Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you, Tiharj, and all the organisers for inviting me. I'm Rachel Kent, I'm a PhD student at King's College, and my research interests are situated around digital health technologies and self-representation via social media. So, I'm going to talk today mainly about, oh, thank you, about my project, but I'm working within a wider project called media, so I'm going to give a little bit of an overview of what that is, and then provide a bit of context around the kind of main theories and my research interests around mobile lives, how that influences self-representation by politics and influence on digital health practice. And then a brief overview of my methodology as it stands at the moment, it's still very much a work in progress, so I'm really, really interested in getting feedback from everybody and their ideas around that. And then just some initial discussion around my pilot interviews and my initial findings. So, I'm working as part of a European Research Council funded project called EgoMedia, and this is looking at how the impact of new media informs and practices of self-presentation. It's a very interdisciplinary project. It's exploring very widely the influence of autobiography via social media and life-writing. The group in itself is from many different disciplinary backgrounds, including English literature, medical and digital humanities, media and communication studies. And we're asking lots of questions around how social media is influencing communication practices and the effect the digital world is actually having on our feelings, our sense of being and well-being. So, where my project sits within that, I'm really interested in looking at how users' life worlds are actually being contributed to, the autobiographical narratives from a health perspective on and offline identity construction. So, I'm not actually interested in exploring how patients with chronic illnesses or those trying to lose weight or train for a marathon are actually presenting their health practices, my interest lie in the everyday person, and how lay people are using social media to present their health practice with consideration to this idea of a real or a modern community, and how with consideration to that community if that actually affects health practice offline. So, to provide a little bit more context, I'm very much interested in looking at this idea of mobile lives and social media and how that's influencing how we're presenting ourselves, so existing within this flexible and fluid membrane between the real and the virtual. We understand how network technologies mediate privatised and public social and communicative interactions and constructions of the self and are increasingly mediated through these digital forms and obviously the participatory and sharing affordances of social media and online communities. And as we've heard this morning, the mobile technologies that we're using mediate these emotional and social interactions and this is constantly changing and will continue to change the relationship between humans and their technical devices as well as altering modes of how we're actually communicating and interacting with one another. Elliot and Yuri argue that the rise of an intensely mobile society reshapes the self, its everyday activities and interpersonal relations, as well as connections with the wider world. And so we understand how identity formation now and conceptualisations of the self are being reformed through these digital modes and through these paradigms of mobility. So, alongside the rise of mobile technology, we've seen the uptake of digital health technology and social media as we've discussed this morning and these converged platforms are enabling different forms of health self-representation and they're also extending self-monitoring and surveillance into digitally quantifiable formats. And much of the literature, the current literature which surrounds digital health technologies really celebrates these practices as being very much patriot with the ability to revolutionise healthcare through self-knowledge. And whereas lifestyle used to be concerned with these traditional identities, conceptualisations of the self are now identifiable by signs and self-representations of consumption and so in neoliberal societies, as we've discussed this morning, consumption is a reflexive one whereby it's equated with participation. And so my interest is looking at health as not on opposite to ill health as being in good or ill health but being representative of lifestyle choice and involvement to rate the right consumption of choice positions the citizen as a consumer as actively making right ethical decisions, moral decisions, for the management of their individual health self-care. So I'm very much conceptualising and identifying health practice as evolving from health promotion strategies post the birth of the National Health Service, the public welfare state, the inclusive and support state, towards today's neoliberal practices of individualised and self-responsabilising health care. As we know users gathering a huge amount of data about their body and their health and this raises a lot of questions about how helpful that is in terms of individual self-surveillance and health management and so my questions that I'm asking is how do social media and digital health technology actually influence health misinformation, information and on and offline health practice. We understand that digital health practices and affordances of self-quantifying devices have dimensions of both self-surveillance and wider surveillance and the quantified self-movement is a key demonstration of this neoliberal self-management and self-surveillance practice and so my research is identifying with biopolitics as a regulatory ideology in which individuals are incited and encouraged to become new active consumers of health care taking personal responsibility and education to maintain individual self-care. The new active consumer of health is expected to take personal responsibility and educate themselves to maintain this health care and this operates through a social control and a deep anxiety of becoming increasingly articulated through responsibility and an othering so this othering of oneself is the differentiation of one body type one citizen from another and this is a dominant discourse within biopolitics and within the competitive and comparative strategies enabled by self-tracking and social media as well and so to adhere to citizenship responsibilities of good health and good morality is so not to be a burden to the state to deliver oneself as a belonging citizen and this manifests through risk calculation of socio-economic groups but is actually problematized often at an individual level through this identity maintenance and acted through attribution attribution sorry of citizen rights and obligations so we understand by media as tools enabling the body visible through biotechnological information but the ethical implications of the choice architecture of actually these different by media and digital health technologies needs interrogation in consideration to the influence of the regulatory and self-policing of the body I'm identifying with both the technology and the individual user as agents co-existing and in some cases co-evolving together so in this regard we understand biopolitics as being enacted and operating on two levels within practices of governmentality individual and state and much warmer where my research is hoping to step in to try and understand these two levels the mediation between the relationship between personal usage and practices as well as recognizing the technology and the state as a as an agent and a choice architect of biopolitical rationalities so I'm just gonna briefly cover my methodology as it stands at the moment I'm going to be doing a selection of online data capture and this is going to be screenshots from people's Facebook and Instagram usage and then using reflexive guided diaries to tease out the kind of mundane and common sensual reflections that users are getting from their online content sharing and then try and contextualize that with interviews so to discuss a little bit more in detail about my kind of initial findings from my pilot interviews I've been looking at self-representation and community practice and community surveillance and how that's influencing health presentation and we understand that social media enables tools for self-presentation and identity management which includes issues of identity and identification and so the functions and affordability of social media and digital health technology enables both the self-presentation and performance of the self as outlined by Goffman I'm interested in how people are presented themselves posing as a performance and so when we're exploring the increased uptake and usage of participatory media it's important to understand how this shift with users communicating one another is affecting the audience feedback and then the information they are then sharing we understand that historically representations are made by a set of people for example curators or filmmakers and with social media we are the curator and the subject we are subjectifying ourselves and I like in this construction of online personas as the construction of personal brands promoting and branding of the self has become a normalized accepted phenomena in everyday people's lives and so we can understand this new shift towards interactions online as a form of self-branding and commodification of social ties so my research is interested in how platform features and affordances sculpt and shape personal identity for example facebook makes explicit links between memory and emotion through these narrative biographical socio-technological affordances and these fragmented data representation of representations of the self construct not only an online identity for the user but also a health self a construction of a health identity which they design others within the community to perceive so how much does surveillance of others actually influence consideration to our own self presentation users the perception of management of their own visibility online is tied to shifting and shifting understandings of what we consider public and private information and online communities as Daniel Trottier speaks about in his work on surveillance and social media it's reorganizing relations between peers and peer relations becoming ever more surveillance in nature so when we're considering the process and implications behind this we need to look at surveillance and data and privacy within these online networks and how that's also influencing and mediates these self-representational practices we understand now that the context collapse that's occurring online and how audiences of this self-representational data is including friends and family colleagues past present potentially future and we need to recognize that role of context collapse and how that's affecting what we're sharing online and I think it's arguable that social media users are actually increasingly conscious and aware of what is public and private online and when we're conceptualizing self-surveillance through self-representation we can understand it with consideration to the participatory audiences and alongside this performance and presentation of the self so we understand self-presentation in near liberal age as being achieved through individualizing practices and sharing of those facts and statistics and the fastest growing segment of that is human biology related data and when I spoke to one of my participants I questioned what information they were sharing online they responded by saying the trend of sharing is growing I guess it's the social thing that I don't have any close friends running a marathon anytime soon but there's a large community of people out there that are doing it and respond to what I've done so it's a nice feeling when somebody else comments and says oh I've run 60 miles this weekend too so immediately here we can identify how other people's accounts is affecting your own health practice and how community surveillance evolves with self-representation and the construction enabled through the different technological affordances that are available but also in consideration to this imagined or real peer surveillance and so the motivation here is the sense of accomplishment from this user and this may be returned by the wider community but only once that information is shared and so the representation of that data and the sharing of that content has a weight and a significance in addition to that personal self-gratification which is then reinforced through the surveillance and feedback from the community so I think we need to explore social media's impact upon sociality and communication practices in how it affects our sense of