text:
Zara Phillips
Queen Elizabeth Is a Great Grandmother – Again!
Originally posted 03/30/2012 12:30PM
The Queen is a great grandmother once again!
Her grandson Peter Phillips and wife Autumn welcomed a baby girl on Thursday at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, according to Buckingham Palace.
"Isla Elizabeth Phillips weighed 7 lbs. and 4 oz. and Mr. Peter Phillips was present at the birth," the Palace said in a statement Friday.
The newborn will be the 13th in line to the British throne, after her sister Savannah, 15 months.
Zara Phillips: First Horses, Then Babies (Maybe)
Originally posted 09/07/2011 07:00AM
Having skipped a honeymoon to get right back to work after her Royal Wedding in July, Zara Phillips says she wants to start a family with rugby player Mike Tindall.
But they can wait. "I'd love to have kids, but not at the moment. You know – I'm just happy competing and putting the work in," the equestrian, 30, tells the U.K. magazine Tatler for its October issue.
"There are always other competitions and other dreams that you want to achieve. Winning Badminton and Burghley, the Olympics, another World Championship," she says. Phillips is also launching her own line of riding gear.
Kate Wears Custom Hat for Zara Phillips's Wedding
Originally posted 08/04/2011 09:15AM
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is a master at recycling looks from her own closet, but when it comes to her hats, it seems this royal is happy to splurge.
At the wedding of Prince William's cousin Zara Phillips to Mike Tindall, Kate accessorized her cream Collette Dinnigan French lace dress and Day Birger et Mikkelsen brocade coat (both worn in 2006) with a brand new, bespoke hat by British milliner Gina Foster.
Retailing for about $675, the natural straw coulis, called "Launceston Place," was customized by the duchess in a whirlwind visit to the hatmaker just 10 days before the nuptials. "She rang and asked to come in, then she tried a few on and we went from there," Foster tells PEOPLE from her tiny boutique in Kensington (a mere minutes walk from Kate's new apartment at Kensington Palace).
Zara Phillips Is Too Busy for a Honeymoon
Originally posted 08/03/2011 10:35AM
Perhaps newlywed Zara Phillips is taking a cue from her cousin Prince William when it comes to her honeymoon with husband Mike Tindall.
Just as William delayed his wedding trip with Duchess Catherine to the, Phillips is crediting her and Tindall's busy schedules for their delay in taking a wedding trip.
"We're kind of missing the quiet period where we can catch up and have some sleep," Phillips, 30, who on Saturday wed the captain of England's rugby team, 32, in Edinburgh, tells the Associated Press.
Zara Phillips's Wedding Dress: How She Got the Look
Originally posted 08/01/2011 12:20PM
As far as royalty goes, Zara Phillips is known for her simpler, more private lifestyle – she doesn't even carry an official royal title, per her mother's request – but she had her day in the spotlight Saturday as she married rugby star Mike Tindall in Scotland.
Phillips, 13th in line to the throne, tied the knot in an ivory silk faille and silk duchess satin gown by designer Stewart Parvin, couturier to the Queen. The drop-waist pleated bodice, which concealed a corset, flowed into a full skirt complete with train. Delicate fabric-covered buttons ran down the back of the gown, from the neckline to the hem. And Phillips, a functional bride, had hidden pockets in her skirt, too. Her veil was a silk tulle cathedral-length bouffant style with a short blusher.
Kate Recycles Her Wardrobe For Zara Phillips's Wedding – Again
Originally posted 07/31/2011 12:00PM
She did it again!
For Zara Phillips's wedding festivities, the down-to-earth Duchess of Cambridge made a weekend of recycling her wardrobe.
First, she wore a green silk Diane von Furstenberg dress for the Friday evening yacht reception – the same frock that she wore to an event in Los Angeles.
Then, for the wedding ceremony on Saturday, Kate stepped out in a cream-colored coat that royal watchers have seen on her before: at Laura Parker Bowles's wedding in 2006.
Zara Phillips's Wedding: All the Details
Originally posted 07/30/2011 03:00PM
Zara Phillips, Prince William's cousin who is 13th in line to the throne, and Mike Tindall, captain of England's rugby team, were married on a glorious, sunny day in historic Edinburgh Saturday.
The 3 p.m. ceremony took place at Canongate Kirk, a small Church of Scotland venue where the Queen worships when she stays in Edinburgh. The modest church dates back to 1688.
The bride made her arrival at a fashionably late six minutes past the hour in an ivory silk and duchess satin gown by Stewart Parvin – the personal couturier to the Queen – and a silk tulle cathedral veil. She carried a huge bouquet of cream-colored flowers and accessorized with Jimmy Choo shoes and a tiara on loan from Princess Anne. Tindall wore a suit adorned with coattails and a light grey stripe on the trouser legs.
Kate Recycles Her Green DVF Dress for Zara Phillips's Yacht Party
Originally posted 07/29/2011 05:30PM
The gang's all there! As the royal family kicks off festivities for Zara Phillips's wedding, taking place Saturday afternoon in Scotland, guests – including some VIPs – arrived in style.
Friday, Prince William and Kate surfaced in Edinburgh, where they boarded a family yacht for an evening reception toasting William's cousin and her soon-to-be-groom, rugby player Mike Tindall.
Kate, clad in the same green silk Diane von Furstenberg "Maja" dress she wore for an event in Los Angeles, gave onlookers a new view of her frock, showing off the delicate buttons that run down the back. Her husband followed closely behind.
Zara Phillips's Wedding Kicks Off with a Yacht Party
Originally posted 07/29/2011 08:55AM
Her last time at a royal wedding, the Duchess of Cambridge was the bride. On Saturday, she'll be a guest at Zara Phillips's nuptials.
Prince William's cousin is marrying rugby player Mike Tindall in Edinburgh, Scotland. The ceremony begins at 3 p.m.
Friday night – which happens to be the 30th anniversary of the day William's parents, Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles, married – guests are gathering, with younger members expected to party on the Windsor's retired vessel, the Royal Yacht Britannia, now moored in Leith docks.
How Prince William's Cousin Reacted to Marriage Proposal
Originally posted 06/20/2011 07:25AM
How do you propose to a royal? Get down on one knee and hope that when she stops chuckling the answer is yes.
That, at least, are the words of wisdom from Mike Tindall, the groom in the second big royal wedding of the year. He is set to wed Prince William's cousin Zara Phillips on July 30.
England rugby player Tindall, 32, who earlier this month enjoyed a raucous bachelor party in Miami, told the Mail on Sunday's Live magazine how he popped the question to Phillips, 30, at the couple's home in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.
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MoneySubmitted by Guest Jester (not verified) on Mon, 03/05/2012 - 9:25pm.
You guys really need to learn to do a little research before commenting on articles. If you would have read the text of the law before commenting, then you would have known that law enforcement receives no money from the auctioning of the vehicle(s). The proceeds go to the school systems. As with any other law, don't break it. That way you won't have to face the consequences of doing so. Just saying. »
Reply |

subset: commoncrawl


text:
CavalierTalk: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Board & Forum
Cavalier Photo Gallery
Cavalier video clips
> Daisy Chasing the Cleaner
View Full Version :
Daisy Chasing the Cleaner
31st October 2007, 07:29 PM
http://http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y133/Katiecoos/th_SS850093.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y133/Katiecoos/?action=view¤t=SS850093.flv)
Cleo's Person
31st October 2007, 09:57 PM
oh the link isn't working:(
1st November 2007, 09:05 PM
Try again
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y133/Katiecoos/th_SS850093.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y133/Katiecoos/?action=view¤t=SS850093.flv)
2nd November 2007, 12:49 AM
Boy that must be annoying! ;)
Cleo's Person
2nd November 2007, 02:42 PM
Cleo does this as well!!!:)
Cathy T
2nd November 2007, 04:24 PM
That was cute! That is also why it takes me so long to vacuum. Shelby won't move and Jake keeps dropping toys in front of me so I'll toss them for him. What should be a 15 minute job turns into a 30 minute job. But is much more entertaining!:D
2nd November 2007, 06:09 PM
I like that behind the sofa manoeuvre! :rotfl: Jaspar attacks the Dyson but Leo and Lily are indifferent -- I can even vacuum Lily and she doesn't care. Quincy is pretty fearless too.
Rj Mac
5th November 2007, 04:58 PM
we have a bunch off kiffs in our house jake runs up stairs to hide from the hoover, megs goes in her crate and lucy sits on the sofa barking at it!
amanda L
9th November 2007, 01:23 PM
Oh it looks so funny on video :p, but one of mine attacks the hoover aswell, and it makes hoovering twice as long and a bit of a headache!! :v*cuum::roll::lpy::v*cuum:
9th November 2007, 02:27 PM
That is so cute, Prince does this also, Lucy doesnt like the hoover, she goes to bed when she sees it coming out :)
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text: Ostash! wrote: >Sunday, November 24, 2002 12:55:47 AM Arman Aksoy wrote blfs-support at linuxfromscratch.org: > >AA> How can we disable the 'beep' sound of the system? >Just plug-off speaker. It is the best way! > > :) That is a bit drastic!!! -- Tushar Teredesai LFS ID: 1377 http://tushar.lfsforum.org/ -- Unsubscribe: send email to listar at linuxfromscratch.org and put 'unsubscribe blfs-support' in the subject header of the message


text:
If tooth pain occurs and you are unable to secure an appointment with your dentist straight away, your first port of call will probably be the high street chemist for toothache pain remedies. In the event that what they provide you is not effective, attempt to chew cloves or use clove oil in the area that needs help.
