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Lost: The Search for Meaning
May 25, 2010 at 3:58 am | Posted in Television | 1 CommentTags: Lost
Lost ended yesterday after six seasons. It was a popular television show with good ratings, but at one point it was a phenomenon with amazing ratings. As a result, there are more people who gave up on Lost at one point or another than people like myself who stuck with the show. I get asked a lot, "So is it worth going back to?"
That's hard to answer. It depends on what you want the show to be. The best I can do is say that if you gave up on the show in its narrative doldrums in the middle of the second or third seasons, it might be worth trying again. Towards the end of the third season, the quality picks up dramatically leading into, in my view, the show's best years in seasons four and five. For such a popular show, Lost actually took a lot of risks throughout its run. Because of this it's not actually quite as much of a crowd-pleaser as you'd expect, and I can't really predict whether it's worth your time. It just depends on your preferences.
I'm more interested in addressing those of us who have seen the whole show. What are we to make of it? From here on out, I will not be shy about spoilers so be warned.
What was Lost about?
You wouldn't think this would be a complicated question, but it turns out to be rather controversial. On one hand, you have the famously obsessive fans who pore over every detail. For them, the show is about a mysterious island. On the other, you have a somewhat less vocal but possibly larger group who appreciate the show as a character-driven drama and shift uncomfortably in their seats when ghosts and time travel threaten to drag the show completely into genre territory.
It's possible to appeal to authorial intent on this question. The showrunners mostly come down on the side of the latter group, and over the years became increasingly vocal about their belief that Lost was ultimately a character-driven show. For most of the show's run, I thought they were simply saying what critics want to hear. When Battlestar Galactica earned mainstream critical acceptance, many prominent writers made sure to explain this was possible because it wasn't really science fiction. Watching Lost in season 5, when it was devoting considerable energy explaining to its mainstream audience time travel concepts that were sophisticated even by SF standards, I didn't see any room for debate. When your characters spend more time discussing causality than themselves or each other, it's not really a character show. Yet for all their discursions through fantasy and science fiction, the sixth season and particularly the finale make it clear that the show's writers felt they were writing a character show and needed to end it like one.
This raises the question: if this show really is about the characters, why did so many people (myself included) think otherwise?
One explanation is simply that it really was a mystery show until the last season, when the writers had a conversion experience to the character side. Looking back, there was definitely one point where the show was purely a mystery show: the pilot. The pitch for Lost didn't sound like, "So an alcoholic doctor and a con man with a heart of gold both fall in love with a beautiful girl who murdered her stepfather." While that much is obvious, it's fortunate the development of the pilot has been so extensively documented, for we can actually be precise. The original concept was simply a bunch of people stranded on an island. JJ Abrams added the word "mysterious" in front of "island" and Lost was greenlit practically on that alone. Since ABC was in such a hurry, there was no time for the standard development process, so for the most part the producers hired actors they liked and then made up characters for them on the fly. The cast was so big that the pilot barely had room to explain who they all were.
On the other hand, the pilot spent quite a bit of time on the unseen monster, the polar bear, and the French woman's transmission. Charlie's "Guys, where are we?" serves as the pilot's punchline. It's the pilot's central question.
So it's understandable that many people got the impression this was a show about a mysterious island. But somewhere in between the pilot and the rest of the first season, the show changed course dramatically and never looked back. While it was still a mystery show, instead of concentrating on the island's many mysteries as fans expected, the show spent most of its time on the mysteries of the characters. Each character had at least one surprising element to their past that cast them in a new light: Kate was the criminal, Sawyer was the victim of a con man, Hurley was a lottery winner, and so on.
This was clearly a brilliant move by the writers. While the island mysteries of the pilot brought people to the show, I think it was the character mysteries that kept them watching and propelled the show to stratospheric ratings. Most Lost fans still cite the first season as their favorite, and when asked why they gave up the show most former viewers say it changed too much from the first season.
Unfortunately, as successful as it was, this strategy proved to be something of a time bomb. As the audience learned more and more about the characters, it became harder and harder to make interesting episodes about their pasts. Anticipating this, the writers introduced fresh characters, but the audience was too invested in the characters they had already. The solution to the problem, going to the future instead of the past, came too late to preserve Lost's once-incredible ratings, but drastically improved the show in the fourth and fifth seasons.
So Lost wasn't about the island at all, but just about some characters?
Well, not quite. Seinfeld was just about some characters. As a narrative show Lost explored themes and ideas. In fact, unlike its frayed and disheveled mythology, Lost has been thematically consistent from the beginning.
Well, almost from the beginning. I have to preface all this by saying none of it is present in the pilot. I think it's safe to say no one had any time in that rushed development process to think very much about themes. This becomes obvious when considering the answers to the pilot's minor questions. Why is a polar bear on a tropical island? Some researchers brought some polar bears there. Why was the repeating distress call never heard by the outside world? Someone is jamming transmissions from the island. While these do lead into more minor questions (Who are these researchers? Who is jamming the transmissions?) that the show tinkers around with for a while, the fact is these are fairly prosaic.
Going into season one, the writers apparently realized prosaic wasn't going to cut it. In the second episode of the season proper, "Walkabout", Locke is discovered to have been miraculously healed. He encounters the monster, and how does he describe it in the next episode, "White Rabbit"? After the pilot you would be forgiven for thinking that he might have said, "I saw the monster and it was a dinosaur!" Or perhaps, "It turns out it's a giant robot!" Instead, Locke says, he "looked into the eye of the island and it was beautiful." In that same episode, Jack sees his dead father. And while that might be explained away as a hallucination, what are we to make of the way the body has disappeared from the coffin?
These mysteries make the polar bear and the transmission seem completely humdrum. Seeing a polar bear in the tropics is unusual. Paralysis being healed by a plane crash is miraculous. Even at this very early point, the island had been reimagined. It was no longer just a weird island. It was a place to encounter the numinous.
Before going on, I want to also point out than none of these things I've mentioned from these two episodes were ever properly explained. Locke was healed because, well, Jacob felt like it. The monster looked beautiful because, er, actually it never demonstrated this capability ever again. And the body was missing from the coffin because the smoke monster was using it to impersonate Jack's father–no, wait, it definitely was impersonating Yemi and his body was still there. So…no idea. I'll come back to Lost and "answers" in a moment but first let's keep thinking about why these elements were introduced in the first place.
Earlier I said that "Guys, where are we?" is the central question of the pilot, but that it was abandoned. From the "Walkabout" through to the finale, the show consistently asked a different question. Locke asks it out loud in "White Rabbit": "What if everything that happened here, happened for a reason?"
The main thread of the rest of the show examines this question from every possible angle. I'm sure you can follow it yourself, but I'm going to go through it for three characters anyway because these are my favorite parts of the show:
Locke, by virtue of being on the receiving end of the most beneficial of the island's miracles, is a strong believer from the start. Yet his simple faith is tested by Boone's death. Locke is forced to construct a theology to explain this ("Boone was a sacrifice the island demanded") but there is no revelation in his religion. He has simply invented explanations to fit the events that happen to him, and as a result is thoroughly wrong. For a while he thinks maintaining the Swan hatch is his purpose, but then angrily rejects his faith and causes the Swan implosion. Afterward, he is chastened, and once more becomes a zealot of a religion he has made up out of almost whole cloth. Though well-intentioned, his belief is so strong he is willing to murder Naomi. Still searching for his destiny, he tries to become the leader of the Others, only to find himself yanked through time, and finally proves a failure as an evangelist to the Oceanic Six. He dies in despair, having never found the meaning he sought in his life.
Jack becomes the de facto leader of the survivors due to his authority as a doctor, but despite the competence he projects he proves ineffective. In his pre-island life his marriage failed and he was unable to escape his father's shadow in his career. On the island, his denunciations of Locke's mysticism seem more and more implausible as bizarre phenomena pile up and his "leadership" proves incapable of providing any lasting improvement on the survivors' situation. Ultimately he gives up, and when opportunities come to escape, he tries to take them. Eventually he and the other Oceanic Six do escape, but having gotten off the island his life becomes even worse and he is wracked with guilt over leaving the others behind. After Locke's death he converts to Locke's view of destiny, and tries to live up to Locke's sainted memory (it's easy to forget that St. Locke, right up until he died, was considered to be a violent extremist by the show's two unquestionably good characters, Hurley and Rose). Back on the island, he finally finds a task worthy of his great desire to "fix" things when he gives his life to fix the island.
Ben, meanwhile, was told for almost all his life that he was special. He successfully deposed Widmore on the grounds that Widmore was insufficiently devoted to the island and led Jacob's people for years. There's no sign that Ben was ever anything less than totally committed to Jacob and protecting the island. Yet Jacob never spoke with him directly, instead using Richard as an intermediary. When Jacob allowed him to get cancer, Ben's authority was called into question. Presumably this was Jacob's typically obscure way of trying to get Ben's group to unite with the survivors, but instead Ben tried to manipulate Jack into doing the surgery. The fighting between Ben's group and the survivors served to further erode his authority, and finally even Richard began maneuvering Locke into position to replace Ben. When Widmore's mercenaries kill his adopted daughter, the one person on the island he genuinely loved, he angrily allows himself to be exiled and does his best to damage Widmore's interests off the island. When Locke reveals there is a way back to the island, Ben learns it, then murders Locke to prevent him from competing with Ben for leadership. But when they return, Locke appears to be alive again and far more capable than before, propelling Ben towards a confrontation with the weaver of the island's destinies, Jacob. When Ben demands to know why he has had to suffer and Jacob has no adequate response, he kills the object of his devotion. He immediately learns that he has been used by a close approximation of the devil, but ultimately he achieves some measure of redemption by helping Jack win, and then finally gets the role he always wanted with Jacob's eventual replacement Hurley.
