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Category Archives: bioinformatics

Complex systems and biology – introduction

What you can read in here is a set of my loose notes on complex systems and biology. I want to learn about the topic as fast as I can, so if I’m wrong anywhere, please point that to me. This post is an overview and indication of issues I’d like to cover.

Complex adaptive systems (CAS) are the heart of many phenomenas we observe every day, such as global trade, ecosystems, human body, immune system, internet and even language. Complexity of CAS does not equall to amount of information, rather it’s a indication of complex, positive and negative interactions of its components. All CAS feature a common set of dualisms:

  • distinct/connected – CAS are built of a large number of agents that interact simultaneously and independently but all together become tightly regulated system (other names: individual/system or distributed/collective)
  • robust/sensitive – CAS are pretty robust, yet at the same time are quite sensitive to initial conditions and some signals (see butterfly effect); both features are unpredictable
  • local/global – protein is a CAS, protein network is a CAS, cell is a CAS, tissue is a CAS, organism is a CAS, society is a CAS; agents of a CAS, can be CAS themselves
  • adaptive/evolving – CAS is able to adapt as a system and usually its agents are also mutually adaptive, and at the same time CAS is evolving; even if local landscape prefers simpler solutions (adaptation) CAS usually evolve toward bigger complexity

These dualisms are in some sense as artificial as wave-particle dualism. Complex system has all these features at the same time – their visibility depends only on design of a experiment. As a result, CAS present a common set of features: they are self-organizing, coherent, emergent and non-linear.

Probably the best so far representation of CAS is a network, which has a number of important features: it is scale-free (distribution of links in the network tends to follow power law), clustered (“friend of my friend is likely my friend too”) and small-world-like (diameter of a network is small, aka “six degrees of separation”). Such representation has been applied to biological complex systems, such as metabolic networks, or protein-protein interaction networks with a great success. However please remember that it’s only representation and many times people argued that scale-free networks may not be the best approximation of natural networks (see for example this recent paper).

Scale-free or not, network representation doesn’t address all dualities mentioned above, especially last two. Naturally emerging levels of organisation and relation between adaptation and evolution of complex systems are rarely studied from biological point of view, probably because we don’t have a clear idea how to reduce these phenomenas to something measurable.

In the next posts, I will try to cover other CAS representations and computational approaches to CAS modeling.

Posted by on December 4, 2009 in bioinformatics

Science 2.0 in Poland – getting popular, recognized as important

Few days ago I had a chance to speak about Science 2.0 at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of Polish Academy of Sciences (the one I’m affiliated with). Compared to the seminar on the same topic I gave at the same place (but for much smaller audience) 4 years ago, I had much more stories to tell, way more real-life examples and better idea of where the whole “2.0” meme is leading us. I also got better at speaking (4 years ago some of my colleagues literally slept on my seminar). So, message got clearer, and messenger had improved.

But given wide interest in the topic from inside and outside of academic environment already before the seminar I think two things had happened in Poland in the last 4 years. First, internet got recognized as a game changing technology, and people simply are interested in any new way they can use this tool (yes, I know it’s 2009 – if you live on the nets it’s hard to realize how slow adoption rate is outside of virtual worlds). Second thing is, that internet as a tool is also recognized as important – for example people had ideas to include Science 2.0 topics into program of PhD studies (I will follow up on this topic in a week or two). Getting popular, important… Only wide adoption is what we need :).

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Posted by on November 28, 2009 in bioinformatics

Notes from Next Generation Sequencing Workshop in Rome

I was in Rome for two days attending Next Generation Sequencing Workshop organized by EMBRACE (EU FP6 NoE), UPPMAX and CASPUR with the support of the Italian Society of Bioinformatics. It was pretty interesting event and I want to share with you couple of interesting things I’ve learned there.

Hardware layer

First day was devoted mainly to the hardware side of NGS. It started with a presentation from Tony Cox from Sanger Institute who described a hardware setup used to support their sequencing projects. At 400 gigabases a week (current output) Sanger IT infrastructure is stretched in every direction (capacity, availability, redundancy) and Tony pointed out that each sequencing laboratory is going to face similar issues did sooner or later. His advice for such labs was to estimate first number of bases produced and then use multipliers to assess storage requirements for the project. A minor thing that I’ve noticed in his talk was exposing databases as filesystem via FUSE layer – I might use that approach in some projects too.

George Magklaras  from The Biotechnology Centre of Oslo described a number of approaches they took during implementation of their infrastructure. He talked about  FCoE, Fibre Channel over Ethernet, and pointed out that it’s cheaper and almost as efficient as Fibre Channel alone. At the Centre they use Lustre (Sanger is too), high performance networked file system, but they benchmark other solutions too, because some situations/projects require transparent and efficient data encryption (mostly medical data). Similarly to Tony, George pointed out that compartmentalization of data is necessary, as moving large amounts of files over the network creates a unnecessary bottleneck.

Other interesting talk was from Guy Cochrane from EBI about Sequence Read Archive. It was an overview of the project, but again with few interesting tidbits that drawn my attention. One of them was Aspera, much faster alternative (and secure at the same time) to good old FTP. He also presented a data reduction strategy that if I understood correctly is not yet implemented over at SRA, but might be some day in the future. First point was deletion of intensity data – that’s something perfectly reasonable but is heavily opposed by a number of scientists. Then, all only consensus is preserved plus second most frequent base (important for polymorphism studies). The minimum for long-term storage was proposed to consist only of sequence and quality data.

Majority of second day was devoted to software. It doesn’t make sense to list all described projects – I will share with you only my general impression.

Despite large number of scientists devoting their time to develop new tools for next generation sequencing data, I think that software lags a little behind other technological advances in this area. In case of really large amount of data, assembly becomes hard or impossible, mapping erroneous, annotation too slow (pilot study of 1000 genomes project generated so much data, that computing farm was busy for full 60 days – on single CPU it would take 25 000 days). Software development for NGS differs dramatically compared to scientific software in general and needs much much better programmers than we usually are. For example, Desmond Higgins  was praising open source software – they found extremely fast implementation of UPGMA algorithm (much faster then their own), and they could speed up their tool (SeedMap) so much that it’s running it on even largest family of sequences in a reasonable time.

Another bottleneck was data presentation layer – there are some attempts to make digging into data easier, but having a biologically meaningful overview is as hard as it was before. Other people pointed our that problem too (I wasn’t the only biologist there).

Need for stronger community

Probably the most funny part of the workshop was the discussion about creating an organized community of people working with next generation sequencing technologies.  It was funny is this sense, that some consensus about community emerged quite fast. How to build it – that was another story. Obviously lots of participants were sure that if they build a site, people will come. Yeah, sure. 🙂 I’ve suggested using wiki in the first place and additionally hire a community manager if they really want to gather people from many different forums, sites, groups etc. Lot’s of people didn’t buy these ideas, suggesting more traditional approach, so curious if they were right, I’m going to follow development of this community.

NGS = high tech

Probably the most important lesson was to realize that sequencing is a field with very high requirements for infrastructure and  even higher requirements for skilled staff. Basically every element of the infrastructure may become a bottleneck and if you want to avoid it, cost of data maintenance and analysis exceeds very fast cost of producing the data. When I talked about it to many people during the last year (I’m involved in some sequencing projects at the analysis/annotation step) often people felt I overestimate infrastructure needs. Now I have some specific number to back it up :).

Posted by on November 21, 2009 in bioinformatics

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All 2.0 – an attempt to connect disciplines

All 2.0Last year I bought a domain name Initially I had an idea to launch a huge portal around “2.0” meme – essentially tracking changes in communication methods across various areas. I wanted to quit science and start a consulting career in helping people to communicate more efficiently (new channels and tools, efficient visual communication, etc.). However, a market for such services in Poland is nonexistent, and I didn’t have a mood for relocation, so I’ve turned to other opportunities (and as effect, I’ve stayed in science). Neverthess, I still had a domain but no clear idea what to use it for.

So, with only a little time left, the next option I took was a tracker/aggregator. In theory, once done, it didn’t need much maintenance. There’s quite a lot of services for such purpose out there, but they didn’t necessarily allowed for certain things I wanted to have, so I had to code my own script. As I didn’t have much time, the resulting site is a little rough (it cannot compete with wonderful sites Euan is coding, such as recently released preview of Streamosphere). However, you should get an idea what I’m aiming for. Currently it tracks blog posts and conversations in areas of Science 2.0, Health 2.0 and Culture 2.0 (with Enterprise and Government to follow). Because within these types I sort all entries by date, I had to remove some bloggers from “Key People” list, as their high-speed blogging did not allow others to appear in the box at all. 🙂

At this stage, the set of sources is far from perfect – outside of science, conversations seem to be highly homogenous. When I improve the sources (maybe will use Twitter and custom FriendFeed searches), I plan to add some kind of visual summary to the tracked conversations to see if I can find some patterns that will let me establish a connection between disciplines. Let’s see…

While I was collecting links, I’ve found one interesting thing: you can find people interested in these three areas both over at FriendFeed and over at Twine. However, it seems that only scientists are actively talking with each other at these services – where are other groups storing their discussions?

