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Michel de Nostredame (Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, 14 ou 21 de dezembro de 1503 - Salon-de-Provence, 1 ou 2 de julho de 1566), geralmente latinizado como Nostradamus, foi um astrólogo, médico e vidente francês de renome, mais conhecido por seu livro Les Prophéties, uma coleção de 942 quadras poéticas supostamente prevendo eventos futuros. O livro foi publicado pela primeira vez em 1555 e raramente deixou de ser publicado desde a sua morte.

A família de Nostradamus era originalmente judia, mas havia se convertido ao catolicismo antes de ele nascer. Ele estudou na Universidade de Avignon, mas foi forçado a sair após pouco mais de um ano, quando a universidade foi fechada devido a um surto de peste. Ele trabalhou como farmacêutico por vários anos antes de entrar na Universidade de Montpellier, na esperança de obter um doutorado, mas foi quase imediatamente expulso depois que seu trabalho como farmacêutico (um comércio manual proibido pelos estatutos da universidade) foi descoberto.

Nostradamus se casou em 1531, mas sua esposa e dois filhos morreram em 1534 durante outro surto de peste. Ele lutou ao lado dos médicos contra a praga antes de se casar com Anne Ponsarde, com quem teve seis filhos. Ele escreveu um almanaque para 1550 e, como resultado de seu sucesso, continuou a escrevê-los nos próximos anos, quando começou a trabalhar como astrólogo para vários patronos ricos. Catarina de Médici tornou-se um dos seus principais apoiadores. Seus Les Prophéties, publicados em 1555, baseavam-se fortemente em precedentes históricos e literários e inicialmente receberam uma recepção mista. Ele sofria de gota severa no final de sua vida, que acabou evoluindo para edema. Ele morreu em 2 de julho de 1566. Muitos autores populares recontaram lendas apócrifas sobre sua vida.

Nos anos desde a publicação de suas Les Prophéties, Nostradamus atraiu muitos apoiadores, que, juntamente com grande parte da imprensa popular, o creditam por ter previsto com precisão muitos grandes eventos mundiais. A maioria das fontes acadêmicas rejeita a noção de que Nostradamus possuía habilidades proféticas sobrenaturais genuínas e sustenta que as associações feitas entre eventos mundiais e as quadras de Nostradamus são o resultado de más interpretações ou traduções incorretas (às vezes deliberadas). Esses acadêmicos argumentam que as previsões de Nostradamus são caracteristicamente vagas, o que significa que poderiam ser aplicadas a praticamente qualquer coisa e são inúteis para determinar se o autor tinha algum poder profético real. Eles também apontam que as traduções de suas quadras são quase sempre de qualidade extremamente baixa, baseadas em manuscritos posteriores.

Vida

Infância

Nostradamus nasceu em 14 ou 21 de dezembro de 1503 em Saint-Remy-de-Provence, Provença, França, onde seu local de nascimento ainda existe, e foi batizado Michel. Ele era um dos pelo menos nove filhos do notário Jaume (ou Jacques) de Nostredame e Reynière, neta de Pierre de Saint-Rémy que trabalhava como médico em Saint-Rémy. A família de Jaume era originalmente judia, mas seu pai, Cresquas, comerciante de grãos e dinheiro com sede em Avignon, se converteu ao catolicismo entre 1459 e 1460, adotando o nome cristão "Pierre" e o sobrenome "Nostredame" (Nossa Senhora), a santa em cujo dia sua conversão foi solenizada. O ancestral mais antigo que pode ser identificado no lado paterno é Astruge de Carcassonne, que morreu por volta de 1420. Os irmãos conhecidos de Michel incluíam Delphine, Jean (c. 1507-1577), Pierre, Hector, Louis, Bertrand, Jean II (nascido em 1522) e Antoine (nascido em 1523). Pouco se sabe sobre sua infância, embora exista uma tradição persistente de que ele foi educado por seu bisavô materno Jean de St. Rémy - uma tradição que é indeterminada pelo fato de que este último desaparece do registro histórico após 1504, quando a criança tinha apenas um ano de idade.

Anos de estudante

Com 14 anos Nostradamus ingressou na Universidade de Avignon para estudar para seu bacharelado. Depois de pouco mais de um ano (quando ele estudou o trívio regular da gramática, retórica e lógica, em vez do quadrívio posterior de geometria, aritmética, música e astronomia/astrologia), ele foi forçado a deixar Avignon quando a universidade fechou sua portas durante um surto de peste. Depois de deixar Avignon, Nostradamus, por sua própria conta, viajou pelo interior por oito anos, a partir de 1521, pesquisando remédios à base de plantas. Em 1529, depois de alguns anos como farmacêutico, ingressou na Universidade de Montpellier para estudar para um doutorado em medicina. Ele foi expulso logo depois pelo procurador estudantil, Guillaume Rondelet, quando se descobriu que ele era boticário, um "comércio manual" expressamente proibido pelos estatutos da universidade e que caluniava médicos.

O documento de expulsão, BIU Montpellier, Register S 2, folha 87, ainda existe na biblioteca da faculdade. No entanto, alguns de seus editores e correspondentes o chamariam mais tarde de "doutor". Após sua expulsão, Nostradamus continuou trabalhando, presumivelmente ainda como farmacêutico, e ficou famoso por criar uma "pílula rosa" que supostamente protegia contra a praga.

Casamento e curandeirismo

Em 1531, Nostradamus foi convidado por Jules-César Scaliger, um dos principais estudiosos do Renascimento, para vir a Agen. Lá ele se casou com uma mulher de nome incerto (possivelmente Henriette d'Encausse), que lhe deu dois filhos. Em 1534, sua esposa e filhos morreram, presumivelmente da praga. Após a morte, ele continuou a viajar, passando pela França e possivelmente pela Itália.

Em seu retorno em 1545, ele ajudou o proeminente médico Louis Serre em sua luta contra um grande surto de peste em Marselha e depois enfrentou novos surtos de doenças por conta própria em Salon-de-Provence e na capital regional, Aix-en-Provence. Finalmente, em 1547, ele se estabeleceu em Salon-de-Provence, na casa que existe hoje, onde se casou com uma viúva rica chamada Anne Ponsarde, com quem teve seis filhos - três filhas e três filhos. Entre 1556 e 1567, ele e sua esposa adquiriram uma décima terceira parte de um enorme projeto de canal, organizado por Adam de Craponne, para criar o Canal de Craponne para irrigar Salon-de-Provence, em grande parte sem água, e a vizinha Désert de la Crau a partir do rio Durance.

Ocultismo
Depois de outra visita à Itália, Nostradamus começou a se afastar da medicina e ir em direção ao "oculto", embora as evidências sugiram que ele permaneceu católico e se opôs à Reforma Protestante. Acredita-se que ele tinha interesse por horóscopos, necromancia, observação e encantos de boa sorte, como a vara de espinheiro. Seguindo as tendências populares, ele escreveu um almanaque para 1550, pela primeira vez em latim, imprimindo seu nome a Nostradamus. Ele ficou tão encorajado pelo sucesso do almanaque que decidiu escrever um ou mais anualmente. Em conjunto, eles são conhecidos por conter pelo menos  profecias, e também pelo menos onze calendários anuais, todos começando em 1º de janeiro e não, como às vezes é suposto, em março. Foi principalmente em resposta aos almanaques que a nobreza e outras pessoas importantes de longe logo começaram a pedir horóscopos e conselhos "psíquicos" dele, embora ele geralmente esperasse que seus clientes fornecessem os mapas de nascimento nos quais eles seriam baseados do que calculá-los como um astrólogo profissional teria feito. Quando obrigado a fazê-lo, com base nas tabelas publicadas do dia, frequentemente cometia erros e não ajustava os números para o local ou a hora de nascimento de seus clientes.

Ele então começou seu projeto de escrever um livro de mil quadras principalmente em francês, que constituem as profecias amplamente sem data pelas quais ele é mais famoso hoje. Sentindo-se vulnerável à oposição por motivos religiosos, ele desenvolveu um método para obscurecer seu significado usando sintaxe "virgilianizada", jogos de palavras e uma mistura de outras línguas, como grego, italiano, latim e provençal.

As quadras, publicadas em um livro intitulado Les Prophéties (As Profecias), receberam uma reação mista quando foram publicadas. Algumas pessoas pensavam que Nostradamus era um servo do mal, um golpista ou um louco, enquanto muitos da elite evidentemente pensavam o contrário. Catarina de Médici, esposa do rei Henrique II da França, foi uma das maiores admiradoras de Nostradamus. Depois de ler seus almanaques de 1555, que sugeriam ameaças não identificadas à família real, ela o convocou a Paris para explicá-las e elaborar horóscopos para seus filhos. Ele temia que fosse decapitado, mas na época de sua morte em 1566, a rainha Catarina o tornara conselheiro e médico em comum de seu filho, o jovem rei Carlos IX da França.

Alguns relatos da vida de Nostradamus afirmam que ele tinha medo de ser perseguido por heresia pela Inquisição, mas nem a profecia nem a astrologia se enquadravam nessa categoria e ele só estaria em perigo se tivesse praticado magia. Em 1538, ele entrou em conflito com a Igreja em Agen depois que um inquisidor visitou a área em busca de pontos de vista anticatólicos. Sua breve prisão em Marignane, no final de 1561, foi unicamente porque ele violou um recente decreto real ao publicar seu almanaque de 1562 sem a permissão prévia de um bispo.

Anos finais e morte

Em 1566, a gota de Nostradamus, que o atormentou dolorosamente por muitos anos e dificultou muito os seus movimentos, se transformou em um edema. No final de junho, ele convocou seu advogado para elaborar um extenso testamento que deixaria sua propriedade, além de 3 444 coroas (hoje cerca de 300 mil dólares), menos algumas dívidas, para sua esposa desde que não se casasse novamente, sendo também depositária da parte dos filhos até que eles completassem 25 anos de idade e a das filhas até elas casarem. Isto foi seguido por um codicilo muito mais curto. Na noite de 1º de julho, ele teria dito a seu secretário Jean de Chavigny: "Você não me encontrará vivo ao nascer do sol". Na manhã seguinte, ele foi encontrado morto, deitado no chão ao lado de sua cama e de um banco (Preságio 141 [originalmente 152] para novembro de 1567, conforme editada postumamente por Chavigny para se adequar ao que aconteceu). Foi enterrado na capela franciscana local em Salon (parte dela agora incorporada no restaurante La Brocherie), mas seus despojos foram reenterrados durante a Revolução Francesa na Collégiale Saint-Laurent, onde sua tumba permanece até hoje.

