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Stage Fright
Step right up ladies & gents! Don't be shy, anybody can play this game. Want you to join me as we explore the appearance of another strange mystery in our midst. Thrills! Enigmas. Exquisite loveliness! Disappointments. Engaging sobriety! Murky slumbers. It's all here, folks —all that, plus five lifetimes in our recent generation, crossing, merging, walking toward separate rainbows! Losing stride, marching gloriously on.
In this game —most of you already are hip to this, I know — nothing is ever quite what it seems. And that's why, ladies & gentlemen — that's why we've got to resist the temptation simply to assume it's what it seems to be. If you can dig my far out meaning.
Glory is the operative word at this stage of the game. What this third Band record seems to lack is the glory of the first two.* Ah, but we've only begun to play; what seems to be at this stage, this early after the kickoff, may be only a fake handoff —a Statue of Liberty play, executed with great finesse by one of the most deceptive teams ever fielded, as seen by a killer linebacker who's busted through the protective cup and is just about to squash the quarterback, himself arched and coiled, arm cocked as if he was still holding the ball, waiting to get hit with a secret smirk behind the knowledge that some kind of amazing shit is happening elsewhere on the field, he's winning, you can't even see it yet, oh brother the laugh is on you, but we'll all laugh together when we all see it. That's the way these cats play this here game, looking from over here in the linebacker's spot. Stand someplace else and you might see it totally different, but, you know what they say: 'twas ever thus.
If you'll allow me, momentarily, just for as long as this paragraph takes to read, I'll change the frame of reference to one where sometimes you meet some people or maybe an individual person, let's say a dame — in terms of a cat who's meeting a lot of dames all the time and developing some meaningful exchanges out of these meetings sometimes, sometimes not, but anyway he's got an eye out for lusciousness, the more the better —and this dame, this one particular dame (in the long-term encounter which I am just about to describe), when he meets her she's nice and kind of groovy and they have a pleasant time and get to be pleasant friends, and they see each other now and then and it's OK, they dig it, but no big thing, until, after some weeks of time, or months (or it could be two and a half years in some documented cases), finally they turn a corner one day and there's this deep love relationship with flashing lights and throbbing hearts.
Editor's picks
* Well, yessir, as a matter of fact there are at least two bootlegs on the under-the-counter market throughout the great underground, but let's just say that the unofficial stuff is the same game, except a different stadium from this one here today, and, so the rap don't get out of line, let's not mix metaphors more than we've got to. These things happen, and often they get their start with a merely pleasant first encounter with somebody or something or whatever you got in whatever area of life you want to discuss.
Art's like that, religion's like that, heck, life's like that, and so is a new Band record, for many people, be they linebackers or any walk of life.
Time for the play-by-play of the first half. Let me apprise you up front that it looks like the team hasn't had much of a warm-up and (peeking ahead toward some of the later reels) I can tell that the second half, by contrast, is gonna have a lot more thrills and chills. The first half is marred by near fumbles and incomplete plays. Or is it? It seems to be …
How many times do we have to sit through this movie to see it? You'll know when we get there.
As for the record itself, on a strictly minutes-and-seconds basis, it takes about an hour.
It seems to play right through in a blink, like a freight train with a lot of carloads full of all sorts of stuff, but it went so fast, man. Here it comes . . . zzzooooooppp!!!? … gone! Hey, what was that?(Let alone the cargo.)
"Strawberry Wine" comes first. Robbie Robertson wrote all the songs, or, in some cases, like this opener, co-wrote them. For those of you who don't know the lineup, here it is: Robertson plays guitar, Levon Helm is the drummer, Rick Danko on bass, Richard Manuel at the piano and, importantly, Garth Hudson on the organ and a lot of horns and other stuff. (They all play a lot of different axes, as you'll learn, if you ain't learnt it already.)
Anyway, Robertson and Helm co-wrote the first one, "Strawberry Wine," and it's got a lot of goods —Hudson playing the accordion stop as a richly connected series of rippling, gurgling tremolos, hearty chunk-along bass, scrappy drumming with an especially liquid cymbal sound, all of them slapping and bumping and overlapping with that combination of everyman – for – himself / precision-teamwork that makes them a great rock and roll band.
What the song ain't got is much in the way of melodic content, but what the hell, it's just this-here rock and roll number, the kind Ronnie Hawkins really grabs onto (I got the record, but so far no album cover, so for all I know the song is dedicated to Hawkins; and if it isn't, it ought). It's all about blowing all mah moneh on this strawberry wine but it makes yuh feel fine. Is this the Band's rock and roll album? is what the first track makes you wonder, and it's over blink —quicker than a blink, snap.
The songs Robertson wrote on his own are better than the ones where the other guys helped out. Doesn't seem right, does it?
"Sleeping." A sleepy, drifting opening, with Manuel (co-writer) setting off some pretty, open chords from the piano spot. Manuel's vocal —I guess it's him, though I've never really known Manuel's voice from Danko's, they're similar, unless it's Manuel who does the high, lighter stuff —is earnest enough, but what about the words? "Sleeping" could be big political trouble (inside the heads of people who say they want a revolution, oh yeh-eh-eh, and think Ramparts has got the Right Answers) the same way "Revolution" was for the Beatles.
Because, after all, these guys are saying that the storm is past, there's peace at last, they'll spend their whole life sleeping, "now that there's no sound, no one to be found —anywhere," and "why would we want to come back at all?" Christ almighty, at least the Beatles wanted some kind of revolution, or so they claimed. The Band just wants to sleep, right? I don't think that's going to go over too hot on the People's Marxometer.
Have you ever tried, incidentally, to nail a worm to the door with a nail the circumference of which exceeds the worm's?
Not so much a melody as a motif, "Sleeping" strings a lot of long, luxurious quarter-notes right up to the triplets turnaround at the end of each chorus. Tricky but not meaty. Robbie's solo follows the line of least resistance and it makes you wonder if his heart was in it. Maybe that's what you're supposed to wonder.
"Time to Kill." Robbie lays down a great strutting unaccompanied 1956 rock and roll guitar opening, like tier of sound in motion. Sounds like a song a Kentucky moonshiner might be humming to himself at this very moment, or maybe 75 years ago. Cabin in the hills, shotgun in the corner. Just wanna sit down by the fire with his love. Keep goin' 'long the straight and narrow, and you don't even have to hurry. We got all our love, buckets of the tears we cried. Got time to kill, Catskill, sweet by and by.(Or is it "cats kill"?) We found our rainbow. Certainly a complacent lyric, raising the question whether the boys have been snorting the latest sampling of Dylan dust. It's a controlled performance, if, paradoxically, a bashing one.
Like any of Johnnie Wooden's national championship UCLA basketball teams, these cats have got discipline. The concept of discipline is out of favor in a lot of circles. What it means in this case is that the Band takes an almost studied, almost deliberate approach to its fun, so that the backing (laced together by Manuel's leaping piano accompaniment) throws a perfect focus on Robertson's fine guitar solo.
On a real team, when everybody's cooking together, all the brothers are hip to the strategy, even if the spectators don't catch on until later.
The vocal here doesn't seem to have much connection with the content of the lyric; the delivery has got a kind of urgency to it that I don't hear in the words. Doubtless intentional. But it may explain why the track —despite all the good things that happen within it —bores me the same way the Modern Jazz Quartet bores me sometimes: the whole is less than the sum of its parts. For the moment.
"Just Another Whistle Stop." So far this album is not so heavy on the spiritual, and neither is this song. Nor is it much else. When the trolley is clean outa reach, go the words to this Robertson-Manuel effort, a certain lesson it will teach. But what lesson? Odd man out — that's the rule, 'n there's one way home that's guaranteed … This song, too, depends on motif — a sturdy left-footed ascending three-note line, like something Thelonious Monk might construct, which, though apparently awkward, has plenty of impact. It's a fine bit, and that's about all there is to the "Whistle Stop" as a song.
It sounds like three or four good and not as tinct. As if there's a lot Indis-song there than they had been able to work out by the time they recorded it.
"All La Glory." Is this the Band's June-moon song? Is this the Band's life-death song? Is this the Band's kids-outerspace song? Here's Garth Hudson nudging it along with great hornpipe accordion, reminiscent of movies where pirates have commandeered a merchant ship and they're all tuckered out laying around on the decks moaning some chanteys fucked up on grog. Whoever is singing —I'm told it's Levon Helm —he sounds watery, as does Hudson's accompaniment, and, indeed, the whole affair. Hudson is playing it proud, laying down long, trailing lines that shape the performance. He's all over the album, doing that thing all the ways he knows how, and in this sense it's his album.
Which may, in turn, explain why Stage Fright is so elusive. Is there a more elusive, indefinable sound in rock and roll than the one Garth Hudson brings to all the horns and keyboards he plays? Vocally. "All La Glory" (allegory) is wispy, even dreamy, the better to expose its amazing imagery.
All la glory, I'm second story … Feel so tall, like a prison wall …
Feel so tall like a prison wall. Imagine what that would be: standing like a prison wall, dividing the free from the trapped. Permanently in between. The lines seem random, and Hudson's organ does, too: the impression is of cosmic noodling. A heavenly sound.
Considering the letdowns early in Stage Fright, it's a relief that the first half ends with what is plainly the Band at its best. Before we move along to the second half, let us pray that the second half won't all sound so much alike, so unrealized, so lacking in dynamics from song to song. Actually, you won't need to pray. The second half is the "A" side, the one you'll be listening to most. At first, anyway. These songs coming up are better worked out. Lot more variety. Lot more depth.
