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Read the article in the Cayman Financial Review Magazine
Concededly, a good deal of tax law is exceedingly technical and abstruse. But no one claims that voters can be magically transformed into tax experts in several easy lessons. The question rather is whether they would grasp the basic essential of tax policy if the issues were adequately presented to them. The real difficulty, I suspect, is they might understand too well.
L. Eisenstein – The Ideologies of Taxation (1961)
Taxes have been in the news more than usual of late and that is saying something. Whatever governments spend they must pay for with money they get from the public. Leaving aside fees charged for some government services, governments acquire that money by taxing people (citizens, residents, foreigners, etc) even if they temporarily borrow some of it. Which people they tax, which activities of those people they tax, and how that burden is distributed among different people and activities have very important consequences for what people do (economic efficiency) and how fair the public judges the burden of the financing of government to be.
Whatever collection and level of activities governments undertake, hopefully reflecting the wishes of the public they serve, should be paid for with taxes that do the least damage to the economy and that are viewed as fair. This article reviews the broadly held principles for judging tax systems by these criteria.
Who and what to tax
Whenever the government collects taxes, someone's income is reduced regardless of the intended sources of the tax. This is as true of corporate taxes, tariffs, sales taxes, etc, as it is of the personal income tax. This suggests the individual (or the household) as the reference point for establishing concepts of tax fairness.
There are two major camps on this issue, which have provided economic literature with a long, flowery and often heated debate. The newer of the two positions asserts that taxes should be levied against individuals in proportion to the benefits they derive from government. The "benefit principle" is a natural outgrowth of social contract philosophy, and was supported by men like Locke, Hume, Hobbes and Rousseau. The other camp asserts that taxes should be divided among individuals according to their respective abilities to pay. The ability-to-pay principle found support from men like Mill, Sismondi, Say, Marshall and Pigou. Support for both positions can be found in Adam Smith.
Each of these principles has its place. In general, free markets assume that people pay for what they get. This is a key factor in determining how the economy's scarce resources are to be employed. Likewise, in taxation, if people pay for the benefits they receive from government (that is, are taxed in accordance with the benefit principle), we can have greater confidence that the government will supply the "right" amount of services. This principle leads to the taxation of gasoline to finance highway construction, to the selling of stamps for postal service (if the word service can possibly be applied here), rather than complete "general fund" financing, and to the taxation of property to finance those municipal services that tend to benefit citizens in relation to the property they own, such as fire and police protection, roads, sidewalks and waste disposal.
However, many necessary government services confer benefits that cannot be attributed to specific individuals or that, by their very nature, should not be paid for by the beneficiaries. National defence is an example of the first type. One person's consumption of it does not reduce its benefits to others. Welfare is an example of the second type. Any programme whose very purpose is to transfer income, say from the wealthy to the poor, obviously cannot tax the poor according to the benefit they receive. At this point we must have recourse to the ability-to-pay principle.
Ideally all government activities that can be financed through direct charges or benefit-related taxes should be (user fees). That would still leave us with the problem of financing those government activities, such as national defence, for which no exclusive individual benefit can be established or for which a benefit-related tax would be inappropriate. The generally accepted standards for designing and collecting taxes for such purposes is that they should allocate the financing burden fairly, should distort the efficient allocation of resources the least possible, and should not cost too much to enforce and collect. The balance of this article broadly reviews and illustrates these principle of "good" tax systems.
Ability to pay
Most people consider the ability-to-pay doctrine an appropriate standard of fairness for government services of the nature we are considering here. A person's ability to pay is related to his income or wealth. But wealth is the source of income (both human and physical wealth or capital) and thus income itself is generally taken as the more appropriate tax base. Real estate or property taxes are an exception because they are easy to evaluate and collect and relatively neutral (see below and the Henry George movement).
Equal treatment of equals
If income, then, is to be the tax base, what is a fair way of taxing incomes in order to raise the required amount of revenue? One of the most widely held standards of tax fairness is the principle of equal treatment of equals. If income is the basic measure of ability to pay, the principle requires that two individuals with the same income should pay the same tax.
A commonsense application of ability to pay suggests only one modification: since we generally tax households (or family units) rather than individuals, an adjustment should be made for the size of the household being supported by the income in question. The first criterion of an ideal tax system can then be restated to say that all households of the same size with the same income should pay the same tax. Bear in mind that this refers to taxes in excess of the benefit-related taxes households may pay.
The ability to pay reflects total economic gain, regardless of type or source (dividends, interest, wages), less all costs incurred in generating it. A farmer, for example, would deduct the cost of his seeds, fertiliser, land rent, etc. It is this concept of income as the tax base that best satisfies most people's sense of fairness in taxation and which is most consistent with the second major principle of good taxation: "neutrality".
There is less agreement on the amount by which a household's ability to pay increases with income. The base line would be that a household with twice the income has the ability to pay twice the tax. This is part of the case for a flat tax (same tax rate whatever the level of income). The other is the simplicity and neutrality of a flat tax rate. However, some argue that the ability to pay rises more rapidly than income, because of decreasing marginal utility of income, which supports the idea of rising (progressive) tax rates with income. However, it provides no guidance as to how rapidly rates should rise, which thus becomes arbitrary, at least with regard to the ability to pay principle and can lead to the abuse by majorities (average income) of minorities (the wealthy).
The second important criterion of an ideal tax system is neutrality. A tax is neutral if it does not alter the relative prices of goods and services – that is, the price of one good relative to the price of another. In a free-enterprise economy prices are the indicators of value. Prices tell firms how badly consumers want one good relative to another. Taking the cost of producing various goods into account, firms are encouraged by profit to produce that collection of goods that in aggregate are most highly valued. A neutral tax does not interfere with the price system's task of directing firms into the provision of the "optimal" quantities of the "right" goods and services. A neutral tax is one "that affects the prices of all goods and services equally, thereby leaving their relative prices unchanged.
An excise tax (a tax on one good or a small number of goods) is not a neutral tax. It causes the selected good to appear artificially expensive relative to other goods to consumers and artificially unprofitable to producers, with the result that less of the good will be produced and in its place more of other less valued goods will be produced. Thus an excise tax causes a misallocation of resources; it causes the economy to function less efficiently. However, "sin" taxes (alcohol, tobacco, etc) are sometimes justified on the grounds that their free market prices do not reflect non-production (social) costs to society of their consumption and therefore such taxes can close the gap between private and social cost and thus improve the allocation of resources.
Income and neutrality
An income tax is most neutral when it is universal, ie without deductions (other than the costs of producing it). Deductions from income such as for the interest on home mortgage payments, taxes for state and local government, charitable contributions, provide economic subsidies (so called tax expenditures) that make each of these activities more attractive than does the free market itself. Economists almost universally consider these subsidies undesirable (except maybe for charitable deductions). However, even if the public wishes to subsidise certain activities, economists generally prefer to do so more transparently through budgetary expenditures rather than via tax deductions.
Thus in the UTaxes have been in the news more than usual of late and that is saying something. Whatever governments spend they must pay for with money they get from the public. Leaving aside fees charged for some government services, governments acquire that money by taxing people (citizens, residents, foreigners, etc) even if they temporarily borrow some of it. Which people they tax, which activities of those people they tax, and how that burden is distributed among different people and activities have very important consequences for what people do (economic efficiency) and how fair the public judges the burden of the financing of government to be.
Is there is broad support for "closing deductions or tax loopholes, as they are often called" in order to broaden the income tax base, which would allow lowering the tax rate that would raise the same revenue or as a way to increase revenue without raising rates. However, those affected by individual deductions, eg the housing construction and banking industries, have successfully fought to preserve tax subsidy that benefit them and the deductions live on.
Consumption tax
Some have argued that it is fairer to tax on the basis of what people take from the economy (ie consume) rather than what they give it (income from producing). Moreover, a consumption tax is clearly superior to an income tax by the criteria of neutrality, because the latter taxes saving (investment) while the former does not. Saving (investment) generates future income. Taxing saving changes the relative benefit of consuming now or in the future in favour of consuming now and thus reduces economic growth. See my earlier discussion of the merits of replacing all non-benefit (user fee) taxes with a comprehensive sales tax (or Value Added Tax–VAT):
Corporate income tax
Most of the discussion of taxation and tax avoidance in the US in recent years concerns the corporate income tax. This tax is one of the worst by almost all criteria. It double-taxes income, first at the corporate level, then again at the personal income level when corporate profits are distributed as dividends or share price appreciations. This reduces investment and the job creation that accompanies it. It is also very complex and filled with many loopholes that further distort resource allocation. It is very difficult to define and collect when companies operate (produce and sell) all over the world. While most countries tax on the basis of territory (only income of a company generated within their territory is taxed within that territory), the US taxes the worldwide income of its companies when repatriated to the US.
The corporate income tax rate in the US is the highest in the world. These features further distort the allocation of investment globally. The number of Fortune Global 500 headquarters in the United States decreased from 179 to 133 from 2000 to 2011. For all of these distortions, high collection costs, and ease of moving income from high to low tax jurisdictions, corporate income taxes raise "barely more than 2 per cent of GDP (8.5 per cent of tax revenue) in America and 2.7 per cent in Britain." (The Economist, 16 February, 2012, page 13). The corporate income tax should be abolished.
