In the wake of Hank's passing, he had four straight country No.1 records including, 'Your Cheatin' Heart', that topped he Billboard chart on 11 April 1953.
As Willie Nelson says, "Until Hank Williams came along it was just Bob Wills." When Hank really did come along it was with the help of a white country performer who sang the Blues……oh, and he yodelled too.
Born in Georgia, by 1919 Emmett Miller was performing on the vaudeville circuit as a black face performer. In 1925 he moved to Asheville, the town from which Jimmie Rodgers would be discovered. Some historians have suggested that Miller might even have taught Jimmie to yodel. While living in Asheville he recorded the song that became his theme song, 'Lovesick Blues'. He later recorded 'Right or Wrong' which became a Western Swing standard at the hands of Bob Wills, who was later quoted as saying Emmett Miller was one of his major influences.
Listen to the best of Hank Williams on Apple Music and Spotify.
In 1949, Hank Williams cut 'Lovesick Blues', it was the record that turned the country star into a country superstar. He was 25 years old and hailed from Alabama, the son of a World War I veteran, who was in hospital for most of Hank's early life.
The young Hiram King Williams had spina bifida as a child, he could not read or write and he had a limited vocabulary, but he was immensely talented. As a child he learned music from a local musician, Rufe Payne, in Greenville, the town where he grew up.
By 18, Hank had formed the Drifting Cowboys and was playing regularly on local radio in Montgomery, where he and his mother lived. Two years later, he met and married Audrey who would play bass in his band as well as taking over as his manager. In 1946, he cut his first records and in 1947 he recorded 'Move It On Over' which became his first country hit. 'Lovesick Blues' was No.1 on the Hillbilly chart, as the Billboard country chart was then known, for 16 weeks and when Hank played the Grand Ole Opry he was given six encores, he really had arrived.
There were a string of hits from 1949, through 1951 including the No.1, 'Long Gone Lonesome Blues'. Like some of the pre-war blues singers, Hank had a parallel career singing religious material, calling himself "Luke the Drifter". Ill equipped as he was to be a country superstar, Hank (who liked a drink) soon depended on the drink to see him through. By 1952, he and Audrey had separated, and Hank discovered drugs.
With his career in disarray Hank Williams died on New Years Day 1953 as a result of drugs and drink. The crowds at his funeral were enormous; a string of country stars turned out to honour the man dubbed the Father of Contemporary Country Music'.
In the wake of Hank's passing, he had four straight country No.1 records including the wonderful, 'Your Cheatin' Heart' that topped the Billboard chart on 11 April 1953.
Explore our Hank Williams Artist Page.
Hank has been in my blood since 1953. There is, nor was, anyone like him. I read once years and years back that when Hank was christened the holy man made an error when physically recording his name and spelled Hiram with an extra 'i' – thus Hiriam. Just interesting information. Thank you.
Hank Williams is my favorite singer, songwriter.I used to be a house painter with my Uncle's and cousins and listened to Hank all the time on the radio in the 50s to this day. The Greatest.
Thanks for the excellent history on Hank. Great posting!
I would like to hear more about Hank's spina bifida as a child, could that have helped to cause his death? I enjoy his talent and I also think his son is one of the greatest around, even beats his dad, as he didn't let drugs & booze kill him!
Hank did not do drugs! a fake doctor prescribed him things like chloral hydrate and that's what did him in.
Hank had spinabifida occulta, a mild form of spina bifida. I believe he took up drinking to numb the back pain due to the spinabifida, because the medications were not that readily available back in the day. I'm a huge hank fan that also has spinabifida..
Without a doubt, Hank was the father of country music. He set the stage for all the entertainers who came after him. An inspiration to all "would be" entertainers. RIP, Hank. And thanks for all your music and the singers who came along after.
I think this article is a bit unfair in that Hank so called drug use while true is totally different from today's culture of drug addiction by choice. The article did nention that Hank was born with spina bifida. In addition Hank suffered from malnutrition as a youngster. Numerous back injuries required him to have a spinal fusion shortly before his death. Hank did become addicted to pain killing drugs but clearly not by choice.


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I've been forced to downgrade my students' GCSE and A-Level results – now I want to quit teaching
To see these young people treated so unfairly, and to feel complicit in that, is enough to drive me and many others out of the job for good
By Anonymous teacher
Updated August 19, 2020 4:23 pm
As a teacher with 10 years experience I am used to seeing tears on exam results day, but this year I already know what is in the envelopes and I'll be the one crying the hardest. It is heart rending to know that when one of my GCSE pupils sees they have failed, they will know it was me who failed them. I feel every ounce of that guilt, and it makes me want to leave the profession.
The Government's last minute decision to award teachers' grades without moderating them with exam board Ofqual's algorithm has been greeted as a victory for students. But thousands will still miss out on their grades because schools were told to apply the Government's highly flawed method to the results before even submitting them.
i's opinion newsletter: talking points from today
It was never going to be easy to decide how to allocate grades to students who did not complete their studies or sit the all-important exams. However, the decision to duplicate grades of previous year groups must be one of the crudest methods possible.
Students protest against the downgrading of A-level results (Photo: Paul Ellis/Getty)
I found myself being forced into applying this process back in May and I sat staring at a list of 150 student names, wondering who to fail. Ofqual told us our results needed to be in line with the previous three years, regardless of how strong or weak the current year group was, so that meant we would receive broadly the same number of As, Bs and even Us as last year even if the students did not deserve those grades.
Based on my school's performance I knew therefore I could only award one A grade to a very able group of A-Level students, and at GCSE I would have to "fail" a dozen children in English Language. Those teenagers (unlike everyone else in their year group) would then be forced to sit an exam in November to attempt to pass, despite months out of school. It wasn't a case of selecting the right grade for each student, but rather squeezing the students into the grades we had already been given.
The best analogy I've seen to bring home the false logic and lack of humanity in this process was from @reformattday on Twitter: "People weren't able to drive during lockdown so I've written an algorithm to send speeding tickets to random drivers based on historic speeding records in their area." It makes the numbers add up, but it's just not fair.
How could I predict who would have got their head down, as they all promised, in the run-up to exams? How could I jeopardise the futures of children based on mock results we thought were a "practice", a safe space to get things wrong before the real thing? Could I hold my head up professionally if I actually thought specific children were going to fail and I was doing nothing about it?
My choice was stark: give higher grades than Ofqual would allow, risk them being downgraded indiscriminately, and be seen as trying to cheat the system; or with a heavy heart follow the rules and award unfair grades that do not reflect the hard work of students or teachers. Both options felt like a betrayal but like most teachers, I imagine, I chose the latter.
To see these young people treated so unfairly, and to feel complicit in that, is enough to drive me and many others out of the job for good.
So here we are on the brink of another results day, only this time the Government has thrown the teachers to the dogs. Gavin Williamson held his hands up, apologising profusely, and GCSE students rejoiced that they would get the grades they deserve. But when they wake up on Thursday and the disappointing grades remain, this time their anger will turn on those who set them: the teachers.
The last thing any teacher wants is a student to fail. We watch, support and coax them through years of adversity. We feel their every knock back, pick them up to try again, marvel at their resilience. We too have sleepless nights before results day because their success matters deeply to us. To see these young people treated so unfairly, and to feel complicit in that, is enough to drive me and many others out of the job for good.
So here is my plea to the Government: thank you for putting the power back in teachers' hands, but really let us have the power this time – allow us to re-allocate the grades without tying our hands. Trust our professionalism, rather than using it against us, so that we can offer these individuals the futures they deserve. If you don't, you may find classrooms are even emptier than you were expecting in September.
The writer is a secondary school teacher in Oxfordshire
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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The Sydney Technical College, now known as the TAFE New South Wales Sydney Institute, is a technical school established in 1878, that superseded the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts. The college is one of Australia's oldest technical education institutions.

Forebears
The Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts was founded in 1833. In 1878, the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts formed the Working Men's College, which eventually became the Sydney Technical College in 1882.

In 1911, the high school operations of the college became Sydney Technical High School.

In 1949, the New South Wales University of Technology was founded on its main site, as a separate institution. As the University of New South Wales, this is now one of the most prestigious universities in Australia.

In 1969, part of the college became the New South Wales Institute of Technology (NSWIT). This institute was reconstituted as the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), in 1988.

The college continued to operate, eventually becoming part of the New South Wales Technical and Further Education (TAFE) system. It became known as Ultimo College, due to its location. This then became part of the Sydney Institute of Technology, which was later renamed Sydney Institute. This college is the largest TAFE campus in New South Wales.

Architectural students
Many prominent Australian architects studied architecture at Sydney Technical College before there was a university architecture course available in Sydney, but also attended architecture lectures in the Engineering Faculty at the University of Sydney.

