How could we build an invisibility cloak to hide Earth from an alien civilization?

By David Kipping, Columbia University.

When a planet passes between us and its star, the star’s light seems to dim. NASA Ames, CC BY

Tracking transits to find other planets

Before we talk about how to hide a planet from distant voyeurs, consider the best way we’ve figured out to find one.

Humanity’s most successful technique for detecting other planets is the transit method. A transit occurs when a planet appears to pass in front of its parent sun, blocking out some of its starlight for a few hours. So if we have our telescopes trained at one part of the universe and a star seems to fade out for part of a day, that tells us that a planet has temporarily come between us as it goes about its orbit.

The Kepler Mission identified 4,696 planet candidates by July 2015. NASA Ames/W. Stenzel, CC BY

Using this technique, NASA’s Kepler Mission has discovered several thousand planets.

It seems likely that any advanced civilization would be aware of this simple method. Each time a planet transits its star, its existence is essentially being advertised to all points lying along the same plane as the planet and star.

An advanced civilization might be okay having its planet’s location, size and even atmospheric chemistry advertised across the cosmos. Or it might wish to conceal its presence. If the latter, it might choose to build a cloak.

A planetary invisibility cloak

It turns out that hiding planets from the transit method would be surprisingly easy, so easy that we earthlings could do it right now, if we chose. Since transits appear as a brightness decrease of a distant star, our hypothetical cloak simply produces the opposite brightness increase.

Lasers provide an efficient means of countering that dip in brightness. All a laser’s power is contained in a relatively narrow beam, as opposed to spreading out in all directions like starlight does. Due to the way light spreads as it travels – called diffraction – the laser beam would spread to encompass entire solar systems after journeying many light years across space, bathing that distant planetary system within the cloaking beam. No dip in brightness makes it look like there’s no planet there at all.

A laser cloak capable of hiding the Earth from an alien version of NASA’s Kepler Mission would require 30 megawatts of power at peak intensity, approximately equivalent to 10 wind turbines worth of power output.

Alex Teachey describes how a cloaking system would work.

While Kepler sees light in only one color, advanced civilizations might use more sophisticated detectors capable of collecting light at all wavelengths. Here too, our current technology could cloak us using modern tunable lasers, for a cost of about 10 times more power overall. More advanced civilizations might be able to detect other fine details of the light’s properties, betraying the cloak. But here too there’s no reason why with a little bit of work we couldn’t engineer solutions, leading to a near perfect cloak which could be targeted at distant stars where we suspect someone might be home.

Why choose to hide

So yes, it sounds like science fiction, but even current technology could do a fine job of cloaking the Earth’s transit signature.

Forget the Earth though; we never really thought of this as something humanity should or should not do. Instead, we posit that if our rudimentary human technology can build such an effective transit cloak at relatively little economic cost, then more advanced civilizations may be able to hide from us with respect to all detection techniques. The universe might not be all that it seems.

Why might a civilization choose to wrap itself in invisibility? It could be a sort of insurance policy: find the nearby planets with potential for supporting life and turn on a targeted cloak – just in case a civilization ever emerges. Such a policy effectively buys them time to reveal their presence when they see fit.

Given how cheap such a cloak would be, an insurance policy for your home planet is perhaps not as strange as it seems. It’s certainly not implausible a civilization might want to bide its time – surveilling the neighbors for a while before rolling out the intergalactic welcome mat. But there’s a flip side to this technology that could turn it from an invisibility cloak into more of a we-are-here spotlight.

We think we know what it means when we see certain transit signals… NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, CC BY

The reverse: flick on the beacon

Perhaps not all civilizations are xenophobic – some might want to talk. If you wanted to reveal your presence to other civilizations as cheaply and unambiguously as possible, how might you do it?

Imagine looking at some data of a distant planet – which has become a somewhat normal enterprise for astronomers – and noticing something weird. The signature of the planet has a strange shape – in fact, none of your models are able to explain it. It looks like someone has imprinted a series of spikes into the data, following the prime number series. Nothing in nature can do this – you have just detected another civilization’s beacon. Alternative use of the cloaking system’s laser could be to make a planet’s signal look highly artificial, instead of hidden. Now they don’t care about building the perfect cloak; they want to be found!

Could such signals be lurking in our existing measurements? Perhaps so. No one has ever looked, and we hope our work sparks efforts on that front. It may be a long shot, since to even get to this point we need to try to imagine how aliens might think – but given the scientific prize on offer it’s also worth it. If we identify a strange transit, it may well contain information encoded via laser light pulses. Huge volumes of information could be hidden within the transit signatures of other planets.

For us, this was an exercise in intellectual curiosity. We simply calculated how much energy it would take to either cloak or broadcast a planet’s existence. Whether we should seriously consider wrapping Earth in a protective cloak of invisibility – or conversely, getting serious about trumpeting our existence – via laser manipulations is something we should all decide together.

The ConversationDavid Kipping, Assistant Professor of Astronomy, Columbia University

Featured Photo Credit: European Southern Observatory, CC BY

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Methods of teaching children speech

Learners converse about personal experiences with partners, and instructors teach topics outside of the realm of traditional grammar, in order to promote language skills in all types of situations. This method also claims to encourage learners to incorporate their personal experiences into their methods of teaching children speech learning environment, and to focus on the learning experience in addition to the learning of the target language.

According to CLT, the goal of language education is the ability to communicate in the target language. This is in contrast to previous views in which grammatical competence was commonly given top priority. Language teaching was originally considered a cognitive matter, mainly involving memorization. It was later thought, instead, to be socio-cognitive, meaning that language can be learned through the process of social interaction. It was Noam Chomsky’s theories in the 1960s, focusing on competence and performance in language learning, that gave rise to communicative language teaching, but the conceptual basis for CLT was laid in the 1970s by linguists Michael Halliday, who studied how language functions are expressed through grammar, and Dell Hymes, who introduced the idea of a wider communicative competence instead of Chomsky’s narrower linguistic competence.

This increased demand included many learners who struggled with traditional methods such as grammar translation, which involves the direct translation of sentence after sentence as a way to learn language. These methods assumed that students were aiming for mastery of the target language, and that students were willing to study for years before expecting to use the language in real life. Additionally, the trend of progressivism in education provided further pressure for educators to change their methods. The development of communicative language teaching was bolstered by new academic ideas.

Before the growth of communicative language teaching, the primary method of language teaching was situational language teaching. This method was much more clinical in nature and relied less on direct communication. In Britain, applied linguists began to doubt the efficacy of situational language teaching. This was partly in response to Chomsky’s insights into the nature of language.


What Causes A Heart Murmur?

Need to know what causes a heart murmur? Although you may never have had heart trouble of any kind during your life, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to learn about the causes of a heart murmur so that you will be able to recognize the symptoms if they should ever present themselves in yourself or a loved one. A heart murmur is normally described as an unusual or additional sound heard when listening to a heartbeat, and it can vary in volume. Fortunately, having a heart murmur does not necessarily mean there is a problem, since there are harmless or innocent murmurs as well as abnormal—and potentially dangerous—ones.

Innocent heart murmurs can be caused by blood flowing faster and with more force than usual. This can happen to adults who are pregnant or who may have an illness, such as a fever. This type of murmur will typically disappear on its own and is nothing to worry about. In fact, it commonly occurs in children who end up growing out of it as they become older. Because an innocent heart murmur doesn’t normally present symptoms, you would only find out about it during a visit to the doctor for another reason, during which she may hear the murmur while listening to your heartbeat with a stethoscope. If she diagnoses it as a harmless murmur, there is no treatment needed because there is nothing wrong with your heart.

If, on the other hand, your doctor believes you have an abnormal heart murmur, you may need treatment or even surgery. A majority of abnormal heart murmurs are caused by damaged heart valves, which could be scarred by heart disease or infections such as rheumatic fever, or could simply be worn by age, and therefore may end up not working as well as they should. Normally, heart valves help blood flow between heart chambers and also into and out of the heart, but if a heart valve is damaged or inflamed, it may become too narrow to allow enough blood through it, or it may not close properly, allowing blood to leak through.

If your doctor hears a murmur during an examination, she can normally discern if it is an innocent murmur. This is done by noting its loudness, location and the type of sound it is producing. She will also look at other symptoms that could be present if there is a heart problem, such as lightheadedness, irregular heartbeat or shortness of breath. If your doctor determines that it could be an abnormal heart murmur, she will order further tests, such as an echocardiogram and chest X-ray to find out if it is abnormal and what could be its cause.

The treatment for an abnormal heart murmur will vary depending on its underlying cause. If an infection was at fault, antibiotics would be used to treat it or prevent it from occurring again. Anti-inflammatory drugs would be given to counteract inflammation, and diuretics could be prescribed for heart failure. If the murmur is due to a severe heart abnormality, such as a tumor or defective valve, surgery would usually be needed to correct it.

