text:
Why I Choose Not to Drop Sign Language for My Daughter Who Has a Cochlear Implant
Hands Speak
I started looking at cochlear implant options for my daughter when she was three years old. My daughter was born deaf and has a bilateral hearing loss. Her hearing loss was detected when she was born, she failed the initial hearing screening that was performed at the hospital. I had to take her back to the hospital for a repeat hearing screening about two weeks after we left the hospital, once again she failed the hearing screening.
Then she was referred to the ENT to determine if her hearing loss was caused by fluid in her ears. Her ears were normal and they weren't being blocked by fluids. So the next step was an Auditory Brainstem Response Test (ABR). She was just a few weeks old when these were performed, she had to sleep during the test so that they could get an accurate result. After several failed tests, it was determined that she was in fact deaf.
As a mom, I started feeling like a failure and started looking back at what I could have done differently during my pregnancy. I had a normal pregnancy. I went through all the stages of grief, and finally came to terms with the fact that she was made this way for a reason.
Learn Sign Language
Learning Her First Language - Sign Language
When she was about a year and a half, she was fitted with hearing aides. I remember her constantly pulling them out of her ears and throwing them on the floor constantly. They didn't provide any assistance to her but we had to go through the motions in order for her to get a cochlear implant. In the late 90's, it was common that babies weren't fitted with cochlear implants until they were at least 2 years old. However, that isn't the case any longer.
She began learning sign language around a year old and she started signing back to use around 18 months from what I can remember. I was excited that she was learning how to communicate her needs to me.
My daughter is also very good at reading lips as well.
Surgery Day
I found out that I was pregnant with her brother and decided that she needed to get her cochlear implant so that she could hear and communicate with him. She was three at this time. In order to get a cochlear implant, she had to go through a series of tests in order to confirm that she was a good candidate for an implant.
She finally is able to get her cochlear implant and is scheduled for surgery. I was nervous for my daughter on the day of her surgery, and it was probably the longest 4 hours of my life. She did great and this was part of her journey to become part of the hearing world.
She had to let her surgery site heal for about a month before she could get her implant "turned on". I took her to her appointment to get fitted for her implant and the look on her face was priceless when she heard noise for the first time. They set her implant on a low setting so that she could get used to hearing noises. I remember on our way home from this appointment, she heard her baby brother cry for the first time. She signed to me that he was being loud. It was the cutest thing ever.
After several more trips to the audiologist for fine tuning, she is able to heard sounds within a normal hearing range.
She Is Still Deaf
I remember that the doctors recommended that we drop the sign language and force her to use her new hearing and speech in order to communicate with her. However, I didn't listen to the doctors. I decided that she still needed the re-enforcement of her sign language skills to help her communicate. I am thankful that I made this decision, because over the years I found that there has been many times that sign language was a necessity for her.
The bottom line is: "she is still deaf without the implant" and needs the sign language for the following reasons:
Bathing/Swimming - You can't use the implant in water.
Broken Equipment - There was several times that she was without her implant for a few weeks, when we were waiting on replacement parts or new equipment, due to it getting broken or lost. We had an implant go into the Atlantic Ocean, she tripped and fell and it flew off the dock. Stuff happens and most insurance companies won't pay for a "spare" or "back up" implant.
Batteries Die - If her batteries no longer are working and she forgets to bring more with her, then she is without her hearing device.
She is very fluent in sign language and it will come in handy when she is able to enter the workforce in a few short years. She will be considered bi-lingual.
I know I am super late to the party but does your daughter still use sign language today as an adult?
Yep - he has an IEP and is in full-day kindergarten (mainstreamed). He has TOD (teacher of the deaf) pull-outs every day and speech therapy 2x in a six day cycle. We're thinking of adding ASL back into his goals since he might have more interest now that he is older and his fine motor skills have improved. We're taking him in for a hearing test on the 13th and we'll see what his hearing is doing. We're also looking at new hearing aids - his are 5 years old so they don't have as many features as some of the newer hearing aids out there. If he keeps dropping, he will become a CI candidate - our ENT has mentioned this to us, so we'll see where it goes.
Great hub. My son was born with a mild-moderate hearing loss and wears hearing aids - but it has progressed and he is now moderately severe in one ear and severe in the other. He isn't quite an implant candidate (not in range yet), isn't a baha candidate (mixed loss, but the air-bone gap isn't wide enough for a bone anchored aid to help much), and his acoustic hearing aids do not get him entirely above the speech banana - so he misses certain sounds of speech (particularly /s/, /t/, /f/, /ch/).
We used to sign with him, but he never took to it. He has fine motor delays and some vision issues, so despite 4 years of including sign in his IFSP and IEP, he didn't use it. We finally dropped the use of sign language because he just isn't interested. He's mainstreamed and has a TOD in school, along with speech therapy.
We'll probably try to add sign language back into his education in a year or so (particularly since his loss appears to be progressive). Hopefully he'll "take" to it better when he's a bit older.
hi.. great hub !! I have had the same issues with my daughter.
is it safe to get pregnant again... or cozz the same issue for another baby too ?? tats is my concern... nwadays . but nice to have a second child to play n communicate with her ..
Great hub! I have a friend who had a cochlear implant. She speaks very well, and never learned sign language.
Ok.....this is a different subject....sort of. We have just adopted a little girl from China who is 5 years old with complete hearing loss. She has had no language up till now except for body language and gestures. She is very smart, but not interested in signing. What ways would you suggest to get her interested? I KNOW that it is CRITICAL that she learn language as soon as possible. We've had her for 5-1/2 weeks now. She does know a few signs like shoes, potty, eat, drink, water, easy/careful, those are the ones she will sign on her own unprompted, I think she understands many more than this, such as noodles, eggs, bacon, outside, swim, no, ok, yes,....and maybe a few more. I realize she doesn't know this is a way to communicate yet, but how do I engage her interst in it more? We watch signing time videos together, and she will watch some of them, but gets easily distracted or bored, but they are really geared more for hearing children than deaf. We are a hearing family and while we are learning signs as fast as we can, we are not fluent yet. We started classes as soon as we knew we were adopting her. And are continuing to learn. So I'm asking for creative ways to bring language alive for her so she will WANT to look/listen. Right now she is more interested in playing....and gets aggravated if i try to get her to look at me while i'm signing. We sign table, plate, cup, water, drink, doll, bear, dog, cow, etc. single words mostly at this point...just labeling her environment. Do I need to be doing more? Thanks for your insight and help,
You are a beautiful mother and this is an excellent article Keep doing what you're doing!
I am writing a paper for my Orientation to Deafness class at OCC in MI. I would like to ask your permission to refrence your article in my paper titled, "The Use of Sing Language with a Cochlear Impalnt", which I very much support.
I will clarify Jake's question, as this is something that has come up a lot recently in ITP and ASL classes. The question is essentially, "Why do doctors encourage parents to use sign language to communicate with their hearing children, but discourage parents to sign with their Deaf or recently implanted children." Since you mentioned that you went against the advice of others to drop sign language because you felt that it was beneficial and recognized that your daughter is still Deaf. There is a huge stigma out there still, that despite all of the benefits of being exposed to language at an early age through sign language, parents of Deaf babies are still told to not sign with their babies or they will not be able to speak appropriately, that sign language will make them "lazy". I believe that Jake would like you to write a blog explaining that this is a huge myth, and that Deaf babies SHOULD be exposed to sign language. That it opens doors for them for early communication in the same way it does for hearing babies. If early exposure to sign language is good enough for hearing babies without the implication that it would make them lazy, then it is infinitely better for Deaf babies whose eyes are a super highway of information.
I applaud you for your well thought out decision. My brother is Deaf (unaided, no CI, strictly Sign, I am an educational interpreter and work with a wide range of Deaf/HoH kids who have a wide range of success and failure with CI. But I will say, the absolute common factor that I have noticed CI, Aided, or Not, is that the students who's parents sign (REGARDLESS of whether the AID or CI brings their hearing to near normal levels or is a complete failure) are the most successful in school in general. When the parents sign and provide that opportunity of visual language for their children, those kids absolutely do better academically, socially, and emotionally. Kudos to you on your decision! ILY
I think what you are doing is great! I am fluent in ASL and married to a HH/Deaf man. We speak and use ASL at home, and both are great! I do not understand why when the "hearing" community is teaching Sign Language for brain development to perfectly normal hearing kids, why the doctors continue to tell parents of deaf kids NOT to teach it to them. CI or not. Baffling and backwards! How can more language and more brain imput ever HURT? Teach EVERYONE Sign Language. I KNOW that is part of the reason my hearing son can read 2nd grade level at age 4.
May I ask, what is wrong with sending your child to a ASL-English bilingual school?
May I ask if she decided she didn't want to use the CI anymore would you try to force the issue or would you let her make her decision?
"...why it is OK for hearing babies to learn to sign but not deaf babies." I may have missed something but I do not understand why you are making this comment. The author here did teach her child sign language before the implant and continues to use it. I don't think she said that it is ok for Deaf babies to not learn sign language. I am just curious about your statement. Whether a parent teaches their child sign language (deaf or hearing) is the parent's choice. Personally I have hearing children and they are learning sign language. I wish I would have tried harder to teach my oldest when he was younger because (my parents are deaf) he will not use much sign language because my parents just let him get away with pointing at things to get what he wants, although he does understand most of what they say to him he won't use it back. My 2 year old uses sign language for most of the time he is speaking, because when I talk to him I use sign language and voice, so he does also. If they would have been deaf I would definitely have started from birth and used sign with them 100%. This would have been my choice. I know in my state (PA) when the hospital could not complete a hearing test I got a letter from the Health Dept that told me I had to take him to a specialist to be tested because had he been deaf or hoh then they would have assigned me to the appropriate services. Which probably would involve therapy services and doctors such as for CI. As the child gets older that would include schooling options which would either be mainstreaming or deaf school. And just shipping a child off to deaf school the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act changed that in 1975. Although some local school districts may not be the best place for a deaf child, they have the right to attend a local public school and be placed in the least restrictive environment possible. I know families that still chose send their child to a deaf school and some that mainstream, it is whatever is best for the child. Over 30 years ago that was unheard of just like sending a mentally challenged child to a public school was, they considered the deaf challenged and sent them away but they have realized that with the proper environment deaf with or without a CI can thrive in a public school setting. If a deaf school is a considerable amount away the children do reside at the school during the school year, the one near me begins at 3 years old, they come home for weekends, holidays and summers, but this is only for students who cannot commute to the school on a daily basis. Whether the child uses sign at home is up to the family, do they teach their child sign from birth is up to them but with the services available today, if a child is not going to get the CI for whatever reason there are social services that will help the family with learning appropriate sign language or whatever other services they require.
I am glad you shared your story. I personally would not get a Cochlear Implant for my child if they were deaf but I understand each of our decisions are our own. However, I do believe that if a person chooses to get the implant for themselves or their child that sign language is still a necessity. I have talked to many people who think that the implant is a cure for deafness but you have shared how it is not and how things do happen and that a person will not always be wearing their implant and how teaching your child sign language has been a benefit. I have asked them what will you do if your child loses it, how will they communicate until you get a replacement. They think replacements will come instantly and that nothing will ever go wrong or that apparently their child will never take a bath I guess. Anyway I just wanted to say that your story is a great example for other parents. I am glad you did not look at the Cochlear Implant as a cure all and looked at the reality of the situation. The people who don't learn sign language when their child loses the implant I wonder how they communicate. I could not imagine the confusion a child has or frustration when they go from being able to hear and communicate to possibly going a few days or more not being able to really properly communicate with their parents. Many children may not be able to even lip read so even if they can speak reasonably well how are they going to understand what is being said to them. I find it somewhat selfish for a parent not wanting to teach their child sign language because (reasons I have heard) they don't want their child to know that they are deaf or because they don't want others to know their child is deaf. Do they think that no one will notice the cochlear implant or that it won't be information they may need to share with care givers or teachers. People are going to need to know regardless. Again, thanks for sharing your personal story, I do hope others learn from your experience.
I applaud you for keeping up with signing to your daughter. I only ask that you write a blog asking why it is OK for hearing babies to learn to sign but not deaf babies. I have heard many stories of how parents are happy they can talk with their child through sign before they can speak. If this is encouraged, then it should be double encouraged for deaf babies to learn sign. As for doctors and audiologists, their agenda does not help the deaf child, but serves to fatten their own wallets and pockets with money from the insurance companies, the CI companies and hearing aid companies. I hope others will speak out like you and show that signing is important still regardless of sound!
Bravo, Mom! Can I clone you?
As Joseph Murray writes, we are 'a visual community in an auditory world'. Or, as Ben Bahan says, we are 'a visual variety of the human race'. Perceiving and experiencing the world visually does not mean that you are less able to live your life to the fullest. Or 'disabled', or 'deaf', as we are labelled by doctors.
Wouldn't it be a more supportive approach if they identify our strenghts rather than focus on where we have failed the test of 'normalcy' - the newborn hearing screening test. Learning to hear and speak should not be a profoundly visual kid's ultimate life goal - it's risky because you can lose your true self in the game and end up feeling quite lost when you reach your teens.
It's sad to see that language is still being confused with speech, and that speech is still seen as superior to sign language. The wider society still can't see the effectiveness and unlimited possibilities of visual languages, which enable a direct, visual connection from a mind to another. This is different from speech where thoughts are compressed into words and the recipient then extracts the file and opens these thoughts into a picture in their mind.
Visual language is not only for profoundly visual people - those from auditory world should be offered the opportunity to make it a part of their daily communication. It's time to understand that a visual language is not 'special needs' or 'language for the disabled'. It evolves from the visual community which everyone can be part of.
It's fantastic that you have a mind of your own and didn't listen to doctors - they don't fully understand what sign language means, and learning to sign isn't even on their job description. They are in no position to recommend dropping the use of sign language.
Exactly! The ASL-English bilingual route means being fluent in ASL AND English (speaking, reading, and writing). The oral advocates promote the misconception that choosing the "ASL route" means the child will never learn how to speak, read, or write English and will be lost to the Deaf world. Many parents are led to believe that if they sign with their Deaf children, their Deaf children would never be able to develop speaking skills. Why are doctors/audiologists giving out false information? The politics of the medical field... is it about money? Is it just blatant fear? Patronizing perspective of Deaf people? This, I don't understand.
Thank you for pointing out that sign language does benefit Deaf babies, in contrary to what the medical folks are saying. Giving parents "options" doesn't mean they have to choose only ONE of the communication modes. Parents shouldn't have to choose ASL OR English. Parents should give their Deaf children WHOLE through ASL AND English. Bilingualism has so many cognitive benefits!
Plenty of studies have shown that being fluent in sign language during early years will help Deaf children acquire English effortlessly. Those who had access to sign language during their early years usually master their English skills, have healthy identity as Deaf people, and have no problems fluctuating between two languages and cultures.
It is truly awesome to be Deaf. I admire you for standing up for what is right, despite all of the pressure from the medical people. I hope you serve as an inspiration for other hearing parents.
Leala Holcomb, Deaf, 24 years old, Early Childhood Education teacher
Hi, As former CI user, I'm very proud of you to choose sign language for your daughter. I've been using CI since I was 7 years old. I grew up as oral speech that I spent very frustrating how to communicte hearing people. Most people don't understand my voice except for my family and few friends. I ended up for attending speech therapy for 10 years because my speech always was not improved. Unfortunately, my parents are not signer but we knew few words in sign languages at home-school with my teacher while I attended to private school all morning. My silbling began learning sign language for communcting. However i always write or type either note or computer for communcting. I transferred to canadian school for Deaf that I learned much in ASL when I was 16. I'm Fourth-year student for Gallaudet university. I agreed with you that we don't trust any doctors who recommend not sign language for CI users because of AG Bell lobbying. Did you know that I'm one of many CI users who are frustrating how to communicte. I've not regularly woren my CI since 2005 but I sometime wore it for testing how to understand any speech. I forgave my parents for Regarding their decisions that They didn't send me to deaf school until i was 16. They recongized that I love deaf culture. :D I'm sure that your daughter will develop understanding speech and experience in deaf culture :)
Have a great day.
Even though I disagree you making a decision to put implant on your child (my belief is that child has the right to make a decision themselves, not the parents nor the state nor the doctors who wants to make money off insurance and bonuses for advertising cochlear implant that Alexander Graham Bell Association is doing a campaign lately to try to oppress the Deaf community to continue sign language is a dumb option. It is the BEST option. Accept our deafness as we were born with it. Just learn to cope with it. I am proud my hearing parents went to Gallaudet to learn sign language when they found out I am deaf. I am glad I could communicate fully with my family all my life. My parents ended up becoming late deafened and they had sign language ready to communicate!!!! Isn't that awesome. I applaud for you to choose sign language even though cochlear implant is involved. I send messages to all out there that a CHILD has the right to make a decision, not the parent or anyone on cochlear implant. The child WILL take it off by the time they're in 20's if a parent or someone puts cochlear implant on that child, I assure you. I have seen so MANY do that. They were angered by their parents or anyone force to put it on them later on when they grow up realizing how unnecessary it is. So let a child make a decision and let a child understand about cochlear implant before they make a decision.
Wow... I gotta say. Wow again. Pray that there are millions of parents who think like you. Go mom!
Wow, your article was very touching. I work at a day care and I teach sign language to all of my infants on a daily basis. I think sign language is useful to everyone. It is so exciting to see my infants sign for the first time, because they are so little. If reinforced throughout life and they meet someone that is hard of hearing they will be able to communicate with them.
That is great you continued to sign but why would it possibly take so long to get replacement parts? We have never gone more than a day without replacement parts. Even if the processor needs to be replaced we have it within 2 days. Just curious.
Your daughter is fortunate to have you as a mom!
You are doing the right thing.
From one who knows!
Thank you so much for your story..I have had the same issues with my son. He is now 21 months and was implanted at 12 months.I can not begin to tell you how many times I have been told to stop signing with my son and I continue not to listen to them because as you stated he doesn't sleep with his cochlear on,swim,bath either plus Ian not begin to tell you how many times he has eaten his and it has been weeks before we get a replacement part
Even the announcements in school ,on stage, group discussions, wondering lectures who don't stand in one spot or loud places.its Is nice to have interpreter as a back up. Audiologist tells u they hear 100 percent.. Not!
I applaud your decision to continue on with sign language with your daughter even after her cochlear implants were placed. I, too, believe this will be a great benefit to her throughout her life. Kudos.


