Human Behavior

Probation Officer: How to Destroy Prison’s Revolving Door – The Daily Beast

Jason Hardy was working as a parole and probation officer in New Orleans, with a caseload so large it was literally unmanageable. That didnt seem to faze the mother of one of his clients, who kept calling him to try to track down her son, a runaway who had gotten busted for heroin possession and put on probation.

Hardy had seen the boy only once before, and when he went to an address the kid had given him, it turned out to be an abandoned building in the French Quarter. Hardy realized the boy just didnt want to be found, but the mother kept calling, insisting that the probation officer keep looking for him. Finally, frustrated, Hardy told her, Look, I have 220 people on my caseload. I cant drop everything and send out a search party for your kid, if he doesnt want help.

It wasnt exactly the most polite response, but it was definitely the most honest one. I had to spend what few resources I had on the people who stood the best chance of making use of them, says Hardy today, explaining his reaction.

Hardys new book The Second Chance Club: Hardship and Hope After Prison, is exactly about that tension between trying to keep people from becoming recidivists, and the meager resources available to make that happen. Its the sobering tale of working with drug abusers, drug dealers, and the mentally ill in one of Americas poorest, most crime-ridden cities. Told partially through the stories of seven of Hardys clients, its a wake-up call that zeroes in on one simple, but important, question: if we as a society sincerely want to cut down on crime and recidivism, do we want to spend our money on more prisons, or programs that will give ex-cons the ability to stay off drugs and out of jail?

I think the main day-in, day-out frustration was that we didnt have the tools to do the job, says Hardy. The only real resource at our disposal was the jail. It was a constant struggle to get funding for any alternative to incarceration.

The statistics Hardy provides to show what a difficult job he had during his four years as a P.O. are particularly edifying: African-Americans are 60 percent of NOLAs population, 80 percent of the offender population; 43 percent of the parolees in Louisiana will be back in jail within five years, compared to 25 percent nationwide; 10 percent of parolees are homeless when they get out of prison; the mentally ill make up anywhere from 1/5 to 1/3 of the U.S. jail population; and as of 2016, black employment in NOLA was only 52 percent.

Hardy admits that The City That Care Forgot and the state of Louisiana are at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to help for their post-prison constituencies, that in general, states with deeper pockets [he mentions New Jersey and Oregon as examples] have offered a far wider array of services to probationers and parolees. [But] I dont think Ive ever spoken with a state-level P.O. who felt like he had the resources he needed to do the job.

This frustration really comes through in the individual cases Hardy chooses to talk about in The Second Chance Club (the title comes from a parolee who says probation and parole wouldnt be called the second chance club if they didnt expect you to fuck up.):

Theres Sheila, whos big on smoking weed, and is attracted to drug dealers. She manages to get a job at Subway, but still yearns for the wild life. At the end of the book, shes managed to get mental health medication, but her future is still up in the air.

Then theres Travis, whos on probation for heroin, and has problems at work. He gets little respect in the outside world, so feels the need to demand it from bosses, who see no reason to tolerate people like him. Because of this, Travis eventually loses not only a job at Wal-Mart but a lucrative gig working on an oil rig.

Hard Head is a sixty-something military vet who uses crack, drinks, and lives mostly in a homeless encampment, but eventually gets his act together and finds a home and health care. Hes one of the few success stories.

Kendrick is a mentally ill drug user who can only get professional help if his parole is revoked and hes sent back to prison. Prison for mental health, says Hardy in the book, you cant make this up.

And Javaron, a hardcore career criminal, who shoots and kills a teenager in a dispute over a woman and is sentenced to 32 years in prison.

Theyre all different, and yet in many ways, theyre all the same. Poor, badly educated, drug users, often with mental problems. When I worked at probation and parole, one way that we would try to keep each others spirits up was to remind each other that changing human behavior is hard under any circumstances, says Hardy. People with every advantage sometimes struggle to shake a bad habit, make good choices. People coming through our doors after a lifetime of neglectobviously, starting treatment or going back to school was going to be a hard sell for them.

One thing seems certain: job training in prison helps reduce recidivism.

Which brings us to the question of drug legalization. Hardy mentions the Portuguese thing, a drug policy that country instituted in 2001 which essentially decriminalized drug possession and usage and has led to a significant decrease in overdoses, HIV infection, and drug-related crime. It has also led to an uptick in servicestreatment, housing, etc.to serve the addiction community.

Yet although Hardy says he is in favor of making possession of personal-use quantities of drugs a non-felony offense, hes still conflicted about full-out legalization. He feels its difficult for people who have worked with addicts and seen overdoses up close to get behind the legalization movement. He is not convinced legalization will wipe out the black market in drugs and is concerned that it would be hard to regulate toxic pharmaceuticals like fentanyl, which isnt safe for human consumption in any form.

But Hardy admits that I had this conversation with a pro-legalization friend not long ago, and I really didnt have a good answer when he hit me with the old reliable, Hows that working out for you?

One thing seems certain: job training in prison, whether its for HVAC repair, carpentry, even a recent program instituted by New York Citys Rikers Island to teach inmates how to be baristas, helps reduce recidivism. But a lot depends on whether there are programs to help prisoners find jobs when they are released, and in many cases, prisoners on probation are not eligible for housing assistance, and those on drug charges cant get food stamps in their first year out.

Still, Hardy is an optimist. He sees things changing, the general public and legislators caring about the problems created by the war on drugs and mass incarceration, and starting to do something about them. I think care, for lack of a better word, is at an all-time high, he says. The First Step Act [a bipartisan prison reform bill signed into law in 2018] was modest. It was mostly about reducing sentences for people serving time on drug convictions. But the dialogue around it was pretty remarkable. You had vast majorities on both sides of the aisle embracing this idea that rehabilitation is a cause the country should get behind. People of varying ideologies respond to results. If you can say, This is cheaper than what we are doing now, and it also happens to be safer and more humane, they have a hard time blowing you off.

Excerpt from:
Probation Officer: How to Destroy Prison's Revolving Door - The Daily Beast

Human Behavior

CNN’s fascinating series "The Windsors" confirms why the dysfunctional royal family still rules – Salon

"The Windsors: Inside The Royal Dynasty" knows damn well you don't want to wait 100 years to get to Meghan. The Duchess of Sussex well, a dreamy, imagined version of her as she prepares to walk down the aisle on her wedding day is the first figure we see in CNN's new six-part documentary series, before the story time jumps back a few generations. "But all that glitters is not gold," our narrator Rosamund Pike warns, as our American television star embarks on an alliance with a family that "will do whatever it takes to survive." Corny? Yes. Unsubtle? Absolutely. A deliciously soapy reality show involving a dysfunctional clan with posh accents? Sign me up.

