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This is the third and final posting in a series on how advisors can take a fresh look at portfolio construction.
Part one covered how to get started on the process, while the second posting covered how to set goals with the client. Below, the conclusion.
Part 1: Portfolio Construction and Asset Class Suitability
This discussion assumes that advisors are interested in developing and implementing investment strategies based primarily on a method of investment analysis, portfolio design and performance evaluation expressed, in large part, by quantitatively evaluating risk (client and investment) and its relationship to investment return.
This methodology focuses attention on the overall composition of the portfolio (asset allocation) rather than the traditional method of analyzing and evaluating the individual components. The investment manager and client are, therefore, able to examine and design portfolios predicated on explicit risk-reward parameters and on the identification and quantification of portfolio objectives.
It is imperative that the advisor choose those assets classes that, when combined, will meet the investor's growth objectives and risk profile. The importance of allocating capital based asset class assumptions was clearly demonstrated in the seminal Brinson, Beebower and Singer study of 91 large pension plans. The study sought to attribute the variation of total returns among the plans to three factors:
To some degree every investment program involves tactical and/or dynamic asset allocation. The example I often use is taking a sailboat from San Francisco to Hawaii.
If I set a course to get there in a straight line, I will never see the islands. Changes in the winds, currents and weather will all affect the heading of the boat. Consequently, we must always review our strategies and make whatever modifications (tactical allocation) are necessary to maintain the course to our objectives.
How Can You Determine Appropriate Investments?
Prior to designing the investor's new portfolio, the advisor and the client should consider all assets that are acceptable to the investor. While scientific analysis is extremely important, there may be times when you, as the advisor, have certain knowledge or expectations of asset performance that warrant the inclusion or exclusion of some assets.
The classic example would be Japanese or Pacific Rim securities in 1988 when most advisors were under-weighting Pacific Rim securities in portfolios as they were considered substantially over-valued.
How Much Diversification Will Be Required?
It is important to note that diversification is not a function of how many assets or securities are included, but rather are they negatively correlated and do the selected assets balance the portfolio. For example, if you had an equity portfolio of 100 stocks, the portfolio is no more diversified and the systematic risk of the portfolio is not reduced any more than if you had only 20 stocks across industry lines. In other words, adding 80 more stocks to the portfolio did not reduce the risk of the portfolio.
In some cases you may find that although you have included many assets, an Optimization algorithm may only recommends some of those assets. Mathematically the relationships of the assets (returns, correlations and covariances) will support the recommendation. However, you may feel that additional "diversification" is necessary.
Remember, your knowledge, experience and understanding of your client's needs are as important as any mathematical algorithm. It is also true that tools such as SCANalytics and the algorithms employed are not magical and therefore should only be relied upon as "mathematically" probable. There is no means by which these tools can know about current or possible economic events which might further influence the performance of any asset or assets without your introduction. Your experience, expertise and knowledge will be useful in guiding the composition of the portfolio.
It might be useful to establish a list of 15-20 generally recommended asset classes to start and add others as may be required for each individual investor.
Part 2: Designing the Proposed Portfolio
The process for developing portfolios is:
- Determine which asset types are appropriate (i.e. cash equivalents, Domestic Equities, International Bonds, Real Estate)
- Determine which asset classes are appropriate (i.e. Large Cap Growth, Small Cap Value, Domestic Bonds, Emerging Markets, Hedge Funds, REITs)
- Determine the estimated (historical or forecasted) rate of return and volatility assumptions
- Determine what, if any constraints are placed on Asset Types (i.e. maximum of 40% Equities, 25% International Bonds)
- Determine what, if any, constraints are placed on Asset Classes (i.e. 20% Large Cap Growth, 10% REITs, 5% Gold)
- Find securities that are highly correlated to each Asset Class
- Determine the probability of achieving the client's objective
There are several ways to develop portfolio proposals.
A) Model Portfolios
Creating pre-set Model portfolios of assets can be a quick and efficient method of offering your expertise to clients. Based on the analysis of the client's Risk Profile and the current portfolio, the advisor can expand or reduce the list of available assets and assign specific investment vehicle.
In some cases advisors might offer a complete portfolio (assets and securities), but it is not recommended prior to your initial evaluation and analysis. These Models might include one or more variations for each of the following:
Capital Preservation
Growth & Income
Aggressive Growth
B) Forecasted Returns (Standard Deviations, Correlations)
In order to evaluate the performance characteristics of the recommended portfolio and comparison with the current portfolio, it would be appropriate to forecast expected returns for the near term (1-5 years). Clearly, your return assumptions will materially affect the probable performance.
B) Subjective Analysis of Alternative Investment Scenarios
In some cases advisors may simply be able to add or substitute asset classes iteratively based on alternative scenarios and manually modify allocations. The advisor would then run each scenario through the analysis procedure to determine if any of these portfolios will provide suitable returns within established risk parameters. While this is extremely subjective and time consuming, it may offer both the advisor and the client a better understanding of the various trade-offs suggested by each iteration.
D) Find Theoretically Optimal Portfolios
Optimization is the process of mathematically determining those combinations of investments (assets and/or securities) that will achieve the highest possible rate of return for any level of risk that an investor is willing to accept. In general, it is recommended that advisors optimize portfolios at the Asset Class level. Once this has been done, the advisor can find investment vehicles that are coordinated with the selected Asset classes and compliant with the investor's risk and objectives.
When using historical data, optimizers may be unequivocally relied upon to provide the optimal portfolio in terms of return and "risk" for the specified time period. For example, using a time horizon of 1985 to the present, the optimal portfolio displayed would have been the "optimal" portfolio for that time period. If, however, you believe that performance over the next 1-5 years will be different, then you might want to use an historical time period that reflects your expectations, or forecast rates of return.
There may be important constraints that should be applied to asset holdings. If you believe that the optimization algorithm has allocated too much or too little to a particular asset, you should review the returns before setting constraints. It may well be that the asset in question has a rate of return far higher than you are comfortable with. Consequently, you should lower the return estimate and then re-optimize. Don't arbitrarily constrain portfolio assets before optimizing the portfolio.
Optimize the portfolio and then iteratively set minimum or maximum levels for each asset (or you may set global minimums or maximums of some amount) until the portfolio meets your satisfaction. The reason for not pre-setting constraints is that there is no way the advisor can know precisely the mathematical relationship of each asset to each other asset in the portfolio. Consequently, pre-setting constraints may have the adverse effect of tilting the portfolio in the wrong direction.
Part 3: Find Appropriate Vehicles, Achieve Goals, Review Regularly
Once the portfolio asset allocation has been established the advisor will find those investment vehicles that match the performance characteristics of the asset classes (rerun, standard deviation, correlation to appropriate benchmarks).
Once the proposed portfolio has been designed it is now necessary to calculate and review cash flow analysis and/or Monte Carlo simulation to determine the probability of achieving the investor's financial goals.
Various personal experiences and external factors can easily move the client's risk profile in either direction requiring some modification of the portfolio and financial objectives. Changes in the dynamics of the financial markets may also require reevaluation of portfolio allocations and asset class participation.
All institutional, and most successful financial advisors, have an established method for understanding investor needs, reviewing existing investment portfolios, finding successful investment strategies, establishing strong client relationships and the work flow commensurate with that procedure.
This methodology not only increases confidence in the advisor's ability to manage the investor's investments, but virtually eliminates any potential liability concerns. Whether advisors follow the advice above or establish their own workflow procedures, they will realize substantial rewards by creating a clear, practical and repeatable method for managing client investment.


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Hello all,
I've been a lurker for quite some time on this forum and have never posted before- with that being said, I'm sending out this topic regarding the date of the recording of "My Serenade" off of the "Best of" Django Reinhardt album (Blue Note). Since this is a compilation I'm having trouble finding a year for when Django cut it- I'm reaching out to the forum because I believe some of you would most likely have the most reliable information rather than elsewhere online. Many thanks to all who've read this and I look forward to hearing from people on the subject! Best-