Posted by on June 28, 2009 in bioinformatics

Open Science, what is your message?

It recently occured to me that maybe Open Science could be marketed more efficiently by simplyfying its messages and better targeting. I often find it difficult to convince scientists to support the idea, because Open Science idea does not seem to solve their problems. Western scientists have the main problem: not enough money – the rest are just details (I will be happy to be proven wrong, but I constantly notice that majority of scientists will happily play in the current academic system as long there’s enough money for their research). How about having the main message of OS movement along the lines of “Open Science = Cheaper Less Expensive Science”  (that’s something that Jean-Claude and Cameron say for some time)? I know that we don’t have enough evidence to say so, but on the other hand nobody seems to care that there are better measurements of scientific productivity than impact factor (and have some evidence for that).

Simple message – but also better targeting

Such message is not going to resonate at places that have much more significant problems than lack of money. To me, there are several places in the world that suffer from other issue – isolation. Thomas Erren in his short commentary on Phil’s Bourne “Ten simple rule for getting published” cites Rosalyn Yalow, a Nobel prize laureate:

… I am in full sympathy with rejecting papers from unknown authors working in unknown institutions. How does one know that the data are not fabricated? … on the average, the work of established investigators in good institutions is more likely to have had prior review from competent peers and associates even before reaching the journal.

And it’s just only one side of isolation – there are many more. So, maybe in such places the message of OS should be along the lines of “Open Science = Connected Science” (following one of Deepak’s blog themes), explaining that openness creates connection through which knowledge, experience and recognition can flow both ways?

Posted by on June 22, 2009 in bioinformatics

Dreaming about bio-spreadsheet

One of the often occuring task in my work is to present results of an analysis in some kind of table. I have used for such purpose quite a number of approaches, starting from generating simple HTML file, through fetching of SQL data into table stored in a wiki, up to using Rails. One of the dreams I have recently is a web-based spreadsheet that would allow me to apply some specific piece of code over every row/column and show resulting table.

ScreenshotA simple mockup is shown above. In this example, a code:

print " <img src="{column_1}_bio_r_250.jpg>"

… iterated over first column containing PDB codes, would substitute these codes with an image of a protein from PDB server.

In other words I dream about simple (single file would be the best – I like the approach Sinatra framework is taking) web-based programmable spreadsheet. Something like Resolver One, but simpler. Is there anything like that available?

Posted by on May 19, 2009 in bioinformatics, Software

HMMER3 testing notes – my skills are (finally) becoming obsolete

Hidden Markov Model with Output
Image via Wikipedia

It’s already quite a while since I’ve started to extensively test performance of HMMER3. As many other people noticed before, speed of the search has improved dramatically – I’m really impressed how fast it is. However, it’s only part of the story. The smaller part actually.

As some of readers may know, most of my projects so far were revolving around protein sequence analysis and sequence-structure relationships. Mainly I was doing analysis of sequences that had no clear similarity to anything known, without functional annotation. Usual task was to run sequence comparison software and look at the end of the hit list, trying to make sense from hits beyond any reasonable E-value thresholds (for example I often run BLAST at E-value of 100 or 1000). I use very limited number of tools, because it takes quite a while to understand on which specific patterns a particular software fails.

The high-end tool I use most often is HHpred – HMM-HMM comparison software. It’s slow but very sensitive – my personal benchmarks show that it is able to identify very subtle patterns in sequence formed slightly above level of similar secondary structures (in other words, from the set of equally dissimilar sequences with identical secondary structure order, it correctly identifies the ones with similar tertiary structure).

The most surprising thing about HMMER3 is that in my personal benchmarks it’s almost as sensitive as HHpred. I wasn’t expecting that HMM-sequence comparison can be as good as HMM-HMM.  This observation suggests that there’s still a room for improvement for the latter approach, however it has already big implications.

PFAM will soon migrate to HMMER3 (the PFAM team is now resolving overlaps between families that arose due to increased sensitivity) and the moment it is be available, it will make a huge number of publications obsolete, or simply wrong. There are thousands of articles that discuss in detail evolutionary history of some particular domain (many of these will become obsolete) or draw some conclusions from the observation that some domain is not present in analyzed sequence/system (many of these will need to be revised). It will also make my skills quite obsolete, but that is always to be expected, no matter in what branch of science one is working. I also imagine that systems biology people will be very happy to have much better functional annotation of proteins.

I don’t want to call development of HMMER3 a revolution, but it will definitely have similar impact on biology as BLAST and HMMER2 had. Not only because of its speed, but also because it will create a picture of similarities between all proteins comparable to the picture state-of-the-art methods could only calculate for their small subset.

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Posted by on April 22, 2009 in bioinformatics, Research, Software

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We provide a free repository for use with slackpkg. Read this entire section before making a switch, since our repository differs from the stock in several important ways. Be advised, this section is only for those who want to customize an existing Slackware install. If you installed from a FreeSlack ISO, then all these settings are already set right.

To switch to the new repo, you have to

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  2. uncomment the SLACKKEY line in /etc/slackpkg/slackpkg.conf and change it to
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  3. obtain our signing key
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Non-free packages were removed and replacements are provided:

  1. linux-libre-headers replaces kernel-headers, and they collide in /usr/include
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We hope that you will find our kernel build scripts useful for manually building custom kernels.

The rest of the packages in our repository are unmodified official binaries, so you can think of it as a deblobbed mirror.

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Rule Number Two, What Can You Do?

     The recent Zimmerman trial and reactions to the verdict illustrate to near perfection what lies at the core of the second rule. That is, there is no point in trying to curry the favor of those who will never like/tolerate you or your beliefs simply because you are who you are, ie white or conservative or republican, “rich” or god forbid, a gun owner.
     An extension of this is the much-ballyhooed concept of compromise. While it may be necessary on rare occasions in the political arena to compromise, that compromise must be a fair one. Today compromise is defined as conservatives surrendering their core values to forward a liberal agenda. That is not true compromise.
     Over the last twenty years our country has gone from the shining city on the hill, the once proud beacon of hope, freedom and opportunity to become the attempted suicide patient on life support. It is entirely reasonable and I would even say, imperative, that we conservatives make the attempt to illustrate the insanity of the liberal perspective.
     As conservatives we are oftentimes faced with a seemingly impossible dilemma. There is a deeply internal desire by most people to be liked. I don’t mean desired and adored, that’s the purview of the Kenyan little Barry. I mean that no one wants to be thought of by others as being mean or offensive. At the same time we have a strong desire to maintain our independence. We do not appreciate anyone who attempts to “lord” over us.
     These two traits often bring conservatives into direct and often unpleasant confrontations with the liberal ideology. Liberals will deny this to their last breath but the goal of liberalism is the control and domination of nearly everyone and everything. They cloak this desire in the flowery phrases of economic justice, ending discrimination, environmental protection and, in my opinion the worst one of all, fairness. If you ignore what liberals say and think about what they have done in the past, are doing now or proposing to do, that conclusion is inescapable.
     A prime example of this is the government requiring a magician to create a federally approved “disaster plan” for his one rabbit.  Really? I like rabbits as much as the next guy but in a natural disaster the rabbit is not exactly going to be my first priority. Nor should it be.
     No one, liberal, conservative or independent likes being told what to do, let alone what to think. That is why liberal politicians have had to obscure their intentions with the aforementioned flowery phrases.
     It is often difficult and far to many times virtually impossible to affect any kind of change in the mindset of your average liberal. After fifty years of domination in the public education system and years of fawning admiration of liberal politicians, policies and perspectives by the media and hollywood your average liberal is completely, often emotionally and sometimes blindly invested in their beliefs. In this context sadly, reason does not apply. So, what is a conservative to do?
     First and foremost we should continue being who we are. We get up every day and go to work on time, pay our bills on time, love our family, support charity, pay our taxes, volunteer in our communities and rear our children as best as we can. This illustrates a concept many liberals do not understand, responsibility. This reflects another concept you might have heard of, leading by example.  In this one thing alone, living your life as a conservative, you will have more impact than you will ever know.
     This doesn’t mean that conservatives abandon the arena of ideas. It does mean we must educate ourselves. It means we must teach our kids, our friends, neighbors and coworkers more effectively. It also means we adopt the one liberal tenant worthy of consideration, persistence. We must take every opportunity to educated and enlighten those we come in contact with. We must teach constantly, consistently and concisely without preaching, condemning or belittling, for those last three are the tools of liberals. We must be patient in our efforts, polite in our disagreements and absolute in our resolve. We must learn to not accept false premises and not be intimidated by, or accepting of, offensive liberal behavior. We must understand that in the liberal ideology the “truth” is always relative because in their world the end often justifies the means. We must be alert in our homes, schools, social groups and communities for those ideas that are detrimental to liberty. Finally, we must identify, promote and vote for candidates at every level of government that understand and support these concepts.
     Given the often militant nature of ideologically rigid liberals it is seldom possible to reason with them. They generally lack either the desire to understand your argument or the ability to understand your argument. We must understand then that our “job” is not to force people to our way of thinking. Force and coercion is the liberal response to those who disagree with or question them. We are simply providing a frame of reference that well intentioned, non-militant liberals cannot get anywhere else. We must be the example that puts the lie to the liberal/media stereotype of conservatives.
     Liberals have long known that their agenda is deeply resented by the majority of Americans. To survive as an ideology they did the only thing they could, they broke their agenda into tiny, bite size parts, candy coated it then never, ever gave up pursuing it. As a strategy this is outstanding. We should do essentially the same. Advance our ideas one small part at a time and never give up pursuing them. The only caveat is we need to sugar coat nothing. There are no conservative tenets that fear sunshine.
     The conservative agenda is a simple concept to promote. The US Constitution is the blueprint we follow. The bill of rights is where the “rubber meets the road.” Understanding these two founding documents is crucial. Frankly, if one will simply apply the plain meaning of the words, understanding these documents is intuitive.
     We conservatives have much unjust animus to overcome. Exactly why liberals feel the need to demand higher and higher levels of taxation, government spending, endlessly expanding regulations, extensive spying on Americans and increasing amounts of welfare dependency eludes conservatives. The fact that we speak out so plainly against these government intrusions annoys liberals to no end.
     We must never forget that the liberal tendency to “feel” about things rather than think things through is a self-perpetuating form of slavery.

