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Thursday, May 04, 2006
Now the audience composes the music
Today I visited Artmusic's installation Thin Air which features music by British contemporary composer Helen Ottoway, and uses new technology to create an extraordinarily effective interactive sound sculpture. Thin Air is inspired by the fragments which float in the spaces of the 15th century church of St John the Baptist Maddermarket in Norwich (pictured with the article): names, carvings, memories and inscriptions, some long forgotten. Many people have left tangible traces - masons, wood carvers, painters, glass workers all creating the intricate sculptures and beautiful imagery which adorns the building. Also present are invisible traces, memories, fragments of a hymn tune, footsteps.
One of the aims in creating Thin Air is to encourage a personal and physical interface between people and the building. In this way the act of being and moving in a space becomes a dance; simple journeys become melodies; mass movement becomes a chorus - a public choreography. The working of the installation is based on principles of indeterminacy and coincidence. There is no set route, no prescribed behaviour is required of the participants - unlike a conventional concert. The listener's movements and gestures trigger sound events in random and unrepeatable patterns. The visitor is invited to take a walk around the installation: each walk or combination of walks creates a unique piece of music - a re-creational dance.
Soundbeam converts physical movement into sound using ultrasonic reflection, in a process similar to that used in radar. Sensors emit beams of ultrasound; interruptions of the beams by movement cause echoes of the ultrasonic pulses to be reflected back to the sensor. Information about the speed and direction of movement is translated into digital code (MIDI). For Thin Air this information is intepreted by a sampler which plays previously recorded fragments of music and 'found sound', shaping and modulating the sound according to the nuances of the detected movement. Soundbeam was developed by Bristol-based composer Edward Williams whose own projects explore ways of performing electronic music in real time as well as in conjunction with dance and live multi-media performance. Soundbeam has also been used extensively in therapeutic treatment of a wide range of physical and mental conditions.
Experience a brief, but high quality, sample of this inspired sound sculpture via this file - who is going to be first to bring this wonderful installation to the US? -
* Thin Air composer Helen Ottoway is a founder member of new music/performance groups Regular Music and 3 or 4 Composers. Commissions include String Quartet No.1 (1998) for Nottinghamshire County Council. She was associate composer for In Praise of Trees, a major arts project curated by Annette Ratusznuak, in association with Salisbury Festival and English Nature (2001-02). This included the commissioning of The Echoing Green (tenor, marimba, double chorus and string orchestra) which was premiered at the opening concert of the 2002 Salisbury Festival in Salisbury Cathedral. As well as developing a new opera project for Artmusic in collaboration with artist Deborah Thomas and sound designer Alastair Goolden she is currently working on a series of string quartets including one to accompany a silent film.
Images of St John's Maddermarket from Simon Knott's excellent Norfolkchurches.co.uk. Report broken links, missing images and other errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
If you enjoyed this post take An Overgrown Path to Hildegard comes to Norwich via IRCAM and Darmstadt
1 comment:
... the act of being and moving in a space becomes a dance; simple journeys become melodies; mass movement becomes a chorus - a public choreography.
An intriguing ... well, whatever it is, and I wish I could experience it. However, I find something a bit off-putting about it.
This thought occurred first when I saw the word "choreography." That word generally implies two things to me - some intent on the part of the choreographer, and the possibility of it being repeated (more or less) at a later time if it's been "notated" somehow. Neither concept applies here as far as I can tell.
Surely this could be done just as effectively with computer-generated random numbers to control sounds, could it not? If the number of people present is the only thing that's distiguishable, then just have a sensor at the door to generate another "channel" for each additional person.
It's an interesting notion - as I walk around, I may get the impression that I'm "controlling" the sound, but it doesn't sound like I have any effective control at all. A dog or a robot or a random number has every bit as much "control" as I do. In other words, I could think of it as "apparent audience participation."
What's the John cage piece - "32 Radios"? In such a case, it's at least clear what's happening.
This doesn't make it "bad," but I'm just not sure what to make of it.
But as I said, I'd still like to try it out!
- 4:20 pm

subset: commoncrawl


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Hi Explorers, Is Halloween your favourite night of the year?
In Malta there are some scaring ghost tours and party events that you surely cannot miss 😉 Fancy constumes or not, this weekend there is somenthing nice for everyone and I just say one word: Chocolate…Yummy!!!
Here we have the Halloween in Malta Special Edition 2017 Events Post
Let's Go!!!
- Halloween at the Aquarium It is that time of year again and our Halloween event is back! Come and see our Aquarium transformed into a spooky aquarium once more with activities from underwater pumpkin carving show to ghostly story telling there is something for all ages to enjoy, alongside the above we have magician shows, face painting and arts + crafts. Don't forget to get into the spooky spirit by coming in fancy dress because you maybe in the chance to win a family membership! Join us on both days 28th and 29th for activities from 10am till 5pm. See our promotional poster for timetable details and times. For more info, Click here
- Halloween at Valletta Waterfront For the last weekend of October, join us at Valletta Waterfront for spooky Halloween fun, including trick-or-treating and roaming animation. Saturday 28th October – 7 PM to 10:30 PM Sunday 30 October – 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM All activities are free of charge and weather-permitting.
- Hamrun Chocolate Festival 2017, from 6 to 11pm This year, The Ħamrun Chocolate Festival will be organised on Saturday 28th October. In Malta, Ħamrun is the town mostly associated with Chocolate. This town is mostly popular for it's festa during which the locals, and a large number of visitors, celebrate St. Gaetan, however, many do not know that this town has a strong link to Chocolate. It is said, although to-date no documentation has been found that could confirm this, that during the sovereignity of the Knights of St. John under the rule of Grand Master Perelos, cocoa beans were stored in Ħamrun, particularly in the area known as tas-Samra. So in Malta, we must owe something to this town for playing such a pivotal role in the supply of this delicious temptation we call chocolate. As chocolate takes centre stage on many occasions, Ħamrun also boasts one of the few shops supplying exclusively chocolate – in fact, here is where Unica 1658 is being produced. Unica 1658 is based on the orginal recipe of Gianfrancesco Buonamico which dates back to 1658 and, more than 350 later, is once again being produced using the same ingredients and handcraftmanship. In fact, Unica 1658 is the official chocolate of Valletta 2018 marking Malta' Capital City as the European Capital of Culture 2018.It's a must for every chocolate-lover to visit Ħamrun on the day for some sweet fun! Have a look at the article/video experience with Flora the Explorer, click here
- Spooked in the City: Halloween Mystery Walks for Kids, Valletta. From 10am to 2.30pm A special Halloween version of the Valletta Mystery Walk, targeting ages from 6 to 12, by a licensed guide. Tours will be in English, unless all kids understand Maltese. Tour 1: 10.30am to 12pm Tour 2: 1pm to 2.30pm Price: €10 – 1 child + 1 accompanying parent / carer. 2 siblings + 1 adult: €15Duration: 1.5hrs Halloween Fancy Dress encouraged. Since some areas are stepped, this tour is not pushchair friendly. Meeting Point: De Valette Statue, Valletta. Booking in advance is a must please. Click here, Ghost Walks Malta
- Birgu Ghost Tour Halloween Edition Following the successful Mdina and Valletta Ghost Tours, we are launching a ghost tour of the historical city of Birgu (Vittoriosa) for €15 per person. From 8 to 10pm.The beautiful and ancient maritime city of Vittoriosa, or Birgu as it is known by the Maltese, is the oldest settlement in the Grand Harbour area. Ideally situated for safe anchorage, the area has been occupied since prehistoric times, developing strong connections with maritime, mercantile and military activities over the centuries.Serving as a home to the navies of the Order of St. John and the British, it also withstood 2 brutal sieges: by the Ottoman Turks during the Great Siege of 1565, and during World War Two, when the constant Axis air attacks between 1940-43 caused widespread death and destruction throughout the city.These and the many other dark events witnessed by Vittoriosa throughout the course of history have left their imprint, as attested by the many ghosts that reputedly haunt this city. Tales of hauntings, the Holy Roman Inquisition and its torture methods, public executions, and tragedies that took place across the centuries are all included in the Vittoriosa Dark Tour. Join us to learn more about Vittoriosa's dark past. This tour is a normal-paced walking tour of Vittoriosa by night. It is generally accessible but includes streets with stairs that offer no alternative method of passage. For more info, click here
- Esplora goes Halloween, from 6 to 10pm Join us this Halloween as we add a touch of spookiness and eeriness to our science centre. Esplora will open in the evening for this one-evening special event and you can experience science in such a different yet interesting way. Included in the ticket, one will have access to 4 Forbidden Areas; the Potion's Class, the Operating Theatre, Electr-O-city, and Zombieland. Visitors who visit these forbidden areas will meet four different spooky characters who will be giving a special show for this night only! Kids will be given treats after each activity they visit, so bring your trick-or-treat bags with you 🙂 Our Esplora Café will be serving Halloween snacks as well!What are you waiting for? We got you covered for an evening full of fun and spookiness! Get your ticket now from the Eventbrite link above and join us as Esplora goes Halloween 🙂 For the tickets, click here
- Mdina Ghost Tour Halloween Edition At 8 to 11pmMdina, the old capital city of Malta. Referred to by many as the silent city, Mdina witnessed many dark events throughout the course of history. Having been an important hub for centuries, one can find various interesting sites around it, many of which have been forgotten in the folds of time. Our all new Mdina Ghost Tour will guide you through the dark, winding streets of this ancient city, to discover eerie tales of past inhabitants, some of whom still roam about at night in spirit form, but then we will move out in the surrounding countryside towards important yet little known sites in Malta's dark history. We will visit abandoned burial sites, mysterious archaeoligical features, and scenes of terrifying hauntings. This is not the normal walking tour. We advise: Wear adequate footware for rough and uneven terrain. This tour visits dark sites: We will provide candles but feel free to get your own light source. Our tours are based on respect towards others and different beliefs, responsible behaviour is expected. This tour is not adequate for expectant mothers, people with heart conditions or those having mobility issues. Come at your own risk …!Transport for the visiting of remote sites within the tour is included in the €20 price. This also includes 18% VAT (tax). Registration is mandatory due to transport booking. For more info click here


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Wednesday, March 22, 2017
21 comments:
- Jerry Fresia said...