subset: commoncrawl


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Oxford University Press – Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality, by Robert M. Geraci – Buy on Amazon.
From the publishers' site: "Description: Apocalyptic AI, the hope that we might one day upload our minds into machines or cyberspace and live forever, is a surprisingly wide-spread and influential idea, affecting everything from the world view of online gamers to government research funding and philosophical thought. In Apocalyptic AI, Robert Geraci offers the first serious account of this "cyber-theology" and the people who promote it.
Drawing on interviews with roboticists and AI researchers and with devotees of the online game Second Life, among others, Geraci illuminates the ideas of such advocates of Apocalyptic AI as Hans Moravec and Ray Kurzweil. He reveals that the rhetoric of Apocalyptic AI is strikingly similar to that of the apocalyptic traditions of Judaism and Christianity. In both systems, the believer is trapped in a dualistic universe and expects a resolution in which he or she will be translated to a transcendent new world and live forever in a glorified new body. Equally important, Geraci shows how this worldview shapes our culture. For instance, Apocalyptic AI has influenced funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation, helping to prioritize robotics and AI research. It has become the ideology of choice for online gamers, such as those involved in Second Life; it has had a profound impact on the study of the mind; and it has inspired scientists and theologians alike to wonder about the super robots of the future. Should we think of robots as persons? What kind of morality would intelligent robots espouse?
Apocalyptic AI has become a powerful force in modern culture. In this superb volume, Robert Geraci shines a light on this belief system, revealing what it is and how it is changing society."
Note: Google Books has a limited preview. But I recommend buying the book.
Geraci defines Apocalyptic AI as a modern cultural and religious trend originating in the popular science press: "Popular science authors in robotics and artificial intelligence have become the most influential spokespeople for apocalyptic theology in the Western world… Apocalyptic AI advocates promise that in the very near future technological progress will allow us to build supremely intelligent machines and to copy our own minds into machines so that we can live forever in a virtual realm of cyberspace… Ultimately, the promises of Apocalyptic AI are almost identical to those of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic traditions. Should they come true, the world will be, once again, a place of magic."
The main Apocalyptic AI authors are Marvin Minsky, Ray Kurzweil and, especially, Hans Moravec, to whom much of Chapter 2 is dedicated. Geraci emphasizes the importance of Moravec's seminal 1978 essay on Today's Computers, Intelligent Machines and Our Future for the formulation of the Apocalyptic AI memeset. Robert made me aware that, in this article, Moravec may have been the first to formulate the Apocalyptic AI idea of resurrection of the dead by copying them to the future: "The machine society can, and for its own benefit probably should, take along with it everything we consider important, up to and including the information in our minds and genes. Real live human beings, and a whole human community, could then be reconstituted if an appropriate circumstance ever arose". In a 1992 essay titled Pigs in Cyberspace, Moravec may have been the first to formulate (in modern terms) the Apocalyptic AI idea of our reality as a simulation: "An evolving cyberspace becomes effectively ever more capacious and long lasting, and so can support ever more minds of ever greater power. If these minds spend only an infinitesimal fraction of their energy contemplating the human past, their sheer power should ensure that eventually our entire history is replayed many times in many places, and in many variations. The very moment we are now experiencing may actually be (almost certainly is) such a distributed mental event, and most likely is a complete fabrication that never happened physically." See also my article CTRL-ALT-R: Another Life, partly inspired by conversations with Robert.
Moravec's 1978 essay first appeared on the popular science fiction magazine Analog, and Geraci emphasizes the importance of science fiction in modern culture, science and technology. Science fiction may be a window on the future, but it is certainly a window on the present, and it provides snapshots of the zeitgeist and the deeper memes, hopes and fears of our society. Also, Life imitates Art: scientists and especially engineers are inspired by science fiction, and do their best to turn it into reality. Science fiction and popular science books have an enormous influence on the popular culture and a deep impact on actual science policy and funding decisions. Geraci is well aware of the social dimension of scientific and technodevelopment, which does not happen spontaneously but must be seen as part of a social framework: science and technology are driven by social and cultural phenomena, and in turn they influence society and culture in a continuous feedback loop. In particular, Geraci thinks religions (and in particular Western religions) have been a very important factor in the development of science and technology, which are now beginning to shape religions in turn.
Among the science fiction novels featured in the book, Marvin Minsky's The Turing Option, with a very readable explanation of Minsky's thoughts on Artificial Intelligence, Sir Arthur Clarke's The City and the Stars, with the first (1956) description of mind uploading, and William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer. In Neuromancer, Gibson introduced the concept of cyberspace, which became a meeting point of counterculture and computer science and prepared the way for the emergence of the Internet and virtual worlds like Second Life: a powerful example of the deep impact of science fiction literature on science, technology, culture and society.
According to Geraci, Apocalyptic AI is a religion: it is a religion based on science, without deities and supernatural phenomena, but with the apocalyptic promises of religions. And he thinks that, while the Apocalyptic AI religion has a powerful but often hidden presence in our culture, the Transhumanist community embraces it openly and explicitly. Transhumanism is first defined as "a new religious movement", and throughout the book Geraci continues to see it as a modern religion. This may shock and upset many transhumanists readers who proudly see themselves as champions of science and rationality against religious superstition. Not this reader, though. I remember my first impressions after joining the Extropy mailing list in the late 90s. I thought, this is a powerful new religion for the new millennium. Fortunately I did not write it: if I had, I would probably have been booted from the list immediately, and now I expect some transhumanists will unfriend me on Facebook and the transhumanist social networks, but perhaps they have already done so since I have been writing about this for years. I am honored to see many of my essays quoted and discussed in Apocalyptic AI.
Robert does not write as a True Believer in Apocalyptic AI (aka Robot Cultist), but rather as a sociologist and an anthropologist observing an interesting cultural and social trend. But he is certainly a friendly observer: Chapter 3 of the book is entirely dedicated to his long field recog mission behind transhumanist lines in Second Life. He attended the 2007 Seminar on Transhumanism and Religion in SL (see page 99 for a picture of our beloved transhumanist avatar Extropia DaSilva giving her lecture) and many events related to transhumanism and religion in 2008 and 2009. In the process, he became a friendly observer in our community, and a good friend of many transhumanist users of Second Life.
Bill Bainbridge, whose work is also extensively featured in the book, has given many lectures in Second Life and written two articles (1981 and 2009) on Religion for a Galactic Civilization: "it is wrong to feel that irrational religion must always be a hindrance to progress. I have suggested that only a transcendent, impractical, radical religion can take us to the stars." Perhaps Geraci is persuaded that we may need such a new Galactic Religion, and he quotes an interesting exchange (pp. 374 and 375 of The Singularity is Near), where Ray Kurzweil and Bill Gates agree that we need a new religion, based on science.
A new religion, based on science, has been proposed by the Order of Cosmic Engineers (OCE), of which Bainbridge has been one of the founders. Robert Geraci has witnessed the birth of the Order in the cyberspaces of World of Warcraft and Second Life, where the foundation of the OCE was announced at the Conference on The Future of Religions – Religions of the Future, on June 4 and 5, 2008. He writes: "The Order of Cosmic Engineers… is a remarkable fusion of transhumanist religious ideals and life in virtual worlds. It is a group whose aims were presented by Moravec and Kurzweil but which now sees itself in the historically enviable position of pioneer." I should add that, after the online publication of Bainbridge's revised version of Religion for a Galactic Civilization and Ben Goertzel's Cosmist Manifesto in 2009, the OCE has entered a reflexion phase and a subgroup is drafting a systematic framework for a synthetic religion.
Chapter 4 outlines some frequently discussed issues in robotics and AI, for example: Can Artificial Intelligences be conscious, and how can we prove they are conscious? Should AI robots have rights? Can society adapt to robot citizens? How can humans and robots live together? The last question is especially problematic, and thinkers like Moravec and Hugo de Garis believe the era of biological humans will soon be over. In Chapter 5, on The Integration of Religion, Science, and Technology, Geraci writes "Apocalyptic AI, as a successful integration of religion, science, and technology, offers a challenge to the conventional approach in the study of religion and science", but he does not think religion and science can be integrated, or peacefully coexist, without serious problems.
I liked the book very, very much. But, in a book review, I am supposed to criticize something. What I wish to criticize, is the excessive emphasis on "dualism" in Apocalyptic AI: machines against bodies, minds against brains, software against meat, cyberspace against meatspace. Extreme dualism may be a defining feature of a simplified, black and white Apocalyptic AI caricature, but I don't think it is a defining feature of modern transhumanism. We tend to see a continuum of shades of grey instead of black and white extremes.
I don't see myself as a dualist. I think our bodies and brain are machines, in the sense that they are physical systems which obey the laws of physics and can be, in principle, fully understood, reverse engineered and improved. I think they are good machines, but I also think we can build better machines. We don't hate our biological bodies and brains, shaped by evolution over hundreds of millions of years, but we think in a few decades or a couple of centuries we will be able to engineer much better physical supports for our minds, and we will enter a new phase of directed evolution, toward Moravec's apocalyptic vision.


