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Last week I drove my son Tyler back to college for his fall semester at University of Illinois in Champaign. Along the way, he asked me what the blue flowers were along the roadside. Have you noticed the beautiful flowers blooming along our roadsides right now? Illinois roadsides are quite beautiful in late summer.
Tyler was referring to chicory that frequently grows along the compacted edges of roadsides. Chicory has a bright blue, 1 ½ inch wide flower and grows one to four-feet tall. Only a few flower heads open at a time and each last only a day. The roots are sometimes used as a coffee substitute or additive. I think the chicory flower shade of blue is one of the most beautiful in our plant world.
There was also a red clover purple flower blooming along the roadway that day. Red clover has one inch wide magenta or purple flower heads at the top of 6 – 24 inch tall plants. This is a three-leaf clover, with leaflets blotched in white. If you look carefully you might also find a rare four or five-leaf clover among its vegetation.
The most obvious roadside plant is grass. Unmown grasses are in full bloom right now and appear graceful as it sways with the wind (or passing vehicle). Grasses make their peak in last summer, but are attractive even in winter when the golden, dead foliage creates a stunning presence in a stark landscape. Common grasses along roadsides include foxtails, fall panicum, and timothy.
Tucked among the grass you will often see the dainty white Queen Anne's Lace. Queen Anne's Lace, also known as wild carrot, has lacy, flat-topped cluster of tiny cream-white flowers. Each flower has one dark flower at the center. Although attractive, this biennial plant is considered a troublesome weed. It is the ancestor of the garden carrot.
In many areas, bright yellow Jerusalem Artichoke makes a spectacular show this time of year. This sunflower has a yellow, three-inch flower and can grow five to ten feet tall. The Indians cultivated this large, coarse Sunflower for its edible tuber.
Some roadside plants are not a welcome sight. I cringe whenever I see noxious weeds such as Musk Thistle or ragweed. Noxious weeds are plants that are required by law to be controlled. Unfortunately, we still see them everywhere. Musk thistle actually has a beautiful purple flower head, but it will quickly take over as it spreads. Ragweeds are noxious within towns because they cause severe allergies in some people. The culprit is pollen released by their inconspicuous green flowers.
I hope this helps you better appreciate the roadsides you drive past each day. Please remember these cautions however: do not collect roadside plants and keep your eyes on the road for safe driving.


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Iran's Ahmadinejad: Capitalism is dead
At an Islamic economic summit in Turkey, Iran's President Ahmadinejad called for a new world order – a bid, perhaps, to deflect attention from protests at home and nuclear talks abroad.
| Istanbul, Turkey
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sought to bolster the Islamic Republic's regional standing at an economic summit for Muslim leaders in Turkey on Monday, by declaring that a "new era is starting" after the "definite defeat" of capitalism.
Analysts say that Iran has had a legitimacy deficit since a disputed presidential election and weeks of violent street battles in June, and is now trying recover lost diplomatic ground.
"They've had a real crisis, of both confidence and appearance in regional fora," says Anoush Ehteshami, a professor of international relations at the University of Durham in England. "And I think Turkey provides a very neat way forward for them, given that in many Arab circles, Ahmadinejad is not very welcome."
Ahmadinejad, one of the few heads of state to attend the committee meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference here, swept into Istanbul with his entourage to repay the recent visit to Iran of Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who spoke of the Iranian president as his "friend."
Iran is under pressure from the West to agree to a UN-brokered nuclear swap deal for enriched uranium, though Tehran has sent mixed signals about whether it will accept. But more important for Ahmadinejad in Turkey was portraying Iran as a regional leader determined to create a new world order and dethrone Western powers.
"We have to draw up programs based on Islamic economic thinkers. That way we can guide people to happiness, security, justice and honesty," Ahmadinejad said. "Change is a must."
Fending off 'bunker mentality'
Professor Ehteshami sees the Iranian president's visit and broader effort to reestablish legitimacy as a necessary move to counter a persistent opposition at home. Five months after Iran's election, sporadic protests have shown that a fierce government crackdown has not succeeded.
"I think they have to do this. What they want is not to give into bunker mentality. And be seen to be doing stuff out there," says Ehteshami. "Ahmadinejad's got so many problems at home, even if he restores legitimacy [in his government], it's hard to see if he can offer anything else.
"Because at every ... national event you can think of – the question of legitimacy is going to be raised by demonstrators," adds Ehteshami. "And the rest of the world is not going to be allowed to forget the domestic troubles."
Mixed messages from Iran
Similar questions have been raised inside and outside Iran about Ahmadinejad's policies. Western officials are uncertain where the government stands on the nuclear offer to exchange the bulk of Iran's low-enriched uranium for a consignment of specialized, higher-grade nuclear fuel for a small reactor that produces medical isotopes.
First the government agreed, during a meeting with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany. Then Iranian officials said the deal needed to be changed. And over the weekend a key hard-line member of parliament said any deal was dead. That was when the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Saeed Jalili, said talks could resume.
Likewise, the government has appeared to support renewed ties with America – from a "position of strength," as Ahmadinejad says – while at the same time continuing the fierce anti-American rhetoric that has helped define Iran since the Islamic revolution of 1979.
Even the defeated presidential candidate and key opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi, who has called for a more moderate foreign policy, has complained of inconsistent messages.
The government "has been constantly trying to change its policies recently, by sending congratulation messages, sending letters even if the other side doesn't reply, and expressing readiness for dialogue," Mr. Karroubi said on his website Sunday.
He criticized Ahmadinejad for meeting so many American academics and journalists during his visit to New York in September, as the president has done for several years.
"If one-tenth of such a meeting happened at the time of all past government, Islamists would have come onto the streets ... to protest the government," Karroubi said, according to a Reuters translation. "National interests should be observed. The national interest is not a matter that different governments can change."