Global taxation
Even the income tax raises challenging definitional problems when income is earned from work and investments in various places around the world. Trade is distorted as well when goods produced abroad receive different tax treatments, and thus incur different tax costs, than those produced and sold in the home country. Adopting the territorial system of taxation in the US would be an improvement, but the full replacement of all income, wealth and wage taxes with a consumption tax as discussed above (a VAT is a territorial consumption tax) would best fulfil all of the criteria of "good" taxation.


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Norman has a general population of 95,694 and an overall student population of 26,981. Approximately 25,881 of Norman's students are enrolled in schools that offer biomedical engineering programs.
University of Oklahoma Norman Campus is the largest biomedical engineering school in Norman, based on student population. In 2010, approximately 10 students graduated from the Biomedical Engineering program at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus.
In 2010, 10 students graduated with a biomedical engineering degree in Norman. If you decide to attend one of Norman's biomedical engineering schools, you can expect to pay an average of $19,790 per year in instate tuition and $29,771 per year in out of state tuition.
In addition to tuition costs, plan on spending an average of $1,016 for biomedical engineering related books and supplies each year. And if you live on campus at one of the Norman-based biomedical engineering schools, you will have an added expense of $7,598 per year, on average, for room and board. Students who live at home can cut this cost down to approximately $0.
660 Parrington Oval, Norman, Oklahoma 73019-3072
Awards Offered:
Bachelor's degree
Master's degree
Post-master's certificate

subset: commoncrawl


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Prevent Blindness Brings Constituents From Across the Country to Washington, DC for Annual Eyes on Capitol Hill Event
Volunteer Delegates Gather to Meet with Government Representatives, Advocate on Vision and Eye Health Issues
Prevent Blindness will be holding its twelfth annual "Eyes on Capitol Hill" advocacy day on Tuesday, June 27, 2017, in Washington, D.C. Since 2006, Prevent Blindness and its affiliates have brought citizens from across the country to meet with members of the House and Senate, and their staff, to discuss the importance of vision and eye health programs and research.
In 1908, Prevent Blindness was founded as a public health and advocacy group dedicated to healthy vision. From children's vision issues, to workplace safety, to adult eye disease and more, the Prevent Blindness mission has been to save sight across the age spectrum for more than 100 years.
This year's Eyes on Capitol Hill meetings have been scheduled to specifically ask elected officials to:
Delegates will also ask their representatives to join the Congressional Vision Caucus if they aren't already members.
On June 28, all Eyes on Capitol Hill delegates will attend the sixth annual Focus on Eye Health National Summit at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
"We are proud to continue to work with members of government, through our Eyes on Capitol Hill event as well as other local and national advocacy efforts, to help protect the gift of sight and continue to bring Americans to quality, affordable eye care," said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness.
For more information on Eyes on Capitol Hill or Prevent Blindness and its advocacy initiatives, please call (800) 331-2020 or visit http://www.preventblindness.org/eyes-capitol-hill-2017.
Download a copy of the 2017 Eyes On Capitol Hill press release.


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Coordinates: 30°14?09?N 081°40?50?W / 30.23583°N 81.68056°W
NAS Jacksonville
Towers Field
|Airport type
|Military: Naval Air Station
|United States Navy
|Jacksonville, Florida
|October 15, 1940
|CAPT Brian D. Weiss
|Elevation AMSL
|22 ft / 7 m
Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) (IATA: NIP, ICAO: KNIP, FAA LID: NIP) is a military airport, eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. NAS Jacksonville and Naval Station Mayport are the two naval bases in Duval County.[2]
During World War I, the area now occupied by NAS Jacksonville, often referred to colloquially as "NAS Jax", was named Camp Joseph E. Johnston, and was commissioned on October 15, 1917. The United States Army trained quartermasters and the center included more than 600 buildings; by 1918 Camp Johnston was the largest of all Quartermaster mobilization and training camps.[3] The second largest rifle range in the U.S. was constructed there, but the camp was decommissioned on May 16, 1919. The Florida National Guard began using the site in 1928 and it was renamed Camp J. Clifford R. Foster. In 1939 a group of 10 ex service men traveled to Washington at their own expense to talk the Navy, who was looking for a new base, to come and look at the old National Guard base, they did and liked what they saw. Most of their names are lost to history. Only two are known: Charles Bennett and Ira Lane.[]
On October 15, 1940, Naval Air Station Jacksonville was officially commissioned, and became the first part of the Jacksonville Navy complex that would eventually include NAS Cecil Field and Naval Station Mayport, as well as numerous naval auxiliary air stations and outlying fields in northeast Florida. On the same date, Captain Charles P. Mason, USN, raised his command pennant as the station's first commanding officer.
Prior to the commissioning, on September 7, Commander Jimmy Grant became the first pilot to land on the still unfinished runway in his N3N-3 biplane. More than 10,000 pilots and 11,000 aircrewmen followed their lead to earn their "wings of gold" at the air station during World War II.
Increased training and construction characterized NAS Jacksonville's response to America's entry into World War II. Three runways over 6,000 feet (1,800 m) long were operating, as were seaplane runways in the St. Johns River and seaplane ramps leading from the water. Overhaul and Repair (O&R) facilities were built to rework the station's planes, a facility that in ensuing years would be renamed Naval Air Rework Facility Jacksonville (NARF Jax), Naval Aviation Depot Jacksonville (NADEP Jax) and its current name of Fleet Readiness Center Southeast.
More than 700 buildings sprung to life on the base before V-J Day (Victory over Japan), including an 80-acre (320,000 m2) hospital and a prisoner-of-war compound which housed more than 1,500 German prisoners of war. Archbishop (later Cardinal) Francis J. Spellman dedicated the Catholic Chapel (St. Edward's) at its Birmingham Avenue location on January 17, 1943. The chapel and other buildings constructed during the war years, intended for a life of only 20 years, are still in use.
During the late 1940s, the jet age was dawning and in 1948 the Navy's first jet carrier air groups and squadrons came to NAS Jacksonville. By April 1949, NAS Jacksonville was the East Coast's aircraft capital, with more naval aircraft stationed here than at any other naval base from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean - 60 percent of the Fleet's air striking force in the Atlantic area from pole to pole.
NAS Jacksonville continued growing throughout the late 1940s. Fleet Air Wing Eleven made its move to the base, bringing with it Patrol Squadron THREE (VP-3) from NAS Coco Solo, Panama and Patrol Squadron FIVE (VP-5) from NAS San Juan, Puerto Rico. The now famous U.S. Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, who had called NAS Jacksonville home but later moved to NAS Corpus Christi in the late 1940s, performed a last air show at the station on April 29, 1950, before forming the nucleus of an operational fighter squadron, VF-191 (Satan's Kittens), which was assigned to combat in Korea. The "Blues" would not return to the station for more than two years. In the early 1950s, Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC) Jacksonville was also reactivated and included nine different schools.
In the mid-1950s, an air traffic control center for joint use by the Navy, Air Force, and Civil Aeronautics Administration was approved and completed at a cost of $325,000. Major changes also occurred as parking ramps were added shore-based aircraft hangars and a 1,231-foot (375 m)-long taxiway was built.
By the mid-1950s, with the station's continuing growth, the Navy was having a tremendous impact on the economic growth in the Jacksonville and Duval County area. The station had over 11,000 military personnel assigned, along with 5,000 civilians and an annual payroll of more than $35 million.
In March 1959, Marine Attack Squadron ONE FOUR TWO (VMA-142) of the Marine Corps Reserve relocated to NAS Jacksonville from the closing MCAS Miami, along with the associated Marine Air Reserve Training Detachment (MARTD). VMA-142 would remain at NAS Jax until its relocation to nearby NAS Cecil Field in 1978.
In 1970, a major reorganization of the Naval Reserve resulted in three separate Naval Air Reserve flying squadrons, identical to their active duty Regular Navy counterparts, being activated at NAS Jacksonville. These squadrons consisted of Attack Squadron TWO ZERO THREE (VA-203), Patrol Squadron SIXTY-TWO (VP-62) and Fleet Logistics Support Squadron FIFTY-EIGHT (VR-58). VA-203 would later relocate to NAS Cecil Field in 1977, with the remaining reserve squadrons joined by Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron SEVENTY-FIVE (HS-75) in 1985 following its relocation from NAS Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
In 1973, with the assignment of Helicopter Antisubmarine Wing One, the station's primary mission became antisubmarine warfare. Accompanying the wing were five helicopter squadrons which are still based here today. With the new wings and squadrons, opportunities grew for both sea duty and shore duty assignment to NAS Jacksonville. The station's popularity grew and it became one of the most requested duty station for sailors and officers in Naval Aviation throughout the Navy.
A piece of history and Navy and Marine Corps tradition was lost in 1986 when the last unit of Marines left NAS Jacksonville. Marine Barracks Jacksonville had been one of the first groups to arrive at the base in 1940, but left due to mission realignments and a reduction in Marines authorized for Marine Corps Security Force duties at U.S. Naval installations.
The United States Air Force Air Defense Command established a Phase III Mobile Radar station at NAS Jacksonville on 1 July 1957 with the 679th Aircraft Warning and Control Squadron operating AN/FPS-3, AN/FPS-8, and AN/MPS-14 radars as part of the integrated ADC radar network. It was designated as ADC site M-114. In 1962 AN/FPS-66 radar and a pair of AN/FPS-6 heightfinder radars were added.
