer breaks from 1947 to 1950 as a draftsman in the employ of Evansville architect Ralph Legeman. Graduated in January 1951 with a bachelor's degree in Architecture, Knapp returned to his hometown of Evansville permanently, and went to work full-time for Legeman, in his office starting February 1951.
Image (right): Architectural sketch of Washington Square Mall, 1963. Courtesy of VPS Architecture.
While Knapp designed for all property types – from the roadside architecture of local icons such as the Dubl-"R"-Drive-In in Evansville and the Clover Leaf Motel at Kentucky Dam to Indiana's first enclosed shopping mall, Washington Square Mall (now much altered) – he was first and foremost interested in residential design, through which he quickly rose to prominence. At the helm of a new breed of local architecture, Knapp embraced a contemporary architecture that had previously been absent from Evansville. With private commissions quickly amassing, Knapp left Legeman's office in September 1952, following which he established his own practice. During the course of his private practice, Knapp is noted as having designed upwards of 50 residences throughout the tri-state region, primarily for noted business and community leaders, which often became the scene of gatherings by Evansville's socialites; unfortunately, only about half of these remain. In addition to private commissions, Knapp also served as board member and lead architect for Modern Homes of Evansville, Inc., established in 1952, which offered a contemporary alternative to traditional tract housing.
Image (right): Knapp's design for the 1950 Indianapolis Home Show. Jenner, Harriet. "Local Home Designer R.R. Knapp To Build Home," Evansville Press, July 5, 1951.
Knapp's first realized residential work was that of his own home. In 1951, Knapp and his young bride, Norma, purchased a wooded lot on the outskirts of Evansville and, employing a modified version of a competition piece design he had submitted for the 1950 Indianapolis Home Show Exhibition, began construction on their house. Adapting the nearly-transparent post-and-beam framework of his competition design to the local landscape, Knapp cast his house in vertical redwood siding and incorporated wide expanses of full-height plate glass windows juxtaposed against sensual appeals of wood and stone. On the interior, features such as burlap-clad walls, a stone fireplace resting on tubular steel supports, and interior planters set off the H-shaped form of the house. Completed in mid-1952, the house represented a stark departure from the traditional architecture of Evansville and was, more explicitly than any other design in the city, the articulation of contemporary trends in architecture.
Image (left): Bob Knapp's self-designed home (1952). Courtesy of Kristie Knapp Kirsch.
Image (left): Bob Knapp's wife, Norma, in their kitchen (1952). Courtesy of Kristie Knapp Kirsch.
Image (left): Knapp House (1952). Photo by Alan Higgins, 2013.
Image (left): Knapp House (1952), living room (carpet over original polished concrete slab). Photo by Alan Higgins, 2013.
Image (left): Knapp House (1952), hallway with original cork floors, burlap-clad walls, and light fixtures. Photo by Alan Higgins, 2013.


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Sometimes, when it comes to taking a hard look at foreign language films, you have to keep a little perspective – especially if you don't speak the native language the film is presented in. Maybe that bad dialogue you think you're hearing / reading is actually just a poor subtitle translation. Maybe that odd storytelling device you can't quite put your finger on is some cultural nuance that you are failing to grasp. (One of the most famous of these is Bong Joon-ho's THE HOST, whose atypical and abrupt tonal shifts are not something commonly found in the West.)
Unfortunately, none of that is the case with Kiyoshi Kurosawa's REAL. The dialogue really is that bad. The exposition really is that ham-fisted and painfully cliché. And no, the sluggish pacing and tired story are not something that's simply been lost in translation. All of these things are just part of the film, and they ruin a seemingly promising movie. Starring Takeru Satô and Haruka Ayase as lovers, the film follows Koichi (Satô) as he uses an experimental technique to enter the consciousness of his comatose girlfriend, Atsumi (Ayase). The plan is to try and lure her back to reality. As expected, things go horribly awry when reality and dream begin to intermingle.
REAL commits several cardinal sins of moviemaking. First, it's boring. This is maybe the most important sin, because it prevents anything that happens later in the film from having any weight. The pacing can be occasionally excruciating through most of the film's first half (as well as parts of the second) as we follow Koichi into Atsumi's mind then back out again. This happens over and over with no clear point or purpose; Koichi doesn't seem to have any clear idea what he's supposed to do when he's with her, and he wanders aimlessly on hunches when he's not. More distressing is the fact that absolutely nothing is made of the fact that this is the first time he's "spoken" to her in over a year – following her suicide attempt and subsequent comatose state, Koichi spends a year by her bedside. But when he finally gets a chance to "talk to" the love of his life – albeit only by interacting with her subconscious – he doesn't seem surprised, or even care that much. No hug. No emotional toll. No sense that these two actually care about each other in any way, shape or form. So why should we care about them, or their struggle? We don't, and the sluggish pacing had me glancing at my watch fifteen minutes into the film.
Which brings us to our second sin: REAL is painfully predictable. You don't have to be a genre-whiz in this day and age to know how unclear-reality films work (even your uncool uncle has seen INCEPTION), so if you're planning on taking one on, you better have some seriously surprising tricks up your sleeve. And while Kurosawa certainly has a stuffed sleeve or two, nothing that comes out of it is worth a damn because we've seen it all precisely one hundred times before. It takes no more than fifteen minutes of watching (ten or less, if you're astute) to guess nearly every move the director has to make. So when the truth begins to unravel, it's not surprising, or thought-provoking, or even entertaining – it just sits there like dead air, receiving zero reaction. High-concept stories of this type need to stay two steps ahead of their audience, and REAL can't even keep pace with them.
And when Kurosawa finally starts to throw some real curveballs in the final act of the film, he undercuts it all with the third and final sin: the movie is just plain dumb. A surprising (but not particularly well-earned) eleventh-hour development about a childhood friend plays fairly well at first. And had Kurosawa chosen to end the film with that revelation, it would have certainly been stronger for it. But he doesn't. He keeps going. And going. And going. Once he finally stops, he's robbed his one promising idea of all its worth by turning the climax into a bizarre, unappealing and unimpressive creature flick.
The film is filled with moments like this. The first major plot twist occurs a little over halfway through the movie, and though it's one of the most predictable developments in recent memory, it could be forgiven if the story which resulted from it was satisfying. But it's not. Our realization over what actually caused our heroes' coma is so dumb, so painfully counterproductive to everything that has come before and everything that will come after, that it's no wonder there were audible snickers and laughs (at the film, mind you) during the screening.
Granted, Kurosawa has some interesting visual ideas, and there's one particular moment of a melting cityscape that's quite lovely. But beyond that, there is absolutely nothing worth recommending about this film. It's dumb, unsatisfying, generic and generally insulting to its audience. Avoid it.
d.a. garabedian


