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ZYZZYVA EventsAugust 11, 2018
ZYZZYVA Fiction Workshop with Anthony Marra
Location: Mechanics's Institute Building and ZYZZYVA offices, 57 Post Street, San Francisco
Description: A one-day intensive workshop with Marra, award-winning author of "A Constellation of Vital Phenomena" and "The Tsar of Love and Techno." Class size is very limited. Applications are due June 15. For more information, visit https://zyzzyva.submittable.com/submit/111999/fictionAugust 18, 2018
ZYZZYVA Poetry Workshop with Dean Rader
Location: Mechanics's Institute Building and ZYZZYVA Offices, 57 Post St., San Francisco
Description: A one-day intensive workshop with Rader, author of the poetry collections "Self-Portrait as Wikipedia Entry," "Landscape Portrait Figure Form" and "Works & Days." Class size is very limited. Application are due by June 18. For more information, visit https://zyzzyva.submittable.com/submit/106864/poetrySeptember 22, 2018
ZYZZYVA Creative Nonfiction Workshop with Caille Millner
Location: Mechanics's Institute Building and ZYZZYVA Offices, 57 Post St., San Francisco
Description: A one-day intensive workshop with Millner, author of the memoir "The Golden Road: Notes on My Gentrification" and a columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle. Class size is very limited. Applications are due by July 23. For more information, visit https://zyzzyva.submittable.com/submit/106865/creative-non-fiction
ZYZZYVA e-mail updates
In this issue:
The first American to win the Man Booker Prize, Paul Beatty talks with Managing Editor Oscar Villalon about his novel “The Sellout,” Los Angeles, literature, and satire.
What Emerges from the Fog: Essays on the faded traces of a life spent in the City (Joshua Mohr’s “San Francisco Loved Us Once”), and on the incredible challenges of making a life here—and of just choosing to live (Suzanne Rivecca’s “Ugly and Bitter and Strong”).
Anticipating the Worst: Stories on the threat of explosions, whether it be at the airport (David L. Ulin’s “Terminal”) or as just part of your job (Tom Barbash’s “Catbird”).
Natalie Serber’s “La Voix du Sang”: A son, becoming a young man, pulls his parents into the spiral of his wobbly future.
Maddy Raskulinecz’s “Barbara from Florida”: The tricks of the pizza-delivery trade: carry a dummy wallet, have plenty of fake IDs, and be ready for anything.
Plus stories from Dawna Kemper, Olivia Parkes, and Michael Zaken.
Christopher J. Adamson, William Brewer, Leah Clare Kaminski, Amy Miller, Pablo Neruda (translated by Katie Lateef-Jan & Dean Rader), John Sibley Williams, Casey Thayer, Robert Thomas, Kristen Tracy, and Devon Walker-Figueroa
Featuring the paintings of Eileen David
ZYZZYVA’s Summer Dance Party 2018 is almost upon us! Do you have your ticket yet?
The event—our annual fundraiser—kicks off on Friday, June 15, at 6 p.m. at the Make Out Room in San Francisco. Besides the chance to hang out with your compatriots and supporters of our literary community, you will also be able to bid on one of our many silent auctions, and test your luck with our first-ever raffle, featuring:
- Tickets to the Asian Art Museum
- Gift cards & certificates to Dynamo Doughnuts, Rustic Bakery, Dandelion Chocolate, Pizzeria Delfina, and Point Reyes Bookstore
- Gift bags from Lo-Fi Aperitifs and Baggu
- A Family Membership to the SF Botanical Gardens
- Membership to the Mechanics Institute Library, and more!
Tickets to the Summer Dance Party start at just $25, but are going fast. So get one now and don’t miss out on a once-in-a-year night of drinks, dancing, and community!
When Matthew Stokoe’s gritty noir High Life (380 pages; matthewstokoe.com) was published by noted indie Akashic Books in 2002, the book, which received very little coverage, managed to attract a fan base, thanks partly to Stokoe’s fearless depictions of upper-crust society at its worst. His novel eventually went out of print, but now that the rights to High Life are back with Stokoe, he has self-published his own edition of his hard-to-find book.
In High Life, Stokoe takes readers on a nocturnal tour of the seediest parts of late ‘90s Los Angeles, while gleefully subverting noir’s most ingrained tropes: there’s a private detective of sorts, but he’s a degenerate vice cop who more often acts as an obstacle to our main character, Jack; there’s a wealthy femme fatale living in a secluded mansion, but in a grim twist Jack might be more of a danger to her than the other way around.
Even so, Stokoe’s terse and evocative narration lets us know how much he appreciates the genre, especially the debt owed to the work of noir pioneer Raymond Chandler:
“My eyes felt charred and the cigarettes had eaten into my throat. I bought a cold coke from a machine outside a motel and chugged it until my eyes watered. Coke and damp night air, and the slowed pulse of the city around me. For that moment, for that snapshot, micron-thin slice of time, I was free of the past, free even of the present –– just the sweet caustic singe in my mouth and the loose quietness of being up and alone when most people were asleep.”
As High Life opens, Jack is just one of the millions living on the periphery of Hollywood, working a thankless job at a doughnut shop while secretly hoping to land a gig as an Entertainment Tonight-style television host. When his estranged wife (herself a drug addict) turns up murdered, organs removed with surgical precision, her grisly death serves as a catalyst for Jack to hit the streets and search for clues as to her killer’s identity––as well as quit his day job and begin to pursue his dreams of stardom.
The drive for celebrity quickly takes precedent, however, and after his friend Rex persuades him to take a stint as a male escort for the rich and famous of Beverly Hills, Jack more or less drops his amateur investigation. He rarely looks back on his journey to “lights, camera, action,” even as each inner circle of fame he achieves introduces new and more depraved behavior from Los Angeles’ wealthiest denizens. By the time he attends an Alice in Wonderland-themed party at the Bradbury Building (the iconic L.A. locale from the end of Blade Runner), the metaphor is clear: Jack’s lust for “the steamroller exposure necessary to become part of [people’s] desires” will send him tumbling down a rabbit hole to a place where traditional morality no longer seems relevant.
“I woke thinking about Daryl Hannah, about how her mornings must be. How she’d lie on a king-size bed in a pure white room the size of a tennis court with sunlight cutting swaths across the carpet. And just a short distance beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, a matter of yards perhaps, the sea would roll under blue sky and fat white clouds. The maid would come in with a light breakfast of coffee and croissants and the aroma of freshly roasted beans and the delicate pastry would mix with the ocean salt air and just that, just those three simple smells and the ocean breeze against your skin would remind you that you were a god.”
Although the idea of Hollywood using up and ultimately discarding the wide-eyed souls who head there seeking fortune and glory has been a noir standard since at least Sunset Boulevard in 1950, High Life is perhaps worth revisiting in the wake of the industry’s numerous sexual harassment accusations, as well as the NXIVM cult and its alleged involvement in human trafficking. Stokoe offers a glimpse of an industry where backroom power brokers indulge their most lurid predilections, and those on the lower rungs of society ––drug addicts, sex workers, and the homeless––are too often the victims of horrific violence.
Jack, while far from being a likable protagonist, does hold up a mirror to a certain part of our culture: the many who share his utter obsession with obtaining wealth, status, and media coverage, and his lack of compassion for anyone who is hurt along the way, no matter if they’re a lover or friend. Blackmail and murder become part and parcel of Jack’s world as he struggles to keep his footing on the slenderest ledge of celebrity he’s managed to obtain: “The taste of the high life I’d had made it impossible for me to give up the chance at becoming someone special without a fight.”
Not surprisingly, the novel’s graphic content ensures it may put off readers unfamiliar with transgressive literature, though it should be said this is a label Stokoe –– who cites Hubert Selby Jr.’s Last Exit to Brooklyn as a major influence –– actively resists. “More and more I’m coming to think that labeling certain writers as transgressive, or ‘outside traditional writing,’ is a construct perpetrated by reviewers and editors,” he said in an interview with Full Stop. “I really believe that the reading public is far more accepting of the so-called extremes in literature than the gatekeepers of taste give them credit for. In fact I think a good portion of readers actually want the extremes…For me, the violence and sex were necessary to tell the stories I wanted to tell.”
When Jack finally achieves an on-camera role as a presenter on a Hollywood chat show, his success brings him closer to discovering the identity of the mysterious, silver-haired surgeon whose sleek black Jaguar patrols the Hollywood Strip in search of hustlers and vagrants to operate on, and who may have been responsible for his ex-wife’s murder. Along the way, Stokoe ratchets up the Grand Guignol to nearly unbearable levels –– every ghastly detail hammering home the author’s indignation for the dehumanizing culture that encourages people to idolize stardom above all else.
Fortunately, even through the thorny tangle of Jack’s increasingly emotionless narration, Stokoe’s empathy for those lost along the way still comes through: there’s Jack’s friend Rex, who becomes an empty shell after a drug-fueled road accident leaves a small child dead (“We were in the same room, but he was million miles away,” Jack observes. “At that moment I knew I could spend the rest of my life trying to reconnect and I’d never do it. The guy was gone”); and Lorn, Jack’s co-host, whose disciplined work ethic and pragmatic view of Hollywood can’t save her from the harm that befalls everyone in Jack’s orbit. These lost souls are just a few whom Jack sacrifices at the altar of fame. Perhaps most chilling of all is Jack’s epiphany near the end, as he pauses to survey the physical and spiritual carnage he’s wrought. It’s a warning of sorts that Stokoe leaves with us: “I’m not that different from a lot of people.”
Here’s a sampling of some of the writing in Issue No. 112, which you can get today with a subscription to ZYZZYVA:
San Francisco Loved Us Once, an essay by JOSHUA MOHR: We stampeded to this magnificent speck known as San Francisco because we were too queer, too punk, too arty. We were the wrong color or born with the wrong genitalia. We were too fat or too tattooed or too sick or our own family simply despised us. Other places, we were easy targets. We were gristle trapped in a bully’s teeth. So we flocked here because it called to us, San Francisco summoning, saying, “All are welcome. All are loved.” And we basked in that affection. And we found ourselves. Granted, that San Francisco is now dead, dismantled in the name of Tech. Our surrogate mother has pushed pushed us away, allowing only the wealthiest into her arms. The whitest. No black or brown skin. No artists. A place once synonymous with prodigals and immigrants is now a country club. But for a long time, this place was a sanctuary of misfits. It was my home. I moved here when I was seventeen and came of age on its streets.
La Voix Du Sang, a short story by NATALIE SERBER: There’d been an incident. Vince was in custody. They drove in silence, each lost in his or her own version of what had happened to their sweet and eager boy. In Trina’s version things came too easily to Vince. Sure, he did fine in school, was satisfied with his effortless B’s, handsome and athletic enough. Vince loved the drums, weed, and girls. All things his father had loved, still loved. But unlike his father, who rose to every challenge, Vince gave up things he couldn’t master quickly. Their garage was cluttered with his expensive jetsam; lacrosse sticks, an empty aquarium, amps, a guitar. Friends, too, had been tossed aside. Whenever he felt bored or a slip in status, Vince resorted to teasing with a cruel edge. Trina had witnessed it in her own living room. Adept at discovering weakness (perhaps he’d be a politician), he had mocked a good-looking boy, a talented guitar player, calling him Corn Niblet, all with his arm slung around the boy’s shoulder. In Lewis’s version of what had happened, their boy took no risks, surrounded himself with mediocrity. He was the best house in a middling neighborhood. “Breaking and entering?” Trina said.
