text:
Every year Black Friday employees risk life and limb to ensure that their customers get the best deals. So when Walmart employees threatened to strike on Black Friday, the bold move garnered its fair share of media attention. Walmart is already known for pepper sprayings and tramplings, but with employees threatening to "take action" on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, things could get even more interesting.
The threatened strike would be a major headache for the retail giant, and of course, it would also put a damper on Black Friday shopping plans across the country. After all, Walmart is a Black Friday destination for millions.
With that in mind, those with plans to hit Walmart might want to consider taking their shopping online. Over the past few years, shoppers have increasingly opening their wallets over the internet. Last year, 50 million Americans visited online retail sites on Black Friday, and that trend is expected to continue into 2012. Besides getting many of the same deals as in-store from the comfort of their own home, cyber-shoppers are also better equipped to comparison shop and are less likely to be sidetracked by impulse buys.
Another added bonus: with more people taking their purchases online than ever before, in-store shoppers will benefit from a little extra elbow room in the Black Friday crowds.
If you do decide to take your Black Friday shopping online, check out BlackFriday.com for info on all the steals and deals. Now we also offer the Cashback loyalty program, so a percentage of your purchases goes right back into your pocket.


text:
This section contains 3,609 words
(approx. 13 pages at 300 words per page)
Critical Essay by M. Patricia Fumerton
SOURCE: "Verbal Prisons: The Language of Albee's A Delicate Balance," in English Studies in Canada, Vol. 7, No. 2, Summer, 1981, pp. 201-11.
In the following essay, Fumerton provides an analysis of Albee's use of language in A Delicate Balance.
A Delicate Balance forms part of Edward Albee's continuing exploration into the potentialities and limitations of language. Surprisingly, however, no one has yet provided a detailed analysis of the play's language. This work intends such a study. The characters of A Delicate Balance are conscious manipulators of their language: a frightened people who use language in an attempt to control or simply to survive fearful realities. They use the decorum of language to disguise anxieties, to balance between implications (as when Agnes habitually says "either … or" and "if … then"), and thus to evade truths and choices. At the same time, they sharpen their language of evasion into a precise instrument of persuasion—wielded by all, but most skillfully by the "fulcrum," Agnes. Yet in employing it to evade and coerce, the characters limit and distort their language, separating the "word" from its concrete and unconditional "meaning." Ironically—and tragically—they become trapped within the limits they themselves impose upon language.
The play opens with a conversation between Tobias and Agnes, a husband and wife who appear contented and very much in love. The mood is subdued, the characters are attentive, and the language, although formal, is cordial and pleasant. Agnes's opening speeches undulate like the rolling of hills, never descending into deep chasms nor climbing to mountainous peaks. She begins with an idea, glides into a parenthesis that becomes a digression (intermixed with questions to her husband), returns briefly to that idea—from which she again digresses—and finally completes this same thought three pages after it was originally introduced. Her sentences overlap, continually balancing and qualifying themselves:
What I find most astonishing—aside from that belief of mine, which never ceases to surprise me by the very fact of its surprising lack of unpleasantness, the belief that I might very easily—as they say—lose my mind one day, not that I suspect I am about to, or am even … nearby….
Placid and lamb-like, Agnes appears well-suited to her name. And the further association, through her name, with Saint Agnes, a virgin martyr of the third century, evokes no striking sense of incongruity.
As the play continues, however, it becomes apparent that Tobias and Agnes are not content and that even their love is to be questioned. Their language is a camouflaging tool that expertly conceals a depth of pain and fear. Rather than being an expression of love, the almost euphonious decorum permeating the play is a mark of heightened tension (as in the tea-pouring scene of Act III) or of extreme uneasiness (as in the exchange of names when Harry and Edna first arrive). Whenever uncomfortable or fearful, the characters turn to recognized formalities in order to distance what they fear and to conceal what they feel. Thus, when left alone in the living room in Act III, Harry and Tobias formally greet each other even though they have already been in this same room with the others for some time:
HARRY: (Watching them go; laughs ruefully) Boy, look at 'em go. They got outa here quick enough. You'd think there was a … (Trails off, sees TOBIAS is ill at ease; says, gently) Morning, Tobias.
TOBIAS: (Grateful) Morning, Harry.
Ironically, Agnes, the "saint," is the most expert manipulator of this language of disguise. Her very correct, very polite, and very balanced language is deceptively open and articulate—it conceals, in fact, rather than reveals. When Agnes distinguishes between an hysterical condition and an hysterical action (in response to Tobias's declaration that Julia is in hysterics), she is actually using articulation as a defense. Similarly, when Agnes responds with the expression "either … or"—an expression frequently mocked by Claire—she articulates the alternatives, but never makes a choice: "She [Julia] will be down or she will not. She will stop, or she will … go on." Agnes is as noncommittal as Tobias and the others. By repeatedly using this expression, as well as "if … then"—expressions balancing like teeter-totters—Agnes focuses upon the implications and thus evades rather than faces the truths (which demand that one not only recognize, but actively choose between alternatives). Claire sees this clearly:
We live with our truths in the grassy bottom, and we examine alllll the interpretations of alllll the implications like we had a life for nothing else, for God's sake.
Claire's vision is indeed faithful to the meaning of her name:
AGNES: (An overly sweet smile) Claire could tell us so much if she cared to, could you not, Claire. Claire, who watches from the sidelines, has seen so very much, has seen us all so clearly, have you not, Claire. You were not named for nothing.
Constantly striving to break the balance and expose truths, Claire threatens the equipoise Agnes so carefully maintains. Claire's sentences reach for peaks and descend into chasms. Stuffed with quick, short verbs, they build up and run headlong, rather than balance:
Pretend you're very sick, Tobias, like you were with the stomach business, but pretend you feel your insides are all green, and stink, and mixed up, and your eyes hurt and you're half deaf and your brain keeps turning off, and you've got peripheral neuritis and you can hardly walk and you hate … and you notice—with a sort of detachment that amuses you, you think—that you're more like an animal every day … you snarl, and grab for things, and hide things and forget where you hid them like not-very-bright dogs, and you wash less, prefer to be washed, and once or twice you've actually soiled your bed and laid in it because you can't get up … pretend all that. No you don't like that, Tobias?
Like all potentially dangerous things, Claire must be controlled. With the mere mention of her name, before she even enters the room, Agnes's pleasantly rolling language becomes more forceful and oppressive. Her parenthetical comments (which had earlier acted digressively, dissipating her main idea) are now carefully laid one upon another in the building of her "mountain" of burdens. Note, in particular, the powerful accumulation of monosyllabic words in her first parenthesis:
If I were to list the mountain of my burdens—if I had a thick pad and a month to spare—that bending my shoulders most, with the possible exception of Julia's trouble with marriage, would be your—it must be instinctive, I think, or reflex, that's more like it—your reflex defense of everything Claire….
Agnes describes herself most aptly as the "fulcrum" of the family. A fulcrum is not only a support or point of support on which a lever turns in raising or moving something, but also a means of exerting influence or pressure. As the sole support of her family, Agnes must exert pressure to maintain its shape. She does so through language. Exemplary of this is Agnes's technique of ending a question with "was it not?" or "have I not?" thus adding assertive force to an interrogative sentence:
AGNES: (Quietly; sadly) Well, it was your decision, was it not?
TOBIAS: (Ibid.) Yes.
AGNES: And I have made the best of it. Have lived with it. Have I not?
Harry and Edna are the only people Agnes cannot quite control. These two pose a far greater threat to Agnes than does Claire because they do not fall within Agnes's domain, the family circle. Indeed, the sudden arrival of Harry and Edna is seen as a hostile "invasion" (the verb "harry" means "to plunder"). Fearing for the safety of her stronghold, Agnes struggles to control these invaders—to grasp hold of them—by shifting her mode of address. Throughout the first half of the play, everyone, including Agnes, refers to them as "Harry and Edna." Midway, however, Agnes suddenly switches to "Edna and Harry" and she alone continues to address them in this way throughout the rest of the play:
Would it seem … incomplete to you, my darling, were I to tell you Julia is upset that Har—Edna and Harry are here, that….
But Harry and Edna remain ungovernable and, therefore, most threatening.
In all other cases, Agnes successfully exerts control through language. She is able to do so because language itself is presented as an authority. But it is only accepted as such if one has the "right" to speak authoritatively. Those who are not members of the family have no right at all—at least, not in the eyes of Julia and Agnes. Consequently, when Edna criticizes the way Agnes and Claire banter—"I wish you two would stop having at each other"—Agnes immediately questions her right to interfere: "Is that for you to say?"
In contrast with the above sequence is an exchange between two rightful members of the family, father and daughter:
TOBIAS: (Quiet anger and sorrow) Your brother would not have grown up to be a fag.
JULIA: (Bitter smile) Who is to say?
TOBIAS: (Hard look) I!
Tobias, with verbal force, claims victory, and Julia silently accedes. However, the balance of power shifts at the beginning of Act III when, still dazed from his confrontation with Agnes, Tobias surrenders totally to what Julia says to him:
JULIA: (Setting the tray down) There; now that's much better, isn't it?
TOBIAS: (In a fog) Whatever you say, Julie.
In each of these dialogues one speaker emerges in control through the power of language alone. Of course, the right and ability to exercise this power rest foremost with Agnes. This is most evident when Agnes defines alcoholism:
AGNES: (Not looking at either of them) If we change for the worse with drink, we are an alcoholic. It is as simple as that.
CLAIRE: And who is to say!
After an appeal to Tobias, which receives no response, Claire accepts the definition—she is what Agnes says she is: "Very well, then, Agnes, you win. I shall be an alcoholic." The very use of "if … then"—"If we change for the worse with drink, we are an alcoholic"—is authoritarian. This sentence structure leads one to focus upon the "then" clause while unquestioningly accepting or ignoring the "if" clause.