During 1962 M-114 joined the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, feeding data to DC-09 at Gunter AFB, Alabama. After joining, the squadron was re-designated as the 679th Radar Squadron (SAGE) on 1 October 1962. On 31 July 1963, the site was redesignated as NORAD ID Z-114.
In addition to the site at NAS Jacksonville, the 679th operated several "Gap Filler" remote sites to extend its radar coverage:
In 1963 M-114 became a joint-use facility with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It performed routine general radar surveillance until 30 September 1981 when the site was inactivated.[4][5]
This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. (January 2017)
Force reductions in the 1990s and early 2000s eliminated several P-3C squadrons (VP-24, VP-49, VP-56) and SH-60F/HH-60H squadrons (HS-1, HS-9, HS-75) at NAS Jacksonville, while the BRAC-directed closure of nearby NAS Cecil Field resulted in the relocation of Sea Control Wing ONE and its multiple Sea Control Squadrons (VS-22, VS-24, VS-29, VS-30, VS-31,VS-32) operating the S-3 Viking until that aircraft's retirement from the active Fleet in 2008.[]
Even with the force reductions, the installation is one of the hubs for naval activity in the U.S. South, and as of this date,[when?] 23,000 civilian and active-duty personnel are employed on the base.[needs update][] Other U.S. Navy Bases in the area include Naval Station Mayport, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Camden County, Georgia, Naval Outlying Landing Field Whitehouse (just north of the former NAS Cecil Field) and the Pinecastle Range Complex stretching from just south of Camp Blanding to the southern border of the Ocala National Forest.[]
With the BRAC-directed closure of NAS Brunswick, Maine by mid-2011, Patrol Squadron EIGHT (VP-8), Patrol Squadron TEN (VP-10), Patrol Squadron TWENTY-SIX (VP-26), Special Projects Patrol Squadron ONE (VPU-1) and Fleet Logistics Support Squadron SIXTY-TWO (VR-62) began relocating to NAS Jacksonville in 2007 with their P-3C and C-130T aircraft, with all of these squadrons in place at NAS Jacksonville by late 2010.[]
NAS Jacksonville is also home to Patrol Squadron THIRTY (VP-30), the Navy's largest aviation squadron and the only P-3 Orion and P-8 Poseidon Fleet Replacement Squadron that prepares and trains U.S. and NATO/Allied pilots, air crew and maintenance personnel for further operational assignments in the P-8A, P-3C Orion and EP-3E Aries in the U.S. Navy, and P-3B, P-3C and similar variants in various NATO and Allied navies and air forces.[] VP-30 is the first squadron to operate the U.S. Navy's new P-8 Poseidon aircraft, and commenced training flight crews and maintainers in this replacement for the P-3C in 2012, with all U.S. Navy patrol squadrons eventually slated to transition to this new platform.[]
In addition, NAS Jacksonville is home to Naval Hospital Jacksonville, under Navy Medicine, which supports all medical programming across naval installations in Florida, including providing the command structure for five Base Health Clinics (BHCs) from Jacksonville to Key West.[6]
Finally, support facilities at NAS Jacksonville include its being an Aviation Maintenance training facility for several aviation ratings (facilitated by the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit Jacksonville), an additional outlying field (OLF Whitehouse) for pilot training, a maintenance depot employing more than 150 different trade skills capable of performing maintenance as basic as changing a tire to intricate micro-electronics or total engine disassembly, a Fleet Industrial Supply Center, a Navy Family Service Center, a DeCA commissary, Navy Exchange, and recreational facilities for both single sailors and families of the Active, Reserve and Retired military communities.[]
NAS Jacksonville houses a facility to train pilots for the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton.[7] In addition to that NAS Jacksonville has trained foreign aircrews including that of Royal Australian Navy's New Squadron 725.[8]
Aviation Units
Shore Commands
Other Agencies
Curtiss-Wright CW-22 at NAS Jacksonville on January 8, 1942.
Martin JRM Mars moored off NAS Jacksonville in 1950.
Boeing P-8 Poseidon departing NAS Jacksonville.
George H. W. Bush greeting NAS Jacksonville sailors.
President Obama delivers remarks to an audience of Sailors and Marines at NAS Jacksonville.
The Blue Angels performing their annual show at NAS Jacksonville.
Housed at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, which is home to the first Triton squadron, the facility will start training sailors this summer on operating the Triton for the early operational capability for deploying the baseline configuration of Triton in 2018.


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Glory Holes
Think of them as 'All the toilet fun without the prison and embarrasing exposure to your community bit'. These wipe clean stickers can make you think that you are about to embark on an adventure with a stranger but in fact it will be an optical illustion at its most pathetic. It could be for someone who just hasn't built up the courage and needs a hand, or it may just be a gift for someone you don't like. Here's to putting the 'Glory' back into 'Glory Holes'.
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Mathew's vision is to see a congregation of people from all cultures and ethnic backgrounds worshipping together as one family. This vision is becoming a reality at Parkside Church today.
Matt ministers to the Young Adults, and is responsible for Evangelism in the community.
Kiran is very passionate about seeing Young people from every nationality feel accepted and welcomed as part of God's family as we seek to promote unity in Christ and His Church.
Savi, who is trained in Bible College and Preschool teaching, has a passion for womens ministry and pastoral care.
Alex looks after Parkside Prime Timers (over 50) ministry. Both, Alex and Jenny have 3 adult children Dana , Luke and Miriana, which all grew up at Parkside.


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How much should you apply? A couple of drops will usually do the trick, but you may need more depending on the length of your beard. If you are new to the game and your beard is shorter than half an inch, a couple of drops will work just fine.
The ultimate thing is that no one is entitled to your life. No one is entitled to be your friend, to be your boss or employee. Ultimately you are in total control of how you live your life. Life is too short and too full of stress to draw the line of what's acceptable at facial hair. If wearing a beard makes you happy; if wearing a beard is part of who you are, then fuck it – grow your beard and don't look back.
The Braun 9 series has an extra trimmer as compared to the series 7, which the brand calls 'Direct and cut'. The trimmer is used to align the hair that grow in different directions and then cuts them away.
Although it's an average weight for a beard trimmer at only one pound, the sleek design doesn't give it as good of a grip and its design doesn't fit as well in your hand as other models we have reviewed.
It's hair, so you need to clean it or dirt can get trapped underneath. Olvera washes his beard in the shower every time he washes his hair, about twice a week. Try a gentle shampoo and conditioner, like those from Martial Vivot. We're also fans of these new chemical-free personal-care brands.
Manage the itchiness of the early growth. Lots of guys stop growing out facial hair and start shaving because it gets itchy. Understand that itchiness will last for approximately four weeks, before you'll eventually get used to it, once the beard softens slightly.
The Braun BT5070's blades are engineered to last the lifetime of your trimmer while providing you with the precise trimming that's essential for maintaining a good look. The blades are made of stainless steel and are ultra-sharp.
Your entire body operates sharply and efficiently when it is well hydrated—all the way down to the cellular level. And that's where the hair suffers, too: The cells don't regenerate as quickly, nor do they adequately receive vitamins and nutrients since the body is unable to properly distribute these nurturing agents when it is dehydrated. So, in addition to a slower beard, a dehydrated person will also have a coarser, drier beard, too. Drink up! Collyer cites the Institute of Health when he recommends 64-80 oz. of water daily for adult men.
A beard brush is another one of the beard tool essentials every bearded man should own. It's even good if all you're sporting is stubble because even short beard hair needs to be guided in a sensible direction every now and then.
Once your beard really starts to come in, you can shape it. For noobs, it's important to keep it simple and pick proven styles that suit your face shape until you develop a better eye for beards. (And if you are completely devoid of all artistic talent or discernment, don't be ashamed to go to a barber at this point—he or she will get you on the right track.)
There are plenty of reasons why the five beard trimmers reviewed above are on our 'best of' list for 2018. We took into account a lot of factors: each trimmer's versatility, ease of use, the number of (useful) attachments, whether it was good for both wet and dry shaving, and durability.
Cordless trimmers have more flexibility than corded trimmers because you can use them practically anywhere. Most cordless trimmers provide up to an hour of cutting time on a single charge, with the length of the charge needed to get to full power varying from trimmer to trimmer.
Short Battery Life: 50 minutes is not an incredibly long charging time, so if you are someone who wants to be able to use your trimmer for a long time without having to reconnect it to the charging port and wait, then this is something for you to consider. It also takes 4 hours to get a full charge, which can be a long time for many.
BYU students led a campaign to loosen the beard restrictions in 2014,[58][59][60][61] but it had the opposite effect at Church Educational System schools: some who had previously been granted beard exceptions were found no longer to qualify, and for a brief period the LDS Business College required students with a registered exception to wear a "beard badge", which was likened to a "badge of shame". Some students also join in with shaming their fellow beard-wearing students, even those with registered exceptions.[62]
Inside your hair follicles is the bulb of the root of your hair. Hair grows from here towards the root proper and out of the hair follicle where it becomes the hair shafts that you see when you look at your beard in the mirror.
Make no mistake; the Braun BT5070 gives you flexibility. It has two detachable trimming combs and 25 different length settings; so, whether you're looking to trim your full beard or go for a designer stubble look, this trimmer has you covered.