"The Shape I'm In." Dig Helm's drumming. This is why he's the best drummer in rock and roll. He plays the shots that count, forgets the rest, slamming them along with a crazy funk long division behind the peace-in-the-valley / rumble-in-the-alley Danko (?) vocal. The whole band gets a nice push off the line "Who-o-oa —don't you know the shape I'm in." Hudson got a funky-diffident interlude, then more singing, "save your neck, save your brother … looks like it's one or the other. ..", then it's Hudson again, pushing his organ again toward the cosmos over a march-like rhythm section.
A fine, determined performance. This is more like it. But
The Band Peter Simon Records what do they mean, save your neck, save your brother, looks like it's one or the other? You call that a revolution?
"The W. S. Walcott Medicine Show." Is this the Band's religious album? Dig Levon, sing-ing —god, what a great singer, what down-home locution — "when your arms are empty, God know where to go…" What a great medicine show! Got faith healer woman stealer Klondike Ku Klux steamboat band, when the music's hot you might have to stand, and you know any Ku Klux band gotta come out of some steamy place down somewhere. The band is stomping for all it's worth, Levon is cooking — though he makes it sound as easy as shuffling a deck of cards — and Garth Hudson stands up from the keyboard to set loose a mystery tenor saxophone, enigma, enigma, which puts me in mind of the Emotions at its start, and then, at its end, where Hudson chomps into the reed and makes it gritty, there resides the spirit of Ben Webster, another great tenor player whose roots, like Hudson's are from an earlier time. Hudson's preaching here is the kind that's done outside church, down where the steam comes from. And what lines, what lines! About Walcott:
Y'know he always holds it in a tent .. .'N if you're lookin' for the real thing, he can show you where it went…
About dying or not:
I'd rather die happy than not die at all… For a man is a fool who will not heed the call.
When you start dealing in those goods, it takes the game into a realm that transcends the games most people even spec-tate, let alone play. There's only one thing wrong with this track: they shoulda let (or made) Hudson blow twice as much tenor, or even twice that much, or more. That boy is a saxophone player in the great American tradition. There's another medicine show coming up presently where we're going to get to hear Garth Hudson trading choruses with Lester Young and Sidney Bechet and John Coltrane and Johnny Hodges and Chu Berry, and I, for one, wouldn't miss it for the world! A man is a fool who will not heed the call.
"Daniel and the Sacred Harp." Garth Hudson starts the performance with his hymn-tone organ, full of peculiar off-hand fingerings, resonant and deep. And then Levon Helm —wow — does he lay Daniel's story on us! It's beyond Levon, in fact. This is the first track on the album that's got the Band's patented interplay of voices — at least the first one that's up to earlier recordings and performances. Everybody sings it and everybody plays it and it all fits together in a perfect ball like a Chinese puzzle: the voices sweet and hard and earthern and mellow, Danko's (evidently it's him) honey-tone country gut fiddle, Hudson cutting through like a laser of joy, Robertson's free/styled strumming …
And what a scene Daniel got his ass into! He saved his silver for three years, until this man came with the harp from the Sea of Galilee, and Daniel laid the bread on this cat and took the harp without stopping to hear what it meant. Off he went, wailing on this harp, up to a hilltop to play it there. But when he looked around, no shadow did he cast! Is this the Band's religious album? Katherine Anne Porter!
"Stage Fright." Boring melodically and seemingly stupid of lyric, this track is, for me, the disappointment of the album. It's got to do with being a rock and roll star, and having stage fright, and there's this doctor who tells the cat it'll be as cool as long as he doesn't show the fear that's in his eyes. Ah, hah: so this is what it means to be a rock and roll star, is it? Jesus, the line:
See the man with the stage fright… sure does wear thin over and over and over again. I'll take "Johnnie B. Goode." Is this the Band's rock and roll album?
"The Rumor" is about the Rumor, whatever the Rumor is. You be the judge. "The Rumor" tells us, in fact, how to be the best kind of judge and jury by ignoring false testimony and delivering no verdict. It starts ominously and stays that way. You know when the Band uses the bass as lead guitar that something dark is happening.
A strange thing transpires during the instrumental passage, where Robertson and Hudson are improvising together, and just at the end of their joint chorus it all but collapses. Intentionally, I think, and it fits the song so beautifully. Close your eyes, hang your head until the fog blows away … open up your arms and feel the good … it's a'comin — a brand new day …
And then Danko sings, Now all you vigilantes wanna make a move — and is answered by Helm, Maybe they won't, y'know I sure hope they don't…
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It sounds like it could be 17th century Salem. This song could have saved a few witches, by god. Cotton Mather and the rest of them might have dug the message. I can't tell you specifically what the Rumor is, but I know that "The Rumor" is one of the Band's greatest achievements. Is this the Band's political album? Is this the Band's religious album?
End of the second half. Not bad at all! Slow first half, sure, but it's a recording, after all and a great second half is better than none. I am excited about Stage Fright, if not totally moved, at this stage of the game. It is an amazing acquaintance, pleasant to be with, even if so far it does not amount to an event on my karma calendar. Later on, it probably will.
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Love the intro paragraph, Carrie. Very clever. Actually, the whole article is extremely clever. I'm drooling over one too, to tell you the truth. It'll be a while before I can afford one, mind you. But that doesn't stop me from drooling. Good job.
Amazon's Kindle digital reader is like a Wii for readers: Endless entertainment options, loveable hardware, extra features galore. Just today, Oprah showed how, with the addition of an digital memory card, the Kindle allows you to carry around FOUR THOUSAND books. An entire library, in your carry-on bag. Instant gratification when you want a new book or magazine. Plus blogs.
But two things have held me (and my credit card) back: price and price.
That is, the $359 price tag, and the cost to buy books and magazines to put on it. Even though Kindle books cost about $6 less than hard copies, if you get most of your books through the public libarary or second-hand sales like I do, keeping your Kindle stocked will end up costing you more.
In a moment, more on whether a Kindle could actually save you money. But right now, here's something that's convincing me to take the Kindle plunge: This morning, that booklover Oprah offered a $50 off coupon code, making the Kindle just $309.
The code is OPRAHWINFREY, and it's good through Nov. 1.
Now, to the question of whether owning a Kindle can save you money. Many have asserted it can -- in fact the Wall Street Journal argued that it can in two different columns. The best way, the Journal points out, to save money with the Kindle is not through buying books -- saving $6 a book, you'd have to buy 52 new books for it to pay for itself even with the Oprah discount.
The way a Kindle can really save you money, WSJ columnist Brett Arends says, is with its mobile data features. With Kindle's keyboard and basic Internet browser, some users may replace their cell phone's mobile data plan with the free Kindle service, saving $20 a month or more.
If you set aside your $20 a month for mobile data toward the $309 for the Kindle, you are only paying $5.75 a month for a year, then it's paid for. So if you buy one book a month, and cancel a $20 data plan, the savings WOULD pay for a Kindle in a year.
Then there are subscriptions. When I was a business reporter, I used to subscribe to the New York Times to read on the train. It currently costs about $6.70 a week to have the Times delivered to your doorstep. On Kindle, it's $13.99, a savings of more than $13 a month. So if all you did was read the NYT, it would take you two years for the device to pay for itself at the Oprah price. But other magazines, like the Wall Street Journal, currently offer better deals on the paper version than the Kindle version.
In conclusion, I'd say that SOME people would save money with a Kindle. Daily train commuters and people who spend a lot of time in airports could clearly save -- and would most benefit from the convenience of not having to go out and seek physical copies of their reading material. For me, a stay-at-home mom with no mobile data plan, there would be little to no savings.
But you know what? I kind of, really want one anyway. And my birthday is coming up. And, since I have a free trial of Amazon Prime, I could have one here tomorrow by paying just $3.99 to upgrade to overnight shipping. Oh, wait! I thought of something. I'm about to spend about $500 on a nice oak bookshelf for our dining room. To hold all those old-school books we buy at second-hand sales, etc. If I stop buying paper books, I won't have to buy any more expensive bookshelves. And there's always the savings to the environment if I convert my Chicago Tribune subscription to a digital one, even though they're the same price.
Commenters: Can you help me come up with any more justifications so my husband will read this and buy me a "money-saving" Kindle for my birthday?
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Love the intro paragraph, Carrie. Very clever. Actually, the whole article is extremely clever. I'm drooling over one too, to tell you the truth. It'll be a while before I can afford one, mind you. But that doesn't stop me from drooling. Good job.
I've considered getting the Kindle too, but the cost of both the unit AND the fact that I can still get those books for free from the library has definitely held me back. I don't buy books normally, so I think having this device and the "sunk cost" feeling would make me spend more than I normally would on books. As tempting as it is, I'll pass for now unless the device comes down to like $100 and you save 70-80% off the price of the hardcopy book. I mean c'mon, it's digital and no printing costs for the publisher. Give me more savings than just a few bucks!
Yeah, I would spend more. Although I think i would subscribe to some blogs and enjoy reading those when out and about, for a pretty low price.
i used to pay for an audiobook each month from Audible.com. I think if i get a Kindle i will get into audiobooks again. Listening to those while doing housework is a lot more fulfilling than watching TV, which is what I have resorted to.
I blog at www.shopliftingwithpermission.com.
So you can also listen to audiobooks on the kindle?
Can anyone here confirm if you can also load PDF files and free ebooks onto the kindle? I have personal and business documents that would be useful to have with me for reviewing in transit.
Thanks for the coupon code - if these other two options are also viable for the Kindle, them I'm likely to be getting one soon too.
