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Developing Men
DEVELOPING MEN By Kevin Gilligan
A discussion of contemporary male friendship, masculinity, isolation, community and legacy through portrait photography, video and narrative.
Why men? Men have been the center of attention for centuries. History was written primarily by men. Why should we care about men, now? Doesn't the future belong to women? Isn't this the time to support women and girls? The exploration of what it means to be a man today does not negate the importance of supporting women and girls. This is something different.
Right now, many men are silently and deeply struggling. Many men put on their game face every day, get up, go to work, do their best to support their family, but inside many are filled with doubt, anxiety and depression. Men are falling behind in college enrollment and earnings. Women are also under increasing stress. More and more women are the primary earners in their family, and many of them are also feeling the pull of working and supporting children and parents. And yet, women seem to be handling the stress better. Could it be that that their social networks are better? Does women's propensity to be more open to discussing how they are feeling somehow better inoculate them from stress?
Men kill themselves at 3.6 times the rate of women, and men between the ages between 45 and 64 face the sharpest increase. The suicide rate says a lot about expectations on men and internalization of those expectations.
Mass shooters
In 2018 and 2019, it seemed like there was a mass shooting every other week. Undoubtedly, the extraordinary number of (automatic) guns in the U.S. has something to do with the number and type of shootings. We have more guns than people in the United States. Regardless of the number of guns, what stuns me is that men are the perpetrators of the overwhelming majority of mass violence in the world. Approximately 95% of all mass shooters are male. Clearly, all is not well with men. One suspects that isolation and lack of community are contributing factors behind gun violence.
Do women have a role to play in helping men?
Women and feminists have a role in this discussion too. Women can positively influence boys and men just as they have helped support young girls and women. Society has developed a scaffolding of sorts for girls, on line and in real-life spaces to help them grow and escape sexism. We have not done the same to help boys. Perhaps there is an unconscious feeling that boys don't need the help; a feeling that boys will be "just fine." Do hard working and well-intentioned elementary school teachers, overwhelmingly female, encourage or even allow rowdy boy behavior, or do they expect young boys to sit quietly, comply and learn as young girls are more wont to do?
Sarah Rich recently wrote in the Atlantic, "While society is giving girls broader access to life's possibilities, it isn't presenting boys with a full continuum of how they can be in the world." Some argue that this gap makes boys susceptible to misogynist hucksters, not because boys and young women hate women but because they are desperate for community and answers in a confusing time.
Society is evolving at a mind-bending pace. Many men are struggling with changing expectations and their role in society. Many younger men of dating age don't know if they should even hold a door open for a woman anymore. Will that simple act, once seen as gracious, now be perceived as sexist? The old hyper-masculine world is dying, and a new model of man is needed. In some ways, this is a very good thing. A one-dimensional, hyper-masculine man, easily offended by slights to his honor, too often led to misery.
In search of a new framework
Many of the men I know are acutely aware of the damaging hyper-masculine legacy and are searching for a new internal framework in a complex, rapidly changing world. They seek a framework where they can be masculine and supportive of the people in their lives, including women and girls. Self-aware fathers want to pass on a healthy, masculine confidence to their own children. Male energy has too often been pathologized. You may have even heard or used the phrase "toxic masculinity" which some scholars have argued is a vastly over broad brush with which to paint all men.
There is a place for this discussion without being a racist, or misogynistic. These are vignettes of lives across a wide variety of groups and backgrounds. We can and should ask questions while being FOR something and not just AGAINST something? Creating strong, independent, supportive and well-developed men is in everyone's interest.
Why You?
You might ask "Why are you qualified to ask these questions and tell this story, Kevin?" One might legitimately ask, "What does this privileged guy have to contribute to the discussion about struggle and what does he know?" I asked myself the same questions.
Admittedly, this perspective is also of Western (straight) Men, in the United States circa 2018-2019 and is therefore affected by that perspective. Having raised these caveats, I would argue that many of these issues are nonetheless universal. Once you get past the basics of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, food and shelter to start, the issues of where do I fit in and how do I support my loved ones are universal. Indeed, one of the prime drivers of global migration is moving for a better life.
Before you pre-judge me as a self-absorbed, cave dwelling, self-pitying, knuckle-dragger, who is blind to my own good fortune, you should know a few things about the experiences that have shaped me and helped me to ask better questions about our world.
A smart, hard-working single mother raised me. I am a husband to a wonderful hard working, dynamic woman. I am a father, and my wife and I are raising a strong, intelligent, self-confident girl. We are also raising a wonderful son, who we love for many reasons including his inquisitiveness, sense of humor, determination, care for the environment and strong sense of justice.
In one of my professional lives, I am a prosecutor. I have prosecuted domestic violence cases and hired and mentored many women. I've also spent nearly 15 years working in some of the toughest neighborhoods in Los Angeles. I joined the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office in my early 20's while attending evening law school. I was a community organizer helping to improve neighborhoods struggling with drugs and gangs.
My first week on the job was in April of 1992, and I was assigned to a neighborhood in South Los Angeles. That week L.A. burst into flames after the Rodney King beating. During the next four years, I organized and attended hundreds of community meetings with police and community members and learned a great deal about class struggle, racism, communication, and masculinity. After four years of night law school I was so worn down that I got cancer (melanoma) and had surgery one week before the bar exam. I failed the three-day exam by one point. I was broke and dispirited, to put it mildly. It was a low water mark for me, but it taught me a lot about struggle and perseverance.
After passing the bar exam, I was hired as a prosecutor and continued working on community based prosecution efforts, and worked closely with police and many community groups of all socio-economic strata. For two years, I was assigned to prosecute crimes out of three of the largest and most dangerous housing developments in Los Angeles. After that I helped create and supervise attorneys assigned to a new community prosecution program to pro-actively target quality of life crimes like dumping, prostitution and crack houses through a combination of criminal and civil enforcement actions. Each day I worked in challenging neighborhoods that many were trying to escape. For nearly a decade, my office was in South Los Angeles, including several years in Watts. Each night I would drive home to my neighborhood and often pondered the vast differences in one's life that accompanied their zip code. I still ponder these differences as I've seen the homeless epidemic explode in Los Angeles while a fraction of the population attains stratospheric wealth.
During this 15-year period I consciously and unconsciously absorbed an immense amount of information about society, crime, poverty, the law, class and political struggle. I broke bread with many incredible people who radiated positivity, despite the challenges they endured. I found inspiration in places I never would have imagined. Along the way, I met men who inspired me. Some of them are included here.
On a personal level, my father died at 52 and left my mother with five children. I was four when he died, and though I don't really remember him, I have to imagine he worked pretty hard. He was an attorney in New York City. I'd imagine he had a fair amount of stress, and in the 1970's men didn't often share that kind of struggle. That, likely contributed to his early death from cancer. I saw my mother work hard and struggle to support her children and get them through college. I lost my best friend to a drug-related death when we were both 18, and lost my amazing, smart, handsome, funny, athletic, 21-year-old nephew to depression. It was devastating to our entire family. The pain from suicide lingers and is not often discussed, because it is so painful.
I turned 50 this year, and am grateful for the amazing life I have lived so far. I am most grateful for my phenomenal wife, Noreen. She is the "sine qua non" in my life.
The proximity of my age to my father's age at death has brought a fair amount of contemplation to my life. At the time I am writing this, my older brother John, is fighting his own battle with stage IV melanoma. He's always been a fighter, an incredible role model, and I am grateful to him. Losing friends and family at a young age and having my own melanoma at 25 has made me acutely aware of my own vulnerabilities, and the ticking of the clock. There is so much I want to pass on to my friends, family and especially my children. This work is, in part, my legacy.
I have always travelled in many circles. Sometimes, that's because I was uncomfortable in the circles that I was in. Sometimes it was because I was interested in what other circles were doing. I'm a man, a father, a husband, an attorney, a photographer, a martial arts practitioner and a traveler. In all of these disparate circles, from MMA gyms, bars, courtrooms, surfing, to photography, I encounter men from many different walks of life. When I talk with these men, really talk to them, I hear and see many of the same things. Most men are good men. They love and support those around them and are seeking to adapt and thrive in a complicated and ever-faster changing world.
