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Interview with Brad Beaulieu
To mark the launch of my debut, When the Heavens Fall, I'm asking five different questions to each of five different authors this week. Today, no doubt already regretting his decision to take part, is Brad Beaulieu, podcaster and author of the forthcoming Twelve Kings in Sharakhai.
Hi Brad, and thanks for being here.
1. I always like to open with an easy question. Rock, paper or scissors?
When I play with my kids, I typically start with rock. At the very least, if I win, it's so much more satisfying when I smash their scissors.
Ha! I was thinking of paper, would you believe that? What do you mean 'no'?
2. Twelve Kings in Sharakhai will mark the opening chapter of your second fantasy series, The Song of Shattered Sands. When you started writing it, was there anything in particular you wanted to do differently from what you'd done in your first series, The Lays of Anushka?
I've long wanted to scratch the itch to write a desert story. I can attribute this partly to liking the tales of the Arabian Nights (or One Thousand and One Nights), particularly the milieu. As The Lays of Anuskaya progresses, you can see more and more of the Persian-influenced Aramahn coming into the picture, culminating in long stretches of desert scenes in the final book, The Flames of Shadam Khoreh.
So the desert was something I really wanted to explore, but I'd probably give the most credit to the Thieves' World anthologies for the inspiration for the setting. I loved the city of Sanctuary when I first starting reading the anthologies in high school. I loved that it was the "armpit of the empire," that it was a meeting point of old and new as the Rankan Empire drove into Ilsigi territory, that there were pantheons of gods vying for power, and in fact commingling even as they fought. Above all, I loved the vastness of Sanctuary and the hidden wonders it contained.
The feel of that is what I wanted to explore with Sharakhai. Sharakhai is in some ways a mere city state. But in effect it controls trade throughout a massive desert bordered by four powerful kingdoms, and because it controls trade, it has amassed incredible wealth and power among all four kingdoms and the desert itself. It hasn't done so without making enemies along the way, however. The twelve immortal kings of Sharakhai are hated by many.
And that's where the story begins.
3. I note that you've already received some great comments on Twelve Kings from the likes of Glen Cook and C.S. Friedman. What's the nicest comment you've ever received about one of your books?
I was really pleased to have the Lays of Anuskaya trilogy be named one of the Top 50 Essential Fantasies by Justin Landon of Staffer's Book Review I was also honored to receive the Most Promising New Voice and Debut of the Year from Pat's Fantasy Hotlist when The Winds of Khalakovo first came out. But really, I think the comments that I get the most joy out of are those that compare me to other authors.
Certain aspects of my writing have been compared to that of C. S. Friedman, Brandon Sanderson, George R. R. Martin's, Guy Gavriel Kay's, L. E. Modessit, Naomi Novik, and more. I'm not saying they were right. I don't really like to compare myself to other writers when those authors have accomplished so much and I've yet to hit my stride, as it were. Even still, it's very nice for others to see some things in my writing that remind them of authors that have written some beautiful stories and gone on to sell boatloads of books. I especially love comparisons to people that inspired me as a writer. C. S. Friedman was one of my biggest influences early on, and later, so were George Martin and Guy Gavriel Kay. To have their names mentioned in reference to my own work is an honor and a joy.
4. It's good to see your Speculate Podcast still going strong. Do you think reviewing other authors' books has caused you to re-evaluate your own writing?
Well, I don't know if I'd use the term re-evaluate. But certainly I (we all) learn through osmosis. I feel fortunate to have read the works that we've picked for the show and then gotten the chance to talk to the author about it in our interview episodes. There've been some real "ah ha!" moments for me on the show while talking to such wonderful guests—some of the best writers in the entire industry. And the writing technique shows force me to really dig into the work to pull out what I think was working well or, in some cases, not working so well. I definitely think I've learned from running Speculate, and I suspect (though who can really tell?) that it's accelerated my progress as a writer as compared to where I might have been had I never started the podcast.
5. When you yourself were interviewed on Speculate last year, you gave advice on how writers could promote themselves. What's the most shameful piece of self-promotion you've ever done, and do you mind if I use the idea myself?
I'm hoping you meant shameless and not shameful. And gosh, what have I done? I will say that most self-promotion makes me uncomfortable, and I think this is a truism for most authors: that we want to get ourselves out there but that we also feel uncomfortable talking about ourselves, because we're taught that to do so is self-centered and boorish. But there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it. I think if we can approach our writing obliquely, our potential audience will be much more receptive than simply taking a "buy my book" strategy.
So I think I'll avoid the shameless question entirely—because to my mind it doesn't work and in fact is often counterproductive—and instead focus on the most effective piece of promotion I've done. And that'd be networking. This is, in effect, one step removed from the actual promotion, but if you can reach out, be humble, make friends, talk about the stuff you love and that other likeminded people will also love, you'll start expanding your network of fans, reviewers who like your work, industry folks who know about you, and so on. Be friendly. Be positive. Promote other people's work (the very approach these interviews are taking; well done, Marc!). If you do these things, you can also reach out for requests. Would you like to read my work? I'd love to be on your website if you'd like me to talk about this or that.
Approach it as a long game. Be outgoing and reach beyond your circle of friends and acquaintances, but also recognize that it'll take time to build from that into a wider network. Over time, you'll find your reach expanding, and noes will start to turn into maybes and yeses.
Also, write awesome books, because really, what better piece of marketing is there than having a book that people are talking about?
Write awesome books. Damn, I knew I'd forgotten to do something.
Thanks again for the interview!


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First Half 2015 Malaysia Business Review
September 18, 2015 | Sharon Cheong
Malaysia has a large urbanized population with good basic labor skills, along with excellent seaports and these factors have contributed to their steady economic growth. Though the forecasts for 2015 were high in many sectors, the first half of the year showed weaker than normal growth. In the second quarter of the year, Malaysia's growth slowed to 4.9% after posting rises of around 5.6% in the preceding three quarters. The weakest growth in two years was experienced in the Q2 and attributed to a new Goods and Services Tax (GST) implemented in April.
Import and Export Business
A few of the major Malaysian exports were reduced in value due to several factors, one of which was the troubling political events. The country's prime minister was involved in a scandal and this caused investors to lose faith in the country's political position. Though these issues have not been resolved to date, economic forecasters are predicting growth for the coming twelve months.
In addition to great seaports, Malaysia has well-connected inland transportation to major hubs in neighboring countries.Malaysia's most vital industries are continuing to grow, including the manufacturing sector, private and public construction and tourism. Many of the larger banks eased monetary conditions. Growth remains steady at 4.5 to 5.5 per cent with domestic demand one of the greatest contributing factors.
The Banking Industry
Bank Negara Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur kept the costs of borrowing money relatively the same and foreign markets have continued to function with the same strength and stability as in the past. The experts expect the economy to stabilize even more as domestic and external factors become less uncertain. The Monetary Policy Committee remains supportive of vibrant economic activities and major banks report seeing a healthy growth in all types of financing.
Investment Opportunities
While the overall impact of inflation has weakened in Malaysia, China's economic woes have dampened the spirits of investors and small business owners. Many are playing it safe right at the moment, waiting to see how China stock market prices do through the end of the year. During the summer, the inflation rate stayed around 2.9 percent with slightly higher fuel prices. Lower global inflation rates have also helped to keep commodity prices reduced.
Domestic Spending Figures
The Central Bank is predicting a continuation of economic expansion during the remainder of 2015 despite the troubles seen in China. Household spending has risen and is being supported by stronger growths in wages and stable labor markets. Though there is some uncertainty in the world markets, the Malaysian banking system is encouraging robust investment activities especially in the manufacturing and services sectors.
Domestic demand is expected to drive economic growth in spite of the weak performance of foreign markets. Though the experts agree that Malaysia is entering a challenging period, they expect the nation to remain a vital player in import, export and manufacturing. Tourism and trade will also add to their position of strength, along with a low unemployment level.
Ease of Doing Business
Servcorp Serviced Offices provide attractive and highly appealing office spaces in the major business centers of Kuala Lumpur. Many of the best office spaces available in the Central Business District are now easily within the reach of start-ups. This is the most cost effective solution for new companies and yet there's no need to sacrifice quality or services. Servcorp offers comfortable offices furnished and decorated with high-end furnishings. Clients enjoy dedicated receptionists and professional secretarial services, along with spacious meeting rooms. The high speed internet at Servcorp has an uptime of 99.98%, ensuring consistent services across the board. Take advantage of our 30-day free trial offer today. Please call +603 2169 6188 for more information.

subset: commoncrawl


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Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to be free
Blackbird fly, blackbird fly" - Beatles
We didn't set up the tipi because it was raining so we met in the studio for our final project of the summer session and celebration.
Mighty E reported a blackbird at the studio window. It is said that Blackbird brings the gift of awareness and creativity.
The morning gift was a heaping stack of SoulPancakes from the generous peeps at Hyperion. The books would be presented by the girls to their moms at the closing ceremony so together they can "chew on life's big questions".
The girls sought wisdom from the Guide for the Advanced Soul and jotted their messages down in their journals... and on their arms and hands with body markers.
They also added colorful details to their bleach pen shirts with fabric markers.
We ate champagne grapes while waiting for the moms to join us at our closing ceremony.
We finished the morning with a delicious feast provided by Flippin' Pizza.
The girls surprised me with a puzzle message and...
a beautiful card flag which brought tears of joy to my eyes.
Thank you also to the amazing Chelsea, my right arm. She helps everything move smoothly...like a dance.
Until next time :-)


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Sunday, 31 August 2014
In memory of Yvonne May@the Young Wine Writer of the Year Award, November 2013
1 comment:
Jim, this sad note is the perfect illustration and complement to our previous topics : fund raising.
ALL is mostly a disease of the young (peak prevalence 2-5 y o a) and exact frequencies in adults are difficult to estimate in most countries. Our health systems are not good at reporting its occurence with certainty. One talks of 6.000 cases in the US of A each year, for instance.
Its prognosis is still NOT good in adults – but, as you pointed out, early treatment is crucial - whereas advances in treatment (hence fund raising) have led to an improvement in children in recent years, with over 80 % cure rates in that age category. In this particular disease, one of the "primary blood cells" in the marrow, just downstream of the stem cell, exhibits signs of faulty regulation (for many reasons) and from there on, all the bood cell lines (white BC, red BC and platelets) behave in a "funny way", leading to the symptoms, directly or indirectly. Drugs targeting the genetic defects of the leukaemic cells will greatly improve prognosis, and so will the understanding of the pathogenesis leading to the faulty lymphoblastic transformation. All this calls for research and hence, money.
