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Mob of the Dead
Mob of the Dead (AKA Alcatraz Island) is the main Zombies map featured in the DLC Pack, Uprising. The map is set in Alcatraz Prison around the 1930's. It features four Hollywood Mob characters: Ray Liotta, Chazz Palminteri, Joey Pantoliano and Michael Madsen.
For a list of Easter Eggs for this map, see the Mob of the Dead Easter Eggs page.
Afterlife Mechanic
A new feature, or mechanic, for Mob of the Dead is the Afterlife. When downed, or when you interact with a power box, you will be able to enter the Afterlife. While in the afterlife, you can walk, levitate, shoot electricity and revive yourself for up to 60 seconds or shorter. Use the blue symbol at the bottom of the screen as an afterlife length meter. Any longer, and you will go down and will need a team mate to revive you.
Make note: If you down yourself when interacting with a power box, you will keep your perks when you revive. However, if you are downed by zombies, you will lose all perks when revived!
The number at the bottom right corner of the screen will show how many Afterlifes you have left. At the end of each round, one more will be added, up to a max of three. If you have a Afterlife when you get down you automaticly go to Afterlife.
The electricity that you fire does not kill zombies, but teleports them elsewhere. Electricity can also be used to power up volt meters around the map for various utilities. In fact, this is the map's only source of power until you fly over to the bridge. Once someone (or the whole team) makes it to the bridge and Pack-A-Punch machine, all machines will turn on.
Look for doors around the map with the same Afterlife symbol on them. When you enter the afterlife, you will be able to walk through these doors without a problem. Any other doors are impenetrable.
New Creature: Brutus
Brutus is a new Zombie in Mob of the Dead. It's basically a bigger and stronger version of the normal Zombie. It stomps around, shaking the entire screen, then walks up to a player and hits them like a normal zombie. The damage they do is the same as a normal zombie, but the damage they can take is much more. After killing Brutus, he will drop a Power-Up.
Map Walkthrough
This is a quick map walkthrough for Mob of the Dead. It's a guide on how to get to each part of the map, find all weapons, find all perks, and will be updated with trap upgrade part locations. If you want to know how to accomplish certain achievements or trophies, see the Uprising Achievements and Trophies page. Some of the pages make it much easier to find specific things instead of reading through this whole map walkthrough.
Library / D-Block
The game starts out all players in the Library and D-Block. You will have to revive yourself while in the Afterlife. Notice the blue doorway with the voltage meter nearby. This doorway is only available while in the Afterlife. When you're alive again, it will be a normal door. Charge the voltage meter inside while in the Afterlife to open the cell with the Double Points Power-Up.
D-Block has the M14 on the wall for 500 points, and the library has the Olympia on the wall for 500 points. Like usual, these are the starting weapons. If you wish to leave the area, you can buy a door at one of the ends for 1000 Points a piece.Only buy them if you have nothing else espcialy the M14!
|In Library
|In D-Block
Both doors lead to the main Cell Block, but they are at completely different ends. The cell block is massive, and leads to other areas of the map and other weapon wall spots.
The door from D-Block (near the M14) will lead to a long hallway. Follow this hall until you reach B-Block. The door from the Library (near the Olympia) will lead directly to C-D Street.
Cell Blocks
The Cell Block is the big, square area in the middle of the map. It's basically the central point to all other areas. One side is C-D Street, the middle area is known as Broadway, and the far end is known as Michigan. One side between C-D Street and Michigan is called B-Block, and the other side must be A-Block.
B-Block and Michigan
Taking the path from D-Block will lead to B-Block. The catwalk path ends at a door near the middle of the cell block, which can be purchased for 1000 Points, or you can jump down to the Cafeteria and Showers Doors on the ground floor. The door on the catwalk will take you to the middle of the Cell Block, also known as Broadway.
If you like, you can also jump down off the catwalk (Michigan side) and head towards the other end of the Cell Block – possibly named A-Block. The other end has a door to the Warden's Office and the Citadel Tunnels. The Tunnel's door can be bought for 1500 Points, but the Warden's Office must be opened in the Afterlife. Enter the Afterlife, jump through the symbol above the Warden's Office, follow the path to a volt meter and charge it to lower the Warden's Key above the office. Anyone can then grab the key to open the office and certain other locked boxes or doors around the map.
Across the hall from the Cafeteria door is the MP5 wall spot. Both the door and the MP5 can be bought for 1000 Points each. Scroll down to the Cafeteria header for more info on that room.
|On Cell Block wall across from Cafeteria
To access the Showers, you must enter the Afterlife, go through the door directly to the left of the MP5, and zap a voltage meter to open the door.
Broadway and C-D Street
Taking the path from the library will lead to C-D Street. It's a small area since everything is blocked off, but it leads directly to the second floor area in the middle of the Cell Block, also known as Broadway.
The second floor Broadway has the B23R wall spot. This weapon can be purchased for 900 Points, which is much cheaper than past maps. Next to it is a door that can be opened for 1000 Points. This door will lead out to the Michigan side of the Cell Block. Information on the doors available on that side is right above this section.
|Second Floor Broadway Cell Block
Near the middle area of Broadway is a Hound Emblem. This is one of three locations that go towards Feed the Beast and unlock the Hell's Retriever.
Back towards C-D Street is a set of stairs up to the third floor of C-D Street, Broadway, and Michigan. The only thing towards Michigan is the Gondola. This Gondola can be rode down to the docks for 750 points after the volt meter has been charged up. After it reaches its destination, it can be taken back up to this area for another 750 Points.
The third floor also has a new Perk-A-Cola machine called Electric Cherry. It can be bought for 2000 points, and discharges electricity from the user each time they reload. Behind the machine is a Workbench location.
Follow the path behind the workbench to a door to the Infirmary. This door costs 1000 Points to open.
Warden's Office
The Warden's Office is located around the Cell Blocks, on the Michigan / A-Block side. The door cannot be bought with points like all other doors. To open this door, enter the Afterlife, jump through the symbol above the Warden's Office, follow the path to a volt meter and charge it to lower the Warden's Key above the office. Anyone can then grab the key to open the office and certain other locked boxes and doors around the map.
With the door open, the Fan Trap can be used for 1000 Points. This activates fan blades at the door which will kill anything that comes into contact with it, or it will just down players.
Further into the office is an Uzi wall spot. Buy this weapon for 1500 Points.
To the right of the Uzi is a door with electricity surging through it. This is the only locked thing in the prison that cannot be immediately unlocked with the Warden's Key. To unlock this, you must go down to the generator room and overload three generators. Behind the electric door is a Plane Part.
In the rooms to the left of the Uzi is a Mystery Box spawn and the Speed Cola machine.
The Cafeteria is a room that can be accessed through the B-Block (near MP5) part of the Cell Blocks, or through the Infirmary. There are two doors that can be purchased for 1000 each to reach this area.
After the door to the Cell Block is opened, an Acid Trap can be used for 1000 Points. This will shower acid near the entrance for about 30 seconds. The trap will kill anything that comes into contact with it, or it will just down players.
This is the first area the Mystery Box usually spawn at, but not always. It can be found on the left side of the room.
At the back of the room is both a Claymore and Workbench. The Claymores can be purchased for 1000 Points. This particular Workbench is used to build the Acidgat Kit. This allows players to convert the Blundergat into the Acidgat, unlocking the Acid Drip achievement / trophy. There are three parts that must be built on this specific table:
- One part is located directly after the library (starting area)
- One part is located in the Warden's Office
- One part is located in the Infirmary
|Back Wall
The Infirmary can be reached through the Cafeteria or through a door on the second floor of the Cell Block area, right behind the Electric Cherry machine. Each door costs 1000 Points.
The first area is a mix of small rooms, one being covered in tiles. Enter the Afterlife to find an open door in the tile covered room. This door leads up to the roof, where a volt meter can be charged to gain access to the rooftop.
Further into the Infirmary is another Uzi wall spot. It can be purchased for 1500 Points. Near it is another Mystery Box spawn location.
Another Hound Emblem can be found in the same room as the Uzi, just left of another Plane Part in a box. To open this box, you will need the Warden's Key.
The room next to the locked box is another Perk-A-Cola Machine: Deadshot Daiquiri. Charge it up and gain access to it for 1200 Points. At the other end of this room is the set of stairs up to the roof. Another door is also in this area, but it leads down to the Cafeteria, and must be bought with 1000 Points.
The roof is a completely empty area. It forms a circle, so it will be hard to get trapped. This is the area the plane must be built for No One Escapes Alive. Build the plane to fly over to the Bridge.
Citadel Tunnels
The Citadel Tunnels can be accessed via a door on the Michigan side of the Cell Block, or through the Showers. The door from the Cell Block costs 1500 Points to open. Near the entrance is the Double Tap II Root Beer Perk-A-Cola machine.
Right after the perk machine is a wall with three Hound Emblems on it. After feeding all three hounds, this wall will open up, and the Hell's Retriever will be available inside.
Down the hall is the R870 MCS on the wall for 1200 Points. Near the weapon is a room with another Mystery Box spawn. This same room also has a door that leads down to the Docks. This door must be bought for 1000 Points.
|Down hall
Another door at the end of the first set of rooms can be bought for 2000 Points, and leads out to the Showers.