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January 27, 2019:
Blade and Moon Knight are forced to land a glider in Gotham while evading vampires. Spoiler is on patrol and offers them support, short-term and long-term.
East End, Gotham
NPCs: None.
Mentions: Doctor Strange
Mood Music: [*\# None.]
Fade In…
The night sky over Gotham is as clear as it can be, a full moon illuminating the skyline from above, while neon signs paint the streets and their pedestrians.
That clarity is what makes the smoky streak in the distance so easy to spot - plumes pouring out of some small aircraft in a trail from New York south toward Gotham.
As the craft approaches Gotham's city limits, it also becomes apparent to the observant that, while very visible, the craft is silent. And small.
It is a crescent-shaped glider, or something like it, with two passengers.
One, clad all in white and harnessed to the craft's underside, seems to be trying, and failing, to pilot the glider.
The other is dressed in black and standing atop the glider, a sword in hand.
Other figures emerge from the thick trail of smoke belched out by the aircraft, following it closely. These figures appear to fly under their own power and, in the right angle of moonlight, can be seen to wield sharp claws and fangs.
Several facts can be gleaned:
The craft is not going to stay airborne for long.
It's going down in Gotham's East End.
The flying creatures look angry, or hungry, or both.
"This is a really fucking stupid idea," Blade growls at Marc. The dark-skinned dhampir balances effortlessly atop the swaying craft. Which is to say, it's stylish looking but hardly a stable platform. It's already being piloted by a madman and wasn't ever meant to sustain the weight of two men, let alone with combat damage.
Blade dives a hand into his duster and produces his submachine gun. Bullets spray into the air in tightly clustered cones, *BRAPAPAPPA* into the night as chunks of lead fly skywards. He's a hell of a good shot, and his enhanced strength means running the pistol more effectively than most men can shoot it shouldered and stable.
"If you have a plan besides landing in the river, make it happen fast," he adds, snapping down at Marc below.
The first thing that catches Spoiler's attention is the smoke. The optics in her cowl help enhance things for her and she spies the glider a moment later. That it's taken combat damage is apparent and she kicks her skycycle out of passively idling in the shadows of a Gotham building. She's on an intercept course, one that makes the other shapes come into view a moment later. Shapes flying under their own power, in pursuit, and then one of the men on the glider has a gun.
Fantastic. Guns.
Well, whatever those things are that can fly without mechanical means have to be dealt with first. They are, after all, more than likely of the sort Batman has decreed at not allowed in Gotham.
Spoiler flicks her eyes over her HUD, triggering her system to locate a com frequency that the glider might be using and patch her in. She speeds toward the pack of whatever they are flying after the glider, speeding up as she latches onto the com frequency.
"Please stop firing your gun. Spoiler Alert: I'm going to clear them off your tail, and be back for you two in a bit," she says, voice coming out with that digitally distorted growl that no matter how gruff she seems to try to pitch her voice, still ends up sounding like it's coming from a teenager.
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," Moon Knight lies through his teeth as vampires disintegrate into ash clouds mixed with the glider's smoke trail. "Just trust me."
Just then, the glider's controls spark and the craft goes from 'slowly but surely descending' to 'plummeting.'
One benefit to the sudden and confident dip in trajectory is that the closest remaining vampires are suddenly off-track, and they spin and corkscrew about in an effort to catch the two heroes.
Their attempted re-angling is complicated further by the unexpected arrival of Spoiler on her skycycle, although more children of the night make themselves known from the edges of the smoke trail.
Moon Knight takes the opportunity for a moment's respite to call out: "Next stop: daywalkers off!"
He wrenches back on a pair of levers that cause the glider's wings to scream, misaligned lift-flaps scraping against the metal of the main wing components.
The craft levels out, although its descent is only slowed by a barely imperceptible amount. Nonetheless, as it levels out the glider passes by a building whose rooftop height matches its own altitude.
A moment later, Moon Knight ejects himself from his pilot harness, firing out a grappling hook and line so as to swing back around and up to the rooftop.
The glider continues on to smash into the ground, shuddering along the asphalt to park itself halfway inside a nearby convenience store.
Blade tenses on the canopy for a split second and flings himself sideways when Marc nears the roof. Rather than the catastrophe of pushing off the vehicle he grabs a passing vampire creature for elverage, flinging it through the air to give him some oppositional force. Bullets sail through the sky and split the monster's skull open, four or five of them in a fist-shaped group.
While Blade is backflipping through the air in the middle of the night, bailing from a hang glider and shooting one-handed. Vampires.
He lands with a *crunch* and ignoring Stephanie, shoots at the sky again. He's accurate, though the arcing bullets definitely are not making Gotham any safer for people downrange.
"Get out of here," he booms up at Spoiler. "Not your fight. Amateurs are just gonna turn into fang food." He holsters his gun and flicks his blackened silver katana in a whirring arc, the blade reflecting virtually no light.
Spoiler rams a vampire, thinking these things similar to some of those flying demon things from before, and uses him to skid-stop-spin so she can fling a batarang at another.
"You're in my city. It's now my fight," she growls back, voice low but amplified by her flying motorcycle the moment her limited AI noted that the glider's coms went down. Her throw was accurate and clearly something she's used to downing a foe. To have the two she tackled pause only for a moment before doubling back on her, bringing friends with them, has her grumbling and skittering her bike out of Blade's line of fire. He's not going to stop firing, she has a feeling about that. Not when whatever he's doing it working while these things took a steel projectile to the chest like it was nothing.
"Also? Not really an amateur. Though… What the heck is fang-food?" she quips all in one breath, as she prepares to spin her bike to use the ICER rounds it packs.
As he alights on the rooftop, Moon Knight flings a pair of silver crescent throwing weapons at two vampires that land nearby, causing them to disintegrate.
Two dozen more can be seen approaching on the wind.
"Normally, I'd say we should just play nice," he shouts. "But I think this really is the deep end of the shit."
Some of the vampires landing on the rooftop grin in response. One is immediately beheaded by Blade.
Some of the vampires attempt to grab ahold of Spoiler's cycle and reach for her limbs.
Moon Knight reaches for a baton on his leg. It's an emergency flare, which he pops and holds out cautiously. "New ally, whoever you are," he calls out, "I'd bail if I were you. You look pro enough, but he's a 'good guy' vampire and I'm a playboy who dresses up in imagery of the night to fight criminals on a regular basis. I don't know if this kind of thing is up your alley."
Half a dozen circle around the vigilante and leap at him. One takes the flare to its mouth, but the rest quickly tackle and obscure the knight.
"Food for fangs," Blade explains. The 'obviously' is left out, and he just shakes his head at Marc when more of the vampires rush Spoiler. He tosses something at his ally and swings his sword in a blurring series of arcs to create space around the man. "UV Grenade," he tells Marc. "Three second fuse."
The flickering motion of the weapon drives back the vampire and like a samurai, Blade holds the katana overhead parallel to the ground, in a ready stance that can lash out in all directions at once if need be. Seems the ashing bodies on the ground have bought them just a little respect.
Two are dropped by the ICER, though not being exactly human the electricity that shorts human neural connects probably won't have as big of a punch on them. They drop and will get back up sooner than any of the heroes would probably like.
As several claw their way onto her bike, Spoiler kicks them away, pulling a titanium alloy baton from teh small of her back and beating them to clear some space for herself. They are more manuvearable than she is in the air,but not as fast. She heard the swordsman say UV Grenade. She's got something similar. She just needs some space to use it. So, seeming like she's taking the two below up on their 'run away little girl' comments, Spoiler turns her bike skyward and guns it, rocketing as hard for her vehicle's top speed as she can safely muster. Safely for her, because as a human in nomex and kevlar she is not immune to super sonic wind sheer.
The three clinging tumble away from her from the velocity, one at a time, like stubborn insects clinging to a windshield. The air thins. The temperature falls. Spoiler spins her bike around and zips back down to Earth, using the time now to set up the next series of actions.
The UV Lamps set into her vehicle from what feels like ages ago will draw more power than the vehicle likes to have drawn. She'll have enough for one three second burst while pulling her speed back into something that might allow for a rough landing on the roof. Then, she'll have to let the bike sit for at least fifteen minutes for the systems to cycle back online before she can check if there will be enouhg juice to limp away. Either to the Cave or the Mansion or her Den. The Cave is closer, but she'd rather not have Damien thinking he can crawl all over this ride the way he had the last one.
At least this one doesn't have a roof to dent. Stupid Batbrat.
She doesn't give warning, to any of them as she comes screaming back down from the sky, flicking on her UV highbeams just as she gets into range of the horde of vampires.
The rooftop receives a one-two punch of UV light and momentary vitamin D production in those present and alive (or even half-alive). Those undead explode into clouds of ashes, like unholy dandelion fluff.
But grosser, and made of former people.
Moon Knight looks up, his costume shredded in myriad places. "Well…" he begins, "…I have to say, that was both fantastic and also blinding." The man shakes his head, blinking several times, before he shifts to a sitting position.
"Well, Plan A worked." Moon Knight glances from Blade to Spoiler. "Plan A was 'stay alive'. Plan A part two worked as well: 'kill the vampires thirsty for our blood'. Now to Plan A part three."
He pauses for a moment, shaking his head. "No, not yet. No. Just - just shush," he mutters, waving to the empty air.
"What /does/ one do when one possesses a key ingredient in the recipe to bake an unspeakable ancient evil into the world?"
"Your plans fucking suck," Blade tells Marc, bluntly. He whips his blade in an arc and wipes it against his coat sleeve elbow to clean it before it's sheathed with a flickering of his wrist, the grip sticking up over his head.
"Come down here," he growls up at Spoiler. With his dark sunglasses it's hard to tell if he's been dazzled by the light display in the sky or if he's just Stevie Wonder's angrier nephew. He doesn't make it a request, either, and looks back at Marc when the Moon Knight starts speaking to himself.
"We've talked about this," he growls at the man. "Let us know when you're just talking to the voices, or I'm gonna start tuning you completely out."
With the UV bath over, Spoiler makes that rough landing. Her bike sends up a small shower of sparks before it settles heavily, engines whining down into sleep mode. Spoiler sags a moment, a little breathless before she's pushing up and moving toward the other two. It ended up looking like she was complying to Blade's not-request, even though she hadn't any choice in putting down just then. The bike was down for the count. Her eyes drift to Marc a moment, a bit worried about him, before they go back to Blade.
"Introductions before you tell me what those were and why you two thought dragging them into Gotham was a good idea?"
"Don't hate Khonshu 'cause he's not you," Moon Knight retorts before throwing his head back and cackling for a long moment. Then he stops, sighs, and clears his throat. "I couldn't help it, I couldn't help it."
Moon Knight slowly pushes himself to his feet, walking calmly toward Spoiler. He extends one arm out, hand positioned for a shake. "Moon Knight. This is my temporary partner Blade. We hunt vampires … although, clearly, sometimes they hunt us."
He rubs his chin. "The Egyptian moon god Khonshu told me that something big is happening. Vampires are trying to resurrect, or bring into reality, or some other rough synonym, a great dark entity that should not be. We need to stop it."
"As for Gotham," Moon Knight continues, "it was just a place where the gas ran out. But the city seems to take care of itself pretty well."
Spoiler regards Moon Knight again, head tilting faintly. A moment and then she reaches out to shake his hand.
"Spoiler. Ancient Egyptian Gods coming back to Earth are rarely good things," she notes, leaving off following up on comments of Gotham now that it's clear they hadn't meant to. And, the threat was neutralized quickly, so… maybe no harm no foul.
"Who's 'we' and what else are you needing to keep this resurrection from happening?" Just like that. Not only does the purple lipped blonde-haired batling belief them but she's ready to see hwo she can lend a hand.
Blade doesn't offer Stephanie a handshake. Or an Anything. He just stands there with his arms folded across his chest and scowls at the woman. It's hard to take it personally, he seems like the sort who scowls at everything. Including Moon Knight, as Khonshu's Avatar is currently under the brunt of Blade's ire.
"We. Me and him," he tells Stephanie. "No one else gives a shit. So we're taking them on, head-on. Help us, or get out of our way."
"Well, this one's been around for a /little/ while," Moon Knight replies, shrugging. "He sometimes likes to get more involved than at other times."
"As for 'we' … the two of us have been doing some recruiting, here and there. Boots on the ground and brains in the books, so to speak." The vigilante in white looks to his partner. "I'm not sure if everyone /wants/ to be identified, but suffice it to say that, since we're dealing with vampires, we're dealing with magic. As well as guns and swords and fangs."
He puts his hands on his hips. "If you're 'in', though, I guess it can't hurt to know that we called a doctor for help. I think he's /that/ kind of doctor, but he's also a magic doctor." Moon Knight wiggles his hands in a poor imitation of Doctor Strange's spell-casting gestures.
"At the very least," he adds, "know that the eleventh hour is approaching quickly. We're triaging as much as we can, but we're slowing things, more than anything else, to try and get all the help in position as we can."
Big Bad Blade's Scowling at her? Spoiler takes it in stride. Batman scowls at her often enough. She fires back at Blade's broody growl with a bright smile of her own, and even a light giggle. If she wasn't willing to help, she wouldn't have offered, but then that makes sense in her head. It doesn't always make sense for others.
"The Sorcerer Supreme. I've heard of him. I haven't seen any hint that these things have come into Gotham before this lot, but I'll put an alert to keep an eye out. In the meantime, what help do you need and where?" she asks, tone and expression growing serious. It ages her, making her seem much closer to the early twenties that she actually is.
"Information. Tracking," Blade growls. He seems unable to speak in anything but a sibilant baritone. Voice like crackling gravel. "Vampires are predators. They hunt and track prey. Watering holes. Migration paths. They'll work in dens of one to three. Sometimes a smaller coven of five. You probably know where their home is. It'll be old. Stale. Near a lot of missing persons reports. A place no sane person would live. If you find them, run. Because they'll see you coming way before you spy them out," Blade says, bluntly.
Nodding, Moon Knight points idly to Blade. "What he said, really. All of that is dead-on. Undead-on?" He snaps his fingers. "Also, the whole 'flying motorcycle with a massive UV light' was a pretty neat trick. Do you have a dealer contact for those?"
Then, he retrives a small smartphone-like device and taps a few commands on its interface. "Uber will be here in maybe ten minutes," Moon Knight announces. "The car couldn't travel as the vampire flies, you understand."
"Oh. So, a little like Arkham," Spoiler quips at Blade, hands planting on her hips. She sighs lightly as Marc confirms the terrible information Blade gave. Her hand fall to her sides again. Her black cape with purple lining falls closed over her, obscuring her form.
"So, you need information on their movements… within Gotham or New York or Metropolis or all of the above? That's a lot of area for me to cover. Also, I'll need contact information, and no. The bike isn't from a dealer. It's a limited run with heavy modifications," she says. Meaning that she took the bike the Avengers gave her for signing up and with Batman's help kitted it for a batling's use and then has continued making alterations. This is now not a stock model anything.
"And I'm in no rush," she adds. Because her ride needs another ten minutes at least itself to cycle back on.
Blade's gone.
Not invisible or nearby. Vanished, and with a silent alacrity that would put most ninjas to shame. Not a word of excuse or apology, no preface or clever quips. He's simply vacatated the area, and for the lack of his presence the only notable change is that the air might be a tad warmer than it was in his chilly presence.
"That's right. Whatever you can -" Moon Knight stops himself when Blade suddenly disappears.
"Uhh. Hmm. I should have mentioned he might do that, but he tends to make me look bad by not doing what I say he will. So - I'm sorry about that." He sighs. "Please don't hold that against us. I figure life as one of /them/ - well, kind of one of them - must be absolute hell."
The engine of a limousine can be heard, and then the car can be seen, approaching and slowing down next to the building.
"Guess I need to recalibrate the ETA notifications. Do you need a ride somewhere for a new battery or the like?" Moon Knight asks, stepping toward the roof edge.
Spoiler blnked once at how quickly Blade vanished on her. Training was the only thing that kept her from immediately looking around for him. Batman did this sort of thing all the time. She should be used to it,a nd in her defense she was… from Batman. Not from some random sword guy who is hunting vampires…. and is a vampire? sort of vampire?
This night just got all sorts of craycray.
"No, thank you. And no need to apologize. I'm used to ninja-types. It's fine. Do i get your number before you go though? So i can call if I get any intel for you? Or do I just hope you and Toothy can find me when I'm ready for you?" Not that that would make Stephanie comfortable in the slightest.
"Oh, right," Moon Knight says, holding up the smartphone. "I just got a new app that lets you bump another phone and exchange info." He extends his arm out, walking back toward Spoiler. "Just tap it and we're buds. Contact-wise, at least."
"The help is awesome. Really. I promise that some of our contacts are much nicer to know and work with." He glances over his shoulder. "None of them are /worse/ than Blade, at least. And he grows on you."
Moon Knight walks back to the roof edge. "But then I guess we all have our own 'brooding loner' type who seems to both hate you and love you. I know deep down he cares."
With a raised hand, the man steps off the roof and glides down toward his limousine, thanks to a billowing white cape. The car's sun roof opens and Moon Knight enters smoothly, feet-first.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The truth may be out there but Gillian Anderson isn't interested. Best known for her role as sceptical (and smouldering) FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in The X-Files, a worldwide hit through most of the 1990s, people still want to share their supernatural experiences with her today.
"It's the story of my life!" she says. "Just the other day someone who had read a science fiction book I have co-written wanted to talk to me about how what happened in the book had actually happened to him. So yes, people want to bend my ear every once in a while."
Ever had any close encounters of your own? "I have been asked that thousands of times," she sighs. "But any time I ever answer that question it ends up being the headline and then it gets carried in a tabloid and there's really no point in engaging in a conversation about it. That's not going to be your headline I'm afraid."
There's no point in talking about it. That's not going to be your headline I'm afraid
Anderson, 46, was born in Chicago but moved with her family to Crouch End when she was two. They stayed until she was 11 before returning to Grand Rapids, Michigan, but she has always considered the UK home and lives in London. "It feels more familiar than the States," she says. "I'm still moved by the city. It's the smell of hedgerows, the history and architecture, and the sound of a British accent."
Anderson herself speaks in cut-glass English but is bidialectal, able to switch between two accents, particularly useful for someone whose career bridges both sides of the Atlantic. Why did she want to become an actress? "It's the only thing I can do, that's why I do it," she replies, matter-of-factly.
The X-Files changed TV, setting a trend for well-written, well-acted shows that led to the landscape we have today. Television also offers a fertile ground for strong female characters, of which Scully was a pioneer. "I have been extremely lucky," Anderson says. "In television the trend has been around for a good decade. There are a lack of three-dimensional female characters in film and that continues to be difficult to crack. But in TV there seems to be a plethora of opportunities."
Perhaps, but most seem to be snapped up by Anderson herself. She plays the canny cannibal's psychotherapist Dr Bedelia Du Maurier in Hannibal and chases another serial killer around Belfast as DSI Stella Gibson in The Fall (main picture), opposite Jamie 'please don't typecast me as Christian Grey' Dornan.
She also performs in the West End, most recently as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire and she hopes to take the production to Broadway soon. But when will there be the time? Rumours about a reboot of The X-Files were apparently confirmed in January when Fox announced talks were underway between Anderson, David Duchovny, who played perennially spooked spook Agent Mulder, and the show's creator Chris Carter.
"Umm we're still talking about it," Anderson says. "Everyone is hoping it will become a reality. At this juncture it's still a work in progress. I don't think anything has been signed. Everybody who's interested is 100 per cent interested. It's a very different situation once you jump into a negotiation with a network, especially one like Fox. Negotiations take months so at that point it is out of our hands."
At the Oscars, Patricia Arquette used her acceptance speech to demand wage equality in the industry. During The X-Files' original nine-year run, Anderson was paid significantly less than Duchovny and only received equal pay for the second spin-off film I Want to Believe. Although she does not refer to the new X-Files explicitly, you don't need to be a conspiracy theorist to imagine she is referring to current contract negotiations when talking about Arquette's speech.
"Yes, it is still a problem. In a very, very big way, including something recent and unconscionable, which I really can't talk about but yes, it is still alive and well. There was a period of time in the 1990s when it was appropriate to talk about it, and there was a period of time in the 2000s when people still wanted to talk about it. Most of my reaction was, 'Yes that happened but that was then, this is now.' But the fact is, it's not just then – it is also happening now."
There are a lack of three-dimensional female characters in film and that continues to be difficult to crack
Anderson's latest film sees her step back towards sci-fi in Robot Overlords, a British feature about a group of kids who turn out to be our only salvation from global robot domination. "As with most good science fiction tales, there's generally a sense of impending doom," says Anderson, who plays the mother of the lead character. "I don't get the chance very often to play a soft character," she continues. "I'm often cast as quite hard, intelligent bosses, whether it's MI5 or MI7 or the Met. Or the FBI."
Anderson has just finished work on Andrew Davies' abridged adaptation of Tolstoy's epic War and Peace but her most recent TV appearance was as a Star in a Reasonably Priced Car on Top Gear, a week before Jeremy Clarkson got suspended for punching a producer. Anderson did not escape the experience unharmed.
"I have not recovered from spending three hours in that car," she grimaces, having had to treat her shoulder with heat pads, ice and constant painkillers after she kept having to turn awkwardly to change gears. "It's frozen, which means my arm will not bend a certain way so I am constantly reminded about my three hours on the tarmac at Top Gear. But it was totally worth it. It was so much fun."
As a fan of the show would you be sad if Clarkson was no longer involved in the programme? "He can't not be part of the show. He makes the show. It's an unfortunate situation but the show is as popular because of his inappropriate behaviour both on and off camera."
Anderson's impressive lap time was the fastest any celebrity has recorded in "mildly moist" conditions. So besides acting, something else she is good at is driving.
"Yeah," she laughs. "I could be an Uber driver."
Robot Overlords is out now in cinemas


