2007年12月29日土曜日


The Museum of Reading (run by the Reading Museum Service) is located in the old Town Hall in Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It contains galleries describing the history of Reading and its related industries, a gallery of artefacts discovered during the excavations of Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester Roman Town), a copy of the Bayeux Tapestry and an art collection.

Museum of Reading Principal galleries
The museum is free to visit. At the time of writing (June 2006) it is open Tuesday to Saturday 10:00 to 16:00 and Sundays 11:00 to 16:00.

2007年12月28日金曜日

United States Geologic Survey
Official identifier of the United States Geological Survey The USGS headquarters in Reston, VA
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility.
A bureau of the United States Department of the Interior, it is that department's sole scientific agency. The USGS employs approximately 10,000 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, where the entrance to the parking lot is marked by several stones from the Devils Postpile National Monument. The USGS also has major offices in Denver, Colorado, and Menlo Park, California.

History

1879–1881 Clarence King
1881–1894 John Wesley Powell
1894–1907 Charles Doolittle Walcott
1907–1930 George Otis Smith
1930–1943 Walter Curran Mendenhall
1943–1956 William Embry Wrather
1956–1965 Thomas Brennan Nolan
1965–1971 William Thomas Pecora
1971–1978 Vincent Ellis McKelvey
1978–1981 Henry William Menard
1981–1993 Dallas Lynn Peck
1994–1997 Gordon P. Eaton
1998–2005 Charles G. Groat
2006-present Mark Myers United States Geologic Survey List of USGS Directors:
The USGS is the primary civilian mapping agency in the United States, and is best known for its 1:24,000 scale, 7.5-minute quadrangle topographic maps. Their recent program, the National Map, is an attempt to be the ultimate online mapping service for the United States. The USGS also has a vigorous Business Partners program through which they encourage the reselling of their maps so that the public can have quicker, easier access to information. Many commercial sites have capitalized on this program to provide web mapping services in conjunction with the USGS.
The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program monitors earthquake activity worldwide. The National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) in Golden, Colorado on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines detects the location and magnitude of global earthquakes. The USGS also runs or supports several regional monitoring networks in the U.S. under the umbrella of the Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS). The USGS informs authorities, emergency responders, the media, and the public, both domestic and worldwide, about significant earthquakes. It also maintains long-term archives of earthquake data for scientific and engineering research. It also conducts and supports research on long-term seismic hazards.
The USGS National Geomagnetism Program monitors the magnetic field at magnetic observatories and distributes magnetometer data in real time.
Since 1962, it has been involved in global, lunar and planetary exploration and mapping.
The USGS also operates the National Wildlife Health Center, whose mission is "to serve the nation and its natural resources by providing sound science and technical support, and to disseminate information to promote science-based decisions affecting wildlife and ecosystem health. The NWHC provides information, technical assistance, research, education, and leadership on national and international wildlife health issues." [1] It is the agency primarily responsible for surveillance of wild-animal H5N1 avian flu outbreaks in the United States.
As of 2005, the agency is working to create a National Volcano Early Warning System by improving the instrumentation monitoring the 169 volcanoes in U.S. territory and by establishing methods for measuring the relative threats posed at each site.
The motto of the USGS is "Science for a changing world."
The USGS also runs 17 biological research centers in the United States, including the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.