The Showers can be accessed in two ways. The first way is through a door for 2000 Points from the Citadel Tunnels. The second way is a bit more complex. When at the B-Block side of the Cell Block, enter the Afterlife and head through a door just to the left of the MP5 spawn. Follow the arrows to a volt meter and charge it up to open the doors to the Showers.
The shower room is a square, medium-sized room. The middle area is completely blocked off, forming a circular path. At one end is an R870 MCS wall spot for 1200 Points. At the other end is a locked gate. Use the Warden's Key to open this gate and access the washing machine. Charge the volt meter near the machine while in the afterlife to get the machine running, then interact with it to start a quick cycle. When the cycle is done, interact with it again to get another Plane Part.
|Back wall
Citadel Tunnels to Docks
These tunnels are still technically the Citadel Tunnels. It's a semi-long spiral path down to the Docks. At the bottom of the area is a box that can only be unlocked with the Warden's Key. Go into the Afterlife at the top of the spiral stairs and make note of the three numbers on the walls on the way down. Zap each volt meter in the formerly locked box to match the numbers on the walls. This will activate the elevator in the middle of the room. Quickly (you are timed) head down the tunnels and make a left to the elevator opening to grab another Plane Part
At the bottom of the tunnel is a door worth 1000 Points. Open it up to find another Uzi wall spot. Further down are two paths to two doors. One door worth 2000 Points leads to the docks, and the other doors worth 1500 Points leads to the Generator room.
|Wall at bottom
Generator Room Near Docks
This is a small room with several generators. It can be accessed through the Citadel Tunnels or the Docks. Both set of doors can be purchased for 1500 Points. Inside this room is another MP5 wall spot for 1000 Points.
|In middle of room
On the side of the room is a door that can only be entered while in the Afterlife. First, go through this door and shock a generator to overload it, then shock two more generators in the main room to disable the electric barrier on the door in the Warden's Office, allowing you to use the Key to obtain another Plane part.
The Docks can be accessed through the Generator Room or through the Citadel Tunnels. The gate from the Tunnels costs 2000 Points to open, but the door through the Generator Room costs 1500 Points to open.
Near the gate is the Jugger-Nog machine. After charging it up, the beverage can be purchased for 2500 Points.
Further ahead of the Perk-A-Cola machine is the Gondola. This can be rode for 750 Points up to the third floor Cell Block, but it must be charged first like all other machines.
Another path down towards the docks is located near the Jugger-Nog machine. A long set of stairs can be taken, or you can jump off a bridge. Near the bottom is a Workbench near the Generator Room's door. This is also the place where the third Hound Emblem is located.
This particular workbench is the place to create the Zombie Shield. There are three parts needed to build this item:
- One part is located around the docks
- One part is located in the generator room
- One part is located in the tunnels down to the Docks
Further down the path is a new weapon on a wall: the M1927. This weapon is the Thompson Submachine Gun with drum magazine. It can be bought for 1500 Points.
|Bottom of Docks
To the left of the M1927 is a locked gate. Use the Warden's Key to open this gate, switch to afterlife, zap the volt meter right inside the gate to open another gate, and grab the Plane Part inside the newly opened gate.
The path then makes a U-Turn to a dead end where another trap and Mystery Box spawn is located. This trap is the Tower Trap, and can be activated for 1000 Points. Using this trap will activate automated snipers at the top of the tower. The snipers will headshot several zombies, instantly killing them.
This trap can be upgraded if someone is in the Afterlife after the trap is activated. A Voltage meter will appear above the trap, allowing a player in the Afterlife to charge it. The Sniper fire will change to RPGs when upgraded. If this trap is upgraded, and the other two traps are used in the Warden's Office and Cafeteria before round ten, all players will earn the Trapped in Time achievement / Trophy.
The Bridge is a medium-sized area that can only be accessed after building the Plane on the roof. Get on the plane and fly it over to the bridge where the Pack-A-Punch Machine is located. Beware Brutus spawns more frequently here and sometimes more than one use a ray gun to easily dispatch them. Zombies will still spawn and attack you. After a minute or so, four electric chairs will show up in this area. Use them to return to the Library / D-Block of the Prison with all your weapons and perks intact. The plane can then be refueled by finding gas cans, where the original plane parts are located, and can be used to return to the Bridge.


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Fish on Prozac prove anxious, antisocial, aggressive
Antidepressants, frequently showing up in U.S. streams, can alter genes responsible for building fish brains and controlling behavior
When fish swim in waters tainted with antidepressant drugs, they become anxious, anti-social and sometimes even homicidal.
New research has found that the pharmaceuticals, which are frequently showing up in U.S. streams, can alter genes responsible for building fish brains and controlling their behavior.
Antidepressants are the most commonly prescribed medications in the United States; about 250 million prescriptions are filled every year. And they also are the highest-documented drugs contaminating waterways, which has experts worried about fish. Traces of the drugs typically get into streams when people excrete them, then sewage treatment plants discharge the effluent.
Exposure to fluoxetine, known by the trade name Prozac, had a bizarre effect on male fathead minnows, according to new, unpublished research by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Male minnows exposed to a small dose of the drug in laboratories ignored females. They spent more time under a tile, so their reproduction decreased and they took more time capturing prey, according to Rebecca Klaper, a professor of freshwater sciences who spoke about her findings at a Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry conference last fall. Klaper said the doses of Prozac added to the fishes' water were "very low concentrations," 1 part per billion, which is found in some wastewater discharged into streams.
When the dose was increased, but still at levels found in some wastewater, females produced fewer eggs and males became aggressive, killing females in some cases, Klaper said at the conference.
The drugs seem to cause these behavioral problems by scrambling how genes in the fish brains are expressed, or turned on and off. The minnows were exposed when they were a couple of months old and still developing.
There appeared to be architectural changes to the young minnows' brains, Klaper said at the toxicology conference. Growth of the axons, which are long nerve fibers that transmit information to the body, was disrupted.
The new findings build on Klaper's previous research, which tested minnows with the gene changes to see how well they avoided predators. They swam longer distances and made more directional changes, which suggests that the drugs induced anxiety.
The drugs used in the study were among the most common in sewage: Prozac, Effexor and Tegretol. The researchers tested each drug alone and in combination.
"At high doses we expect brain changes," Klaper said. "But we saw the gene expression changes and then behavioral changes at doses that we consider environmentally relevant."
However, there is too little evidence to know whether pharmaceuticals are having any impacts on fish populations in the wild, said Bryan Brooks, an environmental science professor at Baylor University who has extensively studied pharmaceuticals in streams and fish.
Any changes in reproduction, eating and avoiding prey can have devastating impacts for fish populations, Klaper said.
The most vulnerable fish populations are those downstream of sewage treatment plants, where prescription drugs consistently show up in higher levels than in other waterways. It's only within the past decade that technology has allowed plants to test for the chemicals in their wastewater and in waters downstream, though most still don't, said Steve Carr, supervisor of the chemistry research group at the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts.
One of the antidepressants tested in the fish – Tegretol – comes into the treatment plants and goes out at near constant levels, said Eric Nelson, a senior chemist with the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts.
That means the county's treatment technology does not seem to have any effect on the drug. It comes in and leaves in a very tight range, about 150 to 400 parts per trillion, Nelson said.
Nelson said the two other drugs tested on the fish – Prozac and Effexor – are discharged in effluent at even lower levels: between about 20 and 30 parts per trillion. In comparison, the levels that altered behavior of the lab fish were 50 times higher.
When monitoring an Iowa and a Colorado stream, the U.S. Geological Survey found most drugs at levels similar to Los Angeles County's. However, these low levels could still find their way into fish brains, according to their 2010 study.
Researchers found elevated levels of pharmaceuticals in the stream water two to six miles from the sewage treatment plants. But the chemicals at the highest levels in the water were not the ones most prevalent in the fish brains.
"The fish downstream of the wastewater treatment had elevated concentrations of two antidepressants … Zoloft and Prozac," said Edward Furlong, a research chemist at the U.S. Geological Survey based in Boulder, Colo. "And these were relatively low in water compared to others."
Even if the levels released into streams seem low, they are constant, which is problematic, Brooks said.
"The drugs may not be classically persistent like PCBs," Brooks said. "But they're pseudo-persistent. The [continuous] exposure of organisms in a stream is equivalent to a chemical that is persistent."
Some drugs bioaccumulate, or build up, in rainbow trout, according to Brooks' research. Also, rainbow trout exposed to sewage effluent have pharmaceuticals in their blood at levels as high as those that affect the brains of people, according to research in Sweden.
Brooks said the likelihood of bioaccumulation for pharmaceuticals is high. "People have to take these drugs for weeks before they start having effects. They slowly bioaccumulate in your system," which suggests bioaccumulation potential in fish, too, Brooks said.
