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Running Through National Emergency Scenarios
CALLER: Hey, really good, Rush. Happy birthday from your only fan out here in San Francisco.
RUSH: No, no, no, no, no. We have many more. I mean, I'm not trying to diminish you, but our audience ratings out there are quite high. There's a lot of hidden -- yeah, you're not alone out there.
CALLER: I am unbound and I am not diminished in San Francisco. So but, anyway, Rush, what I wanted to point out was going back to the beginning of the show when we were talking about national emergencies and Republicans. I just think that we need to fight like warriors, you know, cynical warriors, like the Democrats do. And I was gonna give two ideas, and I hope anybody from the administration or anybody that has access to the administration passes these two ideas up the flagpole, but here we go. So idea one is, we know as sure as the sun shines that if Trump declares a national emergency, that an injunction will be issued by the Ninth Circuit out in the western states. And why the Ninth Circuit? Because they're reliably liberal judges, and --
RUSH: Well, no, no. It can't first go to the Ninth Circuit. They're an appellate court. They'll have to find -- we discussed this earlier in the week. I'm gonna have to hold you through the break because it's coming up here. They'll find a federal judge somewhere Hawaii or Washington or Oregon that will declare an injunction.
RUSH: Okay back now to Jim in San Francisco. So, Jim, what they'd do is they'd find a federal judge and he would issue a stay or an injunction.
CALLER: Right, right. Yes, yes.
RUSH: The Trump administration would appeal it and they'll find a judge where the appeal would be to the Ninth Circus. So they would be the second court to get it.
CALLER: Rush? Rush, let me continue. The reason why it's always the Ninth Circuit is because Republicans always sit around with thumbs up their noses waiting for a liberal to file it in the Ninth Circuit. What I suggest is that what we do is that we know that Trump's gonna do this, that literally one second after he declares a national emergency, we file for an injunction in the 5th, the 8th, or 11th Districts and let them take it because you can't have all these different districts fighting the same battle. Whoever comes first... In this case would be the 5th down in Texas would be hearing the case and when the 9th District starts stamping like Rumpelstiltskin saying, "We want it! We want it!" they're gonna have to defer to the federal district court in Texas that took it up first.
RUSH: Okay let me just see if I understand what you're saying. The second that Trump -- and this is all coordinated.
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: So Trump declares the emergency. A Trump ally files a stay of execution, an injunction in what you think is a friendly circuit.
CALLER: Yes.
RUSH: So the federal judge will still issue a stay, an injunction against Trump's order that will then be appealed to what you think is a friendly circuit court that will overturn the injunction and the emergency will be on?
CALLER: Yes. You end-run the liberals. You end-run them by getting ahead of them in a more friendly court. Okay, let me give you my second idea and that's this. A national emergency allows the president to use different pots of money to pay for, in this case, a wall. What I suggest that the administration do when they declare a national emergency, along with building the wall is to pay for all the federal workers right now. Float them loans, give them their normal paychecks, and let the Democrats argue against why that shouldn't happen.
RUSH: Well, now you got me caught up here in trying to analyze this whether or not it is legal for the president to include in the money that he's going to allocate for the national emergency -- i.e., the building the wall -- that he's then gonna take some additional money and repay furloughed federal employees. I don't know that that would qualify as -- that federal employees not being paid over a pay period or two would qualify as -- a national emergency.
Still, your ideas the Democrats would try to get that stopped (chuckles), which would put them on the side of making sure federal workers remain payless. I like it overall. The thing is, it's just risky. You think certain appellate districts would be friendly. But there are liberal judges everywhere on every one of these circuit courts or these appellate courts. You never know what three judges you're gonna get to start out with -- and then if you lose with that three-judge panel, then you can request en banc, which means the entire bunch of 'em on the court.
It's a risky strategy for the Republicans to try to be the first to declare the state of emergency unconstitutional. (chuckling) But I understand your thinking. You want to beat the Democrats to the punch and make sure that they don't get to use their friendly courts, and I like that. If some mechanism could be found... 'Cause that is the pattern, and everybody knows that it's gonna happen. In fact, there's... Let me find it. Yeah. Here's a story from TheHill.com. It's exactly about this. Get this headline:
"Democrats Warm to Idea of Emergency Declaration to Reopen Government." This is from TheHill.com. I should add that Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina just tweeted that he had met with the president, and it is without doubt -- there is no question -- that the Democrats hate Donald Trump and are never, ever gonna agree to anything that he wants for whatever reason, no matter what harm comes to them. That their sole agenda is to destroy Donald Trump, to do everything they can to see to it that he doesn't get reelected in 2020 -- and, even better, maybe get impeached!
There is literally no way. Graham is saying there's no way. The only thing, therefore -- Senator Graham is saying -- is for Trump to declare the emergency now, that there is no point in waiting because the Democrats are never gonna talk. They're never gonna agree. They're never gonna budge. They're never gonna do anything. Now, Trump is on record as saying he would prefer this get solved in a bipartisan way. He's also acknowledged that it's pretty likely that he'll be declaring the national emergency.
If I'm Trump -- and this is not a comment on anybody. If I'm Trump, I'm gonna be very careful about listening to a bunch of different voices advocating things, because if I'm Donald Trump, I've gotta make sure that some of these voices are not trying to sabotage me into doing things that are gonna end up making what I want to accomplish here (i.e., get the wall and get border security) impossible. So I don't think... It's not a legal question. He clearly has the constitutional authority and legislative authority.
The congress has passed the National Emergencies Act in 1976. There's no way he can't do this. But that doesn't mean they're not gonna try to stop him in the courts. Declaring a national emergency, Senator Graham says, is the only way that this is gonna get done. So now the Democrats are warming to the idea of this. Why? Before we get to that, I mentioned earlier that there are cracks in the Democrat coalition even now, that more and more Democrats are beginning to acknowledge the need for fencing and areas where a wall would be built.
Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat, Oregon: "Some fencing has uses. Some barriers are useful." Representative Cheri Bustos, Democrat, Illinois: "If we have a partial wall, if we have fence, if we have technology used to keep our border safe, all of that's fine." Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat, New York: "There are areas along the border where there are currently fences that are put up or barriers that are put up that need to be enhanced."
Senator Ben Cardin, Democrat, Maryland: "Certainly you need barriers, and we support barriers." Senator John Sarbanes, Democrat, Maryland: "Certain physical barriers can make sense along the border, and a lot of places you already have that." Representative Katherine Clark, Democrat, Massachusetts: "I think there are parts of border that would benefit from repairing fencing and other barricades that already exist there." So let's see. One...two..three..four..five... six Democrats now are acknowledging the usefulness and need for a wall. So it's not total unity on the Democrat side.
And a lot of Democrats that won in November did so in Trump districts. There are people in those districts that voted for Trump who still want Trump to succeed even though they may have voted for a Democrat in the House race. So now the back to the Hill story. "Democrats Warm to Idea of Emergency Declaration to Reopen Government."
Now, it says here: "The supportive Democrats are quick to emphasize they don't believe the president has the legal authority to declare such an emergency, predicting the maneuver would quickly lead to lawsuits that they themselves would support." A-ha! So the Hill gives up the game. They want the president to declare an emergency 'cause they don't think he can and they want him shut down in the courts.
I mentioned this is a rumor floating around yesterday. Democrats want Trump to go the emergency route, knowing it's gonna be blocked by a judge. Once that happens the legal process begins to go the speed of a turtle. And this thing could take longer than the remainder of Trump's presidential term in office.
I've even heard -- you want to hear the next rumor? You're not gonna like this one. I've heard it speculated that Trump really doesn't care. He just wants to keep his base happy, so he will declare a national emergency, and if the Democrats stop him in court, no big deal, he has fulfilled his promise, he did everything he could. If the Democrats then stand in the way and a bunch of judges, well, he did his best.
There's so much poisonous stuff out there that you have to weed through. They're doing everything they can to try to convince Trump voters that they're wasting their time supporting him. And in this instance, they're trying to tell Trump voters that they're being fooled, that Trump doesn't really care about this. Look at the Maggie Haberman leak. Trump didn't even want to do the national address.
And then the next leak, Trump didn't even want to go to the border. He didn't think any of it was gonna make a difference, but his staff made him do it, so he did it, but he didn't want to do it. Now they're saying, Trump doesn't even really care. He'll declare emergency status and then he knows the courts will shut it down and that'll be that. And he can say he kept his promise. So keep a sharp eye 'cause there's all kinds of stuff lurking around out there, effervescing up, designed to get you to question your support for Trump.
And now the time is marching on.
This article originally appeared on Rush Limbaugh