2007年12月27日木曜日

Early life
In 1896 he left university without a diploma to begin work as an actor, stage-director and performer, joining the Jung Wien (Young Vienna) group, which included Peter Altenberg, Leopold Andrian, Hermann Bahr, Richard Beer-Hofmann, Felix Dörmann, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and Felix Salten. In 1897, however, Kraus broke from this group with a biting satire Die demolierte Literatur [Demolished Literature], and was named Vienna correspondent for the newspaper Breslauer Zeitung. One year later, as an uncompromising advocate of Jewish assimilation, he attacked the Zionist Theodor Herzl with his polemic Eine Krone für Zion [A Crown for Zion] (1898).
On April 1, 1899, he renounced Judaism and in the same year founded his own newspaper, Die Fackel (The Torch), which he continued to direct, publish, and write until his death, and from which he launched his attacks on hypocrisy, psychoanalysis, corruption of the Habsburg empire, nationalism of the pan-German movement, laissez-faire economic policies, and numerous other bêtes noires. In 1901, Kraus was sued by Hermann Bahr and Emmerich Bukovics, who felt they had been attacked by Die Fackel. Many lawsuits by diverse offended parties would follow in later years. Also in 1901, Kraus found out that his publisher, Moriz Frisch, had taken over his magazine while he was absent on a months-long journey: Moriz Frisch had registered the magazine's front cover as a trademark and published the Neue Fackel (New Torch). Kraus sued and won. From that time, Die Fackel was published (without a cover page) by the printer Jahoda & Siegel
While at the beginning Die Fackel was similar to journals like the magazine Weltbühne, it became more and more a magazine that was privileged in its editorial independence, that Kraus could provide by his funding. Die Fackel printed what Kraus wanted to be printed. In its first decade, contributors included many well-known writers and artists such as Peter Altenberg, Richard Dehmel, Egon Friedell, Oskar Kokoschka, Else Lasker-Schüler, Adolf Loos, Heinrich Mann, Arnold Schönberg, August Strindberg, Georg Trakl, Frank Wedekind, Franz Werfel, Houston Stewart Chamberlain and Oscar Wilde. After 1911, however, Kraus was usually the sole author. Kraus' work was published nearly exclusively in Die Fackel, of which 922 irregularly-issued numbers appeared in total.
Authors who were supported by Kraus include Peter Altenberg, Else Lasker-Schüler, and Georg Trakl.
Die Fackel targeted corruption, journalists and brutish behaviour. Notable enemies were Maximilian Harden (in the mud of the Harden-Eulenburg affair), Moritz Benedikt (owner of the newspaper Neue Freie Presse), Alfred Kerr, Hermann Bahr, Imre Bekessy and Johannes Schober.
In 1902, Kraus published Sittlichkeit und Kriminalität (Morality and Crimical Justice), for the first time commenting on what was to become one of the main issues in his writings: the allegedly necessary defense of sexual morality by means of criminal justice (Der Skandal fängt an, wenn die Polizei ihm ein Ende macht, The scandal starts when the police is stopping it) (In this grand time that I still know from when it was very small; that will become small again if it has the time; […] in this loud time that resounds from the ghastly symphony of deeds that spawn reports, and from reports that are to blame for deeds: in this one, you may not expect any word of my own. In the subsequent time, Kraus wrote against the World War, and editions of Die Fackel were repeatedly confiscated or obstructed by censors.
Kraus' masterpiece is generally considered to be the massive satiric play about the First World War, Die letzten Tage der Menschheit (The Last Days of Mankind), which combines dialogue from contemporary documents with apocalyptic fantasy and commentary from two characters called "the Grumbler" and "the Optimist". The play was begun in 1915 and first published as a series of special Fackel issues in 1919. Its epilogue, Die letzte Nacht (The last night) had already been published in 1918 as a special issue. Edward Timms has called the work a "faulted masterpiece" and a "fissured text" because the evolution of Kraus' attitude during the time of its composition (from aristocratic conservative to democratic republican) means that the text has structural inconsistencies resembling a geological fault. Also in 1919, Kraus published his collected war texts under the title Weltgericht (World court of justice). In 1920, he published the satire Literatur oder Man wird doch da sehn (Literature or One will see there) as a reply to Franz Werfel's Spiegelmensch (Mirror man), an attack against Kraus.
During January of 1924, he started to fight against Imre Békessy, publisher of the tabloid Die Stunde (The hour). Békessy retaliated with a libel campagne against Kraus, who in turn launched an Erledigung with the catchphrase Hinaus aus Wien mit dem Schuft! (Throw the scoundrel out of Vienna). In 1926, Békessy indeed fled Vienna in order to avoid his being arrested. In the following year, Kraus unsuccessfully tried a similar undertaking against Johann Schober, police prefect during the forcefully suppressed July Revolt. In 1928, the play Die Unüberwindlichen (The insurmountables) was published. It included allusions to the fights against Békessy and Schober. During that same year, Kraus also published the records of a lawsuit that Kerr had filed against him after Kraus had published Kerr's war poems in Die Fackel.
In 1932, Kraus re-translated Shakespeare's sonnets. He supported Engelbert Dollfuß, hoping Dollfuß could prevent Nazism from engulfing Austria. This estranged him from some of his followers. When asked why he never said anything about Hitler, he reportedly answered: I cannot think of anything to say about Hitler.
His last work, which he declined to publish for fear of Nazi reprisals, was the verbally rich, densely allusive anti-Nazi polemic Die Dritte Walpurgisnacht (The Third Walpurgisnacht). However, lengthy extracts appear in his apologia for his silence at Hitler's coming to power, Warum die Fackel nicht erscheint (Why the Fackel Does Not Appear), a 315-page edition of his periodical. The last issue of the Fackel appeared in February of 1936. Karl Kraus died of an Embolism of the heart in Vienna on June 12th, 1936 after a short illness.
Kraus never married, but from 1913 until his death, he had a conflict-prone but close relationship with the Baroness Sidonie Nádherný von Borutin (1885-1950). Many of his works were written in Janowitz castle, Nádherny family property. Sidonie Nádherny became an important pen-friend and addressee of books and poems.
In 1911 he was baptized as a Catholic, but in 1923 he left the Catholic Church, because he disapproved of the revival of the Salzburg Festival. He is buried in the Zentralfriedhof cemetery outside Vienna.
Kraus was the subject of two books written by noted libertarian author Dr.Thomas Szasz. Karl Kraus and the Soul Doctors and Anti-Freud: Karl Kraus's Criticism of Psychoanalysis and Psychiatry portrayed Kraus as a harsh critic of Sigmund Freud and of psychoanalysis in general. Other commentators, such as Edward Timms (Karl Kraus - Apocalyptic Satirist) have argued that Kraus respected Freud, though with reservations about the application of some of his theories, and that his views were far less black-and-white than Szasz suggests.

Karl Kraus Writing
Karl Kraus has been a subject of opposing opinions throughout his lifetime. This polarisation was undoubtedly strengthened by his immense awareness of his own importance. This self-image was not completely unfounded: those who attended his performances were fascinated by his personality. His followers saw in him an infallible authority, someone who would do anything to help those he supported.
To the numerous enemies he made due to the inflexibility and intensity of his partisanship, however, he was a bitter misanthrope and poor would-be (Alfred Kerr). He was accused of wallowing in hateful denouncements and Erledigungen.

Person
Karl Kraus was convinced that every little error, albeit of an importance that was seemingly limited in time and space, shows the great evils of the world and era. Thus, he could see in a missing comma a symptom of that state of the world that would allow a world war. One of the main points of his writings was to show the great evils using such small errors.
Language was to him the most important tell-tale for the wrongs of the world. He viewed his contemporaries' careless treatment of language as a sign for their careless treatment of the world as a whole. Ernst Křenek reported the following typical episode: Als man sich gerade über die Beschießung von Shanghai durch die Japaner erregte und ich Karl Kraus bei einem der berühmten Beistrich-Problemen antraf, sagte er ungefähr: Ich weiß, daß das alles sinnlos ist, wenn das Haus in Brand steht. Aber solange das irgend möglich ist, muß ich das machen, denn hätten die Leute, die dazu verpflichtet sind, immer darauf geachtet, daß die Beistriche am richtigen Platz stehen, so würde Shanghai nicht brennen." (At a time when one was generally decrying the bombardment of Shanghai by the Japanese, I met Karl Kraus struggling over one of his famous comma problems. He said something like: I know that everything is in vain when the house is burning. But I have to do this as long as it is at all possible; for if those who are obliged to look after commas had made sure they are always at the right place, then Shanghai would not be burning.)
He accused people — and most of all journalists and authors — of using language as a means that they believed to command rather than serving it as an end. To Kraus, language is not a means to distribute ready-made opinions, but rather the medium of thought itself. As such, it is in need of critical reflection. Therefore, dejournalising his readers was an important concern of Kraus in "a time that is thoroughly journalised, that is informed by the spirit but is deaf to the unity of form and contents". He wanted to educate his readers to an "understanding of the cause of the German language, to that height at which the written word is understood as a necessary incarnation of the thought, and not simply a shell demanded by society around an opinion."
Just how far the distance has grown between language, thought, and imagination of that which is being said becomes evident in phrases that invoke metaphors from times long gone: e.g. during the First World War, it was often heard that one should fight to the knife — at a time in which gas had long become an important weapon.
Kraus maintained that language may not be entirely subjected to man's wishes. Even in its most maimed state, it will still show the true state of the world. Even war enthusiast will unwittingly point out the cruel butchery during the war when calling it Mordshetz (an Austrian word for great fun that can also be read as murderous heat).
This single-minded pursuit of "correct language" has been viewed as wacky and superficial by many of Kraus' contemporaries. He saw his supreme enemy among the press and the "nether regions of literature"; other societal and cultural issues were less clearly defined, and his political preferences were shifting. He sympathized now with Social Democrats, now with Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Albert Fuchs, initially a follower of Kraus, summed it up: Karl Kraus' Philosophie lehrte, man solle gutes Deutsch schreiben. Sonst lehrte sie nichts. (The philosophy of Karl Kraus taught that one should write correct German. Otherwise, it did not teach anything.)

