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About Unstoppable

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  • Birthday 06/17/1997

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  1. http://ladygaganow.co/jean-pierre-mocky-reveals-madonna-suggested-a-movie-with-lady-gaga During a recent interview with LCI, which is a French news site, a director by the name of Jean-Pierre Mocky discussed his most important collaborations and revealed that Madonna had suggested doing a movie with Gaga a few years ago. “2 or 3 years ago Madonna told me: ‘We should do a movie with Lady Gaga’. I don’t exactly know her that well, but I do know that she is a chameleon!” What do you think of the movie situation? Would you want them to do one together?
  2. Siiiis, it's definitely not country pop if that's what you're assuming, lol. Come on now. I never said DIC would do better. I said just because the past two singles flopped doesn't mean it will flop too and I want John Wayne as a single just like the rest of the LM's, but, hey. It is what it is.
  3. It's not really country pop at all. If anything, MR is country pop and the whole album isn't that either. Trust me, I've listened to that album quite enough to know that it isn't country.
  4. I meant will. I need to stop with these typos.
  5. Well, you don't know that. Just because PI and MR didn't do as well as planned doesn't mean DIC won't.
  6. I don't know, but it's definitely radio friendly. It's not really reggae at all, but it does fit the "tropical" vibe in a way. It's more dancehall/Bollywood.
  7. I haven't been on due to personal issues, but I'm back!

    1. Nightmare

      Welcome back! yas2

    2. Unstoppable

      Thank you! It feels great to be back hug2

  8. I like listening to songs that Mark produces.
  9. I absolutely love By The Grace Of God.
  10. I think she does better with ballads, but I can't bash her pop songs either. Some of them are catchy.
  11. A-YO in my ass. Welp...
  12. Discussion

    I think she's saving the promo for when she needs it. I haven't given up on her, but we'll have to wait and see what promo strategies she has lined up.
  13. Well, we all ended up with great albums, so I wouldn't say it's the worst.
  14. Celeb News

    I wouldn't be surprised since it's part of her name, but I'm here for more Gaga and RedOne music. ?


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Planning a trip to Washington?

Foursquare can help you find the best places to go to.

Supermarket and Grocery Store
  • Kris L.
    "Really need more lanes open especially for us early birds!"(2 Tips)
13 Tips and reviews
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  • Peter Y.
    Peter YearginMarch 29, 2015
    Meat is pretty mediocre here. Good place for packaged foods and the dairy usually has pretty long expiration dates.
  • Tim M.
    Tim MAugust 27, 2013
    Been here 10+ times
    Poorly managed store!
  • Rose M.
    Rose MyersJune 20, 2013
    Always never enough cashiers!!
  • Adam P.
    Adam ParnesMay 4, 2013
    They increased the cost of beer by a dollar then discounted them by a dollar. Shady.
  • Meghann B.
    Meghann BowmanMarch 23, 2013
    The women's bathroom has no soap. It is especially awkward when you see an employee in there and you know she isn't washing her hands and then handling food you buy.
  • Shawn S.
    Shawn SmithNovember 20, 2012
    Been here 50+ times
    I hate that they moved everything around.
  • Michael H.
    Michael HillJuly 29, 2012
    Been here 10+ times
    Timothy - I too have purchased rancid meat at This Herndon Safeway is as bad as the Vienna VA Safeway that Always had outdated milk meat etc. the Centreville Safeway also closed same problems
  • Kris L.
    Kris LJuly 5, 2012
    Really need more lanes open especially for us early birds!
  • Timothy
    TimothyJune 2, 2012
    I will NEVER shop at the Herndon @Safeway again. Insisted HORRIFIC smelling pork wasn't rancid. REFUSED to open replacement to smell.
  • Collin M.
    Collin McKeeApril 25, 2012
    Been here 100+ times
    Try the Double Take
  • Virginia Lottery
    Virginia LotteryMarch 28, 2012
    Virginia Lottery tickets are available for purchase here!
  • Kim L.
    Kim LamphereJanuary 20, 2012
    Been here 25+ times
    Open more lanes. Please.
  • Michael E.
    Michael EllisonJune 1, 2011
    This place blooooooows
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The Reckless Way (February 2, 1936)

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Marian Nixon in The Reckless Way

Released February 2, 1936: Marian Nixon is Helen Rogers, the lady with the million dollar legs. She is headed for stardom, and she plays her cards well on her way to the top.

Directed by Bernard B. Ray (listed as Raymond K. Johnson in the credits

The Actors: Marian Nixon (Helen Rogers), Kane Richmond (Jim Morgan), Inez Courtney (Laura Jones), Malcolm McGregor (Don Reynolds), Harry Harvey (Joe Black), Art Howard (Mr. Stoner), Gloria Gordon (Mrs. Stoner), William H. Strauss (Carl Blatz), John S. Peters (Von Berg), John Cowell (Arthur Morgan, screenwriter), Samuel S. Hinds (unknown), Phil Dunham (unknown).

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Yes, the video company that put this film onto a dvd put a new title on it, but trust me, the title of the film is, "The Reckless Way." This is a feel-good light romantic drama about a girl in Hollywood who dreams about being a movie star, and will do just about anything, even outlandish stunts to get to the top, taking the 'reckless way' to stardom. Make a big bowl of white kernel popcorn with plenty of melted butter on it and enjoy a tale of stars and movie making from 1936.

Helen Rogers is a pretty young girl who works as a stenographer in a large hotel, and Jim Morgan is a young fellow who works behind the front desk who is smitten with Helen. He wants to marry her and make a life with her, but Helen will have no part of working class Jim . . . she wants to become a movie star. Her big break comes when a silk stocking manufacturer chooses Helen to be the model for his new advertising campaign. She becomes known as the girl with the million dollar legs. This stocking manufacturer has a jealous wife who believes that her husband is having an affair with Helen, so she divorces him in a messy, front page scandolous fashion. Helen is not having an affair with the old guy, but she loves the publicity, and encourages the newspapers to promote her as the girl with the million dollar legs who broke up the marriage. She doesn't mind being thought of as a 'bad' girl, just as long they spell her name correctly. She gets the chance for a screen test, and fails miserably. Unfortunately, she was signed to a contract that promised her a movie, and the producer is at his wits end when he discovers that she cannot act.

The producer decides to bring in a famous screen writer from England to write something just for Helen. Jim Morgan, the desk clerk at the hotel who loves Helen, gets tangled with the screen writer, and unbeknownst to Helen, Jim writes a movie script that fits Helen to a 'T' while everyone believes that the famous writer from England has written it. Helen becomes a star with the release of this movie, and once a star, must decide beteeen a wealthy producer who loves her, and her old friend Jim, the desk clerk turned secret screen writer. She decides to toss Jim to the curb and marry the wealthy producer, and Jim stands back and wishes her well. Of course, you probably think that something dramatic will happen before they actually get married and Helen will discover that she really loves desk clerk Jim, right? Well . . . . maybe yes, and maybe no . . . keep muching your popcorn and see how these folks decided to end this Hollywood drama with the movers and shakers of the young motion picture business.


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Help make children’s medical research possible

We urgently need to raise £30,000 towards the £140,000 still needed for a vital piece of research. This important research could slow or reverse the effects of a rare and devastating genetic disease called BPAN.

This disease strikes young children, causing them to develop slowly and to miss key developmental milestones. It leads to seizures, muscle problems, symptoms of Parkinson’s, dementia and eventually early death.

Action Medical Research wants to work towards a cure. We have promised to fund a potentially ground-breaking research study – but we need your help.

The findings could go on to benefit millions of people.

A man and his young daughter smiling at the camera

Our girl Lily

Medical research is absolutely vital - you have to start somewhere. We know we won't get a cure for Lily but as parents we need to be bigger than that, and look to the long term

Lily is taking part in Dr Papandreou's study, and Simon and Samantha are keen advocates for the importance of research.

More about Action Medical Research

At Action we’ve been helping to save and change lives through medical research for 65 years. We believe that the diseases that devastate the lives of so many of our children can be beaten.


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Business as Usual Now Wall Street Is Occupied?

