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In the mid 1990s, when Mohammed Azharuddin was leading the Indian team and Sachin Tendulkar was his deputy, it was almost certain that the latter would take over as the next captain.
After India's dismal loss in the semifinal of the 1996 World Cup, followed by a runner-up finish in the Pepsi Cup in Sharjah and a poor show in the Singer Cup in Singapore, the selectors headed by Ramakant Desai finally decided to hand the captaincy to Tendulkar.
While Tendulkar started off brilliantly, by winning the one-off Test series against Australia at the Ferozeshah Kotla in 1996, it turned out to be the last Test series that he managed to win.
One man who had followed Tendulkar right through this phase was Sambaran Banerjee, representing East Zone in the selection committee.
Speaking to Mail Today, Banerjee said while he has immense respect for Tendulkar, he was one of the men instrumental in Tendulkar's removal as skipper and reinstating Azhar in 1998 for the home series against Australia.
"I have known him from when he was just 14 and not many had even heard his name. Dilip Vengsarkar had taken me to watch him play in one of the local matches and I was impressed. Even today, I can tell you that he is as good a human being as he is a cricketer. It would only be considered a cliché if I say that he sleeps, drinks and eats cricket, but that is him," Banerjee said.
"Coming to the decision of removing him and bringing Azhar back as skipper, well yes, it was a tough call. We had a lot of discussion, before we concluded that it was best both for the team as well as Tendulkar, the batsman." Commenting on what he feels is the reason behind Tendulkar not succeeding as a captain, Banerjee said: "Who do you think was a better captain, Don Bradman or Ian Chappell? So you see, it is not necessary that you have to be a good captain, if you are a brilliant cricketer.
"Tendulkar focussed a lot on his batting and as a skipper, somewhere, you need to balance it out. You have to focus as much on your own game as you need to think about the team. I personally feel that he wasn't able to focus on his batting with the burden of captaincy and it was the best thing that he decided to focus on his own game and let others lead."
But Banerjee is quick to add that Tendulkar was a very reasonable skipper and even though not all discussions went according to Tendulkar's wish during team meetings, he never sulked over it.
"We would often have debates and at times, he would ask for a certain player, but we wouldn't agree to his choice. But the best think about him was that he was very logical and even though he would try to convince us on his choice of player, the moment we were out of the meeting, he would smile and laugh and not carry the discussion inside the selection meeting outside. He knew where to draw the line," Banerjee said.
"Captaincy is also a lot about tactical moves and I still believe that Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi and Sourav Ganguly were the best tacticians that we had. Yes, MS Dhoni is getting there and his results are already better than others."
Also See:
Y! Cricket's Farewell Sachin: SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS!
In the mid 1990s, when Mohammed Azharuddin was leading the Indian team and Sachin Tendulkar was his deputy, it was almost certain that the latter would take over as the next captain.


text:
Land for sale
Greece - Central Macedonia, Halkidiki
like this property?Call: 03339 871850
Commercial information:
- 5,381 sq ft (500 sq m)
Key features:
- Has a view of the Sea
- Has a view of the Mountains
- Heating:
Full description:
Has a wonderfull sea view, mountain view.
Each plot has an exact area of 500 sq.m. and building permission of the main house with the total floor area of 120 sq.m., the basement of 120 sq.m. and ancillary facilities of 40 sq.m. All plots of land have access to two-way asphalt road and the ability to connect (after the relevant building permission) to two independent networks of water supply (of potable and technical use), sewage network, telecommunications network (telephone and Internet), electricity network.
All plots of land have an unobstructed view of the sea and Mount Athos.The distance from the coastline varies from 20 to 600 m.
Nearest Airports*
- Thessaloniki (International), 24 miles
*Distances are straight line measurements. This feature is currently in beta.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) occurs when the leaflets of the mitral valve bulge (prolapse) into the heart's left upper chamber (left atrium) like a parachute during the heart's contraction.
Mitral (MY-trul) valve prolapse sometimes leads to blood leaking backward into the left atrium, a condition called mitral valve regurgitation.
In most people, mitral valve prolapse isn't life-threatening and doesn't require treatment or changes in lifestyle. Some people with mitral valve prolapse, however, require treatment.
Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit organization and proceeds from Web advertising help support our mission. Mayo Clinic does not endorse any of the third party products and services advertised.
A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.


text:
A 2008 survey conducted by Schwan's Consumer Brands North America, Inc asked TV viewers which fictional TV mom would bake the best pie. "Carol Brady" of "The Brady Bunch" came in at first place, while "Claire Huxtable" of "The Cosby Show" came in second place. Although these TV moms are fictional characters, this study highlights our obsession with facts about desserts.
What is Dessert?
The perfect finishing touch to the end of the meal is a dessert. No meal seems complete without it. Derived from the French word "desservir," dessert is traditionally a sweet snack or pastry at the end of the meal, typically served with tea or coffee. Having a dessert of cakes, pie, ice cream or other sweets at the end of a meal is a relatively new custom in Western culture. Previously, dessert was simply eating a handful of nuts or fruit at the end of the meal, but gradually desserts including tarts, pies and other sweets were introduced.
A Hot Commodity
Before industrialization in the 19th century, sugar was a rare and precious commodity that was often out of reach for the masses. Only the upper classes were fortunate enough to enjoy pastries and other sweet delights. However, the Industrial Revolution changed sugar production and made it more widely available. As a result, more people could afford sugar and began making their own desserts at home. Dessert then became more popular and is now a permanent fixture at meal time.
History of Apple Pie
It's no secret that apple pie is the most popular dessert in the U.S. and it has a long and storied history. During the Colonial Era, migrants from England brought their fondness of apple pie with them. At first, the English version of the apple pie had no sugar added to the recipe, since the prices of sugar were very high and unaffordable for most settlers. Since then, many variations of apple pie have been popularized, such as Dutch apple pie which has a lattice top crust, and also Swedish apple pie which uses no pie crust to make the dessert.
Evolution of Pie
The first mention of a fruit pie in a printed publication is from Robert Green's "Arcadia" published in 1590. In 1644, Oliver Cromwell banned the consumption of pie and declared that it was a form of pleasure only for "pagans." For the next 16 years, the pie prohibition forced would-be pie eaters to make and enjoy their beloved tart in secrecy. But the pie ban was later lifted in 1660. Many wealthy English people made "Surprise Pies" from which live creatures popped out when the pie was cut open.
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About Colonial Desserts
In Colonial times, food of all types was often scarce and rather expensive, and settlers made do with what they could get....


text:
DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I have divergent interests, and I often attend events such as the ballet on my own. I enjoy getting to know people during the intermissions, but occasionally the conversation has taken a bad turn.
I need to know if I was the one in the wrong the last time, when the couple I was talking to said outright, "Why didn't you force your husband to come with you?" I replied, "Because it's just not his thing."
The wife responded, "He must not love you like my husband loves me. George hates the ballet, but here he is!"
I was insulted, and I begged off by saying, "It was very nice to meet you. I must get a drink before intermission ends. Have a good time." I didn't acknowledge the wife's comment. As I walked away, I overheard the wife say, "Well, that was rude!" (It certainly was — on her end!) I was taken aback.
Should I have handled the situation differently? Was I being rude?
GENTLE READER: That you must love your husband more than this lady loves George. And that you showed admirable restraint in not saying so.
Furthermore, Miss Manners assures you that the etiquette judgment of someone who accuses strangers of being unloved is not worth considering.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I won't be having my holiday dinner parties this year. And this makes me sad.
It seems as though everyone has become a special-needs person when it comes to being a dinner guest. Every dish is questioned as to content and nutritional value. "That is so bad for you," and, "I couldn't eat that; it's not on my (Diet of the Month)."
One has thought that a polite decline of any dish was enough. But some have to go into long explanations of why they couldn't possibly eat something so horrible.
I cook with love and care, and only wish to entertain with delicious, nutritious food. Has passively insulting one's host become the norm?
GENTLE READER: Indeed, hospitality has suffered greatly from the all-too-prevalent habit of food fussing. Miss Manners hates to think of your abandoning your holiday dinners, but she understands why you would not be thankful to entertain a table full of childish ingrates.
Should you reconsider, she recommends your citing an old rule of etiquette that you will have trouble believing ever existed. So will any guests you might relent enough to entertain, which is why you can cite it as a curiosity that it would be fun to try.
That is a complete ban on talking about food at the table. And "complete" means that even compliments are not allowed. That part was abandoned to acknowledge the hosts' efforts when the middle class no longer employed cooks. Eventually, the rule was forgotten entirely, opening the way for complaints. We badly need that ban back. Appreciative guests can praise the food in their letters of thanks.
Miss Manners runs Mondays and Wednesdays. Contact her at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Separate names with a comma.
Username: destrozas
First name: Sergio
Category: intermeadilly
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Classic Airframes #95 404
Model Type: Boulton Paul...
Thought this might be interesting:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT2_8JaObao
Was in 2013.
Hi guys,
Was wondering if any one has seen or purchased this series of books. Are they any good or worth the money? As I am thinking of getting...
Morning guys,
Well this summer my Grandfather passed away and going through his things we found this. Not exactly sure what its for or the...
WIP renders of the turret from my Boulton Paul Defiant modelling project. All models created in Cinema 4D 10.5


text:
President Obama, like the progressives who came before him, is invested in dividing the electorate when it comes to race, gender and social status. His goal is to make a majority of Americans so dependent on government that they'll be afraid to vote against him in the next election. While his tactics aren't entirely new or unprecedented, he does seem to be taking things up a notch. But I guess that's all he's got. So his campaign will be all about grievance, and nothing else.
In 2008, a mostly unknown Barack Obama ran for president on an inclusive agenda of "hope and change." That upbeat message was supposed to translate into millions of green jobs, fiscal sobriety, universal health care, a resetting of Bush foreign policy, and racial unity.
Four years later, none of those promises will be themes of his 2012 reelection campaign. Gas has more than doubled in price. Billions of dollars have been wasted in insider and subsidized wind and solar projects that have produced little green energy.
Unemployment rates above 8 percent appear the new norm, when 5 percent in the past was dubbed a "jobless recovery."
From the Middle East to the Korean peninsula, the world seems on the brink. Modern racial relations are at a new low.
If borrowing $4 trillion in eight years was "unpatriotic," as Obama once labeled George W. Bush, no one quite knows how to term the addition of $5 trillion in new debt in less than four years. Obamacare is unpopular with the public. Its constitutionality now rests with the Supreme Court.
After four years, the claims of "Bush did it" and "it might have been worse" grow stale. So reelection will rest not on a new agenda, or an explanation of what happened, but on a divide-and-conquer strategy. Translated, that means Obama will find fissures in the voting public over fairness, expand them, and then cobble together various angry partisans in hopes of achieving a bare majority. Such an us/them strategy is not new in American history.
Read the whole sad thing. How sad that it's come to this. So much for unity.