I think it's the instant gratification thing that would end up costing me a lot of money with the Kindle. I read a few books and magazines a week on average, but they're almost all from the library (I'm a librarian). If I had the power to instantly download a book onto a Kindle anywhere in the world, I think it's safe to say I'd end up paying a lot more for books/media than I do right now. It's really attractive, though. 4000 books in my commuting bag! Never running out of things to read on a train or bus or plane! The bliss!
It will encourage you to read more. The more you read the smarter you become. The smarter you become the more money you will make/save!
For me, one of the big temptations is the fact that I would have less to lug around, particularly while traveling. That, and we are trying to downsize to have less clutter overall. While the flood certainly helped with that, there is a huge shipment still to come that has been stored with the military this whole time. Confession? My husband and I are both book sluts. So when we are able (and it's way down the list for a while) we may choose to get one as a way to force ourselves to have less of them to pack up next time. Hopefully, the prices will be a bit lower by then.
If they had all of the textbooks I buy, I would gladly invest in one. As it is, I read alot, so that would be a double bonus. Be even nice if you could write on it for notes and have it save them.
Carrie, I wish I could help you justify the cost. I want one, too. Think about the cost, how long will the battery last, what is the replacement cost for the battery, do you sell your books after you read them (I often do)? If it has the same effect on your eyes as a computer monitor, will your eyes get tired in the same way? I agree with "Clever Dude." Not only does the publisher have on printing, shipping, etc costs., but it's one less used copy out there, since as I alluded to, you can't resell it. The cost of the "books" should definitely be lower.
Be strong! Don't do it! Maybe when the price hits $200. MAYBE.
$10 for a digital copy of a book I can't transfer or sell is an insult. Sell me a reader for $20 and a book for $0.50 and *maybe* I'll buy it.
I've been considering getting one for myself for a while now.... My husband has one, and gets his Wall Street Journal subscription through it. Since he travels a lot, I don't get to read the paper daily, and am frankly too lazy to go back through a week's worth of papers. Now that I will have my own, we can share the subscription. I will also use it to pick up those books that I can't read within a week or so; non-fiction books that are dry that I only read a few pages at a time.
Take a page from razor and printer companies: sell the Kindle for $99.95 plus shipping--i.e., come close to giving it away to make the profit on "refills"
Pyschologically, we human have three price points: FREE (dah), $19.95 and 99.95 plus S&H
Yes you can put free books on it, I have several classics that are out of copyright on mine. Also, Amazon sometimes has free books that it gives away. It also plays audiobooks through a built in speaker or a headphone.
It is true that it is a total luxury, but it is one of the best devices I have ever bought.
Did anyone else notice that Oprah kept calling it a "KENdile."Oprah, it's a KINdile." She should figure out how to properly pronounce a product she's endorsing.
- Several sources exist for free books.
Etexts (text format): http://www.gutenberg.org/
Audio books(mp3 & ogg vorbis): http://librivox.org/
SciFi: http://www.baen.com/
- The above sites provide books in standard electronic formats: text, pdf, ogg vorbis and mp3.
- I've not looked at Kindle since the early announcement. The first press releases didn't indicate that text, PDF or mp3/ogg format would usable on the Kindle.
- If Kindle has been made usable by adding these, then Kindle may be worthwhile.
- The Gutenberg/Librivox books are great classic literature. Their offerings are in the public domain (no copyright). If modern stuff is you taste, little will be available through Gutenberg/Librivox.
- Baen is a publisher with some web savvy. The recognize the complementary nature of Web versus books. They appear to realize most readers would like to taste via the web/ebooks, but will still buy hard copy of favorites.
I'm having difficulty parsing this sentence: "It currently costs about $6.70 a week to have the Times delivered to your doorstep. On Kindle, it's $13.99, a savings of more than $13 a month."
6.70 per week * 52 weeks per year = 348.40 per year
13.99 per month * 12 months per year = 167.88 per year
What's there to understand? there are a little more than four weeks in a month, four times 6.70 is a little less than 27, then subtract 14, and you have roughly $13.
The confusion is that it's not explicitly stated that Kindle's $13.99 price tag is per month, not per week. Just changing that portion of the sentence slightly to read "On Kindle, it's $13.99 per month," would clarify it.
(Of course, I realize it's years and years past the publication of this post... I just thought the commentor had a point.)
My husbands travels the majority of the year as well, which is one reason why we own a ton of books instead of getting them from the library. The upside to this arrangement is at least I get a chance to get my hands on the books once he's home (and luckily we have similar tastes). With music, we can share our song libraries.
Does anyone know if one Kindle user can share his book or subscription with another Kindle user? If we can't, it might mean we would actually pay *more* for reading materials. . .
However it simply will not take off while publishers keep trying to do the RIAA/MPAA trick of overcharging for them.
Let me explain.
The cost of a book (cover price) stems from a variety of costs associated with publication. The least of all costs is the royalties cost - the new author is typically lucky to get a few cents on a dollar for a new book, while more seasoned authors can get more.
The rest of the cost is wrapped up in publication, syndication, advertisation (is that even a word??) - and other necessary costs. Cut out all the need for print (this cuts a big swath through the costs), and you immediately reduce the cost to the publisher.
eBooks are currently more than half the price of a printed softcover book. This does not sustain itself, and is not value for money. Add the fact that you can simply get the book from the library for free.. you get the picture.
To date, I refuse to buy ebooks based on that simple problem. I'll loan them from a library, heck I'll buy them in print from a secondhand shop before I buy an ebook.
Personally, the ebook version should come free with the hardcopy; but that's unlikely to happen. The next best thing is making ebooks WORTH buying. Sell the at 1/5 of the cost if you buy 10 for example - would be worth my while; and instead of borrowing the book at the libraries I'd start buying them.
This sounds like a very fun gadget... Oprah can afford to promote it since she gets it free for the audience- although she is very excited about this product and it seems genuine.... I think if it were $200.00 I would take a chance on it.... I too enjoy going to the library, and putting books on reserve if they are best sellers.... There is something about sitting in a chair with a BOOK BOOK..... maybe we are getting too techo...
Listen, I know what you're doing. I can recognize it as I have done it so many times myself in the past. You are gadget-lusting. You are trying very, very hard to convince yourself that this thing will save you something, somehow: time, money, whatever. The "Amazon Prime" comment is a dead giveaway... You simply *want* thing thing.
There's no way it's worth it. I completely agree with the above posters re: the ridiculous price raping going on for ebooks. There is simply no way this thing is cheaper than going the library/inter-library loan/used book route.
I guess it's kind of a neat toy, but so not worth the money. There are many devices that do much more for much less. Come on, this is WISE BREAD!
I've had my Kindle for almost a year. I read so much, I actually unplugged my cable. Television has lost all it's appeal compared to a good book. My Kindle has already paid for itself, considering the greatly reduced price of books, not to mention the shelves I haven't had to buy. Plus, I get Newsweek for $1.43 a month. The wireless connection is great--I used my Kindle extensively in France and Italy earlier this year. Email and web surfing are effortless. I will say that Kindle works best on text oriented pages. Some pictures or graphics make it through, but most don't. But Kindle is about reading, and any avid reader will appreciate it.
1) To the commenter who wanted to know if you can view your own documents, the Kindle page on Amazon says, "Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing."
2) To the one who was confused about the price comparison for NYT, I should have said, "$13.99 a month." So as the above Guest pointed out, at $13.99 on Kindle you'd pay $167.88 a year, but at the $6.70 weekly delivery price, you'd pay $348.40 a year. Now that I look at it that way, I"m getting $15 savings a month. (I was just dividing the monthly price by 4 before, so I got a smaller savings figure).
If I was a commuter who subscribed to the NYT to read on the train, I would DEFINITELY get a Kindle instead. But, as Mark Ross said, I'm not in one of the particular situations where one could save money with a Kindle. It's just gadget lust.
I blog at www.shopliftingwithpermission.com.
The Kindle is a good option if you are willing to read public domain content or own a lot of other ebooks for other devices.
manybooks.net has thousands of classic books you can download to your kindle for free:
You can also listen to LibriVox audiobooks.
More sites with free books that you can download to the Kindle are listed at http://thekindle.wordpress.com/2008/01/19/free-books-for-the-amazon-kindle/ .
Also, I have read on the amazon site that they will convert your old ebooks into Kindle format if you email them to Amazon.
That is why I created StudentBookTrades.com. An easy way to find college textbooks that other students have already completed courses for. Students are automatically matched with each other to trade textbooks for classes they have completed. Trade, Swap, sell, or buy college textbooks from other students. Search the book database, contact the student at your home campus, city, state, or nationwide about the book and save money.
im a stay at home mom, with a part time job for a few hours and love the idea of a book on the job.i carry it everywhere.if happiness and joy dont count as a primary reason to buy an item like K2, im not sure you will find any satisfactory reason. I got it as a gift from a cousin of mine, who has been very generous and thoughtful and i can assure you i would not have bought it on my own, having said all this, i must confess i would have missed out on something spectacular had i not been given this as a gift.This is the first time, i have really appreciated technology in giving me happiness unbound...it did not happen with my HTC phone either...and i love a shelf full of books dearly.im old fashioned to the core but reading is my passion...and on that i will gladly invest more money.I would say you have bought umpteen number of book shelves, why not a K2?? you'll be surprised by the convenience and pure joy.

