Tag Archives: Richard X Heyman
Richard X Heyman “X”
Hey everyone, take a listen to Richard X. Heyman as he promotes his next album, simply titled, X.
If you would like to purchase his album, go ahead and follow this link.
September 27, 2013 Album ReviewsHey everyone, Heyman, Interview, link, Music, Music Interview, Richard Heyman, Richard X, Richard X Heyman, XJR Miller
Album Review: Richard X. Heyman’s “X”
September 24, 2013 Album Reviewsalbum, Album Review, ldquo, Music, music review, Pop, rdquo, Richard Heyman, Richard X, Richard X Heyman, Richard&rsquo, Rock, XJR Miller
When writing about Richard X. Heyman, it is very hard to know where to begin. He has gone from forming a New Jersey garage band, The Doughboys, in the 60’s, to covering songs from The Stones, Kinks, and Yardbirds, to recording many nicely done albums, and even come full circle in 2000 reorganizing The Doughboys. Being influenced by such greats as The Beatles, The Byrds, and Richard Rogers, Richard’s career spans over five decades of astounding music. As one listens to some of his earlier tracks such as “Vacation” (1980), to “Falling Away” (1991) and “Cornerstone” (1998), one can notice a common denominator; Richard’s earlier work appears to be timeless pieces waiting to be heard by the next generation.
Which brings us to Richard’s newest album recently release, titled X. Continue reading Album Review: Richard X. Heyman’s “X” →


Apple iPhone 13 Pro Review
November 15, 2021 | Amy Davies | Rating star Rating star Rating star Rating star Half rating star
Rating & Conclusion
Main Rivals
Review Roundup
In this year’s new iPhone range there are four models, two of which bear the “Pro” moniker, the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Unlike with the 12 Pro series, the camera set up in both the iPhone 13 Pro and the larger Max version is the same, so most of what is said in our review can also be applied to the bigger model.
The iPhone 13 Pro features a triple lens set up, with a wide, super-wide and telephoto option on board. The wide angle lens is equivalent to 26mm and has an f/1.5 aperture, while the ultra-wide angle is an improvement from the iPhone 12 Pro model and now features an f/1.8 aperture (it remains at 13mm equivalent). The telephoto lens is also longer than its predecessor, now being a 3x optic (78mm equivalent), with an f/2.8 aperture. Apple is always reluctant to reveal the exact specification of its sensor sizes, but it has claimed that the new models feature larger sensors than the predecessor.
There are some other new specifications for the iPhone 13 Pro series, including sensor-shift optical image stabilisation, something which previously was only available for the 12 Pro Max version, Cinematic Mode for video, Photographic Styles for stills, plus the new A15 Bionic Chip with 5-core GPU which Apple claims is the fastest chip ever found in a smartphone.
A set of other specifications have been brought over from the iPhone 12 Pro, including Night mode, the ability to shoot in raw format, Portrait mode and 4K video recording at up to 60p. ProRes video recording will be available via a later firmware upgrade, but you will need the iPhone with at least 256GB of storage. In terms of the specifications not directly relating to photography, there’s a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR screen, compatibility with MagSafe accessories (such as wireless chargers), and 5G connectivity.
At the time of writing, the iPhone 13 Pro retails for £949 for the iPhone 13 Pro 128GB, with up to 1TB of storage space available, which will set you back £1,449. If you want to go for the Max version, prices range between £1,049 and £1,549. There are four different colours available for the iPhone 13 Pro series, which are Sierra Blue (which we’ve been using for this review), Silver, Gold and Graphite (black).
Just as we saw last year, Apple don’t bundle a charging adapter with the iPhone 13 Pro (just the Lightning cable is included). It’s cited that this is for environmental reasons, with the assumption that most users already have one they can use - but if you don’t you’ll need to budget for one of those too.
The design of the iPhone 13 Pro is almost identical to the iPhone 12 Pro. Keeping to the same squared off edge aesthetic as its predecessor, the 13 Pro is almost the same size as before, being just 0.25mm thicker than before. It’s a little bit heavier at 203g (vs 187g), but the difference in real-world use isn’t immediately obvious.
As before, we’ve got a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR Display for the screen, which makes use of a Ceramic Shield designed for toughness, alongside Surgical-grade stainless steel. Both of these specifications together should make the iPhone 13 Pro reasonably adept at withstanding the odd knock or scrape, though we’d still recommend investing in a case for the phone. Despite being almost the same size as its predecessor, if you’ve already got an iPhone 12 Pro, you’re going to need to invest in a new case as the lens units on the rear take up much more space than before.
On the back of the phone you’ll see the three lenses are gathered together on the top left hand side, while there’s also a flash unit and what looks like a large black hole, which is the “LiDAR Scanner”, used for measuring depth and designed to make autofocusing faster in certain conditions, such as low light.
Just like its predecessor, the iPhone 13 Pro has angular edges, something which was a design departure from the iPhone 11 Pro and before. There’s four different colours to choose from, with them being a little bit more muted compared to the options available for the iPhone 13 (standard). A new option for the 13 Pro series is Sierra Blue, which we’ve been using for this review.
If you’ve used an iPhone before then you’ll be very familiar with the native camera app, which you can launch directly from the lock screen by performing a “long press” on the camera icon. If your phone isn’t locked, you can also access the camera by tapping the appropriate icon on your home screen. Placing the camera in your iPhone’s “dock” can be a good way to access it quickly, no matter which page of the menu/app screen you’re on.
As anyone who has used an iPhone before will be aware, the native app is very simple and straightforward to use. While there is an argument to be made for this kind of simplicity, it would be nice for the “Pro” model at the very least to include some sort of more advanced or pro mode, just like we see on Android phones. That said, there are of course plenty of apps you can download to give you that functionality, and more and more settings changes are starting to creep into even the simple iPhone’s native camera app.
The native camera app will launch by default in “Photo” mode, which is what you’re likely to spend most of your time using. When in this mode, you can tap around the screen to change the focus point - metering will also take its cue from the active AF point. You can also tap on the screen and see a small sun icon appear - move your finger up and down on the screen and you’ll be able to adjust brightness. If you hold down your finger when selecting the AF point, then AE/AF lock will also engage, giving you the opportunity to focus and recompose without the native app trying to adjust focus or exposure.
Towards the bottom of the screen (or to the left if you’re shooting in landscape format), you’ll see where you can switch between the iPhone 13 Pro’s three different lenses. These are represented by three circles reading 0.5x, 1x and 3x. You can also pinch to zoom to engage the digital zoom beyond 3x - but this is something we’d probably advise reserving for when you’re desperate to get closer to the subject.
At the top of the screen there are a number of other options. You can switch the flash on or off, switch off Live Photos (whereby a short video clip is also recorded with your images). With this model, you also get the option to engage raw format shooting - images will be capture in the universal DNG format which can be read by multiple programmes. There’s no option to record in both DNG and JPEG/HEIF, but, it’s relatively easy to convert - even in the phone itself - to the more universal format if you need a picture for something such as attaching to an email. When you use apps such as Instagram, the raw files will be recognised as normal, so there’s no need to covert the files at this point either.
Also at the top of the screen is a small arrow. If you tap this, you’ll reveal a set of extra settings you can change. These are the ability not only to switch the flash from Auto to Off, but also to Always On as well, plus the same functionality for Live Photos. There’s also the opportunity to choose a different aspect ratio (4:3 is the default, but you’ve also got Square - 1:1 or 16:9 to select from), adjust exposure compensation, switch on a Timer and add some digital filters.
A new addition here is the Photographic Styles, which can be activated at the point of capture and are subtly different from the digital filters. The options here are Standard (no Style applied), Rich Contrast, Vibrant, Warm and Cool. Each of the styles can also be modified by adjusting Tone and Warmth. Once a Photographic Style has been selected, an icon will appear in the top right hand corner of the screen to indicate one is being used. This is a handy reminder to save you from shooting all your pictures in one particular Style - especially as these can’t be removed post capture. It’s also worth noting that these can’t be used when shooting in raw format.
Night mode is something we’ve seen on iPhones for a couple of generations now, but as before, it’s not a selectable mode. Rather, it will automatically activate if the light is low in a scene. You will know if it has been activated by the presence of a small moon icon in the top left hand corner of the screen. The mode works by shooting a series of small exposures and merging them together. The length of time the phone shoots for will generally depend on how dark the scene is, but you can also take control over it by pressing the small icon at the top of the screen and pressing the note mode icon. If you’re going to shoot for a long period of time, it’s worth using something to stabilise the phone, such as a mini tripod or similar. Note that this icon will not appear if light is bright.
A useful feature which we first saw in the iPhone 11 series is the ability to see outside of the frame when you’re shooting in the standard Photo mode and using either the 1x or the 3x lens. The native camera app uses data captured by the other lenses to display outside the frame at the edges of the composition window - this can be very useful for making sure you always capture the decisive moment.
Other shooting modes are available as well as Photo mode, which can be accessed by swiping left or right from the main Photo mode, or you can also tap the words as they appear at the bottom of the screen. The modes are divided into stills modes and video modes, with video modes found on the left, and photo modes on the right. That leaves you with Video, a new Cinematic mode, Slo-Mo and Time-Lapse for moving images, and Portrait and Pano for stills.
