text:
Welcome to the first issue of the fourth volume of Nerd News! It's a biggun. (I apologize if some of this is old news; I had a few links saved prior to break.)
But first:
In movie news:
- Here are a handful of new promo images for Star Trek Into Darkness, along with a seriously badass Empire magazine cover image of Villain!Cumberbatch.
- Some new plot details for the film have also been released.
- The movie will be getting a fancy new app during the Superbowl.
- The first still from Catching Fire has been released, along with shots of Finnick and Katniss in their arena gear.
- Haley Atwell will not reprise her Peggy Carter role in Captain America: Winter Soldier.
- Looks like Hugh Jackman's role in X-Men: Days of Future Past will be a bit longer than the one in X-Men: First Class. And, might the Sentinels be involved?
- Currently rumored to be in the running for Guardians of the Galaxy's lead (Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord): Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) or Zachary Levi (Chuck, Thor 2), Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) or John Krasinksi (The Office).
- The role of Drax the Destroyer might go to Isaiah Mustafa (the Old Spice Guy), Dave Bautista (The Man with the Iron Fists) or Brian Patrick Wade (Generation Kill).
- Here's some info on the characters that will be included in the Justice League movie.
- Guillermo del Toro is moving ahead with his "dark Justice League" DC movie.
- Matt Bomer (White Collar) will voice Superman in Superman: Unbound, a new cartoon releasing on DVD later this year. Castle's Stana Katic and Molly Quinn will have roles as well.
- Bilbo's mom will be in the extra stuff included on the Hobbit DVD?
- Also: Here are 10 trivia facts about the movie.
- J.J. Abrams will not be directing Star Wars VII. Neither will Guillermo del Toro.
- Speaking of—del Toro's Pacific Rim computer, which sounded like GlaDOS in the trailer, won't sound as much like her in the actual film. (Thanks, TGG!)
- Josh Brolin, Chris Meloni and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have all joined Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For.
- Lots of Muppets sequel casting news: Christoph Waltz will be back (for a cameo, at least) and Tina Fey might be playing a Russian gulag prison guard.
- The former director of the new live-action Cinderella (starring Cate Blanchett) was "too grim" for Disney's tastes.
- Pixar has released concept art for the company's next four movies.
- Kristen Stewart will be back for the sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman.
- The new Godzilla movie's script is getting a re-write from Frank Darabont (The Walking Dead).
- Jeff Bridges will be starring in The Giver
as Jeff Bridges.
- This might (?) be the first image of Tom Hardy in the new Mad Max.
- A Prometheus sequel is still in the works, but Damon Lindelof won't be writing it.
- The Shadow of the Colossus video game adaptation now has a writer. (Thanks, TGG.)
- Bill Pullman says the Independence Day sequel is in the planning stages.
Here are a whole bunch of trailers/clips—a few of them red band (i.e., NSFW):
The Blue Umbrella (Pixar's latest short)
The Great Gatsby (Check out the link below for five character posters, too.)
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (RB)
The Heat (RB)
The Last Stand (RB)
Monsters University
Oz: The Great and Powerful
Pacific Rim
These Star Wars and Indiana Jones maps totally one up Family Circus'. (Thanks, Shaun!)
The Star Wars/Disney mashups haven't gotten old yet, particularly when they're this cute.
I am also quite impressed with these one-line illustrations.
In TV news:
- Joss Whedon is currently directing the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot.
- Peter Jackson might be directing an episode of Doctor Who. In other news, Peter Jackson is a huge tease.
- The jerks at NBC keep hitting us while we're down: The head of the network recently mentioned the possibility of a fifth season of Community.
- Glen Mazzara has quit his role as showrunner of The Walking Dead.
- That said, here are some spoilers for the show's season three finale.
- An upcoming episode of How I Met Your Mother will feature more Robin Sparkles and lots of Canadians.
- Arrested Development's fourth season will premiere May 4. Here's some interesting info on how the season will work, episode-wise.
- Lesley Nicol (Downton Abbey's Ms. Patmore) will have a guest-starring role on Once Upon a Time.
- The CW is working on Sherwood, a new Robin Hood with a female lead.
- Jon Favreau will be directing an episode of The Office.
- The Dwight-centric Office spinoff will be seen later this year.
- Mockingbird Lane, the Munsters reboot, has officially been cancelled.
- BBC America has ordered 10 episodes of a new Nerdist talk show.
- The channel will also be airing Broadchurch, a crime miniseries starring both David Tennant and Arthur Davill, later this year.
- Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids) will be hosting the MTV Movie Awards.
- The Axe Cop cartoon will air on FOX's Saturday late-night block starting July 27. (Thanks, TGG.)
A couple of promos:
Doctor Who
The Walking Dead
THE BEST. (I feel I might have posted this before ...)
Doctor Who: Edward Gorey-style. (Thanks, Rebecca!)
Doctor Who: Marty McFly-style.
In comics news:
- Star Wars comics will be returning to Marvel.
- Someone has created a Downton Abbey spoof comic in which Bates is a secret agent.
- The Avengers are firing someone in April.
- Here's a huge spoiler about Spider-Man's future.
- Marvel might be releasing on an all-female X-Men series.
More neat type+heroes:
I'm posting these Justice League monies in large part so that I can quote the comment on the missing dollar made by the io9 author: "If you're wondering where the $1 bill is, I assume Malik [the artist] started to turn George Washington into Aquaman, realized what he was doing, and immediately gave up."
These iPhone cases are totally impractical, yes, but yet ... I want them to make a Loki one really badly. (Some are currently on sale—for iPhone 4/4S—on Fab.com!)
In SCIENCE! and technology news, from The Mister:
- Here's a collection of "the best" astronomy photos of 2012.
- NASA is considering dragging an asteroid into the Moon's orbit. (Moon-ception!)
- An "outburst" from one of our neighboring galaxies (a mere 44 million light-years away) suggests that there's a huge black hole at the galaxy's center.
- Seems like whales just really like to sing.
- A species of bee has been named "Euglossa bazinga." Yes, after Sheldon Cooper's catchphrase.
- A (seriously) giant squid has been filmed off the coast of Japan.
- A new gas can cool to below absolute zero.
I found some items as well:
- Here's a list of the biggest scientific breakthroughs of 2012.
- Turns out that getting pruney fingers is actually an evolutionary advantage.
- A Martian meteorite has been found in the Sahara.
- Leonard Nimoy wants to tell you more about NASA's ion drive-propelled asteroid-investigating mission, Dawn.
- Boeing recently tested in flight wifi safety using sacks of potatoes as human stand-ins.
- Eating asparagus before a night of heavy drinking might help you avoid a hangover the morning after.
- The Giant Panda might be a source of antibiotics.
- A newly-discovered prehistoric lizard has been named the Obamadon thanks in part to Barack Obama's excellent dental hygiene.
Love these Whedon ladies.
In gaming news, from TGG:
- The most important news of the week? As TGG says, "Shaq has a new game on iOS and Android called ShaqDown. I am quite confident it's worth the $.99 and I don't really know anything about it. You're welcome."
- Lego has announced a new Marvel Superheroes game.
- The company is also releasing a series of magical animal games that tie in with the new Lego: Legends of Chima block sets.
- The new Tomb Raider reboot will include a multiplayer aspect.
- A Sim City reboot is coming in March. Here's the intro video.
- Lex Luthor and Bane have joined the Injustice: Gods Among Us line-up.
- Cable will join Deadpool in his new High Moon game.
- Diablo III's Team Deathmatch mode isn't ready yet, but Blizzard will be implementing a player duel mode soonish.
- Here are a few new Grant Theft Auto V screenshots.