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updated Aug 30, 2008 2:34 pm | 2,576 views
About DiaDia is an open source GTK+ based free software for creating diagrams from Gnome, an open source software development community. Dia was originally developed by Alexander Larsson. Dia is similar in functionality to proprietary Windows program Visio. Using Dia, important diagrams for software modeling and system design such as UML diagrams, ER (Entity-Relationship) diagrams, flowcharts, circuit diagrams, network diagrams and other drawings involving lines and arcs can be created conveniently. Dia is suitable for drawing informal diagrams for casual use. Besides creating diagrams, Dia can also load and store diagrams gzipped by default in XML format. Diagrams created using Dia can be easily exported to number of other formats such as EPS (Encapsulated Postscript), SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), WMF ( Windows Meta File), PNG (Portable Network Graphics), DXF (Autocad's Drawing Interchange format), JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group),XFIG, CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile defined by ISO standards) and VDX (Microsoft XML based Visio file format). Dia is cross platform and can be installed under Linux, Unix and Windows operating system environments. Note:- Dia is released under GPL license. Current stable version for Dia ,freely available for download, is version 0.96.1 For further information, references:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dia_(software) For downloading Dia software, follow the link:- http://live.gnome.org/Dia/Download
Disclaimer: IT Wiki is a service that allows content to be created and edited by anyone in the community. Content posted to this site is not reviewed for correctness and is not supported by Toolbox.com or any of its partners. If you feel a wiki article is inappropriate, you can either correct it by clicking "Edit" above or click here to notify Toolbox.com.


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Road Closures Near 801 Broadway Parking Garage
News & Updates
Event Calendar
Read inspiring stories, news and updates about the Institute's patient care, research, special education, professional training, and community programs.
Search Research Content
Resource Finder at Kennedy Krieger Institute
A free resource that provides access to information and support for individuals and families living with developmental disabilities.
TF-CBT Effectiveness Study
Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) is an evidence-based mental health treatment designed for children who have experienced traumatic life events. Children at the Kennedy Krieger Family Center (KKFC) receive TF-CBT on a clinician available basis. The TF-CBT Effectiveness Study will evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention in children with a history of trauma who have been treated at the KKFC compared to children who have experienced trauma who were not in TF-CBT. Data analysis will be performed in a post hoc fashion. The study hypothesis is that children treated with TF-CBT will have improved six month behavior and parenting stress outcomes compared to children who are receiving standard care at KKFC.


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Documentation |
Create Composite object
C = Composite()
C = Composite(nlabs)
C = Composite() creates a Composite object on the client using workers from the parallel pool. The actual number of workers referenced by this Composite object depends on the size of the pool and any existing Composite objects. Generally, you should construct Composite objects outside any spmd statement.
C = Composite(nlabs) creates a Composite object on the parallel pool set that matches the specified constraint. nlabs must be a vector of length 1 or 2, containing integers or Inf. If nlabs is of length 1, it specifies the exact number of workers to use. If nlabs is of size 2, it specifies the minimum and maximum number of workers to use. The actual number of workers used is the maximum number of workers compatible with the size of the parallel pool, and with other existing Composite objects. An error is thrown if the constraints on the number of workers cannot be met.
A Composite object has one entry for each lab; initially each entry contains no data. Use either indexing or an spmd block to define values for the entries.
A Composite is created on the workers of the existing parallel pool. If no pool exists, Composite will start a new parallel pool, unless the automatic starting of pools is disabled in your parallel preferences. If there is no parallel pool and Composite cannot start one, the result is a 1-by-1 Composite in the client workspace.


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Gear Up for Winter
We need your help to keep children safe & warm this winter by providing the critical cold-weather gear they need.
Thank you for participating in our Gear Up for Winter program by volunteering your time, your money, and your new & gently-used children's items!
Thank you to our sponsors:
Help the Youngest Children We Serve
Gear Up for Baby recognizes the specialized needs of the youngest children we serve – those aged 0 to 24 months. Help us help babies in need across the region by donating funds, time, and baby product.
Visit our Virtual Baby Shower to find out how you can help!
Most Needed Items
Most Needed Items are immediate needs of children's essential items in our warehouse. The most prevalent out-of-stock items are new underwear & socks, pants, winter coats, and books.
Philadelphia Links
Does Your Family Need Assistance?
If you are an individual that needs assistance, we want to help. Please consult our list of social service agencies to find a partner agency in your neighborhood.
If you are an agency looking for support, become a distribution partner.
Cradles to Crayons serves as a resource for communities in-need and a hub of civic engagement in Philadelphia.
Cradles to Crayons provides children from birth through age 12 living in homeless or low-income situations with the essential items they need to thrive - at home, at school and at play. We supply these items free of charge by engaging and connecting communities that have with communities that need.


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The Scientific Committee for Life, Environmental and Geo Sciences
The Life, Environmental and Geo Sciences Scientific Committee informs and supports Science Europe in science policy activities. The Committee comprises 15 highly-authoritative European academics representing a wide range of research disciplines. It is chaired by Professor Dirk Inzé who is Scientific Director of the Department of Plant Systems Biology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), Belgium.
The Committee is supported in its work by a dedicated Senior Scientific Officer within the Science Europe Research Affairs Team.
The remit of the Committee includes:
- Providing expert opinions on relevant European policies impacting research in Life, Environmental and Geo Sciences ('Opinion Papers');
- Providing independent scientific advice and support for Science Europe's policy activities, including support for policy statements to the European Institutions and national governments ('Position Statements');
- Participating in 'horizon scanning' and monitoring new emerging research developments, in order to provide timely advice to Science Europe Member Organisations and policy-makers.
The Committe's Priorities
Some of the Committee's 2014 priorities in terms of policy topics include:
Career Paths in Multidisciplinary Research
Traditional ways of working in silos hamper the ability to provide integrated data and models. The current rapid progress in data acquisition and analysis requires input from various experts in order to generate knowledge whilst combining different fields. In this context, new challenges emerge in advancing careers. Thus, the Committee is addressing an urgent need for the development of 'credits' - such as publications records or being a speaker at events – for scientists working in large multidisciplinary teams. Moreover, this field requires impact indicators which can demonstrate the added value of joint efforts, and suitable strategies in publishing and authorship.
International Collaboration
Scientific research dedicated to solving global challenges requires collaborative research on an international scale. Therefore, the Committee is analysing opportunities arising from international collaborations and identifying tools that foster the development of multinational and bottom-up collaborative research, by reaching out directly to scientific communities.
Sustainable Management of the Earth's Resources
Innovation in science and technology can contribute valuable tools and strategies for sustainable management of ecosystems, biodiversity, natural resources, and climate change, whilst facing pressures from the world's growing population in terms of food security and health. Hence, the Committee is exploring challenges and opportunities in the transition to sustainable development.
(24 February 2015) New Opinion Paper of the Engineering Sciences Committee on 'Empowering Researchers to Provide Societal Value: Towards Innovation Communities that Leverage Excellence-focused Research'.


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courtesy photo by Kendra Brown Jen Jones, left, Emily Begin and Morgan Coleman will serve as captains of Sanford High School's softball team next year.
SANFORD — Jen Jones, Emily Begin and Morgan Coleman are the captains of Sanford High School's 2015 softball team, Coach Mike Bailey recently announced.Jones was the team's leading hitter and pitcher during the past season. She batted .440, getting 22 hits in 50 times at bat. In the pitching department, she posted a 6-9 record with a low earned average of 2.43. She struck out 141 batters in 101 innings, while walking only 31.Begin batted .308 during the past season and led the team in RBIs with eight.Coleman was tied with Jones for second place in RBIs with seven each. Jones had the highest on-base-percentage with a .462 mark, and Begin was second with a .400 mark.


text: Lamborghini Check your local listings. What does it take to build a car that can go from zero to 62 mph in 3.4 seconds and hit a top speed of 211 mph? NGC heads to the main factory for the Lamborghini Murcielago SV to find out. More on This Episode: Overview Videos Videos 2:01Powering the Murcielago1:18The Scissor Doors3:57Lamborghini's Master PaintersNo Video


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4 Rising High-Yield Dividend Stocks
Look for a dip below $31 as an aggressive entry point, and closer to $30 for the conservative play. Selling $30 strike price February Put options for about $1.30 is another entry method.
If your options are exercised and the shares are put to you, your cost basis is only $28.70 a share. That's an effective yield of 5.3% from future dividends, and if Seagate remains above $30 and the options expire worthless, your gain is about 4.3% for six weeks.
For a company analysts are mostly rating a hold, the stock really appreciated, gaining 76% in the last year, and the average analyst target price for Seagate is $29.59. Expect analyst target price upgrades soon at the rate the stock is trending. An analyst upgrade will often become self-fulfilling from the greater stock awareness and gained enthusiasm.
The short interest is markedly elevated and should be treated as a red flag that short sellers expect the price to fall. The current float short is 14.1%. It's increasingly becoming unprofitable for the shorts to hold their positions. While I don't normally like to bet against the shorts, I believe they have it wrong this time. STX Payout Ratio TTM data by YCharts
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text:
gam {mgcv}
Fits a generalized additive model (GAM) to data, the term `GAM' being taken to include any quadratically penalized GLM. The degree of smoothness of model terms is estimated as part of fitting. gam
can also fit any GLM subject to multiple quadratic penalties (including estimation of degree of penalization). Isotropic or scale invariant smooths of any number of variables are available as model terms, as are linear functionals of such smooths; confidence/credible intervals are readily available for any quantity predicted using a fitted model; gam
is extendable: users can add smooths.
Smooth terms are represented using penalized regression splines (or similar smoothers) with smoothing parameters selected by GCV/UBRE/AIC/REML or by regression splines with fixed degrees of freedom (mixtures of the two are permitted). Multi-dimensional smooths are available using penalized thin plate regression splines (isotropic) or tensor product splines (when an isotropic smooth is inappropriate). For an overview of the smooths available see smooth.terms
. For more on specifying models see gam.models
, random.effects
and linear.functional.terms
. For more on model selection see gam.selection
. Do read gam.check
and choose.k
See gam from package gam
, for GAMs via the original Hastie and Tibshirani approach (see details for differences to this implementation).
For very large datasets see bam
, for mixed GAM see gamm
and random.effects
gam(formula,family=gaussian(),data=list(),weights=NULL,subset=NULL, na.action,offset=NULL,method="GCV.Cp", optimizer=c("outer","newton"),control=list(),scale=0, select=FALSE,knots=NULL,sp=NULL,min.sp=NULL,H=NULL,gamma=1, fit=TRUE,paraPen=NULL,G=NULL,in.out,...)