Being a "provider"
The men I know strive to be good partners, husbands, fathers and community members. They strive to be financially comfortable and provide for those around them, and struggle mightily while doing it. The arrogant, bone-headed men that take up so much of the media spot light, obscure the majority of good men who struggle to make ends meet, save for retirement and to support their families and community.
Beneath the façades of strength and success, many men have anxiety about how to protect their family and loved ones. Financial pressures overwhelm many men who still view themselves as the "providers" for their families, even when their spouses work. Many men struggle to provide in a world where wages are stagnating, college is outlandishly expensive, and the social safety net is not just tattered, but actively being cut to support even greater wealth at the very top. Technology and its effects on men Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are sure to accelerate the pace of changes in the coming years. AI will surely displace many careers as automated cars, and robots make whole categories of jobs as obsolete as the horse drawn carriage. Technology will replace many of the jobs traditionally held by men, particularly blue- collar men, truck drivers, and chemical plant employees.
Oxford scholars estimated the "automatability" of each of 702 different occupations, and found that for (oil) derrick operators it was 80 percent, for chemical plant and system operators, 85 percent, for petroleum technicians, 91 percent. Across the nation, jobs that have in the past mostly gone to men are now going to robots. The U.S. Secretary of labor, Carl's Jr. CEO Andrew Puzder, praised robots because they "never take a vacation, they never show up late, there's never a slip-and-fall, or an age, sex, or race discrimination case." Puzder's "perfect" robot may be great for company stockholders, but it is ruinous for many male workers.
Never before has higher education in all its forms—BAs, associate degrees, computer-coding programs, job-retraining—mattered more for all Americans. And never before have American men earned a declining proportion of BAs, while BAs lead to better wages—especially for men. Yet in 2018, our fearless federal leaders proposed cutting over $200 billion from higher education over the next decade, mainly to reduce help to students struggling to pay its rising costs. The proposed cuts were large enough, according to a Center for American Progress report, to "pay twice over for a decade" of estate tax cuts for the rich. While strongly appealing to a certain demographic, this steers money away from the education such men will need for the jobs they badly want.
Men in their 40's and 50's, peak pressure
Recently, a friend and I were talking. He is by all objective standards, financially successful. He still has to work, but he has all the trappings of an upper class life. A beautiful house, a beautiful family, they take nice vacations; you get the picture (see what I did there?). When I told him about this photo essay on men he cracked open like a walnut and began telling me about the pressures he was under, how it feels like one slip could make it all come tumbling down. Even well to do families, who appear to have it all together, are often struggling, if not financially, emotionally. I suspect this is all too common.
Many men are either afraid to talk about these issues, or think they are the only ones who are experiencing them. Often men in their late 40's and 50's are hit the hardest. That is the time when they typically have peak responsibilities. This is the time they are expected to be lions at work, maximize their earnings, and at the same time be complete fathers and spouses who spend ample time with family and spouse. This often happens while caring for aging parents, and saving for the ever-increasing cost of college, increased health care costs and hopefully, retirement. To be fair, many women in this age group face similar pressures, but as I mentioned above, they seem to be able to handle it better. Not surprisingly, studies have shown that the happiness of men in the 40's and 50's tends to decrease, and improves in the 60's when these pressures are often, but not always, less.
Frogs in a boiling pot of water?
Perhaps this unease is not limited to men? Perhaps what we are feeling is the generational change, and disruption that one experiences with massive transitions. The transition from an agriculture to manufacturing economy resulted in the creation of massive cities as people moved from the country to the City for jobs. Now we are moving from an industrial to computer or technological economy. If you have the right skills, you can now work from anywhere. Are men like the proverbial frog in a boiling pot that does not jump out because he do not realize soon enough that we are being boiled alive in this major transition?
White Supremacy
Let me get a few preliminaries out of the way. First, I not an expert on white supremacy. Second, this photo essay is not intended to be a discussion of the angry white (Christian) male, which is part of the reason the subjects come from a broad cross section of society. Nonetheless, a thorough discussion of men, and the issues they face in 2019 must at least acknowledge the issue of white supremacy and the connections to the themes of isolation and community.
White supremacists and other far-right extremists have killed far more people since Sept. 11, 2001, than any other category of domestic extremist. The Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism has reported that 71 percent of the extremist-related fatalities in the United States between 2008 and 2017 were committed by members of the far right or white-supremacist movements. Islamic extremists were responsible for just 26 percent. Data compiled by the University of Maryland's Global Terrorism Database shows that the number of terror-related incidents has more than tripled in the United States since 2013, and the number of those killed has quadrupled. In 2017, there were 65 incidents totaling 95 deaths. In a recent analysis of the data by the news site Quartz, roughly 60 percent of those incidents were driven by racist, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, antigovernment or other right-wing ideologies. Left-wing ideologies, like radical environmentalism, were responsible for 11 attacks. Muslim extremists committed just seven attacks. Who are the people behind this right-wing ideology? They are overwhelmingly white males .
The causes and effects of White Supremacy can fill many books and the scope exceeds this exhibition. Still, it is not hard to connect economic insecurity as one of, but certainly not the only, cause of their hateful racist acts. I fear that the rapid advancement of technology and AI, will only magnify this economic insecurity. The least educated among us are the worst equipped to adapt to a society that increasingly requires advanced degrees and high tech training to earn a wage providing at least a traditional middle class lifestyle.
About the men in this project
The men in this project contribute meaningfully and deeply to their respective communities. That is worthy of exploration and celebration.
The men in this photo essay have all inspired me in one-way or another. They are good men who seek the best in themselves and others. They are thoughtful men, unafraid to question themselves and the conventions around them. They don't quit when they experience hardship, they persevere. I chose these men because each of them has something meaningful to contribute to this discussion, and they are not afraid to speak openly about these issues on video.
These stories are not an answer or an end point. They are a snapshot as to where we are on the path to "Developing Men."
Thank you to the exhibition sponsors, Tamron Lenses USA, Manfrotto, Bay Photo Lab and the South Bay Artists' Collective. Thank you to all the men who participated and shared your time and wisdom! Thank you to my fabulous wife Noreen, son Connor and daughter Lana who supported me throughout this journey and allowed me the time to pursue this important work. Thank you for taking the time to come to view this project.
Kevin Gilligan


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SKC OSHA/NIOSH/ASTM Sampling Guide for Quartz (see silica, respirable crystalline)
Chemical Hazard
Quartz (see silica, respirable crystalline)
CAS. No.
Sampling Methodology
Sampling Parameters
Agency Standards (ppm)
Analytical Method
SKC Sampling Equipment
This SKC Air Sampling guide is a reference only to assist users in finding the method, sampling equipment, and sampling media for a specific compound. This publication is intended for general information only and should not be used as a substitute for reviewing applicable government regulations, equipment operating instructions, or legal standards. Users must consult the appropriate sampling method for the compound of interest before sampling. The sampling parameters shown here are suggestions based on the ranges or volume, flow, and time specified in the methods. It is the responsibility of the analyst performing the sampling and analysis steps to adjust the parameters so that the required detection limits can be obtained. The information contained in this document should not be construed as legal advice or opinion nor as a final authority on legal or regulatory procedures.

subset: commoncrawl


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You are here: Social Security Administration > Research, Statistics & Policy Analysis > Statistics & Data Files by Title > OASDI Monthly Statistics, May 2007
OASDI Monthly Statistics, May 2007
(released June 2007)
Effective with the December 2007 OASDI data, persons wanting detailed monthly OASDI information should visit the Office of the Actuary's website for Beneficiary Data. The OASDI snapshot tables are still provided by the Office of Retirement and Disability Policy.
