text:
Second-Order Relational Manipulations Affect Both Humans and Monkeys
Christoph D. Dahl,
Affiliations Physiology of Cognitive Processes Department, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany, Human Perception, Cognition and Action Department, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany, Language and Intelligence Section, Primate Research Insititute, Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi, Japan
Nikos K. Logothetis,
Affiliations Physiology of Cognitive Processes Department, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany, Division of Imaging Science and Biomedical Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
Heinrich H. Bülthoff,
Affiliations Human Perception, Cognition and Action Department, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany, Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
Christian Wallraven
* E-mail: wallraven@korea.ac.kr
Affiliation Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Seoul, Korea
Christoph D. Dahl Nikos K. Logothetis Heinrich H. Bülthoff Christian Wallraven
Recognition and individuation of conspecifics by their face is essential for primate social cognition. This ability is driven by a mechanism that integrates the appearance of facial features with subtle variations in their configuration (i.e., second-order relational properties) into a holistic representation. So far, there is little evidence of whether our evolutionary ancestors show sensitivity to featural spatial relations and hence holistic processing of faces as shown in humans. Here, we directly compared macaques with humans in their sensitivity to configurally altered faces in upright and inverted orientations using a habituation paradigm and eye tracking technologies. In addition, we tested for differences in processing of conspecific faces (human faces for humans, macaque faces for macaques) and non-conspecific faces, addressing aspects of perceptual expertise. In both species, we found sensitivity to second-order relational properties for conspecific (expert) faces, when presented in upright, not in inverted, orientation. This shows that macaques possess the requirements for holistic processing, and thus show similar face processing to that of humans.
Citation: Dahl CD, Logothetis NK, Bülthoff HH, Wallraven C (2011) Second-Order Relational Manipulations Affect Both Humans and Monkeys. PLoS ONE 6(10): e25793. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025793
Editor: Manos Tsakiris, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom
Received: June 29, 2011; Accepted: September 11, 2011; Published: October 3, 2011
Copyright: © 2011 Dahl et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: This work was supported by the Max Planck Society, a fellowship for Prospective Researchers by the Swiss National Science Foundation (CDD), a fellowship by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (CDD), and the World Class University program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (R31-2008-000-10008-0) (CW). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
In primate societies, a crucial socio-cognitive skill is to recognize and individuate faces. Evolution has provided the primate brain with neural machinery that solves these computationally complex tasks with ease and with great reliability. Two fundamental processes in face processing are (1) the so-called holistic processing and (2) the subordinate-level entry point of faces: Faces share certain features, such as eyes, nose and mouth (featural information), but also a certain configuration of these features (configural information). The term 'holistic' refers to the integration of featural and configural information into a single holistic representation [1], [2]. Configural information can be divided further into the so-called first- and second-order relational properties. First-order relational properties describe the general arrangement of features, i.e. the eyes are above the nose, the nose above the mouth, and allow basic-level categorization of faces, i.e. the detection of a face [3]. Second-order relational properties describe the fine-tuned metrics among the features. This information is unique for each individual face and allows classification at the subordinate level, i.e. individuation of faces [1], [2]. By default, the entry-point for faces is at the subordinate level with a face labeled fastest with the name of the individual, e.g. 'Elvis', rather than by the basic-level category the face belongs to, i.e. 'face'. For non-face objects, the opposite case is true: an image of a dog will be labeled as 'dog' first, before being labeled by its breed, or its name [4]–[6]. Whether or not these two characteristics, holistic processing and subordinate-level entry point, can be described by the same underlying mechanism remains unclear, however. As pointed out, they share some conceptual aspects of computation. Here, we focus on the aspects related to holistic processing of faces, especially the second order relational properties of facial features [7], i.e. the relative spatial arrangement of facial features. It has been assumed that slight changes in the second order relational properties in a face influence the observer's holistic perception. Slight differences in the spatial arrangement, however, are not explicitly noticeable, but rather result in a "new appearance" of a face. Interestingly, inverting the face [8], [9] seems to disrupt the processing of second order relational properties [7]. In humans, sensitivity to configural manipulations in upright faces has been described in many studies both on the perceptual level [10]–[12] as well as on a memory level [13]. In macaques, however, only a few studies so far have investigated configural sensitivity on a behavioral level [14]–[16]. In Parr et al. [14], a variety of configural (both first- as well as second-order relational manipulations) and featural manipulations were tested in a delayed-matching to sample paradigm using conditions based on an unaltered face, an image of only the inner face, a fractured face, and a fractured and rearranged face. Macaques showed deterioration in performance in all altered conditions, including the inner face condition, allowing no clear-cut interpretation of the results. However, it must be noticed that the 'fracturing' manipulation of the stimuli was rather drastic, disrupting the overall appearance of the faces. Our opinion is that sensitivity to configuration must be reflected already at a more subtle stage of manipulation. In Sugita [16], infant macaques without any visual experience in faces were able to detect configural as well as featural manipulations in faces. This finding is surprising and raises the question whether sensitivity to configuration is an innate component, supported by a sensitive period or perceptual narrowing during early infancy, or whether it is a gradual increase due to many years of extensive exposure, as suggested by the human literature [17], [18]. In an adaptation paradigm, Dahl et al. [15] tested macaques on their sensitivity toward slight changes in the inter-ocular distance. A higher rebound of adaptation for the configurally manipulated stimuli as opposed to the normal control stimuli indicating that monkeys are sensitive to configural changes between the eyes.
In summary, while there is some evidence for sensitivity to configural manipulations in macaques, conclusive evidence using carefully manipulated stimuli is still missing. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, none of the studies so far has directly compared humans and macaques using the same task and the same stimulus material. In the present study, we set out to address both issues. We first generated face stimuli containing configural manipulations introduced by altering the inter-eye and eye-mouth distances in conspecific faces as well as in non-conspecific faces. In addition, we used both upright and inverted faces. Using these stimuli, we then determined the degree of dishabituation and the proportion of viewing times from eye-tracking of both human and macaque observers in the same task and experimental setting. As in Dahl et al. [15], a habituation-dishabituation paradigm was used together with a preferential looking paradigm that allowed to track changes of interest. Eye gaze was recorded using eye tracking methods. Motivated by the hypothesis that the sensitivity to manipulated spatial relations of the features is disrupted by inversion [19], [20], we hypothesize that with upright faces observers pay more attention to the manipulated facial dimensions (inter-eye and eye-mouth) than with inverted faces. This in turn leads to an increase in viewing times for these parts during the presentation of upright faces as opposed to the inverted faces. We also hypothesize that this enhancement is stronger for conspecific than for non-conspecific faces as a result of the expertise effect [21] and perceptual narrowing [16]. In terms of habituation, we hypothesize that observers show a greater difference in dishabituation for manipulated upright faces versus normal upright faces than for manipulated inverted faces versus inverted normal faces. This effect would reflect a greater dissimilarity between the configurally manipulated version of a face and the normal version when both faces are presented right-side-up - and correspondingly a smaller dissimilarity when presented upside down.
Participants were recruited from the student population of the University of Tübingen and were paid standard rates of 8€ per hour, or they were affiliates of the MPI. The research presented here consists of a standard monitor psychophysics task with acquisition of eye-tracking data, which falls under standard procedures and hence, no specific ethics approval was sought from the ethics review board. All experiments were conducted in accordance with the 1964 declaration of Helsinki. Before the experiment started, informed, oral consent was obtained from all participants. Furthermore, participants were informed that they could stop the experiment at any time.
This research adhered to the Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour/Animal Behaviour Society Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Research, and the guidelines of the European Community (EU VD 86/609/EEC) for the care and use of laboratory animals under the approval of local authorities (Regierungspräsidium). The animal facilities at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics strictly comply with all legal regulations on the use of laboratory animals in research and in many cases sets even higher standards for itself. Only healthy animals living in a stress-free environment can be used in cognitive research. Species-appropriate housing, handling and nutrition are a necessity for conducting behavioral experiments. All animals are kept in mixed groups of young and adult males and females. Climbing furniture and toys as well as places to withdraw are provided as social enrichment. The animal facilities and animal care procedures are regularly monitored by the responsible authorities. On site, a team of experienced veterinarians, biologists and animal caretakers ensure that all animals receive the best possible care. During the experiments, animals are constantly monitored for signs of distress and care is taken to provide a stress-free experimental environment for our behavioral studies. Water and juice rewards are given under ongoing monitoring of our veterinarians, and the daily food rations provide an ample supply of nutrients and fluids.
Three rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta, 5 to 7 years old, 10 to 13 kg) and 22 human participants (12 females, age: 18 to 35 years) participated in the study. Prior to the experiments, the monkeys were implanted with a custom-designed titanium head post [22] in a surgical procedure. Macaques were socially housed and had direct and/or visual contact to other colonies and individuals. Contact to humans was restricted, with scientists wearing protective clothes and face masks. Human participants had no explicit knowledge about macaques or related species.
40 color pictures of rhesus macaque and human faces were used. All faces (macaque and human stimuli) were unfamiliar to both macaque and human participants. Faces were separated from their original background, normalized for luminance, and placed on a mid-gray background in an image canvas of 300×300 pixels (13.3 degrees of visual angle).
Stimulus manipulations included whole image rotation for 180 degree (inverted), and a configural change of the inter-eye-mouth spacing (manipulated). Spacing manipulations of eyes were within a variation of 7–10 pixels, as was the eye to mouth spacing with a variation of 7–9 pixels. The displacement on both dimensions was determined to lie within 2 standard deviations of the mean pixel distances of eight monkeys in our colony as well as eight human faces (see [15]). A mid-gray blank square was used as a gray outline marking a frame of the same size equal to the face stimulus (Figure 1a).
Figure 1. Experiment setup.
Panel (a) shows normal and configurally-manipulated stimuli. Face stimuli of humans and macaques were placed on a gray background. Eyes and mouth were spatially displaced. Panel (b) shows the adaptation procedure for an upright macaque trial pair: the first trial (habituation) displays a macaque upright face in alternation with a blank, while the second trial (dishabituation) displays the same macaque upright face configurally manipulated in alternation with a blank. On- and offset of the stimuli are actively controlled by the observer's eye gaze. The ratio between picture and blank reflects the interest in the picture as a function of adaptation/habituation. The rebound of adaptation (dishabituation) reflects the relative rebound of interest in the second picture after having perceived the picture of the first trial. This indicates the perceive dissimilarity in two consecutive pictures.
Procedure and eye tracking
Monkeys were placed in a primate chair inside a darkened sound-attenuating booth during the experiment with head fixation. Stimuli were presented on a 21-inch monitor (Digital, model: VRC21-HA) at a distance of 94 cm controlled by custom-written software under QNX real-time system (QNX Software Systems, Ontario, Canada). Humans were seated in front of a 21-inch monitor (Model: Iiyama Vision Master Pro 21) at a distance of 39 cm inside a darkened experimental room using a chin rest. Both participant groups viewed the stimuli at equivalent visual angles (13.3 degrees).
We used an iView infrared eye tracking system (SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI), Teltow/Berlin, Germany) to collect eye movements of the macaques and an iView X™ Hi-Speed infrared eye tracking system to collect human eye movements: both sampled at 200 Hz. A 9-point fixation task was used to calibrate the participant's eye gaze, either prior to each session (macaques) or prior to every trial pair (humans).
The trial order was arranged such that upright normal or inverted normal trials were followed by upright manipulated or inverted manipulated trials of the same individual. Macaques did 20+/−3 trial pairs per condition ((upright and inverted)×(human and monkey)) over 10 days of experimental testing. Humans did 20 trial pairs per condition in one experimental session. Statistics were calculated across sessions for monkey participants and across human participants (see [15], [21], [23]).
Participants controlled on- and offset of the stimulus displays by guiding their eye gaze in and out of the central image frame (Figure 1b). Each stimulus display consisted of an alternating picture and blank that were controlled by inwards and outwards eye movements, respectively. The ratio of time the observer spent looking at the picture to the total time spent looking at the picture and the blank (12 seconds) was determined, reflecting the observer's preference for the picture over the blank. With increasing picture exposure, viewing results in habituation. Comparing the habituation of a normal trial with a subsequent manipulated trial, the dishabituation to that second picture after having regarded the first picture can be obtained: This dishabituation is the rebound of interest in the second picture and reflects the perceived degree of similarity between the two consecutively presented pictures. A small rebound indicates similarity; a large rebound indicates dissimilarity between the two faces. The monkeys were rewarded non-specifically with juice for 250–300 ms during an inter-trial interval (5000 ms); humans were financially compensated at standard rates of 8 Euros per hour at the end of the experiment.
Dependent variables were viewing preference and eye movements. (i.e. the viewing time - we do not report the number of fixations, since the exact same tendency was reflected in that measure). Fixations were defined as a function of velocity, including data samples not faster than 20 deg/s within a time period of at least 100 ms. The final position of that fixation period was determined as the average position of samples during one fixation period. The frequency, density, and duration of fixations on single facial parts (eyes, nose and mouth) were calculated by normalizing the measure for single parts to the total measure in that trial. Also, we subtracted the proportion of the area of each facial part relative to the whole image from the proportion of data samples for each facial part and the total number of samples in that trial. Any deviation from zero therefore means that a facial area was looked at more or less than predicted by a uniform looking strategy. The facial parts 'eyes', 'nose' and 'mouth' were outlined by five humans for all faces using the roi_poly function in Matlab (Mathworks Inc., Natick, MA, USA). The mean of each area across raters was calculated by determining the probability of each pixel being assigned to that area. Pixels exceeding probabilities higher than 0.5 were included in the area templates. Analyses of variances were conducted for the independent variables of stimulus groups (monkey versus human) as well as for the two stimulus orientations (upright versus inverted) and stimulus manipulations (manipulated versus normal). Corrections for multiple comparisons (alpha/n, where n is the number of comparisons, i.e., a standard Bonferroni correction) were used where applicable. We report the corresponding alpha-level of a single-comparison (e.g. p = 0.05 (reported) is equivalent to p = 0.0167 (tested) for n = 3 comparisons).
Preference ratio
The rebound of interest for the configurally manipulated condition relative to the normal condition (i.e. the subtraction of normal from configurally manipulated conditions) is shown in Figure 2. Values of 0 on the y-axis indicate no additional interest for the configurally manipulated condition, while positive values reflect relative interest and negative values relative disinterest. For the monkey observers (Figure 2a), the rebound of interest for the human conditions is at equal level, as indicated by the colored bars: I.e. the rebound of adaptation is orientation insensitive (upright versus inverted) (t(23) = −0.65; p = 0.52; sd = 0.19). The monkey upright condition, however, showed a significant rebound of interest, while the monkey inverted condition resulted in a disinterest in the configurally manipulated stimulus: The rebound of interest for the monkey conditions is significantly different (t(21) = 2.10; p<0.05; sd = 0.19). Conversely, for the human observers (Figure 2b) the rebound of interest for the monkey conditions is similar, as indicated by the color bars: the relative rebound does not depend on the orientation (upright versus inverted) of the face (t(19) = 1.72; p = 0.10; sd = 0.15). However, the human upright condition showed a large rebound of interest, while the human inverted condition caused a disinterest in the configurally manipulated stimulus (t(19) = 5.95; p<0.001; sd = 0.28). Time courses for the first 10 seconds of dishabituation are shown in Figure 2c, d.
Figure 2. Preference for the face picture above the blank (preference ratio).
(a–b) show the grand mean of the difference in preference ratio for configurally manipulated versus normal faces (y-axis) as a function of stimulus species (human versus monkey) and presentation condition (upright versus inverted) (x-axis). Subtitles indicate the species affiliation of the observers. Time course of preference ratio. (c) and (d) show the subtracted values (preference ratio) of the differences between upright configural and normal faces and inverted configural and normal faces as a function of time (sec). The stimulus species is indicated by the line color, the species affiliation of the observers by the subtitles.
Eye tracking analysis
Monkey participants visited the 'Eyes' and 'mouth' of conspecific upright faces more often in configurally manipulated faces than in normal faces (eyes: t(21) = 2.66, p<0.01, sd = 0.24; mouth: t(21) = 2.15, p<0.05, sd = 0.21), while the nose region was visited equally often in configurally manipulated conspecific faces and in normal conspecific faces (nose: t(21) = −1.75, p = 0.10, sd = 0.21) (Figure 3a). Decreasing interest, however, was observed for the nose and mouth regions of conspecific inverted faces: these facial parts were viewed for a shorter period of time in the configurally manipulated condition than in the normal condition (nose: t(21) = −8.86, p<0.001 (normal>configural), sd = 0.10; mouth: t(21) = −5.04, p<0.001 (normal>configural), sd = 0.14) (Figure 3c). The proportion of time spent viewing the eye regions remained constant during the dishabituation trials and is therefore not significantly different (eyes: t(21) = −0.44, p = 0.66, sd = 0.27) (Figure 3c). For human (non-conspecific) faces the configurally manipulated faces elicited less or no rebound of adaptation and therefore less or equal interest in the manipulated facial parts (Figure 3b, d). This is true for upright faces, reflected in an increase in viewing times for the normal compared to the configurally manipulated condition, (eyes: t(23) = 0.77, p = 0.45, sd = 0.23; nose: t(23) = −4.93, p<0.001 (normal>configural), sd = 0.19; mouth: t(23) = −1.70, p = 0.10, sd = 0.19) (Figure 3b) as well as inverted faces (eyes: t(23) = −5.44, p<0.001, sd = 0.15; nose: t(23) = −7.55, p<0.001, sd = 0.12; mouth: t(23) = −4.21, p<0.001, sd = 0.13, while all normal conditions>configural conditions) (Figure 3d). Figure 4a–d shows the time course of viewing times as a function of number of fixations.
Figure 3. Viewing times of humans and monkeys tested on configurally manipulated faces.
Shown are the grand means of looking time, i.e. the time which the observer spent looking at a specific part normalized to the overall looking time and the size of the specific parts. The bars indicate the probability of looking at eyes (red), nose (green) and mouth (blue). 'N' stands for the normal face, 'C' for the configurally manipulated face. The gray bars show the difference between configurally manipulated and normal faces. a, b, e, f show the upright, c, d, g, h the inverted presentation condition. The subtitles indicate the species of the stimuli. The zero line indicates a random gaze distribution. Values above 0 are of higher probability than random; everything below 0 is of lower probability than random.
Figure 4. Time courses of monkeys and humans tested on configurally manipulated faces.
Panels (a)–(d) show the time courses for monkey observers and panels (e)–(h) for human observers. Facial parts (eyes, nose, mouth) are coded in colors, the manipulation condition (configurally manipulated, normal) in line type (dashed, continuous). The number of fixations are shown on the y-axis, considering the first 6 fixations.
Human participants looked at the eyes of conspecific upright faces more often in configurally manipulated faces than in normal faces (t(19) = 4.16, p<0.001, sd = 0.26) (Figure 3f). However, the configural changes with respect to the mouth region were apparently too subtle to be reflected in the observers' fixation pattern (t(19) = 0.23, p = 0.82, sd = 0.09). The unchanged nose region of conspecific faces was visited equally often in the configurally manipulated and in the normal condition and therefore did not reveal a significant difference (t(19) = −0.22, p = 0.83, sd = 0.09). The observer's interest decreased when observing conspecific inverted faces (Figure 3h). All facial parts were visited for less time in the configurally manipulated condition than in the normal condition (eyes: t(19) = −3.43, p<0.01, sd = 0.19; nose: t(19) = −6.43, p<0.001, sd = 0.14; mouth: t(19) = −7.54, p<0.001, sd = 0.13). For monkey (non-conspecific) faces the configural manipulation elicited less rebound of adaptation and therefore less interest in the manipulated facial parts (Figure 3e, g). This is true for upright faces (eyes: t(19) = −0.37, p = 0.72, sd = 0.20; nose: t(19) = −6.32, p<0.001 (with normal>configural), sd = 0.18; mouth: t(19) = −5.08, p<0.001 (with normal>configural), sd = 0.12) (Figure 3e) as well as inverted faces (eyes: t(19) = −5.19, p<0.001, sd = 0.16; nose: t(19) = −5.92, p<0.001, sd = 0.16; mouth: t(19) = −4.01, p<0.001, sd = 0.16, with normal>configural) (Figure 3g). The time courses are shown in Figure 4e–h.
Differences in preference ratios between human and monkey observers
The overall effect size of preference ratio is greater for human than for monkey observers as clearly visible in Figure 2b. However, in both human and monkey observers the critical comparisons between conspecific upright and conspecific inverted faces and the critical similarity of upright non-conspecific and inverted non-conspecific faces are present. The drop of preference ratio in human participants might be due to their belief that the identical picture is presented twice (for the conditions conspecific inverted faces and non-conspecific faces). Comparing the habituation trials (first stimulus) (mean: 0.92; std: 0.08) with the dishabituation trials (second stimulus) (mean: 0.56; std: 0.22) yields a significant effect: t(59) = 12.96, p<0.001, while this tendency is not apparent for monkey participants (habituation (first) stimulus (mean: 0.43; std: 0.14) versus dishabituation (second) stimulus (mean: 0.42; std: 0.11): t(69) = 0.86, p = 0.39). Accordingly, quantifying the effect size of preference ratio across participant groups yields a main effect of preference ratio for Observer (human versus monkey) (F(1,346) = 107.8, p<0.001), showing that overall the two participant groups look differently. The interactions between the factors Observer and Stimulus (human versus monkey) (F(1,346) = 24.26, p<0.001) as well as the interaction between the factors Observer and Stimulus (conspecific versus non-conspecific) (F(1,346) = 36.22, p<0.001) were significant. It is important to stress that this does not indicate that humans are less interested in these pictures than monkeys; rather, it means that the initial level of interest for humans is much higher for the first picture than for the second picture, which in turn results in a greater relative loss of interest compared to monkeys.
In a recent study by Dahl and colleagues [21], eye movement patterns were modulated by the species affiliation of the presented face. Upright faces of conspecifics contained a high degree of eye salience, i.e. viewing times towards the eyes as opposed to nose and mouth. This eye dominance, however, decreased when faces, irrespective of affiliation, were turned upside down, or when non-conspecific faces were shown. In these conditions, eyes, nose and mouth regions were looked at with equal interest. The eye saliency for the upright face of conspecifics was interpreted as a critical marker for holistic face processing [21]. Recently, this pattern of results obtained with macaques was replicated with chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) [24]. Taken together, the results suggest similar processing mechanisms for face perception across (at least) three primate species. These mechanisms are most efficient when conspecific faces are presented right-side up as neurally encoded schemata of configural and featural information are activated. In addition, we posit that a solid hotspot of fixations, here on the eyes, reflects the involvement of a holistic template including information about the whole face, as opposed to active, serial scanning of facial parts.
Recent work addressed sensitivity of face processing in macaques using the Thatcher illusion [23], [25] in a habituation task. These results illustrate the Thatcher illusion as a function of dishabituation to a thatcherized conspecific face in upright and inverted conditions by eliciting less dishabituation for inverted thatcherized faces (as opposed to the normal inverted face) than for upright thatcherized faces, indicating orientation-sensitive processing of configurations [23], [25]. Moreover, the Thatcher effect was only found for upright conspecific faces, but not for upright non-conspecific or inverted faces [23] providing further evidence for holistic processing expertise that is developed for conspecific faces. A study directly assessing configural sensitivity [14] not only found decreased matching performance for second-order relational manipulations but also for first-order relational manipulations, i.e. the location of features in the face (eyes above nose above mouth, etc.), and for restricted information cues, like the inner features of the face, suggesting that macaques in this study relied on external features. However, their claim that Rhesus monkeys lack expertise in face processing might be problematic, since an alternative strategy of solving a task (as suggested by the authors themselves) does not necessarily exclude the ability of holistic/expert processing under natural conditions. In a study by Dahl and colleagues [15] a greater preference ratio for manipulations on the inter-eye distance was found in three out of four monkeys, suggesting sensitivity to configuration although not entirely robust.
In the present study, we demonstrate a reliable and systematic effect of configural manipulations eliciting a greater rebound of adaptation for conspecific upright faces than for both conspecific inverted or non-conspecific faces. Thus, second-order relational changes are detected well in upright conspecific faces, reflecting the high degree of sensitivity to configural changes in faces. By means of adaptation, a response pattern depending on species affiliation was demonstrated in both humans and monkeys, supporting the view that sensitivity to second-order relational properties is restricted to faces of the viewer's own species and is therefore dependent on the viewer's expertise with the stimulus. In addition we found an enhancement effect, reflected in an increased probability of fixation on the manipulated parts, for configurally manipulated versions of upright conspecific faces.
Conceived and designed the experiments: CDD NKL HHB CW. Performed the experiments: CD. Analyzed the data: CDD CW. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: CDD NKL HHB CW. Wrote the paper: CDD NKL HHB CW.
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Is the Subject Area "Face" applicable to this article?
Is the Subject Area "Macaque" applicable to this article?
Is the Subject Area "Monkeys" applicable to this article?
Is the Subject Area "Eyes" applicable to this article?
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Learn the basics about making your own (raw) dog food: what nutritional needs do dogs have? How can you meet them without a degree in science, and without going broke over high-end kibble?
A short presentation to help you understand the basics, and encourage you to get started and give it a try. There will be plenty of time to ask food-related and other questions over a beer at Caoba Farms afterwards.
Thursday, December 13th, 6 PM – 7 PM.
Caoba Farms, Antigua. Click here for directions, or search for "Caoba Farms" on Waze or Google Maps. The presentation will be taking place at Caoba's yoga space.
This is a free community event brought to you by Caniversity Dog Training's Chrissi Schranz in collaboration with Caoba Farms Antigua.