Casa Nirvana, a short story by OLIVIA PARKES: “Edgar, in God’s name, why? They’ll have you playing Yahtzee, or finger-painting, and say you’re suicidal if you opt out. Even convalescing is a group activity in those places. And you’re fine, we’re fine.” Edgar lowered the paper and shrugged. “I’ve always liked hotels. There comes a time in a man’s life when he would like to see a buffet at breakfast.” His bowl of Fiber One cereal had gone soggy at his elbow. “Every day?” she asked. Edgar nodded, and in six days he was gone. Now, almost a year later, Mitzy wanted to move back down to their old room. It sweltered upstairs in the summer and the nights spent navigating a dark corridor in the abandoned hours, her bladder like a burning drum, had led her to appreciate the luxury of an ensuite bathroom. Alone, however, the house still felt strange to her, and it was easier to sleep if she could pretend it belonged to someone else. Edgar, she knew, would not be coming back, so Mitzy moved back downstairs into the master bedroom and set about converting it.
In his first nonfiction collection, award-winning novelist, poet, and journalist Alexander Chee offers a reflective look at his life in How to Write an Autobiographical Novel (288 pages; Mariner Books). From his time in Mexico learning high school-level Spanish to his undergrad days at Wesleyan, and later the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, as well as his AIDs activism in San Francisco, the book is a well-orchestrated chronicle of a life well-lived.
Growing up as a Korean American, Chee often struggled with his identity and felt awkward in public, as when his long hair caused him to be mistaken as a girl, or when a stylist nonchalantly remarked he could pass for white. But Chee stood out in other ways: in the essay “The Curse,” he was the first among his classmates to achieve fluency in Spanish; and in “The Querent,” he was the only one to pass a test for psychic abilities. These were the times when he was visible in the “right” ways, and Chee conveys the validation he felt when he was finally recognized for his individual strengths rather than his outward appearance.
Chee’s realizations read as personal, yet universally contextualized. His essays form a triumphant and evocative narrative about youth and a hankering for the power found in beauty. One recalls philosopher Benedetto Croce’s notion of aesthetics while reading “Girl,” in which Chee portrays the elation of taking on a new identity, that of a woman. Aesthetics, as Croce points out, are ascendant; and although aesthetics are both the highest and the most challenging domain of human behavior, it is also the most base form, the one from which all others derive:
“This beauty I find when I put on drag, then: it is made up of this talismans of power, a balancing act of at least two cultures, an act I’ve engaged in my whole life, here on the fulcrum I make of my face. That night I want this beauty to last because it seems more powerful that any beauty I’ve had before. Being pretty like this is stronger than any drug I’ve ever tried.”
Chee graciously shares advice from his beloved professors at Iowa, such as Deborah Eisenberg and Frank Conroy, as well as Annie Dillard, who taught him at Wesleyan. Each of these mentors offers sound reminders that talent cannot be nurtured without hard work, making the book a helpful guide for young writers: “‘I started with writers more talented than me,’ Annie Dillard had said in the class I took from college. ‘And they’re not writing anymore, I am.’”
Chee also narrates his writerly journey through the hobby of gardening in “The Rosary.” Using gardening as a metaphor for his development under his teachers, he concludes, “I was not their gardener. They were mine.” The parallels of how a garden can initially be a “disaster in need of reckoning,” and how Chee eventually turned it into a blossoming rose garden, helped him visualize his own success. In chronicling his personal and creative struggles, Chee produces a cathartic primer for treading through the challenges of life with the same grace he displays as a writer.
Diligent readers of ZYZZYVA will have noticed Dean Rader’s dazzling poems in numerous issues of the journal, most recently in our Art & Resistance-themed Issue 111. We’re pleased to announce that Rader will also be leading a ZYZZYVA Writer’s Workshop in Poetry on August 18th, which is currently accepting submissions. The deadline to enter is June 18th –– so do not delay! The poet recently took time out of his busy schedule, which includes teaching writing at the University of San Francisco, to discuss the merits of the Workshop format, writing hurdles he’s overcome, recent poetry collections he’s read, and much more.
ZYZZYVA: Do you feel the communal aspect of a writing workshop, in which participants receive critical feedback from both the instructor and other attendees, can help improve the quality of a poem – or is it more about the discussion a poem can generate among the group?
Dean Rader: This is my professor (and my poet) answer but both things are valuable—especially in a one-day workshop. As a full-time professor and as someone who reads a lot of poems for contests and publication, I feel like I know what elements make a poem really sing. I also think it is important for writers to get feedback from other writers who are engaged in a common pursuit. One of the most critical things for any writer is learning what advice to take and what advice to ignore—these kinds of workshops are great for this.
One last thing—immersive workshops do both short term and long term work. There are immediate benefits that might make the poem under discussion stronger, but conversations and techniques and strategies learned in the workshop have long lasting benefits that can make future poems stronger than they might have otherwise been.
Z: In your collaboration with fellow poet Simone Muench in ZYZZYVA No. 101, known as the Frankenstein Sonnets, the two of you devised a new form for constructing poetry, one that saw you both piecing together a poem stanza by stanza. Do you ever instruct your students to experiment or devise new forms like this to break them out of their usual patterns?
DR: Oh yes. It’s a regular assignment in all of my writing classes. In fact, I have even begun assigning the very same system Simone and I used for our own poems. Often, they result in some of the best work of the semester because most people are capable of writing two interesting stanzas. One of the hardest things is writing a flawless poem from beginning to end. But, without the pressure of having to write a perfect poem, you would be amazed at how creative people get. Plus, you never want to let your collaborator down. Greatness rises to the surface…
Z: If a student comes to you and says, “This poem I wrote is bad,” what’s typically your first response?
DR: I usually quote this great passage from Thomas Mann: “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.”
Most of our poems begin badly. There is nothing wrong with writing a bad poem. I have written many. I have written bad poems this month. Typically, I ask my student if there is a way to save the poem, and we sometimes look for one line or one image or one moment that contains the energy or the edge of the poem. I ask the student to cut everything but that one part and start from there.
But, beyond that, I also believe that we sometimes have to write a series of failed poems in order to write the one that succeeds. What if the successful poem can only have been written because of multiple failures?
As I suggest above, poetry is about playing the long game.
Z: Early in your writing career, was there a specific hurdle you were able to jump over, whether it was a way to unlock your creativity or simply begin viewing yourself as a poet? How did you overcome it?
DR: That is a great question. The answer is yes, absolutely. Probably two main hurdles.
The first was simply wondering if I have what it takes, if I have the talent and the commitment to devote my life (or at least the professional part of my life) to poetry. There are two components of that fear—talent and dedication. I remember Edward Hirsch telling me one time that he came to a realization at one point in his career that he would rather fail at poetry than succeed at anything else. I too came to that realization, perhaps a little later than some, but it made all the difference in my work. There are other poets out there with more natural gifts than I have—Terrance Hayes is a better poet than I am. Jorie Graham – way better. W. S. Merwin – so much better it’s like Kevin Durant and my 6-year old son playing horse. But, I’m playing the long game – I believe my best poems are to come. I’m committed to being courageous about my work.
The second hurdle was believing in that choice—believing that if I gave myself to poetry that poetry would return that gift. Like most poets, early on I was confused about my voice and/or what I wanted my voice to be. I both wanted to sound like poets I admire and did not want to sound like poets I admire. Somehow, that involved letting go of past voices of restrictive ideas about what a poem should look like or sound like or do and let my poems embody poetry’s flexibility, its nimbleness, its openness.
Z: What are some poetry collections you’ve recently read and would whole-heartedly recommend to prospective Workshop attendees?
For me, the most impressive collection of the last decade or so is Lighthead by Terrance Hayes. A very different book but one which I like and I think students will like is Bright Dead Things by Ada Limón. King Me by Roger Reeves is great, as is Barbie Chang by Victoria Chang. If folks have not read W. S. Merwin’s The Lice, now is a great time to do so. Copper Canyon just issued a 50th anniversary edition of it – that book changed contemporary poetry. Brenda Hillman’s Seasonal Works with Letters on Fire is a must. I also recommend a book many people may not know – Simone Muench’s Lampblack with Ash. Lastly, if folks are interested in the ways in which poems can take on controversial political issues, I urge readers to check out Bullets into Bells: Poets & Citizens Respond to Gun Violence—with poems by Juan Felipe Herrera, Rita Dove, Billy Collins, Danez Smith, Robert Hass, Natalie Diaz, Dana Levin, Yusef Komunyaaka, Jane Hirshfield, Martin Espada and 40 others. Each poem is paired with responses by survivors of mass shootings, parents of children killed in shootings, and other activists. Often, contemporary poetry can feel like it is facing inward, but these are all poems looking outward.
A decade after the publication of his first novel, Harry, Revised, Mark Sarvas returns with Memento Park (288 pages; FSG), the chronicle of one first-generation Hungarian American’s journey to retrieve a family painting believed to have been looted by the Nazis. The protagonist, Matt Santos, is an aspiring actor and current background extra living in L.A. at the tail-end of his thirties when he receives a strange call from the Australian Embassy concerning a painting from their database of unclaimed war paintings: the fictional “Budapest Street Scene” by tortured artist Erwin Kàlmàn. The piece belonged to Matt’s family in Hungary during the Second World War, and its current value is estimated at two to three million dollars. Desperate for transit documents, his grandfather traded the painting to a member of Hungary’s fascist Arrow Cross Party. Unfortunately, the papers did not arrive in time to save his grandmother’s life,
This revelation leaves Matt puzzled; the story of his family’s escape “had always been a closely guarded secret,” and his “repertoire of gesture was too limited.” Matt also believes his father is the type of guy who “reveled in getting something for nothing,” and finds it strange his father doesn’t want anything to do with the painting, at least according to the embassy. Perhaps the story behind the painting could unlock why his family’s flight was shrouded in such mystery.
“There was something formidable about him, about his adherence to adamantine standards that I could neither meet nor shake free of,” Matt says of his father. Sarvas is an expert at depicting the dualities of the immigrant experience. When speaking in English, Matt’s father is laconic and rigid at best, belligerent at worst. But in Hungarian he becomes “like an aria transposed in another key,” an amiable, card-playing jokester when around his comrades from the Hungarian Social Club.
Matt’s other key relationships––his professional one with Rachel Steinberg, the striking, young lawyer from the World Jewish Congress; and the romantic one with Tracy, his supermodel girlfriend––are also complicated by his quest. Rachel travels with Matt to Budapest to aid him in his search for the painting, leading to amorous feelings that will create problems for Matt’s relationship with Tracy. “It often seems to me that the stories of our lives are too easily reduced to single moments of decision, whether to stay or to leave,” Matt says. “I suppose The Clash had it right, after all, but the wisdom of punk notwithstanding, I am consumed with this question.”