What is it about the British monarchy that is still so compelling to so many of us, on any side of the pond? The royal family is at this point in history mostly just a set of wisdom teeth vestigial, purposeless, most interesting when something painful happens or a removal is required. Yet that heady mix they provide of obscene wealth, pointless ceremony and, as the series promises, "scandal, war, adultery, and tragedy" reliably sucks us in. They fascinate because they live so very far outside our own experience, until we are reminded that their joys and heartaches and mistakes are exactly like ours. There's a reason Shakespeare wrote plays about these people. You may beg to differ, groan when their faces appear on magazine covers, but the Windsors are plain interesting as hell.

The series could not be more serendipitously timed for the cable network. On the heels of "Megxit" and just in time for friend-of-Jeffrey-Epstein Prince Andrew's 60th birthday, the most famous non-Kardashian family in the world is in the midst of a genuinely transformative moment. It's fitting then that "The Windsors" begins its story with another era of reckoning.

It begins back in 1917, when the rising toll of World War I made the family's then brand name, House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, "a PR disaster waiting to happen," and the abdication of King George's cousin Nicholas II in Russia lent to a wave anti-monarchy sentiment across Europe. The king's uncle and his family eventually met a notorious fate, vividly explained in the first episode. "It took a long time to kill his son, the czarina and the princesses," a historian murmurs. "They all had jewels, diamonds, sewn into their underwear, so their death was more agonizing than it might have been." Back in Britain, meanwhile, the inoffensive, patently English and royally associated name of Windsor was adopted. George's son Edward grew up groomed as future king to a new generation. And that didn't exactly go to plan either, especially after Edward met a bewitching married American woman. See? This is some juicy stuff here. And we're just getting started.

Combining subtle reenactments shots that suggest the key players rather than show them outright archival footage, and interviews with historians, friends, and distant relations, "The Windsors" follows a comfortingly familiar format. Yes, the granddaughter of Prince Edward's cousin is there to offer some insight, and yes, I did already know exactly who she is. For those of us who've spent our entire lives inhaling tales of this family, the series doesn't reveal much about the Windsor gang's last century you won't already know (or glean from watching "The Crown"). Edward will abdicate for the love of Wallis. Shy, stuttering Bertie will step in. Stoic Elizabeth will ascend to the throne and stay there longer than any of her predecessors. Her son will marry a sheltered nursery school assistant, barely out of her teens, who will become an international icon and die tragically young. And their boys will become men who go on different paths one dutiful and traditional, the other modern and unprecedented.

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Yet having seen the first two episodes, I still found myself drawn in, spellbound in the way that a season of "Succession" (the word serves as the surely not coincidental title of "The Windsors" first episode) does. There's something about the cyclical nature of human behavior that these corgi-hoarding weirdos exemplify, often in the most surprisingly bittersweet of ways. Each generation seems to offer its own version of the age-old question, "Which one of my garbage sons are you?" Each has a charismatic woman, hounded by a savage press. Wallis Simpson, chased around France by the paparazzi, foreshadows Diana, who in turn serves as an eerie warning to Meghan. Desire and obligation constantly battle for supremacy, creating tensions with global implications. Politics mixes with sex mixes with race mixes with class.

CNN has previously mined closer to home for its dynasties, delving into the Kennedys and the Bush brigade. For contemporary appeal, though, nobody can beat the Windsors. The Bush family has frankly less drama, and the Kennedy mystique seemed to die with JFK Jr., more than 20 years ago. In contrast, the royals right now, today, are not some style page afterthought. Theirs is a story of what if anything are the consequences when a member of your family is accused of sexual abuse. It's one of the hardships of new motherhood, of loneliness, of the limits of loyalty, of quitting the family business. It's one that absolutely will undergo significant change over the next few years. But even if their reign may someday soon end, the Windsors never stop ruling ourimagination, and "The Windsors" shows why.

The six-part series "The Windsors" premieres Sunday, Feb. 16 at 10 p.m. on CNN.

More here:
CNN's fascinating series "The Windsors" confirms why the dysfunctional royal family still rules - Salon

Human Behavior

Letters to the editor, Feb. 16, 2020 | Opinion – Idaho Press-Tribune

Liar king

A few days ago, 52 Republican Senators representing far less than half of the U.S. population acquitted The Liar King of blackmailing a foreign leader in order to increase his chances of being re-elected. In his manifesto of mistruths the day before he told about 25 more lies in an attempt to impress his followers.

He negotiated a Mid-East peace proposal with Israel, ignoring the Palestinians, and then told the Palestinians what they were to do. That is not a peace plan.

The USMCA was approved after House Democrats forced many changes in it. He did not invite any Democrats to the signing ceremony. Contrary to the Kings claims, the plan is expected to add fewer jobs 6 years than we usually add in a month. About 28,000 of these are expected to be in the auto industry, not the Kings stated 100,000.

The phase one trade deal with China proposes exporting more to them than what we have available and has no guarantees any of it will happen.

A supposed charity is passing out envelops containing 100-$1000 to people attending rallies for the King. Probably totally illegal.

U.S. economic growth has been very low in two of the last 3 months and has never approached the numbers the King predicted would result from his huge tax cut for the wealthy and businesses.

If he wanted to give a Medal of Freedom to someone, it should have been Vindman and Sondland who obeyed the law responding to their subpoenas and testifying. Instead he fired them.

Remember the girl whom was s awarded a scholarship t got her out of a failing government school? She attends the highly regarded Math, Science, and Technology Community Charter School III which has no tuition. Her family had no idea why they were in DC.

Leo Faddis, Kuna

Vote no

Another Nampa School Dist Levy vote in March

Nampa School Dist is voting again for another levy March 10th, but early voting end of Feb. If passed this levy is good for 2-years, after that will Nampa School Dist vote for another one? Im pretty sure they will.

Until the school dist. really takes a look on how to budget the money giving to them already I will vote NO. The property owners in Canyon County are being asked for a tax increase for another jail and urban renewal. How about getting the funds needed some other way instead always the property owner. Ada county has a big problem with their property taxes being too high for seniors, the same will be for Canyon county also.

The school dist has not said anything about the vote coming up as they want to have only the supporters to show up and vote.

PLEASE VOTE NO on this levy.

Jim R. Carr, Eagle

Progress?

A new year begins and Add the Words legislation is introduced again in the Idaho Senate by Sen. Maryanne Jordan. Will it pass this time and will the state validate by law the new morality? Out with the old in with the new? As if change itself is a virtue, regardless. The foundation of our current cultures new morality is an ageless opposition to God.

We see commercials and images in the media now with open same sex scenes and blatant flaunting of human sexuality sort of a free for all. Its true we can turn the channel but often its not fast enough. Is this progress? Progress, as currently defined by some in our culture, is any human behavior that is in contrast to Judeo Christian morality.