self is there an over reliance on virtual support and how much do other people's accounts affect your own health practice when questioned on the excuse me when questioned on the influence of community feedback another participant responded by saying I had a situation where I was with someone at the weekend and I went for a run they came back and didn't post anything and somebody asked me didn't you go for a run this weekend so that was interesting because I just forgot to post it and when I spoke to this participant as we continue the interview I asked him did this person feed back to the information they were always sharing were they liking were they commenting and they just responded by saying that they had never fed back publicly towards this participant this was something that they had just obviously been privately viewing but not publicly feeding back and had actually gone onto Facebook and sent him a private message to ask him whether he'd been for a run which I found quite interesting an interesting practice in terms of how we're viewing other people but privately viewing and not publicly feeding back so I then questioned this participant and I asked how is then this then going to make him feel more inclined to share your house practice for the future now that you know you have an imagined community who aren't publicly giving you the feedback but you know we're actually viewing it there and so this raises a lot of questions in terms of how does imagined peer surveillance and community feedback influence or encourage active privatised self-censoring or exposure of certain health information in this construction and self-representation of health and the idealised self so from here we can see how that the gaze of others may increase pressures to respond to the choice architecture and nudges within the design of these applications this user the following week and might feel that he should go for a run because he knows that person wants to view it online and it's arguable that having increased self-knowledge through these applications then increases this individual reflexivity which is embedded with these kind of normative framings of choice so self-surveillance and self-management and the presentation online becomes this kind of individualised pressured cycle of standardized meritocracy where we're further enhancing the need for self-knowledge but also the need for the feedback and the perception of the real or imagined community so on an individual level I'm really interested in looking at how people are self-representing but for themselves and we understand that users are engaging with these platforms and devices unwillingly giving up all this personal data and information but we I'm interested in understanding why why why are we sharing this information what are we getting back from the community but what are we actually also just doing for our sense of self what's all this acquisition acquisition of data doing for us and we understand there's a very seductive nature of these technologies the promise of connectivity health optimization community support and advice and this leads us to consider what is actually important about self-tracking and this acquisition of data is how is actually transforming how we understand the world how is it providing information and misinformation to the corporations or state who resell or remarket this information back to us or to third parties and who then use this contact content towards us but how this cycle is influencing how we're practicing health management and self-representation and the choice architecture of these design of these devices so there's two kind of ways of looking at this that we've touched on earlier this morning but firstly the kind of more utopian side if you like that beta argues about being able to individually monitor we are liberating ourselves we are gaining control over our over our lives similarly Hayes argues that we are through this in through this empowerment and acquisition of data and self-tracking we're able to do this without becoming a projected unified subject of of regimes of states and corporations but this is quite a limited view and doesn't actually take into consideration this governance of the soul and the extension of neoliberal controlling rationalities and the moralization of health what you've heard about and shame and blamed discourses that are being kind of perpetuated through the gamification of these devices so this leads to a very problematic but fascinating area of digital health practice and it's the mediation of persuasive or coercive computing and the governance of the emotional self so these devices are capturing lots of different bits of information but they can't actually capture the emotional activity or well-being stress trauma or lack of context of a situation within within these data capture devices it's completely omitted so all human activity physical mental and emotional can't be fully reducible to data vacation and so we're limiting our definition of what needs scientific grounding and explanation if we're only able to do that with data that we are actually able to capture furthermore a lot of these devices are not actually rooted in a lot of scientific rationalities it raises a lot of questions about misinformation and what's being captured so I would argue that these devices are not just about enlightenment through data but that it's about information what we need to examine is the information produced to change the way that uses behavior and understanding of the body is shifting because of these practices so we understand that these technologies are challenging and shaping social values and meanings and our understanding of how we interpret the environment and in this context it's shifting these distinctions between the physical body the data and the mind it's constantly being renegotiated and it's shifting these normative definitions and understanding is what we consider a body and what we consider a person and this shifts definitions of what we deem healthy as individuals and patients as well as sufferers of ill health in which of a capacity that might actually be determined with these devices and one of my participants when I questioned about the acquisition of this data and any influence that they actually had upon their health practice one of my participants responded by saying it's interesting that something has forced me to take a look on my life I don't know if it'll stick because my attitude is sort of I eat and I drink what I want I do exercise to sort of balance it out and so within this self-quantification we're capturing and sharing content based on what we deem what the corporations or what the state deem falls within these above categories of importance and so from this respondent we're reminded that data isn't neutral and it is selective about what is it is not captured and data scientists are storytellers they are interpreters and they're taking slices of information from the data sphere and translating it into something for us to consume that's meaningful however we interpret that is is another thing and so when we're visualizing our data through these different graphic design interfaces is problematic and that we're seeing it through this semiotic layer of representation that the data story is revealed to us but obviously in a simplistic and sense sensationalist way and so this digitalized reproduction may impact how biometrics are perceived for the user but also in turn how this information is then internalized and acted upon as Duffy articulates here how do you summarize and symbolize without oversimplification and distortion and if our behavior changes as a direct result of being nudged by a design driver what does that actually mean for how we're responding to that device and if we look at it within a kind of wider socio-cultural and political context it leaves a lot of ethical implications in terms of the motivations behind the design of these of these devices so we understand we've spoken we've heard briefly this morning about health gamification and this is a helpful way to kind of understand the the game we're playing with this data I suppose how we're acting upon what we're doing with it you know we're incorporating all these health practices into play by numbers on leadership boards and badges and comparative charts and it's all becoming a form of health strategization where users of digital health technology and social media platforms are gaming to self-survey health behavior but the game we're actually playing is about our body and it's play by numbers so we're playing these constant games about our human capability and understanding it as a form of self-governance through the feedback loops that are actually being held within within these devices and it's a management and an enactment of self-governance to manage the health potential health risks that we may be encountering we do escape into games as witson argues but we also exercise our hyper-rationalized mind into managing actuarial risk in this regard we understand health is something that needs to be managed and maintained through consideration to risk of ill health disease and ultimately death but the gamification of health can be understood as both tools of play and health management but also these kind of considerations towards extending mortality and preventing death and when I questioned one of my participants about the role of data and gameplay in motivating health decisions they responded by saying it is very measurable so you feel like you're achieving things and it doesn't make you feel better I guess being able to track stuff does help because you can look back and see what you've done and know that you'll be able to do it again and what we understand from this is that this user knows this runner knows that she's able to go and do that health practice again and again if she so wishes but it's the acquisition of that data that kind of legitimates it for her and her mind and makes her feel that she's able to actually then go back and do this again and so we can understand through Olivia Banner arguments around this organizing of identity through discipline and regulation of the body how it can be very self-empowering in this regard but it exemplifies the status we're placing on data over human sense and intuition sociality is often felt through sorry self achievement is felt through the self-evidence of data like sociality is often felt through the representations enabled through social media so just as to kind of sum up that my lasting kind of questions and thoughts at this stage are does acquisition of data mean better health outcomes or health optimization and what is all this data doing for our health practice and self knowledge we understand that it's a hugely important area and arguably problematic aspects of digital health devices which does need addressing but if our behavior is changing as a direct result of being nudged by a design driver in response to wider socio-cultural economic and political priorities and pressures this leaves a lot of this is great ethical implications in terms of the motivations behind the design and lastly this idea of personal discovery and natural revelation only being enabled through self-sustained devices and self-representational digital modes and in this regard it's data acquisition and the sharing of that data what is this actually telling us about our health is it telling us anything more about our body and our health than we already know thank you