I couldn't agree more. I think the electoral strategy of the left, for reasons that I have cited a few times, ought to be organized
around taking over the Democratic Party.
- March 22, 2017 at 3:46 PM
- Chris said...
I don't see where there's any disagreement between us here:
"Here I think there is a real disagreement between me and Chris [and perhaps Robert Shore and Jerry Fresia as well]. I may be wrong, but it seems to me to concern essentially the best way to advance a genuinely progressive or even radical agenda in the American political situation as we find it. I am extremely skeptical, as I have said on occasion, of third party efforts of any sort."
My argument, and constant Democratic criticism, is often predicated upon the position that if we are to stop Trump, we need an anti-establishment left, which can be located in the Democratic party. If that really is our best chance, then we can't just vote for people because they have a D in front of their name, or because they aren't an R, but instead, because they are the other side of the anti-establishment fervor. Otherwise, repeating, someone that looks like Paul Ryan, with better charisma, and Trump or Bannon's views, can just win again.
We are in agreement that taking over the Democratic party is prudent.
The only area we 'disagree' is that because I think that's prudent, I'll vocally criticize ALL Democratic efforts to purge the party of progressives and/or maintain the status quo (something Obama did with extreme prejudice for instance).
- March 22, 2017 at 4:03 PM
- Chris said...
One more additions. I fear that the Russia stuff may be a witch hunt, in order to maintain the status quo in the democratic party, while purging it of progressive influence that Bernie generated. That's a fear. It's not an established fact. If Trump gets impeached over Russia they can maintain the status quo by juxtaposing themselves to a party of treason. Which is why IF this investigation blows up in the Democrat's faces, while they've been anointing Master Tom Perez DNC chair, and his committee of 26 establishment hacks, and only 1 progressive, they will literally be in a remarkably worse place. If they are in a worse place they have less of a chance of stopping Trump.
Do you agree with me on these points....?
- March 22, 2017 at 4:07 PM
- Unknown said...
I fundamentally disagree with your view that it may make no difference if the candidate is a D or an R. If the Democrats had three more Joe Mancins in the Senate, they would control it. Obama care would not be repealed, Gorsuch would be toast. The majority controls the agenda, and it is important to work for that. A Democrat from the left wing of the party has no chance in a state like West Virginia. It's either a Democrat from the establish wing or a Republican.
No politician is immune from the necessity of getting elected and staying in office. That's why Bernie had a record of support from the NRA that was far to the right of the Democratic. If he'd stayed in Brooklyn, and had a Senate seat from New York, it is more than very likely that his votes on gun control.
My daughter once interned for a liberal Democratic House member from a conservative district. He'd won something of an upset after a good year for the Democrats, and managed to stay in several more years. He had, howeve, a nearly perfect rating from the NRA, something that distressed my daughter. He told her that there no difference between the way he votes on gun control and the way any Republican in the district would vote. That's because anyone who did not vote that way would not represent that District. For him the important things were all of the other issues, where his record was decidedly to the left. We talked about him during the campaign when Bernie's gun control votes were being discussed in the press.
- March 22, 2017 at 4:52 PM
- Chris said...
Oh lord the falseness here. Bernie scored a D- from the NRA (in 2003 it was an F!), and did not capitulate to their demands. According to FactCheck he was never a supporter of the NRA either:
He took a reasonable position which was that you can't target gun sellers for crimes committed with the guns they sold. Just like you can't see Honda, if I choose to buy a civic in order to run over humans.
Some moderate republicans, and libertarian republicans are also prudent, can resist Trump, and are 'more progressive' on some issues that Democrats aren't (e.g., drug war, nsa spying etc.)
What I'm talking about here a long game with a real strategy and a real plan. Obama, a corporate Dem, held both houses of congress when he was elected, also filled with corporate Dems. In the course of 8 years, despite his popularity, a continued unrest grew in America that was vehemently anti establishment. If that strategy is JUST vote D over R, period full stop, that will only deal with some symptoms (e.g., better SC judge), but not fix the underlying disease (growing anti establishment fervor).
Let's look at some basic facts. The majority of Americans don't trust the government and are very unhappy with congress. They don't trust the media. They think elections are mostly a show, and not really effective. They also prefer Bernie Sanders to all other politicians. Period.
The democrats do not have a majority in any branch of government, and they are now in control of less than half the state governorship and are losing significantly in actual local state seats. MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, it's time to learn that the lesson that just voting for democrats because they aren't republicans is not having the consequences everyone desired.
- March 22, 2017 at 6:21 PM
- Guy Tennenbaum said...
Throughout the whole time Clinton was being investigated by the FBI, every "informed" commentator kept assuring us there would be no indictment. They were right. I don't think anyone is offering those kinds of assurances about what will happen with the T***p investigation. At this point no one knows for sure. However, I do agree that what evidence is available does amount to a whole lot of smoke, as they say. It seems hard to believe that there wasn't some degree of illegal hanky-panky, at least on the part of Manafort.
It seems to me that both sides on this issue (that is, both sides of the left) are looking at the same set of data and reaching different conclusions about how damning it is; and each side is accusing the other of motivated thinking. With that being the case, and if we are going to engage in the game of armchair speculation, all we can do is agree to be reasonable.
Having read the various anti-Russiagate articles (i.e., the ones that telling us, basically, that this is all neo-McCarthyite conspiracy mongering and we need to move on), I'm not wholly convinced. The authors seem to me as selective in their choice of incident, and sometimes as sloppy in their reasoning, as they accuse their targets of being.
For example, in a recent comment Jerry Fresca linked to an article from ConsortiumNews by Robert Parry. While Parry does raise good points, to me it seems to mostly amount to nitpicking at details that aren't central to the case for collusion. Also, toward the end of the article, Parry poses the question: "Assuming that Putin read the polls like everyone else, would he risk infuriating the likely next President of the United States – Hillary Clinton – by embarrassing her with an email leak that would amount to a pinprick?"
Well, if we go back to last summer, the polls were actually very alarming for Clinton. They basically showed a dead heat, and for a while the consensus -- at least among the cable talking-heads -- was that we were heading for a nail-biter on election night. The so-called President didn't start to fall in the polls till later in the campaign, after incidents like the pussy-grabber video. (And let's not forget that one hour after that video aired Wikileaks began leaking the Podesta emails. Coincidence?) Also, might not Putin have just figured that Clinton wasn't going to play nice whatever he did, so he might as well do his best to damage her, and maybe even tip the election toward the current minority-president, his favored candidate?
- March 22, 2017 at 8:25 PM
- Guy Tennenbaum said...
Well, the latest is that Adam Schiff is confirming that there's "more than circumstantial" evidence of collusion between the T***p campaign and Russia. CNN is reporting the same, citing "US officials." A few days ago Diane Feinstein and Maxine Waters both used the I-word ("impeachment"). This on the heels of the T***p administration basically saying that they don't really recall anyone by the name of Manafort of Flynn or Page.
Could the proverbial shit be about to hit the fan?
- March 22, 2017 at 9:15 PM
- Unknown said...
Maybe we're talking past each other. My point on Bernie was simply an example of the fact that on an issue important to many voters in his state, he voted with them and to the right of most members of the Democratic party. He was an illustration--perhaps not the best--of what I believe is a political reality: to get something done, you have to get elected and usually re-elected.
My main point, however, is that we should always vote for the D just because of the D, rather than an R because it does make a difference. Many thought there was little difference between Bush and Gore, but they were mistaken. One big difference was the Iraq war. Others were John Roberts and Samuel Alito on the Supreme Court. In 1968, many disappointed McCarthy supporters didn't vote for Humphrey as they saw no difference between him and Nixon. That attitude brought about many unfortunate things, such as 30 some years of William Rehnquist on the Supreme Court.
Moving the party to the left cannot be accomplished by electing Republicans. It has to be done in the nominating process. For the less visible offices, the Democrats for a number of years have been scrambling even to get candidates willing to run. That is an opportunity for the left, and they could start with the 2018 elections. Jon Ossoff is an example. My understanding is that he was so upset about Trump that he volunteered to run an apparently hopeless campaign for Price's seat. Chances are he'll lose eventually, but even if he does, he can boost the Democrats, and demonstrate the electability of left candidates, simply by losing by a significantly smaller margin than previous Democrats.
And should he win--it will be interesting to see what he does over the next two years. My guess is that on some issues, he'll move toward the center. If he doesn't, it's hard to see how he can hold a seat in a district that is about 2/3 Republican. Nevertheless, I would support him because he's a D and not an R
- March 23, 2017 at 9:31 AM
- Robert Paul Wolff said...
David Palmeter, That is exactly the sort of hard eyed calculation that I think is a precondition for real change. It is also, I would remind us all, the sort of calculation that was constantly being made by such notorious non-conformists as Lenin, Trotsky, and Mao. Just sayin'.
- March 23, 2017 at 10:29 AM
- Unknown said...
Prof. Wolff: Can you come up with any other examples!?
- March 23, 2017 at 10:53 AM
- Chris said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- March 23, 2017 at 11:07 AM
- Chris said...
Lord. Look, all available present evidence and historical evidence since Reaganomics, has shown that when you just elect a D because it's a D, even if it's better in the short term, does not pay off in the long term. And we know why, I've repeated it, Jerry has, Greenwald has, Thomas Frank has, etc etc etc, because they don't actually stand for anything and actually do anything of substance to improve the lives of alienated voters. As such the voters become anti-establishment (justifiably). Hence, they vote for Trumps, or good old down to earth Bush, or "outsider" Obama. Professor Wolff and DP, you're playing a short game, not a long game. And the short game leads to anti-establishment right wing opportunism. There's a point where I and others are banging our heads bloody against a wall trying to make this point, and it's either completely ignored, or bait-and-switched (like that Bernie gun example).
The Democrats need an actual comprehensible ideology, a platform people can get behind, and members with integrity. Otherwise, just voting D will lead to anti-establishment R later. Hence IT'S NOT A SOLUTION IT'S PART OF THE PROBLEM!
