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SF Publishing in 2019: short fiction and the Nebula Awards
When an empire dominates the world…
its decline and fall is inescapable.
Yet you should take care when poking around the ashes of fallen greatness. Be respectful.
For they retain an indestructible seed from which, one day, they may rise again.
It's late February, and I'm declaring it too late to do my usual state of science fiction publishing end-of-year retrospective. Sorry (I had writing deadlines) and thanks (for those kind souls who asked when my posts were coming). Instead, I'm going to do a rolling series of posts in which I word-noodle an aspect of Anglo-American science fiction publishing that happens to take my interest. I'll use them as an opportunity to talk a little about recent trends in that area and say where I think science fiction publishing is headed next.
Apologies to my readers from other parts of the world, because you've made a massive financial difference to me when sales were slow in the big two markets, but it's simply that in the UK and US, I have a lot more data which I can use to peer inside the state of science fiction publishing today.
In this article, I'm going to talk about short form science fiction.
It's a big topic. In fact, it's huge. Consequently, I'm going to focus on a few small details.
Here's today's TL;DR: successful full-time novelists are increasingly turning to writing short fiction not so much to stretch writing muscles or support the small presses, but because it makes shrewd business sense to do so. Many of these authors have not followed the development path that was common a decade ago, and as a result they approach short fiction in a different way. I don't judge that to be better or worse, but it is different, and it does appeal to a new audience who didn't read short SF before. The trend is continuing, and this week we are seeing a small milestone along the way with the announcement of a list of Nebula Award finalists that includes several of these commercially successful novelists turned short fiction writers.
Okay. Here's the intermission in which I give a short caveat. In this post, I'm generalizing in order to discuss trends. I'm a writer, which means I know that people are complicated. So it's no surprise that individual authors and readers often don't quite fit into categorizations or trends. For example, one of the Nebula Award finalists is my friend, Yudhanjaya Wijeratne. He's been on a roll this week. Not only has he announced being a finalist for the Nebula, but also his awesome novel Numbercaste has been optioned for film, and he's signed a 3-book deal with an American publisher. That's on top of his books he's been doing for Harper Voyager India. Is he an indie? Is he TradPub now? Well, of course, the only answer I need is that he's a great writer, and he's my mate Yudha.
But when you consider the state of publishing as a whole, there are trends. And they fascinate me.
Launching in a few weeks, Chimera Company comprises serialized novelettes released every Tuesday, and is an example of a multitude of new approaches to short SF fiction. Hit the image to go grab a free prequel.
And now back to the detail.
Back in the 30s and 40s, short fiction periodicals were the powerhouse of science fiction, but over the decades, short prose science fiction has declined. When I started buying current science fiction periodicals in the early 2000s, short SF was in a state of semi-retirement, largely forgotten by the general SF reading public. In fact, despite being a lifetime reader of science fiction, when I discovered in my 30s that short SF was still being written, I was astonished. I'd had no idea.
Short science fiction is in far ruder health today.
Established publishers and authors are finding new ways to sell short fiction, but what's most exciting to me is to see new authors and new publishers writing short fiction that is read by new readers. This trend is less pronounced than with novels, but a significant proportion of the most popular writers of short SF had never been published a decade ago. Hell, many of them hadn't been published five years ago.
All this freshness and confidence is a trend that I'm sure will continue for at least the next few years. In fact, I'm confident enough that I'm about to put my money where my mouth is. In April, I'll begin releasing Chimera Company, a series of novelettes that will be published every Tuesday. Mind you, I'll hedge my bets somewhat, because as soon as the last issue is released for a season, I'll publish a box-set compilation.
I've mentioned many times in blog posts and book articles that it often seems from the inside that there is a new world of science fiction publishing that has erupted in the past decade to sit alongside old science fiction publishing. This 'NewPub' is of comparable readership size to OldPub, but like a pocket universe inflated out of conventional space-time, it often seems that followers of one publishing universe are unable to perceive the other except for rare occasions when the two are 'in phase', to borrow a little Star Trek handwavium.
This week saw one of those rare occasions where the denizens of each version of science fiction glimpsed their alternative realities. The cause was the announcement of the finalists for the Nebula Awards. We'll come to that part of the story later, but the aspect I find most fascinating is that ten years ago, when I was still very involved with the marvelous world of short science fiction, it was vibrant and argumentative, creative and daring, and the sleepiest part of the science fiction universe. It carried on in almost complete isolation. And yet it is with short fiction that many of the new worlds of publishing have been colliding for years now. People are starting to notice.
So, what's changed?
A good way to see these changes play out in real time is in the science fiction anthologies bestseller chart on Amazon.com. I've been studying the science fiction and fantasy Amazon bestseller charts since 2011, because they supply hard data on what's selling and what isn't, as well as benchmarks on how much other authors in my field are earning (which I need to consider because writing science fiction is my livelihood).
In the bestseller chart today (22nd of February 2019) I can see George RR Martin doing very well with his Wild Cards shared world. There are traditional single author collections from stalwarts such as Anne McCaffrey and Philip K Dick, but also more recent OldPub authors such as NK Jemisin and Nnedi Okorafor.
George RR Martin's doing okay with his shared world. Justice is Calling for my mate, Justin Sloan over in Michael Anderle's LMBPN empire, and David & Sharon VanBergen (writing as James David Victor) are cleaning up with anthologies of short novels. More traditional short SF fiction is a little further down the list.
In the back end of the top 100 are three examples of the kind of "years' best" anthologies that have been published for decades. If you had wound the clock back ten years and told me eBooks were finally going to take off, then I would have expected a sea of anthologies with titles such as The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018: Edited by Rich Horton. Instead, there are only a handful, because there's a lot more going on in this chart that no one would have expected a decade ago.
There are single author collections of short stories and novels from self-publishers and some of the big publishers in in NewPub (such as LMBPN and Chris Kennedy Publishing). There's Star Force by Aer-ki Jyr, which is a very successful short story series that's been running for years, and somewhat similar in its model to my Chimera Company. (This is an example of why I study the bestseller charts: I can see successes such as Star Force and use it as a benchmark to get a realistic idea of possible sales and income). As usual, there are collections of the steamy end of science fiction with covers that feature men with no shirts but a plethora of abs.
I'm proud to say that the top 100 also features three anthologies with stories from me, most of which hit the number one spot at some point in time. Indeed, I've been either in this chart or the UK equivalent for most of the past four years.
It's a noisy mix and well worth keeping an eye on, because it's churning constantly in a way that is both exciting and informative. It's not random noise, either; there are trends here. When I started off working in publishing, I had a sideline formatting eBooks for other publishers, notably NewCon Press, a well-respected British small publisher that specialized in science fiction anthologies. Since I used to study the chart progress of books I'd helped to make, I've been familiar with these charts since 2011.
NewCon sells primarily to the part of the science fiction community that calls itself 'fandom', but they have enjoyed outbreaks into much wider audience. They aren't in this chart today, but NewCon has benefited from another important trend in the world of anthologies that you won't see by studying Amazon bestseller charts. I'm talking about crowd funded books. Their 2001: An Odyssey in Words was a success last year, but of course people who pledged money in return for a copy of the book would not then go on to purchase additional copies from Amazon. Some crowd-sourced anthologies sell at levels that would be scarcely believable a few years ago.
Here's a more detailed breakdown of today's top-100 chart for those who like to see more numbers, counting the number of titles in each of various categories that I found interesting and assigned to on my discretion.
Romance & erotica: 6. A low score. It's normally higher.
Shared world anthologies: 13. This is very popular at the moment: authors open up worlds built in their novels for others to play in. 60% were worlds created by indie novelists.
Deceased-author collections: 19. There has a been a big trend of major publishers monetizing their backlist. Anne McCaffrey features heavily. We also have Octavia E Butler, whose backlist of novels has sold very well in eBook over the past couple of years.
Not-yet deceased single-author collections: 14. The trend is up for these.
Indie novel boxed set: 24. Still very popular but not dominating the anthology charts as much as a few years ago. I don't think this is because they're selling less, but rather because short fiction is more popular than before.
NewPub vs OldPub. There were a handful I wasn't sure how to classify, so I'm going to label this a rough 50:50 split between OldPub (by which I mean established traditional and small publishers) and NewPub (by which I mean self-publishers, and publishing companies and cooperatives who use radically different business models from OldPub). This is also a significant change. Two years' ago, NewPub would have dominated this chart. OldPub is fighting back, but largely through a mix of dead authors from the deep IP backlist, and superstar authors who are popular far outside the core science fiction audience (authors such as Brandon Sanderson and GRRM who between them had five titles on this list). Take those two classifications out and NewPub has twice as many chart positions as OldPub.
Traditional small press: ?? When Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing was first available, some of these bestseller slots would have gone to traditional small press publishers whose core business was selling original anthologies to 'fandom'. I used to make some of those books myself! There are still some who manage this, but it's become rare now. I don't think the traditional small press anthologies have gone away so much as retrenched to their core audience.
Year's Best Anthologies: 3. When I started reading contemporary SF short fiction in the early 2000s, these were the perennial mainstay of SF anthologies. I even used to see an example or two at my local WH Smith store. My guess is they still sell fairly well at physical bookstores and aren't going away, but they've not yet caught the imagination of eBook buyers.
Who's on the cover? I tested the cover art where it featured humans (ignoring photos of the author) by removing my glasses and seeing who I thought was featured prominently on the cover. This has obvious problems about the assumptions I make, but where I thought the cover artist was clearly intending to indicate a gender for the characters, the ratio of women to men was 5:1, and the ratio of white to not-white was almost 5:1. I would say that's pretty standard for this chart.
There are many interesting trends in short fiction, but I'm only writing one article, so let me focus on one of them that I find most interesting, and that is the increasing popularity of newpub/indie/self-published authors who have been highly successful at selling novels, but also commit time to professionally produce short fiction.
