Just finished watching Beyond Glory (1948) and Old Boyfriends (1979)...

Just finished watching Jumping Jacks (1952) and Black Horse Canyon (1954)...

The cowboy conquest and Richard Nixon's foreign policy

Airstream by Ralph Goings, 1970

In this post, I will quote from ‘Power Shift: The Rise of the Southern Rim and Its Challenge to the Eastern Establishment’ (1975) by Kirkpatrick Sale. "The pattern of Richard Nixon's foreign policy was set early in 1969 at a meeting of the National Security Council staff in the west wing of the White House. The new president made very clear to the men assembled that he himself was going to be the boss of the country's foreign policy - domestic policy can run by itself, as he used to say, but foreign policy needs a presidential hand - and that he would be using Henry Kissinger, head of the NSC staff, rather than William Rogers, Secretary of State, as his right-hand man. Then he launched into a furious assault on the State Department and its handling of foreign policy, an attitude he no doubt carried with him from his McCarthyite days, and finally declared that it was going to be the president's own staff in the White House that would take charge of foreign policy in the new administration, not those "striped-pants faggots" in the State Department. His audience was stunned, as well it might be, but it was privileged at least to be given such a revealing portrait of the Nixon mind and its attitude toward American foreign policy: Nixon saw himself as the great international wheeler-dealer, he intended to build up his own bureaucracy whose loyalty and obeisance he could always check, and he would be giving no power to the snobbish Eastern Ivy Leaguers he imagined infested Foggy Bottom. That was the first indication, but it would not be the last, that the Cowboy Strategy operated just as much in foreign as in domestic affairs. Take Vietnam. As tragic as it seems, there is little doubt that Nixon prosecuted that war for four years and several million lives, in spite of the fact that he knew he could not prevail, because he did not want to do anything that looked like acknowledging the humiliation of American defeat - thus losing him the support of the superpatriots of the Southern Rim and threatening his reelection in 1972. Cowboy Strategy called for the elaborate machismo of military might to disguise the awful truths that America's army could not fight, its money could not triumph, its power could not conquer. Cowboy Strategy meant accompanying every demonstration of peace-seeking with massive demonstrations of warfare - hence the saturation bombing of Hanoi just before the visit to Peking, the mining of Haiphong before the summit meeting in Moscow, the Christmas bombing of Hanoi before the final cease-fire. Cowboy Strategy meant postponing the final defeat until after the 1972 elections and then accompanying it with such elaborate shenanigans around homecoming soldiers and released prisoners of war that it could be given, at least in receptive quarters of the Southern Rim, the guise of victory. Cowboy Strategy mean pumping enough money and materiel into South Vietnam to support Thieu even after the cease-fire, following Kissinger's oft-stated goal that there should be "'a decent interval' - two to three years - between the withdrawal of U.S. troops and a Communist takeover in Vietnam." Dean Acheson, a wily yankee, with antennae carefully tuned toward Nixon's strategy, perceived all this in the last weeks before his death. As recounted by fellow yankee Emmet John Hughes, he laid bare the Nixon "rationale" for the protracted war: The essence of this rationale argued that the nation's reactionary right would rise in wrath against a hasty retreat, and the disengagement therefore had to be artfully "staged" to blur the truth and avoid the backlash. "Kissinger sums up White House motivation in one pithy phrase," the former Secretary of State explained. "He says we must at all costs avoid an orgy of recrimination." Thousands of Americans were killed during four years of a military withdrawal staged to appease militant patriots and to protect the President's political right flank. It was because of this prolongation that the first serious cracks began to show themselves in the wall of support which the business community and its followers had erected before 1968. Both Northeastern and Southern Rim capitalists, of course, wanted to keep Southeast Asia open for the American empire, and both therefore hoped to pacify Vietnam. But there were certain costs that the yankee community wanted to avoid, and as the balance of payments grew steadily worse, as inflation kept mounting, as the social dislocations at home became ever sharper, and as the futility of the operation grew more apparent, more and deeper cracks appeared, more Wall Street businessmen joined the ranks of the polite dissenters. Nixon, ever the politician, sought to keep the revolt from growing by his detente visits to Russia and China and his staged announcement that "peace is at hand" just before the 1972 elections, and that was enough - along with the business world's antipathy to George McGovern - to put almost the entire capitalist spectrum in the Republican camp in 1972. But this early sign of a split in the business ranks should have been a clear signal that the Cowboy Strategy was playing too fast and loose with the yankee vision and that perilous times were ahead. Nor was Vietnam the only evidence of the fabricated bellicosity of this strategy. Nixon continually delighted in rattling his nuclear weaponry - remember it was he who described himself to the Pope as the most powerful man in the world, and made it sound like a threat - and in reminding less fortified nations (India, the Middle East, Japan) that they were at the mercy of American might. Even his posture with the Soviet Union, though it could unbend for occasional treaties which Nixon saw as being in American interests, was arrogant and pugnacious, born of the essentially Cold War attitude (which he shared with the Metternichian Kissinger) that global diplomacy was a perpetual power struggle which always necessitated a show of strength and a presumption of treachery. Hence, to prove to Russia more than anyone else that America was not a pitiful, helpless giant: the vehement prosecution of the Vietnam War, the mobilization of troops after the Soviet-backed invasion of Jordan, the abandonment of SALT talks after their political purpose had been served, the recurrent deployment of American fleets, and the military alert during the Yom Kippur war. As literary critic Alfred Kazin has put it in his romantic way: "The drives, the "battle" that Nixon proudly says is "always with me," the necessity to obliterate an opponent rather than to persuade him, the computerized, militarized football-stadium language that vindictively brings all loyalties down to the "team" as the corporate ego in which a man may find his necessary virility, the lack of any cultural ties outside the overwhelming monoliths of American power - these are the "operabilities" behind Nixon's Mein Kampf, born of mid-century American toughness and drive and planetary megalomania fascinated by and envious of Soviet ruthlessness. Bit by bit our old scruples have been eroded by a new value system that recognizes no truth that is not part of what is "operable."" After the settlement of Vietnam, the linchpin of Nixon's cowboy foreign policy became the economic penetration of foreign markets, most especially for cowboy interests. The administration poured millions of dollars into the Middle East, sent its CIA operatives as ambassadors to Iran and Lebanon, and expended enormous diplomatic energy for a cease-fire, all in order to protect the long-range interests of the oil internationals, old and new. It let the traditional alliances with Europe fall into shambles, earning the enmity of virtually every government on the Continent, while it concentrated instead on openings to the Pacific (China, Southeast Asia) and the Caribbean, especially for the