This years Super Bowl half time show featured inappropriately dressed women pole dancing. Little girls were also part of the show witnessing this indecent behavior, along with millions of others. How many little girls will imitate that? How very thoughtful and beneficial for our culture and moral influence right? When is it enough? Where are the decency standards and how much will we accept in our public sphere? Like a frog in slow boiling water no one seems to know. Also, just as concerning, how many of us have stopped caring or speaking up?

Super Bowl ads this year featured LGBTQ women in a Microsoft ad and drag queens in a Sabra hummus commercial. According to NBCnews.com, for too long LGBTQ visibility in Super Bowl ads was nearly invisible, but this year will mark a breakthrough ... Fox turned away a Super Bowl commercial featuring survivors of botched abortions from Faces of Choice Abortion Survivors.

Are these really our values or are our values being hijacked?

John Seale, Caldwell

Activism

Jeers to Boise High for using high school students for the PC protest of Chase bank for investing in fossil fuel companies. Oil and gas exploration is the life blood of our country. It allows all commerce to take place and reduces pollution in our country. You have totally misinformed these students and used the education system to brainwash these poor kids. I bet they got to their protest site by driving cars that use gasoline. Math and reading should be taught not misinformed environmentalism. Cheers to the students for their activism but not for their lack of knowledge.

John Brown, Eagle

Go plant based

Dr. Beth Malasky left out the most important fact about heart disease in her guest opinion on womens heart health published February 11: heart disease can be reversed with a whole food plant-based diet. This is a diet of beans, other legumes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

The cause of heart disease is largely the standard American diet which is composed of meats, dairy products, eggs, added oil, refined sugar, refined flour and other processed foods. These foods clog our arteries and raise our blood pressures.

Thirty years ago Dr. Dean Ornish published the results of his Lifestyle Heart Trial that proved heart disease is reversible.

A good read on this topic is Dr. Caldwell Esselstyns book Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.

Do you want hope for your diseased heart? Then switch to a whole food, plant-based diet.

Reed Burkholder, Boise

Save the fish

As a shing guide and a small business owner in Riggins, my income has been drastically aected by the downturn in our salmon and steelhead economy. The once-dependable money from guiding and our business is no longer dependable, forcing me to look elsewhere for income to support my family.

I recently joined a group of Idahoans traveling to Washington DC to meet with our Legislature about our diminishing sh returns and the stress that puts on Idaho communities. Meeting with Representative Mike Simpson was eye opening and inspiring. His oce is working on large scale solutions to help bring sh, and the money associated with them (the money that our economy depends on) back to our state. At the same time, his plans also address all the other interests and concerns involved in this complex issue. His oce is willing to have the dicult conversations and face the dicult decisions that must be addressed so our children may experience ghting these mighty sh.

We are at a decision point. As a state, we can either unite behind our cultural heritage and stand up for our sh or we can sit quietly on the sidelines and watch our sh populations dwindle into extinction, taking with them rural Idaho communities. It is time for Idahoans to stand up for Idahoans, taking our future into our own hands. Let your representatives know that the time for action is now. Choosing to delay discussions will lead to the extinction of our salmon and steelhead.

Jon Kittell, Riggins

Better

Once again we have the privilege and responsibility to elect those we want to govern us. It seems the best qualified individuals are not even in the process for consideration. Therefore, our communities and nation are lacking in the best leadership possible because we pick our leaders on the following criteria:

1. political party

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2. biggest promiser

3. anyone but the incumbent

4. personality

5. gender

6. race

7.etc.

Things may get better someday but as for this coming election and the foreseeable future nothing will change for the better, no matter who gets elected.

Ray Archuleta, Nampa

Conscience

I would like to commend Mr. Mitt Romney on his bravery, courage, moral decency and integrity for doing what he was supposed to do in a Senate trial of an impeached president- look at and listen to available evidence and draw a fair and impartial decision based on this evidence. In this partisan political environment, very few have done so. Whether you agree with him or not, this took a lot of soul searching as he is quite aware of the intimidation and retribution and vindictiveness of this administration, if you do not stay loyal and toe the party line. McCain also had this courage. Interesting that two former Republican nominees for president have had this courage, but not others. I believe it is in part because they have already achieved as high as they can in politics and are not intimidated as are others. I have voted for both Democrats and Republican for president. I find it impossible to vote for our current president. Even if his policies were good in the long run it would be akin to selling my soul. He is a terrible role model for children. He is the Liar King, demeans women and Africans, those he perceives as unattractive, etc. He brags and takes credit for good things he did not do, such as saying he has gotten us out of the economic- mess we were in three years ago. This is a revision of the facts-we have had an increasing economy for ten consecutive years. He has only been in office three years+. So, kudos to Mr. Romney. Nay to our narcissistic incumbent. I did not vote for Romney at the time, but if he ran in the future I probably would do so. At least we know he has a conscience.

Rich Rothsh, Boise

Gun laws

Readers

Im writing because I believe in common sense gun laws and their ability to make Idaho safer. According to the CDCs Fatal Injury Reports, Idaho has the 16th highest rate of gun death in the U.S., 87% of which are suicides, meaning it has the 4th highest gun suicide rate in the country. Most of these deaths would have been preventable with common sense gun laws or proper storage of guns. (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline available 24/7: 1-800-273-8255.)

Death by gun suicide is the leading cause of gun violence in Idaho, but its not the only gun safety issue. Two proposed bills in the Idaho Legislature would take power away from local government, instead creating state-wide laws. One would allow concealed carry within city limits, regardless of state residency. The other would allow weapons on public school campuses. Both of these would take away local power from the people that know their communities needs the best.

There are doable solutions for both of these. First is voting for candidates who support common sense gun laws. Second is contacting your state representatives to say you dont support bills that take away local governments gun safety laws.

Thank you.

Lauren Axness, Boise

Fairness

It would seem that being in prison might open an opportunity to go to the Supreme Court for grievances if Edmo case (page A1 of Idaho Press, Wednesday, February 12, 2020) is brought before the Supreme Court? Dont we lose some opportunities when go to prison? Doesnt seem quite fair for taxpayers to pay for this!

Juanita Monaghan, Nampa

See original here:
Letters to the editor, Feb. 16, 2020 | Opinion - Idaho Press-Tribune

Human Behavior

Promoting Hygiene To Minimize Infections – CleanLink

'Tis the season for colds and flu, and facility cleaning departments are on high alert. From the common cold to severe influenza outbreaks, viral infections can quickly spread throughout the workplace, leading to lost productivity and in some cases lost lives.