subset: commoncrawl


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The Siren is exhausted, but very, very happy.
It's the last day of the blogathon, and donations and posts are still coming in. Let's make this the best day yet. Keep reading, and if you have not done so already, toss something in the hat.
As Marilyn has posted on our Facebook page, the troops have answered the rallying cry: "We've raised enough to preserve a 1,200-foot black-and-white nitrate silent film in fair condition, starting with lab inspection, cleaning, minor repair, and then moving on to make a new negative and print."
And what's more, "If we keep the donations coming, we might even be able to save a two-reeler or three-reeler."
The Siren has been delighted with the number of bloggers participating, and the very high quality of their posts. We are raising awareness in a big way, and creating an archive on this topic that will be a great resource on the Net.
But of course, the point is to raise money. And while donations have been present, and steady, and the good folks at the National Film Preservation Foundation are grateful for every dime, the Siren thinks we can do better.
First person truth time here: I've been running this blog for five years, and never asked anyone for a dime, until now. Please consider throwing a donation into the hat for the NFPF, no matter how small.
This week, the film blogosphere is demonstrating vast knowledge and love of film history. Let's also show our generosity.
More in store today here and at Ferdy on Films. I have a new post up, an interview with Lee Tsiantis, the man who played a key role in bringing the RKO Six back onto our screens a couple of years ago. Lee is a film lover working a dream job as Corporate Legal Manager at Turner Broadcasting. His work entails sifting through the vast paperwork associated with the film library there, and he has much to say about the ins and outs of film rights.
Welcome! Here is where the Siren will be keeping track of posts as they come from bloggers. You can drop her a line in comments or via email (firstname.lastname@example.com) to say your post is up. And please do the same at Marilyn's place, Ferdy on Films; as co-hosts we will be both be keeping lists.
Over at Cinema Styles, Greg has a beautiful new commercial for the Blogathon, suitable for embedding.
And remember to include the all-important
to the National Film Preservation Foundation. Feel free to include the following boilerplate, for your readers' convenience:
The National Film Preservation Foundation is the independent, nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to help save America's film heritage. They work directly with archives to rescue endangered films that will not survive without public support.
The NFPF will give away 4 DVD sets as thank-you gifts to blogathon donors chosen in a random drawing: Treasures III: Social Issues in American Film, 1900-1934 and Treasures IV: American Avant Garde Film, 1947-1986.
Do follow the links to the posts. The Siren is mighty impressed with the lineup and can't wait to read the contributions herself. Remember too that comments are a blogger's joy.
As the week goes on, this post will be continue to be top o' the Siren's blog; her own preservation posts will be immediately below.
Sunday, February 21st
The mighty James Wolcott sets a good example with his own donation and notes with pleasure that he's helping to save, among others, a Norman Mailer film called [untitled].
C. Jerry Kutner of Bright Lights After Dark has a lovely screen-cap essay on Maurice Tourneur's Victory. Stunning images, complete with the original tinting.
Mary Hess of Eastman House pays tribute to her mentor, James Card, who is a hero to all those who care about preservation. Includes a clip from the restoration of Melies' Peter Pan, which Card supervised; at Mary's new blog, Laughing Willow.
Toby Roan, of 50 Westerns from the 50s, a great blog that's new to the Siren, posts about the near-miss involving Jacques Tourneur's Stranger on Horseback, starring the beloved Joel McCrea.
Noel Vera, a familiar name to the Siren's readers, brings a preservation bulletin from the Philippines (the news ain't good) and a brilliant write-up of a sharp and prescient film that is almost entirely lost--and it was made in 1986.
Arthur S. discusses Samuel Fuller's Run of the Arrow, arguing passionately for the film's greatness and lamenting its lack of availability. (And by special request of the Siren, he includes a link to a piece on The Cobweb, a film we would both like to see resurrected.)
David Cairns devotes his Sunday Intertitle to our blogathon. The Siren won't tell you the one word of the intertitle, but she will tell you the post focuses on a name that makes her happy just to hear or look at: Lubitsch. And there is more Lubitsch here, in the splendid "Trailers for Lost Films."
MovieMan0283, at his Dancing Image blog, has an absolutely not-to-be-missed roundup of images , many from movies that are either unavailable, or damn close to it. The good news: In the year since he compiled the list, a number have been released from non-DVD purgatory (I see you, African Queen.)
Tinky Weisblatt returns to give props to three more heros of preservation, as well as to the bienniel Orphan Film Symposium. All this, and an easy recipe for peach jam. Yum!
DeeDee of Noirish City wraps up her blogathon posting with another reminder of what is at stake for film lovers. Thanks so much for your week-long support, DeeDee!
Sarah Baker, who wrote so movingly about Olive Thomas, has another must-read post, Reputations Restored: Lost and Found Movies of 1929.
Donna Hill closes out her blogathon posting with a series of marvelous clips from the silent era.
Joshua Ranger argues for preserving the lesser lights of filmdom, including the unloved biopic: "we also have to maintain the insignificant because it, too, is a piece of the picture of the past."
Jaime Grijalba posts, in Spanish, on Exodus 8:2 about one of the most keenly lamented of all lost films, London After Midnight.
Finally, my pal Glenn Kenny of Some Came Running gives us another plug, and fulfills a previously unrecognized but nonetheless urgent need: The blogathon's own haiku.
Saturday, February 20th
Buckey Grimm sums up his series with a post in praise of those who have been doing the hard work of preservation for decades now.
Dennis Nyback is back with a post about a 1940 movie, which Dennis transfered himself, of singer Ronnie Mansfield--which he screened for Mansfield's granddaughter and her children.
Stephen Morgan at Screen Addict writes about original intent--not constitutional, but cinematic.
Sara Freeman of Today's Chicago Woman has a tribute to women of the cinema, with special mention of the radiant Lillian Gish in The Scarlet Letter.
Hind Mezaina returns with clips of women having fun with swimming, cycling and sending Valentines in the early days of the century.
Tom at Motion Picture Gems posts about a film the Siren believes to be seriously underrated, Peter Bogdanovich's Nickelodeon, and the preservation message it carries.
Ryan Kelly of Medfly Quarantine signs in with a piece about that screwy, ballyhooey, phoney, super Coney, one and only...Fort Lee, New Jersey! What, you were expecting someplace else?
J.C. Loophole of The Shelf outs himself as an academic, an historian to be precise, and explains with great eloquence the historical case for film preservation: "The images we have of our nation, of our entertainment, or our highs and lows, of how we interpret those highs and lows are as important as the self-same written documents and government papers that we spend so much time and effort to preserve."
Andreas at Pussy Goes Grrr ponders the tragedy of lost films, including janitors both shamed and redeemed.
They tell me there's an Olympics going on; well, David Cairns has a clip depicting (ahem) amazing athleticism at Shadowplay.
Paula has more stills, this time from The Shamrock Handicap.
Friday, February 19th
Marilyn is looking deep into the eyes of Theda Bara in A Fool There Was.
At Gareth's Movie Diary, the proprietor uses the beguiling Bar Harbor Movie Queen, among others, to talk about the urge not only to preserve, but to present.
Jenny the Nipper of Cinema OCD has an excellent and provocative post: Bootleggers or Preservationists?
From the University of Vermont comes Adrian J. Ivakhiv at his blog Immanence, talking about the ways in which Decasia "comments on its own materiality."
Joe Thompson ends his series on the history of nitrate with a bang: the 1909 Pittsburgh film exchange explosion. Many photos.
Marilyn and I are very pleased to be joined by students, including Trish Lendo, Sadie Menchen and Charles Edward Rogers, in the moving-picture archive program at UCLA--they are the the future of preservation. (I'm also very taken with "Let Us Now Praise Scratchy Prints.")
Hind Mezaina, who writes The Culturist blog from her home in Dubai, brings in an international flavor with a series of posts that include some marvelous clips from the BFI Archive.
Justin Muschong returns with A Trip to the Acme Film Preservation Emporium.
Donna Hill also returns with stills and posters from lost films.
Thursday, February 18th
At the Phil Nugent Experience, the host gives props to several heroes of film preservation, including the inimitable Henri Langlois.
Shahn runs Six Martinis and the Seventh Art, that pictorial temple to the art of black and white; but in this photo series, she shows the ravages of decay.
Before the blogathon began, a man of the Siren's acquaintance demanded, "If this is about saving all film, what about porn, huh?" Well then, here is Doug Bonner, with a post about the perfect film stock for the Golden Age of Porn and which film from that era he would most like to see preserved.
Movie Man at The Sun's Not Yellow warms up with a post on Rossellini's Stromboli, ahead of another promised post on Sunday.
Tinky Weisblat of Our Grandmother's Kitchen posts some reminiscences about Britain's Iris Barry, who used her influence as a critic to support preservation early on. And there's also a swell recipe for tea sandwiches.
Kendra at Viv & Larry has another entry in her series tribute to the fine folks at Criterion, this one on Nights of Cabiria.
Tim Brayton at Antagony & Ecstasy finds three different faces of film preservation in those once and future media darlings, vampires.
DeeDee of Noirish City returns with a post about George Melies' The Impossible Voyage.
Buckey Grimm continues his Brief History of Nitrate with a brief post about nitrate testing, and a link to remarkable photos from some tests.
Catherine Grant at the invaluable Film Studies for Free contributes a plug and clips from "some entertaining and informative online videos about film preservation," as well as links to "openly accessible, scholarly material about this essential but expensive art and science."
Ed Howard of Only the Cinema writes about two avant-garde shorts, by Bruce Baillie and Storm de Hirsch, that have been preserved by Anthology Film Archives and included on the Treasures IV set from the NFPF.
The Siren adores Greenbriar Picture Shows, and thoughtful, funny, well-versed John McElwee, who runs it. You owe it to yourself to click on this one: "We Are All Preservationists."
The name James Card should be as familiar to film lovers as Henri Langlois. Jon Marquis, of Thoughts of Stream, shows why as he examines Pandora's Box, the resurrection of which was one of Card's finest accomplishments.
Joe Thompson is back with part II of a Brief History of Nitrate, including the perils of moviegoing at the turn of the century.
Mark Edward Heuck, who does freelance work rescuing genre and exploitation films from limbo and coaxing them onto DVD, has a touching story about how one such film brought back a small piece of a wife and mother for her famous widower and son. At the delightfully named blog The Projector Has Been Drinking.
Peter Nelhaus returns with a post about the 1934 Chinese film The Goddess, saved through the efforts of a single person, Professor Richard J. Meyer.
What this blogathon really needed was more Conrad Veidt; Paula's Movie Page has a boatload of pictures from Different From the Others.
Wednesday, February 17th
Lou Lumenick, New York Post head film critic and the Siren's TCM comrade, has a fantastic piece of writing and research at his place, about the Public Domain Purgatory of Henry Hathaway's To the Last Man--"a tight, surprisingly dark and impressive little movie."
Adam Zanzie at Icebox Movies examines Fear and Desire, the hard-to-see Stanley Kubrick film that for years has garnered "a frown, a groan, a snicker, or a goofy grin" from fans.
Brent Walker, at his blog devoted to Mack Sennett, uses that director's career to explain why the best fate for a silent movie was to be made for a company that went out of business.
Brian Herrera of Stinky Lulu signs in with a post on the sui generis Who Killed Teddy Bear, analyzing it as artifact of its era ("like a nudist magazine, Teddy Bear lets it all hang out without really ever showing anything") and as a "queer" film.
Buckey Grimm of Mindless Meanderings explains the origins and preservation methods of the Library of Congress Paper Print collection.
David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson lend their highly respected voices in support of our efforts; the plug is part of an essay about the intricacies of preserving experimental films, when the "flaws" are deliberate.
David Cairns is back with a look at the avant-garde film Decasia, so brief and impeccable the Siren will spoil it no further.
Dennis Nyback returns with an elegiac tribute to two theatres that were once grand temples of nitrate, the Michigan Theater and the Grand Riviera, both in Detroit.
Greg Ferrara, having done so much with promoting the blogathon, chips in even more at his blog Cinema Styles, with a post about C.B. DeMille's The Godless Girl, a recently restored silent sent to him by the NFPF: "The restoration of The Godless Girl allows cinephiles everywhere to witness the last great gasp of a director in the silent era before sound slowed him down."
Director Jeffrey Goodman joins in with memories of screening films with the ghost of Henri Langlois, at The Last Lullaby (and) Peril.
Justin Muschong, at Brilliant in Context, meditates on which film is worth saving ("all of it") in a witty essay that ranges from Welles to Army boots.
Karie Bible of Film Radar takes us through the lost films of Clara Bow, as well as hope in the form of some that have been restored.
Kendra at Viv & Larry is back with a loving tribute to the immortal romance of Brief Encounter.
Leo Lo, whose blog is 365 Films a Year: A Librarian's Film Journal, tackles the question of what academic librarians can do to preserve films.
At Paula's Movie Page, she has posted more stills, from Where Are My Children? and Lady Windemere's Fan. paulasmoviepage.shutterfly.com.
Tony Dayoub at Cinema Viewfinder checks in with a review of the recently restored 1922 Sherlock Holmes, and finds not only a subdued performance from John Barrymore, but also a supporting cast that includes a future ghost magnet, a future columnist and a future martini-drinking icon.
Tuesday, February 16th
Roger Ebert is once again rallying the troop for the blogathon, with more tweets about our fundraising and praise for the contributors. His devotion to preserving cinema has been an example to everyone for more than forty years, and his support gladdens our hearts.
James Wolcott gives us more reason to rejoice, with a rousing plug for the blogathon, full of links, praise and the all-important donation link to the NFPF.
Gloria Porta, lover of film in general and Charles Laughton in particular, has an amazing treat for all fans of the actor and Spartacus: an in-depth look at the movie's convoluted filming, from screenwriting to editing, and extensive discussion of Laughton's preparation and interactions on set, and a huge, invaluable list of references and links.
Gordon Dymoski of Blog This, Pal writes about the intersection of film preservation and pop culture with a piece about VCI Entertainment's reissue of the first Green Hornet serial.
Joe Thompson at The Pneumatic Rolling-Sphere Carrier Delusion offers a history of nitrate, via newspaper articles and clippings from as early as 1889--for example, a letter to the editor, in 1897, from a fire warden worried about the dangers of the movie projector setup.
Kendra of Viv & Larry continues her appreciation of all things Criterion with a post about Days of Heaven, surely on everyone's list of the most beautiful movies ever made.
Peter Nelhaus of Coffee, Coffee and More Coffee, who is rumored to have seen everything, makes his first contribution: a look at Lon Chaney's first starring role in The Penalty, detailing Chaney's amazing preparations for the role of a legless crime lord.
Sarah Baker at Flapper Jane continues her contributions with three simple, but eloquent, reasons to support film preservation.
Monday, February 15th
Catherine Krummey at Speaking of Cinema pays tribute to Martin Scorsese, a hero to preservationists everywhere, and gives a link to his acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes.
Christopher Snowden of The Silent Movie Blog has a beautiful set of rare stills from lost movies, and some witty suggestions as to where to find the missing films--far off the beaten track.
Dennis Nyback, having wowed everyone in his interview with Anne Richardson, is going even further to help out, via a post at his own site. The irresistible title: "Nitrate Film – More Feared Than Frankenstein – Less Understood Than Eraser Head – More Dangerous than repeated viewing of Sleepless in Seattle."
Erik Loomis of alterdestiny is a historian with a specialty in the late 19th and early 20th century. Here he talks about the importance of the NFPF archives in his teaching work, using the example of a chilling 1912 movie about slum life, The Land Beyond the Sunset.
Greg offers a concentrated dose of gorgeous in a teaser post at his pictures-only blog Unexplained Cinema: 10 Frames: The Godless Girl.
Jacqueline T. Lynch at Another Old Movie Blog delves into Vertigo, reminding us that it took years for the movie's stature to grow. Although Vertigo was made in 1958, restorers stil found film stock of Hitchcock's masterpiece that was rotting in the can.
Kendra at Viv & Larry continues her blogathon contributions with a loving writeup of That Hamilton Woman, in which she pays careful attention to the design and cinematography of the film as well as the two glorious leads.
Maggie at Silver Screen Dream bemoans the state of Love Affair's print; and fearlessly tackles the question of whether some films are "worth saving."
Paula will be promoting us by posting movie pictures at her Shutterfly page all week; view the first batches here.
Rob at Rob's Movie Vault dubs The Race to Save 100 Years "Preservation 101," and unearths many salient facts among the paeans to Ted Turner. (We forgive him for that fling with colorization now, don't we?)
Sunday, February 14th
Anne Richardson of Oregon Movies A to Z has an interview with Dennis Nyback, a collector, curator and projectionist with much experience of nitrate--and film booth stories to scare the hell out of Quentin Tarantino.
Arthur S. brings his unerring eye and deep sense of film history to bear on the great Raoul Walsh and two early sound pre-Code films, The Bowery and Me and My Gal.
Betty Jo Tucker of Reel Talk Movie Reviews looks at Martin Scorsese's invaluable role as a high-profile, tireless advocate for film preservation.
Bob Fergusson, the Operator 99 of Allure, takes a single issue of Photoplay magazine from 1931 and analyzes the survival status of all 186 movies listed in it, in a riveting exercise he calls "Now You See It, Now You Don't." A must for Pre-Code hounds.
Buckey, back at his blog Mindless Meanderings, writes about the early days of film preservation, while silent movies still reigned. Among many things the Siren learned from this piece: "Productions such as D.W.Griffith's 'The Avenging Conscience' were totally unusable in as little as 10 years after its release."
Buttermilk Sky, long a treasured commenter at the Siren's place, has a post on her favorite Marx Brothers film, Monkey Business, and why it deserves restoration. You had me at "Marx Brothers," though!
David Cairns, whose Shadowplay is simply one of the best classic-movie blogs anywhere on the Interwebz, ponders why Rin Tin Tin is more like Burt Lancaster than Montgomery Clift.
David Ehrenstein of FaBlog has a clip-studded tour through the highly flammable, but oh-so fabuloso history of nitrate, with Max Reinhardt's gleaming, glorious A Midsummer Night's Dream as the centerpiece.
DeeDee at Noirish City has links to the blogathon, her thoughts on and her own pledges for film preservation--and plans for her own giveaway. Check it out!
Donna at Strictly Vintage Hollywood furthers her love of all things Rudolph Valentino with a look at the great lover's three lost films. Two of these, A Sainted Devil and The Young Rajah, have fragments surviving; but Donna gives a complete storyline and numerous production stills for Uncharted Seas, not one frame of which is still with us.
Dwight Swanson of Home & Amateur writes about the poignant history of Think of Me First as a Person, a documentary put together from home-movie footage that was shot in the 1960s and 1970s by the father of a child with Down Syndrome.
Eddie Muller, president of the Film Noir Foundation, guest blogs at Marilyn's Ferdy on Films. He describes the making of Cry Danger, praises the film's excellence, and offers a heartening example of how his foundation worked with studios to get a decent print circulating once more. Lucky San Franciscans will be able to see it at the Noir City festival this year.
Ivan G. Shreve untangles the Very Meta Mystery of the two versions of It's in the Bag! (1945), one of only six movies made by radio legend Fred Allen. Ivan has even included a transcript, so you can play along at home.
Kendra of the smart, well-written Leigh & Olivier fan blog, Viv & Larry, pays tribute to everyone's favorite DVD house, Criterion.
Lou Lumenick, chief film critic of the New York Post, links arms with the blogosphere and plugs the blogathon. His teaser post has a cameo from a sad Kay Francis and a high-profile villain: Joseph P. Kennedy.
At her blog Or Maybe Eisenstein Should Just Relax, Meredith chooses the restored version of The Red Shoes to be her valentine, after seeing it at the British Film Institute--along with memorabilia from the movie, lent by Martin Scorsese.
Ray Young of Flickhead, one of the most original film writers around, reviews all six pounds of the apparently definitive work of research and love, This Film Is Dangerous: A Celebration of Nitrate Film. Amazon, anyone?
Sarah Jane Baker, the film historian and writer who maintains the Flapper Jane blog, has a lovely piece about that iconic figure of Hollywood tragedy, Olive Thomas. In Sarah's quest to blow the cobwebs off the legend, she was able to locate and preserve some films that reacquaint us with Olive, the talented actress.
Vince is the proprietor of Carole & Co., a fan blog cherished by all who appreciate painstaking research and excellent writing, as well as the great Carole Lombard. His post delves into the mystery of what Lombard looked like before her facial injuries in a 1926 car accident, and describes the fate of two early Lombard sound films.


