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Gamer (US - BD RA)
Gabe doesn't really like this movie, but this Blu-ray is nearly perfect otherwise...
Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall) has revolutionized the gaming industry with self-replicating nanites that colonize in the human brain, gradually replacing the existing brain cells and allowing full motor function control by a third party. The technology is first used for a SIMS-like game called 'Society', where real people are paid to act as living surrogates. Even more popular is Castle's newest creation—'Slayers', a game in which death row inmates are 'played' in violent battle situations. Any inmate who lives through thirty matches wins a full pardon. Slayers is broadcast live, and is a massive money maker on Pay-Per-View. The most popular inmate is code-named Kable (Gerard Butler), who is played by a popular player named Simon (Logan Lerman), and who is on his way to freedom with twenty-seven wins.
Gamer was not a film I expected to have anything to say about. The only interest I had in the film had to do with my affection towards writer/director team Neveldine/Taylor's Crank films, but the plot presented by the trailers did not induce excitement. I expected to find myself struggling to gather more than a handful of words expressing my apathy; instead I'm presented with an oddly intriguing mess of a movie. My initial gut-feeling is that the people the advertisements were tailored towards, those expecting mindless, exciting action violence, will be very disappointed. Gamer is a surprising, and sincerely subversive little film, and the writer/directors have no qualms letting lose their artistic impulses, aggressive though they may be. The battle scenes are exciting enough, kind of like music video, Cliff's Notes versions of Children of Men's final battle sequence, but they numb, and grow confusing very quickly, which leaves audiences only with the film's ideas and sick sense of humour to latch onto. And the ideas take up the vast majority of the runtime. This is, like the Crank films, a vainglorious art film disguised as a dumb action film. I don't necessarily like this particular brand of art that much (it's a bit to 'Frat Boy Chic'), but I really must recognize it for what it is—downright experimental. I hesitantly compare the film to the art-house horror/sci-fi hybrids that came out of the late '80s and early '90s, specifically those of an un-American origin, like Stephen Norrington's Death Machine, or Richard Stanley's Hardware and Dust Devil.
The basic plot is unoriginal, lowest common denominator junk for the most part. The value of the story, what little there is, is found in the treatment of the utter clichés. The philosophical and moral implications are heavy-handed, and have been handled much better in many other films, but they're still treated in an at least interesting fashion. The 'SIMS' element is almost interesting, where the Running Man criminal elements are same-old, same-old. There are already plenty of fun movies out there that make a point against violence using entertaining violence (the '80s are practically definable as an era of subversive action epics). The mind control and avatar human stuff has also been done before, and better, in movies like Strange Days, The Matrix, and most recently the television series Dollhouse, which this film shares a lot in common with (unfortunately, actually, as Dollhouse eventually figured out how to do it well). But these obvious shortcomings are reasonably balanced by Neveldine/Taylor's obvious artistic merits, and the shortcomings often come out of obvious homage paid to other subversive sci-fi actioneers. There are some visually pointed sci-fi homage throughout, including Kable's wife's wardrobe (which includes bits of Blade Runner, The Running Man and The Fifth Element). The homage is fun, but does end up adding to the overall mess, which is the film's lasting legacy.
Gamer is yet another Neveldine/Taylor low-budgeter (well, lowish, certainly by Hollywood standards) that looks better than many big budget releases, thanks to the directors' knowledge of the cheap digital HD format, and the new Red brand digital cameras, which are, according to the extras, the bee's knees. The film features just about every kind of photography you could want to see on your hi-def set, from extremely detailed close-ups, to wide shots with hundreds of digital augmentations. You'll find grainy shots, dark shots, crystalline shots, deep focus shots, shallow focus shots, monochromatic shots, mega-colourful shots, and not shot is free of post-production meddling. It's a visual over-load that doesn't quite serve the story, but the random yet perfect nature makes for a great, mindless chunk of reference quality. The real world and the Slayers world are both beautifully grimy, swimming in dirty, dark details, and sharp, high contrast edges, while the Society scenes are swimming with candy coated and black light endowed colours. Despite all the styles, the quality based on style limitations is incredibly consistent, and at their best these images will give your set a rough and tumble workout. Some of the solid colours blend rather awkwardly, in sections rather than a steady stream, but I'm having trouble finding anything genuinely bad to say about the transfer.
The Gamer sound design matches the visual information overload, and this DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track is one to be reckoned with. Anything that can make noise will make noise, and nothing is too obscure to not be accompanied by an aggressive flash of aural attack. The battle scenes are the clear spot to start if you're looking for reference material. These scenes include both traditional blow-up noise, and the strange glitches of the video game environment. The mixes most interesting addition is the use of dialogue effects, which change channel location regularly. The coolest example of this is the kid's voice during Kable's P.O.V. shots, which is moved into the rear channels, to exact the effect of hearing a voice in your own head. The Society scenes are a bit more cartoonish, and poppy. For these scenes abstract effects, such as the roars of big cats, are added into the mix, along with amplified versions of real set sounds. The musical soundtrack is a punchy mix of pop, metal, and more traditional classical score, that definitely works for the film's style, and definitely fills out the soundtrack with sheer noise levels. The track scores extra points for having such a thick LFE channel. Even during the bassier songs things never warble or vibrate in an abrasive manner.
Gamer isn't a great film, but Neveldine and Taylor are really into interaction with their audiences, so this Blu-ray is pretty darn loaded with extras. The first of three viewing modes is the I-Con Mode visual commentary (which lasts a solid two hours and twelve minutes). This is similar to the visual commentary they did for Crank 2, just more extensive. The directors both look a little awkward talking to us, but it's a good commentary (I love learning ways to save money), the behind the scenes extras are pretty good in this context, and their use of the rewind option is usually amusing. The inclusion of deleted snippets is an original enough touch for the format. There's also a traditional audio commentary featuring the directors, and actors Amber Valletta, Alison Lohman, and Terry Crews, which can be watched with the 'Cheat Code' mode, which links you too various specialized commentaries (cinematographer, stunt coordinator, production designer, editors and composers), and behind the scenes featurettes. The commentary covers a lot of similar ground with the I-Con commentary, but the actors are around to make a few comments and laugh at the director's jokes, and the Cheat Codes are plentiful and informative. For time's sake I ended up having to stop short of watching everything here, but what I got was solid.
But it doesn't stop with 'in-movie' extras. Next up is 'Inside the Game: Controlling Gamer' (80:00, HD), an extensive three-part documentary on the making of the film. This doc covers pretty much every base, from every stage of production, cinematography, casting, and acting, but is most interesting when the directors are talking about their creative freedom, which came at the cost of a bigger budget, or the crew is talking about the film's bizarre look. Apparently the film was intended as a 3D release, but the budget worked against it. This doc is so interesting, and so informative (this is the only time I've seen a documentary spend more than a minute to discuss the visual advantages of 1.85 vs. 2.35:1) it makes me want to like the film more than I do, and makes me want to keep this team making their own brand of weird action films. Next up is 'First Person Shooter: The Evolution of Red' (16:50, HD), a look at the production's digital HD cameras, the new Red Digital models. This featurette explains the camera system's advantages without talking down to the audience. It's kind of an elongated ad, but a very interesting one. The extensive extras are wrapped up with two trailers, and trailers for other Lionsgate releases.
In the end I find Gamer much more interesting than I expected based on the commercials, but it's still not a genuinely good movie. I recommend a rental to sci-fi fans, and recommend avoidance for anyone expecting Hollywood style violence. Any movie featuring a villainous Michael C. Hall dancing soft shoe in silhouette while puppeteering a line of hardened criminals with his mind can't be all bad. The good news is the disc looks and sounds freaking fantastic. We're talking reference level stuff all around. And the extras are some of the best, most inclusive, and well produced I've seen in a while. There's enough stuff here to make disbelievers want to like the film more than they do, especially the feature length, three part making-of documentary. At the very least you're going to get your money's worth out of this disc.
*Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray release.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian
Disc Details
Release Date: 19th January 2010
Discs: 2
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 1.85:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 French
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Extras: I-Con Mode, Gamer Cheat Codes, Making-Of Pods, Director and Cast Commentary, Inside the Game, First Person Shooter: The Evolution of Red, Trailers, Lionsgate Live, Digital Copy
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Neveldine/Taylor
Cast: Gerard Butler, Michael C. Hall, Amber Valletta, Logan Lerman, Terry Crews, Ludacris, Kyra Sedgwick
Genre: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi and War
Length: 95 minutes
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Skip to comments.FAA grounds Boeing's 787 Dreamliner jets
Posted on 01/16/2013 3:49:40 PM PST by AnAmericanAbroad
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration says it is requiring airlines to temporarily stop flying Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.
The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday ordered U.S. airlines to temporarily stop flying Boeing's 787 Dreamliner following a series of mishaps.
The agency said the decision to ground Boeing 787s was prompted by a second incident involving lithium ion battery failure.
Earlier Wednesday, Japan's two leading airlines grounded their fleets of Boeing 787s after one of the Dreamliner passenger jets made an emergency landing.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.msn.com ...
This has nothing to do with the NLRB-—(snort)
Hmmm. If it's Boeing, I ain't going...
Li-ion is a BAD technology.
It's one thing to make billions of Li-ion batteries and put them into throw away cell phones, etc.
It's quite another to rely on them in a plane carrying a couple hundred folks.
I will never understand this fascination with pushing the envelope when it comes to stuff like this.
They should be sticking to the tried-and-true. Lead acid is PROVEN tech that has over a century of reliable service!
A VOLT with wings.
But, good for me: I have a short position in BA and it is smelling like money!!!
Maybe the Dreamliner should be called Nightmareliner.
How many gazillions of dollars is it going to cost Boeing to install a different type of battery?
You would think that as long as it took to get this jet into service they would have seen the Li-Ion battery problem pop up once or twice.
actually the planes all entered service at the same time.
so there was no extended shakedown period for a few planes.
if they had flow a couple of them instensely before putting the entire fleet into operation they would have cought this during the shakedown phase.
Stupid is as stupid does. Forrest Gump
The first plane off the assembly line went directly to a customer? I find that hard to believe.
so, I wiki'd it: (bolded text indicates they MAY have had this problem pop up.)
The 787 flight test program was composed of 6 aircraft, ZA001 through ZA006, four with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines and two with GE GEnx-1B64 engines. The second 787, ZA002 in All Nippon Airways livery, flew to Boeing Field on December 22, 2009, to join the flight test program;[105][106] the third 787, ZA004 joined the test fleet with its first flight on February 24, 2010, followed by ZA003 on March 14, 2010.[107] On March 24, 2010, testing for flutter and ground effects was completed, clearing the aircraft to fly its entire flight envelope.[108] On March 28, 2010, the 787 completed the ultimate wing load test, which requires that the wings of a fully assembled aircraft be loaded to 150% of design limit load and held for 3 seconds. The wings were flexed approximately 25 ft (7.6 m) upward during the test.[109] Unlike past aircraft however, the wings were not tested to failure.[110][111] On April 7, Boeing announced that analysis of the data showed the test was a success.[112]
On April 23, 2010, Boeing delivered the newest 787, ZA003, to the McKinley Climatic Laboratory hangar at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, for extreme weather testing in temperatures ranging from 115 to -45 °F (46 to -43 °C), and prepare it for takeoff at both temperature extremes.[113] Dreamliner ZA005, the fifth 787 and the first with General Electric GEnx engines began ground engine tests in May 2010.[114] ZA005 made its first flight on June 16, 2010 and joined the flight test program.[115] In June 2010, gaps were discovered in the horizontal stabilizers of test aircraft, due to improperly installed shims; all aircraft produced then were to be inspected and repaired.[116] That same month, a 787 experienced an in-flight lightning strike, allowing engineers the opportunity to examine the aircraft's design tolerances.[117] Since composites can have as little as 1/1,000th the electrical conductivity of aluminum, Boeing engineers had added conductive material to ameliorate potential risks and to meet FAA requirements.[79][118][119] FAA management was also planning to adjust requirements to help the 787 show compliance.[120] Inspections following the 787's first recorded lightning strike showed no damage to the aircraft.[117] The first 787 to visit Europe, ZA003 at the 2010 Farnborough Airshow
The 787 made its first appearance at an international air show at the Farnborough Airshow, UK, on July 18, 2010.[121] On August 2, a Trent 1000 engine suffered a blowout at Rolls-Royce's test facility during ground testing.[122] The failure caused Boeing to reevaluate its timeline for installing Trent 1000 engines, and on August 27, 2010 the manufacturer confirmed that the first delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airways would be delayed until early 2011.[123][124] That same month, Boeing faced compensation claims from airlines owing to ongoing delivery delays.[125] On September 9, 2010, it was reported that a further two 787s might join the test fleet, making a total of eight flight test aircraft.[126] On September 10, 2010, a partial engine surge or runaway occurred in a Trent engine on ZA001 at Roswell.[127] On October 4, 2010, the sixth 787, ZA006 joined the test program with its first flight.[128] Front/side view of white 787 on static display. Stairway is positioned ahead of the right engine for access into cabin. The third 787 built, on static display in 2010
On November 5, 2010, it was reported that some early 787 deliveries may be delayed, in one case some three months, to allow for rework to address problems found during flight testing.[129][130] On November 9, 2010, Boeing 787, ZA002 made an emergency landing after smoke and flames were detected in the main cabin during a test flight over Texas. A Boeing spokeswoman said the airliner landed safely and the crew was evacuated after landing at the Laredo International Airport, Texas.[131][132][133] The electrical fire caused some systems to fail before landing.[134] Following this incident, Boeing suspended flight testing on November 10, 2010. Ground testing was performed instead.[135][136] On November 22, 2010, Boeing announced that the in-flight fire can be primarily attributed to foreign object debris (FOD) that was present in the electrical bay.[137] After electrical system and software changes, the 787 resumed company flight testing on December 23, 2010.[138][139]
In January 2011, Boeing announced that the first 787 delivery was rescheduled to the third quarter of 2011 due to software and electrical updates following the in-flight fire.[140][141] On February 24, 2011, Boeing announced that the 787 had completed 80% of the test conditions for Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine and 60% of the conditions for the General Electric GEnx-1B engine.[142] On July 4, 2011, All Nippon Airways began a week of airline operations testing using a 787 in Japan.[143] As of August 15, 2011, the 787 test aircraft have flown 4,828 hours in 1,707 flights combined.[107] During testing the 787 has visited 14 countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America to test in extreme climates and conditions, and to perform route testing.[144] Boeing completed certification testing for Rolls-Royce powered 787-8s on August 13, 2011.[145] The FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency certified the 787 on August 26, 2011, at a ceremony in Everett, Washington.
Much different scale obviously, but my son used to race RC cars. We got the brushless motors and LiOn batteries when they first came out. Through our experience, most of which was bad, we came to be careful with these batteries. We smoked more than one. You had to be very careful with the rate of charge or they would just get hotter and hotter until they ignited.
They did discharge very fast and made fast cars.
They were so far behind schedule they had no choice.
No choice? Passenger safety is ALWAYS a choice!
That's the tombstone test plan. Changes will be made if enough tombstones are the result of their jackass design.
maybe the idea of having parts made and assembled in many countries is not as good as say using Whichita,KS or Redmond. As a member of the flying public and no aviation experience I thought it was odd when Boeing said they would build a "world" plane. oh well - BTW isn't one of the geniuses of the world plane now head of Ford?
I worked on systems for that program that had many problems, there were assemblies that went on that plane that I thought were not ready to. I agree passenger safety is always the most important thing, however program managers under pressure to deliver may not agree!
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text:
Blame savvy consumers for declining third-quarter profits at Ford Motor Credit.
Ford didn't say that, of course. They know better than to blame the consumer for anything. But the numbers back up my assertion.
Ford says the financing arm's net profits fell 30 percent to $350 million, while pretax profits fell 24 percent to $581 million.
It gave two reasons for the pretax slide: fewer off-lease vehicles that Ford Credit could sell at a gain, and lower credit-loss reserve reductions.
The latter is an accounting issue. But the former reflects consumers' taking advantage of sky-high residual values for used vehicles.
Ford Credit would love to take back your car or truck when the lease expires, then sell it for more than it had anticipated when it forecast the residual value at the start of the lease. But many consumers are saying, "No, thanks," and keeping the vehicle.
Whether they continue to drive it or sell it themselves, they're not letting Ford Credit grab the potential profit.
And we're talking about a lot of consumers.
During a conference call to discuss the earnings, Ford said that historically about 70 percent of off-lease vehicles come back to the captive finance company. In the third quarter, that number tumbled to just 48 percent for Ford and Lincoln vehicles.


