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Droughts prompt warning
The World Bank has jumped in on concerns over rising grain prices. Photo: Bloomberg.
'.''
The Guardian, AFP | http://www.theage.com.au/world/droughts-prompt-warning-20120831-255pz.html | 2013-05-18T11:06:22 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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"The World Bank has jumped in on concerns over rising grain prices."
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The search is on for a new approach to binding product development and market making in the game industry as more and more products are served digitally. It’s the search for publisher 2.0. This series has covered the issues facing developers and publishers in the shift to digital. It started with how developers gunning for success in the category might overlook essentials, some in their haste to shun the old publishing model. The last piece drilled down on the fundamental differences between marketing packaged versus service-based games.
Both articles have also argued how important it is to establish a cohesive branding strategy. It’s critical for an entertainment product, where people have become accustomed to highly creative marketing campaigns that are compelling and aim to entertain.
In the search for publisher 2.0, let’s look at one company that gets it.
“A brand is nothing more than a promise between you and your community,” says Bryan Chu from Wizards of the Coast. “The validity of that promise is expressed in every interaction, every product release, and every experience you create together.”
One way to look at a brand is that it’s the wrapper for a product. It’s a potential customer’s first impression. Whether they run into an ad pasted on the side of a building or find a game in a Tweet from a friend, the first impression better be good. So should the second, and the third and so on. According to Chu, Wizards of the Coast goes to the level of seeing their flagship franchise, Magic The Gathering, as a lifestyle brand.
“Regardless of the level of player or whether their play experience is in stores, around the kitchen table, or digitally, we continuously and actively engage with our players,” says Chu, adding how key to the effort is “unity of voice and messaging across all channels.”
That stance came into play when the company was ready to take their IP, viewed as the most successful trading card game in history, into digital games. It was with the release of Duels of the Planewalkers. The game hit PC and console digital game stores just under a year ago and has been selling briskly, becoming one of the most successful Xbox Live Arcade titles of all time.
We go in-depth with Chu, who serves as Wizards of the Coast’s senior business manager, on how strength of brand as well as tactics unique to digital games factored into how they marketed Duels of the Planewalkers.
Steve Fowler: What’s your opinion on the importance of building a brand around a game product, and how did you approach it with Duels of the Planewalkers?
Bryan Chu: It’s about the overall brand experience. I think you need to build a brand holistically and deliberately. You can’t just throw product out there hoping that people will find it anymore. You can’t just think of your players as consumers or worse yet, wallets. You need to think of them as partners in the experience that you’re creating together. It’s not about sales or moving units in the short term. It’s about creating great experiences and touch points and by doing so creating lasting, long term value. We don’t think of Duels of the Planewalkers as a one-off Magic experience, but rather as an on-ramp to the greater Magic brand.
Steve Fowler: Give us an idea of how you manage the consumer message over time to keep it fresh and relevant and continue to attract and retain players after launch?
Bryan Chu: It’s about integration and providing a consistent and great experience in both the campaign and the products. That means constant innovation for both, and understanding your consumer. Who they are, what they want, where they are, how and when they play and on what journeys they want to go on with you. That means as marketers we need to listen and not just pitch. Every time a consumer buys a game, a piece of DLC, or plays in an event they are telling us something. Our job is to hear what they’re saying and to work with the rest of the team to provide that next great experience.
Marketing in this day and age isn’t just about acquisition of new players. This isn’t the game industry 10 years ago when it was all about gearing up the hype machine and getting a huge launch only to move onto the next big launch once product was on store shelves. It’s now, more than ever, about managing the lifecycle of franchises. We’re a part of our players’ lives and we have a responsibility to work just as hard to build engaging experiences as we did to get them to try us out in the first place.
Steve Fowler: How did you approach different channels to get your message across, whether through paid ads or earned media such as social or community?
Bryan Chu: We’re fortunate as a company to have such a robust and engaged fan community, so much so that our earned media efforts often take on a life of their own. This carries over to fantastic traffic to our owned media, which of course creates improved efficiency for paid media. Our players are great. It all starts with them and continuously providing them with great experiences.
Steve Fowler: Can you give us some examples of what tactics work well with selling digital games on consoles?
Bryan Chu: If there is one thing that I’ve learned over the years is that there’s no such thing as a small launch. There is a tendency to think of digitally distributed titles as small plays, or side projects and not deserving of focus and attention due to smaller budgets and lower price points. However, this “small play” might be a player’s first and potentially only contact with their brand. In fact, given the delivery and the generally lower prices, it’s even more likely that a player will come into contact with a digital product. We put as much effort behind Duels of the Planewalkers as we would anything else.
Steve Fowler: With eSports being a huge focus for Magic The Gathering, tell us how this works into each product’s marketing strategy?
Bryan Chu: Wizards has the most robust organized play program of any company I’ve ever been a part of. The team here provides amazing experiences year round for all levels of play, from local level Friday Night Magic events to the Pro Tour. Not only are events happening for all levels of players, but they are also happening all the time in a myriad of locations. Players can walk down the street to their local store, hop online and play digitally, or just login to the website to view the robust coverage of the Pro Tour events. What this means from a marketing perspective is that it’s extremely easy to be highly engaged in Magic.
Steve Fowler: What advice can you give to marketers of smaller digital games with limited resources and budgets?
Bryan Chu: The first bit of advice is not to over focus on your limited resources and budget. No one, in the history of the world, has ever gone to market with as much budget as they would have liked. Understand your core consumer and who your target is. Serve that community. Digital marketing is disciplined marketing. It’s more similar to traditional CPG [consumer packaged goods] marketing than the old launch based game campaigns. That means the devil is in the details and getting all those things right.
To me, digital games are making games marketing grow up. We’re suddenly a real discipline and not just a bunch of guys thinking of throwing feather boas onto the Statue of Liberty. That also means that it suddenly is less about the budget and more about your skill as a marketer. Doing your homework, spending those hours in front of your spreadsheets and building your strategies is more important than ever. That is what will let you optimize your budget and make your campaign as efficient as possible. And if your budget is limited, that efficiency is what is going to make or break you.
The other piece of advice is something that does still hold true from traditional video games. Work on your relationships with your product teams. With digital games, especially F2P and rapidly evolving micro-transactional games, the relationship between marketing and development is more critical than ever. You need to be partners from inception through launch and beyond. Good marketing helps good products succeed, and good products make good campaigns great.
Steve Fowler: Bryan, thanks.
--. He is the chief architect of the one of its kind annual industry conference the [a]list summit, and has been incubating new digital game publisher [a] list games internally at Ayzenberg Group for the past year. For more information on [a]list games, visit. | http://www.thealistdaily.com/news/finding-publisher-20/ | 2013-05-18T10:21:47 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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Printing.
All mix and match invitations are ordered in increments of 25.:
-.
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A bold flower blooms from the right corner of these elegant cards. You can customize them with your choice of color cardstock and ink to give it your own unique look. You can even add a colorful backer to achieve a layered look..
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- NCAA Tailgating Invitations | http://www.theamericanwedding.com/cassandra-2-layer-wedding-invitations.html | 2013-05-18T10:52:52 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
This is an updated position announcement. an entry-level, tenure-track, nine-month appointment, beginning August 16, 2013.
The successful candidate will teach graduate and undergraduate courses in American Literature and Culture and engage appropriate and influential critical material in the process. Teaching requirements include four courses per year until tenure. The successful candidate will also be expected to pursue a research agenda in a specialized area of interest, advise students, and provide service to the department and the university. We seek candidates who are committed to contributing to the collegiality of the department and to continued professional development. Salary will be commensurate with entry-level assistant professor rank.
We prefer paper applications. International candidates may send electronic files. Please send vita, letter of interest, writing sample (10-20 pages), dissertation/book abstract, statement of teaching philosophy, syllabi from 2 courses that you either have taught or could propose, and three letters of reference to Professor Paul Trembath, Chair, Pre-1900 American Literature Search Committee, Department of English, Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO 80523-1773. This is an “open search”: once the search committee has identified semifinalists, departmental faculty will have access to those files. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled; however, for full consideration applications must be postmarked on or before November 1, 2012. Send routine inquiries to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Screening interviews will be conducted at MLA.
Colorado State University (approximately 27,000 students) is located in Fort Collins, a growing community of close to 144,000 at the base of the Rocky Mountain Front Range, 65 miles north of Denver. The area is noted for its natural beauty and abundant cultural and recreational resources.
Colorado State University is a Research I comprehensive land-grant university. The English Department has a tenure-track faculty of 35, approximately 500 undergraduate majors, and approximately 130 graduate students. We appoint approximately 35 graduate teaching assistants who teach creative and expository writing and English as a second language. Undergraduate concentrations in creative writing, English Education, language, literature, and writing lead to a B.A. in English. Master of Arts degrees are offered in creative nonfiction, English Education, literature, rhetoric and composition, and TEFL/TESL. A Master of Fine Arts is offered in Creative Writing. More information is available on the English Department home page at:.
Colorado State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, color, religion, natural origin, or ancestry, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Colorado State University is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action employer fully committed to achieving a diverse workforce and complies.
Posted: September 13, 2012
American Quarterly [official journal site]
American Quarterly [editorial site]
Encyclopedia of American Studies
Encyclopedia of American Studies [editorial site] | http://www.theasa.net/opportunities/employment_job/ | 2013-05-18T10:41:44 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
![Kathleen Chalfant
(© Richard Blinkoff) Kathleen Chalfant
(© Richard Blinkoff)]()
(© Richard Blinkoff)
The show will feature highlights from the company's 40 year history. Also scheduled to appear are aka "Elvis", and The Pastime Players, among others. In addition, Ann Hampton Callaway is slated to appear at the April 10 performance.
Along with the entertainment, Longevity Awards will be presented to Jetti Ames, Gail Fitzhugh, Roberto Guajardo and Maryann Trombino who have participated in all four decades of the Invisible Theatre's history.
For more information and tickets, click here. | http://www.theatermania.com/arizona-theater/news/03-2011/ann-hampton-callaway-kathleen-chalfant-amanda-mcbr_35526.html | 2013-05-18T10:46:07 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
.
See full coverage
Private jets."
First class, commercial flight.,.
Delays
Of course, even sitting in first class doesn't mean your flight won't have mechanical problems or | http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/09/understanding-us-health-insurance-access-its-like-an-airplane/262857/ | 2013-05-18T10:41:34 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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"http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/food/healthcareairportsmain.jpg",
"healthcareairportsmain.jpg"
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] |
Divorce and out-of-wedlock childbirth are transforming the lives of American children. In the postwar generation more than 80 percent of children grew up in a family with two biological parents who were married to each other. By 1980 only 50 percent could expect to spend their entire childhood in an intact family. If current trends continue, less than half of all children born today will live continuously with their own mother and father throughout child hood. Most American children will spend several years in a single-mother family. Some will eventually live in stepparent families, but because stepfamilies are more likely to break up than intact (by which I mean two-biological-parent) families, an increasing number of children will experience family breakup two or even three times during childhood..
Contrary to popular belief, many children do not "bounce back" after divorce or remarriage. Difficulties that are associated with family breakup often persist into adulthood. Children who grow up in single-parent or stepparent families are less successful as adults, particularly in the two domains of life--love and work--that are most essential to happiness. Needless to say, not all children experience such negative effects. However, research shows that many children from disrupted families have a harder time achieving intimacy in a relationship, forming a stable marriage, or even holding a steady job.
Despite this growing body of evidence, it is nearly impossible to discuss changes in family structure without provoking angry protest. Many people see the discussion as no more than an attack on struggling single mothers and their children: Why blame single mothers when they are doing the very best they can? After all, the decision to end a marriage or a relationship is wrenching, and few parents are indifferent to the painful burden this decision imposes on their children. Many take the perilous step toward single parenthood as a last resort, after their best efforts to hold a marriage together have failed. Consequently, it can seem particularly cruel and unfeeling to remind parents of the hardships their children might suffer as a result of family breakup. Other people believe that the dramatic changes in family structure, though regrettable, are impossible to reverse. Family breakup is an inevitable feature of American life, and anyone who thinks otherwise is indulging in nostalgia or trying to turn back the clock. Since these new family forms are here to stay, the reasoning goes, we must accord respect to single parents, not criticize them. Typical is the view expressed by a Brooklyn woman in a recent letter to The New York Times: "Let's stop moralizing or blaming single parents and unwed mothers, and give them the respect they have earned and the support they deserve."
Such views are not to be dismissed. Indeed, they help to explain why family structure is such an explosive issue for Americans. The debate about it is not simply about the social-scientific evidence, although that is surely an important part of the discussion. It is also a debate over deeply held and often conflicting values. How do we begin to reconcile our long-standing belief in equality and diversity with an impressive body of evidence that suggests that not all family structures produce equal outcomes for children? How can we square traditional notions of public support for dependent women and children with a belief in women's right to pursue autonomy and independence in childbearing and child-rearing? How do we uphold the freedom of adults to pursue individual happiness in their private relationships and at the same time respond to the needs of children for stability, security, and permanence in their family lives? What do we do when the interests of adults and children conflict? These are the difficult issues at stake in the debate over family structure.
In the past these issues have turned out to be too difficult and too politically risky for debate. In the mid-1960s Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then an assistant secretary of labor, was denounced as a racist for calling attention to the relationship between the prevalence of black single-mother families and the lower socioeconomic standing of black children. For nearly twenty years the policy and research communities backed away from the entire issue. In 1980 the Carter Administration convened a historic White House Conference on Families, designed to address the growing problems of children and families in America. The result was a prolonged, publicly subsidized quarrel over the definition of family. No President since has tried to hold a national family conference. Last year, at a time when the rate of out-of-wedlock births had reached a historic high, Vice President Dan Quayle was ridiculed for criticizing Murphy Brown. In short, every time the issue of family structure has been raised, the response has been first controversy, then retreat, and finally silence.
Yet it is also risky to ignore the issue of changing family structure. In recent years the problems associated with family disruption have grown. Overall child well-being has declined, despite a decrease in the number of children per family, an increase in the educational level of parents, and historically high levels of public spending. After dropping in the 1960s and 1970s, the proportion of children in poverty has increased dramatically, from 15 percent in 1970 to 20 percent in 1990, while the percentage of adult Americans in poverty has remained roughly constant. The teen suicide rate has more than tripled. Juvenile crime has increased and become more violent. School performance has continued to decline. There are no signs that these trends are about to reverse themselves.
If we fail to come to terms with the relationship between family structure and declining child well-being, then it will be increasingly difficult to improve children's life prospects, no matter how many new programs the federal government funds. Nor will we be able to make progress in bettering school performance or reducing crime or improving the quality of the nation's future work force--all domestic problems closely connected to family breakup. Worse, we may contribute to the problem by pursuing policies that actually increase family instability and breakup.
Across time and across cultures, family disruption has been regarded as an event that threatens a child's well-being and even survival. This view is rooted in a fundamental biological fact: unlike the young of almost any other species, the human child is born in an abjectly helpless and immature state. Years of nurture and protection are needed before the child can achieve physical independence. Similarly, it takes years of interaction with at least one but ideally two or more adults for a child to develop into a socially competent adult. Children raised in virtual isolation from human beings, though physically intact, display few recognizably human behaviors. The social arrangement that has proved most successful in ensuring the physical survival and promoting the social development of the child is the family unit of the biological mother and father. Consequently, any event that permanently denies a child the presence and protection of a parent jeopardizes the life of the child.
The classic form of family disruption is the death of a parent. Throughout history this has been one of the risks of childhood. Mothers frequently died in childbirth, and it was not unusual for both parents to die before the child was grown. As recently as the early decades of this century children commonly suffered the death of at least one parent. Almost a quarter of the children born in this country in 1900 lost one parent by the time they were fifteen years old. Many of these children lived with their widowed parent, often in a household with other close relatives. Others grew up in orphanages and foster homes.
The meaning of parental death, as it has been transmitted over time and faithfully recorded in world literature and lore, is unambiguous and essentially unchanging. It is universally regarded as an untimely and tragic event. Death permanently severs the parent-child bond, disrupting forever one of the child's earliest and deepest human attachments. It also deprives a child of the presence and protection of an adult who has a biological stake in, as well as an emotional commitment to, the child's survival and well-being. In short, the death of a parent is the most extreme and severe loss a child can suffer.
Because a child is so vulnerable in a parent's absence, there has been a common cultural response to the death of a parent: an outpouring of support from family, friends, and strangers alike. The surviving parent and child are united in their grief as well as their loss. Relatives and friends share in the loss and provide valuable emotional and financial assistance to the bereaved family. Other members of the community show sympathy for the child, and public assistance is available for those who need it. This cultural understanding of parental death has formed the basis for a tradition of public support to widows and their children. Indeed, as recently as the beginning of this century widows were the only mothers eligible for pensions in many states, and today widows with children receive more-generous welfare benefits from Survivors Insurance than do other single mothers with children who depend on Aid to Families With Dependent Children.
It has taken thousands upon thousands of years to reduce the threat of parental death. Not until the middle of the twentieth century did parental death cease to be a commonplace event for children in the United States. By then advances in medicine had dramatically reduced mortality rates for men and women.
At the same time, other forms of family disruption--separation, divorce, out-of wedlock birth--were held in check by powerful religious, social, and legal sanctions. Divorce was widely regarded both as a deviant behavior, especially threatening to mothers and children, and as a personal lapse: "Divorce is the public acknowledgment of failure," a 1940s sociology textbook noted. Out-of-wedlock birth was stigmatized, and stigmatization is a powerful means of regulating behavior, as any smoker or overeater will testify. Sanctions against nonmarital childbirth discouraged behavior that hurt children and exacted compensatory behavior that helped them. Shotgun marriages and adoption, two common responses to nonmarital birth, carried a strong message about the risks of premarital sex and created an intact family for the child.
Consequently, children did not have to worry much about losing a parent through divorce or never having had one because of nonmarital birth. After a surge in divorces following the Second World War, the rate leveled off. Only 11 percent of children born in the 1950s would by the time they turned eighteen see their parents separate or divorce. Out-of-wedlock childbirth barely figured as a cause of family disruption. In the 1950s and early 1960s, five percent of the nation's births were out of wedlock. Blacks were more likely than whites to bear children outside marriage, but the majority of black children born in the twenty years after the Second World War were born to married couples. The rate of family disruption reached a historic low point during those years.
A new standard of family security and stability was established in postwar America. For the first time in history the vast majority of the nation's children could expect to live with married biological parents throughout childhood. Children might still suffer other forms of adversity --poverty, racial discrimination, lack of educational opportunity--but only a few would be deprived of the nurture and protection of a mother and a father. No longer did children have to be haunted by the classic fears vividly dramatized in folklore and fable--that their parents would die, that they would have to live with a stepparent and stepsiblings, or that they would be abandoned. These were the years when the nation confidently boarded up orphanages and closed foundling hospitals, certain that such institutions would never again be needed. In movie theaters across the country parents and children could watch the drama of parental separation and death in the great Disney classics, secure in the knowledge that such nightmare visions as the death of Bambi's mother and the wrenching separation of Dumbo from his mother were only make believe.
In the 1960s the rate of family disruption suddenly began to rise. After inching up over the course of a century, the divorce rate soared. Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s the divorce rate held steady at fewer than ten divorces a year per 1,000 married couples. Then, beginning in about 1965, the rate increased sharply, peaking at twenty-three divorces per 1,000 marriages by 1979. (In 1974 divorce passed death as the leading cause of family breakup.) The rate has leveled off at about twenty-one divorces per 1,000 marriages--the figure for 1991. The out-of-wedlock birth rate also jumped. It went from five percent in 1960 to 27 percent in 1990. In 1990 close to 57 percent of births among black mothers were nonmarital, and about 17 percent among white mothers. Altogether, about one out of every four women who had a child in 1990 was not married. With rates of divorce and nonmarital birth so high, family disruption is at its peak. Never before have so many children experienced family breakup caused by events other than death. Each year a million children go through divorce or separation and almost as many more are born out of wedlock.
Half of all marriages now end in divorce. Following divorce, many people enter new relationships. Some begin living together. Nearly half of all cohabiting couples have children in the household. Fifteen percent have new children together. Many cohabiting couples eventually get married. However, both cohabiting and remarried couples are more likely to break up than couples in first marriages. Even social scientists find it hard to keep pace with the complexity and velocity of such patterns. Cohabitation, and Probably Remarriage."
Under such conditions growing up can be a turbulent experience. In many single-parent families children must come to terms with the parent's love life and romantic partners. Some children live with cohabiting couples, either their own unmarried parents or a biological parent and a live-in partner. Some children born to cohabiting parents see their parents break up. Others see their parents marry, but 56 percent of them (as compared with 31 percent of the children born to married parents) later see their parents' marriages fall apart. All told, about three quarters of children born to cohabiting couples will live in a single-parent home at least briefly. One of every four children growing up in the 1990s will eventually enter a stepfamily. According to one survey, nearly half of all children in stepparent families will see their parents divorce again by the time they reach their late teens. Since 80 percent of divorced fathers remarry, things get even more complicated when the romantic or marital history of the noncustodial parent, usually the father, is taken into account.. And so on. This is one reason why public schools have a hard time knowing whom to call in an emergency.
Given its dramatic impact on children's lives, one might reasonably expect that this historic level of family disruption would be viewed with alarm, even regarded as a national crisis. Yet this has not been the case. In recent years some people have argued that these trends pose a serious threat to children and to the nation as a whole, but they are dismissed as declinists, pessimists, or nostalgists, unwilling or unable to accept the new facts of life. The dominant view is that the changes in family structure are, on balance, positive.
There are several reasons why this is so, but the fundamental reason is that at some point in the 1970s Americans changed their minds about the meaning of these disruptive behaviors. What had once been regarded as hostile to children's best interests was now considered essential to adults' happiness. In the 1950s most Americans believed that parents should stay in an unhappy marriage for the sake of the children. The assumption was that a divorce would damage the children, and the prospect of such damage gave divorce its meaning. By the mid-1970s a majority of Americans rejected that view. Popular advice literature reflected the shift. A book on divorce published in the mid-1940s tersely asserted: "Children are entitled to the affection and association of two parents, not one." Thirty years later another popular divorce book proclaimed just the opposite: "A two-parent home is not the only emotional structure within which a child can be happy and healthy. . . . The parents who take care of themselves will be best able to take care of their children." At about the same time, the long-standing taboo against out-of-wedlock childbirth also collapsed. By the mid-1970s three fourths of Americans said that it was not morally wrong for a woman to have a child outside marriage.
Once the social metric shifts from child well-being to adult well-being, it is hard to see divorce and nonmarital birth in anything but a positive light. However distressing and difficult they may be, both of these behaviors can hold out the promise of greater adult choice, freedom, and happiness. For unhappy spouses, divorce offers a way to escape a troubled or even abusive relationship and make a fresh start. For single parents, remarriage is a second try at marital happiness as well as a chance for relief from the stress, loneliness, and economic hardship of raising a child alone. For some unmarried women, nonmarital birth is a way to beat the biological clock, avoid marrying the wrong man, and experience the pleasures of motherhood. Moreover, divorce and out-of-wedlock birth involve a measure of agency and choice; they are man- and woman-made events. To be sure, not everyone exercises choice in divorce or nonmarital birth. Men leave wives for younger women, teenage girls get pregnant accidentally--yet even these unhappy events reflect the expansion of the boundaries of freedom and choice.
This cultural shift helps explain what otherwise would be inexplicable: the failure to see the rise in family disruption as a severe and troubling national problem. It explains why there is virtually no widespread public sentiment for restigmatizing either of these classically disruptive behaviors and no sense--no public consensus- that they can or should be avoided in the future. On the contrary, the prevailing opinion is that we should accept the changes in family structure as inevitable and devise new forms of public and private support for single-parent families.
With its affirmation of the liberating effects of divorce and nonmarital childbirth, this opinion is a fixture of American popular culture today. Madison Avenue and Hollywood did not invent these behaviors, as their highly paid publicists are quick to point out, but they have played an influential role in defending and even celebrating divorce and unwed motherhood. More precisely, they have taken the raw material of demography and fashioned it into a powerful fantasy of individual renewal and rebirth. Consider, for example, the teaser for People magazine's cover story on Joan Lunden's divorce: "After the painful end of her 13-year marriage, the Good Morning America cohost is discovering a new life as a single mother--and as her own woman." People does not dwell on the anguish Lunden and her children might have experienced over the breakup of their family, or the difficulties of single motherhood, even for celebrity mothers. Instead, it celebrates Joan Lunden's steps toward independence and a better life. People, characteristically, focuses on her shopping: in the first weeks after her breakup Lunden leased "a brand-new six bedroom, 8,000 square foot" house and then went to Bloomingdale's, where she scooped up sheets, pillows, a toaster, dishes, seven televisions, and roomfuls of fun furniture that was "totally unlike the serious traditional pieces she was giving up."
This is not just the view taken in supermarket magazines. Even the conservative bastion of the greeting-card industry, Hallmark, offers a line of cards commemorating divorce as liberation. "Think of your former marriage as a record album," says one Contemporary card. "It was full of music--both happy and sad. But what's important now is . . . YOU! the recently released HOT, NEW, SINGLE! You're going to be at the TOP OF THE CHARTS!" Another card reads: "Getting divorced can be very healthy! Watch how it improves your circulation! Best of luck! . . . " Hallmark's hip Shoebox Greetings division depicts two female praying mantises. Mantis One: "It's tough being a single parent." Mantis Two: "Yeah . . . Maybe we shouldn't have eaten our husbands."
Divorce is a tired convention in Hollywood, but unwed parenthood is very much in fashion: in the past year or so babies were born to Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, Jack Nicholson and Rebecca Broussard, and Eddie Murphy and Nicole Mitchell. Vanity Fair celebrated Jack Nicholson's fatherhood with a cover story (April, 1992) called "Happy Jack." What made Jack happy, it turned out, was no-fault fatherhood. He and Broussard, the twenty-nine-year-old mother of his children, lived in separate houses. Nicholson said, "It's an unusual arrangement, but the last twenty-five years or so have shown me that I'm not good at cohabitation. . . . I see Rebecca as much as any other person who is cohabiting. And she prefers it. I think most people would in a more honest and truthful world." As for more-permanent commitments, the man who is not good at cohabitation said: "I don't discuss marriage much with Rebecca. Those discussions are the very thing I'm trying to avoid. I'm after this immediate real thing. That's all I believe in." (Perhaps Nicholson should have had the discussion. Not long after the story appeared, Broussard broke off the relationship.)
As this story shows, unwed parenthood is thought of not only as a way to find happiness but also as a way to exhibit such virtues as honesty and courage. A similar argument was offered in defense of Murphy Brown's unwed motherhood. Many of Murphy's fans were quick to point out that Murphy suffered over her decision to bear a child out of wedlock. Faced with an accidental pregnancy and a faithless lover, she agonized over her plight and, after much mental anguish, bravely decided to go ahead. In short, having a baby without a husband represented a higher level of maternal devotion and sacrifice than having a baby with a husband. Murphy was not just exercising her rights as a woman; she was exhibiting true moral heroism.
On the night Murphy Brown became an unwed mother, 34 million Americans tuned in, and CBS posted a 35 percent share of the audience. The show did not stir significant protest at the grass roots and lost none of its advertisers. The actress Candice Bergen subsequently appeared on the cover of nearly every women's and news magazine in the country and received an honorary degree at the University of Pennsylvania as well as an Emmy award. The show's creator, Diane English, popped up in Hanes stocking ads. Judged by conventional measures of approval, Murphy Brown's motherhood was a hit at the box office.
Increasingly, the media depicts the married two-parent family as a source of pathology. According to a spate of celebrity memoirs and interviews, the married parent family harbors terrible secrets of abuse, violence, and incest. A bumper sticker I saw in Amherst, Massachusetts, read unspoken traditional Family Values: Abuse, Alcoholism, Incest. The pop therapist John Bradshaw explains away this generation's problems with the dictum that 96 percent of families are dysfunctional, made that way by the addicted society we live in. David Lynch creates a new aesthetic of creepiness by juxtaposing scenes of traditional family life with images of seduction and perversion. A Boston-area museum puts on an exhibit called "Goodbye to Apple Pie," featuring several artists' visions of child abuse, including one mixed-media piece with knives poking through a little girl's skirt. The piece is titled Father Knows Best.
No one would claim that two-parent families are free from conflict, violence, or abuse. However, the attempt to discredit the two-parent family can be understood as part of what Daniel Patrick Moynihan has described as a larger effort to accommodate higher levels of social deviance. "The amount of deviant behavior in American society has increased beyond the levels the community can 'afford to recognize,'" Moynihan argues. One response has been to normalize what was once considered deviant behavior, such as out-of-wedlock birth. An accompanying response has been to detect deviance in what once stood as a social norm, such as the married-couple family. Together these responses reduce the acknowledged levels of deviance by eroding earlier distinctions between the normal and the deviant.
Several recent studies describe family life in its postwar heyday as the seedbed of alcoholism and abuse. According to Stephanie Coontz, the author of the book The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap, family life for married mothers in the 1950s consisted of "booze, bowling, bridge, and boredom." Coontz writes: "Few would have guessed that radiant Marilyn Van Derbur, crowned Miss America in 1958, had been sexually violated by her wealthy, respectable father from the time she was five until she was eighteen, when she moved away to college." Even the budget-stretching casserole comes under attack as a sign of culinary dysfunction. According to one food writer, this homely staple of postwar family life brings back images of "the good mother of the 50's . . . locked in Ozzie and Harriet land, unable to move past the canvas of a Corning Ware dish, the palette of a can of Campbell's soup, the mushy dominion of which she was queen."
Nevertheless, the popular portrait of family life does not simply reflect the views of a cultural elite, as some have argued. There is strong support at the grass roots for much of this view of family change. Survey after survey shows that Americans are less inclined than they were a generation ago to value sexual fidelity, lifelong marriage, and parenthood as worthwhile personal goals. Motherhood no longer defines adult womanhood, as everyone knows; equally important is the fact that fatherhood has declined as a norm for men. In 1976 less than half as many fathers as in 1957 said that providing for children was a life goal. The proportion of working men who found marriage and children burdensome and restrictive more than doubled in the same period. Fewer than half of all adult Americans today regard the idea of sacrifice for others as a positive moral virtue.
It is true that many adults benefit from divorce or remarriage. According to one study, nearly 80 percent of divorced women and 50 percent of divorced men say they are better off out of the marriage. Half of divorced adults in the same study report greater happiness. A competent self-help book called Divorce and New Beginnings notes the advantages of single parenthood: single parents can "develop their own interests, fulfill their own needs, choose their own friends and engage in social activities of their choice. Money, even if limited, can be spent as they see fit." Apparently, some women appreciate the opportunity to have children out of wedlock. "The real world, however, does not always allow women who are dedicated to their careers to devote the time and energy it takes to find--or be found by--the perfect husband and father wanna-be," one woman said in a letter to The Washington Post. A mother and chiropractor from Avon, Connecticut, explained her unwed maternity to an interviewer this way: "It is selfish, but this was something I needed to do for me."
There is very little in contemporary popular culture to contradict this optimistic view. But in a few small places another perspective may be found. Several racks down from its divorce cards, Hallmark offers a line of cards for children--To Kids With Love. These cards come six to a pack. Each card in the pack has a slightly different message. According to the package, the "thinking of you" messages will let a special kid "know how much you care." Though Hallmark doesn't quite say so, it's clear these cards are aimed at divorced parents. "I'm sorry I'm not always there when you need me but I hope you know I'm always just a phone call away." Another card reads: "Even though your dad and I don't live together anymore, I know he's still a very special part of your life. And as much as I miss you when you're not with me, I'm still happy that you two can spend time together."
Hallmark's messages are grounded in a substantial body of well-funded market research. Therefore it is worth reflecting on the divergence in sentiment between the divorce cards for adults and the divorce cards for kids. For grown-ups, divorce heralds new beginnings (A HOT NEW SINGLE). For children, divorce brings separation and loss ("I'm sorry I'm not always there when you need me").
An even more telling glimpse into the meaning of family disruption can be found in the growing children's literature on family dissolution. Take, for example, the popular children's book Dinosaurs Divorce: A Guide for Changing Families (1986), by Laurene Krasny Brown and Marc Brown. This is a picture book, written for very young children. The book begins with a short glossary of "divorce words" and encourages children to "see if you can find them" in the story. The words include "family counselor," "separation agreement," "alimony," and "child custody." The book is illustrated with cartoonish drawings of green dinosaur parents who fight, drink too much, and break up. One panel shows the father dinosaur, suitcase in hand, getting into a yellow car.
The dinosaur children are offered simple, straightforward advice on what to do about the divorce. On custody decisions: "When parents can't agree, lawyers and judges decide. Try to be honest if they ask you questions; it will help them make better decisions." On selling the house: "If you move, you may have to say good-bye to friends and familiar places. But soon your new home will feel like the place you really belong." On the economic impact of divorce: "Living with one parent almost always means there will be less money. Be prepared to give up some things." On holidays: "Divorce may mean twice as much celebrating at holiday times, but you may feel pulled apart." On parents' new lovers: "You may sometimes feel jealous and want your parent to yourself. Be polite to your parents' new friends, even if you don't like them at first." On parents' remarriage: "Not everyone loves his or her stepparents, but showing them respect is important."
These cards and books point to an uncomfortable and generally unacknowledged fact: what contributes to a parent's happiness may detract from a child's happiness. All too often the adult quest for freedom, independence, and choice in family relationships conflicts with a child's developmental needs for stability, constancy, harmony, and permanence in family life. In short, family disruption creates a deep division between parents' interests and the interests of children.
One of the worst consequences of these divided interests is a withdrawal of parental investment in children's well-being. As the Stanford economist Victor Fuchs has pointed out, the main source of social investment in children is private. The investment comes from the children's parents. But parents in disrupted families have less time, attention, and money to devote to their children. The single most important source of disinvestment has been the widespread withdrawal of financial support and involvement by fathers. Maternal investment, too, has declined, as women try to raise families on their own and work outside the home. Moreover, both mothers and fathers commonly respond to family breakup by investing more heavily in themselves and in their own personal and romantic lives.
Sometimes the tables are completely turned. Children are called upon to invest in the emotional well-being of their parents. Indeed, this seems to be the larger message of many of the children's books on divorce and remarriage. Dinosaurs Divorce asks children to be sympathetic, understanding, respectful, and polite to confused, unhappy parents. The sacrifice comes from the children: "Be prepared to give up some things." In the world of divorcing dinosaurs, the children rather than the grown-ups are the exemplars of patience, restraint, and good sense.
As it first took shape in the 1970s, the optimistic view of family change rested on three bold new assumptions. At that time, because the emergence of the changes in family life was so recent, there was little hard evidence to confirm or dispute these assumptions. But this was an expansive moment in American life.
The first assumption was an economic one: that a woman could now afford to be a mother without also being a wife. There were ample grounds for believing this. Women's work-force participation had been gradually increasing in the postwar period, and by the beginning of the 1970s women were a strong presence in the workplace. What's more, even though there was still a substantial wage gap between men and women, women had made considerable progress in a relatively short time toward better-paying jobs and greater employment opportunities. More women than ever before could aspire to serious careers as business executives, doctors, lawyers, airline pilots, and politicians. This circumstance, combined with the increased availability of child care, meant that women could take on the responsibilities of a breadwinner, perhaps even a sole breadwinner. This was particularly true for middle-class women. According to a highly regarded 1977 study by the Carnegie Council on Children, "The greater availability of jobs for women means that more middle-class children today survive their parents' divorce without a catastrophic plunge into poverty."
Feminists, who had long argued that the path to greater equality for women lay in the world of work outside the home, endorsed this assumption. In fact, for many, economic independence was a stepping-stone toward freedom from both men and marriage. As women began to earn their own money, they were less dependent on men or marriage, and marriage diminished in importance. In Gloria Steinem's memorable words, "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle."
This assumption also gained momentum as the meaning of work changed for women. Increasingly, work had an expressive as well as an economic dimension: being a working mother not only gave you an income but also made you more interesting and fulfilled than a stay-at-home mother. Consequently, the optimistic economic scenario was driven by a cultural imperative. Women would achieve financial independence because, culturally as well as economically, it was the right thing to do.
The second assumption was that family disruption would not cause lasting harm to children and could actually enrich their lives. Creative Divorce: A New Opportunity for Personal Growth, a popular book of the seventies, spoke confidently to this point: "Children can survive any family crisis without permanent damage--and grow as human beings in the process. . . ." Moreover, single-parent and stepparent families created a more extensive kinship network than the nuclear family. This network would envelop children in a web of warm and supportive relationships. "Belonging to a stepfamily means there are more people in your life," a children's book published in 1982 notes. "More sisters and brothers, including the step ones. More people you think of as grandparents and aunts and uncles. More cousins. More neighbors and friends. . . . Getting to know and like so many people (and having them like you) is one of the best parts of what being in a stepfamily . . . is all about."
The third assumption was that the new diversity in family structure would make America a better place. Just as the nation has been strengthened by the diversity of its ethnic and racial groups, so it would be strengthened by diverse family forms. The emergence of these brave new families was but the latest chapter in the saga of American pluralism.
Another version of the diversity argument stated that the real problem was not family disruption itself but the stigma still attached to these emergent family forms. This lingering stigma placed children at psychological risk, making them feel ashamed or different; as the ranks of single-parent and stepparent families grew, children would feel normal and good about themselves.
These assumptions continue to be appealing, because they accord with strongly held American beliefs in social progress. Americans see progress in the expansion of individual opportunities for choice, freedom, and self-expression. Moreover, Americans identify progress with growing tolerance of diversity. Over the past half century, the pollster Daniel Yankelovich writes, the United States has steadily grown more open-minded and accepting of groups that were previously perceived as alien, untrustworthy, or unsuitable for public leadership or social esteem. One such group is the burgeoning number of single-parent and stepparent families.
In 1981 Sara McLanahan, now a sociologist at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School, read a three-part series by Ken Auletta in The New Yorker. Later published as a book titled The Underclass, the series presented a vivid portrait of the drug addicts, welfare mothers, and school dropouts who took part in an education and-training program in New York City. Many were the children of single mothers, and it was Auletta's clear implication that single-mother families were contributing to the growth of an underclass. McLanahan was taken aback by this notion. "It struck me as strange that he would be viewing single mothers at that level of pathology."
"I'd gone to graduate school in the days when the politically correct argument was that single-parent families were just another alternative family form, and it was fine," McLanahan explains, as she recalls the state of social-scientific thinking in the 1970s. Several empirical studies that were then current supported an optimistic view of family change. (They used tiny samples, however, and did not track the well-being of children over time.) One, All Our Kin, by Carol Stack, was required reading for thousands of university students. It said that single mothers had strengths that had gone undetected and unappreciated by earlier researchers. The single-mother family, it suggested, is an economically resourceful and socially embedded institution. In the late 1970s McLanahan wrote a similar study that looked at a small sample of white single mothers and how they coped. "So I was very much of that tradition."
By the early 1980s, however, nearly two decades had passed since the changes in family life had begun. During the intervening years a fuller body of empirical research had emerged: studies that used large samples, or followed families through time, or did both. Moreover, several of the studies offered a child's-eye view of family disruption. The National Survey on Children, conducted by the psychologist Nicholas Zill, had set out in 1976 to track a large sample of children aged seven to eleven. It also interviewed the children's parents and teachers. It surveyed its subjects again in 1981 and 1987. By the time of its third round of interviews the eleven-year-olds of 1976 were the twenty-two-year-olds of 1987. The California Children of Divorce Study, directed by Judith Wallerstein, a clinical psychologist, had also been going on for a decade. E. Mavis Hetherington, of the University of Virginia, was conducting a similar study of children from both intact and divorced families. For the first time it was possible to test the optimistic view against a large and longitudinal body of evidence.
It was to this body of evidence that Sara McLanahan turned. When she did, she found little to support the optimistic view of single motherhood. On the contrary. When she published her findings with Irwin Garfinkel in a 1986 book, Single Mothers and Their Children, her portrait of single motherhood proved to be as troubling in its own way as Auletta's.
One of the leading assumptions of the time was that single motherhood was economically viable. Even if single mothers did face economic trials, they wouldn't face them for long, it was argued, because they wouldn't remain single for long: single motherhood would be a brief phase of three to five years, followed by marriage. Single mothers would be economically resilient: if they experienced setbacks, they would recover quickly. It was also said that single mothers would be supported by informal networks of family, friends, neighbors, and other single mothers. As McLanahan shows in her study, the evidence demolishes all these claims.
For the vast majority of single mothers, the economic spectrum turns out to be narrow, running between precarious and desperate. Half the single mothers in the United States live below the poverty line. (Currently, one out of ten married couples with children is poor.) Many others live on the edge of poverty. Even single mothers who are far from poor are likely to experience persistent economic insecurity. Divorce almost always brings a decline in the standard of living for the mother and children.
Moreover, the poverty experienced by single mothers is no more brief than it is mild. A significant number of all single mothers never marry or remarry. Those who do, do so only after spending roughly six years, on average, as single parents. For black mothers the duration is much longer. Only 33 percent of African American mothers had remarried within ten years of separation. Consequently, single motherhood is hardly a fleeting event for the mother, and it is likely to occupy a third of the child's childhood. Even the notion that single mothers are knit together in economically supportive networks is not borne out by the evidence. On the contrary, single parenthood forces many women to be on the move, in search of cheaper housing and better jobs. This need-driven restless mobility makes it more difficult for them to sustain supportive ties to family and friends, let alone other single mothers.
Single-mother families are vulnerable not just to poverty but to a particularly debilitating form of poverty: welfare dependency. The dependency takes two forms: First, single mothers, particularly unwed mothers, stay on welfare longer than other welfare recipients. Of those never-married mothers who receive welfare benefits, al most 40 percent remain on the rolls for ten years or longer. Second, welfare dependency tends to be passed on from one generation to the next. McLanahan says, "Evidence on intergenerational poverty indicates that, indeed, offspring from [single-mother] families are far more likely to be poor and to form mother-only families than are offspring who live with two parents most of their pre-adult life." Nor is the intergenerational impact of single motherhood limited to African Americans, as many people seem to believe. Among white families, daughters of single parents are 53 percent more likely to marry as teenagers, 111 percent more likely to have children as teenagers, 164 percent more likely to have a premarital birth, and 92 percent more likely to dissolve their own marriages. All these intergenerational consequences of single motherhood increase the likelihood of chronic welfare dependency.
McLanahan cites three reasons why single-mother families are so vulnerable economically. For one thing, their earnings are low. Second, unless the mothers are widowed, they don't receive public subsidies large enough to lift them out of poverty. And finally, they do not get much support from family members-- especially the fathers of their children. In 1982 single white mothers received an average of $1,246 in alimony and child support, black mothers an average of $322. Such payments accounted for about 10 percent of the income of single white mothers and for about 3.5 percent of the income of single black mothers. These amounts were dramatically smaller than the income of the father in a two-parent family and also smaller than the income from a second earner in a two-parent family. Roughly 60 percent of single white mothers and 80 percent of single black mothers received no support at all.
Until the mid-1980s, when stricter standards were put in place, child-support awards were only about half to two-thirds what the current guidelines require. Accordingly, there is often a big difference in the living standards of divorced fathers and of divorced mothers with children. After divorce the average annual income of mothers and children is $13,500 for whites and $9,000 for nonwhites, as compared with $25,000 for white nonresident fathers and $13,600 for nonwhite nonresident fathers. Moreover, since child-support awards account for a smaller portion of the income of a high-earning father, the drop in living standards can be especially sharp for mothers who were married to upper-level managers and professionals.
Unwed mothers are unlikely to be awarded any child support at all, partly because the paternity of their children may not have been established. According to one recent study, only 20 percent of unmarried mothers receive child support. Even if single mothers escape poverty, economic uncertainty remains a condition of life. Divorce brings a reduction in income and standard of living for the vast majority of single mothers. One study, for example, found that income for mothers and children declines on average about 30 percent, while fathers experience a 10 to 15 percent increase in income in the year following a separation. Things get even more difficult when fathers fail to meet their child-support obligations. As a result, many divorced mothers experience a wearing uncertainty about the family budget: whether the check will come in or not; whether new sneakers can be bought this month or not; whether the electric bill will be paid on time or not. Uncertainty about money triggers other kinds of uncertainty. Mothers and children often have to move to cheaper housing after a divorce. One study shows that about 38 percent of divorced mothers and their children move during the first year after a divorce. Even several years later the rate of moves for single mothers is about a third higher than the rate for two-parent families. It is also common for a mother to change her job or increase her working hours or both following a divorce. Even the composition of the household is likely to change, with other adults, such as boyfriends or babysitters, moving in and out.
All this uncertainty can be devastating to children. Anyone who knows children knows that they are deeply conservative creatures. They like things to stay the same. So pronounced is this tendency that certain children have been known to request the same peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich for lunch for years on end. Children are particularly set in their ways when it comes to family, friends, neighborhoods, and schools. Yet when a family breaks up, all these things may change. The novelist Pat Conroy has observed that "each divorce is the death of a small civilization." No one feels this more acutely than children.
Sara McLanahan's investigation and others like it have helped to establish a broad consensus on the economic impact of family disruption on children. Most social scientists now agree that single motherhood is an important and growing cause of poverty, and that children suffer as a result. (They continue to argue, however, about the relationship between family structure and such economic factors as income inequality, the loss of jobs in the inner city, and the growth of low-wage jobs.) By the mid-1980s, however, it was clear that the problem of family disruption was not confined to the urban underclass, nor was its sole impact economic. Divorce and out-of-wedlock childbirth were affecting middle- and upper-class children, and these more privileged children were suffering negative consequences as well. It appeared that the problems associated with family breakup were far deeper and far more widespread than anyone had previously imagined.