Changes to the brain can affect all kinds of things in fish, Klaper said. And since humans have a similar brain gene structure, the findings raise questions about whether traces of these drugs in drinking water might harm human health.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers pharmaceuticals an "emerging concern," and has concluded that the chemicals may pose risks to wildlife and humans. There are currently no federal regulations of the compounds in waste or drinking water. However, 12 pharmaceuticals are currently on the EPA's Contaminant Candidate List, which are chemicals that may require regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Studies have consistently found prescription drugs in drinking water at parts-per-trillion levels. U.S. Geological Survey scientists sampled 74 waterways used for drinking water in 25 states in 2008 and found 53 had one or more of the three dozen pharmaceuticals they were testing for in their water. Forty percent of the pharmaceuticals were found at one or more of the sites.
Fifty-four active pharmaceutical ingredients and 10 metabolites have been detected in treated U.S. drinking water, according to a 2010 EPA review.
Studies of children exposed in the womb to antidepressants taken by their mothers show effects on their motor development and a higher risk of some birth defects.
But health officials say the levels found in some drinking water are too low to cause harm.
According to a 2012 World Health Organization report, the "trace quantities of pharmaceuticals in drinking water are very unlikely to pose risks to human health." The report said that the amount found in drinking water is usually 1,000 times lower than doses expected to have an effect on a person.
But Klaper said that in light of the gene changes in fish brains, officials may need to rethink what is considered safe.
"Fish do not metabolize drugs like we do," Klaper said. "Even if environmental doses aren't thought to be much for a human, fish could still have significant accumulation, and, it appears, changes in their brain's gene expression."

subset: commoncrawl


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Published March 12, 2021
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your "childhood backstory"?
I am originally from Ohio. Growing up, I was the kid who needed to understand how and why things worked and know everything about the people who created them. As a child I lit a wall of our house on fire, made a shortwave radio from a Radio Shack electronics kit, and took apart my "talking Teddy Bear" to figure out how it worked. From a young age, I had a technical inquisitiveness and a fierce love of reading. Today, my inquisitive nature has developed into wanting to learn more about the people changing the world and the products and services they are creating. I love people and community, so building a community of passionate people is something I have always gravitated towards.
Can you tell us the story of what led you to this particular career path?
Read the full story at ThriveGlobal.com
Thrive Global


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The div element is used to organize subsets of content into logical groups that are not intended to be or should not be contained as a topic.
The div element is designed to be a grouping element; it does not imply any explicit semantics or contain an explicit title. This avoids enabling the creation of deeply-nested content that would otherwise be written as separate topics. If the content requires a title, use a section element, a nested topic, or possibly a fig element.
Content models
See appendix for information about this element in OASIS document type shells.
- topic/div
In the following example, a div element is used to organize several elements together so that they can be referenced by conref or conkeyref:
...

The first paragraph

The second paragraph
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Without using a div element, the content could not be grouped for content referencing since the start and end elements are of different types.
In the following example, div is used as the basis for specializing a new domain element, pullquote:
<!ENTITY % pullquote.content "(%div.cnt;)*" > <!ENTITY % pullquote.attributes "%univ-atts; outputclass CDATA #IMPLIED" > <!ELEMENT pullquote %pullquote.content;> <!ATTLIST pullquote %pullquote.attributes;> <!ATTLIST pullquote %global-atts; class CDATA "+ topic/div pubcontent-d/pullquote ">
Instances of pullquote could then be used in both body and section contexts:
<topic id="article-01"> <title>My Article</title>
Something pithy someone said
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Something Pithy
</pullquote>

This is really really pithy
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Really Pithy
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The following attributes are available on this element: Universal attribute group and outputclass.


text:
Top Items:
Stuart Elliott / New York Times:
In a TiVo World, Television Turns Marketing Efforts to New Media — A scene from "The Class,'' which has its premiere Sept. 18 on CBS. The series and three others are part of a deal that will let TiVo subscribers see previews. — MUCH of the ferment that is remaking Madison Avenue …
Discussion: IP Democracy and PVR Wire
Cynthia Brumfield / IP Democracy: Broadcast Networks Take Marketing to the Edge
Brad Linder / PVR Wire: TiVo showcases CBS's new fall season
Tom Mohr / Editor and Publisher:
SPECIAL: "Winning Online" — A Manifesto — NEW YORK Newspapers must win online, or face a future of painful contraction. — To win, industry leaders must adopt a Marshall Plan embodying two key objectives: the migration to common platforms, and the acquisition of the ability to sell top-quality online product to our advertisers.
Discussion: VentureBeat, blackrimglasses.com, Small Initiatives, John Battelle's Searchblog, Mark Evans and Lost Remote
Ethan Kaplan / blackrimglasses.com: E&P states the obvious and misses the obvious SPECIAL: "Winning Online …
Jay Small / Small Initiatives: Newspapers' online 'Marshall Plan'
John Battelle / John Battelle's Searchblog: MOHR CALLS OUT THE NEWSPAPERS
Steve Safran / Lost Remote: A 'Marshall Plan' for the newspapers
The Register:
Wi-Fi guidance becomes law in California — Manufacturers to warn on wireless security — By OUT-LAW.COM → More by this author — California legislators have passed a law which will force makers of wireless internet equipment to include guidance on keeping data secure on wireless connections.
Discussion: Smart Mobs and Slashdot
Jim Downing / Smart Mobs: Manufacturers and wireless security in California
ScuttleMonkey / Slashdot: California Passes Wi-Fi Guidance Law
Niall Kennedy / Niall Kennedy's Weblog:
Narrowcasting with customized homepages — Personalized homepages have been around for over 10 years and recently have gathered increased attention as a new generation of personalized homepages enter the space. The programmed personal homepage is changing, with cobrands …
Discussion: Between the Lines and GigaOM
Dan Farber / Between the Lines: What's next for personalized home pages
David Rothman / TeleRead:
'Drive-by' contributors: The most valuable Wikipedia authors? And a lesson for academia? — Some of the wisest TeleBlog comments are coming from people who've never posted before—yet are fiendishly smart on arcane topics. — While spammers are a hassle, openness can be a godsend.
Discussion: Communications, Confused Of Calcutta, michael parekh on IT and bootstrapping.net
Thomas Madsen-Mygdal / bootstrapping.net: Who Writes Wikipedia? (Aaron Swartz's Raw Thought)
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
New Facebook Redesign More Than Aesthetic — Facebook launched two new features and a major design change tonight that affects all of their 9.5 million users. The new products, called News Feed and Mini Feed, are designed to change what Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls Facebook's old …
Discussion: Download Squad, It's Rishi and Elliott Back
Jordan Running / Download Squad: Facebook gets a face lift
Rishi Khaitan / It's Rishi: Reactions to the new "Stalkerbook"
Jon Arnold / Jon Arnold's Blog:
Telio and Vonage Revisited - the Song Remains the Same — I may be the only one out there talking about these two operators in the same breath, and you know what? - I'm going to keep on doing it. Their IPOs were very close together, and in June I posted about them, and how they have taken …
Discussion: Mark Evans and VoIP Watch
Andy Abramson / VoIP Watch: Mark Evans Takes On The NY Times and Vonage
Eliot Van Buskirk / Wired News:
Finally, a Sirius IPod Threat — Remember Howard Stern? He's that guy who used to be on the radio. As everyone knows, that was before the Federal Communications Commission edged him off of the "public" airwaves and into the welcoming arms of Sirius satellite radio.
Discussion: digg
Johndi / digg: Finally, a Sirius IPod Threat
Tony Dennis / Inquirer:
Bad news for mobile music — Survey illustrates uphill battle — A SURVEY carried out by Entertainment Media Research - in association with the law firm Olswang - makes pretty dire reading for the mobile phone industry. By contrast, it gives a whacking great boost to the social networking sites.
Style with substance: tribal art, ethnic decoration define the latest models of Nokia's L'Amour Collection — Nokia unveils three new mobile phones for the fashion-conscious, including the first 3G fashion phone — Espoo, Finland - Building upon the success of last year's highly popular …
Discussion: MobileWhack.com, Engadget Mobile and Darla Mack
Seth Schiesel / New York Times:
Online Game, Made in U.S., Seizes the Globe — SEOUL, South Korea — At 10:43 p.m. one recent Saturday, in a smoky basement gaming parlor under a bank in this sprawling city's expensive Daechi neighborhood, Yoon Chang Joon, a 25-year-old orc hunter known online as Prodigy, led his troops into battle.
Chris Leckness / Mobility Site:
HP iPAQ rx4000 Mobile Media Companion Announced — Mobile Entertainment in Your Grasp — Breaking new ground in design for handheld devices, HP launched the HP iPAQ rx4000 Mobile Media Companion series. Its compact, palm-sized smart design will enhance consumers' entertainment experience …
Discussion: Engadget and MobileWhack.com
Paul Miller / Engadget: HP's new iPAQ rx4000 goes widescreen
Tanya Palta / MobileWhack.com: HP rx4000 iPAQ Mobile Media Companion
Henry Jenkins / Confessions of an Aca/Fan:
Experimenting with Brands in Second Life — In 1954, Frederick Pohl, a gifted social satirist and science fiction writer, published the short story, "The Tunnel Under the World", which should have been made into a first rate Twilight Zone episode. A man wakes up in bed next to his wife …
Discussion: reBang weblog and New World Notes
SLHamlet / New World Notes: HENRY JENKINS ON (AND IN) SECOND LIFE
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Very Early Look at Synthasite's Ajax Website Builder — South Africa based incuBeta will soon launch a website builder called Synthasite to help people build webpages entirely online. It will include a lot of the functionality of desktop applications like Frontpage and Dreamweaver (think Writely or Zoho Writer v. Word).