Instead of continuing to goad me into side conversations that are unrelated, or silencing the point I've hammered home since November (there was a brief moment when Frank posted his response to the election in The Guardian and everyone seemed to be in agreement and Wolff took it quite seriously):
maybe address the symptom/disease dichotomy? Please! Just electing D because they are D is addressing symptoms, not the disease.
- March 23, 2017 at 11:17 AM
- Chris said...
Also, I almost fell out of my chair laughing at the idea Lenin, Trotsky, or Mao, (or Marx, or Engels) would have said vote D just cause it's not R. Come on. Seriously? SERIOUSLY!?
These were people who would have suggested not voting for them to suggest a vote of no confidence and attempted to form their own anti-establishment revolutionary party.
- March 23, 2017 at 11:19 AM
- Unknown said...
The cure for the disease is in nominating and electing the candidates you prefer. Meanwhile, treat the symptoms. It reduces the suffering.
- March 23, 2017 at 11:29 AM
- Chris said...
"The cure for the disease is in nominating and electing the candidates you prefer."
is NOT synonymous with:
"My main point, however, is that we should always vote for the D just because of the D, rather than an R because it does make a difference."
For instance, I prefer Jill Stein to Hillary, or Ron and (sometimes) Rand Paul to tons of corporate Democrats.
- March 23, 2017 at 11:47 AM
- Unknown said...
This is where we go in different directions. I see a vote for Stein as a wasted vote. It was certain in November 2016 that either Clinton or Trump would the be next president, and the consequences of the election of either would differ greatly from the consequences of the election of the other. My vote was determined by which of these two I'd prefer to have the incredible power to affect the lives of my family and me. Hillary was my second choice for the nomination, but when she got it, I supported her--as did Bernie.
As to Rand Paul, I can't think of a single Democrat (now that the southern segregationists have gone over to the Party of Lincoln) that I would not vote for against Paul. Which ones do you have in mind?
- March 23, 2017 at 12:51 PM
- s. wallerstein said...
I don't see why a vote for Stein is necessarily a wasted vote. It is true that in the last presidential election the danger of Trump was so great that it made sense to vote for Clinton, but I suppose that there will be "normal" elections once again in the U.S. between a Democrat who is a "serious" candidate and a Republican who is a "serious" candidate.
It may be possible to open a space in the U.S. for a third party, a left party. Their presidential candidate may not win, but they may be able to elect a couple of congresspeople and it would be very important to have truly left people in congress besides Bernie Sanders. Elected congresspeople get media space for their ideas that non-elected intellectuals will never obtain.
Politics is educating the masses as well as passing bills in Congress. It is clear that a mass who voted for Trump needs political education: clear leftwing ideas that can come from a third party option.
You'll undoubtedly say that the U.S. has a long tradition of a two party system, but the U.S. also has a long tradition of presidents with political experience and who are not outright con artists, and now we have Trump. That is, traditions only last so long and then new options arise. Maybe a viable third party left option can arise in the U.S.
I'm not sure, but it may be worth betting on a third party in the future.
- March 23, 2017 at 1:04 PM
- Unknown said...
Third parties have long been a feature of the US political scene, but none has succeeded. The system would have to be radically changed for that to happen. If it is to occur, it most likely would be in Congress (at least at first). As in parliamentary systems, a third party could be enough to control which major party governs. Something like that goes on in the Senate on a smalls scale where Sanders and Angus King of Maine are Independents who caucus with the Democrats. I know of none in the House but it seems to me that the House would be easier for this to occur than the Senate simply because a campaign in a smaller constituency would be less expensive for a party whose war chest is not as large as those of the two major parties.
This is very different from voting for Jill Stein or any other non-major party candidate in the presidential election. At that point, last November and for the foreseeable future, the candidate of one of the two major parties will be the winner. A vote for anyone else is wasted in the sense that it takes voter out of the race that matters.
- March 23, 2017 at 1:48 PM
- Chris said...
Again, you're either bait and switching me or not reading what I'm saying. I did not say VOTE FOR STEIN. I did not say people SHOULD vote for Stein. I said your two 'strategies' were not synonymous and gave reasons why they cannot be conjoined. That Stein is 'PREFERABLE' or that Paul is 'PREFERABLE' does not mean stratetgically they shouldnt be voted for.
"The cure for the disease is in nominating and electing the candidates you prefer."
Okay, I PREFER Stein, I PREFER Paul to many corporate Dems, I even prefer Gary Johnson to many corporate Dems and ALL Republicans.
"My main point, however, is that we should always vote for the D just because of the D, rather than an R because it does make a difference."
That doesn't mesh with the above PREFERENCE based voting which lets in Stein, Johnson, Pauls, etc.
So I repeat, for the 1000th time on this blog, I'm not advocating voting for Stein, or anyone else for that matter, I'm pointing out this all Ds are > all Rs, period full stop, strategizing, is at best reckless, but at worst, the disease that gives us Trumpism/anti-establishment rightism.
- March 23, 2017 at 2:18 PM
- s. wallerstein said...
David Palmeter,
I agree with you a third party candidate has more chance of being elected to congress than to the presidency and I pointed that out in my comment above. The presidential candidate of a third party, however, may be a way of potentiating the congressional list insofar as they get more media coverage and should (although that is not the case in the U.S.) be allowed to participate in the presidential TV debates. In other countries all presidential candidates participate in the debates and that gives minority candidates a chance to present their ideas to the society at large.
However, Professor Wolff wisely points out that a politics of radical change is a long march (to use a term from our new friend Mao) and that once one decides which side one is on (and I think that all of the regulars in this blog are basically on the same side), one should do what one feels comfortable about doing because, Professor Wolff points out, one will be doing it for the whole long march.
So if you feel comfortable about supporting Democrats, fine. I would last about 17 minutes in a meeting of Democrats before I say something which seems obvious to me, but which brings upon me that collective "you're weird" look which I know so well and which in more picturesque eras of human history was the prelude to a heresy trial or to a good old fashioned stoning. On the other hand, in a meeting of the Green Party or a similar grupúsculo some will find me weird, others will start an argument with me that will last half the night, some women will find me, if not attractive, at least interesting and I'll return next week.
So I'll support the Greens or a similar alternative and you'll support the Democrats. If Trump runs again, I promise to support whichever Democrat runs against Trump.
All of us in this blog seem to be in the same boat against neoliberalism, against climate change and against the satanic trinity of racism, sexism and homophobia. I think that it's possible to participate in the same struggle from different perspectives and different angles.
- March 23, 2017 at 2:55 PM
- Unknown said...
Chris, OK, I think I understand your terms now. I took words like "prefer" to mean "vote for," since in my experience that's what most people do.
- March 23, 2017 at 4:01 PM


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Armenia is a landlocked country in the Caucasus region. Located at the crossroads of Asian and Europe, this country has a rich history that goes beyond the recorded history age. The country's food and beverages reflect the history and the traditional elements. Armenians cuisine can perhaps trace its origins and roots way back, almost 2000 years. It has elements and influences from the Mediterranean Cuisine and Eastern European elements. Armenian food makes uses of vegetables, various spices, herbs, meats, fruits and fish.
Armenian Cuisine
Armenians are known for their skillful and delicious use of meat in their cuisine. Some of the famous meat preparations you should dig into are:
Top Armenian Dishes:
Khorovats – Meat Barbecue
Kyufta - tender meat balls boiled in broth
Dolma - stuffed grape leaves
Borani - fried chicken with aubergines
Tisvzhik - fried beef cooked with onion, tomato paste, salt and pepper
Bastyrat - strips of boiled beef
Armenian Beverages
Armenia's cognac is world renowned. It matches the standards of French and Italian cognacs and wine. The world-renowned cognac brands are "Ararat", "Great Valley", "Mane" and "Armenika". Armenia grows six varieties of grapes for its wine. Perfect climatic conditions allow Armenia to produce unique desert and "sherry" wines. Armenian vodka, "Artsakh" is a highly popular and strong drink produced from the classic white mulberry and other berries. Sour milk, Matsun is a popular fermented milk product that has health benefits. Coffee is widely consumed and appreciated in the country. Armenians prepare coffee in a pot on live embers or red-hot sand. The taste of the coffee is very strong with a thick dark colour and is often served with a glass of ice water.
Famous Armenian Restaurants
Most of Armenia's remarkable restaurants is focused around the capital - Yerevan. Here is the list of famous Armenian restaurants:
Dolmama – Informally considered as "Armenia's best restaurant", Dolmama specializes in eastern Armenian dishes which includes its namesake dolma. Sounds tantalizing? Don't miss visiting this joint!
Location: 10 Pushkin Street, Yerevan
Contact: +374 10 561354
The Club – French cuisine with a French twist and deserts to die for.
Location: 40 Tumanyan Street, Yerevan
Contact: +374 10 531361
Malkhas Jazz Club – For those who want to enjoy excellent food over sublime Jazz.
Location: 52/1 Pushkin Street, Yerevan
Contact: +374 10 535350
Other popular restaurants:
Kovkas Tavern: Location – 82 Hanrapetutyan Street, Yerevan Contact - +374 10 56177
Mer Taghe: Location – 21/1 Tumanyan Street, Yerevan Contact - +374 10 58016
Tourists from Middle East countries can also enjoy halal food in the country's capital at Liban, Taboule Lebanese Restaurant, Jaco Cafe Restaurant and Arya Restaurant Yerevan.


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Spring 2016 Course Offerings
Courses in the Curriculum
WGS 200: Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
Section 0001 | Mary Thompson | TuTh 11:00am-12:15pm
Section 0002 | Dawn Goode | TuTh 2:00-3:15pm
Cross disciplinary introduction to theories and scholarship in Women's and Gender Studies. Examines the social construction of gender, how gender affects access to opportunity, and the experiences and contributions of women. Provides a foundation for subsequent work in the Women's and Gender Studies minor.