Nigel M. de S. Cameron

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We’ve not seen anything quite like it, and by that I don’t just mean the loosely-connected Occupy movements that are snaking their way round the west as a curious counterpoint to, perhaps caricature of, the Arab Spring. I’m seeing a broader movement arising from the grassroots of American soil that for all its disparate elements can be grouped under one heading: “exopolitics” – politics, as it were, outside politics. And it’s worth making the connections before we zero in on the bankers and the campers.

While the global dimensions of the Occupy phenomenon are fascinating, as Twitter becomes the communication medium of choice, the context in the United States is potentially profound.

We had those rallies, from right and left, in Washington DC – in which cable television celebrities usurped the role of political leaders and drew great numbers of ordinary Americans to the Mall (the mall they usually do not visit on weekends) in vast displays of people power. I was in town both days, jostling on a packed metro with mostly very ordinary citizens for whom a trip to DC was a costly investment, and who were much more like each other across the two weekends than most of the commentariat was prepared to acknowledge.

We had the birth of the Tea Party, which seemed an eccentric political joke until the electoral process brought a kind of anti-politician to town and, for good or ill, shifted the debate in Washington on debt and spending decisively in their direction.

And now Occupy Wall Street. Like all movements from the grassroots it is untidy, with all manner of malcontents joining in and making it easier to dismiss. It has been aided by a depressingly incompetent response from police departments in various cities who seem unable to distinguish between chaotic well-meaning citizens, whom they have a duty to protect, and potential rioters, for whom the public purse has equipped them with nightsticks and cans of chemical sprays.

There’s much more to be said, but three things seem very clear to me.

1.       Politics-as-usual has taken quite a beating, and is unlikely to be the same again.

2.       For similar reasons, business-as-usual is under a new kind of threat. For example, the move to shift personal banking to Credit Unions may gain traction (I can’t see why retail banking needs to be for-profit, and a fundamental re-alignment could result very rapidly). But this goes well beyond that. The politicization, as it were, of Wall Street as the banks were “bailed out” while waves of mortgage foreclosures continue to sweep through our communities, and the loss of personal equity remains huge for scores of millions who are keeping their homes, has perhaps forever changed the way in which Americans look at their financial institutions.

3.       While the politics of most Occupy activists seems to be way on the left, they have huge popular sympathy from across the spectrum. An astonishing example, from the right: a poll of 300,000 FoxNews online readers came down 60% in their support. And, let’s be honest, it’s hard to find anyone who has good things to say about bankers – not one of whom has yet joined the Enron-era business leaders on the wrong side of the walls of a federal penitentiary. And while it is frustrating to those who support markets and see capitalism as the key to economic progress for the left to be leading the critique, it’s in all our interests to get what regulation we do have in place to be more effective; to make boards properly responsible; to have markets operate responsibly and their actors honorably. Otherwise, they should fail, their investors lose, and heedless executives face impoverishment or worse. That’s capitalism. Feather-bedding is not. It should not be left to the left to make the case. At the same time,  our great institutions if they are smart will shoulder the kind of long-term responsibility for creating what Michael Porter has recently called “shared value,” in which the good of the community and the good of business are brought into alignment.

Yet in achieving alignment, as the example of board responsibility underlines, two issues emerge again and again. And they are as evident in the political realm as in that of corporate America. The first is the significance of the long term. The second is generally referred to as the “principal-agent problem.” Their importance here is stressed by the fact they lie at the heart of both our political and corporate malaise.

On the long term: Our politicians think shorter-term, not least as we make shorter-term demands on them, through lobbying of all kinds and, in the House, the tyranny of the two-year cycle that means electioneering never stops. Our business leaders, meanwhile, are also accountable to shorter-term market considerations, as stock is held for much shorter spans of time than it used to be, and markets respond dynamically to quarterly reports. So both pols and CEOs are beleaguered by short-term pressures, and respond accordingly.

The principal-agent problem would seem to work in the other direction. The core idea is that “principals” (whether stockholders or citizens, the owners, as it were, of the enterprise) find it a constant struggle to get their “agents” (corporate directors and executives; politicians) to act in “our” interests rather than “theirs.” Agents’ interests tend to diverge from those who are supposed to be their bosses. So politicians and business leaders tend to want above all else successful careers – while citizens want a certain kind of society, and investors seek value creation. It is, ironically, the careerist interests of leaders in both contexts that can outweigh the short-term pressures and lead them to deliver “long-term value.”

Long story short: These grassroots movements, a rising exopolitics, press the need to align the short with the long term; the interests of leaders and those whom they lead; the need to build value that will last. Whatever the campers in Zuccotti Park have in their minds and on their placards, the message is clear.

First posted on the U.S. Chamber BCLC site.

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Home > Uncategorized > Futureseek Daily Link Review; 21 September 2015

Futureseek Daily Link Review; 21 September 2015

* China successfully launches new Long March 6 rocket and looks forward to next generation Long March 5 in 2016 >>
* Not Even the People Who Write Algorithms Really Know How They Work >>
* Watch the ISS Zoom Over the East Coast >>

* Watch The Disrupt SF Hackathon Live Right Here! >>
* Inhabitat’s Week in Green: new EV concept cars and Napmobiles >>
* Vehicle-to-Grid And Vehicle-To-Home Tech Ready For Prime Time >>

* Researchers draft the first comprehensive tree of life >>
* The first 3-D–-printed drug, a malaria vaccine >>
* Afraid of Induction? Try This Hybrid Gas Cooktop >>

* How the Higgs boson is born and how it dies: the most precise picture so far >>
* 50 apps to improve your smartphone >>
* Turns out early risers and night owls have different DNA >>

* Breakthrough in 3D technology as new technique regenerates complex nerves >>
* Advanced Ligo: Labs ‘open their ears’ to the cosmos >>

Options: Futureseek Daily Links / Facebook as Futureseek / @futureseek / @tristanhambling / Facebook as Tristan Hambling

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Archive for the Valparaiso Category

A walk on the wild side in Valparaiso

Posted in Chile, Valparaiso with tags , , , , , on December 4, 2011 by gannet39

Valparaiso is a grimy old port with over 450 years of history and the third largest city in Chile. Although Santiago is the official capital, ‘Valpa’ is home to the Chilean parliament. Until the Panama Canal was built, it was one of the most important stop offs for ships moving between the Pacific and Atlantic through the Magellan Straits. It’s now the second most important port in the country and a vital base for the Chilean navy.

During its golden era it attracted immigrants from all over Europe, including Britain. The architecture of the old town reflects the many cultural styles that they brought with them and nowadays it is a UNESCO world heritage site. Today it is a very bohemian city with a large left-leaning, student population, who seem to be at every traffic light performing acrobatics, juggling or breathing fire for the entertainment of the waiting drivers.

The school students were on strike demanding free education when I was the there and in the evenings there were often clashes with the riot police who were defending the congress building, not that I saw any of it as I was staying in posh and peaceful Vina del Mar next door (see previous post).

My only tastes of town were on a Monday (virtually dead, lots of places closed) and a Wednesday (relatively buzzing) so I can’t really comment on the night life, although I’m sure the locals party hard.

For food, the Rough Guide suggested I try J.Cruz Malbrau, a greasy spoon up a dark side alley at 1466 Condell. The taxi driver warned me to watch myself around this part of town, but it was pretty quiet early in the week so I wasn’t too worried.

There’s lots of graffiti in the alley (some of it quite good) but I wasn’t expecting it to carry on inside the restaurant where even the napkin holders and greasy plastic tablecloths are covered in scrawl.

The rest of the walls and the ceiling are covered with an impressive collection of old junk including, amongst many, many other things; African masks, kitsch woodcarvings, cherubic portraits, bombs with baby’s bibs tied to them (!?), hundreds of passport photos and cabinets containing collections of ivory carvings and Toby mugs! It’s quite a sight.

Upon entering I was gazed at impassively by three formidable matrons, one of whom turned out to be quite kind and sat me down in a corner. ‘Chorrillana?’ was all she asked, to which I nodded, as this is the local ‘delicacy’ which I had come to try.

Basically it’s a huge plate of chips topped with stewed onions, scrambled eggs and strips of steak and served with a dish of chilli sauce, which this establishment claims to be the inventor of. For good measure, I was also given half a white sliced loaf, in case I didn’t have enough carbs already.

