My theology has been shaped by its roots within the Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement. There are many things that were "fed" to me by influential preachers and theologians within this movement. I have constantly sought however to read the Bible for myself and never settle for the conclusions of others. This has led me on occasion to go against the traditional theological stream of Restoration thought, including some of the nuanced understandings I have regarding the biblical teaching on repentance and baptism. However, one thing which I believe the Restoration Movement has continuously taught correctly is that repentance and baptism are the normative biblical means through which we become Christians.
I have posted this video clip of Francis Chan not to pat myself or the Restoration Movement on the back. Instead, my intention is to show that reaching such a conclusion as Chan reaches, as the Restoration Movement has historically reached, is not so far fetched if we just would read the Bible for what it is.
Reaching such a conclusion opens one to the oft tired accusation of teaching works-salvation or baptismal regeneration, neither of which I believe in or want to teach. In some future post(s) I will do some writing on the why of repentance and baptism as well as why embracing such practices as the normative biblical means of becoming a Christian can be done (and should be done) without either teaching a works-oriented salvation or baptismal regeneration. In the meantime, go back and read the book of through the book of Acts and ask yourself why repentance, baptism, and being filled with the Holy Spirit were (and still are) so important to becoming a disciple of Jesus – a Christian.
This entry was posted in Christian History, Churches of Christ, Missions and Ministry, Restoration Movement, Scripture, Theology. Bookmark the permalink.
Baptism is not a work simply because the Church does the action in baptism, and it is God acting in the Church, remitting sins, not the baptizand. Baptism, then, is a grace.
And why the opposition to baptismal regeneration? Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit ….?
And, once again, all this effort to re-invent the wheel. The Church did not disappear so as to need restoration. It needs to be found and submitted to. The Bereans were more noble, not because they simply looked at the Bible for themselves, but because they looked at the Bible in the light of the Apostolic Tradition and found that the Tradition presented the Scriptures in an accurate way. The Church after all is the ground and pillar , and not the individual, reading it for himself, alone. that is Interpretive Pelagianism, the notion of perspicuity that is implied therein.
But yes, repentance and baptism with laying on of hands is Christian initiation. Hebrews 6, remember, laying on of hands is a foundation doctrine along with baptisms.
Ben, at some point I think I souls do a blog on reading scripture within the church context, both present and historical. Though I embrace the idea of "Sola Scriptura", when scripture is read apart from the church context we run a great risk of reaching and accepting very questionable views (e.g., burning Qur'ans in the name of Jesus). And it seems to me that those of us Christians whose family tree branch grows out of Protestant history ought to be able to embrace Catholic and Orthodox history as an epistemological resource without necessarily being in agreement with everything that is Catholic or Orthodox. I hope that makes sense.
I'm assuming you are referring to John 3:5. However, that verse is not referring to Christian baptism. If it did, one would have to believe it was a later addition into the text (ala Bultmann) to add sacramental significance because it would make no sense to Nicodemus, particularly when we consider 3:10 where Jesus scolds him that he, being a teacher of Israel, should know what He (Jesus) was talking about.
It more than likely has to do with Eze 36:25-27; particularly when we consider John 3:8 and Eze 37. Nicodemus would known these texts and should have known about the cleansing from above. On the other hand, he would have no clue about Christian baptism (which would also make 3:10 a bit odd).
"Of water…" even has a better chance of referring to amniotic fluid than Christian baptism; particularly when you consider 3:6 and Jesus' comparison of flesh begetting flesh and Spirit begetting Spirit.
Note: I'm not denying Christian baptism (in the slightest!); I'm simply denying John 3:5 is speaking about it.
JR, that assertion seems only to be true if the 'cleansing from above' and Christian baptism are separate events. Jesus doesn't seem to think they are; neither does Peter or Paul.
But since "Christian baptism" is the moment of new birth, the moment of cleansing from above, and since it is a transformation of what Nicodemus would have understood, I think it underestimates the brilliance of Jesus (a la Bultmann, et al), to suggest that he couldn't have been speaking about the transformative moment he would empower in a few short years, while (obviously) not expecting Nicodemus to understand it according to Christian terminology.
Your assertion only seems to hold if one further asserts that Jesus did not create and institute "Christian baptism" – that it is an invention of the later church back-written into the gospels.
Nick: As a clarification concerning Bultmann, he doesn't believe Jesus was referring to Christian baptism at all. What Bultmann says is that a later Ecclesiastical Redactor added εξ υδατος (from water) in 3:5 to make the verse sacramental (for Baptism). He also believes this same redactor added John 6:51b-58 for the Lord's Supper. So, in regards to it being an addition by the church, that is a claim Bultmann would make. I would not. Bultmann even proposes that the writer of the Gospel of John was anti-sacramental.
As an addition note, I refer to it as "Christian Baptism" because some would even refer 3:5 it to be speaking of the baptism of John the Baptist, and I wanted to make that distinction.
Another comment: "But since 'Christian baptism' is the moment of new birth, the moment of cleansing from above…" is a statement antithetical to John 3:8.
Lastly, why would a physical rite be attached to a spiritual one when in John 1:26 is set against 1:33? The focus in 3:5 is the baptism of the spirit; a new birth from above; and not on a physical rite. To attach the spiritual birth to a physical action (moment) isn't the point of the verse.
That is an important point Nick. One the nuanced ways in which my view of baptism has come to differ from traditional Restoration thought is that in Acts 2.38 the most important feature of baptism is not that it is "for the remission of sins" since John the Baptist had already been baptizing for such purpose but that this baptism is 1) done in the name of Jesus Christ, and 2) that it comes with the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Me too, Nick. I was actually shocked the first time I saw this vid.
I would like to ask Chan though if he would arrive at some of his Calvinistic theology from just sitting down and reading the Bible without being "fed" by others preachers and theologians.
Of course, to be honest, I am sure we all would have very different theology and practice of the Christian faith if we just read the Bible without being "fed" by other preachers and theologians.
That is actually how he came to his theological conclusions. If you read "Crazy Love" you can't help but see that. For one, his doctrine of man and doctrine of God is very biblical, but unlike what we hear out of a lot of our churches today.
I am much more concerned with those whose doctrines of God and man are terribly skewed and approach the text with that frame of mind. The Bible is like a punch in the face to it. Or using univocal definitions to put God in an anthropomorphic, rational box. Or a simple fallacy like believing that having "choice" means one is "free" and not enslaved.
I read part of "Crazy Love" but did not see that. I stopped reading just because I did not find the book that engaging. Perhaps my statement was a bit gruff but I am just wondering what his views are on the free-will of man since obedience can never really be obedience if one does not have the choice to either obey or disobey. But then again, the idea that one has no free-will really ferments in Augustine (which is why I raised the question about his Calvinistic theology).
Rex: What I hear you implying is that if one has a choice then that one is also free. I do not see the necessity of such a link. Having a choice does not have to mean that one is autonomously free to make that choice apart from a Master, an external force, an inclination, or an enslavement of some sort.
But what I will question further is the premise that true obedience must be from some kind of autonomous freedom. Is not God in complete control over the winds and the seas and the stars? Yet in Scripture we are told that they obey His voice. Is creation's obedience, then, not genuine?
More to the point, what makes faith and obedience great things is not that "free" creatures bring them about; and so here I believe the insistence upon free will misses the point entirely. The beauty and goodness of faith and obedience is that these "states of mind" correspond to God's "state of mind." They fit our God-given nature, which is made in the image of God, has been destroyed by sin, but is destined for union with God in Christ. Entering these "states of mind" by grace and at the instigation of external stimuli (and not autonomously within ourselves) is a good thing because dwelling in them is the better thing. The insistence upon some idea of being autonomously free brings zero value to faith and obedience (yet it seems that is where you place all the value) and I believe that misses the entire point of faith and obedience.
What truly makes men free is God; and God is truly the only free Being. The Self is not free apart from God. Outside of Christ, in the flesh, all are slaves to sin.
I know this is not a popular message in our western, Enlightened, American, rebellious, make-my-own-way, freedom-loving, individual rights mentality in which we read the Bible; but autonomous free will (that is, natural man, born in the flesh under Adam, has the capability outside a work of God to abide in/have faith in Jesus) is something one must read into the text of Scripture. It is an eisegetical lens that I just do not find and in fact, what I find in the Scriptures are replete with the complete opposite case.
"and cause you…" doesn't sound like "free" obedience to me. But the value is not in "free" obedience. Instead, it's in the obedience itself.
Of course I agree that God is in complete control over everything but I also believe God has granted us the freedom within his freedom to make choice to do good or evil, to love or hate, to believe or to renounce, etc… just as he gave the Satan in Job 1-2. God's permissiveness did not cause Satan to do evil unto Job…it was still a choice that Satan made, although one that could not be made without the prior permissiveness of God (which also placed a limit on what evil Satan could do, by not being allowed to kill Job).
That is the free-will choice I speak of. It's the same choice in the garden of eden with Adam and Eve. God makes his own sovereign free-will choice to allow them the choice to either accept their role as God's creatures (which by the way, is different by nature and calling than the winds and waves) or reject it as they do. If not for that choice, there is no love and obedience. Without that choice, appear to be meaningless since they are not commands I can obey or disobey but merely actions I am being coerced into by God.
One small point might be offered here as well–the "desert island" scenario is in many ways contrived, because none of us reads the Bible objectively. We all come with cultural, linguistic, geographic, and temporal prejudices which shape our readings. The point being, there is really no such thing as a distinctly objective reading of the text.
I think you are absolutely right about the way we read scripture. The individualistic, 100% objective desert island approach is the old myth of modernism that has been exposed for its fallacies. I too believe that scripture must be read within the context of the church community, both the present and historical.
That is a good point Rex. The island analogy served the purpose of redirecting our hearts and minds back to the scriptures. Jesus said for his disciples to go and make disciples – he wanted them to do the same thing he had been doing. In the New Testament this is the pattern of conversion, God used men to reach out to other men. Even Paul, who God spoke directly to had Ananias lead him to the waters of baptism. I am very excited to see Chan's heart to not be influenced by religious traditions (e.g. sinners prayer) but to take an honest look (outside of traditions) at the scriptures for guidance.
Thanks Jen. I will try to make some posts on baptism next week. I was hoping to get one out this week but I have been super busy.