Like a lot of professional novelists, I like to choose writing projects from time to time because they are fun, or to stretch my writing muscles, but I also have to put food on the table and that primarily comes from sales of my novels. Those 'fandom'-based small presses that were a vital source of short fiction a decade ago, did many wonderful things but didn't pay a lot, at least not directly.
Last month I was invited as a guest on the Keystroke Medium: The Writer's Journey to talk about short story structure. (BTW: the show is a superb resource for aspiring writers – and no matter how many books we've sold, I think we should always be aspiring). Preparing for the show made me think about the advice I'd been given when I started writing short fiction twenty years ago. For the most part, the indie authors didn't come up through this development route, and sometimes it shows in their short fiction. Not always for the better, but sometimes I think it is. The most common difference I see is that indie novelists turned short story writers often approach short fiction as a miniature commercial novel, rather than see it as a distinct writing mode with different emphasis and possibilities.
The awesome people of Keystroke Medium. Check them out!
I have mixed feelings about the results, and over time, this distinction is becoming less marked, but the question of whether the story is successful is best measured not by critics or reviewers but by the readers themselves. And this is where it is interesting because people are buying short science fiction and consuming it as eBooks and audiobooks in ever-increasing numbers. They buy it because they enjoy it. Therefore the writers have succeeded. The money that feeds back to the authors is often in very healthy amounts, which is a signal for successful novelists to write more and better short stories.
When I first came across the short fiction scene, my impression was that I'd stumbled across… well, I'm tempted to say 'the dying embers of once-great literary movement', but I don't think that's entirely fair. It wasn't dead, but it certainly was small and self-contained. That's clearly no longer the case, and I'm excited to see grassroots short fiction is growing vigorously.
Which makes the Nebula Awards an interesting sign of the times.
Silky and NJ McCall from my Revenge Squad series, telling the story of Port Zahir's finest professional retribution service. Like many of the authors I talk about here, one of the reasons indie novelists turn to writing short fiction is to write free-to-download short fiction to entice readers into a series. I do that with all my new series. You can download the prequel novelette for Revenge Squad here.
The Nebula Awards have been around for many decades and are nominated and voted on by a group called the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Despite the name, the membership is international. Indeed, I decided to join myself this year. The SFWA membership requires a test of professional status, but the bar is set low for authors writing for a living. A few years ago, SFWA began opening its membership up to the newer parts of science fiction publishing, starting with self-publishers.
The finalists for the 2018 Nebula Awards were announced earlier this week, and it was noticeable that there were indie authors in the short fiction categories. (Elsewhere too, but I'm concentrating on the short fiction today. Sorry, Amy.).
The names are no surprise to me, not just because they're successful novelists, but most of them have been in the bestseller charts in anthologies with me at some point. Nonetheless, they are first and foremost professional novelists who also write short fiction.
By contrast, if you look at the finalists for the short fiction and novelette categories who have traveled a more traditional route, their professional focus is generally not as novelists.
To put this another way, if you were to sort the 2018 Nebula Award finalists for the various prose fiction categories, ordering the entries by total book sales of all formats through Amazon.com during 2018, then you would find the short fiction indie authors near the top.
Of course, the Nebula Awards are about acknowledging the best stories of the year rather than who sold the most (which is its own reward). I think having a mixture of authors at different levels of sales success is a very healthy sign. I've never paid any attention to the Nebulas in previous years, and I've only ever once bothered to vote in a literary award (last year's Dragons) because awards always seemed to be something that belonged to people with wildly different tastes from me. But with these changes I've been writing about, I find I'm looking forward to reading the finalists in the shorter categories and making my choice. (I would read the novels too, but realistically I won't have time).
I'll leave you with a practical example of the way in which short science fiction anthologies have changed since I started in 2011.
Tales From the Lyons Den is a shared world anthology of original novelettes that's been in the top-100 SF anthologies since its release four months' ago. The series seeks out new and up-and-coming writers and matches them up with established names. I don't know the detailed bios of every contributor, but the ones featured on the cover are certainly full-time authors. There are award winners and award-finalists here. The artwork is professional. So is the narration for the audiobook (which is released March 5th and would make a fine home for an Audible credit). I can't comment on my own work, but the stories of my colleagues are phenomenally good and keep readers clamoring for more. Most of the authors have stories in several anthologies currently in the top-100, and have been mainstays of the anthology scene on Amazon for years.
The pay for this title hasn't worked its way through the system yet, but when I was published in an earlier entry in this anthology series, the pay met the cents-per-word rate that SFWA regards as professional.
So what? Other than the audiobook, which probably wouldn't have been a feature a decade ago, and still isn't for traditional small presses, there were books like this before.
However, if you look for the Lyons Den authors in the traditional periodicals and for-the-love magazines, you won't find many, if at all. If you look in the online magazines that have become much more established over the decade, you won't find them there either. These are NewPub storytellers, and authors like these are responsible for bringing a new readership to short science fiction. I love it! I've focused on one topic, but new readers are coming in through other trends too, and together this upsurge has a long way to run. Short SF fiction will rise again!!!!
About Tim C. Taylor
Tim C. Taylor writes science fiction and is the author of 21 published novels as of August 2021. His latest book is 'Hold the Line', published by Theogony Books. Find out more at humanlegion.com
View all posts by Tim C. Taylor →
This entry was posted in science fiction publishing in 2019 and tagged Indie science fiction, Nebula Awards, NewPub, science fiction, science fiction anthologies, science fiction awards, science fiction publishing, serialized short fiction, SFWA, short science fiction, state of science fiction publishing. Bookmark the permalink.
13 Responses to SF Publishing in 2019: short fiction and the Nebula Awards
Pingback: Some Reactions to the 2018 Nebula Award Winners and a Postmortem on the 20Booksto50K Issue | Cora Buhlert
Mark Boss says:
Tim, good insights here. Fuel for both readers and writers who work in this field. I am fascinated with all the new business models and delivery systems, and it seems that scifi readers and writers are often those most willing to try new technologies. I think most of the ebook market was built on sales in scifi, fantasy, and romance. So thanks to those readers!
As you wrote, Old Pub is learning too. The Murderbot novellas by Martha Wells are great fun, and those are from Tor.
Tim C. Taylor says:
Hi Mark, absolutely. I have the first Murderbot burning a hole in my TBR wanting to be read. You've just made it burn a little hotter 🙂 When Tor started pushing their novella line, it felt daring to me with my old school background. The 'Old' in Old Pub doesn't mean they can't learn new tricks! Just that they were around longer. I use the term to contrast against New Pub, which I think is a spot-on term. A number of people use 'Legacy Pub', but I feel that's too misleading because it implies the likes of Tor are dead or dying and their owners mining the last dregs of energy from their IP libraries. That's not the case.
I've mentioned before that Old Pub has learned tactics such as launching with 99c or $1.99 Bookbub deals. When we saw new novels by major frontlist stars such as Margaret Attwood starting to get such promos a few years' back. If Old Pub continues to adopt new business models, then the Old Pub / New Pub dichotomy will become unsatisfactory in the way the Self Pub / Trad Pub already has. 🙂
Andy West says:
Nice post, Tim, very informative. Novelettes all set in the same universe and serialised, are to some extent still 'big fiction' yet broken down into sections, more of a stream as it were (albeit there may be more bounded / emphatic sub-plots beneath that come to more of a closure). For fiction of this kind, do you have any handle on why more readers are preferring the stream approach as opposed to bigger chunks?
Hi Andy. Thanks. You're right, of course. The intent is to create 'big fiction' with deep worldbuilding and explore it through a stream of bite-sized portions. The obvious and most significant analogy is to boxed sets of TV series. The 'Song of Fire and Ice' books have sold a staggering 70 million copies, but the TV adaptation, (Game of Thrones), is getting 30 million viewers per episode before even considering DVD sales. It's how most people enjoy their fiction these days.
The streaming fiction idea is key to comics too. For me personally, it was the 'extended storyline' series I read in 2000AD back in the 70s and 80s that are an even greater inspiration for Chimera Company than TV such as Babylon 5. Classics such as 'Judge Dredd in the Cursed Earth' and 'Strontium Dog: Portrait of a Mutant' are a helluva benchmark.
As to whether people want to enjoy science fiction eBooks in this new way… well, authors have been doing this for some years now with sporadically modest success. But the trend is up. I'm hoping to build on that. It's a big risk, but sometimes you've got to make the big call and see how the cards lie 🙂
Interesting, thanks. And I'm sure you'll succeed 🙂 You have the talent, and burning energy.
Your post made me think more about *why* 'most people enjoy their fiction these days' in this way. Because I figured if we knew why, we could optimise 🙂
I speculated to myself that the 'stream' aspect is because people aren't just 'reading', as we have tended to traditionally think of it, but are more in the mode of wanting the content to be a real part of their life. So more 'experiencing'. Hence, like friends or family, it must be continuous, albeit developing (and so needing deep enough scope to never run out of development). Kind of like a never-ending story that's a real part of their life (or at least a few years thereof).
Maybe a step to virtual worlds 0:
P.S. a roll of links to other author sites would be *such* a lovely addition to the site (very heavy hint I'm rebuilding and have most of a bookwall done https://wearemyth.wordpress.com/book-wall/ 😉
Yes, I do need to tidy this site! I think you're right about the being a part of everyday life. Being welcomed into readers' lives in that way is an privilege that is, of course, hard earned. I bang on about 2000AD a lot, but when that dropped through the letterbox, I knew damned well that it would be read cover-to-cover before the day was done. That's a weekly that hasn't missed a beat in 42 years. I've known people feel the same way about Corrie and The Archers (neither of which feature starships or mutie bounty hunters, and so are lesser fare). There was a craze in Japan for micro-serialized fiction sent by SMS a few years back. Never quite caught on in the English-language markets, but the seeds are all there. I hope 🙂
53bryanm says:
Thanks Tim for a day of not writing you sure wrote…
I'll have to read it all later. I read parts of it today. Will have to get back to it when I get thru writing a review for your masterpiece, Battle of Earth.
Thanks, Melissa. I'm really stoked that you enjoyed the conclusion to the Human Legion. I took a few chances with that ending, and I think it paid off 🙂
I'd say it paid off in Spades. Still working on my review, your review. I'll let you know.
J.R. Handley says:
Thanks for another great in-depth analysis about the state of the market!
Thanks, JR. Of course, you yourself are an exciting part of that trend I was talking about. 🙂
I can only hope that my sales numbers reflect that! LOL