It’s pretty foul, starting as a just about eatable C but moving to an inedible D as you get to the final soggy chips floating in a pool of oil and onion water at the bottom of the bowl. The feisty chilli sauce definitely helps get it down and it was kind of satisfying in a way, but left me feeling rather queasy by the end.

With this, a half bottle of Santa Teresa red which wasn’t too bad for a table wine (C+), however Coke seems to be the accompaniment of choice for the locals.

Just down the road at Plaza Anibel Pinto 1182 is Cinzano, one of the oldest bars in town (since 1896) with bored old waiters who looked like they have been there since it opened. They made a passable Pisco Sour (B), served up in a fruit bowl.

The shelves behind the bar are a shrine to Santiago Wanderers,  (formed in 1892 and so the oldest club in the country) with ancient team photos going back to 1946. Older souvenirs from the club’s history were wiped out in an earthquake that destroyed their headquarters, and a lot of their silverware.

The walls are further decorated in a nautical theme with pictures of tankers sinking off the coast and old ads for dance nights at the bar. It still has a popular ballroom at the weekend, and a restaurant too but I didn’t get to try either as I was in town on the wrong days of the week.

Although it was Monday, there was a bit of action in one of the squares. I was there at the time of the third annual ‘container festival’ where shows are in put on in shipping containers in various places around town.

A large crowd was enjoying the sounds of a brass section while a big group of people waved wooden orange boxes at the front. It all looked very intriguing but I couldn’t work out what was going on so didn’t stay for long. Passed the same container in the day time and it seemed to be a hive of alternative activity with people painting and getting them ready for the next evening of entertainment.

A fun and cheap ($300 or 35p) thing to do is take a ride on an ‘ascensor’, an aged funicular railway that once helped the populace get up the steep hills that hem them in on the land side. There are several ascensors at regular points around the city but perhaps the best is Ascensor Artilleria at the far end of the bay (a couple of blocks from Estacion Puerto on the metro/subte).
After a short rickety ride, you can get a great panorama over the container port and the berths for the warships of the Chilean navy.

There are a few interesting old houses around here, and lots of old cars slowly rotting away on the street. There’s also a naval museum,  as well as some handicraft stalls and a couple of nice cafes.

I went to Cafe Arte Mirador, immediately next to the station at the top and had a deep fried Emapanada Naplolitana (diced ham, melted cheese) (B+) with a bowl of spicy ‘pevere’ (Chilean salsa) and an ice cold Escudo cerveza (B) while sitting on the balcony. It wasn’t the best of days weather-wise but it was still very nice to sit outside and take in the wonderful view.

Walking back down the hill there is lots of colourful street art covering the walls and stairs which I think are part of the open air museum, a series of murals around the city.

Down in the old town again I stopped off for a cold bottle of Cristal beer (B) at the ancient and atmospheric Bar Ingles at 851 Cochrane (or rear door at 870 Blanco). It’s full of old guys playing dominoes, knocking back the pisco sours (happy hour 6 till 8.30 Mon to Tues) or tucking into cocina tipica Chilena (empanadas, grilled kidneys, tripe etc). The stained white walls don’t seem to have had a lick of paint since it opened in the 1900’s and the huge old warped wooden bar gives it a saloon-like feel.

It’s a popular lunch spot, but I was one of only a few having an evening meal. I had Palta York (avocado with diced cooked ham) to start (C+) followed by the local favourite of Conejo Frito (fried rabbit) with chips (C+), for just under £20 with another beer. It was all nicely prepared and presented simple food but my eyes were bigger than my appetite. Your grub comes up from the cellar on an old dumb waiter while orders are shouted down the shaft. In one concession to modernity, they do have Wi-Fi so I could write this.

Bar Irlandes just down the road at 1279 Blanco doesn’t have the history but it’s cosier, cleaner, plays music, stays open later and also has Wi-Fi.

So no knock out restaurants here either in my very short visits, but a few good simple snacks and meals. Too late, after getting to Santiago, I heard about  Pasta e Vino, which is getting a lot of attention. Apparently you need to reserve several days ahead to get in. Next time!

Bars recommended by teachers I didn’t get to:

Bar La Playa, in Plaza Soto Mayor near the port, is an old bar rumored to have it’s own ghost!

Bar Piedra Feliz, at Errazuriz 1041, has live bands and a good atmosphere.

Generally bars in Subida Ecuador are safer but you should be careful around Barrio Puerto. Everywhere will be quiet Monday to Wednesday.

I also missed out on a visit to La Sebastiana, one of Pablo Neruda’s houses.

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Archive for the Montecalvario Category

Naples – Montecalvario – stuff to see around La Pignasecca

Posted in Campania, Italy, La Pignasecca, Montecalvario, Naples with tags , on February 5, 2016 by gannet39

Montecalvario is the neighbourhood to the west of Via Toledo. It takes in much of the Spanish Quarter and the area to the north, all the way up to the National Archaeological museum.

Within Montecalvario, Via Pignasecca is the street just to the north of the Spanish Quarter. It’s home to the oldest street market in Naples but I never get to go as I’m usually working when it’s open (8am to 1am). Here are some pictures from the web to give you an idea.

The market is best accessed along Via Pignasecca which leads from Piazza della Carita on Via Toledo. On the west side of the square, in the entrance to the building on the corner with Via Pignasecca, there’s a nice hawk wing staircase.

I hope to fill up this post with more photos on my next trip, so I’ve put places to eat in Pignasecca in a separate post.

Naples – Montecalvario – places to eat around Pignasecca

Posted in Campania, Italy, La Pignasecca, Montecalvario, Naples with tags , , , on February 4, 2016 by gannet39

Like the Spanish Quarter, Pignasecca is a good area to experience Cucina Tipica Napoletana. I especially like this place…

La Taverna Buongustaio (Elementary B+), 8 Via Basilo Puoti, first left off Via Pasquale Scura which is at 394 Via Toledo.Tel. 081 551 2626. Open every day for lunch and dinner except Sunday evening.

The ‘Gourmet Tavern’ is a favourite of mine, and of Anthony Bourdain it would seem. (Here’s an out take (in Italian) of his No Reservations show). It’s s a tiny hole in the wall place which somehow manages to squeeze in 26 covers. The decor is plain with cartoon drawings on the walls. Plastic tablecloths complete the ambience.

It’s usually fully booked so try to reserve for when it opens at 8pm. It’ll be full with locals by 9 and have a queue by 10. The menu is spoken (quickly) so it’s best to have some ability in Italian. The Italian word for slowly is ‘lentamente’.

I can recommend the antipasti misto which includes mini versions of bruschetta, deep fried mozzarella, an arancina (rice ball), a croquette, and something ‘di pasta’ which I didn’t quite catch, but it’s all delicious (A).

I can recommend the Spaghetti con Polipetti; pasta with baby octopus in a sauce of cherry tomatoes and parsley (A).

Spaghetti con Polipetti

The Rigatoni with bacon, tomato and chilli is good too (B+).

The deep fried Pesce Bandera (a white fish which looks like a long silver band) was nice but the portion is a bit small (B).

Pesce Bandera

You might want a second secondo, perhaps the Salsiccia Napoletana (A) with a side helping of bitter Friarelli (B).

Salsiccia Napoletana

The house white becomes more agreeable after the first few sips as does the red (both C+).

There are no desserts but they have, amongst others, Melannurca; a digestivo made from the famous Campanian apple (see my Sarno post).

My gluttonous bill can come to a mere €30 for four dishes and three drinks, but you could easily spend much less here, say €20, and still be satisfied. The service is now much friendlier than it was.

La Vecchia Cantina (Elementary B+), 14 Via San Nicola alla Carita, which is at 378 Via Toledo.

A pleasant little place with red gingham table cloths, old but spruced up and serving trad Neapolitan dishes. Many things on the menu were indecipherable but so cheap you might as well just order them to see what they are. The service is friendly but non-English speaking, so you should have some ability in Italian if you want to negotiate what’s on offer.

To start I had Zeppoline di Mare for €2.50 (B); deep fried doughballs with “algae” which I presume is seaweed.

Zeppoline di Mare

I sent the house red back as I couldn’t drink it (D), and had it replaced with a bottle of Falanghina white which got better with time after a poor start (B-). Although it was chilled, they couldn’t supply a wine cooler, although they did keep it in the fridge and poured it out for me when I wanted it.