subset: commoncrawl


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Lindsay Lohan is dripping in diamonds as Elizabeth Taylor in the first "Liz and Dick" trailer, released Thursday by Lifetime.
LiLo's got Taylor's real-life act down, too: Red lips, sultry stares, a tendency to throw wine bottles at Richard Burton (Grant Bowler).
The television movie, directed by Lloyd Kramer, airs Nov. 3. Here's the trailer:


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Smaller government, smarter government
WASHINGTON — It was naughty of Winston Churchill to say, if he really did, that "the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." Nevertheless, many voters' paucity of information about politics and government, although arguably rational, raises awkward questions about concepts central to democratic theory, including consent, representation, public opinion, electoral mandates and officials' accountability.
In "Democracy and Political Ignorance: Why Smaller Government is Smarter", Ilya Somin of George Mason University Law School argues that an individual's ignorance of public affairs is rational because the likelihood of his or her vote being decisive in an election is vanishingly small. The small incentives to become informed include reducing one's susceptibility to deceptions, misinformation and propaganda. And if remaining ignorant is rational individual behavior, it has likely destructive collective outcomes.
Somin says that in Cold War 1964, two years after the Cuban missile crisis, only 38 percent of Americans knew the Soviet Union was not a member of NATO. In 2003, about 70 percent were unaware of enactment of the prescription drug entitlement, then the largest welfare state expansion since Medicare (1965). In a 2006 Zogby poll, only 42 percent could name the three branches of the federal government. Voters cannot hold officials responsible if they do not know what government is doing, or which parts of government are doing what. Given that 20 percent think the sun revolves around the Earth, it is unsurprising that a majority are unable to locate major states such as New York on a map. Usually only 30 percent can name their two senators.
Many people, says Somin, acquire political knowledge for the reason people acquire sports knowledge — because it interests them, not because it will alter the outcome of any contest. And with "confirmation bias," many people use political information to reinforce their pre-existing views. Committed partisans are generally the most knowledgeable voters, independents the least. And the more political knowledge people have, the more apt they are to discuss politics with people who agree with, and reinforce, them.
The problem of ignorance is unlikely to be ameliorated by increasing voter knowledge because demand for information, not the supply of it, is the major constraint on political knowledge. Despite dramatic expansions of education and information sources, abundant evidence shows the scope of political ignorance is remarkably persistent over time. New information technologies have served primarily to increase the knowledge of the already well-informed, which increases the ability of some to engage in "rent-seeking" from the regulatory state, manipulating its power in order to transfer wealth to themselves. And if political knowledge is measured relative to government's expanding scope, ignorance is increasing rapidly: There is so much more to be uninformed about.
A better ameliorative measure would be to reduce the risks of ignorance by reducing government's consequences — its complexity, centralization and intrusiveness. In the 19th century, voters' information burdens were much lighter because important federal issues — expansion of slavery, disposition of public lands, tariffs, banking, infrastructure spending — were much fewer.
Political ignorance helps explain Americans' perpetual disappointment with politicians generally, and presidents especially, to whom voters unrealistically attribute abilities to control events. But the elections of 1932 and 1980 dramatically illustrated how voters primarily control politicians — by "retrospective voting," refusing to re-elect them.
Some people vote because it gives them pleasure and because they feel duty-bound to cast a ballot that, by itself, makes virtually no difference, but affirms a process that does. And although many people deplore the fact that U.S. parties have become more ideologically homogenous, they now confer more informative "brands" on their candidates.
Political ignorance, Somin argues, strengthens the case for judicial review by weakening the supposed "countermajoritarian difficulty" with it. If much of the electorate is unaware of the substance or even existence of policies adopted by the sprawling regulatory state, the policies' democratic pedigrees are weak. Hence Somin's suggestion that the extension of government's reach "undercuts democracy more than it furthers it."
An engaged judiciary that enforced the Framers' idea of government's "few and defined" enumerated powers, leaving decisions to markets and civil society, would, Somin thinks, make the "will of the people" more meaningful by reducing voters' knowledge burdens. Somin's evidence and arguments usefully dilute the unwholesome democratic sentimentality and romanticism that encourage government's pretensions, ambitions and failures.
Write to George Will at email@example.com.


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Likud party chairman and Knesset Opposition leader MK Binyamin Netanyahu warned at the Jerusalem Conference Wednesday that the Obama administration and leftist Israeli politicians will try to internationalize holy sites in Jerusalem -- and he vowed to fight the move.
Netanyahu speech starts at 1:00 minute mark in video below.
Email readers: click here to watch Netanyahu speech.
Netanyahu told the audience, "Some politicians are trying to blur the importance of the Temple Mount to the Jewish People by referring to it as the 'Holy Basin.' We, as Jews, know who built the Temple Mount."
The term "Holy Basin" refers to the area of the Temple Mount, the Mount of Olives, Mount Zion and a variety of Christian holy sites which the administration of former U.S. President Bill Clinton recommended be administered under a "special regime."
This raises the issue of who would administer the Temple Mount, since at present the Wakf Islamic Authority controls the site, albeit under Israeli sovereignty. Moreover, the Arab neighborhoods surrounding the Temple Mount, home to tens of thousands of Israeli Arab residents, are also a part of greater Jerusalem, and thereby fall into the same discussion.
Former prime minister Netanyahu, who will likely return to his old leadership role after the February 10 Israel elections, repeatedly emphasized the Likud's loyalty to the concept of a united Jerusalem.
"We have demonstrated in the past, and will continue to demonstrate our commitment to a complete, undivided Jerusalem," Netanyahu assured a packed hall at the Jerusalem Regency Hotel, where he opened the final day of the Jerusalem Conference.
"What would have happened had we not built all those neighborhoods" around the central part of the capital after the Six-Day War, Netanyahu asked. "Jerusalem would have been choked." Moreover, he said, transferring sovereignty over those areas to the Palestinian Authority is not an option.
"Everyone knows what will happen if we were to leave those areas and divide Jerusalem. Someone will enter – and that someone will be Hamas."
Dividing the capital, or resurrecting the specter of internationalizing the "Holy Basin", this time at the recommendation of the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, would cause more problems even for the international community that it would solve, he added.
The three major religions of the world exist in peace, have access to all their sites, only because Jerusalem is united and under Israeli rule, Netanyahu contended, adding in deliberately Hebrew-accented English, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
L-R: National Union party Chairman Yaakov Katz, Likud MK Dr. Yuval Steinitz, Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu at the 2009 Jerusalem Conference
After Netanyahu's Jerusalem Conference speech, he convened with his fellow party member Dr. Yuval Steinitz and Ichud Leumi (National Union) party Chairman Yaakov Katz. Katz asked the Likud chairman what his plans are for a coalition after the Israel elections. Netanyahu responded, "We will establish a broad coalition based on all the Zionist parties - blue and orange." [Orange is the color associated with the Ichud Leumi (National Union) party and its supporters].
The meeting between Netanyahu and Katz was held in a positive atmosphere with reciprocal intentions for developing a close working relationship. Katz later told reporters, "Only a strong Ichud Leumi (National Union) in the Knesset will insure that all the good intentions of the government will be implemented."
Discuss this topic on the Israel Politics & Elections Forum (Photos: Nissim Zev)


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Story highlights
Several rockets land in the northern Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Israel's military says
Initial reports indicate they are a result of the conflict between Syria's armed forces and rebels
Israel's Mount Hermon will be temporarily closed to visitors, the Israeli military says
Several Syrian rockets landed early Wednesday in the Mount Hermon area of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, on the border with Syria, the Israeli military said.
"Initial reports indicate that the rockets are a result of (the) domestic situation in Syria," a spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces said.
"As a result the Hermon side of the mountain will be temporarily closed for visitors."
The Israel Defense Forces has been in touch with the U.N. force stationed between the two countries, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, over the incident, it said.
According to the website for Mount Hermon, it is the highest point in Israel and is visited by skiers in winter and hikers the rest of the year. A chair lift runs up the mountain, part of which is a designated military zone.
The Golan Heights, formerly Syrian territory, were seized by Israel in 1967. The two countries signed an armistice in 1974, following the Yom Kippur War, and U.N. forces have been stationed there since.
Is Syrian war escalating to wider conflict?
It's not the first time Syria's civil war has spilled over into the Golan Heights area.
Four U.N. peacekeepers were released Sunday, five days after they were seized by armed men while patrolling between Syria and the Israeli-occupied territory.
In March, 22 peacekeepers were held for four days by rebels. The United Nations called on Syrian and rebel troops at that time to honor the impartiality of the U.N. troops stationed in the Golan Heights.
Tensions in the area have been heightened recently and Israel has twice conducted strikes against Syria.