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You can give people all sorts of useful information, but that doesn't mean they'll use it.
Case in point: the Nutrition Facts panels inscribed on nearly every can, box, jug, carton and plastic wrapper in which food has been sold since 1994. These small, unassuming charts are there to enlighten consumers about the fat, sodium, carbohydrate, fiber, sugar, protein, vitamin, mineral and calorie content of the product inside.
Many consumers say they rely on this information — in a survey conducted last year by the International Food Information Council Foundation, 68% of Americans credited the labels with helping them decide which foods and beverages to buy (and which to pass up).
But research suggests that people may not use Nutrition Facts as much as they say they do. For instance, although 33% of people in one study said they almost always check calorie totals on the labels, an eye-tracking device revealed that only 9% really did so when they took a simulated shopping trip. In that same study, between 20% and 31% of people said they almost always look at figures for total fat, trans fat and sugar, but only 1% were observed actually reading that key data, according to the 2011 report in the Journal of the American Dietetic Assn.
This woeful situation has convinced nutritionists, food manufacturers and public health experts that the humble Nutrition Facts label could probably use a little help — some way to convey key information as quickly as possible.
"Consumers tend to spend only about one second looking at nutrition information when making their decision about whether or not to purchase a product," says Dan Graham, a researcher at the Obesity Prevention Center in the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health and coauthor of the eye-tracking study.
Fortuitously, the interested parties all seem to agree on the best thing to do: add a short, clear label conveying essential nutrition information to the front of packages.
But that's where the agreement ends. No consensus has developed on what the labels should say or how they should say it. Several fundamentally different approaches have come to the fore:
Every packaged product gets a label that simply summarizes key elements of the Nutrition Facts panel. Consumers can use it to draw their own conclusions about how healthful the product is.
Only products that meet a set of established nutrition criteria earn labels, which "endorse" the products as healthful.
Every packaged product gets a label, which either endorses the product, disses it or gives it a mixed nutritional review.
A variety of snazzy new front-of-package labels have cropped up around the country in recent years. Some have taken the first approach, others the second and none the third (so far).
But a version of the third approach was embraced by a committee of experts convened by the Institute of Medicine to advise the Food and Drug Administration on the best way to proceed with front-of-package nutrition labels.
After studying nutrition rating systems and the science behind them — as well as how consumers use and understand front-of-package labels — the committee issued a report last fall that made several recommendations to the FDA. A single, standardized labeling system should replace all other systems already in use, and it should be used on all food and beverage products, not just healthful ones, the committee advised. The system should also give clear guidance about the healthfulness of products instead of taking a neutral, just-the-facts approach, committee members decided.
FDA spokeswoman Siobhan DeLancey says the agency is reviewing the committee's report "with the ultimate goal of providing a front-of-pack labeling system that is simple, straightforward and consistent with the Nutrition Facts panel that is already required."
But there is no word yet as to how or when the FDA will act. In the meantime, parties in the food industry continue to step up to the plate with new labeling systems.
In its own research, the Grocery Manufacturers Assn. found that shoppers just want facts. "Once they had command of the facts, they felt better prepared to make decisions," says Sean McBride, vice president for communications and marketing for theWashington, D.C.-based group.
And so the GMA, in collaboration with the Food Marketing Institute of Arlington, Va., developed "Facts Up Front." In a series of boxes, consumers can quickly scan the amount of calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugar in a single serving, along with up to two additional nutrients (such as fiber, protein, calcium or vitamin C).
Wal-Mart's "Great for You" label takes the endorsement approach. The logo features a stick figure standing on a green field, arms raised triumphantly overhead. To qualify for this seal of approval, a food or drink must meet certain standards for sodium, added sugars and fat content. Sub-greatness in even a single category is enough to knock it out of the running.
Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, says Wal-Mart's system is a "substantial improvement" over Facts Up Front, since it makes a value judgment using standards she considers "pretty strict."
However, that's not to say there's no room for improvement.
For one thing, Nestle — along with most other scientists — believes that in order to be most effective, nutrition labels should give both positive and negative product reviews. Of course, any such system would hold little appeal for the food industry. As Nestle observes, "No company is going to put a 'Don't buy me' sign on its products."
Consumers don't seem to relish negative assessments either. In the 2011 survey by the International Food Information Council, 63% of Americans said they'd rather hear about what they should eat instead of what they shouldn't.
Still, research shows that a system that flags both good and bad products can be very effective. One study tested a "traffic-light system," in which green, amber or red labels indicated low, so-so or high amounts of sodium, sugar and fat. Consumers who saw these labels were three to five times better at discriminating between healthful and unhealthful foods than consumers who tested labels that merely displayed nutrient stats as percentages of recommended daily intake. The study was presented at the European Congress on Obesity in 2009.
Another success for the traffic-light approach came in the cafeteria of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. During a three-month trial, sales of items marked red fell by 9.2%, while sales of items marked green rose 4.5%, according to a study published online in January in the American Journal of Public Health. Though the experiment ended in 2010, the cafeteria has continued to use the labels, says study leader Dr. Anne Thorndike.
While the Institute of Medicine committee didn't opt for a traffic-light system, they devised another way to give products a deserved thumbs down. Labels would always include the number of calories in a serving. They would also display up to three stars or checks (the FDA can decide which icon to use) indicating whether the item met standards for saturated and trans fats, sodium and added sugars. A quick scan of stars or checks would convey an overall sense of an item's nutritional value. If there weren't any stars or checks at all, shoppers could infer that the item was a bad bet nutrition-wise.
At the same time, the information on the label would be deliberately vague. To figure out which criteria a product met and where it fell short, consumers would have to refer to the Nutrition Facts label. One of the committee's goals is to get more people to use the comprehensive label more often, says chairwoman Ellen Wartella, a communications expert at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
Many scientists see the committee's work as the best hope for establishing a universal front-of-package labeling system. After all, only the FDA can mandate their use.
In the meantime, any front-of-package label may be better than none, some experts say. Others are suspicious of industry efforts to fill the void, especially in light of the Smart Choices program of 2009.
With big-name supporters including General Mills and PepsiCo, Smart Choices awarded green checks to foods that met its criteria for fat, cholesterol, sugar and sodium. But the standards were so lax that cereals like Froot Loops and Cocoa Krispies earned checks. The program prompted so much criticism that it was shut down after just a few months.
You can give people all sorts of useful information, but that doesn't mean they'll use it.