For my pasta course I had “Spollichini” for €5, which turned out to be a version of Pasta e Fagioli (cannellini beans) but with short spaghettis rather than the usual mixed pasta. Simple but delicious (B for buoni!), especially when sprinkled with peperoncino and oil.

Next I had the house signature dish Filetto Vecchia Cantina, a good quality but small and slightly overdone beef steak (B-), which was the most expensive thing on the menu at €13. Also I’m not fond of the Italian tendency to put shavings of Parmesan on a steak which detracts from the taste of both as far as I’m concerned. I had it with a contorno of Spinaci Burro e Parmagiano (spinach with butter and parmesan) which was great (A) if a bit calorific.

To finish, a warmed piece of Charlotte di Mele (a slice of apple sponge cake) and a mingy glass of slightly chilled limoncello (not frozen which is my preference), which was only €2.50. So I had another.

Charlotte di Mele

Conclusion: theoretically you could eat five dishes of good food here with a half litre of ropey wine for under €30. However my bill came to a greedy €46 which was still very good value. Locals were still arriving to eat at 10.30pm.

Antica Pasticceria Pasquale Scaturchio (Intermediate B+), 22-24 Via Portamedina alla Pignasecca,

This is an old cafe (since 1903) near the Montesanto Metro station. It’s a friendly place that does good coffee and cakes.

Decent cuppa

I had two small Babas (Babarini) one with ‘panna’, which is cream in English, and the other with ‘crema’, made from sweetened ricotta. It’s easy to get confused!

Not somewhere to go out of your way for but a good place for a pit stop if you’re in the area.

Antiche Delizie (Intermediate A), 14 Via Pasquale Scura

A deli selling cheese, charcuterie, anti-pasti and wines. They are said to sell the best Mozzarella in town and on Fridays they sell Caprignetti, a herb-stuffed goat’s cheese.

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furniture glides for hardwood floors

Furniture Glides For Hardwood Floors – Shepherd 9454 Teflon Base Glides (4-Pack) – Hardwood floors installation in home

Furniture Glides For Hardwood Floors

  • furnishings that make a room or other area ready for occupancy; "they had too much furniture for the small apartment"; "there was only one piece of furniture in the room"
  • Furniture (probably from the French 'fournir' — to provide) is the mass noun for the movable objects ('mobile' in Latin languages) intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above
  • Furniture was a British pop band, active from 1979 to 1991 and best known for their 1986 Top 30 hit "Brilliant Mind".
  • In typesetting, furniture is a term for pieces of wood that are shorter than the height of the type. These pieces are used to layout type by blocking out empty spaces (white space) in a layout set in a chase.

  • the wood of broad-leaved dicotyledonous trees (as distinguished from the wood of conifers)
  • Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees (more strictly speaking non-monocot angiosperm trees). It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.
  • (mostly in botany and forestry) The wood from any dicotyledonous tree, without regard to its hardness; (in more general use) As the preceding but limited to those that are commercial timbers, and are at least average in hardness; The tree or tree species that yields the preceding; A joint
  • Hardwood is a 2004 short documentary film about Canadian director Hubert Davis' relationship to his father, former Harlem Globetrotters member Mel Davis.

  • glide – move smoothly and effortlessly
  • glide – semivowel: a vowellike sound that serves as a consonant
  • glide – fly in or as if in a glider plane
  • glide – slide: the act of moving smoothly along a surface while remaining in contact with it; "his slide didn't stop until the bottom of the hill"; "the children lined up for a coast down the snowy slope"

  • floor – a lower limit; "the government established a wage floor"
  • A floor is the walking surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many-layered surfaces using modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal, or any material that can hold a person's weight.
  • floor – the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure); "they needed rugs to cover the bare floors"; "we spread our sleeping bags on the dry floor of the tent"
  • floor – a structure consisting of a room or set of rooms at a single position along a vertical scale; "what level is the office on?"

furniture glides for hardwood floors – Shepherd 9454

Shepherd 9454 Teflon Base Glides (4-Pack)
Shepherd 9454  Teflon Base Glides (4-Pack)
Shepherd Hardware 9454 Teflon; Base GlidesShepherd Hardware 9454 Teflon; Base Glides Features:; Teflon; based glides designed for use on non-abrasive floor surfaces such as low pile carpet, vinyl, and hardwood; Allows furniture to move smoothly over floors; For use on heavy appliances and furniture such as couches, desks, beds, etc.; 9452: 1″, self adhesive; 9455: 1-1/2″, with screws; 9453: 2″, self adhesive; 9454: 2-1/2″, self adhesive

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Hardwood floors installation in home

Hardwood floors installation in home
Hardwood floors installation in home

Wood Floor Refinishing | Hardwood Flooring | Kennesaw GA 770-317-2182

Wood Floor Refinishing | Hardwood Flooring | Kennesaw GA 770-317-2182
Refinish hardwood floors to original shine. Sanding, refinishing, buffing, seal and coat to protect your wood floors from scrtaches, pets, stains. owner does the work. 770-516-2143. Kennesaw, Marietta, Cobb county, Atlanta area. Joe Iannelli

furniture glides for hardwood floors

Pro Glides 1 1/8" Dark Brown (4 pc. nail set) Replacement Furniture Glides
Pro-GlidesTM are a three component system consisting of a mounting base, retaining collar and replaceable felt assembly. The base of the glide is designed to be permanently installed in a furniture leg and never have to be pulled-out again. As the felt portion of the glide wears the consumer simply unscrews the retaining collar and pops-in a new felt assembly. No hassle, no prying, no hammering, no damage to furniture; Simply use your fingers and seconds of your time and avoid scratches to your flooring surface.


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10 PRINT “CODING IS OVERRATED”                       20 GOTO 10

I remember when I taught in Houston back in the early 1990s and felt it was a crime that my school did not offer any real computer programming course.  The best they had was something called ‘computer applications’ where students would spend the semester mastering things like Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.  I felt that students were being shortchanged by not getting the opportunity to program since this was something that I learned back when I was in 8th grade and which my own junior high school taught everyone in 9th grade.

Programming a computer is a great hands on experience where a class is, by its nature, student centered.  I remember my 9th grade computer class where we programmed challenges in BASIC on our Atari 800 computers.  My friend Jared and I were the superstars in the class and racked up many stickers on the wall chart that tracked individual progress through the challenges.  I remember one challenge that vexed me for a while:  the goal was to get a bunch of text like “hello, how are you?” and to have to computer take the letters and put them in alphabetical order, but to keep the spaces and the punctuation intact, so the output would be “aeehh, llo oor uwy?”

After my fifth year of teaching, many people don’t know this about me, I went back to school for my ‘real’ career in computer science.  I got a master’s degree in comp sci and worked for several years as a programmer.  I was decent at it and became of of the better ‘debuggers’ for, at the time, a very well selling desktop publishing program called Quark XPress.  But staring at a computer screen all day was giving me ocular migraine headaches and my wrists were getting very ‘crackly’ and I was just not feeling like I was part of the real world so I eventually found my way back into teaching, where I have stayed.

For the first five years I taught at Stuyvesant, I taught both math and computer science.  My friend Mike Zamansky had designed a course around three computer languages:  NetLogo, Scheme, and Python.  In a required one semester course for tenth graders, we provided exposure to three types of languages and while not every student loved this course, many did, and it was generally a rewarding experience (except when the computers were broken) to teach this course.  I would ‘lecture’ for about ten minutes each day, introducing them to a new concept and then have them work on a lab I designed while I walked around and provided individual feedback.

This week has been Computer Science (CS) education week, and many key ed reformers like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg, and even President Obama have spoken about the importance of computer science.  Obama goes as far to say “Learning these skills isn’t just important for your future — it’s important for America’s future.”

Now I’m the last person to ‘bash’ learning a little computer science.  I think every student should get an opportunity and I’m also impressed with the free courses that they offer on the code.org website, sponsored by Gates and Zuckerburg.  But when I read about how students learning to code is important to America’s future, I think this is taking things a bit far.

‘Coding’ as insiders call computer programming, can be both fun and challenging.  I’m all for something that motivates kids to concentrate and to problem solve, which, if taught correctly, computer programming definitely has the potential for.  But to sell it to the public by claiming that it is likely to be many student’s future careers is as far-fetched as selling music instruction or physical education as vocational training.