Be sure to reduce your risk of developing an abnormal heart murmur by taking good care of your heart. Exercise regularly, eat a healthy, balanced diet and monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol. See your doctor if you think you are experiencing anything unusual, even if it seems unrelated to your heart, such as shortness of breath. If you should develop strep throat at some point, treat it as soon as possible in order to prevent rheumatic fever, which could damage a heart valve and lead to a heart murmur.

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

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Shou Wu tablets (Shou Wu Pian), 100 tablets

Shou Wu tablets (Shou Wu  Pian), 100 tablets
Shou Wu Pian, Shou Wu Tablets, is a natural herbal supplement made of 100% herb, "Huo Shou Wu" (the prepared Polygonum multiflorum, or radix polygoni), sugar free. The prepared fleeceflower root is made by boiling with a decoction of black beans until the decoction is entirely absorbed into the fleeceflower root. It is used for nourishing liver blood, replenishing the kidney qi and strengthening sinews and bones. The active ingredients of polygonum multiforum nourish the blood and keep hair from graying. It is useful for headaches, backache, eye pain, dizziness, neurasthenia, hair greying, baldness, neurasthenia and hypercholesteremia.*

Ingredients: Huo Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum)

Direction: As a dietary supplement, 5 tablets a time, 3 times a day with warm water.

Shou Wu tablets (Shou Wu Pian) Price: $4.99

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Li Dan Pian (Lidan Pian, Gallbladder Support), 120 tablets
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Shou Wu tablets (Shou Wu Pian), 100 tablets


Applications for pressure management

We achieve the best results with our know-how, experience and a strong system of customer integration while at the same time taking into consideration relevant technical and commercial aspects.

Applications for pressure management in Transmission pipelines

Transmission pipelines

Distances between places where water is raised, stored or produced and places where it is consumed are becoming increasingly greater. Transmission pipelines with large nominal diameters are required as main supply lines to bridge these distances. Unforeseeable, irregular pressure fluctuations exist in these main pipelines and may, in the worst case, lead to water hammers and burst pipes. The VAG RIKO® plunger valve with a nominal diameter of up to DN 2000 in a combination with the VAG DUOJET® ventilation valve is a reliable solution.
Solution for transmission pipelines: regulating a supply of large quantities

Applications for pressure management in Elevated tanks

Elevated tanks

Elevated tanks play a significant role in temporarily storing and distributing water. Precise level regulation is the most important task and makes considerable demands on the valves used.
With a custom-made VAG pressure management concept for elevated tanks, high pressure differences, even when at times accompanied by very low flow rates, may be controlled. This is possible without damaging the control valves as a result of cavitations or over-regulation of the valve. Besides, automating and monitoring the filling of the tanks can reduce operation costs and enhance safety. Since hydraulic requirements are very demanding, the VAG RIKO® plunger valve is ideal for safe use.

Solution for elevated tanks: automated level control

Applications for pressure management in Distribution networks

Distribution networks

The task of a distribution network is to ensure a stable supply of drinking water for all final consumers at any time of day or night at a specified minimum pressure. The water consumption (flow) is in this case subject to dynamic fluctuations during the course of a single day. Unless it is actively regulated, the supply pressure is in direct proportion to the flow:
• High flow = low supply pressure
• Low flow = high supply pressure
This reliance can be changed by means of active regulation, with the supply pressure being adapted to the current consumption in order to meet demands. The VAG PICO® diaphragm valve and the VAG RIKO® plunger valve are used in the distribution system.
Solution for distribution networks: Micro Pressure Managed Area / Macro Pressure Managed Area


17 Songs, 55 Minutes

About A-Wax

West Coast native Aaron Doppie grew up fascinated with rapping and hip-hop culture, but his musical style grew when he went to jail for manslaughter at just 16 years of age. Over the course of a five-year sentence, he wrote pages of rhymes and grew more fixated on becoming a better rapper. Upon his release from prison, Doppie immediately set out to realize this dream, taking on the name A-Wax and releasing debut album Savage Timez in 2001. The album was defined by its toothy rhymes and raw stories of prison life, and A-Wax immediately became a regional success. He recorded and released music at a nonstop clip, working on new albums, making guest appearances on tracks of friends and peers, and even starting his own label, Pie-Rx Recordz. Although he didn't land a major-label deal early on, he did make waves with some bigger names, collaborating with artists like The Game and Baby Bash early in his career. Throughout the 2000s, A-Wax released numerous albums and mixtapes, including 65 G'z in a Jordan Briefcase in 2002, Thug Deluxe in 2004, 2007's Unconditional Thug, and 2009's The Street Album. His street-minded gangsta rap, influenced by the greats of '90s hip-hop, grew and changed with both the times and the course of his own life. By the time of 2014's Pullin' Strings, A-Wax had been rapping on an independent level for almost 20 years, and themes of introspection and weathering experiences began to creep into his music. Always informed by his upbringing in Bay Area gang life, A-Wax's music career was marked by multiple conflicts with other hip-hop artists. Some of these altercations served as inspiration for his growing catalog, which expanded at a nonstop pace with releases like 2015's EverLasting Money, 2016's Pushin' Keyz, and 2017's collaborative effort with GMEBE Bandz, Ova East. ~ Fred Thomas


Melissa Y. Wei

Chronic diseases and physical functioning: development and validation of an ICD-coded multimorbidity index

Research Project Description

Multimorbidity, the coexistence of multiple chronic conditions, poses a major and growing challenge to aging adults, their families, and healthcare systems. Most older adults have multiple chronic conditions that interact to profoundly affect physical functioning and health-related quality of life. Despite this, critical gaps remain in the measurement of multimorbidity. In particular, there are few practical tools to guide clinicians, researchers, and policymakers who seek to improve the care for older adults. Current measures for multimorbidity have used mortality, healthcare cost, and utilization, but have not focused on patient-centered outcomes to quantify burden of disease. To bridge these gaps, this proposal aims to develop and validate a new multimorbidity index for use in ICD-coded conditions.

The proposed studies will use unique data linkages between patient-reported outcomes in the nationally-representative Health and Retirement Study and Medicare claims to develop and internally validate a multimorbidity index for International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-coded chronic conditions weighted to physical functioning. The successful completion of these studies will yield a validated multimorbidity measure that captures the impact of coexisting chronic diseases on physical functioning in aging adults relevant for clinical care, research, and policy.

The training and professional development acquired through this award will contribute to the candidate?s long-term goal to be an independent clinician-investigator focused on improving the management, quality of care, and prognosis of vulnerable older adults with multimorbidity.

Funding: Society of General Internal Medicine (Check No. 5087 dad 18May17)

Funding Period: 7/1/2017 to 3/31/2019


The USPS recently announced that mail volume was down 3 percent in the first fiscal quarter of ’08. This is great news for us.

First, let’s look at the details. This was a decline of 1.7 billion pieces for the quarter, largely attributable to declines in mortgage and financial services mailings.

Now, why do we think this is such a good thing? The answer is that the pressures of decline opens more room for competition and new ideas.

It’s common wisdom that you want to be in a growth market because growth exposes opportunity. The unlikely corollary is that being in a contracting market opens up just as many opportunities, as long as the market is large enough to support the decline. Print and mail are gigantic markets which can easily absorb decades of continued contraction (as they will have to).

But this is good for these industries. Competition in the print world has focused increasingly on price rather than innovation. Contraction makes that strategy dangerous and generally leads to a dramatic contraction in the total number of firms.

Given that, firms are forced to look for new ways to compete. Faced with change or extinction, many firms will stumble towards the later. But enough will attempt innovation to break down institutional barriers. The net result is a more uncertain and fluid market for all players.

And this is just what we’re positioned to take advantage of. Postful is built on a new model for print and mail focused on integration with digital tools and information. This is perhaps the most important growth area within this overall declining market.

All of this puts us in a great position to take advantage of the dynamics of change and build out a strong position to expand from here. It should be interesting to see how the rest of the market responds.


Our kitchen garden cook shares some of her favourite recipes with cauliflower.

Hidden among their sage-coloured leaves are my cauliflowers, waiting to be transformed into delicious and creative dishes

Fragrant lamb tagine with cauliflower couscous (serves 4)

500g boneless lamb shoulder
50g plain flour
2tspn paprika
1tspn turmeric
30ml olive oil
2 onions, chopped
20g harissa, or to taste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tomatoes, roughly chopped 100g tomato purée
Pinch of saffron threads
100g dried apricots
1 preserved lemon, finely chopped
750ml boiling water
1 cauliflower
400g chickpeas, cooked and tinned
A handful each of fresh coriander and parsley, roughly chopped

Preheat your oven to 180 ̊C/350 ̊F/gas mark 3. In a large freezer bag, mix together the flour, paprika and turmeric and shake well. Add the lamb and mix it around until every surface is coated, then set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large casserole dish and add the chopped onion, frying until translucent rather than brown. Add the harissa, crushed garlic, lamb and tomatoes. Stir and cook until the lamb is gently browned. Add the tomato purée, saffron, dried apricots, preserved lemon and boiling water. Place the lid on the casserole dish and then put it in the oven for an hour.