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Inventions: CMOS Image Sensor
By Lee Michaelides
Co-Inventor: Professor Eric Fossum
What ubiquitous consumer product came out of the space program?
The right answer isn't Tang, but CMOS: complementary metal-oxide semiconductor active pixel image sensor. You may not recognize the name, but chances are you've got several around the house. Practically every cell phone, digital camera or laptop computer that creates a digital image uses one. The CMOS sensor not only spawned a digital revolution, but also earned its co-inventor, Thayer professor Eric Fossum, a place in the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Back in the 1990s Fossum led a team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab that came up with CMOS technology as a way to reduce the size of cameras launched on interplanetary spacecraft. Fossum also foresaw the terrestrial uses for his invention, and in 1995 he and lab colleagues started Photobit, a company that licensed the CMOS technology from NASA. A decade later Photobit's successor company sold its 1 billionth sensor.
Today Fossum, who joined the Thayer faculty in 2010, teaches classes in electronic devices and circuits and the "Introduction to Innovation" class in Thayer's Ph.D. Innovation Program. He's also credited with more than 240 publications and 135 patents. (And he has a dozen more pending.) His most recent patent, No. 7,916,193 B2, for an "Interpolator for a CMOS image sensor using a digital register" was granted March 29, five weeks before his May 4 Hall of Fame induction.
Categories: Inventionscomments powered by Disqus


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Discussion in 'Job Offers' started by sujan.dasmahapatra, May 8, 2013.
We need to hire a developer based in India, if based in Kolkata, then there is possibility for hiring after 3-4 months on full-time, but currently any location is fine. C++ and Golang would be an added advantage. Please send your resume to me 'email@example.com'. It'll be a freelance work, very good opportunity for freelancers. 5-7 years experience professional needed.
Separate names with a comma.


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The HP Photosmart D7460 offers a lot of great features at a decent price. For $180, you get a network-ready printer (wireless too!) with a handy touch screen that makes navigating menus a breeze. While we liked using this model, its performance gives us pause. Although it was speedy with text prints, it was much more pokey with 4x6 photo prints, and the print quality could use some tweaking. The Photosmart D7460 is a good fit for casual home users who want a photo-oriented general-purpose printer that can produce decent snapshots as well as fast text prints. If you don't mind slow text prints, check out the Epson Stylus R380: it makes quick work of 4x6 photos and offers the add feature of printing directly on specially coated CDs and DVDs. It's not networked, however.
The HP Photosmart D7460 looks a lot like other members of the Photosmart printer line. The brushed-silver-and-white body stands 18.2 inches wide, 15.3 inches deep, and 6.8 inches tall, and weighs a very manageable 17.6 pounds. Protected behind a clear plastic door live four memory card slots that accept most types of cards; some card types require an adapter, which is not included. The front-mounted USB port is PictBridge-enabled, which means you can print directly from PictBridge cameras. You can also use it to connect and print from storage devices such as USB thumb drives.
Although this printer does resembled older Photosmart models, the major difference is the distinct lack of buttons on the user interface. The reason for this is that the 3.5-inch color LCD is a touch screen. HP has moved most of the direct-print capabilities and functions to the touch screen, leaving the control panel clean. The only buttons are the cancel, red-eye removal, and print photos buttons. The touch screen is mounted in a panel that swivels through a 90-degree range, letting you optimize the viewing angle. The screen is large, colorful, and responsive.
The Photosmart D7460's paper-handling design is typical of HP's Photosmart printers. The unit comprises the output tray and two input trays. The main input tray sits at the bottom and pulls out for easy loading. Adjustable paper guides allow you to load various paper sizes--as many as 100 sheets of plain paper. Immediately above the main tray is the dedicate photo paper tray that holds 4x6 sheets and smaller. The nice thing about this paper tray is that it engages automatically, so you don't have to push it in manually in order to print from that tray. Above both input trays is the output tray, with an extendable arm for corralling long prints. A clear window lets you see if the photo paper tray is empty, while the output tray flips up for loading photo paper.
This printer uses six-color printing, with individual ink cartridges for less waste. The 10mL black cartridge costs $18 to replace and prints roughly 480 pages. Each color tank holds 4mL and costs $10 to replace. The number of prints each can produce varies by color, as some colors are more commonly used than others. For example, the light magenta and light cyan are rated to print more pages because they're used less often than the regular magenta and cyan. Based on HP's estimates of the number of pages produced per cartridge, we estimate that a black-only page costs about 2.6 cents and a full-color (six colors) page costs about 10.3 cents--both costs are good. Unfortunately, HP does not offer XL versions of these cartridges for this printer.
The Photosmart D7460 not only comes network-ready, but it offers both wired (Ethernet) and wireless (802.11g) connectivity to boot. A wireless setup wizard will search your area for available networks and walk you through the process of connecting to one. A small, blue LED on the front of the printer lights when you're connected wirelessly. This model does not come with an auto duplexer, but HP does offer an optional add-on unit. If you don't care to purchase the auto duplexer, the printer driver will assist you with manual duplex operations.
As mentioned above, you can print directly from a PictBridge camera, a memory card, or a USB storage device. The methods for printing from the latter two are the same. When you plug in either one, the touch screen switches to the Photosmart Express screen. Here, you can start by choosing View, Print, Create, Share, or Save. The View option automatically pulls up a nine-image thumbnail view. You can simply touch one of the images to zoom in on it, or scroll through your images, nine at a time. At this point, you can print all the images by pressing Print Photos button on the printer. Happily, the D7460 asks you to verify that you really want to do this. If you choose to zoom in on an individual photo, you can preview the print or edit the image. Edit options include rotate, crop, red-eye removal, photo fix, add frame, brightness, and color effect. As you step through the images, you can print them individually or go back and add images to the batch before printing.
If, from the main screen, you select Print, the wizard starts you off by asking you to select a print layout. Options include 4x6, 5x7, 8.5x11, and multi-image layouts on 8.5x11 paper, including an index. Because the D7460 lacks a scanner, the index is for reference only (file names are included). You can fit as many as 63 images on one sheet. After you select the layout, the procedure is the same as outlined above.