Richard MacManus / Read/WriteWeb:
Douglas Engelbart's HyperScope 1.0 Launched — Brad Neuberg has announced the release of HyperScope 1.0, a Web app based on tech legend Douglas Engelbart's 1968 NLS/Augment (oNLine System). Engelbart and team have been working on Hyperscope since March this year, in a project funded by the National Science Foundation.
Tim / O'Reilly Radar:
Open Data: Small Pieces Loosely Joined — Chris Messina's blog entry about Gdata, entitled Building a Better Mousetrap, shows how people are waking up to the new platform wars. Chris singles out Google in his post: … I don't know that Chris is right to point the finger at Google …
Discussion: Glass House
Frank Shaw / Glass House: Technology and Communications
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
WebWorkerDaily, for the Web 2.0 Worker — Om Malik's blog network is starting to take shape as he launches WebWorkerDaily this afternoon. The new site is a blog for the distributed worker, where the office is wherever their laptop happens to be. Cell phones, Skype, laptops and other tools …
Discussion: duncanriley.com
Om Malik / WebWorkerDaily:
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Our Violent Ends512
Our Violent Ends512
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Shanghai is under siege in this captivating and searingly romantic sequel to These Violent Delights, which New York Times bestselling author Natasha Ngan calls "deliciously dark."
The year is 1927, and Shanghai teeters on the edge of revolution.
After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on a mission. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang's heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to have him want her dead for murdering his best friend in cold blood. If Juliette were actually guilty of the crime Roma believes she committed, his rejection might sting less.
Roma is still reeling from Marshall's death, and his cousin Benedikt will barely speak to him. Roma knows it's his fault for letting the ruthless Juliette back into his life, and he's determined to set things right—even if that means killing the girl he hates and loves with equal measure.
Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and though secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma's cooperation if they are to end this threat once and for all. Shanghai is already at a boiling point: The Nationalists are marching in, whispers of civil war brew louder every day, and gangster rule faces complete annihilation. Roma and Juliette must put aside their differences to combat monsters and politics, but they aren't prepared for the biggest threat of all: protecting their hearts from each other.
Product Details
|Margaret K. McElderry Books
|Publication date:
|These Violent Delights Series , #2
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|HL830L (what's this?)
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|Age Range:
|14 - 18 Years
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Chapter One One
The New Year in Shanghai passed with such fanfare that a sense of party still permeated the city a week later. It was the way the people moved about—the extra bounce in their toes and the twinkle in their eye as they leaned over the seats of the Grand Theatre to whisper to their companion. It was loud jazz music audible from the cabaret across the street, the cool air of handheld bamboo fans waving about in rapid color, the smell of something fried smuggled into the viewing room despite Screen One's strict rules. Marking the first day of the Gregorian calendar as a time for celebration was a Western matter, but the West had long stuck its roots into this city.
The madness in Shanghai was gone. The streets had been lulled back into uproarious decadence and nights that went on and on—like this one, where theatergoers could watch a picture and then saunter along the Huangpu River until sunrise. After all, there was no monster lurking in the waters anymore. It had been four months since the monster of Shanghai died, shot to death and left to rot on a wharf by the Bund. Now the only thing civilians needed to worry about were gangsters... and the increasing number of bullet-hole-ridden corpses showing up on the streets.
Juliette Cai peered over the railing, squinting down at the ground level of Screen One. From her vantage point, she could see almost everything below, could pick out every minuscule detail among the chaos broiling under the golden light fixtures. Unfortunately, it would have been more useful if she were actually down there herself, mingling with the merchant she had been sent here for, rather than staring at him from high above. Their seats tonight were the best that she could do; the assignment had been given far too last minute for Juliette to finagle something good in the thick of the socializing sphere.
"Are you going to be pulling that face all night?"
Juliette swiveled around, narrowing her eyes at her cousin. Kathleen Lang was trailing close, her mouth set in a grimace while the people around them searched for their seats before the picture started.
"Yes," Juliette grumbled. "I have so many better things to be doing right now."
Kathleen rolled her eyes, then wordlessly pointed ahead, having spotted the seats marked on their tickets. The stubs in her hands were ripped poorly after the uniformed ticket boy at the door got his top hat knocked into his eyes by the crowd surging into the portico. He had hardly a moment to recover before more tickets were waved in his face, foreigners and rich Chinese alike sniffing their noses at the slow speed. In places like these, better service was expected. Ticket prices were sky-high to make the Grand Theatre an experience, what with its arched ceiling beams and wrought-iron railings, its Italian marble and delicate doorway lettering—only in English, no Chinese to be found.
"What could possibly be more important than this?" Kathleen asked. They took their seats: the front-most row by the second-level railing, a perfect view of both the screen and all the people beneath. "Staring angrily at your bedroom wall, as you have been doing these few months?"
Juliette frowned. "I have not been doing merely that."
"Oh, pardon me. How could I forget screaming at politicians?"
Huffing, Juliette leaned back into her seat. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest, the beads along her sleeves clinking loudly against the beads dangling from her front. Grating as the sound was, it contributed only a small fraction to the general bedlam of the theater.
"Bàba is already giving me enough grief for upsetting that Nationalist," Juliette grumbled. She started to take inventory of the crowd below, mentally assigning names to faces and keeping track of who might notice that she was here. "Don't you get on my case too."
Kathleen tutted, setting her elbow onto the armrest between them. "I'm only concerned, biaomèi."
"Concerned about what? I'm always screaming at people."
"Lord Cai doesn't reprimand you often. I think that might be an indicator of—"
Juliette lurched forward. Out of sheer instinct, a gasp rose in her throat, but she refused to let it out, and instead the sound lodged itself tightly in place, an ice-cold sensation pressed up against the back of her tongue. Kathleen immediately jerked to attention too, searching the floor below for whatever it was that had drained Juliette's face utterly of blood.
"What?" Kathleen demanded. "What is it? Do I call for backup?"
"No," Juliette whispered, swallowing hard. The theater dimmed. Taking their cue, the ticket boys started to walk the aisles, forcing the crowd to settle for the picture. "It is only a small hiccup."
Her cousin's brows were furrowed, still searching. "What is it?" Kathleen repeated.
Juliette simply pointed. She watched as Kathleen followed the direction in which she was indicating, watched as the realization set in when they were both looking at one figure pushing his way through the crowd.
"It would appear we were not the only ones sent here for a task."
Because down on the ground level, looking like he had not a care in the world, Roma Montagov smiled and stopped in front of the merchant they were after, extending his hand for the merchant to shake.
Juliette curled her fists tightly into her lap.
She had not seen Roma since October, since the first protests in Nanshi shook the city and set the precedent for those that were to follow when winter swept into Shanghai. She had not seen his physical person, but she had felt his presence everywhere: in the corpses littered across the city with lily-white flowers clutched in their stiff hands; in the business partners disappearing out of the blue with nary a message or explanation; in the blood feud making its mark. Ever since the city caught wind of a confrontation between Roma Montagov and Tyler Cai, the blood feud had shot back into its most terrible heights. Neither gang needed to worry about their numbers being picked off by the madness anymore. Instead their thoughts circled retribution, and honor, and as different mouths ran different accounts of what had happened between the inner circles of the Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers that day, the only definitive truths that came out were this: in a tiny hospital along the edges of Shanghai, Roma Montagov had shot at Tyler Cai, and to protect her cousin, Juliette Cai had killed Marshall Seo in cold blood.
Now both sides were vengeful. Now the White Flowers were pressing down on the Scarlet Gang with a renewed urgency, and the Scarlet Gang were fighting back just as hard. They had to. No matter how carefully the Scarlets cooperated with the Nationalists, every single person in this city could feel something shifting, could see the gatherings grow larger and larger each time the Communists attempted a strike. The political landscape was soon to change, soon to swallow up this way of lawlessness, and for both gangs currently ruling this city with an iron fist, it was either to be violent now and secure their holdings, or regret it later should a greater power swoop in when there was no way to win territory back.
"Juliette," Kathleen said softly. Her cousin's eyes shifted back and forth between her and Roma. "What happened between you two?"
Juliette didn't have an answer to give, just as she hadn't had an answer all the other times she was asked this question. Kathleen deserved a better explanation, deserved to know why the city was saying Juliette had shot Marshall Seo point-blank when she had once been so friendly with him, why Roma Montagov was dropping flowers everywhere he went in mockery of the feud's victims when he had once been so gentle with Juliette. But one more person in on the secret was one more person dragged down into the mess. One more target for Tyler's scrutiny—one more target for Tyler's gun.
Better to speak none of it. Better to pretend and pretend until maybe, just maybe, there came some chance to salvage the fractured state this city had fallen into.
"The picture is starting," Juliette said in lieu of a reply.
"Juliette," Kathleen insisted.
Juliette gritted her teeth hard. She wondered if her tone still fooled anyone. In New York, she had been so good at lying, so good at playing pretend as an utterly different person. These last months had been wearing her down until there was nothing left of her but... her.
