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Not Just Another Hunt
Adventure, Conservation, Education Oct 12, 2021
Bighorn sheep, conservation success and new generation of archers…
For me, it was about continuing to live the dream. For the kids of Loreto, it was the beginning of even bigger dreams for their future. For the bighorn sheep, it was a conservation success that keeps their species alive and well.
This is a story of completing a hunting quest while furthering wildlife conservation and extending the hunting culture into the future. Since the beginning of time, this has been the saga of the hunter, the legacy of the hunter.
It all took place on an arid island in the Sea of Cortez just off the east coast of Mexico's Baja Peninsula. It was a study in contrasts where inhospitably steep and treacherous rocky terrain served as a stark background for the overwhelmingly warm and hospitable reception of local guides; young, budding bowhunters and target archers.
And it all happened during the COVID pandemic, which further underscores the truth that hunting is more than just a hunt and that the hunt is more than just arrowing game animals. Hunting is a natural thing, pure and simple. In nature, all is well.
By the end of this magnificent safari, the fact that I was able to take a desert bighorn ram and be the second bowhunter ever to quality for the Pantheon Award seemed at least somewhat anticlimactic, because during what turned out to be a year-and-a-half-long bowhunting quest resulted a continuation of an epic wildlife conservation program and the introduction of another generation to the ethic of hunting.
In the beginning, I planned a hunt on Carmen Island off the coast of Loreto, Baja California, Mexico to take my 12th Ovis species, the Weems' desert bighorn sheep.
Yet this was a return hunt because I didn't connect on my first hunt and because of postponements necessitated by the COVID pandemic.
The hunt itself was memorable, although not of particularly long duration. We were in a canyon, about 30 feet above the floor in a little hide. In such settings, there is no guarantee you will even see anything. One evening we saw five rams, but they weren't old enough.
Then the next morning we never saw anything — never saw sheep until 7:40 p.m. and they were a quarter mile away on a ridge, staring down into the canyon.
Eventually, the sheep began to come down the mountain. We had to wait for them to cover the distance and then only four sheep showed up. I saw them at about 50 yards and wondered where the rest were.
The old man didn't come with the rest of the sheep. He came down a different trail from the right. I couldn't see him, but the guide could hear his hoofs on the stones. He came in very cautiously.
When he finally came into view, he took three or four steps and stopped. That is when I made the shot. He was 22 meters away and we were 30 feet above him, so the angle was quite severe. The arrow zipped right through him and made a noise when it hit the rocks steeply behind him. The arrow ricocheted off the rocks and created a shower of sparks.
The ram ran straight ahead into the thick bush. We saw the blood and it was very light, and when we found him dead, he had gone less than 150 yards from where he was when the arrow hit.
The magnificent ram was 11 years old and horn length was 33-plus and 36-plus, totaling 165 4/8 inches – the result of true conservation!
On this hunt, I was using a new Hoyt Ventum 33 set at 67 pounds. My arrows were Easton FMJ 340 and tipped with the new Sevr 125g and 1 ½ cut broadhead for max penetration. Arrow weight was 495 grains.
Immediately after the successful hunt, when we headed back to the mainland, I was in for a big surprise that made this one of the greatest hunts of my life. Truly, it was a hero's welcome from a group of youngsters and their parents.
But allow me to digress. When I arranged the first trip, Sergio Jimenez, manager and marketer of the Mexico Hunts program, handled all of the details marvelously, so that when I arrived, everything was in order.
When I arrived on my first hunt, I was met by Gaspar Bautista, the on-site manager, and Jesus Alberto, his assistant. They did everything they could do to make the hunt successful.
Gaspar had an old bow and Jesus didn't. On the first trip, I took two bows, one as a backup. So, by the time that hunt was over, I was able to fit those bows to those two guys and they immediately started shooting remarkably well.
They took it all seriously. During that hunt, Gaspar told me about his 11-year-old son and that he really liked to shoot. It was something that he and his son could do together. Also, I learned that there were other kids in city of Loreto who had begun to express an interest in archery.
I came home and during subsequent internet correspondence, Gaspar talked about the possibility of trying form a bowshooting club. He said he had two or three students, so I started acquiring the bows to help them. I acquired 15 bows over 18 months, plus arrows, releases, arm guards and accessories.
Along the way, Gaspar learned a lot about keeping the bows all tuned. He was watching the kids and I learned from my visit what a good instructor he is.
They were shooting some 3D targets and he was hoping they could do 3D, but there was little 3D available. They learned that the State of Baja California and the cities there have archery programs for Olympic shooting.
The local kids are doing exceptionally well. Three of the 15 have moved up in points and are going to La Paz for a tournament. That will establish them and then if their parents can afford it, they could go to other tournaments in Mexico – maybe even to the Olympics if they do really well.
These youngsters range in age from seven or eight to teenagers and their excitement is beyond my ability to put it into words.
When we got back from the hunt, we drove into this empty lot where they had targets set up at all different ranges and they had this canopy with handmade signs, celebrating the event.
They welcomed me and thanked me for funding the effort that got them started. They have now formed a Loreto Archery Desert Bighorn Sheep Group.
They had this beautiful painting that this local artist painted and they unveiled it for me. It is what the artist pictured as the king of all the rams. Behind, there is one of the big mountains on the island.
The painting has ancient arrows that show he has survived all these years and there is a sea turtle in the sky and things that represent the ocean. They made T-shirts for all the shooters and every kid gave me a big hug and Thank You and the parents were so grateful. It meant a lot to me.
That night we had a big dinner with all the shooters and the two coaches. They are limited to the amount of hunting they can do down there, but the manager said they can and do go pig hunting with their bows.
Over the years, people have asked me why I do things like supplying archery equipment for youngsters to learn to shoot bows and arrows. I do it because it is my passion. I love to see kids get interested.
I guess that is why in 2002 I was honored to be recognized in the Congressional Record as International Ambassador of Bow Hunting.
But the successful hunt and the newfound interest in bowhunting among the younger generation of Loreto would not have happened absent a remarkable example of effective wildlife conservation.
Carmen Island is an interesting conservation success. The island is 16 ½ miles long and covers 37,312 acres. The tallest mountain is 1,630 feet high and most of the island is rough, sharp, steep mountains – not easy to climb. We had to hike the majority of the island on foot because it does not lend itself to travel by vehicles or horses. Gaspar Bautista, a wildlife biologist, heads-up both hunting and fishing operations there. Jesus Alberto guides and takes care of the fishing program.
The Sada family acquired Carmen Island in 1995 and started the conservation program there at that time. Initially, they brought 26 sheep to the island from the mainland — 22 ewes and four rams. Some years ago, they moved 80 sheep back to the mainland. Now they have 750 sheep on the island – 50 percent rams and 50 percent ewes. That number of sheep is at, or close to, the carrying capacity of the island.
Sheep, even desert sheep, require a fair amount of water. Originally, there were only two water holes – only seeps at times. They also added two more water holes with solar systems during times of drought. They even feed the sheep when there is no rain and little natural feed.
Historically, there was a salt mine on the island, which was shut down in 1984 after being active for over a hundred years. Roughly 800 people worked at the mine, but today there are only eight people working on the island, maintaining the sheep and the island.
The government regulates how many sheep they can take — 20 a year on average. Currently, there is about a 50/50 ratio of bowhunters and gun hunters on the island. On average, they are successful with four complete days of hunting. The average trophy size is 160 for bow and 163 for gun hunters.
My ram was one of the 20 taken in that year. For me, though, it was so much more than just another tremendous animal.
With this ram, I completed my 12th species of 12 kinds of sheep. This desert bighorn subspecies is called the Weems' and down in Baja is the only place this species of sheep lives.
I now have 12 species of wild sheep, 12 species of capri (goats and ibexes) and the four north American sheep. They call it the Big 3 and I have completed everything in SCI's world hunting program.
That makes me only the second bowhunter to qualify for the Pantheon Award. Archie Nesbitt was the first bowhunter to achieve it.
That award now has much more meaning than it might have had, if for no other reason than the last animal I took to qualify for it also represents so much more than just another hunt.
For those of us whose hunting careers have been long and eventful, I guess that's the way it works. Achieving goals is important, but never as fulfilling as the journey it takes to accomplish them. Truly, it is the safari through life that matters most.
As I sit here in Michigan, quietly looking around my wildlife room or gazing out the window at the leaves flickering in the wind, my mind goes back to the people and places I have known as a hunter.
The laughter and joy of the young archers from Loreto still echo in my ears as vividly as they did the day we shared together. As hunters, it is comforting to know that we have made a positive impact and difference.–Gary Bogner, SCI Past President
Preparing for the Next Disaster
PHASA Day 3–Success in South Africa
MDC Encourages People To Be Bear Aware!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Only Info, No Review, Just Try & Feel
by Art Hobby Lab
A Tiny Tea House for Mad Otaku
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KILL la KILL the GAME IF (North America version) Available for Pre-order
Arc System Works now is taking pre-orders for KILL la KILL the GAME IF (North America version) via Amazon US at the price of $59.99 (tax excluded). This pre-order is physical disc/cartridge used for Playstation 4 /Switch console. The game will launch in North America on July 26th, 2019. Amazon US only offers shipping service for some specific countries such as Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, etc. making players who cannot directly purchase but still want this version have to use 3rd party shipping service. Other information especially regarding to Japan version can be read in previous post
1) The currency used by Amazon US is US Dollar, hence purchase with other currencies will lead to currency exchange fee charge
2) Amazon US may offer cheaper price thanks to sale off event
3) Amazon US does support both domestic (US) and international shipping, but they only ship to some specific countries. It's possible to check if they can or cannot ship by choosing a country from the option "Deliver to (country name here)" showed above the quantity dropdown button
4) It's possible to request a 3rd party shipping service to purchase these products as a representative, however the customer agrees that use of the service is at entirely customer's own risk 5) The game is under development, therefore images and contents may vary in the final product
KILL la KILL the GAME IF Release Date Announced
KILL la KILL the GAME IF will arrive in Japan (JP) on July 25th, 2019, while North America (NA) and Europe (EU) is on the following day July 26th. The game has been developed on Playstation 4 (Sony), Switch (Nintendo) consoles and PC via Steam service by APLUS. It then will be published by Arc System Works. In case of JP version, the game comes with two editions including Standard and Limited. Both are not available for sale yet, but estimated price for these editions are ¥6,800 (tax excluded) and ¥10,000 (tax excluded) respectively. All items in each edition are listed as below:
1) x1 copy of the game
2) x1 artwork designed by SUSHIO
3) x1 "Fight Club Mako" acrylic key holder designed by MAGO (first print edition exclusive)
2) x1 collector's box with cover designed by SUSHIO
3) x1 soundtrack CD
4) x1 art book
5) x1 "Mak-Roquette" squeeze toy
However, if preferring only a copy of the game or dislike physical disc/cartridge, download code will be sold separately at the price of ¥6,800 (tax included). Besides all characters listed in character roster of base game, two additional characters including Ultimate Double Naked DTR and Mako Mankanshoku will be published as FREE DLC. Detailed information about the game regarding to story, battle system, mode, etc. was introduced via a video published by Arc System Works official channel on YouTube (English subtitles available via CC).
1) The currency mentioned in this post is Japanese Yen
2) All the items listed in Standard and Limited Editions in this post are based on JP version, but NA and EU versions may come with different items or these editions may even not available in those regions
3) The game is under development, hence images and contents may vary in the final product
Hollow Knight announced Physical bundle
Fangamer revealed that they would be publishing a physical bundle for Hollow Knight on May 31st, 2019. The game was designed for PlayStation 4 (Sony), Switch (Nintendo) consoles, PC via Steam service, and first published on February 24th, 2017 by Team Cherry. It follows action RPG with traditional side-scrolling of metroidvania style, and owns an cartoon-style art under 2D graphics. This bundle is applied for all supported platforms of the game, and will come with two editions including Standard and Collector's. The distributor has started taking pre-orders via their official website. Besides domestic shipping, they also offers international shipping service for non-US customers with additional fee (details can be referred here.) The Standard Edition costs $29 for PS4/PC and $34 for Switch version, both included tax. It contains x1 copy of the game including full four DLC (physical form), x1 manual instruction, x1 Hallownest fold-out map. The Collector's Edition costs $64 for PS4/PC and $69 for Switch version, both included tax. It contains x1 copy of the game including full four DLC (physical form), x1 manual instruction, x1 Hallownest fold-out map, x1 gold foil collector's box, x1 knight brooch & stand, x1 quirrel comic book, x1 gold foil art print set, x1 papercraft set (pre-order bonus), x1 cleaning cloth (Switch version exclusive).
※NOTE: The currency mentioned in this post is US Dollar so some additional fees such as currency exchange fee or shipping fee may be calculated for international orders. Even though the distributor supports both domestic and international shipping but they may not be able to ship to some regions and countries.
Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers announced release schedule
SYUPRO-DX
Turn-based RPG
Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers (Japanese name: ディスティニーコネクト) will arrive on March 14th, 2019 in Japan (JP), then come to North America (NA) in fall 2019, however the exact date hasn't yet revealed. The 2nd trailer of the game has been published by Nippon Ichi Software's official channel on YouTube. The game is designed for PlayStation 4 (Sony) and Switch (Nintendo) consoles by SYUPRO-DX. It then will be published by Nippon Ichi Software in JP, and by NIS America in NA. As for JP version, the game is available in both physical disc/cartridge and digital license form at the price of ¥7,776 (tax included), physical disc/cartridge can be purchased via 3rd party retailers such as Amazon Japan (international shipping eligible), while digital license can be purchased via PlayStation Store or Nintendo eShop (※NOTE: This is Japanese Yen so some additional fees such as currency exchange fee, shipping fee may be calculated for non-Japan buyers. Shipment may not be supported for some countries. Some retailers may offer cheaper price). As for NA version, there is no official information regarding to physical cartridge/disc or digital license yet, instead the publisher currently offers a bundle served as limited edition at the price of $64.99 (tax included), which can be purchased via NIS America Online Store. The bundle contains x1 copy of the game (physical exclusive), x1 original soundtrack CD, x1 art book, x1 poster, x1 set of flippable COGS and x1 slammer coin. The game follows turn-based RPG genre, and owns a cartoon-style art under 3D graphics.
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon physical bundle has been announced
Inti Creates
Limited Run Games
Limited Run Games just revealed that they would be publishing a physical bundle for Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon. The game was designed for PlayStation 4 (Sony), PlayStation Vita (Sony), Xbox One (Microsoft), 3DS (Nintendo), Switch (Nintendo), PC via Steam service, and first published on May 24th, 2018 by Inti Creates. It follows action RPG genre with side-scrolling style, and owns an anime-style art under traditional 8-bit graphics. This bundle applies only for PS4, PS Vita, Switch versions and will be served as a limited-time limited edition, Collector's Edition which contains x1 copy of the game (physical exclusive), x1 original soundtrack CD, x1 game case, x1 game case sleeve, x1 reversible 18×24 inch poster. It's called limited-time because the distributor only takes pre-orders via their online store at the price of $54.99 (tax excluded) on March 15th, 2019 (Fri) at 10:00 and 18:00 (EST) (※NOTE: This is US Dollar, so currency exchange fee and shipping fee may be calculated for foreign purchase, plus shipment may won't be supported for some regions). For who didn't know, in previous post, an upcoming title of this game named Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will launch worldwide in summer 2019.
Sword Art Online Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition (Switch Ver.) NA & EU Release Date confirmed
Aquria
Sword Art Online Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition will come to Switch (Nintendo) console on May 25th, 2019 in North America and Europe. In North America, the publisher offers only digital license, and players still cannot pre-order yet. However, in Europe, they offer both physical cartridge and digital license, plus players already can pre-order physical version via Amazon at the guaranteed price of £44.99 (tax included) (※NOTE: This is British Pound, the currency may change based on buyer's region, plus the retailer may offer cheaper price). For who didn't know, in previous post, the release date of Switch version of the game in Japan was announced alongside with essential information.
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince will arrive in Fall 2019
Modus Games
Frozenbyte
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince will launch worldwide in Fall 2019, Frozenbyte reported as the developer of the game. The teaser trailer is already posted on its official website. This title will be released for PlayStation 4 (Sony), Xbox One (Microsoft), Switch (Nintendo) consoles and PC via Steam by Modus Games. The publisher offers both physical disc/cartridge and digital license at the price of $29.99 (tax excluded), for players who pre-order the game will receive a physical Trine world map as reward. In additional, they also offers Trine: Ultimate Collection limited package for PS4, Xbox and PC at the price of $49.99 (tax excluded), including x4 game copies of the complete Trine series, x1 physical Trine world map, x1 reversible cover sheet, x1 download code of Trine series original soundtrack, x1 download code of Trine 4 artbook (※NOTE: The currency used in this post is US Dollar, it may change based on buyer's region, plus some retailers may offer cheaper price). Just like other titles in the series, it still follows action RPG genre, side-scrolling style. While Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power has its whole graphics featured under 3D models, this title is more similar to the 1st title in the series as only characters and objects are featured under 3D, but all background images are described by 2D art.
Sword Art Online Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition comes to Switch console
Sword Art Online Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition will come to Switch (Nintendo) console on April 25th, 2019 in Japan, then expand into NA and EU in spring 2019. The game was developed by Aquria and first released on PlayStation 4 (Sony) and PS Vita (Sony) in 2016 by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment. It then was ported to PC and released globally in 2017 via Steam. The publisher offers both physical cartridge and digital license at the price of ¥5,700 (tax excluded) (※NOTE: This is Japanese Yen, the currency may change based on buyer's region, plus some retailers may offer cheaper price). Players don't have to pay any extra fee for DLC as Switch version already includes all DLC(s) which were released in PS4 version up until now. To utilize the strong point of Switch console, all the sword moves including basic and skill attacks in previous versions have been adjusted to able to perform via Joy-Con's motion control. In additional, local co-op mode is also implemented besides online mode. The game follows action RPG genre with anime-style art under 3D graphics.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will arrive in summer 2019
ArtPlay
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night will launch worldwide in summer 2019, 505 Games reported as the publisher of the game. The trailer has been released on February 13rd, 2019 in Nintendo Direct. This title is designed for PlayStation 4 (Sony), Xbox One (Microsoft), Switch (Nintendo) consoles and PC via Steam by ArtPlay. The game has been started as a crowd-funded indie project on Kickstarter since May 2015 by Koji Igarashi, who is famous for his creation of Igavania-style game. Because it's indie game so before players can get a physical disc/cartridge or digital license by pledging a certain amount of money via its Kickstarter page. However, they had already closed the backers so for those who didn't back before, can pre-order for a physical disc/cartridge (※NOTE: There is no PC version) at $39.99 (tax included) via 505 Games's Amazon page (※NOTE: This is US Dollar, the currency may change based on buyer's region, plus the retailer may offer cheaper price). As for digital license, despite the game can be found on corresponding online store of each console (※NOTE: PC version is on Steam), players yet cannot pre-order it and the price is still staying undisclosed. The game follows action RPG genre with side-scrolling style, and it owns an anime-style art under 3D graphics.
RemiLore Lost Girl in the Lands of Lore launched Feb 26th in NA
Pikii
Pixellore
REMIMORY
RemiLore Lost Girl in Lands of Lore has started its service on Xbox One (Microsoft) and Switch (Nintendo) consoles on February 26th, 2019 in North America (※NOTE: According to the publisher, the service supposed to be also started on PlayStation 4 (Sony), however currently PS4 is no longer available in purchase option on Nicalis's website, plus some players already reported that their PS4 pre-orders has been canceled by Amazon, so there is a high chance that PS4 platform has been delayed or canceled). For players who prefer Japan version, will need to wait until March 28th, 2019 (※NOTE: PS4 option isn't guaranteed, the publisher may or may not provide it as there are two different publishers handle each region). For PC players, it is said that the game will be available at a later date via Steam but specific date isn't declared. The game is developed by the joint development between Pixellore and REMIMORY. It has been published by Nicalis in North America and will be published by Pikii in Japan. In North America, players can purchase a digital license at $39.99 (tax excluded) (※NOTE: This is US Dollar, the currency may change based on buyer's region, plus some retailers may offer cheaper price). There is an original PS4/Switch exclusive physical package including x1 disc/cartridge of the game, x1 instruction booklet and x1 microfiber cloth, however, there is no trusted information as Nicalis's website doesn't have any link lead to this package but instead it is showing on some websites such as Amazon, Play-Asia, etc. but each provides a different retail price so players have to pre-order purchase it with own risk if want. In Japan, Pikii offers both two purchase options including physical disc/cartridge and digital license with estimated prices are ¥4,000/disc or cartridge (tax excluded) and ¥3,700/license (tax excluded) respectively. The game follows hack and slash genre and owns an anime-style art under 3D graphics.