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Publish Me Please
UNSOLICITED THOUGHTS
an ongoing series of essays, reviews, and general buffoonery by Colin Kohrs
"Man In A Wig": Transmisogyny, Clown Theory, And The Tightrope Walk Of Drag
All the world's a stage.
1. Into Introduction.
On December 3rd, 2018, the website Into published an article titled "Ariana Grande's 'Thank U, Next' Music Video Is Surprisingly Anti-Queer." This article, running a little under 1.5K words, criticizes the video heavily for, among other things, transmisogyny and blackface. It was met with overwhelming backlash. Part of this backlash included death threats towards the author, and the editor subsequently removed the author's byline the same day.
Editor's Note: We have decided to remove the author's name from this piece after the editorial team was alerted that a high volume of death threats were being made against the writer as a result of the opinions presented in this piece.
— INTO (@Into) December 3, 2018
(Tweet by @Into: Editor's Note: We have decided to remove the author's name from this piece after the editorial team was alerted that a high volume of death threats were being made against the writer as a result of the opinions presented in this piece.)
On December 4th, Zach Stafford, Editor-in-Chief, INTO, posted an update to the article that apologized, saying "the piece missed the mark and should not have been published as is."
When it comes to the audience response that the claims in the article are a reach, I generally agree.
Ok, this is ME in all my "me-ness"...saying this is a reach. https://t.co/wRb2B2tPKs
— The Vixen (@TheVixensworld) December 3, 2018
(Tweet by @TheVixensworld in response to @Into's original post of the article: Ok, this is ME in all my "me-ness"...saying this is a reach.)
However, there are some points brought up in the article that I feel missed the mark due to their presentation, rather than their premise.
The article bites off more than it can chew. Each claim in the article could very well be 5K word essay in it of itself, but the article is presented more as a survey of wrongdoing than an academic discussion. Each claim is followed up by a short one-liner explanation / joke that expects the claim to be intrinsically understood, and then moves onto the next. I think all of these claims could make wonderful research questions:
Does the trope of a comical man in a wig perpetuate transmisogyny?
How do people benefit / suffer from ethnic ambiguity? How does or doesn't Ariana Grande's public persona lean into this ambiguity?
Making fun of lesbians is bad. But if it's done by a queer person, maybe it's okay? But if that queer person isn't a lesbian, maybe it's bad? But if they're a character in a scene and not the author, maybe it's okay? But if that character is part of a universe created by a non-queer artist, maybe that's bad? But if the original source material it's a reference to does include queer characters, maybe it's okay? But that original source material is part of a universe created by another non-queer artist, maybe it's bad? But if that original source material is based off a book that was non fiction, maybe it's okay? But if only optics matter, maybe it's still bad? But if nobody was hurt maybe it's okay? But if hurt people don't speak up, maybe it's bad? (Ariana Grande's team, Ariana Grande, Troye Sivan, Tina Fey, Rosalind Wiseman; somebody's gotta get the guillotine. I don't make the rules.)
So i'm not going to dip into the second two, what I want to look at is this character here.
Because I think there's some nuance that needs to be discussed, and if I have a purpose in life, it's to take things and make them needlessly more complicated.
Before I go any further, I want to give a disclaimer, one made best by YouTube superstar Lindsay Ellis in one of her most recent video essays.
"I hope this doesn't come across that I am trying to make a grand sweeping statement about how "thing bad" (even thought that does seem to be the most effective way to get popular on YouTube) but rather "thing exists" and "thing is part of a system that you may not even be conscious of."
-Lindsay Ellis, icon.
"Thing bad" doesn't make for the best academic deep-dive. It doesn't really get to the nitty gritty of it all (something I believe the original Into article suffers from). Asking, "how do we identify this thing and in what ways does it function," reveals much more than giving something a name and slapping on a value statement.
So let's get going.
2. The Into author's argument:
The author provides us with two quick sentences.
Just 16 seconds into the video, trans viewers may be stunned to see a cisgender man, Ariana's backup dancer Scott Nicholson, in a bright pink cardigan and wig playing a trans(?) woman. We're already supposed to laugh at him for his feminine mannerisms.
This argument is fairly simple. An cis male actor appears on screen performing femininity. The Into author argues that the intent behind this is to make us, the viewers, laugh. Let's put a pin in that.
3. Response from JakeyonceTV
Into: This video is Transmisogynistic.
Into (one paragraph later): Ariana's backup dancer is in a dress and wig and that's for giRLs oNLy... pic.twitter.com/HQetaZvWaz
— JakeyonceTV (@jakeyoncetv) December 4, 2018
(Tweet by @jakeyoncetv in response to @Into's original post of the article: Into: This video is Transmisogynistic. / Into (one paragraph later): Ariana's backup dancer is in a dress and wig and that's for giRLs oNLy...)
JakeyonceTV, an internet personality and noted drag commentator, responded to Into's initial tweet of the article by mocking the argument. While the Into author argues that, in the context of the video, a cis man performing femininity is transmisogynistic, JakeyonceTV's tweet implies that critiquing a cis man's freedom to perform femininity is just as reprehensible. We'll put a pin in that too.
4. Comparisons of Drag and Blackface.
Arguments like the Into author aren't new by any means. For a very long time, people have been comparing drag performance to blackface minstrelsy. There are more academic works of feminist theory like Kelly Kleiman's bluntly titled essay "Drag = Blackface" published in the Chicago-Kent Law Review.
And there are more pop / hot-take articles like Meghan Murphy's 2014 article "Why has drag escaped critique from feminists and the LGBTQ community?" published on the Feminist Current website which has received criticism for anti-trans and TERF messages.
What becomes very delicate in this discussion is that it is entirely intent based, and the intentions of one drag performer are going to differ from that of another drag performer.
But to summarize to the point of oversimplification, both pieces argue that, in the same way blackface minstrelsy is performance of race with the intent to mock, drag performance is performance of gender with the intent to mock.
Kleman gets more nuanced than Murphy, pointing to two different kinds of drag, comic and glamour. She equates exaggerated and comic drag like that of Trixie Mattel to minstrelsy, whereas glamour drag like that of Miss Fame is a sort of power-grab or form of cultural appropriation.
Miss Fame
"The point of glamour drag is not to tell jokes but to perform the feminine. The only reason to hire a man for this purpose-when there are plenty of women available, by definition more experienced and better qualified-is to give men the continued right and privilege to determine the content of the feminine" (685).
While Kleman may have accidentally predicted the influence of drag makeup on the YouTube makeup guru community, I disagree with the notion that drag performers are trying to prescribe their feminine performance to cis women. In fact, many are doing quite the opposite.
5. Men in Wigs and Drag Theses
I think the fundamental difference of opinion is seeing drag as punching down on women, or punching up at the expectations of women. Take for example notable drag queen Violet Chachki's personal philosophy on her drag. In the video i-D Meets: Violet Chachki she says "I don't look like a woman, I look like a drawing of a woman." Chachki's drag aesthetic is based off of artistic depictions of women, especially those in comic books, that are physical embodiment of the male gaze. Chachki is not dressing as a woman and saying 'look at how dumb women are', she is dressing as male expectation of women and saying 'look at how dumb these expectations are."
There are many other drag theses. You have queens like Lady Bunny saying things like "I'm not dressing as a woman; I'm dressing how I like to dress." You also have RuPaul himself stating on multiple occasions that he is not dressing as a woman, he's dressing in a drag, emphasizing that 'real' women don't wear five foot wigs and six inch heels.
Violet Chachki
However, the internal motivations of individual drag performers means nothing if this is an argument of optics. We are not looking at the intent of why someone does something. We are not looking at the optics of how that intent is expressed. We are going a third step and looking at what intent one might assume based on presentation. Which brings me to what I am going to call:
6. Clown Theory.
If you forgot, we were originally discussing this image before I got side tracked.
And while I agree with JakeyonceTV's idea that a man in a wig isn't inherently transmisogynistic, with this instance here, I don't think it has the intent of critiquing the construct of femininity. This is the kind of drag where I reluctantly start to agree with Kleman and Murphy. This just looks like it's a dude mocking women. This is what I would call a Clown.
I will use Clown here to mean an individual who impersonates an individual outside of their own personal demographic for the purposes of mockery, ridicule, or comedy. Blackface minstrelsy would fall under this category. This doesn't have apply to just gender or race performance. Take for example representation of characters with disability. There is a big difference between Tom Hank's portrayal of Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump and David Sheridan portrayal of Doofy Gilmore in Scary Movie. Both are actors without disabilities portraying characters with disabilities, but it's very obvious based on the look alone which one is meant to be a Clown.
It's the difference between the man who throws on a Caitlyn Jenner Halloween costume for some laughs and the man who devotes his life to celebrating Cher's iconography.
A Brief History Sidebar:
I am discussing the current state of popular drag and its history as a feature of the queer community. Drag has different meanings to different cultures, and it was actively used to suppress female talent before women were allowed on stage. So much has happened in even the past 18 years that it might even be inappropriate to engage with a critic from 2000 who doesn't recognize that cis women, trans women, and nb people also participate in drag.
I completely understand negative readings of drag performance. It's pretty hard to redeem trash-drag artists like Divine who identify as living embodiments of filth and obscenity who were created with the sole intent to offend people and make them uncomfortable.
What I disagree with is the boiling down of drag to "men in wigs pretending to be women." To treat drag as a monolith is to ignore the diversity of the art form. Drag, like any art form, can be used for good and can be used for evil, and even though the personal motivations of each performer aren't written out cleanly and given to audience members in a program before viewing, it's clear to me based on optics alone that the Clown in Grande's video is doing something different than the traditional drag artist.
I agree with the Into author that the above image is being played for laughs. Does this constitute misogyny or transmisogyny? At the very least I think it constitutes a Clown. The image does not encourage us to think "wow that is glamorous," or "wow, such a nuanced critique of femininity." In my opinion, the image encourages us to think "lol, dude in a wig."
Where the Into author failed, I think, was brevity. This is a tricky nuanced topic that doesn't read well when condensed to two sentences. But, as we know, that's what the internet wants, and maybe in that way the Into author succeeded. I doubt the article did any serious lasting damage to the Into brand, and it sure as hell got them a lot of clicks and ad revenue. Or at least Into succeeded in using inflammatory content to get clicks. I doubt the Into author was looking to get death threats.
It's a catch 22 of internet media. Politics get clicks, but politics can be nuanced, and nuance doesn't get clicks. Frankly, I'm excited to the response I get to this mess of an essay, so before you leave, I'd like to drop that Lindsay Ellis quote one last time.
I'm not looking to moralize. I'm not looking to prescribe behavior. I'm simply looking to say "hey, this exists," and "hey, look at how these things look similar but function differently."
If you're looking for a poppy brutal hot take cancelling a large group of people, just wait a few weeks. I'm drafting an article about why I hate those people who think they're hipster for watching murder tv, even though the murder tv industry wouldn't exist if there wasn't mainstream demand...
Post-Essay Ethics Question To Chew On:
If a drag performer knowingly and intentionally performs female Clown minstrelsy, but - through purpose or accident - this leads to the betterment both queer people and women, is the initial action still bad?
Answer in the comments below! (must be 5K words or more, standard MLA format, submitted in person and as a PDF).
Buffoonery