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CFP: [20th] Globalization and the Holocaust
American Comparative Literature Association conference 2008
This seminar seeks to explore the ways in which Holocaust discourse has traveled and continues to
evolve in global discourse and "narrative†in a broad understanding of the term. In the sixty years
since the Nazi attempt to eradicate European Jews, the Holocaust has become the litmus test for
and lingua franca of discussions of genocide, trauma, human rights, the limits of ethics, memorial
culture, and the notion of radical evil. While scholars have become increasingly interested in the
effect the centrality of the Holocaust has in authorizing or marginalizing experiences of suffering
around the globe, little attention has been paid to the role of the Holocaust in globalization and the
commensurate effects generated by the truly global diffusion of Holocaust memorials, literature,
and inquiry. This seminar is particularly interested in the possibilities that emerge for Holocaust
studies when focusing on the way the Holocaust is narrated outside Euro-American contexts and
beyond survivor testimonies.
Please submit 250 word abstracts to me and/or to the ACLA website
From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List
more information at
Received on Tue Oct 02 2007 - 15:26:00 EDT


text:
By George E. Curry
NNPA Editor-in-Chief
RABAT, Morocco (NNPA) – Although Tunisia, Egypt and other troubled hotspots in the region have been shaken by popular uprisings, Morocco has been able to avoid turmoil by expanding the rights of its citizens and giving them more say in their future, Jesse Jackson said in a speech here Tuesday.
In the speech, the longtime civil rights leader praised this northern African country slightly larger than California that borders the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, between Algeria and Western Sahara.
"This region has seen the Arab Spring uprisings all around: Tunisia, Egypt, wars in Libya, and Syria. Many acted with unpreparedness and without defined instructions and a foundation to build a unified, democratic future," Jackson said in a speech at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in this capital city.
"Morocco has responded with wisdom and achieved excellent results: it met the Arab Spring uprising by expanding democracy – a new Constitution, a renewed commitment to human rights, a commitment to economic growth and social unification," Jackson said. "That's why Morocco today is stable, your democracy is maturing, and you are building institutions to govern your future political, economic and social life."
Jackson said Morocco, a country of 32.6 million, of whom 99 percent are Muslim, is a "great untold story."
He explained, "The media often focuses on what's wrong in the world and threatening conflicts in this region, sometimes deservedly so. Egypt's uprising and second uprising, wars in Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The media covers violence and bloodshed and war every day. But I submit that peaceful, non-violent resolution of conflicts, sustained economic growth – these are the waves of the future that also deserve media coverage."
Morocco enjoys strong ties to the United States, becoming the first nation to recognize U.S. independence in 1777.
The country describes itself as a constitutional, democratic, parliamentary and a social monarchy. According to news accounts, in response to Arab Spring unrest throughout the region in early 2011, King Mohammed VI introduced a series of changes that included constitutional reforms and early elections.
At various stops during his 5-day visit to Morocco, Jackson described the king as "a young, global-minded and wise leader."
Despite the establishment of the National Council on Human Rights by King Mohammed VI, more than a dozen human rights activists complained of continued human rights violations in a private meeting Monday with Jesse Jackson.
They alleged the use of police violence to quell peaceful demonstrations, official corruption, lack of transparency, prison abuse, delays in fully implementing the new constitution and failure to assure freedom of expression.
An even larger issue facing Morocco is the longstanding dispute over Western Sahara, with the country claiming about two-thirds of the area as its Southern Provinces and the Algerian-backed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which is pushing for an independent state, at war with Morocco over the territory after it was vacated by Spanish colonists and Mauritanian occupiers.
The United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 1991 with the expectation that a referendum would be held to help settle the matter. But the referendum never materialized and the UN is still struggling to negotiate a settlement.
The dispute began more than four decades ago, yet Jesse Jackson remains optimistic.
"When differences and conflicts arise, reasonable people can work it out peacefully, and not fight it out with violence," Jackson said in his speech. "If Blacks and Whites in South Africa could work it out; if East and West Germany could work it could, then surely Morocco and Algeria can work it out."
Using examples from the period of slavery through the death of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old, unarmed Black youth killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla., Jackson talked about the U.S. still struggling to perfect its democracy.
"From those places, today the son of a Kenyan father is now the U.S. president, the single most powerful man in the world, accompanies by 42 African-American members of the U.S. Congress, a member of the U.S. Senate and Supreme Court, and thousands of mayors, state legislators and local elected officials," Jackson said.
He urged Moroccans not to underestimate the power of one individual to bring about sweeping change, citing the cases of the young Chinese student who risked his life at Tiananmen Square by bravely standing in front of a column of military tanks, Rosa Parks' decision to challenge segregated seating on a Montgomery, Ala., bus, Dr. Martin Luther King's lifelong struggle for equality and the self-martyred man in Tunisia who ignited the Arab Spring.
"The value of democracy is appealing and healing – often poetic," Jackson stated. "It raises a high chin bar for human relationships – between the governor and the governed, and between each other. Its strength lies in its resiliency – it bends but does not break.
"[It's] the yardstick that challenges traditions of tribe and race, and gender and religion. In a real democracy, everybody is somebody. All are included and none are excluded. A minority of one matters in a democracy."