Thank you for joining us for the 2011 Sheboygan Memorial Day festivities. Here we are just ready for the parade to start. I've got all the information that I need to make this parade a little bit more interesting for you at home. There's going to be a lot of things that we're going to be experiencing today on this Memorial Day where we are honoring those Americans who have joined the military and have sacrificed either with their lives or with their health. And thank you so much again for joining us and we're just about ready to go. Hello there, what is your name sir? Orville Pruitt. And do you have any, could you tell me a little bit about your military experience? Well I served in Korea for 14 months and survived Port Chop Hill and in Chon we had a drawback and all left those bodies we couldn't find water in the river when we got done. That's about all I can say. Okay well I'd like to thank you for your service to help make America the way we are today. Thank you. And sir what is your name? Steve Cobb. And I understand you were in the military? Yes. Could you give us a little more information about that? Sure I was in the Marine Corps from 1984 to 1987, weapons company, third battalion, first Marines. And what's it like being in the military? Oh I loved it, you know it was hard work, I was very young and it was a time in my life where it was good to be in the military and I learned a lot, I learned a lot about responsibility, I learned a lot about being accountable for my work, traveled a lot, got to go to a lot of different places but yeah I was glad to get out but it was a great time when I was in. And we'd all like to thank you for your time in the service. Thank you. Hello and what's your name sir? Alfred Vyneman. And could you share any experience like what military branch you were in and when you served? I served in an infantry in the Second World War in Europe. And did you join or what was the situation? I was drafted out of high school when I was a senior. Those days that was not unusual. If you were 18 and before December of that year you were drafted. After December you didn't draft, let you graduate. But I was drafted out of high school, I never finished. So I would like to thank you for your service during World War II and you said you were in Europe? Yeah. And battle at a bulge you fought in and then from Central Europe to Eastern Germany. Three battles. Thank you again very much and enjoy Memorial Day because you're the person that we're honoring. Thank you very much. 2011 Memorial Day parade, everyone standing at attention with a color guard. We have all branches of service, flags, American flag, the POW, MIA, state of Wisconsin flag, Army, Marine, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard. We have the Sheboygan Police Honor Guard. Number of members, five. The current officer is Lieutenant Michael Williams. This is Sheboygan's Health High School Band. Here's our Wade Heinen and Patricia Milstead, drum majors, Katie Henry, Desiree Weirman. Let's listen to America the Beautiful, Bear Bob Ryan, and the Common Council. Well good morning, how are you today, sir? Oh, we're great. It's going to be a nice day. I think later on I'm going to be able to say it's getting hot out here. I think it will be predicted. Very solid location. This is Memorial Day we have to remember and it's a good time for friends and family to remember our fallen heroes of the past. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Sheboygan Oaks Club, number 299. Home City is Sheboygan and this group was founded in 1868. Founder George Thompson, current number of members, 650. It is a charitable organization. Exalted ruler is Paul Sofa. Coming up next, Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 618. Home City, Sheboygan County. The group was founded in 1989. Name of the founders, Dave Geer and John Webb. Currently has 27 members and they do community service. Current leader, Jerry Kahn. Disabled veterans, disabled American veterans, Home City of Sheboygan. James Gens, commander. Name of the group, Lao Meng and American Veterans Memorial. Was founded in 1999. Has 200 plus members and they promote spirit of brotherhood between Lao, Meng and American veterans. Current leader is Wu Yang. This is the Navy League Cadet Corps, Home City, Sheboygan Falls. Founded in 2008 by Robert Hankey, 20 members and we are a Navy youth group for boys and girls ages 10 to 14. Parade Marshal, VFW Post, 1230. Golden members. Name of the founder, Wolf Olson are 200 members. Coming up next, North High School Band. The North High School Marching Band has 100 members. Current leader is Jeff Parks, Twirlers. What would a parade be like without Diane Remy's troops? Veterans for Peace, Sheboygan Chapter 114. Name of the founder, Tom Contrastan and Josh Harry and they want to educate for peace. Ed Filmeyer is current president. No peace, no war. And we have the Sheboygan A's mascot. Baseball. Grand opening, June 4th. We're looking at Macefields Lakeshore Weekend. There are nine board members and they're raising funds. Particular event, 100% of the proceeds go to Children's Hospital. So this event will start in 2008 and again is to benefit Children's Hospital. Oh my gosh, a dragon. Getting an awful lot of attention here. All the kids lining the parade route are just really staring at that dragon, making sure that dragon will stay friendly. Joel I. Pam for State Senate and Bubbles. Little bubble machine situated on top of the van. I think Bubbles are one of the most fun activities we can do. American Legion Memorial Post 555. Thank you, veterans for our freedom. Lakeshore Kiwanis Carnival, June 1st through 5th. And we have coming on to Camera Discovery Coach. Founders are Lucille Priggy with Sons Jerry and Jim. Third generation Priggy family members. This is a reproduction vintage trolley built in Crandon, Wisconsin by Hometown Trolley. First trolley of its kind in Sheboygan County to be owned and operated by a local company. Oh, the hair looks great. We are going to walk the rest of the parade. Then we're going to go over to a couple of the VFWs and we're going to continue to do what we're doing in the parade. And that is just to thank the veterans. Thank you very much. You bet. Thank you. And the YMCA Lakeshore Springers. Founded in 1985. 120 boys and girls ages 4 to 19.  Some future Olympians. Right here in the 2011 Sheboygan Memorial Day Parade. Bad exhibition. The folks lined up on the parade are applauding. Hey, great job. Okay, next we have Prescott Banes. Post number 83 color guard. With the Sheboygan bus following. Showing the sign. Honor our vets. Very appropriate for today. Thank you veterans of the red, white and blue, our heroes who defend America. We proudly salute you. And I hear a little bit of a motor revving up. See what comes next. We have a canine unit. I find it really remarkable how they can train the dogs to help out in law enforcement and in helping locate people who were hurt in natural disasters. And we have the point. Our culture has been so blessed with radio. I am personally a radio fan. Sheboygan County B93.7. It's WHBL News Radio 1330. How are the knees? What a great day. Enjoy the day. Oh, thank you. You too. We have here the US Coast Guard station in Sheboygan. The founder was Alexander Hamilton. And what they do is search and rescue maritime law enforcement. Officer in charge of senior chief Boltzman's weight, Marcus Evans. Sheboygan County. The home city Sheboygan Falls and was founded in 2008. It was founded by Pastor John D. Putnam. And it currently has 180 members. The theme of the float is, hey, they're patriotic. They're giving thanks to those who served. Next, we have the sign shop of Sheboygan. The owners and founder, founders Bill and Joey Grinke. And they provide creative visual communication solutions. And they want to honor our veterans. Here's Blue Harbor. What a beautiful van. I've gone to Blue Harbor several times and really had an enjoyable time. Santana's limo. Here we have a string of limos. Stretch limos. I have never had the opportunity of riding in a limo. And that is something I'm going to have to try doing someday. I need to find out just how comfortable it is. How quiet Santana's limos playing a wood stock vintage song by Jimi Hendrix. Very patriotic. We have Papa John's honoring the veterans. The Sheboygan fire department represented, oh, waving. Such a comfort knowing that we have police and fire protection in the city. The very latest in technology to save lives and save property. We have Girl Scouts of Manitou Council, troop 8528, celebrating Memorial Day. Waving their flags, waving to folks, standing along the parade route. All their decorations on their sash, all the work that they've done. So that's the Girl Scouts followed by Cup Scouts. Again, you not only have Cup Scouts and Boy Scouts all working hard at the different projects that they do, but you also have the adults who volunteer their time and care and caring to help the boys and girls grow up to become wonderful adults and great citizens. Organizations like the Girl Scouts and Cup Scouts that help keep the United States strong and safe place to live. Just wonderful to see generations working together. Thanks for being with us for this wonderful Memorial Day parade. The weather worked perfectly, high sky. And this parade is just the very beginning of a day of celebrating everything that our veterans have done for us since the beginning of the Memorial Day celebrations right after the Civil War to the present. Again, thanks to Steve Reiner, my cameraman, and thanks to all of you for spending the last couple hours watching. Have a great Memorial Day, and see you next parade.


a little bit about a horse that creeps, that creeps up on us. Yeah, she likes to creep and saw a lot of the horse when they spooked earlier, they all sort of crept forward, didn't they? Now, what we need to establish is a halt, stand, because if I can keep her standing, she never has the opportunity to creep up on us. The reason horses creep up on us, you've probably been told at times they're pushy or disrespectful. Most of the times because we're not paying attention, because I know that I could keep her here in place. So what that means is, if I watch her and I can keep her head where it's at, nose between the shoulder, don't let her lean on the front legs, I could get to this point, right? Or if I had a saddle on a saddle rack, I could keep her in place, walk over, put the pad, put the saddle on, walk away. If I'm not paying attention though, as soon as I turn my back, she creeps, right? So keep her in place. Now, we'll set this distance. Notice the slack. If I turn and walk forward, she needs to keep that distance, calculate this distance. Good. I'm always going back to the halt though. So if she starts to come forward and she pushes more slack in the rope than this, I go back to the halt and maybe even the back up. Keep that distance in there. Now watch this. I'll just keep her there. I'll say you stay. Stay. All right. And then I'll go back to this distance. Now, if I'm not paying attention, if I'm not aware, she might creep up on me and she'll lose her mindset. But right now, it's working pretty nice. I only backed her up there because she did come too far forward. So I'm coming back to the halt. Always. Good. Look at, look. Yeah. Nice look. Nice expression. Bright expression. Turn. I'm going to keep, I'm going to say, wait a second. Stay there. Stay there. Oh, the words aren't for her, you know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then turn. Walk. Halt. Oh, you kind of crept up on me a little bit there. I like that she doesn't want you to really back her that much.  If you keep your distance, we'll just go slow and easy. That looks nice. Now check out my new distance. So if my rope were longer, it be the same, well, too far forward, be the same concept there. Now, the reason that we, good job, she looks really nice there. The reason that we lead our horses up close is that's the distance that we're effective with at that moment. But if you can always come to your halt, you can lead at any distance then because you have the halt. So is it a question of being pushy or is it a question of just not creeping forward? Right? Yeah, here you go. All right. So Miss, everybody has a spatial, we have a sort of our spatial bubble, right? A bubble that depending on who you know, you might let somebody closer, or you might not want somebody that close to your bubble. And the horse has, yeah, right, apparently, apparently, you guys get along pretty good. So so your friends, and that's excellent. And horses have this too. But sometimes when we're confused, what we do is we let our bubble down. Or sometimes we just don't want our feet to get stepped on. So we close this bubble up. And what happens is we end up drawing the horse to us. So when they're nervous, if they spook, and we go, they're gonna come to you.  So now we'll play around with that idea of your spatial bubble. Okay. And we'll move some of the horse's body parts of the shoulder and the haunch and different parts of his body. But notice, when I approach, I'll let that bubble down low. But then if I step in, if I want him to look off to the side, I'll get a little taller. And I'll just sort of like lift, you'll lift your frontal plane up a little bit. And I'll say look over there. And then when he gets it, I might fall back to my heels slightly. Now, you don't have to totally fall back. But the idea is I'm here. I'm here or I'm here. I'm here. This this will really correlate to riding. So I'll press in. I'm sort of expanding and flating that bubble. Good fall back. I might bring think about bringing my life up and bring my bubble a little bit bigger here. Have him step over and then I'll fall back even if he can't see me. I'm relaxed. All right, get taller, convey life, bring your life up. Good. Let him be. All right. Want to play with that? Right. Right, right. Yes. Yes, definitely. I 100% agree. It is very cool. With horses, we forget about it because we get into a self preservation state or Oh my gosh, my horse is scared. What do I do? What do I do? And we question a lot. And so now all of a sudden we're not using that energy. But you have it. You always did. Yeah, exactly. They they really are perceptive to it. Yeah, right. Looks good.