Trabalho
Nas profecias, Nostradamus compilou sua coleção de grandes previsões de longo prazo. A primeira parcela foi publicada em 1555 e continha 353 quadras. A terceira edição, com trezentas novas quadras, foi impressa em 1558, mas agora sobrevive apenas como parte da edição que foi publicada após sua morte em 1568. Esta versão contém uma quadra não rimada e 941 rimadas, agrupadas em nove conjuntos de 100 e um de 42, denominados "Séculos". Dadas as práticas de impressão da época (que incluíam a definição da tipografia a partir do ditado), não há duas edições idênticas e é relativamente raro encontrar duas cópias exatamente iguais. Certamente, não há justificativa para supor — como pretendem os "decifradores de código" — que a grafia ou a pontuação de qualquer edição sejam originais de Nostradamus.

Os Almanaques, de longe a mais popular de suas obras, eram publicados anualmente de 1550 até sua morte. Ele costumava publicar dois ou três em um ano, intitulado Almanachs (previsões detalhadas), Prognósticos ou Presages (previsões mais generalizadas).

Nostradamus não era apenas um adivinho, mas um curandeiro profissional. Sabe-se que ele escreveu pelo menos dois livros sobre ciências médicas. Uma era uma tradução extremamente livre (ou melhor, uma paráfrase) de O Protréptico de Galeno (Paraphrase de C. GALIEN, sus l'Exhortation de Menodote aux estudes des bonnes Artz, mesmement Medicine), e em seu chamado Traité des fardemens (basicamente um livro de receitas médicas contendo, mais uma vez, materiais emprestados principalmente de outros autores), ele incluiu uma descrição dos métodos usados para tratar a praga, incluindo derramamento de sangue, nenhum dos quais aparentemente funcionava.

Um manuscrito normalmente conhecido como Orus Apollo também existe na biblioteca municipal de Lyon, onde mais de 2 000 documentos originais relacionados a Nostradamus são armazenados sob a égide de Michel Chomarat. É uma suposta tradução de uma obra grega antiga sobre hieróglifos egípcios, baseada em versões latinas posteriores, todas elas infelizmente ignorantes dos verdadeiros significados da escrita egípcia antiga, que não foi decifrada corretamente até Champollion no século XIX.

Desde sua morte, apenas as Profecias continuaram a ser populares, e elas têm sido extraordinariamente populares. Mais de duzentas edições apareceram nesse período, juntamente com mais de 2 000 comentários. Sua persistência na cultura popular parece ser devida em parte porque sua imprecisão e ausência de datas facilitam citá-las seletivamente após cada grande evento dramático e, retrospectivamente, reivindicá-las como "presságios".

Origens das Profecias

Nostradamus alegou basear suas previsões publicadas na astrologia judicial - o "julgamento" astrológico, ou avaliação, da "qualidade" (e, portanto, potencial) de eventos como nascimentos, casamentos, coroações etc. -, mas foi muito criticado por astrólogos profissionais da época, como Laurens Videl, por incompetência e por supor que a "horoscopia comparada" (a comparação de configurações planetárias futuras com aquelas que acompanham eventos passados conhecidos) poderia realmente prever o que aconteceria no futuro.

A pesquisa sugere que grande parte de seu trabalho profético parafraseia coleções de antigas profecias do fim do mundo (principalmente baseadas na Bíblia), complementadas com referências a eventos históricos e antologias de relatórios de presságio, e depois as projeta para o futuro em parte com o auxílio da horoscopia comparada. Daí as muitas previsões envolvendo figuras antigas como Sula, Caio Mário, Nero e outros, bem como suas descrições de "batalhas nas nuvens" e "sapos caindo do céu".

Uma de suas principais fontes proféticas foi evidentemente o Mirabilis Liber de 1522, que continha uma série de profecias de Pseudo-Metódio, Sibila Tiburtina, Joachim de Fiore, Savonarola e outros (seu Prefácio contém 24 citações bíblicas, todas exceto duas na ordem usada por Savonarola). Este livro teve um sucesso considerável na década de 1520, quando passou por meia dúzia de edições, mas não sustentou sua influência, talvez devido ao seu texto principalmente em latim, seus tipos góticos e muitas abreviações difíceis. Nostradamus foi um dos primeiros a parafrasear essas profecias em francês, o que pode explicar por quê elas são creditadas a ele. As visões modernas de plágio não se aplicavam no século XVI; os autores frequentemente copiavam e parafraseavam passagens sem reconhecimento, principalmente dos clássicos. As pesquisas mais recentes sugerem que ele pode, de fato, ter usado a bibliomancia para isso — selecionando aleatoriamente um livro de história ou profecia e seguindo a sugestão de qualquer página em que o livro se abrisse.

Outro material foi recolhido da De honesta disciplina de 1504 por Petrus Crinitus, que incluía trechos de De daemonibus, de Michael Psellos, e De De Mysteriis Aegyptiorum (Sobre os mistérios do Egito), um livro sobre magia caldeia e assíria de Jâmblico, um neoplatônico do século IV.

Somente no século XVII as pessoas começaram a notar sua dependência de fontes anteriores, principalmente clássicas. A confiança de Nostradamus no precedente histórico se reflete no fato de que ele rejeitou explicitamente o rótulo de "profeta" (isto é, uma pessoa que possui poderes proféticos próprios) em várias ocasiões: Dada essa dependência de fontes literárias, é improvável que Nostradamus usasse métodos específicos para entrar em um estado de transe, além de contemplação, meditação e incubação. Sua única descrição desse processo está contida na carta 41 de sua correspondência latina coletada.

Interpretações

Conteúdo das quadras
A maioria das quadras lida com desastres, como pragas, terremotos, guerras, inundações, invasões, assassinatos, secas e batalhas - todos sem data e baseados em prenúncios do Mirabilis Liber. Algumas quadras cobrem esses desastres em termos gerais; outras dizem respeito a uma única pessoa ou a um pequeno grupo de pessoas. Algumas cobrem uma única cidade, outras várias cidades em vários países. Um tema principal e subjacente é uma invasão iminente da Europa pelas forças muçulmanas do leste e do sul, liderada pelo esperado Anticristo, refletindo diretamente as invasões otomanas então vigentes e as equivalentes sarracenas anteriores, bem como as expectativas anteriores dos Mirabilis Liber. Tudo isso é apresentado no contexto do supostamente iminente fim do mundo - mesmo que isso não seja de fato mencionado - uma convicção que provocou inúmeras coleções de profecias da época, incluindo uma publicação não publicada da coleção por Cristóvão Colombo. Opiniões sobre Nostradamus variaram amplamente ao longo da história. Visões acadêmicas como as de Jacques Halbronn consideram as Profecias de Nostradamus como falsificações anteriores escritas por mãos posteriores com viés político.

Reivindicações populares

Muitos dos apoiadores de Nostradamus acreditam que suas profecias são genuínas. Devido à natureza subjetiva dessas interpretações, no entanto, não há duas delas que concordem completamente com o que Nostradamus previu, seja para o passado ou para o futuro. Muitos apoiadores, no entanto, concordam, por exemplo, que ele previu o Grande Incêndio de Londres, a Revolução Francesa e a ascensão  de Napoleão e Adolf Hitler, as guerras mundiais e a destruição nuclear de Hiroshima e Nagasaki. Autores populares frequentemente afirmam que ele previu qualquer acontecimento importante ocorrido no momento da publicação de cada livro, como o pouso na Lua pela missão Apollo em 1969, o desastre do Ônibus Espacial Challenger em 1986, a morte de Diana, princesa de Gales em 1997 e os ataques de 11 de setembro ao World Trade Center em 2001. Esse aspecto de 'profecia móvel' parece ser característico do gênero.

Possivelmente, o primeiro desses livros a se popularizar foi The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus, de Henry C. Roberts, de 1947, reimpresso pelo menos sete vezes durante os quarenta anos seguintes, que continham transcrições e traduções, com breves comentários. Isto foi seguido em 1961 pelo Nostradamus and His Prophecies de Edgar Leoni (reimpresso em 1982). Depois veio The Profecies of Nostradamus, de Erika Cheetham, incorporando uma reimpressão da edição póstuma de 1568, que foi reimpressa, revisada e republicada várias vezes a partir de 1973, posteriormente como The Final Prophecies of Nostradamus. Isso serviu de base para o documentário The Man Who Saw Tomorrow e ambos mencionaram possíveis ataques generalizados futuros em Nova York (via armas nucleares), embora não especificamente no World Trade Center ou em qualquer data específica.

Uma tradução em duas partes de Nostradamus: historien et prophète, de Jean-Charles de Fontbrune, foi publicada em 1980, e John Hogue publicou vários livros sobre Nostradamus desde 1987, incluindo Nostradamus and the Millennium: Predictions of the Future, Nostradamus: The Complete Prophecies (1999) e Nostradamus: A Life and Myth (2003). Em 1992, um comentarista que afirmou poder entrar em contato com Nostradamus sob hipnose até o fez "interpretar" seu próprio versículo X.6 (uma previsão específica sobre inundações no sul da França, na cidade de Nîmes, e pessoas que se refugiam em seu coliseu, um anfiteatro romano agora conhecido como Arènes) como uma previsão de um ataque sem data ao Pentágono, apesar da clara declaração do vidente histórico em sua carta dedicada ao rei Henrique II de que suas profecias eram sobre a Europa, o norte da África e parte da Ásia Menor.

Com exceção de Roberts, esses livros e seus muitos imitadores populares eram quase unânimes não apenas sobre os poderes proféticos de Nostradamus, mas também na invenção de aspectos intrigantes de sua suposta biografia, como de que ele era um descendente da tribo israelita de Issacar; de que ele fora educado por seus avós, de que eles haviam sido médicos na corte do Renato I de Provença; que ele frequentara a Universidade Montpellier em 1525 para obter seu primeiro diploma; que depois de voltar para lá em 1529, ele havia conseguido seu doutorado médico; que ele passou a palestrar na Faculdade de Medicina de lá, até que seus pontos de vista se tornaram impopulares demais; que ele apoiara a visão heliocêntrica do universo; que ele viajara para a Holanda dos Habsburgo, onde havia composto profecias na abadia de Orval; que durante suas viagens ele havia realizado uma variedade de prodígios, incluindo a identificação do futuro papa, Sisto V, que era então apenas um monge do seminário. Nostradamus também é creditado por ter curado com sucesso a praga em Aix-en-Provence e em outros lugares; por se dedicar a perscrutar usando um espelho mágico ou uma tigela de água; por, após publicar a primeira parte de suas Profecias, ter sido convocado pela rainha Catarina de Médici a Paris em 1556 para discutir sua profecia na quadra I.35 de que seu marido, o rei Henrique II, seria morto em um duelo; que ele examinara as crianças reais em Blois; que ele havia deixado para o filho um "livro perdido" de suas próprias pinturas proféticas; que ele foi enterrado em pé; e, quando desenterrado na Revolução Francesa, que ele estava usando um medalhão com a data exata de sua exumação. Isso foi registrado pela primeira vez por Samuel Pepys em 1667, muito antes da Revolução Francesa. Pepys registra em seu célebre diário uma lenda que, antes de sua morte, Nostradamus fez os habitantes da cidade jurarem que seu túmulo nunca seria perturbado; mas, 60 anos depois, seu corpo foi exumado, após o que uma placa de bronze foi encontrada no peito, indicando corretamente a data e a hora em que seu túmulo seria aberto e xingando os exumadores.

Em 2000, Li Hongzhi afirmou que a profecia de 1999 em X.72 era uma previsão da perseguição chinesa ao Falun Gong que começou em julho de 1999, levando a um aumento do interesse em Nostradamus entre os membros do Falun Gong.

Refutação acadêmica
A partir da década de 1980, no entanto, uma reação acadêmica ocorreu, especialmente na França. A publicação em 1983 da correspondência privada de Nostradamus e, durante os anos seguintes, das edições originais de 1555 e de 1557, descobertas por Chomarat e Benazra, juntamente com a descoberta de muitos materiais originais de arquivo revelaram que muito do que fora reivindicado sobre Nostradamus não se encaixava nos fatos documentados. Os acadêmicos revelaram que nenhuma das reivindicações listadas era apoiada por qualquer evidência documental contemporânea conhecida. A maioria delas evidentemente se baseava em rumores, transmitidos como fatos por comentaristas posteriores, como Jaubert (1656), Guynaud (1693) e Bareste (1840), em entendimentos incorretos dos textos franceses do século XVI ou por pura invenção. Mesmo a sugestão muitas vezes avançada de que a quadra I.35 havia profetizado com sucesso a morte do rei Henrique II não apareceu impressa pela primeira vez até 1614, 55 anos após o evento.

Céticos como James Randi sugerem que sua reputação como profeta é amplamente fabricada por apoiadores modernos que adaptam suas palavras a eventos que já ocorreram ou são tão iminentes a ponto de serem inevitáveis, um processo às vezes conhecido como "clarividência retroativa" (pós-dicção). Sabe-se que nenhuma quadra de Nostradamus foi interpretada como a previsão de um evento específico antes que ocorresse, exceto em termos vagos e gerais que poderiam se aplicar igualmente a qualquer número de outros eventos. Isso também se aplica a quadras que contêm datas específicas, como III.77, que prevê "em 1727, em outubro, o rei da Pérsia será capturado pelos do Egito" - uma profecia que, como sempre, foi interpretado retrospectivamente à luz de eventos posteriores, neste caso, como se pressagiasse o tratado de paz conhecido entre o Império Otomano e a Pérsia daquele ano; o Egito também era um importante território otomano nessa época. Da mesma forma, a notória profecia "1999" de Nostradamus em X.72 não descreve nenhum evento que os comentaristas tenham conseguido identificar antes ou depois, exceto forçando as palavras para se adequar a qualquer um dos muitos acontecimentos contraditórios que eles reivindicam como "previsões". Além disso, nenhuma quadra sugere, como costuma ser reivindicado por livros e filmes sobre a suposta Profecia Maia, que o mundo terminaria em dezembro de 2012. Em seu prefácio às Profecias, o próprio Nostradamus afirmou que suas profecias se estendem 'a partir de agora até o ano de 3797' - uma data extraordinária que, dado que o prefácio foi escrito em 1555, pode ter mais que pouco a ver com o fato de 2242 (3797-1555) ter sido recentemente proposto por sua maior fonte astrológica, Richard Roussat, como uma data possível para o fim do mundo.

Além disso, os estudiosos apontaram que quase todas as traduções das quadras de Nostradamus são de qualidade extremamente baixa, parecem exibir pouco ou nenhum conhecimento do francês do século XVI, são tendenciosas e, às vezes, são intencionalmente alteradas para ajustá-las aos eventos que tradutor acreditava que eles deveriam se referir (ou vice-versa). Nenhuma delas se baseava nas edições originais: Roberts baseara seus escritos nos de 1672, Cheetham e Hogue na edição póstuma de 1568. Até Leoni reconheceu na página 115 que nunca tinha visto uma edição original e, nas páginas anteriores, disse que grande parte de seu material biográfico não tinha fontes.

Nenhuma dessas pesquisas e críticas foi originalmente conhecida pela maioria dos comentaristas, pelas datas em que estavam escrevendo e, até certo ponto, pelo idioma em que foram escritas. Hogue estava em posição de tirar vantagem disso, mas somente em 2003 ele aceitou que parte de seu material biográfico anterior era apócrifo. Enquanto isso, algumas das fontes mais recentes listadas (Lemesurier, Gruber, Wilson) têm sido particularmente contundentes sobre as tentativas posteriores de alguns autores menos conhecidos e entusiastas da Internet de extrair supostos significados ocultos dos textos de Nostradamus, seja com a ajuda de anagramas, códigos numéricos, gráficos ou outros.

Na cultura popular
As profecias recontadas e ampliadas por Nostradamus figuravam amplamente na cultura popular nos séculos XX e XXI. Além de ser o tema de centenas de livros (ficção e não-ficção), a vida de Nostradamus foi retratada em vários filmes e vídeos continuam sendo um assunto de interesse da mídia.

Também houve várias fraudes bem conhecidas na Internet, onde quadras no estilo de Nostradamus foram circuladas por e-mail como se fossem reais. Os exemplos mais conhecidos dizem respeito ao colapso do World Trade Center nos ataques de 11 de setembro.

Com a chegada do ano de 2012, as profecias de Nostradamus começaram a ser cooptadas (especialmente pelo History Channel) como evidência sugerindo que o fim do mundo era iminente, apesar do fato de seu livro nunca mencionar o fim do mundo, e muito menos o ano de 2012.

Ver também
 Alquimia
 Adivinhação
 Misticismo

Bibliografia

 Nostradamus, Michel::Orus Apollo, 1545 (?), unpublished ms; Almanachs, Presages and Pronostications, 1550–1567; Ein Erschrecklich und Wunderbarlich Zeychen..., Nuremberg, 1554; Les Propheties, Lyon, 1555, 1557, 1568; Traite des fardemens et des confitures, 1555, 1556, 1557; Paraphrase de C. Galen sus l'exhortation de Menodote, 1557; Lettre de Maistre Michel Nostradamus, de Salon de Craux en Provence, A la Royne mere du Roy, 1566

Ligações externas

 As Obras Completas de Nostradamus (Holybooks.com, PDF e-book)

Alquimistas da França
Astrólogos da França
Médicos da França
Médiuns da França
Mortes por insuficiência cardíaca
Naturais de Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
Profetas
Videntes

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Aresty family honored
More than 200 people gathered in April 1996 to celebrate the donation of the Esther B. Aresty Collection of Rare Books on the Culinary Arts to the University of Pennsylvania Library. Mrs. Aresty's collection of cookbooks spans five centuries and represents most of the world's cultures. It includes 576 book and 13 manuscript titles. The collection has been praised by some of the most notable gourmets of our age, including Craig Claiborne.
Mrs. Aresty and her husband Julian ("Jules"), of Princeton, were honored for the gift at a reception and dinner that featured recipes from several 19th century cookbooks and a beer brewed from a 1792 formula. The Aresty family has a three-generation Penn tradition, which began with Jules Aresty, Wharton 1929, and his brother Joseph, Wharton 1943.
Several generations of Arestys participated in the opening of the exhibition, Household Words: Women Write From and For the Kitchen. The exhibition was curated by Penn folklore professor Janet Theophano to showcase aspects of the collection which offered insights into the social and domestic lives of women since the late 1400s.
In brief remarks to the gathering, Professor Theophano talked about the influence that antique cookery books have had in her own life, and how that stoked her enthusiasm for the project. Esther Aresty also received hearty praise from cookbook author and food historian Elisabeth Rozin, second vice president of Les Dames d'Escoffier. Dame Rosalie Rivera, president, also honored Mrs. Aresty with a few words as she inducted her as a Philadelphia Dame. Jules Aresty discussed the acquisition of the books and how Penn came to be heir to the collection.
Elisabeth Rozin's comments
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What can we glean from the Richmond, UVA hoops COVID-19 stories?
Published Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020, 3:09 pm
(© Fabian – stock.adobe.com)
The hard part to the Pause College Hoops movement that seems to have sprung from Coach K's comments after the Duke beatdown the other night is the story at the University of Richmond.
UR, on the heels of a huge win at Kentucky on Nov. 29, had to shut down for a week because three staffers tested positive for COVID-19.
Coach Chris Mooney said this week upon the program's return from its enforced hiatus that the three had tested negative multiple times on the trip to Kentucky, then tested negative multiple times after the lone set of positives.
"I don't know if it's officially ruled a false positive, or not ruled a false positive, but that's difficult to wrap your head around, and unfortunate," Mooney said. "That part is really frustrating and hard to just dismiss because we do feel like we are doing so many things right and trying to give ourselves the best chance to play."
It's bad enough that the program had to miss a week of practice and three games. Five players got caught up in the story because of contact tracing – forced to self-isolate, to the point of having to have their meals delivered to them.
Because three people who had tested negative multiple times before and then multiple times after each had one false positive test.
Which takes us up I-64 to the University of Virginia, where things are getting ugly after the defending national champs had to cancel their ACC/Big Ten Challenge game with Michigan State scheduled for Wednesday, because of what two press releases from Virginia Athletics termed "COVID-19 issues within its program."
Note that we haven't been let in on whether a player, coach or staffer tested positive, one of the above came into contact with someone who had tested positive, someone had come into contact with someone who is awaiting a test result.
"COVID-19 issues."
Where things are getting ugly here is that: yes, Michigan State was already in Charlottesville when the game was postponed.
Remember the righteous fury that Bronco Mendenhall unleashed at Florida State after he had to fly his team to Tallahassee and then back without getting a game in because FSU had a COVID-19 positive come back the morning of?
The teams scheduled to play in the Challenge had reportedly agreed on pre-competition testing and cancellation guidelines.
Basically, Michigan State shouldn't have made that one hour, one minute flight from East Lansing to Charlottesville without Virginia knowing that it was going to be able to play.
Sparty coach Tom Izzo hasn't commented on the fiasco, because he's a class act, and also because Tony Bennett is a class act, and because Bennett is a class act, there was no funny business to what happened, because what happened here is everybody would rather the headlines be about the game being scuttled rather to game leads to multiple positives.
Which begs the question: do we have a single recorded instance of virus transmission from an athletics competition?
Actually, yes: quick research led me to find one on the CDC website, involving a rec-league hockey game in Florida in June.
Um, rec-league hockey guys don't get tested every day.
They're not separating themselves from the rest of the outside world so that they can play hockey.
And they're not going to sue whoever the contact tracers decide is Patient Zero.
Is that all we're doing here?
Protecting ourselves from liability?
Flying home after not playing due to a single positive test, or less, "COVID-19 issues."
Having kids isolate for a week because of false positives.
Hmm, kinda seems like it.
Might this be why they're plowing forward despite the run of postponements and cancellations.
Note that I didn't end that sentence with a question mark.
This is exactly what's going on.
The folks making the decisions know what's up.
That doesn't make it any less mentally exhausting to have to deal with.
Story by Chris Graham


Each year, Maxim Health Systems administers flu shots at over 45,000 locations nationwide, and requires that every Medicare and HMO-insured flu shot recipient complete a handwritten medical consent form at the point of service. The wide variety of handwriting, which appeared on each form, was slowing down the system's ability to process the forms in a timely manner. After the addition of A2iAs' software to the solution, throughput more than quadrupled, and the time it took to process one document decreased to 24.3 seconds per page.


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Riccardo Tisci: Kim Kardashian is the Modern Day Marilyn Monroe
MDS Dev Team
Whatever is in the kool-aid that the folks in Kim Kardashian'scorner are sipping is mighty strong.
While her fiancé, Kanye West is touting the fashion powers that be in order to score Kardashian the cover of Vogue magazine, her other main man is setting down serious statements that she is the modern day Marilyn Monroe.
"I met her as the girlfriend of a good friend," Givenchy's creative director Riccardo Tisci said of his best friend's girl. "I just wanted a moment with her to understand—and I fell in love. She's the Monroe of our age. People think she's like a doll, but she's actually tough and clever."
He goes on to say, "It's not so much the beauty of people, but the talent, the roots, and the intelligence that concern me," he told The Sunday Times. "I love people who are not scared to fight for their own rights and have their own point of view. The world is big: the music world is big, the art world is big and the fashion world is big, but I think you can recognize a tribe in the similarity of people."
… But will that tribe land her a Vogue cover?
VOGUE magazineStyle ScoopRiccardo Tiscianna wintourNorth Westmarilyn monroegivenchy
The Top Boot Trends For Winter—And How To Rock Them
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Audio Porn For Women Is Now A Thing—And It's Shockingly Sexy
By Melanie Rud
Jennifer Lopez Responded To Troll Who Accused Her Of Getting 'Tons' Of Botox
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Home > Viz Media > Viz Media's Cat Lady looks pretty neat
Viz Media's Cat Lady looks pretty neat
It was a little lost among all the excitement of E3, but just before the show Viz Media announced a cute little game, so we figured we should cover it now. Cat Lady is being developed by Rose City Games, and looks like an ideal follow-up to the publisher's first project, The World Next Door.
From the press release: It's a Feline Flinging Frenzy! Ally Marie arrives at Grandma's mansion only to find an ancient evil has taken hold. It will be up to her and Grandma's cats to set things right!
"CAT LADY is a delightful game with a fun story that blends whimsy, talking cats and spooky action to make for plenty of paw-some gameplay," Will Lewis, Rose City Games Co-Founder and Cat Lady director, said.
Cat's out of the bag! We are proud to present Cat Lady, the newest video game from VIZ and Rose City Games! Get ready for a feline flinging frenzy! pic.twitter.com/dqRw1k7bOM
— VIZ (@VIZMedia) June 4, 2019
We don't actually know much about the game beyond that - for some reason the press release was more focused on The World Next Door, and the trailer is a teaser in the truest sense. But the art aesthetic is nice, and the premise is charming and amusing, so this is one that we'll keep a close eye on going forwards.
Please help keep DDNet running: Running an online publication isn't cheap, and it's highly time consuming. Please help me keep the site running and providing interviews, reviews, and features like this by supporting me on Patreon. Even $1/ month would be a hugely appreciated vote of confidence in the kind of work we're doing. Please click here to be taken to my Patreon, and thank you for reading and your support!


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Herstory: Lady Mary Heath - 1896-1939: Record-breaking aviator and athlete / Campaigner for women's rights
Updated / Wednesday, 12 Feb 2020 17:26
Lady Mary Heath by Lauren O Neill
Herstory: Ireland's Epic Women is a six-part documentary series on RTÉ exploring the lives of six remarkable Irish women whose work changed the lives of others, and in many cases, the course of history.
Watch: Herstory: Ireland's Epic Women: Lady Mary Heath here, and read her remarkable story below...
Before Amelia Earhart and Amy Johnson, there was Lady Mary Heath, the original heroine of the skies. Born Sophie Peirce-Evans in Limerick in 1896, she went on to become the first person, woman or man, to fly solo across Africa from South Africa to London, an epic journey she undertook in an openair cockpit.
It was a perilous 10,000-mile journey during which she battled heatstroke in 100 degree heat and crashed in Zimbabwe. At one stage she was reported dead. This extraordinary Irish woman soared above the odds to become the most famous aviator in the world.
Sophie had a turbulent start to life. When she was only a year old, her father beat her mother to death. The police arrived to find the infant Sophie sitting beside her mother's lifeless body. After a sensational trial which made headlines across Ireland, her father was locked up in a lunatic asylum for the criminally insane. Sophie was reared by her grandparents and went on to study at the Royal College for Science for Ireland in Dublin.
She was a gifted athlete and became a (disputed) high jump world record holder. It was her love of athletics that sparked her adoration for aviation.
In 1925 she undertook her maiden solo flight to Prague to address the Olympic Congress, where she campaigned to have women's athletics accepted at the Olympic Games. In the early 1920s, women were barred from performing at the Olympics, with the exception of genteel sports such as archery.
Not one to kowtow to the male establishment, she flaunted her femininity, taking to the skies adorned in a mink fur coat, pearls and high heels. In this, the golden age of pioneering aviation, women were allowed to fly for themselves but they were banned from carrying passengers or, heaven forbid, earning a living from their sport. According to the International Commission for Aviation, women's menstrual cycles were a disability which made them unfit to serve as commercial pilots.
Lady Mary Heath
Undeterred she took on the patriarchy and became the first female commercial pilot in the U.K. but not before she was subjected to arduous physical tests whilst on her menstrual cycle. She won her license but no airline was willing to employ her.
As if the extreme sexism wasn't enough, she endured racism when she married her third husband, a handsome Trinidadian jockey called Jack Williams. Jack was referred to as 'the little n****er' in social circles and her advertising endorsements abruptly stopped. True to herself, she ignored them all and enjoyed a long, happy marriage with Jack until her dipsomania drove them apart.
11 years after her world-famous triumph of the skies, she died after years battling a serious alcohol problem when she fell down the stairs of a London tram and suffered severe head injuries.
Read more Herstory biographies here.
Herstory: Ireland's Epic Women, RTÉ One, Mondays at 8.30pm from February 3rd - post-broadcast, all episodes will be available for catch-up on RTÉ Player and RTÉ Culture.
Biography: Dr Angela Byrne, for the Irish Embassy exhibition 'Blazing a Trail: Lives and Legacies of Irish Diaspora Women', a collaboration between Herstory, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Herstory TV series


A ruling in favor of US vitamin buyers in a high-profile anti-trust case against Chinese firms accused of price fixing could trigger a wave of similar anti-trust cases, experts have predicted.
Their comments came as Brian Cogan, a judge at the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, rejected arguments by the four Chinese defendants that the case was beyond the jurisdiction of US courts because they had been made to act illegally by their own government.
The Chinese firms, who are accused of colluding to limit production and fix Vitamin C prices in the US from 2001, claimed they were compelled to do so by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, which took the unprecedented step of submitting a written document to the court supporting the defendants - believed to be the first time the Chinese government has officially appeared in a US court.
Lawyers for the defendants claimed the doctrines of 'foreign sovereign compulsion' (which protects foreign firms compelled by their governments to break US law) and 'act of state' (which says a foreign government can't be questioned by another country's courts for actions within its own borders), should therefore apply.
But Cogan was not persuaded, which means the case can now proceed, and would most likely conclude with a settlement rather than a lengthy and expensive trial, predicted John Connor, Professor of Industrial Economics at Purdue University.
Connor, who has written extensively about global vitamin production, told NutraIngredients-USA that the ruling set an important precedent and would likely trigger a wave of similar lawsuits.
While the Chinese government had argued that the trade association to which the Chinese vitamin manufacturers belonged was a vehicle of its national planning apparatus and had been compelled to co-ordinate manufacturing and prices, Cogan disagreed, "I think rightly", said Connor.
Professor Spencer Waller, director of the Institute of Consumer Antitrust Studies at the Chicago School of Law, said that in such cases, it was not enough to argue that a foreign government had permitted, suggested or even encouraged anti-competitive behavior. The Chinese firms had to prove they were compelled to fix prices, he said.
Raising the foreign compulsion argument was clearly the defendants' strongest card, so it was not clear where Cogan's ruling left them given that they had not contested the US firms' allegations that they had violated anti-trust laws, he added.
Meanwhile, it was likely the ruling would be cited by others seeking to make anti-trust cases against Chinese firms, he said.
William Isaacson, partner at Washington DC-based Boies, Schiller & Flexner and co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told NutraIngredients-USA that a status conference with the judge was scheduled for October 4, when he would ask for a trial date.
The actions of the firms - Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Co, Jiangsu Jiangshan Pharmaceutical Co, Hebei Welcome Pharmaceutical Co and China Pharmaceutical Gr - contributed to a sharp rise of the US price of vitamin C as they controlled such a large share of the market (more than 60%) between them, claimed Isaacson.
The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants agreed to fix prices in 2001, after which spot prices for vitamin C shot up rapidly.


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Looking at some Good and Bad Video Game Adaptations
Every generation will look back at the past and ask "what where they thinking?" Especially, with the effort behind the production whether it's very little or helluva lot. For the 80s, 90s and some of the 00s merchandising was a big money over to the point everything had toys, video games, lunch boxes or shoes. Though, the video game version of a tv show was fun at times as people wanted to be in on the action others were "head scratchers". This isn't a list or a countdown but merely a reflection of some TV shows dabbled in video game adaptations; the good, the bad and the ugly ones. It's not the series that seals it fate but the development and direction of the game and weird enough for example Game of Thrones has several titles that falls under all three of these descriptions.
Not Even Doctor Who could save his own game
Cash grabs and quick additions to make money off of a show is an insult to both the television audience and video game audience that they would invest in an inferior product. Of course, there is a market for everything there hence the smaller budget of these games but before IOS and Androids were available platforms, moderate or low budget games went to PC or consoles only to make moderate sales.
Home Improvement moved from the silly sitcom that it was known for and became a platformer with Tim Allen jumping around with a nail gun and flamethrower. Aside, from animated tv shows you have to give Tool Time credit for venturing into the video game realm where others hadn't, especially during the 90s. That's an example of catering to the audience who may have heard of the how or were following it enough to play a game.
The Sopranos was a hit show that had a mature audience and with games like GTA being a runaway success you'd think THQ would try to go in that direction, it's a no-brainer since TellTale hadn't really hit the scene, but instead of a GTA clone they went the opposite direction and did it poorly. Almost every gameplay and graphical issue persisted that wasn't game-breaking the only saving grace is the cast from the showing up to reprise their roles…
These are merely examples of a pool of shovelware based off of TV shows not just budget constraints but poor communication developing titles or no direction. Which is a shame because it only brings down value of the franchise.
Several X-Files games exist
The Bad fall under games that have strong factors in some aspects but a terrible at other spots. Usually, it's gameplay due to budget constraints but hiring the cast from the show or similar writers help sell the game anyway. Once stated by someone on the Pixel8Bit podcast, "you can be an excellent actor but a terrible voice actor", he was referring to Prison Break: The Conspiracy based off the show Prison Break. Hailed for it's graphics and twisting storyline but the gameplay and voice acting were the weakest point. Close to a perfect execution but didn't stick the landing.
The Desperate Housewives video game went a similar route. It's ingenious to make a Sims-like PC adaption of what Wikipedia calls "an American soap opera mystery comedy-drama television series" but simple enough you customize a family of three then begin with an isometric view of your home where you can move your characters about and interact with NPCs to follow the storyline. Sims is a game of sassy drama and hijinks and the Desperate Housewives tries to recreate it but due to the budget of the game software issues and rudimentary gameplay held it back. Where the previous two had weaker gameplay and poor everything else or bugs.
Dark Angel went the other route. Though, level design hindered the game along with stealth mechanics that felt more like chance than skill the details, voice acting and combat won brownie points but didn't save the title overall.
Believe it or not, 24 captured the essence of the show in a high degree
You see a lot shows based off of animated series from kids cartoon shows to raunchy older content it's easy to grasp an audience where the majority already play video games. Where The Sopranos: Road to Respect failed is where The Game of Thrones flourished, as mentioned earlier but for the Good, Telltale already had a formula for combing gameplay with an emotional narrative and knocked it out of the park with their own take on the series. As a matter of fact, Telltale adapted other shows like CSI, Law & Order and Wallace & Gromit using a point and click narrative.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds was a mid-budgeted game by Eurocom that had great gameplay along with graphics and acting. It had praised reviews especially for a series people weren't expecting after previous entries from other developers. Just to name a few games but these titles are well made with the right studio.
While movie adaptations are very common the realm of TV edge in every now and then. Usually someone will be gutsy enough to try and adapt a show but if the first attempt doesn't work out it'll be one and done. On the other hand, long running series such as The Simpsons or South Park gives more opportunities for more games since the shows still has an interest even if one game doesn't work out. Things have slowed down a bit regarding adaptions for consoles the smaller budgets games have seen renown success on the mobile market. Quick and cost-effective to make and with users that'll make a return on the investment. Where Desperate Housewives stumbled with a Sims-like game they've seen success with a mobile game instead but one of these days we'll get a fun Cobra Kai game for PC or consoles.
September 24, 2020 Dave BowenArticlesAdaptations, TV, TV Shows, Video Games
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Today's Market / Inflation Alert: Why Is the Cost of Eggs Rising?
Inflation Alert: Why Is the Cost of Eggs Rising?
Egg prices jumped 60% in 2022 as a major inflation driver
January 17, 2023 By Shrey Dua, InvestorPlace Assistant News Writer Jan 17, 2023, 11:38 am EST January 17, 2023
As per the latest CPI report, egg prices are continuing to climb.
A mix of bird flu limiting supply, and rising holiday demand has pushed egg prices to their highest level in years.
While some companies enjoy the benefit of rising egg prices, relief may be on the way.
Source: Poravute Siriphiroon / Shutterstock.com
As inflation fears begin to ease in the face of last week's relatively positive consumer price index report (CPI), one household favorite is soaring in price: eggs. Egg prices are more than double the price from the same time last year. Why is the cost of eggs rising?
Well, according to most analysts, the current egg inflation is the result of major supply disruptions this year. Indeed, bird flu is one of the primary culprits behind the price spike, and for good reason. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that more than 57 million turkeys and chickens have died from avian influenza since the virus was first uncovered early last year, this represents the deadliest outbreak of avian flu in U.S. history.
Avian flu is both deadly, (90%+ lethality rate among affected birds), and extremely contagious. In accordance with U.S. federal laws, upon detection of the virus, farms are required to cull all their remaining livestock to prevent further spread.
Food remains one of the more elevated inflation categories, currently up 0.3% month-over-month as of December. This represents a small piece of a 10.4% year-over-year increase.
Eggs likely bear much of the brunt of rising food costs. As per data from the Bureau of Labor, the average price of a dozen large Grade A eggs have more than doubled in U.S. cities over the past year, from $1.79 in December 2021, to $4.25 currently.
Why Is the Cost of Eggs Rising?
Not everyone is in agreement over the cause behind the rising egg prices. Emily Metz, President and Chief Executive of the trade group American Egg Board, believes egg inflation is a big-picture issue:
"When you're looking at fuel costs go up, and you're looking at feed costs go up as much as 60%, labor costs, packaging costs — all of that … those are much much bigger factors than bird flu for sure,"
In fact, rising demand may be playing as much of a role in "egg-flation" as crippling supply. The U.S. holiday season is defined by dishes requiring eggs. Add in a 17% increase in the demand for eggs over the past decade, it's no wonder to see the industry so pinched.
To some companies, however, the current supply scramble has been something of a blessing. Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM), the largest producer and distributor of shell eggs in the U.S., has enjoyed a 35% surge in share value rise over the past 12 months solely on the back of rising egg prices. In December, the company announced record-breaking top and bottom line figures.
Egg lovers have no fear, however, relief is likely on the way. According to Jada Thomson, a University of Arkansas agricultural economist, egg farmers have steadily replaced bird-flu-affected flocks over the last year; as demand for eggs eases post-holiday season, lower egg prices may come sooner than later.
On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
With degrees in economics and journalism, Shrey Dua leverages his ample experience in media and reporting to contribute well-informed articles covering everything from financial regulation and the electric vehicle industry to the housing market and monetary policy. Shrey's articles have featured in the likes of Morning Brew, Real Clear Markets, the Downline Podcast, and more.
Agriculture, Commodities, Consumer Staples, Food
Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2023/01/inflation-alert-why-is-the-cost-of-eggs-rising/.
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The Division gets new modes and area
Game2k
Wednesday, August 30, 2017 | 6:53 PM
Trailer PC PS4 Xbox One
The Fall, Ubisoft will release free update 1.8 for Tom Clancy's The Division which will extend the game's map with the new area West Side Pier. The place will be home to two new game modes: Resistance (PvE) and Skirmish (PvP). More details, trailer and screens inside.
UPDATE 1.8 "RESISTANCE" FOR TOM CLANCY'S THE DIVISION® COMES FREE THIS FALL
The Free Update Will Expand the Game Map, Introduce Two New Game Modes, and More
SAN FRANCISCO — August 30, 2017 — Today, Ubisoft announced that Update 1.8 "Resistance" for Tom Clancy's The Division will release simultaneously on all platforms this fall. Update 1.8 "Resistance" will be the biggest free update thus far for Tom Clancy's The Division and introduce two new games modes while expanding the game map with a new area: West Side Pier.
West Side Pier is a completely new area spread across two new zones and accessible for all players. Defeated factions were last seen converging towards the sector and seem to have started working together for the first time. The Division must investigate the area to confirm that factions are indeed forging an alliance and determine the reason of their sudden interest in this location. In addition to the variety of open world activities available across the whole map, West Side Pier will be home to two new game modes:
• Resistance (PvE mode) – In Resistance, the different factions are teaming up for the first time to fight against Division agents. Varied enemy NPCs continuously spawn in waves as up to four agents try to survive for as long as they can and earn rewards.
• Skirmish (PvP mode) – In Skirmish, two teams of four players compete against each other to get the highest number of kills before the time expires. Teams earn points each time a downed enemy player is eliminated.
Division agents will also convene in a new social hub, Camp Clinton, from which they will be able to group up with other agents and adjust their gear before taking the fight to West Side Pier.
Additionally, Update 1.8 "Resistance" will include improvements to the Underground DLC, a revamp of the rogue mechanics, as well as an optimization of the gear system letting players improve the stats of their favorite equipment. Those looking to get more information about the new content included in Update 1.8 "Resistance" can tune into the Tom Clancy's The Division State of the Game livestream on twitch.tv/thedivisiongame tomorrow, August 31, starting 5PM CEST.
Following the release of Update 1.7 earlier this summer, Update 1.8 "Resistance" is the second of the two substantial free updates planned for the Year 2 of Tom Clancy's The Division. In addition to these major updates and line with the development team's commitment to continuously updating and improving the game, Year 2 has already brought several gameplay and quality of life updates the Tom Clancy's: The Division, and will continue to add more in the coming months.
Tom Clancy's The Division takes place weeks after a devastating pandemic sweeps through New York City on Black Friday. One by one, basic services fail and in only days, without food or water, society collapses into chaos. The Division, an autonomous unit of tactical agents leading seemingly ordinary lives among us, is activated to save society. In this immersive online open world action RPG, discover a hostile and dynamic environment where exploration and player progression are essential. Team up with other players to investigate the sources of the virus and reclaim the city from the overwhelming turmoil.
Tom Clancy's The Division is now available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC. For more information, please visit <0829>http://www.thedivisiongame.com.
High quality stream and download
Resistance - Free Update 1.8
aphex187
Commented on 2017-08-30 20:55:28
Wow! Say what you want about this game and Ubi but the support on this has been amazing.
KORNdog
And not a single person gave a fuck.
They killed this game with their lackadaisical approach to fixing the exploits people were using.
And not a single person gave a fuck. They killed this game with their lackadaisical approach to fixing the exploits people were using.
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MrWhite People don't read books. They'd rather listen to some dickhead talk smack about shit they haven't a clue about, despite them claiming they have an education in a certain field. Its enough to convince (1 Day ago)
jmd749 Yes, we live in the information age, but most have lost the skill/ability of assimilating and interogating that info. That's why the small misleading sound bites on twitter/facebook is preferred. Sad (1 Day ago)
MrWhite Instead people consult the oracles on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. All of them with bastardised and warped views of the world driven by decades of repressed bigotry as a hand me down at dinner. (2 Days ago)
MrWhite both on economic systems and a base understanding of the political spectrum. All you need to do is read a couple of books about history or biographies on prominent historical figures and events (2 Days ago)
MrWhite Look at what we've done with it instead. And you're 100% correct about the public now paying more through taxes and tariffs. That would have been obvious to anyone with a modicum of education (2 Days ago)
MrWhite What's alarming with these two things is that on their own, they're two amazing things. The internet should have been a great gift to humanity in driving it forward. (2 Days ago)
MrWhite @jmd749: I strongly believe the internet and widespread misinformation tools in the combination of smart phones and social media have done serious damage (2 Days ago)
Driftwood GSY is getting some nice content at 3 pm CEST with our July podcast and some videos of the Deus Ex Mankind Divided preview build. :) (> 3 Months ago)
Driftwood For once we'll be live at 4:30 pm CEST. Blim should not even be tired! (> 3 Months ago)
Driftwood More Quantum Break coverage coming in a few hours, 9:00 a.m CEST. (> 3 Months ago)
Driftwood We'll have a full review up for Firewatch at 7 pm CET. Videos will only be tomorrow though. (> 3 Months ago)
Driftwood Tonight's livestream will be at 9:15 GMT+1, not GMT+2 as first stated. (> 3 Months ago)
Driftwood New GSY Live dedicated this time to Just Cause 3 on Tuesday 9:30 GMT+2 (> 3 Months ago)
Driftwood Join us tomorrow at 10 pm GMT+2 for a new livestream. We'll be playing Rise of the Tomb Raider. (> 3 Months ago)
Also on Gamersyde
Admire Hitman 3 in HDR on Series X
Best wishes and happy new year!
The Pathless finally on Gamersyde
About Gamersyde
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Here you can download RBI Officer Admit card 2018 Grade B via rbi.org.in. The details on Reserve Bank of India Officer Hall ticket, Exam date are provided here.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is conducting Phase 1 written test for the posts of Officer in Grade B (General) Direct Recruitment - (DR) 2018. There are a total of 166 posts that are to be filled. The Phase 1 written exam is scheduled to be held on 16 Aug 2018. The admit card of RBI Officer has been released online by rbi.org.in. You can download RBI Officer Exam Admit card from below.
Reserve Bank of India will organize Phase 1 written exam on 16 August 2018 for Officer (Grade B) posts. For that, admit card are released online. You should download RBI Officer admit cards from the link below and print it. The test will be held at various centres all over India (check list below).
The details like roll no., exam venue address, reporting time, date and time etc. can be checked in the RBI call letters. Earlier Reserve Bank of India had invited applications for 166 Officer Grade B in General, DEPR & DSIM.
The phase 1 written examination consists of one papers which is to be conducted online. The time duration will be 2 hours. Questions will be asked from English Language, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning.
The Phase-II online Examination will be conducted on 06, 07 September, 2018, only for the candidates who are shortlisted on the basis of results of Phase-I. Those who qualify phase 2 will be called for interview.
The candidates can download their admit card / admission letter from RBI website from here. The online exam is to be held in most states / UT of India. Here are some of the exam centres.


Journal Article Chu, Chengjin; Maestre, Fernando T.; Xiao, Sa; Weiner, Jacob; Wang, You-Shi; Duan, Zheng-Hu; Wang, Gang. 2008. Balance between facilitation and resource competition determines biomass-density relationships in plant populations. Ecology Letters. Vol: 11. Pages 1189-1197.
Journal Article Damgaard, Christian; Weiner, Jacob. 2008. Modeling the growth of individuals in crowded plant populations. Journal of Plant Ecology. Vol: 1(2). Pages 111-116.
Journal Article Weiner, Jacob; Campbell, Lesley G.; Pino, Joan; Echarte, Laura. 2009. The allometry of reproduction within plant populations. Journal of Ecology. Vol: 97(6). Pages 1220–1233.
Journal Article Wyszomirski, T.; Weiner, Jacob. 2009. Variation in local density results in a positive correlation between plant neighbor sizes. American Naturalist. Vol: 173(5). Univ. Chicago Press. Pages 705-708.


Background: The progress test was initiated by Qassim University in 2000 as a tool to evaluate the educational process among Saudi medical colleges. Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University (PNU) College of Medicine is a new medical college established in 2012 that implemented the same innovative reformed curriculum of King Saud University College of Medicine.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to use the progress test to evaluate the rate of knowledge acquisition among a new medical school compared to other long-established medical schools in Saudi Arabia.
Materials and methods: As part of an ongoing strategy, the progress test was administered before the end of the academic year. Students in PNU were enrolled for 2 years in the progress test. We compared the mean progress test scores for PNU students compared to students at comparable stages in other medical schools in Saudi Arabia.
Results: The results showed that the rate of knowledge acquisition was similar in students at PNU to students in other well-established medical schools in Saudi Arabia.
Conclusion: The present study showed that the interinstitutional progress test demonstrated that the level of acquisition of knowledge and performance of students in a new medical school was similar to other medical colleges in Saudi Arabia.


text:
Supper's Ready | GENESIS Music Board
Which CD remastering was the best for each album?
Adam K
Newbie, here, digging up a topic I'm sure you're all done and dusted with, but I was just ripping my Genesis CDs to FLAC and realised I had a strange mix of 1994 and 2008 issues, and couldn't quite remember why. A search on the subject brought me here, so I had a question: Originally, I think the thing was that I became stuck with the idea that the 2006 remixes, especially ATOTT and WAW, pushed Hackett to the back. I think I read this, somewhere, and was sure I heard it myself, especially in "Ripples", where Hackett's sinuous guitar lines sounded fainter in the remixes than I remembered. I'm more than happy to be disavowed of that. I don't seem to have the remixes for all of them, and didn't even realise that there was one for the 1974 Live album, which is my all-time favourite (sorry, Seconds Out fans).. Are they really worth getting? And how does one know? On Amazon, they invariably list the 1994 editions, or at least the images they show are.
Anyway, the basic questions are -- was there actually any skullduggery in the mixing and are they really worth it?
If you go back into this thread (and some other older ones), you will see that the 1994 Definitive Edition Remasters are generally well liked for the albums through to the 80s for the most part. Some people like the 2007 box set remixes, though not everyone. There are occasional discrepancies between the remasters and the remixes - some small parts got lost - which may matter to you.
I have kept both the remasters and remixes in my collection. I like the remasters overall and do listen to them. However the remixes really do open up some albums so that you can hear the parts more distinctly, even without the 5.1 mixes. The Lamb is an example where I can hear the parts more clearly - even Steve, who I find is often buried in the original mix. The additional advantages of the box sets include having all the extra tracks, the interviews, and the 5.1 mixes.
danielbravo
Sep 3rd 2022
Quote from Midwestdrums
Personally, I tend to go back and forth between the original CDs and the 1994 remasters. It was fun to hear subtle details that the 2007/08 remixes brought out, and they are great to listen to in 5.1. However, I am not a fan of the compression/limiting used in the mastering stage. It "squashes" the mix, and there's no sense of space, and no dynamics. I'm a big believer in dynamics which is something very few think about in today's music climate. All this being said, here's my preferences for each album:
Trespass: the MCA CD for sound/94 remaster for completeness (MCA has some early fadeouts). The 2008 remix is also fantastic!
Nursery Cryme: 94 Remaster...2008 remix is also very good.
Foxtrot: Tend to prefer the original CD overall, but my copy has the first half second missing of Watcher Of The Skies/94 remaster otherwise.
Live: The original Atlantic CD sounds amazing! 2008 Remix is also very good.
SEBTP: Original and 94 Remaster both sound great to me.
TLLDOB: 94 Remaster
ATOTT: Original ATCO CD
W&W: 94 Remaster
Seconds Out: I have both the 94 Remaster and the 2008 remix. Both sound excellent, and it's hard for me to pick a favorite...despite the remix being louder.
ATTWT: 94 Remaster
Duke: Original Atlantic CD (no contest here!)
Abacab: 94 Remaster
TSL: I have both the 94 Remaster and 2008 remix. I just barely prefer the 94 Remaster...but the remix is also very good.
Genesis: Original CD (prefer the original mix just barely)
Invisible Touch: Original CD (prefer the original mix)
We Can't Dance: Original CD (prefer the original mix)
TWWW: The 2008 remix I prefer just for the fact it's arranged as a proper live show
CAS: Original CD (prefer the original mix)
Great choices, very similar with my preferences. Like you, I like that in some way or another an album preserves the dynamics and a pleasant sound that doesn't tire. I used to pay little attention to this until I found myself discovering the difference between a highly compressed remaster and one that is not.
I like some of the recent remixes and I appreciate the new personality that some of the albums reveal, especially with the PG era and the live albums. But I still really enjoy the old Virgin and the DRE.
Excellent summary of the matter. I've read a lot about it on other forums and so far, I think one finds that many still like these old 1994 releases (although others not so much...) and the old virgins
For a while I have listened to these old versions and the remixes and I can go from one to the other without problems. Some are nicer than others, some more revealing... but it's good to enjoy the original stereo mixes, even with the limitations that some comment on.
I know this is a Genesis thread, but in general feel this applies too.
My good friend(who sadly passed away RIP) Nedflanders123, once said during the 90's period onwards. CD's were being massively remastered as a gimmick to sell more copies. However, he also praised the superior Japanese versions over the European copies and I agree. Japanese cd's were a lot better in the remastering aspect and sound a lot better.
I would say now, during 2018 onwards, remasters have much improved and it appears artists are now involved in this process for better quality.
Reading a thread on another forum, someone commented that they heard a noticiable "click" at 17 seconds into the song "Robbery, Assault and Battery" when Phil sings ..."considered" with the Definitive Remastered Edition (1994)
I have this DE Cd manufaturated in the US (ATCO Records 82668-2)
and I don't hear this. I have reviewed it several times and using headphones... the click is not there.
I guess maybe it's a matter of the European editions... has anyone found it on their cd?
I still wonder this, because I imagine that the remaster is the same for all worldwide releases
Quote from Noni
It may be so in some particular cases. Although it is known that in those years "some tapes" masters were the same, the japanese engineers made modifications in the equalization during the transfers. It was a common practice until a few years ago. In some cases with remarkable results and other times not so much.
Rarely did the manufacturers have availability or access to the original master set.
There are many interesting comparisons between the various pre-1994 versions available on various sites. And also about how many masters there were rolling around there for those years.
The truth is that many of these Japanese Cds are very good and others are not...
But this is a subject for another nature of forums.
jaydubya
Home By The Sea, UK
Quote from danielbravo
Yes, I can hear it on my UK issue of DE on the 'con' of 'considered. I think I remember reading something where Nick Davis confirms it too. One of his jobs on the DE series was to go through removing all the clicks and pops and that was one the one that got through. I've got all the other DE's in the series and while I'm aware of the tracking errors I don't recall any other clicks or pops.
Quote from jaydubya
Oh, thank you. I can't hear it on my copy.
Quote from Adam K
Hello, it is a matter of exploring and making your own image on the matter. It's the best way if you haven't listened to these remixes in their entirety.
Currently the Genesis catalog in print is basically these mixes (by default) both on vinyl and cd.
I like them for albums with Gabriel (especially) and live albums (especially for Seconds Out, Three Sides Live and The Way We Walk) although not much with "Live" which is your favorite.
With the post 1975 albums things change for my taste, especially because in some of them although I like the new mix, the audio is very compressed and I don't like them as the old Virgin or the DE from 1994.
I still keep all the remixes from Trespass to Abacab, including the live albums.
In my experience, each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but it is good to include them in my collection.
Some are very cheap if you look carefully, particularly used. New ones depends on your wallet, on ebay there is a wide variety of prices if you are looking for them in cd format.
good luck with your trip


text:
The San Antonio Spurs have excelled by committing to the strengths of its personnel
After a rocky start to the season, San Antonio has become one of the league's best offences by embracing DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge.
By Matthew Blum
DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge are two of the league's premier mid-range scorers (NBA Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/13/b5/demar-derozan-lamarcus-aldridge-012619-ftr-nba-getty_b4ca96lkgc901rvvzcxf2zr21.jpg?t=-1951396200&w=500
It took a little while, but the Spurs are looking Spurs-y again.
For the first 20 games of the year, San Antonio appeared like it was heading towards its worst season this millennium. The team was 10-12 at the end of November, struggling to assimilate their new talent and overcome their offseason transformation. As soon as the calendar flipped to December, however, the Spurs have been firing on all cylinders, going 17-10 with the league's fourth-best offence over that stretch.
That improvement didn't come after a dramatic stylistic change or rotation tweak, just a commitment to their strengths. It was reasonable to read into San Antonio's early struggles as a sign this team didn't have the talent to compete or - more worryingly - that they were attached to an offensive style that couldn't. Instead, they persevered and found a path forward.
In many ways, this is just a different version of the dynastic mid-2000s Spurs teams we all remember. They never turn the ball over and lead the league in both post-ups and points off post-ups opportunities. They slow the game down as much as possible and have the league's best eFG% since December 1st.
None of that is shocking. The Spurs are built to take care of the ball and put their best players in the best position to succeed and with DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge leading the way, that position is overwhelmingly in the mid-range.
🔸 CAREER-HIGH 56 PTS
🔸 9 REB
🔸 First @spurs player with 50+PTS since Tony Parker on Nov. 5, 2008
LaMarcus Aldridge's impressive performance propels the @spurs to a 154-147 DOUBLE OT victory! #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/KL0vH1RGBW
In theory, this could be a problem. We've seen teams try and fail to build an offence around two players who operate in the same areas on the court, especially when the area is one as traditionally inefficient as the mid-range; and yet, the Spurs have thrived.
San Antonio gets up 24.8 mid-range shots per game, by far the most in the league. The only other team close is Golden State. The typical shortcomings of mid-range shots are well established, but when you have elite mid-range shooters like Aldridge and DeRozan - or Kevin Durant in the Warriors' case - those problems aren't as relevant.
Aldridge started off the season ice cold but an incredibly strong December and January has him just under 41 percent for the season, right around his career average. DeRozan is shooting just 39.8 percent for the season - down a couple percent from his Toronto standard - but like Aldridge, has started to find his stroke as the season has progressed.
🏀 @DeMar_DeRozan does it all in the @spurs 5th straight win, finishing with 26 PTS, 7 REB, 9 AST! #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/s7IjhwKrmR
- NBA (@NBA) January 8, 2019
San Antonio takes the highest percentage of their FGA from two-point range in the league. If you flip that stat around, they take the fewest percentage of their shots from 3-point range and yet, they lead the league in 3-point shooting at 40.3 percent.
In a season in which 3-point records are being shattered seemingly every other night, we've come to see efficiency as black and white. Three points are greater than two, therefore the team who leads the league in 3-point percentage should maximize their 3-point attempts. The issue with this logic in San Antonio's case is simply a problem of scale.
DeRozan and Aldridge are not exactly good 3-point shooters - they're notably bad in fact. Of the 30 players averaging at least 20 points per game, just three are shooting below 24 percent from three: Aldridge, DeRozan and the notoriously shooting-adverse Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Aldridge has never been anything approaching a high-volume 3-point shooter and, despite his best efforts over the past few seasons, it appears DeRozan has ended his attempt at becoming a 3-point threat as well. San Antonio simply cannot start taking more threes because that would take the ball out of the hands of their best players.
This leaves the Spurs at a mathematical disadvantage. With DeRozan and Aldridge accounting for over 38 percent of San Antonio's attempts, the team has found a way to bridge the two extremes. They can allow their stars to thrive in the areas that make them great while surrounding them with excellent, low volume 3-point threats.
Bryn Forbes and Marco Belinelli lead the team in 3-point attempts and are shooting a combined 40.3 percent from deep. Rudy Gay has quietly become an outstanding third option and is having far and away the most efficient season of his 13-year career. Once one of the more mid-range heavy players in the league, Gay has left those shots to Aldridge and DeRozan and turned himself into an outstanding attacker and 3-point shooter (41.5 percent).
The most pleasant surprise of the season has certainly been second-year pro Derrick White stepping in for the injured Dejounte Murray. As Aldridge was putting up his career-high 56 points versus the Thunder earlier this month, White was having a career night of his own with 23 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.
https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/5d/a7/derrick-white-thunder-012619-ftr-nba-getty_14nn2n6oaix5gzsjfiqttvy04.jpg?t=-1947500640&w=500
White has shown flashes of brilliance but still undergoes the expected ebbs and flows of a point guard with just 25 career starts. This is where the addition of DeRozan has paid the most dividends.
DeRozan hasn't overhauled his game in San Antonio, but his biggest improvement has come as a distributor. He leads the team with 6.4 assists per game and while he's certainly not pass-first, his vision as improved leaps and bounds from where it was in his first few seasons as a Raptor.
As opponents sag off him, begging him to take a three, DeRozan has used this extra space to see passing lanes and find Forbes, Belinelli or Patty Mills cutting open off a screen. For a guy who was averaging just 3.1 assists per game for his career coming into the season, DeRozan's rise to third in assists among shooting guards is pretty remarkable.
For as impressive as their turnaround has been, the uphill battle San Antonio faces isn't going to disappear. Even for as well as they've shot the ball recently, their unfortunate reality is the 3-point shot isn't going away. DeRozan, Aldridge and Co. have been outstanding and have looked like a legitimate playoff team since December, they just have to continue that excellence going forward.
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How have the Raptors played in back-to-backs?
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text:
Embracing a different approach: How some St. Louis school districts are connecting health, education
By Alex Heuer • Dec 12, 2018
(from left) Sharonica Hardin-Bartley, Jason Purnell and Monika Kincheloe joined Wednesday's St. Louis on the Air to discuss the intersections between health and education.
Evie Hemphill and Monika Kincheloe
A recent situation involving a first-grade student in the University City School District prompted teachers and administrators to consider an unconventional approach.
Rather than immediately focus on any instruction or behavior in the classroom, the district sought to provide the student and his family with basic needs – a trip to the doctor, food and toiletry items.
"We have to embrace our families exactly as they are and work collectively to provide the necessary resources," explained Sharonica Hardin-Bartley, the district's superintendent.
But toiletry items – things many people take for granted – were simple things the district could provide to help enable a student to learn.
"We really have embraced the concept of students being well emotionally, physically, socially and spiritually and understanding that we can't effectively educate them if their basic needs are not met," Hardin-Bartley said.
Efforts underway in University City, St. Louis Public Schools and the Normandy Schools Collaborative seek to address connections between health and education. Part of the effort includes implementing a federal model comprised of 10 components called Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child.
"What we've learned from our work with schools is it just can't be another thing we put on the plate of educators because their plates are already quite full," said Jason Purnell, an associate professor in the Brown School at Washington University and director of Health Equity Works (formerly For the Sake of All). "This has to be something that's all hands on deck, the entire community coming together to support children within schools.
"We know that a child who can't see, can't hear, can't breathe – has been traumatized and doesn't know where to sleep doesn't have the full opportunity to learn," he said, acknowledging that school districts in the St. Louis region are receptive to recognizing the connections between health and education.
In addition to Purnell and Hardin-Bartley, Monika Kincheloe, senior director of strategic initiative and partnerships at America's Promise Alliance, joined St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh on Wednesday.
"We lead big campaigns to build public will at the national and community levels," Kincheloe said. "Our Every School Healthy campaign really builds on that track record. Our goal is centered around the idea that what's happening in U City schools and across the St. Louis region shouldn't just be happening there, it should really be happening in every school.
"Every young person should come to school feeling safe, supported and empowered."
St. Louis on the Air brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh and producers Alex Heuer, Evie Hemphill, Lara Hamdan and Xandra Ellin give you the information you need to make informed decisions and stay in touch with our diverse and vibrant St. Louis region.
STLPR Talk Shows