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The sudden decision to close the line from Kasina Wielka to Nowy Sacz to passenger traffic has taken several groups by surprise, not least Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Wolsztyńskiej Parowozowni (TPWP) who have a planned photo charter for 10 October. The line from Chabowka to Nowy Sacz, part of the Kolej Transwersalna had recently been subject to renewed activity, due to the Małopolskie Szlaki Turystyki Kolejowej (Malopolska Railway Tourism), organised by the Nowy Sacz Railway Enthusiasts Society. The society had recently received funding of 200,000 zl, (about £35,000) from the Malopolska regional government to run a series of charters along the line. They too, have had to change plans, for trains later this month, and into October and November.
Ty42-107 heads a special organised by the Nowy Sacz Railway Enthusiasts Society towards Chabowka, 26 May 2013. Photo: John Savery
The decision, taken on safety grounds, was made by PLK, the business which runs Polish rail tracks. With limited (if no) maintenance being undertaken on sections of the line, the permanent way is in poor condition. The remaining part of the line, from Chabowka to Kasina Wielka remains open.
The line has been threatened with closure before however had a last minute reprieve. With no scheduled freight service over the line, the closure is effectively a total closure over the scenic and heavily graded section between Kasina Wielka and Nowy Sacz.


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Warner Music has been keeping itself very busy as of late by sending YouTube takedown notices for videos it believes are unauthorized, and its zeal has now caused a bit of embarrassment for one of its own artists. The band Death Cab for Cutie had posted several of its videos--found via YouTube--to its official website, but fans found over the weekend that they couldn't watch them... due to a copyright claim from Death Cab for Cutie's own record label, Warner Music. The blooper left the band red-faced (it has since removed the embeds from the site)--and it highlights how crazy the DMCA takedown game has become.
The simplest explanation for the mixup is that whoever put the videos on Death Cab for Cutie's website managed to find unofficial uploads of the videos--that is, ones that weren't expressly authorized by Warner Music. (This is just our theory; it's unclear exactly how it was determined to use these specific videos on the site.) Warner, in its latest effort to apparently remove every bit of content it didn't explicitly authorize from the Internet, then sent a DMCA notice to YouTube. Subsequently, the videos were yanked, leaving Death Cab for Cutie's site with no Death Cab for Cutie videos.
Death Cab for Cutie's videos aren't the only ones Warner has taken down recently. The label has targeted a plethora of videos on YouTube as of late, some of which aren't even music videos. For example, some members of the Ars staff noticed last week that one of our favorite videos had been removed on request of Warner Music--a video of a somewhat rotund-but-lovable dancer named "Cubby" doing the choreography to Beyonce's "Single Ladies" music video. Millions of other Single Ladies dancers are still on YouTube (and if you're not in the mood to gouge your eyes out, we advise against searching for them right now), but only random ones seemed to have been removed. In case you're curious, Cubby has since reuploaded a new, slightly chopped version of his dance.
Aside from being mildly chuckle-worthy, these incidents only continue to highlight the absurdity of Big Content's takedown dance. Death Cab's videos were its own, but because they were on YouTube and possibly unauthorized because they were uploaded by someone else, they were taken down. And really, is anyone mistaking Cubby's Single Ladies dance for Beyonce's? (Don't answer that.) Record labels are becoming so obsessed with taking unauthorized content down that it's beginning to truly affect fans and even the bands themselves from enjoying the content that the bands have worked so hard to create.


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In theory, the GOP's main concern is the deficit. We must reduce it they say—and we must do it now–or face a financial Armageddon. But somehow or other, "cutting the deficit" always turns out to mean "reducing entitlement programs."
Let me suggest that cutting those entitlements programs is the GOP's primary goal.
Why would I say this?
Earlier this week , wh en Republican House speaker John Boehner presented his party's counter-proposal for solving the budget deadlock, he once again put lifting the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67 near the top of his list. Yet, it you take a hard look at the numbers, it becomes clear that this proposal would not save money–or strengthen the economy. Moreover, entitlement programs did not create the current deficit.
Begin with forcing seniors to wait until they are 67 before they can apply for Medicare. As I explain in the post above, this proposal simply shifts costs to employers, the states, everyone buying insurance in the Exchanges, other Medicare beneficiaries, and 65 and 66-year-olds themselves. It does not lower the nation's total healthcare bill. Indeed, the GOP's remedy would wind up costing us twice as much as we now spend providing Medicare benefits for people who are 65 and 66. (See graph in the post above).
I am not the first person to make this argument. The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Center for Budget Policy and Priorities offer eye-opening numbers that prove the point. One would think that, if the GOP's main goal were to save the economy, Republicans would be interested in these numbers.
One would be wrong. They ignore them (and seem to have persuaded the mainstream media to follow suit.) Why would conservatives close their eyes to the financial facts? The GOP has an agenda, and it's not about the deficit. The party's main fear is "creeping socialism."
Conservatives use the deficit as an excuse for slicing benefits that they acknowledge will inflict pain on the people who most depend on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security—the elderly and the poor.


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WHAT WOULD YOU DO? During Thanksgiving dinner, your father-in-law insists on watching football. You feel this detracts from family quality time. Do you shut the TV off?
PEGGY SAYS: As hostess, your role is to make everyone feel comfortable. For your father-in-law, comfort means watching the game. Strike a compromise — shut the set off during dinner, but let him (and others) watch beforehand and afterward. Or, plan to serve the meal during halftime. It's up to you to find the right balance for all your guests.


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A dog rescued from Afghanistan after she alerted soldiers to a suicide bomber was accidentally euthanized at an Arizona shelter on Monday.
A Pinal County Animal Care and Control employee has been placed on administrative leave for failing to follow procedures and euthanizing the wrong dog.
The dog, Target, was recently brought over from Afghanistan by a soldier who had returned from his tour of duty. Target was featured by CNN for heroism after saving dozens of soldiers from a suicide bomber on February 11.
"She got her name because the Afghans we lived with were constantly trying to off her. She's been shot in the leg. ... The Afghans actually ran over her," Sgt. Christopher Duke said, who helped care for Target in Afghanistan and has adopted her packmate Rufus. "There's no killing this dog for sure. She's pretty much been through it all, " he said upon their reunion in July in Georgia.
Target's new owner, Army Sgt. Terry Young whose life was saved by the stray, helped bring the 2-ish-year-old from Afghanistan to her new home in Arizona. She disappeared from Young's home on Friday. Facebook postings requested help in finding her.
Animal Care and Control received a call about a stray female shepherd-mix dog in the San Tan Valley area on Friday. An animal control officer picked up the dog and brought her to the shelter where the dog stayed over the weekend. The dog was not microchipped or licensed with the county, shelter officials said.
On Monday morning, the employee mistakenly took the dog out of its pen and euthanized it. The dog was not scheduled for euthanasia.
"I am heartsick over this. I had to personally deliver the news to the dog's owner, and he and his family are understandably distraught," said Animal Care and Control Director Ruth Stalter. "We work hard get to strays reunited with their owners. When it comes to euthanizing an animal, there are some clear-cut procedures to follow. Based on my preliminary investigation, our employee did not follow those procedures."
In an e-mail, Young told CNN affiliate KPHO, "I'm an absolute wreck today, and it's everything in my power to hold it together for me and my family. My 4-year-old son just can't understand what is going on with Target and keeps asking me to get the poison out of her and bring her home. They don't want her to go be with God yet."
"An investigation is under way, and we will cooperate fully. We will also thoroughly review procedures to ensure that something like this does not happen again," Stalter said. "This is unacceptable, and no family should be deprived of their companion because procedures were not followed."
Target was pregnant when she helped thwart the suicide bomber by attacking him. She had her litter of puppies in Afghanistan. Target's puppies have since been brought to the United States.
Its such as you learn my mind! You appear to understand so much approximately this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I believe that you can do with some p.c. to power the message house a little bit, however other than that, this is fantastic blog. An excellent read. I will certainly be back.