Table of ContentsAvailable formats
OASDI Benefits in Current-Payment Status
Table 3. OASI retired-worker beneficiaries, by sex and election of early retirement, May 2006–May 2007


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First Look: Christopher Lloyd Visits Raising Hope
Great Scott! Jimmy (Lucas Neff) gets a surprise when he goes car shopping on the Jan. 8 episode of Fox's Raising Hope. Turns out he has no credit, thanks to his parents, who maxed out cards in his name years ago. Now, in order for their son to afford a new ride, Burt (Garret Dillahunt) and Virginia (Martha Plimpton) must convince their bank rep (Back to the Future star Christopher Lloyd) to clear Jimmy's debt. The catch: He wants their new DeLorean sports car in exchange.
"Who wouldn't want a DeLorean?" says Dillahunt. "I was bustin' open the gull-wing doors with Huey Lewis cranked into the red zone. Everyone should drive a DeLorean just once."
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(8vo), blue cloth, spine printed in silver; pictorial dust jacket. First Edition.
First edition of this volume of Cohen's poems, most notable for the first publication of several poems which would later be more fully realized as songs, especially Suzanne.
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Notebook: UF suspends Dunker
As a result of his arrest Wednesday on a charge of grand theft of a motor vehicle, redshirt freshman offensive guard Jessamen Dunker has been suspended from the team indefinitely, Florida coach Will Muschamp said Friday.
"I met with Jessamen Dunker this morning and I suspended him from all team activities until we get more information," Muschamp said. "I have been on the road. I just met face-to-face with him for the first time for about 15 minutes.
"Once we get a little more information, we'll move forward, but he's suspended from the team at this time. We'll address that further when I know more."
Dunker was arrested for driving a scooter on campus that had been reported stolen. His attorney, Huntley Johnson, said Dunker claims he bought the scooter for $600. Dunker also was cited for driving with a suspended license.
The State Attorney's Office will investigate the case and then decide what charges, if any, will be brought against Dunker.
More roster attrition
The recent exodus of players from the roster continues. Muschamp announced that three more players are no longer on the team — senior defensive end Kedric Johnson, senior wide receiver Stephen Alli and sophomore offensive lineman Tommy Jordan.
"Kedric Johnson and Stephen Alli will graduate this spring and move on," Muschamp said. "Kedric may play somewhere (else) next fall. I need to continue to talk to him about that. Stephen Alli is going to go to graduate school, possibly here at Florida and may help out in the operations or in the weight room.
"Tommy Jordan has applied for a medical exemption with his shoulder. He had a bad shoulder coming in, and, obviously, playing offensive line in the SEC isn't great for a bad shoulder. We appreciate those guys' contributions."
If the NCAA grants Jordan a medical hardship, he will be able to remain on scholarship and his scholarship will not count against UF's overall total.
Due to all the recent attrition through graduation, transfers and players leaving early for the NFL, the Gators now will be able to sign as many as 33 players in this recruiting class.
Injury update
Muschamp said three players — offensive guard Jon Halapio, offensive tackle Chaz Green and outside linebacker Neiron Ball — all have undergone minor arthroscopic surgery recently but should be able to participate in spring drills to some extent.
"Jon had a scope on his knee. Chaz had a scope on his ankle. Neiron had a scope on his ankle," Muschamp said. "We expect all three of those to participate at some point this spring. I don't know when that will happen."
Muschamp said punter Kyle Christy underwent shoulder surgery for an injury that he played with all of last season.
"Kyle Christy had to tie his shoulder tighter, an injury he had going into the season," Muschamp said. "He punted pretty well with it. I don't know why he needed to have surgery, but they felt he needed it."
Muschamp said wide receiver Solomon Patton, who sustained a broken arm in the Georgia game, has been cleared for non-contact work in the spring.
"I don't think he will be in any contact, but he's doing really well," Muschamp said.
No new hire yet
Muschamp said he is not quite ready to fill the one vacancy on his coaching staff, or decide what position group the new assistant will coach.
"I have some ideas about the next hire," he said. "When I know something, I'll let you know. We can go different routes here, but I'm not going to discuss those as far as what we're doing, but I feel comfortable about our staff and what we're doing."
UF announced Thursday that new defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin would continue to coach the linebackers, but would no longer coordinate the special teams. Muschamp said Friday there's a chance Durkin could end up coaching defensive ends instead of linebackers.
Muschamp also said there is a chance someone on the staff now could assume the role of special teams coordinator.
Penalties remain an issue
After committing a rash of penalties, many of them major, in the Sugar Bowl, it's an area the Gators will need to continue to work on as they move forward into 2013.
"We need to improve in penalties," Muschamp said. "Again, we're going to exercise everything we can do to improve that part of what we can do. We need to make some strides there. We'll try to do a better job."
Muschamp was asked if his players lost their composure in the Sugar Bowl. The Gators were hit with two 15-yard penalties after failing to recover an onside kick at the start of the second half.
"I think one particular play, we lost composure," he said. "Certainly, that's something we're not going to tolerate here. That's something we'll address, and we'll move forward. We need to improve that part of our football team."
All-star games
Seniors Josh Evans (safety), Omar Hunter (defensive tackle) and Caleb Sturgis (kicker) will all participate in senior all-star games today. Evans and Sturgis will take part in the East-West Shrine Game at Tropicana Field, while Hunter will play in the inaugural Raycom College Football All-Star Classic in Montgomery, Ala.
The East-West Shrine Game will be on the NFL Network starting at 4 p.m., while CBS Sports Network will televise the Raycom College Football All-Star Classic at 3 p.m.


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Cross-posted from the IPS blog.
The UN climate talks held in Cancun late last year paved the way for a new Green Climate Fund to channel money for developing countries to build resiliency, protect forests, and bring low-carbon technologies and practices into mainstream use.
That marked a critical victory for developing countries, but the biggest fights have yet to come. In the coming year, a committee of 40 government representatives (25 from developing and 15 from developed countries) will be working furiously with the UN and other institutions, as well as finance, gender, community participation, and other experts, on making this fund a reality. They must do everything from creating a management structure to forging a global definition of "clean energy."
This ambitious task is meant to result in a Green Climate Fund that can handle the tens, if not hundreds, of billions of dollars a year developing countries will need in the coming decades to combat climate change and at the same time continue their fight against poverty.
It's fundamentally disturbing, however, that the World Bank — the planet's leading cheerleader for a growth-without-limits development paradigm — is elbowing its way to the front of the line to help design the new fund, almost guaranteeing itself a permanent role in its management.
More than 90 environment, development, human rights, and anti-debt organizations from around the world conveyed this concern in a letter to the Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the convener of the first fund design meeting.
In the letter, civil society leaders called for strictly limiting the World Bank's role in the design on the Green Climate Fund for the following reasons:
First and foremost, the World Bank continues to finance dirty coal, oil and gas projects. According to a World Bank Group Energy Sector Financing Update prepared by the Bank Information Center, the global lender supported fossil fuel projects to the tune of $6.6 billion in 2010, a 116 percent increase from the year before. That included $4.4 billion for coal power projects, more than it spent on all new renewable energy and energy efficiency projects combined for the year ($3.4 billion). So while the World Bank is undeniably increasing it renewable energy financing, the volume is still dwarfed by its fossil fuel lending.
Bobby Peek, director of groundWork/Friends of the Earth South Africa, an environmental justice group in Durban, South Africa, that endorsed the NGO letter, noted, "Only a year ago the World Bank made its largest loan ever to dirty energy, signing $3.75 billion over to the Eskom energy company to build a 4,800MW coal-fired power station in South Africa." He asked, "Is this the institution we want to put in charge funding the solutions to the climate crisis?"
Bank officials say that the Eskom power plant — and similar coal projects in other countries — are important for bringing access to electricity for energy-poor families. But environmentalists and local activists argue that the project will benefit large mines and smelters, not the local community. In fact, in an independent review of the Bank's 26 fossil fuel loans in 2009 and 2010, Oil Change International found that none of these clearly identify access for the poor as a direct target of the project. The Bank agreed that not a single coal or oil project could be classified as improving energy access.
To the World Bank's credit, it may be about to change course to a degree. A leaked draft of its new 10-year energy strategy revealed plans to move away from supporting new coal projects in middle-income countries. But environment and development groups argue that the language used in that draft document is riddled with loopholes. The energy plan also includes a massive scale-up of hydropower mega-dams that threaten to displace communities, destroy fisheries, and release their own greenhouse gases.