During the first month of trying to grow your beard, you are going to find it looks like a wild forest growing on your face. This is when you are going to want to trim it up and start shaping it to look cleaner.
You should definitely check out First Olympian … premium quality; kind of 'grow a beard just so you can wear it' good! Nicely pulled together post. I always prefer links to the brands sites rather than Amazon – always better to explore the brands themselves. Your tips on beard care are excellent – great supporting pictures.
In practice, beard oil is actually a powerful combination of carrier oils and essential oils. While the carrier oils are the ones that actually have the greatest positive impact on your beard, nourishing and triggering growth, the essential oils are the ones that give a top beard oil its fragrance and the extra vitamins.
Quality Construction: This model is clearly one that was designed with longevity in mind—you can tell by just looking at it. Paired with its two-year warranty, you can rest assured that this model will serve you for the long haul.
Use the boar's hair brush to straighten your beard, or scrunch facial hair in fists to accentuate curl. Use up to three times a day as needed. Our natural beard balms contain Shea Butter, Jojoba Oil, Coconut Oil, Beeswax and a signature blend of handpicked essential oils from around the world.
Sponsored Products are advertisements for products sold by merchants on Amazon.com. When you click on a Sponsored Product ad, you will be taken to an Amazon detail page where you can learn more about the product and purchase it.
Here's the other thing: don't start shaping your beard too soon, either. The chances are that you'll cut off more than you intended before letting your beard reach a sufficient length that shows it's real "lines."
This lightweight beard oil is designed to care for your beard and the skin beneath it without being too "in your face" (see what we did there?). The scent, a blend of cedarwood, sandalwood and eucalyptus is both masculine and sweet, while the oil itself is soft and moisturising. It's also much less greasy than other products, which means that your beard will be feeling silky and dry almost straight away.
A physical change that is common to most teen boys is the appearance and growth of facial hair. If your teen seems to be anxious about his mustache, or why he doesn't have a beard yet, our suggestions below may be able to help him. So, read MomJunction's tips on how to help your teen facial hair to grow faster.
Their plant-based oils are fair trade, certified organic, and, in some cases, Kosher. Meanwhile, their lanolin is USP-certified, which means it is certified to contain exactly what it says it does, in the amount it says it does.
3. Dye It: This one is smoke and mirrors, but it works. I have brown hair, but half my beard is a weird translucent blond. So, I often dye it to match the blondes with the browns, and it more than triples the density. This tip ain't helpful for anyone who doesn't also have blonde beard hairs and dark hairs to match, but it does the trick, and usually confuses my friends who see my regularly—in a good way. Don't be ashamed to admit the secret, either: Your beard is already thick, it just doesn't appear that way. So you're helping showcase what's there. As for brands, Just for Men has yet to fail me, and they have a good sliding scale of options for facial hair. Just don't let it set for more than prescribed, or else you'll have patchy dye spots on your skin for a couple days.
The most important factor, of course, is how it did what it's intended to do, i.e., trim your beard and perhaps touch up other areas of your face. We also look at how much each product costs, and, as with all of our reviews, we want to cover a wide price range. Hopefully, it will help you to pick a trimmer that will serve you well for many years.
I've been shaving with an older, more basic iteration of this beard trimmer for three years; that one's inability to hold a charge these days is what prompted this search. But the new one has two updates that made it the greatest one I tried: (1) a convenient radial dial that lets you easily choose lengths as short a 0.5 mm (and in 0.5 mm increments up from there), which makes it plenty versatile; and (2) a vacuum-suction feature that collects the majority of your shaven hairs — up to 90 percent of them, according to the company, but who really knows? All I can say is that this is a godsend. No man likes wiping his (or his boyfriend's) stubble from the sink, and I'm willing to deal with this shaver's slightly clunky hand-feel to reap that reward.
Here you will find All Natural – Hand Made Beard care products. Our product line includes Beard Oil, Beard Balm, Mustache Wax, and more. We also offer Beard grooming supplies and gifts. All Texas Beard Company brand products are hand made in small batches so you get the highest quality product.
Never neglect the 'stache. That strip of hair grown above the upper lip is what gives most beard styles consistency, and one way of upholding it is with moustache wax. Percy Nobleman's moustache wax is loaded with natural ingredients from beeswax to argan oil to keep skin feeling and smelling good.
You are eligible for a full refund if no ShippingPass-eligible orders have been placed. You cannot receive a refund if you have placed a ShippingPass-eligible order. In this case, the Customer Care team will remove your account from auto-renewal to ensure you are not charged for an additional year and you can continue to use the subscription until the end of your subscription term.
Also, it is a great tool to clean your beard. Especially if you choose not to wash your beard every day, a great beard brush like the one from our range can help remove impurities and product from your hair.
Hello beardmates.. I am going to make my own beard oil and I would like some advice from you all on the subject of mixes. I have bought sweet almond and jojoba as carrier oils (intend to use 2 parts almond, 1 part jojoba for base) and pine needle, cinnamon, eucalyptus and sandalwood essential oil. My goal is to make 3 mixes. A wooden smell, chill refreshing smell and a sweet smell (based on cinnamon, you'd guess). So… have any advice for me?
Thanks for your question. It will help create the right conditions for you to grow a healthy beard. It will help nourish your facial hair below the skin, so that your beard grows in strong and healthy, but it will also keep existing facial hair moisturized to prevent it from becoming brittle and breaking. Once you've grown your beard out a few centimeters, our Beard Balm will also help your beard appear thicker. You can find our beard oils here: http://themodcabin.com/product-category/beard-oils/ And our beard balms here: http://themodcabin.com/product-category/beard-balms/
Ideally, the best beard combs are going to be made out of all natural woods with properties that are beneficial to beards, like the green sandalwood comb in the Beard Comb Kit for Men from Hunter Jack. It's handmade and features handle dual action teeth, which makes it great for all hair types. The sandalwood itself smells nice and adds extra nourishment to your beard.
Most Chinese emperors of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) appear with beards or mustaches in portraits. The exceptions are the Jianwen and Tianqi emperors, probably due to their youth – both died in their early 20's.
Most men need a crash course in growing out their beard. Following a healthy diet and eating foods with high protein can help the cause. So can these speciality multivitamins – stimulating active, fuller, and faster hair growth. It basically combines all the key minerals and vitamins beneficial for healthier skin and hair into one supplement for efficient body absorption. Your face will benefit from reduced dryness and irritation too.
Beards are an all-season trend embraced by men of every age and background. Sporting one to fit in with the pseudo-millennial (a.k.a. urban lumberjack) or mature crowd seems standard these days. And when entering the roughest stretch of the winter, the style is proving to be more fixture than fad.
I've used the Leven Rose oil and it didn't do much for me. It also does have a scent, nothing overly smelly, but there's definitely a smell to it. I'm not a fan of the oils in general, but I tried Honest Amish beard balm and have noticed a lot less split ends and overall better beard health in the last year or so I've been using it. It's easier to apply and a single tin of it lasts forever. I think I paid like $10 on Amazon for a tin and after a year I've still got like half of it left and I use it daily.
During the early nineteenth century, most men, particularly among the nobility and upper classes, went clean-shaven. There was, however, a dramatic shift in the beard's popularity during the 1850s, with it becoming markedly more popular.[37] Consequently, beards were adopted by many leaders, such as Alexander III of Russia, Napoleon III of France and Frederick III of Germany, as well as many leading statesmen and cultural figures, such as Benjamin Disraeli, Charles Dickens, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Karl Marx, and Giuseppe Verdi. This trend can be recognised in the United States of America, where the shift can be seen amongst the post-Civil War presidents. Before Abraham Lincoln, no President wore a beard;[38] after Lincoln until Woodrow Wilson, every President except Andrew Johnson and William McKinley had either a beard or a moustache of some sort.
This one for all beards trimming expert has multiple trimming capabilities which do the purposeful in just the perfect way. The one exclusive feature which makes this product ultimate is its working proficiency in both the wet and the dry trimming needs. The battery supports 50 minutes operation after 15 charging hours. This mens beard trimmer comes with 19 adjustable length setting that definitely allows for enough scope to trim beard of different lengths.
If you think these features might be important to you, whether now or at some point in the future, then you may want to purchase a model that either comes with such attachments and features, or is compatible with them.
Great reviews however every beard trimmer I've come across has performed badly with the short curly beard. I tend to trim my beard back to 3-4mm and let it grow for a few days. My fur is quite coarse and curls back so I find a lot of blades just skim over the surface. Any recommendations?!
After you wash — while your beard is still a bit damp — is the best time to use a beard oil. Normally a few drops will do; use your hands to work the oil into your hair and into the skin beneath. Not only will the beard oil hydrate your beard right down to the follicle, it will also leave your beard smelling good (do make sure you like the smell of the oil you pick — it'll be right under your nose).


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The Open Access article processing charges dataverse is now open with two initial files that describe the sample of journals from DOAJ used for the May 2014 OA article processing fee census.
Files currently available
DOAJ publishers has charges 2014 05: this is a list of journals in DOAJ as of mid-May 2014 that "has charges" (sic – term used in DOAJ). This is the result of a screen scrape from a DOAJ Advanced Search screen as this field was not available in the DOAJ metadata on the census date.
DOAJ journals by APC pub size is a list of publishers in DOAJ that "has charges" in descending order by the number of journals using the article processing fee method. This analysis made it possible to identify the skewed distribution of this set of journals, with publishers tending to be large (50% APC journals) or small (1-9 journals, with 1 being the most common number by far).