WGS 300: Special Topics: Feminist Ethics
Section 0001 | Pia Antolic-Piper | TuTh 2:00-3:15pm
Since its beginnings in the 1970s, feminist ethics has been among the most advanced fields within feminist philosophy. In general, feminist ethics addresses issues in ethical practice – roughly, lived challenges and experiences of women as they occur within different contexts like the home, the public sphere or the workplace such as such oppression, sexism, inequality, or sexual assault. In addition to reflecting on ethical practice, feminist ethics also deals with the approaches, themes, and theories that characterize traditional ethical theory and their shortcomings in the form of male bias, or misogyny. The goal of this course is to explore questions about feminism in ethical theory and practice such as What could a feminist ethics look like?, Does traditional ethics speak to the experience of all human beings regardless of gender or race?, or Is there such a thing as a distinctively feminine ethical experience or sensibility like 'care'? In addition to these questions, this course will also address recent feminist analysis and criticism of the domination and oppression governing women's current social reality, including sexual violence, the ethics and politics of family and work, and global justice.. Meets with / equivalent to PHIL 390.
WGS 302: Third Wave Ecofeminism
Section 0001 | Alison Bodkin | TuTh 9:30-10:45pm
This course explores the association between women and nature that exists in ecofeminist rhetorics--from the image of Mother Earth, to the critiques of our culture shown in the exploitation of women and of the earth itself. Religious, historical and scientific rhetorics of ecofeminism will be examined, along with alternative models of power and responsibility. Cross-listed with SCOM 302.
WGS 337: Sociology of Gender
Section 0001 | Matt Ezzell | TuTh 3:30–4:45pm
Examination of theories of sex role development, the roles of men and women in society and gender as a social construction. Cross-listed with SOCI 337.
WGS 348: Communication and Gender
Section 0001 | Sharon Mazzarella | TuTh 11:00am–12:15pm
Section 0002 | Staff | MW 2:30–3:45pm
Studies of theories and research regarding the influence of gender in various human communication contexts, both public and private. Emphasis on the critical analysis of existing theory and empirical research and the potential competent uses of communication for social change. Prerequisite: Any 100-level GCOM course. Cross-listed with SCOM 348.
WGS 355: American Women at War
Section 0001 | Amelia Underwood | M 4:40–6:35pm
This course invites students to engage a series of issues about the role of women in the US military. This course will examine the contributions & experiences of women who served during the American Revolution, the U.S. Civil War, WW I & II, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf War(s). Also included in this course is an examination of how women in military service both past and present are an instrument for societal change in America specifically in promoting the cause of women's rights. Cross-listed with MSCI 350.
WGS 368: Women's Literature: Women and the Kunstlerroman
Section 0001 | Mary Thompson | TuTh 12:30-1:45pm
This course explores women's literature through a focus on the Kunstlerroman or artist's novel. By comparing these texts to the traditional Bildungsroman and drawing on relevant feminist literary criticism, we will identify the characteristics of "women's art," its suppression and expression, and its relationship to the unique experiences of women within patriarchal societies. We will also examine the politics of canon formation and consider the construction of women's identities across issues of race/ethnicity, immigration, social class, sexuality, and place. Cross-listed with ENG 368.
WGS 383: Women and Politics in Comparative Perspective
Section 0101 | Kristin Wylie | MW 10:10am–12:40pm
First block course meeting January 11–March 1
A study of the causes and consequences of women's political marginalization in the United States and abroad. The course examines socioeconomic and political dimensions of gender inequality, exploring how women have worked through social movements, electoral politics, and public policy initiatives to overcome obstacles to their political empowerment. Cross-listed with POSC 383.
WGS 420: Feminist Rhetorics
Section 0001 | Alison Bodkin | TuTh 12:30-1:45pm
Surveys key women figures in classical and contemporary rhetorical traditions and challenges the strategies used to historicize this tradition from feminist perspectives. Explores diverse feminist rhetorical discourses informed by race, sexual orientation, ethnicity and social class. Cross-listed with SCOM 420 and WRTC 420.
WGS 485: Gender Issues in Science
Section 0001 | Louise Temple-Rosebrook & Rhonda Zingraff | TuTh 12:30-1:45pm
An interdisciplinary course that looks at the scientific process, science practitioners and science students through the lens of gender analysis. Students read literature, lead discussions, perform experiments and analyze both data and processes to address the effects of educational systems on the preparation and careers of scientists, the influence of politics and culture on scientific inquiry, and the effects of critiques grounded in gender analyses on understanding the scientific process. Cross-listed with ISAT 485.
WGS 492: Internship in Women's and Gender Studies
Section 0001 | Alison Bodkin and Christina Saindon | TBD
This course is open to Women's and Gender Studies minors who have completed nine hours in the minor or received permission from the instructor. The goal of this project is to work in a feminist collective to write daily blog posts for the blog "Shout Out! JMU: Your Source for Feminist Discourse." Students taking the directed project will organize the blog, research and write blog posts, publicize the blog, and create dialogue by commenting on one another's blog posts as a means of consciousness raising. Meets with / equivalent to SCOM 318. The application may be found here.
HIST 321: European Women's History
Section 0001 | Jessica Davidson | MWF 1:25–2:15pm
A survey of women's history from the Elightenment to the Modern Era. Attention will focus on women in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain as well as the former Soviet Union. The course traces the birth of modern feminism in the European context and explores gender expectations, paying particular attention to women's entrance into the public, political world.
HIST 449: Women and Fascism
Section 0001 | Jessica Davidson | MWF 10:10am–12:05pm
Second block course meeting March 14–May 5
This course offers a comparative understanding of fascism and women with a focus on Europe, including Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Francoist Spain. We will also discuss fascist movements and right-wing women in other European countries and in Latin America. The course will uncover the origins of fascism and the rise of the fascist party and the women's branch.
HIST 466: The Family, 1400-1800
Section 0001 | Michael Galgano | TuTh 3:30–4:45pm
An examination of the bibliography, methods and substance of family history in Europe and America. Emphasis will be on sources, structure, patterns of change and continuity, and stages of family life to the Industrial Revolution.
SOCI 336: Race and Ethnicity
Section 0001 | Bethany Bryson | Online
This course examines the social construction of race and ethnicity around the world and how they influence social processes, institutions, change and ideology. The course will include discussions concerning the intersection of race and ethnicity with other aspects of social inequality such as class, gender, sexuality and nationality in contemporary society.
SPAN 455: Women in Hispanic Literatures
Section 0001 | Lucy Morris | TuTh 11:00am–12:15pm
Study of women in literature in the Hispanic world. Focus on women authors, female characters in literature or both. The course may include works from Spain or Latin America from any time period. Examination of feminist literary criticism, canon formation and other critical topics. Emphasis may vary according to the instructor. Instruction is in Spanish. Prerequisite: SPAN 335
Courses that will Receive Substitute Credit
ENG 222: Genre(s)
Topic: Gender & the Short Story
Section 0005 | Dawn Goode | TuTh 3:30-4:45pm
This course will focus on the short story genre as it developed from the nineteenth century to the present. We will approach this diverse form of prose fiction from various angles, exploring literary elements, individual authorial styles, historical periods, and thematic comparisons across texts. We will explore 19th-century European continental, British, and American short stories, and then examine the modern and contemporary short story across an international spectrum. Such an exploration will give us the opportunity to understand the ways in which ideas about the short story have changed from era to era and from country to country. In addition to charting the development of the short story genre, we will also use close-readings to excavate how our reading experience is shaped and guided by the creative choices of authors. This is not a "how-to-write-a-short story" course, but the aim of the course is to help illuminate how good stories are works of deliberate craftsmanship. Finally, our reading of these texts will be focalized through the lens of gender and sexuality studies. Like the form of the short story itself, our concepts about gender and sexuality have evolved and continue to do so. We will explore how our texts reveal this evolution. We will also identify how our texts reveal the intersection of gender and sexuality with other identity classifications such as race, nationality, ethnicity, class, and age.
ENG 302: Special Topics in Literature and Language
Topic: Mothers, Mothering, and Motherhood in African American Women's Writing
Section 0004 | Mary Thompson | TuTh 3:30-4:45pm
This course explores motherhood, mothers, and mothering in the slave narrative and in the literary works of contemporary African American women writers. Using black feminist maternal theory (Audre Lorde, Patricia Hill-Collins, Dorothy Roberts, Alice Walker, bell hooks, and others) and the tools of literary analysis, we will explore how authors engage with motherhood as a product of biopower as well as a site for fashioning feminist identities. We will examine the social construction of motherhood and maternal identity across lines of class, culture, and race by drawing from women's fiction, poetry, memoir, and blog writing. Texts will include: Jacobs, Incidents in the Life (1861); Morrison, Beloved (1987); Jones, Corregidora (1975); Kincaid, The Autobiography of My Mother (1996); Danticat, Breath, Eyes, Memory (1994); Sapphire, PUSH (1996); Ward, Salvage the Bones (2011); R. Walker, Baby Love (2007); A. Walker, Chicken Chronicles (2011).
ENG 410: Advanced Studies in Author
Topic: Harriet Beecher Stowe
Section 0003 | Laura Henigman | TuTh 2:00-3:15pm
Study of the works of one (or two) British, American, or Anglophone writer. May be repeated for credit when course content changes.
ENG 410: Advanced Studies in Author
Topic: Virginia Woolf, The Bloomsbury Group and Feminism (White)
Section 0004 | Siân White | TuTh 11:00am-12:15pm
In keeping with the rigor expected of a 400-level, this course looks closely and in depth at the work and life of Virginia Woolf, and is designed for students who are reading, thinking, and writing at an advanced level. Students can expect to read widely from among Woolf's novels, essays and diaries, as well as engage with related literary and social criticism, emphasizing feminism, aesthetics, and her association with the Bloomsbury Group. In addition to engaged reading and discussion, students will be expected to read and present on critical articles, contribute to the development of a collective digital project on Virginia Woolf, and, as a final project, to write a 12-15 page research and literary analysis paper about some aspect of Woolf's work.
WRTC 458: Scientific and Medical Communication
Section 0001 | Michael Klein | TuTh 12:30-1:45pm
The theme of the course is representations of the (re)productive body in modern culture. We will examine the medicalization and commodification of pregnancy as a condition necessitating intervention by health professionals. We will also study ways in which technology has contributed to the way women and fetuses have been represented. Finally, we will consider the way the pregnancy has been politicized by participants in debates over the right to choose.


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Jennifer Lefevre is the recipient of an $850 grant via Clipper Petroleum.
A teacher at Fair Street School in Gainesville, Lefevre will use the funds to further establish her classroom lending library.