text:
As always, SNL had its ups and downs this year. For every insta-classic Maya Rudolph episode, there was a stinker hosted by Daniel Craig; for every innovative new sketch (come on, you liked "The Californians" the first time it aired), there was a bit that wore out its welcome long ago (did we really need to see Gilly one last time?).
Still, the year's five most popular sketches exemplify why EW's Ken Tucker thinks Saturday Night Live is "displaying a surge of renewed energy it hasn't shown for a long time" — they're fresh, funny, and largely original, though one marked the first appearance of a recurring character and another is a riff on one of the sketch show's biggest hits ever. Interestingly enough, the top three are all pre-recorded videos rather than bits that were performed live — though there's only one Digital Short in the mix, indicating that SNL should do just fine without the viral efforts of Andy Samberg and the Lonely Island, who departed the show in May.
So without further ado, here's Hulu's list of 2012's most-watched SNL sketches. It's a solid inventory that largely coincides with my personal picks for the year's funniest bits — though I'm sorry that Louis C.K.'s Lincoln didn't make the cut.
5. "The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party"
Is Cecily Strong's breakout character SNL's new Stefon? Either way, she hasn't worn out her welcome yet — though her first appearance, which came during one of SNL's Weekend Update Thursday specials, remains her funniest. [takes out phone]
4. "Puppet Class"
Seth Macfarlane started off SNL's 38th season with a bang — but in this sketch, his thunder was easily stolen by Bill Hader, who really deserves that Emmy he lost to Eric Stonestreet in September.
3. "Lazy Sunday 2"
Andy Samberg went back to basics for his last Digital Short, bringing in Chris Parnell for a sequel to the massive hit that became one of the first professionally made viral videos. That's how it began, and that's how he's gonna finish it:
2. "Undecided Voter"
"When is the election? How soon do we have to decide? What are the names of the two people running? And be specific." Turns out impressions aren't necessary for a great political sketch — as long as it's executed this well.
1. "Disney Housewives"
A pitch-perfect parody of Bravo's Real Housewives franchise would have been good enough. A spoof that incorporated Disney's beloved princess characters would have been even better. But a sketch that did both of those things — and found the ideal way to showcase host Lindsay Lohan? That belongs at the top of a "most popular" list. Eight-way high five!
Read more:
Best and Worst 2012: The five best stand-up albums of the year
Samuel L. Jackson blames Kenan Thompson for his 'SNL' foul — VIDEO