Use: Widely used in overhead lines.
Fault indication: In normal operation, the window is displayed in white; when a short circuit or ground fault occurs, the window is displayed in red (or the indicator light flashes).
Automatic reset: The fault indicator will be automatically reset. The reset time can be selected by the customer according to the line environment, the length of the line, and department requirements.
Pressure Spring Type Overhead Line Fault Indicator With LED is installed on the 6-35KV transmission and distribution line to indicate the fault current circulation. This new type of fault indicator not only detects short-circuit faults and ground faults on the line, but also selects the flop or illuminate alarm by its own judgment. If the fault occurs at night, it chooses to illuminate the alarm; if the fault occurs during the day, it chooses the flop alarm. If the line fails, the line patrol personnel can quickly determine the fault zone and find the fault point by means of the red alarm display of the indicator, which greatly improves the work efficiency, shortens the power outage time, and effectively improves the reliability of the power supply. It can accurately judge the fault line and fault point, and has the characteristics of stable performance, high precision, anti-interference ability, beautiful appearance and convenient installation. It is not affected by line magnetizing inrush current, higher harmonics, current fluctuations, and cable distribution capacitor bypass.
Grounding detection principle: the first half of the capacitor current at the sampling grounding moment and the first half of the voltage at the grounding instant, compare the phase, when the capacitance current at the sampling grounding moment is abrupt and larger than a certain value, and is in phase with the first half of the voltage at the grounding instant, At the same time, the voltage of the wire to the ground is lowered, and it is judged that the line is grounded, otherwise the line is not grounded.


The Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren released its report and recommendations for improving all Detroit schools on Monday, March 30, during a press event held at Fellowship Chapel. Detroit Branch NAACP President, Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, serves as one of the co-chairs for the coalition. The coalition met for approximately 100 days to create a comprehensive plan that will imake quality schools for all Detroit children.


What 3 words describe your current life?
My Yoga for Bad People partner, Heather Lilleston and I have now completed four yoga retreats. One in Panama and three in Brazil with three more on the books for the coming season also in Praia do Rosa, South Brazil.
Favorite trip so far for me was our first time to Brazil in April of 2012.
We traveled down with a few close friends and a killer group of students.
We really didn't know too much about where we were going. 11 hour flight followed by a 1 hour taxi ride through some relatively "out there" towns of Brazil and we got a little nervous. We had chosen our retreat space based on some recommendations, a few pictures sent by the hotel and some serious faith.
Our nerve racking hour long taxi ride opened up into a perfect little beach town set above the most perfect beach either of us had ever seen. We had found "our spot", the home of Yoga For Bad People.
Between the group we had, perfect weather, ideal setting and some pretty solid yoga it was an amazing retreat. Needless to say, we have been back two times since and are scheduled to host three more retreats there this season.
Describe your strengths and tell me what you think of weakness. How these words are use to describe both ones psychical and internal natures?
It has always been true for me that the stronger I am physically, the more focus I have to work on internal struggles or weaknesses. It allows me more insight to work on what I may have happening personally to be present and ready for the people that need me.
Physical strength, coordination, endurance and efficiency (I see these as the goal of physical work) will always encourage the same mentally (encourage is the key word). Weakness, in both is inevitable but ideally it could just be a moment to soften and to allow others to help you.
A Yoga practice is an amazing opportunity to work on both the physical and the internal. The physical practice is designed, yes to make you stronger and more coordinated physically but to also challenge you in a way that forces you to "go inside". To work on what is set before you from the inside out.
I'd see Kaetlin almost everyday before we got to knowing one another; I'd see her teaching yoga at friends apt, I'd see her out eating dinner with another mutual friend and then I'd see her at the Juice Press on 1st and 1st. The 'hellos' turn into 'how are you's' and then soon the 'stop and chat' ends and you really talk. We got down with the topic of yoga over raw oatmeal. So fly.
For a minute, I knew her as Yoga Bottom – her instagram handle. But she's much more than a bottom. Without knowing too much about Katelin you can see her friends appreciate her existence in their lives and that her yoga teaching method and practice is valued by her clients who are her friends.
Her shared company, Yoga for Bad People isn't a regular yoga retreat scenario. I was fortunate enough to hop in on one while working in Tulum. I met Heather Lilleston there. She and my friend Rebecca were wearing matching Mara Hoffman swimsuits and well that's that.
Go away with them. I may.


The taj Mahal was built as a symbol of the eternal love between Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Literally "wonder of the palace", she was one of the most beautiful women in the Empire and her beauty was lauded by poets. Inspired by the aromas from these lands, Eau de Bangalore invites you on a unique Sensorial Journey.
Let yourself be carried away by this spellbinding fragrance!


Memberships are now due. The Application form and the Waiver must both be returned to Central Office with payment. No Newsletter or Membership card will be sent, until payment and paperwork are received.
For Direct Debit payments – Reference – Your name, and both forms must also be received by the office, before membership is accepted.
Juveniles competing in Open events must pay Open Membership.
Juniors competing in Juvenile events must pay Juvenile Membership.
Juniors - small membership fee is strictly for Waivers.
Annual Junior Members will also receive a member card.
DAY MEMBERS must complete Day Membership form AND NRCA Waiver form.
Email copy of the deposit slip to the Q.R.A.office.


by Karen E. Young Trump's pro-growth agenda will need partners, and the GCC states are also looking for investment partners in their diversification efforts and for placements for state-owned investment vehicles. It will be the politicization of these partnerships that will create the most risk.
by Karen E. Young The real victims of the oil slump could be in the domestic economies, from local banks to small and medium size enterprises, to those businesses most closely connected to the energy sector, and those contractors servicing infrastructure growth.
Many investors have long anticipated an economic slowdown, but the timing couldn't be worse for the Arab Gulf states.


But what are Serums in the first place? And why have they slid into every skincare line like a persistent stalker on your DM? And what's with those super-tiny bottles they come in and the fact that they are often twice the price (sometimes more) than a jar of moisturiser? The short answer is they are a speedier method for rectifying skin issues. The end. This is because most serums have a higher concentration of the active ingredients found in a moisturiser, which means a little goes an awfully long way. This also explains the price, said miniscule bottles, often supplied as is the case with Epara with a handy pipette, will last you months. Finally, the addition of serums is as much a reflection of the scientific advances in skincare as dermatologists forge new ways to the holy grail of teeny tiny pored, minimally wrinkly, glowing until our final breath skin. This is not to mean you will look hyper-unreal; laugh lines are allowed, as laugh lines mean you are living or have lived a happy life.
In developing the Epara skincare line, particular care was taken in creating formulations that worked in harmony with black skin and lived up to the brand's name which in the Ebira language means to 'cocoon'. Between the stressful lifestyles we lead, the pollution that our skin has to deal with and the age-old challenge of sun damage, there is a lot to tackle. After cleansing, a few drops of the Hydrating Serum are all I need for my face and neck. Note for serum application novices; so as not to waste any of the good stuff, apply with just your first two fingers and use gentle circular motions, dabbing rather than rubbing. A random aside: Some people like to create a dual purpose formulation with serums and add a few drops to their foundation, but I find that defeats the aim of fast-tracking active ingredients into the skin prior to make up, but if you are in a hurry, this works too. One of the active ingredients in both the Epara Hydrating Serum and the Eye Serum is Allantoin, which is found in Comfrey Plant Roots. This wonder-ingredient, helps skin cells grow, and as anyone with an interest in beauty knows, no new skin-cells, zero chance of dewy, youthful skin. It really is that simple.
Other ingredients in the mix include Plankton extract, most commonly found in seaweed and proven to reduce age spots and brighten skin, and no we are not talking in the euphemistic Naija way of brightening AKA Lighten, but actually add luminescence to skin of all shades. The final ingredient which makes all the difference is Hyaloronic Acid which is the Hermes Birkin of an ingredient as it not only has the ability to penetrate the epidermis or top layer of one's skin but also has legendary anti-ageing properties and gives skin long-term not just for now moisture. As I said, the Hermes Birkin of ingredients – timeless, essential, worth every penny/cent/kobo!
Dare to Bonang in an Andrea Iyamah One-Piece Swimsuit?


text:
Pre inquest review into the death of two-year-old Sadie Salt
Leigh Day Partners Thomas Jervis and Jill Paterson are representing the bereaved Family of two-year-old Sadie Salt who died on Saturday 14 November 2020.
Sadie is believed to have choked on a sausage while having lunch with 25 other young children at nursery on Thursday 12 November 2020. She died in the intensive care unit at St Mary's Hospital, London.
A pre-inquest review into Sadie's death is due to be held at County Hall in Hertford on Tuesday, 18 January 2022, at 10am before Senior Coroner Geoffrey Sullivan.
Sadie's parents Zoe and Adam said:
"In the time that has passed since Sadie's death we have suffered grief and heartbreak that no family should have to endure. Nothing can make up for the devastating loss of our daughter, but part of being able to come to terms with what happened will be hearing a clear account of the events of that day. We are grateful to the coroner for at this early stage making the space to consider whether there are wider public interest issues surrounding the death of Sadie."
Thomas Jervis and Jill Paterson have instructed barristers Jeremy Hyam QC and Charlotte Gilmartin both of 1 Crown Office Row.
Sadie's parents are raising money for COSMIC, the charity supporting the children's unit of St Mary's. He has set up a justgiving page here.
Food safety Inquests Medical devices Personal injury Consumer law
Thomas Jervis
Thomas Jervis is an internationally recognised leading consumer lawyer
Inquests Personal injury Fire Medical devices
Jill Paterson
Jill Paterson is a renowned market leader in representing people who have been harmed
Product safety inquests
Our product safety inquest team has extensive experience in supporting families at inquests