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Pale Fire (1962)
Modern Library Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century (53)
Pale Fire is, I think, a brilliant parody of Literary Criticism. However, it's barely a novel and it hardly warrants it's 200 pages, so I don't think it should make the list.
The structure of Pale Fire is unique. It contains a long poem by "John Shade" & then 200+ pages of commentary on the poem by "Charles Kinbote". Kinbote emerges as a complete lunatic over the course of his commentary, reading meanings into Shade's work that are obviously unsupportable.
Nabokov, thus, shows that critics bring such a subjective perspective to the works they critique, that they can hardly be considered an appropriate prism through which to view the original work. I heartily agree with the point, but it becomes somewhat labored when stretched to this length.
Grade: (B)
See also:Vladimir Nabokov (3 books reviewed)
General Literature
Literary Criticism
Anthony Burgess : 99 Best Modern Novels (1934-84)
Modern Library Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century
-Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977)(kirjasto)
-ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA: Your search: "vladimir nabokov"
-Life & Times : Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) (NY Times)
-REVIEW: of The Silence of the Sea, by Hilaire Belloc (Vladimir Nabokov, NY Times, 1941)
-REVIEW: of Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre (Vladimir Nabokov, NY Times, 1949)
-REVIEW: of AUDOBON'S BUTTERFLIES, MOTHS AND OTHER STUDIES. Compiled and Edited by Alice Ford (Vladimir Nabokov, NY Times, 1952)
-REVIEW: Vladimir Nabokov: Rowe's Symbols, NY Review of Books
Nabokov's Deceptive World by William Woodin Rowe
-ESSAY: Nabokov's Butterflies (Vladimir Nabokov, The Atlantic)
-ESSAY: Vladimir Nabokov: On Translating Pushkin POUNDING THE CLAVICHORD, NY Review of Books
-ESSAY: Vladimir Nabokov: TRANSLATION, NY Review of Books
-ESSAY: Vladimir Nabokov: LUNAR LINES, NY Review of Books
-STORY: "Cloud, Castle, Lake" (Nabokov, The Atlantic, June 1941)
-STORY: The Aurelian (Vladimir Nabokov, The Atlantic, June 1941)
-STORY: Vladimir Nabokov. The Assistant Producer (1943)
-STORY: Vladimir Nabokov. A Forgotten Poet (1944)
-STORY: Signs and Symbols Vladimir Nabokov
-STORIES: Vladimir Nabokov: Two by Nabokov, NY Review of Books
-ARTICLE: Nonfiction: Nabokov Theory on Butterfly Evolution Is Vindicated (CARL ZIMMER, 1/25/11, NY Times)
-Literary Research Guide: Vladimir Nabokov (1899 - 1977)
-FEATURED AUTHOR: Celebrating Nabokov's Centenary (The New York Times)
-OBIT: Vladimir Nabokov, Author of 'Lolita' and 'Ada,' Is Dead (ALDEN WHITMAN, NY Times)
-OBIT: Vladimir Nabokov: 1899-1977 (R.Z. SHEPPARD, TIME)
-100 Years Vladimir Nabokov (Random House)
-the international vladimir nabokov society
-The Nabokronology: a guide to Vladimir Nabokov's life and works
-{ w a x w i n g } the vladimir nabokov appreciation site
-Ardis Picture Archives: Nabokov
-Soapbox Collage: Vladimir Nabokov
-Nabokov Under Glass: The Nabokov Archive in the Berg Collection at the New York Public Library
-CNN In-Depth Specials on Nabokov: "Beyond Lolita: Rediscovering Nabokov on his birth centennial"
-Vladimir Nabokov
-ESSAY: The gay Nabokov: The novelist never could face the secret that cost his brother his life (LEV GROSSMAN, Salon)
-ESSAY: Vladimir Nabokov and William Shakespeare (Philip F Howerton, Jr., Winter 1990 Shakespeare Oxford Society Newsletter)
-ESSAY: The Nabokov gambit : They failed with Lolita (twice) and now they've failed with The Luzhin Defence. Why do the novels of the great prose sorcerer Vladimir Nabokov always defeat the film-makers? (Steven Poole, Books Unlimited)
-REVIEW ESSAY: How I found solace in Nabokov's Speak, Memory during the pandemic: Nabokov's remembrances granted reprieve from the new abnormal and – crucially – guidance on how to navigate it (Ryan Chapman, 13 Sep 2020, The Guardian)
-REVIEW: of Speak, Memory Evidence of the Hunt, Clues of a Past (ELIOT FREMONT-SMITH, NY Times)
-REVIEW: D.J. Enright: Nabokov's Way, NY Review of Books
The Waltz Invention by Vladimir Nabokov
The Eye by Vladimir Nabakov
Despair by Vladimir Nabokov
Speak, Memory: An Autobiography Revisited by Vladimir Nabokov
Escape Into Aesthetics: The Art of Vladimir Nabokov by Page Stegner
-REVIEW: The Reality of the Past: Book review of 'Speak, Memory' (JAN. 20, 1967, TIME)
-REVIEW: of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov The Tragedy of Man Driven by Desire (ELIZABETH JANEWAY, NY Times)
-REVIEW: of Lolita (Orville Prescott, NY Times)
-REVIEW: of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (Charles Rolo, The Atlantic, SEPTEMBER 1958)
-REVIEW: To the End of Night: Book review of 'Lolita' (SEPT. 1, 1958, TIME)
-ESSAY: The Lolita Case (Time, 1958)
-REVIEW: of Pale Fire In an Elaborate Spoof, Nabokov Takes Us to the Never-Never Land of Zembla (GEORGE CLOYNE, Sunday, May 27, 1962, NY Times)
-REVIEW: of Pale Fire (Christopher Keep, Tim McLaughlin)
-REVIEW: V.S. Pritchett: The Magician's Trick, NY Review of Books
The Enchanter by Vladimir Nabokov and translated by Dmitri Nabokov
-REVIEW: V.S. Pritchett: The Supreme Fairy Tale, NY Review of Books
Lectures on Don Quixote by Vladimir Nabokov
-REVIEW: John Bayley: The Novelist as Pedagogue, NY Review of Books
Lectures on Russian Literature by Vladimir Nabokov
-REVIEW: Robert M. Adams: Nabokov's Show, NY Review of Books
Lectures on Literature: British, French, and German Writers by Vladimir Nabokov
-REVIEW: V.S. Pritchett: Nabokov's Touch, NY Review of Books
Look at the Harlequins! by Vladimir Nabokov
Strong Opinions by Vladimir Nabokov
-REVIEW: Michael Wood: Tender Trousers, NY Review of Books
Transparent Things by Vladimir Nabokov
-REVIEW: V.S. Pritchett: Genesis, NY Review of Books
Glory by Vladimir Nabokov, translated by Dimitri Nabokov
The Scorpion God by William Golding
-REVIEW: Jack Richardson: It's About Time, NY Review of Books
Mary by Vladimir Nabokov and translated by Michael Glenny
-REVIEW: Matthew Hodgart: Happy Families, NY Review of Books
ADA or Ardor: A Family Chronicle by Vladimir Nabokov
-REVIEW: William H. Gass: Mirror, Mirror, NY Review of Books
King, Queen, Knave by Vladimir Nabokov
Nabokov: The Man and His Work edited by L.S. Dembo
Keys to Lolita by Carl R. Proffer
-REVIEW: Edmund Wilson: The Strange Case of Pushkin and Nabokov, NY Review of Books
Eugene Onegin A Novel in Verse by Alexandr Pushkin, translated by Vladimir Nabokov
-RESPONSE: Vladimir Nabokov: LETTERS: THE STRANGE CASE OF NABOKOV AND
WILSON, NY Review of Books
-REVIEW: Harry Levin: A Contest Between Conjurors, NY Review of Books
The Nabokov-Wilson Letters: Correspondence Between Vladimir Nabokov and Edmund Wilson, 1940-1971
-REVIEW: Robert M. Adams: Nabokov's Game, NY Review of Books
The Defense by Vladimir Nabokov
-REVIEW: of Nabokov's Congeries (Anthony Burgess, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW: of The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov (1995, John Updike, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW: Robert M. Adams: The Wizard of Lake Cayuga, NY Review of Books
Vladimir Nabokov: The American Years by Brian Boyd
-REVIEW: V.S. Pritchett: Nabokov's Game, NY Review of Books
Nabokov: His Life in Part by Andrew Field
-REVIEW: Denis Donoghue: Absolute Pitch
Nabokov: His Life in Art: A Critical Narrative by Andrew Field
-REVIEW: of V E r a ( Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov ) BY STACY SCHIFF (MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, Salon)
-REVIEW: of Vera by Stacy Schiff Behind the Mask of Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov (Katherine Knorr, International Herald Tribune)
-REVIEW: of NABOKOV'S BLUES: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius By Kurt Johnson and Steve CoatesThe Ardent Collector (Donald Smith, Washington Post Book World)
-ESSAY: Freeing "Pale Fire" From Pale Fire: The next big Nabokov controversy. (Ron Rosenbaum, July 23, 2010, Slate)
-ESSAY: The Year of 'Lolita' (Brian Boyd, NY Times Book Review)
-ESSAY: "Lolita," My Mother-in-Law, the Marquis de Sade, and Larry Flynt: Reflections on art, pornography, and censorship, after the taboos have all been smashed (Norman Podhoretz, Commentary)
-ESSAY: PERSONAL BEST: Lolita (MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, Salon)
-ESSAY: PERSONAL BEST: Lolita (AMY TAN, Salon)
-ESSAY: Vladimir Nabokov: A personal centenary salute (John Yewell, MetroActive)
-ESSAY: F.W. Dupee: Nabokov: the Prose and Poetry of It All, NY Review of Books
Book-related and General Links:
-Life & Times : Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977) (NY Times)
-Analysis from the Electronic Labyrinth
English 102 Lolita Page
w a x w i n g the vladimir nabokov appreciation page
-ESSAY : PALE FIRE (Glasgow Phillips, Blue Lawn)
-REVIEW: of Pale Fire In an Elaborate Spoof, Nabokov Takes Us to the Never-Never Land of Zembla (GEORGE CLOYNE, NY Times, 1962)
-REVIEW: of Nabokov's Pale Fire: The Magic of Artistic Discovery By BRIAN BOYD (DANIEL ZALEWSKI, NY Times Book Review)
-REVIEW: of Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (Charles Rolo, The Atlantic, SEPTEMBER 1958)
-Personal Best (MARY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, Salon)
-REVIEW: Professor Nabokov (John Updike, NY Review of Books)
-REVIEW: of Nabokov: His Life in Art: A Critical Narrative by Andrew Field (Denis Donoghue, NY Review of Books)
-REVIEW: of NABOKOV'S BLUES: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius By Kurt Johnson and Steve CoatesThe Ardent Collector (Donald Smith, Washington Post Book World)
If you liked Pale Fire, try:
A.S. Byatt
What's up Orrin. Nice site. But it is also, Pale Fire, it is also about the way maniacs (Kinbote) get way too wrapped up into art. Don't you think?
- fairest.blogspot.com
- Jan-05-2004, 12:46
Copyright 1998-2015 Orrin Judd


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This short film illustrates a day in the life at Pacific Rim National Park. Located on Vancouver Island, the park houses giant trees, drooping moss and beautiful ocean views that provide breathtaking material for an eager eye.
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Hats off to the creator for creating such scenes on the screen!ashtavakra, 21 Apr 2011


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ReBooty: Monkey Island FPS Revealed
'Tis the season for it, apparently. Next from the roster of beloved PC games from the 90s to get a suitably modern first-person shooter remake is classic point and click adventure The Secret Of Monkey Island – now reimagined as an action title. "Time has moved on," said LucasGames chief modernisation officer Ian Koticiello. "We're big fans of the original Monkey Island(TM), we're definitely paying as much homage to it as we can – bringing across the essence of the world, the core essence of what it is to be an inept wannabe pirate with a glock safe action pistol."
M.O.N.K.E.Y., due in Q3 2012, "takes that viewpoint from the original game and zooms into Jack Threepwood's head." Featuring visceral pirate- and zombie-shooting action, a recharging Grog system and a extensive multiplayer mode which faithfully homages the original game by enabling gamers to take direct control over six beloved Monkey Island(TM) series characters in brutal deathmatch arenas, M.O.N.K.E.Y. brings this dark and gritty saga of high seas combat and undead horror to a whole new audience. You can see the first footage below.
Oh dear, you lot aren't going to be very happy about this, are you? More details here.
(Thanks to Joe Martin for the tip).
Edit: Apparently that's just the console version. The PC version is going to look much better:


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Parents angered over changes to school bus routes
Carrier claims girl wasn't on First Student bus
The father of a girl who was left alone after apparently getting onto the wrong school bus insists his daughter boarded a First Student bus.
But the company said it reviewed all video from buses along the route, and all drivers said they hadn't picked up the girl.
"You can read the side of a bus," said father Brandon Moneyham.
The story reveals a larger issue about the way parents are notified about changes to the routine.
"They've changed their times, their pickup places, three times, and the only way you find out until you see them," Moneyham said.
Parent Nina Waller said her children usually wait on the north side of the street, but Friday the bus stopped on the south side and her children crossed while the bus waited.
"Opposite side of the street, weren't never supposed to be that way, and they didn't inform me or anything," Waller said.
Charter school King Academy relies on the Cincinnati Schools bus contract with First Student.
Routes change every two weeks to accommodate new students and those who change addresses.
Parents and schools are supposed to be notified.
"The safety of each child that we have on our bus is our No. 1 priority," said Maureen Richmond, safety manager for First Student. "I know that looking even just at the routes this week, it's been consistent over the last several days, for sure."
The daily bus roster emailed to the schools shows how quickly route changes can occur.
Heavenlee Moneyham's stop, effective Thursday, shows morning pickup on the southwest side.
"When I was at the bus stop this morning, I'm like, I understand because this is a different driver, maybe you don't know what's going on," Waller said. "He said, no, they changed. I said, they changed what? Why would you change? Ain't nobody let me know."
Both Cincinnati Public Schools and First Student said their policy is to notify parents of any changes to bus routes.


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AS David Acker greets the class of aspiring emergency medical technicians on the first day of the summer session at Stamford Hospital in Connecticut, you're not exactly sure if he's welcoming them or trying to run them off.
''You get disrespected so much in this job,'' Mr. Acker said, leaning on a lectern in his blue paramedic's uniform at the hospital's Emergency Medical Services Institute. ''At least now it's good we have doctors riding with us in the field, so they can see what it's like when you're lying in the puke in the snowbank at 3 a.m. trying to intubate someone, or when you're bouncing down the highway, going 65 and trying to start an IV. I've been called every name in the book.''
He added: ''I've had 14-year-olds spit in my face. So you're going to get slapped every now and then, but it's O.K. It's a good time out there.''
Well, maybe this didn't sound like everyone's idea of a good time. But, looking at the rapt faces in the auditorium, no one seemed the least bit put off. Not David Hammer of Darien, who is not yet 16. Not Katie Becker of Wilton, Liz Johnston of Westport, or Ben Klingher of Weston, all 16-year-olds from Connecticut's comfortable Fairfield County suburbs. Not any of the high school and college students who made up about two-thirds of the class of 30 students.
Instead, they seemed thoroughly jazzed at the thought of spending much of the summer in 29 sessions on topics like Cardiac Emergencies, Bleeding Soft Tissue Scenarios and Musculoskeletal Head/Spine Lifting and Moving. The goal is to gain E.M.T.-Basic certification, so they, too, can respond to car wrecks, heart attacks, choking infants and the rest, and perhaps end up being vomited on in snowbanks.
''It's not like being a robot in school,'' said Tyler Prince, an alert-looking 17-year-old from Staples High School in Westport. ''You really get to do something. There's real action. I know some kids want to do it because it looks good for college, but if that's why they want to do it, I always try to talk them out of taking the class. It's a great thing to do, but it's way too much work to do unless it's something you really want to do.''
In the fuzzy web of clichés and stereotypes we carry around in our heads about teenagers, being eager-beaver first responders tends not to be the first thought that comes to mind. But the real world for an increasing number of teenagers at suburban high schools these days includes riding around in ambulances, jumping onto fire trucks and doing a lot of the volunteer work their elders are either too busy, too tired or too intimidated to do.
And many then go on to join the campus ambulance corps that are becoming popular at colleges as well. ''You see so many young people getting into this field, it blows me away,'' said Mr. Acker, 51. ''Can you imagine being 16 and wanting to be the one going to car crashes and cutting people out of cars? When I was 16, that kind of blood and guts was the furthest thing from my mind.''
THE Oxford and Cambridge of the youthful emergency volunteers' universe can be found almost four exits up I-95, in Darien, in a rambling two-story building just off the southbound entrance ramp that houses what is almost certainly the most remarkable outfit of its kind in the country.
In other communities, youths help adults staff the volunteer ambulance corps. At Darien Emergency Services Post 53, they pretty much are the volunteer ambulance corps. The 58 young members, ranging from 14-year-old candidates to 17- and 18-year-old crew chiefs certified by the state as emergency medical technicians, provide staffing for shifts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, sleeping overnight in dormitory rooms at the post. They drive the corps' three $100,000 ambulances, operate the radio room that responds to calls, and coordinate an operation with an annual budget of $200,000 that responds to about 1,400 calls a year.
There are about 25 adult members as well. They provide the permanent memory and serve as trainers and mentors. And it is the self-described ''day ladies'' who make up the first crew when school is in session. During that time, two of the ambulances are parked at Darien High School, so students can dash out of class to respond to calls if the other ambulance is in use.


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ArenOcross Returns November 15-17
ARENOCROSS Press Release
ARENOCROSS Races Return to the Livestock Events Center
Reno/Sparks, Nevada - For 23 years, Arenocross has brought together professional and amateur motocross riders for an annual indoor race at Livestock Events Center.
This 3-day-long event takes place November 15 – 17, 2013, with the pro races on Friday, Saturday, and amateur races on Sunday. This unique event is unlike other motocross events, because it takes place in the off-season of motocross/supercross series races. This gives riders a chance to warm up before participating in a full motocross series.
This event also provides a great training ground for young up-and-coming riders before they go on to the bigger motocross series.
Arenocross specifically put "Reno" in its title in order to become more involved with the community. By partnering with local motorcycle shops and other local businesses, Arenocross is aiming to make this motocross race a well-established community event.
While a focus is on the community, many riders travel from out of town to participate in the event. With so many people needing to travel for the event, Director of Operations, Robert Hansen along with the Nugget's Sports Marketing Director, Mike Milligan, had the idea to create a partnership.
"With the high cost of the sport, this is just an amazing offer," said Hansen. "The Nugget and Arenocross really stepped up to the plate, not only are they offering a great rate for the racers but they have extended it to fans and amateur racers as well."
John Ascuaga's Nugget and Arenocross have teamed up for this year's event to offer great room rates and discounted event registration.
When pro riders register online at www.arenocross.com, they have the option to book their room at John Ascuaga's Nugget and receive FREE race entries for the weekend. Amateur racers will receive $10.00 off every race entry when booking one night or more at the Nugget, and Arenocross fans staying at the Nugget also get a discount. Go to the arenocross web page for all the latest information and ticket deals.
"We will be hosting a post-race party at the Nugget," said Milligan, "It will be after the races on Saturday the 16, so be sure to stop by for some fun entertainment!"
Reno/Sparks Event Center
Tickets on line at Ticketmaster
Event Date. Nov.15-17 2013
Doors Open Friday/Saturday 6:30pm
Opening Ceremonies 7:45 p.m.
Racing 8:00 p.m.
Sunday Doors Open 10:00 a.m.
Amateur racing 11:00 a.m.
Free Style show 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
For more information go on line at www.arenocross.com


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Fix problem with Google or YouTube pages appearing in different language when connected to Norton Secure VPN
After you connect to the VPN, Norton Secure VPN masks your IP address and other information that Google uses to determine your language preference. Google's systems attempt to use the information about Norton Secure VPN network to determine your preferred language.
Norton users are all over the world, so using VPN services like Norton Secure VPN makes it difficult for Google to accurately determine your language preference based on the VPN information. As a result, you occasionally see the Google or YouTube pages in a different language other than your preferred language.
In the meantime, if you experience this problem, you can access Google.com without language redirection at:
Help us improve this solution.
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Operating System: Windows
Last modified: 11/19/2019