new overseas operations of technical and aerospace runaway plants. It badgered Japan to get better protection for the textile industry, nurtured Russia to get better markets for the agribusiness sector, coddled Greece for the protection of shipping and oil interests, and cultivated the Middle East for its reinvestments of "petrodollars" into American real estate, banking, and defense products. But above all, the administration finally got America caught up with the rest of the world in its relations - especially its trade relations - with Russia and China. True, the detente with Russia and the opening to China seemed to be a dangerous defilement of the Cowboy Strategy - and indeed both stirred up considerable passion among the Far Right in the United States - but in fact they were both carefully, almost surgically, limited to the establishment of markets and investments to the benefit of American, especially cowboy, capital. Not at any point did they threaten any of the interests that the cowboy ideology held dear: despite the arms agreements with Russia, there was no limitation whatsoever in the production of weaponry of the relative superiority of American power; despite normalization with China, there was no withdrawal from Southeast Asia or Pacific military posts except in Vietnam. Ultimately it seemed that most cowboys agreed with the businessman in a cartoon of the time who argued, "They may be atheistic Red Chinese Communists, but I can't help thinking that there's 800 million potential consumers over there." The reason for the American penetration of these new markets was put with disarming frankness by Alfred Wentworth, head of the Chase Manhattan Bank office that opened up in Moscow in 1973, a yankee who certainly understood cowboy principles: "The Soviet Union" - he should have added China as well - "is the last great undeveloped market for the U.S." Certainly yankee businesses could take advantage of those markets - Nixon, after all, was never one to deny opportunities to American business of any stripe - but the importance of opening them up under the Nixon aegis is that the cowboy industries could share in the bonanza as well, and, insofar as their success depended on government favors, could generally count on being given the larger shares. Particularly important this when it is remembered that in an earlier era, before the cowboy challenge had been mounted, yankee firms swarmed all over Europe, developing hegemonic markets that outsiders could not break - but here at last in Asia and Russia was a chance for the newcomers. Trade with China was only in its infancy when its American midwife was forced from office in 1974, but even so the preeminent role of the Southern Rim was clear enough. Cotton exports had reached the point where the United States stood as China's largest foreign supplier, enjoying annual sales of nearly $400,000, and the State Department expected them soon to amount to "as much as a quarter of the U.S. cotton crop"; tobacco sales, though insignificant in total world-wide trade, started off at some $150,000 a year and seemed encouraging enough to cause several Carolina plants to reorient part of their operations toward this market; fertilizer plants, a product of the Rim's agribusiness know-how, were eagerly sought by China for its vast agriculture, with the first $70 million factory scheduled to be built by a Texas firm; and total contracts from the Chinese for the American construction industry, according to an American official, stood at no less than $1 billion by 1973. An indication of the cowboy clout here was the composition of the executive board of the high-level business council formed in 1973 with American government backing "to promote American trade with China": seven of them were certifiable yankees - David Rockefeller of Chase Manhattan, Donald Kendall of Pepsico, and the like - but they were outnumbered by the ten bona-fide cowboys, ranging from David Packard of Hewlett-Packard to Anthony Bryan of Texas's Cameron Iron Works. That just would not have happened ten years before. Trade with Russia has, of course, been far greater in volume and sales - about $9 billion per year through the 1970s, but the same pattern emerges there, too. To be sure, there have been hundreds of firms outside the Southern Rim which have taken advantage of the new relaxations of the Nixon era and moved in with everything at their disposal; the Kamaz truck complex, for example, put together by Chase Manhattan Bank in 1972, is almost totally a yankee enterprise, and a $270 million one at that. At the same time, however, a whole range of new corporations, some not even in business when the West European market opened up after World War II, were quick to embrace this new opportunity for overseas expansion and for a slice of the potentially multibillion-dollar Russian market. Cook Industries, the Memphis grain dealer, has been the beneficiary of some $20 million worth of the grain trading with the Soviet Union; Dresser Industries of Dallas had done $27.5 million worth of business by the middle of 1974 and confidently predicted quadrupling of its volume within a few years; Texas Industries, Cameron Iron, and M. F. Kellog, three diverse Texas businesses, all won contracts for sales to or plants in the Soviet Union in the 1970-73 period; and Occidental Petroleum of California has signed an enormous $20 billion fertilizer deal with the Soviet Union involving the construction of a 1,500-mile pipeline, the shipment of Florida phosphates, and the development of ammonia plants over the next ten years. And still the plum of the whole Soviet-American detente has yet to fall. So far the Russians have indicated willingness to go ahead with two massive natural gas schemes, one piping gas to Black and Barents Sea ports, the other to the Pacific - both of which are to be constructed and operated by cowboy consortiums. The Black-Barents scheme would be operated by El Paso Natural Gas (Texas) and Occidental Petroleum (California), and would be constructed by Bechtel (California) and Williams Brothers (Oklahoma) - the size of that deal is estimated to be around $10 billion just to start with; the Pacific operation would be operated by Tenneco and Texas Eastern Transmission, would be built by Brown & Root (all Texas) - and that would have an initial cost of $15 billion. Everything has been held up on the American side, and not even Nixon's pressure was able to force Congress into the trade agreement guaranteeing these investments in the Russian wastelands; still, since the ultimate product - natural gas - is badly needed in the American economy, one of the two schemes is almost certain to be approved. Look at that: and without any striped-pants faggots, either. In retrospect, it may be that Nixon's greatest contributions will in fact have been in the area of foreign affairs, though not for the reasons ("a generation of peace") he predicted. If the end to American imperial hegemony over the world is supplanted by a new penetration of the markets in both semi-developed (Russia) and developing (China) countries, if "neo-imperialist" arrangements are in fact struck allowing a non-national kind of exploitation of world resources, and if upstart American industries are placed in a strong position in the fight for these considerable treasures, then the Cowboy Strategy will have achieved its most lasting effect in the transformation of American foreign policy. Quite clearly, for good or ill, the Nixon Administration was one of the most important in the history of the American republic. It began a process of rearranging priorities that had been settled, or so it was thought, for the previous half-century at least. It was the embodiment of new power, new money, new influence, new dynamism. It attempted to establish a new structure for the American Presidency, a new reordering of the American economy, a new design for American power. And it did so with a brashness, an imperiousness, a force, that eventually betrayed it into bestirring its rivals into action."