But because the family members have raised their language to an imperious position, even those who try to exert themselves through that language are actually controlled by it: captives of their own language, they think what they say rather than say what they think. Language is a ritual that has become separated from thought and, therefore, from real meaning. The characters are all extremely polite (they cordially address each other with "darling," "dear," "please," "thank you") but Tobias himself questions, as do we, whether this cordiality is only mechanical. Do they really mean "darling" and "thank you" or is this apparent sincerity, when actually analyzed, only conditional upon circumstances—like Agnes's "if … then?":
When we talk to each other … what have we meant? Anything? When we touch, when we promise, and say … yes, or please … with ourselves?… have we meant, yes, but only if … if there's any condition, Agnes! Then it's … all been empty.
The emptiness of this ritual is most apparent when one compares the long exchange of personal names, upon the first appearance of Harry and Edna, with the similar yet confused voicing of names at the end of the same Act:
AGNES: (Reaches doorway; turns to TOBIAS; a question that has no answer) Tobias?
HARRY: (Rises, begins to follow EDNA, rather automaton-like) Edna?
TOBIAS: (Confused) Harry?
Each individual calls out helplessly, expecting no answer to alleviate his or her isolation.
Like the rules of etiquette, the rules of grammar must always be observed in A Delicate Balance. Claire deliberately breaks one of these grammatical laws by saying "a alcoholic" rather than "an," but Agnes is quick to catch any irregularity in her speech: "I dropped upstairs—well, that doesn't make very much sense, does it? I happened upstairs…." Here too, however, is an emptiness. The meaning which stands behind the order of language is missing:
EDNA: Harry is helping Agnes and Tobias get our bags upstairs.
JULIA: (Slight schoolteacher tone) Don't you mean Agnes and Tobias are helping Harry?
EDNA: (Tired) If you like.
Individual words clank hollowly within this syntactical kettle-drum—as does the expression, "best friends," or Agnes's repeated use of "glad": "We're glad you're here; we're glad you came to surprise us!" The characters have command of their own language in the same way that Harry has mastered French:
HARRY: … and I was reading my French; I've got it pretty good now—not the accent, but the … the words.
They know the lexicon and syntax of their language, but have lost, or forgotten, its meaning.
Several attempts are made to define or to redefine words in A Delicate Balance. When Agnes defines Claire as an alcoholic, she does so to gain control over her by labelling her. Edna similarly tries to manipulate the others by defining "friendship," yet she is also actually attempting to understand the meaning—or what the others mean—by the word:
EDNA: (To JULIA) You must … what is the word?… coexist, my dear. (To the others) Must she not? (Silence; calm) Must she not. This is what you have meant by friendship … is it not?
But Edna's efforts are pathetically unsatisfactory. The language to which these people have reduced themselves is simply too limited for meaningful expression.
This is most evident when Harry and Edna try to explain their terror. Their language fails to provide an adequate description of this fear or of its cause: the characters can only repeat the adjectives, "frightened," "terrified," and "scared." The closest they come to identifying their fear is through a simile:
HARRY: (Quite innocent, almost childlike) It was like being lost: very young again, with the dark, and lost.
Similarly, Julia, in her hysteria, is unable to express the full force of her pain and fear through language. In fact, the language actually disintegrates as she herself loses control: "Get them out of here, Daddy, getthemoutofheregetthemoutofheregetthemoutofheregetthemoutofheregetthemoutofhere…."
In their struggle to express themselves, individuals often distinguish between synonymous words:
AGNES: (More curious than anything) Do you really want me dead, Claire?
CLAIRE: Wish, yes. Want? I don't know; probably, though I might regret it if I had it.
They will even differentiate between identical words—as in Act III when Harry tries to explain his relationship with Edna to Tobias: "We don't … 'like.' Oh, sure we like…." In this same Act, Tobias screams that he does not "want" Harry and Edna to stay and yet he begs them to stay.
This word, "want," takes on special significance in A Delicate Balance. It denotes both a lack and a need of something:
EDNA: … if all at once we … NEED … we come where we are wanted, where we know we are expected, not only where we want….
When Edna and Harry come to the house, Julia repeatedly asks, "What do they want?" In Act II, Julia's horror-filled declaration, "THEY WANT!", is followed a few lines later by the pathetic cry, "I want!" But like the other characters, Julia does not know specifically what she lacks and needs:
JULIA: I want!
CLAIRE: (Sad smile) What do you want, Julia?
HARRY: Jesus.
AGNES: (Seemingly dispassionate; after a pause) Well, then, my dear, you will have to decide what that is, will you not.
"Want" lacks a definable object: it points to something beyond what each individual has, some unidentifiable thing that is missing from their lives:
TOBIAS: (Holding a glass out to AGNES) Did you say you wanted?
AGNES: (Her eyes still on CLAIRE) Yes, I did, thank you.
HARRY: (Subdued, almost apologetic) Edna and I … there's … so much … over the dam, so many … disappointments, evasions, I guess, lies maybe … so much we remember we wanted, once … so little that we've … settled for….
The word "want" exemplifies the casualties language suffers when warped into an instrument of disguise and control. Reduced to an evasive abstraction, "want" resonates with meaning yet is unable to communicate definite thoughts and feelings.
Dominated by this language, the characters themselves approach the undefinable and abstract. A distance separates them from the reader. Their talk is colloquial enough to be typically American, but elaborate enough to be found in a Restoration play like The Way of the World. Albee wishes us to be at home with these people and yet to remove them to a more abstract sphere. They are familiar, yet strangers, human and yet less vital than, for instance, George and Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?:
AGNES: Not even separation; that is taken care of, and in life: the gradual … demise of intensity, the private preoccupations, the substitutions. We become allegorical, my darling Tobias, as we grow older.
It is with the hope of arresting this process of substitution that Tobias reacts so violently against Agnes's evasively abstract use of language:
TOBIAS: (Frustration; anger) I've not been … wrestling with some … abstract problem! These are people! Harry and Edna! These are our friends, God damn it!
Ironically, these "invaders," Harry and Edna, unwittingly open up a path to salvation through self-revelation. Lifting the veil that has shielded but blinded his eyes, Tobias comes to see himself and Agnes in the figures of Harry and Edna. Indeed, Edna speaks in the same manner as Agnes (she uses the royal plural, "we," the affirmative interrogative, "didn't we?" and the expression, "if … then"), and Harry's speech mimics the vague language of Tobias (such as his repetitive use of "sure"). In one attempt at defining "friendship," Edna offers a simile that most closely "hits home": "Friendship is something like a marriage, is it not, Tobias? For better and for worse?" Tobias comes to see that the meaning of his relationships with his family is mirrored in the meaning of his friendship with Harry and Edna. Although Claire may also see this, she refuses to act. It is only Tobias—the vague, taciturn, and evasive Tobias—who accepts the revelation and makes a final bid for salvation. With open eyes Tobias makes his choice: he decides to go against what he wants—self-protection—for something he wants more—a true and meaningful relationship. Struck with the fear that love could only be error—
CLAIRE: What else but love?
TOBIAS: Error?
—he struggles to define such words as "best friends" and "right" in order to give them meanings that are not only meaningful, but concrete and unconditional:
You've put nearly forty years in it, baby; so have I, and if it's nothing, I don't give a damn, you've got the right to be here, you've earned it….
Hoping to release himself and his family from their bonds, Tobias strives to reunite their divided language, to restore thought to language:
I came down here and I sat, all night—hours—and I did something rather rare for this family: I thought about something….
But when Tobias calls out to Harry, "DON'T WE LOVE EACH OTHER?"—a pathetic repetition of Agnes's emphatic "do we not?"—he is begging for an affirmative response to what he fears is untrue.
Nevertheless, Tobias's "reaching out" is a saint-like gesture. As Agnes herself declares, "we quarantine, we ostracize—if we are not immune ourselves, or unless we are saints." The religious language in the play underscores this idea of sainthood. While such expressions as "for God's sake," "hell," and "Jesus" are commonplace expletives, they are selectively placed in A Delicate Balance. "For God's sake" is most conspicuous, occurring with unusual frequency throughout the play. Whenever upset, Tobias uses the adjective "goddamned." Here, in his hysterical speech to Harry, he pleads in the name of God:
… you've got the right to be here, you've earned it
BUT BY GOD … YOU STAY!! (my emphasis)
In fact, the name "Tobias" comes from the hebrew word "töbhïyäh" meaning "God is good." By extending hospitality to his neighbours (a connection with the Old Testament "Book of Tobias"), Tobias attempts to justify his name. But Tobias's offer is rejected and his name remains as split from his person as the language is split from meaning.
All of the characters in A Delicate Balance refuse to be saved—they dread upsetting the balance that so carefully hides and protects them from the naked truth. Each turns from salvation to the ritualistic language Agnes maintains. Indeed, the only religious expletives to be spoken after Tobias's scene with Harry—"good heavens" and "good Lord"—evoke a chilling sensation. For Agnes herself has become something of a substitute Lord. In fact, Agnes is a necessary factor in these people's lives: each individual—even Claire, the rebel—has fallen so low that the support Agnes offers, through language, has become both irresistible and indispensable.
The characters of A Delicate Balance momentarily waver between sanity and insanity, between revelation and self-deception. Drawn from their self-created—what Claire would call their "willfull"—illusions, they approach the truth, but quickly veer away from any openness, descending back into an even deeper mire of delusion. The language of the play follows a similar pattern: moving from a split between thought and language to a momentary union of words and meaning—the confrontation between Tobias and Agnes at the beginning of Act III, and Tobias' hysterical scene in the same Act—and outward again to a language even further divided from meaning and, therefore, to a language incapable of any real expression. By the end of A Delicate Balance, language appears not as a medium for communication, but as a necessary protective device; it forms an impenetrable blockage, a thick layer of skin within which each individual may rest secure: isolated and lonely and—tragically—invulnerable.
This section contains 3,609 words
(approx. 13 pages at 300 words per page)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Book Search
1-1 of 1 results for Author: joel wuthnow (sorted by Publication Date, showing all)
Chinese Diplomacy and the UN Security Council
Beyond the Veto
Series: Politics in Asia
China has emerged in the 21st century as a sophisticated, and sometimes contentious, actor in the United Nations Security Council. This is evident in a range of issues, from negotiations on Iran's nuclear program to efforts to bring peace to Darfur. Yet China's role as a veto-holding member of the...
Published June 26th 2015 by Routledge