text:
Daddy's Alright borrows its name from the 1978 Cheap Trick hit "Surrender." It's no accident that the title references fathers as the group is made up of a bunch of dads with professional jobs who started out together playing music on the side to blow off steam in 2001. But what began as a jam session in Frank's garage has morphed into a very polished and accomplished group of musicians with a passion for entertaining. The group has been wowing crowds in bars and at private parties and fundraisers for fifteen years throughout eastern North Carolina. Influenced by a wide variety of music genres, Daddy's Alright offers up high-energy classic rock, soul, pop and dance/party music from the 60's to the present. Their main focus is playing 70's, 80's, and 90's crowd pleasers. Daddy's Alright is available for private parties and corporate/charitable functions. They appear monthly at various pubs and restaurant/venues in the Triangle and surrounding areas.
- Screen name:
- DaddysAlright
- Member since:
- May 17 2011
- Active over 1 month ago
- Level of commitment:
- Very Committed
- Years together:
- 7
- Gigs played:
- 50 to 100
- Tend to practice:
- 1 time per week
- Available to gig:
- 1 night a week
- Age:
- 50 years
60's through current with focus on Motown/Soul/R&B/80's and 90's Pop/Rock
Members Of Band
Lead Vocals - Dorian
Dorian lives in Hillsborough, NC with his wife Cindy and their two children Addison and Anna, where they make their own cheese.
DRUMS - Grif
Born and raised in Goldsboro, NC, Grif lives in Cary, NC with his wife Television Journalist, Amanda Lamb and his two daughters Chloe and Mallory.
BASS – Frank
Born and raised in Queens NY, Frank lives in Cary, NC with his wife Dawn and their two children Trevor and Mimi.
GUITAR – Bill
Bill was raised in Raeford, NC and now lives in Cary, NC with his wife Rese, their son Drew and three shelties.
TRUMPET, Synth – Addison
Addison is Dorian's Son and lives in Hillsborough, NC with his Dad and Mother Cindy, and Sister Anna.
Keys - Eric Niehues
Eric is the newest member of DAR providing all the missing pieces required to support a wider variety of songs. He lives in Raleigh with his Daughter
Professional PA (Allen Heath board with JBL MX series speakers) -
32 channel digital stage mixer with Shure IEM's - Sound Proof Studio


text:
Game Credits
|Stronghold Legends: Steam Edition (2016)
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|Stronghold: Crusader HD (2012)
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|Stronghold Crusader Extreme (2008)
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|CivCity: Rome (2006)
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|Stronghold Legends (2006)
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|FireFly Studios' Stronghold 2 (2005)
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|FireFly Studios' Stronghold Crusader (2002)
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|FireFly Studios' Stronghold Deluxe (2002)
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|Independence War 2: Edge Of Chaos (2001)
|(Additional Voices)
|Need for Speed: High Stakes (1999)
|(Voice Talents)
|X: Beyond the Frontier (1999)
|(Voice Talents (US))
|OverBlood 2 (1998)
|(Voice Actors)
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text:
Sabres execs must be on same page
The Ottawa Senators are hardly a mom-and-pop store (or, more accurately with Bryan and Tim Murray, an uncle-and-nephew shop). They're a multimillion-dollar business with long list of employees.
That said, the Senators seem small compared to Tim Murray's new team.
The Sabres' general manager has joined an organization that is keeping the payroll department busy. Owner Terry Pegula said on his opening day there was no salary cap on scouting or player-development budgets. That obviously goes for advisers, executives and assistants, too.
Buffalo boasts 57 people with ties to the hockey department, which includes everyone from Pat LaFontaine, the president of hockey operations, to Tim Macre, the athletic trainer, to Barbara Meyer, the mental skills coach. Just five years ago, the Sabres had 28 such people on the payroll. The scouting department is included in those numbers. It has expanded from 11 to 25.
Ottawa, meanwhile, lists 33 hockey people in its media guide. That includes 13 scouts. It will take Murray time to learn how to deal with the increase and manage the burgeoning staff. "It's good to have a lot of good people around," he said. "I've come from the background of a small staff, a small quality staff that crosses over, that sees everybody and everybody is involved in the decision.
"I'm walking into a situation that's different. That doesn't mean it's bad. I just have to get my head wrapped around that, and I haven't been able to do that yet."
The numbers in Buffalo could get even larger. Murray has made plenty of connections during his 21 years in the NHL, and he'll want to bring aboard some allies. It remains to be seen whether there will be turnover or if the newcomers merely join the present staff. Either way, it will be interesting to see how the Sabres' hockey department interacts and matures. There's nothing wrong with hiring as many quality people as you can, but there has to be a defined hierarchy.
"We're growing, and we want to be the best hockey department and best hockey team, best coaching staff and try to be the best in all areas," LaFontaine said. "If you bring somebody in here with an agenda and an ego, they don't work together. Craig Patrick took the job and couldn't have been more excited. Tim Murray took the job, he couldn't have been more excited. We'll all work together as a team."
It's easy to say, hard to do. It can be tough for a group to come to a consensus. The News has four people who write about the Sabres. If you asked us to rank the five most valuable players on the team, you'd probably get four different lists.
Hopefully for the Sabres and their fans, the team's brain trust continually shares the same vision. It would be tricky if LaFontaine has one idea, Patrick and the pro scouts desire something else and Murray doesn't like any of it. But that's why the Sabres took two months to make the hires, so they could find people with similar philosophies about building a team.
"It's kind of the Office of the General Manager, but Tim's going to wear the hat," LaFontaine said.
More on Murray
There are plenty of leftovers from Thursday's introduction of Murray and Patrick. Here are a few:
• The original plan was for separate news conferences. The Sabres were set to introduce Murray as the GM on Tuesday and Patrick as a special assistant Friday. The blizzard pushed Murray's day back, so LaFontaine moved Patrick's day up.
• Murray was eager to see what teams had offered Buffalo for its players, specifically Ryan Miller, Steve Ott and Matt Moulson.
"I know teams have called the organization," Murray said. "I have to get those files and I have to see what the interest was. If it was a light interest, if they're phoning offering a third-round pick or something, then there's not going to be a trade."
• Murray, a scout at heart, appeared more interested in the future Sabres than the current ones. The main reason he's looking forward to the Olympic break is so he can go watch draft-eligible players.
It sounds like he'll also tweak the farm team. Rochester has had an overflow of veterans this season, which probably won't be repeated. (I think the main reason the Sabres went out of their way to stock the Amerks is so they'd perform well and allow the organization to say, "Hey, look at our prospects," which would be a distraction from the last-place NHL club.)
"You have to have the atmosphere and the opportunity for your kids to play important minutes," Murray said. "Going forward here, I would like to put kids in prime positions, the positions that you feel down the road they're going to be in up here. I don't want to see a first-line center or a second-line center playing a fourth-line center role down there."
• The GM confirmed the reports that he doesn't smile much and can be gruff, but below the harsh exterior is an optimist.
"Sometimes the bright side isn't real bright, but there's always a bright side to every situation," he said.
On the fly
• John-Michael Liles got to kick the Leafs while they're down. The defenseman, who spent much of the season in the minors or as a healthy scratch, was traded to Carolina on New Year's Day and scored in his return to Toronto. "There's a reason I'm an 11th-year pro and I'm in the NHL," Liles said.
• The USA Hockey Olympic staff unanimously chose Anaheim's Cam Fowler over Columbus' Jack Johnson at defense. The committee included Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards. Awkward. "When I needed the support and the belief I didn't get it," Johnson said, "so anything that's said now is empty and meaningless."
• Legendary KISS rocker Gene Simmons not only conducted a ceremonial faceoff in Los Angeles, he gave advice to Minnesota's representative. Said Ryan Suter: "He said, 'Just make sure you keep all your teeth and have fun out there.' I said, 'Oh, I'll try.' "
email: email@example.com