Judith Wallerstein is one of the pioneers in research on the long-term psychological impact of family disruption on children. The California Children of Divorce Study, which she directs, remains the most enduring study of the long-term effects of divorce on children and their parents. Moreover, it represents the best-known effort to look at the impact of divorce on middle-class children. The California children entered the study without pathological family histories. Before divorce they lived in stable, protected homes. And although some of the children did experience economic insecurity as the result of divorce, they were generally free from the most severe forms of poverty associated with family breakup. Thus the study and the resulting book (which Wallerstein wrote with Sandra Blakeslee), Second Chances: Men, Women, and Children a Decade After Divorce (1989), provide new insight into the consequences of divorce which are not associated with extreme forms of economic or emotional deprivation.
When, in 1971, Wallerstein and her colleagues set out to conduct clinical interviews with 131 children from the San Francisco area, they thought they were embarking on a short-term study. Most experts believed that divorce was like a bad cold. There was a phase of acute discomfort, and then a short recovery phase. According to the conventional wisdom, kids would be back on their feet in no time at all. Yet when Wallerstein met these children for a second interview more than a year later, she was amazed to discover that there had been no miraculous recovery. In fact, the children seemed to be doing worse.
The news that children did not "get over" divorce was not particularly welcome at the time. Wallerstein recalls, "We got angry letters from therapists, parents, and lawyers saying we were undoubtedly wrong. They said children are really much better off being released from an unhappy marriage. Divorce, they said, is a liberating experience." One of the main results of the California study was to overturn this optimistic view. In Wallerstein's cautionary words, "Divorce is deceptive. Legally it is a single event, but psychologically it is a chain--sometimes a never-ending chain--of events, relocations, and radically shifting relationships strung through time, a process that forever changes the lives of the people involved."
Five years after divorce more than a third of the children experienced moderate or severe depression. At ten years a significant number of the now young men and women appeared to be troubled, drifting, and underachieving. At fifteen years many of the thirtyish adults were struggling to establish strong love relationships of their own. In short, far from recovering from their parents' divorce, a significant percentage of these grownups were still suffering from its effects. In fact, according to Wallerstein, the long-term effects of divorce emerge at a time when young adults are trying to make their own decisions about love, marriage, and family. Not all children in the study suffered negative consequences. But Wallerstein's research presents a sobering picture of divorce. "The child of divorce faces many additional psychological burdens in addition to the normative tasks of growing up," she says.
Divorce not only makes it more difficult for young adults to establish new relationships. It also weakens the oldest primary relationship: that between parent and child. According to Wallerstein, "Parent-child relationships are permanently altered by divorce in ways that our society has not anticipated." Not only do children experience a loss of parental attention at the onset of divorce, but they soon find that at every stage of their development their parents are not available in the same way they once were. "In a reasonably happy intact family," Wallerstein observes, "the child gravitates first to one parent and then to the other, using skills and attributes from each in climbing the developmental ladder." In a divorced family, children find it "harder to find the needed parent at needed times." This may help explain why very young children suffer the most as the result of family disruption. Their opportunities to engage in this kind of ongoing process are the most truncated and compromised.
The father-child bond is severely, often irreparably, damaged in disrupted families. In a situation without historical precedent, an astonishing and disheartening number of American fathers are failing to provide financial support to their children. Often, more than the father's support check is missing. Increasingly, children are bereft of any contact with their fathers. According to the National Survey of Children, in disrupted families only one child in six, on average, saw his or her father as often as once a week in the past year. Close to half did not see their father at all in the past year. As time goes on, contact becomes even more infrequent. Ten years after a marriage breaks up, more than two thirds of children report not having seen their father for a year. Not surprisingly, when asked to name the "adults you look up to and admire," only 20 percent of children in single-parent families named their father, as compared with 52 percent of children in two-parent families. A favorite complaint among Baby Boom Americans is that their fathers were emotionally remote guys who worked hard, came home at night to eat supper, and didn't have much to say to or do with the kids. But the current generation has a far worse father problem: many of their fathers are vanishing entirely..
The deterioration in father-child bonds is most severe among children who experience divorce at an early age, according to a recent study. Nearly three quarters of the respondents, now young men and women, report having poor relationships with their fathers. Close to half have received psychological help, nearly a third have dropped out of high school, and about a quarter report having experienced high levels of problem behavior or emotional distress by the time they became young adults.
Since most children live with their mothers after divorce, one might expect that the mother-child bond would remain unaltered and might even be strengthened. Yet research shows that the mother-child bond is also weakened as the result of divorce. Only half of the children who were close to their mothers before a divorce remained equally close after the divorce. Boys, particularly, had difficulties with their mothers. Moreover, mother-child relationships deteriorated over time. Whereas teenagers in disrupted families were no more likely than teenagers in intact families to report poor relationships with their mothers, 30 percent of young adults from disrupted families have poor relationships with their mothers, as compared with 16 percent of young adults from intact families. Mother-daughter relationships often deteriorate as the daughter reaches young adulthood. The only group in society that derives any benefit from these weakened parent-child ties is the therapeutic community. Young adults from disrupted families are nearly twice as likely as those from intact families to receive psychological help.
Some social scientists have criticized Judith Wallerstein's research because her study is based on a small clinical sample and does not include a control group of children from intact families. However, other studies generally support and strengthen her findings. Nicholas Zill has found similar long-term effects on children of divorce, reporting that "effects of marital discord and family disruption are visible twelve to twenty-two years later in poor relationships with parents, high levels of problem behavior, and an increased likelihood of dropping out of high school and receiving psychological help." Moreover, Zill's research also found signs of distress in young women who seemed relatively well adjusted in middle childhood and adolescence. Girls in single-parent families are also at much greater risk for precocious sexuality, teenage marriage, teenage pregnancy, nonmarital birth, and divorce than are girls in two-parent families.
Zill's research shows that family disruption strongly affects school achievement as well. Children in disrupted families are nearly twice as likely as those in intact families to drop out of high school; among children who do drop out, those from disrupted families are less likely eventually to earn a diploma or a GED. Boys are at greater risk for dropping out than girls, and are also more likely to exhibit aggressive, acting-out behaviors. Other research confirms these findings. According to a study by the National Association of Elementary School Principals, 33 percent of two-parent elementary school students are ranked as high achievers, as compared with 17 percent of single-parent students. The children in single-parent families are also more likely to be truant or late or to have disciplinary action taken against them. Even after controlling for race, income, and religion, scholars find significant differences in educational attainment between children who grow up in intact families and children who do not. In his 1992 study America's Smallest School: The Family, Paul Barton shows that the proportion of two-parent families varies widely from state to state and is related to variations in academic achievement. North Dakota, for example, scores highest on the math-proficiency test and second highest on the two-parent-family scale. The District of Columbia is second lowest on the math test and lowest in the nation on the two-parent-family scale.
Zill notes that "while coming from a disrupted family significantly increases a young adult's risks of experiencing social, emotional or academic difficulties, it does not foreordain such difficulties. The majority of young people from disrupted families have successfully completed high school, do not currently display high levels of emotional distress or problem behavior, and enjoy reasonable relationships with their mothers." Nevertheless, a majority of these young adults do show maladjustment in their relationships with their fathers.
These findings underscore the importance of both a mother and a father in fostering the emotional well-being of children. Obviously, not all children in two-parent families are free from emotional turmoil, but few are burdened with the troubles that accompany family breakup. Moreover, as the sociologist Amitai Etzioni explains in a new book, The Spirit of Community, two parents in an intact family make up what might be called a mutually supportive education coalition. When both parents are present, they can play different, even contradictory, roles. One parent may goad the child to achieve, while the other may encourage the child to take time out to daydream or toss a football around. One may emphasize taking intellectual risks, while the other may insist on following the teacher's guidelines. At the same time, the parents regularly exchange information about the child's school problems and achievements, and have a sense of the overall educational mission. However, Etzioni writes,
The sequence of divorce followed by a succession of boy or girlfriends, a second marriage, and frequently another divorce and another turnover of partners often means a repeatedly disrupted educational coalition. Each change in participants involves a change in the educational agenda for the child. Each new partner cannot be expected to pick up the previous one's educational post and program. . . . As a result, changes in parenting partners mean, at best, a deep disruption in a child's education, though of course several disruptions cut deeper into the effectiveness of the educational coalition than just one..
The research overturns this optimistic assumption, however. In general the evidence suggests that remarriage neither reproduces nor restores the intact family structure, even when it brings more income and a second adult into the household. Quite the contrary. Indeed, children living with stepparents appear to be even more disadvantaged than children living in a stable single-parent family. Other difficulties seem to offset the advantages of extra income and an extra pair of hands. However much our modern sympathies reject the fairy-tale portrait of stepparents, the latest research confirms that the old stories are anthropologically quite accurate. Stepfamilies disrupt established loyalties, create new uncertainties, provoke deep anxieties, and sometimes threaten a child's physical safety as well as emotional security.
Parents and children have dramatically different interests in and expectations for a new marriage. For a single parent, remarriage brings new commitments, the hope of enduring love and happiness, and relief from stress and loneliness. For a child, the same event often provokes confused feelings of sadness, anger, and rejection. Nearly half the children in Wallerstein's study said they felt left out in their stepfamilies. The National Commission on Children, a bipartisan group headed by Senator John D. Rockefeller, of West Virginia, reported that children from stepfamilies were more likely to say they often felt lonely or blue than children from either single-parent or intact families. Children in stepfamilies were the most likely to report that they wanted more time with their mothers. When mothers remarry, daughters tend to have a harder time adjusting than sons. Evidently, boys often respond positively to a male presence in the household, while girls who have established close ties to their mother in a single-parent family often see the stepfather as a rival and an intruder. According to one study, boys in remarried families are less likely to drop out of school than boys in single-parent families, while the opposite is true for girls.
A large percentage of children do not even consider stepparents to be part of their families, according to the National Survey on Children. The NSC asked children, "When you think of your family, who do you include?" Only 10 percent of the children failed to mention a biological parent, but a third left out a stepparent. Even children who rarely saw their noncustodial parents almost always named them as family members. The weak sense of attachment is mutual. When parents were asked the same question, only one percent failed to mention a biological child, while 15 percent left out a stepchild. In the same study stepparents with both natural children and stepchildren said that it was harder for them to love their stepchildren than their biological children and that their children would have been better off if they had grown up with two biological parents.
One of the most severe risks associated with stepparent-child ties is the risk of sexual abuse. As Judith Wallerstein explains, "The presence of a stepfather can raise the difficult issue of a thinner incest barrier." The incest taboo is strongly reinforced, Wallerstein says, by knowledge of paternity and by the experience of caring for a child since birth. A stepfather enters the family without either credential and plays a sexual role as the mother's husband. As a result, stepfathers can pose a sexual risk to the children, especially to daughters. According to a study by the Canadian researchers Martin Daly and Margo Wilson, preschool children in stepfamilies are forty times as likely as children in intact families to suffer physical or sexual abuse. (Most of the sexual abuse was committed by a third party, such as a neighbor, a stepfather's male friend, or another nonrelative.) Stepfathers discriminate in their abuse: they are far more likely to assault nonbiological children than their own natural children.
Sexual abuse represents the most extreme threat to children's well-being. Stepfamilies also seem less likely to make the kind of ordinary investments in the children that other families do. Although it is true that the stepfamily household has a higher income than the single-parent household, it does not follow that the additional income is reliably available to the children. To begin with, children's claim on stepparents' resources is shaky. Stepparents are not legally required to support stepchildren, so their financial support of these children is entirely voluntary. Moreover, since stepfamilies are far more likely to break up than intact families, particularly in the first five years, there is always the risk--far greater than the risk of unemployment in an intact family--that the second income will vanish with another divorce. The financial commitment to a child's education appears weaker in stepparent families, perhaps because the stepparent believes that the responsibility for educating the child rests with the biological parent.
Similarly, studies suggest that even though they may have the time, the parents in stepfamilies do not invest as much of it in their children as the parents in intact families or even single parents do. A 1991 survey by the National Commission on Children showed that the parents in stepfamilies were less likely to be involved in a child's school life, including involvement in extracurricular activities, than either intact-family parents or single parents. They were the least likely to report being involved in such time-consuming activities as coaching a child's team, accompanying class trips, or helping with school projects. According to McLanahan's research, children in stepparent families report lower educational aspirations on the part of their parents and lower levels of parental involvement with schoolwork. In short, it appears that family income and the number of adults in the household are not the only factors affecting children's well-being.
There are several reasons for this diminished interest and investment. In the law, as in the children's eyes, stepparents are shadowy figures. According to the legal scholar David Chambers, family law has pretty much ignored stepparents. Chambers writes, "In the substantial majority of states, stepparents, even when they live with a child, have no legal obligation to contribute to the child's support; nor does a stepparent's presence in the home alter the support obligations of a noncustodial parent. The stepparent also has . . . no authority to approve emergency medical treatment or even to sign a permission slip. . . ." When a marriage breaks up, the stepparent has no continuing obligation to provide for a stepchild, no matter how long or how much he or she has been contributing to the support of the child. In short, Chambers says, stepparent relationships are based wholly on consent, subject to the inclinations of the adult and the child. The only way a stepparent can acquire the legal status of a parent is through adoption. Some researchers also point to the cultural ambiguity of the stepparent's role as a source of diminished interest, while others insist that it is the absence of a blood tie that weakens the bond between stepparent and child.
Whatever its causes, the diminished investment in children in both single-parent and stepparent families has a significant impact on their life chances. Take parental help with college costs. The parents in intact families are far more likely to contribute to children's college costs than are those in disrupted families. Moreover, they are usually able to arrive at a shared understanding of which children will go to college, where they will go, how much the parents will contribute, and how much the children will contribute. But when families break up, these informal understandings can vanish. The issue of college tuition remains one of the most contested areas of parental support, especially for higher-income parents.
The law does not step in even when familial understandings break down. In the 1980s many states lowered the age covered by child-support agreements from twenty-one to eighteen, thus eliminating college as a cost associated with support for a minor child. Consequently, the question of college tuition is typically not addressed in child-custody agreements. Even in states where the courts do require parents to contribute to college costs, the requirement may be in jeopardy. In a recent decision in Pennsylvania the court overturned an earlier decision ordering divorced parents to contribute to college tuition. This decision is likely to inspire challenges in other states where courts have required parents to pay for college. Increasingly, help in paying for college is entirely voluntary.
Judith Wallerstein has been analyzing the educational decisions of the college-age men and women in her study. She reports that "a full 42 percent of these men and women from middle class families appeared to have ended their educations without attempting college or had left college before achieving a degree at either the two-year or the four-year level." A significant percentage of these young people have the ability to attend college. Typical of this group are Nick and Terry, sons of a college professor. They had been close to their father before the divorce, but their father remarried soon after the divorce and saw his sons only occasionally, even though he lived nearby. At age nineteen Nick had completed a few junior-college courses and was earning a living as a salesman. Terry, twenty-one, who had been tested as a gifted student, was doing blue-collar work irregularly.
Sixty-seven percent of the college-age students from disrupted families attended college, as compared with 85 percent of other students who attended the same high schools. Of those attending college, several had fathers who were financially capable of contributing to college costs but did not. The withdrawal of support for college suggests that other customary forms of parental help-giving, too, may decline as the result of family breakup. For example, nearly a quarter of first-home purchases since 1980 have involved help from relatives, usually parents. The median amount of help is $5,000. It is hard to imagine that parents who refuse to contribute to college costs will offer help in buying first homes, or help in buying cars or health insurance for young adult family members. And although it is too soon to tell, family disruption may affect the generational transmission of wealth. Baby Boomers will inherit their parents' estates, some substantial, accumulated over a lifetime by parents who lived and saved together. To be sure, the postwar generation benefited from an expanding economy and a rising standard of living, but its ability to accumulate wealth also owed something to family stability. The lifetime assets, like the marriage itself, remained intact. It is unlikely that the children of disrupted families will be in so favorable a position.
Moreover, children from disrupted families may be less likely to help their aging parents. The sociologist Alice Rossi, who has studied intergenerational patterns of help-giving, says that adult obligation has its roots in early-childhood experience. Children who grow up in intact families experience higher levels of obligation to kin than children from broken families. Children's sense of obligation to a nonresidential father is particularly weak. Among adults with both parents living, those separated from their father during childhood are less likely than others to see the father regularly. Half of them see their father more than once a year, as compared with nine out of ten of those whose parents are still married. Apparently a kind of bitter justice is at work here. Fathers who do not support or see their young children may not be able to count on their adult children's support when they are old and need money, love, and attention.
In short, as Andrew Cherlin and Frank Furstenburg put it, "Through divorce and remarriage, individuals are related to more and more people, to each of whom they owe less and less." Moreover, as Nicholas Zill argues, weaker parent-child attachments leave many children more strongly exposed to influences outside the family, such as peers, boyfriends or girlfriends, and the media. Although these outside forces can sometimes be helpful, common sense and research opinion argue against putting too much faith in peer groups or the media as surrogates for Mom and Dad.
Family disruption would be a serious problem even if it affected only individual children and families. But its impact is far broader. Indeed, it is not an exaggeration to characterize it as a central cause of many of our most vexing social problems.. In fact, if family structure in the United States had remained relatively constant since 1960, the rate of child poverty would be a third lower than it is today. This does not bode well for the future. With more than half of today's children likely to live in single-parent families, poverty and associated welfare costs threaten to become even heavier burdens on the nation.
Crime in American cities has increased dramatically and grown more violent over recent decades. Much of this can be attributed to the rise in disrupted families. Nationally, more than 70 percent of all juveniles in state reform institutions come from fatherless homes. A number of scholarly studies find that even after the groups of subjects are controlled for income, boys from single-mother homes are significantly more likely than others to commit crimes and to wind up in the juvenile justice, court, and penitentiary systems. One such study summarizes the relationship between crime and one-parent families in this way: "The relationship breakup as the most important source of rising rates of crime.
Terrible as poverty and crime are, they tend to be concentrated in inner cities and isolated from the everyday experience of many Americans. The same cannot be said of the problem of declining school performance. Nowhere has the impact of family breakup been more profound or widespread than in the nation's public schools. There is a strong consensus that the schools are failing in their historic mission to prepare every American child to be a good worker and a good citizen. And nearly everyone agrees that the schools must undergo dramatic reform in order to reach that goal. In pursuit of that goal, moreover, we have suffered no shortage of bright ideas or pilot projects or bold experiments in school reform. But there is little evidence that measures such as curricular reform, school-based management, and school choice will address, let alone solve, the biggest problem schools face: the rising number of children who come from disrupted families.
The great educational tragedy of our time is that many American children are failing in school not because they are intellectually or physically impaired but because they are emotionally incapacitated. In schools across the nation principals report a dramatic rise in the aggressive, acting-out behavior characteristic of children, especially boys, who are living in single-parent families. The discipline problems in today's suburban schools--assaults on teachers, unprovoked attacks on other students, screaming outbursts in class--outstrip the problems that were evident in the toughest city schools a generation ago. Moreover, teachers find many children emotionally distracted, so upset and preoccupied by the explosive drama of their own family lives that they are unable to concentrate on such mundane matters as multiplication tables.
In response, many schools have turned to therapeutic remediation. not only to developing minds but also to repairing hearts. As a result, the mission of the school, along with the culture of the classroom, is slowly changing. What we are seeing, largely as a result of the new burdens of family disruption, is the psychologization of American education.
Taken together, the research presents a powerful challenge to the prevailing view of family change as social progress. Not a single one of the assumptions underlying that view can be sustained against the empirical evidence. Single-parent families are not able to do well economically on a mother's income. In fact, most teeter on the economic brink, and many fall into poverty and welfare dependency. Growing up in a disrupted family does not enrich a child's life or expand the number of adults committed to the child's well-being. In fact, disrupted families threaten the psychological well-being of children and diminish the investment of adult time and money in them. Family diversity in the form of increasing numbers of single-parent and stepparent families does not strengthen the social fabric. It dramatically weakens and undermines society, placing new burdens on schools, courts, prisons, and the welfare system. These new families are not an improvement on the nuclear family, nor are they even just as good, whether you look at outcomes for children or outcomes for society as a whole. In short, far from representing social progress, family change represents a stunning example of social regress.
All this evidence gives rise to an obvious conclusion: growing up in an intact two-parent family is an important source of advantage for American children. Though far from perfect as a social institution, the intact family offers children greater security and better outcomes than its fast-growing alternatives: single-parent and stepparent families. Not only does the intact family protect the child from poverty and economic insecurity; it also provides greater noneconomic investments of parental time, attention, and emotional support over the entire life course. This does not mean that all two-parent families are better for children than all single parent families. But in the face of the evidence it becomes increasingly difficult to sustain the proposition that all family structures produce equally good outcomes for children.
Curiously, many in the research community are hesitant to say that two-parent families generally promote better outcomes for children than single-parent families. Some argue that we need finer measures of the extent of the family-structure effect. As one scholar has noted, it is possible, by disaggregating the data in certain ways, to make family structure "go away" as an independent variable. Other researchers point to studies that show that children suffer psychological effects as a result of family conflict preceding family breakup. Consequently, they reason, it is the conflict rather than the structure of the family that is responsible for many of the problems associated with family disruption. Others, including Judith Wallerstein, caution against treating children in divorced families and children in intact families as separate populations, because doing so tends to exaggerate the differences between the two groups. "We have to take this family by family," Wallerstein says.
Some of the caution among researchers can also be attributed to ideological pressures. Privately, social scientists worry that their research may serve ideological causes that they themselves do not support, or that their work may be misinterpreted as an attempt to "tell people what to do." Some are fearful that they will be attacked by feminist colleagues, or, more generally, that their comments will be regarded as an effort to turn back the clock to the 1950s--a goal that has almost no constituency in the academy. Even more fundamental, it has become risky for anyone--scholar, politician, religious leader--to make normative statements today. This reflects not only the persistent drive toward "value neutrality" in the professions but also a deep confusion about the purposes of public discourse. The dominant view appears to be that social criticism, like criticism of individuals, is psychologically damaging. The worst thing you can do is to make people feel guilty or bad about themselves.
When one sets aside these constraints, however, the case against the two-parent family is remarkably weak. It is true that disaggregating data can make family structure less significant as a factor, just as disaggregating Hurricane Andrew into wind, rain, and tides can make it disappear as a meteorological phenomenon. Nonetheless, research opinion as well as common sense suggests that the effects of changes in family structure are great enough to cause concern. Nicholas Zill argues that many of the risk factors for children are doubled or more than doubled as the result of family disruption. "In epidemiological terms," he writes, "the doubling of a hazard is a substantial increase. . . . the increase in risk that dietary cholesterol poses for cardiovascular disease, for example, is far less than double, yet millions of Americans have altered their diets because of the perceived hazard."
The argument that family conflict, rather than the breakup of parents, is the cause of children's psychological distress is persuasive on its face. Children who grow up in high-conflict families, whether the families stay together or eventually split up, are undoubtedly at great psychological risk. And surely no one would dispute that there must be societal measures available, including divorce, to remove children from families where they are in danger. Yet only a minority of divorces grow out of pathological situations; much more common are divorces in families unscarred by physical assault. Moreover, an equally compelling hypothesis is that family breakup generates its own conflict. Certainly, many families exhibit more conflictual and even violent behavior as a consequence of divorce than they did before divorce.
Finally, it is important to note that clinical insights are different from sociological findings. Clinicians work with individual families, who cannot and should not be defined by statistical aggregates. Appropriate to a clinical approach, moreover, is a focus on the internal dynamics of family functioning and on the immense variability in human behavior. Nevertheless, there is enough empirical evidence to justify sociological statements about the causes of declining child well-being and to demonstrate that despite the plasticity of human response, there are some useful rules of thumb to guide our thinking about and policies affecting the family.
For example, Sara McLanahan says, three structural constants are commonly associated with intact families, even intact families who would not win any "Family of the Year" awards. The first is economic. In intact families, children share in the income of two adults. Indeed, as a number of analysts have pointed out, the two parent family is becoming more rather than less necessary, because more and more families need two incomes to sustain a middle-class standard of living.
McLanahan believes that most intact families also provide a stable authority structure. Family breakup commonly upsets the established boundaries of authority in a family. Children are often required to make decisions or accept responsibilities once considered the province of parents. Moreover, children, even very young children, are often expected to behave like mature adults, so that the grown-ups in the family can be free to deal with the emotional fallout of the failed relationship. In some instances family disruption creates a complete vacuum in authority; everyone invents his or her own rules. With lines of authority disrupted or absent, children find it much more difficult to engage in the normal kinds of testing behavior, the trial and error, the failing and succeeding, that define the developmental pathway toward character and competence. McLanahan says, "Children need to be the ones to challenge the rules. The parents need to set the boundaries and let the kids push the boundaries. The children shouldn't have to walk the straight and narrow at all times."
Finally, McLanahan holds that children in intact families benefit from stability in what she neutrally terms "household personnel." Family disruption frequently brings new adults into the family, including stepparents, live-in boyfriends or girlfriends, and casual sexual partners. Like stepfathers, boyfriends can present a real threat to children's, particularly to daughters', security and well-being. But physical or sexual abuse represents only the most extreme such threat. Even the very best of boyfriends can disrupt and undermine a child's sense of peace and security, McLanahan says. "It's not as though you're going from an unhappy marriage to peacefulness. There can be a constant changing until the mother finds a suitable partner."
McLanahan's argument helps explain why children of widows tend to do better than children of divorced or unmarried mothers. Widows differ from other single mothers in all three respects. They are economically more secure, because they receive more public assistance through Survivors Insurance, and possibly private insurance or other kinds of support from family members. Thus widows are less likely to leave the neighborhood in search of a new or better job and a cheaper house or apartment. Moreover, the death of a father is not likely to disrupt the authority structure radically. When a father dies, he is no longer physically present, but his death does not dethrone him as an authority figure in the child's life. On the contrary, his authority may be magnified through death. The mother can draw on the powerful memory of the departed father as a way of intensifying her parental authority: "Your father would have wanted it this way." Finally, since widows tend to be older than divorced mothers, their love life may be less distracting.
Regarding the two-parent family, the sociologist David Popenoe, who has devoted much of his career to the study of families, both in the United States and in Scandinavia, makes this straightforward assertion: Social science research is almost never conclusive. There are always methodological difficulties and stones left unturned. Yet in three decades of work as a social scientist, I know of few other bodies of data in which the weight of evidence is so decisively on one side of the issue: on the whole, for children, two-parent families are preferable to single-parent and stepfamilies.
The rise in family disruption is not unique to American society. It is evident in virtually all advanced nations, including Japan, where it is also shaped by the growing participation of women in the work force. Yet the United States has made divorce easier and quicker than in any other Western nation with the sole exception of Sweden--and the trend toward solo motherhood has also been more pronounced in America. (Sweden has an equally high rate of out-of-wedlock birth, but the majority of such births are to cohabiting couples, a long-established pattern in Swedish society.) More to the point, nowhere has family breakup been greeted by a more triumphant rhetoric of renewal than in America.
What is striking about this rhetoric is how deeply it reflects classic themes in American public life. It draws its language and imagery from the nation's founding myth. It depicts family breakup as a drama of revolution and rebirth. The nuclear family represents the corrupt past, an institution guilty of the abuse of power and the suppression of individual freedom. Breaking up the family is like breaking away from Old World tyranny. Liberated from the bonds of the family, the individual can achieve independence and experience a new beginning, a fresh start, a new birth of freedom. In short, family breakup recapitulates the American experience.
This rhetoric is an example of what the University of Maryland political philosopher William Galston has called the "regime effect." The founding of the United States set in motion a new political order based to an unprecedented degree on individual rights, personal choice, and egalitarian relationships. Since then these values have spread beyond their original domain of political relationships to define social relationships as well. During the past twenty-five years these values have had a particularly profound impact on the family.
Increasingly, political principles of individual rights and choice shape our understanding of family commitment and solidarity. Family relationships are viewed not as permanent or binding but as voluntary and easily terminable. Moreover, under the sway of the regime effect the family loses its central importance as an institution in the civil society, accomplishing certain social goals such as raising children and caring for its members, and becomes a means to achieving greater individual happiness--a lifestyle choice. Thus, Galston says, what is happening to the American family reflects the "unfolding logic of authoritative, deeply American moral-political principles."
One benefit of the regime effect is to create greater equality in adult family relationships. Husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, enjoy relationships far more egalitarian than past relationships were, and most Americans prefer it that way. But the political principles of the regime effect can threaten another kind of family relationship--that between parent and child. Owing to their biological and developmental immaturity, children are needy dependents. They are not able to express their choices according to limited, easily terminable, voluntary agreements. They are not able to act as negotiators in family decisions, even those that most affect their own interests. As one writer has put it, "a newborn does not make a good 'partner.'" Correspondingly, the parental role is antithetical to the spirit of the regime. Parental investment in children involves a diminished investment in self, a willing deference to the needs and claims of the dependent child. Perhaps more than any other family relationship, the parent-child relationship--shaped as it is by patterns of dependency and deference--can be undermined and weakened by the principles of the regime..
To take one example: independence is basic to successful functioning in American life. We assume that most people in America will be able to work, care for themselves and their families, think for themselves, and inculcate the same traits of independence and initiative in their children. We depend on families to teach people to do these things. The erosion of the two-parent family undermines the capacity of families to impart this knowledge; children of long-term welfare dependent single parents are far more likely than others to be dependent themselves. Similarly, the children in disrupted families have a harder time forging bonds of trust with others and giving and getting help across the generations. This, too, may lead to greater dependency on the resources of the state..
Nonetheless, as Galston is quick to point out, the regime effect is not an irresistible undertow that will carry away the family. It is more like a swift current, against which it is possible to swim. People learn; societies can change, particularly when it becomes apparent that certain behaviors damage the social ecology, threaten the public order, and impose new burdens on core institutions. Whether Americans will act to overcome the legacy of family disruption is a crucial but as yet unanswered question.
Join the DiscussionAfter you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register. blog comments powered by Disqus | http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1993/04/dan-quayle-was-right/307015/ | 2013-05-18T10:57:31 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Africa's Urbanizing, But Not How You Think
The stats are pretty clear: the world's population is increasingly concentrating in urban areas. A recent report from the United Nations estimates that the global urban population will grow from its 2011 level of 3.6 billion people to more than 6.3 billion by 2050. Most of that growth is projected to happen in less developed countries.
As we reported when that report was released in April, much of the growth in developing countries is expected to happen in Africa:
The most substantial growth is expected to occur in Africa. In 2011, urban residents in Africa made up about 11 percent of the world's urbanized people. By 2050, they will represent 20 percent. Between 2011 and 2030, Africa's urban population is expected to grow at an annual rate of 3.09, the highest in the world.
So it was somewhat surprising to see this article from AlertNet, which suggests that in many of the biggest cities in Africa, more people are moving out than are moving in.
Deborah Potts, a demographer from Kings College London who studies urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa, says that more people are moving from urban areas to rural ones in countries like Ivory Coast, Mali, Zambia and Central African Republic. She says these "counter-movements" are the result of the severe shortage of jobs in many of Africa's teeming cities. This out-migration has slowed the expected growth rate even of cities like Lagos, Nigeria, currently the most populous urban area in Africa.
Cities in Africa are still growing, Potts says, just not necessarily from the rural-to-urban migration patterns seen in other developing countries like China and India in recent decades.
Better education for women, reductions in child mortality and higher incomes have driven falling birth rates in many parts of the world, particularly in towns and cities. But urban Africa, with its shortage of jobs and persistently high rates of child and maternal mortality, has not seen the declines expected.
Today in Africa, "most urban population growth comes from natural increase in the cities and not from migration. This comes as a surprise to most people," Potts said.
Asia - not Africa - remains the world's fastest urbanising region, she said, noting that Africa "may remain primarily rural for decades", in part because of a lack of employment opportunities in cities.
So while natural increase may be what's driving urban growth in these African cities, it will also be driving growth in Africa's rural areas. The masses may not be the same in the rural areas as they are in the urban areas, but if Potts is correct, there could be a strong urban-rural dichotomy in Africa for a long time coming.
Top image: Miners pan for gold in a rural area in Mali. Credit: Joe Penney / Reuters | http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2012/10/africas-urbanizing-not-how-you-think/3463/ | 2013-05-18T11:01:56 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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"http://cdn.theatlanticcities.com/img/upload/2012/10/01/20121001-mali/largest.jpg",
"Africa's Urbanizing, But Not How You Think Africa's Urbanizing, But Not How You Think"
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Welcome to the seedy world where money literally comes from nothing: "expensive cars choke the streets of Râmnicu Vâlcea’s bustling city center-,"." | http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/02/romanian-mountains-seedy-epicenter-of-global-cybercrime/17813/ | 2013-05-18T10:42:23 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Republicans are promising to block the raising of the federal debt limit--which could cause the U.S. to default on its debt--if Democrats don't offer major concessions on spending cuts and long term measures to change the way the federal budget is crafted. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Republicans "will not grant their request for a debt limit increase" without big concessions from Democrats, "a clear escalation in the long-running Washington spending war," Politico's Jake Sherman and Jonathan Allen report.
But as lawmakers are zinging at each other, the deadline to actually do something is quickly approaching. Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a letter to Congress that the government would hit the debt ceiling as early as May 16. (Cantor has said the date is really in July.) But CNS News's Terence P. Jeffrey reports that it's coming a lot earlier than that--in less than a week. Right now, the limit is $14.2940 trillion. As of Tuesday, Treasury had borrowed $14.268365 trillion. That means it only has $25.6 billion more it can borrow before it hits the limit.
And Sen. Bob Corker vowed on CBNC that the weeks-long fight over the 2011 budget would look "powder puff" compared to the upcoming war over the debt limit. But legislators might have less time than they think to zing each other before the Treasury slams into the borrowing cap.
Republicans are considering several measures to attach to the debt limit vote, including a balanced budget amendment, a rule requiring a two-thirds supermajority to pass tax and debt limit increases, and spending caps. Democrats, on the other hand, want a "clean" bill, without policy riders.
Cantor's comments came the day after he was picked for a presidential task force for debt limit negotiations, but Republicans aren't the only ones escalating the spending rhetoric. President Obama told a Facebook townhall Wednesday that the Republican budget for 2012 is "radical" but not "courageous" in the way it would change Medicare and Medic | http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/04/gop-intensifies-demands-raising-debt-ceiling/36887/ | 2013-05-18T10:42:07 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
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Ruthie Bohnert Hosts Alpha Zeta Chapter
May 16, 2007 - Alpha Zeta chapter of Kappa Kappa Kappa, Knightstown, met May 8 in the home of Ruthie Bohnert.
President Kristin Haase opened the business meeting by welcoming collegiate members Jenny Brooks, Brittany Biehl, Jennifer Gross and Sarah Haase. The secretary and treasurer presented their reports which were approved. Notes of appreciation were read from the Tri Kappa State Scholarship Endowment fund, the Knightstown and Kennard elementary schools, Make a Difference chairman Norm Bohnert and Kylie Doubman. President-elect Nancy Gross distributed preference sheets for next year’s program.
Education chairman Shannon Dawson thanked the scholarship committee for working with her to select the scholarship winners for this school year. Committee members were Cynthia McDonald, Nancy Gross and Vee Ann Schmidt. Lois Brooks, library chairman, reported that there will probably be some improvements made at the library soon.
Brunch chairman Paula Ortman thanked her committee of Betts Adams, Judy Barnes, Lois Brooks, Barb Estridge, Cheryl Hammer, Heather Koehler, Susie Leonard, Jill Null, Sarah Springman and Kathy Zellinga.
The Senior Girls’ Brunch is sponsored by Tri Kappa and Psi Iota Xi for the senior girls at Knightstown High School and Morton Memorial. Elementary School Culture Program Chair Sherry Trainor reported that “Drums of West Africa” was very well received by the elementary school students and there were many favorable comments heard throughout the community. Spring flowers will be ready for pickup Friday, May 1, after 4:30 p.m. at the Haase farm.
Sign up sheets were circulated for Kappa Klowns and balloon inflators for Jubilee Days June 2.
Initiation will be held June 12 at 6:30 p.m. at Bethel Presbyterian Church and the initiation dinner will follow at the Methodist Church with Cheryl Hammer catering. The chapter will be preparing and serving the alumni dinner June 23 at the high school.
Various committees were appointed and times were arranged. Also, Tri Kappa members will have an opportunity to work the “Cars of Summer” Car Show held downtown Knightstown June 22-23. Plans are underway for the celebration of Alpha Zeta’s 100th birthday next March and the chapter is involved in making this very special time an outstanding event. Charitable contributions were approved for Krista Coy, Sarah Davis and the “Cars of Summer.” President Haase gave a report on the recent state convention held in Indianapolis and thanked officers Dawson and Null for attending also. Janet Linch and Sally Armstrong were winners of the spring flower hanging baskets.
Following the meeting, a pledging ceremony was held for Denise Titus, Kylie Doubman and Katy Henderson. Punch and cookies were served by the pledging committee that included Judy Haase, Vee Ann Schmidt and Penny Shaneyfelt.
Please refer to our Society Archives for more news links or hit your "back" button to go to your previous page.
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Tuscaloosa Topples
A&M holds on for 29-24 road win over No. 1 Alabama
Published: Saturday, November 10, 2012
Updated: Saturday, November 10, 2012 20:11
No. 15 A&M took a 20-0 first quarter lead on the road against No. 1 Alabama and held on down the stretch for a 29-24 win.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel completed 24 of 21 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns and gained 92 yards rushing on 18 carries.
Senior receiver Ryan Swope caught 11 passes for 111 yards and a score.
A&M took a 29-17 lead on a Malcolm Kennedy touchdown grab, but Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron led the Crimson Tide back. Alabama had first-and-goal down 29-24, but the A&M defense held and safety Deshazor Everett intercepted McCarron on fourth down.
It appeared A&M would have to punt the ball with 40 seconds remaining, giving Alabama life. But an Alabama penalty gave the Aggies a first down and Manziel took a knee to complete the win.
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Students give back to B-CS
Aggies bake, build houses for surrounding community
Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Updated: Wednesday, July 25, 2012 22:07
Most of the time, there is little to no room for monetary donations to charitable causes in a college student’s budget. Fortunately, there are endless ways to give back in the Bryan-College Station area through community service opportunities from baking to building houses.
Tara Price, graduate student in nutrition, said the on-campus community service opportunities should be taken advantage of by students.
“I think community service is the most important thing you can contribute to society, especially at this age when you’re able,” Price said.
During the school year, students can get involved through a number of community service organizations at Texas A&M University.
Helping the Homeless
Aggie Habitat for Humanity is an organization dedicated to raising awareness about poverty housing. Working in conjunction with the local Habitat for Humanity organization, this organization helps provide opportunities for families living in substandard housing to own a home. The family must commit to at least 500 hours of sweat-equity into other homes and is then sold a house for the cost of
materials on a 30-year, no interest loan. The houses are built using volunteer labor, which is where the students come in. Working alongside families, they work on houses throughout the year.
Mentoring Youth
For students interested in playing a part in the future , Aggie Big Brothers Big Sisters is an organization that helps children through one-on-one mentoring relationships. ABBBS is a professional mentoring organization where volunteers are evaluated and matched with a child best fit for them. Volunteers are responsible for spending time with the child, being an exemplary role model and encouraging the child to pursue positive goals in the future.
Cooking for a Cause
Students interested in sharing love through food may be interested in Texas A&M Cupcakes, a student organization that brings students together through a mutual love of baking. Members organize various bake sales and events throughout the year in order to raise funds for the Brazos Valley Food Bank. For every dollar donated to the food bank, five pounds of food are distributed to people in need.
When the school year is not in full swing, there are still a number of ways to get involved in the community.
Animal Adoption
The Brazos Animal Shelter is constantly accepting applications for those interested in volunteering to help take care of animals without a home, be of assistance at the shelter and help at charitable events such as Wienerfest and PetSmart Mobile Adoption.
“They have a good thing going and they need help. So do the animals,” said sophomore animal science major and Brazos Animal Shelter volunteer, Kaitlyn Porter.
Brazos Animal Shelter is also seeking individuals capable of volunteering to foster animals that need medical assistance or are too young to adopt.
Sharing Talents
Students interested in using their performance talents for a cause might consider visiting a retirement home. Junior education major Ciara Scott said singing to the members of the Crestview Retirement Community was a touching experience.
“A group of my friends wanted to go sing Christmas carols to them last December,” Scott said. “It was a really simple thing — we’re not professional or anything and we only did a few songs — but they were so excited to hear us and so happy that we came.”
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21/23 Spittal Street,
WPS - specialists in office supply and stationers for Marlow and surrounding areas.
WPS - A stationery shop with a difference
Good quality office products and stationery say so much about your company, giving you the professional edge.
But in today's climate how can you afford to give the right impression while looking good at the same time?
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Based close in Marlow, WPS is an established, family-run business that believes in supplying the best possible products and services to businesses in the area.
Whether you need quality stationery for your Marlow office, personalised products, printing, typing or faxing services - WPS has just about everything a thriving business needs.
Below are just some of the services WPS provides to businesses in the Marlow and surrounding areas. But if you have any particular requirements, just ask. At WPS, we're @ your service!
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WPS offers stationery at prices to make you smile
AT WPS, leading office supply and stationers for Marlow, we have over 22,000 products to order from our main catalogue. You'll find some superb offers on stationery at discounted prices in our sale catalogue too.
If you place an order with us for over £50, your stationery will be delivered direct to your door at no extra cost to you.
Our extensive catalogue for businesses in Marlow and beyond, stocks some of the most popular items from paper and envelopes to pens and selotape, as well as health & safety equipment.
Keep an eye on our website for some of our Deals of the Month and grab yourself some stationery bargains.
If you would like to receive a copy of our catalogues, please give us a call on:
01628 902105
Or contact us via the email link on this page and we'll post them to you free of charge.
Business Packs to get you started...
If you've just launched a new enterprise in the Marlow area, why not try one of our great value business packs.
We offer...
100 business cards
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Printed Stationery from WPS, leading office suppliers for Marlow
We can design and print office stationery for your company - anything from business cards and letterheads to company logos.
At WPS we pride ourselves on providing a fast but efficient service - basic business cards for example can be designed and printed ready for you to collect within 48 hours!
Bespoke Products
Looking to give your clients that personal touch?
We offer a range of personalised products from calendars to greetings cards. Simply provide us with your picture or logo and your message and we can create a product that's personal to you.
We can also print pictures onto canvas to make superb personalised gifts.
WPS - secretarial services and more...
WPS, based in Spittal Street, Marlow, offers so much more than quality stationery and office products for the Marlow area.
We also provide a range of secretarial and office back-up services to help keep your business running smoothly.
From helping you with your mailshots and databases to typing and payroll services, let us help you with the admin side of things so that you can get on with running your business.
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- Book-keeping - Are your accounts a headache? We can help get your financial affairs in order
- Payroll - Are you struggling to find time for payroll issues? Does the term, PAYE send shivers down your spine? Don't panic, help is at hand from WPS
- Typing service- We can provide a variety of typing services including copy and audio and no job is too large or small for us
- Plan printing - We can copy building plans in black and white up to A0 and in colour up to A3
- Faxing - We're able to fax documents locally, nationally and internationally at very reasonable rates
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- Copying - Anything from training materials and reports to leaflets
Whatever you're looking for in a quality office supply and stationery company, our friendly team are here to help. We also do A1 card and mountcard, stickers and craft materials.
We provide very reasonably prices inkjet cartridges including:
- Canon
- Epson
- Hewlett Packard
- Lexmark
- Brother
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If there's a particular make of printer ink you need, we are more than happy to order it in for you.
So whether you're a sole trader looking for reasonably priced stationery and office support or a larger company that needs a range of services, give us a call today on:
01628 902105
To see our extensive range of services and stationery, visit our website at:
We look forward to hearing from you.
WPS - our office @ your service
WPS
21/23 Spittal Street, Marlow, Bucks SL7 3HJ
If you use WPS, the Best of Marlow would love to hear from you. We would be delighted if you would write a testimonial about WPS, Office supply and stationers for Marlow by following the link on this page.
And if you now use WPS please can you tell them you saw their advertisement on. Thanks!
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latest reviews
I love 'WPS' - Marlow's excellent local office supplies and stationery shop. Customer service is great. You can even return things that you find you don't need. It's a true local shop with local values. It's far greener to buy local.
The Marlow Society has enjoyed using the excellent printing services of WPS for several years, including our quarterly Newsletter and regular posters. Carol and Simon provide an efficient, personal and friendly service, and deliver to Marlow.
WPS is an excellent and very reliable office services company providing a collection and deliver service to Marlow clients. We have used the company for many years for our copying/printing requirements. It provides high quality service at a very competitive price. | http://www.thebestof.co.uk/local/marlow/business-guide/feature/wps/73931 | 2013-05-18T10:13:15 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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I've been around computers for a very long time and one of the persistent problems that has fascinated me is computer viruses. It amazes me how after all this time that computer viruses are still around and still causing problems. There are different types of programs collectively called "virus": trojan horse, worm, rabbit, slave, etc. and add to that: adware, spyware, malware, and plain old junky software.
I believe that most, if not almost all, viruses these days are created by corporations (or governments). The reasons for this are clear. The software business is very competitive. The software business is very lucrative. Computers are easy to hack. Software companies employ people smart enough to create viruses, including me. Hackers have little reason to target you (but not no reason). Governments spy on each other.
For the longest time Microsoft paid no attention what-so-ever to security and that made Windows the most hacked OS on the planet. It still is, despite MS's attempts to stop it. This stems mainly from competitors of Microsoft (especially ones not in the US) and would be hackers trying to prove themselves (to get a job). Other companies' products and other OSs get hacked too though. We've just seen a massive, and successful, hacking attack on the US government's infrastructure, demonstrating the extent of coverage. No computer is safe. But Windows has gotten better (depends on who you ask).
Just a recent example from me: About 2 years ago I installed what I thought was a screen saver related to NASA. This screen saver was supposed to show Hubble images or something like that. Turns out that the faceless company behind this software has nothing to do with NASA, not even American, and they are a front partner for a European company that creates "game middleware". The "screen saver" which never worked, also contains a trojan horse: "Downloader.Zlob.WFH" which allows ANYONE who knows that your computer is infected with it to install ANYTHING they want, including key loggers, password scrapers, internet trackers, screen capturers, malware, etc.