As Matt’s journey takes him from Los Angeles to New York and Hungary, Sarvas develops each setting with admirably unique language: “I had missed the spiced metal spell of the ocean,” he says of Los Angeles, “missed the gentle curves of the coast highway where the glass-flecked green and blue sheet shoulders up against pale, windswept beaches.” And throughout the novel, Sarvas allows his characters moments of self-reflection, ultimately asking if one can continue life’s dance when one has failed to learn the steps. (Witness the awkward encounter with Rachel’s father during a Sabbath dinner where he questions Matt’s lack of Jewish education.) As its protagonist puzzles over his identity, his relationships, and the painter Erwin Kàlmàn’s troubled past, Memento Park assembles these pieces into a satisfying whole.
You can’t accuse Joe Donnelly of taking it easy. In a decades-spanning career, the Los Angeles writer has profiled the “who’s who” of Hollywood––from America’s sweetheart Drew Barrymore to iconoclast filmmaker Werner Herzog––in the pages of publications like L.A. Weekly, where he served as deputy editor for a number of years. During that time, his short stories have earned him an O. Henry Prize (“Bonus Baby,” from ZYZZYVA No. 103) and have been adapted into short films. Donnelly also co-founded and co-edited Slake, a short-lived but highly acclaimed journal that gathered journalism, fiction, poetry, and art, all with a distinctly L.A. feel.
L.A. Man (284 pages; Rare Bird Books) represents a carefully curated selection of Donnelly’s journalism. The book includes profiles of actors as disparate as Carmen Electra and Christian Bale, as well as the madmen and outsiders that capture Donnelly’s imagination: the Z-Boys who skated rings around the empty pools of 1970s SoCal; ex-hippie turned international drug smuggler Eddie Padilla; eccentric comedian and dramatist Lauren Weedman, whose solo theatrical shows Donnelly likens to witnessing The Who perform for the first time; and many more.
Donnelly talked to ZYZZYVA about some of the famous names that appear in L.A. Man, life in the sphere of the filmmaking industry, and the enduring allure of Los Angeles.
ZYZZYVA: Throughout L.A. Man, you have a tendency to profile filmmakers, actors, musicians, and other artistic figures at moments when they’re either established icons (Lou Reed, Werner Herzog)—or alternately right when they’re at the precipice of fame. For instance, you met with Wes Anderson just before Rushmore put him on the map, and you note that even when you spoke to Christian Bale pre-Dark Knight he wasn’t quite a household name yet. When you meet someone at the start of their career, does that tend to make you feel more invested in their career trajectory and want to keep up with their artistic development?
JOE DONNELLY: Not really. I feel like I tend to go all in when I’m doing the pieces, or a lot of them anyway. There’s a desire to make them definitive even if they come at transitional points in the subjects’ lives, and I don’t tend to feel much invested in their trajectories afterward unless, of course, they are figures whose lives and art will continue to relate to my life in a tangible way. Those are few and far between. I don’t have many heroes in that way, though Lou Reed was certainly one of them. Of more interest to me than the super famous figures such as Herzog, Barrymore, Bale, or Penn, etc. are the continuing stories of artists such as Craig Stecyk and Sandow Birk, or Eddie Padilla, the subject of “The Pirate of Penance,” and the wolf OR7, whose life and story has more implication to me than whether or not Wes Anderson makes another good movie.
A quick summary of Moon Brow (464 pages; Restless Books; translated by Sara Khalili), Shahriar Mandanipour’s newest novel to be translated into English, reads like the stuff of fable. Our main character, Amir Yamini, returns from the Iran-Iraq War saddled with amnesia and bereft of his left arm. Ostracized from his family and community as a head case, crippled by shrapnel, he is repeatedly haunted by the image and piecemeal memories of a beloved. With the help of his sister, Reyhaneh, he searches Tehran for signs of his past, and potentially for the love he no longer recalls, save only in his dreams. In a brazen attempt to rediscover a portion, both imaginative and literal, of what was lost, his journey eventually leads him back to the battlefield where his arm was severed.
From a lesser writer, one might expect numerous pinholes to develop within this complex and twisting storyline, not to mention a sentimentality found in gone-off-to-war pseudo heroic narratives. Instead, Mandanipour treats us to a new kind of story by filtering his novel through the dual personas of the angel of virtue and the angel of sin perched on Amir’s shoulders. Not only that, but Amir himself, at times, converses with each scribe, encouraging one or reprimanding the other. (“Write on my right shoulder that I like the old man. Not on my left, you jerk! The old man has memories of my childhood.”) We’re often shuttled smoothly from one point of view to another, and to yet another, as the past is recast—not so much as fact or history, but as a feeling or moment, transitory and unsettled.
It’s true that much energy is devoted to the playfulness between our sometimes-capricious narrators and Amir and their interpretation of events. (Not to mention the atmosphere of playfulness and carefreeness found in Amir’s playboy lifestyle pre-war, which others relate to him.) Yet Moon Brow is indeed a war story, and takes deliberate steps in describing the horrors of battle
By the time he makes his way to the soldiers, the pleas and howls of three of them have stopped. Like a snake, an intestine has slithered under a rock. A lacerated red mask on a face. One man, sitting on his knees, his forehead on the ground, silently trembles. His uniform is soaked with blood. Is it his blood or another soldier’s?
Amir’s memories of the violence of the front are almost hallucinogenic, a consequence both of the precise language used to conjure such awfulness as well as the already established shifting narrative. The sometimes-brief recollections that spool into one another continuously in an almost stream-of-consciousness manner heighten the drama. Images of war and beauty exist in close proximity, and the sudden turn from idyllic to grotesque mirrors the precariousness of human life in wartime.
To truly appreciate Moon Brow one must embrace a mindset that maintains the world is not black and white, but in fact gray. Amir’s world is one where something can both be and not be in the same breath:
There are and there are not clouds in the sky. There is and there is not the perfume of wintersweet flowers in the air. There is and there is not the tick tock of a clock. There is the smell of dead leaves fermenting and there is no cuckoo of a cuckoo bird.
This is complicated, enjoyably, by the ongoing disagreements between the raconteur scribes. “The account on his left shoulder is faulty,” says the scribe on Amir’s right shoulder. “Not that it is untrue, but it has been written from Abu-Yahya’s perspective. This should not be done.” We inhabit the area between the two, listening to both sides, trying to piece together, alongside Amir, an accurate account of his life before the war. After a while, a certain vertigo permeates the text.
It’s quite remarkable, and should be counted as a tremendous success, then that Shahriar Mandanipour sustains this tightrope act for well over 400 pages, both rewarding and delighting those who make the journey with Amir.
Air travel has long been depicted in fiction as a venue for potential transition and transformation (even if only metaphorical); we take off from one place and land in another, and there is no guarantee we will be the same person upon our arrival—no telling what chance encounter may occur on our flight or what dreamy epiphany those long hours might inspire.
Blue Self–Portrait (143 pages; translated by Sophia Lewis; Transit Books), a 2009 first novel by French author Noémi Lefebvre, occupies this same liminal space; the entire book unfolds during a plane trip from Berlin to Paris, as our unnamed narrator obsesses over a brief romantic encounter with a German pianist, who is haunted by the Arnold Schoenberg painting from which the book derives its name.
Not unlike her characters, Lefevbre studied music, as well as political science; despite the dry image her academic credentials might conjure, Lefebvre displays a mordant wit. Her narrator is burdened with the kind of all–consuming self–consciousness and existential anxiety that have become hallmarks of a certain type of intellectual. Lefebvre utilizes page after page to pile on her narrator’s neurosis to frequent comedic effect: a trip to a salon means “…letting myself be shampooed, then snipped and styled and sent to the dryer to wait under that hood and finished off with hair spray, it destroys me every time”; her restless leg syndrome is “a long–standing problem that I’ve never managed to fix and which damages my social position, tarnishes my public image, and makes me unfit for all cultural integration.”
Lefevbre finds clever ways to disrupt her narrator’s solipsism. Any traveler knows that more often than not one’s agenda for the flight––whether it’s turning over the minutia of an ill–fated romance or making progress in a good book––can be dashed by the inconvenient realities of air flight: the screaming children or the choppy air. Lefebvre does well in reminding us her narrator is first and foremost a body at the mercy of a high-altitude cabin: “I looked for another tissue to mop up my capital and dorsal dripping, in other words my general dripping due to poor adaptation to the pressurized environment.” The narrator’s sister is along for the journey, her presence a welcome addition that serves to retrieve the narrator’s head from the clouds at opportune moments. Despite similarities in education and demeanor, the sister stands in frequent contrast to our protagonist: “You are not intellect alone,” she advises at one point, “you have to relax.”
In the end, the narrator seems to conclude that the defining difference between her sister and herself is her own suspicion in the very notion of a collective happiness—the idea that if each of us simply do our part then society as a whole will function for the betterment of all. “Collective happiness, in my sister’s case,” she explains, “depends fundamentally on universal niceness.” If the narrator is not dubious of the entire enterprise of striving for collective happiness, she is at minimum certain her ingrained anti–social behavior means she has no place in the endeavor: “…I mean I serve myself without restraint or consideration, I take what interests me and use it to fill my own void, my void is all I care about.”
Blue Self–Portrait contains thoughtful ruminations on classical music composition, the Third Reich’s persecution of the arts, and the impact of globalism on culture, among other far–reaching topics. Contemporary Berlin proves a rich setting, allowing Lefebvre to contrast the city’s towering artistic achievements against the lingering memory of fascism and the pervasive presence of consumer capitalism. (The narrator can’t help but remark on the ironies of her meeting with a pianist trained in classical German music to view an American film at the Sony Center movie theater: “composition and consumption fundamentally incompatible.”) Given how immersed in the notion of creativity and art the novel is, it is little wonder that at times Blue Self–Portrait takes on some meta qualities, such as when the pianist of our narrator’s affection muses, “…composing a piece with the stole aim of pleasing my audience was not my intention either, would have been impossible,” perhaps a reference to Lefebvre and the ways in which her novel categorically ignores the traditions of the form––resisting the straight narrative path from A to B, such as an airplane must follow.
“Flying only makes you melancholy,” the narrator’s sister tells her as their plane nears its descent, “…from the moment we reach the airport you’ll start to feel different and as though you’re glowing.” At times we long for this state of renewal at the end of a long journey, a revitalization upon arriving at our destination, no matter the wear-and-tear to get there. This kind of rebirth isn’t always possible, of course––some voyages leave us irrevocably altered and not for the better. But in Blue Self–Portrait there is at least the hope for change. “I’ll take some time at home quietly putting my pieces back,” our narrator assures her sister. “I’ll eat well and sleep well, I’ll take outdoor walks, that’s what I’ll do…I too shall be radiant.” We want to believe this is possible for our high-strung narrator, not only because we sense she deserves a reprieve from her constant self-introspection (and persecution), but because in her we see a reflection of our own desires.