Rickie Fowler may have failed to reach the final of the lucrative FedEx Cup playoffs, but the US golfer has been handed a chance to salvage his season at the Ryder Cup.
Fowler narrowly missed out on a place at the 30-man Tour Championship after finishing tied for 59th at the BMW Championship on Sunday — it left him 31st in the standings.
However, on Monday the world No. 9 was given one of three wildcards by US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love for the clash with Europe at Hazeltine.
The 27-year-old will make his third appearance in the prestigious team event, but his first on home soil, having been named along with J.B. Holmes and Matt Kuchar.
Like Kuchar, Fowler was in the US team for the Rio Olympics last month, and played five weeks in a row as he sought to earn FedEx Cup points for the finale — where the overall winner lands a $10 million jackpot.
Kuchar, who won a bronze medal at Rio, qualified 16th after tying for fourth at Crooked Stick. He was 11 shots behind winner Dustin Johnson, who had already qualified for the Ryder Cup team.
Holmes was also in that group with Kuchar, scraping into the East Lake field in 28th place overall.
Love still has one more wildcard to pick ahead of the Ryder Cup, which runs from September 30 to October 2.
Two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson will be hoping to get the nod, having also played at the Olympics and three previous Ryder Cups.
Watson, ranked seventh in the world, tied for 20th at the BMW Championship and qualified for the Tour Championship in 24th place.
Former Masters winner Charl Schwartzel snatched the final berth from Fowler after a final-round 64 pushed the South African up the leaderboard to share fourth with Kuchar, Holmes, Adam Scott and Ryan Palmer.
Johnson won by three shots from England's US-based Paul Casey, who was not eligible for Europe's Ryder Cup team as he is not a member of his home tour.