Great topic! Read some of the other blogs, very interesting. I think of my own conversion and how baptism really was a no-brainer. And I was pretty much a blank page. It was such a simple act of faith, a sincere desire to want to be in fellowship with our Lord. I didn't, and still don't, fully understand all that happens at baptism. What, unfortunately, was stressed in my study with church members was the need to be baptized in order to be saved (not to argue that), because after all I could die the next day. What wasn't stressed was the death I would have to endure so that I might live. To the would-be-believer we stress the getting wet part and don't teach that when we dry off we begin a process of changing who we are. (Romans 6). It is a requirement as much as baptism. I suppose that is why their were letters to churches after the accounts of Acts.
Enjoyed Jen's comments on Wes Westcoast blog. I have also rolled my eyes!
I always appreciate your perspective which I know is founded upon a deep faith in God that has not settled for complacency. I really like the way you describe baptism as the death one must die in order to live. That is what I believe is the most important aspect of baptism because everything else about the Christian life (discipleship, unity, holiness, etc…) cannot be pursued if I am still alive to self rather than dead to self and alive in Christ.
Was it to give life?
New cov Spirit's Work.to give Life or attest to faithfulness.
Old cov faithfulness to god.
Was it considered imputed righteous faith to God?
Now at the institution of the new cov. Life. what is the power the spirit or that god was faithful to his words?. Unto(for the purpose of)salvation.
Seems like you guy's are mixing metaphors.
Remember the life bearer our lord.
Jesus says if you LovE me you do his words.although really WHOSE words WERE THEY.
I was impressed and cut to the heart by your sermon "Lukewarm and Loving It". I ran across it on GodTube. I reviewed your church website and your approach and focus is among the most honest and sincere attempts at true Christianity I've seen; calling people to truth that isn't relative to our lifestyle or way of life but based on God's standards and perspective.
I have seen in you a deep desire for God's truth regardless of how it may mean you need to change or what it may mean to your life to truly follow Christ. For this reason I pray your eyes will see this email so I can briefly try to tell you one crucial thing I think you may have overlooked in scripture. It's not currently a mainstream view but it was mainstream in the days of Christ and the apostles and should have remained so. You've heard the argument before but with all of the integrity I can produce I believe it to be God's truth despite the fact I didn't want it to be true when I was first hit with it.
I grew up with a genuine love for God, was involved in many churches, bible study groups, received my degree from Taylor University, believed I was following God and had done what I needed to be saved. Then I met some people who challenged me in the very same ways in which you are challenging people. I was challenged to be a Christian the way God defines a Christian according to His word, not the way American culture would. I was challenged with true discipleship which I think is essential.
In addition to the true discipleship I needed, an additional piece of the puzzle was presented to me that I was missing. It was a challenge that rocked me to the core. It was the fact that I had not had my sins forgiven in the way the new testament instructs, through baptism. I know, I know, you've heard the argument before and have probably honestly considered it and reasoned why baptism is not be essential for salvation. However I want to present you with scriptures that I think speak for themselves. They are several verses that I believe cumulatively make an overwhelming case and that I believe with all my heart are clear in revealing God's message about the role baptism plays in salvation. My life focus is not on baptism but true discipleship with baptism happening to play a role because of what God says. I don't believe being baptized is a work any more than saying a prayer would be a work in the salvation process.
Please consider and dissect the following scriptures in context with the same radical integrity and trust in the word of God that I have seen in you so far. For a moment please try not to filter the scriptures through what you have thought about the issue in the past. Take them at face value. Consider for a moment that these scriptures are true. There are more but these 5 are meaty ones.
…when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also —not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.
Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
I had a similar experience as you describe in your email when I saw Chan's archived sermon 'Holy Spirit 3' from Fall of 07. Did you move to a COC congregation and get re-dunked or what? I am praying about a similar move, but I don't want any more traditions. That whole a capella thing is a far stretch in light of God's impression of David and his musical worship.
The a Capella thing is a stretch for me too and I serve as a preacher in an a Capella church.
There wasn't any re-dunking because there really wasn't any baptism as part of any conversion I had prior "asking Jesus into my heart", although I had been immersed once at a Jesus music festival in the late 70's but that was not connected with salvation as I understood it at that time. In 88 I studied the Bible with folks from the ICOC and it became completely clear how Baptism is an essential part of the conversion process. I had to come to grips with a lot relative to where all my religious friends were at and I had to leave a lot including the musical worship experiences I loved as I was very much into musical worship and the ICOC just wasn't into or very good at that.
Anyway back to the point. The ICOC has no issues with instruments as part of worship because the Bible clearly doesn't have issue with it. The instrument ban is an example of how it's so easy to create doctrine from tradition or what people are comfortable with. Traditions are in every church, we just can't make them so established that they morph into doctrine. In the last few years we really have done amazing things with incorporating more worship into our Sunday Services. I am part of the band in our congregation and we regularly play and sing worship songs at services with instruments. So I am pretty happy here because the salvation doctrine is right and we try to or want to strive for the same tenants about true Christian life that Chan espouses, and now I get the music stuff.
What I love about finding this video of Chan's baptism conviction's is that it gives me faith that people with integrity and honest hearts in any church can potenntially become part of the Kingdom of God. It has always bothered me that God's Kingdom seemed to be restricted to a few COC like "denominations". That's why I get so excited about Chan's message.
Whose work is baptism? God's or ours? In Roman 6, like many other passages that speak of believers being baptized, the language is in the passive tense. That means as believers who "have been baptized" we were passive…it was God doing the work. So was God not at work in your baptism back in the 1970's?
The only requirement necessary for a valid baptism is belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, Lord and Messiah. That does not mean it is a bad thing to understand the relationship of baptism to certain salvation promises of God, such as forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2.38) but it does not mean that one must understand these doctrinal promises associated with Baptism to have a valid baptism. Our call is to trust (faith) God and not our intellectual understanding of the doctrine of baptism.
This is an old heresy that has floated around the Churches of Christ for some time going back to a man named Austin McGary in Texas and the Firm Foundation Journal…that one has not been baptized into Christ if they did not understand that baptism was for the remission of sins (in other words, if they did not understand the precise point when salvation is received in relation to water baptism). Not only has that led to a gross sectarianism (ironic for a movement that began as a unity movement seeking to end sectarianism among Christians) but it has also led many people to continually seek rebaptism numerous times because they are always question if they got it right.
They miss the point of the passive language. We don't do a thing. God does and God always gets it right and it matters not how much we do or do not understand about the biblical doctrine of baptism because it is God doing the work not us.
To say that a valid baptism depends on us have a correct view of baptism makes the object of faith to be our intellectual ability rather than God. Faith is our trusting in God even if we fail to understand how God is working (i.e., the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22). But if baptism depends on knowing correctly about baptism, what if then we are still wrong? How much knowledge is enough? Again, that is faith in our intellectual ability (human ingenuity) and not God.
All that to say…I am glad you sought to be "rebaptized" because I trust that you did it wanting to obey God and hence it is still and act of faith. But I do believe your baptism in the 70s was valid…not because of yourself but because of God.
Thanks for the great reply. I hope we're not cluttering the blog with this exchange, but it's good to find someone who has had a similar experience.
I've known some COC folks but not personally because of the 'anything but praying is a work' doctrine that is pounded so thoroughly that it alters one's associations.
For 35 years I've had a pretty 'anemic' walk and I did not know quite why until I heard Chan's 8-26-07 sermon. Now that I know why I want to be careful not to get involved with another group of tradition followers again. Not that I would be easily influenced but I need a re-dunk and want it to be with a like-minded group and leaders.
I don't know if Chan's Simi congregation is completely 'there' yet (take a look at their service recordings) but I would like to find something similar near by. Such as: 50% minimum of donations go to missions/charity, basic building (or none), baptistry on the platform and well used during the 'alter call'. We discussed the instrumental worship but it shouldn't be grandstandish or absent. I think my area (mid-south) has the most congregations per capita, but I can find nothing of the sort.
Let me know if you know of anything. Sounds like I may be able to work with an ICOC.
Jeff, I don't mind at all.
Jeff I didn't get an email from you if you choose to do so you can use this link to find all the ICOC chucrches around the world.
Thanks for your comments Rex. I'm listening, but not sure I agree completely with you on the fact being baptized without understanding at least what baptism for is enough. I thinks it's too much of a core issue to not need to understand. Of course what God does at baptism is not my work, it's all God but my faith plays a role as Col explains, I must have faith in the power of God to do. If you say you don't need to understand what baptism is for when you're baptized because God knows, then you could just as well say you don't need to understand what Jesus death was for in order for salvation to occur because God knows. I think you need to understand more than just there was some guy named Jesus and you have faith that he lived in order to be saved. I believe you do also as when you said the only thing necessary for a valid baptism is belief in Jesus Christ, you added "as the Son of God, Lord and Messiah" so you are saying for a valid baptism you must at least understand some basic things about who Jesus is/what he came for ie. he is the Son of God, Lord and Messiah. In the same way I would say you must understand the basic concept of what baptism is for.
I don't mind considering what you are saying. I've never seen anyone get rebaptized in the years I've been around so it's not a rampant issue at the moment. Most people in the world have never been really baptized at all so for most it's a non issue and for myself I'd rather be baptized twice than not at all. I'm sure you agree. If you are right God won't penalize someone for getting baptized again. If your not right that would be an eternal risk I wouldn't be willing to take.
I don't mean to imply that baptism is valid without knowing anything. I do believe in "believer's baptism". That is, I do believe one must know enough to be able to confess faith in Jesus. And I do agree that in Colossians, baptism presumes faith. The question is faith in ________. Should we fill in the blank with "the redemptive work of God in Christ" or "our interpretation of scripture"? The former is faith that trusts in God even as we do not understand exactly in what time frame. The later presumes are certain infallibility about our ability to interpret scripture and ultimately places faith in that ability. The problem with the later is that our understanding could be wrong…and what if, on the day of Judgment, we find out it is indeed wrong? Would we then be lost because our obedience to God was ultimately based on a misinterpretation of his word?
Hey Jeff. Send me an email at redeye@wideopenwest.com. I don't want to hijack the blog.
I would never have expected to hear someone like him say that about baptism, but I believe he is right on with what the Bible teaches. I wish more men of faith had the conviction and courage that he has.
Interesting thoughts have you come out with your paper or essay on baptism within the Church of Christ that is not regenerative I'd certainly like to read it.