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Story highlights
The appropriations measure goes to the Senate, which also is expected to pass it
The nearly $1 trillion spending plan keeps the government funded through September
Senate negotiators propose a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut
A compromise spending bill to keep the government funded for the rest of the fiscal year won approval Friday from the House of Representatives, the first step toward averting a partial government shutdown at midnight.
The nearly $1 trillion measure passed on a 296-121 vote and now goes to the Senate, where approval is also expected.
A Senate vote is likely on Saturday, and Senate leaders said the presumption of the measure's approval will prevent a partial government shutdown when current authorization for government funding ends at midnight Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said that under a White House ruling, "if one house passes a spending bill …. and there's a presumption it will pass in the other body, the time is extended for 24 hours."
"So everyone doesn't have to worry about the government closing tonight," Reid said.
A one-day continuing resolution was passed by the Senate Friday and signed by President Barack Obama to keep the government funded through Saturday's expected vote.
Meanwhile, the House headed out for its holiday recess as scheduled after passing the appropriations bill, but Speaker John Boehner told reporters that members could be called back to Washington if the Senate passes a separate measure extending the payroll tax cut.
"The members will go home and if there's a need to come back to finish our work, we will do so," said Boehner, R-Ohio.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, notified members they would get 24-hours notice of any pending votes if the Senate sends back a payroll tax-cut measure.
On Friday night, Senate negotiators were unable to reach agreement on a comprehensive payroll tax-cut plan and instead proposed a two-month extension. It was unclear if the plan would get eventual approval from the full Senate.
Obama has called for Congress to stay in session until both the spending bill and the payroll tax-cut measure have passed.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said Thursday that Obama didn't want to risk American workers facing a higher payroll tax rate in January on the promise that legislators will return from vacation to pass the payroll tax-cut plan by year-end.
The two major pieces of legislation became linked this week in political maneuvering involving the White House and Senate leaders.
Congressional negotiators signed off on the government appropriations plan Thursday night. The giant spending package appropriates money for the rest of fiscal 2012, which ends September 30, at levels agreed to in the debt-ceiling agreement in August.
Without the spending bill, authorized government funding would end at midnight Friday, causing a partial shutdown.
At the same time, Obama and Democrats have pushed for the separate measure that would prevent the payroll tax cut enacted last year from expiring at the end of this month.
A Democratic effort to delay action on the spending plan – which was agreed to by a bipartisan conference committee – until resolution of the payroll tax cut issue fell apart in talks between party leaders that began Wednesday night.
"We forced them to go ahead and sign the conference report and get that done so that the government doesn't shut down, and we feel victorious on that," Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Georgia, said Friday.
With House approval of the spending plan, the onus of legislative action fell on the Senate, where a deep partisan divide had stalled progress on the payroll tax-cut measure until negotiations began in earnest Thursday.
The Senate talks involve extending the payroll tax cut and other provisions that expire at year-end, including an extension of unemployment benefits and an increase in payments to doctors who provide Medicare services.
Democrats want these programs to be extended through 2012 , but they had floated the idea of a fallback two-month extension to ensure that there will be no negative impact on Americans if Congress fails to reach a broader deal.
A Senate Democratic leadership aide said the two-month extension would clear the way for further negotiations on a larger deal.
However, Boehner said Friday that any attempt for a short-term extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits would be altered in the House, in particular by adding a controversial provision to speed government approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada.
According to congressional sources, and confirmed by Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the two-month plan proposed by Senate negotiators Friday night included the oil pipeline provision. It also would extend the lower payroll tax rate, unemployment benefits and the increased payments to Medicare doctors.
The Obama administration has delayed until 2013 a decision on the pipeline that would transport oil from Canada's tar sands production facilities in northern Alberta to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas.
The delay followed complaints by environmentalists and Nebraska officials that the pipeline route could threaten that state's Sandhills region and vital Ogallala aquifer. Alternate routes are being considered, and Nebraska officials as well as the pipeline company, TransCanada, acknowledge that the process of approving a final route will last into the second half of 2012.
Republicans, who traditionally back the oil industry, accuse Obama of delaying the issue until after his re-election bid next year for political reasons.
In the House, they added the provision to require a decision on the Keystone project within 60 days, arguing it would create jobs and reduce U.S. dependency on Middle East oil. The House version lacked Senate support and never came up for a vote.
The State Department, which has final authority to approve the oil pipeline, warned that the shortened deadline for a decision on the pipeline would effectively kill the project, because there would be insufficient time to assess the route alteration.
The legislative maneuvering was a last-gasp bid to end weeks of political wrangling that threatened a partial government shutdown and raised public frustration with Congress even further.
A poll released Thursday by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press showed public discontent with Congress at record levels, with two-thirds of voters saying most lawmakers should be voted out of office next year.
CNN's Ted Barrett and Kate Bolduan contributed to this report.


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City of CharlotteCharlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center600 East 4th StreetCharlotte, NC 28202
Mecklenburg CountyCharlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center600 East 4th StreetCharlotte, NC 28202
Residents within Mecklenburg County can dial 311. If outside the county, please dial 704-336-7600.
City and County officesThe City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Offices are closed on recognized holidays (see below).
CharMeck 311Customer service representatives are available Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The call center is closed on weekends and City-recognized holidays (see below).
Outside of regular business hours, callers can report water, sewer, storm water and animal emergencies via an automated service that dispatches assistance. You can also make service requests online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at CharlotteNC.gov/Services.
City- and County-recognized holidaysNew Year's DayMartin Luther King Jr. DayGood FridayMemorial DayIndependence DayLabor DayThanksgiving Day + day after ThanksgivingChristmas + one day


text: > Government Information Sources > US-CERT Advisories (aka CERT-CC Advisories) Must have. Although largely republication at the moment, we expect this to change, and volume is fairly low. > US-CERT Vulnerability Notes (CERT-CC) Must have. > US-CERT Bulletins (aka Cyber-Notes) These are collections of already public reports, possibly generated from CVE even? > DoD IAVAs Doubt usefulness. Republication well after CVE has been assigned? > NISCC Good to watch, new vul reports rarely come out. > AUS-CERT Almost exclusively republication. AusCERT even provides a list of what products/vendors they monitor (or did). > CIAC Name changed, believe this is entirely republication. > CNA Published Information > CMU/CERT-CC Must have, but included in US-CERT vul notes and Alerts above. > Microsoft > RedHat > Debian > Apache > Apple OSX > Oracle Must have. > Non-CNA Vendor Advisories > Solaris > Suse > Mandriva > HP-UX > SCO > AIX > Cisco IOS > Free BSD > Open BSD > Net BSD > Gentoo (Linux) > Ubuntu (Linux) Must have, although as usual lots of duplication across linux/UNIX distros. > Mailing Lists & VDBs It's been a while since I watched any of these closely. > Bugtraq Must have. > Vuln-Watch > VulnDev Not sure what these are like anymore. Seemed to be low signal. > Full Disclosure Lots of noise, but new reports come out. Must have. > Security Focus Bugtraq? Or other lists? > Security Tracker Not sure of current quality/signal. > OSVDB Must have, because they're trying to be reference complete. > ISS X-Force > FRSIRT Changed name again -- VUPEN? If they provide original reports, then must have. > Secunia Good to have. > Packet Storm No longer familiar, seems dated. > SecuriTeam No longer familiar. > SANS Mailing List (Qualys) Don't know about new vul reports here. > Neohapsis (Security Threat Watch) Only know about their archive service. IMO, any and every source of "OC" (original content, original vul reports) should be monitored, starting with major vendors, CNAs, and sources with high quality signal (even if they are also noisy). - Art