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Saturday 23rd November 2013Just a short story I've written in honour of Doctor Who Day...
THE FIELD TRIP by Mitch Benn
Mentor Geldra and his five pupils took their stations.
He gave the four-dimensional co-ordinates to the student at section one; a tall, dark haired confident girl. She entered them into the capsule's navigational cortex and smiled up at Geldra.
Geldra touched the "initiate" pad, there came a familiar grinding sound and they were away. First time off-planet for most of these, thought Geldra, and his own first trip for a while.
He looked around the console at his young crew. He smiled as he saw their faces, each lit up as much by the thrill of the occasion as by the controls they were watching over.
His smile dimmed a little as his gaze fell upon the last two members of the party. The boys he'd stationed at sections five and six.
At section five stood a chubby blond boy, visibly struggling with the the urge to tweak and grab at the switches and pads in front of him. This boy had been more thrilled than anyone at the prospect of the trip; he'd jiggled with nervous excitement as they waited to enter the Type 30 capsule and Geldra had paid specific attention to him as they boarded, fearful he'd start running round and fiddling with everything. Thus far he'd managed to contain himself, and Geldra had been sure to place him at the systems monitoring section, where he wouldn't actually have to do anything unless there was an emergency. Geldra hoped there wouldn't be an emergency.
At section six stood this first boy's inseparable friend, although on the face of things they didn't seem to have much in common. He was slim and dark; while his friend's soft features were still those of a child, his were beginning to harden into manhood. Where Boy No. 5 was academically mercurial, prone to bursts of inspiration and random brilliance in class (while at other times handing in slapdash, overdue and workmanlike assignments, assuming he actually turned up, which was by no means a given) Boy No. 6 was methodical and reliable, even if he did, on occasion, ask rather disturbing questions.
These two boys, who should have been Geldra's star pupils, seemed to bring out the worst in each other. They were always off plotting something in secret, or finding new ways to bend the Academy's rules; bend, that is, not break... somehow they always managed to escape official censure. Between them, they caused Geldra more stress than anyone he'd ever met in his life. Any of his lives. Geldra spied them exchanging mischievous glances and sighed.
The capsule arrived at its destination with a faintly audible thud. Just a short hop; a couple of thousand years.
Geldra opened the doors and led the crew out of the capsule in an orderly queue.
They were greeted by a scene of silent devastation.
"We stand on the the planet Vargahis," announced Mentor Geldra, " and this is, or at least was, the city of Masro-Tor."
They were in a vast empty space which might once have been a grand square or plaza. Around the outside stood the ruins of stone buildings; only the shells of the lower storeys remained. They could have been sleek towers, squat dwellings or great temples once; now, it was impossible to tell.
"Thousands of years ago, this was the capital city of Branta-Harn, a proud nation of over a hundred million people," intoned Geldra.
"What happened to them?" asked a tall redheaded girl, her distress obvious.
"Nothing happened to them," said Geldra gravely, "they did this to themselves."
A gasp of horror passed through the group of students.
"How?" asked Boy No. 5. Beside him, Boy No. 6's cool grey eyes blazed with fascination.
"War," said Geldra. "A decades-long war against a rival nation, Greater Trass. Bantra-Harn sought to end the war by developing a weapon so powerful it could destroy the whole nation of Trass in one blast."
"They didn't use it, did they?" asked a stout brown-haired boy,
"I'm afraid they did. They succeeded in annihilating their enemies, but the force of the blast was such that it shifted Vargahis on its axis. Just a few degrees, but enough to destroy the planet's eco-system utterly."
Boy No. 5 shuddered as Boy No. 6 listened intently. Mentor Geldra went on: "The planet was plunged into chaos. Temperatures soared in some places, plummeted in others. Great storms scoured the face of Vargahis and all life, plant and animal, was extinguished. Now, these ruins - and similar ruins, dotted around the planet's surface - are the only indicator that there was ever anything here."
Boy. No. 5 looked around at the other students. None of them was going to ask the obvious question, so he did.
"Why are we here, Mentor Geldra?"
Geldra smiled, indulgently and not entirely convincingly. "Many millennia have now elapsed since the war. The planet's eco-system is beginning to revive. New life will arise, possibly, eventually, new civilisations."
"Will they be any cleverer than the last one?" asked Boy No. 6.
Mentor Geldra's brow furrowed. "Who's to say?" he coughed. "And for today, that is none of our concern. Our task today is to perform a standard biosphere survey. Just to see how the place is coming along."
Geldra assigned tasks to the students. As Boys 5 and 6 wandered off into the ruins, he silently abandoned any hope of seeing them again before it was time to leave. And that suited him fine.
Boy No. 6 scanned the bleak horizon with his grey eyes. He perched atop a rocky spire which might have been a natural formation, or possibly part of a building, a support strut for an overhead highway or similar construction. There was no way to know.
Looking behind him, he saw his fellow students milling around a large boulder, which was, he now realised, the capsule they'd arrived in. Even our machinery's cowardly, he thought to himself. Most advanced mode of transport in the known universe and there it is, pretending not to exist.
From below him he heard wheezing and grunting, and soon enough his chubby blond friend hauled himself onto the top on the monolith and sat beside him, panting.
"All a bit grim, isn't it?" pondered Boy No. 5 once he had his breath.
"Oh I don't know," his friend replied, "I think it's rather beautiful in a stark sort of way."
A moment's pause.
"You know why they brought us here, don't you?" muttered Boy No. 5. "They're so paranoid that we're going to start fiddling with things, breaking their precious doctrine of non-interference, that they've brought us to one of the few planets in the universe where there's literally nothing to fiddle with."
Boy No. 6 smiled. "I think you're partly correct. Oh, it's all about the doctrine alright, but I think they wanted to show us this place as an example of futility."
"Futility?" asked Boy No. 5, who then flinched as his friend leapt to a standing position on the narrow rocky platform and gestured grandly at the devastated city.
"This!" he proclaimed. "This is how everything ends up! It's all headed for this. Whether it's war, meteors, the sun going bang or just plain entropy, everything falls apart eventually. So why BOTHER getting involved? Why get attached to anything that'll just be dust in a few million years? What difference can you expect to make in a universe where nothing lasts forever?"
"Except us..." murmured Boy No. 5. Boy No. 6 sat back down.
"Except us..." he said.
Some hours later and a few thousand years earlier, back on their homeworld, back in the Capitol, back in the Academy, hush descended upon the senior dormitories.
In his sleep pod, Boy No. 5 thrashed and grimaced. The day's lesson - whatever it might have been - lingered in his brain and kept him awake. He forced himself to lie still, listening to his hearts beat and willing them to calm down.
It would have been different if I'd been there, he thought. I could have found a way to end that war. I could have brought them together. Now they're gone. Who knows what that civilisation could have gone on to achieve?
What's the point of lasting as long as we have, of surviving and advancing for millions and millions of years, of acquiring all this knowledge and power if no-one ever benefits from it?
We've become the bureaucrats of the universe. Watching civilisations fall, planets burn, species disappear, then glumly noting the time of death and waiting for the next catastrophe.
We're observers, when we could be healers.
When we could be doctors.
A few sleep pods along, Boy No. 6 lay quite still, but also wide awake.
It would have been different if I'd been there, he thought. I could have shown them how to win their silly little war without destroying their whole stupid planet. Think how grateful they would have been... What would they have given me? What WOULDN'T they have given me?
We've allowed ourselves to become celestial gardeners, he thought. Pulling up the odd weed and pruning the occasional dead branch, instead of ripping the whole thing up and rebuiliding it to our own design. As is our capability. As is our RIGHT.
We're the faithful retainers of the universe, when we could be its owners.
When we could be masters.
© Mitch Benn 23.11.13
Monday 28th October 2013So what the hell was that all about?
Have you downloaded any of the new stuff I put up at the online music store? In particular the Medium Rarities Volume 1 collection? You have? Splendid? Are you perhaps wondering what any/all of those songs are about? Well let me explain!
SING SOMETHING FUNNY I wrote this à propos of nothing in particular in about 2004-2005 and it eventually turned up in Crimes Against Music series 3 in 2006. I think I wrote it to be a show opener for the band but for some reason it never really gained any traction. I still like it though; especially pleased with the Brian Setzer-ish guitar.
MAKE YOURSELF A SANDWICH This was written in reference to a public safety announcement the Fire Brigade issued a few years ago warning of the dangers of trying to cook for yourself when you come home blind drunk. Apparently someone actually managed to burn his house down doing this. Enjoyed getting the Tom Waits vibe together; even managed to get my keyboard to sound a bit out of tune.
MOTHER'S DAY Think this was a Now Show song. Fairly self-explanatory.
EARLY 1980s RECORD COLLECTION Wrote this in 2006 when there were suddenly a HELL of a lot of bands who sounded like this. Most of them disappeared after about six months which is possibly why I never got round to releasing it.
CAFFEINE Again, fairly self-explanatory and one I'm sure many of you can relate to.
DEPARTURE LOUNGE BLUES Another one from Crimes series 3; which you may remember (it's pretty unlikely but you never know) had one episode set in an airport. When I was learning guitar back in the 80s I went through a proper blues nerd phase, listening to hours of Cream and Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, and it was fun to channel some of that into this.
SWINDON I think I actually got a request from the Swindon board of trade to use this. I said yes but I don't know if they ever did. A Now Show song from 2006 when it transpired that Swindon had the highest percentage of broadband-equipped households in the country. Don't know if it still does.
DON'T MURDER HALLELUJAH I'm sure you remember a few years ago when whoever it was who won The X Factor that year's "victory single" was a horrendously saccharine version of Leonard Cohen's sublime "Hallelujah"; there was an online campaign to get Jeff Buckley's much nicer version to number one instead. I wrote this for The Now Show in support.
NOTHING FUNNY A Now Show song from a couple of years ago (hence the pessimistic reference to the Olympics); it's actually fairly frequently I find myself in this situation but you can only make it the subject of a song once. I've done it now.
POISONOUS FROGS A couple of years ago Deep Sea World in Fife, Scotland, proudly announced that they'd succeeded in breeding a particularly venomous species of frog. I wondered why the Scots were breeding poisonous frogs in the first place and wrote this for The Now Show to offer one possible explanation (and to pay belated tribute to one of my favourite 80s bands).
AMERICAN CARS As with Poisonous Frogs, sometimes I'll latch onto a news story just because it presents me with an excuse to recreate a particular favourite musical style. In this case it was the 2008 bailout of the near-bankrupt "Big Three" US motor companies (Ford, GM & Chrysler) which gave me a great opportunity to try to perfect my Eddie Cochran sound. I love those records; they're so dynamic and streamlined compared to a lot of early rock n'roll and Cochran was way ahead of his time in terms of lyrical wit. If he and Buddy Holly hadn't been dead by the time the 60s started, the Beatles might never have been necessary...
ARE WE GONNA MESS THIS UP AGAIN? Like many of my generation, I was delighted when the Stone Roses patched up their differences and went back out on the road last year, and not a bit surprised when two gigs into the tour they fell out again...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY WAR (Shock & Awe Mix) Just an experiment I did on my own time, really... I wrote Happy Birthday War on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq in 2007 and then released it as a single in 2008 on the fifth anniversary. I recorded many different demo versions of the song as I was putting the single together and at one point, just to see if it were possible, I stripped out everything except the lead vocal and built this around it. I came up with a completely new chord sequence, moving the song from G major to E minor. Some of the changes are genuinely quite interesting; I had to jump around a bit to keep in key with the melody and that led me to some unusual places. In the end I found the result to be a bit stark (the single version gets away with being lyrically bleak specifically because it's so cheerful melodically) and never did anything with it, but I thought you might find it interesting...
Saturday 13th July 2013... and people seem to like it.
This is a story which has been told quite a few times over the past few weeks, but not quite in full and not by me yet, so here goes...
Like most comedians I know, I didn't dream of being a stand-up comic when I was a child. Most of us seem to have gotten side-tracked into it while pursuing other things. In my case I'd always THOUGHT that what I'd wanted to be was A Proper Actor; that had been the ambition while at university, certainly, until a general disillusionment with the capriciousness of the actor's career ladder (or indeed absence thereof) and the theatre in general set in in my mid-20s (around the time that stand-up began to beckon, as it happens).
It's only in the last couple of years that I've remembered that what I wanted to do when I was LITTLE - the first thing I was actually any good at - was write stories.
I won a couple of little prizes for short story writing at primary school. I loved it, and it was what made English my favourite subject back at Dovedale CP... For some reason, at grammar school, little emphasis was placed on encouraging one's OWN creativity in English lessons, and far more placed on dissecting the creativity of others. In any event, I got out of the habit of writing stories and didn't ever really get back into it.
Until about four years ago.
I have, as most of you know, two little girls; Greta (currently 7 and a half) and Astrid (5 and a bit). This means I've spent a LOT of time in the last few years reading stories out loud. For the first three or four years of that period, generally those large format bedtime story picture book efforts. Some of them are wonderful - Julia Donaldson inevitably springs to mind (I know everyone loves The Gruffalo but check out The Snail And The Whale; amazing hypnotic rolling scansion); a lot of them - in fact, screw it, MOST of them - are dreadful.
As someone who writes songs - which are, let's face it, poems with tunes - for a living, I found myself wondering if I could write one of these verse short stories myself. So I did; it's called Dreaming Dragons, it's a few pages long and one day I might even find an outlet for it.
However, once I'd done it, I found the old long-dormant writing bug beginning to bite again. I started to wonder if I could write something longer, more involved, maybe actually book-sized.
I've long been fascinated with the way certain ideas recur across genres... the way, for example, the classical "prophecy story" has been reborn in the last century as the time travel story... It's the same concept, the perils and pitfalls of foreknowledge. In many ways (just off the top of my head) The Terminator is an archetypal prophecy story, even down to the way the Evil Emperor with knowledge of the future (or in this instance, the Evil Supercomputer actually LIVING in the future), while attempting to defy fate by averting his own destruction (sending a killer cyborg back in time to kill the mother of the leader of La Résistance before his birth) ends up bringing it about (accidentally introducing said leader's parents to each other). People still just don't get how prophecies work...
A particular favourite repeated literary meme is The Lost Child; the infant abandoned, cast away or otherwise transplanted to and subsequently raised in bizarre circumstances, with hilarious/scary/ripsnorting consequences. Goes back at least as far as Moses (and no doubt those of you with a proper classical education will be able to tell me which earlier legend was being cannibalised there); one thinks also of Tarzan, Mowgli, Superman, Will Ferrell's Elf, even Neil Himself Gaiman (from whom all blessings flow) has added to this list with his own The Graveyard Book (whose title seems to nod to Kipling).
So when contemplating possible themes for A Proper Book Type Book it was the lost child which sprang to mind. In particular I found myself wondering what the science fiction spin on the theme would be... Human baby... abducted by aliens... adopted by them and raised on another planet...?
That's a bit good, I thought. That's a great idea. Surely someone had written that story already...?
Well if they have, it's tucked away somewhere Google couldn't find it.
So about three and a half years ago I began to tinker, with no specific aim in sight, on this story. The story of a little girl, spirited away as a baby by a well-intentioned alien and brought up on another planet. Something about the essential loneliness of her situation - surrounded by friends, immersed in her adopted culture and loved by her adopted family but always ALONE - spoke to me in a way I couldn't ignore.
There's an image in the book - of Terra, perched on top of a high spire, gazing out across the city of Hrrng and up at the stars - which was in my mind from the very beginning (it's even recreated in Billl Greenhead's brilliant animated trailer for the book). It summed up both the excitement and sadness of Terra's situation and it popped into my head whenever I got a bit cloudy as to what exactly the book was supposed to be ABOUT.
Much of the early writing of the book was done on my phone, if you can believe it. Given that this was, thus far, a bit of a hobby rather than a serious project, I would tap out a couple of paragraphs whenever I had a spare minute; on a train or in a café. I didn't write the book in sequence; I had an overview of the plot in my head and whenever a particular event became clear in my mind I'd just go ahead and write that bit. One of the benefits of everything being electronically stored is that I could always make alterations later if necessary.
I have no idea if this is How It's Done, or indeed Not How It's Done. It's just How I Did It.
One of the FIRST sections I wrote was the ending. I'd always known more or less how I wanted the story to end and I think it helped me to write the middle sections of the book, knowing where the plot was headed.
So it was that by the summer of 2011, I had the beginning, significant chunks of the middle, and more or less all of the ending of Terra written.
Here's where it gets interesting (and this is the bit you might have heard already).
I did a voice over job for a travel agents that summer, and part of my remuneration was a good deal on a holiday to Corfu for me and the family (hadn't been on a proper holiday for five years previously, and indeed haven't been since). We'd got Greta her first passport as a baby and now she needed a new one (baby passports only last five years). There's a way of renewing passports where you go in early in the morning and you get it that same afternoon; it's a bit more expensive but SO worth it if you can afford the money and time off because by the end of the day you're actually HOLDING the damn thing. So I went into the passport office near Victoria station at my allotted time (11.30), handed over all the money and documentation and was told to return at 3.30pm. There was no point going home - it takes about 90 minutes on public transport during the day, so I was stuck in town for four hours.
So I turned, as I often do in time of need, to Twitter. "Guys," I tweeted to whoever was receiving, "stuck in town for four hours. Any thoughts on how I might usefull occupy myself?"
Replies started to trickle in, recommendations of places to have lunch or exhibitions to visit... then out of the blue I got a message from Gollancz publishing: "Come and talk to us about writing a novel".
The weird thing was I don't remember feeling particularly surprised, more intrigued and excited. I didn't know whether this was a serious suggestion but it certainly merited the benefit of the doubt. I replied "You're probably joking but I've Googled you and you're in St. Martins Lane. I'll be there in twenty minutes."
Twenty minutes later I walked up to the front desk at Orion Towers and said to a slightly bewildered but very helpful receptionist, "I don't know who I'm here to see but if you find out who does Gollancz's twitterfeed and tell them that Mitch Benn has actually turned up, we'll see what happens..."
Who I Was There To See turned out to be Simon Spanton, deputy commissioning editor of Gollancz, the sci-fi and fantasy division of Orion Books. Over coffee he explained that he knew me from The Now Show, he knew I was a bit of a sci-fi nerd (that's basically the running joke about me on TNS; Jon's tiny, Marcus is posh and angry and I never shut up about Doctor Who) and also that I could write STUFF, he just wondered if I'd ever thought about turning my hand to writing sci-fi books...?
Well, said I, as it happens...
Now I'd like to point out that this was merely the start of five months of negotiations, of me emailing chapters and Simon emailing notes, of discussions and meetings and conflabs of one stamp or another. We didn't actually sign a deal until December, at which point another interesting wrinkle arose...
I'd known in vague terms - as we had discussed it in vague terms - that the book would have to be delivered by "the spring"; this can mean anything from late February to late May depending on what the weather does (I'm not even sure we HAD one this year) but on the contract the date was specified as April 1st. Specific cultural resonance of that date notwithstanding, my problem was this - I was contracted to do The Now Show AND tour with my band for the whole of February and March... My only "window" was a two-week gap at the end of January...
"Clara," I asked my Infinitely Superior Half, "do your uncle and auntie still own that barn in the middle of nowhere in the Peak District? Think they'd lend it to me?"
They did indeed lend it to me (thanks again Ken & Liz) and so it was that the book, which thus far had been lackadaisically pieced together in idle moments over the course of about two years, was finished in a burst of furious industry in two weeks flat.