So, here's a nice looking laptop right here with an HP, so hi, so what is this? I'm Kevin Wenzel, HP's technical marketing manager for consumer PCs. This is our Spectrofolio laptop, and this is the first leather convertible that's ever been on the market. So other people have done things like leather covers, but the skin of this laptop is actually 100% full-brained chrome tanned leather. It's on the outside, we've got it on the palm rest, we've got it on display, it's around So, there are electronics inside here, actually it's kind of interesting inside, we've got a huge battery, very small motherboard, just because we wanted to have great battery life in this product, we can see up to more than 20 hours of video playback, depending on the configuration, but it's not just a laptop, it's also, it is a convertible, so I can just switch it into forward mode, and suddenly I've got a great machine for watching a video, especially on an airplane, or it's a great stable touch platform, so if I'm playing a touch-based game I'm in fantastic shape. Now you notice it comes with a pen, and that's fantastic when I switch it down into tablet mode, so it's actually at a little angle, so I'm ready to, ready to draw, sorry, let's just cancel that. Sorry, it's not ready for the drawing, right? There, now I can draw or write, so I'm ready to write or draw or anything like that. I can draw, I can write, I can write notes to somebody, I can actually even respond to email with a handwritten note, and the machine comes 100% with a pen in the box, so it's not, this is the Microsoft ink technology. Microsoft ink, and as for connectivity, is type C's? It's three type C connectors, two on one side, and both of these two are Thunderbolt 3. On this side we've got another type C port, that's not Thunderbolt 3, but it's charging, and it's also display. You can use any other ports to charge it. And the other ports can just display two or only that one? Well yeah, they're Thunderbolt 3, they're capable of all of that. So it's a fast Intel processor in there? The Intel processor is an Intel 4i5 or i7 Y series, so the Y series is the 4.5 watt processor that Intel makes. We've configured it so you can actually boost up to 10 watts, so when you're using the machine, if you have a sudden need for CPU power, it'll give it a nice boost and you get fast performance. So I'd recommend this for any kind of office activity, word processing, excel sheets, almost anything like that. The only place I probably wouldn't recognize it is if you want to do, if you're constantly doing video editing or photo editing or something like that. In that case I'd recommend our Spectre X360, which uses U-Series or H-Series CPUs. It's not because it's going to heat up the leather too much, that's not the reason. To make the machine fanless and ventless and with the full leather cover, we needed to use a processor that allowed us to take advantage of that low power capability. So that's where that Y-Series processor works for us.


Maine Coon Cat vs. Ragdoll Cat. What are the differences between these two cat breeds? These cat breeds are one of the popular cat breeds in the world, not just because of their appearances, but also because of their loving personalities. These are two large-sized cat breeds. Most Maine Coons weigh 9-18 pounds, males are larger, and some tip the scales at 20 or more pounds. They don't reach their full size until they are 3-5 years Female ragdolls usually weigh 10-15 pounds, and some males weigh more than 20 pounds. The Maine Coon is a native New Englander, handling from Maine, where they were popular mousers, farm cats, and most likely ships' cats, at least as far back as the early 19th century. The first thing you'll probably notice is that Maine Coons are really big. In fact, the record for the world's longest house cat belongs to a Maine Coon who grew to be over four feet long. But these kitties have more going for them than size. They're affectionate without being needy, they're adaptable, and they've kept their hunting instincts, just in case you need a good mouser. If you can handle a whole lot of cats, this kitty might be a perfect addition to your family. The good-natured and affable Maine Coon adapts well to many lifestyles and personalities. They like being with people and have the habit of following them around, but they aren't needy. They're happy to receive attention when you direct it their way, but if you're busy, they're satisfied to just supervise your doings. Close a door on them and they will wait patiently for you to realize the error of your ways and let them in. They're not typically a lap cat, but they do like to be near you. They also retain their skill as a mouser. No rodents will be safe in a home where a Maine Coon resides. Even if you don't have any mice for them to chase, they'll keep their skills sharp by chasing toys and grabbing them with their big paws.  They can climb as well as any cat but usually prefer to stay on the ground level. That's where their work is, after all. They're also very smart and will happily learn tricks or play with puzzle toys that challenge their brain. With positive reinforcement, ragdoll cats learn quickly and can pick up tricks as well as good behaviors such as using a scratching post. The ragdoll cat is an all-around best buddy to just about everyone. They love their human families, even children, and will get along with other pets fairly well. Dossle sweet and happy to relax for a good cuddle session. If you're looking for a companion, you can't find a much better choice than one of these easygoing felines. Unlike many cats, ragdolls are notable for collapsing into the arms of anyone who holds them, even if they are cradled on their back. They love their people, greeting them at the door, following them around the house, and leaping into a lap or snuggling in bed whenever given the chance. They often learn to come when called or to retrieve toys that are thrown for them. The word most often used to describe them is Dossle, but that doesn't mean they are inactive. They like to play with toys and enter into any family activities. With positive reinforcement in the form of praise and food rewards when they do something you like, ragdolls learn quickly and can pick up tricks as well as good behaviors such as using a scratching post. In a small, sweet voice, they remind you of meal time or ask for petting but are not excessively vocal. Ragdolls have nice manners and are easy to live with. You will find a ragdoll on your sofa or bed, but generally not much higher than that. He prefers to stay on the same level with his people rather than the highest point in a room. Cats are obligate carnivores, meaning they eat almost exclusively meat. Their diet should consist of no more than 5% carbohydrates and most of their protein should come from an animal source. Another important consideration is your cat's water intake. Cats in the wild get most of their hydration from their diet, not by actually drinking water as most people think. Can cat food is about 70-80% water, while dry food is only about 10% water. Although you can make up some of the water lost by providing a bowl or fountain of water, it's still not usually enough to cover the difference. If your cat is healthy and doesn't have special dietary requirements, then mainly wet food with dry food being supplementary and raw food being optional will likely be fine. Unless your cat has an exceptional ability to self-regulate its eating, it's not a good idea to leave out unlimited food all day, especially dry food. It's okay to leave dry or wet food out all day if you use measured portions that make sense for your cat's weight and activity level. Hello. This video is sponsored by Beemix Pets. Are you looking for high-quality cat collars at an affordable cost? Check out BeemixPets.com. Use coupon code KittenLife, to get 20% off. Despite the length of the Maine Coons coat, it has a silky texture that doesn't mat easily if you groom it regularly. It is easily cared for with twice-weekly combing to remove dead hair and distribute skin oils. Useful grooming tools include a stainless steel comb for removing tangles, and what's called a grooming rake to pull out the dead undercoat, which is what causes tangles when it's not removed. Use it gently, especially in the stomach area and on the tail. Maine Coons are patient, but they don't like having their hair pulled any more than you do. A ragdoll's moderately long fur has a little undercoat, which means it is less likely to mat and shed, but that doesn't mean the cat's need no grooming. Comb it twice a week with a stainless steel comb to remove dead hair that can cause tangles. Be sure to comb the fur on the legs thoroughly, especially where the leg meets the body, where mats are most likely to occur. A rubber-curry brush will smooth the fur after you comb it and remove any remaining loose hairs. If you are gentle and don't pull their hair, ragdolls will love the attention they receive from you during grooming time. Note that seasonal changes, as well as hormonal fluctuations in unaltered cats, can affect the length of the coat. The coat will be at its peak in winter. Ragdolls that have been spayed or neutered will usually have a lush coat year-round because they lack the hormonal fluctuations that occur in unaltered cats. Brush the teeth to prevent periodontal disease. Daily dental hygiene is best, but weekly brushing is better than nothing. Trim the nails every couple of weeks. Wipe the corners of the eyes with a soft, damp cloth to remove any discharge. Use a separate area of the cloth for each eye so you don't run the risk of spreading any infection. Check the ears weekly. If they look dirty, wipe them out with a cotton ball with a 50-50 mixture of cider vinegar and warm water. Avoid using cotton swabs, which can damage the interior of the ear. It's a good idea to keep them as an indoor only cat to protect them from diseases spread by other cats, attacks by dogs or coyotes, and the other dangers that face cats who go outdoors, such as being hit by a car. Maine Coons and Ragdolls who go outdoors also run the risk of being stolen by someone who would like to have such a beautiful cat without paying for it. The friendly Maine Coon is a perfect choice for families with children and cat-friendly dogs. They love the attention they receive from children who treat them politely and with respect, and they don't mind playing dress up or going for a ride in a baby buggy. The laid-back Ragdoll is perfectly suited to family life. He rarely extends his claws when playing, and he usually doesn't mind playing dress up, riding in a baby buggy, or being a guest at a tea party.  You should always supervise young children to make sure they don't torment the cat. And with a cat this size, it's essential to teach children how to support the cat, with one arm beneath the front legs and one beneath the hind legs. Never hold a ragdoll with the hind end hanging down. They are happy to live with other cats and cat-friendly dogs, too, thanks to their amiable disposition. Introduce pets slowly and in controlled circumstances to ensure that they learn to get along together. If you enjoyed this video, kindly press the like button. Also don't forget to subscribe with notifications on, so that you don't miss out on videos like this. Thank you for watching.


