They had done nothing wrong. My mother looked across the table at me, half-smiling with her eyes raised. What?

The speaker was a white woman who had gone to India to complete her master’s degree. Her topic: Sex workers (or prostitutes, as she put it) in India. She cited her method of anthropological research: ethnographic. She would immerse herself there (for three months, I believe), and come out with a work of fiction about sex workers. Written from the point of view of those sex workers.

What’s that awful soun… oh. Those would be the alarm bells going off in my head.

They had been set off non-too-quietly earlier, when the white woman introducing our speaker had clasped her hands in front of her heart and said what the book was really about was how lucky we all were to be born “here,” and not “there.” The well-meaning men and women of the cafe seemed to unanimously grunt and nod appreciatively.

I had come to this event because the poster had mentioned “agency.” You know, the human attribute that means we make decisions, adjust to situations, and act as agents in our own lives in our own ways. All of us have agency. Sometimes we fail to recognize it in others, but it’s always there.

Well, in this talk, disappointingly, the only time agency was mentioned was to pityingly state that these Indian women had LESS agency in their lives than “us” women. Which makes about as much sense as saying “those women breathe less than us.” Agency may look very different from case to case, but no matter the shape it’s taken, it’s there, essential as breath.

On her trip to India, this woman brought all of her cultural assumptions. That Indians, no matter the details of their situation, are essentially in a sadder state than anyone could be in Canada, by virtue of being Indians. That the East is filled with sensuality, mystery, and spirituality – sometimes to the detriment of real human thought and emotion. That sex workers in India have tragic existences. I think as she read from her book, many people in her audience felt that they were getting an education – that they were hearing important information and being truly concerned global citizens by hearing it.

Instead, I think an opportunity was lost, this last Thursday night. Where cultural and colonial assumptions could have been troubled, instead they were allowed to be re-enforced. The international development push to target women as valuable investments of education and resources seems to be digging into its colonial roots for inspiration. There is nothing new, here. White, western women and men showing concern for “those poor women” somewhere else under the name of feminism are recycling the old colonial adage – someone out there needs help civilizing, and aren’t we the ones to do it?

No. In particular, we as Canadians have nothing to offer Indian sex workers. Violence in their lives? Yes, we have that here, too. Sex work is still stigmatized and criminalized, pushing it underground where sex workers in Canada are alienated from their human rights. How many women have gone missing or been found murdered in the last 15 years right in our own back yard? Are we the superior? Do we have any right to pity a “less developed” country and their sex workers? What are we doing to improve the lives of sex workers in our own cities? Provinces? And if we don’t know how to help our own situation, what are we doing sitting in cafes and agreeing heartily that we’re glad we were born “here” and not “there,” when what we really mean is that we’re glad we’re not sex workers? And what if there were sex workers in the room?

How about diseases? Poverty? Women’s rights? Reproductive rights? Have we as Canadians taken a stand and made sure that these issues never touch women, sex workers, immigrants, First Nations peoples? Have we healed the trauma of our country’s genocide taken place in and through residential schools? Has the genocide stopped? Have we found a good way to make sure that everyone who is doing sex work is doing it because they “want” to? Have we accomplished equality for women and safeguarded their lives against sexual violence? Do we even know how to begin talking about sexual violence? Do we even teach what consent is when we teach our children about sex?

It’s time to stop seeing non-Western countries as sad and misfortunate, hopeless and child-like. It reinforces a superiority complex, and a colonial dichotomy of them/us. History does repeat itself: much of colonialism was under the guise of “those poor people don’t know how to solve their problems properly so we’d better get in there.” Colonialism, interestingly, can be pinpointed as one of the key causes of many people’s and nation’s troubles even today.  It may be a leap, but I think perpetuating a “white woman’s burden” of righteousness cannot help anyone, anywhere. De-colonization starts in the mind. Now is a good time to start.

Never stop challenging the thoughts we’ve been made to take for granted.

Mz. Eve

The third wave refers to the expected diseases caused by inhaling asbestos fibres while renovating or maintaining homes.

Don’t play renovation roulette, is the message Council, the Asbestos Diseases Research Institute and the Asbestos Education Committee is sending to all Australians during national Asbestos Awareness Week, November 26 to 30.

Wollongong City Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said it good sense for people thinking of renovating or maintaining an older home  to check to see if it contains asbestos.

“Simple messages from the institute is that if a home is brick, fibro, or weatherboard it might contain asbestos if it was built or renovated before the mid 1980s.

“The message to all people thinking of renovating or maintaining an older home, if asbestos is in your home, don’t cut it, don’t drill it, don’t drop it, don’t sand it, don’t saw it, don’t scrape it, don’t scrub it, don’t dismantle it, don’t tip it, don’t water blast it, don’t demolish it. And especially don’t dump it. The safest thing to do is leave it, and call in the experts.”

Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos related diseases in the world most likely because Australia has also been ranked among the top consumers of asbestos cement products.

With almost every home built or renovated before the mid 1980s likely to contain asbestos in one form or another; the third wave of people affected by mesothelioma, one of the asbestos-related diseases, has recently become evident and will continue to rise unless

Australians start taking seriously the dangers of asbestos when renovating or maintaining their homes.

Professor Nico van Zandwijk, a world leader in asbestos-related diseases and Director of Australia’s Asbestos Diseases Research Institute, said: “The importance of raising awareness of the dangers of releasing asbestos fibres into the air when renovating or maintaining homes cannot be overstated,” he said.