- Fans of classic Capcom games will be able to download them via the new free "Capcom Arcade Cabinet" app for PSN and XBLA.
- A Dead Rising 3 might be in the works.
- Someone built a Jurassic Park game on the Half-Life engine. (Via ShezCrafti.)
- Journey's soundtrack has been nominated for a Grammy. This article takes a look at the man behind the music.
- Although the game hasn't been released yet, fans can already pre-order a replica of BioShock Infinite's sky hook accessory. Half-Life fans can also pre-order the Half-Life 2 Gravity Gun, and Machinarium fans can pre-order a pre-order a plushie of the game's main character.
- Here's a new story trailer for Aliens: Colonial Marines.
- And one for Slender: The Arrival.
- And one for new game Remember Me. (Ed. note: No, it's not based on the Robert Pattinson movie.)
- You can now play a version of Dune 2 in your Internet browser.
- Lots of rumors about Valve's "Steam Box" arose this past week, but the device won't be announced this year. There is, however, a (very similar) mini-PC designed to run Steam already in the works.
- Razr's new Edge tablet is a gaming tablet for those of us with money burning holes in our gold-plated wallets. (The cheapest model will cost you $1,000.)
- An in-development open-source console would run on the Android OS... and is the size of a USB stick.
- Another Android-based console, by graphics company Nvida, has been announced.
- Not to be outdone by the competition, Ouya is holding a "Create" game jam to ensure it has plenty of titles available come release day.
- A new Sony patent would "lock a disc to a console, effectively eliminating the ability to sell, trade or even borrow games."
- Microsoft's new Illumiroom projects things onto walls and furniture around the TV with the aim of creating a more immersive gaming experience.
- This article (by ShezCrafti) offers tips on how safely navigate the world of Kickstarter.
Nerdy art nouveau never gets old.
Neither do fakey propaganda posters. (Thanks, Rebecca.)
In miscellaneous news:
- A series of 11 Doctor Who children's e-book short stories will be released over the course of the next 11 months to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary. Each book will be written by a famous British author. The first, A Big Hand for the Doctor, is by Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl). (Thanks, Rebecca.)
- Tolkien's works are getting a theme park.
- Disney's Aladdin is being turned into a Broadway musical
These silhouettes are super similar to some Olly Moss did, but I like them regardless.
These sculptures, however, are super unique.
These are great, too.
And finally: Although I've never actually seen an episide of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, I can't get enough of movie trailer mashups made with the show.


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art nouveau, castlehill, christianity, church, cuttie-sark, daemonologie, edinburgh, evil, executions, forest, gallows, god, healer, james vi, macbeth, midwife, misogyny, nannie dee, north berwick witch trials, paganism, robert burns, scotland, shakespeare, stake, tam o'shanter, torture, witch, witchery, witches
October has started, and it will be Halloween soon, the modern interpretation of an ancient Gaelic festival which commemorated the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. Jack-o'-lanterns, black cats, ghosts and, specially, witches, will fill Edinburgh and other cities on that festivity.
We have already been talking about magical aspects regarding this city and its surroundings, but this month we will focuse on the darkest side of it: witchcraft, old cemeteries and serial killers.
I have always felt fascinated by the figure of the witch. Although the image we all have in our minds is that of an old and ugly woman dressed in black clothes, with a long nose and a wart on her face, there have been all kinds of witches in literature and arts, some of them young, spoilt and seductive, like Robert Burns' Nannie Dee (aka "Cuttie-sark"), the merry sorcerer of the poem Tam o'Shanter. In it, Tam o'Shanter, the drunken protagonist, stumbles upon a witches' Sabbath, where the lovely Nannie Dee is dancing erotically with devils and warlocks in a very short shirt (a "cutty-sark"). Tam can only scream in admiration: "Weel done, Cutty-sark!", which earns him the wrath of the sorcerers.
Nannie Dee, aka "Cuttie-sark" (Short Shirt), the young and merry witch from Robert Burns' poem Tam o'Shanter. John Faed, 1892.
In reality, sadly, the belief in witchery led to thousands of unfortunate women to the stake, where they were burnt alive. Most of them were widows or otherwise vulnerable females who happened to live alone. That means they were used as scapegoats to release social tensions between neighbours, in a time were superstition ran rampant and everybody depended on the year's harvest to survive. Since women embodied sin since the Fall of Man, it was easy to blame them for ruining the crops and poisoning the cattle with the aid of the Devil.
Scotland is, without a doubt, a land of witchcraft. Shakespeare gave us the best example in Macbeth, through the figure of the Three Wyrd Sisters.
The Three Wyrd Sisters prophetise that Macbeth will be King, initiating a chain of events which result in murder, treason and suicide. These witches, whom many authors have identified with the Nordic Norns, have a female appearance, but wear beards as a symbol of subversion of the laws of men and Nature. These agents of chaos, however, cannot change the natural order of the world: Macbeth dies as a traitor, and the true heir of the throne reigns as an agent of God on Earth, reestablishing harmony and justice.
The moral of the story might be: don't mess with a king. Although, if you lived in the sixteenth century, chances were that, being a woman, you might find yourself in trouble without a valid reason. The king could find an excuse for a trial, if he found you responsible of storms and bad weather. This is exactly what happened in the North Berwick Witch Trials.
The Weird Sisters, depicted by Henry Fuseli, 1783.
The North Berwick Witch Trials
Although many modern authors have proposed a pagan origin for witchery, as a belief related to the crops and Nature, in the Judeo-Christian mentality it was identified with Evil and heresy, and therefore, it was related to treason when it was directed toward the king. Apart from the fictional story of Macbeth, created as a moral for those who tried to rebel against their legitimate sovereign (identified with God), and the established order in both Nature and the human society, we have a real account of a witch trial that involved a very historical King, James VI of Scotland.
The North Berwick Witch Trials, from Newes of Scotland, a contemporary pamphlet. 1591
In 1590, James VI became personally involved in which was the first major witchcraft persecution in Scotland. He had sailed to Copenhagen to marry Princess Anne, sister of Christian IV, King of Denmark. When they tried to return to Scotland, they were surprised by terrible storms, which forced them to find shelter in Norway.
Having little to no knowledge about meteorology, the only logical reason people found to explain the causes of such a terrible weather was sorcery. The admiral of the Danish fleet blamed the storm on the burgomaster's wife, and hysteria ensued. Anna Koldings, the first woman in Denmark accused of causing the storm, divulged the names of several witches under severe torture.
But apparently, these witches were not only Danish: there were several Scottish ones involved in this act of treason against their own king, which made James VI set up his own tribunal and preside over the witchcraft trial.
Ducking the witch. A seventeenth century engraving.
The two most prominent victims of this hysteria were Agnes Sampson (and old woman who was a healer and a midwife) and Dr. John Fian (a schoolmaster and scholar from Prestonpans). Of course, they only confessed after torture, before beign burnt.
One of the ways to establish if a woman was a witch or not, was ducking. The suspect was thrown into a lake or pond -if she drowned, she was innocent and her soul would go to Heaven. But if she floated, she was guilty, and therefore, she had to be purified by fire.
Witchery in Edinburgh
Being the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh could not escape the witch hysteria. Ducking had to be perfomed at the now disappeared Nor'Loch, a lake that was located next to the castle, where nowadays we can admire the Princes Street Gardens. The problem was that the lake was so full of filth and garbage that it was very difficult to drown -methane inflated the skirts of the unfortunate ones who were undergoing the ordeal, making them return to the surface.
Edinburgh's Nor' Loch, located in the area now occupied by Princes Street Gardens. John Slezer, 1690.