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NOISE | The Staves
Photo via Birmingham Review.
Currently listening to The Staves, a British trio of sisters with soft folky harmonies and a little bit of country twang.
5 comments:
- Kristina said...
I love love LOVE the Staves. I saw them live a few years ago when I was in London and went to a Joshua Radin concert. They were support (together with Lissie, who is also incredible). Back then they had 1 EP with 3 songs out, which I bought immediately after the gig... I've been introducing them to freaking everyone for years now... it's amazing to see that they get so much recognition now!
- December 11, 2012 at 7:10 AM
- Unknown said...
Wow, thanks for this recommendation! I had never heard them before and now I'm in love with their sound.
- December 11, 2012 at 10:12 AM
- Kristen said...
- December 11, 2012 at 8:59 PM
I just learned about the staves a week ago and they come through my stereo non stop now.
- December 14, 2012 at 10:37 AM
Thanks for the intro to a wonderful band!
- December 19, 2012 at 6:39 AM
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Schuyler Erle
MetaCartaSchuyler Erle is a free software developer and activist. He is responsible for NoCatAuth, an early open source wireless captive portal, and geocoder.us, an open source U.S. address geocoder. Erle wrote O'Reilly's Mapping Hacks with Jo Walsh and Rich Gibson, and Google Map Hacks, also with Rich. Presently, he works with MetaCarta in Cambridge, MA, USA, developing nitfy geographic projects like OpenLayers, an open source web mapping framework written in pure JavaScript, and Gutenkarte, a service for exploring the geographic dimension of classic works of literature. Erle is proud to be a founding member of the OSGeo Foundation.
- Session: Mapping the Maximum City


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Ciara Reveals Gender + Possible Name of Baby
Congrats, Ciara! Earlier this year, the singer announced she and fiance Future are expecting! During a star-studded baby shower last week (March 22), the couple revealed... It's a boy!
The gorgeous, blue-frosted cake sported a carriage, the inscription 'Baby Love' and clarified the baby's gender, but did it also reveal his name?
HollywoodLife.com reports the cake had a name on it: Baby Wilburn. (However, in Ciara's pic below, the name is cut out of the shot.) The source clarifies that Future's birth name is Nayvadius D. Wilburn, but it could still be a clue as to what the rapper and Ciara are considering!
No matter what name the couple chooses, this baby is sure to have some serious musical talent! Mama Ciara and Papa Future both have super-successful careers. Get an insider look at Ciara's shower in the pics below.


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Critics question 2 U.S.-funded cancer studies in India
PHOENIX -- For more than 12 years, as part of two massive U.S-funded studies in India, researchers tracked a large group of women for cervical cancer but didn't screen them, instead monitoring them as their cancers progressed. At least 79 of the women died.
One study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, did not adequately inform more than 76,000 women taking part about their alternatives for getting cervical-cancer screening; and those women did not give adequate informed consent, according to the Office of Human Research Protection, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The other study, funded by the Gates Foundation, is under review by the Food and Drug Administration, according to Kristina Borror, the OHRP's director of compliance oversight. That study has raised similar concerns regarding 31,000 women who were tracked but not routinely screened or treated for cervical cancer.
Both studies continue today, though researchers for both told The Arizona Republic they have begun to offer screening to the women.
While the two studies differ in important respects, both included large numbers of women placed in "control groups" who were offered free visits with health care workers, but who, until recently, were not screened for cervical cancer. Instead, researchers met with and tracked these women to monitor how many would develop cervical cancer and die, so their death rates could be compared with those of women who were being screened and treated for free.
Researchers for both studies said they told women in the control groups they would not be screened or treated, but they were given health care information and told they could seek screening on their own. The women signed consent forms; but it's unclear how many of them fully understood. Very few acted on their own to seek screening.
As of 2009, according to data published by the two studies, 15 women in the control group of the NCI-funded study had died of cervical cancer, and 64 women in the control group of the Gates-funded study. Researchers have declined to say how many more women in their control groups have died since then.
Daniel Wikler, a professor of ethics at the Harvard School of Public Health, said the types of issues raised in these studies are among the most difficult and hotly disputed related to doing research in developing countries.
Such issues include what constitutes informed consent and when or whether unscreened control groups are necessary or appropriate. But to Wikler, there is a bottom line.
"When you recruit research subjects," he said, "you take on a responsibility that can't be ignored. ... You have to do the best you can for (each person in) your control" groups."
Screening methods
The NCI-funded study, which began in 1997, recruited more than 151,000 uneducated women from the slums of Mumbai. It looked to study the effectiveness of a low-tech approach in which a doctor or trained health worker applies diluted acetic acid --- vinegar -- to a woman's cervix, and looks for color changes, because abnormal tissue will temporarily turn white.
Roughly half of the women were screened using this method, known as visual screening with acetic acid; the rest went into the control group.
Researchers say the control-group women were provided with health education and told verbally that they could seek screening on their own. Women in the screening group, meanwhile, were provided with free treatment if cancer or precancerous lesions were detected.
In 2009, the NCI-funded study's lead researcher reported to the institute that the data showed a significant difference: screening turned up cancers and potential cancers much earlier, when they hadn't progressed as far. But a review board, with NCI support, decided to continue the study, and not to start screening the more than 76,000 women in the control group.
Sarah Kobrin, NCI's program director, explained that decision, saying the point of the study was to see if the chosen screening -- visual inspection using acetic acid -- could save the lives of women living in the slums.
Just showing the screening detected cancers earlier "wasn't sufficient," she said: "It needed to continue until we could see a statistically significant difference" in cancer mortality between the control group and the group being screened.
But that approach -- using women's deaths as a yardstick -- has been excoriated as needless by some critics.
Health care workers collected consent forms from the women -- though the forms also would prove problematic because of language and literacy issues.
Of the 142 women who sought screening, 50 already had full-blown cervical cancer, and 15 of them had died by 2009.
The lead researcher for the NCI-funded study is Dr. Surendra Shastri, head of the department of preventive oncology at Tata Memorial Hospital, in Mumbai. Dr. Shastri declined to discuss the OHRP findings, but said that he believes his hospital's review board adequately answered the questions they raised.
The Gates-funded study, conducted in poverty-stricken rural areas, recruited 131,746 women who were divided into four groups. Three of the groups would be screened for cervical cancer: one using Pap smears, one using visual screening with acetic acid, and one using DNA tests for human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer. And 31,488 women were put into the control group. Researchers say the control-group women were provided with health education and told they could seek screening on their own.
In the Gates-funded study, 64 women in the control group had died of cervical cancer by 2009. Researchers said 6.2 percent of the women in their control group of 31,488 sought screening independently. Their published results state that 58 percent of the women in their study had no formal education, an even higher percentage than in the NCI study, which suggests a comparably low literacy rate.
The Gates Foundation did not comment to The Republic on the study. Dr. Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan, whom Western colleagues refer to as Dr. Sankar, for short, is the lead investigator on the Gates-funded study. He said the women were adequately informed and gave proper consent.
Screening process continues
The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues and the Office of Human Research Protection are tasked with preventing the unethical use of human subjects in research experiments. The OHRP oversees any studies funded by the National Institutes of Health, which includes the National Cancer Institute.
Last July, the OHRP, in response to a May 2011 complaint by a physician about both studies, determined that the NCI-funded study had not adequately informed the women about their alternatives, and hadn't gained their adequate informed consent -- in violation of federal regulations.
After months of back-and-forth between Borror, the NCI, and doctors at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, which is conducting the NCI-funded study, researchers there wrote to Borror in November saying they agreed to offer cervical cancer screening to the more than 76,000 women in their control group.
But, the lead investigator, Dr. Shastri, denied Thursday that the move has anything to do with the OHRP findings. Offering screening now to the control-group women was "part of the previously decided study plan and this decision had nothing to do with anything else," he said.
Sankar said Thursday that the Gates-funded study began screening the 31,488 women in their control group in January 2011, using tests for the human papillomavirus. Sankar said they've screened nearly half of the women so far, and plan to complete their screening by the end of August, offering free treatment to any women diagnosed with precancerous lesions.
In India, an estimated 77,000 women died from cervical cancer in 2010, according to the World Health Organization. Half of Indian women who develop cervical cancer die within five years, according to WHO, largely because, historically, relatively few women in India have undergone cervical-cancer screening, for cost reasons. In the United States, about 4,000 women die from cervical cancer annually. The rate of deaths from cervical cancer in India is more than seven times higher.
Reviews continue
Disagreements over the studies reflect a larger debate.
"There is a profound and deep disagreement within the community of scientists and ethicists who debate these issues," said Wikler, the Harvard bioethicist.
On one side are researchers in developing countries who accuse critics of "ethical imperialism" for trying to impose ethical standard, often from countries with more advanced economies, on studies conducted in countries like India, which have different needs.
On the other side, critics sometimes question whether those researchers' decisions are affected by the lure of research funding, and accuse them of "ethical relativism."
That's the view that ethical standards depend on the culture or situation, which critics argue leaves the door open to potential exploitation.
Responding to one critic, for example, Sankar wrote: "Informed consent in studies in developing countries may be portrayed as contentious by researchers who have limited understanding of the prevailing socio-cultural context," adding that "it is presumptuous to think rural women with no formal education are incapable of understanding and comprehending what is being offered to them and making a decision to participate or not or to withdraw from the study at any given time during its course."
For his part, Suba said "ethical imperialism is a legitimate concern, but science is the same everywhere."
To date, the presidential bioethics commission has not acted on Suba's complaint.
The OHRP investigation and FDA review continue.
"The history of all this stuff," Austin said, "has been that there have been lapses and stricter regulations. My guess is that the regulations that exist in the future will be stricter than they are today."
Both Shastri and Sankar said they expect to publish updates on their study data later this year.
That will include information on how many more women in the control groups have developed cancer, and how many more have died.