Meanwhile, remove the outer leaves of the cauliflower and pulse the florets in a food processor until they resemble couscous. Drop the cauliflower into a large pan of salted, boiling water and cook for a few minutes before draining. Pour a drizzle of olive oil over it and sprinkle with salt, fluffing it with a fork as you go.

To serve, take the casserole out of the oven, stir in the chickpeas and add the fresh herbs. Leave to rest for five minutes, so that the chickpeas heat through.

Serve the lamb with the cauliflower couscous on the side and fresh salad.

More ways with cauliflower

JAN 27 KITCHEN GARDEN COOK FINAL.inddCauliflower and Pecorino mash
Remove the outer leaves from a large cauliflower and cut it into florets (although not too perfectly, as it will be puréed). Place the florets into a pan and add enough chicken stock to just cover them. Put a lid on the pan and simmer until completely tender. Once cooked, drain in a colander and then purée with a handheld blender. Add a generous splash of olive oil, a crushed clove of garlic, seasoning and a little cream. Spoon into a bowl and grate 100g Pecorino over it, before warming in a moderate oven. Serve as a side dish.

Cauliflower soup with roasted hazelnuts and za’atar
Remove the outer leaves from a cauliflower and cut into manageable pieces. Pour enough chicken stock into a pan to cover the florets. Add a small peeled potato and a peeled and roughly chopped onion. Simmer until tender, blend and then stir a splash of single cream through it. To make the za’atar, place the following in a pestle and mortar: 4tspn toasted sesame seeds, 1tbspn thyme, 1tspn chilli powder, 2tspn sumac and a good pinch of salt. Grind together and mix with 80g roasted, chopped hazelnuts. Divide the soup between bowls. Top with a drizzle of olive oil and a scattering of the za’atar.

** Read more recipes from Country Life


Exchange traded funds were created to be user-friendly investment tools that provided instant diversification, with liquidity and transparency built in. However, ETFs do come with inherent risks and drawbacks that investors need to know about in order to avoid them

“Today, there are literally hundreds of ETFs traded regularly on major exchanges, and represent not only stock indexes, but a variety of other industries and business sectors. There are both positive and negative aspects of ETFs, and a smart investor should consider both elements before investing,” Marc Davis for Investopedia wrote. [Checkpoints on How to Really Understand ETFs]

An ETF was intended to be a simple trading tool, a basket of stocks that traded with the ease of a single stock. There are certainly lots of pros that come with ETF trading, but there are a number of drawbacks that can lead to unanticipated losses. Here are a few points of caution from Paul Katzeff of Investor’s Business Daily:

  • Leverage: This investing strategy was intended for seasoned traders and professional investors, not the individual retail investor that has a buy-and-hold strategy. A leveraged fund is intended to be monitored daily since they double or triple the index gains – and losses. A leveraged ETF is used for hedging and short-term trading and should not be used to short or magnify an index that is going up or down. This can backfire with large losses. [Total Stock Market ETFs]
  • Diversity: This is a key selling point of an ETF. Since the funds are essentially baskets of stocks that represent an asset class or sector, the diversification benefits are great. However, the overall proliferation of the ETF business has led to plenty of ETFs created that represent small niches, odd strategies and areas that an individual investor does not need. Plus, many ETFs can be tied to unknown or untested indices, with limited liquidity, which can cause an investor to take losses if they wanted to sell the fund. This can lead to confusion and an overload of choices to research.
  • Fees: ETFs were initially touted for the low costs factor, but traders have found that excessive activity leads to brokerage fees that can add up. A few too many fees can be a weight on performance and may even eat into the initial capital.U.S. stock ETFs’ average audited annual expense ratio of 0.51% is less than half the 1.37% expense ratio of U.S. stock mutual funds. There are exceptions, however, and these can be found in actively managed ETFs, niche ETFs, and those funds that re-balance regularly. [What is an ETF? – Part 23: Backwardation and Contango]
  • Contango: This is a huge problem for investors that buy commodity ETFs. An ETF that invests in futures contracts versus the actual physical material, such as United States Oil (NYSEArca: USO), will present the situation. When a near-term contract is about to expire, the ETF sells it, using the proceeds to buy another contract, which because of contango is more expensive. As a result, a contango environment can cause ETFs holding futures to lag their benchmark index. An ETF that invests in a physical commodity avoids the chance of locking you into a series of more expensive contracts. [Commodity ETFs to Fight Inflation]

Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.


The USA played Ghana last night in the World Cup and came away from the game with a terrific, uplifting 2-1 win. Jurgen Klinsman’s young, energetic squad played a high tempo 90 minutes and were rewarded with an absolutely gigantic 3 points in their bid to get out of one of the toughest groups in the World Cup.

The game itself was played out in front of an incredibly electric atmosphere, with fans from both teams presenting the absolute, colorful best in soccer supporting. The USA support really outdid itself with 20,000 soccer fans making the trip to the game. Some will scoff at this today, and those whose minds are buried in years past will suggest this all means nothing, and soccer will never take off in the USA. Sad but true, they will, just watch.

Obviously those types are missing some great things happening in soccer in the States at all levels, but to really shut them up, we present this graphic.

This absolutely mezmerizing vine shows the Tweet volume across the United States just before, and seconds after the USA scored that terrific, dramatic, late, winning goal last night.

The graphic looks a little unfortunately like some kind of nuclear attack on mainland USA, but don’t let that take away from the message it is sending.

The USA men’s soccer team quite literally caused the USA to explode in joy last night.

World Cup Brasil 2014: Translating the world’s greatest tournament into American, one team at a time.


Zifeng (Lilian) Wu, PhD

Engineering Associate

Lilian is a transportation planner and engineer who joined Kittelson with nine years of experience in transportation planning, traffic simulation and operation studies, safety analysis, innovative intersection design, and data-driven decision-making support. Lilian has developed and updated travel demand models using TransCAD and VISUM for multimodal networks of varied sizes. Her traffic operations experience includes interchange ramp intersection improvement studies with innovative intersection design—diverging diamond interchange, restricted crossing U-turn intersection, displaced left-turn intersection—using VISSIM, Synchro, and other major software tools. She is expert in the application of advanced statistical modeling methods to analyze crash data and evaluate the effectiveness of safety improvement strategies.

Lilian holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where her research projects focused on transportation system reliability evaluation, real-time travel time prediction, outlier identification for data collection, and highway-railway at-grade crossing studies. She has coauthored several peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers and has given technical presentations at local- and national-level conferences. She has also served as a peer reviewer for both domestic and international journals.

When not in the office, Lilian might be found working out at the gym, translating (from Chinese) and writing papers, watching figure skating, or heading out to visit friends.


Wellbeing at work: The benefits

Wellbeing plays a central role in creating flourishing societies. Focussing on wellbeing at work can benefit societies by helping working individuals to feel happy, competent and satisfied in their roles. The evidence shows that people who achieve good standards of wellbeing at work are likely to be more creative, more loyal, more productive and provide better customer satisfaction than those with poor levels of wellbeing at work.

Strengthen their personal resources.
Flourish and take pride in their roles within the organisational system.
Have a positive overall experience of work.


About Perspectives

Perspectives is a four-level series in American and British English that teaches learners to think critically and to develop the language skills they need to find their own voice in English. The carefully-guided language lessons, real-world stories, and TED Talks motivate learners to think creatively and communicate effectively.


Midnight Munchies Mangle Memory

An occasional late-night raid on turkey leftovers might be harmless but new research with mice suggests that making a habit of it could alter brain physiology.

Eating at times normally reserved for sleep causes a deficiency in the type of learning and memory controlled by the hippocampal area of the brain, according to findings in the journal eLife.

Researchers from the Semel Institute in the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) became interested in the cognitive effects of eating at inappropriate hours because it is already known to have an impact on metabolic health, for example leading to a pre-diabetic state.

The researchers stress that their findings have not been confirmed in humans, but highlight the fact that shift workers have been shown to perform less well on cognitive tests.

The current study shows that some learned behaviours are more affected than others. The team tested the ability of mice to recognise a novel object. Mice regularly fed during their sleep-time were significantly less able to recall the object. Long-term memory was also dramatically reduced, demonstrated during a fear conditioning experiment.

Both long-term memory and the ability to recognise a novel object are governed by the hippocampus. The hippocampus plays an important role in our ability to associate senses and emotional experiences with memory and our ability to organise and store new memories.