It's now 18 months later and the book is three days from publication (officially anyway; I've noticed it already turning up in a few shops). I've written a sequel which should see the light of day about this time next year and once I've got the Edinburgh Fringe out of the way I'll start work on book three.
Reviews have started to come in; positive beyond my wildest expectations. I'd hoped people would like this book and thus far it seems they do; what's gratifying and exciting is that they seem to really GET this book.
I'm still HORRIBLY nervous though. Over the years, I've trained myself not to get too emotionally invested in my little projects, be they albums, tours, videos... Otherwise it's just too painful when they almost inevitably go off at half-cock. Everything I've done has been perfectly successful within its own sphere but the ones which might have bumped things up a notch kind of haven't. So I try not to get too invested in them.
I have completely failed in this regard this time round. I'm TOTALLY invested in this book because I had to be to get the thing written. But so far the signs are good. They're very good in fact.
So what I'd like to ask is this: If you buy a copy of Terra, and you like it, all I want you to do is persuade ONE friend to do likewise. That's all I need.
I'm doing signings this week in Liverpool, Manchester and London and there will be more in due course; going to try and do some while up in Edinburgh and then maybe fit some in around the Hitch Hiker's touring schedule in the autumn.
I'm on an interesting journey right now and I hope to meet lots of you on the way.
M x
Wednesday 6th March 2013Exactly what I'm doing and how you can help
Here's where we're up to.
First of all, an exciting new aspect to the whole project: My author pal Lee "Budgie" Barnett, who some of you may know as the guy who does the Fast Fiction Challenges (give him a title and a spare word to include in the text and he writes a 200 word short story RIGHT THEN) has his own Comic Relief project; he's going to write 24 SHORT STORIES IN 24 HOURS.
We've decided to combine our efforts and so while I'm trying to write and record an album from scratch in one day, Budgie will be trying to write a short story anthology from scratch in one day IN THE SAME ROOM. I hope he has some decent headphones.
You can read up on (and contribute to) Budgie's project here, and feel free to boggle at some of the famous authors he's persuaded to come up with the story titles for him (name dropper).
The venue where all this lunacy will take place is: The Vineyard Community Centre, The Vineyard, Richmond TW10 6AQ.
We'll be starting at 12.30pm on Friday 15th and working through to 12.30 the next day - I know I originally said 9am, but on reflection it occurred to me that the bits people are actually going to want to WATCH are the start and finish line, and one way or another anyone who's up at 9am on a Friday generally has stuff to do...
The whole thing will be live streamed right here at mitchbenn.com.
NOW, there are some favours I'm going to need, and any help would be much appreciated.
SUPPORT CREW - I have a couple of friends and relatives who've already volunteered to pitch in but obviously nobody's available to help for the whole time - life goes on, etc. I'm going to need a couple of spare bodies around to keep an eye on things, make coffee, welcome such people as might turn up to watch, make coffee, make sure the video stream's working, make coffee...
If any of you are able and willing to get to Richmond for any part of that 24 hour period, please drop me an email at firstname.lastname@example.com and introduce yourselves.
BITS AND PIECES - I have pretty much everything I need technically but there are a few bits and bobs which would make life easier. I could really do with borrowing the following items:
One guitar stand (i've got two; gonna need three)
A sustain pedal for my MIDI keyboard (I'm such a ropey keyboard player I've never felt the need to get one, but if - as may come to pass - I get one of my Actual Keyboard Player friends to overdub my dreadful clonking in the later stages, I should at least have a sustain pedal handy for them to use).
and the big one:
A DECENT BASS GUITAR. The one I've got is pretty beat up and buzzes a bit - it's adequate for my usual needs but I feel I should at least use a noise-free bass for a recording I'm actually going to be selling. Anyone got one I could borrow for a day?
The album will, as previously announced, be available for download from my online music store as soon as possible on Saturday 16th, but you can sponsor me right now if you like.
Finally, as if I didn't have enough going on, I've become a TWITTER MILLION TEAM CAPTAIN. This is a combined Twitter-based effort to raise a million quid by getting celebrity Team Captains (and me) to rally people under their respective banners to raise at least £50 each. If you're doing something for Red Nose Day - or thinking about it - then please add your project to my Twitter Million team.
Friday 8th February 2013Making the biggest rod for my own back yet
I'm going to ATTEMPT to write and record a whole album of comic songs in twenty-four hours, starting at 9am on Red Nose Day (March 15th) and working through the night, delivering the finished product at 9am on Saturday 16th. It should be available for download shortly thereafter.
That's about as far as I've got with the plan... I'm worklng on the logistical end of it right now and I'll update as soon as I have more details.
I'm going to be working in an open space so people can come and watch if they like - although it may be a rather disappointing spectacle, consisting as it will of me staring at my iMac, frowning and drinking coffee - and I'll find a way of live-streaming a webcam feed so the whole thing will be visible online (note to self; DON'T PICK YOUR NOSE).
I have a possible venue in mind already but it's not confirmed yet; meanwhile if you know of anywhere I could do this feel free to tell me about it. The stipulations would be: MUST have wifi, must be insured to have punters coming in and if at all possible should be somewhere within the Richmond/Kingston nexus (I'd like to be close to home if only so I don't have to get up at 6am in order to start at 9).
Once the album's finished I'll upload it to my online music store and obviously all proceeds from download sales will go to Comic Relief. There'll be other ways of raising money with the project; I might get people to sponsor me by the hour and maybe also take cash pledges in return for people giving me ideas and suggestions to work from.
Which leads me to this:
The BIG question - and one which I'd love to hear your ideas on - is this: How do I prove that I'm doing it for real? How do I demonstrate that I'm not just recording stuff which I've "written" previously and memorised?
Those of you who've seen me live will probably have seen me do That Thing I Do where I get suggestions from the audience at the end of part one, write something quickly during the interval and play it at the start of part two. What we need is some way - some VERIFIABLE way - of opening that process up to the public. What I'll need is either enough suggestions for at least ten songs (the album has to come in at over 30 minutes - whether this means ten three minute songs or twelve two and a half minute songs I'll likely decide on the day) or maybe ten/twelve suggested song TITLES. I'll need some way of moderating this so that I can prove that I don't see those suggestions/titles UNTIL 9am ON THE DAY. Any thoughts you might have as to how I can achieve this, please email me at email@example.com...
This isn't a BBC project - so far, they're welcome to jump on board if they like - it's just a ME thing so far. As regards musicians helping out; I'll be playing all the guitars and bass and programming the drums (nae offence Ives, it'll just be quicker that way) but may bring someone in to overdub my crappy keyboard playing in the later stages.
Unless of course there are musicians out there who fancy the idea of rocking up at about 5am to contribute a few licks... God knows there are enough rock stars knocking around in Richmond Upon Thames...
There's even a possibilty of extending the concept to include another challenge, involving something other than music, but I'll be announcing that a bit later...
So that's the plan. Best thing to do is follow me on Twitter (@MitchBenn) for updates, but since most of you will have followed the Twitter link to get here, you know that already...
Meanwhile, seeing as you're here...
MY TOUR'S UP AND RUNNING. Leicester tonight and Barton-On-Humber tomorrow. Since there aren't many midlands/northern gigs on this year's schedule (I know, I know, but as I've explained before it's NOT UP TO ME) I suggest if you're within range of either or both of those DO check 'em out as they may be the only gigs you ARE in range of.
Wednesday 13th June 2012
Hi folks,
I'm addressing myself now principally to those of you within striking distance of Ham in SW London (where we live) and in particular those of you who are less than obsessed with football.
I myself, as many of you know, am broadly indifferent to football which in this instance is a bit of a bugger as were I NOT indifferent to football I might have known thought to consult the Euro 2012 schedule when programming THIS, the latest in our (heretofore) highly successful series of fundraising comedy gigs at (and in aid of) my kids' school here in Ham.
The night in question, next Tuesday (June 19th) is, I now discover, the night on which England will play their final group match of the Euros; that is to say, the final match they're guaranteed to play, and, if they play the way they usually do on such occasions, the match which will determine whether they get any more matches. It is, in other words, a Big Deal if you like that sort of thing, and a lot of people do.
The usual roster of friends and neighbours who have packed out every previous school comedy night are, as such, proving a little thinner on the ground on this occasion, and fair play to 'em, but it leaves me in a bit of a spot.
The school's worried that attendance will be so low it'll end up losing money on the show which is a bit of a bummer for a fundraising gig. There doesn't appear to be another night I could re-schedule it to (and I'd probably lose the acts in the process, of which more in a minute) so it's basically a question of do we pull it or don't we.
I REALLY DON'T WANT TO PULL IT. I know that football means a lot to people but I also know that there are MANY people who either ignore it when it's on or indeed seek refuge from it, and it's to these people I'm appealing. I'm know there are enough of you within range of this gig to pack it out and I also know you'll have a great time if you come along.
In particular the bill I've got lined up is truly spectacular; I'm MCing, but never mind that, we not only have the delightful Carly Smallman and the terrifyingly cool Nathan Caton, we also have the genuinely legendary BOOTHBY GRAFFOE. I'm SO pleased Boothby agreed to do this (I've been desperately trying to get him on The Distraction Club all year but we haven't managed to make it work yet). The word "genius" gets slung around a lot in comedy, generally without justification but in Boothby's case it barely covers it. He is one of the finest live comedians this country's ever produced and if you haven't heard of him that speaks more to the vagaries, caprices and tortured politics of the comedy business than to the man's talent. Ask any comedy nerd and they'll back me up on this. Boothby's one of the greats.
And WE'VE got him; he doesn't gig that much any more so he's not that easy to see live anywhere, let alone for the ticket price we're charging.
SO HERE'S WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO; if you're free next Tuesday and you fancy seeing a bill the Comedy Store would give its eye teeth to put on at about a third of what it costs to GO to the Comedy Store, then please click on the tickets link or call the school (0208 940 7911) to book tickets RIGHT AWAY. If I can get a big enough block of tickets shifted in the next day or so to allay their fears that this one's gonna be empty, then we can go ahead as planned.
Don't miss this opportunity to see a terrific bill in a friendly place and at a knock-down price - and help me out in the process...
BTW Ham is a bit out of the way but it's an early start (7.45; EXACTLY the same kick off as the football *facepalm*) so we'll be done easily in time to catch buses and tubes home. If you need any clues as to how to get to and from the venue mail me at firstname.lastname@example.com
Monday 10th October 2011
Hi folks,
Realise this blog isn't anything as like as busy as it used to be; I'm guessing the reason no-one's complaining much is that you're all following me on Twitter anyway. Thing is, occasionally I have something to say to you all (and indeed to y'all) which needs more than 140 characters or even one of those annoying sequences of 140 character bursts, and this is such an occasion so Your Attention Please...
Through no fault of anyone in particular, a bit of a crisis has arisen in my affairs - those of you who are now devotees of The Distraction Club (and scarcely have devotees been more devoté) will have figured out that its usual First Tuesday Of The Month pattern will bring the club back to The Phoenix on Tuesday November 1st.
The TROUBLE is that, just four days later on Saturday November 5th, we (that is to say the band and I) are doing our once-yearly Big Deal London show at the Bloomsbury.
I'm coming under a LOT of pressure to cancel the Distraction Club. I'd really rather not and besides which it isn't even entirely up to me. The Club is jointly organised by the three band members and our pal Matt Blair; the most I could do unilaterally would be to pull out of that Tuesday's D-Club show and leave them to muddle through without me. While I have no doubt that they COULD muddle through without me, I can't help feeling that this wouldn't help, as a Distraction Club sans me is every bit as likely or unlilkely to impinge upon the box office for the Bloomsbury gig as one WITH me (if nothing else because I'm not sure how clear we could make my non-involvement to prospective club-goers).
My own take on it is that I'm not convinced that The Distraction Club going ahead on the Tuesday WILL massively impact on attendance at the Bloomsbury on the Saturday, but obviously I can't prove this from here and hence the pressure being brought to bear upon me right now.
Which is where you guys come in.
The only way I can calm everybody down and proceed as normal will be if everyone who is CONTEMPLATING buying tickets for the Bloomsbury show does so AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Here's the link to the ticket site. Did you get that? Just in case, here it is again.
If I can get enough people to pre-book for the Bloomsbury show as to assuage the anxieties currently being rather forcefully expressed to me, then maybe I can go ahead with the Distraction Club as planned WITHOUT spending the next however many months having to avoid people.
There is an additional problemette; the date of the Bloomsbury show is not just November 5th, it's SATURDAY November 5th. As my limey readers will know (and I'm guessing that's most of you) the big November firework displays are always on either the 5th itself or on the Saturday nearest to the 5th and this is BOTH. I appreciate this might make that night a complete write-off for anyone with kids (or indeed anyone who like fireworks, and who doesn't). I reckon that if we DO get a poor turnout for the Bloomsbury show it'll be at least as much down to this factor as to anything else I'm doing that week, but human nature being what it is I know I'm going to have a hard time convincing anyone of this. So if you would have liked to come to the Bloomsbury show but can't because of firework commitments, could you do me a favour and email me to tell me so? I may need some testimonials. Only if that REALLY is the case, mind you. Don't make stuff up, I'll know...
Hey, that wasn't so hard. Maybe I'll try to blog on a more regular basis again. As you were...
Friday 18th February 2011
Two new projects!
Firstly, I've started a new podcast!
I'm quite pleased with how quickly I've managed to get this together; literally a few days ago I thought it might be fun to start a podcast showcasing the work of newish or jobbing comic songwriters; I put the word out on Twitter that i was lookng for submissions and within about 48 hours I had enough for two or three shows. Fantastic.
The podcast itself is up here and should turn up on iTunes in due course; meanwhile if you or someone you know have some funny songs you'd lie to me consider including, there are a couple of stipulations:
You MUST own the copyright in the song, or have the EXPRESS permission of whoever does own the copyright. And if the copyright is split between more than one person - if there are co-writers, or if the writer has a publishing deal - ALL interested parties must give their consent to my using the song. This also means I can't play any Weird Al-style reworded versions of other people's hits. Tune and words have to be original.
There's no minimum recording standard; if the song's good enough I'm happy to play it even if the sound quality's a bit ropey.
We're not on the radio now, so sweariness is not really an issue.
There's no money in this, for me or anyone else. The idea is for comic songwriters to get their work out there to (I hope) a decent online audience.
Send mp3s - or links to where I can get mp3s - to firstname.lastname@example.com
Good that's that. And now the other thing:
Starting on April 5 I and my pals The Distractions will be hosting a regular evening of music and comedy at The Phoenix in Cavendish Square, London. The club will be called Sing When You're Grinning and I'm just sorting out the line-up for the first show. I'll put details up here as & when. I'm really excited about this as it's something I've been contemplating for quite some time and it's great that it's going ahead.
Right, if I'm about to generate some traffic onto this site for the first time in months I'd better update my giglist...
Saturday 2nd October 2010Rallying the twoops
Ok, here's the plan.
Anyone who wants to help out with and/or be in the video for my new single PROUD OF THE BBC should turn up in front of BBC Broadcasting House tomorrow (Sunday 3rd) at 11am.
If you're not sure where that is, it's here. Nearest tubes are Oxford Circus and Regent's Park.
The plan is to shoot in front of BH for a couple of hours (or until they tell us to bugger off) and then move on to BBC TV in White City for some time after lunch (probably 2 or 3pm - sorry I can't be more precise but that's the nature of guerilla film-making).
I'm sorry but I can't pay anyone's transport costs or even buy you lunch (I could offer to do so if I knew for a fact that only three of you were coming but if I make that promise now and 200 of you turn up I'm going to look a bit stupid. And poor); this is strictly a for-laughs deal I'm afraid, but I'm hoping it'll be a fun day and produce something worthwhile.
There's no age-limit either way but if you are thinking of bringing kids along do bear in mind how much standing around doing nothing there is on a film shoot. Also it goes without saying that anyone who's normally your responsibility to look after is STILL your responsibility... MY kids will be there so who knows they may form a little gang...
We're hoping to create a cross-section-of-the-public effect so if you have any sort of work clothes or uniform it might help if you wore that (sorry if the idea of wearing your work clothes on a Sunday offends you). Similarly if you have a particular "look" (Goth, Metalhead, Hip-Hop etc.) feel free to give it full expression.
While I'm here I should give you a bit of background as to the song itself, so you know what you're getting involved with.
As most of you know, I've been doing work for the BBC for a decade or so, but I've been a staunch supporter and fan of the Corporation since long before I ever had any connection to it, and I get quite nervous - and more than a little angry - when the knives come out for the BBC, as they very much have been of late. It's particularly annoying since the Beeb, as a public service broadcaster which is (in effect if not strictly technically) more or less publically funded, is never in a position to defend itself, even against its most partisan critics.
So I thought I'd write something which expresses how I feel, and how I believe a fair majority of the British public feel, not that you'd ever know it from reading the papers (who, needless to say, have their own entirely selfish reasons for wanting rid of the BBC). I wrote this song, Proud Of The BBC, and we've been doing it on our current tour. The response the song's been getting has taken me completely by surprise (standing ovations, people wiping away tears) and I've realised I may actually have started a bit of a "movement" here, so we've decided the song has to come out as a single, and that means making a video.
I might add that all this has been decided in the space of the last week or so, hence the panic and disorganisation, but that's how I roll, generally speaking...
Just thought I'd better fill you in on all that; so if you feel how I feel, that the BBC, while imperfect, is one of the things that makes life in Britain bearable and occasionally wonderful, and that it needs to be celebrated and defended, then I'll see you tomorrow morning.
Oh yeah - bring brollies. Weather looks perfidious but that's ok; there's even a line in the song about lousy British weather.
Tuesday 20th April 2010
The kind of apology I ought to make for the extraordinary length of time that's elapsed since my last entry (no, don't scroll down and check the date, I'm so ashamed... oh too late) will frankly a. take all night and b. completely ruin the mood, so can we just take it as read that I'm sorry?
You want to hear me say it, don't you. Fine.
I'M SORRY. There. Happy now?
There are of course all sorts of reasons and excuses for why I've been away for so long, some more valid than others; I'm currently feeling Not Altogether Well for the second time in about six weeks, which truly sucks and is NOT like me.
I've also been beavering away at a composition job; it's a pitch, an audition if you will, for a project I may well not get but it was so interesting having to raise my game and take some actual TIME over something (I had six weeks to work with rather than my customary 36 hours and/or 15 minutes that it'll still have been worthwhile even if I don't. Not AS worthwhile, but worthwhile *crosses fingers, fdinds itg imopdssioble tyo tpyoe wiutyh foinghers croisdsed, uncxroisses tyhem. Phew*
Anyway, now I'm back and I promise I'll try to keep this place a bit more up to date (look! I updated the gigs page and everything!). iPhone-based blogging is intermittently successful, so whenever it is I'll try to hammer one out with those RIDICULOUS LITTLE PRETEND KEYS (the iPhone is a gorgeous piece of kit though; look at its little homescreen blinking away, aw honey I can't stay mad at you).
Be seeing you (did you see The Prisoner on Saturday? I liked it but I can see why people didn't. And leading into it with Britain's Got Talent was just plain cruel; any BGT viewer who stuck around for The Pris would have had a nosebleed in five minutes and an aneurysm in ten).
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subset: commoncrawl