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Rem as a Forest Spirit at Wic-Top 5.0, at the San Ramon Creek, on 7/29/06. I made this costume and took the pictures.
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The creation of the executive branch of government was one of the most audacious decisions in American history. The story of our greatest presidents create a narrative as compelling as an historical novel, and these 48 compelling lectures look at the lives, the achievements, and the legacies of those generally considered our 12 greatest presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Ronald Reagan.
Drawing on a wealth of revealing anecdotes and inside stories, Professor Lichtman sheds new light on how the individual characters and historic decisions of each president made a major contribution to shaping our developing nation. You'll study the critical role these men played in America's founding years, Westward expansion, the struggle over slavery and the Civil War, the Great Depression, World War II, the perils of the atomic age, and more. These 12 leaders can be seen as giants of the most powerful elective office in the world. But through Professor Lichtman's eyes we see them as they really were, contradictions and paradoxes included.
These lectures give the "inside stories" from our highest office, and they reveal 12 leaders with varying styles, personalities, and beliefs, but they all had in common an unsinkable ambition, a deep affinity with the American people, and a strong inner core of guiding values and principles.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2000 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2000 The Great Courses
Dead Man Dancing
"I'm clearly in the minority here..."
I hate to diss someone else's hard work, but out of concern for other Audible shoppers, I have to say: this guy's delivery is beyond irritating. He has adopted the most random, choppy and hard-to-listen-to rhythms I've ever experienced in an audiobook. He clearly has enthusiasm for the subject matter, and believes that by inserting dramatic pauses at certain points he is increasing the sense of wonder and amazement at what he is revealing about notable presidents. But it doesn't work. It just irritates -- me, at least.
As for the subject matter, it's pretty good. It's what you'd expect out of a history course at a good private high school. No problem there, but...well, see above. I thought I'd get used to it after a while, but I'm on chapter six and that hasn't happened yet.
"Great info but at times lacking a unifying story"
Overall: A really good source of information for the lives of 12 Presidents (not just their time in office but the Professor also covered their childhoods, accomplishments prior to being elected, and the remainder of their lives post-Presidency); The selection also allows for a lot of interesting history to be covered throughout the various eras of the country's history; However, the criteria for "great" wasn't clearly defined leaving me somewhat perplexed as to why some Presidents (Jackson, Polk, Truman, and Johnson) were selected as "great" and at times I felt like the professor struggled with tying a slew of historical facts into a unifying story or common theme of the President's greatness
• Good listening included:
o Examples of how these Presidents expanded the power of the presidency beyond what the founding fathers intended and at times the challenges they encountered by the checks and balances system of the U.S. government (such as the Supreme Court)
o The narrative of the U.S.-Mexican War under Polk
o Origins of the various political parties in U.S. history (Federalists, the Democratic Republicans, the Whigs, Democrats, and Republicans)
o The Lyndon B. Johnson lectures
• A really good source of information for the Presidents' entire life since the lectures didn't focus just on their time in office but the Professor also covered their childhoods, accomplishments prior to being elected, and the remainder of their lives post-Presidency
• The professor brought a lot of passion to the lectures; It is apparent how much he admires these Presidents
• No clear consistent criteria for defining what makes a President "great"; I understand such a designation is subjective but for argument consistency sake it would've been good if the Professor had a set of criteria and rated each President against them (this isn't to say all great Presidents should have the same specific characteristic since there are different ways to be considered "great"; Indeed I'd imagine if there was a set of say 5 criterion, some of the Presidents would ace some but fail others but at least there would be a more defined way to differentiate Great presidents and other Presidents); For example Polk was included apparently for being one of the few Presidents who was able to achieve everything on his policy agenda (without regard as to whether they were the right policies) and for expanding the territory under US control (even though it was accomplished under rather dubious means); Perhaps "Most Impactful Presidents" or "Presidents of Great Significance" or "Most Studied" would've been better titles
• Some of the lectures felt more like a narrative of history of what occurred during the President's term vs. an attempt to tie it all together in a unifying story to illustrate a common theme about what made that President great
"Absolutely Amazing"
After listening to History of the Supreme Court (another of The Great Courses' audiobooks), I knew they provided quality, in-depth, and entertaining books. I absolutely loved this book and recommend it to anybody wanting to know a little bit more about great presidents in our history.
Each mini-biography provides not only wonderful stories rich with imagery and details, but that also have key facts that help the listener truly learn about the figures being discussed and how they became to be who they are.
Tampa Realtor
"The Great Presidents"
Great course on The Great Presidents. Great in the case of these men is based on what they accomplished. Of course great depends on your politics, view of economics, world affairs, etc. For example many of these Presidents were way too progressive and made government way to large for my liking. What made them great however often was their soaring rhetoric and their ability to achieve their goals.
"Made me sound like a historian in my American Executive class."
Overall, very in depth information on the presidents stated in this course. I disagree that Reagan is a "great president", but I understand the argument. If anything, his particular section gave me more evidence to support my biased of his presidency. Lol Dr. Lichtman is a great narrator. He kept me engaged and entertained.
"good job, I learned a lot. well taught."
enjoyed it very much. the only issue I had is that I could tell when the instructor liked a president and when he really didn't. when he was not as into it. I was not ether. I drifted a little on a couple lectures as a result. but all and all pretty great indeed.
"Great Survey"
Lichtman's lectures are informative and entertaining. Sprinkled with memorable quotes and anecdotes, yet cogently covering the policy issues and presidents' responses to political events. Recommended.
"Outstanding, insightful, engaging. "
one of the best of thd Great Lecture series. The Prof brings it alive and weaves and deconstructs the events and individuals, warts and all.
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This step is optional but will greatly boost your chances of your profile getting read by other members. Type a little about yourself, your interests and upload any nice photographs of yourself.
Utilise our website's cutting-edge search to locate members who match your requirements. Or just leaf through listings and locate daters that pique your interest.
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The Red Sox have publicly identified first base, left field, and right field (along with starting pitching and shortstop) as areas of need. The offseason will be devoted to filling those spots, along with several other roster vacancies.
Free agents Mike Napoli or Adam LaRoche could be the answer at first. In the outfield, the Sox could bring back Cody Ross, or try to lure Torii Hunter or Nick Swisher, or maybe Jason Bay again. Or perhaps Swisher could be the answer at first.
Perhaps the answer to one or more of those questions is already in the organization. General manager Ben Cherington said at last weeks GM meetings that Jerry Sands could be a platoon option at first base.
Sands was part of the blockbuster trade with the Dodgers in August, although, as a player to be named later, the Sox did not acquire him until Oct. 4. He was then added to the 40-man roster.
Sands, who turned 25 in September, was a 25th-round pick of the Dodgers in 2008 out of Catawba College in North Carolina. He made his big league debut last season, appearing in 61 games. This season he appeared in nine games for the Dodgers. He has appeared in 47 games in left field, 23 in right, seven at first base, and one in center field for the Dodgers all without making an error.
The right-handed batter has hit a combined .244 with four home runs, 27 RBI, a .325 on-base percentage, and .376 slugging percentage in the big leagues.
Listed at 6-feet, 4-four inches, and 225 pounds, Sands runs relatively well for a big guy. He is 3-for-6 in major league stolen base attempts, all in 2011. In the minors, he has 28 stolen bases, getting caught just four times. In 2010, he was 18-for-20. Last season, though, he was successful in his lone attempt.
Over five minor league seasons, he has hit .289 with a .376 OBP and .562 SLG, playing all three outfield positions, first base, and third base. He has appeared in more games, 173, at first base than any other position. But over the last two seasons -- both at Triple-A - he has appeared in 94 games in left, 89 at first, 52 in right, and one at third base.
In 119 games with Triple-A Albuquerque this season, he hit .296 with 26 home runs, 107 RBI, .375 OBP, and .524 SLG. In 2012, he played 60 games in left, making one error for a .992 fielding percentage, with 11 assists, 44 games at first base (seven errors, .983 fielding percentage), and 24 errorless games in right field.
His versatility is certainly attractive to the Red Sox. But, what is his best position and what can he offer the Sox offensively? Several scouts weighed in:
I like his power but contact issues are a concern, said one scout. His walks are up, which is a positive. Played a solid left but limited to left fieldright field . He can also play first base, but much better in left field. I was a little higher on his D than most but he is an average defender at best. Runs well for a big man but not a threat. I had him as an extrafourth outfielder type. Those power numbers in Albuquerque are a little exaggerated due to the light air but he has 20-plus home run power. I do not think he will ever hit for much of an average -- .240 - .250 type.
Sands has been brought up and given a little chance, said another scout at the time of the trade. He always did well in the minor leagues, but never produced. He never impressed the Dodgers enough to keep him in the big leagues.
Hes a big power-type guy. Thats a big part of his game, said a third scout. I think eventually hes going to be OK. I know the Dodgers had some situations with him where if he doesnt hit, he wants to start changing things, and they were trying to be patient with him doing that. But I think hes going to get everything straightened out, and hes going to be a pretty good offensive-type guy. Hes a playable defensive guy. Hes one of those guys, if he hits and hits for power, his defense is going to be good enough. Hes more of a fringe defender in the outfield. But if he hits 40 home runs, then hes a very good outfielder. I think hes got some promise to him.