- formula
- A GAM formula (see
and alsogam.models
). This is exactly like the formula for a GLM except that smooth terms,s
can be added to the right hand side to specify that the linear predictor depends on smooth functions of predictors (or linear functionals of these). - family
- This is a family object specifying the distribution and link to use in fitting etc. See
for more details. A negative binomial family is provided: seenegbin
families actually result in the use of extended quasi-likelihood ifmethod
is set to a RE/ML method (McCullagh and Nelder, 1989, 9.6). - data
- A data frame or list containing the model response variable and covariates required by the formula. By default the variables are taken from
: typically the environment from whichgam
is called. - weights
- prior weights on the data.
- subset
- an optional vector specifying a subset of observations to be used in the fitting process.
- na.action
- a function which indicates what should happen when the data contain `NA's. The default is set by the `na.action' setting of `options', and is `na.fail' if that is unset. The "factory-fresh" default is `na.omit'.
- offset
- Can be used to supply a model offset for use in fitting. Note that this offset will always be completely ignored when predicting, unlike an offset included in
: this conforms to the behaviour oflm
. - control
- A list of fit control parameters to replace defaults returned by
. Values not set assume default values. - method
- The smoothing parameter estimation method.
to use GCV for unknown scale parameter and Mallows' Cp/UBRE/AIC for known scale."GACV.Cp"
is equivalent, but using GACV in place of GCV."REML"
for REML estimation, including of unknown scale,"P-REML"
for REML estimation, but using a Pearson estimate of the scale."ML"
are similar, but using maximum likelihood in place of REML. - optimizer
- An array specifying the numerical optimization method to use to optimize the smoothing parameter estimation criterion (given by
for performance iteration."outer"
for the more stable direct approach."outer"
can use several alternative optimizers, specified in the second element ofoptimizer
(the latter is based entirely on finite differenced derivatives and is very slow). - scale
- If this is positive then it is taken as the known scale parameter. Negative signals that the scale parameter is unknown. 0 signals that the scale parameter is 1 for Poisson and binomial and unknown otherwise. Note that (RE)ML methods can only work with scale parameter 1 for the Poisson and binomial cases.
- select
- If this is
can add an extra penalty to each term so that it can be penalized to zero. This means that the smoothing parameter estimation that is part of fitting can completely remove terms from the model. If the corresponding smoothing parameter is estimated as zero then the extra penalty has no effect. - knots
- this is an optional list containing user specified knot values to be used for basis construction. For most bases the user simply supplies the knots to be used, which must match up with the
value supplied (note that the number of knots is not always justk
). Seetprs
for what happens in the"tp"/"ts"
case. Different terms can use different numbers of knots, unless they share a covariate. - sp
- A vector of smoothing parameters can be provided here. Smoothing parameters must be supplied in the order that the smooth terms appear in the model formula. Negative elements indicate that the parameter should be estimated, and hence a mixture of fixed and estimated parameters is possible. If smooths share smoothing parameters then
must correspond to the number of underlying smoothing parameters. - min.sp
- Lower bounds can be supplied for the smoothing parameters. Note that if this option is used then the smoothing parameters
, in the returned object, will need to be added to what is supplied here to get the smoothing parameters actually multiplying the penalties.length(min.sp)
should always be the same as the total number of penalties (so it may be longer thansp
, if smooths share smoothing parameters). - H
- A user supplied fixed quadratic penalty on the parameters of the GAM can be supplied, with this as its coefficient matrix. A common use of this term is to add a ridge penalty to the parameters of the GAM in circumstances in which the model is close to un-identifiable on the scale of the linear predictor, but perfectly well defined on the response scale.
- gamma
- It is sometimes useful to inflate the model degrees of freedom in the GCV or UBRE/AIC score by a constant multiplier. This allows such a multiplier to be supplied.
- fit
- If this argument is
sets up the model and fits it, but if it isFALSE
then the model is set up and an objectG
containing what would be required to fit is returned is returned. See argumentG
. - paraPen
- optional list specifying any penalties to be applied to parametric model terms.
explains more. - G
- Usually
, but may contain the object returned by a previous call togam
, in which case all other arguments are ignored except forgamma
. - in.out
- optional list for initializing outer iteration. If supplied then this must contain two elements:
should be an array of initialization values for all smoothing parameters (there must be a value for all smoothing parameters, whether fixed or to be estimated, but those for fixed s.p.s are not used);scale
is the typical scale of the GCV/UBRE function, for passing to the outer optimizer, or the the initial value of the scale parameter, if this is to be estimated by RE/ML. - ...
- further arguments for passing on e.g. to
(such asmustart
A generalized additive model (GAM) is a generalized linear model (GLM) in which the linear predictor is given by a user specified sum of smooth functions of the covariates plus a conventional parametric component of the linear predictor. A simple example is: log(E(y_i))=f_1(x_1i)+f_2(x_2i) where the (independent) response variables y_i~Poi, and f_1 and f_2 are smooth functions of covariates x_1 and x_2. The log is an example of a link function.
If absolutely any smooth functions were allowed in model fitting then maximum likelihood estimation of such models would invariably result in complex overfitting estimates of f_1 and f_2. For this reason the models are usually fit by penalized likelihood maximization, in which the model (negative log) likelihood is modified by the addition of a penalty for each smooth function, penalizing its `wiggliness'. To control the tradeoff between penalizing wiggliness and penalizing badness of fit each penalty is multiplied by an associated smoothing parameter: how to estimate these parameters, and how to practically represent the smooth functions are the main statistical questions introduced by moving from GLMs to GAMs.
The mgcv
implementation of gam
represents the smooth functions using penalized regression splines, and by default uses basis functions for these splines that are designed to be optimal, given the number basis functions used. The smooth terms can be functions of any number of covariates and the user has some control over how smoothness of the functions is measured.
in mgcv
solves the smoothing parameter estimation problem by using the Generalized Cross Validation (GCV) criterion n D/(n - DoF)^2 or an Un-Biased Risk Estimator (UBRE )criterion D/n + 2 s DoF / n -s where D is the deviance, n the number of data, s the scale parameter and DoF the effective degrees of freedom of the model. Notice that UBRE is effectively just AIC rescaled, but is only used when s is known.
Alternatives are GACV, or a Laplace approximation to REML. There is some evidence that the latter may actually be the most effective choice.
Smoothing parameters are chosen to minimize the GCV, UBRE/AIC, GACV or REML scores for the model, and the main computational challenge solved by the mgcv
package is to do this efficiently and reliably. Various alternative numerical methods are provided which can be set by argument optimizer
Broadly gam
works by first constructing basis functions and one or more quadratic penalty coefficient matrices for each smooth term in the model formula, obtaining a model matrix for the strictly parametric part of the model formula, and combining these to obtain a complete model matrix (/design matrix) and a set of penalty matrices for the smooth terms. Some linear identifiability constraints are also obtained at this point. The model is fit using gam.fit
, a modification of glm.fit
. The GAM penalized likelihood maximization problem is solved by Penalized Iteratively Reweighted Least Squares (P-IRLS) (see e.g. Wood 2000). Smoothing parameter selection is integrated in one of two ways. (i) `Performance iteration' uses the fact that at each P-IRLS iteration a penalized weighted least squares problem is solved, and the smoothing parameters of that problem can estimated by GCV or UBRE. Eventually, in most cases, both model parameter estimates and smoothing parameter estimates converge. (ii) Alternatively the P-IRLS scheme is iterated to convergence for each trial set of smoothing parameters, and GCV, UBRE or REML scores are only evaluated on convergence - optimization is then `outer' to the P-IRLS loop: in this case the P-IRLS iteration has to be differentiated, to facilitate optimization, and gam.fit3
is used in place of gam.fit
. The default is the second method, outer iteration.
Several alternative basis-penalty types are built in for representing model smooths, but alternatives can easily be added (see smooth.terms
for an overview and smooth.construct
for how to add smooth classes). The choice of the basis dimension (k
in the s
, te
, ti
and t2
terms) is something that should be considered carefully (the exact value is not critical, but it is important not to make it restrictively small, nor very large and computationally costly). The basis should be chosen to be larger than is believed to be necessary to approximate the smooth function concerned. The effective degrees of freedom for the smooth will then be controlled by the smoothing penalty on the term, and (usually) selected automatically (with an upper limit set by k-1
or occasionally k
). Of course the k
should not be made too large, or computation will be slow (or in extreme cases there will be more coefficients to estimate than there are data).
Note that gam
assumes a very inclusive definition of what counts as a GAM: basically any penalized GLM can be used: to this end gam
allows the non smooth model components to be penalized via argument paraPen
and allows the linear predictor to depend on general linear functionals of smooths, via the summation convention mechanism described in linear.functional.terms
. Details of the default underlying fitting methods are given in Wood (2011 and 2004). Some alternative methods are discussed in Wood (2000 and 2006).
is not a clone of Trevor Hastie's oroginal (as supplied in S-PLUS or package gam) The major differences are (i) that by default estimation of the degree of smoothness of model terms is part of model fitting, (ii) a Bayesian approach to variance estimation is employed that makes for easier confidence interval calculation (with good coverage probabilities), (iii) that the model can depend on any (bounded) linear functional of smooth terms, (iv) the parametric part of the model can be penalized, (v) simple random effects can be incorporated, and (vi) the facilities for incorporating smooths of more than one variable are different: specifically there are no lo
smooths, but instead (a) s
terms can have more than one argument, implying an isotropic smooth and (b) te
or t2
smooths are provided as an effective means for modelling smooth interactions of any number of variables via scale invariant tensor product smooths. Splines on the sphere, Duchon splines and Gaussian Markov Random Fields are also available. See gam from package gam
, for GAMs via the original Hastie and Tibshirani approach.
If fit=FALSE
the function returns a list G
of items needed to fit a GAM, but doesn't actually fit it.