text:
- Reviews
- Gear
- Artists
- How-to
- Lessons
- Premier Blogs
- Win Stuff
Swiss builder Danou Guitars unveiled this beautiful 12 string and a pearwood-and-spruce acoustic electric with Schertler electronics.
Taylor's Double Cutaway showed up at Musikmesse 2011 rocking new colors like this blue maple top.
Eko's sweet lookin' Odeon is a practice amp and acoustic amp in one.
Schwarz Custom Guitars semi-hollow, 30 1/2-scale Arby bass with splittable humbucker, slotted headstock, and pearloid position markers. To the left is a John Davis Signature SYAM 5-string bass. schwarz-custom.de


text: Media Contact: Gregg Burke, 401-874-5278WARWICK, RI – May 19, 2008 -- The ALS Association Rhode Island Chapter's 12th Annual "Evening of Hope" event will be held on Thursday, June 12th, 6 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza, Grand Ballroom in Warwick. This year, URI Professor of Economics Dr. Yngve Ramstad will be honored with the Chapter's "Brian Dickinson Courage Award" in memory of Providence Journal columnist Brian Dickinson, for his determination to "live" a productive and meaningful life despite the devastating challenges of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Although Brian lost his battle with ALS six years ago, the "Courage Award", named in his honor, helps us remember Brian's heroic fight against the disease.


text:
The History of Finland -- Suomen Historia
by Historian Jason Lavery, Ph.D.
Summer Course in Helsinki in August 2015
New Addendum to my book: Finland since 2006
Summer Course in Helsinki in August 2015
New Addendum to my book: Finland since 2006
The book The History of Finland
- helps readers to understand the particular facts of Finland's history within global developments.
- elaborates on Finland's relationships to Sweden and Russia.
- investigates the impact of the cellular phone on Finnish society and across the world.
- provides a review of the archaeological data from Finland's first settlement shortly after the Ice Age through the Iron Age.
- examines the rise of Helsinki, the establishment of the Finnish language, the Finnish sauna, among other issues.
- includes a timeline of historical events, maps, and a bibliographical essay for further reading.
- describes 45 of the 100 Finns voted by the public as the most notable Finns in Finnish history.
Current Research Project: Lutheranism's Frontier: The Reformation in Finland 1523-1611
The inspiration for this project came as a result of my most recent book, entitled The History of Finland. In researching for the book I was struck at how little attention historians have given to the role of religion in Finland's overall historical development. In this project I intend to make a case for putting religion more prominently in the overall narrative of the history of Finland and the Swedish kingdom to which Finland belonged until 1809.
This project is based on the hypothesis that the impact of the Reformation in Finland is best illuminated by understanding Finland as a regional unity, or more exactly stated, a frontier. In the English language the word frontier has many definitions, almost all of which can be applied to Reformation-era Finland. A frontier is understood as a border area. The border between Finland and Russia served as the northern demarcation between Western and Eastern Christianity. Sparsely populated, Finland was a frontier in a demographic sense. New settlements were still being created in the sixteenth century at a time when elsewhere in Europe the age of new settlement had ended centuries before. With new settlements came the building of new parishes and churches. Like in many frontier areas, there was relatively little social stratification. Taxpaying peasant farmers held over ninety percent of the farmland in Finland, compared to slightly more than fifty percent in the Swedish kingdom west of the Gulf of Bothnia. A frontier is often a contested space. Finland served as the staging ground for the wars between Russia and the Swedish kingdom. When the Swedish king wanted to make peace with Russia, he sent to Russia prelates from the Finnish Church as ambassadors. Finland provided a battle ground for the internal political and ecclesiastical battles that would lead to the victory of Lutheran reform throughout the entire Swedish kingdom.
Most important for this project is that a frontier can also be the physical limit of a system or authority. This understanding implies that the authority or system in question is at its weakest in the frontier. Applying this definition, Finland was a frontier of Lutheran reform. Finland represents the easternmost extent of Lutheran reform in Europe. Influences of Lutheran reform came to Finland from the western part of the Swedish kingdom, through the eastern Baltic, and directly from Germany. Throughout the sixteenth century, tens of young Finnish students received their theological training in Wittenberg and other German Lutheran centers. Upon returning to Finland, none of them sought to make Finland's church look exactly like its German Lutheran counterpart. Reform for these prelates in Finland and their similarly trained colleagues elsewhere in the Swedish kingdom meant emphasizing the authority of scripture and putting the Word of God into the vernacular rather than implementing the whole Lutheran theological apparatus of justification by faith, the priesthood of believers, and so forth. The Church in the Swedish kingdom was reformed along Lutheran lines but in a very slow, selective way. Scholars recognize that the pace of Lutheran reform was slower in Finland than in other parts of the kingdom. In a frontier such as Finland outside ideas and influences are often easily resisted, rejected, or altered to meet local conditions.
This research project will make several contributions to the extant scholarship. It will be the first monograph in any language on the Lutheran Reformation in Finland. This study's focus will serve as a model for additional regional studies in respect to the Swedish kingdom and Scandinavia. Local and regional Reformation studies, while plentiful in respect to other European countries, are lacking in respect to Scandinavia. Regional and local studies have proven useful in understanding the diversity of social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of religious reform. This study will refute the assumption, particularly in English-language scholarship, that the Swedish kingdom, to which Finland belonged until 1809, went irrevocably over to Lutheranism during Gustav Vasa's reign.
In this project I will examine both published and archival primary sources that examine the entire period. Although sources materials are in a quantitative sense thin in many respects, quantitatively they yield much to scholars applying different frames of theoretical reference and questions, especially those diverging from the very heavy political, linguistic, literary, and national approaches of scholars up until now.
The book has a projected publication date of 2017. In the meantime, this project has already produced several articles. Their bibliographical information is available on my resume.
Professional Background
Jason Lavery is a professor of history. Since 1997, he has been a member of the Department of History at Oklahoma State University. .
Jason Lavery received his B.A. (with high honors) in 1988 from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. and and M.Phil in 1994 from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in 1997 from Yale University. All degrees were in the field of history.
His doctoral dissertation entitled The Holy Roman Empire and the Danish-Swedish Rivalry 1563-1576 was published in 2002 under the title Germany's Northern Challenge: The Holy Roman Empire and the Scandinavian Struggle for the Baltic, 1563-1576 by Brill. The navigation link Other Publications leads to more information.
Jason Lavery has served as president of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study (SASS) and the Society of Historians of Scandinavia.
Jason Lavery has served as a peer reviewer for Academy of Finland and for professional journals such as the Sixteenth Century Journal and Scandinavian Studies.
About The History of Finland
Timeline of Historical Events
45 Notable Finns
About Jason Lavery
Other Publications
Lecture Series
Media Appearances
Chat with the author at email@example.com
Website created December 2006; last revision March 2012
Put e-mail address in top field and subject in bottom field to e-mail a friend:


text:
If you haven't seen the news, and I can't see how being as it's national now, a pair of charter buses slid down East Thomas and busted through the guardrail on Melrose Avenue and hung over I5. I used to live on this corner (seriously awesome view), and the Seattle Times article doesn't mention this, but East Thomas is one of the few cobblestone streets left on the hill and it's dangerous when it's wet, let alone covered in ice and snow.
The fact that one bus driver turned down this obviously dangerous street is one thing, but that the next followed just blows me away. No chains, icy roads, and a turn down a steep grade that ends in a guardrail. Seriously folks. wth.
Update: I saw a woman on the local news say she was de-icing the sidewalk when the buses started their turn. She waved at them and told them to stop, and they just kept going. Awesome.


text:
Kaysi Benefield, D.O.
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
Peter Hsu, M.D.
Texas A&M University HSC College of Medicine, College Station, TX
Katherine Nelson, M.D.
University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, TX
Curtis James Boyd, III, M.D.
University of Kansas School of Medicine
Kathryn Hutton, D.O.
Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University
Leela Pillarisetty, M.D.
Siddartha Medical College
Sarah Burke, M.D.
West Virginia University School of Medicine
Jonathan Lugo, M.D.
University of Texas Medical Branch
Madeline Meurer, D.O.
Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences
April Aguilar, D.O.
University of North Texas Health Science Center - Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
Brittany Brothers, M.D.
East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine
Byron Newton, M.D.
The University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at the Permian Basin, 800 W. 4th Street, Odessa, TX 79763 T: 432.703.5437 email@example.com
Online Institutional Resumes
Campus Webmasters | General Policy Information
State of Texas Web Site | SAO Fraud Reporting | DMCA Compliance | Compliance Hotline | Texas Homeland Security | TTUHSC Energy Conservation Report
TTUHSC Home | Texas Tech University System | Texas Tech University | Angelo State University
©2012 Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | All Rights Reserved


text:
Good To Go
Packing, unpacking, and space planning by Memphis' most experienced move managers.
Good to Go, Inc. reduces the stress of moving with packing, unpacking, space planning, move organizing, and move management in Memphis, TN.
Busy professionals, families with small children, and older adults all choose Good to Go because of the caliber of our staff, attention to detail, efficiency, and personalized service. Fully insured and bonded with a the highest possible BBB rating, we're the trusted source for packing Herend, Waterford, Baccarat, and other fine breakables.
Services are ala carte so we'll do as much or as little as you like. Prices starts at $500 and we bring the boxes, paper, bubble wrap, etc. Homes over 5000 sq ft generally take 5-7 days to pack. Homes under 3000 sq ft can usually be completed in 1 to 2 days. Call or email us and lets work together to develop a plan specific to your needs and budget.
We provide:
Professional Packing
Move Day Assistant
Complete Insurance Coverage
Honest Recommendations


text:
No one has commented yet.
I haven't added this to my profile yet
Hello Korn, We are nurses in south carolina. we have had a hell week. we just got finished watching the korn south park episode and a few drinks. we are now listening to korn and cooking real corn. we would love to have you come eat a real home cooked corny meal with us. we love your music. it keeps us from going completely insane. sincerely, nurses suffering from hell week.