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The 9th Annual Nike 5meter Winter in the Tropics Water Polo Camp will be held December 27th - 30th, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Don't miss this opportunity to work with the top players and coaches in the country.
The focus of the program will be in-water instruction on the fundamentals of the game. Fundamental passing, shooting, team and individual defense along with tactical discipline and individual aspects of the game will be discussed.
He is one of the only athletes in history to compete internationally as a goalie and as a field player. Most recently he was named MVP of the 2012 US Open after he helped Newport Water Polo Foundation win the national championship. Genai has coached at every level, from age group to Division 1 college programs. Over the last 15 years he has run hundreds of camps and impacted thousands of lives.
Surprisingly, Genai got involved in water polo by accident, following the whistles to what he thought was a basketball game and ended up at the pool. He excelled at both water polo and basketball at Coronado High School and received a water polo scholarship to UC Irvine to play under Coach Ted Newland. Genai went on to become a NCAA All-American in 1998 and 1999 and was awarded Big West Conference Male Scholar Athlete of the Year his senior year.
Genai remains active in his community and has become a great role model for aspiring water polo players. He has been a US Ambassador for the USADA (U.S. Antidoping Agency) since 2003 promoting clean sports for young athletes. He was a founding faculty member of the Sage Hill School where he was the Dean of Students, taught art and physical education, and started the aquatic programs. Genai has also created several community outreach programs to help mentor children in lower income households.
John Abdou, a veteran collegiate and national team coach, is currently the High Performance Director for USA Water Polo. In this position Abdou oversee's the Olympic Development Program in addition to coach and referee education and development. Abdou also assists in implementing the technical vision throughout ODP and the USA Water Polo club system.
John was formerly the Associate Head Coach for men's water polo at the University of California-Santa Barbara and Director/Boy's Head Coach of the Santa Barbara Water Polo Club. Prior to his time in Isla Vista, Abdou spent five years at Bucknell University, the last two serving as Head Coach of both the men's and women's programs. Within USA Water Polo, Abdou has remained active in the National Team pipeline in his position as ODP East Region Technical Director since 2008. Since 2010 he has also been a part of the coaching staff of the Men's Senior National "B" Team.
Felix Mercado has been the Head Men's and Women's water polo coach at Brown University since he was hired in the summer of 2007. Mercado spent the two seasons prior to coming to Brown at the helm of the MIT men's varsity and women's club teams after one year as an assistant.
If five or more campers register together, each camper is eligible for a $25 discount. Please have a team contact reach out directly to the USSC office at 1-800-645-3226 to receive a discount code to identify your group. Campers may then register through the website at their convenience and apply the coupon code during check-out.A detailed camper registration packet containing check-in location, health/release forms, emergency contact info, and a list of things to bring will be emailed to all registered campers prior to camp. Our health and release forms do not require a doctor's signature and they will be collected on the first day of camp.
Check-in takes place at 8:45am on Wednesday, December 27th at the Ransom Everglades School.
Camp will conclude at 2:00pm on Saturday, December 30th.
• Health & Release Forms
• Weather appropriate clothing
• Dryland Training Gear (Running shoes, t-shirt, athletic shorts)
• Healthy Lunch/Snack
• Water Bottle
• Backpack
• Swim Suit
• Swim Cap(s)
• Goggles
• Towel
• Sunscreen
• Hat/Visor
• Sunglasses
• Sandals/Flip Flops
Team Discount: If ten or more campers register together, each camper is eligible for a $100 discount. Please have a team contact reach out directly to the USSC office at 1-800-645-3226 to receive a discount code to identify your group. Campers may then register through the website at their convenience and apply the coupon code during check-out.
Sibling Discount: $50 off each player. You can call 1-800-645-3226 to receive the sibling discount over the phone or you can indicate that you are eligible for the sibling discount in the "comments" field when registering via our secure website.
*Sibling discount cannot be combined with any other discount.
Since its opening in 2012, the state-of-the-art facility is in use year-round for Physical Education classes, competitions, special events, camps and community service.
1). This camp is open to any and all entrants. 2). Drugs, alcohol and smoking are strictly prohibited and constitute grounds for immediate dismissal from camp. 3). For your safety and benefit, we recommend that you choose a camp that fits your particular skills and level of development.


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I never seen something like this.I know there were some islamic troops but these seem to be born and bread bavarian boys..
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS8HWFWaqa4
i was looking for the B&W ones and ran into this color movie filmed by William Overstreet. some interesting things...get to see a pony come in...


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Live Art Love specializes in producing stunning visual content for major brands and startups.
Live Art Love is a creative company. We operate all over the globe. With Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York as our main cities. Live Art Love centers around finding the heart of a story. Specializing in creating commercials, print advertising, and marketing strategies. With an in-house team of editors, graphic designers, digital marketers, directors, and writers. Working together to capture the emotions, tone, and branding of a product, app or fashion line.
New companies come to Live Art Love for consulting and guidance. To plan the right path when it comes to connecting to their audience. Whether through traditional marketing or in the digital world of social media management. Live Art Love wants to find the voice for your brand that connects.
"Live Art Love created ideas that connected to our audience. We felt confident giving them the reigns. They produced continuous content for our company. Visuals that delivered results with enthusiasm for our brand. Highly recommend Live Art Love for anything Marketing related."
Live Art Love started in the film industry. Having fun using the skills to bring life and a cinematic style to the digital world. Live Art Love works with companies of every size and gives the same attention to detail whether it's a large production for a major brand or a small shoot for a new start up. Covering commercials, documentaries, explainer, crowdfunding and short films. Everything is done in-house from story development, pre-production, and filming. To post-production which includes editing, color grading, and sound design. This means the client is able to be involved with every step of the video production services.
We understand that sometimes you need a push in the right direction. The digital space moves fast and can be overwhelming for anyone trying to jump in. We're staying at the forefront of trends so that we can find the best fit for you. That's why we enjoy consulting with companies that are new, restructuring or that just need some great ideas moving forward. We've traveled for brainstorm sessions with major brands and had Skype sessions with small teams. We love formulating ideas, just as much as putting them into action. Along with consulting, we provide content marketing, branding, design, social media content and management.
Capturing moments is an art. Especially when that image will tell the story of your brand. Diving deep into the client's needs. We find joy in capturing stories through stills. Working with a team of wonderful photographers we shoot print advertising, fashion, portraits, product and lifestyle photography. Everything is done in house from photography to the photoshop. We can provide you with the high definition photography you seek.
Tiffany Diamond loves the filmmaking process and wears many hats. Falling into advertising. She's enjoyed taking that love and creating "mini-films" for brands. Using her screenwriting background to tell stories or find stories. Some of her favorite work includes doing documentary work. Where she gets to dive deep into the lives of real people doing amazing achievements. When not working with Live Art Love clients. You can find Tiffany living an active lifestyle and connecting on social media.
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SEO, can you survive without it?
Posted on Jul 31 2012 at 03:37:03 PM in Marketing & Advertising
Because he knew the importance of marketing, Roger was taking no chances with the website he was working on. After years in the business and understanding how advertising can make you 10 times better than what you are, not to mention an increase in market share that you did not even think possible, this was not an option he was willing to ignore. He was known for his expertise in helping his customers get their business online and he did not need to be in the same office with them, in fact he could easily be living in New York as he promoted his clients using SEO Chicago style.
Most business owners already know that good advertisement practices are key to their success. The fact of the matter is that commercial advertising has been known to pay off, providing the techniques being used are current and innovative. There are many ways for advertisers to benefit from their efforts, but unless they know how to advertise in the new arena, they may be going nowhere fast. We live in an age where online marketing is probably more important than most of the other tried and true methods for advertising, so using the Internet is also necessary to help you reach your goals.
The issues with marketing online can be seen through the numbers and in order to arrive at those desired numbers, there must be a little SEO mixed in. Some advertising companies are visibly afraid of SEO, or search engine optimization and that is probably because they have no experience with it. Any advertising company that is still living in the stone age and refusing to use the benefits of the famous Internet search engine should be avoided at all costs. The bottom line is this, whatever you learn about SEO Chicago will improve you marketing plans and put your business on the road to success.


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The Lion King Costa Mesa Tickets
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With more than twenty-two global productions and seventy-five million audiences around the world, The Lion King ranks among one of the most popular stage musicals of all time. Worldwide gross sales for this musical exceed that of any other entertainment title in box office history. The inventive and exciting musical produced by Disney Theatrical Productions is a treat for fans.
Highlights of the show
Based on Disney's favorite animated movie, The Lion King is a spectacular reimagining of the original. Set against the majestic Serengeti Plains is an explosion of glorious colors and stunning effects that make this musical visually enchanting. Julie Taymor's experience as director can be seen in the musical as it explores the timeless story of Simba through elaborate costumes, masks, and puppetry. The show also features enthralling music numbers including the popular original songs from the movie like "Circle of Life" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight."
Incredible award wins
The Lion King Musical earned rave reviews in media and scored some well-deserved awards. The musical won Taymor her first Tony Award for "Best Direction of a Musical." It also earned the "Best Musical" Tony Award, wowing Broadway audiences and critics alike. Time Magazine declared it a "gasp-inducing spectacle" and Daily Telegraph calls it "A celebration of life." Join in the fun by getting The Lion King Costa Mesa tickets, and you will be treated to a one-of-a-kind theatrical experience.