text:
resTORbio raises $40m from biotech and institutional investors
Published 01 December 2017
resTORbio, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for the treatment of aging-related diseases, has raised $40m in a Series B financing round.
The round was led by OrbiMed and included participation from Fidelity Management & Research Company, Rock Springs Capital, Quan Capital and Nest Bio. This financing brings the total capital raised this year to $65 million, including a $25 million Series A financing that was completed earlier this year.
resTORbio plans to use the proceeds to advance the development of RTB101, a selective Target of Rapamycin Complex 1 (TORC1) inhibitor through Phase 2b clinical trial and, if successful, into a Phase 3 clinical program, as an immunotherapy to reduce the incidence of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in elderly subjects.
The funds are also expected to be used to expand the program into a Phase 2 clinical trial in an additional aging-related indication.
"We appreciate the support of these seasoned life sciences investors and their confidence in the potential of our TORC1 program to treat diseases related to aging," said Chen Schor, President and CEO of resTORbio.
"RTB101, our selective inhibitor of TORC1, has been demonstrated to enhance immune function in elderly individuals in a randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 2 clinical trial. We believe our approach may provide an opportunity to address multiple aging-related diseases beyond our initial indication for reducing the incidence of RTIs in the elderly. We look forward to reporting data from our Phase 2b clinical trial in the second half of 2018 and to expanding the program into additional indications."
RTB101, an orally-administered, potent TORC1 inhibitor, is a first-in-class immunotherapy designed to address immunosenescence, the decline in immune function that occurs with age.
RTB101, alone and in combination with everolimus, is being evaluated in a Phase 2b clinical trial to reduce the incidence of RTIs in elderly individuals at risk of mortality or morbidity due to RTIs which are caused by a broad spectrum of pathogens.
Currently, there are no therapies approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that improve immune function in the elderly and thereby reduce the incidence of RTIs.
In connection with the financing, Jonathan Silverstein, Partner and a Co-Head of Global Private Equity at OrbiMed, will join the resTORbio board of directors. "We are excited to be investing in what we believe is the leading company addressing aging-related diseases and conditions. We look forward to contributing to resTORbio's efforts to advance and expand its program," stated Jonathan Silverstein.
Source: Company Press Release