DOAJ metadata files – the files downloaded from the DOAJ website for use in this study are posted. There are 3 csv files, from Nov. 2013 (used for the Nov. – Dec. 2013 pilot project); April 2014 (not used to date but retained as this dataset was downloaded before DOAJ removed APC information from the downloadable file) and May 14, 2014 (the dataset the 2014 census will focus on). If you are citing these files please note that you should cite DOAJ as well as this dataverse, and point readers to the current DOAJ metadata file for download.
Additional files will be released as time permits and as the work of collating results from various sources progresses. The files are in CSV format to permit for easy manipulation.
Thanks to the University of Ottawa Library and the Ontario Council of University Libraries' Scholars Portal for the dataverse!


text: To consistently deliver global-quality financial products and services that meet the needs of our diversified client base across the region. Building upon our track record as a regional pioneer in the financial services sector we will continue to innovate and extend our market leadership across all our lines of business. Headed by a world-class management team with proven expertise, our team of talented professionals will strive to strengthen our client relationships and enhance our position as the region's leading investment bank. By leveraging our direct presence in—and unique access to—the region's most compelling markets we will maximize our growth potential and provide more value for our shareholder and clients alike. The same strengths that helped us achieve the milestones of the past 30 years will see our future accomplishments be no less transformative.


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- Home
- News & Media
- Why Are Construction Companies Fighting OSHA's New Protections?
Why Are Construction Companies Fighting OSHA's New Protections?
Recently, construction industry groups filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to block new safety rules regarding exposure to silica dust. The new rules require employers to do more to protect their employees from the risks of exposure, and update the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) silica exposure standards for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Exposure to crystalline silica – the fine dust that workers breathe in when they work with materials such as concrete and stone – is known to cause a number of serious and sometimes fatal medical conditions, including:
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Kidney disease
- Lung cancer
- Silicosis
In short, the less exposure construction workers have to silica dust, the lower their risk of suffering from these diseases. So, why are construction companies so opposed to doing more to protect their employees?
The answer is simple: Money.
Construction Companies Oppose Costs of New Silica Dust Standards
Although OSHA has estimated the cost of compliance with the new rules at around $659 million per year, some analysts say the cost could actually be as high as $4.9 billion. While this may sound like a lot, keep in mind that the construction industry rakes in more than $1.7 trillion every year. Also keep in mind that construction workers' health – and in many cases their lives – are on the line. In fact, due to the benefits of limiting construction workers' exposure, OSHA says that the rule will actually provide an overall net financial benefit of $7.7 billion per year.
Despite the obvious benefits, many construction companies still oppose the new rules – and have decided to fight against it in court. They argue that compliance is not economically feasible; or, essentially, that the benefits to their workers just aren't worth it.
What the New Standards Require
Roughly two million construction workers in New York City and nationwide face exposure to silica dust in the workplace. While the equipment needed to limit workers' exposure is widely available, many construction companies simply refuse to meet OSHA's requirements for protecting their employees. OSHA's new silica dust rule requires employers to do things like:
- Reduce silica dust exposure to half of the current permissible level
- Use water, ventilation or other controls to limit workers' exposure to silica dust
- Provide respiratory protection for workers when other controls are not feasible
- Train workers who are exposed to silica dust and limit access to high-exposure areas
- Provide medical exams to highly-exposed workers
The new rules are in effect for the construction industry as of June 23, 2016. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait for the construction industry's court battles to end before we'll know for certain whether workers can expect to benefit from the new protections.
Have You Been Exposed to Silica Dust? Call Gorayeb & Associates Today
If you have contracted lung cancer or any other disease as a result of exposure to silica dust on a construction site in New York City, you may be entitled to financial compensation. To learn more about your legal rights, call Gorayeb & Associates at (877) 377-3726 or contact us online to speak with one of our New York City injury lawyers.


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Riders tackling the gruelling second stage of this year's Tour de France were greeted by an ingeniously placed piece of graffiti…
Pranksters daubed a giant penis in the middle of the road on the 183km stage from Saint-Lo to Cherbourg, forcing the competitors to roll over the massive phallic distraction on live television.
And, of course, viewers were quick to notice it – and again, of course, post it to Twitter:
I can't be the only one who saw that penis drawn on the road just there at the Tour De France. Lmao #tdf2016 pic.twitter.com/OG3LwGuoLm
— Bobby Crossen (@BCrossen) July 3, 2016
Anyone's else see the big dick painted on the road with about 67 km to go? #TDF2016
— Dylan Walton (@I_am_DWalt) July 3, 2016
So……. was I the only one that saw that giant dick painted on the road? #TDF2016
— Spencer Hackett (@velospence) July 3, 2016
Peter Sagan is currently heading up the leaderboard, while the highest placed Brit is last year's winner, Chris Froome, who is currently sitting back in fourth place.
Well, it may be the biggest helmet I've ever seen on the Tour de France, but it's certainly not the biggest dick – we're looking at you Lance Armstrong…


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"I wanted to tell you what an incredible guitar this is! Never heard such an evenly balanced instrument. … it plays like a dream … The design features you've incorporated are unique, and more importantly, functional. You've truly got it dialed in."
"… That striped ebony steel string really blew me away! It had such a big, rich sound on the bass strings, but it's got a body the size of a classical. You've got a gerbil in a wheel powering a subwoofer inside the thing, right? …"
— Unsolicited comments from players about the C.F. Morrison ForTune series guitars


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Far Cry Primal
• released on February 23, 2016
Far Cry Primal is an upcoming action-adventure video game, It is set to be released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on February 23, 2016, and Microsoft Windows in March 2016. The game is set in the Stone Age, and revolves around the story of Takkar, who starts off as an unarmed hunter and rises to become the leader of a tribe.
Far Cry Primal prices
Save £10.85 with our best price:
£54.00 | Amazon UK
|Platform: PC
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text: The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was the scene of a big one on Sunday. Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun his wheels on this restart, causing a chain reaction that involved Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Jamie McMurray, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Casey Mears, David Reutimann, Brian Vickers and David Ragan.The next video is a very close shot from the stands posted by YouTuber saracheney. Spectator view from YouTuber landstuhltaylor. And here's the h ...//more


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Topic Page: Independence Day (United States)
Type of Holiday: Historic, National
Date of Observation: July 4
Where Celebrated: United States
Symbols and Customs: American Flag, Eagle, Fireworks, Liberty Bell, Parades, Picnics, Uncle Sam, "Yankee Doodle"
Colors: Red, white, and blue (see AMERICAN FLAG)
Related Holidays: Flag Day, Memorial Day
The chief festival of summer in the United States, the Fourth of July commemorates the day in 1776 when the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. For more than two centuries, Americans have been celebrating this historic event with FIREWORKS, PARADES, and backyard barbecues. But it wasn't until 1941 that Congress officially established the Fourth of July as a legal holiday.
Independence Day is a national holiday in the United States. National holidays can be defined as those commemorations that a nation's government has deemed important enough to warrant inclusion in the list of official public holidays. They tend to honor a person or event that has been critical in the development of the nation and its identity. Such people and events usually reflect values and traditions shared by a large portion of the citizenry.
In the United States, patiotism and identity were nurtured from the beginning of the nation by the very act of celebrating new events in holidays like the Fourth of July, battle anniversaries, and other notable occasions. This was even more important in the country's early years because the nation was composed of people from a variety of backgrounds and traditions. The invention of traditions and the marking of important occasions in the life of the new nation were crucial in creating a shared bond of tradition and a sense of common belonging to a relatively new homeland through the shared experience of celebrating common holidays. As more and diverse peoples migrated to the United States, it became even more important to celebrate significant annual anniversaries, and the Fourth of July has become one of the nation's most important shared celebrations.
The Fourth of July could just as well have been the Second of July, the day on which the Continental Congress approved a resolution for independence, or August 2, the day on which the members of Congress actually signed the document. But it was on July 4 that the final text of the Declaration, which had been drafted by Thomas Jefferson, was ratified. John Adams wrote to his wife that the event "ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other." As it turned out, Adams managed to touch on almost every feature of the modern Fourth of July celebration.
The first celebration took place in 1777. Warships along the docks in Philadelphia fired a thirteen-gun salute in honor of the thirteen United States, and the soldiers who were stationed there paraded through the streets. By 1788, the Fourth of July commemorated the U.S. Constitution as well, which had recently been approved by ten states. The celebration that year featured a parade with horse-drawn floats, one of which was a huge EAGLE carrying the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1790, Washington DC was chosen as the site of the nation's permanent capital. President Thomas Jefferson observed July 4, 1801, by opening the executive mansion to guests. This custom continued under subsequent presidents, but the burning of the White House by the British in 1814 put a damper on the practice. Other notable celebrations include the one held at the end of the Civil War in 1865 on the battlefield at Gettysburg, the procession of freed black slaves who paraded through the streets of Richmond, Virginia, in 1866, and the Bicentennial celebration in New York City on July 4, 1976.
Today, not every American greets the Fourth of July with enthusiasm. African Americans, many of whom celebrate JUNETEENTH—June 19, the day in 1865 when news that the slaves had been freed finally reached Galveston, Texas, by ship—have often felt that the freedom celebrated by white Americans on this day is not really theirs to share. In addition, many women's groups have pointed out that the phrase "All men are created equal" excludes half the country's population. Native Americans usually join in the celebration with dances and powwows, paying respect to their own ancestors rather than to the nation's founding fathers.