text:
dancing—Chalnessa Eames
By Mariano|2018-02-15T10:28:15-08:00January 16th, 2010|
Chalnessa
is is a wonderful, quirky dancer, who takes to Olivier's style like a bird to air.
She's one of those friends of his who urged him to start a company of his own.
Not just for his sake, either, but because it's wonderful to have time to work in a studio with someone, she says,to be the tool of a choreographer who is in the process of creating a work.
Olivier, says Chalnessa, has drive, want, passion. He's not just a choreographer. "You have to encourage that." At the start, back in June, she adds, it was lots of work. Intense. At least mostly. Fun too.
Everyone had to be on 110%.
"I love everyone he's gotten together for this show. We work incredibly well together, though it hasn't always been consistent because of time."
Chalnessa, like other dancers, comments on the enormous attention Olivier pays to detail.
"It helps that we're such good friends," she says, "because I want to kill him half the time the says….and then a while later I'll see, dammit, you were right." He knows what he wants.
Many choreographers these days are just putting a series of steps: "Lots of time it's just a class to music. Olivier has a real, distinct style. There's whimsy, but it's not cute. You need a strong person to carry his choreography." And many dancers are great technicians, but in a mold, without well-developed characters of their own.
Chalnessa makes an interesting point when she says that Olivier is very precise about the movements he wants made, but he doesn't impose how you should feel. "He doesn't spend a lot of time outlining a character." In the "get the boys section," for example, where she and Hannah and Kylie are egging on three of the men. You could hardly get three more different woman.
"But as long as you have your feet and hands, etc. in the right place, you can fill in the steps with who you are."
And Chalnessa loves to invent a character.
Sometimes for that reason she finds Balanchine hard, for example in Agon (although, as I know from watching her for years, she dances even the most un-quirky classics beautifully).
There hasn't been enough time as everybody would have liked for 3Seasons, especially working with the new music—one of Chalnessa's sections was finished just two days ago.
The upcoming performances, she said Thursday before the dress rehearsal, are "exciting and terrifying," mostly because of the new music. After the dress Chalnessa said, "Five days ago, I didn't know if we were going to be able to bring this thing off…" Then she added with an incandescent smile, "But now I know we will."
And last night they did.
Victoria Farr Brown is a former historian, a writer, now mostly of fiction, and a long-time lover of dance. She has written about Whim W'Him from its first steps in 2009.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Swiss economy once again recorded dynamic growth in the 2nd quarter of 2018. GDP (+0.7%) expanded at an above-average rate for the fifth quarter in a row. This expansion was largely supported by manufacturing, which has been experiencing a remarkable upturn since spring of 2017. Exports of goods increased accordingly.
Switzerland's GDP grew by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter of 2018, after 1.0% (revised) in the previous quarter,1 marking over a year of rapid economic expansion. Similarly strong growth rates over several quarters were last reached in 2014.
Thus, the Swiss economy grows again at a faster pace than the Euro area, despite somewhat weakening momentum in the 2nd quarter.
Manufacturing provided the most substantial boost to growth in the 2nd quarter (+1.5%). The sector continued its unbroken positive development over the previous quarters, underpinned by robust foreign demand and the favourable exchange rate movements compared to recent years. Thanks to marked growth in energy production from hydropower and nuclear power plants, the energy sector also recorded an extremely positive quarterly result (+4.8%). Accordingly, exports of industrial products and energy rose sharply. Total exports of goods2 increased at an above-average rate again after two weak quarters (+2.6%). So far, the international trade dispute has had hardly any impact.
The service sector displays a little more heterogeneous picture than at the beginning of the year. Accommodation and food services (+1.4%) grew rapidly following a rise in the number of overnight stays of guests from Switzerland and abroad. The sector's value added climbed to its highest level since 2011. The financial sector also continued its recovery. Both the sector's value added and exports of financial services picked up moderately once more. Additionally, the entertainment sector (+10.1%) provided a sharp boost to growth.3 However, some domestically oriented service sectors lost a degree of momentum, including the health sector (+0.5%) and business-related services (+0.3%). Finally, trade (-0.2%) suffered a drop in value added, triggered in particular by sluggish growth in wholesale.
In keeping with the slowdown in various production sectors with domestic focus, domestic final demand ran out of steam somewhat. Only growth in investment in construction (+0.8%) accelerated noticeably. Private consumption (+0.3%) expanded at a slightly below-average rate, hindered in particular by low energy consumption because of weather conditions. Investment in equipment (-0.3%) consolidated at a high level following multiple quarters of above average growth. This was accompanied by a fall in imports of goods4 and services (-0.7 %).


