9. Üroonkoloji Kongresi kapsamında düzenlenen Üroonkoloji Kursu’nda ünlü üropatolog Dr. Jonathan Epstein da konuşmalar yapacak. 5 Kasım Perşembe Saat 14-16 arası yapılacak konuşmasına tüm patologlar davetli imiş.

http://www.uroonkolojikongresi.org/veri.php?git=icerik&pa=sayfa_goster&pid=9&cid=9

The New Art Gallery in Walsall was one of my stopping places in the week. I had 15 minutes to spare – it was raining and I was intrigued by the building.

Neal Rocks Fanestra sculpture - in silicone!

Entry was free – which was great so I made my way up to the top floor gallery – where there were two interesting exhibitions. One was Neal Rock – Fanestra and Other Works. I had been in the Gallery a couple of minutes when a guide appeared and asked me if I was interested in the works. She explained who Neal was and produced a piece of silicone – which was a strange texture – just like that around your bath seal! But in a sculpture it had a ceramic look. It was brilliant.

I wandered into another Gallery which had a permanent exhibition of Epstein works. This was a bit spooky as I had only heard a Radio 4 programme about Epstein in the week presented by Anthony Gormley… The guide was very impressed with my knowledge!

Not everyone will appreciate the Art – and this Gallery had a bent towards modern art. But my point is that the staff were brilliant. They got the balance just right – I was approached with a ‘Michelin Starred’ restaurant waiters timing. They did not intrude, but where very knowledgeable – and were keen to explain. They were almost invisible. They had no issue about photographs – it was a bit of that ‘please do walk on the grass attitude’!

I left very impressed and if I am ever in the area again, I would go back.

PS – Did I ever tell you that I had a place on Gormleys Plinth – but couldn’t go as I was in the USA?

ARTE – 22h – mercredi 21/10        documentaire de P. Convert

Fin stratège de la guérilla urbaine, Joseph Epstein est une légende de la Résistance. Engagé en Espagne avec les républicains en 1936, volontaire avec la Légion étrangère de l’armée française en 1939, résistant et chef de réseau, il ne parla pas sous la torture et mourut fusillé sous un nom d’emprunt le 11 avril 1944. Pourtant, la France s’est efforcée de l’oublier au lendemain de la Libération, préférant ses héros nationaux… Sous la forme d’une lettre adressée au fils de Joseph Epstein, Pascal Convert reprend le fil de la vie de ce héros méconnu, de sa naissance en Pologne à ses actions dans la Résistance. Une enquête précise et impliquée où se laisse découvrir un homme extraordinaire, aussi bon vivant qu’engagé, et où l’on croise quelques-uns de ses compagnons de route : Lucie Aubrac, Joseph Minc, Maurice Kriegel-Val-rimont, Esther Gorintin.

Rediffusions :
28.10.2009 à 05:00
04.11.2009 à 01:35

www.arte.tv

Jeffrey Epstein Will Not Talk About His Manhood. Trust us when we say this is the best video you’re going to see all day. Pervy money manager Jeffrey Epstein, who was released from a Florida prison in July after serving a sentence for soliciting underage girls, appeared at a deposition on Sept. 2. (He’s being sued by a 15-year-old girl who claims she was “enticed” to visit Epstein at his home when she was told she’d receive $200 for giving him a massage.) The deposition lasted less than two minutes before Epstein walked out. Why? It seems starting things out with the question, “Is it true that you have an egg-shaped penis?” didn’t get the proceedings off to a very friendly start. (Go figure.) Click  for the video

Henri Matisse y una modelo

Tenía intención de hablar de estas dos exposiciones desde el sábado y no podía dejar pasar ya más días porque están a punto de finalizar (y resulta muy desagradable llegar al Museo, como hice este sábado, y descubrir que la exposición de la obra de Juan Muñoz en el MNCARS había finalizado hacía cuatro días).

La exposición de Matisse en el Thyssen cubre los trabajos que desarrolló el artista entre 1917 y 1941, un periodo intermedio entre los dos más conocidos, en el que profundizó en la relación entre dibujo, color, volumen y espacio.

Mujer sentada, con la espalda vuelta a la ventana abierta

En la primera mitad de este periodo, buscó su inspiración en la tradición intimista de la pintura holandesa del siglo XVII, al tiempo que ahondaba en su reflexión sobre Cézanne (en la exposición podéis ver un cuadro de Cézanne propiedad del pintor, con el que estaba obsesionado, y que donó al Museo del Petit Palais.