For most Americans, however, the Fourth of July is a day of national unification, a time when political, religious, and ethnic differences are put aside. In some parts of the United States—Maine, for example—the eve of the Fourth was at one time a popular occasion for pulling pranks, such as stealing outhouses and removing porch steps. Toasts were also popular on July 4, but the Temperance movement in the early 1900s discouraged public drinking. Today the Fourth is usually celebrated by tolling bells (see LIBERTY BELL), listening to patriotic prayers and speeches, igniting fireworks, saluting flags, and watching parades.
It is a striking coincidence that Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, died quietly at his Virginia home at noon on July 4, 1826—the fiftieth anniversary of the document's signing. John Adams of Massachusetts, another early supporter of independence and father of President John Quincy Adams, died just a few hours later on the same day.
The red, white, and blue American flag can be seen everywhere on the Fourth of July, and its colors carry their own symbolic meanings: Red stands for courage, white for liberty or purity, and blue for loyalty.
The first national flag was raised on a hill near Boston on January 4, 1776, by troops serving under General George Washington. It was called the Grand Union flag, and it had thirteen red and blue stripes. Instead of stars, it had the crosses of St. Andrew and St. George, the symbols of Great Britain. After the Declaration of Independence was signed, however, the American people wanted a new flag that would symbolize their independence from Britain. The Second Continental Congress appointed a committee (whose members included George Washington) to come up with an appropriate design. The committee asked Betsy Ross, an expert seamstress and upholsterer, to make them a sample. She looked at the sketch they gave her and suggested only one change: that the number of points on each star be reduced from six to five. The thirteen stars, representing the thirteen colonies that fought for freedom, were placed in a circle to signify that the Union would be without end.
Each time a new state was added to the Union, a new star and a new stripe had to be added to the flag. By 1792, it had fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. Congress soon realized that if this practice continued, the flag would just keep getting larger. So they decided in 1818 that the number of stripes would remain fixed at thirteen, and that only the number of stars would change.
Since Hawaii became the fiftieth state in 1960, the American flag has had seven red stripes and six white ones, with fifty white stars on a blue background. The flag's colors and design have inspired many nicknames, among them the "Stars and Stripes," the "Star-Spangled Banner," and the "Red, White, and Blue."
The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States and one of the largest birds in the world. When the first English settlers in America saw the eagle they called it "bald" meaning "white"—not hairless.
Eagles have been a symbol of power since ancient times. One of the Egyptian pharoahs used the eagle as his emblem, and golden eagles were perched atop the banners that Roman armies carried into battle. In fact, many Americans felt that because it had represented kings and empires, the eagle wasn't an appropriate symbol for a young, democratic nation. Benjamin Franklin pointed out that the eagle was "a bird of bad moral character" because it was too lazy to fish for itself. He suggested the turkey, a true American native, as a better choice for the national bird.
America's eagle population dwindled as the popularity of hunting grew. In 1940 Congress passed a law forbidding the capture or killing of a bald eagle. Pesticides like DDT lowered the eagles' birth rate, but its use was banned in 1972. Since that time, biologists estimate that the eagle population of the United States has increased from 1,000 to over 9,700 breeding pairs in the lower forty-eight states.
The eagle appears on coins, postage stamps, dollar bills, and the Great Seal of the United States. On the Fourth of July it can be seen decorating banners, balloons, and Independence Day floats.
The term "fireworks" was first used in 1777 in connection with the first Fourth of July celebration; before that, they were called "rockets." After 1820, those that were made to be heard rather than seen were called "firecrackers." And in the 1880s, "sparklers" appeared—thin wands that sent off a shower of sparks and could be safely used by children.
During the Middle Ages in Europe, fireworks displays were used to celebrate military victories, religious festivals, and the crowning of kings or queens. These displays were created by experienced handlers called "firemasters," and their helpers were called "wild men" or "green men" because they wore caps made of green leaves. The green men would act like jesters, running through the crowds and telling stories, cracking jokes, and warning people to stand back. Then they would set off the fireworks with lighted sticks called fire clubs. Many green men were injured or killed when their firecrackers went off too soon or failed to rise high enough in the air. The largest and most elaborate fireworks displays today are staged by experts who have much in common with the old firemasters. Since 1977, Macy's has produced one of the country's most spectacular displays, featuring forty-thousand fireworks illuminating the sky above New York's East River. The annual Independence Day celebration on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. rivals Macy's in size, and the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular is notable for its history and scope.
When fireworks were brought to America, they were used for domestic as well as public celebrations. By the 1870s, American companies were marketing fireworks for private use with names like Roman Candles, Flying Dragons, Sun Wheels, and Prismatic Fountains. The popularity of "at-home" fireworks displays meant that, in many areas, the Fourth of July celebrations moved off the streets and into private back yards.
The danger involved in lighting fireworks led to restrictions on their purchase and use. They are legal for general use in only 35 of the 50 states today; even so, there are laws governing what kind of fireworks can be sold and when. Cherry bombs and other large firecrackers have been banned nationwide since 1966 due to the large number of injuries associated with them. The majority of the fireworks used in the United States today are imported from China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.
The bell that originally stood on top of the State House in Philadelphia is known today as the Liberty Bell. When it arrived from England in 1752, it was placed on a temporary stand so its ring could be tested. The bell developed a crack. Some people thought it should be sent back to England for replacement, but it was finally decided to recast the bell in Philadelphia. The original bell was broken into small pieces so the metal could be melted down. A new mold was prepared, the metal was poured in, and the bell was recast. But the new bell had a dull, muffled-sounding ring. So it was melted down again, this time with success.
From 1753 until 1776, the State House bell was used to summon public officials to meetings. There is no record of its having been rung on the day the Declaration of Independence was adopted, but it did ring on July 8, 1776, when Colonel John Nixon, commander of the city guard, read the document in public for the first time. The bell was hastily removed from the State House in September of 1777 because the British army was approaching and people were afraid they would melt it down for ammunition. It was hidden in a church basement in Allentown and shipped back to Philadelphia after the British left the city in June of 1778. It was tolling for the funeral procession of John Marshall, chief justice of the Supreme Court, on July 8, 1835, when it suddenly cracked for the second time—exactly 59 years after it had summoned the people of Philadelphia to the first reading of the Declaration of Independence.
The bell remained silent until 1846. Then the edges of the crack were filed down so they wouldn't vibrate against each other. But when the bell was rung on George Washington's birthday that year, the crack spread. After that, it was never used again. It was put on display in the State House in 1852, the 100th anniversary of its arrival in the United States. It traveled to New Orleans in 1885, to Chicago in 1893, to Boston in 1903, and to St. Louis in 1904, riding on a flat, open railroad car surrounded by a protective railing. After a final trip to San Francisco in 1915, it was discovered that the crack had widened. The bell has remained in Philadelphia ever since, a symbol of the nation's independence.
At the Bicentennial celebration in 1976, the Liberty Bell was displayed in a modern pavilion on the grassy mall below Independence Hall. On July 4 that year, descendants of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence gathered at the Liberty Bell pavilion. Exactly at 2:00 p.m., they tapped the bell gently with rubber-tipped hammers.
The first Fourth of July parade took place on the Potomac River in Washington DC, when President John Quincy Adams (1825-29) and a group of American and foreign dignitaries boarded a steamboat and led a procession of barges and other boats up the river to the site of what is known today as the Tidal Basin. Transferring to smaller boats, the entourage floated up the old Washington Canal to the place that had been selected for the new Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. There President Adams turned the first spade of dirt for the waterway that for many years cut through the heart of Washington DC, between the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument.
Today, parades are held in almost every city, town, and village on the Fourth of July. Marching bands, fife and drum corps, and members of organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts participate in the parades. Local veterans usually march in formation or ride in specially decorated cars, and floats are used to illustrate various patriotic themes.
Feasting has always been part of July Fourth celebrations. In 1777, grand banquets were held in Philadelphia and other cities to commemorate the first anniversary of the approval of the Declaration of Independence. Eventually the parties moved outdoors, and by the mid-nineteenth century, the Fourth of July picnic had become a national tradition. It usually included sports and games such as tug-of-war, potato sack races, watermelon-eating contests, and chasing after a greased pig. Favorite picnic foods included fried chicken, potato salad, lemonade, chocolate and angel food cakes, pickles, deviled eggs, and homemade ice cream.
By the late nineteenth century, it was customary for political campaigns to begin on the Fourth of July. Local politicians would often sponsor holiday picnics, offering free hotdogs, corn on the cob, and steamed clams to anyone willing to listen to long political speeches. Political campaigns today don't get under way until Labor Day, but families still pack picnic baskets on the Fourth of July and head to the nearest state park, picnic area, or beach. The games afterward are usually confined to softball, but in some places tugs of war, sack races, and watermelon-eating contests are still popular.
Uncle Sam—the gray-bearded man on stilts wearing a top hat, tailcoat, and striped trousers—is a popular symbol of the United States. But he is not entirely imaginary. The real Uncle Sam was Samuel Wilson, born in Arlington, Massachusetts, in 1766. He ran away from home at the age of fourteen to enlist in the army. After the Revolutionary War was over, he moved to Troy, New York, and started a meat-packing business.