Most people can’t tell whether building materials contain asbestos just by looking at them.  Asbestos can be under floor coverings such as carpets, linoleum and vinyl tiles, behind wall and floor tiles, in cement floors, internal and external walls, ceilings, eaves, garages, around hot water pipes, fences, extensions to homes, outdoor toilets and backyard sheds – it could be anywhere.

During Asbestos Awareness Week, Australians are also invited to hold a Blue Lamington Drive to help raise awareness of the dangers of asbestos when renovating and vital funds to support the Asbestos Diseases Research Foundation and the Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia.

For more information please visit www.asbestosawareness.com.au or call 02 9767 9800 (during business hours) or visit www.adri.org.au.

For more information you can contact Council’s Customer Service on (02) 4227 7111 or visit Council’s website.

1. Like always, the art is fantastic.
2. We are introduced to the Onyx house, which will take a higher importance as February’s solicits reveal.
3. It’s starting to feel a bit like Game of Thrones. And that’s a good thing.
4. The back up story continues to expand the epic story of Beowulf.

Rating before reading: 10
Rating after reading: 9

While yes the quality decreased slightly in quality, that is primarily due to the fact that the title has nowhere to go. The back up feature continues to impress, but that isn’t what stole this issue. Instead this issue reveals how medieval Nilaa is. The spin on feudal kingdoms takes center stage, as we learn some of the politics between the houses and kingdoms. While I had originally wanted to hate this title, its quality has continued to prove why it’s one of the best things on the shelf. It also has earned a very comfortable and well deserved spot as best comic of DC’s Third Wave.

Until the next time, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

Rn

10. Action Comics #17: Grant Morrison finishes his acclaimed run on Superman, making the all to real loss of his talent from DC felt. Sadder still that four issues later his Batman Incorporated will also end, leaving DC without a monthly Morrison. Despite this, Morrison promises to go out with quite a bang, as this issue is over sized and seemingly over plotted. While it is an end of an era, it also will make the impending Snyderman series worth the wait.

9. Earth 2 #9: What can I say, the first appearance of Doctor Fate is one of my favorite characters. Though his appearance has been teased for a while, I am thrilled that I will be able to see my favorite sorcerer supreme in action again. A little heart-broken that he will have little to no interaction with the main universe, but happy still to see him in comics in some form.

8. Green Lantern #17: Where the Third Army ends, the First Lantern begins. The importance of this mysterious being has been teased for quite a while, and we knew that the current GL event would be nothing compared to the size and scope of the next one. Readers finally know the direction the series will be taking, as well as the route all Lantern Universe titles will be taking. We know now that the major characters make it out of Third Army alive, and that the Guardians are presumably defeated. We also know that this First Lantern fellow probably isn’t the nicest of souls.

7. Katana #1/JLA’s VIbe #1: Every new series demands at least one look, this launch especially. Neither title were on anyone’s predictions for a new ongoing series, however both are appealing in their own way. While not the biggest fan of Katana, I am a fan of female centric series’, not only that this one will be written by a woman. While DC currently as 3, this will set them at an unprecedented 4. Who says DC lacks diversity? JLA’s VIbe, aside from having an awkward title, is the second most controversial thing to come out of DC since Before Watchmen (read on for most controversial). Vibe has been scorned by fans and critics alike, and is considered to be a joke of a character today. Geoff Johns intends to change that, and while he is only co-writing Vibe #1, audiences can be sure that Johns will have is say on the VIbe title for the forseeable future.

6. Sword of Sorcery #5: The fifth issue of the Third Wave’s shining glory sets to do many things for the title. It unveils who killed Amaya’s father, it introduces more houses (as we learn Onyx House is against Amaya). The slow by steady expansion of this title is one of its greatest strengths. It doesn’t set the universe up in one issue, rather the reader gets to explore it much like the titles protagonist.

5. Batgirl #17: Everything comes to a head in this issue. As expected, Batgirl gets no rest as Death of the Family concludes, as she is forced to encounter her brother. The solicit promises a major status quo in Barbara’s life, and that’s anyone’s guess. Will Alysia die? Her precious Alaska? This is a must read for any fan of the title, as it is probably much more exciting to long-term readers than the Death of the Family crossover.

4. Batman #17: Speaking of mysteries and Death of the Family, the conclusion to the massive “non-crossover” occurs in February. As promised, someone will die, but who will it be? Will it be Alfred? Joker himself? However, the question I’m really asking is “what’s next?”. Court of Owls thrilled us, Joker is terrifying us, who or what will come into play next? Snyder has proven he does long-term arcs quite well.

3. Green Arrow #17: While Anne Nocenti is a very capable writer, she has done nothing to make Green Arrow readable. All of this changes in February when Jeff Lemire (my personal favorite non-Morrison writer) takes charge of the title. If Green Arrow is a tenth of the title Lemire promised us it would be, then it is worth looking at.

2. Young Romance #1: No, this is not an ongoing title. This is a holiday one shot meant to fill the fifty-second slot while we wait for next months Constantine. An homage to romance comics of the Golden Age, this title will feature stories involving everyone’s favorite and least favorite couples. Batman and Catwoman are listed as an item in this book, Apollo and Midnighter apparently both survive the chaos in their title, and of course Wonder Woman and Superman. While I hate Wonder Woman and Superman being a pair, I’m excited to see the stories, the art, and take a nice break from the universe to enjoy a Valentine’s day story.