Louisville has become a popular spot for golfing over the recent years. Hosting one of the popular, national events locally held at Valhalla in the east-end of Louisville off of Shelbyville Rd and the Gene Snyder Freeway. Enjoy a relaxed lifestyle and find your next home for sale near a golf course. Some of the most popular golf courses in Louisville KY is Seneca Golf Course, Quail Chase, Cherokee Golf Course, Persimmon Ridge, Valhalla Golf Club, Lake Forest Country Club and many others.


The 3d International Festival of Landscape Art is being held in the Art gallery of the National Library of the Republic of Belarus. This festival is traditionally dedicated to Vital Tsvirka (1913 - 1993), an exceptional Belarusian artist and a master of landscape art. The sceneries of Belarus created by this talented artist are distinguished for their unrestricted and powerful plasticity. They are charged with inner harmony, warmth and sincerity. Vital Tsvirka equally skillfully possessed a drawing, watercolor and oil painting techniques. Also he was an excellent teacher - plenty of his pupils have become famous artists.
Thus, the Festival of Landscape Art first of all is an endorsement of Vital Tsvirka's craftsmanship. Some of his artworks are the part of the exposition. But at the same time, the chief aim of the event is to reveal a present-day state of landscape art in Belarus. A number of contemporary Belarusian artists have presented their vision using different techniques - paintings, graphic works, photography and applied arts. Landscapes by artists from Russia and Ukraine are also on display.
The Festival is running through the beginning of December.


Interweaving Systems as theme and guiding principle for the design of the school in Hard / Austria. As a form-content relation principle, which reflects the spatial components depending on various action and behaviors, but also in the allocation of the various individual components to each other , which ultimately generates an elegant interplay of various patterns and geometric typologies.
The existing ensemble of sports halls are continued with a clearly formulated addition. In the northeast the building creates a duality of hard edge and softer form, of built and natural landscape, an intense interweaving of buidling mass and free space. The articulated outdoor space pushes deep between each cluster.
In the foyer the landscape design continues into the interior and generates a self-supporting curved stair that leads to open areas and public funtions in the upper floors. The duality of functional entities and open platforms for differnt activities can be experienced throughout the building.


text:
Rice Datathon 2019
The Rice Datathon 2019 competition attracted experienced and novice data scientists for a fast-paced, 18-hour data mining competition on Jan. 25-26.
More than 150 Rice University students and alumni participated in the event organized by the Rice DataSci Club, with support from the Rice Center for Transforming Data to Knowledge (D2K Lab). Shell, a D2K Lab Affiliate, was the sponsor. The Liu Idea Lab was a perfect venue for the Datathon with plenty of space for students to work independently or in teams.
The organizers were Abhijeet Mulgund, senior in computer science (CS); Emily Wang, sophomore in statistics (STAT); Lynn Zhu, senior in statistics.
"I thought it was a lot of fun and well organized," said Santiago Tellez, a STAT senior. "I would love to see it grow and have more people involved. I liked the teaching sessions to help us in our analysis,"
The first-place winners were Benito Geordie, freshman, engineering; Gerald Wang, sophomore, engineering: David Torres Ramos, sophomore, engineering; Yong Shin, sophomore, CS, for "Twitter Sentiment Analysis." Their goal was to build a sentiment-analysis tool to predict the polarity of a tweet based off a collection of tweets and their respective polarities. The group analyzed 1.6 million tweets to develop an algorithm that could predict the positivity of a future tweet.
The winners developed a sort of pseudo-machine learning and fed it large amounts of data.
"Everything was made from scratch and we didn't use any libraries," Torres Ramos said. The team figured out that by determining the most common positive and negative words they could cluster tweet polarities to determine the community's disposition on current topics. It could be used with other machine-learning algorithms to aggregate different news stories and trends, as well as help people develop tweets that can elicit certain responses.
"I would like to thank the D2K Lab and the DataSci Club for hosting the first Datathon. It was well coordinated and I was always able to get clarification on technical concepts," Torres Ramos said.
The second-place winner was Santiago Tellez, senior in STAT, for "Craft Beer: Beer Name Sentiment Analysis." He analyzed data on 2,400 craft beers and 500 breweries across the country.
"I noticed that craft breweries classify their beers into hundreds of vague types of beer," Tellez said. "I used beer forums online to classify the beers into eight categories: ale, IPA, lager, stout, wheat, fruit, kolsch and other."
The goal was to use data on alcohol percentage, bitterness, the name of the beer and brewery location to predict the type of beer it is. He used sentiment analysis to label each beer name with certain emotions -- anger, joy, surprise, trust and so forth. He then performed correspondence analysis on the sentiment matrix to use those features in the prediction model.
Third place went to Damon Shan, a Rice alumnus; Alvin Sheng, senior in STAT; and Ouyang Zhu, a first-year graduate student, STAT; for RiceDatathon NBA. Their project tested various models to predict an NBA player's salaries based on performance, age, height and other factors from Kaggle data sets and data taken from the web.
Rice D2K Lab