 John Allen
 Sydney Ancher
 Arthur Anderson
 Henry Budden
 Walter Bunning
 Hedley Norman Carr
 J Burcham Clamp
 Bruce Dellit
 Jean Fombertaux
 Carlyle Greenwell
 Eric Heath
 Edward Hewlett Hogben
 Archer Hoskings
 Russell Jack
 Colin Madigan
 William Monks
 Glenn Murcutt
 Sir John Overall
 Lord Livingstone Ramsay
 Lindsay Gordon Scott
 Emil Sodersten
 Florence Mary Taylor
 Thomas Tidswell
 Alfred Warden
 B J Waterhouse
 William Hardy Wilson

Gallery

References

TAFE NSW
History of Sydney
Educational institutions established in 1843
University of Technology Sydney
1843 establishments in Australia
Schools of Arts in New South Wales

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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S Y N A E S T H E T I C S
R E L E A S E S
M A S T E R I N G
M A S T E R I N G S E R V I C E S
With a combined experience of around 20 years in music and sound production, and in light of current global events (as well as Soundcloud / Dolby's new paid auto-mastering algorithm!), we have decided to offer our services for those of you looking to recieve that final professional touch on your tracks. Our aim is to achieve a consistent balance on a variety of listening environments by eliminating problematic frequencies and other potential issues, in the end finding a perfect blend between loudness and dynamics while NEVER compromising quality. We will provide feedback on your mix before we master it so you can make a revision of the presmaster, allowing us to squeeze every last bit of potential from your countless hours of work before we take it over the line. Your satisfaction is our highest priority so for whatever reason if you are not happy with your master we will happily make revisions.
C H E C K L I S T F O R P R E M A S T E R
-No Compression or limiting effects on master channel (preferably no effects on it at all)
-Flatten your level peaks in the track as much as possible so we can push your track to the limit
-3-6db of headroom (absolutely no peaks above -3db)
-Export at 44.1khz or 48khz @ 24bit WAV (AIFF if you need)
-Do not normalize or dither on export (we will do that as the last process)
-Name your track clearly (so it doesn't get confusing if revisions need to be made on either end)
Lastly if you wish to include a few reference tracks of artists that you like the sound of, and which match your style, it can help us get a better understanding of what kind of end result of what you might be after.
E N G I N E E R C O N T A C T S
SUMIRUNA - sumirunasounds@gmail.com
AMBLER - amblertunes@gmail.com
SYNAESTHETICS IS A COLLECTIVE OF CREATIVES COLLABORATING TO BIND THE SENSES THROUGH CUTTING EDGE ART. OUR PRIMARY FOCUS LIES IN OUR EVENTS (SYNAESTHESIA) & OUR RECORD LABEL & MASTERING SERVICE (SYNAESTHETICS).
b a n d c a m p
s o u n d c l o u d


EyeWire, Visual.ly and FEI teamed up to host a scale of the brain infographic competition. Check out the winning graphic below or explore more on the Visual.ly blog.
Designed by Chris Whittaker and Laura White of Ashfield Healthcare Communications, and Craig Armstrong of CreativeFusion. Competition organized by EyeWire, Amy Robinson and Drew Skau.
One Response to "Infographic: Scale of the Brain"


Jenna Dewan Joins Matt Bomer & Edgar Ramirez at Gold Meets Golden Event!
Matt Bomer suits up for the Gold Meets Golden party on Saturday afternoon (January 5) at The House on Sunset in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The 41-year-old actor was joined at the event by fellow actors Edgar Ramirez, Daniel Bruhl, and Billy Porter.
Actresses Jenna Dewan, Chrissy Metz, and Emmanuelle Chriqui stepped out in style for the party.
Olympic ice skaters Michelle Kwan, Adam Rippon and boyfriend, Jussi-Pekka Kajaala, along with Maia and Alex Shibutani were also in attendance.
FYI: Matt is wearing a Victor Li suit. Jenna is wearing a Carolina Herrera dress and Giuseppe Zanotti shoes. Edgar is wearing a Zegna jacket, a Brunello Cucinelli sweater, Aquatalia shoes, and a Cartier watch. Billy is wearing a Kenzo suit. Guests sipped on bubbly from J sparkling wine.
John Cho, 'Crazy Rich Asians' Cast & More Honored at Unforgettable Gala 2018!
John Cho and Harry Shum Jr. are being honored for their work!
The 46-year-old Searching star and the 36-year-old Crazy Rich Asians actor and his pregnant wife Shelby Rabara were among the many attendees at the 2018 Unforgettable Gala, Kore Asian Media's annual Asian American awards ceremony, celebrating creativity, diversity and growth, on Saturday (December 8) at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Harry was also joined by Crazy Rich Asians novelist Kevin Kwan and co-stars Kheng Hua Tan, Lisa Lu, Chris Pang and director Jon M. Chu, who also received an award. Crazy Rich Asians was honored with the Vanguard Award.
The evening was hosted by Jeannie Mai.
D'Arcy Carden, Debra Messing, Descendants star Dianne Doan, Dorothy Wang, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star Vincent Rodriguez III, Judith Hill and The Good Doctor's Tamlyn Tomita were among the presenters.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. star Ming-Na Wen, Aquaman actor Ludi Lin, Megan Lee, Lindsay Price, Fresh off the Boat's Lucille Soong, Hudson Yang, Forrest Wheeler and Ian Chen, Inanna Sarkis, Jenny Yang, Apolo Ohno, Ally Maki, Alex and Maia Shibutani, Sara Sohn, Searching star Michelle La, Eugene Lee Yang, Desmond Chiam, Skyscraper star Bryon Mann, The Good Place's Manny Jacinto, Derek Mio, Sherry Cola, I Feel Bad's Sarayu Blue, Joanna Vanderham, The 100's Kelly Hu and Runaways star Lyrica Okano were all in attendance at the event.
FYI: Sarayu is wearing and carrying Tadashi Shoji and wearing Hearts On Fire jewelry.
Isla Fisher Joins Ellen Pompeo & Lena Waithe at Refinery29's 29Rooms!
Ellen Pompeo met up with friend Lena Waithe at Refinery29's annual 29Rooms exhibition!
The duo stepped out at the kickoff event on Tuesday night (December 4) at the Reef in Los Angeles.
They were also joined at the party by Isla Fisher, Awkwafina, Kerri Medders, Hannah Simone, Arden Cho, SZA, JoJo and ZZ Ward.
Other attendees included Ariel Winter, her boyfriend Levi Meaden, Chloe Bennet, Keegan Allen, Maia Shibutani, Katherine McNamara, Lilimar, Georgie Flores, Anne Winters, Jade Pettyjohn and Harry Shum Jr.
FYI: Awkwafina and ZZ are both wearing Novis.
Hailey Baldwin & Winnie Harlow Support 'Tommy Hilfiger' in Tokyo!
Hailey Baldwin showed her style while stepping out for Tommy Hilfiger's latest fashion show!
The 21-year-old model hit the carpet at Tommy Hilfiger Presents 'Tokyo Icons' on Monday (October 8) in Tokyo, Japan.
"Tokyo was lit 🔥 Feels awesome launching my designer collection in Japan. The energy was dope! 🇯🇵 #tommyxlewis #iconsoftomorrow," Lewis wrote on his Instagram after the event.
Vanessa Hudgens, Emily Ratajkowski & Jennifer Morrison Live It Up at Netflix's Emmys 2018 After Party!
Vanessa Hudgens and Emily Ratajkowski strike a fun pose together while attending the 2018 Netflix Primetime Emmys After Party at NeueHouse Hollywood on Monday (September 17) in Los Angeles.
The 29-year-old Second Act actress and the 27-year-old model were joined at the event by Jennifer Morrison, Malin Akerman, Sophia Bush, Regina King, Black Panther co-stars Daniel Kaluuya and Letitia Wright, Ben Platt, Zoey Deutch, GLOW's Jackie Tohn, RuPaul, Michelle Visage, and 13 Reasons Why stars Tommy Dorfman and Katherine Langford.
Also in attendance at the after party was Benedict Cumberbatch, the cast of Queer Eye – Tan France, Bobby Berk, Antoni Porowski and Karamo Brown – The Crown's Claire Foy and Matt Smith, Iron Fist's Finn Jones, Godless' Michelle Dockery and Jessica Sula, John Mulaney, Rosanna Arquette, The Shib Sibs – aka Maia and Alex Shibutani, Altered Carbon's Dichen Lachman, Jonathan and Drew Scott, Bob Saget and wife Sherri Kramer, and Katt Williams.
FYI: Vanessa is wearing a SemSem dress. Malin is wearing a Cushnie dress. Sophia is wearing alice + olivia by Stacey Bendet. Malin is wearing Chloe Gosselin shoes.
Netflix's 'To All the Boys I've Loved Before' Cast Attends Premiere!
The cast of the new Netflix movie To All the Boys I've Loved Before strikes a pose at the premiere!
Israel Broussard, Janel Parrish, Lana Condor, Anna Cathcart, and Noah Centineo hit the red carpet at the special screening and after-party held at Arclight Cinemas Culver City on Thursday (August 16) in Culver City, Calif.
They were joined by their co-stars Andrew Bachelor, Emilija Baranac, Jordan Burtchett, Trezzo Mahoro, director Susan Johnson, and Jenny Han, who wrote the best-selling YA novel the film is based on.