"While taking master's level classes, I read the book titled 'The Book Whisperer,'" Lefevre said. "Since then, I have had a personal goal to not only teach my students how to read but to encourage them to love reading. I started building my own classroom library about two years ago so that my students are able to explore different genres and have all types of books at their fingertips."
Lefevre, who teaches Interrelated Special Education for kindergarten and first and second grades, applied for the grant online in August with the Clipper Petroleum Foundation, a nonprofit that supports schools and other charities.
UNG hires Tomlinson as 1st executive in residence
Perry Tomlinson has been hired as the University of North Georgia's first BB&T Center for Ethical Business Leadership executive in residence.
Tomlinson will assist the center in teaching students of the Mike Cottrell College of Business, and other regional organizations, about organizational culture, business ethics, leadership and change management.
He has more than 35 years in the banking industry and is the former BB&T regional president.
"I am thrilled to be part of this great university," Tomlinson said in a news release. "It is an honor to be chosen as the first person to fill this role, and my hope is that our work helps develop and promote high ethical standards and skills in the current and future business leaders of our region."
Hall, Gainesville school boards to meet Monday
In their final meetings of the year, both Hall and Gainesville school boards will meet Monday.
Hall County's meeting will begin at 5 p.m. at East Hall High School, 3534 E. Hall Road.
Gainesville will meet at 6 p.m. at the Gainesville High School Media Center, 830 Century Place. A reception will be held at 5 p.m. for board member David Syfan, who did not run for re-election this year. Gainesville native Brett Mercer ran unopposed for the position and will take Syfan's seat beginning Jan. 1.
Carly Sharec covers education issues for The Times. Share your thoughts, news tips and questions with her:


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--On Friday, December 23, 2011 11:27 AM +0100 "External Mathieu DEDECKER (CAMPUS)" <email@example.com> wrote:It sounds like you added an index to cardnumber after there was already data for cardnumber in your database, and didn't run slapindex for that attribute. Alternatively, your cardnumber.bdb file is corrupted.
Hi @All,
We meet a performance problem with our OpenLDAP.
We think that we face a problem with the index of the database, and we
think that the problem can be resolve by tunning the config (but not
We would like to be sure that our configuration is correct, in order to
confirm if we are on a wrong track or not.
We have an attribute (cardNumber) which is indexed.
When we request the indexed attribute (cardNumber) with an LDAP Client
(Ldapbrowser), we have either fast or very long response time.
For the long response time, the CPU of the server hits 100%.
For example:
Request1: cardnumber=2098001010034 (less than 1sec)
Request2: cardnumber=2090389917486 (nearly 20 sec).
By checking the hit ratio of the attribute, we can see that cache is
correctly used (97%).
Quanah Gibson-Mount
Sr. Member of Technical Staff
Zimbra, Inc
A Division of VMware, Inc.
Zimbra :: the leader in open source messaging and collaboration


text:
by Ryan Turner
The eighth article of faith in Mormonism states, "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly." Also, Mormons frequently claim that many "plain and precious truths" have been removed from the Bible. What these "plain and precious truths" exactly are we are not told.1
The Reliability of the Bible
There are a number of responses to this bold Mormon claim. First of all, there is substantial historical evidence which demonstrates the reliability of both the Old Testament and New Testament texts. The Dead Sea Scrolls demonstrate that for over one thousand years the Old Testament was preserved with a remarkable degree of accuracy.2 We have over 10,000 Old Testament manuscripts.
Regarding the New Testament, the degree of precision is remarkable. We have over 25,000 New Testament manuscripts. The earliest New Testament manuscripts come from within 30 years after the last book was written.3 Even if we lost all of the New Testament manuscripts, which number over 25,000, we still would not be left without a testimony.
We would then turn to the writings of the Church Fathers. The early Church Fathers cite the New Testament over 36,000 times in the first few centuries after the writing of the New Testament. We could reconstruct the entire New Testament, minus about 11 verses, from their writings alone.
Errors in the Copying Process
It must be admitted that there are errors in the transmission or copying of the Bible from over two thousand years, but these errors do not affect any major doctrine such as there being only one true God in all existence, salvation by faith, Jesus is God in the flesh, etc. Most of these errors are just minor spelling variations, punctuation, or obvious slips of the pen that are known and can be corrected by comparing the large number of manuscripts available. There is a whole discipline of textual criticism that seeks to obtain the most accurate reading of various Biblical texts.
The Translation Process
Many Mormons have the idea that the Bible was translated from Greek, then to Latin, then to English, or another language. They assume that we have to translate the Bible three or four times before we get our English version. This is just blatantly inaccurate. We can translate the Bible directly from Hebrew to English, Aramaic to English, or Greek to English. There is no need to translate it a couple of times, through a couple of languages, in order to get the English translation.
Plain and Precious Truths
Another important question to consider is the nature of "plain and precious truths" that were supposedly removed during the transmission of the Bible. It is easy to make the claim the Bible was intentionally corrupted and major doctrines were removed. However, for the Mormon, what evidence is there that any "plain and precious truths" were removed? Where in any of the ancient manuscript copies of the Bible do we find the notion (1) that Jesus was the spirit brother of Satan, (2) God the Father was once a man who attained godhood, (3) God the Father was once possibly unholy and a sinner, (4) God the Father had a Father before Him, (5) humans are preexistent intelligences who can become gods of their own planet just like God the Father, (6) God the Father is just the God of this world, and there are other true gods for other people elsewhere to worship, (7) an ordained Aaronic or Melchizedek priesthood authority, etc. 4
There is virtually no textual evidence in any manuscript that supports the notion of any of these major doctrines of the Mormon Church. So for the Mormon to claim that these "plain and precious truths," whatever they are, were removed from the Bible, he bears the burden of proof.
- 1. The Book of Mormon likewise alludes to this corruption of the Bible in 1 Nephi 13:26: "And after they go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the formation of that great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away."
- 2. The complete Book of Isaiah Scroll that was uncovered contained only ten or so variations compared with the Masoretic text of 900 A.D.
- 3. The John Ryland's Papyri comes from 117-138 A.D. which is roughly 30 years after the writing of the Gospel of John in 90-100 A.D.
- 4. It is interesting to note that there is no evidence for any of these major doctrines in the Book of Mormon either! The Book of Mormon is surprisingly orthodox compared to the Doctrine and Covenants and other Mormon works by later LDS apostles and prophets.


text:
Looking for Lisp/Scheme for writing games…
Looking for Lisp/Scheme for writing games…
Hi everyone,
Auphelia Technologies is looking for highly skilled resources for work
in Gambit / JazzScheme, Web development and Database architecture.
Auphelia Technologies offers integrated management software, entirely
customized for small and medium-sized businesses, using innovative
technology and revolutionary features. Auphelia is located in
Montreal, Canada. See http://www.auphelia.com (under construction).
Gambit is a complete, portable, efficient and reliable implementation
of the Scheme programming language. See
JazzScheme is an open source programming language and cross-platform
framework built on top of Gambit . It includes a sophisticated IDE and
has been used for more than 10 years to develop high-quality
commercial software. See http://www.jazzscheme.org.
We are starting development on a new Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) software that we plan on making top of its class. Work will be a
complete rewrite and a major evolution of an existing product already
in use by a large client base.
Note that this project is a highly complex undertaking as we will not
be developing just another ERP software but a complete dynamic ERP
creation platform. Project is planned to last around 1 1/2 year for
the first release. Current team is composed of 10 people and is
planned to grow to around 25.
After an exhaustive evaluation period, decision has been made to
develop the backend entirely in Gambit / JazzScheme. We still haven't
decided between Qt and JazzScheme for our desktop client solution but
if the JazzScheme platform can be evolved to suit our needs, we have a
definite preference for using it accross the whole project.
We need resources for the following 4 positions :
1 or 2 resources to work closely with Gambit and JazzScheme's authors
to evolve the JazzScheme langage and framework during a period of
about 6 months. Planned work includes :
– Language
– Module / build system
– Performance / memory
– IDE / Remote debugger
– X11 and MacOS X frontends
Note that Gambit's author Marc Feeley, has confirmed his participation
part time in the project!
Ideally, the resources we are looking for would have expert knowledge
in Lisp, Scheme, Gambit and JazzScheme! But realisticaly, if you don't
know those but are brilliant, motivated and want to be part of an
exciting project that could put Scheme to the forefront, please send
us your resume!
1 or 2 resources to complete our existing team and work on the Desktop
client and / or Server layer. Knowledge of the following is a definite
plus :
– Lisp, Scheme, Gambit, JazzScheme
– GUI development
– Highly scalable server development
– Databases, SQL
1 resource to work on the Web client. We need a world class expert in
advanced web interfaces as the Web client will have to implement all
the functionality of the Desktop client. Knowledge of the following is
critical :
– Dynamic web development with AJAX
– Advanced web interfaces
– Javascript
1 resource to be lead in every database related work. Knowledge of the
following is critical :
– World class expertise in database modeling
– Databases : PostgreSQL (will probably be the first one supported),
Oracle, SQLite (for the offline mode)
Ideally we are looking for full time resources located near Montreal
but are definitely open to remote work and other options. Auphelia
Technologies offers competitive & flexible employment conditions.
PS: Please feel free to pass this announce to your friends!
Guillaume Cartier
Anvita-Health of San Diego California is seeking programmers to develop and maintain its health care decision support tools.
Prerequisites for the position include:
An advanced degree in Computer Science from a US or UK university
Strong C++ skills; Lisp programming a plus
At least 2 yrs of programming experience
Web skills a plus (PERL, PHP) and familiarity with web UI tools
A willingness to relocate to San Diego, CA
Salary and Benefits commensurate with experience.
Interested persons should send CV to:
Sheldon Ball MD, PhD
Physician Informaticist
Anvita Health
Lisp developers positions at oDesk in the UK.
Woosha offers jobs to natural born hackers, including those with the Lisp gene.
Global InfoTek, Inc. has an immediate need for a Research Scientist at its Reston, VA offices. Initial responsibilities will include design, development, and deployment of knowledge representation and reasoning capabilities to support technology evaluation in a Government-sponsored research program to advance the state of the art in automatically extracting meaning from written English text. This position will involve collaborative interaction with the customer and with other research organizations.