text:
This Samsung memory breakthrough might give the Galaxy S an advantage over the iPhone
Concept renders show Apple's leaked iPhone 12 design in several different color options. Image source: Svetapple
By Chris Smith @chris_writes
August 31st, 2020 at 12:31 PM
Rumors detailing the iPhone 12 specs indicate some models will feature 6GB of RAM, a first for the iPhone.
Samsung just announced a new RAM breakthrough that will easily put the future Galaxy S21 and Note 21 at an advantage.
Samsung's new 16Gb LPDDR6 DRAM is supposed to allow the manufacturing of smaller, faster RAM modules than previous memory technologies.
The iPhone 12 is rumored to be the first iPhone series that will feature up to 6GB of RAM, which is a major memory upgrade for the iPhone. Apple has never kept up with its main rivals when it comes to RAM, and Android handset makers now put anywhere between 8GB and 16GB of memory inside their phones. The higher the price of the phone, the more likely it is to feature more memory than you can need. It's all overkill, but more RAM can come in handy, as all those real-life speed tests show. Androids can't beat the iPhone's speed, but that extra memory keeps more information loaded and can help with multitasking needs. Apple's decision to upgrade the RAM might not only be about having more RAM on the iPhone. It might also be related to the speed upgrade that comes from utilizing the latest available RAM technology. As I've explained recently, that faster RAM comes in minimum packages of 6GB, and that's why Apple might have to go for the upgrade.
That's just speculation at this point, based on what Apple has done with the iPhone so far. Without matching the hardware of Androids, Apple has invested in technologies that offered it an edge over the competition. The A-series chips or its custom memory controllers are such examples. That's why it would probably want the faster RAM. That said, it's unclear whether Apple would be able to go for Samsung's latest RAM breakthrough innovation, which might otherwise give future Galaxy S and Note phones an edge over the iPhone.
Samsung on Sunday announced the mass production of 16GB memory models composed of 16Gb LPDDR5 RAM chips, which will be likely used in next year's Galaxy S21, Note 21, and various foldable devices. What's special about the new RAM is that it's the industry's "first third-gen 10nm-class (1z) EUV-based" RAM."
EUV stands for extreme ultraviolet lithography, and it's a technology that lets Samsung use sophisticated lasers to "write" silicon. What this translates to is faster, more efficient RAM that takes less space inside the phone than previous modules. In other words, it's not really just the speed bump that matters here, as this next-gen version of RAM can address a variety of problems and ensure that the next-gen smartphones will deliver fast speeds and new features without sacrificing even more battery life.
When it comes to speed, the new 16GB models will be even faster than the 12GB LPDDR5 modules that power some of the current Android handsets:
At 6,400 megabits per second (Mb/s), the new LPDDR5 is about 16 percent faster than the 12Gb LPDDR5 (5,500Mb/s) found in most of today's flagship mobile devices. When made into a 16GB package, the LPDDR5 can transfer about 10 5GB-sized full-HD movies, or 51.2GB of data, in one second.
The RAM package is 30% thinner than the previous version, Samsung explains:
The 16Gb LPDDR5 can build a 16GB package with only eight chips, whereas its 1y-based predecessor requires 12 chips (eight 12Gb chips and four 8Gb chips) to provide the same capacity.
Samsung says the 1z-based 16GB RAM will serve "global smartphone makers," as the company wants to "to further strengthen its presence in the flagship mobile device market throughout 2021." It's unclear who those global players are, except for Samsung, and whether Apple is also a customer. Furthermore, the press release makes no mention of whether the same technology can be used to manufacture other RAM capacities. While it's unlikely to see Apple launch an iPhone with 16GB of RAM anytime soon, lower capacity versions might be useful. On a related note, and I'm again speculating, this super-fast 16GB version of RAM could very well be paired with the kind of computers that Apple is making, the ones based on its own A-series chips.
Tags: Galaxy S21, iPhone 12, RAM, Samsung
Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it he was sharing his views on tech stuff with readers around the world. Whenever he's not writing about gadgets he miserably fails to stay away from them, although he desperately tries. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.
This might be the first MacBook powered by the same chip tech as the iPhone 12
5 Apple device deals you won't want to miss at Amazon


text:
8 bytes added, 14:07, 11 February 2020
* In order to get out of a remote federal prison where they are being held for attempted assassination of the president, Dean and Sam must die. Dean asks [[Billie]] the reaper to let him and Sam die and come back one more time, and then she could take a Winchester for good. Being temporarily dead allows them to be transported to another room, and they sneak out once [[Billie]] brings them back.<ref name="twelve09">[[12.09 First Blood]]</ref>
* Dean dies after he injects himself with something that stops his heart in order to speak to the ghosts who are haunting a house. Sam injects him with a syringe full of another substance that is supposed to restart his heart, but it doesn't work. [[Billie]] shows up, and she brings him back, after a conversation in which she reveals that it is not his time to die yet.<ref name="thirteen05">[[13.05 Advanced Thanatology]]</ref>
* In a nightmare Sam has, Dean's neck is telekinetically snapped by a Sam who had given into the demon blood.<ref name="fifteen04">[[15.04 Atomic Monsters]]</ref> Like the rest of [[Chuck's Endings]], this is revealed to be an alternate -reality Dean.<ref name="fifteen09">[[15.09 The Trap]]</ref>* In another nightmare that Sam has, Dean tries to kill a [[Lucifer]]-possessed Sam with [[the Colt]] only to fail and have the archangel burn him alive.<ref name="fifteen05">[[15.05 Proverbs 17:3]]</ref> Like the rest of [[Chuck's Endings]], this is revealed to be an alternate -reality Dean.<ref name="fifteen09" />
==Michael's True Vessel==
* In [[13.23 Let the Good Times Roll]] Dean consents to being [[Apocalypse World]] [[Michael (Apocalypse World)|Michael]]'s vessel in order to battle Lucifer. He demands that he remain in control, but after Lucifer is killed, Michael reneges on their deal and takes over Dean's body. Michael suppresses Dean, but Dean fights back and Michael leaves him after about a month's time.<ref>[[14.02 Gods and Monsters]]</ref> Before leaving, however, he leaves the "door" to Dean's mind open, which enables him to remotely see what Dean does and provides a way for Michael to later re-occupy Dean's vessel without his consent again.<ref>[[14.09 The Spear]]</ref> This time, he creates an illusion in which Dean is happy ([[Rocky's Bar]]) to stop him from fighting back. Sam and Castiel enter Dean's subconscious, and help him repress and contain Michael within his mind.<ref>[[14.10 Nihilism]]</ref> After being knocked unconscious by the [[gorgon]] [[Noah Ophis]], Michael is able to escape Dean's mind and possess [[Rowena]], but he is exorcised and destroyed by [[Jack Kline]].<ref>[[14.14 Ouroboros]]</ref>
*Following the return of the original Michael in [[15.08 Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven]], the archangel shows no further interest in Dean as a vessel and is instead content with using the body of Adam with whom Michael has reached an agreement and shares to share control withof said vessel.
==Pre-series==


Why choose between sporting gold, silver, or bronze hues, when these circular earrings offer them all? Modern and versatile, this layered pair blends subtle texture and a hint of shine, and delivers both whenever they're desired.
Earrings measure 2 inches in diameter.