Now listening to Spider-Man: No Way Home by Michael Giacchino and Longing In Their Hearts by Bonnie Raitt...

On Broadway in Vancouver. Spring of 2019.

Broadway is a major east-west thoroughfare in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In Vancouver’s numbered avenue grid system, it runs in place of a 9th Avenue, between 8th and 10th. The street has six lanes for most of its course. Portions of the street carry the British Columbia Highway 7 designation.

The route begins as “West Broadway” at the intersection of Wallace Crescent and 8th Avenue, in the affluent residential neighbourhood of West Point Grey, a few kilometres east of the University of British Columbia (UBC). Past Alma Street, Broadway takes over from 10th Avenue as one of Vancouver’s major thoroughfares, as it enters Greek West Broadway (or Greektown) section of Vancouver’s Kitsilano district. East of here are several blocks of generally trendy, upscale shops interspersed with low-rise apartment blocks and small supermarkets. The surrounding neighbourhoods generally consist of large, older homes dating from the early twentieth century, many of which have been subdivided into rental suites.

As Broadway approaches Arbutus Street, the commercial establishments become larger before transitioning into a mix of small to mid-size apartment blocks. East of Burrard Street, the apartment blocks get progressively taller, and commercial establishments larger and busier. Between Burrard and Main Street, Broadway can be considerably congested by vehicular traffic. Past Granville Street, Broadway yields completely to medium-to-large commercial structures and high-rise apartments and condominiums. Between Cambie and Main, the commercial establishments become smaller and somewhat more downscale.

At Ontario Street, two blocks west of Main, the route becomes “East Broadway.” After bisecting Main and Kingsway, traffic on Broadway eases somewhat, and the character returns to a mix of small-to-medium apartment buildings and commercial establishments, interspersed with older homes – all considerably less affluent than those to the west. At Commercial Drive, Broadway passes by the Commercial–Broadway SkyTrain Station. Past here for several blocks, the neighbourhood consists predominantly of older residential homes.

As Broadway travels east of Renfrew Street, the neighbourhood once again becomes mixed, with older homes to the north and larger industrial, commercial, and warehouse establishments to the south. Broadway finally ends at Cassiar Street, just short of the Vancouver-Burnaby boundary, where it becomes the Lougheed Highway.

Broadway was created at the turn of the 20th century, along with other gridded roads south of False Creek, to meet the needs of an expanding population in Vancouver. The name of the route was changed from 9th Avenue to Broadway in 1909, at the behest of merchants around Main Street (at that time the hub of Vancouver commerce), who felt that it bestowed a more cosmopolitan air. Commercial establishments originally spread out around the intersections of Cambie and Main Streets, while the character of the rest of the route remained predominantly single-family dwellings.

By the 1970s, the length of Broadway had become a major arterial route in Vancouver, conveying commuters from downtown to the neighbourhoods of the west and east sides. With the growth of UBC and the expansion of the Vancouver General Hospital (one block south of Broadway between approximately Oak and Cambie), traffic demands accelerated. In the 1990s, the agency then responsible for public transit in Greater Vancouver — BC Transit — introduced an express bus route, the 99 B-Line, to help reduce congestion. The Vancouver transportation plan for Broadway notes that congestion is such that the bus service is at capacity, and will not be eased until a new rapid transit line is built paralleling the street. It is anticipated that the SkyTrain’s Millennium Line will be extended to Central Broadway by 2021; the extension is expected to connect with Canada Line at Broadway-City Hall Station, at the intersection of Broadway and Cambie Street.

 

Arc the Lad (1995) - Games Reviews 2010

https://www.gamesreviews2010.com/game/arc-the-lad-1995/

Released in 1995 for the original PlayStation, Arc the Lad is a tactical role-playing game (RPG) that has captured the hearts of gamers for decades. Developed by G-Craft and published by SCEI in Japan and Working Designs in North America, Arc the Lad was a critical and commercial success, selling over a million copies in Japan alone. It spawned two direct sequels and numerous spin-offs, solidifying its place as a beloved franchise in the gaming world.

Arc the Lad’s story unfolds in a vibrant fantasy world filled with diverse characters, intricate lore, and epic battles. The narrative follows the journey of Arc, a young boy who sets out to find his estranged father, who left him and his mother ten years ago. Along the way, he encounters a colorful cast of companions, including Kukuru, a priestess with a mysterious past; Poco, a skilled thief with a penchant for trouble; and Gogen, a wise old martial artist.

Together, they embark on a perilous quest that takes them across a vast and treacherous world. They must battle hordes of monsters, solve challenging puzzles, and unravel the secrets of an ancient prophecy that threatens to plunge the world into darkness.

Arc the Lad’s gameplay is a blend of traditional turn-based strategy and innovative new mechanics. Players control a party of up to three characters on a grid-based map, and must carefully position and maneuver them to maximize their attacks and abilities.

One of the game’s unique features is the “Union” system, which allows characters to combine their attacks for devastating effect. By positioning characters adjacent to each other, players can unleash powerful combo attacks that can turn the tide of battle.

The game also features a deep and rewarding character development system. Each character has their own unique strengths and weaknesses, and can be customized with a variety of weapons, armor, and abilities. As characters gain experience, they level up and learn new skills, allowing players to tailor their party to their own playstyles.

Arc the Lad is known for its cast of memorable and endearing characters. Each companion brings their own unique personality, motivations, and backstory to the adventure, creating a rich and engaging narrative experience.

Arc, the game’s protagonist, is a brave and determined young man who is fiercely loyal to his friends. Kukuru, the priestess, possesses a mysterious past and a gentle spirit. Poco, the thief, is a charming rogue with a mischievous streak. And Gogen, the martial artist, is a wise and experienced mentor who guides the group with his wisdom and strength.

Arc the Lad’s visuals are a testament to the artistry of the PlayStation era. The game’s pixel art is vibrant and detailed, bringing the fantasy world to life with lush forests, towering mountains, and bustling towns. The character designs are expressive and charming, and the animations are fluid and lifelike.

The game’s soundtrack is equally impressive, featuring a sweeping orchestral score that perfectly captures the epic scope of the adventure. The music is both beautiful and memorable, and it helps to create a truly immersive gaming experience.

Over two decades after its initial release, Arc the Lad remains a beloved classic among fans of tactical RPGs. Its charming story, innovative gameplay, memorable characters, and beautiful visuals have stood the test of time, and it continues to be enjoyed by gamers of all ages.

Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer to the series, Arc the Lad is a game that is sure to captivate and entertain. Its timeless appeal and enduring legacy make it a must-play for any fan of the genre.

8.5/10

Now reading A History Of Greece To The Death Of Alexander The Great by John Bagnell Bury...

Did Elon Musk forget? The Barack Obama government loaned $465 million to Tesla to develop electric cars. – Metro World News

https://www.metroworldnews.com/en/2025/03/20/did-elon-musk-forget-the-barack-obama-administration-lent-465-million-to-tesla-to-develop-electric-cars/

The billionaire is currently lashing out against the Democrats, but one of them helped him in 2010.