Nowadays, in Castlehill, next to the esplanade of the castle, we can see the art nouveau plaque and the fountain that commemorate all the women who were condemned for witchery in Edinburgh (over 300), at the very same spot were they were burnt at the stake.
The plaque represents white and black magic, embodied by two feminine faces. There is a serpent, a symbol of Evil, but also of healing, wisdom and transformation. A foxglove plant, toxic and medicinal at the same time, can be seen at the upper part of the plaque.
The text reads:
"This Fountain, designed by John Duncan, R.S.A. is near the site on which many witches were burned at the stake. The wicked head and serene head signify that some used their exceptional knowledge for evil purposes while others were misunderstood and wished their kind nothing but good. The serpent has the dual significance of evil and wisdom. The Foxglove spray further emphasises the dual purpose of many common objects".
Now that our fear of witches is over, we can celebrate Halloween, but also honour the memory of those women who were unjustly conmemned in these fascinating and dark times.
Scotland's History:
The Scotsman: http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/scotland-s-most-infamous-witch-trials-1-2594330

subset: commoncrawl


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|That's a weird looking axe. It's as if it can't decide what
it is. Am I an axe or a sword? I'll be both.
Game: The Legendary Axe II
Format: PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16
Developer/Publisher: Victor Interactive Software/NEC
Year Released: 1990
Also released on: Nothing
Format: PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16
Developer/Publisher: Victor Interactive Software/NEC
Year Released: 1990
Also released on: Nothing
Now available on: Nothing
In a land dominated by home microcomputers back in the 1980s, it took a while for the console gaming market to really take off in the UK, and indeed over in the rest of Europe. Although Atari, Mattel and Coleco had all had a European presence since the dawn of the console industry, their machines were never really a threat to the mega-popular computers from Sinclair, Commodore, Amstrad and Acorn. It was only towards the end of the decade that things began to change. The Sega Master System and Nintendo Entertainment System both began to take some slices out of the home gaming pie as console sales started to pick up. Not wanting to share the market that they still dominated, Amstrad and Commodore attempted to release console-ised versions of their computers, the doomed Amstrad GX4000 and the equally ill-fated Commodore 64GS. For a variety of reasons, nobody was interested in them. Instead, they were looking to the future, to new more powerful consoles that were making their way from foreign lands in the East: the Sega Mega Drive, the Super Famicom, and the PC Engine.
Except, it seemed, that the manufacturers of these new machines of wonder weren't in any rush to get them over to Europe. After Europe had all but shunned consoles for much of the eighties, it seemed that Europe would remain at the back of the queue to get the shiny new machines. Sega and Nintendo held off launching their new machines for quite a while. The Sega Mega Drive finally made it to Europe in Autumn 1990, two years after its initial Japanese release, and the Super Nintendo didn't make it here until Spring 1992, almost two years after its release in Japan as the Super Famicom. But what about the PC Engine? Well, it appears that NEC, the company behind the tiny little console, weren't really that interested in the the European market at all, and didn't even release it over here. There was apparently a PAL version manufactured and distributed in very small quantities, but it hardly counts as an official release. Nope, if you wanted to play the PC Engine in Europe, you had to import one. So, why was this continent overlooked by NEC? And what did we miss?
The PC Engine was NEC's first console, and it was in their home market that they initially partook in battle. The console was released in 1987, and their first opponent was Nintendo. The 8-bit Famicom (NES for westerners) had dominated in Japan for a few years by then, but was beginning to look old. Well, it had always looked old. The PC Engine, despite also technically being an 8-bit console, played more like a 16-bit machine and got off to a great start, eating into some of Nintendo's share of the market. In its home market, the PC Engine even outsold the Mega Drive, released the following year. Nintendo would claw back some of its portion of the market with the release of the Super Famicom in 1990, while Sega were never able to overcome either, remaining in third place in Japan.
Just as Nintendo had done with the Famicom a few years earlier, NEC wanted to take their new console over to America. Having had a successful stab a denting Nintendo's profits in Japan, NEC presumably thought they could do the same thing in the USA and decided to release their console there. However, Sega had similar plans, and they weren't going to let NEC get a head start this time. Both NEC and Sega released their renamed consoles, the TurboGrafx-16 and the Genesis, in America at about the same time. Sega already had a presence in America with their Master System console, but seeing as it only had a piddly percentage of the market, it hardly gave them any real advantage at all over NEC. What did give Sega the advantage though was a great marketing campaign. Sega's strategy seemed to be about demonstrating what the Genesis could do that its competitors couldn't, specifically Nintendo but they took shots at NEC too. As far as technology goes, the Genesis was clearly superior, and their marketing showed this. They were also keen to tap into a more mature market. The kids that had grown up with Nintendo consoles were now teenagers, and wanted something more edgy, more cool, not something for children. The Genesis was that console, not the Nintendo Entertainment System and not the TurboGrafx-16. Genesis had the sports licenses, the best arcade game conversions, and some unique original games were on their way too: Moonwalker, Castle of Illusion, Dick Tracy and of course a certain blue hedgehog. It was Sega, not NEC, that robbed Nintendo of a large chunk of their user base, and the market was split pretty much equally between Sega and Nintendo once the SNES arrived on the scene for the next few years.
Having had little success in the USA, it's probably likely that NEC took a look a Europe and decided not to bother. The PC Engine's release in Europe was rumoured to be around the time of the launch of the Mega Drive, and NEC probably expected to face the same issues when battling Sega in Europe. Probably even worse, seeing as Sega already had a success on their hands with the Master System in Europe. Sega had a more powerful console on its way, plus an already-established fan base.
Now, had NEC decided to release the PC Engine in Europe in 1989, at a price of around £99, things may just have been very different. The PC Engine did get coverage in the European gaming media, just as the Mega Drive did, as an import device, and probably in anticipation of an official launch in the not-too-distant future. So video gaming fans had an awareness of its existence. It was seen as part of the new generation of consoles, more powerful than anything currently available. A head start over the Mega Drive would have made it the only console available of the new generation. And even when the Mega Drive launched, it's possible that gamers would have stuck by it. Europeans are known for their loyalty to comparatively underpowered machines. The ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Sega Master System all managed to maintain support well into the 1990s, years after the technology in them was ancient. The PC Engine may just have been another console that Europeans took to their hearts, and loved and supported. But we never had the chance to love and support it. Instead we had the now-legendary battle between the Mega Drive and Super Nintendo. But how different could that have been if the PC Engine was involved in it too? Sadly, we'll never know. Europeans never really got the opportunity at the time to experience PC Engine games for themselves. This has changed in recent years. Many PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 games finally made their official European debuts on the Wii's Virtual Console service, and can still be purchased for however long the service continues. And of course, there is always emulation. Dodgy as it may be, it really is the only way to play PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 games, games not available on the Wii and that would otherwise be lost to history. And as a console that failed to make it into Europe, it has a library of games that remain undiscovered by many people, including myself. So, to right these wrongs, I've decided to explore some of the console's games, in the hope of finding some hidden gems.
|He's got a good pair of gnashers. Could do with some
whitening toothpaste though.
|Prince Sirius shows blue-haired bloke and red-haired chick his new sex toy.
|Ow! My head! And why have I got a sword through my hand?