"He's not doing anything. Look, he's taking his seat."
Indeed, Roma appeared to be walking away from the merchant after a mere greeting, settling into an end seat two rows behind. This did not have to be a big deal. They did not need to engage in a confrontation. Juliette could quietly keep an eye on him from where she sat and make sure she approached the merchant first when intermission came. It was a surprise that she had even been sent after a merchant. The Scarlet Gang rarely chased after new clientele; they waited for clientele to come to them. But this merchant did not dabble in drugs like the rest of them. He had sailed into Shanghai last week carrying British technology—heavens knew what kind; her parents had not been specific in their briefing, save that it was some sort of weaponry and the Scarlet Gang wanted to acquire his inventory.
If the White Flowers were trying to get in on it too, then it had to be something big. Juliette made a note to ask for details as soon as she got home.
The lights went dark. Kathleen glanced over her shoulder, fingers twisting into the loose sleeves of her coat.
"Relax," Juliette whispered. "What you're about to watch came directly from its premiere in Manhattan. Quality entertainment."
The picture started. Screen One was the largest viewing room in the whole Grand Theatre, its orchestral sound booming from all sides. Each seat was equipped with its own translation system, reading out the text that appeared alongside the silent film. The couple to Juliette's left were wearing their earpieces, murmuring excitedly to each other as the lines filtered through in Chinese. Juliette didn't need her earpiece, not just because she could read English, but because she wasn't really watching the film. Her eyes, no matter how much she tried, kept wandering down.
Don't be a fool, Juliette scolded herself. She had tipped herself into this situation at full speed. She would not regret it. It was what had needed to be done.
But still, she couldn't stop looking.
It had been only three months, but Roma had changed. She already knew that, of course, from the reports that came back to her about dead gangsters with Korean characters slashed in blood beside them. From the bodies piling up farther and farther inward into Scarlet territory lines, as if the White Flowers were testing the limits they could encroach upon. It was unlikely that Roma had sought out Scarlets specifically for vengeance killings—he didn't have it in him to go that far—but each time a conflict erupted, the message left behind was clear: This is your doing, Juliette.
It was Juliette who had escalated the feud, who had pulled the trigger on Marshall Seo and told Roma to his face that whatever happened between them had been nothing but a lie. So now all the blood left in his wake was his revenge.
He looked the part too. At some point, he had traded his dark suits for lighter colors: for a cream jacket and a golden tie, for cuff links that caught the light each time the screen flashed white. His posture was sharp, no more slouching to feign casual, no more stretching his legs long so he could slump into the chair and avoid being seen by anyone giving the room a cursory glance.
Roma Montagov wasn't the heir scheming in the shadows anymore. It seemed that he was sick of the city seeing him as the one slitting throats in the dark, the one with a heart of coal and the clothing to match.
He looked like a White Flower. He looked like his father.
A flash of movement blurred in Juliette's peripheral vision. She blinked, pulling her gaze away from Roma and searching the seats across his aisle. For a moment, she was certain she had merely been mistaken, that perhaps a lock of hair had come undone from her front curl and fallen into her eyes. Then the screen flashed white again as a shrieking train derailed in the Wild West, and Juliette saw the figure in the audience rise.
The man's face was cast in shadow, but the gun in his hand was very, very illuminated.
And it was pointed right at the merchant in the front row, who Juliette still needed to speak to.
"Absolutely not," she muttered angrily, reaching for the pistol strapped to her thigh.
The screen dropped into shadows, but Juliette took aim anyway. In the second before the man could act, she pulled the trigger first with a loud bang.
Her pistol kicked. Juliette pressed back into her seat, her jaw hard as the man below dropped his weapon, his shoulder wounded. Her gunshot had hardly drawn any notice, not when there was a shoot-out going on in the picture, too, drowning out the scream coming from the man's mouth and covering up the smoke wafting from the barrel of her pistol. Though the picture had no dialogue sound, the orchestral backing track had an uproarious cymbal banging in the background, and the theatergoers all assumed the gunshot a product of the film.
All except for Roma, who immediately swiveled around and looked up, eyes searching for the source of the gunshot.
And he found it.
Their gazes locked, the click of mutual recognition so forceful that Juliette felt a physical shift in her spine, like her body was finally righting itself into alignment after months out of configuration. She was frozen, breath caught in her throat, eyes pulled wide.
Until Roma reached into his jacket pocket and drew his gun, and Juliette had no choice but to jolt herself out of her daze. Instead of combating the would-be assassin, he had decided to shoot at her.
Three bullets whizzed by her ear. Gasping, Juliette struck the floor, her knees grazing the carpet hard as she threw herself down. The couple to her left started screaming.
The theatergoers had realized the gunshots were not a part of the soundtrack.
"Okay," Juliette said under her breath. "He's still mad at me."
"What was that?" Kathleen demanded. Her cousin dropped quickly too, using the railing of the second level for cover. "Did you shoot into the seats? Was that Roma Montagov shooting back?"
Juliette grimaced. "Yes."
It sounded like a stampede was starting on the floor below. The people on the upper level were certainly starting to panic too, hurtling out of their seats and rushing for the exit, but the two doors on either side of the theater—marked EVEN and ODD for the seat arrangements—were rather thin, and all they managed to achieve was a bottleneck situation.
Kathleen made an indecipherable noise. "He's not doing anything... he's taking his seat!"
"Oh, don't mock me!" Juliette hissed.
This situation was not ideal. But she would salvage it.
She scrambled to her feet.
"Someone was trying to shoot the merchant." Juliette made a quick glance over the railing. She didn't see Roma anymore. She did see the merchant pulling his suit jacket tightly around his middle and securing his straw hat, trying to follow the crowds out of the theater.
"Go find who it was," Kathleen huffed. "Your father will have your head if the merchant is killed."
"I know you're joking," Juliette muttered, "but you might be right." She pressed her pistol into her cousin's hand and took off, calling over her shoulder, "Talk to the merchant for me! Merci!"
By now the bottleneck at the door had thinned enough that Juliette could push through, merging into the main anteroom outside the second floor of Screen One. Ladies dressed in silk qipao were screaming inconsolably at one another, and British officers were clumped together in the corner to hiss hysterics about what was going on. Juliette ignored it all, pushing and pushing to get to the stairs, to get down to the ground floor, where the merchant would be emerging.
She skidded to a stop. The main staircase was far too crowded. Her eyes darted to the side, to the maintenance stairs, and she tore the door open without a second thought, barreling right through. Juliette was familiar with this theater; it was Scarlet territory, and she had spent parts of her early childhood wandering around this building, peering into the different screening rooms when Nurse was distracted. Where the main staircase was a grandiose structure of polished flooring and arched, wooden banisters, the maintenance stairs were made of cement and void of natural light, relying on naught but a small bulb dangling at the middle landing.
Her heels clacked loudly, turning the corner of the landing. She stopped short.
Waiting there, by the door into the main lobby, was Roma, his gun raised.
Juliette supposed she had grown predictable.
"You were three paces away from the merchant," she said. She was surprised her voice remained level. Ta ma de. There was one knife strapped to her leg, but in the time it would take to reach for it, she would be giving Roma plenty of time to shoot. "You left him just to find me? I'm flattered—"
Juliette swerved with a hiss. Her cheek radiated heat, swelling from the harrowingly close contact of the bullets that flew by her head. Before Roma could think to aim again, Juliette ran the quickest survey of her options, then dove through the door behind her, surging into the storage unit.
She wasn't trying to escape. This was a dead end, a thin room crowded with stacked chairs and cobwebs. She only needed...
Another bullet whizzed by her arm.
"You're going to blow this place up," Juliette snapped, spinning around. She had come to the very end of the storage space, her back pressed to the thick pipes that ran along the walls. "Some of these pipes carry gas—put a hole in one and the whole theater bursts into flames."
Roma was hardly threatened. It was as if he could not hear her. His eyes were narrowed, his expression scrunched. He looked unfamiliar—properly foreign, like a boy who had pulled on a costume and hadn't expected how well it would fit. Even under the dim lights, the gold of his clothes glimmered, as bright as the twinkling billboards outside the theater.
Juliette wanted to scream, seeing what he had been made into. She could hardly catch her breath, and she would be lying if she said it was only because of her current physical exertion.
"Did you hear what I said?" Juliette eyed the distance between them. "Put that gun away—"
"Do you hear yourself?" Roma interrupted. In three strides, he was close enough to point his gun right in Juliette's face. She could feel the heat of the barrel, hot steel an inch away from her skin. "You killed Marshall. You killed him, and it's been months, and I haven't heard a word of explanation from you—"
"There is no explanation."
He thought her a monster. He thought she had hated him the whole time, so viciously that she would destroy everything he loved, and he had to think that if he was to keep his life. Juliette refused to drag him down just because she was weak-willed.
"I killed him because he needed to die," Juliette said. Her arm whipped up. She twisted Roma's gun away, letting it clatter at their feet. "Just as I will kill you. Just as I will not stop until you kill me—"
He slammed her into the pipes.
The effort was so forceful that Juliette tasted blood inside her lip, sliced by her own sharp teeth. She stifled a gasp and then another when Roma's hand tightened around her throat, his eyes murderous.