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This week, Los Angeles got a whiff of the future.
A heinous rotten-egg smell settled into the metropolis, a stench more familiar to residents lining the Salton Sea, some 150 miles to the east. It was this 376-square-mile body of water, created by accident in the middle of the desert over a century ago, that belched up the fetid cloud. And such episodes will continue to plague Southern California as the collapse of the Salton Sea ecosystem accelerates over the coming years.
Considered to be among the world's most vital avian habitats and — until recently — one of its most productive fisheries, the Salton Sea is in a state of wild flux, the scene of fish and bird die-offs of unfathomable proportions. It was the resulting sea-bottom biomass that a storm churned earlier this week, releasing gases that drifted into Los Angeles.
This is just the latest episode in the Salton Sea's long, painful history of sickness and health and booms and busts – a stinky side effect of a great American experiment to civilize the western deserts. By economic measurements, this experiment has been an astounding success. By environmental measurements, it's shaping up to be pure disaster.
These days, in the 115-degree heat of summer the Sea stinks so bad that the reek sticks in your throat like Elmer's Glue. Chemical-laced dust kicked up from its rapidly receding shoreline contributes to an asthma rate for local children three times higher than the state average. It's been variously called a natural wonder, a national embarrassment, paradise, and the ecological equivalent of the Chernobyl disaster.
The saga of the Sea is one of tangled government agencies, farmers whose crops cradle its shores, local Native American tribes, legislators, environmentalists, and private water utilities. It's about politics, ecological frontiers, brutal ironies, and historical wounds still smarting. But more than anything else, it's about water: those who get it, those who don't, and those who outright loot it. The Salton Sea is the latest battle in the American water wars, and without drastic action, in a matter of years it will fall — and bring Southern California down with it.
A Cranky Sea With an Image Problem
In the '90s, Steve Horvitz, then Superintendent of the Salton Sea State Recreation Area, would watch as masses of dying fish struggled up to his beaches. Now, retired to a small Northern California town, he watches golfers struggle up to the green that abuts his backyard. Charismatic, sharp, and highly defensive of the Salton Sea's ills, for a decade Horvitz acted as its de facto representative, battling bad press, bad politics, and outright lies — foremost among them: The Salton Sea is dead and gone.
"It's the opposite of dead," Horvitz says. "It's turning into something that won't support whatever life is in it now, but I take great issue when I read that the Salton Sea is dying. It's not. It's changing."
With no outlets and very little inflow, the Salton Sea, which formed in the early 20th century when engineers flubbed a diversion of the Colorado River, is essentially a giant evaporation pond. What little water does flow into the Sea is highly salty agricultural runoff, so when the desert sun steals the pure water vapor it leaves behind the salt, which accumulates year over year. Currently the Salton Sea is nearly 50 percent saltier than the Pacific Ocean, and getting more and more salty by the day. Tilapia still survive in these conditions, numbering some 400 million, but the Sea can no longer support the wide variety of sport fish that once flourished here.
The stresses on the tilapia are year-round. In the winter, plummeting water temperatures send them belly-up. In the summer, the fish will often suffocate, as both heat and salt prevent oxygen from dissolving in the water. The summer sun, paired with the nourishment of fertilizers in the runoff, cues massive blooms of algae that spread shore to shore. When this algae dies, the bacteria that feeds on it consumes what little oxygen there is left in the Sea. Tilapia caught in these miles-wide blooms haven't the slightest chance of escape.
Indeed, this is the most cruel of the Sea's ironies. To see the rafts of rotting fish and deem the Salton Sea dead, while logical at face value, is to misjudge an absurdly productive body of water. The carcasses add to the nutrient load, jumpstarting a lifecycle that is truly astonishing in its productivity.
Above the surface gathers a remarkable array of birds, fully two-thirds of the species observed in the United States. In a state that has destroyed over 90 percent of its wetlands, the Salton Sea serves as an invaluable stopover in the Pacific Flyway migratory route, which stretches from western Mexico up through Canada.
But in the Sea's churning ecosystem, botulism spreads quickly among the tilapia, which are eaten by the birds. Department of Fish and Game officials will find birds out on the water, dead or dying, and scoop them up and take them to either a rehab facility or the Sea's lone and vexingly tiny incinerator.
The '90s saw the worst of such die-offs, including a four-month apocalypse in 1996 that killed 14,000 birds, nearly 10,000 of which were massive pelicans whose carcasses workers burned 24 hours a day for weeks on end. As if picking up the scent, news vans poured into the Salton Sea State Recreation Area that summer, churning out images without context, and today the Sea is widely characterized as toxic, a fetid swamp not worth saving.
Such episodes, though, are entirely natural. The Salton Sea just presents them on a disquieting scale.
"We realized there was a huge amount of misinformation about the Salton Sea," Horvitz said. "And there still is. That the water is somehow dangerous, that there's pollution in the water, toxic human waste that people think is coming in from the New River," a tributary originating in Mexico.
Compared to this simpler, intellectually lazier vision of toxic catastrophe, Horvitz's narrative is burdensome. It's raw, befuddling science that even the Sea's closest allies have ignored.
Chief among those allies was Sonny Bono. Elected to the House of Representatives halfway through Horvitz's tenure as superintendent, Bono set out to restore the lake where he and his family had lounged during the boom times. He set up committees and drafted legislation, even flying out fellow legislators from Washington, D.C., including Newt Gingrich.
Following a local hearing that Bono had set up, Horvitz lined up next to the congressman and other representatives to indulge the press in interviews. Bono went first.
According to Horvitz, Bono portrayed the Salton Sea as the toxic mess the public had been led to believe it was. "He says, 'Yeah and you can't go in the water, there's signs posted up there not to touch it, everybody's issued away because it's such a terrible place that humans can't touch it.' … Afterwards I called his office and said, 'Hey, you guys said this and it's not accurate.'" An aide responded flatly, "Yeah, I know."
It was an epic political gamble: risk cementing the Sea's reputation as toxic in the hopes of securing funding for its restoration. And it might have worked, but in 1998 the Salton Sea's well-meaning advocate died in a skiing accident. To the surprise of no one, Bono's fellow Republicans let the restoration of the Salton Sea flounder, until the political vortex of 9/11 damned the Salton Sea once again to total obscurity.
The Sea lost another advocate when personal reasons forced Horvitz to transfer later that year up to the redwood forests of Northern California.
Now the Sea lies in watery limbo: far from the paradise it once was, but not yet in total collapse. Enormously expensive fixes are laughed out of Sacramento, which has enough problems keeping schools open. Countless solutions, both for full and partial restorations, still bounce around the Imperial Valley. Huge desalination plants along the Sea's shorelines; two pipelines down to the Gulf of California to ferry bad water out and good water in; construction of berms to cut the Sea down to a more manageable size. Each has a dedicated league of supporters — and an even more dedicated league of opponents.
Whatever the fix, it will require water, and the solution will mean dueling with San Diego and Los Angeles for every drop. It's a battle for which the Salton Sea is woefully equipped.
The Bastard Sea Is Born
The California Development Company was formed at the turn of the 20th century to divert Colorado River irrigation water to the perennially sunny Imperial Valley. The CDC hastily dug an enormous network of canals, but forgot to account for silt buildup. The silt clogged the canals, farmers complained and threatened suit, and the CDC had no choice but to make a new cut in the river.
Workers had barely laid down their shovels when the Colorado sent an unprecedented series of floods through the diversion, which didn't have a single gate to control the flow of water, and into the Salton Basin.
The CDC's management was just about as competent as its original engineers, so attempt after attempt to seal the break failed. Eventually the CDC ceded control to the president of the Southern Pacific Railroad, Edward H. Harriman, who had an economic interest in not having to keep moving rail lines to higher ground and in not having the booming Imperial Valley end up under water, both literally and figuratively.
After several failed attempts, Harriman ordered a trestle extended over the break. He then shut down all rail traffic in and out of Los Angeles for two weeks, loaded all available trains with gravel and rock and ordered them onto the trestle, where they dumped the cargo into the raging river.
In February 1907, after 18 months of struggle, the army of workers was finally able to coax the Colorado River back into the canals. But not before 400 square miles of Salton Sea had formed, which a perplexed Southern California just assumed would soon evaporate. But fed by runoff from the surrounding agriculture, the water level remained relatively steady.
So someone dropped some saltwater fish in. An enterprising bunch planted seaside resorts and unfurled marinas, and by the 1950s the Salton Sea had boomed into a fishing and boating mecca. On the western shore, a shrewd developer laid out Salton City and introduced it to gullible suburbanites in a grand ceremony, complete with an appearance by heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey.
It was California's answer to the French Riviera, at one point attracting more people a year than Yosemite, the iconic national park to the north. Celebrities poured in alongside a steady stream of nuclear families from Los Angeles. The Salton Sea even got its own monster movie: 1957's bizarrely titled film The Monster Who Challenged the World, in which Tim Holt battles giant mollusks of some sort that have taken up residence in the lake.
It only took two tropical storms in the late '70s to wipe it all out. The bulging sea flooded the resorts. Fearing permanently volatile water levels, the ones who could afford to pulled out. Salton City's developer had cashed out and left long before, leaving paved streets with names and no houses. The buildings and trailers that fell victim to the expanding sea remain to this day — gutted, vandalized, burned.
But in the decades before the storms hit, residents were noticing something disquieting: periodic mass die-offs of fish. Scientists would time and time again deem the creatures perfectly healthy and disease-free, blaming the episodes on the Sea's wildly fluctuating temperature and ever-increasing salt content. The problem was accepted as a relatively tolerable occurrence, until August 1999, when 7.6 million oxygen-deprived fish died and washed ashore in a single day.
The Salton Sea had gone rogue.
Dust Bust__
The rapid retreat of the Salton Sea's waterline is exposing a lakebed where a century's worth of agricultural chemicals are pooled. When completely dried, this grit becomes airborne in winds as slow as 5 miles per hour. With the evaporating sea projected to expose 134 square miles of such muck by 2035, it's not difficult to forecast an unprecedented human health crisis in the Imperial Valley.
But in 2003, under pressure from the federal government to reform Southern California water rights, the Imperial Irrigation District, which divvies up water to the Imperial Valley's fertile farm lands, reached a deal that effectively guaranteed the Salton Sea's collapse. The Quantification Settlement Agreement transfers an enormous amount of Colorado River water to San Diego and its equally thirsty northern neighbor, Los Angeles. The deal allots virtually no water for the Salton Sea. The Irrigation District did, however, agree to deliver mitigation water to the Sea until 2017, by which time the state is required to have a large-scale restoration effort ready to go.
All the Sea needs to survive, of course, is more water. But in a state of 37 million people, of agricultural output totaling twice that of any other state, of countless square miles of lawn (including over 1,000 golf courses), the ostensibly dysfunctional sea takes last priority. Now it isn't even allowed scraps. San Diego recently bankrolled the lining of canals around the Sea to ensure that the Colorado River, instead of seeping into the Sea, makes its way toward the coast.
The mitigation water, which is accumulated by asking farmers to fallow their land in exchange for cash, is intended to compensate for this. But the utility wants to stop the delivery of that share entirely, arguing that those few years' worth of water is essentially wasted, since the Sea's shrinkage will accelerate after 2017 anyway. It's better to discontinue fallowing, they reason, and instead use the money to build habitats along the Sea's southern shores that would reduce dust emissions.
"There are downsides to what we're proposing," Bruce Wilcox admitted while sitting in his office on the Imperial Irrigation District's sprawling compound some 20 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. "I guess what we're suggesting is $60 or $70 million would go a long way toward building habitat, which is not a permanent, long-range restoration of the Salton Sea, but is an incremental measure that would prolong the habitat of the Salton Sea."
Wilcox and his team are basing this plan in part on data collected from the Owens Valley, which was left with 100 square miles of dry, pesticide- and fertilizer-infused lakebed after Los Angeles looted water from the Owens Valley in the early 20th century. Today, that valley is the scene of what the U.S. Geological Survey has called "possibly the greatest or most intense human-disturbed dust source on Earth." A dust reduction project there has cost $400 million so far. Losing the Salton Sea entirely would expose more than three times as much lakebed as at Owens.
In an attempt to avoid this disastrous outcome, the Imperial Irrigation District has begun construction of a ring of experimental artificial habitats along the Sea's southern shores. A thin layer of fresh water is piped into sections completely isolated from the rest of the lake, sections which are then stocked with fish. With the ability to move water in and out of the new habitats, scientists can avoid the stagnation and hypersalinity that plagues the Sea at large. Adding vegetation not only holds down the dirt, keeping it from becoming airborne, but also acts as a sort of dust-blocking palisade, which, if strategically grown, can in theory help protect populations downwind.
"We're trying to get smart and identify areas that will blow easier, and the heavier areas where it's more silt and salt," Wilcox said. "This salt is almost of a talcum powder consistency. It's finer than silt. It's amazing. You can walk across it when it's dry and look behind you and there's a dust cloud following you. So how do you control that? The only way I honestly know to control that is either keep water off of it all the time and then it doesn't form so much, or keep water on it all the time."
Once implemented on a large scale, the habitats fashioned with this saturation approach will have the added benefit of supporting the birds that will suffer greatly from the decline of the Salton Sea.
But if the habitats can't fully control the dust, the clouds will knock the birds right out of the air. The dust's high alkali content will rot away the new vegetation, along with billions of dollars of agriculture in the Imperial Valley. But armed with cash, all the data he can get and the cooperation of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wilcox presses on.
"You know, I've done this long enough to know that you can build habitat. Sometimes it's expensive, but you can build it and you can manage it, and we're not too worried about that," Wilcox said. "Between us, the state, and the feds, I think we've got enough brain power — mostly from them, quite frankly — to do it."
An Advocate Picks Up Where Sonny Left Off
California Assemblymember V. Manuel Perez represents Southern California's increasingly dusty 80th district, counting the Salton Sea among his constituents. The big blue blob is a festering sore in the land of many ills — Perez also has the regrettable task of tackling Imperial Valley's unreal unemployment rate, the highest in the nation, which meanders between 25 and 30 percent.
For Perez, restoring the Salton Sea is not just an environmental responsibility. It's a potential windfall for the people of the Imperial Valley, who so desperately need the jobs that the Sea provided in its boom times. So Perez is picking up where Sonny Bono left off.
In February 2011, he sponsored legislation that would have transferred authority for the Sea's restoration from a Sacramento-based body called the Salton Sea Restoration Council, which never actually met since its creation in 2010, back to a local entity, the 20-year-old Salton Sea Authority. This bill, however, died in an appropriations committee last month. A modified version came late to the State Assembly session, and never got out of a rules committee before the session ended. Perez will have to resubmit new legislation when the Assembly reconvenes.
"I feel like it's necessary that we do what we can to try to advance our bill where we would give that local control, local authority, to individuals who are very connected to that sea," Perez said of the original bill in May.
But for many trust in the localized Salton Sea Authority evaporated in 2003 when it voted to support the Quantification Settlement Agreement. On the Authority's board sat officials from local water agencies who signed away their water, which trickles into the Salton Sea through run-off, to San Diego. It was a blatant conflict of interest, claims Horvitz, the retired Superintendent of the Salton Sea State Recreation Area.
"That was the turning point, where the Salton Sea Authority started for that era to become irrelevant," Horvitz said.
Still, Horvitz thinks it may be the only entity capable of tackling the job. Indeed, cost-cutting California Governor Jerry Brown singled out the Salton Sea Restoration Council for elimination, and signed its death warrant with the state's budget in June, so the Salton Sea Authority is the only authority left. It's yet another of the Sea's many ironies: Brown's attempt to cut the Salton Sea out the budget could land it in the hands of a group whose plans would cost the state even more money.
Before stepping aside for the Restoration Council in 2010, the Salton Sea Authority had proposed a $9 billion fix – which would have divided the Sea into two sections, an uninhabitable brine pool and a manageable habitat – that today is laughable. Perez's original bill asked for $2 million from a restoration fund for the Authority to explore a new fix with a feasibility study.
"It may be a plan that's going to cost $4 billion, which is still a lot of money," Perez said. "Or even $3 billion. Regardless, though, it's going to be a plan to be phased in over time, and looking at private resources perhaps to bring in those dollars, and at the same time trying to figure out where state government would play a role, if they so choose, and to what degree."
Perez sees solar and geothermal power, resorts, donated habitats, all done with private capital from those with a vested interest in the Sea.
Selling this idea must of course happen before the impending collapse of the Salton Sea ecosystem, when ever-increasing salt content becomes too much for the remaining 400 million tilapia, and before the receding shoreline turns the Imperial Valley into a dust bowl. Alternatively, Perez, the Salton Sea Authority, and the 160,000 residents of the Imperial Valley and another 600,000 to the north in Coachella Valley might hope the feds finally pump water back into the Sea when the toxic dust storms make what happened in Owens Valley look like a fleeting puff of smoke.
And so the Salton Sea stands with one foot in purgatory and one in hell. To simply survive for a while in purgatory, much less make it to paradise, will require a massive public-relations battle and a fierce fight for cash waged in the shadow of San Diego, that economic juggernaut of water-soaked McMansions and golf courses. And it will require a feat of environmental engineering like none other the American West has ever seen.