text:
Proficiency Testing Australia (PTA) conducted a survey of companies involved in the PTA Soils Proficiency Testing Program.
The aim of this survey was to obtain customer opinion and feedback concerning the PTA Soils Proficiency Testing Program, which has run since 1992. The survey was conducted in September 2017 by PTA's Quality Manager, Frances Watton, using the on-line tool - Survey Monkey. Participants were selected from PTA's current list of Soils Proficiency Testing Program Participants. The contact person for each organisation was emailed information concerning the survey and how to participate on 13 September 2017.
Graphical summaries for each of the questions in the survey are presented in the Results section.
The survey consisted of ten (10) questions, regarding the following subjects:
- Program quality.
- Suitability of samples.
- Frequency of the program.
- Content of the summary sheets and final report.
- Timeliness of result notification.
- PTA service.
- Participation in other PTA programs.
- Need for new programs.
- Recommending the program to others.
- General Comments.
The majority of the response categories were a ranking from Excellent to Poor. The response "N/A" is an abbreviation for "Not Applicable."
An email inviting participants to complete the survey was sent to a total of 55 organisations. Of these, 15 surveys were completed. This represents a 27% response rate.
Question 1: Based on your past participation, how would you rate the overall quality of PTA's Soils proficiency testing program?
Question 2: How do you rate the type of samples chosen to meet your needs?
Question 3: How do you rate the frequency of the programs to meet the needs of your laboratory?
Question 4: How would you rate the content of the Soils proficiency testing program Summary Sheets and Final Reports in providing you with an evaluation of your testing performance?
Question 5: How would you rate the timeliness of result notification?
Question 6: How would you rate the personalised service provided by PTA?
Question 7: Do you participate in any other PTA proficiency testing programs? Please specify:
Participants indicated participation in other PTA programs such as:
- Aggregates
- Asphalt
- Concrete
Question 8: Are there any other proficiency testing programs that you would participate in if they became available? Please specify the area of testing required:
- Quarries products
- Soil mechanics
- Rock mechanics
- Reinforcement Steel Bar Tensile Test
- Mechanical tests - triaxial, consolidation or direct cutting
Question 9: Would you recommend participation in PTA's Soils proficiency testing program to others?
Question 10: Do you have any general comment concerning PTA's Soils proficiency testing program?
A good response was received to this question, with a number of suggestions offered for improvement/development of the program, concerning the following:
- More relevant testing offered
- More variety, including the challenging and less frequently performed tests
The practicality of implementing these changes will be determined during the planning for upcoming rounds. A number of complements were also given as part of the response to this question. Some of these are included below:
- "Well done so far"
- "Very good"
- "PTA's Soils proficiency testing program is such a good program since we do not have a soil proficiency testing provider in Malaysia"
- "We are happy to participate in these tests"
- "Excellent"
Customer satisfaction with PTA's Soils proficiency testing programs appears to fall within the "Excellent" to "Good" categories. This is a very pleasing result. The customer feedback obtained from this survey will be useful in further developing the program for future rounds.


