text:
Pocket Watches
Sometime between 10 p.m. on April 15, 1983, and 10:30 a.m. the following morning, just steps from the Jerusalem residence of Israel's president, a window was smashed, and one or more persons lowered themselves into a corridor of the Islamic Museum. The electronic-alarm system did not work, and the two guards on duty slept as the thieves used a rather primitive device to pry open the cylinder locks on the glass cases that held a large collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century pocket watches.
The crooks heisted rare books, paintings and 57 watches made by the Swiss-born watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet, known as the Leonardo da Vinci of watchmaking. The stolen items were valued at more than $6 million at the time; among them was a watch commissioned for Marie Antoinette that had taken 44 years to complete. The missing watches have never resurfaced. As for the unsolved crime, there has been speculation that the thieves were hired by an overzealous collector, perhaps in the Middle East.
Collectors tend to be passionate. "Pocket watches are more than pieces of functional art," says Henry B. Fried, a leading American horologist (scientist who measures time), watchmaker and collector. "They are watches with a soul." The parts of a pocket watch are often compared to the human body, with the dial its face, the escapement (the ticking element) its heart, the movement (the mechanism as a whole) its brain and the case its skin. "It is a marriage of art and technology," remarks Osvaldo Patrizzi, director of Antiquorum, the Geneva-based auction house specializing in watches and clocks. Even the nonmaterialistic seem lured to these timekeepers in a pocket; Mohandas Gandhi's one possession was a pocket watch, which he wore tied on a string around his waist.
"A lot of collectors are gear geeks," says Vivian Swift, watch-department head at Christie's in New York. Pocket-watch collectors, however, tend to fall into two general groups: the technical--interested primarily in how they work, and the decorative--concerned more with how they look. "There are four centuries of watches out there, so most collectors specialize in a period, a particular type of watch, a single maker or in American pocket watches," notes Daryn Schnipper, head of the watch and clock department at Sotheby's in New York.
John Pierpont Morgan, who bequeathed his collection of more than 100 pieces to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, procured sixteenth-, seventeenth- and eighteenth-century watches, many of them enamels. Napoleon almost exclusively patronized Breguet, whose eighteenth-century inventions included the self-winding watch and the tourbillion. James Ward Packard, the automobile maker from Ohio, commissioned complicated watches primarily from Patek Philippe & Co. Technical collectors may seek minute repeaters (watches that chime the hours, quarter hours and minutes on command), chronographs (stopwatches), chronometers (precision timekeepers invented to determine longitude at sea) or ultracomplicated watches (which combine such extras as a celestial chart, perpetual calendar, alarm, chimes and sunrise and sunset indication). A lot of collectors see themselves as caretakers who will ensure that these objects survive intact until they are passed along to the next generation.
Before there were pockets, watches were worn as pendants.
And their raison d'être was as talisman rather than timekeeper. "They were a symbol of the brevity of life. The watches were mechanical jewels, tiny embodiments of the decorative techniques of the time," New York antiquarian Jonathan Snellenburg explained. Formerly the watch expert at Christie's, he sells rare and unusual timepieces at A La Vieille Russie in Manhattan.
Collectors of decorative timepieces focus on the case, which may be enameled or engraved gold, silver or platinum. Enameling refers to the painstaking technique of painting on a layered vitreous coating baked onto gold. Each layer is fired in an oven. The images on enamelled cases are typically portraits or miniature reproductions of paintings. These are small-scale works of art and pricey. Others specialize in automata, or watches that have motion on the dial. The "Moses watch" is among the most unusual of these: when you press a lever, a figure of Moses on the dial appears to strike a rock and draw "water." Egyptian King Farouk I coveted erotic automata. On one of his watches, you press a button, the lid opens and you calculate the time by counting the number of sexual thrusts performed by the figures inside the watch's movement.
"Wristwatches tell time; pocket watches tell stories," Snellenburg says. The history of the pocket watch reflects that of both fashion and horology. The pendant watches of the early Renaissance were oval or egg-shaped. By 1625 the Fleet Street watchmaker John Midnall had made a timepiece with a flatter dial protected by glass for Oliver Cromwell. The custom of caching watches in pockets is credited to the Puritans, who shunned any outward show of wealth. By the early 1800s, men began securing the watches to gold chains, which were fastened to vests by inserting a T-bar with the watch's winding key into a buttonhole. Visible in the portraits painted at the time, the chains were male charm bracelets, dangling gold signet seals, keys, scissor blades and pencil cases. In the nineteenth century, the chains also held cigar clippers.
In 1809, Joséphine Bonaparte is said to have asked that a pocket watch be put on a bracelet. She wore it on one wrist and a calendar on the other, pioneering the bracelet watch for women. By the First World War, the seconds that might elapse while a soldier removed a watch from his pocket to read the time could mean the difference between life and death. The Swiss solved the problem by producing watches that could be strapped onto the soldiers' wrists. In 1917 Louis Cartier designed his famous "tank" model, a rectangular-faced wristwatch with two golden bars along the sides reminiscent of the Allies' tank tracks. Gradually, in the interest of convenience and expedience, more men adopted wristwatches for everyday use. By the 1930s, the production of the wristwatch surpassed that of the pocket watch.
The wristwatch is a utilitarian object, designed to inform its wearer of the precise time at a glance. It is an outward sign, visible to the rest of the world. A pocket watch, on the other hand, is an instrument tucked discreetly away until it strikes the wearer's fancy to take it out, open it up and watch its inner workings. It invites you to delve into the mind of its maker. The fascination lies as much in how it works as in the degree to which it measures time. Prior to 1680, watches had only an hour hand; minute repeaters, which chimed the time to the nearest minute, weren't invented until the 1850s. These watches evoke an age when people seemed to have more time and when time itself was gauged in heartbeats and sunrises rather than nanoseconds.
Collectors of American pocket watches are often compared to coin or stamp collectors: they accumulate variations on a theme. The American industry produced the first truly machine-made watches. The big companies like Waltham, Hamilton, Illinois and Elgin created whole product lines of pocket watches. "They would create a basic plate layout, then vary the quality of the components like the hairsprings, balance wheels, number of jewels, amount of engraving work, hands, dial designs and cases. You could opt for either a Cadillac or a Chevrolet from the same watch company," says Donald Hoke, Ph.D., author of American Pocket Watches (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1991, 330 pages, $79.95).
Some collectors stockpile railroad watches (developed in conjunction with the locomotive and worn by train conductors) while others choose one company and search for one of each of the serial models the company produced. Another method is to acquire an example of each of the different grades within a given model. Because these watches aren't terribly rare and are relatively available, they are generally much lower in price than the European handmade pieces. Historically, it was the American watch industry that made affordable, accurate watches available to the masses.
While the Americans were driven to produce the dollar pocket watch, Europeans struggled to uphold the artistic tradition in watchmaking. George Daniels, an horologist and author, is a twentieth-century man working at an eighteenth-century craft. He makes extraordinary pocket watches entirely by hand in a small workshop on the Isle of Man. Forming each component himself, he shapes, cuts, hardens, tempers, files and grounds the little steel springs and hand paints the dials. The gold cases are engine turned--an engraving technique done on a lathe creating the effect of subtle, symmetrical texture. Each one takes between 2,000 to 3,000 hours to complete, winding up with an output of about one watch a year. They reportedly cost more than $150,000--if you are lucky enough to be chosen by Daniels as a designated owner. The watches are highly innovative with rather austere dials and cases.
"A watch has got to look beautiful when it is finished, as if it were created rather than made," Daniels says. "I design my own escapements and invent my own mechanisms with the object of producing a watch that will run, keeping accurate time for many, many years without any service or attention."
"A good watch is forever. There is really nothing unfixable in a mechanical watch," asserts Joseph Fanelli of Fanelli Antique Timepieces in New York. While the mechanism can always be adjusted, this is not necessarily true of the case. Most experts agree that "Does it work?" is not one of the first questions to ask in evaluating a pocket watch. You should assess its condition. "Just as in real estate it's location, location, location; in watches it's condition, condition, condition," Snellenburg quips.
Determine whether there are any hairline cracks on the dial or an enamel case. Look for an even texture on an engine-turned gold case and be aware of dents or holes on an engraved metal case. Originality is key. Signatures on the movement, dial and case are often instructive. Most important is that the dial be original. Whether some small parts of the movement have been replaced is not so crucial as how well they have been replaced. Osvaldo Patrizzi explains: "It's a little like changing a wheel on a vintage car. As long as you find a wheel from that period, the car retains its value."
One way of verifying a watch's originality is to check its original certificate of sale. The existence of such a document might increase the value of the piece. All Abraham-Louis Breguet watches had certificates specifying the sale date, buyer's name and every characteristic of the watch--each complication, the materials used, and, of course, the price. When there were serial numbers on the movement, case or whole timepiece, those were recorded on the certificate.
If you buy an antique pocket watch made by a company that is still in business, such as Cartier, Vacheron & Constantin, Audemars Piguet, Tiffany or Patek Philippe, you can request such information from the company's archives. These records may be useful should a watch need repair. At Patek Philippe each caliber (the layout or design of the watch's movement) is documented with diagrams and detailed written notes by the craftsman. Says Hank Edelman, president of Patek Philippe USA: "We can identify every watch we've made since the company was founded in 1839. These records are the key to preserving and maintaining our timepieces."
Patek Philippe's ledgers include the signatures of customers like Queen Victoria, Albert Einstein and Rudyard Kipling. Knowing who owned a pocket watch may inform its pedigree, but it doesn't necessarily affect its value. Most dealers are convinced that provenance won't sell a watch. Rarity, on the other hand, will. The most expensive pocket watch ever sold was the Calibre 89, a Patek Philippe that took nine years to produce. With 33 timekeeping functions, it is the most complicated watch made to date. It has a celestial chart that tracks the movement of 2,800 stars and a calendar that will accurately record the date without adjustment until the twenty-first century, automatically compensating for months of differing lengths and leap years as well as indicating the date of Easter. It is said to have sold in 1989 for $3.2 million at auction in Geneva.
The Marie Antoinette watch stolen from the Islamic museum was the most complicated watch of its time. Its plates, bridges and wheels were gold and every possible surface was jewelled with sapphires. Completed in 1827 and acknowledged as Breguet's masterpiece, the watch was a manifestation of the state of horological science at that time. Sir David Salomons, Breguet's biographer, was the last legitimate owner of the Marie Antoinette piece. "To carry a fine Breguet watch is to feel that you have the brains of a genius in your pocket," he once said.
Carrying a pocket watch is more than a fashion. It is a ritual. Taking it out of your pocket, setting the hands, winding it up, listening to the chimes and watching it work "is more amusing than glancing at something strapped to your wrist," says Daniels. "One's got to pass the time somehow, doesn't one?"
Nancy Wolfson is a free lance writer who lives in New York City.
A Guide for the Potential Collector
Subscribe to the catalogs that give a detailed description of each piece for sale, including any defects and an estimated price. Go to the presale public exhibition where you can handle the watches and query the experts. Track market prices by obtaining an after-sale price list, comparing these numbers with catalog estimates.
1, rue du Mont-Blanc, 1201 Geneva Switzerland
Phone: 41-22-738-0222 Fax: 41-22-738-0171
Also offers a catalog of books on horology
Christie, Manson & Woods International Inc.
502 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022
Catalog subscriptions: Phone: (800) 395-6300,(212) 546-1000 Fax: (212) 980-8163
1334 York Avenue, New York, New York 10021
Catalog subscriptions: Phone: (800) 444-3709, (212) 606-7162 Fax: (212) 606-7014
American Clock & Watch Museum
100 Maple Street, Bristol, Connecticut 06010
Phone: (203) 583-6070 Fax: (203) 583-1862
Musee de L'Horlogerie
15, route de Maagnou, 1208, Geneva, Switzerland
Phone: 22-736-7412 Fax: 22-786-7454
The Time Museum
7801 E. State St. P.O. Box 5285, Rockford, Illinois 61125-0285
Phone: (815) 398-6000 Fax: (815) 398-4700
January 17-29: "The Legendary Watches of Patek Philippe" at the Sid Richardson Collection of Western Art, Fort Worth, Texas.
For more information: (817) 332-6554.
More than 200 Patek Philippe models, including the 1926 pocket watch commissioned by James Ward Packard, an 1851 enamel brooch-watch owned by Queen Victoria, five new pocket watches decorated with reproductions of paintings by American artists Remington and Russell and a clock with original enamel art.
National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors
514 Poplar Street, Columbia, Pennsylvania 17512
Phone: (717) 684-8261 Fax: (717) 684-0878
An international organization of more than 38,000 members that publishes a bimonthly bulletin and an advertising mart.
Guided by Henry B. Fried, a leading American horologist, a trip to the Nordic countries is planned for June.
For more information, contact Nick Larescu: (800) 262-4284.
Revolution in Time by David Landes
(Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1985, 502 pages, $12.95)
Watch and Clockmakers of the World by G. H. Bailey
(NAG Press, London, 1982, 388 pages, $37.50)
Jonathan Snellenburg Timepieces
Rare and unusual items of horological interest.
Jonathan Snellenburg's collection can be viewed at A La Vieille Russie, 781 Fifth Ave., New York, New York, 10022
Phone: (212) 752-1727
Time Will Tell Unlimited Inc.
962 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10021
Phone: (212) 861-2663 Fax: (212) 288-4069