So this "corporation"
In the case of this screen saver it is apparent to me that the back end "corporation"
There is more to this. The companies who employ these trojan horses may not be the actual originators of the code; I doubt they hardly ever are. By using "off-the-shelf" trojan horse code they can hide their activities. If people find the trojan horse on their system it is difficult to prove who created it. I'm sure the "corporation"
Corporations worldwide know all about this, have traditionally kept it quiet, now-a-days are the main participants in it and employ hackers, as do governments. They get away with this because most of the time they don't mean any harm to you or your computer. They are just trying to sell you stuff. But the problem is that once the barricades are down, other bad guys who do mean you and your computer harm are given an open door. Hope to remain invisible.
And what is the government doing about any of this? Apparently nothing. Good job!
It amazes me how tolerant the public is of the old "technology glitch" excuse. And that excuse is employed so often by companies doing evil things with computers. "Its just a flesh wound." But in the end it constitutes theft. If its ok for you to hack my computer then its ok for me to hack your computer, or your company's, or your government's, irregardless of any stupid law that is un-enforceable. Having said that, I believe most hacking today in the US is caused by entities outside the US. That is what's being reported anyway.
So what can you do? Barricade, barricade, barricade. And then do it again. Research computer security. Use firewalls and learn to configure them. Use virus scanners that are up to date (all of them). Use anti-spyware/malware. Might add anti-Adware but adware is just a nuisance. Never download anything from the internet ever again. Ever! There is no such thing as a free screen saver. Don't give your kids admin privileges. And you won't be helping just you. If viruses can't spread then they can't spread. Isolate the victim. | http://www.theblackvault.com/phpBB3/topic1567.html | 2013-05-18T11:02:53 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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ASIA SHIFT Inquirer P2.
AS the world economy emerges from the financial crisis, a startling new phase of globalisation is being revealed.
For a generation, freeing up trade and capital flows around the world has been driven by the rich nations, led by the US. Having been hit hardest by the crisis, however, these developed nations are now struggling to reconstruct their economic growth models.
They are burdened by unprecedented peacetime debts, being forced to wind back unaffordable social entitlement systems and are underprepared for the costs of their ageing populations.
The US is printing money to generate a lower dollar and to revive job growth; Europe is gripped by a sovereign debt crisis and battling to save the euro; Britain has been forced into its most savage austerity since World War II; and Japan yesterday suffered a sovereign credit downgrade.
As the rich world struggles, globalisation now is being powered by the big emerging market economies, led by China and India and extending to Indonesia, Brazil and others. Emerging market globalisation is even bypassing the rich world.
This is the irresistible theme among the couple of thousand political, financial and business elites who gather at this time of the year for the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told these high priests of globalisation that Asia was undergoing a "rapid and strong economic, social, cultural and strategic resurgence, the size of which is certain to redefine global affairs". He called it "the big shift" that would shape what he called "21st century globalism".
This new globalisation is already making nations like Australia much richer & more influential on the global stage. The rise of an emerging market urban middle class centred in Asia is pumping up the prices of commodities we export, from iron ore, coal and copper to beef and cereals. But this new world order also is likely to be more volatile, for instance as rising food prices spark social unrest in poorer nations and prompt some commodity producers to curb their food exports.
As well, prolonged high unemployment and budget austerity could produce a damaging political backlash in rich countries. That already is showing up in the currency war between Washington and Beijing that is making countries such as Brazil and South Africa less competitive.
The US Federal Reserve Board's "quantitative easing" is encouraging a flood of capital into the higher-growth emerging markets and pushing up their inflation and interest rates. In turn, developing countries are flirting more with controls on capital inflows to restrain their currency appreciation.
So far, however, the rapid rebound of China and other big emerging markets has helped pull the world economy out of recession quicker than many hoped.
Famed New York-based economic bear Nouriel Roubini called it a LUV recovery. The euro-zone economies, tipped by the IMF to grow a tepid 1.5 per cent this year, were in an L-shaped path out of the crisis. The US is in a U-shaped recovery, tipped to expand a sub-par 3 per cent this year. America's big corporates are in good shape, having pared back their costs and built up massive cash reserves. Yet the emerging markets -- led by 9 per cent-plus China and 8 per cent India -- are the V.
While many are relieved that a global depression has been averted, the crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the rich country growth model. At Davos last year, even the IMF was warning that the global recovery was still too fragile for budget stimulus measures to be quickly withdrawn.
But that was just as the Greek sovereign debt crisis was erupting before spreading to Portugal and Ireland. And that has forced Europe into budget austerity to cap the rise of its huge government debt burden lest financial markets impose a more brutal solution.
And, in his annual State of the Union address this week, Barack Obama said the rules have changed from when Americans could get a good secure job by merely turning up at the nearby factory. "Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers and sell their products wherever there's an internet connection," the US president said.
"Meanwhile, nations like China and India realised that, with some changes of their own, they could compete in this world and so they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. They're investing in research and technologies. Recently, China became home to the world's largest private solar research facility and the world's fastest computer."
In the new globalisation, the US president is saying that China and India are educating their workers better than many Americans. At Davos, this represented a broader shift. Some suggested that a multi-national corporation could just as easily get access to a few hundred skilled engineers in India than in a rich economy. And these new production opportunities are lining up with the new sources of consumer demand as the emerging markets shift their growth model away from exporting to the US and Europe.
"I think what's really happening is that the slowdown of the Western world and the continued expansion of the emerging market world is really shifting the balance of power in terms of where the consumer lies," Azim Premji, chairman of India's global IT services company Wipro said.
Obama called it the US's "Sputnik moment", harking back five decades ago to when the Soviet Union beat the US to putting a man in space. He outlined a growth and competitiveness strategy to lift America's lagging school performance, invest more in economic infrastructure such as high-speed rail, cut company tax, review business regulation and freeze parts of federal budget spending to contain the public debt explosion.
"President Obama articulated clearly the need for the US to restructure its economy," Washington-based international policy economist Fred Bergsten said in Davos. "He didn't go far in suggesting how that would happen."
Bergsten said Obama identified the need for the US to rely less on debt-financed consumer spending and government deficit spending in favour of increased saving, higher exports and stronger private investment; the so-called rebalancing of global growth called for the successive G20 leaders summits.
A substantial fall in the US dollar, at least against the Chinese yuan and some other Asian currencies, was the "transmission mechanism" to deliver this more balanced growth, Bergsten said. But the rest of the world was justified in waiting to see whether the US would do its part, such as by attacking a budget deficit that the IMF tips will hit 11 per cent of gross domestic product this year. "The US is getting perilously close to that threshold point for a financial crisis," Bergsten warned.
While Obama was talking in Washington, Yudhoyono was flying into Davos from New Delhi, where he attended India's national republic day celebrations and signed more than $15 billion of trade and investment deals. In Davos, Indonesian officials described the two economies as complementary. Indonesia needs infrastructure investment in railways, airports and energy generation. India needs the raw materials resource-rich Indonesia sells.
It's perhaps the most striking example of the new emerging market globalisation: the world's biggest Muslim nation becoming more economically tied to the world's second most populist and Hindu-dominated nation. But it's repeated elsewhere. The IMF this week forecast that sub-Saharan Africa would grow more than 5 per cent this year and nearly 6 per cent next year, thanks to growing trade and investment ties with China, again related to resource demand.
In Davos, Australian trade officials were surprised to discover that China is Brazil's biggest trade partner: it's Australia's main iron ore rival. "Everyone is looking to the Asia Pacific," Trade Minister Craig Emerson said in Davos. "How do we get part of this 8, 9, 10 per cent a year growth."
Remember that this is happening less than 15 years after the East Asian financial crisis that thrust Indonesia into the harsh grip of the IMF and only a decade after China joined the World Trade Organisation, an anniversary yesterday marked by a special session at Davos. Of course, the US decline could still be turned around, while emerging markets such as India's bubble might burst if the capital inflows reverse.
But Yudhoyono suggested that Asia's renaissance meant that countries such as Indonesia and regional groupings such as the Association of South East Asian Nations would play a more strategic role in resolving global problems. With the relative decline of the US, "no single power can shape the world order alone", he said.
The Indonesian leader called for the major economies to finally nail a deal this year on the WTO's Doha round of global trade liberalisation. Yet French president and this year's G20 chairman, Nicolas Sarkozy, neglected to mention the Doha round in his remarks at Davos on Thursday, instead calling for measures to stabilise commodity markets. Former head of the WTO forerunner Peter Sutherland berated Sarkozy for the omission.
In Davos for a trade ministers' gathering on the Doha round, Emerson was not impressed. "Anyone who is concerned about high prices for agricultural products should be in favour of trade liberalisation," he said. "If there is liberalisation of trading rules then those countries that are good at producing agricultural products will be able to produce more of them. If you produce more of them, that takes pressure off prices."
The good news for Australia is that the emerging market globalisation appears driven by the projected expansion in world population from less than 7 billion to 9 billion over the next generation, with most of this in Asia.
And, as emerging market populations become more urbanised, they are driving demand, and hence prices, for the mining, energy and agricultural products Australia controls & exports. Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese suggested the mass spread of mobile phones was encouraging 5 billion or so people to aspire for rich world living standards, including living in city apartments with airconditioning.
"They want the stuff we produce," the mining boss said, saying it would be very difficult for any "black swan", or left field event, to disrupt this booming emerging market demand for raw materials.
At the same time, however, new resource deposits were becoming harder to find and taking longer to develop in order to satisfy stakeholders. "Nobody wants a big mine in their backyard," Albanese said.
The message is that it will take time -- perhaps 10 to 15 years -- for global mining supply to catch up to the surge in emerging market demand. That would mean an extended period of high export prices for Australia.
The more troubling Davos take, however, came from New York-based political science and risk consultant Ian Bremmer who dismissed the G20 exercise as a panicked response to the financial crisis.
Now the worst had passed, the G20 was being exposed as cumbersome and ineffective.
Instead of the G20, Bremmer has made a splash by dubbing the new globalisation as "G zero". "What we have is everyone for themselves," he said yesterday. The old G7 (basically, the US, Europe and Japan) was too weak to provide the global leadership needed to resolve pressing global issues such as nuclear proliferation, climate change, trade and economic policy co-ordination.
Yet emerging market nations were either not capable of providing global leadership or held views incompatible with those of the developed economies, such as through their promotion of "state capitalism".
"Globalisation for the last 40 years has been the West reaching out and bringing in the emerging markets, their labour and profits," Bremmer said, "and a lot of people did very well. But that globalisation is over because the West can't consume the way it used to, the west's fiscal constraints are greater and the emerging markets want to define globalisation their way." | http://www.theblackvault.com/phpBB3/welcome-the-new-world-order-t5630.html | 2013-05-18T10:21:33 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
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While Jackson stood over the stunned crowd on a nearby balcony, a flash mob of dancers performed a routine to a melody of her hits. Although Jackson did not perform, the 42-year-old waved to the hundreds of screaming bystanders, while a photographer stood next to her and took pictures. After the short appearance, fans chanted her name long after she disappeared behind closed doors.
Jackson is getting back into the swing of things since the untimely death of her older brother Michael on June 25. As a tribute to her brother, Jackson performed their duet 'Scream,' at this year's MTV Video Music Awards alongside footage of him from the original music video. She will also open this year American Music Awards and sit-down for an ABC interview about Michael's death, which airs Nov. 18 on ABC. "Its still so difficult for me," she said in an interview snippet already making rounds. 'Number Ones' hits stores tomorrow (Nov. 17).
Watch the video after the jump.
9 Comments | http://www.theboombox.com/2009/11/16/janet-jackson-surprises-fans/ | 2013-05-18T11:02:08 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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Getty Images (2)
The aptly titled 'Derrick Rose' dedication was recorded long before the 23-year-old was crowned the most valuable player in the NBA, but Berg is hoping that it will have the same success as other sports-inspired hits. "Hopefully I got my own little 'Black 'More Money, More Condoms' mixtape.
While recording new music, the 'Sexy Lady' rapper has also been keeping himself busy behind the scenes. As previously reported, Berg claims to have produced Lil Wayne's new single 'John,' off the Young Money head's highly anticipated 'Tha.
'More Money, More Condoms' is a double-disc effort, due out before his sophomore album, which is slated for release this fall. | http://www.theboombox.com/2011/05/05/yung-berg-pens-track-for-nba-mvp-derrick-rose/ | 2013-05-18T10:52:40 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Jon Kopaloff, FilmMagic
."
2 Comments | http://www.theboot.com/2012/11/14/sexiest-man-alive-blake-shelton/ | 2013-05-18T11:02:51 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
The point of this web gallery is to show the world that BPPA members shot some really interesting pictures during the election campaign as well as capturing the "must-have" images. There are 133 pictures featured and you can navigate around the site using the "polling card" that you'll see on each page.
Alternatively, you can click next to the "Polling stations & the count" link and see all 133 images by then clicking on the next image link at the bottom right of the remaining pages. | http://www.thebppa.com/projects/election2005/home01.htm | 2013-05-18T10:21:17 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
This is something new for me to share more of my personal tracking. I decided to be a better self-tracker in 2012. I tracked places I went in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 but only last year did I start to track in a real way a number of other personal items. That list includes books I read (that post is coming soon) and 100% of donations versus just my larger donations. I decided to include a second column for crowdfunding. It’s all split up below but I wanted to be able to really dig in and share where I’m giving to.
My goal was 1% of my salary. I have been exceeding that for most of my career (before the One Percent Foundation was created, though I do love that there is a larger movement towards something I believe in.
In giving there were a few areas that I really focus on. I first go local, so I give to places that were meaningful to me growing up like my alma maters and then I give locally to where I live. I also give to organizations that focus on my core areas: women & girls, financial literacy & microfinance and education. I also give when friends ask. So quite a few donations below are to birthday or other various fundraisers. I believe many of us are giving to organizations because friends ask and I know I greatly appreciate it when I ask and friends give so this is also really important to me. I give to people who I believe in. I give to more startup nonprofits than established ones. I give to socially relevant topics like Planned Parenhood’s battle last year. I give to places where I also dedicate my time volunteering and playing a bigger role (Kiva, She’s The First, Resolve, Step Up Women’s Network). Last, I included crowdfunding in my tracking just to see how much I gave over last year to Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. These aren’t part of my total donations but I did track them.
I’m not releasing the actual amounts instead I bucketed below. I’m excited to track again this year and really look at where I’m giving and how it supports my overall giving philosophy. I am going to be writing more about my own giving philosophy and am excited to put some of those thoughts to paper and share them here.
If you have a giving philosophy and want to share that with me, I’d love to hear from you.
Without further ado, giving in 2012.
$0-$100
Care For The Homeless
charity:water
Hole In The Wall Gang
Kiva
Plant A Fish
Red Cross
$100-$250
BPeace
Glory Reborn
Resolve Network**
Shady Side Academy
St. Edmund’s Academy
Step Up Women’s Network
University of Vermont
$500+
She’s The First*
Additional fundraising platforms used:
Crowdrise
Razoo
Kickstarter
IndieGoGo
* – Board of Directors
** Advisory Board | http://www.thecausemopolitan.com/ | 2013-05-18T10:40:55 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
There is a story I recently heard that I haven’t been able to get out of my head. I told some of my team and then I’ve found myself telling it to friends, in meetings, on the phone. That’s called “stickiness” and so I want to share it here as well.
There are two supermarkets. You walk into the first supermarket and they’ve run out of a product you want and you think, “That’s really a crap store.” You walk into a second supermarket that you really admire and they’ve run out of the product and you think, “I should have been here earlier.”
That’s good branding.
How we feel about places, people, things we interact with on a daily/weekly/monthly basis matters. It matters because our perception of a place becomes reality. Reality is a hard thing to shape, it’s not as cut and dry as everyone would have you believe. After all, the second a moment passes it stops being reality and becomes memory – the most personal and subjective emotion in the world.
Whether you’re creating a Brand from scratch, in the process of reinvention or elevating your Brand to another level, remember you have limited opportunity to create a “moment of truth” and those moments matter. This message applies to all businesses, nonprofits, startups, etc. It’s these succinct stories and messages that I’ve been thinking a lot about as I work to build brands in my day-to-day work.
What’s your story? Which supermarket are you?
This story comes from Michael Wolff, Founder of Wolff Olins (and comes at 3:42 on the video above). I found his video on m ss ng p eces, a Brooklyn-based creative company who created videos for the Intel Visual Life series. I found them through Cowbird, the new storytelling project website from Jonathan Harris. I met Jonathan at Davos in 2010 and greatly admire his work, creativity and creation of new projects on the web. | http://www.thecausemopolitan.com/the-power-of-branding-a-story-of-two-supermarkets/ | 2013-05-18T11:03:11 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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One of the weirdest rumors to appear recently was that Pamela Anderson and Michael Jackson were spotted together on a date in Malibu, a story the former ‘Baywatch’ star denies, although the pair did meet up. (more…)
Tags: baywatch, baywatch star, blur, ellen degeneres, friends photo, malibu, michael jackson, pamela anderson, photo courtesy, radar magazine, superstars, vicodin Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments » | http://www.thecelebritytruth.com/tag/baywatch | 2013-05-18T11:02:08 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Kyle Busch (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
When Kyle Busch completed his celebrations after winning the Budweiser Shootout – the curtain raiser to the new NASCAR season – he did so to a chorus of cheers from the crowd.
As remarked on by the American broadcast team only hours earlier the 26-year-old had been announced at driver introductions, only to be greeted by boos and jeers from exactly the same Daytona crowd. Did the 75 laps of Daytona International Speedway start the end of Kyle Busch the bad boy – at least in the eyes of the fans?
Unfortunately, it is the latter of those two reactions that Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing squad would have been more familiar with. Very, very few drivers will divide opinion among NASCAR fans and draw reaction like Kyle Busch – coincidentally one of the very, very few who can rival him is his elder brother Kurt.
Busch the younger emerged into NASCAR's premier series in 2004 – just as Kurt was winning the championship with Roush Racing. Initially Kyle fell into the shadow of his older brother – the nickname 'Shrub' a clear indication of his position in the fraternal pecking order. But Kyle was soon cutting a separate furrow from his brother.
For his first three full seasons in the Sprint Cup Kyle established himself as a front runner for Hendrick Motorsports. While he notched up a handful of wins and two appearances in The Chase there were signs of the temper that resided within, though nothing out of the ordinary in a sport that had long been used to retaliatory helmet throwing.
The switch to Joe Gibbs Racing for 2008 brought a change in Busch's fortunes.
Immediately he was a title contender. Arguably he should have won the championship in 2008 – only a run off poor results in the all-important chase came between him and the Sprint Cup title. However, with the eight wins of that season came higher and higher profile on-track altercations, none more so that knocking Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of the lead at Richmond.
Few things are guaranteed to send your reputation downhill like taking out Dale Earnhardt Jr., and since then Busch has found himself in more and more feuds – Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick.
Busch has done little to play down his 'Wild Thing' image, indeed has occasionally actively encouraged it – playing up to crowds that made their dislike of the man more than clear.
That's not to say that the reputation isn't deserved. It is impossible to see the intentional wrecking of Ron Hornaday in a Truck Series race at Texas last year as anything other than retaliation, the unprecedented move by NASCAR of denying Busch the chance to run in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races that weekend and indication of how seriously the incident was taken – as was sponsor Mars' decision to pull the name from the car for the closing races of the 2011 season. The reaction, however, owed as much to Busch's previous character as it did to the moment in isolation.
Against all this background Mars are back on Busch's no.18 for 2012 and he took the M&Ms liveried Toyota Camry to Victory Lane after a win that deserves to live as long in the memory as some of the driver's less palatable moments.
Twice he saved the car from race ending damage after being tipped sideways from behind. Those, perhaps, would have been enough to grace a highlight reel for a few weeks at least but going onto win added the perfect final sentence to the story.
Or Chapter as it should be. Busch's Budweiser Shootout is just the latest part of the story of his career. Though it would be nice to think so a single win – even in those circumstances – will not turn around Busch's reputation. The cheers that greeted him have long faded back to silence and it's difficult to believe that that new wave of support will be waiting for him for next weekend's Daytona 500 – or at the other tracks the NASCAR circus will visit over the course of the season.
Nor is it likely that we've seen the last of the Kyle Busch aggression that causes as many problems as it wins races – even after the punishments meted out after his Texas misdeed.
What's far more likely is that Saturday night was the first play in another rowdy Busch season – with more the same mix of startling driving and aggression ready to boil over from one of NASCAR's best drivers. | http://www.thecheckeredflag.co.uk/2012/02/kyle-buschs-2012-turning-a-corner-already/ | 2013-05-18T10:12:40 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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"Kyle Busch (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR) Kyle Busch (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)"
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Cheese A-Z
Dairy A-Z
Please note The Cheese Gig is currently closed for business.
We would like to thank all of our customers for their support over the years.
We have left our Dairy and Cheese A-Zs online as they contain a wealth of information about West Country cheeses, but please note some of the information may now be out of date.
© 2005 - 2013 Happy Hare Media & The Cheese Gig - Terms of Use - Privacy Statement | http://www.thecheesegig.com/index.php?x=309 | 2013-05-18T11:02:41 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
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Started this discussion. Last reply by Jamie Blache Apr 13, 2010. 14 Replies 0 Likes
I am on an assignment and will travel to Ann Arbor, New York, Boston/Cambridge, San Francisco, Portland. I am soliciting advices on chocolate/dessert spots to visit. Thanks a lot.
Started this discussion. Last reply by Mark J Sciscenti Feb 8, 2010. 6 Replies 0 Likes
I am looking to experiment with water ganaches. I am hoping to get some opinions, recepies, comments on the shelflife. I am thinking to make some Oolong tea truffles for my brother's Wedding. Cream…Continue
Posted on February 6, 2010 at 3:30pm 1 Comment 0 Likes
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According to Alex Rast of SeventyPercent.com. Domori's Guasare won't be released for three years.
Give me your email please.
Thanks,
Matt
We ship to California regularly and it is only two days ground to you. Therefore shipping is insanely cheap. I am planning on bringing most of Artisan du Chocolat's bars.
I was not aware Domori had a Guasare and am super pissed they did not tell me about it. I just did an order. F^*K!!!!!!!! I am not interested in Hotel Chocolate. | http://www.thechocolatelife.com/profile/GaryShieh?xg_source=activity | 2013-05-18T10:16:13 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Ususally, I end each post with a question for you.
Today, I just want to ask you a question. That’s all.
Why…
Why do we put up with preachers who do not know how to preach,
Or never got trained in Bible interpretation,
Or who are obviously gluttons,
Or gossips,
Or are reckless with the Word of God…
Or have enormous egos,
Or are wolves in sheep’s clothing,
Or have hidden sins they aren’t willing to fess up to,
Or have apparently burned out,
Or just checked out?
Or youth pastors who are emotionally and spiritually immature,
Or just don’t know what they are doing,
Who attract crowds but fail to make disciples?
Why do we listen to poor sermons,
And poor theology,
Sermons that miss the Kingdom of God
And focus on the kingdom of this world,
But we ignore pastors with good theology,
And passion for the Word;
We show them the door,
And call them a threat to the faith?
Why do people shut their ears to the good preacher,
And continue listening to the bad preacher,
Just because the good preacher
Is a woman?
When Paul told Timothy about what qualified an overseer, he said
He should be able to teach, be self-controlled, be faithful, and not be drunk, greedy or violent.
Was Paul’s emphasis on the actions and attitude and spirit of the overseer,
Or the gender of the overseer?
Which is the bigger threat,
The scores of charlatan male preachers,
Or the anointed female preachers?
Would Paul have encouraged women to preach and lead,
If it would have spread the gospel?
How can I deny the power the Spirit gives to women of faith,
when my biggest spiritual mentor, minister, encourager and friend
is my wife?
“Would Paul have encouraged women to preach and lead,
If it would have spread the gospel?” Many believe he did. Junia is not alone ; )
How many others have been lost to history?
Sadly, we’ll never know. That’s why essays like the one I mentioned are so important.
we put up with this stuff because we are a mile wide and an inch deep. We are addicted to the entertainment value of preaching and church. We come for the light show, the fog, the storyteller, the comedy, the technology, the temporary uplift – sort of like the five hour energy drink. But we’re immune to discipleship, digging deep down to build our life on the rock, putting our hand to the plow and not looking back, and picking up our cross to follow Jesus. We have itching ears and we like to major in the minors and minor on the majors.
Preach it, brother.
Good read. Thought-provoking.
And I am not even referring to the gender part…I am referring to the first half. While I am not totally sold on the “Training in Bible interpretation” point, I do often wonder why wolves and immature youth pastors are accepted. It is a running joke across most protestant faiths about the youth pastors being immature. Why is that accepted? Hmmmm.
Again, good read.
Don’t know. My biggest qualification as a youth pastor was my age relative to the teenagers.
I think we will find, if we have not already, that to a very large extent our congregations reflect an adolescent and pre-adolescent level of maturity regardless of the chronological age of said bodies in the seats. The irony is that we insist our 10 year olds be able to do high level trig and calculus at the same time within the ranks of so many congregations the dumbing down of the spiritual, integrative, and applicational parts of life have led to a complete immaturity of the masses. I for one am done with it.
Interesting point. While our level of available information rises, our attention to it (and therefore our maturity) seem to decrease.
We live in a culture that worships knowledge and has no time for wisdom.
I’ve always thought the biggest reason was Paul’s statement that he did not permit women to speak in church. It was years before I discovered that there were other interpretations of this passage, and that was only when the pastor of a charismatic church I was attending (an internationally known evangelist) had invited a woman to speak, who announced that she was, among other things, “going to preach.” I brought up the aforementioned passage to my mother after the service, who pointed me to Kenneth Hagin’s small book, “The Woman Question” (which will never leave my shelf). I admit that the Southern Baptist in me still looks slightly askance at women in the pulpit sometimes. But an example of how that verse is still used by many to keep women silent, which I will never forget, came from the Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood., In response to the question of what women who believed they were “called” to the pulpit were supposed to do with that calling, CBMW responded that such women were not really hearing God’s call, since this would contradict scripture. Apparently, CBMW dismissed all such women as deluded.
Yes! I think that is why we have to listen to/love the Bridegroom more than the Bride. I have been told (in other, less controversial areas) that I CAN’T by the church when God told me GO and you CAN. If I have to choose between the Creator and one tiny fraction of His Creation that claims to speak for Him, I’m going with the Father.
Amen.
Are you speaking as a preacher or as the senior pastor of a church? From the people I’ve spoken to, the difference has really been overall leadership of the church vs. preaching.
Playing devil’s advocate here, the complimentarian would simply say that this is a false dilemma. Their answer to the problem would be to find good male pastors rather than throwing away their views on gender.
That may be a fair point, but it is a bit like affirmative action in the worst way. Promoting some candidates based on gender while passing over equal or superior candidates.
And on a pragmatic note, the number of men preaching is decreasing. I wonder how many churches will have to compromise just for practical reasons.
My understanding is that a majority of the Chinese house churches are pastored by women for exactly that reason. Those churches are healthy, growing, deep in the Word, and clearly blessed.
Well stated.
Regarding the comment from Darrell that complementarians would just say that we have to find qualified males, you are exactly right. I have heard that before and when I questioned it by asking “what if every woman in this church was ahead of every male, spiritually”, the question was ignored (it was through email, so easy to ignore).
I think these are two separate issues:
1) Why do we accept inferior quality preachers?
2) Why don’t we accept women preachers?
In response to #1, I’d say because we (as a vast generalization) tend to prefer flash to substance. The ones who really have something Biblical to say usually ruffle our feathers because they then expect us to actually change our behavior in response. The ones who are smoke and mirrors just want you to feel good about yourself so you’ll keep paying them. One makes you feel bad (for good reason)….the other makes you feel good (for bad reasons). Which do you prefer?
And to #2…..eh…I think it’s tricky, but I think it’s more than “why don’t we let women preach since there are so many bad male preachers?” Just because someone else is bad at it, doesn’t make it a good thing for you to do. But I agree with Jason (above) that the issue isn’t so much “women preaching” as it is “women leading a church.” It just so happens in the current institutional church model that most churches follow that the person who preaches is also usually the “leader” of the church. Personally (having come from a church staff home), I’ve always seen a pastorate as a familial calling, not just the calling of the pastor himself. When we call someone to pastor our church, we also bring his family with him, and his wife is an invaluable part of his ministry, even if it’s simply through supporting him. So an extension of that idea would be to have the “co-pastor” route that many (predominantly black, I believe) churches are taking where the church actually pays both. Both are on staff. Possibly both preach (I dunno), both counsel, etc. When you say that the “two have become one,” then it makes some sense to do it this way. It also helps with the pesky “male pastor counseling female congregant” issue since the wife can take the females and the husband the males.
Having said all of that though, I’d be uncomfortable with a woman preaching regularly. I wouldn’t mind the occasional guest speaker, and I certainly wouldn’t mind a female teacher in a more classroom-like setting (smaller audience, less formal, more of a discussion than a monologue).
But then I’m also a female “worship leader” (hate that term) at our church on a weekly basis….but that’s a different issue to me because I’m commanded to worship and to gather with other believers. The Holy Spirit should be “leading” the worship, not me (hence my distaste for the term), so I’ll just be worshiping at the piano up on stage with a microphone keeping everyone on the same page of music while everyone else worships. I’m not “above” them in any way (except maybe physically since our stage is 4′ high), I’m just worshiping in a different location.
I’m just full of contradictions, aren’t I?
But to end on a lighter note, I was told the following story:
There was a famous evangelist held a gathering every Sunday for many months on the Mall in Washington DC. Occasionally, his wife would preach. One day someone asked him if he had a problem with a woman preaching and his response was, “well, when my wife is preaching, she’s inhabited by the Holy Spirit and He’s a man, so….”
Well, I guess the answer to one question is the same answer to “why do we put up with politicians who wind up exploiting us?” and maybe “why is Honey Boo Boo so popular?”—because it’s just easier that way. Refusing to be forced to think too hard is pretty much human nature.
And as to the “female preaching” question–well, to me there is no question. God calls men and women the same, and if I walk into a church where the opposite is preached, I walk right back out. Sorry. Not to sound smug, but the issue of whether or not women are fit to preach or lead churches has been a non-issue for Episcopals for some time. (I understand that some hard-core evangelicals will point to that as evidence of our ongoing backslide into apostasy, but whatever.)
Sounds like your wife is lucky woman, BTW.
So, what do you think? Can you replace their position and you’ll be the best one, more better than them, more holy than them?
I don’t understand why you joined the two issues Matt?? Seems a bit odd.
Well, the way I see it, I’m not joining two separate issues. I responded to someone else that it seems to me like affirmative action in the worst sense. Passing over one qualified candidate while promoting another, lesser qualified candidate. If we are discouraging women from entering ministry in the first place, and only have men to choose from, that doesn’t make it two separate issues in my mind.
We put up with the obvious sinners, because we realize that God has no one to use.
We should not put up with those who think that they are doing a pretty good job of it (living the obedient life), or those who place the law, (‘what we do’) in place of the gospel of the forgiveness of sins.
There are a lot of terrible preachers out there who are leading back into themselves. That’s the last place they need to be directed.
I agree with others, that there are two questions being asked. The reason we put up with bad preachers and immature youth leaders is the same reason people like McDonald’s and Walmart–people have gotten so used to the cheap crap that they don’t know what quality products really look like. Oh, wait a minute, it might have something to do with sin, too.
As far as women preachers, I think Jason has hit it–God did not appoint women to be leaders or to have authority over men. Pastors are usually leaders in the church along with elders. In my “old” church, the way it was explained was that God appointed men to be leaders, not because they were necessarily more deserving or wise, but because that is the hierarchy God established as good and that sin marred. It doesn’t mean that God doesn’t speak to women, because there are examples of women in the Bible being in leadership (Deborah) and in the New Testament (Lydia?). In my old church, women were allowed to be children’s pastors and women’s ministry pastors. Women were involved in prayer leadership and would be standing side by side with men at the end of service so that they could meet with any women who needed prayer. I can think of many women I have enjoyed listening to in the past, when I had more spare time, like Beth Moore, Nancy Leigh DeMoss and several women in my church. However, these have all been at women’s retreats and both Beth Moore and Nancy Leigh DeMoss state that their intended audience is women, though they will not turn men away from their ministry.
Some people would say that Paul was a little biased in his opinions, but one day, I remember reading Isaiah 3 and found that one of the punishments that God was giving to Jerusalem and Judah for their rejection of Him was that women and children would lead them (Isaiah 3:4, 12). In the next verse (13), it sounds like God still holds the elders and leaders accountable for letting bad things happen. This passage sounds like God would back up Paul’s statement. I would really be interested in hearing your explanation of this passage if I am taking it out of context and mishandling it. | http://www.thechurchofnopeople.com/2012/09/which-preacher-is-the-bigger-threat/ | 2013-05-18T10:21:58 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Ivan’s Editorial
My name is Ivan M. Henry and I am the creator of thecircusblog.com.
I would like to talk to you about the Circus and the people that make their living in it. For several hundred years the circus in one form or other has brought joy, thrills, laughter and excitement but more than that it offers clean family entertainment and has done so the world over. The performers of the American circus have done more to help their country than most. One American president said, “They give away the only thing they have to sell.” Circus people have always been ready and willing to come the aid of people in need–performing for charitable organizations, hospitals, USO shows, and benefit shows too numerous to mention. We’ve existed for almost 3,000 years and have never been censored or ridiculed, until now.
Now I’d like to get to my point. For the past several years, I have found it extremely annoying that the media in general along with our political leaders find it amusing and to their advantage to use the word ‘circus’ in a derogatory manner. I am sure you’ve heard this negative expression as well.
In recent years the term, ‘circus’ but particularly ‘three-ring-circus’ has, I believe inaccurately, been identified with chaos, confusion, frivolity and excess. But if you have ever had the privilege to work on or with a circus, you would know that the show is entirely about organization, skill and absolute precision. There is nothing confusing about the show itself, only the lack of focus by the patron who wants to see all the action in all the rings at once, rather than focusing on the individual accomplishments in each.
Why do you think the U.S. military would watch the coordination of train and truck shows for valuable insight into the speed and coordination of loading, unloading and set-up of gear, animals, equipment and performers? And it is not just our military. Before and during WWII, the German army watched and learned the precision timing that Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey used during their European tours.
Historically, the circus has been a melting pot of color, creed and nationality. A true representation of what America is all about. The difference is, in the circus we do not politicize our differences. Presently many of our elected officials have become proficient at exploiting just about everyone for political gain. And sadly, our media outlets, which were once the beacon of truth and information for our citizens, now have the dubious distinction of not only being complicit but of over-sensationalizing for political and monetary gain.
In recent years, there has been an underlying, subliminal attack on the character of circus performers as uneducated, footloose and fancy-free and generally irresponsible. On the contrary, it is a decent society of people who care about each other, the audience and the world around them. My father used to say, “The show must always go on,” however it meant more than that. It meant being responsible because each circus worker, from performer to prop hand has a specific function that is integral to the coordination and timing of each show as well as the overall success of your community. There is no reward in failure. He was trying to impart the philosophy that it is important to live every aspect of your life with integrity and a purpose, and with the understanding that you are here for a reason. Never forget God the Creator.
In certain segments of modern entertainment, instead of progressing we have regressed. We are supposed be morally and intellectually progressive, but as a society we, and our entertainment outlets in particular have lost our morality and the educational benefits to our youth. Rather than patronize the circus, which was once the cutting edge of entertainment and is still the last bastion true artistry in every genre from aerial ballet to comedic timing, and the breathtaking feats of balance that only circus performers would dare to attempt. And let’s not forget the awe-inspiring talents of circus trainers that are so adept at utilizing the intellect and dexterity of of their animal charges, ranging from dogs to sea lions to horses and elephants–all of the wonderful and beloved creatures of the circus. We now rely on the smoke and mirrors of digital technology to satiate our thrill-seeking natures. We want our TV, movies and video games to be the bloodiest, raunchiest–but what is the value in this type of entertainment? The circus provides the honest thrill of watching the magic of human dexterity and perfection that comes from practice and dedication.
I am amazed at the ignorance of the people that ridicule and demean the circus profession. My goal is to educate the ignorant and perhaps invite them to see an American tradition, the circus. Go into the backyard of the circus and meet and talk with those performers. And just maybe you’ll run away with the circus and if you do, you’ll be a better human being for it.
27 Responses to “Ivan’s Editorial”
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I totally agree with this… my parents & i read this together & we agree 100%.. my parents are now retired performers but they are in managment..
Well said Ivan. Having only worked in the biz for 3 years back in the 70″s I learned so much about organizational skills, timing and people skills working with the public. I’ve also noted over the past 35 years that when this great country is in economic turmoil the circus and carnival business is a great escape and financially feasible entertainment for a family. Last year I took my adult son to a Red Sox game, the tickets were over $200 EACH, not counting the 4 beers 4 hot dogs and the program. I figured it cost me about $500+ for a friggen ball game. That’s a lot of money for 4 hours and the Sox LOST. Keep up the good work I love thecircusblog. Cappi
Ivan, I talked to Gary yesterday and they had just moved him out of the ICU to room 516. He sounded a lot better i talkked to him for about 15 min. He was scared because he was having a hard time breathing and thought he may have a heart problem. He really appericated you calling. If you get a chance check in with him agin. Going to see Joann and Pee Wee tomoorow they are stoping over on thier to Denver. Casey
Good job on the comments Ivan. I have had a great time running thtrough the Siebrand part. You sure have put a LOT of work intio this site: Being a part of this show bussiness world made a big difference in my live and the things I learned on the show have stayed with me and helped me very much . Your right. It was a priveledge to be there . Thanks Sandy (Danny & Trina’s Daughter )
Ivan, Presently the Circus Fans Association of America is working on a media press release that would make the news industry aware of how offensive their mis-use of the word circus is. Please contact me at circus4youth@earthlink.net so I can put you in touch with the right people.
Jim Cole
Ivan,
I work with you son Bob Wallace. I am a big fan of the days in Phx of Legend City. If you have any of the old Legend City artwork – posters, logos etc, photos, I would be interested in working to commission some art for my offices with it as the source of inspiration.
Get well soon – I look forward to meeting you.
John Fees
Thank You for telling it how it is.
Good luck with your surgery.
I know my father and brother Chester and Dave (HIHO the clown) Slusser were big Circus fans and enjoyed your work.
Thank You for helping to preserve this history.
Hi! I see that you posted the pics that I enlarged for you at Officemax the other day. They look good!! I think your blog is pretty cool. Best of luck on educating the public about the wonderful things the circus has to offer. I enjoyed going to see circuses very much as a child and would like to go to one again someday. I plan to go to see the Circ De Sole in Vegas when I have the $. Take care.
Dear Mr. Henry:
It is a pleasure to write to you. Congratulations on the work you have been doing on your blog. My name is Jamie MacVicar and I am the published author of a newly released book, The Advance Man: A Journey Into the World of the Circus. The book is a multi-dimensional narrative about my time as an advance man for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Not only does it provide first hand insight into the world of the Circus, but it provides readers with unique marketing strategies. Please click on the Amazon link below for a full description, along with customer reviews.
The book was recently spotlighted by Feld Entertainment for its unique contribution to marketing at the National Sports Forum in Baltimore, attended by executives involved in marketing for the NFL, NBA, etc. And Joe Lewi on his Event and Entertainment Marketing blog recently wrote, “The book is addictive. The people and stories shape how we market today.”
I would be grateful if you would put forth your own comments, or do a review of the book on your blog site. If you are willing, please give me a mailing address and I’d be delighted to send you a complementary copy. With much thanks, Jamie MacVicar 703-310-4365
hi mr henery
my cousin in melbourne australia they had 2 elephants but just before xmas one died
now the animal fanatics are giving them hell wanting them to put the 1 elephant in a zoo
if any one would like to sighn the petition the web site above will give all details
and how can i get a copy about the great article you wrote for the circus.
my email is robert.perry3@bigpond.com
Regards Robert Perry
Australia
Ivan,
It was the circus and later the movies that taught most of us kids how to act like men and the lessons have lasted a lifetime. Where would we be without Tom Mix, Bert Lancaster and his pal Nick and the hundreds of other athletic stars who filled our imaginations with wonder and the thrill of the adventures that awaited when we grew up.
Your blog is terrific and meeting you in person even better
I look forward to our lunch meeting
Joe Brett
Scottsdale
Hey Ivan this is Danny’s & Trina’s daughter:boy do I have something for you. I need a mailing address to send to:: DVD of old 35mil.film Mom took while on several shows. Lots with Seibrand. See if you can find Billy Pollenberg(Bear Act)
Hey why don’t you call me with that info. I’m going to the PO soon
918-906-8779
I found your site through research engine several moment ago, and luckily, that is the only facts I was searching for the last hours
I see you are a friend of Ron Nix.
He will be honored with the Spirit of the Old West Alive award Oct 17, 2010 at the Wild Western Festival at Sahuaro Ranch Park 59th Ave & Mountain View.
I have never thought of this in that manner. You have changed my view. A 3 ring circus to me is now defined as organized exciting fun. Never again will I classify chaos as a 3 ring circus. I do love the circus. I just moved to Vermont from Tucson Az. and attended Circus Smirkus. It was a blast.
Hello Ivan,
I would love to hear what more you have to say about Lowe, Hite and Stanley.
My great uncle Freddy Hickey played ‘Stanley’ and I am researching his life.
Cheers,
Tim Hickey
Ivan,
After 40+long years, we are in touch! Great to reminice about our circus days.
Your circus editorial should make everyone, who reads it, stop and think. I especially
enjoyed the verbage, beneath each poster and/or photograph, which makes them so much more, alive. I am looking forward to more interesting and informative discussions.
With regards, Robin…..
Hi,
I’m based in the UK and perform different aerial acts and I am deperate to try iron jaw/dental spin but can’t find anyone to help me make the mouth piece (I have been searching for 7 months) I don’t even know what it looks like!
Can you help me at all please?
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks
Steph
Your site is awesome.I hope Im not alone in saying how much I miss quality entertainment.The likes of which the people featured on this site represented.Today when I watch television all I see is mediocrity.People with little or no talent.Most couldnt hold a candle to what great mud shows featured even on the smallest show.Very little variety today.Those that are hyped as great are at best bland performers.
Im just glad I got to see and meet so many of the circus greats.These people,god rest their souls,were truly with it and for it.They gave everything they had to create first class entertainment.You couldnt beat the prices either.Small wonder Americans are bored with radio,tv,and most live entertianment today.Its pathetic and the prices highway robbery.
Thank you for keeping the memorys of the real circus alive.
Hi Ivan, I just come across you site, it’s amazing some great photo’s and info, thank you
Ivan, sorry it has taken me several weeks to again say thanks for lunch and most of all for taking time to visit after all these years. i thoroughly enjoyed myself.
I would like to wish you and your bride, Marji a very special holiday season. i hope to visit with you again to cut up some jackpots.
Hi Ivan,
This is a great blog you have! I wanted to send you a note as a fellow circus lover looking to preserve and highlight its culture. I’m making a circus documentary, “World Circus Culture”, which will reveal the behind the scenes life, history, and culture of circus on an international scale as never seen before.
Please visit the link for more info, to see a video, and to support the film! Maybe send me an email, as there may be a way to collaborate!
THE LINK –
THANKS!
WORLD CIRCUS CULTURE
Ivan,
I am a graduate student and I am doing a research paper on circus posters and playbills. I am interested in the history of them and their typographical design. I was wondering if you have any knowledge or reference to material about this information? Please feel free to respond or email me thanks so much!
Ivan, how can I get in touch with you? Regarding Chuck Burnes?
I am blessed to have found this Blog. Thank you Ivan M. Henry
I truly enjoyed your blog and photos. My grandfather and great grandfather (Russell and Dickerson Lowe) were part of the “Christy Flyers” in the early 1900′s. My grandfather fell and left the circus, but his father stayed on as “Shorty the Cop”. After he retired he built a miniature circus (the size of a ping pong table) depicting the big top tents, side shows, back lot life and train. As a child I grew up admiring and knowing that “the circus” was in our blood. Our family is very proud of this heritage and wish we knew more about what my grandfather and great grandfather did. I would love to know where to research the Christy Bros. Circus and its heritage. Unfortunately, I think we took it for granted that “they were circus people” and never truly appreciated the uniqueness. Thank you for bringing this all to light! | http://www.thecircusblog.com/?page_id=5533 | 2013-05-18T10:21:56 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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Ziner wrote:exiledbuckeye wrote:
Unrelated: is it ethical to continue to slash taxes on the wealthy and expect the middle class to pick up the slack? Solving budget shortfalls with attacks on teachers and public employees should be at odds with the Republican Party's public facade of Christian values, "family" values, and representing "ordinary" people. How is putting these people out of a job, or slashing a family's modest income ethically superior to restoring Reagan or Clinton era tax rates on incomes above $250,000?
The comfort that politicians and voters have in spending rich people's money makes me laugh. IMO the real problem isn't that the wealthy don't have enough skin in the game, it is the people at the bottom have little to none in the game. Easy to always ask for more when it isn't yours.
There is nothing getting slashed in Wisco from what I can tell. The health care is before tax and I would guess the pension is as well (I wouldn't know). They are telling their employees they can't continue to take from others to give to them. Maybe they could use their 3-4 months off a year to figure out how to make it up. My contribution level to my health care went up last year, I didnt expect the rich to pay for it, why should they? I don't have the luxury of 3-4 months a year to have a part time job to make up for it so I just bend over.
| http://www.theclevelandfan.com/boards/viewtopic.php?p=408885 | 2013-05-18T10:45:23 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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Wine Bottle Covers (Red Button/Fur, Ivory Button/Fur, Green/Scarf)
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Check out what the well-dressed bottle is wearing this season. A warm-hearted way to glam up a gift or accessorize your favorite vintage, our clever wine bottle covers will inspire smiles all ’round. Designed like miniature outfits, these beverage covers are perfect for wines, champagnes and other spirits. Each one is decked out in a festive holiday theme to spread lots of cheer this season.