Karl Kraus Selected works

The Last Days of Mankind: a Tragedy in Five Acts (1974), an abridgement tr. Alexander Gode and Sue Allen Wright
In These Great Times: A Karl Kraus Reader (1984), ed. Harry Zohn, contains translated excerpts from Die Fackel, including poems with the original German text alongside, and a drastically abridged translation of The Last Days of Mankind.
Anti-Freud: Karl Kraus' Criticism of Psychoanalysis and Psychiatry (1990) by Thomas Szasz contains Szasz's translations of several of Kraus' articles and aphorisms on psychiatry and psychoanalysis.
Dicta and Contradicta, tr. Jonathan McVity (2001), a collection of aphorisms.

2007年12月26日水曜日


The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski and starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving. It was first released in the USA on March 31, 1999, and is the first entry in The Matrix series of films, comics, video games and animation.
The film describes a future in which the world we know is actually the Matrix, a simulated reality created by sentient machines in order to pacify and subdue the human population while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. In the film, computer programmer Thomas A. Anderson leads a secret life as a hacker under the alias Neo until is told about the matrix by Morpheus, who believes that Neo is a messiah who will free humanity. It contains numerous references to the cyberpunk and hacker subcultures; philosophical and religious ideas; and homages to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Hong Kong action movies, Spaghetti Westerns and Japanese animation.

Characters
Cryptic messages appearing on Neo's computer monitor that lead him to Trinity, a famed hacker, Neo admits that he wishes to learn what "the matrix" is. Neo has an encounter with several sinister agents in what appears to be a dream. He then meets a group with Trinity that take him to the mysterious Morpheus, a man who offers him the chance to learn the truth about the Matrix.
Neo accepts by swallowing a red pill. Neo abruptly wakes up naked in a liquid-filled chamber, his body connected by wires to a vast mechanical tower covered with identical pods. The connections are severed and he is rescued by Morpheus and taken aboard his hovercraft, the Nebuchadnezzar. Neo's neglected physical body is restored, and Morpheus explains the situation.
Morpheus tells Neo that the year is estimated to be around 2199, and humanity is fighting a war against intelligent machines created in the early 21st century. Morpheus takes Neo to a computer simulation of the world: The sky is covered in thick black clouds created by the humans in an attempt to cut off the machines' supply of solar power. Morpheus explains that the machines responded by using human beings as their energy source, growing countless people in pods and harvesting their bioelectrical energy and body heat. The world which Neo has inhabited since birth is the Matrix, an illusory simulated reality construct of the world of 1999, developed by the machines to keep the human population docile. Morpheus and his crew are a group of free humans who "unplug" others from the Matrix and recruit them to their resistance against the machines. Within the Matrix they are able to use their understanding of its nature to bend the laws of physics within the simulation, giving them superhuman abilities. Morpheus tells Neo that he believes that Neo is "the One", a messiah prophesied to end the war through his limitless control over the Matrix.
Neo is trained to become a member of the group. A socket in the back of Neo's skull, formerly used to connect him to the Matrix, allows knowledge to be uploaded directly into his mind. He learns numerous martial arts disciplines. Neo tells Morpheus that he knows kung fu, Morpheus answers by setting up a sparring match in a virtual reality construct similar to The Matrix. Neo impresses the crew with his speed but suffers defeat after defeat against Morpheus. Further training introduces Neo to the key dangers in the Matrix itself. Injuries suffered there are reflected in the real world; if he is killed in the Matrix, his physical body will also die. He is warned of the presence of Agents, powerful and fast sentient programs with the ability to take over the body of anyone still connected to the system, whose purpose is to seek out and eliminate any threats to the simulation. Yet Morpheus predicts that, once Neo fully understands his own abilities as "the One", they will be no match for him.
The group enters the Matrix and takes Neo to the apartment of the Oracle, the woman who has predicted the eventual emergence of the One. She tells Neo that he has "the gift", but that he is waiting for something, perhaps the next life. Neo interprets from this that he is not "the One". She adds that Morpheus believes in Neo so blindly that he will sacrifice his life to save him. Returning to the hacked telephone line which serves as a safe "exit" from the Matrix, the group is ambushed by Agents and police officers, and Morpheus is captured as Neo and the others escape. The group was betrayed by one crew-member, Cypher, who preferred his old life in ignorance of the real world's hardships, and made a deal with the Agents to give them Morpheus in exchange for a permanent return to the Matrix. The betrayal leads to the deaths of all crew-members except Neo, Trinity, Tank, and Morpheus, who is imprisoned in a government building within the Matrix. The Agents attempt to gain information from him regarding access codes to the mainframe of Zion, the humans' last refuge which is deep underground. Neo and Trinity return to the Matrix and storm the building, rescuing their leader. Neo becomes more confident and familiar with manipulating the Matrix, ultimately dodging bullets fired at him by an Agent. Morpheus and Trinity use a subway station telephone to exit the Matrix, but before Neo can leave, he is ambushed by Agent Smith. He stands his ground and eventually defeats Smith, but flees when the Agent possesses another body.
As Neo runs through the city towards another telephone exit, he is pursued by the Agents while "Sentinel" machines converge on the Nebuchadnezzar's position in the real world. Neo reaches an exit, but he is shot dead by the waiting Agent Smith. Back on-board the Nebuchadnezzar, in the real world, Trinity whispers to Neo that she was told by the Oracle that she would fall in love with "the One", and had then fallen in love with Neo. She refuses to accept his death and kisses him. Neo's heart beats again, and within the Matrix he stands up; the Agents shoot at him, but he raises his palm and stops their bullets in mid-air. Neo sees the Matrix as it really is: lines of streaming green code; he finally becomes "the One". Agent Smith makes a final attempt to physically attack him, but his punches are effortlessly blocked, and Neo destroys him. The other two Agents flee, and Neo returns to the real world just in time for the ship's EMP weapon to destroy the Sentinels that had already breached the hull of the ship. A short epilogue shows Neo back in the Matrix, making a telephone call promising that he will demonstrate to the people imprisoned in the Matrix that "anything is possible." He hangs up the phone and flies into the sky above the city.