text:
GORDON, Douglas Hamilton
GORDON, Douglas Hamilton. 1895 — Hingham, Norfolk 16.2.1961. British Colonial Officer and Archaeologist. Colonel. Educated at Wellington and R.M.C., went to India in 1914. War service in Mesopotamia, then long military career in India, mainly in N.W.F. Province. In retirement concentrated on his archaeological studies.. Married, one son and one daughter. His large collection of stone tools is in the British Museum.
Publications: "Some Notes on 'Possession by Bhūts' in the Punjab", Man 23, 1923, 150-152;
– "Some Terra-Cottas from Sari Dheri, North-West Frontier Province", JRAnthrInst 62, 1932, 163-171; "Korku Memorial Tablets", Man 36, 1936, 17-19; "The mother-goddess of Gandhara", Antiquity 1937, 70-79; "The microlithic industries of India", Man 38, 1938, 91-100; "Early Indian Terracottas", JISOA 11, 1943, 136-195; "The Microlithic Industries of India", Man 38, 1938, 21-24, 63f.
– "Hellenism in North-West India", JASB 3rd series 10, 1944, 1-25
– "Sialk, Giyan, Hissar and the Indo-Iranian connection", Man in India 27, 1947, 195-241; "The stone industries of the Holocene in India and Pakistan", Anc. India 6, 1950, 64-90; "The Early Use of Metals in India and Pakistan", JRAnthrInst 80, 1950, 55-78; "The Rock Engravings of Kupgallu Hill, Bellary, Madras", Man 51, 1951, 117-119; "The pottery industries of the Indo-Iranian border: a re-statement and tentative chronology", Anc. India 10-11, 1954-55, 157-191, pl. 76.
– With F. R. Allchin: "Rock Paintings and Engravings in Raichur, Hyderabad", Man 55, 1955, 97-99.
– The Prehistoric Background of Indian Culture. 8+199 p. 32 pl. Bombay 1958.
– Other articles; small notes in Man, reviews in JRAS.
Sources: D. Barrett, Man 61, 1961, 122f. with photo; briefly in British Museum home page; stray notes in Internet (mainly on his publications).
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GORDON, Charles A
GORDON, Thomas Edward
Indian studies Colonial India University of Paris Indo-European studies University of Berlin Western explorers and traders Historical studies University of Leipzig Buddhism Tibet Language studies islam British colonial time University of Bonn University of Vienna Jainism


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April 2008 - Channel Crossing: Radio
Testing Radio in 2008: A Buyer's Market
By Joe Rashbaum
Before we talk about direct response, here's a quick catch up on several significant changes that have taken place in the U.S. radio industry during the past several months:
Virtually all major ownerships have reduced their workforces significantly, due to a two-year drop in revenues.
Virtually all top major markets experienced their second straight year of Q1 revenue dips.
Satellite radio now accounts for well over 20 million American listeners (including car passengers, and those who listen via online or satellite TV services). Not bad for an industry that had no customers five years ago.
Most major ownerships have stepped up efforts to monetize their station websites, with some innovations such as "members-only" exclusive sections, keyword searches and social networking elements to the sites.
More markets are adopting Portable People Meters (PPM) as a new means of measuring audience, in lieu of outdated Arbitron diary-keeping methods.
Numerous stations have flipped from formats that were unpopular and/or lost revenue in favor of formats that have more historical success in their markets.
Bucking the trend of local stations, network radio has had a much stronger period, with some major network companies reporting increases over a year ago.
What does all this mean to a marketer who simply wants to test whether direct response radio works or not? It means it has been a long time since we've seen local rates this low, along with several other inexpensive options to play with. There has not been a time like this in the past 15 or so years to stretch your money further or negotiate a deal more favorable to your comfort level. Still, radio is used by well over 90 percent of Americans each day. What's more, it continues to be an effective, undervalued test-marketing vehicle and any assumptions about its demise are quite premature.
Radio merely continues to undergo a shift in how people use it. It has unprecedented competition from iPods, streaming audio, satellite and the Internet. It also has more competition for the ad dollar from the Internet than ever before. Moreover, the U.S. economy has hurt revenues, and in particular, the loss from mortgage companies that had been the staple of radio advertising for the past five years or so.
Recently, local radio salespeople have been harder-pressed to make their budget goals, and have been dealing more aggressively than years past. Frequency and CPM have long been essentials of DR, regardless of the marketing venue. 2008 has been the easiest year in some time to realize frequency and CPMs goals that befit intelligent testing. Top-rated stations in Top 10 markets, particularly the more response-friendly talk-based formats, have been working hard to assure their DR clients are happy, since they have lately had the flexibility to offer low-charge and no-charge rotations like never before. About the only place you may still see some challenges in getting clearance rates are network, which addressed earlier, have had surprisingly strong sales periods, and have not had the level of low-cost media as one would expect. That said, it does pay to investigate, since there are those weeks when logs are light.
MEASURING AUDIENCE
One concern specifically pertaining to achieving CPM goals has been the impact of the aforementioned PPM audience measurement method. The PPM is an audience measurement system that tracks consumer exposure to any encoded broadcast signal. The system then analyzes consumers' listening and viewing habits across multiple channels, which includes radio, television (broadcast, cable and satellite) and online.
Initially, PPM has been a good thing for radio in the markets that have used it so far. It has shown an overall listenership to be higher, and not surprisingly, has shown that a typical listener is tuning into more stations than had been previously thought. Overall, this has resulted in higher cume for many stations (cume is the total number of unique listeners who tune in each week). There have been criticisms about accuracy, but these are being dealt with by the industry. Conversely, other stations have experienced PPM-measured decreases in Average Quarter Hour (AQH) listenership (the estimated number of listeners during any given 15-minute interval). The problem is that we use AQH to figure our CPM, so a lower AQH means a higher CPM. So what's a person testing radio to do? Consider the cume numbers, and where they rank relative to other stations in your key demo, alongside the CPM numbers, and test the stations that offer the best overall combo of CPM and cume rankings. And given the margin of error for a new system, don't sweat it if one station is percentage points different from the other you are considering.
RADIO HAS EVOLVED
Satellite radio is a medium that, if you are seeking national audience, is a no-brainer to test. It still costs dramatically less than most traditional networks (some exceptions, such as Howard Stern and Opie and Anthony, apply, but even those programs are less expensive than in their terrestrial heydays). You have the added benefit of a two-line message scrolling along the dashboard while the spot airs. Satellite reaches a consumer who is likely making both car payments and subscription payments and definitely one who is no stranger to continuity programs. Moreover, you can easily seek the talk-radio audiences via channels you want at a fraction of what the brands cost on TV or traditional radio (CNN, ESPN, Weather Channel, Discovery Channel, Playboy, etc.). And frequency can be purchased with surprising cost-efficiency.
In an effort to increase revenues in non-traditional ways, most major ownerships have stepped up sales efforts with their station websites. Features ranging from blogs, concert information, social networks and in general, new ways to put the visual back into radio. It makes sense that their online audiences have matured and the websites have become just as much a part of listeners' daily routines as the stations themselves.
There have even been direct response success stories from station/network websites. However, like the websites themselves, the exact science of making it work is still evolving. Streaming spots still have yet to show consistent returns, however, response does improve when you add a banner link on the media player and create audio meant just for that audience ("Hey you..listening on your computer…look at your media player for one second and click the banner onto _________ dot-com"). Intelligently placed banners have seen successful, provided they appear with the same frequency and consistency you would expect any campaign to require.
The stations that have adapted sponsored keyword searches have shown success (for example, how would you like to own the word "flowers" on a top-rated station's website on Valentine's or Mother's Day?). Blogs, particularly those by revered station personalities, have not only helped generate leads for clients, but increased overall searched results to clients' home websites. E-mail blast offers and surveys sent to opt-in listeners can also be nice additions to a marketing campaign in a test stage. Admittedly, you should not overpay for any of these features, and they are likely subject to negotiation for being relatively new and unproven. These can make sense to test when you feel the website is offering a reasonable value for your dollar commensurate with your other marketing efforts.
Let's not forget that radio was the first electronic medium of them all. Historically, it is consumers' most trusted advertising venue, with the highest ad recognition and greatest likelihood for a response lead to convert. It is undergoing some changes and growing pains to adapt to the very broadcast world that it paved. Radio's audience is still very much there (when there is bad weather or breaking news and you are in your car, you are not getting up-to-the minute information from your TV or Internet connection). Now listeners can simply be reached as cost-efficiently as they have been in a long time, with rates we never thought we'd see again back in the dot-com driven days of 1999-2001. Just as the stock experts tell you to buy while the market is low, and Donald Trump tells you to buy real estate when the market is soft, this is radio's time for marketers to stretch their test dollars and take advantage of radio's version of a "buyer's market."
Joe Rashbaum is president of The Radio Solution Company, a New Jersey-based radio direct response agency and consulting firm celebrating 12 years of success. He can be reached at (856) 797-5715, or via e-mail at [email protected].
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