One of the common criticisms of Lost is that, summarized, it becomes apparent that it is absurd. The show itself referenced this when Hurley tried to explain what had happened to him on the island to his mother. But the stories of Locke, Jack, and Ben are not ridiculous when summarized. Neither are those of the characters with more conventional stories about separated love: Sun and Jin, Desmond and Penny, Rose and Bernard, and even Sawyer and Juiliet.
Kate's story is pretty ridiculous at length or in summary, but really, the less said about it the better.
The reason these stories work well is they are the ones the show was built to tell. It was not, ultimately, a show about a mysterious island. It was about people searching for meaning in their lives.
So again, why did so many people think the show was about a mysterious island?
The easy answer is the writers tried to have it both ways. You get higher ratings by pleasing all of the people some of the time than if you please some of the people all the time, so they tried to generate appeal both as a story of characters searching for meaning and as a mystery show. So we got plenty of details about the Dharma Initiative, the Others, and a lot of handwaving about electromagnetism.
But I think there's a deeper reason for the widespread fan engagement with the show's mystery. I think for many fans, they couldn't help but live vicariously through the characters, and feel as though they were on the cusp of the numinous themselves. All the things that couldn't be explained would be unlocked by the secret knowledge revealed at the end of the show, the grand unified theory that would turn the vast mythology into a single coherent whole. If enlightenment proves nearly impossible to acquire in real life, then we should at least be able to achieve it within the scope of a television show.
The fans search for answers was, in fact, exactly what Locke, Jack, and Ben were also searching for. I doubt the writers intended this from the beginning, but surely they were conscious of it by the second season. Just as many fans angrily declared there was no rhyme or reason to the what happened on the show, characters at various points (most notably the unnamed antagonist, talking to Sawyer in the cave) rejected the possibility that there was any sort of destiny or purpose to their lives.
Even the ultimate conclusion within the show mirrored that outside it. In the show, though Jacob manipulates events to bring about a certain result, he turns out to be rather less than divine. They are not living in the best of all possible worlds. The monster and all the suffering it causes is the result of Jacob's mistake, and it's not at all clear that the monster's escape or the island's destruction would have anything like the apocalyptic consequences Jacob claims. The penultimate episode's title is "What They Died For" rather than "Why They Had to Die" because the answer to the latter question is a little too awkward: they had to die because Jacob wasn't good enough at playing god to come up with a way to defeat his brother that didn't involve thousands of needless deaths.
Likewise, Lost the show turns out to have had a purpose and meaning, but ultimately it's a human creation and very imperfect. Part of it has to be that the writers simply could have done a better job. But the constraints of television are enormous: actors decide to leave, the network insists on changes, fan reactions are unexpected, writers go on strike…the fact is television is not a medium that is suited for producing perfect plots. Even the collaborative nature of television writing conspires against it. When it takes six years to tell a story, you can't blame the writers for changing their minds about some things halfway through. Even less so when many of the writers aren't even the same as the ones who started. Lost's plot looks a lot like the first draft of a novel, but the medium simply doesn't allow for revision.
Lost was a very good show, but unfortunately one that many (including myself at times) were unable to entirely accept on its own terms because we were continually frustrated by its inconsistencies. The only compensation is that by engaging with the show's mythology, and the consequent doubts, the interested viewer was in a way participating interactively in the show's exploration of meaning. That may not be what they were hoping to get out of the show, but it's not what we necessarily hope to get out of life either, and yet here we are.
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
May 23, 2010 at 11:31 pm | Posted in 4 stars, Book Reviews, Fantasy | Leave a commentTags: Brandon Sanderson
Since reading Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy I've paid close attention to his career. The Mistborn books were uneven, but their particular strength, the way revelations about the world fed back into the narrative, was one that really appealed to me. Since then Sanderson has mostly been sucked into working on big series, from a trilogy to finish Jordan's Wheel of Time to a ten book series (sigh) of his own. I'm not as resistant to reading unfinished series as I used to be (I never read Wheel of Time for that reason, or Martin's Song of Ice and Fire) but I still prefer complete stories. So I was very happy when Sanderson, who apart from any other virtues may be the most prolific author working today, somehow squeezed a standalone novel, Warbreaker, into his schedule.
First and foremost, Warbreaker shares the rigourous approach to its backstory that I was so impressed by in the Mistborn books. The magic system is laid out clearly and functions according to rules, but the characters don't know all of them. In this respect, Sanderson's fantasies have a very modern attitude, for some (though not all, or even most) of his characters take a scientific approach to magic, studying it to unlock the mechanisms by which it works. Throughout the novel the reader (along with some characters) learns more about the magic system, and each new revelation fits in marvelously both with what had come before as well as the dramatic demands of the narrative.
Another trait, less positive in my view, it shares with Mistborn is a capacity for introducing interesting sociological structures but not following through on them. Most of Warbreaker takes place in a city ruled by a council of "gods" who turn out to be humans (sort of) with special powers. Some characters like this approach to government and others despise it, but while they each get chances to (briefly) state their reasoning, the question is never explored in depth. Both here and in Mistborn, the narrative ultimately takes what I would call a pre-modern view of governance: different nations have different political systems, but what matters is the people in charge. If these are good people, then all will be well. If they are bad people, then the nation will decline. The ultimate goal of the characters, then, is to replace the bad people in charge with good people, and if changing the system of governance is necessary to make this happen then so be it, but otherwise sticking to tradition is probably best. At least in Mistborn this was fleshed out a little bit by the fact that once in power, the good people found it was harder than they expected to achieve good outcomes, but Warbreaker doesn't even resolve its most basic question: is a monarchy preferable to a pseudo-theocracy?
Finally, I should mention that I found the characters in Warbreaker to be considerably more appealing than those in Mistborn, but this was counterbalanced somewhat by the way the final third of the book seemed rushed. There are two characters in particular with concealed histories who suffer from the inadequate amount of time between the revelation of who they really are and the conclusion of the book. As a semi-twist revelation, it's fine, but as is so often the case with such maneuvers, in concealing the twist the narrative also obscures their true motivations and feelings, and they end up being ciphers. In any case, although Sanderson had elegant resolutions to the stories of the many viewpoint characters, it felt like none of them quite got the time they deserved. I'm not sure if this is a genuine failing in the story or if my "story sense" is simply calibrated for trilogies due to how common they are in fantasy, but I can only report the impression.
I can't help but wonder if another revision might have improved the final result had Sanderson not been so busy with other matters, but Warbreaker is still a very enjoyable book and recommended for fantasy readers interested in rigorous magic systems and careful plotting.
The Sorcerer's House by Gene Wolfe
May 14, 2010 at 1:00 am | Posted in 4 stars, Fantasy | 1 CommentThis book is about a man who unexpectedly comes into possession of a house. This house is at the center of a lot of colorful folklore, the least of which is that it is haunted. Strange things happen to the man in the house, very strange things. Yet the man himself is strange, just out of prison, in fact, but also the holder of many advanced degrees. He also has a twin brother who is comparatively normal, with a wife and a good job. But things are about to get really weird…
When people study Gene Wolfe's work in the future, and, yes, I believe people will, they will feel very comfortable classifying Sorcerer's House as a novel of his late period. If you haven't read much of Wolfe, this will mean nothing to you, but if you haven't read much of Wolfe, you should give Book of the New Sun or Fifth Head of Cerberus a try instead of starting here.
Nevertheless, I will try to explain what I mean. First, there's no question this is a Gene Wolfe book. Early or late, I see Wolfe's fiction as being notable for at least two peculiarities: he always makes the narrative voice relevant to the story, and he always conceals large parts of the story, forcing the reader to piece it together later, theoretically after finishing the book but generally on subsequent readings. These aspects wax and wane in importance but they are always present in his novels. Sorcerer's House has an unusual approach to narrative voice: it's a collection of letters, most of which in combination present a first person narrative from the main character, but scattered throughout are letters other characters have written to him. It's not the only epistolary novel I've read, but it's got to be the only one where the letter format proved important to the story itself. As to his other main attribute, just how much of the story is concealed is a matter of debate, but rest assured there are many questions that will only be answered with very close scrutiny and at least one further reading.