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One of Roy Keane's most admirable qualities is that he will not have spent all morning Googling and hashtag-searching his own name on Twitter to gauge the level of hostility he has provoked among certain Manchester United fans for "crimes" seemingly ranging from treason to apostasy. He simply couldn't care.
On Tuesday night, after his former club's defeat by Real Madrid, he said in his role as an ITV pundit that the decision of the referee, Cuneyt Cakir, to send Nani off was "the right call", an opinion that has inflamed some of the millions who disagree with him and their advice over the past few hours has included proposals that he perform an anatomically impossible act, calls for his sacking by the broadcaster and suggestions on how to spend his "30 pieces of silver".
The oddest thing about the abuse is this sense of betrayal. Some supporters seem to feel genuinely let down by Keane as if his loyalty had somehow become perverted by malice. But how can anyone who has any knowledge of his outspokenness as a player – in 2000 after booing during a Champions League victory over Dynamo Kyiv he said of United's corporate fans "they have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, I don't think some of the people who come to Old Trafford can spell football, never mind understand it", his anger that United linked the rise in season ticket prices in the summer of 2000 to the cost of his new contract, his view that Jaap Stam's transfer to Lazio in 2002 signified football clubs treating players as "pieces of meat" and Saipan – think that he would feel a debt to the club that would curtail his right to be fearlessly frank on television? That he would silence himself?
After all he was even more fearlessly frank and furious on MUTV in October 2005, following Manchester United's 4-1 defeat by Middlesbrough when he was interviewed on the channel's Play the Pundit programme. First he described Kieran Richardson as a "lazy defender", questioned why "people in Scotland rave about Darren Fletcher" and said of Rio Ferdinand: "Just because you are paid £120,000-a-week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham, you think you are a superstar." The programme was pulled and the issue became a huge source of embarrassment to the club and particularly Sir Alex Ferguson who decided the best way forward for club and player was to terminate Keane's contract. "I was disappointed the way I was treated at the end, nobody will change that," Keane said last year. "But that doesn't mean to say I'm bitter and twisted towards Man Utd. Far from it."
That, obviously, is not how his critics see it. The very qualities Manchester United fans used to praise – his obdurateness, intolerance for slackness in deed and thought, his perception of himself as a Cork Hercules cleaning up the game's bullshit merchants, his feistiness and lack of sentimentality – are the very ones some now claim to have warped all notions of his duty to the club.
All he said was that he disagreed with the received wisdom that Cakir's interpretation of Nani's collision with Alvaro Arbeloa was wrong. That Nani's boot hit the Real Madrid full-back is a fact. The rest is a debate about the referee's judgment and in Keane's view: "I think the referee has actually made the right call. Everyone's upset about it and it's slightly unlucky, but it's dangerous play. Whether he meant it or not is irrelevant. It was dangerous play – it's a red card. You have to be aware of other players on the pitch. Does he think he's going to have 20 yards to himself?"
When ITV first began the televised football revolution at the 1970 World Cup, Malcolm Allison, Pat Crerand, Bob McNab and Derek Dougan were known as opinionators not pundits. Over the past few years you cannot read anything about the BBC's coverage of football without reading a condemnation of how bland the punditry is and yet when Keane offers what we can only presume given his character is his honest opinion, he is attacked for supposed heresy against Manchester United and hypocrisy because he, too, was once sent off in debatable circumstances.
We know from his famous line about only dead fish going with the flow that he considers the contrarian stance is the honourable one. And while he may enjoy upsetting the cosiness of consensus there is no evidence that he was being insincere or spiteful. Indeed it is his sincerity and directness that makes him such a compelling television presence. If he really has "burned his bridges" with supporters who feel the load of one opinion they disagree with outweighs the substance of 12 years at Old Trafford, Wembley 1996, Anfield 1997, Turin 1999 and all that, well, frankly, good riddance.