Since publicly showing his closeness to Donald Trump, Elon Musk has not hidden his contempt for the Democrats, which raises questions about whether he has forgotten when one of the leaders of this party, Barack Obama, loaned him $465 million to develop his electric cars.

In 2010, the Obama administration in the United States, through its Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, announced a federal loan of $465 million to Tesla Motors to build its electric sedan and the batteries necessary for its development, as reported by Wired. 

Musk paid off the debt in 2013, nine years earlier than agreed. That same year, Obama not only loaned to Tesla, but also to Ford ($5.9 billion) and Nissan ($1.6 billion) as part of an Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program to help car manufacturers.

“We have a historic opportunity to help ensure that the next generation of fuel-efficient cars and trucks are manufactured in the United States.... These loans - and the additional support we will provide through the Section 136 programs - will create good jobs and help the automotive industry meet and even exceed the tough fuel economy standards we have set while helping to maintain our competitive edge in the global market,” said President Obama at the time through a statement.

Elon Musk expressed gratitude by saying: "We are honored to receive one of the first loan awards in this program... I am confident that we will put the money to very productive use. We hope to produce the Model S."

Since the 2024 presidential campaign, Elon Musk has completely changed, shifting from gratitude to attacking Democrats, showing strong support for Trump. In July of that year, he wrote on X: “They will soon take Biden fishing,” accompanied by a photo of a fisherman at sea, followed by a picture from ‘The Godfather’ movie with the phrase: “Do you know what’s the worst thing about betrayal?... It never comes from your enemy.”

Recently, the magnate blamed Democratic donors for the increasing protests and attacks against Tesla. “The big donors of the Democratic Party are funding these protests. It’s no coincidence that Tesla is the target right now,” he stated.

And it’s not just about the protests. According to Bloomberg, Elon Musk’s fortune has decreased by more than $120 billion in recent months, and it is believed that this is partly due to the loss of confidence from investors, coupled with market volatility.

In an article titled ‘How Elon Musk went from being a progressive and supporting Obama to being a fervent defender of Donald Trump’, La Tercera commented on his biography, stating that “it is clear that all his relationships are difficult and that no one escapes his dramas.” It highlights that he doesn’t mind offending or intimidating in order to achieve his goals.

The Bayswater Omnibus by George William Joy, 1895.

Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976)

Bernard Law Montgomery (1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein) was a prominent British military leader in World War II and its aftermath. He became famous for his successful campaigns against the Axis forces in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia and was later deputy commander of NATO. He wrote several books, including his Memoirs (1958) and The Path to Leadership (1961).

In this chapter, the evidence that Field Marshal Montgomery had Asperger Syndrome or Asperger’s disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) is examined.

Life History

Bernard Montgomery was born on November 17, 1887, the fourth child and third son in the family. His great-uncle, Samuel Montgomery (known as Uncle Montgomery), was obsessed with religion and frittered away the family legacy. He was eccentric, lived with his two unmarried sisters, and was ignorant of the ways of the world. Samuel had a diminutive carriage built so that he would not have to give a lift to the local poor. He suffered from depression and was shy.

Robert Montgomery (Bernard’s paternal grandfather), a brave soldier and a brother of Samuel Montgomery, never received due recognition for what he did, because he was not a man to push his own claims, according to Hamilton (1981). He disarmed the Sepoy Regiment when the Indian mutiny broke out and was clearly a brilliant decision maker under stress.

Montgomery’s maternal grandfather, the clergyman and theological writer Frederic Farrar, was reserved and shy. He was ill at ease in company, could not make small talk, and appeared unapproachable. He tended to write for most of the day and also to spend much of the night writing or correcting proofs.

Bernard Montgomery’s mother had an indomitable will and a passion for order, method, and routine (Hamilton, 1981). Very critical of her son, she was basically affectionless toward Bernard. His father, Henry, was a bishop and was completely dominated by the mother. Montgomery tended to idealize his father.

Bernard Montgomery was a wayward and immature child. He was regarded as the black sheep of the family — a troublemaker and sometimes a renegade. He was also described as charmless, mischievous, and individualist (Moorehead, 1946). The rigidity of his personality was shown when he decided to join the army: He had a tremendous argument with his mother but achieved his aim.

In school he often dreamed his way through the day. He considered work a nuisance, and his conduct in class was abysmal or sometimes strange. He had no notion of style in writing essays and was regarded as backward in mathematics, while in Latin, French, science and art he was marked no higher than “fair.” He was regarded as being slow to grasp principles, self-sufficient, intolerant of authority, and steeled to take punishment, but industrious in things that interested him (Hamilton, 1981). Control was extraordinarily important to him, and on the playing fields in school he could plan his own battles. His behavior on the rugby pitch was downright violent.

In personality he was described as extremely egocentric and eccentric (Montgomery, 1987). He had an awkward, single-minded, and prickly character (Horne, 1994), and was described as a tragedy of personality and failed communications (Taylor, 1965). In the army, he was neither willing nor able to cooperate with his fellow chiefs of staff.

Social Behavior

As Horne (1994) pointed out, Montgomery always had problems in peer relations — in fact, he was unable to deal with his peers. He had a lifelong inability to open up to contemporaries and isolated himself from other senior officers. His lack of empathy was seen when he said that very few of his contemporaries at Staff College were any good. Horne pointed to his self-contained, solitary, awkward, unclubbable, and intractable disposition vis-a-vis his colleagues and his susceptibility to abrasive arrogance and intolerance. He was so isolated in his headquarters (he did not read papers sent to him) that he could not understand the criticism and jealousy that his behavior was causing among the British and U.S. Army chiefs. He described U.S. errors in the Ardennes battle with a ruthless clarity that was grossly insensitive and totally counterproductive. In addition, he was supercilious in his treatment of the U.S. military (Horne, 1994).

Generally, he was extremely poor at communicating with his superiors, such as General Eisenhower, whom he would lecture as if he were patronizing a student at Staff College (Horne, 1994). Indeed, he tended not to communicate with Eisenhower, and this caused major problems because the Americans could not understand why he was not advancing in the war more quickly, particularly at Caen — they could not understand because he did not explain it to them. He was regarded as scandalously peremptory and contemptuous and was christened Chief Big Wind by the U.S. military establishment in Europe; indeed, Field Marshal Brooke described his relations with U.S. soldiers as a disaster (Horne, 1994).

According to Winston Churchill, Montgomery made it a rule not to accept hospitality from any of his subordinate commanders. His essential lack of sensitivity was felt not only by men but also by women, and he was described as a misogynist. He claimed that one could not marry and be an efficient officer. Kay Summersby, Eisenhower's driver, described him as a supercilious, woman-hating little martinet (Horne, 1994).