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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A woman saluted as a CNN Hero was among a group of creative philanthropists honored Tuesday by President Obama.
Alfa Demmellash helps low-income entrepreneurs in New Jersey start or grow their businesses.
The White House event highlighted nonprofit programs that are making a difference. Alfa Demmellash was invited after White House staffers saw her being profiled on CNN.
Demmellash runs Rising Tide Capital, a company in New Jersey that helps low-income entrepreneurs start or grow their businesses.
Her organization "helps struggling mom-and-pop entrepreneurs get loans, run their businesses and improve their profit margins," Obama told the gathering at the East Room of the White House.
"Seventy percent of their clients are single moms. All of them rely on their businesses to support their families. And so far, Rising Tide has helped 250 business owners in the state of New Jersey.
"Imagine if they could help 500 or 1,000 or more ... all across America. If we empower organizations like these, think about the number of young people ... whose lives we can change, the number of families whose livelihoods we can boost." Watch Obama call attention to Demmellash's program »
Obama pointed out Demmelash to the crowd with his trademark self-deprecating humor: "We've got Alfa Demmellash from Rising Tide Capital ... where's Alfa ... right over there. Did I pronounce your name right? Good. When your name's Barack Obama, you're sensitive to these things."
Demmellash, who was born in Ethiopia, started Rising Tide in 2004 with Harvard University classmate Alex Forrester -- now her husband -- to help those who had ideas and abilities but needed the education and support to launch or grow their businesses.
The group runs the Community Business Academy, an intensive training session coupled with year-round coaching and mentorship to help individuals "really work on the hands-on management side of their business," Demmellash said.
The organization supports underserved populations, including women, the formerly incarcerated, minorities, the unemployed and working poor, and immigrants and refugees.
Rising Tide Capital raises money from corporations and works with local governments for funding in order to provide classes and support its participants at affordable costs.
Participants pay a small materials and registration fee based on their income range: either $100 or $225 for the course that Demmellash says would cost thousands of dollars otherwise.
The organization has also built partnerships with micro-lenders, so when students are ready, the lenders provide financing.
Many of the students use the increased earnings from their new businesses to supplement their wages, allowing them to better provide for their families and transform the face of their communities, according to Demmellash.
"I am personally blown away that our work as a small grass-roots organization made it onto [the president's] radar," Demmellash wrote in an e-mail after the White House event. "But the validation and meaning his recognition gives to the efforts of the many struggling entrepreneurs in this country working to achieve self sufficiency and create jobs as well as those hundreds in this field working to support them is immeasurable. Watch Demmellash react to being invited to the White House »
"I am grateful for his support and for CNN Heroes for bringing our story of economic hope, perseverance and self-reliance that is central to the American dream to the ears of our president."
Want to get involved? Check out Rising Tide Capital's Web site and see how to help.
All About Small Business • Ethiopia • New Jersey


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MasterMover Global News
Bespoke handling solution delivering safety benefits for Pharmaceutical
A custom MasterMover electric tug is delivering pinpoint accuracy and assured smooth traction to ensure fragile loads are moved with confidence across a pharmaceutical facility, which develops flu vaccines using an egg-based manufacturing process.
MasterMover's MH400+ has been developed in stainless steel to ensure compliance with clean room standards at the site, which injects flu virus into eggs before they are moved for incubation.
Previously, the egg carts were manually handled, but the company wanted to adopt a more modern approach to adhere to health and safety advances, ultimately reducing the risk of musculo skeletal disorders, as well as finger, hand and foot trapping.
MasterMover's design team were drafted in to design a custom coupling to fit their trollies and to also modify the electric tug's legs to meet their specific dimensions.
The specialist coupling system ensures a secure connection to the side of the trolley whilst lifting two of the castors in order for the tug to fully control its direction – and the design features one leg instead of the standard issue two, to meet the size of the trollies at the pharmaceutical plant.
Hugh Freer, President of MasterMover Inc, said: "We've created a machine that is absolutely designed to the client's specific requirements.
"We needed to be able to ensure the integrity of the eggs was maintained during the movement and ensure no excessive force was being placed on the load, so a good deal of testing and development centred around that.
"The end result is a safer and more efficient process, which is delivering significant benefits at the facility."


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Even before birth, infants are listening to us. In a world full of sounds, they must learn to attend to certain sound contrasts more than others in order to parse speech effectively. What are infants' patterns of perception and discrimination at each step of this trip? On this website, we nucleate meta-analyses bearing on this key question. We now hold the largest database of infant vowel discrimination research, in a public format.
What can InPhonDB do for you?
Imagine knowing the inner works of 100 studies without actually having to run them -- well, that is kind of what InPhonDB can do for you!
Check out this tutorial page whether you are planning, or have already carried out, a discrimination study -- or even if you are working on something that is sort of related but not quite on discrimination.
VisualizerVisualize the relationship between effect sizes and various study variables here.
How much data are we missing?
We would like to know how much data we are missing by including only published/openly reported studies.
If you have been the principal investigator in least one experiment on infant speech sound discrimination in the last five years (published or unpublished), please consider filling in our 5-minute e-survey. (If all your studies are or will be published, you will answer "no" to the first question).
Special reports
In the process of putting together the vowel discrimination database, we also explored this literature in a number of ways. Read up on:
Use the Vowel Discrimination databaseThe database can be viewed on google spreadsheets. You can then click on the menu File/Download and choose the format that you prefer.
You can also download a version which already contains the effect sizes generated using this R script.
Help InPhonDB grow!
There are many ways you can help this venture. Find out more here.


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Dedicated To Combating the Willful Rewriting of History and Fighting the Spread of Antisemitism
Labels: Dry Bones cartoon, eathquake, help, Israel, rescue, Syria, Turkey
Back to Current Posts
I started Dry Bones in Jan 1973. Since then I've been known as "Bones" to friends and colleagues. This is the first time I've ever shared the "stories behind the cartoons." Enjoy.


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WASHINGTON – The wild west – it brings to mind images of cowboys and showdowns. It probably does not bring images of women in elected office.
But Democrats and Republicans both say the independent, wild west mentality of Arizona voters is one reason the state elects more women than most others.
Arizona has the third-highest percentage of women in its legislature, at 34 percent, trailing Colorado and Vermont, according to data from Rutgers' Center for American Women and Politics.
Arizona leads the nation for female governors, with four: Rose Mofford, Jane Dee Hull, Janet Napolitano and Jan Brewer.
That is no surprise to Lisa James, who said Arizona has always been ahead of its time when it comes to women.
"We're pioneer people," said James, chairman of the Dodie Londen Excellence in Public Service Series, which prepares Republican women for leadership positions.
"If you were able to come out West and look at the desert and go, 'I want to make a home here and I want to make a life here,' you tend to be a little more forward-thinking," James said. "So I think the wild wild west applies to also being forward-thinking in electing women in to office as well."
Political consultant Catherine Nichols said that in Arizona the question is not about whether women can win elections, but about whether they can raise the money necessary to run a campaign.
"We have a mentality of voting for the individual even over party," said Nichols, senior political consultant for Arizona List, which works to get pro-choice, Democratic women elected. "It's the storyline of the person running."
That was echoed by two women lawmakers who said that while it's great to have other women in office, but more important that they can do the job.
"To me there are good and bad male legislators and good and bad female legislators," said Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Glendale.
Lesko doesn't think a person's sex determines whether they are a good legislator, but she said she would like to see more Republican women leaders.
Rep. Victoria Steele, D-Tucson, said that what women bring to politics is about their experiences, not their gender.
"For whatever reason that more women are getting elected in Arizona, I think it's a good thing," Steele said.
"I think it's a good thing because we bring this different perspective based on our experience. Not on our gender, but based on our experience and how we are socialized," she said.
While Arizona rates well on the state level, it has a poor record when it comes to sending women back East. The state has only sent five women to Congress, and two of them are there now: Democratic Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick of Flagstaff and Kyrsten Sinema of Phoenix.
Marni Allen, director of Political Parity, said in an email that the obstacles to getting elected to federal office include fundraising, exposing personal lives and receiving little party support,
She also said a "governing structure in Washington that seems to be filled with 'angry, white men,' means many women who have been successful in politics at a more local level don't perceive the step up as a desirable career move."
The lack of women in Arizona's congressional delegation is tied in part to a lack of term limits in Congress, said Kelly Dittmar, assistant research professor at the Center for American Women and Politics.
"I think that's definitely an additional hurdle for women in trying to run for congressional office," Dittmar said of the advantage incumbents hold.
Kim Owens, executive director at Dodie Londen, said Arizona's history of electing women shows the open-mindedness of the voters.
"There's no one profile of what an Arizona voter is looking for," Owens said. "They truly do look at each candidate.
"In the races where we've been fortunate enough to have women elected in leadership, it's been because the voters saw them as the best person for the job and historically, those women have been re-elected in large numbers," she said.
Nichols brought that voter independence back to the wild west.
"We have this wild west mentality of the independent person who can make up their own mind and it doesn't really matter if they're Republican or Democrat, there's a desire to have a leader that's not going to be swayed," Nichols said.