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View Map » | http://www.thecrossroadscarmel.com/dining | 2013-05-18T10:11:25 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Call (510) 444-0919 to sign up for Industrial Arts Classes Today!
By A Web Design about our mission, vision and history...OverviewWe place emphasis on community partnerships and creating an open learning environment. At The Crucible, forges roar, sparks fly, glass bends, neon glows, and creativity explodes.Over the last 14 years, The Crucible has grown into a premier fine and industrial art center where art thrives, is accessible and inspirational. In 2003, The Crucible moved from Berkeley to West Oakland and since then thousands of people have attended classes, lectures, and community events.During 2012, The Crucible offered 400 evening and weekend workshops to 5,000 youth and adult students. From welding to torch cutting to woodworking to jewelry making to fire dancing, talented artists and craftspeople work alongside industrial experts to create a one-of-a-kind learning environment.Classes are designed to bring together novices as well as experienced artists and trades people. We offer a noncompetitive, open environment where people with diverse interests and backgrounds can work together and learn from one another. Our 56,000 square foot facility is also home to 18 artist studios leased to students and local artists at affordable rates.Since 1999, The Crucible has produced a wide variety of events ranging from our iconic Fire Arts Festivals to operas to fashion shows. Maintaining collaborations with highly trained craft and industrial artists, our goal is to create memorable annual as well as once-in-a-lifetime events. We depend on annual membership donations and other gifts from individuals to continue to offer low-cost classes and special programs. Tuition covers 65% of our annual budget. We need your support now more than ever to continue to grow and expand our programs.From the beginning, a strong community of volunteers created the foundations of the success for The Crucible. Join our volunteer program and participate first-hand in this unique place.
Our CoursesFrom metal fabrication, blacksmithing, neon, glass blowing, ceramics, welding, kinetics, and fire dancing, The Crucible provides cutting-edge arts education programs to 5,000 adult and youth students annually. Our instructors have extensive experience and a passion for what they teach. Our industrial art classes are designed to attract novices as well as experienced artists and craftspeople to a noncompetitive environment where people with diverse interests and backgrounds can work together and learn from one another.Our course offerings come in a variety of formats, including 10 week courses, 5 week courses, weeklong courses, tasters, and weekend intensives. Our classes feature an extremely low faculty to student ratio (often 1:6), and a hands-on teaching approach. Our all-inclusive pricing structure encompasses both tuition and studio fees and includes all the materials, tool access, and safety training that one needs in order to complete the course. There are no shopping lists for supplies or hidden costs in any class we teach.
Blacksmithing
Machine Shop
Ceramics
Moldmaking
Enameling
Neon & Light
Fire Performance
Artist’s Resources
Foundry
Stone Working
Glass
Soft Sculpture & Textiles
Hot Wheels
Welding
Jewelry
Woodworking
Kinetic & Electronics
Youth Classes
The goal of all of our classes is to give you comprehensive skills to work successfully in the given areas. In most of the classes this is done through project-based lessons that help you develop your skills while creating a finished piece. There are also opportunities in many classes to experiment with the skills you learn, however, depending on the scope and size of the project you may be responsible for your own additional materials. Our studio also provides two options for more skilled artisans and trades people who want access to our studio and tools. Studio Access Labs offer students a chance to continue their hands-on practice in areas where they are currently taking or have taken a class. The CREATE Program (The Crucible’s Expanded Access to Tools and Equipment) gives Crucible members a chance to work in the studio areas of their choice during regular studio hours after passing a safety checkout for each area.
Our CommunityIn one year, over 85 celebrated faculty and industrial arts experts teach nearly 175 classes and workshops to around 5,000 students a year, our award-winning youth program serves over 900 youths in classes and camps, and 15 to 20 companies take part in our team building program. Various artisans and tradespeople are invited to give lectures, demonstrations, and performances throughout the year.A dedicated staff of 20 people keeps The Crucible running, but as a nonprofit we depend on volunteers to help power nearly every aspect of what we do. From the office to the studio floor, from the youth program and kids activities to our renowned events, we rely on the unique skill-sets of our diverse volunteer force. At any given time, we have an ongoing volunteer force of 80–100, and during our fundraising events, that number swells to over 1,200 individuals. Volunteers earn discounts on classes as well as the satisfaction of being an integral part of one of the nation’s top industrial arts facilities.We also actively reach out to the local West Oakland community and the greater Bay Area community through our robust offering of yearly events and our monthly Bicycle Fix-A-Thons.
Fine and Industrial Arts Education for youth and adults
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Our EventsOur community comes together at our yearly fundraisers, which include our popular Fire Arts Festival, as well as our anniversary events, which in the past have featured either a Fire Opera or Fire Ballet. Throughout the year we offer three Open Houses (in April, September, and December), as well as four evening Fireside Lounges (in February, May, August and October).
One-of-a-kind Industrial Arts Experience. Our youth program has gained regional attention for its ability to positively transform the lives of our students. Tara Murray, a faculty member in our glass flameworking department,, “Goodbye fire.” I’m pretty sure she meant the torch, because I saw some fire in her that I think she'll be keeping.”
But this transformative effect isn’t limited to youth alone. Adults come to The Crucible to flex their creative muscles and take a break from their regular routines. Those who make their living working on computers all day report that they experience a sense of relaxation by getting to use their hands to create something tangible. Curious to find out more? We offer free tours of our facility every Tuesday and Thursday night at 6:00pm, except during holidays and events. Come in and check us | http://www.thecrucible.org/index.php/abthecrucible.org/classes/classes/studio-access/classes/adult-classes-by-department/studio-access/classes/about-us | 2013-05-18T10:44:46 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Last week’s Local Brews Local Grooves All-Access #7 concert extraordinaire was nothing short of dynamic. This event was brilliantly developed by Cathryn Beeks, local radio host of “The Homegrown Hour” on 102.1 KPRi. Beeks created this extravaganza as a method to get music lovers out of the house to listen to amazing local music. She did this by presenting it in one of the most appropriate venues San Diego has to offer: The House of Blues.
Last Friday, 14 bands were able to show a near sold-out venue their chops. The artists formed a mini music festival, as each act was allotted a 20-minute set. The results were performances that wouldn’t have seemed out of place on a more exciting episode of “American Idol.” Chasing bands from stage to stage with friends – there were two stages, three counting the restaurant stage upstairs – made venturing to and fro fun.
The lineup included The Fabulous Rudies, 321 Stereo, Ryan Hiller, Mad Traffic, Manganista, 28 North and S03 on the main stage, while Bitter Sober, Scott Wilson, Chris Carpenter, Bass Hamza, Uniform Victor, Last Golden Bear and Just Like Jenna performed in the Delta Room.
Although from Los Angeles, 28 North was undoubtedly a crowd favorite with a sound that paralleled My Morning Jacket. And even though the Delta Room is approximately one-tenth the size of the main stage, the bands that played there knew how to work the crowd. True local boys Just like Jenna proved a tiny stage doesn’t necessarily mean a small audience: Au contraire, with an area filled to capacity, listeners still found it appropriate to dance the night away to this rock band’s sexy style. Though the time flew by, Just like Jenna had enough time to tease the crowd into seeing it perform in the near future.
Perhaps the only downfall of the evening was the strict rule that alcohol was to stay in the room or on the level where it was. Many people spoiled by Las Vegas getaways attempted to step onto the street for a quick transfer from room to room only to be disappointed by a bouncer at the door.
The next LBLG All-Access Fest event is expected to be held in June, so save the date. In the meantime, stay in the loop about all these awesome bands and shows. Check out the calendar on listenlocalsd.com.
Facebook Comments | http://www.thedailyaztec.com/2012/02/local-grooves-rocks-hob/ | 2013-05-18T10:20:33 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
When They Were Hunks
Remember when these heartthrobs made their debuts? View exclusive pictures of young Tom Cruise, Leonardo and Ashton BC (before the crow's feet) from a new book by celebrity photographer Greg Gorman.
In Their Youth is photographer Greg Gorman’s homage to celebrities and other outrageously beautiful male specimens—surfers, models, Andy Warhol ephebes—before they were celebrities; i.e., when “they were at a stage when they were vulnerable, open, and acting more for themselves. It was when they were just launching a career,” Gorman says. “They came to the table with more of an open plate.” Gorman was himself just getting started as a magazine photographer when he took many of these unpublished shots—though the collection spans over 40 years—and the connection between photographer and subject radiates off the page: in a playfully pouty mug from Leonardo DiCaprio; in Maxwell Caulfield’s look of James Dean-ian longing; in perhaps the only artifact in existence proving that before David Bowie turned to glitter and hotpants, he donned a turtleneck. Gorman’s shoots were occasioned by jobs—for Interview, GQ, Out, and other magazines—and, in some cases, with the help of Barbara DeWitt, a publicist and Bruce Weber’s sister, who supplied Bowie. A native Midwesterner, Gorman landed in California in 1970 to study film at USC, but wound up turning to photography because “film didn’t give me the control I’m used to—I’m a control freak.” After taking headshots for $35, he broke into the world of celluloid—doing publicity photography on Tootsie, The Big Chill, and Scarface. But, as In Their Youth displays, the real magic took place when he was off the clock.
Click Image to View Our Gallery
Excerpted from In Their Youth: Early Portraits by Greg Gorman (c) 2009. With permission from the publisher, Damiani.. | http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2009/09/10/all-his-young-dudes.html | 2013-05-18T10:13:46 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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Anne Heche’s Crazy New Movie, ‘That’s What She Said’
In the gross-out comedy That’s What She Said, Heche plays a neurotic. “I think I fall in love with girls who need help and that is how I have made a career,” Heche tells Lorenza Muñoz.
A slushy dysfunctional housewife chokes on a sandwich in her kitchen and wakes up to find that she has been saved by God. Call it providential, but it is exactly the kind of role with which Anne Heche identifies.
Heche, who has received critical kudos for her last few shows including Men in Trees and HBO’s canceled series Hung, said she could not have imagined a better role than the one of Beth in her new comedy Save Me, which is expected to air on NBC early next year.
“This is a show about a woman getting a chance to re-live her life on the positive side not the negative,” said Heche, 43. “I definitely think I have been saved in my life and given the opportunity to get a chance to do things again. There are many moments that have been a shift for me that made me able to relook at what I wanted to do.”
In her latest film, That’s What She Said, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and will be released today, Heche plays another dysfunctional, on-the-edge woman. Except Dee Dee—a 40-something New Yorker with a cynical and hopeless broken heart—has no epiphany. In fact, her day begins with a bad hangover, and goes downhill from there. The film, directed by actress Carrie Preston, is a manic exploration of one really bad day in the life of three girlfriends.
“There are not very many people who have the alchemy of emotional depth and comedic ability. The role required that range and Anne was at the top of the list,” said Preston. “On the page Dee Dee is pretty cynical and can be acerbic and sarcastic and damaged and slightly unlikable. You need to have an actor who can bring that to life and also make the audience go along with her.”
One wonders if the messily neurotic state of these women, the gross-out details of one dildo-wielding nymphomaniacal character and another character leaking vaginal yeast infection remedy on her dress, might not turn audiences off. Bridesmaids this is not, and if people laugh it might well be out of nerves.
But Heche thinks women will find comfort in knowing that their worst day cannot ever be as bad as Dee Dee's, Bebe's (Marcia DeBonis), and Clementine’s (Alia Shawkat).
Anne Heche in "That's What She Said." (Courtesy of Daisy 3 Pictures)
“Dee Dee is a girl that is falling out of bed hung over and brushing her teeth while smoking at the same time. When I read the script I thought ‘boy, that girl needs help,’” she said, laughing boisterously. “I think I fall in love with girls who need help and that is how I have made a career.”
She falls in love with those characters because she has been in their skin. Heche’s metamorphoses—from a childhood marred by sexual abuse to a teen actress on a daytime soap, to the lover of the country’s most famous lesbian to a distraught wanderer lost in the Fresno desert babbling about being a prophet—were well chronicled in the press and her 2003 tell-all Call Me Crazy: A Memoir.
The book confirmed for many that Heche was indeed crazy. But it seemed to have exorcised many of the demons haunting the lithe and fair actress.
“Nobody is going to write more truthfully about me than I already did. My life informs everything that I do,” she said as she played with her long blonde hair. “It allows me to have a perspective on my life and the joyous place where I have arrived.”
That place seems to be a rewarding personal and professional life. After giving birth to two boys—Homer and Atlas (strangely literary and yet unintended, Heche maintains)—she is still youthfully pretty in a lavender silk and lace dress.
She was devastated by Hung’s cancellation last year. But as she literally cried in her soup at the L.A. restaurant Mozza with her second husband, Canadian actor James Tupper (her Men in Trees co-star), Heche got a call from NBC honcho Bob Greenblatt. The chairman of NBC Entertainment offered Heche and her brand of comedy a home. Save Me is currently filming the 13 episodes ordered by the network.
“I am really excited that this is where I get to play in my comedy now,” she said. “The show is about opening the question of what happens when a miracle happens in our life and we change. But it’s a comedy. I think doubt is a big teacher. It has been a big teacher in my life.”
“Nobody is going to write more truthfully about me than I already did,” Heche said.
Chris Pizzello, Invision / AP Photo
Doubt has also led to friction with her family. Her mother is a devoutly religious conservative who travels the country speaking about ways to convert gay people into being heterosexual. The two speak but are not particularly close. Heche’s father died of AIDS many years ago and was, Heche says, a closeted gay man who was also a religious conservative.
In a way, her character in Save Me, Beth, reflects the other side of the coin of what her mother preaches. Heche does not identify as religious or spiritual but says her philosophy is one of nonjudgment and accepting that mystery is a part of life.
“If I can come from where I came from and be where I am, anything is possible,” she said. “I don’t know where miracles come from. But you have to be fascinated.” | http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/10/19/anne-heche-s-crazy-new-movie-that-s-what-she-said.html | 2013-05-18T10:34:13 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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Badass TV Women or Just Bad? ‘Homeland,’ ‘Sons of Anarchy’ & More
Across the TV dial, female characters on Revenge, The Good Wife, and other shows have gone from fabulous to dull. Maria Elena Fernandez on the lackluster season for some of TV’s favorite ladies.
“I am the biggest asshole on the planet.”
(From left to right) Emily VanCamp playing 'Emily Throne' in ABC's 'Revenge,' Clarie Danes playing 'Carrie' in Showtime's 'Homeland,' and Jennifer Carpenter playing 'Deb Morgan' in Showtime's 'Dexter.' (ABC via Getty Images ; Showtime (2))
Yes, you are, Deb Morgan. I don’t really want to agree with the woman who uttered those words on the Nov. 18 episode of Dexter, but it’s the truth. Deb’s storyline had explosive potential. Now it’s just a mess.
Season 7 kicked off spectacularly, with Deb learning who her brother really is and grieving as she sorted out how she could still love a serial killer. But now Deb (played by Jennifer Carpenter) has regressed. She has asked Dexter to kill someone for her, and she’s brought up those “I’m in love with you” feelings we were all hoping were just a communal bad dream from last season. It’s all falling apart.
But if it’s any consolation to Carpenter, who has done her best work this season, Deb is just one of many badass women on television who have lost their way this fall. Keeping her company in the disappointing dramatic female role heap are: Carrie on Homeland, Gemma on Sons of Anarchy, Kalinda on The Good Wife, Emily on Revenge, Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl, and Bay and Daphne on Switched at Birth.
It’s as if all of the TV producers banded together to turn some of the small screen’s most intriguing ladies into dumber, duller versions of themselves. On Homeland, Carrie (Claire Danes) is taking her medications and supposedly is more stable, but she’s sleeping with her “asset” again (which is just fine by the CIA) and crying all the time. Gemma (Katey Sagal) demonstrated her incredible resilience and fortitude after being gang-raped in the second season of Sons of Anarchy, but now she sits around smoking weed and pitying herself, even when she’s got someone like Nero (Jimmy Smits) kissing on her. And then there’s sizzle-to-fizzle Kalinda (Archie Panjabi), who breaks my heart most of all with one of the worst back stories ever written for one of the medium’s most captivating female characters.
Even the youngest belles are a bloody letdown. Exciting ninja Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp) has lost her intense focus and killer instinct on Revenge. Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) is walking around Manhattan with her engagement ring round her neck waiting for Chuck Bass to settle the score with his dad on Gossip Girl. Since when does the queen of the mean girls wait for anything? And she got dumped anyway? The mature-for-their-ages duo at the helm of Switched at Birth were almost unrecognizable by the time the show went on hiatus in October. Bay (Vanessa Marano), a thieving gangster? Daphne (Katie Leclerc), an older man’s fool?
How I miss my girls. They were never perfect. They didn’t always make the right decision. But they were never wimpy, never whiny, never boring.
How I miss my girls. They were never perfect. They didn’t always make the right decision. But they were never wimpy, never whiny, never boring. They were tough women you admired and wanted to befriend. You trusted them to find the murderer, exact vengeance, have your back, and introduce you to a cool new pair of shoes.
It got so bad that two weeks ago I turned on Jersey Shore to see if Snooki would give me a boost. But there was pregnant Snooki, unable to drink or hang out at Karma with her friends, far away from her fiancé, dragging her inflatable penguin along the boardwalk and asking it if it was drunk. For the record, Jumanji was sober. Half the time I’ve been on the couch this season, I’ve wished I wasn’t.
For several years, TV has been the sweet spot for actresses. While film has kept women in traditional, predictable roles, television lured actresses like Glenn Close, Jessica Lange, and Laura Linney with rich storytelling and memorable characters. In turn, the ladies have added prestige and dimension to a medium always dominated by men. Is this the beginning of the end? I hope it’s just one coincidental and temporary hiccup that may even be rectified before the season closes.
But on cable, especially, the clock is ticking for the ladies to bounce back and get their acts together. Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, and Homeland all wrap up next month. Come on, Deb! Three of your four boyfriends have been murdered. Your brother, the serial killer of serial killers, is right in your wheelhouse. Gemma, you were always in charge. When are you going to go back to calling the shots? Carrie, please get a grip, catch those damn terrorists already, and release Brody forever. Gossip Girl, too, is almost over. Is Blair really going to exit the TV landscape in three weeks with barely a whimper? Strap on those Louboutins and tell Chuck what’s what.
Revenge and The Good Wife are luckier. They still have half a season to recover from the fall’s doldrums. But Emily needs to stop being a supporting player in her own Revenge story and start kicking butt again in the present tense. That 2006 flashback does not count. The Good Wife writers have promised to end the horrible saga between Kalinda and her ex-husband, but I don’t even know what I want for Kalinda anymore. Maybe she and the annoying ex should leave Chicago together once and for all.
If anyone deserves to shantay and stay, though, it’s the contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race, who say things like, “As a drag queen, my issue with these pantyhose is there’s no room for my penis.”
Those bitches never disappoint. | http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/28/badass-tv-women-or-just-bad-homeland-sons-of-anarchy-more.html | 2013-05-18T10:54:28 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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As some of you may or may not know, I sold my Boba Fett costume a few months ago. I offered it on this forum but ended up selling most of it on Ebay.
I'm now looking for the person who bought it. Don't worry, I received my payment. I'm just curious if they post here and if they performed any "modifications" to my baby. I'd love to see any progress.
Anyway, my Ebay ID was gochiefs81 when I sold it. I live in Houston, Texas.
It came with a dickies jumpsuit. If you do a search on threads I've started there are some pictures, I believe. EDIT: Thread has been pruned, I think.
Help me find the lost suit! | http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f23/did-you-buy-my-armor-my-search-lost-12998/ | 2013-05-18T10:42:49 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
I'm trying to hunt down a rubies Jango, going to use it for my custom costume. I'm going to alter the visor to look battle damaged. What I'm planing is to remove the visor, alter it so that it looks like cracked glass. Then put back the part that covers my mouth, therefore the missing part will reveal one eye. Think it would work? I realy need help on this. If any of you can find the 2 pc. Rubies Jango for $20 or less, it'd be great.
HF | http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f34/need-idea-custom-mando-helmet-12127/ | 2013-05-18T10:13:46 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
King’s House; June 20, 1820
He was renowned as the greatest gentleman privateer of his era, an accolade that amused him to no end. Gentleman and privateer were two words that should never be uttered in the same sentence, even if he was an exception to that rule. Cliff de Warenne, third and youngest son of the earl of Adare, stared at the newly constructed hanging block, unsmiling. While it was true that he had yet to lose a battle or his quarry, he did not take death lightly. He estimated that he had already used up at least six lives, and hoped he has at least three left.
A hanging always brought out the biggest crowd. Every rogue and planter, every lady and whore, were flocking into the city to watch the pirate hang. Tomorrow they would be breathless with anticipation and excitement. There would be applause when the pirate’s neck was broken with a loud, jarring snap. There would be cheers.
A tall, towering man with tawny, too long, sun-streaked hair and a bronze complexion. Cliff had the brilliant blue eyes; the de Warenne men were famous for. He was clad casually in high boots, pale white doeskin breeches and a fine linen shirt, but he was heavily armed. Even in polite society he kept a dagger in his belt, a stiletto in his boot, for he had gained his fortune the hard way, and he had made his share of enemies. Besides, in the islands, he had no time for fashion.
Cliff realized that he was later for his appointment with colonial the governor. But several fashionably dressed ladies were just entering the square, one a gorgeous beauty. They glanced his way, whispering excitedly. He saw that they were on their way to the scaffolding to inspect the site of tomorrows hanging. Under usual circumstances, he would mark one for his bed, but he could sense their bloodlust and he was frankly disgusted by it.
The imposing entrance of King’s House was directly behind him as he watched the three women stroll to the hanging block. The incessant fascination of the elegant ladies of the ton and island society was convenient; like all the de Warenne men, he was very virile. He recognized the blond, the wife of a gentleman planter he knew well, but the dark beauty was undoubtedly new to the island. She smiled at him, clearly aware of who and what he was, and as clearly offering him her services, should he wish to accept the,.
He did not. He nodded politely at her and he held his gaze before tuning away. He was a nobleman and a legitimate merchantman. When he was not accepting letters of marquee, but, the whispers of “rogue: and “rover” wafted after him anyway. He had even been called a pirate by one particularly passionate lover. The truth was, even having been raised a gentleman, he was more at home in Spanish town than Dublin, in Kingston than London, and he made no secret of it. When he was on the deck of his ship in the midst of the hunt, no man could possibly be a gentleman. Gentility meant death.
But he had never care about the whispers. He made his life into exactly what he wished, without his father’s helping hand, and he had earned his reputation as one of the greatest masters of the sea. Although he always earned for Ireland, the loveliest place in the world, it was on the main that he was free. Even at the earl’s estate, surrounded by the family he cherished, he was aware that he was not at all like his two brothers—the heir and the spare. Compared to his land-and-duty-bound brothers, he was very much a buccaneer. Society accused him of being different, an eccentric and an outsider, and they were right.
Just before Cliff turned to enter King’s House, two more ladies met with the trio, the crowd in the square growing. A gentleman whom he recognised as a successful Kingston merchant had joined the ladies, as had a few sailors.
“Hope he’s enjoyin” his last meal,” one of the sailors laughed.
“Is it true he slit the throat of an English naval officer?” One of the women gasped. “And painted his cabin with the blood?”
“It’s an old pirate tradition,” the sailor replied, grinning.
Cliff rolled his eyes at the absurd accusation.
“Do they hang many pirates here?” the beauty asked breathlessly.
Cliff turned away. The hanging was going to be a circus, he thought grimly.
And the irony of it all was that Rodney Carre was one of the least menacing and unsuccessful rovers at sea; he would hang because Governor Woods was determined to set an example any way the he could. Carre’s crimes were pitiful in comparison to those of the ruthless Cuban rovers now raging in the Caribbean, but Carre was the one inept enough to have been caught.
He knew the man, but not well. Carre was frequently in Kingston Harbor to careen his ship or unload his goods, and Cliff’s island hone, Windsong, was on the northwest end of Harbor Street. They’d exchanged only a few dozen words in the dozen years, and usually merely nodded at on another in passing. He had no real reason to be dismayed over Carre’s fate.
“And the pirate’s daughter?” one of the asked excitedly. “Will they hang her too?”
“La Sauvage?” The gentleman spoke. “She hasn’t been captured, and besides, I don’t think anyone on this island accuse her of a crime.”
Cliff realized why he was so disturbed. Carre was leaving behind a daughter. She was too young to be charged with piracy. Even if she had sailed with her father.
It was not really his affair, he thought grimly as he turned back to King’s House. Yet he recalled her vividly now, for he had glimpsed her from time to time, riding the waves like a porpoise in nothing but a chemise or standing boldly in the bow of her canoe, recklessly denying the wind and the sea. They had never met, but like everyone else on the island, he knew her instantly upon a single glimpse. She seemed to run wild about the island beaches and on the city streets and was impossible to miss with her long, tangled moon–colored hair. She was wild and free and he had admired her from a distance for years.
Uneasy. He shifted his thoughts. He would not even be in Spanishtown tomorrow when Carre was hanged. Instead he wondered at Wood’s summons. They were friends—they had frequently worked together on island policy and even on legislation, and in Woods’s term of office, Cliff had accepted two commissions from him. Successfully capturing the foreign brigands. Woods was a resolute politician and governor and Cliff respected him. On one or two occasions, they had caroused together, as well—Woods was fond of the ladies, too, when his wife was not in residence.
Two British solders sprang forward as he strode past the six Ionic columns that supported a pediment displaying the British coat of arms to the huge doors to the governor’s residence, the gold and ruby spurs he wore jangling. “Captain de Warenne, sir” one said, relaxing. “Governor Woods said you are to go in immediately.”
Cliff nodded at him and entered a vast foyer with a crystal chandelier. Standing on the waxed parquet floors of the circular entry, he could glimpse a formal salon done up in red velvets and brocades.
Thomas Woods rose from behind a desk, smiling as he saw him. “Cliff! Come in, my good man, come in!”
Cliff strode in to the salon, shaking Woods hand. The governor was a lean, handsome man in his thirties, with a dark moustache. “Good day, Thomas. I see the hanging will happen as scheduled.” The words slipped, unbidden
Woods nodded, pleased. “You have been gone for almost three months—you have no idea what this means.”
“Of course I do,” Cliff said, that odd tension filling him again, as he wondered at the pirate’s daughter’s future. It crossed his that maybe he would visit Carre at the garrison in Port Royal. “Does Carre remain at Fort Charles?”
“He has been moved to the courthouse jail.” Woods responded. The newly constructed courthouse, completed the previous year, was directly across the square from King’s House. Woods went to the bar built into the huge Dutch sideboard on one wall and poured two glasses of wine. He handed Cliff a glass. “To the morrow’s hanging, Cliff.”
Cliff did not join him in the toast. “Maybe you should attempt to capture the pirates flying the flag of Jose Artigas,” he said, referring to the gaucho general who was at war with both Portugal and Spain. “Rodney Carre has nothing in common with those murdering villains, my friend.”
Woods smiled firmly. “Ah, I was hoping you could tackle Artigas’s men.”
Cliff was interested, as the hunt was in his blood. Woods was now offering him a dangerous commission, one he would not usually think twice about accepting. However, he remained on another tack. “Carre has never been foolish enough to attack British interests,” he commented, taking a sip of his claret.
Woods started. “So he is a decent pirate? A good pirate? And what is the point of your defence? He has been tried and found guilty, he hangs tomorrow at noon.”
An image came to mind, one he could not chase away. Her hair as pale as a bright star, her shirt and breeches soaking wet, La Sauvage lifted her slim arms overhead and dived off the bow of her father’s sloop into the sea below. He had been coming home last year and standing the quarterdeck of his favorite frigate. The Fair Lady, when he had spotted her through his spyglass. He had paused to watch her surface, laughing, and had almost wished he could dive into the calm turquoise sea with her.
“What about the child?” he heard himself say. He had no idea of her age, but she was small and slender and he guessed she was somewhere between twelve and fourteen.
Woods seemed startled. ‘Carre’s daughter—La Sauvage?”
“I heard their farm was forfeit to the Crown. What will become of her?”
“Good God, Cliff I do not know. Rumor has it she has family in England. Maybe she will go there. Or I suppose she could go to the Sisters of St. Anne’s in Seville—they have an asylum for the orphaned.”
Cliff was shocked. He just could not imagine a spirit like that imprisoned in such a manner. And this was the first he heard of the child having family in Britain. But then, Carre had once been a British naval officer, so it was certainly possible.
Woods stared, “You are behaving oddly, my friend. I asked you to come here today because I was hoping you would accept a commission from me.”
Cliff shoved his thoughts of Carre’s daughter aside. He felt himself smile. “May I hope that you seek El Toreador?” he asked, referring to the most vicious of the rovers plaguing the area.
Woods grinned. “You may.”
“I am more than pleased to accept the commission,” Cliff said meaning it. The hunt would surely erase his irascible mood and the restlessness gnawing at him. He had been at Windsong for precisely three weeks—usually he stayed a month or two—and his only regret would be leaving his children. He had both a son and a daughter at his island home, and when he was at sea or abroad, he missed them terribly.
“Shall we go in and dine? I have asked my chef to make your favorite dishes,” Woods said happily, clasping Cliff’s arm. “We can discuss the details of the commission. I am also eager to ask for your opinions on the new venture in the East Indies. Surely you have heard of the Phelps Company?”
Cliff was about to affirm that he had, when he heard the soldiers at the governor’s front door shouting in alarm. Instantly he drew his sabre. “Get back,” he ordered Woods.
The governor paled, a small pistol appearing in his hand, but he obeyed, hurrying to the far end of the salon while Cliff strode in the foyer. He heard a soldier gasping in pain, and another fellow shout, “You cannot go inside!”
The front door burst open and a small, slender woman with a pass of pale hair ran through it, waving a pistol.
‘Where is the governor?” She demanded wildly, pointing the gun at him.
The most vivid green eyes he had ever beheld locked with his and he forgot that a pistol was pointed at his forehead. He stared, shocked. La Sauvage was not a child: she was a young woman and a very beautiful young woman, at that. Her face was triangular, her cheekbones high, her nose small and straight, her mouth lush and full. But it was her eyes, as exotic as a jungle cat’s.
His gaze swept down her figure. Her moon-colored hair was exactly as he had thought—a wild curly mane that reached her waist. She wore a huge man’s shirt, hanging to mid-thigh, but there was no mistaking the suggestion of a bosom beneath it. Her legs were encased in breeches and a lad’s boots, and were unmistakably long and feminine.
How could he have assumes, even from a distance, that she was a child, he wondered inanely.
“Are you a dimwit?” She shouted at him. “Where is Woods?”
He drew a breath and somehow smiled, his composure returned. “Miss Carre, please do not point the pistol at me. Is it loaded?” He asked very calmly.
She paled as if just recognizing him. “de Warenne.” She swallowed. The pistol wavered. “Woods. I must see Woods.”
So she knew him, somewhat. Then she knew he was not to be toyed with. Did she know that anyone else would die for brandishing a weapon at him in such a manner? Was she that brave, or that foolish—and desperate? His smile intensified, but he was not feeling amused. He had to swiftly end the crisis, before she was hurt or arrested. “Give me the pistol, Miss Carre.”
She shook her head. “Where is he?”
He sighed—and moved. Before she knew it, he had her wrist in his hands, and an instant later, he had her pistol.
Tears filled her eyes and he knew they were tears of rage. “Damm you!” She struck at him with both fists, pummelling his chest.
He handed the pistol to one of the wary soldiers and caught her wrists again, more gently, not wanting to hurt her. He was surprised at her strength; she was so slender she appeared frail, but she was not. However, she had no power compare to him. ‘Please cease. You will hurt yourself,” he said softly.
She was writhing in his grasp like a wildcat, hissing and spitting like one too, and even attempting to claw at his face.
“Stop,” he ordered, becoming annoyed. “You cannot triumph over me.”
Suddenly her eyes met his and she stilled, panting heavily. And as their gaze held, he felt a stirring of compassion for her. Even if she was eighteen, he sensed she was a child in many ways due to her unorthodox upbringing. And new he recognised more than desperation in her eyes; he saw her fear.
Tomorrow, her father would hang. Today she thought to accost the governor. “Surely you do not think to murder my friend Woods?”
“I would if I could,” she spat at him. “But no, I will delay his murder for another day!” She began to struggle uselessly again. “I have come to beg him for mercy for my father.”
His heart seemed to break. “If I release you, will you be still? I can arrange an audience with the governor.”
Hope flared in her eyes. She nodded, wetting her lips. “Yes”
He hesitated, confused at his odd emotions. It wasn’t appropriate, but he wondered how old she was. Of course, he was not interested in her, not that way. How could he be? She too young, and she was a pirate’s daughter. His last mistress had been a Hapsburg Princes, acclaimed to the greatest beauty on the Continent. His daughter’s mother, who was deceased, had been an exotic and beautiful concubine, enslave in the harem of a Barbary prince. Rachel had been a Jewess, highly educated and one of the most intelligent women he had ever met. He was very discriminating when it came to the ladies who shared his bed. He could not be interest in w eirld0wyes waif brandishing a pistol the way other carried parasols.
She was regarding him with a very neutral expression now. His instincts sharpened. “You will behave,” It wasn’t a question.
Her mouth formed a small, unenthusiastic smile.
Now he was alarmed. Was she hiding another weapon perhaps beneath that voluminous shirt? While she was not a lay, he did not feel comfortable searching her. “Miss Carre, give me your word that you will behave in a courteous and respectful manner while in the governor’s house.”
She gave him a puzzled look, as if she did not under a word he had said, but she nodded.
He briefly touched her arm, in the hopes of guiding her toward the salon, but she flinched and he did not attempt to touch her again. “Thomas? Would you mind stepping out? I should like to introduce you to Miss Carre.”
Woods strode forward to the threshold of the salon. He was grim, his color now high. “A mere waif got by my guards?” He was disbelieving.
Cliff recognised his rising temper. “She is worried about her father, and rightly so. I promised her you would allow her to speak.”
Woods seemed about to refuse. “She assaults my men! Robards, are you harmed in any manner?”
The British soldier remained alert and stiffly at attention in the foyer his fellow officer inside the house by the front door. He was flushed. “No, sir, Governor, I apologise for the terrible intrusion.”
“How did he manage to get past you?” Woods was incredulous.
Robard’s high color increased. “Sir, I don’t know—“
“I asked them to help me find my little lost puppy doe,” La Sauvage said, her tone absurdly coy, and she batted her lashes at Governor Woods. Then she swung her hips from side to side and shed a tear. “They were so concerned!”
Cliff stared, quickly reassessing La Sauvage, She had known how to use her considerable female allure to entrap the soldiers. She wasn’t as innocent, then, as she appeared.
Woods turned a cold regard on her, “Arrest her>”
She gasped, and whirled to gaze at Cliff with shock. The surprise became an accusation as the soldiers stepped towards her. “You promised!”
He stepped in front of her, blocking the two soldiers and preventing them from seizing her. “Do not,” he warned very softly. His tone was one he only used when he intended to follow it up with a dire consequence.
Both soldiers froze.
“Cliff! She assaulted my!” Woods objected.
She turned to face the governor. “And you are hanging my father!” She shouted furiously.
Cliff took her arm, intending to restrain her if need be, but also aware of the urge to protect her. “Thomas, you owe me more than one favor, if I recall, I am collecting now. Hear her out.”
Woods stared, dismayed. “Damm it, de Warenne,” he said, very low. “Why are you doing this?”
“Hear her out,” Cliff said even more softly. It was a command.
Woods expression filled with distaste. He gestured for La Sauvage to precede him into the salon.
She shook her head, her beautiful green eyes narrowing shrewdly. “You first.” She smiled coldly. “I never walk ahead of my enemies.”
Silently, Cliff applauded her. He worried again, however, that she might be concealing more weapons.
Woods sighed. “Robards, you may wait where you are. Johns, please return to your post outside of the front door.” As both soldiers obeyed, he strode grimly into the salon. La Sauvage was about to follow, but Cliff had seen her hide a smile and he seized her arm. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” She demanded.
Very softly, so Woods could not hear, he murmured, “You are unarmed, are you not?”
She stared into his eyes. “Am I a fool? Of course I’m not armed.”
She did not blink, not once. Her cheeks did not color. Her gaze did not waver. Yet he knew, without a doubt that she was lying.
His grip tightened. She began to protest, trying to pull back, but he restrained her. “I beg your pardon,” he said grimly, aware that he was flushing. With his free hand, over her shirt, he touched her waist, expecting to find another pistol strapped inside her shirt there. Instead, he was stunned at how narrow her waist was with no flesh to spare. He could probably close both of his hands around her, if he tried.
“Get your paws off me,” she gasped, outraged.
He ignored her, sliding his hand to the small of her back and trying not to this about drifting it lower. She started to struggle. “Lecher!”
“Be still,” he growled, feeling the other side of her waist.
‘Are you happy now?” she demanded, remaining scarlet but wriggling impossibly.
“You are making this difficult.” He said, and then he stopped. Something was strapped beneath her shirt on the ledt side of her waist.
She started to pull against him
He gave her a look, slid his ghand under her shirt and over the sharp edge of the dagger taped to her ribs.
“Damm you!” she hissed, attempting to twist away.
To his shock, the heavy underside of a full and bare breast bumped into his hand as he seize the knife.
She went still and so did he.
“Bastars!” She pulled free.
He tried to breathe, but he was aroused. Beneath that loose oversize shirst was an intriguing bodu, one that belonged to a mature woman. He slid her dagger into his belt. It was a moment before he could speak. “You lied.”
She gave him a furious look and marched after Woods into the salon.
He hoped she did not have another dagger taped somewhere else, perhaps on her hip or high thight/ He could not understand his respionse to her body, so lim in some places and far too soft in others. He’s had hundreds of beautiful, alluring women. He allowed himself desire when the moment was appropriate or when it suited him. He was not a green boy and he could control his lust. He did not want to feel any stirrings, now or ever, for La Sauvage. But his body had betrayed him.
He was very displeased,
He strode into the salon, leaving the door open. The governor had chosen to sit in a huge armchair, so that he appeared more royalty appointed. He indicated that she might speak, the gesture abrript and somehow disrespectful.
Cliff didn’t care for his manner. Clearly, Woods had made up his mind and nothing La Sauvage could day or do would change it.
But she began to cry, tears running down her breathtaking face. He knew the tears were contrived, born of her fear and desperation.
“Give her a genuine opportunity to speak,” he said to Woods.
“I do not need this,” Woods groused. He was angry.
“Please,” she whispered, the sound soft and feminine, a plea, and she clasped her hands as if in prayer before her chest. The gesture drew her shirt tight, revealing the shape of her surprising lush bosom. Cliff stared, instantly distracted, and so did Woods, apparently not oblivious to her allure, either.
“My lord, my father is all I’ve got. He is a good man. Sir, a good gather. He’s not really a pirate, you know. He’s a planter and you can got to Belle Mer to see for yourself. We have one of the best crops in years!”
“I think we both know he has committed numerous acts of piracy.” Woods said sternly.
Tears streaked her lovely face and she sank to her knees.
Cliff tensed. Her face was level with the governor’s lap. Did she know how
provocative her position was? “He has never been a pirate, you are wrong,
sir! The jury was wrong! He has been a privateer. He has worked for Britain,
hunting pirates—just like Captain de Warenne. If you will pardon him, he
will never sail again, ever.”
“Miss Carre, please get up. We both know your father has nothing common with Lord de Warenne.”
She didn’t move. Her full, lush mouth began to tremble. Even she had been standing, it was so provocative it would have been impossible to ignore. But she was on her knees, as if a skilled whore before a paying client. Woods was staring at her mouth. His face had become taut, his dark eyes turning black.
Cliff did not like what was happening.
“I can’t lose him,” she whispered throatily. “If you pardon him, he will obey the law like a saint. And I…” she stopped, licking her lips, “I will be so grateful, sir, forever grateful, no matter what…you ask me…to do.”
Woods eyes were wide, but he did not move.
She would prostitute herself for her father? Cliff seized her arm, hauling her to her feet. “I believe that’s enough.”
She turned a murderous glare at him. “No one wants you here! Leave me be! I am talking to the governor! Go mind your own affairs!”
“Propositioning him, is more like it,” Cliff said, feeling quite furious himself. He yanked her once. “Be quiet.” He faced Woods. “Thomas, why not pardon Carre? If his daughter is being truthful, he will give up his roving. If not, I promise you I will bring him in myself.”
Woods slowly stood. He briefly glanced at Cliff but then his gaze returned to La Sauvage. Although she stood straight and tall, she was trembling. I am going to consider your proposal, Miss Carre.”
Her eyes widened. So did Cliff’s. “You are?”
“I intend to spend the night doing so.” He paused, allowing his words to sink in.
And Cliff was livid, for he understood.
But La Sauvage was not as experienced as either of the men and it took her a moment. Then she drew herself up straighter. She was not red-faced. ‘Can I wait here, for your decision?”
“Of course.” He finally smiled at her.
Cliff stepped in front of him. “And to think I have thought of you as a friend,” he said tersely.
Woods raised both brows. “I am certain you would avail yourself of such an opportunity, as well. Now you defend her virtue?” He was amused.
It seemed that was what he was doing. “May I assume Mrs. Woods remains in London?”
“She is actually in France.” He was not perturbed. “Come, Cliff, do calm down. We shall adjourn to our delayed luncheon, while Miss Carre rest and awaits my decision.”
“I’m sorry, I have lost my appetite.” He turned to La Sauvage. “Let’s go.”
She was standing there, appearing very young and very grim—and very resolute. She might have been on the way to the gallows. She shook her head. “I’m staying.”
“Like hell,” he said softly and dangerously.
And the tears filled her eyes—real tears. “Go away de Warenne. Leave me be.”
Cliff fought with himself. Why did he care? She seemed young, but she couldn’t possibly be innocent, not having lived the kind of life she had. He wasn’t her protector.
“You heard the…lady,” Woods said softly. “She won’t be hurt, Cliff. In fact, she might be pleased.
He was blinded by a kind of rage he hadn’t ever experience. Images danced in his mind. Woods embracing La Sauvage, Woods ruthlessly availing himself on her slender, yet lush body. He fought to breathe, and when he could speak, he looked at the governor. “Don’t do this.”
“Why? She’s a beauty, even if her odor is offensive.”
She smelled of the sea and Cliff did not find it offensive at all. “She is expecting a pardon.”
“And are you her champion?” Woods was amused.
“I wish to champion no one,” he said sharply.
“Stop talking about me as if I am not here,” she cried to them both
Cliff slowly faced her. “Come with me,” he said. “You do not need to do this.”
She stared at him, as white as a sheet. “I need to free my father.”
Then get a written contract—your services for his pardon.” He was terse.
She seemed puzzled. “I can’t read.”
He made a harsh sound and faced the governor. “Will you be able to live with yourself afterward?”
He shook his head. “Good God, Cliff she’s a pirates daughter.”
Cliff turned back to her but she refused to look at him, her arms folded across her chest. He was furious with her, with Woods, and even with himself. He stalked out, leaving them to their lurid affair.
Outside, the clouds were gathering, a fresh breeze of almost twenty knots coming onshore. Spanishtown was a dozen miles from the coast, and he had come by coach, not the river, but he knew that the waves had swells and it would be a food day for sailing. In fact, just then he wished to race the wind, running full said before it.
His temples throbbed. Now he wished to runaway? He rubbed his forehead firmly. La Sauvage was not his concern
But she hadn’t understood, for she was naïve in so many ways. She thought to buy her father’s amnesty with her body, but Woods was going to use her and then hang her father anyways.
Jamaican was his home. And although he only spent a few months of the year there, he was one of the island’s leading citizens and very little happened on the island without his consent. Had he been present during Carre’s capture, he would have made sure his case never came to trial. But it had, and the news had been reported not just in the Jamaican Royal Times but on most of the other islands, too. Even the American newspapers had reported the pirate’s conviction. It was too late now to stop the hanging.
And Woods was a strong governor. There had been a few better, there had been many worse. Cliff supported his new policy of attempting to quell the Cuban rovers. No matter what happened now, he needed to remain on good terms with him. They had too many interests in common.
I am begging you, sir, begging you not to take my father from me. He’s a good man, a good father, and he’s all I have in the world!
She was not going to save her father, and certainly not in Woods bed. Cliff turned, starting at the imposing front doors beneath the white temple pediment of King’s House. By damm, he had to act.
He strode back to the house. “I’m afraid I have need of the governor again.”
Robards was chagrined, “I’m sorry, Captain. The Governor is not to be disturbed this afternoon.”
Cliff was in disbelief, but only for a moment. “This cannot wait.” Unconsciously, his tone had become soft and so very warning.
The young soldier flushed. “Sir, I am sorry…” he began.
Cliff put his hand on the hilt of his scabbard. He gave Robards a look and stepped past him, pushing open the front door. The silence of the house wrapped itself around him and he knew they were together. His heart raced. He knew all the principal rooms were on the ground floor, as was the governor’s private suite. As Woods has decided not to allow La Sauvage an afternoon’s respite, he doubted they were in a guest room. No, he had taken La Sauvage to his rooms. Cliff was certain.
Robards had followed him to the threshold of the foyer. “Sir! Please!”
Cliff smiled mirthlessly at him and kicked the door closed.
His blood surged and thickened.
He turned the knob and pushed open the door.
Instantly, he saw them.
Woods stood in the centre of the bedroom, a massive canopied bed behind him. He had shed his jacket, waistcoat and shirt, revealing a muscular torso. His trousers were open, revealing his manhood.
She stood by the bed, clad in a mans sapphire-blue silk dressing gown, but it was unbelted and ipen, revealing her lean golden thighs, soft belly and full breasts. Her expression was one of despair, but it was also fierce and determined. She would not stand down.
Cliff prayed he was not too late.
He strode to Woods, who was so preoccupied with his victim that he did not see him until Cliff raised his fist. Woods cried out but Cliff knocked him backward into the wall, the blow so stunning he slid down it into a heap, as if unconscious.