Some genes involved in both the circadian clock and in learning and memory are regulated by a protein called CREB (cAMP response element-binding protein). When CREB is less active, it decreases memory, and may play a role in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. In the mice fed at the wrong time, the total activity of CREB throughout the hippocampus was significantly reduced, with the strongest effects in the day.

However, the master pacemaker of the circadian system, the suprachiasmatic nucleus located in the hypothalamus, is unaffected. This leads to desynchrony between the clocks in the different brain regions (misalignment), which the authors suggest underlies the memory impairment.

References: The paper ‘Misaligned feeding impairs memories’ can be freely accessed online at http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09460

Source: Press release, Eurekalert.org


Positive, Constructive Childhood Experiences in Sports, Recreation and Exercise (SRE) will contribute to a Progressive Human Society.

To begin, a very disappointing report about education has emerged. U.S. Children’s education has moved from #1 to #13 to #16 in the world depending on reference.

“The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) conducts research to learn more about healthy child development and to better understand certain conditions that affect children. This information is used to
1. Create prevention, health education, and intervention programs
2. Help communities plan for services for children and their families
3. Determine what additional research studies are needed.

“Our first priority should be the nurturing and education of America’s youth. Less obesity and improved nutrition are key. [Margaret I. Cuomo, M.D., May 29, 2014, HuffPost]

“Regular physical activity is one of the most important things children and adults can do for their health.” [Physical Activity, CDC, US Dept Health and Human Services]

SRE signigicantly improve the health of children by increasing Aerobic Activity, Strengthing Muscles and Bone growth and development. “Aerobic activity should make up most of children’s 60 or more minutes of physical activity each day.” []

Other important positive and negative factors impacting our children’s futures are simple math:
i. “Children’s lives are underpinned by an incoherent hotchpotch of legal principles and government policies.” 1.
ii. “Children are 1/3 of our population and All of our future.” 2.
iii. A + B = our future is underpinned by an incoherent hotchpotch of legal principles and government policies.
iv. Our children and our future’s growth and development are within reach of law makers’ hands and must become legislative priorities.
v. if we Save Our Children, SOC, we will invest-in and save our future.
vi. SRE are fundamental training grounds for a Progressive Human Race and Society

Think about it this way. If every legislative vote was cast after due consideration of its effects on our U.S. children i.e. education, hunger, abortion, jobs, economy, drugs, national defense, immigration, super packs….yes packs etc. and strictly cast favoring children, legislators and our government would invest-in and save our future. 1.[Children’s Rights and the Developing Law, by Jane Fortin – Law – 2009 – 804 pages] 2.[Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health, 1981]

Teleogically (purpose), our brain has 3 parts:
1. The Hindbrain (reptilian brain)
2. Limbic system, love, relationships, nurturing, caring, faith, belief Brain, middle layer of our brains
3. Neocortex aka cerebral cortex……
• It follows, if legislators react with their limbic system and emphasize the telos of children, the care of our entirety will follow.
• Otherwise, if legislators react more reptilian and/or out-think themselves and instead promote grid lock U.S. children will suffer. [Save Our Children, SOC, mbmsrmd,]

Having established the importance of children’s welfare and eventually the well being of society, additional past social history impacting children, reveals that “arising out of the rebellious mood at the beginning of the 20th century, Modernism was a radical approach that yearned to revitalize the way modern civilization viewed life, art, politics, and science.

“By 1900 the world was a bustling place transformed by all of the new discoveries, inventions and technological achievements that were being thrust on civilization: electricity, the combustion engine, the incandescent light bulb, the automobile, the airplane, radio, X-rays, fertilizers and so forth.

“These innovations revolutionized the world in two distinct ways. For 1., they created an optimistic aura of a worldly paradise, of a new technology that was to reshape man into moral perfection. In other words, technology became a new religious cult that held the key to a new utopian dream that would transform the very nature of man.

“2. Secondly, the new technology quickened the pace through which people experienced life on a day to day basis. For instance, the innovations in the field of transportation and communication accelerated the daily life of the individual.

“Whereas in the past, before 1900, a person’s life was circumscribed by the lack of mechanical resources available, now a person could expand the scope of daily activities through the new liberating power of the machine. Man now became literally energized by all of these scientific and technological innovations and, more important, felt a rush emanating from the feeling that he was invincible, that there was no stopping him and his progress. [History of Moderinsm]

By 1900 until 1930, because of the scientific and technological innovations, Human Beings and Human Society were less scientifically illiterate. They were up to speed with the progress of the times.

U.S. Wars were other factors impacting children’s growth and development. There was a modern era of war: WWI 1917-1918, WWII 1941-1945, Korean War 1950-1953, Vietnam War 1965-1975, Afghanistan War 2001-present, Iraq War 2003-2011 and ISIL War 2014-present.

“Studies of the general population show a definite increase in the incidence and prevalence of mental disorders. Women are more affected than men. Other vulnerable groups are children, the elderly and the disabled.

“Prevalence rates are associated with the degree of trauma, and the availability of physical and emotional support. The use of cultural and religious coping strategies is frequent in developing countries.

“The year 2005 is significant in understanding the relationship between war and mental health. This is the 30th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war and of the start of the war in Lebanon. Every day the media bring the horrors of the ongoing “war” situation in Iraq.

“Some recent quotations from the media depict the impact of war on mental health: “We are living in a state of constant fear” (in Iraq); “War takes a toll on Iraqi mental health”; “War trauma leaves physical mark”; “War is hell… it has an impact on the people who take part that never heals”; “War is terrible and beyond the understanding and experience of most people”; “A generation has grown up knowing only war”.

“Wars have had an important part in psychiatric history in a number of ways. It was the psychological impact of the world wars in the form of shell shock that supported the effectiveness of psychological interventions during the first half of the 20th century. It was the recognition of a proportion of the population not suitable for army recruitment during the Second World War that spurred the setting up of the National Institute of Mental Health in USA.

“The differences in the presentation of the psychological symptoms among the officers and the soldiers opened up new ways of understanding the psychiatric reactions to stress.

“During the last year, a large number of books and documents have addressed the effects of war on mental health. They include the WPA book “Disasters and mental health” (1); the World Bank report “Mental health and conflicts – Conceptual framework and approaches” (2); the United Nations (UN) book “Trauma interventions in war and peace: prevention, practice and policy” (3); the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) document “The state of the world’s children – Childhood under threat” (4); the book “Trauma and the role of mental health in postconflict recovery” (5) and a chapter on “War and mental health in Africa” in the WPA book “Essentials of clinical psychiatry for sub-Saharan Africa” (6).

“Though there have not been any world wars since the Second World War, there have been wars and conflicts throughout the last 60 years. For example, in the 22 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region of the World Health Organization (WHO), over 80% of the population either is in a conflict situation or has experienced such a situation in the last quarter of century (7).

“War has a catastrophic effect on the health and wellbeing of nations. Studies have shown that conflict situations cause more mortality and disability than any major disease. War destroys communities and families and often disrupts the development of the social and economic fabric of nations.

“The effects of war include long-term physical and psychological harm to children and adults, as well as reduction in material and human capital. Death as a result of wars is simply the “tip of the iceberg”. Other consequences, besides death, are not well documented. They include:
•endemic poverty
•economic / social decline
•and psychosocial illness
•to mention only a few.

“Only through a greater understanding of conflicts and the myriad of mental health problems that arise from them, coherent and effective strategies for dealing with such problems can be developed.

This research concluded: “The occurrence of a wide variety of psychological symptoms and syndromes in the populations in conflict situations is widely documented by available research. However, research also provides evidence about the resilience of more than half of the population in the face of the worst trauma in war situations. There is no doubt that the populations in war and conflict situations should receive mental health care as part of the total relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction processes.

“As happened in the first half of the 20th century, when war gave a big push to the developing concepts of mental health, the study of the psychological consequences of the wars of the current century could add new understandings and solutions to mental health problems of general populations.

“A number of issues have emerged from the extensive literature on the prevalence and pattern of mental health effects of war and conflict situations.

“It is important to report that the WHO and some other UN-related bodies have recently created a task force to develop “mental health and psychosocial support in emergency settings” (53- 55), which is expected to complete its activity in one year. MURTHY RS, LAKSHMINARAYANA R. Mental health consequences of war: a brief review of research findings. World Psychiatry. 2006;5(1):25-30]

Referred to as 9/11, the September 11 attacks were a series of 4 terrorist attacks coordinated by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, and caused at least $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage. 9/11 was extremely devastating and psychologically impactful.

The consequences of wars, conflicts, hatred, racism, discrimination and religious differences accumulated and the United States manifest multiple divisions within itself.