Otherwise the function returns an object of class "gam"
as described in gamObject
The default basis dimensions used for smooth terms are essentially arbitrary, and it should be checked that they are not too small. See choose.k
and gam.check
You must have more unique combinations of covariates than the model has total parameters. (Total parameters is sum of basis dimensions plus sum of non-spline terms less the number of spline terms).
Automatic smoothing parameter selection is not likely to work well when fitting models to very few response data.
For data with many zeroes clustered together in the covariate space it is quite easy to set up GAMs which suffer from identifiability problems, particularly when using Poisson or binomial families. The problem is that with e.g. log or logit links, mean value zero corresponds to an infinite range on the linear predictor scale.
Key References on this implementation:
Wood, S.N. (2011) Fast stable restricted maximum likelihood and marginal likelihood estimation of semiparametric generalized linear models. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society (B) 73(1):3-36
Wood, S.N. (2004) Stable and efficient multiple smoothing parameter estimation for generalized additive models. J. Amer. Statist. Ass. 99:673-686. [Default method for additive case by GCV (but no longer for generalized)]
Wood, S.N. (2003) Thin plate regression splines. J.R.Statist.Soc.B 65(1):95-114
Wood, S.N. (2006a) Low rank scale invariant tensor product smooths for generalized additive mixed models. Biometrics 62(4):1025-1036
Wood S.N. (2006b) Generalized Additive Models: An Introduction with R. Chapman and Hall/CRC Press.
Wood S.N., F. Scheipl and J.J. Faraway (2012) Straightforward intermediate rank tensor product smoothing in mixed models. Statistical Computing.
Marra, G and S.N. Wood (2012) Coverage Properties of Confidence Intervals for Generalized Additive Model Components. Scandinavian Journal of Statistics, 39(1), 53-74.
Key Reference on GAMs and related models:
Hastie (1993) in Chambers and Hastie (1993) Statistical Models in S. Chapman and Hall.
Hastie and Tibshirani (1990) Generalized Additive Models. Chapman and Hall.
Wahba (1990) Spline Models of Observational Data. SIAM
Wood, S.N. (2000) Modelling and Smoothing Parameter Estimation with Multiple Quadratic Penalties. J.R.Statist.Soc.B 62(2):413-428 [The original mgcv paper, but no longer the default methods.]
Background References:
Green and Silverman (1994) Nonparametric Regression and Generalized Linear Models. Chapman and Hall. Gu and Wahba (1991) Minimizing GCV/GML scores with multiple smoothing parameters via the Newton method. SIAM J. Sci. Statist. Comput. 12:383-398
Gu (2002) Smoothing Spline ANOVA Models, Springer.
McCullagh and Nelder (1989) Generalized Linear Models 2nd ed. Chapman & Hall.
O'Sullivan, Yandall and Raynor (1986) Automatic smoothing of regression functions in generalized linear models. J. Am. Statist.Ass. 81:96-103
Wood (2001) mgcv:GAMs and Generalized Ridge Regression for R. R News 1(2):20-25 Wood and Augustin (2002) GAMs with integrated model selection using penalized regression splines and applications to environmental modelling. Ecological Modelling 157:157-177
See Also
, gamObject
, gam.models
, smooth.terms
, linear.functional.terms
, s
, te
, plot.gam
, summary.gam
, gam.side
, gam.selection
, gam.control
, linear.functional.terms
, magic
library(mgcv) set.seed(2) ## simulate some data... dat <- gamSim(1,n=400,dist="normal",scale=2) b <- gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3),data=dat) summary(b) plot(b,pages=1,residuals=TRUE) ## show partial residuals plot(b,pages=1,seWithMean=TRUE) ## `with intercept' CIs ## run some basic model checks, including checking ## smoothing basis dimensions... gam.check(b) ## same fit in two parts ..... G <- gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3),fit=FALSE,data=dat) b <- gam(G=G) print(b) ## change the smoothness selection method to REML b0 <- gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3),data=dat,method="REML") plot(b0,pages=1,scheme=1) ## Would a smooth interaction of x0 and x1 be better? ## Use tensor product smooth of x0 and x1, basis ## dimension 49 (see ?te for details, also ?t2). bt <- gam(y~te(x0,x1,k=7)+s(x2)+s(x3),data=dat, method="REML") plot(bt,pages=1) plot(bt,pages=1,scheme=2) ## alternative visualization AIC(b0,bt) ## interaction worse than additive ## Alternative: test for interaction with a smooth ANOVA ## decomposition (this time between x2 and x1) bt <- gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3)+ti(x1,x2,k=6), data=dat,method="REML") summary(bt) ## If it is believed that x0 and x1 are naturally on ## the same scale, and should be treated isotropically ## then could try... bs <- gam(y~s(x0,x1,k=50)+s(x2)+s(x3),data=dat, method="REML") plot(bs,pages=1) AIC(b0,bt,bs) ## additive still better. ## Now do automatic terms selection as well b1 <- gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3),data=dat, method="REML",select=TRUE) plot(b1,pages=1) ## set the smoothing parameter for the first term, estimate rest ... bp <- gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3),sp=c(0.01,-1,-1,-1),data=dat) plot(bp,pages=1,scheme=1) ## alternatively... bp <- gam(y~s(x0,sp=.01)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3),data=dat) # set lower bounds on smoothing parameters .... bp<-gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3), min.sp=c(0.001,0.01,0,10),data=dat) print(b);print(bp) # same with REML bp<-gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3), min.sp=c(0.1,0.1,0,10),data=dat,method="REML") print(b0);print(bp) ## now a GAM with 3df regression spline term & 2 penalized terms b0<-gam(y~s(x0,k=4,fx=TRUE,bs="tp")+s(x1,k=12)+s(x2,k=15),data=dat) plot(b0,pages=1) ## now simulate poisson data... dat <- gamSim(1,n=4000,dist="poisson",scale=.1) ## use "cr" basis to save time, with 4000 data... b2<-gam(y~s(x0,bs="cr")+s(x1,bs="cr")+s(x2,bs="cr")+ s(x3,bs="cr"),family=poisson,data=dat,method="REML") plot(b2,pages=1) ## drop x3, but initialize sp's from previous fit, to ## save more time... b2a<-gam(y~s(x0,bs="cr")+s(x1,bs="cr")+s(x2,bs="cr"), family=poisson,data=dat,method="REML", in.out=list(sp=b2$sp[1:3],scale=1)) par(mfrow=c(2,2)) plot(b2a) par(mfrow=c(1,1)) ## similar example using performance iteration dat <- gamSim(1,n=400,dist="poisson",scale=.25) b3<-gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3),family=poisson, data=dat,optimizer="perf") plot(b3,pages=1) ## repeat using GACV as in Wood 2008... b4<-gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3),family=poisson, data=dat,method="GACV.Cp",scale=-1) plot(b4,pages=1) ## repeat using REML as in Wood 2011... b5<-gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3),family=poisson, data=dat,method="REML") plot(b5,pages=1) ## a binary example (see later for large dataset version)... dat <- gamSim(1,n=400,dist="binary",scale=.33) lr.fit <- gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3),family=binomial, data=dat,method="REML") ## plot model components with truth overlaid in red op <- par(mfrow=c(2,2)) fn <- c("f0","f1","f2","f3");xn <- c("x0","x1","x2","x3") for (k in 1:4) { plot(lr.fit,residuals=TRUE,select=k) ff <- dat[[fn[k]]];xx <- dat[[xn[k]]] ind <- sort.int(xx,index.return=TRUE)$ix lines(xx[ind],(ff-mean(ff))[ind]*.33,col=2) } par(op) anova(lr.fit) lr.fit1 <- gam(y~s(x0)+s(x1)+s(x2),family=binomial, data=dat,method="REML") lr.fit2 <- gam(y~s(x1)+s(x2),family=binomial, data=dat,method="REML") AIC(lr.fit,lr.fit1,lr.fit2) ## A Gamma example, by modify `gamSim' output... dat <- gamSim(1,n=400,dist="normal",scale=1) dat$f <- dat$f/4 ## true linear predictor Ey <- exp(dat$f);scale <- .5 ## mean and GLM scale parameter ## Note that `shape' and `scale' in `rgamma' are almost ## opposite terminology to that used with GLM/GAM... dat$y <- rgamma(Ey*0,shape=1/scale,scale=Ey*scale) bg <- gam(y~ s(x0)+ s(x1)+s(x2)+s(x3),family=Gamma(link=log), data=dat,method="REML") plot(bg,pages=1,scheme=1) ## For inverse Gaussian, see ?rig ## now a 2D smoothing example... eg <- gamSim(2,n=500,scale=.1) attach(eg) op <- par(mfrow=c(2,2),mar=c(4,4,1,1)) contour(truth$x,truth$z,truth$f) ## contour truth b4 <- gam(y~s(x,z),data=data) ## fit model fit1 <- matrix(predict.gam(b4,pr,se=FALSE),40,40) contour(truth$x,truth$z,fit1) ## contour fit persp(truth$x,truth$z,truth$f) ## persp truth vis.gam(b4) ## persp fit detach(eg) par(op) ################################################## ## largish dataset example with user defined knots ################################################## par(mfrow=c(2,2)) eg <- gamSim(2,n=10000,scale=.5) attach(eg) ind<-sample(1:10000,1000,replace=FALSE) b5<-gam(y~s(x,z,k=50),data=data, knots=list(x=data$x[ind],z=data$z[ind])) ## various visualizations vis.gam(b5,theta=30,phi=30) plot(b5) plot(b5,scheme=1,theta=50,phi=20) plot(b5,scheme=2) par(mfrow=c(1,1)) ## and a pure "knot based" spline of the same data b6<-gam(y~s(x,z,k=100),data=data,knots=list(x= rep((1:10-0.5)/10,10), z=rep((1:10-0.5)/10,rep(10,10)))) vis.gam(b6,color="heat",theta=30,phi=30) ## varying the default large dataset behaviour via `xt' b7 <- gam(y~s(x,z,k=50,xt=list(max.knots=1000,seed=2)),data=data) vis.gam(b7,theta=30,phi=30) detach(eg) ################################################################ ## Approximate large dataset logistic regression for rare events ## based on subsampling the zeroes, and adding an offset to ## approximately allow for this. ## Doing the same thing, but upweighting the sampled zeroes ## leads to problems with smoothness selection, and CIs. ################################################################ n <- 100000 ## simulate n data dat <- gamSim(1,n=n,dist="binary",scale=.33) p <- binomial()$linkinv(dat$f-6) ## make 1's rare dat$y <- rbinom(p,1,p) ## re-simulate rare response ## Now sample all the 1's but only proportion S of the 0's S <- 0.02 ## sampling fraction of zeroes dat <- dat[dat$y==1 | runif(n) < S,] ## sampling ## Create offset based on total sampling fraction dat$s <- rep(log(nrow(dat)/n),nrow(dat)) lr.fit <- gam(y~s(x0,bs="cr")+s(x1,bs="cr")+s(x2,bs="cr")+s(x3,bs="cr")+ offset(s),family=binomial,data=dat,method="REML") ## plot model components with truth overlaid in red op <- par(mfrow=c(2,2)) fn <- c("f0","f1","f2","f3");xn <- c("x0","x1","x2","x3") for (k in 1:4) { plot(lr.fit,select=k,scale=0) ff <- dat[[fn[k]]];xx <- dat[[xn[k]]] ind <- sort.int(xx,index.return=TRUE)$ix lines(xx[ind],(ff-mean(ff))[ind]*.33,col=2) } par(op) rm(dat)
Documentation reproduced from package mgcv, version 1.7-28. License: GPL (>= 2)