text:
Nobody really wants to think about economics, the famously dismal science, while sitting down at a table loaded with love and calories. Like it or not, though, supply and demand drive food production and set the price of dinner.
So, in a season of feasts, what are the business stories on your holiday menu?
The big one is last summer's drought and its slow, rolling impact on food prices. If you recall, the Midwest suffered through one of the worst droughts in half a century. Corn yields fell to a level last seen in the mid-1990s. With corn in short supply, prices for animal feed spiked. There were predictions that pork, poultry and beef producers would go out of business, and consumers would see a shortage of meat.
So far, most of those fears have not come true. Poultry and pork producers seem to be riding out the crisis. Data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture don't show any major cutback in production, and prices are stable — although that still could change in a few months.
Beef prices, on the other hand, did hit new records in November. But industry economists say you can't blame the great drought of 2012. It's too soon. The cycle of beef production, from breeding to slaughter, takes so long that today's prices reflect decisions that beef producers made a couple of years ago. According to Steve Meyer, president of Paragon Economics, we're paying more for beef today because of two things: a drought in 2011 that hit Texas and Oklahoma, and a long-term rise in corn prices that began back in 2008. Considering these time lags, it's quite likely that this year's drought will influence the supply (and price) of beef for at least another year or two.
If you're pulling out butter and milk for baking, though, or laying out a spread of cheese, you're getting closer to the drought's real impact. High feed prices have hit dairies hard, especially in California. Many milk producers are sending cows to slaughter, milk production is falling, and prices are rising.
Yet even here, economic forces push in complicated ways, and the drought is only part of the picture. Dairy prices aren't actually much higher than last year — but last year's high prices were due to surging demand, in foreign markets, for U.S. cheese. This year, it's because U.S. farmers are going out of business.
It would be too bad to end on such a dreary note, so let's turn our attention briefly to another holiday staple that's making a stirring comeback: sweet potatoes.
U.S. consumption of sweet potatoes hit an all-time high way, way, back in the 1930s, then went into a long, slow decline, bottoming out in the 1980s. But now the sweet potato is back. Americans are eating twice as much of this vegetable as they were 20 years ago. The reason? Sweet potato fries. This vegetable is no longer just a holiday staple; it's claimed a spot in the real centerpiece of the American diet: the snack.
For more on the traditions and costs of our favorite holiday foods, check out my radio story by clicking on the listen link above.
Well, now to those of you doing holiday planning in this country, you might be thinking about the dinner menu, writing out that shopping list. We were actually curious about some of your favorite holiday meals, and hundreds of you told us about them on Facebook. They sound delicious. Sadly, we couldn't cook the dishes, but we did spread out photos and invited NPR's food and agriculture correspondent Dan Charles to the table so we could learn more about some of the ingredients.
DAN CHARLES, BYLINE: There were all kinds of things that people told us they eat on Christmas Eve: BBQ, chili, finger foods. But one thing that came up again and again, people say fish is the big tradition for them. I have to say, it's not for me the feast of the seven fishes, but maybe for you.
GREENE: It is actually for me. My wife is half-Italian, and her Sicilian father makes the feast of the seven fishes every Christmas Eve.
CHARLES: Well, the interesting thing about fish, 90 percent of all the fish that we eat in this country is actually imported, comes to us from foreign countries.
GREENE: It's not American?
CHARLES: No. And of half of that 90 percent is farmed fish, aquaculture, and half of it is wild caught. The thing that's been happening is the price of the farmed fish has been pretty steady. So that's the Atlantic salmon, that's tilapia from Latin America, lots of fish from Asia. The price of the fish that they have to go out and catch in the wild, like cod - which has been the centerpiece of the Christmas Eve meal for a lot of families - that has been going up, because supplies are limited and people will pay extra for it.
GREENE: So people who are looking to save money and make, you know, this Italian feast might want to look for other fishes?
CHARLES: Yeah.
LEADBELLY: (Singing) Christmas is a-coming, and it's a-jumping. Christmas is a-coming, and it's a-jumping. Boy, it won't be long.
GREENE: Let's move on to Christmas Day now. And that seems to be all about meat.
CHARLES: Yeah, you've got your turkey, obviously. There's roasted pork. You have goose. You've got your baked ham, and also tamales, very important in Latino cultures. You know, here's where we pick up the impact of one of the biggest stories of this past year in agriculture. Remember the drought last summer?
GREENE: We talked a lot about that and what impact it might have.
CHARLES: Prices for meat will go up, we said, because the big crops that were affected were the corn and soybeans. The corn and soybeans are mostly fed to animals. They're fed to pigs. They're fed to cattle. They're fed to chickens. And the idea was with feed prices up, those farmers would maybe even go out of business and there would be a shortage of meat. Well, this has not actually happened. The pork and the poultry industry seem to be riding out those high feed prices OK.
GREENE: It's interesting. So fear is not as bad as people expected.
CHARLES: With the exception of beef. Prices of beef are up. They actually hit records. But it's not really because of last summer's droughts. The cycles of the beef industry are so long, that you're actually seeing the effect of a drought that happened in 2011. Maybe next year or even the year after, we'll see more of an impact on some of the other meat.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Singing) Sweet potato you're so sweet. You're my favorite thing to eat. Oh, sweet potato.
GREENE: What is the difference between yam and sweet potatoes? Can you finally solve this mystery?
CHARLES: Yeah. The yam-and-sweet-potato question. All the things that we call yams and sweet potatoes, they're really all sweet potatoes.
GREENE: Really?
CHARLES: The yam is a whole different species. It originated in Africa. The sweet potato is native to Latin America. And at some point, decades ago, when people brought in - introduced more of the orange and soft version of the sweet potato, they called it a yam because it looks kind of like a yam that exists somewhere else.
GREENE: Everything that I'm buying in the story here to make my sweet potato, and it's sweet potato, not yams.
CHARLES: It's sweet potatoes. It's sweet potatoes. But if you want to call it a yam, that's fine.
GREENE: You're not going to stop me. No, that's good.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Singing) Made a bowl of Jell-O. Poured in the powder, yeah.
GREENE: Can we have dessert?
CHARLES: Absolutely.
CHARLES: Let's move down here to this end of the table.
GREENE: See what we've got. I guess we have cranberries. We have Jell-O salad, one of those classic Jell-O Salads. It's like a green circle with fruit inside. I mean, are people still eating this?
CHARLES: Why not?
CHARLES: Yeah, and you got your cranberries. You got your apple pie.
GREENE: I guess those are the things that take some of the staples, like flour and sugar and milk.
CHARLES: All those baking supplies. Now that you mentioned milk, actually, that is one thing where you do see the impact of the drought. Because of those feed prices going up, some big dairy operations in California actually went out of business. So you do see the supply of milk falling a little bit. You see a bit of a shortage developing and prices going up, and you can see the impact of that in the grocery stores in milk products - milk, cheese, such things.
GREENE: OK. So we're staring at this table full of amazing photos of delicious food that we are not eating, because they're just photographs. But if I were to go out to the store and shop and want to build a meal this holiday season, what's the bottom line? Am I - is it going to really hit my wallet harder than other years, or what's the situation?
CHARLES: Well, most of us are fortunate enough that the modest price increases that we're seeing in food is not a real hardship for us. There's a big debate among economists as to whether we've reached a kind of a historic turning point, where the longer decline really, in real terms, of food prices has ended and whether we're heading into an era of gradually rising food prices worldwide.
GREENE: So some people will feel the effects of some prices going up this year. Many won't feel a big hit. But looking into the future, a lot of questions about where we're going.
CHARLES: That's right.
GREENE: Well, Dan Charles, thank you. This has been a lot of fun eating with you.
CHARLES: I'm really hungry for real food now.
GREENE: Likewise. Let's go get some. Have a good holiday.
CHARLES: Thank you.
NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND: (Singing) I'll say one thing, and you must agree: What a happy, happy time Christmas dinner will be.
GREENE: Bon appetit on MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Investment Tip of the Day
Why Invest in Gold?
Despite being Canadian the fervor of Americans and their fascination in buying gold does not go unnoticed, especially because popular news outlets like Fox News in the U.S. kowtow to the idea of it as the sole savior to all of one's problems. But why exactly is it special? In this article I will try to unravel the unknowns about investing in gold.
We all know what gold is and where it comes from but most don't realize it is a commodity like oranges, soybeans, and milk. Although it has a charming visual allure to it most people think its pricing comes about due to its rarity. In fact, there is plenty of gold in the world but a lot of it is horded by the Central Banks all across the world so as to control its pricing. Gold prices are undisputedly linked to the rising and falling of an underlying currency. The world makes use of the U.S. dollar as that currency. Because gold is more tedious to trade physically we use paper money as the alternative to do our daily purchases.
But because paper money and its value is linked to economical and worldly events it can fluctuate in unusual ways. Gold does not give provide investment interest. It simply serves as a form of insurance against catastrophic events hitting global financial markets because it holds its purchasing power significantly better than paper money. Despite these assuring thoughts gold has continued to decline slowly for decades. But still in times of economic stress people will always look to alternatives to paper money which creates demand for gold — making its price rise.
Buying gold can be done in many ways. One fun way is as coins which are commonly sold at Canada Post. But most investors do so at discount brokerages across Canada, like Questrade, as gold stock. The problem with this approach is that you aren't actually buying gold you are buying into a company that says it has gold in the ground. However, there are ways to buy physical gold and have it delivered.
Gold tends to be volatile in the short-term but it is a perfect investment path as a hedge against an eroding purchasing power of paper money. Investing into gold is an efficient way to diversify ones stock portfolio so as to protect your investments. The reason being gold is a negatively correlated asset against stocks — meaning if your equity investments decline gold will rise, helping to buffer an out-of-control loss you may be experiencing.