text:
Monke: Helping the next generation of journalists
January 24, 2014 at 11:43 pm in Uncategorized
Newspapers can be one of our greatest learning tools. I am convinced three things taught me how to read: The Berenstain Bears, Little Golden Books and newspapers.
One of my earliest memories is from when I was 4 and my older brothers would spread th…continue reading on thedickinsonpress.com


text:
SBolivia is a country rich in biodiversity, counting on a wide variety of fauna and flora and landscapes that extend from the Andes to the Amazon. The Bolivian population is formed by 31 ethnic groups of different ethnical expressions. It also count on more than 1 340 touristic sites across the country, among them, we can encounter more than 300 archeological sites and 66 of the 112 ecosystems existing in the world. It is one of the 8 countries with the most diverse biodiversity in the world. It also count 31 protected areas, among them numerous national parks, reserves, biological stations and wildlife sanctuaries. We also find in this country a lot of beautiful colonial churches that made the UNESCO declare the following places as part of the World Heritage: Potosi (1987), Jesuit Missions (1990), Sucre (1991), Samaipata fort (1998), Tiwanaku (2000), Noel Kemff park (2000), Oruro Carnaval (2002) and the Kallawaya culture (2003).
Bolivia is the fifth greatest country in South America. It is located in the center of the continent, surrounded by Brazil, Paragay, Argentina, Chile and Peru. Its territory includes part of the Andes, Altiplano, Amazon and the Gran Chaco.
Relief diversity
The surface of Bolivie covers more than 1 million km2 (1 098 581 km2). It is a country rich in biodiversity, fauna and flora.
The country is divided in three regions:
The Altiplano is surrounded by the Andes, the best time of the year to do some tours is from April to December. During the day, the weather is hot and dry, with a maximum temperature of 20o C. During the night, the temperature can go down to 2o C.
In the valleys and yungas, the climate is warm almost all year long. The average altitude is 1 800 m.
The Amazon is where we encounter fertile plains and the jungles of the eastern plains.The best time to explore this part of the country is from May to October. Traveling through the mountains to the tropical valleys, the clima changes abruptly. During the day, the weather is hot and humid, going up to 25o C and during the night, it goes down to a fresher 10o C.
The Andean mountain range crosses the north part of the country to form 2 main ranges: The Occidental and the Oriental or Real. The best time to go is between the months of May and October. During the day, the weather is pretty hot, windy and dry with a maximum temperature of 15o C. However the weather gets really cold during the night, as it can reach 10 degrees below zero. In the high campsites, it can even get to a minimum of minus 25 degrees celcius.
Of course we have to mention the Salar de Uyuni, the greatest salt desert in the world and the fluvial system of the country which is formed by numerous lakes and basins, including the Titicaca lake which is on the border between Peru and Bolivia.
The capital of Bolivia is Sucre, however, the Government palace is situated in La Paz. The country in 9 departments: La Paz, Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Potosi, Oruro, Tarija, Trinidad and Pando. Bolivia is a democratic republic. The president is elected each 5 years and is Head of State and Head of Government and he chooses his ministers. The parliament consists of 2 chambers: the Senate, composed by 27 seats and the Chamber of Deputies, formed by 130 seats. The actual president of the country is Evo Morales (2010- ).
Bolivia is the cradle of the Aymara civilization, which is a pre-Inca civilization. The remains of this civilization can be observed in some archeological sites such as Tiwanaku, Chiripa, Samaipata, Iscanwaya, etc.
The cities of Potosi and Sucre, part of the World Cultural Heritage of the UNESCO also show, through its historical monuments, the colonial heritage of the country.
Before the colonization of the country by the Spaniards, the territory of Bolivia was part of the Inca empire and was the greatest state of the pre-colonial times. The Spaniards conquered the area during the 16th century. During the colonial times, the region was called "High Peru" or "Charcas". After gaining its independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the republic was declared and the country took the name Bolivia in honor of Simon Bolivar.
The money of Bolivia is called the boliviano. The main products exported by the country are the natural gas, soya, oil, zinc and tin. Bolivia is the second producer of natural gaz in South America after Venezuela. 40% of the importations of the country are coming from Brazil. The main industries of the country are agriculture, forestry and fisheries, as well as manufactured products such as textiles and clothings. Oil and metal refinery are also great parts of the economy.
The weather in Bolivia varies according to the different geographical areas. The altiplano is usually cold. In the cities such as La Paz, Oruro and Potosi, the temperature varies between 5 and 12o C in winter and between 8 ans 18 o C during summer.
In the valleys, the average temperature is 15 o C. In cities like Cochabamba, Sucre and Tarija, the weather is pleasant and varies between 6 ans 16 o C during winter and between 13 and 24 during summer.
In the plains and jungles, the weather is hot and humid due to abundant rain. In cities like Santa Cruz, Trinidad and Cobija, the temperature ranges between 12 and 24 o C in winter and between 30 and 40 during summer.
Bolivia is a country rich in traditional handcraft, objects carved in silver and wood, as well as textiles. You can find these items in markets, on the streets and in handcraft centers.
Working hours, holidays and festivities
The banks and the majority of the offices are open at 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The main holidays are: New Year (January 1rst), the carnivals (in February), Easter (April), Labour day (1rst of May), Independence day (August 6), the All Saint day (November 2) and Christmas (December 25).
Buses: There are some private buses which can be rented for a determined number of passengers, they are realizing trips in different parts of the country. There are also public transports and travelers buses with tilt beds, restrooms and confortable seats.
Train: The railroad passes by the towns of Oruro-Atocha-Tupiza and Villazon toward the fronteer with Argentina. Toward Brazil, it goes through the towns of Santa Cruz-San Jose de Chiquitos-Puerto Suarez.


text:
West Lindsey District Council budget 'will support rural areas'
Posted: March 18, 2013|
RURAL communities like Caistor and Market Rasen will not be forgotten by West Lindsey District Council when it comes to investment.
That was the pledge made by the council as it set its budget for 2013/14.
A key feature in the council's policy is to support the most vulnerable residents in what is one of the most thinly populated authorities in the country. The isolated, the aged, the unemployed and those individuals and families on benefits will benefit by the authority investing £300,000 to help with issues such as fuel poverty, rural services and youth unemployment.
A further £1.6 million will be invested into the housing infrastructure and £2 million will be used to boost the economy and encourage jobs growth.
Related content
Market Rasen-based Leader of West Lindsey District Councillor Burt Keimach said: "Our budget has been set providing residents and business with real value-for-money services, such as waste and planning.
"Now we have agreed the budget, we now need to put our plans into action and deliver what we have set out to achieve for our communities."
As previously revealed, the budget for 2013/14 will see an increase in council tax of around 5p per week for the majority of homes in West Lindsey, with the aim of protecting vital services.
Councillor Keimach added: "If we give very small moderate rises, which is acceptable, we will be able to protect the statutory services such as waste and planning, which are good value for money."
Further consultation with residents will take place in spring and summer to help identify future priorities.


text:
Watch! All the Spoiler Clips of The Glee Project Season 2, Episode 2: "Dance-ability" (VIDEOS)
The Glee Project returns with an all-new episode this Tuesday, June 12, at 10pm on Oxygen. Luckily, the network has already released quite a few previews and spoiler clips that give us a taste of what we can expect.
Plus, this week's special guest judge is Season 1 Glee Project winner Samuel Larsen (Joe Hart). (Insert excited squeals here. Especially if you're Aylin.) Here are all the clips.
Can't get enough Gleetastic goodness? Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!


text:
Venice Round Teak End Table
by Blue Planet | Item #: 227508 | (1) |
We're sorry, this item is not available in your selected Club. Check another Club
About this item
You can always find a place for this table.
Perfect for the condo patio or as an end table for your deep seating sofa. Add some teak chairs and have a table for two to enjoy your beverage while watching the sunset.
- Made of solid teak
- Perfect for outdoors, yet nice enough for inside
- Round top
- Many applications - place at the end of your sofa or use with a couple of chairs to create a bistro set on the balcony
Assembled Country
Assembled Size
29"H x 27 1/2" diameter round top
Component Country


text:
State Board of Education leaders warn current school funding trends threaten state's future
The president and vice president of the State Board of Education are working to raise the alarm over the broken school funding structure that is threatening our children's future.
Writing this week in Bridge Magazine, State Board of Education President John Austin and Vice President Cassandra Ulbrich described a perfect storm that is sending scores of Michigan school districts into deficit. More and more districts throughout the state are being forced to lay off teachers, eliminate programs and close neighborhood schools.
The root of the problem, according to Austin and Ulbrich, is that Michigan's public school financing model — enacted as Proposal A nearly 20 years ago — is woefully outdated. Designed to reduce funding gaps between districts, Proposal A has instead been overtaken by a fast-evolving education structure that did not exist in the 1990s.
A new report from Michigan State University shows that Michigan's K-12 funding, adjusted for inflation, has declined 12 percent since 2004. The MSU report points out factors that have only worsened the problem:
- Revenue once dedicated to our schools has been eliminated.
- The School Aid Fund, once reserved for K-12 schools, is now being used to pay for higher education and early childhood education.
- Enrollment in Michigan's schools has gone down 10 percent, with 70 percent of traditional public schools and 37 percent of charters seeing declining enrollment.
- Charter schools have proliferated in Michigan, with 277 in operation in Fiscal Year 2013, enrolling over 8.5 percent of Michigan K-12 students. Last year, nearly 30 new charter schools opened, despite a continued decline in overall student head count.
The first step toward tackling the challenge is recognizing the root of the problem, Austin and Ulbrich wrote. Despite popular opinion, only a few districts are in financial trouble because of actual mismanagement or a failure to make so-called "hard choices."
For the overwhelming majority of school districts, the combination of structural crises, declining enrollment and disinvestment is inflicting a devastating toll on our state's ability to educate children and prepare them for college and the workplace.
Read Austin and Ulbrich's column here.