text:
Greubel Forsey's GMT watch promised to put the whole world on your wrist. But Dutch watchmaker Christiaan van der Klaauw totally one-ups that designer timepiece with his Aquarius Planetarium that includes orbiting versions of the Sun and six planets.
Forget just the world, true megalomaniacs and super-villains should set their sights on the heavens—even if mankind has yet to develop the technology needed to get humans past the moon. So that's where Christiaan's new watch comes in, bringing the heavens to you with what he claims to be the world's smallest mechanical planetarium.
I'm not entirely sure why it only includes Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn orbiting the Sun. I doubt it's a cost-cutting measure, since the watch's dial is made from intricately carved gold and features a platinum case. That $100,000+ price tag at least comes with some exclusivity, since only 12 of these watches will be produced, one for each sign of the zodiac. If being able to spend that much money on a watch doesn't make you feel special, this certainly will. [Christiaan van der Klaauw via Watchuseek]

subset: commoncrawl


text:
by Henry A. Giroux
Thinking is not the intellectual reproduction of what already exists anyway. As long as it doesn't break off, thinking has a secure hold on possibility. . . . Open thinking points beyond itself. — Theodor Adorno
That is, there are no dangerous thoughts for the simple reason that thinking itself is such a dangerous enterprise. . . . nonthinking is even more dangerous. — Hannah Arendt
Thinking has become dangerous in the United States. As Paul Stoller observes, the symptoms are everywhere including a Texas GOP Party platform that states, "We oppose teaching of Higher order Thinking Skills [because they] have the purpose of challenging the student's fixed beliefs and undermining parental control" to a Tennessee bill that "allows the teaching of creationism in state's classrooms."
At a time when anti-intellectualism runs rampant throughout popular culture and the political landscape, it seems imperative to once again remind ourselves of how important critical thought as a crucible for thinking analytically can be both as a resource and an indispensable tool. If critical thought, sometimes disparaged as theory, gets a bad name, it is not because it is inherently dogmatic, jargonistic or rigidly specialized, but because it is often abused or because it becomes a tool of irrelevancy — a form of theoreticism in which theory becomes an end in itself. This abuse of critical thought appears to have a particularly strong hold in the humanities, especially among many graduate students in English departments who often succumb to surrendering their own voices to class projects and dissertations filled with obtuse jargon associated with the most fashionable theorists of the moment. Such work is largely rewarded less for its originality than the fact that it threatens no one.
At the same time there are many students who find the esoteric language associated with dangerous thinking and critical thought to be too difficult to master or engage. The latter points to the fact that some theories may be useless because they are too impenetrable to decipher or that there are theories which support bad practices such as high-stakes testing, creationism, faith-based evidence, the spanking of children, incarcerating children as adults and other assumptions and policies that are equally poisonous. Theory is not inherently good or bad. Its meaning and efficacy are rooted in a politics of usefulness, accessibility and whether it can be used resourcefully to articulate frameworks and tools that deepen the possibility of self-reflection, critical thought and a sense of social responsibility. For instance, a theory is bad if it inadequately grasps the forces at work in the world and simply reproduces it as it is. Theory is also injurious when it is used to legitimate modes of inquiry and research that are bought by corporations, the military and other state and private institutions to legitimate dangerous products, policies and social practices.
Theory has no guarantees, and like any other mode of thought, it has to be problematized, critically engaged and judged in terms of its interests, effects and value as part of a broader enhancement of human agency and democratization. At their best, theory, thinking dangerously and critical thought have the power to shift the questions, provide the tools for offering historical and relational contexts, and "push at the frontiers . . . of the human imagination."[1] Moreover, theory functions as a critical resource when it can intervene in the "continuity of commonsense, unsettle strategies of domination" and work to promote strategies of transformation[2] As Theodor Adorno observes, "Theory speaks for what is not narrow-minded — and commonsense most certainly is."[3] As such, theory is not only analytical in its search for understanding and truth, it is also critical and subversive, always employing modes of self and social critique necessary to examine its own grounds and those poisonous fundamentalisms in the larger society haunting the body politic. As Michael Payne observes, theory should be cast in the language of hints, dialogue and an openness to other positions, rather than be "cast in the language or orders."[4]
It is important to note that defending critical thought, thinking dangerously and theory are not the same as solely mounting a defense of academics as public intellectuals, or the university as the only site of critical thought, though both are important. When defined this way, theory is easily dismissed as an academic exercise and practice mediated through an impenetrable and often incomprehensible vocabulary. Theory and the frameworks it supports are just one important political register that keeps alive the notion that critical reflection and thought are necessary not only to address the diverse symbolic and material realities of power, but also for engaging in informed action willing to address important social issues. In this respect, as Lawrence Grossberg has brilliantly argued, theory is a crucial tool that enables one to respond to and provide a better understanding of problems as they emerge in a variety of historical and distinctive contexts.[5] Hence, theory becomes a toolbox that guides the work of many artists, journalists and other cultural workers in a variety of public spheres who are well aware that their work has consequences when translated into daily life and must be the object of self-reflection.[6] Paraphrasing Grossberg, theory is not simply about the production of meaning but also the making of effects. At the same time, critical thought functions to "lift . . . human beings above the evidence of our senses and sets appearances apart from the truth."[7]Salmon Rushdie gestures toward the political necessity of critical thought, informed action and its effects by insisting that "It's a vexing time for those of us who believe in the right of artists, intellectuals and ordinary, affronted citizens to push boundaries and take risks and so, at times, to change the way we see the world."[8]
Theory is at its weakest and most oppressive when it supports a commonsense understanding of the framing mechanisms that guide the actions of human beings. One consequence is that it disavows dialogue and critique, and shapes knowledge and ideas into fixed and absolute meanings. It also shuts down analysis and poisons the culture with an orthodoxy that limits critical agency to following the orders of others. As such, it is transformed into a pedagogical parasite on the body of democracy. This is quite different than a call for modes of theory and critical thought that practice rigorous analytic work enabling students, intellectuals, artists and journalists to be attentive to how they function as individual and social agents. Bad theory is also at fault for failing to address and engage the layered, complex social, political, economic and cultural forces that shape not only our desires, values and modes of identification, but also to guide, direct, the commanding ideologies and institutions of society.
As a form of intellectual inquiry, theory thrives in those public spaces that both legitimate the world of ideas and refuse to separate them from addressing the major troubles of our time. At the same time, it is an important register, if not reminder in such perilous times, for determining as Judith Butler observes, "not only the question of whether certain kinds of ideas and positions can be permitted in public space, but how public space is itself defined by certain kinds of exclusions, certain emerging patterns of censoriousness and censorship."[9] Rather than being a mechanistic enterprise, offering formulas and recipes, theory should provide the frameworks and tools for what it means to be a thoughtful, judicious, layered, complex and critical thinker willing to engage in communicative and collective action. Theory does not resemble the discourse of blind action, a stripped down instrumental rationality, or the vision of accountants. Nor, in this instance, does theory become an end in itself, an ossified discourse that defines itself to the degree to which it is removed from the world and vanishes in a black hole of irrelevancy and opaqueness. Theory as a critical enterprise is about both a search for the truth and a commitment to the practice of freedom. Not one or the other but both. Theory should be used to both understand and engage the major upheavals people face and to connect such problems to larger political, structural and economic issues. In addition, theory is invaluable as a response to particular problems, allowing intellectuals, artists, academics, students and others to connect their intellectual work and critical inquiries to the daily realities and struggles of a world in upheaval, one that is moving quickly into the clutches of a new type of authoritarianism.
The United States has moved a great distance away from the critical theories of thinkers such as Sigmund Freud, Jacques Derrida, Theodor Adorno, Edward Said, Herbert Marcuse, Leo Lowenthal, Ellen Willis, Simone de Beauvoir and others. At the current historical moment, critical thinking is utterly devalued, viewed either as a nostalgic leftover of the weighty ideological and political battles that characterized the period roughly extending from the 1960s to the late 1980s, or theory is dismissed as the province of overly privileged and pampered academics. Critical ideas and concepts in support of equality, justice, freedom and democracy, in particular, have lost their material and political grounding and have become sound bites either scorned by mainstream politicians or appropriated only to be turned into their opposite. Unfortunately for the promise of democracy, those who advocate theory and critical thought in the service of civic courage, engaged citizenship and social responsibility are now either viewed as eggheads, elitist or traitors. In this instance, theory is disdained and used as a form of self-sabotage, reduced to politically illiterate narratives couched in the discourse of critical thinking.
How else to explain the disingenuous portrayal in the mainstream press of George Will, Thomas Friedman and David Brooks as public intellectuals, despite the fact that they trade in a kind of ersatz theory. In the latter case, theory becomes a weapon used to empty language of any meaning, employed primarily to make war on the possibility of real communication, all the while reinforcing the ideology of demagogues.
If theory once inspired critical practice both in and out of the university, it seems that the heyday of critically informed thinking is over. As higher education has become corporatized, teaching and learning are increasingly defined through the metrics of commerce and profit, while students are viewed largely as consumers. Critical thought and dangerous thinking are now viewed as beyond the pale of market considerations and are thereby seen as having little value. This is particularly true since the radical right has not only taken seriously the notion that pedagogy and changing consciousness is the essence of politics, but also has developed cultural apparatuses outside of the university that function as powerful forms of public pedagogy in promoting the values of a number of fundamentalisms, including religious, educational and market-driven ideologies. Culture for the right wing has always been a crucial site of power in the modern world and they have used this machinery of public pedagogy to create market-addicted subjects who appear hopelessly captive to the illiterate ideologies and slogans pumped out of Fox News, right-wing talk radio and the editorial section of The Wall Street Journal. Ideas matter in this instance, but not in the service of freedom or justice.
Sound bites now pass for erudite commentary and merge with the banality of celebrity culture, which produces its own self-serving illiteracy and cult of privatization and consumerism. Moreover, as the power of communication and language wanes, collapsing into the seepage of hateful discourses, the eager cheerleaders of casino capitalism along with the ever-present anti-public intellectuals dominate the airwaves and screen culture in order to aggressively wage a war against all public institutions, youth, women, immigrants, unions, poor minorities, the homeless, gays, workers, the unemployed, poor children and others. In this instance, thinking degenerates into forms of ideological boosterism and the crucial potential of thinking to serve as a dynamic resource disappears from the American cultural and academic landscapes. When thinking itself becomes dangerous, society loses its ability to question itself and paves the way for authoritarian regimes of power. The success of conservatives in colonizing, if not undermining, any model of critical reflection often takes place by reducing thought to a matter of commonsense while supporting rampant forms of anti-intellectualism — most evident in the Republican Party's recent war on evidence-based arguments, science and reason. At the same time, the success on the part of right-wing ideologues, conservative foundations, and anti-public intellectuals to shape domestic and foreign policy and gain the support of most Americans for doing so speaks to a roundly successful pedagogical and political strategy to manipulate public opinion while legitimating the rise of an authoritarian. At the least, this war on reason and politics raises serious questions about the failure of the academy to counter such views. In particular, it raises questions about the alienating nature of what passes for critical thought, theory and informed commentary in the academy. Moreover, the issue here is not whether critical intellectuals can use theory to solve the myriad problems facing the United States and the larger world, but what role critical thought plays in various sites as crucial to developing the formative culture that produces critical modes of agency and makes democracy possible.