Production
Actor Will Smith turned down the role of Neo. He later stated that, if given the role at that time, he "would have messed it up". His wife Jada Pinkett-Smith later played Niobe in the two Matrix sequels. Carrie Anne Moss had co-starred in a fantasy television series entitled Matrix several years before production of The Matrix. That series ran for only 13 episodes but was rebroadcast in several countries after The Matrix became a hit.

Casting
In the film, the code that comprises the Matrix itself is frequently represented as downward-flowing green characters. This code includes mirror images of half-width kana characters and Western Latin letters and numerals. In one scene, the pattern of trickling rain on a window being cleaned resembles this code. More generally, the film's production design placed a bias towards its distinctive green color for scenes set within the Matrix, whereas there is an emphasis on the color blue during the scenes set in the real world. In addition, grid-patterns were incorporated into the sets for scenes inside the Matrix, intended to convey the cold, logical, artificial nature of that environment.
The "digital rain" is strongly reminiscent of similar computer code in the film Ghost in the Shell, an acknowledged influence on the Matrix series (see below). The linking of the color green to computers may have been intended to evoke the green tint of old monochrome computer monitors.

Production design
The film is known for developing and popularizing the use of a visual effect known as "bullet time", which allows the viewer to explore a moment progressing in slow-motion as the camera appears to orbit around the scene at normal speed.
One proposed technique for creating these effects involved accelerating a high-frame-rate motion picture camera along a fixed track at a high speed to capture the action as it occurred. However, this was discarded as unfeasible, as the destruction of the camera in the attempt was all but inevitable. Instead, the method used was a technically expanded version of an old art photography technique known as time-slice photography, in which a large number of cameras are placed around an object and fired simultaneously. When the sequence of shots is viewed as a movie, the viewer sees what is in effect two-dimensional "slices" of a three-dimensional moment. Watching such a "time slice" movie is akin to the real-life experience of walking around a statue to see how it looks from different angles.
Some scenes in The Matrix feature the "time-slice" effect with completely frozen characters and objects. Interpolation techniques improved the fluidity of the apparent "camera motion". The effect was further expanded upon by the Wachowski brothers and visual effects supervisor John Gaeta to create "bullet time", which incorporates temporal motion, so that rather than being totally frozen the scene progresses in slow and variable motion. Engineers at Manex Visual Effects pioneered 3D visualization planning methods to move beyond mechanically fixed views towards complex camera paths and flexibly moving interest points. There is also an improved fluidity through the use of non-linear interpolation, digital compositing and the introduction of computer generated "virtual" scenery.
The objective of bullet time shots in The Matrix was to creatively illustrate "mind over matter" type events as captured by a "virtual camera". However, the original technical approach was physically bound to pre-determined perspectives, and the resulting effect only suggested the capabilities of a true virtual camera.
The evolution of photogrametric and image based CGI background approaches in The Matrix's bullet time shots set the stage for later innovations unveiled in the sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. Virtual Cinematography (CGI-rendered characters, locations and events) and the high-definition Universal Capture process completely replaced the use of still camera arrays, thus realising the virtual camera.
This film upset the juggernaut release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace by winning the Academy Award for Visual Effects.

Visual effects
See also: The Matrix: Original Motion Picture Score and The Matrix: Music from the Motion Picture
The film's score was composed by Don Davis. He noted that mirrors appear frequently in the movie: reflections of the blue and red pills are seen in Morpheus's glasses; Neo's capture by Agents is viewed through the rear-view mirror of Trinity's motorcycle; Neo observes a broken mirror mending itself; reflections warp as a spoon is bent; the reflection of a helicopter is visible as it approaches a skyscraper. (The film also frequently references the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which has a sequel entitled Through the Looking-Glass.) Davis focused on this theme of reflections when creating his score, alternating between sections of the orchestra and attempting to incorporate contrapuntal ideas.
In addition to Davis's score, The Matrix's soundtrack also features music from acts such as Rammstein, Rob Dougan, Rage Against the Machine, Propellerheads, Ministry, Deftones, The Prodigy, Rob Zombie, Meat Beat Manifesto, Massive Attack and Marilyn Manson.

The Matrix Music
The Matrix was first released in the U.S. on 31 March 1999, less than two months before the highly anticipated sci-fi film Star Wars: Episode I. It earned $171 million in the U.S. and $460 million worldwide,

Release
The combination of special-effects-laden action and philosophical meandering was considered fresh and exciting. "I walked out of The Matrix [...] and I was thinking, 'What kind of science fiction movie can people make now?' The Wachowskis basically took all the great sci-fi ideas of the 20th century and rolled them into a delicious pop culture sandwich that everyone on the planet devoured."

Critical reception
The Matrix received Oscars for film editing, sound effects editing, visual effects, and sound.