With video mode, you get the option to record in 4K or HD at frame rates between 24 and 60fps. You can choose different resolutions and frame rates by a simple tap in the top right hand corner of the screen. You can also record video while in Photo mode by holding down the shutter release button, but it will simply record in whatever settings you were previously using.
In Video mode, you can use all three of the lenses, and as with the Photo mode, you can tap around the screen to adjust AF point and exposure. You can also switch the flash to on, off or Auto (when it use it will activate as a continuous light).
You also have the option to record in Dolby HDR, which produces more vibrant imagery, but it’s worth noting that this will only be displayed as it is captured on a compatible device (such as the iPhone itself). You can choose to switch off Dolby HDR if you prefer from the main settings menu, which can be helpful if you’re trying to save space.
A new mode for the iPhone 13 series is Cinematic. This mode enables the creation of shallow depth of field effect videos, which is something we’ve seen on Android phones for a while but it is new for iPhone. The phone will automatically select an “aperture” to record at (or a simulation thereof), but you can also adjust this yourself manually. This type of video works well for subjects with very obvious outlines, such as people or pets, and it does well to switch between subjects where there are multiple subjects in the scene. Cinematic mode is only capable of recording in Full HD, rather than 4K.
There will be the option to record in Apple’s ProRes format for video, but at the time of writing, this has not been made available yet. It will also only be available to models with at least 256GB storage, since the files created by it will be so large.
Slo-Mo mode is pretty self-explanatory - you can use it to create slow motion videos at either 240fps (full HD) or 120fps (720p). You can use any of the three lenses in slow-mo mode, and activate the flash if you’re in a dark area, as well as adjust exposure compensation.
Time-Lapse is another fairly straightforward mode, giving you the option to record several stills in succession and merge them together in a time-lapse movie. Again, any of the three lenses can be used, and exposure can be adjusted. To use the mode, tap the record button, tapping it again when you’ve recorded as many images as you’d like to use. You can leave the mode running for as long as you like, but a steady surface or a tripod will result in the best finished video.
Going back to the Stills modes, there’s Portrait mode, which you can use to create shallow depth of field effects. This is a mode that’s been around for a while, and it can be used with a number of different subjects - not just for people. Again though, it will work best - or most convincingly - for subjects with a very defined outline. In this mode you can adjust the simulated aperture, while there are also a number of different lighting options which can be selected at the bottom of the screen.
These are Natural Light (the default option), Studio Light, Contour Light, Stage Light, Stage Light Mono and High Key Light Mono. Although these lighting effects are created at the point of capture, you can also add or remove them after the fact in playback too if you would like. In Portrait mode you can also adjust exposure, add a timer, add a digital filter and switch on the flash. With the iPhone 13 Pro - as opposed to the iPhone 13 - you’ve also got the option to create environmental shots (where more of the surrounding scene is in view), or to tap the 3x button to create closer, more traditional style portraits.
Pano mode can be used by sweeping the camera across a scene after pressing the shutter release button, the resulting image will be merged together by the phone automatically.
Although most of the adjustments you need to make will be carried out via the native camera app, there are some other settings which can only be made in the main / overall settings section of the phone. Options here include the ability to switch on a grid for composition, the ability to preserve the last settings you use - rather than have them reset every time you close the app - and applying lens correction.
After you’ve taken your shot, you can perform a number of editing options directly in the phone itself. That ranges from simple edits such as cropping or rotating, as well as more extensive edits such as adjusting Contrast, Shadows, Highlights, Saturations and more. When you’ve been recording Live Photos, you’ll find that there are additional editing options including the ability to choose a different frame from the accompanying video or create long-exposure type effects by merging together various shots from the video.
We’ve long been impressed by the quality of imagery from the iPhone series, and the iPhone 13 Pro builds on the company’s heritage to produce its best ever performer yet. Having used both the cheaper iPhone 13 at the same time, it’s also clear that there are noticeable differences in image quality, particularly when shooting in low light.
That said, the iPhone 13 Pro’s best performance still comes in good light, with bright, vibrant images which contain a good level of detail. Night mode puts in an admirably good job, and it’s nice to see the improvements to the ultra-wide angle lens. Generally speaking, if you’re only looking at images on your phone (or at small sizes such as via Instagram / Facebook, then you’ll be very pleased with the results), and it’s only when examining images very closely at large sizes that a loss of detail / smudginess becomes extremely apparent.
There are three lenses to choose from with the iPhone 13 Pro, and again, it’s good to see an improvement here in the form of the 3x lens, as opposed to the 2x found on the iPhone 12 Pro. This is much more practical in most scenarios, and it performs well too. As already mentioned, the ultra-wide angle has improved in low light, but it also puts in a good performance in good light when it’s not possible to take a further step back.
Portrait Mode once again puts in a good performance, and with the ability to create either environmental shots or closer, more traditional style portraits, you’ve got good flexibility here. We generally prefer those made with the 1x lens, but the closer shots are pretty convincing too.
Adding Photographic Styles is an interesting move from Apple, giving you the option to shoot in different ways, or with a different look. You could choose to use different ones each time, but if you find that you particularly like one Style, this could become your signature look.
Being able to shoot in raw format is a good benefit of the iPhone 13 Pro over its cheaper sibling, the iPhone 13. With this, you can make a good array of adjustments in post production, and it’s worth switching on if you’re an enthusiast photographer who uses editing as part of their workflow. It would be nice to be able to shoot in raw and JPEG / HEIF at the same time, though.
Video capture is also nicely impressive, as we’d expect from the iPhone series. Videos shot in Dolby HDR really pop from the screen, which is something you can take advantage of if you’re mainly going to watch your videos on the device itself. Cinematic Mode introduces a new fun option that works well in most scenarios and we can see being popular.
Focal Range
Ultra-Wide
Flash Off
Flash On
Selfie - Flash On
Portrait Mode
Photo Styles
Rich Contrast
This is a selection of sample images from the Apple iPhone 13 Pro camera, which were all taken using the 12 megapixel JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.
1/121s · f/1.5 · ISO 125
26mm (35mm)
Download Original
1/1488s · f/1.5 · ISO 50
1/395s · f/1.8 · ISO 32
1/50s · f/1.5 · ISO 125
1/12s · f/1.8 · ISO 1250
1/5s · f/1.5 · ISO 800
Sample RAW Images
The Apple iPhone 13 Pro enables users to capture RAW and JPEG format files. We've provided some Apple RAW (DNG) samples for you to download (thumbnail images shown below are not 100% representative).
Sample Movies & Video
This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 3840x2160 pixels at 60 frames per second. Please note that this 22 second movie is 145.7Mb in size.
Download the sample movie
This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 3840x2160 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 17 second movie is 54.1Mb in size.
This is a sample Cinematic Mode movie at the quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 24 second movie is 37.5Mb in size.
This is a sample Slowmotion movie at the quality setting of 1280x720 pixels at 240 frames per second. Please note that this 30 second movie is 39.5Mb in size.
This is a sample Slowmotion movie at the quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 120 frames per second. Please note that this 20 second movie is 37.2Mb in size.
As per our expectations, the iPhone 13 Pro produces some excellent results, and is the best iPhone to date for those whose primary concern is the quality of the on-board camera.
If you’ve already got an iPhone 12 Pro, the update isn’t enormous here, but there’s enough small upgrades to make the overall proposition quite tempting. That said, choosing to skip this model and make more of a jump to the iPhone 14 is also a fairly prudent judgement too.
You might also be wondering whether it’s worth going for the cheaper iPhone 13, saving a bit of cash. The answer there is often a personal one, but the price difference isn’t that huge - so unless your budget is ultra tight, photographers and those with an enthusiasm for photography will undoubtedly better served by the iPhone 13 Pro.
For the extra £170 it will set you back, you get the ability to shoot in raw format, an extra telephoto lens, better low light capability and a better processor. You’ll also get the ProRes video format if you invest in the 256GB version, which if you’re heavily into videography might be the thing that swings it for you as well.
Overall, pictures and video directly from the iPhone 13 Pro are as excellent as we’ve come to expect from the iPhone series, with some noticeable improvements made most noticeably to the ultra-wide angle lens, but small improvements being seen across the board.
There’s no denying that the iPhone 13 Pro is an expensive smartphone - but then the same is true of other flagship models from Android, and at least with both the 13 Pro and Pro Max offering the same specifications in terms of the camera, you don’t have to shell out extra to get the best camera.
If you’re strongly in the iPhone / iOS / Apple system then there’s every likelihood that you’ll go for the iPhone 13 Pro by default, but even those outside it will likely find that it’s an excellent, straightforward performer.
Ratings (out of 5)
Features 4.5
Ease-of-use 4.5
Image quality 4.5
Listed below are some of the rivals of the Apple iPhone 13 Pro.
The Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max is billed as the ultimate iPhone for photographers, boasting a larger sensor for the main camera, a 2.5x zoom lens and a much bigger screen and overall size than the standard Pro version. With prices starting at around £$1099, is this really the best iPhone for photography? Read our in-depth iPhone 12 Pro Max review now, complete with full-size sample photos and videos...