text:
World-renowned performers are featured at several major venues in the county including the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts. Each offers performers for fans of music of every variety, live theater, comedians and family entertainment. Community based theaters make it possible to participate in the performing arts as a participant or patron.
Whatever your appetite, there are more than 2,100 restaurants throughout the county to satisfy your taste. Countless night spots feature live entertainment, dancing and karaoke.


text:
2 items from 2014
1 April 2014 3:22 AM, PDT | iconsoffright.com | See recent Icons of Fright news »
*As always, these From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series reviews will feature quite a few spoilers, so you've been warned*
While the pilot episode of El Rey's From Dusk Till Dawn TV series did a great job of establishing their version of the Gecko brothers and Earl McGraw (and introduced viewers to the character of Freddie), episode two gave us the new interpretations of the Fuller family. Originally played in the film by Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis and Ernest Liu, in the TV series, the roles of Jacob Fuller and his kids Kate and Scott, are now played by Robert Patrick (T2, A Fire In The Sky), Madison Davenport and Brandon Soo Hoo.
Following the death of his wife, former minster Jacob is in the middle of taking his kids on a long due road-trip, and in episode 2, we're introduced to a new subplot involving Kate's »
- Jerry Smith
3 January 2014 8:00 AM, PST | DreadCentral.com | See recent Dread Central news »
The flavor of bile is unmistakable. There just isn't anything that tastes quite like it. And you know it when it comes on: The belly rumbles, the esophagus lurches within, and you battle back the slimy liquid that threatens to spew forth from your lips.
It's a nasty experience. We all hate that sensation so we're taking measures at Dread Central to help prevent such a situation from occurring.
See, there are horror sequels out there that are so horrifically bad they somehow trigger something in our internal systems... and the belly begins to rumble. We wish you no stomach troubles here, and we certainly wish the taste of bile on no man or woman. So we're going to provide you with a list of sequels to avoid at all costs because if you check these out, you'll be searching for the toothbrush in no time! »
- Matt Molgaard
2 items from 2014
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.See our NewsDesk partners


text:
The Company's investment policy is to focus on investing in companies established to create and bring to market live events and premium entertainment content. These investments should be Qualifying Investments for the purposes of the VCT legislation. Each Share class of each of the Ingenious Entertainment VCTs (the VCTs) represents a seperate pool of capital and each such pool has its own seperate performance record and dividend history. For the Ordinary Shares, C Shares, D Shares and E Shares, the Manager intends to balance the risk profile by investing no more than 30% of the respective funds raised under the respective Offers in a blend of low risk money market open ended investment companies (OEICs) (which are Non-qualifying for the purposes of VCT legislation) and at least 70% of funds raised in VCT qualifying media content investments.
[1] http://www.globalfunddata.com/funds/new/performance/management?variant=Ingenious Ventures Limited
[2] http://www.globalfunddata.com/funds/new/performance/domicile?variant=United Kingdom
[3] http://www.globalfunddata.com/funds/new/performance/fund_administrator?variant=Ingenious Ventures Limited
[4] http://www.globalfunddata.com/funds/new/performance/strategy?variant=Other
[5] http://www.globalfunddata.com/funds/new/performance/structure?variant=Closed Ended Investment Company
[6] http://www.globalfunddata.com/funds/new/performance/city?variant=London___United Kingdom
[7] http://www.globalfunddata.com/funds/new/performance/country?variant=United Kingdom
[8] mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com?subject=Mail from GFM Ltd


text:
'Ally' Cat Krakowski Joins '30 Rock'
Krakowski has joined the cast of the new
"Jane is enormously talented, and everyone is thrilled that she is joining the cast," Michaels says. "I think it's going to be a perfect fit."
The show, named for NBC's
Krakowski, who played oversexed secretary Elaine Vassal on "Ally McBeal," won a
On the big screen, she's appeared in "Alfie," "Pretty Persuasion" and "Go."
"30 Rock" is scheduled to premiere Oct. 11 on NBC.


text:
After 20 years of research,
White, a professor in the university's department of anthropology, has helped illuminate a world few imagined once existed in the heart of
For 2000 years, an Indian village nestled on the banks of
The mounds were named for Alton Pierce, an early owner of the site. Much of the site is now on private property and inaccessible to the public.
Once upon a time, 13 mounds, including a sizeable temple mound and a shell midden more than a mile long, shared with a bustling village the area around what is now
The people who lived there were prosperous and powerful, influencing trade traffic to the north along
They were spared the hard work of farming by an abundance of seafood and game as well as wild fruit and nuts. There is evidence they imported cornmeal to broaden their diet. Skilled potters who produced both fanciful and utilitarian objects, they buried their dead with precious objects including silver, copper and pearls.
The settlement was founded around 500 BC. Around the same time, the Scandinavian Iron Age began, the Chinese developed the handheld trigger crossbow, and burnt brick and donkey-powered grain mills were used for the first time in
World population had reached 100 million, 15 million of whom lived in the
"The (Pierce Mounds people) hauled soil in baskets or sacks or dragged it on hides or cloths to pile it up and build mounds," White wrote. "They made both beautiful and plain pots, paints, points, pipes, musical instruments, and other artifacts, and used many in special ceremonies that also involved burnt offerings to accompany burial of their dead.
"Wolves, panthers, other cats, but maybe even grub worms too were among the animals they considered important for more than just food. They hunted, fished, gathered nuts, chopped down and burned trees, made canoes, played chunkey and other games," she wrote.
At the time these first mounds were built, Greek engineers invented the catapult and the Acropolis was planned. Socrates lived and was executed for corrupting the youth of
White writes that the settlement at
Treasures taken from the site are in museum collections as far away as
"This shows the value of the immensely difficult and complex labor of digging into unpublished field notes and maps, museum accession data, courthouse records, and other original sources," she wrote. " Today many think research is something done online. But there is a wealth of unpublished, dusty old paper out there with information that can greatly change or help interpretation."
Artifacts at the
Pottery from Pierce Mounds is showcased at the Smithsonian.
An ancient tourist attraction
Just as ancient cities today hold a charm and fascination, White believes that over time, the attraction of the Pierce Mounds grew. Certainly, it was a center of commerce and drew visitors from far away but it may also have been a place for religious pilgrimages, an ancient tourist attraction.
"The earlier mounds may have become sacred places for later people to come to pray, worship ancestors known or thought to have been (buried) there, or just feel a sense of the spiritual beyond everyday life, or a sense of territory and patriotism," White wrote.
European settlers in
In 1888, H. L. Grady of
C.B Moore, a well-heeled and colorful archaeologist, carried out the first organized excavation at Pierce Mounds. He published a spectacular account of the dig in 1902.
By the time
In the 1940s, Gordon Willey, whose work laid the foundation for New World archaeology, visited the Pierce Mounds and performed additional excavations.
By the 1990s, Willey was retired but continued to write. Among his works was a mystery novel, "Selena," a story in which an elderly archaeologist becomes embroiled in sexual antics and murder in a fictitious Panhandle town. White said the Pierce Mounds are featured in the story as the "Bull Mounds."
William Sears, another archaeologist, excavated here in the 1950s, followed by Dan Penton who visited in 1972 and again in 1996.
White said Penton told her the Muscogee Indian nation still considers the Pierce site sacred and tobacco offerings are made there.
In 1975, architect Willoughby Marshall hired Robert S. Carr to examine historic sites for "
Carr quotes from a manuscript by local memoirist, Dwight Marshall, who said the railroad construction cut through "some of the Indian mounds near the cemetery. They dug up skeletons of Indians that were a foot taller than the average man of today and also other items of pottery. The Smithsonian Institute sent some men here on the Steamer Gopher..."
In reality,
Cool Springs Mound is missing
In 1994, the US Department of State tried and failed to buy part of the Pierce site, both for historical preservation and to conserve surrounding wetlands.
Shortly afterwards, a team from the Florida Department of Historical Resources' Bureau of Archaeological Research visited the Pierce site. White and her students inspected the artifacts DHR recovered and her work on the mounds began.
She has located the sites of all but one of the 13 mounds, named Cool Springs Mound, a 7.5-foot high and 90 feet in diameter mound located as of 1902 on the western outskirts of
What will happen to the Pierce Mounds is unclear. In 1974, Pierce Mounds was added to the National Register of Historic Places but the designation provides no protection.
"The beauty and monumental nature of the Pierce mounds complex remains impressive today, even with the damage to so much of the site," White wrote. "It is crucial that Pierce be preserved as much as possible, for so many reasons, from heritage conservation to ecological issues to scientific research potential."
White asked to remind everyone these mounds are a burial site and it is illegal to disturb, possess or sell human remains in
If the remains are from someone who has been dead for more than 75 years, activities at the site of a suspected grave may not resume until the state archaeologist has been notified of the unmarked burial. To notify the state archaeologist, call Daniel Seinfeld at 850-245-6301850-245-6301or email him at email@example.com.