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Archive for the 'Hip-Hop' Category

The Origins of Sampling: The Light and the Dark

Today I bring you two of the earliest and most influential albums in the formation of sampled music…Except these albums come back from a time before sampled music became commercialized. Like any other genre, once sampling became popular, creativity and innovation went downhill. Now contemporary artists like Kanye drop a clip of Steely Dan into a song and people think they’re virtuosos. Instead, imagine entire albums being constructed purely of vinyl samples and you will arrive upon work of the Avalanches and DJ Shadow. These groups were the true virtuosos.

At first I did not mean to complicate the post with two artists but I simply cannot mention the Avalanches without also mentioning DJ Shadow. For me, these two are like Ying and Yang. And in a way, that metaphor perfectly distinguishes their sounds – Light and Dark. Which one should we look at first? Light it is.

2000’s Since I left You is the Avalanche’s only LP. And you’ll soon find out why – it took a paramount degree of effort to put together. The story has it that one day the band’s two main members, Robbie Chater and Darren Seltmann, were cruising around a garage sale looking for old vintage instruments. In their search they came upon a stack of hundreds of vinyl records being sold at bargain prices. After discovering some really cool riffs and beats while listening to many of these no name artists from the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s, Robbie and Darren started looping and sampling segments of the albums into single tracks. What began as an experiment soon became an obsession and Since I Left You slowly emerged from a pile of forgotten albums. Explains Chater, “the more rejected and unwanted the record that a sample comes from, the more appealing it is”…The band estimates that the album contains over 3,500 (!!!) different samples, ranging all over the place from drum beats and vocal cuts to recordings of horse neighing. From the opening track, the album is uplifiting in its positive, danceable vibe. Its many layers combine to create a rich pallet of buoyant optimism. I agree with the band in that the album sounds almost like a type of international love story – a lighthearted flirtation with the entire medium of music. Highlights include “Since I left You,” “Close to you,” “A Different Feeling,” and “Frontier Psychiatrist.” Check out a music video of the title track below, you cant help but smile.

If the Avalanches represent the light side of sampling, DJ Shadow’s Endtroducing is its darker, more moody cousin. Released in 1996, Endroducing is actually a couple years older, and is commonly held to be the very first album to be constructed entirely from samples. Similar to the concept behind Since I left You, DJ shadow compiles recordings from all over the place (old tv shows, jazz, hip-hop, etc) except his music has a much different story to tell. Shadow’s music takes on a much more Trip-Hop like sound, emulating and building upon earlier artists like Massive Attack. The dance-ability of the Avalanches is replaced with a brooding, contemplative outlook – the type of music you would chill to at the end of the night in a downtown loft. Even the name, DJ Shadow, induces listeners to investigate the darker aspects of life. It is a much more heavy and spiritual experience than the Avalanches offer – the type of album that has a time and a place but is always rewarding. You probably won’t be putting this on your party playlist, but it definitely should occupy a coveted spot in your music collection. Highlights include “Building Steam with a Grain of Salt,” “Transmission 1 (and 2)”, and my personal favorite (its sooo good) “Midnight in a perfect world.” Enjoy both these fantastic albums

Birth of a Blog

From the Fringe has officially become a reality – proof that my promises do hold merit…they just might not be fulfilled for a couple of years. hah. But hey, get excited. If this goes as envisioned, its gonna be pretty sweet. For those of you new to the concept, I’ve written a brief description on the “About us” page.

But here goes the first blog post. And what better way to start off than with some classic Roots? That’s right Illadelph Halflife, the 1996 Rap epic from one of Philly’s most accomplished and experimental music groups. The album itself is extremely diverse in content, style, and feeling (in a way a metaphor for what I hope this site will become). The Roots have much to explore, ranging from political and civil rights to simple, entertaining wordplay. But for me, the Jazz vibe is what makes the album. Its the perfect kickback record – lyrically serious enough to stand on its own but also relaxing enough to provide some chill ass background tunage. This is real Hip-Hop, with an actual band rather than sampled beats. I know the Roots have sold out lately by kicking it on Jimmy Fallon, but hey, we know its all about the 90’s Roots.

– Chris

*This blog does not upload or store any copyrighted music. The site provides links to, but is unassociated with, file hosting sites such as Mediafire, Megaupload, and Rapidshare. From the Fringe is intended to be used for music discovery purposes only. Please support the featured artists by purchasing their albums. - From the Fringe © 2010


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Random Musings by Frodosco

Waiting On Wednesday #5

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by the fantastic people over at Breaking The Spine that highlights upcoming releases that we are excited about.

For this week my pre-publication selection that I can’t wait for is:

Pretty Dark Nothing by Heather L. Reid

Set For Release On: April, 2013

Summary From Goodreads:

It’s been twenty three days since Quinn has slept for more than minutes at a time. Demons have invaded her dreams, stalking her, and whispering of her death. The lack of sleep and crippling fear are ruining her life. Energy drinks and caffeine pills don’t make a dent. When Quinn dozes off in the school hallway, Aaron, an amnesiac with a psychic ability, accidentally enters her nightmare. The demons are determined to keep them apart, and Aaron from discovering the secret locked away in his memory. Together, they could banish the darkness back to the underworld for good. That is, unless the demons kill them first.

This one caught my eye with the gloomy/creepy cover that they went with. A nice mix of the paranormal with some good creepy vibes is right up my alley. I can’t wait to see how it all comes together. ^.^

Does Pretty Dark Nothing sound appealing to you? What book are you “Waiting On”? Let me know in the comments and/or leave a link to your own WoW post and I will make sure to stop by! Thanks for checking out my Waiting On Wednesday! 🙂

110 responses

  1. Wow…intriguing pick! Sounds kind of intense. Thanks for stopping by my WOW.

    Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know

    November 1, 2012 at 12:57 pm

  2. Ooooh. That’s different! I’ll have to add it to my To-Read pile. 😀

    November 1, 2012 at 2:23 pm

  3. Creepy stuff happening in dreams always appeals to me! This one is already on my TBR list 🙂
    Thanks for stopping by my post!

    November 1, 2012 at 3:24 pm

  4. Ooooh, I haven’t heard of this one but I like the sound of this one! Adding it to my to-read list!

    November 1, 2012 at 5:10 pm

  5. I’ve never heard of this one but it sounds interesting. Nice pick!
    Thanks for visiting My WOW

    November 1, 2012 at 6:22 pm

  6. I definitely love the gloomy/creepy cover. Thanks for sharing this one! It looks awesome. It seems demons are the new thing.

    November 1, 2012 at 9:26 pm

  7. Ohh! Love the cover 😉 Seems like an awesome book! Great pick 🙂 Hope you’ll love it once it comes out 😉
    Thank you for commenting on my WoW and for following me. ❤ 😀
    Love, Carina @ Carina’s Books

    November 2, 2012 at 8:28 am

  8. Sounds creeeeeepy! Love the cover!

    November 3, 2012 at 6:18 pm

  9. Sounds interesting. Creepy but interesting. I’d love to read this one when it comes out. Thanks for sharing and for stopping by my WOW post.
    Marti @ The Story Behind the Book Cover

    November 5, 2012 at 1:29 am

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A Life Story

“It’s like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story.”  ~ Patrick Rothfuss

“It’s not what you say out of your mouth that determines your life, it’s what you whisper to yourself that has the most power!”  ~ Robert Kiyosaki

“Think and then think what you have thought. Is it really what you had thought. Think again.”  ~ Amit Abraham

“Human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but … life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves.”  ~ Gabriel Garcia Marquez

“The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself.”  ~ Mark Twain

“Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth.”  ~ Iyanla Vanzant

“The best revenge is bettering yourself.”  ~ Zacky V.