text:
Episodes about "civil war"
During the Second Battle of Bull Run during the Civil War, Clara Barton, founder of the Red Cross, nursed wounded soldiers on the grounds of St. Mary of Sorrows
Andre Cailloux
Andre Cailloux, a black Catholic in antebellum New Orleans, became one of the first black officers in the Union Army, and died heroically during the attack on Port Hudson.
Father Augustus Tolton
Fr. Augustus Tolton was the first black priest in American history. He was born a slave, eventually studied in Rome, and was a beloved pastor.
Orestes Brownson: His American Thinking
Orestes Brownson, the first American Catholic intellectual, had strong ideas about Catholics' place in American political life, as well as about slavery.
Catholics at Gettysburg
Catholics, including the Daughters of Charity and St. Francis Xavier church were heavily involved in the Civil War battle of Gettysburg.
Annie Chambers Ketchum
Annie Chambers Ketchum started life as a stereotypical antebellum Southern lady, but as Tom and Noëlle Crowe tell us, by the end of her life she'd converted to Catholicism, was an accomplished poet and scientist, and had become a Dominican tertiary.
The post Annie Chambers Ketchum appeared first on SQPN.com.
Mother Beasley
Mother Beasley was a free Black woman who married into wealth and then gave it all away as a widow in order to found one of the first Catholic religious orders for Black women in the US. Tom and Noelle Crowe tell the story of this courageous woman who also defied the law to educate enslaved children and spent her life serving others.
The post Mother Beasley appeared first on SQPN.com.
Daniel Rudd
Born a slave before the Civil War, Daniel Rudd was a Catholic journalist, who was the first black man to own a national newspaper of any kind.
Father Peter Whelan: The Angel of Andersonville
Fr. Peter Whelan was an elderly Irish priest in Georgia and South Carolina who brought Christ to the sick and imprisoned during the Civil War. Tom and Noëlle Crowe tell how brought Christ to both Confederate POWs in the North, and Union POWs at the most notorious prison camp in the South, Andersonville.
The post Father Peter Whelan: The Angel of Andersonville appeared first on SQPN.com.


text:
\section{Introduction}

Gaussian processes (GPs) are flexible non-parametric models for functions with applications in time series analysis \citep{Roberts2013}, geospatial statistics \citep{Krige1951}, robotics \citep{Deisenroth2015}, and beyond. More formally, a GP is a distribution over functions $f\parenth{x}$ such that any finite set of $n$ values $\vec{f}=f\parenth{\vec{x}}$ evaluated at $\vec{x}=\braces{x_1,\ldots,x_n}$ follows a multivariate normal distribution \citep{Rasmussen2006}. The distribution is thus fully specified by its mean $\mu\parenth{x}=\E{f\parenth{x}}$ and covariance (kernel) $k\parenth{x,x'}=\cov\parenth{f\parenth{x},f\parenth{x'}}$. A range of problem-specific kernels have been developed, such as squared exponential and Mat\'ern kernels to model local correlations and sinusoidal kernels to capture periodic signals \citep{Duvenaud2014}. In general, evaluating the likelihood requires inverting the covariance matrix $\mat{K}$ obtained by evaluating the kernel $k$ at all pairs of observed locations $\vec{x}$. Unfortunately, the computational cost of inverting $\mat{K}$ scales as $\mathcal{O}\parenth{n^3}$, making GPs prohibitively expensive save for relatively small datasets.

Diverse schemes have been developed to approximate the likelihood for larger datasets, such as low-rank approximations of the covariance matrix \citep{Hensman2013}, nearest-neighbor approximations \citep{Wu2022}, and Fourier methods \citep{Hensman2017}. Implementations of these methods are available in \proglang{Python} \citep{GPy,Ambikasaran2015} (including the machine learning frameworks \pkg{torch} \citep{Gardner2018} and \pkg{tensorflow} \citep{Matthews2017}), \proglang{R} \citep{Gramacy2016}, \proglang{Julia} \citep{Fairbrother2022}, and \proglang{MatLab} \citep{Vanhatalo2013}. Yet, despite its popularity, a library for scalable GP inference is lacking for \proglang{Stan} \citep{Carpenter2017}.

Here, we discuss the implementation of two scalable approaches in \proglang{Stan} which can be easily integrated using \proglang{Stan}'s \code{\#include} directive. First, in \cref{sec:graph}, we present an implementation of GPs on directed acyclic graphs which can encode structured dependencies between observations and generalizes nearest-neighbor approximations. Second, in \cref{sec:fourier}, we use Fourier methods to evaluate the GP likelihood exactly for observations on a regular grid in one and two dimensions. Both implementations are designed to dovetail with \proglang{Stan}'s design philosophy, facilitating their integration into larger models. We consider a benchmark problem and discuss the importance of different parameterizations for performant inference in \cref{sec:benchmark}. Furthermore, we demonstrate the utility of both approaches with two examples: Inferring the density of trees in a 50 ha plot in Panama \citep{Condit2019} and predicting passenger numbers on the London Underground network. We summarize our contributions in \cref{sec:discussion} and discuss how the package can be employed to build more complex models.

As \proglang{Stan} does not have a package repository, we have published the library as a \proglang{Python} package \pkg{gptools-stan} on PyPI. The package includes the \proglang{Stan} library code and provides utility functions to integrate with the popular \proglang{Stan} interface \pkg{cmdstanpy}. The library can also be obtained directly from \url{https://github.com/onnela-lab/gptools}. Extensive technical documentation and examples are available at \url{https://gptools-stan.readthedocs.org}.

\section[Structured dependencies]{Gaussian processes with structured dependencies}
\label{sec:graph}

The joint distribution of observations $\vec{f}$ may be expressed as the product of conditional distributions (which are available in closed form for multivariate normal distributions \citep[appendix~A1]{Gelman2013})
\begin{equation}
    \proba{\vec{f}}=\proba{f_1}\prod_{j=2}^n \proba{f_j\mid f_{j-1}, \ldots, f_1}.
    \label{eq:conditional}
\end{equation}
The conditional structure in \cref{eq:conditional} can be encoded by a directed acyclic graph (DAG) whose nodes represent observations such that a directed edge exists from a node $j$ to each of its predecessors $\mathcal{P}_j=\braces{j-1,\ldots,1}$, where the ordering is arbitrary. If two observations do not depend on one another, the corresponding edge can be removed from the DAG to reduce the computational cost. In particular, evaluating each factor of \cref{eq:conditional} requires inverting a matrix with size equal to the number of predecessors of the corresponding node---a substantial saving if the graph is sparse. For example, nearest-neighbor methods, a special case, reduce the asymptotic runtime to $\mathcal{O}\parenth{n q^3}$ by retaining only edges from each node to at most $q$ of its nearest predecessors. This approach can yield excellent approximations provided that the neighborhoods are large enough and that the kernel only models local correlations \citep{Wu2022}. For example, nearest-neighbor methods are not suitable for periodic kernels but can be approximated by structured dependencies if the period is known.

We implemented a custom distribution in \proglang{Stan} such that a GP with squared exponential kernel on a DAG embedded in a $p$-dimensional space can be specified as
\begin{Code}
f ~ gp_graph_exp_quad_cov(loc, x, sigma, length_scale, edges);
\end{Code}
where \code{vector[n] loc} is the prior mean, \code{array [n] vector[p] x} is an array of node locations in $p$ dimensions, \code{real sigma} is the marginal scale of the GP, and \code{real length_scale} is the correlation length.  The graph is encoded by the edge list \code{array [,] int edges}, a two-dimensional array of integer node labels comprising predecessors and successors in the first and second row, respectively. For example, \code{\{\{1, 2, 3\}, \{2, 3, 4\}\}} represents the line graph of four nodes. Following \proglang{Stan}'s convention, node labels start at one. Similar distributions are provided for the \code{matern32} and \code{matern52} kernels.

\section[Fourier Gaussian processes]{Gaussian processes in Fourier space}
\label{sec:fourier}

If the observation points $\vec{x}$ form a regular grid and the kernel is stationary, i.e., $k\parenth{x,x'}=k\parenth{x-x'}$, we can use the fast Fourier transform (FFT) to evaluate the likelihood exactly in $\mathcal{O}\parenth{n\log n}$ time \cite[appendix~B]{Rasmussen2006}. For exposition, we consider the continuous Fourier transform here and provide details for the discrete Fourier transform in \cref{app:discrete-fourier-transform}. As the Fourier transform is a linear operator and $f$ is (infinite-dimensional) multivariate normal, the Fourier coefficients
\[
    \tilde f\parenth{\xi}=\int_{-\infty}^\infty dx\,\exp\parenth{-2\pi\mathrm{i}\xi x} f\parenth{x}
\]
are also multivariate normal. Assuming $\mu\parenth{x}=0$ for simplicity, the mean of Fourier coefficients is zero and their expected complex-conjugate product at two different frequencies $\xi$ and $\xi'$ is
\begin{align*}
    \E{\tilde f\parenth{\xi}\overline{\tilde f\parenth{\xi'}}}&=\int_{-\infty}^\infty dx\,dx'\,\exp\parenth{-2\pi\mathrm{i}\parenth{x\xi-x'\xi'}}k\parenth{x-x'}\\

    &=\int_{-\infty}^\infty dx'\, \exp\parenth{-2\pi\mathrm{i} x'\parenth{\xi-\xi'}}
    \int_{-\infty}^\infty d\Delta\,\exp\parenth{-2\pi\mathrm{i} \Delta\xi} k\parenth{\Delta},
\end{align*}
where we changed variables to $x=\Delta + x'$ and factorized the integrals in the second line. The first integral is a representation of the Dirac delta function $\delta\parenth{\xi-\xi'}$, and the second integral is the Fourier transform of the kernel. Fourier coefficients are thus uncorrelated, and, subject to careful bookkeeping, we can evaluate the GP likelihood exactly. In other words, the Fourier transform diagonalizes stationary kernels.

\begin{figure}
    \centering
    \includegraphics{kernels.pdf}
    \caption{\emph{Gaussian processes can often be captured by a small number of Fourier modes.} Panel~(a) shows the periodic and non-periodic (standard) versions of the squared exponential (blue) and Mat\'ern~$\sfrac{3}{2}$ (orange) kernels with $\sigma=1$ and $\ell=0.2$. The two versions are hardly distinguishable for $x<\ell$. Padding may need to be introduced if non-periodic signals are modeled with periodic kernels. The power spectrum of the two periodic kernels is shown in panel~(b). The squared exponential kernel has negligible power for all but the first few frequencies, explaining why it is often considered too smooth to ``represent natural phenomena'' \citep{Handcock1993}. Panels~(c) and~(d) show realizations of GPs with squared exponential and Mat\'ern~$\sfrac{3}{2}$ kernels, respectively. Different line styles correspond to approximations with a different number of Fourier modes. For the squared exponential kernel, the number of modes can be reduced by an order of magnitude without substantially affecting realizations. The Mat\'ern kernel requires more modes due to its heavy-tailed power spectrum.}
    \label{fig:kernels}
\end{figure}