So it's certainly of a piece with the rest of Wolfe's novels. I also call it "late Wolfe" because like many of his recent books, it's short and written in simple language, making for a deceptively easy read. Though none of his late work is set in the early twentieth century (Sorcerer's House seems to be set in the modern day), much of the dialogue has the feel of that time period. Finally, lately Wolfe has become enraptured with the device of having his narrator make some sort of very tricky logical leap, announce the conclusion, and then (sometimes, if Wolfe's feeling generous) explain how he or she got there. Wolfe's always used this device now and then, but sometimes in this, as with his other recent books, it feels like there are stretches where the dialogue is almost entirely discussing the character's inferences. Sorcerer's House even takes the perhaps unfair step of sometimes concealing the clues that the narrator used to deduce his conclusion and either supplying them after the fact or expecting the reader to infer them. The result of all this is a novel that's a quick read without being very accessible. The writing feels strange and affected. It's not as off-putting as Evil Guest was but it can't be ignored.
It should also be said that Sorcerer's House is probably one of Wolfe's more difficult books. People often talk of Wolfe's narrators (especially Severian) as being unreliable, but in fact this is rarely a major feature of his books. Not so in Sorcerer's House, whose narration (in my estimation, at least) is less reliable than any other Wolfe novel. And as is almost always the case with Wolfe, only by paying very close attention will the reader find the threads of the real story through the layers of misdirection and mirage.
However, I should also say that there's a lot to like here. Wolfe is nothing if not imaginative, and like another fantasy writer I've been reading lately, Kelly Link, he's very good at generating genuinely strange phenomena. Unlike Kelly Link, who deals in evocation and suggestion, at the end of Sorcerer's House most of the phenomena will have been given satisfactory explanations. Not in terms of masks and stunt men, this is still a fantasy novel, but what initially seems flatly inexplicable eventually coheres into a comprehensible structure. This being Wolfe, this structure is embedded in another, greater structure that must be inferred, but even with a single reading there's plenty to appreciate.
It's not a masterpiece, and not a return to the form of his great work, but ultimately it comes down to this: if you like Wolfe, I think you'll like this book.
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Anything that crosses my mind……
Accessing SSL resources using cURL in PHP
0I will start a series of php tutorials regarding webservices, security, web requests.
They are not in any order, but as i see them fit, and as they come into my mind.
At some moment in time i had a use to access a SSL service using cURL.
As i could not acomplish that, after a few tries, i found out that the error was of an invalid certificate.

subset: commoncrawl


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The foundations of quantum mechanics: Two theories
Dr Caroline Colijn, Physiology, McGill
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Nutrition, diet and colon cancer prevention
Meet with our staff dietician, ask questions and learn more about how to reduce your risk of colon cancer through diet.
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All faculty, staff and graduate students interested in the future of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada are encouraged to attend. RSVP appreciated to Kirsten Martin.
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Screening of NFB documentary by Katherine Gilday. A question and answer period, as well as a panel discussion, will follow. Everyone welcome.
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Will the loonie rise from the ashes?
Chris Ragan, Associate Professor, Dept of Economics, and Associate Dean, Faculty of Arts, McGill. His research interests include the role of economic policy, especially the objectives and implementation of monetary policy. Cocktails: 6:00-7:00 pm, presentation: 7:00-9:00 pm. RSVP deadline: April 3
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Tuesday, March 7, 2017 3:04 PM
This vintage postcard shows the beautiful Lake Champlain Ferry Crossings. M.V. Valcour and M.V. Adirondack, most beautiful ferry crossing in North America. The ferries travel between Burlington, VT. and Port Kent, N.Y. on Lake Champlain. This card measures 3 1/2" x 5 1/2". I do not know how old it is, has been packed with others from the 1950's. It is unused and unposted. It is in excellent condition; from a non-smoking home. $4.00 obo
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text: We first meet William Keane (Damian Lewis) in the Port Authority bus terminal where he is desperately searching for his 6-year-old daughter, who has been missing for months. Repeatedly drawn to the site of the purported abduction, Keane wanders the bus station compulsively going over the events of that fateful day. Veering between days of relentless searching and nights of alcohol and drug induced extremes of self-destructive behavior, he seems to be teetering precariously on the edge of sanity. Then one day he meets a financially strapped young woman, Lynn Bedik (Amy Ryan), and her 7-year-old daughter, Kira (Abigail Breslin), who are also staying at the same transient motel in New Jersey. He reaches out to them and soon the mother entrusts him to pick up Kira after school and bring her home. As he becomes increasingly attached to the child, the story moves to a whole new level of poignancy and tension, as Keane searches for redemption through the little girl. Working in a handheld verité style, director Kerrigan and DP John Foster, plunge us directly into Keane's profoundly unsettled universe. Damian Lewis's riveting, visceral performance of a man grappling with the effects of a profound loss makes KEANE a complex, deeply humane and unforgettable portrait.


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Saturday, September 11, 2010
Author Interview with Losing Faith's Denise Jaden
Questions by: Lauren
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1. If you could work with any other author (dead or alive) who would you pick and why?
Laurie Halse Anderson. While I don't think I'd be much of an asset to her, I just love the way her brain works. I think she's brilliant and I have the feeling that even being in the same room with her would open my mind to a whole new realm of possibilities.
2. If you could have written an already published book, what would it be and why?
I'm probably funny this way, but to be honest, I wouldn't want to have written any books besides my own. My own books are very personal to me, and that's what makes me love them the most. There are a vast number of extremely well-written, engaging, thought-provoking books out there, but none of them are…me. Besides that, I think a lot of future pressure comes with having a highly acclaimed book on the shelves, and while that's fun to dream about, I'm not sure I'm actually ready for that.
3. If you could imagine the best possible scenario for Losing Faith or your writing career at large, what would happen?
I hope my book will be memorable and loved by at least a few people. It would be wonderful if it could reach an even larger audience through audiobook, foreign versions, and film. I found it more fun to "dream" when the whole process was far away. Now it can be scary—not wanting to get my hopes up, or unsure of the lasting effects and whether or not I'm ready for them.
4. If you could take a character from another book and add them to Losing Faith or a future work, who would you pick and what type of character would you make them?
I don't know about book characters, but I've always thought it would be fun to add real-life celebrities into books. Unfortunately, you have to worry about legalities and how it reflects on them, so it doesn't really work to say have Zac Efron show up and make a big scene at a high school football game or something. But it would be fun!
5. If you could simply wish on a shooting star, what would you most want?
I'd wish things for my son and for my family—long, happy lives; good, lasting relationships. As far as writing goes, I feel like I must have inadvertently wished upon a shooting star in my sleep, because I really could not ask for more. I'm very thankful for where I'm at and what I've achieved.
BTW: Don't forget to read the 9/11 Remembrance post below this one!
8 comments:
- Minamostaza said...
Awww, lovely and honest answer at the end. Loved it. :)
Mmm, if I had the chance to write with someone I'll choose Richelle Mead, Kelly Creagh and YOU DENISE! Richelle because of how much fun her writing is. Kelly because of how dark and scary her writing can be *shudders*. And Denise because of the mystery and touching moments through the whole story. I'll just be sitting watching these three awesome writers writing and thinking: I'm the luckiest person in the world!! :D
I couldn't have written a book because my writing is not that awesome, but I love the short stories I write to entertain myself and other, they are my babies. :)
Thank you so much for interview Denise. It was fun! :) - September 11, 2010 at 2:17 PM
- Writer Tessa said...
I'd like to be in that scene with Zac Efron, Denise ;)
Great interview!! - September 11, 2010 at 2:22 PM
- Kristen said...
Great answers! I just love Denise now that I've been learning so much about her and her novel. Just about to dig into a Laurie Halse Anderson novel - Speak. :)
- September 11, 2010 at 4:52 PM
- Renkellym said...
Aw, great interview! I especially loved the answers to numbers two and five. Denise sounds like a very down-to-earth woman. :)
- September 11, 2010 at 5:11 PM
- Shari Green said...
Wow, interesting questions! Enjoyed reading this interview. I'm having fun learning about LOSING FAITH and about Denise with all these great launch posts! :)
- September 11, 2010 at 9:50 PM
- Lexie said...
Ahh legalities, they always throw a wrench in things eh? Otherwise let me tell you my stories would be chock full of jpop stars making random appearances in NJ XD
Lexie - September 11, 2010 at 10:36 PM
- donnas said...
Great interview. Thanks for sharing. Really looking forward to picking up your book.
- September 12, 2010 at 11:48 PM
- Ashley @ Book Labyrinth said...
But having Zac Efron show up would be so much fun! ;)
- September 14, 2010 at 2:53 PM


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And it seems to me a safe bet that if she feels the way she does about homosexuality, so do others in her church. I think she might be surprised at how far she can push the gay envelope without tearing it.
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Refuting the conviction that homosexuality and Christianity are incompatible, I am collecting stories wherein LGBT Christians testify about their own experiences reconciling identity with faith.
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Project by LatheGuy | posted 05-03-2013 10:01 AM | 1704 views | 2 times favorited | 6 comments |
I took some snaps of a few different trucks, side on, front etc. Then started building up a sketchup model. Then took this, found a heap of scrap timber I have lying around, and started building. This is the result. :)
Each piece has been individually cut from bigger timber, the wheels and fuel tank are lathed, and the trailer sides are made from 3 ply.