Fortunately, good cleaning and disinfecting practices can reduce the spread of viruses by up to 90 percent in facilities, according to Charles Gerba, a microbiologist and professor at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. And employees can do their part by following good hygiene practices and staying home when sick.

"The average employee is out ill three or four days a year, but he or she goes to work ill about four weeks a year, which costs the company in lost productivity," says Gerba. "So sanitation in the office is becoming more important and we're seeing more data that shows the cost benefits of good hygiene practices."

To this end, custodial departments can reinforce good handwashing procedures, as well as coughing and sneezing etiquette by posting signage throughout the building.

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, housekeeping staff post handwashing procedures and cover-your-cough signs in resident halls and restrooms during cold and flu season.

"There really is a proper way to wash our hands, and it's something we should do every day not just during cold and flu season," says Jodi Krause, assistant director of housekeeping. "We can do a lot to stop the spread of colds and flu just by washing our hands properly and frequently."

Like Krause, Gerba supports the use of handwashing signs but admits that it's difficult to affect human behavior. To that end, easy access to hand sanitizer can have a positive impact on the fight against infections.

University of Wisconsin students and staff have year-round access to hand sanitizer stations in common-use areas, such as resident halls, dining halls, conference rooms and restrooms. Similarly, Gerba advocates the use of hand sanitizer at restroom exits and in coffee break rooms.

"Studies show that it reduces the spread of viruses, but only about a third of people will use it," he says.

POSTED ON: 2/14/2020

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Promoting Hygiene To Minimize Infections - CleanLink

Human Behavior

Freezing temperatures taking toll on homeless in Denver – The Denver Channel

DENVER -- There are some disturbing numbers from this freezing February.

Our partners at The Denver Post talked to Police and learned that in the last 8 days, two men found dead in separate locations, likely died from exposure.

One of the victims was found Feb. 10, at a bus stop on Brighton Blvd near 29th Street. The temperature in Denver had dropped down to 12 degrees on that day.

The other was found Feb. 8, near 21st and California. The low on that day was 19 degrees.

"When it's as cold as it was, and it was cold that morning, it cold enough to kill you," said Joe McDaniel, a resident at the nearby Crossroads Shelter.

The temperature in Denver dipped down to 19 degrees on Feb. 8, and down to 12 degrees on the 10th.

McDaniel said he knew the man who died at the bus stop.

"Not personally," he said, "I'd seen him at the shelter. We all live in the shelter right there, and we struggle together. We all go to work everyday."

McDaniel said he can't help but wonder if the victim missed the 11:00 curfew and couldn't get back into the shelter.

Joe Davis has another take.

Davis, who is now living in a tent, after being asked to leave the shelter, told Denver7 the victim too was asked to leave.

"He had some kind of conflict," Davis said.

A supervisor at the shelter told Denver7 he "didn't know," if the victim had been asked to leave.

We reached out to the Salvation Army. The media contact, Rachel Flower said they're "still gathering info."

Flower added, We were incredibly saddened to hear of the recent deaths of people experiencing homelessness in our city. The Salvation Army makes every effort to keep people warm and safe, especially in harsh conditions. Crossroads is open every night for up to 500 men experiencing homelessness, and open during the day when weather is extreme. We provide dinner and transportation to additional shelter locations when we reach capacity. Every night from 9pm-1am we operate our Search and Rescue program, offering rides to shelters or providing those who wish to stay on the street with water, snacks, blankets, gloves and scarves. With more cold nights coming up, we hope more people will come to us for help, and that no more lives will be lost.

Davis said he wishes someone would have told him if the victim had been asked to leave.

"They could have come down here and easily asked me to give him these blankets, these jackets," he said. "I have plenty for everyone."

Lisa Calderon, the chief of staff for Denver City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca, said, "Even if someone is unruly at a shelter, the options shouldn't be to be out on the street, in sub-freezing temperatures because you had a behavior problem."

Calderon added that many homeless people have behavior issues that are related to mental illness, or addiction, and that cold weather makes it worse.

She said Denver needs more housing for the homeless and needs to revamp shelters.

"Sheltering, the way it's been done in Denver for quite a long time, warehouses human beings, which means we have people packed in rooms 300 - 500 head to foot. That is not a humane way to treat people."

Calderon also said that as Denver residents debate the city's camping ban, they need to remember there are real human beings on the streets every night, out in the cold.

"They're not super-human," she said. They're not used to being out there like a lot of people think. They can freeze to death.

More here:
Freezing temperatures taking toll on homeless in Denver - The Denver Channel

Human Behavior

The love formula that says 5:1 = forever – Rappler

Deep at the core of Valentine traffic is a tighter jam the chaos of emotions surrounding love relationships. What could help us make sense out of these feelings we are captured by? Is there a Waze version for love to get us to where we want to be without exploding into road rage or getting into alleys that make us lose sight of where we want to go with our significant other? (READ: 4 money mistakes couples shouldn't make on Valentine's Day)

Making sense is what science is particularly and singularly good at compared to other approaches, but generally, we are still iffy to mention science in the same sentence as love. To many, they do not belong together either because they think sense and love are opposites or they are total strangers to each other. Too many wild cards in love, we say. No lab can hold couples through their multi-splendored journeys, you say. (READ: These stories will make you believe that love is real)

It also does not help that many scientists define love the way they would describe any molecular structure. In Bill Brysons book The Mother Tongue: English and How it Got that Way, he cited a 1977 conference in the US that defined love as the cognitive-affective state characterized by intrusive and obsessive fantasizing concerning reciprocity of amorant feelings by the object of the amorance. The conference made it sound like love was a very unpleasant disease caused by some germ called amorant that could make anyone feel relieved to just stay single.

But chaos also reigns in the uncertainties in your own health and finances. Yet, you most likely feel very differently about how science and math help in those aspects of your life. This is because we know and accept that medical science has given us reliable measures of health against which we check our own, and finance advisors also say there are measurable things to watch out for to ensure that you do not jeopardize your financial security. So what if you can index the highs and lows of your love relationship like the stock market?

I can hear voices from readers now saying, What does that even mean? It means plotting the rise and fall of your behavior and your physiology when you are with your significant other on various situations including conflict. (READ: When love is truly blind)

Then probably the next question will most likely be, Why would you do that? Well, if you can actually see how you behave and how your body reacts along a spectrum from negative to positive, then you will most likely see what your relationship consists of in those terms. And even more importantly, if you base it on the studies of Dr. John Gottman, you will be able to predict with about 90% accuracy whether your relationship will continue or break up.

Dr. John Gottman has been doing love research for over many decades now, with most of those years in partnership with his wife, Dr. Julie Gottman. Their work is held up by data from 40,000 couples who are not just heterosexual couples, but all other partnerships, and is populated by couples across age groups to their 90s. He gave a very interesting TED Talk that you and your partner would probably like to watch Valentine's or any other day to affirm what people who have been through journeys of love know as truth that love is a workpiece that has dials that you can turn that can make or break your journey. From data across tens of thousands of couples across decades, Gottman thinks they have found the formula.