I'm not sure old age and its consequences (such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease) will ever be eradicated, but ALL, in due time, will be a disease physicians will be able to tackle with success in the vast majority of cases. In the meantime, we're left with very sad occurences like the one you report : we hate to see people prematurely leaving us, especially when no accident or "unavoidable" infection or metabolic disease is involved. It is so unfair.
My condolences to Mrs. May's family and friends too.
- 31 August 2014 at 12:19


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This study focuses on fluorine (F) concentrations and solid-phase speciation in Quaternary deposits, including till, sorted sediments (gravel, sand, clay/silt) and organic-rich soil types, in an area in southeast Sweden underlain by 1.8 Ga granites and quartz monzodiorites with moderate F concentrations (0.11-0.13 wt%) and an outcrop (5 km in diameter) of 1.45 Ga granite (the Gotemar granite) with high to very high F concentrations (0.38-0.54 wt%). Eighteen <1 to 5 m thick profiles were sampled both upon and in the vicinity of the Gotemar granite. The F concentrations in the Quaternary deposits were considerably lower than in the underlying fresh bedrock, with the overall highest concentrations in glacial clay having values up to 660 ppm. A contributing factor to the low F concentrations in the till, as compared to the fresh rock, is release and leaching of fluoride (F-) during alteration of biotite and amphiboles to secondary minerals. Sequential chemical extractions showed that the F in the Quaternary deposits exists mainly in the residual fraction, and also to a substantial extent in phases extractable with hydroxylamine hydrochloride in the till and in phases extractable with Na pyrophosphate in the organic-rich soil types. These features indicate that after release via alteration of primary minerals, F- has to a significant extent been scavenged by Fe/Al (and perhaps Mn) oxyhydroxides in the till and by labile organic matter in the organic soil types. The high F- concentrations previously reported for stream waters and regolith groundwaters in the area are due to weathering and leaching of the Quaternary deposits and discharge of fluoride-rich waters from underlying bedrock fractures. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Due to land uplift after the last ice age, previously stable Baltic Sea sulfidic sediments are becoming dry land. When these sediments are drained, the sulfide minerals are exposed to air and can release large amounts of metals and acid into the environment. This can cause severe ecological damage such as fish kills in rivers feeding the northern Baltic Sea. In this study, five sites were investigated for the occurrence of acid sulfate soils and their geochemistry and microbiology was identified. The pH and soil chemistry identified three of the areas as having classical acid sulfate soil characteristics and culture independent identification of 16S rRNA genes identified populations related to acidophilic bacteria capable of catalyzing sulfidic mineral dissolution, including species likely adapted to low temperature. These results were compared to an acid sulfate soil area that had been flooded for ten years and showed that the previously oxidized sulfidic materials had an increased pH compared to the unremediated oxidizied layers. In addition, the microbiology of the flooded soil had changed such that alkalinity producing ferric and sulfate reducing reactions had likely occurred. This suggested that flooding of acid sulfate soils mitigates their environmental impact.
Crop harvesting and residue removal from croplands often result in imbalanced biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients in croplands, putting forward an austere challenge to sustainable agricultural production. As a beneficial element, silicon(Si) has multiple eco-physiological functions, which could help crops to acclimatize their unfavorable habitats. Although many studies have reported that the application of Si can alleviate multiple abiotic and biotic stresses and increase biomass accumulation, the effects of Si on carbon immobilization and nutrients uptake into plants in croplands have not yet been explored. This review focused on Si-associated regulation of plant carbon accumulation, lignin biosynthesis, and nutrients uptake, which are important for biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients in croplands. The tradeoff analysis the supply of bioavailable Si can enhance plant net photosynthetic rate and biomass carbon production (especially root biomass input to soil organic carbon pool), but reduce shoot lignin biosynthesis. Besides, the application of Si could improve uptake of most nutrients under deficient conditions, but restricts excess uptake when they are supplied in surplus amounts. Nevertheless, Si application to crops may enhance the uptake of nitrogen and iron when they are supplied in deficient to luxurious amounts, while potassium uptake enhanced by Si application is often involved in alleviating salt stress and inhibiting excess sodium uptake in plants. More importantly, the amount of Si accumulated in plant positively correlates with nutrients release during the decay of crop biomass, but negatively correlates with straw decomposability due to the reduced lignin synthesis. The Si-mediated plant growth and litter decomposition collectively suggest that Si cycling in croplands plays important roles in biogeochemical cycles of carbon and nutrients. Hence, scientific Si management in croplands will be helpful for maintaining sustainable development of agriculture.
Dissolved (<1 kDa) and colloidal (1 kDa-0.45 mu m) size fractions of sulfate, organic carbon (OC), phosphate and 17 metals/metalloids were investigated in the acidic Vora River and its estuary in Western Finland. In addition, geochemical modelling was used to predict the formation of free ions and complexes in these waters. The sampling was carried out during high-water flow in autumn and in spring when the abundantly occurring acid sulfate (AS) soils in the catchment area are extensively flushed. Based on the high concentrations of sulfate, acidity and several metals, it is clear that the Vora River and its estuary is strongly affected by AS soils. The high dissolved form of metals limits also the existence of fish and other organisms in this estuary, and certainly also in other similar shallow brackish estuaries elsewhere in the Gulf of Bothnia. However, generally already <20% saline sea water reduces the concentration for OC and several elements (Al, Cu, Cr, Fe, Pb, PO4 and U) by half and c. 20-30% saline sea water is needed to halve concentrations of Cd, Co, Mn, Ni and Zn. Consequently, these elements as well as organic matters were rapidly precipitated in the estuary, even after mixing with fairly small amounts of the alkaline brackish sea water. Aluminium, Cu, Fe and U most likely precipitate together with organic matter closest to the river mouth. Manganese is relatively persistent in solution and, thus, precipitates further down the estuary as Mn oxides, which concomitantly capture Ba, Cd, Co, Cu, Ni and Zn. In the inner estuary, the high contents of Al is as important than Fe in removing PO4 and, thus, also reducing the risk of algae blooms in near coastal areas influenced by AS soils in the Gulf of Bothnia. Moreover, the dispersion of metals far out in the estuary is dependent on hydrological conditions, i.e. with high flows the plume of metal-rich water will spread further out in the estuary. Furthermore, the extensive drainage of the catchment and subsequent artificial enlargement of the river channel during recent decades has not only enabled oxidation of sulfidic sediments, but strongly increased flow peaks that reach further out in the estuary. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
This paper reports a geochemical study on the major and trace elements and Pb-Sr isotopes of a weathering profile developed in the Lower Cambrian black shales in central Hunan (China). Six weathering horizons were identified and sampled vertically throughout the profile. The chemical composition of the profile consists of variable concentrations of the major elements Fe2O3, FeO, MnO, MgO, CaO, Na2O, and P2O5 and of less variable concentrations of SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, and K2O. The chemical change caused by weathering is estimated by mass-balance calculations, and the results show that the element mobility is characterised by substantial loss of SiO2, FeO, CaO, K2O, Na2O, LOI, Cr, V, Ba, Cs, Rb, Sr, U, and Th, and moderate loss of Al2O3, MgO, Fe2O3, Ni, Cu, Pb, Tl, Sn, Sc, Ge and REE (Y). The high field strength elements TiO2, Sn, Sc, U, Ga, Ge, Zr, Hf, Nb, and Ta were immobile during weathering. The chemical changes and the Pb-Sr isotopic data suggest that four types of chemical reactions occurred: the oxidation of sulphide minerals (e.g., pyrite) and organic carbon (OS), the dissolution of less resistant clinochlore-Ia, calcite, and P-bearing minerals (DL), the dissolution of detrital albite and microcline (DA), and the transformation of clay (TC) minerals (e.g., muscovite and illite-smectite). These chemical reactions then led to two stages of geochemical processes, an early stage of chemical differentiation and a later stage of chemical homogenisation. The chemical differentiation dominated by the OS, DL, and DA reactions, led to the leaching of mobile elements (e.g., MgO, Na2O, K2O, P2O5, Sr, and REE) and the redistribution of some less mobile elements (e.g., SiO2 and Al2O3). In contrast, the chemical homogenisation, which was caused by TC reactions, led to the leaching of both mobile and less mobile elements from the system and ultimately transformed the weathered black shales into soil. Soils derived from black shales in South China might result from the above two geochemical processes. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Purpose Phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) is mainly derived from the products of photosynthesis, which can be preserved in soils and sediments for hundreds-to-thousands of years due to the resilient nature of the amorphous phytolith silica. Therefore, stable and radioactive carbon (C) isotopes of phytoliths can be effectively utilized in paleoecological and archeological research. However, there still exists debate about the applicability of C isotopes of phytoliths, as a "two-pool" hypothesis to characterize PhytOC sources has been proposed, whereby a component of the PhytOC is derived from soil organic matter (SOM) absorbed through plant roots. Therefore, it is necessary to review this topic to better understand the source of PhytOC. Materials and method We introduce the stable and radioactive C isotopic compositions of PhytOC, present the impacts of different extraction methods on the study of PhytOC, and discuss the implications of these factors for determining the sources of PhytOC. Results and discussion Based on this review, we suggest that organic matter synthesized by photosynthesis is the main source of PhytOC. However, it is important to make clear whether and how SOM-derived C present in phytoliths influence the controversial "too-old" skew and isotopic fractionation. Conclusions Though the two-pool hypothesis has been proved by many researches, the carbon isotopes of phytoliths still have potential in paleoecology and archeology, because the main source is photosynthesis and many previous studies put forward the availability of these parameters. This review also shows that phytolith C isotopes may vary with different organic C compounds within phytoliths, which needs further study at the molecular scale. Different phytolith extraction methods can influence 14C dating results.