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Iran fired at unarmed US drone, Pentagon says
Iran fired on an unarmed U.S. drone last week as it was hovering in international airspace, the Pentagon announced Thursday.
Spokesman George Little said the incident, which marks the first time the Iranians have fired on a U.S. drone, occurred Nov. 1 at 4:50 a.m. ET. He said the unarmed, unmanned drone was conducting "routine surveillance" over the Persian Gulf when it was "intercepted" by Iran. He said the MQ1 Predator drone, which was not hit, was not in Iranian airspace.
According to Little, two Iranian jets fired twice, missing on both attempts -- the drone headed away from the Iranian coast, landing safely soon after at an undisclosed location. The Iranian jets pursued the drone for a short period before giving up.
Little said the U.S. government has protested to the Iranians. Asked about how the U.S. could respond, he said: "We have a wide range of options from diplomatic to military."
He would not say whether there were actually plans for a military response. Asked if this should be considered an act of war, Little said he didn't want to get into "legal characterizations" of the event.
Little stressed that the drone was flying 16 nautical miles off the coast of Kuwait in international waters, and never entered the 12-mile limit that would constitute Iranian territory.
The Pentagon announced the incident as the administration imposed a new round of financial sanctions against Iranian officials and entities. They marked the first sanctions since President Obama's re-election Tuesday. According to the Treasury Department, the move was "related to the Iranian government's human rights abuses, its support of terrorism and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps."
The drone encounter comes after a U.S. drone crashed in Iran late last year. Iran claimed to have shot it down, but U.S. officials said it merely malfunctioned and crashed.
Little said the U.S. will continue to run surveillance missions in the region.
Fox News' Justin Fishel contributed to this report.