6 comments so far
#1 posted 05-03-2013 11:58 AM |
Very nice work!! Im a truck driver and Kenworth is my fav! Great job your very talented! -- Marty from MinneSNOWta |
#2 posted 05-03-2013 01:51 PM |
Done a great job. -- Todd |
#3 posted 05-04-2013 12:33 AM |
Another nice build -- A childs smile is payment enough. |
#4 posted 05-05-2013 07:01 AM |
G'Day LatheGuy, -- Lifes good, Enjoy each new day...... Cheers from "On Top DownUnder" Crowie |
#5 posted 05-05-2013 08:04 AM |
Cheers guys. Yeah mate, take/get photos, then sketch them into a scale, and break it down into parts. build each part and put it together. :) |
#6 posted 05-06-2013 03:52 PM |
Fantastic and creative use of scraps! Every detail of the awesome truck is well crafted and executed, shows great craftsmanship. |
Have your say...
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The Neuroimmunology Laboratory's research interests encompass autoimmunity and tumor immunology. Patients with "paraneoplastic" disorders exhibit a remarkable overlap of autoimmunity and cancer, but cancer itself is usually inapparent when medical attention is sought. These patients have unsuspected thymic epithelial tumors or carcinomas of the lung, ovary, or breast. Their first manifestations of cancer are unusual autoimmune neurological symptoms and signs. Disabling disorders that affect brain, nerve and muscle reflect tumor immune responses limiting the growth and spread of cancer. In some patients, an attack on autonomic neurons causes profound gastrointestinal dysmotility and dysregulation of the cardiovascular system. These disparate clinical presentations result from immune responses initiated against tumor proteins that have normal counterparts in neurons and muscle. The multidisciplinary nature of our basic and clinical research interests has fostered strong longterm collaborative links with investigators in the Enteric Neuroscience Program (Joseph Szurszweski Ph.D., Michael Camilleri M.D., Gianrico Farrugia M.D.), Autonomic Disorders Program (Phillip Low M.D., Eduardo Benarroch M.D. and W. Steven Brimijoin Ph.D.), Neuromuscular Disorders Group(Steven Vernino M.D., Ph.D.and C. Michel Harper)and Multiple Sclerosis and Movement Disorder Divisions of Neurology (Claudia Lucchinetti M.D.and Brian Weinshenker M.D., and Eric Ahlskog M.D.) and Psychiatry (John Black M.D.). Although considered rare clinically, IgG autoantibodies of neuronal or muscle specificity (which are surrogate markers of T lymphocyte activation) are detectable in more than 50% of all patients with small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) or thymic epithelial neoplasia, but they are not detected in healthy subjects. By establishing permanent lines of tumor cells from patients who have paraneoplastic autoimmunity, we have begun to define the molecular basis for the immunogenicity of these tumors, and the mechanisms responsible for bypassing self-tolerance.
The central theme of our research program is the antigenicity of proteins that are targets of paraneoplastic autoimmunity. Synaptic plasma membrane cation channels and neurotransmitter receptors are of particular interest because they readily interact with circulating antibodies. Molecules that are used by tumors for autocrine growth, and possibly metastasis, are in many cases identical to the signaling molecules used by nerve and muscle cells in communicating with each other. The specific antigens we are studying are voltage-gated calcium and potassium channels, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, and related molecules expressed in carcinomas of lung and ovary, and epithelial thymomas. Tumor proteins of this type initiate the helper T lymphocyte-dependent production of autoantibodies that impair synaptic transmission in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The following projects are in progress:
Nicotinic ACh receptors (AChR) expressed in neoplasms
We recently discovered that the alpha-3 subunit of the neuronal AChR responsible for synaptic transmission through autonomic ganglia is expressed exclusively in SCLC cell lines derived from patients with neurological autoimmunity. By immunizing animals with the extracellular domain of that protein, we reproduced the cardinal clinical and electrophysiological signs of autoimmune autonomic neuropathy, thus demonstrating the pertinence of this tumor antigen to a particularly devastating human neurological disorder. In addition to implications for cancer therapy, this animal model allows new treatment strategies to be developed for autoimmune gastrointestinal and cardiovascular disorders.Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a postsynaptic disorder of neuromuscular transmission that occurs in approximately 35% of patients who have an epithelial thymoma. AChR-binding autoantibodies are pathogenic in this disorder. Their production is thought to reflect immune responses initiated by muscle autoantigens expressed in immunogenic form in thymomas. We are endeavoring to develop neoplastic thymic epithelial cell lines to test this hypothesis. However, the less common association of MG with neoplasms other than thymoma appears not to be fortuitous. A SCLC line that we established from a patient with MG aberrantly expresses muscle-type AChR. In common with other SCLC tumors, our novel SCLC line has morphologic and cytogenetic markers characteristic of SCLC. It also secretes neuropeptides and has high-voltage-activated calcium channels of neuronal type. Agonist stimulation of this tumor's aberrantly expressed AChR induces an influx of Na+ that is inhibitable by curare and by alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha-BTx), which are both antagonists of muscle AChR. The alpha-BTx receptors solubilized from the tumor cosediment with authentic muscle AChR (i.e., are pentameric) by density gradient centrifugation and they are selectively precipitated by a monoclonal IgG that binds to muscle-type alpha-BTx receptors, but not by a monoclonal IgG that binds to neuronal-type alpha-BTx-receptors. Northern blot reveals mRNA encoding muscle-type AChR subunits. Other SCLC lines are negative. Sequencing of full-length cDNA clones obtained from the MG patient's tumor revealed an mRNA that was derived from the use of a cryptic RNA splice acceptor site. The protein encoded by this mRNA would be truncated, ending with 4 missense amino acids. This would yield a mutant autoantigen corresponding to the extracellular domain of the alpha-1 subunit of muscle AChR, which is a major target of pathogenic autoantibodes in MG. The non-self epitope at its C-terminus is potentially stimulatory for helper T-lymphocytes. These data support our hypothesis that paraneoplastic MG can be initiated by a tumor that expresses muscle-type AChR in a highly immunogenic form. Immune responses driven by distinct AChR subtypes expressed in cancer cells may account for the spectrum of autoimmune disorders affecting cholinergic systems that can complicate SCLC, including autoimmune autonomic neuropathies, seizures, dementia, movement disorders, and sensory and motor neuronopathies. A corollary of our hypothesis is that the immune responses responsible for impairing neurological function may also impair tumor growth and metastasis. To address these neurologic and oncologic hypotheses, we are using affinity purified channel proteins, recombinant subunit fragments, synthetic peptide antigens to produce neuronal antibodies of defined specificities. These antibodies are to be tested for effects on: a) viability and regulated ion-flux responses in cultured human neuronal cell lines; b) transmission at neuromuscular and autonomic synapses in rodents; and c) growth of cancer cells in vitro and in immunodeficient mice. We are using DNA vaccines to activate cytotoxic effector T cells.


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Over the weekend: Amanda Lepore's Drag Nation show at Tracks
The biggest reason to make it out for Drag Nation last Friday at Tracks wasn't to see Amanda Lepore perform -- it was to see Amanda Lepore in real life. And while the transgender icon and David LaChapelle muse was definitely worth viewing, her sort-of sing-along performance was very much overshadowed by hometown queen Ginger Sexton and former RuPaul Drag Racer Mimi Imfurst's show stopping theatrics and bang-up outfit choices.
See all the photos in the slide show!
Amanda Lepore. See the full slide-show!
Bree Davies
Following behind new-ish Drama Drag host Jujubee's usually tame show, Lepore made a surprisingly early stage entrance, prancing around to her own song, "My Hair Looks Fierce." The nude-colored and sequined-covered fabric of her lingerie was effective in displaying her outrageous bodily accoutrements, and it was clear that was what she came to do. But beyond the pasties on her pale breasts and the curiosity that was Lepore's gracious apple bottom, her fur between-the-thighs dance was nothing short of awkward.
Ginger Sexton. See the full slide show!
Bree Davies
Coming up over the last few years as a drag force to be reckoned with, Sexton was lowered to the stage in a birdcage, her usually classy self draped in a perfectly cut orange creamsicle-colored evening gown. Backed by a cadre of black-tie dancers, Sexton did what she does best, glamming up Adele's "Rolling In The Deep" with lots of forlorn glances and microphone cradling. Sexton has almost effectively nailed the ability to be so beautiful under pounds of make-up that one can forget she is just a stunning, walking illusion.
Mimi Imfurst. See the full slide-show!
Bree Davies
Imfurst was also another high point of the night, but pulled from the other school of drag -- which is less about the mirage and more about the drama. When she appeared toward the end of the evening in a nude floor-length dress, the crowd's reaction was of instantaneous awe; there, positioned on Imfurst's stomach was a clear plastic belly with a realistic fetus tucked inside. Stomping and smirking to Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" the momma queen flung her pantyhose umbilical cord boa around with reckless abandon. At the climax of the equity-seeking anthem, Imfurst lost her wig, exposing her as a dead ringer for the infamous Divine.
Miss Nina Flowers. See the full slide-show!
Bree Davies
Ending just shy of 1 a.m., this edition of Drag Nation may have been the best to date. The local talent shined brightly and the RuPaul-sanctioned girls equally brought it. The only thing missing? Miss Nina Flowers.