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Morenci planning commission members returned to an old issue Monday night: a drainage problem at Whitman Crossings apartments on W. Coomer Street.
Commissioners are expected to continue discussion at the Oct. 19 meeting.
A letter from the Lenawee County Drain Commission written in March called for the addition of an outlet drain due to standing water in the retention ponds. An outlet to the north was recommended, with easement needed from the city and one other property owner.
Until last month, the planning commission last met in February, city clerk/administrator Renée Schroeder said. For the meeting Sept. 21, she gave members a letter from the PCI Design Group—the engineering firm employed by WODA, owner of Whitman Crossings—that responded to the drain commission's review.
Douglas Weatherby of PCI wrote that since the apartment complex's three retention basins are interconnected, all three would need to fill with water in order to create a problem.
Weatherby said that all three ponds were "basically dry" on Sept. 20. He said that WODA would prefer not to install an outlet pipe "until it has been proven that it is necessary."
Planning commission chair Matt Wozniak was surprised by that report.
"Yes, it's dry right now because we've had a very dry season, but last year it held water when we had a wet season," he said.
Wozniak suggested standing by the drain commission's recommendation. Commissioners voted to send PCI's letter to the drain commission for review.
Since then, engineer David Mitchell of the drain commission office responded with a letter suggesting that the city begin logging the ponds after every weather event that exceeds an inch of precipitation. A city employee should check to see how long the ponds take to become completely dry again.
"This office recommends that water not stand in the basins longer than two days after a storm since this leads to vegetation drying, mosquitoes forming a habitat and other health concerns."
PLANNERS—Wozniak brought up the issue of disbanding the planning commission, as suggested by a city council member. A suggestion was made that council members could handle the duties of the commission.
City attorney Fred Lucas examined state law and determined that either a planning commission or zoning board must be in existence, Schroeder said. The Zoning Board of Appeals is not the same as a zoning board, she added.
The planning commission made a budget request of $10,000 for an update of the city's outdated master plan. Schroeder explained that the city was recovering from a deficit and council wasn't willing to spend that much money on something that wasn't essential at the time.
An updated master plan is important, she said, because grant applications often ask if the city has one.
She said the city's commercial zoning inspector Jacob Barnes has written master plans and he would be willing to speak with commissioners about what needs to be done. Guidance is needed, Wozniak said.
Schroeder said she would add the topic of disbanding the planning commission on the next council agenda for discussion.
CHARTER—Schroeder mentioned the need for updating the City Charter, something that hasn't been done since the 1950s.
She said the process requires a nine-person panel made up of citizens not currently serving on any existing government boards.
Proposed changes must be approved by a vote of the people.


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Tip: Hit Pause by clicking on the Video and allow Video to Buffer for a few, before watching video; it will work smoother.
There are many controls to use in the Player; not all player skins are the same; so I will only show icons from the default player.
The Full Screen Button (I recommend you watch video's full screen; hit Esc to to go back to normal)
The Play Button ; you can also click anywhere in the video to pause or play
The Pause Button ; you can also click anywhere in the video to pause or play
The Progress-bar ; it shows where you are, how many minutes have played and how many minutes total.
The Stop Button
The Volume control
Note: if you change the Player skin in the middle of a video it will restart it from the beginning.
You can Right click on top of the video and pull up a menu.


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We are proud to announce that this May 2nd, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM we will be hosting an Open House at 5789 Westport Road in the Eagle Harbour neighborhood, West Vancouver. This is an opportunity to visit this excellent House for sale in beautiful Eagle Harbour.
Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Eagle Harbour House for sale.
As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-505-7002 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.
Dana Inman & Karen Wiltshire
Royal LePage Sussex-West Vancouver


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John Mayer is releasing a new single called Who You Love, a duet with girlfriend Katy Perry. They posed together for their first official portraits as cover art for the track. More photos were then posted exclusively at Vanity Fair. Shot by Mario Sorrenti (you probably know him best for his work with Kate Moss), there's a late 60s/early 70s vibe to the images, like here:
A little Carly Simon, right?
Jesus. You think they think they're like Carly and James Taylor?
Note though that Katy doesn't need her boyfriend to sell her music. She's doing FINE roaring over there all by herself, just saying.
Yes, it's true. John Mayer has never sat for portraits with one of his women before. But if you say this is the most public he's ever been with a lover, I'll give you a shot of Gossip Nostalgia:
And another:
Do they look good together? Of course. Does that make them irresistible? We do get played, over and over again, by celebrity and beauty don't we?
Click here for more of John and Katy in Vanity Fair.


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Parents' Trial Begins In NKY Infant's Death
The lawyer for a northern Kentucky man said the death of his client's infant daughter was accidental.
Trial began on Monday in Burlington for Benjamin and Laura Senseman.
Defense attorney Wil Zevely told jurors in his opening statement that he couldn't solve the puzzle of Chloe Senseman's death for them, but said his client wasn't guilty of anything.
Prosecutors said they'll show the 2-month-old child died after weeks of abuse by Benjamin Senseman and that the baby's mother Laura Senseman should have known her daughter was being injured.
An autopsy after the baby's July 2009 death showed several broken bones in the process of healing. Both parents are charged with murder and first-degree criminal abuse.
Laura Senseman was charged nearly a year after her husband was arrested.


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Avory Faucette is a trans queer feminist activist, writer, editor, and public speaker. Zie graduated from the University of Iowa with a JD in 2009, focusing on international human rights and gender/sexuality issues in the law. Hir current work focuses on queer identity, policy, and marginalized identities under the queer umbrella. As a genderqueer person, zie comments frequently on non-binary identity, transgender and genderqueer issues, and media coverage of these populations.
Avory's work has been featured at Ms. Magazine Online, RH Reality Check, On the Issues, xoJane, The Frisky, Girl w/ Pen, Feministe, and Feministing and zie writes regularly at the blog Radically Queer. Zie is published in the Journal of Gender, Race, and Justice and several anthologies. Zie is also a graduate of the Women's Media Center's Progressive Women's Voices program and has won numerous social justice awards.
Avory has given workshops and presentations on topics ranging from sexual orientation in international human rights law to polyamory and new media to incorporating ambiguous identities in queer movements. To schedule a talk, workshop, or consulting session, please see the Speaking page for topics. For press inquiries or to request a book review, please see the Press page.