Aunque es considerada una etapa de Matisse más difícil e irregular, he disfrutado muchísimo de cuadros como “Mujer sentada con la espalda vuelta a la ventana abierta” (1922) o “Naturaleza muerta con mujer dormida” (1940). Además, descubrí lo buen dibujante que era Matisse.

La Mediterranée, de Maillol

Antes de ver la exposición de Matisse fui a la Fundación Mapfre, a ver ¿Olvidar a Rodin? Esta exposición (fantástica y, además, gratuita) nos muestra la escultura que se hacía en París entre 1905 y 1914 por jóvenes artistas europeos que habían acudido a la capital francesa atraídos por el carisma de Rodin. Estos artistas aspiraban a un nuevo universo formal, basado en la aprehensión de las formas esenciales, frente a los excesos expresivos de Rodin.

Se pueden ver trabajos de Picasso, Bourdelle (me encantó su Penélope), Maillol (y su famosa La Mediterranée), Gargallo, Rodin, Epstein, Duchamp-Villon, etc.; pero mis dos grandes descubrimientos fueron Archipenko (especialmente su escultura Torso blanco) y, sobre todo, Wilhelm Lehmbruck.

El caído, de Wilhelm Lehmbruck

Las esculturas de Lehmbruck son alargadas, desproporcionadas. Las caras estilizadas de las figuras femeninas transmiten serenidad, mezclada con cierta dosis de tristeza, mientras que la misma técnica en las masculinas logra una sensación de seriedad y rigor.

La exposición ¿Olvidar a Rodin? termina el 4 de octubre y la del Thyssen, Matisse 1917-1941, el 20 de septiembre. Os dejo el enlace a los sitios web de las dos exposiciones (haced clic en el nombre) y otro al Lehmbruck Museum, que está en la ciudad de Duisburg (Alemania).

El caído, en el Lehmbruck Museum

Dynamics in Human and Primate Societies: Agent-Based Modeling of Social and Spatial Processes is a book of articles edited by Timothy Kohler and George Gumerman. Drawing upon complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory, and focusing upon primate and simple human societies, these diverse and insightful studies expand the horizon of agent simulation research.

Attempts to distinguish scholarly periods can be imprecise and arbitrary, yet they can also help identify and characterise progress in a field of study. This collection represents a significant contribution to the agent simulation research program and, in fact, might be regarded as an exemplar of a third stage of agent simulation studies.

The early work of Schelling, Maynard Smithand Axelrod provided a first wave of exemplars demonstrating the potential of a new approach to social simulation research. A new generation of agent simulation research, including Epstein and Axtell , Axelrod and Young , provided a second wave of exemplars. They respectively illustrate, inter alia:

1. how agent simulation can be applied to an interactive variety of social processes
2. the range of social topics that can be addressed using simulation based on simple agents
3. the emergence of social institutions and structure from agent strategies

From the standpoint of standard periodisation, it seems premature to identify a new stage in agent simulation research. However, considering the substantive contributions made by these studies, a new level of sophistication is introduced into agent modelling. In particular, a number of chapters in this collection serve as exemplars in the area of empirically grounded agent simulation, investigations that stand in visible contrast to the study of abstract social processes.

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Growing Artificial Societies is a groundbreaking book that posits a new mechanism for studying populations and their evolution. By combining the disciplines of cellular automata and “artificial life”, Joshua M. Epstein and Robert Axtell have developed a mechanism for simulating all sorts of emergent behavior within a grid of cells managed by a computer. In their simulations, simple rules governing individuals’ “genetics”" and their competition for foodstuffs result in highly complex societal behaviors. Epstein and Axtell explore the role of seasonal migrations, pollution, sexual reproduction, combat, and transmission of disease or even “culture” within their artificial world, using these results to draw fascinating parallels with real- world societies. In their simulation, for instance, allowing the members to “trade” increases overall well-being but also increases economic inequality. In Growing Artificial Societies, the authors provide a workable framework for studying social processes in microcosm, a thoroughly fascinating accomplishment.

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As noted by Valentina here and on the TLS forums here, NYU has released its section assignments.  My schedule is below.

The biggest name professor I have is my Torts professor.  I’ve heard he speaks quickly which may make him tough to follow in class, but I’m excited about having a class with him.  My Contracts professor lead the Law and Business seminar I attended during the NYU Admitted Students Weekend.  She is supposed to be an incredible professor.  My Procedure professor receives great evaluations so I’m looking forward to that class.  I don’t know anything about my lawyering professor, but I hope she’s an engaging lecturer.