The assault on critical thought is taking place in a variety of spheres, including higher education, especially at a time when corporatism, a mad empiricism and market-driven ideologies are the dominant forces at work in defining what counts as labor, research, pedagogy, journalism and learning. The notion that thinking dangerously produces forms of literacy in which knowledge is related to issues of agency, public values and social problems is quickly disappearing from higher education and other sites. For example, Republican governors in states such as Texas, Maine and Florida have defunded those fields of study in higher education that cannot be measured in economic terms, while redefining the mission of the university as merely an adjunct of corporations, the military-industrial complex and government intelligence agencies. Unfortunately, higher education houses an increasing number of intellectuals who have slipped into diverse forms of unprincipled careerism in which matters of critical thought have less to do with politics and power, or social justice for that matter, than with a kind of arcane cleverness — a sort of ineffectual performance that allows them to threaten no one. This probably sounds harsh, but personally I have seen this trend growing since the 1980s and actually believe it has a lot do with the cultural capital and investment in careerism that many academics now bring to the academy and their roles as intellectuals — partly a response to the corporatization of the university.
These are middle and ruling class intellectuals on the move, always looking for new opportunities, all too willing to be quiet, safe and ready and eager for the next promotion. In addition, too many academics are giving in to the seductions and rewards of corporate power, and are complicit in destroying theory and critical thought as tools that enable faculty and students to relate the self to others, public values and the demands of a robust democracy. Of course, what often happens in this case is that by not having any viable vision or sense of the political, for that matter, such academics do an incredible injustice not to their roles as potential public intellectuals, but to critical thought itself. As Larry Grossberg once put it, they are clueless in taking up the challenge of theorizing the political and politicizing theory.
What is sad about this state of affairs is that theorizing the politics of the 21st century may be the most important challenge facing the academy and any other public sphere committed to critical thinking, thoughtfulness, dialogue and the radical imagination. If we lose control of those spheres that cultivate the knowledge and skills necessary for rigorous analysis along with a culture of questioning, it will become more and more difficult for students and others to question authority, challenge commonsense assumptions and hold power accountable. Thinking, theory and ideas become critical and transformative when they become meaningful and have some purchase on peoples' lives. They also play a powerful role in shaping the formative cultures necessary to keep the spirit of democracy alive in a society. Theory or general frameworks of thought are always at work in what we say and practice. The question is whether we are aware of them and whether they constitute a hidden dimension of thought or are critically engaged frameworks. But the so-called abuse of theory and critical thought in the academy is not simply the fault of errant professionalism and careerism. Defining theory and dangerous thinking as part of a critical pedagogy and emancipatory project becomes increasingly difficult for part-time faculty and those not on the tenure line who are harnessed with the increased pressures posed by the corporate university coupled with the market-driven production of an ongoing culture of uncertainty, insecurity and fear which makes the black hole of despair more paralyzing and crippling.
Killing the imagination and the quest for truth is not too difficult when faculty are struggling to survive the tasks of teaching too many courses, receiving poverty wages for their teaching, laboring under savage debts, and excluded from the power relations that govern their time. Under such circumstance, time becomes a burden rather than a luxury to be used to enable one to be self-reflective, thoughtful and capable of critically examining the assumptions and institutions that shape our lives. Of course, at the same time, there are still a number of public intellectuals, from Cornel West, Chris Hedges and Stanley Aronowitz to Gayatri Spivak and Dorothy Roberts, who use theory to address a range of social problems both in and outside of the university, including issues such as right-wing fundamentalism, the attack on the welfare state, racism in the United States and a host of other issues.
Moreover, there has been a resurgence of public intellectuals in and outside of the academy who are refiguring the role of dangerous thinking and critical thought as central pedagogical elements in fashioning a new language for politics, one that begins with the question of what a democracy should look like and in whose interest it should operate. Such intellectuals refuse the notion that any appeal to theory automatically makes them suspect. All of these intellectuals accept the notion that thinking becomes critical when it "brings theory into the focus of analysis by refusing to accept its authority without proof, by denuding that the grounds on which its authority is claimed be revealed, and, eventually, by questioning those grounds . . . theory is an activity rather than a body of knowledge . . . in that it produces practices" and refuses to be satisfied with the world as it is.[10]
On the other side, the diatribes against theory and dangerous thinking by the press, media, etc. can be construed as a kind of resentment, the product of a turf war, a defense of neoliberal fundamentalism, or an expression of ignorance and anti-intellectualism in the service of power. Of course, it is all these and more, but I think one important issue highlighted by Bob McChesney and others lies in the corporatizing of the media and its ongoing refusal to address important problems with intellectual rigor and theoretical depth — not to mention any simple honesty (Fox being the most obvious and horrible example).[11] The dominant media have become lap dogs to corporate power, serving largely as a source of entertainment, hate and militarism, all provided in ways that resemble barking commands. Public spaces are simply being eaten up and turned into offshoots of what Fox News and hate right-wing talk radio have become, a toxic advertisement for various elements of right-wing and fundamentalist discourses. Of course, there are alternative public spheres and one should never underestimate the power of resistance, even in times such as ours, but the colonizing of alternative views, ideas and knowledge available to people constitutes not only a crisis of theory and critical thought but a crisis of pedagogy and democracy itself. This is not new, but it has become more intensified and dangerous. But in the current historical conjuncture, serious questions have to be raised about what role artists, intellectuals, journalists, writers and other cultural workers might play in challenging the authoritarian state and while deepening and expanding the process of democratization. One answer might be found in the important work of people like Edward Said, Pierre Bourdieu, Arundhati Roy, Noam Chomsky, Cornel West, Naomi Klein, Stanley Aronowitz, Bill McKibben and others.
One important function of dangerous thinking is that it foregrounds the responsibility of artists, intellectuals, academics and others who use it. Mapping the full range of how power is used and how it can be made accountable represents a productive pedagogical and political use of theory. Theorizing the political, economic and cultural landscapes is central to any form of political activism and suggests that theory is like oxygen. That is, a valuable resource, which one has to become conscious of in order to realize how necessary it is to have it. Where we should take pause is when academic culture uses critical thought in the service of ideological purity and in doing so transforms pedagogy to forms of poisonous indoctrination for students. Critical thought in this case ossifies from a practice to a form of political dogmatism. The cheerleaders for casino capitalism hate critical theory and thought because they contain the possibility of politicizing everyday life and exposing those savage market-driven ideologies, practices and social relations that hide behind an appeal to commonsense. Both the fetishism of thinking and its dismissal are part of the same coin, the overall refusal to link conception and practice, agency and intervention, all aggravated by neoliberalism's hatred of all things social and public.
While there is more than enough evidence to distrust the appeal to democracy, especially in light of how the term is utterly debased at all levels of mainstream politics and in the culture in general, I think it is a term with a long legacy of struggle and needs to be reclaimed and fought over rather than abandoned. Derrida is particularly instructive in his insistence on distinguishing between the reality and promise of democracy — a distinction that points to democracy as a signpost that anticipates something better and in doing so offers a political and moral referent to think and act otherwise. I also think that the left and liberals have lost sight of the power of democracy as a term that can bring together a variety of diverse struggles, thus providing a referent for moving beyond particularized struggles while not abandoning them.
As part of an appeal to radical democracy, I think it is crucial for educators and other cultural workers to find ways to talk about the social contract as a means of both invoking matters of the social and justice, or what John Rawls once called "the infrastructure of justice," and also affirming freedom as a constitutive part of the social, rather than in opposition to the social. Young people have raised serious questions about what a democracy looks like and whom it might serve. Critically interrogating the meaning, reality, misappropriation and promise of democracy along with the necessary agents to have it come into fruition is an important political task.
The right wing in its various guises have so devalued any democratic notion of the social and critical thought that it has become difficult to think in terms outside of the survival-of the-fittest ethic and culture of cruelty that now dominates reality TV, the bullies who set policy in Washington and the sycophants who are media cheerleaders for Obama, the bankers and corporate America. Fortunately, we have a number of brave souls in and out of the academy who refuse to give up the language of democracy — from Harvey Kay and Chris Hedges to the indomitable and courageous Bill Moyers.
Needless to say, ideas without institutions in which they can be nurtured tend to fall to the margins of society. This is all the more reason to defend public and higher education and all of those public spheres where democratic ideas, values and practices are taken seriously, and intellectual rigor becomes the norm rather than a sideshow. Think of the informed critical writing and interviews one can find in Truthout, Salon, Truthdig, Monthly Review Zine and a range of other online sites that refuse prescriptions and barking commands. These are the new cultural apparatuses of freedom for the 21st century and they need to be defended in the name of dangerous forms of thinking that are self-reflective, infused with democratic values and expanding the public good.
Critical thought and thinking dangerously are not just about reading texts and screen culture closely or for that matter using abstract models of language to explain the arc of history, politics and human behavior. They are also about the frameworks we develop in terms of how we deal with power, treat one another and develop a sense of compassion for others and the planet. I was so taken a few years ago by a similar sentiment reflected in a story that Jürgen Habermas told about being at Herbert Marcuse's side as he was dying and being moved by Marcuse's last few words: "I know wherein our most basic value judgment are rooted — in compassion, in our sense of the suffering of others."[12] While it makes little sense to be trapped in a kind of ossified intellectual rigor, there is no excuse to believe that action uninformed by theory is anything but an expression of thoughtlessness.
We live in an era when conservatives and the financial elite collapse public concerns into private interests, define people largely as consumers and consider everyone potential terrorists. Moreover, the apostles of neoliberal capitalism militarize and commodify the entire society, consider youth as nothing more than a source of profit, define education as training, undermine the welfare state in favor of a warfare state and define democracy as synonymous with the language of capital. We live in a period that the late Gil Scott –Heron once called "winter in America." As the forces of authoritarianism sweep over every major US institution, the time for widespread resistance and radical democratic change has never been so urgent. Such change will not come unless the call for political and economic change is matched by a change in subjectivity, consciousness and the desire for a better world. This is, in part, a theoretical challenge and supports individual and collective efforts to reconfigure those public spheres where theory can emerge and be refined into modes of critique, understanding and collective action. As a mode of resistance, dangerous thinking is the basis for a formative and pedagogical culture of questioning and politics that takes seriously how knowledge can become central to the practice of freedom, justice and democratic change. At a time of lowered expectations, thinking dangerously raises the bar and points to making the impossible, once again, all the more possible.
[Note: This piece first appeared on Truthout.]
End notes:
1. Arundhati Roy, Power Politics (Cambridge, Mass.: South End Press, 2001), p. 1.
2. I have taken this phrase from an interview with Homi Bhabha in Gary Olson and Lynn Worsham, "Staging the Politics of Difference: Homi Bhabha's Critical Literacy" JAC (1999), p. 9.
3. Zygmunt Bauman, Liquid Life (London: Polity Press, 2005), p.139.
4. Michael Payne, "What Difference Has Theory Made? From Freud to Adam Phillips," College Literature 32:2 (Spring 2005), p. 7.
5. Lawrence Grossberg, Cultural Studies in the Future Tense (Durham: Duke University Press, 2010).
6. The notion that theory is a pedagogical and political resource is taken up in great detail in Jeffrey Nealon and Susan Searls Giroux, The Theory Toolbox, second edition (Boulder: Rowman and Littlefield, 2012).
7. Ibid., Bauman, Liquid Life, 151.
8. Salman Rushdie, "Whither Moral Courage?" The New York Times, (April 28, 2013) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/opinion/sunday/whither-moral-courage.html?pagewanted=all
9. Judith Butler, Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence (London: Verso Press, 2004), P. 126.
10. Zygmunt Bauman (2001). "Critical Theory," In Peter Beilharz (ed.) The Bauman Reader (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2001), p. 139.
11. Robert W. McChesney, Blowing the Roof Off the Twenty-First Century: Media, Politics, and the Struggle for Post-Capitalist Democracy (New York: Monthly Review Press, 2015).
12. Herbert Marcuse cited in Jürgen Habermas, "Psychic Thermidor and Rebirth of Rebellious Subjectivity," in Robert Pippin, Andrew Feenberg and Charles P. Webel, eds. Marcuse: Critical Theory and the Promise of Utopia (South Hadley, MA: Bergin and Garvey, 1988), p. 11.
[Thank you Henry for this.]
Henry A. Giroux is the McMaster University Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest in the English and Cultural Studies Department and is a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Ryerson University. His most recent books are America's Education Deficit and the War on Youth and Neoliberalism's War on Higher Education. His web site is http://www.henryagiroux.com and his other site is MCSPI.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.