text: MASKS, MASK ACTING and SCENARIOS Zanni Mask CHARACTER TYPES: Commedia characters, while traditional and conventional, have their origin in real life. These timeless archetypes are not just literary types but were inspired by people who populate our daily lives. Dottore is not a fictional exaggeration but your friend who carries on as if he can fix anything but leaves your computer in worse shape than before. Zanni did not live hundreds of years before but is your relative who always gets a free meal without helping wash dishes. To discover who these commedia characters and stories are, recognize how the characters and their stories are like someone you know or have seen every day. Their natural actions and reactions are simply made more stylized and satirized: the miser guarding his moneybag or bankbook, a lover's pained looks and heavy breathing, the prima donna's obsessive preening, the braggart's conscious display. While these stereotypes are constantly exploited and seen on television and in the movies, take some time and observe how they appear in real life without the clichés and gross simplifications. Find some aspect which has not been explored. In casting, certain parts, originally played by men, can be played by women. Note the function of other roles in the scenarios. OBSERVATION EXERCISE: Observe persons who can be satirized and used as commedia types. What obsession motivates their behavior and can be satirized? The beauty who constantly fixes her hair, makeup, and clothes? The cheap shoppers who brag about how much money they saved? Do cheap shoppers get overly exciting or over confident when talking about their bargaining ability? What behavior, common to this type and which would be remembered by your audience, can you satirize? Do they lean forward? Do their eyes sharpen and twinkle? Do their hands become more agitated when they discuss their obsession? Is this obsession driven by a need for approval from others or an inner hunger? What social or psychological statement do you want to make through this satiric exaggeration? You can be a moralist without being a pedant. Observe these types and note how they think and what they do so that you can recreate them for your classmates. Through your satiric choices, what do you want to say about: the beauty, the miser, the big shot, the know-it-all, the hurt lover, the loser? What other types can you add to the list? THE MASKS: Masks are usually thought to be objects placed on the face. However, "masks" for the commedia actor were roles which could be played with a mask or makeup. Commedia characters usually are not very complex or subtle but follow conventions or forms. However, when you play these characters allow your own creativity to develop and personalize the way you play the character. The contradiction in the objectives within the character's nature causes a dilemma which leads to conflict, humor, and, in most cases, downfall. What contradictions can you add to this list: smart but over-confident, greedy but vain, hungry but lazy? The following is a brief discussion of the major themes or story lines, characters, and how they would be performed, and scenarios that can be improvised after you have perfected the lazzi or games presented in the first chapter. PICTURE: COMMON THEMES: Money--Love--Status: Commedia stories are very simple and direct, presenting basic issue such as money, love, and status through the conflict of masters and slaves, lovers and parents, the clever and the foolish, the good and the bad. The stories are very positive, containing morals and lessons such as the reversal of injustice and the triumph of the right. What issues, themes, morals, and lessons are presented in Chinese stories? What action or conflict is used to dramatize these themes, morals, and lessons? An example would be love vs. money in the rights of a daughter to choose her husband. Another example: a greedy man is soon parted from his gold when a clever Brighella cheats a miserly Pantalone. When you improvise and perform the scenarios, decide what the issue or theme is and then focus on the single action or conflict that dramatizes that issue. Your whole performance may contain other issues to give greater variety and depth, but one issue will dominate the performance. Before we look at these conflicts and issues, a few performance concepts and techniques will have to be discussed. All characters are very strictly defined through their dominant objective and emotional center and then presented through the physical and movement forms which either symbolize that objective or are a result of the emotional center. To aid in the representation, the character is given not only a physical mask but objects to release and express the character's objectives and feelings, such as the rich man's purse or the female lover's handkerchief. We will call these toys for both the the character and the actor who is playing the character, for they use the objects as toys to amuse, distract or convey their feelings. Finally, each character has playmates with whom he/she is usually matched either as opponent or ally. The objective is the driving force. Objectives: Pantalone, or rich old man, is driven by the desire to protect and obtain wealth. All actions are motivated by this single purpose: marrying his daughter to a rich Dottore or finding a way to feed his servant with paper, which is cheaper than bread. And as these examples show, the objective has become an obsession. Likewise, the character has become a caricature. OBSERVATION EXERCISE: What are the objectives which motivate or create a character? Observe how people with the following objectives act: to get wealth, avoid work, to get others to do their work, to get attention, to get love, to get food. Name five other objectives that motivate people. Name five objectives that motivate the characters in traditional or typical Chinese stories. Emotional Center: The emotional center can be the cause or the result of this objective. In the case of the Pantalone, an emotional center of suspicion would be the result of worry over being cheated. For a lazy but insatiable Zanni servant, the dilemma between the objective, to be on the constant search for food, and his emotional center, a desire to get out of work, could create either great physical or psychological discontent or the ability to manipulate people. PANTALONE Contrasting characters are placed together to generate the conflict, such as a greedy but slow-witted Pantalone and a lazy but clever Zanni. Later in this book, classic scenarios between these opposing types or brief scenes from the commedia influenced plays will be used to explore how stories are created by interposing characters with opposing objectives and emotional centers. (One might ask how such a slow-witted Pantalone became so rich. However, commedia often does not bother itself with logical consistencies.) OBSERVATION EXERCISE: What are the emotional centers of the characters you observed? What is the cause and effect relationship between the objective and the emotional center? Is the person who wants love but never gets it insecure? Is the person who wants others to do his work dangerously overconfident? Base your conclusions on accurate observations rather than on clichés or the desire to create melodramatic characters. Describe the emotional centers of the five people you observed. List and describe five contrasting emotional types found in Chinese stories. Physical and Movement Forms of the Objective/ Emotional Center: The objective and emotional center produces physical forms and movements. Usually thin, Pantalone might show the effects of his age through a stoop in the shoulders and back or wobbly walk. He might, on the other hand, be a very feisty old man who has resisted the effects of age and so has placed his weight toward the back by pulling his back and shoulders back. Moreover, he could walk with a wider and stronger placement of feet. No matter how age has affected him, his obsession with money would be revealed through a continuous grasping with the hands or suspicious peering about for thieves and conmen. He might wear spectacles to represent his narrow vision and lack of foresight. He would wear a money pouch and even a dagger for protection, which he almost never uses. Often a bulging codpiece was present to show that even though he was getting old, his sexual appetite was strong... or he wished others to believe that it was. OBSERVATION EXERCISE: Answer the following question for the five people you observed. How are the five different objectives and emotional centers revealed in physical movement and physical form? Does the person who wants wealth take more space or talk louder? Is he hyperactive? Describe the physical movements and forms which your five characters have Describe the physical movements and forms of five contrasting characters from Chinese stories. Which brings us to the characters' objects or toys. As any actor will tell you, objects can be very useful in creating character. Commedia actors were no exception. Toys: Pantalone would have his money pouch, which sires a whole family of habitual movements: touching the pouch to be reassured of its presence, checking the contents, counting the money to make sure it's all there or to be reminded to get more. There are as many choices as the creative actor can discover. A dagger for protection was also traditional as was a codpiece. He might have glasses and, as every successful actor knows, the costume must be used: a cloak for disguise, and shoes that are too tight or worn because Pantalone is too cheap to buy new ones. Once again, be individual and add to the tradition. OBSERVATION EXERCISE: What toys are used by the five people you observed? What toys are used by contemporary types? Who plays with a cellular phone? Who plays with make up? Who plays with a hand-held computer game? Describe how five contemporary characters reveal themselves through their toys. Make original discoveries based upon real people as characters rather than the clichés found in fictional types from current television or films. Describe how five characters in Chinese stories reveal themselves through their toys. Playmates: Finally, each type is often paired with the same characters either to serve as a source of conflict or support. The term "playmate" is used to resist the urge on the part of some actors to feel that they must be in real conflict with the actor playing the scripted opponent. Even though the lovers are fighting in the play, the actors playing the lovers are finding ways to play with each other to create the best possible performance. Your stage enemy is actually your most important playmate, since that character is the source of the conflict which brought you to life. And the better you play with the actor playing your enemy, the more fun you have and the more the audience enjoys the show. OBSERVATION EXERCISE: What are the playmates of the five characters you observed? Are they complimentary or contrasting characters? Describe how the complimentary characters render support and how the contrasting characters create action which would be useful on stage. The supporting character might encourage or soothe nerves while the contrasting character might create work for the person you observed. In Chinese stories, give five examples showing how complimentary characters support and contrasting characters create action. BRIGHELLA MASK STORIES * CHARACTER * PLAYMATES The following is a chart which matches some stories, characters, and playmates. Money: Pantalone vs. Brighella: Brighella tries to con Pantalone out of money. Pantalone vs. Arlichinno: Arlichinno wants more food or money from Pantalone. Pantalone vs. Zanni: Zanni wants to get out of a job that Pantalone wants done. Love: Lovers vs. Lovers: Lovers love to fight about topics serious and trivial, reasonable and ridiculous, such as who is more faithful or who is more in love. Lovers need a mediator/Colombina or Arlichinno Lovers vs. Fathers: with Colombina or Zanni mediating Lovers vs. Another Suitor: Pantalone overhears the truth Status: Isabella or Colombina mediate between Pantalone and his daughter Masters vs. Slaves: Pantalone vs. Arlichinno/Scapino Reversal: Pantalone is corrected by Colombina Clever vs. Foolish: Pantalone vs. Scapino The Triumph of the Right: Isabella vs. Dottore Good Guy Vs. Bad Guy: Dottore is revealed to Pantalone by Isabella List five different themes which are represented by pairs or groups of characters found in Chinese stories. SCENARIOS FOR IMPROVISATION: The following scenarios are taken from the plays included in this text. Each will start with a matched pair, such as Zanni and Pantalone. Some will develop to include additional characters. After you have improvised these scenarios, look at the plays and note the similarities and differences in characterization and action so that you can make your performances more comprehensive. Note the objectives, emotional centers, and physical representations of each character, as well as what their toys and who their playmates are. For each of the following scenarios answer the following questions: What is the dominate theme or issue? How can the issue be clarified through the action? What characters are present? What is the objective of each character? What is the emotional center of each character? What in the action allows the character to reveal his/her emotional center? What toys are present for the characters to use? What toys can I add to improve the performance? MONEY: 1. Two Person Scene-PANTALONE VS. BRIGHELLA Pantalone is getting married today and asks a Brighella fortune teller for advice. Each time Brighella tells Pantalone what he wants to hear, he is rewarded. Each time he does not say what Pantalone wants to hear, Brighella is not rewarded. Play the scene twice. In the first scene, Pantalone is very slow witted and easily pleased and then, the second time scene is played, very suspicious. The toys for Pantalone have already been discussed. Each Brighella would have the tools of his particular trade. In this case, they would be cards, a crystal ball, star charts, incense burners, I Ching sticks... the more the better. He also could have a money pouch, shawl, magic jewelry... again, the more toys the better. 