Out of those four classes, only my Torts class has posted its syllabus.  The assigned casebook is Cases and Materials on Torts, and the suggested supplement is Torts.

Good times are just around the corner.

Counting sheep,
i.don’t.wear.skinny.jeans

What a sweet day it has been, and for a first in quite some time: no hangover whatsoever on a Sunday! I think I am going to make a habit out of it…let’s see how that goes.

I woke up to some great news today. Helado Negro’s album “Awe Owe” had finally leaked! Yeahie…

Judging by the numbers of hits on my previous post about Helado Negro, dudes need no further introduction. I know you want it, hell, I wanted it too. The wait has definitely been worth its while, the album is fabulous. Here it goes…

Tracklist:
1. Venceremos
2. Espuma Negra
3. Dos Sueños
4. Dahum
5. I Wish
6. Playas
7. Time Aparts
8. Awe
9. Ver a Ver
10. Santero
11. Deja

Enjoy and b e z!

That is going to be the headline associated with my name in the news.  This is my rant about a healthcare system here in the desert.

This afternoon I ran into town to pick up a prescription for my daughter that I called into the pharmacy last Wednesday.  Four business days ago in the healthcare world.  The kind lady behind the counter tells me that they faxed it over once on the 16th but have not heard back from anyone.  “Would I like them to try again"? she asks.  What do you think, I called this in just for the fun of it!  Of course I want the prescription.

So as I am lingering in the store because they have good air conditioning and its 105 degrees outside, I call up the doctors office.  Once I finally get someone who can help me, I discover that the doctor denied the refilling of the prescription without seeing the patient first.  Now it would have been helpful had the doctor told us that an appointment is necessary to get prescriptions refilled. 

Fortunately for us, we already have an appointment scheduled for this coming Wednesday for a separate issue, even though my daughter needed the prescription yesterday and we now have new issues developing because she will not be taking her medication for a few days.  The nurse did kindly let me know that they are having similar issues with said doctor and that I should bring this up with the doctor on Wednesday.  Think I won’t!

All of this is just the latest of issues I have been experiencing with healthcare in the desert.  I too see a physician on a regular basis for two issues.  Asthma and Insomnia.   Recently I had been experiencing major issues with not being able to sleep, despite being prescribed some good medications.  One afternoon I waited in the “waiting room” for over two hours. I was not alone, I estimate there was at least a dozen patients and their families waiting as well.  And while we are all waiting, I notice a steady stream of pharmacy reps coming and going.  One representative even brought in lunch for the office employees.  Yet, no patients were coming and going from the examination rooms.  Two hours after my scheduled appointment I finally got called back in to an examining room where I waited another 30 minutes to be seen by the doctor for all of 5 minutes. 

Yes, I have nothing better to do than sit around a physicians office playing Solitaire on my cell phone for the better part of the afternoon.  With as much time as I have spent in waiting rooms the past twelve months, I think I could make a career out of being a patient minus the healthcare benefits.  I think $10 an hour is good pay for being a Professional Waiting Patient.  I said past twelve months because last summer was another healthcare nightmare in itself. 

About a week before school got out for the summer, my daughter caught sick, took her to the peditrition and she was prescribed antibiotics for strep throat.  A few days pass and she is better and still taking the medications.  About four weeks later she starts getting sick again.  Took her back to the physician, they do another throat culture and more antibiotics.  A few days my daughter is no better.  The lymph nodes in her necking were noticeably bulging and she could barely get anything down.  Back to the doctors we go.  He starts talking about Epstein Barr Virus and orders blood work. 

Of course it takes a day or so to get the blood results back.  In the meantime, I am researching Epstein Barr Virus and Mono, and even spend time talking to a friend who’s daughter got extremely sick from EBV a few years earlier.   Back to the doctors office again.  Yes she is positive for EBV and switches her antibiotics to something strong.  I bring up my research, mention Mono and reference a study where steroids like Prednisone were used in conjunction with antibiotics and patients recovered in a shorter period of time versus just antibiotics alone.  He doesn’t believe in using steroids such as Prednisone.