The Apple iPhone 12 Pro is one of four new iPhones released for 2020, joining the Mini, Pro Max, and the standard model. With prices starting at around £$999, is this the best iPhone for photographers? Read our in-depth iPhone 12 Pro review now, complete with full-size sample photos and videos...
The Apple iPhone 13 is one of four new iPhones released for 2021, released at the same time as the Mini, Pro and Pro Max models. With prices starting at around £$779, is this a good fit for keen photographers? Read our in-depth iPhone 13 review now, complete with full-size sample photos and videos...
The OnePlus 9 Pro is the latest flagship smartphone for 2021 from OnePlus. Find out if this is the best smartphone for photographers and videographers by reading our in-depth OnePlus 9 Pro review, complete with full-size sample photos and videos.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is Samsung's new flagship smartphone for 2021. Featuring a quad-camera setup with 108 megapixels and a 10x optical zoom, 8K video recording, a 5000mAH battery and 5G connectivity, is this the ultimate smartphone for keen photographers? Find out now by reading our expert Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra review, complete with full-size sample photos and videos...
The Sony Xperia 1 III is a new flagship smartphone for 2021 that has a lot to offer keen photographers and videographers. This includes 20fps burst shooting, real-time AF tracking and real time eye AF for humans and animals, 16mm, 24mm, 70mm and 105mm focal lengths, and advanced Photo Pro and Cinema Pro apps. Read our in-depth Sony Xperia 1 III review, complete with full-size sample photos and videos, to find out if this new smartphone can justify its £1199 / $1299 price-tag...
Reviews of the Apple iPhone 13 Pro from around the web.
theguardian.com »
The iPhone 13 Pro is a solid upgrade on last year’s model with a faster and slicker screen, a better camera with 3x optical zoom, longer battery life and a small price cut.
Read the full review »
theverge.com »
The iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max are phones designed for people who care about the details. The improvements over last year’s iPhones are significant but not obvious at first glance.
notebookcheck.net »
The Apple iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro share a lot of similarities. However, upon lifting the iPhone 13 Pro the additional heft and the increased size of the camera lenses are immediately noticeable.
tomsguide.com »
The iPhone 13 Pro is the one of the most powerful phones ever. Despite the larger camera hump and lack of Touch ID, the latest iPhone is a beast with a stellar display and excellent cameras. It’s also $100 cheaper than the equally impressive iPhone 13 Pro Max.
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Maybe our audience felt they’d had too much excitement for one night, as a small group of us gathered for the discussion. Top Gun: Maverick was a film that scored with many; the woman sitting next to me lived the thrilling aeronautic sequences and seemed exhausted by the end.
For those in the group who had seen the original film, this sequel was not disappointing but felt like almost a carbon copy. “It’s a jeujed up overlay of the original,” said one of our members. Even the music (Bowie, T.Rex, The Who) was nostalgic.
We found some differences with the last Top Gun film, from 36 years ago. There were black actors in key roles, but some of us found it tokenistic. A woman was one of the pilots, although she wasn’t a fully drawn character. However, not many of the elite Top Gun graduates were. It wasn’t that kind of movie.
A few of us yearned for a real follow up, with Kelly McGillis playing the love interest. We did talk about our favourite Tom Cruise films and how good he looked in this one, despite possibly soon being a candidate for u3a. We admired his gung-ho spirit with stunts and how he had risked accidents in the past by carrying these out himself. Although I felt he seemed detached in his acting style, my husband has assured me that he was perfect, as good pilots just have a mission focus.
The Val Kilmer cameo was very touching and we appreciated the director – Joseph Kozinsky – working scenes around his loss of voice, due to a real-life tracheotomy.
We concluded that the film was “all about action.” Yes, it was formulaic and the story arc was entirely predictable. However, the audience came for the spectacle and excitement and they got it.
I was utterly delighted that I had chosen, without knowing, a short film about an 82-year-old skydiver, made by the son of one of our audience that night. She was really over the moon and so was I.
I didn’t exactly fly home in an F-14, I spent ten minutes scraping the ice off my car windscreen on a freezing night. Back to reality.
Anne Goldstein


FanGraphs Audio: Dayn Perry Remains Awful
by Carson Cistulli
Dayn Perry is a contributor to CBS Sports’ Eye on Baseball and the author of three books — one of them not very miserable. He’s also the grotesque and magnetic guest on this edition of FanGraphs Audio.
Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.
You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.
Audio after the jump. (Approximate 53 min play time.)
http://media.blubrry.com/fangraphs/cdn-podcasts.fangraphs.com/FanGraphs-Audio-03-23-2020.mp3
An Unexpected Development
In April of 2009, FanGraphs CEO David Appelman announced that his growing site would be adding two part-time writers effective immediately or something like immediately. Having produced some vaguely analytical work for my own weblog, I sent a collection of story ideas, a CV, and an overwrought cover letter to the email address provided in his announcement. In a turn of events that speaks both to Appelman’s discretion as a leader and his capacity for identifying talent, he made a decision that would benefit FanGraphs for some time — which is to say, he hired someone else.
As if to prove, however, that even the most towering intellects aren’t immune from errors in judgment, Appelman and his future managing editor Dave Cameron would undo their good work just a few months later. Acting on a recommendation from Jonah Keri, who’s culpability in this process can’t be overstated, Appelman and Cameron invited me, at the beginning of August 2009, to begin contributing twice a week to fangraphs dot com.
To suggest that my first posts at the site were met with a “mixed response” would be to make full use of the rhetorical device known as “euphemism.” While I received no actual threats of bodily harm to my person, that didn’t prevent my person from crawling into the fetal position and weeping like a child. And while the vigor with which some readers expressed their dissatisfaction was probably unnecessary, the basic gist of their comments — namely, that I was single-handedly ruining whatever goodwill FanGraphs had cultivated with the public — seemed, at times, to possess merit.
When I asked Appelman if I should stop, lest I topple his fledgling empire, he suggested I not do that. “Keep going,” in fact, was more or less the tenor of his message. And whether that was the soundest advice or not, it seems in retrospect to have worked out. I have kept going for over nine years, enjoying (like other FanGraphs writers) an editorial freedom and collaborative spirit that is rare for any publication. One of Appelman’s great strengths as this site’s guardian has been to trust his writers. It’s an ethic from which I’ve benefited as a contributor and which I’ve attempted to preserve as an editor.
Starting today, however, I will no longer serve as a writer or editor for this site. After a tenure that has lasted far beyond even my most optimistic projections, I’m leaving FanGraphs to become a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
FanGraphs Audio: Dayn Perry Files a FOIA Request
Dayn Perry is a contributor to CBS Sports’ Eye on Baseball and the author of three books — one of them not very miserable. He’s also the safe pedestrian on this edition of FanGraphs Audio.
Audio after the jump. (Approximately 1 hr 5 min play time.)
https://media.blubrry.com/fangraphs/cdn-podcasts.fangraphs.com/FanGraphs-Audio-11-15-2018.mp3
FanGraphs Audio: Autograph Stories with Jay Jaffe
Jay Jaffe is progenitor of the very famous JAWS metric and author of the reasonably famous The Cooperstown Casebook. On this edition of the programs, he discusses Willie McCovey’s autograph and other people’s autographs. Also: important dates for Hall of Fame season. And: how there’s a shark tunnel at the Winter Meetings.
Audio after the jump. (Approximately 44 min play time.)
https://media.blubrry.com/fangraphs/cdn-podcasts.fangraphs.com/FanGraphs-Audio-11-13-2018a.mp3
Which Managers Could Still Fake It as a Player?
At roughly the 10-minute mark of Dan Szymborski’s most recent appearance on FanGraphs Audio, that same guest proposes — partly in response to Game Three of the World Series and partly as an installment in the chronicles of the absurd — a rule change that, if adopted, could have some implications for how teams think of a coaching staff. Specifically, he suggests that, in those games where a team has exhausted its full complement of hitters — such as the Red Sox did during their 18-inning marathon against the Dodgers — that a manager should be allowed to take the field for his club. Although he doesn’t say it, the same could presumably be true on the pitching side, as well.
The sight of a manager actively involved in a game wouldn’t be unprecedented, of course. While utilized rarely over the past half-century — and not in any real way since Pete Rose served in that capacity for the Reds from 1984 through 1986 — player-manager was a pretty common job title in the earliest days of the game.
Recent seasons have provided managerial surrogates, of course. During the final years of his career, Jason Giambi played the part of friendly uncle just as much as he did pinch-hitter. One could say the same for Julio Franco and Matt Stairs and Jim Thome. Chase Utley was referred to as “dad” by teammates for the bulk of the 2018 season. Bartolo Colon is older than a number of actual managers.
While some players have persevered into their early 40s, Rose’s performance reveals why there’s probably little demand for a player-manager proper in the current version of the game. By his third year on Cincinnati’s roster, the 45-year-old Rose was able neither to hit nor run nor field at a major-league level. Those are, one notes, basically all the ways in which a ballplayer can create wins for his team. Nor does this even account for all the ways the manager’s role has evolved in 30 years. With the volume of data made available by front offices, coaches of all sorts have had to develop skills that would be foreign to many of their predecessors.