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In a bid to reach the intended audiences of its popular GALERIE inkjet media lineup more efficiently, Ilford has introduced a new tier system and a new name to go along with it. Re-branded as Ilford GALERIE Prestige (5*) inkjet media, the new lineup of Ilford papers consists of inkjet papers already on the market, including Gold Fibre Silk, Smooth Pearl, Smooth Gloss, Smooth Fine Art and Smooth Lustre Duo.
According to Ilford, these existing inkjet surfaces will be joined by new additions to each of the new product categories during the course of the 2012 calendar year, with the goal of establishing clearly defined product placement to better serve the needs of students, photo enthusiasts and professionals alike.
A long-time manufacturer of quality photographic film and output media, Ilford inkjet papers are available in a full range of cut sheet (4 x 6" to 17 x 22")and roll paper sizes (16" to 60" wide) for both desktop publishing and wider-format requirements.


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Find Top-Rated Spanish Fort Moving Truck Rentals
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I rented a van from them to drive down to Philadelphia to pick up some things and bring them back here to New Provider name locked. .
Manager Provider name locked. handled my rental. He was polite, professional and explained everything about the rental process as well as walking me through the van. The van itself - a Ford Transit - was clean and comfortable. During the 275 mile round-trip, a gauge on the dash indicated that I was averaging over 17 miles per Provider name locked. - which I though was very good given the size of the vehicle. Returning the van was quick and easy. Provider name locked. made the entire process a very pleasant experience.
Two suggestions:
1) Make all vehicles non-smoking. It was obvious that someone, at some time, had smoked in the van and there was definitely a residual odor.
2) In walking me through the van, it would have been nice to know how some of the other features worked. I was able to figure out lights and wipers but couldn't master the cruise control and some of the other features that appeared on the steering wheel and dash.
Also, while I thought the rates (which are obviously set by U-Haui) were competitive, I was disappointed that no sort of discount was offered for AAA, USAA, AARP, etc. as many car rental companies do.
Also they don't appear to have a relationship with any airline for mileage points.
Rates were $99 for the first hundred miles including the $19.95 daily rate, and then it went down to 39 cents for each additional mile. So it was $99 plus $68.25 for the additional 175 miles = $167.25 plus tax.
Overall an excellent experience and I would recommend these guys if you need a moving van. Thank you, Provider name locked. !
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They were responsive and showed up the next day. The workers were so personable and professional. They were fast and very reasonable. I know I will work with them again in the future. Highly satisfied with every aspect of the experience
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Join Angie's List to view provider's name.


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If you are already a Skitch user and happen to have an Evernote Premium account, a new update now allows you to annotate PDFs using the app. Once you open a PDF in Skitch you'll get a 30-day trial of the premium PDF annotation feature. All users see a new way to add graphics to documents in Skitch: stamps. Like map markers, these can be used to call out specific points with an icon and text for easy viewing. There are many icons available for call outs, like an exclamation point or heart, and you can add text next to the stamp.
Skitch has always been a handy tool for quickly marking up an image for collaboration, but the PDF features add to Evernote's suite of tools for managing, storing and now altering documents. Other PDF improvements include a text notation tool, plus all the shapes you could add to images. There's a summary feature of annotations for PDFs, which adds a page to a PDF you share, cleverly pulling out the marked sections and displaying them in a summary page. I can see this saving a lot of time when sending and marking up large documents. Again, any PDF over 25 MB will require a Premium account.
Skitch is a free app but Evernote Premium is $5 a month or $45 a year.
Skitch update (iOS and Mac) includes PDF annotation, stamps originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 18 Apr 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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text: Deskscape Card Reader Has Curious BulgesSean Fallon1/31/08 6:10pmFiled to: GadgetsFlash CardsMmcSdCard Readerdeskscape7EditPromoteShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalinkThis may not be the smallest or most advanced card reader out there, but the Deskscape sure has the weirdest look. Outside of that, its reading abilities are limited to memory sticks, MMC and SD cards, and it clocks in at $30.77. If you think the unusual design and multiple color options are worth that much cash, knock yourself out. I'll stick with smaller readers with more functionality— thank you very much. [GeekStuff4U via OhGizmo]


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'Last year we took 12,000 calls. We have been operating with just two people and a heavily overused answering machine,' says Simon Johnson, manager of Money Advice Services at Birmingham Settlement, where the line is based.
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Additional funding of pounds 400,000 provided by the Money Advice Trust, National Westminster Bank and Birmingham Midshires Building Society is being used to triple the number of advisers employed to six and invest in new telephone and computer equipment.
National Debtline (021-359 8501) is staffed on Mondays and Thursdays from 10am-4pm and on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 2pm-7pm. There is also a 24-hour answering machine service.
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Monday, April 16, 2007
Would you eat Bambi?
He was uncomfortable with the notion and said he would only eat it if he had to, to keep from starving. He does not feel the same way about fish, only mammals.
I suspect he has quite a bit of company. I think it's an example of the Disneyfication of wildlife. Nobody wants to eat something that has done cute things on a movie or tv screen. Even if that something is a cartoon. Organizations like PETA, for all their stridency and media-grabbing stunts, can't hold a candle to Bambi when it comes to turning people off from hunting and/or eating game.
My friend didn't want to eat domesticated game either. A farm-raised duck was just as unpalatable to him as the ones he tossed bits of bread to at a nearby pond. I think he, like a large segment of the population, prefers to think that last night's supper mysteriously appeared on a Styrofoam tray in the meat department of the grocery after an Immaculate Dissection.
I think it's safe to say that most people don't like to think about living cows and pigs being turned into hamburgers and chops. They'd druther not know about abbatoirs and killing floors. I can't really blame them. They're very unpleasant places.
Although I no longer hunt game, I am certainly not opposed to the process. And I wouldn't turn down an offer of some venison or a brace of ducks. And if I had a choice between dying suddenly, while grazing in a field, or in a slaughterhouse, after hours of horrible stress, it would be a no-brainer.
What do you think? Do you eat meat? Do you, would you, eat game? Is fish okay but not venison? I'd love to know your thoughts.
27 comments:
- Dawno said...
I've had venison, wild boar, rabbit, elk and duck. I'll eat 'em all.
The venison and wild boar were part of the thinly sliced and frost crystalled meat selections at a "gourmet" Monglian BBQ we ate at often when my family lived in Taiwan. The elk was from a hunting friend of my dad's who had so much elk meat in the freezer he was giving it away by the pound. We took a pound of ground elk meat and had "elk burger tacos" one night. With the Mexican seasonings you couldn't tell it from ground beef filling.
The rabbit made me ill and I haven't had rabbit since. We had it for dinner before the Winter Formal when I was 15 or 16 - I had to come home about half way through the dance.
Duck I've had a few times - most often as Peking Duck. Yummy.
I have heard stories that some of the meats in the Taiwanese meals we ate were from sources I'd just rather not know about. - 12:45 PM
- Slick2097 said...
Would you eat Bambi?
Yes, with no hesitation. If were not meant to eat meat, it would not taste so damn delicious.
Mmm, juicy meaty goodness. - 4:54 PM
- Leah J. Utas said...
Alberta girl here raised on moose and deer. I was so used to wild meat it took me years to get a flavor out of beef. I like it, though, and bison too.
Whitefish out of the Athabasca River 40 years ago still can't be beat.
And partridges, Frank. Tasty partridges shot each fall at sunset.
Elk, caribou, musk ox, Arctic char..ooh...I better stop. - 6:24 PM
- Frank Baron said...
That's the spirit Dawno!
Slick, I hear you (but Walt's rolling over in his grave). ;)
Leah, you're making me drool. :) - 7:54 PM
- Stace said...
I grew up (well, that's debatable...) on a small farm, we had our own cows and sheep and chooks... there was never any question that we would eat them. We NAMED them and then ate them. That never seemed wrong to me. Maybe I'm just weird. I have no problem with eating kangaroo or emu either - native Australian animals, the ones on our coat of arms no less! I guess I'll try anything once.
- Aidan said...
No problem: i was a vegetarian due to health concerns for a period of 18 months i am now reformed.... It wasnt an animal rights thing.. AS an Aussie i take pride in BBQing the symbols of our emblem, Kangaroo is nice, emu is superb but a tad salty....
As for hunting, i have no probs and see no distinction between that and fishing both have the same result, fish arent quite as cudly though - 9:16 PM
- Bernita said...
Fried deer meat was a soul food of my childhood.
- Frank Baron said...
Stace, you and Adrian are making me jealous. Emu is available here (expensive and difficult to find though) but kangaroos aren't. They're are just rabbits with enormous thighs right?
- Frank Baron said...
Bernita, I've only had deer two or three times, donated by friends of my parents. I gather your Dad was a hunter?
- alfaking said...
Yeah, I do eat meat, beef in particular, bit chicken's ok. Fish is what I infatuate with. When I was posted in a remote island, we got fish in abundance, ate in various forms, octopus, lobster. I still long to go back just for these.
Venison is not so common here, but remember having consumed hare when I was still a child. My dad brought from the fields. - 12:41 PM
- Frank Baron said...