Two days later, my daughter can not even swallow her own saliva.  Neither one of us has slept in days.  Fed up, I take her to the emergency room.  They immediately hook her up to an IV because she was so dehydrated and got her some antibiotics and Prednisone.  We slept in the ER for 6 hours till the next morning to call the physician to get her admitted.  He never calls back.  The ER doctor calls another physician on call and we get her admitted without hesitation.  Because she was so sick and dehydrated, she spent 4 days in the hospital, all because her former doctor did not believe in using steroids.  But the steroids did work.  In fact, my daughter received a clean bill of health two weeks later.  Most patients with Mono are down and out for six weeks or more.

I know there are many people out there with similar stories.  Like the mother and daughter I briefly met this weekend while photographing a Fundraiser Event at my salon.  The daughter had been seriously injured this past December in a car accident.  One of her injuries was brain damage.  In fact she was in a coma twice.  And all though she has made a remarkable recovery, she is still in need of further medical attention to fully regain her life.  And unfortunate for her, her parents medical insurance won’t pay for that care.  The event I volunteered for was to help raise money so the family could pay out of their pocket, the care their daughter needs.  A most worthy cause in my opinion.

I wish I had the magical answer for the issues plaguing healthcare in the desert and all over the world for that matter. 

New side project from Arepaz beat master Roberto Carlos Lange aka Epstein aka ROM aka Boom & Birds. I love pretty much everything he does (some of the stuff more, some less) and I am excited about this one. Sounds pretty Savath y Savalas-y to me, bu no coincidence there since Roberto joined the group a couple of years back. The full length “Awe Owe” drops Aug 4th via Asthmatic Kitty. Get your markers out and check your calendar! 

As a bonus I give you two nice mixes (1 & 2) by Roberto displaying his ecclectic musical taste and hinting at what to expect of the Helado Negro full length – did I mention, Aug 4th y’all!

So today was my first really longish ride.  Other than getting up to around 90 occasionally, we usually hung around 75-80.  Almost ran out of gas twice…good thing I didn’t, I do not want to be pushing a 550 pound bike across texas.  Today was probably the longest riding day we’ll have.  After about the first 130 miles, my butt really started hurting.  The last hundred hurt like a bitch… although there were times when it just went numb.  There was a lot of cross winds today also..not so fun.  But overall it was fun.  K.  I’m tired. Gnite.

EPSTEIN:  Republicans have not had an effective national spokesman, the head of the RNC has been a bit of a joke, it’s been basically Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney, two very unpopular figures, so the question is, “Is it effective?”  And I think the problem here is that President Bush is the personification of what most Americans think is everything that went wrong in the last eight years.  So I don’t think it’s a particularly smart thing for the president to do.  And for him to make these statements about therapy for Gitmo prisoners, the fact of the matter is Gitmo is a country club compared to what the Democrats want to do and putting them in high security prisons here in this country.

Think Again – It Was Julian Epstein

This exhibition is a bit of a sculptures greatest hits, and as such it is rather predictable. You very much see what you expect to see and tick off famous pieces as you walk round. Usually the pieces on show were the predictable choices, or the iconic ones, depending on your point of view. It would have been a good way to introduce someone to sculpture who had no knowledge of it, although the labelling and information was poor.
There were some gems among the exhibits. A wonderful mirrored box made in 2007 by Yayoi Kusama kept me and a number of others enthralled as we looked into its holes and saw ourselves reflected amongst the kaleidoscopic lines, circles and colours in the interior. If I had seen nothing else but this I would have been happy. I was glad that my personal favourites Cornelia Parker and Richard Long were represented and it was fun to see elderly carousel projectors whirring away- a reminder of a time when they were cutting edge technology. A pale grainy Gilbert and George were also there as living sculptures on an elderly television, slowly getting sozzled on Gordons Gin. There was also a huge, delicate and beautiful Barbara Hepworth work, the largest she ever made as it was the only time she got hold of a tropical hardwood tree trunk big enough. A beautiful Modigliani head too. Lots to enjoy then, and a few things to turn your nose up at.
I had a good time downstairs taking photographs of Jacob and the Angel, an epic monolithic masterpiece by Epstein which I love.

 official website | myspace 

Released: 2008
Label: RL66, Arepaz 
Country: Japan

genre: electronic, hip-hop, jazz
style: breakbeat, downtempo, instrumental, abstract

“Roberto Carlos Lange is a sound artist born in South Florida and is the son of Ecuadorean immigrants. Growing up he was surrounded by tropical heat and hurricanes that represented the rich colors of sound and people living in South Florida. The sound of bass and late-night “peñas” in and around his house carved a deep foundation into his interest for sound and the things producing them.