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White Papers and Application Notes
Multi-Objective Optimization of a Strip-Fin Microchannel Heatsink: Integrating COMSOL Multiphysics with modeFRONTIERA. Clarich, R. Russo, and N. Fateh
Esteco North America, Miami, FL, USA
For this work the multi-objective design environment modeFRONTIER was integrated with COMSOL, bringing the advantages of multi-objective optimization to multiphysics simulations. Practically any commercial analysis tool (such as COMSOL) or in-house code can be integrated within modeFRONTIER's framework. In the case of the direct approach, modeFRONTIER determines the configurations to be analyzed, and automatically launches COMSOL, monitoring the results in order to assess the performance relative to the objectives. One application involves the optimization of a strip-fin microchannel heat sink, where the target was to simultaneously minimize both the temperature variation on the chip and the cooling pump power, while constraining the maximum temperature on the microchip. Both geometric and process variables were employed; these included a mix of continuous and discrete, dimensional and non-dimensional. In all cases modeFRONTIER's extensive post-processing toolkit, consisting of both statistical and graphical methods, was used to gain a full understanding of the results obtained.


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Dear Straight Talk: I separated from my wife last year after much unhappiness. Our youngest, "Jon," 16, is living with his mother because she allows a no-rules environment — plus, he blames me for the divorce. Last year his grades sank, he got a minor-in-possession ticket for pot, this summer he was involved in petty theft, and without asking, "borrowed" a family friend"s car for the night. I am worried sick. My ex obstructs me at every turn in providing him guidance and I"m the bad guy for being upset. What do you and your panelists suggest? — "Richard," Sacramento
Colin 19, Los Angeles: Battling with your ex just means Jon suffers. Work around her. You can find ways to be with your son. Put him on the spot and ask him what kind of person he wants to be. Pose this same question to your wife. Best way to get them both to listen: admit your past mistakes.
Gregg 21, Los Angeles: Best thing that helped me with my father was going to counseling. Getting in a room and talking with him (with the help of the counselor, after individual sessions) made me able to live with him. Push for and create as much time with your son as possible. Time with you is less time for trouble. Find out what positive activities he likes and treat him to them.
Christina 20, Marysville: High five for having the cojones to step up when everyone else is letting him down. Standing up to him shows you care and causes a conflict of interest in his brain between his current lifestyle and what he knows is better.
Of the guys who graduated with me, the pot addicts split pretty much in half, some setting up for jobs or college, and the others — well, they must"ve lacked positive role models like yourself. I"d like to sugarcoat this, but they didn"t go down a good road.
Make sure to be a great (stern) father through every inch of his journey. Even if he continues negative behavior, don"t give up! Eventually, his "buddies" will disappear (drugs, jail, being "daddies," etc.) and he will need you.
Dear Richard: You son is in huge trouble. He needs to become your top priority — not just in hand-wringing. It"s man-up time. Consider his meltdown your opportunity for finding your male power.
Colin is correct that apologizing/admitting mistakes is the No. 1 way to open doors to communication and respect. Drop any need to be "right" and focus on action. Gregg is correct that family counseling can help you get there. Don"t rag your son about it yet. Find a good one and go first. (I suggest a rehab counselor; they work with families, divorce being when many kids start using.)
Christina"s point about proving that you care is huge. He needs proof in action that you didn"t divorce him. Finally, I am so grateful for Brandon equating a great father with a stern father. Kids really do want that faithful sternness to lean on — many enter the military for this reason.
Get your backbone on and barge into your son"s life. Flood him with text, email, phone, and face-to-face time. Be tireless in your devotion to straightening him out and he will respond. — Lauren
More from Lauren Forcella: The two-parent family works so well because women tend to be more sensitive and sheltering in their parenting and men tend to be more stern and brave. It"s a great combination because kids need both impulses. Teenagers, especially, need what fathers have to give — that is, fathers who haven"t been neutered into thinking that they can"t be stern and demand right action from their kid. I"m not talking about corporal punishment — that worsens things — but teens really crave fair, faithful, male sternness. For girls it feels protective and helps them not lose confidence as they develop a woman"s body; for boys it wakes them up and gives them a leader to follow, which is step one in becoming a leader themselves.
In the past, teen boys were spirited away by male elders for initiations into manhood. These same men were there in daily life as well, as constant allies and mentors. Today, fathers with a group of male friends who consciously support each other and each other"s children, benefit everyone greatly. Our sons, especially, are suffering from lack of engaged male role models.
For fathers reading this, if you"re not already in one, consider joining or forming a men"s group. In many households, women have all but taken over parenting. I rejoice in the rise of feminine power — and what we really need is collaborative honoring of the masculine and feminine equally. It"s time, Dads, to take back your very needed role. —Lauren
Give youth a voice and they can heal the world. Offer compassion & wisdom together and people move toward the light.
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Frank Olinsky paints Rusty Cloud.
When I was a budding record producer my go-to guy for album covers was my great friend from childhood, Frank Olinsky, who went on to become one of the most respected and successful music designers of the last 30 years (starting, most famously, with his co-design of the MTV logo). He selflessly went to work on whatever I asked him for, including this unreleased album cover for the unreleased (really tasty) jazz album cut by R&B pianist/singer/songwriter Rusty Cloud (Bo Diddley, Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes, The Blues Brothers). (Maybe I can find and post the tapes someday.)