1. Justice League of America #1: Could there be any other? The rag-tag team written by Johns and illustrated by Finch will change the status quo of the DC Universe. While it serves as the third part to the JL trinity meant to play into the looming crisis, JLA is a commentary of the Justice League itself. They aren’t gods, they aren’t perfect, nor do they have ego’s, and make out in the watch tower. Everyone on this team has something to prove. From its set of three leaders, down to its unlikeliest of recruits (looking at you Vibe) this title looks to alter our perceptions of these character irreversibly. It is also worth noting that this title will have 54 covers in addition to the main cover and the unnamed variant, it will also have 52 covers featuring each state (plus Puerto Rico and DC). This move has gotten DC quite a bit of hate, and has set the internet ablaze in a way DC hasn’t done since announcing Before Watchmen.

These titles are what I’m looking forward too most, what makes your list?

Until the next time,

Rn

1. Fairchild is touched upon more than he has previously. He’s pretty funny.
2. The Team fights the power of the Black Diamond.
3. It is revealed that the powers are derived from the Black Diamond, that Eclipso is elsewhere.

Rating before reading: 8
Rating after reading: 6

Much like Phantom Stranger, this title suffered a tremendous loss of momentum. Jesus Merino was not involved with the art in the book, which was a huge set back. The replacement struggled to differentiate the characters as well as Merino has. As a whole the pacing was off. It failed to capture my attention as much as the previous two issues, I can’t really give a reasoning as to why, but something definitely felt off.

Until the next time,

Rn

Schoolteacher Ron Jones’s personal account of his experiment which created a proto-fascist movement amongst his high school pupils in Palo Alto, California, which in 2008 was subject of the award-winning film The Wave.  The Third Wave was the classroom experiment by history teacher Ron Jones, which gave the students a taste of fascism (in 1967 at Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California) “The Wave” stories (film and book) and “Die Welle” movie are based on this true story.

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• Ron Jones Blog
  • http://libcom.org/history/the-third-wave-1967-account-ron-jones

• PBS thelessonplanmovie  :  http://www.lessonplanmovie.com/
  • Clip Trailer http://youtu.be/HFs4UHijyVQ
• The Wave site- by third wave students
  • http://www.thewavehome.com/

The Wave is a true story.  History teacher Ron Jones started “the Wave” (actually called the “Third Wave”) in one of his lessons, and it turned into one of the most frightening things he ever saw in a school.

Todd Strasser turned it into a full-length novel after Ron Jones wrote a short story about it.  It has most recently been made into an award winning movie called Lesson Plan.  There were two other movies (1981 and 2008) as well as a documentary in 2010 and onstage performances.

Lesson Plan (Recent Movie Links)

http://www.lessonplanmovie.com/

http://www.lessonplanmovie.com/misc/20120312_IFS-LA-MediaAlert.PDF

http://blip.tv/aspectratio/aspect-ratio-episode-4-4393942

http://www.lessonplanmovie.com/

http://www.lessonplanmovie.com/misc/20120312_IFS-LA-MediaAlert.PDF

Movie links

http://www.thewave.tk/

http://www.ronjoneswriter.com/interview.html

Academic analysis

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/v35n2/stan.html

Cults:  Why people follow them or research a type of cult.

Evil Leaders and the reasons why people followed them (Hitler, Mussolini, Pol pot, etc.)

Leadership:  What makes a good leader?

Hitler Youth

Holocaust

Genocides (Cambodia, Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Somalia))

Nuremberg

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View the “Aspect Ratio” (#4) TV Show Interview
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1. As the cover suggests, Pandora makes an appearance in the issue.
2. We see more of the Phantom Stranger’s human life fleshed out.
3. The return of a few familiar faces, faces that would make anyone squeal.

Rating before reading: 9
Rating after reading: 6

Phantom Stranger suffered a huge blow this past week. The art is weird and underscores the normally well paced story line. While I’m fine with the main artist, I dislike the weird switch with the books marked “embellisher” was weird. This issue also struggles with where it wants to go and what it wants to be, rather than follow the same path presented in the first two issues it breaks the chain and attempts to be everything at once. The pacing is off and rather confusing as Phantom Stranger interacts with just about every one who’s appeared in his book thus far. Plus a few more.

I haven’t given up on the series, one bad issue doesn’t make a bad comic. It was merely a depressing set back, and a smudge on an other wise stellar week of comics.

Until the next time, get out of my house!

Rn

Chapter eight of Dr. Levison’s (Jack’s) recent book is entitled, “Peter’s Praise.” As a Pentecostal and one in the pursuit of an academic theological education, this chapter particularly resonates with me. Jack sets the scene by giving a description about two radically different church services. The first is a pre-Azusa charismatic church that had physical and ecstatic manifestations such as falling to the ground, trembling and shaking. The second gives a description about a Pentecost celebration that will accompany “mouths [that] will be on fire with chips and salsa” (189). 

Regarding these two churches, Jack says this: “Two branches of Christianity. Will they ever meet? And who’s right about the holy spirit? Christians who plummet into ecstatic rapture or Christians who worship with decorum? Those who jerk and swoon or those who sit and kneel? The fitful or the fellowship hall faithful? Who’s right? Who has cornered the market on the holy spirit?” (189). Jack answers with a resounding “neither.” 