Narrow Interests/Obsessiveness

Soldiering was Montgomery’s only interest. In comparison to another senior officer in the British Army, Alan Brooke, he was less practical and much narrower in his skills and interests (Brett-James, 1984).

He wanted to master his profession, and was full of energy. Accordin to Hamilton (1981), it was Montgomery’s keenness that stood out most. He had an enormous capacity for work and an imperturbable efficiency; he threw himself into his soldiering with a dedication that seemed to border on madness. Not surprisingly, he suggested a narrow strategy for ending World War II rather than a broad strategy (i.e., attacking over a broad front, which Eisenhower put forward and carried through successfully). Controversy remains as to how successful his narrow-front strategy would have been.

Routines/Control

Montgomery exerted control over both himself and others. What people especially noticed about him was his self-will: His iron determination singled him out from seemingly more talented, more educated and more appropriate leaders, according to Horne (1994). He went to bed rigidly at 9:30 p.m. and was extremely routinebound. He was described as a man of completely regular habits and could be obstinate to the point of bigotry — he would never admit that he had altered a battle plan (Brett-James, 1984). As a result of his inflexible personality, he was not good at seizing opportunities (Horne, 1994).

Montgomery imposed tyrannical discipline on others. He was only interested in his soldiers as efficient fighting machines and looked after their health and morale for this reason only. He totally controlled the younger officers: They did not argue with him, and they were totally obedient, like all his staff had to be (Hamilton, 1981). Any sensitivity shown to junior officers was solely on the basis of his total control and their obedience (Horne, 1994).

Montgomery could be vindictive and cruel. As he grew up, he bullied other children and was beaten himself. Even during World War I, his mother appears to have regarded him as an all-too-bossy child. In midlife he had a brief marriage to a 17-year-old named Betty Anderson; once again, he controlled everything and took over her life (Horne, 1994).

Despite his egocentricity, soldiers liked to have somebody who knew what he was doing (i.e., to have a leader in full charge; Horne, 1994). Mostly, Montgomery was an obsessively cautious commander, but on rare occasions he was capable of extreme recklessness in actions and relationships (e.g., at Arnhem and in his relationship with Eisenhower).

Language/Humor

We have no information on speech and language problems.

Lack of Empathy

Throughout his life Montgomery showed a gross lack of a capacity to empathize or understand what others might be feeling. Indeed, on one occasion he was reduced in military rank because he set fire to another cadet in military college. He had no political sense, and could not see the implications of what he was doing and how others might view his actions.

Although essentially a shy man, Montgomery showed his lack of empathy through boastfulness, vanity, and cutting out his family. He lorded it over his friends and finally became a despot (Hamilton, 1981). It appears that de Guingand, his chief of staff, was essentially a loyal subordinate but had a much wider range of human qualities than Montgomery and much greater capacity for empathy, as well as an instinctive gift for friendship and good humor that Montgomery did not have.

Montgomery's lack of sensitivity and empathy was also seen in his treatment of his son David, whom he would not allow to visit his grandmother or any other members of the family during the war. Indeed, David saw very little of his father for a period of 10 years (Horne, 1994).

Naivety/Childishness

In frontline warfare, Montgomery could concentrate on immediate tasks without worrying over other things, and was able to see things with the simple clarity of a child. This was advantageous in the fog of war (Hamilton, 1994).

Nonverbal Communication

His brother Brian Montgomery (1987) stated that a girl who was dancing with him found him stiff and unamusing. Horne (1994) noted that the atmosphere around him was one of extraordinary quietness and calm.

He showed a lack of fear during battle that can only be described as abnormal, with no trace of apprehension for his future safety. He was decorated for bravery.

Motor Clumsiness

We have no information on motor clumsiness.

Conclusion

Montgomery demonstrates a qualitative impairment in social interaction and restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities. He meets the criteria for Asperger’s disorder according to the DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) and meets the criteria for Asperger Syndrome (Gillberg, 1996) with the exception of motor clumsiness and speech and language problems.

The issue of high-functioning autism (or autistic disorder as classified in DSM-IV) also has to be considered. He meets the criteria for qualitative impairment in social interaction, as just noted. For the second criterion — qualitative impairments in communication — it is more difficult to draw a final conclusion. One can say that there is no evidence of a capacity for symbolic play in childhood, and, indeed, he was very poor at writing essays in school. He certainly had an impairment in the ability to sustain communication; as Horne (1994) pointed out, Montgomery was a lonely man. He did meet the third criterion of restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. Nevertheless, Asperger Syndrome is the most likely diagnosis.

Although he had serious impairment in the capacity for empathy, it is also possible that he had problems with central coherence (Frith, 1989); that is, he was always good at taking into account his immediate battlefield in both wars, but was poor at understanding the bigger picture. The serious mistakes that he made as a result prolonged World War II (e.g., not capturing the port of Antwerp and not pursuing Rommel after the battle of Alamein). His inability to communicate with his superiors, and with Eisenhower, in particular, made him extremely unpopular in the United States and almost led to him being fired from his job.

It is difficult to know whether there was a family history of Asperger Syndrome, but there was evidence of relevant traits on both the maternal and the paternal side.

- Michael Fitzgerald, Former Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 

Just finished watching Avenging Force (1986) and Forever Young (1992)...

Just finished watching Evil Dead (2013) and Summer School (1987)...

Alpha Lipoic Acid Main Uses and Side Effects

https://www.verywellhealth.com/alpha-lipoic-acid-88727

Alpha-lipoic acid is an antioxidant known for its potential to support weight loss and lower blood sugar levels, particularly in people with diabetes. Research is ongoing, and the benefits and side effects are important to understand. 

Health Conditions

Many integrative medicine providers believe ALA may help prevent or manage health conditions like high blood pressure. Research primarily focuses on its role in managing diabetes and aiding weight loss.

However, alpha-lipoic acid has been studied for benefits with health conditions such as:

- Liver disease
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)/polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS) and infertility problems
- Cancers, including breast and colon cancers
- Brain injury due to stroke
- Neurodegenerative diseases, like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease
- Chronic kidney disease
- Infections, including yeast infections, COVID-19, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Anti-aging and inflammation effects
- Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and other autoimmune diseases
- Erectile dysfunction
- Nerve function

To date, there is little evidence to support any of these claims for ALA use. Keep in mind that no supplement is intended to treat, cure, or prevent disease. 