‘I am Charlotte Simmons’ is a 2004 novel by Tom Wolfe, concerning sexual and status relationships at the fictional Dupont University. The plot indicates that, “Despite Dupont University’s elite status, in the minds of its students, sex, alcohol, and social status rule the day. The student culture is focused upon gaining material wealth, physical pleasure, and a well-placed social status; academics are only important insofar as they help achieve these goals.” In other words, ‘if it feels good, do it’.

Reviewer Jacob Weisberg wrote “Wolfe is always showing us something we haven’t quite noticed. Wolfe he said is “fundamentally journalistic”, a student of neuroscience, a methodical researcher and writes about the signs of our times. [Weisberg, Jacob, Nov 28, 2004,’I Am Charlotte Simmons’ New York Times]

The consequences of immorality and academic bankruptcy are not realized until it is too late for some.

‘Coming Out’, another impactful phenomenon, recently became very prevalent in U.S. Pains and pathologies bearing on both U.S. children and adults, who had become weary from ‘Unspeakable Scerets’ resulted in the prevalence. ‘Coming Out’ is a defense mechanism for self protection. It is a “mental repression or projection process initiated, typically unconsciously, to avoid conscious conflict or anxiety.” [Psych Central]

‘Coming-out’ is psychologically and emotionally essential for each individual’s mental health, when considered seperately.

According to the Office of National Statistics, 3.3% of 16 to 24-year-olds identified themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual in 2015, up from 2.8% in 2014. This is nearly double the average across all age groups, with 1.7% of people identifying as LGB across the general population. Among over-65s, just 0.6% identify as LGB. [by Nick Duffy, 5th October 2016]

However, ‘Coming Out’ is not exclusively an LGBT phenomenon. ‘Unspeakable Secrets’ are not just LGBT. ‘Coming out’ about how we think of ourselves and how we should think, behave and act-out our various life roles is personally liberating.

In all contexts, ‘Coming Out’ means by extension the “self-disclosure of a person’s secret behaviors, beliefs, affiliations, tastes, identities, and interests that may cause astonishment or ‘feel-as-if it will bring shame.

‘Coming Out’ about how humans think of themselves includes many subsets i.e. liberal, conservative, democrat, republican, sadomasochist, alcoholic, disabled, mentally ill, sex slave, intersexual, pornographer, criminal, rapists, thief, old maid, sex addict, child abuser, white supremacist, nazi, slave holder, Christian, illegal immigrant, BDSM, BIID, atheist, agnostic and on and on.

Public awareness initiatives ‘Out Campaigns’ makes ample use of the “Out” metaphor. “There is a big closet population of atheists who need to come out’”. [Richard Dawkins] [Trauma and Recovery Judith Lewis Herman, M.D. Feb, 1997]

However, research has shown that ’Coming Out’ can be a double edged sword. “Proactive behavior in an organization is a risky endeavor. Proactivity, goal-directed process, can backfire while doing life in general just as in business. [Personal Initiative and Job Performance Evaluations: Role of Political Skill in Opportunity Recognition and Capitalization Andreas Wihler, Gerhard Blickle, B. Parker Ellen, III, Wayne A. Hochwarter, Gerald R. Ferris, Journal of Management Vol 43, Issue 5 First published date: October-06-2014]

‘Coming Out’ with self-inflicted shameful secrets, secrets for which the person experiences shame, and/or secrets for which they believe they will be persecuted requires strategy.

While the ‘Coming-Outer’ (not meant deragatorily) is seeking approval and validation, they sometimes discover that not all ‘Coming Outs’ are immediately embraced by family, friends and communities. Some ‘Coming Outers’ belong to hate groups. They are seldom embraced.

Strategies should be well thought-out and synchronized with the appropriate point in time and individual’s psychodynamics in order to “make sense of their relationships, experiences and how they see the world.”

During Psychiatry training in medical school, this reporter was instructed-in and taught the validity of Psychodynamics. The Psychodynamic Approach outlined briefly describes the mechanism ‘Coming-Outers’ should consider. (‘Coming-Outers’ is not a derogatory term, but a term so everyone can stay on message):
* “Our behavior and feelings are powerfully affected by unconscious motives.
* Our behavior and feelings as adults (including psychological problems) are rooted in our childhood experiences.
* All behavior has a cause (usually unconscious), even slips of the tongue. Therefore all behavior is determined.
* Personality is made up of three parts (i.e. tripartite): the id, ego and super-ego.
* Behavior is motivated by two instinctual drives: Eros (the sex drive & life instinct) and Thanatos (the aggressive drive & death instinct). Both these drives come from the “id”.
* Parts of the unconscious mind (the id and superego) are in constant conflict with the conscious part of the mind (the ego). This conflict creates anxiety, which could be dealt with by the ego’s use of defense mechanisms.
* Personality is shaped as the drives are modified by different conflicts at different times in childhood (during psychosexual development).” [Psychodynamic Approach, Saul McLeod published 2007 Simply Psychology]

“According to LaSala (2000), disclosing one’s sexual identity to parents is considered to be the most stressful experience a gay individual is confronted with. In addition to the conflicts which arise in familial life, gay men and women are also faced with issues in society which contribute to misinformation, prejudice, and unacceptance.

“Although we may be progressing as a society, gay men and women are still discriminated against and do not receive the equal rights they deserve. Twenty men and women were interviewed for this research project, and the three common themes which arose from the interviews include hetero-normative culture, religious conflict, and inaccurate gay stereotypes.

“Concerning the LGBT subset of ‘Coming-outers’, it was found that gay men and women are confronted with many hegemonic ideals, cultural norms, in society which serve to ostracize, persecute, and inaccurately represent the lives of gay men and women. [The Consequences of Coming Out: The Societal Implications of Being Gay, Deborah Fessenden, Faculty Mentor: Michael Thompson, Ph.D., Department of Sociology, Faculty Profile at UNT] [Unspeakable Secrets, ‘Coming Out’, mbmsrmd]

The aforementioned are frequently dissected impactful examples. There are many complex reasons for ‘Science Illiteracy’, another impactful factor, in the U.S. Scientific endeavors are difficult enough without strenous psychodynamics that impair total concentration on science and scientific mindfulness. Scientific education and other scientific endeavors require total focalization, gathering all the power of Mind from the top of the Cerebrum down to the limbic lobes of brain underneath the Cerebrum, gathering all the power of the Brain upon one train of thought.

Since private and public organizations are searching for scientists, who have the talent to work in labs, are scientifically innovative and have the potential to become research experts, the Psychographic Portrait of Scientists in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) were examined by Kelly Inc.

“Traditionally, scientists have been overachievers at school, particularly in science and math, and have worked incredibly hard to achieve their academic goals.

“Scientists are typically driven by their inquisitiveness and desire for knowledge, which means they have a passion for and are motivated by their work.

“The 1st and most important trait that scientists need to have, which was observed, is natural curiosity”

“Productive scientists have a strong internal drive to achieve their goals and have high levels of concentration and persistence. Nothing is accepted at face value for scientists; every angle of a problem, all of the available data and interpretations of a problem will be completely mentally processed and assimilated before the scientists reports their conclusions. [The Personality of a Scientist, a Psychographic Profile, Kelly Services, Inc.]

By 2000 the U.S. slumped into renewed illiteracy. Research has revealed that “science Illiteracy is now a threat to our nation. Americans are bad at science, scared of math, poor at physics and engineering.” [Neil deGrasse Tyson: U.S. science illiteracy a serious threat by John Newsom Jan 31, 2017]

The most recent PISA results 2015 math and science literacy U.S. 15-year-olds 38th / 71 countries in math and 24th / 71 in science. [U.S. students’ academic achievement still lags that of their peers in many other countries by Drew Desilver Feb 15, 2017, Factank, Pew Research Center]

Good and Bad Words, Thoughts (Mindfulness) and Beliefs (Policies) frame civilization accordingly, either good, bad or indifferent.

The Mind is the human thinking and thought processing space; a place for perceptions, Beliefs, attitudes, patterns, emotions, willpower, past memory, learning memory, imagination, language and communications.

Cognition is the thinking part of the Mind [Mindsight: New Science of Personal Transformation, 2010, Dr. Dan Siegal ] [Does the Brain Control the Mind or the Mind Control the Brain? by Parag + Ayesha Khanna, Bigthink]

Belief systems are reinforced by repetitive believing. Each neuron (brain nerve cell) has an idea and groups of neurons with the same ideas become networks, aka neuronets, and the ideas grow together for confirmation within the Mind and becomes a Belief. “Neurons, brain nerve cells, that fire together are wired together” (Hebb, 1949) 4 Righteous Behavior.

