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There's been a bunch of debates about Gender and SF of late, all of which seem to end up with someone defending themselves with a variation of "I filled all the spots on project X with men because I was choosing on the basis of quality, not gender." This answer flummoxes me every time it's trotted out; not because the people who use it are not bad people or knowing oppressors, but just because it often reveals itself as a blind-spot in the approach of someone whose work I'd otherwise respect. And, to be honest, I just don't get how people can't question that statement, since SF itself has often been denigrated and ignored using the same excuse.
Think about that moment that all SF fans seem to share – that moment where you're talking to someone who doesn't read the genre, and you reveal that you do, and their response is a muted "oh" followed by a look that suggests you've actually just revealed that you mutilate kittens. It's a power-play between you, the reader of a non-mimetic pulp genre, and the other person (who, if you're lucky, will not follow their momentary scorn with the next salvo of "I only read stories in which real things happen").
The reason that "oh" moment exists is because quality is a social construct, and like many of our social constructs it's been inherited from a predominantly white and male (and, for that matter, educated) point of view. From that point of view the final arbiter of quality is Literature, in which works are loaded with metaphorical meaning and fancy language use. SF, to borrow the phrasing of China Meiville, has a habit of literalizing its metaphors – the dragon in a story may be representing capitalist greed, but it's also a physical dragon that exists within a secondary world of the narrative. The un-literalized metaphor – aka the metaphor that's actively presented as metaphor rather than inherently real – is one of those quality markers that separated literature from everything else. It's a class distinction more than anything, as a quick look at the pulp roots of SF should show – the literalized metaphor is for the populace mass, and the un-literalized metaphor is for those trained to read for such things by their grounding in the classics. This is one of the reasons SF fans had to reclaim works like 1984, The Handmaids Tale, and even seminal texts like Frankenstein as part of our genre; the default assumption of the authors and readers of these texts lie in their metaphorical power rather than the sense-of-wonder that marks SF. It's nice to think that we know better than that now, but when Peter Straub was editing the New Wave Fabulist issue of the Literary Journal Conjunctions a few years back he was still put in a position where he was arguing Fantasy's way into the literary field during his preface (and, for that matter, to address his own status and the status of many of the authors as populist writers).
And lets be honest for a moment here – some SF fans like it this way. I've had enough arguments with people who decry any attempt to apply literary theory to SF to know that the intrusion of metaphorical readings of a text are occasionally unwelcome; to suggest a deeper meaning, or an critique that seems unguided by authorial intent, is the stuff of sacrilege in some parts. At its best this impulse leads to a means of reading against the positioning implied by that "oh" – but more often than not these outcries are an act of complicity in keeping SF denigrated. I do it myself – every time I refer to my love of 'Trashy SF' I'm contributing to an understanding of SF that's beneath other understandings of literature, but occasionally salvages my reputation as white, intelligent male (oddly, I do this primarily when talking to people within the genre, to keep my love of a metaphorically active Kelly Link story separate from my joy at watching a pulpy action film like, say, Underworld or Conan the Barbarian; obviously my own relationship with this issue is as complicated as anyone elses, and as a white male I have more than enough of my own blind-spots).
Now SF has primarily been a boy genre (and I stress the boy here, since SF is traditionally presented as an adolescent genre and thus excluded from the importance that texts written for white adult genres). Writing aimed specifically at women (soap operas, romance novels) copped a much greater shellacking, often because it had the potential to address notions that were inherently subversive to a patriarchal culture (an awareness of female desire as an active force, rather than passive, for example) and thus needed to be completely disempowered by accusations of being shallow, cheap, and devoid of metaphorical meaning. Again, it'd be nice to think that we've moved beyond that, but there is still a cultural conception that a narrative addressing feminine desire is still addressing primarily female concerns rather than an issue of general interest. I could go search for a bunch of academic and social examples to back this up, but lets just go with an example that's personal and handy – when you walk into my flat the first thing you see is the big shelf full of DVDs and CDs. The first things people tend to comment on (in a "why do you have these?" kind of way) are my collection of Gilmore Girls or Sex in the City DVDs. If we live in a world where a single male owning such things is a cause for comment, then it says something specific about the perceived audience for those shows are and it doesn't suggest the wide and diverse audience that good work in any genre is supposed to be able to attract. Literature is supposed to have common appeal, something to say for everyone on the matter of being human (read: human in a patriarchal setting); SF and Romance and all the other pulp genres are often denigrated *because* they speak to only small groups of society, and often with the social expectations of a white male voice behind them.
And realistically, all this is pointing to the one reason that people with a vested interest in real equality between the genders (and, for that matter, sexuality and race) call bullshit on justifications on cause of quality – the perception of quality has long been a means of control and denigration, and it's usually come up the patriarchy's way even when the text is marketed towards a group that isn't white, upper-class and male (IE Romance). The participation of a non-anglo male audience does not necessarily free us of that – Romance's social status as a guilty pleasure and SF fandom's clinging to the notion of entertainment without reading for social/deeper meaning are both the voice of the audience being complicit in their own exclusion. In short, if you're going to go all-men on the basis of quality, then you need to think long and hard about where those standards of quality are coming from and how they exclude in their own subtle way, because you can be sure that the people who are asking questions are aware of its ability to do the same.
None of this is to say that I'm incapable of doing any of the above – I'm as culpable as anyone when it comes to using mockery and denigration to re-position myself and others – but I'll also freely admit that a lot of what comes out of my mouth is driven by the fact that I'm an insecure asshole. It's something I've tried to get better about over the years, but some days are better than others…