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RhipsideigmaThomas Hörnschemeyer
This tree diagram shows the relationships between several groups of organisms.
The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.
You can click on the root to travel down the Tree of Life all the way to the root of all Life, and you can click on the names of descendent subgroups to travel up the Tree of Life all the way to individual species.
For more information on ToL tree formatting, please see Interpreting the Tree or Classification. To learn more about phylogenetic trees, please visit our Phylogenetic Biology pages.close box
Five extant species of Rhipsideigma are known: Four of them, R. lugubris (Fairmaire, 1895), R. raffrayi (Fairmaire, 1884), R. adjuncta Neboiss, 1984 and R. anosibense Neboiss, 1989, are endemics of Madagascar. The fifth species, R. cretaceotincta (Kolbe, 1897), occurs in Tanzania on the east coast of Africa, slighly north of Madagascar.
R. raffrayi is the only species of which a larva has been described and investigated (Beutel & Hörnschemeyer 2002). There is no information on the life-cycle, host plants or any other aspect of the biology of these species.
The species of Rhipsideigma are comparatively large cupedid beetles. The smallest, R. lugubris, reaches 13mm of length but all others are 15mm to 20mm long and up to 6 mm wide.
The coloration is composed of different shades of brown with lighter, in R. cretaceotincta white, areas on head and prothorax and at the tips of the elytra. R. lugubris is a conspicuous exception here, with a black body and bright orange markings on head and prothorax.
Characteristic of all species of Rhipsideigma are the large, erect head tubercles, which are distinctly more prominent in this genus than in most other Archostemata. Exceptions are Cupes capitatus and Tenomerga leucophaea where similarly large tubercles are present.
Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships
According to Hörnschemeyer (2009) the closest relatives of Rhipsideigma are Cupes capitatus Fabricius, 1801 and Tenomerga leucophaea (Newman, 1839). Characters of the head, the mouthparts and especially the male genitalia indicate that the north American C. capitatus is the sistergroup of Rhipsideigma. The south African T. leucophaea then is the sistergroup to C. capitatus + Rhipsideigma.
Beutel, R. G. and T. Hörnschemeyer. 2002. Description of the larva of Rhipsideigma raffrayi (Coleoptera: Archostemata), with phylogenetic and functional implications. European Journal of Entomology 99:53-66.
Fabricius, J. C. 1801. Systema Eleutheratorum. Kiliae 2: 66-67.
Fairmaire, L. 1884. Note sur les Coléoptères receuillis par M. Ach. Raffray á Madagascar et descriptions des espéces nouvelles - 1re Partie. Annales de la Societe Entomologique de France 4: 223-242.
Fairmaire, L. 1895. Un Coléoptére nouveaux de Madagascar. Annales de la Societe Entomologique de France 64: clxxi - clxxii.
Hörnschemeyer, T. 2009. The species-level phylogeny of archostematan beetles - where do Micromalthus debilis and Crowsoniella relicta belong? Systematic Entomology 34(3): 533-558.
Kolbe, H. J. 1897. Afrikanische Coleoptera des Königlichen Museums für Naturkunde zu Berlin. Entomologische Nachrichten 23: 348-355.
Neboiss, A. 1984. Reclassification of Cupes Fabricius (s.lat.), with descriptions of new genera and species (Cupedidae: Coleoptera). Systematic Entomology 9:443-447.
Neboiss, A. 1989. New species of Archostemata (Coleoptera, Ommatidae, Cupedidae). Revue francaise Entomologie (N.S.) 11(3): 109-115.
Newman, E. 1839. XXXV.-Supplementary note to the synonymy of Passandra. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (Zoology, Botany, and Geology) 3(18): 303 - 305.
About This Page
University Göttingen, Institute for Zoology & Anthropology, Dept. Morphology & Systematics
Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Thomas Hörnschemeyer at
Page copyright © 2011
Page: Tree of Life Rhipsideigma Authored by . Thomas Hörnschemeyer. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.
- First online 10 February 2006
- Content changed 23 July 2011
Citing this page:
Hörnschemeyer, Thomas. 2011. Rhipsideigma http://tolweb.org/Rhipsideigma/9029/2011.07.23 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/. Version 23 July 2011 (under construction).


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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'power set' tag.
The difference between sets and , also known as the relative complement of in , is the set defined by
If we assume the existence of a universe, , such that all the sets are subsets of , then we can considerably simplify our notation. So, for instance, can simply be written as , which denotes the complement of in . Similarly, , , and so on. A quick look at a few more facts:
- ,
- ,
- if and only if .
The last one is proved as follows. We prove the "if" part first. Suppose . If , then clearly . But, since , we have , which implies . Hence, . This closes the proof of the "if" part. Now, we prove the "only if" part. So, suppose . Now, if , then clearly . But, since , we have , which implies . Hence, . This closes the proof of the "only if" part, and, we are done.
The following are the well-known DeMorgan's laws (about complements):
, and .
Let's quickly prove the first one. Suppose belongs to the left hand side. Then, , which implies and , which implies and , which implies . This proves that the left hand side is a subset of the right hand side. We can similarly prove the right hand side is a subset of the left hand side, and this closes our proof.
Though it isn't very apparent, but if we look carefully at the couple of problems whose proofs we did above, we note something called the principle of duality for sets. One encounters such dual principles in mathematics quite often. In this case, this dual principle is stated a follows.
Principle of duality (for sets): If in an inclusion or equation involving unions, intersections and complements of subsets of (the universe) we replace each set by its complement, interchange unions and intersections, and reverse all set-inclusions, the result is another theorem.
Using the above principle, it is easy to "derive" one of the DeMorgan's laws from another and vice versa. In addition, DeMorgan's laws can be extended to larger collections of sets instead of just pairs.
Here are a few exercises on complementation.
- ,
- if and only if ,
- ,
- ,
- ,
- .
We will prove the last one, leaving the remaining as exercises to the reader. Suppose belongs to the left hand side. Then, and . Now, note that if , then , which implies , which implies . If, on the other hand, , then , which implies , which implies . Hence, in either case, the left hand side is a subset of , and we are done.
We now define the symmetric difference (or Boolean sum) of two sets and as follows:
This is basically the set of all elements in or but not in . In other words, . Again, a few facts (involving symmetric differences) that aren't hard to prove:
- ,
- ,
- (commutativity),
- (associativity),
- ,
- .
This brings us now to the axiom of powers, which basically states if is a set then there exists a set that contains all the possible subsets of as its elements.
Axiom of powers: If is a set, then there exists a set (collection) , such that if , then .
The set , described above, may be too "comprehens ive", i.e., it may contain sets other than the subsets of . Once again, we "fix" this by applying the axiom of specification to form the new set . The set is called the power set of , and the axiom of extension, again, guarantees its uniqueness. We denote by to show the dependence of on . A few illustrative examples: , , , and so on.
Note that if is a finite set, containing elements, then the power set contains elements. The "usual" way to prove this is by either using a simple combinatorial argument or by using some algebra. The combinatorial argument is as follows. An element in either belongs to a subset of or it doesn't: there are thus two choices; since there are elements in , the number of all possible subsets of is therefore . A more algebraic way of proving the same result is as follows. The number of subsets with elements is . So, the number of subsets of is . But, from the binomial theorem, we have . Putting , we get as our required answer.
A few elementary facts:
- .
- If , then .
- .
1. Prove that .
2. Prove that .


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A study released this week shows that 73% of IT executives believe cloud providers are hiding performance problems.
Industry analysts say IT professionals are smart to be cautious, but added that they need to do their homework and ask the right questions before selecting a vendor.
"I don't know if it's a matter of distrust," said Jagdish Rebello, an analyst with IHS. "They are wary of the hype. The enterprise IT folks are being very, very cautious about their migration to the cloud. They see the cost benefits but when they look at reliability and security, there is essentially a fear of going wholeheartedly to the cloud."
Enterprises are still fairly new to the cloud computing phenomenon, but have long read headlines about cloud outages and security breaches, which, said Rebello, is enough to make any executive nervous.
"I'm not sure that cloud vendors are hiding information," Rebello said. "It could be more that there's just a lot of information IT people don't know. The comfort level is still missing."
A study by Compuware Corp., a provider of cloud-based collaboration and performance management tools, found that nearly three quarters of enterprise IT professionals worry that cloud providers are hiding problems at an infrastructure or platform level, and that thos problems could have an impact on application performance.
The study was undertaken by Germany-based Research In Action, an independent research and consulting company. The firm surveyed 740 senior IT professionals at companies around the world.
Zeus Kerravala, an analyst at ZK Research, said it is possible that a cloud provider may whitewash issues like compute process speed and security problems. "Yeah, [the fears are] justified," he said. "You pay for a service and hope it works. Also, companies have no real control over the hiring policies and security checks that the cloud provider uses."
However, Kerravala noted that enterprises simply must do their homework before choosing a cloud provider.
IT should be up front about security concerns, and should ask vendors about hiring practices, what kind of internal audits they use and how they protect against threats. The IT execs should ask for audit information, performance benchmarks and where data is going to be stored, since some companies are mandated to store their data in the U.S.
Kerravala also recommended that IT operations perform their own performance benchmarks of a cloud provider's offering. Track the performance of the service and if it seems to be declining, call the cloud provider out on it.
"But I will say, though, most cloud providers probably have better security controls than most companies," he added.
Jeff Kagan, an independent analyst, said he's not surprised that IT execs are anxious about the cloud. It's a new area and anyone jumping in, even now, is still considered an early adopter.
"Early adopters know they'll get new services but they'll also have to deal with problems," Kagan explained. "The problems are just coming up and they don't have a fix yet. Yeah, they look hot with this new technology but they're the ones dealing with the problems. Some companies will adopt it late because they don't want to deal with any problems at all."
"I don't know whether it's accurate to say cloud providers are hiding things," Kagan said. "It's a brand new experience for everyone. Cloud operators just don't know what's hiding around the corner until they're hit with something and they get a bloody nose."
Kagan recommended that enterprises work with multiple providers. They also should ask about any problems the provider has had in the last six months to a year. And be sure to talk to other customers.
"Realize that every cloud provider will have problems," he said. "The real issue is how quickly they deal with them. And you're going to find that out by talking with other customers."
Rebello said while companies should be cautious about the cloud, they certainly shouldn't ignore its advantages.
"The cloud provides benefits but go at a pace that makes you feel comfortable," he added. "It's not a technology that you should shirk but try to get as much information as you can. Look at it and then move some applications that have lower security implications for the company. Move those first. And make sure you have a gradual transition."
Sharon Gaudin covers the Internet and Web 2.0, emerging technologies, and desktop and laptop chips for Computerworld. Follow Sharon on Twitter at @sgaudin, on Google+ or subscribe to Sharon's RSS feed. Her email address is email@example.com.
See more by Sharon Gaudin on Computerworld.com.
Read more about cloud computing in Computerworld's Cloud Computing Topic Center.