The Green Climate Fund should remain fully independent from the World Bank. Its design committee should engage experts from UN agencies and all regions of the world. Experts on gender, sustainable development, poverty alleviation, renewable energy and efficiency technologies, indigenous peoples, human rights, and social and environmental safeguards should weigh in, too.
Janet is co-director of the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network, where she provides analysis of the international financial institutions' energy investment and carbon finance activities.


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Police: Country music singer Scotty McCreery victim of home invasion
RALEIGH, N.C. | Country music singer Scotty McCreery was the victim of an early morning home invasion near the campus of North Carolina State University, where he is a student.
Raleigh Police spokesman Jim Sughrue says officers were called shortly before 2 a.m. Monday to an apartment about a mile from campus. People at the apartment told police that three suspects armed with guns robbed them of wallets, cash and electronic items.
The 20-year-old McCreery was among the victims. No one was injured.
A native of nearby Garner, McCreery won TV's "American Idol" in 2011. He was named best new artist at the Academy of Country Music Awards the next year. In addition to being a recording star and a pitchman for Bojangles' Chicken 'n Biscuits, McCreery is wrapping up his sophomore year of college.
On his Facebook page Monday, McCreery thanked the Raleigh police for "their quick response and hard work" in investigating the case.
"Yes, it was definitely a very scary night," McCreery said. "Luckily, my friends and I are safe and the Raleigh PD is on the case. I will share more when the time is right, but as of now we do not want to do or say anything that could hinder the investigation. Thanks to everyone for the prayers and support."


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The Secret Beyond Matter
The Evolution Impasse 2
Kanapoi Elbow Fossil Fraud, The
The best example of how evolutionists interpret fossils according to their own preconceptions is a fossilized elbow bone found in the Kenyan region of Kanapoi. This fossil, displayed in the Kenya National Museum – East Rudolf under the number KP 271, consists of a part of the upper arm bone near the elbow. Unearthed in 1965 by Bryon Patterson of Harvard University, it has been exceedingly well preserved. The latest tests carried out by evolutionists have shown it to be around 4.5 million years old.;1 The fossil is therefore known as the oldest hominid fossil discovered to date.
In 1967, the researchers Bryan Patterson and W.W. Howells joined forces to describe KP 271. They suggested that the fossil's anatomy was similar to that of human beings and that it belonged to Australopithecus. Howells and his assistant Patterson announced the report regarding their research in the 7 April, 1967 edition of Science magazine, in which they stated:
In these diagnostic measurements, Kanapoi Hominoid 1 [the original name given to the fossil] is strikingly close to the means of the human sample.;2
Though admitting the close resemblance to the bone of a present-day human, Howells and Patterson still maintained that the fossil belonged to Australopithecus, because to them, it was unacceptable that such an old fossil could belong to Homo sapiens.
But subsequently, studies performed by other researchers using computers again revealed that the fossil KP271 was identical to a human bone. As the result of his computer-assisted research, Henry M. McHenry of the University of California published an article in 1975:
The results show that the Kanapoi specimen, which is 4 to 4.5 million years old, is indistinguishable from modern Homo sapiens…;3
After this, various other researchers (including David Pilbeam and Brigitte Senut) have also performed experiments and comparative studies proving that the bone is identical to H. sapiens. Yet despite all the evidence, even the evolutionists who carried out all this research were unable to admit, on account of their own preconceptions, that this fossil could belong to H. sapiens.
Kenyanthropus Platyops
The 3.5-million-year-old Kenyanthropus platyops fossil skull overturned evolutionists' imaginary evolutionary tree.
In Kenya, a team led by Meave Leakey discovered a fossilized skull that was referred to as "Flat-faced Man" because of the shape of its facial bones. The fossil was given the scientific name of Kenyanthropus platyops. This 3.5 million-year-old fossil overturned evolutionists' imaginary evolutionary scenarios because some extinct ape species (such as "Lucy") that lived after Kenyanthropus platyops were more primitive than it according to evolutionist criteria.;4 (See Lucy Deceit, The.)
In fact, when one looks at all of the fossils discovered to date, it becomes clear that there is no evolutionary progression, beginning from a common ancestor and slowly turning into apes and present day man.
Daniel E. Lieberman of Harvard University's Anthropology Department commented on Kenyanthropus platyops in an article in Nature magazine:
The evolutionary history of humans is complex and unresolved. It now looks set to be thrown into further confusion by the discovery of another species and genus, dated to 3.5 million years ago. . . The nature of Kenyanthropus platyops raises all kinds of questions, about human evolution in general and the behaviour of this species in particular. Why, for example, does it have the unusual combination of small cheek teeth and a big flat face with an anteriorly positioned arch of the cheekbone? All other known hominin species with big faces and similarly positioned cheekbones have big teeth. I suspect the chief role of K. platyops in the next few years will be to act as a sort of party spoiler, highlighting the confusion that confronts research into evolutionary relationships among hominins.;5
The BBC reported the story under such headlines as "Flat-Faced Man a Puzzle," "A Confusing Picture" and "A Scientific Contradiction" and went on to say that:
The discovery by Meave Leakey, of the National Museums of Kenya, and colleagues threatens to blur still further the already murky picture of man's evolution.;6
Fred Spoor, the famous evolutionist in University College London said that "the fossil raises a lot of questions." ;7
As can be seen from these statements and admissions, the theory of evolution is facing a major dilemma. In particular, every new discovery in the field of paleontology presents a new contradiction for the theory of evolution to explain. Evolutionists who produce diagrams of the supposed evolution of mankind seek to incorporate new discoveries by setting the fossils out among extinct species of ape and to human races.
However, no fossil fits in with their diagrams, simply because human beings and apes did not evolve from any common ancestor. Human beings have always been human beings, and apes have always been apes. For that reason, the theory of evolution faces an ever greater dilemma with every new scientific discovery.
KNM-ER 1470 Fraud, The
In 1972, a fossil was discovered in East Rudolf that would lead to debates in paleoanthropology. This was a complete skull, lacking only the lower jaw, but broken into some 300 parts, which were assembled by Richard Leakey and his wife, Meave. It was later sent to the Kenya National Museum – East Rudolf and classified as Homo habilis. (See Homo habilis.)
Homo habilis shares many features with the apes known as Australopithecus. Like them, H. habilis has a long-armed, short-legged and ape-like skeletal structure. Its hands and feet are well suited to climbing. These characteristics show that H. habilis spent most of its time in the trees.
The volume of the majority of skulls classified as H. habilis does not exceed 650 cubic centimeters. This brain size is very close to that of present-day gorillas. On the other hand, its jaw structure closely resembles that of present-day apes, definitely proving that it was an ape.
In terms of general skull features, it bears a closer resemblance to Australopithecus africanus. Like A. africanus, H. habilis has no eyebrow protrusions. Previously, this feature led to its being misinterpreted and depicted as a human-like creature.
KNM-ER 1470's long, broad forehead, its less obvious eyebrow protrusions, the lack of the structure in the gorilla skull known as the sagittal crest, and its 750 cubic centimeter brain volume show that it did not resemble human beings. J. E. Cronin describes why:
However its relatively robustly constructed face, flattish naso-alveolar clivus (recalling australopithecine dished faces), low maximum cranial width (on the temporals), strong canine juga and large molars (as indicated by remaining roots) are all relatively primitive traits which ally the specimen with members of the taxon A. africanus . . . KNM-ER 1470, like other early Homo specimens, shows many morphological characteristics in common with gracile australopithecines that are not shared with later specimens of the genus Homo.;8
C. Loring Brace of the Museum of Anthropology, Michigan University says this on the same subject:
. . . from the size of the palate and the expansion of the area allotted to molar roots, it would appear that ER 1470 retained a fully Australopithecus -sized face and dentition.;9
Another well known paleontologist, Bernard Wood, makes this comment:
There is no evidence that this cranium particularly resembles H. sapiens or H. erectus according to either phenetic or cladistic evidence. Phenetically, KNM-ER 1470 is closest to the remains from Olduvai [considered apes by creationists] referred to as H. habilis.;10
The reason why the fossil KNM-ER 1470 was interpreted as human for a while lies in the biased and leading interpretation of its discoverer, Richard Leakey. He sought to give the impression that although the fossil had ape-like features, the skull was too large to be that of an ape. The aim was to describe the creature as an intermediate form.