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Winners of Large Bodyshop of the Year Award
Poole-based prestige Vehicle Body Repairer, Poole Accident Repair, has won the coveted Large Bodyshop of the Year Award at the 21st Bodyshop Magazine Awards held at the Hilton Metropole Birmingham.
The achievement follows the recent development of Poole Accident Repair's new 8,000sq ft. workshop – one of only a limited number of multi material specialist facilities in the country, adding to its existing 10,000sq ft. capability.
Mark Hadaway, editor of Bodyshop magazine said: "The Bodyshop Awards are the only truly independent awards for our industry and, as such, all the awards are highly desirable.
"An expert panel follows an exhaustive and in-depth process of selection to identify the winners and it's our privilege to recognise those who have achieved something truly special in the last 12 months.
"This year the magazine itself celebrates its 30th anniversary, and with such an incredibly high standard of entrants, Poole Accident Repair should be exceptionally proud of its success in the AkzoNobel Coatings Large Bodyshop of the Year."
Further to this, Sam O'Shea, 23, who has worked at the prestige repair centre since he left school in 2010 was a finalist in the Bodyshop GT Mo Estimate Panel Technician of the Year.
Sam, who started out on a Volkswagen Apprentice Programme, was competing against other panel technicians, some of whom had been in the business for over 25 years.
Sam is one of the youngest Panel Technicians in the country and Leon Coupland, Director of Poole Accident Repair said: "It was no surprise that Sam made it this far, from starting his apprenticeship Sam has developed and grown from strength to strength."
"His work of course contributing to the award that Poole Accident Repair achieved in its own category, the successes of the company are truly a team effort and a reflection of the exacting standards that are applied to every department and stage of our customers' vehicle repairs."
Other news articles.
"Your Car, Your Choice"
"Your Car, Your Choice" it's a simple message. "When you have an accident and want your vehicle fixed through your insurance company, you can choose your own repairer
Watch our Poole Accident Repair Video
This tour of our facilities will give you an insight to the importance of choosing 'manufacturer approved' when your car needs a bodyshop repair.
Volvo 2020 High Achiever Award
Volvo Cars Poole & Poole Accident Repair partner wins Volvo national award
The whole experience of having an accident was all the less traumatic due to your exemplary customer care and service. Really hope I won't need your services in the near future but will definitely be recommending yourselves to others.
Mrs Clarke
Thank you for an excellent repair to my Porsche. I am over the moon with the paint match and quality of the repair. Your Reception Team were friendly and extremely helpful. Your repair, quality and service is excellent. I would definitely recommend you to friends and family.
Mr Lyle
Many Thanks for such a professional job.
Mr Stafford
I would like to thank you for all your assistance during the repair of my Audi. It looks like new! Please would you thank all your staff for their helpfulness and for keeping me fully informed of the progress. I was extremely impressed with your service. I will certainly recommend you anyone who also experience a difficult situation like myself and need professional help.
Mr Tyne


text:
Book Review: Ruining You
Title Ruining You
Series Ruining, book 2
Author Nicole Reed
For a girl who dared to tempt death, living is the only promise that matters now.
Jay's life almost came to a forced end when her darkest secrets were revealed and the one who she chose to give her future to was ripped away. Now, everything she kept hidden is the topic of everyone's conversation, and not all are sympathetic. Someone wants her horrific past to dictate her future, and another is determined to help her choose a different path.
In conclusion to Ruining Me, Kane and Rhye know that Jay is worth the fight, but waiting for her to find herself may ruin them all.
While I was on the fence about Ruining Me, I'm pretty sure how I feel about Ruining You. It completely missed the mark for me. About halfway through the book, I was ready to give up, but I stuck with it because I wanted to know how it all ended.
I felt like Ruining You moved much slower than Ruining Me. There just wasn't as much to engage me or make me want to continue reading. On top of that, I was absolutely irritated with Jay. Under no circumstances am I saying that I don't understand and respect her struggles with what happened to her. She had been through a lot. But let's get real for a minute, shall me? She does nothing but toy with guys' feelings. Here's a hint, Jay, stop it. Spend time with yourself, figure out all your issues, and then and only then, think about starting a relationship. Throw in the actions of Kane (sticking around for a girl that's playing with your emotions) and Jay's parents (even after everything that Jay went through, they were cool with sending her off on vacation with her older boyfriend alone) and you just get a mix of unbelievable crap. It didn't make for an interesting story for me. It was irritating and ridiculous. Come on. I couldn't even manage to suspend my disbelief for Ruining Me. It was just too much for me.
While many people absolutely love Ruining You (and Ruining Me), it wasn't for me. Personally, my recommendation after reading both books is to pass.
Matt Dalton February 24, 2013 at 12:38 AM
Kudos for managing to finish books you don't enjoy - I tend to put them down and never pick them up again!
KDH Reviews February 24, 2013 at 12:42 AM
I feel guilty if I don't finish a book. I know it's crazy, but it really takes a lot for me to abandon a book.
I wish I had your determination. I picked up "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and very quickly put it back down. I think I got to about 30 pages in and just got sick of the tone and lack of pace.
Goodness! You made it further in We Need to Talk About Kevin than I did. I made it about 10-ish pages in before abandoning it and watching the weird movie. Even though I know I couldn't do it, I've given thoughts to picking it up and trying again.
Please. Do not torture yourself!
You're right. It would be torture. I'll skip the feelings of guilt and find something better to read. :)
Book Review: Split
Book Review: Ruining Me
Book Review: Suicide Note
Book Review: The Edge of Never
Book Review: Forbidden
Book Review: If I Lie


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GE Healthcare's IN Cell Analyzer Image Competition inspires through the beauty of cells
Voting opens to select the winner of the 2011 IN Cell Analyzer Image Competition
Life scientists encouraged to share cell images with friends and family as an insight into their own work
Chalfont St Giles, UK – 7 November 2011 – GE Healthcare Life Sciences today announced that voting for the 2011 IN Cell Analyzer Image Competition is now open at gelifesciences.com/incellcompetition. Both scientists and the wider public are invited to choose their favourite from 30 shortlisted images submitted by researchers worldwide.
When making their selection, voters can consider the beauty of the image, their interest in the science behind it, or a combination of the two. The winning entrants from each region (Americas, Europe and Asia/Rest of World) will be invited to New York to see their images projected on NBC's high definition screen in Times Square.
Carmen Laethem, Aerie Pharmaceuticals, a previous winner and a judge on the 2011 shortlisting panel, said, "The images of cells that scientists produce every day on the IN Cell Analyzer can be captivatingly beautiful, some reminiscent of scenes from nature or even evoking the visual style of artists such as Jackson Pollock or Miró. Behind that beauty lies valuable data which enables researchers to, for example, better understand the mechanisms behind disease at the cellular level or conduct early screens for potential new therapies."
Dr Amr Abid, General Manager of Cell Technologies, GE Healthcare Life Sciences, said, "Once again, we have an exciting range of images from around the world. We're proud of how they showcase the capabilities of cellular imaging with our IN Cell Analyzer systems but also believe scientists should share the images with friends and family to inspire them with the beauty of cells and provide an accessible introduction to their own research."
To view the shortlisted images and vote for your favourite, please click here
For updates on the competition follow @geINCell on Twitter.
About the 2011 IN Cell Analyzer Image Competition
The IN Cell Image Competition, supported by BioTechniques, celebrates the outstanding research enabled by the superior image quality that IN Cell Analyzer systems deliver. Voting starts on 7 November and continues online until mid-December. Attendees at two conferences (ASCB, December 3-7, USA and MBSJ, December 13-16, Japan) will also be invited to vote for their favourite. The votes will be combined to select 3 winners, one from each region (Americas, Europe, Asia/Rest of World). Details of the judging panel can be found here and full terms and conditions can be found here. To vote or see images from past winners, go to www.gelifesciences.com/incellcompetition
About GE Healthcare's IN Cell Analyzer system
IN Cell Analyzer automated high content cell imagers, IN Cell Investigator image analysis software and IN Cell Miner data management software combine to provide a system that represents a total solution for high content sub cellular analysis in research and drug discovery. High-performance hardware, powerful software, and expert instrument and applications support are harmonized to transform the cellular workflow.
IN Cell Analyzer 2000 is a highly flexible, lamp-based high-content imaging instrument impressively enabling for a wide range of assays and techniques. The latest addition to the IN Cell Analyzer family, IN Cell Analyzer 6000 is a high-end, laser based confocal imaging platform for the most demanding high-content assays and screens. Featuring a novel and proprietary optical system that incorporates an iris-like variable aperture design and next-generation sCMOS technology, IN Cell Analyzer 6000 balances speed and image quality for challenging and variable assays.
For more detailed information visit www.gelifesciences.com/incell
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.
Our "healthymagination" vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employees are committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. For more information about GE Healthcare, visit our website at www.gehealthcare.com
For our latest news, please visit http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com
College Hill for GE Healthcare
Tim Watson, Dimithri Wignarajah
E: GE-INCell@collegehill.com
Berkeley Lab Researchers Ink Nanostructures with Tiny 'Soldering Iron' Olympus helps to increase reliability and accuracy in optical metrology


text:
Too Much Too Soon
Decrease quantity for Too Much Too Soon
Increase quantity for Too Much Too Soon
Vinyl LP pressing. Too Much Too Soon is the second studio album by The New York Dolls. The group was dissatisfied with the recording of their 1973 self-titled debut album, leading the band's frontman David Johansen to enlist veteran producer Shadow Morton for Too Much Too Soon. Morton had become disenchanted by the music industry, but felt motivated by the band's energy and agreed to work with them as a challenge. They recorded the album in 1974 at A&R Studios in New York City. The New York Dolls formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although their original line-up fell apart quickly, the band's first two albums-New York Dolls (1973) and Too Much Too Soon (1974)-became among the most popular cult records in rock.
TracksCredits
- Disc 1 -
1 Babylon 3:31
2 Stranded in the Jungle 3:46
3 Who Are the Mystery Girls? 3:08
4 (There's Gonna Be a) Showdown Written-By - K. Gamble - L. Huff* 3:38
5 It's Too Late 4:40
1 Puss 'N' Boots 3:06
2 Chatterbox 2:25
3 Bad Detective 3:39
4 Don't Start Me Talkin' Written-By - Sonny Boy Williamson 3:13
5 Human Being 5:45


If you are not to some extent a geek – stop reading right now.
If you are – carry on and be prepared to be amused…. R and I are IT Security testers. One of the main products we use is called Wireshark – basically it analyses the traffic between a local PC and a server.
I came back from lunch in Helensburgh today and found R in a T-Shirt he had had specially made. "Baby Shark" is my all time favourite song and video and I have been driving him nuts singing it for weeks now. I don't think he knows I have been working on the hand gestures though.


stretch the sociolect and cut my tongue on thought. improve my vocabulary. reference my day-drunk shadow sister. she is cuddled in my coppery blood. allow the cherry sun to kiss about her. a convoluted blur, forever follower.
ordering this word salad. the visually burnt. my doubled syrupy syllables fixate on the unfamiliar. delineate my appetite, sweet honeydew. cover me the strangeness multiplied by two.
a revised vernacular. overlapped minds conversing over Rorschach's ink blots. the promising golden bits of bits arranged thinking of a certain boy. the color of craziness.


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The beaches of Torrevieja: an overview
From tiny coves to long, wide beaches, Torrevieja has it all
During the last forty years the population of Torrevieja has mushroomed from 10,000 to over 100,000, due to a variety of reasons including the climate and forward-thinking town planning, but the spark which originated its popularity among residential tourists from abroad was, without any doubt, the beaches and their proximity to the residential areas.
Along the 20 kilometres of coastline there are a series of very different bathing areas, some facing south and others facing east, from tiny coves measuring no more than a few metres to the wide swathes of beach on the boundary with Guardamar de Segura in the area of La Mata. Some are urban while others are relatively unspoilt, and some are packed with summer holidaymakers whilst others are relatively sparsely populated even in July and August. There truly is a little bit of something for everyone on the coast in Torrevieja.
Of course the rapid expansion of the town since the late 20th century has both its upside and its downside: on the positive side, there are now excellent lifeguard and beach cleaning services, and seven Blue Flags are flown at the beaches and marinas of the municipality. In addition, such is the volume of year-round occupation that a wide range of restaurants and bars cater for all needs of both residents and visitors, and the permanent infrastructures lying behind the beaches are impressive in comparison to other coastal areas in south-eastern Spain.
Those of limited mobility can also request transport to the beach by phoning the Red Cross on 965 71 18 18 during July and August.
On the downside, of course, there are those who would complain that Torrevieja has been built up too much and too quickly. In some areas the skyline is dominated by bricks and mortar, and the town is so international (under half of the residents are Spanish) that it could be said that the municipality is no longer representative of "real Spain".
However, none of this should detract from the beaches in the municipality, the main ones being the following (listed from north to south):
Playa de La Mata: almost two and a half kilometres of sand with four lifeguard lookout points in the less densely populated area of La Mata at the northern end of Torrevieja, leading up to the dunes of Guardamar de Segura. Blue Flag.
Click for more info, Playa de la Mata, Torrevieja
Las Calas: a series of about a dozen small coves, some of them sandy and others stony, which provide unspoilt conditions (and limited services, due to their size) for those who prefer to get away from the hustle and bustle of the larger beaches.
Click for map, Las Calas
Playa de Los Locos: a 760-metre-long beach which attracts hordes of visitors in the summer months, right next to a densely populated area in the northern part of the centre of the town. Blue Flag.
Click for more info, Playa de Los Locos, Torrevieja
Playa del Cura: 375 metres of well-looked after sandy beach right in the heart of the town centre of Torrevieja, with all the facilities expected of a Blue Flag beach.
Click for more information, Playa del Cura, Torrevieja
Piscinas Naturales: two artificially created coves located very close to the main promenade and the port in the centre of the town, with calm water and safe bathing conditions guaranteed by the man-made jetties.
Click for map, Piscinas Naturales, Torrevieja
Playa del Acequión: a short stretch of sand inside the port area as delimited by the jetty which is used to load salt onto ships for export: the beach-front bars and restaurants are popular all year round.
Click for more information, Playa del Acequión, Torrevieja
Playa de Los Náufragos: 375 metres of well-equipped sandy beach at the southern end of the town centre, this is a very busy area in the summer months. Blue Flag.
Click for more information about the Playa de los Náufragos, Torervieja
Cala Ferris: A rural oasis with palm trees lying behind the small beach, this is definitely recommended for those whose idea of a day at the seaside doesn't include noise, music and beach-front restaurants.
Click for more information, Cala Ferris
Cala Piteras: Located in a semi-built-up area close to the boundary with Orihuela Costa at the southern end of Torrevieja's coastline, this semi-urban, relatively small beach (officially listed at 123 metres) provides something of the best of both worlds: Blue Flag facilities without the urban sprawl right next to the sand.
Click for more detailed information: Cala Piteras, Torrevieja
For day trippers, then, plenty to choose from, and of course the same is true for anyone planning to spend longer in Torrevieja: there's a wide range of hotel and rental accommodation available throughout the municipality, and a plentiful supply of apartments and houses to suit most budgets for sale.
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I've been voting in the U.S. since 1968, and without exception, it has always been a matter of choosing the "lesser of two evils." That's the only reason I vote. It's not so much that I admire and agree with Obama, but I feel I must vote against McCain. When the Republicans talk about "victory" it makes me sick. I guess they beieve the general public is that easily duped. Just what is their picture of this "victory"? That the Iraqis will become like the Americans? It looks like to me that everybody is a looser in this war.


IN a tiny changing room at the back of the Large City Hall stage in Bulawayo, timeless Chimurenga music icon, Thomas Mapfumo,was a calm and collected fellow before stunning all and sundry with a non-stop four-hour show last Saturday.
He was in a jovial mood as he was happy to be back in Bulawayo after nearly two decades.
Perhaps at the back of Mukanya's head, he was nervous to be met by a paltry crowd as was the case at one of his last shows at the Large City Hall in 1999, but he covered that with a wry smile.
In the packed changing room, Mukanya was surrounded by male members of his Blacks Unlimited group and the setting was like a traditional idale/dare where male elders would converge to deliberate on serious issues. The three female singers had left the room to prepare to take to the stage.
The changing room was hot, stuffy and it was engulfed in a cloud of smoke that came from a "special cigarette" that was lodged nearly at the tip between Mukanya's index and middle finger of his left hand. Slumped on a chair wearing his trademark straw hat, his thumb, small and index fingers were holding the rest of the bunch of his "special cigarettes" in a small rectangular transparent plastic sealed bag.
The mood backstage in the dressing room was jovial and Mukanya was prepping his band, cracking one or two jokes and giving a word of advice here and there.
This was Mapfumo, not Mukanya that people know on stage, the human character to the Lion of Zimbabwe.
Like a grandfather heading a dare/idale, he spoke about the youth mostly and declared that he would not retire soon.
"The country is for the youth. The young people should be in the forefront of trying to develop this country. They shouldn't sit back. They're the future leaders and they should be vigilant for the betterment of the country," said Mukanya.
He urged youths to shun violence saying without them in the forefront, the nation will not move forward.
"I urge the young to build each other so that this nation is not taken for a ride by people who want to use them (youths) to destroy this nation," said Mukanya.
"You should shun any form of violence where when you don't have money for a scud (opaque beer), someone says here's money, go beat up someone. That's not right thinking."
When his age mate Oliver Mtukudzi suffered a stroke two weeks ago, there was a call that people like them in their advanced age should consider retiring. Mukanya would have none of it, describing such calls laughable as many international greats such as him are still performing.
"That's a joke. There's nothing like retiring in music. I'm not working for a pay check to be told that I should retire. As a footballer, you can retire because one would've grown old, but I still can use my vocals.
"It's different from footballers who use their feet and legs to play. People like Winston Rodney, Jimmy Cliff and Ija Man are all old and they have grey and white hair, but you won't hear their people saying they should retire. Why should I?" quizzed Mukanya.
He said he would retire when he breathes his last as he has many things to do like helping young musicians grow.
"You retire when you die. Even if you don't perform as often on stage, you can help the young artistes with their music. I'm still a musician and I won't change that," he said.
And Mukanya seems to know that he's in the twilight of his life because when asked what his plans were, he said it was all up to the Almighty.
"I can wake up and say that tomorrow I want to do such and such, but I wake up dead. There's nothing you plan that's definite, it's only the Creator who knows.
"You can be planning for tomorrow and he's laughing at you knowing that the next day you'll die," chuckled Mukanya.


Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has described the unauthorised invasion of the National Assembly by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) as a gross violation of Constitutional order.
He expressed his displeasure with the DSS in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Laolu Akande, during which he clarified that "the unlawful act was done without the knowledge of the Presidency".
The statement read: "Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has described the unauthorised takeover of the National Assembly complex earlier today as a gross violation of constitutional order, rule of law and all acceptable notions of law and order.


text:
Issue Five - February 2003
Dying Like That
By Lorna Reese
Death dogs are all around us. They bark, they bite and gnash their teeth, they howl in the night for your soul. They lurk in the shadows but they're there, too, in a day like this, so pure and blue and faultless, it makes your heart ache.
The last time I see Annie is in the rear view mirror of my rented Dodge Neon. She is standing on the concrete front stoop of her suburban house, her shoulders low and resigned, her face in shadow. But still, solid, and alive. I am driving back to my girlfriend's in the city.
I had flown to Minneapolis to see my old friend after a mutual acquaintance told me Annie wasn't doing very well. "It's in her brain now," this friend of a friend had said. "They don't think she's going to make it."
When I called Annie that night, I lied to her about the reason for my trip. "I'm going to visit my parents, so I thought we could catch up, too," I said. My real objective was to get her to talk about things she was afraid of. She had to be afraid, I thought.
"That would be great, Rae," Annie said, her voice huskier than I remembered, her vowels still Midwestern flat. "Do you think you could take me to get my chemo? My neighbor was supposed to but she just started a new job and can't take the time off. Would you do it? I'd love to see you. It's been too long. " Her voice was full of forced cheer.
"Sure," I said. "I'll be glad to."
Because I live in California, I hadn't seen Annie in years. A Christmas card I received a couple years after her abrupt marriage showed her alcoholic husband Bud holding a round-faced infant. Annie had her hands on Bud's shoulders. Subsequent cards presented them on either side of Justina as she grew. The last card just showed Justina, grown into a little girl who looked uncomfortable in dress-up clothes. There was the rare letter and even rarer phone calls. So I didn't even know what Annie looked like anymore. Was she still bleaching her hair blond? Had she ever lost the weight she'd complained about since college? Did she still have that great laugh that shook her whole body?
Until I moved and she married, Annie and I had always had that ability to fall right into the other's world, to re-connect immediately, as though it had been days since we'd seen each other instead of years. After she met Bud, she seemed to close up somehow, as though she was protecting something deep inside, and we couldn't read each other like we used to.
I met Annie in the 1960s when we were both getting our degrees in elementary education. She taught me how to use eyeliner and tweezers on my brows. Whenever I wanted, she lent me the burgundy v-neck sweater her mother had knit. Incredulous that I was a freshman in college and still using pads, she gave me a box of tampons and instructions and made me stay in the bathroom until I managed to get one inserted. She sat right outside the door murmuring encouragement. She was my roommate when I lost my virginity and congratulated me on that, too.
Annie had a few foibles but they were endearing. She had to vacuum and dust every week. She couldn't go to sleep if the closet door was open. She liked her shoes in precise rows, next to and touching each other. She needed neatness. And she never went to bed until Warren, her steady from high school, called, always precisely at twenty of eleven.
In 1967, I introduced Annie to marijuana. We were sitting on a blanket in the back yard in late May, getting a start on the tanning season. I'd been smoking dope with my new boyfriend for a few months already and longed to tell Annie, even though Rick had specifically told me not to. There weren't many students at our college doing dope then and he was paranoid about it. But he was the first boy I'd ever slept with and I tended to give his pronouncements more weight then than I did later.
Annie tugged at the straps of her suit, making her big breasts fall into a pleasing and more comfortable shape. She squirted baby oil reddened with iodine onto her palm and began to smear it on her freckled chest.
"I can see why you like him," Annie said, making sure the oil on her shoulders was even and bringing her slippery palms down both upper arms simultaneously. "He's cute, and he seems different. You know? A little mysterious."
"That's because he's a head," I said. "You know, someone who smokes pot."
"Rick smokes pot?"
Annie had stopped in mid-stroke and was clutching each arm above her elbow. Her skinny eyebrows looked like those smile buttons, only upside down.
"I do, too," I said, squeezing some Coppertone onto my thighs and rubbing it in. "We smoke dope almost every night."
"Really, Rae? You're not kidding me?"
"I'm not kidding you. We take acid, too," I said, even though I'd only tried it once and been pretty much freaked out by it.
"Can I try it?"
"Maybe. I'll ask Rick."
After we graduated and started teaching at different schools, Annie and I shared a one-bedroom apartment for a while. My boyfriend was in the Army in Germany and Warren had broken up with her by then so she was flitting from guy to guy, looking for Mr. Right. There were raucous weekends with Budweiser and dope and chocolate-covered mint cookies to eat when we were high. Annie smoked dope — we usually had a nickel or dime bag around — but her preference was beer. It tastes better, she said. I was never able to get past the bloated feeling I got from beer. "You've got to get it coming out as fast as it goes in," Annie said. But I never could.
We'd drink beer, get stoned and do peculiar — child-like, I see now — things for fun: We'd brush each other's teeth. We'd move around the apartment by walking only on furniture, no touching the floor. We'd play Five Hundred, a card game for two sets of partners. I'd play my hand along with her partner, "Dave," and she'd play her hand along with my partner, "George." That way, we figured, each of us would always be on a winning side. I had never been that playful as a child and I loved Annie for being nine years old again with me.
We both learned rudimentary lip reading so we could have conversations across the room during parties. "I want to go home," I would mouth to her through marijuana haze and over the music of Iron Butterfly. "One more hour, please," she mouthed back if she had her eye on someone. On those nights, I drove her car home alone.
Annie and I had had that inexpressible capacity to be in each other's mind at the oddest moments. Hours after I asked Annie something, she might answer the question out of context and without any preface, yet I knew exactly what she was talking about. "It's on the top shelf in the front closet," she'd say a day after I asked if she'd seen my fringed scarf. It was as though we shared minds somehow.
But there were plenty of times I didn't know what Annie was thinking. Where men were concerned, she was even needier than I, but she went after who she wanted. She was brave — or foolish; I'm not sure which. I was supposed to be waiting for Rick to come home from Germany but two years was a long time and there were guys everywhere. I had a few crushes. But when I liked someone, I always waited quietly, hoping he would notice me. Sometimes I went as far as to be in places where I had seen him before, same time, too.
Whereas Annie let her urges drive her forward. She'd put herself out there, so that the guy in question could, if he wanted to, throw stones at her heart right in front of everybody. Sometimes he did.
One time, at a party when my latest crush, Jake, was in the bathroom, her current boyfriend, Arnie, reached out and grabbed my boob, right in front of her. "Nice," he leered. "Really, really nice." Arnie wasn't very good to her and was always staring at my boobs but he was really cute and good in bed, she said, so she pretended not to notice.
I've forgotten more of my twenties than I remember but it was fun — mostly — while I was going through it. Annie and I were close and we stayed that way until Arnie dumped her for that hot blond he married about five minutes after meeting her. Arnie and Jake were roommates, even after Arnie got married. I was practically living there, too, and that's where all the parties were so Annie didn't hang out with us anymore. We began drifting apart. For a while, Annie was out of sight, like some sailboat that had passed behind a huge island, but, at least, I knew where she was.
By the time I arrive at Annie's house, I'm running a little late and she's waiting on the stoop. "The road is all changed," I apologize. She's wearing a white baseball hat with "Friends Forever" embroidered on the brim. A thin strand of hair sticks out here and there, and her face is puffy. For a moment, I'm looking at a stranger in the shape of my friend. Then I reach for Annie and give her a soft hug even though she has never been comfortable with this kind of display of affection.
"Hey, have you been smoking?," I ask. My nose has always been ultra sensitive.
"Just one this morning. Bud doesn't know and I don't smoke in front of Justina, so don't start. O.K.? I don't need any more stress."
She shoots me a squinty look that strangles any further comment. Her freckles stand out vividly on her pale, drawn face and she looks both defiant and pathetic.
"Thanks for doing this," she says. "Bud's already taken so much time off work, his boss is beginning to get pissed about it. He understands why, of course, but he still needs to get his trucks loaded and out."
"Sure. Let's go."
In the car, Annie drums her fingers on her thighs while we talk mostly about the old days. You can't just plunge into the present; you have to work your way up to it. "What are Ed and Rita doing these days?," I ask.
"They're divorced and Ed moved to Mankato. Rita gave me this cap." Annie takes it off and I get a glimpse of her naked head. Not entirely naked. Wisps of gray hair grow in strange places, forlorn, so vulnerable. Then the cap is back.
At the hospital, I follow Annie as she charges down long corridors so quickly I can't make mental notes to find my way back. Then she abruptly stops and throws her bag onto a chair in the waiting area — just like all the other waiting areas we passed. Whatever happened to waiting rooms, I wonder, where you can nurse your woes in private. Now we have to sit and watch parades of other patients passing by, wearing their infirmities right on their faces. So exposed.
"I have to get a blood test first to see if my white cell count is high enough," Annie says, from the counter where she's waiting for someone to come and take her pink referral sheet. She rings a little bell that sits there and then drums her fingertips on the counter. "If it's not, they won't let me have the chemo."
"What happens then?" I ask while Annie cranes her neck for a look behind the desk in the office.
"Where are they?" she says. "No matter when I come here, whatever day or time, there is never anyone here. I always have to wait."
"They give me steroids to bring the count back up," she says, turning to me. "Bud has to give me injections; That's what happened last time so it should be high enough. I hope it is." She crosses all her fingers and squeezes out a plaintive smile.
"Annie," I say, just as the receptionist appears. "Hi, Annie Halvorson here for blood work," she says, thrusting the pink sheet at her. "I'm due at chemo in half an hour."
"Right. You can come on back," the nurse says and Annie's face brightens, as if the rheostat in her head is turned all the way up. "I'll be back in a few minutes," she tells me.
Waiting on the purple plastic chair, I study a botanical print on the wall across from me. Dracena Marginata, the label says. It looks a little like marijuana. I'm having a hard time accepting that Annie and I are the same age, 43, but she has cancer and I don't. I can't imagine how it feels to have cancer. Not the pain of it, but the knowing it is there, in your body, poisoning your cells for years before you even become aware of its existence. These dark things lurk; there could be one inside me at this very moment, making a nest and hatching more toxic cells that fly to other places in my body to make their own nests. Annie's cancer has gone from her breast to her brain.
"Now we have to wait," Annie says, returning. She takes a seat, rummages in her purse for a stick of gum. "Want some?" she asks. "God, I wish I could smoke here. I'm dying for a cigarette. I quit when I got the first cancer, but when it came back, I figured it doesn't matter that much if I smoke or not. "
She gets up to throw away the gum wrapper and stays standing. Then she begins to pace, stopping to look at each botanical print along the wall, as if that is why she is standing. She peers closely at each one for a second before moving on, staying a fraction of a second longer at the one that looks like cannabis. Her restlessness is contagious and I begin to shift in my seat. Annie used to be able to sit calmly for hours, poolside, with a bottle of beer in her hand. We'd work on our tans and watch men.
Now she's like one of those wind-up dolls, stumbling clumsily around and then winding down. She falls back into her chair, but can't sit still. "I hope it's OK. If I miss chemo again…. " her voice trails off. "Isn't it ironic," she adds. "I'm, practically begging for them to give me this poison that kills off my cells so I won't die. I'm not going to die, you know. I'm not."
I don't know if it's a challenge or a plea. Or the opening I'm waiting for.
"People go into remission all the time," I say, surprising myself by entering into the spirit of Annie's appeal. "Their cancer disappears and no one can explain why. Who's to say it won't be you this time."
"I'm not going to die," she repeats softly, as if to herself, this time.
"Annie Halvorson?" a different nurse calls. "That's me." Annie jumps up and follows her down the corridor. A lady in a red shirt walks by, rummaging in her purse at the same time. She's wearing one of those scarves women wear on their heads when they've lost their hair. I wonder what her white cell count is. Then Annie is back. Her face is gray and she bites her lip to hold back tears. But they are there anyway, spilling out of her pale blue eyes, down her broad freckled face.
"I can't get chemo today; my blood count is too low," she says. "Let's go." She grabs her bag and jacket and walks away. "Wait," I say, picking up my purse. "Wait for me."
It's a little like all those old times when Annie was the ringleader and I followed. The time we shoplifted lipsticks and fingernail polish from the Rite Aid. The time we hung around until closing at the River Serpent so we could go home with the cute saxophone and guitar players, who drove a white hearse. That time — I can't remember it too well; I was pretty drunk — I woke up next to a guy I couldn't even remember meeting the night before. And then I saw Annie sleeping on the other bed, her heavy arm curled over the waist of a long-haired blond man, and it all came back to me, and it was OK.
Most of the drive back to her house, Annie doesn't say a thing, just stares out the window. She seems to float off somewhere and I miss one of the turns. That brings her back. "No, you have to make a left back there. Just go around the block and take Pierce Avenue. Follow it until you get to Maple and then go right. That's my street."
Then she zones out again. I feel like I'm alone in the car, driving through this long forgotten landscape. There's a feeling in the air, what is it, about being back in a place you haven't been to for a long time. You can't quite believe you're really there because it looks so different. But then you realize you're the one that's changed.
The houses look different from my west coast town, and the light is different, too. There's a lot of sky in both places but maybe more in the Midwest because the trees aren't as tall. There's so much light on this sunny day, it reminds me of earlier times when Annie drove a used Mustang convertible. On days like this, we often talked about getting in the car, turning the radio up loud and taking off somewhere, without a plan, just to see where we'd end up. But we never did it. I used to think it was Annie that held us back. Now I think it was me.
I remember my plan to get Annie to talk about dying and keep waiting for that old connection to kick in, for Annie's mind to open up to me. I thought this day together would be the time that I can give Annie the gift of listening, of letting herself be honest, real, scared. "Do you want to talk about the cancer?" I was going to say. "Do you want to tell me about it?"
But when I turn onto Maple, Annie turns to me. "I know how this started, you know," she says. "The cancer. It was because I smoked all that dope. That's why. That's my house. Right there on the left. Pull into the driveway."
She climbs out of the car. I do, too. When she reaches back in for her bag, her head disappears from view and it's like she's already gone. Like one of those times when we were stoned and things made perfect sense one minute and then you couldn't remember what you were saying or had said in the next, like you'd forgotten where you are, right in the middle of a sentence. That's what it's like. Have I imagined her there? Then she pops up again with that heavy black bag and tattered old denim good luck jacket with all the pins on it that doesn't seem to be working any more. Her lips are tight, the rest of her face is smooth as she hurries to the house.
I rest my arms on the roof of the car and watch her go with that resolute, determined walk of hers, all business. Even now. She fumbles in her capacious bag and brings her keys up from the bottom and opens the door. Then, as though she has just remembered I'm there, she turns to look at me. "You coming?" she says and vanishes into the shadowy house.
I stand there, still stunned, for another minute, thinking about what she has just said in the car. I don't know if it was intentional or not. She was so matter of fact about it. It doesn't seem pre-meditated. Does she mean she feels she brought the cancer on herself? Does she feel guilty about it? Or is she blaming me?
Then I follow her inside. A strange, acrid smell I can't identify hangs in the air in the living room but the kitchen smells like Pine-Sol. Annie is throwing a load of laundry into the washer and talking on the phone on the kitchen wall. "Hi, Joyce. It's Annie. I just got home. Did Justina get there OK?" Her voice is flat, emotionless, as if she has just stuffed everything, all her feelings, back inside. She reaches into the cupboard and takes out a bag of Chunky Chips Ahoy. "Well, they wouldn't give it to me today. My count was down. Next week maybe. So you can send her home now. OK? Thanks, Joyce. Yeah, I'll let you know about the next appointment. Thanks again. Bye."
"Justina stays next door when I've got chemo," she says, "but she'll be here in a couple of minutes. You want some coffee?" She puts some cookies on a plate and is pouring a glass of milk when the phone rings again.
"It's too early to be Bud," she says looking at me. "He usually calls after I get back, so I'm not going to answer it. Did you say you do want some coffee?" she asks, reaching for the Mr. Coffee pot. "I'm having some."
"I don't drink it anymore. Do you have any tea," I ask. "If you do, I'll have some of that."
Annie opens another cupboard and holds out a box. "Lipton OK?"
While she bustles around the kitchen, making tea and coffee, I sit at her grandmother's oak table and look around. The window behind me opens into a big back yard with elms and maple trees. They are beginning to drop their faded leaves. There's a tire swing off to the right and then a little blond girl comes climbing over the split rail fence into the yard. She stops at the swing and sticks her sturdy little body into it, leaning on her stomach. She runs forward a few steps and then picks up her feet and swings back and forth in low, slow, arcs. I can't see her face, just her long tanned legs curled backward, slicing the air into invisible shapes. After three or four more rides, she turns toward the house and I look back into the kitchen so she won't think she was being spied on.
"Annie, how much does Justina know? About the cancer, I mean?"
She puts a mug of weak-looking tea on a coaster in front of me. "She knows I've been sick and that I have to take medicine that makes me tired sometimes. She thinks my head is funny-looking, but we don't talk about it to her."
I must make a face because Annie says. "She's only six!"
And then she is here, a miniature version of Annie. The same freckles, the same blue eyes, the same chunky little body. "Hey, Mom, guess what? Willy Taylor had an operation on his ears. So they don't stick out as much. Mrs. Morrison said we shouldn't stare at him but I couldn't help it. Do people stare at you? Oh, hi," she says seeing me. "Mom do they?"
"Stare at you? You know, because your head looks funny."
Well, honey, I usually wear a hat so most people can't see my head."
"Yeah but you can't see any of your hair so maybe people think you're a boy."
"Some ladies have short hair. Look at Rae's. She's my friend from college which was a long time ago. Before you were born. Now, here, take these cookies and go play in the yard for a while. I'll call you for dinner. Run along."
Justina puckers up her mouth and drops her head for a fraction of a second before grabbing a handful and running from the room.
"Justina, don't run in the house."
"But you said run along."
"That's just an expression, Justina, and you know it. Just go now."
She pours herself a cup of coffee and settles heavily into the chair across from me. "Annie," I say. "What did you mean by what you said in the car? You can't actually believe you got cancer from the marijuana."
She gets back up and puts some more cookies on the plate and places it in the center of the table. She takes one and holds it with both hands. "Well, I do."
The phone rings again and Annie gets up to answer it. "Hello? Oh, hi. No, it wasn't a very good day. They wouldn't let me have the chemo." She turns her back to me, wrapping herself up in the spiraled phone cord, and drops her voice.
I look at Annie for the longest time then. I look at her pale neck, littered with freckles that cover, I know, her shoulders and back, her arms and legs as well. I look at the way she stands, her right arm propping up her left elbow as she whispers on the phone. I look at the slope of her shoulders and the way her hips still swell out. I look at all of this, trying to find the adventuresome, fun-loving, trouble-making partner of my youth, my wild days. But she's gone. I sit there, surprised, letting my tea get cold.
Annie hangs up the phone and sits back down, glancing at me and then out the window at Justina. "I know it was smoking marijuana that caused the cancer," she says. She looks right into my eyes and holds hers there. For the life of me, I still can't understand what she is saying with that look.
I look away. My eyes fall on the spilled sugar on the table between our cups and I push the granules together with my finger, then look out the window into the yard. Justina is throwing a stick for her puppy. I can feel Annie still glaring at me.
She's talking crazy, I think. You can't get cancer from smoking marijuana. Maybe the tumor in her brain is so big it's pushing against the part of her brain that makes sense. Maybe it prevents her synapses from firing correctly, leaving her unable to negotiate her way to logical conclusions.
I remember when I'd offered her the first joint she ever smoked. We were at Rick's attic apartment. I told her how to suck the smoke in and hold it in her lungs. I taught her to let it burn the back of her throat until her lungs pushed back to release the noxious fumes into the air and her blood stream, like a train rushing swiftly through a circuitous tunnel to her brain.
I look back at her. It's like being stoned again, that feeling of not being sure what has just been said. My palms are wet and shiny and it's hard to breathe.
"Are you blaming me," I say. "Are you saying it's my fault you have cancer?"
She doesn't say anything. Her eyes have softened but her jaw remains firm. I remember all the times Annie got what she wanted just by being stubborn and hanging on the longest until I gave in. Like the time we moved into the apartment she wanted though I hated my room. An old boyfriend of Annie's had claimed she was high maintenance and I was low maintenance.
We both keep quiet and the silence seems to stretch out and cover everything else in the world for a moment. Then I hear the kitchen clock ticking away behind me and I think a car drives by, but everything else seems very still. Finally, she takes those eyes away from me.
I look away, too. She's taken her shoes off and they are on the floor, perfectly lined up, touching each other. "I'd better be getting back to Suzanne's," I say, pushing my chair back.
"You might as well," she says in a low voice. "Justina will be in soon and I've got to start dinner. Thanks for taking me to chemo."
She pushes herself up from her chair and walks quietly to open the green-painted front door. She turns around to collect my jacket and purse and holds them out to me. I take my things and reach out to hug her but she stiffens when I touch her. I pull her close anyway and her body relaxes, just a little. Then she steps back. "You'd better go now or you'll hit traffic," she says.
"O.K..," I say. She stares down at the plastic doormat that spells out "Welcome to the Halvorsons."
"I'll call you tomorrow," I say. But she just stands there, almost like stone, so I turn to my car.
I get into the Neon and fasten my seat belt but don't think to find the keys. Instead, I sit there for a moment, thinking she will surely come over and apologize, tell me it's the terrible stress of the cancer. But there is no movement or sound from the doorway. It's as though the death dog has moved from the shadows in the corner where he's been crouching and lunged at Annie and Justina both. I can hear a small breeze move through the maple in the front yard, turning the leaves into the sun. Some of them break loose then and float softly to the bright green grass below. A Volvo station wagon drives by, a woman at the wheel with three kids in the back seat. Annie is still standing there as I finally back out into the street. I drive slowly away from the house that already stinks of death, the house receding into a small blue rectangle in my rear-view mirror.
I don't call her the next day. I mean to but I decide to let her cool down and try to connect again after I visit my parents. But the longer I wait, the harder it gets to pick up the phone and dial her number. What am I going to say?
A month later, I've just gotten home from work and the friend who told me Annie was sick calls again to say she died. My entire body seems to crumple, like the air has been let out and my whole interior structure has collapsed. I have to sit down and put my head between my knees. So the death dog has pounced and done his work. Where is he lurking now? I can almost feel his breath on the back of my neck and hear his low breathing in the air behind me. I turn quickly around but all I see is an open window and big puffy clouds chasing the southward-moving sun. One is shaped like a dog.
Copyright Lorna Reese 2003
Lorna Reese is a founder and was managing editor of SHARK REEF for most of its first eighteen years and is now editor emerita. In the past, she worked with different co-editors for each issue of the magazine, loving the collaboration with other writers. Lorna lives on Lopez Island, WA and continues at SHARK REEF, working mostly behind the scenes. Her memoir essays and fiction have been published in SHARK REEF, The Sun Magazine and The Islands Weekly. She delights in acting as a sort of midwife for other writers and has made the acknowledgements page of at least twelve books.
All work by Lorna Reese
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text:
Q: Como posso fazer um rand() que sempre gere somente 4 números aleatórios? Como posso fazer um rand() que sempre gere somente 4 números aleatórios, exemplo: 4562, 9370, 1028...
Meu código ele gera até 4 números, mas tem vez que sai 3.
$presenca = rand() % 4000;