text:
Rules of conduct
In order to maintain a friendly and pleasant atmosphere on the portal we have implemented some basic rules of conduct, which may be updated by us from time to time without previous notice. All visitors who participate and use the BUILD UP site facilities are expected to read and agree with these rules and policies and to not break any of them. Please take a moment to familiarise yourself with the portal's guidelines:
Inappropriate content
The following are deemed to constitute inappropriate content. Posting such content may result in account suspension or banning as well as the removal of the offending posts:
- Posts or images of a defamatory, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene,profane or threatening nature. This includes any messages or material ethnically, racially, religiously or sexually offensive, insulting or demeaning.
- Posts or images that violate any laws or regulations.
- Explicit advertising of products or services without our prior consent or the adequate context (i.e. in the case of a thread discussing Tools & Technology). Advertising your company can be done through your Personal Profile.
- Registering to solely post/endorse/promote for your own personal gain.
- Discussion of illegal activities such as software and movie piracy and other intellectual property infringement.
- Posting your or other people's personal contact information (i.e. telephone numbers, addresses etc) on any publicly viewable forums.
- Anything else deemed inappropriate by us.
- Links to any of the above.
Expected behavior of members and suggestions for better posting
- Keep all contributions within the appropriate community area of interest.
- Use short and concise titles when posting documents or blog entries.
- Please make an effort to communicate yourself as clearly as possible.
- Refrain from using foul or offensive language.
- All content posted by users express the views of the author, and BUILD UP will not be held responsible for any message.
- Treat all other BUILD UP members in a respectful and courteous manner at all times, even in the event of disagreements.
- Visitors to the site who are not recognized Administrators, portal Staff Members or Community Facilitators with full credentials should not pose as the aforementioned ranks through the use of "administrator", "staff member" or "facilitator" in their Member's name, avatar or signature.
While these rules cover most common situations, they cannot anticipate everything. Consequently we reserve the right to take any actions we deem appropriate to ensure BUILD UP content sections are not disrupted or abused in any way.
Report a rule infraction
If you feel a fellow BUILD UP member breaks the portal's policies and rules of
conduct, please report it to a community facilitator or directly to the portal staff through http://www.buildup.eu/contact
Disciplinary measures
We reserve the right to monitor the BUILD UP blogs and forums and delete any postings or members who don't adhere to these rules, our standard portal terms and conditions and our privacy policy. This includes postings that disrupt or interfere with our technical operations.
We reserve the right to close or ban, temporarily or permanently, any user's account without previous notice as we deem necessary.
Should you feel you have been treated unfairly by us or a community facilitator, you may appeal directly to us. When contacting us, please provide the email address you used to sign up. We do not discuss the suspension of portal members with the general public.