May Help With Weight Loss

Research on ALA for weight loss is still preliminary and lacks firm conclusions. Studies have shown:

- A 2017 review of studies found that ALA supplements, ranging in doses from 300 milligrams to 1,800 milligrams daily, helped prompt an average weight loss of 2.8 pounds compared to a placebo.
- A 2018 review similarly found that ALA resulted in more weight loss compared to placebo. However, the average weight loss was only 1.5 pounds.
- In 2020, a meta-analysis found that treatment with ALA significantly reduced body mass index (BMI) and reduced weight by about 5 pounds as compared to a placebo. BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight.

While these three systematic reviews offer some promising evidence, the study methods varied greatly among the individual studies, and the amount of weight loss was small. As a result, it's difficult to draw firm conclusions from them.

May Help Control Blood Sugar

ALA might help control glucose by enhancing blood sugar metabolism, potentially aiding diabetes management. The research results, however, are mixed and include:

-  A 2018 review of 20 randomized controlled trials looked at ALA use in people with metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes. Results showed ALA supplements lowered fasting blood glucose, insulin concentration, insulin resistance, and hemoglobin A1C levels. Your hemoglobin A1C level shows your average blood sugar over the past three months.
- A 2019 review suggested that ALA reduced fasting blood glucose and A1C levels.
- A 2021 review found that ALA supplementation reduced insulin and insulin resistance but did not reduce A1C levels.

If you have diabetes and are considering ALA supplementation, ask a healthcare provider if it would be appropriate for your needs.

May Help With Neuropathy

ALA is an antioxidant that acts to limit cell damage from harmful compounds called free radicals. The antioxidant properties may help with neuropathy, which causes symptoms like nerve pain, numbness, and tingling.

An analysis of five studies found ALA helped improve function and reduce pain after surgery for people with carpal tunnel syndrome—a condition in which compression of a nerve in the wrist produces tingling, numbness, weakness, and pain in the hand and fingers.

Neuropathic pain is the medical term used to describe the pain, numbness, and abnormal sensations caused by nerve damage. The damage is often caused by oxidative stress placed on the nerves by a chronic disease, such as:

- Diabetes (diabetic neuropathy is a common complication)
- HIV
- Kidney failure
- Lyme disease
- Shingles
- Thyroid disease

A 2021 study found that people with pain from unknown causes reported less severe pain scores when they took between 400 milligrams and 800 milligrams of an oral ALA supplement compared to those who took a placebo.

A review of studies concluded that the antioxidant properties of alpha lipoic acid could help manage neuropathic pain, though it also noted that clinical studies have been inconsistent with dosing and treatment protocols. And because ALA is often combined with other compounds, it's not yet known how much benefit is due to ALA.

May Reduce Heart Disease Risk Factors

A 2018 study suggested ALA may improve lipids, including "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and triglycerides, but found no improvement in "good" high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

However, results are mixed, with a 2019 study showing no improvements in blood lipid levels with ALA.

There is some evidence that ALA can reduce markers of inflammation, such as:

- C-reactive protein
- Interleukin-6
- Tumor necrosis factor-alpha, which promotes insulin resistance and is associated with type 2 diabetes

High levels of C-reactive protein are considered a risk factor for heart disease.

A 2019 review found a significant reduction in all three markers with supplementation of ALA.

Another study published in 2020 found that 600 milligrams of ALA given orally for four months significantly reduced these same inflammatory markers.

May Support Skin Health

ALA is an ingredient in many skin care products. In several small studies, ALA has been shown to reduce water loss from the skin and improve skin hydration, skin scaling, and roughness.

As an antioxidant, ALA may help protect against skin damage by protecting against the sun’s harmful UV radiation and reducing fine lines, wrinkles, and age spots.

However, some of these studies are older, and larger studies are needed to confirm whether ALA has these skin benefits.

Primary Mitochondrial Disorders

ALA supplementation has been recommended in people with primary mitochondrial disorders, or PMDs. PMDs are rare genetic disorders that occur due to errors in the function of the mitochondria, limiting the body's ability to make energy within cells and leading to seizures and other symptoms.

Most of the evidence for ALA use is based on case reports, though, simply because the disorders are so rare. Research data are lacking, and people with PMDs should be monitored by a team of specialists who focus on these complex metabolic disorders.

Are There Side Effects Associated With ALA?

ALA is generally considered safe when taken as an oral supplement or used as a topical (cream) ointment. It also can be used intravenously. There do not appear to be significant adverse effects with ALA.

However, some people may experience side effects that include:

- Low blood sugar
- Nausea
- Rash (when using an ALA cream or ointment)
- Vomiting
- Headache
- Heartburn

Since ALA is an acid, it may contribute to reflux. Eating a small snack (like graham or saltine crackers) when taking a supplement can help ease heartburn or reflux.

Precautions

ALA is possibly safe in children aged 10-17 years when taken by mouth in doses up to 600 mg daily for 3 months. However, when taken in larger amounts, seizures, vomiting, and unconsciousness have been reported.

Like many other supplements, ALA is not recommended for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Not enough research has been done to understand ALA's effects in these groups, although some studies suggest there may be benefits for people with complicated pregnancies.

Drug Interactions

ALA supplements may interact with:

- Thyroid medication
- Statin cholesterol drugs
- Chemotherapy treatment
- Diabetes medication
- Blood thinners

Sources and Dosage

The food you eat will always be your best source of nutrients. If you eat plenty of leafy green vegetables, seeds, and nuts, you may be able to get plenty of ALA from your diet. ALA can be found in:

- Kale, spinach, and other leafy greens
- Nuts and seeds (such as flaxseed, chia seeds, and walnuts)
- Plant oils (such as flaxseed oil, soybean oil, and canola oil)
- Oil-based salad dressings

ALA deficiency is extremely rare. Generally, healthy people can produce all the ALA the body needs. The recommended amount of ALA daily is 1.6 grams for men and 1.1 grams for women. There is also no set upper intake limit. 

If you take too much ALA, you may experience side effects that typically resolve when the supplement is stopped. There are cases of severe symptoms from taking large amounts of ALA, including seizures and organ failure.

In one case, a 22-year-old woman experienced tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), altered mental state, and metabolic acidosis.

Always speak with a healthcare provider before taking a supplement to ensure that the supplement and dosage are appropriate for your individual needs.

Like most nutritional supplements, ALA should be stored in a cool, dry place.

A brief summary of the science and inventions of Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci and Verrocchio. Annunciation. Uffizi Gallery.