In practice, we need to consider observation points $\vec{x}$ on a regular grid to reap the computational benefits of the Fourier approach by employing the FFT \citep{Press2007}. This may seem overly restrictive. But, in many settings, data naturally form a regular grid, e.g., financial time series with fixed sampling interval \citep{Hoffmann2020}, resampled or binned time series \citep{Flaxman2015}, or rasterized images \citep{Tipping2002}. Contrary to most real-world scenarios, the FFT assumes periodic boundary conditions. This peculiarity can be overcome by padding the domain, as discussed in more detail in \cref{sec:trees}. We implemented a custom distribution in \proglang{Stan} such that a GP on a grid can be specified as
\begin{Code}
f ~ gp_rfft(loc, cov_rfft);
\end{Code}
where \code{vector[n] loc} is the prior mean and \code{vector[n \%/\% 2 + 1] cov_rfft} is the real FFT (RFFT) of the kernel evaluated on the grid (\code{\%/\%} denotes integer division in \proglang{Stan}). The size of \code{cov_rfft} is smaller than $n$ because the negative frequency terms are redundant and can be omitted for real signals \citep[chapter~12.3]{Press2007}. Fortunately, the RFFT of common kernels, such as the squared exponential kernel and Mat\'ern kernels, can be evaluated directly in the Fourier domain \citep[chapter~4]{Rasmussen2006}, as shown in \cref{fig:kernels} (see \cref{app:kernel-expressions} for details). Evaluating the kernel in the Fourier domain also obviates the need for small ``nugget'' variance or ``jitter'' typically required for numerical stability \citep{Neal1997}. We thus only need to evaluate one Fourier transform, that of the signal, to evaluate the likelihood. The library provides the following functions to evaluate Fourier-domain kernels
\begin{Code}
gp_periodic_exp_quad_cov_rfft(n, sigma, length_scale, period)
gp_periodic_matern_cov_rfft(n, nu, sigma, length_scale, period)
\end{Code}
where \code{n} is the number of grid points, \code{period} is the size of the domain, and \code{nu} is the smoothness parameter of the Mat\'ern kernel. \code{sigma} and \code{length_scale} have the same meaning as in \cref{sec:graph}. Equivalent functions, which we discuss further in \cref{sec:trees}, are provided for two-dimensional grids. We implemented the Fourier-domain kernels by naively discretizing frequencies. This approach works well if the number of grid points is large and the correlation length is small compared with the size of the domain. More sophisticated methods may be required otherwise \citep{Borovitskiy2020}.

\section[Benchmark and parameterizations]{Benchmark and the importance of parameterizations}
\label{sec:benchmark}

\begin{figure}
    \centering
    \includegraphics{scaling.pdf}
    \caption{\emph{Different approaches, parameterizations, as well as the informativeness of the data substantially affect runtimes.} Centered parameterizations are preferable when the data are strong (small $\kappa$), and non-centered parameterizations are superior when the data are weak (large $\kappa$), as shown in panels~(a) and~(b), respectively. Independent of parameterization and dataset size, Fourier methods offer the best performance when observations are regularly spaced. For datasets exceeding a few hundred observations, graph methods are faster than the standard approach which requires inversion of the covariance matrix. The dotted horizontal line represents the maximum computational budget of 60~s. As shown in panel~(c) for the Fourier approach, the runtime of the centered and non-centered parameterizations increases and decreases, respectively, as the data become less informative. While different parameterizations are primarily a performance concern for drawing posterior samples, they have important consequences for variational posterior approximations. Panel~(d) shows the difference $\Delta$ in log posterior density (p.d.) between the non-centered and centered parameterization on 20\% held-out data for $n=1{,}024$ using the Fourier approach. If the model is fit with a variational mean-field approximation, the non-centered parameterization offers higher log posterior scores than the centered parameterization when the data are weak and vice versa. Bootstrapped standard errors are smaller than the size of markers in panel~(d).}
    \label{fig:scaling}
\end{figure}

We consider a simple benchmark problem to study the performance of different methods and compare them with standard Gaussian process inference which inverts the kernel. The model comprises a one-dimensional zero-mean Gaussian process prior with squared exponential kernel and an independent normal observation model with variance $\kappa^2$, i.e.,
\begin{equation}\begin{aligned}
    \vec{f}&\sim\mathsf{MultivariateNormal}\parenth{0, \mat{K}}\\
    \vec{y}&\sim\mathsf{Normal}\parenth{\vec{f}, \kappa^2}.
\end{aligned}\label{eq:benchmark-centered}\end{equation}
We used a marginal kernel scale $\sigma=1$ and unit correlation length $\ell=1$ to evaluate the covariance matrix $K$ on an integer grid, i.e. $\vec{x}=\braces{0, \ldots, n - 1}$. Employing the \pkg{cmdstanpy} interface, we drew 100 posterior samples from a single chain after 100 warmup samples. Warmup samples are used to adapt the sampler for efficient exploration of the posterior. Default values were used for all other parameters. We considered different dataset sizes between $n=2^4$ and $n=2^{14}$ and allocated a maximum computational budget of one minute for all $n$, i.e., the sampler was terminated if it did not complete after 60 seconds.

The mean runtime as a function of dataset size is shown in panels~(a) and~(b) of \cref{fig:scaling} for small ($\kappa=0.1$) and large ($\kappa=10$) noise scales as solid lines, respectively. As expected, the runtime of the standard approach grows rapidly as $n$ increases. We observed an empirical runtime scaling of $n^{\approx 2.5}$ for the standard approach, not dissimilar from the expected asymptotic scaling of $\mathcal{O}\parenth{n^3}$. Exploring models with more than a few hundred data points is prohibitively expensive--even for this simple setup. For the graph-based approach, we used the five nearest predecessors ($q=5$) to construct a dependency graph. The method is comparatively slow for small datasets but outperforms the standard approach as $n$ grows. The Fourier approach has the best performance irrespective of dataset size but is limited to observations on a grid.

The model in \cref{eq:benchmark-centered} employs the natural \emph{centered} parameterization \citep{Papaspiliopoulos2007}, i.e., each observation $y_i$ is independent given the corresponding latent $f_i$. This parameterization works well if the data are informative (small $\kappa$) because each observation $y_i$ constrains the corresponding latent parameter $f_i$. The elements of $\vec{f}$ are thus relatively uncorrelated under the posterior, and the Hamiltonian sampler can explore the distribution efficiently~\citep{Homan2014}.

However, if the data are weak (large $\kappa$), they cannot independently constrain each element of $\vec{f}$ and the GP prior dominates the posterior. The resulting correlation among elements of $\vec{f}$ frustrates the sampler, especially if the correlation length is large. We can overcome this challenge by employing a \emph{non-centered} parameterization such that the parameters of the model are uncorrelated under the prior \citep{Papaspiliopoulos2007}. Here, we reparameterize the model in terms of a white noise vector $\vec{z}$ of the same size as $\vec{f}$ and obtain realizations of the GP $\vec{f}=\phi^{-1}\parenth{\vec{z},\boldsymbol{\mu},\mat{K}}$ using an inverse transform $\phi^{-1}$ which must be selected carefully to ensure $\vec{f}$ follows the desired distribution. We chose the inverse transform for consistency with the FFT: The forward transform maps to the Fourier domain, and the inverse transform maps to real space. The reparameterized model is
\begin{equation}\begin{aligned}
    \vec{z}&\sim\mathsf{Normal}\parenth{0, 1}\\
    \vec{f}&=\phi^{-1}\parenth{\vec{z}, 0, \mat{K}}\\
    \vec{y}&\sim\mathsf{Normal}\parenth{\vec{f}, \kappa^2}.
\end{aligned}\label{eq:benchmark-non-centered}\end{equation}

We implemented the following transforms for the graph-based and Fourier approaches.
\begin{Code}
f = gp_inv_graph_exp_quad_cov(z, loc, x, sigma, length_scale, edges);
f = gp_inv_rfft(z, loc, cov_rfft);
\end{Code}
where \code{vector[n] z} are the non-centered white noise parameters and all other parameters are as described previously. For the standard method, we implemented the non-centered parameterization as $\vec{f}=\mat{L}\vec{z}$ \citep{Papaspiliopoulos2007}, where $L$ is the Cholesky decomposition of the covariance matrix~$\mat{K}$.

As shown in panels~(a) and~(b) of \cref{fig:scaling}, the non-centered parameterization (dashed lines) is more performant than the centered parametrization (solid lines) if the noise scale is large and vice versa. Panel~(c) further illustrates the importance of choosing the right parameterization: The runtime differs by up to a factor of five as we vary the noise scale $\kappa$. While parameterization is primarily a performance concern for Hamiltonian Monte Carlo samplers, it can have a substantial impact on the predictive ability of models if variational mean-field inference is used. Variational approximations of the posterior tend to assign low probability mass to regions of the parameter space where the full posterior has low mass \citep[chapter~10.1]{Bishop2006}. Consequently,  variational approximations are too narrow if the posterior is highly correlated, and we expect predictions to be overconfident. To test this hypothesis, we sampled synthetic data with $n=1{,}024$ data points from the prior predictive distribution and fitted the models in \cref{eq:benchmark-centered,eq:benchmark-non-centered} to 80\% of each synthetic dataset variationally. We evaluated the predictive ability of the fitted models by evaluating the log posterior density on the 20\% held out GP realizations, i.e., $\log\proba{\vec{f}_\text{test}\mid \vec{y}_\text{train}}$. To compare the parameterizations, we approximated the log posterior difference $\Delta=\log\proba{\vec{f}_\text{test}=\phi^{-1}\parenth{\vec{z}_\text{test}}\mid \vec{y}_\text{train}}-\log\proba{\vec{f}_\text{test}\mid \vec{y}_\text{train}}$ using a Gaussian kernel density estimator \citep[chapter~2.5.1]{Bishop2006}. As shown in panel~(d) of \cref{fig:scaling}, the non-centered parameterization makes better predictions than the centered parameterization when the noise scale is large and vice versa. We also fitted the two parameterizations by drawing posterior samples using \proglang{Stan}'s Hamiltonian sampler and evaluated the log posterior difference. Different parameterizations did not affect the predictive performance but had a significant impact on runtime.