Just like in music and physical education, some kids will show little aptitude, most will show some aptitude, and a few will show a lot of aptitude.  Having been a computer programmer (we liked to call it ‘software engineer’ then, maybe they still do) I can tell you with certainty that once you get beyond the very basics, just like with learning a musical instrument, it gets very difficult very fast.

Pushing computer science as an interesting learning experience is fine with me.  I agree with that rationale.  I do like that there is free access to courses and there are actually some very good courses freely available on YouTube.  But let’s get realistic.  Like learning how to play the guitar, learning to code is a great thing to do as a hobby, but most people will never get good enough to make a living at it.

Not everything taught in school needs to be ‘useful’ or ‘marketable.’  Sometimes ‘thought provoking’ is all you’re gonna get, and for computer science, that’s enough justification for me.

This entry was posted in Teach For America. Bookmark the permalink.

4 Responses to 10 PRINT “CODING IS OVERRATED”                       20 GOTO 10

  1. gkm001 says:

    Funny title. I agree that “important for America’s future” is overstating the case. (What’s important for America’s future is that students are prepared for the responsibilities of self-government in a democratic republic.) But I’m not sure that a career in technology is open to only a few talented superstars, either. My husband makes a good living as a software engineer, and he likes to say it’s not that hard. I agree with your overarching point, however, which is that the quality of an education should not be judged by its market value (which we can only guess at anyhow), but by how well the students are able to cope with new situations as they arise, and to exercise sound judgment in making decisions. In that sense, computer science is not only thought-provoking; it is good practice in logic and in reasoning from premises to conclusions. Some students will be motivated to pursue it further and some will not; those who find it really enjoyable will probably be able to master the skills required to make a living at it, while those who don’t should go into a different field in any case. It is not the schools’ business to churn out some set proportion of computer science majors. It is our business to respect and nurture human diversity, which I feel I can safely say actually is important for America’s future.

  2. Mark Palko says:

    I was always a believer in supplementing math classes with spreadsheet projects. It provides a nice introduction to programming concepts like iteration. The built-in functions and easy graphing options help build intuitive feel for a wide range of mathematical ideas. Open source alternatives mean that any student with a home computer can have free access to the software.

    On top of all that, these are skills that students will actually use.

    Here are a couple of relevant posts:

  3. Steve M says:

    It is ironic, but I would say that the inner-city students I taught ten years ago had a better grasp of basic computer use, including HTML and Java programming, than my current (suburban) students. That’s probably true for the population as a whole, as well.

    Pressing app buttons is the extant of most kids’ technological skills these days.

  4. Chris Van says:

    Sorry, a friend of mine brought this to my attention knowing that I’m a huge advocate of teaching kids to code, and I can’t resist leaving a comment:

    You seem to make the assumption that the you either need to be an expert in code to make a living at it, or you don’t need to know any at all – that’s just wrong. Knowing a little code, even without being an expert in it, is an increasingly important skill in many jobs. I’m a librarian. Last year I coded a website to promote our summer reading events. It meant I needed to know a little HTML and some CSS. CSS wasn’t widely used when I was in High school, but I did learn some HTML and was able to piggy-back on those skills, learn what I needed to, and get the job done.

    Also, don’t forget how many jobs have been, and are being, replaced by technology. The next big wave of jobs to go the way of the “elevator operator” may well be drivers – taxi drivers, delivery drivers, shipping drivers, and even forklift drivers may find themselves replaced by robots within the next 2 decades. Imagine that, for every 10 jobs lost, there will be one job created for someone who can work with and maintain the systems that now drive these vehicles. This person will need to have some idea of how computers work, and must be able to at least recognize and report when the code is buggy. If there are no skilled people in the US to do this, than talent will be imported, or the job will be exported. Already 60% of the talent in Science and Technology in Silicone Valley is foreign born:

    (scroll down to the graph for international talent)

    Currently, I think there are still more scholarships for sports in the US than there are for maths or computers. Basically, Obama is right – the future economy of the US depends on the education system making vast improvements in teaching science, technology, and code.

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Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Sign-up Now for GdayX Mindanao!

1 comment
On November 16, 2013 all roads lead to General Santos City for the biggest Google event in Mindanao this year, the GdayX Mindanao!

GdayX is a community organized event that is supported by Google to bring the Gdays experience closer to the members of the GBG (Google Business Group), GDG (Google Developers Group) and GSA (Google Student Ambassador) communities.

In the Philippines, Gdays X will be celebrated in several key locations.

Spearheaded by GBG General Santos (the Philippines #1 Chapter), GdayX Mindanao will be held on November 16, 2013, from 8:30am - 5:00pm at the Trade Hall 1 of SM City General Santos.

Why Join GdayX Mindanao?

GdayX Mindanao is a one of a kind and fun Googley experience so expect a day of learning and showcase of cool stuff from Google which you may be able to use in your career, profession or in your business or classroom. If you want to learn more about Google Apps, Getting your Business Online and other Google Products then this event is for you. There will be separate tracks for businessmen/entrepreneurs and educators/teachers..... and oh did we mention joining Gdays events are free of charge? You just need to register online NOW by clicking here.

1. Again, since this event is FREE-OF-CHARGE, slots are limited.
2. There will be a selection process before we confirm your attendance, so please fill in the form as complete as possible. Your chance to become one of the participants depends on the comprehensiveness of your answer.
3. Filling up the form doesn't mean you automatically get a guaranteed seat. If you are confirmed, you will receive an email from us with event details.

Good luck and hope to see you on November 16!

1 comment:

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James Bateman came from a family made rich by iron and coal during the Industrial Revolution. A landowner and accomplished horticulturist, in 1842 he bought Biddulph Grange in Staffordshire where he set about creating what has been called ‘a Great Exhibition of a garden – the whole world in one green
space, with planting to reflect the spirit of Italy and China, Egypt, England and the

At the same time as Bateman developed his gardens to represent the variety of creation, he began work on a Geological Gallery at Biddulph Grange which, when it opened to the public in 1862, presented a selection of fossils and geological strata displayed in a chronological order – his attempt to reconcile his evangelical Christianity with geological understanding at the time. Resolute in his belief in divine creation, Bateman planned his Geological Gallery as a refutation of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, unveiled in The Origin of Species, published in 1859.

We arrived at Biddulph Grange (since 1988 a National Trust property) on one of the warm, summer-like days that have been the hallmark of autumn 2015. Before looking at Bateman’s Geological Gallery we went off to explore the extensive gardens.

Described by the NT as ‘a world garden’, Biddulph Grange is one of the most interesting survivals from the great age of Victorian gardening and botanical collecting. Even if you’re not especially interested in gardens it’s a great place for an extended stroll through a series of themed gardens – Italian, Egyptian, and Chinese, as well as a Himalayan Glen, a Pinetum, an Arboretum, a Cherry Orchard, a Wellingtonia Avenue, a Stumpery, a Cheshire Cottage, and a Dahlia Walk. Like separate rooms, each garden is secluded from the rest and offers a showcase for plants from a particular region. In addition there is an extraordinary collection of garden buildings.

Biddulph Grange
Biddulph Grange

James Bateman was a noted botanist who was also interested in the significant developments in geology that were taking place in the mid-19th century. Born in 1812, from childhood Bateman was fascinated by orchids, and after he began to publish on the subject in the later 1830s he came to be recognised as an expert.

Biddulph Grange: the terrace
Biddulph Grange: the Italian garden

Bateman moved into the newly-erected Biddulph Grange in 1842, and immediately set about creating what was to be an ambitious and expensive garden, a collaborative venture between Bateman and his wife Elizabeth – and their friend Edward Cooke, a painter, botanical engraver, and enthusiastic horticulturist and garden designer.

Their scheme was not limited to plants alone: buildings, bridges and
tunnels were assembled to separate the different areas and dramatise the transition between their different worlds. At one point you enter an
Egyptian tomb and take a few turns before emerging from an Elizabethan
cottage. The approach to the Chinese Garden is through an area of oriental gateways, steep steps and rocky outcrops designed to evoke a Himalayan landscape.