“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.”  ~ Michel de Montaigne

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”  ~ Norman Vincent Peale

“Dare to love yourself as if you were a rainbow with gold at both ends.”  ~ Aberjhani

from The Desk of MarDrag:

We all have a story. It is the story written on the back binding of our tapestries, pages illustrating the meaning of the scenes that are woven into the embroidery. That is our true story, whose words are written by us, our experiences, our inner voices, the other voices around us in our lives, and the very threads that weave the scenes that are described.

But, we also have “other” stories. These are the stories that spring from our insecurities, our foibles, our needs, and our desire to aspire to be a better “we”. Some stories come from far away in our past and leave us shaken and feeling inadequate. Some stories come from believing what others say to us, when we know it is not the truth, but we listen anyway and write that story to be our truth. Some stories come from the critical eye we view ourselves with every day in the mirror that casts a sheen in the looking glass so we only see the faults and not the beauty. And some stories come from deep within those thoughts that we allow to run amid the fields of our minds that we will never be as good as we want to be, or as everyone expects us to be.

“Think and then think what you have thought. Is it really what you had thought. Think again.”  ~ Amit Abraham

I love this quote. It suggests a picture in my mind of myself, with a far off look in my eye, (of course, I am standing in a green field, the wind rustling through my hair, all very romantic!) thinking about what I am thinking. And asking myself….is it MY truth. Because, whatever I am thinking, whatever story I am writing at that very moment….and whispering to myself….is what I will believe, and then create.

So I have to ask myself….is this My True Story. Is this part of the pages that are stamped to the back of my tapestry……or have I written some pages that are taken from places in my mind or voices that I hear that I had no cause to listen to. As another quote says above, we are called in life to “give birth” to ourselves over and over as we navigate through that life and its experiences. And with each birth, comes another story.

So, we must make sure we are writing the story of our life in our own truth, from that honest, wiser voice within that tells us who we really are…and not what others, or our insecurities about who we are, would tell us. That takes reflection, and wiping away the haze in front of the mirror….and NOT being afraid of who we will see there……because that person is the story we are writing right now.

And….we have the Power at any given moment to say, this is not how I want this story written, and do a rewrite, or scrap the pages altogether and start over…….a rebirth. Critique the work, but don’t be a critic. And believe in the power of words, your words, for they are your thoughts, which turn into you.

Now, write the greatest story you have ever told!

Books 2

26 comments on “A Life Story

  1. Hmmmmm. The back binding of my tapestry looks like a kaleidoscopic mess!
    j/k….kinda 😉

    Seriously though – Very Nice post MarDrag! I’ll have to think on this one a bit later.

    • Sweetie….I understand you saying that. I read a bit of your blog and man have you been through it. And, are still handling alot!! So, I imagine your pages are in disarray.

      But, try to write the story that gets them sorted out. Even if it is a fairy tale for now, it will get the story started to work from later.

      And, I am a quintessential organizer. If you ever need any help getting those pages together, my email is up top and I am here to help! So many hugs to you! 🙂

      • O.M.G. SHOOT ME!!! I just wrote this big long ass post (which to me is a CHORE), got up to turn the heat off, came back to the ‘puter and it’s GONE.

      • “But, try to write the story that gets them sorted out. Even if it is a fairy tale for now, it will get the story started to work from later.”

        But how do you do that if you don’t know where you want to/should go or what your purpose is? That’s *my* issue.

      • Ugggh! I am so sorry about your post! Don’t you just love WordPress sometimes? I have a very indelicate word I use for it at times when it chooses to exert a mind of it’s own! 😉

        As to your other question, about how you start writing your story when you don’t know what you want or what your purpose is: Start with reflecting on where you are at now and ask yourself, if you weren’t there right now, where would you most WANT to be, what would you most WANT to be doing. And, when you answer yourself…..think deeply about it and be completely truthful with yourself. No matter what the answer may be, listen to it, and ask if that really is your truth.

        Then, start writing a mindful story about it. (With any good writer, the story unfolds as it is written). I know you have obligations right now that prevent you from acting out any story right now, other than the one you are living. But, one day, you will have your life back to be your own, and your own story will get to unfold.

        That is why I mentioned “even if it is a fairytale” for now…..it will give you something to look forward to and to bring your dreams back into your life. That will help you get through the difficult days you spend right now.

        Make the story “your purpose” for now….and as it is written, your true purpose will unfold and become clear to you.

        How does that sound to you?

      • Well see…what I WANT the most and what would make me happiest is to be home in my cabin in the woods and spend my days working on my house, my yard, my herbs and garden. Spending my free time hiking the woods and generally enjoying my lil hermit lifestyle.

        OTOH – I don’t feel that’s a very worthwhile or purposeful existence (in the big scheme of things). I also don’t think it’d be very good in the long term to be so isolated.

      • I get it! But, that is just your starting point. That, your saying, is what you truly want. GOOD, you are being honest with yourself. BUT, you also went even further and said you realize that might, in the long term, not be the best for you.

        So, keep writing the story. In your imagination…what MIGHT come next?

      • In my vision, I just keep on into my old age until one day Mike comes along and takes my hand and leads me to the other side.

      • Oh (((((JustDee)))))! My heart breaks for you!

        But, would Mike want you only to exist for the rest of your life until you cross over to him? Or….would he want you to find some happiness or give your life purpose FOR YOURSELF until that time comes.

        I understand why you feel this way….and some of it has to do with your current ongoing situation, and what you face everyday……but there is still purpose to your life that does not have to do with caring for others. It’s ok that you don’t know what that is yet.

        Perhaps start thinking about yourself in the sense of who you are as just yourself….not yourself connected to Mike, your mom, or anyone else. If there was JUST YOU (JustDee!), who would that be?

        There is no rush….just start to think about that concept. Look at directing your “vision” onto yourself and see what comes up. And the story begins…..

      • “If there was JUST YOU (JustDee!), who would that be?”

        That would be the little old lady tending her home and gardens 😉
        I really did mean that’s what would make me happy. I’m not just “biding time” till I’m reunited with Mike. (Though I do count on that – being reunited). I know he would want me to be happy. In the meantime I feel like my life should have a purpose, I just don’t know what it IS. Sigh. Maybe all this living in limbo is getting to me, lol.

        Mom is up from her nap and it’s time for me to start dinner and walk Tux. Thanks for the caring conversation and food for thought.

        Hugs to you dear MarDrag!

      • I can sure understand how living in limbo can be getting to you. And I know you want to find “your” purpose for your life. Perhaps, go back and read the “Life’s A Purpose” post. Let me know what you think after you read it.

        In the meantime, your life does have a purpose right now, and a very important one. Try to see value in that….and value in your fulfilling that purpose. You are doing something very worthwhile and important. Even if it does not always look that way…or it does not look like it is appreciated. Beyond your {world} that you can see right now, other things are happening, and you are contributing to it. And…making a very comfortable place for your mom to make a safe landing. THAT is priceless!

        have a good dinner, give Tux a hug for me…and keep a bunch for yourself!! ❤

      • I went back and read it. Thanks! I feel much better now! (Where is my mind? How did I forget that post?!? LOL) I so appreciate your kindness and support!

      • Oh great! I am glad you read it and it helped. Don’t worry about forgetting…you have alot on your mind. And you have me to help you remember!

        I am so happy to support you. Love and Hugs!!

  2. Okay. Deep Breath. Trying again. 😆

    Part 1
    Thanks for the offer of email but I’ve lost some of my best cyber buddies over my Mental Aversion to Writing. If I can’t answer something in a few sentences, I put it aside for “later”. Then “later” turns into MONTHS, the email turns irrelevant, and I delete. I try to do better but…..sigh. (I recently reconnected with an old friend from 30 years ago via facebook, we chatted a bit on fb and switched over to email….still sitting in my inbox – dated 10/13!)

  3. good morning! great blog again 🙂
    i also like the comments and advice to them. there is always opportunity to learn here, and I love that. thank you for creating this place 🙂

    i do feel i have change my story countless times, but not before getting so cut up on a current one that feels will never end, feeling lost, feeling trapped. until something would happen to finally realizing, the i have the power to change it. when i first noticed and did it the very first time, i was surprised that I could do it. i had to go through obstacles, but was able to change that bad story i was in, a story written by some body else. A story i was to young to write myself and others were writing for me. of corse after that i have written stories of my own that were not that great either, get cut up in them feeling trap again, not knowing how to change it or even thinking i could change them. but again once something happens to make me “wake up” to realize i am in a story i don’t like, i have a hard time taking action. something i am working on…by trying not to write anything right now. taking my time, to figure out what is the next story.