The higher-frequency terms of smooth GPs have low power, as shown in panel~(b) of \cref{fig:kernels}. We can further improve performance of the non-centered parameterization by discarding all but the first few low-frequency terms. This approach is particularly effective for the squared exponential kernel because the power decays rapidly. For the example shown in panel~(c), a GP using only the first five Fourier modes is indistinguishable from the GP considering all 51 modes, reducing the dimensionality of the parameter space by an order of magnitude. GPs with Mat\'ern kernels typically require more Fourier modes because the power spectrum has a relatively heavy tail.

\section[Illustrations]{Illustrations}
\label{sec:illustration}

\subsection[London Underground]{Passengers on the London Underground network}
\label{sec:tube}

\begin{figure}
    \centering
    \includegraphics{tube.pdf}
    \caption{\emph{A Gaussian process on the London Underground network identifies idiosyncrasies of transport use.} Panel~(a) shows the daily average number of entries and exits for each of the 267 stations in 2019 together with the transport network. Grey nodes denote held out data. Panels~(b) and~(d) show the effect of degree and zone on passenger numbers, respectively. Central stations with larger degree tend to have more passengers. Termini with degree one have uncharacteristically many passengers because they serve as interchanges for longer-distance trains. Panel~(c) shows the GP which explains residual variations in passenger volumes after controlling for zone and degree. On the one hand, stations in the Hainault loop have relatively few passengers because they are served infrequently compared with nearby stations. On the other hand, Canary Wharf has surprisingly many entries and exits because it is a busy financial center in London.}
    \label{fig:tube}
\end{figure}

Millions of people use the London Underground network, commonly referred to as the ``Tube'', to travel across the city each day \citep{Crowding}. The number of passengers using each station is affected by various factors, including how connected it is and which zone the station is in (the network comprises nine transport zones). In addition to these fixed effects, we also expect passenger numbers to be affected by smooth spatial effects, e.g., due to variability in population density. The spatial effect can naturally be modeled as a GP with structured dependencies induced by the transport network itself. We collected network data from the Transport for London open data API \citep{TfLAPI} and obtained the average daily number of entries and exits at each station in 2019 \citep{Crowding}, as shown in panel~(a) of \cref{fig:tube}. The model includes fixed effects for each degree and zone, mildly regularized by half-t priors with two degrees of freedom. We truncated the degree and zone of each station at five and six, respectively, because only few stations exceed these values. The overall number of passengers is captured by a scalar $\mu$, and we use the GP to explain any residual effects. A squared exponential kernel was employed for the covariance, and we used a half-t prior for the marginal scale. The correlation length of the kernel is not identifiable if it is smaller than the smallest distance between stations (0.16~km) or larger than the extent of the transportation network (62~km) \citep{Trangucci2016}. We thus used a log-uniform prior on the interval $\bracket{0.32\,\text{km},31\,\text{km}}$ to suppress extreme length scales. All distances were evaluated in the Ordnance Survey National Grid projection (\code{epsg:27700}). A non-centered parameterization was used because the residual effects are not strongly identified by the data after controlling for zone and degree. We used a log-normal observation model (rather than a model for count data) because passenger data are heavy-tailed and reported as daily averages.
\begin{Code}
functions {
    #include gptools/util.stan
    #include gptools/graph.stan
}

data {
    int num_stations, num_edges, num_zones, num_degrees;
    array [num_stations] vector[2] station_locations;
    array [num_stations] int passengers;
    array [2, num_edges] int edge_index;
    matrix[num_stations, num_zones] one_hot_zones;
    matrix[num_stations, num_degrees] one_hot_degrees;
}

parameters {
    vector[num_stations] z;
    real loc;
    real<lower=0> sigma, kappa;
    real<lower=log(0.32), upper=log(31)> log_length_scale;
    vector[num_zones] zone_effect;
    vector[num_degrees] degree_effect;
}

transformed parameters {
    real length_scale = exp(log_length_scale);
    vector[num_stations] f = gp_inv_graph_exp_quad_cov(
        z, zeros_vector(num_stations), station_locations, sigma,
        length_scale, edge_index);
    vector[num_stations] log_mean = loc + f + one_hot_zones
        * zone_effect + one_hot_degrees * degree_effect;
}

model {
    z ~ std_normal();
    sigma ~ student_t(2, 0, 1);
    zone_effect ~ student_t(2, 0, 1);
    degree_effect ~ student_t(2, 0, 1);
    kappa ~ student_t(2, 0, 1);
    for (i in 1:num_stations) {
        if (passengers[i] > 0) {
            log(passengers[i]) ~ normal(log_mean[i], kappa);
        }
    }
}
\end{Code}

We fitted the model to 80\% of the passenger data withholding 20\% of the stations uniformly at random for later evaluation. Held-out data are encoded as \code{-1} in the \proglang{Stan} model. Panel~(b) shows the effect of degree on passenger numbers on the log scale. They tend to increase with the degree of a station as they offer passengers a variety of travel options. Termini with degree one are an exception: Their passenger numbers are uncharacteristically large because they serve as stepping stones to longer-distance travel beyond the Tube network. Unsurprisingly, central stations in zones one to three tend to have more passengers than stations in the suburbs (zones four and above), as shown in panel~(d). The GP captures any residuals that cannot be explained by the degree of the station or the zone it is located in, as shown in panel~(c). For example, on the one hand, Canary Wharf has the largest residual effect. It is one of London's financial centers, and the station serves tens of thousands of commuters each day despite being a station without an interchange. On the other hand, stations in the north of the Hainault loop have the largest negative residual effect because the stations are served by only three trains an hour \citep{CentralLineTimetable}. Passengers divert to nearby stations that are served by twelve trains an hour \citep{CentralLineTimetable}. Comparing the model with a model without GP effects using the log posterior predictive distribution on held out data, we observe no significant difference after bootstrapping errors. Nevertheless, this example illustrates how our package can be used to easily construct GPs with structured dependencies.

\subsection[Tree density]{Density of \emph{T. panamensis} on a 50~ha plot in Panama}
\label{sec:trees}

\begin{figure}
    \centering
    \includegraphics{trees.pdf}
    \caption{\emph{A Gaussian process based on the two-dimensional Fourier transform can accurately predict the frequency of trees.} Panel~(a) shows the number of \emph{T. panamensis} trees per 20~m quadrant collected during the 2015 census of the 50~ha Barro Colorado plot in Panama~\citep{Condit2019} as a heat map. Gray quadrants indicate the 20\% held-out test data. Panel~(c) shows the posterior median of the expected tree frequency, recovering the held out data and smoothing the empirical frequencies. Posterior samples of the correlation length and marginal scale of the Mat\'ern kernel are shown in panel~(b). Correlation length samples are well below the padding (200~m) introduced to mitigate the effect of periodic boundary conditions. Panel~(d) shows the scaled mean squared error with bootstrapped errors on the held-out data under the Gaussian process model and a Gaussian filter with variable smoothing scale.}
    \label{fig:trees}
\end{figure}

To illustrate the use of Fourier methods, we consider the density of \emph{T. panamensis} trees during the 2015 census of the 50~ha Barro Colorado plot in Panama~\citep{Condit2019}. The plot is divided into quadrants of 20~m side length. As shown in panel~(a) of \cref{fig:trees}, the data comprise the frequency of trees within each quadrant, i.e., a matrix of count data with shape $\parenth{25, 50}$. The observed tree frequency counts $\vec{y}$ were modeled by a negative-binomial distribution to account for possible overdispersion. We used a latent GP to model the log-mean of this distribution and capture the tree density. We employed a Mat\'ern kernel with smoothness parameter $\nu=\sfrac{3}{2}$, half-t prior for the marginal scale and overdispersion parameter, and log-uniform prior for the correlation length as in \cref{sec:tube}. Because the quadrants are regularly spaced, the likelihood can be evaluated exactly using Fourier methods, as discussed in \cref{sec:fourier}. However, unlike the FFT, trees are not subject to periodic boundary conditions. To mitigate this issue and reduce correlation between opposing sides of the plot, we padded the matrix with ten additional quadrants in each dimension (corresponding to 200~m) resulting in a matrix with shape $\parenth{35, 60}$. Despite increasing the number of latent variables by almost 70\%, the method is faster than the standard approach which inverts the covariance matrix.
\begin{Code}
functions {
    #include gptools/util.stan
    #include gptools/fft.stan
}

data {
    int num_rows, num_cols, num_rows_padded, num_cols_padded;
    array [num_rows, num_cols] int frequency;
}

parameters {
    matrix[num_rows_padded, num_cols_padded] z;
    real loc;
    real<lower=0> sigma, kappa;
    real<lower=log(2), upper=log(28)> log_length_scale;
}

transformed parameters {
    real<lower=0> length_scale = exp(log_length_scale);
    matrix[num_rows_padded, num_cols_padded
        gp_periodic_matern_cov_rfft2(1.5, num_rows_padded, num_cols_padded,
        sigma, [length_scale, length_scale]',
        [num_rows_padded, num_cols_padded]');
    matrix[num_rows_padded, num_cols_padded] f = gp_inv_rfft2(
        z, rep_matrix(loc, num_rows_padded, num_cols_padded), rfft2_cov);
}

model {
    to_vector(z) ~ std_normal();
    loc ~ student_t(2, 0, 1);
    sigma ~ student_t(2, 0, 1);
    kappa ~ student_t(2, 0, 1);
    for (i in 1:num_rows) {
        for (j in 1:num_cols) {
            if (frequency[i, j] >= 0) {
                frequency[i, j] ~ neg_binomial_2(exp(f[i, j]), 1 / kappa);
            }
        }
    }
}
\end{Code}

We fitted the model to 80\% of the quadrants chosen uniformly at random, withholding the remainder for evaluation. Despite the noisy, masked observations, the model was able to learn a smooth estimate of the density of trees, as shown in panel~(c). The posterior median of the correlation length of 60~m was well below the padding of 200~m introduced to attenuate the effect of periodic boundary conditions, as shown in panel~(b). We used a scaled mean-squared error (SMSE) to evaluate the model on the held out data and compare it with the simpler approach of smoothing the data with a two-dimensional Gaussian filter. The SMSE is
\[
S\parenth{\vec{y},\hat{\vec{y}}=\exp\hat{\vec{f}}} = \frac{1}{m}\sum_{j=1}^m \frac{\parenth{y_i-\exp \hat f_i}^2}{\max\parenth{y_i,1}},
\]
where the sum is over $m$ test points and $\hat{\vec{f}}$ is the posterior median of the latent GP. We divided each term by the observed count $y_i$ (or one if the count was zero) to ensure the measure was not dominated by large counts because the sampling variance of a Poisson count process (without overdispersion) is equal to its mean.