From this point, Jack makes efforts to show where there is ecstasy and comprehension. He takes us to the book of Acts. He proposes that in Acts 2 what we see is not just glossolalia. What we see are people proclaiming the praiseworthy acts of God in other intelligible languages. This is xenolalia. He gives us another example from Acts 10. In this chapter the Gentiles are Baptized in the Holy Spirit and they begin to speak in tongues. Peter makes the proclamation that water for baptism cannot be withheld from them because they received the Holy Spirit just as Peter and the others did. Jack proposes these tongues were intelligible Jewish languages.

Jack then takes a turn 1 Corinthians 14. In this book it is evident that the Corinthians thought highly of speaking in tongues. Interestingly enough, when listing spiritual gifts, Paul first refers to wisdom and knowledge and last to tongues-speech. In other lists of spiritual gifts, Paul doesn’t even mention speaking in tongues. Nevertheless, Paul does not dismiss tongues-speech; to the contrary he marries tongues-speech done in the public sphere with the need for interpretation. The purpose of this is for the building up of the Christian community. It is important for words to be understood in order that the other can be built up.

As I said in the beginning, this chapter has resonated a lot with me. I am on a chapel planning team at my institution, Southeastern University. This chapel happens every Thursday at 9AM and we call it “Rhythm Chapel.” As Pentecostals, we can forget the Book of Common Prayer. Actually, in many ways we have. The purpose of this chapel is to essentially marry church that is done like Cane Ridge and church done in a liturgical tradition. We see the Spirit of God in both traditions; we see God in ecstasy and understanding. So, while we are working toward having a full-blown traditional liturgical service, we simultaneously want to be open to the Spirit moving in ecstatic ways. An example of this could be deduced from last week. Everything was going normal as planned until the campus pastor received an unction from the Spirit to tell everybody to break up into groups and pray for one another. I think in this we can see ecstasy and tradition.

At the root of this, we need to be open to the God of the universe acting in ways that we wouldn’t expect him to. And isn’t this expected? Isn’t our religion the most confounding one to begin with? What God would die on a cross? As we go through our lives, may we be unsurprised by the surprising nature of God. He might act in ways that seem ecstatic and uncomfortable – He might act in ways that are intelligible, clear, and reserved. Both sides – whether Pentecostals/Charismatics or Cessationist folk, let’s follow the unpredictable and fresh wind of the Holy Spirit that is blowing throughout our world (John 3).

Since this isn’t an exhaustive review of Fresh Air, there are some points missing. At the end of the chapter, Jack gives us a constructive way forward in marrying ecstasy and the Book of Common Prayer. I suggest you pick up this book and check it out for yourselves!

Peace be with you all.

Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, Pt. 5, Pt. 6, Pt. 7, Pt. 8.

I really wasn’t aware how important it was until my thirty-fifth class reunion when one of my classmates admitted to going out to the big pond at night during our senior year and standing on the dam in the night winds to ponder a troubling decision. He said his dad had taken him fishing out there from time to time when he was a youngster. I got as sense, as he was telling me, that he wanted me to know that place had given him some kind of comfort he remembered those thirty-five years later. Sometimes I wonder if he was standing on that dam as I walked by on any of those nights when I took my night walks around the section, listening to the coyotes and enjoying the stars.

Thinking of and writing about that little community and the connections there that persist even now that I’m far away, I’ve wondered if there are ways to duplicate the best parts of it. My pondering has led me back to Alvin and Heidi Toffler’s 1980 book, The Third Wave, in which they describe the great historical waves of social/economic/cultural change, including their predictions for the wave we’re currently experiencing.

I remember two chapters specifically—“The Rise of the Prosumer” and “The Electronic Cottage.” From my perspective the latter feeds into the former, so I’ll start there. Since the Tofflers believed that our greatest product and greatest source of power would be information, they proposed a society in which the majority of families would work from their, wired, homes. When breadwinners are no longer at the mercy of corporations that shift their jobs from one location to another, a massive change could happen. People could remain in fixed locations where they would have a long-term stake in the health of that place. They could form relationships with their neighbors without the fear of separation that leads many people to avoid developing close relationships. They could remain close to members of their extended families with all the support that the best of them provide.

I’ve seen my oldest son doing just that. After some geographic bouncing around, he has settled in Austin, Texas, where he has a job that doesn’t require his presence in an office, at least not all the time. He married a local girl. He has developed a tight community of friends there and as a substitute for the wisdom of generations he’s lost as his grandparents died, he has adopted a local gentle man named Stan to be his new grandpa.

The do-it-yourself movement we’ve seen growing in the past decade serves as a manifestation of the Tofflers’ prosumer network, although the whole of his prediction has not come true. The Tofflers believed (believe?) that people will produce more and more of what they consume so that they won’t have to work as many hours at a traditional job in order to make a living. I see that prosumer culture as the glue that brings communities together, just as the old barn raisings used to do. So if you help me lay my new laminate floor, I’ll help you plumb the new bathroom you’re putting in your basement.

We’re obviously not there yet. Instead of working fewer hours, Americans work more and more hours and then do the Tofflers’ prosumer things to make ends meet. I don’t know if that’s going to change any time soon. It will depend upon shifts in power that seem pretty intransigent right now. The Tofflers took a stab at analyzing what might happen as power begins to shift from the power of money to the power of information in this 1990 book Powershift, but that shift has taken a snail’s pace. It is certainly worth thinking about, however.