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Simon Cowell is reportedly helping his good friend Mel B with a £1.8million TV contract, amid her bitter divorce battle with Stephen Belafonte.
The music mogul admitted the Spice Girls star is a ‘pain’ but ‘has a good heart,’ and confirmed he will keep her on as a judge on America’s Got Talent for another year.
And sources added that Simon, 57, is determined to support Mel through her divorce amid claims she has blown her £38 million fortune on her ‘extravagant lifestyle’.
Confirming that the AGT line-up will remain the same next year, Simon told Sunday People: ‘It’s been amazing with Mel.
‘I’ll be honest she can be a pain but she has a good heart. With this panel I wouldn’t change anything and I won’t be changing anything.’
The singer is expected to earn £1.8million from the new contract with Cowell, an insider told the publication.
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Mel and Simon for comment.

domain: entertainment


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After you begin feeling the pangs of winter overpowering, down you visit the market to buy the custom sweatshirts and components to choose the fashion styles of the season. The spring provides its series to the market. If you wish to read the latest collections and lists of newest patterns then make sure you check always into trendsetting names of the style industry such as the Guccis, the Vercases, the Pradas and a lot more from the country of Italy.
Summer time calls for an everyday cool look in general. You may use sleeveless t-shirts, short shorts, custom slippers etc. to choose the style. French shirts come with good material and with moisture flow potential which not just makes it relaxed to wear but also gives a good zing to your look hurtownia odzieży damskiej wólka kosowska. The types of the t-shirts may vary based on your physique. You may choose various styles of neck. They can be found in numerous bold colors and patterns. You can generally experiment with your try these German shirts.
These shirts make you appear youthful and recklessly impeccable. The different images on these Chinese shirts for guys certainly are a benefit to the design quotient. You might choose a printing which provides an email or an abstract one; German covers have a great deal of selection! Put on trendy accessories and you’d absolutely be noticed. French informal pants also really are a show-off if you decide on them right. Be it the Italian trousers or the Italian denims; the German style outfits market has specific manufacturers which create kickass services and products!!
The wintertime paves way for “covered” looks. The jackets, blazers and sweaters produce their solution to your wardrobe. Jackets may be plumped for correctly to provide the necessary outlook of one’s apparel. The French fashion clothes comprises of numerous models of jackets to move together with your taste. The blazers give you a conventional search with a vintage touch.
The sweaters are an alternative to the coats and may be bought with numerous prints on it. The sweater in winters is akin a shirt in summers; they can be found in various colors, tones and designs. They provide you with a great look in the great time!! Another thing about the winter season is the addition of shoes and shoes in the attire. A good-looking set of footwear may add a celebrity to your looks. Sneakers also have a large amount of possibilities in regards to choosing one for unique attire. Italians have an unmatched sense of fashion. The Italian models are probably the most recognisable manufacturers in the style circuits. Therefore in 2010, get and try the Chinese fashion clothes.

domain: design


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We welcome Grand Rapids-based singer/songwriter Nicholas James to the stormy stage Monday, July 20.
According to The Grand Rapids Press:
"Nicholas James Thomasma, aka Nicholas James, is one of West Michigan's rising singer-songwriter stars. Nicholas is a Grand Rapids native and a Michigander to the core. He even has the Great Lakes tattooed on his arm and professes real love for the region in earthy, country-imbued songs drenched in honesty and authenticity. Thomasma also happens to be a supremely talented singer."
Nicholas will be joined by Clouds on violin. Clouds is an award-winning artist who combines delicate harmonies with Nic's powerful vocals. Their music is honest and often heartbreaking.
Check out Nicholas James and save the date to catch him live in downtown Frankfort.