Juliette was not frightened. If anything, she was only resentful—not at Roma, but at herself. At wanting to lean in even while Roma was actively trying to kill her. At this distance between them that she had willingly manufactured, because they had been born into two families at war, and she would rather die at Roma's hand than be the cause of his death.
No one else is dying to protect me. Roma had blown up a whole house of people to keep Juliette safe. Tyler and his Scarlet men would go on a rampage in the name of defending Juliette, even if they too wanted her dead. It was all one and the same. It was this city, divided by names and colors and turfs, but somehow bleeding the exact same shade of violence.
"Go on," Juliette said with effort.
She didn't mean it. She knew Roma Montagov. He thought he wanted her dead, but the fact of the matter was that he never missed, and yet he had—all those bullets, embedded into the walls instead of Juliette's head. The fact of the matter was that he had his hands around her throat and yet she could still breathe, could still inhale past the rot and the hate that his fingers tried to press into her skin.
Juliette finally reached for her blade. Just as Roma shifted forward, perhaps intent on his kill, her hand closed around the sheath beneath her dress and she pulled the weapon free, slicing down on whatever she came in contact with first. Roma hissed, releasing his hold. It was only a surface cut, but he cradled his arm to his chest, and Juliette followed close, leveling the blade to his throat.
"This is Scarlet territory." Her words were even, but it took everything in her to keep them that way. "You forget yourself."
Roma grew still. He stared at her, utterly unreadable as the moment drew long—long enough that Juliette almost thought he would surrender.
Only then Roma leaned into the blade instead, until the metal was pressed right into his neck, one hairsbreadth away from breaking skin and drawing blood.
"Then do it," Roma hissed. He sounded angry.... He sounded pained. "Kill me."
Juliette did not move. She must have hesitated for a fraction too long, because Roma's expression morphed into a sneer.
"Why do you pause?" he taunted.
The taste of blood was still pungent inside her mouth. In a blur, Juliette flipped the blade onto its blunt end and slammed the handle to Roma's temple. He blinked and dropped like a rock, but Juliette threw the weapon away and lunged to break his fall. As soon as her hands slid around him, she let out a small exhale of relief, stopping Roma just before his head could hit the hard floor.
Juliette sighed. In her arms, he felt so solid, more real than ever. His safety was an abstract concept when he was at a distance, far from the threats that her Scarlets posed to him. But here, with his pulse thudding through his chest and beating an even rhythm onto hers, he was just a boy, just a bloody, beating heart that could be cut out at any moment by any blade sharp enough.
"Why do you pause?" Juliette mimicked bitterly. Softly, she set him down, brushing his mussed hair out of his face. "Because even if you hate me, Roma Montagov, I still love you."
Reading Group Guide
Reading Group Guide for
These Violent Delights
Our Violent Ends
By Chloe Gong
About the Books
Set in 1920s Shanghai, this atmospheric and intricate Romeo and Juliet–inspired duology follows eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, who has returned from studying in America to claim her rightful place as heir to the Scarlet Gang, a local Chinese criminal network. Four years earlier, her first love, Roma Montagov, heir to the White Flowers, a Russian rival gang, committed a betrayal so deep that the ripples of vengeance still move across the city. What else could she expect from a blood feud motivated by loyalty and violence? Before she can enact her revenge, a monster ravages the city, spreading a contagion that causes murderous madness and that targets both the Scarlets and the White Flowers. On top of the pandemic, political turmoil threatens to rip the city apart and end gangster rule. As a foreign imperialist presence grows, so does the threat of civil war, spurred by both the Nationalist Party and the Communists stoking the embers of revolution among the working class, who are tired of warlord control. Juliette and Roma realize working together may be their only chance for salvation.
Discussion Questions
1. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Juliet cannot freely marry, not only because of the blood feud between the Montagues and the Capulets, but also because of patriarchal society in medieval Italy. How does this compare to the experiences of the female characters in 1920s Shanghai? How about in contemporary society?
2. Throughout the series, Juliette feels herself split between two worlds: the East and the West. Her family treats her like an outsider, yet in the city she blends in unless she wears flapper dresses. She wonders, "Could she never be both? Was she doomed to choose one country or the other? Be an American or nothing?" Free write for five minutes about your identities and a time you didn't fit in. What made you feel this way? Did the feeling come from lived experience, stereotypes, or something else? Share with the class, if you'd like.
3. "[Roma] ached with the knowledge that the softness of their youth was gone forever . . ." What is meant by this? When do you think people realize they are no longer children? Does everyone grow up at the same rate? Why or why not? What does "growing up" mean to you?
4. Think about how the madness spreads and what it causes its victims to do. Considering where the insects and monsters come from and who is releasing them into the city, do you think the sickness is a metaphor? If so, for what? Does the metaphor change in book two? Be prepared to back up your answer.
5. Throughout both books, love is akin to death. At many moments, Juliette makes statements like, "'This is why we shall not love more than we need to. Death will come for everyone in the end,'" and "Perhaps they could be together at last if it was together in death. And what was love if all it did was kill?" Consider the characters that survived in the story. Were they lacking love? Why did they get to live? Are Juliette and Roma destined to die? How might they change their fate? Explain your answers.
6. Consider the main couples and their race, gender, and sexuality. What obstacles might they face (outside of a blood feud) to be together? Have you or anyone you know dated someone family or society did not approve of? What role should family and/or society play in the person you choose to be in a relationship with?
7. "This city holds itself upright by the power of information, and its messengers work frantically, whisper passing whisper until it reaches the ears of its rival darlings." This quote acts as foreshadowing. What examples from the text describe instances of miscommunication? Imagine the internet and electronic devices did not exist. What scenarios would be disastrous if you could not communicate instantly? Share a time a text message was misunderstood or not delivered. What problem(s) arose from the situation?
8. Juliette considers the racism she experienced in America and Shanghai due to colonizers. "They believed themselves the rulers of the world—on stolen land in America, on stolen land in Shanghai. Everywhere they went—entitlement. And Juliette was so tired." Do you think entitlement fuels racism, imperialism, and colonization? Explain your answer. Give examples of how these systems of oppression exist today.
9. Shanghai is described as "the Paris of the East, the New York of the West." Using examples from the text, describe how white, foreign influences shaped Shanghai as compared to the other cities in China that the characters visit. How does Shanghai's unique culture impact how its inhabitants view themselves? What about the Chinese characters who lived in the West, like Juliette, Kathleen, and Rosalind?
10. Kathleen notes that "Juliette didn't know how lucky she was to have been born into her natural skin, into her white cheeks and porcelain-smooth wrists. There was so much luck to be had in the genetic lottery; one different code and it was a lifetime of forced adaptation." Contrast the female characters' experiences and examine the privileges of being cisgender, wealthy, having lighter skin, and speaking multiple languages. Use examples from the text, including women that are shown in only one scene. How do their identities influence how Juliette and the Lang sisters defy family duty and societal expectations? Are any justified in their actions? Explain your answer.
11. Though this story is a work of historical fiction, the "April 12 Purge" is a real event that occurred in Shanghai in 1927. Why do you think the author chose this time and setting to reimagine Romeo and Juliet? How would you remix Romeo and Juliet in contemporary times? What setting and political issues would you highlight? Share your answer.
12. The Nationalist Party leader instructs the Scarlets to kill all the Communists and to treat the White Flowers as such, risking annihilation of an entire group of people, including workers who have no affiliation, but could be caught at the wrong place and time. What is the impact of this action? Why do you think civilians, especially the working class, are so often casualties of war?
13. Compare strife and tragedy across social classes. Would a laborer working in a factory for sixteen hours a day have time to duel like Roma and Tyler? How would the story change if the main characters were poor?
14. "For thousands of years, the worst crime in China was a lack of filial piety. Having children with no xiàoshùn was a fate worse than death. It meant being forgotten in the afterlife, a wandering ghost doomed to starve when no offerings came in from irreverent descendants. . . . The West had corrupted them—and whose fault was that?" What is filial piety? How is respect for parents and ancestors demonstrated in your culture? Have you ever had to confront your family with a different idea than the one they taught you? What challenges arose?
15. When Kathleen masquerades as a university student publishing a piece on the Communist Party's secretary-general, she describes it as "'A study of power . . . and the madness that comes with it. A study of the powerful, and those who are scared of him. . . . The uncovering of the madness.'" She could be talking about the secretary-general or any combination of characters and situations. Discuss as a group how power, madness, and fear is manifested in the story. Use examples from the text.
16. "The gangsters could still join forces with the tired factory workers and their boycotts. Together, if only the Scarlet Gang wanted to, they could overrun the foreigners . . ." Knowing this, how do you feel about the gangs' choice to rule over the city? How do the Scarlets and White Flowers perpetuate and heighten issues of violence, poverty, sickness, imperialism, the opium crisis, and more? Why doesn't either gang unite with the working class? Support your response with examples.
17. How does Juliette's loyalty to "her city, her gang, her family" change across both books? What do you think is more important: loyalty or survival? Explain your answers.