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
When everything changes, you have to come out fighting...
Diamonds, blood-ties, Anna Davis. Some things are just unbreakable...
It's been three years since Freddie Tyler was sent to prison, now he's back...
Respected and connected in London's criminal underworld, Freddie is a dangerous man to cross...
The Tyler family novels from crime writer Emma Tallon
You have to fight for the ones you love
Anna Davis has spent years terrified of her sadistic gangster boyfriend. Right up until she runs away, she's frightened he will kill her. And she knows he still will, if he ever finds her… As Anna starts her new life, she meets two strangers who will change her fortunes forever… MORE
Sometimes your enemies are closer than you think
Anna is finally happy. She's rid of her abusive ex and she's co-owner of London's hottest new club, with her best friend Tanya. But she is worried about her boyfriend, Freddie. He's keeping things from her. And he won't tell her where he goes in the middle of the night… MORE
Anna Davis is under pressure. Her boyfriend Freddie Tyler practically owns London's West End and he's got a big deal on – one that could make the Tylers the most powerful family in London. He's going into business with crime boss Frank Gambino… MORE
When loyalty is everything, betrayal hits harder
Anna Davis has grown up. She's not the naive runaway who escaped her vicious gangland boyfriend anymore. She won't let anyone take advantage of her – or the people she loves, like East End baron Freddie Tyler, who's facing a big mistake from his past… MORE
She's back, and this time she has a score to settle
Anna Davis and Freddie Tyler are finally getting their lives back on track when an unexpected face turns up on Freddie's doorstep – a woman he wishes he'd never met.
And she delivers a blow that could tear their lives apart…. MORE
What readers are saying about Emma Tallon:
"Wow, wow, wow, bloody wow, I can't believe how much this book blew me away, you couldn't have torn the Kindle from my fingers I was so engrossed." Sweet Little Book Blog
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Madhosh (1994 film)
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Madhosh is a 1994 Indian film directed by Vikram Bhatt and produced by Tahir Hussain. The film is Tahir Hussain's son Faisal Khan's debut as a leading actor, having previously played bit parts in his brother Aamir Khan's films Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar. The film also stars Anjali Jathar in her film debut, Kiran Kumar, Dilip Dhawan and Supriya Pathak. The film bombed at the box-office, but was appreciated for its musical score.
Madhosh
Vikram Bhatt
Tahir Hussain
Madan Joshi (dialogues)
Screenplay by
Salim Raza
Dilip Dhawan
Anjali Jathar
Anand-Milind
Sameer Arya
B. Prasad
Tahir Hussain Enterprises
T. V. Films
Kiran Kumar
Supriya Pathak
Parikshat Sahni
SoundtrackEdit
Anand-Milind scored the music while Sameer authored the lyrics. The music wasn't successful, but is considered one of the best musical scores from the duo.
Singer(s)
1 "Dushamani Chhodo Sanam"[1] Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam
2 "Tere Mere Mere Tere" Udit Narayan, Kavita Krishnamurthy
3 "Dekho To Jaane Jaana" Udit Narayan, Kavita Krishnamurthy
4 "Beparwah Bahut Din Ghoome" Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan
5 "Mere Sanam Suno Zara"[2] Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam
6 "Bewafa Sangdil" Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam
^ "Dushamani Chhodo Sanam — Faisal Khan — Madhosh — Bollywood Songs — Sadhana Sargam". Retrieved 30 June 2014.
^ "Mere Sanam Suno Zara — Faisal Khan — Madhosh — Bollywood Songs — Sadhana Sargam". Retrieved 30 June 2014.
Madhosh at the Internet Movie Database
This article about a Hindi film of the 1990s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Madhosh_(1994_film)&oldid=984704658"


text:
GOP Senators Debut Health Plan With State Option to Keep ACA Exchanges
Collins said Republicans need to provide details on an Obamacare replacement plan. (Rob Kunzig/Morning Consult)
By Mary Ellen McIntire
January 23, 2017 at 3:46 pm ET
Two Republican senators on Monday introduced a plan under which states could choose to maintain the Obamacare exchanges or overhaul the program.
The proposal from Sens. Bill Cassidy (La.) and Susan Collins (Maine) would allow state capitols to decide whether to maintain the Affordable Care Act or to launch a new plan that would automatically enroll people not covered by an employer, Medicare or Medicaid in a plan.
Under their plan, known as the Patient Freedom Act, states could opt to continue receiving federal premium tax credits, cost-sharing subsidies and Medicaid dollars as they have under the ACA, or enact a new system under which states would receive funds through advanceable, refundable tax credits or per beneficiary grants. Patients would receive funding directly through a health savings account.
Their one-page proposal doesn't detail how large the tax credit would be, but Cassidy has suggested to reporters in recent weeks that it could be tied to a person's age rather than income level. There is currently no bill text available for the legislation.
The senators said their measure would allow states to continue their current programs if Obamacare is working and grow the number of people in the United States with insurance coverage. It also would maintain the ACA's consumer protections, including prohibitions on annual and lifetime limits, barring insurers from denying coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions and allowing young adults to stay on their parents' policy until age 26. The proposal would preserve coverage for mental health and substance abuse disorders.
Basic health would cover individuals with a health savings account, a high-deductible health plan and a basic pharmacy plan, the senators said. Consumers could purchase more robust coverage if they chose, and states would receive the funding they would have received for expanding Medicaid, even if they didn't opt to expand the program under the ACA.
Cassidy said he's spoken with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) about the plan, but the proposal isn't expected to garner broad GOP support, especially since it doesn't directly repeal the 2010 health care law.
Cassidy and Collins suggested during a press conference on Capitol Hill today that the plan could gain Democratic support for just that reason, noting that advancing a replacement plan in the Senate would likely require 60 votes.
Two other GOP senators — Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson and West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito — have already signed on to the plan.
Democrats, however, came out against the plan, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying the proposal would be a "far cry from the full replacement plan they have promised for years" if Republicans embrace it as their replacement plan.
"It is nearly impossible to keep the benefits of the Affordable Care Act without keeping the whole thing," Schumer said in a statement. "Ultimately, this proposal is an empty facade that would create chaos — not care — for millions of Americans."
Collins said during today's press conference that it's important to put forth specific plans to replace Obamacare.
"If we do not start putting specific legislation on the table that can be debated, refined, amended, and enact it, then we will fail the American people," she said.
Mary Ellen McIntire


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The cause of the fire on board the "APL Austria" was now suspected to have been from a chemical, calcium hypochlorite, as used in chlorine manufacture. The ship was sailing off Jefferies Bay west of Port Elizabeth when the crew became aware of a fire among some containers in number 4 hold. After reporting the fire the ship was instructed to go to the shelter of Algoa Bay where tugs from either Port Elizabeth or Ngqura could assist with trying to extinguish the burning containers on Feb 12. After being unable to extinguish the fire the ship was requested to enter the port of Ngqura where fire fighting crews on the ground could assist and where some of the containers could be removed from the ship to allow access to the fire's source. After removing a number of boxes ashore the fire was eventually brought under control and put out, allowing an investigation to commence by fire department and port officials as well as the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA). An investigation has led them to believe that calcium hypochlorite, which is used for the disinfection of water, had been the cause. This chemical was found stowed in containers within the hold. Apparently the ship's manifest did not reveal the chemical as being on board leaving the crew unaware of its presence on the ship. The "APL Austria" has remained in the port while the investigation has continued and to allow ship repair personnel access to repair the hatch covers damaged by the fire and heat.
The "APL Austria" is still docked in the port of Ngqura while mop-up operations continued. No timeline could be given as to when the operation would be completed. South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) technical adviser Captain Daron Burgess said the investigation was still under way and the cause of the fire had not yet been established. There were approximately 62 containers remaining in cargo hold No 4 for discharge. Once the hold was safe for entry, fire investigators would inspect it. The off-loading of the containers was weather-dependent and, on Feb 25, operations had to be stopped due to howling winds. The containers aboard the ship had been severely damaged and this was hampering efforts to retrieve them. The estimated damage to the ship may be in the millions of US dollars.