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(CNN) – It's official.
After months of speculation, former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner announced in a YouTube video posted to his campaign website late Tuesday that he is running for mayor of New York City.
"Look, I've made some big mistakes and I know I've let a lot of people down. But I've also learned some tough lessons," Weiner says in the video. "I'm running for mayor because I've been fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it for my entire life. And I hope I get a second chance to work for you."
His campaign told CNN he does not have any events planned for Wednesday.
Now that Weiner is in the race, the Democrat will undoubtedly face questions from voters and fellow candidates about the 2011 scandal that eventually led to his resignation from Congress.
His political career was derailed after he was found sending lewd photos and messages to multiple women. At first he lied, claiming his Twitter was hacked, but he later admitted to the indiscretions and left the House of Representatives.
But the former congressman from Brooklyn says he's hoping for a second chance, and has been not-so-quietly testing the waters about a mayoral bid in recent months.
Rumors began swirling in January, after a filing with the New York City Campaign Finance Board revealed that Weiner's mayoral campaign committee, created ahead of his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination in the 2005 race, had a healthy $4.5 million cash pile.
Weiner later admitted in a lengthy, repentant New York Times Magazine profile in April that he was eyeing the mayor's race, and confirmed that his political committee had spent more than $100,000 on polling and research.
Also in April, Weiner released a detailed plan outlining his ideas for the city. Called "Keys to the City," the document, which appears to be a reworked version of a plan Weiner released during his 2009 campaign, lays out 64 ideas to revitalize New York City's middle class.
Weiner asks New Yorkers for feedback on his plan in his video announcement, which also features a rare appearance from his wife Huma Abedin.
A longtime aide to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Abedin stayed mostly silent throughout her husband's scandal, but has been publicly expressing support for his political comeback of late.
"We love this city, and no one will work harder to make it better than Anthony," Huma says in the video.
This will be Weiner's third run for mayor of the Big Apple – he ran in 2005 and launched a bid in 2009, but later dropped out when the city council extended the mayor's term limits, allowing incumbent Michael Bloomberg to run again.
Two polls conducted in April indicated that Weiner would jump to second place in the race for Democratic nomination, but would still trail by double digits frontrunner Christine Quinn, the city council president.
Asked about Weiner's candidacy at a forum in New York Wednesday, Quinn wouldn't mention her new rival by name.
"This race, I don't care who's in it, is about what the candidates have done for New York's middle class and what our vision is for New York's middle class moving forward," Quinn said. "And I don't care who enters the race. Nobody has a better, stronger, clearer record of delivering for working class and middle class New Yorkers than I do, and nobody has the set of specific ideas, plans and visions like I do."
–Kevin Liptak, Ashley Killough, Paul Steinhauser and Leigh Remizowski contributed to this report.
This guy is ridiculous.
and what's new?
Yeah he was wrong. But he would make a good mayor. He is a fighter. Who among you can cast the first stone?
Oh why not? If Sanford could get elected to Congress, this dck can be mayor of NY.
He is no different than any other politician, at least he was not arrested, like Larry Craig for trying to solicit in the bathrooms. Then Craig tryed to deduct his attorneys fees from his income taxes. He claimed those trips were for official purpose only. Ha, ha, thats a good one.


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Story highlights
Servicewomen who served in Iraq, Afghanistan say military discriminates against them
U.S. military has longstanding policy against women in ground combat
Women awarded Purple Stars and who were involved in firefights are battling the policy
Four servicewomen who have done tours in Iraq and Afghanistan filed a suit against the Defense Department Tuesday challenging the military's longstanding policy against women in ground combat.
Some of the plaintiffs led female troops who went on missions with combat infantrymen, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing the women.
"Their careers and opportunities have been limited by a policy that does not grant them the same recognition for their service as their male counterparts," the ACLU said. "The combat exclusion policy also makes it harder for them to do their jobs."
Air National Guard search-and-rescue helicopter pilot Maj. Mary Jennings Hegar flew medevac missions in Afghanistan. While she was rescuing three injured soldiers, she and her crew were shot down and forced to engaged in combat, according to the ACLU.
Hegar suffered shrapnel wounds, and she was later awarded the Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor, the ACLU said. She returned to flying status within a week. Despite that, the combat exclusion policy prevents her from seeking some combat leadership positions, the ACLU said.
An IED took a veteran's leg, not her fighting spirit
Hegar said serving has very little to do with gender, and that the military's policy is "an injustice to women who have come before us and who continue to put their lives on the line for their country."
She wanted to be an Air Force pilot since she was a kid.
"I have proven my ability every step of the way," Hegar said, according to a news release from the ACLU.
Two of the plaintiffs led Marine Corps "female engagement teams" in Afghanistan, according to the ACLU. They lived with and conducted missions with combat infantrymen. Another plaintiff was sent on similar missions in the Army, accompanying combat troops in Afghanistan, the ACLU said.
Those jobs were considered temporary duties outside of the servicewomen's official specialties, so their combat experience is not given official recognition, the plaintiffs contend.
The Service Women's Action Network, a national female veterans group, is also part of the suit, and the plaintiffs are being further represented by the ACLU of Northern California and a California-based law firm.
Women make up more than 14% of 1.4 million active military personnel, the ACLU said.
The military's policy excludes women from more than 238,000 positions, according to the ACLU, arguing that that situation prevents commanders from mobilizing their troops effectively.
The ACLU and others who represent the woman said the policy denies training and recognition for service, puts women at a disadvantage for promotions or moving up in rank and prevents them from competing for jobs that they've shown they're capable of.
Pentagon spokesman George Little took questions about the suit Tuesday, saying that he couldn't comment about pending litigation, but he added that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta "remains very committed" to examining role of women in the military.


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LOS ANGELES, CALIF.—Richard Bull, who played shopkeeper and put-upon spouse Nels Oleson on TV's Little House on the Prairie , has died. He was 89.
Bull died Monday at the Motion Picture & Television Fund's hospital, fund spokeswoman Jaime Larkin said. The actor, a resident of what was once known as the Motion Picture and TV home, died of natural causes after being hospitalized with pneumonia, Larkin said Tuesday.
"Everyone loved him so much," said Bull's Little House co-star Alison Arngrim , who played his daughter, Nellie, and remained close to him. "People are posting (condolences) in six different languages on my Facebook page."
Bull "was as Nels Oleson as you'd possibly want someone to be. He was calm, rational, sensible," Arngrim said.
The Illinois-born character actor appeared in a wide range of TV shows, from Perry Mason in the 1950s to Mannix in the 1960s to Kelsey Grammer's Boss in 2011. Bull played opposite his wife of 65 years, actress Barbara Collentine , in several projects.
Among the movies he appeared in were High Plains Drifter and Executive Action , both in 1973.
Dean Butler , who played Almanzo James Wilder on the 1974-83 NBC series inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder's novels about her 19th-century prairie family's life, recalled his friend.
"Richard was a very generous, soft-spoken actor with a wonderful appetite for work," Butler said. "He always made it (acting) look so easy."
Melissa Gilbert , who starred in the series with Michael Landon (who died in 1991), tweeted: "This man will be missed. Goodbye Richard working with you was such a joy but nearly as joyful as being your friend."
Bull and Collentine, also 89, moved to the Motion Picture & Television Fund home from Chicago in September 2012, Larkin said.
Another Little House cast member became a resident there, said Butler: Katherine "Scottie" MacGregor , who played Oleson's memorable wife, Harriet.
After Bull's death, Collentine and MacGregor had dinner together Monday night and agreed "they had both lost a wonderful husband," Butler said.
Funeral plans for Bull were not immediately announced.
Correction - February 6, 2014: This article was edited from a previous version that included an incorrect headline.


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Musings from an almost CFO in CA: So now what?
OK, so I jumped right in and applied for a permit to become a cottage food organization. I am excited, no denying that. I was even the first person in the county (Sonoma, that is) to apply. The lady in the office says I should be getting my registration permit next week. So now there's a course to take (food handler), business records to be set up, advertising to be done, pricing to be mulled over and decided upon (yeah, that's a tough one!). Maybe even a web site. As I said, I am eager to get started, but this is a solo operation and the details are many. I would appreciate any bits of wisdom, suggestions, stories of your experiences doing this, etc. (No, I don't think I'm going the farmer's market route, just individual sales--I'm a type A who applied for a type A permit, that is, direct sales).
Hoping to hear from you,


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Easton woman accused of embezzling $100,000
Lisa Rosa-Howe facing charges
An Easton woman is facing charges of embezzling more than $100,000 from a Stoughton landscaping company where she once worked as a bookkeeper.
Lisa Rosa-Howe was in court Monday for a hearing after pleading not guilty in May to charges of larceny and improper use of a credit card.
Authorities allege she stole the money between 2008 and 2012 while working at Midurski Bros. Landscaping Inc. and used the embezzled funds for personal expenses, including restaurant meals, rental cars, hotels stays in Florida, and spa visits.
Business owner Matthew Midurski tells The Enterprise that he became suspicious last year when his employees said their company-issued credit cards were rejected at the gas pump.
The 42-year-old Rosa-Howe says there is "no merit to the allegations" and refused additional comment.


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Vegan MoFo #16: Amy Supreme
Once upon a time, Amy told me that she likes to put wing sauce on macaroni and cheese. I thought that was one of the most fabulous ideas i'd ever heard, so I tried it. AND IT WAS. Just a little drizzle of hot and slightly sweet wing sauce goes wonderfully on creamy, but usually kind of plain, macaroni and cheese. I call it Amy Deluxe.
Well, I just took it to the next level. To the Supreme level!
Here's what you do:
Make wing sauce (you really don't need too much, I made about half a cup and it was way too much and I paid dearly for that).
Make seitan or steam some tempeh and cut it up into bite sized pieces.
Make your favorite vegan macaroni and cheese recipe.
Mix some bread crumbs with vegan margarine and a few herbs.
Put the wing sauce in the bottom (according to Amy, purists put the sauce on the bottom) of a baking dish, add your seitan or tempeh, and toss to coat.
Spoon the macaroni and cheese on top, sprinkle with the bread crumbs, and bake at 350 degrees until the bread crumbs start to brown.
Take very poorly lit pictures where you can't even see said seitan.
Crack open a Dr. Pepper and chow down!
posted: 10 November 18
under: food, pictures, recipes, veganmofo


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Martha Norwalk's Animal World
Sundays, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Martha is an animal behavior therapist and trainer, in private practice for more than 25 years. She works with people to help them understand their animal friends and solve their behavior, training and healing problems. Martha Norwalk's Animal World was the first and is the longest running local radio show about animals in the greater Seattle/Bellevue area. The show includes open phone lines for listener questions and comments as well as shelter, rescue and sanctuary updates every month. With interesting guests, animals in the news, and the best good news about animals, current events, fun, contests and entertainment, it's a great way to spend your Sunday morning. For more information, log on to www.marthanorwalk.com


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Professor Cutler was a panelist for the Forum's discussions on Impact of the 2010 Election on Healthcare Reform, The Supercommittee Collapse and America's Healthcare Future, The 2014 U.S. Midterm Elections, The U.S. Healthcare Law Rollout, and The 2016 US Presidential Election.
David Cutler has developed an impressive record of achievement in both academia and the public sector. He served as Assistant Professor of Economics from 1991 to 1995, was named John L. Loeb Associate Professor of Social Sciences in 1995, and received tenure in 1997. He is currently the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics in the department of economics and Kennedy School of Government and completed a five-year term as associate dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for Social Sciences.
Honored for his scholarly work and singled out for outstanding mentorship of graduate students, Professor Cutler's work in health economics and public economics has earned him significant academic and public acclaim. Professor Cutler served on the Council of Economic Advisers and the National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration and has advised the Presidential campaigns of Bill Bradley, John Kerry, and Barack Obama. Among other affiliations, Professor Cutler has held positions with the National Institutes of Health and the National Academy of Sciences. Currently, Professor Cutler is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member of the Institute of Medicine.
Professor Cutler is the author of Your Money Or Your Life: Strong Medicine for America's Health Care System, published by Oxford University Press. This book, and Professor Cutler's ideas, were the subject of a feature article in the New York Times Magazine, The Quality Cure?, by Roger Lowenstein. Cutler was recently named one of the 30 people who could have a powerful impact on healthcare by Modern Healthcare magazine and one of the 50 most influential men aged 45 and younger by Details magazine.