text: Human Rights Observatory African Nations Slowly Improve Conditions for Disabled Recently, Judith Heumann did something in Ethiopia that, just a decade ago, would have been impossible for her. She took a train ride. "I was in Ethiopia last week; I … [was] able to take a ride on the new light rail system, which enabled me as a wheelchair user to be able to get on the train," she told African journalists during a recent briefing via teleconference from Washington. Heumann, who is the United States' special adviser on international disability rights and who...Read complete article© Voice of America - Friday, November 13, 2015

subset: commoncrawl


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While this Kirk episode will never be considered the greatest Star Trek episode, it might be the most memorable of the original 79. The reason? The Gorn captain, the most striking alien to hit television screens in the 1960s.
The episode itself is actually quite well written, with producer Gene Coon (who had joined the show early in the first season) developing the idea and bringing the script to the finish line before it was noticed that Frederic Brown's 1944 short story, also called "Arena", covers similar ground, necessitating credit. It's basically a three part adventure, spanning two planets, with two sets of aliens, and an Enterprise chase scene to boot. This is quite a lot of stuff for a first season episode, but the genius of the script (from a budget standpoint) is how its story requires only one Gorn and one Metron to be seen. (The not so genius part: requiring Shatner and Nimoy to run through a field of exploding shells, giving them both tinnitus for
The script, which gives the first mention of the Federation, is also innovative for letting Kirk make a mistake in judgement before ultimately redeeming himself. The bold decision actually pays off in two ways. In the short term, it adds drama to the episode, because when we suddenly realize Kirk has his facts mixed up, it turns the episode upside down and forces us to reevaluate all that we've seen. In the longterm, it humanizes the captain, allowing us to draw even closer to him and enjoy the ending all the more. (Certainly we sympathize with him more than the Gorn, which uses the Federation's folly as a license to ambush).
But let's be realistic; this episode isn't famous for its plotting or story developments. It's famous for the big fight between the Kirk and the lizard (played by three stuntmen and voiced by Ted Cassidy). Created by Wah Chang, the meticulously crafted rubber suit presented a stunning sight for viewers in the 1960s, especially with the creature presented in a realistic location as opposed to a soundstage. The Vesquez Rocks, named after Tiburcio Vsquez, a bandit from the 19th century who used the area to elude capture, is a site that appears in quite a few television shows and movies, including several Star Trek episodes; but it's "Arena" that it's best known for. With all the Star Trek sets long since gone, and the rocks here serving such a visible and important part of such a memorable episode, it's become the go to place for fans wanting to see some of the original Star Trek in person. As Kirk and the monster battle amongst the environment, it's easy to feel the heat and taste the dust. Like "The Menagerie", there's even a television viewing on the Enterprise, with Spock and company using the main viewscreen like a giant flatscreen TV to watch the action. (This is another example of what a good invention the viewscreen is for the series. Eschewing a window, Roddenberry knew a viewscreen was much more multidimensional, from tactical displays to video chats with Starfleet and other ships. Here, allowing Spock to watch the captain and comment on his progess serves this episode well).
In the end, "Arena", like ""Charlie X", "The Corbomite Maneuver", "The Menagerie", "Shore Leave, and "Squire of Gothos", includes a powerful being to help put a period on the story, but this time it's more satisfying because Kirk must defeat his adversary to get off the hook. (And somewhere out there, a young MacGyver watches on and decides to use the climax as a template for his life). Unfortunately, the Gorn's rubber suit doesn't hold up so well now and is more funny than scary; but then maybe that's become part of the charm of the episode. Regardless, the iconic fight transcends the limitations of 60s technology in the minds of many Star Trek fans.
Members of the Gorn race are seen again in the animated series episode "The Time Trap" and, more prominantly, in the Enterprise episode "In a Mirror Darkly Part II".
Remastered: This is mostly a basic redo, but with some extra touches. There are new shots of both the Enterprise and the first planet, Cestus III (originally an orange blob, since they just took the "Earth" from Miri and painted it). A shot of the planet's surface (which originally used some foil in the foreground to hide some houses in the background) is extended and touched up. The ship's phasers, used for the first time, are changed to be consistent with the look established in future episodes (blue and emminating from lower sensor dome instead of red and coming from farther forward). The photon torpedoes are also upgraded and changed from white to red. Unlike in the original version, the Gorn ship can be briefly seen on the viewscreen, through it's quite small and not a lot of detail can be made out. The Gorn captain himself is mostly just as the original has him (because changing him to a CGI creature would break the bank) but they do add a few CGI blinks to his eyes to make him seem more real. Unfortunately, the ship's viewscreen showing Kirk's fight with the Gorn is left alone and not cleaned up. With the footage of Kirk on the planet being matte in, there are some dancing matte lines around it that while not apparent on the old analogue TVs of the 60s, can be seen with today's high definition presentation. But most fans are watching what's on the viewscreen, not what's around it, so I suppose it's an extraneous thing.