text:
A former Government minister and opposition leader in the Cook Islands says the Panama Papers leaks don't damage his country's reputation.
Wilkie Rasmussen, a lawyer, said the Cook Islands is in full compliance with international law regarding the establishment of overseas trusts.
He said New Zealand is more implicated regarding foreign trusts used for hiding away wealth while the Cook Islands is used more for asset protection.
Mr Rasmussen said the foreign trusts industry is a tiny industry in the Cook Islands compared to others.
"I would say that maybe about ten years ago the Cook Islands complied to all the restrictions that were placed upon countries like the Cook Islands that were delving into that sort of industry."
Mr Rasmussen said there are other 'trickle-down' benefits of offshore trusts such as employment and a heightened awareness of the Cook Islands for prospective investors.
The person who leaked the Panama Papers described the Cook Islands as a financial fraud Mecca.


text:
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Release Management Best Practices, Revisited
Last year, we reviewed the rapid evolution in the best practices and toolsets for releasing Microsoft Dynamics CRM solutions and configuration data. This session will serve as an update on the tools and best practices for release management for Dynamics CRM with an enhanced focus on the role that the development effort plays in this process.
Join Ivan Kurtev, Architect at Hitachi Solutions America, for a discussion on how to:
- Incorporate the Solution Packager in your development effort and managing your CRM metadata in Source Control ensures traceability, but presents unique challenges. We will discuss how to solve these challenges and minimize the impact on developer productivity.
- Structure your build effort to consume the outputs of Development and create CRM solutions from source code and Microsoft Dynamics CRM metadata.
The session will explore the roles that development, automation, and release validation play in improving the quality of releases and reducing manual effort. It will also explore the latest tools and techniques that help CRM professionals can use to gain these benefits.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014


text:
Getting a bit frustrated with Kodi. I have a Minix box with Kodi & upgrading to Kodi 17 is not going so well.
Exodus has apparently had some changes that I'm trying to figure out.
I have an Apple TV4, and I side loaded Kodi onto it, but I have to have a Developers account with apple and every 7 days re-load it.
Netflix Thailand sucks. VPN to the states works but not on all devices.
Airplay on Apple TV4 doesn't seem to want to work with netflix WTF
Pain in the dick when I wanna plop down & watch TV - have to turn on VPN's & do all this BS.
Ive pretty much given up lately & download torrents & HDMI from my Mac to the TV. Provides the best picture quality as well.
Gonna go tomorrow & pay 8K baht to TrueVisions so they can re-activate my subscription. I quit paying about a year ago.
Anyway, what are you guys doing for TV nowadays?


text:
COMMUNITY stalwarts have been recognised for their inspiring achievements in an annual award ceremony.
The third annual Catalyst achievement awards was held to celebrate individuals and organisations which support Stockton.
June Robertson-Whyte, a founding member of Friends of Ropner Park (FoRP) was one of the winners at the ceremony held at Billingham Synthonia.
The 80-year-old from Hartburn, who has been treasurer for FoRP since it was formed in 2002, was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award.
June helps check the daily takings of the Ropner Park cafe - more than £100,000 a year - as well as paying bills and keeping accounts for FoRP events.
The former finance department worker for the University Hospital of North Tees, said: "I'm thrilled to bits to have won the award. It's for all the Ropner Park volunteers; we all work so hard together.
"It's important to help out in the community and I think it helps to keep you young."
Meanwhile, Chris Kemp, from ReBuild North East, which recycles waste from commercial operations, providing training and employment in the process, won the Most Enterprising Third Sector Award.
He said: "It's quite nice to win the award. It's been a lot of hard work. It's our reward when we see someone get a job."
The event on Wednesday was sponsored by NHS Stockton, Catalyst, Vela Homes, Stockton Borough Council, Groundworks North East and Cleveland Police.
Allison Agius, chief executive officer of Catalyst, said: "The whole point of the awards is to recognise the hard work and effort of organisations and individuals.
"The awards have been growing and we've had more nominations this year than last year and the competition has been fierce."