Share and share alike.

1. It is essentially the continuation of the Court of Owls story arc.
2. Calvin Rose still isn’t an anti-hero.
3. Guillem March’s art is phenomenal. A definite selling point for the series as a whole.
4. We are introduced to a mysterious, potential ally.

Rating before reading: 7
Rating after reading: 7

This comic did not improve in quality. Mostly because it moved in a completely different direction than the zero issue. I personally would have liked to see the zero issue pan out into the story. In the zero issue we see him with the remnants of a Talon suit and the finite weapons and resources he had. If the series had launched into that, showing him trying to escape from the court with just his skills, mind, and limited resources it would have been mind-blowing.

Instead the comic takes a different path. We see Calvin enticed to be a soldier, essentially setting out to finish the job that Batman started. His ally too was hurt by the Court, and convinces Calvin to seek revenge and retribution. This isn’t bad, and I believe could play out into a fabulous story. It just isn’t what I had expected nor what I had hoped. That being said, it was well paced, well written, masterfully drawn, and fits comfortably into the Batman universe. I will definitely check out issue 2, but as of now this sits as the weakest of the Third Wave in my mind.

Until the next time. Run.

Rn

Reading the book and writing the review got me thinking about the current state of IT leadership, and where this is going in the next few years.  After all, this blog, started back in 2007, is titled “IT Organization Circa 2017″ and was originally intended to explore just that topic!

The CIO Role is Essentially “Unnatural”!

I first became aware of this fact back in 1980, when reading Alvin Toffler‘s remarkably prophetic book, The Third Wave.  (I had the privilege of having dinner with Mr. Toffler early in the 1980′s and talking with him at depth about the coming implications for IT leadership, further reinforcing my beliefs around this).  In the book, Toffler argues that Second Wave economies (Industrial Revolution, late 17th century through the mid-20th century) were largely driven by an unnatural breach between “consuming” and “producing.”  He pointed out that in the first wave economies (Agrarian Revolution) most of us produced for ourselves what we needed to consume.  The Industrial Revolution tore production and consumption apart – we worked in offices and factories to earn the money to buy the goods and services that came out of the offices and factories.  Toffler further argued that in the third wave, technologies would “heal” the breach, creating what he called “prosumers.”

The very notion of the IT professional, grouped into IT organizations, managed by CIOs in order to help consumers of IT is inherently very “second wave.”  In fact, over the last 60 years or so, we have seen more and more examples of IT “Prosumerism.”  The first spreadsheets (Visicalc, et al) allowed someone with virtually no IT training to create financial models that a few years earlier could only be produced by teams of expert programmers.  Desktop publishing allowed anyone to get into the publishing business.  YouTube, et al allows anyone to create and publish their own videos, and today high quality movies are produced by amateurs on relatively low cost consumer equipment.

The forces behind this IT prosumer revolution are not going away – rather they are leading to an exponential growth of the IT prosumer – a trend which some people refer to as the “consumerization of IT.”

CIO as Enabler or Barrier?

So, what’s a poor, embattled CIO to do?  On the one hand, the CIO has an obligation to protect a company’s assets against the continuous and growing threats from hackers, viruses, criminals and bad technologies.  On the other hand, the CIO and her IT organization must constantly, even aggressively be preparing for and pushing people towards IT “prosumption.”

As an IT leader, how much of your time and actions are devoted to protecting those who use IT from it’s perils, versus creating the infrastructure and an educated business community that can safely exploit information and IT for competitive advantage?

Related articles

• Why CIOs Shouldn’t Be Replaced by Finance or Marketing Chiefs
• CIOs Must Master Human Side of IT Implementation

1. The art continues to amaze me, it is so beautifully done.
2. Right away the world is huge. We are introduced to the Diamond kingdom, apparently rivals of the Amethyst kingdom. Could there be more kingdoms?
3. Amaya shows no problems kicking ass. She’s confused, but she kicks ass none the less.
4. Her aunt may be redeemable. We see a very worried look on her face with the last panel.
5. The Beowulf backstory is awesome, and continues to improve.
6. The Beowulf backstory is set in the future…. of the current DC universe.

Rating before reading: 9
Rating after reading: 10

Once again I’m reviewin’ like ‘Rama, but this issue is fantastic. A perfect jumping on point for most any reader. While reading the zero issue would clarify things, this issue stands alone. The main story is vibrant, fast paced, but connective. Introducing us to this beautiful new world bit by bit. Adding mystery into adventure, the main story is easily one of the best things on the market.
The back up story is even more brilliant this issue. A little more jarring to follow without the context of issue zero, however its quality is so great a new fan would ignore it. The back up feature is the ultimate highlight of this week’s story. While Amethyst is brilliant, a specific moment in the back up pushes both stories to better themselves. Leaving their mark as a perfect issue.

Until the next time, he’s too big to fit through the window.

Rn

Improving the microphone for radio in the 1920s forced record companies to improve the fidelity of their product, the record

Researching Rock ‘n’ Roll has led me to investigate the technology that enabled the music we hear. Of course there was the development of the electric guitar, the loud speaker, and the amplifier. Many of these developments came along at the same time as the commercial use of voice broadcasting through the medium of radio starting in 1920. Use of these electrical inventions for radio also meant rapid improvement to the various devices as amateurs and professional engineers came up with new ideas to build them, and the record companies found they had to keep up with the changes. With the advent of voice coming over the radio using an electrically driven loudspeaker, and fast developing improvements to microphones, the record companies at the same time knew they had to improve the fidelity of the 78 rpm records to keep up.