After watching the story unfold, you get on your way. You start off with a sword, and can collect items that defeated nasties leave behind to enhance its power, or other weapons if you feel like a change. As well as the axe mentioned earlier, there is also a morning star, whatever one of those is. A ball and chain I think. The sword is a pretty good all rounder, and is probably the weapon you'll use the most. The morning star has a good range and can attack in multiple directions. but isn't very strong. And the not-so-legendary axe is quite powerful, but has a short range, so isn't particularly brilliant. Other collectibles include bombs which when detonated, destroy everything on screen. These are usually most handy for the end of level bosses, but you don't really need to use them until later on in the game, so it's best just to save them up. You can also collect stars, moons and suns, which either give your energy meter a boost, fill it up to full fullness, or give you an extra life.
|The thing behind the wall wants to get out. Not sure how he got there, and why his head and leg seems to be mispositioned.
|There's nothing more annoying than treading in gum. Is
it yours? I'll whack you over the head with my axe if so.
The Legendary Axe II is a dark dark game. Not just in graphics, but in tone. It just feels sombre, threatening, depressing, oppressive and menacing. It's not the sort of game you'd play if you need cheering up. You'll play through some very dark, and often quite bizarre, levels. One level has a skeleton trapped behind the wall in the background, trying to escape through gaps in it, another sees you jumping from a platform of skulls to another platform of skulls. There is a level where you descend deeper and deeper through caverns of slime-covered walls. End of level bosses are equally as odd. One is a midget swinging a massive ball at you, another is a what appears to be a doll or young girl who splits into other young girls and then transforms into standard enemies from the game. In contrast to everything that has gone before, you end the game in some sort of futuristic maze. Rather than being attacked by the undead, your foes are robots. Finding your way through the maze is quite a challenge, and once you've managed it, you're faced with a rather tough end of game boss. Even the ending will baffle you. When you've completed the game and just as you take your seat on the throne, a woman appears to fly at you out of the blue with some malicious intent. Before you know what's going on, the end credits begin. If you play the Japanese version, she appears to have forgotten to put her clothes on too.
|I offered to babysit, and then the kids went all weird on me.
Never again.
The game does throw a good challenge at you but is beatable. It is similar in style to games like Castlevania, but isn't as ridiculously tough and unfair as that. However, it seems to lack Castlevania's charm and probably isn't something you'll want to come back to soon after completing it. The feeling of dread that characterises it isn't always going to appeal to somebody looking for a quick game to play. But it's fun nevertheless and is a good example of a game that us Europeans were deprived of. Shame on you NEC. Why did you spare us from such joys? Humph!
|Ever wondered what Big Bird would look like without his feathers? Well wonder no more.
|Prince Sirius has a rather odd looking toilet in his house.
The eye is actually the flusher, and a finger on the left hand
holds the toilet roll.
Presentation: 70%
A simple main screen, no options to speak of, but the game begins with a short intro giving a bit of background to why you are doing what you do.
Graphics: 78%
Dark, dull, depressing, but in a good way. Great if you like the colours grey and brown. Animation is good, and end of level baddies are great.
Sound: 75%
Atmospheric tunes and suitable sound effects.
Playability: 80%
Instantly enjoyable and stays entertaining throughout, although you probably need to be in the right mood to want to play it. Throws a good challenge at you but never feels unfair.
Overall: 78%
A surreal, creepy little game, well worth seeking out if you have a PC Engine or TurboGrafx-16.
Playability: 80%
Instantly enjoyable and stays entertaining throughout, although you probably need to be in the right mood to want to play it. Throws a good challenge at you but never feels unfair.
Overall: 78%
A surreal, creepy little game, well worth seeking out if you have a PC Engine or TurboGrafx-16.
Seeing as I spent most of this review going on about the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 and why it didn't make its way to Europe and not the game itself, I've got a few left over screenshots of the game. It's a shame to waste them, so here they are:
Seeing as I spent most of this review going on about the PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 and why it didn't make its way to Europe and not the game itself, I've got a few left over screenshots of the game. It's a shame to waste them, so here they are:
|It might look like Prince Sirius has just knocked out that nasty, but he actually fell over the rock on the floor. Sirius is
actually levitating for no apparent reason.
|Stop it! That tickles!
|I really don't know what to say here. Except, why doesn't Prince Sirius wear many clothes. I'm sure
most royal types don't wander around semi-naked. At least I hope not. Urgh! Prince Charles in his undies.
|Achoo! Yes, that's snake snot there.
|Roboman gives Sirius the finger. Bad Roboman.
|Sirius camply scarpers with one of Pat Butcher's earrings.
|Still scarpering, still with Pat's earring. But in a disco where only one light works.
|Sirius meets Zach, his evil brother, sitting atop a, um, don't know what.
|When toilets attack


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text: The Berwick tub chair is of a modern, classic design. Its clean lines and elegant functionality make it a great addition to both household and commercial settings. As such these pieces have proved to be very popular in the domestic market, and also in offices, reception areas and hotels. The tuck away footrest is great for those with minimal space, who wish to maximise comfort. Available in black, brown, ivory and red


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Book Review: Hitch-22: A Memoir by Christopher Hitchens (2010).
Despite "produc[ing] a thousand words a printable copy every day and sometimes more" (p. 350), Christopher Hitchens appears a reluctant writer of memoir.
He admits his reluctance upfront: "When I first formed the idea of writing some memoirs, I had the customary reservations about the whole conception being perhaps 'too soon'. Nothing dissolves this fusion of false modesty and natural reticence more swiftly than the blind realization that the project could become, at any moment, ruled out of the question as having been undertaken too 'late.'" (3.)
Hitchens does not entirely overcome his reticence because after reading Hitch-22: A Memoir does comes away not really knowing the man. For example, Hitchens provides almost zero explanation for his journey to atheism, or as he prefers, anti-theism. This omission surprises inasmuch as Hitchens is one of leaders of the so-called "New Atheism", following the publication of his recent bestseller, God Is Not Great and frequent debates with leading apologists including William Lane Craig. He does include a photo (immediately preceding page 309) with fellow "New Atheists", Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris, but his caption is about as much as he says about the collaboration. There's a brief interlude at pages 330-331 about his public debates "once or twice every month" "with those whose pressing need it is to woo and to win the approval of supernatural beings" (330), i.e. Hitchens' creative, yet patronizing, way of saying theists. He writes:
"How ... I am asked, do I find meaning and purpose in life? How does a mere and gross materialist, with no expectation of a life to come, decide what, if anything, is worth caring about?
"Depending on my mood, I sometimes but not always refrain from point out what a breathtakingly insulting and patronizing question this is. ... Just as the answer to the latter question is: self-respect and the desire for respect to others... A life that partakes even a little of friendship, love, irony, humor, parenthood, literature, and music, and the courageto take part in battles for the liberation of others cannot be called 'meaningless' except if the person living it is also an existentialist and elects to call it so. It could be that all existence is a pointless joke, but it is not in fact possible to live one's everyday life as if this were so. Whereas if one sought to define meaninglessness and futility, the idea that a human life should be expended in the guilty, fearful self-obsessed propitiation of supernatural nonentities..but there, there. Enough." (330-31.)
That is not to say that the book ignores the people and places that have influenced his life. There's a strong doses of that, including chapters on his mother Yvonne who unfortunately committed suicide, and his somewhat distant father whom he called, "The Commander". However, Hitchens does not allow the book to indulge in extended self-introspection or self-analysis. This lack is especially odd when one considers Hitchens' closing sentiment: "After various past allegiances, I have come to believe that Marx was rightest of all when he recommended continual doubt and self-criticism." (422). Hitchens includes one chapter called, Something of Myself, which is exactly that--only "something".
Nevertheless, despite the reluctance to expose the world to his inner thoughts, the world is the richer to see a true man of letters whipping words into a delicacy of prose.