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And finally, after 433 episodes of waiting, John Ma (Chris Lai Lok Yi) and Alex Wan (Queenie Chu) are finally together! John Ma rushes to the airport to confess to Alex, upon knowing that she will be going on a business trip. He uses the script from her favorite manga story. Although in previous rehearsals he had stumbled upon certain phrases, this time, John Ma does a 100% perfect job.
John Ma: When the galaxy loses balance, many stars will disappear, one after another. Stars will die out, one by one. But, before the end of life, I will hold your hand. And together, we can travel to the stars, and go around them. In this riverbank of stars, there will be our painted streak of light.
FINALLY! After all this waiting, they are finally together. I guess they had to incorporate the element of how they had first met: at a cosplay competition, where Alex was Sailor Moon and John Ma was Tuxedo Mask. And the episode ended exactly the way the manga was drawn out. Can’t wait to see more of them. Playful John Ma and serious Alex Wan. I see sparks flying!

domain: artistic


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I love 100 Layer Cake; it is one of my favourite blogs. Recently 100 Layer Cake profiled gorgeous photographer and artist Jen Huang. I love these original watercolours – a very sweet piece of artwork/keepsake for any bride.
- RT @SaskPolytech: We had a great time celebrating @RAKSaskatoon across Saskatchewan! Check out FB for more pics. #SaskPolytechRAK https://t… 1 month ago
- RT @SaskPolytech: We are ready for #rakyxe! #saskpolytechrak! @raksaskatoon #dogoodthings https://t.co/ZEw9k4legi 1 month ago
- RT @debclague: Very proud to rep the prairies and receive the #Redgees16 Best of Region design award for @SaskPolytech. #awesome 🏆 1 month ago
- RT @SaskMarketing: Marketing Costume ideas for Halloween? Check these ideas out. #SPMA ow.ly/rZW9305jnwu 1 month ago
- RT @hypedesigns: "Hi Zach...I need a favour..." #yxevotes #galifianakiseffect https://t.co/R0XVZ5tpDc 1 month ago
About Accessories Art&Design Bags Christmas Crafty Ladies Daily Mantra Desktop Calendars DIY Drawing Events Family Felt Food friendship Halloween High School interior design Knitting Lace Link Roundup Magnets Martha Stewart Mom music Needle Tatting Painting Pets photography Pinerest Poetry Printmaking Quirky Saskatoon Secrets Sewing Soap Style Tea Love Theatre Travel Typography University Video Weddings


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SLUG: 2-304098 Afghanistan-bomb (L)
INTRO: An apparent terrorist bomb explosion near Kabul has destroyed a bus carrying international peacekeepers, and Afghan officials say at least four German soldiers were killed and more than two dozen people were injured. Ayaz Gul reports from neighboring Pakistan that local officials expect the death toll to rise.
TEXT: Afghan security officials say the blast was caused by a suspected suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives.
The bombing took place on a busy road in the eastern part of
Afghanistan's capital and completely destroyed the bus, which was filled mostly with German peacekeepers. Witnesses say the force of the explosion threw the bus several meters off the road.
Local officials said four German soldiers were killed almost
immediately, three at the scene and a fourth en route to the hospital. At least ten passengers and a number of passers-by are said to have suffered serious injuries, and not all are expected to survive.
No one has yet claimed responsibility for what is being described as the deadliest attack against the multinational military force since it began patrolling Kabul 18 months ago.
More than four-thousand soldiers of the International Security Assistance Force are responsible for providing security in the Afghan capital. They are currently under joint German-Dutch command.
There has been an increase in attacks against international and local troops in recent months. Afghan authorities have usually blamed remnants of the deposed Taleban government and the al-Qaida terrorist network for the violence.
The anti-government forces are opposed to a foreign military presence on Afghan soil. Nearly 12-thousand U-S special forces are hunting for these militants in an attempt to rid Afghanistan of terrorism.
In a gunfight this week in the southern parts of the country, Afghan officials say their own forces killed up to 40 Taleban fighters. The region has been the scene of much of the anti-government activity.
The transitional government of President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly appealed for the multinational force to extend its mission beyond Kabul, to help establish security across Afghanistan. (SIGNED)
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domain: politics


Top 25 roundup: No. 21 Texas A&M topples No. 4 Florida
Seth Small connected on a 26-yard field goal as time expired to lift No. 21 Texas A&M to a 41-38 comeback win over No. 4 Florida on Saturday in College Station, Texas.
The Aggies (2-1) secured their first win over an Associated Press top 5-ranked team in the three-year tenure of coach Jimbo Fisher. The lone giveaway by the Gators (2-1) — — a fumble by running back Malik Davis — cost them the game.
Texas A&M’s running game proved to be the difference as the Aggies totaled 205 rushing yards on the ground, led by Isaiah Spiller’s 174 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries. Texas A&M senior quarterback Kellen Mond completed 25 of 35 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns as Texas A&M totaled 543 yards on offense.
Florida’s offense had no trouble moving the ball throughout the game. Quarterback Kyle Trask completed 23 of 32 passes for 312 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions.
No. 1 Clemson 42, No. 7 Miami 17
Trevor Lawrence passed for 292 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a fourth as the host Tigers clobbered the Hurricanes.
Clemson moved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference while Miami (3-1, 2-1) suffered its first loss of the season. The victory was Clemson’s 25th in a row at home, extending the nation’s longest active home winning streak.
Lawrence completed 29 of 41 passes, and senior running back Travis Etienne had 17 carries for 149 yards and two touchdowns, including a 72-yarder with 7:56 left in the third quarter that gave Clemson some breathing room, 28-10.
No. 2 Alabama 63, Ole Miss 48
Najee Harris rushed for 206 yards and a school-record five touchdowns, and Mac Jones passed for two as the Crimson Tide defeated the Rebels in an SEC shootout in Oxford, Miss.
The Crimson Tide (3-0) gained 723 yards and the Rebels (1-2) had 647 for the most combined yards in an SEC game.
Jones completed 28 of 32 passes for 417 yards. One of his touchdown passes went to DeVonta Smith, who had 164 yards on 13 catches and also ran for a touchdown. Matt Corral completed 21 of 28 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns for the Rebels, who kept pace until the final few minutes.
No. 3 Georgia 44, No. 14 Tennessee 21
Stetson Bennett threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to lift the Bulldogs to a victory over the Volunteers in a Southeastern Conference contest in Athens, Ga.
Georgia (3-0, 3-0) allowed only 71 yards and four first downs after halftime, erasing a 21-17 halftime deficit with 27 straight unanswered points. The Bulldogs held the Volunteers (2-1, 2-1) to minus-1 yard on 27 rushes.
Bennett completed 16 of 27 passes for 238 yards with no interceptions. Volunteers quarterback Jarrett Guarantano completed 23 of 36 passes for 215 yards with an interception. He was sacked five times.
No. 5 Notre Dame 42, Florida State 26
Ian Book threw two touchdown passes and rushed for one more, Kyren Williams added two rushing touchdowns, and the Fighting Irish held on for a win over the Seminoles in South Bend, Ind.
Chris Tyree also rushed for a touchdown for Notre Dame (3-0, 2-0 ACC), which won its 21st consecutive home game. It is the longest home winning streak for the Fighting Irish since they won 28 straight from 1942-50.
Jordan Travis completed 13 of 24 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown in his first start for Florida State (1-3, 0-3). Travis became the third quarterback to start for the Seminoles this season. Book finished with 201 passing yards while completing 16 of 25 throws, but the Fighting Irish ground game made the difference. Notre Dame ended with 42 carries for 353 yards for an average of 8.4 yards per attempt.
No. 8 North Carolina 56, No. 19 Virginia Tech 45
Michael Carter rushed for 214 yards and two touchdowns and the Tar Heels generated 656 yards of offense in a victory over the Hokies in Atlantic Coast Conference play in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Javonte Williams, Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome also scored two touchdowns apiece for the Tar Heels (3-0, 3-0 ACC). Williams rushed for 169 yards on 20 carries and Sam Howell completed 18 of 23 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns.
Hokies starter Braxton Burmeister completed 7 of 15 passes for 79 yards and added 51 rushing yards before giving way to Hendon Hooker. Virginia Tech running back Khalil Herbert, who came in as the nation’s leading rusher, ran for 138 yards on 18 carries.
No. 13 Auburn 30, Arkansas 28
Anders Carlson kicked a 39-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining and the host Tigers survived four Feleipe Franks touchdown passes to edge the Razorbacks.
Tigers quarterback Bo Nix passed for 187 yards and a touchdown and also scored a rushing touchdown. Freshman Tank Bigsby rushed for 146 yards, while Anthony Schwartz caught 10 passes for 100 yards and one touchdown for Auburn (2-1).
Franks passed for 318 yards, while De’Vion Warren caught five passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns for Arkansas (1-2).
No. 15 BYU 27, UTSA 20
Zach Wilson threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, leading the Cougars to a win over the Roadrunners in Provo, Utah.
The Roadrunners made it interesting, holding the high-scoring Cougars to their lowest point total of the season and rallying in the fourth quarter. But BYU was able to hang on and stay undefeated at 4-0.
The Cougars held the nation’s leading rusher, UTSA’s Sincere McCormick, to 42 yards on 11 carries. But backup quarterback Lowell Narcisse, a second-quarter substitute, threw for 229 yards and two scores as the Roadrunners (3-2) fought back in the fourth quarter.
Missouri 45, No. 17 LSU 41
Connor Bazelak passed for 406 yards and four touchdowns and Missouri used a last-minute goal-line stand to upset LSU in a Southeastern Conference game in Columbia, Mo.
Bazelak threw a 69-yard completion to Chance Luper to set up a 5-yard touchdown pass to Niko Hea to give Missouri (1-2, 1-2 SEC) the winning points with 5:18 left.
LSU (1-2, 1-2) drove to a first-and-goal at the 1 but gained no yards on two rushes and threw two incompletions, turning the ball back over on downs with 16 seconds left. Myles Brennan completed 29 of 48 passes for 430 yards and four touchdowns for LSU, which did not convert any of its 10 third-down opportunities.
Oklahoma 53, No. 22 Texas 45 (4 OT)
Tre Brown intercepted Sam Ehlinger’s pass in the end zone in the fourth overtime to lift the Sooners to a wild quadruple-overtime win over the Longhorns at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
Ehlinger had lifted the Longhorns late, leading two touchdown drives in the final five minutes of regulation, and was mostly excellent in overtime until the Sooners’ dormant defense finally came up with big stops in the third and fourth overtimes.
After neither team scored in the third overtime, Drake Stoops caught a 25-yard touchdown pass and Spencer Rattler found Theo Wease for the two-point conversion to put the Longhorns’ backs against the wall.
No. 24 Iowa State 31, Texas Tech 15
Brock Purdy threw two touchdown passes, Breece Hall rushed for two scores and the Cyclones defense put the clamps on the Red Raiders’ potent offense in a victory at Ames, Iowa.
Purdy completed 32 of 43 pass attempts for 302 yards. He did not have an interception. He spread his completions to 11 different receivers, led by Xavier Hutchinson’s nine receptions for 77 yards. Hall, the leading rusher in the Big 12 coming into Saturday, gained 135 yards on 27 carries.
Texas Tech (1-3, 0-3) entered the game averaging 512 yards, ranking ninth in the nation, but mustered only 270 against the Cyclones.
–Field Level Media