Spokane’s E.B. Craney along with Tom Symons started broadcasting with the call letters of KFDC (eventually this station became KXLY) Oct. 18, 1922 out of the Symons Building between Sprague and First Avenues along Howard Street using Craney’s equipment he’d collected as an amateur radio operator. Craney had earlier that year graduated from North Central High School where he was involved with the radio club helping operate the school’s amateur radio station (using code, not voice) with an antenna on the school’s rooftop. The signal they broadcast would often reach a university in Montana where students there listened on receivers and transmitted back in (Morse) code. Operating the radio station on top of the Symons Building, Craney played music, and when possible, had conversations with fellow radio enthusiasts. That same summer in Spokane, Pacific Telegraph had a transmitter working, as well as selling radio parts, and ran a radio school. A Spokane phone company had a working transmitter and hobbyists with crystal receivers could listen in on the conversations between supervisors and workers.

KHJ in LA was broadcasting, and in Seattle the PI newspaper had a transmitter that they listened too as well.

Just before he got together with Symons, Craney was working a summer job in a newly opened radio supply store in Spokane that was going nowhere. When Symons offered to buy out the store and go into business for himself, Craney told him that they could improve the  sales of radio equipment if Spokane had a radio broadcast station of its own. Using his own amateur equipment, Craney and Symons set up and broadcast from the Symons building with five watts of power. “The furthest we got was down to Sprague and we thought that was pretty good.” The antenna went from a pole on the roof of the Symons Block building across First Avenue to a theater sign on the Columbia Block.

They built the radio station on the roof of the Symons Block building working their way up from 5 watts to 50 watts of broadcasting power over the next two years. Since their electrical generator created a hum in the signal, Craney switched to wet batteries to help eliminate the signal noise from the broadcast. In those days downtown Spokane was on DC currant. To charge the second set of batteries while the first set were in use, they just hooked up to Spokane’s current and the batteries charged up. Craney said use of the batteries “. . . cleaned the signal up, it cleaned it up real nice.”

Because the radio stations used both transmitter and receiver, station operators talked to each other after midnight, and to amateurs. The stations also rebroadcast the signal they were receiving, some from as far away as San Francisco and Calgary, Canada. Talking to each other at night was important as they used the time to improve the quality of the broadcast while experimenting with new equipment. “Out of these late night rebroadcast sessions many improvements were made on equipment circuits. Amateurs did a lot to help improve modulation too,” Craney said. Operators would roam the frequencies looking to get better signal connections with the various other operators. Senator Clarence Dill of Washington State, and from Spokane, and who was responsible for the Radio Act of 1927, talked to Craney one day about his and Symons radio station, “Dill always was kidding me, he said ‘The reason that I wrote that law was in order to control you. Because’ he said, ‘you were all over the dial out here in Spokane.’”

The station at North Central had been off the air for three years in 1927 when the Radio Act was passed by Congress. Charlie Smith, the physics teacher who had started the radio club, got a license and wanted to get back on the air. Craney helped him with the equipment to get up and running.

In 1922 record companies were still producing 78 rpm records using acoustic horns, the kind you see amplifying the sound coming from the 78 rpm records on Victor wind-up record machines, to transmit the voice and instruments to the diaphragm scribing a revolving disc of wax. Radio voice broadcasters were using transmitters (microphones) taken from telephones. Record companies had to rethink record recording to keep up.

Craney’s first microphone used to transmit his voice over radio waves was from a Federal Telephone company phone which used a double button transmitter in the handset. The phone transmitter, was filled with carbon granules inside of the diaphragm that improved the quality of the voice transmission through the phones electrical circuit. Every few months inventive electrical engineers would come up with improved microphones just for the new radio industry. Craney’s first updated microphone for broadcasting was from Western-Electric and cost $125. “The minute that a new microphone would come out that you could get a hold of, why your voice and your studio program immediately became better than the phonograph record you had. And this started in to make phonograph records frowned upon because their quality was not as good as the studio could be.”

But the record companies were soon grabbing new microphones ahead of when the radio broadcasters could get them; when they did this their records started to sound better than the radio studio broadcast until the broadcasters got the same or better microphones. A short time later in 1931 RCA Victor released records using a new material, vinyl, rather than shellac. But because record sales were dismal due to radio playing music for free, and the public was not buying records, along with the start of the Great Depression, RCA Victor stopped using vinyl as it required new machines to play them. All these improvements came together in the late 1940s to give Rock ‘n’ Roll the medium in which it was to be heard.

Craney, E.B. OH 38-39 EWSHS, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Joel E. Ferris Research Library and Archive. E.B. Carney was interviewed by Bill Moore. 19 December, 1975.

Copyright © Robert G. Schoenberg 2012

1. The guy’s kinda a dick. Not by choice, but by curse. It’s an interesting dynamic.
2. A character that EVERYONE can recognize shows up. She’s young. She’s magic. And up until now, she’d been missing. Won’t spoil it, but if you want to be happy, then read this.
3. Pandora makes a cameo. You know shit’s gonna get real now.
4. The ending was surprising, and makes this character even more tragic. If possible.