Labels: Book Review, Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22


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Location & Description
A short distance from the International Airport and the Nairobi National Park, the Ole Sereni Hotel is a superb hotel with plenty to offer. It's a great place to stay being located right next to the Nairobi National Game Park. It offers a perfect city break combining the best features of a modern City Hotel and a traditional wildlife lodge. Whether you're a business or leisure traveler, it offers superb facilities and is very close to both of Nairobi's airports and also many of the other places of interest in Nairobi. Ole Sereni Hotel is a comfortable, plush hotel with all that you need for a pleasant stay.
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News and Reviews
A great time was had at the Grill n Chill festival showing off our garden version!
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|Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great
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In All About Steve Wozniak young readers, ages 9 – 14 years, will learn all about the other "Apple" guy. Computers are a part of our every day life from our phones to our refrigerators. As a forth grader, Steve Wozniak had computers figured out. Steve, nicknamed "Woz" always had a curiosity and appreciation of electronics and engineering. When he and Steve Jobs teamed up to form Apple Computer Company, they changed the way people around the world used computers forever.
There are 24 chapters and 640 pages crammed with practical, safe and highly effective instruction on just about everything to do with building a terrific physique, including 200 pages (and hundreds of photos) devoted to exercise technique. And it includes comprehensive material for beginners, so that they can get started correctly. But the book is not just for beginners. Its guidance is for intermediate and advanced bodybuilders, too. Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great is a definitive guide is for men and women of all ages. Learn how to become your own expert personal trainer.
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Proceedings of The Physiological Society
University of Oxford (2011) Proc Physiol Soc 23, C68
Oral Communications
Oscillatory corticomuscular coupling during isometric voluntary contraction influences reaction time in humans
J. Ushiyama1,2, R. Matsuya3, A. Kimura4, M. Liu1, S. N. Baker5, J. Ushiba1,3
1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan. 2. Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan. 3. Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan. 4. Keio University Tsukigase Rehabilitation Center, Keio University, Shizuoka, Japan. 5. Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom.
It has been well documented that the sensorimotor cortex activity shows coherence with muscle activity within the 15-35 Hz band (beta-band) during weak to moderate isometric contractions (e.g. 1-3). Recently, we reported that subjects with greater coherence between the electroencephalogram (EEG) over the sensorimotor cortex and electromyogram (EMG) of contracting muscle show prominent grouped discharge in the EMG signal within the beta-band (4). Although it is possible that such grouped discharge may affect motor performance, its functional role in the control of human movement still remains unclear. The present study aimed to examine how beta-band oscillations in EMG influences reaction time. We recruited seven healthy human subjects (four males and three females, 21-26 years) who showed significant EEG-EMG coherence during a sustained isometric contraction of the tibialis anterior muscle in a preliminary experiment. Subjects first performed a steady contraction at 30% of maximal effort for 5-7 s, and then reacted to a sound cue by performing a ballistic dorsiflexion as quickly as possible. They repeated this task for 100 trials. Reaction time was measured from the cue to the time when the force signal exceeded the mean + 10 SD of data of measured over 1 s before the cue. We found that within each subject, trials could be divided into two groups: those where EMG showed prominent grouped discharge within the beta-band before reaction (GD+), or those where it did not (GD-). Pooled EEG-EMG coherence before the reaction was calculated in both groups; coherence was greater in GD+ than in GD-. This implies that even within the same subject, the strength of corticomuscular coupling changed from moment to moment, resulting in the difference in the degree of grouped discharge in EMG during the initial contraction. Further, in order to examine the effects of such grouped discharge in EMG on reaction time, we assessed the differences in reaction time between GD+ and GD- within each subject by using an unpaired t-test. The reaction time in GD+ was longer than that in GD- for all seven subjects, and was significantly so in three subjects (Subject 1, GD+, 744 ± 49 ms, GD-, 722 ± 54 ms; Subject 4, GD+, 767 ± 44 ms, GD-, 748 ± 47 ms; Subject 6, GD+, 785 ± 59 ms, GD-, 757 ± 42 ms; P < 0.05). These findings suggest that when grouped discharge develops in EMG during a steady contraction, reaction time is delayed, entrained by the cycle of oscillatory corticomuscular coupling.
Where applicable, experiments conform with Society ethical requirements


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Thursday, September 4, 2008
Hope is Worth It
Some make fun of the ideas, the dreams ... the hope. Others choose to believe that we can do better.
3 comments:
- SandyCarlson said...
We can do better--and we will!
- September 4, 2008 at 10:18 PM
- SandyCarlson said...
Hey, I was just at the Bethlehem Fair here in Connecticut, and there was an Obama booth (I looked for Republicans but happily found none. I may have overlooked them.). So many young people were wearing his buttons and stickers.
The kids where I teach know him as "our president." It's amazing. The hope is palpable. I say bring on the change.
- September 5, 2008 at 11:01 PM
- STP said...
It is always good to see young people in touch with political goings on. I see many Obama buttons and stickers, too. However, I would caution on this as we both live in states smart enough to be heavily blue. The key is what is happening in Pennsy, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Virginia, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Indiana, and North Carolina. Those are where the battle will be fought.
Finding an Obama booth - a good thing. Not finding any Republicans - PRICELESS!!!
- September 6, 2008 at 6:25 AM


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Heather Allan has a background in global organisations in both the commercial and non-profit sectors, having held both chief operating officer and chief information officer posts.
Heather's current position is director of Information Management and Technology (IM&T) at Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. She is working to optimise the use of technology and information, and to streamline operations and clinical services in the increasingly challenging and fast changing landscape of the NHS.
Heather's previous role before joining the Trust was director of IM&T at Heatherwood and Wexham Park NHS Foundation Trust. Prior to that she was chief operating officer at The Global Fund, Geneva – an international organisation formed to achieve progress towards the Millennium Development Goals of reducing the global spread of Aids, TB and Malaria.
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Steve Bastow is an Associate Professor and the interim Associate Dean (Teaching and Learning) in the Faculty of Business and Social Science. A former graduate of Kingston Polytechnic, from which stems his strong commitment to Kingston's mission to support widening participation, Steve is a member of the Politics Department, and a former member of Media and Cultural Studies. He has previously led both of these Departments, as well as being a former interim Head of the School of Economics, History and Politics.
He has delivered teaching in areas such as Political Theory, Fascism and the Extreme Right, and European Politics, and has published on a variety of aspects of French political ideology, most notably on the French extreme right. His most recent publication is 'The discourse of 19th-century French liberal socialism', Journal of Political Ideologies, 24 (1), 2019.
Steve is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, has a BA in Languages, Economics and Politics, an MA in Ideology and Discourse Analysis, and a PhD in Government. He is serving on the Board of Governors as the Vice-Chancellor's Senate nominee.
Sandra is an HR professional with extensive experience operating at board level in complex multi-national organisations, leading and supporting businesses through transformational change. Sandra has also worked on a number of board governance committees including membership of the Remuneration Committee.
Most recently Sandra was Chief People Officer at Sage Group plc, responsible for all aspects of Human Resources globally. This included strategic HR planning, talent acquisition, reward, and organisational development. She had specific responsibility for Sage's capability agenda, digital skills ambitions and for accelerating diversity in a high performance customer focussed culture.
Before Sage, Sandra was Chief People Officer at Thomas Cook plc and Premier Farnell plc. In these roles she developed people strategies to support business transformation and led global programmes in all areas of organisation effectiveness, people development and colleague engagement.
Sandra holds an MBA from Surrey University, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) and an Accredited RSPP Mediator, having trained at the Regents University London School of Psychotherapy & Psychology.
During 16 years as a partner at PwC, the global professional services firm, he held a range of leadership positions including at main board level in both the UK and Africa practices. He has led and grown successful business within the firm as the Government & Public Sector practice and Africa Business Group.