Frank's a great designer, but, in my eyes, an even more incredible illustrator and painter. This cover always reminded me of Eberhard Weber's "The Colours of Chloë", but with Frank's trademark wry humor.


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Take Advantage of our Year-Long Memberships
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Please see membership form and waiver information to start the membership process.
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Apparently a CSA-type bakery called BK17 Bakery is what's next for Launchpad: http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20140522/crown-heights/bakery-with-bread-csa-replacing-launchpad-art-incubator-on-franklin-ave
@clayfilms -Cool. I'll miss Launchpad. Their crawfish boil back in the day was epic and I their open mic nights were always a great time.I had forgotten to update this thread afterward, but fear not:The owner of Bk17 realized that 721 Franklin Avenue was not a good fit soon after the DNA Info article was published, and changed plans in Mid June.No word as what is next for the space, but it is safe to say it won't be expensive bread.
We in Crown Heights can get some pretty good bread from Compare Supermarket, or from Bread Alone at the GAP Greenmarket.MET on Nostrand has started stocking bougie "Bread Alone" bread on their shelves. Good stuff but under $4 a loaf...i thinkBK17 was presumably going to pay the asking price of $4k a month for the first floor:


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From A Voice Plantation
Who no longer can listen
Saw a gusty wind
Come up to listen
Before I was ten
and all of the evil grids
From a hill where rats consider
And they gang
And they topple
And they send a smoke ring
Into the onion field
A ghost!
And this can make you choke
Coming from the throat
Of a ghost!
And sent to my weak knees
From a voice plantation
All in together
In terror
Autor(es): Robert Pollard


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Which Is Worse, SOPA Or PIPA? Answer: Both!
from the a-disaster-all-around deptThe PROTECT IP (PIPA) bill was introduced in the Senate last May. Over the summer, opposition to it continued to grow -- well respected venture capitalists, top legal scholars and entrepreneurs all came out against the bill. Even the NY Times and LA Times both ran editorials against PIPA.
Then, in October, SOPA was introduced in the House, and it was much worse than PIPA, leading to much greater public outcry, as the momentum against this kind of bill grew. This resulted in a "manager's amendment" to SOPA, which makes it more like PIPA.
Not surprisingly, the Senate is poised to try to move forward with PIPA as soon as possible (January 24th). The folks behind this bill have done all of this quite strategically. They knew that there was growing opposition to PIPA, and while an original version of SOPA, by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, was going to try to fix some of the problems with the bill, Rep. Lamar Smith was pressured to take control over the bill (which he did) and made it much, much worse. The thinking here among the lobbyists was that if he made it much worse, and then backed down to PIPA-levels, that already dreadful bill would be seen as a "compromise."
And, it appears that some in the press are really falling for it. The Washington Post recently ran an editorial claiming that PIPA was a "better thought-out and more prudent approach." That's simply not true. It's a different approach, but it's neither better thought out, nor prudent.
Sherwin Siy has an excellent blog post in which he discusses which bill is worse by noting that the answer is basically both of them. Both bills are bad and both bills have problems. Some of the problems overlap... and some don't. But both are scary bills:
The fact is that both bills are effectively the same thing, with differences at the margin, neither of which is good. Congress and some lobbyists bet the farm on the idea that starting off with a worse bill would allow a bogus "compromise" allowing them to get what they wanted. What I don't think they expected is just how much these bills would get attention and wake up internet users. For now, the strategy by Lamar Smith is to pretend that this opposition isn't real. There's about a month or so left to prove to him that he's wrong -- and it includes making sure that neither SOPA nor PIPA can possibly pass.
Is PIPA worse?
PIPA features a particularly expansive definition of what constitutes a "site dedicated to infringing activities," which can include merely "enabling or facilitating" infringement. How broad this is is uncertain—is merely providing hosting to an infringer enabling infringement? What about indexing links to an infringing site? This is the sort of language that can easily reach too far—we've seen lawsuits and premised on some pretty thin ice so far.
Another huge hole in PIPA is that it allows court orders to issue against any "information location tools" as defined in the DMCA. That sounds a lot like the search engine-directed provisions in SOPA, but the DMCA defines "information location tools" very broadly—to the point where it could easily encompass a simple link. This could subject nearly the whole web to court orders issued through PIPA.
Is SOPA worse?
Even after the manager's amendment, SOPA retains a lot of excesses, pulling in a lot of other types of issues into one big bill—like also including the complexities of trade secret violations, and expanding criminal penalties for streaming (which certainly seemed to upset Justin Bieber, at least).
It also grants blanket immunity to a much wider range of entities who voluntarily decide to cut of suspected infringers. While PIPA restricts immunity to ad networks and payment processors, SOPA adds to this list any ISP, registry, registrar, search engine, bank, or even any advertiser. This puts a large number of potentially powerful intermediaries in an even more powerful position. If Comcast decides it's tired of, say, YouTube.ca taking bandwidth and audience away from cable programming, it can argue that YouTube is "dedicated to infringing activities" and not face any consequences under net neutrality or competition laws. If Google gets upset that eBay.co.uk isn't playing ball with Google Shopping and decides to delist it, it's got a plausible way to escape any lawsuits (to say nothing of unwanted attention from the FTC or the DoJ) for acting anticompetitively.
So to ask whether SOPA is better than PIPA, or vice versa, is a question without a clear answer—a comparison of rotten apples to rotten oranges. They're different enough to defy an up-or-down value comparison, though at base they are similar enough, and similarly bad.
Filed Under: copyright, pipa, problems, protect ip, sopa