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Woven - Scholastic Press
All his life, Nels has wanted to be a knight of the kingdom of Avërand. Tall and strong, and with a knack for helping those in need, the people of his sleepy little village have even taken to calling him the Knight of Cobblestown.
But that was before Nels died, murdered outside his home by a mysterious figure.
Now the young hero has awoken as a ghost, invisible to all around him save one person—his only hope for understanding what happened to him—the kingdom's heir, Princess Tyra. At first the spoiled royal wants nothing to do with Nels, but as the mystery of his death unravels, the two find themselves linked by a secret, and an enemy who could be hiding behind any face.
Nels and Tyra have no choice but to abscond from the castle, charting a hidden world of tangled magic and forlorn phantoms. They must seek an ancient needle with the power to mend what has been torn, and they have to move fast. Because soon Nels will disappear forever.
The Undead Road - MZS: Part One - Dashboard Books
Nothing brings the family together like a zombie apocalypse …
Fifteen-year-old Jeremy Barnes would rather watch a zombie movie than shoot a real one, but he has no choice if his family wants to survive the end of the world. Their plan? Drive across the infected United States to a cabin in the Colorado Rockies without a scratch, but their trip takes a complicated detour in the middle of Nebraska when they find Kaylynn, a girl who can handle a baseball bat better than Jeremy can hold a .45 Beretta. And when they stumble into a sanctuary, Jeremy soon learns that Kaylynn is stronger than she looks—a deadly secret lies inside her.
After the radio picks up a distress call from Kansas City about a possible cure, Jeremy's parents go with a team to investigate. They never return. The only way to find their parents is for Jeremy and his sister Jewel to rely on a dangerous girl who might just turn on them at any moment.
* * *
The Spirit Of Christmas (2013)
It's the most wonderful time of the year ... but not for everyone.
The Spirit Of Christmas (2013)
It's the most wonderful time of the year ... but not for everyone.
Celebrating the holidays isn't easy when your flight is canceled, or when you're working nights at the big box store, or when you're being haunted by the ghost of a deceased brother. These and other stories await five characters whose lives are about to change for the better when they discover The Spirit of Christmas.
This collection of five novelettes is our way of saying "Thank You" to the people behind nanowrimo.org. Every purchase of this anthology will go toward their ongoing efforts to help writers achieve their goals.
Overcoming Adversity: An Anthology for Andrew (2013)
A collection of seventy moving and uplifting original pieces - real life, flash fiction, and poetry - about battling against the odds and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit. The contributors include Amazon bestselling authors Alex J. Cavanaugh and Kyra Lennon, and the cream of upcoming talent. Help us get Andrew to college by buying a book that runs the full gamut of human emotions, ultimately leaving you inspired and glad to be alive. Whatever struggles you are going through, our sincere hope is that this book will help.
Campaigner Challenges (2011)
This eBook contains 176 flash fiction stories, poems, and essays from 81 participants of Rachael Harrie's Blog Building Campaign 2011. Everyone donated their stories freely and willingly for this worthy course.
All proceeds go to Harry Moseley's charity "Help Harry Help Others". Harry single handedly raised over 85,000BP (roughly 137,000USD) for cancer Research. He died October 8th aged 11. (From Amazon)


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Article: 909 of alt.freemasonry Newsgroups: alt.freemasonry Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!sipb-server-2.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!wupost!psuvax1!news.pop.psu.edu!news.cac.psu.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!news.ossi.com!news.fujitsu.com!amdahl!netcomsv!netcom.com!rlaver From: email@example.com (rlaver) Subject: Re: Intolerance and the XXXI Message-ID:
Sender: firstname.lastname@example.com Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest) References: <email@example.com> Date: Sat, 17 Sep 1994 00:58:53 GMT Lines: 103 >Why are you so patronizing? Albert Pike IS in fact one of the biggest >single names in Masonry...he can be taken to authoritatively represent >the ideas that many Masons have followed since his lifetime.
Now you have raised my curiosity! NO! I am not trying to fan the flames but I would like to know the source or basis for your comment "Albert Pike IS in fact one of the biggest single names in Masonry" I am Past Master of my lodge, have served four Grand Masters as a District Deputy and I am currently serving as Deputy Master of the 5th Masonic District Convention of the Grand Lodge of Georgia. I would recommend that you write to the Masonic Service Association for the book I am noting below. The price is $3.50 which I believe includes shipping. (Not a big money maker)
I am excerpting a few paragraphs regarding masonic experts. I hope you will find it enlightening.
Art deHoyos and S. Brent Morris
With A Foreword By James T. Tresner, II
(c) 1993 Masonic Service Association of the United States 8120 Fenton St., Silver Spring, MD 20910-4785, 301 588-4010 All rights reserved.
Kessinger Publishing Co., P.O. Box 160, Kila, MT, 59920, has generously given permission to use extended quotation from The Cloud of Prejudice: A Study in Anti-Masonry, by Art deHoyos, (c) 1992 by Art deHoyos.
Thousands of authors have written about Freemasonry and several have achieved wide recognition for their general scholarship. Other Masonic authors have pursued theories that at best are without factual support and at worst are embarrassingly wrong. Because Freemasonry values free thought so highly, grand lodges as a rule neither endorse nor condemn ideas; that decision is left to individual Masons. Thus it is quite possible to find otherwise highly regarded Masonic authors who have espoused ideas of Masonic origins or symbolism that are without substance, ideas that have been politely ignored and have been allowed to quietly fade away. Unless formally endorsed by action of a grand lodge, no writer can speak for Masonry, only for himself.
Dr. Robert A. Morey, a Christian critic of Freemasonry, noted, "Another error typically made by anti-Masons is the assumption that Freemasonry is based on the writings of a single individual. They usually pick Albert Pike as the official 'spokesman' of Freemasonry." If not Albert Pike, then their choice might be Albert Mackey or Manley Palmer Hall or some other author espousing his personal theories about Masonry. ...
Anti-Masons regularly parade the writings of Masonic authorities before their audiences and dissect their words, looking for a sentence here or a phrase there to be used in their cause. They seek someone like a church authority who speaks dogmatically on teachings and doctrine; whose every word must be accepted by the faithful.
Freemasonry has no such authorities. ...
No other lie has captured the imagination of anti-Masons quite like Leo Taxil's hoax concerning Albert Pike and Lucifer. Dr. Robert A. Morey parts company with most of his fellow antiMasons on this issue. "Of all the attacks against the Craft, none is so vicious as the charge that Masons are a secret cult of Devil worshipers or Satanists and that at some point in the higher degrees they must pass through a Luciferian initiation."
>In any case, this newsgroup is not for Masons alone...it is for all >kinds of folx. If you are indeed a Senior Steward, try representing >your Lodge and your Craft with a more friendly attitude. Thanks...
My friend I agree. However, it is often difficult to be patient with someone who seems bent on convincing non masons of things we generally know to be untrue. Was the man improperly solicited (especially on multiple occasions)? Perhaps I should accept him at his word. BUT other posts are simply inflamatory.
I look forward to your comments once you have had the time to read the book quoted above. If for some reason you feel you can not afford it, send me an address (a post office box will do) and I will see to it that you receive a copy at my expense.
Ross Laver, Past Master
Flint Hill Lodge #371 F & A M
McWhorter, Georgia
May the light of truth be a beacon for the world!
Up to Freemasonry main page.
Last revised: Tue Aug 19 16:02:27 EDT 1997


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PHOENIX — PetSmart is opening up a new distribution center in Bethel, Pa. in order to better serve its growing store base and increased demands on its supply chain.
According to the company, the new facility, operational by April 2014, will bring approximately 300 jobs to the area in its first year and an estimated 500 jobs by the end of 2016. PetSmart will add construction jobs this year and commence building on the $50 million DC in fall 2012, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2014.
"Bethel presented itself as an ideal location for our new distribution center, and we are excited to become an active part of this community," said Eddie Burt, SVP supply chain for PetSmart. "The construction of this new facility and the jobs it's creating is just the beginning of our vibrant partnership with the town of Bethel."
The new, build-to-suit 870,000 square DC,to be located at Berks Park (78 Industrial Park) off of PA I-78, will serve eleven states and Eastern Canada, providing services to 170 PetSmart stores in 2014 and over 260 by 2015.
Once the Bethel DC is complete, PetSmart will vacate two smaller distribution centers located in Gahanna, Ohio and Hagerstown, Md, both of which are nearing capacity. The approximately 160 PetSmart associates affected by these closures will be offered opportunities in other PetSmart DCs.
"The talent of our associates is the primary reason PetSmart has continued to grow," added Burt. "We are looking forward to building our DC team by providing growth opportunities for existing associates and adding team members from the Bethel community."


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U2 War Tour
War 2nd leg: North America
: Sports Arena - Los Angeles, California, USA
View all performances at Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, USA.
(venue website)
(venue website)
Support Act: The Alarm
- Out Of Control
- Twilight
- An Cat Dubh / Into The Heart
- Surrender
- Two Hearts Beat As One
- Seconds
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
- The Cry / The Electric Co.
- I Fall Down
- October
- New Year's Day
- Gloria
- Party Girl
- 11 O'Clock Tick Tock
- I Will Follow
- 40
Concert reviews: Submit your review
- Hot Summer Night at the Sports Arena submitted by Timothy Horrigan
- A Small Room submitted by Christopher Trimm
Send any additional setlist or soundcheck information
Send your pictures from this show
Songs from 6 U2 albums have been played during this show. Snippets are not counted.
- Boy (6 songs)
· An Cat Dubh
· I Will Follow
· Into The Heart
· Out Of Control
· The Electric Co.
· Twilight