To recovery your password enter your login or email and click send button. You will get an e-mail with confirmation code. Enter your login or email with that confirmation code and new password will be send to you by an email.


text:
Urban Legends - cellophane
02:24 pm February 24th, 2003
Technology has achieved a new depth. Since not every employee has email access at my office, the company periodically prints out important memos and fliers, distributing them by hand to each desk.
Today, I received a piece of spam. On paper. Which had been photocopied and distributed to every employee in this office (around 100). Paper spam!! Well, not precisely spam, but one of those Urban Legends that gullible people like to forward, perpetuating fear and paranoia. This one was telling us that cell phones can cause explosions at gas stations (false). It also mentioned that static electricity causes explosions too (some validity but greatly exaggerated).
To me, the email virtually screams Urban Legend!! I knew before I looked it up that it would turn out to be largely false. I don't know who authorized its photocopy and reproduction, but it was a total waste of the company's money and resources. It's really very embarrassing.
Not to mention annoying.
Thread started by Shane
From: encorecrazay Date: February 24th, 2003 12:48 pm (UTC) (Link)
Gee, from the Texas Gas Service, on safety - if you smell gas
Do not use your cellular phone to call Texas Gas Service unless you are outside and away from the building. Using any type of telephone could ignite the leaking gas.
From: renniekins Date: February 24th, 2003 01:59 pm (UTC) (Link)
Crazy. Sounds like paranoia and "CYA" sydrome to me!
From: bjorng Date: February 24th, 2003 02:27 pm (UTC) (Link)
There's quite a difference between a gas leak in a building (i.e. natural gas) and the relatively small amount of fumes emitted at a fuel pump. Both in terms of relative volatility of the vapor, the quantity in the air when they are "leaking", and the odds of something larger than a small flash being ignited by a cellphone spark. You also have the indoor vs. outdoor factor. But I'd imagine that the risk is fairly low in the NG scenario as well. Mobile phones these days don't have much non-solid-state stuff in them to arc across anyway. I figure you'd be more likely to set things off with a static discharge.
Thread started by L. Christopher Bird
From: zenmondo Date: February 24th, 2003 08:04 pm (UTC) (Link)
Not too long ago, there was a story on the evening news about this very thing! I always thought it was bull, but they had the video of these fires.
There are signs next to all the pumps that I see that tell you to turn off your cell phone. If I had one, I think I would use it on principle.
From: renniekins Date: February 25th, 2003 08:52 am (UTC) (Link)
Good for you...fight the system!!!
encorecrazay (no subject) [+2]
zenmondo (no subject) [+1]


Go on a sweet, flavorful journey with us, by making this raspberry and mascarpone tart. This will satisfy your sweet tooth, slice after slice, especially since it has many layers of taste and flavor. The topping is made with frozen raspberries, sugar and cornstarch. Then it's positively enriched by a mascarpone and gelatin layer. What more presents do you want?
In a larger bowl add the butter and sugar and mix them using a spatula or a tablespoon.
Add the egg and mix using a hand mixer.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix using a spatula at the beginning then use your hands to knead the mixture until you get a smooth dough.
Flour your workspace and flatten the dough, using a rolling pin.
Coat a cake form with the flattened dough and trim its edges using a knife. Dock the dough, using a fork.
Bake the crust for 20 minutes at 340⁰ F/170⁰ C.
For the raspberry jam: Add the frozen raspberries to the blender and blend them.
Add them to a cooking pot over low heat, add the sugar, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Use a small bowl and a teaspoon to mix together the cornstarch and the water.
Add this mixture to the cooking pot, stir and cook for another minute.
Pour the raspberry mixture over the crust and refrigerate it for 2 hours.
Step one for the milk mixture: use a smaller bowl and mix together the cornstarch, sugar, and milk. Set aside.
Step two for the milk mixture: Add the milk to a cooking pot over low heat. Add the vanilla extract and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Add the cornstarch, sugar and milk mixture to the pot. Whisk and bring the mixture to a slow boil.
For the mascarpone mixture: use a bigger bowl to add the mascarpone and the powdered sugar. Mix them using a tablespoon.
Add the cooked milk mixture and continue to mix until you get a smooth cream. Set it aside.
Use yet another bowl, to mix the gelatin with 2 tablespoons of water.
Pour some water into a cooking pot over medium heat and place the bowl with the gelatin over it so that its bottom does not touch the water surface. Cook the gelatin, until it's completely melted.
Pour the gelatin mix into the mascarpone mixture and mix them together. Leave the mixture to cool completely.
Add this mascarpone mixture over the raspberry jam. Grate over it some milk chocolate. Serve it topped with red currants.


text:
Home / World / India's largest solar plant in the world
India's largest solar plant in the world
- The world's largest solar power plant in the world is found in India. On a flat of 10 square kilometers in the state of Tamil Nadu are placed 2.5 million solar panels. The maximum capacity of the new plant is 648 megawatts, reported news station Al Jazeera on Tuesday. That's enough to provide hundreds of thousands of households.
The plant occupies first place on the Topaz Solar Farm in California, which has a capacity of 550 megawatts. The Indian project cost converted about 640 million euros and was thrown up in eight months time. India has big ambitions with solar energy. The government will provide 60 million households with solar electricity over six years.
Environmental organizations hope that will finally improve air quality with a sustainable energy supply. Currently, there is still not notice: New Delhi population was earlier this month still burdened by the worst smog in seventeen years.
An automated system, including solar energy, maintains the panels of the world's largest solar power plant every day clean.


A Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 4 p.m. Wednesday evening until 7 a.m. Thursday with possible snow accumulation of five to eight inches.
Piedmont along with upstate South Carolina.
northeast Georgia Wednesday afternoon and evening.
* There is the potential for a significant snowfall Wednesday night.
* Impacts… hazardous travel conditions due to snow on highways.
* Temperatures… in the mid 30s.
* Winds… northeast 5 mph or less.
A Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow means severe winter weather conditions are expected. Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous. Only travel in an emergency. If you must travel keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.


text:
My Foray into the Kitchen: Cooking for the New Guy
Single-ish
You know you like a guy when you find yourself buying napkin rings. Yes, NAPKIN RINGS. I've never thought about them before. I'll probably never think about them again. But I wanted to make a civilized meal for Scott. After three thoughtful dates, I wanted to bring something to the table. In this case, I decided to bring lasagna to the table. Scott said he would "tap into [his] inner-Garfield."
By Erin Meanley
I dusted off all the cookbooks I own. Then I called Sofia. She said, "Oh, no! You're cooking for him?! Let me come over. I'll put everything in the oven and leave." Now, there's a vote of confidence! I said no, if she prepared the meal, Scott would expect me to cook that well all the time. Sofia said there was time to teach me, but I insisted on doing it myself.
Fun (?) entertaining fact: For just half the price of some Gruyere cheese, you can buy 4-dozen spray roses. In case you're budgeting.
For my antipasto, I decided to make Giada de Laurentiis's cheese and rosemary bread sticks, using Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses. (I mean, when does a single gal have a reason to make 24 cheese sticks, huh?)
I felt embarrassed because they came out dry (and ugly). I was tempted to throw them out, but we made them edible by dipping them in marinara sauce. Scott was so hungry he was able to choke down about 20 of them.
At this early stage of dating, we probably didn't need the drama of me playing chef. But it was good to see him stay positive and calm me down in a time of culinary crisis. I mean, I asked him every two seconds, "Do you think it's done yet? Is it TOO done?" This, for nearly an hour. (Can you tell that cooking is one of my insecurities?) He didn't worry. He kept telling me to be patient. Whenever I offered to order Chinese delivery, he said, "It's going to be great! Don't doubt yourself!" I always forget lasagna takes longer to cook than I think it does.
I love a man with an appetite!
I guess I threw him off the scent with the appetizer. The lasagna really was better than the bread sticks. I added some ingredients in my lasagna that I've never used before, like mushrooms and veal. Anyway, he called the next morning to request leftovers. Whoo-hoo!! There's plenty more where that came from. ;)
Who cooks more, you or your guy? What's your go-to meal? What kind of cuisine is your favorite? His favorite?
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Topicsnew york citylove and romancefoodbeing singlenew york datingrelationshipswhat men want


text:
Hunter's Fortune debuts in October
By Press Release on	 August 21, 2009 2 Comments
Eureka TV show creator Andrew Cosby's new adventure comedy HUNTER'S FORTUNE debuts this October, scripted by Caleb Monroe (THE REMNANT) with interior art by superstar newcomer Matt Cossin and A covers by JONAH HEX's Phil Noto.
A careful-what-you-wish-for adventure, HUNTER'S FORTUNE follows down-and-out slacker Hunter Prescott as he inherits a vast fortune – but there's a catch. Hunter has to pick up where his famous treasure-hunting benefactor left off – and find the one artifact Uncle Max never could!
"This might get me fired, but if Indiana Jones and Chuck had a love child, it would be HUNTER'S FORTUNE," said Marketing Director Chip Mosher. "This is the kind of high concept comedy-adventure that Cosby did so well in MR. STUFFINS, and that millions enjoy on his show EUREKA."
HUNTER'S FORTUNE is a four issue miniseries written by Andrew Cosby, scripted by Caleb Monroe with sensational interior art by superstar newcomer Matt Cossin. Issue one ships with two covers in a 50/50 split, featuring art by Phil Noto (JONAH HEX) and Rebecca Wrigley, is priced at $3.99, 24 pgs and carries a Diamond Code of AUG090730.
About BOOM! Studios BOOM! Studios (www.boom-studios.com) is a unique publishing house specializing in high-profile projects across a wide variety of different genres from some of the industry's biggest talents, including Philip K. Dick's DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?, The Henson Company's FARSCAPE, and the original Mark Waid series IRREDEEMABLE. BOOM! recently launched its youth imprint, BOOM! Kids, with Pixar's THE INCREDIBLES, CARS, and TOY STORY, as well as Disney's THE MUPPETS. This year, BOOM! Studios celebrates its fourth anniversary.
Comedy Adventure cossin dream of electric sheep eureka tv Farscape featuring art fourth anniversary henson company interior art issue one Jonah Hex love child Mark Waid Mosher Phil Noto Philip K Dick profile projects stuffins treasure hunting uncle max
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Navarre on August 21, 2009 4:58 pm
Abby (Abigail) Chase is the name of Diane Kruger's character in National Treasure.
jes sayin'
typhoidhater on August 22, 2009 10:37 am
Considering how much I love Eureka and loved Mr. Stuffins, I will definitely be checking this out.


text:
Q: Prove that $x(t)$ is bounded
In this problem, I tried the following:
First I show that
$$x(t) = e^{tA}x_0 + \int\limits_0^t e^{(t-s)A}f(s)ds$$
Then I take the norm for both sides
$$\|x(t)\|\leq Ke^{-\alpha t}\|x_0\|+\left\|\int\limits_0^t e^{(t-s)A}f(s)ds\right\|$$
I have used Meiss's Lemma ($\|e^{tA}\|\leq K e^{-\alpha t}\|$ for some $K>0$, $\alpha >0$).
Could you please help me in what is remaining, and if there is any mistake. Thanks.