The “pause-tape” and a karaoke machine gave birth to his first sounds and music. With whatever he could grab; guitars, tape-loops, hand claps and voice, Roberto was slowly revealing his way of hearing things. Roberto’s musical pieces are adjusted and aligned with the moment they exist in, they are constructed through improvised performances and accidental happenings. The music and sounds themselves have been over the years documented and compiled together by him and a few record labels most notably the label Arepaz based out of Miami. These “albums” are extensions of the after thought of what these songs do together as a group. The albums are based on themes that carry weight and maybe criticize an idea as an observation.

Over the last four years Lange has collaborated with prominent visual and sound artist, David Ellis, to compose a new series of kinetic sound sculptures. Currently, Lange is working with famed music producer Guillermo Scott Herren on a solo project called “Prefuse 73″. Lange has been asked to both produce and create a new palate of sounds for the album.”

Listen to the entire album here.

buy | download | preview

Here are a couple of good articles E.J. Epstein has written for Slate magazine:

Studio executives are hardly clueless when it comes to negotiating contracts with A-list talent, although the popularity of The-Moguls-Must-Be-Crazy stories in the media would have you believe otherwise. Examples abound: The Wall Street Journal reported that, “In order to sign actress Cameron Diaz and director Nancy Meyers, the [Sony] studio had planned to offer both women a share of the movie’s gross box-office revenue from its first day of release on. It is a practice known as ‘first-dollar gross’ and it’s standard fare for top-tier talent.” Variety reported that “20 percent of the gross [of King Kong] is going to [Peter] Jackson.” Wiredreported that, “A deal worth $20 million against 20 percent of the box office gross [is] the kind of contract Tom Cruise or Tom Hanks generally get.”

Down a slightly different tack, here is an article from Timeout on the prohibitive costs to shooting in Sydney, contains interesting vox-pops with various Australian film luminaries {link}

Gillian Armstrong: “Too many people had earned a lot of money from the big US films. The local councils in Sydney can’t see the big picture. It’s really frustrating and sad to see a film like Tender Hook being shot in Melbourne when it’s set in Bondi in the 1920s. The minute Fox Studios got in, it sent out the wrong message. It did help some people, but not the local film writers/directors/producers. And it created a boom-bust situation. The Matrix and Mission Impossible II could pay those huge fees. Then the studio was empty for two years until Baz Luhrmann brought Australia in.” 

I heard from a D1 college player the other day that his team was told by the coach that the reason they weren’t scoring more runs.  It was due to a lack of ground balls and too many strikeouts.

Well, he was half right.  Strikeouts never help.  However…more ground balls?  You mean the ground balls that are desirable as a pitcher are also more desirable as a hitter?

You have to be kidding me.

One of the great things about baseball is the way it can be broken down via statistics.  Though none of the quantifiers used to define success are perfect, I like OPS or on base percentage plus slugging percentage.  Players must get on base to score and the more bases you accumulate in an average at bat, the better.

And it comes down to this, a player focusing on hitting grounders will not accumulate more bases than one who looks to drive the ball.  Assuming, of course, relatively equal ability in on base percentage.

What makes Albert Pujols great is NOT just his batting average or on base percentage.  It is those things in combination with his slugging.

Old Yankee Mickey Rivers was a very good player with a good on base percentage.  But there will never be a discussion of him as an all time great because he was just a good singles hitter.  Part of what made Rickey Henderson an HOFer was his ability to drive the ball.

So why do some people still love the ground ball?  Mike Epstein, ex player and great independent hitting instructor explains it well.  To paraphrase him, larger ballparks, in vogue in the late 60’s and 70’s were bigger and had astroturf on them which was, at that time, little more than carpet on concrete.  Think Astrodome or Phillies’ Veterans Stadium or Old Busch Stadium with astroturf.

I never played on such a field but walked on them several time.  You could hit a simple grounder and have it roll all the way to the fence.  Choppers would bounce higher and grounders had more velocity.  You could be successful with grounders.  The Cardinals of the late 70’s, early 80’s were very successful with speed and defense and singles hitters.  Jack Clark was their power hitter averaging, I think, around 25 to 30 homers a year.

Most fields now, whether artificial or not, are not carpet on concrete.  Ground balls don’t work as well.

Teach kids to hit well AND drive the ball.  The ground ball era is dead and buried.