Hello everyone, my name is Morgan Roberts and I am a first year MLIS special session student currently going into my second semester. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Maine, Dr. Harlan, Dr. Bowen, the student awards and scholarships committee and Miss Luna for selecting me as a recipient for the 2023 special session scholarship for current students. I chose San Jose Estates MLIS program because of a variety of pathways and content areas addressed by the program. I am very interested in archives and digital materials and how we can use them to better the sharing and understanding of information. My scholarship application was about a multimodal and graphic narratives initiative that I began at one of my local community college as an access and instruction librarian. In this initiative, faculty and staff were encouraged to offer alternative assignments in the form of multimodal composition and to include comics and graphic novels as alternative reading materials or text materials in their classes. The initiative has been a huge success so far with English, Spanish and nursing faculty all making changes to their curriculums. Ultimately, I hope changes like these become standard to make learning more accessible and interesting for students and that we all continue to create and support lifelong learners from all walks of life. With all of the opportunities that the iSchool offers each semester, I hope to continue exploring the world of archives and digital materials along with any other subjects that catches my interest. I am so honored and grateful to have been selected for this award and to be able to share my ideas with others and in turn to learn even more from my fellow students and the iSchool staff. Thank you again to the student awards and scholarships committee. I am very much looking forward to seeing where the program takes me and to learning all that I can throughout the course of my library science degree.


Chapter Twenty-One of The Moving Picture-Girls. The trip down the bay on the yacht was enjoyed by all, even though much of the time was taken up in depicting scenes from the drama. Sandy Apgar looked on curiously while the drama was being filmed, and when Ruth and Alice were not acting, they talked to the young farmer. They found him good-natured and rather simple, yet with a fund of homely wit and philosophy that stood him in good stead. He described Beatonville to them, and the farm where he and his aged parents tried to rest a living from nature that was none too kind. I've had quite a little vacation since I came to New York, Sandy said, though it did take quite a bit of money. I reckon Pop, though, will be disappointed that I can't bring back with me the promise of some cash. Then you need money very badly, asked Alice. Yes, Miss. And I guess there ain't many farmers but what do? Least ways I never met any that was millionaires. Though if the folks back home could see me now, they'd think I was one, sitting here doing nothing. It sure is great. The girls were called away to enact some of the scenes requiring their presence, and when they came back, they found Sandy in conversation with the manager. The girls saw Mr. Patel give Sandy some bills, and when the young farmer protested, the manager said, Now never mind that. You saved me more than that in stopping that runaway horse from spoiling my film and scene. You'd just take it, and when I get a chance I'll run up to your farm and to look it over. I haven't got all my plans made yet, but I'm thinking of making a series of plays with an old-fashioned farm as a background. Is your place old-fashioned? he asked. That's what some city folks said once, when they stopped in their automobile to get a glass of milk, replied Sandy. We haven't any electric lights, nor even a telephone. So I guess we're old-fashioned all right. I should say so, laughed Mr. Patel. Well, it may be the very thing I need when I go out on the rural circuit with my company. If it is, I could pay for the use of your farm, and it wouldn't interfere with your getting in the crops. In fact, I would probably want some scenes of harvesting and the like. Well, come and we'll make you welcome, responded Sandy warmly. Only I never expected to get paid for stopping a runaway horse, he added, as he looked at the role of bills. Well, take it and have a good time during the rest of your stay in New York, advised the manager. Money's too scarce to waste on a good time, replied the young farmer cautiously. I'll use this to make up what I spent on railroad fare. My trip was a failure, but Pop and Mum will be glad it didn't cost me as much as I calculated, thanks to you. I hope you will get out to work, Farm. Oh, you'll probably see me," Mr. Patel assured him. Give me your address. The making of the films went on, and the water scenes of this latest and most elaborate drama were nearly all taken. Now we will have the scene in the small boat, where the party puts off to visit friends on the other vessel, announced Mr. Patel. They don't actually get there, as the alarm on board this vessel brings them back, but we'll have to show the start. Now, Mr. Snead, you were to go in the small boat first. Some of the sailors on board the yacht, prepared to lower a boat from the Davits, but Pepper Snead held back. Do I have to get into that small boat? he asked dubiously. Certainly, replied Mr. Patel, there is no danger. No danger? cried Pepper Snead. What? In that small boat? Look at the waves! And he pointed over the side. There was only a gentle swell on. It is as calm as a millpond, spoke one of the sailors. Millpond, don't say millpond to me, cried the grouchy actor. I fell in one once. Well, you won't fall now, declared the manager. Get in the boat. I want to show it being lowered over the side with you in it. Well, if I have to, I'll have to, I suppose, groaned Mr. Snead, but I know something will happen. But matters seemed going smoothly enough. The sailors were carefully lowering the small craft, and it was nearly at the surface of the water. Russ, up in the bow of the yacht, where he could get a good view, was making the pictures. Suddenly, when the boat was a few feet from the ripples on the bay, one of the ropes slipped quickly through the Davit block. One end of the boat went down quite fast, and Pepper Snead was heard to yell, Here I go! I knew something would happen! Help! I'm going to sink! Help! Oh, why did I ever get into this business? But with great presence of mind, the other sailors lowered away on their rope, so the other end of the boat went down also, and in another instant it was riding on an even keel. Nothing had happened, except that Pepper Snead had been badly scared. Did you get that, Russ? asked the manager anxiously. Oh, yes. How was it? Fine. It will be all the better with that little mistake in. Look more natural. Good. Then we'll leave it in.  Stay there, Mr. Snead, he called to the grouchy actor, who seemed to want to leave the boat. What? Are more of them coming in this little cockle-shell? Certainly. That boat will hold twenty. Keep your place. Well, we'll all be drowned, you mark my words, predicted Mr. Snead. But nothing else happened, and that part of the film was successfully made. Then came more scenes aboard the yacht, until the water parts of the drama were completed. Late at that afternoon the party of moving picture-players returned to New York. Sandy Apgar bade his new friends goodbye, expressing the hope that he would soon see them at Oak Farm. Excuse me, Mr. Bertel, said Alice, when they got back to the studio, and instructions had been given out for the indoor rehearsals next day. Excuse me, but I could not help overhearing what you said about the possibility of some farm dramas. Do you intend to film some of those? Indeed I do, he answered with a smile. Why, would you and your sister like to be in them? Very much. Well, then, if this big play proves a success, and I see no reason why it should not, I shall take you and the rest of the company out to the country for the summer. We may go to Oak Farm, or to some other place, but we'll try a circuit of rural dramas, and see how they go. Alice went to tell Ruth the good news. She found her sister in the dressing-room, getting ready for the street. I think that will be fine, exclaimed Ruth. Listen, dear, daddy told me he had some business to attend to downtown, so he won't be home to supper. He suggested that we two go to a restaurant, and I think I'd like it, don't you? It will round out the day. Of course, let's go!  A short time afterward, the girls sat in a quiet restaurant, not far from the moving-picture studio. There were not many persons there yet, for it was rather early. Ruth and Alice had taken a cosy little corner, of which there were a number in the place. We are coming on, remarked Alice, as she gave her order. We certainly are, agreed Ruth. Who would ever have thought that we would get to be moving-picture-girls? I think. Hush! cautioned Alice, raising her hand for silence. Then the two girls heard some men, in the next screened-off place talking, and one of them spoke loudly enough to be overheard. I'm sure we can get it, he was saying. It's a nice little patent, and all the movies in the country will want it. It makes the pictures clearer and steadier. I tried to make a deal with him for it, but he turned me down. Now I'm going to get it anyhow, if you'll help. But how can you get it if it's patented? another voice asked. That's the joke of it. It isn't patented yet, and all we need is the working model, and we can make one like it and patented ourselves. Are you with me? I guess so, yes, was the answer. Good, then we'll get the model to-night, and start a patent of our own. I know where he's taken it. There was a scraping of chairs, indicating that the men were leaving. Ruth and Alice gazed at each other with startled eyes. End of Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Of The Moving Picture Girls This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, and to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Corrie Samuel The Moving Picture Girls by Laura Lee Hope Chapter 22 The Warning Did you hear that? asked Ruth of Alice in a whisper. Yes, hush, don't let them hear you. Ruth looked apprehensively over the back of her chair, but beheld no one. The noise made by the men as they were going out grew fainter. Alice rose from her chair. What are you going to do? asked Ruth, laying a