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Phyllodactylus muralis (листопалий гекон оахацький) — вид геконоподібних ящірок родини Phyllodactylidae. Ендемік Мексики.

Підвиди
 Phyllodactylus muralis isthmus Dixon, 1964
 Phyllodactylus muralis muralis Taylor, 1940

Поширення і екологія
Оахацькі листопалі гекони є ендеміками штату Оахака на півдні Мексики. Вони поширені на півдні і південному сході перешийка Теуантепек, в районі затоки Теуантепек і на північний захід від неї, в сухих широколистяних тропічних лісах. Також вони зустрічаються на плантаціях, в садах і в людських поселеннях.

Примітки

Phyllodactylidae
Тварини, описані 1940
Плазуни Мексики
Ендемічна фауна Мексики

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
1300 Clay Street, Ste. 810
Email: skumagai@lkclaw.com
Susan Kumagai is a founding partner of the firm. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California at Davis School of Law (King Hall). Ms. Kumagai heads the labor and employment department of the firm.
Ms. Kumagai has extensive experience practicing in both federal and state courts. She specializes in labor and employment representing management in the areas of discrimination, harassment, retaliation, whistle-blower, wrongful discharge claims and ERISA.
Ms. Kumagai serves on the Board Development Committee of the Bar Association of San Francisco ("BASF") and previously served as a member of the BASF Board of Directors and as a member of its Nominating and Judiciary Committees. In 2015, Susan Kumagai was inducted to the California Minority Counsel Program ("CMCP") Diversity Leader Hall of Fame, in recognition of her contributions to diversity in the legal profession and long-term involvement in the organization. Ms. Kumagai is an active member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Solo/Small Firm Committee. Ms. Kumagai has been recognized in the Northern California Super Lawyers® list for 2009 through 2019 and has an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell.
Ms. Kumagai has been a panelist for CEB attorney education seminars, the National Employment Law Council, the California Minority Counsel Program ("CMCP"), the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the State Bar of California's Ethnic and Minority Relations Committee, NAPABA and Sterling Education Services. She is a former member of the CMCP's Steering Committee and its Executive Committee, was the Chair of the 2002 CMCP Annual Business Conference and was a Co-Chair for its 2008 Conference.
Ms. Kumagai is admitted to practice before all courts of the State of California, the United States District Court for all Districts of California, the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.
"What Employers Should Know about the Demise of DOMA and the Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages for Employee Benefits Purposes," National Association of Minority and Women-Owned Law Firms Annual Meeting, September 2014
"California Dreamin': How to Avoid the California Litigation Lottery," Macy's, Inc., October 2013
"Business Development Strategies for Minority- and Women-Owned Law Firms," Minority Corporate Counsel Association 10th Annual Creating Pathways to Diversity Conference, November 2007
"Advanced Trial Skills II – Winning on Paper: Jury Instructions, Motions in Limine and Perfecting the Record for Appeal," National Employment Law Council Annual Conference, May 2006
"Evaluating Discrimination and Termination Lawsuits," Minority Corporate Counsel Association 4th Annual CLE Expo, March 2005
Published Opinions:
HUD v. Rucker, 535 U.S. 125 (2002)
Alvis v. AT&T, 377 Fed.Appx. 673 (9th Cir. 2010)
Embury v. King, 179 Fed.Appx. 409 (9th Cir. 2006)
Embury v. King, 361 F.3d 562 (9th Cir. 2004)
Henderson v. Equilon Enterprises, LLC, 40 Cal.App.5th 1111 (2019)
Wellpoint Health Networks, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, 59 Cal.App.4th 110 (1997)
Co-author, "Bench Trials," in California Trial Practice: Civil Procedure During Trial, 3rd ed., ed. Linda Compton et al., (Berkeley, CA: CEB, 1994)


text:
Q: Getting a KeyError when creating a loop to fill a dataframe So I'm working with the Darksky API to store historical weather data into a dataframe. However, I get a KeyError when trying to load the dataframe with data.
How I'm doing this is using a for loop that runs over each hour and collects all the hourly data. So when you query the API you get an output like this:
Output Data
weather['hourly']
{'summary': 'Mostly cloudy starting in the morning.', 'icon': 'partly-cloudy-day', data': [{

*

*'time': 1528354800,

*'summary': 'Partly cloudy',

*'icon': 'partly-cloudy-night',

*'precipIntensity': 0,

*'precipProbability': 0,

*'temperature': 12.94,

*'apparentTemperature': 12.94,

*'dewPoint': 9.36,

*'humidity': 0.79,

*'pressure': 1011.4,

*'windSpeed': 2.2,

*'windGust': 2.69,

*'windBearing': 252,

*'cloudCover': 0.33,

*'uvIndex': 0,

*'visibility': 13.81}]}

This data will show for each hour for a given day, or range of days if you loop it. So first I created my dataframe like so:
Dataframe Creation
daily_weather = pd.DataFrame(

*

*{'time': [],

*'realtime': [],

*'summary': [],

*'icon': [],

*'precipIntensity': [],

*'precipProbability': [],

*'temperature': [],

*'apparentTemperature': [],

*'dewPoint': [],

*'humidity': [],

*'pressure': [],

*'windSpeed': [],

*'windGust': [],

*'windBearing': [],

*'cloudCover': [],

*'uvIndex': [],

*'visibility': []})

Then I'm using a loop to call the API and load the data over  a range of time to fill the dataframe:
Filling The DataFrame:
for day in range (1,30):
dt = datetime(2018, 6, day).isoformat()

weather = forecast('d783b2b300466c9bd421eb89ebbd2eca', *VICTORIA, time = dt)

weather.refresh(units='si')

for hour in weather['hourly']['data']:

    daily_weather = daily_weather.append(

    {'time': hour['time'],
     'realtime': datetime.fromtimestamp(hour['time']),
     'summary': hour['summary'],
     'icon': hour['icon'],
     'precipIntensity': hour['precipIntensity'],
     'precipProbability': hour['precipProbability'],
     'temperature': hour['temperature'],
     'apparentTemperature': hour['apparentTemperature'],
     'dewPoint': hour['dewPoint'],
     'humidity': hour['humidity'],
     'pressure': hour['pressure'],
     'windSpeed': hour['windSpeed'],
     'windGust': hour['windGust'],
     'windBearing': hour['windBearing'],
     'cloudCover': hour['cloudCover'],
     'uvIndex': hour['uvIndex'],
     'visibility': hour['visibility'],
     }, ignore_index=True)

If I only include the first few parameters the code works, but I get an error when using everything:
KeyError
I'd love any direction please. I am stumped.

A: Have a look at their documentation, it says that precipIntensity, like many other values, is optional. To prevent errors like this from happening, use hour.get('precipIntensity, 0) to default to 0 - though you can also default to None if you want

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: How to retrieve the integration-stream that belongs to my development view I have a development view, which is linked to a development stream, which delivers to an integration stream.
What is the best way to find the integration stream using console commands ?

A: You could use a fmt_ccase query with cleartool describe, by looking at the UCM project:
cleartool descr -fmt "%[istream]Xp" project:myProject@\myPVob

If you don't have the project name ready, you can:

*

*get the stream from your view

*list all pvobs and find the one which includes said dev stream: the current project will be your project name, from which you can get the integration stream name.