Contract Crowdsourcing 2018-19: Kikuchi and Rosenthal
Free agency begins soon! As in other recent offseasons, FanGraphs is once again facilitating this offseason a contract-crowdsourcing project, the idea being to harness the wisdom of the crowds to the end of better understanding the 2018-19 free-agent market.
FanGraphs Audio: Dan Szymborski Introduces the Offseason
Dan Szymborski is the progenitor of the ZiPS projection system and a senior writer for FanGraphs dot com. He’s also the guest on this edition of the program, during which he reviews the lessons he did and also didn’t learn during the World Series. Also: the distinction but not the difference between luck and a skill that’s just undetectable. And: a status update on ZiPS projections.
Contract Crowdsourcing 2018-19: Ballot 8 of 7
Free agency begins five days after the end of the World Series. As in other recent offseasons, FanGraphs is once again facilitating this offseason a contract-crowdsourcing project, the idea being to harness the wisdom of the crowds to the end of better understanding the 2018-19 free-agent market.


At the Going Down of the Sun
Visit “At the Going Down of the Sun” Exhibition at Bristol Cathedral
The lives of war casualties will be remembered through a new photography exhibition at Bristol Cathedral following a four-year project to chronicle graves and memorials in the West Country.
Photographer Marko Dutka’s ‘At the Going Down of the Sun’ exhibition marks the centenary of the end of the First World War by showing graves and memorials from the Bristol and Bath region at sunset and in the twilight.
The nocturnal views give a new perspective on the graves and memorials, many of which are looked after by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and can be viewed in the grand setting of Bristol Cathedral until 18 November 2018.
The project was inspired by the Laurence Binyon poem ‘For the Fallen’ and features images of Commonwealth, civilian and enemy war graves, war memorials and associated bomb and air crash sites photographer between the dusk and dawn.
Nine of the images will be accompanied by QR codes that visitors can scan to listen to oral histories from people who knew those buried.
The installation will be the hub of several public engagements, artist guided tours, a book, workshops and integration with the Royal British Legion during the Remembrance fortnight starting with The Bristol Poppy Appeal Launch at the Cathedral on Friday 26 October.
A crowd-fund appeal has been launched to generate funding for a 50-image book based on the project, please find out more by clicking here
For more information on the exhibit see https://bristol-cathedral.co.uk/whats-on/at-the-going-down-of-the-sun


SpyWarrior
6 Tips To Protect Your Cryptocurrency Wallet 2023
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Why crypto wallets are often targeted
In recent years, cryptocurrency popularity has skyrocketed, with anyone and everyone now investing in various cryptocurrencies. This has attracted a lot of novice investors who know very little about cybersecurity, as well as cybercriminals who try to take full advantage of that. Less tech-savvy investors are often more susceptible to both investment scams and crypto wallet hacks because they are unaware of how these types of scams work, nor do they properly secure their crypto accounts.
According to the US Federal Trade Commission, from October 2020 to May 2021, consumers have lost more than $80 million to crypto scams. It’s difficult to measure just how much money investors lose to hacked wallets every year but the amount is likely in the millions as well.
There are many ways to steal someone’s cryptocurrency, and one of them is gaining access to someone’s crypto wallet and transferring the funds to accounts controlled by malicious actors. Once a transfer is made, there is no undoing it so if users fail to secure their accounts, they risk losing all of their cryptocurrency.
How hackers access crypto wallets
In order to be able to protect crypto wallets from cyber attacks, it’s important to understand how these attacks happen in the first place. Understanding, and thus avoiding cyber attacks is a much better protection technique than anything else that can be done. There are quite a few ways cybercriminals can try to gain access to a crypto wallet, and the most common attack vectors are:
Like in any other kind of cyber attack, phishing is a common way hackers gain access to crypto wallets. A successful phishing attempt would allow cybercriminals to get the necessary login credentials that would grant them access to the wallet and the funds in it. The way a phishing attempt looks differs depending on who the target is. If the goal is stealing crypto wallet login credentials, potential victims may receive emails with links in them, encouraging them to click the link and log in to their wallet for reasons like securing an account. Other phishing attempts may try to trick users into clicking on links and advertisements.
The result is always the same: The victim is directed to a fake version of the expected cryptocurrency site and asked to enter their e-wallet credentials. Most popular Bitcoin Web wallet sites look quite simple, yet recognizable, which helps criminals to create convincing imitations.
Phishing emails, while quite obvious in most cases, can be very sophisticated, especially when someone is targeted specifically. If cyber crooks can gather information about their potential victim, like a full name and which crypto service they use, the chances of a successful phishing attack go up. Such emails would be made to look like they’re being sent by the crypto service users use and claim that the is some kind of problem with the account. To fix the supposed issue, users would be asked to click on the link and then log in to their account. When users would put in their credentials, they would be sent to the cybercriminals operating the phishing scam.
SMS 2FA exploits
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is an essential security measure that prevents unauthorized access to an account even when the username and password are known. 2FA is a security process in which users, in addition to a password, need to verify themselves in an additional way, such as inputting a code. This kind of authentication can be done via SMS, special authentication apps, authentication tokens, etc. SMS is one of the most widely used two-factor authentication methods but while it’s better than nothing, SMS 2FA is often susceptible to attacks. This is mostly because of SIM swapping.
SIM swapping is a type of attack that involves cybercriminals convincing phone service providers to assign a certain phone number to a SIM card in their possession. When customers lose or have their phones stolen, they can call their service providers and ask them to transfer the phone number they were using to another SIM. To do this, all that’s necessary is to provide some personal information to the service provider over the phone. This is often exploited by cybercriminals, who first phish users’ personal information and then impersonate them when calling phone service providers. It’s possible to set up PIN numbers that would be asked by service providers when switching SIMs but not many people use this security feature.
If a cybercriminal is able to successfully SIM swap someone’s phone number, they would then receive the 2FA codes to a phone in their possession, allowing them to access crypto wallets that are protected with SMS two-factor authentication.
Malicious software, or malware, can be used in a variety of ways in crypto wallet hacks. For example, keyloggers can be used to steal crypto wallet login credentials. If a computer is infected with a keylogger, it would record keystrokes (including when login credentials are put in) and then send them to cybercriminals, who would then use them to access the crypto accounts.
Malware can also be used in different ways. Some malicious software can be programmed to automatically replace copied wallet addresses with ones that belong to cybercriminals. For example, when users try to transfer cryptocurrency to another account and copy/paste the wallet address, malware can replace that address with a different one. Less attentive users may not even notice this happening until it’s too late to do anything. This kind of malware may not show any signs of being present on a computer and be quite stealthy.
How you can protect your crypto wallet
As we already mentioned, two-factor authentication adds an additional layer of security to an account by requiring extra verification. Enabling this feature is essential in order to protect a crypto wallet. Nowadays, most crypto services offer 2FA so there is no excuse to not enable it. Ideally, users should use apps or authentication tokens instead of SMS authentication to secure their accounts, especially if their phone numbers are found online without much trouble.
Monitor transactions
Just with a bank account, it’s important to monitor all transactions in your crypto account. If there are any transactions that seem suspicious, immediate measures to secure the account should be taken, including changing the password and checking the computer for malware.
Never reuse passwords
If you were to follow one piece of advice when it comes to securing your accounts, it’s to never reuse passwords. Reusing the same password on several different platforms significantly increases the chances of those accounts being breached. If the password ever leaks, hackers would be able to access multiple accounts. Ideally, users should also have a separate email address for crypto accounts.
A good way to be on top of the password game is to have a password manager. They are useful tools that generate strong passwords and store them in one place. They automatically fill in login credentials on websites, and it’s only necessary to remember one password to access the password manager.
Look into the most common attacks and types regularly
When it comes to crypto scams, it’s better to be proactive than reactive. It’s a good idea to keep up to date with the common scams involving cryptocurrency because it will help avoid becoming a victim if users ever encounter them themselves. There are plenty of resources and sites that provide information about the most recent scams.
Anti-virus software
In order to protect a crypto wallet, it’s essential to only access it on a secure device. And to secure a device, anti-virus is vital. Malware does not always show signs of being present and only security software may be able to detect it.
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CPA Theatricals, Inc. – Creative Productions And Theatricals – is a 501-C-3 non-profit corporation. Its mission is the development of new musical theatre productions for the benefit of under-served populations. In recent years, its primary focus has been to serve female audiences and performers, through the development of musicals incorporating strong female leads. Its first major project with this focus was the musical 57th NATIONAL MATHLETE SUM-IT, which premiered Off Broadway at the New York Musical Festival and was subsequently licensed by Theatrical Rights Worldwide. Other shows available for license include THE LAND OF FORGOTTEN TOYS, GIRLHOOD, THE MYSTERY OF CUSTODIA, now licensed by Stage Rights and THE MOMENT. Currently under development is MILEY CHASE THE SCIENCE ACE.