Awards and nominations
See also: The Matrix influences and interpretations
The Matrix makes numerous references to recent films and literature, and to historical myths and philosophy including Messianism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, Christianity, Existentialism, Nihilism, Vedanta, Advaita Hinduism, Yoga Vashishta Hinduism and Sikhism. The film's premise resembles Plato's Allegory of the cave, René Descartes's evil genius, Kant's reflections on the Phenomenon versus the Ding an sich, and the brain in a vat thought experiment, while Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation is featured in the film. There are similarities to cyberpunk works such as Neuromancer by William Gibson. There is also a similar "Matrix" used by the Travellers in Paul Cornell's 1992 Doctor Who spin-off novel Love and War, in which a socket at the top of the spine is used to plug into the Matrix.

Influences and interpretations
"Neo" is an anagram of "one" and believed to be "the One" throughout the film and series.

Influence on filmmaking

Main article: The Matrix (series)

2007年12月25日火曜日


Rosemount is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,619 at the 2000 census. Rosemount was established as a township in the 1860's and incorporated as a city in 1972, encompassing the old village of Rosemount and Pine Bend. The city was founded by Andrew Keegan and Hugh Derham, who named the city after the village of Rosemount in Ireland. Rosemount is home to the Pine Bend Refinery, which is the largest oil refinery in Minnesota and the 14th-largest in the United States. Rosemount was also home to a military gunpowder plant in the 1940s called Gopher Ordnance Works.

Rosemount, Minnesota Demographics
Rosemount is located in Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, represented by John Kline, a Republican, scoring 2.8% progressive on a range of issues

State Representative: Dennis Ozment (R)
State Senator: Chris Gerlach (R)
County Commissioner: Will Branning (Non-partisan)
Mayor: Bill Droste (Non-Partisan)
Council: Kim Shoe-Corrigan, Mark DeBettignes, Phillip Sterner, Mike Baxter (Non-partisan)
City Manager: Jamie Verbrugge Events

Pierce Butler, Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court
Hugh Derham, Founder (along with Andrew Keegan) of the city and benefactor of Cretin High School
Mike Morris, Retired Long-snapper, Minnesota Vikings
Duane Andreas, Former CEO Archer Daniels Midland
Tom Preissing, Los Angeles Kings defenseman

2007年12月24日月曜日


Django Bates (born October 2, 1960 in Beckenham, Kent, United Kingdom) is a composer, virtuoso multi-instrumentalist and band leader. He plays the piano, keyboards and the tenor horn.

Career
Django Bates attended Sedgehill Secondary School. Whilst at this school, he also attended the Centre for Young Musicians in London (1971–77) where he learned trumpet, piano, and violin. In 1977-78 he studied at Morley College. He then went to the Royal College of Music but left after only two weeks. There were notices on the pianos reading "Not to be used for the playing of Jazz music."
He was awarded a fellowship by the Leeds College of Music in 1995.
In 2002, he was a tutor at the renowned Banff Centre jazz programme alongside Jim Black and Dave Douglas.
In July 2005 Django Bates was appointed Professor of Rhythmic Music at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory (RMC) in Copenhagen. The new professor's role is to raise the international profile of the RMC, cultivate excellence within it, whilst further developing their own work in ways that inspire and energise.

Musical style

Django Bates Commissions

Discography

You Live and Learn...(Apparently) (2003) Lost Marble Records 001YLA
Quiet Nights (1998) Screwgun NY 70007
Like Life (1997) STCD 4221
Good Evening...Here is the News (1995) ARGO 452099-2
Winter Truce (and Homes Blaze) (1995) JMT 514 023-2
Autumn Fruits (and Green Shoots) (1994)
Summer Fruits (and Unrest) (1993) JMT 514 008-2
Music for The Third Policeman (1990) AhUm CD 003
Cashin' In (1988) Editions EG EEGCD 57
Human Chain (1986) AH-UM 002 Django Bates Albums as a leader

Debates (2005) Søren Nørbo Trio
All Men Amen (1999) Iain Ballamy, B&W Records BW065
Escapade (1999) Julian Argüelles, PVC 1019
Colours (1997) Bendik Hofseth, Verve 537 627 2
Heavenly Bodies (1997) Earthworks, Virgin Records Ltd., CDVE 934
Skull View - (1997) Julian Argüelles, Babel BDV 9719
Play the music of Jimi Hendrix (1994) Christy Doran, any/vBr 2134 2)
Stamping Ground (1994) Earthworks, Virgin Records Ltd, Carol 1893-2
Nice View (1994) Tim Berne's Caos Totale
Little Motor People (1993) Hank Roberts (to be rereleased on Winter & Winter)
Exile (1993) Sidsel Endresen, ECM 1524
Spirits Rejoice (1992) The Dedication Orchestra, Ogun OGCD101
Balloon Man (1992) Iain Ballamy, Editions [[E.G. Records, EGCD 63
All Heaven Broke Loose (1991) Earthworks, Editions E.G. Records, EEG 2103-2
So I Write (1990) Sidsel Endresen, ECM 1408
Cantilena (1989) First House, ECM 1393
Dig? (1989) Earthworks, Editions E.G. Records, , EEGCD 60
Open Letter 1988 Loose Tubes Editions E.G. Records, EGECD 55
Earthworks (1987) Earthworks, Editions E.G. Records Ltd EEGCD 48
Delightful Precipice 1986 Loose Tubes, Loose Tubes LTLP 003
Erendira (1985) First House, ECM 1307
English People 1983 Tim Whitehead's Borderline, Spotlite SPJ523
Life in Bracknell and Willisau 1983 Dudu Pukwana, JikaRecords ZL2 Albums as a sideman

Bowie, Big Bands, Rap - Django Bates thinks outside the box, The Times, 23rd July 2004.
Django Bates does all the wrong things, at the right time. You're in for a surprise, says John Fordham: CD OF THE WEEK: Django Bates "You Live and Learn (Apparently)" (Lost Marble) 4/5 stars. The Guardian 25th June 2004
The shape of jazz just come. Review of "You Live and Learn (Apparently)", The Economist, 16th December 2004.
In Praise of Django Bates Review of "You Live and Learn (Apparently)", Downbeat
Django Bates, You Live and Learn (Apparently) The Guardian, 25th June 2004
Review of Winter Truce (And Homes Blaze) Reviews of recorded work