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Wednesday, March 02, 2011
The Bloody Lip
Speaking of Monkey Island; here's a rough sketch from one of the backgrounds for LeChuck's Revenge, the Bloody Lip Bar in downtown Wood Tick. Due to my severe brain cel loss and lead poisoning I don't tend to remember the names of these locations or much about the creation of these backgrounds, except that they were to be done in markers, so this one is a value sketch to spot the light source and shadows in anticipation of doing the final color art.
I do remember adding the ropes and hardware in the right foreground, thinking it would be fun to have the character pass behind those elements to create depth. Also I would look for opportunities to add fun details like the spitoon with overshot loogies all over the doorframe. I also liked adding anachronistic elements like the 50's era jukebox which sadly appears not to have made it into the final background.
Pen and Marker 8X10
8 comments:
- pakoto said...
- Unknown said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- Unknown said...
As usual it is a brilliant rough sketch. I hope one day I can purchase one of your luxurious original works and I frame it for my gaming room (next to my "Tales of Monkey Island" poster signed by you and others stuffs by Tim Schafer or Don Bluth). ;-)
You are one of my favorites (videogame) artists/creators.
I talk about you on my french blog: http://neocalimero.fr/2011/01/17/steve-purcell-papa-de-sam-max/ ;-)
- Vul Morcilla said...
Mr. Purcell:
My name is Diego. I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
I want to thank you for being part of my life. A part linked to the Adventure, to the video games, those mythical Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island, Sam & Max.
Your drawings are pure Magic. A delicate Art that tells stories without words. A Call to the Hero Adventure. Lines, contours, pure metaphysics.
I have stored posters of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion, printed in various argentinean magazines. For me they're jewels.
I never thought I could tell you this devotion, this respect I have for your work. I'm excited to write these words. I hope not bother you.
You're not an artist: you are something else, bigger. A sensitive spirit, creative, powerful.
If you have time, visit my blog. Perhaps you can draw for me a classic "empanada" of Argentina (Pastry). It would be a great honor, to my future Empanada's Book.
A big and pirate hug
Diego .-
- Starchie Spudnoggen said...
Thanks for posting that piano piece. it's great!
Gregory-- Thanks for the link. I love being written about in a foreign lanquage. Just so you know, I did not do the Day of the Tentacle Star Wars cover. That is by the amazing Peter Chan - I'm sure you know his work well.
Vul Morcilla-- Wow. What could I say to all that? I'll check out your blog very soon. Thanks!
- Unknown said...
I knew that the illustration was not of you, I just chose it because I spoke about the newspaper where you drew Sam and Max. In everything the cases I am mad about your work (and Peter Chan's work). At the moment I read Rogue Leaders: The History of LucasArts. ;-)
- Unknown said...
Hi Steve, I also grow with your art and I would like to pay tribute to you for being that important part of my life. I didn't know how to show you the 3d work until I found this blog. I did in 3d one of your art for the videogame cover.
I hope you like it. Please, keep in touch!
Best regards,
Luis Arizaga
- Sr Hunker said...
Hi Mr Purcell!
Looking at your Monkey Island backgrounds, and comparing them with the background in the game, i can see that all they are different.
Ill explain myself:
First of all, the drawings in the game looks so pixeled, so i re-scaled your gouache drawing to see if it looks more like the game one. Nothing, the image looks just like at the begining.
So, my question is HOW did you do a normal process to create and finish a background? Did you use the computer to draw over the scanned one?
Would you mind to do a post or something similar?