Larry Little has a theatrical career that has spanned thirty-five years and more than 100 productions, first as an actor/singer/dancer, then as a director and producer. Along the way he became a Certified Public Accountant, providing an additional range of skills for his most recent role as a creating producer, developing new shows. Larry is the Lead Producer at CPA Theatricals and LCG Entertainment, LLC, the companies he founded to provide musical theatre for under-served populations. In recent years, a special focus of the companies has been shows that provide opportunities for female performers, create strong and interesting female characters, and increase outlets for female composers and directors. His completed projects, all licensed for international distribution and translated into two languages, serve the commercial market and the needs of middle-school, high-school and college performers. During 2020, with the special challenges of COVID-19 he has developed shows suitable for online, virtual, and socially-distanced productions.
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Intelbrief / TSG IntelBrief: The Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria: A Primer
TSG IntelBrief: The Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria: A Primer
• The Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) used to be just The Islamic State of Iraq—with no ambition in Syria—and before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, with more emphasis on the I and less on the AQ, to the annoyance of Usama Bin Ladin and Ayman al-Zawahiri
• The ten-year history of what is now ISIS shows a steady resistance to the control of al-Qaeda Central, a merging of many Iraqi Sunni extremist groups, and a focus on destabilizing Iraq by any means
• After a decade of trying, ISIS is closer to its goals in Iraq than at any other time, almost entirely due to the ongoing catastrophe in Syria.
With the intense interest in the capabilities and future intentions of ISIS, it is important to know the group’s history, understand how it got to this point, and where it wants to go.
Al-Qaeda in Iraq
In April 2004, Jordanian hoodlum-turned-terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, renamed his Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), in order to benefit from al-Qaeda’s notoriety. Zarqawi had run a training camp in Afghanistan before 2001, but had resisted joining al-Qaeda.
As the insurgency against the US-led occupation of Iraq entered its second year, AQI achieved a reputation for bold attacks and extreme violence—a distinction that still reverberates today. After attracting members through successful attacks against coalition forces, Zarqawi shifted focus to his real goal of igniting a sectarian Shi’a-Sunni war. This he accomplished with the February 2006 AQI bombing of the Shi’a al-‘Askari, or Golden Dome, mosque in Samarra, which turned the insurgency into a civil war and led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis.
Islamic State of Iraq and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Zarqawi was killed in June 2006 after an extensive US targeting effort and was succeeded by an Egyptian extremist, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, who was associated with al-Qaeda Central (AQC)’s al-Zawahiri. But to meet a criticism that the group was more foreign than Iraqi as well as a Sunni backlash against AQI’s indiscriminate and extremely violent tactics, which included killing Sunnis deemed insufficiently religious, and too willing to be part of the political process—or merely who had what AQI wanted—Abu Hamza soon joined forces with several other groups and accepted an Iraqi, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, as leader. In a further effort towards rebranding, in October 2006 the new amalgam was renamed the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI).
The ISI drifted away from AQC control and became very much an Iraqi affair, with membership drawn more from former Saddam-era military officers than from people affiliated with al-Qaeda. Ultimately, however, the rebranding didn’t really work, since by that time the Sunni population upon whom AQI/ISI depended for members and support had turned against the group in what would be known as the Sahwah, or the Sunni Awakening movement.
Though ISI was still capable of conducting spectacular attacks by 2009, such as the August 2009 car bombing of the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs that killed over 100 people, it was in every aspect a diminished and struggling organization relative to its earlier impact. In the Spring of 2010, both Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Abu Hamza al-Muhajir were killed in Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, during a joint US-Iraqi raid. The group, originally founded by Zarqawi, was in serious retreat.
Upon the death of the two ISI leaders, the most influential surviving member of the group, Samir ‘Abd Muhammad al-Khlifawi, aka Colonel Bakr, aka Haji Bakr, a former Iraqi army colonel who had worked on weapons development for Saddam, nominated Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Bu Badri, aka Abu Duwa’, as the next ISI amir. Abu Duwa’ is from Samarra and belongs to the influential Bu Badri clan, which is part of the equally important Bu Abbas clan of Iraq’s Sunni heartland—of notable significance in forming and maintaining alliances in that part of Iraq. His kunya, and the name now most associated with him, is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He has no affiliation with Iraq’s capital of Baghdad, but took the kunya as a security measure and to obscure his origins.
Relatively little is known about Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He is reported to have been an imam before the 2003 invasion and then an unremarkable official in AQI. The US military detained him in 2005, and held him until 2009 at the detention facility known as Camp Bucca where he met Haji Bakr. It is likely that his low-key approach is more in line with a number of Saddam-era officers who make up the group’s leadership.
Al Baghdadi was not immediately able to reverse the decline of the group, but something happened over the following year that completely changed the fortunes of ISI: Syria imploded.
By the summer of 2011, heavy fighting across Syria presented the beleaguered ISI with the gifts of sanctuary, weapons, and increased radicalization that come from persistent conflict. Haji Bakr and al-Baghdadi, after much deliberation, decided to open up a branch in Syria (though not with Iraqi fighters). This branch grew into the Syria-focused group Jabhat al-Nusra, led by Abu Muhammad al-Julani, a Syrian ISI operative. There was immediate friction between the two groups, and al Nusra later rejected al-Baghdadi’s April 2013 statement that al Nusra was the Syrian arm of his group, which he accordingly re-named ISIS. The Nusra/ISIS split pushed the former closer to AQC and the latter further away, leading to al-Baghdadi’s complete rejection of Zawahiri’s leadership, which in any case by then was no more than nominal. Haji Bakr was killed in Syria earlier this year, hurting but not crippling the group’s efforts.
ISIS’s Offensive
The most significant among the extraordinary events of the last week was ISIS’ attack in Mosul. The operation was named by the group the operation of “Asadallah al-Bilawi, Abu Abdul Rahman” (Asadallah translates to the Lion of God) after ISIS’ nominal number two and military commander, Isma’il Najm al-Bilawi, aka Abu ‘Abdul Rahman al-Bilawi, from Khaldiyah in the Anbar governate. He, like al-Baghdadi, was from an influential clan among Iraq’s Sunni tribes. In what may have been a pivotal event for the timing of the Mosul attack, Abu ‘Abdul Rahman was killed on June 5 during a police operation in Samarra. It was al-Bilawi, a former Republican Guard Lieutenant Colonel in the Saddam-era military, who had led the planning for the offensive. Unconfirmed allegations suggested that ISIS quickly launched the attacks after al-Bilawi was killed and his driver captured, for fear the Iraqi government would learn the details of the operational plans.
It is significant to note that the Syrian civil war not only kept ISIS from collapsing but also propelled it well beyond the scope and influence of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The near-term international response to the current ISIS crisis will be ineffective in the long-term if Syria continues to burn.


Wealth platforms yet to crack mass market
A flurry of takeover activity among the insurgents in the wealth platform space shows a market reaching maturity, the declining relevance of established players and the enormous unmet demand in the mass market advice.
Nov 2, 2021 – 2.30pm
Netwealth’s $785 million takeover bid for Praemium and Hub24’s $386 million bid for Class shows a wealth platform market striving for economies of scale as it becomes harder to win market share.
But neither deal cuts to the heart of the financial advice problem facing Australians with less than $2 million to $3 million in superannuation assets.
This mass market, which Chanticleer defines as people or couples with more than $500,000 in superannuation assets, is crying out for a cost-effective technology solution.
Matt Heine and his father Michael want to capture the benefits of scale. Tash Sorensen
These are younger Australians who don’t want an industry fund and are smart enough to run self-directed portfolios while avoiding the annual cost of paying financial advisers.
It is possible Netwealth and Hub24, which have spent the past 10 years disrupting the incumbents – Westpac/BT Financial Group, IOOF (now Insignia Financial), CBA/Colonial and AMP – will find a technology solution for this untapped market.
But it is also possible that they will be left behind by low-cost start-ups with superior technology that delivers self-directed investors a portal showing portfolio holdings as well as providing low cost, annual consolidated tax reporting.
Netwealth and Hub24 realised faster than their bigger rivals that technology solutions suited to the post-Hayne royal commission were crucial to winning the support of financial advisers dumped by the major banks.
Critical element
The critical element in this transition to a new advisory business model was the ability to offer non-custodial services instead of the rigid custodial solution offered by the incumbents.
The big established players were vulnerable to the insurgents because of the inflexibility of their product offerings and the conflicts of interests inherent in their business models.
Matt Heine, joint managing director of Netwealth says technology was the key to winning the support of financial advisers.
“For many years, the banks and the institutions controlled close to 80 per cent of the advice market and effectively had each of the major incumbent platforms supported by three, four, or maybe 5000 advisers, who were in many ways mandated to use the in-house products,” he says.
“That was never a particularly good incentive for any of the incumbents to invest heavily into their technology or into their service. Whereas we’ve had to really work hard over the last 20 years to make sure that where advisers had choice, that they believed that we were the best platform to work with.”
He says the Hayne royal commission meant the contestable market share for new entrants went from about 30 per cent to 100 per cent.
Fund flow data for the 12 months to June show the disruptors continuing to win market share thanks to the choices made by advisers.