As I pointed out in an earlier post, I’m not particularly interested in my YouTube channel at the moment. I think that, for now, I will leave YouTube to the horde of reactionaries and conspiracy theorists that has dominated YouTube and other popular websites for many years already, so that they can continue to yell into the void, accomplish nothing, and repeat establishment propaganda. I’m not greedy. I guess that I’m a bit glad that my YouTube channel hasn’t been taken down. All of my channels on other video-sharing websites got taken down some years ago because of censorship or copyright claims. I didn't get to use them for anything or to have any fun with them for long. Even my PayPal account got deleted about a decade or more ago because of censorship, since I linked it to my YouTube channel, though it didn’t bring me any income and I almost never used it. In order to confirm my suspicions, I later called PayPal and spoke to a representative. But, when I asked him why my account got deleted, he said that something strange happened. So, he couldn't activate my account again even though he tried. At least I still have my blog, though I haven’t taken it all that seriously either since I’ve tried to check if I can lose followers for some years. Well, it seems that no matter how many bad jokes I make, crazed propagandists like Alex Jones will never stop looking at my blog. What's also worth mentioning is that although Jones has been gone from YouTube for almost a decade, others have taken his place. The young, angry, badly-educated reactionary crowd that listened to Jones and voted for Donald Trump in 2016 is still there. Some people have figured out that they can gain many subscribers and make money by pandering to this huge right-wing crowd and telling them what they want to hear. So, nowadays, I usually see videos of reactionaries insulting, attacking, and trying to silence people that they don't agree with in the feed of my app even though I don't watch these videos. And Jones himself hasn't gone anywhere. Since he knows what to say and do in order to continue to get support from certain wealthy people, he has used other websites to continue to spew his lies and madness, and I never thought that he'd be ruined after getting purged from YouTube because I've always known who he is. So, YouTube hasn't been occupying my mind for a long time. It never has occupied my mind much. Moreover, I’ve been experiencing such debilitating fatigue in the last year that I’ve been finding it difficult to speak and not really wanting to speak. Well, this is what can happen if you have a disease that always attacks your liver, your brain, your heart, and possibly (probably) your other internal organs. Therefore, my focus and energy have been so poor for the last several months that I haven’t even been able to spend much time on reading and researching, which is what I wanted to do. Well, this is really the story of my life because I’ve always had this disease. The worst thing about my disease is that there is no cure for it. Still, because of my reading, I’ve been able to find effective supplements that make me feel somewhat better, since I now know what this almost unknown disease is called, thanks to my reading of old medical books. I think that I will talk about these supplements in some future post. I finished reading Vasily Zubov’s ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ (1961) a few months ago, and I will quote from it now because I did highlight some, though not many, pages from it. “Often we find the word “ask” in Leonardo’s notebooks: “Ask Benedetto Portinari how the people go on the ice in Flanders”. “Ask the wife of Biagino Crivelli how the capon rears and hatches the eggs of the hen when he is in the mating season”. Leonardo turned to books with such questions, in order to get primary evidence on a question that occupied him, and he turned to them when he had just developed or thought through a viewpoint of his own. Leonardo’s notes are not only the fruit of his independent observations as a scientist and artist, but reveal the diversity of his reading. Solmi’s remarks are quite correct in this respect, although his studies of Leonardo’s sources are dated in places, especially where he skips over the intermediaries and has Da Vinci reading a number of Arab and ancient authors whose books would scarcely have been read by the great Italian scientist. Now let us take a close look at Leonardo da Vinci’s attitude toward the books he read, using as our example two works he definitely knew: Leon Battista Alberti’s three books on painting and ten books on architecture. We might say that as Leonardo read the books on painting, he entered into a conversation with the author. His notes and remarks are comments addressed to a collocutor. On comparing Leonardo’s texts with those of Alberti, we seem to be witnessing a dialogue, a metamorphosis and continual development of ideas, leading at times to a direct clash of opinions. That gives individual shadings to assertions which at first glance seem to be identical. Here is a notable example. Alberti spoke rather cursorily of the reflections of the faces of persons walking through a meadow: “We see in the faces of people that are walking over grass that they always have a greenish hue.” Leonardo spoke of the same thing in a much more specific and accurate manner: “If the surface of the ground near to her be meadows, and the woman be placed between a meadow lit by the sun and the sun itself, you will find that all the parts of the folds [of her dress] which are turned toward the meadow will be dyed by the reflected rays to the color of the meadow”. And, he states further: “that part [of the woman] which is exposed to the luminous air, through the weaving and penetrating of the sun’s rays, will tend toward blue, since the air is blue”. Vasari’s biography of Leonardo contains the following lines: “Philosophizing of natural things, he set himself to seek out the properties of herbs, going on even to observe the motions of the heavens, the path of the moon, and the courses of the sun.” In the first edition (1550) this is followed by the phrase: “That is why he formed in his mind a heretical view of things, not in agreement with any religion; evidently he preferred being a philosopher to being a Christian.” In the next edition (1568) he omitted this phrase, remarking that he had been poorly informed, but he could not reconcile things and left in his biography the story that Leonardo, on his deathbed, “asked to have himself diligently informed of the teaching of the Catholic faith, and of the good way and the holy Christian religion,” and that re repented of “how much he had offended God and mankind in not having worked at his art as he should have done.” It did not occur to Vasari that his picture of Leonardo’s deathbed repentance indirectly confirmed his earlier statement that throughout life Leonardo preferred to be a “philosopher.” The clarity of mind with which Leonardo approached faith in spirits is remarkable not only for this time, but for a much later period. It should not be forgotten that belief in magic continued to hold on stubbornly through the sixteenth century. One need but recall the names of Girolamo Cardano and Paracelsus." Even before I finished reading Zubov’s book, I finished reading ‘Michelangelo: His Life, His Times, His Era’ (1921) by Georg Brandes. I will quote from it too because I haven’t yet posted everything that I highlighted. “Both Leonardo and Michelangelo were poets. Michelangelo’s verses have come down to us, and they startle us with their blending of deep human passion and sophisticated reflection. He was at bottom a poet of solid competence, but there is too much that is labored in his considerable output. Surprisingly enough in a creative artist of swift decision, Michelangelo kept on revising, improving and polishing his verses; and equally surprising, Leonardo, working with infinite deliberation as an artist, making sketch after sketch before tackling a task, was an improviser par excellence as a poet. Accompanying himself on a lyra di braccio he had constructed himself, he was able to sing songs he made up on the spot. Il migliore dicitore di rime all improviso del tempo, he was called - the greatest lyric improviser of his time. We are in no position to judge Leonardo’s verses, for they have all been lost. We do know his prose. As for Michelangelo, his prose we know only from his letters, which deal for the most part with financial