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David Nammo has served as executive director and CEO of Christian Legal Society since 2012.
He is the former executive vice president of the Leadership Project for America, where he worked closely with conservative leaders such as former Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese, Publisher Al Regnery, Club for Growth founder Steve Moore, and U.S. Rep. David McIntosh, in preparation for the 2012 election cycle.
He also was the executive director of the Family Research Council Action (FRCA), the 501(c)(4) arm of the Family Research Council, where he worked on political issues, interfaced with Congress, and met with candidates from across the country. He also started the first PAC for the Family Research Council and engaged in the 2008 election cycle in over 40 states.
David consulted and worked for a variety of employers over several years, including Gammon & Grange, a Virginia law firm; defense consultants for the Defense Intelligence Agency, and as a sole practitioner practicing trademark and business contract law. His prior employment at the Christian Legal Society was as the former director of attorney and law student ministries of Christian Legal Society. He also helped found the IVCF/CLS joint taskforce and restarted The Christian Lawyer magazine in 2005.
He has been interviewed by national and international media, including the NBC Nightly News, Fox News, the Associated Press, CBN News, as well as various radio stations from across the country and around the globe. His op-eds have been published in USA Today, the Washington Times, the National Review, and many online news sites. Prior to attending law school at both George Mason University School of Law and Chicago-Kent College of Law, David worked as a journalist for the Fox News Service, a Middle East wire service, and WTTG-TV in Washington D.C.
David writes an occasional blog called Babylonian Thoughts, given his Chaldean heritage, as the son of a Christian-Iraqi. He is co-owner of a record label out of Southern California. He resides in Northern Virginia with Laura, his wife (a patent attorney), their six children, a cat, and a St. Bernard dog.


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Parrish, Maxfield
Parrish, Maxfield, 1870–1966, American painter and illustrator, b. Philadelphia; pupil of Howard Pyle. He is known for his original and highly decorative posters, magazine covers, and book illustrations and for his murals, including decorations for the building of the Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia. His glowing colors, especially the blues, are characteristic. He illustrated Washington Irving's
KnickerbockerHistory of New York, Eugene Field's Poems of Childhood, The Arabian Nights, Kenneth Grahame's Golden Age and Dream Days, and many other volumes.
See biographies by P. W. Sheeter (1973) and C. Ludwig (1973); S. Yount et al., Maxfield Parrish, 1870–1966 (1999).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: American and Canadian Art: Biographies


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Of the many earth-shattering topics addressed on part one of last night's Real Housewives of New York reunion--Aviva's phobias, Aviva's ex-husband, Aviva's highly suspect definition of the phrase "white trash"--none had me riveted quite like the Countess and the Princess fighting over what's proper etiquette when a celebrity borrows clothes.
The argument went something like this: Carole felt Luann overstepped her bounds when she asked her good friend Naeem Khan to borrow a dress. Luann felt her photoshoots in Life & Style would be good exposure for the brand, and she was the one doing the designer a favor. Carole disagreed ("It's not Vogue," she countered), said she never borrowed clothes for shoots or to tape the show (which left all of the ladies incredulous), and hit back that Naeem's pieces are only lent out for the likes of Michelle Obama (check her out looking fab in one of his gowns here). So, who's right here? Andy Cohen took the beef up on Watch What Happens Live and put it to his guests to decide:
Where do you ladies stand on Housewives-wardrobe-gate? Although I think Carole acted a little self-righteous about the whole thing, I have to say I think she's right. You? And um, how excited are you for reunion part 2!? This has been my favorite RHONY season ever!


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Steve's Story: Coping With Arthritis
Steve's Story
After being away from sports since his college days, Steve decided it was time to get back in shape and back into the game. Squash (an indoor racquet sport) and weight training topped his list of activities to enjoy again. And he did for a while—until arthritis turned his enjoyment into pain.
First signs of pain
Steve first thought something might be wrong when he couldn't make it through a squash game without feeling pain. He moved around the court just fine. But as soon as he stopped, his left hip would freeze up and hurt. "I would be very stiff, and I would have a hard time walking the next day," he says.
"I thought the stiffness and pain in my hip was just from the stress I was putting on my muscles," Steve says. "But when I changed my exercise routine or stopped working out, the pain was still there. And it was getting worse."
The pain began to interfere with other things in his life. As a university professor, he found it hard to stand and teach all day. "I would have shooting pain up and down my leg and back," he says. "I would have to shift my weight, sit down, or just try to find positions that weren't so painful." Trips to Europe and Asia were "sheer torture," says Steve.
He also found it hard to sleep at night. "The pain would come and go. It wasn't a sharp pain, but a kind of ache that would keep me awake a lot. I could never stay in one position for very long."
Dealing with the pain
For several years, Steve dealt with his pain as best he could, even if that meant he walked with a limp. He would take an over-the-counter pain medicine every day and keep busy to take his mind off the pain.
When Steve couldn't deal with the pain anymore, he went to see a doctor. An X-ray showed that he had arthritis in his hip. Steve's doctor suggested that he have his hip replaced.
Steve was only 46 years old at the time. "I wasn't sure about having surgery since I was so young. I had heard that an artificial hip could give out in 10 to 20 years," he says. "I was worried that I might need to get another one later on. I was also concerned about the risks of having surgery."
Steve decided to wait. He wasn't ready to have the surgery so early in his life. Instead, he started to take a prescription anti-inflammatory medicine to help relieve the pain. It helped for a while.
Time for surgery
"But when the medicine I was taking stopped working, I figured I had gone as far as I could go with this and decided to go ahead with the surgery," Steve says.
At age 55, Steve got a new hip, and he's happy that he did. "I was pretty much pain-free after about a month and a half. It's a strange feeling to be able to walk without a limp and to walk up and down stairs without grabbing onto the railing."
He encourages others who might need surgery to find a doctor they can trust. Steve also says it's important to ask a lot of questions and be clear on the risks and benefits of having the surgery. And, if it's possible, he suggests that people try to relieve the pain with medicine and exercise first, especially if their pain isn't really bad, because it may help for a while.
Even though Steve had to give up playing squash after his surgery, he's now back to enjoying other activities that once caused him pain, such as traveling overseas and sightseeing. "I could barely make it through a small part of the day," he says. "Now, these things are a pleasure again."
Steve's story reflects his experiences as told in an interview. The photograph is not of Steve, to protect his privacy.
Current as of: March 9, 2022
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:Anne C. Poinier MD - Internal Medicine & Martin J. Gabica MD - Family Medicine & Kathleen Romito MD - Family Medicine & Stanford M. Shoor MD - Rheumatology
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content.