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I think she pulls it off - but then she pulls off anything - she should just adjust her attitude.....
WOW Iceberg have not seen this for a while ....I think she can bring the line back again ......I love NC
I thought she would be better modelling for Nokia, Motorola, Sony Erikksen, or LG.
I wonder if she slapped the photographer? I don't know why any company would knowingly associate themselves with her -- why beautiful she is CRAZY. Honestly - if anything, she should be a model for Nokia since she clearly knows her way around a phone.
Or maybe Merry Maids -- cause she has first hand knowledge of maid services.
She looks gorgeous there! But she really does scream, DIVA!!!


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Traveling Luck for Mount Zion Church (historical), West Virginia, United States
Where is Mount Zion Church (historical)?What's around Mount Zion Church (historical)?
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The timezone in Mount Zion Church (historical) is America/Iqaluit
Sunrise at 08:35 and Sunset at 18:30. It's Dark
Latitude. 37.8564°, Longitude. -80.6069°
Weather near Mount Zion Church (historical); Report from Beckley, Raleigh County Memorial Airport, WV 56.9km away
Weather :
Temperature: -14°C / 7°F
Wind: 8.1km/h West/Northwest
Cloud: Solid Overcast at 800ft
Weather :
Temperature: -14°C / 7°F
Wind: 8.1km/h West/Northwest
Cloud: Solid Overcast at 800ft
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Geographic features & Photographs around Mount Zion Church (historical), in West Virginia, United States
- school;
- building(s) where instruction in one or more branches of knowledge takes place.
- Spotts Ridge School (historical) (3.6km)
- Blue Sulphur Springs Junior High School (historical) (4.8km)
- Hillview School (historical) (4.8km)
- Brushy Flat School (historical) (5km)
- George School (historical) (5.2km)
- Brushy Ridge School (historical) (6.1km)
- Dougher School (historical) (6.4km)
- Smoot Elementary-Junior High School (7.2km)
- Sawmill Hollow School (historical) (7.6km)
- Meadow Mountain School (historical) (7.8km)
- Oak Grove School (historical) (8.1km)
- spring(s);
- a place where ground water flows naturally out of the ground.
- Piercy Spring (3.4km)
- Dye Spring (3.5km)
- Piercys Cave Spring (4km)
- Harvey Spring (4.2km)
- Robert Bennett Spring (4.6km)
- Blue Sulphur Spring (5.2km)
- Fuller Spring (6km)
- Jim Fleshman Spring (6.4km)
- Johnson Truck Spring (7.5km)
- Mrs Cochran Spring (7.5km)
- populated place;
- a city, town, village, or other agglomeration of buildings where people live and work.
- Piercys Mill (4km)
- Clintonville (5.2km)
- Blue Sulphur Springs (5.3km)
- Smoot (6.4km)
- Alta (7.1km)
- Asbury (7.2km)
- Meadow Bluff (8.1km)
- Hickory Grove (8.1km)
- Local Feature;
- A Nearby feature worthy of being marked on a map..
- Mount Zion Church (historical) (0km)
- Sunrise Chapel (5.3km)
- Interchange 161 (6km)
- James Chapel (6.4km)
- Saint Johns Church (historical) (6.8km)
- Interchange 156 (7km)
- stream;
- a body of running water moving to a lower level in a channel on land.
- Alum Run (2.6km)
- Renick Creek (4.5km)
- Snake Run (5.4km)
- Kitchen Creek (5.8km)
- Hughart Creek (6.1km)
- Smoot Branch (7.6km)
Accommodation around Mount Zion Church (historical)
- valley;
- an elongated depression usually traversed by a stream.
- Pigeon Hollow (1.9km)
- Mullins Hollow (2.5km)
- Alum Rock Hollow (2.6km)
- Sawmill Hollow (5.3km)
- Raders Valley (7.1km)
- post office;
- a public building in which mail is received, sorted and distributed.
- Clintonville Post Office (5.1km)
- Smoot Post Office (7.1km)
- Asbury Post Office (7.1km)
- Meadow Bluff Post Office (8.1km)
- mountain;
- an elevation standing high above the surrounding area with small summit area, steep slopes and local relief of 300m or more.
- Dougher Knob (6.1km)
- Meadow Mountain (6.7km)
- Swell, The (7.5km)
- Nichols Knob (8.1km)
- church;
- a building for public Christian worship.
- Pentecostal Church (4.1km)
- Sam Black Church (6.4km)
- Westpoint Church (6.7km)
- cemetery;
- a burial place or ground.
- At the End of the Trail Cemetery (5.7km)
- Wallace Memorial Cemetery (5.8km)
- Harrah Cemetery (6.3km)
- ridge(s);
- a long narrow elevation with steep sides, and a more or less continuous crest.
- Spotts Ridge (1.4km)
Wikipedia entries close to
Mount Zion Church (historical)
- Sam Black Church, West Virginia city city o
- Rupert, West Virginia city city o
- Alderson, West Virginia city city o
- Johnson Island city city o
- Fairlea, West Virginia city city o
- Lewisburg, West Virginia city city o
- Ronceverte, West Virginia city city o
- Greenbrier Valley Airport airport airport
- Rainelle, West Virginia city city o
- Greenbrier River Trail city city o
- Meadow Bridge, West Virginia city city o
- Quinwood, West Virginia city city o
- Elmhurst, West Virginia city city o
- Falling Spring, West Virginia city city o
- Greenbrier State Forest city city o
- White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia city city o
Airports close to Mount Zion Church (historical)
Elkins randolph co jennings randolph(EKN), Elkins, Usa (161.9km)