text: In March of 2000, unconventional MTV personality and Comedian Tom Green was diagnosed with testicular cancer. On May 23, 2000, MTV aired a one-hour special episode of the Tom Green Show. The special followed Tom through his treatment and included graphic footage of the surgical procedure during which doctors removed Tom's right testicle. Tom uses humor to educate!


text:
This is The Eagleman Stag, a BAFTA-award-winning stop-motion animated short by director Mikey Please. It's about an entomologist who discovers a unique insect with an anatomy that can alter human consciousness in incredible ways. Here's a synopsis:
If you repeat the word 'fly' for long enough it sounds like you're saying 'life.' This is of no help to Peter. His answers lie in the brain of a beetle.
You can take a look at the meticulous detail that went into this film here. You have time to fit this into your schedule. Hat tip to Precious Roy.


text:
I know, I know, first there was the chicken class in Kansas City. And then there is the upcoming turkey workshop in Austin, TX this Saturday. And now, I'd like to announce the Brooklyn rabbit class.
The Complete Rabbit, Brooklyn, NY November 15
Rabbits are the new chicken. More and more urban farmers are discovering the benefits of raising rabbits for meat in the city: bunnies are quiet, prefer to be kept in shady locations, reproduce quickly, and can be fed scraps.
This class will cover rabbit basics: housing, sourcing food for them on a budget, breeding, and harvesting. A quick and humane technique for killing meat rabbits will be demonstrated, as well as dressing and preparing the rabbit for the table.
Following the slaughter portion of the class, there will be a three hour break, and class will resume at Marlow and Daughter for a hands-on butcher and cooking class with Samin Nosrat. She will demonstrate how to extract the most flavor from your rabbit, with recipes for a rich stock, kidney and liver paste, Tuscan rabbit ragu and tips on how to best season, grill and braise the meat.
So some might wonder, why is it that in every city I travel to, something has to die?
As an urban farmer I've been doing all these things–planting, breeding, harvesting–in the private world of my little farmlette. After being on book tour for a few months (on and off), I came to know that it was possible to just go from town to town doing a power point presentation and never get my hands dirty. This seemed unbearably isolating. In fact, I started calling my physical body "The Carcass" while I was on tour. As in, The Carcass boards plane at noon, then is on book panel at 3pm. Fed Carcass dinner, early to bed, then meet for coffee with a local newspaper writer where Carcass says tantalizing things about urban farming movement.
But, you see, what the carcass really wants to do is hang out with the chefs at the local restaurant, help organize an event with the local food rabblerousers, and perhaps teach a class that will help other urban farmers. So, that was the motivation.
Now that Samin (the chef) and I have been actually teaching the classes, I realized that there is a huge hunger out there for people to connect to their food. Maybe they are raising chickens themselves and want to learn the best practice for culling a rooster. Maybe they have been thinking about raising turkeys but don't know how to start. Maybe they are disturbed by factory farming and want to know their meat by raising it themselves. All of the people I've encountered so far are fired up after our classes. Something as intimidating as processing your own animal suddenly makes sense, it is doable, and here's the thing–it is kind of beautiful. I remember the first time I learned how to kill a turkey. It opened my eyes to the entire world. I suddenly saw connections between me and my ancestors. I felt connected and reverential for the animals we eat. I also felt skilled and useful. It makes me proud to pass that feeling on. And so, I do.
If you can't do the rabbit class, I'll be at the following places in New York City:
November 10, Presentation. Horticultural Society of New York, 6pm
November 11, Reading. Vox Pop cafe, 1022 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn NY, 7pm
Hope to meet you soon…If I start to look like a carcass, slap me!


text:
The great outdoors can provide a relaxing reprieve from city life, but not if you spend all your time worrying about bears invading your camp. So even though it's designed for military use, this radar-in-a-backpack kit should provide ample peace of mind when roughing it.
The kit weighs less than 20 pounds when packed away, but when you've settled on a place to pop your tent, it can be setup in just three minutes. And once it's running, it will scan a 150 acre area for movement, reporting its finds to an included wireless tablet that shows the radar signal overlaid on map imagery so it's easier to pinpoint an intruder.
Some might say that using this portable radar kit outside of military applications is a little overkill. But they've probably never had a bag of marshmallows nicked by a racoon. Nothing spoils a camping trip more than marshmallow-less s'mores, so consider this undoubtedly expensive kit insurance for a perfect weekend away. [SpotterRF via Popular Science]


text:
Protection Force: Caught in the Crossfire (1995)
National Film Board of Canada
Documentary Description
Caught in the Crossfire is an in-depth and often moving look at how Canadian soldiers keep peace in war-torn former Yugoslavia. Seen through the soldiers' eyes, it pays tribute to a community of men and women who have earned the respect of all sides in this bloody dispute. Yet they have received little recognition at home. In one segment after another, Caught in the Crossfire introduces us to soldiers like commanding officer Lt. Col. Ray Wlasichuk, a 23-year veteran with the Canadian Armed Forces whom we see making contact with local warlords on the first day of his tour of duty in Bosnia-Herzegovina. We meet local Serb commander Nisho Miric, with whom Canadian peacekeepers negotiate for the safe transfer of an elderly Muslim woman who unwittingly entered into Serb-held territory. We see a prisoner exchange brokered by Canadian liaison officers where men shake hands who only a month earlier had been trying to kill each other. Throughout Caught in the Crossfire, we gain an awareness of the difficult work of our peacekeepers, and of the successes that have resulted from our Canadian policy of refusing to take sides in the conflict.
This film is part of the 3-part Protection Force Series about Canadian peacekeeping in former Yougoslavia.
1995, 47 min 50 s
Related Documentaries
People who watch this documentary also look for:


text:
Bellingham, Washington, often comes out near the top when magazines rate America's "most liveable" cities, but it ranks No. 1 in a new list -- U.S. places that get the least sunshine during the year.
Article continues below this ad
The sun is out only 35 percent of the time in the city at the Northwest corner of America's "lower 48" states.
Everett is No. 2, followed by Shoreline and Seattle. In fact, the 15 least-sunny cities and surroundings with more than 50,000 population are ALL in Western Washington, according to the list compiled by city-data.com.
"In contrast to other parts of the country, it's not long stretches of clouds that get people moody: It's long stretches of sun," joked Patrick Stickney, a senior at Western Washington University in Bellingham. Stickney has lived in Phoenix and Spokane.
Article continues below this ad
Ben Outspoken Crowther, a recent Western graduate, quipped on his Facebook page, "I was born and raised in No. 8 (Issaquah), went to college in No. 1 (Bellingham) and now live in No. 4 (Seattle)."
The cloudiest places elswhere in the country are in the Rust Belt. Charleston, West Virginia -- not tops on anybody's "most livable" list -- is No. 16, followed by Pittsburgh and Syracuse.
Bellingham may be No. 1 in least sunshine, but it is a major outdoor recreation center.
Specially, Bellingham and Whatcom County are fast becoming a national center for mountain biking, up there with much sunnier places like Moab, Utah.
Article continues below this ad
The overcast? "We think of it as a virtue," said Bruce Brown, an author who made his reputation with "Mountain in the Clouds," a book on decimation of the Olympic Peninsula's salmon runs. Brown lives in Sumas, north of Bellingham, and writes about mountain biking.
Up in Bellingham, mountain biking enthusiasts refer to "the slime factor" on such challenging routes as Galbraith Mountain and Lookout Mountain.
"It makes the riding challenging," said Brown. "We are seen as Vikings from the north. I've ridden in California, in Oregon, elsewhere in the West. The level of difficulty that riders deal with here is far greater than in California or Utah or elsewhere.
"We wear proudly the badge of darkness, gloom and rain."
Article continues below this ad
Mitch Friedman, executive director at Bellingham-based Conservation Northwest, used to think that Everett and Olympia "had us beat" in cloudy days.
"I would suggest a good investment would be for people to open a store that sells ultra-violet lamps where you get Vitamin D or E," joked Friedman. Seriously, however, he notes that "a new generation of people are moving here" explicitly for the range of outdoor activities.
As to the gloom, Friedman suggests an antidote: "I try to go to Mexico for a week each winter."
Bob Simmons, a veteran Los Angeles TV pundit, was lured north to KING-TV in the late 1970s. He is now retired in Bellingham, and was asked on a cool, overcast November day if he misses life in LA, and replied:
Article continues below this ad
Words cannot express how much I miss the 98 degree Santa Ana winds with its load of smog and forest fire smoke so thick you could carry it in your pocket for later consumption.
The "top 15" list of cities with least sunshine also includes:
"East Seattle," the city's suburbs across Lake Washington, is No. 5. Bellevue ranks No. 6, followed by Renton at No. 7, the Issaquah Plateau at No. 8, Kent at No. 9 and Federal Way ranking No. 10.
Tacoma is No. 11, the first place where the sun shines over 40 percent of the time, with nearby Lakewood at No. 12. Tahoma/Maple Valley is No. 13, followed by Enumclaw (No. 14) and Graham at No. 15.
Article continues below this ad
As summed up by Simmons: "You know, dark and gloomy beats sunny and grim."


text: What better way to preserve life's special moments than photo prints? Let those precious memories live forever! ArtsCow offers high-quality prints in a complete range of sizes at competitive prices. Photo printing can be as easy as 1-2-3. All you need to do is to upload your photos, select the desire photo print size and place your order. You may also choose between a glossy and matte paper finish.


text:
March 31 – April 4, 2016, Taipei, Taiwan
Ironbridge International Institute of Cultural Heritage, University of Birmingham and National Taiwan University
In the context of rapid cultural and economic globalisation, over half of the World's population now live in urban areas. Through rural migration, new economic opportunities and enhanced global mobilities, cities and towns have expanded dramatically resulting in challenges to their character and identity. Visible changes in skylines and boundaries are also accompanied by less obvious shifts in how cities preserve, present and promote their pasts and traditions against fierce and competitive demands for space. Urban heritage, as the valued tangible and intangible legacies of the past, would appear to be an increasingly important asset for communities and governments alike, allowing cities to mark their distinctiveness, attract tourists and inward investment and, retain a historical narrative that feeds into the quality of life. At the same time, new heritage – the heritage of the future – is being created in cities and towns. This reflects the patterns and trends of wider economic, social and cultural change and is resulting in 'starchitecture' and new iconic structures, but also in small scale interventions whereby communities are creating and nurturing buildings, objects, spaces and practices that have meaning and value to them.
In this context, this conference seeks to examine the processes of protecting, planning and promoting urban heritage in the face of on-going changes, pressures and opportunities at the global and the local level. We wish to better understand the ways in which heritage can be mobilised in the development of city well-being and the changing approaches to how it is managed, taking into account issues of ownership, responsibility, local and national economies and identities. Critically we address the question of long term sustainability and pose the question of what will future residents, communities and tourists inherit from their towns and cities?
The Conference aims to provide critical dialogue beyond disciplinary boundaries and we invite papers from all disciplines and fields including: anthropology, architecture, archaeology, art history, cultural geography, cultural studies, design, ethnology and folklore, economics, history, heritage studies, landscape studies, leisure studies, museum studies, philosophy, political science, sociology, tourism studies, urban history, urban/spatial planning.
We welcome perspectives on all aspects of urban heritage / heritage in the urban context – world heritage, historic urban landscapes, colonial heritage, religious heritage, intangible heritage and traditions, museum heritage, food heritage etc. For potential themes of interest see the website.
Please send a 300 word abstract of your paper with a clear title and contact details to email@example.com as soon as possible but no later than October 15th 2015.


text:
If you're having problems getting pregnant, see your GP. They will look at your medical history and give you a physical examination.
They may also recommend some lifestyle changes to help increase your chances of getting pregnant (see planning your pregnancy).
Unless there are reasons that may put you at high risk of infertility, such as cancer treatment, you'll usually only be considered for infertility investigations and treatment if you've been trying for a baby for at least a year without becoming pregnant.
If appropriate, your GP can refer you to a fertility specialist at an NHS hospital or fertility clinic.
Seeing a fertility specialist
The specialist will ask about your fertility history, and may carry out a physical examination.
Women may have tests to check the levels of hormones in their blood and how well their ovaries are working.
They may also have an ultrasound scan or X-ray to see if there are any blockages or structural problems.
Men may be asked for a semen sample to test sperm quality.
If IVF is the best treatment for you, the specialist will refer you to an assisted conception unit.
Read more about diagnosing infertility.
At the assisted conception unit
Once you're accepted for treatment at the assisted conception unit, you and your partner will have blood tests, including tests for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
Your cervical screening tests should also be up-to-date.
The clinic should also check that you've been offered screening for sickle cell and thalassaemia if your ancestors come from a country where these conditions are more common. Anyone can ask to have this test for free on the NHS from their GP.
If you're planning to use donor eggs, check that these have been screened. All IVF clinics in the UK are required to screen donor eggs and sperm.
The specialist will investigate the number of eggs in your body (your ovarian reserve) to estimate how your ovaries will respond to IVF treatment.
This can be assessed by measuring a substance called anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) in your blood, or by counting the number of egg-containing follicles, known as your antral follicle count (AFC), using a vaginal ultrasound scan.
Your specialist will then discuss your treatment plan with you in detail and talk to you about any support or guidance you may find helpful.
Read more about what happens during IVF and the support available during IVF.
Page last reviewed: 18 October 2021
Next review due: 18 October 2024


text:
"This time I'm going to step on the accelerator and step on the head of whoever it might be. Everyone, even his grandchildren, will have to submit to the analyses my lawyers are going to ask for. I
don't have anything to hide. I'm going to be the first to have the corresponding exam done. Because this is going straight to the authorities. Let everybody know and record it: I'm going after
Grondona's family."
-- Diego Maradona announcing he will take legal action against Argentine soccer federation president Julio Grondona over his perceived criticism of the Maradona's drug problems. The ongoing feud between the two erupted when Grondona decided not to renew Maradona's contract as Argentina coach after the 2010 World Cup. (AP)