But wait, before you think that formula means it is foolproof, remember that in any science involving human beings, it is never a 100% if-and-then. This is not about the trajectory of a ball that Newtons equation can predict with precision that you can bet your last remaining money on. In any science that predicts human behavior, the science would always have to satisfy statistical requirements so that it is above that level where it could have happened by sheer chance or coincidence.

Gottmans formula gives you a recipe that can guide you to steer your behavior so that your relationships will have a much better chance (over 90%!) of success. On the flipside, as a natural byproduct, it also gives you a poison recipe where you can see what kinds of behaviors can break your love into pieces.

The formula is 5:1, and they key is NOT balance. In the spectrum of emotions that can go from positive (joy, interest, amusement, gratitude) to negative (anger, fear, disappointment, disgust), your positive emotions should overwhelm your negative ones by about 5 times more. I guess that is how much of an antidote is required to not just neutralize the poison of negative emotions, but more so to transform it so that the magic, as Gottman says, stays.

And what are the ingredients of this antidote? From his scientific work, he says they are trust, calm, and commitment. And that is where the work comes to be. These ingredients are not manufactured by your instincts. They all crafted with a big part of them coming from your own thinking and resolve.

With trust, Gottman described it as not simply a blank check for anyone to do anything but a mutual trust that each of you want the best for each other, and the mathematics for this worked out in the study. He pointed out that their data strongly supports that mutual trust leads to intimacy, as this is driven by an interest in each others journey. It was also interesting that their data found that affairs are borne more out of loneliness (borne out of a feeling that your partner is not interested in your story) than the desire for sex.

With commitment, Gottman described it not just as a paper vow the way we sometimes hear people cite legal and religious ceremonial vows. He refers to commitment as thoughtful affirmations of what you have both gone through together as a couple and that this is the journey of your life. Their studies have shown that making these affirmations that what your connected lives have brought you to realize as a couple, that you are indeed each others anchor amid the changing seas in your lives is a wielder of the magic of forever.

Calm was really measured in the Gottman studies by physiological marks like heart rate, blood pressure, and skin conductance, which are tell-tale signs of how flooded you are with your own emotions that you cannot hear and bear to the presence of your beloved. Gottman found that keeping calm really made the difference especially in tense situations.

If love is what you have and want to keep, then, science says to trust and commit. And keep calm so you can see forever rising. Happy Valentines. Rappler.com

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The love formula that says 5:1 = forever - Rappler

Human Behavior

‘The Bachelor’: Peter Weber Has Something To Say To His Haters – Showbiz Cheat Sheet

After six weeks and countless exhausting hours spent on The Bachelor Season 24, one thing is clear fans should have heeded Peter Webers warning ahead of the premiere.

I made mistakes for sure. Theres no doubt about that, Weber told Us Weekly in early January. Im human. So I dont want to look at it as regret. I learned from it.

Host Chris Harrison also echoed the remarks in regards to the 28-year-olds behavior, hinting Weber may not always live up to the persona who appeared on Hannah Browns season of The Bachelorette.

Nobodys perfect and Peter is just like everybody else, Harrison said, per Good Morning America. He has his issues and he has things that will come up. I think there will be times where youre thinking, I dont love this side of him.'

Now, an overwhelming number of fans are crowning Weber as one of the worst bachelor leads of all time, calling him out every week through different mediums online, from social media to publications alike. However, Weber isnt here for all the hate, once again reminding the fandom he is still human.

For now, the main criticism surrounds Webers indecisiveness on The Bachelor. The Delta pilot was completely thrown off when reuniting with Brown in the premiere. He even briefly considered ditching the 30 women who came on the show for his ex.

Later, Weber eliminated Alayah Benavidez after being influenced by other contestants. In the next episode, Alayah returned to clear her name and Weber invited her back to the house. He also proceeded to throw Alayah into the lions den when giving her the group date rose without considering how it would affect the other women. Then once cast members exploded on Weber and Alayah he let her go again.

Meanwhile, Kelley Flanagan confronted Weber on his actions. She told the bachelor he rewards the drama in the house, becoming the voice of some Bachelor Nation fans at home.

Peter is hands down the one of the worst male leads ever, a fan wrote on Twitter. Kelley was right. He really does only reward bad behavior and drama.

When speaking with E! News on Feb. 7, Weber addressed his critics who are disappointed in his behavior on The Bachelor this season.

Im definitely getting some tough skin now, Weber said. I understand that theres a lot of drama right now and things are kind of crazy, but I do think its a littleits too bad a lot of the criticism and a lot of hate thats kind of been kind of coming out. I just think theres no place for that and theres too much of that right now.

Weber then noted The Bachelor team is just doing our best. And in the end, the 28-year-old hopes everyone will focus on spreading love and positivity versus spewing hate.

Again, were just were all human, Weber said. And I know theres a lot of opinions about a lot of the women on the show, a lot of opinions about me.

The bachelor also reminded viewers that they dont know what its like to be in his shoes.

You think you know whats coming and how youre going to handle it, and theres just no way, Weber said. You cant ever imagine dating that many people in that kind of environment.

He continued: Its a beautiful, amazing environment, but its also very tough, theres a lot of pressure and you have to make decisions in a really short amount of time and you have to let go of relationships that you maybe dont know if you want to let go of yet, and its tough.

Regardless, Weber remained unapologetic for his season of The Bachelor. He did what he could and is happy with the result.

You just you try your best, and thats all I did, Weber said. And, you know, Im happy about that.

Read more: The Bachelor: Peter Weber Debunked 3 Theories About How the Finale Ends and Honestly, Were Disappointed

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'The Bachelor': Peter Weber Has Something To Say To His Haters - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Human Behavior

The Science of Human Bonding – Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun

Whether you decide to actually meet your Perfect Match, go out with your significant other or stay in for a night of Netflix with friends, Valentines Day can be an opportunity to appreciate the bonds and love we have for each other as humans.

But the bonds weve formed over the course of our lives dont just start with us human bonding is as old as humanity itself.

Were social animals because we need other people to survive, said Prof. Vivian Zayas, psychology.

According to Zayas, human bonding is an outcome of evolution.

If a behavior is adaptive, one way of ensuring that that behavior occurs is that its rewarding, Zayas said. Its important for us to eat, so eating is pleasurable. Its important to procreate, so sex is pleasurable. Its important to maintain these relationships, so interactions are pleasurable.