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In this age of hyper-partisan politics at every level, Democrats and Republicans generally torpedo the political initiatives of their partisan opponents on sight and if a Democrat is fori, the GOP is against it and vice-versa.
But in terms of how Mississippi policy makers deal with the question of online gaming, perhaps Mississippi's Republican majority might be well-served to review the pass they've taken on a Democratic lawmaker's initiatives in online gaming. That's a matter of economic impact and tax revenue.
Back in the 1990s, Mississippi ranked third in nation behind Nevada and New Jersey in terms of consumer spending on commercial casinos. According to a 2013 American Gaming Association report, that ranking has slipped to sixth in the nation by 2012 with Nevada at $10.56 billion, Pennsylvania at 3.16 billion, New Jersey at 3.05 billion, Indiana at $2.6 billion, Louisiana at $2.40 billion and Mississippi at $2.25 billion.
The AGA report showed that New Jersey clearly lost market share when Pennsylvania got in the gaming business and Atlantic City was hit by Hurricane Sandy. With Nevada and New Jersey now in the online gaming business, the threat of additional market erosion for all other state gaming markets is clear. Commercial casinos employed 23,377 Mississippi workers in 2012.
The Mississippi Gulf Coast gaming market is ranked eighth in the nation at $1.095 billion and the state's Tunica/Lula casinos comprise the nation's 10th best gaming market at $821.9 million. Gaming brings 24.77 million "visitors" or customers, according to the AGA data.
According to the Mississippi Department of Revenue, gaming in the last fiscal year generated $279.7 million in taxes in the form of $91.7 million to county and municipal governments and the state's portion of $152 million. Overall, gaming provided 3 percent of general fund revenues.
For the past two years, state Rep. Bobby Moak, D-Bogue Chitto, introduced online gaming legislation. In both years, Moak's legislation failed. The bills - virtually the same legislation - died in committee both years after being double-referred.
The bill proposed to regulate, license and tax online gaming at 5 percent of gross revenues. The bill would have restricted online gaming licenses to those companies already holding land licenses to operate in the state.
Moak wrote the legislation in reaction to a 2011 U.S. Justice Department ruling which clarified that the ban on interstate betting in the Wire Act of 1961 applied only to a "sporting event or contest" and that all other gambling operations are outside the purview of the act. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the DOJ decision opened the door to any form of online gaming over the provided it isn't the so-called "sports book."
Under the ruling, states can sell lottery tickets online and authorize online poker, roulette, blackjack and other casino games, as long as the actual betting takes place within a respective state's boundaries, even if out-of-state credit cards are used to finance the gambling.
According to the Mississippi Department of Revenue, gaming in the last fiscal year generated $279.7 million in taxes in the form of $91.7 million to county and municipal governments and the state's portion of $152 million. Overall, gaming provided 3 percent of general fund revenues. Tobacco taxes generated $157 million or 3 percent of the general fund. Alcoholic beverage taxes generated $75 million, but $9 million went to county and municipal government, leaving $66.6 million or 1 percent of general fund revenues for the state.
Moak argued that the legislation was necessary to allow Mississippi's existing gaming industry to have more control of its own destiny and to allow the state to regulate what will already be taking place online and to tax it as other competing states are doing.
Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware now allow online gambling. Lawmakers in California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts and Texas are considering online gambling proposals. Every additional state that enters the online gaming market threatens Mississippi current traditional gaming sales, tax revenues and jobs.
Democrat, Republican or whatever, Moak's right that online gaming is a threat in Mississippi to tax revenue that isn't easily replaced.
Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist. Contact him at 601-507-8004 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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By Ed White
Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) - A young man who participated in a mob attack on a Detroit-area motorist needed a father to "beat the hell" out of him as a kid to discourage him from committing such a crime, a judge said last Thursday.
The stunning remarks by Wayne County Judge James Callahan came as he sentenced Latrez Cummings to six months in jail.
In response to the judge's question, Cummings, 19, said his father wasn't around when he was growing up.
Callahan said Cummings needed a dad, "someone to discipline you. Someone to beat the hell out of you when you made a mistake, as opposed to allowing you or encouraging you to do it to somebody else."
Cummings and four others have pleaded guilty to assaulting Steve Utash, who was in a coma for days after the April attack. The mob pounced on him in Detroit when he got out of his pickup truck to help a 10-year-old boy who had stepped in front of his vehicle.
The judge's remarks preceded a loud, spirited exchange with assistant prosecutor Lisa Lindsay, who said the six-month sentence was too light. She said there are many young black men who were raised without a father but haven't commited crimes. Cummings is black.
"Did I ever use the term Ō??black?'" replied Callahan, who is white. "It doesn't matter if a person is black, white, yellow or red."
Cummings was the last defendant to be sentenced in the case. The longest sentence was nearly 6 ┬Į years in prison for a man whose punishment was enhanced because of his criminal record.
Told about Callahan's comments, the president of Chicago-based Prevent Child Abuse America, James Hmurovich, said "effective discipline" is part of raising children but "violence is never the answer."
The judge was aggressive throughout the hearing. He ordered the well-dressed Cummings to take his hand out of his pocket and accused him of lying a week ago about his school attendance.
Callahan, citing records, said Cummings hadn't attended classes since December.
"Tell me what the heck you did with your time," he said.
Despite the harsh tone, the judge said Cummings' age and childhood were mitigating factors in the light sentence.
"We've all been 19 years of age," Callahan said.
Published: Mon, Jul 21, 2014


text: Have you checked lately what national and citizen's rights the U.S. government has given away to the WTO? International treaties are a big deal, and are really hard to change once they're ratified. I don't see a bunch of scanner writers taking to the streets with gas masks, but they might we wise to do so, if modifications aren't made to this proposal. Andy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Magdych, Jim" <email@example.com> To: "'Russ'" <firstname.lastname@example.com>; <email@example.com> Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2000 4:25 PM Subject: RE: Cybercrime treaty > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > Of course, this treaty may have no impact on the US. It's probably a > good thing if some evil hacker in Cyprus can be extradited to > Andorra, but I don't know that it will necessarily have a global > legislative trickle-down effect... > > - - Jim > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: PGP 6.5.1 > Comment: Crypto Provided by Network Associates <http://www.nai.com> > > iQA/AwUBORHrsQDjeqNVcQB5EQJtawCeJjaXmWkKXL9ujQbShYdugdtJnoUAn1SJ > 2OcvXnGL+2+s1C8ns+6RfqDx > =0uV0 > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- >


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Browse: Home / watch face
watch face
Sanrio Yanks Hello Kitty Android Wear Watch Face from Google Play
By PhoneNews.com Staff on October 8, 2015
Google spent thousands promoting the launch-day coup of a Sanrio official Hello Kitty, Android Wear tie-in. Now that watch face has vanished.
Posted in Android, Google | Tagged Android, Android Wear, Google, google play, hello kitty, sanrio, sideloading, watch face