Here's a Storify of the lovely Digibury event at the Gulbenkian in Canterbury!
Set your main e-mail client (in my case on a Mac PowerBook gathering 11 mailboxes worth) to only collect e-mail once per hour – each hour use GTD techniques to respond to e-mail – if you can do it in less than 2 minutes then deal with it, if not schedule a time to deal with it. Get back to writing as soon as you can.
Always have your phone on silent – when a call comes in – have a quick look – be ruthless and push it to voicemail. If it's a client, friend or otherwise important – take the call; deal with it quickly. You will return to writing with more energy. Distinguish between the important and the urgent.
Go on long train journeys – buy cheap first class tickets in a quiet coach (often cheaper than standard if bought in advance) and write, write, write. They will bring you tea etc. This is good.
Ruby McGregor-Smith, CEO of Mitie, speaking on Women in Leadership: Breaking Down Barriers.
David Docherty says Ruby is one of the few women running a FTSE 250 company.
Women have a massive role to play. We need gender equality at the top of businesses and we need to celebrate diversity. I was successful because I joined a very young organisation in a very young industry. We had fewer hierarchies and could think about talent differently. The Chair and CEO said 'we'll teach you' as they knew I hadn't done it before. It needs mentoring and support at different levels in women's careers.
When I became a mother – it was almost impossible to juggle everything. I took 2 years out. The non-execs of MITIE didn't really understand that, but it worked. She also chairs the Women's Business Council – and that's about understanding the barriers at each stage of a career.
It starts early in schools and colleges and Universities – and it's about setting aspirations. Needs more collaboration on careers – and this is pretty weak still. We're still grappling with understanding how and where to recruit the right graduates for example.
Loads of barriers – how do we start a business – where do we get the mentoring and support we need.
While things have changed over the past 25 years – there is still much to do on diversity – beyond gender. Need to make sure young people demand and expect equality in the workplace. More work to do.
We shouldn't underestimate how far we've come – and culture is slow and difficult to change. We do need to support people to rise through the ranks.
In the world of facilities management – it's very male dominated. Don't focus on your differences – focus on your talent. Difficult to achieve but we can make progress on this – at every single level. Young people need the biggest possible aspirations – and it's time to make sure this happens and that people see the opportunities and are able to grasp them.
Q- what role doe employees have to play in helping with career guidance?
Ruby says that school is very different from the workplace – we need to help young people to understand what work is like – and there's a role for existing employees to help with this. It's very important that graduates and others are supported in the early stages of their careers.
Q – what is in the gift of the government?
Flexible working is very important – and affordable childcare for families (not just for women). There are specific things government can do. They'll say there's no money – but they have to spend money on something.
Better workplacements, a better understanding of the role of outsourcing – not always the most popular of industries.
Q – which countries have better working practices than the UK?
Ruby says the US is better in certain areas – but she doesn't like quotas. We have a multi-level problem. We seem to have issues at each level in our organisations.
Q – how about the difference between the best person vs the best team issue?
She says if you pick the best person they should find the best team [errrm].
Ruby says they are as important as graduates and often better. We have about 500 apprentices and this is more than the number of graduates we recruit. They are very important to us.
Q – re aspirations and people recruiting "people like us". How can we change this?
Select talented people and give them responsibility early – be less hierarchical – fast track people to big roles early.
Q – re lifelong learning – how to implement in business?
Ruby responds that we need to make developing people integral to the role of the business – send them to a business school – make sure you keep them up to date – very important.
Q – who helped you develop and who mentored you?
A – Not about age – it's about ability to deal with change and deal with rapidly moving markets. We need to help women get back into work – it's a big untapped market and they need to be brought back into the workplace.
Q – How do we deal with demands on women to be the main Carer especially as parents get older. How do we change that?
No easy answer. It'll take a long time – but increased flexibility in working will help – fitting more things around work. Changing society is a tough call.
A – Boards need to be family friendly – once that happens things will improve.
A Once you're out of the workplace – the phone stops ringing and no one is interested. This is very difficult. It is very hard coming back in – and you just have to make it work.
Q- do you need to behave like a man to make it in business?
A – It's a shame if women feel like that – it's important that people are prepared to be themselves. I always tried hard to be me and I think that's the way we can make progress.
John is an early pioneer in social investment – and while there has been loads of growth and noise – we need to remember that it has to be about 'a locality'. Social investment is a tool in the toolbox – not a panacea. It is a useful tool.
We started by trying to work out what the demand in local communities might be. What are the needs – particularly for finance – from local social enterprises and organisations with social objectives. Social investment needs to be a mechanism that meets local needs and supports the mission.
It's about access to capital for charities and others – and while there's large scale lending now – more difficult for local organisations to access smaller, simpler forms of social investment.
Social investment can help to tackle social problems – cites example of the first Social Impact Bond – helping to prevent re-offending by young people in Peterborough. These mechanisms enable organisations to work together with flexibility – draws analogy between dinghy sailing and a rail journey. Dinghy needs constant adjustment – trainjust goes. SIBs are an example of a locality coming together to tackle problems on an integrated basis.
The fundamental difference between a social investor and a grant-maker is that the former looks to build capacity in the organisation; the latter buys a solution. merit in people coming together in a 'safe place'. Politicans want answers by Wednesday week – the problems tackled by social investment are often complex and the timescales can be 7-10-20 years. It's an investment philosophy and it needs to be long term.
How do we avoid the report 'staying on the shelf'? This is very important to us – we want to see action – and suggest 3 practical ways of using the new tools.
We look forward to debate and pushback!
He heads up social investment at the Cabinet Office and was part of the conversations behind the report. Social investment is about helping social ventures achieve more impact. It is about in impact philosophy. Pioneers often philanthropists. There is though from a national perspective 'a mountain to climb'. Social ventures a innovative (more than commercial ventures he says). But there are challenges in coming up with robust answers to spending challenges at the local level.
We need a national/local debate. How do we see common principles? We need leadership – to take the principles and make them into reality.
One Westminster CEO – we are a lot of grassroots organisations and we feel that sometimes these reports come from another world – how can we connect?
John – needs access to very simple social investment products. The Social Impact Bond is at the complex end of the problem. But we do have some examples of local charities providing services as part of a SIB. It has to be about accessing capital. We need to be able to pay for assets over extended periods – and we also need to open up access to income.
Q – Larger organisations often feel they can be responsible for and help smaller groups – but it's difficult given the funding picture and also the lack of robust systems in smaller organisations – even managing a £4,000 needs systems.
Point from CEO of a local development trust. We need to recognise that often small organisations may be able to make big impact – but they don't have scale and the system of 'big is better' commissioning acts against supporting local organisations. You're preaching to the converted. The challenge needs to be to the people who have the money – and power to commission. They need to invest in social capital. We need to engender the debate – commissioning may not lead to the best outcomes.
Point from a SBus person – The uncomfortable thing about the report is paying back £18k when you've borrowed £10k and you're funding revenue activity. Too risky.
John intervenes and agrees that – it might be ok for capital – but it's risky for revenue. We mustn't encourage people to take unnecessary risk – needs to be appropriate risk. A matter of judgement. Sometimes we need facilities available as a 'safety net'. Social investment can provide such a safety net.
In the case of the SIB – we can see that working over 3-5 years based on a consortium approach, especially for smaller local charities. Need to be part of a combined integrated service. I agree with you and I am jumpy – which is why I've taken time to answer this question.
Q – do all the charities invested in have to be incorporated? This has been an issue. John says most organisations and social investors will invest in a 'purpose' rather than a corporate form. It's about the social purpose.
Paul Doe – CEO of a Housing Group and St Mungos Broadway (which has a social impact bond). Do something you know really well. We take the risk though – the investors will not take any risk. You have to be very careful about what you get into. The legals etc took £50k. Positive – what about crowdfunding – this has not been mentioned and returns an be good. We need to invest where we live.
Kieron Boyle – need to be clear about who is helping social ventures get 'investment ready'. From government's perspective it's often a challenge to move money towards preventive services. Also it's a challenge to buy from small organisations. Cites the social value act as part of the process. Needs to be joining up of the national and local. Can we align local money with national commissioning to make it work. Agrees that crowd funding can work- but it seems to be skewed towards equity investment – this can be a challenge for some organisational forms.
John – needs a way of attracting local people to own and be part of the solution – and it may not be pure investment.
CEO – Westway Trust. The market has been developing – cites Good Deals Conference. But does the intermediate layer take out value rather than add it? There are some mid-sized organisations that need support and don't really see it working well. be in a dialogue with organisations – especially mid-sized ones.
Kieron says that there are some intermediaries that are very good.
David Warner London Funders – an apposite time for this report. Funders and investors see the need for a range of products including grants at the local level. Need to invest to tackle problems over a longer term. Needs to be new ways of unlocking local giving and therefore local capital and social investment.
David – need to combine the Triborough approach more broadly with regional reality. Need something to glue the top-middle-bottom to make systems work. There are issues over capacity for CVS organisations – they've taken a battering. Agree that crowd funding is a really interesting opportunity – there are people with disposable wealth – and we need to engage them in local investment. There is a piece here about private investment from local businesses – can we get social investment from them?
There's lots to do – need to be realistic about the scale of the task. Needs to be a local and a regional task – need to make sure we spread further than London possibly. "I'll be e-mailing – need to form a task force".
In 5 years time 36% of the working population will be over 50, we'll have 5 generations in the workplace.
Can you make the workplace feel like a village or a street? can 'life seep into work'?
Who and how are we designing for?
Maybe we should be designing 'around a needs envelope' – comparison with the design of aircraft.
Moving into a discussion session where so look at potential next steps or areas for further work. Tom asks for a non-moaning positive discussion about positive actions that can come out of the thinking so far.
Janis says she represents 'the happening and the social' – interesting to get into the socio/political aspects – and the aspects of 'cloaking' to enable action in difficult situations.
But what do electronic textiles actually mean? Danger of 'meaning loss'. How do we define them and what does it mean?
How do these things fit together – as objects and as expressions of materiality. In a world that moves away from 'things' as objects.
And can we differentiate between electronic textiles and smart textiles?
The difference between the here and now and the 'in and out' (whether the device is embedded inside the body or just outside it) and it can be on completely different scales. Possibly even embedded in people.
The need to think about technology in a different way especially as it becomes more 'intimate' and closer to the body.
It's all about the technology – and people seem resistant to take up electronic textiles – as too intrusive. Yet they use mobile phones always and feel they are being controlled by their phones to a certain extent.
Radical innovation driven by design-led activity (rather than market-based product development).
Examples of pressure-sensing bandages, examples of military applications to clothing and vehicle monitoring systems.
The speakers in this opening session are: Tom Fisher, Adam Drazin, and Janis Jefferies.
Tom – While there's a lot of work going on in various laboratories, the seems to be a lack of relationship between the 'heat and light' in fashion, performance and art – this doesn't seem to me to be feeding through into actual innovation in practical applications.
Adam – issue he's seeing is to do with 'ecosystem' approach and how it doesn't link to textiles. Not sufficient to focus down on specific uses – textiles are almost too ubiquitous. Whereas a broad brush approach is not sufficient and too general to provide insight. The concept of Utopianism and people's aspirations not being met. Borders between professional world and everyday world very blurred. Cites worries and dis-illusion in the material world. How we engage with work clothes in a hospital say, and in fashion are very different. Utopianism and the future of the body. Not about temporal models placing the body on a pedestal.
Janis – involved in weave – it's about 'electronic communications in cloth' for her; and look at the links to privacy and surveillance. new ways of knowing and composing relationships and what does that mean in terms of ethics, care and new ways of living? Need also to look at different publics and representations – and who controls that data.
Weaving and textiles analogy is very strong – commenter says she follows what Janis says and feels that it's important. "Knots and nodes" says Janis. Needs not to be a one-way relationships – must be back and forwards "A shuttle!" Says Janis.
How do we make things skin-like rather than silicon-like?
Why are textiles so slow to get "smarter"?
Seems to be a big issue over the need for integration across many disciplines.
Digital – physical – sensory fusion will take the next 5-10 years. Lots 'bridging' between science/tech and design.
Argument – from audience – say little demand for body-monitoring – no one wants to be told what they already know by a technology that tracks heart rate – we know we should loose weight, be healthier – and what would I do with the heart rate data anyway? Raymond says that how we look at 'soft responsive' technologies for rehabilitation – part of health and wellness.
Q re visual anthropologist – looking at how you do things. Yes – they are studying how we are operating and what we are doing.
Janis – soft logic of emerging trends especially in health monitoring.
Raymond is taking a very technologically driven approach – look at the charts – and now talking about hydro gels with embedded pharma and what's called 4D printing.
Work embedding wireless technology in jewellery – and 'working from the body' up with dancers and performers using technology.
Using the Aeolia stretch sensing project as an example – and look at the 'dilemmas' table – interesting!
Why do things have too be unobtrusive? We might want to make the technology visible in public. "Critical design is part of the lingo in design – doesn't seem to happen as much in textile education". Not everyone agrees with this statement.
The difference between expression and function – different levels of scale and construction.
Using the statistics around depression – and Sarah is working with the mental health charity Mind. Lots of people showing up at Mind services without a clinical diagnosis. Complex network of issues.
Now talking about the difference between 'technical' and 'smart' textiles. And also the example of "person-centred design" vs "user-centred design".
Three phase of proposed research.
Janis – q of gender and demographics – and high suicide rates among 18-24 year old men in Ireland (a project Janis has been involved with). Sometimes organisations like Mind are 'already too official'.
He made you sound like a suburb of Palo Alto!
Interesting approach by Rohit – and a suggestion that we take a bit of a step back and take time to reflect on what this all means; what the implications for Bradford are. He was insightful on Brian Cantor's remarks – which were delivered at high intensity and high speed – a blizzard of bullet pointed facts!