But its not just pleasure that pushes us to form bonds its biology. Individual life begins in utero, living in relation to its mother, according to Zayas. This biological relationship carries over to infancy, as infants look to form secure attachments with their caregivers.

Human bonding is, as a result, deeply rooted in an individuals development, and forming secure attachments early on can have lasting impacts throughout ones life.

After developing a relationship with primary caregivers, its an important milestone to learn to have a relationship with peers. As people grow, the attachment system will transfer again from peers to romantic partners, Zayas said.

Whether or not one forms close bonds with peers can also have consequences on mental health.

Part of self-esteem is not just how you view yourself in the abstract, but how you think other people value you. Zayas said. If you do not feel valued by your peers, that undermines feelings of self-worth.

However, although the quality of some bonds differ, everyone forms them.

Most people form these bonds because they do grow up with someone who takes care of them, Zayas said. They are very extreme conditions [where people dont form that bond],.

This predisposition to form bonds also manifests within groups, through synchronous body movements, autonomic responses or emotional reactions that can spread among individuals in a group setting.

For example, applause in concert halls can unintentionally become rhythmically coordinated, and choir members unconsciously exhibit breathing synchrony while singing together even without the explicit awareness of whos involved or that this phenomenon is even occurring.

We are wired to be social and be attuned to another person. Zayas said. These types of activities then lead us to be more cooperative, more prosocial, and the assumption is that has some benefits.

When looking to form bonds whether platonic or romantic we are drawn towards some people and not others. How similar and familiar you are with someone has a big impact on how you view them according to Zayas. Close proximity can be a predictor of attractiveness.

People are more likely to find their partner at Cornell, because youre at Cornell, Zayas said.

So, this Valentines Day, understand the totality of all the bonds that you have developed over the course of your life not just your romantic connections.

The simplest way of viewing it is having relationships is like gravity. We are born to be connected with other people, Zayas said.

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The Science of Human Bonding - Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun

Human Behavior

SFU celebrates International Day of Women and Girls in Science – SFU News – Simon Fraser University News

To celebrate women in science, SFU showcases some of our researchers and their reasons for choosing a career in science and technology.

A professor in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology, Alissa Antle isan innovator and scholar whose research pushes the boundaries of computation to augment the ways we think and learn.

A designer and builder of interactive technologies, she explores how these innovations can improve, augment and support childrens cognitive and emotional development.

Many of her projects involve tangible technology. For example, Phonoblocks is a set of 3D letters and a tablet interface that work together to help dyslexic children learn to read. Youtopia helps children learn about sustainability as they work together using a digital tabletop to design their own land-use plan. And with Mind-Full, a tablet app, children learn to self-regulate anxiety.

Her interactive systems have been used for collaborative learning about Aboriginal heritage, sustainability and social justice; for improving learning outcomes for dyslexic children; and for teaching self-regulation to disadvantaged children.

In 2015, she was inducted into the Royal Society of Canadas College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists, acknowledging her as one of Canadas intellectual leaders.

Antle didnt start out to become a university professor.

Growing up, I was always interested in how things work, understanding people and creatively solving problems, she says. I didnt know I would be an engineer, and later a scientist and a professor. I just kept making choices that aligned with my curiosity and values. I never had a vision of my end-game; it emerged as a result of choices I made over time.

Antles unique perspective gives her an advantage in her field, but her accomplishments havent always come easily.

In research and technology development I think as a woman, a parent, and a gay person, I may focus on different problems and have a different perspective on solutions than normative societal views. I think this is my superpower, but it hasnt always been easy.

Read full story here.

After three summers camping in torrential rain in Clayoquot Sound, B.C., Ruth Joy wondered if there was a better way to conduct her research.

Recently named one of The Tyees big thinkers of 2019, Joy, a statistical ecologist and lecturer in SFUs new School of Environmental Science, studies seabirds and marine mammals. She started her career as a biologist, camping in a rusty van in the Chilcotin grasslands to collect data that could help conserve species and their habitats. After braving the elements for years, she decided to get out of the rain, follow the data and build evidence-based models. She returned to school, earning a PhD in statistics so that she could provide numerical arguments for protecting marine and terrestrial species.

Numbers dont lie, says Joy. Statistics is a really useful tool, especially when working with oceanographic systems. In order to gain a deeper understanding, we need quantitative skills.

Last summer, Joy and her research team received $1 million to support a marine-science initiative in coastal waters.

She credits great SFU mentors, a little good fortune, and flexibility for her success. She recommends taking the time to explore different careers, because environmental science is more than you think. Like Joy, whose jobs ranged from surveying birds by snowmobile to drug testing, to studying porpoises, pinnipeds, and pelagic cormorants, you never know where your path may lead.

SFU computing science professor Parmit Chilana, a founding member of Women in Computing Science (WiCS) at SFU during her undergraduate degree, now serves as a faculty mentor to the group.

WiCS continues to run outreach events that encourage female students to join computer science. The group also gives students support and an enhanced sense of belonging.

Chilana, who says she always planned to become a professor, researches human-computer interaction (HCI), which puts the end-user in the spotlight to ensure new technologies are human-centered and useful.

As an HCI researcher, Im excited about how we can build new tools that help people learn or improve their work in some way, says Chilana. And, more importantly, how we can get these tools in the hands of end-users, and have real-world impact.

Chilanas work has attracted several international awards and honors, and she has recently seen one of her research projects become the basis for a start-up.

I think this is the best time to pursue a career in computer science, perhaps more than ever before. The field can really benefit from different perspectives, especially those of women and minorities who have been underrepresented in computer science for a very long time.

Read the full story here.

As a child, Esther Verheyen was interested in insects and other aspects of the natural world. Today, as a professor in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Verheyen spends much of her day in the lab studying the fruit fly, Drosophila.

Fruit flies share many common genes with humans and provide an excellent example of how cells grow to form organs and tissues. Verheyen is particularly intrigued by mutations that hijack the developmental process and result in diseases like cancer.

She credits her academic parents for supporting her interest in science and encouraging her to dream big. And now, as a parent, she gives her son and daughter the same advice: Find something you feel passionate about, no matter how long it takes.

She also tells them they may have several different careers in the course of their lives, which is an exciting prospect for those with diverse interests.

Verheyen, who had strong role models throughout her career, now mentors female trainees in her lab.

A career as a professor can be stressful, but we are fortunate to be able to pursue our passions and have flexibility in our work schedules, which can allow us to accommodate family needs.

Verheyen is active on social media, eager to disseminate science to a lay audience and to add to the voice of female scientists.

I think it is critical that scientists communicate their research to a wide audience, she says. I enjoy giving public talks that give a broad group of people insight into what we can learn from research and how it might affect them.

You can follow Verheyen on Twitter at @EstherVerheyen.

Nadine Provenal, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, is interested in understanding the biological foundations of stress-related disorders.