Ah, I love seafood too alfaking. Thanks for stopping by. :)
- Crabby McSlacker said...
I'm one of those hypocrites (sp?) who eats meat but wishes she didn't. I kind of suspect animals feel pain and anguish and fear just the way we do, and if I were a better person I'd avoid inflicting any of that on any living creature and just subsist on tofu.
But I'm not a better person. I just think of "beef" or "lamb" as foods that are quite tasty and try not to think of "cows" or "sheep" when I'm eating them.
So I can't take any moral high ground. On the other hand, I do have a hard time understanding how people actually enjoy hunting animals. Once you're out in the world with actual Bambis or Thumpers, isn't it hard to pull the trigger and kill them?
But again, grilled Bambi on a plate with some mashed taters and I'd dig right in.
And thanks, Frank, for stopping by my blog. When I figure out this whole blogroll thingy I'll try to add you on. I'm still pretty new at all this. - 1:08 AM
- Frank Baron said...
Crabby, I think all sensitive people share your concerns, at least to some extent. And I agree that mammals can feel fear and pain. Ethical hunters, who are by far the majority, will turn down 10 opportunities to shoot for every one they take. They won't fire unless they are quite certain of making a quick, painless kill.
This whole blog thing can take a bit of getting used to all right. There's a great blogging forum at the Absolute Write message board. Its moderator, Dawno, was the first to reply to this post. Scroll down the main page and you'll find it eventually. It's the best writing board on the net and I'm not just saying that because I'm a moderator there too. Probably. ;)
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/ - 10:09 AM
- Crabby McSlacker said...
Thanks, Frank
It's actually very cool to hear about ethical hunters who try to for quick painless kills. I'm so naive about the sport, I figured everyone was like Dick Cheney, blasting away gleefully and obliviously at anything that moves.
And yeah, absolute write seems like a great resource! - 11:26 AM
- Hildegarde said...
Oh wow, meat that mysteriously appears after an Immaculate Dissection : OK, I go for that :-)
Not really fond of meat, but meat from the bio-circuit (word in english :organic, animal-friendly ???) can be eaten without nightmares ;-)
And talking about fish : an unique event on my blog : I posted a photo of a fish, don't miss it ;-) - 3:38 PM
- Anne C. Watkins said...
I grew up on a farm and we ate what we raised; my dad hunted game and it went into the frying pan, too. We even had deep fried rattlesnake once and it was pretty good (it was white meat and tasted sort of like chicken--really. Very bony, though.).
My dad is now 80 years old and he still keeps a few chickens for eggs and meat and whips up the occasional pot of rabbit dumplings. Unfortunately, he doesn't fish much anymore and I miss that 'cause he always shared his catch. Fresh fish is tasty! - 3:49 PM
- Bibi said...
Yes, I've eaten Bambi, and frog's legs, sheep's brains, heart, rabbit, pheasant, grouse, etc ... but I've been vegetarian for the past 6 years or so (the result of watching hour upon hour of gross footage at an environmental film festival).
I do, however, still love wild salmon.
Let's hope this posts on my 3rd attempt! ;-) - 7:00 PM
- Frank Baron said...
Crabby, glad you quit lurking and decided to join AW. :)
Hildegarde, yes, it's called "organic" or "free range" here. I'll be sure to check out your fish pic. :)
Glad to hear your Dad is still well Anne. I bet he just needs someone to take him fishing nowadays, or at least keep him company...Yes! I'm looking at you! ;)
It worked Bibi! Thanks for being persistent. I love wild salmon too. :) - 7:50 PM
- Cath Smith said...
I love venison, and pheasant, and rabbit, and pigeon and pretty much anything gamey.
The way I see it, the animals have probably had a more natural life in the wild than they would being bred in captivity for food.
What bugs me is when hunters shoot and don't eat what they catch. - 7:24 AM
- Frank Baron said...
I agree Cath but I think pure "sport" hunting, ie for a trophy only, is pretty much a thing of the past. I hope.
- Othmar Vohringer said...
Good article and you're right. Walt Disney was the first animal right activist using his films to promote this romantic worldview of human like animals, where the lion and the gazelle share a campfire and sing catchy tunes. By now we have two generations that grew up with a totally false idea of what nature is. Then there are those that belief that animals should have rights, in some cases even more than humans.
Fact is nature is very cruel and unforgiving, Death in nature is always very violent, utterly painful and often the end of long suffering. For an animal being shot by a hunter in comparison is as humane a death as it ever will get in nature. As a human I am on top of the food chain and our anatomy is that of a carnivore. While I respect all life forms, I have no moral quarrels to take life to eat be that by hunting for game or eating meat of slaughtered animals.
-Othmar Vohringer- - 2:13 AM
- Frank Baron said...
Yes Othmar. As the urbanization of the earth continues, more and more people are removed from (what's left of) nature.
It's sad to me that many, many millions of city-raised kids will grow to adulthood thinking zoos are adequate representations of wild life. - 10:09 AM
- Red Letter said...
Fish is OK, but not Nemo.
Venison, but not Bambi.
Pigs, but not Wilbur.
Cows, but not Elsie.
Horses, but not Spirit.
And I saw that guy on TV, Man vs. Wild, eat raw just-killed zebra the other night. After the lions were finished, that is.
My sons said, "cool." Clearly they are past Disney-age. - 2:13 PM
- Frank Baron said...
Jeez red letter, I'd have to be powerful hungry to gnaw on lion leftovers. And I'd want some industrial-strength Tums on standby.
- Doug Skinner said...
I've eaten duck, rabbit, groundhog, squirrel, deer, wild turkey, and pheasant...All good, and If presented a choice, I'd always go wild before farmed.
- Frank Baron said...
I've had the same, except for the groundhog, but I've also dined on seagull (not recommended) and bull's penis (yummy).
Yes,I definately eat wild game.I love what I have tasted.I would choose wild before farmed ANYTIME.It is always healthier.


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How would you handle high moonballs to the backhand side when you have a 1 hand backhand besides slicing it back or frantically moving backward in a defensive position? It seems it's really easy to exploit the 1 hand backhand with fast balls or high balls. But if the stroke is really such a liability how do people like Federer, Sampras, Graf survive with it? How do THESE people handle high moonballs?
Graf sliced everything on the backhand and Fed and Sampras could use their speed to take it on the forehand. If your use Western bh then you can hit high shots on the bh side; but if its a moonball why not run around and take it on the forehand?
I think I meant moonballs more as repeated fair-paced high bouncing topspin drives rather than high sitters. I guess running around to the forehand side would work but wouldn't that leave too much of the court open? Also who do you think is the best one handed backhand using pro player that can hit these kinds of shots back with a top spin backhand hard and authoritatively (using a full western grip or whatnot)
http://www.tennis.com/instruction/fullstory.sps?iNewsid=44803&itype=1481&iCategoryID=292 its for high backhand volleys but maybe it'll help a little
Henin-Hardenne with her height shows you can hit high bh shots on an offense. This was a problem with me too, I got over it with a couple days practicing against a wall.
Personally the easiest backhand shot against the moonball is the slice. It's easy to hit, has a good margin for error and since it stays low makes it tough to hit another moonball from.
I either lean on it and hit a firm slice or go backward and hit a high topspin back depending on who i am playing. I really don't think this is a shot you can attack, Bjorn Borg made millions on it.
Take the ball on the rise My opinion is not to let the ball get higher over your shoulder. Take the ball on the rise just like Agassi does. So long as you can use your quick foot to get to the ball and hit it on the rise, you will be ok. It does not matter whether you want to slice it for better control or add more topspin.
Re: Take the ball on the rise I think the trouble with telling people to hit it on the rise is just that - it is words. Hitting on the rise for most rec players is difficult since hitting on the rise requires practice and time spent on the court developing the footwork and timing to consistantly hit it and begin to trust your swing in a match. I would venture to guess 99% of the players on this board that tell people to hit on the rise cant do it themselves on a consistant basis. People that suggest hitting on the rise also probably hit on the rise very seldom themselves and that bringing up a player like Agassi (and implying "if he can do it, I can do it") is well like saying, if Agassi can win the US Open, I can win the US Open. I think for most players at our levels going with John Thomas advice is the way to go. If you want to take those balls more aggresive, you can add a jump like Blake does in his swing. But that too takes practice. Or you can work on taking them on the rise. Just keep in mind, taking shots like that on the rise on a consistant basis in a match will require some solid training and a fair amount of time.
easiest way of hitting it back would be slice. You have to make sure you hit it in front with good swing speed, otherwise the ball's going to float long. Or you can try to take it on the rise. It will require a lot of practice AND you need to realize immediately it's a moonball and you need to move forward and take it on the rise. I think 2nd part would be harder. Or you can move back and hit with a lot of topspin. But some players will come in behind and knock off your shots.