Netwealth led the pack with net inflows of $9.8 billion, Hub24 $8.8 billion, Macquarie $6.6 billion, Praemium $2.6 billion and Wealth02 $600 million.
The incumbents all had negative flows but still dominate with market share as follows: IOOF 21.5 per cent, BT/Westpac 18.4 per cent, AMP 15.1 per cent and CBA/Colonial 14.8 per cent.
A combined Netwealth and Praemium will have $94 billion in funds under advice or market share of about 7 per cent.
Michael Heine, who is joint managing director of Netwealth, says the acquisition of Praemium will deliver economies of scale and accelerate its move into the non-custodial space.
Praemium is regarded by many financial advisers as having the best technology in the non-custodial administration space, which is growing strongly because it consolidates and reports listed and non-listed assets.
Netwealth’s scrip offer is at a 29 per cent premium to the price prevailing when the approach was made on October 29. It looks reasonable when compared with other recent all-scrip offers at an average premium of 26 per cent.
But it was immediately rejected by the Praemium board which said it undervalues the company and is not in the best interest of shareholders. That response is typical of the first counter-shot fired in a hostile takeover battle.
Hub24’s bid for Class was a knockout offer at a 52.8 per cent premium to the one-month volume-weighted average share price. The Class board unanimously recommended the offer.
Michael Heine said Netwealth had previously looked at Class, but it did not fit into the company’s strategy.
The premium offered by Netwealth for Praemium’s enterprise value is 55 times the previous 12 months’ earnings, whereas Hub24 is offering 18.8 times the previous 12 months’ earnings for the Class enterprise value.
Tony Boyd is the Chanticleer columnist. He has more than 35 years' experience as a finance journalist. Connect with Tony on Twitter. Email Tony at tony.boyd@afr.com
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Port Authority Ferry Terminal at the World Financial Center, New York, United States
New ferry terminal opens in Lower Manhattan
After two decades of providing ferry service in Lower Manhattan via a temporary barge, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has opened a gleaming new $91 million ferry terminal at the World Financial Center. Unlike other terminals built along the Hudson River, this one is a floating structure, the largest of its kind in the U.S.
Resting on a 32,000 sq ft barge that was fabricated in Texas and held in place by two anchor towers, the new terminal accommodates up to six ferryboats and provides seating for 450 passengers , new concessions, and a large public terrace. The project's design sprung from two criteria; the need to preserve views of the Hudson River from the nearby residences and the decision to treat the terminal as an extension of the Battery Park City esplanade. The result is a highly transparent structure that blends seamlessly into its location. The terminal is wrapped with 13 ft high glass windscreens and capped with a sweeping tensile fabric roof that recalls canvas sails. The terminal's deck, which is paved with hexagonal stone pavers that match those used on the esplanade, is a new destination for enjoyment, offering passengers and visitors spectacular views of the river.
Designed by Donald Fram, AIA Chief Architect for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and his predecessor, Robert I. Davidson, the new terminal provides service to several points along New Jersey's waterfront as well as water taxi service in and around Manhattan.
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he Nordic Green PLUS™
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City of Dreams, Macau, China
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J. W. Marriott Hotel, Ankara, Turkey
BAE Systems reception, Lancashire, United Kingdom
Mineta San Jose International Airport Terminal B C...
High Holborn Scheme, London, United Kingdom
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Luxury Lounge Interior with Beautiful Lighting Ins...
Port Authority Ferry Terminal at the World Financi...
Re:Vision Dallas, Dallas, United States
Spencer Dock Bridge, Dublin, United Kingdom
Serpentine Pavilion 2009, London, United Kingdom
Synergy, Brisbane, Australia
Hörsaalzentrum Auditorium complex, Aachen, Germany
Vidyalankar Reloaded, Mumbai, India
City of London Information Centre, London, United ...
Helsinki Seafarers' Centre, Helsinki, Finland
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Callista Gingrich officially begins term as U.S. envoy to the Vatican
By Hannah Brockhaus
|Catholic News Agency
Callista Gingrich presents her credentials to Pope Francis at the Apostolic Palace Dec. 22, 2017. (Credit: L’Osservatore Romano.)
ROME — Newly-appointed American Ambassador to the Holy See, Callista Gingrich, presented her letters of credential to Pope Francis in a meeting Friday morning, officially marking the beginning of her duties.
U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Gingrich to serve as the 11th ambassador to the Vatican in May, and she was approved Oct. 16 by the U.S. Senate, in a vote 70-23.
She follows Kenneth F. Hackett, the former head of Catholic Relief Services, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See during Barack Obama’s second term as president.
Gingrich arrived in Rome with husband Newt Gingrich Nov. 6. Since arriving, she has participated in several events around Rome, including the North American College Thanksgiving dinner and a charity event hosted by St. Patrick’s American Community.
Callista Gingrich is the president of both Gingrich Productions in Arlington, Va. and the charitable non-profit Gingrich Foundation, and is a former Congressional aide.
She is also a long-time member of the choir at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
Newt and Callista married in 2000, after having a six-year affair while Newt was married to his previous wife. Newt converted to Catholicism in 2009 and explained, in an interview that year with Deal Hudson at InsideCatholic.com, how Callista’s witness as a Catholic brought him towards the faith.
He noted that he had attended Masses at the National Shrine where Callista sang in the choir, and she “created an environment where I could gradually think and evolve on the issue of faith.”
At the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in 2011, he also cited Pope Benedict XVI’s 2008 visit to the U.S. as a “moment of confirmation” for him. At vespers with the Pope, where Callista sang in the Shrine choir, Newt recalled thinking that “here is where I belong.”
The couple worked on a documentary together that was released in 2010, “Nine Days That Changed the World,” that focused on Pope St. John Paul II’s 1979 pilgrimage to Poland when the former Soviet bloc country was under a communist government.
The documentary explained how the pope invigorated the faith of the Polish people in Jesus Christ during his pilgrimage there, and how the visit precipitated the fall of Communism.
Gingrich presented her credentials the day after she and her husband attended a funeral Mass for the late Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston in St. Peter’s Basilica, where Pope Francis pronounced a final prayer of commendation and valediction.


LMU-CVM granted full accreditation
Published 2:52 pm Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Photos courtesy of Celia Anne Shoffner

Faculty and staff at Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine celebrated Thursday following the news that the school was granted full accreditation from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council of Education.

On Thursday, Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine received news of their full accreditation status from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council of Education.

Faculty and staff at Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine celebrated Jan. 10, following the news that the school was granted full accreditation from the American Veterinary Medical Association Council of Education.
LMU-CVM was established as the 30th veterinary college in the United States and was initially granted provisional accreditation status four years ago.
“We are proud to have earned full accreditation from the AVMA Council of Education,” said LMU-CVM Vice President and Dean Jason Johnson. “This achievement is a testament to the collaborative work of the students, faculty and staff, LMU administration and clinical partners in developing an innovative, high-quality, practical-based and student-centered program that graduates confident, career-ready veterinarians.”
The college recognizes that medical knowledge must also be developed in conjunction with clinical skills. Students get hands-on experience with animals beginning in their first semester that continues throughout the program.
One of the LMU-CVM innovations is the hybrid distributive learning model, which provides students with real world, hands-on experience at more than 240 veterinary practices around the country.
Students also have opportunities to collaborate on research projects and one-health initiatives through the Center for Animal and Human Health in Appalachia.
“While this is an incredible milestone, we are not going to stop here,” Johnson said. “We will continue to develop innovative programs and partner with organizations around the world to give students the opportunity to be exposed to the most remarkable curated hands on learning experiences within the veterinary industry.”
In 2011, LMU announced that the university would be pursuing a College of Veterinary Medicine.
In 2014, the college welcomed the members of its inaugural class. In May 2018, LMU-CVM celebrated with its inaugural class at its commencement ceremony, and today LMU-CVM trained veterinarians are practicing in Appalachia and around the nation.
Overall, 33 percent of the Class of 2018 are practicing in Tennessee, Kentucky or Virginia, and 34 percent of the graduates are practicing in large animal or mixed animal practices.
“LMU-CVM is helping the university meet its mission of providing outstanding educational opportunities to Appalachian residents,” said LMU President Clayton Hess. “Furthermore, the college is providing service to humanity through the training of ethical veterinary doctors who will attend to the health and wellness needs of animals within rural communities, especially within the Appalachian region.”
The LMU-College of Veterinary Medicine is located on LMU’s main campus in Harrogate, with additional academic facilities in nearby Lee County, Virginia.
UTC nurse anesthetist student’s scrub caps a hit


2012-13: The year in review
April 26, 2013 Nicholas Diamond News 0
IT upgrades campus WiFi
“We were hearing from students that they are bringing this equipment and want wireless, and we wanted to be able to do that,” Stephen said. “I’m really pleased that we have gotten it in place for this year.”
CRE speaker presents
“We want to build our own high school and build 50 more schools in all districts of Uganda,” Jackson said. “Ours is a holistic approach where these centers of excellency provide all five basic human rights.”
Pesticide use on campus
“We learn and teach at Albion College with an obligation to take action on issues that concern us,” Dick said. “There is a disconnect with human vulnerability here. The college is not living up to its projected ideal of sustainability.”