text:
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa-- Tax season is officially underway.
The National Association of Accountants says the average tax preparation costs $261. Some individuals and families on a limited budget simply can't afford that.
The United Way of East Central Iowa's 211 program helps people get their taxes done at no cost. To qualify you must make less than $50,000 a year or be over the age of 60 and on a fixed income.
211 connects people with AARP and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, which uses trained volunteers to do tax preparation.
Last year, United Way 211 helped 3,528 individuals get their taxes done at no charge. Thirty-percent of those people qualified for the earned income tax credit, which allows working low to moderate income individuals and families keep more of what they earn.
According to 211's manager, that tax credit pumped $6.3 million back into the communities served by United Way.
"We know those individuals who receive (the) earned income tax credit dollars use these to supplement their income throughout the year, they may also use it to make a special purchase like a down payments on a car or to buy a computer for their family," said Chris Juett, 211 Manager.
When you call 211, they will work with you to find out if you qualify, schedule an appointment at a location near you, and tell you what you need to bring along with you.
United Way's 211 program schedules appointments for those living in Linn, Jones, Black Hawk, and Washington counties, but can help connect those living in other counties to a tax assistance program in their area. The number to call is 211 or 739-4211.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa News, Sports, and Weather


text:
I was rather concerned by speculation that white dwarf stars could harbour habitable planets simply because these stars emit light at the right wavelengths to sustain photosynthesis (18 August, p 8).
Surely anywhere life evolves it will utilise the dominant wavelengths from the local star. It is not divine providence that has made our eyes most sensitive to the wavelengths emitted most strongly by our sun, and for which plant photosynthesis is optimised. Those wavelengths are what our eyes and plants have evolved to use.
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.


text: On Wed, 2004-01-14 at 12:15, Alfons Adriaensen wrote: > On Wed, Jan 14, 2004 at 03:14:59PM +0000, Mike Rawes wrote: > > > The key here would be to develop an API (I suppose more accurately an ACI - > > application Control interface) to cover all intended functionality, which would > > include: > > > > * Querying installed LADSPA plugins > > Including RDF categorisation > > http://plugin.org.uk/lrdf > > * Instantiating (adding) plugins and removing them > > * Connecting / disconnecting ports > > including 'translation' between different port types, e.g. > > Control rate <->Audio rate > > Range hint scaling (e.g. mapping a +/- 1.0 audio > > signal to a logarithmic 5 octave frequency > > range) - AlsaModularSynth has a wise approach > > of standardising the scales - 1 'Volt' per > > octave for frequency etc. much like the old > > hardware modulars. > > * Managing inputs/outputs > > JACK for audio (be it actual audio, or control > > values at audio rate) > > OSC 'ports' for control-rate connections > > MIDI connections > > OSS / ALSA audio I/O ? > > LADCCA, iirc, is designed for controlling > > LADSPA plugins remotely - worth checking out anyway > > http://pkl.net/~node/ladcca.html > > * Creation and management of subpatches > > A nice feature would be any subpatches automatically > > become available as plugins as they are created, > > presented alongside vanilla LADSPA ones. > > Maybe have a 'publish subpatch' function that lets > > you slot in a subpatch into the RDF heirarchy as well. > > * Setting up polyphony > > Either for the whole graph or just portions of > > it - think multiple synths and an effects unit > > in a single graph. > > * Querying state (e.g. for presentation in a GUI) > > Pretty much everything: > > Connection state > > Names of plugins / ports / subpatches > > Inputs and Outputs > > Subpatches > > This corresponds quite closely to the long term aims for a second generation > AMS (see my message of a few weeks ago). > > As for using LADSPA as the native module format, my first idea when I started > analysing the requirements for a new AMS was exactly that. But there's a lot > of functionality that's hard to implement using the defined LADSPA interfaces. > Some of this could could maybe be added in a backwards compatible way, but > the end result wouldn't be very clean, so I've now all but abandoned this idea. > The problem is not with the lack of a GUI - that would be separate process > anyway, but quite basic things such a checking the number of voices (I proposed > a backwards compatible solution some time ago, but that thread went of into > another direction :-), or just finding out if a port is connected or not. Quick digression about LADSPA in ams: is there a reason exported control ports on LADSPA plugins don't work (at least for me anyway)? I realize control ports run at a different rate than the audio, but since the ports are exported I figured this would be taken care of. I should probably take this to the ams list, but here's a test case: MCV Frequency -> Converter (V/Oct to Hz) -> LADSPA Analog Oscillator Frequency -> Output (Analog oscillator is I believe from plugin.org.uk, you almost certainly have it.) Anyway.. Wouldn't number of voices and finding out if a port is connected be internal to the app? These things can (actually have to) be stored. As far as storing, this kind of information would go in the patch file (.ams), not the plugin. Am I missing something here? Besides, since you've got LADSPA plugins working... well, it must be possible ;). > So any new design will either have only 'static' built-in modules, or define > its own plugin format. I'll probably go for the second option, and will take > the resulting flames with it. LAPSPA support will remain, of course. After posting my intial message I thought a bit more about AMS.. it's true, it's so close to what I need modifying it is probably wisest.. despite that most wretched of widget sets QT and that brown color I can't erase from my mind (I kid! :) ). Seriously though, since you're obviously familiar with the code, what would be the relative difficulty of: - Runtime-configurable polyphony - LADCCA support - Fixing above problem with LADSPA control ports, assuming it's not just my wacky installation - Configurable whether ports are in the GUI or exported as ports (I think this one is really important and would increase flexibility a Whole Lot(TM)) (see my previous message) - There's a problem with simultaneous MIDI input (ie playing chords).. some of the notes get left out. Fixing this But more importantly, if these things get done will they carry on through the new ams, or is all the work in vain?


text:
The renovations will preserve the facade of the Nicolas Sursock Museum.
BEIRUT: After years of delays the renovation of the Nicolas Sursock Museum in Ashrafieh, a project expected to double the exhibition space and cost $12-14 million, is set to be completed toward the end of 2012, according to the chief architect behind the project.
"The whole building was about 1,500 square meters and now we are adding more than 7,500 square meters but all underground," explained Jacques Aboukhaled of JA Designs, chief architect behind the project in collaboration with French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte.
The project was launched in 2000, but because of delays such as the 2006 war, groundbreaking only took place in 2008. The renovation will add four underground floors to the museum below the courtyard area in front of the building. In addition to parking for museum staff and the technical staging and storage facilities for the collection, new public areas being built include a 160-seat auditorium and a 600-square-meter room for the museum's main temporary exhibitions.
The museum will continue to display its permanent collection on the ground level, while the first floor exhibition space, which used to be the main temporary exhibition hall, will now be an additional, dynamic space to show more of the permanent collection or offer second temporary exhibitions.
Maintaining the character and look of the building while updating the fixtures of the exhibition spaces is crucial to the renovation, according the Aboukhaled: "We are keeping the old building as it was and the front [of the building] as it was kept in the 60s when they did the first renovation."
The building was constructed in the late 19th century by Nicolas Sursock as a private villa. Upon his death in 1961, it became a museum and underwent its first, and until now, only renovation.
"What was kept from the first renovation is kept 100 percent … but we are making use of all the square meters available because we need them for the museum. They didn't have enough space for their collection," Aboukhaled added.
For example, the façade of the building, including its grand staircase, and the main floor of the building, its "etage noble" with famous stained glass windows and the salon arab, will be preserved.
"We kept the heart of the first floor more or less as it used to be," while updating the building with "all the new technology … because it is a museum that will be finished in 2012," he said.
But when the digging first began almost three years ago, the public reacted with skepticism over the project.
"When we took out the round staircase at the entrance, everyone was screaming, 'What are they building? What are they doing?' They thought that we were building a car park for a building next door," laughed Aboukhaled, adding that, in reality, they were reconstructing and reinforcing the staircase.
The most significant change, aside from the underground floors, will be the addition of a contemporary-style cafeteria and bookshop in the courtyard of the building. The addition has specifically been designed to look clean and simple so as not to compete with the ornate facade of the museum.
"We thought it was quite important to have the contrast because it's a renovation that is finished today, 2012, and it has to mark our time or materials, but be extremely simple and very neutral so that we highlight the old part," Aboukhaled said of the new cafeteria.
The project, Aboukhaled insists, is about creating the highest quality space for people to enjoy the Sursock and traveling collections.
"In general when you go into a museum it's not to see the architecture, it's to see what is in it and you can highlight it by very clean and very simple backgrounds – so that's what we have."
Your feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us their views and comments about this article.
Disclaimer: Comments submitted by third parties on this site are the sole responsibility of the individual(s) whose content is submitted. The Daily Star accepts no responsibility for the content of comment(s), including, without limitation, any error, omission or inaccuracy therein. Please note that your email address will NOT appear on the site.
Alert: If you are facing problems with posting comments, please note that you must verify your email with Disqus prior to posting a comment. follow this link to make sure your account meets the requirements. (http://bit.ly/vDisqus)
ILO issues service directory for migrant workers
Women rights campaign tackles gender roles
Growing up amid instability in Lebanon


text:
Every walker is eligible to compete for our fabulous grand prizes. Earning prizes isn't why we Walk, but it does make walking a little more fun!
The individual who raises the most money in each city will receive $50 in merchandise credit at Farm Sanctuary's online store!
We will award the child under 13 who raises the most money in each city a Pocket Pig Rechargeable Light ($50 minimum required)! Walkers 13–17 will be eligible to compete for the individual grand prize.
The Walk Team with the most donations raised in each city will receive a grand prize! Each member of the winning team who raised at least $100 will receive a Walk for Farm Animals double-walled tumbler.