Biddulph Grange Italian Garden: the Mosaic Parterre
Biddulph Grange Italian Garden: the Mosaic Parterre

The Italian Garden is the first area encountered as you step down from the house itself.  Italian gardens were popular in Britain in the 19th century, based quite closely at first on Italian Renaissance examples. However, by the time the Batemans came to design Biddulph, the term was applied much more loosely to any garden with formally arranged flower beds, usually featuring a stepped terrace, balustrades and giant urns. This is what exists at Biddulph Grange: the Batemans would have steeped out of the garden room onto the terrace with its central stone trough. Beyond are views of the Mosaic Parterre and several compartmentalised areas separated by high hedges and decorated with topiary.

The Egyptian Temple
The Egyptian Temple
The Ape of Thoth
The Ape of Thoth

From the terrace with its extensive views over the gardens south of the house you can head eastwards to Egypt, a lawned court with obelisks of clipped yew and a topiary Egyptian temple topped with a yew pyramid. Hidden by tall yew and beech hedges, you enter through a stone doorway flanked by two stone sphinxes and emblazoned with the symbol of Ra, the Sun God, before feeling your way along a dark passageway. All this is quite strange and truly eccentric.

But you ain’t seen nothing yet – because at the end of the dark passage is a dim chamber where you come face to face with the Ape of Thoth, a stone idol depicting the Egyptian god Thoth as a man with the head of a baboon. The National Trust guide explains why Bateman thought Thoth an appropriate figure for his garden:

Thoth was … master of both physical and divine law.  He was charged with making the calculations for the establishment of the heavens, stars, Earth and everything in them. The Greeks further declared him the inventor of astronomy, astrology, mathematics, geometry, land-surveying, medicine, botany, theology, the alphabet, reading, writing and oratory. Straddling as Thoth does physical and divine ordinance, and credited with a hand in the creation of the universe and a leading role in the science of botany, he is an appropriate divinity and denizen of Bateman’s Egypt.

Cheshire Cottage
The Cheshire Cottage

The sense of strangeness, of having fallen like Alice down a rabbit hole, is intensified as you leave Thoth’s chamber along a passage and exit through a structure which is a miniature replica of a half-timbered Tudor-style cottage.  This is the Cheshire Cottage whose façade records the date of its construction, 1856.

Biddulph Grange 8c

Biddulph Grange 8b

The Stumpery
The Stumpery

The weirdness continues as the wanderer encounters the next oddity: the Stumpery, a sunken path bordered by upside-down fossilised tree roots amongst which grow a great variety of ferns and mosses. Stumperies have been described as ‘Victorian horticultural oddities’ and became popular features of 19th-century gardens, perhaps because of the popularity of ferns as garden plants at a timewhen hundreds of new species were introduced to Britain from around the world by collectors like Bateman. The stumpery at Biddulph Grange, designed by Edward Cooke, was the first to be built anywhere.

Chinese Temple
The Chinese Temple
Chinese bridge
The Chinese Bridge
The pool in the Chinese Garden
The pool in the Chinese Garden

Follow the path through The Stumpery and you arrive in China. This area, hidden from the rest of the garden by high banks, trees, and the tall, stone Wall of China is perhaps the highlight of a visit to Biddulph Grange. Within the Chinese Garden a wooden Chinese Temple looks out across a tranquil pool crossed by a wooden footbridge. Perched high above the garden is the Joss House, a small pavilion painted vibrantly, like all the Chinese structures, in red, green and yellow.

Willow pattern by Thomas Minton
Willow pattern by Thomas Minton

This ornamental landscape of rocks and exotic plants is a Victorian vision of China that brings to life the popular willow-pattern scenes on the bone china that Thomas Minton had been producing at his pottery just down the road in Stoke-upon-Trent since 1798.

The view from the Chinese Temple
The view from the Chinese Temple

From the Chinese temple the view takes in the arrangement of exotic plants brought back from the Far East by Robert Fortune: there is a golden larch (one of the oldest surviving in the country), purple-leaved Japanese maples, Japanese cedars and tree peonies planted amid tufa carted here from Derbyshire.

The stone frog in the Chinese Garden
The stone frog in the Chinese Garden
The water buffalo in the Chinese Garden
The water buffalo in the Chinese Garden

There are exotic creatures here too: a gilded water buffalo idol sculpted by Waterhouse Hawkins (who also designed The Ape of Thoth) looks out from his pavilion on the far side of the lake, while a giant stone frog also surveys the scene.

But, perhaps the most atmospheric area of the whole ‘Great Exhibition of a garden’ is the ‘Great Wall of China’ that Bateman had built to screen the Chinese Garden from the surrounding area. Along a dramatic rocky ridge a path winds between rocks and boulders, through stone archways, and across a chasm on a precipitous bridge.

'Across a chasm on a precipitous bridge'.
‘Across a chasm on a precipitous bridge’.
'Through stone archways'
‘Through stone archways’
The 'Great Wall of China'
The ‘Great Wall of China’

A wider pleasure ground extends around and beyond the ‘world gardens’ providing opportunities for pleasant walking. Paths  loop through the Pinetum, a showcase for one of the finest collections of conifers assembled in mid-Victorian Britain, and the Arboretum. Among the many species represented are examples of coastal redwoods, Wellingtonia, and Japanese cedars. The have been planted on mounds to emphasise their silhouettes against the sky. Giant stone pine-cones reinforce the Pinetum theme.

The Yew-edged walk
Wellingtonia Avenue
The Pinetum
The Pinetum

In the Arboretum, Wellingtonia Avenue, which runs uphill away from the house, offers fine views  back towards the house and the hillside beyond. The Avenue terminates at Great Vase Court where a massive stone vase is set in a clipped yew-hedged square.

Great Vase Court
Great Vase Court

The west side of the garden is bounded by the curving Lime Avenue, which is tyhe one part of the garden which pre-dates the Batemans’ arrival at Biddulph Grange. Before 1840 it formed the main highway between Biddulph and Congleton. The Avenue leads to ornamental iron gates designed by Edward Cooke. From the gates a drive led to the Batemans’ other home, Knypersley Hall.

The Lime Avenue
The Lime Avenue

After our stroll through the grounds we visited the Geological Gallery which is housed in a narrow building that in Bateman’s day formed the entrance to the garden. Like the gardens beyond, this has been extensively restored by the National Trust in the last decade (though many of the fossils that were once displayed in the gallery have been lost and the gallery truncated in the period between 1923 and the 1960s when Biddulph Grange became a children’s hospital.

Biddulph Grange: the Geological Gallery
Biddulph Grange: the Geological Gallery

The Gallery opened to the public in 1862. The form in which the fossils are displayed – separated into bays numbered after days one to six of creation – makes the structure the only one of its kind in the world.

The gallery’s unique layout, trying to reconcile known British geology with the Biblical creation myth was described soon after its opening by Edward Kemp, writing in The Gardener’s Chronicle in 1862:

‘The geological gallery, which is upwards of 100 feet long, is lined with stone and lighted from the roof … Advancing into the gallery, it will be found treated in a way that is quite unique, and is singularly illustrative of the great geological facts of the globe. On the one side, at about three feet from the ground, a series of specimens, showing the earth’s formation, and exhibiting all the various strata in their natural succession, are let into the wall, in a layer about eighteen inches wide; and above this are arranged the animal and vegetable fossils that the respective strata yield … The whole is distributed into ‘days’ supposed to correspond with the six (so called) ‘days’ of the Mosaic cosmogony, beginning with the granites, and passing into the slates, the limestones, the old red sandstones, the coal formations, etc, with such animal and vegetable remains as occur in each. On the other side of the gallery the walls are covered with geological maps and sections, and between a set of seats provided for the accommodation of those who wish to make the matter a study, is a series of tables, on which various remarkable geological specimens are arranged; thus rendering the general effect artistic as well as instructive.’

The gallery is contemporaneous with The Origin of Species, the book by Charles Darwin published in 1859 that challenged the Biblical account of creation. Bateman knew Darwin – he sent him orchids to work on -so he would certainly have been familiar with Darwin’s theory and the controversies it provoked. The gallery was perhaps Bateman’s attempt to reconcile his evangelical Christianity with the fossil record and the burgeoning discoveries in geology.

For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Darwin’s Origin of Species proposed the mechanism of natural selection by which life on earth had evolved, so challenging the account found in the first book of Genesis and summarised by Moses in the verse from Exodus above. The seven-day story of creation was the accepted orthodoxy of Bateman’s time – but now Darwin (drawing upon geological discoveries in the previous half-century) proposed a multi-billion year alternative, raising acute questions about a creator God and the authority of the Bible.

