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5 Hawarden Road,Caterham

01883 348184

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The Skaterham to Brighton Bike ride is on Sunday 17th June 2018

We leave from Skaterham at 9.30-10am and join up at Merstham with those coming from London

Anyone wishing to join us please email or pop in and speak to Darren.  Anyone wishing to sponsor please donate here.

many many thanks Marilyn & Darren

Skaterham is a community project based in Caterham, SE London.

Primarily, we are a skatepark but we also offer a whole range of youth friendly activities such as a dj booth, trips and residentials, arts and a junior staff program.

Opening in 1999, we have grown ever since and now boast nearly 20,000 registered members......

Its a safe, sympathetic environment manned by quality staff that has allowed our project to reach such a huge following.

Based on the former army barracks, our home is a converted chapel with original fixings.

We recently acquired charitable status and our co-founder was awarded an MBE for her tireless voluntary work.

Check our website, for the latest news and moves or why not pop in and have a look around

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The Agronomic and Environmental Impacts of Phosphorus in Biosolids Applied to Agricultural Land: A Review of UK Research

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Price: £50

A review of UK research funded over the last 15 years on the potential environmental impacts of phosphorus (P) in biosolids has concluded that biosolids are a valuable, sustainable source of P whose recycling to agricultural land could be expanded in support of sustainable farming, resource protection and provision of ecosystem services. The eutrophication risk associated with biosolid recycling to land is very small provided biosolid types and application rates are matched to minimise P transfer in runoff based on on-site assessment of P loss risk taking account of hydrological connectivity, the degree of soil P saturation and vulnerability to soil erosion.

UKWIR Reference :- 11/SL/02/10Published Date :- 13/06/2011
Retail Price (£) :- 50ISBN :- 1 84057 595 6

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What’s up Tinder?!

What’s up Tinder?!

It’s a hookup culture online.

I could go through men like a woman with hayfever goes through tissues in the spring.

It’s absolutely crazy how frequently I get asked for sex.

Dr. Blockhead is just one of MANY men who proposition me during our VERY FIRST TEXT conversation.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh?

Well despite how displeased I am to get asked for sex all the fucking time (like I’m some sort of hooker), there are WORSE situations than that.

Worse than being a hooker?

But oh yes, there is.

My girlfriend suffers from what I call the “Buy me an iTunes card” phenomenon.

She’s been on Tinder a month and in that time she’s had 5 guys ask her for money – usually in the form of an iTunes gift card.

Why an iTunes card?

But even more dumbfounding is that they’re asking at all.

Grown men.

Supposedly employed.

Are they looking for a sugar mama?

And if they are, shouldn’t they look like Zac Efron or George Clooney and not a paunchy, middle aged, balding engineer with poor taste in polo shirts?

I’m just saying.


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Enterprise Products Partners to build new natural gas facility and pipelines – HBJ

Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE: EPD) continues to expand its natural gas footprint as natural gas production and piping continues to grow in the U.S.The midstream energy company announced June 20 it plans to build a cryogenic natural gas processing facility — its third facility announced in less than 24 months — as well as additional natural gas and natural gas liquids pipelines.  Enterprise’s target: the NGL-rich Delaware Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The facility’s site hasn’t been determined, but the plant is expected to have a nameplate capacity of 300 million cubic feet per day and extract more than 40,000 barrels of NGL daily. The facility is expected to start up in the second quarter of 2018.The project also includes building rich natural gas gathering lines, a residue pipeline to Texas’ Waha oil field and an NGL pipeline to Enterprise’s Mid-America Pipeline system, all of which will integrate with Enterprise’s Delaware Basin infrastructure.“The South Eddy facility began operations earlier this year, while our joint venture processing plant at Waha is expected to begin service in the third quarter of 2016,” A.J. “Jim” Teague, CEO of Enterprise’s general partner, said in the company’s statement. “Altogether, these initiatives are expected to increase our processing capacity in the Delaware Basin to 800 MMcf/d, compared to 40 MMcf/d in 2012.”Enterprise is the fourth-largest Houston-based public company, based on its $47.95 billion in revenue in 2014, according to Houston Business Journal research. It reported nearly $27.03 billion in revenue for 2015.

Source: Enterprise Products Partners to build new natural gas facility and pipelines – Houston Business Journal

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HUSHfest Santa Cruz Lighthouse w/ Ardalan

Buy Tickets

HUSHconcerts and Euphoric.Net are proud to present the third annual HUSHfest: Santa Cruz Lighthouse on Saturday July 9th. This epic location will be the backdrop for an incredible afternoon of music from some of the finest producers in the Bay Area and beyond. Dirtybird Records phenom Ardalan will headline the show with an extended closing set of his patented bass house. Santa Cruz stalwarts LabRat, Smasheltooth, and The Pirate will hold down one channel with their delicious midtempo beats. On the other channel, Bay Area funk aficionado Motion Potion conjure soulful sunshine and Chuck Jones will rep NVO with a DJ set of their incredible organic house music. Kids 12 and under are free with a ticketed parent. The fun kicks off at 1pm and and space is limited, so we strongly recommend advance purchase at

The best night of your life.
Every night.

With Up All Night Gold you can go out and enjoy the best artists every single night. Subscribe today and party like a baller.

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all wildThings

Roar, gnash, stomp, mash & creatively play your way into the wild forest of your imagination with our spirited & quirky ear flap caps. for babies, kids & grown-ups!  Our ear hats are reversible and feature our exclusive interchangeable ears.  Kids are DELIGHTED to wear these hats!

Not sure what style you want, what pattern you love best?  Search through all of our lovely wildThings ear hats in one tidy place.  Or, use one of our menus (top left, or sidebars on tablet/desktop or at the bottom of the page on mobile) to search by season, style, color and size.


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As a new show about the battles between Princess Diana and Prince Charles is in the works, one cannot ignore the legacy left behind by Diana despite the turmoil in her life as a Royal Family member. Princess Diana once stood where Meghan Markle stands today and where Kate Middleton stood a few years back as a newlywed wife of a British prince.

It's a 'Feud'

According to Vogue, a series that goes into detail when it comes to the most epic battles between two people in modern history has taken on Charles and Diana.

Don’t miss on the latest updates Follow the Celebrities Channel

"Feud" has previously honed in on Bette Davis and Joan Crawford's epic fights. Now it is across the pond where the show has set its sights, to tell the story of Charles and Diana for their new season.

Diana in a sympathetic portrayal

The casting is underway for "Feud: Charles and Diana" and the creator of "Feud" is astounded over the interest in playing the main roles for this show, especially when it comes to playing the part of Diana. According to EW, the creator of the show, Ryan Murphy, describes the role of Diana in the series as "sort of a Scarlett O'Hara part."

The show is doing a "very sympathetic portrayal" of Diana, said Murphy. He promises that the season will be "super juicy" when it airs as a "love affair feud" with all the drama included. Despite the battles that transpired between William and Harry's parents, these young men didn't follow suit when it came to relationships.

Marriage breakdown

The breakdown of their marriage was an epic tragedy for the two young princes at the time. But Diana bestowed a sense of family in these boys that carried through into adulthood.

Diana's love and respect for people and her focus on her two boys left William and Harry two very family-minded men. Diana planted a seed, a seed that in the future would provide two young women, who were just kids when she passed away, loving husbands in William and Harry.

A marriage consisting of three people

Diana once said that her marriage consisted of three people, which is deemed as one of the great quotes on marriage in an archived article from the Telegraph. This is how she described her marriage, which included Charles' love affair with Camila. With two young boys and a husband whose heart seemingly belonged to someone else, a solid family life was not something Diana experienced.

Diana's legacy to her two daughter-in-laws

What Diana endured in her young life was something that her sons made sure to avoid.

They became the type of husbands that Diana deserved. Both William and Harry dote on their wives [VIDEO], which was not something seen decades ago when Princess Diana was a new wife and mother. Both of Diana's boys married for love, with both wives coming from regular homes without a royal bloodline running through their veins.

Neither of the women was bestowed with the title of "princess," but what they were bestowed with was so much more and that would be Diana's legacy. Both William and Harry have sculpted their lives [VIDEO] after what their own mom would want in terms of a loving husband and a family. In a roundabout way, Diana's legacy was a gift and the two women who will benefit the most from this gift are Kate and Meghan.


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NFL schedule 2018. Those words alone get football fans excited about the future. On Thursday (April 19), the 2018 NFL schedule had some key components revealed, including the season-opener. The Philadelphia Eagles will host the Atlanta Falcons on September 6, marking the first Thursday night game of the campaign.

The Eagles are the defending Super Bowl champions, taking down Tom Brady and the New England Patriots to bring an end to the 2017 NFL season.

Don’t miss on the latest updates Follow the New England Patriots Channel

Now the Eagles will begin their title defense in Week 1 against the Falcons. This is a great game to kick off the 2018 NFL schedule, giving football fans something to look forward to all summer.

First Monday night football game

As revealed in a press release by the NFL, the first presentation of “Monday Night Football” will take place on September 10. The New York Jets will host the Detroit Lions, pitting two rebuilding teams against each other right out of the gate. On paper, it might not be a very exciting matchup, but it will help bring an end to the first week of fantasy football. That guarantees some good numbers in the television ratings.