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An optional hydraulic cylinder installed below the unit adjusts the headstay so luff tension remains constant. This prevents halyard and tack attachments from overloading when the headstay is adjusted.
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SILC Showcase
Showcase May 2012: Teaching and Learning Civil Engineering Using Structural Alignment
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Teaching and Learning Civil Engineering Using Structural Alignment
Lauren Applebaum1, Elizabet Spaepen1, Dedre Gentner2 (Co-PI), Susan Goldin-Meadow1 (Co-PI), Susan C. Levine1 (Co-PI)
1University of Chicago, 2Northwestern University
Research up-date as of March 11, 2016:
- Applebaum, L., Spaepen, E., Gentner, D., Goldin-Meadow, S., & Levine, S. C. (April 2013). Benefits of Structural Alignment in a Museum Classroom. Talk presented at the Society For Research on Child Development Biennial Meeting, Seattle, WA.
- Applebaum, L., Spaepen, E., Gentner, D., Levine, S. C., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (July 2011). Structural alignment in learning bridge construction. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, Boston, MA.
Research up-date as of February 19, 2016:
At the conclusion of our study, with data from 31 classrooms and 680 students, we asked the following questions:>br />
Using a mixed effects logistic regression model, we found a significant effect of alignment, such that controlling for pre-test, grade, and school SES, students in the high-aligned condition were significantly more likely to have higher post-test scores than students in the low-aligned condition, ß=.66, p = .02. We also found a marginally significant interaction between condition and pre-test score, suggesting that students with low prior knowledge of the brace principle may have gained more from the high-aligned condition, ß=.61, p=.06.
As noted previously, the facilitator used a number of gestures during instruction. Embracing the relationship between the classroom and the laboratory, we further investigated the role of gesture during instruction of the brace principle in a one-on-one bridge building lesson. See http://bit.ly/1veIwRt: Comparing Spatial Learning Tools: Spatial Alignment and Gesture During a Bridge Building Lesson for more details.
Analogy is a useful tool for learning in a number of different situations (Gentner, 2010). From language learning (Gentner & Namy, 2006) to elementary engineering (Gentner, Levine, Dhillon, & Poltermann, 2009), analogy can be used to find similarities and differences between situations. According to structure-mapping theory (Gentner, 1983), analogical comparison involves a structural alignment between the two situations, based on finding common relational structure (Gentner & Markman, 1994). This process often leads learners to notice deeper relationships between the two situations, and to notice differences connected to the common relational system.
Implementing structural alignment in education environments could be a particularly beneficial way to help students learn. Research on analogy has revealed important ways in which instructors can help students benefit from analogical comparison (Richland & McDonough, 2010). For instance, if a teacher is trying to build on an old concept in order to teach about a new concept, she might use gesture to show students how to align the situations; or she might set up the two concepts visually in order to help students engage in comparison (Richland et al., 2007). These tools of alignment can highlight the important relationships between concepts. In this research we explore a new method for helping students align two spatial structures: namely, overlaying common structures on top of one another in an explicit form of structural alignment.
In a study at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, IL, we used structural alignment to teach students in grades 3-6 about the importance of triangles for achieving stable structures. We did this in a classroom lab called City Science: Building Bridges, where classrooms of students learned about basic civil engineering principles in the context of building a bridge. During the course of the lab, students were able to build their own bridges out of construction materials called Uberstix.
In order to investigate the potential benefits of structural alignment, a museum staff member (facilitator) taught the students about the importance of triangles in strong bridges using one of two conditions: high-aligned or low-aligned. In both conditions the facilitator presented three components important to truss bridges (bridges made up of a series of triangles): a triangle, a square braced by a diagonal piece (forming a structure made up of two triangles), and a truss. In the high-aligned condition, the triangle was overlayed on the braced square and both the triangle and the braced square were overlayed on the truss. In the low-aligned condition, these alignments were not demonstrated. See Figure 1 for a schematic depiction of the two conditions.
Figure 1. Examples of the high-aligned and low-aligned conditions.
To assess learning (and to control for prior knowledge about triangles in strong structures) we provided students with paper and pencil pretest questions that asked the students to make two structures stronger: a square and a bunk bed. At posttest we asked students to strengthen a rectangle and a skyscraper. We considered the rectangle question (and its pretest control, the square question) to assess near transfer since the students had seen a square braced to create two triangles. We considered the skyscraper question (and its pretest control, the bunk bed question) to assess far transfer, since the facilitator focused on bridges and not on other structures that would also benefit from triangles. See Figure 2 for our pre- and posttest questions.
Figure 2. Near and far transfer pretest and posttest questions.
Preliminary results using logistic regression suggest that alignment may be beneficial during classroom instruction, particularly for students from low SES backgrounds. Overall, students in the high-aligned condition performed significantly better at posttest on the near transfer question, b = .69, p = .03, and marginally better on the far transfer question, b = .50, p = .09, even after controlling for pretest score, grade level, socioeconomic status, and gender. Because of the significant (near transfer) and marginally significant (far transfer) SES effect, we examined results for the two SES groups separately, and found that condition remained an important predictor for the low SES group (near transfer: b = .79, p = .03; far transfer: b = .63, p = .08), but not for the high SES group (near transfer: b = .49, p = .50; far transfer: b = .22, p = .67).
Figure 3. Performance on near and far transfer questions by socioeconomic status (SES). (Y-axis denotes the proportion of students who respond correctly to the question item.)
Another tool of alignment, gesture, may also be useful in a classroom environment. Although we did not explicitly manipulate gesture during the current study, the museum facilitator used gestures to indicate triangles in the various structures he presented. One type of gesture that we were particularly interested in was trace gestures. A trace gesture occurred when the facilitator dragged his index finger along the outline of a triangle. These trace gestures occurred on the triangle alone, on the braced square, and on the truss. Taking advantage of the natural variation in the number of trace gestures the facilitator used in each classroom, we performed a second set of logistic regressions, controlling for the same set of covariates as above. The results show that gesture contributed significantly to students' learning for both near and far transfer questions, b = .47, p = .008, b = .27, p = .04, respectively. The effect of alignment remained significant for the near transfer question, b = .97, p = .006, and marginal for the far transfer question, b = .51, p = .10. We believe that trace gestures may invite alignment in a different way, by emphasizing the relationships between triangles and their larger structures. Taken together these results suggest that structural alignment is an important learning process for classroom learning, and that it can be accomplished in multiple ways. Further, the use of structural alignment may be particularly important in strengthening learning in low SES students.
Gentner, D. (2010). Bootstrapping the mind: Analogical processes and symbol systems. Cognitive Science , 34 (5), 752-775.
Gentner, D. (1983). Structure-Mapping: A theoretical framework for analogy. Cognitive Science , 7, 155-170.
Gentner, D., & Markman, A. (1994). Structural alignment in comparison: No difference without similarity. Psychological Science , 5 (3), 152-158.
Gentner, D., & Namy, L. (2006). Analogical processes in language learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science , 15 (6), 297-301.
Gentner, D., Levine, S., Dhillon, S., & Poltermann, A. (2009). Using structural alignment to facilitate learning of spatial concepts in an informal setting. In B. Kokinov, K. Holyoak and D. Gentner (Eds.) Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Analogy. NBU Press, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Richland, L., & McDonough, I. (2010). Learning by analogy: Discriminating between potential analogs. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35 (1), 28-43.
Richland, L., Zur, O., & Holyoak, K. (2007). Cognitive supports for analogies in the mathematics classroom. Science , 316, 1128-1129.