Professor Tim G. Bromage, a researcher into the anatomy of the human face, summarizes the facts he revealed with computer-aided simulations in 1992:
When it [KNM-ER 1470] was first reconstructed, the face was fitted to the cranium in an almost vertical position, much like the flat faces of modern humans. But recent studies of anatomical relationships show that in life, the face must have jutted out considerably, creating an ape-like aspect, rather like the faces of Australopithecus.;11
KNM-ER 1470's 750-cubic centimeter skull does not in any way make it a hominid and prevent it from being an ape species, because there are apes with just such a skull volume. In referring to ape skulls, evolutionists generally point to chimpanzees, with a smaller-sized brain, but never mention gorillas. Chimpanzees have an average brain volume of 400 cubic centimeters. Gorillas have an average brain size of 500 cubic centimeters, although in larger individuals, this may rise to 700 and even 750 cc centimeters.
Therefore, KNM-ER 1470's large brain size shows that it was a large ape (estimated to be a male), rather than a hominid. Indeed, the fact that KNM-ER 1470 has large teeth and a broad skull volume indicates that its body was correspondingly large.
From all this, it appears that structurally, KNM-ER 1470 was an ape resembling Australopithecus. Many features, such as its forward-looking face, abnormally large molars and brain volume too small to belong to a human being, reveal this clearly. In addition, KNM-ER 1470's teeth are identical to those of Australopithecus. ;12
This indicates that there is no significant difference between fossils of the Homo habilis class and those of the Australopithecus class. These all consist of different species of ape that were unable to walk on two feet and had smaller brains compared with those of man. All evolutionists do is to pick out certain features of these and use them as anatomical links in the myth of evolution from ape to man.
KNM-ER 1472 Lie, The
KNM-ER 1472 is the identifying "serial number" given to a thigh bone that is identical to one of modern man. That this bone was found in the same stratum as Homo habilis fossils, but a few kilometers away from them, led to the false interpretation that H. habilis was a two-legged creature. The fossil OH 62, discovered in 1987, showed that contrary to what had been thought H. habilis did not walk on two legs. KNM-ER 1472 was thus included under the classification Homo erectus. (See Homo erectus.)
KNM-WT 15000 (The oldest known human fossil)
KNM-WT 15000, otherwise known as the Turkana Boy skeleton, is perhaps the oldest and most fully preserved human remain found to date. (See The Turkana Boy.) Research into the fossil, said to be some 1.6 million years old, has shown that it belonged to an individual aged around 12, who would have been some 1.80 meters (5'11) tall on reaching adulthood. This fossil, which exhibits close similarities to the Neanderthal skeletons, is one of the most striking proofs to undermine the myth of human evolution. (See Neanderthal Man: A Human Race.)
Turkana Boy skeleton is the most complete example of Homo Erectus up till now. It is interesting that this 1.6 year-old skeleton and that of present day humans has no distinct difference.
Knuckle Walking —See Bipedalism
KP 271 (Kanapoi Hominid or Kanapoi Elbow Fossil) — See Kanapoi Elbow Bone Fossil Fraud, The
Bryan Patterson, Anna K. Behrensmeyer, William D. Sill, "Geology and Fauna of a New Pliocene Locality in Northwestern Kenya," Nature, Vol. 226, June 6, 1970, pp. 918-921.
1.Donald C. Johanson & M. A. Edey, Lucy, The Beginnings of Humankind, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1981, p. 250.
2."The Leakey Footprints: An Uncertain Path," Science News, Vol. 115, 1979, p. 196
3.Gordon Rattray Taylor, The Great Evolution Mystery, London: Abacus, 1984, pp. 36-41.
4.Richard Dickerson, "Chemical Evolution," Scientific American, Vol. 239:3, 1978, p. 75,
5.Richard Leakey and Alan Walker, "Unearthed,"National Geographic, November 1985, p. 629.
6.Richard Leakey, The Making of Mankind, London: Sphere Books, 1981, p. 116.
7.Richard Lewontin, "Billions and billions of demons," The New York Review, January 9, 1997, p. 31.
8."Old Bird," Discover, March 21, 1997.
11.Isabelle Bourdial, "Adieu Lucy," Science et Vie, May 1999, No. 980, pp. 52-62.
12.Roger Lewin, "Evolutionary Theory Under Fire," Science, Vol. 210, 21 November, 1980, p. 883.


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It's easy to describe Bruce Nauman's For Beginners (all the combinations of the thumb and fingers). There it is, right in the title: two sets of hands displayed on a large, two-sided screen, palms facing out as two voices command different combinations of fingers and thumbs to close. Five fingers in a row, combinations of four fingers in a row, three fingers, and so on.It's easy to describe what it is, sure, but it's harder to describe what it does. That's largely because, despite the work having a huge, imposing visual element, the sound of the video piece is dominating. The two voices instructing the hands are, more specifically, two sets of the same voice, each instructing the fingers to open and close in different intervals. For instance, while one voice speaks "third finger, fourth finger, thumb, first finger," the other is saying "first finger, second finger, third finger," and so forth. They speak over each other, at equal volume and tone.
The artwork occupies its own gallery on the first floor of BCAM, where the voices echo through the spacious room. On entering the other day, it sounded to me like cacophony. The longer I listened, however, the more musical it became. And by musical I'm thinking less of Beyoncé, more of Steve Reich, whose early works involved tape loops of the same voice played at slightly different speeds, causing them to fall out of phase before eventually synching back up again. Nauman's voices are not exactly the same as Reich's loops, but a similar thing is happening—just when the dual instructions seem a barrage of confusion, they suddenly, coincidentally, powerfully, come together to say THUMB. It hits so abruptly and with such clarity that it has the power of a drum or cannon shot. At one point as I sat in front of the screens the voices hit onto a whole string of simultaneous commands—"first finger, second finger, third finger"—before jogging away from each other again.
I started listening for patterns, intentional or not. It became hypnotic (aided by the lulling images of the giant fingers in front of me, opening and closing, opening and closing, opening and closing). A colleague of mine equated it to a Gregorian chant. In a way, yes—the voice is deep and commanding—but the rhythm is all wrong. So I started thinking about the cadence of the voice. And suddenly I realized: it was a waltz! "SECOND fin-ger / THIRD fin-ger / FOURTH fin-ger / THUMB."
Or, something approaching a waltz; it is plain speech, not song. I find that I, personally, tend to become enamored of sounds before visuals (if that isn't apparent). That isn't true for everyone, for sure. In the fifteen minutes I'd spent with For Beginners, it became more and more like a kind of music to me. That didn't seem to be the case for the guard positioned in the gallery. She asked me if I liked the piece and I told her I thought it was great. She sort of winced, then asked if we could trade jobs for the day. I almost took her up on it.
Scott Tennent


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Top Videos: Sesame Street Parodies Homeland, De Niro Reads "Wrecking Ball,"
This week, Sesame Street parodied Homeland, Robert De Niro and Morgan Freeman performed spoken-word versions of "Wrecking Ball" and "The Fox," andJamie Foxx gave a 15-second summary of the movie Gravity. Also, a son filmed his dad watching and reacting to Breaking Bad, and Nick Offerman kicked off Movember by recalling great moments in mustache history. Check out those clips and more in our weekly roundup of the best online videos:
Bubble Shows: See which shows are in danger
Last Vegascast reads Top 40 lyrics:You haven't heard Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" until you've heard the lyrics read by none other than Robert De Niro. Same goes for Ylvis' "The Fox" getting a similar treatment from Morgan Freeman, as well as Kevin Kline taking on One Direction's "Best Song Ever" and Michael Douglas reading the viral hit "Chinese Food."