Stress exposure early in life is an important risk factor for behavioural and psychiatric diseases, but little is known about how an individuals health can be affected years after the initial exposure. Provenals research examines how social stress gets under the skin and can change children's brain and behaviour development.

In her latest study, she found that prenatal stress not only impacted a mothers health, but also her developing fetus. Excessive stress experienced by a mother during pregnancy can be passed on to her child via marks on their genes, which could explain why some children are more vulnerable to stress later in their development.

Understanding how our cells are capable of doing so many different things with only one set of genes fascinated me, she says, crediting her passion for science to an undergraduate course in molecular biology.

I was also interested in human behavior and child psychology, she recalls. So I decided to merge my interests to study how our environment could alter our genes and be responsible for changes in childrens behaviour and mental health.

For young women interested in science and research, Provenal emphasizes the importance of perseverance and having a great mentor.

Never give up. Push your ideas even if they might, at first, not be well-received by your peers, she advises. It is with dedication that most great discoveries emerge.

Read more here:
SFU celebrates International Day of Women and Girls in Science - SFU News - Simon Fraser University News

Anatomy

Anatomy of a Panel: John Jennings, Damian Duffy, and PARABLE OF THE SOWER – Comicosity

Extraordinary comics creators in their own right, when joining forces the inestimable John Jennings (artist) and Damian Duffy (writer/letterer) pull of the superheroic. For over a decade, this virtuoso dynamic duo have channeled their co-creative talents into radical revolutionizing of the comics scene.

Already in 2008, they pushed the art of comic book storytelling beyond any and all boundaries with their Glyph Award winning, The Hole: Consumer Culture Vol. 1. In this sci-fi horror narrative, Jennings and Duffy richly texture how capitalism, consumerism, and racism intertwine in ways that destroy AfricanAmerican communities. Its been hailed as The Waste Landof the 21st century and as seminal to todays graphic novel renaissance.

Their inexhaustible work to upturn a dominant straight and white the comics industry continued in the founding of expos and curating of exhibits across the country. For instance, in their 2009 exhibit Out of Sequence: Underrepresented Voices in American Comics they threw the spotlight on women of color, LGBTQ comics creators as well as the vital comics work coming out of small press, independent, web, and self-published spaces.

In 2014, Jennings and Duffy joined forces with Stacey Robinson, creating Kid Code: Channel Zero a time-traveling adventure story that follows the protagonist, Kid Code, and his compadres as they take down The Power. The creative trios geometrizing of the story turns hip-hop from something we typically hear to something vitally and visually seen.

In 2018, Jennings and Duffys Black Comix Returns(Lion Forge) introduced and celebrated nearly a hundred independent, cutting-edge, new gen. African American comics creators working across all the genres, shouting from rooftops that this is where the epicenter and life force to comics resides.

This same year, Jennings and Duffy published their recreation of Octavio Butlers Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation (Abrams)and to great critical and popular acclaim, including a Bram Stoker and Eisner award.

Cover art by John Jennings

Jennings and Duffy are some of the most skilled and hardest working comics creators doing the work to radically transform and diversify the comics scene. In between their creating, workshopping and teaching as profs (Riverside and Urbana-Champaign), parenting, and jet-setting, I had the great fortune and pleasure of catching up with Jennings and Duffy to talk about Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation that just dropped with Abrams.

Frederick Luis Aldama: Damian, why dont you launch us by talking about the process of working with a source text Octavia Butlers original sci-fi novel, Parable of the Sower and how this differs from co-creating a wholly original comic like The Hole: Consumer Culture Vol. 1 (2008).

Damian Duffy: Its different in a couple of ways. With both our 2017 graphic novel adaptation of Butlers Kindred and this adaptation of Parable of the Sower, I know we felt a tremendous amount of pressure to do justice to the Octavia Butlers original work, her legacy, her estate and, the fandom of her novels.

Whereas, in 2008, I dont think we cognizant of an audience in the same way. We did make The Hole to be taught in college classrooms, and eventually it was, but I think we primarily created that book to address some of our own interests and obsession. Also, more practically, the process was just different because with Kindred and Sower we worked with an editor, and the Butler estate had to sign off on our work during a few different stages of production.

FLA: Damian, can you walk us through the prep process for Parable. I know that you spend a lot of time distilling the original novel and reconstructing it in a mock-up with rough text and sketch layouts. This is then submitted to Abrams for final approval.

DD: After the success of Kindred, Abrams invited us to pitch another adaptation. We pitched both Parable of the Sower and its sequel, Parable of the Talents, at the same time, in January 2017, right after Trump was elected.

Interior art by John Jennings

So, there was a sense of urgency, since the subject matter was so prescient, featuring as it does a crumbling American society thats mostly abandoned or undermined things like the rule of law and public education. Thats being destroyed by wildfires and droughts and unchecked climate catastrophe. And, in Talents, that includes a fascist president thats elected by promising to make America great again.

The script process involves a lot of reading the novel over and over again, figuring out what parts definitely need to stay and what aspects are key to the character development of the protagonist. Its about breaking down the story to key components needed to communicate core ideas then translating these into the comics form. I think of it as a cartooning design philosophy, using visual abstraction to communicate complicated concepts.

FLA: For the two of you its clear that comics is the distillation then reconstruction of stories that matter.

John Jennings: One of the things I love about the comics is that its an ever-flexible storytelling medium where everything in the comic is essentially a storytelling device, a storytelling mechanism. You can even start your stories with the visuals of the front cover that then spills into pages proper of the comic. Borders, gutters anything and everything in comics can be used for the narrative. Everythings a picture, even sound and thought. You can actually bend sound and thought in really cool ways that advance the story.

The language of comics is inherently symbolic and surreal, almost like a dream space. Readers are willing to accept and enter into the surreal, dream space of comics. This allows me to take readers places I wouldnt be able to in other storytelling media. I can take readers to new, strange places. The way comics convey information through the pictorial, the symbolic, along with the text is what is so powerful to me about this hybrid storytelling medium.

Sketch by John Jennings

FLA: Damian, can you share some of your creative decisions about the lettering, especially focused on the first couple of pages of Parable of the Sower.

DD: I knew early on that I wanted to reproduce the visuals of lined notebook paper since all the narration comes from the protagonist, Lauren, writing in her journal. I made the narration caption boxes with notebook paper lines and explored using different digital fonts that look handwritten.

The first font that I used, and was printed in the advance readers copy, didnt work. It looked like cursive writing, and the editor and designer at Abrams decided that it was too hard to read. We ended up using a different font in the final product. Which is important because, if I lettered the comic by hand, it would be coming out in roughly a thousand years.