Soren Norbo/ Django Bates at the Vortex. The Guardian, 8th February 2007.
Berne/Bates/Parker at the Vortex. The Guardian, 22nd December 2006.
Django Bates' Bird Tableau - Vortex Jazz Club. Financial Times, 31st August 2006.
FuseLeeds launches with a night of surprises. Django Bates / London Sinfonietta including "Umpteenth Violin Concerto" and "Premature Celebration for Evan Parker". The Guardian, 5th March 2004.
Django Bates goes back to school: Django Bates/ Guildhall Jazz Band Guildhall School of Music, London. 3/5 stars. The Guardian, 8th December 2003.
Django Bates breaks all the rules - Cheltenham Jazz Festival. 4/5 stars. The Guardian, 7th May 2002.
A musical cocktail of incredible diversity. Bates, John Taylor (jazz) and John Surman at The Space. The Independent 27th March 1999.
Django Bates / Quiet Nights, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester Evening News 18/11/1998.
Django's got a new keyboard. Independent On Sunday 30th November 1997.
Django Bates' Delightful Precipice, McEwan's Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, The Herald 7th July 1997.
Good Evening... Here Is the News, Sunday Times 11th August 1996.
Human Chain at Hackney Empire The Guardian, 27th July 1995.
Winter Truce (And Homes Blaze), The Guardian 2nd June 1995.
Winter Truce (And Homes Blaze), The Globe and Mail 2nd September 1995.
Summer Fruits (and Unrest), Down Beat 1st October 1995.
Gang of Three / Human Chain at the ICA, London, The Times 7th April 1988. Reviews of live work

Investing in Human Happiness. Jazz UK, January 2007
Preview: Django Bates on Tour with Soren Norbo Trio. The Guardian, 3rd February 2007
100 most talented young people in Britain. Tatler magazine 1999.
Re Bates, J. Fordham: Jazz UK, no.25 1999, 8.
Catalytic Subverter, J. Fordham: Jazz Express, no.214 1998, 28.
Jazz - Django's got a new keyboard, Independent On Sunday, 30th November 1997.
Young Jazz Musicians 1997 The London Studios, The Guardian, 10th September 1997.
Balanced on a precipice, feature from The Herald, 4th July 1997.
Get Rid of the Goatee, The Guardian, 25th July 1997.
Briton wins Danish jazz award - Jazzpar Prize, The Times. 4th October 1996.
British Jazz Musician Wins Top International Award, The Guardian. 4th October 1996.
Interview mit Django Bates, H. Haubold: Neue Musikzeitung, xliii (1994), Oct–Nov, 38.
Delightful Precipice - Jazz, Financial Times. 22nd October 1993.
Turned Loose to Play Around, J. Fordham: The Guardian. 15th October 1993.
Django Bates: Big Band Dreamer, W. Montgomery: Wire, no.116 1993, 16.
Django Bates, H. J. Schaal: JP, xlii/11 1993, 14.
Big Band Piano: We're not in Kansas City any More, B. McCullough: Keyboard, xv/11 1989, 76.
Synthesize, improvise, satirise; Jazz, The Times. 10th September 988.
Worldview: England's Django Bates: Multi-striped Keyboardist who Escapes behind a Horn, Freff: Keyboard, xiii/12 1987, 22.
Django Bates: the Brilliant Spark. R. Cook: The Wire, no.32 1986, 27.
Simply prodigious talent, The Times. 2nd December 1985. Articles

"Play Your Own Thing: A Story of Jazz in Europe". Documentary directed by Julian Benedict.
"Jazz Britannia Live at the Barbican". Solo piano performance of Freely. BBC FOUR 12/02/2005
"Jazz Britannia" Contributor. BBC FOUR.
"Here's a piano I prepared earlier: Experimental music in the 1960s". Contributor. BBC FOUR.
"Sound on Film: One in a Million." A surreal narrative by composer Django Bates and director Terry Braun. A young composer and her daughter try to select winning lottery numbers. BBC TWO 07/01/1997
"Strings, Bows and Bellows". Joanna, Django Bates & Rolf Hind perform Django's "Tentle Morments" on three pianos. BBC TWO 13/05/1995
"Sounds Different: Music Out of Time". Ian Carr & his band "Nucleus" are seen during a two day workshop with young musicians. Participants are Guy Barker, Django Bates, Steve Berry, Neil Sitwell, Steve Sitwell, David Trigwell, Glen Vallint & Chris White. BBC TWO 28th November 1980
Loose Tubes at Bath International Festival May 1986, and in Green Park Station. BBC TWO 3rd January 1987
"Celebration: Loose Tubes". Documentary. The 21-piece jazz orchestra its first national tour. The musicians are shown conducting a jazz 'workshop' in Sheffield, as well as performing. Directed by Christopher Swann. Produced by Granada Television. Channel Four, January 1987. Radio
"the brain of classical music with the groin of jazz"
"When I'm not writing or rehearsing my own music, I tend to find other ways of filling that time than listening to music I already know," 2005
"My earliest memory of performing was a James Taylor composition, from a Stephane Grappelli album I noticed my dad liked. It was quite simple, so I worked it out. Every time he walked into the room I would play it to see if I could get him to pay me any attention. A sad little aim, but it was probably the whole cause of me becoming a musician." 2005
"Being outside the establishment has always seemed important to me. There are always promoters and producers who want to meddle with your music . . . More and more I find myself wanting to speak up about these things. Ah, the wonderful smell of burning bridges!" 2005
"England at the moment is a cause for concern. It is a difficult place to be, artistically. But I'm not going to whinge about it. To go to another country - have the opportunity to carry on what I want to do, but in a helpful environment - means that hopefully I can come back and help this situation. Ironic, isn't it, but the only way I might be able to play a proper gig in London is if I get money from the Danish government." 2005
"I know what I want to do with an improvising band; I've been really strict about getting what I want, not accepting long stretches of music that I'm not remotely in control about, jams; I'm not interested in that. I want there to be special character to each piece and the only way you can get that is to define the roles quite clearly of the different musicians. But they still have massive input. I write certain basslines because I know that Michael Mondesir can play them. I also know that he can turn them into his own. I really like playing with that. It's the same with Iain (Ballamy). I write very specific lines for him, and that's good because they're not things that a saxophonist would naturally go for. They're probably very tricky but they're what I want to hear. I just make sure I leave him space to be Iain Ballamy, which is what he's fantastic at. Martin France - again I give him quite detailed percussion parts, but I know that he's always going to add more to what I write." 2005
"The arts improve everyone's quality of life, so invest in them with pride. Lose the snobbery that places some genres on a false pedestal: invest fairly in our huge range of artistic talent. While arts education programmes proliferate, there are fewer and fewer places for graduating musicians, dancers and actors to perform. Support centres of excellence like Gateshead's Sage, but let's not forget smaller, creative venues. Protect these from speculators, and rescue those promoters who struggle to present well-crafted, cutting-edge new work on a local level. This policy won't generate financial profit, but will create confident, self-respecting communities and will enrich this country infinitely." 2005
"Being outside the establishment has always seemed important to me. Not just because I'm an awkward git, but because creatively it's where you have to be." 2005
"Evan [Parker] is the proof that during shallow times, musicians can still exist on their own terms." 2004
"And now there's this issue, about Wynton Marsalis's view of jazz - that it's not to be taken lightly, or experimented with. I think that's very negative and very sad." 2000
"Being a musician is incompatible with self-importance because it is surreal in itself. Selling vibrations in the air. What's more surreal than that?"
"Oh, you've heard of jazz."