detaining hand on her sister's arm. I'm going to see who those men are. Don't, they may— Alice made a gesture of silence. I'm pretty sure who one of them is, she whispered, as she bent down close to Ruth. But I want to make certain. But Alice— Now, Ruth, be sensible, went on Alice, as she passed around back of her sister's chair. You heard what was said. I'm sure those men have some designs on that patent Russ has worked so hard over, we must tell him about them, and put him on his guard. You may get into danger. It was curious how, in this emergency, as she had often done of late, Alice took the lead over her older sister, and Ruth did not object to it, but seemed to follow naturally after Alice led the way. Danger, laughed Alice softly, as she came to a position behind the screen, whence she could note who the men going out were. There's no danger in a public restaurant like this, and I'm only going to make sure who that man is, then we'll go tell Russ. Ruth made no further objection, and turned to watch her sister. The men had come to a halt at the desk of the cashier to pay their checks, and their backs were toward Alice. An instant later, however, one of them had turned around, and faced toward the rear of the restaurant. Alice started behind the screen with a quick intaking of her breath. She had recognized the man, and was fearful lest he know her. For he was the fellow with whom Russ had been in dispute in the hallway that day, when the Devere's door had flown open. Simple woolly, whispered Alice, intense tones to Ruth. It's that man who was after Russ's patent. Then don't let him see you. I won't. No danger. They're going out now. Come on. Where? asked Ruth, as Alice reached for her gloves. We must go to warn Russ. But we haven't eaten what we ordered, objected Ruth, pointing to the food hardly touched on the table. No matter. We can pay for it. But the cashier will think it's so odd. What do we care? It's our food. We'll pay for it, and we can do what we like with it, then. We can eat it or not. But they'll think it's so queer. They may think we have some prejudice against it, and— Ruth was a stickler for the established order of things. Alice was more in the habit of taking cross-cuts. Don't be silly, exclaimed the younger girl. We've just got to get out of here and warn Russ before those men have a chance to take his patent. You heard what they said about doing it tonight. Well, I suppose we must, assented Ruth with a sigh. But it seems a shame to waste all that good food. Won't be wasted. We can tell them to give it to some poor person. Oh, Alice, you were so—so queer. I'd be worse than queer if I sat here and ate while Russ was being robbed of his patent. I should think you'd want to help him. I thought you and he— Alice, warned Ruth, with a sudden assumption of dignity. But she blushed prettily. Oh, you know what I mean. Come on. Don't sit there talking any longer and raising objections. We've got to hurry. Yes, I suppose so. Oh, Alice, I hope nothing happens. So do I. I mean to us. And I mean to Russ—a distinction without a difference. The two girls drew on their gloves and left the restaurant. As Ruth had expected, the cashier at the desk looked at them curiously as they paid for the meal they had not eaten. But Alice forestalled any open criticism by saying, We find we have to leave sooner than we expected. If you like, give our meal to some poor person. We haven't had time to touch it. Oh, all right," answered the young girl at the desk. We often give what is left over to charity, and I'm sure the food on your table won't come amiss. If you like, I'll speak to the manager, and see if he'll give you a rebate. No, we haven't time for that. Too much for a hurry," answered Alice. Come along, Ruth. They hurried outside, and Alice glanced quickly up and down the street for a glimpse of the two men. They were not in sight. I wish we were rich, suddenly exclaimed Alice, as she took her sister's arm and hurried in the direction of the elevated that would take them home. Why? asked Ruth. Because then we could afford to take a taxi cab. We ought to warn Russ as soon as possible. How much money have you, Ruth? Not enough for a taxi cab, I'm afraid. She hastily counted it over. Alice did the same. No, decided the young girl with a sigh. I guess we'd better not. At least, not yet. We may have to, later. What do you mean? asked Ruth. I mean, we can't tell what will happen before we are able to tell Russ. He's hardly likely to be at home now, and we may have to search for him. But we can go home and tell his mother and Billy. One of them could find him and warn him. Billy knows New York even better than we do. Yes, I suppose so. Well, we'll go to the apartment and see what happens there. But at the Fenmore the girls had their first disappointment, for none of the Dalwoods was at home. Nor did any of the neighbours know where they had gone. For persons in New York, even in the same apartment house, are not very likely to become acquainted with one another, and often families may live in adjoining flats for a long time, without passing beyond the bowing stage. As for keeping track of the comings and goings of their neighbours, it is never thought of, unless something out of the ordinary occurs. Echoes only answered the knocking of Ruth and Alice, and the two girls faced each other in the hallway, with anxious looks on their faces. What shall we do? asked Ruth. None of them is home. How can we warn us? I don't know. I've got to think, exclaimed Alice. Come in our place, and let's sit down a minute. We can make a cup of tea.  Well, we just had to do it. That's all. Tea was soon in process of making, and while the girls set out some cakes and a jar of jam for a hasty meal, they did some rapid thinking. Did you ever hear Russ say where it was he was having his pattern detachment made? asked Alice. I never did, confessed Ruth. He said it was somewhere on the east side, but that's very indefinite. Then the only thing to do is to find Russ and tell him, decided Alice, as she removed, with the tip of her tongue, a spot of jam from a forefinger. We've just got to find him. Now, I'll tell you what we'll do, Ruth. You stay here, and as soon as Mrs. Dalwood, or Billy, or perhaps even Russ comes home, you tell them all about this plot. But what will you do? I'll go find Russ. What? Alone? Why not? We can't both go. Oh, I see. And a light broke over the face of Alice. You mean you think it's your place to warn him? Well, maybe it is. I'm sure he would like. Now, Alice, I didn't mean that at all, and you know it. I mean you oughtn't to be going about New York alone, and it's getting late. It will soon be dark. Nonsense! It isn't six o'clock yet. I know, but I can't allow you. We'll both go. But someone ought to be here to tell them as soon as one comes home. We can write a note and leave it under the door. Then we can leave a note for daddy. He'll be worried when he comes back and finds us gone. That's the best plan, Alice. Leave a note for Russ, and then you and I will try to find him. They may know at the studio where he has gone. Or he may be there yet. All right! agreed Alice, after a moment's thought. Recording by Corrie Samuel The Moving Picture Girls by Laura Lee Hope Chapter 23 The Missing Model Two notes were quickly written. One was left on the table in the girl's apartment, telling their father that they were going out for a little while, to try to locate Russ on a matter of some importance, connected with the moving pictures. There's no use telling daddy what has happened, said Alice. He would only worry, and really there's no danger. We are merely going to warn Russ. He will have to look after the men himself. But daddy would be sure to think we would get into some trouble. So we may as well not bother him. All right! agreed Ruth. She was entering into the spirit of the affair now. Her eyes were shining, and her cheeks vied in hue with those of Alice. The other note, marked Urgent, was thrust under the kitchen door of the Dalwood flat. They'll be sure to see that, remarked Alice. And, no matter if only Billy comes home first, he'll know what to do. For the story of the men's talk in the restaurant had been briefly set down on the paper. Then, but not without many misgivings, the girls set out to try to find Russ. We can call up the studio on the telephone, suggested Alice, as she and her sister reached the street. That will be the quickest way. If Russ isn't there, they may be able to tell us where he is, or Mr. Patel may know where the model is. I mean, the machine shop where the apparatus is being turned out. That's so, agreed Ruth. Why, we could have used one of the telephones in the apartment. No, some of the neighbours would overhear us, and we don't want that. Why not? Ruth wanted to know. Because you can't tell but one of those men might be watching this place, and some of the neighbours might be in league with them. Besides, all the telephones here are on party wires, and when you talk over one, some of the other subscribers on the same circuit may listen for all we can tell. It isn't safe. My, you think of everything, exclaimed Ruth admiringly. How do you manage it? Oh, it just seems to come to me, replied Alice, with a laugh. Come on, she added, after they had walked a little way. There's a drugstore and there's a telephone booth in it. Do you want to talk to us in case he's there? Oh no, you'd better, responded Ruth, blushing. I will not. I'll call up the studio, but if he's there I want you to be the one to tell him. He'll appreciate it. All right, agreed Ruth, and the blush grew deeper. Alice quickly got the number of the moving picture studio. There was a private branch exchange there, and Alice knew the girl operator. I want to get Rustelwood in a hurry, Alice explained to Miss Miller, who ran the switchboard. You try the different departments until you find him, I'll be here holding the wire. All right, returned Miss Miller, in crisp, business-like tones. Perhaps she suspected that something was wrong. Then ensued a nervous waiting. Alice opened the door of the booth and told Ruth what she had done. I'll let you talk to Rust as soon as he answers, she said. Ruth nodded understandingly. But it seemed that Rust was not to be so easily found. Through her receiver Alice could hear Miss Miller ringing the telephones in the different departments of the big studio building. One after the other was tried, from the office to the dark