A: If you CD or set into your view, cleartool lsstream -long -cview should tell you your default deliver target, which is usually the integration stream. If it's not, you can get the information from the project listed or by looking at the default deliver target...


text:
Q: How can i convert a react componet into a object , any online tool? react element
const element = (

Hellow world

)

js object
element = {
  type: 'h1',
  props: {
    className: 'heading',
    tabIndex: 0,
    children: 'Hellow World'
  }
}


text:
Betjeman: The Collection DVD
Sir John Betjeman was one of British television's most loved personalities.
He was a prolific writer, poet, broadcaster, and active architectural campaigner and conservationist. Britain's former Poet Laureate was also celebrated for his unwavering devotion and lifelong passion for traditional architecture. A champion of British heritage, Betjeman worked closely with the BBC to produce many critically acclaimed documentaries. Known for his wry and honest opinions, he travelled to places of great architectural and historical importance and eloquently explained their significance. He helped to open our eyes to the true value of the buildings and places around us.
To celebrate his legacy this collection brings together three of Betjeman's celebrated BBC documentaries; A Passion For Churches, A Bird's Eye View and Four with Betjeman: Victorian Architects and Architecture.
Each programme displays Betjeman's infectious enthusiasm for architecture and showcases his enduring appeal.
Sir John Betjeman was one of Britain's foremost intellectuals. His combination of the arts and classical studies ensured a reputation as one of Britain's foremost thinkers. In this excellent new set of documentaries, made for the BBC during the 1960s and brought together for the first time on DVD by Simply Media, we see the full depth of Sir John's innumerable talents. Betjeman spares no time in engaging his audience in each subject. Betjeman's love of architecture is clear throughout and his passion and knowledge for the subject ensures that the audience is never felt that they are not in the hands of a master of his craft.
The cinematography of the films is stunning; for the period they are refined, elegant and capture the beauty of the buildings that Betjeman visits in crystal clear quality. One could argue that the fact they are in black and white makes them more atmospheric and further enhances the beauty of the buildings.
In conclusion, Betjeman: The Collection is a fascinating, invigorating and without doubt one of the great examples of classic documentary making; clear, effective and genuinely entertaining.
With thanks to Simply Media. You can purchase Betjeman: The Collection on DVD here from Simply Media. Readers of the site can use the special Consulting Detective discount code CONDEC10 or follow this link to apply your 10% discount automatically.
Tags: A Bird's Eye View, A Passion For Churches, Betjeman: The Collection DVD, Betjeman: Victorian Architects, Four with Betjeman: Victorian Architects, Simply Media DVD, Sir John Betjeman
← Victorious Century Review
Retouch Review →


text:
Edward or Eddie Parker may refer to:

Edward Parker, 12th Baron Morley (1550–1618), English peer
Edward Parker (cricketer) (born 1939), Zimbabwean cricketer
Edward Griffin Parker (1825–1868), United States lawyer, editor and author
Edward Harper Parker (1849–1926), English Chinese scholar
Edward Hazen Parker (1823–1896), American physician and poet
Edward Lutwyche Parker (1785–1850), United States (Londonderry, N.H.) Presbyterian clergyman
Edward M. Parker (1855–1925), bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States
Edward N. Parker (1904–1989), American admiral
Edward Stone Parker (1802–1865), Methodist preacher and assistant Protector of Aborigines
Eddie Parker (actor) (1900–1960), stuntman and actor
Eddie Parker (musician) (born 1959), English jazz flautist and composer
Eddie Parker, character in Inheritance (2020 film)

See also
Ned Parker, fictional character in Neighbours
Ed Parker (1931–1990), American martial artist


reverse.) … White Pages telephone directory for your area, access to the AT&T.
Jul 20, 2018 … AT&T Has Committed To Begin Implementation of SHAKEN/STIR in Early 2019.
North American Numbering Plan telephone directory number.
Jul 11, 2017 … AT&T. 3033 Chain Bridge Road. Oakton, VA 22124. Phone: (703)-474-6025 …..
when the response comes back from the IPv4 device to.
Rebuttal Report of Carl Shapiro [REDACTED]: U.S. v. AT&T Inc., et al.
also sells fixed line telephone, wireless, and broadband service.
limitation. Seo … Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's order finding.
and Reverse Two-Point Turnabout …. outside 18" curb line (after 3 att.) Fail.
because while ''reverse ….. Facebook and Verizon and AT&T, they.
reverse the trial court's refusal to suppress all physical evidence and statements.
Apr 3, 2018 … warrantless pinging of a cellphone because: (1) the plain- language …… Crim.
It would be possible to reverse the sequence of the briefs, so that.
fiber optic ….. is seeking to reverse that order. …… AT&T wireless.
Did your. CoC add or remove emergency shelter, transitional housing …..
…… Is there a phone number and/or email …… ccenteroutreach@att.net.
towers is ….. 2018, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Knoxville, TN.
Rapid Reverse DNS Lookups for Web Servers … the server must perform a DNS lookup in the in- addr.arpa domain, called a reverse lookup, to translate a.
Reverse DNS Overview What is \'Reverse DNS\'?
the DNS look-up process return resolves to input into the DNS reverse look-up process return domain names can be called in for example, www.example.com.
2 DNS Look Up window ………………………………………….. ………………………………………….. .. ……………………….. 34. 3 DNS Cache Snapshot window …. Reverse Zone Wizard.
reverse DNS … Loose ends: how to manage reverse. DNS. ○ If you have at least a /24 of address space then … e.g. for 196.222.0.4, the remote host will lookup.
We also did not capture packets corresponding to reverse DNS lookups (PTR queries) for a small number of names within MIT, once again to preserve privacy.
15-441 Lecture 7 Outline What is DNS? How resolve name → IP addr?
What is DNS? • DNS (Domain Name Service) is primarily used to …. Do lookup of distant host names for local hosts. Do lookup of …. Reverse DNS. A. b k. → Add.
Now try some reverse DNS lookups. # dig -x 196.200.223.X … where X is an IP address (1..254). Repeat for an IP address of your choice. Now try to lookup:.
Jan 18, 2013 … play with DNS lookups from various applications to understand more … need to observe the existence of CDN through traceroute and reverse.
Here is a command for a reverse-DNS lookup nslookup 69.51.22.77. Output: Server: google-public-dns-a.google.com. Address: 8.8.8.8. Name: bellsdriving. com.
FTP daemons, and services protected with TCP Wrappers) uses a combination of reverse (IP to hostname) and forward (hostname to IP) DNS lookups. A remote.
Is IPv6 Reverse DNS Delegation required?
Current Usage of Reverse DNS lookup. ▫ For security check by servers. ▫ Reject access if hosts do not have reverse mapping. ▫ Verifying clients location.
To set up PTR records under Microsoft\'s DNS Server. 26. 4.4.4. …… Checks whether local domains have MX records. Reverse DNS. Lookup. Configuration.


Congressional Democrats are renewing their push for gun control measures in the wake of the Orlando terror massacre, arguing the best way to prevent suspected terrorists from carrying out acts of violence is to legally limit their access to firearms.
Republicans have their own proposals for confronting the terror threat, and warn that certain gun control measures could make Americans less safe. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday touted proposals to improve refugee screening and other measures to deal with homegrown terrorism.
But while some Democrat-backed gun proposals have little chance of passing — like a reinstated assault-weapons ban, a move President Obama endorsed Tuesday — others could gain traction in Congress.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., specifically are pushing a proposal to the top of the Democratic agenda that would bar suspected terrorists from purchasing guns and explosives.
The bill would allow federal authorities to block gun sales to anyone on a government watch list or whom federal officials believe might use the gun in a terror attack.
It's unclear whether such measures would have prevented the Orlando massacre. The shooter, according to the FBI, was on a watch-list between May 2013 and March 2014 – but apparently just bought two guns, legally, in the week before the attack.
Republicans, meanwhile, have warned that one incorrect entry on a watch list could deprive someone of their Second Amendment rights.
But Democrats contend the measure, which was initially proposed by President George W. Bush, would include an appeals process for anyone who thinks they were unfairly put on a watch list or denied a gun.
The measure is attracting some support outside the Democratic ranks.
On Tuesday, Maine's Republican Sen. Susan Collins and independent Sen. Angus King said they'd be ready to support the measure.
"I don't know why we have a process that would not let people buy a ticket for an airplane, but would allow them to buy a gun," King told The Press Herald.
Feinstein's December measure came after the San Bernardino shooting and failed mostly along party lines. In that tragedy, California couple Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people and seriously wounded 22 others.
Schumer claimed if Feinstein's policy had been in place, it might have prevented Omar Mateen's bloody weekend rampage at Orlando's Pulse nightclub where he brutally killed 49 people and injured dozens more in the worst mass shooting in modern American history.
Currently, there is no legal prohibition barring someone on a terror watch list from purchasing a firearm. In September 2014, the FBI told a congressional subcommittee there are about 800,000 names on the official government terror watch database. Names on the list contain both Americans and foreigners who pose a threat to the U.S.
"We are looking for needles in a nationwide haystack," FBI Director James Comey said Monday.
There are other Democratic proposals in the works, including their frequently revived call to reinstate the assault-weapons ban.
"We have to make it harder for people who want to kill Americans to get their hands on weapons of war," Obama said Tuesday.
But most Republicans say stopping similar tragedies has nothing to do with cutting off access to guns.
"We should not make it harder for law-abiding Americans to defend themselves when radical Islamic terrorists are successfully launching attacks on U.S. soil," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement.
On Monday, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump said fighting off future attacks would involve a temporary ban on Muslim immigration. Trump also called for an expansion to encompass "areas of the world where there's a proven history of terrorism against" the United States and its allies.
Trump's comments drew fresh criticism from House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said a "security test, not a religious test" was needed for immigrants.
Last week, House Republicans released a 23-page proposal on how to protect the homeland.


Style # 1H981 Featuring three exposed bulbs, the Lofty 3-light bath light by Varaluz is hand-forged steel with a stained wood accent. Sorry - sold out!
Classic industrial design is enhanced with woodworking warmth to create the Lofty bath light by Varaluz. A rectangular backplate of hand-forged steel hosts a dark stained wood accent. Simple metal horseshoe accents and overhang arms, all in steel finish, highlight three exposed incandescent bulbs and their moody ambient glow. The Lofty will bring its steely antique sophistication to your vanity.
Industrial 3-light bath light from the Lofty collection by Varaluz.
Steel finish over hand-forged recycled steel construction. Wood back detail.