Known for his honesty and common sense, Sam Wilson supplied meat to the U.S. Army during the War of 1812. When a group of officials visiting his meatpacking plant saw that all the barrels of beef were stamped with the initials "U.S.," they asked what it meant. A workman told them it stood for "Uncle Sam" Wilson. The story was picked up by the newspapers, and soon people were referring to everything supplied to the army as "Uncle Sam's." The soldiers themselves began saying that they were in "Uncle Sam's Army."
After the war was over, Uncle Sam began appearing as a political cartoon figure. In the 1830s he was portrayed as a young man with stars and stripes on his shirt but without the gray hair, chin whiskers, top hat, or tailcoat that later became his trademarks. Some say that the costume now associated with Uncle Sam was invented by Dan Rice, a clown in the 1840s. Rice also walked on stilts, to make Uncle Sam look taller.
Uncle Sam's appearance was actually derived from two earlier symbolic figures in American folklore: Brother Jonathan and Yankee Doodle. Both Uncle Sam and Brother Jonathan were used interchangeably to represent the United States by cartoonists from the early 1830s to 1861. The first political cartoonist to standardize the figure of Uncle Sam was Thomas Nast, beginning in the 1870s. It was Nast who gave Uncle Sam his chin whiskers. Perhaps the most famous portrait of this symbolic figure is the one used on an army recruiting poster painted by James Montgomery Flagg during World War I. Uncle Sam is looking straight out at the viewer with his finger pointed, saying, "I Want You."
In recent years, some people have criticized the use of Uncle Sam as a symbol for the United States because he no longer reflects the diversity of the American population. But in 1961 the U.S. Congress passed a special resolution recognizing "Uncle Sam" Wilson of Troy, New York, as the namesake of our national symbol. His birthday, September 13, has been proclaimed "Uncle Sam's Day" in New York State.
As the unofficial anthem of the United States, the simple melody known as "Yankee Doodle" is played in almost every Fourth of July parade, usually by fife and drum corps. "Yankee" (Janke) is a familiar nickname for the Dutch name Jan, just as Johnny is a nickname for John. The Dutch who settled in New York used the term to describe the English settlers of Connecticut, who were regarded during colonial times as people who were more interested in making money than they were in behaving morally. A "doodle" was a simpleton or a foolish person.
Dr. Richard Shuckburg, a British army doctor who was serving in the American colonies, is believed to have written the lyrics for the popular tune. "Stuck a feather in his hat" is probably a mocking reference to the Yankees' attempts to appear stylish and European when they were actually quite uncivilized. "Macaroni" was symbolic of all things Italian, and was used in eighteenth-century England to mean a fop—someone who dressed as if he were Italian. The British loved to make fun of the poorly dressed, poorly educated Americans.
Some scholars think that "Yankee Doodle" derived from a children's play song— possibly a slave song—in Surinam on the coast of South America, whose lyrics went like this: Mama Nanni go to town, Buy a little pony. Stick a feather in a ring Calling Masra Ranni.
"Masra" is the equivalent of "Massa"—the way American slaves were taught to address their white "Masters." It is possible that British soldiers heard the children's song and thought it would be a good way of mocking the upstart Americans. But the Americans liked the song so much that they adopted it as their own and, during the Revolutionary War, whistled it as they marched into battle.
"Yankee Doodle" was sung at the first Independence Day celebration in Philadelphia in 1777 and quickly became a July Fourth tradition. Other songs frequently played on this day include "Yankee Doodle Boy" (also known as "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy") by George M. Cohan, "America," and "The Star-Spangled Banner."
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ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED! *\o/*
So, the piece for the ArtWalk show/competition/thingie was a ridiculously multi-stepped process and all the mixed media.
Seriously, this think is like 5 feet of schizophrenic. Welcome to my brain, yeah?
So, yeah, can we say Cronenberg? 'Cause I totally have those references going on. And Lovecraft and eldritchian tendencies. Seriously, body horror, vagina dentata, and the Uncanny are totally my jam.
Ginger Snaps? Totally one of my favorite movies.
Naked Lunch? I saw it when I was, like, 11. <–I kid you not; my brother brought it home to watch. I was home sick with the worst flu ever and watched Rocky Horror Picture Show, Gothic, and Naked Lunch all in the same day.
With a 103 temp.
Somehow, I think this may be to blame for me and my visceral, bodily, grotesque (but in really bright colors!) art thing I've got going on. Don't y'all?
…it probably also explains the wiggins I get from anything with more than 10 legs.
Though, Julian Sands, yeah?
…maybe it's just a Julian Sands thing. He was in both Gothic and Naked Lunch, and he kinda looks like Richard O'Brien. That's a very interesting coincidence.
But the title is a reference to Galactus, Eater of Worlds.
But! It seemed like a reasonable title, even though there are also references to the Necromongers, the Narada, starfish, and octopodes.
…and maybe a touch of the Shadows from Babylon 5.
So, loads of references=me. *SIGH*
Also, because I'm kinda a freak
and evidently an exhibitionist now, I made more of those not-instructional videos while I was working.
IDEK. Really, why am I doing this?
Okay. Yeah. I'm going to go now.
Remember there's an opening at the ARTgarage for the First Quarter artists. *waves* And, I'm teaching a spinning class on Saturday, so if y'all want to take it, y'all need to sign-up for it super-quick.


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This song is a fucking dream. A long dream, but a gorgeous one. I grew up watching these guys around the Bay Area and this place isn't the same without them. They've gone on to do some pretty awesome stuff (Root Strata, Grouper), but now I just want them to come back. Come back, Tarentel!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Though I think the term is a bit off, the technique is not. Hyperlapse basically is moving the camera while taking hi-definition stills at regular intervals, what we call normals call "timelapse". Not sure where the hyper- comes in, as not all of these shots done by video artist Ben Wiggins involve movement and not all of them are of large intervals either. In some hours go by in two seconds (the sunsets), while in others only scores of seconds go by in seconds (people walking on the street; might actually be minutes, but to me it looks like ~30 seconds). None of this detracts from the fact that this piece is hyper-fucking-good. And the music by DeVotchKa doesn't hurt.
Very Little Stars from Timelapse, Inc. on Vimeo.
Originally spotted over at the Atlantic.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Book Report: Near+Far, Cat Rambo (Part I)
Cat Rambo's name has floated across books and anthologies and zines I've read for the last five years or so. Editor of Fantasy Magazine, fiction in Strange Horizons, Clarkesworld, Hyperpulp, Asimov's, and a shitload of anthologies. Her name is synonymous with speculative short fiction over the past decade and seems to have exploded in the last couple of years. She had nineteen short stories come out in 2011. NINETEEN!
I got to meet her up at Clarion West in 2011. She lectured on online presence and industry stuffs, giving her time in and out of the classroom. She's a great supporter and resource, one of the many writers up in Seattle who make moving up there a temptation.
A few months back she asked me to review her upcoming short story collection Near+Far (2012, Hydra House), which is what you're reading now. There're so many stories in this collection I'm going to break this review into two parts, the Near and Far collections, which follows the book's layout. Both collections have their own table of contents and restart the page numbering. I read my version as a PDF, but apparently the printed copy is bound in a style called tête-bêche, like how the old Ace Doubles used to do it. But you know, done classy. I think it not only works, but it's just the sort of thing print publishers need to do if they want people to go out and buy the print copies of their books. It worked on me and I've already read the book. The covers were done by Sean Counley and the interior artwork was done by Mark Tripp.
Cat also did a line of jewelry based on the book's artwork:
|Near+Far jewelry
|Nancy Kress sporting snazzy Near+Far jewelry
This book is great opportunity to examine Rambo's work in detail. It's a retrospective with stories that go back to 2007, so you can see what she's been doing over the years. As I said before, I was familiar with her and her fiction, but I'd never read her stories back to back and wasn't able to see just what she was doing with her work.
She starts off the Near collection with a strong story, "The Mermaids Singing, Each to Each". It's a beautiful, lyrical story of a formerly female protagonist who's gone and had its gender removed after years of sexual abuse by its now deceased uncle. But that's all back story. The real story is of it and two others navigating waters filled with man-eating mermaids (done with a nice bit of worldbuilding) while the trio prowl the seas looking for garbage, the modern booty. But the real-real story is whether or not the protag can forgive the semi-autonomous boat it inherited from its uncle which it holds partially responsible for its abuse. "Mermaids" encapsulates what Cat Rambo is really writing about: relationships.
Her stories are quiet meditations on relationships. Now, "quiet" in a review is usually code for boring or nothing happens. This is not the case. There's murderous mermaids, superheroes, asphyxiations, dark shamans, quasi-animal burnings. There's plenty of action and things ahappenin'. No, what I mean by quiet is that many of her stories are about, at their core, relationships, usually between two people, they just don't say so up front.