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When he's not dropping albums, fathering babies with reality-show celebrities or feeling uneasy about answering questions, Kanye West has another pursuit: supplying songs to popular movies.
He's long been a favorite of music supervisors: "Miami Vice," "Jarhead" and "Coach Carter" all feature Kanye tracks. So do "Mission Impossible: 3" and, across the Hollywood spectrum, the emo coming-of-age tale "It's Kind of a Funny Story."
But if you've had the sense that Kanye has become especially prevalent in films lately, you wouldn't be wrong. The Chicago rapper has tracks in no fewer than three movies currently in theaters: "The Hangover Part III," "The Great Gatsby" and "The Bling Ring."
PHOTOS: Celebrities by The Times
The piano-driven "Dark Fantasy" makes an appearance in "Hangover," continuing the musician's pattern of providing a backing track to the Todd Phillips franchise. The religion-skeptical "No Church in the Wild," with Jay-Z, helps bolster "Gatsby's" over-the-top, nothing-but-the-cult-of-money vibe.
And in "Bling Ring," the King Crimson-sampled "Power" and ode-to-the-good-things "All the Lights" (chorus lyric: "Fast life, drug life, thug life, rock life, every night, all of the lights") provide an added gloss to the indulgent lifestyle of Sofia Coppola's protagonists (not that they needed it).
On Monday, Kanye popped up yet again with the release of "The Wolf of Wall Street" trailer. The spot features "Black Skinhead," off his much-hyped new album "Yeezus." The inclusion of the song (which itself references movies such as "300" and "Inglourious Basterds") proves once again that if it's a movie about Leonardo DiCaprio and greed, a Kanye track is what's called for. (Expect more "Yeezus" cuts in movies in the seasons ahead.)
REVIEW: Kanye West's wildly experimental, narcissistic 'Yeezus'
Kanye beats lend a film -- to directors and marketers, at least -- a sense of being young and edgy, even if they also create a certain across-the-board sameness. What's truly odd, though, is that Kanye's presence in all these Hollywood films is coming at a time when the musician appears to be eschewing, both sonically and spiritually, much of the mainstream. His new album is filled with wild musical arrangements and even wilder lyrics, many of which appropriate civil rights memes in the service of the party life. As my colleague Randall Roberts suggests, "Yeezus" itself could well be "an attempt at alienating the marketplace so he can live as an artist rather than a paparazzi target."
Kanye has a new baby with girlfriend Kim Kardashian. Fatherhood has changed the approach of many a hard-edged artist. But we wouldn't expect his music in a whole bunch of new Pixar titles.
DiCaprio is well-suited in trailer for 'Wolf of Wall Street'
Music review: Kanye West's wildly experimental Yeezus
Kim Kardashian, Kanye West welcome baby girl early
Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ZeitchikLAT
PHOTOS: Faces to watch 2014 | Movies
ENVELOPE: The latest awards buzz
DOCUMENTARIES: 10 best of 2013, and a new crop in 2014


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Hardings – Gone! Miller's – History! And, now Save-A-Lot – A memory!
You can't tell me that the people of Sturgis don't eat! You also can't tell me that they all shop Wal-Mart, too, because I won't believe you. It's silly to see these stores closing up shop.
I'll admit, the first thing I thought of when I learned of yet another grocery store closing it's doors was "Medical Commons III" ??? Please let that only be a humorous thought and nothing that will take shape anytime soon.
I guess I don't get it, really. How can it be that Sturgis isn't supporting these stores? According to the 2010 Census population counts, Sturgis has more people in it than Coldwater and Three Rivers with 10,994 persons. Coldwater has 10,945 people and Three Rivers with 7,811 people.
Now wait a minute. How is it that Three Rivers can support Wal-Mart and a Meijer, plus Harding's and Save-A-Lot and only have a population of around 8,000 people? That really makes me question how they got a Menard's, too, when they already have a Home Depot. What gives?
Like Harding's and Miller's on the east side of town now, it will be hard to drive west of Sturgis and seeing another food store closed. I remember it being Harding's West and E&H Market. It's just another facet of the community gone.
Regardless of low sales or what ever the case may be for the prompt closing, it will be missed.
I'd like to see the notion that everything be on South Centerville Road stopped. I think it's a big mistake to put so much stock in that aspect of our town. I'm a true believer in the whole "If you build it they will come…." thing. How cool would it be to see the East side of Sturgis thrive with some new focus on it? Right now it's a shame to see so many empty locations, including Peddler's Station and the old Maplecrest Pharmacy spots to name a few. Filling those spots should be a primary focus. And, what about drawing attention to the fact that we have an awesome furniture store on the east side of town with Parlin's and a great Italian restaurant in DaVinci's. Let's add some more to draw interest and perhaps bring people back.
I think we're losing out on local shoppers because towns like Coldwater and Three Rivers are luring our residents away. If you don't believe me, just take a drive over to Coldwater and see how many people you know at Meijer, Younker's, Gander Mountain, Buffalo Wild Wings, Culver's, Home Depot, Bob Evans, Bigby Coffee, Arby's, Ponderosa, Big Boy, Sears, Coldwater Gardens, Jimmy John's….I think you get the picture!
Are our residents being lured away?
Hardings – Gone! Miller's – History! And, now Save-A-Lot – A memory!