He stepped over him, reaching for his hair, yanking his head back. Dazed eyes met his. “Society would love this bit of gossip, don’t you think?” he snarled. The threat was impulsive but ideal; Woods had a reputation to maintain, and his wife would be livid should she ever hear of his scandalous behaviour.
“We are…friends!” Woods gasped.
“Not anymore.” Cliff had to fight himself not to hit him again. The he heard her choke.
He whirled, hurrying to her. She was on all hours, fighting for composure. He knelt, sliding his arm around her, terribly aware of her exposed body and also aware that Woods had probably used in the most despicable and disrespectful manner possible. Slowly she looked at him, her green cat eyes huge, and hurt and beseeching.
He hoped that what he thought had happened hadn’t. “I’m taking you out of here,” He said softly.
She shook her head, shocking him. “Leave me…be,” she whispered brokenly.
He wanted to kill his onetime friend; he cradled her face in his hands. “Listen to me!” he said urgently. “He is not going to pardon your father no matter what you do, or how many times you do it! Do you comprehend me?”
“But it’s the only chance I have to save him,” she gasped.
He realized her mouth was bruised. He lifted her into his arms and was surprised again, because she clung. Now there was no mistaking the fact that he wanted to protect her, but he was also aware of her open robe and her soft breasts, pressed to his chest. He had glimpsed the wet treasure between her thighs. “There was never a chance,” he said roughly, carrying her from the room.
In the hall he paused, suddenly realizing that soldiers were outside the front door, and he had just assaulted the royal governor. They’d have to make a hasty retreat through a window—and he had quite a bit of political manoeuvring to do in the days that followed. Woods might not be a friend anymore, but they needed to work together if he was to remain a viable and influential resident of the island. Suddenly he realised his burden was oddly still.
He looked at her.
She looked up at him, her hands remaining looped around his neck. She was blushing.
His gaze veered to her beautiful breasts, then lower to her slender torso, her rib cage faintly delineated, her small pink navel and the champagne-colored delta below. Buccaneer or not, he was a gentleman, and he jerked his gaze to her face feeling his own cheeks warm. With one hand, awkwardly, he tugged the wrapper somewhat closed. “How badly did he hurt you?” he asked roughly.
“Can you put me down?” She asked instead of replying.
Instantly he complied.
She smiled at him, and kicked him very hard in the shin. And then she pushed at him and started to run.
Stunned, he reached for her, but she was agile, swift and determined. She ducked his grasp and raced down the hall, her wrapper flowing behind her nude body like a banner. He started after her more slowly, unhappily aware of a terrible turmoil in him. He almost wished he had not gotten involved, for he senses this was just the beginning. And when he reached the entry, no one was there.
La Sauvage was gone. | http://www.thedewarennedynasty.com/the_lounge/lady_one.htm | 2013-05-18T10:31:47 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Water key to ND oil patch growthB.
B.
Lynn Helms, director of the state Department of Mineral Resources, said drilling activity is at record levels, with an estimated 2,000 wells to come on line this year. The industry is slowed at present by the lack of crews to perform hydraulic fracturing, a process that uses pressurized fluid and sand to break open oil-bearing rock 2 miles underground.
A record 1,213 new wells were drilled in North Dakota last year, “pretty much maxing out our available water resources,” Helms said.
“We have a rapidly growing inventory of crews who are needed in place and fracking,” Helms said. “Our next barrier will be water.”
About 7 million gallons of water are available daily at present to the oil industry in western North Dakota, from about 3,500 ground water sources, said Bob Shaver, the state Water Commission’s water appropriation director.
To keep pace with oil production, state and oil industry officials want to draw water from Lake Sakakawea, the largest of the six reservoirs on the Missouri River. The lake water would nearly quadruple the amount available daily for the oil industry, Shaver said.
“It would take all the heat off our aquifers,” he said.
But the Army Corps of Engineers wants to charge water users for surplus water drawn from the big lake, a proposal that is being challenged by state officials. Corps spokesman Larry Janis said the agency is reviewing public comments on the plan and could have a decision by May.
Helms said without water from Lake Sakakawea, oil companies will have to move water by truck from locations beyond western North Dakota, including other states.
“They will get the water, even if they have to drive to Montana to get it,” Helms said. Using Missouri river water “will mean a huge decrease in truck traffic and will benefit air quality and roads.”
While fresh water needed to support oil drilling is in short supply, North Dakota is awash with wastewater — millions of barrels that must be sequestered underground forever.
A record 113 million barrels of crude was produced last year in the state along with 180 million barrels of contaminated water. The same porous rock that holds oil also contains saltwater, which comes to the surface with oil and gas.
Helms said 132 million barrels of briny so-called produced water was recovered and reinjected in underground reservoirs last year. An additional 48 million barrels of “frack water” also was pumped, about 20 percent of which was recycled and reused.
Federal and state regulators don’t require companies to disclose the ingredients of frack water.
The number of disposal wells is growing at a rate of about one a week to bury the massive amounts of wastewater, either by drilling new wells or using older, unproductive oil wells, Helms said. North Dakota has more than 300 such wells at present, he said.
Desalinating briny water from oil wells and reusing it for drilling operations is “theoretically possible but not cost-effective,” Helms said.
Wayde Schafer, a North Dakota spokesman for the Sierra Club, said taking water from the Missouri River and ultimately injecting it underground indefinitely would cause pollution and a natural imbalance.
“They would be taking millions of gallons of water out of the cycle, sticking a lot of pollution in it and dumping it underground,” Schafer said. “That’s got to have an impact.”
“In western North Dakota, water is not an unlimited resource,” he said.
Shaver, of the Water Commission, said the amount that would be siphoned from Lake Sakakawea for oilfield use would be immeasurable when compared to the overall flow of the Missouri River.
State geologist Ed Murphy said the oilfield wastewater is held in reservoirs within the Inyan Kara, or “Dakota” formation about a mile beneath the surface. The formation is below any fresh water aquifers and is sealed by impermeable rock, he said.
The formation has been used since the 1950s for wastewater disposal without any problems, he said. | http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/46307/ | 2013-05-18T10:43:31 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
3 children slain in New Town being laid to rest todayWARSAW (AP) — Three children gunned down in their grandmother's home in New Town are being laid to rest.
WARSAW (AP) — Three children gunned down in their grandmother's home in New Town are being laid to rest.
Funerals are scheduled Thursday in the northeastern North Dakota community of Warsaw for 13-year-old Benjamin Schuster, 10-year-old Julia Schuster and 6-year-old Luke Schuster. They were found shot to death in New Town on Nov. 18, along with their 64-year-old grandmother, Martha Johnson.
Johnson's funeral was held Monday in the Fort Berthold Reservation community.
A New Town man who killed himself in the nearby town of Parshall the day of the slayings is considered a person of interest in the case. The FBI is handling the investigation and has not released details.
Tags: new town, news, updates, local, crimeMore from around the web | http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/63421/group/News/ | 2013-05-18T10:22:48 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
HORSE
Yangshuo: Earth's Teeth
Breaking News: My fund-raising campaign on the website, Kickstarter, was successful! With the money raised this week, I'm (much) better able to create and distribute my book project about my year in C...
Posted on 6/9/12 at 9:09 AM
Areavoices Digest #17 - Feb 2, 2011 - New way to find our blogs
Did you see it? There, right above my blog, to the right? Right next to"start a blog." It's the new areavoices "directory" link. Over the past week or so, we've been refining and revising a list of t...
Posted on 2/2/11 at 5:47 PM
Into the boiler room
Before stepping outside this morning, a quick check of the weather didn't leave me with a lot of optimism: 74 degrees, 75 percent humidity. Riley wasn't very happy about being left behind, but those ...
Posted on 8/30/10 at 1:53 PM
Ron His Horse Is Thunder
Looks like Ron lost the election. He will not be tribal chairman. And has no influence over Fighting Sioux Name and Logo ! (Is Thunder His Horse Ron?)...
Posted on 7/16/09 at 7:07 PM
Oil men have derby long-shot with Frac Daddy
By Amy Dalrymple , May 03, 2013
Horse assault investigation continues; Owner says mare recovering well at homeMore than three weeks after an assault that severely injured her, a 7-year-old mare is back at home in Glendive, Mont., and will most likely make a full recovery.
By Katherine Grandstrand , February 09, 2013
Owner says horse assaulted: Man offers reward for arrest in caseA horse on a farm east of Dickinson was recovering Friday from an apparent sexual assault, an illegal act ranchers suggest happens all too often in this area but rarely gets reported.
By Katherine Grandstrand , January 26, 2013
Giddyup: Here come the horses
By Betsy Simon , September 14, 2012
Horsing around in Taylor
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By Katherine Grandstrand , July 29, 2012
Grazing in the rain
By Klark Byrd , April 25, 2012
Historical ride: Horsemen and horsewomen can experience a trip taken by travelers in the 1880s
By Royal McGregor , March 22, 2012
Froze nose
January 19, 2012
Horse slaughter soon an option
By Justin Juozapavicius , December 01, 2011
Horse causes commotion during Medora paradeOne person had a panic attack and a car was damaged after a horse was spooked during today's All Horse Flag Day Parade in Medora.
June 14, 2010
Judge asked to block wild horse roundupWASHINGTON (AP) — An animal protection group asked a federal judge Wednesday to block a plan to round up about 2,500 wild horses to remove them from a Nevada range.
December 17, 2009
A massage for a horse, of course, of course!If stress is affecting producers’ horses, they may want to consider an alternative method of relaxing them: Equine massage.
August 29, 2009
Saddle up for Horse Fest
July 24, 2009
Iron Horse Saloon to have new ownerThe Iron Horse Saloon in Medora is scheduled to change ownership on May 1, with Morey Bang and Brad Skachenko taking over. The pair plan to name the bar “Boots.”
April 25,
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What can we do to lower our health care costs? Our guest writer, Jacques Sprenger, tells us how he manages and pays off his medical bills.
I had the unfortunate experience of having my medical bills accumulate last year due to my spouse’s accident (broken leg), which triggered costs for rehab. On top of this, I had special lab studies I needed to have done for myself and non-standard annual procedures that were required for those of us getting on in years. Even with insurance coverage, the total exceeded $5,000, a considerable sum for a humble teacher. I learned however how to navigate these dangerous financial debts without getting into FICO trouble.
From this CNN Money article, we can gather this: “Americans spend an estimated $294 billion on annual out-of-pocket medical costs annually, to cover everything from doctor’s office co-payments to surgeries and prescription medications,” which tells me that I am not alone in the struggle to cope with our extremely deficient and unfair health care system.
“About 25% of that — around $74 billion — is already being charged to regular standard credit cards,” a very dangerous trend that tells me that many Americans simply don’t have the cash to deal with such immense debt. Since we simply cannot ignore our health needs and problems, what can one do when faced with medical debts? Some tips I’ve applied myself:
How I Manage My Medical Bills and Avoid Medical Debts
1. Negotiate with your health care provider.
My spouse’s hospital bill, after insurance, amounted to approximately $950. I therefore went to the hospital’s billing department and negotiated a lower payment (20% less) in exchange for a cash payment. Even if you can’t settle immediately, negotiate a time frame to give you some leeway to come up with the money. Give your creditor 10% and tell them that you will settle the rest in 30 days. This will give you the opportunity to find help from relatives or from your place of employment (for more options, see our article on how to get a personal loan). Make sure that your provider agrees to keep the discount open for the time frame; hospitals are in business to make money and since so many of their patients are unable to pay, they welcome those who are able to come up with cash in a short time.
2. Review your medical bills carefully; there could be errors!
Check the medical bills very carefully, item by item. Why? Because apparently, 80% of hospital bills are wrong! According to eHow (and yes, I agree with them that this is an unbelievable statistic), hospital bills are full of errors — from overcharges for items used or unused but billed for, to charges for services that never took place, mistakes do abound! Dispute any and every item you think is wrong. This could save you a lot of money.
3. Avoid taking on bad debt.
So what do I mean by bad debt? Do not under any circumstance obtain a loan from pay day or cash advance places. You will be skimmed alive with monstrous interest rates if you are just a few days late.
4. Be careful about using your credit card.
Use your credit card to pay your bills only if you have no other choice or if you can pay your card balance in full. For those who have trouble with credit card debt, this must be a last resort, not the first one.
5. Arrange a payment schedule if necessary.
For the once a year procedure, my spouse’s bill amounted to $800. Since we were short of cash (after paying the hospital), I negotiated a $30 monthly payment without interest. We just finished paying last month. DO NOT be afraid to talk to your medical creditors. Most of them are willing to accommodate you and help you establish a payment schedule if they see a genuine intention to pay off the debt.
6. Understand your costs before receiving any service.
If you have a chance to talk about costs before any medical service — that includes visits to your regular doctor — ask what the co-pay will be if you have insurance, or if you don’t have coverage, ask what the alternatives are. You may actually qualify for Medicaid; it’s also possible that your doctor may be willing to lower his fees. If you don’t ask, you don’t know. DO NOT be ashamed to bargain; it can save you hundreds of dollars.
7. Beware of so-called Help for Medical Bills.
Many companies offer to lower your medical bills and payments. Yeah, right! Don’t fall for this: their exorbitant fees are only going to add to your debt load. If you have a difficult financial situation due to medical bills or any other cause, there are other reliable financial consultants you can turn to. Check with the Better Business Bureau to find out who’s reputable and to see who has complaints lodged against them; do ask around till you find the right one.
8. Get expensive medical procedures done elsewhere.
Finally, my usual recommendation: if you can, go to Mexico, India or another country for any elective surgical procedure. You may be surprised to learn that many countries can offer you top medical care and services at much, much lower prices, and medication is 10% of what it costs here (here’s more on where to find cheap prescriptions). I know someone who was able to receive surgery at a quarter of the price by getting it abroad. The surgery cost $100,000 even after insurance was applied in the U.S., but only $25,000 in Asia.
Any other suggestions for coping with medical bills and health care costs?
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Don’t forget to use a flexible spending account if you have one available to you. An FSA allows you to have money taken out of your paycheck each month – pre-tax. You can only spend the money on IRS approved medical expenses (prescriptions, co-pays, glasses, contacts, and some over-the-counter medical items are some of my favorites, but there are many more) but you don’t pay taxes on that money. Depending on your tax bracket you could easily reduce you medical expenses by 15% to 20%.
My piece of advice is to double check that the hospital or medical facility billing department has your correct mailing address and phone number. Last year I had a trip to the ER in which I gave them all the updated information when I seen and evaluated. I watched them put it into their computer system in front of me. for the ER! So, they sent it to collections and even though I settled it the same day I pulled the report – and received a letter from collection’s agency saying it was paid in full – it is showing a big red mark on my credit report and my credit score dropped like a rock. All because they hospital messed up on my contact information.
From this point on I will be calling any medical facilities a after any medical procedures to verify that they have their t’s crossed and i’s dotted so this NEVER happens again.
We are trying to not let it get that way. My wife was diagnosed with Achalasia and just the testing alone cost a few thousand dollars which insurance was supposed to cover but in the end they rejected the claims and are not going to cover any future costs (for the next three years) related to her condition. We are working towards paying off what we owe and also looking around for ways of covering costs for surgery she needs to get in the very near future.
I had a baby two months ago and I think I finally have all the bills taken care of. I’ll admit I did not check the bill for my hospital stay very carefully. It seemed to be correct, but really the thing was so vague that how could I ever know if there was an error? There was nothing obviously wrong and it was very similar to the bill from my other son’s birth two years prior, so I assumed it was good.
I too have had the experience where a billing office had a wrong address for me. Somehow the bill from the collections agency did make it to me and it was easily and quickly resolved.
I’m glad that this has not happen to me. My baby was hospitalized last week and hopefully I have paid the bills in full and of course my health insurance has helped too.
”
I had a similar thing happen. $50 dollar bill in college almost derailed my plans to purchase my first house. They were sending the bill to an old address.
I have also been able to negotiate substantial discounts for cash payment. A couple of other suggestions:
If you have a high deductible plan, make sure you understand how it works. To my surprise and delight, I found out recently that my insurance plan carries over the amount of the deductible incurred in the last couple of months to the next year, so the fact that I ran through my deductible through various procedures last December meant that my deductible for this year had been fully met before the year even started. Which leads to –
Schedule covered elective procedures and screenings for years in which you have already met your deductible. If you’re due for your first colonoscopy (and who over 50 isn’t?), get it in the year you also get the knee surgery you’ve been putting off, or whatever.
With all the political wrangling about health care right now, I thought you and your readers might be interested in this factoid: According to the Consumer Expenditure Survey, we spend the same proportion of our consumer spending on health care as we do on “meals away from home.” Curious how the same amount of money can represent a huge crisis in one context and a big yawn in another.
Great advice. With how inflated health care prices have become lately, every bit of knowledge to combat it helps.
Unfortunately it’s true, everything gets more expensive. But think about it, it’s our life, our health. Some medical operations should really be more accessible. There is the insurance that helps us a bit… | http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/medical-bills-medical-debts/ | 2013-05-18T10:41:54 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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How we can get good food for everyone
We need to learn from nature not ignore it. It has all the answers. We think the answer to our food problems is to have bigger farms. But the opposite is true. Here’s why.
Founder of the ‘Campaign for Real Farming’ | http://www.thedolectures.co.uk/lectures/how-we-can-get-good-food-for-everyone/ | 2013-05-18T11:03:01 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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Smart Marketing Tips from Get Busy Media: Build a Platform…They Will Come
By Jim Armstrong On October 20, 2012 @ 3:37 am In Economy & Trade | No Comments
Folks have plenty to yap about. We’re lucky enough to live in the information age, where opinions, stories, charts, interviews, and breaking news are shared instantaneously through our various social channels. Raise your hand if you followed Hurricane Isaac on your television last month? Not too many people I imagine. For most of us, we followed this harrowing storm through our mobile weather.com apps, through Facebook updates and tweets, and through breaking news via the Internet.
The same distribution channels (re: social media) apply to this year’s upcoming presidential election on Nov. 6. My Facebook newsfeed has gone from status updates of engagements, weddings, and photos of vacations to my friends and acquaintances spouting off about political drivel.
In my mind, an impassionate political Facebook post or video captured and distributed through YouTube is a disservice to the sort of message one is trying to convey. Facebook serves as a pipeline for much of the information we receive and curate on a daily basis, but for those who want to make an impact in the political sphere, I urge you to avoid the mudslinging on Facebook. My message to you: build a platform.
Sure, building a platform to share and grow your ideas takes work. Let me repeat, it takes honest, hard work. But I promise you that the end result will help your ideas “gain legs” and that your political Facebook rants won’t filter down someone’s newsfeed, never to be seen from or heard from again. Creating the platform is not as complicated as you think. Here is a brief, over-simplified version of how to create a platform that ideally will turn into a healthy, well-nurtured community further down the line:
1. Buy the domain name.
2. Host the website—Our recommendation: Host Gator–this hosting platform plays nice with WordPress.
3. Build the website—Our recommendation: WordPress.org–this platform is search-optimized and offers clean, intuitive designs.
4. Start writing content—Ensure that your content is search-optimized.
5. Share your content via social channels.
6. Improve your site’s organic listing & Page Rank—Page Rank is a link analysis algorithm that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents. This is an important algorithm for Google in how it ranks your site. By publishing content on a consistent basis, guest posting and sharing your content, you will find that your site’s natural organic ranking improves over time (I must stress, this takes time!).
Too many people are willing to spout off on a platform that already exists. Problem is, this means that your content and opinion are going to get buried pretty quickly. On a site like Facebook, its mere seconds before your post falls “below the fold.” Sonia Simone published a great post on digital sharecropping in August 2011, titled The Most Dangerous Threat to Your Online Marketing Efforts. In this post, she explains how building your business on “someone else’s land” is a “recipe for heartbreak and failure.”
Although most of you are not looking to build a business, her ideas do apply to the upwelling of political commentary that has bottled up Facebook in recent weeks and months. If you have an idea and want to share it with others, why not build a platform? You have absolutely nothing to lose. Stop yelling on Facebook and expecting that you’re going to make a difference in this upcoming election with your half-baked idea.
When you own your own platform (which is easy these days), you get more control over when your content is published, how this content is published, and how/when to distribute your posts. You gain instant credibility and are able to craft your site in the manner in which you would like to be portrayed. Once you’re publishing content regularly, you will find that readers navigate to your site more often, spend more time on your site, and eventually interact with your site more often. Am I dreaming, or does this all just make too much sense?.
: | http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/business/smart-marketing-tips-from-get-busy-media-build-a-platform-they-will-come-305470-print.html | 2013-05-18T10:41:49 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Anne Knops thought Shen Yun's performance at the National Arts Centre on Thursday Dec. 27, 2012 in Ottawa was lovely. (Courtesy of NTD Television)
OTTAWA—Anne Knops came a long way to see Shen Yun Performing Arts at the National Arts Centre (NAC) on Thursday Dec. 27. New York-based Shen Yun opened in the nation’s capital to a sold out audience despite a major snowstorm blanketing the city.
Ms. Knops lives in Ingersoll, about 600 km southwest of Ottawa. She is a pipe organist, pianist, and choir director. It was her first trip to the NAC in Ottawa.
“It was really worth the trip. I came a long way to hear it, and I’m very pleased,” Ms. Knops said.
She said the show was very professional. “[It’s] top notch. I couldn’t say enough. It’s wonderful.”
Shen Yun takes the audience on a journey through 5,000 years of divinely inspired culture. The company includes the world’s finest classical Chinese dancers, beautiful handcrafted costumes, detailed animated backdrops, and an orchestra combining Chinese instruments, such as the erhu and the pipa, with traditional Western ones for a dramatic new sound.
She thought the musical arrangement was very educational.
“The music is very well done, very precise,” she said.
“The two cultures [East and West] meet very nicely, and it conveys to the audience what we need to hear and see,” Ms. Knops said.
The audience at the NAC gave Shen Yun a resounding standing ovation at the end of the show. The Shen Yun performance impressed Ms. Knops and she said she is aware the company’s travels will take it closer to her home.
“I will maybe try to see it again in Toronto. It’s lovely, lovely,” Ms. Knops said.
Reporting by NTD and Rahul Vaidyanath
New York-based Shen Yun Performing Arts has three touring companies that perform simultaneously around the world. Shen Yun’s New York Company will play five shows in Ottawa starting Dec. 27, and then proceed to Montreal, Toronto, and other cities in eastern Canada. For more information, visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
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Elton John talks about his battle with drugs and how he overcame it….
Elton John hasn’t always been as settled and clean cut as he is now. He had a huge battle with drugs for a long time and the singer says his career started to bloom once he kicked the habit. “My greatest achievement in life was getting sober and clean because I was a real mess. [...]
Straightforward Programs For new payday loans The Latest | http://www.thefabfemme.com/?tag=drugs | 2013-05-18T10:41:46 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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A Tale of Two Marriots
Whenever I stay in a Marriot I find it useful to remember that J. Willard Marriott, the American who founded the world’s biggest hotel group in 1959, was once a Mormon missionary. He was known for dropping in on his properties and terrorizing his employees by running a finger along every shelf in the hotel kitchen: a mote of dust on Willard’s finger and you were in trouble. Willard invented a kind of scrupulosity today associated with the very concept of luxury. Luxury as not only freedom from dust but from cultural specificity. A Marriott hotel was like a capsule from a blissful future where space and time collapsed, and where technology produced a utopian mirage that yielded tangible benefits.
Today, Marriot operates 3,000 hotels in the U.S. and thousands more around the world. In Asia, Marriots are fine hotels; the J.W. in Bangkok, named for Williard himself, is one of the most suavely licentious hotels imaginable. In the ground floor restaurant, Thais in toques dispense a five-cuisine buffet, tending to piles of fresh lobster, ma-muang (mango), toro sushi, and Chao Praya oysters. Girls in silk sarongs saunter through the basement to a soundtrack of ranat ek music, as guests swallow Japanese teppanyaki. One could go on. The ash trays by the elevators are small pillars with six-inch-wide squares of Zen sand raked into ripples. The bamboo thickets swaying above the pools are real.
In Scotland, it’s a different story. Marriot also runs a hotel in downtown Glasgow which costs about a hundred dollars a night more than the J.W. in Bangkok. Are they comparable? That depends on whether you continue to believe in the separation of our world into “first” and “third.” Emotionally, these terms are complicated. But we can tabulate them simply. First world: efficient, capitalized, attentive to consumer detail, service-orientated, unstinting with luxury, convenience-obsessed. (I leave discussions of democracy and human rights for another occasion.) Third world: disorderly, scruffy, dangerously sordid, low standards of convenience, service, insect-control, etc. The third world, as you will see, is the direct inverse of the first, and vice versa.
Recently I was flying to Islay and arrived at the Glasgow Marriott at the end of the afternoon in a rain storm. Here’s a very British scene: exhausted tourist struggling with two large bags in a ferocious downpour while two “bellhops” stare at him from the safety of the hotel’s closed doors, smiling with faint disdain. Time and again, I find myself defending Thais against the ridiculous charge of being “obsequious” simply because they don’t behave like this. Ah, the Scots reply: this is a four star, not a five star. It’s only at a five star that ye get the right to not get drenched. At a four star you’re on your own.
The hotel was invented in the nineteenth century as a home away from home. Marriott took that principle and extrapolated it into a formula for offsetting cultural alienation. In Glasgow, however, they have honed it into an actual mode of cultural alienation. That first Glasgow Marriot night, feeling jetlagged but unable to sleep, I decided to put on my downy bathrobe and venture down into the hotel’s so-called “spa and health club.” It certainly looked like a Marriott spa and health club on the website. I thought of the Jacuzzis and marble bathrooms of the J.W. on Soi 2. In the dark basement of the Glasgow branch, however, the girls told me there were no towels available.
“But this is a health club and spa,” I objected.
“Aye, but there’s nae towels.”
“None at all? Not even one?”
They shook their heads as if this was a natural disaster that could be only rectified with time. “They’ve nae been delivered,” they explained.
I wondered who it was who delivered the towels. I went into the pool area. It was like a pool in a New York City high school, half cordoned-off, empty, with life buoys shaped like British Polo mints and a strong scent of disinfectant. Even the chairs were plastic. As I floated there in the tepid water, two Polish girls arrived in swimsuits, took one look and said “Cholera” in Polish. That word in Polish is derived directly from the name of the disease and translates roughly as “Holy shit.” So even by the standards of Polish tourists in Europe, the Glasgow Marriott struck a dismal note.
It is strange how the idea of luxury itself is both easily transplantable across cultural frontiers but also fragilely dependent upon local custom. Thais understand luxury instinctively, while Scots do not. This is not to say that luxury does not exist in Scotland; there is plenty of it there, from the Gleneagles golf resort to countless majestic castle hotels like Inverlochy and Stobo. But just below that exalted level there is so often a worm in the apple, somehow — an underlying attitude of class resent. In Britain, service is often seen as servitude; luxury seems like something alien and imposed. In Asia it is anything but.
If we are social utilitarians, the distrust of luxury is justified. After all, it’s an illusion deliberately intended to make us forget our political and social bearings, which is to say our real life. But the luxury hotel, by definition, is a kind of therapeutic exit from such contexts, and implicit in the idea and practice of luxury is a kind of transformation through unreasonable delight. Humans have always loved luxury because it expresses an impersonal love of some kind. Wander through the Met museum and gaze at the gold hair pins of ancient Greece. Isn’t there a love of beauty, order, craftsmanship and — if you like — female hair, all contained in those tiny, useless objects? A hotel should feel the same, even if it’s ultimately about your credit card.
The next morning in Glasgow, I went down to the buffet breakfast. If all else was dismal, I thought, at least the Marriott would put on a jolly attempt at this beloved expression of gluttony. I got there before everyone else and noticed at once the trays of bubbling porridge. A surly and sleepy Russian guy stood behind the griddles in a toque. There was a plate of tiny pancakes in front of him, already stone cold, and so I asked him if he could perhaps make another tiny pancake from scratch. He shrugged. As in Soviet days, “from scratch” was impossible. He made a mournful face. He would only do fried eggs and chips. Around us were troughs of baked beans and pre-fried eggs, congealed bacon and small packets of Rice Krispies, lacking only Basil Fawlty’s immortal garnish of “a couple of dead dogs.” Fruit juice from Sainsbury’s cartons, and you were lucky to have it.
It was like flying on an American airline: You were actually punished for being foolish enough to choose the brand. The staff seemed to say: you thought you could get something out of us? You thought you would get a hot meal and a smile?
The long association of modernity, and therefore luxury (in its most visible incarnation), with the West has now been broken. Soon, I predict, Asian hotel chains will send their employees to the West to witness the instructive horrors of “third world” infrastructure, service, and product levels. Marriott clearly would never run a Glasgow-style outfit in an Asian country. They would fear the loss of image. In Glasgow, of course, they are doing well. Occupancy is high and customer satisfaction is not at all catastrophic, as a glance at their Tripadvisor page shows. The clients of the Glasgow Marriot are still passive citizens, not enraged consumers. “Very nice place,” people from Texas and Doncaster write with sublime objectivity. “Very nice buffet breakfast.”
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TheFirearmsForum.Com
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model 94 winchester
wfc41
06-05-2012, 05:45 PM
need help estimating cost on a winchester model 94 30-30 serial 1539029
BETH
06-05-2012, 05:56 PM
do u mean what it is worth? Need to put up some pictures also
permafrost
06-05-2012, 05:57 PM
need help estimating cost on a winchester model 94 30-30 serial 1539029
Post pics if you can. That would determine value. Serial # puts it in the pre-64 range. A good thing, but the experts will be along shortly. Again, pics if possible.
JLA
06-05-2012, 06:00 PM
Proper sub forum also helps.. ;)
Shooter45
06-05-2012, 06:11 PM
Also read this.
Help us help you.
Bert H.
06-05-2012, 08:54 PM
Hello wcf41,
Your Model 94 is a 1948 vintage Flat-band Carbine. The value is determined by the graded condition. If you can post several clear close-up pictures of the gun (front to back, both sides), I can provide a reasonably accurate evaluation and assessment of it for you.
Bert H.
vBulletin® v3.8.7, Copyright ©2000-2013, vBulletin Solutions, Inc. | http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/archive/index.php/t-108083.html | 2013-05-18T10:24:39 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
12 eggs
1 cup milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup finely chopped jalapeno (fresh or jar)
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese, divided
12 (6-inch) flour tortillas
2 to 3 tablespoons butter, divided
Using a whisk or rotary beater, mix eggs, milk, and remaining
seasonings in a glass bowl. Stir in jalapenos and one cup of cheese and
set aside. In a skillet over medium heat, melt one tablespoon butter.
Place tortilla in hot skillet and cook for 30 seconds, flip and cook
for 30 seconds. Repeat with remaining tortillas and keep warm. Melt
remaining butter in skillet, and when butter is foamy pour in eggs.
Using a spatula or wooden spoon, cook eggs until just set, gently
stirring. Remove from heat. Lightly butter 9 x 13-inch baking dish, and
heat oven broiler to medium. Lay tortilla on a flat surface, and spoon
1/2 cup of cooked eggs in center of tortilla. Gently fold over one side
and then the other, covering eggs. Place stuffed tortilla seam side
down in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas and sprinkle
remaining cheese on top of tortillas. Place baking dish under broiler
and cook until cheese is bubbly and melted. Serve immediately with Pico
de Gallo.
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely minced
3 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
Juice of 3 limes
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients and chill for several hours. Check seasonings and
serve.
6 eggs, boiled and peeled
1 (1 1/2-pound) ham, sliced
1/2 stick, plus 2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2-2 cups half-and-half or cream
1-2 teaspoons hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
3 English muffins, split in half
1 cup fresh chives, chopped
Cut boiled eggs in half, gently scoop out yolks, and place in a
separate bowl. Finely dice cooked whites and set aside. In a
medium-sized skillet, lightly fry ham in 2 tablespoons of butter. Set
aside and keep warm. Add remaining butter to skillet and heat until
foamy. Add flour and whisk until mixture is smooth. Slowly add
half-and-half or cream and continue whisking until sauce is silky and
completely of lumps. Reduce heat; add chopped egg whites, hot sauce,
salt, and pepper. Toast English muffins and place on a plate. Top with
several pieces of ham. Pour white sauce over ham and muffin and top
with egg yolks that have been pushed through a fine sieve. Sprinkle
with chopped chives, and serve immediately.
6 eggs, boiled, peeled, and chopped
1/4 cup capers, rinsed
1/2 cup Spanish olives, chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, and hot sauce to taste
1/2 cup mayonnaise mixed with 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Leaf lettuce
12 white or wheat bread slices, lightly toasted
In a glass bowl, mix eggs, capers, olives, and celery together. Gently
blend in seasonings and mayonnaise, adding more or less as needed.
Place lettuce leaves on 6 slices of bread and top with scoop of egg
salad. Place remaining bread slices on each sandwich and slice in
half.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 large eggs
8 to 10 cups torn lettuces
4 slices Canadian bacon, cooked and chopped roughly
4 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
Paprika for garnish
In a small bowl, whisk together oil and vinegar. Season dressing with
salt and pepper to taste. Bring 6 cups water and a pinch of salt to
simmer in saucepan over medium heat. Crack egg and gently slide into
pan of simmering water. Poach each egg until the white is just set,
about 2 minutes. Remove from water with slotted spoon; keep warm. Toss
lettuces with vinaigrette and divide among four plates. Top each with
bacon, radishes, and red onion slices. Place a poached egg on each
salad, and drizzle Hollandaise Sauce. Dust with paprika.
3 egg yolks
Juice of 2 lemons
1 stick butter, cut into 8 pieces
Place egg yolks and lemon juice in top of a double boiler, and bring
water in bottom pot to a simmer. Whisk eggs continuously until mixture
is thick. Reduce heat and add butter 1 piece at a time, stirring after
each addition. Keep warm until ready to use.
1 quart half-and-half or cream
2 cups sugar, divided
1 vanilla bean, split
8 eggs, separated
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
Heat half-and-half or cream, sugar, and vanilla bean over medium heat
in heavy-bottomed saucepan. As soon as mixture begins to boil, reduce
heat to low simmer until ready to poach meringues. Beat egg whites with
salt until soft peaks form. Add 1/2 cup sugar slowly until all is
incorporated and whites are stiff. Working in batches, form egg whites
into egg-shaped mounds, using 2 large serving spoons. Gently spoon
meringues into hot cream mixture. Poach for 2 minutes on each side,
turning with slotted spoon. Remove meringues from cream and place on
paper towels to drain. To make custard, beat egg yolks with remaining 1
1/2 cups sugar until light-colored and very thick. Strain cream mixture
into another saucepan over medium heat. When mixture begins to bubble,
add 1/2 cup to egg yolks, whisking constantly to keep eggs from
curdling. Pour yolks into hot milk and stir constantly with a wooden
spoon, scraping bottom of pan to make sure it is not cooking to fast.
The custard is cooked when it coats back of spoon evenly. Remove from
heat and strain to remove lumps. Chill until ready to serve. Spoon
custard into balloon-shaped goblets or parfaits and place a meringue in
each glass.
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"Dur dur d'être bébé!" is a 1992 song recorded by French singer Jordy Lemoine, just known under the name Jordy. First single from his debut album Pochette surprise, it was released in September 1992 and achieved a huge success across the world, particularly in France. In U.S., the song was released under the title "Dur dur d'être bébé! (It's Tough to Be a Baby)".
After having tried to involve Jordy in TV advertisements for nappies where the baby should repeat "hard, hard to be wet", Claude Lemoine, Jordy's father, had the idea of using a dance music and simple lyrics to create a catchy song. As it was well-received in discothèques, that convinced Lemoine of releasing it as a single.[1]
An English-language version and a mix version were also recorded and are available on the album Pochette Surprise.
Thanks to this song, Jordy was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest singer ever to reach number 1 on a singles chart. Indeed, he achieved this feat in France from October 1992 at the tender age of four and a half, beating the previous records owned by Elsa Lunghini who topped the chart when she was 13 years old. Jordy was also the youngest artist to chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Dur dur d'être bébé!" entered the French chart at #4 on September 26, 1992, reached #2 for two weeks, then topped the chart for 15 weeks, which was the record at the time, record formerly held by Images' "Les Démons de minuit" (1986) and Licence IV's "Viens boire un p'tit coup à la maison" (1987), with 13 weeks atop. It was #2 for other four weeks, then almost kept on dropping on the chart, totalling 26 weeks in the top ten and 30 weeks in the top 50. "Dur dur d'être bébé!" was also a dance hit across Europe, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia and Japan.
To date, the song is the 224th best-selling single of all time in France.[2] | http://www.thefullwiki.org/Dur_dur_d'%C3%AAtre_b%C3%A9b%C3%A9! | 2013-05-18T10:31:51 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
case was appealed from a decision by the Supreme Court of Connecticut in favor of the City of New London. The state supreme court held that the use of eminent domain for economic development did not violate the public use clauses of the state and federal constitutions. The court held that if an economic project creates new jobs, increases tax and other city revenues, and revitalizes a depressed urban area (even if not blighted), then the project qualifies as a public use. The court also ruled constitutional the government delegation of its eminent domain power to a private entity.
The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider questions raised in Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954) and later in Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff, 467 U.S. 229 (1984).[2] Namely, whether a "public purpose" constitutes takings for economic development, rather than, as in Berman, for the elimination of slums and blight?
The decision was widely criticized.[3].[4] "Federal appeals court judge Richard Posner wrote that the political response to Kelo is "evidence of [the decision's] pragmatic soundness." Judicial action would be unnecessary, Posner suggested, because the political process could take care of the problem."[5][6] taking and subsequent transfer of the land to the New London Development Corporation, did not qualify as public use. The Connecticut Supreme Court heard arguments on Dec.[7]. Justice Peter T. Zarella wrote the dissent, joined by Chief Justice William J. Sullivan and Justice Joette Katz[8].."
On June 23, 2005, the Supreme Court, in a 5–4 decision, ruled in favor of the City of New London. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justices Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. Justice Kennedy wrote a concurring opinion setting out a more detailed standard for judicial review of economic development takings than that found in Stevens's majority opinion. In so doing, Justice Kennedy; he sets out a program of civil discovery in the context of a challenge to an assertion of government purpose. wrote: did not establish entirely new law concerning eminent domain. Although.
On June 25, 2005, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the principal dissent, joined by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Clarence Thomas. The dissenting opinion suggested that the use of this taking:
Following the decision, many of the plaintiffs expressed an intent to find other means by which they could continue contesting the seizure of their homes.[10] Soon after the decision, city officials announced plans to charge the residents of the homes for back rent for the five years since condemnation procedures began. The city contended.[11] Three years after the Supreme Court case was decided, the Kelo house was dedicated after being relocated to a site close to downtown New London.[12] The city's redevelopment plans that were heavily relied on in the Supreme Court opinion in justification of the taking, proved to be chimerical. In spite of repeated efforts, the redeveloper (who stood to get a 91-acre waterfront tract of land for $1 per year) was unable to obtain financing, and the redevelopment project was abandoned. As of the beginning of 2010, the original Kelo property was a vacant lot, generating no tax revenue for the city.[13].[14]
Three years later, however, the land where Susette Kelo's home had once stood was an empty lot, and the promised 3,169 new jobs and $1.2 million a year in tax revenues had not materialized. The land was never deeded back to the original homeowners, most of whom have left New London for nearby communities.[13] In addition, in September 2009, Pfizer, whose upscale employees were supposed to be the clientele of the Fort Trumbull redevelopment project, completed its merger with Wyeth, resulting in a consolidation of research facilities of the two companies. Shortly after the merger closed, Pfizer decided to close its New London facility in favor of one across the Thames River in nearby Groton by 2011; this move coincides with the expiration of tax breaks on the New London campus that also expire by 2011, when Pfizer's tax bill on the property would have increased almost five-fold.[15].[17]
The Chronicle editorial quoted from the New York Times:
"They stole our home for economic development," ousted homeowner Michael Cristofaro told the New York Times. "It was all for Pfizer, and now they get up and walk away."
Public reaction to the decision was highly unfavorable and, as a result, many states changed their eminent domain laws. Prior to the Kelo decision, only eight states specifically prohibited the use of eminent domain for economic development except to eliminate blight. Since the decision, forty-three states have amended their eminent domain laws, although some of these changes are cosmetic.[18].[19][20]
The New York Times editorial board agreed with the ruling, calling it "a welcome vindication of cities' ability to act in the public interest."[21] The Washington Post's editorial board also agreed with the ruling, writing, "... the court's decision was correct... New London's plan, whatever its flaws, is intended to help develop a city that has been in economic decline for many years."[22]
On June 23, 2006, the first anniversary of the original decision, President George W. Bush issued an executive order[23] instructing the federal government to use eminent domain
However, since eminent domain is often exercised by local and state governments, the presidential order may thus have little overall effect.
On June 27, 2005, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced legislation, the "Protection of Homes, Small Businesses and Private Property Act of 2005" (S.B. 1313), to limit the use of eminent domain for economic development. The operative language.[25]
In 2008, land use Professor Daniel R. Mandelker argued that the public backlash against Kelo is rooted in the historical deficiencies of urban renewal legislation.[26].[27]
Prior to Kelo only eight states specifically prohibited the use of eminent domain for economic development except to eliminate blight: Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, South Carolina and Washington.[28].[27][29]
Proposition 207, the Private Property Rights Protection Act, passed in 2006.."[30] It passed by an overwhelming margin in the 2006 general election.[31]
Proposition 90 failed in the November 2006 election.[32] The initiative also included language requiring that government pay financial compensation to any property owners who could successfully argue that regulation caused them significant economic loss. Subsequently, Proposition 99 passed in the June 2008 election. It amends the state constitution to prohibit (subject to some exceptions):
However, under preexisting California law such takings (for conveyance to a private party, as opposed to a public use that may incidentally benefit private parties) were already illegal.
Florida passed a 2006 ballot measure amending the Florida Constitution to restrict use of eminent domain.[33] The amendment says in part:
The Iowa Legislature passed a 2006 bill restricting the use of eminent domain for economic development. Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) vetoed the bill,[34] prompting the first special session of the Iowa Legislature in more than 40 years. The veto was overridden by votes of 90-8 in the Iowa House and 41-8 in the Iowa Senate.[35]
An attempted use of eminent domain was brought before the Ohio supreme court in Norwood, Ohio v. Horney. The Supreme Court of Ohio held in favor of the property owners.
Michigan passed a restriction on the use of eminent domain in November 2006, Proposition 4, 80% to 20%.[36] The text of the ballot initiative was as follows:[37].[38]
The Wisconsin law has been criticized as one having little or no real protection for property owners because it provides protection against property condemnation for economic development but does allow property condemnation under a broadly defined description of blighted.[39][40]
Coordinates: 41°20′39″N 72°05′50″W / 41.344082°N 72.097220°W | http://www.thefullwiki.org/Kelo_v._City_of_New_London | 2013-05-18T10:31:54 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
J August of 1939, at Stalin's direction, the Soviet Union entered into a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, containing a secret protocol, dividing the whole of eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. Thereafter, Germany and the Soviet Union invaded their apportioned sections of Poland. The Soviet Union later invaded Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and part of Romania, along with an attempted invasion of Finland. Stalin and Hitler later traded proposals for a Soviet entry into the Axis Pact.
In June of 1941, Germany began an invasion of the Soviet Union, before which Stalin had ignored reports of a German invasion. Stalin was confident that the total Allied war machine would eventually stop Germany[1], and the Soviets stopped the Wehrmacht 20 miles Operation Bagration and the Vistula-Oder Offensive. Stalin began to listen to his generals more after Kursk.
Stalin met with Churchill and Roosevelt in Tehran Conference and began to discuss a two-front war against Germany and future of Europe after the war. Berlin finally fell in April of 1945, but Stalin was never fully convinced his nemesis Hitler had actually committed suicide. Fending off the German invasion and pressing to victory in the East required a tremendous sacrifice by the Soviet Union, which suffered military casualties of approximately 35' treatment of their own soldiers who had spent time in German POW camps.