  4. Hiiiiii 😀
    OT – MarDrag, my RL friend Roxann is also an aspiring to be published writer. She has a blog where writers converge, give tips to each other, do exercises, talk about how to get published, etc. I think you’d love it. I also think you’d love HER, some of the things I just saw on her blog were eerily similar to what you write about! She writes fiction though but IRL she’s on your plane 😉

    Her pen name is Madison Woods and the blog is –
    Tell her Dena sent you and you’ll get a good seat!
    (She’ll also say “How IS Dena!?! I haven’t talked to her in forever!)

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Tag: Becky Evans

Centerville’s CenterPoint Legacy Theatre puts on The Best Christmas Pageant Ever to the Delight of Young and Old

By Becky Evans CenterPoint’s black box production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is so good, it has sold out its first week of shows and has added additional performances to thrilled audiences. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever focuses on two groups. One group is children church members who are […]

There Ain’t NUN better than “Sister Act” at The Empress Theatre in Magna

By Becky Evans I had the pleasure to attend a sneak peak of Sister Act at the Empress Theatre in Magna which opens Friday, Sept 1. The Empress Theatre is a cozy intimate venue that has undergone some nice improvements including new paint and very comfy seats. Sister Act is […]

Farmington’s “Seussical” was a Suessierific Family Production

By Becky Evans I took my daughters to see Farmington City’s summer production of Seussical the Musical at the Farmington Arts Center and we all left singing and shaking our tail-feathers as wanna-be bird-girls.  As we learned more about the actors and actresses in this hometown production, we realized it […]


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U.S. military develops Robocop armor for soldiers

The robo-warrior

U.S. defense chiefs hope to have troops kitted out in bionic war armor as soon as 2020.

Included in the Pentagon’s Future Warrior Concept are a powerful exoskeleton, a self-camouflaging outer layer that adapts to changing environments and a helmet which translates a soldier’s voice into any foreign language.

The future soldier will also benefit from ‘intelligent’ armor, which remains light and flexible until it senses an approaching bullet, then tenses to become bulletproof.

Perhaps worryingly, several of the planned enhancements seem to owe more than a little to Hollywood blockbusters such as Robocop, Aliens and Predator.

But officials are quick to point out that many of these systems are already working in prototype form, or are refinements of proven technologies.

More info:  Daily Mail news article

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Can Cultural Individualists Commandeer “Feminism”?

Note the use of the phrase “cultural individualists.” This post regards people who value individualism on a cultural and/or personal level. This is in contrast to libertarianism, which is a political theory that has nothing to say on whether individuals in society should voluntarily organize along the lines of greater emphasis on the individual or on the group/community. Libertarianism only concerns the use of force in society, especially in the context of government, and is founded on individualism only in the methodological sense as it relates to politics (e.g. individuals have rights, and all rights of groups stem from the rights of the individuals composing those groups).

It is should be apparent to people who have invested a few unbiased few minutes thinking about the problem that feminism has a definitional problem disguised as a coup d’état disguised as a PR problem. Let me untangle that knot for you:

Feminism consists of two main camps:

Type 1) A vocal radicalized minority of the sort that writes tirades on Tumblr claiming all men are awful pigs and/or rapists and that everything bad in the world happens due to the (imperial/neoliberal/capitalistic/viciously white) patriarchy.

Type 2) A more silent majority that claims “hey, there are (some) cultural ways in which (some) women and (some) men are treated differently (by some people) starting as early as childhood that possibly lead to women failing to realize their full potential personally, professionally, and socially.”

The PR problem is the fact that feminism is widely consider a crazy, radical, man-hating ideology.

The reason for this is a coup d’état of the word “feminism”: Type 1 feminism is crazy and vocal, which means it monopolizes public coverage of feminism (scandal sells) – at least for people who don’t go out of way to read more broadly on feminism. Because Type 1 is very off-putting and has become the de facto face of feminism, the broad public considers it to be the standard bearer for feminism and writes off the whole movement as crazy – including the silent Type 2 majority that doesn’t want to make men suffer or beg for mercy, but simply wants people to put themselves in each other’s shoes.

The reason why this coup d’état was “allowed” [1] is that “feminism” has always been poorly defined. Not only has the word provided a home for the almost diametrically different opinions on gender that we see in Types 1 and 2, but it’s lost its own root (“femin” – woman) in order to become associated with a varied assortment of ideas dear to the cultural left, such as critical race theory, LGTBQUIA rights, animal rights [2], and so on. The possible solutions to the problems that this broadly-defined feminism identifies range from voluntary cultural shifts by engaging in open-minded discourse to forcefully smashing apart the entire global system of commerce. Besides things that are obviously anti-woman, it’s difficult to think of a concept that couldn’t be spun to be some sort of hyphenated feminism [3]. Couple this with the drastically different approaches for building up the theory behind each of these flavors of feminism (ranging from rationalist to relying on personal anecdotes to replace systematically and methodically collected data), and “feminism” quickly loses its meaning.

If someone were to choose to label themselves as feminist, the (commonly assumed) implication is that they place their support behind all the wings of this movement. It’s difficult (if not impossible) for someone to say “I’m a feminist” without this carrying the entire baggage of the feminist movement. This is one of the reasons (if not the primary reason) why I do not consider myself feminist: if I am a feminist, what does it really mean? Who am I claiming to be?

The (Failed) Solution

For feminists to be able to progress, they need to shed all of this baggage and focus entirely on the part of feminism (qua feminism) that makes sense: Type 2 feminism. That is, the leaders of Type 2 feminism have to reclaim the word feminism for themselves and reject Type 1 feminism not only as incorrect, but also as not feminism. And then, whenever a Type 1 feminist makes a statement such as “I support [Type 1 issue] because I’m a feminist,” Type 2 feminists must vocally respond “Sorry, that’s not feminism. Go do that off somewhere else away from the term ‘feminism’ and come up with a new name for it.”

There are two obvious problems with this, however:

1) Type 2 feminists are not doing this. Maybe it’s because they don’t want to start a civil war and lose face in the public discourse. Maybe it’s because they tolerate Type 1s because Type 1s still write their names down under the column “feminist,” giving the movement further strength in numbers – even if this is just adding apples and oranges.

2) Type 1 feminists want to be part of the definition of feminism, because to them it’s very useful to spread their ideas. In his regularly brilliant blog Slate Star Codex, Scott Alexander describes the technique known as “motte and bailey” and how it relates to feminism. Motte and bailey involves a group that, in good times, is out in the open making strong, controversial claims that they say are supported by an ideology, but when that group comes under attack, it retreats to a fortress of claiming that their attackers are attacking the obvious and uncontroversial elements of the ideology. In the context of feminism: In good times (and when in a group of their own), Type 1s make claims like “capitalism institutionalizes oppression for all women” and “rape culture is in the fabric of our society and teaches all men to rape.” When challenged on these assertions, they retreat to the position that claims that the opponents are attacking feminism, and how could they – because all that poor little feminism wants is for men and women to be treated as equals when sitting at the table in society. Hence, Type 1s can hide behind Type 2s when they need defense, thereby claiming that their opponents are crazy misogynists who would deny women a voice. If Type 1s were banished from feminism, they’d have no way to defend their claims by accusing their opponents of being awful human beings who deny women the most basic of rights.

The (Proposed) Solution

It seems, then, that Type 2s either don’t want to engage in this purge or are unable to engage in it. This is unfortunate, since Type 2 feminists probably have something positive to bring to society.

And if (real) feminists can’t reclaim their own term for themselves, perhaps someone else should commandeer it – and in the process redefine its perspective. The obvious candidate is cultural individualists, who want to maximize the power, independence, and self-sufficiency of the individual. The reasons are clear: Type 2 feminist issues are issues of individual autonomy and individual empowerment. To give some examples:

Women aren’t encouraged as much as men to study math, engineering, and computers from an early age, which steers individual girls away from the fields they like most and toward fields that are more “socially acceptable” for them. Setting aside the question of whether men and women have naturally different aptitudes, it’s undoubtedly the case that regardless of what nature gives men and women, societal pressure and cultural norms can negatively pressure individual decisions in ways that go against the will of these individuals. The issue of gendered education, then, becomes a question of “can individuals, as wondrously varied in abilities, interests, and passions as they are, find fulfillment and maximum growth in their lives, or does society hinder this ability?” Given that cultural individualists love giving individuals free rein in deciding their own futures, they can perfectly well be standard bearers for more equal treatment of men and women in early education. And if even after removing all obstacles we see gender differences, then let it be so (they would say).