A: Following the already given hints,
$$
\begin{split}
\|x(t)\|
&\leq Ke^{-\alpha t} \|x_0\| + \left\|\int_0^t e^{(t-s)A}f(s)\,ds\right\| \\
&\leq Ke^{-\alpha t} \|x_0\| + \int_0^t \bigl\|e^{(t-s)A}f(s)\bigr\|\,ds \\
&\leq Ke^{-\alpha t} \|x_0\| + \int_0^t \bigl\|e^{(t-s)A}\bigr\|\|f(s)\|\,ds \\
&\leq Ke^{-\alpha t} \|x_0\| + K\|f\|_\infty \int_0^t e^{\alpha(s-t)}\,ds \\
&= Ke^{-\alpha t} \|x_0\| + K\|f\|_\infty \frac{1-e^{-\alpha t}}{\alpha} \\
&\leq Ke^{-\alpha t} \|x_0\| + \frac{K\|f\|_\infty}\alpha .
\end{split}
$$

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Visualizing ALAP/ASAP—Part 1
Andrew Douglas June 15, 2018
On the bagpipe, we cannot play a note with more volume in order to add expression to a phrase. Indeed, our goal is to play at a steady pressure so that the pitch of the chanter and the drones remains constant. Nor do we have techniques such as staccato or legato available to us on the Highland bagpipe. On the Highland bagpipe, we express our music by holding notes longer than we would normally hold them, playing them As Long As [Musically] Possible (ALAP) and playing contrasting notes As Short As [Musically] Possible (ASAP).
In this post, we discuss the classical methods for counting music, specifically "dot-cuts," dotted eighth notes followed by a sixteenth note, and address the shortcomings associated with applying classical counting techniques to bagpipe music. We will contrast the traditional methods for counting with methods for counting ALAP/ASAP. We present alternative methods for counting ALAP/ASAP, such as singing the notes while using different syllables. We will discuss the dot-cut rhythm as it occurs in many types of bagpipe music.
If you have a background as an orchestral or band musician, you may have preconceived notions about how to play and count music. When playing a dot-cut, a violinist or a trumpet player might play the dotted eighth note with more volume and play the eighth note softly to add expression to a phrase of music. Varying the volume of the music adds contrast which is pleasing not only to the player but to the listener as well. To play a dot-cut correct rhythmically, the classical musician may subdivide the beat into four sub-beats by counting using the syllables "one-ee-and-uh." The dotted eighth will occupy "one-ee-and." The sixteenth not will fall on the "uh."
If we were to graph this, it would appear like this:
Dot-cuts are found in all types of pipe music and are strongly featured in strathspeys. Consider the second bar of the traditional strathspey "Highland Harry":
Four dot-cuts in a row! We could certainly count these notes using the classical method. The first high G would be held while we counted the sub-beats "one-ee-and" and the cut sixteenth note on E would occupy "uh." The throw on D and the D would be held as we counted "two-ee-and" the B would be held for the "uh." This would work. We could execute the rhythm. Counting in the traditional sense, though, would have drawbacks. There would be little or no contrast between the dot and the cut. The tune would not sound like a strathspey.
In order to add expression to the pieces that we play, we need to emphasize notes by holding them longer than we normally would. In a dot-cut, we hold the dotted eighth note As Long As [Musically or Audibly] Possible, or ALAP. The consequence of holding the first note in a dot-cut ALAP is that we must cut the length of the sixteenth note in order to retain the rhythm. We would play this note As Short As [Musically or Audibly] Possible, or ASAP.
If we were to graph this, the dotted eighth note would occupy fifteen squares in the matrix and the sixteenth note would only occupy one (serendipitously, the sixteenth square).
We could count this out by counting "one-ee-and-uh-two-ee-and-uh…" for each square in the matrix. However, that is a lot of counting. Rather than counting, we want to start with the ASAP, as Andrew points out in his discussion on ALAP/ASAP in the tune Catlodge. We want to play the ASAP as short as is audibly possible. From the length of the ASAP, we then deduce the length of the ALAP. In our graph, the ASAP occupies one square of the matrix, thus, working backwards, the ASAP must occupy fifteen squares.
Why do we "deduce" the ALAP? Our tendency is to rush. If we try to execute the ALAP before considering the length of the ASAP, we tend to rush the ALAP and play the ASAP too early. This is especially true if an embellishment, such as a throw on D, follows the ASAP. When we rush the ALAP, we also rush the ASAP, and we end up playing the note following the ASAP before the beat. When we start from the ASAP, playing it as short as is audibly possible right before the following beat, and then deducing the length of the ALAP we can eliminate, or reduce, the tendency to rush.
Rather than counting, pick a syllable, a short syllable, such as "uh." A syllable that you can sing ASAP. Use the short syllable, sing the ASAP as short as is audibly possible and right before the following beat. We can then "deduce" the length of the ALAP. Sing the syllable "dee" to represent the ALAP, stretch it until it is time to sing the ASAP. Sing the ASAP, literally, right before the following beat.
If we revisit Highland Harry, we can sing the melody in a manner similar to the following:
Note that there is no official "canntaireachd" for singing ceol beag. Each piper will use her or his own syllables to represent each of the different notes and embellishments. Many pipers will adopt the method that her is his teacher used. The important point is to use a syllable that will approximate the sound of the embellishment and the note. The more important point, in terms of ALAP/ASAP, is the stretch the ALAP out as long as possible before singing the ASAP. Sing the syllable "uh," literally, right before the second beat.
Categories: News & Blog
Andrew Douglas
Andrew is a prolific practitioner of the bagpipe, having been active at the highest level of pipe bands, solo competition, teaching, and creative endeavors for the past 20 years. He's also the founder and creator of Dojo U and of PipersDojo.com.
How to Use a Metronome to Learn a Strathspey
When you play a strathspey, does anyone ever tell you that it "sounds like a march"? Is it difficult to get the correct strathspey rhythm, no matter how many times you play through the same tune? One method of learning a strathspey correctly is to use a metronome from the outset, and hear your playing improve.
How to Use a Metronome to Learn a Jig
When you are learning a new jig, do you often have trouble staying "on the beat" because you are using all of your concentration just to play all of the melody notes, gracenotes and embellishments correctly? Then, after you get those pesky things out of the way, are you still having trouble getting that "jig feel"? Using a metronome during your practice may well be a useful tool for you.
Andrew Douglas September 21, 2016
Tunes For Improving Rhythmic Accuracy
Rhythmic accuracy, scale navigation, grace note quality, embellishment quality, and ALAP/ASAP, are foundation skills on the Highland bagpipe. We must be able to accurate navigate the notes on the chanter, we must have crisp, clean grace notes and embellishments, and we must imply dynamics through ALAP/ASAP.
Andrew Douglas June 5, 2017
How to Use a Metronome to Learn a 2/4 March
When you are learning a new competition march, do you often have trouble staying "on the beat" because you are using all of your concentration just to play all of the melody notes, gracenotes and embellishments correctly? Then, after you get those pesky things out of the way, are you still having trouble getting that "march feel"? Using a metronome during your practice may well be a useful tool for you.
How to Use a Metronome to Improve Your Piping
Do you know pipers who say they never use a metronome because they "already play on the beat", or they never saw the benefit of using one? Have you ever tried to play the practice chanter or the pipes while using a metronome, but got frustrated because it was nearly impossible to play "on the beat"?
Mathew Dixon October 27, 2020
Is there a Part 2 and Part 3 to this series? It seems that these were alluded to in the email I received a while back (7/2/202) and I am trying to catch up with things today
Carl Donley October 28, 2020
Hi Mathew, They do not appear to have made it over to this site. I'll work on getting these transferred in the near future. In the meantime, there's lots of other materials on the site about ALAP/ASAP including our Fingerwork Fundamentals course which is the definitive reference on it. Sorry for any inconvenience. Cheers, Carl


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Game of Thrones recap for Season 8 – everything you need to know
by: Alt Shift X Published on: 14 April 2019
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What's happening in Game of Thrones Season 8? What's going on with Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lannister, Jaime, Tyrion, Sansa, Arya and the rest?
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We will be showing Manon live from the Royal Opera House, London on Thursday 16th October 2014.
Kenneth MacMillan began work on Manon shortly after the birth of his only daughter. His source was the 18th-century French novel by Abbé Prévost, already adapted twice for opera by Massenet and Puccini. Renowned dance musician Leighton Lucas and his assistant Hilda Gaunt provided a score made from a patchwork of works by Massenet, including his famous yearning Elégie as the theme for the lovers. The premiere was given on 7 March 1974, the lead roles of Manon and Des Grieux danced by Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell. The ballet quickly became a staple of The Royal Ballet's repertory.
MacMillan found new sympathy with the capricious Manon, bringing his customary psychological insight and the memories of his own impoverished upbringing. He described his heroine as 'not so much afraid of being poor as ashamed of being poor'. Designs by MacMillan's friend Nicholas Georgiadis reflect this, depicting a world of lavish splendour polluted by miserable poverty. MacMillan's spectacular ensemble scenes for the whole Company create vivid, complex portraits of the distinct societies of Paris and New Orleans. But it is Manon and Des Grieux's impassioned pas de deux – recalling the intensity of MacMillan's earlier work, Romeo and Juliet – that drive this tragic story, and make Manon one of MacMillan's most heartbreaking dramas.
Principal Guest Artist Carlos Acosta will make his debut as Manon's scheming brother Lescaut in addition to his performances as Des Grieux partnering Natalia Osipova as Manon. First Soloists Alexander Campbell, Bennet Gartside and Valentino Zucchetti will also make their debuts as Lescaut during the run of performances.
First Soloist Yuhui Choe will make her debut as Lescaut's Mistress and Soloist Thomas Whitehead will make his debut as Monsieur G.M..
The debuts of Natalia Osipova, Melissa Hamilton and Francesca Hayward in the title role have already been announced. As have those of Vadim Muntagirov and Matthew Golding as Des Grieux.
Please arrive by 6.45pm to register and to order interval drinks if you wish.