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RENTON, Wash. -- Saying "I'll go to my grave" with regret, NFL referee Bill Leavy reopened a Seattle Seahawks wound that won't heal by acknowledging he made mistakes in the team's disputed Super Bowl XL loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers four years ago.
The veteran official began an annual training-camp rules interpretation session with the Seattle media after practice Friday by bringing up the sore subject without being asked.
"It was a tough thing for me," said Leavy, a veteran of 15 NFL seasons and two Super Bowls. "I kicked two calls in the fourth quarter and I impacted the game, and as an official, you never want to do that.
"It left me with a lot of sleepless nights, and I think about it constantly," Leavy said of the February 2006 game. "I'll go to my grave wishing that I'd been better."
Though Seattle played one of its poorest games of an otherwise wondrous season that day, several key calls went against the team in its 21-10 loss. It remains the Seahawks' only Super Bowl appearance.
This week is the first time since that game Leavy has been in Seattle with the Seahawks. He and a mini-crew arrived Thursday to help with the team's practices and give it a rules presentation.
Leavy didn't specify which plays he "kicked" that big day in Detroit. But there are two late ones that people still talk about in Seattle -- with disdain they usually reserve for cold, weak coffee.
Early in the fourth quarter, tackle Sean Locklear was called for holding on a pass completion that would have put the Seahawks at the Steelers' 1-yard line, poised for the potential tying touchdown. After the penalty, Matt Hasselbeck threw an interception, then was called for a mysterious low block on a play that ended with him tackling Pittsburgh's Ike Taylor on the defensive back's return.
The penalty moved the Steelers from their 29 to the 44. Pittsburgh used its better field position to score the clinching touchdown four plays later.
The next day, then-Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren stoked Seattle's angry fire when he addressed fans upon the team landing back home. Holmgren told frustrated fans at a civic gathering at Qwest Field, "I knew it was going to be tough going up against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I didn't know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts, as well."
Holmgren, now a top executive with the Cleveland Browns, has since said that he has gotten over that game.
But Leavy hasn't.
"I know that I did my best at that time, but it wasn't good enough," said Leavy, a retired police officer and firefighter in San Jose, Calif., who became an NFL referee in 2001. "When we make mistakes, you got to step up and own them. It's something that all officials have to deal with, but unfortunately when you have to deal with it in the Super Bowl it's difficult."
When high-profile referee Ed Hochuli visited the Seahawks' training camp in the months after that Super Bowl, he and his crew took good-natured ribbing from players.
"The Super Bowl was one of those games where it seemed the big calls went against Seattle," Hochuli said in August 2006. "And that was just fortuitous -- bad fortuitous for Seattle.
"The league felt, actually, that the Super Bowl was well officiated. Now, that doesn't mean there were no mistakes. There are always mistakes, but it was a well-officiated game."
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press


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Hot tea served in the heartland coffee shops in Singapore
The image is taken from http://beverageclub.wordpress.com/
As I was sipping my tea one working morning, I overheard the guy serving me coffee talking about somebody acting in a silly manner by sticking the Mandarin word 春[chūn] meaning /spring/ in English on the back of the wok. As some background information, it is perfectly fine to see this Chinese word stuck on the doors and in selected corners of a Chinese house to symbolise the arrival of spring for ushering in Lunar Chinese New Year. (Spring is a symbolic concept in a tropical country like Singapore) It is a traditional as well as a current practice for invoking the sense of festivity by putting up red strips of spring- and fortune-related Chinese words among many Chinese household in Southeast Asia.
The Mandarin Character for Spring
The image is taken from http://mydiamondsutra.net/index.php
According to the coffee seller, however, sticking the Mandarin word /spring/ on the wok at the hawker centre is not a good commercial-cultural strategy, not least the word is also sound symbolic to the word /chuun, tonal marking excluded/, which means /remain/ in Hokkien, another Chinese dialect spoken in Singapore, Malaysia and some parts of Indonesia. Playing by a Hokkien ear to the Mandarin /spring/ in a food business context would simply beget a possible situation whereby the food prepared for sale will remain as leftover in the stall. The three patrons including me had a hearty laugh while eating our breakfast, paying little interest to the validity of the cultural hypothesis, at first.
Instantaneously speaking in Hokkien, one male patron responded in a rather logically manner that it would definitely be the accurate move to stick the word in the kitchen at home, for at least there would be leftover every day. Of course, having leftover is not a good practice in the critical eyes of a nutritionist who would be insisting on all the meals served fresh. However, to a common Chinese mind, (cooked) food available in a kitchen is a sign of abundance and indexical to some form of basic happiness with hunger kept at bay.
While I am not sure if anybody would pay too much attention to the cultural semiotics underpinning the traditional practice of putting up auspicious Chinese words, I bet nobody in a normal mindset would dare to stick an inauspicious phrase or evil-sounding word at home, in the car or one's bedroom. We did have popular rock bands singing out loudly unauspicious words in their songs and in the case of one rock group, the lead singer wound up in a self-inflicted tragic ending.
The moral of the lesson is to offer good words to our loved ones no matter how redundant or insignificant they may seem to be at first. I remember seeing loving words in the Christian households, religious reminders in the Malay households, encouraging words in my hostel mates' rooms and, of course, wealth-related words in Chinese commercial sites. There must be good reason if not symbolic-semiotic reason to be surrounded with good words in whatever language that speaks to our heart and soul.
Jyh Wee Sew
Centre for Language Studies
Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
National University of Singapore


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Jan. 16, 2003 -- The king of the Arctic may be going down.
Scientists who have devoted their lives to studying the polar bears that rule the far north say evidence increasingly shows the white behemoths may diminish in numbers in the coming years and possibly disappear entirely within a century.
The reason for the concern is global warming, which seems to be having its greatest impact so far on the polar regions, particularly the Arctic, the only place on the planet with polar bears. Warming trends of recent years have caused the ice pack that is so vital to the bears' survival to shrink, moving farther offshore and taking longer to form during the critical winter months when the bears load up on seals to get them through the summers.
Of course, it's a bit premature to say these clever hunters that adapted to one of the harshest environments on Earth can't make yet another adaptation to a warmer habitat, but experts are doubtful.
Leaner and Smaller
"We have grave, long-term conservation concerns for polar bears," says biologist Andrew Derocher of the University of Alberta. Derocher has spent two decades studying polar bears, including a six-year stint as the polar bear research scientist at the Norwegian Polar Institute in Tromso.
He is not alone in his concerns. Ian Stirling, an adjunct professor at the university who gained fame through his study of polar bears that have given the northern Canadian community of Churchill its identity, has documented a gradual decline in the well-being of those bears. They are leaner, smaller, and less able to find enough food to survive, according to Stirling.
That has forced many of the Churchill bears to prowl the community for scraps of food, thus threatening a tourism industry that is the town's primary source of revenue. One woman was killed by a bear there last year.
Both Derocher and Stirling blame the problem on the reduction of the polar bear's primary habitat, the ice field that blankets the circumpolar region for much of the year. As numerous scientific investigations have shown in recent years, that ice pack is thinner, smaller, and less stable than in previous years, all apparently because of record high temperatures in the Arctic.
"Polar bears are 100 percent dependent on sea ice," says Derocher. "It's the surface on which they do everything they do. They use it as a walking surface, it's a hunting surface, it's the place where they breed.
"And in particular, north of Alaska, it's also a place where very many of the bears make their maternity dens and give birth to their cubs. So basically, what you are talking about is a reduction in habitat."
Icebound Survivors
It's amazing it should come to this, considering the past survival triumphs of polar bears. They are believed to have evolved from the Siberian population of brown bears, which were isolated by glacial advances during the mid-Pleistocene era, according to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
For thousands of years they roamed the ice pack over the North Pole, turning their heavy mantle snow white. The first humans to cross into the New World encountered the bears, which became both prey and predator.
Clashes with polar bears are rare, but they do happen. Stories abound of hungry polar bears that have stalked a human, regarded as just another piece of meat in a land with not a whole lot else.
"They definitely will kill and eat humans, given the opportunity," says Derocher, but he says those encounters are rare.
"On sea ice everything is pretty much shades of white, and maybe a little bit of blue," he adds. "There's not a lot happening out there. So from a polar bear's perspective, anything that's big and dark and moving around out there could actually be something to eat."
He hasn't had much of a problem during his many trips to the ice, partly because his expeditions move primarily by helicopter, so there's lots of noise to notify bears of his presence. When they do show up, he says, it's mainly because they're curious. Once they realize it's just a bunch of scientists, he says, they seem to lose interest.
The best way to avoid them, of course, is to stay off the ice, but that's an option that isn't open to the bears themselves.
Keen Nose for Seals
Their primary food consists of ringed and bearded seals, and sea ice is essential to the hunt. The seals give birth only on the ice, so the bears have to be on the ice to capture them. The seals prefer ridges of jagged ice that look like low mountains that are formed when two sheets of ice crush together.
Derocher says during the winter the mother seal hollows out an area in a ridge, with a hole in the ice below giving her access to the water, and then covers her den with snow.
"The bears walk through these areas, searching for seals," he says. Polar bears have an amazing sense of smell — some experts say they can smell a seal 20 miles away — and that apparently guides them to the hiding place.
But Derocher says he's still amazed at how accurate they can be.
"Once they get close enough, they rear up on their hind legs and crash through the snow layer and try to pin the seal inside the lair," he says. "It's pretty fast and dramatic, and they don't always get it quite right. They may have to do a heck of a lot of digging to find the seal under the snow.
"But sometimes they get it with amazing accuracy and pop the seal right out and head off for lunch."
Stealthy Stalker
Polar bears can also stalk a seal, moving stealthily across the ice until close enough to grab it. And sometimes they just wait over a seal's breathing hole in the ice, so immobile that they look like they're asleep, and when the seal pokes its head up for a breath of fresh air, it's lunchtime for the bear.
The seals prefer the shallow waters close to shore, because that's where they find the rich nutrients they need for their own survival. But as the ice pack moves farther out to sea, that puts the bears farther away from shore, and thus farther away from the seals.
In the years ahead, the seals may learn to give birth on shore, although they've never been known to do that before, and that would put them even farther away from the bears.
So unless the bears can figure out a new lifestyle, survival is probably going to get much more difficult in the years ahead.
Lee Dye's column appears weekly on ABCNEWS.com. A former science writer for the Los Angeles Times, he now lives in Juneau, Alaska.