During Belief mechanism mental integration, a round and round process begins and builds upon itself. The ‘positive feedback loop’, ‘push-pull cybernetic system’, continually increases, reinforces the Belief confirmation. [The Believing Brain by Michael Shermer 2012]

•Negative sensory stimuli from foul, disgraceful, obscene, indecent, violent, mocking, heckling, insulting, jeering, ridiculing, taunting, unpleasant language
•When integrated continually and repetitively in the Brain Sensorium are manifest as negative conscious sensory states followed by thoughts of misbehavior, disobedience, dishonesty, immorality, scorn, disgrace, evilness, disrespect
•Which, subsequently, eventuate-in and give-rise-to negative, uneducated, uncultured, mistrustful, immoral, fearful, unreliable, doubtful, antisocial, harmful, rebellious, wicked, discriminatory, hate-filled, racist, anti-religious, anti-Semitic Beliefs, Retrogressive Stage of Human Society.

When youth join a team, not a gang or any other malfunctioning group and stick together, sacrifice, stay in tip-top readiness and performance shape 365 days per year, don’t dope, are dedicated to their sports, dedicated to their education, the positive benefits, will make a difference, will enhance Athletes’ success and sustain Athletes’ personal and professional lives. []

Great Coaches, Great Parents and Great Teachers are similar to each other. Teachers, guides, counselors, sponsors, advisors, role models can dramatically influence children.

Great Coaches, Great Parents and Great Teachers can teach the values of life and living and mentor a child to become a star, role model, a hero, ‘doing life’ for generations to come.

They build children’s trust, set foundation for successful living and fair play and develop relationships by listening, being attentive to children concerns, needs and motivate, encourage, support the efforts of children.

Great Coaches, Great Parents and Great Teachers preach achievement, develop character with positive feedback, which builds children’s self-esteem and morale.

They build children’s character when they demonstrate that they are good characters themselves, doing and coping with life, after making mistakes themselves, finally over themselves, learning good doing themselves, filled with child-centered mindfulness, reflecting, teaching and reacting from a voice of wisdom. [Mental Health “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Program Performance and Evaluation Office, October 4, 2013]

Great Coaches, Great Parents and Great Teachers have the intuition to develop Student Athletes to ‘be all they can be’, by promulgating SRE ‘synergistic partners’ of educational excellence and Student Athletes.

Great Coaches, Great Parents and Great Teachers thus further define the amateur Athlete, a participant in SRE without monetary compensation per se, but ethical, moral, dignified, trustworthy and educational mindful rewards, who in turn will enhance a Progressive Society.

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Michael Cimino’s “The Deer Hunter” (1978)

Notable Festivals: Berlinale (Out of Competition)

Academy Award Wins: Best Director, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Christopher Walken), Best Editing, Best Sound

Inducted into the National Film Registry in 1996

The annals of film history are dotted with enduring classics that define their time.  They act as avatars for the national mood, and are a dreamlike reflection of our collective unconscious.  It’s not a coincidence that some of the most potent films ever made came out of the 1970’s, a time of great social unrest and doubt.  As the Vietnam War raged halfway across the world, , we experienced a national crisis of conscience– spurred on by the nightly images of violence and death beamed directly into our living rooms.  It was a loss of innocence for America, in that a far-off fight shattered thousands of families, communities, and towns.  A countless number of promising futures were tragically cut short in service to a war that we couldn’t necessarily justify getting into.  We began to question the moral authority of our leaders and the decisions that were made in the best interests of “democracy”.

It was into this climate of social upheaval that director Michael Cimino released his second feature film, 1978’s THE DEER HUNTER.  The film painted a sobering portrait of a small Pennsylvania steel town rocked by loss when three of its sons go off to Vietnam.  The war was still something of a taboo subject in cinemas when Cimino made the film, but the man had already become well-known for his bold, confident vision and daring subject matter.  In the context of its time, a three hour film about an unpopular war was a huge roll of the dice, but the gamble paid off in spades– THE DEER HUNTER is a qualified masterpiece, and one of the most emotionally harrowing experiences in cinema.  It would go on to secure an Academy Award in Directing for Cimino (as well as Best Picture, among many others), and would undoubtedly become the crowning work of his career.    However, success has a dark side– and the perks of all these accolades would subsequently enable Cimino to indulge in excess.  In other words, Cimino’s yellow-brick road was a road to ruin.

THE DEER HUNTER also holds the personal distinction of being one of my favorite films of all time.  A number of the story’s themes are ones that I’m drawn to as a filmmaker in my own right.  I could expound at length about the film’s subtext and message, because each subsequent viewing of the film (I’m now up to three) reveals new insights.  The story is so layered and dense that it requires multiple viewings– a task made not-so-easy by the film’s ponderous three hour runtime.  When I first saw the film, I didn’t particularly respond to it, and it was only upon my second viewing that something clicked.  THE DEER HUNTER demands your time and your patience, but it will reward you substantially in return.

The film is splint into three distinctive, hour-long acts that form a framework not unlike the triptych in classic art.  Act One takes place in the sleep mountain town of Clairton, Pennsylvania.  Michael (Robert De Niro), Steven (John Savage) and Nick (Christopher Walken) are three old friends from childhood, having never left their sleepy community.  They spend their days forging steel and their nights drinking copious amounts of Rolling Rock beer and chasing after the town’s slim selection of women.  When the film begins, it is Steven’s wedding day, and these rambunctious boys are intent on getting absolutely shitfaced before the big ceremony.  In the town’s community center, a raucous reception is held to not only to send off the groom and his bride in style, but to celebrate Michael, Steven, and Nick as hometown heroes before they depart for Vietnam to serve their country.  One of the biggest complaints against the film is the lengthy reception scene, which is one of the most drawn-out and longest in the film.  Initially, the scene seems aimless and bloated– however, this extended sequence sees Cimino planting the seeds of his story in an uncontrived, almost invisible fashion.

The sequence introduces Linda (Meryl Streep) , a beautiful young woman who finds herself the unwitting object of affection between both Michael and Nick.  We also meet Steve (John Cazale), one of the few members of the rambunctious boys’ club that finds himself impotently left behind while his more-virile friends go off to glory.  In a way, THE DEER HUNTER’s first act symbolizes a pre-Vietnam America, drunk off its innocence and presumed supremacy as a superpower. This is alluded to in a striking interlude halfway through the party, where a haunted-looking serviceman back from Vietnam disrespects Michael by refusing his drunken attempts to buy him a drink.  It’s a ghostly preview of the shocking transformation that lies in store for our three heroes.

The film’s second act shifts abruptly to a startling explosion, deep in the jungles of Vietnam.  Michael finds himself in the middle of nightmarish chaos, and then suddenly/impossibly reunited with Nick and Steven.  Their reunion is cut short when they’re captured by Viet Cong forces and imprisoned in a claustrophobic water prison along the banks of the river Kwai.  As prisoners of war, they’re forced to engage in emotionally battering games of Russian Roulette for their captors’ entertainment.  They escape by riding a piece of driftwood down the river, but are separated by a botched rescue attempt by American forces.  A short while later, Nick is treated for his wounds and released back out into the bustling city of Saigon.  Looking for a cathartic release from the POW experience that haunts him, he’s lured into the lucrative world of underground Russian Roulette.  Cimino’s second act depicts a harsh awakening to the hellish nature of war, and the lingering scars its causes.

The third act finds Michael returning to Pennsylvania.  Clad in an ornately-medaled military uniform, he projects an image of success and honor, but like the spiteful serviceman earlier in the film, he too is haunted by spooks he can never quite shake.  He reconnects with Linda, beginning a reluctant affair that’s driven more by comfort and companionship than lust or passion.  His transition back into normal life is a hard one, filled with many stumbling blocks. He reunites with Steven, who has since lost both legs and an arm.  Heavy painkiller drugs cause Steven to ramble incoherently and make him a fraction of the man he used to be.  Curiously, Steven mentions that money is regularly sent to him from Saigon– from who, he doesn’t know.  Michael deduces that it’s Nick, which means that he’s still alive.  Invigorated by the realization, Michael heads back to Saigon to save Nick from a devastating fate.

THE DEER HUNTER is full of nuanced, involving performances.  Cimino aptly captures the drunken playfulness and nonchalance of his homegrown subjects, which give this very serious film its only moments of levity.  When the tone changes, Cimino is equally perceptive at capturing their faded smiles and hardened hearts.  The 1970’s was a great decade for Robert De Niro, which saw him turn in his best performances in some of the greatest films of all time.  In THE DEER HUNTER, De Niro embraces a blue collar, flinty mentality– externalized by a scraggly goatee and a trucker cap.  Despite his gruff exterior, he’s quiet and sensitive; somewhat distanced from the carousing nature of his friends.  His insightfulness translates into a steely resolve and quick wit under the pressure of Vietnam’s hostile conditions.  It’s an Oscar-nominated performance every bit as iconic as TAXI DRIVER’s Travis Bickle or THE GODFATHER PART 2’s Young Vito Corleone.