I once read about a scientific experiment with butterflies. A male butterfly was introduced to an environment with two options present. Option #1 was a living, healthy female butterfly. Option #2 was a huge, cardboard cutout butterfly painted with the same colors as a real female. Enter the male. In tests (repeated a number of times), the males tended to ignore the real female and try everything it their power to attract the attention of the most obvious, but the most unreal mate.
What things or what people have I pursued thinking they would bring me fulfillment? What have been the "fakes" in my life?
What do I focus upon that draws my attention away from Christ?
We find the same type of thing in Israel's past. When Israel turned from the One True God to pursue idol worship, God said, "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns–broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer. 2:13).
Israel left the one source of sustenance to run after what seemed better in their eyes and minds. But the idols would not satisfy because they could not compare to the "living waters" of God. In fact, the idols couldn't even "hold water." Israel came up dry.
There are times when I abandon His plan for my own. My way seems better. Better usually means "more comfortable." But He doesn't call me to comfort, but to combat (Eph. 6:10-17). The life that Christ commands us to live is difficult (Matt. 7:14). He calls me to the best way, and usually it isn't the most obvious way. It's seldom the flashiest, the showiest, or even the quickest. But it is real, and it is the only way that I am ever going to find true fulfillment. He wants me to see past the fakes that pose as a means to peace, joy and fulfillment and "set [my] mind on the things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3:2).