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Axial load carrying capacity
The degree of the actual interference fit(s) determines the axial load carrying capacity of a stepped sleeve. When stepped sleeves are made to the recommended dimensions listed in table 1 and table 2, the surface pressure between a solid or thick walled hollow shaft and sleeve, and the axial retaining force per millimetre hub width can be estimated using the approximate values listed in table 3. Stepped sleeves with a loose fit for the smaller diameter, exert only half of the axial retaining force of stepped sleeves with an interference fit for both diameters.
When designing stepped sleeves, axial shock forces on the sleeve must also be taken into consideration. If necessary, a threaded nut which is lightly tightened and which can also serve as a mounting aid can be used to secure the sleeve.


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Obituary: Jill Shipstad Thomas
May 27, 1944 – Sep. 19, 2013
The world of professional skating lost one of its biggest stars on September 19 when Jill Shipstad Thomas passed away.
Jill was born on May 27, 1944 in San Mateo, California, to skating legends Roy Shipstad and Bess Ehrhardt. At age 17 she joined the ice show her father had cofounded, "Shipstad and Johnson's Ice Follies." She was a principal performer in those productions as well as in "Holiday on Ice" and in TV and theatrical productions for over 20 years.
When her performing career was over she became a highly respected coach and choreographer, working with many national, world and Olympic competitors. At the time of her death, she was still choreographing for "Disney on Ice" with which she had been associated for over 30 years.
Jill married fellow skater Bill Thomas in 1976 and in 1980 they built a home in Incline Village, subsequently moving to Minden in 1996. She is survived by her husband, Bill; sisters, Joy, Janet, and Julie of northern California, and many cousins throughout the country.
As per Jill's request, there will be no service. She wants everyone to remember her as she was the last time they saw her, invariably happy and full of life.
In lieu of flowers, Jill would appreciate a contribution to any animal rescue organization. Jill loved her animals.


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The Britannia Collection
Introducing a deep dark navy blue to Ian Mankin's classic colour palette, our Britannia collection brings together new designs and recoloured classics to create an easily mixable collection of navy red and neutral tones. All woven in Lancashire, the signature stripes, checks and plains come in a variety of weights and weaves from the chunky Stirling Flax and linen stripes Moffat and Troon to traditional dark navy ticking. The range, woven from natural cotton and linen fibres is suitable for upholstery, curtains, cushions and blinds.
Regency, a new velvet stripe with co-ordinating plain velvet Windsor are a feature of the collection. These have been woven in the last British velvet weaving mill and are made with super-fine combed melange dyed yarns that ensure a richness of colour and a texture that does not mark and crush like traditional velvets. The fabric has been pre-treated to pass flame retardency tests.
17 Items
17 Items


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Health topics
Mortality data indicate numbers of deaths by place, time and cause. WHO's mortality data reflect deaths registered by national civil registration systems of deaths, with the underlying cause of death coded by the national authority.
66顺彩票appUnderlying cause of death is defined as "the disease or injury which initiated the train of morbid events leading directly to death, or the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury", in accordance with the rules of the International Classification of Diseases.


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Your Mom's A Gem! May 04 2018
5. Myka 6. Hailey Gerrits 7. Blinckstar 8. The Right Hand Gal
Keep your fine and fashion jewellery
sparkling, clean and in good repair!
Baublerella was established as an inspirational lifestyle brand grounded in the purpose of giving back. They strive to be an active role model for future generations and provide support for those who need a boost. When you purchase Baublerella products, a portion of profits are donated to organizations helping instill confidence in young girls and empower women entrepreneurs.
Erase beauty buildup from jewellery with the Bling Brush®. No stone is too small to shine, but lotion, hairspray and makeup dull jewellery over time.
This natural jewellery cleaner is safe on all jewellery from fine gemstones to fashion jewellery and the portable brush can be used at home or on-the-go. Simply twist, clean, polish, SPARKLE!
Over time, jewellery becomes tarnished and never leaves your jewellery box. You work too hard to buy jewellery that can no longer be worn. It's time to bring it back into the limelight!
The Glitzy Glove is a hand-crafted jewellery polishing mitt that removes tarnish. It's safe on silver, gold and brass metals.
When using the Glitzy Glove, you will be able to see the tarnish go straight from your jewellery to the cloth. Once the polishing cloth is covered in black tarnish it's time to buy a new one. To keep the Glitzy Glove from drying out, store it in the bag after each use and do not wash.
The Ms. Fix It jewellery repair kit has all the tools you need to take your jewellery from drab to fab. With Ms. Fix It and a little do-it-yourself magic you can repair your jewellery without breaking the bank {or a nail}.
This 30 piece set contains 28 gold tone and silver tone jewellery findings stored in a lined jewellery case (perfect for travel), and a pair of pink pliers.
Everything is packed inside a chic clutch small enough for your purse, but large enough to hold your Bling Brush, Glitzy Glove and other beauty essentials!
Accessorize Your Essentials April 27 2017
Here are some examples of how to add accessories to some of your
favourite staple pieces this spring/summer.