18. "When the choice was between protecting those you loved and sparing the lives of strangers, who would ever think that to be a hard decision?" How would you answer Juliette's question? At what cost comes destruction and violence in the name of love? If you were Juliette's or Roma's friend and they told you how they felt about each other, how would you react? Do you think what they have is love? Share with the class.
19. Juliette suggests that if she had paid close attention, she could have supported Rosalind and found "something that made her place worth it." Considering the theme of star-crossed lovers, do you think that it was inevitable that Rosalind would also fall in love with a White Flower? How and why is Rosalind and Dimitri's relationship different from Juliette and Roma's? Why does Juliette think Rosalind's future and actions could be changed, but not her own?
20. There have long been scholars and critics who read Shakespeare's plays with a queer and trans lens, examining the bard's use of gender-bending in his stories. While these characters' identities may not have been accepted in the 1920s, what is the significance of including explicitly queer characters and a trans character in Gong's adaptation? Explain your answer.
Extension Activities
1. Divide the class into two sides (Scarlets and White Flowers), and debate whether revolution is possible without violence. Consider alternative methods to create social change. Use moments in history and current events as examples. In this scenario, pretend the two sides are willing to set aside the blood feud.
2. Juliette and Roma frequently refer to "the city" personified as if the place is what causes violence and not people's actions. What do you think about this? Choose a chapter and rewrite it from the city's perspective.
3. For those who have read or seen Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, characters and specific scenes from Gong's adaptation will seem familiar. Choose a character, whether they exist in the original play or not, and create a character map that shows their character development and personality. If they're a character that appears in the play, consider the differences and similarities. What catalysts propel their story across both books? What are the points of no return? You can create your map as a time line, an aesthetic board or video, a series of tweets, diary entries, or something else. Be prepared to present your map to the class, including a rationale on why you chose to represent it the way you did.
4. In These Violent Delights, Paul tells Juliette that some people are "'too poor to deserve'" the vaccine. Then, in Our Violent Ends, the Scarlets fight Juliette's plan to make a free vaccine that's accessible to all. While the Covid-19 vaccine was free to all in the US, it has not always been easily accessible. Research the barriers and the groups of people who are disproportionately affected by inaccessibility to health care. Why do these barriers exist? Get into groups and choose one of the following: 1. Create informational material (i.e., a short video, pamphlet, zine, blog post, etc.) to report your findings. 2. Imagine you are a system of government. Outline a plan for how to address the issues you learned about.
5. Choose an overlapping theme from Shakespeare's play and Gong's books. Write an essay that explores how Gong's retelling supports the theme through character, plot, setting, and style.
6. The first scene in Our Violent Ends involves Juliette, Kathleen, and Roma attending a silent movie screening. In groups, create a three-to-five-minute silent movie version of either book, including a movie poster. You can choose to include yourselves as actors, recruit friends and family, or find some other way to include "actors," such as toys or illustrations. Find some examples on YouTube to get inspired.
Guide written by Cynthia Medrano, Digital Services Librarian at Heartland Community College, and member of the 2022 Rise: A Feminist Book Project Committee.
This guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.
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NEW YORK—Describing it as a burgeoning growth sector that will drive the American economy for decades to come, an encouraging new report out Thursday estimates that burying and cremating the baby boomer generation will add some $200 trillion to the nation's gross domestic product over the next 30 years.
The report from research firm Moody's Analytics claimed the impending deaths of the 76 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 would spur a long, robust period of expansion, single-handedly pulling the country out of its current economic malaise and fueling a dramatic increase in wages and standards of living as the nation mobilizes its workforce to dispose of the age group's remains.
"With so many people dying at once, the funeral industry is poised to surpass the technology and biomedical sectors and become the engine that propels our economy forward," said economist Gerald Lang, explaining that as more and more boomers die, casket and urn manufacturers will rapidly scale up production and open scores of vast new facilities to meet the surge in demand for their goods. "We can expect job creation to skyrocket as millions are put to work building the mortuaries, mausoleums, and high-powered furnaces we'll so desperately need. And with every single baby boomer eventually needing to be transported to a morgue, autopsied, and properly discarded, we'll see unemployment drop to near record lows."
"In short, the unprecedented baby boom that followed World War II is about to provide us with an equally valuable corpse boom," he added. "And that's welcome news for the average American's wallet."
Forecasts suggest that the expansion in mortuary services will be akin to the growth of tech startups in recent decades, and that coastal Florida is well positioned to become an industrial hub on par with Silicon Valley, likely serving as the chief headquarters for major Fortune 500 body bag manufacturers and headstone companies. Already, profit-minded speculators are reportedly driving up land prices to record levels in Fort Lauderdale, where thousands of condominiums will need to be razed to make room for enough cemetery plots for millions of soon-to-be dead baby boomers.
According to the report, today's younger generations are set to enjoy marked increases in economic opportunity and annual income as their parents and grandparents die off. Hundreds of billions of dollars are set to be infused into local economies, experts stated, as a wave of prosperity flows across the country from sympathy card producers, to candlemakers, all the way down to manufacturers of easels that hold large portraits at memorial services.
The report also affirmed that the entire U.S. economy must recalibrate to meet the challenges of the death-industry-based economy of tomorrow. In particular, the report's authors noted that chemical companies will need to repurpose their facilities to generate the 200 million gallons of embalming fluid baby boomers are expected to absorb by 2035, while the engraving industry would have to add an estimated 4 million workers to ensure the required amount of granite grave markers are properly buffed and inscribed with the names and death dates of the deceased masses.
Additionally, economists stated that ailing U.S. automakers would see a huge boost in business, with the Big Three car manufacturers reactivating dozens of long-idled plants to keep pace with the explosion in demand for hearses.
"Investors should definitely keep an eye on crematory futures—that's where the smart money is," said market analyst Margaret Hughes, who predicted that facilities for the incineration of human remains will soon be on every block in urban shopping districts. "And young people would be well advised to pursue careers as coroners or undertakers. When baby boomers depart, they're going to leave behind an entire generation of mortician millionaires."
"Frankly, anyone who knows a thing or two about floral arrangements will be vaulted into the upper class in this new economy," she added.
Explaining that the sooner they die, the sooner the "golden age of economic prosperity" will arrive, the report pointed to encouraging data on baby boomers' high rates of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer's, all of which are expected to help accelerate economic growth to levels unseen since the digital revolution.
While many observers have said the new era of affluence can't arrive fast enough, others remain more cautious, asking what will happen a few decades from now when most of the boomers have been buried, and the so-called casket towns expected to pop up all across the country see their single source of revenue dry up.
"Sure, it'll be a huge windfall at first, whether you're churning out coffins, dark-colored suits, floral wreaths, statues of grieving angels, tiny American flags, or those black pillbox hats with netted veils," said James Keeley, 37, a small business owner in Cleveland. "But after my parents die, and all their friends die, and we complete the monumental task of getting rid of all the bodies and ashes, what happens then?"
"As much of an economic boon as the baby boomers' deaths will be, we can't depend on their dead bodies always being there for us," he added. "If we're prudent, we should already start preparing for a future without their mortal remains."


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"This issue is bigger than all of us, and we cannot wait for the next generation to solve it," Seychelles President Danny Faure said.
DESROCHES ISLAND, Seychelles — In a striking speech delivered from deep below the ocean's surface, the Seychelles president on Sunday made a global plea for stronger protection of the "beating blue heart of our planet."
President Danny Faure's call for action, the first-ever live speech from an underwater submersible, came from one of the many island nations threatened by global warming.
He spoke during a visit to an ambitious British-led science expedition exploring the Indian Ocean depths. Oceans cover over two-thirds of the world's surface but remain, for the most part, uncharted. We have better maps of Mars than we do of the ocean floor, Faure said.
"This issue is bigger than all of us, and we cannot wait for the next generation to solve it. We are running out of excuses to not take action, and running out of time," the president said from a manned submersible 400 feet below the waves, on the seabed off the outer islands of the African nation.
Wearing a Seychelles T-shirt and shorts, the president told The Associated Press after his speech that the experience was "so, so cool. What biodiversity." It made him more determined than ever to speak out for marine protection, he said. "We just need to do what needs to be done. The scientists have spoken."
The oceans' role in regulating climate and the threats they face are underestimated by many, even though as Faure pointed out they generate "half of the oxygen we breathe." Scientific missions are crucial in taking stock of underwater ecosystems' health.
Small island nations are among the most vulnerable to sea level rise caused by climate change, and some have found creative ways to express their concerns. Faure's speech came a decade after members of the Maldives' Cabinet donned scuba gear and used hand signals at an underwater meeting highlighting global warming's threat to the lowest-lying nation on earth.
Land erosion, dying coral reefs and the increased frequency of extreme weather events threaten such countries' existence.
During the expedition, marine scientists from the University of Oxford have surveyed underwater life, mapped large areas of the sea floor and gone deep with manned submersibles and underwater drones.
Little is known about the watery world below depths of 30 meters, the limit to which a normal scuba diver can go. Operating down to 500 meters, the scientists were the first to explore areas of great diversity where sunlight weakens and the deep ocean begins.
By the end of the mission, researchers expect to have conducted over 300 deployments, collected around 1,400 samples and 16 terabytes of data and surveyed about 30 square kilometers of seabed using high-resolution multi-beam sonar equipment.