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East Asian Representation Project, Films
Part 1: Bruce Lee – Asian Masculinity & Anti-Colonial Hero
This article is the second part in the "East Asian Representation in Mainstream American Cinema & Television from 1970-2013" series. Part one ("Introduction") can be found here.
Through his film roles, Bruce Lee is seen as a symbol of national pride and Asian defiance against colonialism and white oppression. Lee's characters and his own life experiences mirror that of a man who is "caught up in the dislocating limbo between two worlds" [Ford, 58.] – one of the East and one of the West. Whether he is a Chinese country boy lost in a big Western city in The Way of The Dragon or the more worldly and modern Chinese man in Enter The Dragon, Lee establishes himself in a niche which has never been explored before in the cinematic world – that of an Asian man trying to assert a racial presence in a white-dominated society. To understand Lee's determination to carve out such a strong on-screen identity, one must study Lee's own life, especially his childhood in the hostile streets of Hong Kong and his time in the United States. Bruce Lee's early years were largely influenced by the Japanese's occupation of Hong Kong; his mother recalled stories of the young Bruce raising his fist to the Japanese zeroes flying overhead. Likewise, anti-colonial sentiments against the British were equally as strong. As a student, Bruce was frequently involved in fights with British pupils from the nearby King George V school [Thomas, 12.].
In his biography of Lee, author Bruce Thomas describes the 1950s Hong Kong of Bruce's childhood as "a place suffering from high unemployment, a depressed economy, over crowding, homelessness and from people simply taking advantage of each other" [Thomas, 13.]. In such conditions, Bruce was a young delinquent whose pride did not allow him to take things lying down. This passion for the underdog and for the disadvantaged would carry on into his adult life and would affect his later choices, both in films and in his personal life. One outlet was the Kung Fu lessons he took with the famous master, Yip Man. Yip Man was – at the time – almost the epitome of traditional Chinese martial arts. He did not wear western clothing, did not pose for publicity photographs and felt strongly that only the Chinese should be taught the art of Wing Chun [Thomas, 19.]. It is therefore evident of how much Lee's childhood in Hong Kong was steeped in anti- colonial nationalism as well as powerful, albeit conflicting, ideas about Chinese traditions. When he moved to the United States in his early twenties, such ideas were only deepened after he started working at a Chinese restaurant and saw how Westerners treated Asians.
Bruce Lee's time in America was also spent in the company of other minorities; his best friends included a Japanese, the black Jesse Glover, and the ethnically-mixed James DeMille. His Japanese friend Taky would recall how Bruce would fuel their determination and always reassured them that,"You're just as good as they [the whites] are" [Thomas, 44.]. His resentment against white authority and his experience with oppression is specifically channelled through his fighting technique. His training was not only fueled by an intense desire to be the best, but also from "a kind of purposefully directed anger" and he focused much on practicing to fight while "centered under stress" [Thomas, 84.], just like when he was fighting against British rival pupils in Hong Kong. One of Lee's main reasons in mastering the art of Kung Fu seems to be a desire to fight back against the figure of the white man.
While he said that his ambition as a film star was to make "films that were serious, philosophical and entertaining", he also took upon a responsibility to "educate" his audience [Thomas, 155.]. Lee wrote to his mother, saying "I'm an Oriental person, therefore I have to defeat all the whites in the film" [Thomas, 161.]. He remarked on how "something of the Oriental – the true Oriental" should be known in America [Thomas, 157.]. Such a statement is contradictory due to Lee's own hybridity, which will be discussed further in this essay. However, Lee's ambition in shattering existing stereotypes and his defiance against white oppression was undeterred and it was soon realised in his most two famous films, The Way of The Dragon and Enter The Dragon, both being two of the most prominent Bruce Lee films in America till this day.
In The Way of The Dragon, Lee's character is used to establish a strong sense of Chinese national identity in a Western setting. He outwardly fights and defeats white oppression which is predominantly symbolised by the character of Colt, who is played by the American martial artist Chuck Norris and is described in the film as "America's best". In the 1972 film, Lee plays a young Chinese man from the country side who arrives in Rome to help an uncle run a Chinese restaurant and deal with the harassment they are receiving from local mafia gangs. In the earliest scenes of the film, Lee's character, Tang Lung, is immediately established as a fish out of water. His past as a country boy removes him even further from a Westernised environment. In the airport, white passerbys openly stare at Lung and his alienated status is further heightened by his inability to communicate with anyone. Lee, however, chooses to portray this incident not as entirely embarrassing or disheartening, but rather chooses to turn the cultural differences into a key comical element in the film. The audience witnesses Lung staring back at an old woman or scaring a boy with an ice cream cone, happily and teasingly taking advantage of the stereotype of the dangerous exotic other. An incident of dining in an Italian restaurant and only being able to order soup becomes a running joke for the first few scenes of the film. Such experiences seem to be geared towards an Asian audience, especially those who have travelled or lived abroad in a Western country. Therefore, Lee sets himself up as a relatable and everyday Chinese man, winning over the Asian audience.
He then – after witnessing the harassment his countrymen suffers at the hands of the locals – embarks on a journey to become the 'extraordinary' Chinese man, who is always proudly decked out in his Chinese clothes. A white woman makes sexual advances towards him, seeing him as an exotic commodity. The exchange establishes a sense of 'Chinese pride' which comes from an Asian man being seen as desirable by a white woman. Lee's character, however, chooses to interact more with the typical, appropriate and traditional choice of the Chinese love interest. As the antithesis of Lee, we have Asian characters who have succumbed to oppression and are now subservient to the whites. There is Uncle Wong, a long time resident of Rome, who is the victim of circumstances and who finally ends up betraying his own people. Another similar character is Mr. Ho, who acts as a translator for the Italian gangsters. Ho's role as the national traitor is mocked and highlighted by the portrayal of him as a weak and bumbling idiot. His flamboyant clothes, high-pitched voice and homosexual undertones are used as comedic relief. These two characters are used not only to progress the theme of national loyalty, but also to build Lee's character up as a masculine Chinese hero. The ultimate emergence of this figure is, of course, during the fight between Lee and Norris in the Coliseum.
The separation between race and national standing is further highlighted by clothing – Norris wearing white and Lee wearing black. The Coliseum is chosen as a setting for the fight for it being globally recognisable as a Western landmark. In a place where its history is marred by slavery and oppression, Lee triumphs over the white man. Lee is beaten down at first but then rises up again, symbolising the Chinese rising from oppression in a strong post-colonial Hong Kong statement. Lee destroys the white man's superiority by physically crippling his arm, then his leg, and finally breaking his neck and killing him. Lee, however, maintains his sense of dignity by showing his opponent respect after the fight and then proceeds to assume and emphasise his Chinese identity by putting his traditional Chinese shirt back on. The last shot is of Lee walking away as the figure of the lone fighter. Such an image not only makes Lee seem untouchable, but also as unattainable and as an indestructible force. Lee's constant seamless transitions from the ordinary to the extraordinary makes him even more appealing to the audience; he is an iconic hero, but one which the ordinary man can still connect with. This image is part of his hyper-masculinity and "cool masculinity" in which Asian stars post-Lee try to either emulate or redefine. Lee's on screen masculinity destroys the orientalistic emasculated East Asian man that has come before. In doing so, however, Asian feminine identity is still sidelined and Lee's own cultural purity is questioned, especially due to his American ties.
Lee himself speaks of the "true oriental", but Enter The Dragon and Lee's own personal life complicates such notion and explore a more Asian-American identification. He received an American university education, married an American woman and spoke almost perfect English. Enter The Dragon is a prime example which explores this part of Lee's complexity. Unlike the character he plays in Way of The Dragon, his character in Enter the Dragon speaks English and chooses to cooperate with the British intelligence. The people he befriends in the film are the white underdogs: the black karate fighter of Williams played by Jim Kelly and Roper, the down and out gambler. The setting of the island itself is not of Hong Kong; it seems to be devoid of national jurisdiction and is shown as an exotic and isolated island, almost in no-man's land. The main antagonist of the film, however, is not the white figure of authority, but rather of another Chinese man. Han is the man who tarnishes Shaolin and therefore, the Chinese sense of honour. He is shown as cruel, inhumane, and deformed. Lee defeats him in a room of reflections, smashing mirrors and finally impaling Han on his own spear. The fight with Han seems to suggest a theme of self-reflection and national reconfiguration. Unlike the straightforward villainy of Way of The Dragon, this film is suggesting that maybe evil does not necessary always comes from a white influence, but it can be born from one's own self or nationality. Such a statement separates Enter The Dragon from Way of The Dragon, making the former a far less nationalistic film and supports the argument of Lee being a more progressive figure rather than a typically traditional hero.
Bruce himself acknowledges the criticism he receives for possibly being "fairly hip and fairly Americanised" and "too Western for Oriental audiences" [Thomas, 158.]. Such criticism raises the possibility that there is no true Asia nor can there be a representation of the complete Asian. It also raises the question of how significant it is for artists to not only show their culture, but also to criticise it from an outsider's perspective. It is undeniable that Lee's physique and masculinity is used mainly by him to channel the image of him as a "symbol of rebellion against a racist America" and "a model of justified anger" towards colonisation in Asia [Marchetti, 213.]. This is the first time in American cinema where an East Asian person has wrestled control from the white majority and carve out a new Asian identity, thus making Lee's success a breakthrough. Lee paved the way for a martial arts craze in America, one which open doors for other prominent Asian actors like Jackie Chan. However, the martial arts craze created by Lee and his on screen masculinity has begun to turn into new stereotypes, ones which the post-Lee generation of Asian actors now have to struggle with.
Next: Part Two – "Male Asian Identity in the Post-Bruce Lee Era"
Previously: Introduction
Gina Marchetti, From Tian'anmen to Times Square [Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2006].
Bruce Thomas, Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit [London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 2007]
Kam Louie, 'Chinese masculinity studies in the twenty-first century: Westernizing, Easternizing, and globalizing wen and wu ', Norma: International Journal for Masculinity Studies, 9.1 (2014).
May 13, 2016 May 17, 2018 bruce lee, chuck norris, east asian representation, enter the dragon, film, Films, hollywood, jackie chan, The Arts, the way of the dragon, way of the dragon
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Pim Wangtechawat
A writer based in Bangkok. I mostly write about pop culture and how it relates to us as human beings.	View all posts by Pim Wangtechawat
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"I'd no idea hearts could take in so many": Revisiting 'Little Women' As An Adult
"Peaky Blinders" and the Mud of War
I went to see the new "Lion King" and came out of the cinema feeling cheated.