text:
Recently, my husband and I camped at Rend Lake. While riding around the campgrounds, we saw a turkey sitting in a cooking grill, fluffing its feathers with the ashes. It was the strangest thing. Was he simply giving up and preparing for Thanksgiving? (Ha ha.) -- Laverne Timmermann, of Belleville
Pardon the mixed metaphor, but its goose was far from cooked when you saw it. No birdbrain, this creature was merely indulging in a common ritual for most fowl: the dust bath.
To the unacquainted, it sounds like a contradiction in terms -- cleaning oneself with dirt. Sort of like a Peanuts strip in which Pigpen's mother would order her son to go wash in a mud puddle. No wonder they're called turkeys, right?
And, indeed, cleaning usually occurs in a more conventional manner. The practice is called preening, and birds do it by spreading a waxy substance from their uropygial gland to waterproof and align their feathers. It also keeps them flexible and attractive to possible mates, according to longtime bird-watcher Melissa Mayntz.
But like teenagers battling oily skin, some birds apparently have developed their own form of Clearasil by taking a dust bath, which is also called sanding. According to Mayntz, hundreds of bird species have been seen dusting, including (most frequently) sparrows, ring-necked pheasants -- and wild turkeys.
As you might expect, dust baths occur most frequently in arid regions and during the summer when there may be less water for bathing. What happens is the bird spreads dust over itself and then works it into its feathers to absorb excess oil and prevent them from becoming greasy and matted.
The oil-soaked dust is then shed easily to keep the plumage clean and flexible. Dry skin and other debris also are removed, and regular dusting helps kill lice, mites and other parasites. Hmm, on second thought, maybe human spas should think of adding them.
For more details, see http://birding.about.com/od/birdbehavior/a/Bird-Dust-Bathing.htm
Well, doggies: In our recent throwback Thursday feature on actor Buddy Ebsen, we neglected to mention that a suit he wore on "Barnaby Jones" is currently on display in the Belleville bicentennial exhibition at the Schmidt Art Center on the campus of Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville. See it and a script donated by his widow, Dorothy, now through Aug. 14 -- and don't miss picking up a really glitzy exhibition catalog as a keepsake. It's all free.
The reel deal?: When Denise Knight recently asked me for a movie about an abused girl with Natasha Richardson playing an Aunt Ruthie, I suggested "Nell" with Jodie Foster even though it didn't match Knight's description exactly.
Reader Katie Geries, however, has another suggestion: the Emmy-winning "Bastard out of Carolina," based on Dorothy Allison's 1992 semi-autobiographical novel. Jena Malone stars as a poor, physically abused girl born out of wedlock to Anney (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Richardson does not appear in this flick, but the cast does include Glenne Headly as Aunt Ruth.
Seems like old times: One of the most frequent -- and most popular -- types of questions I receive concerns the comings and goings of local TV and radio personalities.
So, for longtime viewers of KMOV-TV, allow me to plug the station's 60th anniversary show that's set for 6:30 p.m. Monday. Instead of the usual "Entertainment Tonight," etc., you'll be treated to a 90-minute special on the history of the station and updates on such old favorites as Tim Van Galder, Steve Schiff and, of course, Trish Brown.
As promised: If you've parked or walked in downtown Belleville recently, you've likely noticed the new bright orange stickers informing drivers when parking meters have to be fed.
City officials promised me last month the stickers would be coming soon and they delivered.
Now the bad news: A few years ago former Treasurer Jerry Turner said the meter law wouldn't be enforced until 9 a.m. According to the new stickers, you can get a ticket for an unfed meter anytime between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Odd signage: Speaking of parking, Michael Hagberg recently thought it strange that No Parking signs were placed on a few Belleville meters on South High Street.
In case you were wondering, Hagberg found that the signs are placed during major downtown events that close Illinois 159 to help trucks negotiate the narrower High Street detour.
Addressing a question: In his original advertisement in 1924, Noah Bloomer listed the address of his new West End Rex Theatre as 1313 W. Main St. From 1929 on, the city directory had it at 1317. I hope my recent column didn't cause any confusion to old-timers.
Today's trivia
Who were King Henry VIII's first in-laws?
Answer to Thursday's trivia: In Greek mythology, Epeius was a soldier during the Trojan War who had the reputation in some circles of being a huge coward. But he more than made up for it when he built the Trojan horse that carried him and 29 other Greeks into the city of Troy, which they promptly destroyed.
Send your questions to Roger Schlueter, Belleville News-Democrat, 120 S. Illinois St., P.O. Box 427, Belleville, IL 62222-0427 or firstname.lastname@example.com or call 618-239-2465.


text: SBL has acquired the equipment to print and distribute checks to save you money and time. We print checks daily and can have your order ready in a short time for pickup or mailed to your home in a few short days. We offer various colors and styles to meet personal and business needs. A wide range of formats are also alvailable for laser printers and binder style checks. Please have your current check book handy and call today to place your order!!


text:
Nairobi — Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga's aide Eliud Owalo is spearheading a movement to change how Kenyans elect their President.
The March 4th Movement (M4M), also headed by activist Okiya Omtata, wants the President to be elected through a system similar to that used in the United States of America - the Electoral College.
"We want the Presidential votes to be aggregated at the county level negating the need for transmission of results and an avenue through which they can be tampered with," Omtata said.
M4M is proposing a system where each county gets only as many presidential votes as there are constituencies including one for the Governor, Senator and County Women's Representative.
The movement insists that their proposed system is nothing like the parliamentary system in countries such as the United Kingdom and allows the public to vote directly for the presidential candidate of their choice.
"What we are saying is that whichever presidential candidate garners the highest number of votes - even by one - in a constituency, takes the one vote allocated to that constituency," Omtata explained.
A system which if adopted, Omtata says, would give the minority communities a greater say on who becomes President, "You would need 50 percent plus one vote to win and that one vote could come from Lamu which has but two constituencies."
M4M therefore plans to collect one million signatures which they will submit to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) together with their proposed constitutional amendment to the procedure of electing a President.
The IEBC would then present the amendment to the 47 County Assemblies and if the majority of the County Assemblies approve it, it shall be introduced in Parliament, "without delay," - Article 257 of the Constitution provides.
And if the majority, in both houses, supports the amendment, it would be placed before the president for assent but should the amendment fail to pass the parliamentary stage, a referendum would be called for.
In order to garner these signatures and consolidate public support for their proposed amendment, M4M plans to publicly launch their campaign on August 22 and hold its first rally on August 24 in Mlolongo.
But while it denies affiliation to any political party, the ruling party has criticised the movement for clamouring to make changes to a presidential system that is yet to be truly tried and tested.
Omtata is however adamant that a collegiate system would be the best thing for Kenya, "My desire is to see a day when a European Kenyan can stand up and become a President like Obama in the US. Where a Somali can stand and be a President of Kenya."
"We must get away from the idea that you must be a Luhya, you must be Kikuyu, you must be a Kalenjin, you must be a Kamba to have any chance at the Presidency. We must move away from that because our best President could be an El Molo who can't raise a thousand votes."
Olive Burrows has been writing features for the last five years having studied communication at Daystar University. She hopes to make a difference through human interest features and is passionate about the environment. She hopes to grow her experience doing radio and video features at Capital FM and to contribute to the brand's tradition of trend setting.


text:
(Australia, England, France 29 Apr 1875 – 28 May 1963)
10.0 x 15.0 cm platemark; 22.2 x 27.5 cm sheet (irreg.)
Margaret Preston remains one of the best known Australian artist-printmakers whose colour woodblock prints, monotypes, lino- and masonite cuts, stencils and screenprints were key to her reputation as one of the most important and influential modern
artists of her generation.
Preston's first prints were a small number of etchings made while she was living in the UK in 1916, featuring small village scenes of Ireland and the Cotswolds. In 1915 she took a group of students to Bonmahon, a seaside village in the south of Ireland, where she held a summer school, and again the following year, staying for over eight months. The Gallery has three of these
early etchings in the collection.
from Anne Ryan, 'Australian etchings and engravings 1880s–1930s from the Gallery's collection', AGNSW, Sydney 2007
Elizabeth Butel, Margaret Preston: the art of constant rearrangement, Ringwood, 1985, 16 (illus.), 86. cat.no. P.1
Roger Arthur Butler, The prints of Margaret Preston: a catalogue raisonné, Canberra, 2005, 60 (colour illus.), 74, 75 (colour illus.). cat.no. 1
Roger Arthur Butler, The prints of Margaret Preston: a catalogue raisonné, Canberra, 1987, 64 (colour illus.). cat.no. 1
Ian North, The art of Margaret Preston, South Australia, 1980, 52 (illus.). cat.no. P.1
Rose Peel, Margaret Preston, 'Drawing connections', pg. 253-269, Sydney, 2005, 258 (colour illus.), 268.
Anne Ryan, Australian etchings and engravings 1880s–1930s from the Gallery's collection, Sydney, 2007, 62, 62 (colour illus.). cat.no. 90
Margaret Preston retrospective, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 29 Jul 2005–23 Oct 2005


text:
Le Mans 2011: how it works
Don't know your LMP1s from your GTE Pros? TopGear.com decodes the world's greatest motor race…
Posted: 10 Jun 2011
Welcome, everyone, to the greatest and, some say, cruellest motor race... in the world. The 79th 24 hours of Le Mans, which kicks off this weekend at the famous Circuit de la Sarthe. That's in France.
An eight-and-a-half mile circuit will host around 50 cars clocking up more than 3,000 miles from Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. Straight.
For the uninitiated, there are four classes to this gruelling, accident-prone and rather fabulous endurance race taking part, and they are thus: LMP1, LMP2, GTE Pro and GTE Am. If you don't know what they mean, click through for a brief rundown. If you do know what they mean, what are you doing reading this? Get on the Euro Tunnel and down to Le Mans, now!
Which is what we'll all be doing in less than 12 hours, by the way, in some rather nice metal. Look out for TopGear.com's live blog of all things Le Mans in the coming days...