While the experience level and salary range are open, the right candidate will possess many of the following capabilities.
* Logic-based knowledge representation and reasoning
* Ontologies (e.g., RDF, OWL, Cyc) and the semantic web
* Bayesian networks, probabilistic reasoning
* Java and Lisp programming, logic programming (e.g., Prolog)
* Unix family- and Windows-based system development and deployment
Some background in and/or familiarity with the following would be a plus.
* Computational linguistics / natural language processing / natural language understanding
* Extraction of information from text
The following are strongly desired.
* U.S. citizenship
* Willingness to apply for and strong likelihood of gaining a US Government security clearance
The following qualities are also desirable (and may be required, depending on seniority).
* Strong written, graphical, and spoken communication skills
* Demonstrated desire to advance the state of the art and to publish research results
* Project leadership capability


text:
Our Colorful service apartments in Hyderabad accompany complimentary of all amenities with your family. We provide the room services which is accessible day in and day out.
We are one of the solaces and accommodations of adjusted living, with the recent innovation and plentiful space. We are the service apartments in Hyderabad furnished with ensued, completely outfitted rooms. Every apartment comes outfitted with the most recent in excitement innovation style kitchen and a feasting region so you can go out on the town in solace.
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text:
While the transcription factor forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) is well known as a proto-oncogene, its potential role in lung fibroblast activation has never been explored. Here, we show that FOXM1 is more highly expressed in fibrotic than in normal lung fibroblasts in humans and mice. FOXM1 was required not only for cell proliferation in response to mitogens, but also for myofibroblast differentiation and apoptosis resistance elicited by TGF-β. The lipid mediator PGE2, acting via cAMP signaling, was identified as an endogenous negative regulator of FOXM1. Finally, genetic deletion of FOXM1 in fibroblasts or administration of the FOXM1 inhibitor Siomycin A in a therapeutic protocol attenuated bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Our results identify FOXM1 as a driver of lung fibroblast activation and underscore the therapeutic potential of targeting FOXM1 for pulmonary fibrosis.
Loka R. Penke, Jennifer M. Speth, Vijaya L. Dommeti, Eric S. White, Ingrid L. Bergin, Marc Peters-Golden
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an incurable inflammatory lung disease that afflicts millions of people worldwide, and it is the fourth leading cause of death. Systemic comorbidities affecting the heart, skeletal muscle, bone, and metabolism are major contributors to morbidity and mortality. Given the surprising finding in large prospective clinical biomarker studies that peripheral white blood cell count is more closely associated with disease than inflammatory biomarkers, we probed the role of blood growth factors. Using the SHIP-1–deficient COPD mouse model, which manifests a syndrome of destructive lung disease and a complex of comorbid pathologies, we have identified a critical and unexpected role for granulocyte-CSF (G-CSF) in linking these conditions. Deletion of G-CSF greatly reduced airway inflammation and lung tissue destruction, and attenuated systemic inflammation, right heart hypertrophy, loss of fat reserves, and bone osteoporosis. In human clinical translational studies, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with COPD demonstrated elevated G-CSF levels. These studies suggest that G-CSF may play a central and unforeseen pathogenic role in COPD and its complex comorbidities, and identify G-CSF and its regulators as potential therapeutic targets.
Evelyn Tsantikos, Maverick Lau, Cassandra M.N. Castelino, Mhairi J. Maxwell, Samantha L. Passey, Michelle J. Hansen, Narelle E. McGregor, Natalie A. Sims, Daniel P. Steinfort, Louis B. Irving, Gary P. Anderson, Margaret L. Hibbs
Recent studies reveal that airway epithelial cells are critical pulmonary circadian pacemaker cells, mediating rhythmic inflammatory responses. Using mouse models, we now identify the rhythmic circadian repressor REV-ERB as essential to the mechanism coupling the pulmonary clock to innate immunity, involving both myeloid, and bronchial epithelial cells in temporal gating and determining amplitude of response to inhaled endotoxin. Dual mutation of REV-ERBα and its paralog REV-ERBβ in bronchial epithelia further augmented inflammatory responses and chemokine activation, but also initiated a basal inflammatory state, revealing a critical homeostatic role for REV-ERB proteins in the suppression of the endogenous pro-inflammatory mechanism in un-challenged cells. However, REV-ERBα plays the dominant role as deletion of REV-ERBβ alone had no impact on inflammatory responses. In turn, inflammatory challenges cause striking changes in stability and degradation of REV-ERBα protein, driven by SUMOylation and ubiquitination. We developed a novel selective oxazole-based inverse agonist of REV-ERB, which protects REV-ERBα protein from degradation and used this to reveal how pro-inflammatory cytokines trigger rapid degradation of REV-ERα in the elaboration of an inflammatory response. Thus, dynamic changes in stability of REV-ERα protein couple the core clock to innate immunity.
Marie Pariollaud, Julie Gibbs, Thomas Hopwood, Sheila Brown, Nicola Begley, Ryan Vonslow, Toryn Poolman, Baoqiang Guo, Ben Saer, D. Heulyn Jones, James P. Tellam, Stefano Bresciani, Nicholas C.O. Tomkinson, Justyna Wojno-Picon, Anthony W.J. Cooper, Dion A. Daniels, Ryan P. Trump, Daniel Grant, William Zuercher, Timothy M. Willson, Andrew S. MacDonald, Brian Bolognese, Patricia L. Podolin, Yolanda Sanchez, Andrew S.I. Loudon, David W. Ray
Infection by Staphylococcus aureus strain USA300 causes tissue injury, multiorgan failure, and high mortality. However, the mechanisms by which the bacteria adhere to, then stabilize on, mucosal surfaces before causing injury remain unclear. We addressed these issues through the first real-time determinations of USA300-alveolar interactions in live lungs. We found that within minutes, inhaled USA300 established stable, self-associated microaggregates in niches at curved, but not at flat, regions of the alveolar wall. The microaggregates released α-hemolysin toxin, causing localized alveolar injury, as indicated by epithelial dye loss, mitochondrial depolarization, and cytosolic Ca2+ increase. Spread of cytosolic Ca2+ through intercellular gap junctions to adjoining, uninfected alveoli caused pulmonary edema. Systemic pretreatment with vancomycin, a USA300-cidal antibiotic, failed to protect mice infected with inhaled WT USA300. However, vancomycin pretreatment markedly abrogated mortality in mice infected with mutant USA300 that lacked the aggregation-promoting factor PhnD. We interpret USA300-induced mortality as having resulted from rapid bacterial aggregation in alveolar niches. These findings indicate, for the first time to our knowledge, that alveolar microanatomy is critical in promoting the aggregation and, hence, in causing USA300-induced alveolar injury. We propose that in addition to antibiotics, strategies for bacterial disaggregation may constitute novel therapy against USA300-induced lung injury.
Jaime L. Hook, Mohammad N. Islam, Dane Parker, Alice S. Prince, Sunita Bhattacharya, Jahar Bhattacharya
BACKGROUND. The link between mucus plugs and airflow obstruction has not been established in chronic severe asthma, and the role of eosinophils and their products in mucus plug formation is unknown. METHODS. In clinical studies, we developed and applied a bronchopulmonary segment–based scoring system to quantify mucus plugs on multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) lung scans from 146 subjects with asthma and 22 controls, and analyzed relationships among mucus plug scores, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), and airway eosinophils. Additionally, we used airway mucus gel models to explore whether oxidants generated by eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) oxidize cysteine thiol groups to promote mucus plug formation. RESULTS. Mucus plugs occurred in at least 1 of 20 lung segments in 58% of subjects with asthma and in only 4.5% of controls, and the plugs in subjects with asthma persisted in the same segment for years. A high mucus score (plugs in ≥ 4 segments) occurred in 67% of subjects with asthma with FEV1 of less than 60% of predicted volume, 19% with FEV1 of 60%–80%, and 6% with FEV1 greater than 80% (P < 0.001) and was associated with marked increases in sputum eosinophils and EPO. EPO catalyzed oxidation of thiocyanate and bromide by H2O2 to generate oxidants that crosslink cysteine thiol groups and stiffen thiolated hydrogels. CONCLUSION. Mucus plugs are a plausible mechanism of chronic airflow obstruction in severe asthma, and EPO-generated oxidants may mediate mucus plug formation. We propose an approach for quantifying airway mucus plugging using MDCT lung scans and suggest that treating mucus plugs may improve airflow in chronic severe asthma. TRIAL REGISTRATION. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01718197, NCT01606826, NCT01750411, NCT01761058, NCT01761630, NCT01759186, NCT01716494, and NCT01760915. FUNDING. NIH grants P01 HL107201, R01 HL080414, U10 HL109146, U10 HL109164, U10 HL109172, U10 HL109086, U10 HL109250, U10 HL109168, U10 HL109257, U10 HL109152, and P01 HL107202 and National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences grants UL1TR0000427, UL1TR000448, and KL2TR000428.
Eleanor M. Dunican, Brett M. Elicker, David S. Gierada, Scott K. Nagle, Mark L. Schiebler, John D. Newell, Wilfred W. Raymond, Marrah E. Lachowicz-Scroggins, Selena Di Maio, Eric A. Hoffman, Mario Castro, Sean B. Fain, Nizar N. Jarjour, Elliot Israel, Bruce D. Levy, Serpil C. Erzurum, Sally E. Wenzel, Deborah A. Meyers, Eugene R. Bleecker, Brenda R. Phillips, David T. Mauger, Erin D. Gordon, Prescott G. Woodruff, Michael C. Peters, John V. Fahy, The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Severe Asthma Research Program (SARP)
Claudins, the integral tight junction (TJ) proteins that regulate paracellular permeability and cell polarity, are frequently dysregulated in cancer; however, their role in neoplastic progression is unclear. Here, we demonstrated that knockout of Cldn18, a claudin family member highly expressed in lung alveolar epithelium, leads to lung enlargement, parenchymal expansion, increased abundance and proliferation of known distal lung progenitors, the alveolar epithelial type II (AT2) cells, activation of Yes-associated protein (YAP), increased organ size, and tumorigenesis in mice. Inhibition of YAP decreased proliferation and colony-forming efficiency (CFE) of Cldn18–/– AT2 cells and prevented increased lung size, while CLDN18 overexpression decreased YAP nuclear localization, cell proliferation, CFE, and YAP transcriptional activity. CLDN18 and YAP interacted and colocalized at cell-cell contacts, while loss of CLDN18 decreased YAP interaction with Hippo kinases p-LATS1/2. Additionally, Cldn18–/– mice had increased propensity to develop lung adenocarcinomas (LuAd) with age, and human LuAd showed stage-dependent reduction of CLDN18.1. These results establish CLDN18 as a regulator of YAP activity that serves to restrict organ size, progenitor cell proliferation, and tumorigenesis, and suggest a mechanism whereby TJ disruption may promote progenitor proliferation to enhance repair following injury.