text:
A high quality flash unit with TTL, auto and manual modes, dedicated for several Minolta and Leica film SLR cameras, and standard hot shoe fitting for many other film or digital models
- Guide number 20m 65ft (ISO 100)
- TTL, automatic and manual modes
- Sets speed & displays flash ready
- Dedicated to Minolta X XD XG 110/II
- TTL on Minolta X-500 X-600 X-700
- TTL on CLE, 5000 7000 9000 AF
- Dedicated on Leica R4 to R7 SLRs
- TTL on Leica R5 R-E (R6 R6.2) R7
- Usable on many other film or digital
- Compact & lightweight, Japanese
- Includes copy of instruction manual
- Includes synchro cable, batteries
This is an independent Japanese flash unit with dedicated auto exposure control on the Minolta X, XD and XG series of 35mm SLR cameras, the CLE rangefinder and 110 Mark II, the earliest 5000, 7000 and 9000 AF models, plus the Leica R4 to R7 SLRs. It offers various levels of dedication including TTL where available. As it has a low, safe trigger voltage the flash is also ideal for many digital cameras with a standard (non-dedicated) hot shoe such as some Fujifilm and Panasonic models. It's in good condition, fully working order, supplied with instructions (copy) and Alkaline batteries. Please read the full description for more important information.
The guide number is 20m (65ft) with ISO 100. The flash gives sufficient coverage for lenses down to 35mm (or the equivalents on other formats). On suitable cameras (see below) the flash sets the shutter speed automatically and/or displays a flash ready indication in the viewfinder. It's also compatible with program and TTL flash modes on selected models. For non-TTL cameras the flash has its own auto exposure mode with a range from 1 to 5 meters (4 to 16 feet) at f/4 with ISO 100. A full power manual setting is also available. Comprehensive scales on the rear of the flash include apertures from f/1.4 to f/32, distances from 0.7 to 15m (2.3 to 50 feet) and film speeds from ISO 25 to 400. Ready light and test button provided.
This Starblitz 200 DMX flash is very nicely made (in Japan), and has positive controls and clear scales. It measures only around 105x52x64mm (4.1x2x2.5") and weighs under 140g (4.8oz) without batteries. Power is supplied by 4x standard AA batteries, and Alkaline disposable (included), NiCd or NiMH rechargeable types can be used. A locking wheel allows the flash to be fixed tightly to the camera's hot shoe. It combines some features of the Minolta Auto Electroflash 200X (auto shutter speed setting, flash ready indication, external auto sensor) with others of the Auto 280PX (TTL and program modes).
Minolta didn't make a compact model with this combination of features, and this makes it ideal for users of multiple cameras. For example, it works just like a Minolta 200X on an XD7, but like a 280PX on the X-700. It's a good companion for the Minolta CLE as the original Electroflash CLE is now rare and collectable, so can be very expensive.
An excellent little flashgun for Minolta cameras, and suitable for many others.
Condition: Excellent++ (8/10)
The flash is in fully working order, all features have been checked for correct operation on suitable cameras, and the controls work positively. Cosmetically it shows only the usual signs of use including some surface scratches and scrapes here and there in the plastic finish, and the battery contacts are clean with no sign of corrosion. The instructions are a copy (in English) but quite legible, and the synchro cable has been tested.
No cracks, splits or deep scratches, and overall it's in good shape.
Includes instructions (copy) and synchro cable, plus 4x Alkaline AA batteries.
Pictures in this listing show the actual flash offered for sale.
This flash will work with many Minolta manual focus SLR cameras, the CLE rangefinder, and selected Leica SLRs as follows:
Dedicated automatic setting of shutter speed in appropriate modes, with flash ready signal in the viewfinder on the XG1, XG-1, XG-1N, XG2 (XG7, XG-E), XG-A (X-7), XG-M (X-70), XG-SE, XG9 (XG-S), X-9, X-300 (X-370), X-300s (X-370N), X-500 (X-570), X-600, X-700 and other XG and X models, the XD, XD-5, XD-7 and XD-11, the 110 Zoom SLR Mark II, plus the Centon DF-300 and some recent Soligor and Seagull Minolta-mount cameras, which are clones of the Minolta X models.
Full TTL (Through The Lens) OTF (Off The Film) auto flash operation on the X-500 (X-570), X-600, X-700 and the CLE rangefinder camera, for the most accurate exposures possible. This system was originally invented by Minolta, and since licensed to many other manufacturers. Auto daylight fill-in flash with the X-500 (X-570) using the exposure lock. Fully auto program flash operation on the X-700. Also works on the original Minolta AF SLR cameras (the 5000AF, 7000 AF and 9000 AF) with standard hot shoe fitting, but NOT any later Dynax, Maxxum or Alpha models such as the 5000i or 7000i – see below. Any flash should be switched off and discharged before fitting to the CLE.
It's NOT suitable for later Minolta Dynax/Maxxum/Alpha AF, Vectis APS, Dimage, Konica Minolta or Sony digital cameras with the iISO Auto-lock Accessory Shoe (AAS), though adapters were available (not included) for use with some of these models. It can be fitted to some later Sony digital models with a Multi Interface Shoe, using non-dedicated operation.
It's usable in non-dedicated fashion on older Minolta SLR or compact hot shoe cameras, with auto or manual operation and manual setting of shutter speeds and apertures. Suitable models include the SR-T 100X (200), 101b (201, SR101), 303 (102, Super), 303b (202, SR505, SR505s), MC, MC-II, SC and SC-II, XE-1 (XE, XE-7), XE-5 and XE b, plus the original 110 Zoom SLR. It works on the SR-M, original SR-T 100 and 101 using the synchro cable supplied.
Also works on Leica R series manual focus SLR cameras, which were originally developed in association with Minolta. Fully dedicated operation including TTL flash, auto setting of shutter speed and viewfinder flash ready indication on the Leica R5, R7 and R-E. Dedicated operation including auto setting of shutter speed and viewfinder flash ready indication on the Leica R4, R4MOT and R4s. TTL auto flash control and viewfinder indication of flash ready on the Leica R6 and R6.2. The shutter speed is set manually, as these are mechanical cameras. Can be used on non-dedicated SLRs (such as the SL2, SL2MOT, R3 and R3MOT) plus other cameras with a hot shoe fitting, in auto or manual flash modes with shutter speed and aperture set manually. The flash is NOT suitable for the Leica R8, R9 or M cameras, which use a different dedicated flash system. It works on the Leicaflex, SL and SL2 using the synchro cable supplied.
Other cameras including digital
Not recommended for cameras with dedicated flash control (using a hot shoe with more than one contact), other than those listed above. The flash will work fine on many other cameras with a standard (non-dedicated) hot shoe, with the shutter speed and aperture set manually on the camera in M mode, and exposure controlled by the flash in non-TTL auto modes. Suitable cameras include the Panasonic FZ10, FZ20 and FZ30, Fujifilm S7000, S602 (and Pro), S9500, S9600, S100FS, S200EXR, HS10 (down to 35mm zoom), etc.
The trigger voltage is a low 7.0v, which is well within the ISO 10330 standard of 24v, and only the most voltage-intolerant cameras such as budget Canon EOS specify below 6v.


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Arihant ERP - HR Legal Actions
Manage the legal responsibilities from One solution
Recruitment - Arihant HR Solutions
Arihant HRMS is a complete suite for efficient HR Management. It is very important to manage the legal issues of an organization of any size. A legal suit is mandatory when taking any legal formalities to any of the employees.
Case Registration
First of all we have to register a case including the details like prosecution, accused employee, the court in which the case is going to take place, name of the judge, lawyer, date of the case and an internal note field to write down any other important notes or details about the case.
Case Result Marking
After the processing of the case, we can mark the result of the case either won or loss and the state of the case changes according to our marking. If we mark as won the state changes from 'running' to 'won', if we mark as a loss the state changes from 'running' to 'loss'.
Cloud Solutions
Your all-in-one ERP solution up and running in very secured environment of Amazon AWS. Deploy and scale your ERP solution as per your needs and usage.


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When Jesus told His followers to go and make disciples, He meant you too. As part of the work of fulfilling the Great Commission, Global Outreach Day (G.O.D.) seeks to inspire believers throughout the world to share the gospel on one particular day this month.
"The main thing is we want to mobilize every believer," says Werner Nachtigal, co-founder with Stephan Gaengel of G.O.D.
To help facilitate this, G.O.D. sponsors a worldwide evangelism campaign to provide Christians around the globe with the opportunity to share the gospel with at least one person on a fixed day: the last Saturday in May. This year it's May 30.
"Every last Saturday in May, we are calling the whole world to evangelize," says Nachtigal. "If we could mobilize 500 million Christians to share the gospel, maybe we could reach in one day more people than Billy Graham ever did."
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In the three years since the initiative began, G.O.D. has reached about 75 million people with the gospel. In 2014 alone, G.O.D. mobilized believers to witness in more than 93 nations, and 40,000 churches were trained in evangelism.
Some of those reached have been in awe of the signs and wonders that accompany G.O.D.'s message. In the Dominican Republic, doctors reported that three people were healed of HIV and one from tuberculosis. In Pakistan, Gaengel says a paralyzed man was healed when he received Christ.
Although the idea is to inspire Christians to witness on G.O.D. day, the organization's ultimate goal is to equip Christians to be mighty warriors who witness all year-round.
To achieve this, they offer evangelism training for church leaders who in turn train members of their churches, encouraging them to share the gospel with at least one person a day even after the event has passed. "The training will change their lives and the training will keep them from getting discouraged," Nachtigal says.
This training involves four steps: 1) how to communicate with people so that the gospel sounds interesting and clear, 2) what the gospel is (and what it isn't), 3) how to lead people to the Lord and 4) how to follow up so converts can become disciples. With this training, Christians lacking the gumption to share the gospel previously can adopt an evangelistic lifestyle.
G.O.D. brings this training to a different country each year. Last year, they focused on Nepal where they saw 76,394 conversions and 4,631 new churches planted.
In 2015, G.O.D. will focus on North India where 200,000 villages have never heard the gospel. —Jenny Rose Curtis
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Great Resources to help you excel in 2019! #1 John Eckhardt's "Prayers That..." 6-Book Bundle. Prayer helps you overcome anything life throws at you. Get a FREE Bonus with this bundle. #2 Learn to walk in the fullness of your purpose and destiny by living each day with Holy Spirit. Buy a set of Life in the Spirit, get a second set FREE.