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Why do we laugh?Lots of theories have been constructed to answer this question, but most haven't been terribly successful because we laugh at so many different things. (Here's a New York Review of Books essay on some of them.) So, let me try out a two-stage theory, which I haven't actually tested yet against all the different kinds of humor, but it may be promising:
Stage One: Let's start out with a negative but useful definition of humor: it's not serious.
The more something seems serious but is not serious, the funnier it is.
King Lear topples rigidly to the ground -- uh-oh, that's serious. Buster Keaton topples rigidly to the ground -- oh, good, that's not serious, ha-ha.
A young husband and wife get into an argument over who, exactly, is the father of her unborn child. Generally speaking, that's not funny. It's serious.
A young husband and wife get into an argument before her parents come for dinner over whether you should set the salad fork to the right of the main fork or across the top of the plate. They start yelling, but eventually start laughing at themselves for yelling because it's a silly thing to get worked up over. It's not serious.
Laughter happens more in public than in private. To say, as readers often do, that A Confederacy of Dunces or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas are "laugh out loud funny" is to admit, via the logic of the exception that proves the rule, that the great majority of books don't provoke loud laughter in solitary readers. In contrast, to say that the recent Katherine Heigl romantic comedy "27 Dresses" is "laugh out loud funny" is ho-hum praise because any movie labeled a comedy is supposed to set the audience in the theatre off laughing.
Public laughter can serve as an expression of relief and mutual reassurance that something that could be serious -- e.g., the bride's bedraggled ex-boyfriend crashes into the church just before she says "I do" to the rich guy who doesn't really love her -- isn't serious, it's just, say, romantic comedy behavior. Weddings are almost omnipresent in movie comedies these days because we have so few formal ceremonies anymore where A. Americans are supposed to act like proper protocol is all-important; and B. It really isn't.
In mildly stressful social occasions, such as at cocktail parties, people laugh constantly at things other people say that aren't very funny. (Social scientists have taped and transcribed run-of-the-mill repartee and it's usually pretty dire). When my feeble witticisms elicit constant giggling, that is people laughing to reassure each other that it's not serious.
That's laughing-with-you humor, which isn't normally terribly funny to an outside observer. Professional comedians tend to use laughing-at-somebody humor, which often is. The point of hostile humor is to show us (the audience) that they (the objects of ridicule) aren't serious. They are ridiculous. It's reassuring.
Top comedians, of course, tend to be notoriously hostile. In the 1990s, a friend once had dinner with Jackie Mason, who spent the entire evening complaining morosely about how Ed Sullivan had ruined his career in 1964. (That's pretty funny, but only because it wasn't serious: Mason went on to have a highly successful career, and thus it was funny that he was bitterly lamenting the incident 30 years later. If he had never gotten another break, it wouldn't be funny, it would be sad.)
Perhaps the positive feeling we enjoy when something is funny has evolved as a sort of brain candy to reward us for realizing when something is not serious. Hunter-gatherers can better afford to be ornery because they can just leave when other people get on their nerves too much. Settled humans living in dense populations need other mechanisms for coping with frustrations, such as a sense of humor to reward them for deciding something isn't really a big deal. Thus, we are primed to search out funny experiences.
Stage Two: Assuming that we evolved a craving for the feeling that's something is funny, then that kind of positive reinforcement could then have evolved to apply to other helpful things. For example, pattern recognition is, generally speaking, a good thing from a Darwinian point of view. So, it's not surprising that a lot of humor involves pattern recognition.
Q. How many lesbians does it take to screw in a lightbulb?That was funny the first time you heard it (1983) because it crystallized for you something you'd observed evidence for -- that lesbians are likelier to be humorless and irritable -- but hadn't yet recognized consciously. Like a trainer teaching Shamu a new trick at Sea World, your brain tossed you some brain candy as a reward for noticing something new. The joke is not very funny now, however, because you already knew lesbians tend to be like that. (By the way, here's a hilariously unfunny Wikipedia article on Lightbulb Jokes.)
A. That's not funny!
So, that's the theory. Does it account for all types of humor? Well, you can more or less extend stage two indefinitely: Puns are funny because our brains reward us for noticing ... uh ... incongruity. Or maybe our brains toss us some brain candy for noticing that things that seem alike (e.g., homonyms) might not be actually alike (i.e., puns are the inverse of pattern recognition humor).
Of course, like most Darwinian explanations, this starts getting unfalsifiable the more you push it.
But that leads to the question:
- If pattern recognition is funny;
- And if Steve Sailer is good at pattern recognition (e.g., this blog post);
- Then why isn't Steve Sailer funny (e.g., this blog post)?
For example, consider my 1994 article "Why Lesbians Aren't Gay," which includes a table of three dozen traits upon which lesbians and gay men tend to differ. This prodigious exercise in pattern recognition includes bits and pieces that could be incorporated into dozens of stand-up comedy routines and Saturday Night Live skits. But my article on the whole isn't funny. Indeed, it tends to get readers angry.
Lots of funny people read my stuff (e.g., Stephen Colbert or one of his writers), because I'm good at coming up with the raw material for observational humor. But, I generally don't choose to be very funny myself.
How come? Well, I suspect there's a conflict between the Stage Two type of humor (pattern-recognition) and Stage One ("It's not serious").
The problem is: I am serious.
An observational comedian says, "Have you ever noticed ..." and then mentions something paradoxical. "Why is that?" he adds with a look of exasperation and confusion, and then rushes on to some other wry observation.
With me, though, the question "Why is that?" leaves me dead in my tracks, goggle-eyed in fascination. "I bet I can figure that out," I say to myself, even though nobody cares. It's already been established that it's not serious and that's enough for most people. Me, I've got to be Mr. Explainer.
I can be funny in short bursts (here's a 1992 American Spectator parody I wrote that was pretty funny at the time), but I find it hard to maintain the needed level of scattershot hostility for too long. I'm too empathetic toward people (at least those below the top 0.001%), too interested in understanding what makes them tick, too disinterested and philosophical to be terribly funny.
My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer


text:
by Knut Mork, (c) 1995
Images (c) 1994 Marcos Novak
All Rights Reserved
The first time I met Marcos Novak, at last October's Cybersphere conference in Stockholm, I was little versed in the world of architecture. I had never heard of him before. Big mistake. Marcos Novak refers to his Virtual Reality art-works as "liquid architecture and navigable music," and the eerie sense of awe which pervades them lives up to the nifty adjectives. He uses computer algorithms originally intended for music composition to 'compose' architecture: four-dimensional architecture which moves around in space, shifting color, shifting form. And these weirdly fluid leviathan structures play melodies all the while, melodies controlled by the movements of whoever happens to be in there. At the Banff Centre for the Arts he developed
Q: In your essay "Automated Writing, Automatic Writing: The Poetics of Cyberspace," you address the different possibilities for art as based on algorithmic techniques. A lot of algorithm-like techniques have already become very popular in music: techno, ambient, industrial are all very programmed. But in these areas algorithms are mainly being applied to create monotony.
MN: I've never been persuaded that it is fair to project my limitations, or those of anyone else, into the fabric of the world. The fact that we cannot accomplish something is simply indicative of our own lack of imagination. It would be criminal to extend that lack into eternity, claiming therefore that because we have failed, everyone else must also fail. I can at least imagine that someone, at some point, can solve what for me may have been intractable.
Approaching your question from another direction, it seems to me that there are many instances in which some sense of algorithm has produced as much variety as we have ever known. The world itself, as far as I know, is the result of innumerable algorithmic processes, richly interwoven.
At the root of ignorance is the tendency to dismiss anything that is not immediately and easily self-evident. The least we can do is resist that impulse, and think twice, and think again.
Q: At your presentation in Stockholm you asked the audience some questions, one of which I'm tempted to turn back on you: "What would an intelligent paragraph be? Do? Know? Think?"
MN: An intelligent paragraph would be like an intelligent reader, constantly reinterpreting the whole text with each new word that is given. Each new addition to the text would alter a number of internal, hypothetical models of what the paragraph, and the entire text might mean. This act of constant reinterpretation would be a projective act, which is to say it would be less about correspondence with the 'truth' of the writing, which is in any case absent or suspect, and more about constructing several 'possible truths' based on as much context as was available to it. Minute changes in expression would propagate throughout the entire text, not only the paragraph, and 'rewrite' it.
My motivation in asking this question was to use it as a bridge to a larger question, that of 'intelligent environments.' I think it is easier to elaborate the answer to what an intelligent paragraph may be, so I invite people to consider that first. Once you have grasped the nature of the answer of what 'intelligence' may mean in the case of text, you have a point of departure for envisioning the potential of intelligent environments. When I try to make that transposition, I find myself thinking of all the changes that my friends make to my environment, to accommodate me, please me, surprise me, support me, trick me, protect me, and so on. These operations go far beyond the provision of better thermostats, smarter microwaves and videophones. The intelligence required is multimodal, anticipatory, it takes initiatives, and changes its mind on the basis of the subtlest of clues. The problem with all this, of course, is that we still do not understand our own intelligence well enough.
Q: What about the possibilities of working with intelligences so 'other' from our own that we can't relate to them without either dropping all of our preconceptions, or forcing those preconceptions onto the other intelligence? I'm especially thinking about some texts that are coming out of various computer-generated writing techniques. There's one called 'Rubber Blue Biodegradable Robot' which is, in the traditional sense, unintelligible, but purports to be written from a society so far into the future we can't understand it. Understanding our own intelligence is one thing; reacting to intelligences we don't understand is another.
MN: I've been working through what the meaning of 'intelligent environments' might be for something I am writing, and I've come across that question. It reminds me of Stanislaw Lem's 'Solaris' - a entire planet as a single, intelligent creature. It tries to communicate, but the distance between it and humans is insurmountable. If communication is predicated on the existence of common ground, then it would seem that at some point of sufficient alienness, communication would just break down. Interwoven with this is another possibility, though. Written text, movies, digitized sound, anything involving sampling shows that our minds can span individual images and reconstitute animation, can hear individual words and hear continuous speech, focus on individual letters and read continuous words, and so on. Our intelligence is predicated on the capacity of our minds to bridge gaps, to crossover into alien territory. Perhaps just a few commonalties would suffice.
Q: You quote Brian Eno: "I am the sea of permutation, I live beyond interpretation." I recently wrote a very short text piece which looked like a script for generating a poem, and which could unfold in many possible ways as you read it. One reader's response was: "This is crap. It eludes commentary." Is there something in either automated or automatic writing which can bring art outside the grasp of interpretation?
MN: That kind of comment reveals more of the limitations of the reader than of your script for a poem. As I've already indicated, I think that meaning is largely projected: the reader is the light source, and if the light source is dim, little can be seen. The author is the constructor of very special, very reflective screens, screens that allow the subtlest of nuances to be not only reflected, but even amplified and clarified. If the screen is well constructed and the reader can still see nothing, that simply reveals a profound inner absence of light. On the other hand, if the reader's projection is strong, even a dark screen will shine. There is, of course, much to be said about the quality of the screen. That is the subject of poetics: how to create exquisite meaning magnets and interpretation centrifuges.
Q: When it comes to navigating the curved spaces of your "Dancing with a Virtual Dervish," you say that "with a dataglove, one has the distinct sense of carressing a lover's body." This seems a popular idea; the day before, Sadie Plant declared that Cyberspace was essentially a tactile space.
MN: Compared to our present interface with information technologies, cyberspace is extremely physical. Being inside information means our entire bodies, not just our fingertips, are immersed. It is hard to communicate this to people who have not yet experience even today's primitive efforts.
What is fascinating about this new physicality and tactility is the possibility of literally, though 'virtually,' touching ideas and abstractions that were previously entirely untouchable. My term 'dis/embodiment' has everything to do with this new capacity to embody, or re-embody in a new form, what was previously beyond reach.
Q: Dis/embodiment was also very 'in' at the conference. Tell me about it. It has intriguing cyborg implications -- although we're not just adding to our bodies in the cyborg sense, but taking bits away.
MN: I was pleased to see how everyone picked up on my way of writing 'dis/embodiment' - the slash is very important, because it states that there is no actual state of disembodiment, but that there are only alternative states of embodiment in media that are more or less solid. Even if the media turns out to be entirely informational, they would still constitute a form of embodiment, since there would still be the invariance of the relational structure that we are made of. Disembodiment, without the slash, is death, dissolution, disintegration. With the slash, it is metamorphosis, transportation, reincarnation. In either case the components of embodiment continue exist, but in one the signature of the self in maintained and in the other it is lost.
Since you brought up cyborgs, let me add that any of us that have come into contact with technology are already cyborgs. I do not think any of us who use computers will ever escape them, and neither will our children's children. Our particular computers may come and go, but we will always be accompanied by some sort of computer, barring catastrophe. What is curious about that is that our 'informational signature' has therefore already been altered.
Q: Virilio has a book on the architecture/archaeology of old war bunkers which, with their sheer weight, gradually sink into the landscape. A magazine (and, just now, I can't remember which) featured photographs of traditionally inaccessible spaces: the insides of water tanks and the like. Their monumental loneliness reminds me, somewhat, of "Dancing with a Virtual Dervish." You make such massive, beautiful constructs in VR, and yet nobody's there. Your virtual spaces seem, not useless, but unusable.
MN: There are several aspects to what you ask.
First, it was my explicit desire to communicate directly through the new medium of virtual space, without narrative, linearity, reward, or any other such teleological structure. To me the chambers of the 'Virtual Dervish' are what I call 'archimusic' and communicate in the same way as a chord communicates. To me the music I admire music is 'unusable' in just this way. Usable music is lesser music.
Having said that, I have to point out that there are affordances in the world that one can put to use. I see myself as a worldmaker, and my interest is in making the world a rich, interesting, and provocative place. What people do in the world is their own affair. The 'unusability' of these worlds is very much a political statement about the nature of freedom.
Any real world behaves in some way 'against' our will. We can step out of the rain, but cannot stop the raining. This very independence, obstinate but interactive, set ups the possibility of friction, upon which we can construct purpose and use, for ourselves and those who wish to share them, but without totalizing and imposing our assumptions.
Once you construct such a space, the 'loneliness' is exactly what is interesting, in the way that John Cage would point to the silence and boredom as desirable paths to lucidity and freedom. What one must witness to understand this is the behavior of people who enter the dervish worlds: the few people who were given the opportunity to explore them without the pressure of a stopwatch spent hours. Michael Heim spent two hours and a half in a single session; when he emerged from it, I asked him how long he thought he had been inside: "Fifteen minutes?" he asked.
The subtitle of the piece is 'Worlds in Progress,' hinting at the intention to keep inventing new worlds and new aspects of the digital nature within them. To me these worlds are still very simple compared to what I can envision, so I intend to add a great deal more in terms of affordances and interactivities. I doubt any ofd these affordances will be 'useful' in any literal sense.There are several aspects to what you ask.
Q: Well, no. After all, most of art isn't particularly 'useful.' Your reply, though, takes up a great many points. I'm intrigued by the possibilites of VR to mediate non-narrative ideas, having a background in writing poetry, and see the connection to music pretty clearly -- but what do you mean by "usable music is lesser music?" What's 'usable music,' here?
MN: As far as we may have come in to the postmodern, poststructuralist, postapocalyptic, there are still traces of 'form follows function' in the air that must be resisted. My background in architecture make me particularly aware and vigilant against the explication of all that is good in terms of narrow accommodation and suitability to small. clear, and tidy purposes. When I say that "usable music is lesser music" I am poking fun at easy targets of the 'music for ...', 'building for ...', 'room for ...' type, Eno's "music for airports' and other adventures notwithstanding. When I think of all that I admire, I find that excess and overabundance win the day, and that usefulness and accommodation are simply byproducts.
Q: "I intend to add a great deal more in terms of affordances and interactivities." Have any interesting examples?
MN: I have many examples, but I'll just mention a few. One of the first things I want to do is introduce 'windows' within the virtual worlds that look out into the physical world. I want to 'thread' worlds together so that different levels of reality can be encountered simultaneously. 'TransTerraFirma,' the next dis/embodiment of the dervish will connect two Onyxes in different cities, and allow video to be fed into the virtual worlds from the immediate surroundings of the persons within the virtual chambers, from the remote city, and from composite 'video space.' At the same time projections of the virtual worlds will alter the actual spaces of the installations.
Another example has to do with giving the musical algorithms increased control over event and agents in the virtual worlds. The activities within the worlds will be fed into the compositional algorithms; the compositional algorithms will create music, but at the same time direct the behavior of interactive agents, objects and atmospheres within the worlds. When the person within the worlds interacts with these new entities, a feedback loop will be formed that will exhibit all the joys of dynamic systems behaviors.
Finally, as far as examples are concerned, I am fascinated by the idea of 'intelligent space,' space itself become active. I am looking into alternative geometries and constructing models of non-Euclidean or non-perspectival spaces.
Q: As opposed to literature and music, the architectural milieu is extremely academic. What kind of sentiments are dominant regarding your and others' talk of these liquid architectures? What kinds of critiques are coming out against you?
MN: Indeed, architecture has been the slowest to respond. I regret to say this, since I love architecture, but it is true. To be fair, though, there are at least two architectures, the architecture of accommodation, and the architecture of excess. Accommodation produces buildings, excess produces 'Architecture.' This is not a question of extravagant expense, but one of vision and generosity. The architects of excess have always been leading visionaries of their times.