In August of 1939, Stalin accepted Adolf Hitler's proposal to enter into a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany, negotiated by Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.[2] Officially a non-aggression treaty only, an appended secret protocol, also reached on August 23, 1939, divided the whole of eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence.[3][4] The USSR was promised an eastern part of Poland, primarily populated with Ukrainians and Belarusians, in case of its dissolution, and additionally Latvia, Estonia and Finland were recognized as parts of the Soviet sphere of influence,[4] with Lithuania added in a second secret protocol in September of 1939.[5] Another clause of the treaty was that Bessarabia, then part of Romania, was to be joined to the Moldovan ASSR, and become the Moldovan SSR under control of Moscow.[4]
The Pact was reached two days after the breakdown of Soviet military talks with British and French representatives in August of 1939 over a potential Franco-Anglo-Soviet alliance.[6][7] Political discussions had been suspended on August 2 when Molotov stated they could not be restarted until progress was made in military talks late in August,[8] after the talks had stalled over guarantees of the Baltic states,[9][10] while the military talks upon which Molotov insisted[9] started on 11 August.[11][6] At the same time, Germany -- with whom the Soviets had started secret discussions since July 29[12][13][14][15][16] -- argued that it could offer the Soviets better terms than Britain and France, with Ribbentrop insisting "there was no problem between the Baltic and the Black Sea that could not be solved between the two of us."[6][17][18]."[17][19] By that time, Molotov obtained information regarding Anglo-German negotiations and a pessimistic report from the Soviet ambassador in France.[12] After disagreement regarding Stalin's demand to move Red Army troops through Poland and Romania (which Poland and Romania opposed),[11][6].[11] That same day, Stalin received assurance that Germany would approve secret protocols to the proposed non-aggression pact that would grant the Soviets land in Poland, the Baltic states, Finland and Romania,[20] after which Stalin telegrammed Hitler that night that the Soviets were willing to sign the pact and that he would receive Ribbentrop on August 23..[22][23][24] Stalin also viewed the Pact as gaining time in an inevitable war with Hitler in order to reinforce the Soviet military and shifting Soviet borders westwards, which would be militarily beneficial in such a war.[25][26]."[27] They further traded toasts, with Stalin proposing a toast to Hitler's health and Ribbentrop proposing a toast to Stalin.[27]
On September 1, 1939, the German invasion of its agreed upon portion of Poland started World War II.[2] On September 17 the Red Army invaded eastern Poland and occupied the Polish territory assigned to it by the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, followed by co-ordination with German forces in Poland.[28][29] Eleven days later, the secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was modified, allotting Germany a larger part of Poland, while ceding most of Lithuania to the Soviet Union.[30] The Soviet portions lay east of the so-called Curzon Line, an ethnographic frontier between Russia and Poland drawn up by a commission of the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.[31] In early 1940, the Soviets executed over 25,000 Polish POWs and political prisoners in the Katyn Forrest.[31]
In August of 1939, Stalin declared that he was going to "solve the Baltic problem, and thereafter, forced Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to sign treaties for "mutual assistance."[30]
After unsuccessfully attempting to install a communist puppet government in Finland, in November of 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland.[32] The Finnish defense defied Soviet expectations, and after stiff losses, Stalin settled for an interim peace granting the Soviet Union less than total domination by annexing only the eastern region of Karelia (10% of Finnish territory).[32] Soviet official casualty counts in the war exceeded 200,000,[33] while Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev later claimed the casualties may have been one million.[34] After this campaign, Stalin took actions to bolster the Soviet military, modify training and improve propaganda efforts in the Soviet military.[35]
In mid-June of 1940, when international attention was focused on the German invasion of France, Soviet NKVD troops raided border posts in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia.[30][36] Stalin claimed that the mutual assistance treaties had been violated, and gave six hour ultimatums for new governments to be formed in each country, including lists of persons for cabinet posts provided by the Kremlin.[30] Thereafter, state administrations were liquidated and replaced by Soviet cadres, followed by mass repression[30] in which 34,250 Latvians, 75,000 Lithuanians and almost 60,000 Estonians were deported or killed.[37].[38] The resulting peoples assemblies immediately requested admission into the USSR, which was granted by the Soviet Union.[38]
In late June 1940, Stalin directed the Soviet annexation of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, proclaiming this formerly Romanian territory part of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.[39] But in annexing northern Bukovina, Stalin had gone beyond the agreed limits of the secret protocol.[39]
After the Tripartite Pact was signed by Axis Powers Germany, Japan and Italy, in October of 1940, Stalin personally wrote to Ribbentrop about entering an agreement regarding a "permanent basis" for their "mutual interests."[40] Stalin sent Molotov to Berlin to negotiate the terms for the Soviet Union to join the Axis and potentially enjoy the spoils of the pact.[39] At Stalin's direction,[41] Molotov insisted on Soviet interest in Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Greece,[41] though Stalin had earlier unsuccessfully personally lobbied Turkish leaders to not sign a mutual assistance pact with Britain and France.[42] Ribbentrop asked Molotov to sign another secret protocol with the statement: "The focal point of the territorial aspirations of the Soviet Union would presumably be centered south of the territory of the Soviet Union in the direction of the Indian Ocean."[41] Molotov took the position that he could not take a "definite stand" on this without Stalin's agreement.[41] Stalin did not agree with the suggested protocol, and negotiations broke down.[40] In response to a later German proposal, Stalin's stated that the Soviets would join the Axis if Germany foreclosed acting in the Soviet's sphere of influence.[43] Shortly thereafter, Hitler issued a secret directive on the eventual attempts to invade the Soviet Union.[43]
In an effort to demonstrate peaceful intentions toward Germany, on April 13, 1941, Stalin oversaw the signing of a neutrality pact with Axis power Japan.[44] While Stalin had little faith in Japan's commitment to neutrality, he felt that the pact was important for its political symbolism, to reinforce a public affection for Germany.[45] Stalin felt that there was a growing split in German circles about whether Germany should initiate a war with the Soviet Union.[45]
During the early morning of June 22, 1941, Hitler broke the pact by implementing Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of Soviet held territories and the Soviet Union that began the war on the Eastern Front.[46] Before the invasion, Stalin felt that Germany would not attack the Soviet Union until Germany had defeated Britain.[47] At the same time, Soviet generals warned Stalin that Germany had concentrated forces on its borders.[47] As well, two highly placed Soviet spies in Germany, "Starshina" and "Korsikanets", had sent dozens of reports to Moscow containing evidence of a German attack.[47][48] Further warnings came from Richard Sorge, a Soviet spy in Tokyo working under cover as a German journalist.[49]
Seven days before the invasion, a Soviet spy in Berlin warned Stalin that the movement of German divisions to the borders was for the purpose of waging war on the Soviet Union.[49] Five days before the attack, Stalin received a report from a spy in the German Air Ministy that "all preparations by Germany for an armed attack on the Soviet Union have been completed, and the blow can be expected at any time."[50] In the margin, Stalin wrote to the people's commissar for state security, "you can send your 'source' from the headquarters of German aviation to his mother. This is not a 'source' but a dezinformator."[50] Although Stalin increased Soviet western border forces to 2.7 million men and ordered them to expect a possible German invasion, he did not order a full-scale mobilization of forces to prepare for an attack.[51] Stalin felt that a mobilization might provoke Hitler to prematurely begin to wage war against the Soviet Union, which Stalin wanted to delay until 1942 in order to further strengthen Soviet forces.[52]
A theory suggested by Viktor Suvorov claims that Stalin had made aggressive preparations beginning in the late 1930s and was preparing to invade Germany in summer 1941. Thus, he believes Hitler only managed to forestall Stalin and the German invasion was in essence a pre-emptive strike, precisely as Hitler claimed himself. and especially Gabriel Gorodetsky reject this thesis.[53] General Fedor von Boch's diary states that the Abwehr fully expected a Soviet attack against German forces in Poland no later than 1942.
In the initial hours after the German attack commenced, Stalin hesitated, wanting to ensure that the German attack was sanctioned by Hitler, rather than the unauthorized action of a rogue general.[54] Accounts by Nikita Khrushchev and Anastas Mikoyan claim that, after the invasion, Stalin retreated to his dacha in despair for several days and did not participate in leadership decisions.[55] However, some documentary evidence of orders given by Stalin contradicts these accounts, leading some historians to speculate that Kruschev's account is inaccurate.[56]
In the first three weeks of the invasion, attempting to defend against large German advances, the Soviet Union suffered 750,000 casualties, and lost 10,000 tanks and 4,000 aircraft.[57] In July of 1940, Stalin completely reorganized the Soviet military, placing himself directly in charge of several military organizations, which gave him complete control of his country's entire war effort; more control than any other leader in World War II.[58]
A pattern soon emerged where Stalin embraced the Red Army's strategy of conducting multiple offensives, while the Germans soon overran each of the resulting small newly gained grounds, dealing the Soviets severe casualties.[59] The most notable example of this was the Battle of Kiev, where over 600,000 Soviet troops were quickly killed, captured or had gone missing.[59]
By the end of 1941, the Soviet military had suffered 4.3 million casualties[60] and the Germans had captured 3.0 million Soviet prisoners, 2.0 million of which would die in German captivity by February of 1942.[57] German forces had advanced 1,050 miles (1,690 kilometers), and maintained a linearly-measured front of 1,900 miles (3,058 kilometers).[61] The Red Army put up fierce resistance during the war's early stages. Even so, according to Glantz, they were plagued by an ineffective defense doctrine against well-trained and experienced German forces, despite possessing some modern Soviet equipment such as the KV-1 and T-34 tanks..[62] While the Germans pressed forward, Stalin was confident of an eventual Allied victory over Germany. In September of.[63] The British agreed to assistance but refused to agree upon the territorial gains, which Stalin accepted months later as the military situation deteriorated somewhat in mid-1942.[63] the German's war effort would crumble against the the British-American-Soviet "war engine".[64].[65] By December, Hitler's troops had advanced to within 20 miles of the Kremlin in Moscow.[66] On December 5, the Soviets launched a counteroffensive, pushing German troops back 40-50 miles from Moscow, the Wehrmacht's first significant defeat of the war.[66]
The Soviets then in early 1942 began a series of offensives labeled "Stalin's First Strategic Offensives", through there is no concrete evidence that Stalin actually engineered the offensives.[67] The counteroffensive bogged down, in part due to mud from rains, in the Spring of 1942.[60] Stalin's attempt to retake Kharkov in the Ukraine ended in disastrous encirclement of Soviet forces, with over 200,000 Soviet casualties suffered.[68] Stalin attacked the competence of the generals involved.[69] Later, General Georgy Zhukov and others revealed that some of those generals had wished to remain a defensive posture in the region but Stalin and others that had pushed for the offensive, though some doubt Zhukov's account.[69].[70] While Red Army generals saw evidence that Hitler would shift efforts south, Stalin considered this to be a flanking campaign in efforts to take Moscow.[69] The German southern campaign began with a push to capture the Crimea which ended in disaster for the Red Army, and caused Stalin to issue a broad scolding of his generals' leadership.[68] In their southern campaigns, the Germans took 625,000 Red Army prisoners in July and August of 1942 alone.[71].[72].[71] Hitler insisted upon splitting German southern forces in a simultaneous siege of Stalingrad and an offensive against Baku on the Caspian Sea.[73] Stalin directed his generals to spare no effort or shirk any sacrifice to defend Stalingrad.[74] Although the Soviets suffered in excess of 1.1 million casualties at Stalingrad, [75] the victory over German forces, including the encirclement of 290,000 Axis troops, marked a turning point in the war.[76]
Within a year after Barbarossa, Stalin reopened the churches in the Soviet Union.. One account states that Stalin's reversal followed a sign that he purportedly received from heaven.[77]."[77]."[77] Radzinsky asked, "Had he seen the light? Had fear made him run to his Father? Had the Marxist God-Man simply decided to exploit belief in God? Or was it all of these things at once?."[77].[78] canceled-1942. over half of European Russia, including 40% (80 million) of its population, and one million square miles of Russian territory.[83] The Soviets had also prepared for war for oforussiaorussia and the western Ukraine, along with the successful effective destruction of the Army Group Centre and 300,000 German casualties, though at the cost of over 750,000 Soviet casualties.[91]
Successes at Operation Bagration and in the year that followed were, in large part, of 1945.[97]
Other important advances occurred in late 1944, such as the invasion of Romania in August and Bulgaria.[97] The Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria in September of 1944 and invaded the country, installing a communist government.[98] Following the invasion of these Balkan countries, Stalin and Churchill met in the fall in the subsequent Battle of Budapest until February of 1945, when the remaining Hungarians signed an armistice with the Soviet Union.[101].[102].
By April of 1945, Germany faced its last days with 1.9 million German soldiers in the East fighting 6.4 million Red Army soldiers while 1 million German soldiers in the West battled 4 million Western Allied soldiers.[103].[104][105] Stalin still remained suspicious that western Allied forces holding at the Elbe river might move on the capital and, even in the last days, that the Americans might employ their two airborne divisions to capture the city.[106]
Stalin directed the Red Army to move rapidly in a broad front into Germany because he did not believe the Western Allies would hand over territory they occupied, while he made the overriding objective capturing Berlin.[107] After successfully capturing Eastern Prussia, three Red Army fronts converged on the heart of Eastern Germany, with one of the last pitched battles of the war putting the Soviets at the virtual gates of Berlin.[108] By April 24, Berlin was encircled by elements of two Soviet fronts,[109] one of which had begun a massive shelling of the city on April 20 that would not end until the city's surrender.[110] On April 30, Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide, after which Soviet forces found their remains, which had been burned at Hitler's directive.[111].[112] Despite the Soviets' possession of Hitler's remains, Stalin did not believe that his old nemesis was actually dead, a belief that remained for years after the war.[113][114] Stalin also later directed aides to spend years researching and writing a secret book about Hitler's life for his own private reading that reflected Stalin's prejudices, including an absence of criticism of Hitler for his treatment of Jews.[115]).[116] Although figures vary, the Soviet civilian death toll probably reached 20 million.[116] Millions of Soviet soldiers and civilians disappeared into German detention camps and slave labor factories, while millions more suffered permanent physical and mental damage.[116] Economic losses, including losses in resources and manufacturing capacity in western Russia and Ukraine, were also catastrophic.[116] The war resulted in the destruction of approximately 70,000 Soviet cities, towns and villages.[117] Destroyed in that process were 6 million houses, 98,000 farms, 32,000 factories, 82,000 schools, 43,000 libraries, 6,000 hospitals and thousands of miles of roads and railway track.[117]
After taking around 300,000 Polish prisoners in 1939 and early 1940,[118][119] [120][121 ][119] NKVD officers conducted lengthy interrogations of the prisoners in camps that were, in effect, a selection process to determine who would be killed.[122].[123] This became known as the Katyn massacre.[122][124][125] Major-General Vasili M. Blokhin, chief executioner for the NKVD, personally shot 6,000 of the captured Polish officers in 28 consecutive nights, which remains one of the most organized and protracted mass murders by a single individual on record[126][127] During his 29 year career Blokhin shot an estimated 50,000 people,[128] making him ostensibly the most prolific official executioner in recorded world history.[126]
Stalin personally told a Polish general requesting information about missing officers that all of the Poles were freed, and that not all could be accounted because the Soviets "lost track" of them in Manchuria.[129][130][131] After Polish railroad workers found the mass grave,[132] the Nazi's used the massacre to attempt to drive a wedge between Stalin and the other Allies,[133] including bringing in a European commission of investigators from twelve countries to examine the graves.[134] In 1943, as the Soviets prepared to retake Poland, Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels correctly guessed that Stalin would attempt to falsely claim that the Germans massacred the victims.[135] As Goebbels predicted, the Soviets had a "commission" investigate the matter, falsely concluding that the Germans had killed the POWs.[122] The Soviets did not admit responsibility until 1990.[136].[137] Their family members were subjected to arrest.[138] The second provision of the order directed all units fighting in encirclements to use every possibility to fight.[138] [138] The order also required division commanders to demote and, if necessary, even to shoot on the spot those commanders who failed to command the battle directly in the battlefield.[138] Thereafter, Stalin also conducted a purge of several military commanders that were shot for "cowardice" without a trial.[138]
In June of.[56].[139] Many others were simply deported east.[140][141]
In July of 1942, Stalin issued Order No. 227, directing that any commander or commissar of a regiment, battalion or army, who allowed retreat without permission from his superiors was subject to military tribunal.[142] The order called for soldiers found guilty of disciplinary measures to be forced into "penal battalions", which were sent to the most dangerous sections of the front lines.[142] From 1942 to 1945, 427,910 soldiers were assigned to penal battalions.[143] The order also directed "blocking detachments" to shoot fleeing panicked troops at the rear.[142] In the first two months following the order, over 1,000 troops were shot by blocking units and blocking units sent over 130,000 troops to penal battalions. [142] Despite having some effect initially, this measure proved to have a deteriorating effect on the troops' morale, so by October 1942 the idea of regular blocking units was quietly dropped[144] By 20 November, 1944 the blocking units were disbanded officially.[143]
After the capture of Berlin, Soviet troops reportedly raped German women and girls, with total victim estimates ranging from tens of thousands to two million.[145] During and after the occupation of Budapest, (Hungary), an estimated 50,000 women and girls were raped.[146][147]?"[147]
In former Axis countries, such as Germany, Romania and Hungary, Red Army officers generally viewed cities, villages and farms as being open to pillaging and looting.[148] For example, Red Army soldiers and NKVD members frequently looted transport trains in 1944 and 1945 in Poland[149] and Soviet soldiers set fire to the city centre of Demmin while preventing the inhabitants from extinguishing the blaze,[150] which, along with multiple rapes, played a part in causing over 900 citizens of the city to commit suicide.[151].."[152][153] Accordingly, all evidence of looting, rapes and destruction by the Red Army was deleted from archives in the Soviet occupation zone.[154 ]
Stalin's personal military leadership was emphasied as part of the "cult of personality" after the publication of Stalin's ten victories extracted from 6 November 1944 speech "27th anniversary of the Great October socialist revolution" (Russian: «27-я годовщина») during the 1944 meeting of the Moscow's Soviet deputies..[155]
Soviet POWs and forced laborers who survived German captivity were sent to special "transit" or "filtration" camps meant determine which were potential traitors.[93] Of the approximately 4 million to be repatriated 2,660,013 were civilians and 1,539,475 were former POWs. [93] Of the total, 2,427,906 were sent home and 801,152 were reconscripted into the armed forces.[93] 608,095 were enrolled in the work battalions of the defense ministry.[93] 272,867 were transferred to the authority of the NKVD for punishment, which meant a transfer to the Gulag system.[93][156][157] 89,468 remained in the transit camps as reception personnel until the repatriation process was finally wound up in the early 1950s.[93] | http://www.thefullwiki.org/Stalin_in_World_War_II | 2013-05-18T10:12:31 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
RUSS SCHUMACHER OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO WINS A QUARTER MILLION DOLLAR GRAND PRIZE ON "JEOPARDY!" TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
(CULVER CITY, CA) October 1, 2004 - Russ Schumacher, a graduate student from Fort Collins, Colorado, has won the prestigious Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. Schumacher, 25, competed in the two-week tournament which showcased the quiz show's top players from recent seasons.
Previously, Schumacher won $64,800 in October 2003.
Asked how he won the tournament, Schumacher says, "I think it was a combination of being in-sync with the buzzer and studying books, almanacs and the internet. All that studying obviously paid off."
Will winning $250,000 as Jeopardy! champion change his lifestyle much? "It's hard for me to think about that now," he said, "but I think it will be a nice cushion. I'll be able to save for the future, travel and put some money towards my January wedding and honeymoon. I will do things I wouldn't be able to do otherwise."
Schumacher, formerly of Chaska, Minnesota, was joined by fellow Jeopardy! alumni, including an actor, bartender, cab driver and crime data specialist, to name a few.
"It was a great honor to be back to compete against some of the best Jeopardy! players," he added. Prior to their appearances on the Tournament of Champions, the 15 contestants had cumulatively earned over $1 million in cash.
Schumacher, who has watched Jeopardy! since he was in grammar school, is currently a graduate student studying atmospheric science at Colorado State University. He attended Valparaiso University as an undergraduate, where he earned a B.S. in meteorology. When he's not studying, he enjoys playing golf, baseball and music.
The top prize for Jeopardy!'s Tournament of Champions was $250,000 cash. Second place finisher Tom Walsh won $50,000. Arthur Gandolfi finished third and won $25,000.
The six players eliminated in semifinals each pocketed $10,000.
Players eliminated in the first round received $5,000.
With the Tournament concluded, current champion Ken Jennings returns to defend his record-breaking run on Monday, October 4, 2004.
Jeopardy!, a winner of 24 Emmy awards since its debut in 1984, was. | http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2004/10/01/russ-schumacher-of-fort-collins-colorado-wins-a-quarter-million-dollar-grand-prize-on-jeopardy-tournament-of-champions-17009/20041001kingworld01/ | 2013-05-18T10:16:55 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
BRAVO POSTS BEST QUARTER EVER
BRAVO POSTS BEST QUARTER EVER
Network Up 38% Year-Over-Year In Key 18-49 Demo With Growth For Tenth Consecutive Quarters
Bravo Breaks Top 20 For The First Time And Is The Fastest Growing Cable Entertainment Network In The Ranking
Bravo Digital On Pace For Triple-Digit Quarterly Growth
NEW YORK � March 27, 2008� 2007, Bravo is up 38 percent among adults18-49 and up 30 percent among total viewers, and achieved the youngest-skewing quarter ever in primetime with a median age of 40.
Currently the fastest growing top 20 ad supported cable entertainment network in primetime among adults 18-49, Bravo broke the barrier for the third month in a row, claiming the number 19 spot among all ad-supported cable entertainment networks for adults 18-49, up three spots from number 22 in 2007. Additionally, for the first time ever, Bravo broke the top 10 ranking among all ad-supported cable entertainment networks for women 18-49 in first quarter 2008, coming in at number nine. Seven of Bravo's ten highest rated weeks ever in primetime among adults 18-49 were recorded in first quarter 2008. The network also recorded its best March ever, growing its adult 18-49 audience and total viewers by 43 and 32 percent, respectively versus March 2007.
For the year to date, Bravo boasts three original series telecasts garnering over two million total viewers � "Top Chef" (3/26/08, 2.413 MM),"Project Runway" (3/5/08, 5.825 MM) and "The Real Housewives of Orange County" (1/22/08, 2.394 MM). Additionally, three original series telecasts garnered over one million total viewers � with its successful freshman series "Make Me A Supermodel," "The Real Housewives of New York City," and "The Millionaire Matchmaker."
Bravo Digital is up a whopping 256 percent (123.1 million vs. 34.5 million) in average monthly page views to date in first quarter 2008 versus first quarter 2007, with average monthly uniques up 95 percent (3.4 million vs. 1.7 million) and video streams up 72 percent (2.6 million vs. 1.5 million). With its portfolio of linked digital assets and broadband properties that include BravoTV.com, TelevisionWithoutPity.com, OutzoneTV.com and BrilliantButCancelled.com, Bravo Digital continues its exceptional growth, on pace to earn its highest quarter ever. Marking triple-digit growth in page views, BravoTV.com is also pacing to have its best quarter ever, with an increase of 195 percent in average monthly page views (79.2 million vs. 26.8 million) and 70 percent increase in average monthly uniques (2.4 million vs. 1.4 million) compared to first quarter 2007.
The three newest additions to Bravo's hit slate of programming, "Make Me A Supermodel," "The Real Housewives of New York City" and "The Millionaire Matchmaker" have shone since their premieres in early 2008. Season-to-date, "Make Me A Supermodel" is averaging 1,034,000 total viewers and 726,000 adults 18-49, with six episodes surpassing the one million mark. Versus the fourth quarter 2007 time period average, "Make Me A Supermodel" is up 168 percent among adults18-49 (vs. 271,000) and up 123 percent among total viewers (463,000). Leading into the season finale on Thursday, April 3, 2008 at 10 PM ET/PM, voting records hit an all time high last week, with over 1.1 million votes via text, phone and online, up 71 percent from the prior week. Season to date, "The Real Housewives of New York City," is averaging a notable 962,000 total viewers and 702,000 in adults 18-49, and hit a season high this week cracking the one million mark with 1,137,000 total viewers and 782,000 adults 18-49 for the March 25 episode. "The Millionaire Matchmaker" averaged 986,000 total viewers and 695,000 adults 18-49 in its premiere season.
Sources:
Nielsen Media Research: Most Current Data - Live + 7 through 3/9/08, blended with Live + Same Day through 3/26/08, AA(000); Cable ranker includes ad supported cable entertainment networks, excludes pay, sports, news channels and networks that air in less than 50% of the daypart, AA(000); Female ad supported cable entertainment network ranker based off of coverage ratings; Fastest growing cable network story includes ad supported cable entertainment networks that aired in the full Mon-Sun 8P-11P daypart; Bravo Internal Weblogs (Omniture), Date: 1Q08 - 1/1/08-3. | http://www.thefutoncritic.com/ratings/2008/03/27/bravo-posts-best-quarter-ever-27084/20080327bravo01/ | 2013-05-18T10:45:03 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
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NICU (HEALTH)
BROADCAST HISTORY:
7/15/10 - 9/9 Discovery Health's press release, June 2010) BABY WEEK welcomes the arrival of NICU, an original 10-episode docu-drama series that goes behind the scenes of top national neonatal intensive care units, showing the day-to-day care required to sustain the smallest of lives. Premiering Thursday, July 15, at 10 PM (ET/PT), NICU follows real families as they experience the rollercoaster of emotions that come with having a premature baby. The series also features doctors and nurses from leading hospitals in Baltimore, San Diego and Cleveland, as they work around the clock to ensure the survival of their tiny patients. Subsequent premiere episodes of NICU will air weekly throughout the summer on Thursdays at 10 PM (ET/PT).
CREW INFORMATION:
· no information is available
GENRE(S):
· reality (all)
· reality (documentary)
STUDIO INFORMATION:
· no information is available | http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch/nicu/ | 2013-05-18T10:25:53 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Children
Stage Key – Children’s Drama Workshops
Sun, 19 May - 1.30
Dates have not been confirmed, as soon as we have them we will put them up.
Ever fancied acting in a play? Are you a complete beginner or have you acted before and would like to get back into it? Would you like to learn some acting skills? Get drama training and ... Read More → | http://www.thegate.org.uk/events/category/drama-class/ | 2013-05-18T10:30:54 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
[
"http://www.thegate.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/stagekey-300x175.png",
"stagekey"
]
] |
‘It wesnae a goal, Geoff’ | Worldwide, Scots lend ‘fitba’ their distinctive style
Dundee, Scotland | Author and presenter Billy Kay has helped produce a series of programs for Radio Scotland on the spread of Scottish culture worldwide. He has considered the Scottish diaspora in the American South (The Scotch South), the place of Presbyterianism in world mission (The Scottish Mission in Malawi) and is at work on a series on Freemasonry’s influence in early America.
Kay
His two-part broadcast in the summer of 2006, It Wes Us, proclaimed Scottish footballers and managers as the progenitors of an artful passing game that in the late 19th century lifted association football from its dreary origin in the nonstop dribbling of English public schools. The passing form of football (“fitba,” in Scots)—spread via Scottish commercial agents, engineers and religion workers—cast its influence to Sweden, Spain and Russia and across seas and continents to the United States, South America, southern Africa, Manchuria, India and Australia. Kay found a picture of Dundee whalers kicking a ball, presumably made from seal skin, on Arctic ice in 1894. These tales appear in a chapter of Kay’s recent book, The Scottish World: A Journey into the Scottish Diaspora (Mainstream, 2006) (see May 8).
In an interview May 22—contained in our second podcast (below)—Kay suggests some reasons why the land with one-twelfth of England’s population found itself wielding influence out of proportion to its size.
We Scots like to pride ourselves in the egalitarian nature of our society. Lots of people see that as an expression of Presbyterianism, of the national church. Some people might suggest that it’s anti-individualism, because it goes for community and culture rather than the individual. Football in England developed very much as an expression of the individual in the elitist public schools … which are actually very extensive private schools. It was in those playgrounds that the game of football in England developed in places like Eton and Harrow and Rugby schools. There it was rampant individualism. There was a famous incident where one of the pioneers of the game in England [Alfred Lyttleton in 1877] is criticized for not passing the ball. He suggests that he’s doing it for his own pleasure, why would he pass the ball?
If you contrast that with the “a man’s a man for a’ that” philosophy of Robert Burns and the egalitarianism that comes from a Presbyterian instinct, where everyone can communicate directly with his God in the Presbyterian world picture, a different ethos is definitely there. So you could see the communal spirit of Scotland coming out in the … passing game, an idea that there are no superstars. Whereas in England it was very, very different. To be unkind to my southern neighbors, you could see that some of the arrogance English people are often accused of could be revealed in their way of playing football in those early days.
For better or worse, Scotland’s footballing aspirations and accomplishments have been wedded ever since to those of England. Kay emphasizes how the annual internationals between the two sides as part of the home nations championship were, for Scotland, vitally important fixtures. This tournament ended in 1983–84, replaced by the Rous Cup, which lasted until 1989.
In the early days, heady with the scientific, short-passing innovations under way at Queen’s Park, Scotland defeated England eight times in their first 12 encounters. Kay believes that early successes and fixation on beating England hampered the development of Scottish quality internationally. “That was enough” for Scotland, says Kay, “the idea that we invented the game and we constantly humiliate our neighbors playing the game. Our neighbors have got pretensions to be the originators of the game but how can they be the originators of the game if a tiny nation to the north of them keeps humiliating them? And that was enough for most Scots. As long as they beat the English, that was enough for them.”
The spirit of one-upsmanship carried on through much of the 20th century. Kay recalls making a flight connection in Houston en route to the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico. On spotting Geoff Hurst—the England international credited with one of the most contested goals in World Cup history, the “did it cross the line?” effort in extra time versus West Germany in 1966—a member of the Tartan Army remarked, “It wesnae a goal by the way, Geoff.” Hurst, according to Kay, “tried to look supercilious,” but was affected.
Marra
In the interview Kay also helped introduce us to the football songs of Dundee’s Michael Marra, whose “The Wise Old Men of Mount Florida” is heard briefly in It Wes Us. Like Kay a Dundee United supporter, Marra pays homage in another selection on the 1991 album On Stolen Stationery to free-ranging United goalkeeper Hamish McAlpine. The ’keeper made 687 appearances for the Tangerines in more than 16 seasons, ending in ’85–’86. He also scored three times and, as captured in Marra’s lyrics, remains prominent in memory for exuberance in leading supporters’ songs and for the period mustache.
Up at Tannadice
Watching as the fortunes rise
Smiling when he hears “Ah it’s only a game,
Win lose or draw you get home to your bed
just the same”
But Hamish stokes young men’s dreams into a burning flame
Whether the prospects of club or country will be affected by outgoing Scottish Football Association president John McBeth‘s comments before the present 57th FIFA Congress is a question we were not able to put to Kay. CONCACAF president Jack Warner seized on McBeth’s controversial remarks about alleged FIFA corruption, especially in Africa and the Caribbean, to threaten the long-standing British vice-presidency and, some worried, perhaps to challenge the footballing independence of the four home nations (“McBeth’s Blunder Jeopardises Historic FIFA Independence of Home Nations,” The Scotsman, May 30).
In Scotland, such an outcome is unspeakable. Kay quotes from an interview with Bill Murray, a Scot, football historian at La Trobe University in Melbourne, referring to Scottish football’s gradual slide into mediocrity.
[I]t’s been our greatest glory, hasn’t it, football has been our greatest contribution to the world, and it’s a thing we’ve been best at, so we can lose the Empire, it doesn’t mean much, but to lose our status as a football nation that is the saddest thing.
[...] that aired on Radio Scotland last month, It Wes Us, hosted by Billy Kay (see podcast interview of 31 May 07). The title refers to the Scots’ claim to have been modernizers of association football, [...]
[...] and author Billy Kay, in our May 31 podcast, notes how the Boys’ Brigade helped spread football to Presbyterian mission outposts [...] | http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/05/it-wesnae-a-goal-geoff-worldwide-scots-lend-fitba-their-distinctive-style/comment-page-1/ | 2013-05-18T10:41:37 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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Follow that dreamer
"Why are we drawn to one person and not another? Physical attractiveness is one obvious ingredient, but researchers have identified another, quite different factor that heightens one's personal appeal," Tom Jacobs writes for Miller-McCune magazine. .' "
Nitpicker nabbed
"A German bank robber led his pursuers straight to him after taunting police in an e-mail over their efforts to catch him," Reuters reports. "Authorities in the southern city of Wuerzburg said [last week]the 19-year-old sent e-mails to police and two newspapers to point out factual errors in the report of his bank raid in the town of Roettingen.… According to daily Bild, he mocked police for getting his age, height and accent wrong, then pointed out he escaped in a car, not on foot."
A window on dating
"Research presented last week at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association found that 22 per cent of heterosexual couples surveyed met online, and researchers believe the Web could soon eclipse friends as the primary means of finding mates," The Boston Globe reports. "As dating interactions have moved from the privacy of bars and social gatherings to the digital world of websites and e-mails, they are generating an unprecedented trove of data about how the initial phases of romance unfold. … This mountain of information is beginning to yield intriguing findings. The dating website OkCupid has begun publishing statistics about its users' behaviour on its blog, and using the numbers to generate real-world advice. For example: Men get more responses from women if they don't smile in their profile pictures, and women find most men below average in attractiveness - but write to them anyway. … Researchers have found, for example, that a man needs to make several extra tens of thousands of dollars to compensate for being an inch shorter, and that race matters more than people admit."
Proud of facial hair
About 40 per cent of women naturally have hair growing on their faces. Perhaps they should celebrate it instead of trying to get rid of it, Julie Bindel suggests in The Guardian. "A whiskers-pride movement has been growing in recent years. Across the Web, there are women writing about their heartfelt acceptance of their mustaches and beards, including Debra Anne Beechy, who has written a doctoral thesis on the topic. 'My mornings used to involve at least an hour of plucking in front of a lighted, magnified mirror,' she writes. 'Now I do not have to get up early to pluck. Elation!' Over the past two months, a feminist activist in Bristol called Jessica Burton has been running a campaign called Hairy Awarey, asking women all over the land to go natural."
Tattoos for Mimi
"It took a while to get going, but 101-year-old Mimi Rosenthal now has her third tattoo, courtesy of a Florida tattoo artist," United Press International reports. "This one went on her left arm, and next time she might get one on her butt, she said in an interview in the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times. The first tattoo came at 99 … 'Her skin is so fragile, it's like uncharted territory,' said Spring Hill, Fla., tattoo artist Michelle Gallo-Kohlas, who is responsible for all of Ms. Rosenthal's inkings."
Thought du jour
"It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say, and then don't say it."
- Sam Levenson | http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/facts-and-arguments/follow-that-dreamer-nitpicker-nabbed-a-window-on-dating/article1369071/ | 2013-05-18T10:54:48 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Spending expectations for 2013 are down by 11 per cent at Syncrude Canada Ltd. amid broader industry concern over the cost of oil sands production.
On Thursday, Canadian Oil Sands Ltd. released 2013 budget documents that show its share of capital spending falling to $1.3-billion. The company, which owns a 36.75 per cent interest in Syncrude, had budgeted $1.46-million in spending for 2012.
Canadian Oil Sands expects Syncrude production to rise by 3 per cent from actual output in 2012. However, its 2013 expectations of 110 million barrels are down slightly from year-ago expectations for 2012 of 113 million barrels.
Some $836-million of the 2013 spending will be put toward measures such as replacing or relocating mining infrastructure, as well as building new facilities to clean up toxic mine effluent. Most of the remainder will go to regular maintenance.
In a statement, COS chief executive Marcel Coutu said the company intended to make “significant progress” on major capital projects. That will place it “in the advantageous position of having the infrastructure in place to produce strong, stable volumes of fully upgraded, light crude oil for decades.”
Among the company’s targets are to achieve per-barrel operating costs in 2013 of $36.67 per barrel, which is actually slightly above third-quarter costs of $36.17, but below 2012 average costs of $39.14.
Costs have emerged as a significant issue for the oil sands, as blocked pipelines and competition from burgeoning U.S. crude supplies weigh on the price of Canadian crude. | http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/syncrude-spending-to-fall-11-per-cent-in-2013/article5827497/?cmpid=rss1 | 2013-05-18T10:25:32 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
The NBA Lockout should go down in history as one of the more forgettable labor disputes in sports. The players and owners finally stopped squabbling after missing a few dozen games, and they still awarded a shiny trophy in June. Life goes on.
Hockey fans were not so lucky in 2004-05. No one needs to be reminded of how bad that missed season was for the sport. It was devastating to everyone involved, and years later the game has yet to rebound in many ways. Sports fans who thought lockouts were mere delays in a season were proven wrong. It was something new for sports in North America, an ugly chapter hockey fans would love to forget.
What makes it memorable is that nothing happened. There was no start or finish to the season, and that’s what makes it significant. No one ever mentions the 1994-95 NHL lockout because games were played that season. They had 48 of them, then the playoffs and all that. Sure they missed 468 games that year, but the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup. There is no asterisk or significant footnote. We just move on.
A lockout isn’t real until it’s ruined something, and All-Star games don’t count. Baseball’s strike in 1995 killed a World Series and they decided it’s probably a good idea to never let that happen again. “America’s Pastime” learned its lesson, but while hockey’s last lockout is still scabbing over, another one has been looming for some time now.
Putting the word “last” in front of “lockout” is something new and significant for hockey fans. Considering the relative success the league and its teams have enjoyed since the… last lockout (yuck), it feels strange to even consider another one so soon.
Despite reassurances all around, early negotiations look grim. At least from the outside. Here’s the always excellent Charles P. Pierce on the NHL’s first offer to the NHLPA:
Everybody involved in the NHL should be holding hands and dancing down Rue Ste.-Catherine together.
So, naturally, management came to the table with an opening offer best summed up as, “More us too, yes?” They want to claw back 11 percent of hockey-related revenues, reducing labor’s share to 46 percent. They want to make it harder for players to reach free agency and they want to eliminate salary arbitration entirely. I suspect that, at one point while formulating the offer, someone proposed to have the players pay to launder their own gear on a rock in the Niagara River, but that the “moderates” among the owners managed to shoot that proposal down. This is an opening offer, to be sure, but it’s a signifying one.
Pierce correctly points out that these battles are more about power than they are money. Now that the NHL has survived its own nuclear option, it wants to grab just a bit more power from the players. Starting with a giant swipe is one way to make sure that happens. At least that’s what the plan appears to be.
Everyone loves to predict another lockout, but only so they won’t be caught by surprise if another season up and disappears. There are dozens of link-able columns and plenty of warning signs, but the most significant thing is the perpetual dread we carry around with our labor-related hockey talk.
Since that first summer of Free Agency after the new CBA was ratified, each labor-related bit of news was met with a “Can’t wait for another Lockout” comment. Every cap figure or arbitration ruling, any contract signed pointed to things getting out of control again. Kovalchuck’s first contract with the Devils may be the major example, if only because it was voided, but nearly every major deal was labeled a harbinger of future collective bargaining chaos.
We’ve been expecting a Lockout since the moment players returned to the ice in the fall of 2005. Sitting here in July of 2012, it’s hard to feel like a work stoppage is really any closer. It feels like we’ve just been loitering here until it crops up again. We have always been at war with Work Stoppages. Every bit of news we hear moving forward will only confirm what we’ve already known for years, so what’s the point in getting even more worked up over it?
Until we get final word that they’re hauling out the chains and heavy locks for arena doors, I’m finding it difficult to really involve myself in Lockout talks. August is creeping up on us, but September 15 feels so far away right now, let alone that first week in October when the season really kicks off. Until those dates come and go, I can’t emotionally hit the panic button on the season just yet.
I remember watching a World Cup of Hockey broadcast in 2004, shortly before the CBA was set to expire and lock players out for good. During an intermission, the ESPN broadcast featured an interview with both Gary Bettman and then-NHLPA cheif Bob Goodenow. Both of them were sitting in the same room. There is no video of this anywhere, but I remember someone — probably Gary Thorne — half-jokingly suggest the two just hash things out right then and there. After all, the most important pieces to the CBA puzzle were just sitting there doing nothing. The least they could do was try.
The uncomfortable shifting in chairs and awkward answers told me all I needed to know. We were in trouble.
Looking back, watching that broadcast was one of the most frustrating parts of the entire Lockout. If Gary Thorne could barely convince the two major parties to even look at one another, there wasn’t much any of us could really do to fix things. Hockey was about to go off the rails.
That Lockout taught us to dread lockouts, but it also taught us something else entirely. In the battle between the NHL and the NHLPA, no one is looking out for the fans. Members of both sides will look at us through cameras and say they care, but no one will come to the bargaining table on our side. We are out of the picture until they mutually agree to let us back into the arenas, too.
Knowing that, it seems wise to avoid caring about it all. Until you can no longer look away, that is. | http://www.thegoosesroost.com/2012/07/harbinger/ | 2013-05-18T10:31:32 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Looking for something unique for the holidays? How about an original signed piece of art based on The Dark Tower?
View Full Size Image of the Artwork.
To bid on the artwork,
to go to the
Mission Fish non-profit auction site.
For more information about Glenn, visit his web site at:
For information about The Haven Foundation, visit the web site at: | http://www.thehavenfdn.org/dec_auction.html | 2013-05-18T11:03:10 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
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We don’t show that you have an active subscription to our online edition. You’re missing a lot! Click the “Subscribe” button below to start your subscription today. If you have already purchased a subscription to the online edition, just enter your username and password in the login tool to the right to enter the site.
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Everything Matters: Managing Operations as a Cultural Act
Editor's Note: On Fridays we're hosting a series called Everything Matters, where guests share why the work of their particular vocational fields is a cultural act. Each installment serves as a response to the post, Creating a High Calling Culture.
Changes at work can create upheaval, leaving staff feeling devalued and functionally hogtied. Changes at work can also empower staff with new efficiencies, freeing more time for key tasks. As operations manager at a small investment advisory firm, I help identify and execute changes. I minimize the upheaval and magnify the empowerment that change brings.
Sometimes.
This team has ridden out stock market storms with not even a hangnail. So I really didn’t expect reducing our file cabinet count to be a big deal.
It happened like this:
Last year, we remodeled our offices. Renovating within the same footprint is the ultimate exercise in give-and-take. Every increased allocation of space here must be stolen from space there. In order to achieve one particular goal, we chose to give up some room for file cabinets. We’d already taken a few tentative steps along the path to electronic filing, which committed us to continuing from manila to PDF. Now with less filing space, we had to lace up our boots and hike that trail to its end.
My coworkers are probably a lot like yours. Some of them eagerly anticipate new procedures at the office. Others are comfortable with familiar routines, ways they’ve practiced and perfected over years. As operations manager, I wanted to honor everyone.
What I’ve learned is that I can’t. Not completely, anyway. Sometimes my carefully-derived predictions about their reactions are all wrong.
For example, I met with our file clerk to assure her that her job was not endangered by our plans, anticipating that her concerns would be my biggest hurdle. I was mistaken. She was fine.
In another instance, I spent time discussing electronic files and their benefits with one of our staff who didn’t like the plan. We talked about the files being backed up remotely, increasing the security of vital information. We talked about not having to lug files around or nurse paper cuts. She got all that.
She mourned anyway. Gone forever from her workday was the satisfaction she derived from rummaging around, then emerging triumphantly with the one bit of information she needed to complete a nuanced analysis. Tactile reinforcement—paper put up for filing, indexing the productivity of her day—was gone. Our move toward streamlining left her work feeling unreal to her. I didn’t see that one coming, and I apologized.
I believe people want to do work that provides something of value. And when it does, they’re willing to face challenges. Still, a tough row to hoe should result from hard ground, not from a rusty tool. Managing operations requires that I know the difference. It requires that I understand our people, our specific history, and our unique contribution to our profession: the whole culture of my particular workplace. When I don’t, when I shoehorn a change into our routine without context, with no discussion, with no consultation, with no regard for that culture or God’s concern for it, it introduces needless, distracting challenges.
The minute our firm hired its second employee, the prospect of providing ideal working conditions for all evaporated. It became too complex for simple solutions. When change is upon us, I can’t ensure that everyone’s first choice is implemented. I can’t create the perfect environment. But I can strive to hear and to help everyone feel heard.
We’ve all identified a thing or two we miss about our old space (the office where my husband slipped an engagement ring onto my finger is gone, for example). But we’ve also learned to love the new. Cultural understanding got us a long way. Caring covered the rest.
* * * * *
Image by Anthony Mattox. Used with permission. Sourced via Flickr. Post by Sheila Lagrand. Sheila earned her doctorate in anthropology. She is an active member of The High Calling.
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Eight hundred mostly meaningless posts as of today
THR
>
Social Situations
>
General Gun Discussions
> Eight hundred mostly meaningless posts as of today
PDA
Boats
July 6, 2003, 12:35 PM
I find myself wondering how exactly many people have two or three times more than me. I already think I spend too much time here.
If you do it, how do you post so darn much?
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telomerase
July 6, 2003, 12:39 PM
>If you do it, how do you post so darn much?
Because we can't afford any other recreational activity? That reminds me, we need a new thread...
Lone_Gunman
July 6, 2003, 01:02 PM
Some people have full time jobs posting here.
Others just add meaningless comments such as this to increase their post count.
MicroBalrog
July 6, 2003, 01:06 PM
Well, for me, posting on THR is my only way to get close to the "gun culture".
dinosaur
July 6, 2003, 01:31 PM
Yup, uh huh, :) Nods sagely.
WhoKnowsWho
July 6, 2003, 02:07 PM
I don't talk much most of the time anyways, so posting is a semi-uncommon thing for me, but the fact that I spend so much time here, usually two visits for 1 hour+ a day each, adds up I guess.
And anyways, I do like seeing that number go up... :D
Snake Eyes
July 6, 2003, 02:23 PM
Boats, I've read a number of your posts and found them informative, entertaining and only partially useless;)
As for myself, I'm jamming in as many posts as possible so I can get the "FNG" moniker out from under my name:D
rick newland
July 6, 2003, 03:03 PM
There are people at the DU site bragging about being over 5000 posts. Only thing I can think of about having that much time off is that it is financed through our tax dollars.
cool45auto
July 6, 2003, 04:00 PM
Well, there's, what, like twenty categories on here with multiple subjects being added daily on each one. If you just replied to one post in each section that's almost twenty a day. Some days there's just a lot going on here and you want to put your two cents in. :D
Boats
July 6, 2003, 04:23 PM
Yeah, maybe I need to branch out. As of now, I spend most of my posting energies on L&P, General handguns and Autopistols. I have a rifle, but rifles just work and AK v. AR debates get really old. I have a shotgun, but it is boring. I used to hunt, but don't have the time and am anchored by a toddler anyways. I only reload by recipe and am in no hurry to experiment blowing my pistols apart.;)
I am buying a revolver next month. I guess I am mere weeks away from being a self-proclaimed expert in yet another shooting discipline!:D Look out revolver forum!
Parker Dean
July 6, 2003, 04:28 PM
^^^
"And so inform us of the revolver choice" the poster asks, increasing his meager post count :D
CZSteve
July 6, 2003, 04:36 PM
What wlse would we do...
Take out the garbage, mow the lawn, paint the house, feed the kids...
Nah :rolleyes:
RSKING45
July 6, 2003, 04:41 PM
Feed the kids.They need to eat???????:p
Boats
July 6, 2003, 04:48 PM
My proposed revolver, () or a fool and his money will soon be parted, but man, a one of a kind handgun is a thing of sheer joy, (and object of envy of those who have not).:D
Arcli9ht
July 6, 2003, 05:32 PM
"What is it with you kids? Every other day, it's food, food, food."
Sorry, completely off topic....
Hey! my post count went up one!
