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The Wrong End of the Telescope with Rabih Alameddine
Rabih Alameddine (The Wrong End of the Telescope) discusses his latest novel, a transporting new novel about an Arab American trans woman's journey among Syrian refugees on Lesbos island. In conversation with Allison Wright.
ALLISON WRIGHT: All right, welcome. S,o my name is Allison Wright. I'm the executive editor and the publisher of the Virginia Quarterly Review here at the University of Virginia, and I also teach journalism and media studies. And this is Rabih Alameddine. And I'll give you a much more in-depth bio in a minute. But I just want to welcome you on behalf of everyone at Virginia Humanities, who produces the Virginia Festival of the Book. I am so excited to be back in person after more than two years, I think, of doing these events. So really, welcome to this event. It's my first of this festival, but I'll be doing another one on Saturday, so maybe I'll see you again. In the first or second row, even. It'll be so exciting.
I'd like to ask you to please silence your cell phones, though you're welcome to share on social media, especially on Twitter. The hashtag for this event and any event is #vabookfest or #vabook2022.
And please remember that this event is free of charge but, like all festival events, it's not free of costs. So please support the festival programming with a donation by visiting VaBook.org so that we can sustain the festival for many more years.
I have a couple other things I want to say, which is please fill out a program evaluation. You can complete it online, again, at VaBook.org, or this year there's a QR code on the back of your programs. I saw some of you looking at programs earlier. There's a QR code on the back of that program. And just open your phone's camera. I think a lot of us are used to this now because of the pandemic, right? There's a QR code. Just put your camera app over that, hold it over the code, and the little link should pop up. You can fill out your evaluation that way after the event.
And then the masks, which we were laughing about earlier—you all have lovely masks on. No scary faces on your masks. Just your beautiful faces. Please keep them on the whole time just out of an abundance of caution. We have both taken rapid tests immediately before this, and they came back negative.
And then finally, I'm going to reiterate this throughout, but there are book sales. All of these books are available, or at least a majority of them that I can see. But especially the one we'll be talking about today, whose cover I have removed because I do that with all of my hardback books so that I can tear them apart and do things like this. Because I'm a reader and a book lover. They're all available for sale, and I really encourage you to support our independent bookstores and the Festival and especially our authors by purchasing the books, if you can, or checking them out at the library. Requesting them at your local library. Doing anything you can to support the authors.
And I will ask for questions from the audience in a little bit, so please think about any questions that you have as we start this conversation and continue.
It is such a pleasure to introduce Rabih Alameddine, who is the author of a story collection and six novels and hopefully will tell us if there's anything new in the works later. Those novels include An Unnecessary Woman, which was nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and won the California Book Awards Gold Medal for Fiction. Also, The Angel of History won the Arab American Book Award. I think that was the second book to win that award. It also won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction. The Wrong End of the Telescope has been shortlisted for the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and I'm sure many more accolades to come for this book. He is also the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship and the Dos Pasos Prize, among many other honors. Too many to list here. And he is currently—our students are so lucky—the Kapnick Foundation distinguished writer in residence here at UVA. Please help me welcome Rabih Alameddine.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Thank you.
ALLISON WRIGHT: I would love to start with maybe a little excerpt from this novel.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Sure. We'll pretend that we haven't talked about this before. You want me to read? Okay, so this is from the novel and it's self-explanatory. I'll pretend I'm drinking.
Sumaiya and her family rode the bus while Emma, Rodrigo, and I followed in the car. Luckily, we decided not to take my Opel this morning. Emma's rental Honda was much more comfortable. In the back seat, I suddenly felt exhausted and sluggish. Drowsiness overwhelmed me. Talking to me through the rearview mirror, Emma suggested that I close my eyes for a bit. It would be at least half an hour before we reached Moria. I fell asleep before she finished the sentence.
I dreamt of my mother, of my father, of sitting before them as an adult, all of us underwater in the Mediterranean, something like that, everything fleeting and hollow. I heard strange knocking noises, as if I were in an aquarium with some child knocking on the glass, my head echoing back. And indeed it was a child who woke me—or rather five of them—four boys and a little girl, all in clothes that had seen better days if they'd ever had a good one. The kids stepped back from the car as soon as I turned, all of them giggling. I'd slept for hours, my head leaning against the rear window.
I had a text from Emma explaining that she thought it would be best to let me sleep, that I should come to the camp when I woke up and call her. I stretched my arms, used the car's roof as support, which made the children laugh louder. I got out of the car, asking them in Arabic if there was something wrong or if they found me generally amusing. The eldest boy, no more than eleven, clad in a multiyarned sweater, explained that I was snoring loudly. He could hear my snoring through the car window, he said, but not his friend and lieutenant, pointing to a younger boy, because his ears were filthy. His ears had so much dirt, the eldest boy said, that you could grow wheat in them and make bread. The other boy, whose ears did not seem any dirtier than the rest, was not amused.
The children asked me where I was from, then introduced themselves. The leader, his lieutenant, and another boy were from the Aleppo area. The fourth boy was all the way from Pakistan and didn't speak Arabic, but he was fun nonetheless, and the blond girl clad in strident colors was from Iraq and didn't say much because she was shy, but she had to be in the club because the leader's mother would beat him up if he didn't allow girls. And what did their club do? Well, it was formed only this morning, so their objectives were not entirely clear yet, but the main reason for the club's existence was mischief making, as in his mother told him to take his friends and make trouble for other people not her, if he knew what was best for him, and of course he knew. Could they take me into the camp to meet my friend? Of course, they could, and not only that, they would explain things to me since I was obviously new, but it was going to cost me. No, not money but a whole chocolate bar, or two since there were five of them, and of course they knew I didn't have chocolate on me. I didn't even have a purse, but I could buy candy at one of the cantinas over there, the boys said. The big one facing the gate had the best chocolate; the owners had given them two bars that morning for picking up all the paper cups and putting them in a garbage bag. Had I ever had coffee out of a paper cup? And it was hours ago since they had chocolate and there were five of them and it was only two bars, and they could tell me all kinds of things about Moria, the camp to my right, not the city in The Lord of the Rings, but they could even explain the movie to me if I wanted to, so I should buy them chocolate bars, of course I should.
Cars and vans were parked bumper-to-bumper on both sides of the narrow road. The Iraqi girl took my hand in hers. I thought she was following the universal edict of handholding when crossing the street, but then one of the boys grabbed my other hand. They were escorting me across, guides safariing me through the frightening savannah, making sure I wouldn't be attacked by a feral car. We passed a couple of wobbly snack trucks parked along the road; the boys called them cantinas. Apparently, there were gypsies the day before, selling new and used clothing out of the back of the truck but nothing nice. We had to maneuver around the numerous cantina patrons, primarily Syrians as far as I could tell but at least two African men and one South Asian, almost all smoking and drinking coffee. Quite a number of them were charging their cell phones. The cantina sold everything anyone in the world could ever want, the boys explained. Did I need a phone, a SIM card, coffee, sugar, a sandwich, a foul-tasting banana ice cream, a much-too expensive soccer ball, a Messi t-shirt, anything my heart desired. And chocolate bars, I said.
I bought them five. I had to. The Greek owner, a woman in her forties, suggested that I shouldn't have because they'd had too much sugar. She'd given them each a bar that morning, free of charge, after which they began to persuade her customers to buy them more. She'd lost count of how many bars they'd devoured. The little tricksters preened. I expected to find canary feathers stuck to the chocolate smears around their lips. When I asked the Iraqi girl how many chocolate bars she'd had, she put up four fingers.
ALLISON WRIGHT: Thank you. So, because you chose to read that selection, I'm going to go straight into this question about the comedy in your book. Because it's a book about the humanitarian crisis that is the vast number of refugees in the world, whether they're climate refugees, conflict refugees, political refugees, right? All these types of refugees that we find ourselves confronted with at the borders.
And in this book certainly we have just a multiplicity of immigrant perspectives. And this scene alone from the camps, right, introduces us to this with a Syrian boy, an Iraqi girl alone. And yet we have comedy. And I think you've said elsewhere that you wish that you were more of a serious writer, but the humor creeps in. And I wonder if you might speak to that.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Sure. I come from Lebanon, where making fun of everything is a national pastime. But it's more than that. It's been my experience that during the civil war, when bombs were falling all over the place and people were being shot, the only sort of thing that people could get to is humor. And you'll see it in every warzone. I bet you that the greatest jokes right now are being told in Ukraine. It never fails. I mean, I have a Bosnian friend who had the best jokes during the war. But it was also the same during the AIDS crisis. It's sad that we have to go to—it was the only thing we had to fight against. And that was humor, if you want to call it.
But at the same time, it's not. It serves a purpose. How do I get people to let down their defenses? Lots of writers do different things. Because one of the worst things I think about writing and reading books is the ability of books to actually make—to allow us to escape as opposed to actually feel something. And there's nothing wrong with escapism. I'm a big proponent. I love the Avengers. They're the best. But again, this is not literature. And no offense. Like I said, I love it.
But for literature to work, it has to be able to break the wall between the book and the reader. And if I was to write a straightforward refugee story with all these just horrible things happening, it might be a good book and people would go, oh, this is so sad and this is so amazing, and they'll go on with their life. Not that this can do something else, but it tries. It tries to penetrate that wall that we put in, that sort of defends us against feeling and defends us against seeing something.
One of the ways that I do it is through humor. You're laughing, you're laughing, and then I just punch. But different register, different way. So, it's just a—again, the other more important thing is that I just have not been able to tell it straight in my life.
ALLISON WRIGHT: Well, you're writing the full humanity of a person.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Yes. But there are lots of humans without a sense of humor. So, you can do it otherwise. Just imagine Trump writing a book. No, I don't.
ALLISON WRIGHT: Some would argue that he has.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Please.
ALLISON WRIGHT: I may not be that person. So, you've spent some time in refugee camps.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Yes.
ALLISON WRIGHT: And some time on beaches as refugees arrive.
ALLISON WRIGHT: And I read in an interview with you that you referred to that time as trying to find the Goldilocks distance.
ALLISON WRIGHT: Which is such an interesting phrase, such a compelling phrase. Can you describe for us what you mean by that?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Sure.
ALLISON WRIGHT: What you were trying to achieve.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Well in my opinion—I tell my MFA students that you have to figure out who's writing the book. When is the narrator writing a book? I mean, even if it's nonfiction. Who's writing? When are you writing? And what time one is writing.
The trouble with writing and with life in general is to be able to have the right distance in different situations. Like there are situations we all know—do them naturally. There are situations where you're very intimate with someone, and there are situations where you have to put a distance, and everything in between.
We do that naturally, especially for those of us like me who are sort of socially intelligent and they're able to gather. But for writing, one needs a certain distance. What that distance is depends on what one is writing and who the writer is. I always say this. If I am really close to my family, which I am—if I am among them, I cannot write about my family because I will not be able to see them. I am way too enmeshed. If I am all the way over here and they are all the way in Lebanon I cannot write about my family because I do not see them. So, what is the correct distance both physically and emotionally that one can write about? I call that the Goldilocks distance.
With this book in particular, there were a lot of problems because I have—I mean, it's no surprise to people who know me. I have issues—a lot of issues. So, I have worked with refugees for about five years beforehand. And I talked to refugees. And then I went to Lesbos, and I assumed I'm experienced, I'm fabulous. I'd be just able to sit down, come in, and help. And I wasn't able to. I had what some would say a nervous breakdown. But this was after working for a long time. And I couldn't figure out what was going on. And the worst part was I was trying to write about it, and everything that I wrote was shit.
ALLISON WRIGHT: How did you know that it was shit?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Oh, I know. They pay me to know. And I tried writing many things, and it didn't work. Actually, our mutual friend John Freeman forced me to write an essay, and I did. I didn't particularly like it, but you know it made a question, this essay. And he did it again with another book. Anyway, I hated everything. Everything was just wrong. I couldn't see that I was too enmeshed, I was too involved with the refugees, particularly in Lesbos. And because I wasn't able to distance myself enough, and I couldn't figure it out. I was working on this other short story with Mina the narrator, and it was a completely different story. Completely different.
And then all of a sudden, this narrator migrates into the novel. And when she did, everything fell into place. I had been working on this novel for like three years, and everything was horrible. She moved in, and it worked. Because she had the right distance, or at least in my mind she had the right distance.
I made her a surgeon, and so she—in my mind, surgeons are able to see all the psychological problems but work through them anyway. Because writers are just a little too self-involved.
ALLISON WRIGHT: Any surgeons in the audience? No. Just writers. So, what was the novel without Mina? Was it the unnamed writer character who bears some resemblance to you?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Yes. What he went through. The same story, except that when they happened to Mina, she could deal with it. When they happened to me, I had issues.
ALLISON WRIGHT: Paralysis.
ALLISON WRIGHT: So, there's a scene near the end of the book—the sort of very end of the book. And I'm not giving anything away here, but it's a question of audience. So, Mina and her partner Francine talk to this unnamed writer who appears throughout the book—
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Who is not me, no.
ALLISON WRIGHT: No, it's not. Sure, it's definitely not. Bears some resemblance but is not. But they talk about writing a story for a suburban American couple, right? But it brings up this issue of audience. How do you write a story about refugees and make it palatable, if that's what you want to do, for a we'll say white Western audience?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: I'm beginning to smirk, so yes, go ahead.
ALLISON WRIGHT: I think that's the point of the scene, though, right? This question of what is the point of telling this refugee story. Do you want to make your reader empathetic? Do you want to be a writer that a Western audience—do you want to appeal to a Western audience? Do you want to appeal to a Lebanese audience?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Well, I've said this, and part of the problem of doing interviews is that I get too—it becomes—like I repeat myself so often. But I've said it in many an interview that in Lebanon they think I write for an American audience. In America, they think I write for a Lebanese audience. And the truth is I don't give a shit about either one of them.
And when you say who's your ideal reader, I've said it many times—f*** the reader. I think part of the trouble with American literature in general is that it is directed to this sort of ideal kind of reader. And I find that not just offensive but stupid. Because usually what it is directed at is the people who read the same thing over and over and over and over again. And that's what I'm talking about with how do you break through. Because if you're reading a book about—like everything these days we have sort of the same story, but this time it's held in Mexico City and they're eating chalupas. And then this one they're in Greece, and they're eating spanakopita. And it's the same f***ing story over and over again. And people like that because it's comfortable and familiar. I don't like comfort, and I hate familiar.
So, I don't think about a reader. The trouble is that I also do because I also want not people to read me but people to have a sort of deeper understanding of a refugee's situation, of novels in general, of literature. We know it, etcetera, etcetera. The thing that's important—and I'm realizing it as I age—that those who will get it will get it, and those who won't, won't. So why the f*** should I worry about who my reader is? That's the nice me. Wait until you meet the really bitchy me.
ALLISON WRIGHT: So, part of what propelled me through this book I think along with the story was the pacing. It's masterfully paced. And I wonder if that, at this point in your career, is just your inherent ability to write a novel and the craft of storytelling that you have honed so well, or was it an intentional shaping on your part?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Everything is both intentional and instinctive. I rely on instinct a lot, but I was lucky in that I was born Lebanese, and we're a culture of storytellers. I could tell a story when I was four. You're trained. How I structure a novel is usually, if I'm bored, it goes in a different direction. So that's basically—it's instinct how to pace something. I've written slow-paced novels. I've written fast-paced novels. I've written big novels and small novels. And each story has its own way of wanting to be told. That's not to say that I don't have a voice and I don't have control. Like Nabokov says, the characters are my galley slaves. I can make them do what I want. But the story, if it goes off in a different way, instinctively it's gone so wrong. Just so, so wrong.
So pacing, which is—I actually have—I'm not bad at. It comes from a traditional storyteller. My grandmother would tell a story. My aunts would tell stories. You know, who is sleeping with who. And how and when they reveal and what is the point of the story was honed as a young boy.
ALLISON WRIGHT: So, part of the pacing of this book is shifting timelines. So, we're in the present day, and then we move back in time to learn some of the main character's backstory—the narrator's backstory. Then we come back into the present day. And I wonder at what point—you said Mina, the main character—the narrator—was introduced later in the process. So how much of her backstory was taken from an earlier draft of the novel or was brought in once Mina herself was introduced?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: A lot of it was once Mina was introduced. But some of it was from the story that I wrote. The first story that I wrote was—
ALLISON WRIGHT: Short story.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Yeah, short story. Was Mina goes back to the root—and Mina is a trans woman—to confront her mother, and her mother does not recognize her. And the brother acts as in-between. So, the brother and Mina move to the novel.
But when was it? I was in the jungle. That's a good opening line: I was in the jungle. Of Indonesia. And I was by myself. And I wanted to see orangutans in the wild. So, I had a guide, and we went into the jungle. I had my blood sucked by a leech. I didn't feel a thing.
ALLISON WRIGHT: Intentionally?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: No. God, no. It was standing like this and calling for me, and I said, 'hello there what do you want?'. So it was just at the beginning of, oh, Mina is coming, and she's telling the story, etcetera. And as we're walking in the jungle, the guy tells me oh we can't go this way. And I said why, and he goes there's this orangutan called Mina, and she attacks men. And kaboom. It's like I figured out Mina, the whole story of her relationship with Jennifer and then the whole thing of coming to terms with this orangutan who attacks men but does not attack Mina. So, the story falls together.
Which again—I mean, I could talk about this easily. I was interviewing [indiscernible] the other day. She's a goddess. And she writes about—I can't remember what it is but something about the world helps you ayudame [indiscernible]. I can't remember. But that everything seems to fall into place at one point during the novel, where you might even be at a party and you're bored, and you get to the bookshelf, and you pick up a book, and you open it, and it's exactly what you need to read for your novel. And that happens, and it happens to me with every single novel. But at one point, everything fits into place.
But unlike her—she thinks it's a psychological condition. I told her that I don't believe in God, but I believe in her hand. That something directs me. So, I had Mina come in, and then all of a sudden things started falling into place. So, did I have it beforehand or not? I had some.
ALLISON WRIGHT: And so, what compelled you to create Mina as a trans woman?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Because my closest friends are trans. I've joked about this. I'm not trans, but I'm trans adjacent. That's funny, guys. Most of my friends are trans. I was interested in the whole idea of immigrants—refugees and immigrants and all that—having to reinvent themselves. To put in some ways very certain things consciously. And I thought, wow, it reflects on most of the trans people that I know. It's like at some point they've always had this idea that they're different. But at some point there's a shift that we have to reinvent ourselves.
And immigrants do it all the time. I've done it many, many times. I'm not the same person I am that was in Beirut. So, I was interested in the middle range of it.
ALLISON WRIGHT: Do we have audience questions? We have a microphone we're going to bring you.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'm interested in the direct audience of Mina the narrator, this author, who you were adamantly saying is not you but certainly has characteristics that are going to make the reader think it's you. And my question is why keep that author character in there? Once you brought Mina in to tell the story, why is it not just Mina's story instead of Mina telling the story that the author told her to tell? What do we gain from that?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: There are many, many reasons for that, primarily because some things happened to me that could not have happened to Mina, and I was interested in that. But I was also interested in the breakdown of the writer. Mina would never have a nervous breakdown. I was interested in what happened. I mean, I'm not saying I'm the writer. But to actually go to Lesbos and, instead of working with refugees, end up in a hotel room listening Mahler. It's a fascinating thing. I'm not suggesting it's me.
So, I was interested in that and how it reflects on what breaks us—what actually breaks us. What makes a refugee all of a sudden break and leave? The novel is full of that, and I wanted to mirror it with this whole thing of who is the writer, who is Mina, what is the difference between immigrants and refugees, and what we lose—all of us. And the best way to do it was to keep the writer.
But I was also interested in the relationship between Mina and the writer. Or a writer and his creation. Which, I'm sorry, that's not me. I'm fascinated by it. So, I created this character. I mean, it's embarrassing at some point, that makes fun of me—I'm sorry, that makes fun of the writer and at the same time props up the writer. Yeah, I needed that.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: You're welcome.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Allison mentioned that you go back and forth in time in this novel. And I've noticed over the last decade it seems like that's happening more and more in literature and also on TV. And I was wondering is that new, or am I just noticing it for the first time? And if it is new, what's that all about? When all of a sudden something new happens and people—
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: They're all copying me. I have never written a book that did not at some point go back in time. Nabokov said, "I am not a plaything of time." And I am not, and neither is Nabokov, and neither are a lot of what we call the postmodernists.
It was in 1976 that Italo Calvino said, "Long novels written today are perhaps a contradiction." You know, that time has exploded. And this was in 1976. Before him, many people have done it, from Borges to Cortazar. It's been going on for a long time. It's fascinating to me that still in American literature—and I'm sorry to make fun of it—there's still such a linear way of writing. And everybody wants to go from point A to point B, where we all know nothing ever happens this way, particularly inside one's head. So, a linear story is in many ways—as lovely as some of the great stories of our time, they're regressive. They go back to how the mind used to work in the nineteenth century. My mind doesn't work that way. In my head, I am here. I am also twenty years ago. I mean, it's funny because I've—for my next project, I'm listening to tapes I made in 1986. Cassette tapes. I have like two hundred of them from various workshops and stuff. And I'm listening to them, and it feels like I am there all over again in my head.
I was noticing this morning. I'm walking the street—I walked over here. So, I am in a physical space. But my mind was back in 1986. It happens to all of us. We just choose to—we believe, for most people, that a story has to be told in a certain way.
Now unfortunately, going back and forth—I've seen it a lot recently on television, and it's all bad.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Oh, it's bad?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: I mean, again, it's really badly done.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: My husband would agree with you. I find it easy to go back—
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Oh—
AUDIENCE MEMBER: But he's like, well, what's happening?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: It's the totally unnecessary thing for me. Is that they go back and forth because they want to show you that someone is this way because they had this experience. And that's please.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Not necessary.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: It's amateur, you know, psychology 101. Tell me something new. And not everybody who was ignored by their father turns out to be a serial killer. But in TV it's like, oh my god, he was bullied in high school. Oh my god. That's bad.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: I find it fascinating, though. I love that aspect of going back and forth.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: I do too. I haven't seen a good one yet on TV, but you know.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: I'll have to think about that.
ALLISON WRIGHT: I do think it is much less common in non-English-speaking literature.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Going back and forth?
ALLISON WRIGHT: No, sorry, it's more common in non-English-speaking literature. Historically. So if you read literature in translation, for instance, you might see more of it. And now that American and British publishing is more—not enough, but more welcoming to writers for whom English was not their first language—we see more of it here.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Not enough, but yes.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: No, but it's interesting how some people can pick up on that and enjoy it. And others, they want the—
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Absolutely. I can almost tell you, if you want to write a bestseller, go from point A to point B. That's what people want. And there's nothing wrong with it. Like I said, I liked Harry Potter, the first one. Yay.
ALLISON WRIGHT: Are there other audience questions?
AUDIENCE MEMBER: How many languages do you speak?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Fluently? Three. Arabic, English, French. And then you can say Arabic has so many dialects, and I speak quite a few of them.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Do you always write English?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Yes. I don't know how well you know those languages, but Arabic—written Arabic is very, very different than spoken Arabic, which is dialect basically. And then written Arabic is a different language really. And I can read it. I can write in it, but not well. I have to translate to write in Arabic.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Which I've never read any of your books—
ALLISON WRIGHT: But you will because they're available.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: But I want to know which one I should read first.
ALLISON WRIGHT: That's a good question.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: And why.
ALLISON WRIGHT: What do you think that readers who are new to you—what should be your introduction?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Read all of them.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: From the beginning? From your first one? Okay.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: I'm joking.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: The first one I read was Unnecessary Woman.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: And it depends. I'm not the kind of writer—I don't have a brand. Every book is different, which is why I lose publishers right and left. I publish one book, and then the next book nobody wants it, and I have to start all over. And I'm happy. It all depends on you and what you like to read.
If you like books about one person going through their daily life, Unnecessary Woman is a good book. If you like outrageous, big, epic, Hakawati. They're very, very different.
ALLISON WRIGHT: The next one that I'm going to read is I think your debut, about the AIDS crisis and the Lebanese civil war.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: That was the first one?
ALLISON WRIGHT: That's the first one.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Yeah.
ALLISON WRIGHT: That's what I'm going to read next.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Again, and please, please, I am never offended when people don't read me. I think they're stupid, but. But I'm not everybody's cup of tea, and I don't want to be.
ALLISON WRIGHT: But I highly—again, highly recommend this, which so far has made the PEN/Faulkner shortlist and will make so many other lists this year and next. Because it'll be out in paperback soon enough for those lists. The pacing is incredible. The story of a trans woman who is a surgeon who goes on a humanitarian mission—her trans identity is important for the story, but it is ordinary, right? It is not the main thing about her, and I think that is too rare in books, right? This is a doctor who goes to see a friend who is a humanitarian, and she finds herself in Lesbos with refugees. Yes, she's a trans woman. Yes, that's important. It's not the only thing about her, right? And we don't have enough of those stories. And this is also, again, the story of just a multiplicity of refugee and immigrant perspectives that I don't think we see enough of. And it's funny.
And also—and I said this in an email earlier this week—this is a person who writes desire like no one else. And I don't know if you would be willing to read another excerpt, but I noted at least this section. Like people talk a lot about bad sex writing, and that's fair, and I think that's often because people try to write like the physical act of sex, which is almost always a bad idea. But desire is so hard to pull off. And there is a scene in here that I just had to put the book down and say this is how you do it.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: I paid her.
ALLISON WRIGHT: I don't know if anybody is interested in hearing more or if you would be willing to read.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: I'd be willing, but this is not a short section. Or it's not that long. Damn it. In my mind, it's a lot longer than this.
ALLISON WRIGHT: It's just so good.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: You know, our anniversary is not the date of our wedding. We've had three of those, two ceremonial and one recognized by the state. It's not when we first met, and it's not our first date or our first assignation, which was the day after. Our anniversary, January 6, 1986, is the date of the dance.
Francine was two years ahead of me in medical school, and I'd seen her around. She'd be hard to miss. You told her once that she was the most beautiful woman you'd ever seen, so you can imagine the effect she had on me when we were both still young. That face, those shrewd eyes, full lips I wanted to love bite, the sensuousness, skin the color of dark umber. I remember seeing her once in sea-green linen, in the library trying to read papers while prone on a scabrous sofa, drained, pages falling to the floor as she dozed. She'd pick them up one by one, arrange them in order, and they would slip once again when her eyes closed. I fell hard before we exchanged one word.
Even then, she had those eyes that could see both angels and demons. I thought, here was a woman who found everything surprising and nothing shocking. Of course, I fell. She was what I wanted to be and what I wanted. I was at the height of my awkwardness at the time. Jennifer, the woman I'd mistakenly thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with, had left me nine months earlier. I was going through a phase of thinking no woman would ever want me again. I was beginning to wear a new body, trying it out, shedding what I had been, leaving it behind like old snakeskin on a riverbank while I tried not to drown, tried to come out of the water as who I was and what I truly cared about, allowing myself to be seen for the first time. And there was Francine, seeming to know who she was, what she wanted, ever natural and assured. How could I not be enthralled.
One of the school's administrators held a party of some sort, probably some occasion, but it felt as if the event's primary purpose was to show off her Cambridge Craftsman house. Around a table laden with a cheap, barely edible buffet, soft drinks in liter bottles, inexpensive wine in even bigger ones, fanned paper napkins in various colors, we milled about, doctors, professors, students, pretending to be interested in whatever someone was saying, feeling sorry for ourselves, or at least I was. I couldn't muster enough pleasantness for the inane chatter. I reminded myself this was the kind of awkward evening that turned into a night of insomnia if I was not careful. I was about to leave when I noticed Francine in the middle of the living room, by herself, a paper plate in one hand. She held up a piece of cheese in the other, floppy and yellow, examined it with amazement, as if bewitched by its incongruous structure and consistency. What substance is this? What unnatural color, what creepy flavor? First contact with sliced, individually wrapped Muenster.
I walked toward her, uncertain and clumsy, unsure of the rules, as if I were moving around within the holy sanctuary of a religion not my own, but I had to halt before reaching the altar. The elevator music in the background had morphed into a Bob Marley song, and Francine pirouetted. Alone in the middle of the room, she and her dreadlocks swayed to the rhythm. Her yellow dress was loose enough that it seemed to move a moment after she did except at the hips, where the belt kept a perfect beat. The skin of her delicious arms soaked up the bad lighting and reflected a divine glow, a corporeal luster. She didn't give up her plate, twirling with it as if with an intimate, a dervish waitress. The hostess followed her example. She too began to dance. She dragged a man out to be her partner. A few others joined. Bless your soul, Bob Marley, savior of bad parties everywhere. We had ourselves a dance floor. Next to Francine, everyone was a pale corpse, the dancing dead. At least three men tried to dance with her, one tried to mimic her movements, looking foolish, another tried to bump hips, the third danced with both hands hooked into his back pockets, and she gracefully slid away, spun into her own world. She danced as if she was exploring her body in space.
You can see that this is her people's music, one of the doctors said to another. She was born to reggae. She's Haitian, I said, laughing nervously. Not the same thing, not the same thing at all. I could not remain next to these doctors; I left my spot, their conversation fading like the sound of the freeway at a distance. I found myself circling the makeshift dance floor, hypnotized almost, unthinking, sleepwalking in a way, my eyes not leaving her. A small citrine stone bounced on its chain between her breasts, calling to me. Come, it said. Lick me. A bead of sweat formed on her forehead like a pearl. And I found myself dancing. Not with her, not at first. I too began to explore my body in space, my new body, its shape and how it moved, the curves of my lines. These are what we call breasts; these are my arms. I introduced myself to its new odors. No woman, no cry, but this woman was dancing.
Francine decided to join me. We moved together, two solitudes in sync, following a beat.
I knew that I would belong to her, that I would do anything for her, when she began to look at her plate in the middle of the dance floor. She picked an apple slide, a red one, brought it close to my face. I opened my mouth, her pinky and ring finger caressed my cheek, her thumb and forefinger placed the fruit on my tongue, and it exploded in my mouth, not with taste, mind you, but with possibility.
ALLISON WRIGHT: You got to get it. Do we have a last question? I think I saw a hand on this side. We have a microphone for you.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thanks for reading. That was great. I'm teaching a non-Western lit class, and we're reading literature from Lebanon and Egypt and the Middle East, in addition to Russia and China. And I just wondered if you had any thoughts about your own writing in terms of traditions that you're pulling on. I know that you mentioned Arabic as a language you're equally familiar with. But I just wondered, in terms of literary traditions, are you pulling from Western tradition? Are you pulling from the literature of the North African or Middle Eastern areas consciously?
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: You would say that my primary influences are Western, just because there's more books. But partly American, partly British. I would say my influences are probably more Eastern European. But definitely Arabic, North African. Again, I studied a couple of books inside and out. But even Chinese. Indian, without a doubt. My first love was Naipaul. My second was Salman Rushdie. He has written much since, but I loved him. I totally fell in love.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: [Indiscernible]
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: There are many, many influences. Naipaul, I was in public school in England. The war was back home. I was sixteen. I was all alone, and everybody calling me names. And I come across Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas. In terms of writing, it is very, very Western. You know where he comes from. But it was the first time I read a book where, as I call them, third-worlders were protagonists. They weren't the maid. They weren't the second. I cannot tell you how stunned I was to have a story that is primarily about third-worlders and that their life was just as important and just as beautiful. I began to realize that my story was valid. So, yes.
Again, on the other hand, Midnight's Children just blew me away. I could go over all the sort of Chinese writers. Again, it's fascinating to me who breaks molds and who tells great stories but stays within. Like I've written about it many, many times, but Tayeb Salih's Journey to the North. I can't remember the name—Season of Journey to the North. Which was a response to Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It was a stunning, stunning, stunning book. I mean, it is amazing. The trouble—I mean, it's not trouble. It's just it was written in response to Conrad, so you could see the influence of Conrad. And he takes the completely other side. So, it was influential in terms of content but not in terms of how. And that's a big—South Americans, my god.
ALLISON WRIGHT: Okay, that's about all the time we have, unfortunately. But you can get your book signed. The books are over there. So, they should just pick up a book, get it signed, but then check out downstairs? Okay, all right. Thank you, everybody.
RABIH ALAMEDDINE: Thank you so much for coming.
ALLISON WRIGHT: Remember your evaluations are via the QR code on the back of your program or online at VaBook.org.
Mina Simpson, a Lebanese doctor, arrives at the infamous Moria refugee camp on Lesbos, Greece, after being urgently summoned for help by her friend who runs an NGO there. Alienated from her family except for her beloved brother, Mina has avoided being so close to her homeland for decades. But with a week off work and apart from her wife of thirty years, Mina hopes to accomplish something meaningful, among the abundance of Western volunteers who pose for selfies with beached dinghies and the camp's children.
"Profound and wonderful… A wise, deeply moving story that can still locate humor in the pit of hell… A triumph."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Mina is a riveting narrator, struggling to find her footing even when the weight of her identity is crushing… A kaleidoscopic view of the many facets of the refugee crisis."—Booklist
"Alameddine is a master of both the intimate and the global—and The Wrong End of the Telescope finds him at the top of his craft. A story of rescue, identity, deracination, and connection, this novel is timely and urgent and a lot of fun."—Rebecca Makkai, author of The Great Believers
"The Wrong End of the Telescope is a peculiar novel, intentionally—a prismatic, sui generis story that's unafraid of humor while addressing a humanitarian crisis, threading a needle between that urge to witness and the recognition that doing so may be pointless."—Los Angeles Times
We appreciate the support of our community partner for helping share information about this event: UVA LGBT Committee for Faculty and Staff
Books & Literature • On-Demand Video • Fiction, Gender, Identity, Immigration, In-Person Programming, LGBTQ, Virtual Programming, Women
Sushmita Mazumdar of Studio PAUSE
Making space for community-focused art practice When Sushmita opened the door, inviting me into Studio PAUSE for the first time, the overwhelming first impression was: Color! Sunshine streamed in through …
Five Questions with Kalela Williams
The new director of the Virginia Center for the Book talks about her return to Virginia, how she's putting her unique spin on the Festival of the Book, and (of course) her cats.


text:
#CHINAEditor's choice 09.11.2018 - 1,156 views
Beijing Showcases Its First Unmanned Missile Boat At 12th China International Aviation And Aerospace Exhibition 5 out of 5 based on 3 ratings. 3 user reviews.
Chinese company Yunzhou Tech revealed an independently developed autonomous missile boat with reconnaissance and attack capabilities, claiming that it is the first of its kind ever made in China, Global times reported.
The Look Out II (Liaowangzhe-2) vessel was unveiled to the public at the Airshow China 2018 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province on November 6th.
The Global Times also cited a statement it had received from the company that the boat is loaded with four precision missiles that can hit targets 5 kilometers away, the vessel is also equipped with a radar and electro-optical system enabling it to carry out reconnaissance missions.
It is essentially a naval drone, it's 7.5 meters long and 2.7 meters wide, has a displacement of 3.7 tonnes and can reach a speed of up to 45 knots.
On November 7th, the Global Times spoke to Su Zhen, Look Out II project director. According to him, what the vessel lacks in size and missile range is made up in stealth and speed. Thus, the boat can get nearer to its targets and launch close-quarters strikes.
"It is not the Look Out II's goal to sink an enemy vessel on its own," Su said. "As long as we damage the enemy ship's key structure like the command center, armory or engine room, it is enough for us to get the upper hand so that we can follow up."
Su claimed that an unmanned surface vessel is significantly cost-efficient compared to a traditional naval ship. And obviously, due to it having no crew there is no danger of human casualties.
The company also claims that the Look Out II is the first autonomous boat developed in China and the second in the world. The first one being Israel's Protector, which in March 2017 also became the first naval drone to fire a missile. Furthermore, on November 6th the Israeli boat carried out a successful missile firing demo for NATO.
The statement by the Chinese company also claimed that in late October, the Look Out II also successfully passed its first missile test. Su also said that AI will be used to sail the seas and choose optimal routes, however weapon fire will be conducted remotely by a human.
"We cannot have AI determine the life and death of humans," Su said.
In June Yunzhou conducted a test in which 56 unmanned boats formed a formation dubbed a "shark swarm."
Su said that Look Out II can apply a similar tactic or even team up with naval drones with other capabilities.
He also said that his company is already offering unmanned boats capable of electromagnetic countermeasures, patroling, escort and reconnaissance.
According to Defense One, despite reportedly rapid advancement of Chinese unnamed naval vehicles, the US "still appears to have the edge in sophisticated seagoing drones."
The U.S. has been the leader in highly autonomous ocean vessels since August 2014, when the Office of Naval Research staged a breakthrough demonstration on Virginia's James River. 13 autonomous boats conducted a series of complex, coordinated maneuvers to protect a high-value ship and harass enemy vessels. Furthermore, in 2016, Navy testers carried out a demonstration that showed the boats could identify threats, without requiring a human to assess the situation.
Despite that, China has claimed to be making significant progress in its unnamed vehicles, be it aerial or naval. Development on its AI-controlled submarines also seems to be continuing.
China maintains that it's developing its unmanned naval capabilities simply for patrol missions and deterrence.
Tags:china, Chinese military
Xi Jinping Says China Has To Prepare For War
Dick Von Dast'Ard
Should have an Iranian analogue before long.
Looks cheap as hell.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


In the Mercedes-Benz Museum: The Long Night of the Museums 2019.
On 23 March 2019, the Mercedes-Benz Museum is offering the opportunity to celebrate the 20th birthday of the Long Night of the Museums in Stuttgart into the morning.
In addition to the extensive entertainment programme from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. there will, once again, be the big AfterParty@Mercedes-Benz Museum with radio station bigFM in the passage from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. Further highlights are guided tours through the permanent exhibition on the history of mobility from 1886 into the future, the special exhibition "On the move since 1893" on the 125-year history of VfB Stuttgart and the view of the starry sky from the roof terrace in cooperation with the Stuttgart Observatory.
Mercedes-Benz Museum, special exhibition "On the move since 1893. 125 years of VfB Stuttgart", photo taken at the MC Bruddaal concert on 1 December 2018.
Mercedes-Benz Museum, the Long Night of the Museums 2016, view of the stars from the roof terrace in cooperation with the Stuttgart Observatory.
Stars of several different kinds.
The Mercedes-Benz Museum will be presenting stars of several different kinds at this year's Long Night of the Museums: in addition to the Mercedes stars of around 160 vehicles in the permanent exhibition, the programme on 23 March 2019 from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. also offers a view of the starry sky itself. This opportunity is made available on the roof terrace on Level 8 of the museum, which is not normally open to the public. Stuttgart observatory will be setting up its telescopes there until 1:15 a.m., weather permitting, under the slogan "Beyond the stars – a look into the future". The fascinating vista over the Neckar valley is available for all without a telescope.
One of the highlights of the visit to the Mercedes-Benz Museum on 23 March 2019 will be the extremely successful special exhibition "On the move since 1893" on the 125-year history of VfB Stuttgart.
A FIFA pro player from VfB Stuttgart will be on site from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. to answer visitors' questions and look forward to the many FIFA live matches against visitors keen to demonstrate their own talent at the console.
The special exhibition in Collection Room 5 of the museum offers a real stadium atmosphere with its specially constructed grandstand. The history of the club is represented by more than 100 exhibits, including cups, championship trophies, jerseys, football boots, pennants and player awards, photos and tickets as well as original documents. And since the VfB team is always accompanied by the star symbol, Mercedes-Benz vehicles from VfB Stuttgart's championship years (1950, 1952, 1984, 1992 and 2007) are also part of the special exhibition.
The Long Night of the Museums 2018, AfterParty@Mercedes-Benz Museum on Level 0 in collaboration with radio station bigFM.
The Long Night of the Museums 2019 in the Mercedes-Benz Museum begins at 7 p.m. Guided tours through history and anecdotes relating to automobility since 1886 and of the museum's architecture start at 7.15, 7.45, 9.15 and 9.45 p.m.
Registration is possible in the evening at the ticket counter, guided tours last about 75 minutes each. Both the permanent and special exhibition are open until 2 a.m. The last lift up to the exhibition is scheduled for 1.15 a.m.
As a cheerful finale to the evening, the Mercedes-Benz Museum then offers the longest party of the night from 11 p.m. onwards: at the AfterParty@Mercedes-Benz Museum in the passage on Level 0 of the museum, there will be dancing and celebrating until 4 a.m. Radio station bigFM will be providing the music and hosting the show.
Stuttgart's art and cultural scene will be presenting all its many facets at the Long Night of the Museums. The participating institutions and locations will be interlinked through a network of bus and train shuttles. The tickets for the Long Night of the Museums (adults 19 euros, children from six to 14 years 4 euros) are also valid as journey tickets on the VVS public transport system on 23 March 2019.
On the evening of the 23 March 2019, the Mercedes-Benz Museum is most easily accessible from the city centre via the Tour Neckar shuttlebuses. These buses depart every ten to 15 minutes from Karlsplatz/Schlossplatz and travel to the Mercedes-Benz Museum via Willy-Brandt-Strasse. The return journey is via Mercedesstrasse, Badstrasse and Willy-Brandt-Strasse. At the Mercedes-Benz Museum it is also possible to change shuttles for the harbour tour. Additional shuttles to the AfterParty@Mercedes-Benz Museum will run from 2 a.m. between Karlsplatz and the Museum. The last return journey from the museum leaves at 4:35 a.m.


Rear wheel looking up. Arms cramping. No chance of stopping.
Descending Wrynose Pass at 100miles in – and I wasn't anywhere near the KOM. Disappointing.
The Fred is a 112 mile loop with 4000m ascent over the hardest passes in the Lake District for anyone that doesn't know.
My first race of the season, WMBC, had gone well and I had another race in mind. The second round of the nutcracker XC series at Gandale. A course I used to go to with my Dad when I was very little to watch him race. It's one of my favorite courses – old skool.
I'd ended up finishing 4th expert on a less than ideal day for singlespeed with strong head winds. My best result yet as an expert and I felt good finishing the last lap strong only just missing out to third in a sprint finish by a tyre width.
However, I'd still only ridden a few hours maximum and no where near the distance of the Fred – but the biggest issue came from not even having a road bike.
I ended up going for a Kinesis aithein with 1×10 gear set up. 42t absoluteBLACK narrow wide front ring and 11/28 cassette. I also went for 23mm tubs on my CX wheels filling them with a bit of sealant to help prevent punctures.
After a few test rides (including one bad ride where I ripped the rear mech off) I was feeling happier.
The weather looked bad leading up to the race, but on the day it turned out alright.
I started at 7am with my colleagues, Lee and James starting as little earlier.
The first 40 miles went well and I was travelling fast. I worked out I was averaging roughly 20mph. That turned out too be too fast and inevitably after forgetting to eat or drink, I hit Honister Pass hard and started to go slow. Descents are always my stronger point and once Honister was over I begin to recover and relax a little. Eat some food and drink some water.
I started to hold back a little and ended up spinning around 16-18mph along the worst section of the race before Cold Fell.
By the time I hit hardknott pass, spirits were high and I actually found it easier than Honister!
The descent down hardknott and Wrynose were too much fun. Th back was locked up a few times and it's the first time I've had the back end out going round corners on the road!
The last few miles on the flat were spent pushing it to try and get under 7hrs. My gar in said I had a few minutes left and there was a group of five in total helping each other out.
My garmin ended on 6hrs 59. Official time was 7hrs 02 … So so close to an elite time.
Turned out it was good enough for 86th place. There was apparently around 2000 riders. I was happy with that for my first road sportive thing.
The week after I decided to enter the north of England championships at Aske. It's one of my favourite courses. Natural old skool XC racing.
The weather was warm but with a strong wind. I ran the same SS rigid setup on the FF29 as I had done at Gandale (just with a different back tyre that actually had some tread left).
I finished 3rd Expert overall. Pretty happy with that.
Another last minute entry to the Nutcracker at Parkwood Springs, Sheffield and a course I'd not ridden before.
As I'd not been before I wanted to do a pre-ride so we set off early and arrived in Sheffield in bright sunshine. Weather forecast did say it was going to rain so I fitted nobby nics and sintered pads… in short, in didn't rain. I had a nice tan line though.
Usually before races I'm pretty chilled. Bike sorted and ready to race.
30 minutes to go and my tubeless valve starts letting out air. On the practice lap my rear tyre went flat and I just thought it was down to fitting a new tyre – it wasn't. I'm still not sure what it was but after fitting a new valve, then new rim tape and even new sealant it still wasn't holding air so I decided to go to the dark side and fit a tube. Luckily it worked and it held up all race.
My first of the 7 laps was fast. I inevitably died and for the rest of the race I was in pain while being cooked from the sun.
One crash, one clif shot, two bottles and I was done. Took a little longer than normal.
It was a hard one. But good training for next weekend.
The sync has had a new lease of life with tyres, cables and absoluteBLACK chainring. I'm thinking of taking this to the alps this summer!
I'll be riding the Sam Haughton Challenge on the 14th June and then a new bike is getting a trip to Norway. Keep checking http://instagram.com/singlespeedmatt for the build pictures.
Must remember to get running a little more – I have a 73km running event with 5600m ascent in the lakes as training for the CCC.
Great effort Matt. I finished in 8:53 and used every one of my gears (2 x 10).


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Health : Medical News
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham joins hands with Govt to teach Yoga and Meditation to prisoners in Kerala
Honda 2Wheelers India Inaugurates BigWing in Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh)
Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award worth US $250,000 now open for nominations from nurses worldwide
The winner of the First Prize would be awarded US $ 250,000 while 9 other finalists would be receiving substantial monetary prize at a grand ceremony in Dubai on International Nurses Day on 12th May, 2022.
Nurses from around the world can submit their nominations via www.asterguardians.com by 30th January, 2022.
Launched on International Nurses Day in May 2021 by Aster DM Healthcare, with an aim to recognize the phenomenal contribution of nurses to the healthcare delivery system globally, Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award has started receiving applications from nurses worldwide. The application system is completely online via www.asterguardians.com, where a nurse can submit her own application for the award or anyone can nominate a nurse, who they think is worthy of the award.
Aster has appointed Ernst & Young LLP (EY) as 'Process Advisors' who would ensure due-diligence of applications based on the defined eligibility criteria, evaluation of the entries by an independent panel of experts, and presentation by the finalists to an independent well-known Jury to determine the final winner.
Encouraging nurses from around the world to apply and nominate nurses for the award, Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare said, "Nurses are the unsung heroes of the healthcare system which has been proven undoubtedly during the Covid-19 pandemic. They continue to play a pivotal role and are the backbone of the healthcare delivery system working under tremendous pressure with huge commitment. Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award is our effort to recognize the phenomenal work being done by the nursing community worldwide. With over 7000 nurses in the Group, we consider it our obligation to recognize and celebrate the contribution of nurses across the world."
Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award has started receiving nominations from nurses based in Middle East, Indian sub-continent, Africa, North and South America, Central Asia, Europe and Oceania. The last date for accepting nominations is 30th January, 2022, post which the review process will start. After the initial review based on the set criteria, shortlisted nominations will undergo a voting process. Subsequently 10 finalists would be selected for the award ceremony, interview, and interactions with the jury. The final Aster Guardian Global Nursing Award winner will be announced on 12th May- International Nurses Day in 2022 at a grand ceremony in Dubai. Apart from the substantial First Prize of US $ 250,000, the 9 finalists will also be presented with monetary prize and awards.
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Raiders Ayliffe disappointed to come away with no points and slip out of play-off spots
Jacob Ranson
Raiders forward Brandon Ayliffe holds on a Swindon player (Pic: John Scott)
Everyone Active Raiders forward Brandon Ayliffe is 'disappointed' to come out of the weekend with no points as they slipped out of the National League play-off places.
Raiders defenceman Sean Barry clears the puck after a Swindon Wildcats attack (Pic: John Scott)
Sean Easton's men suffered a late 5-3 defeat to Peterborough Phantoms on Saturday before enduring a heavy 8-3 loss to title challengers Swindon Wildcats the following night at Romford's Sapphire Ice & Leisure Centre.
Meanwhile, fierce rivals Bracknell Bees sealed a narrow 4-3 win over Slava Koulikov's Phantoms to push the Raiders back down to ninth in the league table.
"The weekend could have gone a lot better than it did, but we're mainly disappointed that we didn't come out of it with any points," the 21-year-old said.
"The Peterborough game was a great game and we just came up short, so I do think it was an improvement from the team as we've struggled there so far this season."
Ayliffe, captain Aaron Connolly and import forward Lukas Sladkovsky all found the back of the net in that match but it was not enough as braces from former Raiders forward Nathan Pollard and Martin Susters as well as a goal from James Ferrara sealed the win for the hosts.
The following night started brightly but ended badly for the Romford-based side as they were only trailing 3-2 at the end of the first period but special team play proved costly.
Swindon used the power play to their advantage, while Raiders wasted their own opportunities on the man advantage.
"I think what went wrong was the fact that we didn't stick to our game and also the penalties proved costly," added Ayliffe.
"They helped Swindon out more because they have one of the best power plays in the league."
Easton's squad has been plagued with injuries all season and that list has now been added to with defenceman Dan Scott taking a hit to the head while standing on the bench in Peterborough.
"Injuries are going to cause some problems, we shouldn't try and let injuries get in the way, but sometimes they will do but we just need to move forward from them," said Ayliffe.
On a personal note the forward believes he is improving his own game and added two more goals to his tally of 12 this campaign.
"It is pleasing because I feel like I'm improving and making myself better as a player," he said.


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The Best Stocks to Buy and Sell This Week
AMD stock is among the 25 worst stocks to own from July 17 through October
Andrea Kramer
FDN
XLK
The S&P 500 Index tends to peak on July 17, looking at 50 years' worth of data
The best day of the year to sell stocks will be next week, if past is prologue. According to recent data from Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) tends to peak on July 17, going back 50 years. Against this backdrop, we took it one step further by looking at the 25 worst-performing SPX stocks from July 17 to Oct. 31, going back a decade -- including semiconductor stock Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD). We also outlined the 25 best stocks to own during this period -- featuring e-tail behemoth Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) -- as well as the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to buy and avoid.
SPX Underperforms After Mid-July
From May through the peak day of July 17, the S&P has averaged a gain of 1.34% in the past 50 years, per White. Since its April close this year, the broad-market barometer has added roughly 1.6% so far. Historically, after mid-July is when the index tends to underperform the most. From July 17 through Oct. 31, the SPX has averaged a loss of 0.15%.
25 Stocks to Sell Next Week
In the historically bearish period of July 17 to Oct. 31, the 25 stocks below tend to underperform. Popular stock Advanced Micro Devices is on the list, averaging a loss of 10.75% in this period, and ending higher just three times over the past 10 years. AMD stock was last seen 1% higher at $13.95, and yesterday got a lift from upbeat analyst attention. The semiconductor sector could stay in focus this week, too, with Semicon West -- a key trade show for the industry -- underway. Since dipping below $10 in May, Advanced Micro Devices stock has rebounded 40% off its 200-day moving average, but the overhead $14-$15 area has stifled the shares' upward momentum in 2017.
25 Stocks to Buy Next Week
Amazon stock is making headlines today, with the shares on pace for a third straight Prime Day in the red. At last check, AMZN stock has dropped 0.7% to trade at $989. Fundamentally, Amazon has been a beast this year, spreading its wings into the grocery business with its Whole Foods buyout, expanding its fashion presence with a subscription service, and most recently attempting to corner the IT help-desk market. The company's growing footprint has weighed on several stocks recently, including Wall Street newcomer Blue Apron, which cut its initial public offering (IPO) price after the AMZN/WFM deal.
Amazon stock could continue to outperform in the near term, too, if recent history is any indicator. The shares have averaged a healthy gain of 12.73% from July 17 to Oct. 31, looking back 10 years, ending this period higher 80% of the time. AMZN shares have added roughly 32% so far in 2017, and peeked above $1,000 last month, and while the broader Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) has shed 1.3% in the past month, Amazon stock has added 1%.
Tech Rebound Could Take Hold
Speaking of the XLK, the tech ETF could also pick up steam starting next week. The fund sports the best win rate of all in the July 17-Oct. 31 period, ending higher 90% of the time in the past 10 years, and averaging a gain of 1.91%. Meanwhile, the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (FDN) -- a fund that includes many FAANG stocks among its top holdings -- has averaged the best return during this period, gaining 3.88% with an 80% win rate.
Further making the case for a potential broader tech rebound -- as Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone noted in this week's Monday Morning Outlook, the PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQ) is trading near several layers of support. "The recently maligned large-cap technology group [could] experience a drift higher in coming weeks," he wrote.
On the other hand, traders who believe past is prologue may want to avoid the solar sector. While the Guggenheim Solar ETF (TAN) has been on a tear since its April lows, the fund has fared the worst in the July 17-Oct. 31 period, historically, averaging a loss of 12.85% -- the steepest by far -- and higher just 22% of the time.


text:
Familiar Faces Partner at Multinational Exercise: Unified Focus
By Capt. James SheehanOctober 8, 2019
DOUALA, Cameroon -- U.S. Army Africa partnered with Cameroonian Defense Forces to conduct Unified Focus 2018, a three-part multinational exercise here and in Garoua, March 12-16.The exercise brought central African countries bordering the Lake Chad basin together for military academics and practical exercises. Simultaneously, U.S. and Cameroonian soldiers participated in Unified Focus's field training exercise to learn combat lifesaving and counter-improvised explosive device tactics. Meanwhile, the exercise's third effort brought surgeons from both nations to cross-train at a medical readiness training exercise in Garoua."Unified Focus is about partnership," said Brig. Gen. William J. Prendergast, the U.S. Army Africa deputy commanding general and exercise co-host. "This week is an opportunity to gain new perspectives on common issues."The academics portion at the Douala Naval Base featured troops from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, the U.K., the Netherlands, the Italian Carabinieri and the United States. UF18 focused on countering violent extremist organizations while building security and stability in central Africa. It also integrated training on the application of the law of armed conflict and respect for the human rights of detainees while protecting civilian populations from harm.The discussions reinforced the need for a "whole of government" approach, meaning defense departments must include their diplomatic counterparts and non-governmental agencies. For this reason, UF18 also included participants from the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency of International Development, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, International Committee of the Red Cross, the Office of Transition Initiatives, Department of State Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, and the International Organization for Migration."I think it's great that USARAF has incorporated civilian agencies in this exercise," said Jillian Christie, the U.S. State Department regional counter-Boko Haram civil military advisor. "I think that they are doing a great service to their African partners in helping to prepare them for these kinds of conflicts that are inherently civil-military in nature."We know that groups like Boko Haram can't be defeated just militarily," Christie said. "It takes a whole of government approach, meaning that military operations, military elements are working with civilian counterparts in diplomacy and in developments, because the roots of the problem are greater than can be defeated just with military operations."The participants attended classes and shared their experiences countering IEDs, implementing the rule of law, information operations, strategic messaging, media on the battlefield, civilian protections and how to properly reintegrate and disarm defectors."In just one week, we have seen soldiers and civilians from across the world come together to build partnerships, increase interoperability, readiness and capacities," Prendergast said.An hour drive north of Douala's Naval Base, 25 Cameroonian Soldiers from the 31st Engineer Regiment, Garoua, learned hands-on techniques from U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal and civil affairs professionals. EOD Soldiers from the U.K., Germany and Nigeria observed demonstrations by the 83rd Civil Affairs Battalion, stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the 764th EOD Ordnance Company, stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado."We are training these soldiers because the threat they face is real. Violent Extremist Organizations have more IEDs," said 1st Lt. Katlin Vanwye platoon leader for the 764th Ordnance Company and the officer in charge of U.S. Army Africa's five-week course in Cameroon on how to defend against IEDs. "We want to build their capabilities to defend against IEDs. We want to spread our knowledge and give them the techniques we have learned over time in Afghanistan and Iraq," Vanwye said.The field exercise culminated in a sizable display of explosives. The training team split three kilograms of Semtex ordnance, 50 feet of detonation cord and five blasting caps into small packages. Each package was built and detonated to show trainees how much damage minimal explosives can make using water-bottle charges or clearing surface area for mine detection.Meanwhile, approximately 750 miles north near the Lake Chad Basin, a team of U.S. Army medical professionals joined Cameroonian doctors, nurses and medics to share best medical practices for combat and non-combat injuries. The medical readiness training exercise, or MEDRETE, gave the U.S. team an opportunity to rehearse their skills in a new environment using different resources. The team worked side-by-side with their Cameroonian counterparts using local equipment for critical and highly technical medical operations.MEDRETEs are designed to give U.S. Army surgeons a chance to operate without the advanced machinery available in hospitals. Surgeons deploying to combat zones will likely not have the same setup they have elsewhere. MEDRETEs build readiness because they force the medical teams to hone their skills in forward-deployed environments with limited resources.Although the main purpose of a MEDRETE is to increase U.S. Army medical readiness, various positive outcomes surface throughout execution. The Cameroonian medical professionals offered new techniques U.S. medical professionals wouldn't have ordinarily learned during their stateside medical school. Past MEDRETEs have brought long-term relationships between surgeons who digitally share new practices long after the exercise's execution.Unified Focus 2018 is the sequel to 2017's Unified Focus also located in Douala. At the end of the UF18 exercise, much of the feedback included rapid discussion between familiar faces, skipping small talk to begin tactical training. Participants concluded that past relationships helped bring success to the week's mission. The participants speculated that if familiar faces and steadfast partnerships bring success to training exercises, they may also bring success to real-world operations.
December 4, 2020U.S. Army STAND-TO! | Army Immunization Program
April 1, 2020U.S. Army medical research institute continues work on coronavirus
March 24, 2020U.S. Army provides medical facilities to support COVID-19 efforts
January 21, 2020Army begins movement for Defender-Europe 20 exercise
October 7, 2019Army exercise largest in 25 years
October 4, 2019Japan, U.S. Medics tackle realistic combat casualty care
September 12, 2019Army Medical Command Releases First Ever Health Of The Force Report
Unified Focus 2018


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The California Public Utilities Commission has approved $738 million in transportation electrification projects for the state's three largest utilities —Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Edison. The approved projects aim to help speed the transition to electrified transportation for consumers and fleets.
San Diego Gas & Electric's (SDG&E) Residential Charging Program ($137 million): SDG&E will provide rebates to residential customers to install up to 60,000 Level 2 charging stations at home.
SDG&E's Residential Grid Integrated Rate (no incremental costs): SDG&E will offer customers participating in the Residential Charging Program the option to enroll in an EV-only rate that varies hourly based on day-ahead forecasts of grid conditions.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company's (PG&E) Direct Current Fast Charging Make-Ready Program ($22 million): PG&E will install the make-ready infrastructure at approximately 52 sites that will support approximately 234 fast charging stations.
PG&E's FleetReady Program ($236 million): PG&E will install the make-ready infrastructure at a minimum of 700 sites to support the electrification of at least 6,500 medium- or heavy-duty vehicles.
Southern California Edison's (SCE) Medium- and Heavy-Duty Infrastructure Program ($343 million): SCE will install the make-ready infrastructure at a minimum of 870 sites to support the electrification of at least 8,490 medium- or heavy-duty vehicles.
SCE's Commercial Electric Vehicle Rate Design (no incremental costs): SCE will establish three new time-of-use rates for commercial customers with electric vehicles.
The projects are expected to be implemented over approximately five years.
In 2016, the CPUC directed the investor-owned utilities to submit applications proposing projects aimed at accelerating transportation electrification across all sectors, from light-duty passenger cars to medium- and heavy-duty fleet, transit, and freight vehicles. PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E proposed the large-scale programs approved today, initially requesting approximately $1 billion to implement. Today's decision modifies some aspects of each approved program, including the budgets. The decision was based on a robust public process that included 11 days of Evidentiary Hearings and four Commissioner-led community workshops throughout the state.


text:
18th/19th century black British poets....
Four Black Poets from British History
Here at Live Canon, we've been reading and researching lots of twentieth century Black British poets for some new courses we're developing. But we realised there were some gaps in our knowledge, and decided to look further back to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784)
Phillis Wheatley is the most famous Black poet of the eighteenth century, both in Britain and the US. She wrote on biblical and classical themes, often fusing the two: her poem 'To Maecenas' takes Horace's ode and weaves Christlike symbolism throughout. Over a third of her body of work is in the form of elegies, writing both from a personal perspective, and as a hired poet writing for salary. She makes great use of heroic couplets, writing lines that thundered and sang:
Soon as the sun forsook the eastern main
The pealing thunder shook the heav'nly plain;
Majestic grandeur! From the zephyr's wing,
Exhales the incense of the blooming spring.
Soft purl the streams, the birds renew their notes,
And through the air their mingled music floats.
Through all the heav'ns what beauteous dies are spread!
But the west glories in the deepest red:
So may our breasts with ev'ry virtue glow,
The living temples of our God below!
(the opening of Wheatley's 'A Hymn to the Evening')
Wheatley was born in West Africa, in probably what is now Sengal or The Gambia, and sold into slavery in America aged about seven. She was bought by the Wheatley family to be a domestic servant, and named after the slave ship that had brought her to America. The Wheatleys taught Phillis to read and write and encouraged her poetry, bringing her out to impress at parties. After fruitlessly trying to get her work published in Boston, Phillis and Nathaniel Wheatley (a son of the family) travelled to England, where her collection, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, was published in 1773. Her poetry caused a stir, and was used by the fledgling anti-slavery movement to demonstrate that Black people were equal in humanity and intelligence to white people. However, sceptics were unconvinced that Wheatley had written her poems, and she had to defend her authorship in court in 1772 – the judges ultimately ruled that the poems were her own work, and their signed attestation was published with her poems.
Wheatley was freed in 1774, and married a man called John Peters. Her fame drifted away with the deaths of the Wheatley family, and she lived in severe poverty, before dying aged 31.
Olaudah Equiano (c.1745-1797)
Equiano is most famous for his extraordinary autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African, published in 1789 (you can read it here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/15399/15399-h/15399-h.htm). It was one of the first testimonies of slavery, that was key to enlightening people about the horrors of the slave trade, arguing for its abolition, and demystifying views and misconceptions of African civilisations. The book combines first-hand narrative, petitions and letters, and a few scattered poems, used to emphasise particularly heightened moments of emotion or spiritual reflection. They often prove bleak, thought-provoking reading:
'Well may I say my life has been
One scene of sorrow and of pain;
From early days I griefs have known,
And as I grew my griefs have grown:
Dangers were always in my path;
And fear of wrath, and sometimes death;
While pale dejection in me reign'd
I often wept, by grief constrain'd.
When taken from my native land,
By an unjust and cruel band,
How did uncommon dread prevail!
My sighs no more I could conceal.
(the opening of 'Miscellaneous Verses')
From Equiano's own account, he was born in the Eboe province of what is now Nigeria, kidnapped and sold into slavery aged 11, and taken first to Barbados, and then Virginia. He was sold to a Royal Navy officer who decided to rename him after a Swedish king, Gustavus Vassa. Equiano was sold several times to different sea captains and merchants, and eventually was able to trade for himself on the side and earn enough money to buy his freedom and travel the world – he became both the first Black man to explore the Arctic, and to be employed by the British government.
As well as publishing his autobiography, Equiano became involved with the London group 'Sons of Africa', campaigning for abolition. He married the Englishwoman Susanna Cullen, and died in 1797.
Francis Williams (c.1700-1770)
Very little poetry by Francis Williams survives. He's popularly thought to have composed the song 'Welcome, welcome, brother debtor', but the only surviving poem that we can be sure was his is an 'Ode to George Haldane' on the occasion of Haldane becoming the governor of Jamaica in 1759:
Ere now our guiltless isle, her wretched fate
Had wept, and groan'd beneath th' oppressive weight
Of Cruel woes; save thy victorious hand,
Long fam'd in war, from Gallia's hostile land;
And wreaths of fresh renown, with generous zeal,
Had freely turn'd, to prop our sinking weal.
(lines from 'Ode to George Haldane)
Williams was born free in Jamaica, and travelled to England to study. It's unclear whether his family's wealth and ambition were the reason he went, or whether there's any truth in the legend that the Duke of Montagu paid for him to go as a 'social experiment'. The legend also states that Williams studied at the University of Cambridge – the university holds no record of his time there, but that doesn't necessarily mean it didn't happen. Williams became a British citizen, but then returned to Jamaica, hoping to fill a role in government. After being rejected he founded a successful school, and gained a reputation as a gifted writer and poet, especially in Latin. As the V&A explains, 'Today, Francis William's status as a postcolonial 'hero' is made problematic by the fact that he and his family profited from the labour of enslaved Africans. However, his existence as a rich, educated free black man who wrote Latin verse was a direct challenge to the theories of white supremacy which underpinned the transatlantic slave trade'.
John Jea (1773-?)
John Jea's work is often seen as the 'missing link' between 18th century narratives written by slaves that focused on spiritual redemption, and 19th century works that more explicitly and politically called for abolition. He wrote an autobiography, entitled The Life, History, and Unparalleled Sufferings of John Jea, the African Preacher – you can read the book online here: https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/jeajohn/jeajohn.html. The book is scattered with poems and hymn lyrics, and powerfully and movingly combines spiritual reflection with arguing the injustice of slavery.
The love of God did me constrain,
To seek the wandering souls of men;
With cries, intreaties, tears, to save,
To snatch them from the burning blaze.
For this let man revile my name,
No cross I shun, I fear no shame;
All hail reproach and welcome shame;
Only thy terrors Lord restrain.
(inset poem, p. 56)
Jea was born in what is now Nigeria, and was sold into slavery with his family at the age of two. According to his own account, Jea gained his liberty when God gave him the miraculous ability to read the bible, although nothing else, and a court of magistrates decided that he should therefore be freed. Jea travelled extensively around America and Europe, preaching and teaching as he went, before finally settling in England. His autobiography was only rediscovered in 1983.


Liam woke me up early this morning, 6 a.m. We had a simple breakfast of cantaloupe and blueberries. I had my mug of hot tea. I stripped him down to a diaper and put some junky clothes on myself. We each equipped ourselves with an appropriately sized bowl. My father got out a small bench. And we started picking sweet cherries. There's new growth on the sweet cherry tree. Liam can actually pick them just standing on the ground.
And the memories started - at the sweet cherry tree it was of my brothers maniacal will to pick more cherries. One year they put entire ladders on top of the picnic table. I was suddenly so alone, picking the cherries without my siblings. And with that realization I decided I had enough cherries, since I'd have to wash and pit them myself, too.
I went inside, started the water in the large basin of the sink and put the red strainer in the small side, placing the compost bucket off to the right for the pits and the bad cherries. As I plunged my hands into the water and grabbed the cherries, I thought of my mother, in her cherry-pitting dress, and those hands. Two years ago, Mark took pictures of her doing just this work, mostly her hands. She really did have such beautiful hands.
I looked up, out the little kitchen window. My father had one of the big white buckets and was washing my car. My little moosh was beside him, in just his diaper, trying to figure out what he was doing. Which took me back to the photos of my eldest brother at that age, helping my father clean the car. I dashed out with the camera - if any child of mine is going to be photographed, it's the eldest.
I looked back down at the cherries - I still have the sour cherries to pick and pit - and realized my hands were trembling. I best write this down and get it out of my head before it overwhelms my day.
Liam asked for my watch. I put it on his wrist. He proclaimed it to be nine o'clock and started walking out of the room. And then he said, "have to get ready to go!"