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Procedure for Policy Revision
Obtain electronic copy of existing policy you wish to revise from Bonny Rayburn in the Associate Provost's office. This copy will be in Microsoft Word and will already be in the correct format including headers, etc. ANY POLICY ALREADY ON THE BOOKS MUST BE REVISED USING THE ELECTRONIC COPY OF THE EXISTING POLICY AND BY FOLLOWING THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS.
Please do not compromise the integrity of the document by omitting or making any changes to the headers, margins or page formatting. Also, keep in mind that cutting and pasting from other documents will sometimes bring page formatting from the copied document with it, causing you to inadvertently change the formatting of the original electronic policy file. If this happens it could wipe out headers and change page formats. The easiest way to avoid this is to make all changes to the original document. To make changes to the text in the body of the policy, open original electronic copy of policy, "
Strikethrough" any text you wish to delete and "Bold" any text you wish to add. This makes it much easier to track what is being deleted and what is being added yet maintains the format of the policy. Once the policy changes have been approved by the Board of Trustees, Bonny will enter the correct approval date before posting the policy to the web.
Academic policies are approved by the Deans' Council, then by the Faculty Senate, then the President's Staff and finally by the Board of Trustees.
All non-academic policies must be approved by the respective Vice President, then the President's Staff and finally by the Board of Trustees.
Once the Board of Trustees has approved, an electronic copy of the revised policy must then be sent back to Bonny Rayburn for updating in the Policies and Procedures manual and on the SUU website.


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|London, England
|High School:
2011: One goal, one assist in nine games.
High School: Has played for Putney Club for the past five years … Putney finished first in the Clubs and Colleges tournament in 2010 … Captained team as a senior … Team was among the top 10 schools in the country in lacrosse for each of her last two years … Appointed a Prefect.
Notes: Was in England Training for U-19 World Cup for the past five years … Played for Senior Holland Team in Senior World Cup in Prague in 2009 … Has played for South of England for one year … Played U-15 Surrey County lacrosse for two years, then moved into U18 Surrey County lacrosse for two years … Has played the violin for 12 years … Earned Community Sports Leader Award … Volunteered for Greenhouse, a sport-based charity to help underprivileged children … Played netball for five years … Captained netball team in 2008 … Netball team finished fifth in the country in 2010 … Uncle played football at Colgate … Mother played tennis at Williams … Cousin plays tennis at Colgate.
Why Yale... "Yale was the perfect blend of athleticism and academics. The coaches and team were all wonderful and inspiring, as well as serious about the lacrosse at Yale, which just made a perfect college all the more appealing."


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Article source: Ziger/Snead Architects
The River House is a weekend retreat located on the Rappahannock River in Virginia. Sited on a pre-engineered and cleared site, the 3500- square-foot house marks the intersection of three landscapes: natural forest, wetlands, and a mile-wide river.
- Architect: Ziger/Snead Architects
- Name of Project: The River House
- Location: Jamaica, Virginia
- Area: 3,500 sf
- Team: Design Principal – Steve Ziger, AIA; Project Architect – Douglas Bothner, AIA/ LEED AP; Jeff Morgan, AIA; John Shorb
- Photography: Alain Jaramillo, Douglas Bothner


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Human rights and international law expert Professor Hilary Charlesworth, says that Australia's appointment to the UN Human Rights Council gives the country an opportunity to examine its own human rights record.
City dwellers and farmers must work together to improve water efficiency, or the food demands of our growing population will not be met says Associate Professor Malano. "Water efficiency is everyone's business, both city dwellers and farmers. If nothing is done about managing our state's water more effectively then the consequences could be very severe," he says.
"With the population of Melbourne expected to reach five million, we could end up with a situation where we simply can't satisfy the city's water demands and our agricultural areas simply can't satisfy our growing food demands."
Associate Professor Malano says one of the best tools for ensuring more efficient use of our water is an aggressive pricing policy. He was not alarmed that the cost of water is set to increase by up to 100 per cent during the next five years, instead saying that a more aggressive pricing policy would encourage businesses, especially water intensive industries, to recycle more water. "There are certain types of water uses that require specific quality, but recycled water for example can be used easily for agricultural purposes," he says.
"The plan to use 100 per cent recycled water is going to become a necessity. We need to look at all the sources of water that we have, and think about using them in different ways."
Associate Professor Hector Malano is the Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Emma O'Neill, Media Unit T: +613 8344 7220, M: 0432758734. E:


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I read a lot of comments on TSN and blogs with Canadian bloggers and the fans up there keep complaining that "their boys" don't want to come back home and play hockey. I can think of a few reason you wouldn't want to play up there but looking at Parise and Suter going to Minnesota without a prime chance to win a cup right away there I am kind of confused. I know that if they were to be paid in Canada they would have to pay much higher taxes and this would be a major issue for me. I also realize that there is more scrutiny of players north of the boarder as well, this could be something a player wouldn't want to deal with.
The most recent example is Rick Nash naming 6 teams he is willing to be traded to and none of them being in Canada. People were calling him unpatriotic and making comments like, "He should never be allowed to play for Team Canada again."
But then, Roberto Luongo limits his list to 2-3 teams...but one of the is in Canada so they are ok with this...almost saying that he has earned the right to want traded out of Vancouver but Nash hasn't earned the right to be traded out of Columbus and he should be left to rot.
I just wanted to see what everyone else's take on Canadian players not wanting to play in Canada is, and why you think they don't want to.


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Staff Pick
March 5, 2012
by Carla Bayley
This is the price your customers see. Edit list price
About the Book
Cast out, discarded and left to freeze, Kaden Hendricks, the eldest son in a polygamist family, is forced to fend for himself, or die. Kicked out by his father, he is told to stay away and never come back. Kaden must make a fresh start for himself in a unfamiliar world, but everything Kaden has ever known is lost — His community, his loving mother and siblings, and even his beloved Rachael, who is now betrothed to his pa against her will. Will Kaden find a way to rescue Rachael? In Discarded, Carla Bayley helps her readers see that freedom is worth fighting for, no matter the cost. Although her story may be fiction, it is based on true unseen events that if came to light, would shock the world.
Features & Details
- Category Literature & Fiction Books
6×9 in, 15×23 cm
260 Pages
- Publish Date Mar 05, 2012
See More


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Oky Wan Kenobi wrote:there's nothing they could have done better about the front.
I find your lack of imagination disturbing...
Oky Wan Kenobi wrote:there's nothing they could have done better about the front.
theone wrote:am i the only one who liked the MTT
Oky Wan Kenobi wrote:I guess that would make it a Mouse Troop Transport.
Brainslugged wrote:It's nothing short of miraculous that they managed to create an MTT with a handful of such tiny pieces...
Tricky Brick wrote:But then I thought 'No, let the rest of the world live another few hours in the hope that Day 5 might contain something decent'...
joecrowaz on Flickr wrote:Flynn you little wussy with a purple robed fairy for an icon,
Supersonic wrote:nobody is going to see the differences between the Rebels and ESB AT-AT. Definitely not kids.
thepatient wrote:I did wait until the last day of November to get this, and it was available at just under $40. So all of the non-parents out there... I can see why you would wait until the end of December to get it for 50% off.
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Welcome to the CRG Discussion Forum!Forum registration problems: Make sure you enter your email correctly and you check your spam box first. *Then* email KurtS2@gmail for help.Classified ads are not allowed on the forum.
I assume that it was the post about Spindles? I too have had that problem once. I think I just reposted it again and it went thru.


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Areas of Focus identify courses, internships and extra-curricular activities that are likely to prove advantageous as you prepare for a legal career. Each of the sections has been developed and prepared by faculty members teaching in the practice area, and is aimed at providing guidance and direction to students as they select courses, internships and pursue other related activities.
Area of Focus or Concentration?
Areas of Focus are not academic concentrations (which are like a major). All students who successfully complete a concentration receive a Concentration Certificate at graduation, and it will also be noted on the student's Law School transcript.


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Rob Caprilozzi saw "Jaws" when he was a little kid and it scared him so much he refused to go swimming for a long time.
"You could put me in a pool and I'd be positive there'd be a shark in there," Caprilozzi says.
He saw "Alien" a few years later. "That chest-buster scene really got me. I was scared to eat for a while."
Caprilozzi doesn't let movies get to him like that anymore. But he still loves horror movies. The original "Halloween" is his favorite. Now Caprilozzi wants to bring a little bit of "Halloween" to Connecticut, as well as a little bit of "Friday the 13th," "The Exorcist,"...