The trouble is that we live in a world where accommodation outnumbers excess and generosity, as training outnumbers education and learning. I have had to fight with this all my life, and I expect that this will not change, since I am committed to keeping myself open and agile.
The critiques are predictable and banal, on the order of "this is not architecture." What is worth noting, however, is that the critiques do not change: the same fears are articulated again and again, true to the tiresomeness of the thinking behind them, with only the name of the 'enemy' changing. The fear of computer-aided design has been replaced by the fear of cyberspace, but the negative rhetoric is identical. If I had a few more lives to spare, I'd write a history of fears. It would very unimaginative, tedious, and repetitive.
Q: Are there any particular architects, musicians, or even writers to whom you feel especially close and/or inspired by?
MN: Of course. It would be a long, long list, and if I mention a few now, it will be more in the nature of a random sampling than an exhaustive enumeration. Borges, Paz, Cage, Deleuze and Guattari, Gaudi, Leibniz, Hafez, Picasso, Lao-Tzu, Sun-Tzu, Ernst, Tzara, Klee, Xenakis, Cavafy, Debord, Heraclitus, Lucretius, Nietzche, Spengler, Lorca, Leonardo, Tesla, Dali, Matta, Galileo, Cohen, Schlemmer, Ghandi, Rumi, many more. The list would include numerous of our more immediate contemporaries as well.
And my Russians! Kandinsky, Malevich, Tatlin, El Lissitsky. Dostoyevsky, too. And non-Russians, Marcel Duchamp, Marcel Broodthaers, Roussel. And Varese. And Kurt Schwitters. And Calvino. And, of course, McLuhan. And Beuys. And Babbage...
Q: Jeffrey Shaw, in his talk in Stockholm, predicted a move of art away from the periphery to the center of discourse, thanks to all of our 'digital superhighways.' Might it really be the center of discourse which is bleeding away and leaving a void which can be claimed by art?
MN: 'CENTRiFUGE' is the name of a web site I have been putting together, with the help of the Advanced Design Research Group [at the University of Texas in Austin]. I see it as an 'asylum for experimental architectures', implying both a center and a 'fugue,' or escape. I like both Jeffrey Shaw's and your recognition of the reciprocity between center and periphery. As I see it, art has always been at the center of discourse, but it has done so by implication. If the center implies balance, then that balance can be achieved in a static manner or in a dynamic manner. Both the corpse and the tightrope walker are in equilibrium, but one is distinctly more alive than the other. Art engages, or enrages, as the case may be, the center by balancing the extremes of experience. Discourse does not always dare to follow, and often plays dead.
Your comment raises the issue of the 'pantopicon,' however. While art expanded around a fairly well defined center, the center itself is now becoming diffuse and hard to locate. This transterritoriality does not mean that centers do not exist - just that they can now only be known stochastically, like the center of mass of a swarm of bees. This is an exciting situation, since it mixes the centripetal tendencies of discourse with the centrifugal elements of art and creates strange, provocative morphings of realities.
Q: In the essay on the Poetics of Cyberspace, you point out the conflict between, on the one hand, the dissolution of categorical thinking, and on the other, the rapidly advancing establishment of the computer, a machine which is very categorical indeed. You say that this is not simply a conundrum of software design, but is a "deep challenge into the very heart of what it is to be human." What kind of challenge are you really talking about here?
MN: Our world, and we as part of it, seems to be built on an immense alternation of regularity and freedom. Everywhere there are rules, but the rules could just as well be accidental features, patterns that fit into patterns because they happen to be configured as they are. Different patterns could have existed, and upon them different super-patterns would have emerged. The categories we encounter are emergent phenomena, as we are.
We are engines of transgression as much as we are well ordered automata. Where the physical world proceeds by the interruptions of the Lucretian 'clinamen,' we set up a mental equivalent of transgression through poetic, that is to say generative, association of dissimilars. We put together what ought not have gone together, and then construct bridges of plausibility to connect the disconnected.
Q: The term "Pantopicon" loomed like a spectre over your entire Stockholm talk without really touching down anywhere. Tell me about it.
MN: Indeed. A trillion years ago, in one of my sketchbooks, I observed that we try to catch truth with a net, as if it were a butterfly, never stopping to think that it might be like the air upon which the butterfly glides. Perhaps it is more appropriate if the 'pantopicon' never touches down anywhere. Ubiquity being what it is, it does not have to touch down to be present.
I use the term 'pantopicon' in contradistinction to Jeremy Bentham's 'panopticon.' The panopticon, or the condition of centralization and surveillance, characterized the age we are leaving behind; our time is not one of centers of power and radiating spokes of vision; it is a time of diffusion into fields of ubiquitous sensors and effectors. Everyone is everywhere, all the time, all at once. Borges saw this in the 'Aleph,' McLuhan saw it in the distinction between 'optical' and 'acoustic' space, Attali speaks about it in 'Noise,' and Cage made music of it in the 'Roaratorio.'
Thinking about the pantopicon as an architectural problem is particularly useful, in that it pits the art most heavily anchored in space, time, and specificity with its extreme opposites: reconciling the two is a liberating effort. I recommend the exercise.
Q: A lot of talk is running around about where all these new art forms are going to fit into social and political context. Some people drop the political question altogether, or at least try. Others are extremely focused on it; in literature, the Avant-Pop movement is very socially aware; in architecture, the work of people like Lebbeus Woods is explicitly political (Woods says: "Architecture is a political act.") Where are you in all this?
MN: Poetry is war. To me these three words mean a great deal, though I would not attempt to unpack them for anyone. What I can say is that all making is political, not in a crude, literal sense, but in the very fiber of its being. What something represents is usually indifferent to me. What something is, what constellations of practices have brought it into being, what rhizomatic structural relationships it has to the its multiple contexts, how strong a 'meaning magnet' it is, or how reflective an 'interpretation screen' it is, are all political aspects. All making is a microcosmic exercise in envisioning alternative worlds. Our constructs and interactions embody values and imply social orders, whether we are aware of this or not.
In our society, it is possible to do anything one wishes as long as it can be put within an appropriate cultural container or frame, such as 'gallery,' 'performance,' 'installation.' Even the most innocent and harmless effort to bypass the system of categorizations and bracketing and to confront 'reality' directly meets immediate and very serious resistance. Both the resistance and the necessary opposition to that resistance are patently political. You can test this yourself: look for something that is accepted within clearly defined brackets, preferably something benign, to make the point very clear; replicate it in a situation that is outside those brackets; sit back and watch the alarms go of, the threats of power arrive at your doorstep. The magnitude of the response will be a very accurate indicator of the degree to which you have engaged 'reality.'
Q: You also refer to the need for today's writers to create a new language in the face of the barrage of TV, junk mail, ad infinitum. What kind of directions are new 'makers' of art going to be forced to go in, thematically, to perform that re-invention?
MN: Although the barrage you speak of continues ad infinitum, its contents are very limited. What I envision is more of a stance than a fixed direction, more of an attitude than a fixation on an outcome. This attitude or stance is oppositional in that it recognizes that infinity is very, very, very large, and that all the things we have tried out are negligible compared to all the things that could be, and that, therefore, everything around us could be otherwise. The free exploration of possibilities is the most life-enhancing activity I know of. In addition, as a fringe benefit, from time to time we actually come across a better way to arrange our personal and social lives.
You can imagine that everything we know is contained in a circle. Most people mill around near the center of the circle. A few wander toward the edges, perhaps walking on the boundary between what we know and what we don't know for a while. A tiny number of people stand at the edge of the circle, take a deep breath, and take a step into the abyss. This is a moment of supreme discomfort, but also of supreme joy. Something magical happens in that moment: the circle of what is known gets just a little bigger, the space becomes a little more generous for everyone, the timid and the brave alike.
Q: And yet (as pointed out in another interview on these pages) artists run into a difficult situation when society as it's forming now has a supreme ability to close its eyes and pretend that circle just isn't there. You can drag the weirdest things in from the abyss and nobody will bat an eye: it's all just media-ized pop-art anyway, right? There are a lot of levels to this re-invention: one thing is changing what people see on TV, another is dragging their faces away from the TV screen.
MN: I do not know that it was ever really different. In every age a small number of people carried very advanced debates about all that was known while the vast majority lived in ignorance. I imagine that the percentages of the population within the circle then and now would be nearly the same. To complain about the society of the spectacle as a contemporary social disease is to forget that it was the Romans who declared that all the people wanted in order to be contented was bread and circuses, or pizza and television, if you prefer.
I'm not really interested in dragging anyone away from their television by force, not even trying too hard to persuade them, since persuasiveness too is a form of force. I think there is much that is wrong in our world, no doubt, and that therefore there is much that can be improved, but I think that the best we can do is act with integrity and let our examples attract whoever is ready to be attracted. If indeed our options are better (for we are masterful at self delusion), perhaps the balance will gradually change.
Another way of putting this is to return to my figure of the circle and modify it by suggesting that we each attempt to increase the fractal dimension of its circumference, until the edge to the abyss becomes infinite in length even as the area within the circle, the ignorant interior, tends to zero.
Q: It's so fascinating to see the different directions people are going in. You, on the one hand, write about and construct quite convincingly a new, fluid architecture which is designed for cyberspace and the changes it's bringing. A few days before the Stockholm conference I was at a debate at the Oslo Architectural Society, which was opened by a talk from a young architect. His talk consisted of a critique of what he (quite vaguely) called the 'Avant-Garde,' attacking it for dissolving into a series of unrelated abstractions which no 'common man' understood. He used this to campaign for a certain return to what he (again, quite vaguely) called 'classical' values; presumably the sense of unity and monumentality which dominated the Classical period. He seems to be against everything you are for. Is this just him demonstrating a fear of the unknown?
MN: Obviously, I cannot speak for this particular person, but I have come across similar attitudes often, and have many impressions and interpretations to share. On the one hand, evoking the understanding of the 'common man' seems to be an anti-elitist gesture, but if you consider it more deeply, you see that it is actually immensely condescending - people, especially young people, open people, can often see much farther than paternalizing academics. Between the Nazi condemnation of 'degenerate art' and the Soviet endorsement of 'social realism,' there is little ground to stand on regarding art that aimed at the understanding of the 'common man.' From another point of view, if you examine the leading edge of anything we really know, you'll see that very few people actually know it, very few others can even attempt to understand it, and so on. If my doctor tells me I need brain surgery, I'll seek a second, third, fourth opinion, but I'll seek it from people who are as well, or better, informed than the first doctor. I would indeed need brain surgery if I walked down the street asking people at bus stops to diagnose and cure my problem. I see no virtue in willful ignorance, or the arrogance of elevating one's own limitations to the level of cosmic principles. Extreme accomplishment requires extreme effort; few people have the capability, opportunity, and luxury of being able to expend such effort; we should be thankful that they do, and try to approach them as well as we can, not drag them down into the gray mud of mediocrity.
I do not believe that people who know, discover, invent, create, and otherwise make the worlds we live in are trying to confuse us. I think they are trying to share the most important things they know in the most concise language they can speak. I think we should forget about that tiny little box called 'the common man' and, instead listen in good faith, and try to learn as many languages as we can, and when we are ready, join in the great conversation we call culture and civilization.
Q: Finally: can you give an idea of when CENTRiFUGE will be up and running? Sounds intriguing.
MN: Centrifuge should be running very soon. I bring it up and take it down all the time as it is, but I keep on wanting to do more. Sometimes I forget to listen to my own advice. But it will be up very soon, probably in early February. There is tremendous interest in it, so I'd like to do it right, and that desire doesn't agree with just how many other fires I have burning.