Christopher Walken won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Nick.  Nick is initially presented as the group’s jester, but it’s a facade meant to disguise how scared shitless he is about going overseas.  In a private, drunken moment early in the film, Nick begs Michael not to leave him behind in Vietnam, no matter what.  This anxiety ultimately breaks him, and his transition from eager and fresh-faced to gaunt and lifeless is captivating to watch.  His performance is entirely deserving of the Oscar, and endures as one of cinema’s most haunting figures.

John Savage, who in my opinion is a severely underutilized character actor, also experiences a striking conversion.  He’s the picture of virility and swaggering machismo at the beginning of the film, only to have his character broken by the brutal conditions of Vietnam.  His rapid mental unraveling is shocking, leaving only a hollow shell of himself by the end.  Steven represents the countless maimed soldiers who were lucky enough to not come home in a body bag, but maybe would have been better off if they had.

THE DEER HUNTER was Meryl Streep’s breakout role, resulting in her own Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.  While she isn’t particularly given a lot to do, she gives the film a softer, feminine edge to counteract the broken machismo that runs through the film.  It’s worth also noting that she’s just as tough and courageous as the men.

And then there’s John Cazale, a figure who absolutely must be mentioned.  Name five of your favorite films from the 1970’s– odds are he’s in every single one of them.  No other actor has made such an impact on the cinematic landscape in only a few films.  Cazale acted in just five films before terminal cancer took his life, but his selection was impeccable.  From Francis Ford Coppola’s THE GODFATHER (1972), THE CONVERSATION (1974), THE GODFATHER PART II (1974), and Sidney Lumet’s DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975), and finally to Cimino’s THE DEER HUNTER– each one an enduring classic in its own right.  His particular brand of shuffling fuck-up has been unmatched in the years since, the dedication to his craft urgently apparent in each one.  Cazale suffered through the filming of THE DEER HUNTER, summoning all his strength each day to help Cimino achieve his vision.  Sadly, he died shortly before the film was released– but he leaves behind one of the most artistically pure filmographies in all of cinematic history.

To bring his richly textured vision to life, Cimino enlisted the help of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond.  Shooting on 35mm film in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio,  Zsigmond crafts an image that retains Cimino’s signature visual style.  The saturated, naturalistic colors jump off the screen- particularly, the blood-red bandanas worn by contestants of the Saigon Russian Roulette operation.  Foregoing the use of subtitles to let the audience know when the action shifts to Vietnam and back again, Cimino instead employs a dreary, autumnal color palette for the Pennsylvania sequences while the Vietnam and Saigon scenes explode with intense greens, browns, and oranges.  This approach is mirrored in the camerawork:  the smoky, mountainous vistas of Pennsylvania are rendered in slow zoom and dolly shots, while Vietnam is depicted through the jumpy unsteadiness of handheld camerawork.  His preference for wide angle lens creates panoramic vistas in which the subject appears tiny against the landscape– undoubtedly influenced by the framing techniques of John Ford.  A variety of stock footage is added to the Vietnam sequences to heighten the realism and supplement Cimino’s depiction of The South Pacific as a hellish nightmare.

Cimino’s richly-detailed compositions are a sight to behold.  His preference for deep focus and slow-paced editing (courtesy of editor Peter Zinner) allow the viewer to absorb themselves into the world of the story, choosing where they want to look within a frame.  As a result, we never see the same movie twice– there’s always something different to notice in each scene.

Stanley Meyers contributes the film’s haunting score, most notably the elegiac “Cavatina”, or as it’s better known: “The Theme From Deer Hunter”.  Even if you haven’t seen THE DEER HUNTER, you’ve more than likely heard the somber mandolin strings of “Cavatina” at some point in your life.  It’s an iconic composition that has aged as gracefully as the film itself.  Cimino also uses an inspired mix of source music that gives the film its rough-edged, blue collar patina.  Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” recurs throughout the film, sounding like it’s been beaten into submission by the bar’s junky jukebox speakers.  Traditional Eastern European polka and folk songs during the wedding sequence gives us a great deal of insight into the characters’ cultural heritage– a tactic that arguably inspired director James Gray in his own intimate depictions of modern immigrant families decades later.

One of the most striking uses of music in the film, however, is Cimino’s incorporation of a non-diagetic choral piece/choral hymnal during the scene’s titular deer hunting sequences.  The foreboding, majestic voices hang in the mountain’s hazy air as De Niro maneuvers across the rocky landscape in pursuit of his prey.  It’s at once both unsettling and beautiful, suggesting an uneasy harmony between man and nature.  Or perhaps it’s subtly commenting on the cycle of life and death.  That’s the beauty of film though– every interpretation is valid.

Speaking of the cycle of life and death, the film uses both ritual and liquid as potent metaphors.  THE DEER HUNTERbookends with a pair of celebrations, albeit differing drastically in tone.  In the beginning, a wedding is the cause for raucous, drunken revelry.  Liquor flows freely and several toasts are made.  As I wrote before, this symbolizes an America drunk off its victory in World War 2 and confident in a similar outcome on the eve of their entry into Vietnam.  Water is used to great effect in the Vietnam sequences as a sort of torturous cleansing agent, traumatically detoxing the characters of their confidence and innocence.  The end of the film is like a great national sobering, closing with both a somber funeral and an epilogue involving coffee instead of alcohol.  Perhaps the liquid metaphor is reading into the film a little too much, but this is Cimino we’re talking about here– I would be doing a disservice to the man’s spirit if I didn’t indulge myself a little.

Cimino’s signature storytelling themes are perhaps at their most potent in the context of THE DEER HUNTER.  The effects of fractured male camaraderie are soulfully explored as the friends literally go through hell and back.  The film is very much a love story– the love between brothers.  Sure, they bust each others balls on a frequent basis, but it’s done so out of a deep, profound affection.  Additionally, Americana imagery is on full display, much more so than any other of his films.   What’s striking about their incorporation here is the deeply ironic, bittersweet implications they take on within the events of the story.  The film famously ends with the characters somberly singing “God Bless America” after a funeral that has effectively stolen their innocence.  Hollywood executives were furious over the film’s ending, and they accused Cimino of anti-patriotism.  Much has been written about its inclusion in the story, so I’ll simply add that its presence is well-justified, and serves as a pitch-perfect coda to Cimino’s weary tale of innocence lost.

Any way you slice it, THE DEER HUNTER is inarguably the high point of Cimino’s career.  The large scope and broad canvas afforded to him by the subject matter made for emotionally arresting cinema, but it also enabled his indulgent tendencies.  Indeed, many of the same traits that would spell his downfall in his very next film (1980’s HEAVEN’S GATE) are present here.  There’s long sequences that bog down the pacing, and a pompous sense of grandeur and grandiosity liberally applied to the proceedings.  The tone almost seems to explicitly tell you: “This is one of the greatest films ever made”, but in this case, it actually is.  This is a film where Cimino put a live round into the gun chamber during the filming of the Russian Roulette sequences in order to heighten the actors’ tension– with that degree of ballsiness and dedication to craft, greatness is simply inevitable.   There was a lot of critical revisionism going around in the wake of the HEAVEN’S GATE disaster, but with five (well-deserved) Academy Award wins and a secure spot in the National Film Registry, THE DEER HUNTER is an undeniable masterwork that’s just as relevant and arresting today as it was in 1978.

THE DEER HUNTER is currently available on high definition Blu Ray via Universal.


Would You Ask For It?

Would You Ask For It?

It seems like so many times we only think about feedback when we need to have a hard conversation with someone.

We gather the facts and then “say what we need to say.”

Can you imagine how different your team would be if they were asking for feedback? If they gave you the opportunity to share what you were thinking or seeing?

Crazy. Right?

Well, to get to that place it starts with us, as Managers, to begin that journey of asking for feedback.

Peter Bregman wrote a fabulous article called How to Ask for Feedback That Will Actually Help You.

One of his tips was to probe more deeply with questions. Asking questions in different ways helps you to get a fuller answer – painting a clearer picture of what the other person is trying to ask for.

Having trouble thinking of a couple of questions to even begin with? We’ve got a couple of ideas:

  • What is one suggestion you have that I can do to better support my team?
  • If your boss were to give me one suggestion, what would it be?
  • What part of my leadership or management style concerns you the most?
  • How well do you feel I communicate? What can I do to better communicate with those I work with?
  • What specifically could I have done better on X project?

Maybe one of these questions sparked an idea!

So, gather up your courage and go ask for some feedback!

You’ll be a better leader because of it!

Seeing People’s Strengths

StrengthsYou know those weeks where it feels like professionally or personally (or both!) the people around you are just trying to push your buttons?

It becomes really easy to focus on the negatives.

So, if you are having one of those weeks- we want to encourage you to take a step back and gather a little more perspective.