text:
Not a lot of people know that in many an English churchyard nests a hidden secret.
Something which has been buried for centuries, yet was never living. Something which, when it was current, drew in the whole village community, young and old.
Yet many have been lost to us for centuries.
The churchyards hide furnaces.
And the furnaces point to great pits dug in the ground; not to receive grisly remains, but to enable the founding of a church bell.
Once upon a time, the creation of a village bell was a village business. You waited until a bellfounder wandered into the village and then everyone would pile into the churchyard and dig a huge hole.
Why? because you cast bells in a hole in the ground.
Men would construct the furnaces to heat the bell-metal – a bronze alloy – and pour them into huge moulds, set into the gaping holes the villagers had dug. And when they were cold and ready, they would be finished by hand.
Canterbury's bell and Lincoln Cathedral's Great Tom were both cast in their respective cathedral closes.
The Tsar Bell – the biggest bell ever cast- sits on a plinth,never having rung a peal in its long life. It was the third in a generation of huge signature bells which were destined to hang in the Kremlin.
Russia was never one to do anything by halves. In the 1730s a ten-metre pit was dug, and the walls reinforced by rammed earth; a clay mould was put in and, after three years of attempts, the bell cast.
Alas: a great fire at the Kremlin damaged the temporary wooden supports for the bell and men threw water over it to damp it down. What should have helped, created great cracks in the monstrous creation, and a fragment broke off.
The Russians know the power of a good story; and so the bell stands, still, not far from where it was created, a broken fragment sitting by its rim, or mouth.
It towers above tourists, the size of a building, creating awe and stories in its wake. It does not bear thinking about, how many it would take to peal such a behemoth.
Most campanologists choose slightly smaller bells.
Some do it for the pure joyous mathematics. They call it ringing the changes– six bells can achieve 720 different combinations, while eight bells have 40,320. And for a church lucky enough to have 10 bells, 3,628,800 combinations are possible.
Others do it for the musicianship. Bells have overtones. When you ring one you don't get the pure note, but a note laced with other harmonious ghost-notes we call harmonics. They are made to a strict formula which makes one note dominant, but other notes hum in the background, an ancient sound which comes from another time.
Sill others do it for the companionship: all over England there are groups of bell-ringers who work in such tight teamwork that their camaraderie is second to none.
And some bells ring on their own.
Today, in Britain, one bell takes centre stage.
Not rung by human hand, but by the miracle of an efficient clockwork mechanism, it is the bell by which we live the rhythm of our lives here in England. Its chimes are broadcast live on our talk radio station, Radio 4, every day at key hours. It has presence, and gravity, and pomp. And we all hold it most dear.
I speak, of course of Big Ben.
We'll all wait by the television or the radio- or next to Big Ben himself – tonight at half eleven or so. And that first great chime, grandiloquent and imperious, will signal the popping open of a bottle or, the raucous letting off of streamers, or the tipsy kazoo fanfare, or a triumphant mistletoe clinch or just a bleary Happy New Year from beneath a duvet.
We'll all be listening, ready, for the passing of time.
As delineated by our favourite, bombastic, paternalistic bell.


text:
Resources A-Z
CRL gathers and provides information here about commercial and open access digital resources of interest to the CRL community. This information is intended to inform library decisions on investment in electronic resources and related services.
Springer +Science & Business Media currently publish some 1,900 journals in 11 subject areas in science, technology, medicine and humanities & social sciences. In addition Springer publishes e-books.
While CRL makes every effort to verify statements made herein, the opinions expressed and evaluative information provided here represent the considered viewpoints of individual librarians and specialists at CRL and in the CRL community. They do not necessarily reflect the views of CRL management, its board, and/or its officers.


text:
Show descriptionOur range of Men's Merino Pants Bottoms is made from Australian Superfine Merino wool. This double-jersey 220gsm fabric is knitted and dyed locally in Australia. We source direct from growers who have each achieved independent ethical certification standards such as the Responsible Wool Standard or Organica Protocol.
Each design has a distinct men's styled cut to take maximum advantage of moisture wicking, heat regulation and odour management attributes found in this magnificent blended natural fiber.
Best for: Hunting & Fishing, Outdoor work, Casual-wear or Travel.
No products were found matching your selection.


text:
U.S. can thwart North Korea, admiral tells senators
WASHINGTON — The commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific reassured Congress on Tuesday that the U.S. military could intercept any missile launched by North Korea and aimed at America's territory or its East Asian allies.
Adm. Samuel Locklear's briefing to senators came amid growing concern that North Korea is about to test a missile — some observers suggest as early as Wednesday — after weeks of bellicose threats.
"We have a credible ability to defend the homeland, to defend Hawaii, to defend Guam, to defend our forward deployed forces and to defend our allies," Locklear told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Locklear said Pentagon agencies could quickly recognize a missile's trajectory and knock it out of the sky with land- or ship-based antimissile batteries if it posed a threat.
U.S., South Korean and Japanese officials have been preparing for days for the possible launch of an intermediate-range missile. Although they maintain that most of North Korea's threats have been bluster, they acknowledge that the actions of the regime in Pyongyang are unpredictable, so they have deployed antimissile defenses.
North Korea has moved an intermediate-range Musudan missile to its east coast, possibly in preparation for launch, and has warned at various times that its missiles could hit South Korea, Japan, Guam or the U.S. mainland. The Musudan is estimated by Jane's, a defense analysis firm, to have a range of 1,550 to 2,500 miles, which would allow it to reach Guam.
Pyongyang sought to further increase anxiety by having the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, a government agency, urge "all foreign organizations, companies and tourists to work out measures for evacuation" because the Korean peninsula was "inching closer to thermonuclear war."
A Japanese newspaper, Sankei, reported that Pyongyang had warned foreign embassies that it planned to launch a missile Wednesday over Japan into the Pacific Ocean.
The United States and its allies have been trying to carefully calibrate their public message, urging calm while emphasizing that they are prepared for any attack. They believe North Korea's goals are to damage the South Korean economy by spreading panic and to force the United States back to the negotiating table with concessions.
U.S. officials denounced the North's "provocative rhetoric" and insisted there was no reason for tourists to alter their plans.
"We're not discouraging U.S. citizens from traveling to South Korea or encouraging them to take any special travel precautions," State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said in Washington.
At the same time, Adm. Locklear told the senators that North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, seemed more unpredictable than his father or grandfather, who ruled the Stalinist state before him. He appears to not know how to wind down the escalatory cycle that began about a month ago, Locklear said.
"It's not clear to me he has thought through how to get out of it," he said.
Another senior U.S. military officer, who asked to remain unidentified, said the U.S. plan to fire at a North Korean missile carried some risk because a failure to hit the target would undermine confidence in U.S. missile defense.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Park Geun-hye told a Cabinet meeting that she didn't intend to yield to North Korean pressure.
"How long are we going to repeat this vicious cycle where the North Koreans create tensions and we give them compromises and aid?" she asked.
There is widespread doubt in the South that the North will make good on its threats.
"If North Korea fires at Seoul and other regions in South Korea, that will mean all-out war," said Park Syung-je, a military analyst with the Seoul-based Asia Strategy Institute. "While [Un] is young, senior military generals surrounding him are old. They won't be so reckless to launch a total war, as that will be a suicide mission."
Japanese officials in Tokyo moved Patriot antimissile batteries into position, saying they would use them to shoot down any missiles or missile debris if necessary, Japanese news organizations reported.
The batteries were deployed at a Tokyo military base, Camp Asaka, and another installation in Chiba prefecture. Other Patriot units will be moved into position on the island of Okinawa sooner than had been planned in response to the North Korean threats, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.
As they try to manage the threat from North Korea, U.S. officials are also attempting to restrain South Korea from responding to a provocation in a way that could ignite a regional war.
The U.S. and South Korea recently agreed to a "counter-provocation" plan under which they would respond proportionately to a North Korean attack but avoid escalating to heavier weapons or additional targets.
"The idea would be to get it under control as far as possible," Locklear told the Senate panel. "The best thing we as militaries can do is to … get back to peace, so that diplomacy can work."
Yet South Korean officials, many of whom have expressed regret that they didn't respond more forcefully to recent provocations from the North, have declared that the South might respond aggressively to any North Korean attack, including by striking North Korean command and control centers.
Bruce W. Bennett, a defense specialist at Rand Corp. in Santa Monica, said such a response "would probably worry the White House." But he noted that the United States, which has long urged Seoul to do more for its own defense, is in the process of shifting the military lead role from U.S. officers to South Koreans in 2015.
"The South Koreans have a whole lot more autonomy now," he said.
Special correspondent Choi reported from Seoul.
Times staff writer David S. Cloud in Washington contributed to this report.
Must-read stories from the L.A. Times
Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.


text:
Music-streaming service Rhapsody has announced it will be available on Smart TVs from LG, Panasonic, and Samsung starting today, with Sharp and Xbox available in coming months.
Although the announcement came today, the service has been available on Panasonic and LG for a few months. Samsung is new with today's announcement. A Rhapsody app has also been available on Vizio TVs for the last two years. We're not surprised that Sony's Smart TVs, which support the competing Sony Entertainment Network's music service, aren't on the list of supporting TVs.
The new app appears to be different from earlier versions, with an updated interface. The company also says that based on user feedback it will work differently compared with how it works on the PC or other apps, by prioritizing features such as radio stations, favorite tracks, recommendations, and playlists.
Rhapsody is a subscription service that offers a selection of 16 million tracks and is already available on most smartphones and tablets (iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, and Android) and devices like Sonos and the Logitech UE.
"Our goal is to be within arm's reach for our customers so they can enjoy anytime, anywhere access to the music that matters most to them. For many of our customers, the living room and the TV are the focal point for digital media consumption," said Paul Springer, Rhapsody's SVP of product and design.
Neither Rhapsody nor the manufacturers has yet announced which years' televisions will be eligible for the download, but we will update when we have more information.
In comparison, competitor Pandora has free apps for Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, and Vizio starting in 2012, and all major manufacturers bar LG for 2011.