Women are often harassed on the streets with arrogant, unwanted attention. I’m not talking here about someone saying “have a good day, ma’am,” but instead the sort of pickup lines stereotypically associated with construction workers cat calling women. I can just imagine that in a piece of literature by a cultural individualist, these unwanted, repeated, and arrogant come-ons would be symbolically described as a barrier to break through, an obstacle to overcome, a sneering, twisted imp jeering at the character to be banished. Moreover, for a cultural individualist, not only are the cat callers failing to live up to their own potential, but they’re pulling the individual down.

Women are sometimes passed over for recognition in the workforce. This is related to the point about education. Cultural individualists want people to not only be recognized and glorified, but they also want them to be glorified for the right thing – not merely for external looks, but for the subjects about which individuals are passionate and in which individuals invest a lot of time to succeed.

Many women are the victims of violence (including rape). It almost goes without saying that cultural individualists, as a byproduct of seeing the individual as the most powerful symbol of humanity, also go on to see the individual’s body as a temple that must not be desecrated.

The list can go on. The pattern is that the issues on which Type 2 feminism focuses are issues that matter because they’re issues that violate individual autonomy and peaceful individual possibilities for growth. To cultural individualists, the goals of sensible feminism make sense not because there is a group of people called women and society is hurting the group. Instead, it’s because the growth of each of those individuals is impaired – the fact that they’re all women doesn’t matter much morally, only strategically: since all of these separate individuals are being held back by a characteristic they all happen to share, the issue can be addressed in a more strategically coherent way.

One interesting byproduct of making feminism be a part of cultural individualism is how this relates to the “I don’t need feminism because […]” movement, which has women writing on a piece of paper why they don’t need feminism (ostensibly because they’re strong individuals and not victims). The response of the feminism that is a subsection of cultural individualism would be “fantastic – God bless you. We want to give all other individuals the chance to be exactly like you guys, and we’d love to have you as mentors or as a person to talk to for people who aren’t like you yet. We exist as a movement so that one day we won’t have to exist. We want more people like you – more people who are powerful enough to not even need a movement (though hopefully people who also help the movement to make more people like you!).” And if one stops to think about it, this really should be the response of feminists to such campaigns. The response should be “we’re thrilled for you. It means you’ve achieved the goal we’re fighting to help every individual to achieve. We couldn’t be happier. Welcome to the team!”

So we see that everything is about framing. If feminism were framed today as an ideology of the individual and his/her power to flourish, to grow, to learn, to build, to create, to form worlds, to shape history, to destroy the old, and to epically usher in the bright, the new, and the useful for all corners of society, its reception would be quite different [4]. It would be a feminism that would ride under the banner of someone like Ayn Rand [5], a feminism that wouldn’t be founded on the despair of the oppressed, but the future of the powerful. And at that point, it wouldn’t even really be feminism – it would be individual power for everyone, because ultimately that’s what cultural individualism is about – empowering the you, the “I”, regardless of the social circumstance or the accident of birth.

Cultural individualists have the opportunity to create this feminism. And perhaps they should. Banish Type 1, and remake Type 2 in the tradition of cultural individualism [6].

[1] As with the evolution of most words, there has not been a single gatekeeper who has “allowed” the word to take on a meaning

[2] See here, for example:

[3] A Type 1 feminist might at this point respond that “see, this means the entire world is against women!”

[4] In rhetoric, sometimes Type 1 feminists also sound somewhat centered around the individual, but there always appears to exist not only a certain hostility underlying all their rhetoric, but also a sense that suppression of individual growth is bad more because it harms the group than because it harms the individual that’s directly affected.

[5] I use the word “like” because I neither know Rand in much depth nor do I support all her views and rhetoric. However, she’s typically associated with cultural individualism, so I’m relying on this stereotype of her.

[6] I’d also like to note that since many libertarians are cultural individualists, they can be part of this solution. Not as libertarians, since libertarianism has nothing to say on which voluntary cultural norms ought to prevail, but rather as cultural individualists. Moreover, they should be careful to clearly separate the two concepts (even if blending them might help them politically).

Things that Make Us Cry

Steve Horwitz had an interesting post over at the Bleeding Heart Libertarians back in October that I just noticed now, where he addresses once again research that came up some time ago that purported to show that libertarians tend to be focused on logic at the expense of emotion.

Horwitz challenges this conclusion, pointing to a video male libertarian friends of his have told him drives them to tears. I watched it and I had the same reaction. I suggest you check it out:

To Horwitz’s observation, I will add my own about media that drives me to tears: Google’s yearly “zeitgeist” videos (“spirit of the times” – see 2013, 2012, 2011, for example), the “I, Pencil” video (explanation of spontaneous order), images of Christians joining hands to protect praying Muslims in Egypt, and Niemöller’s “First they came …” poem, off the top of my head.

For the zeitgeist videos, the moments that set me off most were the shots of the artificial hand, artificial leg, kid with cerebral palsy walking to greet his father returning from the war, various brief shots of amputees achieving their goals, the Red Bull space jump landing with the man holding up his fists, the US soldier coming home early to his mother, Steve Jobs’s advice to stay hungry, stay foolish, the 29-year-old hearing for first time, and the solider high-fiving a local kid.

From these experiences I can extract what I believe are the moments which affect me most:

Overcoming conflict with other humans – rejecting war and accepting cooperation

Spontaneous, unplanned order – voluntary cooperation that builds magnificent things we do not expect but we’re all part of

Overcoming conflicts with nature – fighting back the scarcity constraints of the world, fighting against the cold, uncaring universe and carving out a place for ourselves

and, maybe most importantly,

Unchaining of the individual to achieve his or her potential

I say that the last one is perhaps the most important one specifically because of my reaction to the 29-year-old hearing for the first time in her life. I felt that the moment represented the opening of an entire new door for an individual that she thought would be closed forever. The sheer intensity of the feeling of overcoming what you thought would be a handicap for your entire life – and the overwhelming emotions when tasting this entirely new sense – hearing- for the first time in your life is simply astonishing.

Can the bolded points above somehow be connected to libertarianism?

– Overcoming conflict with other humans – replacing coercion with voluntary cooperation (see self-ownership)

– Spontaneous, unplanned order – emergent properties of market systems – in the tradition of Hayek

– Overcoming conflicts with nature – pushing back the limits of scarcity – see the libertarian emphasis on capital accumulation and innovation

– Unchaining of the individual to achieve his or her potential – libertarianism places a strong emphasis on the individual as the centerpiece of society. This point is also a little strange, since libertarianism doesn’t specifically say that individuals must be required to achieve their potential, but could very well choose to do nothing with their life if they so wish. However, it’s possible that people tend to be drawn to libertarianism because they value the individual so much already, and also happen to understand that all rights are individual rights.

I would even argue that the above points can be folded up into two main points. The overcoming of conflict with other humans and nature are both an unshackling of the individual – free from both human coercion and the limits of nature. We are then left with a free individual and the result of this free individual – the spontaneous order of social cooperation through the market.

If I may make the unfounded assumption that I am a decent representative of libertarians, I can see that the elements that set us off most are indeed ones libertarian emphasize – on the moral side, emphasis on the voluntary and on the individual. On the pragmatic side, emphasis on innovation, capital buildup, and emergent order. If we examine the condensed case I made in the previous paragraph, then we have the moral side, the free individual, and the pragmatic side, the result of the free individual.

Perhaps it’s not the case that libertarians aren’t very empathetic, but instead that they can openly make emotional connections when they are presented with situations aligned with the spirit of libertarianism. It is then that the libertarian can place himself in the shoes of the character in the story and appreciate the beauty of the situation as if it were his own. If, on the other hand, we see situations that emerge out of coercive action, we do not emote as easily, because there is something at the back of our minds that reminds us that there’s a zero sum game being played, with hidden losers in the background we’re not being shown.

I also want to point out what I consider to be a fantastic quote from Horwitz’s article – one that I believe is strong competitor for being one of the best that combine practical and moral arguments:

Critics of markets sometimes say “you can’t eat GDP.” What they miss is that you can’t eat, or learn to read, or go to school, or leave a bad marriage, or do pretty much any of the basics that we might see as required for a flourishing life without the wealth and time created by the market economy.

This relates to the washing machine, as the invention and its adoption opened up time for women to both gain more education and educate their children more easily, and education unchains people and allows them to do anything up to… well, we don’t know the limits of our imagination and our creativity yet. Hopefully, we won’t ever know them.

Good job to the BHL for a solid post. Now I need to get some water – I’ve somehow gotten very dehydrated after those videos.


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Timed Hits List 001 – Route 209 (Pokemon Diamond & Pearl)

Welcome to Timed Hits List; a monthly exploration of music from the world of video games. That may mean a song from a game’s soundtrack, it may mean an arrangement of a song that originally appeared in a game, it may mean a song inspired by a game, or it may mean something entirely different altogether! We play it pretty fast and loose here.