The full 2018 NFL schedule comes out later on Thursday, but there are some really nice tidbits that the league has already announced. It includes the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Los Angeles Rams in Mexico City on November 19. That should be a very interesting matchup between a playoff team from each conference. It is just one of several games taking place outside of the United States, as the NFL also has three London games this year.

Full NFL schedule analysis

There is going to be a two-hour special hosted by ESPN on April 19 to go over the entire 2018 NFL schedule. It will be during “SportsCenter” as the anchors break down what they feel are the best games coming up this year. It all begins at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET and should be a very interesting show for fans. It will also give some early tips on what players fantasy football owners should target in upcoming drafts.

A lot of football excitement is coming up, including the 2018 NFL Draft, where the future of the New England Patriots could be shaped. [VIDEO] Will they target a new quarterback to replace Tom Brady behind center? Has age finally caught up with him [VIDEO]? Taking the Patriots all the way to the Super Bowl last season suggests he still has some fire left in him, but did the Eagles steal the mantle for the 2018 NFL season? Or can the Eagles repeat as Super Bowl champions?


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Toward a Cognitive Theory of Narrative Acts

Toward a Cognitive Theory of Narrative Acts

Noted scholars analyze a variety of creative works—plays by Samuel Beckett, novels by Maxine Hong Kingston, music compositions by Igor Stravinsky, art by Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin, and films by Michael Haneke— to offer a unified knowledge of artistic creativity.

Series: Edited by Frederick Luis Aldama, Arturo J. Aldama, and Patrick Colm Hogan

January 2010
This is a print-on-demand title. Expedited shipping is not available.
336 pages | 6 x 9 | 6 figures |

Toward a Cognitive Theory of Narrative Acts brings together in one volume cutting-edge research that turns to recent findings in cognitive and neurobiological sciences, psychology, linguistics, philosophy, and evolutionary biology, among other disciplines, to explore and understand more deeply various cultural phenomena, including art, music, literature, and film. The essays fulfilling this task for the general reader as well as the specialist are written by renowned authors H. Porter Abbott, Patrick Colm Hogan, Suzanne Keen, Herbert Lindenberger, Lisa Zunshine, Katja Mellman, Lalita Pandit Hogan, Klarina Priborkin, Javier Gutiérrez-Rexach, Ellen Spolsky, and Richard Walsh. Among the works analyzed are plays by Samuel Beckett, novels by Maxine Hong Kingston, music compositions by Igor Stravinsky, art by Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin, and films by Michael Haneke. Each of the essays shows in a systematic, clear, and precise way how music, art, literature, and film work in and of themselves and also how they are interconnected. Finally, while each of the essays is unique in style and methodological approach, together they show the way toward a unified knowledge of artistic creativity.

  • Introduction: The Sciences and Humanities Matter as One (Frederick Luis Aldama)
  • Part I: General and Theoretical Considerations
    • Chapter One. Arts in the Brain; or, What Might Neuroscience Tell Us? (Herbert Lindenberger)
    • Chapter Two. Narrative as Nourishment (Ellen Spolsky)
    • Chapter Three. Narrative Empathy (Suzanne Keen)
    • Chapter Four. The Biolinguistic Turn: Toward a New Semiotics of Film (Javier Gutiérrez-Rexach)
    • Chapter Five. Voice and Perception: An Evolutionary Approach to the Basic Function of Narrative (Katja Mellmann)
    • Chapter Six. Dreaming and Narrative Theory (Richard Walsh)
  • Part II: A Selection of New Approaches
    • Chapter Seven. Cross-Cultural Mind-Reading; or, Coming to Terms with the Ethnic Mother in Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior (Klarina Priborkin)
    • Chapter Eight. Theory of Mind and Michael Fried's Absorption and Theatricality: Notes toward Cognitive Historicism (Lisa Zunshine)
    • Chapter Nine. Garden Paths and Ineffable Effects: Abandoning Representation in Literature and Film (H. Porter Abbott)
    • Chapter Ten. Consciousness, Ethics, and Narrative: Reading Literature in an Age of Torture (Patrick Colm Hogan)
    • Chapter Eleven. Prophesying with Accents Terrible: Emotion and Appraisal in Macbeth (Lalita Pandit Hogan)
  • Glossary
  • Bibliography
  • Contributors
  • Index

Frederick Luis Aldama is Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor of English at Ohio State University. He is the author and editor of nine books, including Postethnic Narrative Criticism; Brown on Brown: Chicano/a Representations of Gender, Sexuality, and Ethnicity; the MLA-award winning Dancing With Ghosts: A Critical Biography of Arturo Islas; and Why the Humanities Matters: A Common Sense Approach.

In 1959 when C. P. Snow famously declared the need for building bridges between "the two cultures" of the sciences and the humanities in order to make the world a better place, the impulse wasn't so much ahead of the curve, but simply wrong. It wasn't that in 1959 few knew how and where to build such bridges. The separation itself was a line drawn in sand—specious and artificial.

To understand why our work in the humanities matters, the scholarship presented in Toward a Cognitive Theory of Narrative Acts shows just how we can wipe out that erstwhile line drawn in the sand that artificially separates the sciences from the humanities; that separates those disciplines deemed empirical and in pursuit of the universal (the "nomological") from those considered speculative (even if analytical) and in pursuit of the idiosyncratic (the singular or "punctual").

Whether we're talking about mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology or psychology, literature, linguistics, philosophy, history, and classics, knowledge in each discipline advances along a continuum between the hypothetical and the tested and confirmed. The humanities are part and parcel of the knowledge the human species has acquired about itself over the centuries, together with the social sciences and the natural sciences.

Knowledge is acquired in many ways and may exhibit many degrees of generality, certitude, and power to predict the future. It can be the product of direct observation and a small number of general assumptions, or the result of a very elaborate and long chain of hypotheses and deductions. It can possess a rich factual content or be almost devoid of it, but it must always lead back to factual observations.

Indeed, it is the development of knowledge in the humanities that has allowed many fields to become real scientific disciplines and to become separate scientific endeavors, distinct from the humanities as still embryonic forms of future disciplines. By the end of the Middle Ages and from the Renaissance onward, many fields studied by Aristotle became independent sciences (particularly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries). The same thing happened with the domains included in the humanities. The number and the nature (contents) of those domains changed over the centuries and gave birth to new fields of humanities and to the so-called social sciences, along with a certain number of natural sciences.

In our many activities we are reshaping the world that exists independent of our creating; in turn, this transformed world shapes us and our subsequent activities. This takes place in a one world—a supersystem composed of interconnected systems of various kinds (physical, cultural, social, biological, and so on) that possess their own peculiar properties and laws. Given that this world is one, as the different tributaries of knowledge gain force and depth, they necessarily move with increasing momentum toward one main stream.

In the work of Aristotle, Marx, Einstein, and Chomsky, we see this disciplinary convergence at play. Think of all the fields studied by Aristotle (including the knowledge he himself developed) to understand his one world more completely: from biology (zoology and botany) to medicine and the constitutions of the nation-states in Greece, to law and physics, and, of course, to logic. Chomsky's early and radically innovative formulation of a universal grammar is also a case in point. His research program threw new and important light not only on linguistics, but also on biology (the modularity of the brain), psychology (the mind not as qualia independent of the brain, but as a mind/brain composite), and mathematics (recursive function theory). Today, we see modern linguistics in convergence with other research programs such as those advanced in neuro- and evolutionary biology as well as in zoology (animal communication systems). (See Chomsky et al., "The Faculty of Language: What Is It, Who Has It, and How Did It Evolve?") Today, the human genome mapping not only gives us a much sharper understanding of biology (genetics), but proves instrumental in advancing knowledge in geography, archeology, anthropology, and linguistics, among other areas of inquiry.

The scholarship in this collection embodies this impulse toward unification. Each scholar seeks to sidestep subjective opinion and raw speculation in favor of establishing a research program that moves forward through a series of checks and balances (proofs and disproofs) within his or her respective area of scholarly inquiry. While each uses a different theoretical approach, each employs advances in the sciences (especially the biological) to understand better all variety of cultural phenomena that we spin out of ourselves.

Opening Part I of the collection, "General and Theoretical Considerations," Herbert Lindenberger's chapter "Arts in the Brain; or, What Might Neuroscience Tell Us?" shows how research in the neurobiological sciences is indispensable to understanding more deeply our creating and engaging with painting, music, and literature. His examples are many. In one instance, he analyzes why Stravinsky's compositions and not those of Schoenberg went from being rejected to being widely accepted; while the brain evinces a remarkable plasticity, no matter the amount of social and cultural educating, it can only accept a limited amount of chaos before it simply turns off. Ellen Spolsky's "Narrative as Nourishment" uses the conceit of metabolism as a way to develop a cannibalistic approach to understanding innovation in narrative fiction. Her "reality-based" approach applies research in the cognitive sciences to deepen our understanding of how authors strategically create gaps in the information they provide about characters, settings, and events that deliberately lead readers to fail in their inference and mind-reading of characters and authors. For Spolsky such narrative fictions lead to a certain hunger in other authors; they "stimulate others to expand the search for the kind of nourishment that could satisfy." In "Narrative Empathy" Suzanne Keen asks that we reconsider just how a narrative fiction allows us to step into the shoes of and feel for a character. This is not a result of narrative technique, but rather the net result of the narrative fiction as a whole created by the author (the blueprint) and the active participation of the reader. Moreover, the author's creating of the narrative fiction (blueprint) and the reader's following of this blueprint—our filling in all the gaps to solidify in the imagination a coherent and whole storyworld—involves centrally our capacity to empathize and to read mental states of characters and how these mental states relate to the world around them.