New volleyball coach directs team
“We are trying to figure out what it takes to be successful,” Slamer-De St. Aubin said. “Not just in terms of our record but playing consistently and incorporating what we learn in practice onto the court.”
Albion’s coming-out week
“This weeks stands for Albion College trying to make a move in becoming accepting and inclusive to all students,” said Phil Carlisle, Indianapolis sophomore. “It means a lot that the administration, faculty and staff have been showing support.”
Albion local injured in train accident
“I think that’s probably the most unlucky thing that could ever happen to you,” said Thor Person, Bloomfield Hills junior. “That’s such a shock. I think if anyone can make it out of this situation though, it would be him.”
Former Albion tennis coach passes away
“[Frew] always took great pride in being a Brit,” said Marissa Cloutier, Grosse Ile junior. “He did everything he could to ensure that both the men’s and women’s teams were as competitive as possible.”
Dr. Andrew French runs for mayor
“I am currently a member of the Albion city council and in the last two years of serving in that capacity I have noticed that our current mayor does not seem to have, in my mind, the best interests of the city at heart,” French said.
President Obama re-elected
“I feel like its actually a good thing for four more years only because all the off the stuff he’s tried to do has been future-oriented, and now he has four more years to put those polices into action,” said Caitlyn Allen, Gladwin sophomore and member of College Democrats.
Albion welcomes students from French sister city
“All the Americans we met were very welcoming and nice,” said Clément Baillard, 17-year-old member of the Noisy basketball team. “We came to play basketball, and there was a real fair play with the Americans players.”
Professor’s documentary featured at film festivals
“It is very much a meditation on what film can do and how films act upon audiences and vice versa,” Cocks said. “It’s a dialogue…the film [Room 237] is very much a love letter to cinema and to Kubrick’s cinema in particular because his cinema is so rich in ideas and rich in unique cinematic techniques.”
Albion, Bon Appétit announce Baldwin renovations
“When students return from spring break, they will transition to upper Baldwin to use as their temporary dining hall,” Tekiele said. “The kitchen is still an operational until after graduation, so only the dining room is under construction.”
New gender-neutral housing options
“It’s so easy for the voice of the minority to be lost, to be under-represented, to be silenced,” Carlisle said. “If a student feels uncomfortable – based upon their gender or sexuality – to live in a specific type of housing arrangement, changes need to be made.”
Snyder appoints EFM to Detroit
“These concepts are not rare or unusual concepts,” Orr stated. “They’ve happened in other circumstances. The city is cash-strapped. It’s a crisis. The crisis is severe. So I think you have to look at everything, even with the emotional overlay.”
President Randall steps down, Frandsen replaces
“I have a wonderfully supportive Board of Trustees and Board chair,” Randall said. “I am fortunate to have maintained such strong support from the Board over so many years. After I decided to step down in June, I was honored to be asked by the Board chair to stay on as chancellor for a year.”
U of M reaches Final Four
“We never had the mindset that we were going to lose the game,” Burke said. “When we were down 14, we knew anything could still happen. It’s March, anything can happen.”
Police issue causes Equestrian Center evacuation
“No one in the area reported hearing any gun shots,” said Kenneth Snyder, director of campus safety. “When the police found the man he refused to let anyone get near him. This suggests the mental state this man was in.”
College provides summer courses for first time
“Online classes are a reality nationwide, and I think that if a college wants to progress, they should fall in line and at least have some offering that would benefit students,” Achenback said. “I think it’s a really good move for the college.”
Albion community talks Bohm renovations
“People are seeing that Albion wants to improve,” Schultheiss said. “Grant providers notice that people want to make a difference in their community, even if it’s something like improving the sidewalks. We want to be a community that provides opportunities for everyone that lives here.”
Timeflies performs at Dow for Big Show
“[Cal] was really excited to do the freestyle, and I could tell it was his favorite part about the show,” Strite said. “While talking him through what the freestyle topics were about, he seemed to like getting to know Albion.”
Graffiti covers campus after Greek Week ’13
“In my opinion that act was ignorant,” Snyder said. “If it was one of our students, it was a waste of money, not to mention an embarrassment to the college. If it wasn’t one of our students, then I would want them to know that we’re going to try to catch them. If anybody knows anything, we’d love to hear from them.”
Photo by Nick Diamond
About Nicholas Diamond 50 Articles
Nick is a junior from Rochester, Mich., majoring in French and minoring in cell and molecular biology. He has interests in serving Doctors Without Borders and in writing medical journalism. Follow him on Twitter @docteur_diamond.
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Postcards from the Archives
Women's Literary Culture Before the Conquest
Scorched, Preserved, Erased: Manuscripts Connected to Christina of Markate and her Priory
© British Library Board. London, British Library, MS Cotton Tiberius E.I, volume 2, fol. 167v.
by Diane Watt
One of the challenges of the project ‘Women’s Literary Culture Before the Conquest’ is that many manuscripts related to early medieval women are scattered across Britain and Europe, and some are found even further afield. Books that once were owned by a single individual, a family, or a community, if they have survived at all, are often widely dispersed, and their present condition varies greatly. This is the case also with works from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the very end of the period that I am studying. A case in point is that of the manuscripts associated with the twelfth-century holy woman and prioress, Christina of Markyate (c.1096-after 1155).
Two major works are associated with Christina and her community at Markyate, which was a dependant priory of Abbey of St Albans, an important centre of manuscript production. The first is The Life of Christina of Markyate. This text was written, probably in the 1130s or 1140s, by an anonymous monk of St Albans whom Katie Bugyis has recently identified as Robert de Gorron, and who was to become abbot of St Albans from 1151 until his death in 1166 (‘The Author of the Life of Christina of Markyate’). Robert was the nephew of Geoffrey de Gorran, abbot of St Albans from 1119 to 1146, Christina’s chief supporter and patron. Geoffrey almost certainly commissioned the writing of The Life.
The Life in its most complete form is attested to in only one manuscript, London, British Library, MS Cotton Tiberius E.I, volume 2, fols. 145r–167v. The Tiberius manuscript, which is of English provenance, dates to the second half of the fourteenth century, and was once owned by Thomas de la Mare, abbot of St Albans from 1349 until 1396. Within the manuscript, The Life appears at the very end of the Sanctilogium Anglie, a fourteenth- century encyclopaedic collection of Latin hagiographies of British saints from before and after the Conquest compiled by the chronicler John of Tynemouth who may also have been a monk of St Albans. The Life is the last item in the manuscript, and it begins on a new folio and was copied by a different scribe.
The Sanctilogium Anglie was to prove a popular text. It was, for example, adapted to become the De sanctis Anglie and the Nova Legenda Anglie (the latter was misattributed to John Capgrave, and subsequently printed by Richard Pynson in the early sixteenth-century), but these later versions did not include the additional Life of Christina of Markyate.
The Tiberius manuscript, containing as it did the only surviving copy of Christina’s Life, was very nearly destroyed by the fire that devastated the Cotton collection in the eighteenth century. As is apparent from the image at the beginning of this post, the parchment is badly charred and the manuscript is clearly missing its final leaf. Nevertheless the full extent of the damage is unclear. Approximately eight pieces of parchment that are believed to have belonged to the manuscript were salvaged and are now preserved within one of the boxes catalogued as Cotton Fragments XXXII. These fragments are so fragile that viewing is prohibited.
© British Library Board. MS Cotton Fragments XXXII. Tiberius E.I Fragments.
Yet while The Life of Christina of Markyate is missing its ending, other evidence indicates that this cannot be attributed to fire damage alone. A century before the Cotton fire, the antiquarian Nicholas Roscarrock (c. 1548–1633) consulted the text in the Tiberius manuscript and produced a summarized account of the Life in his monumental (and paradoxically titled) ‘Briefe Regester or Alphabeticall Catalogue of such Saincts and sainte like persons as have graced our Island of Great Brittaine, Ireland and other British Iselands’ (c.1644): Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Add. 3041, fols. 3r-402v (at fols. 123v-125r). A comparison between Roscarrock’s synopsis of Christina’s Life and the version in the Tiberius manuscript reveals that the manuscript was already incomplete at the time Roscarrock viewed it and that only a small amount of text was subsequently lost (see Nova Legenda Anglie, ed. Horstman, vol. 2, 532-537).
Extracts of the Life of Christina of Markyate also appear in another St Albans’ manuscript, London, British Library, MS Cotton Claudius E.IV, which dates to the late fourteenth or early fifteenth centuries. Like Cotton Tiberius E.I, Cotton Claudius E.IV is now bound in two volumes. The extracts of Christina’s Life are part of a continuation of Matthew Paris’s mid-thirteenth century Gesta abbatum monasterii Sancti Albani written by Thomas Walsingham in the late fourteenth century which is found in volumes 1-2, fols. 97v–321r. The extracts themselves appear in volume 1, fols.111v-113r. These sections differ slightly but significantly from the surviving Life and therefore attest to the existence of another copy of the Life, which has subsequently disappeared (Gesta abbatum, Vol. 1, ed. Riley, 98-105). They also refer directly to a copy (possibly their immediate source) held at Markyate Priory, where Christina was founding prioress (Gesta abbatum, Vol.1, ed. Riley, 104-105).