straits and family troubles. They have nothing to do with art, even though they may include an occasional emotional passage. Leonardo, however, was clearly a stylist. His description of a storm - the thrice-revised word picture of the Deluge - lives and breathes, reveals the talent of a painter and musician transmuted into words. Michelangelo’s poetry is introspective, marked now by the bitter irony, now by flaming pathos. Leonardo is preeminently thoughtful and lucid, as revealed in his fables and parables. Take the one about the butterfly that burns its wings: “Thou false light, how many hast thou not wretchedly deceived in days gone by, as thou hast deceived me! Were I meant to see the light, should it not then also be within my power to tell the sun from a miserable penny taper?” Leonardo’s minor poetic endeavors reflect the clarity of his mind, the serenity of his wisdom. Michelangelo at his best impresses with the power and fierceness of his style. In Milan, where he was drawn to the court of Ludovico il Moro, and where he later executed the collossal equestrian statue of Francesco Sforza - a glorification of the individual which democratic envy would have made impossible in Florence - a practical orientation prevailed, a striving for knowing and transforming reality, which may be properly designated as Aristotelian rather than Platonic. It is instructive that the name of Plato occurs but once in Leonardo’s five thousand manuscript pages, and on that occasion in a geometrical context, whereas he constantly cites Aristotle. Leonardo’s life was not solely devoted to the cultivation of art, but was spent in practical activities, scientific experiments and the observation of nature. In Milan he began the construction of canals equipped with ingenious locks of his own design. Toward the end of his life he proposed to Francis I the construction of a canal to join the rivers Sauldre and Morantin and to serve irrigation as well as navigation. He invented one machine after another, not merely numerous war devices, which can scarcely have been very practical, since otherwise they would have rendered Il Moro invincible, but countless appliances for peaceful purposes, from modest ones to serve everyday needs to highly ambitious ones. They included an ingenious pedometer, a rolling mill for iron, machines for making cylinders, files, saws, and drills, for cutting cloth, for planing and carding, a mechanical wine press, a goldbeater’s hammer, a ditch-digger, a wind-driven plow, a machine for drilling into the earth, a wheel for powering ships. He was not only the first to invent the screw propeller and to use a screw on a moving axle as a motor, but thought of using it in flight, built small paper models with thin steel propellers that could steer themselves. He invented a device for measuring the density of air. He was forever occupied with building different types of aircraft. He wrote a study on the flight of birds, constructed wings, flying chairs, gondolas for airships. He invented the parachute. “If a man have a tent of stiffened canvas,” he writes, “twelve ells wide and twelve ells long, he can plunge down from any height without fear.” Heat radiation is the object of his inquiries. He notes that rays passing through a glass globe filled with cold water are warmer than the fire whence they come, behaving much like rays reflected by a concave mirror. Leonardo understood steam power before anyone else did. He gives a careful description of a device he constructed to hurl a ball weighing one talent a distance of six stadia. All matters of mechanical construction came easily to him. He took the use of iron for cogwheels, beams, levers and rolls for granted, though it was quite rare at his time. He constantly pondered on how to replace hand work with machines. Leonardo understood before Copernicus that the earth revolves around the sun. He discovered the law of complementary colors before Chevreul. Before Pascal he perceived that water in two joined pipes always maintains the same level, whatever the form of the vessels. He studied cloud formation. Before the invention of telescopes, he recommended that eye glasses be made for seeing the moon larger (fa occhiali da vedere la luna grande). He was a passionate student of optics. He delved into the peculiarities of mirrors. He invented the camera obscura and explained its property of inverting images. He studied the nature of magnets. He invented the diving bell, but was reluctant to publish this invention, for fear, he said, that it might be used to commit murder under water. He studied acoustics as he did optics. He had a vague notion of radio communications, asserting that if holes were bored into the earth at two distant points, the human voice could be heard over great distances. He grasped the function of the heart and the circulation of the blood before anyone else did. He immersed himself into botany, found the rules by which leaves are arranged about a stalk and tested the effects of poisons on plants. Numerous drawings of plants from his hand, testify to his love of plant life. He had insight into geology before anyone else did. He protested that 5,288 years, given by the theologians of his time as the age of the earth, were not long enough. The banks of the Po, he insisted, showed alluvial deposits that would have required at least 200,000 years to accumulate. His geological studies led him to voice cautious doubt that there could have been anything like a general deluge. Seventy years before Bernard Palissy, founder of ceramics, who is regarded in France as the creator of geology, Leonardo laid the foundations of that science. Pondering the marine shells found high up in the mountains, he says: “These shells cannot have been carried there by the Deluge. They are all found at the same level, even though the mountain peaks are often still higher. If one believes that these molluscs, ordinarily found near the sea coast, began to move when the oceans swelled, then forty days of rain would not have been enough for these slow-moving creatures to traverse the distance of two hundred and fifty miles from the Adriatic coast to Montferrat.” He grasped that these shells had been deposited on the mountains by waters that had run off - something Voltaire failed to understand two-and-a-half centuries later. Leonardo declared, further, that the reflex movements of the limbs originated in the spinal cord rather than the brain. Like Michelangelo after him, he was a devoted anatomist. He had no patience with artists who, in revulsion before flayed and decomposing cadavers, shrank from obtaining insight into the structure and true character of the human body. Unlike Michelangelo, he concentrated on the influence of the emotions on the organs rather than on the interplay of muscles. Universal as he was, he strove to grasp the very essence of life. He found the source of life in movement (il moto e causa d’ogni vita) and here as in so many other areas anticipated the future. Among the many astonishing aspects of his genius is the fact that he left his manuscripts unpublished, indeed, made them difficult of access by employing mirror-writing, from right to left. He seems to have been entirely free of scientific ambition, for he allowed no one even to see his manuscripts.”

Now listening to Supergirl by Claudia Sarne and Anne Briggs by Anne Briggs...

Near Gilmore Station in Burnaby. Summer of 2017.

Gilmore Station is an elevated rapid transit station on the Millennium Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain network. Opened on August 31, 2002, it is located at Gilmore Avenue and Dawson Street (near Lougheed Highway) in Burnaby. It sits at the western edge of the Brentwood neighbourhood, offering quick trips of under 20 minutes to downtown Vancouver. It was designed by Busby + Associates, featuring a transparent entry plaza, side platforms, and an exposed wood-and-glass canopy with a warm timber ceiling. It's fully integrated with escalators, stairs, and elevators for accessibility.

The area is shifting rapidly from a low-density light industrial zone into a high-density urban hub. The station is directly connected to the massive, master-planned Gilmore Place development by the Onni Group, which features high-rise residential towers (including some of the tallest in the province), office spaces, and ground-level retail anchored by major conveniences like T&T Supermarket. It is also within walking distance of The Amazing Brentwood shopping and entertainment district.