Featuring a song on Timed Hits List doesn’t necessarily mean I think it’s a ‘Top Whatever Song in Video Game History’ — in fact we’re going to try to stay away from some of the obvious picks — but each song will be something that has resonated with me in a way that made me feel like sharing and exploring it to the best of my ability. Keep in mind that that ability is limited — I’m certainly no music expert. If you have any corrections or further insight into the music I showcase feel free to let me know in the comments or on Twitter: @victorehunter. 90% of the reason I started Galuade is to talk to other people about the things I love so don’t ever hesitate to share your experiences as well.

Now let’s get started with something upbeat, light, a little odd, and with a hint of adventure to it…

This month’s song is the infectiously charming and surprisingly anthemic “Route 209” from Pokemon Diamond & Pearl.

Geographically speaking, Route 209 isn’t the most remarkable stretch of land in Sinnoh. It’s a short, L-shaped road with a few small points of interest, a smattering of trainers, and the requisite patches of tall grass. However, it ends up being a place that trainers will visit quite a few times if they’re interested in Pokemon breeding.

Beginning with Ruby & Sapphire, Pokemon Day Cares were regularly placed near long stretches of uninterrupted land to provide easier egg hatching routes. Sinnoh’s version consists of a dirt road stretching from Route 209’s elbow in the south, up through Solaceon Town (where Day Care Man can be seen by the side of the road), and north onto Route 210. Players can collect an egg from the Day Care, hop on their bike, and ride along this unbroken path back and forth until either their egg has hatched or they’ve seen that the Day Care has another fresh ovum to offer them; then it’s rinse, lather, repeat, repeatedly. The breeding/hatching cycle is a little grotesque when you think about it too hard — in which case I would recommend not thinking about it too hard.

“Route 209” is composed by longtime Game Freak staff member Hitomi Sato. Credited as a Planner and Scenario Writer from Pokemon Crystal (2001) onward, Sato’s first Composer credit would be for Diamond & Pearl. According to Sato herself in an interview on PocketMonsters.net, a position had opened on Game Freak’s sound team after a member had left. She says, “I had told them once that I could play the piano and when I was asked if I wanted to give it a try, I said yes.” It’s fair to say that ‘I could play the piano’ might be a bit of an understatement. Sato’s Diamond & Pearl compositions are quintessentially ‘Pokemon’-sounding while adding a flair and nuance that wouldn’t have been possible in prior generations due to hardware limitations. With Sato’s help the transition from GBA to DS was a sonically positive one for the Pokemon series and “Route 209” exemplifies this.
The song opens immediately with a snare drum straight out of a marching band and leads into the cymbals-crashing bombast of our first melodic line. Whether it’s a deliberate homage or not to ELO’s Telephone Line remains to be seen – the two songs go through tonal shifts that aren’t entirely dissimilar after all. Then almost as quickly, things de-escalate until around the 0:25 mark where we get a more laid back drum beat and piano line. Totally different melody from what we had before in our march. It has an inspirational “setting out on a journey” feel that Pokemon tunes so often nail – but if you listen closely there are some really killer drums fills going on in the background around the 0:40 mark. I can’t help but imagine the tiny drummer in my DS loving the hell out of this song. But don’t get lulled into thinking that “Route 209” has played all of its cards yet…

0:58 transitions into another melody, again with a completely different feel. Piano is traded out for flute, the cello has been replaced by bass guitar, and our little drummer boy has opted for a syncopated hi-hat. Swap the flute out for a horn section and you’d have a ska song from Hoenn.

And that’s it. The entire loop is roughly 1:14 with the track on the Pokemon Diamond & Pearl: Super Music Collection running 1:22.

Let’s be real here; “Route 209” isn’t setting the world on fire. It’s not going to go down in history as a classic. But it really represents a shift in Pokemon music. The leap from the GBA to the DS gave the sound team a lot more freedom to experiment – both with the complexity and number of samples as well as the range of emotion that can be conveyed in any given area. “Route 209” has 3 different musical sections complete with different instruments and a couple bars that segue into those sections with a unifying sound. It’s kind of magical if you can buy into the DS’s sound.

Hitomi Sato’s first composition for Diamond & Pearl was “Route 206”. It’s a piece that feels like it could have been from an earlier Pokemon generation yet doesn’t feel out of place next to the songs that set Diamond & Pearl apart like “Route 209”.

“Route 209″‘s life didn’t end with Diamond & Pearl; an arrangement has appeared in the Smash Bros. series as background music for Pokemon-themed stages. The Smash Bros. Wii U sound test – being frustratingly opaque with its credits – lists Shogo Sakai (Composer for Mother 3) as ‘Arrangement Supervisor’, whatever that means. I’ll include links to the Smash Bros. version, the Nighttime version from Diamond & Pearl, and a jazz arrangement by Youtube channel ‘insaneintherainmusic’ (which I beg you to check out) below.

And that’s about it for the first installment of Timed Hits List. Hopefully something in here either piqued your interest, gave you a bit of insight, or at the very least sent you down a musical rabbit-hole that took you to something you DO find interesting. If you have any further information about this month’s song or composer, or just want to say ‘hi’ don’t hesitate to contact me on Twitter @victorehunter. See you next month!

Further Listening:


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technology, amateur radio, scouting and me

Monthly Archives: November 2010

Another Tesco rip-off

Varina has just come back from shopping with yet another rip-off tale from the St Neots Tesco store. She was looking at Turkey prices ( even though we have already ordered ours – go figure).

Anyway, she noticed that a certain range of turkeys was on special offer: half price. The small print showed that this offer only applied to turkeys in a certain range of weights.

Well, what do you know; even though the space below was full, none of the turkeys was in the weight range that qualified for the special price.

How may people will get caught be this rip-off?

Incidentally, she challenged a member of staff who responded that they would look into it. Yeah, right!

Is it so hard to make decent coffee?

Why is so difficult for the English to make decent coffee? I ask after a particularly poor example served up to Varina and me in a Shrewsbury coffee house. Is it poor quality control, excessive cost control, ignorance, or a general inattention to customer service? I don’t know, but I do know that I rarelyContinue Reading

Have your kids forgotten how to play?

I spent the weekend away with my Scout troop. We camped at Harmergreen Wood in Hertfordshire on our annual woodland camp. Part of our regular programme of activities is playing “Wide Games”. Wide games are generally games of strategy played in the open air over a large area. Typically, a game will involve two teamsContinue Reading

Re-positioning this blog

(I nearly entitled this “re-purposing this blog”) but just about stopped myself) Now that is running smoothly I really don’t need this site for the business, so I’ve decided to use it for a personal blog. My previous blogs have always been a mix of personal and professional posts, whereas is (almost) strictlyContinue Reading


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Archive | Missions

Appointments in Airports

I was flying home from a conference with two of the army ‘scripture readers.’ The older man opposite was grimacing in some pain. O.K., so we shouldn’t have been sitting in the disabled seats, but there was plenty of room. The thickly set (I’m one to talk) gentleman leaned forward and something dropped out of his pocket.

I watched, then waited, and thought… I took his mishap as a providential opportunity to initiate a conversation; so I smiled, then said: ‘Excuse me, you have dropped something out of your pocket!’

He looked down, blushing, spied his wallet (I think) on the ground (or maybe that was the second time it happened, and was just some medication on the first occasion), picked up the item, and thanked me, in a rather reserved manner.

I was sure, on first sight, this man was probably Austrian: his face looked Germanic (he could have been Martin Luther), and he was wearing what seemed to me a bit like lederhosen (a grey woolen jacket with a dark green lining around his collar and cuffs). I was almost expecting him to break out in refrains of ‘Edelweiss, edelweiss’ in the manner of Christopher Plummer and Julie Andrews on ‘The […]

The Double Groan of the Gospel

It would be ridiculous to deny that Christian are drenched with countless blessing both material and spiritual. Yet it would not be overstating the case to recognize that every Christian personally, and Gospel workers in particular, have the greatest share or portion not in this life but the next. Glory, for the main part, belongs to worldly men. In this valley of tears believers are often heaped with shame.

It is in the context of despised, inglorious, faith that the apostle Paul mentions a ‘double groan’ of the Gospel to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 5.10. His double aim is confidence in their travail for the Lord and consolation for the afflictions and reverses they endure.

The Gravitational Groan

Our home is not down here, but with God in heaven above. Paul contrasts the temporary, flimsy, earthly body with the permanent, indestructible, heavenly frame – one day soon we will be like the risen, exalted, Lord Jesus, death swallowed up in glory, in the Temple prepared by God. Contemplation of this new resurrection body, in the likeness of the glorified humanity of our exalted Lord Jesus, should be light a magnet which draws our hearts, by soul-transforming, heart-rejoicing, triumphant-overcoming, walking by faith and […]

Strangers in Saunas 4

Just back from the gym! It’s been a rather hectic week – well behind on preparation. Yet, it has also been the best personal witnessing week for a few months. Had two or three long chats with total strangers who have been stopping me to ask questions.