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Over the last couple years in which I've made any consistent effort to participate on M.E/CFS related forums, I've often been criticised by other posters because my own criticism doesn't (at least with an approved of frequency) encompass psychiatry. To be criticised for not criticising something that many other people are expending considerable energy on criticising , when no one who could conceivably be capable of making a meaningful response to such criticism is engage in the discussion, always seemed a bit nuts to me. If one is going to argue about psychiatry actually doing so in a forum that might engage the knowledgeable and usefully influence-able seems a far better option to me. The Science Based Medicine forums appear to fit the bill.
SBM is a critique of Evidence Based Medicine, which does not reject EBM wholesale but places established scientific principles more firmly in the process of treatment intervention. Axiomatically psychiatry is placed under rigorous test by the SBM approach: Psychiatry-Bashing
Recently one of the leading proponents of SBM – Steve Novella wrote an article about the Lipkin study: XMRV Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Update the comments section of which led to some (IMO at least) interesting exchanges about the role and function of psychiatry in relation to M.E/CFS – I've edited (for purposes of readability only) some of my own contributions, together with posts from others that prompted my replies. For those with the stamina, the full comments list is worth reading but beware the presence of probable below bridge dweller.
Psychiatric Peregrinations in the aftermath of XMRV
Poster: SkepticalHealth: "What is the science that precludes CFS from being a mental health disease? We can't do a blood test for depression, and we certainly don't blame depression on a virus, or on some other disease process. Why would you think CFS would be any different?"
IVI reply to SkepticalHealth: Your logic escapes me. Perhaps the following will be of help to your understanding:
1. Immunological responses are indeed implicated in depression associated with acute infective illness. Treatment of depression in such cases is achieved by treatment of the infection, usually without recourse to antidepressants, but immune boosting can of itself necessitate treatment http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18079286
2. M.E/CFS is recognised by many of those who have researched the condition as being heterogeneous ( Lipkin comments as does I think Harvey Alter http://cii.columbia.edu/blog.htm?LOfRcb ) – that is there is not one single aetiology, but a variety of processes producing common symptom sets. It would be foolish to conclude that psychiatric contribution to aetiology could be excluded in all cases, equally if there is heterogeneity – psychiatric contribution to aetiology is unlikely to be present in all cases.
3. What is the science of psychiatry ? Outside neuro-chemistry, neuro-surgery and (less certainly) behavioural psychology – the scientific base of psychiatry is profoundly wanting. To take as a default an ascription to psychiatric illness, in all conditions of unexplained aetiology is (from an SBM perspective) perverse. The starting point logically must be known science and work from there, to date psychiatric involvement in the generality of M.E/CFS has been shown as a negative association http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10403156 , http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15996197 , http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/176/6/550.full
4. Psychiatric intervention in M.E/CFS performs abysmally, with treatment deliverers in one trial http://www.bmj.com/content/340/bmj.c1777?rss=1 responding to its failure, bleating that GPs had supplied patients who did not share the philosophical precepts of the treatment regime. I believe something similar is said by homeopaths.
evilrobotxoxo: "The CFS community was really excited about the possibility that CFS might be caused by a virus in part because that would supposedly mean it's not psychiatric."
IVI reply to evilrobotxoxo: The identification of a single 'CFS commuity' is unhelpful to say the least. Many of us were highly sceptical about not only the Lombardi research, but the Institution that produced it (WPI) and the very notion of a single causative pathogen, not to mention the very disturbing associations that were made by both Mikovits and Annette Whittmore of the WPI, with a whole raft of wooist thinking.
M.E/CFS affected people (sufferers, their carers and families) inevitably look for confirmation of physical causation, and the disinterest of non psychiatric medical and research specialisms has led to a significant number of M.E/CFS affected people either embracing anti science or at least partialist science perspectives. This represents a significant faultline which itself precludes any monolithic notion of a CFS community, there are however other factors which also militate against the existence of one single illness focussed community – not least the age range of affected people. For what it's worth my documentation and observation of the XMRV/CFS saga, from what I hope is a sceptical perspective can be found here: http://cfsmirror.blogspot.co.uk/
Valya: " There's a reason some CFS patients object so strenuously to the possibility that CFS is a psychiatric problem, to many, a psychiatric diagnosis means one doesn't have a "real" disease.
IVI reply to Valya: It couldn't possibly be because all the personal experience of the symptoms of the illness are physical and that therefore (whatever the aetiology actually is) the patient has a wholly physical experience that seems to them utterly removed from anything that could be psychiatric. Blaming the patient for the nature of their experience and setting that blame in the context of societal misperceptions of psychiatric illness is somewhat perverse, don't you think ? If M.E/CFS truly were a single discrete psychiatric illness, then it would be one of profound delusion, and given the epidemiological evidence that would make it the most common psychotic condition. To date that circumstance seems generally unrecognised – probablly because it doesn't exist.
Scott: "Suggesting that a particular illness may be psychiatric in nature does not in any way constitute "blaming the patient for the nature of their experience." And nobody's suggesting that it's necessarily a single clearly delineated condition – certainly not that it represents profound delusion!"
IVI reply to Scott: Valya's point was that M.E/CFS patients are resistant to a psychiatric diagnosis because of a perception of psychiatric illness – and the implication appeared to be that a) such resistance was misplaced and b) was contributory to the maintenance of a general misperception of psychiatric illness. No where did Valya acknowledge that the reason M.E/CFS patients are resistant to a psychiatric diagnosis, has nothing to do with their personal or societal judgement about being 'mentally ill' – but the sheer bloody simple fact that all their symptoms are physical !!
If we take Valya's (apparent) contention that M.E/CFS patients are 'in denial' and that such denial is contributory to a maintenance of of a misperception (whether personal or societal) of psychiatric illness – that axiomatically leads to blaming the patient. Which is presumably why SH was approving of Valya's post.
And yes I know there is a determined avoidance of classing M.E/CFS as a delusional condition. But my point is, that is a dishonesty on the part of those contending M.E/CFS is a psychiatric condition: If M.E/CFS is experienced by patients as wholly physical ( overwhelming fatigue, malaise following activity, persistent muscle and joint pain, nausea, disautonia, photosensitivity, persistent headache etc) and the contention is that none of these symptoms have a physical reality, then one is left with the symptoms as being delusional; excepting that there is some arcane explanation regarding behavioural maintenance of real symptoms. To date there is no evidence that behavioural maintenance is involved and all cognitive interventions have produced abysmal results. Those who favour a psychiatric label should honestly follow their predilection and acknowledge that (in their terms, not patients) M.E/CFS is a major delusional illness. This of course is studiously avoided by those favouring the psychiatric label and recourse is consistently made to the highly dubious 'functional' classification which is of immense appeal to those arguing from SH's perspective because it implies a significant element of patient responsibility via 'illness maintenance behaviours' and illegitimate thinking.
How such 'judgemental' processes work to 'blame patients' can be seen in http://journals.cambridge.org/actio...56C871C6.journals?fromPage=online&aid=8243790– note the sentence " If patients hold a clearly incompatible model of their illness, it is unlikely that they will engage with, and successfully complete, therapy." – a proposition that would be entirely expected within the most corrupt quack medicine. I would suggest that if M.E/CFS patients needed anything beyond their own somatic experience to dissuade them of the validity of psychiatric intervention in M.E/CFS is the Orwellian notion of an "incompatible model of their illness".
Scott: "Psychiatric disorders can produce physical symptoms without being delusional. IMO your reaction is precisely what Valya was talking about. And certainly there was no contention that anyone is "in denial" – explicit or implicit."
IVI reply to Scott: So my criticism of one small part of psychiatric practice equates to a derrogation of the validity of the whole of mental ill health ? Your logic is that I must accept your preferred (and SH's !) labelling of an illness, or otherwise I'm contributing to the denigration of mental illness per se. You might guess I'm not attracted to your proposition. As for (I feel you couldn't quite bring yourself to say it ) shh ! S-o-m-a-t-o-f-o-r-m Disorder, yes brilliant, critique the proposition of a non psychiatric aetiology for M.E/CFS on the basis of a psychiatric construct that has absolutely zero identified pathophysiology. Somatoform and Functional disorders are precisely where psychiatry hits the buffers of prior plausibility, these are constructs which have their roots in the non science of Freudianism and Jungianism and they only exist as authoritative expositions of 'experts' who can provide no meaningful tests of their own pronouncements.
To characterise M.E/CFS as a delusional disorder would clearly demonstrate the unsupportability of an exclusive psychiatric definition of M.E/CFS, but there is no less reason to describe M.E/CFS as delusional than there is to characterise it as Somatoform or Functional. The difference is that (so long as the patient is without the defence of a definitive organic process of illness) , Somatoform and Functional provide ill defined labelling into which anything ill health can be squeezed, with the employment of strong approbational conditionality such as 'catastrophising', 'activity avoidance' and 'sick role'.