Several chapters take an interdisciplinary turn into areas such as film. In "The Biolinguistic Turn" Javier Gutiérrez-Rexach points out just how unlike the human mind is to machines (computers) in order to advance a biolinguistic film studies theory. Gutiérrez-Rexach builds on the work in modern linguistics that formulates our evolution of a universal grammar and "conceptography" and their accompanying specific competencies to deepen our understanding of how film works at the universal and idiosyncratic level. The two chapters that follow offer contrastive complements to one another. The first, Katja Mellman's "Voice and Perception: An Evolutionary Approach to the Basic Function of Narrative," identifies how our evolved cognitive capacity to extract information maps onto the emergence in literature of two narrative fiction devices: "voice" and "perception." Mellmann provides a nuanced understanding of how these devices work (together and apart) to convey information in literary and filmic narratives. The second, "Dreaming and Narrative Theory" by Richard Walsh, asks that we revise narrative theory categories and distinctions—say, between story (the time of the events as occurring within the storyworld) and discourse (the time and ordering of the narrative telling)—in light of our understanding of how lucid dreaming works. Sequences and themes of fictional narratives like novels share much cognitive ground with those created in lucid dreaming—and the psychological effects produced by both are similar. This has deep implications not only in terms of revising many of the tools identified by narratology, but also in determining that it is the medium of telling (discourse) and not the story that really matters when talking about, for instance, literature-to-film adaptations.

Part II of the collection, "A Selection of New Approaches," includes chapters that explore how narrative fictions trigger and even frustrate our Theory of Mind capacity. In "Cross-Cultural Reading; or, Coming to Terms with the Ethnic Mother in Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior," Klarina Priborkin teases out the cognitive schemas that prevent real understanding and lead to misreadings of interior states of mind between two generations of Asian American women. That readers also have a Theory of Mind capacity allows Kingston to use certain devices in the creating of her narrative fiction that allow us to step more powerfully into the shoes of her characters. In Chapter Eight, "Theory of Mind and Michael Fried's Absorption and Theatricality: Notes toward Cognitive Historicism," Lisa Zunshine broadens the critical scope of a Theory of Mind approach, considering a number of different cultural phenomena within a historical context: how it plays out in the creative work of eighteenth-century authors, playwrights, and artists who were interested in representing unusual states of mind and a suspension of self-consciousness. In an analysis of Chardin's painting "The Soap Bubble," for instance, Zunshine argues that it draws in its audience because of its depiction of a perceived transparency of mind embodied in its painted figures.

In contrast to Priborkin and Zunshine, H. Porter Abbott considers those narrative fictions that engage audiences less through the triggering of our Theory of Mind (our ability to read interior states and intentions from exterior gesture and expression) with characters and their situations and more through the firing up of our puzzle-solving faculty. In "Garden Paths and Ineffable Effects: Abandoning Representation in Literature and Film," Abbott explores a number of resolvable and irresolvable "garden-path" narrative fictions (literature and film) that challenge our cognitive impulse to link mimetically the fictional with the real world. Those that contain too little information (or in the case of Joyce's Finnegans Wake, too much) and too large a gap in their narrative detail resist our meaning-making process, and we shut off. However, authors and directors can find just the right balance between too much and too little, allowing us to parse the information and make meaning, but often in ways that lead us to titillatingly ambiguous results.

Considerations of Theory of Mind also play an important role in Patrick Colm Hogan's "Consciousness, Ethics, and Narrative: Reading Literature in an Age of Torture." Here, however, Hogan sets his sights on how appraisal theory, emotion (guilt, for instance), and Theory of Mind work in our conflict (and resolving of conflict) between right and wrong. In a discussion of King Lear, Hogan shows how it is narrative prototypes—and not rules of behavior—that centrally inform our ethical choices. Lalita Pandit Hogan uses appraisal theory to offer a nuanced analysis also of a Shakespeare play. In "Prophesying with Accents Terrible: Emotion and Appraisal in Macbeth," rather than follow a moral-oriented analysis of the play as is the tradition, appraisal theory reveals Macbeth to be a play that evinces a complex variety of emotions in its characters (and audience) that arise out of multiply layered conflicts in realizing goals and ambitions.

While each of the scholars included in this collection uses many different tools to analyze an array of cultural objects, they all seek to follow an interdisciplinary research program that formulates hypotheses, tests them, and revises them with the aim of moving toward a unified knowledge. This does not mean, as Lindenberger astutely reminds us, "that science will rob us of our traditional task of conserving the past and placing artworks within an appropriate historical context, or, for that matter, of subjecting them to the interpretation and evaluation that their consumers have long depended upon." Rather, as with other like-minded scholars, we can learn from science, and this may very well affect, as Lindenberger concludes, "the methods that we choose to exercise our interpretive and evaluative skills."

Toward a Cognitive Theory of Narrative Acts represents but a small sample of the growing body of scholarship out there that shares this serious interdisciplinary impulse. Here in my backyard at the Ohio State University we have David Huron, who turns to cognitive science and neurobiology to explore how music stimulates the imagination, triggers our appraisal faculty, and moves us emotionally (Sweet Anticipation); Timothy Schroeder in philosophy turns to neuroscience to shed light on what motivates us to act, to feel pleasure and displeasure—to desire and imagine (Three Faces of Desire); Jim Phelan turns to the field of ethics in his study of how short stories and novels move us to feel and act (Experiencing Fiction). In my own work I seek to have a firmer grasp on how novels, films, comic books, and the like, tick. (Your Brain on Latino Comics and Why the Humanities Matters offer recent examples.)

Beyond Ohio State University there are scholars such as Robert Storey, Joseph Carroll, Jonathan Gottschall, and Nancy Easterlin, among many others, who have turned to advances in evolutionary biology to explore the repetition and rupture of human behavior as expressed in the arts. Further solidifying the importance of art and music in our everyday activities, Steven Mithen (Singing Neanderthals) turns to research in archeology and evolutionary biology. Advances in brain science research allow neuroscientist Isabelle Peretz to mine the field of musicology (The Cognitive Neuroscience of Music) to understand the differences and similarities in how we process music and language. In film and drama studies, scholars such as Greg Smith (Film Structure and the Emotion System), Per Persson (Understanding Cinema), Bruce McConachie, and F. Elizabeth Hart (see their co-edited Performance and Cognition) turn to advances in cognitive psychology and cognitive linguistics to understand better how movie directors and dramatists employ and re-deploy certain cognitive and emotive mechanisms and processes to innovatively engage the minds of audiences across time and space.

Others have used new technologies such as fMRI, EEG imaging, and PET scans to compare networks of neural response in fiction and non-fiction activities (see Paul Mathews and Jeffrey McQuain's The Bard on the Brain). John G. Nichols (From Neuron to Brain) and Joseph LeDoux (The Emotional Brain) investigate how the biochemical and biophysical transmission of nerve signals creates in humans a higher-minded self that has evolved the capacity for metarepresentation—a key ingredient in our evolved faculty for communication, including the visual, plastic, and written arts. Michael Gazzaniga explores those neural mechanisms that underlie ethics, empathy, conceptual thinking, and self-awareness that allow us to make and engage with the arts (Human: The Science behind What Makes Us Unique). V. S. Ramachandran's neuroscientific research on perception and the senses generally aims to throw light on aesthetics (A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness). Antonio Damasio's neurobiological studies extend our knowledge concerning the functioning and role of emotions (Looking for Spinoza). And others such as Marc D. Hauser (Moral Minds), as well as Jorge Moll and Joshua Greene along with their respective research teams, explore the neurological basis for ethical behavior and attitudes.

In our one world, we all tell stories based on actual or made-up events. Our narrative-making and -engaging capacity is universal. And, while biology constrains what we can do with oral narrative fiction (the limits of our memory, for example), we have developed ways to throw off such restraints in a variety of metarepresentational media, including the form of written narrative fiction.

In short stories and novels, for instance, there can be deep temporal layers as well as subtle forms of filtering a story through the perspective of a character, such as the use of free indirect discourse and psychonarratology. The work done in narratology, coupled with research developed in the cognitive sciences and neurobiology, can deepen further the use of specific narrative techniques, as well as shed light more generally on the processes involved in our making and consuming of narrative fictional works. As Lindenberger discusses in Chapter One, the recent discovery of the mirror neuron system—a set of neurons that become active in the brain's superior temporal sulcus and the Broca region (or language center) when we perform and observe an action—reveals more precisely how we produce language, feel empathy, interpret and understand other people's emotional states, and know the difference between fact and fiction.