2007年12月23日日曜日

Cambridge Union
The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Cambridge Union, is a debating society in Cambridge, England and is the largest society at the University of Cambridge. Throughout its nearly two centuries of continuous operation, the Union has developed a worldwide reputation as a noted symbol of free speech and open debate. Additionally, as one of the oldest organizations of its kind in the world, the Cambridge Union served as a model for the subsequent foundation of similar societies at several other prominent universities including the Oxford Union and the Yale Political Union.
The Cambridge Union was founded on February 13, 1815 as a union of three debating societies and quickly rose to prominence in University life. Early officers have included the historian and essayist, Thomas Babington Macaulay and many subsequent Presidents and officers have gone on to become influential leaders in a wide variety of fields and professions. Just a few years after it was founded, the Union was even temporarily shut down by the University for being too contentious. The Union is legally a self-funded members' club which owns and has full control over its private property and buildings in Cambridge city centre. However, it enjoys strong relations with the university, allowing other societies to hire rooms out, often admiting guests to its events and even holding a debate open to all students once a year.
After nearly 200 years, the Cambridge Union is still best known for its debates which often receive national or international media attention. However, it also organises lectures by visiting speakers, film evenings and other social events for its members. The top members of its debating team compete internationally against other top debating societies, and Cambridge regularly fields one of the most successful teams at the World Universities Debating Championships.
Its current Bridge Street premises ( 52°12′31″N, 0°07′10″E) were designed by Alfred Waterhouse and formally opened on October 30, 1866, with an additional wing to the building added several decades later. The future radical Liberal politician, Sir Charles Dilke, was the President largely responsible for construction. Included among the building's many rooms are the famous debating chamber, a dining room, bar, snooker room, library and various offices. The society offers hot refreshments and newspapers during the day, as well as drinks at night. Recently, the Society's building has proved to be a popular filming location with scenes for several British television programs and an upcoming feature length motion picture shot on the premises.
The Cambridge Union is sometimes confused with the Cambridge University Students' Union, the representative body for students set up much more recently in 1971. Similarly, the term 'President of the Union' is also occasionally misused, for example, in reference to Charles Clarke, a former president of the students' union .

Membership of the Society
The Union is most famous for its debates, typically held on Thursday evenings during University Terms, although many other events such as speaker meetings or entertainments are also popular with members. Some traditional debating motions, such as "This House Has No Confidence in Her Majesty's Government" are typically held once per year, although most motions for debate are novel and selected by the current President for that term. To maintain the highest quality of intellectual discussion, the Union seeks to bring in top experts and figures relevant to the motion up for debate. Traditionally, the proposition and opposition each feature three speakers, alternating between the two sides, and at the conclusion of the debate the members of the house divide and vote on the motion by exiting the debating chamber through one of three doors for "Ayes", "Noes", or "Abstention". Union officials quickly tally the vote by counting the number of members walking through each door, and the final result is then officially announced a few moments later, usually in the Union's bar, by the Secretary.
The Union also continues to attract eminent speakers from the UK and across the globe. Recent visitors have included the first democratically elected President of Iraq Jalal Talabani, the late U.S. President Reagan, Queen Noor of Jordan, Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Michael Howard, Michael Moore, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Gillian Anderson and Ahmed Chalabi as well as a multitude of British politicians.

Events of the Society
The Standing Committee, the Union's primary day-to-day managing body, consists of the current President, Secretary and Officers, the President-Elect and Officers-Elect, any former Presidents, Secretaries or Treasurers currently resident in Cambridge, and three senior positions, filled by members of the University of MA standing or higher, consisting of the Senior Treasurer, Senior Librarian, and Steward. The Standing Committee appoints several positions in the society including the Secretary and members of the Executive Department. This, in turn, includes positions such as the Director of Recruitment, Director of Communications, Director of Information Technology and a Press Secretary.