Yes Jun, agreed. Recoginizing it is a moonball after being absorbed in the moment of watching your own ball is another factor that makes taking a ball like that on the rise very difficult. I would also add movement as another obstacle to overcome which ties into conditioning after you recognize the ball is a moonball. For most club players, they should work on slicing the ball back down. You can get really good quickly by taking a full cut at the ball and "cutting" it down. Or leaning back, and really hit up for a loopy topspin shot that will land deep as John Thomas suggested.
slice & hitting off the rise. You may even want to consider attaching the ball and volleying them in midflight. Anything shoulder height and above should be aggressively attacked by moving forward and hitting the ball as you transition forward
I use one handers but for those shots I can't seem to stop myself from using two hands and sending topspin moon balls back
It's a two-stage decision. First you have to decide if you're going to play riskier and more aggressive by taking it on the rise or drop back to take the ball as it's descending in the arc. Then, you have to decide slice or topspin. This will usually default to which shot you're more confident hitting. I personally will take the ball on the rise and drive it with a little topspin if I have time (I tend to play more aggressive). If I have to track the ball down and catch it late in the bounce then I will usually slice it hard and downward to keep it low. This is because the guys that I usually play will always attack when they know they've got me pinned deep. I can't afford to float a slice deep because they'll just come in and put away the volley. I have to get the ball down to their feet.


text:
This is your resource to discuss support topics with your peers, and learn from each other.
I wrote following code:
var wpisz:TextInput = new TextInput(); wpisz.setPosition(300,500); wpisz.text = "";
What I'm trying to do is to get that text value after user click button. So user enter value then click button and then in the label that entered value is displayed. How to do that?
Solved! Go to Solution.
11-29-2010 12:25 PM - edited 11-29-2010 12:45 PM
Try something like this:
// add imports here // set SWF params here public class MyApp extends Sprite { private var text_input : TextInput = new TextInput(); private var button : LabelButton = new LabelButton(); //////////////////////////////////////////// public function MyApp() { super(); // set attribute location and size information here this.addChild( this.text_input ); this.button.label = 'Press Me'; this.button.addEventListener( MouseEvent.CLICK, DoClick ); // set btn size and location here this.addChild( this.button); this.stage.nativeWindow.visible = true; } //////////////////////////////////////////////// private function DoClick( event : Event ) : void { this.button.label = this.text_input.text; } }
It has not been compiled or tested but should get you on your way.
BTW, there is a lot of ActionScript, Adobe Flex and Adobe AIR examples on the web for basic use of controls and events.
Good luck.
Thank you John. I was trying all day someting like:
text_input.text = "something";
But it never works. Developing in Air is for me something new so I'm trying to do my best but sometimes I've got problems. Maybe you now some good websites with informations about Adobe Air programming?
There are a lot of website, sample codes and blogs all over.
Just do searched for "Adobe Flex" or "Adobe AIR" or "Action Script" as a prefix to what ever you are looking for. That has always helped me.
Worse case, ask here. Community has been very helpful on this forum.
Dont forget to give Kudos (white star) when ever possible:


text:
OpenBSD General Other questions regarding OpenBSD which do not fit in any of the categories below. |
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ZTE MF626 USB modem support in umodem
Hare Kṛṣṇa.
This system is connected to the internet by a ZTE USB MF626 CDMA modem, which with the Microsoft Windows 7 driver and supporting connection management software works nicely on Microsoft Windows 7. I would like to connect this system while running OpenBSD. I noted that there is some support for this device on some Linuxes, including Gentoo. Ubuntu, Debian and Slackware. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Slackware is the most UNIX-like of the Linuxes. I am offering a request for direction in porting, with permission, a Slackware or other suitable MF626 USB modem driver into the umodem driver of OpenBSD. I have not written any C for some time and was looking forward to writing some nice ANSI C, perhaps with some assembly incorporated therin. I will be contacting ZTE, who have an internet forum for discussion of such subjects as Linux driver support (and would accommodate presumably OpenBSD driver support). It is likely they would like such support as from an operating system as noble and sound as the OpenBSD operating system is. I have read the documentation on umodem, ucom, ugen and usb (the man pages) but could not see from what my system identifies at boot that the modem is actually being recognised by the USB subsystem, or a way to communicate with it. Below are the relevent USB dmesg strings from this system (an OpenBSD 4.6 MP system straight off the CD with no CVSes (for the implicit reason that this message has been written) : …. umass1 at uhub0 port 4 configuration 1 interface 2 "ZTE, Incorporated ZTE CDMA Technologies MSM" rev 2.00/0.00 scbus2 at umass1: 2 targets, initiator 0 addr 3 sd1 at scbus2 targ 1 lun0:<ZTE, MMC Storage, 2.31> SCSI2 0/direct removeable sd1: drive offline …. My understanding is that the umass device has attached to it a SCSI device with 2 targets, one of which is recognised by the usb, or SCSI subsystem, as a SCSI2 mass storage device. The modem, which I presume is on the second target, is not detected. I will need some help understanding how the usb subsystem will need to attach the second target to the SCSI bus driver as well, or if the umodem driver can talk to this device directly (I think the former is more likely). I will read the source code of the umodem driver for some of the other USB modems it supports, for some of the understanding I'll need to perform a port or adaptation. Possibly, ZTE will supply me with the necessary data to write support for the umodem driver by understanding how the others are implemented and following suit. |
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A Tufts team has figured out how spiders and silkworms spin such strong silk, which could have far-reaching implications for everything from hospital dressings to body armor. Medford/Somerville, Mass.
Medford/Somerville, Mass. [08.29.03] While humans have relied on silk for more than 2,000 years, scientists have never been able to unravel the mystery of how spiders and silkworms produced their incredibly strong fibers - until now. In a newly published study, Tufts researchers discovered the mechanism for production of strong silk, providing critical new information about nature's strongest fiber.
"The entire process is controlled by the amount of water, which is so simple," Tufts' David Kaplan, a professor of biomedical engineering who led the research team, told Reuters.
Spiders and silkworms both produce silk from a gel-like solution of proteins which is spun into silk fibers. Scientists have previously tried to replicate the process using similar protein solutions, but were never able to produce fibers with the same strength as real silk.
According to the Tufts team, spiders and silkworms regulate the mixture of water and proteins, controlling the entire process. The discovery helps explain how spiders and silkworms kept the gel-like proteins from solidifying too quickly, resulting in a permanent block in the organism's spinning system.
"Kaplan and Hyoung-Joon, a postdoctoral fellow, copied the process in the lab, creating silk fibres by smearing the gel between sheets of glass," reported the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
The Tufts research, which was published Thursday in the international science journal Nature, could give scientists a new approach to creating artificial silk.
"We have identified key aspects to this process that should provide a roadmap for others to optimize artificial spinning of silks as well as in improved production of silks in genetic engineered host systems such as bacteria," reported the Associated Press.
Kaplan says the discovery could have far reaching implications.
"The finding could lead to the development of processing methods resulting in new high-strength and high performance materials," Kaplan, who chairs Tufts biomedical engineering department, told London's Guardian newspaper.
From clothing to military applications, artificial silk could be used to improve a wide range of products.
"[The Tufts scientist said] the new knowledge can be applied to manufacturing high-strength materials like sporting equipment, hiking gear and protective clothing for police and military personnel," reported the Associated Press.
Strong and flexible, silk offers advantages over existing materials like Kevlar and nylon.
"Kevlar, an artificial ballistic protection material used in military apparel, is strong but not very flexible," reported the Associated Press. Nylon is just the opposite: flexible but not strong.
"Silk seems to bridge that gap," Kaplan told the international news service.
Artificially produced silk could also result in new advances in medicine.
"[Over the past two decades,] there's been a real strong interest in whether this unique silk with its very nice mechanical properties of strength and flexibility, can be turned into different fibers, make it into film, use it for organ and tissue repair," Kaplan told the Associated Press.
Kaplan's team - which collaborated with scientists and experts from across the University including colleagues in the chemical, biological and biomedical departments to the veterinary and dental schools - has already begun using silk to repair torn ligaments.
"In 2002, Kaplan and some medical colleagues used silk as a scaffold to grow cells for repairing common injuries to knee ligaments," reported the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Innovation on the Go
An Open-Air Laboratory
If You Build It...
Tufts Department of Biomedical Engineering
Tufts | Current Tufts News & Events Copyright 2017 Tufts University Page last modified: March 29, 2017 11:05 am


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1x10W RGBW/FC Super-Firefly LED Projector, 10 Degree Beam, IP50, 14,6W, 0,89kg
Product Code: PROACCENT1Q
Manufacturer: ProLights
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LiveDocx is a template-based document creation platform.
It allows developers to create word processing documents by combining user-defined Microsoft Word templates with data from disparate data sources, such as XML files and databases. It is typically used to create professional, print-ready word processing documents in DOCX, DOC, RTF and PDF. It's easy and well proven.


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Legsy's Comments
(3) comments by Legsy
Status Update (1)
Still missing the crawling claw. But not doing too bad on collection. Up to 258 unique pets. Going slow as can be on the battling. So much rep to grind out since I rerolled a monk for the guild.
Posted: October 15, 2012 7:45:45 PM
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1-2 of 2
Re: Fetish Shaman
This little guy immediately became one of my top 3 pets. Just too cute.
Posted: May 15, 2012 9:47:29 AM
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Re: Mr. Grubbs
He wasn't too bad to farm. Bout an hour of killing in Corin's Crossing.
Posted: November 24, 2010 1:34:18 PM
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Title: | C.S. Lewis's Doubts About Darwin |
Author: | Discovery Institute |
Description: | On this episode of ID the Future, Joshua Youngkin takes a brief look at C.S. Lewis's views on Darwinian evolution and intelligent design. Previously unpublished notes reveal that C.S. Lewis had early doubts about Darwin. Interested in learning more? Download a FREE chapter of Dr. John West's The Magician's Twin: C.S. Lewis on Science, Scientism, and Society at: www.magicianstwin.com. |


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Pittsburgh, PA Friday March 24, 2017 |
News Sports Lifestyle Classifieds About Us |
Monday, May 07, 2001 Compiled by Dave Molinari and Dejan Kovacevic
Game 6: Sabres vs. Penguins, 7:08 p.m. tomorrow, Mellon Arena. TV, radio: Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh; WWSW-FM (94.5), WBGG-AM (970).
Coach Ivan Hlinka gave his players a day off yesterday. They will practice at 11 a.m. today at Mellon Arena.
Facing a 3-2 deficit in their second-round series against the Sabres puts the Penguins at a disadvantage, but precedent suggests it doesn't necessarily doom them. The Penguins have been behind after five games on nine previous occasions and rebounded to win Games 6 and 7 four times.
Buffalo altered the course of the past two games by scoring during a Penguins power play -- "Two games in a row, we've given up a short-handed goal that's really come back to bite us in the butt," D Ian Moran said -- and renewed the debate about the merits, and perils, of using forwards Martin Straka and Alexei Kovalev on the points of the No. 1 power-play unit. Most teams use a defenseman -- or two -- there to minimize the chances of giving up a goal. Hlinka, though, prefers to have Straka and Kovalev there because their shooting and puckhandling skills are so superior to those of any Penguins defenseman. C Mario Lemieux said, "It's a tough call," over whether Hlinka should use a defenseman on the point, but Kovalev was adamant that no adjustments are needed: "We've been playing like that all season," he said. "I don't see why we should change."
The Penguins are among the most-penalized teams in these playoffs, averaging 14.4 minutes per game, and it's not because they're punishing the Sabres physically. Not unless there's something about being hooked, held or tackled that exacts a terrible toll from opposing players. The Penguins' penchant for taking penalties peaked during the second period of their 3-2 overtime loss in Game 5 when they were left short-handed four times in less than eight minutes. "It was kind of ridiculous in the second period," G Johan Hedberg said. "We were in the [penalty] box the whole time."
Although it's hard to say how much the Penguins' psyches were damaged by losing Game 5 Saturday at HSBC Arena -- "After you lose in overtime in the playoffs, it's obviously pretty tough, but we have to bounce back," Hedberg said -- their one cause for encouragement is that they upgraded their five-on-five play significantly. They established a much more effective forecheck, especially early, and were able to disrupt Buffalo's offense in the neutral zone, creating turnovers and consistently sending play back into the Sabres' end. "Even though we lost, we played much better than we had the last two games," Moran said. "We executed a lot better than we had been."
One of hockey's most treasured adages contends that 2-0 is the most dangerous lead, and the Penguins aren't likely to argue the point. Not after they failed to protect a 2-0 advantage in Game 5, to say nothing of a 2-0 lead in the series. Then again, the Penguins aren't faring very well when things are tied, 2-2, either. That's happened in each of the past three games, all of which have been won by the Sabres. Included in that group, of course, is Game 5, when Buffalo broke a 2-2 deadlock in the series.
It's no fluke that Sabres C Stu Barnes scored back-to-back winners. He not only has excellent skills, but is adept at reading -- and reacting to -- plays. That was proven again Saturday, when a harmless-looking two-on-two rush by Buffalo led to thewinning goal after Barnes followed his linemates across the blue line, collected a drop pass from J.P. Dumont and threw a shot over Hedberg's glove. "It's being in the right place at the right time," D Bob Boughner said. "And Stu's always had a knack for scoring." Barnes underscored that during the past three games, accumulating four goals. "He's had a great series," Lemieux said.
RW Jaromir Jagr can offer some brutally candid opinions, but if he believes the Penguins have no hope of making it to the next round, it doesn't show. He figures that if the Penguins can survive Game 6 -- no small feat, since they're 2-3 at home, including two losses to the Sabres -- they will have legitimate cause for optimism. "It's not like we can't win [in Buffalo]," Jagr said. "We have to get the first one at home, tie it 3-3. Then, anything can happen."
Third-line C Wayne Primeau, who began his NHL career with the Sabres, is a popular target of criticism in Buffalo, but he has had a fairly strong series, picking up a goal and an assist and winning 48 of 98 faceoffs. "Wayne has filled a pretty good niche for them," Buffalo Coach Lindy Ruff said. "I think his faceoff percentage has gotten a lot better, he's a great skater. He's added some size to that lineup. He's added grit. It's been a pretty good fit for him."
Coach Lindy Ruff gave the Sabres a day off yesterday. The team is scheduled to practice today at HSBC Arena, then travel to Pittsburgh for Game 6. D Jay McKee (concussion) could be cleared to resume skating, but it's highly unlikely he will return to play in this series. LW Erik Rasmussen (shoulder) received medical clearance to play, but Ruff has expressed reluctance to tinker with a winning lineup.
The main reason Rasmussen likely won't play tomorrow is that LW Vladimir Tsyplakov has been a solid contributor to the Sabres' checking line in his absence, having clicked with C Curtis Brown and RW Vaclav Varada. "I'm telling you, he stepped in and has definitely been one of the unsung heroes," Brown said. "He's created a lot of chances for us, played strong defensively. As valuable as Erik is to the line -- he's a very physical force -- Vladimir's done a tremendous job. He's very smart, has great patience. He's a bit of a wily old veteran." Tsyplakov, 32, has one goal in these playoffs.
The Sabres aren't worried about many aspects of their game, but the power play remains an area of concern. They went 1 for 8 in Game 5 and got only six shots on Penguins G Johan Hedberg, and they are 3 for 28 in the series. "We didn't execute very well on the power play," Ruff said. "I thought we made some errant passes and ended up with the puck along the wall a lot. We didn't get a lot of control time." D Alexei Zhitnik credited the Penguins: "Pittsburgh's playing some pretty tight penalty-killing. You don't have time to settle the puck and look around and make some nice plays. You've got to do everything quickly."
Since being formed for Game 3, Buffalo's second unit of C Stu Barnes, LW Jean-Pierre Dumont and RW Donald Audette has three even-strength goals. In that same span, the Penguins' No. 2 line of C Robert Lang, LW Martin Straka and RW Alexei Kovalev has none. They generally have been matched up against each other, but Dumont declined to suggest his line has had the upper hand. "I don't want to say that," he said. "They're a really good line. We're just trying to do our jobs, score some big goals and make sure they don't score against us."
Despite having won three in a row, the Sabres are being extra careful not to light a fire under the Penguins by showing any disrespect. One example came after Game 5, when D Rhett Warrener, who has been matched against the Penguins' top line for most of the series, was asked if his team is getting the better of C Mario Lemieux and RW Jaromir Jagr. "Are you trying to stir the pot here?" Warrener replied. "We're going out and working hard. That's all. I hope we can continue to do that. The only thing we can control is our work ethic."
Barnes, on having a 3-2 series lead: "We haven't accomplished anything yet. We all feel that way. You enjoy winning for a couple of hours, if that, and then start thinking about the next one. That's a very, very dangerous team over there. They have too many weapons to take lightly. For those of us who have played with those guys in the past, we know what they're made of."
Buffalo has had a 3-2 lead in a best-of-seven series twice in its history, and both times the Sabres won Game 6. The first came in the second round of the 1975 playoffs against the Canadiens, the second 14 years later in the same round against the Bruins.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (8-4) did not play. The Baby Penguins opened the Western Conference final of the AHL's Calder Cup playoffs with a 2-1, overtime victory Saturday against Hershey at Wilkes-Barre's First Union Arena. Game 2 is at 7:35 p.m. today at the same venue. C Billy Tibbetts scored the winning goal, his third of the postseason, at 4:04 of overtime. It was the Baby Penguins' first game without C Milan Kraft, who was promoted to the Penguins Friday. "It took us a little bit longer because we didn't have Kraft," Coach Glenn Patrick said in jest. "We had to go into overtime to win it, but we still did the job. We got it done. It was a great effort from start to finish."
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Anna's Profile
I have been crafting/sewing for as long as I can remember, I think everything started when I was about 6 (so about 17 years total). I am a recent college graduate, just entering my field which is a far way off from crafting: test tubes and burners.
I have learned all I know from my mother, who has been sewing for over 30 years for both professional and personal clients.
I think of myself as a intermediate to advanced in many of crafting skills, but full time job takes up most of my time.
When I do have enough time for various projects, I enjoy making stylish clothing, accessories, and everything in between.
Recently, I reminded myself about the art of beading, which led to several examples from my shop.
I can also create custom listings for almost any project, please let me know what you are interested in, price range, and I am sure we can work something out.
The skill of sewing…
- Female
- Born on June 27
- Joined February 15, 2011
Favorite materials
- Anna
- Roslyn, PA, United States