I mentioned already Lindenberger's tempering of the interdisciplinary move in the humanities. Before wrapping up this introduction, let me offer several additional points of caution.

The use of science to advance an understanding of how, say, narrative fiction works—or opera, or comic books, or visual arts, and so on—is not an end-all and be-all to productive humanistic inquiry. The turn to advances made in cognitive psychology, evolutionary biology, and the brain sciences generally is not meant to be some sort of life jacket that will save the humanities. To consider it thus necessarily risks confusing and even subordinating the study of music, novels, films, comic books, opera, painting, and the like, with the methods and goals that characterize science.

As the work here attests, we are entitled to use any knowledge coming from any discipline that will shed light on our object of study; that line drawn in sand between the humanities and sciences needs smoothing over. Hence we would do well to consider how information in the sciences helps further deepen our knowledge of how, say, music, literature, painting, drama, and so on, work cross-culturally to engage audiences (readers, listeners, viewers). Likewise, it is a good idea to formulate a hypothesis, speculate in as hardy a way as possible without any limitations (no fear of what others think), and develop one's thought as far as possible concerning the notion of, say, music, literature, drama, and the like. For instance, one might speculate or hypothesize that recent studies in neuroscience on the localization within the brain of ethical dilemmas—and solutions to these dilemmas—can deepen a theory of narrative acts, allowing one to propose predictive hypotheses that concern cognitive and emotive capacities shared by all human beings. And, one might turn to advances in neurobiology to see what kinds of explanations there are on our everyday faculty for empathy and Theory of Mind to understand better how this works in narrative fiction. However, it would be a mistake to abandon partially or totally a specific study of empathy or ethics in literature under the pretext that whatever there is to know is to be taken from neurobiology.

The humanities are an integral part of the knowledge the human species has acquired about itself over the centuries, together with the social sciences and the natural sciences. And it is important for us to cherish the knowledge we have acquired and to continue developing it, because the practical and theoretical human activity called knowing (learning, experimenting, verifying, and teaching), together with the theoretical and practical human activity called technology and technological invention, are the specifically human activities that allowed us to survive and to radiate across the planet. Knowledge is quite literally essential for our survival. In whatever shape you want to slice global reality (social, natural, and so on), and to whatever degree of certainty that we may possess knowledge at any given moment, such knowledge (however limited and provisional) is a necessary stepping-stone for the acquisition of more precise knowledge today and tomorrow.

Some scholars currently worry about the future of the humanities. The scholarship presented in Toward a Cognitive Theory of Narrative Acts refuses to worry. To the extent that their contents become more and more precise knowledge, the humanities will give birth to (or transform themselves into) new scientific fields, new sciences, new scientific research programs. Imagine what a science of written narrative fiction will be when we study more deeply phenomena such as free indirect discourse with the help of developmental psychology, neurobiology, and linguistics. The more we learn about certain subjects and problems (techniques such as free indirect discourse, for instance), the more this work will become a solidly established discipline with its own set of problems studied, understood, and subsumed under a series of scientific research programs, approaches, and methods.

So rather than bemoan our own obsolescence as scholars in the humanities, as the scholars presented here attest, we would do better to focus our energies in developing concepts as tools sufficiently clear with sufficiently precise boundaries for us to dig for answers to our different sets of questions and problems. The research presented by the scholars in this volume considers the ways in which our work in the humanities to know our world better converges especially with the research programs in the neuro- and cognitive sciences, ethics, biology, psychology, philosophy, and linguistics, among others.

Each of the scholars represented in these pages knows well that any individual phenomenon studied requires a cognitive methodology of its own; we will not be able to study John Cage's music with the cognitive methodology of, say, particle physics. While each one requires its own tools of study, each of the scholars presents a "research program" that moves toward a knowledge of the whole—a unified theory.

In each of the chapters, then, what we see is scholarship that seeks the means to make its approach more systematic, clear, and precise, so that we can all see with better clarity how music, art, literature, film, and so on, work in and of themselves, and also how they are interconnected. Hence in each we see the identification of a method and taxonomy specific to the particular phenomenon (art, literature, and so on) as well as a reach toward an understanding of those universals that connect these particulars with the whole.

Given that the world is made up of "interconnected systems" (25), as Mario Bunge aptly identifies, the scholars here follow methodologies that aim to deepen our knowledge of emergence and convergence of knowledge. Toward a Cognitive Theory of Narrative Acts reminds us that the real, deep reason that our work in the humanities matters, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, is that it is knowledge.


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Course Tutors

Adrian Levine – First Violin Tutor

Born in London, Adrian Levine won a Junior Exhibition to the Royal College of Music at the age of 14. He later studied at the Royal Academy of Music where his teachers included Gyorgy Pauk, Sidney Griller and Emanuel Hurwitz.
Further study followed with members of the Amadeus Quartet for chamber music, a special study of the Janacek Quartets with the Janacek Quartet, and further violin studies with the great Polish virtuoso Henryk Szerying.
At the age of 24 he was appointed a first violinist in the English Chamber Orchestra, working with such artists as Daniel Barenboim, Mstislav Rostropovich, Pinchas Zuckerman and Isaac Stern.
After three years with the ECO, touring widely to such places as Hong Kong, the Caribbean, Europe and the USA, he left to become Leader of the Amphion String Quartet, taking residencies first at the Hatfield Polytechnic (now the University of Hertfordshire) then at the University of Liverpool. With the Quartet he toured Europe, the Far East and the USA and made many broadcasts for the BBC. During this period he also toured Korea and Hong Kong for the British Council.
In 1985, he was invited to become Co-Leader of the Academy of St Martin-in-the Fields. In his five years with the Academy he frequently appeared as soloist, leader and director, making many recordings and performing in the USA, Australia, Japan, Korea, Scandinavia and nearly every European country.
In 1990, he was invited to become Associate Leader of the Philharmonia Orchestra, where he led many international tours and concerts, including the famous Pavarotti in the Park open-air concert in Hyde Park, London, in 1991, televised throughout the world.
In 1992, he left the Philharmonia to accept a five year post as Leader of the Opera House of Rome at the invitation of Giuseppe Sinopoli.Adrian has worked as Guest Leader with such orchestras as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Northern Sinfonia, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Royal Ballet, BBC Welsh and Welsh National Opera.
Since returning to work in London, Adrian has become much in demand as a teacher and chamber music coach. He was for four years on the faculty at the Yellow Barn Festival in Vermont, USA, and from 2002 to 2010 taught and performed at the International Musical Arts Institute in Maien, USA.
He was until 2004 Head of Strings at London's Centre for Young Musicians, and is now a Professor at the Royal College of Music in London. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and of the Royal Society of Musicians. He is also on the staff at Chetham’s School, Manchester, where he teaches violin, viola and chamber music. He plays a Petrus Guarneri violin made in Venice, c 1740.
“Adrian was inspirational and incredibly helpful in regards to the music and advice for the future and playing.” 2015 UYO member

Joanne Quigley – Second Violin Tutor

Violinist Joanne Quigley was born in Newry, Northern Ireland. She graduated from the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester in 1999 with a BMus hons and Professional Performance Diploma.
Upon graduation she was also awarded the Emily English prize for violin and the Granada Prize for Chamber Music. Joanne was the recipient of many other awards during her college days including the KPMG Martin Musical Scholarship and the Young Artist Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.
Since then, Joanne has enjoyed a busy and varied career playing with many of the leading orchestras and ensembles in the UK and Ireland. From 2003-2006, she was a member of the Northern Sinfonia and from 2006-2008 she was the co-leader of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in Dublin. On leaving that post, Joanne has been in demand as soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader. She has recently led the Royal Scottish National Orchestra has appeared at the BBC Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra.
Joanne performs regularly with her brother David and together they have appeared in recital throughout the UK, Ireland and abroad. In 2008 they formed the Belfast Piano Trio with cellist Sasho Somov and performed to critical acclaim.
Joanne has broadcast as soloist and as a chamber musician for BBC, RTÉ and CBC radio. She is a Performance Associate of the Banff Centre for the Arts, Alberta, Canada and is the director of Newry Chamber Music, an organisation that provides world class chamber music concerts for the citizens of Joanne’s home town.