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Short Tunic - Black & White
Short Tunic - Black & White
Perfect short tunic with a v neckline.
It can be worn as a dress ( on our shorter girls) or top on our taller girls!
Dress it up or wear it over your bathers. Made of beautiful soft rayon fabric.
One Size 8-26
Model is 5'3" and usually wears an 8-10
(Please check your location in the Express Post Network)
Australia Post Standard shipping allow 1 - 7 business days.
Australia Post Express shipping allow 1 - 3 business days.


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Kenzo Widespread Bath Faucet
by Pfister
Sold out
Original price $ 509.00
Current price $ 314.99
Modern-inspired lavatory faucets with sleek architecture, simplistic lines and a beautiful water-efficient waterfall trough design. A delight for residential and hospitality projects alike.
- 8 To 15 Inch, 2-Handle, 3 Hole Lavatory Faucets
- Pforever Seal - advanced ceramic disc valve technology with a never leak guarantee
- Pfister Pforever Warranty?? covers finish and function for life
- 1.5 gpm @ 60 psi


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FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
Korea DPR edge Brazil to reach last eight
12 Aug 2018
Korea DPR got goals at the end of each half to defeat Brazil 2-1 in Concarneau on Sunday and claim a spot in the quarter-finals at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018 as runners-up in Group B.
It was Brazil that looked the stronger side in the first half at the Stade Guy-Piriou, with Victoria and Valeria just missing the target with early chances for the South American champions.
Against the run of play, Korea DPR took the lead just before half-time, as an unmarked Son Sun-Im finished off a poor attempted clearance to a cross from the left by the Brazilian defence at the far post.
The half-time scoreline left Brazil needing to chase a game they needed to win to keep their France 2018 hopes alive. They drew level midway through the second half, as substitute Geyse Ferreira converted a Valeria byline cutback pass for 1-1.
That equaliser spurred Brazil on to find a match winner, but despite the best efforts of Valeria with a header and Kerolin Nicoli hitting the crossbar, it was Korea DPR that scored again in second-half stoppage time through Choe Kum-Ok's header from a free-kick into the Brazil box.
The result ensured the reigning champions' bid to defend their U-20 Women's World Cup title would continue into the knockout stages, while Brazil's time in Brittany came to an end after they finished bottom of Group B.


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ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) will become a requirement for certain nationalities from the end of 2022 onwards. The online registration will be quick and will only be required once every 3 years.
ETIAS is not a visa. It is being introduced to improve the security of the Schengen Area. The visa waiver will be an electronic travel permit similar to the American ESTA.
The application will be quick and simple. Applicants will answer a series of questions by entering information such as their name, address, date of birth, and travel plans. There will also be a section regarding passport details.
What does this mean for dual-nationals with 2 passports? Which passport should people with dual-nationalities use of the ETIAS application? Thankfully, having multiple passports will not complicate the registration process.
ETIAS and dual citizenship: which passport to use?
Dual citizenship is well-established and will not cause problems during the ETIAS application process. Applicants will need to use just one of their passports to apply (assuming that at least one will be from an eligible country).
The same passport will need to be used during the application process and for entering the Schengen Area. An ETIAS visa waiver will only be valid when presented with the corresponding passport (the details must match exactly).
ETIAS visa waivers will be valid for 3 years or until the traveller's passport expires (whichever comes first). It will not be possible to transfer an ETIAS to a new passport so this means that if your passport expires before your ETIAS, you will need to reapply for ETIAS.
With this in mind, if a traveller has 2 eligible passports and one of them has less than 3 years left, they should use the passport with the most time remaining to apply for ETIAS.
Applying for ETIAS with dual nationality
The ETIAS application will only take a matter of minutes to complete. The form will include a series of simple questions and applicants will need to enter information such as their full name, date of birth, and address.
There will also be a specific section regarding passport details. Applicants will need to enter the passport number, expiry date, and their nationality of the passport they will use to enter the Schengen Area.
In addition, there will be some questions about health and security. As part of the process, all the information will be screened using a number of security databases including Interpol and Europol.
To submit the form, applicants will need to pay a fee using a credit or debit card. The vast majority will be quickly approved and the ETIAS visa waivers will be sent by email.
Travellers will be able to enter all 26 countries in the Schengen Area with their ETIAS. There are no hard borders between the participating countries which means people can move freely around the zone without passing through passport controls (once they have entered one of the countries).


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Connected car platform.
Dash Labs, Inc. is a combination hardware dongle and software app that provides drivers with real-time analytics of driving patterns, and vehicle health and diagnostics. Dash's platform, Chassis, is also used to power insurance, fleet management and after-market solutions.
Fortune June, 2016
Venturebeat May, 2016
Techcrunch November, 2015
BBC January, 2015


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The Real Housewives of Atlanta are back for yet another season–its 10th. Like Biggie said, "Who'd ever thought we'd make it this far??"
And this time around, the theme seems to be old friends, old new friends and old friends becoming new enemies.
Porsha and Ne Ne "Lil Kim" Leakes
Case in point: Ne Ne Leakes and Porsha Williams. The two used to be cool but it appears this season will largely revolve around whether or not these two will pull each other's lace-fronts completely out or not.
Here's the shade though: The beef between them seems over-scripted. Is Ne Ne pissed because of what Porsha said about Kandi allegedly having a sex dungeon, or is Ne Ne upset because Porsha didn't take her advice about chillin' out with the physical violence?
Conversely, is Porsha mad because Ne Ne said she should be fired because of the sex dungeon controversy, which resulted in Phaedra losing her peach?
Don't know. But what I do know is reality TV only works when there's beef. It'll be interesting to see how producers build this crescendo over the next 4 months.
Meanwhile, Ne Ne appears to have a new face…or something. She definitely looks different, in a RuPaul's Drag Race sort of way. IJS.
Sheree AKA The Bone Collector
I don't know whether or not Sheree's return was contingent on her being able to stir up enough boo boo to keep the shade train going but she's working overtime.
Only in the world of reality TV would anybody sit and dish dirt to a lady who clearly approaches sh** starting as a profession. I mean, Sheree seems to have no other purpose on this show other than carrying shade.
I ain't mad at her. Whatever pays the bills…
Kandi Burruss has finally opened her and hubby Todd's OLG restaurant on Peters Street near downtown Atlanta, and its making noise–and money. She's also reunited with her band mates from Xscape so she, as usual, has her hands full trying to keep her pocketbook full.
But she's still finding time to re-hash her grievances with Porsha. This is another focal point of the new season.
Cynthia Bailey claims to be totally in chill mode now that she's husband-less while also living large in her laid, two-story, waterfront château.
It appears Cynthia's storyline will revolve around her Golden Girls-esque attempt to rebuild her life now that her ex, AKA Peter Thomas, an Uncle Ben lookalike, is history.
Kenya Moore
I's married now, says Kenya Moore, whose alleged inability to find/keep/hold onto a man has played prominently in her storyline since the day she landed on the show.
But Kenya found a man to put a ring on it, and she's glowing because of it.
But the drama is just beginning: reportedly, Kenya's hubby doesn't want anything to do with the Housewives filming. He probably saw how cray cray Matt Jordan, Kenya's former love, ended up looking and decided to take a pass.
The question: in an ironic twist, will the show that helped Kenya hold on to one man help her lose another?
Kim Zolciak
Kim Zolciak didn't make her conditional appearance on the show yet. Judging by Twitter's response, not many seemed to care.
Kim's return will reportedly be conditioned on her newfound BFF status with Porsha.
Kim probably is happy to oblige, since she's now the breadwinner of her still-growing family: her hubby, former Atlanta falcons player Kroy Biermann, still hasn't found a team willing to pay him for his declining sill set.
Kim's salary is reportedly at or near 7 figures for her return as a part-time Housewife.
Video below.
Video Source: StraightFromTheA.com


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Gift Tea Set
This gift box includes two 2oz tins of our best selling teas and a set of 2 traditional Japanese yunomi tea cups.
The teas are:
Dragonwell Green. This is a classic green tea with nutty, creamy flavor notes. The caffeine level on this tea is light.
Rose Buds. This is a herbal tisane from the South of France. This tea is soothing and hydrating.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.


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These are a few photos of a ride I took this morning with a destination in mind. I've been reading (on Facebook) about a flea market being held in an area of the city which is now being called Silo City, which I think is a relatively new term. It's referring to an old waterfront section of the city that contains most of our city's grain elevators, a few are still in use but most seem abandoned (I've posted on them before here and here). These things (the grain elevators) are like Roman ruins here; testaments to our city's past but also–with things like the Silo Flea Market and other events there–premonitions and hope of what's to come. This was a really cool event. The entire area is desolate; creepy, sort of eerie. It was hot. Really hot. And as I pedaled and stopped at times to take pictures a car would pass periodically down the dusty road leading to the market. Usually there is not a soul to be seen here, and for the most part this was true today on my way there. At some points, as I stopped to take photos and walk around these monuments, the hair on the back of my neck stood up a little. I felt vulnerable in a way, being there by myself. Were there squatters, I wondered, watching the observer? At any rate, when I pedaled a bit further and turned the corner it was like a surreal oasis..a market amongst the otherwise desolate grain elevators (picture above). If you've been to this blog before you know that I have a keen interest in the history of the city of my birth, and this in a way, felt like I was witnessing history in the making. As hokey as it sounds that's how it felt. Our historical ancestors–those who built and worked these elevators–were smiling today. I took more than a hundred photos today but won't bore your with them all, so here's just ten. Click any for a larger view.
Silo City Times Ten (or, ten things I saw while riding my bike today)…
June 24, 2013
Buffalo, Contemplative Photography, Grain Elevators, photography, Summer, urban simplicity 2 Comments
2 Comments (+add yours?)
We have nothing on that scale locally, and very few abandoned factories: I expect there isn't the space to leave stuff as the industry here is along a narrow valley.Strangely we do have the world's tallest grain silo though.
Hey Andy, Great to hear from you. Yes the grain elevators are pretty interesting. Impressive to stand next to. Take care.