Mountain bike video: Proceed with caution. You may get motion sickness from watching this crazy video, filmed from a helmet camera during a death-defying mountain bike ride.
Dad watchingBreaking Bad:Remember the crazy Season 4 finale of Breaking Bad? You know, "Face Off"? Yeah. This video (filmed surreptitiously by a son whose father is watching the episode for the first time) is a perfect illustration of how delightfully unpredictable the show was. Also, spoilers ahead.
Jamie Foxx ReviewsGravity:If you haven't made it to the theater yet to see Gravity, just watch this video that Jamie Foxx posted on Instagram. It's a perfect summary of the movie, in just 15 seconds! Who knew Foxx had such a great Sandra Bullockimpersonation up his sleeve?
Sesame StreetPresentsHomelamb:Today we're going to learn about terrorism, kids! They've done spoofs of Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men, and now it's time forSesame Street's version of Homeland. The pitch-perfect segment features a suspicious sheep agent named Caaaarie who's trying to capture the Big Bad Wolf. Will Nicholas Baaa-rody be able to help her? Watch the video to find out:
"Spell block tango":Check out this Halloween-themed video from American Idolfinalist and Broadway actor Todrick Hall, featuring Disney villains like Cruella De Vil, the Evil Queen, and Ursula from The Little Mermaid putting their own wicked spin on the "Cell Block Tango" from Chicago.
Nick Offerman Movember:Gear up for "Movember" (in which men grow mustaches to raise awareness for prostate cancer) with mustache enthusiast Nick Offerman. In this video, the Parks and Recreation star takes us through some key moments in the history of facial hair. (via Tubefilter)
View original Top Videos: Sesame Street Parodies Homeland, De Niro Reads "Wrecking Ball," at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com


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Council overrides veto on Marshall University
Marshall University will move forward on construction of new residence halls and a student recreation center.
The Huntington City Council voted 9-0 Monday to override Mayor David Felinton's veto of two ordinances that authorized the sale of two pieces of property to Marshall for $10,000.
Felinton last week vetoed the sale of an alley behind the old 20th Street Baptist Church site that the church had used as a small parking lot and loading area. He also vetoed an ordinance to sell a small strip of Elm Street that runs between two parking lots from 3rd Avenue to the old Weiler Steel Property off of Commerce Avenue.
Marshall needs the property behind the old church site to build the student recreation center and residence halls. It needs the Elm Street property to build an engineering school.
Monday's vote ended a war of words between Felinton and Menis Ketchum, chairman of Marshall's Board of Governors.
Felinton vetoed the sale of the properties because he says Marshall's appraisal of $10,000 was too low. The appraisal, which was performed by David Bunch, valued the properties at 55 cents per square foot.
The mayor had a second appraisal done a day before City Council approved the sale two weeks ago. That appraisal, done by Rolston and Co. of Charleston, valued the properties at $184,000.
He offered last week to sell the properties to Marshall for $97,000, the midpoint between the two appraisals.
Ketchum, however, argued that Marshall's appraisal was appropriate because the properties were of no use to anyone but Marshall and that they could not be reused for commercial use. He also said that the vetoes threatened to derail the construction of the residence halls and recreation center and delay the engineering school project.
The bond insurers for the residence hall and recreation center recently placed additional financial requirements on Marshall, pushing the $90 million project to the brink of falling apart, Ketchum said.
Had that happened, the city would have lost $1.9 million in business and occupation taxes during the construction phase of the project, Ketchum said.
Felinton said Monday he believes Ketchum's statements were a bullying tactic to exert pressure on City Council members to override the veto.
"I think we've been bluffed and buffaloed, and I'm disappointed that we haven't been respected like other property owners next to Marshall have," he said. "Looking at all the land Marshall has purchased over the past year, the argument that they would have to raise tuition or kill a $90 million project because of $100,000 is absolutely ludicrous."
Felinton said he would prefer that Marshall take the property through eminent domain, because selling the property for $10,000 would set a bad precedent. Future land values in the area could be based on that sale price, he said.
If Marshall took the property by eminent domain, "it would be out of my hands at that point, and I will have felt like I did everything I could have done to be a good steward of public funds," Felinton said.
Ketchum, who did not attend the meeting, said during a phone interview Monday afternoon that the university is prohibited under state law from condemning public property.
"State statutes do not give the power of one public agency to condemn the property of another public agency," he said. "It gives us power to condemn across a road or power line or gas line as long as it doesn't interfere with traffic. In our case, though, we would be condemning public alleys because we want to build on them."
Ketchum said Felinton misled Marshall when he saw the $10,000 appraisal in March and raised no objections.
"I just can't understand why the mayor changed his mind," Ketchum said. "He doesn't understand that Marshall is a public agency and is funded with taxpayer money. Whatever price we have to pay to the city, it's all taxpayer money in the end."
Felinton, on the other hand, argued he never gave any indications to Marshall that he was satisfied with the $10,000 appraisal. He said several concerns were raised about the project after he discovered that Marshall had bought railroad property near the city's property for $7.50 per square foot.
Regardless of the council's votes to override his vetoes, Felinton said he will implement a new policy requiring anyone who wants to purchase abandoned city property to use an appraiser retained by the city. He also said he will ask the state Real Estate Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board to review Marshall's $10,000 appraisal and investigate previous appraisals by Bunch on other projects.
Felinton claimed Bunch has historically undervalued city property in his appraisals.
Councilman Paul Farrell said the city is fortunate to get $10,000 from Marshall. He joked that the only other beneficial use of the properties would be for tailgating before Marshall football games.
He also said the city set a precedent in the 1980s when it gave several city blocks to Marshall for free so it could build Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Herman Glaser, co-owner of Glaser Furniture near the corner of 3rd Avenue and 20th Street, said giving property to Marshall is a mistake that shouldn't be repeated.
"I can't remember the last council meeting when the serious financial problems of the city weren't mentioned," he said. "How many police officers could we hire or streets could we pave for $184,000?
"Huntington needs Marshall, but Marshall also needs Huntington."


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With the recent demolition of the house that had until 1991 served as the residence of the late Major Derrick Coupland, there stands one last remnant of a forgotten world that had once existed on Mount Emily in the form of the white villa at the end of Upper Wilkie Road that has come to be known as Emily Hill and is probably known more as the former Mount Emily Girls' Home to many of my generation. Once described as a quiet, pleasant and old-fashioned corner of Singapore of Victorian villas and charming terrace rows, the face of Mount Emily, a spur that extends out from neighbouring Mount Sophia, has seen significant change since its glory days when it would have commanded a magnificent view of the developing city that lay some 100 feet below it. The villa itself bears testimony to the change, having been built as a grand residence which had not just a "beautiful view over the town and the harbour", but also came with "2 tennis courts and stables for 5 horses and 4 carriages", it has been put to a variety of use over its time.
I have not quite managed to establish when the villa was built. Referred to as Osborne House up to the point when the Japanese Consul-General's offices shifted into it from Union House in April 1939, references to the villa before the turn of the twentieth century do exist – the earliest being an announcement of the birth of the daughter of Mr Heinrich Bock, Managing Director of the trading firm Katz Brothers in December 1891. This puts its completion at a date that precedes that of the former Tower House and makes it the oldest structure on both Mount Sophia and Mount Emily.
That Osborne House had served as the residence of Mr Bock, and his at least two of successors at Katz Brothers', Mr Frederick Lederer and Mr Arthur Loeb, does suggest that the villa had been in the possession of Katz Brothers at the time. Further evidence of this is seen in an advertisement in The Straits Times on 28 February 1910 in which the house, described as having "4 large bedrooms with dressing rooms attached, dining room, saloon; 2 tennis courts, stables for 5 horses and 4 carriages" was put up to be let with applications to be made to Mr Loeb, c/o Katz Brothers.