Stephen Tees – Viola Tutor

Stephen Tees was born in Scotland, and moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music. His past experience as a freelance viola player in London is wide, and very varied. Some examples are: professional string chamber music (travelling to such places as Asia, Australia and New Zealand and USA); guest principal viola with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and English Chamber Orchestra; and working in the studio on countless films, television shows and in the pop world. From 1989-2009 Stephen was principal viola with the City of London Sinfonia, with whom he made 3 CD solo appearances on the Chandos label.
He has also been involved in community work, leading workshops with the Homeless, Primary Children and the Elderly, and in the business world using music in management training. For 20 years was a professor of viola at Trinity College of Music, and then for several years, at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Variety has continued in recent years with him playing at Ronnie Scott's jazz club, the Burrbery male fashion show(!), and Womad Festival. He is now exploring world of jazz viola and this year appeared as a solo artist with his guitarist at the Lockerbie Jazz Festival.
“Steve Tees has been an amazing tutor. He’s extremely enthusiastic, gives us so much useful stuff / advice / practise tips to take away with us and is always willing to help out or give more advice in the breaks”. UYO member 2015

Benedict Rogerson - Cello Tutor

Ben Rogerson is a member of the BBC Concert Orchestra and the London Mozart Players and also enjoys playing regularly with the John Wilson Orchestra. He considers himself most fortunate to have spent most of the nought-ies with the Irish Chamber Orchestra. With the ICO he toured all over the world giving concerts with artists including Maxim Vengerov, Steven Isserlis, Anthony Marwood and Nigel Kennedy in venues ranging from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Forbidden Palace in Beijing, and the Community Centre on Inis Boffin off the West Coast of Ireland.
His life with the BBCCO involves a more eclectic range of music making, from classical and pop concerts, to recording music for TV, film, radio and CD. Jeff Lynne and the ELO, Earth Wind and Fire, Kylie Minogue, Sinead O'Connor and Dame Edna Everidge are amongst the artists they have worked with recently, and the orchestra is resident for Radio 2's flagship show "Friday Night is Music Night".
Ben has played as Guest Principal Cello for the City of London Sinfonia, Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera and Opera North, the Mozart Festival Orchestra and the Johann Strauss Gala Orchetsra. With violinist Gabrielle Painter and Leslie Hollingworth he formed the Szabo Piano Trio. Together they gave recitals throughout the UK and Ireland, recorded for Champs Hill Records, and broadcast on Lyric FM. Nowadays he gives chamber music concerts mostly with the Minerva Ensemble. He has appeared as a guest with the Carducci, Tippet, Merchant and St. Paul’s quartets for performances of the Schubert C Major Quintet.
Ben studied at the Royal Academy of Music where his cello teacher was Derek Simpson of the Aoelian Quartet, and at SUNY Purchase, USA, with Julia Lichten of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. For several years he coached the cello section of the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, and served on the faculty of Con Corda, a chamber music course founded in Ireland by the late Hugh Maguire. Now Ben teaches the cello at Tonbridge School, Kent, and at Frensham Heights in Surrey. He is married to the pianist Alexis White and is very proud of his two children Harry and Scarlett.

Ronan Dunne - Double Bass Tutor

Ronan began his musical training as a chorister with the Palestrina Choir in Dublin's Pro-Cathedral. He then took up the double bass and, aged eighteen, went to study in London and then on to Vienna. He spent a couple of wonderful years touring Ireland as a member of the Irish Chamber Orchestra before becoming a member of the BBC Philharmonic, where he has played since 2002 and was appointed Principal Bass in 2015.
As well as enjoying touring to Europe and the Far East, he is hugely enthusiastic about the wide variety of repertoire the orchestra performs each season. As a guest principal bass, he plays regularly with Scottish Chamber Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Royal Northern Sinfonia, The Hallé, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Opera North.
As a chamber musician, he has enjoyed many interesting collaborations, with such quartets as the Voglers and the Callinas. Ronan is passionate about teaching and bringing on the next generation of young bass players. He teaches, tutors and takes classes at the Royal Northern College of Music and has given masterclasses around Europe and most recently in Asia.

Meyrick Alexander – Woodwind Tutor

Meyrick Alexander has had a long and varied career as a bassoonist. He held the position of Principal Bassoon in the Philharmonia Orchestra from 1980 until 2010 when he left to become Head of Woodwind at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where he served for seven years, becoming a bassoon tutor in 2017. He was also on the staff of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama for thirty years, Birmingham Conservatoire and the Royal Northern College of Music. He is in demand as a teacher and lecturer worldwide and has given recitals and classes in Europe, USA, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. For several years he has been the bassoon coach of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and the woodwind tutor of the Ulster Youth Orchestra.
Meyrick is Principal Bassoon of the London Chamber Orchestra and was formerly a member of the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra and the Northern Sinfonia. He is currently also freelancing with many British orchestras and plays period instruments with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. He has appeared as a soloist and chamber player with many of the UK’s leading ensembles. In 2017 he was awarded the RWCMD President’s Medal and became a Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
He has featured on many recordings including a recital CD “The Wandering Bassoon” with the RWCMD’s distinguished departmental pianist Catherine Milledge.
“Meyrick was not only very nice and patient but also provided great musical advice and direction.” UYO member 2015"

Lindsey Stoker - Horn Tutor

Lindsey Stoker is the Senior Horn Tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. She has been teaching at the RNCM since 1990. A graduate of the RNCM, Lindsey studied with Michael Purton and Derek Taylor.
Lindsey is passionate about promoting the horn. She also teaches at Chetham’s School of Music and leads RNCM Young Horns which encourages local young hornplayers. Keen to bring new aspects to her teaching Lindsey has studied Dalcroze Eurhythmics and is just completing a teaching certificate. She has given Masterclasses and workshops with the British Horn Society and in Moscow, St Petersburg, Santiago, Oslo and Hong Kong.
Lindsey was Assistant Principal Horn with the Halle Orchestra from 1990-2000 and has subsequently pursued a freelance career alongside her teaching. Last year she performed in the highly acclaimed Wager Ring cycle with Opera North. She has played principal horn with BBC Philharmonic, RLPO, BBC Concert orchestra, Manchester Camerata, Northern Chamber Orchestra, RTE and Birmingham Royal Ballet and has also worked with Opera North, CBSO, BBC NOW, and Scottish Opera. She is a member of Zephyr with whom she plays chamber music concerts throughout the UK.
Lindsey has tutored the Horns at EUYO in summer 2010 and 2011 and spring 2013 and was herself first horn in the orchestra in 1988 and 1989. She was a guest tutor at the Prague Hornclass in 2011 along with Radek Baborak, and Thomas Hauschild.and in 2015 with Ricardo Matosinhos. She tutored the horns at NYO in summer 2017 and NYO inspire 2017 and 2018

Ewan Easton – Brass Tutor

Ewan is Principal Tuba with the Hallé Orchestra and Tutor in Tuba at the RNCM and Manchester University. He is also passionate about making classical music relevant to contemporary society. Over the past decade, Ewan’s pioneering work with the ground-breaking project Hallé4Brass has been recognised by the Daily Mirror ‘People's Award’, the Butler Trust Award for ‘Skills in Education’, and has even seen Ewan receive an MBE from the Queen. As a tutor for NYO, Ewan takes delight inspiring the students to engage with local communities. Ewan also serves as a councillor for the National Youth Brass Band.

Graham Johns – Percussion Tutor

Born in Christchurch, New Zealand, from a young age Graham benefited from New Zealand's rich musical education system, playing with the Christchurch Youth Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, the New Zealand National Youth Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. In 1975, at the age of 19, Graham was appointed Principal Timpanist of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in Hobart, Australia, the youngest ever Principal player in the country at that time.
This was followed by three years of study with Jan Pustjens and Jan Labordus at the Amsterdam Conservatorium of Music. While there Graham played regularly as an extra percussionist and occasional 2nd timpanist, with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. His debut with the RCO was in 1978 playing Harmonica, with Sir Colin Davis conducting, for the orchestra's 90th Birthday Concert (broadcast live on Eurovision). He also freelanced with several other of the Netherlands finest orchestras and ensembles. In 1979 Graham was awarded a scholarship to Oberlin Conservatory of Music in the USA to study with Michael Rosen, graduating in 1982 with a BMus (Magna Cum Laude). In 1983 he won a Fellowship to the Boston Symphony Orchestra Tanglewood Music Centre to study with Vic Firth and Frank Epstein, playing under conductors Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa and Andre Previn. Graham also enjoyed a period of study in New York with Fred Hinger, the former timpanist of the Philadelphia and Metropolitan Opera Orchestras, later with Alan Abel, renowned former percussionist of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Richard Hochrainer of the Vienna Philharmonic. While in the USA Graham performed with the Grand Teton Festival Orchestra and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra.
In 1983 Graham was appointed as Section Leader Percussion of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, where he currently performs under Maestro Vasily Petrenko. On a number of occasions he has performed as soloist with the RLPO including the UK premiere of Takemitsu 'Gitimalya' for marimba and orchestra (broadcast live on BBC Radio 3) along with other well known solo works for percussion by Bartok, Milhaud and Panufnik. He continues to be invited to play with several of the UK's leading symphony orchestras. In Europe he has performed with the Czech Philharmonic (playing Jews Harp in Ives Holiday Symphony), Prague Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra. Amongst the conductors he has played under include Bernard Haitinck, Kurt Sanderling, Leonard Slatkin, Kiril Kondrashin, Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Sir Charles Mackerras, Vladimir Askenazy, Claudio Abbado and Sir Andrew Davis.
In 1995, by special invitation, Graham became a founding member of the World Orchestra for Peace conducted by Sir George Solti. This exceptional ensemble performs regularly at the BBC Proms in London and around the world as 'Ambassadors for Peace', with tours throughout Europe, Russia, China and the USA. www.worldorchestraforpeace.com In 1996 Graham made his USA debut as a percussion clinician at a number colleges and universities. This was followed by an appearance at the Nashville Convention of the Percussive Arts Society. Graham is also well known throughout the UK and Europe for his Orchestral Percussion masterclasses and workshops, having given clinics in the Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, Austria, Greece, Sweden and Iceland. He is a former percussion tutor at Chetham's School of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and is regularly invited as an External Examiner in Percussion at various Conservatoires throughout the UK. He appears as tutor for several youth orchestras including the European Union Youth Orchestra.
In May 2014 at Liverpool Philharmonic Hall Graham and the RLPO Timpani and Percussion Sections performed the World Premiere of a specially commissioned Concerto for Percussion and Orchestra 'Poltroons in Paradise' by Stewart Copeland (drummer of the 80's band The Police), now a Hollywood film composer in great demand.. A subsequent performance and live BBC broadcast took place from Perth (Scotland). Further performances also took place in Dublin and Beijing in September & October 2014.