The Pulitzer Prize-winning Watergate journalist describes Trump administration dysfunction in his forthcoming book.
Trump revokes Brennan's security clearance while a jury considers Manafort's fate.
The tape corroborates Manigault Newman's claim that the Trump campaign sought to buy her silence.
Omarosa and Michael Cohen have made powerful allegations against Trump in recent weeks. But everyone involved has credibility issues.
It was another big night of firsts in America, as candidates with diverse backgrounds won the the Democratic nomination in a handful of primaries across the country.
The Trump campaign is seeking millions from Manigault Newman and might seek the profits she may receive from the sale of her book, the 'Washington Examiner' reported.
Once a reality television villain, always a reality television villain.
Manigault doubled down Sunday on claims that Trump used a racial slur and said she "failed miserably" by defending the president in the past.
Plus Brad Pitt says he actually does pay child support.
His already low job approval among black Americans has dropped 60% since his first week in office.
Trump and the Republican Party have a history of alleged tokenism and disingenuous appeals to black voters.
The former 'Apprentice' contestant's tumultuous tenure in the White House has come to an end.
Ryan, who has covered the White House for 20 years, said Omarosa is "trying to harm my integrity and my career."
A look at Omarosa Manigault's long history as a reality show villain.


Pronunciation guide: Learn how to pronounce Elin in Swedish, Norwegian Bokmål, Danish, Faroese, Welsh, Finnish with native pronunciation. Elin translation. Pronunciation of Elin - Learn how Elin is pronounced in different languages. girl names > elin > pronounce. name search Pronounce Elin in Swedish. Thinking about the name Elin - I've been assuming we would pronounce it the ' Welsh' way rather than the 'Scandi' way. Trouble is, I don't know for.
How to say or pronounce Elin in different languages and countries. Pronunciation guide for the name of people and places. Find Submitted from: Sweden. So, how would y'all pronounce Elin? Ellen? E lynn, but we have a dear friend from sweden who spells it that way & pronounces it E lynn. How do you say Elin in Swedish? Pronunciation of Elin found 2 audio voices for Elin.
How would YOU pronounce Elin? I went to HS with someone with this name ( she was from Sweden) and she pronounced it eh-LIN. I like that. Tiger Wood's Swedish wife, Elin do you pronounce it as EEE-lin, with a "long E," (as in "tree") or as Eh-lin, with a "short E," (as in "egg")? I.


New York, NY — Penthouse Pet Natasha Starr will be feature dancing at Stars Cabaret this weekend, on Friday, July 29 in Salem, OR and a very special 20th and final anniversary show in Beaverton, OR on Saturday, July 30. She will be joined by sister Natalia Starr, and will be performing two shows a night, at 11pm PT and at 1am PT. "I'm excited to be performing at Stars Cabaret, they are wonderful gentlemen's clubs and I am honored to be the last performer for Beaverton's 20th and final anniversary," says Natasha. "I'm going to give them the sexiest send off, and it will be a night to remember." Natasha, who appears as Ivana Trump in the Hustler Video release The Donald: This is a Parody, will be available for autographs, photographs, and VIP lap dances. Stars Cabaret in Salem is located on 1550 Weston Court NE, Salem, OR 97301 and for VIP table reservation call 503-370-8063. Stars Cabaret in Beaverton is located on 4570 SW Lumberton Avenue, Beaverton, OR and VIP reservations call 503-350-0668. For more information on all four Stars Cabaret establishments in Oregon visit StarsCabaret.com.


Our new Outdoor Recycled Rubber Stair Tread #633 is a perfect solution for exterior stair covering on a tighter budget than Aluminum Stair Treads allow.
These rubber stair treads are made entirely from 100% recycled tires that would have otherwise sat in a landfill forever. They are made using a similar mold to our #622 square nose stair treads and #626 rubber stair treads, so you can match the pattern of your treads outside to inside as well. Due to the difficulties involved with dyeing recycled tire rubber though, these are only available in black, as shown to the right.
The Outdoor Recycled Rubber Stair Treads are the most durable rubber treads you'll find. They will hold up to anything nature can throw at it as long as it is properly installed. These are the only non-metal or wood stair treads that can be safely installed by screws. If you would prefer to glue it down though, please feel free to contact our customer service department for adhesive recommendations.


Kit out your off-roader with Safety Devices' market-leading roll cages and roof racks.
Safety Devices has been designing and manufacturing roll cages (Roll Over Protection) for over 40 years. In fact our subsidiary, Aley Bars, has been making motorsport roll cages since the mid 1960's when John Aley introduced the first roll cages to European motorsport.
Today Safety Devices International Ltd is a modern UK Company producing Roll Over Protection and other accessories for many different applications including Motorsport, Expedition, Fleet and Military.
Knowledge, experience and knowhow is a shared resource between the different applications to bring you the best solutions available. From our workshop in Suffolk we have provided solutions to the British Army, James Bond, Land Rover, Top Gear, BP and Lotus amongst many others.
Select your area of interest from the menu bar above, or a call us for more information.
As well as roll cages, we also offer a specialist range of roof racks, seating systems, harnesses and other products, many of which can be purchased through our accessories shop.


The domain within your query sequence starts at position 6 and ends at position 87; the E-value for the PDE6_gamma domain shown below is 6e-51.
Retinal rod and cone cGMP phosphodiesterases function as the effector enzymes in the vertebrate visual transduction cascade. This family represents the inhibitory gamma subunit [(PUBMED:11900530)], which is also expressed outside retinal tissues and has been shown to interact with the G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 signalling system to regulate the epidermal growth factor- and thrombin-dependent stimulation of p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinase in human embryonic kidney 293 cells [(PUBMED:11502744)].


· Cd /dvd drivew per right click kare.
· Enable cd recordingon this drive me jaye.
· Or yaha apply kare.
Fir side panel ke option me jaye RIGHT THIS FILES ON CD PER CLICK KARE.
RECICLE BIN me delet file ko kaise vapas laya jaye iske bareme janege.
Sir dvd player kaam kaise karta hai. Esme kon kon se components lage hote hai.?
Congratulations, you have the opportunity to be the first comments on this article .
have a question or suggestion ? please leave a comment to start the discussion.


So James and I are trying to make Tuesday night in the Paquette household 'Family Night'. Our purpose is obviously to be together as a family and have fun, but also to teach the girls the Bible and God's truths from it. This week, we learned about Noah and the girls had lots of fun playing in the ark daddy built them.


Nothing compares to the feeling that you are in the right place at the right time doing the right thing for the right reason. It's as if all of the uniquely fashioned puzzle pieces of your life have clicked into place, and you catch a glimpse of the big picture, your unique purpose in life. The purpose of these blog posts is to help you (and me) "make it click" on a regular basis.
I believe God gave you a specific purpose, something that you and only you can accomplish during your lifetime. Your purpose is a lot like a manufacturer's coupon. It is good for a limited time (corresponding to the expiration date on your tombstone); it's worth nothing until you redeem it; and as you redeem it your satisfaction is guaranteed.
You may be well on your way to redeeming your purpose; if so, I'd like to hear about it and invite you to join me in the crusade. The story of your purpose redemption needs to be told and may inspire others to go and do likewise.