developing rooms and then the printing rooms. Most of the employees had gone for the day, but such as were present evidently made answer that the young moving-picture operator was not there. I can't locate him, said Miss Miller to Alice, finally. They say he was here about half an hour ago but has gone out. Don't they know where he went? asked Alice. It's very important that we find him. I'll see if anyone knows, came back the answer. Then ensued more waiting, but at the end came a gleam of hope. Mr. Blackson, in the camera room, says he heard Rust say he was going to the Odeon Theatre. Miss Miller stated. He is trying to get one of his attachments tried there. Where is the Odeon? asked Alice, nervously drumming with her fingers on the telephone shelf. It's on 80th Street somewhere. Wait, I'll look up the telephone number for you. They take our service, you know. In a few seconds Miss Miller had given the desired information, and then Alice said good-bye to her, frantically working the receiver-hook of her instrument up and down to call the attention of the main central operator. And give them a good long ring, Alice added, as she gave the number. It's very important. Very well, answered central. There came more waiting. It was a bad time to get any one, for it was now shortly after six o'clock, just when most persons were leaving for home or supper. Can't you get them? asked Ruth, as Alice opened the phone booth door for a breath of air. I'm trying, dear. He'd left the studio, but may be at a moving picture theatre. There, they've answered at last. Alice pulled the door shut with her disengaged hand, and spoke eagerly into the transmitter. Is Mr. Rust Alwood there? It's very important. Ruth saw the look of dismay that came over her sister's face. Then, through the double-glass door, she heard Alice say, he's gone, and you don't know where. Left ten minutes ago. Oh, dear! Slowly, she hung up the receiver. There seemed nothing else to do. She came out of the booth, her face showing her disappointment. He's gone, Ruth, she said. What had we better do? I think the only thing to do is to go back home and wait for him. He may be there now, or his mother, or Billy may. Come on home. It was Ruth who was directing now, and Alice, after a moment of thought, saw that this was the only thing to do. Quickly they retraced their steps to the apartment house. Without stopping to enter their own flat, they knocked on the Dalwood door. A few seconds of anxious waiting brought no answer. Not home yet, exclaimed Alice.  Ruth turned to their own flat. Entering with a pass key, she saw at once that their father had not come home. The note for him was still on the table. Then, as puzzled and disappointed, the two girls stood in the centre of the room. They heard someone coming up the stairs that led to their flat. A second later, and a merry whistle broke out. There he is! That's Russ! cried Alice joyfully. I'll tell him. No, you go! she added hastily, thrusting her sister before her into the hallway. The whistle broke off into a discord, as Russ saw Ruth standing, waiting for him. Something in her face must have told him something was the matter, for he came at the remaining steps three at a time. What is it? What has happened? he asked. Is someone hurt? No, it's your patent, the model. Some men. Alice and I overheard them in the restaurant. We've been trying to get you on the phone. I—we! Then Alice broke in. That after your moving picture machine patent, Russ, they're going to get it tonight. Simplelly, you've got to hurry! Between them, the girls quickly told what they had overheard. Russ's eyes snapped. So that's the game, is it? he cried. Well, I'll stop them.  My patent model, the drawings, and everything are at Burton's machine shop. It isn't far from here. I'll go right away, in a taxi cab. Do you— He hesitated a moment. Do you want to come? We might be able to help, suggested Alice to Russ. At any rate, we'll have to give evidence against those men if they get them. Shall we go, Russ? I—I think so. Yes. Bravo! whispered Alice in her ear. That note to Daddy will answer. You'd better leave another in the place of the one we wrote to you, Russ. I will, he exclaimed, as he entered his own flat. But Mother and Billy won't be home until late anyhow. They're going to stay to supper with relatives. Still, I'll explain in case I should be delayed. Quickly he dashed off another note for his mother, and then, with the two girls, he hurried down to the street. There was a taxi cab stand just around the corner, and the three were quickly on their way to the machine shop, while Alice and Ruth took turns giving more details of the scene than a restaurant. Here we are, announced Russ a little while later, as the cab drew up with a screeching of brakes, in front of a rather dingy building. I only hope we're in time, and that Burton hasn't gone yet. He jumped out of the cab, leaving Ruth and Alice sitting there. Frantically he threw open the door and rushed up the shop stairs. Oh! I do hope he is in time. Breathe, Ruth, softly. So do I, spoke Alice. I wonder how men can be so mean as to want to take what isn't theirs. I don't know, dear. Oh! hasn't this been an exciting day? I should say it had, if ever. There's Russ now. She interrupted herself to exclaim. Oh! Ruth! It looks as though we were too late. For Russ, with a dejected look on his face, was crossing the pavement toward the cab. It—it's gone, he said brokenly. Simp Woolly was here half an hour ago and got it. But how could he? asked Alice in surprise. Who gave it to him? Mr. Burton, there was a forged order supposed to be from me, and the machinist handed over the model. And Russ extended a crumpled and grimy bit of paper. End of Chapter 23. Chapter 24 Of The Moving Picture Girls This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Corey Samuel. The Moving Picture Girls By Laura Lee Hope Chapter 24 The Pursuit How did it happen, Russ? Where have the men gone with the model? Can't you get some trace of them? Thus Ruth and Alice questioned their friend, as he stood at the open window of the taxi cab, looking at the crumpled paper. I—I don't understand it at all, he confessed. After I knew those fellows were after my patent, I cautioned Mr. Burton about letting any strangers see it. A figure came into the doorway of the machine shop. It was that of an elderly man, with steel-rimmed spectacles. His face was grimy with a dirt of metal. I'm awfully sorry, Russ, he said contrarily. But of course I thought the note was from you, and gave up the model. Did simply get it? asked Alice eagerly. No, a uniformed messenger boy came for it, explained Russ. That was it, wasn't it, Mr. Burton? Yes, and I had no suspicions. You know you had said you might want the model some time in a hurry, to demonstrate possible bias. And of course, when the boy came with the note, I supposed you had sent him. I'm not familiar enough with your handwriting to know it, he added. No, I suppose not, admitted Russ. And yet, if you had, this might have deceived you. It is very like my writing. I guess Willie must have had a sample to practice on. It all seemed regular, went on Mr. Burton. I was working away, making some of the finished appliances from your model and drawings, when the boy brought the note. He was a regular messenger boy, I could tell that. And the note only asked for the model, not for any of the finished machines, of which I had two. He didn't even want the drawings, or I might have been suspicious. They won't need the drawings as long as they have the model, they can make drawings themselves, spoke Russ. But if they only have the model, and you still have some of the finished appliances, asked Alice, can't you get ahead of them yet? I'm afraid not, Russ replied. You see, the Patent Office doesn't require models to be filed in all cases now. You can get a patent merely on drawings, they can still get ahead of me. Not if you file your drawings now, exclaimed Russ. Yes, but I'm not ready. You see, the machine isn't perfected yet, I'm still working on it. But they can file a prior claim, and get a patent on something so near like mine, that I would be refused a patent when I applied. You see, I haven't made any formal application yet. Of course, if it came to a question of a lawsuit, I might beat them out. But I have no money to hire lawyers, and they have. The only thing for me to do is to get that model back, before they have a chance to use it to make drawings from. And how to do it, I don't know. Do you know who that messenger boy was? asked Alice, suddenly the machinist. I never saw him before, Miss. No, he came in a taxi cab. A taxi cab? cried Russ excitedly. You didn't say that before. Did you happen to notice the number? If ever Russ Dallwood was thankful it was then. And the cause of it was, that Mr. Burton had a mathematical mind, in which figures seemed a sprout by second nature. I did notice the number, he said. It isn't often that taxi cabs stop out in front here, and I looked up for my window as one drew up at the curb. I was working on your patents at the time. I saw the number of the cab later, as the messenger boy rode off in it with the model. What was it? asked Russ, preparing to make a note. The machinist gave it to him. Now, if we can only trace it, exclaimed the young inventor. I guess I can help you out, friend, broken their own taxi cab chauffeur. I've got a list of all the cabs in New York, and the companies that run them. Rapidly, he consulted a notebook, and soon had the desired information. The office of the company was not far away, and Russ and the girls were soon speeding to ward it. What the next move was to be, no one could say. The manager remembered the call that had come in. Two men had come with a messenger boy to engage a cab to go to the address of the machine shop. And who were the two men? asked Russ. The manager described one whom Ruth and Alice had no difficulty in recognizing as simply. The other man was shorter and not so well dressed. The cab manager went on. But brisket, exclaimed Russ. I know him. Now the question is, where did they take my model? There, I'm afraid I can't help you, said the manager. Wait! exclaimed Alice. Did you happen to notice the number on the messenger boy's cab? No, I did not, I'm sorry to say, the man answered. Then that clue is no good, spoke Russ with a sigh. It might be, put in Ruth. The messenger was probably engaged from the office nearest here. We