Alongside his client work in corporate finance and consulting he led PwC's Human Resources function through a period of substantial change. He has been widely recognised externally for his work promoting diversity in business and as a senior role model and been a member of the Government's Social Mobility Commisssion, among the non-executive roles.
Nancy has a strong commercial and financial background as a chief executive in the design and construction sectors. She is an experienced board-level director in high profile architectural practices. Nancy has experience in turn-around and change management within large and small organisations, as well as project management and design experience in planning and building projects.
Nancy started her career as an architect working in Switzerland, the USA and Canada. She then joined British firm Fitzroy Robinson, becoming a partner in 1987 and CEO in 1991, working on a range of commercial projects for Great Portland Estates, Natwest, British Land and 3i among others, designing and overseeing the construction of office buildings in the City, West End and the Midlands.
Since 2004 Nancy has worked as an independent management consultant providing strategic and management advice to design-led architectural and interior design practices.
James Denholm-Price is an Associate Professor and the Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Computer Science and Mathematics, in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing, where he teaches various topics in programming and mathematics. He has a background in mathematics, meteorology and computing, having worked at the University of Sheffield and the UK Met Office as a researcher in atmospheric sciences, predictability and weather forecasting.
At Kingston he is involved in academic research with a variety of collaborators, working on projects that include usability and speech recognition for mathematical expressions, databases for parasitology researchers and statistical models for epidemiological studies. He has also led two Knowledge Transfer Partnership projects with local SMEs (small and medium enterprise), which transferred knowledge in both directions between the company and university, and has an interest in enhancing students' learning using modern technology and pedagogy.
James is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, has a Mathematics with Astrophysics BSc, a Dynamical Meteorology PhD and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education. He is serving on the Board of Governors as a representative of the Senate.
David is Chairman of NHS Shared Business Services, a joint venture between the Department of Health and the IT firm Sopra Steria. He is also chairman of the Phone-paid Services Authority, the regulator for premium rate telephony. He is a Board Member of Barchester Healthcare, a major provider of residential care for elderly people in the UK, as well as a Board Member of the Trinity Laban Conservatoire.
David was previously the first Chairman of the Legal Services Board, the regulatory body for the legal services sector in England and Wales; and the London Legacy Development Corporation, responsible for the development of the Olympic Park site in Stratford. He was the senior independent director and Remco Chairman at William Hill PLC. He is a previous chairman of Wincanton PLC, the UK's largest logistics company; and of NHS Direct, the health authority responsible for the telephone and internet provision of health advice in England. David has served on the Boards of Hammerson PLC, a FTSE 100 property company with interests in the UK and France; English Partnerships, the government body charged with developing urban land in England; Ofcom, the UK's regulator of communications; the University of Keele, where he was Honorary Treasurer; and the Social Market Foundation, a leading think tank. He was Chairman of CRISIS, the national charity for the single homeless
David's executive career included posts as a senior civil servant in the Department of the Environment; as chief executive of the Housing Corporation, the agency for the development of social housing in England; as managing director of Group Central Services of NatWest Group and as director general of Telecommunications, the UK's telecoms regulator.
David holds a BA and an Honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Keele.
David joined the Board of Governors in 2012, and became Chair in July 2013.
Gary is currently director of Risk & Audit for Rentokil Initial plc. In this role he oversees the risk management and control processes across the business and leads the internal audit team. He reports regularly to the Audit Committee.
Before this Gary worked at Unilever for more than 20 years. His first six years were spent in finance, planning and procurement roles at Lever Brothers, the UK detergents business, based in Kingston just a stone's throw from the University. Subsequent roles included treasurer and financial controller in China, head of Group Financial Planning & Analysis, CFO of the global food service business and head of Internal Audit for Unilever Europe. He is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (ACMA).
Gary studied Computer Science at Cambridge University, where he subsequently ran the university theatre for five years. He now lives locally in Claygate where he is group treasurer of the vibrant local scout group.
Caroline Gipps is a Visiting Professor at the UCL/Institute of Education and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Wolverhampton, where she was the Vice Chancellor until her retirement in 2011. In 1999 she became Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Kingston University, with responsibility for the academic profile and student support. Before this she was in charge of research strategy at the Institute of Education as Dean of Research, taking the institution to the top grade in the 1996 Research Assessment Exercise. Trained as a psychometrician and primary school teacher, Caroline has had a distinguished career as a social scientist focussing on assessment and its role in schooling, leading to new theories of educational assessment. She is an internationally recognised scholar in this field and is experienced in the evaluation of programmes and initiatives, as well as the issue of impact.
Awards/recognition include : Nuffield Research Fellow, President of the British Educational Research Association, four times an ESRC grant holder, member of the Athenaeum, Academician of the ACSS, Honorary Doctorate Bristol University, twice elected to the Board of Universities UK (the Vice-Chancellors' association) and numerous advisory/consultative roles over the years both in the UK and overseas; a founder member of the Women Vice-Chancellors' dining club, the Nuffield Assessment Seminar group, and the BERA Policy task group on Assessment.
Caroline has been on a wide range of Boards including schools and academies, a Science Park, a Technology Transfer Corridor, two urban development companies, and research units and charities. She is currently on the Board of Kingston University where she is Chair of the Academic Governance Committee, and the Board of Buttle UK where she is Chair of Trustees.
Jenny is Principal at St. George's, University of London. She has been elected Chair of the Medical Schools Council and will hold this national role for 2016-2019. Previously, she had senior roles at Imperial College and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore. In addition to senior managerial roles, she continues clinical practice.
Jenny has been named "Mentor of the Year" at the Women of the Future Awards, been awarded a President and Rector's Award for Outstanding Contribution to Teaching Excellence, as well as the Imperial College Medal for outstanding leadership.
Dirk Kahl is the Chief Financial Officer of Lidl Great Britain and is based at their Head Office in Wimbledon. Dirk joined the Lidl Group as Global Finance and Accounting Director in 2008 and was subsequently appointed as Board Executive for Finance, Accounting and Tax for the German operation before joining the UK Board of Directors in 2014. In his current role, Dirk is responsible for the Financial and Administrative operation of Lidl UK, which has over 22,000 employees in Great Britain. He is currently a member of Retail Week live's advisory board, the joint economic working group of the GBCIC and the Embassy of the F.R. of Germany, and the Institute of Directors.
Prior to joining Lidl, Dirk held the Position of Chief Financial Officer for Group Lagardere's German travel retail division, HDS Retail.
As a Qualified Chartered Accountant, Dirk worked for KPMG out of Frankfurt, Shanghai and Singapore for almost ten years while also lecturing at the University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt.
Dirk earned a Master's Degree in Economics from the University of Mainz and is a Certified Fraud Examiner.
Peter Mayhew-Smith has worked as a life-long learning practitioner for 28 years, starting as a community education tutor in west London, where he held a succession of different roles. He co-wrote a guide to London for people with disabilities (Access in London, published by Nicholsons). He was appointed as a community education adviser to the Local Authority's Education Committee in Richmond in 1993 and, in the same year, won a scholarship to look at workplace basic skills education in the USA.
Peter then moved to South Thames College to manage Basic and Key Skills provision while contributing to a number of local and regional projects, including inspection visits for the BSA Quality Mark and the establishment in 1995 of one of the first Summer Colleges for Year 11 children at risk of exclusion and under-achievement. In 1998, he wrote a Guide to Careers in Further Education, published by the Guardian Newspaper.