2. Two Person Scene-PANTALONE VS. BRIGHELLA Pantalone wants a Brighella fixit man to repair a broken earthen jar. Pantalone wants it done as cheaply as possible while Brighella has his own methods which are very complicated and therefore costly. This Brighella's toys would be a bag filled with equipment, lunch, a change of clothes, and whatever absurd, crazy, or taboo items you can pull out as a sight gag, something which makes the audience "laugh at first sight." 3. Two Person Scene-PANTALONE VS. SCARAMOUCHE An argumentative hunch-backed Scaramouche comes to fix Pantalone's jar. Scaramouche is not so much out to con Pantalone as to be stubborn and argumentative. Since being stubborn and argumentative is the reaction, play the objective which would be to get people to agree; however, the demands are such that people find it hard to agree, therefore he insists on his way. How does the limited movement of a hunched back actually provide amusing lazzi? One possibility would be that Scaramouche himself will not acknowledge the hump's existence, let alone that it is a problem. Or everyone is afraid to refer to the hump since Scaramouche flies into a rage if anyone alludes to it in the slightest way. Give Scaramouche added toys, representative of a feisty type rather than a Brighella, who can not argue since he would alarm those he wanted to con. Scaramouche could chew tobacco which he would spit when angry. A lazzi could develop from this: how he spits, how far he spits. Those present try to avoid getting in the way of his spitting. Experiment with the possibilities here. Would a Taiwan type chew Betel-nut? What is the objective of Scaramouche? What is his emotional center? What is his physical form and movement? What are his toys? What character or story from Chinese culture is like the previous Scaramouche scene? 4.Three Person Scene: PANTALONE, BRIGHELLA 1, BRIGHELLA 2 You may use Zanni rather than Brighella 2. Play the scene again and add in a second Brighella as fortune teller who uses the same or different methods and who also wants to exchange positive responses for monetary rewards. What Chinese story is this scene like? 5. Three-four Person Scene-- BRIGHELLA, ZANNI 1, ZANNI 2 Add in a Zanni or two to help Brighella who has become stuck in a jar. Zanni are two common playmates who are either helpful or provide a conflict. Play the scene several times with different kinds of Zanni: clever but lazy, stupid but aggressive, thinks he can fix anything but only makes matters worse, or doubts his every effort but is actually quite competent. These Zanni could bring the following toys: bags filled with other tools which are even more unsuitable, useless and ridiculous than those Brighella brought. Play with their emotional excesses such as "loves to eat" or "afraid of getting dirty." What is the objective of each Zanni? Experiment with the effect of using complimentary or contrasting objectives. What is the emotional center of each Zanni? Experiment with the effect of using complimentary or contrasting emotional centers. What is the physical form and movement of each Zanni? Once again, experiment with complimentary vs. contrasting types. What are the toys? Are they similar or different? What amusing lazzi can be developed with the toys? How can they pull at Scaramouche? Arms? Ears? Head? Lure him out with money? Food? How can they move and roll the jar about until it breaks? 6. Four to Five Person Scene--SCARAMOUCHE, ZANNI 1, ZANNI 2, PANTALONE Add in Pantalone who hears that two Zanni are trying to remove the imprisoned Scaramouche. The jar finally breaks freeing Scaramouche, who now has to get Pantalone to pay for his repair work. Is the fixit man in Pirandello's "The Jar" a Brighella, a Scaramouche, or both? LOVE: LOVER MAGNET MOVEMENTS In the drawing notice that the lovers eyes cause them to be attracted, while the rest of the body resists and draws them apart. 7. Two Person Scene: MALE LOVER, FEMALE LOVER Lovers as Magnets: After walking away from each other in opposite directions, an irresistible force from the lovers' eyes draws them back together, even though the rest of the body resists the attraction. Use isolations to turn the eyes, then the head, the neck, shoulders, chest, and hips, until finally the lovers rush toward each other. After they are reunited, they start to speak with great passion until they find an impasse and then start to quarrel. Whereupon they turn and stomp away, only to think they heard the other beg forgiveness. They turn, and contact each other's eyes. After this, the magnetic attraction draws them back again. Each time the anger becomes greater, the separation becomes greater, the need to resist the magnet stronger, and the release more passionate. All movements should be synchronous. FEMALE LOVER 8. Two Person Scene-MALE LOVER, FEMALE LOVER LOVER VS LOVER: The following is typical lover dialogue. They interrupt or complete each other's lines as if speaking from one script. Notice how their anger rises and then subsides and then rises again only to subside and rise again as they wait for the other to make the suitable apology. Plan a mirrored magnet game during the pauses. MALE LOVER Objectives: to love, to be loved, to be in love, to have another acknowledge your love, to be in love with love, to control one's love, to impress others with how much you love or are suffering for love. What other objectives could be used? You may use verbs other than "love." Emotional Center: the passion of love, the emotional ups and downs of love: hurt by love, the joy of love, the joy of being hurt by love, the competitive pride of suffering more for your love. What choices will change your interpretation of these lovers? Do you want the audience to sympathize with the lovers or feel their love is just vanity? If you want their love to be mature, what objectives and emotional center would be appropriate? If you want their love to be fickle and amusing, what choices would be appropriate? List five interpretations and choices of objective and emotional center based upon your observations. List five choices from Chinese love stories. Physical Forms and Movements: The mirror represents one type of lover and love relationship. What other types have you witnessed? The silent type who wait for the other to say, "It's my fault. I'm sorry." Would this be effective on stage? Why? For how long? Add to this a whole vocabulary of movements associated with costume and toys. You may research period movements but don't feel restricted to only historically accurate choices. List five types of movement and physical relationship that you have observed in lovers. List five types from Chinese love stories. Toys: Traditional commedia lovers used fans and handkerchiefs. When presenting traditional commedia, could these be used? List other props or items of costuming for men as well as women boots that could be used to create movement and reveal character and reaction such as long dresses and coats, lace cuffs and collars. Choices must must be used to suggest that the lovers were noble but powerless to effect their own solution. For example, lace cuffs are a useless decoration which can be used to express light and ineffectual reactions but lack any power or force. List five toys which fictional Chinese lovers used. List five or more toys that your contemporaries use. PICTURE OF MALE LOVER Two Person Scene: (The lovers rush toward opposite exits and then stop.) He: What was that? She: What was that? He: Did you speak? She Did you speak? (catching eye contact) He: Oh! She: Oh! (pause as they resist the magnetic attraction) He: You... She:...spoke? He: You ... She:...spoke? (the magnet turns them around He: My dove... She: My love... He: My own... She: ... has flown. He: Oh, could I ever? She: Oh, I should never? (drawing closer almost hypnotized) He: To think that she... She: To think that he... He: He? She: She? (face to face) He: Do you mean to say... She: Do you mean to delay... He: Delay? She: Pray? He: Well, it seems... She: ... that this were but dreams. He: Very well? She: Pray tell? He: How can you have a heart of ice? She: 'Tis better than a soul of vice. He: I'll not stay to hear my honor so maligned. She: To think that I was so blind. He: Madam, I take my farewell. She: Sir, do not in my presence dwell. (They turn and march toward the exit and then stop.) He: Did you... She: ....hear a lark? He: Yes, its song She: ... ever so sweet? (turn and see each others' eye) He: As when... She: ...true loves'... He: ...eyes meet? CONTINUE AND FINISH WITH ANOTHER CLIMAX AND THEN A RECONCILATION COLOMBINA: 9. Three Person Scene--MALE LOVER, FEMALE LOVER, COLOMBINA LOVER VS. LOVER WITH A THIRD PARTY TO MEDIATE: Colombina or Arlichinno. Replay and revise a lover's quarrel, using the same parallel dialogue, with a third character as mediator: a) a wily Colombina and b) an inept Arlichinno. While the two lovers argue, Colombina mimics each lover in turn until the argument becomes dangerously close to a permanent break, at which time she stops them and makes the lovers apologize to each other. Colombina was the maid whose independence of thought and action was inconsistent with her status. She had the strength of character, intelligence, and presence of mind that her peers and masters lacked, with the exception of Isabella, who will be discussed next. She had the greatest flexibility of movement because of her access to female characters and quarters. The Pantalone father would chase his daughter, only to have her escape into her room; it would be up to Colombina to run to the rescue, seemingly, for Pantalone. Because of this she was the confidante and the one who solved problems for lovers, i.e. Isabella, and even for the fathers. Objectives: She is generally positive except when in a mood to have fun, play tricks, and seek a righteous revenge; otherwise she helps, counsels, comforts, arrange solutionss, and mediates. What other objectives could she have or do you see evidenced in the scenarios and plays? Emotional Center: Because of her balance and strength of mind and character, Columbina's emotional center, aside from Isabella's, is the most complex and close to a modern character. Physicalization: Columbina's mental agility and strength is seen in her movements as well. Traditionally she would place her hands at her hips or above her head, as if dancing. Her feet would be set far enough apart to give firm support and grounding. Hands and arms movements would be confident and never given to wild erratic gestures. What other movements can you discover to represent her confident and assertive nature? Toys: Because she is a maid, she might use a duster or an other object used for cleaning. Likewise, she could relate her role and objective to the toy, such as a handkerchief to wipe away tears or a shawl when in disguise. Colombina's toys envince a great range of choices. Are there confidante or mediator characters like Colombina in Chinese literature? How are they similar? How are they different? Describe the Colombina types you haveobserved. 