/Arcli9ht
Jim March
July 6, 2003, 06:48 PM
I know I'm higher...lesse...oh LORDY, 1812. Sigh. :D
Hand_Rifle_Guy
July 6, 2003, 07:50 PM
I almost NEVER make frivolous posts. If I don't have a meaningful contribution to make, I mostly don't say anything. Occaissonally I let fly with an irate opinion, but not often.
And I've only ever had ONE thread shut. I linked it in my sigline! ;)
Uh, that does make me wonder why THIS thread is still running, or at least hasn't been booted to Legal/Political. My thread got shut in a mere three houirs, and I even TRIED to make it gun related. Had help, too, but it was shut before I could even get back to it!
I guess I'm just not special enough. Ya see how they're repressin' me? Sighhh... :( :rolleyes:
AZTOY
July 6, 2003, 07:57 PM
My post count would be higher but i don't like typing:neener:
telewinz
July 7, 2003, 07:31 AM
I would post more often with meaningful subject matter but everytime I do my thread gets moved or closed! I've had great posts (arguements) on tanks, WW2, and military leadership but all YOU people want to talk about is GUNS. Get a life!:D The Sherman really was a turd of a tank.
Moparmike
July 7, 2003, 08:08 AM
I am still waiting for Skunky's response. That should be entertaining.:D
Alan Smithiee
July 7, 2003, 07:02 PM
they moved my visit to the surgeon from the 9th to the 26th, so I will have even more time on my hands untill then. this town has WAY to many hills for a wheelchair.
and my smith hasn't finished fixing my M1 carbine yet.
thats my excuse and I'm sticking with it (grin)
(Shermans, Lights First Time, Every Time)
Skunkabilly
July 7, 2003, 08:52 PM
Make this 801 :o
(can't believe I missed this the first time around, I must be getting careless)
MarkDido
July 7, 2003, 09:03 PM
I don't feed my kids, the neighbors do.....
I have feral children :)
Boats
July 7, 2003, 09:03 PM
Make this 801
Skunk, you of all people, should strenuously avoid discussions about how many meaningless posts one has.;)
blades67
July 7, 2003, 09:23 PM
I must have one or two posts that aren't completely useless.:D
Skunkabilly
July 8, 2003, 12:14 AM
Skunk, you of all people, should strenuously avoid discussions about how many meaningless posts one has.
Oops, when I saw your post title, I thought you somehow figured out how many posts were posted today, that THR had 800 posts today. Wasn't tryin to imply your posts were meaninless :o
Mine on the other hand :uhoh:
Skunkabilly Tactical. More Americans come to Skunkabilly Tactical than any other source for advice on carbon fiber :uhoh:
PATH
July 8, 2003, 12:15 AM
Sometimes the post is just idle chatter and sometimes it is informative. Sometimes folks just want to post something they are thinking. When I am off I post a good deal. I have slowed down some in the past few months.
There is only so much one fella can say at times.
pax
July 8, 2003, 12:23 AM
Gun-related? Nope. Closed.
pax
Of those who say nothing, few are silent. -- Thomas Neill
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Best Bowie knives
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Tools and Technologies
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Non-Firearm Weapons
> Best Bowie knives
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burnse
January 20, 2009, 02:56 AM
Could someone list the best bowie makers they know of? The more traditional looking, the better. Also, I am not too fond with most Cold Steel products, but if their bowies are really fantastic, let me know.
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Lone Star
January 20, 2009, 09:43 AM
Frankly, unless you are going to look at expensive handmades, I think you should consider Fallkniven.
When you select "English" and see the main models display, select NL1 and NL2.Look hard at them. They balance beautifully in the hand.
I think one or the other is what you may want. Here is a large pic of the NL-2:
Fallkniven knives aren't cheap, but they do the job, and look good as well.
You have the advantage that a university performs stress tests on them, and they are very strong. The Swedish Air Force issues their F-1 model as a pilot survival knife. They have also passed USAF and USN survival knife tests and are authorized for unit purchase. (F-1 and S-1 with the black blade option.)
If you want a more practical size for most use than the big NL series, but still basic Bowie lines, see the S-1 and the A-1.
Lone Star
P.S. If you have limited funds, get a Buck Model 119.
HoosierQ
January 20, 2009, 09:56 AM
Can't beat the Western Bowie. I've had mine since about 1969...got if for Christmas like Ralphie and his BB gun. "The best Christmas gift I ever received or ever would receive". Big, sharp, balanced, sturdy, and priced for a normal budget...maybe $125 bucks these days?
Lone Star
January 20, 2009, 10:00 AM
Western is out of business, and their knives were of average quality.
hso
January 20, 2009, 11:34 AM
Could someone list the best bowie makers they know of?
"best" is an awfully vague word. What's your criteria? What's your price range? Production or handmade? What use do you intend to put it to? Which pattern of "traditional" Bowie? There's a lot implied in the word "best" that only you can know.
There are knifemakers that produce "traditional" knives that will cost you a thousand dollars and those that will make them for a few hundred dollars. Do you want forged, which would be "traditional" or would stock reduction work for you?
HoosierQ
January 20, 2009, 12:57 PM
I was afraid of that...Western out of business. I am sure happy with mine...it is sharp as a razor and holds an edge like crazy.
hso
January 20, 2009, 02:14 PM
Western was part of Camillus and went when they did.
burnse
January 20, 2009, 02:41 PM
"best" is an awfully vague word. What's your criteria?
I am just curious as to who make some of the better (in quality) bowie knives which are designed as fairly historically accurate, or traditionally styled bowies. As far as my purchasing interests go, forged is certainly preferred and I am the type to buy a knife I can trust every day for the entirety of my life, but it can be production if it is good.
So just keep 'em coming and bring pictures if you got 'em.
Valkman
January 20, 2009, 02:59 PM
I make bowies in my 7" Super Camp and 6" Fighters. Here's a Super Camp with stag that I just made:
Piraticalbob
January 20, 2009, 03:30 PM
If price is a concern, you can get some nice bowie knives from Atlanta Cutlery. () The bowies they make are handforged in India by Windlass Steelcrafts. The quality ranges from good to excellent. They aren't masterpieces handcrafted by artisans, but Atlanta Cutlery has a dozen different patterns available and none of them is priced over $100.
Here is one, the 1850 coffin hilt:
A.G. Russell sells a couple of bowies, also. You can check his website, you can search under the term "bowie" and come up with some good stuff, including the Bill Bagwell bowies made by Ontario Cutlery.
In the end, you get what you pay for. If you wish to pay $5000 for a handcrafted bowie made of damascus steel, made by a Master Smith of the American Bladesmith Society, you certainly can do so. Not all of us have that much spare cash. :rolleyes:
rklessdriver
January 20, 2009, 03:53 PM
I always liked Mike Wise. Hand forged just like in the old days. Top quality work and he is a super nice guy. Very reasonably priced.
I have a few of his blades and have never been disapointed by them.
Will
burnse
January 20, 2009, 04:13 PM
for me, less than 500 would be great. Under 250 for a starter would be better.
Valkman
January 20, 2009, 04:22 PM
Mine are $250 with "regular" handle materials, +$100 for stag or giraffe bone. I finished one last night (Super Camp) with killer spalted maple handles, $275 for that one but no sheath has been made yet. Custom leather sheaths run $50 extra.
Travis Bickle
January 20, 2009, 04:34 PM
Also, I am not too fond with most Cold Steel products, but if their bowies are really fantastic, let me know.
I don't know much about knives, but someone has a review of Cold Steel's bowie knife on youtube that might help:
Lone Star
January 20, 2009, 06:42 PM
Here, a reviewer who can't even pronounce the names of the knives he reviews covers Fallkniven's A-1. He just turns it in his hand, but you can see the knife, here in the optional black blade version, with the Kydex sheath that is no longer offered. It has been replaced with a Zytel sheath A leather sheath is still offered.
I think this guy is not as informed as he'd like us to think he is. A man who can't even pronounce names like Fallkniven and Camillus shouldn't be reviewing knives. But Nutn' Fancy is a prolific reviewer of outdoors products.
For the record,
"Fallkniven" is pronounced, "FELL-ka-neeven". I can't reproduce it here, but the "a" has an umlaut over it, changing the pronunciati0n to an "e" sound in Swedish. I have this information directly from Peter Hjortberger, the company president.
"Camillus" is pronounced as, "Ca-MILL-us." He says "CAM-uh-lis."
He said that he managed to chip the blade on a Fallkniven A-2 by hitting it on a rock. Well, whoop-de-doo! You can chip almost ANY blade by hitting the edge against a rock. All it takes is enough force, at the wrong angle. The Fallkniven knives have been extensively tested by the Technical University of Lulea (in Sweden) and by US military evaluators, and tbey came through with flying colors. The only reason why the A-1 isn't listed for unit purchase is that it's too big for the sheath on US aircrewmens' vests. I think it's an outstanding knife for military or survival purposes. It has been extensively used by Norwegian Marines, and is a favorite private purchase knife with them. I believe these men are also the ones who requested the A-2 model, which they use to check for mines in Afghanistan.
Don't understimate the Buck Special, their Model 119, either. It's an excellent knife, at a reasonable price. It is the favorite knife of the Canadian guy who has a survival program on Discovery TV. His is the valid survival program. (The former SAS man who stays in hotels and creates unneccesary trials for himself has a knife designed for him. It's quite probably a fine knife, but the reputation of his show detracts from its image.)
Look at this video to see the Fallkniven knife, but I distrust the reviewer's comments at times.
Lone Star
Lone Star
January 20, 2009, 07:09 PM
Additionaal Fallkniven reviews:
S-1 Forest Knife: (Different reviewer)
A-1 chopping:
S-1 and Frost knife:
Macmac
January 20, 2009, 07:35 PM
burnse , If you asked me first, I ask you first whatcha going to do with it?
You can get a Bowie with a 5 inch long blade, or a 15 inch long blade, and I mean just the blade.
What kind of steel?
Safe queen? User? If so what for?
If you buy a silly stainless blade and it is 5 inches long and you take it to pre 1840 VOO to show it off, the Buck Skinners will laugh at you!
In the other hand if you bring a 15 inch carbon steel blade to the local SWAT gathering they will laugh at you for that monster?
Just the word Bowie means about a million things to the same number of people.
The supposed historical blade, sometimes sold, that is supposed to be a reproduction of the 'Sand Bar' knife probably isn't, not that I wish to be involved with any endless debate. The fact is on that; No One Knows..
JShirley
January 20, 2009, 09:20 PM
I like strong tools that can also be weapons. My Himalayan Imports Crow is about my ideal hard use bowie. You should be able to find one for less than $140. It won't be perfect, but it should last a lifetime with just a little maintenance now and then. It's one of those 15" blades Mac's mentioning.
On the other end of the usage spectrum (but still nowhere near the top end of what you could pay!), Valkman's Camps and Fighters are very attractive, clean, sturdy pieces that are smaller than short swords. :)
Crow next to Kim Breed fighter
Regards,
John
7X57chilmau
January 20, 2009, 09:27 PM
I've used a Himalayan Imports kukri before and found it to be a damned fine tool. Slightly crude, imperfect to be sure, but a really enjoyable knife that worked, was tough, held an edge well...
If the crow is anything like, it'd be plenty good enough....
J
JShirley
January 20, 2009, 09:55 PM
Yeah, they're great knives (), both the kuks and the Crow. HI makes several other "bowies", including the Cherokee Rose.
The Rose is mostly a dedicated (LARGE) fighter, and seemed oddly delicate for a HI piece. The Crow is a tool that can be a weapon.
J
hso
January 20, 2009, 11:39 PM
burnse,
You haven't answered the question of what will you use it for. Honestly, what will you use it for? Please be realistic. The answer matters a lot.
Big Daddy Grim
January 20, 2009, 11:48 PM
lotta nice bowies here and to think I still carry my old Buck bowie
burnse
January 21, 2009, 01:47 AM
hso and macmac,
This one will, first and foremost, be hanging on the wall for now, but I want something that will do in a pinch for HD, (I have moved for school and am away from the guns for the semester). And if the S were to HTF, I am more than comfortable with heavy blades, and am doing pekiti tersia. That being said, I know that I could get a barong from traditional filipino weapons in the same price range, but I like the feel of a bowie, and a clip point is a plus.
So anywhere around 12" is great. And I do prefer convex grinds, but as long as it would look pretty on a wall, I'm happy. So, yes, a usable display piece.
I should also mention that I think carrying a bowie makes me feel more god than man because it is such a thing of legend and great American stories of the past.:) (that sounds dumb but that's how i feel.)
Piraticalbob
January 21, 2009, 07:54 AM
Here are two of the bowies that Ontario Cutlery makes, designed by bowie authority Bill Bagwell. A.G. Russell sells them for $144.95 (check to see if they are in stock). The larger of the two sounds like what you describe, these are very light and quick in the hand, yet attractive enough to serve in the wall-hanger role.
hso
January 21, 2009, 08:42 AM
burnse,
That information helps a lot. Since you're taking PKT I'd recommend focusing on the narrower bowie styles than the big bellied styles.
If you want the best bang for your buck look at Ontario's SP-42 and-43. While they don't have the look of a "traditional" bowie Dan Maragni has completely redesigned them and retooled the manufacturing for Ontario. The reviews on them are impressive, especially for PKT.
Next notch up in price for production pieces would be the Cold Steel bowies. The Laredo (~$100) and Natchez (~$350) would do well.
Next would be Ontario's Bagwell Bowies, if you can find one.
Customs range from $300 up.
bkduckworth
January 21, 2009, 10:19 AM
Have you looked into Bark River Knife and Tool? They make (in my opinion) a very nice production knife (close to custom) at a relatively reasonable price. Here is a link to a limited run bowie they made:
Good Luck!
Brandon
burnse
January 21, 2009, 01:45 PM
That Bagwell designed plainsmen would certainly do the trick for now. It's not huge, but looks very quick, and the coffin handle makes a very nice, showy touch. I can go hunting for giants later.
Thanks, everyone and keep them coming if you know of any more.
hso
January 21, 2009, 02:30 PM
What's your upper price limit on a custom? Do you have any stag scales or rounds suitable for the grip (or ivory or buffalo horn or ...)? That can help drop the price.
Vonderek
January 21, 2009, 02:33 PM
A Puma Bowie is a nice knife and can be had for $70.
Here's a hand-forged Japanese Bowie with stag handle:
Macmac
January 21, 2009, 08:18 PM
Ok, now were talkin.. You like the so called classic pattern. This site has some interesting bowies and other knives they call bowies. The name Bowie just about can mean anything. This is a auction site I think.
If you want the right price, and a custom made blade I might suggest you check this link.
I met Don Fogg in his home when that was in NH. He has a forum, where other people can sell their wares, some of which can be reasonable, different and very nice. These are not anything anyone else will have. Most blade makers make one in their style and never again make that same thing over again.
Even the out of date old posts show some fine working , although not many are bowies. There is a nice skull pick made of a hammer you could buy for me! :D
Oh this kid is a real sicko... hso this stuff is just off the wall, this kiddie is going places. just look at this sick work! I am so disgusted!
It is a good thing that blade is long gone for my poor wallet...
Lone Star
January 21, 2009, 08:42 PM
Although they are not in the class of the Fallkniven that I mentioned above, do consider Buck's discontinued General (#120) model. It has a seven or 7.5 inch blade and was a good seller for Buck for many years. You can find them at gun shows and the like.
Keep in mind any legal issues pertaining to carrying such knives.
If you need a shorter one, the Fallkniven S-1 at a fraction over five inches would be my quick choice. Randall's Model 5 with five-inch blade is comparable. Either is legal in my state. (Neither has a sharpened false edge, although Randall will sharpen it on special order. But that opens the can of legal worms. Check your laws.)
Lone Star
loandr.
January 21, 2009, 10:34 PM
Lamey, Lancanio and American Kami are a few of my "Available" favorites :evil:
LD
hso
January 21, 2009, 11:10 PM
Macmac,
Now why did you have to go and bring young Mr. Moss to my attention?!?! That's an awfully nice piece of work he did. Now I'll have to start looking for him.
burnse
January 22, 2009, 01:04 AM
really. Thanks, macmac. That thing is beautiful.
And, yes, I am a big fan of the "classic" style (or maybe "so-called classic" is a better description), especially after reading a very old book in my university's library covering a history of the bowie (I'm going to get it again later, so I can get the author).
The Highlander
January 22, 2009, 02:00 AM
I have a few Case Bowies which have stood up to years of abuse. I've got a special edition one that I keep in an old leather sheath in the dresser next to my bed. Classic bowie lines.
hso
January 22, 2009, 03:29 PM
Guys, there is no "classic bowie" because no one knows exactly what the knife at the Sandbar Fight looked like and subsequent knives owned and given away by the Bowie brothers were in a range of patterns.
Most folks think a "bowie" knife is a heavy big bellied blade with a clip point. Historically that isn't correct and Jim Bowie's knife that fateful day could have just has easily been a big "butcher" knife made a bit pointier for thrusting.
Look over the previous bowie threads for pictures of "real" bowie knives.
Tell me if you think the knife in the picture is what you think of as a "bowie knife".
Macmac
January 22, 2009, 05:01 PM
hso, To me on page 1 in this thread the 'plainsmen' is a classic style, where as the one you show to me is a natchez.
As I see it the classic has a longer slender clip point, and some form of a straight guard. Mostly the only reasons I would think this definition was important is because the internet is a hell of a way to communicate.
The next thing to figure out is 'IF' burnse wants a copy of a bowie anyone can buy any time he has money, and so there are likely to be hundreds owned all over the world, or he wants one of one, as custom makes don't really make one clone after another for many of much.
Some custom makers might make as many as 1,001 sometimes, but that is probably pushing it, unless a particular pattern really floats their stick.
That is up to the maker, and whom ever he serves. I know I have never come close to duplictaing any thing like that number, while I may have made 10 similar blades, really trying to make each one the same.
The type of people I served wanted the one and only one. Buck Skinners don't like mass produced blades and if they did the only one still around would be 'Green River'.
burnse, I really don't think you are going to get in a situation where a bowie saves your hide, not from any two legged predators anyway. I think what is really going on is you want to collect a bowie you can use, and i also think you want one of a kind. So what that means to me is you should save up more money than you really wanted to spend. I am assuming you have a good part of that right now. If you just doubled that amount and took your good time searching for a new young maker, one where he is carefull and you are carefull, that would supply your future needs more than just once.
If you choose one from Don Fogg's site there is nearly no risk, so long as you are carefull. What that gets you will be a blade that will live longer than you do, even if you grow to be wealthy and very old.:D
In todays world there is very little left as classic and very little left that will be a quality heirloom and or antique. I had some serious doubts a Glock pistol will ever be a classic antique, and I an dead sure no cars made today will ever be collectable. Even the so called best wooden furniture these days under that paper thin veneir is no more than saw dust and glue.
A top notch custom blade well cared for in carbon steel will always either be usefull or collectable.
When I made knives often times a year after i sold one to someone, that same someone would return to see what else I had. That worked out well for both of us.
AND if I can, I would like all you guys to call me Mac.. just plain ol' Mac.. :neener: Most sites plain ol mac is taken... see?
Todd A
January 22, 2009, 06:19 PM
Tell me if you think the knife in the picture is what you think of as a "bowie knife".
Actually, yes it is.
burnse
January 22, 2009, 11:36 PM
mac you're probably right on the not needing to use it in defense some day (let's hope the same for any gun that goes into my hand), and I would really like something one of a kind, so I probably will just keep saving. I think I'm also going to make a practice blade for.. practice, anyway.
Generic Name
January 23, 2009, 02:08 AM
This site has some interesting historically inspired custom knives for "gentlemen".
A less expensive version would be Bark River's Rogue.
burnse
January 23, 2009, 03:21 AM
That one is especially beautiful.
Dr.Rob
January 23, 2009, 08:17 PM
I got my Ontario Bagwell "Plainsman" in Dec 2003, its a pretty serious knife for the money.
Travis Bickle
January 23, 2009, 08:28 PM
In todays world there is very little left as classic and very little left that will be a quality heirloom and or antique. I had some serious doubts a Glock pistol will ever be a classic antique
Macmac
January 23, 2009, 08:57?
burnse, Once I knew a wealthy man who wanted a 12 ga shot gun for home defence. Well he went to buy one and when he came home he was something like 10 grand lighter! LOL After work in ther evening he say in a over stuff cahir and held the gun in his lap admiring the over all quaility, the rick grained wood, the charcoal blue, the engraved art, and the gold leaf.
A bit of time passed and then he went back and bought another pump gun this time for about $125.00.
Anyway if you choose well you may use a very well made and expensive knife with no harm.
The day I met Don Fogg here in NH was at his home, long ago when he lived north of me. At that time he had just finished a short sword. It was beautiful.
The blade was a 'leaf' blade with viking helmets forged down the center line standing up on both sides.
Don handed it to me and I thought at first to admire, which I did, but what he ment was for me to attack a 55 gallon barrel, and when I refuse he took the weapon from me and did it himself. He hit the crimped edge first, and then stabbed and slashed that barrel, always making deep cuts ahd holes.
He was aggressive and I thought he was angery. When he was done he handed the piece to me again to see if I could find any damage. I couldn't.
I have never seen him face to face since. He moved to the south east coast, and just 3 days ago I learned he has returned to Maine. I doubt he would remember me, but I never forgot him.
I learned alot in that one day, about men, blades and fire. I like that Plainsmen alot too. If I had one I would pull off the tag plate and either buff it out for my inicials, or make another plate like it in silver.
But then my tastes are in more simple things.
Travis Bickle
January 23, 2009, 09:21?
I actually think it's the ugliest, tackiest thing I've ever seen. I just posted it so everyone could laugh at it.
JShirley
January 23, 2009, 10:13 PM
That Glock is close to the ugliest thing I've ever seen.
And I like Glocks.
John
Byron Quick
January 24, 2009, 01:30 AM
You two gentlemen are incredibly fortunate in your viewing of ugliness. While I think that Glock is very ugly; it is far from the ugliest thing I have ever seen. You both have lived sheltered lives.
TimboKhan
January 24, 2009, 02:22 AM
Tacky guns are a thread unto themselves, and there have been a couple right here on the forum. I assure you, that Glock looks like a million bucks compared to some of the gaudy, tacky and flatly horrible stuff that people have posted.
As to the bowie knife question, I have never been real sold on a knife that big as being particularly useful, but that's just me. I think they are cool to look at, and I have had a few guys show me Bowies that are works of art, but in the end, they are just not my particular cup of tea.
JShirley
January 24, 2009, 02:14 PM
close to
Byron, you were there for the ugliest thing I've ever seen. If you recall.
TimboKhan
January 24, 2009, 02:29 PM
Byron, you were there for the ugliest thing I've ever seen. If you recall.
Was there or was?
burn.:neener:
JShirley
January 24, 2009, 04:02 PM
His comment was, "Aw, John. She needs love, too." :barf:
Macmac
January 24, 2009, 06:53 PM
WOW! 3 guys on one thread agree that the fancy Glocks are ugly!
About Glock all I know is what I read. I prefer another type of hand gun, and the only plastic gun I have like a glock is as ugly, one EAA poly Witness Compact, but it has a 1911 sort of feel. i wanted to know what a poly gun was like, and this EAA Witness was cheaper.
Now I own a pretty big bowie, because i found the blade in a stone wall, which was once a cellar. Around here we call em cellar holes.
So I can't tell you any make for this Bowie, and or how old it is. All I can tell you is that it is 15.5" long, is a full 1/4" thick, is high carbon steel, that was rusted and is pitted, but that just makes it better.
Since it had no guard and no grips I made them. The guard is plain brass, and the slabs grips are moose antler, held on with brazing rod pins.
Getting this sharp is pretty easy, and so it is sharp enough to shave hairs off my wrist all the time.
It weighs apx 1.5 pounds, and is a dammned handy camp knife.
The scabard is made of walnut, pinned in the same brazing rod brass.
The scabard has a copper wire belt hook, so when it is worn, the knife in the scabard is thrust between me and my belt crossing my back.
I can sit in a saddle this way and not feel it. When I rode horses with this i tied it in the scabard, so if somehow it fell and I did to we wouldn't have a bad meeting.
Once a wild raccon came into a canvas tent when I was nearly asleep. The coon began to drink from a still on fire citronella bucket candle!!!
Somewhat less than thrilled I reached over and swatted that coon with the scabard, and cracked the wood slightly, and just recently with this thread I began to fix it. This is one of my favorite knives.
JShirley
January 25, 2009, 04:00 PM
I'd really like to see a picture, Mac. It sounds pretty neat.
John
Macmac
January 25, 2009, 05:25 PM
John, That just woke me up. Time to slather more linseed oil on that scabard.
I need to get a lot of pics taken, in a very over all way. Not being very computer savey the task falls on my Bride...
I did get her to take a shot of my latest axe project, which is for fun and a What I did, over a how to, but in some ways it will be a how to.
So far the axe has been cut to be re-shaped to a profile I want, and I have another axe in this same profile only better.
This Bowie I have may not be all that old, and it just might be that connecting a date to a cellar hole, is all wrong, and it could be a kid hide this blade some years before I came on to it. I was hired to clean up the area, and build on it again.
Moving old cellar stones out of the hole I ended up the ground man to chain up large hunks of granite.
I have seen similar looking bowies, but upon inspection the blades have been apx 1/2 " shorter.
on edit: I forgot to mention that in time something happened to the scabard, and the blade sort of self locks in place inside it.
The scabard was designed on purpose to appear too small for the blade to fit, but it does fit.
This was the first scabard I made and so both halves are inlet 1/2+ a little more for the blade to be inside. I did this with some dirks I made latter, and with these scabards I cut the wood a bit different, and did all the inletting on one side only, and then put the top back on.
I still have one of these dirks, because my wife saud she wanted it. other wise it would be long gone. This one has the other side of the same moose antler rack, left alone as it came off the moose. The bowie being sanded and most folks think it is bone.
The dirk has a Amethest installed in the button end, with a sliver of sterling silver embedded under it. The idea being to reflect light. The problem is I can't get the stone out myself, if ever the silver turns black. The wood for the dirk is birdseye maple, and the scabard is lined in thin deerhide on the inside. I can't take a picture of that ever either, and it is because i wanted the dirk to be silent. This dirl scabard has a chain to suspend it, but I didn't like the way it worked, and so one day I will have to build a leather frog to suspend it. I'll get pics of this one too.
Byron Quick
January 26, 2009, 10:48 PM
I'm not sure if he's referring to the Korean gal who bit him or the, shall we say, incredibly hefty lady who fell for him like a ton of bricks.
Macmac
January 27, 2009, 10:36 AM
This is one of the bowie pics, others are on this page, with other knives.
JShirley
January 27, 2009, 03:48 PM
I think it was a picture you sent me, Byron.
Macmac
January 27, 2009, 05:37 PM
I mentioned somewhere that the blade is ment to appear to big to fit the scarbard.
What do you think?
burnse
January 28, 2009, 02:34 AM
certainly seems a tight fit. Also, the last knife on the linked page is very nice looking.
JShirley
January 31, 2009, 01:54 PM
Good looking knife. Good shape.
Macmac
January 31, 2009, 05:15 PM
Yeah considering it was buried in a stone wall, meant to be a cellar that blade cleaned up real well. It seemed worthy of a moose antler grip.
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Coal India has reached an agreement with trade unions for the proposed disinvestment of 10 per cent government stake through IPO which may fetch up to Rs. 12,000 crore, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said here on Friday.
“Coal India Ltd (CIL) has concluded an agreement with trade unions, which were opposing the proposed disinvestment in the company,” Mr. Jaiswal told reporters here.
“With this agreement in place, we are expecting to launch CIL’s IPO by July-August, which may fetch the government around Rs. 10,000-Rs. 12,000 crore,” the minister said.
Following the agreement, the trade unions, including Intuc and Aituc, have cancelled a strike they had threatened to have next month.
Currently, the coal ministry has floated the draft Cabinet note for the proposed divestment for inter-ministerial discussions.
Keywords: Coal India, CIL | http://www.thehindu.com/business/cil-in-pact-with-unions-for-disinvestment-programme/article399091.ece | 2013-05-18T11:03:45 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Tension prevailed at Netaji Nagar in Korukkupet for a few hours on Sunday noon after cadres of the Hindu Munnani attempted to carry Vinayaka idols along an unauthorised route where a mosque was located. Bigger trouble was averted following the intervention of police who themselves transported the idols across the street.
Around 11.45 a.m., the group tried to transport two Vinayaka idols, each over five feet tall, on vans through Third Street past the mosque en route the specified immersion spot near Kasimedu fishing harbour. The move was objected to by some members of Social Democratic Party who gathered on the street.
“Anticipating a clash, we intercepted the vehicles on the street and pacified the group. We sent back the Hindu Munnani activists and moved the idols through the street using policemen after arriving at an amicable accord with the Muslims group,” said N.K. Senthamarai Kannan, Joint Commissioner of Police, North.
The Hindu Munnani activists were intervened and redirected through the pre-designated route from Korukkupet to Kasimedu. As the two idols vans passed through the street, some miscreants pelted stones at one of the vans. Barring that the police ensured a safe passage for the idols which were later handed over to the Munnani cadres for immersion rituals.
A group of women held a demonstration to arrest the miscreants. However, they were pacified by police with the promise of immediate action.
Keywords: idol immersion festival, Vinayaka idols immersion, Hindu Munnani activists, Kasimedu fishing harbour | http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/trouble-averted-during-idols-immersion/article3929664.ece | 2013-05-18T11:03:32 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing Development Corporation (TAHDCO) has called for online applications for loan assistance starting March 15 for a slew of economic ventures and activities. According gas; revolving funds and capital for women SHGs; funds for electrification of households; and financial assistance for aspirants for group A services.
The scheme envisages assistance to Adi Dravidar between 18 years and 55 years of age; and between 18 years and 35 years of age for youth seeking assistance under self-employment scheme for youth. The permissible annual family income shall not exceed Rs.1 lakh. However, the upper limit is Rs.3 lakh for those seeking to set up retail outlets for fuel and gas. The applicants will have to be residents of Nagapattinam. The applications may be downloaded from for online registration. Registration mandates filling in of family card number, details of proof of residence, community and income among others in the requisite columns.
The registration will be open up to March 30. | http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/tahdco-invites-applications-for-loan/article4511162.ece | 2013-05-18T10:25:22 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Medieval abbot and insignia found at Furness Abbey
Thursday, April 19th, 2012
The 12th century Furness Abbey in south Cumbria has been in ruins since 1537 when it was disestablished, looted and destroyed by Henry VIII. Large cracks began appearing in the walls of the presbytery in the early 20th century, and English Heritage is currently funding an extensive project of exploration and restoration with the ultimate aim of underpinning the structure to keep it from collapse. They plan to install massive concrete rafts deep into the ground on top of which a steel framework will be built to brace and anchor the walls.
To prepare for the concrete rafts, Oxford Archaeology North was contracted to excavate four deep holes, two north of the presbytery on the site of the abbey cemetery and two inside the presbytery. As expected, a number of graves, all of them disturbed over the centuries, were found during the cemetery excavation. When they moved inside, just 13 feet (four meters) northwest of the high altar they discovered the undisturbed grave of a medieval abbot, still wearing his ecclesiastical ring on his finger and holding his crozier, the staff of office shaped like a shepherd’s crook.
This find was not at all expected. The abbey was looted thoroughly after the Dissolution; it was thoroughly dug up by archaeologists in the late 19th century, and it was even more thoroughly and deeply dug up in the last century during work to shore up the failing foundations. Finding an undisturbed grave would have been shocking in and of itself, never mind one of an ancient monastic leader still wearing his accouterments.
It’s also of major historical significance because this is the first intact abbot’s grave discovered and excavated under modern archaeological conditions.. The grave – which could date to as early as the 1150’s – also included the decorated crozier and a gemstone ring. crozier is made of gilded copper and on the inside of the loop has a depiction of the Archangel Michael defeating a dragon. The end of the crook is shaped like the head of a serpent (looks like a dog to me). A small piece of the wooden staff which the crozier capped has survived, as have the pointed iron spike that was at its base and some fragments of the linen and silk cloth used to keep the abbot from sweating all over the wood as he held the staff.
The ring is gilded silver with a clear gem or crystal. There’s a hollow behind the stone — perhaps used to store a holy relic — and the inside of the bezel where the ring touched the top of the finger comes to a point. Abbots in the 12th century were supposed to eschew the kind of ornamentation common among the princes of the Church. They even had to get special permission to wear an ecclesiastical ring. The pointed ring, which doubtless caused its wearer some amount of irritation and pain, may thus have served double duty as insignia of authority and as mortifier of the flesh. Certainly the abbot was devout. The arthritis in his knees bears mute witness to many hours spent in prayer.
Radiocarbon dating is ongoing. Until we have the results we can’t know who this man was. Should the results come back within a few decades’ range, it should be possible to pinpoint the abbot based on the information we have from his burial. He might not be an abbot at all. Bishop William Russell from the Isle of Man was buried in Furness Abbey in 1374. He would have had and been buried with a crozier and episcopal ring.
The crozier and ring will go on display at Furness Abbey for just a few days, from Friday, May 4th until Monday, May 7th. | http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/date/2012/04/19 | 2013-05-18T10:22:15 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
NEEDS FILLED — The Ravens were expected to be among the teams addressing the tight end position as early as the first round; they waited until Round 3 but still landed a good one in Ed Dickson, then came back the next round with another value pick at the position in Dennis Pitta.
NEEDS IGNORED — You can’t fault the Ravens for taking a pair of players who fit extremely well into their scheme and were value picks in the second round, LB Sergio Kindle and DT Terrence Cody. However, in a deep safety draft Baltimore was supposed to find an heir for Ed Reed and help at cornerback; instead, the Ravens ignored their secondary entirely.
BEST PICK — Tough to quibble with Kindle at 43, but getting Cody at 57 and dropping him next to Haloti Ngata makes the Ravens extremely thick up front. Guards will have a long way to go and a lot of tackle to fight through to get to Ray Lewis, which in turn will make the Ravens’ defense that much more formidable.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY — While it would have cost Baltimore Kindle, had they not traded down and out of the first round they would have had their choice of safeties Nate Allen, TJ Ward, and Taylor Mays. It’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility that GM Ozzie Newsome simply didn’t see them as a suitable replacement for Reed; after all, Newsome’s draft track record is among the best in the league.
FANTASY RAMIFICATIONS — Dickson and Pitta will open their Ravens careers behind Todd Heap on the depth chart. However, Heap has a propensity for getting hurt so whichever emerges from training camp as his backup should at minimum remain on the fantasy radar for a potential midseason pickup.
NEEDS FILLED — In first-round pick Jermaine Gresham, the Bengals believe they have a tight end who can contribute both as a blocker and as a middle-of-the-field target for Carson Palmer. The Bengals also added to their wide receiver depth with Jordan Shipley (Round 3) and Dezmon Briscoe (Round 6) and addressed needs along the defensive front seven with DE Carlos Dunlap (Round 2), DT Geno Atkins (Round 4) and LB Roddrick Muckelroy (Round 4).
NEEDS IGNORED — The master plan called for the Bengals to add a middle linebacker to plug in between Rey Maualuga and Keith Rivers; unless the plan is for Muckelroy to play the strong side and Maualuga to move to the middle, that box was left unchecked.
BEST PICK — Dunlap was projected to be a first-round pick, but the Bengals picked him up 54 selections into the draft. He should work in as a situational pass-rusher opposite Antwan Odom and, if he lives up to his potential, would provide Cincy with serious bookend pass rushers.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY — If the Bengals truly desired a middle linebacker, their best bet would have been skipping Dunlap and snaring Sean Lee, who went to the Cowboys one pick later.
FANTASY RAMIFICATIONS — First round tight ends rarely do anything as a rookie, but you can bet Gresham will pop up on fantasy radars in both dynasty and redraft leagues; given that the Bengals haven’t had a viable fantasy tight end since the Rodney Holman days, best let the kinks get worked out before getting too aggressive there. Shipley could factor into the mix as a slot guy, but both he and Briscoe are at least behind Chad Ochocinco and Antonio Bryant in the wide receiver pecking order.
NEEDS FILLED — It’s as if Mike Holmgren had a shopping list in front of him and was crossing off the items as he went. Secondary help? Check; CB Joe Haden in the first round and safeties T.J. Ward and Larry Asante in the second and fifth, respectively. Between-the-tackles back? Check; Montario Hardesty was still on the board late in the second round so Cleveland moved up to snag him. Quarterback of the future? Check; Colt McCoy fell into Holmgren’s lap in Round 3. The Browns even addressed needs further down the list with OG Shawn Lauvao in the third and WR Carlton Mitchell in the sixth.
NEEDS IGNORED — Maybe Holmgren forgot to turn down the tight end aisle, as the Browns left a draft loaded at the position without having added someone to replace what Kellen Winslow used to give the Cleveland offense.
BEST PICK — Maybe everybody else is right and McCoy is too short to play in the NFL. But given his success at the college level, Holmgren’s track record with quarterbacks, and McCoy’s fit for the Browns’ offensive scheme, to land a potential franchise quarterback with the 85th pick completed a solid first two days for the new Cleveland regime.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY — If you’re a Taylor Mays fan you could point to selecting Ward over the USC standout in Round 2, but the fact that after Ward at 38 and Mays at 49 another free safety didn’t go off the board until Major Wright to the Bears at 75 suggests that the Browns got the guy they wanted.
FANTASY RAMIFICATIONS — Holmgren has already removed early expectations for McCoy by indicating that Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace will be his quarterbacks in 2010, making Colt a dynasty-league pick only. Hardesty, on the other hand, should move immediately into some sort of job-share with Jerome Harrison — likely as the between-the-tackles, short-yardage, and potentially goal-line back. Though he’s only a sixth-round pick, Mitchell’s path to significant playing time is hardly blocked given that he’s behind the likes of Chansi Stuckey and Brian Robiskie on the depth chart.
NEEDS FILLED — High on the list was protecting their quarterback; while some might say a good lawyer would be the greatest need there the Steelers went another direction in adding Maurkice Pouncey, who should start right away and has an excellent chance of becoming the next great Steelers center. Pittsburgh made its annual selection of a rush linebacker with Jason Worilds in Round 2, then looked to replace Santonio Holmes with third-round pick Emmanuel Sanders. The Steelers didn’t address needs at corner (Crezdon Butler, Round 5) and defensive tackle (Dough Worthington, Round 7) until Day Three, but at least they addressed them.
NEEDS IGNORED — The Steelers didn’t add anything at safety, where Troy Polamalu’s injuries frequently leave the team short-handed. Nor did they get younger at the defensive end position as hoped, though Pittsburgh frequently gets larger contributions from its sophomore class than its first-years and the 2009 draft class was headed by DE Ziggy Hood.
BEST PICK — Pouncey instantly upgrades the Steelers’ offensive line, even if he starts out at guard instead of center. Ultimately, the expectation is that he’ll eventually warrant mention with the likes of Mike Webster, Dermontii Dawson, and Jeff Hartings.
MISSED OPPORTUNITY — If it was beef they sought, the Steelers could have backed up Casey Hampton with Terrence Cody in Round 2; instead, Pittsburgh went with Worilds and Cody landed with division-rival Baltimore.
FANTASY RAMIFICATIONS — If Sanders slides into Mike Wallace’s role as third receiver, with Wallace moving outside to replace Santonio Holmes, he could wind up as a sneaky fantasy play in larger leagues. The Steelers’ only other “skill” position draft pick, sixth-round running back Jonathan Dwyer, also has upside with the potential to back up Rashard Mendenhall and maybe even steal some goal line carries.
Related Articles | http://www.thehuddle.com/x10/nfl_draft/j2v-draft-recap-afcn.php | 2013-05-18T10:13:02 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
The concistency of most wide outs is not that high - there's a reason why running backs are so valuable in fantasy football while wideouts are much less reliable. For an elite few, there is enough consistency to warrant them being drafted highly - they are "running back" like in their ability to turn in nice fantasy scores in most weeks.
The column for "Either" shows how many times they had either a 100 yard game and/or scored at least one touchdown in a game.
Related Articles | http://www.thehuddle.com/x7/articles/dmd-con-wr.php | 2013-05-18T10:23:11 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
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The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation today announced more than $500,000 in grants to help food banks and shelters in Western Washington.
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The grants announced today were for:
• Bellingham Food Bank ($100,000) to provide 180,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to its clients in the next year.
• Downtown Emergency Service Center ($100,000 ) to give 120,000 nutritious meals to the region’s most vulnerable residents.
• Food Lifeline ($150,000) to purchase produce, dairy, meat and seafood for nearly 300 food banks and pantries in Western Washington.
• Solid Ground ($100,000) to assist 2,000 people with emergency shelter, food or legal assistance in the face of foreclosure and eviction.
• Hopelink ($100,000) to purchase 270,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to distribute through the agency’s five food banks.
The Foundation will also continue to match Vulcan Inc. employee giving to Northwest Harvest. Since 2009, the Foundation has provided nearly $100,000 to the organization through the match program. | http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/ths/article/Shelters-and-food-banks-receive-Allen-grants152 | 2013-05-18T10:21:42 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
May 7, 2013 Adult learners from across the country will be able to enroll in more than 200 online courses this summer offered by West Virginia University’s Continuing and Professional Education unit. more »»
May 7, 2013 The Elkins-Randolph County Chamber of Commerce will meet Wednesday at 11:45 a.m. at the Randolph County Community Arts Center. more »»
May 6, 2013 The president of West Virginia Wesleyan College’s Class of 2013 told her fellow graduates Saturday that she didn’t believe she was in any sort of position to give advice on the future. more »»
May 6, 2013 more »»
May 6, 2013 The city of Buckhannon is taking a stance in support of equal employment rights regardless of sexual orientation — and asking state leaders to do the same. more »»
May 6, 2013 A former prison guard who has admitted to bringing tobacco onto the grounds of the Huttonsville Correctional Center in exchange for money was sentenced in Randolph County Circuit Court Friday. more »»
May 6, 2013 Pendleton County has been awarded $9.8 million by the state School Building Authority to “design build” a new elementary school in Franklin. more »»
May 6, 2013 As a nursing student at Davis & Elkins College, Natalie Kniffen’s studies have taken her to a wide array of environments in which she’s practiced her vocation. more »»
May 4, 2013 A historic building in Beverly is getting some much needed repair. more »»
May 4, 2013 An emotional Belington Town Council meeting Thursday lasted nearly three hours, as tempers flared between the mayor and a councilman, and a local minister demanded the mayor step down. more »»
May 4, 2013 An Elkins woman who allegedly accidentally shot a man in the back while she was under the influence of alcohol was sentenced on drug-related charges Friday in Randolph County Circuit Court. more »»
May 4, 2013 Buckhannon Mayor Kenneth Davidson said he would request that city police officers not enforce the recently passed smoking ban during the West Virginia Strawberry Festival after four citizens aired... more »»
May 4, 2013 more »»
520 Railroad Ave. , Elkins, WV 26241 | 304-636-2121
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A Randolph County magistrate modified bond in the case of an Elkins man being held on kidnapping charges.
Magistrate George M. Riggleman altered the form of bond in the case of James E. Cornett, 19, who has been charged with one felony count of kidnapping, abducting or concealing a child, Thursday in Randolph County Magistrate Court.
Cornett was arrested Jan. 22 for allegedly offering two females under the age of 13 $20 to pretend to be a woman's children so the woman, Corcia Smith, who also goes by the name Corcia Ramey, could obtain money under false pretenses from a man, Jimmy Tincher, according to a previous report.
The Inter-Mountain photo by Katie KubaJames Cornett listens as his attorney, Chris Cooper, asks Magistrate George M. Riggleman to modify his $50,000 cash-only bond. Riggleman ultimately agreed to modify Cornett’s bond to $50,000 cash, property or surety.
Although Cornett's preliminary hearing was slated for 2 p.m. Thursday, Cornett's attorney, Christopher Cooper, and Assistant Randolph County Prosecuting Attorney Lori Gray filed a joint motion for a continuance, which Riggleman granted.
Cooper also filed a motion to modify Cornett's bond from $50,000 cash only to $50,000 cash, surety or property. Gray told Riggleman she did not object to the proposed change.
Riggleman said, "Normally I don't do this (when a preliminary hearing hasn't been conducted), especially in a case like this, but since the state does not object, they obviously know a few things I don't, so I'll go ahead modify bond to cash, surety or property."
As of presstime, Cornett remained in the Tygart Valley Regional Jail.
Also on Thursday, Riggleman found probable cause in the case of Ashley Nikole Harrelson, 20, of Virginia, formerly of Elkins, who is charged with one felony count of burglary.
According to a previous report, Harrelson and Jeremy Lee Summerfield, 19, of Elkins, allegedly broke into a Beverly Manor apartment and removed a 46-inch television and a purse belonging to the apartment's resident, Cassandra Dias, on Jan. 19.
During a preliminary hearing on the matter, Harrelson's attorney, William T. Nestor, argued that Beverly Manor Security video surveillance of the incident didn't specifically show Harrelson entering or exiting the apartment of the victim, Cassandra Dias. It merely showed Summerfield exiting the apartment carrying a large-screen TV, he said.
However, the investigating officer in the case, Deputy A.G. Vanscoy with the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, testified that Harrelson had given him a statement in which she admitted to entering Dias' apartment through Dias' bedroom window.
"She said she was there to try to keep Jeremy (Summerfield) from doing anything stupid," Vanscoy said. "I'd probably say the same thing myself if I was caught."
Nestor then questioned Vanscoy's ability to prove that Harrelson entered the bedroom window with the intent of removing any objects.
"All I can say is mere presence at the scene of a crime does not confer criminal responsibility on her," Nestor said.
Gray argued that Harrelson did nothing "to put the TV back" or to "stop Jeremy from doing what he was doing."
Riggleman agreed to modify Harrelson's bond from $10,000 cash only to $10,000 cash, surety or property at the request of Nestor, but declined to find no probable cause.
"I am going to find probable cause and I am going bind this over to the grand jury," Riggleman said.