A defining moment in the controversy that ensued was the head-to-head debate
between Thomas Huxley and Bishop Wilberforce, which took place at the Oxford
University Natural History Museum in June 1860. The battle between intelligent
design and evolution is echoed in Bateman’s three-dimensional display.

Bateman, along with probably the majority of his peers, firmly believed in the  doctrine of creation outlined in the Genesis narrative with its six day time-scale and the immutability of species which were all seen as divine creations. Yet there is an interesting connection between Darwin and Bateman – and it’s also interesting to remind ourselves of the intellectual ferment associated with Staffordshire in this period.

Charles Darwin was the grandson of Erasmus Darwin on his father’s side. In the 1790s Erasmus had written a long poem called Zoonomia, in which he argued that life had changed over great stretches of time, with new creatures emerging from old ones.  On his mother’s side, Charles Darwin’s grandfather was Josiah Wedgwood, scion of a family of free thinkers and liberals opposed to slavery and committed to philosophical and scientific enquiry. Both of Darwin’s grandfathers were members of the Lunar Society, that illustrious informal club of Midlands  industrialists, natural philosophers and intellectuals, who met regularly between 1765 and 1813.

As for Bateman, from an early age he had been fascinated by plants, collecting assiduously and in particular developing a fine collection of orchids. He became a noted authority on the species and supplied Darwin with specimens and helping him with their names which Darwin found helpful in developing his ideas about evolution.

Yet, in 1874, in a monograph on orchids, Bateman challenged the way in which Darwin had used his material on the order of Orchids to argue for the evolutionary development of species rather than divine creation:

The marvellous and inexhaustible variety of form in the Order is not due to its ancient lineage, nor yet to the vast periods through which endless transformations are assumed to have been continually taking place, because Orchids- according to geologic reckoning- are but a thing of yesterday, and have never been found in the fossil state. Yet their constant companions the Ferns trace their pedigree to the earliest vegetation of the primaeval world! To the believer this problem is not hard to solve. Ferns and other flowerless plants came early in the Divine programme, because the coal, into which they were to be ultimately converted, had need to be long accumulating for the future comfort and civilization of our race; while the genesis of Orchids was postponed until the time drew near when Man, who was to be soothed by the gentle influence of their beauty, or charmed by the marvellous variety of their structure, was about to appear on the scene.

This is a perfect summary of the thesis presented in the Geological Gallery in which Bateman associates the sequenced rock strata and fossils of the geological record with the six ‘days’ of God’s creation, each of which he was ready to allow spanned a considerable period of time.

More than 100 feet long, built of sandstone and floored in Minton tiles, the gallery was a serious restatement of the story found in Genesis. Yet at the same time Bateman did not entirely turn his back upon the evidence of geological enquiry: his gallery attempted a synthesis of the two contending points of view.

He used examples of rock strata and minerals to illustrate the steady progress of geological time, and opposite them a series of fossils to chart the birth of fish, birds and mammals. The head of an ichthyosaur was displayed on Day Four, and a mammoth’s tusk on Day Six. As indicated in the quotation above from Bateman, ferns appear close to the beginning of the sequence and orchids near the end.

Bateman’s Geological Gallery was probably greatly influenced by the ideas of the geologist and theologian, William Buckland, who was teaching at Oxford while Bateman was a student there. Buckland’s attempts to reconcile what the fossil record was saying with the biblical narrative was exactly what Bateman was trying to do in his gallery.

In 1820, Buckland had published Vindiciæ Geologiæ; or the Connexion of Geology with Religion explained, justifying the new science of geology whilst at the same time attempting to reconcile geological evidence with the biblical accounts of creation. Buckland’s hypothesis was that the word ‘beginning’ in Genesis meant an undefined period between the origin of the earth and the creation of its current inhabitants, during which a long series of extinctions and successive creations of new kinds of plants and animals had occurred.

Bateman’s Geological Gallery therefore represents the specific moment when Victorian science and religion collided.

By the late 1860s the cost of maintaining the Biddulph Grange gardens was proving beyond the Batemans’ resources. In 1868 the house was passed to their son, who sold it three years later to Robert Heath, a leading Staffordshire industrialist. The gardens and house continued to be maintained to a high standard, but in 1896 the house was largely destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt, but in 1923 was converted into a children’s hospital.  By the 1960s the house and gardens were increasingly neglected and subjected to vandalism.  However, in 1988 the National Trust acquired the gardens, and since the mid 1990s an extensive restoration process has been completed.

Walking around the gardens, I was impressed with the number of  cast-iron garden benches positioned at various spots, all of them incorporating elegant metalwork representing plants, leaves and ferns.  I have no idea whether these were part of Bateman’s original garden – or who designed them. But they are very attractive.

Biddulph Grange bench 2

Biddulph Grange bench 1

See also

4 thoughts on “James Bateman’s garden of creation at Biddulph Grange

  1. Hi. This may be a strange question but does anyone know what the box is called that James Bateman used to store the plants he found in? I can’t find it anywhere. Thank you

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Here are some links and posts related to some of the talks in IPAM’s workshop “Efficiency of the Simplex Method: Quo vadis Hirsch conjecture?” I will be happy to add links to pdf’s of the presentations and to relevant papers. Descriptions and remarks on individual lectures are very welcome. In particular you are most welcome to post here the posters/abstract/papers from the poster session. (Because of some technical matters I will have to miss the workshop. I hope to be able somehow to follow it from far away.)

Following is a description of some of the lectures and some useful links for a few lectures:

A counterexample to Hirsch’s conjecture: Posts related to Paco Santo’s lecture (Tuesday morning) describing a counter example to Hirsch’s conjecture are here and here The second post contains a link to Paco’s paper. Fred Holt’s second lecture will describe some new consequence to Paco’s construction.

Acyclic USO: Acyclic unique sink orientations (Acyclic USO) of cubes and more general polytopes are mentioned in this post about abstract linear objective functions as well as this one about telling simple polytopes from their graphs. Acyclic USO are mentioned discussed in David Avis’s Wednesday morning talk and a few others.

Stochastic games: Stochastic games relevant to Yinyu Ye’s and Oliver Friedmann’s Thursday morning talks are discussed in this post. Some background (and links to the papers) for the new subexponential lower bounds for randomized pivot rules that will be described in Friedmann’s lecture can be found in this post.

Polynomial Hirsch conjecture: Ed Kim’s (Thursday afternoon) and Nicolai Hähnle’s  (Friday’s morning) talks are related to polymath3. David Bremner will discuss (Tuesday afternoon) the combinatorics and geometry of path complexes. Jonathan Kelner will propose (Friday morning) a geometric/probabilistic method based on smoothed analysis to attack th epolynomial Hirsch conjecture.

Bad behavior of the simplex algorithms. Examples for the bad behavior of simplex type algorithms (mainly in three dimensions) will be described in Günter Ziegler’s talk (Tuesday afternoon). Here is the link to Günter’s slides which are rather detailed. Bernd Gärtner (Wednesday morning) will demonstrate how Goldfarb’s cubes can be used to refute a conjecture regarding an algorithm for machine learning.

Interior point methods: Since the mid 80s interior point methods for linear programming are as important theoretically and practically as simplex type algorithms. (I will add a link for a good wide-audience description of interior point methods HERE.) Jim Renegar’s Thursday afternoon lecture will describe some new advances on  Central Swaths (a generalization of the central path a central notion for interior point methods. ) Santosh Vampala closing lecture will propose a hybrid vertex-following interior-type algorithm.

Continuous analogs: There are several interesting continuous analogs for combinatorial notions and questions related to the simplex algorithms. Yuriy Zinchenko will discuss (Wednesday afternoon) continuous analogs of the Hirsch conjecture

Walking on the arragements: Consider the entire arrangement of hyperplanes described by the inequalities of an LP problem. The simplex algorithm can be described as a walk on vertices of this arrangements. Those are very special vertices – the vertices of the feasible polyhedron. The dual simplex algorithm can also be described as a walk on vertices of the arrangement. This time the relevant vertices (I think) are dual-feasible, namely those are vertices of the arrangement which optimize the objective function w.r.t. a subset of the inequalities.  What about LP algorithms based on more general type of walks?  Kumei Fukuda Thursday’s afternoon talk will discuss this issue.