Beiyun Zhou, Per Flodby, Jiao Luo, Dan R. Castillo, Yixin Liu, Fa-Xing Yu, Alicia McConnell, Bino Varghese, Guanglei Li, Nyam-Osor Chimge, Mitsuhiro Sunohara, Michael N. Koss, Wafaa Elatre, Peter Conti, Janice M. Liebler, Chenchen Yang, Crystal N. Marconett, Ite A. Laird-Offringa, Parviz Minoo, Kunliang Guan, Barry R. Stripp, Edward D. Crandall, Zea Borok
Adaptation to respiration at birth depends upon the synthesis of pulmonary surfactant, a lipid-protein complex that reduces surface tension at the air-liquid interface in the alveoli and prevents lung collapse during the ventilatory cycle. Herein, we demonstrated that the gene encoding a subunit of the endoplasmic reticulum membrane complex, EMC3, also known as TMEM111 (Emc3/Tmem111), was required for murine pulmonary surfactant synthesis and lung function at birth. Conditional deletion of Emc3 in murine embryonic lung epithelial cells disrupted the synthesis and packaging of surfactant lipids and proteins, impaired the formation of lamellar bodies, and induced the unfolded protein response in alveolar type 2 (AT2) cells. EMC3 was essential for the processing and routing of surfactant proteins, SP-B and SP-C, and the biogenesis of the phospholipid transport protein ABCA3. Transcriptomic, lipidomic, and proteomic analyses demonstrated that EMC3 coordinates the assembly of lipids and proteins in AT2 cells that is necessary for surfactant synthesis and function at birth.
Xiaofang Tang, John M. Snowball, Yan Xu, Cheng-Lun Na, Timothy E. Weaver, Geremy Clair, Jennifer E. Kyle, Erika M. Zink, Charles Ansong, Wei Wei, Meina Huang, Xinhua Lin, Jeffrey A. Whitsett
Acute lung injury is a leading cause of death in bacterial sepsis due to the wholesale destruction of the lung endothelial barrier, which results in protein-rich lung edema, influx of proinflammatory leukocytes, and intractable hypoxemia. Pyroptosis is a form of programmed lytic cell death that is triggered by inflammatory caspases, but little is known about its role in EC death and acute lung injury. Here, we show that systemic exposure to the bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) causes severe endothelial pyroptosis that is mediated by the inflammatory caspases, human caspases 4/5 in human ECs, or the murine homolog caspase-11 in mice in vivo. In caspase-11–deficient mice, BM transplantation with WT hematopoietic cells did not abrogate endotoxemia-induced acute lung injury, indicating a central role for nonhematopoietic caspase-11 in endotoxemia. Additionally, conditional deletion of caspase-11 in ECs reduced endotoxemia-induced lung edema, neutrophil accumulation, and death. These results establish the requisite role of endothelial pyroptosis in endotoxemic tissue injury and suggest that endothelial inflammatory caspases are an important therapeutic target for acute lung injury.
Kwong Tai Cheng, Shiqin Xiong, Zhiming Ye, Zhigang Hong, Anke Di, Kit Man Tsang, Xiaopei Gao, Shejuan An, Manish Mittal, Stephen M. Vogel, Edward A. Miao, Jalees Rehman, Asrar B. Malik
P-element–induced wimpy testes (Piwi) proteins are known for suppressing retrotransposon activation in the mammalian germline. However, whether Piwi protein or Piwi-dependent functions occur in the mammalian soma is unclear. Contrary to germline-restricted expression, we observed that Piwi-like Miwi2 mRNA is indeed expressed in epithelial cells of the lung in adult mice and that it is induced during pneumonia. Further investigation revealed that MIWI2 protein localized to the cytoplasm of a discrete population of multiciliated airway epithelial cells. Isolation and next-generation sequencing of MIWI2-positive multiciliated cells revealed that they are phenotypically distinct from neighboring MIWI2-negative multiciliated cells. Mice lacking MIWI2 exhibited an altered balance of airway epithelial cells, demonstrating fewer multiciliated cells and an increase in club cells. During pneumococcal pneumonia, Miwi2-deficient mice exhibited increased expression of inflammatory mediators and increased immune cell recruitment, leading to enhanced bacterial clearance. Taken together, our data delineate MIWI2-dependent functions outside of the germline and demonstrate the presence of distinct subsets of airway multiciliated cells that can be discriminated by MIWI2 expression. By demonstrating roles for MIWI2 in airway cell identity and pulmonary innate immunity, these studies elucidate unanticipated physiological functions for Piwi proteins in somatic tissues.
Gregory A. Wasserman, Aleksander D. Szymaniak, Anne C. Hinds, Kazuko Yamamoto, Hirofumi Kamata, Nicole M.S. Smith, Kristie L. Hilliard, Claudia Carrieri, Adam T. Labadorf, Lee J. Quinton, Xingbin Ai, Xaralabos Varelas, Felicia Chen, Joseph P. Mizgerd, Alan Fine, Dónal O'Carroll, Matthew R. Jones
TGF-β1 signaling is a critical driver of collagen accumulation and fibrotic disease but also a vital suppressor of inflammation and epithelial cell proliferation. The nature of this multifunctional cytokine has limited the development of global TGF-β1 signaling inhibitors as therapeutic agents. We conducted phenotypic screens for small molecules that inhibit TGF-β1–induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition without immediate TGF-β1 receptor (TβR) kinase inhibition. We identified trihydroxyphenolic compounds as potent blockers of TGF-β1 responses (IC50 ~50 nM), Snail1 expression, and collagen deposition in vivo in models of pulmonary fibrosis and collagen-dependent lung cancer metastasis. Remarkably, the functional effects of trihydroxyphenolics required the presence of active lysyl oxidase–like 2 (LOXL2), thereby limiting effects to fibroblasts or cancer cells, the major LOXL2 producers. Mechanistic studies revealed that trihydroxyphenolics induce auto-oxidation of a LOXL2/3–specific lysine (K731) in a time-dependent reaction that irreversibly inhibits LOXL2 and converts the trihydrophenolic to a previously undescribed metabolite that directly inhibits TβRI kinase. Combined inhibition of LOXL2 and TβRI activities by trihydrophenolics resulted in potent blockade of pathological collagen accumulation in vivo without the toxicities associated with global inhibitors. These findings elucidate a therapeutic approach to attenuate fibrosis and the disease-promoting effects of tissue stiffness by specifically targeting TβRI kinase in LOXL2-expressing cells.
Ying Wei, Thomas J. Kim, David H. Peng, Dana Duan, Don L. Gibbons, Mitsuo Yamauchi, Julia R. Jackson, Claude J. Le Saux, Cheresa Calhoun, Jay Peters, Rik Derynck, Bradley J. Backes, Harold A. Chapman


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We live in a nation that put a man on the moon, discovered a cure for polio and invented the airplane.
We're also the nation that came up with the Tide Pod Challenge, apparently.
Recently, there's been an alarming trend of people eating detergent capsules and posting the results on the Internet. As you might imagine, eating detergent pods filled with toxic substances is rarely, if ever, positive. At the very least, the person doing it looks like a fool, at the very worst eating laundry detergent results in injury and has the potential to result in death.
Shocking, I know.
Why do people do this? What possibly compels people to stick these laundry detergent-filled pods into their mouths and then swallow the contents? Don't we spend our entire childhood not using foul language in an attempt not to have our mouths filled with soap? Why, exactly, are people doing this voluntarily?
I suppose it would be simply enough to dismiss this as "society is getting dumber." And truthfully, considering the very nature of the act, I would be hard-pressed to make an argument against that particular theory. However, I can't help but wonder if there's not just a little more to it than that.
Some people — particularly younger ones — are in serious need of attention.
People are not doing this challenge in secret. It's not as if people are finding unconscious bodies in dark alleys, streams of bubbles oozing from their mouths. People are making sure they are doing this in front of a camera, recording the results and then uploading it to the Internet for all of the world to see.
These people are are so desperate for attention — and, admittedly, some warped sort of fame and adulation — that they are willing to do anything, up to and including eating toxic materials, for some sort of fame. In their minds, any attention is good attention. They are dying — and the potential is certainly there for it to happen in the most literal sense — for our attention.
Of course, there's a certain element of people out there who think this is something only kids are doing because, well, kids are dumb. For starters, it's not only kids who are doing it. There are just as many adults out there doing the Tide Pod Challenge as there are kids and teenagers. And second, it's not as if this is the first generation to engage in seemingly stupid activities in an attempt to get the attention they so desperately crave.
In the 1920s, there was something called "flagpole sitting" — which is exactly like what it sounds. People would literally sit atop flagpoles — some of which were affixed to tall buildings — for hours, even days, at a time. This was followed by games of "chicken," in which two cars would speed toward one another until the loser swerved off the path. Russian roulette. Car surfing.
Whether we want to admit it our not, our history is riddled with incredibly dangerous — and yes, incredibly stupid — fads. The current generation hasn't exactly cornered the market on the youthful desire to have people watching them or committing insanely ignorant acts in an attempt to do so.
The biggest difference, of course, is that YouTube and other such websites have given them the vehicle to broadcast these acts to the world. With a few simple clicks, millions are watching. And, make no mistake, millions are watching. Which, of course, is a large part of the problem. Every time we click on the latest fad, we are encouraging the current and the next stupid fad.
Which isn't to say we are to blame. Obviously the people who are eating detergent packets are doing so of their own volition. Nobody is having them forced down their throats (at least not yet … hard telling what will happen next on the Internet).