Rating before reading: 9
Rating before reading: 9

This title is still just as solid. Easily readable and extremely enjoyable, this title dives head first into the magic portion of DC. Pulling no stops, this comic thrills readers with new characters, familiar foes, and the foundations for one hell of a series.

I hate to have so few things to say, but this title rocks. If you like the arcane of DC, then this title is a must have for your pull list.

Until the next time, I’m a stranger.

Rn

1. There’s humor. It takes good writers to make a story covertly funny. There are laughs to be had, but all stem from the situation. They all felt natural. Which is honestly pretty rare.
2. We already see the team take point with universe wide issues. Which is surprising to see so early.
3. The art. Merino’s action sequences are well done. They are smooth and easy to follow. Even with such a big team he’s able to make all of them distinct.
4. Speaking of making them distinct, the highlight by far with the issue was the abundance of character development in almost all of the characters.

Rating before reading: 7
Rating after reading: 8

And that may even be a bit too modest. The owner of my home base store questioned why I added this title to my pull list a month before issue zero came out. This is why. Only two issues (or technically one?) in and the title not only distinguishes itself leagues apart from any other “action” comic out there. This title has tons of action. But that isn’t what’s at stake. It’s the characters. And how this very well written and very distinct group of characters went from where they are in this issue to where they are now. Some, like with Cole Cash/Grifter it’s easy to see how he went from there to here. But others like Waller and Dinah are much less clear. The fact that we get to watch these characters become the characters we know drives the story alone. Not to mention Justin Jordan is able to lead this team (as well as all of DC comics) in a major new direction. Subtly referencing the “Black Diamond” and leading all of DC down this road. What will happen is a mystery, but we do know what happens in the pages of this comic will spill over into nearly a dozen other comics by December. If that’s not enough reason to read, then I don’t know what is.

Until the next time, about that hero thing….

Rn

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him:  We ask you brothers not to be easily upset in mind or troubled, either by a spirit or by a message or by a letter as if from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has come.  Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way.  For that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.  He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits in God’s sanctuary publicizing that he himself is God.  2Thes 2:1-4

There are 5 core Biblical principals to test teachings of any “New” or “Enlightened” View.  “…do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1John4:1  “Jesus is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow”  Hebrews 13:8

1. The Trinity: God is one “What” and three “Whos” with each “Who” possessing all the attributes of Deity and personality.
2. The Person of Jesus Christ: Jesus is 100% God and 100% man for all eternity.
3. The Second Coming: Jesus Christ is coming bodily to earth to rule and judge.
4. Salvation: It is by grace through faith alone in Christ alone.
5. The Scripture: It is entirely inerrant and sufficient for all Christian life.

Any group that deviates from these 5 core doctrines is a cult.  “A cult of Christianity is a group of people, which claiming to be Christian, embraces a particular doctrine system taught by an individual leader, group of leaders, or organization, which (system) denies (either explicitly or implicitly) one or more of the central doctrines of the Christian Faith as taught in the sixty-six books of the Bible.” (Alan Gomes, Unmasking The Cults, Zondervan, 1995)

Most apostasy will not directly outright speak against 5 basic doctrines.  However I do believe the Holy Spirit sets alarms with us.  LISTEN! and be true to the Holy Spirit and test.  Does a message just not sound right?  Does a movie make you sick to your stomach.  Does a speaker make your head throb?  Look at their doctrine, who they associate with, and history.  If you find them to be questionable FLEE!  Do not return.  Too many times I have heard…but their music rocks, or well the message was not “all” bad.  All you do digging thru garbage is get dirty.  God tells us to stay away!  Why do that to the Holy Spirit…why desensitize your self?  Why possibly compromise your ability to discern?

Here are some quotes from proven false teachers:

BILL JOHNSON:  “He performed miracles, signs, and wonders as a man in a right relationship with God…not as God.  If he performed miracles because he was God then it would be unattainable for us”  Bill Johnson  page 29 When Heaven Invades Earth.  ~~ This is known as Kenosis heresy, that Jesus laid aside His divine nature.  He has many quotes spewing this heresy.  This is a gross misuse of Phil 2:7.  Christ emptied Himself of his prerogatives, glory, and privilege.  If divinity can be laid aside then it is not divinity to begin with.

RANDY CLARK:  “The theme of this conference is “Equipping Church Leadership With Power”. Each Pastor and Worship Leader will participate in three workshops. The workshops are: 1) 5-step Healing Prayer Model, 2) Worship, 3) Small Groups. The workshops have a three-fold purpose. There will be teaching, impartation and practice. The workshops are designed to be interactive and involve the participation of the attendees. We believe this is the most effective way of impartation.” This was from a letter to set up the “Catch The Fire” conference in Russia for church leaders. Several things are askew in the above scenario. (1) Only God can equip church leadership to do what He wants done, whether in power or in humble persecution. The “with power” statement is egotistic and false advertising. (2) If the desire was to “equip church leadership” then wouldn’t subjects like “authority under Christ”, “leadership through humility”, and “servant hood” serve this purpose much better than supposedly teaching people a model of how to heal (ie. “the emphasis will be on understanding and using the 1 Cor 12 spiritual gifts in praying for the sick and unsaved. Pastors and Worship Leaders will have the opportunity to practice what they learned both in the workshop and the evening session ministry time”), a legalistic plan of worship to get people ready for the “impartation” (ie.“the emphasis will be on understanding the power and presence of God to move on His people during intimate worship”), and how use small groups to get people indoctrinated into techniques of “intercession” and “impartation” (ie.“the emphasis will be on imparting the life and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in home group settings. A secondary emphasis will be on identifying, recruiting, training, mentoring, observing and deploying home group leaders”), etc.? (3) Teaching people how to receive the “impartation” (let’s get to the bottom line here, folks), giving the “impartation” and practicing by passing it on to others is not a Scriptural model of how to be a leader in church or do evangelism. We are not to preach and spread some sort of “impartation”, no matter how holy it makes people feel. We are to preach the gospel and to remain in sound doctrine. (Randy Clark, “Letter Of Invitation” to churches in the former Soviet Union inviting them to the “Catch The Fire” conference in Moscow, 25-27 March 1996, 1/18/96; with commentary by Deception In The Church)