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AMERIKA: 'Divide & Conquer', BLM's War on the Deplorables – By Mike Whitney
The Smoking Man / September 21, 2020
Source – unz.com
– "…They need a flashy social justice organization (BLM) to divert attention from widening inequality, spiraling unemployment, ballooning poverty, shrinking growth, and the savage restructuring of the economy that is creating a permanent underclass forced to scrape by at food banks, homeless shelters and tent cities that are sprouting up across the country but which are religiously ignored by our prostitute media?"
BLM's War on the Deplorables – By Mike Whitney
MIKE WHITNEY • SEPTEMBER 19, 2020
• 2,900 WORDS • 209 COMMENTS • REPLY
Let's assume that Black Lives Matter is not a "social justice" movement, but a corporate-sponsored public relations vehicle that's being used to advance the agenda of elites? Is that too much of a stretch?
And let's say that the massive protests that erupted across the country were not random or spontaneous events as some people seem to think, but part of a broader strategy to control the headlines by shifting the dominant "narrative" to race. The death of George Floyd fits perfectly with this "broader strategy", as the incident took place 6 months before the general election, which (conveniently) gave the Democrats enough time to mount an effective attack on Donald Trump using an issue on which they feel he is particularly vulnerable. (Race)
Was it all a coincidence?
Maybe or maybe not. But it's certainly worth investigating, after all, we've just endured 3 and a half years of relentless fabrications connected to the Russiagate scam, so the idea that this latest headline-grabbing fiasco might be, well, fake, is certainly within the realm of possibility.
So, let's see if we can figure out "why" wealthy elites and their giant charitable foundations would choose to dump millions of dollars into an organization that claims to be Marxist. Could be that….
They are genuinely committed to social justice for black people?
They think "racist" cops are the Number 1 problem facing black people today?
They think the massive protests are raising consciousness which will have a transformative effect on the country?
They need a flashy social justice organization (BLM) to divert attention from widening inequality, spiraling unemployment, ballooning poverty, shrinking growth, and the savage restructuring of the economy that is creating a permanent underclass forced to scrape by at food banks, homeless shelters and tent cities that are sprouting up across the country but which are religiously ignored by our prostitute media?
If you chose Number 4, you guessed right. The protests, demonstrations and riots are all part of a spectacular "Product Launch", the most impressive Madison Avenue-type extravaganza of all-time. BLM has exploded onto the scene just months before the election eliminating all of the 10 Top issues listed by Gallup that voters really care about, and skillfully shifting the public's attention to race, race relations, social justice and cops. What an astonishing turnaround! In the old days we would have called this the "old switcheroo", an art-form that has been perfected by BLM (and their Democrat handlers) who have turned the election on its head by burning down half the country, then claiming they are the victims. How's that for twisted logic?
So, what can we say definitively about BLM? What does the group really believe and what is it trying to achieve? Having spent a fair amount of time on their website, I'm still puzzled. The website contains a number of emotive videos with pulsing background music and lively narration. But–like everything else with this shadowy group– there doesn't seem to be much substance. The emphasis seems to be on appearances rather than policy, slogans rather than remedies, and catchy monikers (Black Lives Matter) rather than thoughtful recommendations for real change. So, where's the beef? Who is Black Lives Matter and what do they want?
Are they a civil rights group in the tradition of Martin Luther King?
Are they a black power group in the tradition of Malcolm X and the Black Panthers?
Are they "Marxists" like they say?
Of course not. Have you ever heard them talk about "historical materialism", "social relations", "capitalist accumulation", or any of the other concepts that are central to Marxist ideology? No. Heck, they don't even talk about the glorious "revolution" that's supposed to topple the capitalist system and pave the way to "socialist utopia".
Why would anyone call themselves a Marxist when they never talk about revolution, wage-labor or class struggle? Why?
Because it's a silly affectation that appeals to leftists, that's why. It's like wearing a beret to an art exhibit, it's a meaningless display of ideological conformity. The Marxist label is a glitzy designation that is intended to mislead the public about who runs the group, how it is organized, what its leaders believe and what their true intentions are. The idea that a "trained Marxist" –who wholeheartedly believes that society is broken into "classes whose interests stand in irreconcilable opposition"– would create a group whose views are entirely shaped by race and race relations is patently absurd. It is a contradiction in terms. These are not Marxists leaders and this is not a "social justice" movement. So, what are they?
They're an NGO, a non-governmental organization which provides services to its members and its patrons. Like many NGOs, they have won the public's trust, which makes them a useful proxy for stakeholders who remain largely in the shadows. In short, BLM is corporate-funded, agenda-driven franchise performing the tasks that best promote the interests of its deep-pocket contributors. The grassroots social justice stuff is mostly baloney.
And who are the contributors? Check out this excerpt from an article at The Unz Review:
"In the wake of the racial unrest which followed Freddie Gray's death in Baltimore in 2015, George Soros's Open Society Institute donated $650,000 to Black Lives Matter...According to one watchdog group, "In 2016 organizations in the Black Lives Matter movement received $33 million in grants from the Open Society Foundations, founded by Hungarian hedge fund manager George Soros in 1993, and the Center for American Progress, founded by former White House chief of staff and Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta in 2003." According to the Washington Times, access to Soros money insured another $100 million from "a series of wealthy liberal foundations including The Ford Foundation, in addition to $33 million in grants from the Open Society Foundations, with additional grant-making from the Center for American Progress." ("The Invisible Man at the Race Riots", E Michael Jones, The Unz Review)
Is it safe to assume that the money flowing into BLM from these uber-Capitalists is not being provided to support a "Marxist" revolution?
Yes, that's a fair assumption. Big donors don't hand out millions of dollars to groups that want to overthrow capitalism and redistribute their wealth to the struggling proles. That's NOT why they're funding BLM. They're funding BLM because it is an effective vehicle for achieving their political ambitions while hiding behind the fig leaf of "social justice". That's what's really going on. BLM is just a mask behind which the elites operate.
And what do these donors get for their money?
They get a logistically-sophisticated, well-trained, fully-mobilized domestic insurgency which is capable of inflicting massive damage on cities or towns across the country at a moment's notice. They also get an activist militia that uses military-type tactics while taking advantage of a highly-developed social media infrastructure which is second to none. Finally, they get an experienced band of street-smart hooligans capable of prosecuting a hybrid war on the state, the objective of which is to undermine confidence in government institutions, roll back critical civil liberties protections, plunge the country into a protracted, fratricidal war, replace the existing Constitutional Republic with a new authoritarian order and spread social unrest and mayhem from sea to shining sea. If you are a foreign oligarch who wants to transform America into an impoverished Third World Shithole, BLM is not a bad place to put your money.
Of course, according to Wikipedia, there are no "Financial transparency issues". Take a look:
"Some observers have stated that the Black Lives Matter nonprofit does not adequately disclose what their financial contributions are spent on. Executives from Black Lives Matter have denied that it uses ActBlue to donate to the Democratic National Committee. In an AskReddit thread, Black Lives Matter indicated that their expenditures include "… civic engagement, expansion of chapters, Arts & Culture, organizing and digital advocacy resources and tools." (Wikipedia)"
"Civic engagement"?!?
Is that like 'burning down a furniture store in Kenosha' or beating a 70 year-old Asian woman to death with a 2×4? The group needs to clarify.
The funding issue is not going to go away nor should it. The American people need to know who is providing the resources for the massive rampage that took place in over 700 cities across the country. As yet, not one US corporation has withheld donations pending an investigation of whether BLM was responsible for the damage or not. Why is that, do you think?
Is it because these foundations and plutocrats are getting exactly what they paid for?
Uh huh. What we know for certain, is that the riots were the worst in the nation's history and that the insurance payouts already exceed $2 billion. Check it out from RT:
"The tidal wave of arson, vandalism, and other property crimes that swept across the nation in the aftermath of the Floyd killing left between $1 billion and $2 billion in damages, as measured by insurance claims paid out by the industry….
While that figure represents only the damage done between May 26 and June 8 – meaning the real figure taking into account the destruction in cities like Portland and Kenosha is likely much higher –it still represents the worst riot damage in insurance industry history, according to the report. Previously, only natural disasters like hurricanes and floods had resulted in over $1 billion in damage claims." ("George Floyd riots cost insurance companies as much as $2 BILLION – more than any in HISTORY, industry claims", RT)
We also know that BLM was at the center of the action despite the pathetic coverup by the Democrat-owned media. Here's more background from an article at The Federalist:
"Contrary to corporate media narratives, up to 95 percent of this summer's riots are linked to Black Lives Matter activism, according to data collected by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). The data also show that nearly 6 percent — or more than 1 in 20 — of U.S. protests between May 26 and Sept. 5 involved rioting, looting, and similar violence, including 47 fatalities….
Of the 633 incidents coded as riots, 88 percent are recorded as involving Black Lives Matter activists….BLM activists were involved in 95 percent of the riots for which there is information about the perpetrators' affiliation…
…the data shows just how widespread the summer BLM-linked rioting has been. It has not been limited merely to anarchist strongholds such as Portland, Oregon… but has stretched across both major and minor U.S. cities and included dozens of locales with no violent police incidents this summer. ("Study: Up To 95 Percent Of 2020 U.S. Riots Are Linked To Black Lives Matter", The Federalist)
See what I mean? So, don't be confused by the media's obfuscation. These riots have BLM fingerprints all over them.
Fortunately, 50 House Republicans have asked Attorney General Barr to investigate this summer's riots and determine where these groups are getting their money. In their letter to Barr they said:
"It is clear that these individuals are well-funded and supported by a national network of left-wing activists committed to perpetrating violence and furthering anarchy in our streets… As such, we urge you to immediately open an investigation to identify and prosecute all individuals and groups responsible for funding and organizing these terroristic acts that are wreaking havoc on our nation." ("House Republicans Demand DOJ Investigate Organized Riots", The Federalist)
It's clear, that the Republican congressmen are referring to Antifa and other Black Bloc groups, but it probably won't matter. Once the investigation begins, BLM's finances will come under greater scrutiny and we'll finally see the source of their funding and how it filters through the organization. I'm not at all convinced that BLM is the leaderless "non-hierarchical" organization they pretend to be. That's another "leftist" fable. Large piles of money are not handed off to clerks in the back of the plant. They are given to trusted leaders who distribute the loot in a way that meets the requirements of the donors. BLM is not a charity, it's a franchise, which means it's probably run like every other top-down business.
The most damning critique of BLM appeared in an April, 2017 article at the World Socialist Web Site titled "Black Lives Matter cashes in on Black Capitalism". The article is an excellent investigative piece that provides essential information for understanding how BLM is set-up, who provides the funding, how the group has aligned itself with elite organizations, and how it is being used to splinter the working class consistent with the Democrats "divide and conquer" political strategy. Here's an extended excerpt from the piece which is "must read" material:
"Last summer, the Ford Foundation, one of the most powerful private foundations in the world, announced that it was organizing to channel $100 million to the Black Lives Movement over the next six years… In a statement of support, Ford called for the group to grow and prosper. "We want to nurture bold experiments and help the movement build the solid foundation that will enable it to flourish."…
From the beginning, the "mothers of the movement" Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi…specifically opposed uniting blacks, whites and immigrants against the brutal class-war policies of the capitalist state. Instead, the group did its best to confine anti-police violence protests within the framework of the capitalist system and push a racialist and pro-capitalist agenda.