text:
Additional Resources
Pay it
Our payment system incorporates the highest security standards. Your card details are not retained once the transaction is completed.
Parking penalties
Pay your parking 'penalty charge notice' (PCN)
Pay parking ticket Have your PCN number, vehicle registration and card details ready.
Council rent
Pay council rent You will need your rent reference and card details ready
All other online payments
Online payments for council tax, housing benefits, business rates, corporate debtors, housing debtors, and social care charges.
Is there anything wrong with this page?
Your feedback could not be sent - please ensure you have completed all fields.
Thank you for your feedback.
- Print this page
- Last updated: 29 Sep 2014 at 12:14
Help and contact
Help and contact
© London Borough of Hillingdon 1997-2015


text: University Libraries Databases More Info About Papers of the Nixon AdministrationDescription:This publication consists of documents of an administratively-sensitive nature, arranged according to subject from President Nixon's Special Files collection, comprising the Confidential and Subject Files. These documents provide an in-depth look into the activities of the President, his closest advisors, and the administration. These records support the behind-the-scenes historical inquiry into an administration that may well be the most significant one since World War II and one of the most important in the 20th century.Concurrent Users: unlimitedSearch this Database


text:
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – First-quarter runs of 8-0 and 7-0 provided the jabs. An 11-0 second quarter delivered the knockout, and the Cedar Rapids Xavier girls' basketball team is on to the state tournament for the second year in a row.
Xavier allowed just five made baskets and forced 29 turnovers in a dominant 51-15 win over Washington (Iowa) in a Class 4A regional final Tuesday at Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School.
"Well I think that if you're not a great offensive team, you better be a great defensive team," Xavier coach Tom Lilly said. "We knew that defending will always get you an opportunity at the end of the game to still be in it."
The Saints were two steps ahead the entire game, challenging the Demons' defense with long breakaway passes, followed by unrelenting defensive pressure. Up 27-7 in the second quarter, Xavier closed the final two-and-a-half minutes of the half with a trio of stellar defensive plays. Freshman Jenny Dickes deflected a breakaway layup attempt, Maddie Bertsch followed with a block in the post, and senior point guard Sarah Dickes delivered a midcourt steal and runaway layup to close the half at 30-7.
"We know that our offense comes from our defense," said Sarah Dickes, who finished with eight points. "We pride ourselves on good defense."
In addition to the second-quarter shutout, the Saints yielded a single free throw in the fourth quarter to end Washington's season at 14-8.
Grace Redlinger led the Demons with nine points, while leading scorer Lauren Kimball went scoreless, playing on a gimpy left ankle she injured in the first quarter.
Hayley Deutmeyer and Ashley Stulken each added eight points for Xavier (14-9), state tournament qualifiers for the third time in five years. Stulken also grabbed six rebounds.
"I'm happy for our seniors because we graduated a ton of seniors last year," Lilly said. "We just continually find new groups of seniors that come in and take over."
Xavier will face Lewis Central (20-3) in the Class 4A state quarterfinals Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. in Des Moines at Wells Fargo Arena.
"We worked so hard all season as a team, it's really been a team effort," senior Kayla Armstrong said. "We're just glad to have another game."
WASHINGTON (15): Mariah Reighard 0 0-0 0, Dema Giardino 0 0-0 0, Natalee Enfield 0 0-0 0, Sammy Ellingson 0 1-2 1, Stephanie Fishback 1 0-0 2, Lauren Kimball 0 0-0 0, Amber Salow 0 0-0 0, Beth Dillon 1 1-2 3, Sydney Hoffman 0 0-0 0, Grace Redlinger 3 2-2 9, Ellie Van Gundy 0 0-0 0, Olivia Hartzler 0 0-0 0, Johannah Vittetoe 0 0-0 0, Addisen Shive 0 0-2 0, Addie Pacha 0 0-0 0. Totals 5 4-8 15.
C.R. XAVIER (51): Kayla Armstrong 3 0-0 6, Hayley Deutmeyer 3 1-1 8, Sarah Dickes 3 1-2 8, Maddie Bertsch 2 2-6 6, Ashley Stulken 2 4-4 8, Allison Chorzempa 0 2-2 2, McKenna Andersen 0 2-2 2, Abby Watson 1 1-2 3, Morgan Breitbach 3 1-4 7, Hannah Chute 0 0-0 0, Jenny Dickes 0 1-5 1, Lizzy Bailey 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 15-28 51.
Halftime: Xavier 30, Washington 7. 3-point goals: Washington 1 (Redlinger), Xavier 2 (Deutmeyer, S. Dickes). Team fouls: Washington 23, Xavier 11. Fouled out: none. Rebounds: Washington 18 (Redlinger 4), Xavier 21 (Stulken 6). Assists: Washington 2 (Dillon, Shive), Xavier 9 (Bertsch 3). Turnovers: Washington 29, Xavier 19.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa News, Sports, and Weather
Girls Basketball: Xavier Pitches Second Quarter Shutout In Win
By Douglas Miles and Scott Saville, Reporters
Most Popular


text:
FBReader, Cybook Gen3 and Sony PRS 505 ports assigned to OpenInkpot volunteers in Google Summer of Code
April 25, 2008 | 8:48 am
By David Rothman
FBReader software and the Cybook Gen3 and Sony PRS 505 E Ink readers are among the porting priorities of three student volunteers, chosen for the independent OpenInkpot project under the Google Summer of Code.
OpenInkpot is creating a "free and open-source Linux distribution" for E Ink machines. Among other things, OpeInkpot is aiming for dual-boot capabilities in time, so you can either enjoy the new programs or fire up the readering software the manufacturer supplied.
Open Inkpot's ports of the summer: An ePub angle and more
The three coders are:
- Alexander Egorov—porting FBReader for OpenInkpot linux. Significantly, FBReader can display nonencrypted ePub, among other formats. Now if only the major publishers will back off from DRM in a major way to enable FBReader fans and others to enjoy best-sellers in ePub, perhaps with social DRM embedded.
- Ondřej Herman—porting the OpenInkpot's Linux to the Cybook Gen3.
- Wenjie Zhang 张文杰—porting the operating system to the Sony PRS-505.
The Hanlin eReader v3 E Ink device (shown here—more or less the same as the lBook, Apolo-Hanlin V3 and Walkbook) has been among OpenInkpot's other targets.
The V3 can already run FBReader. But it's good to see other machines potentially capable, via the ports to OpenInkpot.
Also planned are OpenInkpot ports to the Sony PRS-500, the Jinke Hanlin V2 and 6, the iRex iLiad and—get this!—the ultimate closed machine, the Kindle. Just what will Jeff Bezos think of that? Will Amazon's Terms of Use Police start lining up hackers before a firing squad?
You don't have to be a hacker to be cheering on OpenInkpot, which I hope will try hard to make its work accessible to civilians who are willing to experiment.
As an owner of the Sony PRS-505, I can say Sony's software is a bit of a disappointment. I can't even bold DRMed text to compensate for the less-than-ideal contrast between text and background on the E Ink display. With FBReader, by contrast, that's a snap. As for the Cybook, I love the bolding option, but the machine for now does not handle large collections of books as gracefully as the Sony does. With OpenInkpot-endabled software as an alternative for users, perhaps the vendors will be faster to address deficiencies like the ones I've mentioned.
And for vendors
Meanwhile, if vendors are sufficiently smart and flexible, they just might be open minded about OpenInkpot since some of its ideas can be picked up for use in company-supplied software.
The negative for vendors is that freeware could speed up the coming of the $99 E Ink Reader—which already may be closer than some people think anyway.
But then again, if savvy companies pick up the best wrinkles from the freeware and add their own wrinkes, they can still earn a profit—just so they understand that the days of the $300-$400 reader are numbered.
Other ways for vendors to profit
Vendors can also collect premiums by simply by coming up with easier-to-use hardware and looking ahead to the time when cellphone-eReaders such as the Readius (video) will be common.
When can be done to integrate the cellphone and e-book features, as some have suggested?
The most radical and logical step of all
Also, how about the most radical and logical step of all in many cases—working closely with Open Inkpot to create the best-possible operating system for the E Ink reader industry, while playing the openness angle to the hilt?
Are any well-known vendors out there with the guts to do this?
If the usual suspects don't act, then I wouldn't be surprised if makers of commodity E Ink readers, especially on the Chinese mainland, arranged on their own for this to happen.
Related: Closed E Ink readers vs. OpenInkpot: Unshackled OSes, better e-readerwrae and maybe even WiFi?
While porting OpenInkpot to other platforms is good, I think the results will mostly be of geek value. I would much rather see Google sponsor some major upgrades to FBReader (like adding CSS). This would be much more useful to a wider audience.
Great points, Joseph, but why couldn't Google sponsor both projects? They'd go together well! In fact, in the past, I've suggested that Google back upgrades of FBReader—with CSS capabilities of course included. For good measure, as I wrote earlier this week, the IDPF and even individual publishers might want to help out open source programs supporting the ePub standard. Even Adobe and other software companies would benefit. A standard won't be a standard unless people use it, and it's insane to think that everyone will want to read ePub with Adobe Digital Editions. Adobe, moreover, could pick up ideas from the open source folks. The big issue in e-books isn't so much the slicing of the pie as growing the pie, period. Right now people are fighting over crumbs. Thanks. David