This is not an easy thing to do, to have these subtle but effective explorations of relationships (brother-sister, victim-perpetrator, husband-wife, rival friends, boyfriend-girlfriend) all while the world is ending, cybernetic cats are prowling, supervillians are attacking, and immortality is at your fingertips in some crazy fruit. Usually there's some new element that's introduced which causes the relationships to stress and/or react. In many of her stories the element is a new-fangled product with spec-like qualities, such as with "Vocobox(TM)" (a voicebox for cats) and "RealFur" (living clothing) and "Therapy Buddha" (a talking buddhist psychology doll; actually the product isn't very spec-ish, it's the worldbuidling in this one.). The new element doesn't cause discord in the relationships, it just pulls the lid back, exposing them. For example, "Close Your Eyes" is a haunting tale of a sister who cares for her dying brother. She drives him around, supports him financially, lives with him. She's put her entire life on hold while he withers away. And for all her sacrifice she is rewarded with bitter resentment and passive-aggressive sarcasm on page one, a relationship that I think is all too real and common. The new element is the brother's interest in shamanism, which he explores in classes at the hospital he goes to for treatments of his undisclosed illness, but the discord was there years before the story started.
The emphasis on relationships lends the Near collection an intimacy and immediacy that feels contemporaneous. For the most part, these are people who are living modern lives right around the corner from us. Besides the cybernetic superheroes.
One of the things that I wasn't so thrilled about at first were the stories' endings. That's because many of them end on natural notes, meaning that while plots are not resolved the character's arcs were. Such is the case with "Memories of Moments, Bright as Falling Stars", where the story just ends. What about the bad guys? Will the protag survive? You can't just end a story right there like that!?!? But she did. And once I reread it I found that it ended there because the protag's story had concluded. This is a strong collection because even if there are pieces that don't work for you (wasn't a big fan of "10 New Metaphors for Cyberspace", a borderline poetry piece that went over my head) there're many others that will. It's a collection filled with a variety of stories that are able to get at and portray the human experience in wondrous environments.
(That was Part I of the review. Part II is here.)
(That was Part I of the review. Part II is here.)
Friday, September 21, 2012
Sounds: Glasser - Apply
Glasser, the stage name of Cameron Mesirow, is a solo experimental project. And it's pretty effing gorgeous. Listen:
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Fucked Up w/ Ceremony @ Slim's, 9/5/2012
Mike G. reviews Fucked Up with Ceremony @ Slim's on 9/5/2012 over at the Bay Bridged. Check out the photos I took:
|Ceremony. This little dude thinks he's totally badass. The fact that he rocked Slim's on 9/5 doesn't help
|Ceremony getting the crowd to sing some
|This dude was going around during and between sets offering people some of his tired-ass nachos
|Lead singer of Fucked Up, Damian, singing from the crowd
"Houses" on Miette's Bedtime Stories Podcast
Whoa! Patrick Scott, talented filmmaker/animal wrestler/early morning skateboarder, lends his sexy, sultry voice for my 2011 short story "Houses" published over at Lightspeed Magazine (Issue 18, November 2011) and now in audio form at Miette's Bedtime Stories. Yum! Take a listen.
And thanks to Miette for hosting my story and Patrick for recording/performing! You guys ROCK!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Refused and Sleigh Bells @ the Fox
My main damie, Mike G., writes about tunes over at the Bay Bridged and I've been accompanying him as his pics-taker. I get into some awesome shows and get to take some cool photographs. Anyhow, here's the latest one we went to, Refused with Sleigh Bells at the Fox, August 31, 2012:
|Sleigh Bells opened. They were Sleigh Bell-ish. Minimalistic overkill. But that's they're sound.
|Sleigh Bell Spookiness!
|Sleigh Bells.
|Badass Banner!
|They talked a lot. About Pussy Riot. And staying curious.
|Crowd level.
|Refused from the crowd.
|Refused. They killed it.
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Eavesdrop on any conversation or pay close attention to your own and you'll hear laughter. From explosive bursts to muffled snorts, some form of laughter punctuates almost all verbal communication. Electronic communication, too, LOL.
You'll probably also notice that, more often than not, the laughter is in response to something that wasn't very funny — or wasn't funny at all. Observational studies suggest this is the case 80 percent to 90 percent of the time. Take Hillary Clinton's strategic laughter during heated exchanges with Donald J. Trump during the presidential debates. Or Jimmy Fallon's exaggerated laughter when interviewing guests on "The Tonight Show." Or employees at Fox News reporting that they tried to "laugh off" unwanted sexual advances by Roger Ailes and others within the organization.
How laughter went from a primal signal of safety (the opposite of a menacing growl) to an odd assortment of vocalizations that smooth as much as confuse social interactions is poorly understood. But researchers who study laughter say reflecting on when and why you titter, snicker or guffaw is a worthy exercise, given that laughter can harm as much as help you.
"It's a hall of mirrors of inferences and intentions every time you encounter laughter," said Sophie Scott, a neuroscientist at University College London who studies how the brain produces and processes laughter. "You think it's so simple. It's just jokes and ha-ha but laughter is really sophisticated and complicated."
Laughter at its purest and most spontaneous is affiliative and bonding. To our forebears it meant, "We're not going to kill each other! What a relief!" But as we've developed as humans so has our repertoire of laughter, unleashed to achieve ends quite apart from its original function of telling friend from foe. Some of it is social lubrication — the warm chuckles we give one another to be amiable and polite. Darker manifestations include dismissive laughter, which makes light of something someone said sincerely, and derisive laughter, which shames.
The thing is, we still have the instinct to laugh when we hear laughter, no matter the circumstances or intent. Witness the contagion of mirthless, forced laughter at cocktail parties. Or the uncomfortable laughter that follows a mean-spirited or off-color joke. Sexual harassers can elicit nervous laughter from victims, which can later be used against them.
"What happens is, somebody makes an inappropriate comment, and the reaction of the person, often laughter, is what the defense uses to allege the conduct wasn't unwelcome," said Gina DeVito, a lawyer in Sausalito, Calif., who represents victims of sexual harassment. "I hear the same thing when I do sexual harassment training because lots of men say, 'Hey, she was laughing.' "
In fact, we have probably all laughed on occasions when someone said something weird, vaguely insulting or just confusing. It's an almost reflexive ruse so you can move through the awkward moment and perhaps allow the other person to save face. Probably the most extreme example of this occurred during the infamous Milgram experiment, in which volunteers became so flustered when ordered to administer electric shocks to someone that they started laughing hysterically.
"Laughter is often a defense that conceals a painful or unwanted feeling," said Jane Yates, a psychoanalyst who teaches at the Emory University Psychoanalytic Institute. "But it can backfire," not only because of the cognitive dissonance from laughing when you don't mean it, she said, but also because it encourages the bad or clueless behavior that preceded it.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found that people mistake fake for genuine laughter a third of the time, which is probably a low estimate as the fake laughter that subjects heard in the experiment was not produced in natural social situations. While laughing on command is rarely convincing (think of sitcom laugh tracks), "your average person is pretty good at fake laughing in certain circumstances," said the study's lead author, Greg Bryant, a cognitive psychologist who studies laughter vocalization and interpretation. "It's like when people say, 'I'm not a good liar,' but everyone is a good liar if they have to be."
So you may not be as funny as you think you are. Studies show that men tend to be less proficient than women at discerning fake from genuine laughter. The scientific literature suggests that people in positions of power are even worse at it, perhaps because they are living in their own echo chamber of ingratiating laughter. Those with autism and Asperger's are another group that has trouble telling the difference between real and feigned amusement.
Dr. Scott, who does stand-up comedy when not engaged in her academic pursuits, said we begin to learn to fake laugh and judge the authenticity of others' laughter in early childhood. It's largely a subconscious skill and we get better and better at it until we're in our 30s, when there seems to be a leveling off, which, she said, is consistent with the trajectory of emotional intelligence.
Genuine laughter, real eruptions of joy, are generated by different neural pathways and musculature than so-called volitional laughter. Contrast the sound of someone's helpless belly laugh in response to something truly amusing to a more throaty "ah-ha-ha," that might signify agreement or a nasal "eh-heh-heh" when someone might be feeling uneasy. "A fake laugh is produced more from areas used for speech so it has speech sounds in it," Dr. Bryant said.
There is also a big difference in how you feel after a genuine laugh. It produces a mild euphoria thanks to endorphins released into your system, which research indicates increases our tolerance to pain. Feigned laughter doesn't have the same feel-good result. In fact, you probably feel sort of drained from having to pretend. Recall your worst blind date.
Which is why laughter researchers as well as mental health experts recommend becoming more conscious of when and why you laugh. While polite laughter is gracious and kind in many circumstances, it's counterproductive in situations where people are being inappropriate or offensive and discredits you if you routinely laugh when you don't mean it.
"Laughter is so expected and part of the social norm that when we don't laugh, it's a really powerful message," said Eden King, an associate professor of psychology at George Mason University. It's a way of standing up for yourself, she said, without having to directly confront or call out someone, which is hard to do without straying into stridency. Laughing off bad or strange behavior, on the other hand, tends to invite more of the conduct you'd prefer to avoid, "like feeding the dog at the table," Dr. Bryant said.
Dr. Yates recommends instead of laughing, filling the dead air following an unwanted or inept comment with something neutral like, "Well, then," or maybe just, "Hmmm." But that takes a good bit of self-awareness to pull off, she said, as many people have become deaf to their own forced merriment. A good indicator is how quickly you can go silent and straight-faced after a laugh. Unlike fake laughter, you can't turn genuine laughter on and off like a spigot, laughter experts said. It ripples and reverberates, providing salve to the soul. So you should find every opportunity to laugh joyfully, and laugh lavishly. Laughter restrained is as depressing as laughter that is forced.