Peter went to Lewisham College in 1998 as head of Key Skills and then, in 2002, moved into the role of director of Faculty with a remit for General Education, Adult Education, Basic and Key Skills, ESOL, learning disabilities and learning support. In 2005, he led the College's successful bid for the provision of learning to offenders in South London. In 2006, Lewisham College's provision was graded 'outstanding' by Ofsted.
At the end of 2006, Peter became vice-principal for Quality and Curriculum Development at Lewisham College, overseeing all of the College's assurance and improvement arrangements, including teacher training and learning and development.
In summer 2009, Peter was appointed as the new principal of Kingston College and took up post there in April 2010. In December 2011, the Government agreed that Kingston and Carshalton Colleges could share a principal under their proposed federation and Peter became principal of both colleges from that time, forming the first college group of its kind and overseeing £45m-worth of learning in south-west London. In 2013 Kingston College was graded 'Good' by Ofsted for the first time, with Carshalton College achieving its first-ever 'Good' Ofsted grade the following year.
Aranee taught in faculty before moving into professional services at Kingston University, where she has been for the past four years working in areas of student engagement, community affairs, and inclusion. She is now Employability and Enterprise Curriculum Manager, leading a new strand within the Careers and Employability Service, which supports academic teams to embed employability within the curriculum to enable all students the opportunity to develop the skills, knowledge, and attributes they need to navigate and succeed in life after university.
An advocate of diversity and inclusion, Aranee has volunteered for over 15 years on issues affecting BME and refugee communities, sits on the university's Race Equality Charter Group, and been a role model on the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education's female leaders programme, Aurora.
A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and qualified professional development coach, Aranee is also completing her PhD in International Relations, researching how we can better understand the underlying causes of protracted ethnic conflict in postcolonial societies using an inter-disciplinary, levels of analysis framework. She is serving the Board of Governors as the representative of general and professional services staff.
Kamal is a Kingston Graduate who is currently studying an MA in International Politics and Economics. Having been elected as the Penrhyn Road Officer, he has also been selected to be the lead on Academic Affairs for the Union of Kingston Students.
During his time at here, Kamal has been heavily involved in the work Kingston has been doing around the BME attainment gap. His work as a senior curriculum consultant has given him insight into the work that is required to make this change. Kamal has also spoken at various conferences and written some papers on this issue.
When Kamal is not studying or working he is known as Kamal the Poet. Poetry is his passion and a way for him to help balance his commitments with his need to express himself. This art form has helped him reach a number of communities by creating open mic spaces and creative content. Currently, he is also running a blog that brings together all his passions.
Alison qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1981 and worked as a management accountant at Trusthouse Forte before joining a City law firm as financial controller soon after its establishment. During the time spent there the firm expanded rapidly both in London and overseas. Following a period living in New York and with three small children, Alison gained a First Class Honours degree in Mathematical Sciences from Kingston University and an MSc in Applied Stochastic Systems from UCL. This was followed by 15 years teaching at Cass Business School and 5 years at Kingston University.
The subjects taught included Finance and Financial Reporting, Corporate Finance, Decision Analysis, Probability and Statistics and Accounting for Informatics students. Voluntary work includes 8 years as a primary school governor, 10 years as a trustee and treasurer of a local children's charity and independent examiner of several clubs and charities. From April 2017, Alison will be the Central Treasurer of the national Wives Fellowship organisation.
Jane has more than 25 years' experience working as an IT professional in different sectors of industry, including FMCG with Mars and Coca-Cola, Foodservice with Bidvest and Oil & Gas with Baker Hughes.
She is currently a Vice President and CIO at Mars with global responsibility for Information Technology in the largest business Segment. Jane is also a Non-Executive Director at DMW Consulting, a London based Management Consulting firm specialising in IT.
Jane has lived and worked in the USA and Japan and conducted assignments in multiple countries including South Africa, Argentina, Mexico, Turkey and Germany.
Jane graduated from Oxford University with a BA (Hons) in Mathematics. She has also been recognised by her industry peers and included in both the list of the UK's Top 50 CIOs by CIO.com and computing.com.
Francis Small has had a 36 year international career working for Ernst & Young, a global professional services firm. A chartered accountant by profession, Francis has held board roles at UK, European and Global levels. His career highlights include being Global Head of Corporate Finance and Senior Partner for International Clients. Prior to this Francis was a Managing Partner in London, responsible for operational leadership. Francis also spent two years living and working in the Middle East as Global Head of Sovereign Wealth Funds.
Francis is a Non-Executive Director of British Business Bank Limited, where he chairs the Audit and Risk Committee. He was previously a Non-Executive Director of British American Business and a governor at an independent school.
Francis is an MA Law graduate from Cambridge University.
A respected expert in architecture, theatre and dance, Professor Spier was appointed Acting Vice-Chancellor in October 2016, before being made Vice-Chancellor in May 2017. He was formerly Dean of the University's Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, which rose to prominence as one of the top providers of design education, both in the United Kingdom and around the globe, under his leadership.
Before becoming Vice-Chancellor, he also held the post of Pro Vice-Chancellor for Culture and Civic Engagement – a role in which he was pivotal in strengthening links with the wider community and forging an extensive network of high-profile external partners.
A strong advocate of excellence in teaching, research and enterprise, Professor Spier joined Kingston University in September 2012 after heading the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Ulster. Born in Canada, Professor Spier grew up in the United States. He holds a degree in philosophy from Haverford College, Philadelphia, and completed postgraduate studies at the Southern California Institute of Architecture. His early career saw him based in a number of European cities, including a period teaching at the world-renowned Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zürich. He was later founding principal of the HafenCity University Hamburg in Germany, which specialises in urban planning, architecture and civil engineering.
An acclaimed expert in contemporary Swiss architecture, Professor Spier's many published works include 'Swiss Made', named one of the books of the year by Architects' Journal in 2003. Also a specialist in choreography as a form of spatial organisation, he edited the first English-language book on renowned choreographer William Forsythe, 'William Forsythe and the Practice of Choreography. It Starts from Any Point'.
Professor Spier has links with a wide range of cultural institutions. He was a founding director of the board of Architecture and Design Scotland, is an honorary fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland and of German body Bund Deutscher Architekten and was a long-serving board member of Scottish Ballet. He is also a board member of the cutting-edge Glasgow-based production house Cryptic – much vaunted for its work fusing music, sonic art, theatre and multimedia.
Jo is a finance professional whose career spans both consulting and in-house roles. Currently Finance Director for Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, Jo was previously the CFO of the Francis Crick Institute; Finance Director for BBC Radio & Music and Head of Finance and Administration for the Boston Consulting Group UK LLP.
Jo is a graduate of Merton College Oxford and a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.
Mick is enjoying a second career as a management consultant, having left the Royal Air Force in 2007. He specialises in transformational and cultural change, especially around technology, and has worked with clients in the public, private, and third sectors, including Higher Education. Career highlights include time as a CEO, COO, HRD, and time served working overseas in Hong Kong, Germany and the Falklands.
Mick has a Masters degree in Law & Employment Relations; is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development; and a qualified company secretary. His current role is delivering transformational change in public sector organisations. Mick Lives in Epsom and, along with his role at Kingston University, is a trustee of a charity supporting young homeless people in south London.
Kingston University
Tel: +44 (0)20 8417 9000
Kingston University
Tel: +44 (0)20 8417 9000


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Late last year, medical device maker Zimmer Holdings Inc. made two large payments to Dr. Andrew N. Pollak, chair of the University of Maryland Medical System's orthopedics department.
The payments, one for $47,225 and the other for $45,902, were royalties paid to Pollak for work he did at Maryland Shock Trauma Center starting seven years ago in helping develop a clamp known as a fixator that could hold trauma patient's broken bones straight until they were ready for surgical repair.