For the record, just so there's no further playing of the – 'you hate mental illness' card. I consider a mental health specialism to be one of the key elements of a comprehensive health service and the denigration of (for want of a better term) psychiatric illnesses is obnoxious and should be abjured. Equally I want to see psychiatry meet all reasonable tests that might be demanded by an SBM philosophy – IMO constructions like Somatoform and Functional do not come anywhere near meeting such tests.
evilrobotxoxo reply to IVI: I think you have a bit of a misconception about what the term "delusion" means. I'm a psychiatrist, and we have precise definitions of what these words mean, and there is virtually no circumstance under which it would apply to something like CFS, regardless of etiology. To explain (to everyone, not just you), a delusion is a false belief that persists in the face of contrary evidence (or at minimum is not based on any logical evidence or culturally-held ideas). Importantly, the term "delusion" applies to beliefs, not experiences. If the patient experiences physical symptoms, then those symptoms are not delusional, even if they do not have a cause that we can currently identify. For example, a conversion disorder (in the somatoform category) would be a person whose arm becomes paralyzed, even though MRI and neuro exam show that there is no obvious lesion. A delusion would if someone continues to believe that their arm is paralyzed in spite of evidence that it is not (i.e. you can see them moving it). There's a big difference between those two things.
A second point: to some extent, you're combining malingering (faking symptoms for logical reasons like getting painkillers), factitious (faking symptoms to be in the "sick role,"), and somatoform (not faking symptoms) disorders into one category. Admittedly, these things are on a continuum, but it's also worth pointing out that depression and anxiety (which are not even on that continuum) frequently cause physical symptoms, and those are often the primary symptoms. I concede your point that the whole concept of conversion disorder is based on an old Freudian idea of "hysteria," but the thing with conversion disorders is, patients get them. Not even all that infrequently. In some cases, they can also be demonstrated objectively (e.g. unilateral conversion paralysis has abnormal peripheral nerve evoked potentials in response to transcranial magnetic stimulation of the contralateral motor cortex). So I don't know what prior plausibility has to do with it.
In summary: we don't know the etiology of CFS, but the fact that the subjective symptoms are not what patients classically associate with psychiatric disorders does not mean that it's not psychiatric, or that the patients are delusional. For the record, I'm not saying that it is psychiatric. I have no idea. Like many clinicians, I'm skeptical of the idea that CFS even represents a single disease entity. I think it's pretty clear that some people who are given the CFS (?mis)-diagnosis have a recognized psychiatric diagnosis with primarily somatic manifestations, but I have no idea what percentage of the CFS population that is.
IVI reply to evilrobotxoxo: I fully accept that in psychiatric practice, delusion is differentiated from other categorisations on the basis that for a formal diagnosis of delusion to be given, the deductive basis of that diagnosis must be demonstrable to the patient as a challenge to the patient's perception. However this is a semantic (pejorative not implied) position not a scientific one, indeed your whole presentation of the issue appears to involve a labelling fallacy. Even the area of research you cite appears to routinely pre label subjects as suffering from 'conversion disorder', merely on the basis of "absence of evidence = absence"; thus the research justifies the category, rather than challenging it. Incredibly we still see "hysteria" being referenced in such research while the potentiality of viral impact on neurological function is discounted out of hand – http://labnic.unige.ch/nic/papers/Cojan et al. NIMG2009.pdf
To contend that: "delusion" applies to beliefs, not experiences, is to create a duality that is not consistently prenet in psychiatric practice. The belief in a phantom limb is based upon the 'experience' of an amputee, and that experience which may include 'pain' in the removed limb. That experience of pain can not be demonstrated as being more or less real in the case of an amputee than it can in the case of someone who complains of pain in a limb which is still intact but where medicine can currently identify no causal source of the complained of pain. It is merely that in one case psychiatrists have recourse to an objective reference – the absence of a limb –while in the other they do not, but the reference is of pragmatic value and not a source of scientific validation. Scientifically the absence or not of the limb has no bearing on the classification because in neither case can science determine the definitive source of the patient's experience.
These problems become magnified to absurdity when the classification runs to malingering, factitious and somatoform, because these have no definitive differential scientific basis, they are merely categorisations based on authoritative declaration. One can not test hypotheses of malingering or factitious disorders with prior plausibility applied because there is no means of establishing an empirical measure of what either may consist of. A patient is categorised as a malingerer or as having factitious disorder wholly on the interpretation of an assumed authoritative person, yet a patient so labelled may have subjective experiences that are exactly the same as someone labelled with a somatoform disorder. Psychiatry like many other parts of medicine is a pragmatic process, and categorisations such as malingering or factitious may be pragmatic necessities, but we should not be seduced into an acceptance that the labelling that derives from such pragmatism equates to empirical knowledge or constitutes definitive science.
Finally I think it is not without significance that the now dominant nostrum of psychiatry -CBT – is concerned primarily with belief modification and that CBT's now wide application involves no explicit distinction between its use in delusional conditions and in the claimed treatment of somatoform disorders, not to mention the catchall of 'medically unexplained symptoms'. I'm sure CBT practitioners will claim nuanced approaches referenced to specific diagnoses, yet CBT remains primarily a process that is reductive of the patient's own experiences and perspectives, while enhancing the practitioner's preferred cultural values, without (in the case of somatoform and functional disorder classifications and in 'medically unexplained symptoms') any recourse to the deductive basis of the employed diagnosis as being demonstrable to the patient as a challenge to the patient's perception.
evilrobotxoxo reply to IVI: As to your claim that what I said about "delusion" is a semantic argument: yes, absolutely, I agree 100%. It is explicitly a semantic argument. My claim is that the word "delusion" has a specific definition, and you were using the word incorrectly. If you were to say that Jay-Z is a country singer, I would similarly make a semantic argument about the definition of "country singer." I do not claim that either of these definitions are based on any sort of rigorous science, only that they reflect accepted convention.
Arguments about specific definitions aside, I think you're missing my point about the use of the word "delusion" in a way that is more subtle. You say that there is no clear distinction between beliefs and experiences in true clinical settings, but I disagree with that 100%. For example, say that a person has auditory hallucinations of voices. They could either believe that the voices are a symptom of mental illness, or they could believe that the voices are angels speaking to them. Hearing voices does not make you delusional – BELIEVING the voices makes you delusional. Do you understand the distinction? Delusions are about a dysfunctional process of assigning belief and emotional salience, not about abnormal sensory perceptions. Again, these are simple truths by definition, and none of this is relevant to a discussion about somatoform disorders because those do not involve delusions.
As far as your argument about the definition of conversion disorders go, conversion disorders are essentially defined as when a person has "physical" symptoms that are demonstrably not due to the common "medical" causes of those symptoms. For example, if a person has conversion paralysis of an arm, and an MRI and neuro exam show that everything is intact from motor cortex down to the arm, then it's a conversion disorder, by definition. The term "disorder" is kind of incorrect here because it should be "conversion syndrome." No claim about pathophysiology is made. BTW, in a case like this, viruses are discounted for completely valid reasons. I won't go into detail, but basically the clinical picture and time course are inconsistent with what's known about viral infections and neurophysiology, and viral infections causing similar symptoms would be detectable through objective means. As I pointed out before, there are objective neurophysiological tests that can be performed to demonstrate the abnormal nervous system function, so the diagnosis of conversion paralysis is basically just making a statement about where the dysfunction is located, i.e. higher up in the CNS and not in the spinal cord or peripheral nerves.
Re: malingering vs. factitious vs. conversion – yes, they're based on clinical judgment, and they're likely incorrect a substantial proportion of the time. However, that does not invalidate the existence of those categories. Some people are actually malingering, and some people actually are not. As a child, I personally did both. Whether or not a different person could figure out whether I was malingering or not does not change that fact that sometimes I was, and sometimes I wasn't. The categories exist.
Re: CBT – you are correct that CBT makes no major distinction between treatment of delusions and somatoform disorders. CBT makes no major distinction between treatment of ANY condition, including treatment of chronic pain from identified medical causes. You think this fact is "not without significance," but I think the fact that CBT makes no distinctions at all pretty much removes any significance from what you're saying. As far as the claim that CBT is "primarily" promoting the therapist's cultural values at the expense of the patient is simply absurd.
Psychiatric Peregrinations
Blog entry posted by In Vitro Infidelium, Oct 9, 2012.