text:
Preaching Daily - August 26
- Sign Up for Email? Sign Up for Email Delivery?
- 2016 Aug 26
Today's Word for Pastors...
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
Mark 16:15
Today's Preaching Insight...
Leave the Popularity for Jesus
It is the biggest temptation every preacher deals with. Every preacher? Yes, every preacher; and if one ever tells you he or she has never experienced its power, do not buy a used computer from that preacher. What is it? Popularity!
Phillips Brooks, who gave the world his wonderful carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem," knew popularity's seductive powers. As a preacher, he experienced it firsthand and declared, "To set one's heart on being popular is fatal to the preacher's best growth. It is the worst and feeblest part of your congregation that makes itself heard in vociferous applause, and it applauds that in you which pleases it."
Truth is that the love of popularity does not just seduce preachers. Everybody likes to be liked. For preachers, however, it is an especially deadly enticement. More than one unusually gifted preacher has been caught up in its grips and weakened, even destroyed, by its deadly power.
These days Jesus is literally everywhere. He is in newspapers and on the covers of magazines. He is on TV and radio.
You can find Him on football fields and on the tailgates of SUVs. He gets a mention in the great debates of the day—from Iraq to gay marriage, from evolution to the environment.
He is a celebrity unequalled in human history, this Jesus you and I are called to preach. My granddaughters might tell you, "He's hot!" That's right, He sizzles! Of course, it will not last, will it? Jesus will go out of fashion as quickly as He came in once the media tires of Him, don't you agree? No? Me neither!
(To read the entire article, "Every Preacher's Fiercest Temptation!" by Robert Leslie Holmes at Preaching.com, click here)
Today's Extra...
According to the authors of the book Significa, the world's champion complainer was a man named Ralph Charrell. Charrel received over $100,000 as a result of his systematic complaining. His smallest refund was of $6.95 and his largest was $25,000. Charrel spent time every day making phone call and writing letters of complaint. He even wrote two books, How to Get the Upper Hand and How I Turn Ordinary Complaints into Thousands of Dollars. While we all have the right to stand up for ourselves, would you want to be known as the "World's Champion Complainer"? Wouldn't it be better to be the "World's Champion Encourager"?
Preaching magazine is the premier resource for those who proclaim the Word. To begin your own subscription, go to http://magazine.preaching.com/subscribe/.


text:
Cold Pressed Oil in Thiruneermalai
Cold Pressed Oil in Thiruneermalai: Standard Cold Pressed Oil is India's No.1 Cold Pressed Oil Online Store specialize in producing 100% traditional and unrefined cold pressed Oil and provide delivery service all over Thiruneermalai with Free Home Delivery for the order above Rs.1000
Do you remember your grandparents telling you about how they used to go to the oil store with an empty can to purchase cold pressed oil for Rs. 5. In Thiruneermalai, cold pressed oil was a way of life until 50 years ago when industrially processed, refined oils took over the market.
Ok.. what's so special about cold pressed oils?
Cold pressing refers to oils obtained through pressing seeds or nuts with 'wooden ghani', a traditional method which is used at Standard Cold Pressed Oil's operation in Erode.
Cold Pressed Oils will provide a vital contribution to your healthier life:
- They retain all their flavor, aroma, and nutritional value making these oils great for cooking and skin care requirements.
- They contain 0 grams of trans fatty acids and are naturally cholesterol-free.
- They are cholesterol free.
- They are not refined, deodorized or processed in any way.
- They do not contain harmful solvent residues
- Standard Cold Pressed Oils contain no added chemicals or preservatives.
- They contain natural antioxidants such as tocopherols (e.g. Vitamin E) and phosphatides (e.g. Lecithin).
- The natural flavour and odour is retained, enhancing your favourite recipes.
Standard Cold Pressed Oil is India's No.1 & Best Cooking Oil Brand. Call 9677227688 to Buy Cold Pressed Oil & Gets Delivered to Your Doorsteps at Thiruneermalai. ? FREE Home Delivery to Thiruneermalai ? 200ml Trial Pack Available ? Best Price ?140.00 ? Quality Packing
Standard Cold Pressed Oil is a significant and continually growing Indian company having operation unit at Erode, Tamil Nadu. We are the leading specialist manufacturers of high quality cold pressed oils, using our traditional method.
Team @ Standard Cold Pressed Oil is primarily focused to bring the edible oil should be real and from nature available to everyone. We have taken up this ambitious project and moving to each & every Indian household that our great forefather used 1000 years ago.
We are proud of our brand "Standard Cold Pressed Oil", we produce cold pressed nutritional oils. We do not employ chemical or solvent extraction processes, ensuring the aroma, flavor and nutritional characteristics of our quality raw materials are preserved.
The company is recognized as a market leader for freshness, premium quality, lab certified & specialized in producing high quality of cold pressed oils.
Technical Details
|Product Name:
|Cold Pressed Sesame Oil
|1 Litre
|Ingredient Type:
|No Preservatives, No Genetic Engineering
|Country of Origin:
|Erode, TamilNadu
|Storage Instructions:
|Store in a cool & dry place
|Item Package Quantity:
|200ml / 500ml / 1 Litre / 5 Litres / 16.5 Litres
|FSSAI No 22417076000648
|Caffeine Content:
|Caffeine Free
|Serving Recommendation:
|Suitable for Cooking, Oil Pulling, Oil Massage & Head Massage
|Package Information:
|Wrapped in Carton Box with Zero Breakage
|Maximum Shelf Life:
|6 Months
Try Our Product Now


text:
At ISTE 2014 in Atlanta, I attended Alan November's session on "Learn to Learn: First 5 Days of School". Alan spoke about the opportunities within the first five days of the school year, and the range of activities and pedagogies that could be "invested in" during that time and carried into each term.
Whilst the topic of conversation was very interesting (See the November Learning resources and #1st5Days), there was something else that sparked an interest in me.
Alan showed a set of questions that he had been working on, named "Six questions to ask for transformed learning". Alan's point was that the we ought to consider more frequently how much of our use of technology IS in fact transforming classrooms. His questions could be used to "test" or analyse assignments, as one can easily get carried away in the urgency to use technology but not consider how in fact it is improving (or hindering) the learning process or opportunities.
Here are Alan's questions in full:
1) Did the assignment create capacity for critical thinking on the web?
2) Did the assignment reach new areas of teaching students to develop new lines of enquiry?
3) Are there opportunities to broaden the perspective of the conversation with authentic audiences from around the world?
4) Is there an opportunity for students to publish (across various media) with an opportunity for continuous feedback?
5) Is there an option or focus for students to create a contribution (purposeful work?)
6) Were students introduced to "best in the world" examples of content and skill?
6 qs to ask for transformed learning. If the answer is no tech is simply substituting via @globalearner #ISTE2014 pic.twitter.com/16qPGEyZgW
— Anthony Speranza (@anthsperanza) July 1, 2014
Upon reflecting on Alan's questions I thought that they ring true; in that if the answer is no to all of the above, then there is a danger that technology has merely substituted the task and not transformed it in any way. Educators often talk about how apps or software are "transformational" because they are engaging or motivating, or personal devices that are in the hands of students hands lead to transformational "approaches". For me, the transformative opportunities in today's digital age with technology are when the technologies are used to connect, share and widen classrooms, which in my opinion, are scarcely met in a genuine sense.
According to the SAMR model above (Dr Ruben Puentedura), transformation occurs when the technology has allowed for significant modification of the task and / or created new opportunities which were previously inconceivable. For more on SAMR, see Kathy Schrock's awesome guide.
So you think you are using technology to "Transform" learning?
Taking Alan's questions, I have modified them slightly and improved the wording of them for teachers to use more succinctly to get to the heart of the question; so that they could be used to think about whether technology is indeed transforming learning and teaching in classrooms.
The first change you might notice is that I have modified the word "assignment" to task. Assignment to me brings connotations of a moment in time, a "project", and often used as an assessment piece. To me the word task is a lot more applicable yet still suitable to learning opportunities in the classroom.
1) Does the task create capacity for critical thinking on the web? – The extent to which critical thinking and higher order cognitive skills are utilised WITH the web. The word "web" here is particularly important as it offers the opportunity to broaden perspectives, break down the barriers of place and time, and share and connect across communities.
2) Does the task enrich the possibilities for students to develop new lines of inquiry? – The extent to which the technology is used in a way that sparks curiosity and provides the avenues for students to develop and seek questions.
3) Does the task broaden the conversation via authentic audiences? – The extent to which the technology is used to flatten classroom walls and open dialogue and interaction between other students, teachers, parents, and the wider community.
4) Does the task allow opportunities for students to publish with the possibility of continuous feedback? – The extent to which the technology is used to publish student knowledge and synthesis with the opportunity of viewership and feedback from others without the restrictions of place and time.
5) Does the task allow opportunities for students to create contributions? – The extent to which the technology is used for questioning, moderating, collaborating and co-creating with others.
6) Does the task expose students to "best in the world" examples of content and/or skill? – The extent to which the technology is used to demonstrate high quality examples of the learning objective's content and/or skills.
Educators, what do you think? I would welcome you to "test" these questions to analyse tasks or curriculum against the SAMR model. Do you agree with Alan November? Would you include anything else in this set of questions?
As part of my Google Teacher Academy application, I have made a provocation that can be used for critical and creative thinking about the opportunities of transformational learning with technology. This might be useful to view when planning for deliberate tasks, or consider when delivering of lessons, or for post evaluations and analysis of tasks or curriculum.


text:
In an edition of the Pesiḳta Rabbati by Buber (xiv. 64a) occurs the word , written incorrectly for = καταδίκη ("punishment," "penance"). Buber, however, in his preface (p. 80) attempts to identify this with the name of one Yiẓḥaḳ of Carthage mentioned in Ber. 29a; but according to Bacher such a person never existed. The confusion may have arisen from the fact that Yer. Ber. 8a and Ta'an. 65c mention an Abba of Carthage who transmitted in the name of R. Yiẓḥaḳ.
- Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor. ii. 218, 225.