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How Not to Make a Cover for a Convolute Binding
This specimen of convolute binding really put into a quandary. This volume comprised of a year's worth of Russian magazines Printing Art ("Печатное искусство".) And it had one of the pages from the first issue cut out.
I guess it's time to open a special section on our website: "How not to…"
The binding is sturdy and quite well done. I may challenge the decision to make a stab binding out of a series of magazines. But otherwise, the job is performed well. The thing that made me search for an answer for some time was that one of the pages was missing. And only in a while, I figured the compare paper with the sheet pasted on the cover: they matched!
There is one thing that should be absolutely unacceptable for any modern bookbinder. One shouldn't cut away pages to decorate the first cover of the book. Or for any other reason!
To add insult to injury, they didn't even bother to put something under the pages when they made the cut, so the previous page ended almost cut away as well…
And here is the missing page pasted on the cover. Was it worth it?
I even may say it is understandable for a hundred-year-old binding. The page is dedicated to the magazine itself and boasts its title in an elaborately decorated box. But today, if you want to decorate the cover with something from inside the book, you can easily make a high-quality copy. And even with all these modern technologies, there still are bookbinders and book owners who decide to cut out elements for some other use.
I found this practice somewhat similar to the pernicious habit of some people of cutting away frontispieces for collecting or resale.
Please don't. Just don't.
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While reading I Capture the Castle I thought it could be adapted into a very good play because the antics of the characters would have people laughing out loud. And Google told me that it has already been done. I recently saw the movie after reading the book and here I talk about them both. You have been warned!
I wish I had read this book as a teen, I would have been bowled over by it. The book is a tad wordy (I only felt that when she was describing the castle too much). No wonder she admired Julian Barnes' masterful economy of words.
The Mortmains are a crazy bunch. The writer and father James Mortmain's creative juices seem to have run out after one successful book. The family lives in genteel poverty in the hope that one day he will produce another masterpiece. Topaz, is his loyal wife, and eccentric but beautiful stepmother to his three children. She communes with nature to keep her sanity and needs to be a muse to exist. They live with their daughters, Rose and Cassandra, and their little brother, the studious Thomas. They are joined by Stephen, the son of their dead housekeeper who does chores around the house.
Cassandra, the younger sister, is like Elizabeth Bennet in the sense that her mind is not on matrimony unlike older sister Rose. Like Austen, her mind is on literary pursuits. She dreams of becoming a writer like her father which one would think is surprising because of the example he has set. So she writes diary entries for practice to sharpen her
claws prose.
Poverty doesn't bother Cassandra as much as it bothers Rose. Cassandra takes refuge in writing and hence she is saner (she believes that). Even though Rose is the elder sister, it is she who is childish in her ways, demanding things that she knows are impossible.
In spite of her father's example Cassandra wants to be a writer (natural proclivity?) like her father. Both the sisters don't do any housework – it is shared by Topaz and Stephen. The onus of earning money is on the menfolk. Published in 1934, the book appears dated because of the time period it is set in. The men and women were defined by set roles, rigid and fixed by society.
There's talk of Bennets (from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice) in the beginning, and Rose is hell bent on marrying the first rich suitor that comes a-knocking to get out of poverty even if she doesn't love him. And that is where Simon Cotton comes in.
Cassandra is a precocious narrator (I would never call her 'consciously naïve because I don't know what it means!), who wants to be a writer and is always recording things that happen in her life in a notebook. This was at a time when paper is scarce, and there was no electricity in the castle, mind you. She lives in her head (like most writers) which some times makes her miserable, and she has no understanding of how the world works that adds to the ensuing drama.
The way the story is narrated (Aren't epistolary narratives the best?) by Cassandra through her journal entries, it puts us right in her shoes.
They live on the castle on a lease and haven't paid the rent in a long time. It is when the owners arrive, the Cottons from America, the story takes a different turn.
A few pages in I knew why I Capture the Castle is a cult classic. It seems like a fairytale in the beginning with very good dialogue, and the setting but the ending is ambiguous and quite realistic, open ended which is quite a departure for books written in those times, especially for the kind of story it told.
The book will give you a bad case of the giggles, whether you are reading in public or in private. I tried to keep the wide grin off my face to appear respectable (read not look like a complete idiot in the park where I have maintained over the years a very serious no nonsense persona) but the narration by Cassandra is such that you will fail.
A story where the women decide who, where, and when they want to end up with someone (if at all), and choose to walk out of marriages when it doesn't work the way they want it to – it would have been groundbreaking for the time it was written in.
So many things have been talked about in this book without being self conscious, which would have otherwise made reading it a tedious affair. It touches on poverty, nudism, religion, psychoanalysis, distinction between the classes, and a very real portrait of a marriage and family. Also shows us a portrait of an eccentric writer, artistic expression and the way genius works (or doesn't work) and what the people living with him have to put up with.
The book destroys many idealistic notions of love. The teens reading it will have a realistic idea about consent, love, longing, heartbreak and infatuation; they are different things whose boundaries sometimes overlap. The book drives home the message that it is okay to make mistakes. And most importantly it is okay not to find the love of your life the first time around.
The social observations the book makes and the way Cassandra views the world, it is true what another reviewer said and what I had felt from the beginning – it's Austen for the 20th century.
I liked how the contrast between England and America is showed in little things – it comes from the author's own experience.
The book shows how marriages crumble and how effective poverty can be in breaking families. How important compatibility is, especially if one of them has an artistic temperament (god help you if both are artists) because patience is needed to bear the
tantrums idiosyncrasies that come with the territory.
The description of nature, beauty and of light – moonlight, starlight, dawn, dusk and the effect they have on her greatly appealed to me.
I wish I could find words–serious, beautiful words–to describe it in the afternoon sunlight; the more I strive for them, the more they utterly elude me.
The book is real, comical, messy, dreamy, and colourful. Contradiction is the nature of the book, quite life like. I know it is hard to believe when most of it set in a crumbling castle and a madcap family lives in it but then which family isn't mad? Mine most certainly is.
I identified with Cassandra because of her ambitions of becoming a writer and her habit of writing diaries though I am not an inveterate diarist like her, I do like to let it all out out from time to time.
I am surprised to see how much I have written; with stories even a page can take me hours, but the truth seems to flow out as fast as I can get it down. But words are very inadequate – anyway, my words are.
I know a movie has been made and now that some time has passed, I have sufficient distance to not completely trash the movie by comparing it with the book (inevitable for any book adaptation) and try to see it as a standalone piece, when I can still remember the soul of the book.
Cassandra, played by Romola Garai, declares at the outset that she will never fall in love, and you probably know that is exactly what will happen because life gives you opposite of what you want.
I would've thought that love was the murderous thing, not the lack of it. I am never going to fall in love. Life is dangerous enough.
I saw the movie but it wasn't what I expected. (Is it ever?) For me the book and the movie work at different levels. The primary difference, I thought, the movie has made obvious what the book hinted at, and made ambiguous what the book clearly stated. And the movie has fewer characters than the book, some ditzy ones are left out.
I also thought the ending of the movie was more people pleasing than the book's ending, though it was no doubt romantic.
In the movie the Castle wasn't magnificent nor was a tour of it given. It wasn't a character like it was in the book. Living in a castle sounds romantic (but it isn't) and it took me back to a carefree time, a time when Famous Five reigned supreme on my shelves.
I loved how the different notebooks Cassandra writes in divides the book into three sections. It's a pity the movie missed out on them.
The movie is excellently cast. The characters are real and flawed like in the book. The tone of the movie was more dramatic where the book was comic. There's an inherent innocence in the way Cassandra views the world which comes from her naivete which the movie fails to capture well. Romola Garai carried the film on her slender shoulders but I felt something was missing. Bill Nighy is excellent as the negligent father and husband. Rose Byrne as the older sister is pretty, ludicrous and superficial, true to her character in the book. I loved the character of Thomas, their little brother, in the movie. He looked like a pompous little Harry Potter with his round glasses. Topaz is played by Tara Fitzgerald who does complete justice to her character's idiosyncrasies. Stephen played by Henry Cavill is so earnest and beautiful that your heart breaks for him.
The dynamic between the sisters changes after Rose gets engaged. It is shown gradually in the book but in the movie it is rushed.
In the book the pets are so delightfully portrayed, both the cat and dog, they are as real as the peopled characters. In the movie there was only the dog but it wasn't given any characteristics.
As soon as I finished the book I wanted to seize someone and tell them to read Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle. (I am gifting and recommending it with a vengeance.) I urge you to read it. Or if you prefer watch the movie, and let me know how do you like it.


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A weekly update describing soil moisture patterns across the country to show where dry to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent. Regions experiencing significant soil moisture deficits are deemed "hotspots". Persistent hotspot regions have the potential to develop into drought.
Chris Brandolino (Principal Scientist - Forecasting) presents the 2017 Annual Climate Summary. See the detailed Annual Climate Summary.


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Bucatini all'Amatriciana
Bucatini all'Amatriciana This classic sauce takes its spiciness from black pepper and dried chillies and its depth of flavor from guanciale, Italian salt-cured pork jowl. If you can't find it, use pancetta. Ingredients 125g/4 oz. thinly sliced guanciale, pancetta, or chopped unsmoked bacon 500g/12 oz. dried bucatini or spaghetti 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes 1 minced onion 1 tbsp tomato puree 50ml/1/4 cup Italian … Continue reading Bucatini all'Amatriciana