What aspects of your life need to be tuned to love?
Last week I took a trip to the outskirts of Baltimore to visit an old friend, someone I first met in 1990 in Tucson where I was doing my internship at the church where she was a member. Since we both liked to sing, during that year I was in Tucson we got together now and then to practice duets, accompanying ourselves on our guitars and enjoying how well our voices blended.
So this past week I loaded up my guitar to take along with me, and during my visit she and I had a couple of singing sessions, trying our best to remember the songs and harmonies we used to sing and, even though we were both rusty, we had a blast.
Of course, before we started singing we had to tune our guitars, which is why I'm telling you all this.
Over the last couple of weeks I've written about what I see as the essential aspects of the spiritual life. First I wrote about knowing oneself as foundational, then last week I spoke about opening to the Great Love and shared a watershed moment in my own spiritual life.
How do you open to the Great Love?
How do you cultivate self-knowledge?
In this post I'm going to share some of my thoughts on the first aspect: coming to know yourself.
In my view, coming to know yourself is an essential aspect of the spiritual life because the more we know ourselves the more accurate our perceptions will be of everything else. Conversely, the less we know about ourselves, the more distorted our perceptions will be and the less able we will be to live into our fullest potential because we'll be imprisoned by the scripts and identities that have been given us by others.
Although in this age of psychology and self-help programs we might be inclined to see self-knowledge as a Johnny-come-lately concern, knowing oneself has in fact been a focus of spiritual teachings for thousands of years.
The ancient Chinese text the Tao te Ching says: "Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom." Self-knowledge takes us beyond mere information into that elusive thing called wisdom, wisdom that can never be attained, no matter how intelligent we may be, if we remain ignorant about ourselves.
Jesus was touching on a similar theme when he said, "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?" Only by becoming aware of and dealing with our own shortcomings, he was saying, will we be able to see clearly enough to be helpful to others. In other words: know yourself.
When we become aware of the "log" in our own eye we won't make the mistake of going around trying to "fix" other people. Rather, we will relate to them with the compassion that comes from having faced our own struggles honestly, the compassion without which healing can never happen.
Knowing ourselves also opens the door to our freedom. When we are ignorant of the belief systems, assumptions and behavioral patterns that are operating within us (and that we often mistake for being us), we remain in captivity to them, unable to make wise decisions for ourselves, unable to overcome the self-limitations that may have been instilled in us, unable to recognize when we are being manipulated by those who may consciously or unconsciously seek to activate our fear and prejudice for their own purposes.
The more we come to know ourselves the more we will be able to invite healing and transformation into our lives, to embody compassion, to face our challenges as opportunities for growth, and to experience life as a meaningful adventure.
How Do You Come to Know Yourself?
So knowing yourself is helpful. Fine. But the obvious question is: How do we do it? How do we cultivate self-knowledge? There are probably as many ways as there are people, and in the end I think each of us has to discover and develop what works best for us. I'll share with you some of the ways I do it.
I'm sure you can guess the first: meditation. Meditation helps me foster the ability to notice my thoughts and feelings without getting caught up in them, a crucial skill to have if I ever hope to live in the world as a free, non-reactive, peaceful presence.
Another practice I employ is working with my dreams. My dreams never fail to give me ample insights about myself, pointing out inner dynamics that are ready to be recognized and transformed.
A third practice I use is active imagination. This is a practice Carl Jung introduced, and it is a way to enter into intentional dialogue with the many aspects of myself. We each embody multiple facets, interests and desires, and they can sometimes engage in an inner tug-of-war that keeps us paralyzed and confused about our priorities and the life direction we want to take. Active imagination helps us listen to each of those aspects whose voices need to be heard and honored before they will join together as allies rather than adversaries.
Creative expression can also be a portal for self-knowledge. Nearly 20 years ago I happened upon a book which has since become well-known and which changed my life: The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. The reasons why it was the right book at the right time for me is a longer story that perhaps I'll tell at another time. For now, suffice it to say that over these last two decades, as I've explored my creativity, I have discovered aspects of myself I would have never otherwise gotten to know.
Journaling is yet another practice which I do daily, and it grew out doing of The Artist's Way. Through journaling I often uncover inner dynamics, priorities, assumptions and motivations that I was previously unaware of.
Another powerful way to cultivate self-knowledge is closely tied to meditation: non-judgmental witnessing. By non-judgmental witnessing I mean simply noticing the thoughts, feelings and reactions that are arising in me in any given moment and — this is key — witnessing them without judging them as good or bad. Coming to know yourself, in the end, can lead to personal transformation, but in my experience that transformation comes only through acceptance and love, not through self-condemnation or striving.
I suspect many of us think of our spiritual life as the time that we set apart from our daily activities to focus on our spirituality, the time we spend sitting on the meditation cushion, or in the pew. But I see the spiritual life as a life that is centered in spiritual awareness, and the time on the cushion or in the pew is just the beginning. That is simply the time when we let ourselves be reminded of who we are, where we came from, and why we're here. Unless we take that awareness into the rest of our lives, it serves little purpose.
Likewise, you can have spiritual teachers by the dozens, but unless you implement the teachings for yourself they won't do a thing for you. You have to care deeply enough about your own freedom and growth that you're willing to do what is necessary to water the seeds of your spiritual awareness, the way you would water the flowers in your flowerbed. Nobody can do it for you.
Knowing yourself, of course, is a major theme in Buddhism, and, as the Buddha taught, the more you come to know yourself the more you will realize there is no self. After peeling back the layers of constructed identity, eventually we discover all that's left is Mystery — a Mystery we are part of.
But that takes us into the second aspect of the spiritual life, which I'll talk about in the next post. For now, I would love to hear from you. What does the spiritual life mean to you? And how do you go about knowing yourself more fully?
One Sunday I was getting hot under the collar reading an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about an ongoing budget battle in the Pennsylvania legislature. The article cited one state representative from rural PA who was talking about our mass transit system as a fiscal black hole. He said our buses don't do a thing for his constituents.
Another representative from one of Philadelphia's suburbs went on the counterattack, citing a study that shows that the Philadelphia region generates 40 percent of Pennsylvania's revenue, even though we have only 32 percent of the population—and we receive only 27 percent of the transportation funds.
I looked up from the newspaper and said to Kip, "Philadelphia ought to secede from Pennsylvania!" It was not my most spiritually enlightened moment.
But the frustration was real. Our city's public schools are on the verge of collapse. Our roads and bridges are deteriorating. We need gun control laws to keep illegal handguns off our streets. And without SEPTA—our mass transit system—the city would be paralyzed by gridlock. Thousands of people who don't own cars would be stranded, unable to get to work to help generate that 40 percent of Pennsylvania's revenue.
Yes, our buses do do something for rural constituents.
But at every turn, when Philadelphia tries to move legislation to address our urban problems and improve the quality of life here, we are thwarted by legislators in Harrisburg who see the city as nothing but a cesspool of welfare leeches, drug addicts, and morally corrupt hedonists.
Not surprisingly, most of us who live here see things differently. We see the brokenness and challenges of the city, sure, and sometimes it breaks our hearts. But we also love the vibrant tapestry of cultures and traditions here. We love the spunky innovations, the world-class orchestra, theaters and art museums, historic Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell that people travel from around the world to see. We love the visionary steps our city is taking to make Philadelphia a green, sustainable city. The list could go on and on.
Just think, if we seceded, we could keep that 40 percent of revenue to ourselves, and we'd be golden.
Deep down though, even as I said it, I knew that seceding wasn't the answer, even if it were legally possible. There's enough division already in this country, and the way forward isn't to create more, but to find ways to bridge the chasm that divides us.
Yesterday morning, as I was reflecting on this sad state in Pennsylvania I wondered, what is the answer? We seem so locked into this us-them frame of mind. How can we stand down? Soften the lines in the sand? Lay down our swords and shields and find some common ground?
I feel a sense of urgency about this because I know these divisions aren't just plaguing our region. They are the greatest obstacle to our nation meeting the many formidable challenges before us.
It doesn't help that our differences have been christened "The Culture Wars." (Does everything have to be a war for us? War on Poverty, War on Drugs, War on Terror, War on Women?) And yet I don't think I'm overstating it to say that many people in rural America and many people in urban America see each other as enemies.
I don't think that's what the pastor meant, but I bet a lot of us would pray pretty much the same way given the chance. Life would be so much simpler if our enemies just, oh, I don't know, got raptured up one day.
Farms that had been in families for generations were being foreclosed on because small farmers couldn't compete with corporate agriculture.
With the influx of corporate retail stores, family businesses were going under.
Job opportunities were scarce, and mostly minimum wage.
Towns throughout the region were decaying because their young people, seeing no future for themselves, were moving away never to return.
People were feeling powerless before cultural and global forces they couldn't control. They were watching a cherished way of life slowly dying. And yet in the midst of it all they kept the faith, kept taking care of each other, kept holding potlucks, and kept trying to think of ways to protect and resurrect what they once had.
When you know what other people are dealing with, it's really not hard to pray for them. Love them even.
All of this got me thinking about our current situation here in the commonwealth. (By the way, I love that Pennsylvania is a commonwealth. It just kinda says it all.) What if people in Philadelphia started praying for people in rural PA? Not because we want to guilt-trip them into being nice to us, nor show them that we can take the moral high ground, but because we have listened to their struggles. We sincerely want the best for them, as much as we do for ourselves.
I can't help but believe such a movement would help repair our relationships and open a path forward in a way politics never will. We are Philadelphia, after all, the City of Brotherly/Sisterly Love, and brotherhood and sisterhood don't stop at municipal boundaries.
Can you imagine if congregations all over the city started a prayer movement for our rural siblings? Maybe it could be called The Philadelphia Love Experiment. Maybe we could make animosities vanish into thin air.
Somebody has to take the first step—refuse to participate in the warmongering anymore and reach out the hand of friendship. Why not us?
I also think about how Pennsylvania is known as the Keystone State. Take that in for a moment. A keystone, that one crucial stone at the top of an arch that keeps the whole structure from collapsing in on itself. It sure seems to me this tottering, torn country could use something like that.
A very famous declaration came out of Philadelphia once that completely rocked the world. We could do it again if we wanted to, but this time we wouldn't be declaring independence. We would be honoring the reality that we are all, like it or not, interdependent.
Let's we the people just do it.


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Parental influence on juvenile delinquency
Parental care is crucial in shaping a child's future.
Marianna Gu, News Editor
One of the main factors behind the increasing juvenile delinquency cases is bad parenting, as illustrated in a recent case that took place on Nov. 30 at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit, Michigan, which claimed the lives of four students and left seven others injured. Ethan Crumbley, a fifteen-year-old student enrolled in the school, is charged with carrying out the shooting and faces charges such as first-degree murder and terrorism.
The Superintendent of the school, Tim Throne, in response to the concerns of the public, wrote a letter on Dec. 4 detailing an account of the events that happened before and after the shooting. Before the shooting took place, Crumbley was found drawing pictures of guns by a school faculty member and was immediately sent to the guidance counselor's office. After asking a few questions, the counselor called his parents James and Jennifer Crumbley over and recommended them to contact Child Protective Services. Later, they left without their son, refusing to take him home. Crumbley, on the other hand, was brought back to his classroom and the shooting took place in the hallway during a break between classes about three hours later.
In the letter, Throne also explained the school's decision of returning the student to his classroom.
"The counselors made a judgment based on their professional training and clinical experience," he claimed.
Right after Crumbley was arrested, his parents were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Although they both plead not guilty, many of their actions are being perceived as prejudicial: first, Crumbley shot the four students with a 9mm gun his parents bought; second, after purchasing the gun, Jennifer Crumbley posted it on instagram calling it "a Christmas gift" for her son; third, they refused to take their son away after he was found drawing pictures and searching up suspicious ammunition-related content. Although not convicted, Crumbley's parents' inaction towards their son's abnormal actions indirectly caused the shooting. The lack of positive parental influence has become a main contributing factor that leads to juvenile delinquencies.
Especially for teenagers who are experiencing the stage of transforming from a child to an adult, parental influence is crucial in shaping a child's awareness of social disciplines as well as setting boundaries to delinquent behaviors. According to a research conducted by Gluecks in 1950, the parents of most delinquent children are not affectionate, and sometimes more rejecting than accepting, more absent than involved. So a better way to prevent teenagers from committing irresponsible and harmful crimes, is with positive parental influence.
In 1983, McCord produced a study that showed the significance of cultivating a benign family environment by comparing four different family interactions: loved, abused, neglected, and rejected. The result shows that 50 percent of the rejected children committed serious crimes. Surprisingly, parental rejection weighs heavier than physical abuse. The result indicated that children with rare and almost no family interaction are more likely to commit delinquent behaviors. Thus, not only is parental care important, but it can determine a kid's future and his or her tendency in being a power for good in the world.
The school violence case that happened in Oxford High School in Michigan should serve to alert more parents to communicate and pay more attention to their child's behaviors, and especially to those who cannot devote a lot of time to their families. Learning to be supportive and caring to their child becomes more important as parental rejection is trending to be among the most powerful predictors of juvenile delinquency.
Editorial: Reporting without restraint, but with care and accuracy
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Carnival slammed with a lawsuit claiming the cruise line refused to let an elderly man off the ship after he suffered a heart attack. He later died.
Business Insider 6/26/2019 Graham Rapier
© Ivan Cholakov/shutterstock
In a new lawsuit, a South Carolina family alleges Carnival Cruise Lines held their 65-year-old grandfather on the ship against their will after he suffered a heart attack.
On the 21-hour voyage from one port to another, Jeffrey Eisenman died. Something the family says wouldn't have happened if they were allowed to fly him back to the US.
Carnival did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
After suffering a heart attack while in port, Carnival Cruise Lines wouldn't let 65-year-old Jefferey Eisenman off the ship, his family claimed in a new lawsuit.
They say the company forced the three-generations of their family to sail another 21 hours before allowing their grandfather off the boat, despite having purchased insurance which would pay for an air ambulance to rescue him and transport him to receive appropriate care in the United States.
"Despite their many cries for help, Carnival utterly failed the Eisenman family and disregarded the life of a critically ill human being," the lawsuit, filed in Miami federal court in June, reads.
The family's lawsuit cites part of Carnival's passenger bill of rights, an industry-wide set of rules, which says passengers have "The right to disembark a docked ship if essential provisions such as . . . medical care cannot adequately be provided onboard."
Once at sea after leaving Grand Turk, where Eisenman suffered the heart attack and was taken to the ship's medical quarters, he developed complications, the family claims.
"While confined to the ship's medical center his blood sugar elevated drastically," the family said in court documents. "
"The ship's physician was unable to control Mr. Eisenman's blood sugar due to the limitations of the ship's infirmary and medical supply. He lost consciousness. Mr. Eisenman's condition continued to decline as each precious hour passed. He began to have respiratory problems and was unable to breathe properly. He was administered oxygen, but his condition still worsened. His family watched on in agony as he slowly slipped away."
Finally, the ship arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico after the all-night medical work, but Eisenman had died.
The family is asking for a jury trial and compensation for damages from the company, including funeral and court costs, as well as "extreme emotional distress." Carnival has 21 days to respond to the court summons.
"Carnival's conduct towards the Eisenmans and their critically ill patriarch was so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community," the lawsuit reads.
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Trump blames 'dishonest media' for misreporting of his Charlottesville comments at Phoenix rally
By S.A. Miller and Dave Boyer - The Washington Times
PHOENIX — President Trump called Tuesday for an end to the racial divisiveness roiling the country and blasted the news media for misreporting his reaction to the deadly violence at a white nationalist demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"It's time for all of us to remember that we are all on the same team. We are all Americans and we all believe right now in America first. And it is happening and it is happening fast," Mr. Trump said at a campaign-style rally.
The president, who has suffered ongoing criticism of his response to Charlottesville and been blamed for stoking racial tensions, said the "dishonest media" was misreporting his response and trying to tar his administration with racial hatred.
SEE ALSO: Trump targets fellow Republicans
"It's time to expose the crooked media deceptions and to challenge the media for their role in fomenting division," Mr. Trump told a crowd of thousands in the Phoenix Convention Center. "And yes, by the way, they are trying to take away our history and our heritage. You see that."
The president read through his statements issued soon after white nationalist protesters and counter-protesters clashed at an Aug. 12 demonstration in Charlottesville, where the city planned to remove a Confederate statue from a public park.
A car sped into a crowd of counter-protesters and killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injured 19 others.
The president noted that his first statement included condemnation of all racial hatred and a plea for Americans to show "true affection for each other."
"I said for all of us, all of us," Mr. Trump told the rally. "But they don't report it. They let it go."
He singled out The New York Times, Washington Post and CNN as examples of news organizations that are out to get him.
Mr. Trump was scolded in the news media for his immediate response to the violence because he said there is "blame on both sides." The president later specifically condemned neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and white nationalists that participated in the demonstration.
The president mocked the news media for complaining that his condemnation didn't come soon enough.
"'It should have been sooner. He's a racist,'" Mr. Trump said, mimicking a news anchor. "These are truly dishonest people."
• S.A. Miller reported from Washington


ACCORDING to Peter Mach, the head of the Slovak Statistics Bureau, the results of the June 17 general election will be known by the morning of June 18, and the names of the MPs later that evening. Meanwhile, preliminary results will start to roll in by midnight on the day of the vote, June 17.
According to the TASR news agency, Slovaks will vote at around 5,900 polling stations across the country.
In the June 17 elections, for the first time in the history of independent Slovakia, it will be possible for Slovak citizens living abroad to vote by regular mail as well.


In 2017 Corporate video production is now used by every major company to support their message to customers and just as importantly potential customers across a diverse platform that covers all their areas of influence and interest.
It now is an undisputed fact that a well constructed and researched corporate video can improve the standing and performance of any company irrespective of it's size.
A corporate video's first objective has to be to engage the target audience. This means it has to be relevant, interesting, accurate, and watchable for that audience.
The video can take many different forms dependant on the needs of the company commissioning it. Examples are, company profile, product launch, staff training, customer training, conferences, presentations that can be produced later as a webinar, so whatever the message that needs to go out a video will enhance and reinforce it in the recipients conscious and indeed subconscious.
So for a video to be successful it not only has to engage the target audience it also has to stir them into action, reacting to the message the video is imparting to them.
The main message here is that corporate video production can benefit all sizes and types of businesses in all areas they operate in.
So how is a corporate video constructed?
The first part of designing and producing a corporate video is creating the script. It is what everything else flows from. A bad script means a bad video. Usually there is someone in a business who has a general idea of the narrative that is to be included in the video. The script stage is one area where the company and the video producer liaise closely to ensure such things as product and marketing information is accurate.
Script writing is very challenging, as it has to contain not just the narrative, but it also sets the tone, timing and direction of the video, so you have to get this first stage spot on, as this gives the director of the video the ideas for the visualisation of the storyline. The script is very closely related to the storyboard in a corporate video production. But what is a storyboard?
The storyboard is a list of pictures that visually show what each scene in a corporate video will resemble. What angle it will be viewed from, the position of the camera, and the perspective of the shot. The corresponding dialogue, text and titles would also be included for each shot. A sequence of shots would also be grouped together to construct a whole scene.
The storyboard would also show the edit needed to move from one scene to the next with a smooth transition. The storyboard is the tool that is the main planning document that brings the written word to life on video. From camera angles, lighting set ups, lens choices and even motion graphics. It all has to be planned at this stage of the creative process and takes a lot of time, before we can move onto the production itself.
Production usually means shooting the video on a set.This set could be in a purpose designed studio, with lighting, sound and camera equipment in-situ. Or on location either indoors or outside, and as can be imaged location shooting needs even more planning to control the environment as much as possible regarding the lighting and audio.
Production can also mean developing parts of the video within powerful computer software, this is were motion graphics are created to add that 'magic dust' to the project. Most great video production uses a mixture of all three. Time is money once the shoot starts, it means that the storyboard that the production follows has to be spot on from the start, otherwise so much time and money is wasted.
Once all the footage is shot, the process of assembling or editing the video starts. Like all good practice within ADCFilms the editor has been involved in the early processes of the project so knows not only what is the visualisation of the completed video, but also the message it needs to convey to it's target market. The editor works with the script, storyboard, and shot footage and captured audio. The edit mixes all the different facets using powerful software to arrive at a finished product that has the right – timing, pace, visual appeal and audio clarity.
To arrive at the right 'feel' the skilled editor will also colour correct and colour grade the video, manipulate the sound, add stock footage to enhance the appeal and accuracy of the message. All this and little touches such as action cuts, transitions, and titles. When the video flows and no-one notices the edit, then the editors has achieved their goal. Once the completed video is in the computer it can then be rendered out in any format required to ensure maximum coverage. From a tiny file that can be emailed, a file to put on a website or YouTube, right up to a 4k 75" monitor for a trade show – all from the one master file. There is nowhere the video cannot reach or be seen.
At ADCFilms we are experts at all of the disciplines that make up the workflow to achieve a superior corporate video. If you need a few more reasons to justify having a corporate video then watch the video here.
Some great stats on why video will benefit your business. We are so confident of our ability to help promote your company we will meet with you to discuss the opportunities that a video could achieve to further your corporate goals.
Call or Email ADCFilms now to arrange a free exploratory meeting that could just change your perception of how you really execute and deliver that message to your untapped market.


Everyone remembers Vib-Ribbon. Everyone has forgotten Vib-Ribbon.
Has it been 3 weeks already? The cult favorite, MoMA-acquired, rabbit obstacle course music game from the turn of the millennium, Vib-Ribbon, finally saw official North American release for the first time ever on October 7, 2014 for Playstation 3 (PS3) and Vita. Vib-Ribbon, along with contemporaries like PaRappa the Rapper, is a progenitor of the music game as we recognize it today. The game presents players with timed button prompts that match beats and tempos of overlaid music tracks. Vib-Ribbon's gimmick was that you could swap out the original Playstation game disc with your own music CDs and the game would generate playable levels out of any song you choose. However, it's Vib-Ribbon's inextricable relationship with physical, now-outdated media that makes its reissue somewhat strained.
Less of a reissue and more of a very belated publication.
Up until this year, Vib-Ribbon had only been sold in Japanese and European territories, but now is available as a downloadable "PSone Classics" game in the US and Canada, in addition to the prior regions. PSone Classics are pretty much exact copies of the original releases, and have not been updated to include widescreen formatting, meta-game Trophies, online leaderboards, or any modern console game amenities of the sort. So, Vib-Ribbon in the US is the 2000 European version of the game as-is, which actually makes it less of a reissue and more of a very belated publication.
At least for the PS3 version of the game, Sony was able to adapt and implement Vib-Ribbon's signature CD swapping technology. This is where Vib-Ribbon retains what feels like old-school wonderment. There's nothing quite like rooting through pages of CD sleeves, trying to pick out albums that you want to listen to that also might make for interesting levels. You feed the discs to the game console and eagerly wait for whatever comes out the other side. The result could be fun, boring, or just plain impossible—it's often tough to predict, and that mystery is what makes the action continually engaging.
And in some ways, the quality of the results don't even matter; the game is as much the act of generating levels as it is tapping buttons in time with handclaps. It's weird and toy-like, and quite different even from genre sibling PaRappa, which followed a narrative filled with prescribed songs and characters. In contrast, Vib-Ribbon is just a Japanese-speaking rabbit stick figure trotting down an endless white line (not a drug reference). It comes from an era before post-release downloadable chapters and bonus multiplayer map packs. What you see is what you get, and in the case of Vib-Ribbon, there's not much to it. The game's entire replay value is contingent on what CDs its players happened to own.
Vib-Ribbon's open-ended structure means that the overall value of the game is largely contingent on the extensiveness of one's CD library, which many players never possessed, have gotten rid of, or packed away within the past 15 years. In addition to the European release of Vib-Ribbon, 2000 was also the peak year for music CD sales over the entire life of the format. Since 2000, CD market share has steadily dropped as digital formats have taken the reigns of the industry. That means every year since its launch, the viability of releasing Vib-Ribbon in a new region has become that much less potable. In fact, we only seem to have gotten Vib-Ribbon now out of some bizarre corporate guilt on the part of Sony, who touted the game at their E3 press conference seemingly ignorant to the fact that the country in which they were speaking never had access to it.
Morphing something physical into a digital experience.
And to those calling for an update of Vib-Ribbon that supports MP3s and other digital audio formats, more power to you, but doing so would fundamentally change the relationship between player, game, and music from the balance it currently strikes. The magic of Vib-Ribbon's level generation comes from the transformative action of morphing something physical into a digital experience. The leap from MP3 to digital waveform is largely unremarkable in contrast, whereas the removing of one disc from the tray and locking in another takes on an almost ritualistic quality. Sacrifice disc 2 of Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness to the console and pray that it pleases the vector rodent gods.
The CD album format is ingrained into Vib-Ribbon's DNA. In "Single Track" mode, you have to pick the numbered track you want to play without any identification beyond its numeric ordering value. The game assumes you have an intimate familiarity with your music in CD album format. This is how CD players circa 1999 worked, too, of course, never displaying artist names or song titles, only track numbers. It's a distinction that sets the CD apart from other "album listening" formats such as vinyl or cassettes, which, while still arranging songs in a set order, place less emphasis on the easily skipped-to track number of the CD. To play Vib-Ribbon, you not only must have CDs, you must know CDs.
The result of this CD-centricity and as-is republication of Vib-Ribbon on PS3 is that it's viewed primarily as a historical artifact, not a contemporary videogame. It's been 3 weeks since Vib-Ribbon hit North American shores, but almost all chatter about it faded within 3 days after launch. Maybe that's to be expected of any old game, but Vib-Ribbon was supposedly a cult sensation with a frothing demand for localization. Either the game simply didn't live up to the legend or the technological parameters of playing it properly were out of reach or too inconvenient for most players (probably a bit of both). Thus, the lot of Vib-Ribbon as an artifact is to be owned instead of played. MoMA collected the game, and now so can you.
Ironically, Vib-Ribbon was originally released on a CD, too (a Playstation-formatted one), and with that form came rarity and mystique, or at least that was the view from here in the US. The digital release of Vib-Ribbon feels a bit like a game in captivity, removed from its natural environment and lured out into the open plane of some laggy LCD screen for all to examine. Sure it's great that the game is more accessible than ever before, but what even is Vib-Ribbon in 2014 beyond some rabbit-eared Encino Man?
Vib-Ribbon still works, and gorgeously so.
The truth is that given the right conditions, Vib-Ribbon still works, and gorgeously so. I can't recommend highly enough generating a level from Daft Punk's Alive 1997, the electronic duo's 45-minute, single-track live album from 2001. It's the perfect balance of endurance and moment-to-moment challenge. The obstacles shift into slow motion whenever Daft Punk applies a flanger effect, and at several moments the choice and timing of the button prompts syncs up in a way that makes the level feel purposefully and beautifully designed instead of formulaically generated. The game enhances the album, creating a new physical experience with the music that is particularly resonant given the premise of the LP as a live performance of late-90s electronic music. Sure, "you had to be there" if you really want to be able to speak to the experience as it originally occurred, but at least there remains this document, a recreation of what took place, that bears its own artistic merit.
Vib-Ribbon is obsolete. Vib-Ribbon is essential.


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The 1991 Monmouth by-election was a by-election held for the British House of Commons constituency of Monmouth in Wales on 16 May 1991.  It was won by the Labour Party candidate Huw Edwards.

Vacancy
The seat had become vacant when the sitting Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), Sir John Stradling Thomas had died at the age of 65 on 29 March 1991. He had held the seat since the 1970 general election.

Electoral history

Candidates
The Conservative candidate was 44-year-old Roger Evans. The Labour Party candidate was 38-year-old Huw Edwards.

Result
The result was a victory for the Labour candidate, Huw Edwards, who took the seat on a swing of 12.6%.

However, he was unseated at the 1992 general election by his defeated Conservative opponent Roger Evans, who held the seat until Edwards regained it in the Labour landslide at the 1997 general election.

See also
Monmouth
1934 Monmouth by-election
1939 Monmouth by-election
1945 Monmouth by-election
List of United Kingdom by-elections

Notes

References

By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Welsh constituencies
1991 in Wales
1990s elections in Wales
1991 elections in the United Kingdom
Elections in Monmouthshire
History of Monmouth, Wales
20th century in Monmouthshire

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Delphi library to send messages on slack using slackbot.

## Enabling Slackbot integrations on Slack

Before using this library to post messages to [Slack](https://slack.com/), you must enable the Slackbot integration for your team and get your URL. Please, read the [Slack documentation](https://api.slack.com/slackbot) to learn how to do it.

## Using

You can either use `TSlackbot` reading the URL and channel from the environment or passing directly to the method.

### Examples

Read the URL and Channel from the `SLACKBOT_URL` and `SLACKBOT_CHANNEL` environment variables, respectively:
```Delphi
TSlackbot.Send('My message');
```
Only read the URL from the environment:
```Delphi
TSlackbot.Send('#my_channel', 'My message');
```
Use the URL and channel provided in the method params:
```Delphi
URL := 'https://example.slack.com/services/hooks/slackbot?token=example_token';
TSlackbot.Send(URL, '#my_channel', 'My message');
```

### OpenSSL

The default implementation uses [Indy](http://www.indyproject.org/index.en.aspx) and [OpenSSL](https://www.openssl.org/) for posting the message, so you must have the `libeay32.dll` and `ssleay32.dll` on your application path.

## Executing the tests

You need DUnitX do run the tests.

  * Clone the [DUnitX](https://github.com/VSoftTechnologies/DUnitX/) repository locally
  * Define a `DUNITX` environment variable, pointing to the DUnitX clone directory.

## Contributing

If you got something that's worth including into the project please [submit a Pull Request](https://github.com/monde-sistemas/delphi-slackbot/pulls) or [open an issue](https://github.com/monde-sistemas/delphi-slackbot/issues) for further discussion.

## License

This software is open source, licensed under the The MIT License (MIT). See [LICENSE](https://github.com/monde-sistemas/delphi-slackbot/blob/master/LICENSE) for details.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
The Neighbor
The Neighbor Season 1 Episode 1
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Javi is living an average life when, in the midst of an argument with his girlfriend Lola, an alien touches down and makes him a superhero.
Serie: The Neighbor
Killing Richard Glossip
The profiles of two condemned men in Oklahoma – Richard Glossip and Justin Sneed – and their two very different accounts of the murder of Barry Van Treese. Richard Glossip…
عش المجانين
Recently divorced entrepreneur George Lopez is successful in his business ventures but caught between two cultures in his personal life. He struggles to find balance between the parenting demands of…
Sangue caldo
The "good criminal" Arturo La Paglia, said Mister (Gabriel Garko) wants to score his last shot, the robbery of the century, and then live happily with his Anna Rosi (Asia…
Sanitka
Sanitka was a Czech television, drama series, first broadcast in 1984 and eleven episodes were made. It starred Jaromír Hanzlík, Tomáš Juricka and Zlata Adamovská among others.
Spyder's Web
Spyder's Web was a British crime drama television series aired in 1972. It starred Anthony Ainley as Clive Hawksworth and Patricia Cutts as Charlotte "Lottie" Dean as two secret agents…
Royal Wedding Watch
Go behind the headlines with Meredith Vieira for the history, ceremony and traditions shaping the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Experts, commentators and guests join Vieira and U.K….
Love Of All
Wake up your instinct for romance! At Bar MODU, Shin Dong-yup, a witty owner with much life wisdom and two bartenders, Sung Si-kyung and Microdot, are always ready to listen…
Split between Los Angeles and New York, the series follows a group of 20- and 30-somethings over the course of a year as they navigate love and relationships in a…
Kim Moon Ho is a successful reporter at a mainstream news station, but when he stumbles upon a 10-year-old mystery, he's forced to dive into a subversive underground news agency….


Saturday june 1st was a live painting night at the Musé National des Beaux-Arts du Québec. I had the chance to paint with my long time friends Patrick (avive), Louis-David and Mireille. We had a killer time painting and chating with all the visitors who found interest in our work. Lots of good times and good people. Thanks to Le Cercle 179 for a good night and the perfect hook up. Also thanks to Marco and Alexis for the opportunity.


text:
\section{INTRODUCTION}
AUVMS is the new tool for ocean exploration, some prototypes have been proposed to
evaluate the work performance of underwater intervention tasks\cite{yuh_design_1998,sanz_trident:_2010,simetti_floating_2014,Maurelli2016}.  Although the traditional working class remotely operated vehicles(ROV)-Manipulator Systems have already been deployed in many underwater tasks with proven techniques, the ROVMS(ROV-Manipulator Systems) requires many expensive auxiliary systems, such as the Tether Management System and Dynamic Position system to reduce the risk of umbilical cable broken\cite{ridao_intervention_2014}. Experienced onboard operators are required when conducting the underwater tasks, however, the fatal accident like ROV intertwining with underwater facilities still can't be totally avoided. Without umbilical cable, the AUVuMS  pose obvious advantages in long distance inspection task, and manipulation work in the multi-obstacles environment, however, the complex working environment also makes the coordinate motion planning of AUVMS a core research topic.

Motion planning technology is one of the key technologies to realize the autonomous operation. For autonomous robots, the motion planning is divided into two parts, path planning, mainly to search the collision-free paths in the global scope; trajectory planning, solving the problems of motion allocation and freedom redundancy processing of highly redundant systems.

The pseudo-inverse method is one of the widely used solutions for redundant systems, the optimal vehicle/joint velocities in configuration space can be obtained, this also applies to the weighted pseudo-inverse method, which will lead to the minimization of weighted vehicle/joint velocities norm\cite{DEWhitney1969,klein_review_1983}.

The task priority redundancy resolution techniques are proposed by Gianluca Antonelli\cite{GAntonelli1998Task}, this method can guarantee the end effector(eef) trajectory tracking while at the same time, achieves a second task such as the optimal energy consumption or robot manipulability. In paper\cite{GAntonelli2009Prioritized} the task priority method is used to solve the output saturation problem. After that, further researches are proposed in \cite{antonelli_fuzzy_redundancy_2003,antonelli_fuzzy_approch_2003} to merge  the fuzzy algorithm with task priority approach. The fuzzy technique is used to coordinate the  multiple secondary tasks, the multi-task motion planning  can be achieved with this method.

Tremendous research effort has been devoted to the robot motion planning. The randomized sampling based algorithms have been widely used for robots high-dimensional motion planning. In 1998, the Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT) algorithm was proposed\cite{kavraki_probabilistic_1996,Lavalle1998Rapidly}. The RRT algorithm can efficiently search the path in the high-dimensional C-space, also the resulting path can guarantee no violation with obstacles. The RRT algorithm and its variations have been used in the underwater robots planning scenarios. The motion planning of AUV in underwater environment has been studied based on RRT algorithm\cite{hernandez_online_2015,carreras_online_2016}, the optimal rapidly-exploring random tree (RRT*) is extended  using concepts of anytime algorithms and lazy collision evaluation. The motion planning of underwater vehicle manipulator systems for autonomous underwater inspection operations is investigated\cite{Sotiropoulos2015Rapid}. The collision avoidance, approximation of the given task curve and critical optimization criteria are considered in the planning algorithm. The planner can deal with the unknown obstacles inside the workspace while executing the task. The RRT-connect algorithm is implemented in GIRONA500 UVMS motion planning\cite{youakim_moveit_2017}, RRT-connect works by growing two separated trees of paths rooted at the start and goal poses. The trees explore the space around them by progressing toward one another using a simple greedy heuristic until they join together, it's an efficient path searching method, and it is suitable for high-dimensional C-space.

The RRT algorithm is also used in redundant robot system planning. For redundant system, solving the inverse kinematics(IK) is challenging, the numerical approximation method provides a way for IK solution, however, this method has high computational complexity, and sometimes can't converge to a valid solution. So in\cite{bertram_integrated_2006}, the heuristic workspace metric which measures the manipulator's distance to goal is used to guide the search in C-Space, the IK problem is avoided here. In \cite{Weghe2007Randomized}, the Jacobian transpose is used to guide the RRT tree growing direction, the modified RRT algorithm is implemented in the 7 degree-of-freedom robotic arm. The IK solution is not required using the proposed algorithm, the Jacobian inverse solution is also avoided here. However, the Jacobian transpose based solution can not take the joint inertia difference into account, also the joint limits constrained is not considered. So the algorithm in paper\cite{Weghe2007Randomized} doesn't apply to the AUVMS system, which is composed of two subsystems with a large inertia difference, and the manipulator joint limits constrain is considered.

In this paper, the AUVMS kinematics constrains are integrated with the RRT algorithm to solve the AUVMS path planning problem. The core idea can be summarized as: Using the pseudo-inverse Jacobian matrix to guide the RRT tree exploration in the workspace, while randomly sampling in C-space. So in this paper, we will investigate how to achieve the whole body motion planning for a high dexterous system with large inertia difference. This paper is organized as follows. In the next section, a brief description of AUVMS kinematics model are given.

\section{PROBLEM FORMULATION}

\subsection{AUVMS Kinematics Model}
The system configuration of AUVMS is shown in Fig\ref{fig:AUVMSsystem}, the manipulator with 4 revolute joints is mounted on the left side of AUV. The body-fixed frame is built on the AUV center of gravity, the eef frame is built on the end tip of AUV, the earth-fixed reference frame aligns with the body-fixed frame. The eef position \& pose can be expressed as:

\begin{figure}[H]
      \centering
      \includegraphics[width=0.3\textwidth]{pic/AUVMSsystem.pdf}
      \caption{AUVMS system configuration and frame definition}
      \label{fig:AUVMSsystem}
   \end{figure}

First, the relationship of body-fixed velocity of AUV and the velocity in earth-fixed frame of AUV can be expressed as:

\begin{equation}
\dot{\eta}=
{\left[ \begin{array}{cc}
  J_{v1}(\eta_2)& 0                \\
  0            & J_{v2}(\eta_2)
  \end{array}
  \right ]}\nu
\label{eq:AUV_kinematics}
\end{equation}

Where $J_{v1}, J_{v2}$ are the Jacobian matrixs of AUV,

\begin{equation}
\label{eq:jv1}
J_{v1}={
  \left[ \begin{array}{ccc}
  c{\psi}c{\theta}  &  -s{\psi}c{\phi}+c{\psi}s{\theta}s{\phi} &  s{\psi}s{\phi}+c{\psi}s{\theta}c{\phi}\\
  s{\psi}c{\theta} & c{\psi}c{\phi}+s{\psi}s{\theta}s{\phi}  &-c{\psi}s{\phi}+s{\psi}s{\theta}c{\phi}  \\
  -s{\theta} & s{\phi}c{\theta}  & c{\phi}c{\theta}
  \end{array}
  \right ]}
\end{equation}

\begin{equation}
\label{eq:jv2}
J_{v2}=\frac{1}{c{\theta}}{
  \left[ \begin{array}{ccc}
  1 & s{\phi}s{\theta}   & c{\phi}s{\theta}    \\
  0 & c{\phi}c{\theta} &-c{\theta}s{\phi} \\
  0 & s{\phi}         &c{\phi}
  \end{array}
  \right ]}
\end{equation}

Where $s\bullet  =\sin{\bullet}, c\bullet = \cos{\bullet}$.

For manipulator system, the kinematics can be derived using the D-H method.

The position and pose of eef in the body-fixed frame can be defined as:

\begin{equation}
\eta_{ve}=\begin{bmatrix}
\eta^T_{ve1} & \eta^T_{ve2}
\end{bmatrix}^T
\end{equation}

Where $\eta_{ve1}=[x_{ve} , y_{ve} ,z_{ve} ]^T$ is the position of eef in body-fixed frame, $\eta_{ve2}= [\phi_{ve} , \theta_{ve} , \psi_{ve}]^T $ is the pose vector of eef in body-fixed frame.

Manipulator Jacobian matrix describes the relationship of joint space velocity and eef velocity in body-fixed frame.

\begin{equation}
\dot{\eta}_{ve}=J_m\dot{q}=\begin{bmatrix}
J_{mp}(Q) \\
J_{mo}(Q)
\end{bmatrix} \dot{Q}
\label{eq:arm_kinematics}
\end{equation}

Where, $Q=[q_1,q_2,q_3,q_4]^T$ is the joint position vector, $\dot{Q}$ is the joint velocity; $\dot{\eta}_{ve} \in  \mathbb{R}^6$is the manipulator eef velocity in body-fixed frame, $J_m\in \mathbb{R}^{6\times 4}$ is the manipulator Jacobian matrix.

$S(\omega)$ donates the skew-symmetric matrix, $\omega=[\omega_x, \omega_y, \omega_z]^T$, then $S(\omega)$ is
\begin{equation}
\label{skew_symmetric_operator}
S(\omega)=\begin{bmatrix}
0 & -\omega_z & \omega_y \\
\omega_z & 0 & -\omega_x \\
-\omega_y & \omega_x & 0
\end{bmatrix}
\end{equation}

Jacobian matrix describe the relationship of configuration space velocity ($\zeta=[\nu_1, \nu_2, \dot{Q} ]^T\in \mathbb{R}^8 $)and the eef speed in working space($\dot{\eta}_{ie} =[\eta^T_{ie1} \eta^T_{ie2} ]^T \in  \mathbb{R}^6 $), $\eta_{ie1}=[x_{ie} , y_{ie} , z_{ie} ]^T$ is the position vector in reference frame, $\eta_{ie2}=[\phi_{ie} , \theta_{ie} , \psi_{ie}]^T$ is the pose vector.

  \begin{equation}
  \dot{\eta}_{ie}=J_{auvms}\zeta
  \label{jauvms}
  \end{equation}

  The Jacobian matrix of the whole system can be expressed as:

  \begin{equation}
  J_{auvms}=\begin{bmatrix}
J_{v1}(\eta_2) & -S(J_{v1}(\eta_2)\eta_{ve1})J_{v2}(\eta_2)  & J_{v1}(\eta_2)J_{mp} \\
0              &  J_{v2}(\eta_2)                            &   J_{v1}(\eta_2)J_{mo}
\end{bmatrix}
  \end{equation}

\subsection{Weighted Pseudo-Inverse Solution}

As the system is redundant, solution of Eq.\ref{jauvms} can not be directly obtained by matrix inverse. So the pseudo-inverse is derived by the following steps.

Define the quadratic cost function:

    \begin{equation}
  E=\frac{1}{2}\zeta^T W \zeta
  \label{cost_weighted_pesu}
  \end{equation}

  Where $W$ is the weight for each joint in C-space. Then optimal solution which can minimize the cost function Eq.\ref{cost_weighted_pesu} can be derived as:

  \begin{equation}
  \label{pesudoweighted_jacob}
  \zeta =W^{-1}J^{T}_{auvms}(J_{auvms} W^{-1} J^T_{auvms})^{-1} \dot{\eta}_{ie}
  \end{equation}

The weighted pseudo-inverse can be expressed as:
  \begin{equation}
  \label{pesudoweighted_jacob_inverse}
  J^{\dagger}_{auvms}=W^{-1}J^{T}_{auvms}(J_{auvms} W^{-1} J^T_{auvms})^{-1}
  \end{equation}

 Consider the joint position constrain problem, in the motion planning, to avoid the invalid planning results, for example the joint position out of limit, the motion planning considering the joint constrain are proposed here.

 Design the cost function as:

    \begin{equation}
    H(q)=\sum_{i=1}^{4} \frac{(q_{i,max}-q_{i,min})}{C_i (q_{i.max}-q_i)(q_i-q_{i,min})}
    \label{chapter3:cost_function}
    \end{equation}

    For joint $i$, $C_i>0$, $q_i$ is the joint position, and $q_i \in (q_{i,max},q_{i,min})$, the partial derivative of $H(q)$ is:

    \begin{equation}
    \frac{\partial  H(q) }{\partial q_i}=\frac{1}{C_i} \frac{(q_{i,max}-q_{i,min})(2q_i-q_{i,max}-q_{i,min})}{(q_{i.max}-q_i)^2(q_i-q_{i,min})^2}
    \label{chapter3:partial_cost}
    \end{equation}

    so the weight for joint $i$ is

    \begin{equation}
    w_i=1+\left \|  \frac{\partial  H(q) }{\partial q_i} \right \|
    \label{chapter3:weight_matrix}
    \end{equation}

   so the weight matrix for manipulator is:

    \begin{equation}
    W_m=\mathrm{diag}[w_1,w_2,w_3,w_4]
    \end{equation}

Then the whole system weight matrix can be defined as:

  \begin{equation}
    W=\mathrm{diag}[w_x,w_y,w_z,w_r,w_1,w_2,w_3,w_4]
    \end{equation}

So far, the AUVMS kinematic model and the weight matrix has been obtained, they will play a important role in the new path planning algorithm.

\section{RRTAUVMS ALGORITHM}

The traditional RRT algorithm will sample in the C-space uniformly, also the start state and goal state are in C-space are needed. As we explained before, the system is constrained by the kinematic model, so sampling in the workspace and then map the extension into C-space, that will be more efficient. Also, the goal state are normally given in workspace, such as a position in the workspace, the goal state should be mapped into C-space at first for the traditional RRT, however for redundant system, the mapping will lead to a variety of optimization problems. Here the RRTAUVMS algorithm is proposed the for the motion planning of AUVMS.

\begin{algorithm}
  \caption{RRTAUVMS Algorithm}
  \label{RRTAUVMS_Algorithm}
  \begin{algorithmic}[1]
    \Require Map, Start, goal, Step length in CSpace,Step length in WSpace
    \Ensure

    \Function {RRTAUVMS}{start, goal, K, CStep, WStep}
    \State Tree.init($x_{init}$)
    \While{ DistancetoGoal$()>$Threshold}
    \For{ i=1 to K}
    \State p=rand
    \If{$p<p_g$}
    \State Tree=ExtendRandomly(start, goal, CStep,Tree)
    \Else
    \State Tree =ExtendToGoal(start, goal, WStep,Tree)
    \EndIf
    \EndFor
    \EndWhile
    \EndFunction

      \Function {ExtendToGoal}{start, goal, WStep,Tree}
      \State $x_{nearest}$=ClosestNodetoGoal(Tree)

      \State Jauvms\_pesudo=JacobianCal($x_{nearest}$)

      \State  $\Delta_x$=WorkspaceStep($x_{nearest}$, workspacegoal, WStep)
      \State  $\Delta_q$= Jauvms\_pesudo $\Delta_x$
      \State $x_{new}$=$x_{nearest}$+$\Delta_q$
        \If{ObstacleFree($x_{new}$)}
        \State Tree.add\_vertex($x_{new}$)
        \EndIf

        \State Return Tree

      \EndFunction
  \end{algorithmic}
\end{algorithm}

\begin{algorithm}
  \caption{Path Smooth Algorithm}
  \label{SmoothPath}
  \begin{algorithmic}[1]
    \Require Map, Raw path
    \Ensure
    \Function {SmoothPath}(PathList,map)
    \State n=length(PathList)
    \State StartIndex=1, EndIndex=n, SmoothList=PathList(1);

    \While{StartIndex $<$ n}
    \While {StartIndex $<$ EndIndex}
    \If {isEdgeBelongsFreeSpace(PathList(StartIndex),PathList(EndIndex), map)}
    \State SmoothPaht.add(PathList(EndList))
    \State StartIndex=EndIndex
    \Else
    \State EndIndex=EndIndex-1
    \EndIf
    \EndWhile

    \EndWhile

    \EndFunction

  \end{algorithmic}
\end{algorithm}

The main algorithm is shown in Algorithm.\ref{RRTAUVMS_Algorithm}. In the pseudo code, the \textbf{RRTAUVMS} is the main function, the start state, goal state, maximum iteration steps K, C-space step: CStep and work space step WStep are the variables  of the function. At the beginning of the algorithm, a Tree is created with only one node, the node corresponding to the start state. Then the algorithm enter the \textbf{while} loop, for every iteration step, the algorithm will generate a random number $p \in [0,1]$, if $p$ is larger than the possibility threshold $p_g$, then the tree will extend to the workspace goal with function \textbf{ExtendToGoal}, or the tree will extend randomly with function \textbf{ExtendRandomly}. The function \textbf{ExtendRandomly} is just the same as the traditional RRT, it will sample in the feasible C-space, while the \textbf{ExtendToGoal}, will sample in the work space. As shown in the pseudo code, the first step  of function \textbf{ExtendToGoal} is find the nearest node to the goal, which is expressed as $x_{nearest}$. Then the Jacobian matrix of the system state $x_{nearest}$ and pseudo-inverse Jacobian matrix are obtained. The work space extension vector $\Delta x$ can be calculate from \textbf{WorkspaceStep} function,  the vector $\Delta x$ starts from $x_{nearest}$  and ends in workspace goal. Because the step extension can be treat as an instantaneous  movement direction, the Eq.\ref{pesudoweighted_jacob} can be applied to calculate the step extension $\Delta q$ in the configuration space, then the new state $x_{new}$ is obtained. If the new state is collision-free, then it's added to the tree. Here the selection of Jacobian inverse is important, when compute the new state  $x_{new}$, the joints angle may be out of the limits, however, if the weighted Jacobian pseudo-inverse Eq.\ref{pesudoweighted_jacob_inverse} is used, the new state will not violate the joint  limits constrain. The \textbf{RRTAUVMS} function working mechanism is shown in Fig.\ref{fig:RRTAUVMS_flowchart}.

\begin{figure}[H]
      \centering
      \includegraphics[width=0.4\textwidth]{pic/RRTAUVMS_flowchart.pdf}
      \caption{RRTAUVMS algorithm flow chart}
      \label{fig:RRTAUVMS_flowchart}
\end{figure}

After the path searching procedure, a raw path with a lot of nodes can be obtained. The raw path is not suitable for robot path following as a lot of sharp peak are observed in the path. The Algorithm.\ref{SmoothPath} is used to get a smooth path with little nodes. It works as following, in the raw path list, connect the start node(StartIndex) and then end node (EndIndex), then check collision. If it's not collision free, check the edge between (EndIndex-1) node and start node(StartIndex), if it's collision free, the edge is kept in the smooth list, and make the StartIndex equals the EndIndex, the algorithm will iterate until the StartIndex equals to the length of the raw path.

\section{SIMULATION RESULTS}

Considering the real working conditions, the simulation is designed as following. We will command the end-effector of manipulator to move toward the goal position, get around the obstacles on the way.

The goal position is set to be $[x_g,y_g,z_g]$=[4, 4, 4]m; and the goal ball region is 0.3m; the CSpace step CStep is [0.1, 0.1 0.1 0.08, 0.05, 0.05, 0.05, 0.05]; the working space step WStep is: [0.2 0.2 0.2 0.05 0.05 0.05]; The start state in CSpace is $[x_v,y_v,z_v,\psi ,q_1,q_2,q_3,q_4]=[0,0,0,0,0,0,0,\pi ]$, the corresponding position and pose in working space is $[x,y,z,\varphi ,\theta ,\psi ]=[-0.1176,0.1898,-0.4120,0,-1.5708,0]$; the obstacles position and radius is:$P_{obs1}=[2, 2, 3]^T, r_{obs1}=0.3$; $P_{obs2}=[1, 1, 1]^T, r_{obs2}=0.2$;  $P_{obs3}=[1, 3, 2]^T, r_{obs3}=0.3$;

To evaluate the performance of of RRTAUVMS algorithm, contrast experiments are conducted to compare the efficiency of traditional RRT algorithm and RRTAUVMS algorithm. The single obstacle and multi obstacles environments are evaluated. In the simulation experiments, the program will capture the time when the searching is completed.  The simulation platform is MATLAB/Simulink 2015a running on PC with i5-3320M 2.6GHz CPU.

\begin{figure}[htbp]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[scale=0.4]{pic/RRTAUVMS1.png}
	\caption{Non-obstacle RRTAUVMS searching result}
	\label{fig:RRTAUVMS1}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[htbp]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[scale=0.4]{pic/RRTAUVMS2.png}
	\caption{Single obstacle RRTAUVMS searching result}
	\label{fig:RRTAUVMS2}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[htbp]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[scale=0.4]{pic/RRT_seed_30.png}
	\caption{Multi-obstacles RRT searching result}
	\label{fig:RRT_seed_30}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[htbp]
      \centering
      \includegraphics[scale=0.4]{pic/RRTAUVMS_seed_30.png}
      \caption{Multi-obstacles RRTAUVMS searching result}
      \label{fig:RRTAUVMS_seed_30}
   \end{figure}

\begin{table}[h]
\caption{Single-Obstacle Path Searching Results}
\label{single_obstacle_path_searching}
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{|c||c||c|}
\hline
Seed & RRT searching time(s) & RRTAUVMS searching time(s)\\
\hline
10 & 30.85  & 0.3\\
20 & 18.55  & 0.549\\
30 & 13.77  & 0.3 \\
40 & 2.99   & 0.47\\
50 & 1.39   &0.26\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\end{table}

\begin{table}[h]
\caption{Multi-Obstacles Path Searching Results}
\label{multi_obstacles_path_searching}
\begin{center}
\begin{tabular}{|c||c||c|}
\hline
Seed & RRT searching time(s) & RRTAUVMS searching time(s)\\
\hline
10 & Not Found  & 0.58\\
20 & 11.3  & 1.91    \\
30 & 26.56  & 1.64 \\
40 & 2.01   & 2.26\\
50 & Not Found   & 1.07\\
\hline
\end{tabular}
\end{center}
\end{table}

The simulation results are shown in Fig.\ref{fig:RRTAUVMS1} $\sim$ Fig.\ref{fig:RRTAUVMS_seed_30}. In these diagrams, the red circles represent the arm tip position for every valid sampling node; The green lines are the final searching results, while the black dash lines are the final smooth paths; Start and goal positions of end effector are represent by the blue pentagram and yellow pentagram. The Fig.\ref{fig:RRTAUVMS1} is the RRTAUVMS algorithm searching result after 3000 times iterations, no obstacle is added in the workspace. Fig.\ref{fig:RRTAUVMS2} is the searching result with one obstacle. These simulations verify the validity of the RRTAUVMS, the algorithm can successfully find a solution whether there is obstacle or not.  Fig.\ref{fig:RRT_seed_30} and Fig.\ref{fig:RRTAUVMS_seed_30} are the comparison studies of the traditional RRT and new proposed RRTAUVMS algorithm. Three obstacles are added to the workspace to test the algorithm performance in complex environment. The charts Fig.\ref{fig:RRT_seed_30} and Fig.\ref{fig:RRTAUVMS_seed_30} show all the collision free sampling nodes when the algorithm first find the satisfactory path. As shown in the charts, the traditional RRT algorithm will run much more iterations than the RRTAUVMS algorithm, so more red circles can be observed in Fig.\ref{fig:RRT_seed_30}. To obtain the quantitative performance of two algorithms, a great deal of simulation experiments are conducted, the comparison results are given in Table.\ref{single_obstacle_path_searching} and Table.\ref{multi_obstacles_path_searching}, the seed values are the MATLAB random number generator input values. The tables record the time consumed by each algorithm with different seed. The efficiency advantage of the proposed algorithm is shown in the table. Whether for single obstacle or multi-obstacles, the planning time of proposed algorithm for single obstacle environment is less than 1 second, the time consumed by the traditional RRT is much more than 1 second for most of the cases. For multi-obstacles environment, the planning time is less than 2 seconds for RRTAUVMS, however, the RRT algorithm can't even find a path in some cases.

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[scale=0.45]{pic/RRTAUVMSa.png}
  \caption{Trajectory RRTAUVMS}
  \label{fig:RRTAUVMSa}
\end{figure}

\begin{figure}[htbp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[scale=0.45]{pic/RRTAUVMSee.png}
  \caption{Time histories of end effector position in workspace}
  \label{fig:RRTAUVMSee}
\end{figure}

 Fig.\ref{fig:RRTAUVMSa} is the AUVMS trajectories in CSpace, the trajectories are obtained by cubic spline interpolation method with the smoothed RRTAUVMS path, Fig.\ref{fig:RRTAUVMSee} is the time histories of end effector position in workspace. Noting that in Fig.\ref{fig:RRTAUVMSa}, the joint position $q_1, q_2, q_3$ are all in the joint limits, the $q_4$ is a continuous revolution joint, and the $q_4$ position will not affect the end effector position, so it's not bounded to a certain range. From these to diagrams, we can conclude that the proposed algorithm and the path smooth algorithm can give a piratical path for AUVMS system planning.

\section{CONCLUSIONS}
In this paper, a new path planning algorithm based on RRT and system kinematics is proposed. The AUVMS is a high redundant system, the proposed algorithm could take advantage of the kinematics model to reduce the sampling dimensions, and the joint position constrain is considered by introducing the weighted pseudo-inverse solution. The simulation experiments are conducted after the algorithm is derived.  The simulation results show that the RRTAUVMS algorithm could find a collision free path in complex environment, also it's more efficient than traditional RRT algorithm with a less than 2 seconds searching time.

\addtolength{\textheight}{-12cm}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
Commercial & Institutional
Insulated Glass Units
Ascent IGU
Simulated Divided Lites (SDLs)
Glass Lamination
SentryGlas
DG41
Vanceva Colour
Ultimate Finish
Edgework & Polishing
Digital Printing & Painting
Ceramic Frit
Opacicoat
Tempering & Heat Treatment
Heat Soak Testing
Simulated Divided Lites (SDLs) Units
Managing Anisotropy
Institutional & Commercial
AGNORA Named One of Canada's 10 Most Admired Cultures
By Alison Smith	December 16, 2016 No Comments
Waterstone Human Capital recognized Canada's 10 Most Admired Cultures which included AGNORA Inc. as one of the winners. Program winners will be celebrated at the annual Canada's Most Admired Summit and Gala, to be held on Thursday, March 2, 2017 at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto.
This national program, now in its 12th year, annually recognizes best-in-class Canadian organizations for having cultures that enhance performance and sustain a competitive advantage. Forty winners are annually chosen across four categories; three are based on revenue (growth and small cap, mid-market and enterprise) and one not-for-profit category (broader public sector). Organization's submissions are scored on 6 categories: vision and leadership, recruitment and hiring for fit, cultural alignment and measurement, retention, rewards and recognition, organizational performance and corporate social responsibility. The Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures™ program creates a benchmark of success for all those who are nominated.
"We are honoured to receive this recognition and to be among such a fantastic group of companies." says Richard Wilson, President & Founder of AGNORA, "We treat all of our partners and team members as we treat our customers, with the goal of exceeding their expectations in every interaction. If our employees are happy at their jobs, they will be more motivated and passionate about their work and they will be happier and more harmonious in their personal lives."
The AGNORA culture is a team-oriented family atmosphere in which open communication, flexibility and innovation are prized as their greatest assets in achieving their goal of constantly exceeding customers' expectations. The environment is designed to make employees love coming to work and to inspire them to deliver their best.
In selecting Canada's 10, jury members used the following six criteria to determine best-in-class organizations for having cultures that have helped them enhance performance and sustain a competitive advantage:
Vision and leadership: The vision, mission and values of the organization and how their leaders drive these cultural pillars throughout the organization and inspire people towards a new level of growth and achievement.
Recruitment and Hiring for Fit: Best practices in recruitment and specific strategies, tools and services used to find top talent.
Cultural Alignment and Measurement: How the culture of the organization aligned to its vision, people and processes, and how it is measured and sustained to support organization performance.
Retention, Rewards and Measurement: Rewarding and recognizing the organization's people along with developing and keeping its best people who fit the culture.
Organizational Performance: Recognitions for winning cultures that positively impact financial performance.
Corporate Social Responsibility: Promoting a culture that supports organizational and individual involvement in overcoming community, social and environmental issues.
"In our work at Waterstone, we partner with entrepreneurial-minded leaders of high-growth organizations to help them recruit for fit and provide counsel on human capital issues to drive performance," said Marty Parker, President and Chief Executive Officer of Waterstone Human Capital and Chair of Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures™. "What's so impressive about this diverse list of 2016 winners is their shared belief that culture is their competitive advantage – they know that building and sustaining a great culture is a significant asset that drives performance. The 2016 winning organizations have shown diverse strategies in achieving inspirational cultures that have measurable results."
It has been a banner year for AGNORA with this being AGNORA's 4th award for 2016. Previous awards include: Canada's Top 100 Small and Medium Employers; EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist; and the winner of the 2016 Canadian Chamber of Commerce Private Business Growth Award.
About AGNORA Inc.
Founded in 2011 by Richard and Laura Wilson, AGNORA is a customer service company that fabricates the largest architectural glass in North America. An industry-disrupting, team-based customer service culture coupled with innovations in the production process, have allowed AGNORA to push the boundaries of what is possible with architectural glass to meet to meet the design objectives brought to them by their customers. The 225,000-square foot production facility in Collingwood, Ontario functions as a custom fabrication shop, supplying glass to a variety of cultural, residential, commercial, and retail projects including over 100 Apple Stores in North America. Continual investment in process improvements, education and equipment has resulted in products of a quality far in excess of the industry's standard specifications.
Learn more about AGNORA at www.agnora.com
About Waterstone Human Capital:
Waterstone Human Capital is a leading retained executive search firm specializing in recruiting for fit and cultural talent management for entrepreneurial-minded, high-growth organizations across North America. The Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures™ and Canada's Most Admired CEO™ programs (http://canadasmostadmired.com) are founded and presented by Waterstone Human Capital.
For further information, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact:
Alison Smith, AGNORA
1 (705) 444-6654 x163
a.smith@agnora.com
The Benefits of Daylighting – Article by AGNORA
Alison SmithJanuary 14, 2022
Spotlight on IGU – Scot Mather Round 2
Alison SmithJanuary 7, 2022
We are hiring a NY based Sales Rep!
Alison SmithDecember 22, 2021
200 Mountain Rd
Canada, L9Y 4V5
sales@agnora.com
© 2022 Agnora, All Rights Reserved


text:
Por Igreja de Fontearcada pode-se estar a referir a:
 Igreja de Fontarcada, Póvoa de Lanhoso.
 Igreja de Fonte Arcada, Sernancelhe.

Desambiguação


text:
Stenoporpia glaucomarginaria is a species of geometrid moth in the family Geometridae. It was described by James Halliday McDunnough in 1945 and is found in North America.

The MONA or Hodges number for Stenoporpia glaucomarginaria is 6472.

References

 Scoble, Malcolm J., ed. (1999). Geometrid Moths of the World: A Catalogue (Lepidoptera, Geometridae), 1016.

Further reading

 Butterflies and Moths of North America

Geometridae


Tiffany Porter has broken the British 100m hurdles record, clocking 12.51 at the IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakech on Sunday.
Her time takes three hundredths of a second off the previous UK record mark set by Jessica Ennis-Hill as part of her Olympic gold medal-winning heptathlon campaign at the London 2012 Games.
In clocking 12.51 behind winner Dawn Harper-Nelson who clocked a 12.47 African all-comers' record in Morocco, Porter shaved four hundredths of a second off her previous personal best set when claiming world bronze in Moscow last summer.
The mark comes in what has been a successful season for the 26-year-old, who in August added European gold to her world bronze, having only a couple of weeks before also claimed Commonwealth silver.
"I am absolutely happy, even if I did not win," she told the IAAF.


the kiss with a stranger--while our partner looks the other way.
Some stay and always listen to the thrumming of the world.
lavender, sage, and oregano to infuse the salt-sweat in the sun.
and said, yes, here be dragons.
rather than the comfort-stew left to burble on the left stove top in the old stained pot.
It's never wrong to leave, just as it's never wrong to stay.
But you can't eat stew and wish for whiskey.
murmur in the pot. Let the flowers blossom in orderly rows.
pink, and red a mark of passage.


We are all conflicted at some point or another.
People. Situations. Circumstances we were born with. They frustrate us to no end and leave us wanting out.
When I moved from Japan to Sri Lanka, I was a conflicted child. There were many things going on in my life that I couldn't understand and come to terms with. Although it didn't look like it, I was brimming with negativity and desperate for release. Then my distractions were stripped away from me. I had no cell phone, no cable TV, no internet. For the first time of my life, I was really stuck with myself. Time just kind of slowed down.
So I became the kid who went everywhere with her mother for lack of finding better things to do. One of the things my mother did quite often was to visit our neighbourhood temple, which had a special prayer room with a hallway full of painted murals. I'd sit there, recite phrases, bow my head and leave.
At some point I grew fed up of not knowing the meaning behind anything we did at the temple.
So one day, as we were walking past the murals, I mustered up the courage and asked.
Little did I know that my curiosity would lead me down my own path of spiritual exploration and discovery.
Seeing my interest in learning about Buddhism, my grandmother decided to teach me how to meditate. Every day at 6 pm, we would watch a television program of prayer. After 30 minutes of prayer, she'd slowly close her eyes and breathe until her breath faded away into silence.
It wasn't easy for me to sit still for so long. Just surviving the mosquito bites was difficult enough. My legs cramped, the ground was cold and I wished I could do something else instead. But my grandmother was strict. I wasn't allowed to go until we were done. So there I stayed, glued to the ground like an uneasy statue.
Eventually, I decided to let go of the discomfort and focus on my breathing.
Slowly, oh so slowly, I began to be able to concentrate for longer and longer periods. I even began meditating alone, just to keep going.
And the results were startling. Just by taking a couple seconds to breathe mindfully every day, my entire outlook on life changed. From taking the time to schedule my studying, to staying active on a weekly basis, I began pouring energy, focus and determination into every arena of my life. In no way was my mind perfect – but it wandered less towards negative emotions and leaned more towards the positive.
In other words, I was able to let go of the conflict within and generate positivity instead.
Even to this day, I meditate daily. It's not as deep and intense as it once was and sometimes I find it hard to find the time – but just the act of sitting down in a silent place, closing your eyes and listening to yourself breathe can make the worst of days, better.
While meditation helped me enormously as a kid, I can definitely say that it has had a monumental impact on my life as an adult. With all the extra stresses of figuring out our careers, balancing our time between school and work, trying to maintain professional and personal relationships with a variety of different people – it becomes especially important to take a moment for yourself to just breathe. Otherwise, something that I tend to do – and I'm sure many others do as well – is to keep going until I emotionally and physically break down.
However, what I've learned from my personal experiences is that we don't have to let our lives get so out of control before we collect ourselves. Instead, we can make meditation, moments of silence and reflection, a daily part of our lives. That way, we can reap the benefits of being able to let go of our inner conflicts and generate positivity on a regular basis.
Looking back, I have deep gratitude towards my grandmother for believing that a restless little kid could even meditate. I'm also thankful that I stuck around long enough to actually learn how to meditate so as an adult, I'm able to guide myself through the highs and lows of the experience.
Because sometimes, the difference between feeling happy and unhappy is taking a moment to breathe it all in.


text:
The 19 Most-Anticipated New Scripted TV Shows of 2019
TV's most-anticipated new shows of 2019.
By Lesley Goldberg
Lesley Goldberg
More Stories by Lesley
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Gina Rodriguez to Star in TV Adaptation of Pedro Almodovar's 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown' for Apple (Exclusive)
Former HBO Exec Len Amato Set as Content Chief at MasterClass
Fah Sakharet/The Hollywood Reporter
Breaking through in a Peak TV world of more than 500 scripted originals is a challenging task. That's why top showrunners and stars continue to be in high demand as broadcast, cable and streaming platforms look to cut through the cluttered landscape with familiar faces. Spinoffs and reboots are also in high demand, as most come with a preexisting viewership that reduces costs associated with marketing and promotion.
Here, in a bid to navigate the Peak TV waters, THR picks the 19 most-anticipated new shows coming in 2019. Note that the shows below are confirmed to air in 2019. While many more high-profile shows from top creators with big-name stars have been picked up across multiple outlets, few have been locked in to air in 2019. (Bookmark THR's handy guide for key premiere — and series finale — dates as most of the below are still awaiting scheduling.)
'Game of Thrones,' 'Big Bang Theory' and 28 More TV Shows Ending in 2019
Modern Love (Amazon, awaiting premiere date)
The individual episodic anthology is based on The New York Times' column of the same name and has attracted some serious star power. Anne Hathaway, Tina Fey, Dev Patel, John Slattery, Andy Garcia, Cristin Milioti, Olivia Cooke, Brandon Victor Dixon and Catherine Keener, among others, have signed on to star in the eight-episode, half-hour anthology that will explore love in its multitude forms, including sexual, romantic, familial, platonic and self-love. Filmmaker John Carney (Once, Sing Street) will write, direct and produce the series, which hails from Storied Media Group and The New York Times. Modern Love is one of Amazon's top priorities under new programming head Jennifer Salke, who has made a push for female-driven fare among her top priorities. "We're looking for our next big show that women also can't stop talking about," Salke told The Hollywood Reporter.
Anne Hathaway, Tina Fey Among Star-Studded Cast of Amazon Anthology 'Modern Love'
Untitled morning show drama (Apple, summer)
Friends alum Jennifer Aniston is returning to television alongside Reese Witherspoon in an untitled morning show drama that will likely bow on Apple's TV platforms in summer 2019, though the tech giant has yet to confirm just how (and when) its high-profile scripted originals will be distributed. Still, sources say the morning show drama will be among the first scripted offerings to bow on Apple as the series represents a major swing after the company won a multiple-outlet bidding war for the series that will use CNN reporter Brian Stelter's Top of the Morning as background information.
Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon Morning Show Drama Lands at Apple With Two-Season Order
Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Disney Plus, late 2019)
Disney is going big with its forthcoming Netflix rival, Disney Plus. The direct-to-consumer subscription service will tout Disney's massive library as well as new scripted originals from the company's Marvel and Lucasfilm, including The Mandalorian, the Star Wars drama starring Pedro Pascal from Jon Favreau. The series takes place after the events of Return of the Jedi and before the First Order rose to replace the Empire. Directors on the high-profile scripted series include Taika Waititi and Bryce Dallas Howard. The Mandalorian, which will likely bow with episodes dropping weekly, is one of multiple Star Wars originals set for Disney Plus as the service will likely launch with its new High School Musical show as well.
Pedro Pascal to Star in 'Star Wars' TV Series 'The Mandalorian'
The Twilight Zone (CBS All Access, awaiting premiere date)
CBS All Access continues to mine CBS TV Studios' archives with the Jordan Peele-produced reboot of Rod Serling's iconic sci-fi masterpiece. So far, the individual episodic anthology has attracted an impressive list of stars, including Sanaa Lathan, Adam Scott, Kumail Nanjiani, John Cho and Jacob Tremblay, with more to come.
'The Twilight Zone': Everything to Know About the CBS All Access Reboot (So Far)
Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (Freeform, awaiting premiere date)
Freeform's brand-defining series returns with The Perfectionists, which Disney's younger-skewing cable arm hopes will resonate with viewers who made the original a social media powerhouse. The new take is based on PLL author Sara Shepard's book The Perfectionists, with the series first put in development as an unrelated series back in 2014. Freeform then merged two ideas and expanded its franchise to a third show. PLL stars Sasha Pieterse and Janel Parrish reprise their roles in the drama from showrunner I. Marlene King.
Here's the Complete Cast of Freeform's 'Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists'
Fosse/Verdon (FX, spring)
FX has a stacked 2019 that includes a reboot of cult hit What We Do in the Shadows (spring), Alex Garland's Devs (fall) and likely its take on Y: The Last Man (which is currently a pilot but expected to be picked up to series), but it's the star-studded Fosse/Verdon limited series that has our attention. The eight-episode show follows the romantic and creative partnership between Bob Fosse (Sam Rockwell) and Gwen Verdon (Michelle Williams) and boasts Dear Evan Hansen's Steven Levenson as showrunner with Hamilton Tony winner Lin-Manuel Miranda exec producing and Thomas Kail directing.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Michelle Williams, Sam Rockwell Team for Fosse-Verdon Series at FX
Watchmen (HBO, awaiting premiere date)
HBO, under a corporate mandate to get more originals on its schedule, also has a big 2019 coming with the final seasons of Game of Thrones, Veep and The Deuce joining buzzy new series including Euphoria — already garnering buzz — and Damon Lindelof's take on Alan Moore's beloved Watchmen. Lindelof grew up a die-hard fan of the comics and is taking a "remix" approach to the graphic novel. Set in an alternate history where "superheroes" are treated as outlaws, Watchmen embraces the nostalgia of the original groundbreaking graphic novel while attempting to break new ground of its own. The show includes Regina King, Jeremy Irons, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson and Louis Gossett Jr., among others.
'Watchmen': All the Details (So Far) About HBO's Damon Lindelof Drama
Catch-22 (Hulu, awaiting premiere date)
Joseph Heller's seminal novel gets the limited-series treatment with mega-fan George Clooney co-writing, co-starring, directing and producing. Kyle Chandler will star in the six-episode series that marks Clooney's return to series regular TV after ER. The World War II drama is part of an impressive 2019 lineup at Hulu that includes a new season of Veronica Mars, a take on Four Weddings and a Funeral and buzzy comedy Pen15 (spring).
George Clooney Reduces 'Catch-22' Role; Kyle Chandler Takes Over as Lead in Hulu Mini
Untitled Roger Ailes drama (Showtime, awaiting premiere date)
Gabriel Sherman's book The Loudest Voice in the Room gets the TV treatment with Russell Crowe taking on Fox News founder Roger Ailes in the eight-episode limited series. Sherman, who interviewed more than 600 people for his book, co-wrote the pilot alongside Spotlight's Tom McCarthy. Naomi Watts stars as Gretchen Carlson, Sienna Miller will play Beth Ailes and Seth MacFarlane will take on the part of Brian Lewis, the former head of PR for Fox News and an Ailes confidant.
First Look: Russell Crowe Transforms Into Roger Ailes for Showtime Series
Snowpiercer (TNT, summer)
The TV take on the 2013 cult hit Korean feature film was buzzy the minute it was put in development with genre favorite Josh Friedman attached to pen the script back in 2015. The buzz grew louder when Jennifer Connelly and Hamilton's Daveed Diggs were tapped to star in the TNT pilot that was picked up to series in January 2018. The buzz grew to gossip when Friedman was pushed out by TNT and replaced with Orphan Black's Graeme Manson, whose new vision was "radically different" from the one Friedman used to garner a series order. That was enough to get It director Scott Derrickson to quit the project after stepping down from helming Locke and Key in favor of the TNT show. While TNT's Chris Pine and Patty Jenkins drama I Am the Night could have easily been on this list instead, the question of whether Manson's take on Snowpiercer will be worth having endured a year of black eyes made that a far more compelling pick for this list.
'Snowpiercer' Director Quits After Blasting New Showrunner's "Radically Different Vision"
NOS4A2 (AMC, awaiting premiere date)
Zachary Quinto returns to television following his time in the Star Trek universe in AMC's NOS4A2, based on acclaimed horror writer Joe Hill's novel of the same name. Hill's work — the writer also has Netflix's Locke and Key in the works — was picked up to series in April as part of AMC's scripts-to-series development model. Quinto stars in the 10-episode drama as Charlie Manx, an immortal who sustains himself by feeding on the souls of children. He then drops what remains in Christmasland, a twisted Christmas village of Manx's imagination where it's always Christmas and unhappiness is illegal. Ashleigh Cummings co-stars in the series from showrunner Jami O'Brien (Fear the Walking Dead).
Zachary Quinto to Star in AMC Horror Series 'NOS4A2'
Untitled Suits spinoff (USA Network, awaiting premiere date)
Another spinoff of a legacy show, Gina Torres will reprise her Suits character as lawyer Jessica Pearson adjusts to the dirty world of Chicago politics in the drama from Aaron Korsh. Torres starred for six seasons on the flagship series before exiting to pursue new ventures (including a brief stint in Shondaland) before returning to USA Network. With Suits awaiting word on a potential ninth season, the Torres-led offshoot could either expand that franchise or help redefine the cabler, which will part ways with Mr. Robot in 2019.
'Suits' Spinoff With Gina Torres Lands USA Network Series Pickup
The Village (NBC, March 12)
It's a testament to the volume in the Peak TV era that only one slot on this list is reserved for broadcast originals. Midseason has a few interesting and timely dramas — CBS' The Red Line, CW's Roswell, ABC's Whiskey Cavalier and Fox's redeveloped The Passage — but it's NBC's The Village that wins this slot. The drama, described as This Is Us but set in a Brooklyn apartment building, had been a frontrunner all through pilot season before its eventual series pickup. Michaela McManus, Lorraine Toussaint and Daren Kagasoff star in the series from Mike Daniels, which will be paired with, you guessed it, This Is Us when it debuts in March.
NBC Scorecard: Complete Guide to What's New, Renewed and Canceled
Boomerang (BET, Feb. 12)
The TV sequel to the 1992 Eddie Murphy feature is the first new series to roll out as part of new BET president Scott Mills' ambitious plan to double down on scripted fare. The series boasts original co-star Halle Berry and Lena Waithe as exec producers, with the latter Emmy-winning scribe having co-written the pilot. The 10-episode comedy, from showrunner Ben Cory Jones (Insecure) stars Tetona Jackson, Tequan Richmond and Leland Martin. Should Boomerang work, it would bode well for the Viacom-owned cable network to better compete with rivals like OWN and Netflix while also setting the stage for a roster that includes Paramount Network import First Wives Club, American Soul and Peachtree Place.
'Boomerang' Reboot Among 3 Series Orders as BET Doubles Down on Scripted (Exclusive)
Our Lady, LTD (Epix, awaiting premiere date)
Just as BET is looking to up its scripted game, so is MGM-owned premium cabler Epix. New network president Michael Wright is looking for big-name stars and proved IP (like Batman drama Pennyworth) to cut through and find a brand-defining hit. The hope is that Ben Kingsley will help bring in new viewers when he takes on the lead role in Our Lady, LTD, a 10-episode modern noir series from Patriot creator Steve Conrad about a young grifter as he attempts to prey upon Pastor Byron Brown (Kingsley), who turns out to be far more dangerous than the former suspects. The series regular role is Kingsley's largest TV commitment in his decades-long career.
Ben Kingsley to Star in Epix Modern Noir Drama Series From 'Patriot' Duo
The Spanish Princess (Starz, spring)
The Spanish Princess is the third series in the White Queen and White Princess franchise based on author Philippa Gregory's historical novels. It arrives with high expectations after The White Queen became an awards favorite, earning four Emmy noms and three Golden Globe mentions while launching the stateside career of star Rebecca Ferguson. The White Princess did the same for Jodie Comer, who has gone on to become a favorite with BBC America's Killing Eve. Charlotte Hope (Game of Thrones) takes on the lead in Spanish Princess as Catherine of Aragon.
Starz Orders 'The White Queen' Follow-Up 'The Spanish Princess'
Living With Yourself (Netflix, awaiting premiere date)
Two Paul Rudds are better than one as the Ant Man and Wet Hot American Summer star takes on dual roles in what the streaming giant is calling a "fresh and inventive" philosophical comedy that asks if people really want to be better. The series from The Daily Show With Jon Stewart's Timothy Greenberg tells the story of a man struggling with his life who undergoes a novel treatment to become a better person. He then finds he's been replaced by a new and improved version — revealing that his own worst enemy is himself. The comedy was originally ordered to pilot at IFC in 2017 (without Rudd).
Paul Rudd to Topline Netflix Comedy Series 'Living With Yourself'
Umbrella Academy (Netflix, Feb. 15)
With its Marvel relationship souring, Netflix has high hopes for a new superhero franchise via My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way's beloved comic. The live-action drama about estranged members of a dysfunctional family of superheroes has attracted an impressive cast — Ellen Page, Mary J. Blige, Tom Hopper, Kate Walsh and Cameron Britton — with an early December teaser trailer further stoking the flame.
'Umbrella Academy' Live-Action TV Series Set at Netflix
Central Park Five (Netflix, awaiting premiere date)
Yes, Netflix is the lone outlet to score multiple slots on this list — but given it's the volume of content and talent attached, it's easily justified. With a lineup that easily could have seen RuPaul comedy AJ and the Queen, Idris Elba's Turn Up Charlie and even Tiffany Haddish/Ali Wong animated comedy Tuca and Bertie make this list, Netflix also may have its first Shonda Rhimes show in 2019. Given its impressive pipeline, we're reserving the final slot on this list for Ava DuVernay's Central Park Five, the four-episode narrative series chronicling the notorious case of five teenagers of color who were convicted of a rape they did not commit. DuVernay's follow-up to Oscar-nominated doc 13th is exec produced by Oprah Winfrey and boasts a cast that includes Michael K. Williams, Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, Niecy Nash and Aunjanue Ellis, among others.
Ava DuVernay Tackling "Central Park Five" in Netflix Mini
Daniel Fienberg: The "Next 10 Best" TV Shows of 2018
THR Year in Review