text:
Australian Immigration Law Experts
Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)
This visa is available to citizens of countries that have a work and holiday arrangement with Australia and is designed to improve and enhance cultural understanding. The visa is granted for a period of 12 months from the date the visa holder enters Australia.
What are the criteria?
Applicants for a subclass 462 visa must:
be at least 18 but not yet 31 years of age
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have enough money to buy a return or onward travel ticket
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meet the educational requirements
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Applicants can apply for this visa if they hold a passport from:
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When designing a marketing website, microsite or landing page there are many factors that you need to consider in order for the end result to work for you. One of the biggest factors in driving conversion is good user interface (UI) design. Whether you are designing something by yourself or sourcing a company such as Maxxor to design the site on your behalf, you need to take into account some UI features that will make users want to convert to using your product or service.
Use a single column approach instead of multiple columns next to each other. When there are multiple columns competing for attention with each other, you run the risk of your user becoming distracted and missing the single purpose of the page. Have a storyline from top to bottom and then a call to action at the end of your "story".
This only applies to pages that are long in nature. If you have a call to action button at the top of your page that disappears when you scroll down, then you need to have that same call to action button somewhere else (such as at the very bottom). This way the user does not have to scroll back up when they want to complete an action since the action button is already within their reach.
Remember that when it comes to short pages that require no scrolling, this repetition of action buttons is not needed since it will only crowd the space.
Separate your clicked items from your clickable items as well as your normal text by giving each of these a style of their own. For example, use blue colouring for text that can be clicked and black for text that is currently being clicked on or where the user currently is. Obviously the text should also be a different style so that the user knows what is there to click on and what is there to read.
This is similar to the above point that was made about using distinctive styles. Your call to action elements should be distinguishable from your other elements and be made more prominent. Use depth to make an item appear closer than the other items. Or use tone to make an item seem lighter or darker than the rest. Raise contrast even more by using colours that are complementary to each other on the colour wheel such as blue and orange.
Often giving people too many choices ensures that they will be less likely to make a choice. Thus, by providing people with less choices that are seemingly of equal value, you can nudge them into making a firm decision. Achieve this by rather recommending a particular choice and then having the other choices appear less noticeable (smaller or something to that effect) next to it. This will make it easier for the person to find out what they really want.
These two factors go hand-in-hand since one of the truths about human nature is the fact that we want to put in as little effort as possible to get the biggest reward. Having too many form fields poses the risk of having people give up halfway through because they need to fill in too much information. Question whether the fields you have are truly necessary. If they are, move some of the fields to appear after sign up has been completed. For example, ask people to complete their profile as soon as they have already signed up.
Another thing that human beings seem to find laborious is drop-down menus. Drop-down menus may hide important features so consider exposing them to your users instead of hiding them. For example, place buttons with these important features next to each other so that people don't have to go looking for them in a hidden menu. You can still use drop-down menus for things like calendars since these are functions that are predictable in nature and doesn't require any new learning.
Sometimes a hasty sign up is not the best way to go. People often want to see the value of the product before they fully commit. If your product, service or app allows for this, you can show them an example that they can engage with before signing up. For example, if you have a gaming app you can give people a small sneak preview of your game before they commit to adding the app to their mobile device. This will show them the value of your game and provide them with a reason to continue using it.
This subject could easily warrant an article on its own. You might have noticed that companies in particular industries use the same colours across the board. Companies in the technology game often use blue as their main colour (think HP, Intel and Maxxor) while some of the biggest fast food companies use yellow and red (think McDonald's and Burger King). And there is a very good reason for it since each colour is associated with certain principles and emotion.
Blue is often associated with security and integrity while green is environmental and fresh. Red, strangely enough, is supposed to make you eat faster and stimulate your appetite. No wonder many fast food chains use this colour! Contrast is your friend when it comes to UI design and this is why dark colours often go best with bright colours.
Colour usage has some psychological basis but it is also a subjective issue. The use of certain colours can make your users want to read your content or not read it at all. If your background colour prevents your text from being read, it will chase users away.
You also need to take into consideration what colours are most friendly for certain eyes. Black and white are great for 3D designs, while a green and red combination is bad for the colourblind amongst us (and these colours have similar hues making them difficult to read together).
Even symbols that we see in everyday life make us favour one colour over another. Traffic lights (as we all should know by now) use red to symbolize "stop", green for "go" and orange for "caution" or "slow down". The same is true for buttons on websites and apps. Using green buttons makes a person feel safe to go ahead and click on the button while red makes them stop and think about the implications a while longer.


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24.11.2016 South Africa
S. Africa union federation backs Ramaphosa for power
LISTEN NOV 24, 2016
Cyril Ramaphosa has won the support of Cosatu, the biggest union federation, to be the ANC party's next leader. By Rajesh Jantilal (AFP/File)
Johannesburg (AFP) - South African deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday won the support of Cosatu, the biggest union federation, to be the ANC party's next leader, boosting his chances of taking national power.
The African National Congress (ANC), which is currently headed by scandal-tainted President Jacob Zuma, is due to choose its new leader in December next year.
The party leader becomes its automatic presidential candidate in the next general elections, with the ANC still the strong favourite to win the 2019 vote despite a fall in nationwide popularity.
Cosatu general secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali said it had "resolved to support and lobby" for Ramaphosa, a former anti-apartheid activist and trade unionist who helped negotiate the end of white-minority rule in 1994.
The 64-year-old made a failed bid to succeed Nelson Mandela as president in 1999, before becoming a wealthy businessman and then returning to politics.
Cosatu does not have voting power in the ANC, but boasts over a million members.
"We shall work to lobby and influence the ANC structures to support comrade Cyril Ramaphosa," said Ntshalintshali.
Among the other names in the running to succeed Zuma are African Union Commission chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who is Zuma's ex-wife, and ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize.
Zuma has shrugged off growing calls to step down after a series of corruption scandals and weakening economic data.
Two weeks ago, he survived a motion of no confidence after a public watchdog raised accusations over his relationship with the Guptas, a business family accused of wielding undue political influence.
Zuma's presidential term expires in 2019.
More South Africa
Airlines cull South Africa routes as virus flares
15.01.2021 | South Africa
S.Africa's Zuma snubs anti-graft panel again
South African Pieterse glad for Castres chance after 'rollercoaster' start
S.Africa vaccine plan raises eyebrows ahead of launch
S.Africa police arrest thousands for not wearing masks
High cost to wildlife from shark nets protecting S.Africa beaches
Orphaned rhinos find safe refuge in S.Africa sanctuary
Virus hits S.Africa border post, compounds delays
2021 solidarity message: AASU calls on governments to secure the education of 11 million girls across Africa


Editor Columns and Rows supports a max value of 1000, e.g. 4 characters, the input fields should limit input to 4 characters and be sized such that 4 characters fit comfortably ~70 pixels in length.
bzimport set Reference to bz70404.
In the style guide inputs are defined as having a width of 100% of the containing element.
We probably need a modifier for these types of input e.g. mw-ui-input q small ?
Note we could use the size attribute but it's not clear how this would work on a mobile device/in a responsive layout.
I wasn't saying the field should be less tall, rather less wide. A standard control is good, just needs to hold fewer characters.
I know. Width 100% = wide.
What should the size be? Should small be the default or should big be the default for input fields?
The input field should suggest to the user the type of content that should be entered. There is no hard and fast rule for open ended fields, however fields with structured input (character limited) should support the number of characters allowed plus consistent padding.
As another example as pointed out by Jared this happens here"
Then, the text field below is too long.
Let's apply the mw-ui-inline class and see how that looks.
inputs.less: Use .mw-ui-input-inline for type="number"


Transfer students who receive an invitation to join Commonwealth Honors College should meet with an honors advisor during the New Students Orientation to review the specific requirements in effect at the time of their admission and to sign a contract confirming their membership. Students who are invited to join Commonwealth Honors College but who are unable to attend the New Students Orientation should make an appointment to meet with a Commonwealth Honors College advisor.
Transfer students who do not meet the above criteria at the time of their university admission may seek membership in Commonwealth Honors College through the current student application process.


Genuine replacement part for Nissan Datsun manual pop up antenna with key for Datsun 240Z, 260Z, 280Z, 510, Roadster, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Subaru, Isuzu, and other vintage Japanese cars.
Fits most Datsun, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Subaru, Isuzu,and most other vintage Japanese cars.
The manual antenna pops up when insert special key to avoid vandalism.


Taco Nicolai received his PhD from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Uppsala in Sweden and at the Cavendish laboratories in Cambridge in the UK. He is currently employed by the French national scientific research centre (CNRS) and is working at the University of Le Mans in France. His current research interests are structure and mechanical properties of materials formed by self assembly of biopolymers and associative polymers.