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Those Days is a third person shooter survival horror game where players step into the foot of Grendall Redwick an interesting character with a personality and attitude, that can autonomously do some stuffs on his own. Although the game have no set objectives or main story, players can discovers can get to uncover the backstory of the game as they play, they can discover things, documents, tapes and many more. Grendall can also have flashbacks when he comes into contact with things relating to his past. Players can use vehicles, join other survivor factions, attend to Grendall needs, hunt, and survive different classes of Zombie-Like Creatures that can adapt and constantly evolve and also become more intelligent called VMPs (Vamparic Mad Persons), Survive natural disasters such as hurricanes and many more!
No mods were found matching the criteria specified. We suggest you try the mod list with no filter applied, to browse all available. Add mod and help us achieve our mission of showcasing the best content from all developers. Join now to share your own content, we welcome creators and consumers alike and look forward to your comments.

domain: game


After I already got two Nvidia Tesla P4 GPU cards from my colleague Marc Huppert (VCDX#181) in the beginning of 2021, coincidence struck in October 2021, I met a former colleague of mine again at my second hobby mountain biking, we also talked about my Homelab and there my former colleague surprised me with an Nvidia Tesla M10 GPU that was lying around unused at his place. So the GPU ended up in a free PCIe slot in one of my servers. At this point many greetings to Marcel C. and many thanks 🙂
As you might know, the Nvidia Tesla M10 GPU card is one of those that still need an additional power connector. Specifically one with 8 pins.
Unfortunately, the GPU enablement kits for my HPE DL380 servers are only available at horrendous prices on eBay. So I thought I’d go looking for a single cable that connects from the 10-pin connector on the server’s riser card to the 8-pin connector on the graphics card.
In short, it was a nightmare with a lot of returned cables, as HPE doesn’t seem to follow the ATX standard here, why would they?
After 4 exchanged cables, partly with the same PIN assignment and only with different lengths, the card finally worked.
32 GB vRAM for VMs is already a lot and I now have the possibility to supply each of my VDI VMs with a vGPU, which allows me to simulate a lot of customer use-cases.
After the Nvidia Tesla M10 GPU card finally ran in my server I was able to get a lucky shot on eBay, but how it goes on you can read in Homelab version 2.3


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Stand With Hocking College Students To Take Back Our Education and Safety!!!
This is a tale of CORRUPTION, LIES, THREATS, UNION BUSTING and THE SAFETY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS: At the beginning of this year students found out Hocking College. A 2-year technical school in Nelsonville, Ohio (about 12 miles northwest of Athens and about 62 miles southeast of Columbus) was starting a sports program in a gamble to get more students. More students meant more income to the school that had been about 4 million dollars in debt due to a major decline in students since 2010. Students started getting upset when they found out Teachers were being cut to pay for this sports program. Dr.Betty Young (who was officially installed as college president over the summer despite push back) has claimed that these cuts were only teachers who did not meet the credential of having at least a Master's degree. After talking to some very upset teachers students learned that while this maybe true for some of the cuts, most of these cuts were fully qualified and cut because they were union. 98% of the cuts were also 50+ years old. On top of that, the adjunct replacements for some of these positions are less qualified than the teachers that were cut because of the credential marker. Students in the fire program came in the first day with no warning to learn that their entire program had been cut. This was because the state did not approve the program because the college only had one full time instructor rather than the two required by the state. Fire instructors had also launched grievances of a hostile work environment. Rather than addressing these problems, the program was cut the day before the school year started. The installation of sports brought other problems, specifically with the football team. The school had made a rule that all athletes had to live in the dorms. This means students living off campus couldn't play. However they made one exception. That exception was Steubenville rapist Trent Mays who was chosen as their captain and isn't aloud in the dorms because of his sex-offender status. This decision on top of the group's behavior and massive egos lead to some misguided rage and some internal racism from other students toward the team. The Football team has also cancelled a number of title IX sensitivity training courses. On September 1st, a gang rape of a female student was reported. As she woke up in her dorm room naked with 4 other men after a night of heavy drinking in Athens. 3 of the alleged suspects are football players. Names have not been publicly released and no charges have been placed as of yet. A lot of students were upset that the college didn't use the emergency alert system to notify us about the rape. The Hactivist group Anonymous (the same team that was behind Steubenville) has announced they're own investigation into this case. On September 7th, Hocking spokesperson Mike Brown announced that the case was over and that there was without a doubt "no rape". The county prosecutor begs to differ, citing that the case is still going on. Mike Brown was put on paid administrative leave as of September 11th, after being accused of coaching students on what to say to the press about the case. The school has confirmed the termination of his job on September 14th. Student protests were planned over the issues above for September 10th and 11th. Students were threatened that their financial aid would be taken away if they participated. This scare tactic worked on many students at the beginning. However, a select group of protesters were educated on student rights and slowly started educating others. On the morning of September 10th, Campus Police Chief/Football Coach Al Mathews came out and told that same group of protesters the school had designed a special "Free Speech Zone". That conversation can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=305&v=9vrp_nEUwFQ This area was a small spray painted box in the middle of a field, out of the way of being noticed. Again this group being educated on their rights turned him down and continued where they were disbanding only for the day to be respectful of the 9/11 ceremony that night. On the morning of September 11th, Dr.Betty Young had a meeting with the protesters that were at the prostest spot at the time. During that meeting, Dr.Young and Chief Mathews had threatened to confiscate phones from anyone recording. Knowing that Ohio is a 1 party recording state (which means only one person has to know a conversation is being recorded) a protester was able to record the entire discussion. On September 15th we went back out there to protest. Betty Young had sent a legal consultant out to say that she wanted another meeting with us. We still had questions unanswered from Friday's meeting. Plus we had a new one. Now that we got her to start using the emergency alert system we've been questioning the timing of the alerts. She then declined to talk to us after it was announced we were reporting and turned us away. That conversation can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=95&v=rePIhxxU12M Only 2 issues got progress at this meeting, the use of the emergency alert system which was used later that day to tell students about a physical assault from the night before on the path to off campus housing. The other issue that got progress were some self-defense classes because so many students feel unsafe on campus. Betty Young was fired from her last job as president of Coleman College in Houston, after a faculty "vote of no confidence" for Young's "lack of transparency" among other reasons that led to her removal. She was also the subject of votes of no confidence in her two presidencies before that, at Ashville-Buncombe Technical Community College in N.C. and Northwest State Community College in Ohio, all of them for similar reasons. We, the protesters do not have any ill will toward the football team despite how a few of them may feel about us. We are not from the Anonymous group. They are here purely for the rape case. We are here for the students' safety and the school's sake. We just share a common target. We are a bunch of educated college students and alumni using our 1st amendment rights to peacefully protest for a cause we feel strongly about. Please, sign and share this petition if you support the protesters in ousting President Dr.Betty Young, her board of trustees, Campus Police Chief/Football Coach Adolphus Mathews and the rest of the administration (Mariah Davis, Jeff Daubenmire, and Nicolette Diogaurdi). We care about this school for the educational programs (ranked really highly in the country), the full-time teachers the school has or had (some of which are the reason those programs are so big), and the beautiful campus. recap of things they've done: - Fired qualified and respected teachers -Allowed rape allegations to go unanswered -Hired unqualified part time Adjunct teachers -Canceled classes and a program without notice -Lied to students and the press -Threatened to take students' financial aid -Failed to alert students of a possible danger -Union busting -Threatened to take students' constitutional rights -Ageism