Silicon (Si) is one of the most abundant elements in the Earth's crust but its role in governing the biogeochemicalcycling of other elements remains poor understood. There is a paucity of information on the role of Si in wetlandplants, and how this may alter wetland C production and storage. Therefore, this study investigated Si distribution,nutrient stoichiometry and lignin abundance in Phragmites australis from a wetland system in China tobetter understand the biogeochemical cycling and C storage. Our data show that Si content (ranging between0.202% to 6.614%) of Phragmites australis is negatively correlated with C concentration (38.150%–47.220%).Furthermore, Si content was negatively antagonistically related to the concentration of lignin-derived phenols inthe stem (66.763–120.670 mg g-1 C) and sheath (65.400–114.118 mg g-1 C), but only a weak relationship wasobserved in the leaf tissue (36.439–55.905 mg g-1 C), which is relevant to the photosynthesis or stabilizationfunction of the plant tissues. These results support the notion that biogenic Si (BSi) can substitute lignin as astructural component, due to their similar eco-physiological functions, reduces costs associated with ligninbiosynthesis. The accumulation of BSi increased total biomass C storage and nutrient accumulation due togreater productivity of Phragmites australis. On the other hand, BSi regulated litter composition and quality (e.g.,nutrient stoichiometry and lignin) that provide a possibility for the factors affecting litter decomposition. Thuscompeting processes (i.e., biomass quantity vs quality) can be influenced by Si cycling in wetlands.
The geochemistry of major and trace elements (including heavy metals and rare earth elements) of the fresh and weathered black shales, and the soils derived from black shales in the Ganziping mine area in western Hunan province (China) were studied using the following techniques: X-ray fluorescence (XRF), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the black-shale soils are significantly enriched with Al2O3 and Fe2O3, and depleted of mobile elements CaO, Na2O and K2O. The soils are also highly enriched with heavy metals U, V, Ni, Ba, Cu, Zn and Pb, that may cause potential heavy-metal contamination of the soils. Composition of the soils is homogeneous compared to the weathered black shales, for which the concentrations of major elements except CaO and Na2O, and trace elements except heavy metals (U, V, Ni, Ba, Cu, Zn and Pb) as well as the mobile Sr, show lower variations than in the weathered black shales. Ratios of Zr/Hf, Ta/Nb, Y/Ho, Nd/Sm, and Ti/(Ti + Zr), of the soils are also less variable, with values constantly similar to that of the fresh and weathered black shales correspondingly. Thus, components of the soils are believed to be contributed from the parent black shales through weathering and pedogenesis. It is concluded that the soils were formed by at least two stages of geochemical processes: the early stage of chemical differentiation and the later stage of chemical homogenization. The chemical differentiation that was taken during black-shale weathering might have caused the depletion of CaO and Na2O, and the enrichment of Al2O3 and Fe2O3; while the chemical homogenization that was taken during pedogenesis led to the depletion of SiO2 and K2O, and to the further enrichment of Al2O3 and Fe2O3. The heavy-metal enrichment (contamination) of the soils was then genetically related to the enrichment of Al2O3 and Fe2O3 in the soils.
Grassland ecosystems play an important role in the global terrestrial silicon (Si) cycle, and Si is a beneficial elementand structural constituent for the growth of grasses. In previous decades, grasslands have been degradedto different degrees because of the drying climate and intense human disturbance. However, the impact of grasslanddegradation on the distribution and bioavailability of soil Si is largely unknown. Here, we investigated vegetationand soil conditions of 30 sites to characterize different degrees of degradation for grasslands in the agropastoralecotone of northern China. We then explored the impact of grassland degradation on the distributionand bioavailability of soil Si, including total Si and four forms of noncrystalline Si in three horizons (0–10,10–20 and 20–40 cm) of different soil profiles. The concentrations of noncrystalline Si in soil profiles significantlydecreased with increasing degrees of degradation, being 7.35 ± 0.88 mg g−1, 5.36 ± 0.39 mg g−1, 3.81 ±0.37 mg g−1 and 3.60±0.26 mg g−1 in non-degraded, lightly degraded, moderately degraded and seriously degradedgrasslands, respectively. Moreover, the storage of noncrystalline Si decreased from higher than 40 t ha−1to lower than 23 t ha−1. The corresponding bioavailability of soil Si also generally decreased with grassland degradation.These processes may not only affect the Si pools and fluxes in soils but also influence the Si uptake in
plants. We suggest that grassland degradation can significantly affect the global grassland Si cycle. Grasslandmanagement methods such as fertilizing and avoiding overgrazing can potentially double the content and storageof noncrystalline Si in soils, thereby enhancing the soil Si bioavailability by N17%.
The terrestrial biogeochemical silicon (Si) cycle significantly contributes to maintaining the functions and sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems. Over the short term, the biogeochemical Si cycle can be strongly influenced by dissolved Si, organic bound Si, Si adsorbed to pedogenic oxides/hydroxides, and biogenic and pedogenic amorphous Si. However, quantitative studies about these relatively soluble Si fractions are rare. In this study, we quantified different Si fractions in the 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, 20–30 cm, 30–40 cm and 40–50 cm soil layers of broadleaf forests (Betula forest and Quercus forest) and conifer forests (Larix forest and Pinus forest) in northern China using a sequential chemical extraction scheme optimized for these Si fractions. The results showed that the total Si (Sit) in the soil layers consisted of 97.7–98.5% crystalline Si (Sicry) and 1.5–2.3% non-crystalline Si (Sinoncry) fractions. Within the Sinoncry fraction, the proportions of dissolved Si (Sidis), organic matter bound Si (Siorg), pedogenic oxides/hydroxides chemisorbed Si (Sisorb), and amorphous Si (Siamor) were 3.4–6.7%, 5.5–8.9%, 6.3–8.5%, and 77.7–84.8%, respectively. Although the Sidis fraction was the least abundant component, it is at the center of the interconversion processes among the different Sinoncry fractions. The Siamor fraction was the largest component of Sinoncry and was composed of 37.7–71.9% biogenic amorphous Si (Sibio-amor) and 28.1–62.3% pedogenic amorphous Si (Siped-amor). Our study indicated that i) Siped-amor fraction is more easily influenced by soil pH comparing to Sibio-amor fraction; ii) the Sibio-amor fraction contributes more to the biogeochemical Si cycle in broadleaf forests, whereas the Siped-amorfraction contributes more in conifer forests; and iii) soil pH, soil organic matter, and plant community differences can influence the vertical distribution of the different Sinoncry fractions and thus affect the multiple transformation processes among these Si fractions in studied forests.
The weathering of U and/or Th rich granite plutons, which occurs worldwide, may serve as a potentially important, but as yet poorly defined source for U and Th in (sub-)surface environments. Here, we assessed the impact of an outcrop of such granite (5 km in diameter) and its erosional products on the distribution of U and Th in four nemo-boreal catchments. The results showed that (i) the pluton was enriched in both U and Th; and (ii) secondary U and Th phases were accumulated by peat/gyttja and in other Quaternary deposits with high contents of organic matter. Movement of the ice sheet during the latest glaciation led to dispersal of U- and Th-rich materials eroded from the pluton, resulting in a progressive increase in dissolved U and Th concentrations, as well as U concentrations in aquatic plants with increasing proximity to the pluton. The accumulation of U in the aquatic plants growing upon the pluton (100–365 mg kg−1, dry ash weight) shows that this rock represents a long-term risk for adjacent ecosystems. Dissolved pools of U and Th were correlated with those of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and were predicted to largely occur as organic complexes. This demonstrates the importance of DOM in the transport of U and Th in the catchments. Large fractions of Ca2UO2(CO3)30(aq) were modeled to occur in the stream with highest pH and alkalinity and thus, explain the strongly elevated U concentrations and fluxes in this particular stream. In future climate scenarios, boreal catchments will experience intensified runoff and warmer temperature that favor the production of hydrologically accessible DOM and alkalinity. Therefore, the results obtained from this study have implications for predicting the distribution and transport of Th and U in boreal catchments, especially those associated with U and/or Th rich granite plutons.
This study investigated interfacial reactions between aqueous Ce(III) and two synthetic nanosized Mn (hydr-) oxides (manganite: γ-MnOOH, and vernadite: δ-MnO2) in the absence and presence of Nordic Lake fulvic acid (NLFA) at circumneutral pH by batch experiments and cryogenic X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The surfaces of manganite and vernadite were negatively charged (XPS-derived loadings of (Na+K)/Cl > 1) and loaded with 0.42–4.33 Ce ions nm−2. Manganite stabilized Ce-oxidation states almost identical to those for vernadite (approximately 75% Ce(IV) and 25% Ce(III)), providing the first experimental evidence that also a Mn (III) phase (manganite) can act as an important scavenger for Ce(IV) and thus, contribute to the decoupling of Ce from its neighboring rare earth elements and the development of Ce anomaly. In contrast, when exposed to Ce (III)-NLFA complexes, the oxidation of Ce by these two Mn (hydr-)oxides was strongly suppressed, suggesting that the formation of Ce(III) complexes with fulvic acid can stabilize Ce(III) even in the presence of oxidative Mn oxide surfaces. The experiments also showed that Ce(III) complexed with excess NLFA was nearly completely removed, pointing to a strong preferential sorption of Ce(III)-complexed NLFA over free NLFA. This finding suggests that the Ce(III)-NLFA complexes were most likely sorbed by their cation side, i.e. Ce(III) bridging between oxide groups on the Mn (hydr-)oxides and negatively-charged functional groups in NLFA. Hence, Ce(III) was in direct contact with the oxidative manganite and vernadite but despite that not oxidized. An implication is that in organic-rich environments there may be an absence of Ce(IV) and Ce anomaly despite otherwise favorable conditions for Ce(III) oxidation.
The widespread networks of open water-conducting fractures in crystalline bedrock are covered by a variety of Fe-bearing minerals. Quantitative information on Fe mineralogy and valence of these minerals is of great importance not only in constraining the biogeochemical cycle of Fe and other related elements in this largely unexplored space, but also in evaluating the mineralogical capacity to reduce oxygen which is one of the key issues in the risk assessment of nuclear waste repositories.
Here, we studied Fe mineralogy and valence in fracture coatings, fresh rocks and altered rocks in the upper 1 km of fractured crystalline bedrock at two sites (Laxemar and Forsmark areas, Sweden) on the Baltic shield. Fe3+/∑Fe ratios in these materials were quantified based on the centroid position of the pre-edge feature on Fe XANES spectra, while the speciation of Fe was predicted by reconstructing the sample EXFAS spectra using a linear combination of a large dataset of reference spectra collected previously[1] and in this study. The results were compared with Mössbauer spectra. The fresh and altered rocks showed no systematic difference in Fe3+/∑Fe ratio, indicating that past hydrothermal activities (red-staining on fracture wall-rock) did not lead to a reduction in reducing capacity within the fracture networks. The fracture coatings from the Forsmark area are of clear hydrothermal character (as indicated by an abundance of hematite, hornblende and muscovite) and have not experienced the same degree of low-T oxidative weathering as the samples from the Laxemar area having frequent and abundant illite and ferrihydrite. However, Fe3+/∑Fe ratios of the fracture coatings from the two areas showed similar features, including no depth trend and a similar variability from 0.24-0.85 and 0.12-0.71 which are overall larger than the fresh and altered rocks. This suggests that regional geological events can have a significant impact on the speciation of Fe, but not Fe valence.
Underground repository in crystalline bedrock is a widely accepted solution for long-term disposal of spent nuclear fuels. During future deglaciations, meltwater will intrude via bedrock fractures to the depths of future repositories where O2 left in the meltwater could corrode metal canisters and enhance the migration of redox-sensitive radionuclides. Since glacial meltwater is poor in reduced phases, the quantity and (bio)accessibility of minerogenic Fe(II) in bedrock fractures determine to what extent O2 in future meltwater can be consumed. Here, we determined Fe valence and mineralogy in secondary mineral assemblages sampled throughout the upper kilometer of fractured crystalline bedrock at two sites on the Baltic Shield, using X-ray absorption and Mössbauer spectroscopic techniques that were found to deliver matching results. The data point to extensive O2-consuming capacity of the bedrock fractures, because Fe(II)-rich phyllosilicates were abundant and secondary pyrite was dispersed deep into the bedrock with no overall increase in Fe(II) concentrations and Fe(II)/Fe(III) proportions with depth. The results imply that repeated Pleistocene deglaciations did not cause a measurable decrease in the Fe(II) pool. In surficial fractures, largely opened during glacial unloading, ferrihydrite and illite have formed abundantly via oxidative transformation of Fe(II)-rich phyllosilicates and recently exposed primary biotite/hornblende.
This study assessed Fe-isotope ratio (56Fe/54Fe, expressed as δ56Fe relative to the IRMM-014 standard) variability and controls in pyrite that has among the largest reported S-isotope variability (maximum δ34S: 140‰). The pyrite occurs as fine-grained secondary crystals in fractures throughout the upper kilometer of granitoids of the Baltic Shield, and was analyzed here for δ56Fe by in situ secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Part of these pyrite crystals were picked from borehole instrumentation at depths of >400 m below sea level (m.b.s.l.), and thus are modern (known to have formed within 17 years) and can be compared with the δ56Fe of the source dissolved ferrous iron. The δ56Fe values of the modern pyrite crystals (−1.81‰ to +2.29‰) varied to a much greater extent than those of the groundwaters from which they formed (−0.48‰ to +0.13‰), providing strong field evidence for a large Fe isotope fractionation during the conversion of Fe(II)aq to FeS and ultimately to pyrite. Enrichment of 56Fe in pyrite relative to the groundwater was explained by equilibrium Fe(II)aq-FeS isotope fractionation, whereas depletion of 56Fe in pyrite relative to the groundwater was mainly the result of sulfidization of magnetite and kinetic isotopic fractionation during partial transformation of microsized FeS to pyrite. In many pyrite crystals, there is an increase in δ34S from crystal center to rim reflecting Rayleigh distillation processes (reservoir effects) caused by the development of closed-system conditions in the micro-environment near the growing crystals. A corresponding center-to-rim feature was not observed for the δ56Fe values. It is therefore unlikely that the groundwater near the growing pyrite crystals became progressively enriched in the heavy Fe isotope, in contrast to what has been found for the sulfur in sulfate. Other pyrite crystals formed following bacterial sulfate reduction in the time period of mid-Mesozoicum to Quaternary, had an almost identical Fe-isotope variability (total range: −1.50‰ to +2.76‰), frequency-distribution pattern, and relationship with δ34S as the recent pyrite formed on the borehole instrumentation. These features suggest that fundamental processes are operating and governing the Fe-isotope composition of pyrite crystals formed in fractured crystalline bedrock over large time scales.
This study focuses on the mechanisms of Ce sequestration and accumulation in the fracture network of the upper kilometer of the granitoid bedrock of the Baltic Shield in southeast Sweden (Laxemar area, Sweden). The material includes 81 specimens of bulk secondary mineral precipitates ("fracture coatings") collected on fracture walls identified in 17 drill cores, and 66 groundwater samples collected from 21 deep boreholes with equipment designed for retrieval of representative groundwater at controlled depths. The concentrations of Ce in the fracture coatings, although varying considerably (10-90th percentiles: 67-438 mg kg(-1)), were frequently higher than those of the wall rock (10-90th percentiles: 70-118 mg kg(-1)). Linear combination fitting analysis of Ce L-III-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra, obtained for 19 fracture coatings with relatively high Ce concentrations (>= 145 mg kg(-1)) and a wide range of Ce-anomaly values, revealed that Ce(IV) occurs frequently in the upper 10 m of the fracture network (Ce(IV)/Ce-total = 0.06-1.00 in 8 out of 11 specimens) and is mainly associated with Mn oxides (modeled as Ce oxidatively scavenged by birnessite). These features are in line with the strong oxidative and sorptive capacities of Mn oxide as demonstrated by previous studies, and abundant todorokite and birnessite-like Mn oxides identified in 3 out of 4 specimens analyzed by Mn K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) in the upper parts of the fracture network (down to 5 m). For a specimen with very high Ce concentration (1430 mg kg(-1)) and NASC-normalized Ce anomaly (3.63), the analysis of Ce XANES and Mn XAS data revealed (i) a predominance of Ce oxide in addition to Ce scavenged by Mn oxide; and (ii) a large fraction of poorly-crystalline hexagonal birnessite and aqueous Mn2+, suggesting a recent or on-going oxidation of Mn2+ in this fracture. In addition, the Ce oxide precipitates on this fracture observed by in situ SEM-EDS contained considerable amounts of Mn. These spectroscopic and microscopic features led us to suggest that the remarkable accumulation of Ce(IV) in this fracture is a result of repeated formation and dissolution of Mn oxides, that is, formation of Mn oxide followed by oxidative scavenging of Ce as Ce oxide nanoparticles, which largely remained during the subsequent reductive dissolution of the Mn oxides. In addition, the XANES data indicate that goethite has the capability to oxidize Ce at near-neutral pH under our experimental conditions (goethite reacted with 0.001M Ce for 48 h in a glove box with O-2 < 1 ppm). This previously unrecognized Ce oxidation pathway also seems to contribute to a minor extent to the oxidative scavenging of Ce in the fracture network. Trivalent Ce in the fracture coatings, in particular below 2.5 m, is mainly sorbed as inner-sphere complexes on clay minerals. Taking into account the facts that Ce in the present groundwater is scarce and modeled to be largely complexed with humic substance, it is argued that the inner-sphere complexes were mainly formed from past (Paleozoic) hydrothermal fluids. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
This study seeks to define geochemical processes governing the accumulation and sequestration of Ce in granitoidic fractures down to >700 m depth, revealing past intrusions of oxygenated waters. The fracture coatings (secondary mineral precipitates in open fractures) gathered from the study area (Laxemar, SE Sweden) are characterized by high levels of Ce (Fig. 1b) compared to host rock cocentration (average: 86 ppm, n=65) and show a striking feature of distinct positive Ce anomalies (CeWN*=1.21-3.95, n=8) in the uppermost 20 m of the bedrock (Fig. 1a). Cerium and Mn X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of selected fracture coatings, together with existing data (e.g. fracture mineralogy and groundwater chemistry), indicate that: (1) Ce(IV) occurs down to c.a. 70 m depth and is exclusively associated with Mn oxides which occur as todorokite and triclinic birnessite as suggested by Mn EXAFS spectra; (2) Since Mn is largely speciated as Mn2+ in the present bedrock groundwaters, the Ce(IV)-bearing Mn oxides most probably resulted from oxidative weathering of wall rock and fracture coating minerals when oxygenated waters intruded into the bedrock (down to several hundred meters depth) during deglacation events (>13000 BP); (3) Unlike other samples, clear XAS features of a poorly-crystalline hexagonalbirnessite-like phase and larger proportion of aqueous Mn2+ were observed in the sample with strikingly positive Ce anomaly (CeWN* = 3.95) (Fig. 1b) at the depth of 0.87 m, suggesting an ongoing dynamic accumulatinon of Ce(IV), i.e. dissolution and reprecipiation of Mn oxides while Ce(IV)- enriched residue largely remained.
The dispersion of acidic solutions with high levels of metals/metalloids, as a result of oxidative weathering of pyritic geomaterials, is a major environmental problem in areas where these materials are widely distributed and/or were historically mined. In this study, four types of materials encountered in an old black-shale mining area (unweathered black shale, weathered black shale, burnt black shale, and lime-mixed burnt black shale) were subjected to a long-term (up to 137 weeks) humidity cell test (HCT) combined with sequential chemical extractions (SCE), with the aim of examining geochemical controls on the release of Ni, U and As in this kind of pyritic settings. By combining the results of HCT and SCE as well as previously collected groundwater data, it is clearly shown that the degree of pyrite oxidation is the only major factor controlling the release of Ni, resulting in its highly elevated concentrations in acidic groundwaters. Although U followed a similar leaching pattern as observed for Ni and occurred abundantly in acidic groundwaters, a major decrease in the chemical fraction targeting exchangeable and carbonate phases, and a correlation of U concentrations with redox potential in groundwaters collectively suggest that the release of U was largely controlled by the solubilization of sorbed/carbonate U phases by oxidation to the highly soluble form (UO22+). As compared to the HCT, the SCE procedures used in this study delivered equally good estimates of Ni, U and S cumulatively leached, suggesting the strength of the SCE in terms of quantification of these elements during the weathering of pyritic geomaterials. Arsenic X-ray absorption near-edge structure spectroscopy shows that during the HCT (oxidation and leaching) of unweathered black shale, As was oxidized from its reduced form (having the oxidation state of -1 and most probably occurs as arsenian pyrite) to As(+5). Compared to the two cationic metals, As was released to a very limited extent and was not detectable in the leachates having pH between 6 and 3. This is because As was speciated exclusively as negatively-charged oxyanions in these leachates as predicted by MINTEQ modeling, thus was effectively attenuated by concurrently formed iron minerals. These minerals include mainly schwertmannite and K-jarosite as observed by SEM-EDS and also predicted by MINTEQ modeling. Elevated levels of As exclusively occurred in the groundwaters from one tube strongly impacted by seawater intrusion. This was regarded as a reflection of loosely-sorbed As oxyanions reliberated through ion exchange with seawater chloride. In this context, sea-level rise on a global scale as a potential driver for arsenic remobilization in low-lying coastal areas deserves further attention.
This study examines the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of arsenic (As) in solid and aqueous materials along the mixing zone of an estuary, located in the south-eastern part of the Bothnian Bay and fed by a creek running through an acid sulfate (AS) soil landscape. The concentrations of As in solution form (<1 kDa) increase steadily from the creek mouth to the outer estuary, suggesting that inflowing seawater, rather than AS soil, is the major As source in the estuary. In sediments at the outer estuary, As was accumulated and diagenetically cycled in the surficial layers, as throughout much of the Bothnian Bay. In contrast, in sediments in the inner estuary, As concentrations and accumulation rates showed systematical peaks at greater depths. These peaks were overall consistent with the temporal trend of past As discharges from the Ronnskar smelter and the accompanied As concentrations in past sea-water of the Bothnian Bay, pointing to a connection between the historical smelter activities and the sediment-bound As in the inner estuary. However, the concentrations and accumulation rates of As peaked at depths where the smelter activities had already declined, but a large increase in the deposition of Al hydroxides and Fe phases occurred in response to intensified land-use in the mid 1960's and early 1970's. This correspondence suggests that, apart from the inflowing As-contaminated seawater, capture by Al hydroxides, Fe hydroxides and Fe-organic complexes is another important factor for As deposition in the inner estuary. After accumulating in the sediment, the solid-phase As was partly remobilized, as reflected by increased pore-water As concentrations, a process favored by As(V) reduction and high concentrations of dissolved organic matter. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
This paper examines the geochemical features of 8 soil profiles developed on metalliferous black shales distributed in the central parts of the South China black shale horizon. The concentrations of 21 trace elements and 8 major elements were determined using ICP-MS and XRF, respectively, and weathering intensity (W) was calculated according to a new technique recently proposed in the literature. The data showed that the black shale soils inherited a heterogeneous geochemical character from their parent materials. A partial least square regression model and EFbedrock (enrichment factor normalized to underlying bedrock) indicated that W was not a major control in the redistribution of trace metals. Barium, Sn, Cu, V, and U tended to be leached in the upper soil horizons and trapped by Al and Fe oxides, whereas Sb, Cd, and Mo with negative EF values across the whole profiles may have been leached out during the first stage of pedogenesis (mainly weathering of black shale). Compared with the Chinese average soils, the soils were strongly enriched in the potentially toxic metals Mo, Cd, Sb, Sn, U, V, Cu, and Ba, among which the 5 first listed were enriched to the highest degrees. Elevated concentrations of these toxic metals can have a long-term negative effect on human health, in particular, the soils in mining areas dominated by strongly acidic conditions. As a whole, the black shale soils have much in common with acid sulfate soils. Therefore, black shale soils together with acid sulfate soils deserve more attention in the context of metal exposure and human health.
The estuaries of the Northern Baltic Sea (Gulf of Bothnia) receive an abundance of diagenetically reactive catchment-derived Fe, which is to a large degree complexed with organicmatter or present as Fe (hydr-) oxides. However, our understanding of sedimentary Fe diagenesis in these estuaries is limited. To address this limitation, the present study examines Fe geochemistry in a 3.5-m-thick estuarine benthic mud layer and three samples of suspended particulate matter of a catchment on the eastern Gulf of Bothnia. The age-depth model of the mud, constructed on the basis of sedimentary features as well as Cs-137 and aquatic plant C-14 determinations, revealed a high average rate of sedimentation (5 cm . yr(-1)) for the upper mud unit (0-182.5 cm, corresponding to 1973-2011), in response to intensive land-use (ditching) in the catchment since the 1960s and 1970s. The intensive land-use has resulted in a strong increase in the Fe accumulation rates, but has not caused a recognizable impact on the diagenetic processes of Fe including features such as degree of sulfidization and solid-phase partitioning. Iron X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) indicated that in the suspended particulate matter, large proportions (47-58%) of Fe occur as Fe(III)-organic complexes and 2-line ferrihydrite. In the mud, the former is completely reduced, and reactive Fe (defined via extraction with 1 MHCl) was high throughout (52-68%, median = 61%) and strongly dominated by Fe(II). This reactive Fe(II) pool was sulfidized to only a limited extent (degree of reactive sulfidization = 11-26%, median = 17%). This phenomenon is attributed to the brackish-water conditions (i.e. low in sulfate) and the abundant input of reactive Fe(III) from the catchment, leading to a surplus of dissolved Fe2+ over dissolved sulfide in the sediment. The low availability of dissolved sulfide, in combination with the high average sedimentation rate, limits the formation of intermediate reduced sulfur compounds at the water-sediment interface, thereby retarding the conversion of FeS into pyrite (ratios of pyrite-S to AVS = 0.17-1.73, median = 0.37; degree of pyritization = 1-17%, median = 3%). Iron XAS, in combination with wavelet transform analysis, of representative sediment segments from the upper and lower mud units suggests that the non-sulfidized Fe(II) pool is dominantly complexed by organic matter, with the remaining Fe(II) occurring as mackinawite. This has implications for the understanding of early Fe diagenesis in settings with a high input of organic matter and relatively low supply of sulfate. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
In sediments, manganese (Mn) is typically enriched in the form of authigenic Mn hydroxides at the water-sediment interface where intensive redox cycling of Mn occurs. Here we show, based on existing hydrochemical and geochemical (sediment core) data and new detailed chemical and mineralogical characterization of a 3.5 m long sediment core from a Boreal estuary, that the behavior of Mn can be profoundly different and more complex in estuarine settings receiving an abundance of terrestrial Mn. The most notable feature in the 3.5 m long sediment core is two depth intervals (60-155 cm and 181-230 cm) where there are strong fine-scale variations in Mn concentrations with peaks episodically reaching up to 10-25 g kg(-1) and 6.7-12 g kg(-1), respectively. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and sequential chemical extraction show that Mn occurs mainly as authigenic rhodochrosite at these two depth intervals and is mainly surface-sorbed in other sections with relatively low and stable Mn concentrations. The data suggests that the strong fine-scale variations in Mn concentrations are a reflection of the extent of formation and settling of Mn hydroxides, the precursors of the authigenic rhodochrosite (and also of the surface-sorbed Mn), rather than Mn input to the estuary or redox-related Mn translocation within the sediment. There was agreement between the results of linear combination fitting of extended X-ray absorption fine structure data and a 7-step sequential chemical extraction (SCE) in terms of quantification of surface-sorbed Mn species, whereas the SCE experiment failed to fractionate a majority of rhodochrosite into SCE step-2 (1M NH4-acetate at pH 6), which is frequently employed to dissolve carbonate. We ascribe this discrepancy to only partial dissolution of rhodochrosite in the weakly acidic (pH = 6) NH4-acetate leach. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Climatic factors including mean annual precipitation (MAP) significantly influence the carbon (C) cycle interrestrial ecosystems and Earth overall. Phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) is an important C sequestrationmechanism and as such plays a vital role in global long-term C sequestration. Understanding the spatialvariability in the storage of soil phytoliths and PhytOC and its relationship with climate is critical for evaluatingthe impact of global climate change on terrestrial ecosystem functions. However, little is known about theresponses of soil phytoliths and PhytOC to MAP in grassland ecosystems. This study sampled soil from 24natural, semi-arid steppe sites along a 2,500 km transect with a precipitation gradient of 243–481 mm yr−1 innorthern China. We investigated the influence of precipitation on the spatial distributions of soil phytoliths andPhytOC storage. Storage of soil phytoliths in bulk soil (0–100 cm depth) ranged from 21.3 ± 0.4 to88.4 ± 20.3 t ha−1 along the precipitation gradient. Amounts of soil phytoliths and PhytOC storage weresignificantly and positively correlated with MAP. Multiple regression analysis revealed that phytolith storage inbulk soil was best predicted by MAP (R = 0.5) and soil organic carbon (SOC, R = 0.4), with these two variablesaccounting for about 58% of the total variation observed. Considering the forecasted increase in MAP in theInner Mongolian steppe due to climate change, and the strong influence of MAP on the annual net primaryproductivity (ANPP) and related soil PhytOC input from litter decomposition in this region, we expect thatecosystem primary productivity will increase from deserts to meadow steppe and thereby promote soil PhytOCstorage. These findings have important implications for understanding the dynamics of soil phytoliths, andpredicting the impacts of global climate change on ecosystem functions and management practices in the EastAsian steppe ecosystems.
Beryllium (Be) sources, transport and sinks were studied in a coastal landscape where acidic soils (acid sulfate soils) have developed after drainage of fine-grained sulfide-bearing sediments. The study included the determination of total abundance and speciation of Be in a variety of solid and aqueous materials in both the terrestrial and estuarine parts of the landscape. A major feature was that despite normal (background) Be concentration in the sulfide-bearing sediments, the Be leaching from these sediments after O2-exposure and acid sulfate soil development were extensive, with concentrations up to 76 μg L−1 in soil water, 39 μg L−1 in runoff and 12 μg L−1 in low-order streams. These high Be concentrations were mainly in the solution form (i.e., passing a 1 kilodalton filter) and modelled to be dominated by free Be2+. The extensive Be release within, and leaching from the acid sulfate soils was controlled by pH, with a critical value of 4.0 below which the Be concentrations increased strongly. Although plagioclase and mica were most likely the main carriers of Be within these soils, it is suggested that other minerals such as Be hydroxides, Al hydroxides carrying Be, and Be sulfides are the main contributors of the abundance of dissolved Be in the acidic waters. When the acidic and Be-rich creek water was neutralized in the estuary of relatively low salinity, the dominating solution form of Be was removed by transformation to particles, reflected in the suspended particulate matter that had hydroxylamine hydrochloride extractable Be up to 17 mg kg−1 and ammonium acetate EDTA extractable Be up to 4 mg kg−1. In corresponding pristine materials (parent material of the acid sulfate soils) in the catchment, the median Be extractability with these reagents were only 0.3 and 0.05 mg kg−1, respectively. As the Be-rich suspended particulate matter ultimately became benthic sediment, the Be was preserved in terms of total concentrations but underwent to some extent changes in speciation, including release from hydroxides and concomitant scavenging by organic matter and particle surfaces.


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Feb. 22, 2013
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – Junior Ashley Thomas posted the only hit for Georgia Tech as the Yellow Jackets suffered a run-rule loss, 8-0, in six innings Friday to No. 8 California at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif.
Ashley Thomas logged the lone hit for Tech in the top of the fourth inning. Her infield single split the first and second basemen, both went to field the ball leaving first base uncovered.
The McKinney, Texas native, currently enjoys a 12-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in all 13 games so far this season.
The Bears jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Georgia Tech starter Ashley Clifton walked the leadoff batter, who moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Another walk by Clifton put runners on first and second, for cleanup hitter Victoria Jones.
Jones blasted a shot to deep centerfield and the ball was in centerfielder Maddie Lionberger's glove before it popped out and went over the fence, allowing all three runs to score on the play.
California tacked on two additional runs in the third inning, which induced a Georgia Tech pitching change. Kylie Kleinschmidt headed to the circle to tackle the last 2.2 innings. Kleinschmidt worked her way out of two bases loaded situations in the fourth and fifth innings.
But Kleinschmidt couldn't work her way out of the sixth inning as the Bears scored three additional runs on four hits to end the game.
Clifton (0-1) suffered the loss and pitched 3.0 innings with five runs, two of them earned, on two hits. Kleinschmidt allowed three runs, all earned, on seven hits with four strikeouts.
Jolene Henderson (7-2) pitched a one-hit shutout with eight strikeouts for the win.
The Jackets continue action at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic Saturday at 9:30 a.m. PT/12:30 p.m. ET against No. 5 Florida, followed by a 12 p.m. PT/3 p.m. ET contest against Oregon State.


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We love walking through the woods and we know how powerful it is even the shortest walk during the autumn! The fragrance! The colors! Collecting leaves and chestnuts! And we do not think that this pleasure is reserved only for the youngest forest" lovers"! Our tunic is designed the way which it can easily fit a lot of forest treasures you collect during forest walks. Our tunic is decorated with treasure we brought from Brazil - a unique print that immediately stole our hearts. This little accent will make you look great and unique, even if you choose one-color leggings or jeans to go with it. Put on comfy shoes and discover the charms of the forest ... or the city!
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text:
In The Supreme Court
Evening Post Publishing Co., d/b/a The Post and Courier, and Ms. Parthinea Snowden, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Edward Snowden, Deceased, Plaintiffs,
Of which Evening Post Publishing Co., d/b/a The Post and Courier, is Petitioner,
City of
North Charleston, Respondent.
Appeal From
Gerald C. Smoak, Sr., Circuit Court Judge
Opinion No. 25962
Heard March 2, 2005 - Filed April 4, 2005
John J. Kerr, of Buist, Moore, Smythe & McGee, of
Charleston, for Petitioner.
J. Brady Hair, Derk Van Raalte, and Richard Lingenfelter, all of
North Charleston, for Respondent.
JUSTICE PLEICONES: This is a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)[1] case. We granted a writ of certiorari to review Evening Post Publishing Company v. City of North Charleston, 357 S.C. 59, 591 S.E.2d 39 (Ct. App. 2003), in which the Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court's decision that Respondent City of North Charleston (the City) properly denied the FOIA request of Petitioner Evening Post Publishing Company (the Post). We reverse and remand to the circuit court.
Four Caucasian men attacked an African-American man (the victim) in front of a store, and the store owner called 911. When police officers arrived, the victim was inside the store and holding a gun. The officers shot and killed him.
The four attackers were arrested and charged with lynching. The police officers were not charged with a crime.
The 911 tape contains the store owner's description of the attack to the dispatcher. The tape also contains conversations between the dispatcher and police officers about the incident.
Several months prior to the lynching trial, the Post filed with the City a FOIA request for a copy of the tape. The Solicitor of the Ninth Judicial Circuit was consulted by the City and opined that the tape would be evidence in the upcoming lynching trial. Consequently, the Solicitor suggested, the tape was exempt from disclosure pursuant to South Carolina Code section 30-4-40(a)(3)(B).[2] In respect of the Solicitor's assessment, the City denied the Post's request.
The Post then filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and injunction to compel release of the tape. The circuit court held that under section 30-4-40(a)(3)(B), the tape was exempt from disclosure until the lynching trial concluded.[3] The Post appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed.[4]
Whether the 911 tape was exempt from disclosure pursuant to South Carolina Code section 30-4-40(a)(3)(B).
Under FOIA, "[a]ny person has a right to inspect or copy any public record of a public body," unless that record is exempt from disclosure. S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-30(a) (1991).[5] Whether a record is exempt depends on the particular facts of the case. City of
Here, the City invoked section 30-4-40(a)(3)(B), which exempts from disclosure
[r]ecords of law enforcement and public safety
agencies not otherwise available by law that
were compiled in the process of detecting and
investigating crime if the disclosure of the
information would harm the agency by …
[t]he premature release of information to be
used in a prospective law enforcement action.
S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-40(a)(3)(B) (1991).
All of the elements of this exemption are present except "harm the agency."
The City argues that pre-trial release of the tape would have led to substantial pre-trial publicity, which likely would have tainted the entire jury pool, causing the venue of the trial to be changed. According to the City, the harm would have been that the Solicitor's Office could not have afforded the financial cost of a change of venue.
At the outset, we note that the harm claimed by the City would actually have been harm to the Solicitor's Office. We agree with the City that with respect to the lynching prosecution, harm to the Solicitor's Office would have constituted harm to the City. The City and the Solicitor's Office have a shared interest in the prosecution of persons charged with committing crimes in the City.
The financial cost of a venue change, however, is not the type of harm that section 30-4-40(a)(3)(B) is intended to prevent.[6] Rather, it is intended to prevent harms such as those caused by release of a crime suspect's name before arrest, the location of an upcoming sting operation, and other sensitive law-enforcement information. We do not close the door to pre-trial publicity ever factoring into a decision whether this exemption applies. We hold only that the financial burden of a potential change in venue did not justify withholding the 911 tape.[7]
The Court of Appeals erred by holding that harm is irrefutably presumed when the subject of the FOIA request will be evidence in a prospective criminal trial. We reject this categorical rule in favor of the usual case-by-case approach. The City was required to prove particular harm.
The Court of Appeals based its holding in part on State v. Robinson, 305 S.C. 469, 409 S.E.2d 404 (1991), cert. denied, 303 U.S. 937, 112 S. Ct. 1477, 117 L. Ed. 2d 620 (1992), in which we did adopt a narrow per se rule. We held that section 30-4-40(a)(3)(B) "exempts discovery of material that is not otherwise discoverable under Rule 5(a)(3)" of the South Carolina Rules of Criminal Procedure. "No specific showing of harm is required by the State if the [FOIA] request involves such material." Robinson, 305 S.C. at 476-77, 409 S.E.2d at 409. In other words, a criminal defendant's obtaining more information through FOIA than that to which he is entitled through discovery presumptively "harms the agency."
The Court of Appeals misapprehended that Robinson merely reflects the widely accepted principle that FOIA is not to be used by those under criminal charges to circumvent the limitations of discovery. See, e.g., State ex rel. Wyant v. Brotherton, 214
In addition, the Court of Appeals misinterpreted Turner v. North Charleston Police Department, 290 S.C. 511, 351 S.E.2d 583 (Ct. App. 1986), in which the Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a FOIA request pursuant to section 30-4-40(a)(3)(B). In the case sub judice, the Court of Appeals held that Turner stands for the rule that evidence in a forthcoming criminal trial is categorically exempt from disclosure under FOIA. Evening Post Pub.
As we have explained, the City was not entitled to a presumption that it would be harmed by disclosure of the 911 tape's contents. The City was required to prove that it would suffer particular harm, and the City did not meet its burden. The City's non-disclosure therefore violated FOIA.
The City's denial of the Post's request for a copy of the 911 tape violated FOIA. The tape was not exempt from disclosure pursuant to South Carolina Code section 30-4-40(a)(3)(B). The Court of Appeals' decision is reversed, and the case is remanded to the circuit court for a determination whether any further relief should be granted.
TOAL, C.J., MOORE, WALLER and BURNETT, JJ., concur.
[1] S.C. Code Ann. §§ 30-4-10 through 30-4-165 (1991 & Supp. 2004).
[2] S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-40(a)(3)(B) (1991). Although not pertinent here, subsection 30-4-40(a)(3) was amended in 2002. 2002 Act No. 350, § 1 (effective July 19, 2002); see also S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-40(a)(3) (Supp. 2004).
[3] The victim's estate intervened in the action and also sought production of the tape in its civil suit against the City. The estate received a copy pursuant to the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure but was ordered to not publicize the tape until the lynching trial ended. Earlier, the lynching defendants had received copies of the tape pursuant to the South Carolina Rules of Criminal Procedure.
[4] After the tape was played in open court at the lynching trial, the Post published a transcript. We agree with the Court of Appeals that the case is not moot, because "the facts presented here are capable of repetition yet evading review." Evening Post Pub.
[5] That a record is exempt does not mean that the government has a duty of non-disclosure. Rather, an exemption provides the government with discretion to either withhold the record or release it. S.C. Tax Comm'n v. Gaston Copper Recycling Corp., 316 S.C. 163, 169, 447 S.E.2d 843, 846-47 (1994); Bellamy v. Brown, 305 S.C. 291, 295, 408 S.E.2d 219, 221 (1991).
[6] The City and the Solicitor were not actually seeking to protect the defendants' rights to fair trials, and the defendants did not intervene in attempt to protect themselves. Thus, the issue whether this FOIA exemption would have been a proper mechanism by which to protect the defendants is not before the Court. We do note that in the past we have addressed pre-trial publicity's threat to a fair trial in other contexts. See, e.g., Ex parte The Island Packet, 308 S.C. 198, 201-02, 417 S.E.2d 575, 577-78 (1992) (explaining the test for the closure of a court proceeding); Ex parte First Charleston Corp., 329 S.C. 31, 34-35, 495 S.E.2d 423, 424-25 (1998) (in another closed-proceeding case, observing that even in highly publicized cases, voir dire is usually sufficient to ensure a fair trial); State-Record Co. v. State, 332 S.C. 346, 350-59, 504 S.E.2d 592, 594-99 (1998) (upholding a temporary restraining order (TRO) that prevented the media from publishing the contents of a videotape prior to trial).
[7] At the circuit court, the prosecutor in charge of the lynching trial testified that another harm would have occurred. He asserted that allowing the City to release the tape prior to trial would have caused him to lose his license to practice law, for he would have thereby violated Rules 3.6 and 3.8(e) of the South Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct, which generally prohibit a prosecutor from creating pre-trial publicity. Rules 3.6 and 3.8(e), RPC, Rule 407, SCACR. We appreciate the prosecutor's desire to act professionally, but the Rules of Professional Conduct did not affect whether the 911 tape was exempt from disclosure under FOIA. Disclosure under FOIA is the obligation of the government. Professionalism is the personal obligation of a government attorney. See Lawyer Disciplinary Bd. v. McGraw, 194
[8] The 911 tape at issue in Turner "included calls from regular informants as well as Crimestopper calls from citizens." 290 S.C. at 513, 351 S.E.2d at 584. The sensitive nature of that information was the basis for applying section 30-4-40(a)(3)(B), though we note that another exemption specifically addresses "[d]isclosing the identity of informants not otherwise known." S.C. Code Ann. § 30-4-40(a)(3)(A) (1991).


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You can find my previous Quickie Posts of Vegan MoFo here, here, here, here, and here.
Though my clairvoyance did not kick in enough this morning to inspire me to snap a photo of this unexpectedly mind-blowing smoothie, I simply had to share this surprisingly simple yet absolutely divine flavor combination with the world immediately—I would have felt incredibly selfish not doing so. Succulent peaches and tart raspberries with a zip of ginger? How could you say no?
Peach, Raspberry, and Ginger Green Smoothie (Can be Raw, Can be Nut Free, Oil Free, Soy Free, Low Fat, Low Sodium)
Serves 1.
- 1 frozen banana, sliced
- 1/2 cup frozen peach slices
- 1/4 cup frozen raspberries
- 1 large knob of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1-2 cups kale, chopped
- 1/2-3/4 cup nondairy milk (I used homemade almond milk, though obviously you can forgo the nut milks for a nut-free smoothie)
Optional add-ins:
- 1-2 tbsp hemp/chia seeds
- 1 scoop vegan protein/superfood powder (I love my Amazing Grass!)
Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender, layering the ingredients in the order listed above. Blend until very smooth. Serve topped with granola, if desired (and I always desire, of course. Especially when I can satisfy that desire with a blend of pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, dried figs, pepitas, and walnuts).
Local Ingredients: Peaches from the Door County Fruit Market, kale from the Poughkeepsie Farm Project.
Comment Provoking Questions: What's the most unexpectedly delicious smoothie you've crafted recently?
Until next time, Ali.


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For On The Floor: Take This Job… And Improve It
EP Editorial Staff | June 19, 2013
By Rick Carter, Executive Editor
Although our Reader Panel is on hiatus this month, MT hasn't lost interest in research related to our readers' jobs.
As referenced in Editor Jane Alexander's April "My Take" column, a recent online overview of the "most and least satisfied professions" based on Gallup survey information piqued our curiosity. It ranked "Manufacturing and Production" 13th out of 14 job categories. This sobering perspective (find it at 247wallst.com) was based on the 2012 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which explored various factors that support human health and happiness, including job satisfaction. Of respondents who work in manufacturing, just over 83% reported satisfaction with their jobs, compared with nearly 96% working in the top-ranked category ("Physician"). While the point spread here isn't enormous, the fact remains that "Manufacturing" was surpassed by every major job group in the survey except "Transportation," which included jobs like bus driver and flight attendant.
Turns out that Gallup's definition of a manufacturing job was very generous: It included "assembly-line worker," as well as "food-preparation worker" and other titles that aren't closely associated with today's manufacturing-maintenance professional. To achieve more precision with the sample, we polled MT readers about their job-satisfaction, and in two days got more than 200 responses—along with other engaging perspectives on what it means to work in manufacturing today. (Take MT's "Job Satisfaction Survey" at www.mt-online.com/satisfaction.) We have recapped our findings here and posted charts supporting them at the bottom of this article.
How our readers responded
When we asked MT readers, "How satisfied are you with your current manufacturing job?" 28% said "very satisfied." Another 47% said "somewhat satisfied." Combined, these groups represent 75% that are "satisfied" with their jobs in manufacturing: not a bad number, but, disappointingly, still lower than the Gallup survey.
The rest of the MT group—nearly one-fourth—falls into the "unsatisfied" group: 14% are somewhat so; 10% are flat-out unsatisfied. Translation: An operation with 1000 employees might have some 750 workers who are "OK" with their jobs, and maybe another 240 who aren't. Sounds like a lot of malcontents, doesn't it? But before we get to the reasons for this satisfaction/dissatisfaction, let's clarify what titles we're talking about. . .
Most of our respondents—nearly two-thirds—are maintenance pros. Predominant titles, held by 45%, are maintenance manager and maintenance team leader. Another 17% said they were part of a maintenance crew. Titles like plant engineer, operations manager and production team member make up most of the remainder.
Respondents' top age range and sex are also as might be expected: The group is largely male (97%), and more than half (56%) are between the ages of 50 and 65. Women are hardly represented (3%), as are those under 30 (2%). Most—71%—have worked in manufacturing 20 years or more.
Thus, we're hearing from what has become the standard-bearer for today's manufacturing professional: a male Baby Boomer not far from retirement. This person has seen a lot in 20+ years on
the job and is still shaping opinions about what's going on in his/her profession. Nonetheless, it's rather unsettling to see what emerged as top factors that respondents said could boost job satisfaction among those who are anything less than "very satisfied" with their current situation: "Higher pay" (listed by 33%) was predictable, but the very close second (at 32%) was "more opportunities for training and advancement." Considering that only one answer could be entered for the question, this response is noteworthy.
It's not just the money
The fact that our respondents rated training and advancement opportunities nearly on a par with pay as the single reason that would boost their job satisfaction should serve as a loud wake-up call to manufacturing employers everywhere. The fact that this view comes mostly from long-time manufacturing employees over age 50 should make it even louder. In an age when manufacturers desperately need more skills on the floor, how can limits on training opportunities exist anywhere?
The open-ended-response option to this question may provide clues. Remember that only one response was allowed—each of which was considered by the respondent as the "single" factor that would make his/ her job more satisfying. Here's a sampling of the write-in responses: "We need more resources to be successful"; "I wish my boss would stop lying about career-progression criteria;" "More consistency in decision-making;" "Less continual increase in paperwork and record-keeping;" "More efficient management;" "Better leadership;" "Better communication;" and last but not least, "Less stupidity."
Other job-satisfaction-improvement options in the question fell by the wayside, comparatively. Even the hot-button topic "better health coverage," for example, is deemed a single critical factor by only 15% of respondents. All other options—including "better working conditions," "different working hours" and "on-site improvements" (like an exercise facility, cafeteria or day-care center)—were considered even less important.
The better news
Manufacturing employees might not be the happiest, but MT readers' responses do reflect improvement. The survey asked them how their current level of satisfaction compares with their level of satisfaction five or more years ago. The largest single response group—24%—said they are "slightly more satisfied" now. Another 18% said they are "much more satisfied" now, meaning that overall, 42% of respondents feel better about their jobs today than earlier in their careers.
But almost as many feel the opposite: 18% are "slightly less satisfied" now and 23% are "much less satisfied," indicating that 41% believe their job situation has deteriorated from five or more years ago. Only about 9% say things haven't changed.
Our survey could have ended here, but we took a cue from Gallup's "well-being" focus and included a few non-job-related questions to see what other factors might impact job satisfaction. The first of these asked our respondents simply to rate their own health. "Average" was the top answer, given by 57%. Encouragingly, 42% rate their health "above average," while only 1% think it is "below average."
Does this mean the stereotypical image of the out-of-shape factory worker has no basis in reality? Could be, especially when you factor in the amount of exercise today's worker gets.
Some 30% of MT's respondents, for example, report getting five or more hours of physical exercise outside of work each week. More than half—54%—get at least 1 to 5 hours. And while about 13% report getting less than one hour, only a handful (3%) claim to get no physical activity whatsoever.
Most of our respondents report that they are generally happy with their lives overall, despite job misgivings. Asked about their level of satisfaction with their lives outside of work, 53% of respondents report being "very satisfied," and 40% are "somewhat satisfied." Just short of 5% are "somewhat unsatisfied" and 3% are "unsatisfied," which may be as low as such numbers could possibly go.
With health and home-life happiness on his/her side, today's maintenance professional has a positive outlook on life, but is somewhat less enthusiastic on the job front. Respondents say better opportunities for training and advancement would go a long way to improving this part of their lives. It's an issue that deserves review in these pages again—as well as at your next management meeting. MT


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"There is a dance for every single human experience."
José Limón
The Limón Dance Company lit up the stage at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, presenting three works choreographed by José Limón over seventy years ago, and two recent works by Colin Connor and Kate Weare. Thanks to dance artists like Carla Maxwell, Risa Steinberg, Gary Masters and the new Artistic Director Colin Connor, the company has kept the Limón legacy alive and vibrant. In addition, the company continues to present new works by seasoned and up-and-coming choreographers.
Born in Culiacan, Mexico, José Limón (1908-1972) formed his company in 1946 after performing for 10 years with modern dance pioneers Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. Throughout his life, Limón continued to create new works; his last one being Carlota in 1972, the year of his death. In 1997, this great dance master was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs, NY.
The program opened with Limón's CONCERTO GROSSO which premiered in 1945 at the Humphrey-Weidman Studio in New York. Through his choreography, Limón artfully and brilliantly visualizes Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto #11 in D Minor, Opus 3. The work is, simply put, pure and joyful dancing. Staged and directed by former company member Risa Steinberg, dancers Kathryn Alter, Elise Drew Leon and Jesse Obremski performed with great musicality, clarity and ease. CONCERTO GROSSO is a jewel and these three dance artists are wonderful in it. The pastel-colored costumes by Keiko Voltaire move beautifully and Christopher Chambers' lighting captures the work's celebration of life.