Autumn is upon us and we've partnered with Lion Brand Yarn to bring you the Fall for Yarn Challenge. If you're planning to whip up something warm and cozy for sweater season, document your work and enter for a chance to win $200 in Lion Brand store credit, and a beautiful Ashford weaving loom.
All creative uses for yarn are eligible, so knit, crochet, or fashion something totally unexpected with your yarn. Oh, the possibilities!
The Fall For Yarn Challenge is closed.
Create a new Instructable that fits the guidelines outlined in the contest description above. To be eligible, Instructables must be published between Sep 21, 2015 and Oct 26, 2015 (11:59pm PT).
Upon publishing your Instructable you'll see checkboxes for open contests. Select Fall For Yarn Challenge. If you have entries currently eligible for entry, it will also show up by clicking "Enter this Contest" on the right side of this page.
Sponsor. The Instructables Fall for Yarn Challenge (the "Contest") is an on-line contest with skill, ability and knowledge components that is sponsored by Autodesk, Inc., a Delaware corporation having its principal office at 111 McInnis Parkway, San Rafael, CA 94103, USA ("Sponsor"), in connection with the Instructables service and website, www.instructables.com, (the "Sponsor Site"). The Contest is co-sponsored by the company or companies listed here, if any (each, a "Co-Sponsor"): The Contest is governed by these Official Rules (these "Rules"). For any questions regarding the Contest, the Sponsor may be contacted by email at [service@instructables.com] or by mail at the address identified in Section B.18 ("Winner's List; Mailing List") below.
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When did Limoneira Company begin trading on the NASDAQ Global Market?
We began trading on the NASDAQ Global Market on May 27, 2010.
On what stock exchange are Limoneira Company shares traded, and what is the ticker symbol?
Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Market in the United States under the symbol "LMNR."
What does Limoneira Company do?
Limoneira Company was founded in 1893 and headquartered in Santa Paula, California. Over its more than 100 years in existence, the company has grown to become one of the premier integrated agribusinesses in the world. Limoneira (pronounced lee-mon-era), is a dedicated sustainability company with over 9,000 acres of rich agricultural lands, real estate properties and water rights throughout California. The Company is a leading producer of lemons, avocados, oranges, and other specialty crops that are enjoyed throughout the world. For more about Limoneira Company, visit www.limoneira.com.
Limoneira Company's annual and quarterly financial results and other information are available on this website. You can automatically receive updates by clicking on "E-mail Alerts."
Who is the Company's transfer agent, and what is their contact information?
When does Limoneira Company's fiscal year end?
Our fiscal year ends in October.
Does Limoneira Company pay a dividend?
Yes, Limoneira pays a dividend and has continued to deliver regular quarterly dividends since entering the public markets in 2010 as a tool to deliver capital back to our shareholders. Please visit www.nasdaq.com/symbol/lmnr/dividend-history for our current dividend payment information.
Our auditors are Ernst & Young, LLP.
Please contact John Mills (646) 277-1254.
Where is Limoneira Company located?
Our corporate headquarters are located in Santa Paula, California.


We must defend Muslims with everything we have, whilst moving society away from religion.
In the aftermath of last week's events in France, opinion is torn as to where we go from here. The solution is very simple: we must defend the freedom of Muslims like anyone else's, whilst moving society away from religious influence.
There can be no justification for violence of any kind against Muslims; these are people just as deserving of respect as anyone else. People have a right to believe what they wish, and as much as we may disagree, we are morally bound not to attack those with whom we disagree. These are the basics of our modern civilisation and we lose the strongest principles we have if we violate it.
This does not mean we must like what religions do, or stay quiet about it. There is absolutely no doubt that Islam and Christianity are outdated concepts from a period of history which science has moved us on from. Bombing abortion clinics, burning witches at the stake and killing in the name of Allah are all acts which can and should be removed from our societies. But progress toward a more civilised society does not include discriminating against or physically attacking those who hold absurd beliefs; rather we should foster an environment where reason and evidence hold the foremost role, and where the mythical and magical are, at best, personally held beliefs rather than morally guiding ones. Terrorism does not happen because no one fights back (we have waged entire wars to fight it, remember, with little success), it happens because we accept that magical and untestable beliefs are acceptable ways of forging moral rules: we only fight the symptoms of religion, we never fight the problem.
We must also recognise that the reaction of the political right wing (groups like the French National Front) are not the only ones in the wrong. The actions of their supporters in condemning people based on race, nationality or place of birth are absolutely out of place and must be fought against. However the political left are also to blame: from this sphere comes a constant apology on behalf of religious violence, a rhetoric that those religious people who properly understand it do not turn to terrorism. This is as ignorant and incorrect as any National Front remark, as religion is not a game of correctly grasping facts and attitudes. Religion is about believing things out of 'faith', with no evidence, in order to manufacture answers to questions which absolutely cannot be answered. A Muslim killing someone in the name of Allah is not 'misunderstanding' Islam, as Islam is a religion like any other – it is about 'faith' and personal interpretation, there is no right or wrong when interpreting any religion.
The way to fight against this violent threat in society is not to apologise on its behalf and try to make people see non-existent peaceful 'facts' in religions where there are no facts at all. Neither is it a good method to violently attack or discriminate against a large number of people who believe similar religious ideas to those who commit the murders. Rather we must argue against the untestable moral beliefs of religion themselves, whilst educating people on the benefits of rational, evidence-based inquiry and debate. We are never justified in ignoring the humanity of religious people, but we categorically must build a mass movement against religion.
Charity: the biggest delusion that affects us and we aren't even aware of it.


At Florey Preschool, children are valued as curious, capable and collaborative learners with their uniqueness celebrated. Throughout the environment, children are free to explore, investigate and pursue their individual interests to learn through play. We promote respect for ourselves, each other and our environment.
We believe in acknowledging the original custodians of this land, the Ngunnawal people and their language and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the community.
We believe that each child, family and educator is a unique and valued individual. We value and honour diversity and accept and celebrate differences in other people. We believe each person and their family's values, culture, beliefs, abilities and language should be acknowledged and accepted and reflected in the preschool's environment.
We believe that each child should be provided with 'mirrors' which reflect our own personal values as well as providing 'windows' into the lives and values of the children around us.
We believe in a happy, caring, safe and secure environment for the children, families and educators. We believe in an environment where all educators work towards the same goal, show support and respect for each other.
We believe that the environment is the 'third' educator and it should be an area where the children can grow, learn and develop together to their full potential.
We believe children should learn about sustainability and it should be incorporated into everyday life. This is to help our environment and to influence the quality of life now and for future generations.
We believe in a play based approach to learning, where children are provided with opportunities and resources through which they can explore and navigate and gain a deeper understanding of the world around them.
We believe children are capable, resourceful and valued members of the community. We believe children should be encouraged to 'have a go' and to explore the environment and feel safe in doing so while taking a minimal risk.
We believe that Literacy and Numeracy is a fundamental skill in life. We believe in developing these skills through incorporating them into our programs and introducing the basics of literacy and numeracy to all children.
We believe in building a community that values children, respects their rights and gives them love. We believe in building a community that enables children to develop a readiness for the transition to school and more meaningful, a readiness for life.