One interesting reference to the villa is one that involves the sale of it in 1935 to a Mr Jukichi Ikeda, a Singapore based Japanese dentist who had a practice opposite the Central Fire Station in Hill Street. Mr Ikeda is reported to have paid what must have been a tidy sum then of $22,000 to buy the property from a certain Mr Shariff Kassim bin Hashim. Mr Kassim was probably better known in those days as the reigning Sultan of Siak Sri Indrapura, or the Sultan of Siak in short, Siak being a sultanate which was then under the protection of the Dutch in Riau Province in Sumatra. It is known that the Mr Kassim's father, the previous Sultan of Siak, Syed Hashim bin Kassim, who resided at Jalan Rajah in Singapore, had substantial holdings in property in Singapore and had been in debt to Katz Brothers and also to Mr Loeb and it could very well have been Syed Hashim would had the rather stately Osborne House constructed at the end of the nineteenth century.
It is from the point of Mr Ikeda's purchase of the property in 1935 that the villa's history becomes a little less murky. What is known is that Mr Ikeda had additions and alterations done to Osborne House from the Cartographic and Architectural Records database of the National Archives of Singapore. It was under Mr Ikeda's ownership when the Japanese Consul-General's offices moved to the villa on 27 April 1939, serving three Consul-Generals, the first being Issaku Okamoto who was replaced by Kaoru Toyoda in September 1939 who in turn was replaced in November 1940 by the last Japanese Consul-General to serve in Singapore before the Japanese Occupation, Ken Tsurumi. Mr Tsurumi was recalled to Japan in November 1941 – his intended replacement, Suemasa Okamoto, never arrived as events that led to an unfortunate episode in Singapore's history unfolded. It was only in 1953 that the next Japanese diplomatic representative, Ken Ninomiya was to be appointed.
The siting of the Japanese Consulate-General at Osborne House in 1939, came at a time when a community of Japanese had established themselves in the Middle Road area, with Middle Road being referred to as "Chuo Dori" or "Central Street". A remnant of this Japanese presence on Middle Road are the buildings belonging to the former Middle Road Hospital which began as a Japanese built hospital Doh-Jin in 1940. Osborne House does in fact rise at the end of Chuo Dori, lying along its axis. The house passed into the hands of the Department of Social Welfare following the end of the war and served as an orphanage, a home for boys, a halfway house for the rehabilitation of young prostitutes up to the age of 21, a girls' home and finally the Wilkie Road Children's Home in the 1980s. It then fell into disuse and only became Emily Hill, an arts centre, in 2007.
In trying to dig up the villa's rather chequered past, I stumbled upon another interesting fact that had not been known to me. Down the slope east of the villa's rear is a cul-de-sac at the end of Wilkie Terrace to the right of which the Christian Assembly Hall now stands. The Christian Assembly Hall sits on what before the war was a Shinto Shrine. Mention is made of this in a report relating to an Official Secrets Case in which charges were brought against several members of the Japanese community in 1940 where the shrine is referred to as a "Japanese Temple". The report makes for interesting reading and further reports on the case do suggest that there was a path that led from the shrine uphill to what had at the time been the Japanese Consulate. All traces of the shrine and the path to the consulate have of course been erased over time. What does remain of that past which many may wish not to remember is a reminder that also is one of a time we should not want to forget.
An article in Japanese on Emily Hill and the former Osborne House: 「日本人街」の歴史も知る丘の上の邸宅シンガポール、 Emily Hill(エミリー・ヒル.


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Weehawkenites may know Nancy Giles from her daily walks through Weehawken streets with her beagle George, or her appearances emceeing or supporting neighborhood theatrical and creative efforts like Hudson Theatre Works or the Hudson River Performing Arts Center. Non-locals may know her from her appearances as G.I. Frankie Bunsen on "China Beach," Connie on "Delta," or her guest roles on "L.A. Law," "Spin City," "Law and Order;" the list goes on.
For the past 10 years, fans of CBS Sunday Morning have been regaled by her cheeky and smart-as-heck opinion pieces about everything from pop culture to politics to race to gender to what she deems "crap reality shows."
Giles also does voiceovers to be sure ends that are increasingly hard to meet, meet.
Sitting in the sun outside of a local coffee shop, she said, "You have to know how to do more than one thing or figure out other ways to survive when you're a creative person. You have to change with the times or you're left behind, and it takes a lot of energy. When the energy runs out, it really starts to become a challenge."
"Reality shows have made being a train wreck very profitable." – Nancy Giles
"I've become this accidental political/social commentator because I wasn't getting acting jobs anymore, and I've always loved writing," Giles said. "What I do now is more a product of that than ever having any sort of aim towards becoming a writer."
This philosophy has been both the premise of her life, and is – in true multitasking form – the premise behind her self-authored one-woman show "Accidental Pundette" that ran at East 59th Street Theatre in the "Summer Shorts" festival in August.
On writing for CBS
"It started out as a one-shot thing," Giles explained of her now regular gig as a writer and contributor to CBS Sunday Morning. "I was doing a little freelance essay about high-heeled shoes and the conspiracy against women."
Around that time 10 years ago, the HBO show "Sex and the City" was in its prime. As Giles watched the women running around in heels without ever complaining of foot pain, bunions, corns, or bleeding, she said, it brought back one not-so-particularly-nice acting memory.
"I've been tall since I was 14 and my mom used to say, 'You don't need high heels; just wear flats,' " the statuesque Giles recalled. "Then I landed a part on 'Working Girl' and had to wear heels, dressed to the nines in garish makeup and stumbled around trying to walk."
Without getting into detail, she got quite a reaction to her valiant attempt to walk in what she believes to be devices of torture. She recycled the experience years later into the piece that earned her a very reputable writing job.
"It was the first essay I did for them, and it got a lot of positive response," Giles smiled. "They kept asking me back, put me on contract after a while, and a horrible thing ended up with a really lovely outcome."
On the (questionable) consequences of social media
In this day and age, it's hard to come by an actor, writer, or anyone without a Facebook page, a Twitter account, or an obsession with the latest reality television show. This, according to Giles, is a tad problematic.
"I'm older and didn't get my first computer until I was 37, so I'm still behind the curve," she said. "This whole Twitter and Facebook and how many followers or friends you have thing; well, I didn't realize until last year that those numbers are a kind of currency now for those of us in the acting or writing industry."
The proliferation of blogs and opinion columns and viral videos has allowed writers and actors to become hyper-popular the way they might not have been years ago.
It is arguable that social media has made it popular to be un-talented, as evidenced, for instance, by the record contract and cult following for decidedly tone deaf William Hung during the third season of the reality music television program "American Idol."
"Reality shows have made being a train wreck very profitable," Giles laughed. "Because of all this new media, everybody has a blog, everybody's opinions are out there unchecked, and it makes it that much harder if you're really talented to rise above the noise."
But that doesn't keep Giles down. She is determined to continue fighting the good artistic fight, and is thrilled with the way her career has taken a turn toward writing.
"Eventually the energy runs out, the hormones kick in, the weight gain happens, and that's when you think, 'I've really got to find a wealthy husband,' " she laughed. "No, seriously, I'm kidding. Don't print that."
You can follow Giles on Twitter by searching NancyGilesNYC.
Gennarose Pope may be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com


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Steelers quarterback coach remembers Walsh
Anyone looking for Bill Walsh's imprint in the NFL today needs only to follow the footsteps of Ken Anderson. Most everything Anderson teaches as the quarterbacks coach of the Steelers begins with what he learned three decades ago from Walsh.
"He was the basis for what I know," Anderson said Monday from Steelers training camp at St. Vincent College.
Walsh, who built a dynasty in San Francisco with Joe Montana as his quarterback, died Monday. Anderson was one of Walsh's star pupils in the 1970s, when Walsh was creating a name for himself as quarterbacks coach with the Bengals under Paul Brown.
A third-round pick out of Augustana (Ill.) College in 1970, Anderson knew he was a long shot for long-term NFL success. But under the tutelage of Walsh, Anderson embarked on what turned into a successful 16-year career as a player. He is now in his 15th season coaching quarterbacks, his first with Pittsburgh.