10. Three Person Scene--MALE LOVER, FEMALE LOVER, ARLICHINNO Repeat the scene with an inept but well-meaning Arlichinno who manages to get the lovers to kiss and make up, in spite of or possibly because of his mistakes. ARLICHINNO MASK Arlichinno's basic objective, to help, is always complicated by his ineptitude. Arlichinno is basically honest and good but rather simple-minded. He doesn't get upset by his mistakes but might drive others to distraction. Emotional Center: Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp character is very much an Arlichinno. You might describe this character as cute or charming. However, this is your reaction to the character. Rather than play the reaction, play the character: shy, innocent, desires to be attractive and heroic but aware of his limitations in appearance and stature, but none the less heroic because he rejects the limitations by fighting for the right. Traditionally, Arlichinno was a little slow but because of the purity of his intentions and his alliances with virtuous characters, such as Isabella and Colombina, who balanced his defects with their strength, he was able to succeed. ARLICHINNO GESTURES Physical Form and Movements: His slow wit is contrasted by his light and agile movements. Because his movements are isolated, stretched, and highly expressive and stylized, many of the highly styled movements of mime were inspired by the Arlichinno character. Playmates: He alone may be servant to Pantalone or Isabella or may be contrasted with a large staff of more witless Zanni or with the clever Brighella. Brighella may provide a conflict as Arlichinno is not as mercenary as Brighella. You could create a non-traditional scenario in which he is even matched to a Dottore because his lack of pretensions would unmask Dottore's reliance upon them. He is in love with Colombina who may or may not reciprocate that love. Arlichinno's toys would be: a pouch to carry his toys which means that you as actor are free to carry whatever toys you need for that Arlichinno character and that story. He also carries a slap-stick which is often used by others to hit him. This stick is design so that it makes as much noise as possible without doing any bodily damage. Describe how people you have observed are like Arlichinno. Describe how characters in Chinese literature or performance are like Arlichinno. What is it about Arlichinno that attracts an audience? ISABELLA 11. Three Person Scene--ISABELLE, PANTALONE, DAUGHTER (female lover) Isabella's Objective: Since Isabella is an intelligent and resourceful woman matched to a Pantalone father or husband, she must reveal the truth and solve the problems caused by Pantalone. She also might be matched to a Dottore, in which case her objective would be the same while her means might be different. Emotional Center: Because she represents reason and restraint, balance and correctness are your guides for choices. Unlike most commedia types which are very simplistic and two-dimensional, Isabella is a more complex and well-rounded character. This means that you should avoid strong or exaggerated emotions, except when Isabella is pressed. Even though Isabella is reasonable, avoid making her colorless since her desire to set matters right comes from an independent and aggressive spirit. Toys: While traditionally she used only a handkerchief or fan, you need not be limited to these. Make your choices fit her high status and dignity. Her movements, likewise, are all dignity and refinement: an upright posture and bearing, no affectation or pretense. Isabella's playmates would be Arlichinno or another Zanni as servant. Colombina might be a servant but would function more as confidante or partner, since Colombina is more intelligent and capable. Her father and husband would be Pantalones, or more non-traditionally Dottores. She is forever getting herself and others out of situations which Pantalone is responsible for. Her suitors might be Cavaliere or even Capitano. Describe people whom you have observed who would be an Isabella. Describe characters from Chinese stories who are like Isabella. Scenario: Isabella is Pantalone's second wife and must mediate between Pantalone's outrageous demand for his daughter to marry Dottore and her step-daughter's stormy outbursts. Repeat the scene and replace Isabella with Colombina as rather imputent maid who acts as mediator and constantly gives advice to Pantalone. 12. Two Person Scene--ISABELLE, SCARAMOUCHE You have already worked with a hunch-backed Scaramouche. This Scaramouche has no visible physical defect but is deeply emotionally scarred. While possessing typical Isabella strong points, this Isabella shares Scaramouche's scars and, in some ways, his argumentative personality. How do the emotionally scarred reveal their scars: physically and psychologically through the avoidance of certain issues, topics, or situations? How is this avoidance often aggressive in nature? Scaramouche is sent by his master to collect a debt from a wealthy widow, Isabella. Outside the house, he rehearses his tried and true psychological and physical ways to overpower and get money out of what he expects will be a weak and defenseless old woman. When he confronts Isabella, he finds her to be a very handsome woman and is immediately attracted. Isabella also puts on her act, a pitiable grief-struck widow, expecting Scaramouche to be sympathetic and leave. She has been beset by creditors following the death of her faithless philandering husband, and this ploy has always worked in the past. Scaramouche, on the other hand, believing Isabella to be a pushover, is a bull-in-a-china-shop belligerent in his demands to be paid today. The topic moves from their experiences with debtors and creditors to the fidelity of women vs. men. Isabella is such a passionate and able opponent that Scaramouche falls madly in love with her, but he maintains his mask of belligerence. She ups the ante and challenges him to a duel, with a set of old pistols left by her husband. Scaramouche accepts the challenge but decides he would rather let her kill him than harm her with the slightest smudge of powder burns. Isabella interprets this as cowardice and pursues her vendetta against the male sex. Scaramouche finally wins her over by complying with her every demand. Describe a Chinese situation like this scene between Scaramouche and Isabella. 13. Three Person Scene--ISABELLE, SCARAMOUCHE, ZANNI Repeat the scene by including Isabella's servant, an inept Zanni, who is terrified of Scaramouche. Whatever Isabella commands Zanni to do, Scaramouche may refuse, ignore, or counter. Whatever Scaramouche demands of Zanni, Isabella may refuse, ignore, or counter. Use the Zanni character to develop the interaction between Isabella and Scaramouche. Zanni becomes a pawn, a tool, a weapon, and a means to avoid or reveal one's control over the other. However, keep Zanni a supporting character. 14: Two Person Scene--PANTALONE vs. ZANNI Pantalone is getting married and wants his Zanni to give his reaction to the decision. Make a list of topics and issues such as Pantalone's age, how long he and his intended have known each other, the age of the intended, how long Pantalone has known her, how he met her, why he wants to marry her, why she wants to marry him. Pantalone gives very positive answers, and so Zanni is very positive and encouraging until Zanni asks the name of the girl. When he hears it, Zanni's reaction immediately changes because the girl is notoriously unfaithful. He continues to encourage Pantalone but can barely keep from laughing. Reverse the status. Pantalone is dependent on Zanni for encouragement. Zanni is aware of this and so enjoys the manipulation of Pantalone. Make stage movements parallel the discussion. Change the space with every question. Change body positions with the different questions. 15. Four Person Scene--MALE and FEMALE LOVERS PANTALONE vs. SCAPINO SCAPINO Scapino is a very independent and playful servant who takes great pleasure out of disguises and deceptions. To play tricks and get away with them would be his objective. Emotional Center: Think of him as part ham actor, part rascal who loves to show off his abilities. While he may be paid for this by his master, he would be just as likely to do it for free. Movements: Like all showmen, he is very physical and expansive, facially and bodily. Since he wears no mask, his face is very important and must be expressive. Toys: Since each disguise isa toy, make choices that provide as many options as possible: big wide- brimmed hats with long flowing feather, full capes, fake mustaches and beards that Scapino might have trouble controlling. He tends to satirize whomever he impersonates. Playmates: The objects of his trickery would be less perceptive characters such as Pantalone and Dottore. He might work for those same characters but might also be employed by the lovers, Colombina, or Isabella to help solve a problem. You can be sure that no matter how simple his instructions, he will find a way to complicate the situation and nearly ruin the solution. However, no matter how near he comes to failure, he will rescue himself and the situation through persistence if not wit and talent. Scenario: The Male Lover ask his servant Scapino if he can help him. Scapino brags about all his past feats and is very confident and eager to get the bag of coins his master is offering him until his master tells him that he is to impersonate a doctor. The Male Lover continues to tease and tempt Scapino with the money until Scapino convinces himself that he can make Pantalone believe he is a doctor. Scapino puts on the doctor costume. Pantalone and his daughter enter. Pantalone and asks Dr. Scapino to examine and cure his daughter. Scapino's examination and diagnosis is very unorthodox but Scapino manages to convince Pantalone that his daughter must marry the first man to enter the room or she will die. Upon hearing this, the Male Lover enters and Scapino, now as a priest, marries them at once. The daughter is immediately cured. Note: Scapino and the lovers are improvising. The male lover is hidden but tries to give Scapino directions. The daughter tries to follow how she is supposed to react from both Scapino and her lover. At times, she and Scapino might get the male lover's messages mixed up. Describe a Scapino that you know. You don't have to use his/her real name. Describe a Scapino and Scapino in disguise story found in Chinese. 16. Three Person Scene--PANTALONE, MALE LOVER, FEMALE LOVER These lovers are more villanous. While they discuss how they plan to live well off of Pantalone's money after she marries and how, even though she is married to Pantalone, they will continue to meet and be faithful to each other and how she will contrive to stay out of Pantalone's bed, Pantalone listens. He changes his hiding spots as they change locations. You can end the scene with the two lovers leaving or Pantalone jumping out, finally unable to contain his anger. 