The data will be used to help the Seychelles expand its policy of protecting almost a third of its national waters by 2020. The initiative is important for the country's "blue economy," an attempt to balance development needs with those of the environment.
"From this depth, I can see the incredible wildlife that needs our protection, and the consequences of damaging this huge ecosystem that has existed for millennia," Faure said in his speech. "Over the years, we have created these problems. We can solve them."
Currently, only about 5 percent of the world's oceans are protected. Countries have agreed to increase the area to 10 percent by 2020. But experts and environmental campaigners say between 30 percent and 50 percent of the oceans outside nations' territorial waters should get protected status to ensure marine biodiversity.
Researchers hope their findings also will inform ongoing United Nations talks aimed at forging the first high seas conservation treaty, scheduled to conclude this year.
Environmental groups argue an international treaty is urgently needed because climate change, overfishing and efforts to mine the seabed for precious minerals are putting unsustainable pressure on marine life that could have devastating consequences for creatures on land as well.
Oceans will be one of the seven main themes of this year's U.N. climate summit in Chile in December.
While scientists with the Nekton mission are nearing the end of their expedition, much of their work is just beginning. In the next few months, researchers at Oxford will analyze the samples and video surveys and put them together with environmental data.
"When we pull them together we can understand not just what we see in the areas that we've visited but what we might expect in other regions in the Seychelles," said Lucy Woodall, the mission's chief scientist.
This is the first of a half-dozen regions the mission plans to explore before the end of 2022, when scientists will present their research at a summit on the state of the Indian Ocean. Billions of people live along the ocean's shores in Africa and Asia.


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I had high hopes for iOS 7. It's designed by Jony Ive, the God of Minimalism, Attention to Detail and Tight T-Shirts. I love his work almost as much as I love Phil Schiller (so huggable!) But Jony... you broke my heart, Jony. WHY DIDN'T YOU OPTICALLY CENTER THE 1 IN THE CALENDAR APP ICON?
OK, punks. It's that time of the year again. The time in which a new update to Apple iOS comes out and the calendar hits July 1. Yes, that time. The time I want to take a sledgehammer to my iPhone. The time I want to get a baseball bat, go to an Apple store, and start smashing every genius in their non-centered genitals as retribution for this act of typographic terrorism.
Did really think I was going to let this one slip away? COME ON! No, of course I couldn't let it pass.
Not until Apple fixes it like they fixed off-center calendar days, which they corrected just a few months after I wrote a piece excoriating them for it.
But I digress. The problem with the off-center 1 goes back to the very beginning of the iPhone. For some reason, Apple decided to use the bounding box to center the digits in the Calendar.app's icon instead of carefully setting them to be optically centered. So what, you ask? You don't have to be a hawk-eyed genius to see the difference:
The difference is obvious. Despite its bounding box being metrically centered in relation to the icon, the number 1 feels off-center. The example on the right shows the correct placement—the 1 feels optically centered, balanced in relation to the icon.
Does this matter? Not unless you are some detail-obsessed twunt like me.
I had hoped that iOS 7 would fix this, but it didn't. And in fact the light typography makes the bad positioning even more obvious, like you can see in the image at the top of this article.
If you are reading this, whoever you are at Apple UI design's department, please, please fix this for the love of all that is sacred and good and made of deep fried rainbow bacon twinkies. I can't stand it anymore and I've run out of pills.
And just in case there's any doubt, this is...
Reader Backhome rendered it. The right way is the one on the right. Notice how the 1's stem is not centered in relation to the white area, neither is its bounding box. And yet, the number looks pleasantly centered in relation to the icon surface. The brain makes it work just like the one in the left looks like crap compared to the right one to anyone with eyes except the most rabid and brainless of all the Apple fanboys.


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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The American navy christened the first of its next generation of aircraft carriers on Saturday, a multi-billion-dollar vessel hailed as the most technologically advanced warship ever built.
The USS Gerald Ford, which has been plagued by huge cost overruns at a time of growing budget pressures, is due to begin service in 2016.
The 13-billion-dollar (S$16 billion) nuclear-powered carrier, which is equipped with an array of technological wizardry, was christened with a bottle of champagne at a ceremony in Newport News, Virginia, near the sprawling Norfolk Naval base.
"May God bless and watch over the USS Gerald R. Ford, those who built her and the men and women who will sail her into harm's way," said the late president's daughter Susan Ford Bales moments before shattering the bottle against the hulking ship.
The Ford represents the first new design for a carrier in 40 years, and the Navy's chief of staff Admiral Jonathan Greenert called the ship "a technological marvel." The pomp belied problems with the project, however, which is only 70 percent complete, with delivery postponed until February 2016.
And faced with automatic budget cuts and the need to fund other programs, including submarines, Greenert has warned the service may have to delay completing the Ford "by two years." The move would force the United States to rely on a fleet of 10 existing carriers and means "lowering surge capacity" in a crisis, he added.
US law requires the military to maintain 11 aircraft carriers, but at the moment only 10 are available since the retirement of the USS Enterprise in 2012.
The current carrier fleet, launched between 1975 to 2009, are Nimitz-class ships, but the Ford, or CVN 78, represents a new class of carrier with a new design, which will be followed by the John F. Kennedy and new Enterprise carriers. All have a similar length of about 1,090 feet (330 metres).
The Ford-class design is supposed to allow for 25 percent more sorties for the fighter jets and helicopters on board, generate more electrical power and produce more fresh water from desalination systems, allowing sailors to take comfortable showers.
"The Ford class is designed to provide increased war-fighting capability with approximately 700 fewer crew members," reducing the cost of maintaining the ship, the Navy said in a statement.
While fewer sailors will be needed to run the carrier, the cost of building the ship has sky-rocketed. Since the start of the contract in 2008, construction costs jumped 22 percent over the scheduled budget to US$12.8 billion in total.
And the Navy's estimate "does not include US$4.7 billion in research and development costs," according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which provides financial data to lawmakers.
Navy officers say such cost overruns are typical for a new series of ship, and that the price of subsequent vessels in the class tends to drop.
But at a time of budget austerity, the mushrooming price tag is a source of irritation.
The navy and the defense contractor "must still overcome significant technology development, design and construction challenges," the Government Accountability Office, an investigative arm of Congress, wrote in September.
The GAO questioned the decision to go ahead with new technological systems for the ship before proving they worked, an approach that "introduces risk of late and costly design changes and rework." A new electromagnetic catapult to launch aircraft, new radar and new arresting gear to catch planes landing are also facing technical delays and higher costs.
"But even after the ship's commission, several key ship systems will continue to face significant reliability shortfalls that will likely increase costs to the government and limit the ship's mission effectiveness," the GAO said.


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TEHRAN, Iran – Senior Iranian clerics have scolded President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for consoling Hugo Chavez's mother with a hug -- a physical contact considered a sin under Iran's strict Islamic codes.
The rebuke follows a widely published photo showing Ahmadinejad embracing Chavez's mother at the funeral of the late Venezuelan president in what is seen as taboo-breaking behavior in Iran.
Iranian papers on Tuesday cited clerics from the religious center of Qom who described the hug as "forbidden," inappropriate behavior and "clowning around."
Iran's strict Islamic codes prohibit physical contact between unrelated members of the opposite sex.
The clerics did not spare Ahmadinejad.
"Touching a non-mahram (a woman who is not a close relative) is forbidden under any circumstances, whether shaking hands or touching by the cheek," said one of the clerics, Mohammad Taqi Rahbar, adding that such a contact, even with "an older woman is not allowed ... and contrary to the dignity of the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, Iran's former judiciary chief and a religious leader in Qom, said Ahmadinejad was "clowning around" and his hug shows he failed to "protect the dignity of his nation and his position."
The clerics were also outraged by Ahmadinejad's letter of condolence to Venezuelans and their interim leader Nicolas Maduro because the Iranian president had described Chavez as a "martyr" who will be resurrected and who will return to Earth along with Jesus Christ and Imam Mahdi, a 9th century saint revered by Shiite Muslims.
"Your knowledge of religious issues is limited and no intervention could be made in this matter," said Yazdi, addressing Ahmadinejad directly.
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Mirtajeddini, a cleric who accompanied Ahmadinejad to Venezuela and stood by as the Iranian president hugged Chavez's mother at the funeral last week in Caracas had initially tried to deny the story, saying the photo was a fake.
Yazdi also scolded Mirtajeddini: "You are a cleric and you wear the clerical robe ... you should not deny what happened."
The uproar surrounding the hug has given Ahmadinejad's conservative opponents fodder to criticize him, three months ahead of the June presidential elections.
Ahmadinejad can't run in the elections due to term limits under Iran's constitution but is seeking to get a protege into the race.
For their part, Iranian reformists ridiculed Ahmadinejad for weeping at Chavez's funeral.
"I burst into laughter when I saw Ahmadinejad weeping on the arm of Chavez mother, said Abbas Abdi, activist and columnist with the independent website Aftabnews.ir.
"If he needed to cry, he should have done so for his countrymen who died" in clashes with security forces during the mass protests that followed Ahmadinejad's disputed 2009 re-election, said Abdi.