A simple method to estimate the number of trees in held-out quadrants is to apply a Gaussian filter to the data and compare the two methods. The Gaussian filter estimate is
\[
    \hat{\vec{y}}_\lambda = \frac{\vec{g}_\lambda\ast\parenth{\vec{b}\circ\vec{y}}}{\vec{g}_\lambda\ast\vec{b}},
\]
where $\ast$ denotes convolution, $\circ$ denotes the elementwise product, $\vec{g}_\lambda$ is a Gaussian filter with smoothing scale $\lambda$, and $\vec{b}$ is the binary mask indicating which data are available for training. Gaussian filters ``blur'' the data locally such that adjacent elements of the smoothed signal can inform one another \citep{Lindeberg1990}. For large $\lambda$, estimates are approximated by the sample mean, and, for small $\lambda$, they are dominated by local noise. Panel~(d) of \cref{fig:trees} shows the SMSE for the Gaussian filter as a function of smoothing scale and the SMSE achieved by the GP model. The latter achieves a lower SMSE than the former for all smoothing scales, illustrating the utility of GPs for modeling spatial effects. Unlike in \cref{sec:tube}, it was not possible to use the posterior predictive distribution for evaluation because the Gaussian filter is not a generative model.

\section{Discussion}
\label{sec:discussion}

\begin{figure}
    \centering
    \includegraphics{decision_tree.pdf}
    \caption{\emph{The optimal approach and parameterization depends on the data.} Panel~(a) assists in with the choice of parameterization (or considering alternative methods if the data are very strong). Choosing an appropriate method or approximation is illustrated in panel~(b) depending on the structure of the data.}
    \label{fig:decision-tree}
\end{figure}

We implemented two popular approaches for scaling GPs to larger datasets in \proglang{Stan}: The sparse approximation with structured dependencies discussed in \cref{sec:graph} and the exact Fourier approach in \cref{sec:fourier} which is applicable to data on a grid. For centered parameterizations, the likelihood can be evaluated or approximated directly. For non-centered parameterizations, we sample standard normal random variables $\vec{z}$ and use the inverse transform to obtain a GP sample $\vec{f}=\phi^{-1}\parenth{\vec{z}}$.

Given different parameterizations and approaches, which should be used in practice? As discussed in \cref{sec:benchmark} and shown in panel~(a) of \cref{fig:decision-tree}, a non-centered parameterization is appropriate if the data are weak, and a centered parameterization is preferable if the data are strong. Choosing the right parameterization ensures parameters are relatively uncorrelated under the posterior distribution which accelerates inference. For variational mean-field approximations, choosing the right parameterization is even more important: It affects the quality of the approximation, as discussed in \cref{sec:benchmark}. Most variational approaches use a centered parameterization \citep{Hensman2013,Wu2022}, and their approximations may be improved by considering non-centered parameterizations. If the data are very strong, the benefits of GPs may be outweighed by their complexity because the likelihood dominates the GP prior. If in doubt, we suggest using a non-centered parameterization, as we have done in \cref{sec:illustration}, because GPs are typically employed when the data are not sufficiently informative for simpler approaches to succeed.

One the one hand, if data are spaced irregularly, sparse approximations discussed in \cref{sec:graph} are appropriate, especially if the density of observation points is inhomogeneous. On the other hand, if the observation points form a regular grid, Fourier methods discussed in \cref{sec:fourier} can evaluate the exact likelihood rapidly and should be preferred, as shown in panel~(b). Performance can be further improved by employing a non-centered parameterization and discarding high-frequency terms. Padding may be required to attenuate the effect of periodic boundary conditions inherent to the fast Fourier transform. Fourier methods may also be appropriate if the density of observation points is relatively homogeneous. In particular, we may consider a latent GP $\vec{g}$ on a grid and use it to predict the GP of interest $\vec{f}$ at each observation point, i.e.,
\[
    \proba{\vec{f}\mid\vec{g}}=\prod_{j=1}^n \proba{f_j\mid \vec{g}}.
\]
This method reduces the computational cost because elements of $\vec{f}$ are conditionally independent given $\vec{g}$ at the regularly spaced ``inducing points'' \citep{Hensman2013}.

We hope that our library and the illustrations in \cref{sec:illustration} will accelerate the development of models employing GPs in \proglang{Stan}. Integrating GP approximations with \proglang{Stan}'s ecosystem, rather than developing a bespoke GP library, will allow practitioners to leverage the framework's flexibility and the shared knowledge of the engaged \proglang{Stan} community.

\section*{Computational details}

The results in this paper were obtained using \proglang{Python}~3.10.0, \pkg{cmdstanpy}~1.0.8, and \pkg{cmdstan}~2.30.1. All experiments were run on a single core of a 2020 MacBook Pro with an Apple Silicon M1 chip and 16~GB of RAM.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Wydarzenia
 12 lutego-5 marca w Krakowie obradował sejm walny.
 Franciszek I Walezjusz, syn Karola d'Angoulême, wstępuje na tron Francji.

Urodzili się
 4 lutego Mikołaj Radziwiłł Czarny, litewski książę.
 22 września Anna z Kleve, żona Henryka VIII Tudora.

Zmarli
 1 stycznia Ludwik XII, król Francji.
 15 kwietnia Mikołaj Kamieniecki, hetman wielki koronny.
 16 grudnia Afonso de Albuquerque, portugalski żeglarz i zdobywca.

Przypisy

Kalendarium polityczne
Wydarzenia 1515

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Live-Action Neko Rahmen Taishō Film Based on Manga
posted on 2008-04-30 12:26 EDT by Egan Loo
Neko Rahmen gag manga also spawned anime that is posted online in English
Neko Rahmen , Kenji Sonishi's four-panel comedy manga that runs in Mag Garden's Monthly Comic Blade magazine, will be adapted into a live-action film called Neko Rahmen Taishō (General Neko Rahmen). The announcement was made in the June issue (released on April 30) of Comic Blade and on the official blog. The story centers on a cat that happens to run a ramen shop. Tornado Film will release it in Japanese theaters this fall. Minoru Kawasaki (live action Silent Möbius, Calamari Wrestler, Everyone But Japan Sinks ) is directing the project.
The two volumes of the manga have so far sold 150,000 copies. An anime television special ran in Japan in December of 2006, and a later television series premiered last June. Vuze, a company founded by some of the developers of the third-party BitTorrent client Azureus, is offering English-subtitled episodes of the television anime series in free, official downloads.
Source: animeanime.jp


text:
Why values, and long taxi rides, matter at Arisaig
As emerging market investors, we aren't great followers of US politics. Sure, we have had a tough decade or so as investors swimming against the tide of US Dollar strength, and wouldn't have thought the host for the Apprentice TV series would have made it to the White House (that normally happens in places that we invest in like the Philippines). But beyond that, we're much more interested in bottom-up story in emerging markets.
When I saw the below photograph from Anne Moneymaker of Getty over the festive period, however, it did give me pause. Taking the Republican Party out of it, how do collections of people end up here? And importantly, as a leader of a firm, how can we make sure we never end up anywhere in the vicinity of this?
Anna Moneymaker, Getty
The 'bun fight' hosted by the Republican party was happening at an important time for Arisaig as a firm. Whilst we were ending a challenging year our strategies, and our entire 'asset class' of emerging market equities still distinctly out of favour, the bright spot for us as a firm was we formalized the appointment of Vatsal Mody as a new Partner at Arisaig. He joined as our 6th Partner, alongside myself (Rebecca Lewis) Hugo Robinson, Gordon Yeo, David Lanning and Desmond Tan.
Our partnership group is uncompromisingly equal. Vatsal will, from day 1, have an equal share to myself with a seven-year partnership tenure. We see this as a signal to the culture of our firm. It is very much not industry standard, but we truly believe in our collective strength and this structure will foster greater success and togetherness of the long-term. We are united in our view we would all rather have a smaller share of a better business.
We have, over the years, faced a few quizzical expressions as to the nature of Arisaig's Partnership scheme. Not only the fact that we are equal partners regardless of tenure or role, but also the very gradual and long-term nature of our scheme's implementation. The Founders have been giving away 5% of Arisaig to successor Partners every year since the scheme's inception in 2016. With 8 years under our belt and 40% share of the business, we are just over half-way through the scheme. The equity will continue to be handed to us annually until we own 70% of the business.
The lack of desire of the Founders to 'value' the business and for Partners to 'buy in' but instead 'earn in' and then steward it for future generations is very odd, especially in an industry that looks to put a number by everything and ideally sell it for more a few years down the line. It is, however, deeply unsurprising if you know about the way we invest. Our focus on Purposeful Growth – identifying business that think about all stakeholders and in doing so deliver superior returns over the long term. Our Founders understood that a fund management business has little to no value without keeping its own main stakeholders – its partners and LPs – aligned and happy. They also knew that continuity would be key to maintaining a patient, long-term investment approach.
The philosophy behind this scheme is one of enlightened self-interested. 100% of our proceeds from being a Partner are invested in the strategies and so we would much rather focus on the important stuff (our investments) instead of debating valuation techniques. A mechanistic distribution approach takes care of the equity part in January every year.
We are quite a diverse group of people. Half of us were educated in the UK the other half educated in Asia. We find we have quite different life experiences, passions, and sometimes world views. At difficult times like this – our strategies had negative absolute returns and our assets dropped to USD3bn from our usual fighting weight of USD5bn – what continues to bind the partners together?
For sure, our focus on our shared investments in the strategies keeps our eyes on the prize. But perhaps more importantly, we know from our shared experience that the way we will tread our way back is not to attempt to chase our way out of the bottom of the cycle. Arisaig has experienced eight drawdowns of >25% over its 27-year history. It is always earnings growth that carries us back on track. So instead of coming up with strategies that might dial up short-term performance, when the Partners met in September in Singapore we spent most of the time discuss how much better we could get at implementing our investment process.
We have all spent the majority of our careers at Arisaig, and at least a significant part of our working life in emerging markets, some of the Partners were born in one. We don't know any other way to invest than buying great businesses that think inter-generationally and let them do the hard work of compounding earnings. We don't want to try any other way.
Perhaps more important than our shared experiences is our shared values. Collegiality is one of Arisaig's key values (the other two are being transparent and thoughtful) and so a focus on collective success rather than individual genius is hardwired into the firm. Since inception Arisaig has always run investment committees. Instead of relying on an individual sharp shooter, we believe that collective decision making (when done properly) delivers better outcomes and it reduces the behavioural biases that can trip us up.
That doesn't mean discussions between the Partnership team are a cake walk. The Partners have strong opinions and disagree, but ultimately what we are discussing is not our philosophy to investing or the values we hold dear. Instead its earnings growth assumptions, and relevant long-term trends, such as the potential for digitalisation of informal retail in India, or how to assess 'softer' qualities to our investments such as management quality. These are healthy differences of viewpoint built on the foundation of getting better outcomes for our clients, rather than fundamental differences in how we invest.
Getting the right people around the table who buy into our Purposeful Growth investment philosophy and live our values becomes key. There can be no fragile egos at Arisaig. If you are sharp elbowed, or care about your title more than your responsibilities you wouldn't enjoy it here one bit.
As one of our Founders once said to me 'we invest in emerging markets – and so you can't hire anyone you can't spend 8 hours with in a car at 35 degrees in the traffic of Mumbai'. With the Partners having all done our fair share of sweaty car rides with Vatsal over his past 8 years we know that our firm is stronger with him alongside us. Welcome Vatsal.
Source: Arisaig Partners Singapore team plus Partners, September 2022