Tanya Houghton – Harp Tutor

Originally from Birmingham, Tanya studied in Cambridge, London and Paris before embarking on a freelance career based in the UK and Ireland. She enjoys playing for a wide range of ensembles from symphony orchestras to chamber groups, and accompanying soloists and choirs. Her recent orchestral work includes appearances with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Royal Ballet Sinfonia and the RTE NSO in Dublin and she is principal harpist of the chamber orchestra Orchestra of the Swan. As a choral accompanist she is fortunate to have worked with composers and conductors including John Rutter, Bob Chilcott, David Hill and Graham Ross, with whom she has appeared on BBC Radio 3's 'In tune' programme and also features on his CD of music by Imogen Holst, recently nominated for a Gramophone award. The recording ‘A rose in the middle of winter’ in which she accompanies Commotio choir in music by Bob Chilcott reached the top of last year’s classical charts. Last year she played for Britten’s 100th birthday concert in Wigmore Hall, accompanying tenor Nicholas Mulroy, and works regularly as a recital accompanist for singers. Aside from playing, Tanya works as an examiner for both the ABRSM and the Royal Northern College of Music, and has adjudicated the harp class at the Bromley and Redhill & Reigate competitions. Also a singer, she directs and sings in Melisma, the Belfast-based 8 voice choir.
“Tanya was so lovely and such an excellent teacher. Did not restrict the sectionals just to the course repertoire- shared information on general harp technique and repertoire. She gave us flowers!” UYO member 2015

David Quigley - Piano Tutor

Award winning Irish pianist David Quigley enjoys a wide and varied career as a recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician. He has performed in many of the world's greatest concert halls including the Philharmonie Köln, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Symphony Hall Birmingham, Musikverein Vienna, Mozarteum Salzburg, Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, National Concert Hall Athens, Wigmore Hall London, Konserthaus Stockholm and Carnegie Hall New York.
As a concerto soloist he has appeared with many orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the Ulster Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Camerata Ireland, Southern Sinfonia and Cairo Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Barry Wordsworth, Barry Douglas, Takuo Yuasa, Sachio Fujioka and David Porcelijn.
David is also a much sought after chamber musician and performs with internationally renowned artists including oboist Nicholas Daniel, clarinettist Michael Collins, violinist Nathaniel Vallois and soprano Ailish Tynan. He also performs regularly with his sister, the violinist Joanne Quigley in both duo recitals and in trio recitals with cellist Jonathan Aasgaard. He has recently formed a new chamber group, Incus Ensemble, with clarinettist Jack McNeill and violist Rose Redgrave.
David's discography includes Piano Music From Northern Ireland (Lontano records), Saint-Saëns Carnival Of The Animals with Jeremy Young and the Lancashire Sinfonietta, Rediscoveries: Old and New music of Ireland with his sister Joanne Quigley (Ischia Records), Piano music by Philip Hammond (Lontano records) and his latest release, Piano Classics (El Greco Records). He broadcasts extensively on both radio and television for the BBC, RTÉ, Classic FM, RTÉ Lyric FM and Dutch Radio 4.
Recent performing highlights include a multi city solo recital and masterclass tour of China and chamber music recitals at the National Concert Hall Dublin, Barber Institute Birmingham and RNCM Concert Hall Manchester.
Aside from performing, David is passionate about musical education. He is a member of the piano faculty at Birmingham Conservatoire, one of the UK’s leading music colleges. He is co-founder/director of Newry Chamber Music, a concert society that provides concerts and education projects in his home town and surrounding areas. David is also frequently invited to give Masterclasses and to adjudicate piano competitions throughout Ireland and the UK.
David was a member of UYO from 1994 - 1996 and was also the first concerto soloist to play with the orchestra, performing Rachmaninov's second piano concerto.

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i feel like i've slept forever - love like me ･ 日記
non solum memento mori, memento vivere sed etiam
i feel like i've slept forever
and i did sleep nearly 12 hours. but i feel really rested for the first time in quite a while. it's amazing what living through finals week does for your blood pressure. ^_^
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From: lobotomymonkey Date: Friday 9th May 2003 12.12 (UTC) (Link)
"I haven't slept for ten days,...
because that would be a very long time."
-- Some guy who had a Comedy Central special, his name is Mitch something.


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As part of the second edition of the Valletta International Visual Arts Festival (VIVA), the Valletta 2018 Foundation in collaboration with St James Cavalier Centre for Creativity is presenting another edition of its Curatorial School, to take place from the 31st August till the 4th September, 2015.

The weeklong programme with international curators and academics is intended for practitioners and students from a variety of related areas including curating, fine arts, art education, and history of art. Participants in the course will follow a programme of lectures, attend hands on workshops, and be able to present their own curatorial ideas during guided seminars. Lectures and workshops will be held at the University of Malta (Valletta Campus) from Monday 31st August to Friday 4th September between 9:30 and 16:00. Morning sessions will be dedicated to lectures, while afternoon sessions (held between 14:00 and 16:00) will be reserved mainly for small group seminars and workshops.

The theme for this year’s programme is Curating: Communities and Contexts, and will deal with the relationship between exhibition, narrative and audience; contextual art; engaging audiences; socially engaged practices in contemporary art; art in public spaces; globalisation and the curatorial field. Some sessions will present individual exhibitions curated by guest speakers and international artists talking about their own practice.

This year’s curators include Fulya Erdemci (curator of the 13th Istanbul Biennial), Simon Sheikh (curator and professor of curating at Goldsmiths in London), Mai Abu ElDahab (curator of Liverpool Biennial 2014), Paul Ardenne (art critic and curator of Luxembourg Pavilion at Venice Biennale, 2015), Bassam el Baroni (curator of EVA Biennial in Limerick, Ireland, in 2014) and Adam Budak (chief curator at the National Gallery in Prague). Other speakers include Lennard Dost (freelance curator and art critic, artistic director of Nieuwe Vide), Mare van Koningsveld (freelance curator), Libia Castro (artist), Ferhat Özgür (artist), Gail Feigenbaum (associate director at the Getty Research Institute), Leo Delfgaauw (scholar), Zineb Sedira (contemporary artist) and Iury Lech (director of MADATAC, Madrid).

Participation in the course will be through a selection process while tuition fees for the course are low: regular applicants will pay €100 for the whole course while registered undergraduate or postgraduate students pay €50 (student identification required; Smartcard accepted).

Prospective participants in the course must submit a filled-in application form, downloadable via the link: and a recent CV by the 4th August 2015 at noon.

Results will be notified by the 8th August 2015.

For further information contact the Valletta 2018 Foundation on 356 21242018 or at [email protected].


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//Eleaf iStick Trim Review
Eleaf iStick Trim Review 2018-10-11T05:23:41+00:00

Eleaf iStick Trim Review

The Eleaf iStick Trim is a clear winner in the looks department, as it not only features an attractive exterior, but is one of the best starter kits out right now. The main design hasn’t changed much from the first iStick from Eleaf, but many meticulous improvements have added much depth to the ergonomics of the iStick Trim. The Eleaf iStick Trim flaunts a smooth metallic texture and comes in complementing colors; black, silver, rose gold and green.

Eleaf iStick Trim Review

The polished metallic chrome feel, at the top and bottom part of the mod, looks absolutely stunning. The body has a texture of anodized steel and the color sits graciously on the body. The color of the iStick Trim series is very subtle and is not designed as an eye-catcher. The device measures 35mm x 15mm x 73mm and is easily pocketable.

The name “Trim” comes from the 15-mm width, which makes it very easy to slide down into your jeans pockets. The device is very convenient to hold, as it is not too small to lose grip and not too big to lose stealth. The Eleaf iStick Trim carries a 510-pin, that is not spring loaded, so you can’t experiment with other tanks. The fire button is placed on one of the sides, just beneath the tank-hole.

Eleaf iStick Trim colors

There is a small screen, that highlights one of the three power modes while the device is turned on. You also get a battery indicator with five bars on this screen. The micro-USB charging port is also fixed at the top, on the metal outline. It has got good build-quality and fixes with the cable quite firmly. The Eleaf iStick Trim comes with a GS Turbo Tank, that is made of high-grade stainless steel and Pyrex glass. The GS Turbo Tank is very easy to load, clean and re-wick. Overall, the simplicity of design is something to cherish in this latest Eleaf creation.