Existing devices were clumsy and inflexible and not meant for trauma patients, Pollak said.
"My motivation was to develop a frame that was much easier to use, and I'd say we...


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Medical Information on Retinal Detachment
by Dr Andrew Blaikie for VI Scotland
This document is written with the minimum use of medical terms and jargon. It is impossible to avoid all medical terms but where we have used them we have attempted to explain them as clearly as we can. Although the information is intended to describe most aspects of the condition each child is different and there will always be exceptions to the rule. As far as we can determine these pages are true and accurate and have been written in good faith.
What this information is not for
This document is not a substitute for a consultation with a Health Professional and should not be used as a means of diagnosing a condition.
We hope the information will help you to:
- Have a better understanding of the condition
- Know what tests and treatments are normally available
- Know when to seek professional advice
- Be able to discuss the condition in a more informed way
- Make the most of consultations with carers, teachers and health professionals
- Be reassured and more able to cope
Due to staffing limitations we are not able to offer telephone or email advice to parents of children.
Medical Information on Retinal Detachment
What we see is made in the brain from signals given to it by the eyes. What we see is in fact made in the brain. The brain makes sight from signals given to it by the eyes.
What is the normal structure of the eye?
The eye is made of three parts.
- A light focussing bit at the front (cornea and lens).
- A light sensitive film at the back of the eye (retina).
- A large collection of communication wires to the brain (optic nerve).
A curved window called the cornea first focuses the light. The light then passes through a hole called the pupil. A circle of muscle called the iris surrounds the pupil. The iris is the coloured part of the eye. The light is then focused onto the back of the eye by a lens. Tiny light sensitive patches called photoreceptors cover the back of the eye. These photoreceptors collect information about the visual world. The covering of photoreceptors at the back of the eye forms a thin film known as the retina. Each photoreceptor sends its signals down very fine wires to the brain. The wires joining each eye to the brain are called the optic nerves. The information then travels to many different special 'vision' parts of the brain. All parts of the brain and eye need to be present and working for us to see normally.
What is Retinal Detachment?
The covering of light sensitive patches at the back of the eye forms a thin film known as the retina. If this film peels off from the back of the eye then a Retinal Detachment is said to have occurred.
Why does the Retina Detach?
A tear or hole can develop in the retina. This allows water from within the eye to leak behind the retina. The water then seeps under the retina slowly lifting it off the inside of the back of the eye. Eye doctors call this a 'Rhegamatogenous' Retinal Detachment. This is the most common way the retina detaches after an eye injury or in short sightedness.
Sometimes water and fat can collect under the retina without there being a hole or tear present. The effect is the same with the retina being lifted off the back of the eye leading to a detachment. The water and fat often comes from leaking blood vessels. Eye doctors call this an 'Exudative' Retinal Detachment. This happens in some rare eye conditions such as Coat's disease.
Sometimes instead of the retina being 'lifted' off from underneath it can be 'pulled' off from on top. Some eye conditions can cause damage inside the eye. As the damage heals scars form. With time the scar tissue can shorten and pull the retina off the back of the eye. Eye doctors call this a 'Tractional' Retinal Detachment. Tractional Retinal Detachment can complicate Retinopathy of Prematurity.
See the VI Scotland medical information document for a discussion of Retinopathy of Prematurity.
What conditions can cause Retinal Detachment?
There are many different conditions that can cause Retinal Detachment. Sometimes there is no obvious cause and we don't know why it happens. Some of the more common causes include:
- Short Sightedness (Myopia)
- An injury to the eye
- Retinopathy of Prematurity
- Coat's Disease
- Cataract Operation
- Coloboma
- Retinal Detachment runs in some families
Why are short sighted children likely to develop a Retinal Detachment?
Children who are short sighted have a higher chance of developing a retinal detachment. This is because eyes that are short sighted are bigger. Although the outer covering of the eye is bigger the retina inside is not. The retina has to 'stretch' to cover the whole of the back of the eye. Sometimes a tear or a hole can appear in the 'stretched' retina. If this occurs water from within the eye can leak down behind the retina. As the water seeps in it causes the retina to come away (detach) from the back of the eye. A Retinal Detachment will then be present. Conditions where short sight is more common include:
- Marfan's Syndrome
- Ehler's-Danlos Syndrome
- Stickler's Syndrome
In these conditions because children will also be short sighted Retinal Detachment is more common.
How can Retinal Detachment be diagnosed?
Retinal Detachment can usually be diagnosed during an examination by an Eye Doctor. By looking into the eye using a special lens and torch the retina can be seen.
If it is difficult to see into the back of the eye then an ultrasound scan be performed. This can usually show if the retina has peeled away from the back of the eye or not. In younger children this may have to be done under a General Anaesthetic.
How does Retinal Detachment affect the way a child sees?
The symptoms that a child might complain of depend on:
- the age of the child
- which bit of the retina has detached
- whether it is affecting only one eye or both
- the condition that is causing the detachment
Most young children will only complain of poor vision when the centre bit of the retina has detached. This will cause the centre bit of vision to become very blurred and 'grey'. Most children will notice this, especially if it happens in their better eye. Younger children do not usually notice smaller areas of detached retina that are away from the central bit of vision.
Older children may notice the symptoms of retinal detachment earlier before it affects more of the retina. Sometime they complain of 'flashing lights' and 'floaters' in their vision and a 'shadow' away from the centre of the vision.
In some conditions the retinas of both eyes detach when the child is very young. Despite this they are most likely to initially feel their vision to be 'normal' as they have never known anything else but their own visual world. They will assume that everyone else has vision the same as their own. They will not realise that other people see things differently.
What can be done to help?
What can be done to help depends on the cause of the Retinal Detachment. If the retina has detached because a hole or tear has developed in the retina (Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment) then an operation may help. A surgeon would try to drain the water from underneath the retina, close the hole and then 'stick' the retina back down on to the back of the eye. This can often help fix the problem. In some conditions this may not work the first time and a second or third operation may have to be done.
If the retina has been pulled off by scarring then it is much more difficult to fix. Often, despite an operation, the retina will be pulled off the back of the eye again by the scar tissue.
If the retina detaches because water and fat have collected under the retina without there being a hole or tear present then again it is very difficult to fix. Sometime laser treatment to leaking blood vessels can help.
How can parents, family, friends and teachers make a difference?
We use our vision to get around, learn new things and to meet other people and make friends.
Most children with Retinal Detachment have few problems getting around. The way they act can give the impression that their vision is normal. It is important however to be aware of their own special problems with vision.
Problems at school may be due to some of the reading books being hard to see. This often means it takes longer and more effort to do the work. If the size of print is increased most children will find schoolwork easier.
It is worth watching carefully to find out what the smallest toys are that a child can see and play with. Then try to only play with toys that are the same size or bigger.
Recognising facial expressions can often be difficult. It is worth trying to find out at what distance facial expressions can be seen and responded to. Then always try to talk and smile from within this distance. This helps a child to learn what facial expressions mean and to copy them.
Children with Retinal Detachment may have a part of the vision missing with the rest normal. It is important to recognise which part is missing to avoid placing objects in these areas.
Even if a child has very poor vision many useful and practical things can be done to help.
Who wrote these documents?
These pages are the consensus of opinion of many different people. They include parents of visually impaired children, visually impaired children themselves, Community Paediatricians, Ophthalmologists, Educationalists and Psychologists.
The main author and person responsible for their content is Dr Andrew Blaikie who was an Ophthalmology Research Fellow with Visual Impairment Scotland and is a member of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.