  • Step 1: Take a deep breath and let it out slowly, counting to 5 (we’re serious… you will begin to think more rationally!)
  • Step 2: Ok – now, think back to what was pushing your buttons, but try to think of the situation with the lens of the other person’s strengths

For example:

Someone on your team seems to be impatient and wants to take action on projects quickly. You don’t feel like they are giving enough thought to the project as a whole. But maybe your employee’s strength is taking thoughts and instantly turning them into action. So, this is a teammate who you know you can rely on to help get things done!

Everything feels like it has gone wrong this week… the deadline wasn’t met, the client or executive team was not happy, and then there was the one person on your team who was upbeat and positive. You were feeling like this was not at all a time to be positive. This teammate is able to easily get others excited, rallying a team together, to have the encouragement to keep pushing onward!

See, your frustration, when seen in another light (may still be frustrating but) makes a lot more sense and puts value back on each member of your team!

Celebrate Your Wins

Here is her encouragement:

Teresa Wallace“Build small wins into your larger goals.

A great way to do this is by setting goal levels.

What If…?

what-ifDeadlines. Projects. Holiday celebrations. Family events. More projects. Children’s plays. More Deadlines. Rise and repeat.

Right now, it probably feels like your focus is to make it to December 31st. Then you can go home early, celebrate the new year, and have a day to breathe before going back to work in 2015.

But, what are your plans when you get back?

Many times the new year is filled with resolutions and goals, determined by who we think we should be.

But, what if we started thinking about things differently?

Instead of determining our goals from feelings of obligation, what if we started to ask questions starting with what if?

What if I want to be better than I currently am? What would that take?

What if my staff knew that I was committed to their development? How would the team change?

What if I got the promotion I’ve been working for? How would that benefit my company/career/family/etc.?

Starting with what if gives us the chance to start to dream again.

So, what is your what if question for next year?

Stop and Refocus

PHD ComicsDo you feel it yet? I do.

The holidays are so close and yet so far away. They are close enough where the bit of cold weather (or snow) is almost exciting. But far enough away that the routine of every day is still mundane.

The next two months are filled with excitement and family celebrations along with pressure and deadlines.

Sometimes it feels overwhelming to manage it all.

So when you are having one of those days when the deadline feels all too close, your direct report needed to have that conversation with you, and it feels like there just isn’t time to get is all done, here are a couple of suggestions.

For just a few minutes.

Get up.

Take a walk.

Go get a cup of coffee.

Look out the window.

Remember why you do what you do.

Picture the celebration of the season.

Remember the feelings of accomplishment you’ve had before.

Know that you will get it all done.

Sometimes taking a 5 minute break from all the pressure can create the mental space we need to get the job done!

Let’s Collaborate Together!

Here is what Terry suggests:

Forming, Norming, and Storming

10:00AM: Your team meeting is scheduled to start.

You look down at your watch. It feels like the second hand is moving so quickly – precious seconds you could be using to respond to emails and finish that presentation seem to sprint away.

10:05AM: Everyone else on your team is with you in the conference room except for one person.

You know, that one person on your team who is ALWAYS late to meetings. You don’t like to put people in a box, but seriously – they are always late. And you can tell the team is just as annoyed about the situation as you are.

10:10AM: The late (and flustered) team member sprints into the conference room, ruffles through their papers to get the clean sheet out and pen ready for the meeting that was scheduled to start 10 minutes ago.

ARGH! How do you handle situations like this? Or even deeper rooted aspects of conflict?

We asked Coach Helen Cooper, with over 20 years of experience in coaching leaders of large companies and start ups, about conflict management in teams.

Here is what she had to say:

Helen Cooper- BlogTeams go through a normal formation cycle of forming, norming and storming. To minimize the ‘storming’ (the conflict), ‘norming’ is VERY important.

Engage as a team to really talk through and agree on team values. As a leader, you must be willing to facilitate and work with (collaborate!) the team… not dictate.

This creates a safe way for the team to talk through the specific behaviors required for success and to not put individual team members on the defensive.

An example of a team value might be, ‘we will listen to each other and not talk about each other.’ The value of listening to each other could help the team to talk through this behavior and ask ‘why’. Then, that individual has a chance to explain why.

Another value could be that when issues surface the team can’t successfully resolve among themselves (the example of being late), the team can expect the team leader to intervene and resolve these behavioral issues on behalf of the team.

So, after the conflict has resolved what do you look at next?

The ‘now what’ implies that the team continues to mature. If assignments change or the team scales, the cycle of team development of norming, forming, storming will repeat.

Teams must continually work on their team evolution when environments change. Time is required to discuss not just ‘what’ the team must deliver but also ‘how’ they are going to continue working together.

Take a look at your team this week. Is your team currently forming, norming, or storming?

Also, think about if your team has established “norms” for team behavior. If not, look at scheduling a meeting to talk through some of these things.

It may help you to navigate the storm that will eventually come!


Robert Barry describes in his work It is wholly indeterminate (1970) something as present and real as absent and intangible. An entity, a dimension or a state of consciousness unspecified, inefable, invisible, unconscious, unaccessible. This elusive 'thing' is what I describe as the numinous.

The numinous has been tentatively described by artists, philosophers, writers and scholars from different angles to accommodate it as a phenomenon within the limits of language and material representation. But the numinous has always escaped the full grasp of rational understanding and it has wandered instead in the liminal space between the internal and the external, the ephemeral and the eternal, the invisible and the visible and most importantly, the human and the divine. For millennia, it has been the very essence and purpose of art. Now, in the era of disenchantment, when everything has been reduced to politics and economics, the numinous is rumbling again in the West.

My art practice, mainly portrait photography, searches for optical dimensions where the numinous, understood as an ulterior and transpersonal dimension of the self, enables a pre-political exploration of identity beyond gender, race, sex and social background. Through my work, the notion of the self is extended beyond materiality to delve into wider aspects of existence. My ultimate goal is to understand what means to be a human with a metaphysical dimension in a secular time.


The Trouble With Fiscal Stimulus

There’s been a fair amount of blogospheric bemoaning of the failure of policymakers to adequately embrace the idea of fiscal stimulus as a macroeconomic stabilization policy. And as readers know, I’m very sympathetic to that point of view. But at some point when your side of the argument fails to carry the day, you do need to start thinking about why you’re not persuading people.

And in this case, I think the problem is pretty clear: In the absence of broad political consensus about the appropriate size and scope of the public sector, efforts at fiscal expansion will necessarily get bound up with these debates. For example, many liberals view the idea of a payroll tax holiday with suspicion because they suspect the revenue losses will provide further grist for the argument that Social Security is “bankrupt” and benefits need to be cut. Conversely, conservatives are reluctant to support “temporary” increases in the generosity of social welfare programs out of fear that in the future allowing those increases to expire will be characterized as a “cut.”

It seems to me that Germany and Sweden entered the recession with less Keynesian political cultures, but more consensus about the long-term equilibrium level of public spending. And not coincidentally, both of those countries did a much better job of executing the “stimulus in the downturn, then move to consolidation when growth returns” move than America has.

So the practical problem facing proponents of a large fiscal role in stabilization is to come up with ideas that work given this setting. That means, I think, doing something to stop state and local fiscal policy from being pro-cyclical and it means doing something to elaborate rule-based monetary policy measures for when nominal interest rates are close to zero.


Immigration and Regional Integration in a Globalizing World

Myths and Truths about Migration
Sofort lieferbar | Lieferzeit:3-5 Tage I

89,49 €*

Christopher White
Lexington Books
eBook Typ:
Adobe Digital Editions
eBook Format:
2 - DRM Adobe

Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: International Migration and Regional IntegrationChapter 3: Theoretical FrameworkChapter 4: EuropeChapter 5: North AmericaChapter 6: The Rest of the WorldChapter 7: Ending the Immigration Debate
Immigration and Regional Integration in a Globalizing World, Christopher White makes an important contribution to the immigration debate by investigating the relationship between two of the most important forces shaping the current international system-international migration and regional integration. The ability to manage the movement of people across national borders is considered one of the primary responsibilities of the nation-state, but international migration always involves more than one country. The world has become increasingly globalized and international migration has followed suit. The vast majority of states have come to realize that successful and effective migration policies involve cooperation and coordination with other states, sometimes by choice and sometimes by necessity. However, these efforts, both regionally and globally, are often highly contentious and result in conflict internally and externally. Managing migration and integration are key concerns for governments in nearly every region of the world and will take on even greater importance as globalization and technological advances shrink distances and bring us closer together. White uses an evidence-based approach to understanding immigration and economic integration to debunk the "migration myth" that sees a strong connection between these two factors. Contrary to prevailing assumptions, the main argument is that there is no substantial relationship between the international migration and regional integration, despite the political rhetoric that generates enormous fear and anxiety surrounding these issues. Instead of conflating them, countries can consider the benefits of integration policies without worrying about migration and can consider migration policies without concern for integration. This book is for anyone concerned about the issue of immigration and its relationship to trade liberalization and regional integration.