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The perfect half day, independent cycling trip experiencing the best that Queenstown has to offer. Enjoy a Spirit of Queenstown cruise to Mt Nicholas High Country Farm, stopping at Bob's Cove to view flora and fauna up close and spectacular views towards Glenorchy, Mt Earnslaw, the Southern Alps and…
attractions and activities » mountain biking and cycling
Queenstown accommodation brilliantly positioned just a five-minute walk along the lakefront to the town centre. Located directly opposite the stunning Lake Wakatipu with unsurpassed views across the water to some of the most majestic scenery in New Zealand. The Bazaar Interactive Market Place and…
accommodation » hotels
Welcome to Cranbury Court Apartments in the heart of spectacular Queenstown. Cranbury Court Apartments has one, two and three-bedroom accommodation to suit your needs. Affordable apartments – 400 metres from the town centre. The apartments are ideal for small groups or families, some with balconies…
accommodation » apartments
The Pupu Hydro Walkway (Te Waikoropupū Springs) retraces an old gold-mining water race, which has been reused for power generation. Although the climb to the water race line is a little steep, the first section, across Waikoropupu River to the power station is an easy grade suitable for all ages.
attractions and activities » free visitor attractions
…truly believe that our trips include the best activities in the South Island, many of which are exclusively available through Adventure Junkies. Unique trips, personal and run by expert guides. We're here to show you the greatest adventures New Zealand has to offer. Family adventures a speciality.
tours » adventure tours
…exhilarating wilderness Jet Boating. Choose between Wilderness Jet and Funyak tours and discover NZ's heart. Join us and travel the beautiful lakeside drive to Glenorchy and into the pristine Dart River valley, travelling by locations used in the Lord of the Rings movies to illustrate Middle Earth.
attractions and activities » adventure » jet boating and jet skiing
…park is set among leafy gardens at the water's edge for boating, windsurfing, jet-skiing and other recreational activities. Its just 2km to the airport and close to Queenstown, ski-fields, golf courses and shops. On-site facilities include laundry and modern self-service kitchen, and accommodation…
accommodation » campsites and holiday parks
…person to jump from an aircraft into thin air. It takes courage. You step out that aircraft door and for 60 seconds plummet toward the ground at 200 kph over the scenic centre of New Zealand. The personal challenge is immense. In 25 years of operation we have jumped over 250,000 customers to date.
attractions and activities » adventure » skydiving
Daily guided wine & craft beer tours from Queenstown to the best Central Otago wineries in our top-of-the-range fleet of luxury Mercedes vehicles. Altitude is not just about wine, we also run half-day scenic tours to Glenorchy from Queenstown. Private charters for families and small groups wanting a…
tours » custom and personal tours
Just been dumped? Stressed at work? Or even found yourself on the holiday from hell? Choose a weapon and SMASHIT up! SMASHIT is a perfect way to let out some anger or just have a lot of fun as we arm you with the tools to become a bull in a china shop, smashing your way through our breakable items.
attractions and activities » attraction and activity passes
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Related Categories: Haast Penguins | Hobbit Town


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I've heard murmurings about Dropbox's secret ambitions, most of which surfaced during the company's recent round of fundraising.
And now the company's strategy appears to be going live.
What is it?
Okay, maybe not "kill" them, but at least pick off some of their functionality.
Basically, Dropbox appears to want to become everyone's hard-drive in the cloud. But not just a "hard drive." A sort of a social storage network, in which your "friends"--those who you allow to access your stuff--can, well, access your stuff.
How is this different than what, say, Apple is doing with iCloud?
In two ways:
- It's platform agnostic. Dropbox works with everything: Apple gadgets, Android gadgets, Microsoft gadgets, even RIM gadgets. Apple only works with Apple gadgets. Why is that important? Because, although a lot of people have Apple gadgets, a lot of people don't. And people who have Apple gadgets occasionally want to share things with people who don't (as impossible as that may be to contemplate). Also, some individual people even use multiple platforms. Maybe they have a PC at work and an iPhone for themselves. Dropbox is a great way to share stuff with yourself.
- It allows you to share stuff with a wide number of friends and colleagues. iCloud is private--for you. Dropbox is private if you want it to be private, but it's also open to whoever you want it to be, file by file. And that makes it sort of a social network.
Google Drive does all this stuff, too, but we already knew Google and Dropbox were going head to head. The news is that Dropbox is now going after some of what Apple and Facebook do.
How do I know what Dropbox has suddenly gotten serious about killing Apple?
Because I just plugged my iPhone into my MacBook Air and got this popup:
In other words, that stealthy Dropbox software is hanging around all day waiting for me to plug in some device so it can insert itself between the device manufacturer (in this case, Apple) and the device manufacturer's storage repository.
I didn't give Dropbox permission to do that.
It just did it!
Assuming Dropbox doesn't annoy the crap out of its users with popups like this, by the way, this is a smart strategy. Most people will probably just click "start import" out of habit. And, soon, they'll have filled up all their Dropbox storage and be forced to buy more.
Moreover, they'll become addicted to Dropbox--because that's where all their stuff will live and that's where they'll share it with their friends. And the more addicted they get to Dropbox, the less addicted they'll be to Apple, or whoever their "platform" provider is.
(By the way, Apple appears to be aware of--and annoyed by--Dropbox's ambitions, because it has recently blocked apps that use Dropbox. How ironic, then, that Dropbox just interrupted the communing of my iPhone and MacBook to siphon off some of my data).
And the sharing activity that folks do on Dropbox, of course, will be sharing activity that could have been done on Facebook or Google. So Dropbox will be taking a bite out of those folks, as well. All while doing something that Google and Facebook have never managed to do--get paid directly by their users.
So you can see why folks are excited about Dropbox. Especially now that its secret strategy is going live.
SEE ALSO: DEAR AMERICA: You Should Be Mad As Hell About This [CHARTS]
Get the latest Google stock price here.