could find that and make some inquiries. So we could, cried Alice. Oh, Ruth, your idea! Russ looked as though he would have said the same thing had he dared. An inquiry over the telephone to the main office of the messenger service brought the desired information. And soon, in their taxi cab, Russ, Ruth and Alice were at the substation. There the identity of the messenger was soon learned and he was sent for. Sure I went to the machine shop, admitted the snub-nosed freckle-faced lad. I got some sort of a thing. I didn't know what it was. And why did you take it? asked Russ eagerly. Right where their men told me to, they met me round to corner, got into cab and rode off with it. And what did you do? asked the manager of the messenger. Oh, they gave me car fare and a tip and I come back here. But where did they go? asked Russ. Off into taxi. I didn't notice. Russ looked hopeless, but Ruth exclaimed, We've got to go back to the taxi office and see the chauffeur of that car. He's the only one who can tell us where the men are. Good! cried Russ. We'll do it. Back again, they went, to find that the car had just come in after a long trip. The chauffeur readily gave the address to which he had driven the two men after the messenger boy had gotten out. It was in an obscure section of Jersey City. And that's where I'm going, cried Russ. Willie and brisket are probably going to try to work their scheme from there, but maybe I can stop them. I—I think we had better go home, Alice dear, said Ruth gently at this point. Yes, sighed the other, though I'd love to be there at the finish. Alice gasped her sister. Well, I word, she said defiantly. Maybe it wouldn't be best, suggested Russ. I'll get a friend of mine, though. Now, shall I take you home? No, indeed, cried Ruth, that will delay you. You go right on after them. Alice and I can get home all right. It isn't late. It will give me pleasure if the young ladies will allow me to send them home in one of our cabs, but in the manager. I'm sorry that any of our men was used in a criminal manner. It wasn't your fault, spoke Russ, but I guess the girls will be glad to be sent home. I'll keep on. I haven't any time to lose. And while he sped off in his taxi, in pursuit of the men who were trying to cheat him out of his patent, Ruth and Alice took their places in another cab, and were driven back to the Fenmore apartment. End of Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Of The Moving Picture Girls This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information and to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Corrie Samuel. The Moving Picture Girls by Laura Lee Hope. Chapter 25 The Capture Mr. Devere was rather worried when he reached home and found his daughter's note. He puzzled over what could have taken them out with Russ and went across the hall to inquire. By this time Mrs. Dalwood had returned and found the note her son had left. There was not much information in it. Russ had not had time for that. And the mystery seemed all the deeper. I wonder what I had better do, asked Mr. Devere of Mrs. Dalwood. Just don't do anything, and don't worry, she advised. I know your daughters are able to take care of themselves, especially Miss Alice. Yes, she seems very capable of late, he agreed, remembering how she had worked to get him into the Moving Picture business. And with Russ no harm will come to them, went on Mrs. Dalwood. He's a good boy. Indeed he is, but I wish I knew what it was all about. There was the honk of an auto-horn in a street below, and as they looked out, they saw, in the gleam of a street-lamp, Ruth and Alice alighting. There they are now, exclaimed Mr. Devere, with a note of relief in his voice. But Russ isn't with them, said Mrs. Dalwood in surprise. I wonder what can have happened to him? Anxiously the two parents waited until the girls came up. Oh, such a time! cried Alice breathlessly. Where's Russ? demanded his mother. After the men, simplee and bud brisket. Oh, those horrid men! He's all right, said Ruth gently. He's going to get Mr. Patel and an officer to go with him. But what is it all about? asked Mr. Devere. Then, rather disjointedly and with many interruptions, the girls told the story of the afternoon and evening, for it was now nearly nine o'clock. Of course Mr. Devere and Mrs. Dalwood were much worried when they learned what had happened, and the widow was not at her ease when she thought of her son still not out of danger. But I'm sure he will soon be back, declared Alice confidently. She was a great comfort in trouble, a real optimist. Then followed a period of anxious waiting. It was broken by the return of Russ, rather dishevelled, tired and excited, but with his precious muddles safe in the taxi cab with him and Mr. Patel. Why, Russ, where have you been? cried Mrs. Dalwood. I just wish I'd been there, exclaimed Billy. Was there a fight, Russ? A little one, he admitted, with a glance at the girls, but it was soon over. And where are the men now? asked Alice. Safe in jail. Then he told what had happened. After Alice and Ruth had gone home in the taxi cab, he had called for Mr. Patel, explaining what had occurred. A special officer was engaged, and the three went to the address in Jersey City, where Woolly and Brisket had gone with the model. The place was in a rather disreputable neighbourhood. In a back room, which was approached with caution, the two plotters were found with the draughtsmen whom they had hired to make drawings of the model. The two scoundrels were taken by surprise and easily overpowered after a short resistance. The draughtsmen was an innocent party and was allowed to go after promising to give evidence against Woolly and Brisket. The latter were put under arrest, and with his precious model safe in his possession, Russ started for home. They didn't have time to do a thing, exclaimed the young inventor enthusiastically, thanks to you girls. Oh, we didn't do anything, said Ruth modestly. I think you did, cried Russ, looking at her admiringly. It was all Alice, she said. It was you who thought of the most practical plans, insisted the younger girl. Oh, Russ, I'm so glad. And so am I, said Ruth, softly. Well, I must say, for two girls who haven't been much in public life, you two are coming on, said Mr. Devere in his horse-tones, but I am glad of it. The prompt action of Alice and Ruth, enabling Russ to recover his invention, worked against the plans of the plotters. They were easily convicted of fraud and sent to prison. As for the invention of Russ, he soon perfected it and put it out on royalty. Many moving-picture machine-men agreed to use it on their projectors, and to pay him a sum each year for the privilege. So Russ was assured of a goodly income for some time. Well, said Ruth the next morning, as she and Alice arose late after their evening of excitement. Now that is over, the next matter to be considered is, what are we going to do from now on? Act in moving pictures, I should say, replied Alice. We seem to be committed to it now. I wonder how that big drama came out. I hope it's a success, for I do so want to go on the rural circuit, don't you? I think I do, answered Ruth. Russ is going along to make the pictures, I believe, added Alice, softly. Is he? asked Ruth, with an air of indifference. And I suppose Paul Ardite will be one of the company, she added. How do you guess? laughed Alice. A little bird told me. Two days later the entire company who had taken part in the making of the big film, scenes of which were laid on the yacht, were invited to see the pictures projected. From the very first it was seen that the play was going to be a success, at least from a mechanical standpoint, and some time later it was demonstrated to be a success from a popular one also. The girls looked on while the pictures of themselves, their father, and others of the company were thrown on the white screen. They saw the scene at the gang-plank where the runaway had almost spoiled it, but there was no sign of the horse in the pictures. Sandy Apgar had taken care of that. I really must go out to see his farm, said Mr. Pertel. I believe it may be just the place for us, but I wonder what made Sandy so sad and so much in need of money. Perhaps I can help him. There came the incident of Pepper Snead falling down with the lifeboat. Look, look! cried the grouchy actor. I don't like that.  I demand that it be taken out, Mr. Pertel. Can't do it. That's the best part of the play. Loved the manager. And as for me, I positively refuse to act again if I am to be shown as a sailor in those ridiculous white trousers. cried Wellington Bunn. Very well, then. I suppose you don't care to go on the rural circuit with us, said Mr. Pertel. Oh! uh! ah! um! Will you may withhold my resignation for a time? said the Shakespearean actor, stiffly. But it is against my principles. Then we are going on the rural circuit, asked Alice eagerly. Yes, the manager assured her. This play is going to be a big success, I'm sure. I want to try a new kind now. Outdoor scenes. And that the play was the success was soon evidenced by the receipts, which poured into the treasury of the Comet Film Company. Oh! what do you imagine it will be like in the country? asked Ruth of Alice a little later, when it was definitely decided that they were to go. I don't know, answered Alice. It depends on what happens. And what did happen may be learned by reading the next volume of this series, to be called The Moving Picturegirls at Oak Farm, or Queer Happenings While Taking Rural Plays. Well, I'll be glad of a little rest, said Alice one day, when they were coming from the studio after having posed in some scenes for a little parlor drama. So will I, agreed Ruth. We have been very busy these last two weeks. Especially since we helped Russ to get back his patent, added her sister, and now for Oak Farm. Oh! then it's definitely been decided that we are to go there. Yes, Mr. Patel said he went out there, met Sandy Apgar, and arranged to use the place. We're to board there too. I guess it will be a help to the Apgar's. Mr. Patel said they needed money. And Ruth, he said there was some sort of a mystery out there too. A mystery? What sort? I don't know. We'll have to wait until we get there. Come on, let's hurry home and tell Daddy. And now, for a time, we will take leave of The Moving Picturegirls. End of Chapter 25. End of The Moving Picturegirls, or First Appearances in Photodramas, by Laura Lee Hope.