From this, we can deduce that at least two different versions of the Life were in circulation in the later Middle Ages and that, although the Life was a product of St Albans Abbey, at least one manuscript, as one would expect, was at some point located in Christina’s own community at Markyate.
The second work closely connected to Christina is the St Albans Psalter: Hildesheim, Dombibliothek, MS St Godehard 1. Unlike the Tiberius manuscript, this beautiful codex is very well preserved. The Psalter was produced in the twelfth century, so is roughly contemporaneous with the writing of Christina’s Life, but, as I have discussed more fully in an earlier post on this blog, art historians and critics continue to disagree about fundamental issues such as its exact date (usually located sometime between the 1120s and the 1150s), whether it was intended for personal or communal use, whether it was planned as a single codex or is a composite manuscript, and whether it was even produced at St Albans Abbey.
Even if we choose not to accept the argument (compelling though it is) that the Psalter was commissioned by Geoffrey de Gorran for Christina’s own use, it was clearly adapted for the Markyate community at some point. For example, it includes a Calendar that makes reference to the dedication of Markyate Priory in 1145, and notes the deaths of Christina and members of her family, and of both Geoffrey de Gorran and the hermit Roger with whom Christina had shared a cell before her profession as a nun. Bugyis identifies the scribe of the obits of Geoffrey, Christina and her family members as Robert de Gorran, the same monk who she believes wrote Christina’s Life (Bugyis, ‘Author’, 728-737).
St Albans Psalter Calendar, July, which includes Christina of Markyate’s obit. Hildesheim, Dombibliothek, MS St Godehard 1, p.9. Public Domain. Accessed 20 June 2018 from flickr
In addition, the St Albans Psalter calendar includes within it the feasts of three Anglo-Saxon women saints: Hild of Whitby (c. 614–680), Æthelthryth of Ely (d.679), and Frithuswith (Frideswide) of Oxford (c.680-727). These names are also written in the hand that Bugyis attributes to Robert de Gorran and are therefore part of the same supplementary scheme (Bugyis, ‘Author’, 728-737.) All three women were early founding abbesses and mothers of the English church, and, like Christina herself, two of them, Æthelthryth and Frithuswith struggled against the social and familial expectation that they should become wives. It is perfectly plausible that Christina and her community understood her life story in terms of this insular tradition of married women saints who sought to remain virgins and that is why their feasts were included on the Calendar for the use of the Markyate community.
Tantalizingly, the inclusion of these feast days in the St Albans Psalter Calendar also provides a further loose connection to the Tiberius manuscript. Latin hagiographies of a number of saintly women appear in the Sanctilogium Anglie, including, alongside an extensive list of other insular saints, male and female, Æthelthryth (volume 1, fols. 19r–20v), Frithuswith (volume 1, fols. 85v–87r), and Hild (volume 1, fols. 113v–115r), as well as that other important early English abbess, Æthelburh of Barking (d.686) (volume 1, fols. 79v–81r). Again, it would seem that Christina was viewed as part of a longer British tradition of sanctity. Likewise, the summary of Christina’s Life that Roscarrock includes within his collection locates it within a firmly insular tradition that harks back to the earliest history of the church and its founding mothers as well as fathers.
While scholarship on Christina and her books tends to focus on her Life and the St Albans Psalter, another psalter is also associated with Christina and her nuns. The St Albans Psalter provided the base text for a translation of the psalms from Latin into French prose that is found in the twelfth-century Oxford Psalter: Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Douce 320, fols. 37r-75v. In comparison to the St Albans Psalter, Douce 320 is only sparsely decorated. Ian Short, in the introduction to his recent edition of the Oxford Psalter (9-10), makes the case that Douce 320 was produced at St Albans specifically for the Markyate Priory around 1145, in other words at the time of its foundation. As Short points out, Douce 320 was copied by the same scribe responsible for many St Albans productions in this period, including Markyate Priory’s foundation charter. Taken together the two psalters reflect the multilingualism (Latin, English, and French) of the Markyate nuns and of women religious of the period more generally.
Yet another mid twelfth century psalter produced at St Albans, St Petersburg, National Library of Russia [formerly Leningrad, State Public Library] MS Q.v.I, 62, includes a Calendar with an entry for the saints Christina and Alexis. While I haven’t yet had the opportunity to view this manuscript either directly or in digital form, Rodney M. Thomson observes that within this entry the name Christina is partially erased (Manuscripts of St Albans Abbey, vol. 1, 37). This psalter does not have any direct links to Markyate itself and by the end of the twelfth century it had passed from St Albans into the possession of Wherwell Priory, a house of Benedictine nuns in Hampshire. Yet, as Rachel M. Koopmans points out in her essay, ‘The Conclusion to Christina of Markyate’s Vita’, while the Christina named in the Calendar could well be the more famous legendary virgin martyr of Tyre because connections do exist between the lives of St Alexis and Christina of Markyate it is perfectly plausibe that it is she who is referenced here (664-5), and that this entry provides additional evidence not only of an early cult of Christina, but also (with the erasure of Christina’s name) of its suppression.
The Life of Christina of Markyate and the St Albans Psalter together provide a particularly appropriate end point for my project, chronologically speaking, precisely because they connect back to earlier lives of saintly women, including the early Anglo-Saxon abbesses. But, looked at in the context of other manuscripts and texts, such as Roscarrock’s summary life, the extracts in the Gesta abbatum monasterii Sancti Albani, the Oxford Psalter, and the St Peterburg Calendar, they are also important because of what they reveal about, first, the uncertainties that continue to cloud our understanding of textual production and women’s book ownership in twelfth century, and, second, the scattered and fragile nature of much of the surviving evidence of women’s engagement with literary culture throughout the Middle Ages.
Diane Watt
Christina of Maryate, Cotton Fragments XXXII, Dombibliothek MS St Godehard 1, Geoffrey of St Albans, Ian Short, Katie Bugyis, manuscripts, Markyate Priory, Medieval Women, medieval women readers, Medieval Women's Writing, MS Add.3041, MS Cotton Claudius E.IV, MS Cotton Tiberius E.I, MS Douce 320, MS Q.v.I 62, Nicholas Roscarrock, Rachel Koopmans, Rodney Thomson, St Albans, St Albans Psalter, The Life of Christina of Markyate, The Oxford Psalter, Thomas Walsingham, women's book ownership, Women's Literary Culture, women's literary history
Forthcoming Event: ‘Anglo-Saxon Studies at IMC #25’, International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, Monday 2 July,19.00-20.00.
Anglo-Saxon Studies at IMC#25: Looking Back, Looking Forward (#s401)


We Have Choice: The Case for Organic Cotton
At Resthouse Sleep Solutions we made a decision from the very start to source and sell only organic cotton products. We understood it was important to our clients, ourselves and to the environment. To go one step further, we sought out manufacturers that utilized the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certification (http://www.global-standard.org), which represents the most rigorous organic standards worldwide.
Cotton, when organically produced is a natural, renewable and biodegradable fibre where the certification standards benefit cotton producers and farms in developing countries by eliminating the use of harmful toxic pesticides and insecticides. It also reduces the cost of production, which in turn improves social conditions for those farmers producing the crop.
A Healthy Bedroom….
When we think about organic products, it is no longer just about the food we consume. This consideration also includes the clothes we wear, the sheets and pillowcases on our beds, and the mattresses on which we sleep. Every fabric that we sell at Resthouse is made with 100% organic GOTS certified cotton, including mattresses, pillows and bedding. Soft, luxurious and made ethically and organically.
Non-Organic Conventional Cotton Facts: Did you know…
According to the Organic Trade Association, conventionally grown cotton is the fourth most heavily sprayed crop in the world.
Agriculture is the largest source of pollution in most countries. 2.4% of the world’s crop land is planted with cotton and yet it accounts for 24% and 11% of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively. Unsafe use of agricultural chemicals has severe health impacts on workers in the fields and on ecosystems that receive the run-off from cotton farms.
The use of genetically-modified (GM) cotton varieties has increased considerably in recent years, reaching 20% (67.7 million ha) of the global crop area in 2002. Several of the major cotton-producing countries cultivate a significant percentage of their cotton fields with GM varieties that are resistant to some insects, pests and are tolerant of certain herbicides.
The Impact on Water
It can take more than 20,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of cotton; equivalent to a single T-shirt or pair of jeans. 73% of global cotton harvest comes from irrigated land (as documented in the WWF report The Impact of Cotton on Freshwater Resources and Ecosystems) depleting valuable water sources in regions where water is scarce.
River Basin Impacts
Unsustainable cotton farming, with massive outputs of water and pesticides, have already been responsible for the destruction of large-scale ecosystems such as the Aral Sea in central Asia, and the deteriorating health and livelihoods of people living there.
It seems clear that the alternative to conventional cotton production needs to be supported and sounded out. We at Resthouse are proud to be a part of a growing movement making organic options available.
Why organic cotton is a better choice:
No chemical pesticides or fertilizers
No genetically-modified crops
Reduced environmental impact
Better health for the cotton farmers and consumer