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Kay Commentary 2012-07-07
The following is a KSCO commentary. Here is Kay Zwerling:
I wrote this story about my mother in 1981, two years after her death. I was studying clinical philosophy at that time, a new discipline, which was deep, personal, and analytical, and while I was still missing my mom, I thought about her a great deal then.
Parents and children have powerful and intimate relationships and perspectives about each other. Sometimes positive, sometimes negative, and sometimes neutral. Here I reveal my mother through my own appreciation of being a child, a parent, and a grandparent. I address a philosophical problem, that of finding a sense of groundedness in response to the universal human problem of the abyss – that is, the lack of meaning and aloneness – or nothingness. My mother found her ground in God, and in so many ways, now I do, too.
This is called "My Mother's Ground".
She came to America from Greece in 1912, or thereabouts, at the age of 16. The fourth in a family of six children, quite poor, she had been a young schoolteacher in her village. Her sister and brother-in-law living in New York sent her the fare to join them in the land of hope and opportunity.
She met and married my father, had three children, became a widow at 42. With the three of us married, or gone soon after, she remained alone in the big house, and somehow managed to make the money last.
I worried and wondered at her aloneness every night. She would say to me "God will take care of me, I'm not afraid." God was my mother's ground.
An invalid for six years, and in need of continual custodial care, my 82-year-old mother spent her final years in a local convalescent home. At times, she was amazingly alert. Other times, forgetful. Most often, strangely peaceful and content. In the early days of her confinement, she would often ask in bewilderment "Por que el Dios me hizo esto " (Why did God do this to me?)
Interestingly, after her second stroke, she communicated almost exclusively in Spanish, her native tongue, despite the fact that she had been quite articulate in English.
What made it possible for my mother to face each day with valor, even a smile? Her philosophy, which she affirmed each day when we were together "Todo lo que hace Dios es para bien" (Everything that God does is for good). God was my mother's ground.
In a way, I envied her very much, for I don't believe she ever allowed herself to see the abyss. She chose very early in her life to insulate herself from the anxiety of nihilism by a total and daily commitment to the will of God.
What a fascinating and incongruous polarity of personality was my mother: A most gentle benign imposition of an iron will in areas concerning her children, and a personal complete and total surrender to the will of God. Indeed, God was my mother's ground.
For KSCO and KOMY, this is Kay Zwerling.
© copyright 2012


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NEW YORK — For anyone watching CNN, it's been hard to miss the sunny reminders popping up on the bottom of the screen that Monday is the debut of the "New Day" morning show.
"New Day" will feature the team of Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira in a three-hour telecast CNN promises will be newsy but not drowsy, an attempt to establish a morning program for a new generation.
Watching closely, probably from a New York control room, will be CNN boss Jeff Zucker. Not only are morning shows in his wheelhouse — he produced NBC's "Today" in the 1990s — but the program also represents the biggest on-air change at CNN since the former NBC Universal chief took on the task of reshaping the pioneering news network in January.
"It's very important that we have a really good and strong morning show," Zucker said. "I want a show that sets the tone and the agenda for the day for the entire network."
On weekday mornings CNN has lagged behind Fox News Channel and MSNBC, which have distinctive shows in "Fox & Friends" and "Morning Joe." Even CNN sister network HLN sometimes does better with Robin Meade's "Morning Express."
The former NBC Universal top executive has tackled issues large and small since starting in January. As chief executive, Zucker has tried to erase a losing mentality and strengthen CNN's news identity while keeping audiences interested during slow periods. Little touches, like bringing back James Earl Jones' booming voice to announce "This is CNN" are reminiscent of his old days as a line producer.
By the industry's chief scorecard, CNN viewership is up 18 percent from 2012 throughout the day and night, the Nielsen Co. said. That puts CNN back into second place behind Fox, moving past slumping MSNBC. MSNBC is still second during weekday prime time, but its viewership is down 11 percent and CNN is up 9 percent, Nielsen said.
Naysayers try to diminish the accomplishment by noting that CNN hit rock bottom last year with some of its worst ratings ever and is benefiting from a strong news period now.
But it beats the alternative.
"There was a real sense of energy when Jeff came in — a new energy, a resurrection," Bolduan said. "People see possibilities. When you're down in the ratings, that can get to you."
Bolduan is an early beneficiary. Erin Burnett was considered the top candidate for the morning job, but those talks broke down and both Zucker and Cuomo said they were thrilled by the chemistry when Bolduan did a screen test.
Zucker hired Cuomo from ABC, where he hosted a newsmagazine but yearned to be back in the daily action. Jake Tapper is another hire from ABC whose own later afternoon hour, "The Lead," is considered a template for Zucker's mantra to broaden the definition of news. CNN is also devoting the noon hour primarily to international news.
The prime-time lineup is unchanged, but alternatives are being considered. CNN ran a discussion show, "(Get To) The Point," that failed both commercially and critically during a one-week tryout in March. The network also test-drove a new, more talk-oriented show hosted by Anderson Cooper in the same 10 p.m. ET hour. CNN is expected to revive its dormant political show "Crossfire," though it's unclear where it would air.
There has been some predictable turnover with a new regime. Soledad O'Brien, Ali Velshi, Roland Martin and the husband-and-wife analyst team of James Carville and Mary Matalin are among the people who have left.
Like his predecessors, Zucker has shown no interest in having CNN taking political sides as Fox does with a lineup that appeals to conservatives and MSNBC to liberals.
"There's plenty of room in the middle," he said at an Atlanta press club meeting recently. "But it doesn't give you the right to be boring. Too often, we haven't been vibrant enough."
He's a proponent of "flooding the zone," or devoting extensive resources and overwhelming air time to stories believed to warrant them. That earned some ridicule this winter when CNN applied the concept to the story of a disabled cruise ship where bathrooms didn't function for five days. The aggressiveness cuts both ways: CNN's Martin Savidge scooped other outlets in Cleveland with his interview with the brothers of the man accused of keeping three women captive for years. But John King jumped the gun in falsely reporting the arrest of a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.
"It seems like they have some favorable momentum," said Brian Wieser, senior analyst for Pivotal Research. "You can argue whether or not the style of news is better or worse."
Truly judging Zucker's imprint will take much more time, analysts say.
Zucker has accelerated an effort to diversify CNN's programming, particularly on the weekend. There have been some early results, too: Anthony Bourdain's Sunday night show, "Parts Unknown," is considered a success. Frank Sesno, a former CNN bureau chief now teaching at George Washington University, said it's one of the few CNN shows his students actually talk about.
The idea is that CNN should compete for viewers against all networks, not just news networks.
Celebrity chef Bourdain's series is a travelogue seen through the prism of food. Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock is about to premiere his own series, "Inside Man," that examines little-known sectors of American life. A Ridley Scott series "Crimes of the Century" will profile some colorful criminals. CNN is also increasing its production of documentary films; 10 are expected to air this year. Some of them will have weekday premieres.
Canadian talk show host George Stroumboulopoulos began talking to CNN executives last year about a weekend show and admitted being nervous when a new boss took over. But Zucker was encouraging and the summer fill-in series began last week.
"It's both a smart and necessary thing to both demonstrate that you are true to your brand — that you are going to be the pre-eminent news source — while bringing in some more personality, edge and variety," Sesno said.
"New Day" represents the chance for CNN to bring that philosophy to the morning.