More very dangerous quotes:  “I don’t preach doctrine, I preach faith.” “The basic principle of the Christian life is to know that God put our sin, sickness, disease, sorrow, grief, and poverty on Jesus at Calvary,” “Christ “had no innate supernatural powers. He had no ability to perform miracles until after He was anointed by the Holy Spirit.”

Let me be clear with what I am about to say next.  Many of the deceived are truly seeking, truly wanting to know God.  However, they are either new in the faith (brought to a commitment to Christ under these false teachers), unread, or hurt-broken-having “itchy ears” — “For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves (ie:  Supernatural School of Ministry) because they have an itch to hear something new.  They will turn away from hearing the truth (God’s Word) and will turn aside to myths. “  2Tim4:3-4

We have a duty to examine all that is taught to us.  If you are not willing to get into God’s Word, if you are not willing to investigate any “new” or “enlightened” or “emergent” theologies, then you are willing to be led astray.

Petering out in conjunction with the overwhelming pop explosion of the late 90s, third-wave ska is a reminder of a time when people were willing to dress-up, look a little goofy and dance their way out of feeling uncomfortable.  Most importantly, it’s still fun to hear.

1)      Operation Ivy – “Here We Go Again” from Hectic EP (1988)

2)      Suicide Machines – “Hey” from Destruction by Definition (1996)

3)      Hot Stove Jimmy – “Ten Win” from Theme For A Major Hit (1999)

4)      Blue Meanies – “Grandma Shampoo” from Kiss Your Ass Goodbye (1995)

5)      MU330 – “Pool Party” from MU330 (1999)

6)      Thumper – “All Fall Down” from Hellfire & Damnation (1997)

7)      Johnny Socko – “Sour Me” from Full Trucker Effect (1997)

8)      Mad Caddies – “Medium Unwell” from Duck & Cover (1998)

9)      Siren Six! – “Begin” from The Voice With A Built-In Promise (1996)

10)   NY Citizens – “The Irish Opera Singer of Albee Square” from Spawn of Skarmageddon (1996)

11)   Mighty Mighty Bosstones – “Dr. D” from More Noise & Other Disturbances (1991)

12)   Choking Victim – “Money” from No Gods, No Managers (1999)

13)   Slapstick – “Good Times Gone” from Anthology (1997)

14)   Animal Chin – “Ready for Reattitude” from All the Kids Agree (1997)

15)   Suicide Machines  – “Confused” from Battle Hymns (1998)

16)   Hot Stove Jimmy – “Sweetheart” from Theme For A Major Hit (1999)

17)   Readymen – “Deadman’s Shirt” from Restless (1998)

18)   Impossibles – “Plan B” from Back for the Attack (1998)

19)   Mighty Mighty Bosstones – “Last Dead Mouse” from Don’t Know How To Party (1993)

20)   Blue Meanies – “Smother Me” from Full Throttle (1997)

21)   Slow Gherkin – “Shed Some Skin” from Shed Some Skin (1998)

22)   Streetlight Manifesto – “Would You Be Impressed” from Somewhere in the Between (2007)

23)   Slapstick – “There’s a Metal Head in the Parking Lot” from Anthology (1997)

24)   Catch 22 – “Dear Sergio” from Keasbey Nights (1998)

25)   Mephiskapheles – “Introducing the Yellow Passion” from Maximum Perversion (1997)

26)   Tantra Monsters – “Boto Changee” from Tantra Monsters (1994)

27)   Voodoo Glow Skulls – “Land of Misfit Toys” from Firme (1995)

Download Ska for Metalheads here

Being a school history teacher Ron Jones decided to explain his students the importance of discipline on Monday. In the end of the lesson he showed the specific gesture that was to be used as recognition. On Tuesday Ron Jones ordered the pupils to chant the phrase “Power is unity”. On Wednesday several pupils from other forms claimed their wish to join the community. The children and teenagers liked the game and started taking it seriously.

Ron Jones spread the “identity cards” between the students and explained the power of coordinated common efforts. He stated that the competing of the individuals brings disappointment while the ganged actions bring success. He ordered the students to design the labarum of The third Wave and convince the twenty students from other forms to join the community. Three students were supposed to report all the rule violations.

On Thursday Jones announced the students that they were the members of the political party and being their leader he was going to run for the president position.

On Friday 200 of students gathered in a classroom to support their leader and watch his speech on TV. Ron Jones switched the TV set on and the students saw the chronicles of the Nazi Germany. He declared that there wasn’t any community to unite the students as the last were a part of the great experiment. Many of the children couldn’t help crying.

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