A: Pode gerar um número com quatro dígitos informando os argumentos mínimo e máximo na chamada da função
$presenca = rand(1000, 9999);

Caso queira mostrar números menores que 1000 use str_pad() para adicionar zeros a esquerda. O primeiro argumento é o número, o segundo o tamanho máximo da string, terceiro o caracter(es) que serão adicionados e último argumento  é onde devem ser adicionados esses caracter(es) direita (por padrão), esquerda ou em ambos os lados.
$n = rand(1, 9999);
echo str_pad($n, 4, 0, STR_PAD_LEFT);

Leitura recomendada:
Documentação - rand()
Documentação - str_pad()

A: Pode fazer só passando os argumentos na função, é mais simples:
$presenca = rand( int $min , int $max );
$presenca = rand( 1000, 9999 );

Veja mais na documentação:
http://php.net/manual/pt_BR/function.rand.php

A: Se quer 4 dígitos então quer de 1000 à 9999, como ele gerará de 0, some 1000 para garantir o mínimo de 1000 e como já está somando mil estabeleça o limite em 9000.
$presenca = rand() % 9000 + 1000;

Também existe uma assinatura que devolve o resultado dentro da faixa:
rand(1000, 9999);

Coloquei no GitHub para referência futura.
Note que se chamar assim o número máximo é colocado como argumento. Se usar a matemática precisa sempre colocar o primeiro número que não pode ser gerado, ou seja 10.000 não pode porque tem 5 dígitos, então usei 9000 (tirando os 1000 iniciais). isto é o que a função rand() faz internamente quando recebe os parâmetros de faixa. O resto de 9000 produzirá o valor máximo de 8999.

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At least one uncut printer's proof (with 2 posters and registration marks) of each color exist/circulate.