Let’s give a quick look at the pros and cons of the Eleaf iStick Trim:

  • 510 drip tip port.
  • Stealthy and portable.
  • Good build quality.

  • Very less battery life.
  • No firmware upgrades.

What are the contents of the Eleaf iStick Trim?

The Eleaf iStick Trim comes in a nice cardboard box that contains two compartments. The outside box contains the “scratch and check” sticker, which is an authenticity check against duplicate products.  The kit contains the following items.

  • One iStick Trim unit
  • One GS Turbo Tank
  • Two GS Air Atomizer units
  • One QC USB cable
  • One User manual

Eleaf iStick Trim

A review of the Eleaf iStick Trim vapor quality

The Eleaf iStick Trim is a niche device, designed for light-vapers and people new to vaping. The Eleaf iStick Trim can be a perfect device for someone who has just left smoking, as it can be used both for mouth-to-lung vaping and direct-lung hits. Operating in a resistance range of 0.6-1 ohm, you can get the best out of your e-juice. The mod packs a powerful punch to your e-liquid and can reach 25W of maximum wattage. This power does decrease with use, so consistency in vapor quality is an issue. You will experience dense and flavorful hits for the first 20-30 puffs, after which there is a noticeable degradation to both the density and flavor quality of the vapor. The GS Turbo Tanks adds a whole new dash of life to the vapor quality and you can vary the air-flow to five different levels. However, the airflow holes are controlled by a rubber band gasket, which makes it a little too hard to rotate.

holding Eleaf iStick Trim

How to operate the Eleaf iStick Trim?

Operating the Eleaf iStick Trim is plain and simple. You have three power modes to work with; low, medium and high. The markings are done at the top of the mod, beside the tank-port. Five clicks on the fire button will start the device, while three quick clicks will rotate the mod between the three power settings.

What is the review of the coil head that comes with the Eleaf iStick Trim?

The Eleaf iStick Trim comes with three coil heads. The 1.5-ohm coil head is fixed inside the device while the other coils, which have a resistance of 0.75 ohms, are packed as spare. The coils have symmetrical vacuum ports, with the cotton wrapped to the chimney. The build quality is nice, and it gently vaporizes your e-liquid.

Eleaf iStick Trim

Final thoughts on the review of Eleaf iStick Trim

The Eleaf iStick Trim is a thoughtful product from Eleaf. It improves many aspects of the original iStick mod and does give you a good value for money. It not only looks and feels elegant, but it is also very easy to use. The tank can be disintegrated easily for cleaning and re-wicking purposes. The instruction manual, written in English, is easy to understand and a perfect place to start for people new to vaping. However, there are some limitations to this device. The vapor quality is not too strong but good enough for someone new to vaping. The 1800 mAh battery isn’t big enough to last you through the day and neither is the battery interchangeable. This can be a concern if this is the only mod in the house. So, we suggest this mod as a backup mod or for casual vaping needs. This is also a great choice for beginners. We give this mod 8 out for 10.

Eleaf iStick Trim
Vape Rating: 81/100 by

Eleaf iJustX All-In-One Review

Eleaf iJustX All-In-One Review

January 8, 2018
The Eleaf iJustX All-In-One is a run-of-the-mill vaping device that won’t burn a hole in your pocket. With 7ml tank and 3000 mAh battery, this review is apt for heavy vapers.
Vaporesso Revenger Mini Review

Vaporesso Revenger Mini Review

December 6, 2017
Vaporesso is proud to introduce the newest member of the Revenger family, the Revenger Mini, just in time for the holidays. Read our review here.
Posted by
James Bickford

My way of understanding the significance of vaping came not only through the disruption of smoking but its effects on society as a whole. Now I bring people to vaping and bring vaping to people. I love using new gear, writing in-depth reviews and generally nerding out about vaping to like-minded people.

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Emily Blunt, John Krasinski Stay Silent to Survive in Creepy ‘A Quiet Place’ Trailer

Silence equals survival in the first trailer for the supernatural horror film “A Quiet Place,” starring Emily Blunt and John Krasinski.

The first footage, released on Thursday, shows a family of four living in the woods in a rundown house and using sign language. The tagline reads, “Listen closely, move carefully, and never make a sound. If they can’t hear you, they can’t hunt you.”

The trailer features a creepy wooden crucifix on a bridge, the family attempting to play Monopoly, and a fire starting when a lantern is knocked over.

Krasinski is directing from a script he wrote, revising the screenplay from Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, which the studio acquired prior to Krasinski and Blunt’s involvement.

Krasinski previously helmed “The Hollars” and “Brief Interviews With Hideous Men” in 2009. Michael Bay will produce along with his partners Andrew Form and Brad Fuller of Platinum Dunes. Krasinski and his Sunday Night Productions partner Allyson Seeger will serve as executive producers alongside Beck and Woods.

Noah Jupe and Millicent Simmonds star as the children in a “Quiet Place.” It’s the first time that Krasinski and Blunt have appeared on screen together. The couple married in 2010.

Production began in September of 2016. Paramount is opening the movie on April 6.

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Blogging your way to a Series A

Content built up over time will eventually equal leads

Lessons learned from entrepreneur by Alon Girmonsky
July 24, 2014
Short URL:

When I founded BlazeMeter, I decided to postpone venture funding until I had determined my initial product and market fit. I was stringent when thinking about what that meant: in the end, I would need to have a real product with real customers to get financed. But, customers were buyers I had no prior connection to. So, I needed a way to connect with them and establish BlazeMeter’s name in the marketplace.

Our performance testing product is designed for developers, operations staff and DevOps. This means that our customers are highly technical and distrust marketing fluff. They can sniff it out from miles away. Yet they are eager for information about the open source platform that BlazeMeter is based on, but not always interested in buying a product. Some of them are simply trying to answer the question of whether to buy our product or build it themselves using an open source platform. And, that’s okay.

But, to capture our potential customers’ attention, it was obvious that we needed to create information that would be intrinsically valuable to their business. To do this, I used blogging and content marketing throughout the bootstrapping and seed-funding process to pique their interest and, ultimately, earn their business. And, it worked! After starting bootstrapping in 2010 and receiving seed funding in 2011, BlazeMeter became cash flow positive after just 18 months of operation. All of this happened prior to any Series A fundraising.

Based on this experience, I’ve laid out some top tips for how you can blog your way to Series A with smart content that provides valuable information and generates leads for your business.

Smart content is king

The Web is full of dumbed down-content marketing, which is never effective. People are thirsty for smart, quality content; and, if you get that right, you’ll earn authority on Google. That pays off.

To be clear, content is not a lead generator in the beginning, but rather a brand generator. It tells people that you have what it takes, while doing wonders for your SEO. The research shows that people expect most companies to have a blog these days and that the frequency of your blogging does affect customer acquisition. According to Hubspot, 92% of companies who blogged multiple times a day acquired a customer through their blog.

But, don’t waste your energy wondering why your smart content isn’t leading to an immediate sale. Those leads can – and will – come later.

Writing is a variable cost

When you’re boot strapping or in lean startup mode, you can’t afford to hire a full-time content person.  You should plan to work with whatever skills your founding team and developers have. Writing for developers can be done on-demand (I call this on-demand burn), essentially acting as a variable cost, expended only when needed. We decided to create great content for developers with oDesk, an online freelance workplace, which had the right people with the right skills, and we’ve never looked back.

Search marketing

Don’t waste your energies on getting the smart content out and wondering why it didn’t lead to a sale. It doesn’t, but it still is worth it. When we began generating content, its impact wasn’t noticeable in terms of SEO (as measured by our major search word). It took patience. Twelve months down the road, we got to the first page and the first search result for that word. Yet our first attempts at content generation did get us engaged in early customer dialogue. We also knew we had to manage our expectations – without doing a PR launch of the company, acting in “semi stealth” – we couldn't reasonably expect to get anywhere near the first page of the Google search, and that’s OK.

PR boosts SEO, not business

The same approach applies to dealing with the PR launch of the company. When we launched the company, the press ran dozens of company mentions, creating a traffic spike. Some call the period after a PR-driven traffic spike the “trough of sorrow”, but even at the top of the PR spike we weren’t making any business.  A PR boom is great. It got us smack into the Google first page results we had dreamed of getting into for over a year. But don’t confuse that with lead generation.  My board was thrilled when I got all this PR coverage. They asked me how much business I got. The answer was zero. They were disappointed. I was not. The PR boom did a great job for our SEO rank. At last, we were on the first page.

Blogging for leads

There are success stories, and then there are failures. BlazeMeter’s was a success because we followed the lean-startup methodology. That process never ends, we still blog ferociously and we still want to provide valuable information to our market. Today, we can stand on the shoulders of our previous content marketing and, at long last, our content is starting to equal leads.