A new polynomial LP algorithm:  Sergei Chubanov (Thursday afternoon) will propose a strongly polynomial relaxation-type algorithm which either finds a solution of a linear system or decides that the system has no 0,1-solutions. If the system is feasible and the bounds on variables are tight, the algorithm always finds a solution. Sergei will continue to show that the algorithm can be used as the basis for the construction of a polynomial algorithm for linear programming. Here is a link to the paper. Tamás Terlaky (Wednesday afternoon) will review several algorithms for linear programming including elimination and pivot algorithms, interior point methods and the perceptron algorithm.

Complexity of Delaunay Triangulation:  Nina Amenta’s Friday talk will describe what we recently learned about the the complexity of Delaunay triangulations as function of the distribution of their vertices, and will raise the question “how much of this can be applied to polytopes in general?”

Among the additional presentations: Christophe Weibel presented an improvement to Paco Santos’ counterexample. Jésus de Loera presented a paper with Bernd Sturmfels, and Cynthia Vinzant on the centeral curve in linear programming.

This entry was posted in Computer Science and Optimization, Conferences, Convex polytopes. Bookmark the permalink.

3 Responses to Remote Blogging: Efficiency of the Simplex Method: Quo vadis Hirsch conjecture?

  1. Pingback: Tweets that mention Remote Blogging: Efficiency of the Simplex Method: Quo vadis Hirsch conjecture? | Combinatorics and more --

  2. Pingback: Introduction to Algorithms, Second Edition | BUKU PDF

  3. Pingback: ¿Qué tienen en común Francisco Santos y Benoit Mandelbrot? | Mati, una profesora muy particular

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Posts Tagged ‘game theory’

beautiful mind

April 29, 2012

Like Nick, I’d try to take control. But of course, what happens if he comes upon a player with the same strategy?

Nick declares his intent to sabotage both their chances. In a way, he puts Ibrahim in a position where he must choose to split. And the icing on the cake? Nick’s choice.


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Grains Research and Development

Date: 01.03.1999

45 flavours and pass the bagel

Australians' multicultural tastes in food show no signs of abating. Take, for example, the testimony of one Sydney bagel manufacturer, who reported that demand for this tasty boiled bread product went up 500 per cent last year alone.

GRDC Managing Director John Lovett noted that the capacity for growers and their industries to react to changes in market demand is demonstrated by the changes in the wheat crop during the past decades.

"The 45 grades of Australian wheat available to market needs in the 1990s are a far cry from the 'Fair Average Quality' of the 1930s," Professor Lovett said. "It shows an incredible diversification and specialisation, particularly in the last few years."

Despite the fact that Australian per capita consumption of grain-based foods has not changed since before World War II, Australians have shown an increased demand for specialty products. A decline in bread consumption of 20 per cent since 1990 has been offset by an increasing emphasis on wheat for biscuits and cakes, followed by the development of wheats to meet the needs of pasta and gluten markets.

And there's big and growing demand for specialised wheats for noodles, specialist breads and other products to meet the needs of the Pacific Rim and elsewhere.

When it comes to marketing, the pulse industry might do worse than look to the recent history of wheat for inspiration.


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My Nonprofit Reviews

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160 profile views
1 reviews

Review for BRAUSA Health and Fitness for the Sighted, Blind and Visually Impaired, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Rating: 5 stars

BRAUSA is making a difference. I have seen BRAUSA grow from concept to reality. I assisted in teaching BRAUSA's Kapoeira classes to the visually impaired at The Braille Institute of Los Angeles and saw first hand how it improved the lives of the students -- improved posture, balance and strength along with some significant weight loss. Classes were so popular that the Institute added two more classes to their schedule. Raiul Cerquiera has come up with a teaching technique that works for people of all levels, accomplishing what would seem impossible. It is benefiting the visually impaired community with an opportunity to improve their physical and mental health and having fun at the same time. It is a program that deserves to be recognized and shared with institutions around the country...even the world!

I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...

faces of the students during the classes, week after week. I've seen them learn and grow through the classes BRAUSA has offered.

If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...

make it larger. Classes should be offered at more institutions.

Role:  Volunteer & Teaching Assistant.


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My Nonprofit Reviews

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234 profile views
1 reviews

Review for Make-A-Wish Alaska and Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

Rating: 5 stars

I have been volunteering for this foundation for almost 3 years. I have worked on 5 wishes and participated in several fund-raising events. I truly believe in the power of a wish and have personally witnessed the joy it can bring to a child who is enduring challenging times. I believe getting a child excited about a wish can distract from unpleasant treatments, bring a child and his or her family joy during a difficult time and even help a child to recover with new hope and inspiration for the future. The staff is very warm and helpful and I hope to continue volunteering for Make-A-Wish for years to come.

Would you volunteer for this group again?

For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?

Did the organization use your time wisely?

Very Well

Would you recommend this group to a friend?

When was your last experience with this nonprofit?

Role:  Volunteer


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My Nonprofit Reviews

river-rat-10 - charity reviews, charity ratings, best charities, best nonprofits, search nonprofits

260 profile views
1 reviews

Review for River Discovery Center, Paducah, KY, USA

Rating: 5 stars

As a resource teacher for our city's gifted and talented population, we are always struggling to find programs which are beneficial and affordable. Imagine our delight when EJ Abell volunteered for our students ro visit the River Heritage Museum! The students ranging from 4th-8th graders were greeted by three volunteers who were extremely prepared, organized, and well-versed. Since they divided the large group into three smaller ones, the students were able to learn a lot along with having their questions answered. The students also loved having the opportunity to use the simulator and creating an individual art project with Ms. Abell. The professionalism of the staff of the River Heritage Museum was above reproach! It was most rewarding to have the students and adults who attended this field trip be reminded of the importance the river industry has upon our lives. Paducah is very fortunate to have such an outstanding organization!

I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...

Several I worked to introduce the "Adopt a Towboat" program in Paducah schools. Ken Wheeler who was instumental in the "Adopt a Towboat" program was also vitally interested in the River Heritage Museum and thus inspired me to take advantage.

If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...

Encourage the staff to be as informative to casual visitors as it is to a scheduled group. The group leaders supplied much information that the ordinary citizen probably does not receive.

What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...

Hands-on activities for adults and students are exciting and rewarding! It also great to have this opportunity when funds for trips are so limited.

The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...

Each staff member was extremely well-informed and sooo polite! They seemed to respect and value each of our students!

If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...

Build a larger facility and advertise more.

Ways to make it better...

It could not have been better!

In my opinion, the biggest challenges facing this organization are...

Funding! Money seems to be the issue for most non-profits and schools as well!

One thing I'd also say is that...

Visitors to Paducah should make every effort to visit and museum!

How frequently have you been involved with the organization?

One time

When was your last experience with this nonprofit?

Role:  Client Served & I brought a group of students from our Gifted/Talented/Creative population who needed an experience to increase their awareness of the impact rivers have upon our city. Since these students were identified as also being talented in visual arts, a sessio.


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320 profile views
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Review for Two Spirit Society Of Denver, Denver, CO, USA

Rating: 5 stars

I have found the two spirit Society of Denver to be a great organization. It provides support and education for a group of people who are often overlooked and underserved. The members and staff of this organization are all voluntary. No one is paid. They do all this work out of a sense of love and devotion to their people. They have traveled all over this country doing a great work for social justice.They provid a sense of family to all their members. I could never say thank you enough for all they have done for me and my community

I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...

my community at the powwows.Elders acknowledge us and thank us for being there.

If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...

do just as they are doing

What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...

the sense of family and belonging. Knowing we are making a difference in the world.

The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...

Kind and very knowledgable about two spirit history and traditions

If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...

Go to all the tribes and urban Indian centers and educate people about two spirit people and acceptance

Ways to make it better...

They had their own building,meeting space

In my opinion, the biggest challenges facing this organization are...

Not enough money to do all the work that needs to be done

One thing I'd also say is that...

the difference they make will benifit the next generation

When was your last experience with this nonprofit?

Role:  Volunteer & I lead the songs and help with the traditional dancing. I also help with the educating about two spirit people.