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Alberta Geological Survey Contributions to the CSPG Annual Convention June 18 - 22, 2001 Five presentations from Alberta Geological Survey that were presented at the 2001 CSPG Annual Convention. Place Keywords 72e 72l 72m 73d 73e 73l 73m 74d 74e ... Show Abstract
Beaton, A.P. Chen, D. Richardson, R.J.H. Andriashek, L.D. Pawlowicz, J.G. Fenton, M.M. Ranger, I. Langenberg, C.W. Hein, F.J. Pana, C. Lemay, T.G. Stewart, S.A. Campbell, J.D. 2001-06-22


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Report suspected violations by calling 3-1-1 or filing a complaint online. Once filed, a service request will be created for code enforcement, and the matter will be investigated.
Adult-oriented businesses, like all businesses, must be located in the appropriate zone. In addition, they must not be located within 1,000 feet of a church, school, public park, public playground, licensed daycare or a lot where another adult-oriented business is located. You may not run an adult-oriented business from your home.
Businesses and industries must have all required City approvals such as permits, site plans, inspections and certificates of occupancy. These regulate many aspects of the business, such as the number of parking spaces, type of lighting, type of signage, plumbing requirements, etc. If there has been a change in a local business that is affecting your neighborhood or home, the business may not be in compliance. View permits issued to specific businesses.
Property owners or their agents must get a permit to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, demolish or move a structure. In addition, they must get a permit to change the use of a structure (for example, to change a residence into an office). View permits issued by the City.
Dangerous structures must be made safe or demolished. Dangerous conditions include potential structural failure, exposed electrical wiring, heavy fire damage and abandoned, open structures. Vacant buildings must be adequately secured by fencing and/or boarding. The City of Austin enforces the Uniform Housing Code and the Dangerous Building Code to regulate dangerous structures.
Fences must be in sound condition and at an appropriate height. On a corner lot, fences must not block the view of traffic at the intersection. In residential areas, solid fences may not be more than 6 feet tall with two exceptions:
Code enforcement is notified of structure fires and sends an investigator to assess the damage and ensure the building is adequately secured. Buildings must either be repaired or demolished to meet code standards.
A garage sale may not be held at the same property more than four days per calendar year or at a property participating in a residential tour (Residential Tours, Section 25-2-902). More than four garage sales per calendar year is a violation of the City Code and is considered a home-based business (Home Occupation, Section 25-2-900). In addition, signs advertising the garage sale may only be posted on the property where the sale is occurring for no more than three consecutive days.
Garbage carts must be returned to their storage area on private property by 10 p.m. on the designated collection day. They should be placed at the curb by 6:30 a.m. on collection day but not prior to 8 p.m. the evening before.
Landlords are obligated to maintain their rental properties to the minimum standards set by the Uniform Housing Code and the Dangerous Building Code. Examples of violations include heating problems, plumbing problems, electrical problems, lack of weather protection and structural hazards.
You may not dump garbage or unwanted items. There are several landfills in the Austin area where you may dispose of items that you no longer want for a fee. Code enforcement pursues two goals with illegal dumping - ensuring the dump site is cleaned up and catching the perpetrator. If caught, offenders may be required to clean up the dump site and pay a fine. However, cleaning up the dump site is ultimately the responsibility of the property owner.
Austin residents may not accumulate garbage, rubbish, brush, filth, carrion or any other unsightly, objectionable or unwholesome matter on their property. In addition, you may not store any material on a vacant lot.
Mobile vendors may not be located on residential private property or property zoned LO (Limited Office), NO (Neighborhood Office) or GO (General Office) per City Code 25-2-812 - Mobile Food Establishments. On the right of way, mobile vendors are regulated by the Austin Transportation Department and the Austin Police Department.
Home businesses are highly regulated. Businesses that cannot be run from home include auto repair shops, contractor's yards, adult-oriented businesses and retail businesses. You also may not store commercial vehicles at your home.
You may not post a sign in the right of way or on public property. In residential areas, you may post the following signs on private property temporarily:
Off-premise signs are prohibited. For example, a garage sale sign can only be placed where the sale is taking place, or a house for sale sign can only be placed on the property where the house is being sold. In non-residential areas, all signs must be on private property. A permit is required for a permanent sign, such as a business sign. The City of Austin does not regulate the content of billboards.
Stagnant water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Property owners must drain stagnant water on their properties. Typical sources of stagnant water include pools in disrepair, tires and buckets.
There are a number of regulations that concern the storage of vehicles in a residential area.
Please report junked or abandoned vehicles to the Austin Police Department.
Swimming pools in residential areas must be enclosed by an approved fence. In addition, swimming pools must be maintained to prevent them from holding stagnant water. The City of Austin's Health and Human Services Department regulates public pools and pools at apartments, hotels and motels.
Property owners must trim trees that hang over the street. There must be at least 14 feet of clearance at the curb line. The Public Works Department handles trees that fall and block the right of way.
Grass and weeds must be less than 12 inches tall.


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|Chelmsford, MA
|High School:
|Club Team:
|Crimson Aquatic
2012-13: Placed third at the Northeast Conference Championships in the 1650 freestyle with a season-best time of 17:19.09...Placed first in the 1000 freestyle against Rutgers and Richmond on Jan. 18 with a season-best time of 10:22.82...Earned two other first place finishes in the 1000 free, at Vermont (10:23.75) and against Wagner (10:30.34)...Accumulated 20 top-ten performances in her 23 appearances, 11 of which were in the top-five.
2011-12: Placed first in the 1,000 yard freestyle in the dual-meet against Wagner with a time of 10:37.87...Earned third place in the dual-meet against Vermont in the 1,000 freestyle with a time of 10:38.13...Finished third as a member of the 400 freestyle relay team with a time of 3:45.70...Swam a 5:15.12 in the 500 yard freestyle against UNH for fourth place...Finished 10th in the 1,650 yard freestyle with a time of 17:46.63 at the Northeast Conference Championships...Placed 12th in the 500 yard freestyle at the NEC Championships with a time of 5:08.79.
2010-11: Placed eighth in the 500 freestyle and ninth in the 1,650 freestyle at the NEC Championships.
Before Central: Earned four varsity letters at Chelmsford High School... Was named a Lowell Sun All-Star four times...Three-time Boston Globe All-Scholastics selection...Competed at Junior Nationals in 2009.


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I have two metal folding baskets on my bike and the thing about folding baskets is that you're supposed to be able to clasp them closed. Not so much with these. I know that Wald is a great company, but it's always disappointing when I'm riding along and one of the baskets pops up and either starts clanging or gets in the way of my heel while I'm pedaling. Minor inconvenience, but something of an annoyance. I stopped twice to try to close the basket (the unused right one) and eventually gave up and fully opened it. But since it was empty, the bottom piece kept bouncing around. #firstworldbikecomplaints
The other bakset held my work clothes (unbagged because I'm hobo like that), with my frame pump wedged somewhere between my jeans and shirt, all topped by a u-lock. I was paranoid about the fram pump coming lose and falling out of the basket. I didn't have the vision or aptitude to figure a better way to store it than shoving it between clothes. I looked over my shoulder a couple of times to make sure it didn't dislodge, but stopped doing this after a close encounter with the curb.
Cars don't stop at Tunlaw/New Mexico and 42nd. I saw three cars pass through with varying levels of slowing as I pulled aside to try to fix my basket. I'm thinking about filming it some day, but this kind of thing has been done. But it might be instructive for those in the neighborhood to be disabused of the notion that bicyclists are unique in their attitude towards traffic laws. And I also bought one of those Flip cameras last Christmas and I barely ever use it any more.
Man, this bike is heavier than the other one..
34th street on one side of Prospect isn't aligned with 34th street on the other side of Prospect. That means that as motorists approach the stop sign, they shift over to the right, aligning their cars with the road on the other side of the intersection. In conclusion, be very careful when you're biking along because many drivers aren't expecting a cyclist to be passing in the three feet between them and the parked cars and think nothing of reducing that three feet to one foot as they move towards the intersection. There's not much to do to fix the problem, aside from striping a bike lane and hoping drivers don't cross the white line, which they will invariably do since the roadway continues askance. Other option is to move the buildings. You know which one I support.
On the Custis, I tried to keep up with a guy with a shaved head wearing a crop-top, but it was to no avail. He had an over-stuffed messenger bag and was wearing more than one bracelet. Cycle chic? It was during my futile pursuit that the pump finally dislodged itself and I had to slow down to kick it back into place. I traded the trail for the street at Veitch because my bike is much more of a street bike than a trail bike and secondarily because I was tired of riding on the trail.
Arlington really needs to hurry up on redoing the Clarendon plaza. I don't think it's great design, but anything will be a vast improvement.
And then this happened:
|Taken from 7 miles away
I finally replaced my cleats. These cleats needed replacing months ago. I think it's time for a new pedal system since this one isn't conducive to daily commuting.
It's hard to tell in this picture where the beige carpet starts and the beige dog starts.


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…might be good is an Austin-based contemporary art e-journal that reaches over 8,000 international readers each month. Understanding Austin as one micro-center within a larger network of art communities worldwide, …might be good provides a platform for thoughtful dialogue about artistic production and ideas. Every two weeks, the publication generates reviews, interviews and other features in response to noteworthy happenings near and far.
…might be good IS CURRENTLY ON SABBATICAL, AS OF DECEMBER 2012. WE ARE NOT TAKING SUBMISSIONS AT THIS TIME.
…might be good began in 2003 as a short email newsletter for the Austin art community. The newsletter's name said it all: an occasional email about upcoming events that might be good… or might not. At the time, the newsletter served the crucial purpose of informing a growing, yet still disjointed, art community about lectures, events and exhibitions of interest. In addition to its co-founders Laurence Miller and Regine Basha, Dave Bryant, Mayumi Hirano and Roy Stanfield were indispensable to …might be good during the early years.
Under the direction of Caitlin Haskell, a new editor with a big vision, …might be good began publishing short, "lively and straight-shooting" visual art reviews in 2005. Risa Puleo soon joined Haskell at …might be good and together, they continued to develop its spunky, smart character and the breadth and depth of its coverage.
In late 2007, …might be good's editor, Claire Ruud, arrived to oversee a website redesign and to expand and refine the e-journal in its current form.
In lieu of Claire Ruud's departure in 2010, Wendy Vogel, a long time contributor to ...might be good, assumed the position of the publication's editor. Currently, Eric Zimmerman, an artist and arts writer holds the editorship position after taking the helm in 2011.
To become a contributor
To become a contributor to ...mbg send a current CV and two writing samples either published or unpublished works to firstname.lastname@example.com. Our editors will contact you upon reviewing your submissions. Alternatively, if you have written something that you would like to appear in ...mbg, feel free to email it to us for review.