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StoAmigo’s Tack App Gives Local Hard Drives Cloud Accessibility

StoAmigo, a international software development company headquartered in Las Vegas, announced the release of TackApp. This desktop application lets users instantly bind the hard drive of their computer to their StoAmigo cloud accounts. Since the Tack App does not use time consuming processes such as uploading or syncing, the files on the computer are immediately accessible from anywhere on any portable device.

Ben Ow“We create tons of digital content daily and ideally we would like to access them anytime we want. But it is not only inefficient to upload files to cloud storage services to make them accessible anywhere, it is also downright cost prohibitive to store so much content in the cloud,” said Ben Ow, President and CTO of StoAmigo.

The Tack App allows users to utilize the hard drive on their computers as a cloud-enabled drive. Even though the content of the drive is never uploaded or synced to a public cloud server, the files can still be accessed, shared, and streamed remotely from any smart device or computer.

“By negating the storage limits and restrictions seen in alternative cloud solutions, more people can share and stream their pictures, songs and videos without the cost of expensive cloud boxes or subscription plans,” Ow said.

In addition to offering an unrestricted and inexpensive cloud solution, the Tack App also provides users with the security of knowing their files will not be compromised by being uploaded to cloud servers in some unknown locations.

“Many people have become wary about adopting a cloud solution for fear of who might access their files,” said Ow. “Now the Tack App can allow anyone to feel comfortable in using the cloud and knowing their files will never leave their computers. We all want a safe and simple way to access and share digital content from our portable devices, and Tack App does that for us.”

For more information about the Tack App or to download a free copy of the Tack App please visit

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How to Get Paid to Travel

Creating your dream career around a lifestyle of traveling is easier than you think, and much better than working a job with only a hope of supporting your dreams for seeing the world.

I wish someone would have told me back when I first started shooting…that I could control the type of work I attracted by branding my work to fit my aspirations, and I would have saved a lot of time and money trying to do the expected with my photography. I used to spend way too much time comparing myself to others, and not enough time celebrating and focusing on what made me unique.

I believe that our fear and lack of confidence is usually the only thing that holds us back from the dreams we aspire to achieve in life. Nothing else. My goal is to help show you how you can overcome those obstacles and use your photography, writing, video, social media, and people skills to create life you want and how to own your dreams so you can build your work around them.

How many of you are interested in becoming a professional travel photographer, writer, or social media influencer? How many of you are bored with what you do and want more excitement and travel in your life? Or maybe you are looking for more ways to get your travel funded and ways to get paid for having adventures. Whatever your reasons are for reading this article, I want to help you to turn your dreams into reality.

Get Paid to Travel

As a travel photographer, most of what I do is not photography related at all. Being a travel photographer today has a very different road map than it used to have. Frequently, people ask me how I book the travel jobs that I do and what steps did I have to take in order to get into this career field. So often, in fact, that Venuelust and I decided to start a weekly column dedicated to answering your frequently asked travel influencer questions.

In the next few months, I am going to show you how to brand yourself as a travel photographer, writer or blogger, how to be strategic in your marketing, how to turn a crazy idea into a paid job, how to pitch stories, who to pitch them to, how to add intent to your images, and most importantly how to get paid while filling up your passport.

I am not going to tell you how to set your cameras and take the perfect photo or how I edit my work, but I will tell you through my stories, videos and photos how you can break into the travel photography world, pitch story ideas and better prepare for destination and travel shoots. The path to get here is different for everyone, but I DO believe that you CAN do it all in life! The key to attaining your dreams starts right now. I don’t mean to sound preachy, but literally, you have already begun your journey towards an exciting life of travel by just being here and reading this!

Get Paid to Travel Guide

I am an adventure, destination, and travel photographer, a travel writer, thrill seeker and jet set junkie. I have been shooting for 16 years and so far, my work has brought me to 66 countries and 6 continents. I grew up in a family that was stationed abroad and was always surrounded by different languages and cultures from a very young age. I lived in Indonesia as a child and traveled a lot, so I was sort of born into my wanderlust you could say. What I love about my work is that it is constantly evolving and is always exciting and I grab my inspiration from everywhere and anywhere.  Usually, I am fueled by hearing about an obscure location or adventure that I would like to go on and then I will conceptualize a shoot there just so I can go.  The overall theme to my work is “adventure” and I think that I embrace the unknown and the whole process of getting to the actual photo taking.  I definitely have a plan and a vision going into a shoot, but I love having the “unknown” factor.  That is the best part!

To begin with, I want to tell you about my most recent destination project that I just came back from in The Czech Republic so I can show you how I turned a crazy idea into a visual story and a paid job and embarked on a fabulous adventure across Europe with my boyfriend Winston because of it.

Inspiration can come from Anywhere

How to Get Paid to Travel Tips

As a duo with a shared sense of adventure, my boyfriend Winston and I were looking for inspiration for a romantic getaway to Europe. While there’s nothing wrong with finding a desolate beach somewhere to park ourselves sipping drinks for days, some couples like us crave a cocktail of thrills and adventure instead.

We didn’t really know where or how, but as a travel photographer, writer, and jet-set junkie myself, I find my inspiration for my adventures in many different ways. I am always looking for a great story to tell, so it was no surprise that the idea for our next adventure would come to me one night while we were cuddled up in bed watching the James Bond movie, Casino Royale.

Let’s just say that watching Daniel Craig on the screen is sort of a win-win situation for us both. James Bond, AKA 007 and possibly the world's best known spy is just a ridiculously sexy character. He gets all the women, the spy gadgets, races the best cars and boats, has friends in high places, and can kick ass like a hero.

But what really got to me while watching Casino Royale, was the epic scenery in this film. All of the castles and quaint villages, opulent casinos, luxurious hotels, and Italian coastline gave Winston and I some serious wanderlust wanting to jump into the scenery ourselves. I immediately googled where the scenes of the movie were shot and was surprised to discover that most of them were filmed in the Czech Republic as well as the UK and Italy, even though the movie was supposed to be placed in Montenegro. As an American, the Czech Republic is a country that really hasn’t ever been on my radar to go to, but after seeing its beauty on the movie screen, I knew that an epic idea for our next adventure trip had been born.

Write a Storyline

How to Get Paid to Travel Advice

“Babe, what if we did a James Bond-themed adventure road trip across the Czech Republic to visit the scenes from Casino Royale? Let’s rent a bad-ass sports car and you could be James Bond!”

Winston’s immediate response was,“Well who would be my other Bond Girls?”

Seriously, such a guy thing to say, but then a light bulb went off! “Wait, Babe, I can be all of your Bond girls! I am going to need some wigs and some amazing outfits, but let’s do some James Bond movie poster-style photo shoots at each location.” I mean, gorgeous locations, fancy cars, luxurious clothing, and a chance to play dress up with your love? What’s a better way to add some daring, intrigue, mystery and James Bond sexiness to your romantic getaway or honeymoon!

Create a Visual Story

Get Paid to Travel Expert Tips

You should always create an amazing visual story to go along with your idea. For a couple of adrenaline junkies like ourselves, Winston and I knew we had to make this mission happen. In order for “Operation Shaken Not Stirred” to go off without a hitch, we would quickly have to go through a “Bond Bootcamp” to become more “Bond-like.” I knew that in order to be a believable James Bond duo, that Winston and I would have to dress impeccably. Not being a super fashionista myself, I enlisted the help of celebrity honeymoon stylist, Caley Rinker, to style each of our looks based on the locations and scenes that we were going to. Not only did she style our outfits, but she sent them ahead to our hotel so they were ready and waiting for us and we didn’t have to lug huge garment bags across the globe!

The best part about writing your own story is that it can be styled and told in so many different ways, like “How to Sex Up your Romantic Getaway by Turning it into a James Bond Adventure,” “How to Add Mystery and Intrigue to your Vacation in the Czech Republic,” or “Planning your Next Trip around your Favorite Movie.” Literally, the stories are endless that you can come up with, but having a storyline is the most important part of any pitch.

Do Your Homework

Tips on How to Get Paid to Travel

A trip like this takes prep and research. We needed to know where to go and how to get there. This is where contacting the Board of Tourism of the Czech Republic turned out to be an invaluable asset. I emailed them our trip idea and not only did they LOVE the concept, but they helped us research the locations, set up English speaking guides and transportation for us to get there, helped get us special access to take photos in some of their country’s most elite locations, and FUNDED our entire trip! The trip hadn’t even started and already we were being treated like celebrities!

What would happen next would be an epic adventure across 4 countries, all expenses paid to photograph and write about what it was like to take a James Bond trip across the Czech Republic.

Get Paid to Travel the world

My dreams for this trip became a reality, but this may not be everyone’s idea of a dream travel job. For me it is about connecting and combining all of the things I am passionate about in life like meeting and connecting with new people and cultures, capturing beauty, experiencing adventures, and being a storyteller.

In fact, bringing the story back into your photography is what is going to make you a successful travel photographer, writer, or influencer no matter what your skill level is. Whatever your dream travel job is, be clear on your mission and storyline moving forward, because I am not here to tell you how to live MY dreams, but rather to find ways to turn yours into a reality…and it’s ALL about having a compelling story to tell.