Do You Know This Artist Lives Right In Your Town?
The oil painting depicts a scene described by Homer in the Odyssey. "Odysseus and his ship must pass through the land of the Sirens. These seductive creatures sing so beautifully that everyone who hears them goes crazy. Odysseus, being the ultimate curious traveler, doesn't want to miss this chance. He commands his men to tie him to the mast," Ann says. This is one of many paintings Ann has created based on the writings of Homer and Greek mythology.
Ann Stewart Anderson's beliefs and experiences radiate through every brushstroke on a canvas, cutout from a magazine, or handmade bound album.
This Louisvillian is an 81-year-old artist out of Wellesley College (1957) and The American University (1961). Ann's portfolio spans an impressive seven decades, and her work has consistently challenged social structures and expectations through that time.
Ann describes herself as an "embryonic feminist." Upon graduation, she was hired as a secretary to the assistant director at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC. It took a year for Ann to move from secretary to Registrar of the museum. After graduate school, she accepted a position as a visiting elementary art consultant in Maryland.
Later she moved to Chicago and worked at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as the Dean of students. About 10 years later, Ann ventured to Egypt, where she spent the next year documenting the ancient history and daily life of the locals with photographs, several published in National Geographic. Then Ann settled in Louisville where she doubled as a writer for Encyclopedia Britannica, Aramco, World magazine, the Courier-Journal, and as a lecturer at the Speed Museum, and art museums throughout the country.
Highlighting Ann's most notable work is a nearly impossible task because it is all great, and she has a lengthy list of accolades to prove it. One series, titled Mythic Women Juxtaposed finds contemporary women posed next to their Greek goddess counterparts. For example, Marilyn Monroe is paired with Aphrodite. Another series, Ugly Brides, was created in protest to the stigma that single women in their 30s would live out the rest of their days as spinsters.
You can see Ann's work at an exhibit at Galerie Hertz, May 31- July 9.
Have you bought any art recently? Do you have a favorite local artist?


text:
Oil-rich Abyei major stumbling block to Sudan peace deal: Khartoum
Jan 18 (AFP)
The oil-rich district of Abyei, currently controlled part by Khartoum and part by southern rebels, is proving the main stumbling block in peace talks in Kenya, a senior government negotiator said Sunday.
Agreement is almost complete on the other two disputed areas whose future is at stake -- the Nuba mountains and southern Blue Nile State, said foreign ministry undersecretary Mutref Siddeiq, who heads the government side in the talks on the issue.
But the continuing impasse over Abyei has made a new January 20 target date for a comprehensive agreement, set after the two sides missed a New Year's Eve deadline, "impractical", Siddeiq told reporters after briefing the cabinet.
The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army has pressed for the three areas to be included in the autonomous region which is to be established in the south for six years ahead of a referendum on independence.
Like the south, historically they were mainly populated by indigenous non-Arab minorities and provided fighters for the rebel cause.
However, the government insists that, as they were not administratively part of the south under the boundaries inherited at independence in 1956, they should remain directly governed by Khartoum.
"We have agreed upon 95 percent of the disputed issues related to the Nuba mountains and southern Blue Nile and only two points have remained unresolved," Siddeiq said.
The two remaining points were the future policing arrangements for the two areas, and the form the agreement should take, he said.
But on Abyei, which has a large population from the same Dinka ethnic group as SPLA leader John Garang, the positions of the two sides remained "irreconcilable", according to Siddeiq.
"The government has rejected the (SPLA's) self-determination proposal for Abyei and is negotiating a special status in the coming stage in accordance with arrangements and guarantees that ward off separation and self-determination."
The government negotiator added that the deadlock over the oil-rich district was not the only obstacle to a rapid peace deal.
"There are issues, including the power-sharing, yet to be negotiated, and moreover, the talks will be halted for the Eid Al-Adha (the Muslim Feast of Sacrifice around the end of the month), to be resumed after the holidays."
Just 10 days ago, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was still looking forward to a settlement later this month in a civil war which has killed more than 1.5 million people and displaced another four million since 1983.
On Wednesday, US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "The clock continues to tick and our efforts remain under way."


text:
New Yorker Magazine Cartoonist & Author
https://barclayagency.com/speakers/roz-chast
Since joining The New Yorker in 1978, Roz Chast has established herself as one of our greatest artistic chroniclers of the anxieties, superstitions, furies, insecurities, and surreal imaginings of modern life. Her works are typically populated by hapless but relatively cheerful "everyfolk," and she addresses the universal topics of guilt, aging, families, money, real estate, and, as she would say, "much, much more!" David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker, has called her "the magazine's only certifiable genius."
Chast is the author of more than a dozen books for adults, including Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? (2014), a work that chronicles her relationship with her aging parents as they shift from independence to dependence. Using handwritten text, drawings, photographs, and her keen eye for the foibles that make us human, Chast addresses the realities of what it is to get old in America today – and what it is to have aging parents today -- with tenderness and candor, and a good dose of her characteristic wit. Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? is a New York Times 2014 Best Book of the Year, 2014 National Book Award Finalist, winner of the 2014 Kirkus Prize, and a winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for the best books of 2014, the first time a graphic novel received the prize for autobiography. The National Endowment for the Arts chose Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? for its 2018 Big Read program.
Roz Chast is also the author of numerous books for children, including is Around the Clock, Too Busy Marco and its sequel Marco Goes to School, and she collaborated with humorist Steve Martin on The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z!. Roz Chast worked with Calvin Trillin on a book titled No Fair! No Fair! And Other Jolly Poems of Childhood (October 2016). She also collaborated with Daniel Menaker on The African Svelte: Ingenious Misspellings that Make Surprise Sense (October 2016). In addition, Chast was guest editor for The Best American Comics 2016. In 2017 she published Going Into Town: A Love Letter to New York. In 2018 she illustrated Carl Hiaasen's Assume the Worst. Her new books, written by Patty Marx and illustrated by Chast, are You Can Only Yell at Me for One Thing at a Time and Why Don't You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It?.
Roz Chast grew up in Brooklyn, NY and received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design with studies in graphic design and painting, though she soon after returned to her love of cartooning. Fewer than two years out of college, at age 24, The New Yorker magazine added her to their roster of approximately forty artists under contract, and the publication has published her work continuously ever since. Chast has also provided cartoons and editorial illustrations for nearly 50 magazines and journals from Mother Jones to Town & Country. She lectures widely and has received numerous prestigious awards including honorary degrees from Pratt Institute and the Art Institute of Boston. In 2013, she was inducted as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2015, she was nominated for the Eisner Award and received the Reuben Award from the National Cartoon Society. She also received the Heinz Award for her body of work which brings "wry humor and wit to some of our most profound everyday anxieties, brilliantly translating the mundane into rich, comical observations… (It is) "in her articulation of our unspoken fears and dilemmas, she offers empathy and courage to confront them head on." In 2018 she was honored with the Visionary Woman Award from the Moore College of Art & Design. In 2019 she was inducted into the Society of Illustrator's Hall of Fame.
Roz Chast lives in Connecticut with her family and several parrots.
Roz Chast official website
Why Don't You Write My Eulogy Now So I Can Correct It?
You Can Only Yell at Me for One Thing at a Time
Assume the Worst: The Graduation Speech You'll Never Hear
Going Into Town: A Love Letter to New York
The African Svelte: Orthographic Mistakes and Miss Spellings That Often Make Sense
No Fair! No Fair!: And Other Jolly Poems of Childhood
Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? :A Memoir
The Alphabet from A to Y With Bonus Letter Z!
Dot in Larryland: The Big Little Book of an Odd-Sized Friendship
The Party After You Left
Theories of Everything: Selected, Collected, and Health-Inspected Cartoons, 1978-2006
Too Busy Marco
Marco Goes to School
Totally Weird and Wonderful Words
What I Hate: From A to Z
At Home with Roz Chast-The New Yorker
At Work-Roz Chast
"Cartoon Memoirs"
New Yorker Cartoonists
Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books: Roz Chast & Patty Marx (2020)
New Yorker: Scenes from the Life of Roz Chast (2019)
New York Times: Roz Chast in Full View (Body Scan Included) (2018)
Leonard Lopate Show: It's a 'Doggy-dog World,' and More of the Best New Yorker Spelling Errors (2018)
New York Times: Roz Chast Is New Yorkier Than You (2017)
New York Times: Roz Chast - By the Book (2017)
New Yorker: Roz Chast's Motherboard (2017)
Fresh Air: Cartoonist Roz Chast Draws A 'Love Letter' To New York City, Cockroaches And All (2017) [audio]
New Yorker: The Knife (2017)
Design Matters with Debbie Millman (2016) [audio]
WNPR: Getting Graphic With Roz Chast (2015) [audio]
Here's the Thing: Roz Chast Draws—and Talks to—Alec Baldwin (2015) [audio]
Request Fees and Availability for Roz Chast
Email info about Roz Chast
Photo Bill Hayes