Despite the bond modification, as of presstime, Harrelson remained incarcerated in the TVRJ.
Contact Katie Kuba by email at kkuba@theintermountain.com.
520 Railroad Ave. , Elkins, WV 26241 | 304-636-2121
© 2013. All rights reserved.| Terms of Service and Privacy Policy | http://www.theintermountain.com/page/content.detail/id/558942/Bond-modified-in-kidnapping-case.html?nav=5014 | 2013-05-18T10:21:38 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
West Wing Cast Reunites For One More “Walk-and-Talk” [VIDEO]
3:07 pm, May 1st | by Amy Tennery
In the grand scheme of public service announcements, “Walking For Your Health” is maybe the least jazzy — ranking down there right after hand-washing and flossing. There’s nothing wrong with walking, per se — but “yay, walking!” is kind of a hard sentiment to sell.
That is, of course, unless you’re the cast of The West Wing. Then it’s shockingly easy to make walking seem cool.
In all fairness, Allison Janney, Dulé Hill, Joshua Malina and Martin Sheen could sell me on the virtues of just about anything. But as pioneers of the all-too-famous “walk and talk,” the crew was uniquely qualified to champion the “Every Body Walk!” campaign, which they did during a reunion for Funny or Die.
Of course, this is just a really just a long-winded way of saying I nearly peed myself when I saw this video existed — and it didn’t disappoint:
(A quick shoutout to all the diehard West Wing fangirls out there: Martin Sheen totally did the coat thing!!! I had no idea how much I missed that.)
Learn Right: How to Remember What You Read
Why Can't We Be Friends? How to Deal With Difficult People
Don't Let Energy Costs Burn You Out: Swap Your Bulbs
8 Things Your Boss Doesn't Need To Know
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Lisa Jonte
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Christy
- Anonymous | http://www.thejanedough.com/west-wing-walk-and-talk/ | 2013-05-18T10:31:41 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Match the music to the mood of your party.
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These days the functions of the well-heeled boast more A-list entertainers than Harvey Goldsmith can line up at Wembley Arena - and those who can't afford Rhianna, Robbie or Rufus Wainwright still feel the need to provide a cross between Grace after Meals and Sunday Night at The London Palladium.
This is particularly so at a bar/batmitzvah. The 12 and 13-year-olds feel the pinch of peer pressure if they go to a lot of parties and they soon start nudging the parents into a battle of one-upmanship. The demands can take many forms, but don't be surprised if it starts with your child's request for a personalised video. This film is meant to warm up the crowd and herald the arrival of the celebrant, so it usually has members of the family in the leading roles, a funky soundtrack, aerial photography and cameos by minor soap stars and a footballer or two, albeit second-division. None of this comes cheap, but to know what you are up against take a look at the MTV-style barmitzvah entries on YouTube.
It is possible to shoot your own low-budget film on a video camera and screen it at the simchah, but if you want it to look good it may require expert editing.
With the trailer in the can, it's on with the show and face it, if little Manny Goldstein can have Jedward at his barmitzvah, why shouldn't your son have Adele? Actually it is possible for anyone to have Adele at their function and for the surprisingly reasonable rate of around £575. Granted it's not the real Ms Adkins, but Rebecca Louise, bookable from Scott Jordan Associates.
The horn section appears from various points in the room. They strike up together and guests follow them to the dance floor
"Over the years I've seen a change in the way people organise function entertainment, as they now consciously try to outdo their friends with bigger names and fuller rosters," says Steve, a former wedding singer. "Somebody might have Amy Winehouse at a do and then the next host will book Celine Dion, Cheryl Cole.... and Amy Winehouse. They don't like to be outdone."
Steve and Kim choose the acts they want to represent as rigorously as Simon Cowell and they are never in any doubt that the sound-alike they send to the simchahwill hit all the right notes.
"If it is a function with a wide age range, it is better to have a tribute act that satisfies everyone," advises Steve. "Tina Turner, Tom Jones - those are the artists that have wide appeal and then there are The Beatles., The Bee Gees and The Blues Brothers."
Imagine the function you could create. With Abba as support, Elvis as the headliner, Girls Aloud during tea and then The Gypsy Kings for the Hora. It's the Royal Command Performance with bells on.
"There are performers to suit all pockets," says Steve, but he thinks 45 minutes to an hour is ample time for the lookalike act. "The bride and groom or the barmitzvah should get top billing; you don't want the guests sitting down all night watching Freddie Mercury and Lady Gaga."
In the absence of starry names, a large, energetic and musically-diverse band is the best, such as the Gilev Band, a 12-15 strong collective. Some 19 years ago, Gilev was a GCSE music project created by nice Jewish boys Johnny Gilbert and Levi Levin (hence Gilev) who established themselves as a keyboard and vocals duo. They have since attracted the best brass, percussion and vocalists around and now have the sort of line-up you'd expect to see sharing the stage with Elton John.
You could actually have Elton John --in tribute act form - but the Gilev Band has bookings confirmed until well into 2015, so you'll have to act fast to sign them up.
Scott Jordan Entertainment
0845 094 1455
enquiries@scottjordan.co.uk
The Gilev Showband
Bookings: 020 8906 3355
info@thegilevshowband.com
Star Turn Videos
Simon Williams, 0800 9558975
weddingfilmstudio.co.uk
For more information see | http://www.thejc.com/56560/double-act | 2013-05-18T10:34:33 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
[
"http://www.thejc.com/files/imagecache/body_landscape/_1012-IMG-4067.jpg",
null
]
] |
Seller's Market
If you've donated any clothes, they might end up here:.
Lose-lose, all around! (except for the unscrupulous hijacker. he gets off pretty well at the end of the day)
(After posting, refresh the page to see your comment.) | http://www.thejerk.org/includes/mt-static/mt_archive/2009/08/sellers_market.html | 2013-05-18T10:53:17 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
>>
Encourage students to examine this painting carefully:
- Describe what is happening in this scene.
- Describe the people you see.
- Describe the setting of the scene. What type of place do you think this is? What kind of weather is implied? What time of day?
- How do the gestures of the figures help tell the story?
- How does the title of this painting—Pharaoh’s Daughter Receives the Mother of Moses—help you understand the scene? Which woman do you think is the pharaoh’s daughter? Why? Which one is Moses’ mother?
- What kinds of lines do you see in the painting? Consider both painted lines and implied lines created by the arrangement of figures within the space. How does the artist use these lines to lead your eye around the picture?
- What do you think could happen next in the story?
FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION:
After giving students an opportunity to examine this painting, lead them in a discussion of related topics and themes:
- Compare the story depicted in Tissot’s painting with the story as told in the Book of Exodus. What differences are there between the verbal account and Tissot’s image of the scene? What kinds of choices did the artist make?
- How would you depict this story? What part of the story would you want to show and why?
RESEARCH TOPICS / CONTENT CONNECTIONS:
- Bible Studies
- Watercolor
- Jewish History
- Illustration | http://www.thejewishmuseum.org/X1952146looking | 2013-05-18T11:03:24 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
[
"../../onlinecollection/oci/nov08allgood/w220/tri_44994_x1952-146.jpg",
"Pharaoh's Daughter Receives the Mother of Moses"
]
] |
Images by Nancy Baumiller
Stencil by Balzer Designs
Half term is finally upon us. Hurray! That means no work, routine, or getting out of bed for a week. I'm going to have looaads of extra free time for art, (or maybe not; my kids are at home too!!) But I managed to sneak into my craft room for a very quick bit of journal play this afternoon before dinner time duties called ......
I found this fab quote in a vintage book. I always find the best quotes when I am looking for something else.
There's quite a few layers under here, including some old sheet music. The rest of the layers are gesso, Paper Arsty Fresco Finish paints. Golden paints, and Liquid acrylics. Lots of junk stamping and splats:
Right, I've got two extra children sleeping here tonight so I'm off to blow up airbeds! Byeeee ...
rather beautiful.EE
Hi Kate
I saw that you are teaching a Gelli Plates class and have watched their YouTube tutorial - but as I'm in West Wales it wouldn't be possible to get to it !
I just wondered if you could explain why one would choose to print onto a page rather than paint directly into my journal ? Does it give a different effect ? Do you use it for different things ? Is it not for journalling ?
Just wanted to understand it a bit better before I put it on my Christmas list ! Any insight or advice would be brilliant ! Many thanks Ali
Hi Ali, Yes, it's very different to painting straight onto a page. It's all about effects! You can build up multiple layers and create some fab effects with it - very different to painting onto a page. It's quite addictive! Kate
Love it!! We just went back to school after 2 weeks off...Yayyy!! Enjoy your week of..xx
So cool Kate :) You re so clever to squeeze in such creative brilliance inbetween domestic "bliss" chores.....
As always fabulous and inspirational!! Hugs Juls
Sounds like you've got your hands full tonight. Your page is gorgeous and your right its a great little caption too. I've got to try those fresco paints I have not got any. I'm missing not being in any classes at AFTH, I'm having withdrawal symptoms! I miss you all. Michelle xx
Gorgeous Page, just love those bold arrows and the just visible sheet music. Great colours with all those paint mediums.
Debbiex
Very beautiful and very cool this work kate. Love it.
Lovely greet
marja
Love the vivid colours of this page, and the quote too ... reminds me of Mother Teresa's saying "let's do something beautiful for God".
Always enjoying visiting your blog! You really do make it look so easy! :) Have a wonderful week off!!! Looking forward to more:)
what a fun little book, and you are right...a great quote from the vintage book! and always love your colors...
I totally love these bright colours.. hm, I'm a sucker for orange/red/pinks... gorgeouuuus!!!! Blowing airbeds, ohmy - I remember that! I'm lucky my son moved out - he can blow his own airbeds for his friends now hahaaa... have a nice 'free' week Kate! Enjoy, enjoy while the kids are still home (time flies, you know!)
Beautiful colors, and I love the arrows on the right, and the quote too. Just a great page overall. | http://www.thekathrynwheel.blogspot.com/2012/10/quick-mini-journaling.html | 2013-05-18T10:53:21 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Lillian Smith writes to Dr. King in regards to being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, she expresses her admiration of his leadership, and how his success has helped her through her numerous hospital visits.
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We, )
These look like so much FUN! Filing away for next year's birthday!
Um, I'm 34 years old and I think my head did just explode.
I did this for my daughter when she turned six. I am so not a crafty baker, but she thought I was magic!
I bake most of family/friends Birthday cakes
My nieces always answer to the "which cake/decoration do you want this year" jumping and repeating "the candy & lollypop one!"
here is one:
this year I made an "8" shaped cake for Sara, Ana's sister, with the xtra surprise that it was velvet red inside :-)
I made one of these as well, and it was so much fun! My daughter loved it. | http://www.thekitchn.com/candyland-birthday-cakes-146739?img_idx=1 | 2013-05-18T10:41:57 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
.".
The Lancaster News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Lancaster County and Lancaster, South Carolina, and the surrounding area.. | http://www.thelancasternews.com/news/todaysnews?page=1260&mini=calendar-date%2F2012-09 | 2013-05-18T10:34:22 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Extending a helping hand
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Postcard from...Brussels
28 May 2010 do all at once. However, as I push my way through the commuters and trudge up the hill in the drizzle, my destination is not home but a south London legal advice centre, where there is a crowd of people outside the door waiting for the 7pm start.
Sessions are held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 7pm until 9pm. I am on the Wednesday rota, which has enough volunteers to space my visits out to once every three months, although I occasionally help out on extra evenings when those due to do their stint cannot attend. The four advisers - mainly trainees though there is always at least one qualified lawyer in attendance - along with a receptionist, see up to 15 people who live or work locally.
The visitors complete a short questionnaire to give the advisers an idea of their problem. The most common questions are ones concerning landlord and tenant, employment, family and consumer purchase laws. (Questions about social security and benefits are dealt with by the daytime advisers at our host neighbourhood advice centre.)
Advisers tell the receptionist their preferred topics at the start of the session, so an appropriate trainee can be allocated to each visitor.
At first I was worried that I might not know enough law or practice to be able to help. However, I was surprised how much I could remember from university and law school days.
The centre has a microfiche encyclopedia of basic law so you can refresh your memory, and the City firms that organise the rotas and contribute to the running costs also arrange occasional evening update sessions on the aspects of the law most frequently encountered. If all else fails the visitors never seem to mind an admission of ignorance, coupled with an offer to write with the answer in the next few days.
The main problem with legal advice centres is continuity. Visitors frequently need to return to report on developments or ask for clarification, but will rarely see the same adviser twice. The record system counteracts this as much as possible by providing each adviser with all the visitor's previous papers.
Where one adviser wishes to continue dealing with the same matter, communications from the visitor to the adviser must, for insurance reasons, be carried out through the centre - this is not ideal when a 14-day time-limit applies. Advisers occasionally volunteer to do some follow-up work, usually just a little research or a phone call and a letter reporting the result to the visitor, but more extensive follow-up work is harder to fit around the adviser's normal office work.
Advisers cannot represent visitors in court, because of the amount of time they would have to spend on doing so and also because of the risk of the court ordering the adviser or the centre to pay the winning opponent's costs under the rules of maintenance of actions.
The Bar's Free Representation Unit and the Law Society's proposed Solicitors' Representation Unit will act only in tribunal cases, where no costs orders can be made.
Voluntary work has been in the headlines recently because of the likelihood of further reductions in the Legal Aid Fund. Apart from advice centres and the representation units, many firms and chambers have contacts with charities, or are members of groups like Business in the Community which brings accountants, architects and lawyers together to work on community projects. Liberty, the human rights organisation, has a panel of lawyers to advise on and conduct test cases involving issues of public importance and civil liberties.
Involvement in a legal advice centre scheme is very rewarding. The visitors are grateful that you have chosen to forego an evening in front of the TV in order to help them.
I have found it a good way to practise my interview and communication skills in a relaxed setting, and it has also increased the confidence I have in my legal knowledge and analysis.
Legal advice centres are a vital aid for many people who have everyday legal problems, as well as an enjoyable source of experience and training for the advisers. | http://www.thelawyer.com/extending-a-helping-hand/82292.article | 2013-05-18T10:16:35 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Welcome to The Lazy Toad Inn
Clive and Mo Walker and our team welcome you to The Lazy Toad Inn a free house which has undergone substantial renovation works to create a cosy, beamed series of rooms on the ground floor where local ales and CAMRA award winning ciders from Sandford Orchards together with good locally sourced and some of our home produced food are served from Tuesday to Sunday lunchtimes and Tuesday to Saturday evenings. Reservations are advised to guarantee your table. Well behaved dogs are welcome on a lead - so long as they get on with 'Sam' our friendly resident Cocker Spaniel! | http://www.thelazytoad.co.uk/about-us/brampford-speke | 2013-05-18T10:52:56 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
mary said...
Mary's always the best reporter. Way better than any AP crap.
a good point in winning at any cost.
i should hope that people see through meg whitman in the same way come november. she has already spent 120 million of her own money to, in effect (if she wins), buy the governorship of california. with 120 million she could have given 120 one million dollar business loans if she really wanted to help california's economy.
this is not an endorsement of jerry brown... it's a condemnation of meg whitman.
back to 'cin city... it's very apparent from her tactics so far that gasper (yeah, gasper) is intent on winning even it means alienating the community she wants to serve. that's not the kind of person i want running my city. i should hope that the residents care enough and are smart enough to see through her.
but since she seems to have the backing of old white men... maybe she's a shoe-in.
ps. the ASB president of my HS is now in prison for white collar crimes! ha!
pss. she's REALLY not that hot.
Kristin's not a bad person, has done her share of volunteer work, however she's young and has a healthy ego. Not hard to see how Stocks and the good ol' Rotary Club boys convinced her to run. "You'll be a fresh new face."
If she's elected she'll find out what an unglamorous job it is...sitting through a multitude of mind numbing meetings on water board issues, etc. I doubt she'll have the patience to last long. Does anyone know what the mandatory number of meetings a council member is required to attend? And what are the consequences of not meeting the requirement?
Gaspar is our lil' Palin!
Mary I so glad you didn't Procreate! This world doesn't need any more stupid people.
The dictionary defines a Careerist as one who devotes themselves to a career often at the expense of one's personal life or ethics. I would have to agree with Mary. The slimy mailer Gaspar sent out that she refused to take responsibility for lying about Teresa Barth's positions and ignoring Tony Kranz's candidacy altogether indicates a deficit of ethics, so she is paired well with Dalager who is starting to sound a lot like Blago in Chicago. Are the thinking residents of our coastal town ready to accept this kind of heavily funded chicanery
I agree with Mary. Gaspar unfortunately fits the definition of Careerist, one who is devoted to a career at the expense of one's personal life or ethics. That slimy mailer where Barth's positions on issues were completely untrue and Tony Kranz's candidacy totally omitted strongly indicates a deficiency of ethics. As a communication major she could not plead ignorance. She is paired well with Dalager who's looking a lot like Blago. I truly hope our citizens don't buy this heavily funded and glossed over chicanery.
It's dispicable what Maggie is doing to Danny.
It was even more despicable what was done to Maggie. Maggie didn't deserve it. Dan does.
The Taliban are not bad people either.
But when you harm my community and my children's future you are my enemy.
Dalager and Gaspar are Encinita's Taliban.
Gaspar has tossed out doubt about whether or not her club work was part of a plan to run for office. She does not live the service above self motto except when convenient or public.
Life imitates art!
Remember Lawnmower Man, the 80's movie about an affable moron who becomes a power-mad tyrant?
Eerie.
I loved Lawnmower Man.
11:42
The word is procreate, not Procreate (capital P). For you (and others), does any word with 'create' in it deserve a capital letter?
Need any additional help with polysyllabic words? Like 'asshole'?
I heartily agree that our Ms. Gaspar is a careerist of the same template as Stocks (Whitman and Fiorina.) She might continue to run whether she loses this time or not. Let's get through this election and watch her like hawks. Whether she is elected or not, it is important to make her irrelevant.
Another goal - Stocks irrelevant or removed prior to 2012 . . . starting now.
11:42 looks like I pushed your buttons.
Good.
11:42
thank you for proving a point about "your side"
you have nothing to add but slimy personal attacks?
11:42 is part of the Encinitas Taliban. Friends of Dalager and Gaspar.
The way I see it Mary is spot on. While Kristin has the broadcaster role down her answers were weak, I for one want a council member who is an independent thinker as well one that does their own research and clearly she hasn't.
The large land owners in town do not want an independent thinker. That's the last thing they want. They want their land re-zoned to many units per acre so they can sell out.
Gaspar and Dalager are the willing droids to do the bidding of the developers and land barrons of Encinitas. Dalager is an embarrassment, who now denies his quid pro qou votes for favors are conflicts of interest. Gaspar is hoping that vague generalities and cutesy one-liners substitute for substance and preparation, the both of which she has none. The power clique only needs one win from the doubled headed clone - then they are back in business for 4 more years. Recall, anyone??
Does the city charter have provisions for recalls?
recall stocks and Dalager.
Adopt term limits. They are our true savor.
Dr. Lorri any progress?
A recall can be done. The tough part is gathering signatures and conducting the campaign. It has to be a city wide effort. There is no point in doing it unless there is broad suport and a chance of victory. I think it could be successfully done, but with a lot of work and money.
While were at it, let's recall Houlihan.
sounds good to me. Recall Stocks, Dalager and Houlihan.
I love the idea of having our own lil Palin. Can Gasper see Russia from her house?
"does any word with 'create' in it deserve a capital letter?"
Only Creator.
8:09
No, but she can still see a Redevlopment district from her house.
Progress on term limits? I have not figured out if enough people want them, so I have been lagging on doing too much. At one of the candidate forums, when all of the candidates were asked what they thought of them, I don't believe any of them wanted them. Therefore, we would have to do all the work ourselves. In other words, it would have to be a ballot measure, as the Council does not seem interested in putting it on the agenda. When I have a little time, I will write up the pros and cons and perhaps JP and/or Kevin will post it on the blog. Perhaps others can post their thinking as well. Also, if the attorney who contacted me before would be so kind as to contact me again at: lgreene98@aol.com, I would love to speak to her. Lost your phone #. After the elections, if enough people seem interested, we can go for it. Thoughts anyone? After this election season, now, more than ever, I think it is a good idea.
Term limits - yes, a great idea. No one is so indispensible as to have be around for more than 2 terms. Can you believe that Dalager is going for a 3rd term??? This guy is so unaware of the issues or his own transgressions that he can barely get a complete sentence out at a forum. A deer in the headlights would be able to put on a better front than has "his disHonor". Just how naive are the voters of this city?? We'll soon see...
Big money backing Danny Dalager and it appears the only thing we need to worry about is building the park never mind the elderly walking in the street instead of sidewalks on 101. Never mind the bumpy roads and drainage problems it's all about the park to hell with the pension problems who cares if Leucadia looks like third world countries we need a park that will cost $500,000 a year to maintain. Looks like all the money saved on his kitchen has been spent on a mailer bigger then that crook Bilbray. If he wins there won't be a parcel in town without a structure on it he has to pay for his campaign
9:00
Gag me with a spoon
Thanks, Mary. I appreciate your opinion,and that you can respond authentically and intelligently. | http://www.theleucadiablog.com/2010/10/marys-opinion.html | 2013-05-18T10:31:14 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
The female-fronted Brooklyn band play potent political anthems with the spirit of riot grrrl, plus support from sick punk trio Throwing Up, and Hayes-based pop-ska outfit The Tuts.
Sunday, October 21 The Girls Are & Storm In A Teacup present The Shondes, The Tuts, I Am Amity 8pm adv £5
> | http://www.thelexington.co.uk/event?id=1740 | 2013-05-18T10:31:22 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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"Coming Soon"
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Mother's Day came and went this year, and for me, it was like any other day, really. I did laundry, cleaned up around the house and scrambled around trying to get the kids ready to meet my mom for lunch. Since my kids are still little, Mother's Day is still all about my mom. Rylie made her a pretty picture, I got her some earrings, and we met halfway between our houses for a nice lunch. That is all I needed for Mother's Day - just some time spent with my mom!
I had seen these adorable Mickey Mouse Mother's Day cookies from Pillsbury advertised in the weeks before Mother's Day, so Rylie and I were planning to make them to surprise my mom (aka Mama) with. Unfortunately, I waited until the last minute and could not find them anywhere when I went out looking for them that weekend. Since I had a VIP coupon for a free package of Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Shape Cookies, I kept looking for them even after Mother's Day, and I finally found them!
Cute, right?
Along with my coupon, I also received a Pillsbury Cookie Jar, Spatula and Oven Mitt, so earlier this evening, Rylie and I decided to fill that cookie jar up!
Mother's Day had come and gone, but these cookies say "I Love Mom" on them, which is said daily around my house anyway. Really, it is. And plus, cookies are cookies, and we certainly don't need a special holiday around here to make them!
Quick and convenient, Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Shape Cookies are ready to enjoy in 8-10 minutes. All you have to do is remove them from the package, space them out on a cookie sheet (I love to use stones when I bake cookies) and pop them in the oven. It is so easy, a 4 year old can do it!
I like my cookies soft and chewy so I set the timer for 8 minutes and then checked them. They weren't that close to being done, so I put them back in for a few minutes. They were probably in the oven for 12 minutes total. They came out so cute!
By the time the kids got done with their baths, the cookies were cool and ready to eat. They scarfed the first ones down before they even hit the chairs they were supposed to be sitting in. They asked for one more so I gave them one and asked them to hold them up for a picture. Rylie just couldn't do it. She was like a little Cookie Monster and had that cookie in her mouth before I could even get my hands on the camera!
Everyone definitely enjoyed the cookies! They were soft and chewy on the inside just like I like them. I decided that I needed to get them put away before we ate them all, so in the cookie jar they went.
Speaking of my little Cookie Monster, look who I found trying to sneak another one...
The Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Shape Cookies make a delicious treat and they are quick and easy to make. There are different shapes for different holidays, like the Flag Shape cookies that are now available at grocery stores everywhere. These would be great to take to holiday parties, or just to have as a little treat at home. Yum!
Visit to download a printable coupon for $1.10 off the purchase of (1) package of Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Shape Cookies today!
~*~Giveaway~*~
~*~Pillsbury Cookie Prize Pack~*~
Includes a VIP coupon to purchase a package of Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Shape Cookies, Cookie Jar, Cookie Spatula and Oven Mitt.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: All opinions are my own. The VIP coupon, prize pack, information, and additional sample have been provided by Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark.
70 comments:
Disney Mickey Mouse Shape!! eclairre(at)ymail(dot)com
I like the reindeer.
msgb245 at gmail dot com
THE FLAG COOKIES WILL BE GREAT FOR THE 4TH!
INMAN@MOBAP.EDU
flag cookies would be fun
The flag cookies look delicious!
Lexijo213 at yahoo dot com
I love the flag 4th of July ones!
I think the rabbit cookies are cute for the kids.
Flag Shape® Sugar Cookies
4th of July ones? the ones with the American flag
seyma_bennett@hotmail.com
I like the Disney and White Chocolate macadamia cookies.
I like the Minnie Mouse Cookies
rabbit cookies
i like the Flag Shape® Sugar Cookies
Definitely Minnie Mouse. Thanks for hosting!
flag cookies!
phinias and ferb crystletellerday@yahoo.com
My birthday is July 4th, so I'm partial to the flag cookies!
suebee05@gmail.com
give me micky mouse shapes
Love the flag cookies!!
jessicaahays at hotmail dot com
I love these cookies one one the things I look forward to on holidays I like the Easter Bunny cookies they are so cute.
We like the Flag Cookies
Kims2312@verizon.net
I like the mickey mouse shape cookies!
Thanks
marriedfilingjointly4ever at gmail dot com
Flag and back to school unless I list them all, they all look yummy!
Gladys P
sps1113 at yahoo dot com
The flag cookies for firework snacking!
I the flag cookies will be great this sunmer
I would LIKE to make the Hershey's® mini Kisses® chocolate Cookies
hearntsoulcooking at gmail dot com
I would make the spooky cat cookies
Minnie Mouse
I'd like to make the flag cookies.
smore's sandwich cookies look yummy!
I like the sugar cookies
Peachesncream887(at)hotmail(dot)com
school bus cookie!
tara.huff(at)gmail(dot)com
I think I like the Flag Shaped ones since we're coming up on Memorial Day & 4th of July! =)
love the snowman shape for christmas
looks like we all have the same idea to make the flag ones for the 4th
We love Mickey Mouse so I would pick that one. They are cute.
btjfarnham at yahoo dot com
I'd make the flag cookies
blakekap1@aol.com
I'd like to make the Disney Minnie Mouse Shape. Thanks!
romapup at gmail dot com
We would love the Disney Pixar Cars cookies!
I would like to make the flags for the 4th of July
urbancwgrl84(at)yahoo(dot)com
Minnie Mouse
I like the Flag, heart and Mickey Mouse shaped cookies. Please accept my entry. Thank you.
Phineas and Ferb...and the turkey for Thanksgiving.
1prizewinner at gmail dot com
I would like to make the flag shape sugar cookies for the 4th of July
I would like to make the Flag Shape Sugar Cookies.
I would like to make smily heart shape :)
They are all really cute but I think I would like to make the
Disney's Phineas and Ferb Pillsbury Shape® Cookies. My step-daughter loves this show. Rafflecopter name: Margaret MacKenzie
My daughter would love the Minnie Mouse ones!
My boys would love the Disney's Phineas and Ferb Pillsbury Shape® Cookies :)
Thank you!
Suchaproudmama @ yahoo.com
Flag Shape® Sugar Cookies.
skyrobinson@yahoo.com
I would love to make the Phineas & Ferb cookies with my kids, we already love all of the Holiday shapes, especially Mickey Mouse and we haven't tried these yet!!
had these a few days ago they were great!
Chocolate Chunk and Chip
The chocolate chunk & chip
caryn9802 at yahoo dot com
Flag cookies, any day of the year, not only around July 4!
I want to try the Phineas and Ferb!
Spooky Cat Shape
I would choose the stars and stripes ones.
4th of July cookies!
Flag Shape Sugar Cookies
I want to make the
Phineas and Ferb cookies
I've always loved these! I really like the Cars and Mickey shapes :)
I'd like to make the flag shape!
I love the rabbit cookies (Miz Vickik)
I love the shamrock cookies.
jessicabanks1721@yahoo.com
I like the School Bus Shape:) Thanks!
I want those Phineas and Ferb ones!
cinderwhims at gmail dot com
I love the flags.
I would like to make the Chocolate Chip Cookies with Hershey's mini Kisses
CharlieGurl57@aol.com
I like the Princess Shape! tylerpants(at)gmail.com
I would like to make the Bunny Shape cookies. | http://www.thelifeofrylie.com/2012/05/bake-cookies-easy-way-with-pillsbury.html?showComment=1338899668541 | 2013-05-18T10:22:13 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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Printed on: May 18, 2013
917 Dark Wash Skinny Jeans
Item# 8848719
50% Off Original Ticket Prices - Use code EARLY50 (Details)
Excludes Sale & Final Sale merchandise
colorCode size pantLength
Quantity 9Find in Store
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The Search is OVER for the Perfect Pair These are an outstanding pair of jeans. I have added these to my cart and never purchased them many, many times before. I am glad that I finally did. These are wonderful! Color - These are suitable for many different occasions, because of the darker rinse. In addition, the color is even throughout the entire pair of pants. Fit - I believe this cut is truly for the long-legged, curvy body type. When you look at the cut - low-rise, with a higher waist in the back, and the shape of the hip and thighs - it makes senses. These make your legs look longer and slimmer. If you have this body type, then you will find that the 678 jeans will make you look heavier in the hip region and the waist will be too big. From now on, I will only purchase 917 jeans. Style - These are trendy because of the cut, but they are a classic wash that will last many years. I love these. I would like to see these offered in colors like mint, aqua, coral, and white. Thank you Limited!!! My denim prayers have been answered. SB April 24, 2013
Favorite jeans!!! I absolutely love these jeans!! I have a hard time finding jeans that fit both my waist and my butt/thighs but these jeans fit like a glove!! Love the dark wash and the little bit of stretch! I'm 5'8 and often need to order a long but the regular was just right for me! Love love love these comfy jeans! April 17, 2013 | http://www.thelimited.com/917-Dark-Wash-Skinny-Jeans/8848719,default,pd.html?dwvar_8848719_colorCode=289&start=1&ppid=c1&cgid=more-ways-to-shop-trends-outback-red&prefn1=sizeFamily&prefv1=2 | 2013-05-18T10:44:55 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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Printed on: May 18, 2013
Final Sale
Geo-Diamond Tights
Item# 1633981
Take An Extra 25% Off Markdowns - Price reflects discount (Details)
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- 2-tone diamond jacquard knit to toe
- Smooth opaque panty
- Cotton gusset
- Nylon Spandex Blend
- Hand wash
- Imported
Notes:
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Love!! I own many pairs on tights from the Limited and these are one of my favorites. The maroon color is very nice- subtle but noticeably different than a brown or black. I wore them with a oatmeal cable knit/sequin skirt and got compliments the entire night. November 19, 2012
Perfect! I love these tights! They are the perfect color. Just subtle enough so you know they are burgandy, but they have black woven into them as well. It is just a little color and a little pattern. These are also really good quality. I am really rough on tights, I tend to buy two of each pair because I always get a ring, watch or something caught on a pair and they run like crazy! These are a little bit thicker and more of an open weave design. I have worn and washed these a few times now and they are still in great shape! If you are looking for something a little different, I highly recommend these, as they are not too flashy but still have some fun in them! November 14, 2012
1-2 of 2 | http://www.thelimited.com/Geo-Diamond-Tights/1633981,default,pd.html?dwvar_1633981_colorCode=598&start=36&ppid=c36&cgid=new-accessories | 2013-05-18T10:25:52 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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Printed on: May 18, 2013
Sale+ Full View
Zipper Ponte Tunic
Item# 5052011
$24.99
$18.74
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- Easy pullover in smooth ponte knit
- Exposed-zipper front pockets
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- Exposed back 1/4 zipper
- Rayon, Nylon, and Spandex Blend
- Machine wash, gentle cycle with like styles, only non-chlorine when needed, lay flat to dry, cool iron if needed.
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Cute and Comfortable Found this top in stores because it didn't really stick out to me on the website. This top can be worn so many different ways and is super comfortable. Easy top to transition from the office to a more casual setting afterwards. Love the zipper detail and the length of the shirt. Although I'm too tall to have this work as a tunic, it's still nice to find longer shirts. December 17, 2012 | http://www.thelimited.com/Zipper-Ponte-Tunic/5052011,default,pd.html?dwvar_5052011_colorCode=799&start=28&ppid=c28&cgid=sale&prefn1=sizeFamily&prefv1=M%7C14%7C7 | 2013-05-18T11:07:29 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [
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Lincoln Center's recently redesigned, renovated, refurbished and reopened Alice Tully Hall still has that new concert hall smell, which is something like fresh wood, glaze and felt. Get there soon, before the uptown elite smells it all up. Typically, the venue hosts chamber music performances, and its acoustics have been tailor-fit to resonate with small sounds. It was an ideal spot to see and hear the Phoenix and Kansas City Chorales, sister choirs under Charles Bruffy's shared direction, which performed together there last Monday with a program of 19th and 20th centuries vocal music — mostly selections from their recent CD releases.
The program's highlight was its opening piece, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi's
"Canticum Calamitatis Maritimae" (1997), because it did the most to
stretch the boundaries of traditional choral music. Written to
commemorate the 1994 shipwreck of the Estonia, in which 910
people perished traveling from the boat's namesake country to
Stockholm, the piece inventively used human voices to evoke water: it
opened with sharp exhales that sounded like crashing surf; later, its
mellifluous harmonies conjured lapping waves; and the piece started and
ended with the chorus whispering, which brought to mind both ripples
and the final mutters of the drowning. It was a poignant, haunting
piece; Mr. Mäntyjärvi was in the audience — all the way from Finland! —
and though he received hearty applause he deserved more.
The Chorales followed the piece with something more traditional: Josef Rheinberger's "Three Sacred Songs". Known primarily for his works for organ, that instrument most readily associated with the divine, Rheinberger here was (yuk yuk) writing for different sets of pipes; the songs sounded like something straight out of the church, if your church had two world-class choirs. (And if you
heathens dear
readers went to church.) That is, it was almost a religious experience,
fulfilling one of music's earliest roles: by working its way through
melodic uncertainty into the catharsis of major-key resolution, I
became convinced, if only momentarily, of the existence of God, a deity
so loving he'd allow notes to be arranged with such harmonic
pulchritude.
The subsequent piece, selections from Alexander Grechaninov's "Passion Week" (ca. 1912) possessed a similarly conventional beauty as Rheinberger's work, but it raised a question: how much consecutive choral music can the ordinary listener take before he gets bored — before it really starts to feel like church? A bit more than I suspected, actually, as soon as I stopped taking notes and closed my eyes. Choral music asks that the listener surrender to it; to appreciate it, particularly in large quantities, it helps to crawl inside the spaces between the octaval harmonies, to nestle in psychically. Others, of course, disagree: my row had thinned out a bit after intermission.
Those quitters would have been advised to stick around: post-intermission's "Mass for Double Choir," by Frank Martin, was second only to the Mäntyjärvi piece. (Hear the concluding "Agnes Deo".) Composed a bit later than the two preceding works, ca. 1926, it boasted more complexity: there were more dynamic and rhythmic shifts, more complicated chords and more harmonic build-ups. Sung to "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" and The Nicene Creed (and other texts), it used its libretto in unexpected ways: when invoking the Lord ("heavenly King, God the Father almighty") the chorus sounded afraid rather than celebratory, building up to something like suppliant awe. On particular words — like "crucifi!" — the voices exploded.
"I am so happy you liked that," music director Bruffy said when the applause died down. (He had a comical habit of refusing to signal the end of the piece for many seconds after the chorales had stopped producing sound; before intermission, it provoked a woman in the audience to release a devious giggle, one I assume the rest of us were successfully stifling.) The chorales offered an encore in honor of St. Patrick's Day: the women sang an Irish folk song, "'P' Stands for Paddy, I Suppose," while the men performed what sounded like a pulsatingly tribal Gaelic fight song. The performances were competent, but smacked a bit of blue-hair populism: something you'd expect from a PBS pledge drive. The two groups proved capable of producing a stunning tapestry of tones, a thick cloud of sacred voices, reverberating through the hall. Like a priest with a banjo, they were above such crassly folksy Irishisms. | http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2009/03/23/steeped-in-the-classicals-sacred-voices-and-that-new-concert-hall-smell | 2013-05-18T11:04:34 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
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Get there early and we'll help you feather your hair. | http://www.thelmagazine.com/TheMeasure/archives/2010/03/09/were-having-a-joan-jett-and-the-runaways-party-this-friday-come | 2013-05-18T10:33:12 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
with cheese
with choice of bbq, bleu cheese, ranch or honey mustard
1/2 pound of ground beef served with lettuce, tomato, white onion and pickles on the side
three (3) double wrapped soft flour tortilla chicken or shredded beef
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Website powered by Foundation | http://www.thelmagazine.com/newyork/the_stoned_crow/Location?oid=1132633 | 2013-05-18T10:57:20 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Kit #5A - Paturage in Stitch Surfer from Biscotte & Cie
- Material
- 80% Superwash Merino
- 20% Nylon
- Gauge
- 7-8 sts = 1"
- Fiber Weight
- Fingering Weight
- Actual Weight
- 3.53 currently have 1 skein in stock and available — we first started selling this in October 2012. | http://www.theloopyewe.com/shop/p/6E11D4C4-Stitch-Surfer-Kit-5A-Paturage | 2013-05-18T10:41:56 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
I heart farmers’ market
The weekly organic farmers' market at the Star Ferry Pier in Central.MAY 27 — Don’t laugh. I buy organic vegetables grown in Cameron Highlands. It goes without saying — but I will say so — that I pay multiple times more here at my local Park n’ Shop supermarket.
Visitors to Hong Kong will note right off the bat that the vegetables here in this shiny skyscraper-filled city are amazingly fresh and crunchy.
Worth paying a premium.Wherever you go, even at the hole-in-the-wall cha chan teng serving only noodles and ONE type of vegetable (and where Chinese tea is the only beverage), you can bet the vegetable will never be limp.
I also hit the wet market, buying a half kati of any familiar-looking greens, usually choy sum, kai lan, watercress, siu pak choy and tau miu (sweet pea sprouts).
I thought I was doing well. By shopping local, I was cutting down on my carbon footprint. By eating seasonal offerings, I was eating healthy, nutritious vegetables.
Then news started to trickle in about our “healthy” vegetables.
It seems that Hong Kong produces only three per cent of vegetables consumed here. Ninety per cent are imported from neighbouring China.
Last year, we read in the Press how vegetables could be bad for us — excessively high levels of potentially harmful heavy metals were found in a test covering 93 vegetables from the mainland.
Got to love the colours. My paper bags, recycled by the farmers, were in fact filled with vegetables.Images of vegetables grown in heavily polluted water, some discoloured by pollution upstream, others swimming in rubbish are burned into memory.
A study by the Baptist University showed that the level of cadmium found in Indian lettuce grown in China was 2.4 times over the safety limit set by the government. Lead was detected in 11 vegetables, exceeding the European Union’s safety limit but was considered to be still within the limit set by the government.
Guardian of organic vegetables.The study also discovered that choy sum and spinach were the most contaminated as these vegetables absorb lead more easily.
Too much cadmium may cause kidney stones. Excess lead can affect the brain activity of children. Cadmium is found in the fertiliser while lead is from polluted irrigation water.
And to think I have been forcing my child to eat his vegetables. He loves green leafy veg now.
So I did what every other concerned parent is probably doing. I buy imported. Organic, expensive. Not necessarily fresh, having travelled days and stored in supermarket refrigerators for who knows how long.
The final straw came when I brought home a tray of mouldy red chillies to make sambal belacan. More than half had to be chucked out.
Last weekend, I decided to check out a local farmer’s market at the Star Ferry Pier in Central. Who would have imagined I could be so happy to see veg riddled with holes. Less pesticides, right?
I was tickled to see the cutest baby carrots with their green tops still attached. Their colour was bright, unlike the dull greyish orange I see in the bag of imported organic baby carrots in the supermarket.
I picked up the carrots, baby potatoes, spinach, ladies fingers, the shiniest cherry tomatoes ever, sweetcorn and string beans.
The vegetables were not cheap but hey, I was already paying a premium for the imported ones and these looked — and tasted — far better.
I was also happy to note that brown paper bags and used paper shopping bags were used instead of plastic bags.
The farmer I spoke to, Fung Ming Hong, owner of Hong’s Organic Farm in Kam Tin, proved to be a wealth of information about his produce. It was such a pleasure speaking to the man who knew the story behind his produce.
Colourful bounty.He introduced me to a leafy green from the spinach family, which he said was good for soups (boiled with ikan bilis stock and salted egg — yum!).
From him I learned that during the summer months his customers were mostly local Chinese as mostly Chinese vegetables were grown. In the winter months, he has more expat customers who come for the Western vegetables.
Though the market was small, consisting of only 12 stalls selling produce, it is worth a visit, if only to meet the folks behind the scenes and see how fresh, organic vegetables should look. The farms are located in Kam Tin and Fan Ling in the New Territories.
The only downside of shopping here — and this really should be an upside — is that my star buys did not last long.
Without the heavy use of pesticides to prolong their shelf life, by day three, despite being refrigerated, the beans had become hard, the sweet potato leaves had wilted and a couple of tomatoes were beginning to rot.
I’m planning to go back today to search for more local treaures.
*The Organic Farmers’ Market is organised by Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden. Find it at Star Ferry Pier #7, Central. Sun 11am-5pm.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist
Sweet and crunchy baby carrots. | http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/litee/opinion/article/i-heart-farmers-market/ | 2013-05-18T10:41:48 | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | 1368696382261 | [] |
Analyst calls for May 15
KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — This is a selection of morning calls by local research houses for the day.KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — This is a selection of morning calls by local research houses for the day.
From Ambank Research:
We maintain BUY on Bumi Armada, with an unchanged sum-of-parts-based fair value of RM5.05/share, which implies an FY12F PE of 26x.
We continue to like the stock due to the following re-rating catalysts:- 12F PE of 21x compared with SapuraCrest Petroleum’s peak of 29x in 2007.
We maintain BUY on AirAsia Bhd (AA) with an unchanged fair value of RM4.20/share, ahead of 1Q12 results announcement on 23 May. Our fair value continues to peg AA at 12x FY12F earnings. From an operating perspective, AA defied industry trends in 1Q12, registering a 12 per cent YoY growth in raw passenger traffic to 4.8mil (Malaysian operations). Traffic in terms of RPK (revenue-passenger kilometre) grew by 9 per cent given shorter average stage length. Loads were maintained at 80.3 per cent (1Q12) versus 80.1 per cent (1Q11).
From a valuation standpoint, AA is cheap at an implied 10x FY12F earnings (ex-associate value of RM0.96/share). LCC peer, RyanAir in comparison trades at 13x forward PE.
From HWANGDBS-Vickers
Axiata Group; Hold; RM5.39
Price Target: RM5.15; AXIATA MK
Axiata Group’s 70 per cent-owned subsidiary Robi Axiata (Bangladesh-based) had on 13 May 2012 lost a court battle with the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) regarding a VAT imposition on telecom operators for license renewal, according to Bangladesh’s The Daily Star. The company is expected to pay its license renewal and spectrum fees without deducting tax at source, as well as VAT on telecom licensing fees, revenue sharing and spectrum assignment fees to the National Board of Revenue.
Axis REIT; Buy; RM2.72
Price Target: RM3.05; AXRB MK
Axis REIT announced that it is planning to dispose of its Kayangan Depot property, which was acquired in Jun 2006, via an open tender. The property has 162,222 sf of NLA with 69 per cent occupancy rate as at 31 Dec 2011. It is currently worth RM22mn at book value, and nets a 6.4 per cent net property income (NPI) yield based on FY11 NPI of RM1.1mn. The Group believes that the property has reached its optimal value and it is timely to realise the capital gain. The objective for the open tender process is to provide a fair and transparent platform for the proposed disposal.
TRC Synergy; Buy; RM0.70
Price Target: RM0.85 (Prev RM0.80); TRC MK
Strong RM1.8bn order book with potential for more new wins. 1Q will be weak, but 2H will be strong as LRT land issues have been resolved. Cheapest construction stock in our universe. Buy with TP nudged up to RM0.85.
From OSK Research:
UMW may trade higher after closing firmer yesterday. Purchases can be made if it closes above the psychological RM8.00 with a close below the 2-week low of RM7.87 as the stop loss. The price target is RM8.40, followed by RM8.75. A failure to break RM8.00 may lead to a correction with a close below RM7.87 as the confirmation. Expect strong support at RM7.45.
Downward pressure is expected to weigh on KNM’s share price as long as it is below RM0.83. Thus, liquidation can be made below this level. Support is expected at the round figure of RM0.70 and RM0.60. At the moment, only a close back above RM0.83 may indicate a return of buying. It also requires a close above the resistance level of RM0.90 to confirm the upward move.
From RHB Research:
We believe the time has come to start trimming holdings of plantation stocks, as we expect CPO prices to fall further on the back of the seasonal peak production period for CPO and improved prospects for the other vegetable oils in 2013.
Although there have been no significant changes to supply/demand dynamics of the vegetable oil industry, we believe a lot of the positive factors are already fully reflected in CPO and share prices. And our average CY12-13 CPO price assumptions of RM3,100 and RM2,900 respectively imply lower prices in 2H2012 and 2013.
We have already been cautioning investors to lock in profits once a decent return has been obtained and to only buy on dips. Given the prospects of weaker CPO prices ahead, we believe it is no longer justifiable for the larger plantation stocks to trade at a significant premium to the market, and we downgrade our valuation targets accordingly.
* These recommendations are solely the opinion of the respective research firms and not endorsed by The Malaysian Insider. The Malaysian Insider shall not be liable for any loss arising from any investment based on any recommendation, forecast or other information contained here.
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