That being said, these people don't need our derision, simple as that may be. They need help. Clearly there is something missing in their lives. Tide Pods are simply the first cry for attention.
Who is to say what might be next?
David Fong wrotes for the Troy Daily News, a division of Aim Media Midwest.


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Resolution, justification, redemption and an impulse to play it safe define this year's Best Picture nominees. All five of them are safe choices, which could mean progress in certain areas – a Bollywood-esque movie, a film where two men openly kiss in the first few scenes and no one really freaked out about it? Not only did they not freak out about it but most of the time it wasn't even mentioned. The love story was not controversial but perfectly normal; at least in the circles I visit. Maybe in some regions of the country, it is still considered quite scandalous. Even still, Milk is a traditional biopic the way Slumdog is a traditional fairy tale. There is nothing particularly new about Frost/Nixon. Benjamin Button is modern technology but a traditional love story, albeit a fantastical one. And The Reader is like stepping into a comfortable pair of shoes. This is not to say the films aren't spectacular, memorable, life-affirming or even Oscar-worthy, it's just to say that this year, voters decided not to take the big risks.
One thing that is hard to accept about Oscar season but is as real as the sun coming up every morning is that the best picture race isn't really about the five best films of the year. It's the five best campaigns of the year. And for that, you really have to hand it to the professionals who delivered these five nominations. These people, the shadow figures in the background, are who drive the Oscar race. The voters might think they are really voting from their heart, but I've come to realize that it's not unlike my favorite Citizen Kane line, "people will think…" "What I tell them to think." These are beautifully orchestrated campaigns by very smart, driven and passionate people who never get credit. Harvey Weinstein gets some credit but even he is only part of what has driven the Weinstein films this year.
They are rarely thanked at the podium because no one wants to admit that the man (or woman, most of the time woman) who helped usher their project to the Oscars was a mastermind at targeting the right people at the right time. I marvel at what they do. They are required to remain stealth or else they lose their credibility. They are the main players in the Oscar race and most people have no idea. The collection of nominees at the end of the year are there because they are, in effect, corralled in. They are the choice horses, if you will, separated from the pack early because they look like winners.
To that end, it is like a horse race, even though people will tell you that's insulting. Even Slumdog Millionaire, which really did come from nowhere, was put into that coral. It was a late-comer but those legs, there was no mistaking them for speed and stamina.
It isn't necessarily that the films are chosen out of the gate (sometimes they are; four of the five nominees this year were), or chosen after they dazzle the public, it is what kind of run they are given once that choice is made. No one knows this but the publicists are the most interesting and hard-working people in the Oscar race.  You saw a little bit of it when Mickey Rourke thanked his publicist for telling him what to say, what to do, what to fuck.
Once you know this about the Oscar race, though, a bit of the impossibility of things rubs away. For me, these days, what excited me after ten years of covering this stuff is when an impossibility hovers on the edges, like the potential for a comic book movie to be nominated for the first time, or the potential for a black lead actor and a black lead actress to win in the same year. Perhaps, though, that is a misguided passion – after all, the Oscar race is a business. It isn't a form of entertainment.
What has been frustrating this year is that The Dark Knight and Wall-E didn't make the Best Picture cut. Evolution, it seemed, had been cut at the knees.  Both films seemed to have much to say about our world but especially Wall-E. Perhaps the popularity of The Dark Knight and Wall-E resulted in a weird sort of canceled vote; anyone not willing to vote for the more standard fare, those who wanted to go out on a limb, either chose Wall-E OR The Dark Knight. If there had been less division on those two films maybe one of them would be in the Best Picture race.
But what do we have now and where do they fit in to our modern world?
Slumdog Millionaire – a film that started out the year as the most shaggy underdog you've ever seen. But it was immediately apparent out of Telluride and Toronto that Slumdog was already leaving viewers breathless. It was helped by the odd turn of events that took many of the Oscar contenders out of Toronto. So much momentum for a contender can be deflated on one bad screening at the fest, so in effect, Slumdog had an empty track with no other horses racing against it. The only other strong contender at that time was The Wrestler, which was also gaining strong buzz early on.
Slumdog Millionaire is not, I don't think, a film that is about hope and optimism against all odds. It isn't about that at all. It is about fate. It is about keeping one's fantasies alive. There is nothing realistic about the way that film tells its story; it is a fairy tale all the way. Why? Because it is written. Fate takes hold of Jamal and lifts him up out of poverty. This is, I believe, a Bollywood necessity; the way it was a necessity for us during the Depression. And now we need it too. It isn't that the public has gripped tightly to Slumdog, because most of them haven't seen it yet. Once they do, you can bet they will agree with the small circle of people who decide how these film awards will go. Although the times are good Slumdog, this is a film that would probably be in the Oscar race no matter what year it was released. Why it's a winner is because it has no true formidable challenger.
One of the reasons is that, if you go by the theory that the Oscar best picture race is about the director, Danny Boyle's time has come. The versatile director has been just outside Hollywood but has been developing a following for decades. Remember, he as once hailed as the Second Coming but then he did The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio, it flopped, and it was back to square one for him. He has never done anything stale or unoriginal. This is part of what makes this film a winner. Little Miss Sunshine would have been a winner if its directors had been as revered as Danny Boyle. It is the key ingredient. Sometimes a film can win without the director being the star but most of the time, we need to celebrate the person (usually the man, the white, straight man) behind the vision.
That man might have been David Fincher if Danny Boyle hadn't directed such a vibrant, popular film. Benjamin Button was in line to be this year's big winner. It was hurt early on by being the so-called frontrunner. Therefore, the publicists on that movie had the year's hardest job by far. Not only is the frontrunner used for target practice always but it is the movie voters usually say, "okay what else is there to root for?" No one likes to be a foregone conclusion. The films we vote for, root for, cheer for define who we are. And thus, you have to figure which film do voters want to be associated with? This year, no other film took a beating like Benjamin Button did from the chattering class. It was as thought they took all of their collective hate for Forrest Gump, Brangelina, and the Oscar race and heaped it on this movie. I have never seen anything like it in the ten years I've been doing this, which is odd considering David Fincher is like a God to many of the net geeks out there.
Ryan says that Benjamin Button will be the one film rediscovered and appreciated because it will need more time.¬† I don't think anyone could have predicted the kind of venom certain people would have for this film – and most of the complaints are twofold – it's too much like Forrest Gump and it's too long. The first one is irrelevant since most writers revisit similar themes in their work and no one says a damned thing about it (they just hate Forrest Gump that much), and if it's too long for them, well that just makes them look bad. One needs the attention span of an adult to sit for three hours, it's true, but if you're paying attention to this film, it is anything but boring.¬† Most people, most men let's face it, were left untouched by it, perhaps because they couldn't quite get into Brad Pitt as this character. But time will vindicate Benjamin Button, I have a feeling. And maybe the Academy will ignore the chattering class, after all, they nominated the thing for 13 Oscars, for chrissakes. That shows that in the moment they saw it, they loved it.
Milk is probably the film that could win if there was more time between now and ballots being turned in. I feel certain that the two true underdogs in this race are Milk and The Reader. Milk needed to find its way out of being an agenda movie and into its own artfulness. Funnily enough, I feel the buzz building for Milk in an organic way. I know it must sound funny to read this while ads for the film flash at you on top of the page but the truth is that those ads would probably be there anyway, no matter what film was up for this award and it's probably true that no blogger will really trash a film that an advertiser has paid good money for — but I'll let you in on a little secret; I don't like publicly trashing movies. I never have, even before I was getting advertising. I don't really think it's my job nor my role in this race. You can certainly lodge that complaint against me if you'd like but I try to maintain the rule that I am not here to knock out any contender. I would never want to be that person. Too much is on the line.¬† But back to Milk — though the film was professionally delivered into the Oscar race and was handled by one of the best in the business, it is also gaining momentum through word of mouth. But I feel it would need more time to overtake Slumdog and I'm not sure it could anyway.
What I loved about Milk was Sean Penn's performance, for one thing. But also the natural way the love stories unfolded. This is a year where activism of that order is appreciated. We now know, because we've seen it in the Obama race, that one person really can make a significant difference in the world. Milk seems to be celebrating someone who'd mostly been forgotten. Whether the film wins big or not, Harvey Milk has been resurrected. People will know his name.
The Reader is the movie that has taken the most heat for taking The Dark Knight or Wall-E slot. The truth is, the film is strong because it was produced by Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack. It really is just the fact of the matter. Also, as I said, it was going to be a movie Academy members wanted to see because it featured Kate Winslet in the altogether having sex (quite erotic sex) with a 15 year-old. Think of what a slog it must be to be a voter. Half the movies sitting on the pile are too exhausting to contemplate watching, let alone actually watching. But The Reader was one, as opposed to depressing fare like Revolutionary Road, which offered the year's only true eroticism. And there is always one in the bunch, isn't there? The only other one that was close was Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a movie far too irritating to really be a strong contender. Kate has been naked and sexy before heading into the race, like in Little Children, but the eroticism factor is just one advantage to a film that had other strong advantages, like Minghella and Pollack, like Harvey Weinstein, like the Holocaust as subject matter.   It is driven by Winslet's remarkably strong performance. And it's beautiful to look at. Finally, it's one of the few of the five that is a potential tearjerker. But it isn't really a movie for our time. It is a good old fashioned Oscar movie.
Frost/Nixon, speaking of good old fashioned Oscar movies, this is one. This film was like Michael Clayton, it just had its spot in the race and nothing was going to move it out. A friend of mine said to me, "the only two movies I want to see this year are Slumdog Millionaire and Frost/Nixon." I think most people want to see Frost/Nixon and when I played the films for my family at Christmas the two they most liked were Slumdog and Frost/Nixon. Is it the most original movie ever made? No. Is the director well-liked and a star this year? Yep. The film is driven by Frank Langella's brilliant incarnation of Richard Nixon. If it weren't already celebrated on Broadway it would be celebrated now.
The five Best Pictures this year, admittedly, are nothing to write home about, meaning, none of them will really set the world on fire in ten year's time. Most will fade in memory because the Oscars are a snapshot in time. This is where we were in 2008 (minus two very big films).


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