The Society's leadership
President - The President serves as the Chairman of Standing Committee (The Union's governing body), Debates, and Members' Business meetings. He/she is responsible for organising a programme of debates and overseeing the planning of other events during their term in office. Term in office is one academic term plus one vacation (about 14-23 weeks).
Secretary and Vice President - The Secretary and Vice President (SVP) has the general control of the general business of the society, its premises and maintaining official records. The SVP also serves as the Chairman of the Executive Department. Term in office is one calendar year (March-March).
Treasurer - The Treasurer, officially called the Junior Treasurer, is responsible for raising sponsorship funds for their term, maintaining relations with corporations and local businesses, running merchandising operations, and organising any other general fundraising activities. Term in office is one academic term plus one vacation (about 14-23 weeks).
Senior Officer - The Senior Officer is responsible for organising the term's series of guest speaker meetings and holds an ex officio role as Chairman of the Library Committee. Term in office is one academic term plus one vacation (about ~14-23 weeks).
Entertainments Officer - The Entertainments, or Ents, Officer is responsible for organising the term's line-up of social events including bops, tastings and other events such as aerobics nights or speed dating. Term in office is one academic term plus one vacation (about 14-23 weeks).
Director of Debating - The office of Director of Debating is often jointly held by two individuals who are responsible for organizing the Society's activities in relation to competitive debating. Term in office is one calendar year (March-March).
External Committee - The members of the External Committee assist the officers with their duties and, in practice, also work alongside the members of the House Committee in staffing events. Term in office is one academic term plus one vacation (about 14-23 weeks).
House Committee - The members of the House Committee are responsible for providing staffing for events including checking membership cards at the door or serving as fire stewards when the Debating Chamber is in use. Term in office is one academic term plus one vacation (about 14-23 weeks).
The Senior Officers - The Senior Treasurer is responsible for maintaining a day-to-day eye on the Society's finances. The Steward is responsible for advising the Standing Committee on legal and code matters. The Senior Librarian is responsible for the administration of the Society's extensive library. Each of the Senior Officers hold one year terms, but it is common for the same individual to serve many successive terms.
The Trustees - The Board of Trustees, currently Chaired by Sir Richard Dearlove, is responsible for the long-term development of the Union's finances and property and legally responsible for the Society as a charity. The Trustees tend not to concern themselves with the day-to-day running of the society's events.
In addition to these posts the Society also maintains an employed staff consisting of an Accountant, Office Managers, a Bar Manager. The Society holds contracts for catering, cleaning, building maintenance, property management, and legal advice.
Previous Presidents and Officers include John Maynard Keynes, Rab Butler, Archbishop Michael Ramsey, Douglas Hurd (former British Foreign Secretary), Ken Clarke (former British Chancellor of the Exchequer), Michael Howard (former Home Secretary and former leader of the Conservative Party), Chris Smith and Arianna Huffington. Recent Presidents and Officers have continued to move into the law, academia, the media and politics, including Clare Balding, BBC's sports broadcaster and Gavin Barwell as Head of Operations at Conservative Central Office. Several ex-Presidents were parliamentary candidates in the 2001 and 2005 general elections.

2007年12月22日土曜日

Göttingen University History
In the 1930s, the university became a focal point for the Nazi crackdown on "Jewish physics", as represented by the work of Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr (both Jewish). In what was later called the "great purge" of 1933, academics including Max Born, Victor Goldschmidt, James Franck, Eugene Wigner, Leo Szilard, Edward Teller, Emmy Noether, and Richard Courant were expelled or fled. The legacy of greatness in mathematics, a lineage which had included Carl Friedrich Gauss and Bernhard Riemann, was broken.
Though David Hilbert remained, by the time he died in 1943, the Nazis had essentially gutted the university, as many of the top faculty were either Jewish or had married Jews. About a year after the purge, he attended a banquet, and was seated next to the new Minister of Education, Bernhard Rust. Rust asked, "How is mathematics in Göttingen now that it has been freed of the Jewish influence?" Hilbert replied, "Mathematics in Göttingen? There is really none any more" (Reid, 205). Today, Göttingen is one of the most comprehensive universities in Germany, with a respectable, but no longer world-famous, mathematics department.

The "great purge" of 1933
Today the university consists of 13 faculties. About 24,000 students are currently enrolled. More than 2,500 professors and other academics presently work at the University, assisted by a technical and administrative staff of about 8,000. The post-war expansion of the University led to the establishment of a new, modern 'university quarter' in the north of the town. The architecture of the old university can still be seen in the Auditorium Maximum (1826/1865) and the Great Hall (1835/1837) on the Wilhelmsplatz.
Closely linked with the university are the Göttingen State and University Library with its 3.9 million volumes and precious manuscripts, the Academy of Sciences, originally founded as the 'Royal Society for Sciences', and the four research institutes of the Max Planck Society for the Promotion of Science.
The international reputation of the university is the result of many eminent professors who are commemorated by statues and memorial plaques throughout the town. For example, in the 19th century, Carl Friedrich Gauss and the brothers Grimm taught there. More recently, forty-two Nobel Prize laureates studied or taught in Göttingen and many students attained a place in history – for example Otto von Bismarck, who studied in Göttingen in 1833 and lived in a tiny house on the "Wall" (according to oral tradition, he lived there because his rowdiness had caused him to be banned from living within the city walls), now known as "Bismarck Cottage", and the American J. P. Morgan.
The university is not centralized, but rather spread out in several locations around the city: The central university complex with the main library and Mensa (dining hall) is located right next to the inner city and comprises the faculties for Law, Economics/Business Administration, Theology. and Linguistics. The departments of Ancient History, Classics, various languages, and Psychology are nearby. Elsewhere in the city are the departments of Anthropology, Mathematics and Educational Sciences as well as the Medical Faculty with its associated hospitals. Just north of the city a new scientific center has been built in which most of the natural sciences (Chemistry, Microbiology, Plant Pathology, Agronomy, Forestry, Geology, Physics and, starting in the year 2010, Mathematics) are now located, including the GZMB. Other institutes are set around the inner city.
The University offers eight snack shops and six Mensas serving lunch at low prices for the students. One Mensa also provides dinner.

Göttingen University Famous alumni and faculty
Hilbert, Constance Reid, Springer, April 1996, ISBN 0387946748. (biography)

2007年12月21日金曜日

John Neale Dalton
Canon John Neale Dalton LLD (September 24, 1839 Margate, KentJuly 28, 1931) was a chaplain to Queen Victoria and tutor to King George V of the United Kingdom.
Dalton attended Blackheath School in Kent.
Dalton became Curate of Sandringham and a Canon of St. George's Chapel, Windsor.
In 1869 he became tutor to the royal princes, George and his elder brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence.
In 1920 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by the University of Leeds.

Family
In 1886, Dalton married Kitty Thomas of Neath; their son was Hugh Dalton, later a prominent politician.
Daltons brothers were:
Dalton was godfather to the surgeon Sir Alfred Downing Fripp.

Rev. William Edward Dalton (1841-1928), Vicar of Glynde, Sussex
Sir Cornelius Neale Dalton (1842-1920), Comptroller-General of the UK Intellectual Property Office