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Tag Archives: Deir el-Bahari
Hair offering in Ancient Egypt. Archaeological remains.
Iconography and texts point to an Egyptian funerary custom of shaving or cutting a piece of hair to the two mourners in the role of Isis and Nephtys. But, does the archaeology say something to us? The answer is yes. There is archaeological information from different moments of the Egyptian history proving the existence of hair offering to the dead.
In the tomb of king Djer in Abydos (I Dynasty), a piece of hair and a false fringe were found by Petrie. He considered that they could be from the queen. Nowadays these remains are in Pitt Rivers Museum of Oxford[1]. In a common sepulchre in Abydos, dating possibly from the III Dynasty, many locks of hair were found, some of them were plaited and some were tangled up[2].
Hair remains from the tomb of King Djer. I Dynasty. Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. Photo: http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk
In a "pan-grave" from the Middle Kingdom near Balabish[3], at the south of Abydos, was found a burial with a masculine mummy, close to the body were laying out some plaits of hair, which apparently did not belong to the mummy[4], so they should be a ritual offering.
In the tomb of Tutankhamon was found inside a small anthropoid sarcophagus a plait of hair belonging to the Queen Tiye. According to A. Rowe, that would a queen's relic, who was divinised, so that plait was considered a goddess' hair[5]. Due that Queen Tiye was dead when Tutankhamon was buried, it seems much more logical to think of a familiar relic[6].
From Deir el-Bahari is a group of tombs from XVII, XVIII and XIX Dynasties. Maspero assures there were locks of hair wrapped and put between legs, arms and around the necks of each mummy[7].
In a tomb of Deir el-Medina were found locks of hair inside a basket[8].
In the tomb of Queen Ahmose- Meritamun (XVIII Dynasty) H. E.Winlock found three baskets with human locks of hair and plaits of hair inside them.
Inner coffin of Ahmose-Meritamun. XVIII Dynasty. Cairo Museum. Photo: http://www.wikimedia.org
They were found with some other toilette objects. For that reason, Winlock considered that this hair was maybe for the Mertiamon's hairdressing in the Hereafter[9]. This hypothesis sounds logical.
In many houses from Amarna were found clay balls with hair inside. They cold maybe be utilised for some kind of domestic magic[10].
In el-Kahun, Petrie found in 1890 in a tomb dating from the XX Dynasty two clay balls with locks of hair inside[11].
From Deir el-Bahari is a mummy dating from XXI Dynasty of a young girl, between her two legs were put locks of hair of 40 cm long[12].
In Gurob Tomb 605 at both feet of a female mummy was a squared case, which contained locks of hair. In some other tombs were also found hair remains[13].
Finally, we have to mention the Douch necropolis, in el-Kharga[14] and dating from I-V centuries. In ten tombs were found deposits with globular clay vases with cut hair wrapped in clothing packs inside[15]; these vases were sometimes on the ground and sometimes inside a kind of whole in the walls of the funerary chambers . According to scholars the hair inside did not belong to the deceased ones, since these ones still had their own hair, but offerings.
The two Drty (two kites), offering nw vases to the four pools. Relief from the tomb of Pahery in el-Kab. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: http://www.osirisnet.net
All these archaeological remains make us think of those images of the twomourners called Drt with short hair at the end of the Opening of the Mouth ceremony and also of those texts mentioning the shaving of the mourners and the cut of the s3mt.
[1] Petrie and M. Flinders, 1902, p. 5, Pl. IV, fig. 7.
[2] Maspero, 1912, p. 170.
[3] It was in the group B 213, near the cultivable area.
[4] Wainwright, 1920, p. 11.
[5] Rowe, 1941, p. 624.
[6] Nachtergael, 1980, p. 243.
[8] Wagner et allii, 1984-1985, p. 188. They are in Musée du Louvre (Département des Antiquités Égyptiennes, Inv. Nº E 18851).
[9] Winlock, 1932, p. 34, Pl. XXXII y XXXIII.
[10] Peet and Woolley, 1923, p. 66.
[11] Crompton, 1916, p. 128. They are in the Manchester Museum.
[12] Daressy, 1907, p. 34.
[13]Bell, 1985, pp. 61-86, Pl. II.
[14] Dunand, Heim, Henein, Lichtenberg, 1992; Wagner et allii, 1984-1985, pp. 175- 202.
[15] The tombs are: T3, T4, T5, T7, T9, T11, T12, T53, T58, T66.
Posted in 04. HAIR AND THE EYE OF HORUS
Tagged Abydos, Amarna, ancient egypt, archaeology, cementery, dead, deceased, Deir el-Bahari, Douch, drt, funeral, funerary, gurob, hair, lock, lock of hair, mourner, mummy, necropolis, remain, resurrection, tomb
The Hair is a Symbol of Water in Ancient Egypt. Hair in the Festival of the Valley.
The nwn gesture is also represented in a relief from the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut in Karnak. A group of women are dancing in the Festival of the Valley[1].
This festivity is documented for the first time in the temple of Mentuhotep II in Deir el-Bahari as a funerary Theban festivity. It was a feast in honour of the deceased ones. People visited the necropolis, decorated the tombs and carried offers to the dead relatives. In the gods sphere the image of the god Amon went out from the temple of Karnak in his sacred barque [2] and crossed the Nile for visiting every funerary temple of the West Bank. In the procession accompanying Amon there was a feminine clergy, among which there were some dancers.
Barque of Amon. Relief from the mortuary temple of Seti I in Dra Abu el-Naga. XIX Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín
The Festival of the Valley took place in the summer solstice, between the harvest and the flooding season. That means that it coincided with the rising of Sothis in the sky announcing the arrival of the flood[3]. People, who visited the tombs of their relatives during the night sung, drank and danced; according to some scholars sometimes the scenes were even "orgiastic"[4]. "The frontier between death and life disappears with the feast and the inebriation, the border that separates the living world and the Hereafter becomes blurred with the length of the night"[5].
The last visit of Amon in his procession was the temple of Deir el-Bahari[6]. In the sanctuary of Hatshepsut the image of the god passed many days and nights. In this temple there is a scene with a barque over the "golden lake" surrounded by four ponds full of milk. During the night the barque was circled by torches, which were put out into the milk n the morning. That night took place the encounter between Amon and Hathor, the Cow Goddess. According to the scholar Naguib the milk into the ponds symbolised the milk of the Sacred Cow, the nourishment of Hathor; and at the same time these four ponds would symbolise the four cardinal points. So, "the solar God gets into the belly of the cosmic mother for renewing thanks to her milk, the same milk where the fire of the night is put out" [7]. After that night the procession came back to the temple of Karnak.
After this encounter Amon was energized and ready for facing a new year. In fact it was a funerary festivity in which the god, as if it was a dead one, made a trip to the necropolis and was renewed after some ceremonial practices.
In addition the Festival of the Valley took place before the flood, and during that night of ecstasy Hathor showed her most erotic side. She was "the lady of the inebriation, the happiness in ecstasy, she promoted abundance and fertility"[8] , in whose night the flood was conceived[9]. The feminine being (Hathor) awarded the masculine principle (Amon) the fecundity power confirming this way the enthronement of the solar god.
In this renewing festivity we find again the nwn gesture. In the 30's E. Brunner-Traut already compared the women who appear in the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut with the mourners of the tombs of Renni and Amenemhat, but she considered that they had nothing to do with each other[10]. According to her, the dancers of the Red Chapel were making a gesture of excitement and ecstasy[11], the movements of the mourners ware just a part of the moan[12]. However, H. Wild considered that what was said in chapters 1005 and 1974 of the Pyramid Texts about mourners pulling hair (« The souls of Buto rock for you; they beat their bodies and their arms for you, they pull their hair for you… ») was a description of a special dance in honour to the deceased king[13].
In the Theban tomb 53 of Amenemhat from the reign of Tutmosis III there is a very similar scene to that one of the Red Chapel. Some women are dancing or tumbling and caver their faces with the hair. In front of them three more women are shaking sistrums and a mena necklace; so this ceremony was related to the cult to Hathor.
Dancers from the tomb of Amenemhat (TT53). Gourna. XVIII Dynasty.
In the 70`s Vandier considered that these were acrobatic dances and that women were making somersaults[14]. In the 80's W. Decker, based on a reconstruction made by O. Keel[15], accepted the theory of Vandier and thought that the women with the hair over their faces were in fact getting ready for starting the somersault forward[16]. Also W. Decker compared this gesture with the one of the mourners in funerals (in particular with mourner in the Tomb of Minakht). But it seems unlikely that they describes similar moments; while in the first document we are in a group of dancing women, while in the tomb of Minakht she is not with other women making acrobatics.
Coming back to Deir el-Bahari, in the sanctuary there is a scene of the solar barque in procession. In it two women on their knees are touching their napes and cover their faces with the hair. Vandier thought that they were waiting their turn for making the same exercise as their fellows[17]. He emphasizes the fact that those women are not in a vertical posture, so maybe getting ready for making the somersault backwards[18].
Dancers in the Festival of the Valley. Relief from the temple of Deir el-Bahari. XVIII Dynasty. Photo: Mª Rosa Valdesogo Martín.
It seems obvious that those women were making some acrobatics, but we do not think that cover their faces with hair were just a way of representing the first step of a somersault. If thinking of a gymnast gaining momentum, the hair is never covering the face. The gesture nwn in the images of the dancers in the Festival of the Valley is not realistic at all (although about the realism in Egyptian art is another subject for debate). Taking into consideration that as much in tombs as in temples we are facing renewing ceremonies with a regeneration intention. So it is easy to think that nwn gesture in that dance had a reviving purpose. Dancers and mourners do the same movement of bending the body and throw the hair forward; and apparently in both cases with a similar symbolism.
On the other hand, the dance is something very common in religious rituals[19], and they have a connection with lunar rites[20]. "The dance is maybe considered as a fact of pleasant magic for promoting the lunar rebirth"[21]. If we notice that the Festival of the Valley was a funerary ceremony celebrated after the first new moon (a symbol of death) and before the flood (the annual renovation in Egypt), we could think that it was, as in burials, a new creation rite, it was the announcement of a cyclic renovation and the reenergizing of Amon[22].
[1] Michalowski, 1970, fot. 70.
[2] With the ones of Mut and Jonsu.
[3] Naguib, 1990. Leuven, p. 129.
[4] Stadelmann, 1990, p. 148.
[6] Naguib, 1990, p. 126.
[10] Brunner-Traut, 1938, p. 51, n. 13.
[11] Brunner-Traut, 1938, p. 52.
[13] Wild, 1963, p. 86.
[14] Vandier, 1964, p. 451.
[15] Keel, 1974, fig. 11
[16] Decker, 1987, pp. 140-142.
[19] "Funerary dances take part in rites of passage, as in breaking rites of African cultures" (Naguib, 1993, p. 29).
[20] Briffault, 1974, p. 341.
[22] The physical activity (the movement) is a help for the resurrection. Amon, as king of gods, had to renew his power, as in the living world did the pharaoh.
Tagged ancient egypt, dance, dancer, dancing, death, deceased, Deir el-Bahari, egypt, funeral, funerary, hair, Hathor, mourner, Osiris, Red Chapel, resurrection