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You are here: Home / Gaming Advice / Catan – What is it about, where do I even begin? – Ask the Bellhop
Catan – What is it about, where do I even begin? – Ask the Bellhop
July 20, 2018 by Moe T. 4 Comments
Aeryn Lynne asks,
I've heard that Catan is awesome to play (though I couldn't even tell you the basic premise of the game).
Every time I happen to check it out at our local shop there are new editions popping up. Most recent one I've seen is for Game of Thrones.
What is this game about that there can be so many iterations of it, and where do I even begin if I want to learn how to play?
Thanks for your help! 🙂
Excellent question. Catan, or as it was originally called: The Settlers of Catan, started off as one game that has branched off into an entire franchise of games and licenses. I fully get that it can be overwhelming and confusing to see so many games with the same title on them.
EDIT: We also covered this topic on the Tabletop Bellhop Live Podcast, Ep 1.
Disclosure: Some links in this post are Amazon Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
The short answer:
All Catan games stem from a set of simple mechanics found in each game. You place stuff on a map, you roll dice, you get resources based on the die roll and where your stuff is placed, you use those resources to build more stuff, you get points for building stuff, and the first person to build enough stuff wins. Every Catan game does this, but each individual game adds something more to it. I personally recommend starting with the base game and learning that first, but that's not the right answer for everyone.
The long answer:
All of the Catan games share some basic mechanics and themes. In every version of the game, players roll dice, use the number rolled to collect resources then use those resources to build settlements and routes between those settlements. More settlements mean more ways to collect resources and more resources means you can build more things. It's a race to a set victory point total with points being awarded for the things you have built. The other element that is common to all Catan games is trading. During the game, the players can freely trade resources with each other and this barter based negotiation is part of the allure of the game series.
In the core game, just called Catan now, you start the game with two settlements and two roads running away from them. These are placed on a randomized hexagonal tile map where each hex tile represents one of five different resources (except the desert which is barren). On each of these tiles, a numbered chit is placed. When the dice are rolled you find those numbered chits and then those tiles produce resources which are given to players who have settlements (or cities) on those hexes. You use these resources to build more roads and more settlements. You can also upgrade your settlements to cities and you can buy cards called Development Cards. These cards break the standard rules in some way. They let you build something for free, or collect victory points, or take resources from other players. Then there's the robber. Any time a 7 comes up on the dice you move a special pawn called The Robber. When you do this you can steal resources from other players and then the tile the robber is on no longer produces resources. Victory points come from building settlements and cities as well as having "the longest road" and "the largest army" (a special type of development card that lets you move the robber). There are also four development cards that are worth points. The game is played to 10 points.
Every other Catan game uses these same basic elements. You have a hex map that you put out starting pieces on. Then each turn players roll dice, get resources and use those to build more things on the map or get cards. They do this to get victory points and it's a race to a set score.
The Catan Expansions:
As noted above, the base game is just called Catan. Some of the first things to come out after the base game were expansions for Catan. The most basic is the Catan: 5-6 Player Extension. This does exactly what it says on the box. It lets you play Catan with up to two more people. Up next is Catan: Seafarers Expansion. This adds a couple new things to the game. A new map, where instead of one island you can have a bunch of separate islands, and now players have one more thing they can build: boats. Seafarers plays identical to base Catan but adds in just 2-3 new rules. Longest Road is now Longest Route and includes boats, and there are some very interesting new set up rules. It doesn't make the game feel any different, it just gives players more options.
Now, Catan: Cities & Knights Expansion is a different style of expansion. It changes the basic feel of the game. Cities & Knights adds a lot of new stuff to Catan. Barbarians are attacking the island. You can build knights, and palaces and walls. You get points for helping defeat the barbarians. There's a technology tree added where you can upgrade your cities by using the new commodities of coins, cloth, and books. It's much bigger expansion with a lot more to learn that actually changes how the game feels.
You can get 5-6 player extensions for both Cities & Knights and Seafarers, and similar to the other 5-6 player expansion, they just add more players. There are a couple more of expansions for the base game of Catan: Traders & Barbarians and Catan: Explorers & Pirates. These all do the same thing: they add on to the base game of Catan and follow all the original rules but add some new rules and new ways to play. One of the awesome things about Catan and the expansions is that you can mix and match them. You can play a 5 player game of Catan with Seafarers and Cities & Knights. You can play Catan with just Cities & Knights and Traders & Barbarians. What this does is add a ton of replayability to the core Catan experience.
As the game was originally released in Germany there are even expansions that never came out in North America. One of these is a huge hardcover book with a variety of new ways to play and new maps to try out. It's called Das Buch zum Spielen and is highly collectible. There were also two boxes of historical scenarios that included things like building the pyramid at Cheops or following Alexander The Great and helping build Alexandria. There are also promo expansions that are usually given out with magazines or at gaming conventions. Most of these are new maps to play on but some add new tiles and rules to the game like The Fishermen of Catan.
The important part to note is that the Catan Expansions require you to own the base game and use the original rules but add something new to them.
Stand-Alone Games:
In addition to the base games and expansions for it, there are a number of stand along Catan games. These include the A Game of Thrones Catan: Brotherhood of the Watch edition mentioned in Aeryn's question. What Stand-Alone means is that you don't need to own Catan to play these. These are their own complete games. They do not require nor do they work with Catan or any of its expansions.
What these games do is something different. They change something or add in something significant enough that they become a game of their own. For example in the Game of Thrones version, you are still collecting five resources, building settlements and cities (called Keeps in this version), building roads and collecting development cards. But, you are also working to recruit seven guards in seven different colors to guard The Wall. Every time a player earns victory points Wildings start showing up and on the roll of a 12 they will attempt to breach the wall. Game of Thrones Catan also adds in hero cards for many of the major characters from the popular series. What I found really interesting is that with this set you can actually just play basic Catan with it, though it's on a slightly smaller map than the core game.
There are a wide variety of these Stand-Alone Catan games and each takes the basic game and does something unique to it. Star Trek Catan not only changes up the map and the names of things but also adds in character cards for the crew that let you do a special action by trading them in. Catan Histories: Settlers of America – Trails to Rails turns Catan into more of a train game, where your settlements are replaced by wagon trains that actually move around on the map and instead of roads you are building railroad routes. The scoring in Settlers of America is completely different than any other version and is more about route buildings. Starfarers of Catan (sadly long out of print) puts the game in space and changes up the game so much that the only thing that it shares with the original is building settlements, rolling dice to collect resources, and trading those in to build things. Everything else is different, no roads, no routes, no development cards, a plastic ship you can upgrade with new bits, trading posts you can set up with aliens and more.
The important part to note is that stand-alone games are just that. They stand alone. They do not require and are not compatible with the original Catan game or its expansions. While sharing similar mechanics they aren't just more Catan.
The Funky Stuff:
To make things even more confusing there are also a few games that are Catan in name alone. These change up the gameplay so much that they aren't really Catan anymore. The usually still have the theme of collecting resources and using them to build things but that's it.
There's Rival's For Catan a two-player card game. There's a Catan Dice Game. There is Struggle for Catan, which is another two-player card game that's actually different from Rivals. There's even Catan: Chocolate Edition where at the end of the game you get to eat the resources you've collected.
The important part to note about these games is that, while they share a name with Catan and may have similar themes, they are nothing like and not compatible with the other Catan games.
How To Tell Them Appart:
My best suggestion is to ask someone who knows, like Aeryn did by contacting me. That's not always an option, and when that's true, the back of the box is your friend. All of these games very clearly state if they are an expansion and if they require Catan or some other version to be able to use the contents of the box. They will tell you if they are based on Catan and usually how they differ from the core game. There are also awesome online resources like Board Game Geek and in the case of Catan even Wikipedia can help you out.
So what should I buy?
You honestly can't go wrong with the base game. Especially with the number of very easy to add and understand expansions, it's going to keep your game group happy for a long time. There's a reason the game is as popular as it is. Now there is a Catan: Family Edition. I would skip over this. Besides costing more, you actually get less replayability in the box than the main game due to having a much less random map set up and a smaller board. I don't think removing the random map set up really makes the game that much more accessible, and recommend just starting with the base game. Once you own the base game I suggest adding the Seafarers expansion next. It adds a significant amount of new options with only only a very few new rules. It still feels exactly like playing Catan with a little bit more.
If you are a big fan of a specific license and there's a Catan game for that license you can go for that. You are going to get all the fun of the Catan base game plus probably a little bit more. The only problem with this approach is that the stand-alone games are just that, they don't work with the standard expansions. That said it's often a lot easier to sell a group on a new game if you tell them you are going to play Game Of Thrones and defend the wall from Wildlings than you are saying: So we are settlers trying to expand and colonize an island. In every case the game you can actually get your friends to play is better than one they won't.
As for the funky games with Catan on the box but no real ties to the core game, I would skip those for now. Those need to be judged as games on their own and shouldn't be bought just for the Catan name. I personally love Starship Catan, but it doesn't scratch the same itch as the original and gameplay is completely different.
Filed Under: Gaming Advice Tagged With: Advice, board games, Catan
Aeryn Lynne says
Oh wow, thanks so much for the thorough explanation, that's fantastic!
Now to decide on whether picking up the original Settlers of Catan version, which might be my best bet especially since the seafarer's version sounds REALLY fun; or Game of Thrones, 'cause who wouldn't want to defend the wall, and it looks like that one is on sale with Amazon, and YAY free shipping with prime! 😀
Bonus question if you don't mind… have you tried the chocolate edition of any games? I think I bought Monopoly chocolate edition as a hostess gift once, but never found out if it was at all fun, or if the chocolate was even good or simply cheap, lol.
They intrigue me, but I don't want to waste funds if it's more gimmick than fun.
Again, thanks so much for your help! 🙂
Moe T. says
Thanks for the comment Aeryn, glad the advice was helpful.
I haven't bothered with the Chocolate Edition. It falls under those odd games with the Catan name but little of the Catan game. It's a quick filler game that uses a spinner. There's no dice. There's no board.
You spin the spinner, get resources, trade those in to build things. Now the things you build are represented by chocolate. They just go in front of you. It's still a race but only to 5 points. Once done you get to eat what you built. You play it once then eat the pieces.
It's not expensive so it may be worth it for a one shot. Actually, I may consider picking up a copy for the Tabletop Bellhop launch party 😀
DavidRY says
Quick follow up question (and feel free to let me know if there's a separate place for these kinds of questions) – I have some friends who ONLY want to play Catan (I got invited to what I thought was a board game night but was actually just their regular Catan tournament style night), and I'm wondering what would be some good follow up games?
They've been interested in Ticket to Ride and Takenoko but neither have the same feel of the trading/player interaction and the dice-rolling/chance part of the resource collecting (plus they all love the ability of the robber to screw someone over). Any help?
The best place to submit a question is by email at questions@tabletopbellhop.com or filling out the form under Ask The Bellhop off the top menu. That way I get an email notification and I can add it to the master list of questions.
As for a direct follow up to Catan. Since you enjoy the mechanics of Catan so much perhaps check out one of the variations on it. Game of Thrones Catan or Settlers of America – Trails to Rails. Of the two Trails to Rails changes things up enough that it feels like a totally new game.
There aren't a lot of games that combine random resources generation with trading with screw your neighbor, which is probably why Catan is so popular. I may do this up as a full follow up post but here are a few games to look at: Chinatown, Genoa, Pit and Bohnanza.
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