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from Anomalies Resulting from MKULTRA
Experiments by serial, internet nutjob Eleanor White.
Researcher and author H.P. Albarelli Jr. has made a seemingly definitive pronouncement about the alleged Project Monarch CIA mind-control project, on the Truthout website - it never existed:
Paul Bonacci - not a mind-control victim, just another liar
Cathleen Ann O'Brien - not a mind-control victim, just another liar
Cisco Wheeler - not a mind-control victim, just another liar
Sue Ford - not a mind-control victim, just another liar
Polly Cunningham - not a mind-control victim, just another liar
Annie McKenna - not a mind-control victim, just another liar
and no doubt many others.
Why you should avoid ritual abuse/mind-control survivor claimants:
RA-MC survivor claimants seem to have a strong attraction for sites & forums
involving "weirdness" subject matter - from UFOs to psychic stuff to unsolved mysteries, etc. The likelihood of finding other, sympathetic conspiracy theorists on such sites would be one reason of course but there may be more going on.
Having "weird", "strange", unexplained or unexplainable experiences - especially in childhood years - is actually quite common.
So is the inability to recall portions of your childhood clearly or in detail. (Actually, an ability to recall every moment of your experience from the age of say 4 years old, would be extremely unusual) . "Lost time" experiences, as a child or as an adult, are also more common than most people realize.
There are many ways to interpret these bizarre, mysterious episodes in our lives, or the impression of having "lost" time or blocked memory. RA-MC evangelists hang out in places where such personal episodes are likely to be discussed, in part because they have a specific interpretation/explanation for such experiences that they wish to "educate" others about (really, seduce others into adopting).
It's only a matter of interpretation, you see. The same experiences that an average person may have had, that they occaisionally wonder about but aren't really troubled by - when given the RA-MC interpretation - may slowly (or suddenly) take on sinister, malevolent tones. This may turn these memories into troubling ones, a cause for concern & worry where before they were not, and turn them into the subject of obsessive contemplation. Lengthy contemplation of the RA-MC interpretation and its sinister implications can lead to fantasizing extensions to the original memory, generating further doubt about the person's memory, the life history they have always believed to be truth about themselves, even "who they really are" or the nature of reality itself. The RA-MC evangelist will be happy to discuss all this with the target person, to "help" them of course, to guide them into uncovering "the truth" about themselves and their unexplained experience(s). For example, they might strongly suggest that "lost time" is always a symptom of dissociative disorders, and recommend the person go see a therapist who specializes in placing RA-MC explanations on all "symptoms" - so they can treat RA-MC "survivors" that they've actually helped to "create" in the first place.
MKULTRA child
from MK-ULTRA Mind Control: Clinton Apology, Victim Testimony and More by nutjob website called puppetgov.com. The original link is no longer working, not even through archive.org.
Twisted alternate reality games:
Most ritual abuse/mind-control survivor claimants habitually attempt to generate a twisted social "game" in whatever social environments they spend a lot of time within. This game involves converting their personal history fantasies into your reality. They do this, because they have constructed a fantasy life history & one or more alternate personas that they wish to "live out" in their daily lives. In order to do this successfully, they need to incorporate the people around them into "characters" enacting roles from their personal alternate reality narrative.
They may attempt to seduce you into accepting that their personal fantasy scenarios, however bizarre and unlikely they may sound, are in fact the true (but hidden/suppressed) reality. Acceptance on your part won't exempt you from the nastier manifestations of their role-playing however. Even if you accept their fantasies and they call you a friend, you may still find yourself experiencing; bizarre and threatening phone calls/emails at all hours of the day or night, apparent surveillance or stalkers, calls or emails to your employer/co-workers/family members/friends anonymously denouncing you as a "perp" or "a handler" or a CIA operative, bizarre online stalking, or many other forms of abusive, threatening, disquieting events.
These things may happen to you, because the RA-MC survivor claimant(s) in your life (and/or members of their survivor cult community networks) need to make their personal conspiracy fantasies a reality in your life. Even though you are their "friend", they may pursue this without apparent conscience - they have an array of rationalizations for involving you in such live-action roleplay without your consent; it's the work of a naughty or malevolent "alter" personality, some of their alters are "still in the cult" on Mondays & Wednesdays, some of their alters are active "perps", it really is "the cultists" or the CIA doing these things to you, other members of your social circle must secretly be perps or agents, you are really an RA-MC survivor yourself but just haven't "broken out" and remembered who you really are, etc. etc.


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lawdog wrote:Derrick Brooks was a highly recruited and versatile player out of high school. He made a significant contribution last year, and it would be great to see him do even more this year. One thing we could use is a shut-down stopper on the other team's best-scoring or ball-handling guard. Too many teams penetrated against us way too easily last year. Derrick has the quicks and physicality to stop that, while also rebounding and hitting the open man and shot. This could be his year.
That would be great. We need him to be that guy you descibed if we are to make a run at another NCAA berth. Our team will be very young. Derrick will be a junior, one of out more experienced guys. We need him to step it up, be a leader, defend, and get some key baskets for us.


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June 2003: An FGDC white paper on how organizations and projects are building the National Spatial Data Infrastructure.
The concept of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) was formally introduced in a 1993 study by the National Research Council, "Towards a Coordinated Spatial Data Infrastructure for the Nation," that was the latest step in the evolution of concepts for geographic data development and sharing. The report states, "unless the NSDI is robust and the spatial data bases, policies, and standards are in place to facilitate the access and use of spatial data nationally, opportunities in areas from environment to development will be lost." The report states further, "although spatial data are necessary for a spatial data infrastructure, they are not sufficient. Of equal importance are the individuals, institutions, and technological and value systems that make it a functional entity, one that serves as a basis for much of the business of a nation."
Within this context, a vision for the NSDI was articulated and major Federal activities have been initiated, re-engineered, and realigned to build a national geospatial information delivery system for the Nation.
The NDSI Vision:
"Current and accurate geospatial data will be readily available to contribute locally, nationally, and globally to economic growth, environmental quality and stability, and social progress." (Source - "The 1994 Plan for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure - Building the Foundation of an Information Based Society," by the FGDC, March 1994).
The National Spatial Data Infrastructure:
The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) facilitates implementation of the NSDI in cooperation with organizations from State, local and tribal governments, the academic community, and the private sector as charged in Office of Management and Budget Circular A-16 (Revised August 2002). The NSDI is the technology, policies, standards, human resources, and related activities necessary to acquire, process, distribute, use, maintain, and preserve spatial data throughout all levels of government, the private and non-profit sectors, and academia. It provides a base or structure of relationships among data producers and users and focuses on processes that facilitate data sharing. The NSDI is a set of business processes and new ways of accessing, sharing and using geographic data that enable far more comprehensive analysis of data to help decision-makers locate and choose information that meets their needs. Specific examples of these new business processes are partnering with other agencies for data, using NSDI metadata standards to document data; following NSDI content standards for framework data; and providing access to data using NSDI Clearinghouse technology. The Interagency Geospatial Preparedness Team in the Department of Homeland Security is a good implementation example of these coordination activities.
Geospatial One-Stop:
Geospatial One-stop is a Presidential E-Government initiative. Its purpose is to demonstrate how geospatial information promotes e-government by using this information to make it easier, faster, and cheaper for all national sectors to address their business needs. It is intended to build upon existing capabilities and ongoing agency programs to accelerate the implementation of the NSDI. At the same time it will increase Federal agency accountability for the stewardship and sharing of geospatial information. Final development and implementation of NSDI framework data standards, and the enhancement of clearinghouse technology to promote data accessibility through a one-stop portal are specific actions currently underway to support implementation of the NSDI.
Federal Agency Initiatives and Activities:
Federal initiatives such as the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) The National Map, Census Bureau's Master Address File/TIGER Modernization, the Bureau of Land Management's National Integrated Land System, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Interagency Geospatial Preparedness Team and Multi-Hazard Mapping, and a myriad of other Federal programs and projects that depend upon spatial data, help to implement the NSDI. These agencies are developing geospatial products and business cases through partnerships with each other, as well as, with other non-Federal agencies for the production and dissemination of data according to American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/FGDC Standards using open-standard service specifications. Each program addresses a specific agency mission but at the same time helps other programs and agencies at all levels of government to fulfill theirs by leveraging these efforts, simplifying processes, and adopting NSDI practices. Collectively, the programs ensure that nationally complete and consistent base geographic data in the public domain are readily available. The foundation of these efforts is partnerships between and among governments at all levels and the private sector to provide for long-term data stewardship, enhancement, and sharing.
Tying It All Together:
While the FGDC leads Federal coordination of OMB Circular A-l6 related activities and evolution of the NSDI, successful implementation will be achieved through the coordinated actions of many programs, individuals and organizations from all levels of government and all sectors using the agreed upon business rules of the NSDI.
Consistent implementation of common NSDI practices and full engagement by all levels of government will enable the Federal government to coordinate efforts with State and local governments, continue to develop best practices and standards, and co-invest and align resources for mutual benefit. The synthesis of agency initiatives/actions are an integrated approach that implements the NSDI by ensuring the availability of geospatial information, by documenting its essential characteristics, and by promoting its sharing and application.
Web Resources
Federal Geographic Data Committee: www.fgdc.gov
Geospatial One-Stop: http://www.geo-one-stop.gov/
U.S. Geological Survey - The National Map: www.nationalmap.usgs.gov
U.S. Census Bureau - Master Address File/TIGER Modernization: http://www.census.gov/geo/mod/maftiger.html
Bureau of Land Management - National Integrated Land System: http://www.blm.gov/nils/
Federal Emergency Management Agency - Multi-Hazard Mapping: http://www.fema.gov/maps.shtm


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Hi people!
I have to write a code for File Transfer Protocol! It says that I only need to write code for client, but it also says that I have
to run the program and send some files to server. I guess than I also need server side as well. I have to write my own classes, I cann't import some existing classes. I have to connect to the server with password and username and after that send some files to the server. I don't know anything about FTP. Can i maybe do this by Sockets and ports? I worked something with that.