17. Two Person Scene--DOTTORE Vs. DOTTORE DOTTORE MASK Dottore means Doctor of Philosophy rather than Doctor of Medicine. At the beginning of this chapter the Dottore was described as a know-it-all who wanted to impress people with his knowledge. That is his objective--to impress people. Of course, he is limited to fields which are unknown to those he's trying to impress. Emotional Center: proud, self-centered, self-satisfied, hungry for praise, obtuse. Physical Form and Movements: His fat appearance fits a hungry ego and while he doesn't move very much he tries to take as much stage space as possible with large and grandiose movements. His voice, likewise, is large and fills the theater. Toys: He would carry books or other academia, which he probably has not read. He might even be dressed in academic robes. Playmates: He may have a servant but is often only a friend of Pantalone and rarely has a wife or children. Often the object of ridicule, he is a loner. Scenario: Two Dottore fathers criticize the wedding presents which were given to their children. The father of the bride does not know that he is criticizing the gifts of the father of the groom. The father of the groom, likewise, does not know that he is criticizing the gifts of the father of the bride. Both fathers will not admit that their gifts are being criticized. Describe a Dottore that you know. Describe Chinese fictional characters like Dottore. 18. Four Person Scene--DOTTORE vs. DOTTORE MALE LOVER vs. FEMALE LOVER Repeat the scene and add in: The bride is very defensive of her father while the groom is very critical of her father. 19. Six Person Scene---DOTTORE vs. DOTTORE MALE LOVER vs. FEMALE LOVER ISABELLE vs. ISABELLA Repeat the scene and add in: The wives are very defensive of their husbands and critical of the other parents. This scene can be repeated with added members of the family or friends, and each with an objective, point of view toward the gifts, and with a specific commedia character. 20: Three Person Scene--ISABELLE, PANTALONE, DOTTORE This scene is taken from Tartuffe, so you may make the Dottore more menacing and less foolish. Pantalone may be a little more intelligent but not very. Isabella conceals Pantalone, her husband, under a table so that he can see Dottore's attempts to seduce her. Whenever Dottore becomes quite aggressive and his seduction obvious, Pantalone fails to rescue her. Likewise, when Pantalone pops out to see what is going on Dottore's advances seem quite innocent. Finally, Isabella has had enough and, after a few failed attempts, gets her husband to come out and catch Dottore when clearly attempting a seduction. Throughout all this, Isabella maintains her composure. 21. Four Person Scene--CAVALIERE, DOTTORE, PANTALONE Cavaliere is a Don Juan. He wants all women to fall in love with him and all men to be impressed by his macho prowess Unlike Dottore or Capitano, he is genuinely handsome and courageous; however, his pride is too overpowering for him to be trusted or taken seriously by the others. Emotional Center: Bravado and a hot temper would best describe half of his center. Insatiable pride in his prowess would be the other half. Physical Movements: He has an elegant mustache which he constantly twirls and twists. In fact, he is forever conscious of his appearance. His movements are as large and theatrical as his ego. Toys: A sword, mustache, and costume pieces of hat, cape, boots, and whatever you can find are always being handled to display his manly virtues. He lacks, however, the poetic delicacy of the male lover. Playmates: Any and every woman, but chiefly Isabella, while every man is either a potential opponent or servant. Pantalone goes to Dottore's house to get out of marrying Dottore's daughter. At the front door Pantalone and Dottore exchange formalities and small talk until Pantalone can break the news to Dottore. Dottore seems very polite, which reassures Pantalone until the son, a Cavaliere, comes out the front door to tell Pantalone he has to marry the daughter or fight a duel, to the death. Pantalone tries every way he can think of to get out of both the marriage and the duel. Finally, Capitano's bluster convinces the cowardly Pantalone to marry Dottore's daughter. Describe someone like Cavaliere. Describe Chinese or Taiwan fictional characters like Cavaliere. 22. Three Person Scene--PANTALONE, DOTTORE, CAPITANO CAPITANO MASK Switch Capitano for Cavaliere. If Cavaliere is for real, then Capitano is the faker. His courage is all sham and at the slightest sign of real danger he flees with Olympic speed. Pantalone or Dottore are the only ones who believe him. He is enlisted by them to do their dirty work and, fortunately, is unmasked before he can do any damage. The longer his nose, the more he lies. Add the daughter if you have the actors and wish the added complexity. ARLICHINNO AS PEDROLINO: Notice the Arlichinno mask but also the long sleeves and many pockets. Arlichinno as Pedrolino is even more bewildered by the world.


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Texas Politics
Political Coverage from Austin to Texas on the Potomac in D.C.
Monthly Archive for October, 2009
A shot in the arm for Central Texas medicine
The University of Texas Board of Regents today approved an agreement for new graduate medical education and research programs in Central Texas that officials said would not only serve the area's needs but promote health care for the whole state. The agreement entered into by the system, the Seton Family of Hospitals and the UT […]
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Candidates campaign through the weekend
The candidates for statewide offices in Texas made the rounds this weekend. –Entertainer Kinky Friedman struck a more serious tone at the Ft. Worth rotary club, where he spoke about the need to reform the Texas criminal justice system. "Gov. Perry says 'Don't mess with Texas,'" Friedman said. "I, as Governor, will mess with Texas, […]
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A new definition in gambling
Texas has what is known as the "fuzzy animal" law, which essentially says it's not gambling if there are non-cash prizes worth less than 10 times the amount of the bet. In other words, if the prize is a plush animal instead of cash, it may not be gaming. But now there's a report that […]
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Ft. Worth police won't tase you
The sheriff of Tarrant County is refusing to issue Tasers to his deputies. The decision was made due to health concerns, Sheriff Dee Anderson said. Taser use by law enforcement has been a conentious issue for quite some time. Many police departments in large Texas cities use Tasers. In June, a video of a Travis […]
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Dueling women
While U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison is speaking to a Women for Kay luncheon today in Austin, Gov. Rick Perry is speaking to the Nueces County Republican Women luncheon in Corpus Christi.
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Podcast: This week in Texas Politics
This week in Texas politics saw the demise of a highway plan, endorsements, strategic positioning by the candidates and a battle for leadership of the Republican Party of Texas. Upcoming this week is the release of campaign finance reports for the declared candidates for U.S. Senate. We'll cover all that, plus there are featured interviews […]
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Obama's Peace Prize? Count KBH as 'surprised'
Count GOP U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison among those surprised at President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Asked about it at an unrelated news conference, she said in part: "I have to say I was surprised, but what I would say is when you get an award like this, it brings a great deal […]
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Finances rebounding at the Teachers Retirement System
Earlier this week we reported on how investments have been coming back for the state university endowments and trust funds managed by the University of Texas Investment Management Co. A new report today shows a similar trend with investments at the Teachers Retirement System of Texas. You can see, though, that even though the TRS […]
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Reality Check: Trans-Texas Corridor
The issue: Gov. Rick Perry proposed the ambitious Trans-Texas Corridor as a massive network of highways, rail and utility lines. The idea relied heavily on public-private partnerships and toll roads because gasoline taxes haven't kept up with need. But the idea has withered under a public outcry, particularly from landowners and those suspicious of long-term […]
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So Kay's waiting at Houston Hobby, and up walks Kinky
Or maybe it was the other way around. I don't know. I just like the photo. (Courtesy: Friedman campaign)
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At Wednesday's Sauber takeover announcement, BMW Motorsport Director, Dr Mario Thiessen, revealed what had persuaded him to recommend the deal to the German company's board:
The realignment of our Formula One strategy is based on two insights. Firstly, the influence of the engine on the winning potential of the overall package has diminished; the car, tyres and drivers play a greater role than they used to. Secondly, from our point of view, an optimal overall package can only be achieved with a fully integrated team and coherent processes throughout.
In restructuring we are taking account of these insights. At Sauber we have found a solid foundation for vehicle development and production, along with the requisite know-how and one of the most modern wind tunnels. The results achieved there so far are worthy of respect in the light of the teams limited budget.
BMW will not only maintain this foundation but build on it. That applies both to the facilities and to the staff. Additional workplaces will be created at the Sauber headquarters in Hinwil. The new team will be managed as a fully integrated project from two locations, as has long been standard practice at BMW for series production.
We are aware that we face a learning curve, that although you can plan success you cant buy it off the peg. After showing that BMW is capable of building the best Formula One engine, we are starting out as it were at apprenticeship level on the complex task of tackling the vehicle as a whole. That demands patience and stamina. We possess both, as well as a concrete work programme. The technical cooperation has already begun.
Exactly what the Sauber takeover will mean for current BMW partners, Williams, remains to be seen. However, Thiessen made it clear that no firm decisions had been made and that the company would retain 100 percent focus on their 2005 campaign:
In the partnership with WilliamsF1 we have celebrated successes together and taken the team forward. Both partners today are stronger than at the outset of our joint venture and are thus equipped for the future. What that future will look like will be decided over the next weeks. Irrespective of that decision, we are concentrating on the current season. We still have quite a few goals for this year and we will apply all our powers and professionalism to implement them together with WilliamsF1.
The British team, whose partnership with BMW began in 2000, have yet to score a win this year and lie joint fourth with Toyota in the constructors' standings.


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