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West Babylon, New York (PRWEB) April 22, 2016
Quality Door & Hardware, Inc. is pleased to announce, as one of their featured product lines for April 2016, the Sargent 10 Line Cylindrical Locks. Jeffery Dinardo Sr., President at Quality Door & Hardware, Inc., recommends the Sargent 10 Line Cylindrical Locks for their durability, ease of installation, and flexible design.
The Sargent 10 Line Cylindrical Locks are heavy-duty, cylindrical key-in-lever handle locksets featuring both strength and security and are rated at 5 times A156.2 Series 4000 Grade 1 standards. At over 4 million cycles, the Sargent 10 Line beats the competition by 30%.
The Sargent 10 Line Lock is user friendly, installs in one minute or less and is designed to fit a variety of door preparations with adaptable through-bolt positioning. The solid feel and precise lever action, together with available decorative one-piece cast construction levers and classroom security and multiple locking functions, make the Sargent 10 Line the ideal choice for use in offices, schools, hospitals, and manufacturing facilities.
The Sargent 10 Line locksets are tough. These 10 Line locksets endure more than two times the A156.2 Grade 1 standard for abusive locked lever torque without allowing entry. Also, the Sargent 10 Line trim is designed to conform to all national and state fire and handicapped requirements.
Quality Door & Hardware is proud to offer the Sargent 10 Line Cylindrical Locks as one of its featured product lines for April 2016 and these fine Sargent products can be found on our e-commerce site at: http://www.QualityDoor.com.
Quality Door & Hardware, Inc. has been a leader in the commercial door hardware industry for over 25 years and features a wide array of products from among all of the most popular manufacturers and brands. In addition, Quality Door & Hardware has earned a well deserved reputation in the industry for its unparalleled customer service. At Quality Door & Hardware, Inc., we invite you to experience the difference that "Quality" can make in your business.


text: Heat the oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper. Add half of the beef and cook until brown, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a bowl. Repeat with the remaining beef. Add the celery, carrots, onion, garlic, rosemary, and oregano to the pot. Saute until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Return the beef and any accumulated juices from the bowl to the pot. Add the broth and tomatoes with their juice. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the meat is just tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour. Add the lentils. Cover and continue simmering until the lentils are tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in the parsley. Season the soup, to taste, with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.


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We have all had those strange moments when the hairs on the back of the neck stand up and a chill runs down the back. Its due mainly to the realisation momentarily, that "…there but for the grace of God go I…" or the hearing of strange tales that make you wonder "…how would I react to that?…."
On ecparamedics blog Social Dispatch his post on "Ghosts" reminded me of a patient that I went to last year. The gentleman in question was a tetra-plegic, paralysed in all four limbs from the neck down. He was, and still is, lovingly cared for by his wife of many years. We were asked to admit him to a local hospital for treatment for a chest infection.
The reason for the paralysis was due to a serious RTC during the 1960s involving two HGVs. He was the driver of one of the lorries. Against all the odds he had survived horrendous injuries which unfortunately cut short his future career in the Police. He had just enlisted and was awaiting joining instructions.
It was whilst talking to his wife about the gentlemans condition in general that she related to me a very strange and totally bizzare event that had occurred recently. They had taken a holiday abroad and had boarded the plane ready for take off. He was sat towards the rear of the aircraft to accommodate his disability and was chatting to a fellow passenger.
Unbelievably…..this fellow passenger sat next to him was the driver of the other lorry that had crashed into him over 40 years ago! And he still carried a small picture of the crash scene in his wallet as his life had hung in the balance too!
What would I have done or said in a situation like that?
I hope I never have to find out!


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Shopping from A to Z - To find you just the right gear!Junior Size Hoodies beginning with the letter "H"
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Displaying property 1 of 1 properties
Reference: 36395_15
Apartment: 3 beds, 3 baths, 2 receptions
The Cloister
Elegant 3 bedroom duplex apartment in an exclusive portered mansion block.The property boats approx. 3200 sq. ft. and has been decorated and maintain to a very good standard. There are 3 double bedrooms with all en-suite, a very large reception room and an open plan kitchen dining room.LOCAL AMENITIES:Portland Place is a premier address surrounded by the wealth of Marylebone shops, restaurants and attractions and just moments from Oxford Street and Regent Street which is one of London's hot spots for shopping and also close to majority of London's best theatres. This property is also a short distance away from Baker Street where you can find the popular tourist attraction 'Madame Tussauds' and the Sherlock Holmes Museum.LOCAL TRANSPORT LINKS:Great Portland underground station (Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines) and Regents Park underground station (Bakerloo line) are close by.
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