FLA: Damian, you use this journal/notebook motif in the beginning to give shape to her dream sequences in the opening and throughout. Tell me a little about the choice to use dream sequences, especially in the opening?

DD: I decided to use the notebook style to shape the dream motif here and throughout Parable. So much of both novels involves Lauren working out this religion she founds, Earthseed. A lot of it is her giving voice to her dreams and ideas by writing them out, building a belief system as she goes. So it seemed to make sense, connecting the journaling to her dreams.

When I first started the script, I was considering cutting the prologue-like dream sequence that opens Butlers novel. I was worried about introducing the world of the novel through as abstract as a dream. But the more I looked at it, the more I knew that we needed it to function like an overture and foreshadowing of the entire story. The elements of walls, doors, and fire, of flying and falling, and family that show up in that sequence all have huge resonance later on.

Interior art by John Jennings

FLA: John, can you share the decisions you made when geometrizing pages 2 and 3.

JJ: Damian provides a really concise way that he wants the page laid out, either telling me about it or sketching it out for me. Because we have to do advanced reader copies, all the pages have to be sketched out, digitally inkedthe entire book is done digitally and then sent to the color assistants. They do a process called flatting: drawing parallelograms under the images in Photoshop to fill in the color with a flat color before its rendered.

Essentially, theyre using Photoshop to color under the art. They then send me a Photoshop file with flats. I then render it. I add like the color, the nuance and differentiation in the color to show whats going on around it what the image looks like in space.

DD: Texture and shading.

JJ: There you go. All that texture and shading.

FLA: John, with Kindred you inked all the pages. With Parable you digitally ink. Can you talk about the pros and cons for both?

JJ: Honestly the main con for not doing things by hand is that I dont have originals. A lot of artists sell their originals. I donated my entire, set of originals for Kindred to the Science Fiction Archive here at UC Riverside; they are the remnants of the final project.

Honestly, digital is the way to go, especially if youre working on a really serious deadline. The iPad is totally revolutionized the way that I think about making comics.

Everything is generated within iPad, making it easy to import and export Photoshop files. You can make changes very quickly. You can make duplicates of images very quickly. We have tools that allow you to mimic what actual inks look like. If youre trained classically like me, when it comes to the image making you can replicate the feel of actual analog. I dont see going back to hand done comics, honestly. It doesnt make sense to me at this point.

Interior art by John Jennings

FLA: John, elsewhere youve talked about your style as informed strongly by a woodcut aesthetic. Can you tell us a little more about that, especially as it relates to these first couple of pages of Parable?

JJ: Definitely. My mentor, Tom Kovacs, was a woodcut artist, a linocut artist. I was attracted to the German Expressionists creators like Kthe Kollwitz, for instance. Kollwitz was a huge influence on Kindred. She did a lot with translating into art the trauma of the Holocaust. Others like Frans Masereel, Ed Ward, and Denys Cowan were really big influences on my hand.

I abstract in my comics storytelling but I also give them a very personal feel. Comics storytelling doesnt have to be stylized like a superhero comic. To convey this rich experience, I created my own style by drawing on influences from the Harlem Renaissance, German Expressionism, Abstract Expressionism. Ive been working on my woodcut style for years. I love printmaking, but I dont have time to cut prints. But I can simulate that feel through the digital, and thats something that I try to do.

FLA: Damian, page 2 is the prologue-like dream sequence followed by a conventionally stacked page 3. What were you and then John trying to convey as we launch from prologue into the story proper?

DD: We wanted the dream sequence to convey that the main character, Lauren, is sort of a visionary. And, as I mentioned earlier, the imagery is necessary as it previews the events of the story. The panels on page 3 are stacked in a more conventional composition because those scenes are our first proper introduction to the predominant setting of the first half of the book. It takes place inside the walls of the Robledo, a kind of lower middle-class gated community in Southern California where the main character comes from.

Here we wanted the page layout to communicate the perceived safety the community draws from being walled in. But, at the same time, there arent panel borders between the gutters and the panels because, while Robledo is walled in, its really a false sense of security. The walls eventually fall, and when they do the panel structures become less geometric, more disordered.

Cover art by John Jennings

FLA: John, Parable is set in a dystopic Los Angeles with folx of color front and center. How did you decide on a color palette to convey the setting here at the beginning of Parable and throughout?

JJ: One of the things that attracted me to Parable is its a very diverse cast. We wanted to create strong representations of people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds. I live in the Imperial Valley, so Im not in L.A. proper. There is a character in the story from Riverside, where I live. That said, I did want the color palette taupe and browns to convey a really strong connection to the people and landscape in this part of the world. We are surrounded by mountains, but basically, were in a desert. So, I chose to use color schemes that are based off of the desert. I also base a lot of color and shapes of buildings from the Spanish, colonial style architecture here in Riverside.

I also use a rusty red color overtone in Parable. Weve messed up the environment pretty badly, so when the atmosphere starts to be affected by the ozone it starts to get this reddish tint to it. I chose the red color scheme to convey how were killing the environment.

DD: With the recent wildfires and the fire tornados, there were plenty of photo references of it really happening

FLA: While very different in terms of color, feel and layout, is there a way that the dream sequence prologue (page 2) and the beginning of the story proper (page 3) connect with one another as a spread?

JJ: I tried to amplify symbols and motifs in ways that would interconnect the two pages. So the pages that make up this opening spread echo each other in subtle ways, like how the barbed wire fence around the wall starts to feel like the lined-notebook paper, creating a visual motif that connects the two. And, the two pages of the spread work together to foreshadow events and set the tone: Lauren as visionary.

Interior art by John Jennings

FLA: The opening spread also provides a lot of breathing room with the gutter space?

JJ: While it shrinks the art page a little bit, it does give you the feel of, say, a sacred text. Its like you are looking at some of those older, pretty bibles that had a lot of gutter. This in addition to the printing process makes it feel really sacred and precious. Its almost like youre carrying around a chatbook or a bible. This sacredness mirrors Laurens journey in the creating of a new faith and scripture.

FLA: Theres a certain stability with this opening spread that we see eliminated as the narrative unfolds and Laurens life becomes more precarious.

DD: As her life and the story generally becomes more hectic and intense, the page compositions and panel layouts start to mirror that. They become sort of stacked more haphazardly, and the line work around the panels becomes rougher as the events happening in the panels become more chaotic, violent, and crazy.

JJ: Damian did some send me examples of masters like Will Eisner as a way to show me how we might use a meta panel structure doors as smoke and erratic images to convey, for instance, the deterioration of Laurens community.

In comics storytelling everythings a picture, so images of anything like doors as smoke or the borders themselves can be generators of the story.

Read more:
Anatomy of a Panel: John Jennings, Damian Duffy, and PARABLE OF THE SOWER - Comicosity