Chaconne is a type of musical composition that was popular in the baroque era "when it was much used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression". It is also a dance form originated in what is now called Mexico. CHACONNE, choreographed in 1942, also had its premiere at the Humphrey-Weidman Studio. Performed to J.S. Bach's Partita #2 in D Minor for Unaccompanied Violin, the dance is built on a series of repeated movement themes that build and travel primarily along the diagonal. First choreographed on himself, Limón designed this work for both male and female dancers. It is rich with slow, controlled movements that build into rapid turns finishing in suspended position. These are followed by drops to one knee that demand a strong technical skill from the performer. For this performance of CHACONNE, the dancer who delivered all the above was Logan Frances Kruger. The costume by Christina Giannini was an effort to bring the character up-to-date, but one which failed.
Suddenly, we were thrust back into the present with Colin Connor's beautiful work titled CORVIDAE (2016). Corvidae are birds that include crows, ravens, rooks, magpies and others of the crow family These birds are considered among the most intelligent of animals. Some Native Americans, such as the Haida, believed that a raven created the earth, man, and responsible for placing the Sun in the sky.
Colin Connor and Keiko Voltaire have appropriately dressed the 7-member cast in all black; the men in leather pants or jackets and the women in varying textured outfits. Some of Connor's movement patterns reflect those of flocks of birds, as do his use of individual gestures that mimic one bird grooming or inspecting another. The dance is dramatic, athletic and full of beautiful images of these mysterious creatures who many think of as messengers or omens of doom. Designed by DK Kroth and executed by Michael Klaers, the lighting enhances the dance's strength and mystery.
Considered by many to be Limón's masterpiece, THE MOOR'S PAVANE (1949) proved that it is a work that has withstood the test of time. Created to the music of Henry Purcell, it is Limón's interpretation of Shakespeare's Othello. Carla Maxwell, who worked extensively with Limón from 1978 until 2016, has kept the work's purity, Limón's sense of weight, and the unembellished, but powerfully dramatic staging alive. It is a classic work; one that I have seen performed by the Limón Dance Company throughout the years. The cast: The Moor, Bradley Beakes; His Friend, Jesse Obremski; His Friend's Wife, Kathryn Alter, and The Moor's Wife, Elise Drew Leon were brilliant. They evoked wonderful memories of such great dance artists as José Limón, Betty Jones, Pauline Koner and Lucas Hoving. It was a pleasure to see this great work performed again and done so with such loving care. The lighting design was by Steve Woods, executed by Michael Klaers, with beautiful renaissance style costumes by Pauline Lawrence.
The programed concluded with a work by Kate Weare, who received her bachelors of arts degree from California Institute of the Arts. NIGHT LIGHT (2014) is filled with staccato movements that cut short or alter another dancer's direction. Lifts are begun or ended with a push of a head or elbow, and bodies briefly hover mid-air. The choreography is pure-movement based, but layered with aggressive personality behaviors. Groups easily dissolve into solos, duets and trios. There is a beautiful duet with Elise Drew Leon and Leon Cobb that one wishes were longer, and a demanding, almost confrontational duet between Jesse Obremski and David Glista which brings the dance to a sudden but powerful conclusion. Savannah Spratt has a strong presence and my eye followed her throughout the piece. The costumes by Fritz Masten are wonderful over-sized shirts in different shades of blue that half-way through are discarded to reveal the dancers in black underwear. Clifton Taylor's lighting design brings depth to Weare's choreography and I look forward to seeing more of her work.
Few companies survive for 71 years, as the Limón Dance Company has managed to do. The repertory continues because it is amazing work by an incredibly gifted artist. It also survives due to the respect, love and hard work by his loyal disciples. The Limón Dance Company has one more performance at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. If you can, go! For information and tickets, click here.


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With today being the first full day of the 2014 Autumnal Equinox (I've never heard fall called that before and thought it was extra classy!), here is my summer staple spree recap. Each make that has been blogged about already is linked.
On my quest to make more everyday garments, my final tally of staple pieces for the summer of 2014 is 20. Here are the garments in alphabetical order because hey, why not!
Arizona Leggings
Chevron Leggings
Deer and Doe high waisted shorts
Delphine Skirt and Matching Brigette head band
Emmy Grace Anna Dress
Hawthorn Dress
Navy Coco
Pavot Jacket (post coming soon but let me leave you with this fab picture!)
Polka Dot Elisalex
Winged Moneta Dress
I know the point was to make pieces for everyday wear but I had to throw in a few dresses because for me, dresses are everyday wear, especially for work.
Something I learned towards the beginning of July is that even though skirts and trousers present more outfit opportunities, they are not typical staple pieces for me. I'm a dress gal and once I decided to stop making things that I thought I "needed" I ended up making a lot of dresses that have become staples. You might buy a good Tshirt in 5 colors where I'd prefer a good dress in 5 colors. I have a few dress patterns that I love to work with and would wear everyday so that makes them staples to me.
Something else that I realized was the versatility of a pattern. My long sleeved Elisalex might not be good for everyday wear but take away the sleeves and the tulip skirt and I have my favorite bodice that can be coupled with different skirts for completely different looks. The same thing goes for my Betty, simply removing the horse hair braid I added to the original pattern and it's suddenly a very different look.
I also worked on a few unselfish sewing projects this summer that I hope become staple pieces for the recipients!
Other than 20 great makes I also learned a lot about my relatively new sewing machine. Like any good relationship, my sewing machine and I have gone through a few different stages over the last 6 months. Like a new boyfriend, we acted very shy with one another in the beginning and have been opening up as we go.
I sewed a few simple items and she gave me no trouble at all. Now that we know each other a little better I'm taking on more challenging patterns and she's un threading and breaking needles without warning. I'm afraid to see what happens when we get to the engagement and wedding stage.
In all seriousness, the summer staple spree was great because I not only made myself a lot of clothing to wear on a regular basis but I became much better acquainted with my Pfaff in the process.
When I realized the summer was coming to a close and my spree would have to come to an end I did some research and found some patterns that I think will become FALL Staples so it looks like I'll just be sewing up a storm every season! Be on the lookout for these beauties.


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When some famous person's parents get interviewed after their kid's massive success, be it in sports, music or acting, they often say that it was obvious their prodigy would take upon that specific trade from an incredibly young age. We can bet that the parents of this shovel guitar wielding boy will pinpoint the exact moment they realized their son was destined to be a rock star.
This boy is so good at rocking his shovel guitar that is actually hard to consider that it is a tool toy, not an actual musical instrument. And that living room looks like the best rock stage, straight from a music festival. It's also worth noticing that there is a lot of coordination needed for these types of movement to be done, they would be hard for five-year-olds to do, let alone a toddler.
The shovel guitar boy is actually on to something that is surely not known to him – there are actual musicians that have made legitimate music instruments out of shovels, and they sound pretty awesome. So he could play a shovel guitar for real one day.
In a couple of years, we can see him joining Alma Deutscher as another musical child prodigy. He has it locked down in the air guitar element, he just needs to add strings now. But surely, shovel guitar will be his favorite toy.


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The Samburu county government has been challenged to construct a children protection unit as way of dealing with the escalating number of street children in Maralal town.
Speaking to KNA, Samburu County Children's Co-ordinator Jane Kabiru said that more than 500 orphans and vulnerable children's fate, living in eleven charitable children institutions in the county hangs in the balance.
Kabiru noted that the national government through the department of children services has stopped registering new Charitable Children Institutions (CCIs) or even renewing the licenses of the existing ones.
Three institutions are seeking registration while eight are already due for renewal but we are not registering new CCIs or renewing registrations, Kabiru.
As a result, Kabiru noted that the department of children services is facing challenges on where to place rescued children.
The couty government should set money aside for the construction of a child protection unit to ensure that minors in conflict with the law or those in need of care and protection are safe.
The nearest children rescue centre from Samburu is in Nakuru county. She noted.
She said that their efforts in children rescue missions are trashed at the final stage since, we rescue children from early marriages and FGM but we have nowhere to take them.
The county children coordinator said that her office in now trying to engage in sensitization and community trainings on alternative measures such as adoption of such children by their extended families.
Kabiru noted that On 15th December 2017, a Wamba court sentenced a 12 year old boy to two years in prison and the minor is being held at the Maralal GK prison which is an adult facility.
Lack of a rescue center leads to violation of children's rights such as jailing them in adult facilities. She added.
All the eleven CCIs in Samburu are privately owned with most of them concentrated in Samburu Central and East sub counties.
Source: Kenya News Agency


text: THIS DAY IN MUSIC………………………………on March 3rd of 1966 Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Richie Furay, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin created the group, Buffalo Springfield. Their stay on the Rock music scene would only last a couple of years before the group would fragment. Stills teamed up with David Crosby of The Byrds and Graham Nash of The Hollies to form Crosby, Stills and Nash, while Young released several solo projects before joining them. Furay got together with Jim Messina and Randy Meisner to create Poco in 1968. Palmer dropped out of the lime light while Martin toured as Buffalo Springfield with fill-in musicians. From 1967 from the LP "Buffalo Springfield Again" comes "Mr. Soul". The song was written and performed by Neil Young, the contested frontman for Buffalo Springfield, backed up by co-frontmen Richie Furay and Stephen Stills. One hardly knows where to begin with this song's lyrics. In just three short verses with no chorus, Young practically flaunts his lyrical prowess at this early stage in his career. He invokes both Beatles and early proto-punk, in verses that manage to be both angry and whimsical at the same time. Like the team of Lennon-McCartney, Young and Stills experienced friendly rivalry with their equally matched talents that also inspired each of them to top the other, bringing their work to an edginess that drove them to brilliance. At the time of "Mr. Soul," Young was wavering on leaving the band. His first departure was on the eve of Buffalo Springfield's booking to appear on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, which he was vehemently opposed to. Young later told British music magazine Mojo, "I thought it was belittling what the Buffalo Springfield was doing. That audience wouldn't have understood us. We'd have been just a f–kin' curiosity to them." The book Neil Young: Long May You Run: The Illustrated History says that this song "was likely more indicative of where his [Young's] head truly was. Much like the songs from the Springfield's debut, 'Mr. Soul' suggests that Young's work was still razor-sharp, even when it was coming from a very unhappy place."