domain: news


WASHINGTON — The Whole Grain Stamp is the third most recognized front-of-package symbol among members of the American Dietetic Association, according to a survey published in the April issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The stamp was introduced in January 2005 as a way to help consumers better identify products containing whole grains.
The survey, results of which were analyzed by Krista Yoder Latortue, public policy coordinator for the Pennsylvania Dietetic Association, and Jennifer A. Weber, manager of national nutrition policy, policy initiatives and advocacy in the A.D.A.’s Washington office, included 5,553 responses from A.D.A. members in 2008 and 3,687 responses in 2009.
In both 2008 and 2009, approximately 9 in 10 A.D.A. members said they were aware of symbols or icons on the front of food packages that communicate nutrition information to consumers, and approximately 42% of those surveyed said they instruct clients to look for front-of-package symbols.
According to the 2009 survey, the most recognized front-of-package symbols were the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check Mark, at 83%, the 3-A-Day by the National Dairy Council, at 79%, and the Whole Grain Stamp, at 77%. The symbols also were the three symbols that A.D.A. members said most accurately reflect the nutritional value of a product (59%; 47.4%; and 46.8%, respectively).
The most common front-of-package symbol A.D.A. members reported promoting to their clients was the Whole Grain Stamp, at 68%. The finding drew applause from the Whole Grains Council.
“For all of us at Oldways and the Whole Grains Council, this report feels like winning the New Hampshire presidential primary, or bringing home a report card with all A’s,” wrote Cynthia Harriman, director of food and nutrition strategies for the W.G.C., in an April 11 blog. “We’re delighted to know that so many R.D.s — the health professionals most involved with giving daily food advice to Americans — find the Whole Grain Stamp a useful tool.”
In addition to the findings on front-of-package labeling, Ms. Latortue and Ms. Weber examined participants’ responses to grocery store shelf price tag nutrition profiling systems. They found that the most recognized systems were Guiding Stars found in stores such as Hannaford (41%), followed by Healthy Ideas found in Giant Food and Stop & Shop (40%), and NuVal found in Hy-Vee and Meijer (36%).
In general, A.D.A. members surveyed in both 2008 and 2009 overwhelmingly (89%) expressed the need for a single, uniform symbol program, but the results were split when asked whether front-of-package symbols and shelf price tag labeling should be voluntary or mandatory. A shade more than 58% said the labeling should be mandatory, the survey noted.
In the event a uniform labeling system was made mandatory, 59% said the system should be based on an overall score that considers both the nutrients to eat more and less of, while 45% said the system should include MyPyramid and/or Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations, and 27% said the system should focus on nutrients to eat more of, such as whole grains and fiber.
“These studies indicate that the majority of A.D.A. members are aware of F.O.P. labeling,” the authors wrote. “Most A.D.A. members responding to the survey would prefer a single uniform F.O.P. labeling system, while a smaller majority believes the system should be mandatory.
“Introduction of new F.O.P. nutrition symbols may slow down now that the Food and Drug Administration is developing proposed regulations that would define the nutritional criteria that would have to be met by manufacturers making F.O.P. or shelf label claims concerning the nutritional quality of a food, whether the claim is made in text or in symbols.
“Research to study consumer understanding and use of nutrition symbols is now under way as the federal government considers how to move forward on effective F.O.P. nutrition labeling. The F.D.A. announced plans for research that will focus on how consumers use and understand various types of F.O.P. labeling and shelf-tag systems, including those that use one symbol to summarize nutritional attributes and systems that feature or rate foods as being low, medium, or high in specific nutrients, similar to the traffic light system in the United Kingdom.”


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Isekenegbe and Dr. Kimberly Ayres, CCC program coordinator of Service Learning and Leadership, explained the college’s plans and progress in three major directions: Student engagement and completion, leadership and service learning and economic and workforce development.
“It’s more important than ever in our 47th year and years to come to collaborate with all entities in our county and community,” Isekenegbe said. “The only way to truly move our community forward is to work together, and we really want this community to thrive.”
In the past 10 to 12 years, CCC has grown from a student body of approximately 3,000 to about 4,000 enrolled, now with seven university partners, and the college president said more growth is in the works. Isekenegbe said he would be meeting with Bridgeton Mayor Albert Kelly next week to discuss the potential for expansion into the western side of the county, in addition to describing on- and off-campus facility enhancements and expansions being implemented now and during the summer at CCC and in Millville.
The 2012-2017 strategic plan includes focus on ensuring students who come to CCC are prepared for success without spending years in remedial classes and can complete an associate degree in no more than three years.
Isekenegbe said CCC also is working to create a community attractive to businesses, featuring skilled citizens ready for successful employment.
“It becomes incumbent upon us to make sure we’re the catalyst in our community for economic development,” he said.
Ayres addressed community involvement from the perspective of service learning, an initiative allowing students to combine knowledge gained in the classroom with meaningful experience in the community.
“Service learning really makes it real,” Ayres said. “Students actively can be a part of what they talked about and learn in the community — what the challenges are, and what the solutions are or could be. This helps them to become more knowledgeable, involved members of the community.”
CCC began offering about 16 classes with a service learning component in September, and Ayres said it’s gaining traction for the spring semester. The college currently works with about 52 service partners, including schools, organizations, small groups working on specific projects and municipal governments.
Some classes include service learning as an extra credit or group project, while others may offer volunteer hours as an option instead of a more traditional project like an essay. The experience also emphasizes reflection, or encouraging students to think about what the experience was like and how it helped them obtain objectives of a class.
Nursing programs have featured service learning components as part of their curricula for years, but Ayres pointed out it’s a concept that can be applied across so many other areas of study.
In one example of service learning in action, a sociology class this spring will help a Millville organization complete a grant-required neighborhood survey, according to Ayres. Students in a psychology class are organizing a seminar and resource fair to address issues of domestic violence raised in this year’s One Book-One College selection, and half a dozen CCC students are heading to Belize in April to help build community gardens as a service-learning extension of a horticulture class.
Ayres said research has shown students engaged in service learning are more likely to continue their current education and advance to the next level. In addition, service learning offers community partners a “great way to connect to a new audience of volunteers and people to advocate for their cause,” she noted.
“We’re trying to bring awareness to students that you can be good citizens and really impact your community,” Isekenegbe said. “All of us can do much more than one of us.”


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There is lots of GF options and they used to have a GF fryer but sadly when I was there last, a month ago, the server said fries would be cross contaminated. Quite disappointing since this used to be our favourite spot in Canmore.
— Gluten-free items are marked on the main menu
Good food. Excellent gluten free options and knowledgeable staff.
Gluten free fryer so I can have burgers and fries safely! While travelling from Ottawa.
They used to have a GF fryer but I went in June 2020 and the server said fries would be cross contaminated sadly.
They have a very knowledgeable staff, and the food was great! Dedicated fryer, and lots of choices!
Decent pub grub food, dedicated fryer, decent service.
Separate fryer and can accommodate almost the entire menu. I was so impressed with them!
Separate deep fryer. They’ve even got a delicious GF battered fish & chips
Been here twice over the last 2 years. Knowledge staff and almost everything on the menu can be made gluten free. Service was very good for us on both occasions. Great patio with incredible views.
Great food! I had the stuffed portobello mushrooms. Amazing! Poor service though. Took forever for our food.
Gluten free pizza crust & pasta & bread were good but the gluten free chocolate mint cake was the most Amazing part of this fantastic meal :) I would recommend it to anyone in the area. Bonus is they have blankets to use while your there if your chilled
Had their pizza, bruschetta, taco nachos. Very good. One if the best gluten free crusts I've had. Service was a little off but the food made up for it. Will be going back.
Went back and was not impressed. Service was not good and food was mediocre. Very disappointed.
Terrible gf food. Great view from the deck

domain: food


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- 05 Mar 2021
- By Sumit Agarwal
Guidance for businesses & contractors Changes to the UK’s IR35 legislation come into force on 6 April 2021 and yet still many businesses and contractors are unprepared for the off payroll [...]Read More
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If you’re registered under the construction industry scheme and have a VAT registered business, you may get impacted by the VAT reverse charge for building and construction services. The CIS VAT [...]Read More
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domain: finance


A few days ago, the ACB court issued the NBWs against HCA former office-bearers Yadagiri, Srinivas and Devaraj for failing to appear before it
Hyderabad: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday executed Non-Bailable Warrants (NBWs) issued against three former office-bearers of Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) and produced them before the special court for ACB cases here.
A few days ago, the ACB court issued the NBWs against HCA former office-bearers Yadagiri, Srinivas and Devaraj for failing to appear before it in connection with a case related to the alleged irregularities in the association.
Following directions from the court, the ACB officials executed the NBWs and produced them before the court, which later granted bail to them. The court was hearing the case after a petition was filed by C Babu Rao, who is also one of the club secretaries.
In all, the court issued NBWs against nine persons including former cricketer Venkatapathi Raju and HCA secretary R Vijayanand. The NBWs against Yadagiri, Srinivas and Devaraj were executed while the remaining could not be carried out as they were unavailable.
Now you can get handpicked stories from Telangana Today on Telegram everyday. Click the link to subscribe.