Tonight, in the sauna, however, really ‘takes the biscuit’ (an Irish term that means gets first prize)! Let me be very brief indeed.

Three strangers (man & wife and another young man in his early twenties) plus me in the Sauna.

Young man says to us ‘as older people, what advice can you give me?’ You are probably as shocked by that as I was.

After hearing the fairly bland response of the older man, I said ‘I’ve never been asked that question before by a younger person: here’s three things I would say to you.’

The first is…….

The second is…….

The third is…….

Three answers, six words, for maximum impact (by the grace of God, with the help of the Spirit). I’ll probably never meet the young man again!

What would you have said?

An Old Christian Model For New Church Growth

Chat in Corinth

‘Have you heard about the latest Church Growth Model in Corinth? The latest preachers in Acro Creek think they’ve nailed success! O.K., it’s a little alternative, and it’s the opposite to what Paul said (but then again, for some strange reason, he seems to have cancelled his announced visit – some lame excuse about an unforeseen turn of events)! Yet, we cannot help but notice, it does seem very popular: it appears to be working! They’ve definitely had results! The crowds of pagans are flocking! They’re going to extend their buildings! Even better, there’s no suffering, so perhaps we should give it a go.’

Model for Ministry

If that was the chat in Corinth, it would explain Paul’s loving determination to put the record straight, and turn Corinthians back to the Cross. Having explained the nature and glory and hope of the Ministry of the New Covenant, he commends his urgent appeal, by the model minister he is. Effectively, he says, ‘this is how to do the work, this is the Christ’s model for church growth’, as we make our appeal, 2 Corinthians 5.20, ‘Be reconciled to God.’

“We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed, […]

Further Encouragement for Personal Evangelism: The Why Not?

Last week I encouraged you all in your practice of personal evangelism through the words of seventeenth century pastor-theologian, Wilhelmus a’Brakel. That article can be found here.

One of the blessings of being a Gentle Reformation author is the behind-the-scenes interactions with retired pastor, Rev. Ken G. Smith, who frequently sends us feedback, encouragement, and challenges concerning our writings. If I can speak on behalf of all of the GenRef team, we do love his private interactions with the blog!

Last week, Rev. Smith sent me a personal response to a’Brakel’s encouragement towards evangelism, and with his permission, I am passing those comments on to you, the readers, for your encouragement as well. Ken G. Smith wants us to understand the “why” of why Christians do not evangelize. He writes:

I really appreciated reading your piece on evangelism and the reference to a’Brakel, who at one point in my life was very helpful.  I like what he has to say about evangelizing, but have to say I’ve not found his advice effective.

There’s a reason(s) why people don’t bear witness.

Let me share a bit of a different approach.

First, if one is not a fluent “talker” about the gospel, then one needs to assess why […]

Cush Is Stretching Out Her Hands To God

Since I received a radio from Weer Bei, I feel like I can see again. Through the daily broadcasts, my spiritual eyes have been opened. I love listening to the Good News on Radio. If Weer Bei was to shut down, I feel like I would go blind again. For this reason I am supporting Weer Bei with the little money I have. Weer Bei enables me to see even though I am blind – Blindman from Nyamlel – Aweil West

“Weer Bei” means “redemption” in the Dinka language. Weer Bei radio broadcasts the good news of redemption in Jesus Christ to the region of Aweil, South Sudan through the voices of local pastors and Christian leaders. Since Weer Bei’s beginning 2009, through the ministries of Cush4Christ, a mission of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, and Every Village, the Lord has done great things.

The radio station has the capacity to reach almost two million people who have been supplied emergency radios by international aid organizations in this war-torn land. Vince and Julie Ward moved their family from Canada to the village of Parot, in Aweil, South Sudan in 2006 to see the gospel proclaimed, elders raised up, and churches planted. […]

Christian Competence

Time is pressing on in sermon preparation, so on this Saturday afternoon I thought I’d share my morning thoughts.

Perhaps your feeling tired or jaded in the work. Maybe you feel the burden of the responsibility to preach. “Who” you may wonder “is sufficient for these things?”

In 2 Corinthians 1-2 Paul has been wrestling with this question. He clearly had detractors who were running down his credentials. After laying out his defense, in 1.12-2.11, he asserts that his change of plans was neither whimsical or selfish. Instead he delayed his visit to spare pain to God’s flock.

In 2.14-17 he deals with Christian conquest, for Christ has called them, as ministers, to diffuse fragrance around the globe in Christ’s Gospel victory march.

Next in 3.1-3 he shows that in exercising his powerful, successful mission, through God’s means of grace, he needs no other, human, Christian commendation, for results speak for themselves: Corinthian conversion and church planting is proof enough of divine power at work in Paul’s apostolic efforts. The fruit of New Covenant ministry is seen in the regeneration of the ‘living letters’ that Christ, through Gospel ministry, has written on living ‘fleshy’ human hearts

Then, in 3.4-6, he insists that such apostolic boasting […]

God is all you need

This morning as we speak the Caribbean territories and the ‘pan-handle’ state is caught in the grip of a hurricane, which, if predictions are correct, will result in dire need. Back here, in case you are not aware, on the western seaboard of the Atlantic, many public figures have criticized the lethargic, sluggish, response of the UK government – while the French and Dutch had troops positioned in advance to deal with the looming crisis, the ministers in Whitehall were sitting on their hands (at least that is the charge), while their overseas territories of Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands, were left in the eye of the storm, for Irma to do its worst.

Paul writes to the Philippians from prison, with the potential of facing death row, to issue a promise that God would supply all their need. Just like any church or group of Christians, the needs of these believers were great. In addition to the normal round of problems that all of God’s children face, Paul catalogued a long list of urgent needs for both Himself and Christ’s flock, for which He was responsible.

Philippian & Pauline Needs

The recipients of the letter of […]

3GT Episode 48: Small Town Ministry

You got it – we’ve finally given Kyle his own episode! After we have fun learning more about Winchester, Kansas, we dig into his recent article in Tabletalk on rural ministry. We discuss counterbalancing the current rush to church plant, being more like Jesus and the apostles who preached in towns and villages, the wonderful blessings of doing so, and some of the unique challenges faced in ministering in rural areas. It leads us to the obvious question: Is Kyle the next Tim Keller of the small town? You be the judge!

Listen along and you’ll probably start singing, “Give me a Sunday morning that’s full of grace/A simple life and I’ll be okay/Here in small town U-S-A.”

You can also subscribe to 3GT on iTunes!

Referenced Article:

“The Need for Rural Ministry“, Tabletalk | Kyle Borg

What Matters Most – Seeking God’s Glory

Over the last week or two, I’ve been taking some time out to study John’s Gospel in more depth. My particular concern and focus has been to get a better handle on the relationship that exists between Jesus and the Father.

This morning I was looking at John Chapter 7.10-24. This section narrates the doctrinal head-to-head between Jesus and the Jews, both the masses and their masters. The debate took place in the precincts of the Temple. Christ had come in cognito, resisting the pressure of his relatives. Now, constrained by the duties of His office, He stands in God’s House to declare divine doctrine in order to decimate human tradition.

What is apparent, throughout this account, is the commitment of the Son to the glory of His Father. This, in fact, is the thing, above all, that distinguishes Jesus Christ clearly from His Judean teachers and hearers. The central section of the passage is found in the statement recounted by John in Chapter 7 Verse 18:

“He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him” (NKJV).

This portion of the 4th Gospel raises […]


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Mortgage Forbearance for Deployed Reservists? – Karen

By on November 11, 2010
Mortgage Forbearance for Deployed Reservists? – Karen

The Soldiers and Sailors act is intended to protect credit during military service but, when looking into forbearance for mortgage during a deployment, the mortgage company (first horizon) indicated that they would report any modification to the credit bureaus. Our household income went DOWN more than 60% as a result of military pay in the reserves– which means we couldn’t even qualify for a refinance with our new ratios. It is unbelievable that a man can serve his country and come back to trashed credit!

What is the best way to contact First Horizon and talk to a loss mit. agent? I can’t get past their initial “customer service” dept and all they do is read me the Soldiers and Sailors act language!! Are you aware of any company that is respecting military service by forbearing loan payments during deployment and tacking it on to the back of the loan? The IRS and Sallie Mae will do that, why not the mortgage companies??

This reader question was submitted for site members to answer.

This is your chance to be a hero and help out this person by providing your feedback and answer to the question. Post your response in the comments section below.

If you have a credit or debt question you’d like to ask just use the online form.

READ  My Son Was Stationed in Iraq And I Took Out a Credit Card in His Name That I Can't Pay. - Veronica

About Steve Rhode

Steve Rhode is the Get Out of Debt Guy and has been helping good people with bad debt problems since 1994. You can learn more about Steve, here.

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