Even prior to 2013, however, all three of t he cofounders had developed close ties to corporations, foundations, academia and/or government-sponsored agencies. Tometi, in particular, was a well-known quantity in these circles. She had spoken at the UN … had been to the White House and met with Obama liaison Heather Foster, and addressed the Aspen Institute, a high-level think tank associated with the US military and intelligence community….
The real substance of the group's policies is the unremitting injection of racial divisions and animosity into the movement of opposition to police violence. It aims to update the age-old tactic of divide and conquer, seeking to prevent the unity of the working class—black, white and immigrant—from challenging the capitalist system, the source of the deepening social and political oppression.
…..The Ford Foundation—with its long history stretching from its CIA fronts in the 1940s and the promotion of black capitalism in Detroit in the aftermath of the 1967 riots—provided a financial anchor for BLM's expansion.
The Ford Foundation enlisted other such "philanthro-capitalists": the Hill-Snowden Foundation, Solidaire (Ford Foundation and Leah Hunt-Hendrix, granddaughter of the oil and gas tycoon H.L. Hunt), the NoVo Foundation (started by Warren Buffett's son Peter and daughter-in-law Jennifer Buffett in 2006), the Association of Black Foundation Executives (Kellogg Foundation and JPMorgan Chase and its Black Organization for Leadership Development [BOLD]), the Neighborhood Funders Group–Funders for Justice (also funded by Ford), among others.
The media and the state
While spontaneous protests began to adopt the #BLM hashtag as opposition to police violence developed, it was the promotion by the bourgeois media that brought #BLM into national prominence…. As data accumulated by killedbypolice.net and other news media sources underscored the fact that police killings were directed against poor and working-class whites as well as inner-city blacks, the issues of social inequality, poverty and class began to take center stage. The more universal slogan "All Lives Matter" came into wide use.
BLM denounced the specter of growing class unity and decried "All Lives Matter" as illegitimate and even racist.…
BLM personnel meanwhile were being groomed for top-level official positions. Leading Black Lives Matter spokespersons made repeated trips to the White House in 2015 and 2016 to hold meetings with President Obama and his representatives. The Democratic Party was conferring official authority upon the group. …
Later in July, at a separate meeting with Obama, Mckesson and Packnett agreed that Packnett would serve as an official representative on Obama's Task Force for 21st Century Policing…
These remarkable meetings of top Black Lives Matter associates with the US president and his top police agencies demonstrated that the group had no objection to being incorporated into the state apparatus. Indeed, a "seat at the table" was their aim….BLM's hostility to the working class and reactionary rhetoric play an ever more dangerous role in the current political climate, dovetailing with the extreme right wing and legitimizing racialism.
Their assessment of the election of Donald Trump demonized the white working class, a view also promoted by Hillary Clinton, the New York Times and other pro-Democratic Party media. Utterly hostile to the unification of the working class against the class-war policies of the new government, BLM sees the possibility of "opportunities" under the Trump administration. Vowing to train 300 black leaders to take positions on "school boards, city councils, neighborhood councils, and every branch of government," the group looks to a further political future within the Democratic Party."
("Black Lives Matter cashes in on black capitalism", World Socialist Web Site)
Does it sound like BLM is a cog in a much bigger corporate-political-elitist machine?
Yes, it does.
Does it sound like they are being used to fragment and suppress the emerging populist movement that supports Trump's nationalism over the Democrat's globalism?
Yes, again.
Then, what can we glean from this article in the WSWS?
We can assume that BLM is largely an invention of ruling class elites to divert attention from the collapsing economy and the unprecedented human catastrophe that will follow shortly after the election. The plan involves shifting public attention to divisive racial issues that put working people at each other's throats while concealing the vicious class war that is being prosecuted behind the shield of a fake social justice movement.
Bottom line: BLM is not the friend of working people, in fact, it is funded by their sworn enemies. They are the foot soldiers in the War on the Deplorables.
https://www.unz.com/mwhitney/blms-war-on-the-deplorables/
September 21, 2020 in AMERIKA: From Republic to Theme Park -- and Back, BIO-Warfare: Targeted Toxins & World War 'C', Voodoo Economics.
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Book Review: Farang by Peter Blair
By Marcella Prokop
To read Peter Blair's Farang is to find oneself in a lucid dream. Set in Thailand and wavering between Bangkok, the "Up-country" and Pittsburgh, Blair's language moves readers through scenes with the elegance of a foreign dancer: the rhythms are mesmerizing, the experience transcendent. Having spent three years in Thailand in the Peace Corps, Blair knows what it is to be a farang, the Thai word for "foreigner" that means so much more than just that. He writes as an English teacher in a foreign land, his main speaker working through the joys and sorrows of instruction, of class bonds, of trying and sometimes managing to fit in. The nature of duality that defines those who are bound to contradictory memories, places and interests comes to life in the existence of Thai culture. Thailand is duality—it is the land of pleasure but also the land of restraint, of the Buddha—and this conflict is woven into this collection. Whether illuminating saffron robes or Pittsburgh's "cold November drizzle," Blair details the beautiful nature of memory, loss and uncertainty in these luminous poems.
"Thai and American cultures, two dreams / of one world, the Dharma," he writes in the opening poem, "Discussing the Dream of Culture with Professor Kwaam." Blair's speaker questions the Dharma—the word of the Buddha and the way of life in his new home—and finds himself grasping for answers. To accept Buddhism is to accept the loss of ego, and throughout these poems Blair's many speakers question tradition, reality and the life that unfolds around them. What is it to dream, to exist in this reality? Buddhists love confusing those unversed in their word, not to be cruel, but to crack open the uninitiated mind to a new perspective. As the speaker in this first poem works through a streetside meal of noodles in Bangkok, he is confronted by the "emptiness deepening" in his companion's bowl. This is a powerful poem, for its lack of resolution sets the tone for the collection. As the seasons and locations change, the principal speaker becomes more firmly entrenched in his dual nature, forgetting who he is and questioning what he knows. Yet strong voice is not the only element that unifies these poems. The ever-present reminder that at some point we are all foreigners in our own lives binds each scene to the reader. And so, like any good dream, another strong element of craft swirled into the sounds of Blair's poetry is his way with delicate images: the flash of ocean as a student drowns, the scent of an indescribable soup steaming from a bowl, the brilliance of a silent Buddha flaking chips of soft gold. Despite the confusion of this dual world, each image provides clarity in description, adding texture to these poems.
In "From the Window," the first poem in the second section of the collection, the speaker abandons all he has come to know. He leaves Siripan, his Thai lover; his former students; his now-familiar Bangkok, the City of Angels. Yet there is continued uncertainty, and continued growth. Blair's inquiries and insights in this section become as vaguely precise as a monk's questions: What comes first, the mountain, or the valley? Is life as an outsider choice or consequence? In this section readers find a different country, and with it, another set of lyrical poems that lead deeper into the Thai dream as remembered by a foreigner gone native.
The train pulls away from Bangkok station,
away from Siripan, from the closed
school and into a myth of rice fields.
What's older, the farmer plowing
a glass sea, or the idea
of motion, of wheels and wind?
A small blue comma, the man's body,
hunches over the plow in the distance.
The speaker questions movement here, his motion as well as the wheel that turns for all who live. Later, in "Barubador Temple," he examines a new conflict:
If I wasn't in love
with stones I could be the one
monk statue sitting free, nothing but air
and light around me.
This is intriguing scene and language because on the one hand this speaker is free, not just of traditional American constraints, but also in his ability to move from place to place. Yet his struggle to let go of his Western notions of life and attitude bind him to his body. Is it possible, he wonders, to sit, to know one space, and yet be grounded? Is it right to be happy in that place, yet wistful for another? As Blair moves through his two lives the question continues to haunt him.
One of the joys of reading these poems is that they work like a traditional Koan—a Zen form of poetry that confuses, yet (hopefully) enlightens the reader or listener. Each piece in this collection presents questions and lessons that prompt the reader to consider his or her nature. Getting into the meat of these poems, then, is like meditation, like getting to the moment or near-moment of Nirvana. The careful reader will suddenly, abruptly, feel the click, the ah-ha! of understanding. It takes loss and confusion, these stories say, to find the truth of being.
In "Night House," contemplating a student's paper about a Thai fairy tale, Blair's speaker unites the abstract and concrete by exploring emotion and necessity:
How can I grade its agreement
or tense? I want to hear the mother's
voice, her spirit calling like the frogs
in the paddies. Is that her, that magic
mother who speaks the language of rain,
husks and the night house?
English teacher or not, the reader can understand the speaker's problem: Is it better to maintain the order of structure and expectation and ignore the beauty of the content, or is it best to let oneself go to the whirlwind of feeling created as structure is broken? This is a question answered in the literal form of Blair's poems. The rules of storytelling apply to each poem, allowing each character to have his or her voice. It's a paradox that Blair as the principal author/speaker could accomplish this only through losing and questioning Blair as person. This cleavage is strongest in "Two Farangs" as the speaker transcends location and color, forgetting his own body, his own identity, while watching another farang from across the street:
Look, at that farang strutting
down the sidewalk, I think,
sweaty, hairy chest and shock
of frizzed, blond hair bright
in sunlight. Ragged pants,
no shirt, that beard.
I'm about to cross the street
to warn him we Thais
find big white bodies unsettling
as ghosts, until I glimpse
my pale reflection in a store
window, my round farang eyes
staring back at me in wonder.
Life as metaphor in this inquiry into self and reflection on who he is and who he's become challenges the speaker throughout these poems, and Blair's gentle way of setting up this tension pushes toward some kind of long-sought release. But as he brings his collection full circle in his return to Pittsburgh, that desire, like all desires, must fade in order for the speaker—and thus, the reader—to feel at peace with what is.
In "Back in Pittsburgh" the speaker feels out of place during the ceremonies surrounding his father's funeral. The memories of the times mentioned and people conjured are no longer his to cling to. Lost among once-familiar faces and streets and bars, the speaker attempts to return to the familiarity of his Thailand.
what I expect
to see throws me: not Singh quart bottles
but Iron City ponies on the table,
not sunshine on the wide Bangkok Boulevards
and palm trees waving in glare, but overcast sky,
narrow streets hugging hillsides, my tires
drumming cobblestones between old steel rails.
Those who have left home for distant lands and returned to once-familiar shores will connect with Blair's words here. The expectations, the memories of what once was—after life in another country these things too, are simply dreams, fading from grasp as times flows.
Driving the old streets I spot a blue bicycle
like the one I ride everyday in Ubol.
I want to follow it, as the rain thickens
into curtains between us, want to believe
its wavering silhouette will guide me home.
Home? Where is home, for this ghost of a man, this drifting voice here, that stone statue elsewhere? The speaker's dream has faded at the end, and caught between the reality of what is, now, and what was—both in Thailand and at home—he cannot find a place to plant himself. In the end, he dreams of two worlds again, his Thailand, his Pittsburgh, and both are gone, leaving him forever changed.
Filed under: Book Review, Poetics, Prose


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Michele Beiny, Inc.
Saint-Cloud pair of glass coolers
Code: MB615
Circa 1725-30
Soft-paste porcelain
Height: 4 5/16 in. (11 cm.)
Length: 5 1/2 in. (14 cm.)
The form of this pair of glass coolers was relatively typical of Saint-Cloud porcelain production and it derives from silver examples introduced at the end of the seventeenth century. Decorated in polychrome enamels, which the factory adopted in the 1720s, the chinoiserie design seen on the present glass coolers was almost always used in combination with this palette, as the colors of turquoise green, blue, purplish-brown, yellow, red and black recalled the colors of Chinese famille verte porcelains. The translucency of the pigments (visible especially in the turquoise blue seen in the robes of some of the figures and in elements of the landscape) lent itself nicely to Far Eastern motifs. While Chinese and Japanese art was certainly the inspiration for pieces like these, the painters at Saint-Cloud did not aim to copy directly from East Asian sources, but instead created scenes that evoked an imagined Far East.
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