Apparently, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are trying hard to exhaust the means by which traffickers can smuggle drugs into the country.
The Mexican driver of a semitractor was in custody after CBP officers said they found 69 pounds of hard drugs in the tractor's smoke stack mufflers Saturday, according to a CBP news release.
The 27-year-old driver of the Kenworth tractor headed into the U.S. was pulled over for additional inspections at the Mariposa crossing in Nogales, according to the release.
Inspectors removed the mufflers and found 44 pounds of methamphetamine and 25 pounds of black and brown heroin. The drugs had an estimated street value of $485,000, according to the release.
The driver was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.
Copyright 2014 CBS 5 (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.


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Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free One For One Baking Flour - 500g
Bobs Red Mill
- The perfect gluten free all rounder sweet bake flour
- Contains the perfect proportion of Xanthan Gum
- Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour is the perfect solution for your gluten free diet!
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour is the perfect solution for your gluten free diet! No need to throw out your conventional recipe cards - now you can simply replace wheat flour with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 for the perfectly textured, delicous gluten free baked goods such as cookies, cakes, brownies, scones, muffins, and more. The gluten eaters in your life won't even know the difference. Xanthan gum is already in the mix.
Keeps best refrigerated or frozen
Always read the label
Sweet White Rice Flour, Whole Grain Brown Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Whole Grain Sorghum Flour, Tapioca Flour, Xantham Gum
Order before 4pm.
Orders delivered between 3 to 5 working days between 8am - 9pm
£3.95 or FREE when you spend £40
Next Day Delivery
Order by 3pm for next day delivery.
Orders placed after 3pm will be delivered on the following day
£5.95 or FREE when you spend £80 *
Bulk Flour Bags Delivery Charges
Flour Sacks have a separate rate card, due to the weight of the sacks they have to be packed individually. Weight based price range is shown below.
|16kg Bulk Sacks||Order Weight||Delivery Fees|


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You are welcome to send us your story to these pages, if you feel that it has something of value to others !!
Some of the first stories here come from our early work on the Kangaroula, and the making of the films.
VANIA with twins at Caesarean .
Letter from a happy Mum who had two previous sons by caesarian, both taken from her at birth. She had a history of Post natal depression and when she was due to deliver twins she wanted to keep them with her at birth. Dr Bergman put them skin to skin on mum in operating theatre, then on dad.Both of the twins self attached to mum within the first 90 minutes after delivery.and spent the night skin to skin with mum. What a star mother!
EMMA having single birth Caesarean
Emma you will see in our latest films … this particular selection shows how the baby behaves on father in the first hour of life.

domain: medical


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New Delhi, Apr 6 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday charged the Congress party of misappropriating funds meant for staging of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Leveling these accusations, BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra said: "The scams are being exposed gradually. We have been pointing at this right from the outset. It's been around one and half years since the Commonwealth Games were conducted. The scam involved around 70 thousand crore rupees.
The persons, who are in prison on whom cases have been lodged, were involved with only 100-150 crore rupees. The rest of the funds were sanctioned by Delhi Government, the central government, Delhi Police, Home Ministry, Group of Ministers and Prime Minister but none of them have been touched as yet," said Malhotra.
Reacting to the findings of the Shunglu Committee, Malhotra said that all the welfare funds that were meant for SC/ST were diverted for games and spent at the wrong place.
"The Shunglu Committee had reported that the Delhi Government spent nearly 30000 crore rupees, earlier they had to spend nearly 500-700 crore rupees. The funds of SC and ST were also spent, 900 crore rupees were spent on Connaught Place. CAG had noted that the funds were spent in a wrong way," added Malhotra.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had earlier appointed a committee headed by retired Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) V K Shunglu to probe allegation of misuse of funds and allied irregularities in conducting the mega event of Commonwealth Games.
The 19th Commonwealth Games were marred by charges of corruption, dubious contracts and poor workmanship in execution of various facilities.
In its report, the committee had held former Commonwealth Games (CWG) Organizing Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi responsible for irregularities in the staging of the mega event.
Kalmadi was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2011, for fraud and conspiring with other officers of the Organising Committee for overpaying a Swiss firm 95 crores for timing and scorekeeping equipment that was used at different venues during the Commonwealth Games.
Kalmadi has been accused of sanctioning payments to AM Films and AM Car at rates that were hugely inflated. (ANI)
Read More: Connaught Place | Kirby Place | Nehru Place | Government College | Vijay Nagliya | Vijay Sirohi Nagar Ndtso | Cannaught Place | Vijay Laxmi Nagar | Vijay Nagar | Sanjay Place | Vijay Garh | Government Colony | Kalmadi | Bureau Of Mines | Congress Nagar | Congress Nagar Tso | Vijay Nagar Colony | Central Police Lines | Government Estate | West Congress Para Ndso | Fri | Orga | BJP | Congress


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Tour Report on December 10, 2017 in Asakusa
Thank you for joining our Tokyo Free Walking Tour in Asakusa areas.
With the sunny and occasional cloudy weather, we welcomed around ten people from different parts of the world like Germany, Singapore, U.S.A., and Canada.
After the brief introduction, we went to Asakusa Information Center to look at the breathtaking view of the historical site from its rooftop.
Then, we went through Kaminarimon Gate, or Thunder Gate and proceeded to Nakamise Street.
Nakamise street is the shopping road and the approach to Sensoji Buddhist temple, which have been main landmark in Asakusa for a long time.
When we arrived at the commercial street, it was already crowded with tourist while walking through the prominent street.
A lot of sign boards hanging above this lovely street truly display the atmosphere associated with the new-year season in Japan.
Another interesting topic that we talked about the upcoming New Year is “Shichifukujin”
Shichifukujin it is a compound word made up of the words “Shichi” which means “seven” and “fukujin” that translates to “lucky gods” in English.
These gods are believed to have arrived aboard a ship full of treasures and their tasks are to bring people good fortune when it comes to life and business.
Each lucky deity has his or her own characteristic feature to give people comfort and prosperity in life.
For instance, Ebisu, often depicted holding a fishing rod, is the god of fishing, commerce and agriculture.
On the other hand, Daikokuten, who is described to be standing on bags of rice, wielding a lucky hammer on one hand, and carrying a big sack on the other, is also the god of agriculture.
Likewise, other deities are also respected and celebrated as gods of longevity, marriage and academic achievements, alike.
In fact, during New Year’s season, many Japanese people visit shrines and temples that house some of these lucky statues.
This is because they want to welcome the new-year with an ideal perspective in life and business, with the help of these majestic deities. They also want to ask favors from the deities to continue granting them good fortune.
Interestingly, the name and image of Shichifukujin have been used for commercial purposes. Fukujinnzuke, a brand of pickles, which uses “SEVEN” vegetables in its products, is associated with the number of the Shichifukujin.
This brand has been deemed suitable and adds perfect flavor to curry and rice.
Why don’t you visit Shichifukujin deities in these historical areas?

domain: geography


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Send us your info to get started or call 225-369-9406 to schedule a consultation.
Bathroom Remodeler in Baton Rouge, LA
Whether you want a fresh, modern update, additional safety and accessibility features, or a complete bathroom remodel, Re-Bath takes the headaches out of bathroom remodeling.
We never cover or hide problems. Our exclusive process removes old materials and fixtures and replaces them with beautiful options in a wide variety of colors and styles. Functionality should never compromise beautiful design. Re-Bath’s one-stop solution gives you the style you want at the budget you need. We cover the entire process—from design to done—in three easy steps.
Step 1: Consultation
Our design consultant will listen carefully to your needs and wants, then view and measure your space and share ideas for transforming your bathroom. Call us today at 225-228-3698 to schedule your FREE, in-home design consultation
Step 2: Demolition
Once you’ve chosen your products, our clean and courteous crew will prepare your home, and carefully remove your old bathroom. We handle all the necessary repairs and refreshes for installation.
Step 3: Installation
When your custom-made products have shipped, it’s time to start rebuilding your beautiful new bathroom! From plumbing and electrical, to the meticulous replacement of your new materials and fixtures, we’ll be in and out in days, not weeks. And you’ll have a brand new bathroom.
From consultation to installation, Re-Bath makes every bathroom remodel easy and worry-free. We look forward to exceeding your expectations every step of the way!