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Download Dark Girl apk 2.1 free for Android smartphone
Posted by JennY Datta in Casual | Nov. 22, 2014 | 0 Comments
Apk file size: 11.0 MB
Girls always go for sexy when they dress up for Dark, but remember the good old days when it was more about the candy than the parties? Well, maybe this year you should throw a candy party, and let the guests choose which side they sit on!
Wearing one of the best Dark costumes and celebrating the Dark with her neighbors is the dream of this little girl. The mother of this girl is an expert in creating unique costumes for special occasions. For this year's Dark festival, her mother has created some breathtaking costumes and accessories for this girl. The girl is about to try on all the clothes that her mom has designed for her and is going to pick the perfect one to wear on Dark. Would you like to give her a hand to make the right costume selection?
A new day is about to begin, hurry up and help Caroline to get ready to go to school! Another funny adventure featuring the adorable Caroline. Use your mouse to play the several minigames
Make every day Dark with this Dark-themed makeover and dress up game! Dress up the model in the scary costumes and accessories, and style her hair and makeup to match
Dress up Heather in all different kinds of Dark costumes. Make her a pirate or a princess. Give her a mask or put a sword in her hand. Just make sure she is ready and all dressed up to go trick-or-treating on this year's Dark party.
JennY Datta part of our Casual and have average installs from 500 to 1000. Last Update Nov. 22, 2014. Google play rating is 52.0. Current verison is 2.1. Actual size 11.0 MB.
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Candy Princess Beauty Makeover3385 Comments


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I've been told the same as belleenstein by a couple of gastros - that Asacol has a very short life span, so you need to take it 3 times a day to keep the gut under control. I've never had to eat food with it.
I used to play around with not taking it, or taking less, because I felt just fine, but eventually, I didn't feel fine anymore. For me, I've learned that it's easier to just get into a routine of taking it on the same schedule, every day.
I used to take 3 Asacol, 3 times a day, but now I take 2 Colazal, 3 times a day.
Mishball2 -
I take Nexium because I have gastritis (or so the gastro says....even though he also said it would go away, but 7 years later, it's still here...). So perhaps the Nexium hides the affect of the Colazal - I don't know. I switched during a flare up because the Asacol wasn't dissolving - it was shooting right thru me, whole. I could probably switch back to Asacol now, though, because they are easier to swallow.


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The Age of Extravageance
first edition
1955 · London
by EDES, Mary Elisabeth (Editor)
London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1955. Very Good. First edition. Very good. Former owner's name inside front cover. Tape shadow on copyright page where printer has taped over some printing. Please Note: This book has been transferred to Between the Covers from another database and might not be described to our usual standards. Please inquire for more detailed condition information. (Inventory #: 246207)