"This is the guy that took basically an option quarterback from a Division III school and taught him how to be an NFL quarterback," Anderson said. "It was great because we started from ground zero. I knew nothing. And this is the guy that molded me into a quarterback that lasted a few years in the National Football League."
A two-time finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Anderson won four NFL passing titles — only Steve Young and Sammy Baugh have more. He helped the Bengals reach a Super Bowl, ironically against Walsh's 49ers, and set a league record for completion percentage (70.55) in 1982. He still holds a number of Bengal passing records, including career yards and TDs.
"The principles that he applied to playing quarterback still apply today with footwork and balance and timing," Anderson said. "He just took me step by step through it, and that's the foundation of playing quarterback."
Look around the NFL, and Walsh's impact is easy to see.
"Most offenses have certain principles based on his West Coast offense — spreading the field ... using everybody in the passing game," Anderson said.
Walsh's impact on Anderson is immeasurable each day as he works with Steelers quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger. But Anderson points out that their relationship went beyond just talking football.
"As years went on, we became friends," Anderson said. "He went from the coach to a good friend. So he's always been a mentor of mine."
Reach Repository sports writer Chris Beaven at (330) 580-8345 or e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Greg Lindstrom
Greg Lindstrom
Greg Lindstrom
Greg Lindstrom
Greg Lindstrom
Greg Lindstrom
Matthew Jonas
Courtesy Longmont Police
LONGMONT — Detectives seized multiple guns and boxes of ammunition during an afternoon search of the home of a man suspected of shooting an AR-15 at a Longmont police officer who pulled him over early Wednesday morning.
The officer returned fire and hit 28-year-old Jonathan Shank at least three times, leaving him critically injured. The police officer, whose name has not been released, was not injured, according to Longmont Cmdr. Jeff Satur. The officer was armed with a 9 mm Glock 17, police reported.
After serving a search warrant on Shank's home at 1314 S. Emery St., detectives and evidence technicians toted out boxes with several guns and boxes of ammunition and loaded them into a police evidence van.
Satur said the officer initiated a traffic stop at about 2:12 a.m. after spotting a Subaru Impreza that did not have its headlights on. Both vehicles pulled into the parking lot in front of the Best Buy at 210 Ken Pratt Blvd.
After stopping, the driver got out of his vehicle with a rifle and advanced on the officer while firing, Satur said. The officer, who is 36 and has four years of experience, got out of his marked Crown Victoria patrol car and returned fire, hitting Shank at least three times.
The gunman was armed with Bushmaster AR-15 with optics, police said.
Shank was initially taken to Longmont United Hospital but was moved to Denver Health in critical condition, police reported. A Denver Health spokeswoman said Wednesday afternoon that Shank is not listed as a patient; however, if a patient or family member has requested privacy, hospitals are prohibited under federal law to even say if someone is a patient.
Satur confirmed later Wednesday that Shank remained hospitalized in critical condition.
A search of court records shows that Shank was convicted of driving under the influence in Adams County in 2008 and driving under revocation in September 2012 in Boulder County. He also has several minor traffic cases and was convicted in 2005 of underage drinking. He has no felonies in Colorado, records show.
Neighbors said Shank is a quiet man who rarely spoke to them. They said they believe he lived in the home with his sister and her daughter. Many in the neighborhood were curious about the police presence but said they did not know the man police were investigating.
Shank's next-door neighbor said he awoke Wednesday morning to voices outside. The neighbor, who refused to be identified, said he looked out his window and saw people leaving Shank's townhouse. He said he believes that Shank's sister and niece, who also live in the apartment, went to visit him in the hospital.
"All I know is, Jon was a quiet guy. If you got a nod out of him, that would be a lot," the neighbor said.
A second neighbor, who didn't know Shank, said it was scary to learn that the accused gunman lives in her neighborhood. A woman who answered the door in the unit next to Shank's said she did not know him at all.
While police investigated the scene on Wednesday morning, the officer's car and the Subaru sat about four parking spaces apart at the edge of the Best Buy parking lot, near the road.
A large pool of blood was visible next to the officer's car, which still had its lights flashing. The AR-15 lay near the patrol car, as well. Police set up a mobile command center and draped crime scene tape directly in front of the Best Buy.
Satur said the officer used training strategies that likely saved his life. The spotlight on the officer's car appears to have blinded the gunman.
"(The officer) got to the other side of the vehicle, which really helped him. Fortunately, I don't think (the gunman) knew where the officer was," Satur said.
Other officers quickly got to the scene, but the shooting was over by the time they arrived.
"We are so fortunate, so fortunate," Satur said.
Satur said the officer was placed on paid administrative leave per policy while the Boulder County Critical Incident Investigations team investigates the shooting.
Pierrette Shields can be reached at 303-684-5273 or email@example.com.


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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Comcast Corp. will buy Time Warner Cable Inc. for about $45.2 billion in a deal that would combine the nation's top two cable TV companies and create a dominant force in creating and delivering entertainment.
The all-stock deal, which was approved by the boards of both companies, trumps a proposal from Charter Communications to buy Time Warner Cable for about $38 billion. It is expected to close by the end of the year, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.
The combined entity will end up with about 30 million subscribers, as the two companies already have strongholds in major markets like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Comcast has 22 million pay TV customers but plans to divest 3 million after the deal closes. Time Warner Cable will contribute 11.2 million customers.
The price amounts to $158.82 per share for Time Warner Cable and is about 17 percent above that stock's Wednesday closing price of $135.31. It tops a Charter Communications Inc. proposal to buy Time Warner Cable for about $132.50 per share.
Charter had pursued Time Warner Cable for months, but Time Warner Cable CEO Rob Marcus had consistently rejected what he called a lowball offer, saying he'd cut a deal for $160 per share in cash and stock.
For a time, Comcast, which also owns NBCUniversal, stayed in the background, waiting to purchase any chunk of subscribers that a combined Charter-Time Warner Cable would sell off. Charter had planned to finance its bid with $25 billion in new debt. As part of a plan to pay off the debt quickly, the company considered selling off some of its territories after a deal had closed. Time Warner Cable's Marcus had also balked at the huge debt burden the Charter takeover represented.
The Comcast-Time Warner Cable combination's total of roughly 30 million customers is believed to be a level that won't trigger the concern of antitrust authorities. Divesting subscribers could help the deal get approved more quickly.
Comcast also is taking the position that because Comcast and Time Warner Cable don't serve overlapping markets, their combination won't reduce competition for consumers. Comcast operates in Chicago and mainly in northeast markets that also include Boston, Washington and its home base of Philadelphia. Time Warner Cable has strongholds around its headquarters in New York as well in Los Angeles, Dallas and Milwaukee.
In many of those areas, the combined Comcast/Time Warner Cable will face competition from rivals AT&T and Verizon, which provide both pay TV services and Internet hookups. Both AT&T and Verizon are growing quickly. They ended 2013 with 5.5 million and 5.3 million pay TV subscribers, respectively.
Time Warner Cable shareholders will receive 2.875 Comcast shares for every Time Warner Cable share they own. Once the deal is final, they will end up owning about 23 percent of the combined company.
Comcast and Time Warner Cable are expected to save $1.5 billion in annual costs over three years, with half of that realized in the first year.
Comcast also plans to add an additional $10 billion in share buybacks at the close of the deal, on top of a recent plan to boost its share buyback authority to $7.5 billion from $1 billion.
Conceding that it had lost the takeover battle, Charter issued a statement Wednesday saying, "Charter has always maintained that our greatest opportunity to create value for shareholders is by executing our current business plan, and that we will continue to be disciplined in this and any other (merger and acquisition) activity we pursue."
Even before the deal had been formally announced, it was being denounced. Public Knowledge, a Washington-based consumer rights group, said in a statement Wednesday that regulators must stop the deal, because it would give Comcast "unprecedented gatekeeper power in several important markets."
"An enlarged Comcast would be the bully in the schoolyard," it said.
Shares of Time Warner Cable jumped 7, or $9.46, to $144.77 Thursday morning after the deal was announced, while broader trading indexes slipped less than 1 percent. Comcast shares fell more than 3 percent, or $1.74, to $53.50.