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PK models in R and in Julia
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1.1 Pharmacokinetic models with an analytic solution
Pharmacokinetics is the study of the absorption and elimination of drugs and their metabolites in the body. As described in the wikipedia article there are several parameters, such rate constants, volumes of distribution and clearances, that we wish to estimate from pharmacokinetic data, which usually consists of measurements of blood serum concentrations following certain doses at certain times. My particular interest is in analysis of population pharmacokinetic data using nonlinear mixed-effects models and in the design of experiments for population pharmacokinetic studies.
For many of the models based on linear elimination kinetics the concentration at time
t after a dose
d has an analytic solution. As part of the PFIM software developed in France Mentre's lab at Inserm, Julie Bertrand created a catalogue of these expressions for 1, 2 or 3 compartment models after oral or bolus or infusion administration of a single dose or a fixed number of doses or in steady state after multiple doses. Julie and I created the PKPDmodels package for R to provide these expressions as functions that also evaluate the gradient with respect to the parameters and, optionally, the Hessian.
At the recent PODE: Population Optimum Design of Experimentsconference organized by France, the wonderful Emmanuelle Comets mentioned that in her saemix package for R she only needs the predicted concentration values. She asked if it was slowing things down to evaluate the gradient at every function evaluation. I decided to benchmark.
1.2 Model function and benchmarks in R
One of the (regrettably few) published examples of population pharmacokinetic data is from a study of Theophylline kinetics. These data are available as the Theoph data set in R. The experimental subjects were given a single oral dose of the drug. Assuming a 1-compartment model with linear elimination kinetics the expression for the model is
> library(PKPDmodels) > PKexpr("oral", "sd") ~(dose/V) * (ka/(ka - k)) * (exp(-k * t) - exp(-ka * t))
in terms of the parameters
V, the volume of distribution,
ka, the absorption rate constant, and
k, the elimination rate constant.
It turns out that the combination of
V and
k is not a particularly good choice of parameters as their estimates usually end up being highly correlated. A better choice is
V and
Cl, the clearance, which is defined as Cl = kV. We can achieve this parameterization by providing a list of transformation expressions from the new parameters to the old. Nothing sophisticated is going on, just a substitution of expressions in another expression. While we are at it we could switch to the logarithms of pharmacokinetic parameters which provide a log-likelihood function that is closer to being quadratic.
> PKexpr("oral", "sd", list(ka ~ exp(lka), V ~ exp(lV), k ~ exp(lCl)/V)) ~(dose/exp(lV)) * (exp(lka)/(exp(lka) - exp(lCl)/V)) * (exp(-(exp(lCl)/V) * t) - exp(-exp(lka) * t))
A call to
PKmod with the same arguments produces a byte-compiled function that evaluates both the function and the gradient.
> (mfg <- PKmod("oral", "sd", list(ka ~ exp(lka), V ~ exp(lV), k ~ exp(lCl - lV)))) function (dose, t, lV, lka, lCl) { .expr1 <- exp(lV) .expr2 <- dose/.expr1 .expr3 <- exp(lka) .expr5 <- exp(lCl - lV) .expr6 <- .expr3 - .expr5 .expr7 <- .expr3/.expr6 .expr8 <- .expr2 * .expr7 .expr11 <- exp(-.expr5 * t) .expr14 <- exp(-.expr3 * t) .expr15 <- .expr11 - .expr14 .expr19 <- .expr8 * (.expr11 * (.expr5 * t)) .expr21 <- .expr6^2 .expr23 <- .expr2 * (.expr3 * .expr5/.expr21) .value <- .expr8 * .expr15 .grad <- array(0, c(length(.value), 3L), list(NULL, c("lV", "lka", "lCl"))) .grad[, "lV"] <- .expr19 - (.expr23 + dose * .expr1/.expr1^2 * .expr7) * .expr15 .grad[, "lka"] <- .expr2 * (.expr7 - .expr3 * .expr3/.expr21) * .expr15 + .expr8 * (.expr14 * (.expr3 * t)) .grad[, "lCl"] <- .expr23 * .expr15 - .expr19 attr(.value, "gradient") <- .grad .value } <bytecode: 0x2bd7c88>
Because the symbolic differentiation in R to produce the gradient also performs common subexpression elimination this function produces a cleaner evaluation of the model function and a comparatively compact expression of the gradient.
For comparison I use two types of evaluations of the model function itself, one with a nested function call and one with the transformations performed internally.
> mf0 <- cmpfun(function(dose, t, V, ka, k) (dose/V) * (ka/(ka - k)) * (exp(-k * t) - exp(-ka * t))) > mf1 <- cmpfun(function(dose, t, lV, lka, lCl) mf0(dose, t, exp(lV), exp(lka), exp(lCl - lV))) > mf2 <- cmpfun(function(dose, t, lV, lka, lCl) {V <- exp(lV); ka <- exp(lka); k <- exp(lCl - lV); (dose/V) * (ka/(ka - k)) * (exp(-k * t) - exp(-ka * t))})
Now would be a good time to check that I haven't made transcription mistakes
> Dose <- Theoph$Dose > str(Dose) num [1:132] 4.02 4.02 4.02 4.02 4.02 4.02 4.02 4.02 4.02 4.02 ... > Time <- Theoph$Time > lV <- rep.int(-1, length(Dose)) > lka <- rep.int(0.6, length(Dose)) > lCl <- rep.int(-4, length(Dose)) > all.equal(mf1(Dose, Time, lV, lka, lCl), mf2(Dose, Time, lV, lka, lCl)) [1] TRUE > all.equal(mf1(Dose, Time, lV, lka, lCl), as.vector(mfg(Dose, Time, lV, lka, lCl))) [1] TRUE
Finally we benchmark
> library(rbenchmark) > cols <- c("test", "elapsed", "relative", "user.self", "sys.self") > benchmark(mf1(Dose, Time, lV, lka, lCl), mf2(Dose, Time, lV, lka, lCl), mfg(Dose, Time, lV, lka, lCl), replications=1000L, columns=cols, order="elapsed") test elapsed relative user.self sys.self 2 mf2(Dose, Time, lV, lka, lCl) 0.081 1.000000 0.080 0 1 mf1(Dose, Time, lV, lka, lCl) 0.084 1.037037 0.084 0 3 mfg(Dose, Time, lV, lka, lCl) 0.219 2.703704 0.220 0
So the conclusion is that there is very little difference between the nested function calls and the explicit assignment of transformed values and that it takes 2.7 times as long to evaluate both the fitted values and the gradient than does evaluation of only the fitted values. However, the actual execution times for 1000 function evaluations are sufficiently small that this operation should not be a bottleneck.
1.3 Translation into Julia
I decided to translate this code into Julia, partially to gain experience with the language. I have said that the most valuable character trait for a programmer is unbounded pessimism because you spend your working time thinking, "now what can go wrong here". Because of this tendency I was careful to distinguish scalar and vector arguments and to test for correct sizes of vector arguments, etc. A bit of testing showed me that this was unnecessary. Write it the simple way and let the functions that you call check for numeric arguments and vector-scalar operations and correct vector-vector operations, which they will do.
The only changes I needed to make were to replace '*' by '.*' and '/' by './'. The "dot" forms of these operators perform componentwise vector-vector operations. Because they are also defined for scalar-scalar operations and scalar-vector operations there is no harm in using them throughout.
The result is anticlimactic. The function definitions are
mf0(dose, t, V, ka, k) = (dose ./ V) .* (ka ./ (ka - k)) .* (exp(-k .* t) - exp(-ka .* t)) mf1(dose, t, lV, lka, lCl) = mf0(dose, t, exp(lV), exp(lka), exp(lCl - lV)) function mfg(dose, t, lV, lka, lCl) V = exp(lV) expr2 = dose ./ V ka = exp(lka) Cl = exp(lCl) k = Cl ./ V expr6 = ka - k expr7 = ka ./ expr6 expr8 = expr2 .* expr7 expr11 = exp(-k .* t) expr14 = exp(-ka .* t) expr15 = expr11 - expr14 expr18 = V .* V expr19 = Cl .* V ./ expr18 expr24 = expr6 .* expr6 expr8 .* expr15, hcat(expr8 .* (expr11 .* (expr19 .* t)) - (expr2 .* (ka .* expr19 ./ expr24) + dose .* V ./ expr18 .* expr7) .* expr15, expr2 .* (expr7 - ka .* ka ./ expr24) .* expr15 + expr8 .* (expr14 .* (ka .* t)), expr2 .* (ka .* k ./ expr24) .* expr15 - expr8 .* (expr11 .* (k .* t))) end
and timing the same calculations on the same machine produced
elapsed time: 0.08809614181518555 seconds elapsed time: 0.17201519012451172 seconds
which are very close to the timings for the byte-compiled functions in R.
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Bearcats battle Golden Eagles in Big East brawl
Cincinnati, OH – The 25th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles put their lofty perch atop the Big East standings on the line on Saturday, as they take on the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena.
The Golden Eagles are in a three-way tie atop the conference standings with Louisville and Syracuse, but those two teams play each other this weekend. Buzz Williams has his team playing at a high level right now, coming into this contest with a five-game win streak in tow. Four of those victories have come in Big East play, including a 69-62 win against Seton Hall this week. The 4-0 league start is MU's best since 2008-09.
Mick Cronin's Bearcats were part of the top-25 for much of this season, but have hit a wall in-conference, with a modest 3-2 mark. The team dropped back- to-back games at home to St. John's and Notre Dame, but have bounced back with consecutive wins on the road at Rutgers and most recently, DePaul (75-70).
This marks the 46th all-time meeting between these two teams. Cincinnati owns a 26-19 series advantage, including a 14-7 edge in the Queen City.
Marquette doesn't come into this game with flashy offensive numbers. The Golden Eagles are averaging just 69.9 ppg, although they are doing so on an efficient .466 shooting. The defensive effort has been far more consistent, with opponents averaging just 61.9 ppg. Vander Blue is the team's top offensive threat, averaging 13.7 ppg. Davante Gardner hasn't started a single game this year, but has been a key contributor, shooting 61.5 percent from the floor and averaging 13.1 ppg. Junior Cadougan and Jamil Wilson add some scoring depth with 9.1 and 9.0 ppg, respectively.
Marquette got a balanced effort at the offensive end in the win over Seton Hall. Four Golden Eagles finished in double figures, led by Gardner's 17 points. Todd Mayo was instrumental off the bench as well with 12 points, while Blue and Wilson checked in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Cincinnati is a strong defensive team as well, holding opponents to just 58.6 ppg and well under 40 percent shooting (.372). In addition, the Bearcats have flourished on the boards with a +8.9 rebounding margin. Offensively, UC relies heavily on its three-guard set. Sean Kilpatrick headlines the trio, netting 17.3 ppg. Cashmere Wright can also fill up the basket (15.1 ppg), while getting others involved in the offensive flow (3.7 apg). JaQuon Parker rounds out the team's scoring depth with 11.1 ppg.
Wright led all scorers with 20 points, but Cincinnati's win over DePaul may have come at a cost, as Wright suffered a knee injury and is listed as questionable for this contest. Kilpatrick poured in 18 points and Parker finished with 11, as Cincinnati shot a scorching .595 from the field and held a 35-27 advantage in rebounding.


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Featuring music by ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson with lyrics by Tim Rice, CCM's Mainstage Series continues with the must-see musical Chess, running Oct. 25-28 in UC's Corbett Auditorium.
CityBeat's Rick Pender writes, "Our local theater scene is enhanced considerably by works presented on the stages at universities: Tonight through Sunday, CCM's esteemed musical theater program is offering CHESS, with music by ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. The story is set in Bangkok and Budapest during a 1972 chess championship — which is about conflict between nations, between lovers and, of course, between chess players. Director Aubrey Berg says, "The action plays out in a world of spies, counter-agents and superpowers vying for supremacy."
Tickets are still available for this acclaimed rock musical!
Learn more at http://ccm.uc.edu.
Check out the original music video for "One Night in Bangkok" from the 1984 Chess concept album below: