text
stringlengths 7.8k
650k
|
|---|
Depleted Uranium Conspiracy:Diabetes, Cancer & You (continued)
by ALAN CANTWELL, MD
There was a definite increase of birth defects in the offspring of persons exposed to DU; and Gulf War vets who inhaled DU were still excreting abnormal amounts of uranium in the urine 10 years later.
Why was there so little written about DU and its effects on the human body? Having written extensively on the man-made epidemic of AIDS and its cover-up for two decades, I was not surprised. I strongly suspected research into the health effects of DU on Gulf War veterans was "politically incorrect."
On the other hand, a quick Google Internet search of - "side effects" + "depleted uranium" - referred me to 71,000 English pages on the web. When I added the key word "diabetes" there were 22,000 pages.
I also discovered that articles about the health dangers of DU rarely, if ever, appear in the major media. In a January 2001 press release FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting) accused the media of "depleted coverage of depleted uranium weapons." Nevertheless, a great deal of information on DU can be found on the Internet.
DU was first used by the US in the 1991 Gulf War, then in the Balkans in the late 1990s, in Kosovo in 2000, in the war against Afghanistan, in Iraq in 2003, and also by the Israelis in the 2006 war with Lebanon. Needless to say, US military and government officials totally deny any health danger from DU. A reassuring New York Times article of 9 January 2001 entitled "1999 U.S. document warned of depleted uranium in Kosovo" by Marlise Simons, noted "while acknowledging the hazards, both the Pentagon and NATO, pointing to medical experts, have denied any links could exist between exposure to depleted uranium and the illness and deaths of veterans."
DU weapons were developed by the US Navy in 1968, and were first given to Israel by the US in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Since then, the US has tested, manufactured and sold DU weapons systems to 29 countries. Vieques Island, a testing site in Puerto Rico, was repeatedly bombarded with DU in 1999 prior to its use in Kosovo.
DU is a byproduct of the enriching of natural uranium for use in nuclear reactors.
As nuclear waste, DU is costly to keep but relatively inexpensive to obtain. Due to their tank armour-piercing capabilities, DU weapons are extremely effective and the reason why the military is so enthralled with them.
Depleted Uranium Whistleblowers
Major Doug Rokke is a leading DU expert who has become a whistleblower against its use. He claims each tank round is composed of 10 pounds of solid uranium-238 contaminated with plutonium, neptunium, and americium. The round is pyrophoric, meaning it generates intense heat on impact, easily penetrating a tank because of the heavy weight of the metal. When DU munitions hit, they produce a firestorm inside any vehicle or structure, resulting in devastating burns and injuries to those who escape immediate death and incineration.
On impact, DU produces uranium oxide dust and pieces of uranium explode all over the place. Once inside the body the tiny nanoparticles enter the lungs and blood stream and are carried throughout the body. When Rokke and his team were assigned to "clean up" the DU after the first Gulf War, all his men got ill within 72 hours with respiratory problems, rashes, bleeding, and open sores.
In an Australian interview with Gay Alcorn in 2003, Rokke admitted: "After everything I've seen, everything I've done, it became very clear to me that you can't take radioactive wastes from one nation and just throw it into another nation. It's wrong. It's simply wrong."
According to Asaf Durakovic MD of the Uranium Medical Research Centre in Washington DC, the term "depleted uranium" is a misnomer. Both "depleted" and "natural" uranium are over 99% composed of uranium 238. DU is almost as highly concentrated as pure uranium and may contain plutonium (a deadly element) in trace amounts.
Leuren Moret is an independent American scientist who works on radiation and health issues with communities around the world. At age 61, she is the leading activist against the use of DU, having worked in two nuclear weapons labs, including the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, run by the US Department of Energy. She is the ultimate antigovernment whistleblower on DU, along with Rokke and Durakovic, and all three have personally suffered (including death threats) for their anti-DU views.
In her article "Depleted uranium: The Trojan Horse of nuclear war," which appeared in the June 2004 World Affairs Journal, Moret claims: "The use of DU weaponry by the US, defying all international treaties, will slowly annihilate all species on Earth including the human species, and yet this country continues to do so with full knowledge of its destructive potential."
DU travels. DU radioactive particles are picked up by the atmosphere and are transferred by wind storms and air currents. They permanently contaminate vast regions and slowly destroy the genetic future of populations living in those areas. As the Trojan Horse of nuclear war, Moret calls DU "the weapon that keeps on killing." There is no way to turn it off - and no way to clean it up. It meets the US government's own definition of "weapons of mass destruction."
Depleted Uranium over the United Kingdom
DU has a very high affinity for cellular DNA and permanently damages it. DU is the "fourth generation" of nuclear weapons. First came the atomic bomb, then the hydrogen bomb, then neutron bombs, and now DU. Moret claims the contaminated DU-dust from the Middle East gets absorbed into the atmosphere. Via dust storms and air currents it ends up in Europe and Britain. Eventually it spreads and get absorbed into the atmosphere globally. There is no safe place; no possible way to escape it.
Moret's concerns are confirmed by a 2006 report from England by Chris Busby and Saoirse Morgan, appearing in European Biology and Bioelectromagnetics and titled "Did the use of Uranium weapons in Gulf War 2 result in contamination of Europe?" Data (obtained with the help of the Freedom of Information Act) from the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston, Berkshire, UK, revealed that after nine days of the "shock and awe" start of the Iraq war on 19 March 2003, much higher levels of uranium were picked up on five sites in Berkshire. On two occasions, levels exceeded the threshold at which the Environment Agency must be informed, though still within safety limits. These levels were the highest levels of depleted uranium ever measured in the atmosphere in Britain. The report also confirmed weather conditions over this war period, which showed a consistent flow of air from Iraq northwards.
Not surprisingly this research was vigorously denied as "uranium of natural origin" by various government officials. However, Busby and Morgan insist the findings are the first evidence that DU particles were able to travel thousands of miles from Baghdad to England. Their report can be found on the Internet.
Gulf War Syndrome
About 300 tons of DU were dispersed over Iraq in 1991. Yet the US Department of Defense (DoD) has found little health risk to soldiers who inhaled DU and continues to claim exposure to DU is safe. Nearly 580,000 soldiers were deployed in the war. 294 soldiers died and 400 were wounded or became ill. As of year 2000, there were 325,000 on permanent medical disability, and over 11,000 have died. Obviously something serious happened to the health of these men and women who served in the Gulf.
DU is known to be neurotoxic. Gulf War vets are twice as likely to come down with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) than vets who did not serve in Iraq. ALS, a fatal neuromuscular disease, is now considered a "service-connected" disease and vets can get disability. Gulf War vets have nearly twice the prevalence of "chronic multi-system disease" than soldiers who served elsewhere at the same time. But so called "Gulf War Syndrome" continues to be denied as a specific illness. The Department of Defense's evaluation does not consider GWS as a unique syndrome, unique illness, or unique symptom complex in deployed Gulf War vets.
The Worldwide Diabetes Epidemic
A half century ago, during the early years of the Cold War when I went to medical school, diabetes was not a common disease. Now in the 21st century it is common to hear of diabetes as an impending epidemic. Certainly the statistics bear this out.
Currently, 7% of Americans have diabetes (17 million). In addition, a Los Angeles Times front-page report on 16 September 2006, claims that there are more than 41 million Americans with abnormal blood glucose abnormalities, "that indicate they may soon develop diabetes." In Puerto Rico (where DU was tested) 10% of the population has diabetes.
The Centres of Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta declares that "unless Americans change their ways," 33% of the babies born this year will be diabetic by the year 2050. Also by 2050 there are expected to be 45 million diabetics in the US. A vet support group, Veterans with Diabetes International, says there are 143 million people worldwide with the disease, and 300 million people are expected to have diabetes in 2025.
Type 1 diabetes, most often seen in children and young adults, comprises 5-10% of the cases. Type 2, a metabolic disorder resulting from the body's inability to make enough or properly use insulin, frequently strikes adults, especially obese adults. This group comprises 90% or more of diabetics. The CDC predicts that Type 2 diabetes will increase 165% by 2050. People with Type 2 diabetes are also twice as likely to get pancreatic cancer.
Thirty-four years after the Vietnam war ended, the DoD finally presented the "strongest evidence" that Type 2 diabetes can be connected to Agent Orange.
Eighteen million gallons of this plant defoliant and poison was sprayed over Vietnam by the US military. It is now known to cause cancer and birth defects. Starting in the year 2002 diabetes is now recognised as a "service-connected" disease for all Vietnam vets. At present, diabetes is not service-connected for Gulf War vets.
Nine percent of Vietnam vets have Type 2 diabetes. There is no current evidence that Gulf War vets have a heightened incidence of diabetes, but I could find no solid research to confirm or deny this. Perhaps in one or two more decades government scientists will discover a connection to DU.
The common causes of diabetes are thought to be obesity, poor diet and lack of exercise. Leuren Moret believes the cause of the new epidemic is more sinister: namely the increasing levels worldwide of depleted uranium in the atmosphere, combined with emissions from the proliferation of nuclear power plants.
Unlike government scientists, Moret says DU is very, very, very nasty stuff; and that diabetes is an immediate response to DU, in contrast to the decades it can take for uranium to produce radiation-induced cancer. Although she cannot prove it, she is the first scientist to strongly suggest a connection between the new worldwide diabetes epidemic and DU.
Moret insists the medical profession has been active in the cover-up of low level radiation from atmospheric testing and nuclear power plants. I have been unable to verify this, but it is consistent with the passive role the health profession took during the Cold War nuclear testing in the US (more later). She has also spoken about medical professionals in hospitals who were threatened by government officials with $10,000 fines and jail time if they talked openly about the returning Iraq war soldiers and their medical problems. This could explain the paucity of reports in the scientific literature regarding vets exposed to DU and their war-associated illnesses.
Moret also says reporters have been prevented access to more than 14,000 medically evacuated soldiers from the current Iraq War, brought back to Walter Reed Hospital near Washington, DC. To learn more about Leuren Moret and her research, Google: Leuren Moret + videos. In addition, she appears in the recent documentary film Beyond Treason, detailing the horrific effects of depleted uranium exposure on American troops and Iraqi civilians in the Gulf region in 1991.
Is Depleted Uranium Safe?
Ronald L. Kathren is Professor Emeritus at Washington State University and a leading authority vouching for the safety of DU. Unlike Major Rokke, he does not appear to have ever served in the military or to have come in contact with DU on a battlefield. Nevertheless, his opinions carry a lot of weight in the scientific world.
Kathren does not dispute the fact that military personnel who may have had contact with DU are suffering from various illnesses, but he believes that exposure to uranium is very unlikely to be the cause.
Writing for the Portland Independent Media Centre on 3 July 2005, he declares: "Health physicists are deeply concerned with the public health and welfare, and as experts in radiation and its effects on people and the environment, are quite aware that something other than exposure to uranium is the cause of the illnesses suffered by those who have had contact with depleted uranium from munitions. A truly enormous body of scientific data shows that it is virtually impossible for uranium to be the cause of their illnesses. Despite this body of scientific data to the contrary, misguided or unknowing people continue to allege that the depleted uranium, and specifically the radioactivity associated with the depleted uranium is the cause of these illness. This is indeed unfortunate, for health physicists and other scientists and physicians already know that depleted uranium is not the cause of these illnesses and thus any investigations into the cause of these illnesses should focus on other possible causes. If we are to offer any measure of relief or solace to these suffering people, and to gain some important additional knowledge of the cause of their illness, we should not waste our valuable and limited energies, resources and time attempting to point the finger at depleted uranium as the culprit, when it is already known that uranium is almost certainly not the cause of the problem." (http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2005/07/320739.shtml)
"No Level of Radiation is Safe for Humans"
As a physician it is inconceivable to me that government-approved experts like Kathren can so quickly dismiss DU as safe and harmless, particularly when on 29 June 2005, a National Academy of Sciences panel in Washington DC has found that no level of radiation is safe for humans.
The panel concluded that "any dose of radiation, no matter how small, can induce cancer. Exposure to radiation is becoming more and more likely for most people because of the growing use of radiation in medicine. The new findings could lead to changes in medical practices and the levels of radiation allowed at former nuclear sites." The panel also contradicted the often heard dictum of some government pro-nuclear scientists that "a little radiation is good for you."
The idea that low doses of radiation are safe is the myth that allowed extensive nuclear testing during the Cold War without a huge protest from every member of the human race. It is this myth that still allows DU weapons to be used on battlefields against "terrorists."
Historically, the proof of the danger of nuclear warfare was provided a decade ago by the publication of a US Congressional committee report authorised by President Bill Clinton and entitled, The Human Radiation Experiments. The report showed clearly that government scientists and physicians could not be trusted in their pronouncements regarding the safety of nuclear weapons. Even worse was the documentation of countless covert and secret radiation experiments conducted on unsuspecting citizens during the Cold War "in the name of science."
Unfortunately, this horrific 1996 report did not deter Clinton from allowing DU weapons in Kosovo in 1999, nor did it deter President George W. Bush, who authorised their use again in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Anyone with Internet access can simply Google "the human radiation experiments" for details of the shameful science surrounding nuclear testing and the disastrous health effects on unsuspecting American citizens.
In 2001, a half century after extensive nuclear weapons testing in the American West, the US National Cancer Institute was finally forced to reveal its finding that bomb testing in Nevada, which spread radioactive fallout across every state of the Union, has caused at least 15,000 cancer deaths and up to 212,000 non-fatal thyroid cancers. John LaForge of Nukewatch.com reminds us that "the 67 bomb tests blown off between 1946 and 1958 were said at the time to be safe."
Money, Power and Depleted Uranium
Who is profiting from this global uranium nightmare?
In The Enemy Within (1996) Jay Gould reveals that the British Royal family privately owns investments in uranium holdings worth over $6 billion through Rio Tinto Mines, an Anglo-Australian company, which is the world's largest mining company with more than 60 operations in 40 countries.
Africa and Australia are two of the main sources of uranium in the world; and the Rothschilds control uranium supplies and prices globally.
Gould notes that nuclear radiation has brought dramatic increases in breast cancer mortality, especially in communities 50 to 100 miles downwind from nuclear reactors.
Book reviewer Donna Lee writes: "The Enemy Within has enough scientific data to address those bureaucrats who deny that living near a nuclear reactor is a hazard to one's health. It also includes enough direct, clear prose to convince me, a breast cancer survivor, that I grew up during the Cold War as an unknowing guinea pig, further victimised by the politics of suppression and denial."
Lee continues: "After reading the book, however, I am bothered by one persistent question. I was born and raised and continue to live in San Francisco, California, which has the highest incidence of breast cancer in the world. The Enemy Within concerns itself with breast cancer mortality rates, which are highest in the communities around New York City. San Francisco isn't within 100 miles of a nuclear reactor and it isn't even mentioned in the book. If low level radiation explains clusters of breast cancer throughout the US, what explains us?"
Actually there was a nuclear power plant located in Sacramento, less than 100 miles from San Francisco, which became active in 1975. Gould probably did not include this in his 1996 book because the Rancho Seco Nuclear Power Plant was forced to shut down its operations in 1989, due to a public outcry and a referendum.
David Bradbury says child cancer rates on Vieques Island have soared 250% above the Puerto Rican national average in the last thirty years. In his 2005 documentary film, Blowin' in the Wind, the provocative Australian filmmaker and two-time Academy Award nominee also provides some answers regarding the huge financial interests involved in uranium production and DU weapons.
Australia provides one-third of the world's uranium supply, and Bradbury reveals a secret treaty that allows the US military to train and test its DU weaponry on Australian soil. He exposes plans to extract over $36 billion from uranium mines over the next six years, and shows the finished construction of a 1,000 mile railway from the mining area to a port on the north coast of Australia to transport the ore.
The railway project was built by Texas-based Halliburton Company. In 1995 US Vice President Dick Cheney was CEO of that company.
The film maker says, "The Queen's favourite American buccaneers, Cheney, Halliburton, and the Bush family, are tied to her through uranium mining and the shared use of illegal depleted uranium munitions in the Middle East, Central Asia and Kosovo/Bosnia.
"The major roles that such diverse individuals and groups as the Carlyle Group, George Herbert Walker Bush, former Carlyle CEO Frank Calucci, the University of California managed nuclear weapons labs at Los Alamos and Livermore, and US and international pension fund investments have played in proliferating depleted uranium weapons is not well known or in most instances even recognised, inside or outside Australia.
"God Save The Queen from the guilt of her complicity in turning Planet Earth into a 'Death Star'."
Depleted Uranium and the War on Terror
There is nothing more terrifying than the thought of exposing all life forms on the planet to DNA-altering radiation in order to provide us with "safety" and "democracy." It is truly diabolic to think that the destruction of the planet is now occurring with so few people comprehending what is going on - and still fewer people taking an active stand against this tragedy.
It is apparent that most of the world's political and spiritual leaders, as well as scientists, physicians, lawyers, and health professionals do not care about the dangers of DU weapons and other forms of nuclear energy. If they cared we would certainly be hearing and reading about it on television and in the major media.
As a researcher and writer over the part few decades, I have focused on the man-made origin of AIDS and the little-known bacterial cause of cancer, paying little attention to nuclear radiation.
However, in 2001 I wrote an article entitled "The Human Radiation Experiments: How Scientists Secretly Used US Citizens as Guinea Pigs During the Cold War", which was published in the September-October 2001 issue of New Dawn, and is posted on several websites.
But I must admit I was unaware of the serious planetary problems posed by DU. I simply assumed that no civilised and peace-loving country would ever be reckless and heartless enough to use these radioactive weapons. How wrong I was!
What I find most pathetic and inconceivable is that we have learned nothing from the detrimental health effects unleashed by the atomic bombing of Japan - and nothing from the nuclear testing horrors of the last half of the 20th century. Instead we continue to contaminate vast areas of the world with radiation we don't know how to get rid of.
I remember as an eleven year-old boy how jubilant everyone was by the atomic attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, which brought the war to a rapid end. A half century later my Caucasian niece married a Japanese-American man. Shortly after the wedding she noticed a lump in his neck, which proved to be thyroid cancer. His mother was a child when she lived 50 miles outside of Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped. Decades later, in her forties, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, undoubtedly due to the radiation fallout. The doctors considered the possibility that my niece's husband might have developed thyroid cancer because of radiation-altered and thyroid cancer-causing genes passed on to him by his mother. Of course the family wonders if their two young children will eventually also get thyroid cancer. Who would have thought that the atomic bombing of Japan in 1945 would have a cancerous effect five decades later on my family living in California?
A few years ago I developed a thyroid nodule, which was biopsied and proved non-cancerous.
As a teenager in the 1950s I received "superficial" radiation treatments for acne at the recommendation of a well-known New York dermatologist, a treatment that was later banned because of its potential to cause thyroid cancer.
It is almost a cliché to remind people that "all of us are connected." The fallout from DU and nuclear energy now binds us all together in an increasingly radioactive planet. No one is immune from the deleterious effects of radiation, and no one knows how to clean it up.
What can we do about it? The only thing we can do is to stop the madness immediately. However, power and greed and politics and religion make that highly unlikely.
We have met the perpetrators of the new radiation-induced "war on terror."
And, sadly, it is us.
*** Dr. Alan Cantwell is a retired dermatologist and the author of five books on the man-made origin of AIDS and the infectious origin of cancer, all published by Aries Rising Press, PO Box 29532, Los Angeles, CA 90029, USA (www.ariesrisingpress.com). His book, Queer Blood: The Secret AIDS Genocide Plot, is available in Australia through New Dawn Book Service for $24.95 plus $8 p&h. Many of his personal writings can be found on www.google.com by typing in key words "alan cantwell" + articles. His latest book is Four Women Against Cancer: Bacteria, Cancer and the Origin of Life. His books are also available on www.amazon.com and in the US through Book Clearing House @ 1-800-431-1579. Email: [email protected].
Alan Cantwell M.D.
FOUR WOMEN AGAINST CANCER:
Bacteria, Cancer and the Origin of Life
Other Top Stories
Gay Vaccine Experiments & American Origin Of AIDS by ALAN CANTWELL, MD
Swine Flu:From Pigs Or Out-of-Control Scientists? by ALAN CANTWELL, JR. MD
Manhunt for Boy with Lymphoma Cancer. Why? by ALAN CANTWELL, MD
Just Say No to 'Stand Up to Cancer.Org' Scam by ALAN CANTWELL
HIV-AIDS Conspiracy Used Gay Men as Guinea Pigs by ALAN CANTWELL, MD
Cancer Microbe: Interview with Dr. Alan Cantwell by AMY PROAL |
9th October,1940. A genius was born, in Liverpool.
I wasn’t even sure how I should begin this post- how in the world do you write something to a person who died before you were born, but one who’s been part of your life ever since you were a little child?
And by a ‘part’ of my life, I mean most of it. I still remember coming home to empty rooms after school as a little girl, both my parents at work, and I’d do the one thing I’d been asked to avoid – tinker around with the music system. I’d seen my mother press a button, and three CDs would come spinning out, which I found infinitely fascinating.
My first memory was of this boxed set of discs with four cute men in pajamas staring down a balcony, and I decided to investigate.
I wondered why the CDs had apples on them for a minute – then into the player they went.
And there they remain, to this day – the discs, every cassette, every lyric book, even the music system I played it all on.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Every single room that I’ve had or lived in, ever since I was a child, I’ve had a picture, photograph, drawing or poster of, and other pictures of the Four of them together, being Fab. For three years, all I had was the Blue Album and Yellow Submarine, both of which I wore out in a very, very short span of time, trying to figure out which voice was John, which was Paul, which was George, and which Ringo.
I had every lyric committed to memory in a few years, but I was hungry for more, and a raid of the old cassettes that we had, the ones that were pretty much the primary source of music, even in the early 90s, yielded a compilation of hits.
Pretty much every spare moment I had after school and homework, before homework, during homework — and my favourite – INSTEAD of homework–was spent listening to The Beatles, dancing and prancing around the room, and jumping on the bed as I sang along, or banging out notes on my little mini Casio keyboard.
Then, my tenth birthday happened. The Beatles 1 album had just been released two months earlier, and I’d begged my parents to buy it ever since, but no go.
As I began to open my presents, I saw a thin, hard one on top of the pile, from a friend at school.
I attempted to get the paper off delicately, but the moment I saw a little flash of the bright red cover, I knew what it was. I still remember jumping around, putting it into the CD player, and getting infinitely excited when a song I’d already heard came on. I practically screamed out the words with John, Paul, Ringo and George in my excitement.
Growing older, which has been fun in parts, but not really all that fun, led to Revolver and Rubber Soul entering my life. Money from odd jobs, birthday presents, or just from visiting relatives – it was all stashed away, as I worked towards saving up the price of another Beatles CD. The White Album, Revolver and Rubber Soul slowly came into my life, as did the discovery of Let it Be and the Past Masters volumes in the corners of my own house. I can attest to the fact that they helped me through some of the most difficult years of my life – being bullied, abused and discriminated against at school, and then being physically, verbally and mentally abused at home, and looking to harming myself to deal with all the pain and resentment I felt.
I discovered Lennon Legend: The Very Best of John Lennon at a supermarket, while my mum was doing groceries, and bought it right there and then.
I think I’d already begun my journey discovering John Lennon as a child, but listening to this helped me discover the genius behind the glasses, the man behind the moptop, as it were.
It was amazing to watch the metamorphosis of a person I’d never personally known, who’d lived and died before my time, from a moptopped, adorable teenage heartthrob, to a long-haired, bespectacled, hippie heartthrob (to me, anyway.) The music had begun to evolve long before, as the simple, beautiful love songs became, first beautiful, imaginative, (though drug-fuelled) colourful ‘trips’, (a process that had already begun during Rubber Soul), as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band yielded the epic Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, the subject of which has been much-debated, to the transcendental-meditation-influenced White Album. Their music afterward began to become progressively more a compilation of their solo work, and less of a ‘band thing’ – it was amazing work, every last bit, but that of four talented entitites playing on an album, not working together.
The Beatles had famously refused to play in front of a segregated audience at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, in 1965, at a time when revolutionaries like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., were spearheading movements against racism, although they had very different methods; Malcolm X believed in black separatism, while the widely known Civil Rights Movement headed by Martin Luther King, Jr, focused on what the Beatles believed in – integration.
Sadly, both Malcom X and Martin Luther King, Jr., would go on to be assassinated within the next 3 years, perhaps a foreshadowing of what, years later, was to happen to Lennon himself.
Beautiful harmonies about love and dancing and the simple, fun, beautiful bits of life, became anti-war anthems, telling people War was Over if they wanted it, if only they would Give Peace a Chance.
Perhaps I’m deifying Lennon too much.
There were several things he did that I found abhorrent, to say the least – the fact that he was, by his own admission, physically violent’ “…..I was a hitter. I couldn’t express myself and I hit…” , or that he left a wife and 5 year old son for a random artist he met at an art gallery in London (I will be the first to admit I am not a fan of Yoko Ono.).
Part of me understands where he’s coming from – the utter frustration of things not going your way, in any aspect of your life, baggage from the past, general pent-up anger that only gets worse, festering, bubbling, coming to a boil, and exploding. I’ve never been physically violent with others, but I have been, and still am, sometimes, violent with myself – sometimes it seems there is no other way to deal with all that pain and anger but to feel it, physically.
While this does not mean I condone violence, in any form, on any level, I admire that he came to terms with his own failings – here is his statement, in its entirety: “”I used to be cruel to my woman, and physically—any woman. I was a hitter. I couldn’t express myself and I hit. I fought men and I hit women. That is why I am always on about peace”- and proceeded to do something about them. I still haven’t been able to, not completely.
Goodness knows, in today’s world, where everyone is judged by the way they look and dress, immediately stereotyped and compartmentalised, we could use something to the effect of Bagism. Total communication, and only hearing what another says, not what they look like, or how they dress, whether they fit our perception of ‘ugly’ or ‘beautiful’ (words that not only matter too much in today’s world, but that are no longer subjective) – something I have had to personally suffer through, throughout my childhood, school, college, and continue to do so.
He was also an active feminist, writing the very inflammatorily titled Woman is the Nigger of the World, inspired by James Connolly, who said “the female is the slave of the slave.” Eight years later, he wrote the beautiful Woman – “to Yoko, and to all women”, describing them as ‘the other half of the sky’.
It continues to be one of my favourite songs.
Sadly, 30 years later, we seem to have regressed into treating women as a different species of being altogether, one incapable of making rational decisions, or engaging in ratiocinative thought at all.
Music and lyrics seem to have gone down the proverbial toilet – as of 2011, popular song lyrics include “I’m trying to find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful, damn she’s a sexy b*tch/” ( he tells the woman she is nothing, compared to his neighbourhood whore ?!!?! ) , and other lyrics, even by female ‘musicians’ (the term is very loosely used nowadays), who seem to think women want nothing but to look like princesses and be ‘rescued’, or ones that find it amazing when their boyfriends tell them to “sit back down where you belong. In the corner of my bar with your high heels on”.. And it’s not just the ‘older’ audiences that are being targeted, but girls as young as 8 and 9 years old. Impressionable, unsure, just beginning to form opinions..of others, and, more importantly, of themselves.
He was, back in the 70s, the first ‘househusband’ – breaking what had been, and possibly continues to be a major stereotype – the man is the breadwinner, and his primary job is to ‘bring home the bacon’ – everything else was secondary; all the woman must do is sit at home, take care of the child, and tend to household chores.
While the ideal of women solely tending to children and household chores may be slowly disappearing from most of the world, living in India, I can safely say that except for a certain section of the socio-economically advanced, this ideal still holds true (and certainly, for some of the ‘upper class’ as well.) Most rural AND urban masses seem to believe in it, no matter how educated they, or their children are.
Although not a soul would find it awkward for a man to work as his wife stays at home to tend to the ‘chores’ and ‘children’, a househusband would still be frowned upon in today’s society – instead of looking at him as a person who has taken over the duties of tending to the household, society would judge him ‘incapable’, among other things – I suppose men are victims, too.
A quote by Lennon on the birth of his second son, Sean, warmed my cold heart immensely : “He didn’t come out of my belly but, by God, I made his bones, because I’ve attended to every meal, and to how he sleeps, and to the fact that he swims like a fish.”
He had been attempting to get back in touch with his older son, Julian, during his relationship with May Pang, which he called his ‘Lost Weekend’, and had, for the most part, retired from the public eye, choosing, instead, to focus on his family.
The tragic ending to the entire saga, however, is known to all. He was, tragically, fatally shot, on the 8th of December, 1980, while returning to his own home, by a man who had asked him for an autograph hours earlier- a man who I like to think is part of the group I call the scum of the Earth, a man named Mark David Chapman.
And that day, with no disrespect to Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly, J.P Richardson, or a certain Mr. Don McLean, is what I consider one of the ‘Days the Music Died’, and with it, an icon – of music, of peace, love, integration, feminism and so much of what is beautiful in the world.
To a man who changed my life more than a decade after he was gone and continues to change it, every day, who has been a part of it for 20 years and counting, who shall continue to be so till the day I die , and inspires me in every possible way, to one half of the most beautiful songwriting team that shall ever be, to one of my two favourite musicians-and people- in the world, with a certain Paul McCartney, after whom he was my favourite Beatle – to Mr. John Winston Ono Lennon, who once said something that is applicable to anything in life, anything at all.
“When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face, to make you fight.
Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humour.”
I hope, someday, that the world will, truly, live as one. |
Chapter 467 – The Ghost Who Won’t Go Away
“Who are you? Where are you?” Yun Che yelled with his head raised. Since the other party knew of his existence and even sound transmitted to him, then she obviously would be able to hear his voice.
But it was the same as the last two times; after the voice sounded, it fell silent, without any other sounds of speech. The third voice was also weak, and he could barely hear it, but Yun Che actually had a vague feeling… that the source of the voice was not that far from him.
“Big Brother Yun, did you hear that weird voice again?” Feng Xue’er asked.
“Mn.” Yun Che nodded, then consoled her: “Don’t be scared Xue’er, it could just be my misconception due to me being too nervous. This place is so ancient and quiet, there shouldn’t be anyone here.”
“With Big Brother Yun by my side, I’m not scared at all.” Feng Xue’er said while beaming. Thinking about what she said previously, her expression dimmed once again as she asked faintly: “Big Brother Yun, is the other Lord Phoenix God still well?”
“Should be still well.” Yun Che pondered, then replied: “The phoenix spirit I had encountered had told me before that it was weaker than your Divine Phoenix Sect’s phoenix spirit. Your phoenix god had suffered heavy injuries back then, and has already passed away. As for the one I encountered, even though it isn’t dead yet, its vitality ought to be greatly injured. But it was still well three years ago.” He paused, then continued: “If Xue’er wants to, I can bring Xue’er to visit that phoenix spirit.”
“Okay, okay.” Feng Xue’er happily agreed: “This is also Lord Phoenix God’s remaining wish. Oh right, Big Brother Yun, how did you meet that Lord Phoenix God? Can you tell me?”
Yun Che lifted his head as he fondly thought back to the past. To him, that was a secret that he had never told anyone before. But in front of Feng Xue’er’s clear eyes, he couldn’t raise a single trace of rejection. Wearing a light smile, his voice gently slowed: “That was three years ago… At that time, my profound strength was only at the Nascent Profound Realm. I was being chased by a branch sect member of a sect named Xiao Sect. It was my current princess wife who had saved me soon after… But at that time, she wasn’t my wife yet. I only had just met her at that time… We fled together. Then, the aerial profound beast we were riding on had completely exhausted its strength, and because of the injuries it received from our pursuer, we fell straight down from a high altitude…”
As Yun Che recalled the memories of that time, he slowly narrated it to Feng Xue’er. When he first started talking, his voice was flat, but his voice couldn’t help but gradually begin to fill with emotion. After all, it was an unforgettable experience for both him and Cang Yue. It was within those tribulations that his emotions were deepened. At the same time, it was also a major turning point in his life. If not for what happened then, the later unstable events wouldn’t have happened; the grievances brought along by the Phoenix flames wouldn’t have happened, and the present him wouldn’t have existed today.
Yun Che talked for a very long time, narrating the events from entering the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Range all the way to leaving the Phoenix trial grounds. When he finally finished, he looked down and actually saw Feng Xue’er’s soft lips lightly pursed. Her breathing was as gentle as an orchid; she had already fallen asleep.
In addition to her completely powerless body, the heavy blows she received and the long hours of fleeing and terror, even though Feng Xue’er had always been carried in Yun Che’s arms, no matter if it was her mental state or body, they had long since been utterly exhausted.
Amidst Yun Che’s voice, her mind had finally relaxed slightly, and an uncontrollable tiredness caused her to unwittingly fall asleep. Yun Che let out a light sigh of relief as he silently looked at the image of Feng Xue’er’s sleeping, then immediately stared into a daze. Exhaustion gradually attacked him as he leaned his head against the ice-cold wall and also unwittingly fell asleep.
“Please… find… her…”
“Only… you… can… save… her…”
“Please… find… her…”
“Ah…” Yun Che trembled, and immediately woke up with that voice still resounding in his ears. And this time, he was unable to tell if it was a real voice or a voice in his dreams.
“Big Brother Yun…” It was unknown whether Yun Che’s sudden movement had shocked her awake or if she had already been awake. Feng Xue’er’s beautiful eyes flashed slightly as she stared at him unblinkingly.
“It’s nothing,” Yun Che shook his head: “It’s just that it seems like I heard that weird voice again.”
Once he finished talking, Yun Che suddenly thought of something. He knitted his brows as he asked his in his consciousness: “Jasmine, how long have I been asleep? From entering the Primordial Profound Ark to now, how many hours have passed?”
“You didn’t sleep that long, as for how long you’ve been in the Primordial Profound Ark… twenty two hours have passed… or even a little more.”
“Twenty two hours?” Yun Che’s eyebrows slightly hopped. In other words, he only had not even two hours before the Primordial Profound Ark closes. Just earlier, he had suddenly remembered what Spiritual Master Ancient Blue said to Xia Yuanba… Before the Primordial Profound Ark closes, he must not be in a confined area. This even included ravines and caverns! Otherwise, the twenty fourth hour force would not be able to reach him, and he wouldn’t be able to get out of the Primordial Profound Ark!
He would also disappear along with the Primordial Profound Ark, and die within the Primordial Profound Ark!
And the place where he and Feng Xue’er were in, was precisely a truly isolated environment.
The short sleep from before had restored about fifty to sixty percent of Yun Che’s physical and profound strength. He carried Feng Xue’er and said: “Xue’er, we should leave this place. There’s not even two hours until the Primordial Profound Ark closes, and we can leave now. When that time comes, you’ll truly be safe.”
“Mn.” Feng Xue’er lightly responded as she subconsciously leaned closer to Yun Che.
Yun Che raised his hand and struck a stream of profound energy into the profound formation on the right of the stone door. Instantly, the profound formation flashed, and the tightly closed stone door speedily opened after a short rumbling. Carrying Feng Xue’er, Yun Che walked out. Then, with a single glance, he spotted the descending stone stairs. Earlier, he chose to enter the stone door next to the stone stairs, and suppressed his curiosity to head any deeper, as he was afraid of losing his way. After all, this place was simply too huge. The structure, and the colors of the place were especially uniform as well. With just a slight mistake, he would be completely lost.
As he walked down the stone stairs, Yun Che’s heart had slightly calmed down as well. The Primordial Profound Ark was quickly about to close. After reaching outside, with Divine Phoenix Sect and Spiritual Master Ancient Blue, Ye Xinghan and Feng Feiyan shouldn’t have the thought of succeeding in their motives, and this crisis would have been considered to be narrowly averted as well. Xia Yuanba was the only one he was currently worried about. He was in possession of a transportation jade, so theoretically speaking, he could totally save his own life. However, Yun Che couldn’t help but worry that he had gamble his own life in order to fight for more time for his own escape.
Very quickly, he had already descended half of the flight of stairs, and the gigantic hall on the first floor was nearly at the end of his sight. At this moment, Jasmine suddenly let out a solemn voice. “Truly a ghost who won’t go away.”
“Ghost who won’t go away? What do you mean?” Yun Che blanked, and his footsteps had slowed down as well. Just as he said that, his body suddenly felt a chill… It felt as though he was clearly tightly locked onto by a presence!
Yun Che suddenly turned his head, and looked below him, in the direction he first came up from… Borrowing the slightly dusky light, he saw a blurry figure currently charging over with extreme speed.
When Yun Che discovered him, Ye Xinghan had long spotted Yun Che and Feng Xue’er who was in his embrace. His initial pair of darkened eyes instantly shone with an odd light, and his face revealed a surprised joy, to the extent where he let out a nearly crazed laughter. “Haha… Hahahaha! Initially, I had already given up. I never expected that, the heavens will still be generous to me! Hahahaha…”
Yun Che never expected that when there were merely two hours left before the Primordial Profound Ark closes, in this mysterious and dead-silent fortress, he would actually once again encounter Ye Xinghan. His eyes instantly grew overcast; without even thinking any further, he quickly turned about, and charged up with his quickest speed.
“This time, I want to see where you two can run off to!!”
Ye Xinghan’s speed was as quick as lightning. In his eyes, since Yun Che had already landed in his own line of sight, then there would no longer be any possibility of escape. Seeing Yun Che sprinting straight towards the second floor, he smiled sinisterly. Swinging his arm, Sun Moon Calamity instantly shot out an eye-piercing white profound light, slicing towards Yun Che’s legs… Evidently, he was afraid of harming Feng Xue’er by mistake.
Yun Che’s figure shook as he instantly dodged away with Star God’s Broken Shadow. The profound light struck the handrail of the stone stairs, letting out an extremely ear-piercing ring. The surrounding airflow trembled greatly, yet, the place where the profound light had struck was completely unscathed, not even a single hint of damage and scar could be seen.
The bricks of this place were terrifyingly tough as expected. Not just Yun Che, even with Ye Xinghan’s impressive strength, he was unable to damage it in the slightest.
“Hurry and hide inside the stone room! With your speed, it’s impossible to escape him!” Jasmine said solemnly.
Even without Jasmine’s reminder, Yun Che would do the same as well. Because in a situation like this, that was his only option. With his quickest speed, he charged towards the second floor, and then sprinted towards the courtyard he had stopped at before. When he approached the stone door, Ye Xinghan had already charged to the second floor as well. His distance from Yun Che’s back was only left with less than sixty meters. He laughed coldly, and said with disdain. “Still thinking about running?”
Ye Xinghan fiercely pushed out his palm, and an extremely violent force of profound energy charged straight towards Yun Che’s back.
A heavy sense of danger came from behind him. Yun Che had no time to turn around, as he quickly embraced Feng Xue’er tightly, and crazily surged the profound energy in his entire body…
“Sealing Cloud Locking Sun!!”
Chaotic sounds of explosions rang out, and the barrier Yun Che had set up around his body had only lasted for a mere second before shattering completely. It had blocked against most of the attack, but the part of the energy Yun Che wasn’t able to block was still unbearable for him, and he puked out a huge mouthful of blood. Borrowing the force of the attack, his body flew past the center of the courtyard. Like a meteor, he shot into one of the stone rooms, and his body heavily struck onto the wall inside… However, right before he fell onto the ground, with extremely strong willpower, he maintained his consciousness, and quickly stretched out his arm. With profound energy gathered in his hand, he pushed towards the profound formation at the side of the stone door.
The stone door instantly closed tightly shut, isolating themselves from Ye Xinghan outside.
Yun Che laid his back onto the ground, and panted with huge breaths as he retracted his stretched-out arm with a little difficulty as well. His back was blasted by Ye Xinghan’s energy, and right after, he heavily struck against the stone wall. Hence, his blood flow was currently in a mess, and his organs had shifted greatly from their original positions as well, as fresh blood constantly trickled down from the corner of his lips. However, for someone who possessed the abilities of a late-stage Emperor Profound Realm to actually be capable of staying alive after blocking an attack that consisted of a third of a middle-stage Overlord’s strength, in this world, only Yun Che could achieve it.
And in the entire process, Feng Xue’er had been protected by him with all his might, and did not suffer any form of injury. However, she was still worried and frightened to the point where she was about to cry. “Big Brother Yun, you’re fine… You’re fine, right… Big Brother Yun..”
“I’m… I’m fine…” Yun Che panted with huge breaths. Then, he sat up with great difficulty. He raised up Feng Xue’er up by his side as well, and had her lean against his own shoulder as they leaned against the slightly cold stone wall together. “I’m fine, it’s only a small wound.”
Bang! Boom! Ding! Clang! Boom…
Various banging sounds came from the direction of the stone door, which was merely less than tep steps away from them. However, no matter the stone door or the stone wall, under the incomparably intense attacks, neither of them budged a single bit. Yun Che held onto Feng Xue’er’s hand, and consoled her. “Xue’er, don’t worry. He won’t be able to enter.”
“Mn…” Feng Xue’er leaned against Yun Che’s shoulder, and she tightly hugged onto his arm with both her hands. |
Friday, 14 November 2014
Twenty months later, residents of Northern Kenya have nothing to write home about devolution. in fact one can authoritatively say that, in the restive North, devolution maintain governors’ lifestyles and those of their stooges -talk of fuel guzzlers, unending seminars at the coast, 24/7 presence in Nairobi and MCAs tripping to where-who-knows just to have selfies with wazungu waiters and flight attendants (of course no one receives them). Devolution is turning out contrary to people's expectations.
Two of NEP counties top the county revenue allocation list. To be precise, one was allocated 8 billion in the recently released proposed allocation - 2015/16 financial year. What can't that do? A lot!
It's unfortunate that 80 per cent of that is going to recurrent expenditure leaving very little for development. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that there are ghost workers. Devolution is not about salaries, fuelling vehicles, foreign travels and holding workshops. It seems devolution has been misunderstood and many governors have seen it as an opportunity to create jobs for their relatives, side-kicks and friends.
Governors are particularly spending a lot of money on foreign and local travels yet they had not undertaken any tangible development projects. Even after some have launched irrigation schemes worth billions, famine came and swept all including the trees. One wonders what happened to the crops. 'Birds' have eaten them, they will say, in defence.
The never-ending tribal clashes and cowboy contractors make things worse. Last week, the Star newspaper reported that the bombings in the border county of NEP was as a result of vicious war between contractors. "Three explosions spaced out in one hour sequences rocked Mandera town Wednesday morning as contractors compete for roads tenders. The explosions caused by IEDs are believed to be the work of road contractors competing to get tenders to tarmac roads in the county. In the first explosion that occurred at 7:30am, a tractor that was leveling a section of a road within the town was damaged, the driver suffered minor injuries." How about Marsabit? Wajir? What makes you think the tribal clashes were not financed?
The dwellers of the restive North who have known no real development, literally, were made to believe that they were "marginalised" because of unfavorable centralized national decision-making system. That is true, somehow. They have always hoped devolution will be a quick fix to “marginalisation” which was blamed for the underdevelopment in the expansive region. That is yet to materialize and no signs of big-time change are forthcoming mostly because of the kind of leadership in office and not devolution.
Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river. But we can at least go for the best among the worst. Lets keep changing them. Politicians and diapers should be changed frequently and all for the same reason.
I challenge you to tell me of any development project worth mentioning, from Marsabit to Mandera County. Which one? Tell me!
Tuesday, 11 November 2014
Many of us have been heard shouting from the top of the roof accusing one elected leader after the other, especially at the county level. But do we really understand their constitutional roles and responsibilities? Early last month I was challenged by a Senator friend of mine -from the mountain side and a fan of this blog. He simply suggested that I should at least say something "in your popular blog" about the roles and responsibilities of various elected leaders.
I have taken the challenge wholeheartedly but I was a bit reluctant to put pen to paper because some things are not my stuff.
Today we try our best to make you understand what these leaders were elected to do. For now we tackle three types of leaders, who in one way or the other, are associated with the county governments.
A senator, in my opinion, is to a county what a Member of Parliament is to a constituency. A county is a larger administrative unit to a constituency and as a matter of fact covers more than one constituency in geographical area.
In as much as the governor is the administrative head of the county, the Senator is the political head.
What are the roles of a senator?
His or her role is not to govern a county but is as a member of parliament: of the senate. Reading the constitution gives the impression of a very limited set of functions for the senate.
The main one is law making, laws that are of county nature. But, though every Bill, or draft Act of Parliament, must be passed by the National Assembly, only Bills that affect counties have to be approved by the Senate. This means anything that affects the constitutional powers of counties, or their finances or elections to county offices.
A Bill about something to be done only by the national government, which does not affect what county governments do, will not have to be approved by the Senate.
In fact, almost all the functions given to the Senate concern the county governments. It is important in allocation of national revenue to, and between, counties once every five years. The Senate makes the initial decision (it must use the work of the Commission on Revenue Allocation, constitutional principles, public input, and the input of others including the county governors). Its decision is final unless two-thirds of the National Assembly reject or change it.
The Senate has other important finance-related roles; according to the constitution it “exercises oversight over national revenue allocated to the county governments”, and this is backed up by detailed provisions of the Pubic Financial Management Act. But when the MPs passed the Constituency Development Fund Bill, they removed provisions giving the Senate a role in overseeing the CDF, changing a proposed supervisory Senate Committee to a National Assembly Committee - even a “parliamentary committee” did not satisfy them – and providing that CDF Regulations must be approved by the National Assembly not the Senate.
The Senate must approve any changes to county boundaries. And the Senate must approve any suspension of a county government by the President (if that government “engages in actions that are deemed to be against the common needs and interests of the citizens” of the county, says the County Governments Act) and can end a suspension.
A county may appeal to the Senate if the Transition Authority decides that the county does not have the capacity to exercise a governmental function that the county wants to be transferred to it.
The Senate does have two truly important functions in connection with national government. If a motion for the removal of the President or Deputy President is passed in the National Assembly, it will go to the Senate which will appoint a committee of its members to investigate the charges, and if its found they were justified, the Senate could remove the President or Deputy by a two-thirds vote of all its members. Perhaps, rather more often, the Senate may be called upon to perform a similar role in the removal of a governor under the County Governments Act.
A Senator will no doubt be able to bargain for benefits for his or her county, as US Senators do: “I shall vote for this Bill that you, the government, want only if you do this-and-this for my county” – what the American call “pork-barrelling”. Their ability to do this may be less than for MPs – because they will vote on far fewer Bills.
Who is a Governor? A governor is a person charged with the direction or control of an institution, society, etc. In our dispensation, the definition of the title could not be any different. For once, the title would not be a preserve of one person, the Central Bank Governor.
They are therefore the heads of the 47 counties established under the constitution and have a more managerial role as opposed to legislative, as exercised by members of parliament or County Assemblies.
The roles and responsibilities of a governor are, as per the constitution, stated in chapter eleven, Devolved Government, Part 3.
Since the governor at the County level is the chief executive of a county, the person elected ought to be visionary with managerial skills, resourceful and above all, a humble leader. Today's governors with such qualities are few in this country. So far things are not as they ought to be for we voted with our stomach, tribal mind sets and what-have-you.
Governors and Senators in advanced democracies are presidential materials and it is safe to reiterate here and now that days of anyone pretending to ascend to the presidency is history. A future presidential candidates will be to a large extent persons who have served as governors or Senators and will be judged by track performance in those units.
Member of County Assembly
Who is the County Assembly Member?
Each of us belongs to a county and much more a ward where the public services to be provided by both the national and county governments affect our everyday life. This is regardless of whether we participate in the governance or not. No one is to be excluded but there is all the more benefit to participate while seeking to ensure that services are economical, efficient and effectively provided to all without fear or favour.
The Member County Assembly (MCA) who is the most local representative of the people plays an immense role in ensuring that county governments are kept accountable and supported. Each of the 47 Counties have a parliament, referred to as County Assembly (CA) responsible for making laws, approving budgets and plans of the county, and providing oversight in the running of the county governments. The CA is chaired by the speaker and "shall be elected for a five year term."
So who constitutes a MCA?
Article 177 of the Constitution provides for four categories:
(i) a person elected in each ward by the majority of the registered voters (this can be an independent candidate or a member of a political party)
(ii) a person nominated through a political party to ensure that the composition of the CA is such that no one gender is more than 2/3rds of the members
(iii) a person nominated through a political party to represent marginalized groups, persons with disability and the youth. The County Government Bill 2012 sets the total number of this nominations at 6 persons.
(iv) The speaker, who shall be an ex-officio member elected by the MCAs from among persons who are not MCAs.
The responsibility placed on the MCAs is to, (a) maintain close contact with the electorate and consult them on issues before or under discussion in the county assembly; (b) present views, opinions and proposals of the electorate to the county assembly; (c) attend sessions of the county assembly and its committees; (d) provide a linkage between the county assembly and the electorate on public service delivery; and e) extend professional knowledge, experience or specialised knowledge to any issue for discussion in the county assembly. A member of the county assembly shall not be directly or indirectly involved in the, (a) executive functions of the county government and its administration; or (b) delivery of services as if the member were an officer or employee of the county government. (See County Government Bill 2012)
If the CA is to do its proper work properly, then both the MCAs and the citizens they represent need to play their respective roles. But how equipped are the MCAs to carry out their mandates . Do they have the expertise or at least access to expertise to ensure their effectiveness? How well are the County Assembly Service Boards resourced to ensure that the MCAs have offices to operate from? Of late the MCAs have turned out to be rogues than representatives. Here is why http://kadarsview.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/new-wonder-of-world-welcome-to-world-of.html |
"You know my real name isn't even Sadie, right?"
Scott nearly dropped the bar on his neck. Dumping it to the side, weights crashing onto the floor, he sat up from the bench. Across the small workout facility, Sadie hadn't broken stride on the treadmill. He stared for a moment, waiting elaboration.
"Uh, are you playing me? I know you gamed that one Martian mayor because we needed the launch clearance, but this is me." He smiled. "I know you wouldn't try and mess with my head, right? Heh, right Sadie?"
North just kept on running for a while longer. She wasn't sure what made her blurt that out. The conversation hadn't really veered in that direction. The truth came down to trust and isolation. If Scott West was the only person on this asteroid she was really going to trust, she'd have to prove it. Letting him in, at least a little, would help forge the bond.
"No, I'm not kidding," she finally said.
Poking at the treadmill, she slowed it down, and finally stopped the belt. Hopping off, she walked the short distance to the bench and sat down next to him. They were both sweaty, and he was too surprised to be offended.
"So, then, what the hell's your real name?"
"My father named me Luna Arroya," she half-whispered. "Sadie was my mother's name. I happened to be standing near the North gate of town when my new identification cards were being forged. They asked me to write in a name, and that was it."
"So the whole bit about you growing up in the asteroid belt..."
"Not true. I'm a Martian girl, born and raised. Well, born, anyway." She shook her head. "Raising was a bit of the on-the-run stuff, after things went down."
"What kind of things? You on the run or something?"
"You can't tell anyone any of this, alright? Come on Scott, promise me. Promise or I'll have Tudor drop you on an undeveloped asteroid on his next delivery."
"Nah, come on, you know me. It's cool, I'll keep your secret. Does Hardbarger know?"
"No one else knows. I'm just hoping that they gave up on me, that's all. It's been five years, so I don't think I look all that much the same anymore anyway."
"What the hell happened Sadie? Or should I call you Luna? Who are you running from?"
"Don't ever call me Luna. See, my father used to bet on the races on Mars. Heavily. Didn't matter if it was the dessert bikes, drag ships, or even the hawks. He loved the long shot, and he was almost always wrong. Got in with the wrong group of people for a bit too much, I guess, and he made some promises that he shouldn't have."
"What," Scott chuckled, "did they break his legs or something?"
"No, not quite. See, what he did was. Well, I mean," she choked on the anger of the memory. "I was really just a kid. I mean, sure, puberty had hit, and the boys all used to think I was really pretty. Just never thought my dad would try and profit on it." She looked at him, hatred burning in her eyes. "In order to get even, he put up my virginity against his outstanding debt. Then he bet on some hawk that didn't even have implants newer than four years old! I mean, who does that? When they came for me," she shuddered, "it was awful."
"Damn," he shook his head, "no wonder you took off."
"Actually, I didn't take off right after that. I mean, I still loved my family. It was something that I needed to get my head through, and I was really lost after that, but I stuck around. For some stupid reason, I got this idea that I had to stay and help my dad. If I left, what would happen to him? And at least he was free and clear again, so maybe he'd stop. Maybe he'd feel so horrible after what he did to me, that it was like my sacrifice that saved him. That makes sense, right?"
"Only in movies. I know, not too sensitive, sorry, but it's true. Me, I would've beat the skata out of your dad and left him bleeding in a ditch."
"Yeah, well, that might have been a smarter move. All I can think now is that bastard never loved me. Not after what he put me through. Damned hawk races."
"Oh come on, no, really?"
"Yeah, really. I guess he was determined. Met up with one of the trainers who was giving him supposed inside information. This guy's hawk was getting some steel tips on his wings. Supposed to be totally cutting edge, and not everyone allowed it. The arena that this guy's hawk was flying in, I guess they were one of the places you can't do it. Thought he'd slip his bird in without anyone noticing, but they noticed. Dad already made a huge bet, figuring it'd set him up for life. When that stupid hawk got disqualified, they told him he had to bet on another one; they wouldn't give him his money back. He just sort of guessed, since he hadn't been prepared."
"So, heh, how'd he do?"
"Damned thing broke a wing hooking the turn too tight. Didn't even finish. It was a really, really bad thing. When they came to the house to collect, he immediately offered me up again. He didn't even give it a second thought. What kind of father does a thing like that?"
"Just like that?" Scott stood up and balled his fists. "He just offered you up to be raped to cover his bills? Where was your mom in all this?"
"Mom died in an accident a couple of years before." Sadie knew Scott would never judge her, but she fought back the tears anyway. Weakness wasn't something she intended to show anymore. "After this all went down, though, I started figuring she might have been a victim of dad's gambling too. He stopped betting for almost six months after that. Didn't matter, though. He started again, and now I had to pay up."
Scott screamed in rage at the thought. Taking five quick steps, he ran towards a heavy bag and delivered three fierce punches.
"I swear, I want to murder that piece of skata in his sleep!"
"Well, it's too late for that," she said with a shrug.
"Too late? How's that?"
"After my louse of a father sold my virginity, I decided that our family needed protection. The funny thing is," she chuckled, "I actually did it to protect him. See, despite dad screwing up the way he did, I had always managed to scrape together some money. Odd jobs and the like, although nothing like I do right now." She hesitated, then shrugged and continued. "You never knew when he wouldn't have enough money to feed us one week. So, I took that money out and found an energy weapon. Basically, a laser pistol. Pretty much illegal for me to have it, but what was above board on this one?"
"You killed him?"
"Well, yeah," she nodded. "I didn't have much of a choice. He called me out, and I refused to leave my room. Dad kicked the door in, with two of the scum bags behind him. He said that I might as well pull my pants off and let the two of them get it over with. I screamed at him, asked him how he could do that to me. He said that I just needed to listen to him, and if I didn't, they were going to kill him."
Sadie rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"I had the gun hidden under my pillow. Jumping back like I was going to cry, I pulled it out and shot him really quickly. Burned a hole right through his chest. Laser weapons are pretty amazing that way. The heat cauterizes the wound almost instantly. It was just long enough for him to look down where his heart used to be, and then he hit the ground. The two thugs started to leave, but I couldn't let them go. Racing after them, I managed to shoot another one through the back of the head, after I clipped his shoulder. Second guy got out the door, so I didn't want to risk it. Still, that was the night I packed up what I thought I needed, and I got the hell out of there."
"So you changed your name, left town, and some how wound up working for Hardbarger. Hey, how did you join the Red Scythe, anyway?"
"I think we've had enough story time for today." She sniffed. "I need a shower, and then a really stiff drink. Meet you at the mess in fifteen minutes?"
After scowling and raging throughout the story, Scott West finally offered her his trademarked grin.
"Yeah," he nodded, "I can do that."
"You know my real name isn't even Sadie, right?" |
Our first interview with the voice talent from Cars 3 was with Nathan Fillion (voice of “Sterling”), Larry the Cable Guy (voice of “Mater”), Lea DeLaria (voice of “Miss Fritter”) & Isiah Whitlock Jr. (voice of “River Scott”).
Larry the Cable Guy had us laughing from the minute he came in. Apologizing for wearing sleeves saying he was a little overdressed.
Improv. Did you do any improv during the making of Cars 3?
Larry answered first and as I believe was expected he said he always does improv.
Starting back in the original Cars movie I improvised how I said the line; “Hey. My name’s Mater, just like To-mato, without the To!”
I said I could do it another way but was told that he could do whatever he wanted as long as he stuck close to the script. Hence the “dadgum” and “gee” came in.
Nathan joked that it was weird because when he tried to improv, they’d always go, “That’s great, stick to the lines.”
Isiah added that he tells them
that he’ll just start talking and to cut him off when they’re ready to cut him off.
Unfortunately Lea was a little late to the interview as she was returning from a premiere party in New York the night before.
Isiah was asked how he felt about doing something different then his role in The Wire.
Great. I always jump at the chance to do something different. Different characters. And this opportunity came along and I was just thrilled about it. It was totally different.
I was in the booth by myself, with my own imagination, and I found it quite liberating, just laying down the voice.
To me that is what keeps you going, is that you’re not always playing the same thing, over and over and over again.
Nathan – what do you think your favorite part about Sterling is? What you called you to this?
What called me to this is an opportunity to work with Pixar. I’m not going to lie to you guys. I’ve been to the Pixar facility twice. I’ve seen every Pixar movie. I’ve seen the Pixar documentary four times. I am into Pixar. Nothing happens in a Pixar movie by accident. They tell the story, one pixel at a time. It’s very, very careful filmmaking, and it’s very methodically planned out. To be a part of it, you know you’re going to be a part of a story well told, and it’s going to be beautiful, and it’s going to last.
Over and above anything else, I will do anything for Pixar. And, point of fact, I actually did some janitorial work for them two weeks ago. I’m not picky.
Isiah Whitlock on getting emotional during the screening of Cars 3.
I found it very emotional. I found myself tearing up a little bit, you know, and kept saying, “Okay. Think about something else. Think about something else.” Don’t start crying, you know. But you know, when they deal with change and aging and things like that and moving on, you know; “That’s like my career!”
I was glad I brought my sunglasses with me, so I could put those on, and pretend like I was just sitting cool in the movie theater. I found it just extremely emotional. I think the story’s going to be powerful.
Cars 3 has a solid theme of mentorship. Who are some of your mentors, either professionally or personally?
NATHAN: Bob Woods, who played my uncle on One Life to Live. I wouldn’t have moved to Los Angeles without his sage advice.
ISIAH: I had a mentor in college, he had seen me in a play in college, and he was kind of like this nutty, crazy professor that everybody kind of stayed away from, but this guy said, he pulled me aside and he says, “look, you know, I saw you in a play last night.”
He said; “I thought you were great. You got to get out of Minnesota, man. You got to go to New York, and you got to start knocking on doors.” And I thought, knocking on doors? What? Just going around to people’s apartments? Just knocking on doors? I took him literally.
One thing he told me was “If you really want to be a great actor, you’ve got to start studying psychology. You’ve got to know the human condition. You’ve got to know how people tick, and how you can figure out all of these characters,” and so I thought, Okay, I’m gonna try that. And I studied psychology for about two years.
And I just play a bunch of characters who’ve got problems. It was some of the best advice I had ever gotten. And when people talk about mentorship, I always think about this guy, because I really did learn about the human condition, and what makes people do what they do, and how they believe that they’re right in what they do.
How has social media changed what you do?
LARRY: Social media is just great for getting out. It’s a good way to talk to your fans. Me, as a comedian, I have a Facebook my Facebook has over five million people on it, and I always keep that updated. I always keep stuff funny on it. You want people to come to your Facebook. It’s become your new website, you know. I have a website, Larrythecableguy dot com. I don’t really keep it up, but not as much as I do that, because everybody is going to Facebook.
Everything on Twitter, I love, because Twitter is not as many people, and you can communicate with everybody. I have almost 500,000 on Twitter. But if you check it like I do all the time, I mean, when the kids go to bed, when my wife goes to bed, that’s when I pretty much just hang out on Twitter and talk to people.
It’s fun, it’s manageable, and you can talk. I can generally talk to most people.
Now, if I’m on there after something, say, after my History Channel show, whenever that would air, there’d be 500 messages. You can’t get to those. But, generally, if you check it once every hour and a half, you’re going to have 17, 18 messages. You can pretty much answer everybody. I think it’s awesome. I think it’s really cool that you can actually get responded to by a celebrity.
Back in the day, when I was coming up if I could actually go online, and my favorite baseball players or my favorite actors would actually send me a response, I would be a fan for life. And I think that’s the cool thing about social media, and I always try to stay engaged, as much as I can.
NATHAN: I’m gonna completely agree. Engagement is a fantastic word. Because it’s a way to engage with your fan base, that doesn’t revolve around work or any publicity due. It’s stuff that you’re entirely in control of, so you can personalize it as you wish. You can share, you can be personal with it, you can share your private things, you’re entirely in control, and it is one-on-one.
There’s nothing in between you and the fandom at that point, so you can engage with your fans, one-on-one, or just kind of get a general idea of what everybody is about.
I love that word – engagement. You can engage with people. And I couldn’t do that when I was a kid.
Can you share how you became involved in the project?
LEA: They called me.
And why you wanted to do it?
LEA: Why did I want to be Miss Fritter? Have we seen her? She’s awesome. I mean, come on. Her stop sign is a buzz saw. She’s terrific. Also, I grew up where they do stock cars. I grew up where demo derby was a big deal. I grew up in a really small town on the very tip of Illinois that’s right by Kentucky. So that was like, a Friday night entertainment for me. So the idea of being the queen of the demolition derby? Awesome.
And they let me say the high school that I went to. A shout out to that. That’s the side of the bus is the high school that I went to. The people of Belleville, Illinois, which is a tiny little town, they’re gonna go nuts when they see that. It’s kind of awesome. And so when they came to me and said “do you want to do this?” I was like, “Yeah. I have a really good idea of how to play her.” And they were all in and, as was I, so, it was awesome.
Lea, one of my fans wanted to know, who do you like playing more: Miss Fritter or Boo?
LEA: Oh. That’s rough. I’m kind of gender fluid, so I’m going to say both. That was an adult joke. I gotta say, that’s really hard, you know. But Boo pays a whole lot more, so I’m going with Boo.
I noticed you have a lot of interaction with your fans on Twitter. How do you fit that in between all the other things you do?
LEA: I feel the same way these guys feel about engagement with my fans. I’m a little older but I’m not 110 years old, so I’m more over at Instagram. I go on Twitter more as an afterthought. My fan base, because of Cars and Orange is now a much younger base than I used to have.
I’m a lot older than people realize, so they’re on Instagram. So I reach out a lot on Instagram, I post every day, I try to respond. Especially, they direct-message so only you can read it and no one else on Instagram. As an openly gay activist, I get a lot of people that direct, about problems, which I take very seriously. And I’m the same way.
I try to keep up on it. I can’t do it every hour, every half hour. I actually have someone now who helps me with my social media, because it’s just gotten a little out of hand. But I think that it’s the best way to reach people. Also Twitter is a great way to keep up with the president.
Cars 3 is in theaters everywhere NOW – go watch it, you will NOT regret it!!
Be sure to follow CARS 3 via their social media outlets;
Subscribe to the Disney/Pixar YouTube channel here!
And visit the official CARS 3 website here!!! |
Programs Keep Inmates From Returning To Prison
NEAL CONAN, HOST:
This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Columbus, Ohio. While numbers are down in some places, the prison population across the United States remains enormous and enormously expensive. Eventually, of course, almost all those men and women will be released. Ohio is among several states that have decided to put scarce resources into programs designed to reduce the chances that those ex-convicts will commit new crimes and go back behind bars.
Over a three-year period, the rate of recidivism is down 11 percent here, and there are similarly significant numbers from Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Oregon and Vermont. We'd like to hear from former prisoners. What made the difference to keep you from returning to prison? Give us a call, 800-989-8255. Email us, [email protected]. You can also join the conversation on our website. That's at npr.org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION.
Later in the program, Ohio at the front lines of the War of 1812, but first recidivism, and we begin with Alan Johnson, a reporter for the Columbus-Dispatch, where he covers criminal justice and Ohio politics. He's with us here at the studios of member station OSU, and nice to have you on the program.
ALAN JOHNSON: Thank you very much.
CONAN: And can you see anything different given these recidivism programs when you go inside to visit prisons?
JOHNSON: I'm not sure you can see it. I think it's more in the numbers, and that's kind of where I fall into it because I have been covering prisons for 20 years. So just hanging around for that long, you get a trend for things. Ten, 15 years ago, we were building prisons, and now we're either closing prisons or selling prisons, and the numbers are finally going down.
So it's quite a turnaround, and it's been over a two-decade period, but it is going, in my opinion, in the right direction.
CONAN: So what's working?
JOHNSON: Well, what's working is I think that the state finally realized, and I think you're going to have a state senator on her earlier who's one of the vanguard of this, that the lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-keys philosophy is no longer - it really doesn't work rehabilitation-wise, and it certainly doesn't work financially.
And building more prisons, stiffening the law, lengthening the sentences just wasn't working. So they kind of realized, I think pushed a bit by the financial of it, maybe more than a bit, that they had to relax the laws a little bit, make it a little bit easier for people to get out and not to come back. So they have done that.
CONAN: Well, what kind of programs are they instituting to help those ex-cons stay ex?
JOHNSON: Well for one thing, they were realizing that some of the programs they were training prisoners for they couldn't get a job. In other words, you would be trained to be a barber or to be - have a license in plumbing or electrical work, and you would get out and find that Ohio law prohibited you from getting that license because we had what they call, fancy words, collateral sanctions. It just means roadblocks or obstacles to getting back to work after you get out. And of course...
CONAN: If you have a felony on your record.
JOHNSON: Yes, exactly. If you get out, you don't get a job, you're almost immediately falling prey to getting back into the habits you were in before, and pretty soon you're going to be back in lockup.
CONAN: So, well, what kinds of programs or what kinds of jobs are they being trained for now?
JOHNSON: Well, they're being trained for many of the same things, but they flipped it on the other end. Senator Seitz and some of the other legislators fought for a couple years, and they finally got through a law that takes away many of those sanctions.
I forget the number, but there were hundreds of them, literally, built into criminal law saying if you have this felony, you can't do this, you can't get this license, you can't become a contractor. You couldn't even become a security guard for a graveyard, and I'm not joking.
So they changed the law to make it a little easier for people to get jobs, to keep jobs. You could keep your driver's license, for example, in many cases, or get it back actually, whereas before you couldn't. It just made it silly to try and get a job if you had no transportation to get to the job if you even got the job.
CONAN: But the arrow is not entirely all in the direction of prison reform. Some sentences continue to get lengthened due to various reforms, and the state sold one of its prisons last year, as you mentioned, privatized it, and that caused a lot of controversy.
JOHNSON: It did, and recently - kind of off the topic - but recently there was a report on that or an audit of that, and they have many, many problems with this private prison that's been sold to a private operator, Corrections Corporation of America.
CONAN: We want to hear from those of you who have gotten out of jail and stayed out. What worked to keep you out? 800-989-8255. Email is [email protected]. And let's see if we can begin with Andy(ph), and Andy's with us from South Bend, Indiana.
CONAN: Hi, you're on the air, Andy.
ANDY: How are you today?
CONAN: I'm well, thank you. Go ahead.
ANDY: Sure. I was in the federal prison system for six years. I was in the federal prison camp in Terre Haute, Indiana. So my exposure really was a little different. And we had everything ranging from drug convictions to tenured inmates who were on their way, working their way down the slope to a lot of drug convictions, as well, too, a lot of white-collar crime.
But my experience is only with the federal system, and I was one of those people who was very, very fortunate that - literally getting off the bus from the halfway house or for the bus to get to the halfway house, an old customer of mine offered me a position, and that's where I still am an employee today.
And - but I had a college degree and background in finance and business. So, I mean, that was very, very helpful, and certainly, you know, kids to come home to and relatives to help take care of, and I had no desire to go back.
But my experience where I was at is preparation was dirt poor. And where they really should be in the federal system targeting inmates very, very early when they get in, they don't really, outside of forcing people who don't have GEDs to get a GED.
But you're at it for so many years, two or three years, and you still don't get it, it's the inmate's option whether or not to pick it up. And because of funding problems within the federal system, if you don't have something like a UNICOR program, which at Terre Haute we did, which was the national bus center, there really is very, very little by way of skill formation, and they wait until the last 18 months to run you through a series of little classes to say hey, you need to start thinking about time to get out.
But my personal opinion is I was just the very fortunate and determined individual, but I saw people who left come back on violation, and people I was in the halfway house with, I saw no change in their attitudes. And given when I came out it was a terrible economy in 2009, I just consider myself very fortunate.
CONAN: Well, Andy, continued good luck to you, and thanks very much for the call. He raises a couple of interesting points, Alan Johnson. I don't know how familiar you are with the federal system.
JOHNSON: Not as much, but go ahead.
CONAN: Well, go - I was just going to say that the education part of that, I know that's a big part of the system here in Ohio.
JOHNSON: It is, and the good and the bad is that there are a lot of programs. The bad is that they're backlogged. The state is trying to correct that, to get more teachers, more programs, more training, but there is a backlog at many of the prisons. They have to wait months and months sometimes to get in those systems.
So they realize the value of the training, and it's just kind of getting the resources now to line up with the need.
CONAN: In fact I've read I think in one of your pieces that the line to get into the education program is longer than the number of people already in the program.
JOHNSON: Right, right, it's a challenge, and they are doing, I think, a good job in trying to switch things around, but it's not an overnight switch from a system that has 50,000 inmates in it.
CONAN: And the other part that I thought was interesting: Women tend to come into prisons better educated than their male counterparts and more interested in education.
JOHNSON: Yes, and I'm sure there's more research to be done on that, but they do participate more. I just think that they are more - perhaps more committed to doing better when they get out than the male counterparts are.
CONAN: These changes don't come about without investment, without money.
JOHNSON: Exactly, and I was just noting you had asked earlier what the state had done. They have spent $20 million on improving the community corrections facilities and programs, which means that you might actually go to one of those instead of prison, or you might go to one of those after prison so you can be in the community.
You might just be able to go during the week, as opposed to weekends. There are a lot of different options at a community program to do, and the state did spend $20 million on that, and I think that's another reason they've been more successful.
CONAN: Bill Seitz is a Republican state senator here in Ohio. He represents the 8th District, and he sponsored legislation to reform sentencing and joins us now by phone from his office in Cincinnati. Senator Seitz, good of you to be with us today.
STATE SENATOR BILL SEITZ: Glad to be with you.
CONAN: And I understand that at one time tough on crime could've described your position, as well. What changed your mind?
SEITZ: Well, it's not so much a matter of being soft on crime as it is a matter of being smart on crime. What basically happened in my very conservative county is that the voters were asked on two separate occasions in the last 10 years to support a tax levy for the construction of new and larger jails.
And both times, by substantial margins, the voters said no. So I began to investigate other possibilities for dealing with the problem, and there is fortunately a wealth of evidence-based practices that are being adopted across the country that actually reduce the recidivism rate and also relieve jail overcrowding and do so by reliance on community corrections and by reliance on programs that expand education and job training for people while they are incarcerated and do so by keeping some of the nonviolent offenders out of prison in the first place.
And it turns out that through our adoption of these measures in Ohio, we have substantially reduced our jail overcrowding. We are projected to save $578 million in avoided costs between now and 2015. And we now have the second-lowest recidivism rate in the entire country.
So these policies not only save taxpayers money, but they also are smart on crime because when you reduce the recidivism rate, you are being smart on crime. You are protecting communities, and you will have less crime than if you had pursued the old paradigm.
CONAN: Yet when - despite all this evidence showing that these kinds of reforms work, when you proposed your sentencing reform, that was not supported in the legislature.
SEITZ: It was a tough slog. It took about three years to get done. I worked with both the then-Democratic governor, Ted Strickland, and then more recently with the Republican governor, John Kasich. And my biggest obstacles were: number one, the opposition of county prosecutors, whose role it is to lock people up and make sure they stay in jail; and secondly a great deal of timidity on the part of many of my colleagues who were afraid that if someone did not go to jail or got out early that otherwise would have gone to jail or not got out early, and that person reoffended, then that would be bad politically for them were they to vote for such a measure.
And so we had to overcome that timidity by explaining that while I cannot guarantee zero percent recidivism, I can show that these kinds of policies reduce the rate at which offenders reoffend.
And finally that won the day, perhaps because we were facing an $8 billion state budget deficit at the time, and...
CONAN: Well, Senator Seitz, stay with us. We're going to have to return to that after we come back from a short break. We're talking about what some states, including Ohio, are doing to reduce the recidivism. Stay with us. It's the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
CONAN: This is TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News. I'm Neal Conan. Well over half of all former prisoners in this country wind back behind bars within three years of their release. It's a persistent and expensive problem for states. Many of them, including here in Ohio, are now looking for better ways to spend that money, often on programs that focus on keeping ex-convicts out of prison.
We're talking today about what some of those states are doing, what works and what doesn't. We'd like to hear from former prisons: What made the difference to keep you from returning to prison? 800-989-8255. Email us, [email protected]. You can also join the conversation on our website. That's at npr.org. Click on TALK OF THE NATION.
Our guests are Alan Johnson, who covers criminal justice and Ohio politics for the Columbus-Dispatch; and Ohio State Senator Bill Seitz, a Republican who represents the 8th District and sponsored legislation on sentencing reform. And let's see if we can get another caller in on the conversation, and let's go to Brian(ph), and Brian's with us from Greensboro, North Carolina.
BRIAN: Yes, good morning. I was in prison for 20 months in North Carolina, back in 1999 I got out. And what has kept me out, because there were no real programs in the state prison that would - I think that would help. There was a GED program, but I was educated, so I didn't need that.
But really it was just I didn't want to be there. You know, I got out, and a guard told me that, well you'll be back. And that was almost the impetus for me to stay out. You know, I just was determined not to go back to that horrible environment.
And so I went - you know, I was in a homeless shelter and got some aid from them. They helped get me ID, you know, food stamps, helped me with getting employment. And then I got a job, got a place to stay, and I've gotten better jobs over the years, gone back to school. And I have just - I'm just mortally afraid of doing anything to get myself in that position again. So it was just really a force of will.
CONAN: So scared straight might be a descriptor.
BRIAN: Very descriptive, yes. I wanted nothing more to do with it. It was a horrible environment. And, you know, I didn't feel like that it was - it certainly wasn't good for me or my family or the state or anybody for me to be in prison for doing something stupid, and that's essentially what it was. I went in there for doing something stupid, and I didn't want to be stupid anymore.
JOHNSON: A quick question: You mentioned family. I'm curious, did family visit you? Was that part of the process that made you want to stay out? Because I found that I think the more visits with family, the more likely it is that someone stays out.
BRIAN: Well, for me, that's contrary to me. My family basically abandoned me because they're embarrassed by my position. And again, a lot of it was just my determination to beat the odds despite all the things against me, my family going against me, my - you know, everything seemed to be against me. Even employment was very difficult to come by because there is legalized discrimination in this country for offenders or ex-offenders.
It's a form of - I mean, to be an offender, you're handicapped. But it's legal in this country to discriminate based on having done something in your past. You're never forgiven. But I went - you know, I decided it didn't matter. I was going to do whatever it took within reasonable means to do better and better.
And now I'm a truck driver. I make a good wage, and I, you know, I follow the law. I do what I'm supposed to.
CONAN: Brian, thanks very much for the call, and safe driving.
BRIAN: Thank you.
CONAN: And Senator Seitz, I think both of the callers we've had on the line who told us about their experiences emphasize something very important. Yes programs are important, yes education is important. Personal responsibility is also important.
SEITZ: It certainly is, and that caller is to be commended for having the willpower to rise up and become a productive citizen, notwithstanding being abandoned by his family. So he is to be commended for that. Many folks don't have that level of willpower.
One of the things that he said that's absolutely true, though, and that we tackled in our most recent legislation passed this June, is the obstacles that these folks face to finding gainful employment when they get out. And so what we did in Ohio this past June is pass a law that allows ex-cons who have kept their noses clean for some period of time after serving their sentence to go back to court and apply for and receive a certificate of qualifications for employment.
That doesn't guarantee them employment, but they can take that certificate to any employer, public or private, and if that employer should hire that person, that employer will be immunized from tort liability on the theory of negligent hiring.
That's important because many employers do not hire ex-cons because they are afraid that they, the employer, will be sued if that ex-con screws up after being employed. So what we're trying to do is facilitate individualized consideration of these ex-offenders who have rehabilitated themselves by removing a principal impediment to their employment.
And it's just now getting under way. We'll see how it goes. But we think that's important. At the same time, what we did in our bill was direct many of our state licensing agencies not to automatically debar people from consideration for licensure merely because they had a prior conviction. They will now be required in most circumstances to give individualized consideration to what that crime was and whether it truly should bar them from licensure or whether they should be allowed to get a license for things like truck driver, cosmetologist, construction worker and so forth.
CONAN: And if there was - we're going to let you go in just a second, but I just wanted to ask: If there was one more reform you could enact by a wave of your magic wand, what would it be?
SEITZ: Well, if I had a magic wand, I would wave it and demand personal responsibility among folks so that we never got into this situation to begin with, because I think many times young people in particular do not realize what a horrible existence awaits them in prison.
So if I were to wave a magic wand, I would speak to mainly that younger cohort of folks and urge them to think twice before they do those things that put them behind the eight ball, oftentimes for life, either in the prison system or facing obstacles to employment and gainful citizenship post-conviction.
CONAN: Senator Seitz, thanks very much for your time today.
SEITZ: Thank you.
CONAN: Bill Seitz, a state senator from Ohio, joined us from his office in Cincinnati. Michael Thompson is director of the Justice Center at the Council on State Governments, the group that put out the recent report on the drop in recidivism in Ohio and several other states, and he's with us from Studio 3A there in Washington, D.C. Nice to have you with us today.
MICHAEL THOMPSON: Thank you for having me.
CONAN: And we're talking about Ohio. Is what's happening here similar to the kinds of programs that you've documented in several other states?
THOMPSON: Absolutely. I think what we're seeing in Ohio is in many ways a harbinger of things to come across the country. In fact, many states have already made double-digit percentage drops in their recidivism rates, that is their reincarceration rates. And we're seeing many states now following suit in terms of what Ohio's doing.
So I think we are actually definitely headed towards a position where we used to talk about recidivism rates being this stubbornly high rate that was impossible to change, and now we're seeing many states across the country demonstrate that we can actually have a major impact on success rates for people released from prison.
CONAN: And I was looking at the statistics in your report, and the ones that stuck out for me, yes we saw all those percentage numbers, but there was also a chart that counted the number of people who did not return, statistically, had the recidivism rates stayed where they were.
THOMPSON: That's right. I mean, the point was made earlier that in many ways, states can't afford to keep growing their prisons. It's a Pac-Man in state budgets; it's eating into other spending priorities. It is second-fastest-growing line item, second to health care, in state budgets across the country.
And when we look at what's driving the prison population in many cases, it's the failure rate of people released from prison. And what we see is by making just small-percentage reductions in the failure rates, we can have an enormous impact on the prison population.
The Pew Charitable Trusts, for example, calculated that just a 10-percent change in the recidivism rate in a number of large states would generate savings on the magnitude of hundreds of millions of dollars.
CONAN: And it's 1,200 people here in Ohio, north of that, according to statistics, that fewer people in prison than would have been otherwise. And Alan Johnson, as you look around the situation in the state, surely even - well, it was not your words but State Senator Seitz, who said timid legislators ought to be able to look at those numbers and see wait a minute, we can save a lot of money, and boy, the budgets are tight.
JOHNSON: Yes, and I think that is probably the turning point because I've covered this for a very long time, and they wanted, as I said, lock them up, throw away the key. But I think that they finally realized that this was just unbearable. And when I started covering prisons, there were less than 30,000, and now there are nearly 50,000, and that's down from a top of 51,000.
So and it - I forget the rate they have to pay per day, the taxpayers, for this, but it's an enormous amount. It is, as Michael said, a Pac-Man that does gobble up an enormous amount of the budget. And Ohio just couldn't afford it anymore, and legislators I think finally saw the light.
CONAN: It's interesting, Michael Thompson, you can look at other factors, as well, the impact on communities of having so many people taken out of the community, the inherent unfairness, as some people see it, that targets certain elements of the community. But as you look at these numbers, why aren't other states doing similar kinds of things?
THOMPSON: Well, I think other states are looking at states like Ohio, at states like North Carolina and saying, we absolutely need to follow in the footsteps of those places. I look at a state like West Virginia, for example, just bordering Ohio, and there they're facing one of the fastest-growing prison populations in the country even though they have an aging population and not a fast population growth. In fact, I think it's level or even declining.
And West Virginians are asking, why are we looking at building more prisons when, just on the border, Ohio and Kentucky, for example, have taken steps to actually check the prison growth and actually employ strategies that we think will buy more public safety than just simply on a path to building more prisons?
CONAN: Alan Johnson, even those numbers, as we pointed out before, are not stopping the mandatory sentencing, which keeps people...
CONAN: ...in prison for such a long time. There was one change administratively in the way the judges have to handle minimum sentences that has resulted in even longer sentences here in the state of Ohio. Those things are not changing anytime soon.
JOHNSON: No. But one of the changes they did do was, in the old days, they had good time and bad time. Good time was if you behaved yourself in prison, you could get out early; bad time, you didn't. You stayed longer. That went away for flat sentencing. You went in for 20 years, you stayed 20 years.
They've kind of rolled that back a little bit with your previous guest, Senator Seitz. They now have a modified good time credit. I don't call it that, but it's a credit that if you - involved in programs, you do education, you do training, you can earn a little bit off of each month of your sentence up to a maximum.
So we've kind of rolled it back, and I think that's where he was talking about, the timid legislators earlier because that smacks of soft on "crime," quote/unquote, which many legislators are still afraid of. But, again, it was the kind of unstoppable force, an insurmountable object, and they came together, and I think it's finally going in the right direction.
CONAN: Michael Thompson, yes, making programs available to prisoners that might not be available, in some instances, to other people. For example, I think Ohio is among those states that prohibits higher education. Yes, you can get your GED. You can even get your high school diploma as a few do. But you cannot go on to college studies while you're in prison.
JOHNSON: Yes, that's correct. We're one of the states, and, Michael, you might know more about that fully than I do.
THOMPSON: Yeah. I actually believe that Ohio is one of the states that does have postsecondary education for inmates, and there are a number of states that really are emphasizing that and that we have seen an impact on recidivism. And I know a lot of people say, well, wait a minute, why should we be providing college education to someone who's incarcerated?
But what we have found is that, as many folks know, it's really that - as one of the callers noted, who'd been incarcerated - it's that postsecondary degree that really improves the odds of employment. And frankly, it's other inmates seeing people in prison get a college degree that then encourages them to become literate, to get their GED because they realize there is a pathway out to higher education. But, indeed, many states do not have that postsecondary education opportunity, and I think we see real opportunities missed than to reduce recidivism.
CONAN: We're talking about the costs of corrections, a spur to reform programs and decrease recidivism. Our guests are Alan Johnson, a reporter for The Columbus Dispatch, and you just heard Michael Thompson, director of the Justice Center at the Council on State Governments. You're listening to TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
And let's get Brett(ph) on the line, Brett with us from Grand Rapids.
BRETT: Hi. Thank you for taking my call. I appreciate it. And thank you for all the work that you gentlemen have been doing over the years. I greatly appreciate it.
CONAN: Well, thanks very much. Go ahead.
BRETT: I'm ex-prisoner in Michigan, Michigan Department of Corrections. They recently implemented the MPRI program, Michigan Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative. And Michigan - in Michigan, the pendulum has swung from lock them up and throw away the key to let's try to, you know, effect some sort of change so we can affect the recidivism. And it's been doing a wonderful job here in Michigan.
I myself got my prison number back in 1994 and have been in and out of prison continuously the last time. It was almost eight years that I was in. But during that eight years, what I had found is that there was a lot of men - because they started the programming for the re-entry, and there was a lot of programming in there that started to address like emotional healing, and not just the distorted thinking, you know, the criminal thinking because that's just - that's old, but fundamentally addressing the human issues of each individual person, of, you know, taking a look at their past, taking a look at how their actions and empathy and what they were looking at and how they were damaging themselves and community and family.
And those programs were the most significant and produced the most significant change for me because not only did it produce healing in myself, it allowed me to effect a healing in those around me and my family and my network of people that I know.
And now that I'm back in the community and off of parole, and now in school, mind you, and getting a degree in religion so I could become a chaplain and go back into the community and effect that same kind of change, that's how important these programs are because it fundamentally - and, I mean, it's a bad place to be in prison to begin with, and I'm not saying what I did was right.
But what I'm saying is these programs fundamentally can change these men - because I've watched the change in them, myself included - transform their lives while they're in prison and give them a whole new perspective on why they're there and what they need to do to get out.
In fact, it was Representative Condino, who became a parole board member, who gave me my parole. And I made him a promise because I told him that I realized that every action I do, from the moment I get that parole to the time I get off, is going to affect every other parole that they hand out behind me. And I kept my promise because I understand what's with that responsibility and that promise. For some reason, it's just something I didn't grasp before.
CONAN: Well, Brett, it's an interesting call. And, Alan Johnson, it raises a host of questions, and one of which is the - and, Brett, thanks very much for joining us - it raises the question about mental health treatment for prisoners who suffer from these problems at a much higher rate than people on the outside.
JOHNSON: Mental health problems, concurrent with drug and alcohol problems, it's all a very bad mixture when they come into prison. And the mental health issues are very serious if he has been struggling with that to deal with it because they do have, you know, psychiatric programs and counseling programs. But I've covered many, many inmates. I've covered executions. I've seen how troubled many of these inmates are, and prison becomes a school to learn how to be better criminals sometimes. So they need that mental health treatment to get past those obstacles as well as their drug and alcohol addiction.
CONAN: Here's an email from Claire in San Francisco: My brother was a prisoner in California, and before he was granted parole, he was looking for materials to help him adjust to being out. There was little in the way to assist him because prisoners are restricted from all but written material. We found a great program for him that really helped him to prepare for the release called the Prisoner Assistance Scholastic Service. Strongly urge families and inmates to check it out for their loved ones applying for parole or getting ready to be released, especially after long incarcerations. And thanks for that suggestion.
Our thanks as well to Michael Thompson of the Justice Center on the Council on State Governments. He joined us in Studio 3A in Washington. And Alan Johnson, a reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. He joined us here at WOSU in Columbus. When we comeback, the fast-breaking news of the War of 1812. Stay with us. I'm Neal Conan. It's the TALK OF THE NATION from NPR News.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. |
The information on this page is intended to help you prepare for your move to Ottawa, adjust to life in a new city, and begin your studies at Carleton. We invite you to read the CU Start guide, however, there is important information specifically for international and exchange students that is only provided here. If your questions are not answered below you might want to also check out the Ravens Resources Directory.
Please click on the checklist that applies to you, and use it as a guide to prepare yourself for studying at Carleton. Each item on the checklist is further explained on this page, below.
Be sure to also check out the International Graduate Student Handbook 2016.
Receive your student number, set up your MyCarletonOne
Your Carleton email will be your main point of contact with the ISSO and the University. Set up your MyCarletonOne and your Carleton email and make sure to check it regularly. The PIN is your date of birth (YYMMDD format). For more information and additional instructions, please visit the Information Technology Services (ITS) website. ITS can be reached by phone at + 1 (613) 520-3700 or [email protected]. With your MyCarletonOne, you will also be able to access CU Learn, which is the platform that your course information (such as the syllabus, class slides, grades, etc.) will be available on.
Exchange students: your Letters of Acceptance will only be sent to your Carleton e-mail account.
On-Campus Housing: Apply for Residence
For information on securing a room on campus in residence, residence and meal plan options, and residence application dates and deadlines, visit the Housing website. For questions regarding residence, contact [email protected]. The application for residence is done through Carleton Central and can only be completed after you receive your Carleton student number. Please note that on-campus housing is assigned by lottery and is not guaranteed.
It is suggested to arrive 1-2 weeks prior to the start of the term, should finances allow you to do so. If you will be arriving in Ottawa prior to your move-in date, you will want to make arrangements for temporary housing before arriving in the city. Ottawa Tourism is a helpful resource for finding hotels, motels, and hostels in the city.
Fall Semester (August arrival) only- For first-year undergraduates who have been offered a space in residence, and who have accepted their offer and paid all relevant deposits, may be eligible for an early move-in date in order to attend their International Student Orientation (orientation registration is required in order to qualify). After you have accepted a room assignment in residence, you will be contacted by email with further details (including cost if applicable).
Off-Campus: Search for a place to live
It is important that you secure a place to stay before you arrive in Ottawa. It is suggested to arrive 2-3 weeks prior to the start of the term, should finances allow you to do so. If you will be arriving in Ottawa prior to your move-in date, you will want to make arrangements for temporary housing before arriving in the city. Keep in mind that the first weekend in September is a holiday in Canada and hotels will fill up very quickly. Ottawa Tourism is a helpful resource for finding hotels, motels, bed & breakfasts, and hostels in the city.
If you are planning to live off-campus, there are some resources available at Carleton to assist in your search. The ISSO has an Off-Campus Housing workshop and the City of Ottawa also has a list of resources regarding tenant rights in the city. Carleton’s Housing department has prepared a helpful guide to get you started and their website offers great information on Ottawa neighbourhoods that are close to Carleton.
For additional information about living off campus, you can e-mail [email protected]. You can access rental listings on the following sites: Places4Students; Kijiji (set location to Ontario M-Z – Ottawa); Ottawa real estate portal; or Rentseeker. If you encounter conflicts during your tenancy, the office of Ombuds Services at Carleton may be able to assist you in finding a solution.
Check the important dates for the academic year
Obtain the necessary study permit/ immigration documents
In terms of Canadian visa requirements, you need to consult the Canadian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate nearest you. Your letter of acceptance from Carleton will be required for any visa application.
All students coming to Canada to study for a period of longer than one semester, require a Study Permit. Students coming to Canada to study for less than 6 months do not require a study permit but do require a Visitor Visa, (TRV), or an Electronic Travel Authorization, (eTA). Students from Visa exempt countries, must apply for an electronic Travel Authorization, (eTA), in order to enter Canada. To find out if you require a Visitor Visa or an eTA, you can use this self-assessment tool. Students applying for a Study Permit from a non-Visa exempt country, will automatically be issued a TRV in addition to their Study Permit, no additional application is required for the TRV.
While a study permit is not required if your study period is less than six months, it is a requirement if you would like to be able to work on campus, so you may choose to apply for one even if your exchange period is only for one semester.
Citizens of the United States are Visa and eTA exempt, but do require a study permit if they would like to work on campus or if they are studying for a period of longer than 6 months.
*Exchange and visiting students are not permitted to work off-campus.
Register for classes
International students: Register for your courses through Carleton Central- be sure to make note of your Timeticket with your specific registration start time. For information on the registration process visit the Registrar’s Office website or contact the Student Registration Assistance Team.
Study Abroad students: Your registration will be facilitated by the Study Abroad Coordinator and completed by the Registrar’s Office, based on the courses you requested on your application. Any requests for registration changes should be sent to the Study Abroad Coordinator. While Study Abroad students cannot add courses in Carleton Central, they are able to withdraw from courses on their own. Study Abroad students must be registered in full-time studies, (minimum 1.5 credits – maximum 2.5 credits per term). The regular course load is 2.0 credits per term.
Exchange students: The courses that you have listed on your Incoming Exchange Application form will be reviewed by Carleton’s departmental advisors. If you have selected courses from more than one discipline, a request will be sent to the designated department contact for each discipline. Once we have received permission for a full time, conflict free course load, you will receive an email regarding your course registration details. Exchange students must be registered in a minimum of three courses (1.5 credits) per term.
Please refer to the Exchange Student Application to find important instructions on choosing your courses.
The ISSO shares exciting opportunities and event information on the following social media accounts:
Feel free to follow or like us before you arrive in Canada to get an idea the programs, activities, and services that the ISSO has to offer! During the academic year, the ISSO will also publish bi-weekly newsletters and notify you via your Carleton e-mail. These newsletters contain important information and updates.
Make a Budget
Refer to our Sample Budget to get an idea of what expenses you should account for throughout the year. You may want to consider opening a Canadian bank account upon arriving to Canada; however you should, along with your parents, meet with your financial institution at home to inquire about receiving money from Canadian ATM machines and transferring funds while you are in Canada. Please visit our scholarships and money matters page to find more resources.
Book your plane ticket(s)
When you arrive you need enough money to pay for accommodation (first and last months rent), buy some set-up items and pay for health insurance, food and so forth. Generally, you should have approximately $2,000 (minimum) to help cover your initial costs.
Register for orientation
The ISSO runs various orientation programs that are mandatory for incoming international and exchange students, which focus on supporting students’ academic and social transition to life at Carleton. Registration is required- please visit the ISSO orientation website for more details. Fall Semester (August arrival) Only- Feel free to visit the Student Experience Office’s orientation page to learn more about various optional orientation programs (including a campus-wide orientation week) that you might be interested in registering for.
If you will arrive after your mandatory orientation date, you must visit the ISSO (128 University Centre) upon your arrival.
Read about UHIP: University Health Insurance Plan and Supplementary Health Insurance
The University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP) covers basic and primary health care and is mandatory for international as well as exchange and study abroad students. It will be added to your student account upon full-time course registration. Since UHIP is mandatory, we suggest that you do not purchase health insurance at home for the duration of your stay in Canada. We do recommend obtaining travel insurance to provide you with coverage during your transit. As a new student you will not be able to print your UHIP card until September 1st.
You can check to see if you can be exempt from UHIP by visiting our UHIP information page. If you are eligible, you must submit a request within 45 days of arrival in Canada.
Supplemental health and dental insurance:
- Undergraduate students: The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) provides an optional, supplementary health and dental insurance plan. This plan extends coverage beyond what UHIP offers, including prescription drugs, vaccinations, dental, and vision care.
- Graduate students: The Carleton University Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) provides a supplementary health and dental insurance plan.
Pre-order your Campus Card online
Your student identification card allows you to make purchases on campus, use campus photocopy and printer services, borrow books from the library, and more.
Students living on campus will need their Campus Card at all times to enter residence. If you have accepted a room offer from Housing, you must pre-order your Campus Card online before arriving on campus. Failure to do so will results in delays in the check-in process. Please visit the Campus Card website for more information.
Sign up for the ISSO International Student Mentoring Program
Our volunteer mentors are upper-year undergraduate and graduate students who act as resources for new students as they make the transition to Carleton and Ottawa. You can learn more about the program and register now on the Mentorship Programs page.
Pay fees and/or tuition
Please visit the Student Accounts Receivable website for important information on fee payment deadlines, payment methods, and late payment penalties. You can review your Student Accounts summary online through Carleton Central.
Exchange students do not pay tuition to Carleton, however there are several mandatory fees (for UHIP, UPASS, etc.) that will need to be paid on your student account.
For questions regarding student accounts and balances, contact [email protected].
After you arrive
Continue to the Post-Arrival Information page for steps you can take to get settled in after you arrive! |
Communication is the important thing for people to interact each other, and the communication that mostly use by people is speaking. As it is confirm by Davies (2000) who said the significant role of communication both in daily life and in learning English has led the English teachers to keep improving their techniques in teaching English. One of that ways of doing it is through applying various communicative activities in the classroom which are aimed to develop learner communicate competence. The purpose of this study was to find out what communicative activities used by the teacher in Integrated Course class at International Program of Primary Teacher Education and how do the students’ view on the communicative activities are used by the teacher to facilitate their speaking ability. The participants of the study were 24 International Program students of 2013 academic year, Satya Wacana Christian University (SWCU) Salatiga, who are taking Integrated Course. In this research, the data gathering by class observation, questionnaire and interview. The result of the study shows that the communicative activities used by the teacher are helping them to improve their speaking ability such as, add their vocabulary and get used to speak English, even though some students feel the activities make them bored.
Key words: Communicative activity, speaking, students’ view
Communication is one of the important parts in life. In business field, having good communication or having good English speaking ability is important. According to Nicole, the “eHow“ contributor in business is for every people to be able to encourage, persuade and inspire other people using good and effective communication. In this way, communication ability in business will give or make clear direction for the members, business to business relationship and general public and that will help the business become success.
Not only in the business field, communication ability also important in our daily life. We can communicate with each other by speaking one or more than one language. The importance is confirmed by Thornbury who said that speaking is the most important part of daily life. The importance is showed through the fact that the average person produces tens of thousands of words a day, although some people – like auctioneers and politicians – may produce even more than that (2005:1).
Communication is not only used in our daily life, but also for learning English. In learning English it is important for the learners to develop their communication competence, which is the ability to use the linguistic system effectively and appropriately. It is important for the learners to develop their communicative competence. By developing their communicative competence they will be able to communicate in English in their real life (Doughty and Long, 2003).
The significant role of communication both in daily life and in learning English has led the English teachers to keep improving their techniques in teaching English. One of that ways of doing it is through applying various communicative activities in the classroom which are aimed to develop learner communicate competence. For example, teacher can use role-play, discussion, and/or simulation. In role-play, the teacher usually asks the students to play or to act as a costumer and waitress/waiter, for example. The teacher will give the students a role and instruction to act as costumer and waitress/waiter. Then, in discussion the students can just sit around and talk about a topic like family, child abuse, and so on. Then they will get the result. In the discussion the teacher might give the students a questions or a case to be solved by the students. As for the simulations, it is similar with role-play, but in this activity the students can act and use property or realistic thing to act like in the real world. For example, using real boarding pass or luggage to act as passenger of an airplane. These kinds of activities according to Davies (2000), are designed to encourage and support the learners to communicate or speak in English more naturally as possible.
Since communicative activities are important in facilitating students’ speaking ability, several studies have been done and resulted in different views toward the activities that the teacher used. The study that was done by Dedi (2012), was aimed at improving students’ speaking through communicative language teaching method, at Islamic Boarding School of Bengkulu, Indonesia. In this study, the researcher wanted to know how communicative language teaching can improve students’ speaking ability. The result revealed that communicative activities made the students to be more active and had a great participation in speaking activity. Furthermore the students felt more comfortable in expressing their ideas in communicative activity since it can improve their speaking. Another related study was done by McClintock (2011), it is the study of Korean university students’ perceptions of communicative language teaching that was done to find out Korean students’ view on Communicative Language Teaching activities in English classroom. In this study, the finding showed that the majority of the South Korean university students favored group activities, outside language use, task-based learning, use of authentic materials and information gap activities. Besides that, majority of Korean students enjoy to work highly competitive when it comes to grade.
It is insightful to know the studies on communicative activities found in Bengkulu, Indonesia also in Korea, because a practical situation can be seen and compared with the theoretical framework of communicative activity. It is more useful however, to know how such issue occurs in the writer’s context. Therefore, the writer want investigate the students’ view toward communicative activities used by the teacher in Integrated Course (IC) in the International Program Primary Teacher Education (PGSD) Satya Wacana Christian University (SWCU), and this study aimed to answer the following question:
- What types of communicative activities are used by the teacher in IC class at PGSD-SWCU?
- How do the students perceive the communicative activities used by the teacher to facilitate their speaking ability?
The result of the research can provide useful information for the readers about how communicative activities work in Indonesian context, especially in teaching level by the teacher. The result of this study can also be used for teachers to create new or more interesting activity to facilitate students’ speaking English ability and to improve the students’ speaking ability.
This section discusses types of Communicative activities and Communicative language teaching as an approach from where the communicative activities are adopted.
Communicative Language Teaching
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is an approach originated issue in the late 1960s by Noam Chomsky as part of changes in the British language teaching tradition. Noam Chomsky is an American linguistic who had demonstrated that the current standard structural theories of language that capable of accounting for the fundamental characteristic of language. This approach also includes the creativity and uniqueness of individual sentences. By that, the British saw that they need to focus in language teaching on communication rather than on mastery the structures or tenses.
Based on the underlying theory, this approach is used to teach learners to use the real world language in the classroom, the real communication that can promote learning. That is why CLT help the learners to be able to speak English fluently for their daily life, and to know more about communicative language to communicate in their daily life. The strength of CLT is allowing the learners to use the target language in meaningful context and brings the real world language in the classroom. To achieve this purpose some activities are used in CLT such as role-play, dialogues, simulation, and discussion(Harmer: 2001).
Types of Communicative Activities
There are several types of communicative activities they are information gap, jigsaw, communication games, discussion, simulation, role-play, and dialogue.
Information gap (Barrier Games) activity is a kind of activity that refers to the real communication to get information by sharing their information to each other. This activity can be done in pairs or group. In this activity the students can ask questions to get information to complete the task from the teacher. For example, the teacher divide the learners in pairs. One learner gets the information about the train departure, price and etc. and the other one needs the information about the train departure, price and etc. Then, they need to give and ask for information without looking at their information cards (Richard:2006). This information gap activity is argued promote both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is to make the students become more active in to communicate with others. Thus they can build their confidence in communicate with others (Prabhu:1987). In the other hand, the disadvantage in this activity is the teacher can be passive because the teacher will not talk too much (Amaliani: 2011).
The second activity is Jigsaw. This activity can be done in group and each group will get different information needed to complete the activity. For example, the teacher plays recording about three people who has different point of view about something. Then, each group only focuses on one point of view and the learner has to take a note of that. After that, in group, they do the role-play based on the discussion that they got from the recording (Richard:2006) There are some benefits from this activity. For example, help students to build deep knowledge of the material and build conceptual understanding and also to develop their teamwork skill (County: 2003).
The third activity is Communication games. Here, the learners have to work with other learners in order to solve the games like puzzle, draw a picture, or find similarities and differences between pictures (Harmer:2001). The benefits of this activity are for the students to be more interested in learning and for the fun teaching learning process. Besides, the teacher does not need to explain too much about the material, this activity sometimes takes a long time and when the students like it they will be noisy and active. Consequently, the teacher may have enough time to explain the material (Diana: 2010).
The fourth activity is Discussion. Discussion can be held for answering some questions or to solve some problems. Learners can share ideas about a topic, or find solutions in their discussion group and get the decision or the result. Besides, learners can get involved in agree/disagree discussions. In this type of discussions, the teacher can set the group 4 or 5 learners in each group, and provide two statements like “people learn best when they read vs. people learn best when they travel”. Then each group discusses it, and presents their opinion or their result to the class. At the end, the class decides the winning group who defended the idea in the best way (Harmer:2001). There are some strength and weaknesses of discussion as argued by Creswell, J.W (1998), Kruger, R.A and M. A. Casey (2000) and Fern, E.F (2001). The strengths are increasing the students’ interaction ability toward each other and help students to involve their ability in the research process and this activity. Then, for the weaknesses, this activity can be dominated by some dominant students and that makes the output biased.
The fifth is simulations. Simulation is very similar to role-play but it is more elaborated than role-play. In simulations, students can bring items or property or documents to class to create a more realistic environment based on the topic given by the teacher. For example is a learner is acting as a singer, he/she brings a microphone to sing, dresses like a popular singer, or if the lesson is about grocery stores, the learners can bring some products (coffee, a jar or jam and so on) and they also can play money for making their purchases (Nunan:2003). The most outstanding point of this activity is for the students can practice use the real word language or the target language (Taylor and Walford: 1972). In the other hand, the shortcoming the teacher should be more careful to select the topic or theme to make a simulation and the teacher should prepare anything well to make everything going well during the simulation (Mei Lin: 1993).
The sixth activity is Role Play. Role play is one other ways of getting students to speak and it is also an excellent activity that brings the real-world in class. Besides that, role-play also help the learner to practice speaking the target language before they do in their real world. In role-play activity, the learner will get particular role in target language. For example in the play there are David and a doctor. One learner become David and the one become doctor, then the play is about David who gets stomachache and wants to visit the doctor to tell what he feels. In merit of this activity is fun and the efficient (Shermila:2013). However, this activity can bring some disadvantages, like not all the students can enjoy this activity and can make the students become show off because they get too involved and lose their objectivity (Kumar: 2011).
The next activity is dialogue. Dialogues are conversation between two participants. This activity can be done face-to-face, then engaged in by all human cultures, and provide an interactive context. Sometime the participant like talk in daily conversation and normally. For example, the learners talk about asking where some things are (the book, umbrella, or television) in pairs. There are some advantages in this activity (Brennan:2010). For example, students can speak up in pairs or group and the students can practice speaking English for a real-life purposes such as giving information, asking questions or arguing for a different solution (Weimer: 2011).
- Context of the study
The study took place at Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia, more specifically at the International Program Department of Primary Teacher Education (Pendidikan Guru Sekolah Dasar). In this department, the students are prepared to be an elementary school English teacher who can teach subjects in English. Therefore, they are equipped with English more than the other departments in this faculty not only for communication but also for teaching.
The participants involved were 24 students from the 2013 academic year who were taking Integrated Course class in the 2013 academic year.
This study used classroom observation, questionnaire and interview as the research instruments. This observation was done to find out the types of communicative activities that the teacher used in this Integrated Course class that is to answer research question number one about kinds of communicative activities used by the teacher in Integrated Course class. It was done in ten meetings and used observation sheet in every meeting.
Then after the observation, the researcher distributed the questionnaire. The questionnaire was used to answer research question number two and three about students’ favorite communicative activity in Integrated Course class and students’ view toward the communicative activities in helping them to improve their speaking ability. The questionnaire consists of two parts. Part one presenting the table illustrating some activities that the teacher used in the IC class with the name of activity. The second part consists of two points, the first point is the rank of communicative activity that the students like, which is it divided the answers into 4 scale range and the second point is about advantage and disadvantage of each communicative activity. In answering the open-ended questions, the students should refer to the table and wrote down the name of activities that help them improve their speaking ability in a ranking order. For the choice of activity, they need to give reasons on how the activity may or may not help them improving or not their speaking ability.
The last one is interview. The interview was used to follow up the participants’ answer in the questionnaire and to get more qualified answer such as the example or illustration on to what extend certain activity help or does not really help them improve to their speaking ability. As for the techniques of interviewing, it is a semi-structured interview done individually using tape recorder for about 5 minutes. The researcher involved six participants, which is a quarter of the total of the participants. Then, the researcher made list of the questions that used for the interview.
- Data Collection Procedure
The data were collected through the following procedures. Firstly, the researcher attended the Integrated Course Class and observed the teacher’s use of communicative activities and noted down the activities in the observation sheet. After doing the observation and getting the frequency of the communicative activities used, the researcher administrated the questionnaire. Before distributing the questionnaire, piloting was done to make sure that the questionnaire is understandable to do. This was done in respond to McKay’s (2006) idea on the benefit of piloting such as to explore what potential problems may exist, for example clarity of the instruction, items that might be confusing or difficult to understand. The participants for piloting were 10 PGSD students from the 2012 academic year. This number is considered enough for piloting as suggested by McKay, the minimum number of participants for piloting is a quarter of the total sample size. After the piloting process, the researcher distributed the questionnaire to the 24 students in the Integrated Course Class. The time that the researcher gave for the participants to do the questionnaire was 15 minutes. Then after doing the questionnaire, the researcher did the interview to follow up the participants’ answer in questionnaire’s answer.
- Data Analysis Procedure
After collecting data, the data were analyzed as the following procedures: first the data got from the observation were classified into types of communicative (Information Gap, Discussion, Communicative Game, and Dialogue) activities to know the frequency of teacher’s use of communicative activities. Second, based on the observation result the students were asked to rank the communicative activities that can help them improve their speaking skill in a ranking order. As the analysis of the rank-order items, the researcher divided the answers into 4 scale range. The activity that the participant put as the first rank get score 4, second rank get score 3, third rank get score 2 and the fourth rank get score 1. After that, the researcher counted the score to find the highest number or the most favorite activity by the students. Then, the participants’ answers in open-ended questions were classified in term of advantages and disadvantage each communicative activity. Third, in analyzing the interview result, the researcher transcribed the recording of the interview and analyzed the interviewee’s answer. The interviewee’s answers were analyzed to support the reason or illustration of the advantages or disadvantages of certain common activities to improve students’ speaking ability.
FINDING AND DISCUSSION
This section discusses the research finding in attempt to answer the research questions. The first one is what kind of communicative activities are used by the teacher in Integrated Course Class? And the second is how do the students view the communicative activities used by the teacher to facilitate their speaking ability?
The answer is presented by showing the frequency of the activities used by the teacher in the Integrated Course Class.
- Kind of communicative activities are used by the teacher in Integrated Course Class
Figure 1: Communicative activities used by the teacher in the Integrated Course Class to facilitate students’ speaking ability
The pie chart above illustrates the communicative activities used by the teacher in the Integrated Course Class during the observation. The finding shows that teacher mostly use dialogue (45%), then communicative game (20%), information gap (20%) and discussion (15%).
From the observation, it is found that the classroom activities are done in following ways. Dialogue was simply done in between the teacher and the students, or students with the students. Usually the teacher gave the pattern of the dialogue or the example first, and then the students practiced it in English. As for the topic, it was mainly based on the daily conversation, for example of this activity is preposition of place. The second type is discussion, in this activity the teacher asked the students to discuss about their unforgettable experience. Later on they needed to give comment or they might ask and give feedback on their friend’s story. Then the third type is information gap. This activity refers to the real life communication to get information through changing from one to some other students in a conversation. For example, asking two students to have a conversation. Student A asked about student B’s uncle and student B gave description about her/his uncle, and on the other way around. The last type is communicative game. This activity is an interesting activity. The teacher gave game to the students like word chain in which the students should add one word to the sentence pattern. For example, “I am going on a picnic, and I am going to bring Apple, Banana, Chocolate, etc…..” (From the word begins with A until Z).
- Students’ perception upon the used communicative activities
- Communicative Activities perceived as the most preferred by the students in the Integrated Course Class
This section discusses the second research question about students’ favorite communicative activities used by teacher in the Integrated Course class. Before discussing it, it is better to know what among the four common activities that they like for improving their speaking ability. The pie bellow shows the result of the activity that the students like.
Figure 2: Students perceive on communicative activities in the Integrated Course class
The pie chart above illustrates the students’ favorite communicative activity used by the teacher in the Integrated Course Class to improve their speaking ability. The finding shows that students like communicative game activity (28%), then discussion (27%), dialogue (23%) and information gap (22%).
There are some important points emerged from the two pies above. In the first pie, teacher used 45% of the class activity for dialogue, as a matter of fact there is only 23% percent of students who like it. Then, for communicative games, the teacher used it 20% put of the activity in class. In fact quite many students like it, which is 28%. Similarly, the teacher used 20% of class activity for information gap, and 22% students like it. Then, the teacher uses discussions 15% but quite many of them (27%) like it.
- The communicative activities perceived as beneficial and less beneficial by the students in the Integrated Course Class in facilitating their speaking ability
The view about communicative activity mainly discuss about the beneficial and less beneficial of communicative activities to facilitate the students speaking ability.
- Communicative Activity 1: Communicative Game
Communicative game is perceived by the students to be beneficial in three themes. The first merit is to increase the students’ understanding and vocabulary.
The game is one the important thing to know the meaning of vocabulary because knowing the meaning of vocabulary is the important thing in understanding English. (Student 7)
The game made students to be creative to find the meaning of some vocabulary and got more new vocabulary. (Student 12)
Besides that in the interview a student said “In this communicative game, the important thing is know the meaning of the words, by knowing the meaning of words we can answer the game and involve in it also adding our vocabulary” (Student 4)
From those statements it is clear that game can help the students find new words in a creative way, by so doing their vocabulary, it will increase and help them to improve their speaking ability because they know more vocabulary to say.
The second theme of communication game is fun and makes students more interested and excited in learning. In this theme some students said that:
By the game its helps to speak English because students are happy with the game and encouraged to participate it. (Student 8)
Learning in a fun way, and automatically we hooked to speak English. (Student 16)
The teaching learning process feels different and it makes us easier and excited to learn English. (Student 18)
Those statements shows games promote fun and when students learn in fun way, they experience different atmosphere of learning. Therefore they will feel excited and it helps them to learn or improve their speaking ability in an easier way.
The third beneficial for the students of communicative game is easier to understand the material, in this theme some students said that by the game they will:
Makes us understand the alphabet easily, and learn to complete the sentence into a good sentence. (Student 6)
Easier in understanding and memorizing the material that taught by the teacher. (Student 15)
Makes us trying to think and understand the material. (Student 20)
Those statements demonstrate that communicative games are effective for helping the students internalize the input in an easier way such as in memorizing and understanding the material.
As the students perceive of communication game beneficially, the students can add their vocabulary in creative way and they will improve their vocabulary. Then the students also learn in fun way and they are happy so they can easily to understand the material. By those can be seen that this activity helps the students to improve their speaking ability in fun way. So that, this advantage is appropriate with the theory revealed by Diana (2010), which is communicative game, is fun activity.
Apart from the beneficial, the students also view communicative game activity is less beneficially, although there are only a few of students said so. The less beneficial of this activity are divided into three themes. The first one is the imbalance of students’ involvement. How it happens can be seen below:
Only some students get involve actively in this game. (Student 14)
“…, the class is divided into groups, so take for example in one group there are some active students and some passive students. Then, sometimes some passive students are undercover by the active students. In this game only the active students who involve.”(Student 23)
Those two statements refer that in this communicative game activity, only some students get involve actively in this activity. The passive students were just silent and undercover by the active students. For those who undercover by the active students will have difficulty to improve their speaking ability since they just undercover by the active students.
The second weakness of is this game is time consuming.
…, but this game needs a long time to do. (Student 17)
Communicative game, in fact takes a long time to do. Like there is need long time to explain how the game is and sometimes there some students did mistakes and that makes this activity takes a long time.
The third less beneficial is the students can not get into the material deeply.
This game is doing in a big group and together, so it is not making the students do the game in the detail way, just answer it and win the game. (Student 5)
The student feels that the communicative game does not help him know the material in detailed way, because commonly, students need to complete answering the game and become the winner.
The main point in this less beneficial of this communicative activity are just some active students who involve in this activity, takes a long time (time consuming) and this activity does not make the students to know the material in a detail way. As seen in the following excerpts said by Diana (2010), that this activity takes a long time to do.
- Communicative Activity 2: Discussion
In the discussion activity there are 27% of the students-participants who chose this activity. Their views beneficially on discussion are categorized into two themes. The first theme is to know the weakness of their performance.
Students will get feedback from their friends which is can help them to know which one is right and wrong and can learn from their mistakes. (Student 1)
Students can know the weakness of their assignment and get a new knowledge. (Student 13)
Therefore those statements are strengthened by this student’s statement interview
“Take for example, we have to make a journal or story by ourselves of course we have to explore it by ourselves, but if we do it together with our friends we can share our journal or story. So that we can know the weakness of ours, then we will have a progress. And while we are sharing it, it’s also improving our speaking ability because in class we have to share it in English. But because we share with friends, so we can correct our weakness orally.”(Student 12)
From the illustration above, it is obvious that through discussion, students will feel free to interact with their friends and discuss or correcting one another performance or assignment and they will get feedback each other. When they get feedback from each other they will know their weakness and they can correct and learn to be better to improve their speaking ability.
Then the second merit is to add vocabulary. In this theme, students said that discussion:
Can add the vocabulary knowledge together with friends. (Student 3)
We can add our vocabulary and also we can share. (Student 19)
Those statements above refers that discussion adds students’ vocabulary. When the students doing the discussion in English automatically they can learn new vocabulary from friends, similarity if they did not know the meaning of some words they will ask their friend so that will add their vocabulary too.
In this students’ view beneficial of discussion, they can know their weakness in making story or journal by sharing with their friends. They also feel more comfortable if they share with their friends and while they are sharing they can add their vocabulary too. Then they will improve their speaking ability in a comfort way.
Besides students’ view toward the beneficial of discussion, students’ view toward some less beneficial of discussion is also necessary to consider, there are views that can be drawn from the participants’ answer in questionnaire. Below is the first merit, which is talked out of topic.
Some students more talk about their own personal story rather than the assignment
Not improve the speaking ability. (Student 9)
Some students are talking out of topic, not about friends’ story or journal. (Student 15)
It is not effective enough because usually some students speak in other language, not English. (Student 16)
In those experiences, the can be unhelpful because the students are talking out their personal business more than the topic in Bahasa Indonesia or Bahasa Jawa. In this way they feel discussion do not really help improve their speaking ability.
The second weakness of discussion is focus to complete the task only. The student’s statement in this theme is:
“In the discussion, we want to get A for example, and then we just focus on the target A only. In the other hand to get the target there are some process, like how we use the proper tenses, the diction, the appropriate vocabulary and so on. Then, because we just focus on that target sometimes we forgot that process and that’s why this activity is not improving speaking ability. Besides that some students are using Bahasa Indonesia because they have difficulties in expressing their idea or forgot the meaning of some words in English” (Student 2)
By that experience, student feels that in the discussion not really help him to improve his speaking ability because in discussion they just focus to complete the task. Then, to complete it sometimes they speak in Bahasa Indonesia to get easier to express their idea or because they do not know some words in English.
The third short coming is boring. Below is a statement from a student:
This activity makes me bored and this activity also takes long useless time. (Student 21)
Even there is only a student who gave statement like this, that is shows that in discussion some students can get bored since the activity takes a long time, and maybe because some of them are talking more about their personal business more than the topic.
In this part can be seen that there are some students’ perceived that discussion has less beneficial. When doing this activity some students are talked out of topic, and some students will get bored of that. In the other hand, in the discussion some students just focus on the target and they forgot with the process, and maybe they talked in other language like Javanese or Bahasa Indonesia so that this activity not improves their speaking ability.
- Communicative Activity 3: Dialogue
Students’ view on the efficacy of dialogue are categorizes into three themes. The first one is to give more practice to speak English. In this first theme, there are some students’ statements, they are:
We have to speak in English correctly and that will make us to be usual to speak in English. (Student 15)
We can practice to speak English directly. (Student 16)
…. help us to practice speaking English fluently. (Student 19)
Through dialogue, students have to speak in English and they have to pronounce the word correctly. That will make the students get used to speak in English and pronounce English words correctly. As a result, they are becoming more fluent and improved.
Then, the second strength of dialogue is adding vocabulary.
It is can add our vocabulary ….. (Student 17)
It is can add our vocabulary … (Student 19)
We can help each other by translating new words and that will add our vocabulary too. (Student 24)
Through dialogue some students experience their vocabulary get improved because they practice to pronounce again and again. In the dialogue they also can help each other to find new words.
The third theme is can add our knowledge. Some students said in this theme that:
By this activity we can add our knowledge… (Student 17)
Then, there is student’s statement of this advantage of dialogue in the interview, like this:
“The knowledge here that I mean is, take for example in this activity the example of the activity is preposition of place. So we can know more about preposition of place, how to show something like the book is under the table, we know more about in, on, at, under, etc.. Besides that, we also can learn how to pronounce words well while practicing.”(Student 17)
In this point, dialogue can help students get new knowledge of language items. For example, they get to know about how to use preposition of place from such a real life communication.
In term of the beneficial that the dialogue revealed, the result show participants can improve their speaking ability. The benefit that they get by dialogue are help them to practice speak English, add their vocabulary and help them to pronounce well.
The dialogue activity is perceived by the students to be less beneficial in three themes. The first themes is the use of dialect in speaking
We have to understand what our friends’ said because some of them still using their dialect, that somehow makes me confuse to understand it (student 21)
In this part, a student feels that some their friends’ dialect makes her difficult to understand what her friends’ said. In the other hand, during the observation class the observer also mentioned that when the students were practicing dialogue there were some local dialect did by the students, like Javanese dialogue and the partner looked like little bit confused to understand about what their friends’ said.
The second short coming is ineffective. Some students feel that dialogue is not enough effective for them to improve their speaking ability.
This activity is helping me to understand and memorize some words but it is not enough effective because it is just repeat the same pattern of dialogue. (Student 2)
That statement is strengthening by this statement in the interview:
“In the dialogue with friends, usually the lecture already gave the example or pattern and we just repeat the same questions, only the answer that a little bit different. We just change a little bit the answer and that makes students not too interested in because we just repeat the same things (the questions or the pattern).” (Student 2)
The students feel that in the dialogue they just repeat the same questions or dialogue in the same pattern, they just need to change the answer and maybe the subject of the questions little bit. By that the students think that this activity is not effective enough.
The third weakness is the simple answer.
Some friends just answer the question in a simple way, and that just use simple vocabulary. (Student 14)
This weakness is related to the second one. As stated in the second theme, the students just repeat the same pattern and change the answer a little bit. This influences the students to give simple answer and even some of students just use simple vocabulary. Therefore that will not help students to improve their speaking ability.
As the students’ perceive on dialogue activity less beneficially, can be seen that in dialogue some students still using their own dialect in speaking English and that makes other a little bit difficult to understand the meaning of what they are speaking about. Then this activity is ineffective because just repeats the same questions and the answer that the students’ give just simple. Those statements show that dialogue is not helping them to improve their speaking ability.
- Communicative Activity 4: Information Gap
The Information Gap is perceived by the students to be beneficial in three themes. The first theme is to make students to get used to speak in English.
Help us to learn speak English with other and practice our language aspect (Student 2)
In this activity we have to speak English directly for example, to give information or ask some information. So that will help us to practice our speaking in English and that will make us be usual to speak in English. (Student 7)
From those statements, students can improve their speaking ability through this activity. Since they have to speak in English directly, for example to give or ask information to other so that they will set used to speak in English. That will improve their speaking ability.
The second merit in this activity which is the same as the benefit of communication game, discussion and dialogue, that is to add students’ vocabulary.
We should be ready with our vocabulary knowledge, so that in giving information we will not find difficulties to choose the appropriate word. (Student 1)
Friends can help us to find and translate a new word. (Student 10)
Help us in knowing the vocabulary ….. (Student 12)
In the interview, student said:
“In this questionnaire the example of this activity is describing people. Then when we describe people we will imagine what that people looks like and try to use appropriate words to describe it. In describing people we will understand some new words and we can find new words that can improve our speaking ability.”(Student 2)
By doing the information gap activity students have to be ready with their vocabulary knowledge because in this activity students should give the information to their friends and to give clear explanation they have to know the meaning of words so that they can give clear explanation. Besides that, through such a pair work, students can help each other to find the meaning of some vocabulary.
The third strength is to help students give clear explanation.
It is easier to give the explanation orally …. (Student 9)
This activity helps us to give clear explanation, for example give clear direction in English. (Student 19)
In those statements students feel easier to give explanation or information to their friends. In the other hand, the language that students used in this activity is like in the daily conversation, so that they can give information or speak easier.
The students’ perceive on the beneficial of information gap here shows that this activity improves their speaking ability by helping them to practice and make them to be used to speak in English. This activity also helps them to add their vocabulary and help them to give a clear explanation to their friends in English.
After knowing the students’ perceive on the beneficial of information gap, let us examine their view on less beneficial of information gap. It is potential to make students get bored.
Get bored. (Student 21)
This statement strengthening with this interview statement:
“In this activity used to be like that, for example just describe people and giving direction only. That makes me bored, because the activity just simple and not improve our knowledge” (Student 21)
In this activity some students get bored because the activity just describes people and giving direction. They want more interesting activity and other, or maybe by those activities they already knew it.
The main point of this weakness on information gap activity is students get bored. The potential problem that makes them bored is the simple activity that the teacher gives to them, and implicitly they want more challenging activity or topic. Therefore, information gap activity is not helping them to improve their speaking ability.
CONCLUSION AND PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATION
From the research finding it is clear that the teacher used four commonly communicative activities in class; they are dialogue, communicative game, information gap and discussion. In a practice the teacher used 45% of the class activity for dialogue, as a matter of fact there is only 23% percent of students who like it. Then, for communicative games, the teacher used it 20% put of the activity in class. In fact quite many students like it, which is 28%. Similarity, the teacher used 20% of class activity for information gap, therefore 22% students like it. Then, the teacher uses discussions 15% but quite many of them (27%) like it.
From the data can be concluding that those activities that the teacher used in class are helping them in improving their speaking ability, such as to add their vocabulary and get used to speak English. In the other hand, there are some aspects that make the students feel that those activities are not helping them to improve their speaking ability, which is they get bored by some activities such as information gap and discussion activity, and there is ineffectiveness in the dialogue activity and time consuming in the communicative game activity.
In the other hand, if the teacher wants to use communicative game in class it is better because in the study found that using games the students can add their vocabulary in creative way, they learn in fun way and they will be happy, but this activity need a long time (time consuming). Then, the good thing if the teacher uses discussion in class, teacher can make the students more comfortable because they will be sharing with their friends so they can be confidence but, if the teacher does not controlled it, the students can talk out of topic. They can talk more about their personal story and they might be speaking in Bahasa Indonesia or Javanese. For dialogue activity, teacher good use it because this activity help students to practice speak English also help them to add vocabulary, but this activity is ineffective because just repeat the same pattern. The last one, the teacher good to use information gap in, because it is help students to be used to speak English but by this activity can make the students feel bored.
In this study, there are some limitations, like as the minimum of the participants, the class that to be observed, which is the class is Integrated Course class not speaking class and the aim of the teacher in the course is not focus on the speaking only, but also in reading, grammar and listening. Then, as for the further studies, it can be done to find out the teacher’s view on communicative activities in facilitate students’ speaking ability. For example, find out what activity that help students to improve their speaking ability easily and what activity that can make the students to be more enjoy and fun in learning speaking English. It can be used at least in the speaking course class.
I would express my thankfulness to those who have become part of finishing my study and my thesis. Firstly, I want to thank to Heavenly Father for always blessing and giving me strength to finish my study. My appreciation also to my supervisor Ibu Debora Tri Ragawanti, M.A-ELT who has kindly given me guidance to do my thesis, and also my examiner, Ibu Athriana Santye Pattiwael, M.Hum. who has also spared her precious time to read and examine my thesis. Then thanks to my student advisor Bapak Gusti Astika and other English Department lectures who have been kindly sharing their knowledge during my study in this faculty. Special thanks to my family, my parents Andreas Suwardi, S.Pd. and Andayani Margareta, S.Pd. who always supporting and giving me advices also inspiring me, my brother Cahyo who has helped me a lot to finish my study, my sister Mba Danti who had help me to get the data for my thesis. Thanks to International Program of Primary Teacher Education 2013 academic year and Ms. Janelle, who has kindly helping me to get the data for my thesis. Then, big thanks to my partner in crime, Ami who has to be together during our study. Then my friends Dicta, Bunga and Ayu, and Tenners Futsal (Ami, Ima, Lui, So’e, Andrew and Godlass) who has spent time to have fun together, supporting each other and being part of my family. Then, special thank for my beloved, Wahyu Bangkit for always supporting me during my study and finishing my thesis. Special regards also for all Tenners (2010) family without exceptance. Thank You.
Brigitta Putri Atika Tyagita
Papa, Nicole. (2013). How Oral Communication Can be Used in Business.Retrieved January 11th 2014, from: http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_6682428_oral-communication-can-used-business.html
TESOL Quarterly 32 (4), 677-703. Doughty and Long (2003). Principles of Communicative Language Teaching and Task-Based Instruction. Retrieved November 9th, 2013, from: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/samplechapter/0131579061.pdf
McClintock, Kathryn. (2011). Korean University Students’ Perceptions of Communicative Language Teaching.
Davies, Paul and Pearse, Eric.(2000).Success in English Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Thornbury, Scott. (2005).How to Teach Speaking.England: Pearson Education Limited
Communicative Activities.Sidney Region ESL Resoures. [adapted from the NSW DET ESL orientation Handbook Multicultural Program Unit.Activities created by K-6 multicultural consultant Sidney Region]. Retrieved November 8th, 2013 from: http://www.sydneyr.det.nsw.edu.au/Equity/documents/ESLEd/ExplainingCommunicativeActivities.pdf
Richard. Jack C. (2006).Communicative Language Today.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Efrizal, Dedi. (2012). Improving Students’ Speaking through Communicative Language Teaching Method at Mts Ja-alhaq, Sentot Ali Basa Islamic Boarding School of Bengkulu, Indonesia. Retrieved November 8th, 2013 from: http://www.ijhssnet.com/journals/Vol_2_No_20_Special_Issue_October_2012/12.pdf
Harmer, Jeremy. (2001).The Practice of English Language Teaching (3rd ed.). England: www.longman.com
Harmer, Jeremy. (2001).The Practice of English Language Teaching (4th ed.). England: www.longman.com
Nunan, David (Ed.) (2003).Practical English Language Teaching (1st ed.). Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education.
Brennan, Susan E. (2010).Conversation and Dialogue. To appear in H. Pashler (Ed.), Ensiclopedia of the Mind.Stony Brook University-SAGE Publications.
Shermila, Joycilin A. (2013). Associate Professor of English Annammal College of Education for Women Thoothukudi. Teaching to Speak-Strategies to Enhance The Spoken English of Prospective Teacher.(Vols.3). Golden Research Thought.
Teaching Learning Strategies (pp. 131-151).FLL Handbook [Compiled by Nugrahenny T.Zacharias, MA-ELT]. Salatiga: English Department FLL SWCU
Richard A. Krueger & Mary Anne Casey (2000).Focus Groups. A Practical Guide for Applied Research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks
McKay, S. L. (2006). Researching Second Language Classroom. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Fern, Edward F. (2001).Advanced Focus Group Research Paperback (1st ed.). London: Sage
Taylor, J. and Walford, R. (1972). Learning and the Simulation Game. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Kumar, Mohan. (2011). How to use Role-Play in Teaching and Training. Retrieved November 8th, 2013 from: http://docmo.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-use-Role-Play-in-Teaching-and-Training
Broward County Public Schools, Jigsaw. Retrieved November 10, 2013 from: http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/ci/strategies_and_such/strategies/jigsaw.html
Almaliani, Erma (2011). By Using Information-Gap Activity (A Classroom Action Research At The Second Grade SMP IT Annajiah Cibinong). Retrieved November 10, 2013 from: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CFgQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Frepository.uinjkt.ac.id%2Fdspace%2Fbitstream%2F123456789%2F2680%2F1%2FERMA%2520AMALIANIFITK.pdf&ei=bdQbUjpBYetrAeF34DQBg&usg=AFQjCNEuFSXvRJUQAPENA6mzZv6-qCa6zA&sig2=39oAnjAdNZhFVsCLWrg-Ow&bvm=bv.62578216,d.bmk
Diana, Nova P.R. (2010). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Games in Teaching Vocabulary to the Third Graders of Top School Elementary School. Retrieved November 12, 2013 from: http://eprints.uns.ac.id/336/1/166750209201011411.pdf
Creswell, J.W. (1998). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Traditions. London: Sage
Prabhu, N. S. (1987). Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford University Press.
Weimer, Maryellen. (2011). Ten Benefits of Getting Students to Participate in Classroom Discussion. Retrieved January 14th, 2014, from: http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/10-benefits-of-getting-students-to-participate-in-classroom-discussions/
Lin, Toeh Mei (1993). Simulation in Language Teaching-Its Advantages and Limitation in an ESP Context. Retrieved January 14th, 2014, from : http://www.melta.org.my/ET/1993/main8.html
Top of Form
|Kepada para peserta,
Saya adalah mahasiswa Fakultas Bahasa dan Sastra UKSW yang sedang melakukan penelitian untuk skripsi saya mengenai kegiatan komunikatif yang diterapkan oleh dosen untuk meningkatkan kemampuan berbicara bahasa Inggris. Tujuan dari kuisioner ini untuk mengetahui pendapat mahasiswa/i terhadap kegiatan komunikatif yang dilakukan oleh dosen. Jawaban dalam kuisioner ini tidak akan mempengaruhi nilai Anda, trimakasih.
- Kegiatan berikut diterapkan oleh dosen selama satu semester di kelas Integrated Course, berikut beberapa kegiatan dari dosen yang diperoleh selama observasi:
||Diskusi kerangka cerita
||Siswa menceritakan kepada temannya, mengenai kerangka cerita dalam karangan siswa
||Siswa menceritakan isi cerita mereka kepada teman sebelahnya, kemudian mendapatkan masukan baik pertanyaan maupun saran
||Siswa melakukan percakapan tentang letak beberapa hal yang ada pada gambar menggunakan preposisi tempat “in, on, next to..”
||Para siswa harus menyelesaikan kalimat berdasarkan alphabet dalam pola “I’m going on a picnic and I’m going to bring A (benda/binatang)…sampai Z”
|Menebak apa yang dilakukan teman
||Beberapa siswa maju didepan kelas satu per satu, dan dosen sudah menyiapkan beberapa kertas yang telah tertulis beberapa kegiatan / aktivitas. Kemudian siswa yang lain harus menebak apa yang teman mereka lakukan dengan menanyakan beberapa pertanyaan.
||Memberikan petunjuk arah
||Siswa melakukan percakapan dengan temannya tentang meminta dan memberikan petunjuk arah
||Siswa melakukan percakapan dengan temannya, salah satu bertanya menganai seseorang dan kemudian temannya menggambarkan/mendiskripsikan seseorang tersebut.
- Dari keempat jenis kegiatan tersebut (diskusi, dialog, permainan komunikatif, dan informasi gap), tolong urutkan kegiatan yang paling membantu Anda dalam meningkatkan kemampuan berbicara bahasa Inggris Anda sampai yang menurut Anda kurang membantu. Tolong berikan alasan kenapa kegiatan tersebut dapat membantu dan atau kurang membantu Anda dalam meningkatkan kemampuan berbicara Bahasa Inggris Anda.
No. Jenis kegiatan
- Informasi Demografi
Jenis kelamin : Pria / Wanita (lingkari salah satu)
- Consent Form
Jika ada ketidak jelasan mengenai jawaban diatas, dapatkah saya menghubungi Anda untuk klarifikasi/wawancara?
Ya / Tidak (Lingkari salah satu)
Jika Anda memilih “YA”, silahkan isi data berikut :
Nomor telepon :
Terima kasih J |
Use of User Information or Material
Dayjob Ltd authorizes you to view and download a single copy of the user information or material on diversityjobbaord.com solely for your personal, non-commercial use. The contents of this Web Site, such as text, graphics, images, logos, button icons, software and other information or material is the property of Dayjob Ltd or its or clients. Unauthorized use of the Material may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws. The use of the Material on any other web site or in a networked computer environment for any purpose is prohibited. You shall not copy or adapt the HTML code that Dayjob Ltd creates to generate its pages. It is also protected by Dayjob Ltd's copyright.
The diversityjobboard.com website may be used only for lawful purposes by individuals seeking employment and career information and employers seeking employees or recruiters seeking employees on behalf of a specific employer. Employers should use the information on this site only in connection with their own recruitment-related activities The website may not be used by employers or recruiters as a means to source employees or potential employees for employment opportunities not advertised specifically on diversityjobbaord.com. Dayjob Ltd specifically prohibits any use of the website, and all users agree not to use the website, for: posting any incomplete, false or inaccurate biographical information or information which is not your own accurate CV. Recruiters and employers should not post job advertisements which discriminate on grounds of sex, race or disability as they are illegal and may result in proceedings being taken against the recruiter / employer. Employers and recruiters must always comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and all subsequent legislation.
Users may not use the Web Site in order to transmit, distribute, store or destroy material in violation of any applicable law or regulation, in a manner that will infringe the copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property rights of others or violate the privacy, publicity or other personal rights of others, or that is defamatory, obscene, threatening, abusive or hateful. Users are prohibited from: accessing data not intended for such user or logging into a server or account which the user is not authorized to access, deleting or revising any material posted by any other person or entity, using any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of this Web Site or any activity being conducted on this site if you have a password allowing access to a non-public area of this website, disclosing to or sharing your password with any third parties or using your password for any unauthorized purpose <USERS< SPAN>shall be responsible for all actions taken under that password and shall only access the website using your own password>.
Employers and Recruiters using this website must ensure that they do not do anything which may bring diversityjobbaord.com into disrepute, and agree to pay the relevant fees quoted on the website or advised by Dayjob Ltd plus VAT at the prevailing rate. If electing to pay by invoice the user agrees to pay each invoice within 28 days of the date of invoice. Dayjob Ltd reserves the right to charge interest at the rate of 4% above the base rate of HSBC Bank in force from time to time from 28 days after the date of invoice <L< SPAN>ate payment will entitle us to suspend provision of services>. Job vacancies posted by employers and recruiters on diversityjobbaord.com may also occasionally appear on third party recruitment web sites pursuant to agreements between diversityjobbaord.com and the third party recruitment web sites.
Dayjob Ltd will not disclose your name, address, e-mail address or telephone number without your prior consent on the website, except to the extent necessary or appropriate to comply with applicable laws or in legal proceedings where such information is relevant. diversityjobbaord.com will fully co-operate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requiring us to disclose the identity or locate anyone posting any material on this site. As a user, you are responsible for your own communications and are responsible for the consequences of their posting. You must not and by using this website you agree not to do the following things: post material that is copyrighted, unless you are the copyright owner or have the permission of the copyright owner to post it post material that reveals trade secrets, unless you own them or have the permission of the owner post material that infringes on any other intellectual property rights of others or on the privacy or publicity rights of others post material that is obscene, defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, or embarrassing to another user or any other person or entity post a sexually-explicit image or statement post advertisements or solicitations of business.
DayJob Ltd does not represent or guarantee the truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of communications posted by users or endorse any opinions expressed by users. You acknowledge that any reliance on material posted by other users on diversityjobbaord.com will be at your own risk.
Dayjob Ltd has no liability or responsibility to users for performance or non-performance of such activities. By submitting content to any public or non-public area of the Web Site you permit any subscriber to access, display, view, store and reproduce such content for personal use. Subject to the foregoing, the owner of such content placed on the Web Site retains any and all rights that may exist in such content.
Dayjob Ltd wants you to be completely satisfied with our service, and we will always do what we can to resolve any issues our customers having relating to refunds. Our system will only charge your credit card for the product or service you have requested. If you have difficulties with our system then please contact our customer support team within 7 days. You can reach them at [email protected] or ring them on 0121 638 0026.
The customer may terminate the provision of services from Dayjob Ltd under any order form by no less than 30 days notice to expire at the end of a contract month. Termination by the customer before the end of the contract term may, at our discretion, result in loss of discounts agreed for the entire contract term.
Dayjob Ltd may terminate the provision of our services under the following circumstances:
1. The customer is in material breach of these terms and conditions and has not remedied such breach within 14 days of notice specifying the breach and requiring that it be remedied.
2. The customer becomes insolvent, ceases to trade or goes into liquidation.
3. All the services which diversityjobbaord.com provides to candidates are entirely gratuitous and diversityjobbaord.com is not obliged to maintain or continue any services offered to candidates on this Website. diversityjobbaord.com will also reserve the right to suspend or cancel the provision of any service to any particular user or candidate for any reason whatsoever.
The Liabilities of Dayjob Ltd
diversityjobbaord.com is the web presence of Dayjob Ltd and acts as a venue for employers and recruiters to post job opportunities and candidates to post CV's and does not screen or censor the listings offered. DayJob Ltd is not involved in the actual transaction between employers and candidates. As a result, DayJob Ltd has no control over the quality, safety or legality of the jobs or CV's posted, the truth or accuracy of the listings, the ability of employers to offer job opportunities to candidates or the ability of candidates to fill job openings.
You assume all risks associated with dealing with other users with whom you come in contact through diversityjobbaord.com. diversityjobbaord.com will accept no responsibility or liability for the contents of candidate CVs or job postings and expects both candidates and employers to carry out their own checks and procedures as are necessary in the circumstances. In the event that you have a dispute with one or more users, you release Dayjob Ltd from claims, demands and damages of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes.
Dayjob Ltd makes no representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the website or the Material. The use of the website and the Material is at your own risk. You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for the form, content and accuracy of any CV or material contained therein placed by you on the website. Employers are solely responsible for their postings on the website. The Material may contain inaccuracies or typographical errors.
Dayjob Ltd DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEB SITE WILL OPERATE ERROR-FREE OR THAT THE WEB SITE AND ITS SERVER ARE FREE OF COMPUTER VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL MECHANISMS. IF YOUR USE OF THE WEB SITE OR THE MATERIAL RESULTS IN THE NEED FOR SERVICING OR REPLACING EQUIPMENT OR DATA, Dayjob Ltd IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE COSTS. THE WEB SITE AND MATERIAL ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. DayJob Ltd, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. Dayjob Ltd MAKES NO WARRANTIES ABOUT THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS, OR TIMELINESS OF THE MATERIAL, SERVICES, SOFTWARE, TEXT, GRAPHICS, AND LINKS.
Disclaimer of Consequential Damages
IN NO EVENT SHALL Dayjob Ltd, ITS SUPPLIERS, OR ANY THIRD PARTIES MENTIONED ON THE WEB SITE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEB SITE AND THE MATERIAL, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT Dayjob Ltd IS ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. You acknowledge that diversityjobbaord.com’s systems and services may from time to time be inoperative in full or in part as a consequence of but not limited to, software or hardware upgrades, maintenance, or other facts beyond the control of Dayjob Ltd. By using this website you acknowledge that Dayjob Ltd will not be held responsible or liable for any inability or failure to provide you with continuous, error free, uninterrupted services under these circumstances or any other circumstances.
Dayjob Ltd does not assume and will accept no responsibility or liability for the use by any agency, employer or other third party of any CV or data about you forwarded to any agency, employer or to any third party which comes to your attention directly or indirectly through your use of the diversityjobbaord.com website.
Links to Other Sites
The Web Site contains links to third party web sites. These links are provided as a service and not as an endorsement by Dayjob Ltd of the contents on such third-party websites. Dayjob Ltd is not responsible for the content of linked third-party sites and does not make any representations regarding the content or accuracy of materials on such third party websites. If you decide to access linked third party websites, you do so at your own risk. You should not link to diversityjobbaord.com unless you have the permission of Dayjob Ltd. If you have been granted permission to link to diversityjobbaord.com then you must not misrepresent your relationship with diversityjobbaord.com, you should also ensure that you do not in any way imply that diversityjobbaord.com is endorsing your products or services.
Our policy on Cookies |
I'm not sure there are words to accurately describe what just happened. The best I can say is that Mr. Dante, sir, your very vivid portrayal of hell's seven layers was incomplete. There is an eighth layer of hell and it's name is IL-2. The steady, painful but manageable, descent of doses 1 through 9 ended in a complete skull-shattering breakage of self at dose 10. On the way down, I knew it was uncomfortable, I was throwing up, I had massive chills and shakes, had unholy amounts of diarrhea, and gained over 20 pound of water weight in 2 days (the best way to describe that was that it looked like I was wearing fat makeup for a movie - I was unrecognizable). But still the same, I had the audacity to ask Jeff how anyone would be able to say they wanted to stop the dosing, knowing that the dosing might save your life. And then I hit dose 10. It didn't matter if I had wanted to continue, the doctors wouldn't have let me. They were on the fence about the tenth dose and afterwards there was no question about continuing. The next few days (Sunday through this morning) are only flashes. I cannot piece together a timeline and in some cases I'm not sure what is real and what were hallucinations. I'll start with the facts. After the tenth dose, it felt like I fell to the bottom of a dark, lonely pit and smashed into 1,000 tiny pieces. The worst was the headache. It felt like my skull was splitting open every time I opened my eyes. I was only able to open my eyes a few times a day, while I was fading back and forth from wake to sleep. I also had a terrible soar throat, which made drinking next to impossible. When my eyes were open, I was hallucinating. First I saw hundreds of little brown insects flying around my room and crawling all over the curtains. I also saw hoofed, antlered animals walking back and forth on the other side of my curtain. I saw tree branches growing out of everyones' heads, I saw words and math equations scribbled all over the walls, I saw flashes of lightening going off continually. When my eyes were closed, I didn't know where I was or who was in my room with me. I saw full episodes of TV shows that have never existed. I thought we were at the ballet, in a dark auditorium filled with people. I heard voices talking all the time and I have no idea which were real and which were not. Physically, I couldn't lift or move my head without excruciating pain. The slightest movement made me nauseous. I knowingly soiled myself at least six times (to the point where the diarrhea was being treated with opium). At one point, I was laying on the floor with my head in a bucket. There are itchy sores all over my body and my face looks (and feels) like someone ran a cheese grater over it. I couldn't stand any amount of light or noise. My poor sweet Jeff, sat by my side, in the dark, for 15 hours a day. My cousin, Jason, came to visit Monday and all I remember is that he hugged me when he came and when he left. I could hardly talk, I couldn't look at or read anything, and even hearing things made me feel sick. I thought I was broken. This morning, when I opened my eyes, the only reason I didn't let out a scream of utter pain and terror from the torture inside my head was because I was physically unable to make sound. The nurse who was taking my vitals looked at me and said, "okay that is enough, you have had enough." She then called the Fellow on call (Fellow as in research Fellow - between resident and attending physician - not as in "for she's a jolly good one") and got me some headache-curing ambrosia. Since taking that (and blowing out 10 tissues full of blood), I have been feeling much better and am crawling my way back up to the top of this pit, with the terrifying knowledge that I am going to have to do this all over again in about a week.
The way that I felt was indescribably terrible, but it was not dangerous. The doctors and nurses were monitoring me constantly to ensure that my blood levels, organ functions, and mental capacity were sound. They came every 4 hours to take my vital signs, and came almost as often to ask me math equations and to spell words backwards to check for mental capacity. During the days that were mainly flashes, I have distinct memories of Dr. Hong (another Fellow) coming in to ask me to count down by sevens from 100 and to spell "world" and "nurse" backwards). Dr. Hong even called Jeff at home after the 9th dose (which was around 11:30pm on Saturday night) to tell him that they would probably go ahead with the 10th dose Sunday morning, but that would be it. They took a very large amounts of blood (sometimes up to 15 vials at once) to use for my treatment and for research purposes. I had continual IV drips of anti-nausea, anti-diarrhea, saline, and other fluids. The care was phenomenal, from the doctors, but especially from the nurses who I saw much more often. They knew exactly the right tone of voice, when not to turn on a light, how to take blood and change IV medications without waking me up, when to come in just to say hello and ask how I was feeling. Even nurses who weren't assigned to me at the moment would come in to say hello - like Christine, the woman with the baby one week older than Kai. So far, the care I have received here has made me feel like I am nestled safely in a healing hug.
Just so I am not too biased, I will point out three things that seemed to go "wrong." First, we were told that all of the "feel better" IV drugs would stay for 24 hours after the last dose of IL-2. That didn't happen, they were removed almost immediately. Second, one of the weekend nights I ran out of toilet paper and after a 2-hour search, the nurse came back with a box of tissues. Now I appreciate the improvisation, and really there's not that much difference between the two, but if your diarrhea is bad enough to be treated by opium, a box of tissues is not going to do it. It seems strange how difficult it is for the nurses to find everyday housekeeping items, such as toilet paper, after hours. Thirdly, during one of the hazy days an X-Ray was ordered for me accidentally, which may not seem like a big deal, but meant numerous people talking loudly in my room, with all of the lights on, all moving me this way and that to get me on the X-Ray board. After they had finished, someone yelled down the hall, "Whoops, wrong patient." That was the incident that led to me laying on the floor with my head in a bucket after soiling the bed. Things happen, I am not complaining, I am just trying to give an accurate description of my experience. And as horrible as this treatment was, I would not undo it, because it could be my cure.
My sweet, sweet Jeff has been a godsend. Not only has he been caring for me 15 hours a day, he has also been dealing with a broken heater and dishwasher at the house, coordinating everything with the baby, and even doing work from home. His constant love and support have been the lifesaver that has gently pulled me out of this seemingly bottomless pit to lay me lovingly on the hope-filled ground above. In all the years that we will have together, in all of the times I will be there for you, for this I can never repay you. You are my heart, you are my soul, my are my every breath.
Today is Wednesday. I came here this past Thursday. That means I have not seen my precious baby Kai in six days. We thought about bringing him today, but I was not yet well enough. Maybe tomorrow. I know he is in good hands - Jeff's parents are lovingly caring for him night and day. But I am so afraid that he has forgotten me. A week is a long time to such a little baby. What if he doesn't know who I am when I get home, or worse, what if he doesn't care. It feels like we have been apart for months. The longing I feel for him is tangibly painful. I am nervous and excited to see him both at once. Excited, because he is my angel and I cannot wait to hold him. Nervous because I am so scared that I won't see any recognition in his eyes when he looks at me. I can only hope that the bond we have is strong enough to carry us through this week together and that, on some level, he holds me somewhere in his heart just like I do him.
So I'm on the ascent back up now. I will probably be able to go home Friday. I cannot wait to sleep in my own bed, shower in my own shower, and hug my baby with all my might. I have to come back the 21st to do this all again. I honestly do not know how I am going to find the strength to do this again, knowing what I know now. Of course I will do it - it could cure me - I will do anything to make sure my baby has a mother. But I will certainly enter the hospital with a heavier heart for round two. This week I will work on focusing on the curing aspects of this treatment. I will be thankful everyday that I have the opportunity to receive this care. I will take the nurses' healing hug with me so I can return in it ready to fight again. I will hold my baby, I will kiss my husband, I will visit with my family, I will talk to my friends, and I will eat cookies. And then I will come back and kick some IL-2 ass all over again.
Today I am thankful for the comfortable tempurpedic hospital beds; the caring doctors and nurses at NCI; my mother- and father-in-law for taking care of Kai; our wonderful family and friends; my absolutely perfect husband to whom I am forever indebted; and my sweet precious baby Kai. Please know that I will be home soon. Please know that every ounce of my being longs to be with you. Please know that our time apart now means so much more time together later. And please know how lucky I feel to get to be your mother. |
Politics & Law
[MANUSCRIPT] A List of 18 Male Convicts (Boys) discharged from the Bellerophon Hulk at Sheerness for New South Wales by the Ship Lady East this 21st October 1824.
[Drop title]. Folio, pp, manuscript in ink on laid paper watermarked Charles Wise 1822 with Britannia surmounted by crown; signed at the foot of the third page by the Bellerophon‘s Commander, Samuel Owen; the list of prisoner profiles, set out in tabular form, contains Commander Owen’s remarks on the conduct and demeanour of each of …
OLDAY, John (1905-1977)
Outsider John Olday exhibits 40 paintings, 70 drawings at the Royal Admiral Hotel [Adelaide], 10th March – 21st March, 1964.
[Adelaide? Sydney? : The artist, 1964]. A series of photographic postcards, in uniform 140 x 87 mm format, printed on high quality Agfa-Gevaert matte stock, with reproductions of Olday’s works, all captioned and initialled by the artist in pen; the postcards are loose but accompanied by what are presumably their original grey paper “wrappers”, each 140 …
[BROADSIDE] Van Diemans Land [i.e. Van Diemen’s Land] / Lillies in a Valley Grew / Lillies and Roses
Birmingham : Jackson & Son, Printers, 69, Digbeth (From 21, Moor Street.), [circa 1830]. Broadside, 230 x 155 mm, laid down on fine linen; three ballads printed in two columns, with Van Diemans Land occupying the entire left column; some mild creasing, mostly confined to the right edge, and a few tiny areas of loss; …
CHAMPION, Joseph; BICKHAM, George
George Bickham : London, 1740 or 1741. Copperplate engraved leaf with a specimen of ‘The Secretary, or Law Running Hand’, from The Universal Penman, 415 x 255 mm (sheet), 325 x 200 mm (plate); numeral “3” in plate at top right; the example is engraved at the foot ‘J[oseph]. Champion / Carter Lane, near Doctor’s …
ROSE STEREOGRAPH CO.
Great suffragette demonstration in London : The Empire Car (different colonies) passing through Trafalgar Square.
Melbourne ; Sydney ; Wellington ; London : The Rose Stereograph Co., . Stereoscopic gelatin silver print photograph (mount 95 x 175 mm), from the series Great suffragette demonstration in London, serial no. 11,951, printed title beneath the images The Empire Car (different colonies) passing through Trafalgar Square, recto of mount imprinted The Rose Stereographs …
[TICHBORNE CASE] The great fight for £40,000 a year, between “Little Touchbone” the “Hampshire Infant” and Stoney-Hurst, the great Australian slogger.
[Title from artist’s caption]. London : Albert Mendelssohn, . Albumen print photograph of a satirical cartoon (artist’s monogram W.L. in the image), carte de visite format, 63 x 103 mm (mount), artist’s manuscript caption across the bottom margin of the image, mount with blind stamp of ‘Albert Mendelssohn, London’; recto and verso printed ‘Copyright Registered’; in fine …
Britain’s Austral Empire. Portraits of the statesmen and officials concerned in the work of establishing the Commonwealth of Australia
The portraits from life, drawn by Percy F. S. Spence. The letterpress by G. Firth Scott. London : Sampson Low, Marston and Company, 1901. Folio, gilt-decorated cloth portfolio (stained, the ties perished) containing one volume of letterpress text (pp. 54, top edge unopened), one volume of engraved plates with title guards of dignitaries associated with …
ALEX F. RIDGWAY & SONS
[NEW ZEALAND] Land Regulations of the Province of Auckland. Adopted by the Provincial Council on the 5th day of August, 1859, and issued by the Governor on the 26th day of August, 1859.
London : Rees & Collin, 1866. Disbound octavo, 16 pp; scattered foxing. “Printed for Alex F. Ridgway & Sons, 2, Waterloo Place, General Agents to the Provincial Government of Auckland”. Unecorded in Australian collections.
Official programme of ceremonial and entertainments commemorative of the Inauguration of the Australian Commonwealth at Sydney. January 1st, 1901.
Under the direction of the Government of New South Wales. Sydney : designed and lithographed by John Sands, 26th December, 1900. Octavo, gilt-illustrated printed wrappers (lower wrapper stained and with tape repairs), pp. 44, photographic illustrations. Scarce Federation publication.
Melbourne : Sun Books, 1971. Oblong octavo, illustrated wrappers (small inscription), pp. 72, illustrated, previous owner’s name to title page, some neat underlining. A scarce publication documenting the origins of ‘ping-pong diplomacy’ following the Cultural Revolution, from the perspective of an Australian table tennis team prior to Chinese sporting engagement with the United States. Exhibited …
ROSS, James (1786-1838)
Hobart : James Ross, Government Printer, 1828. A complete run of 52 issues for the year 1828: vol. XIII, no. 608, January 5, 1828 – vol. XIII, no. 659, December 27, 1828. Large quarto, bound in contemporary blue-papered boards with manuscript dates to front and spine; most issues pp; some issues with supplement (Government …
ROSS, James (1786-1838)
Hobart : James Ross, Government Printer, 1829. A complete run of 50 issues for the year 1829: vol. XIV, no. 660, January 3, 1829 – vol. XIV, no. 709, December 26, 1829. Large quarto, bound in contemporary blue-papered boards with manuscript dates to front and spine; most issues pp; some issues with supplement (Government …
ROSS, James (1786-1838)
Hobart : James Ross and George Howe, Government Printers, 1834. A run of 49 issues for 1834: vol. XIX, no. 919, January 10, 1834 – vol. XIX, no. 968, December 18, 1834 (missing nos. 918; 928; 969). Quarto, all issues stitch bound, various paginations; a number of issues with supplements (Government acts); some issues with …
ROSS, James (1786-1838)
Hobart : James Ross and George Howe, Government Printers, 1835. A complete run of 52 issues for 1835: vol. XX, no. 970, January 1, 1835 – vol. XIX, no. 1021, December 25, 1835. Quarto, all issues stitch bound, various paginations; a number of issues with supplements (Government acts); some issues with subscriber's name [H.B. Fortesse] …
ROSS, James (1786-1838)
Hobart : James Ross and George Howe, Government Printers, 1837. A virtually complete run of 51 issues for 1837: vol. XXII, no. 1075, January 6, 1837 – vol. XXII, no. 1126, December 29, 1837 (missing no. 1078; but including the “Extraordinary issue” of July 11 1837). Quarto, all issues stitch bound, various paginations; a number …
Great Britain. Oversea Settlement Dept.
Series: E.S.A. 26. [London : Oversea Settlement Dept.], 1925. Octavo, 8 pp stapled pamphlet. Designed to encourage the migration of women from Great Britain to Australia, this brochure contains information on job opportunities for women in Australia – sadly only household work, employment on farms and stations and in country towns are mentioned; under the …
Artist Sigismondo Zacutti’s ticket for the inauguration ceremony of Governor Sir George Clarke, Exhibition Building, Melbourne, 10 December 1901.
[Melbourne : Govt. Printer?, 1901]. Lithographed card, 95 x 117 mm, recto endorsed with name of ticket holder in manuscript ‘Mr. S. Zacutti’; verso with plan of seating for the Exhibition Building; some edge wear and toning, but overall in good condition. The ticket holder was none other than Signor Sigismondo Zacutti, an esteemed Italian artist from Venice who had settled in Melbourne in 1889, …
HOWARD, Paul; BARWICK, Rusty; BAKER, Bryan; SNUCKINS, S.P.; RUSSELL-CLARKE, Peter; TANDBERG, RON
SEVEN ISSUES OF TOM THUMB, THE MELBOURNE SATIRICAL MEN’S MAGAZINE OF THE MID-SIXTIES. Glen Iris, Victoria : Baker Publishing Co., issues no. 2 (October 1965); 4 (December-January 1966); 5 (February 1966); 7 (April 1966); 10 (July 1966); 11 (August 1966); 16 (January 1967). Quarto, pictorial wrappers printed in red and black on newspaper, staple bound, 24 …
[MANUSCRIPT] A Journal or Narrative of the Proceedings betweene the Commissioners appointed by His Majestie, and the Commissioners Deputed by the States Generall, pursuant to the Treaty of Peace made at Westminster 9/19 Ffebruary 1673/4 Concerning a Treaty Marine to be observed throughout all the World. And also an Article particularly relateing to the English and Dutch East India Companyes Concluded in the yeare 1674.
[London, 1674-75]. Folio, old mottled calf gilt, spine with raised bands, gilt ornament, red leather title labels lettered in gilt, all edges gilt; manuscript written in English, Latin, Dutch and French in several contemporary secretarial hands; ff 269; clean and fresh throughout. An important contemporary manuscript record of the Mixed Commission established to draw up a Treaty Marine and …
[Melbourne : Govt. Printer?, 1901]. Lithographed card, 95 x 117 mm, printed recto only, aqua design featuring the Australian coat of arms, with lettering in black, headed ‘Commonwealth Celebrations, Victoria’; stamped in red ‘PRESS’; lightly foxed, but overall in good condition. A scarce ephemeral item from one of the most major of the many events staged around …
SANGER, William W.
New York : The Medical Publishing Company, 1921. Octavo, publisher’s blind-blocked blue buckram, spine lettered in gilt (softened at head and tail), front pastedown with ex libris of American mystic, occultist, hypnotist, mind reader and clairvoyant Alexander McIvor Tyndall, pp 709, ; endpapers with offsetting, a near fine copy. A revised and enlarged edition of this landmark work, …
NYE, Gideon (1812 - 1888)
Being an inquiry into the causes of the rupture of the English and French treaties of Tien-Tsin: and comprising a general review of our relations with China : with notices of Japan, Siam and Cochin-China. Supplemental of the “Rationale of the China Question” and the “Memorable Year”. Printed, not published, at Macao, 1860. Quarto, original …
UNITED STATES LEGATION TO CHINA
Treaties between the United States of America and China, Japan, Lewchew and Siam, Acts of Congress and the Attorney-General’s opinion : with the decrees and regulations issued for the guidance of U.S. Consular Courts in China.
Hongkong : [United States Legation to China], 1862. Octavo, contemporary half calf over pebbled cloth boards, spine lettered in gilt (repaired), front pastedown with early ownership inscription in pencil of ‘P.B. Bradford, Shanghai’; pp 190; text in English and Chinese; endpapers with light offsetting and foxing, a few pencilled marginalia; a good copy.
SCHLEGEL, Gustave (1840 - 1903)
Thian Ti Hwui. The Hung-League, or, Heaven-Earth-League. A secret society with the Chinese in China and India.
Batavia [Jakarta] : Lange & Co., 1866. Quarto, half crushed morocco over marbled papered boards, spine lettered in gilt, bookplate to front pastedown for John A. Cockburn and bookseller’s label of Arthur Probsthain, pp xl; 253; 16 folding lithographed plates, pale foxing to preliminaries; a very good copy. Text in English and Chinese. The rare …
ELDREDGE, Helen Woodsmall
s.l. [U.S.A.] : Young Womens Christian Association of the United States, 1919. Duodecimo, printed wrappers, staple bound, 8 pp; a fine copy.
DERRY, Laura Miller (1905 - 1993)
Four university assignments completed by Laura Miller at Bowling Green College of Commerce, Kentucky, circa 1933, as part of a degree in commercial education. Political, social, educational and religious conditions in 20th century in Japan. Laura Miller, class 184b. Quarto, 30 leaves, typescript, manuscript map in pencil, tipped-in colour postcards. Java. Philippine Islands. Laura Miller, class 184b. …
[FALWASSER, Henry, editor]
The Auckland Times. Tempora mutantur Nos Non mutamur in illis. Vol. 1 Tuesday November 8 1842 No. 17
Auckland : Printed (In a Mangle) and Published by Henry Falwasser, Sole Editor and Proprietor, 1842. Large folio sheet, 2 leaves (integral), printed recto only, in a variety of printing types on a washing mangle; subscriber’s (?) names ‘Mr. & Mrs Sim’ in brown ink beneath the masthead; tear to blank corner of initial leaf; …
STANTON, Don E.
Bermagui Sth., N.S.W. : Maranatha Revival Crusade, . Series: Monthly Message, no. 26. Octavo, pictorial wrappers (lower wrapper with stain), stapled, 112 pp, illustrated; a couple of annotations in biro, otherwise a very good copy. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (title page). Christian religious pamphlet written by an …
Adelaide : Pitjantjatjara Land Rights Working Party of South Australia, 1978. Folio, pcloth backed printed wrappers, 130 pp, leaves of maps; a very good copy.
[Melbourne : The author, 1974?]. Quarto, 5 pp, stapled, roneo printed; mild horizontal crease, but a good copy. Questions prepared by the author, Andrew Markus, to aid interpretation of his book From the barrel of a gun : the oppression of the Aborigines, 1860-1900 (West Melbourne, Vic. : Victorian Historical Association, 1974), which focuses on conflict between …
PITTOCK, A. Barrie
Melbourne : Aboriginal Affairs Dept. of the Australian Union of Students, National Tribal Council, Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, 1971. Octavo, illustrated wrappers (lightly marked and creased), 28 pp, illustrated.
PARKER, R.S. (Robert Stewart) et al.
Spring Forum ; 1955 ; Proceedings. Sydney : Australian Institute of Polictical Science, 1955. Quarto, original card covers, roneo printed, 90 pp, 1 folding table, 3 folding maps; a very good copy. Contains four papers delivered at the Armidale forum by R.S. Parker (New states for Australia : why new states?), J. MacDonald Holmes (The proposed …
Ennis : The Clare Champion, 1954. Octavo, printed yellow wrappers (front lightly marked), 18 pp, illustrated with photographic plates. A good copy. Short study of the East Clare I.R.A. and its role in the Irish War of Independence. Unrecorded in Australian collections.
[Cover title: Minimanual of the urban guerrilla]. Vancouver : Pulp Press, 1974. Octavo, original pictorial wrappers, pp 38, ; a fine copy. Carlos Marighella (1911-1969) was a Brazilian Marxist writer, politician – and guerilla.
[KENNEDY, John Fitzgerald, 1917-1963]
[U.S.A. : Democratic Party, 1960]. Original metal button (badge); diameter 33 mm; pin intact; fine condition.
[Adelaide] : [Government of South Australia], 1936. Octavo, navy leather boards with gold inlay and text, very minor chipping on spine, pp 43, with compliments card. Published for the unveiling ceremony of the commemoration stone by Governor Sir Winston Dugan. Transcribes broadcast messages associated with the ceremony.
Are women taking men’s jobs? : a survey of women’s work in Victoria with special regard to equal status, equal pay, and equality of opportunity.
Melbourne : Hilton & Veitch, 1935. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers (sunned and chipped, lower wrapper and inside upper wrapper with original owner’s pencilled annotations), 187 pp, dog-eared, but internally clean and sound. A significant, early study of sex discrimination in employment in the State of Victoria.
Attitudes towards Jews, Catholics, Foreigners and Masons. Fraudulent methods used. Atrocities committed in name of order. Chicago : Ezra A. Cook, circa 1922. Octavo, illustrated wrappers, pp. 70, a very good copy.
JENKINS, John Greeley (1851-1923)
as announced by the Premier and Minister controlling the Northern Territory. Adelaide : J. L. Bonython & Co., 1904. Tall octavo pamphlet, original printed orange wrappers, staple bound, 11 pp, a fine copy.
v[an] d[er] Valk, M[arius] H[endrikus] (1908 - 1978)
[S.l. : s.n., c. 1948]. Oblong folio, half-cloth over papered boards, pp. 12; , Chinese legal documents roneo printed in English and Mandarin. Rare privately printed work by the Dutch sinologist.
RZEWUSKI, Wenceslas (editor)
[=Fundgruben des Orients]. A Vienne : Chez Antoine Schmid, 1809. Folio, original printed wrappers backed with contemporary marbled paper; pp , the second page printed entirely in Arabic script; single horizontal fold at centre, in very good condition. Rare prospectus in French for an early and important Orientalist periodical, Fundgruben des Orients, which was published …
[=Studies on the right of asylum in Oceania]. Stuttgart : F. Enke, 1906. Series: Sonderabdruck aus Zeitschrift für vergleichende Rechtswissenschaft, XIX Band. Octavo, original printed wrappers, pp 64; mostly uncut; a fine copy. Studies on the right of asylum in traditional societies of Oceania, including Australia; New Zealand; New Ireland; New Britain; New Guinea; the Sandwich Islands; …
COOMBS, Herbert Cole "Nugget" (1906-1997)
Typed letter, single octavo sheet, on letterhead of the Australian National University, Canberra, headed 'Chancellor' and dated 16 September 1968, addressed to Sir Edward Ford, Director, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, University of Sydney; 'Dear Ted, Many thanks for your telegram of congratulations on the occasion of my Installation as Chancellor'; signed in …
EGAN, Pierce, 1772-1849; [JOHN THURTELL; JOSEPH HUNT]
London : Knight & Lacey, 1824. Octavo, recent half black morocco over marbled boards, gilt, spine with raised bands lettered in gilt, modern marbled endpapers, frontispiece engraving, A correct view of the execution, taken on the spot by an eminent artist (as called for by Ferguson), with a second frontispiece engraving (apparently not present in any …
Robert William Nutt (1813-1891) was one of Van Diemen's Land's pre-eminent early lawyers, practicing in partnership with Gamaliel Butler in Hobart Town in the 1840s. He was also a Member of the Legislative Council of Van Diemen's Land for 1851-52. In the late 1850s he relocated to Melbourne to work with James Hunter Ross, one …
Melbourne : John Ferres, 1863. Folio, single sheet printed on blue paper. Letter from His Excellency Sir Henry Barkly to His Grace the Duke of Newcastle relative to the extent to which the Islanders of the Pacific are being enticed or torn from their homes and conveyed in slave vessels to South America.
exhibited ex officio by the King's Attorney-General against George Gordon, Esq. commonly called Lord George Gordon : one for a libel on the Queen of France and the French Ambassador; the other for a libel on the judges, and the administration of the laws in England. Also of Thomas Wilkins, for printing the last-mentioned libel. …
RUDALL, Hon. R. J. (foreword)
Being a record of the development of the Education System of South Australia 1836 – 1936 with a supplementary section covering educational developments in the past decade. Adelaide : Printers Trade School, 1947. Quarto, gilt-lettered morocco (rubbed), pp. [vi]; 27; colophon, [iv – appendix], presentation inscription to front free endpaper. Limited to 75 numbered copies. …
COLQUHOUN, Patrick (1745-1820)
contenant le détail des crimes et délits qui se commettent dans cette capitale, et indiquant les moyens de les prévenir….Traduit de l'Anglais sur la sixième édition. Paris : Léopold Collin, 1807. Two volumes octavo, contemporary red half calf over red boards (rubbed), spines with gilt numbers, decoration and stamped title labels, pastedowns and free endpapers …
BADHAM, Charles (1813 - 1884)
Sydney : William Dymock, 1890. Octavo, gilt-decorated cloth (flecked), bookplate to front pastedown, pp. 163, portrait frontispiece, occasional foxing. Speeches by the university professor, an important figure in the education system in Sydney and a great orator. |
22 pages to go.
Let’s do this.
This chapter opens with Christian having a dream about fucking Ana against a door:
We’re fucking. Fucking hard. Against the bathroom door.
I avoided covering a lot of the sex scenes in this book because they were repetitive, boring, and nearly identical to the descriptions from the original story. But as this is his fantasy dream and not a sex scene that EL James had already written the first time, we might as well enjoy a little of the writing that made EL James a household name:
She’s mine. I bury myself in her, again and again. Glorying in her: the feel of her, her smell, her taste. Fisting my hand in her hair, holding her in place. Holding her ass. Her legs wrapped around my waist.
I remember thinking this while reading the original, but so much of the sex choreography has the subtlety and grace of IKEA flat pack instructions. It’s so mechanical and specific that you can’t picture the overall scene, but instead it’s like a series of uninspiring still images of butts and hands and faces. Not to mention the fact that EL James, possessing neither a penis nor an understanding of human emotion and physicality, is even less specific about what’s happening from Christian’s point of view than she was from Ana’s — and Ana’s descriptions of sex acts mostly involved her talking about her area “down there,” or else dissolving into an elipses when things got particularly steamy.
She cannot move; she’s pinioned by me. Wrapped around me like silk.
She is immobile; stagnant; stationary; anchored; frozen; stolid; I pin her down; shackle her; yoke her; enfetter her; she is like silk; satin; cotton; tencel; spandex.
You only need to say it once, EL, I promise.
Her hands pulling my hair. Oh yes. I’m home, she’s home. This is the place I want to be…inside her…
It’s like her vagina is some kind of… dwelling, domicile, sanctuary, roost, habitat, headquarters.
Anyway, that carries on for a bit. She comes. He’s pleased that she comes.
Then it turns into a sad dream because they’re in the playroom and he goes to hit her with a belt. She looks shocked and sad, but then:
Join me, she whispers, but she’s moving backward…getting fainter…disappearing before my eyes…vanishing…she’s gone. No! I shout. No! But I have no voice. I have nothing. I’m mute. Mute…again.
Yes this is exactly what dreams are like. I bet he said all of this very clearly out loud in his sleep, too.
Also… I still love the fact that a book all about kink continues to treat kink as the deepest, darkest depravity. It’s sex! It’s some sex you enjoy! Unless, you know, he really does like beating women in an abuse, non-sexual way. In which case that’s something different.
I wake, confused.
Shit–it’s a dream. Another vivid dream.
Different from a man hitting your mom and forcing her to have sex with his friends? Yeah, I suppose it’s a bit different than that.
Hell! I’m a sticky mess.
Oh my God why.
Briefly I feel that long-forgotten but familiar sense of fear and exhileration–but Elena doesn’t own me now.
The text doesn’t bother explaining this, so I will. Or maybe it did, earlier and I forgot to recap it. Anyway, Elena — the rapist — forbade Christian from getting wet dreams while they were together. Which, I don’t have a penis, but I feel like that’s not possible. So I assume that what it really means is, “A shitty sexual predator made her victim feel terrible about a natural and uncontrollable bodily reaction so she could continue manipulating him.” Because while Christian-the-adult is fucking awful, I can certainly have sympathy for a child who was molested by a monster of a human being. At the same time, I can be disgusted with EL James for making him remember it as a “cute, fond memory.” I can hate everything, in short.
Jesus H. Christ. I’ve come for Team USA.
You know, this book really did need more of the crazy bullshit that we got in the original. And while this scene is terrible, I appreciate the really hacky bursts of writing that still made it through. “I came for Team USA”? It’s brilliant. Genius.
This hasn’t happened to me since I was, what? Fifteen, sixteen?
Or twenty-one? Thirty-seven? Eleventy-six?
I lie back in the darkness, disgusted with myself. I drag my T-shirt off and wipe myself down. There’s semen everywhere.
I find myself smirking in the darkness, despite the dull ache of loss. The erotic dream was worth it. The rest of it…fucking hell. I turn over and go back to sleep.
Aaaaand we get another Moldy Cheese Dream. Don’t worry I’ll spare you the details. Here’s the tl;dr: This time Mommy is staring blankly at a wall. She calls Christian “maggot.” The bad man hurts her. Christian is hungry. The bad man puts out cigarettes on Christian’s chest. Christian cries. The bad man punches Christian. EL James is a fucking asshole for making people read this.
Christian wakes up suddenly from the dream.
I’m so tired of dreams. I’m so tired of him waking up in a cold sweat. I’m tired of gliders. I’m tired of him being shitty to his staff. I’m tired of hearing about Gail cooking dinner. I’m tired of Barney. I’m tired of Welch. I’m tired of business.
Startled awake again, I lie panting in the pale dawn light, waiting for my heart rate to slow, trying to lose the acrid taste of fear in my mouth.
She saved you from this shit, Grey.
You didn’t relive the pain of these memories when she was with you. Why did you let her leave?
Uggghhhh and here it is. So after two or three or howeverthefuckmany chapters of him going, “Well, I’m bad for her. She’s not into this,” his primary reason for getting Ana back is because she functions as a human night light for him.
I glance at the clock: 5:15. Time for a run.
If she narrates a fucking shower after the run, I will throw my Kindle into the river.
I forgot to add that to the list of things I’m tired of. I’m tired of jogging, I’m tired of texts from Elliot, I’m tired of showers. I’m tired of coffee orders. I’m so tired.
21 more pages.
Guess where he runs to.
Her building looks gloomy; it’s still in shadow, untouched by the early-morning sun. Fitting. It reflects my mood.
Is EL James intentionally making this chapter like a highlight reel of everything I’ve hated about this book so far? Fine. I’m tired of the very literal pathetic fallacies.
Her apartment is dark inside, yet the curtains to the room I watched before are drawn. It must be her room.
I hope to God she’s sleeping alone up there. I envisage her curled up on her white iron bed, a small ball of Ana. Is she dreaming of me? Do I give her nightmares?
I mean, yes. Probably.
Has she forgotten me?
IT’S BEEN THREE DAYS.
Christian says he feels real sad. He’s never felt this sad, except for maybe when he was a poor toddler.
This is too much. Pulling my hood up and leaning against the granite wall, I’m hidden in the doorway of the building opposite. The awful thought crosses my mind that I might be standing here in a week, a month…a year? Watching, waiting, just to catch a glimpse of the girl who used to be mine. It’s painful. I’ve become what she’s always accused me of being–her stalker.
The irony is that in many ways, this is the least offensive stalking he’s done so far. So the fact that he thinks that this represents a crossed line is sort of odd. Tracking her phone and then dragging her unconscious body back to his hotel room was definitely worse than jogging and driving past her apartment a couple of times a day while she’s asleep inside a locked building.
But it’s time for him to see her. Because that’s how he’ll forget about her. Apparently:
I can’t go on like this. I have to see her. See that she’s okay.
IT’S BEEN THREE DAYS. Does he think she’s just been stumbling into broken glass bottles and open manholes over the long weekend without him?
I need to erase the last image I have of her: hurt, humiliated, defeated…and leaving me.
I have to think of a way.
Ooh! I hope it’s duplicitous!
We open with Christian talking to Gail.
Fucking fuck me.
Back at Escala, Gail watches me impassively.
“I didn’t ask for this.” I stare at the omelet she’s placed in front of me.
So he didn’t ask for an omelet, but he waited to tell her that he wasn’t hungry after she’d cooked the meal and put it in front of him? Not at any point during the previous 15 minutes where she took out eggs, cracked them into a bowl, whisked them, poured them out into a pan, added ingredients, flipped it, and then served it to him on a plate? Did he figure she was testing out the new eggs, or?
“I’ll throw it away, then, Mr. Grey,” she says, and reaches for the plate. She knows I hate waste, but she doesn’t quail at my hard stare.
Hit him where it hurts, Gail. Call this hypocrite out on his bullshit.
“You did this on purpose, Mrs. Jones.” Interfering woman.
And she smiles a small victorious smile. I scowl, but she’s unfazed, and with the memory of last night’s nightmare lingering, I devour my omelet.
I immediately thought he meant it made him think about his wet dream and wanted to eject myself into space and leave this book far behind. But he doesn’t. But Jesus, if he did.
New scene: Christian wonders if he can just call Ana on the phone. Would Ana pick up the phone? He looks at the glider. The glider cannot answer him:
She asked for a clean break. I should honor that and leave her alone.
Yeah, but you won’t. So spare me the “I shoulds.”
But I want to hear her voice. For a moment I contemplate calling her and hanging up, just to hear her speak.
I have an amazing image of him getting Taylor to play Ding Dong Ditch with him later.
Anyway, Christian’s in the middle of an important meeting but he’s drifted off. Ros has to remind him that’s he’s meant to be businessing. They’re talking about the plans to take over Ana’s company. Apparently it’s going to be harder to buy than they thought. Does Christian still want it?
They set up a meeting to meet with the publishing people so he can buy the company Ana works for.
Then Christian asks how the business deal is going with Eamon Kavanagh, Kate’s Dad.
Ros does not answer.
Instead, we get another scene break.
19 more pages.
New scene: Christian is in his psychologist’s office.
This should be great.
Christian is, once again, not paying attention.
“Christian, I’m more than happy to take your money and watch you stare out the window, but I don’t think the view is the reason you’re here,” Flynn says.
Oh wow this guy is good.
Christian sits on the couch and tells Flynn that “the nightmares” are back. Which doesn’t make sense, because what Christian intimated to the audience throughout the entire book was that he’s always had the nightmares, but they only went away when he was sleeping with Ana. But Flynn has been on vacation for the entire time he’s been with Ana. So he probably needs to backtrack and explain that the nightmares had gone, and are now back. But Flynn’s a really good psychologist, so I’m sure he’ll just roll with it.
Flynn lifts a brow. “The same ones?”
So we’re just… skating right over… okay.
“What changed?” He cocks his head to one side, waiting for my response. When I remain mute, he adds, “Christian, you look as miserable as sin. Something’s happened.”
Yes that is what a psychologist would say.
Christian tells Flynn that he met a girl. Then he tells Flynn that the girl left him.
He looks surprised. “Women have left you before. Why is this different?”
Wait. Wait. I thought El Moneydick Supremo always made it sound like he dumped bitches in the dirt when they started getting crazy ideas about turning sex into a real relationship.
Why is it different? Because Ana was different.
You don’t understand, Doc! I really got off on the knowledge that she had no interest in my kink, and that I was forcing her to take part in it. All of those other women were actually into BDSM, which was a huge turnoff for me — noted abuser, Christian Grey.
He doesn’t say that. Instead he thinks a bunch of garbage:
My thoughts blur together in a colorful tangled tapestry: she wasn’t a submissive. We had no contract. She was sexually inexperienced. She was the first woman I wanted more from than just sex. Christ–all the firsts I experienced with her: the first girl I’d slept beside, the first virgin, the first to meet my family, the first to fly in Charlie Tango, the first I took soaring.
Note that none of this explains why Ana in particular is special. It’s just a re-hashing of facts about her and humblebrags about himself.
Flynn reminds Christian that he hasn’t actually said anything out loud. Christian says he misses her. Flynn asked Christian if he ever missed the other women. Christian says no.
“So there was something different about her,” he prompts.
I shrug, but he persists.
Yeah it’s crazy how he didn’t take a shrug as a clear answer.
“Did you have a contractual relationship with her? Was she a submissive?”
“I’d hoped she would be. But it wasn’t for her.”
Flynn frowns. “I don’t understand.”
I don’t understand what he doesn’t understand.
“I broke one of my rules. I chased this girl, thinking that she’d be interested, and it turned out it wasn’t for her.”
“Tell me what happened.”
I haven’t turned the page yet, but I swear if EL James just has Christian exposition the last 541 pages all over again, I’m going to scream.
The floodgates open and I recount the past month’s events, from the moment Ana fell into my office to when she left last Saturday morning.
So EL James does know how to sum up a conversation without typing every single line of dialog? Why couldn’t she have done this in every other part of the book? Why did I have to hear about every pot of fucking stew and the precise number of minutes it would take before it was ready to eat? And then them eating the stew? And then Mrs. Jones clearing away the stew?
“I see. You’ve certainly packed a lot in since we last spoke.”
Said the licensed professional.
He then asks Christian how he, Christian, felt when Ana said she loved him.
“Horrified,” I whisper.
“Of course you did.” He shakes his head. “You’re not the monster you think you are. You’re more than worthy of affection, Christian. You know that. I’ve told you often enough. It’s only in your mind that you’re not.”
I’m going to give Flynn the benefit of the doubt and assume that Christian conveniently left out all of the stalking.
Flynn asks how Christian feels now. Christian feels lost. Also he misses her. He wants to see her.
I’m in the confessional once more, owning up to my sins: the dark, dark need that I have for her, as if she were an addiction.
You’re in therapy. Why would you need to add a metaphorical layer to that?
Anyway, this conversation is super boring and VERY long, so let me sum it up:
Flynn asks Christian if he’s sure Ana can’t fulfill his needs. Christian says he’s sure because Ana walked out. Flynn argues that Ana walked out because Christian beat her, and because she’s just not into “the lifestyle,” but maybe if Christian was willing to have a genuine relationship, she would be willing to start things over.
I’m uncomfortable about a lot of this advice, mostly because Flynn is basically telling Christian to give up the kink entirely if he wants Ana back, which isn’t really the issue. Ana was sort of into certain parts of the kink — she just doesn’t want to be hit. And it also bothers me that Christian “beating” Ana is a quick bullet point in Flynn’s list of facts.
Flynn asks if Christian enjoyed the vanilla sex. Christian says yes.
“Did you find beating her satisfying?”
“Would you like to do it again?”
Do that to her again? And watch her walk out–again?
Again, the language being used makes me uncomfortable. Because the lines between BDSM and abuse are so horribly blurred by this book. The truth is that Christian does want to do that to Ana again — he just doesn’t want her to leave. Which is not the same as not wanting to do it to her.
Anyway, Christian says it’s just not Ana’s “scene,” and he doesn’t want to hurt her like that again. Flynn asks if Christian is surprised by Ana’s anger and hurt. Christian repeats that Ana was angry, which is just confusing. Flynn asks how that makes Christian feel. It makes him feel helpless, which also doesn’t make much sense.
“And that’s a familiar feeling,” he prompts.
“Familiar how?” What does he mean?
“Don’t you recognize yourself at all? Your past?” His question knocks me off balance.
Fuck, we’ve been over and over this.
Christian misinterprets Flynn as talking about Elena, Flynn reminds Christian of his toddlerhood, which is weird because… doesn’t Christian literally describe himself as feeling helpless after many of those dreams? But fine. He’s a constant mystery to himself even when he’s totally aware of himself in other moments.
God, this scene won’t end.
Flynn asks him to talk about his childhood, and how that might be influencing his need to beat women. Christian says that’s unfair, and that Ana was a consenting adult who could have safe-worded. Does Flynn call him on his bullshit?
“I know. I know.” He holds his hand up. “I’m just callously illustrating a point, Christian. You’re an angry man, and you have every reason to be. I’m not going to rehash all that right now–you’re obvously suffering, and the whole point of these sessions is to move you to a place where you are more accepting and comfortable with yourself.”
Because it’s ALL ABOUT CHRISTIAN.
Flynn adds, helpfully:
“Her leaving has triggered your abandonment issues and your PTSD. She clearly means much more to you than you’re willing to admit to yourself.”
It’s all her fault, sad robot, etc.
Christian wonders if Flynn is right — does he feel sad because Ana means a lot to him?
This isn’t a question.
We already know this.
Flynn then basically tells him to go back after Ana and try a “conventional” relationship, because we all know that kink is only for sad weirdos:
“Well if she’s not prepared to be your submissive, you can’t play the role of dominant.”
Just watch him!
I glare at him. It’s not a role–it’s who I am.
This isn’t a phase, dad!
Christian then wonders if he could have a plain relationship with Ana. Maybe? He doesn’t know.
Flynn pumps Christian’s tires a bunch by saying that he’s extraordinary because he’s goal-oriented and successful. His praise goes on for a while and is such bullshit, but you get the general idea. “Christian, you make a lot of money doing business. Therefore you are a good man.”
At least — at the very least — Flynn mildly calls Christian out for not really taking Ana’s lack of experience into account, or her willingness to participate in particular acts. But it’s a bit of a throw-away line in a larger statement about why Christian is the best.
Christian flashes back to all of the wonderful moments with Ana from the last two weeks. These include: her tripping into his office, him going to her work, their e-mails, her mouth, her laugh, “her quiet fortitude and defiance” (I have no idea)… and that’s pretty much it. Christian said he loved all of it. She’s so special. It’s been a great journey.
My thoughts take a darker turn.
She doesn’t know the depths of my depravity, the darkness in my soul, the monster beneath–maybe I should leave her alone.
I’m not worthy of her. She can’t love me.
But even as I think the words, I know that I don’t have the strength to stay away from her…if she’ll have me.
I’m the worst! The very worst! She’s better off without me, but… well, what can I do? Daddy’s gotta fuck.
Flynn tells Christian to think about chasing after Ana, because he’s also the worst.
End of scene.
Standing on the balcony, I survey Seattle at night. Up here I’m at one remove, away from it all. What did she call it?
My ivory tower.
That’s what everyone calls it.
Christian’s thinking about Ana, and thinking about what Flynn said. Could Christian just have a normal relationship?!?!?!
I mean, yes. Because that’s basically what he had for the last two weeks.
But Christian’s not sure.
Then he wonders if he can win Ana back.
Then he wonders why she’d want him back.
He sees something out of the corner of his eye (it’s obviously Leila), but then decides it was nothing (it’s Leila), and he throws back the rest of his cognac and heads back into the living room (where Leila just was).
End of another horrendous pointless terrible chapter.
12 more pages. |
Visual Basic Concepts
Using the MonthView Control
The MonthView control makes it easy for users to view and set date information via a calendar-like interface. Users can select a single date or a range of dates.
The control can be navigated using either the keyboard or mouse. Buttons at the top of the control are used to scroll months in and out of view.
In addition, the control has the ability to display up to 12 months at a time. This can be helpful when you want to give users the ability to view date information around the date of interest.
To present date information where a calendar representation of a date is easier to understand than that of a Label or Textbox control.
To give users the ability to choose a date with the click of a mouse rather than typing a date value.
To enable users to view multiple months as part of an advanced booking system such as those used by hotels and airlines.
Setting and Returning Dates
The currently selected date in the control is determined by the Value property. You can set the Value of the control before it is displayed (for example, in the form's Load event) to determine which date will be initially selected in the control:
MonthView1.Value = "10/31/97"
By default, the control's Value is set to the current date, and the current date is selected when the control first appears. If you change the MonthView's Value through code, the control will be updated immediately to reflect the new setting.
Certain events of the control can also be used to return date values. For example, the DateClick event is fired whenever the user clicks on a date in the control. The DateClick event returns a DateClicked value that evaluates to the date the user clicked. Similarly, the DateDblClick event returns a DateDblClicked value indicating the date that was double-clicked to cause the event. When using these events, you should refer to the value returned by the event, rather than the Value property of the control, as Value is not updated until after the event has occurred.
The Value property returns a date value that you can format in whatever manner you wish. The MonthView control also has several properties that return specific date information. The Month property returns the integer value (1-12) of the month containing the currently selected date. The Day property returns the day number (1-31) currently selected, and the DayOfWeek property returns a value indicating the day of the week the selected date falls on (values correspond to the values of vbDayOfWeek constants.) The Year property returns the year containing the selected date as an integer value. Finally, there is a Week property that will return the number of the week containing the selected date.
These properties can be set as well as read at run time, with varying effects on the currently selected date. For example, changing the value of the DayOfWeek property will select the date that falls on the specified day in the same week. This will change the value of the Day property, but depending on how the week falls, it may also change the value of the Month property. Changing the value of the Year property will cause the current date to be selected in the specified year, which may affect the value of DayOfWeek.
You should be especially careful when changing the value of the Week property. Setting a different week as the current week will not change the value of DayOfWeek, but will affect the value of Day, and possibly the values of Week, Month or even Year. For example, if the user has selected a Friday, and you set the value of Week to 52 in a year that ends on a Wednesday, the value of Week will become 1, and the values of Month and Year will also change. Weeks 1 and 52 will usually overlap.
Selecting A Range of Dates
You can use the MonthView control to display a contiguous range of dates, or to allow the user to select a date range. In order to extend the selection to more than one date, the MultiSelect property must be set to True. You can control the maximum number of days that may be selected by changing the value of the MaxSelCount property. By default, the maximum selection allowed is seven days.
The SelStart and SelEnd properties determine which days are selected. You can check the values of these properties to find out what range the user has selected. If only one date is selected, the two values will be the same. You can also set the values of these properties in code, which will cause a range of dates to become selected in the control. When setting the SelStart and SelEnd properties through code, you must observe the following rules:
The SelStart date must occur before the SelEnd date.
The selected range must contain the currently selected date. If necessary, you should set the Value property to one of the dates in the range before setting the SelStart and SelEnd values.
The number of dates included in the range cannot exceed the maximum range size as specified by MaxSelCount.
For example, to select the week before Halloween through code, you would use the following:
MonthView1.Value = "10/31/97" MonthView1.MaxSelCount = 7 MonthView1.SelStart = "10/25/97" MonthView1.SelEnd = "10/31/97"
Formatting the Control's Appearance
The MonthView control allows you to customize its appearance in many ways. Various color attributes such as MonthBackColor, TitleBackColor, TitleForeColor and TrailingForeColor enable you to create a unique color scheme or the control. For example, TrailingForeColor determines the color of the dates that precede and follow the displayed month or months.
The font settings for the control determine the width and height of the control. Using larger fonts causes the control to grow to accommodate the increased font size. Conversely, you can set the font to a smaller size to shrink the control. Font size is set through the Font property.
Displaying More Than One Month
The MonthView control can display from one to twelve months at a time. You specify how many months will be displayed and how they will be arranged within the control. You do this by using the MonthRows and MonthColumns properties. For example, setting MonthRows to 2 and MonthColumns to 3 would result in a MonthView control that displayed six months at a time. Clicking on the arrow buttons at the top of the control would scroll the next six months or the previous six months into view.
Individual months are separated by a separator bar. The size of the separator is dependent on control size and display characteristics, but you can retrieve the dimensions used via the SeperatorHeight and SeparatorWidth properties. You can also retrieve the size of a single calendar by using the CalendarWidth and CalendarHeight properties. Together these properties are useful in determining how the control will change size if another row or column is added, and adjusting the size and position of your controls accordingly.
Other Formatting Settings
You can determine which day of the week will appear as the first day by changing the value of the StartOfWeek property. You can choose to display week numbers in the control by setting the ShowWeekNumbers property to True. Week numbers appear in a separate column to the left of the first day of the week. The display of the current date at the bottom of the control can be enabled or disabled using the ShowToday property.
Formatting Specific Days
Any day number on the MonthView control can also have its font set to bold. This capability can be used to draw attention to dates (i.e. holidays, vacations, etc.) or just distinguish them from ordinary dates. More than one date can be bolded at the same time. Although the bold information for a day is not preserved while scrolling from month to month, this behavior can be simulated using the GetDayBold event.
The following example makes all Sundays bold, even when new months are scrolled into view:
Private Sub MonthView1_GetDayBold(ByVal StartDate As Date, ByVal Count As Integer, State() As Boolean) Dim i As Integer i = vbSunday While i < Count State(i - MonthView1.StartOfWeek) = True i = i + 7 Wend End Sub
The MonthView control can be manipulated using the keyboard. The following table describes the different actions you can perform with the control at runtime.
|LEFT ARROW||Select the next day|
|RIGHT ARROW||Select the previous day|
|UP ARROW||Select the same day of week in the previous week|
|DOWN ARROW||Select the same day of week in the next week|
|PAGE UP||Scrolls the display to past months.|
|PAGE DOWN||Scrolls the display to future months.|
|CTRL+PAGE UP||Scrolls the display to the previous year.|
|CTRL+PAGE DOWN||Scrolls the display to the next year.|
Navigating the MonthView
In addition to the two buttons at the top of the control, the MonthView control provides other ways to set the currently displayed month(s). You can display a particular month of any particular year.
To select a particular month
Click on the month name at the top of the calendar. A context menu will appear with the names of all the months.
From the menu, choose the name of the month you want to select.
The control will display the selected month in the current year.
To go directly to a particular year
Select the month you want.
Click on the year number at the top of the calendar. This will place it in edit mode.
Click the up/down scroll buttons to scroll the year.
Click anywhere outside the edit box or press the ENTER key when you are done.
The control will display the current month in the year you specified.
*Distribution Note* The UpDown control is part of a group of ActiveX controls that are found in the MSCOMCT2.ocx file. To use the UpDown control in your application, you must add the MSCOMCT2.ocx file to the project. When distributing your application, install the MSCOMCT2.ocx file in the user’s Microsoft Windows System or System32 directory. For more information on how to add an ActiveX control to a project, see the Programmer’s Guide. |
- Research article
- Open Access
- Open Peer Review
New multiplex real-time PCR approach to detect gene mutations for spinal muscular atrophy
© The Author(s). 2016
- Received: 5 March 2016
- Accepted: 29 July 2016
- Published: 17 August 2016
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the most common autosomal recessive disease in children, and the diagnosis is complicated and difficult, especially at early stage. Early diagnosis of SMA is able to improve the outcome of SMA patients. In our study, Real-time PCR was developed to measure the gene mutation or deletion of key genes for SMA and to further analyse genotype-phenotype correlation.
The multiple real-time PCR for detecting the mutations of survival of motor neuron (SMN), apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) and general transcription factor IIH, polypeptide 2 gene (GTF2H2) was established and confirmed by DNA sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA). The diagnosis and prognosis of 141 hospitalized children, 100 normal children and further 2000 cases of dry blood spot (DBS) samples were analysed by this multiple real-time PCR.
The multiple real-time PCR was established and the accuracy of it to detect the mutations of SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 was at least 98.8 % comparing with DNA sequencing and MLPA. Among 141 limb movement disorders children, 75 cases were SMA. 71 cases of SMA (94.67 %) were with SMN c.840 mutation, 9 cases (12 %) with NAIP deletion and 3 cases (4 %) with GTF2H2 deletion. The multiple real-time PCR was able to diagnose and predict the prognosis of SMA patients. Simultaneously, the real-time PCR was applied to detect trace DNA from DBS and able to make an early diagnosis of SMA.
The clinical and molecular characteristics of SMA in Southwest of China were presented. Our work provides a novel way for detecting SMA in children by using real-time PCR and the potential usage in newborn screening for early diagnosis of SMA.
- Spinal muscular atrophy
- Multiplex real-time PCR
- Newborn screening
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is one of the most common autosomal recessive disorders, with an incidence of 1 in 10,000 births . The disease is characterized by the degeneration of the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord, resulting in symmetrical limb muscle atrophy and weakness. SMA is classified into three clinical subtypes: Type I SMA (Werdnig-Hoffmann disease, MIM253300), Type II SMA (MIM253550) and Type III (Kugelberg-Welander disease, MIM253400) . The phenotypes of these three subtypes of SMA are based on previous reports .
Previously, a clinical diagnosis of SMA is confirmed by muscle biopsy and electromyography (EMG). These procedures are time-consuming, affected by cross-talk and post-processing artefacts and yield non-conclusive results in young infants [4, 5]. Thus, the diagnosis of SMA is usually dependent on the doctor’s experience. When a diagnosis is made, these infants often suffer from irreversible loss of neurological function. Early diagnosis of SMA can improve outcomes, and the efficacy of early diagnosis of SMA is also motivated by progress in therapeutic development .
Due to the shortcomings of the traditional diagnosis of SMA, molecular diagnosis for SMA has gradually been developed in recent years. For the molecular genetics of SMA, all three clinical subtypes of SMA are associated with mutations in the survival of motor neuron (SMN) gene, which is mapped to chromosome 5q13. Normally, this region contains one telomeric SMN1 gene (Genbank: NG_008691.1) and one centromeric paralogue SMN2 gene (Genbank: NG_008728.1), which differs in exon 7 at cDNA residue 840 (C for SMN1 and T for SMN2) [7, 8]. Patients with a homozygous deletion of SMN1 and a high SMN2 copy number have a phenotype [8–10] due to the small fraction of normal transcripts, which indicates that infants with a homozygous mutation on c.840 of C > T will have symptoms of SMA. Moreover, the phenotype is correlated with the exon loss of several genes in the 5q13 region, such as apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP) (Genbank: NG_008724.1) and general transcription factor IIH, polypeptide 2 gene (GTF2H2) (Genbank: NT_187651.1) . The absence of exon 4 and 5 of NAIP may result from an unequal crossing over, leading to severe SMA . The GTF2H2 gene and/or exon deletion might be related to the severity of the disease, but its clinical significance is still unclear .
The “gold standard” to detect a single nucleotide difference is DNA sequencing, and the best method to test for the exon loss of several genes is multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) . Only trace DNA can be extracted from a dry blood spot (DBS), which limits the application of DNA sequencing and MLPA during newborn screening, when is the best time to make an early diagnosis of SMA and treat in time, based on DBS being the only specimen could be obtained during newborn screening. Moreover, both of these methods are time-consuming. For restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), which was established by Van’s group , it is also time-consuming, taking nearly 20 h to get the result, because the procedure contains PCR and enzyme digestion; on the other hand, it is hard to judge the results in daily work only by 22 base pairs differences through electrophoresis. Multiple real-time PCR has been used to detect single nucleotide differences and exon loss in adults and newborn screening [15, 16], which means multiple real-time PCR diagnosing SMA is very likely to be successful. Moreover, the technique is high sensitivity, specificity and rapid, so we chose it to establish a new method for SMA diagnosis. We screened and chose the best multiple pairs of primers and probes to establish the new real-time PCR method, which was fast (<3 h), cheap (<US$2), accurate, to analyse exons deletion of SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 genes.
In our study, the clinical and molecular characteristics of a pediatric population with SMA from Southwest China were presented. Real-time PCR was developed to measure the gene mutation or deletion of key genes for SMA and to further analyse genotype-phenotype correlation; subsequently, 2000 cases of DBS were randomly selected for trace DNA, and real-time PCR was performed.
This retrospective and prospective study was performed at the Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University. In this study, 1613 children with limb movement disorders were screened, of which 141 children were confirmed to exhibit the inclusion criteria listed in the “Interpretation” section. These 141 children and an additional 100 normal children were enrolled in a retrospective study, and their blood specimens and medical records were collected. Simultaneously, 2000 DBS samples were randomly selected from the Newborn Screening Center at the Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University to carry out the prospective study. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, and the reference number was CHCMU-20110005. Written informed consent was obtained from the parents or legal guardians of the patients. The datasets supporting the conclusions of this article are included within the article and its additional files.
The inclusion criteria for the retrospective study were patients confirmed with a normal nutritional status; disorder on sitting, standing or walking; physical examination showing myasthenia or muscle atrophy; sequencing, multiplex PCR and MLPA detected disorder; and hospitalized. There was no inclusion criteria for the prospective study because the samples were selected randomly. The guidelines for SMA diagnosis and typing were based on a previous report and were described in Additional file 1: Table S1.
Real-time PCR for SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 genes in clinical specimens
All 141 patients and 100 normal children were enrolled. DNA was purified according to the manufacturer’s instructions (DP318-03, Tiangen Biotech, Beijing, China). Next, 1 μl of DNA template (20 ng/μl) and 19 μl of a real-time PCR master mix (FP203-02, Tiangen Biotech, Beijing, China), as shown in Additional file 2: Table S2, were used to perform real-time PCR. One sample should be detected by two real-time PCR reactions: tube I and tube II. Tube I detected the mutation of SMN gene and the deletion of NAIP exon5 and tube II detected internal control and the deletion of NAIP exon4 and GTF2H2 exon 10.
The primers and probes used in this study are shown in Additional file 3: Table S3 and were synthesized by Invitrogen (Life Technologies Corporation, Shanghai, China). Real-time PCR was performed on the Applied Biosystem 7500 real-time PCR system (Applied Biosystems, CA, USA) using the following conditions: 50 °C for 2 min, 95 °C for 10 min, followed by 40 cycles of 95 °C for 15 s and 55 °C for 40 s. All standards and samples were performed in triplicate.
Sequencing for SMN gene in clinical specimens
All 141 patients and 100 normal children were analysed using Sanger DNA sequencing for the point mutation at c.840 C > T of the SMN gene. The DNA template was the same template used in real-time PCR. Each PCR reaction was performed in a 50-μl volume, as shown in Additional file 4: Table S4. PCR was performed on an ABI-Verity Thermal Cycler (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, California, USA) using the following conditions: 95 °C for 5 min, followed by 35 cycles of 95 °C for 30 s, 53 °C for 30 s and 72 °C for 30 s, and a final extension step at 72 °C for 5 min. All samples were referred to Sunny (Sunny Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Shanghai, China) for sequencing.
Multiplex PCR and MLPA for NAIP and GTF2H2 genes in clinical specimens
All 141 patients and 100 normal children were analysed using multiplex PCR and MLPA for the NAIP and GTF2H2 genes as previously reported [11, 17]. The DNA template was the same template that was used in real-time PCR. All of the conditions of each PCR reaction for multiplex PCR were the same as those used for sequencing. All of the samples were amplified in duplicate.
The PCR products of the NAIP and GTF2H2 genes were used for DNA sequencing at Sunny (Sunny Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China) to confirm the expected products. If there were exons missing, as determined by electrophoresis, MLPA was performed on the DNA samples to confirm the results at Genesky (Genesky Biotechnologies Inc., Shanghai, China).
Real-time PCR for SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 genes in DBS
Real-time PCR was performed on 2000 randomly selected DBS samples. DNA was purified by Chelex-100 (1422842, Bio-Rad Laboratories Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China). Briefly, one dried blood spot (diameter of 3 mm) was clipped and mixed with 500 μl of nuclease-free water to wash and was then centrifuged, and the supernatants were discarded. Next, 5 % Chelex-100 was mixed before the addition of 100 μl to each pellet, and the mixture was incubated at 56 °C for 10 min. The mixture was then mixed and centrifuged to harvest the supernatants.
Real-time PCR was performed on the DNA templates of the 6 μl and 14 μl PCR master mix, as shown in Additional file 5: Table S5. All of the real-time PCR conditions were the same as those described in the “Real-time PCR for SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 genes on clinical specimens” section.
The categorical data were expressed as percentages. Differences in the clinical characteristics of the various subtypes of SMA were determined using Fisher’s exact test. The survival rates of the different groups were analysed using log-rank. McNemar’s test was performed to analyse the paired results of diverse methods, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Data were analysed using software SAS 9.13 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA).
Patients and general characteristics
The general and clinical characteristics of children in the retrospective study
General and clinical characteristics
141 (100 %)
< 6 m
> 18 m
Congenital heart disease
Disorder on sitting/standing/walking
64 (45.39)/39 (27.66)/29 (20.57)
Decreased fetal movement
Creatine kinase value
The general and clinical characteristics of children in different subtypes of SMA
Type I (%)
(n = 41)
Type II (%)
(n = 29)
Type III (%) (n = 5)
Total (%) (n = 75)
Congenital heart disease
Decreased fetal movement
Homozygous mutation at c.840 C > T in SMN gene
Deletion of NAIP exon4 and 5
Deletion of NAIP exon4
Deletion of GTF2H2 exon10
Molecular diagnosis and prognosis of SMA using novel real-time PCR methods
There were 71 (94.67 %) SMA patients with homozygous deletion on SMN1 among 75 SMA patients; 6 SMA patients with a homozygous deletion of NAIP (exon 4 and exon 5), 3 SMA patients with a homozygous deletion of NAIP (exon 4) and 3 SMA patients with a homozygous deletion of GTF2H2 (exon 10). Eleven of the patients were diagnosed as having Type I SMA, and the remaining patients were diagnosed as having Type II SMA (Table 2). The percentage of the NAIP and GTF2H2 homozygous deletions were only 12 % (9/75) and 4 % (3/75), respectively, among all of the SMA children (Table 2).
Consistency of SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 gene detection among Sanger DNA sequencing, MLPA and real-time PCR
The correlation of SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 in different methods
MLPA + multiplex PCR/Real-time PCR (%)
Sequencing/Real-time PCR (%)
Heterozygous mutations of SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 genes among children
Interestingly, the accuracy of real-time PCR for NAIP exon 4 and exon 5 was 98.8 % (238/241) and 99.2 % (239/241), respectively. The false positive rates of this new real-time PCR for NAIP exon 4 and 5 were 1.3 % (3/232) and 0.9 % (2/235), respectively, and the false negative rates of this new PCR for NAIP exon 4 and 5 were both 0. The accuracy of this novel real-time PCR for GTF2H2 exon 10 was 99.2 % (239/241), and the false positive and negative rates were 0.8 % (2/238) and 0, respectively, based on the results of MLPA plus multiplex PCR in groups of SMA children and normal children. These results revealed that this new real-time PCR was an ideal substitution of MLPA for NAIP and GTF2H2 mutation detection (Table 3). In addition, heterozygous deletions of NAIP or GTF2H2 were found in 16 children, but no deletions were found in SMA patients using MLPA (Table 4).
Prognosis of Type I SMA patients via the detection of SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 genes
Due to the different types of gene deletions, we determined if there was a difference in the prognosis among patients with a homozygous deletion in one exon, two exons, or no exons in SMA children. Type I SMA patients were divided into three groups: patients without a deletion in NAIP or GTF2H2, patients with a homozygous deletion in one exon of NAIP or GTF2H2, and patients with a homozygous deletion in exon 4 and 5 of NAIP (Fig. 4b). There was a much lower survival rate of patients with a homozygous deletion in one or two exons compared with patients without a deletion (p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between patients with a homozygous deletion in one exon and those with a homozygous deletion in exon 4 and 5 of NAIP in Type I SMA patients.
SMN2 copy number in different sub-types of SMA
SMN2 copy number
Novel real-time PCR for trace DNA
Real-time PCR for Newborn screening
2014 (up to July)
All trace DNA samples were successfully collected and purified from the 2000 DBS samples. There were 23 samples detected as positive in the first run and all of them were reconfirmed by our Real-time PCR and then DNA sequenced. Twenty-two of them were proven to be false-positive, so there was only one sample, whose ID number was NS-13050012. This patient was first hospitalized due to pneumonia and myasthenia when he was 1 month old in May 2013, who was homozygous for the SMN exon 7 deletion, and the remaining 1999 samples were negative for SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 deletion. For the negative samples, 1997 of the patients had no symptoms related to SMA and 2 of the patients had limb movement disorders after a follow-up investigation. The 2 children that had limb movement disorders were subsequently diagnosed with progressive muscular dystrophy.
Detection of SMA through DNA from peripheral blood or from DBS
Peripheral blood (n = 36)
DBS (n = 36)
Here, we established a novel real-time PCR method for detecting mutations in the SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 genes. The accuracy of this real-time PCR method for detecting the presence of a SMN point mutation or a homozygous deletion in NAIP, GTF2H2 exons was at least 98.8 % compared with DNA Sanger sequencing and MLPA. Real-time PCR is a fast and an ideal method to replace DNA Sanger sequencing, multiplex PCR, and MLPA for the diagnosis of SMA and requires small amounts of DNA . Real-time PCR is also suitable for application in newborn screening for SMA, similar to Somech’s report of T cell receptor excision circles in combined T and B cell immunodeficiency . However, real-time PCR was not able to distinguish between different sub-types of SMA patients. This may be due to the correlation between the genotypes and phenotypes of SMA with hundreds of genes that are not located on chromosome 5q [21, 22], and thus, whole genome sequencing should be further explored.
The incidence of SMA was 4.65 % (75/1613) in children with limb movement disorders in the southwest part of China. Interestingly, most of our SMA patients were classified as Type I and II (Table 1). Type I SMA children were more susceptible to congenital heart diseases and respiratory failure and were more prone to decreased fetal movement compared with Type II SMA children, consistent with previous reports [23–25]. Neither the proportion of muscular atrophy abnormalities nor EMG were found in different subtypes of SMA patients.
In our SMA children, 94.67 % (71/75) displayed a homozygous SMN1 exon 7 deletion, which was similar to the findings obtained in a previous report . However, the odds ratios of NAIP and GTF2H2 homozygous deletions were only 12 % and 4 %, respectively, among SMA patients, which was much lower than the report in east China , indicating the different inheritance characteristics for SMA in southwest China. In our study, there was no heterozygous mutations or deletions of SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 found in SMA patients. Indeed, the multiplex real-time PCR detected a SMN heterozygous exon 7 deletion, as shown in Fig. 1a. In addition, real-time PCR detected heterozygous deletions of the NAIP or GTF2H2 gene when a normal sample with no deletion of the genes was used as an internal control and an equal amount of DNA from patient was amplified (data not shown). Not only patients with DMD/BMD or ME and normal children, as shown in Table 4, but also 20 pairs of the parents of SMA patients (data not shown), who had no symptom, were found to have heterozygous mutations of SMN1, NAIP and GTF2H2. Some of them had no clinical symptom and some of them had clinical symptoms not related to mutations of SMN1, NAIP and GTF2H2. There was no clinical significance for heterozygous mutations of SMN1, NAIP and GTF2H2.
Among the Type I SMA patients, the development of SMA was much faster in patients with a homozygous deletion in NAIP or GTF2H2 compared to patients without this type of deletion. For the 11 Type I SMA patients, 3 patients demonstrated decreased fetal movement during pregnancy. Among these 3 patients, the patient with a homozygous deletion in exon 4 of NAIP had a poor prognosis (the child died within the first 2 months). The amount of samples was too small to obtain a conclusion that decreased fetal movement may signal a bad prognosis for SMA patients. Thus, more cases of SMA children should be further investigated.
The relationship between the prognosis of patients and SMN2 copy number in our study was different from others [11, 27]. There were no significant differences between the possibility of developing to different sub-types of SMA and SMN2 copy numbers in our study according to Table 5, whereas an inverse relationship between SMN2 copy number and possibility of developing to Type I SMA in He J’s research. Maybe different genetic background result in this different prognosis comparing with He J’s research. The onset age of most of our type I SMA patients (38/41, 92.7 %) was <2 months and 72.4 % (21/29) of type II SMA patients carried more than 3 copies of SMN2, whereas the onset age of Qu’s type I patients was 31.1 % (33/106) and copies of SMN2 of Qu’s type II patients was 96 %. As Qu’s research, the clinical and genetic characters of our patients were more severe, leading to worse survival rate.
Only one DBS-positive sample, whose ID number was NS-13050012, was analysed in our study. The doctor diagnosed that the baby suffered from Type I SMA using DNA sequencing and MLPA. The child was nursed as a Type I SMA patient and was still alive until September 2014, with no obvious symptoms except non-sitting. If we performed the newborn screening for SMA for newborn babies, children with SMA will benefit from being diagnosed as Type I SMA at an early age and can begin an early specific nursing program. Thus, their prognosis will improved, similar to the child in our study.
There are four main methods to detect SMA: Sanger DNA sequencing, MLPA, RFLP and multiple routine PCR. No one was used in newborn screening. Sanger DNA sequencing and MLPA are both time consuming (>2 weeks), expensive (>US$21) and high amount of DNA required (amount of DNA is trace in newborn screening); RFLP is also time consuming (20 h) and not able to detect exons deletion of NAIP and GTF2H2; multiplex routine PCR is not able to detect exon 7 deletion of SMN1 and it is more subjective because of being judged by electrophoresis gel image; even the method of RFLP with multiplex routine PCR is also time consuming and subjective to judge results. Our new approach is fast (<3 h), cheap (<US$2), objective and able to analyse exons deletion of SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 genes simultaneously with trace DNA.
According to Prior’s and Stabley’s studies [28, 29], there are several limitations of real-time PCR. At the same time, digital PCR (dPCR) is able to detect SMN mutation. Moreover, for the coefficients of variation, dPCR is even better than real-time PCR.
For limitations of real-time PCR, (1) we recommended eathylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as anticoagulant for periphery blood sample, avoiding heparin for its inhibiting Taq polymerase activity. Our method detected more than 200 EDTA peripheral blood and 2000 DBS samples, and the amplification efficiency was excellent, so the compounds in specimen did not shown inhibition; (2) it is possible that DNA sequence variants located under the primer binding sites may be a problem to influence the results. To avoid the question, we need to add another pair of primers to cover outside of binding sites of the primers we used to amplify samples in future; (3) for data analysis, repeating reactions twice and evaluating the capability of equipment could ensure the quality of results to a certain extent.
The recent new method of dPCR is suitable and promising for detecting SMN mutation. However, the ability of dPCR to simultaneously detect NAIP and GTF2H2 mutation and for DBS is not available and need further evaluation. Moreover, dPCR is more expensive (>US$15) in China and specific equipment is required. In a word, the Real-time PCR for SMN, NAIP and GTF2H2 is cheaper and feasibility for clinical usage at present in China.
In summary, we have provided a better understanding of the incidence, clinical and laboratory characteristics of SMA in southwest China and established a new fast, cheap and accurate real-time PCR method for detecting SMA during newborn screening, which will be helpful in maintaining the motor function of Type I and II SMA patients in the near future (ClinicalTrial.gov. Safety and efficacy of olesoxime (TRO19622) in 3–25 years SMA patients. From http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT01302600. Accessed October 8, 2013). Combined with SMA therapy development, SMA patients may also be specifically treated in a more timely fashion in the future . Furthermore, whole genome sequencing should be explored to determine the genotype-phenotype correlation and typing of SMA.
DBS, dry blood spot; dPCR, digital PCR; EDTA, eathylene diamine tetraacetic acidEMG, electromyography; GTF2H2, general transcription factor IIH, polypeptide 2 gene; MLPA, multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification; NAIP, NLR family, apoptosis inhibitory protein; RFLP, restriction fragment length polymorphism; RFU, relative fluorescent units; SMA, spinal muscular atrophy; SMN, survival of motor neuron
We thank all patients and guardians involved in the study.
This work was supported in part by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81373444, 90919013).
Availability of data and materials
All the data on which the conclusions of our manuscript rely were presented in the main paper and additional supporting files.
LZ, LJ and SH participated in the conception and design of the study. ZL, PZ and BP performed the statistical analysis and interpretation of data. ZL, PZ, ST, XH and RZ carried out PCR. XW, SL and JT collected medical records. ZL, LZ, XH, LJ and SH drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Corresponding Author: LZ
Professor & Director, Center for Clinical Molecular Medicine, Children’s Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, China
Sep 2001 - Jul 2004
M. D. & Ph. D., Faculty of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University
Sep 1999 - Jul 2001
Master, Faculty of Laboratory Medicine, Chongqing Medical University
Sep 1996 - Jul 1998
Junior College of Chongqing Medical University
The authors declare that they have no competing interest.
Consent for publication
Ethics approval and consent to participate
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, and the reference number was CHCMU-20110005. We have received consents, which were written by the parents and guardians.
Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
- Hendrickson BC, Donohoe C, Akmaev VR, Sugarman EA, Labrousse P, Boguslavskiy L, et al. Differences in SMN1 allele frequencies among ethnic groups within North America. J Med Genet. 2009;46(9):641–4.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
- Zerres K, Davies KE. (1999) 59th ENMC international workshop: spinal muscular atrophies: recent progress and revised diagnostic criteria 17–19 April 1998, Soestduinen, The Netherlands. Neuromuscul Disord. 1998;9(4):272–8.View ArticleGoogle Scholar
- Wang CH, Finkel RS, Bertini ES, Schroth M, Simonds A, Wong B, et al. Consensus statement for standard of care in spinal muscular atrophy. J Child Neurol. 2007;22:1027–49.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- DerakhshandehPeykar P, Esmaili M, OusatiAshtiani Z, Rahmani M, Babrzadeh F, Farshidi S, et al. Molecular analysis of the SMN1 and NAIP genes in Iranian patients with spinal muscular atrophy. Ann Acad Med Singapore. 2007;36:937–41.Google Scholar
- Sartori M, Farina D, Lloyd DG. Hybrid neuromusculoskeletal modeling to best track joint moments using a balance between muscle excitations derived from electromyograms and optimization. J Biomech. 2014;47(15):3613–21.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Rothwell E, Anderson RA, Swoboda KJ, Stark L, Botkin JR. Public attitudes regarding a pilot study of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy. Am J Med Genet A. 2013;161A(4):679–86.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Lefebvre S, Bürglen L, Reboullet S, Clermont O, Burlet P, Viollet L, et al. Identification and characterization of a spinal muscular atrophy-determining gene. Cell. 1995;80(1):155–65.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Lorson CL, Hahnen E, Androphy EJ, Wirth B. A single nucleotide in the SMN gene regulates splicing and is responsible for spinal muscular atrophy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999;96(11):6307–11.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
- Monani UR, Lorson CL, Parsons DW, Prior TW, Androphy EJ, Burghes AH, et al. A single nucleotide difference that alters splicing patterns distinguishes the SMA gene SMN1 from the copy gene SMN2. Hum Mol Genet. 1999;8(7):1177–83.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Mailman MD, Heinz JW, Papp AC, Snyder PJ, Sedra MS, Wirth B, et al. Molecular analysis of spinal muscular atrophy and modification of the phenotype by SMN2. Genet Med. 2002;4(1):20–6.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- He J, Zhang QJ, Lin QF, Chen YF, Lin XZ, Lin MT, et al. Molecular analysis of SMN1, SMN2, NAIP, GTF2H2, and H4F5 genes in 157 Chinese patients with spinal muscular atrophy. Gene. 2013;518(2):325–9.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Roy N, Mahadevan MS, McLean M, Shutler G, Yaraghi Z, Farahani R, et al. The gene for neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein is partially deleted in individuals with spinal muscular atrophy. Cell. 1995;80(1):167–78.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Arkblad E, Tulinius M, Kroksmark AK, Henricsson M, Darin N. A population-based study of genotypic and phenotypic variability in children with spinal muscular atrophy. Acta Paediart. 2009;98(5):865–72.View ArticleGoogle Scholar
- van der Steege G, Grootscholten PM, van der Vlies P, Draaijers TG, Osinga J, Cobben JM, et al. PCR-based DNA test to confirm clinical diagnosis of autosomal recessive spinal muscular atrophy. Lancet. 1995;345(8955):985–6.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Martins FT, Ramos PZ, Svidnicki MC, Castilho AM, Sartorato EL. Optimization of simultaneous screening of the main mutations involved in non-syndromic deafness using the TaqMan® OpenArray™ Genotyping platform. BMC Med Genet. 2013;14:112.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
- Saavedra-Matiz CA, Isabelle JT, Biski CK, Duva SJ, Sweeney ML, Parker AL, et al. Cost-effective and scalable DNA extraction method from dried blood spots. Clin Chem. 2013;59(7):1045–51.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Liang YH, Chen XL, Yu ZS, Chen CY, Bi S, Mao LG, et al. Deletion analysis of SMN1 and NAIP genes in Southern Chinese children with spinal muscular atrophy. J Zhejiang Univ Sci B. 2009;10(1):29–34.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
- Douglas AG, Wood MJ. Splicing therapy for neuromuscular disease. Mol Cell Neurosci. 2013;56:169–85.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
- Ozbek SM, Ozbek A, Yavuz MS. Detection of human cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr Virus in symptomatic and asymptomatic apical periodontitis lesions by real-time PCR. Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2013;18(5):e811–6.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
- Baker MW, Grossman WJ, Laessig RH, Hoffman GL, Brokopp CD, Kurtycz DF, et al. Development of a routine newborn screening protocol for severe combined immunodeficiecy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009;124(3):522–7.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Peeters K, Chamova T, Jordanova A. Clinical and genetic diversity of SMN1-negative proximal spinal muscular atrophies. Brain. 2014;137(Pt11):2879–96.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
- Sen A, Dimlich DN, Guruharsha KG, Kankel MW, Hori K, Yokokura T, et al. Genetic circuitry of Survival motor neuron, the gene underlying spinal muscular atrophy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013;110(26):E2371–80.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar
- Rudnik-Schöneborn S, Heller R, Berg C, Betzler C, Grimm T, Eggermann T, et al. Congenital heart disease is a feature of severe infantile spinal muscular atrophy. J Med Genet. 2008;45(10):635–8.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Finkel RS, Weiner DJ, Mayer OH, McDonough JM, Panitch HB. Respiratory muscle function in infants with spinal muscular atrophy type I. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2014;49(12):1234–42.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- MacLeod MJ, Taylor JE, Lunt PW, Mathew CG, Robb SA. Prenatal onset spinal muscular atrophy. Eur J Paediatr Neurol. 1999;3(2):65–72.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Alías L, Bernal S, Fuentes-Prior P, Barceló MJ, Also E, Martínez-Hernández R, et al. Mutation update of spinal muscular atrophy in Spain: molecular characterization of 745 unrelated patients and identification of four novel mutations in the SMN1 gene. Hum Genet. 2009;125(1):29–39.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Qu YJ, Ge XS, Bai JL, Wang LW, Cao YY, Lu YY, et al. Association of copy numbers of survival motor neuron gene 2 and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein gene with the natural history in a Chinese spinal muscular atrophy cohort. J Child Neurol. 2015;30(4):429–36.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Prior TW, Nagan N, Sugarman EA, Batish SD, Braastad C. Technical standards and guidelines for spinal muscular atrophy testing. Genet Med. 2011;13(7):686–94.View ArticlePubMedGoogle Scholar
- Stabley DL, Harris AW, Holbrook J, Chubbs NJ, Lozo KW, Crawford TO, et al. SMN1 and SMN2 copy numbers in cell lines derived from patients with spinal muscular atrophy as measured by array digital PCR. Mol Genet Genomic Med. 2015;3(4):248–57.View ArticlePubMedPubMed CentralGoogle Scholar |
Revelations Study Group, starts tonight at 7pm: All are cordially invited to a study of Revelation beginning this Thursday, October 26 at St. Dunstan’s after Sandbox, 7-8:30 PM. We’ll meet for five weeks (skipping Thanksgiving week), focusing this week on Rev 1-3. Some copies of Revelation in manuscript format are available in the Gathering Area; there’s also a signup sheet so we’ll know how many additional copies to print. Each week there will be some historical orientation, but we’ll mostly focus on trying to hear the text together today. Fr. Tom McAlpine will facilitate.
Ladies’ Night Out, Friday, October 27, 6pm: Come join us for good food and good conversation among women of all ages from St. Dunstan’s. This month we will meet at Pasqual’s Cantina, 702 N. Midvale Blvd. in the Hilldale Shopping Center. For more information, please contact Kathy Whitt or Debra Martinez.
Capital Campaign Forum: “How We Got Here,” 9am, Sunday, October 29: Maybe you’re new to the parish, maybe you’ve been waiting to tune in until it seemed like something might actually happen, maybe you just need your memory refreshed about how and why we came to be talking about a possible capital campaign at St. Dunstan’s. Come at 9am next Sunday for a refresher on our process and progress so far, from 2015 to the present! And bring any questions you may have for the Capital Campaign Discernment Steering Committee. (Reminder: Plans and options for the campaign will be presented to the parish on Sunday, December 3.)
Last Sunday All-Ages Worship, Sunday, October 29, 10am: Our last Sunday worship is intended especially to help kids (and grownups who are new to our pattern of worship) to engage and participate fully. NOTE: Our 8am service always follows our regular order of worship.
Naming our Saints: In anticipation of All Saints Day, please fill out one or more Saint Slips, available in the Gathering Area. Tell us about a saint, well-known or known only to you, whom you remember with love.
Helpers Wanted for our Pie Brunch (November 19)! We’ll celebrate the conclusion of our fall Giving Campaign with a potluck pie brunch at 9am, between our two Sunday services. This is always delicious and fun! This year we are looking for a few new helpers who can assist with decorating, set-up and clean-up. If you’d like to help, sign up in the Gathering Area or contact Laura Bloomenkranz.
Coffee Hosts Needed for November: Please consider being a coffee host and talk with Janet Bybee for more information.
THE WEEKS AHEAD…
Revelation Study Group, Thursday, November 2: “To whom does the earth belong? Who is the ruler of this world?” Fiorenza thinks that’s the question that drove the production of Revelation, and it’s certainly front and center in chapters 4-7. All are cordially invited to the study of Revelation this Thursday at St. Dunstan’s after Sandbox, 7-8:30 PM. This week focuses on Rev 4-7. Extra copies of the book in manuscript format will be available. There will be some historical orientation, but we’ll mostly focus on trying to hear the text together today. Fr. Tom McAlpine is facilitating.
All Saints’ Day, Sunday, Nov. 5: We will celebrate this holy day with an opportunity to remember the faithful departed; renewal of our baptismal vows; and, at our 10am service, a kids’ saint procession.
Remembrance Station: Consider bringing in a token of one of those saints whom you remember with love and respect, as an extension of our All Saints commemorations. Our Remembrance Station this year will include a place to hang pictures or notes, and a table where you may place a photo or other memento. Please don’t bring in anything precious or irreplaceable. On Sunday, November 26, we will commend these faithful departed to Christ our King.=
Birthday and Anniversary blessings and Healing Prayers will be given next Sunday, November 5, as is our custom on the first Sunday of the month.
MOM Special Offering, Sunday, November 5: Next Sunday, half the cash in our offering plate and any designated checks will be given to Middleton Outreach Ministry’s food pantry. Here are the current top-ten, most needed items: toilet paper; heart healthy cooking oil; canned chicken; ketchup and mayonnaise; baking soda & powder, salt & vanilla; boxed meals; cake, brownie & muffin mixes; toothbrush, paste, & floss; laundry detergent; size 4, 5 & 6 diapers. Thank you for your generous support!
Falk Friends Pantry Prep, Sunday, November 5, 11:30am: Our partner school, Falk Elementary School on the southwest side of Madison, now has its own food pantry which is serving families well! However, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene items are still in need, as in most pantries. This year we’ll partner with Falk by providing toilet paper, feminine hygiene items, detergent, and other similar items for their pantry. Helpers of all ages are welcome to help pack our Falk Friends Pantry bags after the 10am liturgy!
Evening Eucharist, Sunday, November 5, 6pm: Join us for a simple service as the week begins. All are welcome.
Madison-Area Julian Gathering, Wednesday, November 8, 1:00 – 2:45pm: St. Julian of Norwich: 14th Century feminist? 14th Century heretic? No, although a reader might at first think so. 14th Century psychologist? Sort of . . . she understood the human heart and, through her sixteen revelations of Jesus, she understood the heart of God. Thomas Merton called her “the greatest theologian for our time.” Come to one of our monthly meetings and find out why — and learn about contemplative prayer. We meet the second Wednesday of each month. We’d love to see you. For more information, contact Susan Fiore.
Black Friday Craft-In: VOLUNTEERS WANTED, Friday, November 24, 1 – 4pm: This year we’ll hold our fourth annual Black Friday Craft-In, a free public crafting event. We can use all kinds of volunteers – whether your skill is sewing, woodworking, stamping, papercrafting, helping little kids with simple crafts, smiling at people and saying “Welcome!”, setting up tables, or putting cookies on plates. If you’d like to plan and set up a craft station of your own, let Rev. Miranda know, and we have some Michael’s gift cards available to help you cover materials expenses. A new hope this year is to help kids make teacher gifts – your ideas needed! Sign up in the Gathering Area to help out, or email Rev. Miranda at [email protected].
Men’s Book Club, Saturday, November 11, 10am-12pm: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, first published in America in January 1885, has always been in trouble. It was condemned by many reviewers in Mark Twain’s time as coarse and by many commentators in our time as racist. But, according to Ernest Hemingway, it was the “one book” from which “all modern American Literature” came, and contemporary critics and scholars have treated it as one of the greatest American works of art.
Attending to Scripture in the Anthropocene, 9am, Nov. 12 & 26: “Anthropocene” – have you heard this word? In Nature, a top-ranked scientific journal, earth scientist Clive Hamilton writes: “[It arises]…from the new discipline of Earth-system science. Earth-system science takes an integrated approach, so that climate change affects the functioning of not just the atmosphere, but also the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the biosphere and even the lithosphere…. [the] human imprint on the global environment has now become so large and active that it rivals some of the great forces of Nature in its impact on the functioning of the Earth system.” Between services in November, Biblical storyteller Pamela Grenfell Smith invites you to listen and reflect on some key Biblical stories with her as people of the Anthropocene Age. What happens when we pay careful attention? How do they sound to us now?
What Does Racism Look Like, and What Can We Do About It? Saturday, November 18, 10 – 11:30am, at St. Dunstan’s: Eliot Smith is a cognitive scientist who studies and teaches about prejudice and stereotyping. He’ll help us understand what racism is from the perspective of social science, and how we can begin the work of change. All are welcome!
Capital Campaign Possibilities: Parish Presentation, Sunday, December 3, 9am: At this meeting, the Capital Campaign Discernment Steering Committee, along with our consultant and our architect, will present the ideas we’ve been developing in response to the hopes and needs that the parish has named over the past many months. This presentation – and your responses – will help us decide whether to move forward to the Study phase of the capital campaign. Please plan to attend! NOTE: The 10am liturgy will begin at 10:30 that morning in order to allow sufficient time for our presentation and discussion. If you can’t attend that day, look for materials to come out by email, on our church website, and by snail mail to those who prefer information by that route. |
[© Copyright. Feel free to link to this blog. Please ask author for permission before copying.]
II. The Challenges
In Blog 33 I wrote about the unique nature of Style Three Leadership—a leadership that is founded in service to the vision held by other people in the organization. This is a style of leadership that builds on humility rather than hubris. It is a style of leadership that fosters collaboration rather than competition. It is a style of leadership that builds on a foundation of generativity and generosity rather than stagnation and resentment. Perhaps most importantly, it is a style of leadership that primarily requires the work of one’s soul rather than one’s spirit.
Generativity and Soul Work
There are two forms of generativity that challenge Style Three postmodern leaders. There is first, the generativity of spirit. This generativity ensures that our presence is felt in the world. In Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, George was having a crisis of the spirit and was consumed by this crisis. He was unaware of and insensitive to the location of soul in his life. Soul was to be found in his loving family and friends, not in his worldly accomplishments. He had to resolve his sense of worthlessness in the world. He had to move past the generativity of the spirit before he could come to realize his deeper and more enduring worth as a loving husband, father and community servant.
Generativity of the soul concerns the discovery of that which we truly care about. It concerns caring deeply, thoughtfully and patiently for that about which we care. Generativity of the soul is about tending to sick or dying parents. It is about comforting the child in our arms. It is about protecting our child after a world-wide holocaust (as in Cormac McCarthy’s The Road) or a personal holocaust. George needed to attend to his crisis of the spirit. Then at the end of the movie, he could attend to his soul, which was so powerfully represented in the Capra myth of hearth, home and the fabled Christmas of bygone years.
The generativity of the spirit also concerns discovery of higher order truths. We soar upward, like Icarus, as we reach the highest point in our career, the highest point of status and influence in our communities. Those who hold the power define the truth and as leaders who hold power we are given the opportunity to define truth. We may foolishly think that we have “discovered” truth, when in fact we simply have the status and power to define what truth is and how it will be judged. In the movie, Network, Paddy Chayefsky offers a penetrating analysis of contemporary corporate life and communications. He portrays a world in which those in power primarily define the truth. These powerful figures are predominantly white males. Yet, Chayefsky also notes that the new power elite is increasingly likely to come from non-western nations (in particular, oil-rich countries). Icarus doesn’t soar for long. Chayefsky observes how precarious one’s position is at the top, particularly concerning a grasp of the truth. His protagonist, Howard Beale, struggles throughout the movie with what truth really is and how easily it is manufactured. Beale encourages all people to stand up against the manufactured truth, yet seems always to be swayed left and right to different versions of the reality that are presented to him by other powerful men and women, in particular the Faye Dunaway character.
In postmodern terms, the “grand narrative” has collapsed. The widely accepted, abiding truths in our society are no longer viable and there is nothing to replace them. Like Howard Beale, we are left in a vacuum and look in vain for a solid source of truth. As postmodern leaders we are particularly vulnerable to this collapse of the grand narrative. We have reached the highest point in our career only to discover, as did Howard Beale, that those truths which do seem to endure are ugly. They are based in ego and greed rather than in any sense of rationality or community welfare.
The Losses: Freedom, Truth and Grace
As postmodern leaders we often discover in addition that we have exchanged our freedom for the achievement of high social status and power. George Orwell writes of this tradeoff in his short story “On Shooting an Elephant.” The esteemed and powerful white leader of an Indian village, during the years of the British Empire, must kill a rogue elephant that is threatening the villagers. He hates the idea of killing this magnificent beast. Yet because he is at the top of the social order in this village, he finds himself walking down a path preparing to shoot the elephant. At this moment, the white male leader discovers that he has traded his freedom (to say “no” in this instance) for social status and power. This may be one of the most important truths that postmodern leaders must learn. We gain power in exchange for freedom. We must go “mad” like Quixote in order to gain more freedom. We must defy the system that got us to the top in the first place to confront and alter this truth. This is one of Chayefsky’s most haunting images in “Network.” We witness Howard Beale go mad and become “madder than hell,” as a way of discovering his own freedom.
At other times, postmodern leaders have lost all truths as a result of social revolution or massive technological change. They are left without any foundation. My own experiences of leaders living in Estonia after the collapse of the Soviet Union have lingered with me. Many of these men and women seemed to be wandering around in a haze. They had lost their ideology or their base of opposition to the dominant ideology. Now what do they do? Where do their abstract thinking and their spirit find a new home? With the collapse of the “grand narrative” in Western culture, we may similarly find our colleagues (and perhaps ourselves) wandering about, unable to find a new source of spirit and guidance.
At the highest point in our career (maximum ego inflation and ego gratification) we are likely to fall from grace like Icarus, even if we don’t go “mad” like Howard Beale and seek out freedom. We fall from grace precisely because our success breeds envy and power plays. If we are a bit older, our age suggests vulnerability to other people. They assume that we are now on our way “out”—or soon will be—or we have already departed and like the Jack Nicholson character in About Schmidt find that our carefully prepared recommendations and succession plans have been thrown in the garbage by our successors. Our long tenure in the organization may breed impatience among those who are younger and waiting their turn to take over. We may even come to realize, painfully, that our own egos and our own internal demons (unattended voices) breed mistakes, miscalculations, and a failure to grasp reality. Like Icarus, we fall back to Earth. We are forced to grovel and to return to the mundane.
Several years ago, while licking several of my own narcissistic wounds, I read an article in a local paper about a man who formerly was a major league baseball manager. He was now living in Maine. The ex-manager talked about going fishing each day and babysitting his granddaughter. He was not sure whether he would like another tour in leading a major league team. In our ego deflation of later mid-life, we are forced to deal with the soul and the loss of status and pride. We learn to find gratification in the mundane and everyday. The wife of a colleague of mine, who went through his own traumatic ego-deflation, having been deposed as president of a major nonprofit organization, speaks about how wonderful it is to see her husband tend his garden every morning before listening to his phone messages. He similarly acknowledges the important lessons he is learning about himself through his gardening.
A wounded leader is often someone who has fallen from grace or has never attained the heights of which he or she dreamed. If this leader remains wounded, she will go on to wound other people in her organization, especially if she remains in a position of leadership. King Lear is a man gone mad as a result of confrontation with fearsome forces and a turning to the soul. He soars to the height of his power. He flaunts his power, inflates his own ego, then falls and goes mad. Jane Smiley rewrites the Lear story from a female perspective in A Thousand Acres. The father in Smiley’s novel is playing games of power, while his children are dying. How many stories concerning the fall from grace do we find among political figures in Washington? How many sad stories of ego inflation and deflation come from inside the Washington Beltway? A few years ago several now-often forgotten men could be mentioned: Bob Packwood? Alan Cranston? Then there are the big time figures in 20th Century and Early 21st Century American politics: Richard Nixon? Bill Clinton? George Bush? They are mostly men. But I can also identify several contemporary women in American political life. Those who are liberally-inclined might mention Sarah Palin, while those of more conservative inclinations might mention Nancy Pelosi. Other people around these powerful leaders helped elevate them and inflated their egos. These assistants and loyalists also have protected these powerful men and women from the real world. Ironically, these aides have often helped bring their bosses back down to earth. They have exposed them, shifted loyalties, and misinterpreted their aspirations and plans to subordinates or the media. These leaders (like Don Quixote) stand before the Knight of the Mirrors. They must confront their own reality and madness in order to begin the journey inward toward the soul.
In essence, the work of Style Three leaders in a postmodern setting involves moving inward as well as outward. We must return home to our family and our own inner life. We must cross the border into new worlds and new experiences. We must ultimately bridge the chasm between soul and spirit. Early in my own life I repeatedly dreamed at night of this bridging and integrating process. I now realize that this dream was preparing me for my future life, as do many repetitive dreams in our lives. I dreamed of climbing a flower-strewed mountain. This mountain rose up singularly and impressively from a plain. I now realize that it was a strong image of spirit and of achievement for me. Near the top of the mountain there was always a cave. This was a hide-away. I looked forward to reaching this cave while climbing up the mountain. The hideaway was always damp. This cave closely resembled a “clubhouse” that my brother and I built as small boys living in Illinois. We dug a big hole in the ground and covered it with plywood. The clubhouse wasn’t very pleasant. It was very dirty and offered little light. It soon was filled with water and spiders; yet, for a brief period of time this clubhouse represented safety and a respite from our schoolwork and family responsibilities. It was an enduring image for me of a soulful presence in my life. Similarly, the cave in my dream represented safety and a reprise from the climb. The dream has taught me that I need to blend the spirit of the mountain and my climb up the mountain, with the soul work of the cave and “clubhouse.” This recurring dream and my recollections of the childhood clubhouse teach me about the essential integration of spirit and soul. |
I wrote a post last Tuesday entitled “Exposed on Winthrop Street, Roxbury” and, as a result, I was labeled a racist by some people and I’ve been carrying it around with me since the first negative reaction on Twitter came my way. I’ve been very upset since then and I wanted to let it die but I got an email through LinkedIn today, letting me know that the issue still persists, so I want to clear the air. This is going to be long and rambling and probably isn’t appropriate for a real estate site but here I go.
I started selling real estate for Jack Conway & Co., Inc. out of its now closed Milton office back in 1999. I could’ve concentrated on Milton and Quincy but I kept on getting pulled into Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury time after time and I liked it so I’ve kept on working in those neighborhoods through the years. I don’t know why I liked it but I think that I liked meeting all types of different people because I’m curious about different cultures. I could meet people from so many different places like:
- Dominican Republic
- Viet Nam
The people who I’ve met have probably come from almost every country in the world! I love to watch Anthony Bourdain and the neighborhoods like Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury are like my little own episodes of: A Cook’s Tour; No Reservations; The Layover or; most recently, Parts Unknown. I’ve learned some words in Vietnamese while selling a two-family property at 40 Whitten Street, Dorchester in 2008; words like “dầu”,which means “oil” although when I say it native Vietnamese speakers think that I’m saying the Vietnamese word for “gold”, and “cam on” which sounds like “come on” but means “thank you”.[mappress mapid=”13″]
I sold a single family property at 48 Church Street, Hyde Park in 2012 and the new owner’s wife, originally from Ethiopia, was nice enough to give me two types of spices, one called, if I remember correctly, berbere, which I sometimes still use in my cooking although I don’t know if I’m using it correctly. I’m always careful because the spices are so hot![mappress mapid=”14″]
I sold a three-family property at 36 Mozart Street, Jamaica Plain last year and the smells coming from the pots in the back yard of the house next door were intoxicating and I demanded, nicely, that I get a plate of whatever food it was that the ladies were preparing and it turned out that the Ethiopian women were preparing a traditional dish that included injera and wat and it was delicious; I’ve never seen my future father-in-law, he spent time living in Morocco, eat a plate of food with such gusto so I hardly got to eat any of it.[mappress mapid=”15″]
I’ve learned that Buddha likes gifts of alcohol and bananas during my time in unsuccessfully trying to sell 6 McDonnell Drive, Randolph earlier this year.[mappress mapid=”16″]
I’ve learned through selling 58 Hollingsworth Street, Mattapan that three scars on each of the cheeks of a Nigerian woman of a certain tribe, I’m not sure which tribe, means that she’s the oldest daughter although that practice of scarification seems to be dying out. I’ve learned through recently working with some buyers from Guyana that the Chinese and the Indians were falsely lured to Guyana in search of gold by the British; I don’t know how true that statement is but it seems feasible to me.[mappress mapid=”17″]
What I’m trying to convey is that I enjoy learning about different cultures. I like meeting people. I like learning about people. All people.
I feel comfortable selling real estate in neighborhoods like Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury because I have a bit of a different background than most people who look like me. I grew up in East Boston in the 70s and 80s but East Boston, at the time, was almost all Italian. I lived in Orient Heights and it was very insulated but I did go to school in Chelsea and Chelsea was, even in the 80s, highly Hispanic; there were hardly any Hispanic immigrants living in East Boston and, if they were, they were living in Jeffries Point and Maverick Square. I took the bus and the train almost every day from Orient Heights into Chelsea; it was a gritty city and I experienced the grit almost every day. I knew how to behave, I knew how not to behave, where to go, where not to go, who to talk to, who not to talk to. I saw grown men get the shit beat out of them outside of the restaurant that my mother managed which was located on the corner of Bennington Street and Breed Street in East Boston and which now houses El Paisa Butchershop and I didn’t want to end up like them.[mappress mapid=”18″]
I was street smart and I still think that I am today because of my time on the streets of East Boston and Chelsea. I made friends of many nationalities during my time at St. Rose Elementary School in Chelsea including a kid from Central America named Christian; he was my buddy for years through sixth grade until I moved to Hanover. I wonder how he’s doing?
I moved into my father’s house at 573 Broadway, Hanover in 1986. My father had already been dating a woman with a biracial son from her first marriage; she had met her first husband while living in St. John. I had been visiting my father, his girlfriend and her son at a house that my father rented at 41 Sea Avenue, Quincy for some time before my father bought the house in Hanover. I remember the first time that I experienced overt racism which affected my family. We were having dinner as a family at a place called the Barnside Tavern in Norwell sometime in the mid 80s. The Barnside Tavern, located where the now closed Joe’s American Grill was later housed, skewed to an older crowd and it was definitely all white. I don’t know if there was another black person beside my brother, he legally took my father’s last name although he was never legally adopted by my father but I usually called him my brother nonetheless, within miles of that restaurant. We walked in and it seemed like every person in the dining room turned around to stare at us. It was like they’d never seen a black person in their lives. What was he doing sitting down to dinner in their restaurant? Why was he sitting with white people? Why wasn’t he serving white people? Maybe they thought that my brother was past of Marvelous Marvin Hagler’s family since he had bought a house in Hanover with his family at about that time. We all made some jokes at our table but I still remember that night to this day. I felt the weirdest feeling that I still can’t quite pinpoint but my brother must’ve felt awful. It got even more strange when we moved to Cohasset in 1987. My brother, I think, was the only black person living in the entire town! We got used to the looks and the questions over time so much so that it didn’t bother us and, at some point, we just disregarded them but some silent racism was usually present. I haven’t seen my brother in over twenty years due to my father’s second divorce but the memories of racism still linger.
I understand why some people would read that post and think that it came from a racist point of view. I used the term “do rag”, a term that could be associated with black people, and the anecdote took place in Roxbury. The story was written by a white male. All the signs point to a racist, right? It couldn’t be farther than the truth. I’m disgusted by what’s going on in this country. The blatant murder of Eric Garner still pisses me off; how those police officers weren’t indicted is beyond infuriating. I watched the video of Sandra Bland’s arrest; how she ever made it into prison in the first place is beyond ridiculous. You can look at the history of my Facebook page or my Twitter posts and you will see that I am generally disgusted by the way that black people are treated in this country. Even I was naive enough to think that black people were blowing their issues with cops out of proportion but story after story and video after video over the past few years is proving that we have a serious problem in this country and it needs to be fixed.
I may have a different philosophy when it comes to people than you. I try not to see people as black or white or anything in between. I try not to put people in boxes or categories including: race; religion; or sexual orientation. I try to see people as individuals and I try to judge each person by their individual actions. Isn’t it better that way?
Some people have claimed that I shouldn’t have felt intimidated. That my safety was never in danger. But those were my feelings. I felt them. They were real. I still believe that I was in trouble. Do you know that feeling when the hairs on the back of your neck bristle? When your body tingles with adrenaline? That was it. The story could’ve taken place in any other neighborhood. It could’ve taken place in South Boston. The story would’ve been the same.
I never disclosed the races of the men that were on Winthrop Street so you don’t know the races of the men. The races of the men don’t matter. That’s not what the story was about. The story was about my experience in relation to safety as a real estate agent. You’re probably not a real estate agent but that’s who the story was targeted toward. As I mentioned in the post, too many real estate agents have been robbed, raped or murdered lately and it’s a big concern in the real estate community these days.
I know that some of the neighbors surrounding Winthrop Street weren’t happy to read the post. The neighbors that have expressed concern to me are claiming that the neighborhood is safe. I get that question quite often through my job as a real estate agent: “Is this neighborhood safe?” We, as real estate agents, are taught never to answer that question because your perception of safety and another’s perception of safety could be completely different. Safety is generally a comparative question. We generally refer those questions to the local police department, which is admittedly a bit silly, or we tell people to go back to the neighborhood when people are leaving for work or coming home from work but there’s no good answer for that question. Some neighbors have questioned my ethics. Am I trying to devalue the neighborhood? I have to tell you that I don’t have the power to do that even if I wanted to and, moreover, I don’t want to.
I not only sell real estate in the Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury neighborhoods but I’ve, de facto, become a part of them. I’m not a religious guy but I was invited by some of my clients to join them at the Jubilee Christian Church on Blue Hill Avenue a few times and I had a blast! The services were much more lively than I’ve been used to while attending Catholic services. The preacher, I think he’s called, got the packed room into a tizzy while the band was blasting and literally dropped the microphone and walked off the stage. You want to talk about being a minority? I think that there were about 2,000 black people and maybe three white people in the room. I counted. I was a bit nervous but I was comfortable. I got a few funny looks but the people there were, overall, happy to see me. I asked the people with whom I attended the service with what was next and they told me that the service was over. I was disappointed that there wouldn’t be more but I was charged up!
I have compassion for the people in Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury. I remember that I was showing one of the units at 5 Hallam Street, Dorchester on, I think, the night before Thanksgiving in 2004 and the first floor tenants didn’t even have a damned turkey. I went shopping for them and brought back a turkey and all the other Thanksgiving stuff that they didn’t have. I felt so good about myself. I worked hard for the seller of Hallam Street but was never able to sell it for the owner.[mappress mapid=”19″]
I work hard for my clients. Period. A client asked me to investigate some properties on Winthrop Street. I did that. If you hire me as your real estate agent then you are getting one of the brightest and hardest working real estate agents out there. I investigate and then I investigate more. I give you my opinions even when you don’t ask for them and even when it puts my commission in jeopardy. I put your priorities over mine, every time.
I hope that you’ve learned more about me. I hope that you understand why I’ve chosen to work in Dorchester, Mattapan and Roxbury when I could’ve worked in towns like Cohasset, Hingham or Milton. I’ve never been called a racist in the fifteen years that I’ve been working in those communities and I thought that my track record had preceded me but I guess that it hasn’t and that makes me sad.
Thanks for reading… |
Re : Article of "'lady-in-waiting' Confucius/Mencius/Laozi/Micius popcorn 'Generation Y/X' 'Wonder Woman' I/you etc." <<Column 2. Confucius/Mencius, Moshe, "Jesus Christ" & Laozi/Micius>>
Article of "translation : 논어(論語)/공자(孔子/Confucius), etymological analysis"
Article of "' 'Moses & Jesus Christ' Christ/Jesus, 'Christmas card' 'Why Santa is old man' MoU, 'Three Magi'" <<Column 2. Christianity, etc.>>
1. place/year of birth/death
Bethlehem (Jes/P/Ch + us/C1/Ch)/abT Jesus
* Bethlehem >> Nazareth /GC/S/Ch/abT
Galilee (N/C2 + azareth/P) Nazareth
Judea (G/P/Ch + alilee/C2/Ch)/abT Galilee
Calvary (Jud/P/Ch + ea/S/Ch)/abT Judea
* Calvary >> Crucifixion /T
* Crucifixion /T >> Jerusalem /C2
Re : Article of "'&/and', italic, ride/drive, Morrison, Messiah/Immanuel, succeed, 'Virgin Mary' Joseph" <<Column 7. "Virgin Mary??">>
God (J/P/Ch + oseph/C1/Ch)/abT Joseph
* Nazareth /GC/S/Ch/abT >> "4 BC" /P (four BC)
* Nazareth /GC/S/Ch/abT >> "AD 29" /T (AD twenty-nine)
* Nazareth /GC/S/Ch/abT >> "5 BC" /P/Ch (five BC)
* Nazareth /GC/S/Ch/abT >> "AD 30" /T/Ch (AD thirty)
>> ^ Sanders supports c. 4 BC/BCE. Vermes supports c. 6/5 BC/BCE. Finegan supports c. 3/2 BC/BCE. Sanders refers to the general consensus, Vermes a common 'early' date, Finegan defends comprehensively the date according to early Christian traditions.
* Bethlehem >> "6 BC" /S/Ch (six BC)
* "6 BC" /S/Ch >> "3 BC" /T (three BC)
* "6 BC" /S/Ch >> "2 BC" /T/Ch (two BC)
Redeemer (Jesus/S + Christ/P) "Jesus Christ"
* Redeemer >> "Jesus of Nazareth" /GC/S/Ch/abT
* "Jesus of Nazareth" /GC/S/Ch/abT >> "Good Shepherd" /T
Savior (Good/S + Shepherd/P) "Good Shepherd"
Saviour (Good/S/Ch + Shepherd/P/Ch) "Good Shepherd"
* Savior >> Deliverer /GC/S/Ch/abT
* Deliverer /GC/S/Ch/abT >> "the Nazarene" /T
>> Most Christian denominations venerate him as God the Son incarnated, and believe that he rose from the dead after being crucified.
"God the Son" (the/C2 + Nazarene/P) "the Nazarene"
incarnated (G/P + "-od the Son"/S) "God the Son"
>> Most critical historians agree that Jesus was a Jew who was regarded as a teacher and healer
* teacher/P >> healer /P/Ch
>> he was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, on the charge of sedition against the Roman Empire
"baptized by John the Baptist" (in/S + carnated/P) incarnated
"Pontius Pilate" (J/P/Ch + ohn/C1/Ch)/abT John
* Pontius >> "Roman Prefect" /GC/S/Ch/abT
* Pilate >> "of Judaea" /P/Ch
"sedition against Roman Empire" (R/P/Ch + "-oman Prefect of Judaea"/C1/Ch)/abT "Roman Prefect of Judaea"
Re : Article of "'&/and', italic, ride/drive, Morrison, Messiah/Immanuel, succeed, 'Virgin Mary' Joseph" <<Column 5. Messiah/Immanuel, god>>
>> Other prominent scholars, however, contend that Jesus' "Kingdom of God" meant radical personal and social transformation instead of a future apocalypse.
"Kingdom of God" (Mes/C1/Ch + siah/P/Ch) Messiah
>> the Old Testament. The majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, one of three divine persons of a Trinity.
Trinity ([ŋ= w=]/P/Ch + "Old Testament"/C1/Ch)/abT "Old Testament"
>> The Christian doctrine of the Trinity, one of the most important in mainstream Christian faith, teaches the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons (Greek: hypostases) in one divine Being (Greek: Ousia), called the Godhead.
Father (Tr/P/Ch + inity/C1/Ch)/abT Trinity
Son (Tr/P/Ch + inity/C2/Ch)/abT Trinity
"Holy Spirit" (Tr/P/Ch + inity/S/Ch) Trinity
>> "Christ" (pronounced /ˈkraɪst/) is a title derived from the Greek Χριστός (Christós), meaning the "Anointed One", a translation of the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ (Messiah).:274-275
"Anointed One" (Chr/P/Ch + ist/C2/Ch)/abT Christ
Logos (S/P/Ch + on/S/Ch) Son
>> In Luke, the angel Gabriel visits Mary to tell her that she was chosen to bear the Son of God.[Lk. 1:26–38] An order of Caesar Augustus had forced Mary and Joseph to leave their homes in Nazareth and travel to Bethlehem, the home of Joseph's ancestors, the house of David, for the Census of Quirinius.[Lk. 2:1-5]
"the Son of God" ([ŋ= w=]/T/Ch + "a son of Joseph"/C1/Ch) "a son of Joseph"
"Caesar Augustus" (S/P/Ch + "-on of God"/C1/Ch)/abT "Son of God"
>> In Matthew, the "Wise Men" or "Magi" bring gifts to the young Jesus after following a star which they believe was a sign that the King of the Jews had been born.[Mt 2:1–12] King Herod hears of Jesus' birth from the Wise Men and tries to kill him by massacring all the male children in Bethlehem under the age of two (the "massacre of the innocents").[Mt 2:16-17] The family flees to Egypt and remains there until Herod's death, whereupon they settle in Nazareth to avoid living under the authority of Herod's son and successor Archelaus.[Mt 2:19–23]
* Gabriel >> Magi /GC/S/Ch/abT
"Wise Men" (M/P/Ch + agi/C2/Ch)/abT Magi
gift (W/P/Ch + "-ise Men"/S/Ch) "Wise Men"
"King of Jews" (g/C1 + ift/P) gift
* "King of Jews" >> Christ /P/+bp
* "King of Jews" >> Herod /P/+cp
>> While in the Garden, Jesus is arrested by temple guards on the orders of the Sanhedrin and the high priest, Caiaphas. The arrest takes place clandestinely at night to avoid a riot, as Jesus is popular with the people at large.[Mk 14:2] Judas Iscariot, one of his apostles, betrays Jesus by identifying him to the guards with a kiss.[Mt 26:49-50] Simon Peter, another one of Jesus' apostles, uses a sword to attack one of Jesus' captors, cutting off his ear, which, according to Luke, Jesus immediately heals miraculously. Jesus rebukes the apostle, stating "all they that take the sword shall perish by the sword".[Mt 26:52] After his arrest, Jesus' apostles go into hiding; Judas, distraught by his betrayal of Jesus, commits suicide shortly after.[Mt 27:5]
Sanhedrin (Jud/P/Ch + as/C1/Ch)/abT Judas
Caiaphas (Isc/P/Ch + ariot/C2/Ch)/abT Iscariot
* Sanhedrin >> council /GC/S/Ch/abT
* Caiaphas >> priest /GC/S/Ch/abT
* "Judas Iscariot" >> "Simon Peter" /T/Ch
* "Simon Peter" /T/Ch >> Luke /GC/S/Ch/abT
>> The Jewish leaders turn him over to Pilate for execution, but Pilate is reluctant to execute Jesus. In an attempt to spare Jesus' life, Pilate offers the mob a chance to free him, but they choose Barabbas instead, so that the responsibility for Jesus' execution falls on the mob of Jews that the Pharisees have incited, rather than on the Romans as expressed in the Gospel of Matthew by the Jewish crowd's proclamation, “[h]is blood be upon us and on our children.”[Mt 27:24–25] --//-- Luke adds the detail that Pilate sends Jesus to Herod Antipas, who has authority over Galileans, but
Pilate (S/P/Ch + anhedrin/C1/Ch)/abT Sanhedrin
Barabbas (Pil/P/Ch + ate/S/Ch) Pilate
* Barabbas >> Pharisees /T/Ch
Matthew (Ph/P/Ch + arisees/C1/Ch)/abT Pharisees
* Matthew >> Luke /GC/S/Ch/abT
>> In Mark, Jesus is stripped, flogged, mocked, and crowned with thorns. He is crucified between two thieves,
darkening of the sky from twelve until three that afternoon; Matthew also mentions an earthquake,[Mt 27:51]
Mark (L/P/Ch + uke/C2/Ch)/abT Luke
"two thieves" (M/P + ark/S) Mark
* "two thieves" >> "darkening of sky" /T/Ch
* "darkening of sky" /T/Ch >> earthquake /P/Ch
1. Peter: Renamed by Jesus, his original name was Simon (Mark 3:16); was a fisherman from the Bethsaida "of Galilee" (John 1:44, cf. John 12:21). Also known as Simon bar Jonah, Simon bar Jochanan (Aram.), Cephas (Aram.), and Simon Peter.
2. James, son of Zebedee: The brother of John.
3. John: The brother of James. Jesus named both of them Bo-aner'ges, which means "sons of thunder".(Mark 3:17)
4. Andrew: The brother of Simon/Peter, a Bethsaida fisherman, and a former disciple of John the Baptist.
5. Philip: From the Bethsaida of Galilee (John 1:44, John 12:21)
6. Bartholomew, son of Talemai: It has been suggested that he is the same person as Nathanael, who is mentioned in John 1:45-51.
7. Matthew: The tax collector.
8. Thomas: Also known as Judas Thomas Didymus - Aramaic T'oma' = twin, and Greek Didymous = twin.
9. James, son of Alphaeus: Generally identified with "James the Less", and also identified by Roman Catholics with "James the Just".
10. Thaddeus: In some manuscripts of Matthew, the name "Lebbaeus" occurs in this place. Thaddeus is traditionally identified with Jude; see below.
11. Simon the Zealot: Some have identified him with Simeon of Jerusalem.
12. Judas Iscariot: The disciple who later betrayed Jesus. (Mark 3:19) The name Iscariot may refer to the Judaean towns of Kerioth or to the sicarii (Jewish nationalist insurrectionists), or to Issachar. Also referred to as "Judas, the son of Simon" (John 6:71 and John 13:26). He was replaced as an apostle shortly after Jesus' resurrection by Matthias.
"Twelve Apostles" (Je/C1/Ch + "-sus Christ"/P/Ch)/+bp "Jesus Christ"
* "Twelve Apostles" >> Peter /GC/S/Ch/abT
* "Twelve Apostles" >> James /P/Ch/+cp
John (Tw/P/Ch + "-elve Apostles"/C1/Ch)/abT/+bp "Twelve Apostles"
* "Twelve Apostles" >> Andrew /C2/Ch
Philip (Tw/P/Ch + "-elve Apostles"/S/Ch) "Twelve Apostles"
Bartholomew (Tw/S/Ch + "-elve Apostles"/P/Ch) "Twelve Apostles"
Matthew (Tw/P/Ch + "-elve Apostles"/C2/Ch)/abT/+cp "Twelve Apostles"
* "Twelve Apostles" >> Thomas /P/Ch/+bp
James (Tw/P/Ch + "-elve Apostles"/C1/Ch)/abT/+cp "Twelve Apostles"
Thaddeus (Tw/P/Ch + "-elve Apostles"/C2/Ch)/abT/+bp "Twelve Apostles"
* "Twelve Apostles" >> Simon /T/Ch/+cp
* "Twelve Apostles" >> "Judas Iscariot" /T/Ch/+bp
>> 1. Peter: Renamed by Jesus, his original name was Simon (Mark 3:16); was a fisherman from the Bethsaida "of Galilee" (John 1:44, cf. John 12:21). Also known as Simon bar Jonah, Simon bar Jochanan (Aram.), Cephas (Aram.), and Simon Peter.
Simon (Pe/C1/Ch + ter/P/Ch) Peter
fisherman (Sim/P/Ch + on/C2/Ch)/abT Simon
* fisherman >> Bethsaida /P/Ch/+cp
* Bethsaida >> Galilee /T/Ch
* fisherman >> "Simon bar Jonah" /P/Ch/+bp
* "Simon bar Jonah" /P/Ch/+bp >> "Simon bar Jochanan" /S/Ch
* "Simon bar Jochanan" /S/Ch >> Cephas /GC/S/Ch/abT
"Simon Peter" (Ceph/P/Ch + as/C1/Ch)/abT Cephas
>> 2. James, son of Zebedee: The brother of John.
* James /P/Ch/+cp >> "son of Zebedee" /T/Ch
* James /P/Ch/+cp >> "brother of John" /C1/Ch
>> 3. John: The brother of James. Jesus named both of them Bo-aner'ges, which means "sons of thunder".(Mark 3:17)
* John >> "brother of James" /GC/S/Ch/abT
* John >> "Bo-aner'ges" /T/Ch
* James /P/Ch/+cp >> "Bo-aner'ges" /T/Ch
>> 4. Andrew: The brother of Simon/Peter, a Bethsaida fisherman, and a former disciple of John the Baptist.
* Andrew /C2/Ch >> "brother of Simon" /GC/S/Ch/abT/+bp
* Andrew /C2/Ch >> "brother of Peter" /GC/S/Ch/abT/+cp
* Andrew /C2/Ch >> "Bethsaida fisherman" /S/Ch
* Andrew /C2/Ch >> "former disciple of John the Baptist" /C1/Ch
>> 5. Philip: From the Bethsaida of Galilee (John 1:44, John 12:21)
* Philip >> "Bethsaida of Galilee" /S/Ch
>> 6. Bartholomew, son of Talemai: It has been suggested that he is the same person as Nathanael, who is mentioned in John 1:45-51.
"son of Talemai" (B/P/Ch + artholomew/C2/Ch)/abT Bartholomew
* Bartholomew >> Nathanael /GC/S/Ch/abT
>> 7. Matthew: The tax collector.
* Matthew >> "tax collector" /GC/S/Ch/abT
>> 8. Thomas: Also known as Judas Thomas Didymus - Aramaic T'oma' = twin, and Greek Didymous = twin.
* Thomas /P/Ch/+bp >> "Judas Thomas Didymus" /T/Ch
* T'oma' >> twin /S/Ch
* Didymous >> twin /S/Ch
>> 9. James, son of Alphaeus: Generally identified with "James the Less", and also identified by Roman Catholics with "James the Just".
* James >> "son of Alphaeus" /T/Ch
* James >> "James the Less" /S/Ch
* James >> "James the Just" /GC/S/Ch/abT
>> 10. Thaddeus: In some manuscripts of Matthew, the name "Lebbaeus" occurs in this place. Thaddeus is traditionally identified with Jude; see below.
* Thaddeus >> Lebbaeus /C1/Ch
* Thaddeus >> Jude /P/Ch
>> 11. Simon the Zealot: Some have identified him with Simeon of Jerusalem.
* Simon /T/Ch/+cp >> Zealot /P/Ch
* Simon /T/Ch/+cp >> "Simeon of Jerusalem" /GC/S/Ch/abT
>>12. Judas Iscariot: The disciple who later betrayed Jesus. (Mark 3:19) The name Iscariot may refer to the Judaean towns of Kerioth or to the sicarii (Jewish nationalist insurrectionists), or to Issachar. Also referred to as "Judas, the son of Simon" (John 6:71 and John 13:26). He was replaced as an apostle shortly after Jesus' resurrection by Matthias.
"The disciple who betrayed Jesus" (Jud/P/Ch + "-as Iscariot"/C2/Ch)/abT "Judas Iscariot"
* Iscariot >> Kerioth /GC/S/Ch/abT
* Iscariot >> sicarii /P/Ch
* Iscariot >> Issachar /S/Ch
"Judas, the son of Simon" (Jud/P/Ch + "-as Iscariot"/C1/Ch)/abT "Judas Iscariot"
* "Judas Iscariot" >> Matthias /T/Ch
>> Some of Jesus' most famous teachings come from the Sermon on the Mount, which contains the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer. It is one of five collections of teachings in Matthew.
In the Synoptics, Jesus often employs parables, such as the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke) and the Parable of the Sower (all Synoptics).
"Sermon on the Mount" (Je/C1/Ch + "-sus Christ"/P/Ch)/+cp "Jesus Christ"
* "Sermon on the Mount" >> Beatitudes /P/Ch
* "Sermon on the Mount" >> "Lord's Prayer" /GC/S/Ch/abT
"Prodigal Son" (Syn/P/Ch + optics/C2/Ch)/abT Synoptics
Sower (Syn/P/Ch + optics/S/Ch) Synoptics
>> Arrest, trial, and death
Main articles: Jesus and the Money Changers, Last Supper, Arrest of Jesus, Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus, and Crucifixion of Jesus
"Last Supper" (de/P/Ch + ath/C1/Ch)/abT death
* "Last Supper" >> Crucifixion /GC/S/Ch/abT
>> Mary Magdalene
"Mary Magdalene" (pr/C1/Ch + ostitute/P/Ch) prostitute
>> according to the Hebrew Bible, a religious leader, lawgiver, and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed
Prophet (M/C2/Ch + oshe/P/Ch) Moshe
"religious leader" (M/P/Ch + oshe/C1/Ch)/abT Moshe
* Moshe >> lawgiver /T/Ch
>> Moses' Hebrew mother, Jochebed,
Jochebed (M/P/Ch + oshe/S/Ch)/+cp Moshe
* Exodus >> Pharaoh /T/Ch
>> Moses flees across the Red Sea to Midian where he has his encounter with the God of Israel in the "burning bush" episode.
"Red Sea" ([=]/P/Ch + Egypt/S/Ch) Egypt
Midian (R/P/Ch + "ed Sea"/C1/Ch)/abT "Red Sea"
"God of Israel" (Mi/C2/Ch + dian/P/Ch) Midian
* "God of Israel" >> "burning bush" /T/Ch
* "burning bush" >> "Ten Plagues" /GC/S/Ch/abT
"Mount Sinai" (T/P/Ch + "-en Plagues"/C1/Ch)/abT "Ten Plagues"
* "Mount Sinai" >> "Ten Commandments" /P
>> Rabbinical Judaism calculated a lifespan of Moses corresponding to 1391–1271 BCE
"BC 1391" (T/P + orah/C1) Torah
"BC 1271" (T/P + orah/C2) Torah
>> ^ Jerome's Chronicon (4th century) gives 1592 for the birth of Moses, the 17th-century Ussher chronology calculates 1619 BC (Annals of the World, 1658)
"BC 1592" (P/P + entateuch/S) Pentateuch
"BC 1619" (P/P/Ch + entateuch/S/Ch) Pentateuch
>> The "law of Moses" was discovered in the Temple during the reign of king Josiah (r. 641–609 BCE) probably corresponds to an early version of the Book of Deuteronomy.
"BC 641" (r/S + "-eign of king Josiah"/P) "reign of king Josiah"
"BC 609" (r/S/Ch + "-eign of king Josiah"/P/Ch) "reign of king Josiah"
* "law of Moshe" >> Temple /GC/S/Ch/abT
Josiah (T/C2 + emple/P)/+cp Temple
Deuteronomy (T/C2 + emple/P)/+bp Temple
>> Moses was a son of Amram, a member of the Levite tribe of Israel descended from Jacob, and his wife, Jochebed. Jochebed (also Yocheved) was kin to Amram's father Kehath (Exodus 6:20). Moses had one older (by seven years) sister, Miriam, and one older (by three years) brother, Aaron. According to Genesis 46:11, Amram's father Kehath immigrated to Egypt with 70 of Jacob's household, making Moses part of the second generation of Israelites born during their time in Egypt.
"son of Amram" (M/P/Ch + oshe/S/Ch)/+bp Moshe
Levite ([ŋ= w=]/P/Ch + Amram/C1/Ch)/abT Amram
* Levite >> Jacob /GC/S/Ch/abT
Jochebed (J/P/Ch + acob/C1/Ch)/abT Jacob
* Jochebed >> Yocheved /GC/S/Ch/abT
Kehath (Y/P/Ch + ocheved/S/Ch) Yocheved
Miriam (Keh/P/Ch + ath/C1/Ch)/abT Kehath
* Miriam >> Aaron /GC/S/Ch/abT
>> Moses' sister Miriam observed the progress of the tiny boat until it reached a place where Pharaoh's daughter (Bithiah, Thermuthis ) was bathing
Bithiah (Mir/P/Ch + iam/C1/Ch)/abT Miriam
* Bithiah >> Thermuthis /P
>> In Midian he stopped at a well, where he protected seven shepherdesses from a band of rude shepherds. The shepherdesses' father Hobab adopted him as his son, gave his daughter Zipporah to him in marriage, and made him the superintendent of his herds. There he sojourned forty years, following the occupation of a shepherd, during which time his son Gershom was born. One day, Moses led his flock to Mount Horeb (Exodus 3), usually identified with Mount Sinai — a mountain that was thought in the Middle Ages to be located on the Sinai Peninsula. While tending the flocks of Jethro at Mount Horeb, he saw a burning bush that would not be consumed. When he turned aside to look more closely at the marvel, God spoke to him from the bush, revealing his name to Moses.
Hobab (Mid/P/Ch + ian/S/Ch) Midian
* Hobab >> Zipporah /GC/S/Ch/abT
* Hobab >> Jethro /P
Gershom (Zipp/P/Ch + orah/S/Ch) Zipporah
* Gershom >> Horeb /GC/S/Ch/abT
* Horeb >> Sinai /T/+bp
* Horeb >> mountain /T/+cp
* mountain >> mount /GC/S/Ch/abT
* mountain >> hill /P
>> to leave in the Exodus. The events are commemorated as Passover, referring to how the plague "passed over" the houses of the Israelites while smiting the Egyptians.
Passover ([ŋ= w=]/P/Ch + Exodus/C1/Ch)/abT Exodus
Canaan (P/P/Ch + assover/S/Ch) Passover
>> The people then continued to Marsa marching for three days along the wilderness of the Shur without finding water. Then they came to Elim where twelve water springs and 70 Palm trees greeted them. From Elim they set out again and after 45 days they reached the wilderness of Sin between Elim and Sinai.
From there they reached the plain of Rephidim, completing the crossing of the Red Sea.
* Sinai >> Marsa /GC/S/Ch/abT
Shur (M/P/Ch + arsa/C1/Ch)/abT Marsa
Elim (Sh/P/Ch + ur/S/Ch) Shur
* Elim >> Sin /GC/S/Ch/abT
Rephidim (S/P/Ch + in/C1/Ch)/abT Sin
>> on the mountain for 40 days and nights, a period in which he received the Ten Commandments directly from God.
* Sinai >> "Ten Commandments" /S
"40 days and nights" (Si/S + nai/P) Sinai
>> he saw that the people were involved in the sin of the Golden Calf.
* "40 days and nights" >> "Golden Calf" /GC/S/Ch/abT
* "40 days and nights" >> Marah /T
>> but God's provision of manna from the sky in the morning and quail in the evening took care of the situation
* Marah >> manna /GC/S/Ch/abT
* manna >> food /P
* manna >> quail /T
>> Amalekites arrived and attacked the Israelites. In response, Moses bade Joshua lead the men
* Rephidim >> Amalekite /P
Joshua ([ŋ= w=]/P/Ch + Amalekites/C1/Ch)/abT Amalekites
>> The people left Hazeroth and pitched camp in the wilderness of Paran.
Hazeroth (J/P + oshua/S) Joshua
Paran (H/P/Ch + azeroth/C1/Ch)/abT Hazeroth
* Paran >> Canaan /T
>> but were repulsed by the Amalekites and Canaanites.
The Tribe of Reuben, led by Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and two hundred fifty Israelite princes accused Moses and Aaron of raising themselves over the rest of the people.
* Amalekites >> Canaanites /T
Reuben (C/P/Ch + anaanites/S/Ch) Canaanites
Korah (Re/P/Ch + uben/C1/Ch)/abT Reuben
* Korah >> Dathan /GC/S/Ch/abT
Abiram (D/P/Ch + athan/C1/Ch)/abT Dathan
* Abiram >> "two hundred fifty" /S
* "two hundred fifty" >> "Israelite princes" /GC/S/Ch/abT
>> After leaving Sinai, the Israelites camped in Kadesh.
* "Israelite princes" >> Kadesh /S
>> in Rephidim, there was no water, so the people complained again and said, "Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?" Moses struck a rock with his staff, and water came forth.
>> the second occasion Moses struck a rock to bring forth water; however, it appears that both sites were named Meribah after these two incidents.
Meribah (R/P/Ch + ephidim/C1/Ch)/abT Rephidim
Meribah (K/P/Ch + adesh/C1/Ch)/abT Kadesh
>> Hebron, a city in the southern part of Canaan.
Hebron (C/P/Ch + anaan/C2/Ch)/abT Canaan
>> around the Dead Sea. This required that they pass through Edom, Moab, and Ammon. These three tribes are considered Hebrews by the Israelites as descendants of Lot,
* Hebron >> "Dead Sea" /GC/S/Ch/abT
Edom (De/P/Ch + "-ad Sea"/S/Ch) "Dead Sea"
Moab (Ed/P/Ch + om/C1/Ch)/abT Edom
* Moab >> Ammon /GC/S/Ch/abT
* Jew >> Hebrew /GC/S/Ch/abT
* Edom >> Jew /T
* Moab >> Jew /T
* Ammon >> Jew /T
* Jew >> Lot /P
* Israelite >> Jew /T
Israelite (Je/P/Ch + w/S/Ch) Jew
>> Moses made the brass serpent and mounted it on a pole, and if those who were bitten looked at it, they did not die.
"brass serpent" (dr/P/Ch + ug/C2/Ch)/abT drug
eat (se/P/Ch + e/C1/Ch)/abT see
* eat >> see /P
>> When they reach Moab, it is revealed that Moab has been attacked and defeated by the Amorites led by a king named Sihon. -- in the Fertile Crescent. -- by acquiring Bashan, a fertile territory -- led by a king named Og. -- by Noah -- at Edrei
Amorite (M/P/Ch + oab/S/Ch) Moab
Sihon ([ŋ= w=]/P/Ch + Amorite/C1/Ch)/abT Amorite
"Fertile Crescent" (Sih/P/Ch + on/S/Ch) Sihon
Bashan (F/P/Ch + "-ertile Crescent"/C2/Ch)/abT "Fertile Crescent"
Og (B/P/Ch + ashan/S/Ch) Bashan
* Og >> Noah /GC/S/Ch/abT
Edrei ([ŋ= w=]/P/Ch + Og/C1/Ch)/abT Og
>> Balak, king of Moab, -- to Balaam, -- son of Beor (Bible), -- but an Angel tries to prevent him -- at Kirjath-huzoth, and they go to the high places of Baal, and offer sacrifices at seven altars, leading to Balaam being given a prophecy by God, which Balaam relates to Balak. However, the prophecy blesses Israel; Balak remonstrates, but Balaam reminds him that he can only speak the words put in his mouth, so Balak takes him to another high place at Pisgah, to try again. Building another seven altars here, and making sacrifices on each, Balaam provides another prophecy blessing Israel. Balaam finally gets taken by a now very frustrated Balak to Peor,
Balak (M/P/Ch + oab/C1/Ch)/abT Moab
* Balak >> Balaam /GC/S/Ch/abT
* Balaam >> Beor /T
Angel (Be/S/Ch + or/P/Ch) Beor
"Kirjath-huzoth" (Be/C1/Ch + or/P/Ch) Beor
Baal (Kirj/P/Ch + "-ath-huzoth"/C1/Ch)/abT "Kirjath-huzoth"
* Baal >> Pisgah /T/+cp
* prophecy >> "seven altars" /S
Peor (Pisg/P/Ch + ah/C1/Ch)/abT Pisgah
>> Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron -- Phinehas and his descendents were given the pledge of an everlasting priesthood. -- the five kings of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba.
* Aaron >> Phinehas /S
priest (Ph/P/Ch + inehas/C1/Ch)/abT Phinehas
Evi (Mid/P/Ch + ian/S/Ch) Midian
Rekem ([ŋ= y=]/P/Ch + Evi/C1/Ch)/abT Evi
* Rekem >> Zur /GC/S/Ch/abT
Hur (Z/P/Ch + ur/C2/Ch)/abT Zur
Reba (H/P/Ch + S/Ch) Hur
>> Moses appointed Joshua, son of Nun, to succeed him as the leader of the Israelites. Moses then died at the age of 120
Nun (J/P/Ch + oshua/C1/Ch)/abT Joshua
120 (death/P/Ch + "of Moshe"/C1/Ch)/abT "death of Moshe"
>> Moses was warned that he would not be permitted to lead the Israelites across the Jordan river, because of his trespass at the waters of Meribah -- Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah, -- Moab, over against Bethpeor
Jordan (dea/S/Ch + "-th of Moshe"/P/Ch) "death of Moshe"
* Jordan >> Meribah /GC/S/Ch/abT
* Meribah >> Nebo /T/+bp
* Meribah >> Pisgah /T/+cp
Moab (N/P/Ch + ebo/C1/Ch)/abT Nebo
* Moab >> Bethpeor /GC/S/Ch/abT
>> Moses in Hellenistic literature
Non-biblical writings about Jews, with references to the role of Moses, first appear at the beginning of the Hellenistic period, the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world, from 323 BCE to about 146 BCE.
Hellenistic civilization (Greek civilization beyond classical Greeks) represents the zenith of Greek influence in the ancient world from 323 BC to about 146 BC (or arguably as late as 30 BC). Hellenistic civilization was preceded by the Classical Hellenic period,
"BC 323" (Gr/S/Ch + "-eek civilization"/P/Ch) "Greek civilization"
"BC 146" (Gr/P/Ch + "-eek civilization"/S/Ch) "Greek civilization"
"BC 30" (Gr/P + "-eek civilization"/S) "Greek civilization"
In addition to the Judeo-Roman or Judeo-Hellenic historians Artapanus, Eupolemus, Josephus, and Philo,
* Artapanus >> Eupolemus /GC/S/Ch/abT
Josephus (E/P/Ch + upolemus/C1/Ch)/abT Eupolemus
Josephus (37 – c.100 AD/CE),
"AD 37" (J/P/Ch + osephus/S/Ch) Josephus
"AD 100" (J/S/Ch + osephus/P/Ch) Josephus
Philo (J/C1/Ch + osephus/P/Ch) Josephus
Philo (20 BC – 50 AD),
"BC 20" (Ph/P/Ch + ilo/C1/Ch)/abT Philo
"AD 50" (Ph/P/Ch + ilo/C2/Ch)/abT Philo
>> Hecataeus of Abdera (quoted by Diodorus Siculus)
"Diodorus Siculus" (H/C2/Ch + ecataeus/P/Ch) Hecataeus
Strabo (Greek: Στράβων; 63/64 BC – ca. AD 24)
* Strabo >> "BC 63" /C1/Ch
* Strabo >> "BC 64" /C2/Ch
* Strabo >> "AD 24" /C2
>> In Tacitus
The Roman historian Tacitus (ca. 56—120 AD)
* Tacitus >> 56 /C2
* Tacitus >> 120 /C1
>> In Justin Martyr
The Christian saint and religious philosopher Justin Martyr (103–165 AD)
103 (J/P/Ch + ustin/C2/Ch)/abT Justin
165 (J/P/Ch + ustin/C1/Ch)/abT Justin
Prophet, Seer, Lawgiver
Born Goshen, Lower Egypt Died Mount Nebo, Moab Feast
* Moses >> Seer /S
Goshen (M/P/Ch + oses/C1/Ch)/abT Moses
Nebo (M/P/Ch + oses/C2/Ch)/abT Moses
Moshe (S/S/Ch + "-eptember 4th"/P/Ch) "September 4th" |
Eleven ways to encourage customer feedback and attract more business
By: Richard Rutigliano, PriMedia Inc.
Can customers and prospects in your local market differentiate between your company and its competitors?
Yes, they can, provided you are taking proactive steps to set yourself apart and accentuate the value you deliver.
Fuel companies and HVAC providers are inevitably equalized in the public’s eye by what they sell: identical commodities, similar durable goods and lookalike services. Nonetheless, one business can separate itself from the pack by attending to the details of how people really choose service providers.
I have recently written about how to strengthen recruitment and retention by improving the company’s image, messaging and customer convenience. (Visit Oil and Energy Online to view more articles on marketing.) This month, I am focusing on how to use customer reviews and testimonials to gain a competitive edge.
Reviews aren’t just for restaurants. On Yelp, a leading review site for local businesses, the third most reviewed category of business is “Home & Local Services,” trailing only “Shopping” and “Restaurants.”
Consumers are highly reliant on reviews and commentaries from customers who have gone before them. The 2014 Local Consumer Review Survey by BrightLocal indicated that 88 percent of consumers have read reviews to determine the quality of a local business. Thirty-nine percent said they read reviews on a regular basis. Seventy-two percent said that positive reviews make them trust a local business more, and eighty-eight percent said they trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations. The survey also shows that consumer reliance on reviews has increased in each of the last three years.
Consumers invariably want to make the best possible choice when selecting a service provider. This is particularly true with fuel companies and HVAC contractors, because (a) there is a lot of money involved, (b) the choice directly affects their homes and families, and (c) they are worried about making a bad choice.
Fuel distributors and HVAC contractors tend to do customer service very well. If yours is an attentive company that does a lot of great work and keeps mistakes to a minimum, there is probably a solid reservoir of goodwill in your customer base. It makes sense to stir the pot and try to get your customers to post reviews online and provide feedback that you can use in testimonials.
It does not matter that you might get an occasional bad review. Yelp’s 2015 Fact Sheet shows that 33 percent of all Yelp reviews were for three stars or less (on a scale of one to five stars). Bad reviews are an inevitable part of the process, and your reviews will probably mirror your performance quite accurately.
Fuel companies and HVAC contractors who leverage positive reviews effectively in marketing and sales can remove barriers for consumers and make it easy for them make a choice. When a company embraces the culture of feedback and reviews, it creates an aura of confidence that can be compelling for both prospects and customers.
Here are 11 suggested steps to get make customer feedback and reviews a prominent part of your marketing—and, of course, to increase business.
- Take inventory. Look at the reviews that are already online as well as the customer testimonials you have in hand. How plentiful are they, and how do they reflect on you? If the current inventory is good, you might need only to use what you have more effectively. Most companies, however, will want to increase their count of reviews and testimonials and generate as much positive buzz as possible.
- Make this a company project. When you decide to encourage customers to share their opinions of your company, it is a companywide project. Start with yourself and your top managers. Form a general strategy with your marketing agency, and then bring your staff onboard. Every manager and employee who has customer contact is influencing customer perceptions, and they all need to nurture relationships every day. Explain the plan, ask for everyone’s total commitment, and solicit ideas from the team.
- Develop a company persona. Customers perceive your company as having a culture and persona, whether you like it or not. As you encourage greater customer participation, it is essential to take control of your voice and image. If you have not already done so, you’ll need to cultivate a friendly, colloquial style that encourages friendly, online conversations. Think of Progressive Insurance and the “Flo” persona they have created with actress Stephanie Courtney. You don’t need to be like Flo, but you do need to cultivate a consistent, friendly style that models how customers should talk to you—and talk about you. Use it in every communications channel: telephone conversations, sales calls, service calls, advertising, newsletters, customer letters, websites, social media, message on hold, etc.
- Engineer great customer experiences. As I look at the great reviews that many of PriMedia’s clients are getting, one thing jumps out time and time again: Customers love professional treatment. Many reviews pertaining to installations address the entire customer experience from the first sales call to the final walkthrough on the new equipment. When a company masters the art of the experience, customers gush with admiration. It’s easy to understand. We all are consumers and customers ourselves, and we are regularly exposed to thoughtless employee behavior that bewilders us and begs the question “Who is training and managing these people?” Then when we come across that rare company that creates great experiences by doing everything right at every step, we want to find the people who engineered it all and shake their hands. Your customers are just like you in this regard. Make them want to come find you and shake your hand. And imagine what those ecstatic customers will say about you in their reviews—and how their words will influence people trying to decide whether to do business with you.
- Create a presence on all review sites. Customers review companies on a variety of sites, with the big names being Yelp, Google and Angie’s List. There are also specialized sites like HomeAdvisor.com and numerous localized sites. Find all the sites that are relevant to your company and your market and post an optimized company profile. PriMedia uses specialized software to help clients achieve consistency across multiple review sites (which is vital for SEO purposes) and to monitor reviews.
- Add a reviews portal to your website. Gather up the links for all the review sites you use and create a bold presence for customer voices on your website. Anticipate that prospects who are considering hiring you—as well as customers who or visiting the site to check their account or pay a bill—are eager to know what people are saying about the company. Indulge them with a conspicuous banner on the home page that repeats throughout the site.
Ignore the voice inside you that worries about the bad reviews you have received. By creating an easy, highly visible path to your reviews portal, you are signaling transparency and confidence—highly attractive traits in the sociable online environment. Today’s customers know that bad reviews happen—and that good companies are confident enough to let it all hang out. Create a reviews portal that makes it clear you want people to see your reviews and add new ones, with links to current reviews and a note about how they can review you. Incorporate the customer testimonials you gather in the same portal, and post PDFs of any notes you receive alongside the transcribed text.
- Talk up reviews with customers and prospects. Once you have your ducks in a row, execute a communications strategy with your customers and prospects around online reviews. Devote at least a full page in your next company newsletter to reviews and at least a half a page in every subsequent newsletter. Share examples of the good reviews you have received. You can also send your customers letters that discuss the importance of reviews and urge them to participate. (Do not rely on social media to spread important news like this, because you sacrifice far too much reach.) In all customer communications about reviews, use the friendly, confident voice discussed above. You should expect customers to mirror your tone and pick up on the suggestions you make about the quality of your work and the dedication of your team. Also, the confidence you express in the review process is a vital part of the message.
- Encourage direct feedback. Like reviews, customer testimonials help build trust and enthusiasm for your company. A lot of your happiest customers may not review you online, but they might provide feedback after a service call or an installation. Make it easy for them with easy-to-mail response cards that you leave behind at every visit, and give them the option of sending feedback online as well. You’ll gather comments you can post online as testimonials. Use all your communications channels, particularly the company newsletter, to let customers know that you want honest feedback about your work. Customers will like you better for soliciting their opinions.
- Respond effectively to all reviews. The reviews arena might well be where prospects and even customers make their final decisions about whether to use your company or a competitor—with thousands of dollars at stake. Be disciplined, and use your company persona and voice to respond to reviews, good or bad. In the case of bad reviews, always remember that the most important audience is the readers, not the reviewer. Forget how you really feel about the customer (if you know who it is); a review site is a stage where every word and nuance matters. Model your excellent approach to customer service in your responses, because that is something every reader will check out. Be just as deliberate answering positive reviews to ensure you come across well for the audience and not just the reviewer.
- Monitor the results. Watch all the review sites closely so you are on top of everything that is being said about you.
- Maximize your mileage. Commit enthusiastically to reviews and testimonials, and then maximize your return. Include samples of your reviews on your home page, in your newsletters, advertising, brochures and social media. Every time you get a great review, post it on Facebook. You can even post your bad reviews after you have responded well and received a satisfied response.When you show your market that you are comfortable being open to public evaluation, you send a great message about your company. Get people talking, and enjoy some nice improvements in company morale—and the bottom line.
If you want ramping up your customer reviews, PriMedia is happy to help. Please give me a call at 800-796-3342 or email me at [email protected]. |
What is The Push, and what is your role?
The Push is a Victorian based youth music organisation that aims to bring young people and music together through drug, smoke and alcohol free entertainment and professional development opportunities. The Push also works to support the state’s 80 FReeZA Groups; FReeZA being events for young people run by young people.
The Push is also responsible for putting together (alongside a range of industry partners) the Face the Music Conference. I am the Event and Project Manager at The Push which means I run the FReeZA Mentoring Program, Event Manage the Face the Music conference and work on a range of other projects for young people such as training and development for young FReeZA members and so on. I also do all the social media for The Push – so basically there’s always an abundance of things for me to do!
Describe a normal day in the life of Mel Krause.
I am really lucky to be always working on a variety of things at any given time so my normal day can only be described as organised chaos. Each day I could be working on several major projects while advising young people on music careers or running a masterclass with an industry professional.
Tell us about some of the inspiring women you currently work with, or have worked with in the past.
Gosh where do I begin!? I am really lucky to run a Music Industry mentoring program where we match industry professionals with young aspirants. So I’d have to acknowledge my industry mentors who put their hand up to volunteer their time for a young woman trying to navigate the industry, which is simply awe inspiring in itself. Same goes for all the young women out there who are forging careers in music both in the industry and as performers, as they exude passion and commitment which is ever refreshing! I have also been really lucky to have worked with some great women as colleagues too including some wonderful mothers who split their commitment between work and home – something that is clearly not an easy feat and something I admire from afar.
What drew you to the music industry initially? And what makes you want to stay?
I grew up in a small country town in rural Victoria (hello Horsham!) and my older brother went to this festival called Big Day Out which he thought was awesome. I thought he was awesome so decided I really had to go too and went the following year (at the age of 13). It was the best thing I had ever experienced and it started my love affair with live events and music in general. I ran FReeZA gigs in my town until I moved to Melbourne to study music business and the rest is history. I was really lucky to have worked at Big Day Out for several years with the Melbourne site and event team under the tutelage of Susan Forrester and Tracy Wall so that gave me a real sense of achievement as a younger person. Without doubt, I stay for the music. I so wish I was an accomplished musician but wasn’t blessed with those abilities so I contribute to music in whichever way I can.
You provide advice to young up and comers in the industry. What advice can you share with us? For people wanting a career within the industry as well as bands trying to catch a break in the industry.
Volunteer!! Put your hand up for everything you can, it’s a great way to increase your skills and get your face in front of potential employers and meet new people. You’d be surprised with the sheer number of opportunities available to you if you go looking. Network! It is a bonus that in the music industry our networking goes on predominately at gigs/events so it’s always a double whammy as you get to check out a new band/act and meet some new people at the same time.
Don’t be afraid to branch out on your own and start your own thing instead of waiting for someone to come looking for you – find what you’re good at and work with it.
As for bands, if I knew what you should do, I’d be rich (which I’m not). Find a mentor, formally or informally, and ask them to help you navigate the industry!
“Women participate at a much higher level than males as volunteers, program participants etc but we find they are not transitioning through to the workplace.”
What issues/potential issues do you think the current Australian music industry face?
I think there is a distinct lack of gigs in the country. I was really lucky that youth workers in my town were really supportive of me curating and running events for young people in my local community, but I really had to relocate to the city to make it my career – I really admire communities such as Meeniyan (Lyrebird arts council) who really embrace being regional and work together towards enriching the music communities in their area. Through the Push we ran a show at the Meeniyan Town Hall with the help of the Lyrebird Arts Council and it was such a fabulous experience and one I won’t forget.
In my line of work I see a real issue with women’s transition from young volunteers/interns/students and then into employment. Women participate at a much higher level than males as volunteers, program participants etc but we find they are not transitioning through to the workplace. I hope to work with Music Victoria a bit on this and see what we can do about it. I really appreciate the work that OneofOne and Listen are doing in this field as well!!
If you were to change one thing about the structure of the Australia industry, what would it be?
I know this is kind of irrelevant to most of everything else I’ve said to this point, but you know what always gets up my goat? Australian awards nights featuring an American/international ‘headline’ act! Here we are celebrating Australian talent and then shooting ourselves in the foot by saying we’re not good enough to headline our own awards shows/evenings. These awards shows are often broadcast to millions with the international acts always receiving more airplay, sales and attention from the music consuming public as a result. C’mon Australia, let’s celebrate what we’ve got!
“I think there is a distinct lack of gigs in the country.”
Have you had to overcome any challenges/adversity throughout your career? If so, can you tell us about them and how you approached them?
I think with any job in the creative arts there are plenty of challenges and adversity but I’ve been pretty lucky really having been employed straight out of uni and having got plenty of opportunities to make myself known in the industry at lots of festivals/events/internships etc. I have worked extremely hard throughout my career and I sometimes find balance hard to achieve – but all in all I count myself as one of the lucky ones!
What does 2015 hold for you and the Push? Any exciting things that you can tell us about?
Our mentoring program this year is already in full swing and so good. I really look forward to watching the young ladies and men in my program grow and find themselves to be active members of our music industry.
My favourite thing to work on is Face the Music and our conference for 2015 is shaping up to be amazing. I can’t reveal any names just yet, but it will be super informative, interesting and an all-round good few days – come along!
How do you unwind/destress?
I am such a dag.. I am into baking and cake decorating. Nothing better than preparing a chocolate ganache laden cake adorned with sugar flowers for a friend!
I also enjoy swimming and spend plenty of time in the pool!
I also love looking up google images of dogs in costumes, much to the dismay of my partner who is made to look at them all.
Who are your role models in the industry whether they be international/Australian?
Growing up I used to have the biggest girl crush on Myf Warhurst coz she grew up in a town close to where I grew up and really made something of herself and I guess that resonates with me still to this day. I also really admire from afar the work of Jessica Ducrou, Rae Harvey, Anna Laverty, Maya Janeska, Anita Nedeljkovic, Jenny Valentish and Moira McKenzie as all women who are absolutely killing it doing what they do best!
I could go on forever really, but those that inspire me or act as role models are often those that are closer than you think. I am so lucky to have some amazing colleagues who have really guided me throughout my career. I’d also like to acknowledge again my mentor group/s of the last few years who always astound me with their commitment and passion to the industry they’re in! I know I seem to have gone on about it, but I really see mentoring as a real way to work towards sector development leading to a much stronger and cohesive future for our industry.
Who are three Aussie artists you’re really excited about?
Alice Ivy – one of my mentees who has some really interesting stuff going on!
Alpine – Everyone is sick of me playing the new album but it’s just so damn good, Damn Baby!
What’s your go-to Karaoke song?
Georgia on my mind – Ray Charles[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mQgoKNgTmc] |
OK, I could pretty much say anything right now. I’m pretty sure the majority of you have already skipped ahead and… well, I don’t blame you because yes, I have Melina Marchetta here today, talking about how she writes her heroines.
It’s probably futile to say that I love Melina Marchetta’s books. If you’ve ever spoken to me about books then you will no doubt have been talked
at to about my love for these stories.
She’s the only author who has her own Category on my site. You could say she’s a Wear the Old Coat VIP. Actually, yes… let’s say that because it makes me sound fancy.
Every single one of her books has changed the way I think about YA. And I’m not just talking about reading it, but writing it too.
I could only really think of one person to interview about writing heroines for On Writing. Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing writers who know how to write a YA heroine but when I sit down at my laptop, tearing out my hair when my heroine isn’t doing what I want her to do, I take a breath, go to my book shelf….
…. and flick through one of Double M’s books just to see if I can find any clues how to write heroines as vibrant, brilliant, strong and diverse as Taylor, Francesca, Georgie, Tara, Quintana, Isaboe and all the other women who walk through her stories and make their mark on every reader who meets them.
Seriously, I’m beginning to think I could give up my day job and live off money from selling bracelets to aspiring YA authors that say:
So, when it comes to writing heroines, what does Melina Marchetta do? Let’s see shall we?
Oh and you should probably keep your eyes peeled for more hints about that What’s-His-Name Book. You know the one.
Do you ever use your own experiences growing up as inspiration for your heroines?
Bits and pieces. Certainly with Alibrandi there was a lot about the world I grew up in – Tomato Day especially, as well as all the reporting back to my grandmother every time we were seen in places we shouldn’t be seen. Our favourite sentiment growing up was that phone companies would go broke if not for the Italian so that line made both the novel and film. With Francesca, I used my memories of being in Year 7 (first year of high school in NSW Australia). I was Francesca, galloping around the playground, not realizing that it was uncool or unladylike until it was very bluntly pointed out to me. High school made me self-conscious and shy and a bit invisible, which was partly Francesca’s experience in her previous school. I didn’t really shine there, but I did meet my best friend, so those life long relationships I write about are real. The depression in Francesca was real as well.
If you were on a packed bus or in a coffee shop and a group of girls were sitting near you, would you ever be tempted to whip out your notebook and jot down snippets of their conversation?
It doesn’t tend to happen often. I have a very strong focus on who I want my characters to be or say, and I try not to let much get in the way. I’ve also tried very hard to avoid language fads that may date a novel. Of course some of the characterisation is based on my observations of people. I remember some of the boys back when I was teaching. They’d speak to me in that rapping fashion of pointing their middle finger down and moving to some soundless groove. While they were asking me about homework, mind you. I used to threaten to put them on detention for it so a few of our exchanges went into Saving Francesca.
“Teenage girl” is such a broad term and, unfortunately for writers, real life girls never fit in the nice boxes of “sporty”, “musical”, “quiet”, “funny” etc etc. How difficult is it to avoid type casting your heroines and turning them into a cliché?
I find so much about constructing a character difficult. I’m doing it now and it’s the tone of someone’s point of view I can’t get right. Dialogue comes easy, but not character construction. Clichés and stereotypes are especially difficult because they come from some sort of reality and sometimes you can’t help but write them. My first rule to myself is that I don’t owe the world a totally realistic depiction of every girl out there. Some people want to know where the bitchy girls in my novels are because according to them, girls are bitchy. I’m not, and I never was at school and my friends aren’t. Granted we’re neurotic at times and competitive and emotional and a bit on the blunt side, but most of the girls and women I know don’t say catty things to each other. So I’d rather not reinforce that stereotype unless it’s part of the plot of course. Sometimes writing bitchy girls is a cheap way of creating instant conflict. Or it’s an even cheaper way of allowing the main character to shine by comparing them to the bitchy girls. I’d like my characters to work harder than that for the reader’s respect. Of course there are many many exceptions of bad girl behaviour done well, like what Courtney Summers did in the novel Some Girls Are.
Another of my least favourite stereotypes is “feisty’. I love a fierce character and Tara Finke has been my fiercest, but I try to make sure that fierceness isn’t just about big speeches and a guy saying, “you look so beautiful when you’re angry”. For me, I have to be prepared to have my characters be people who are quite unlikeable at times, and who look pretty awful when they’re angry.
Despite my aversion to feisty, Anne Shirley is feisty and I don’t want to live in a world where Anne of Green Gables doesn’t exist.
It seems that one of the main problems people have with young adult heroines is the dreaded subject of a Mary Sue. (When the heroine is so perfect, with a hair never out of place, with at least two brooding boys hopelessly in love with her) How do you feel about this? Are there ways you avoid stepping into the trap of making your heroine unrealistically perfect?
The Mary Sue character and the love triangle are my least favourite combinations and I try very hard to avoid writing them. Too many times the love triangle is used to create the major tension of a story. I’m not totally opposed to love triangles when there is so much more going on in their lives, but when there’s not enough story, I think two guys falling for the same girl is one of the greatest clichés. I suppose my issue is also that I don’t want to put forward to young girls today that the hardest choice they are going to make is choosing between the sensitive guy, and the “bad” guy (who is never even close to being bad most of the times).
Another of my issues with the Mary Sue persona is what the backlash produced; mainly the kick arse heroine. I don’t like the idea that the kick arse heroine is supposedly a feminist’s dream come true when all she is at times is a sexy girl with male traits and weaponry. Once again there are so many exceptions, Katsa and Katniss coming to mind. And I actually loved putting a spear in Quintana’s hands, so I don’t have a problem with female characters defending the world, but what I loved doing better was having her make that spear. It’s those differences I’m interested in. The other problem with the Mary Sue backlash is that the gentle quiet character came under attack. I remember reading a negative review of someone’s novel a couple of years ago and the comments supporting the review were truly vicious. I had read that novel and the female character was anything but a Mary Sue. She was quiet. She was in love. She didn’t save the world.
Whichever way you turn, female characterisation is a minefield. Male characters tend to get away with so much more. I loved writing Jonah Griggs (from Jellicoe) but Jonah killed his father, bashes up Ben and stomps on his fingers, shoves Taylor up against the wall in rage, yet I rarely read a negative comment about him as a character. Evanjalin in FotRock, on the other hand, has been criticised many a time and called manipulative and a liar. I think we are so much tougher on our female characters.
Focussing on your contemporary books here, with the exception of The Piper’s Son and The Gorgon in the Gully, your main characters are all female. Do you think that boys would be put off from reading a book where the narrator/main character is a girl? How do you try and appeal to both genders or, indeed, should you?
A lot of Australian boys were forced to read Alibrandi at school and mostly it’s gone unscathed and the reaction over the past twenty years has been good. What always surprised me is that guys didn’t necessarily relate to Jacob and John, but they did connect with Josie. I’ve noticed they were never in love with her (until Pia Miranda played her in the film) but they did identify with her. Connecting or identifying or whatever we want to call it, is important. The universal experience is not gender or culturally specific, so I try really hard to stick to that universality.
A friend who loved The Piper’s Son once told me that he wanted his brother (an adult) to read the novel because he thought he’d love it. His brother refused on the grounds that he didn’t want to read a male character written by a woman. It’s so hard to challenge someone’s mentality if they refuse to pick up a novel because of the writer’s gender. So I suppose the response is that I don’t try to appeal to both genders. I write the story that I set out to write.
And so do you think there is such thing as a ‘girls’ story or a ‘boys’ story? For example, if we switched Taylor and Jonah’s character around, how different do you think the story would have been?
Every point of view in FotRock is male, predominantly Finnikin’s, yet I’d say that the novel has more of a female audience because I’m a female writer and I’m known for YA. I’m not saying that’s how it should be, but most times, that’s the way things are. I think girls will read anything and boys are harder to convince.
Novels also become “girls stories and boys stories” because of marketing and covers and gatekeepers making decisions about what they think girls and boys should be reading. I need to believe that there are so many great librarians and booksellers and teachers out there who will make a recommendation to a teenager regardless of gender.
And if Jonah’s point of view was used I think the story would have been about a territory war between three factions used as a backdrop to explore a young man coming to terms with the fact that he killed his father. I would have ended up exploring all different sorts of violence. And yes, I think it would have been more appealing to males. That wasn’t the story I wanted to write and I never once questioned whose point of view Jellicoe belonged to. It was always Taylor’s story, but I tried never to make it a story about gender. The male animosity and friendships in that novel are as strong as the female ones, so for me, it’s as much a novel for guys as girls.
As a writer of young adult fiction, the word ‘role model’ is always going to be thrown about when describing your characters. Does this add pressure when you’re thinking of their stories? Do you believe that every heroine be a role model to someone?
I don’t believe that writing for and about young people is a public service. The problem about role models is that some people may believe a good female role model is someone who doesn’t have sex as a teenager at school. Other people may believe that a good role model is someone who challenges the establishment. Or someone who works hard and gets into university. Or someone who doesn’t have to go to university or college to succeed. I don’t think of role models or teaching lessons when I’m creating character. If I did have a secret wish of what I’d like to come out of my writing, it’s that someone feels less lonely. Or someone feels more connected. Or someone questions the status quo.
Is it important for a heroine to always be likeable? How do you avoid crossing the line from fascinating and edgy to annoying and insufferable when writing a character like, let’s say, Quintana who might not be everyone’s cup of tea?
It shouldn’t be a pre-requisite, but I do want my characters to be likeable although I have a different definition of likeable than others. The way I avoid crossing the line (I hope) is I hint at a redeeming quality. Francesca can be an annoying whinger, but she loves her brother. Same with Tom Mackee. He’s awful for the first couple of chapters but the reader finds out his email address is annabelsbrother. We know there’s hope for him yet. I have a character in my head for an adult novel that has reached the age of 21 with very few friends. I really get her because I know her journey. But readers and other characters won’t at first, and because the story will be told from the perspective of four characters I’ve decided to give her Chapter One. Because if I don’t, Rosie will be introduced through one of the other characters’ eyes and it’ll be detrimental to the connection I want the reader to have with her.
You’ve written some of the strongest and most fascinating heroines in both contemporary and fantasy settings. How does writing a heroine such as Tesadora, Quintana and Phaedra differ from when you wrote Taylor, Josie or Francesca’s story?
I think the setting and time period and circumstances of a novel determines quite a lot when it comes to character behaviour. I mentioned before about Evanjalin being described as a manipulative liar. Of course she manipulates and lies. If she didn’t, her kingdom would still be split in two and Finnikin would be an old man travelling the land, despairing that he never rescued his father. Necessity is the mother of manipulation and lying in this novel for Evanjalin. But if I had to place her in a modern day high school, her behaviour would be less acceptable. In a contemporary world, most readers wouldn’t connect with someone who behaves the way she does.
Taylor and Francesca in their novels spend so much time being reactive rather than proactive, so they would have really been failures in the fantasy novels. But the emotions they feel are similar to that of Evanjalin and Quintana and Phaedra. I sort of stole a line from Francesca and placed it in QofC when a certain character is pretending that she’s okay about one of the men not seeking her out, but that night all she does is pray to the gods he will. Francesca does the same thing when it comes to praying that Will breaks up with his girlfriend. Because at the core of things, there’s no big emotional difference between contemporary and historical hearts, or people in general. Someone once told me about a writer who visited one of the refugee detention centres here in Sydney. Despite all the turmoil and sadness and uncertainty in their lives, they’d still ask her if so-and-so over there liked them or had mentioned them. I love that. It’s what makes us human and hopeful.
As I mentioned earlier, you have written books told from the perspective of boys. Being a bit more specific here, how was writing Francesca’s story different to writing Tom’s? Is how you approach a story or character different?
I’m a bit of a rambler and my closest guy friends aren’t. They are minimalists with their words. When a friend was dying a couple of years ago, one of the guys and I would visit him in hospital. My way of coping was talking all the way home. My friend’s way of coping was not to speak, and sometimes it would make feel foolish. But I discovered that he did want my noise in his ear rather than silence. So it’s the way I wrote the Tom and Georgie and Dom’s scenes in that house they shared. I learnt to trust that the silence was not worthless and that emotional rambling was a salve.
On a technical note, I took away some of Tom’s personal pronouns so his dialogue sounds abrupt. With Francesca, I took away some of the punctuation so it sounds a never-ending stream of consciousness.
This next question is something that will probably always make me wake up in cold sweats about… but let’s talk about love interests. I know we’re here to talk about the girls but the majority of young adult heroines will have a love interest. YA love interests are, and probably will always be, such a minefield with readers. There’s always criticism of girls acting stupidly around boys and losing their personality and mind over a broody chap with a lopsided grin. So, as the Queen of YA Relationships, how do you master the art of giving your heroine a love interest without her becoming the type of character who is defined by them?
Being Queen of YA relationships is too funny and ironic.
For me dramatic tension is everything in a story. So if someone loses her personality too early over a broody chap with a lopsided grin (I love a lopsided grin) then there goes the dramatic tension. Novels don’t use real time, so you’re allowed to drag those relationships out. And while that’s happening, I give a character time to define herself before someone else does it for her. An important line for me in Quintana is when she tells Froi she can live without him. Because she actually can. Hasn’t she proven that over and over again? But the fact is that she doesn’t want to live without him. So when I write a character, I think of both their needs and their wants. That makes them more human. Francesca may want Will to save her, but she needs to do it on her own.
There’s a lot of formula stuff out there that sells really well. I don’t think it’s crap. But it’s formula. It’s why some songs make number 1. We know the beat. We feel comfortable with it. We don’t have to put any effort into enjoying it. I think you have to determine what type of writer you want to be and once you make that decision, be comfortable with it. If I wanted The Piper’s Son to have been more of a commercial success or taught in schools like Francesca is, I would have made Tom 18 years old, I would have taken out Georgie’s point of view and I would have toned down the content. But that wasn’t the novel I wanted to write so I have to live with that decision.
And, finally, what are your Top Tips on how to write YA heroines?
Write her a backstory. Know her inside out. Your reader may not need to know everything about her, but you do.
Don’t be afraid to make her fail (and try not to make that revolve around failing to get a guy’s attention). I think the rewards for when a character finally gets things right is more powerful because of the failure.
Don’t take the safe option. Write the character you want to write rather than the one you think people want to read.
I know. I know.
An absolutely huge thank you to Melina for answering these questions so brilliantly. I mean, where do I even start with these fantastic answers? I’ve been sat on this interview for a good couple of weeks now and these answers and advice has already proved invaluable. I’ve been using it as a “How To” guide…
I kind of just want to write “Discuss” and leave it at that. But I won’t because I’m professional and what not.
So are you writing from a girl’s perspective? Do you find it easy? Do you, like Melina, think the setting and era changes how you portray girls? Do you ever find yourself veering into clichéd waters? And, if so, how do you find your way out? And how about love interests? How do you work them into the story while keeping the heroine with both her feet on the ground? What inspires you about writing girls? Do you know your girl inside and out?
And how excited are you to meet Rosie? On a scale of one to ten…?
Get involved in the comments…!
Also, quickly quickly, while I’ve got you here… OK, so this is my last On Writing post of 2012 and, actually, my last WtOC post too. I’ve been unofficially winding down from about November, so I thought it would be best to take the rest of December off to read, review, write and, of course, plan more posts for you. I just wanted to take this opportunity to be all mushy and say a huge thank you to every single one of you who’s visited this year, whether you’ve commented or watched from the sidelines. WtOC may not be the biggest or most viewed site on the internet, but this year it’s become the blog I wanted it to be when I started and I couldn’t have done it without you lot and your support. So have a wonderful Christmas, break, reading/ eating/ drinking/ napping/ writing-fest or whatever you’re calling it and I’ll see you in the New Year for lots more fun! |
The Demographic Cliff
Lost within the tsunami of campaign reporting was a study released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on October 3, 2012. The report, titled "Births: Preliminary Data for 2011," passed through the 24-hour news cycle with hardly a mention. The only reason I heard about it was due to a short blurb carried by a local outlet, which reported a significant drop in teenage births. This news item was, of course, reported as positive. But the full report and its tables of statistics reveals nothing positive whatsoever. According to the CDC numbers, 2011 was a banner year. It recorded the lowest birthrate in our national history.
In March of 2011 I penned a short essay for American Thinker, "Where Have All the Children Gone?" which considered the worldwide trend of falling birthrates. This essay will cover the recent declining birthrates inside the United States, as well as economic repercussion that fall entails. According to the report, the General Fertility Rate (GFR) for the U.S. in 2011 was 63 births per 1000 females (ages 15-44). This was a 1 percent drop from 2010. The decline among Hispanic American females was 6%; the decline among non-Hispanic blacks was 1%, and there was no change among non-Hispanic whites.
Nineteen states saw drops in live births, including both Blue states (California, Illinois, and New York) and Red states (Texas, North Carolina, Utah, and North Carolina). Among the different age cohorts, the number of births dropped 10% for females 15-19, 5% for females 20-24 (the lowest number of births ever recorded for that cohort). For females 25-29 the birthrate declined just a tad under 1 percent. The birthrate for females 30-34 remained unchanged, while the age group 35-39 saw a 3% increase in their birthrate. The birthrate for females 40-44 remained essentially unchanged.
The rapid decline amongst younger women and Hispanic women drove the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) down to 1.89 live births per female 2.089 during the years 2004-2007. To maintain a stable population, a society needs a TFR of 2.1 births per female. The "First Birth" category dropped 2 percent in 2011, which made it the lowest on record. First Births dropped for the 15-24 cohort, but rose in the 35-39 cohort. This statistic reinforces previous findings that women are steadily having their first child much later in life.
These dry metrics illustrate social, political, and most importantly, economic changes that are fast transforming our society at a pace that would exhaust even President Obama. Our capitalist system and our socialist welfare system of government rely heavily on growing populations. The Industrial Revolution from the 18th through 19th Centuries, as well as the rapid rise of the developing nations circa 1983-2007 occurred during periods of rapid population growth. While the U. S. will continue to see its population grow, the rate of growth is slowing. To put it another way, our population is growing due to the fact that people are leaving this world slower than new ones are entering it. And if trends continue, the United States will follow Japan (whose population is now shrinking at 250,000 people a year), Germany (which will lose 25% of its population during the next 50 years), and Russia (in which over 1000 villages are abandoned each year). What should have been the number one issue of the 2012 elections wasn't even mentioned by either candidate. The funding (or lack thereof) of our generously bloated welfare state has to come from somewhere. Our federal budget deficits are not only a symptom of a political class that refuses to say no -- they are also a reflection of our inverted demographic status. Two of our largest entitlement programs (Social Security and Medicare) depend solely on large cadres of younger workers earning sufficient incomes to keep everything going. The deficits we shall face in coming years will tower above what we're running now. There will be too many elderly retirees and too few younger workers.
An even a deeper problem overshadows our serious budget shortfalls. Our market-oriented economic system is geared toward a future expectation that there will always be a stable group of consumers and producers. In a perfect world, the number of consumers and producers grow with each generation. Businesses can profit more when they can produce more with less. Growing populations married to modern technology result in higher living standards. In a free society like ours, people use their genius to solve problems of agricultural, industrial, and financial productivity. And as we saw during the period 1983-2007, when this system is painted on a global canvas, the chronic destitution of Third World nations can begin to be addressed. The age-old problem of wealth distribution was addressed through the application of free markets and global trade. But all this progress was predicated upon stable if not growing populations. What bank or venture capitalist is willing to risk huge sums of money on markets with dwindling consumer bases? What kind of institutional investor would risk his cash on a 30 year municipal bond for a city that is not only aging but has a dwindling population (or more importantly, what kind of interest would he demand)? Box stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot make best sense in a society that is young and growing.To put it another way: How many 75 year old retirees take out 30 year mortgages on 4 bedroom homes?
A nation can work around a problem such as falling birthrate or even falling populations -- at least for a period of time. Japan has one of the oldest populations in the developed world. Yet, while the economy struggles, capable firms like Toyota continue to produce jobs and generate wealth. Domestically, Japan suffers from price deflation due lack of consumer demand. While the Japanese yuppie enjoys falling prices, Japanese companies are seeing their profits fall. As a result, the Japanese Central Bank has had to provide a steady dose of Quantitative Easing. The Japanese M2 money supply has grown 3% annually for the last 20 years. Because of its aging population, Japan also instituted higher sales taxes to pay for its leviathan public sector. Forty-three percent of Japan's national budget is now consumed by interest payments alone (that's 9% of its GDP). But the Japanese should consider themselves fortunate. Japan has a per capita GDP of $45,000 and remains one of the world's largest creditors with some $3.1 trillion in foreign holdings. But this cannot go on forever.
For the U.S., the situation isn't as bleak as either Japan's or Europe's. But that is only because we are two decades behind them. The U.S. has been blessed with a very resilient and diversified economy. Our decentralized economic and political system (as compared to other G20 nations) gave our economy an amazing amount of elasticity. But things are rapidly changing. Dodd Frank is transforming institutional and consumer capital markets, while a plethora of new regulations in energy, health care, agriculture, and transportation will raise costs and stifle growth of small to medium sized businesses. Even the Internet isn't immune, as both federal and international agencies keep up a steady pressure to reign in this one last medium of free enterprise and open expression. As we begin to suffer the same economic-demographic problems other nations suffer from, people and markets will have fewer options available and more institutional hurdles facing them. We are now no different than the "managed societies" of Europe and Asia.
Already we are suffering from demographic malaise. The most obvious area is the single-family home market. In 1970, there were 35 million single-family dwellings. By 2005 that number grew to 72 million. Even without the mortgage bubble, housing prices were set up to fall. There are just not enough young people in the market today. Many experts believe that home prices will steadily decline due to over-inventories of single family homes. Of course regional migration patterns will determine spot markets. Markets in Utah, Colorado, and Texas will outperform those in Michigan, Illinois, and New York. Other areas to worry about are those industries that cater to children and young families. Aging societies have limited markets for consumer goods that focus on children and young families. Whether we're talking about the market for larger mini-vans, children toys, children's apparel, diapers, or baby beds, falling demand equates to falling profits. One wonders if the fall of Hostess has a little to do with an aging society. Hostess, wrote Larry Popelka, saw its glory days during the 1960s and 1970s. However, during a period of falling birthrates and rising health concerns, Hostess failed to innovate. Not only were there fewer children, but health conscious parents refused to feed their 1.5 children desserts full of HFCS and other sweeteners.
It is difficult to predict exactly where our economy will go in the long run. Currently, inflationary pressures in food and energy are more a product of U.S. monetary and regulatory policies than market forces. Like Japan, our long-term economy will face inflationary and not deflationary pressures. Older societies consume less than younger growing societies. China will soon be flooded with its elderly, and within a decade many places in Europe will see falling populations. Both North and South America will soon be in the same boat. This has long-term ramifications for U.S. agriculture and manufacturing exports. And with sagging domestic demand, the U.S. will not be able to make up the shortfalls overseas. How our economy will correct for this is impossible to tell. This will come about as our president and the Beltway class are implementing an ever growing set of far-reaching regulations and higher tax regimes. Some believe that a total collapse of our financial system will result. While I don't yet subscribe to this dystopian future, I am at a loss to wonder how our society will survive as it becomes older and our numbers eventually become fewer. |
Some of the verifiable entries from our guest book and email:
January 2018 What a wonderful experience! Much appreciated. See you next time! Cheers, Stacy and Fred
December 2017 Thank you so much for making my stay so special. Love, David
November 2017 Thank you once again for everything! Nancy
October 2017 Thanks for providing me with one of the best weeks of my life! I feel like a new person. Can’t wait to return! Love, Camilla
September 2017 Thank you for all of your help. Cindy
August 2017 Thank you so much for the most perfect stay at your most perfect place! I look forward to returning. Much love, Joyce
July 2017 Thank you! I am a new person! Arthur
June 2017 Just a note to say – THANKS! I had a wonderful time and enjoyed participating in your program. I will be back! Peter
May 2017 Miss seeing you guys! I will most certainly be back! Hugs to everyone. Erin
April 2017 Thank you so much for everything! Liz
March 2017 Thank you for the wonderful week!!! I am feeling very well and do meditation every day for 10 minutes. With loving thoughts, Robyne
February 2017 Thank you so much for everything last week. I definitely kicked away some bad habits and practiced much better coping mechanisms. Your place was a godsend for me. I reset everything and feel mentally and emotionally strong again. Your caring manner and friendly nature definitely helped! I will keep in touch. Elizabeth's spirit, tenacity and joie de vivre resonated strongly with me. I admire her for what she has achieved and am inspired by how she views life's many challenges. Karen
January 2017 There is progress my friends…. I weighed myself when I first got home and my scale was exactly one pound less than your scale. So…with all that math out of the way, I am down a full 12lbs! This morning I weighed in at 159.1lbs. My neck is skinny, my wrists are skinny and even my fingers….still working on my butt! Beth R
December 2016 Just a quick note to say thank you once more for a lovely experience! I am very happy! I feel rested and re-set Best warm wishes to everyone there and I will see you again soon! Thank you, Heather
September 2016 Thank you for your hospitality and for the experience this past weekend at your lovely resort. Monica and I learned a lot and got some much needed down time. Darrell
June 2016 Thank you so much for everything, I still feel great, started juicing again Hope to continue the weight loss. Please say Hi to everyone for me and give Chort a big kiss! Margaret
March 2016 I have been thinking of you since I left. I wanted to thank you so much for such an amazing experience. Marianna
March 2016 "Thank you for the fabulous retreat - it was exactly what I needed. Anne K, St Joseph MO
February2016 Thank you so much for a wonderful week. I wish I could have stayed longer. You have such a lovely, welcoming way about you. You managed to make me feel like I was at home all week. Not just in fasting with me, but in all you do. You're a wonderful hostess and a truly lovely person.
I am so proud of what I accomplished this week and I'm so thankful that you offered a place that was conducive to me achieving my goals. It wasn't easy, but yet it was. I know that my real challenges are in front of me, but I really feel like I'm prepared. I'm fortunate to have a loving and supportive family to allow me to go away and take care of me for a week. I hope to return to your spa someday and am already convincing my husband he needs to come with me next time." Ann D, Boston, Mass
November 2015. - Thank you very much for the wonderful stay. It actually did change my eating habits and I have continued to lose weight. Thanks a lot again and I hope to keep in touch and hopefully visit back soon! Nada Z, New York, NY
October 2015 - Just wanted to give you an update. My first week back home wasn’t too bad, I was really watching what I ate. After investing in me for the weekend and having the colonic and all I wanted to keep my system clean. The second week I continued to make good choices, I refuse to gain what I lost. When I got back to work everyone noticed I lost weight, they were like… “You look like you slimmed down” or “your glowing” – detoxing has its benefits huh?!! I feel good. I’m still doing my aerobics and yoga, I even went to a Zumba class the other night, Adela R, New York, NY
•August 2015 -" Having previously spent a week there with 2 friends to celebrate the 50th year of our respective births, I decided to return to the Copperhood. This time to do a juice fast to rebalance my numbers (blood pressure and blood sugar) as a complement the general relaxation and de-stressing I felt I needed. On arrival, Elizabeth’s warm welcome and the setting alone started the ball rolling. While there, I met an eclectic, international group of women ranging from their 20s to their 50s, some were first-timers and others were returning guests. We blended well, discovered that we had a great deal in common, supported each other, enjoyed the juice, and shared lots of laughter. After a week of scenic morning hikes, meditation, aqua aerobics, steam room/sauna, spa treatments and time just for relaxation, with a little tai-chi thrown in, I left the Copperhood feeling myself smiling with my heart, mind, body and soul. " Karen Marcelle-Harper
• July 2015 "I checked into Copperhood, solo, in need of a break from career, family, obligations and an endless list of action items. I sought out a place where I would not be connected to technology and would be free from distractions. Copperhood was that place. Elizabeth and her staff are wonderful. They are accommodating, informative, friendly and managed our group's unique set of requirements. My goals included detoxing from sugar, caffeine and alcohol for a week. Although weight control is not the main objective of juicing, dropping 6 pounds in 4 days was a nice benefit. The schedule (hiking, meditation, yoga, Pilates, aqua aerobics and interval training) was busy enough to divert your attention from being hungry, but was not so taxing that you were not able to enjoy yourself. You do not have to attend everything, but there's a lot of options to take advantage of. I would recommend weaning yourself off your obsessions before you check in to help alleviate headaches. The guest rooms could use an update, but they are quite comfortable and you can relax at the end of the day with top notch spa services. Elizabeth knows every trail like the back of her hand, and you will never find a better personal guide that will motivate and keep you moving. Before you set off on this adventure, be honest with yourself and your goals, and know that you will work hard and can achieve everything you set out to do, once you reach Copperhood. Thank you Elizabeth and staff for an experience that kicked off a life long journey". Maryanne B
• July 2015 "I have great news! I have been applying what you told me and lost about 5 more pounds. I am almost 130 lbs which I think is perfect for my height. I have started running around here as we do not have many hills like in the Catskills, so the walking around here cannot be challenging like Timberlake. I had such a special time with you and you are a very caring person. You have created something very meaningful at Copperhood.
I wrote a glowing review of Copperhood on Trip Advisor. However, they said that it will take 48 hours to publish. I hope that you read it because I wrote wonderful things.
My time with you was very special and I will come back when I need to get back on track."
• July 2015 "I came back home feeling lighter and replenished. I don't think a vacation can get any better than that!" Bunny
• May 2015, “ I got on the scale this morning and I was a pound and a half lighter than yesterday so the total weight loss was 5.5 pounds!!!!!! I would like to lose another 6.5 to be at my ideal weight but my primary goal is not to gain back the weight that I just lost.Thanks for everything. Your program really worked for us.” Kim W NYC
• May 2015, "Thank you again for a wonderful retreat; I am already looking at my calendar to figure out when I might return." Hellen W
• April 2015 "I've been biking here and took a tour of a local YMCA close to my home. It offers every type of class...pilates, yoga, aqua aerobics and more. Classes are very good. I think I'll be joining once my guest pass runs out. I feel really good, but need to start my once a week juice you recommended!!!
Miss everyone and was thinking of returning to Copperhood for a short retreat. Talk soon."
• March 2015 "Outside of our Copperhood support team, I am pleased. What I've taken from Copperhood was a focus on moderation. So the concept of better foods, with the one day of an indulge day has been good. For jucing purposes, I have only had juice twice. You had encouraged to take one day a week where I juice or fast with lemon water. I've done the lemon water fast three weeks out fo the 8 since being there. When away from work it wasn’t feasible for me. Exercise wise, I've done swimming at hotels when away and even some gym time. Not much at home. In all, I've taken off another 10 pounds since Copperhood. Not tons in the last 2 months but I am feeling good and looking forward to better weather. So good to check in. I have fond memories of the week there and have made lovely, unexpected friends since. A real treat." Chris N
• March 2015 "The time I spent with you at Copperhood has done wonderful things for me. I just got back from a 9 day cruise in which I was able to behave myself really well.
It's been exactly two months since I went to your place and I have lost another 5-6 pounds by just controlling my food intake and working out 3 times a week. Today, I had my first cup of coffee since dec 27th, 2014.I can only thank you and your staff at Copperhood". Mario L
• April 2014, “I am completely re-energized (due largely to you and the amazing opportunity to "reset" my eating and health habits at Copperhood), so am starting this job completely renewed and reenergized. I will not forget about you haha In fact, I just "LIKED" you on Facebook :). Anyhoo, hopefully I'll get a chance to get back there but until then will keep in touch.” Ashleigh Y. NYC
• December 2013, “I wish you and Lech a terrific 2014. I also thank you again as I have so far kept much of the benefits I got from you: eating better, weight loss which went back up after I left I have brought down. Am waiting a little more before checking my blood but have to believe it is better. I have been vegan for awhile. I hate it but am sticking with it until I get down farther and have better blood #s and so on. Then, I'd like to come back and move to an even better plateau so hopefully in the spring I will return. “ Bill S NYC
• October 2013, “I almost relapsed (the week before last I had two cigs, a few wines on a few occasions, and huge home cooked meals....................but have since got back on track..........this week I have been very good e.g. oats, blueberries and walnuts for breaky,
home-made tobulie and organic chicken sandwiches for lunch ( yes eating bread but at least it is multi grain), and dinner has been small meals omelette last night, small pasta and big salad night before....................I am hanging in there. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,will try to get to aqua aerobics next week ( work has been shocking but I have been working hard so that I get back to more reasonable hours by next week), and I haven’t joined curves yet as I am not sure where I will be living ........I have been going for half hour walks and meditating.................................... I feel calm, competent and excited about my future ..............so Copperhood continues to be wonderful for me ................thank you, hi to all and I shall email again soon.” Kathy K Australia
• October 2013, “My stay at Copperhood was beautiful and memorable. I am still using the meditation and many principles of promoting a healthy body that I learned from you. The energy at Copperhood was spiritually peaceful and left me much closer to my Higher Power... I'm sure I will see you again after you return from South Africa. I can't wait to hear about it! Love to all of you,” Mary
• October 2013 “Thank you again for a charming, cozy and healthy stay--I hope to return real soon! Best to all...
(oh, and I was so inspired by the plum tart, the goat cheese omelette and all the other yummy healthy meals, that I haven't stopped cooking since I've been home--Kids & Steve are enjoying all the healthy treats!!) “ Lea D NY
• October 2013 “We had dinner with Bill last night and neither he nor Jay had dessert! That is a big deal! Jay lost 10 pounds and hasn’t gained any back! I on the other hand lost 4 but gained at least 1 back. But I'm thrilled. It was so great being there. I hope to get us back there soon. Meryl is working away. Hope to see her get juice in a bottle soon.” Nancy Z NYC
• August 2013, “Thank you Elizabeth for this information and I am doing very well. I was able to do little bit of research myself and I can't put my hands on it right now, but fasting and a dramatic drop in blood pressure is a known phenomenon, and explainable, in terms of fluid shifts and changes in the way our wonderfully complicated bodies chose to use energy. I was inspired by you, your philosophy, and what you have created at Copperhood. I hope to come back and please, please, climb Kille! And please stay in touch.” Annie RI
• June 2013, “ I miss you all! I have not stopped referring Copperhood to everyone and I understand one of my neighbors even came up and stayed with you! I continue to reap the benefits of the healthy mentality I acquired during my wonderful week with you. I have lost an additional 12lbs since I last saw you and have thrown all my size 16's and 14's into a bonfire. Hope to ditch the 12s within a week or 2. In total I have lost 35lbs since mid-June so am feeling so much healthier and happier. Only 30lbs to go!!! My juicer has been put to good work and I even have Gurhan hooked on Green Juices. He now uses green juice instead of milk on his cornflakes! I have made zucchini spaghetti and eat raw most of the time now. AND I found this great machine into which you put frozen fresh fruit and it churns out "sorbet". Thank you so much for the fantastic week and for reintroducing me to myself. I do hope that you are all well and that Lech, Tanya and Alex continue to bring smiles into your day. Do look me up if you are ever in the city...” Fiona T NYC
• June 2013, “I have to thank you myself. I really felt like Copperhood allowed me to hit the 'reset' button and I really feel terrific starting out this trip!! “ Martie G
• May 2013, “On my last day, I weighed in at 214.5. So 8.5 pounds lost while with you. I'm continuing to eat raw and currently am at 211. All in all, a fabulous kick start to my journey. The family said I looked shiny. I think the bags under my eyes were finally gone, after 7 years! “ Jenny S MA
• April 2013, “I was just thinking about dropping you a note! I figured you might want to know if I am still holding strong. The answer is YES!! This is day #24 without a cigarette. It hasn’t been easy, I have had lots of temptations and cravings but I am hanging in there. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! You were so great and supportive and I really got the jump start that I needed at the spa. I hope to come again very soon. “ Alex B NYC
• March 2013, “Special place, special people…I am grateful for my time here and to have met such lovely people! My mind is quite and my body is energized…(and the food was yummy!) Thank you!” Lea L. MA
• February 2013 “Lovely Experience!!! Will miss you guys!! “ Brad L NY
• February 2013, “I have been singing your juices' praises ever since I left I have been eating more or less raw food. So far the pounds have stayed off and I have been really, really good.... Take care and big greetings to everybody at Copperhood. “ Illiana V. NY
• February 2013, “I loved my stay with you at Copperhood and look forward to coming back soon. I miss those lovely walks in the woods! Looking forward to seeing you all again soon. “. Ann S NJ
• January 2013, ” A wonderful experience! Alexis B.
• January 2013. “I had a wonderful week at Copperhood recently. Thank you and everyone there so much for everything! I enjoyed and appreciated all of the experiences. Meditation with the Monks was a highlight. The quality of your programs and instructors and therapists was Fabulous and the juices were great and food delicious! I have lost and kept off 5 pounds and have not had bread, dairy or sweets since I have returned. I am experimenting in the kitchen as well and my whole family has benefited. I really learned a lot and got the jump start I was looking for. Many thanks again, hi to everyone and take care! Xo “ Rachael G.- MA
• January 2013,” Beautiful and relaxing! Jennifer L.
• January 2013, “ Just wanted to write a quick thank you for the amazing retreat. I'd give anything to be back there now, it was such a pleasant and peaceful time and you all were so helpful and nice. Thanks again and hope you are doing well!” Amy D. -NY
• . January 2013, “A new way of living!” Martine R. NYC
• October 2012,” Thank you for this fabulous recipe and for the unforgettable years at The Copperhood. Every year there gets better and better. Best of all, you have long been one of the family! Fond regards, “Anna D. October 2012
• August 2012, “ What a treasured experience! The staff and management are so helpful and developed great programs. All around well worth the effort and money!!! The photos from our stay remind us of why we have so many memories of all of you and of Copperhood...really missing the chef’s cooking and presentations!! Plus everyone's unfailing encouragement and great sense of humor!! Plus all the encouragement we got from all of you to keep up the effort. Frank S. DC
• August 2012,” Thank you again for an amazing weekend. It was truly wonderful and lovely in every way, and your hospitality and generosity were incredible. We had a fantastic time. “ Erin L.
• August 2012, “Great, Great Time!!! All around nice people, great setting and relaxing!!! “ Gail F.
• August 2012, “ We're out at a delicious vegan restaurant and thinking about you! We want to thank you so much for yet another wonderful stay!! “ Meryl and Lily NYC
• August 2012 , “ Had an energizing yet relaxing time. Beautiful setting, everyone is friendly and helpful. I will probably return for a juice fast. Thank you! “ Shana. W.
• August 2012, “ I found a jewel in the mountains---Copperhood! My stay here has been one of the most satisfying, healthy, and fun time of my life. I shall miss very dearly Elizabeth, Lech, Tanya and Alex. My heartfelt Thanks! “ Buffy. C DC
• August 2012,” It was worth it!!! “Marlene B.
• July 2012,” Fantastic! Thank you, I cant wait to return! “ Felicia R. NY
• July 2012, “Wonderful! Beautiful space, beautiful people. Just what I was looking for! Thank you! Diane B. NY
May 2012, “ Thank you so much for everything. It was exactly what the doctor ordered! I'm in a much better state of mind now and looking forward to the next chapter in my life. “Michael T.
• April 2012, “ The Copperhood Spa and Resort in Shandaken, NY is a beautiful, peaceful and very personal place in The Catskills. It feels nothing like a classic resort - and that is one if its compelling strengths. It has all the amenities, but none of the trappings. It’s a great place for people who share mutual love of the outdoors and are in touch with the value of life. Andre B OH
• December 2012, “ Just wanted to thank you for our wonderful time at the spa and wanted to say a special thank you to your chef for the delicious meals. I have incorporated some of the recipes into my cooking., Ellen W.
• October 2012,” Thank you so much for your hospitality during our stay. We enjoyed our week at Copperhood and are continuing on our path to wellness. We juiced some tomatoes & carrots today!” Gina S.
• September 2012, “Hello all! It was truly a great week we had--I haven't stopped talking about it! And I've continued walking, which is remarkable in itself. I've even made some fruit smoothies--but no green stuff. “Leslie B. CA
• September 2012, “I'm eating vegan and have great health results already. My energy level is much higher now than before, so there are really no negatives in this program. I'm so grateful to you, your staff for giving me a chance to get my life back! Warmest regards,
Outi C. NY
• August 2012,” I was re-energized (mentally and spiritually) in your little piece of heaven.” Alicia L
• July 2012, “Wonderful! Beautiful space, beautiful people. Just what I was looking for! Thank you! “ Diane B.
• May 2012, “Thank you so much for everything. It was exactly what the doctor ordered! I'm in a much better state of mind now and looking forward to the next chapter in my life. Michael T.
• July 2011, “Had a great time and found a new way to live. Thanks!!! “ Matt B. DC
• May 2012, ” Like coming home---as always!” Noel H.
• December 2011, ” Just wanted to thank you for our wonderful time at the spa and wanted to say a special thank you to your cook for the delicious meals. I have incorporated some of the recipes into my cooking. Warmest regards, “Ellen W. NYC
• .July 2011, “ This is a place I will not forget! So many special moments to remember and such special people that make the time great. Gill P
• June 2011, “I had the time of my life-exceptional staff, tremendous facility, magical place. “ Nikole K. NYC
• 8/27/09, "My energy level is great. We go walking, hiking, bicycling and swimming. I have lost 13 pounds more since I left Copperhood. I had a new blood test taken and the doctor told me I am no longer diabetic and my thyroid levels are much better and I don't have to take anymore medication for those ailments anymore. I am having no problem sticking to a 50 percent raw food diet, and 50 percent cooked. I have learned to use food for fuel and nutrition and not for comfort anymore. On Sundays, we both do juicing and we feel great. I learned a lot of great lessons at Copperhood and I am grateful. I especially love doing yoga every day, and now I am finally able to do the traditional yoga poses on the floor without a chair. I am much more flexible, and it gets better every day. I am very happy. I would love to get the recipes for the Potassium broth and the "Not Tuna" pate salad. I am going canoeing tomorrow for the first time, I'm sure it will be a lot of fun and great exercise! Thanks to everyone.", Carla
• 8/25/09, "Thank you again for a wonderful stay at your beautiful spa. I had such a wonderful time and feel really good still. Have still not had a diet coke :) Hopefully I can keep it up!", Melissa
• 8/15/09, "I am saving money to my return to your spa!!!! I fill so good right now and I am back to my routine of exercises. I haven´t gain my weight back and I think I won´t gain it back either. I am so glad I went there and like I told you before, I achieved everything I expected from the Spa. Keep in touch," Mayda.
• 7/24/09, "I have not seen any of my friends yet but my PT and my trainer thought I looked fantastic.", Deborah
• 6/13/09, "I am managing to eat better and I have been up walking first thing each day since I got back! Many thanks again to Colette and Elizabeth for a great stay. Take care.", Orla
• 5/22/09, "Elizabeth, we had a wonderful time last weekend. A break from our regular routines and a chance to relax and take care of ourselves was just what we needed. All of the people that did my treatments were great, the inn was very nice and Collette is the best. I'm sure she will be missed when she leaves in August. The only reason I give you a 4 for outdoor activities is because of the goats. If they walked behind me that would have been fine, but they kept stopping in front of me to eat. I'm sure we'll see you again! Thank you," Nicole
• 5/11/09, "My mother, sister and I discussed not only how delicious the food was, but how much better we felt eating in such a healthy manner. It made all of us reconsider our diets and vow to work in more vegetables and fish and to cut way back on meat, rice/potatoes and fried foods. Also, we found the power breathing exercises to be tremendously helpful in terms of addressing stress day-to-day and are trying to incorporate them into our daily lives.", Rochelle
• 5/6/09, "Actually I lost more than 5 pounds. I weighed myself on my WII system before I left and could not wait to weigh when I got home. I actually lost 7.3 pounds in 5 days! Awesome! I was REALLY glad to see my husband as he was to see me. I find myself using the breathing techniques that I learned and have been eating raw. Finally the lettuce that I buy has been eaten and did not spoil in the fridge! I sometimes feel like an addict that has left the rehab center. I want to keep the pounds off and loose a few more, and find myself afraid of food. But I have been easing myself onto solids and have been very conscious of my eating habits. Fruit, Salad, and nuts have been my mainstay. I eat a little protein and A LOT of raw veggies. Planning on getting a juicer, and waiting for my Zafu to arrive in the mail. I had a fantastic experience and look forward to visiting again soon.", Temah
• 2/24/09, "Elizabeth and staff I can not think of a single thing that you could of done or changed this experience! It was truly memorable I look so foward to coming back.", AnnMarie
• Bonnie wrote: "All the way to heaven is heaven itself, at least at the Copperhood".
• 12/4/08, "I stopped smoking, lost 10 lb, my skin looks amazing and I am ready to face my life again", Lisa B
• Ellen Frost wrote on 12/21/08, "Just what I needed. I will do it for myself at regular intervals."
• Michael Barack wrote on 11/29/08, "a memorable, restful, abundant experience."
• 11/25/08, Tracey Ewaskey and Andy Sarin, wrote "Wow! What an amazing getaway."
• Lorraine W wrote on 4/15/08, "the first of many visits."
• Nancy wrote, "we easily thought of coming here again first", 1/08.
• 1/08, Joy wrote, "I love the calm, relaxed atmosphere and the delicious food. I ate and yet I dropped weight."
• "Thank you for taking such good care of me. I lost 6 pounds in 10 days and kept it off. I discovered how much I enjoy being physically active and eating healthy without feeling deprived.", Jennifer Cobb
• "Savored every minute-food", Kim Anonsen, 8/30/08.
• Diane wrote, "we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves."
• Tina McCarthy wrote, "a moment of peace and beauty. Stress and pounds vanished as my mind and body felt revitalized."
• "The staff was so friendly and yet very professional," Karen C.
• Elizabeth D wrote on 10/19/07, "Bliss!!!!!!! Nirvana!!!!!!…speechless."
• "Your staff rose to the occasion and made us all feel renewed.", Ann C.
• 11/20/05, "What a gem. The secret is out.", Lisa Weitzman and Melissa Beamann.
• Meryl Cohen wrote on 8/27/07, "It was amazing."
• "My time spent here was out of this world.", said Angela Jamies, 8/19/07.
• "Exceeded all my expectations.", Cheryl Welch, 7/22/07
• Patricia and Thomas Byrne wrote on 6/2/07, "We felt so at home."
• Martha Klessen wrote, "fantastic, especially hiking with Elizabeth and Brutus", 5/9/07.
• Teri Charney wrote on 4/16/06, "A superb experience in rejuvenation,"
• 1/20/06, "ahhhhhh!!!!", Pete and Susan Rawlins.
• Zulena Sanchez and Brad Bell wrote, "This was a great find for us!"
• The Humphries wrote, "very therapeutic and enjoyable for us."
• 5/24/97 Jim Stanton wrote, "an oasis away from worries."
• Patty and Chris Rooney, "we fell in love all again", May 26 1996.
• June 17 1996, Mark, Jane and Matthew wrote, "like old Europe-beautiful, elegant, restorative."
• Tom and Rose Elliot, "forward to the elegant past", 8/11/96.
• Cliff Greenberg wrote on 8/28/05, "It’s heaven. My second home."
• Cindy Kuhn wrote, "I really enjoyed my downtime and hope to return soon."
• Leslie Davies wrote, "thank you for introducing us to hiking, healthy eating and wild mushrooms."
• Mary Meyers wrote, "everyone was green with envy when they saw us and as described our stay."
• Aug 12 02 Asha wrote, "I needed to get back to the place again. What I accomplished here will last me for a while. I really crave your nurturing."
• Wanda Wallace wrote on 2/22/02, "Wow! What a lovely time I’d had just focusing on me, on what I want and need. The results speak for themselves."
• Paige wrote, on 2/22/02, "a wonderful place to spend time and relax reconnect with yourself."
• "We both feel great from all that relaxation and great food, great hikes and yoga.", Eileen and Tom, 3/10/01.
• "I am still raving about the apple squash soup..", said Orestis and Diane C, 30 November 2000.
• "We felt so at home that it was difficult to leave!", said Jeff and Elizabeth , 2/25/99.
• July 15, 1998, Mary Meyers and Robert L wrote, "what a heavenly few days we had.."
• Eric and Andrea Solomon wrote, "cozy and yummy", 4/5/98.
• "We really enjoyed all the spa treatments and delicious food", Andrea and Chris, Iaco Dec 10 1998.
• Matthew, Patience and Gregory Owens, "wish we could have stayed longer", 12-19-97.
• Leonid Stein and Inna Farber wrote on 12/07/97, "“incredible place for any occasion."
• "I've been telling everyone about your place…", Franklin, 6/22/97.
• Natasha Levine wrote on 2/5/93, "excellent food and gorgeous hiking dog."
• Y. Nambu, 20 Feb 1992, “unforgettable experience."
• Richard Lorenzen and Mary Carender wrote on 6/27/91, "better than Europe and no flying."
• 7/24/91 wrote, "A blessing for me. I went home lighter, fitter and calmer. The road to wellness starts at Copperhood", Tony Rubano.
• 6/20/90 Lynn and Bob Brick wrote, "this is a great retreat, everything we wanted and more."
• Laura and Tony Kimble wrote, "a very pleasant surprise indeed." |
MEDIA ADVISORY FOR ANTALYA SUMMIT
Turkey is looking forward to welcoming all media representatives to Antalya for G20 Leaders Summit, which will take place on 15th and 16th of November 2015.
Turkish Presidency is committed to facilitate a wide media coverage of the Summit and a pleasant stay for all media representatives.
A purpose-built International Media Centre (IMC) is set up at the designated media hotels Kaya Palazzo and Kaya Belek to provide support and facilities to media representatives covering the G20 Leaders Summit. It will also be the site of news conferences, including by the Leaders. The IMC will be operational from 08:00 Thursday 12 November to 12:00 Tuesday 17 November on a 24-hour basis.
This Media Advisory Note intends to provide all fundamental information on the logistical arrangements of the Summit. Information in this Advisory Note is current as of November 1st 2015. Any amendments to this Note will be announced on G20 official website (www.g20.org) and IMC Twitter account (@g20summitmedia).
For clarification or further information on any media related matter, please contact [email protected]
All media representatives who will cover the G20 Leaders Summit and utilize the dedicated media facilities at the International Media Centre (IMC) must be accredited. Registration for media accreditation is closed on 31 October 2015. There will be no further extensions to this deadline. All accredited applicants will be notified individually once their evaluation processes are completed.
2.1 MEDIA ACCREDITATION CENTRE
All accredited media representatives are required to collect their accreditation passes at the Media Accreditation Centre at Antalya Airport. Media Accreditation Centre, which is located at Terminal 1, will be operating from 08:00 Tuesday 10 November to 16:00 Monday 16 November, on a 24-hour basis. An internal shuttle service to the Media Accreditation Centre will be provided for those media representatives arriving at Terminal 2.
Please note that the accreditation passes can only be collected at the Media Accreditation Centre at Antalya Airport.
For more information on Antalya Airport, please visit:
At Media Accreditation Centre, all media representatives are required to present their national identification cards (passports for international media representatives) and originals of their official documents (press cards or letters of assignment) submitted online, before they can collect their accreditation passes.
Only the media representatives who have received confirmation to their online accreditation requests will be able to cover the Summit. Applications submitted after the accreditation deadline, 31 October 2015, will not be taken into consideration.
For any enquiries regarding the accreditation, please contact Media Accreditation Centre at [email protected]
2.2 PASSES FOR MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES
All accredited media representatives will be given “yellow press accreditation badges”, which provide access to the International Media Centre (IMC) located within the Main Zone. Yellow badge holders will be able to benefit from all the facilities provided at the IMC.
Please note that yellow badges provide access only to the IMC within the Main Zone. For those events inside the Main Zone but outside the IMC, there will be different procedures applicable and secondary passes might be required.
2.3 VEHICLE REGISTRATION (DSNG)
Digital Satellite News Gathering Vehicles (DSNG) are required to be accredited in order to access the Main Zone. The accreditation passes for vehicles will also be collected at the Media Accreditation Centre. Please note that there will be detailed security checks for those vehicles at the Check Point located at the entrance of the Main Zone.
2.4 VISA REQUIREMENTS
Media representatives requiring visa to enter Turkey for the G20 Leaders Summit will, following completion of their online accreditation, receive their automatically generated “G20 Accreditation Certificates” by e-mail. Upon presentation of these Certificates at the Customs (passport control desk), media representatives will be issued their visas to enter Turkey free of charge.
3. ACCOMODATION AND TRANSPORTS
Kaya Palazzo Hotel and Kaya Belek Hotel, which are located in the Main Zone and at the closest proximity to the Summit Zone (Regnum Carya Hotel), are designated for the accommodation of the media representatives. Please note that other hotels located in the Main Zone are reserved for the delegations.
Transportation from the Airport
There will be regular “Airport Press Shuttle” services available for all accredited media representatives from Antalya Airport to the Press Check Point (İleribaşı) at the entrance of the Main Zone. Please note that only those press members with valid accreditation passes will be allowed on the Airport Press Shuttles.
All accredited media members will be subject to security checks at the Check Point at the entrance of the Main Zone and are required to transfer to “Main Zone Internal Shuttles” together with their equipment.
Airport Press Shuttle service will operate from 9 to 17 November.
Transportation to the IMC
“Main Zone Internal Shuttles” will operate between the Check Point and the IMC (Kaya Hotels) from 11 to 17 November.
Those accredited media representatives staying outside the Main Zone are expected to make their transportation arrangements on their own until the Check Point (İleribaşı).
Transportation from the IMC within the Main Zone
Media representatives who request transportation services within the Main Zone, in order to follow media events other than the official programme of the Summit (including certain parts of the Spouses’ Programme) are required to refer in advance to the relevant info desks located at the IMC. Please note that these requests will be accommodated depending on capacity.
G20 Leaders Summit will be held at the Regnum Carya Hotel Convention Centre.
The Official Welcome Ceremony will begin at 12:00 hours on Sunday, November 15th. It will be followed by a working lunch and a family photo. Leaders will have a working session in the afternoon.
A Reception and Cultural Performance with the participation of Leaders’ Spouses will be held on Sunday evening, November 15th, which will be followed by a working dinner.
On Monday, November 16th, the Leaders programme will begin with a working session followed by a working lunch. The Summit will end at around 15:00 hours.
The press conference of H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey, will be held at 15:30 hours. At the press conference, there will be simultaneous interpretation in 7 languages (English, French, German, Russian, Chinese, Spanish and Arabic).
In line with the established practices of G20 Summits, only certain parts of the Summit programme, such as Official Welcoming Ceremony, Family Photo and Opening Speech, will be open to press. A pool system will be applied to provide access to cover those events.
Information on the pool system is detailed at Section 7.1 of this Note and relevant updates regarding the official programme will be made available on CCTV and IMC Twitter account (@g20summitmedia) during the Summit.
5. INTERNATIONAL MEDIA CENTRE (IMC)
A purpose-built International Media Centre is set up at the designated media hotels Kaya Palazzo and Kaya Belek to provide support and facilities for media outlets covering the G20 Leaders Summit. The IMC will be operational from 08:00 Thursday 12 November to 12:00 Tuesday 17 November on a 24-hour basis.
The IMC is composed of three main units:
-Kaya Palazzo Convention Centre for Printed Press
-Kaya Sports Hall for Audiovisual Media
-Kaya Football Pitch for Standup Positions
The accredited media representatives will be able to benefit from the restaurant facilities at Kaya Hotels. Additionally, food and refreshments will be available on a 24-hour basis at the Snack Bars at the IMC.
5.1 PRINTED PRESS CENTRE
Kaya Palazzo Convention Centre is designated for printed press representatives. The centre has a capacity to serve 2.000 accredited journalists on a 24-hour basis. Different sections of the Convention Centre will be dedicated to printed press representatives and working spaces will be available on a first-come first-served basis.
The printed press centre will be equipped with high speed internet access, a number of printers and fixed telephone lines. Latest developments and updated schedule of the Summit events will be transmitted via the CCTV system on the LED&plasma screens as well as on IMC Twitter account (See section 10.2).
5.2 AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA CENTRE – (International Broadcasting Centre-IBC)
Kaya Hotels Sports Hall is designated for accredited audiovisual media. There will be over 100 workspaces for TV and Radio broadcast, equipped with all necessary technical infrastructure including ISDN lines and fixed telephones.
The audiovisual media centre (IBC) will be equipped with high speed internet. There will be a shared 10 GB internet across the IBC. Every workspace will have an internet drop to the shared connection. Latest developments and updated schedule of the Summit events will be transmitted via the CCTV system on the LED&plasma screens as well as on IMC Twitter account (@g20summitmedia).
ISDN lines spec for radio booths: 2×64 Kb, Euro ISDN, NT-1 terminated
Please note that, those audiovisiual media representatives who will be using ISDN BRI lines are required to bring their NT-1 equipment with them.
The Master Control Rooms (MCR) of TRT, the Host Broadcaster (HB), and EBU, its partner for international broadcastings, will be located at the IBC.
Host Broadcaster TRT event coverage will be in European standard of HD 1080/50i. All signals generated by the HOST will be in this format and will contain embedded audio channels of natural sound and translation audios, when available.
EBU will provide the distribution of HOST signals to TV and Radio workspaces at the IBC. Broadcasters who require the HB signals in their workspaces should contact Eurovision who will provide a matrix routing panel offering push button selection of both original HD 1080/50i and down-converted SD SDI 576i signals (rates apply for this service)
EBU will take bookings for workspaces with or without HB signal and allocate them on a first-come first-served basis
For TV workspace booking requests: [email protected]
For radio workspace booking requests: [email protected], Francesca Matera
Eurovision Operational details can be found on: www.eurovision.net and via link:https://www.eurovision.net/newsletter/view/home.php?action=abstract&businessId=34256&version=3&nlToolId=1058
EBU Point of Contact:
Mr. Ivan Stojanovic, Eurovision News producer: [email protected]
Tel: + 41 22 717 2840; Mob: + 41 79 244 6568
5.3 STANDUP POSITIONS
In order to ensure live broadcasting facilities to the media representatives, 50 standup positions will be available at the Football Pitch of Kaya Hotels, with an ideal background view of the Summit Zone as well as the flags of the participating countries.
The standup positions will be equipped with electricity and basic cable connections. Internet connection will also be available at the standup positions.
Out of 50 standup positions, 10 will be reserved for EBU, 5 for TRT. EBU will take bookings for its own ad hoc live outdoor positions.
The allocation of the remaining 35 standup positions will be managed by the G20 Media Team (See section 9.1) depending on availability.
For bookings please send your requests to [email protected] by 10 November 2015.
5.4 CAR PARK AREA (DSNG)
A parking area is designated for Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) Vehicles, located between the Standup Positions and Audiovisual Media Centre.
For reserving a parking lot for the DSNG vehicles, please submit your applications via [email protected] by 10 November 2015. Please note that there will be a limited amount of parking available for satellite trucks.
5.5 PRESS BRIEFING ROOMS
Press conferences will take place at the IMC from 12 to 16 November 2015. Information on the schedule of the press conferences will be available at the “Briefing Rooms Coordination Desk” and on the TV screens at the IMC.
Six press briefing rooms will be made available at the Convention Centre on reservations basis. Each three large briefing rooms have capacity up to 300 people, the smaller rooms have capacity up to 100 people.
5.6 MEDIA INFO DESKS AT THE IMC
There will be one main “Press Info Desk” at the entrance of the Kaya Convention Centre, where general enquiries can be referred to.
Additionally, there will be four issue-specific media help desks at the IMC.
- Pooled Events and Standup Positions Desk (Audiovisual Centre)
- Bilateral Meetings Desk (Audiovisual Centre)
- Interview Requests Desk (Printed Press Centre)
- Briefing Rooms Coordination Desk (Printed Press Centre)
6. HOST BROADCASTER AND PHOTOGRAPHER
Accredited media members will be able to cover every aspect of G20 Leaders Summit, except for those events which are “closed to press” in line with the established practices of the G20 Summits.
For those “closed to press” events, all accredited media will be able to access to the audiovisual content produced by the Host Broadcaster “Turkish Radio and Television Corporation” (TRT) and the photos captured by the Host Photographer “Anadolu Agency”.
6.1 HOST BROADCASTER- TURKISH RADIO and TELEVISION (TRT)
Turkish Radio and Television is the Host Broadcaster of the G20 Leaders Summit. TRT will produce the live pool signal of the arrivals at the airport, arrivals at the Summit Zone, welcoming, opening speech, family photo and on other relevant occasions as the main media events during the Summit.
The broadcast format will be HD 1080i/50(PAL).
TRT will provide the pool signal of the all above mentioned LIVE events to TURKSAT 4A. The satellite parameters will be announced in due time. Please follow the updates on the official G20 website.
TRT will upload all the above-mentioned events’ edited versions along with the possible ENG coverage such as bilateral meetings on an FTP file titled “G20 TURKEY 2015″ accessible to all media.
Access details to FTP will be announced in due time.
For enquiries please contact: [email protected] ; phone: +90.532.375.3988
TRT will provide the LIVE signals as well as edited ENG material from different locations to EBU’s MCR. EBU will distribute the TV and Radio editing cabins in the Sports Hall.
6.2 HOST PHOTOGRAPHER – ANADOLU AGENCY (AA)
Anadolu Agency will capture the entire Summit programme and publish photographs on the following Flickr account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/g20_turkey
The photographs will be available for use with attribution to “G20 Turkey 2015”.
The pool images provided by Anadolu Agency has open-access to all. The images will be available without logo, in different sizes, with English subtitles and free of charge.
Anadolu Agency’s team of professional photojournalists will also capture the side events and summit preparations in Antalya. Arrivals, welcoming, opening speech, family photo, the reception, press conferences, associated meetings, departures and other relevant occasions will be among the captured content.
For enquiries please contact: [email protected]
6.3 SERVICES PROVIDED BY EUROPEAN BROADCASTING UNION (EBU)
Host Broadcaster (HB), TRT event coverage will be in European standard of HD 1080/50i. All signals generated by the HOST will be in this format and will contain embedded audio channels of natural sound and translation audios, when available.
EBU will provide the distribution of HOST signals to TV and Radio workspaces at the IBC. Broadcasters who require the HB signals in their workspaces should contact Eurovision who will provide a matrix routing panel offering push button selection of both original HD 1080/50i and down-converted SD SDI 576i signals (rates apply for this service).
7. MEDIA EVENTS
Summit Programme will include “limited access events”, “open to press events” and “closed to press events”. All Working Sessions of the G20 Leaders Summit will be closed to media.
7.1 POOL ARRANGEMENTS FOR LIMITED ACCESS EVENTS
In line with the established practices of G20 Summits, media pools will be arranged for certain media coverage opportunities which are subject to space, security and protocol restrictions.
Pool arrangements will be applied for at least three main events at Regnum Carya Hotel (Summit Zone):
Pool 1: “Official Welcome Ceremony” on 15 November at 12:00
Pool 2: “Opening Speech” on 15 November at 13:00
Pool 3: “Family Photo” on 15 November at 15:00
Pool accreditation applications for restricted-access events should be submitted to [email protected] until 12 November 2015.
A limited number of cameramen and photographers will be able to access to those events. Announcements on pool information will be made on 14 November 2015 at the IMC.
Pool 1, Pool 2 and Pool 3 access will require three different colors of vests which will be distributed at the “Pooled Events Desk” located at the IMC prior to the above-mentioned events.
Pool 1, Pool 2 and Pool 3 vest holders will be accompanied by G20 Media Team and security staff from the IMC to the Summit Zone. Following the pooled events, the media representatives will be immediately accompanied back to the IMC.
The Host Broadcaster and the Host Photographer will be included in every pool with their footage and photographs, which will be made available at the IMC.
7.2 PRESS CONFERENCES
All press conferences will be open to media representatives depending on the capacity of the press briefing rooms. Host Broadcaster (TRT) and Host Photographer (AA) will be present at the press briefing rooms at all times. TRT will produce live pool signals for up to three press conference rooms simultaneously at the Convention Centre.
7.3 AIRPORT ARRIVALS & DEPARTURES OF DELEGATIONS
Due to security arrangements put in place for the Leaders arrival at Antalya Airport, no media representative will be able to broadcast or capture the arrival and departure of delegations, except for the Host Broadcaster and the Host Photographer.
The official cameramen and photographers of the Leaders accompanying their delegations will be allowed to capture the arrival and departure of their Leaders.
7.4 BILATERAL MEETINGS
A number of rooms have been designated for bilateral meetings of the Leaders at Regnum Carya Hotel (Summit Zone). Due to the security restrictions and capacity of the rooms at the Summit Zone, the access of media representatives will be very limited.
Host Broadcaster (TRT) and Host Photographer (AA) will be present at some of the bilateral meeting rooms depending on their capacity. The official photographers and cameramen of the Leaders will be provided limited access to the bilateral meeting rooms.
For bilateral meetings of the Leaders outside the Summit Zone, media representatives are requested to refer to the “Bilateral Meetings Desk” at the IMC.
These arrangements will be made in coordination with Delegation Media Contacts (DMCs) of the relevant delegations.
All security measures for the G20 Leaders Summit in Antalya will be taken by the Turkish National Police. Leaders, Heads of International Organizations, delegates, media representatives and guests will be protected at the highest level during the Summit.
Upon arrival at the G20 Main Zone, all accredited media representatives will go through security screening and accreditation badge check at the Main Zone Media Check Point (Security screening for the equipment and frisk search for media members). These security checks will be applicable for each entry into the Main Zone.
The Summit Zone is designated as a media restricted area and accordingly any entry of media representatives for pooled events will also be subject to security (screening and frisk search) and accreditation badge check.
9.1 IMC CONTACTS – G20 MEDIA TEAM
IMC General Coordinator – Mr. Mustafa Osman Turan
IMC Operations Coordinator – Mr. Sinan Kürün
Operations Deputy Coordinator – Ms. Mine Canpolat
Operations Deputy Coordinator – Mr. Egemen Moral
IMC Logistics Coordinator – Mr. Cenk Ünal
Logistics Deputy Coordinator – Mr. Sarp Erzi
Logistics Deputy Coordinator – Ms. Melis Kurultay
Media Accreditation Centre Contact Person: Mr. Volkan Özcan ([email protected])
For all enquiries please send an e-mail to [email protected] or call +90 505 113 77 11
9.2 DELEGATION MEDIA CONTACTS (DMCs)
Each delegation will appoint a Delegation Media Contact (DMC) who will be the first point of contact for delegation media administration, media requests and media enquiries before and during the Summit and related events.
Media representatives are expected to contact the DMCs via relevant press help desks at the IMC.
10. SOCIAL MEDIA AND INTERNET
10.1 SMARTPHONE APPLICATION – “G20 ANTALYA SUMMIT”
The G20 Turkey smartphone application will contain information on the Summit including the programme, transport arrangements, venue maps and information about Antalya. The App will be available for free download from the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad users and the Google Play Store for Android users.
Please search for “G20 Antalya Summit”.
10.2 IMC TWITTER ACCOUNT
All media related updates will be announced also on IMC Twitter Account @g20summitmedia
10.3 WIRELESS INTERNET
Wireless internet access is available throughout the Main Zone. Free Wi-Fi service will be available at Regnum Carya Hotel and at the IMC.
The login details for free Wi-Fi are:
11. “HOME” CULTURE ZONE
At Kaya Hotels next to the IMC Audiovisual Centre, a cultural zone called “HOME” will host representatives of the media, the delegations and the engagement groups from 13 to 16 November.
Guests will enjoy a rich cultural programme including Turkish music, art and history. They will also have a chance to taste some of the delicacies of the Turkish cuisine and the Turkish coffee.
During interactive workshops hosted by artisans, visitors will experience traditional Turkish handcraft artefacts which will also be displayed in mini exhibition areas.
“HOME” Culture Zone will be open from 14:00 on 13 November till 14:00 on 16 November. Daily hours of operation will be from 10:00 till 22:00.
12. HEALTH SERVICES
There will be 24-hours health service available at all G20 venues. There will also be fully equipped ambulances (with a medical doctor and two paramedics) ready at all G20 venues during the Summit, including Kaya Palazzo and Kaya Belek Hotels, where the IMC is located.
Medical emergency call number is 112.
More information is available on:
Closest hospitals in the region:
ANTALYA EĞİTİM VE ARAŞTIRMA HASTANESİ (Public hospital)
Varlık Mahallesi Kazım Karabekir Caddesi Soğuksu 07100 Antalya
Tel: +90 (242) 249 44 00
ANTALYA ATATÜRK DEVLET HASTANESİ (Public hospital)
Anafartalar Cad. (Üçgen mevkii) Muratpaşa
Tel: +90 (242) 345 45 50
ANTALYA AKDENİZ ÜNİVERSİTESİ TIP FAKÜLTESİ HASTANESİ (University hospital)
Dumlupınar Bulvarı Akdeniz Üniversitesi Hastanesi 07059, Kampüs
Tel: +90 (242) 249 60 00
ANTALYA SERİK DEVLET HASTANESİ (Public hospital)
Merkez Mahallesi 2026 sok. No:10 Serik
Tel: +90 242 722 13 40
ÖZEL BELEK ANADOLU HASTANESİ (Private hospital)
Belek Anadolu Hastanesi
Kadriye Beldesi, Akınlar Mah. Alan Cad. Serik
Tel: +90 (242) 725 5000
Closest Dental Clinic in the region:
SERTALYA AĞIZ VE DİŞ SAĞLIĞI POLİKLİNİĞİ (Private clinic)
Prof. Dr. Yaşar Uçar Cad. Üçler İş Hanı D:2, Serik/Antalya
Tel: +90 (242) 722 99 77
Belek Girisi Mecek Carsisi Belek-Serik Antalya
Tel: +90 (242) 715 18 00
Belek Koyu Belek-Serik Antalya
Tel: +90 (242) 715 18 05
13. GENERAL INFORMATION
Antalya is the largest city on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, situated at the slopes of the Taurus Mountains. The city is rich in scenic beauties and historical monuments. Antalya is one of the leading tourism destinations in the world with palm-lined streets, historic castles and colourful neighbourhoods. It offers richly diverse opportunities for visitors, including shopping, beautiful parks, high quality restaurants and a picturesque marina.
Belek is a popular resort town to the South-East of Antalya and is famous for its pristine 17 km. coastline and world-class golf clubs.
For more information about Antalya and Belek, please visit https://goturkey.com/en/city/detail/antalya
With its prevailing Mediterranean climate, winters are temperate and rainy; summers are hot and dry in Antalya. The mild Mediterranean climate continues until November. Average temperatures into the late autumn range between 15 and 24°C. Daily temperatures in November range between 10°C and 21°C with a reasonable probability of rain.
13.3 TIME ZONE
Turkey is in the Eastern European Time (EET) Zone (GMT/UTC + 2 hours).
13.4 INTERNATIONAL DIALLING CODES
The country code for Turkey is 90. The city code for Antalya is 242. To make an international phone call from Turkey, dial 00 + country code + phone number.
13.5 ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
The electricity supply in Turkey is 220 volts AC 50 cycles. Electric appliances must have European plugs (i.e. round-tipped, two-pinned). An international adapter is recommended.
13.6 BANKING, CREDIT CARDS AND ATM
The official currency in Turkey is the Turkish Lira and is available in the following denominations: banknotes: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 TL; coins: 5, 10, 25, 50 kuruş and 1 TL. Cash can usually be exchanged without commission at exchange offices, banks and hotels.
Exchange rates can be found on the website of the Central Bank of Turkey at: http://www.tcmb.gov.tr/wps/wcm/connect/tcmb+en/tcmb+en
Cash machines (ATMs) are available throughout Turkey, accepting major credit and bank cards and instructions are often available in English.
13.7 EMERGENCY NUMBER
Within Turkey for emergencies (ambulance, police and fire) media representatives should dial 112.
Smoking is not permitted in public places in Turkey including meeting venues and the IMC. |
This Privacy & Cookies Policy (the “Policy”) has been prepared to meet the requirements of the UK’s Data Protection Act 1998 and The EU GDPR Regulations 2018, (the “Acts”). It relates to the collection, protection, disclosure and use of personal data belonging to individuals who visit www.unloq.co.uk (our “Site”) and also refers in detail to the “Cookies” we use, what they are and their purpose. By clicking the “Dismiss” button on the box that appears on the first page you enter on our Site, you signify your acceptance of our Cookies Policy. If you wish subsequently to decline your acceptance of them we set out in Clause 4 of the Policy how you may do so. Please note that the box relating to “Cookies” will only appear the first time you enter our Site.
Your privacy and security is important to us. This Policy sets out how we will treat any personal information we obtain from you and it is intended to help you understand how we deal with it and how you may remove it. By providing your personal information to us, you agree that we may collect and use the personal information you provide in the ways described in this Policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Policy, please do not provide any personal details to us.
We will use your personal information only for the purposes set out below.
Please note that we may need to update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law. We recommend that you check this page regularly to ensure that you have read the most recent version and that you are happy with any changes.
This Policy was last revised on: 4th September 2018
1.1 We obtain information about you when you engage us to deliver our services and/or when you use our website, for example, when you contact us about our services.
The personal information we collect from you will vary depending on which services you engage us to deliver. The personal information we collect might include your name, address, telephone number, email address and any other information related to your enquiry with us.
1.2 How is your information used?
In general terms, and depending on which services you engage us to deliver, as part of providing our agreed services we may use your information to:
Ways in which you may be providing us with personal information include, for example,
1.2.1 contacting us with an enquiry;
1.2.2 completing a survey which contains your personal information;
1.2.3 submitting your CV and/or covering letter to us; and/ or
1.2.4 reporting a problem.
1.3 We are required by legislation, other regulatory requirements and our insurers to retain your data where we have ceased to act for you. The period of retention required varies with the applicable legislation but is typically five or six years. To ensure compliance with all such requirements it is the policy of the firm to retain all data for a period of seven years from the end of the period concerned.
1.4 We will not sell or rent your information to third parties. We will not share your information with third parties for marketing purposes. Any staff with access to your information have a duty of confidentiality under the ethical standards that this firm is required to follow.
1.5 By providing any personal information to us, you fully understand and clearly consent to the transfer, collection and processing of such personal information. Such transfer, collection and processing will comply with the terms of this Policy.
1.6 We may pass your information to our third party service providers, agents, subcontractors and other associated organisations for the purposes of completing tasks and providing services to you on our behalf. However, when we use third party service providers, we disclose only the personal information that is necessary to deliver the service and we have a contract in place that requires them to keep your information secure and not to use it for their own purposes.
Please be assured that we will not release your information to third parties unless you have requested that we do so, or we are required to do so by law, for example, by a court order or for the purposes of prevention and detection of crime, fraud or corruption.
1.7 Keeping your information up to date and accurate is important to us. We commit to regularly review and correct where necessary, the information that we hold about you. If any of your information changes, please email or write to us, or call us using the ‘Contact information’ noted below.
You have the right to ask for a copy of the information we hold about you or your company. Security precautions in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of your information
Whilst we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk.
Once we receive your information, we make our best effort to ensure its security on our systems. Where we have given, or where you have chosen, a password which enables you to access information, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.
Your data will usually be processed in our offices in the UK. However, to allow us to operate efficient digital processes, we sometimes need to store information in servers located outside the UK, but within the European Economic Area (EEA). We take the security of your data seriously and so all our systems have appropriate security in place that complies with all applicable legislative and regulatory requirements.
1.8 We may occasionally contact you by post, email or telephone with details of any changes in legal and regulatory requirements or other developments that may be relevant to your affairs and, where applicable, how we may assist you further. If you do not wish to receive such information from us, please let us know by contacting us as indicated under ‘Contact information’ below.
1.9 You have the right to request a copy of the personal information about you that we hold. We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate, complete and up to date and you may ask us to correct any personal information about you that you believe does not meet these standards.
1.10 You have the right to ask us to delete personal information about you where:
1.11 In some cases, you may ask us to restrict how we use your personal information. This right might apply, for example, where we are checking the accuracy of personal information about you that we hold or assessing the validity of any objection you have made to our use of your information. The right might also apply where there is no longer a basis for using your personal information but you do not want us to delete the data. Where this right is validly exercised, we may only use the relevant personal information with your consent, for legal claims or where there are other public interest grounds to do so.
1.12 Where we use your personal information to perform tasks carried out in the public interest then, if you ask us to, we will stop using that personal information unless there are overriding legitimate grounds to continue. You have the right at any time to require us to stop using your personal information for direct marketing purposes.
1.13 Where we use your personal information with your consent you may withdraw that consent at any time and we will stop using your personal information for the purposes for which consent was given.
Please contact us in any of the ways set out in the CONTACT section below if you wish to exercise any of these rights.
2.1 Like many other websites, we use “cookies” to help us gather and store information about visitors to our Site.
2.2 We may collect information about your computer, including your IP address, operating system and browser type, for system administration and to report aggregate information to our advertisers. This is statistical data about our Site users’ browsing actions and patterns, and does not identify you as an individual.
2.3 A “cookie” is a small text file that is downloaded on to your computer’s hard disk when you access certain websites. Cookies allow the website to recognise your computer. A cookie can identify the pages that are being viewed and this can assist us to select the pages that the visitor sees.
2.4 “Session” cookies only exist whilst visitors are online on a particular occasion. These are temporary cookies that aid your journey around the site and remember the preferences you have selected during your “session”.
2.5 “Persistent” cookies, which are not session-based, remain on a visitor’s computer, so that you can be recognised as a previous visitor when you next visit our Site. This allows us to collect information about your browsing habits whilst on our site, and this can be useful in assisting us to monitor and improve our services.
2.6 We do not store sensitive information such as account numbers or passwords in “persistent” cookies, and cookies in themselves, do not contain enough information to identify you. You will only become personally identifiable in relation to your browsing habits after you have formally provided us with your personal data for the purposes outlined in Section 1.2 above.
2.7 In addition to using cookies, we might also use GIFs and other web tools, such as Google Analytics, to collect information about your browsing activities whilst on our site. In this respect the information that is provided is similar to the information supplied by cookies, and we use it for the same purposes.
2.8 Any information that we acquire about you using cookies, GIFs, or other web tools is subject to the same restrictions and conditions as any other information we collect about you, as outlined in this Policy.
3.1 Cookies set by our Site:
First Party Cookie Name
This cookie is set in order to work out whether you have seen and/ or clicked the “dismiss” button in the box that draws your attention to this Policy. This will appear the first time you enter our Site. This cookie is strictly necessary in order to enable you to provide your consent for us to set cookies on your browser.
3.2 Cookies set by Google Analytics:
_utma, _utmb, _utmc, _utmz, or others within the range _utma to _utmz.
Google Analytics is a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. By default, Google Analytics sets four performance cookies in order to evaluate your use of the Site, including number of visits, duration of browsing and referring sites, and compiles reports for us on activity on the Site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous.
Google stores the information collected by the cookie on servers in the United States. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google state that they will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.
For more information about the way in which Google Analytics uses these cookies please visit this link: Google Analytics Cookies.
3.3 If you wish to know all the cookies we have set and how to delete or manage them, please refer to www.allaboutcookies.org.
4.1 You have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying the settings in your browser or by not clicking the “dismiss” button on the box that appears on the first page you see on our Site. For example, in Internet Explorer, you can go to Tools and Internet Options, where there is the option to change your settings to disable cookies. However, you may not be able to use all the interactive features of our site if the cookies are disabled.
4.2 You also have the ability to delete cookies that have been installed in the cookie folder of your browser and should search for “cookies” in your “Help” function for information on where to find your cookie folder.
4.3 To delete only the cookies set by our Site in Internet Explorer, you must do the following:-
You should note that some websites store your member name, password, or other information about you in a cookie. If you delete that cookie, you might need to re-enter your personal information again the next time you visit the Site.
4.4 To delete only the cookies set by our Site, for example in Firefox, you must do the following:-
4.6 To prevent Google Analytics cookies being set, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On by clicking on this link – http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout and following the instructions.
5.1 All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers.
5.2 The information that we collect from you may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”). It may also be processed by staff operating outside the EEA, who work for us or for one of our suppliers. By submitting your personal information, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Policy.
5.3 Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your personal data, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent unauthorised access.
6.1 We may use personal information collected from you to provide specific services that you request and to provide additional services that may be of interest. We may use your personal information in the following ways:
6.1.1 Ease of Use – To ensure that content from our site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer.
6.1.2 Transactional Purposes – To carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us and to respond to your queries and requests.
6.1.3 Communication – To notify you about changes to our service.
6.1.4 Provision of Information – To assess your eligibility, and if eligible, provide you with information.
6.1.5 Marketing Communications and Analysis – To communicate with you about our products and services and for our own internal marketing analysis, for example, to measure the amount of traffic to our Site.
7.1 We may also use your data, or permit selected third parties or other businesses within our Group (which means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and its subsidiaries, as defined in section 1159 of the UK Companies Act 2006) to use your data, to provide you with data about goods and services which may be of interest to you, and we or they may contact you about these by post or e-mail.
7.2 If you are an existing customer, we will only contact you by email with information about goods and services similar to those, which were the subject of a previous sale to you.
7.3 If you are a new customer, and where we permit selected third parties to use your data, we (or they) will contact you be electronic means only if you have consented to this.
7.4 If you do not want us to use your data in this way, or to pass your details on to third parties for marketing purposes, please email us at [email protected] or write to us at Unloq Limited, First Floor, 5 Fortuna Court, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, Reading RG7 8UB.
7.5 Please note that we will not, under any circumstances, sell your personal information to anyone else.
7.6 Any information or statistics relating to our business that we disclose to others will not identify you personally. We may, for example, perform statistical analyses of the behaviour of the users of our Site in order to measure interest in the various areas of our site and to inform advertisers as to how many consumers have “clicked” on their advertising banners. This information, and any other general information about our users that we share with advertisers and other partners, will not contain personal information about you.
This Policy only covers this Site. If you follow a link from this Site to another website, you must refer to and read the privacy statement on that other website which you visit. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for these policies. Please check these policies before you submit any personal data to these websites.
9.1 We may disclose your personal information:
9.1.1 To third parties to whom you have provided your consent in order that they will be able to prepare or send any communications to you, or to assist us in connection with any of our administrative or business functions or in the provision of any of our services to you.
9.1.2 In the event that we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we may disclose your personal data to the prospective seller or buyer.
9.1.3 If Gardenatics Limited, or substantially all of its assets, are acquired by a third party, in which case personal data held by it about its customers will be one of the transferred assets.
10.1 Information that you post via social networking (including but not limited to Facebook and Twitter) is generally accessible to, and may be collected by, others and may result in unwelcome communications. For your own safety and security you should not provide information about yourself on the aforementioned areas of our Site or via social networking.
10.2 If you disclose any information via social networking, we do not accept any responsibility or liability for any breach of privacy, loss, damage, effect on your reputation or otherwise whatsoever.
11.1 You have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes. We will usually inform you, before collecting your data, if we intend to use your data for such purposes or if we intend to disclose your data to any third party for such purposes. You can exercise your right at any time to prevent such processing by emailing us at [email protected] or write to us at Unloq Limited, First Floor, 5 Fortuna Court, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, Reading RG7 8UB.
The Acts give you the right to access information we hold about you. Any access request will be subject to a fee of £10 to meet our costs in providing you with such information. If you would like a copy of this information, please write to us at the address below.
13.1 Questions, comments, paper copies and any information requests regarding this Policy are welcomed and should be addressed to [email protected] or write to us at Unloq Limited, First Floor, 5 Fortuna Court, Calleva Park, Aldermaston, Reading RG7 8UB.
We keep this policy regularly under review and will update when needed.
13.2 We seek to resolve directly all complaints about how we handle your personal information but you also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office at
Information Commissioner’s Office
Telephone – 0303 123 1113 (local rate) or 01625 545 745
There is only so much you can tell from reading our website.
Our commitment to client confidentiality means that we are
careful about details on specific clients or mandates.
At the same time, if you contact us, we can share examples of our work,
discuss projected outcomes and cover off how we can help you.
To hear more about our client, please call 01962 609 000 or |
While book blogging is the best thing since cake was gifted to humanity, it can also be thoroughly stressful.
I’m 99% sure all bloggers have had 2 or 3 or 98 crises at some point. AND THIS IS OKAY! WE ALL GO THROUGH THIS. When you (A) care about something, and (B) have no idea what you’re doing but still want to do well, and (C) just like to panic recreationally — you’re bound to fret over blogging. You’re not alone.
But you want to know a secret? Shhh, now, come closer…let us whisper conspiratorial things:
There are some things you actually emphatically do not need to be worrying about!
I’ve been blogging for nearly 5 years and I have learnt a lot. For instance I learnt that (A) “gargantuanly” is not a word and you can’t just add “ly” to anything you want, (B) also “cakely” is not a word for afore mentioned reasons, (C) you can get very very very far by faking your blogging knowledge that you don’t have, and (D) if you stress about too much in regards to blogging, you’re going to want to quit.
Ergo, today’s post is to list some common unnecessary blogging worries and why you should glare at them! Let’s keep blogging fun, Bob. Let’s remember that there’s not ONE way to blog. Let’s remember that the dictionary doesn’t own us and WE CAN SAY CAKELY IF WE WANT.
“OH NO I’VE BEEN SO BUSY AND DIDN’T DO THAT BLOGGING THING THAT I SAID I WAS GOING TO DO THAT TIME AND I MUST APOLOGISE COPIOUSLY!”
I wrote a post a looooong time ago (nearly 3 YEARS?!?! WOAH) about why you shouldn’t be saying sorry all the time. YOU JUST DON’T NEED TO, MY FIENDS. You need to own your decisions! And if unforeseen circumstances come up to devour your soul?? GO WITH IT.
You don’t need to apologise for (A) taking a blogging break, (B) getting sick and missing posting, (C) being overwhelmed and needing to back off, (D) not putting up that review the day you said you would because your pet armadillo escaped and you had to go fetch it, (E) not doing a giveaway, or even (F) having a random typo.
Especially don’t apologise for things that are beyond your control!
And, here’s a small secret: half the time no one even notices. CHILL THERE, MATEY.
“I DIDN’T REVIEW THAT ARC ON RELEASE DAY AND THE PUBLISHERS ARE GOING TO BLACKLIST ME AND SEND THEIR GHOULS TO DEVOUR MY FIRSTBORN IN PUNISHMENT.”
Trust me, I knoooow how it feels to have that mortifying moment of “UM THIS ARC SHOULD’VE BEEN READ/REVIEWED 2 MONTHS AGO.” Who is guilty of this? I AM GUILTY OF THIS.
But you know what? Publishers aren’t going to murder you or your firstborn. FIRSTLY, you might not even have a firstborn so it’d be a waste of time to send the ghouls out and then just have to sit around awkwardly drinking tea with you while you break it to them that you are, in fact, childless. SECONLDY, some publishers don’t even keep ghouls. #surprise And THIRDLY, publishers understand.
If you request * an ARC, I do think it’s your duty to review it. You said “I’m going to review this thing” ergo you need to keep your word! But hey, so what if the review is a little late? At least people can go out and buy the book now!
* As for receiving books you DON’T request, I’m still a believer in trying to review them but YOU DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR IT, SO YOU DON’T “HAVE” TO DO ANYTHING. It’s like being given a piece of cake, but you just ate cake. You can totally say “no thanks”…or eat more cake. Your choice.
“IF I TAKE A HIATUS EVERYONE WILL FORGET I EXIST AND UNFOLLOW ME. AGHAGHHGH EGAHHHED.”
If you take a 6 month hiatus: well, yes, you may lose followers.
If you take a 1 month hiatus: no you’re not going to lose followers!
Bloggers actually NEED BREAKS. Sure a hiatus will mean your blog stats will go down and it may take wrangling to get going again afterwards. But you know what’s worth it? RECHARGING. When you come back to blogging after a hiatus you’ll be rested and refreshed. NO DOWNSIDES, BOB. Hiatusing will not kill your blog, I promise and when do I lie? Never. *
If you need a break, TAKE IT AND RUN AWAY TO HAWAII WITH IT AND HAVE NO REGRETS.
* Except for that one time when I said chocolate cake is the answer to all of life’s problems, because actually cheesecake is. Sometimes they’re interchangeable. But when in doubt: cheesecake it out.
“AM I RATING MY BOOKS RIGHT?? IS 3-STARS THE RIGHT RATING FOR THIS? WHAT DOES 3-STARS EVEN MEEEEEEEEAN?”
I’m like 99% sure all bloggers go through a Star Rating Crisis. Because rating is HARD! What 3-stars means to one person, it doesn’t mean to another! I’ve stressed about it. But now? HA. NO WAY DUDE. I AM CHILL. (I am not. I’m like an uptight pinecone of anxious intentions, but I can say I’m chill if I want. #ISayWhatIWant) It actually DOESN’T MATTER if you use half-star-ratings or no star ratings or go back and re-rate things or if you rating everything high.
Breaking news: NONE of your followers are panicking over your rating-system.
So why should you??
“I’M NOT FORMATTING MY POSTS LIKE THE OTHER BOOK BLOGGERS. OMG AM I A TRUE BOOK BLOGGER???”
I am notorious for doing things differently to everyone else because I AM AN OBLIVIOUS MUSHROOM. And a rebel. A rebellious oblivious adorable mushroom. *
There are no “rules” to book blogging. There is not “one way” to do it. Plus it actually makes you stand out when you do something differently!
For instance, some randomly different things I do are:
- I format my reviews backwards. (Blurb at the end, review at the beginning.)
- I don’t title my posts with “review” or “discussion”…I just let you figure out whatever it is when you get here mwahahhahh.
- I don’t join readathons or twitter chats. (No particular reason, I just haven’t yet.)
- Sometimes I go weeks without a book review.
- I only join in book tours once in a blue moon.
- I talk to authors about 2% of the time. (They are SCARY.)
- I yell at people that they’re fruit and this probably scares them and me sometimes.
AM I STILL ALLOWED TO BE A BOOK BLOGGER? Yes, yes I am.
You don’t need to format your reviews a certain way. Or have the perfect discussion to review ratio. You don’t even need to talk exclusively about books! NO RULES. And if there are rules, pfft to them.
* I want that on a teeshirt to be honest.
“IF I ANNOUNCE MY UNPOPULAR OPINION, WILL EVERYONE HATE ME? WHAT IF I OFFEND EVERYONE?”
So long as you’re POLITE — then you’re doing fine. And trust me, you’ll always offend someone. It’s inevitable.
I have offended people. I’ve had massive misunderstandings with people. I’ve lost “friends” over having a difference of opinion. I’ve had goodreads users leave horrible abusive comments. But you know what? SO WHAT DO THOSE PEOPLE EVEN MATTER?? People get offended all the time. Those people can be ditched. If you are nice, there will absolutely definitely be people out there who like you. #LEGIT OKAY?!?!
If you offend/mess-up with one person, you do not need to shut down your blog.
And when it comes to unpopular opinions?? Oh my sweet summer child — there is always someone else who’ll share the opinion with you. ALWAYS.
“I’M NEVER GOING TO GET THROGH ALL THE BOOKS ON MY TBR BEFORE IT FALLS AND SQUASHES ME FLATTER THAN A PIZZA CRUST.”
Your to-be-read pile can stretch to Jupiter and back — AND THAT’S OKAY. You’re not greedy. You’re not behind. You only have 2 eyeballs so just do what you can do, okay??! Plus it’s better to have much books instead of not enough! I actually wrote an entire post about not fretting over the size of your TBR.
Dude, collecting unread books is not the worse thing you could be doing.
YOU COULD BE COLLECTING PINECONES AFTER ALL. *
* Fun fact: I started collecting pinecones. Nobody understands me.
“BOOK BLOGGING IS SO EXPENSIVE. I CAN’T KEEP THIS UP. I AM GOING TO DISSOLVE INTO A PUDDING OF POORDOM.”
I never used to think book blogging was expensive but DUDE. Once you start buying books, paying for hosting, doing giveaways, and maybe buying graphics or templates????? IT ALL ADDS UP AND IT CAN BE SCARY.
Spoiler alert: you don’t have to spend much money if you don’t want to. You do what you can and what you’re comfortable with.
Things You Don’t Have To Spend Money On If You Don’t Want To Actually:
- BOOKS: You can get physical ARCs from publishers. Or sign up to Netgalley and Edelweiss. You can use the library. You can buy second-hand from thrift-stores (WHICH I KNOW IS BUYING BUT SHH at least it’s cheaper!) I know people say “don’t blog for the ARCs” and that’s true. But it’s also true that getting free books is a HUGE PERK of book blogging and can enable you to keep doing it!
- ARCS: I hear people say we should pass on ARCs to others or buy finished copies. Nope. You don’t have to do either of those. The only rules about ARCs are (1) read and review and possibly don’t quote them unless you state it’s from an ARC, and (2) don’t sell them. THAT’S IT. You can keep them! Paying postage to give stuff away can be killer.
- GIVEAWAYS: if you can’t afford to do giveaways — then don’t. It’s okay! I mean, it’s July and I have done exactly ZERO giveaways sponsored by me. I just can’t afford it! I try to get Etsy sellers to sponsor in return for promos or ask publishers.
- BLOG: You don’t have to buy hosting. Having just a .com name is freaking awesome, of course, but I don’t consider people with blogspot.com or wordpress.com “not dedicated” bloggers.
- GRAPHICS: There are tons of free places to download nice template designs! Just google! And you can get free stock photos from a ton of places and free graphics with attribution. You can sign up to creativemarket.com and you get 6 free downloads every Monday! (Just check out licenses and make sure you attribute if you need to!)
“I WANT TO CHANGE MY BLOG BUT…SHOULD I??? AM I ALLOWED TO CHANGE MY BRANDING? WHAT IF I END UP LOOKING LIKE A SILLY PUMPKIN??”
Lots of people freak out over change. Um…why are you looking at me? I’M GUILTLESS! (I am not.) But seriously, your blog can grow and evolve with you. That’s natural. You want to rebrand yourself? Go for it. You want a completely different blog design? Do it. You want to change your blog name? TAKE THE PLUNGE, BOB.
If I even look back at the posts I wrote 6 months ago I can see how I’ve changed! (For the better I hope because omg if you ever look into the deep dark depths of my archives I will die.)
If you want to change something about your blog: DON’T FRET. Just do it! You’ll be happier.
“WHAT IF MY POSTS DON’T MATTER BECAUSE EVERYONE HAS ALREADY SAID THIS STUFF BEFORE?”
WELL THERE, MY FRIEND. There is a really encouraging answer to this: no one has said the thing like YOU will say the thing. You might have the same opinion as me on dog-earing-books (aka please kindly BURN FOR YOUR SINS) but if you and I blog about it we are going to phrase it differently! We’re going to have slightly different concerns! WE’RE GOING TO BE DIFFERENT ABOUT IT. #truth
And also your followers are interested in YOU. They want to know your opinion on things….that’s why they follow your blog!
And don’t forget how fast the book blogging community turns over. Old bloggers leave. Newbies come. All. the. time. So maybe we’ve discussed the phenomenon of big books vs short books before. BUT THE NEWBIES MIGHT NOT HAVE HEARD IT.
Also, by the way: your posts and blog and your opinion do matter. Start telling yourself they matter and then tell other people. How do you think I am so fabulous? I TELL PEOPLE I’M FABULOUS AND THEY HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO BELIEVE ME. (Then I bribe them with cake because #winning.)
STEAL THE FABULOUSNESS. OWN THE FABULOUSNESS. LET NONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE. |
Wondering how to create great marketing videos in a short time and without breaking the bank?
Over the years, the video has grown as a content format. For instance, YouTube is now the second most popular website online – in the whole world.
And apart from YouTube, social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and others now see video as an integral part of their service. And the reason for this? People love videos.
According to a HubSpot study, 54% of consumers expect video content from businesses.
One other factor that has aided the popularity of videos is that there are now a lot of tools to help create videos.
With the right video tool, you can create new videos or edit your videos for better marketing campaigns. Here are 6 factors to consider when picking a video tool:
- Your video needs: are you about to shoot a Hollywood blockbuster or just need a short video for your next social media campaign? The frank truth is that there’s a video tool that’s best for your needs. State your needs clearly.
- Ease of use: rather than making your life easier, a video tool with a steep learning curve will make it more difficult. You should go for a tool with a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy to carry out basic tasks.
- Budget: your marketing budget determines the tool you can go for. Find a tool within your budget that can meet your needs.
- User reviews: what do current users say about a tool? This can show you whether the tool will be the right fit or not.
- Free trial: in some cases, you might just have to try out the tool yourself to form a personal opinion. Then it becomes easier to make your purchase decision.
If you’re not sure where to get started with video marketing, I’ve just had the opportunity to try out WeVideo – and it’s a really easy to use tool with some amazing capabilities for businesses and marketers.
This software-as-a-service (SaaS) tool provides all the tools and features you need to create and edit videos from scratch, easily.
Whether you run a business, teach children, or need personal videos, WeVideo is built to meet your needs. And here’s why:
- It’s very easy to use and you don’t need to have any experience with video creation to create professional-looking videos
- It’s perfect for marketers and businesses: when it comes to your everyday needs for creating marketing and business videos, WeVideo offers pretty much any feature you need to create videos completely from scratch
- It’s surprisingly cheap for its capabilities and can pretty much work around any marketing budget – the cheapest package is $4.99/month which definitely makes it one of the more affordable options in this niche
- There’s a completely free version – which you can sign up for here – which is arguably a lot better than a free trial: it lets you see if the tool is right for you with no obligations
So, how exactly can you use WeVideo to create a professional video?
Before we move on though, you have to note that this is a review of WeVideo Business account. Therefore, you might find features like collaboration and the creation of templates, which are absent in other plans.
WeVideo Quick Start: How to get started with WeVideo in 3 steps
Before I get into all the features and details, I do want to look first at how easy it is to create a video; there are basically 3 main steps:
1. Uploading media: the first step when starting a new video is, quite simply, to upload media to your video – you can search through their extensive stock library of video clips to select the ones you like, or even upload your own or both:
2. Editing your video: once you’ve selected the media you want to use in your video, the next step is to edit and customize your video to your liking. This is surprisingly easy to do (and as I mentioned earlier, you don’t need to be an experienced editor or graphic designer), but I’ll get into all the editing options later on (just keep reading to learn more about the editor); plus, they have some great themes you can use to automatically make your video look better
3. Publishing your video: once it’s all edited to your liking, it’s time to publish; when you click that Finish button, you’ll see the numerous optimized options for saving and/or sharing your video:
It’s no secret that video marketing is on every marketer’s lips: it’s the biggest trend of the year and most experts expect this trend to continue and grow in 2020.
So if you haven’t tried video marketing yet, now is the time: WeVideo is a great starting point because of its ease of use – but also because you can try out for free to see if it’s the right tool for you (sign up for the free account here) ☺
Now that you have a much better idea of what WeVideo is, let’s take a more in-depth look at their platform and how it all works. So if you want to learn more, here’s a more detailed walkthrough of WeVideo:
1. Starting a new video edit: creating projects
Once you’ve created your account, the first thing you can do is create projects.
A project allows you to organize your marketing videos for a particular campaign. Then, you can easily track your created videos and know where to find them, for each campaign or project.
In the “Projects” dashboard, your projects are evident with all the details.
If you want to create a new project, click the “+” button at the lower right side of the page. Once you do that, you can add a title, description, and project type. The project type helps you to select an option to edit your video alone or collaborate with your team members.
Apart from creating a project, you can also create a new folder where you have your projects.
Now that the projects are ready, it’s time, of course, to populate them with videos.
Creating a new video edit
In your main dashboard, there’s an option to create a new edit or use the social media post template:
From the blank edit, you can create as many templates as you want. This is necessary for a video type you might need regularly. To get more information about how to create a tutorial, click “Template tutorial” and WeVideo will take you through the steps.
When you create a template, it will appear on your dashboard, with the pre-determined format. If you select a blank edit, you’ll have to select the format for your video. The present formats are:
Obviously, the format you select will depend on how you intend to use your video and where you want to publish it.
You can also start video edits from within one of your projects. Click “Start” to begin:
When you do that, you’ll get an option to create a video from scratch or use one of their templates. After doing that, select the “Start” button.
On the next page, you’ll see all of the stock videos, images, and music you can add to your template.
Or, you can always upload your own media:
Importing your own files
In the Import tab, you can upload files from your online storage accounts like Dropbox or Facebook, among 5 other services, or from your device’s hard drive.
Also, WeVideo is an official Dropbox partner which makes it easier to import files from Dropbox to WeVideo.
The beauty of WeVideo is that its JumpStart technology allows you to start editing your videos even before you finish uploading:
This makes your editing task easier if you’re uploading large video files as there’s no need to wait for the upload.
You have 4 options for adding relevant media to your video:
- Import media
- Use video or screen recorder or both simultaneously
- Open voice recorder
- Essentials stock content
WeVideo puts no limit on the size of the videos, images, and music you can upload, although you have to consider the size available on your account.
To use the second option (your webcam, screen capture, etc.), you can either record your screen or use the webcam. Another option is to combine the webcam and the recording screen; You’ll find this useful if you want to create a tutorial or how-to video, for example, as you can also record your voiceover narration concurrently.
The third option is to use a voice recorder. If you want to create a voiceover, then this is a great option – although I do recommend you get a microphone for any voiceover you do, so that it all sounds great.
Plus, don’t forget to add subtitles anyway – some people watch videos online with the sound off and this ensures they’re not missing anything (especially on social media!)
Add flair with WeVideo Essentials’ Stock Library
One of the problems you might run into as a business or marketer is that you simply don’t have the budget to film your own video clips.
Luckily, it really doesn’t matter – you can get a plethora of videos on pretty much any subject you can think of, directly in the WeVideo editor.
In fact, WeVideo has an impressive million+ pieces of commercially licensed media that you can use in your videos (and with the Professional and Business plans, you have unlimited use of these clips).
It’s also easy to find the videos you need, specifically, by entering a relevant keyword into the search bar.
You can even refine the search by choosing the type of media on the search. Plus, you can also favorite media for quick access in the future
In other words, you really don’t need to film anything yourself – just use any of the video clips readily available in WeVideo.
Adding a theme
If you want to add music, transition, and color filters to your videos, choosing a theme will do this in a single click.
To add a theme to your video, click the “Theme” tab at the top of your video editor. When you select a theme, you can also select what part of the theme you want to apply to your video. Then, click on “Use this theme.”
After applying the theme, you’ll notice that the video has changed considerably:
Another option is the “link resources” tab. Here, you have the option to link your Google Docs directly to your project in order to ensure easy collaboration with your team:
More video editing features
When you share videos online, you should always include subtitles as well as written calls to action.
To do this, click on the messages tab, and you can add text to your videos to add messages or subtitles:
Here’s an example after deleting “Easy pizza dough” and adding “Shop now, swipe up.” All you have to do is drag the text to where you want it to show in your video.
Apart from adding text and voiceover, you can also add music to your videos. Here, add either free music, sound effects, or premium music. The WeVideo Essentials stock library has over 100,000 songs so there are many options when it comes to finding a suitable one.
Besides music, there’s an option to add transitions to your video.
In the last tab, there are also graphics options to add to your video to make it stand out more:
WeVideo also allows you to edit different parts of your video, as needed, easily. When you click on a unique piece of media, you’ll see options at the top left corner.
For instance, if you click on the pen button which opens the clip editor, you get this:
Here, you see editing options for your texts.
On the next tab, there’s the “Transform” tab which provides options to rotate, flip, scale, and perform other tasks.
In the next tab, you have options to animate your video clip:
Furthermore, you can adjust different color aspects of your clip in the next tab to make it look perfect: brightness, the contrast, the saturation and more:
In the “Color keying” tab, you have the ability to key out a specific color and replace with another graphic or background of your choice — in other words, create a green screen effect:
And once you add the color keying, you can add any other video you want as the background:
It literally takes a few seconds to do.
If you want to play your clip faster or in slow motion, this feature is available in the “Speed” tab.
Apart from using the clip editor, other options you have for a clip are to open fade options, clip effects, or delete the clip. When you click on the fade option, you see the time for the clip to fade in and out.
If you click on “FX,” it opens up options to apply effects to your clip.
Make your own template
Creating your own video templates is a great time-saver. This way, you can ensure 2 things:
- That all of your videos are consistent
- And that every video you create is in line with your branding.
Creating your own templates is super easy to do once you’ve created a video; if you want to save a new edit as a template, simply click the drop-down at the top left corner of your page and select “Convert to template.”
Then, your templates will be saved so you can access them from your dashboard, easily.
For example, if you want to create social media videos, this is a super handy feature – save a template and just change the wording and some of the media, as required and you’re good to go.
Essentially, it’s a way to create branded, professional videos in a few minutes.
Publishing and sharing your project
Once you’re done editing your video, preview it before finishing. You need to keep in mind that WeVideo makes previews low quality to ensure a faster workflow – but rest assured, once it’s ready, the video will look amazing.
All you have to do is click on the play button or the play button in square to see a full-screen preview.
If you’re satisfied with the preview, click the “Finish” button at the top right corner of the editor to export your video.
After that, you have to give a title to your video.
When you’re done with this, click “Set.” On the next page, you’ll be able to add finishing touches to your video. WeVideo allows you to pick one of 3 thumbnails that’s likely to attract viewers to your video.
On the right side, you have the option to select your video resolution. While selecting a video resolution, you have to consider your audience and the medium of consumption.
For instance, an HD video will look great on social media as most people are viewing on the small screen of their smartphones.
WeVideo provides 3 resolutions which are:
- High definition (HD)
- Full high definition (FHD)
- Ultra-high definition (4K)
You’ll notice that the resolutions are square. That’s because I chose a square format before editing my video. If you click on “Advanced settings,” you’ll be able to set your video’s frame rate and quality.
After this, the next step is to select your destination.
The beauty of this is that you don’t have to keep a permanent video file on your device. If you’re editing a large video, you can export it directly to your Dropbox account or any of the other options.
First of all, you don’t have to waste time downloading to your device and then uploading to your online storage. Secondly, you can cut down on data usage.
When you click the “Export” button, WeVideo prepares the high-resolution video for sharing and downloading.
If you click on the play button, you’ll see your video on another tab.
Scrolling down, you’ll find more details about your video.
But let’s say that maybe your video just needs finishing touches before you launch it on social media. WeVideo gives you an option to do just that.
With the share button on the video page, you can share to Facebook or Twitter. Alternatively, you have the option to copy an embed code that’s usable on your website.
Collaborate with your team
Creating some videos requires teamwork to make it successful. Using WeVideo, collaboration with your team members is easier during the video creation process. To use this option, select “Collaboration” while creating a new project.
On the next page, you’ll find different ways to add members to your project.
If, for instance, you selected “Invite with link,” you’ll have to pick a video in the next step.
After doing this, you’ll see the invite link to send to your team members.
Once you’re done creating your project, you can add team members on your project page too.
What devices can you use for WeVideo?
Another really cool thing about WeVideo is that you can use it on multiple devices and easily change between these devices to continue your work with WeVideo JumpStart.
Some of the devices you can use it on:
- On your desktop browser (as it’s a cloud-based video creator)
- On a Chromebook
- On your iPhone or iPad (available to download here)
- On Android devices (get it here)
Basically, if you get a great idea and want to start working on your project immediately, you can use the mobile app and then once you have access to your computer, finish your project there (especially as the desktop version offers more versatility and extra features).
Picking a video editing tool depends on your needs. And that’s why it’s vital to have a list of the most important features you need from a video tool.
After doing that, ensure a prospective video tool meets these needs and check user reviews to confirm it’s a good fit.
WeVideo is a tool that provides extensive features to meet most of your video editing needs – after trying out so many different video editing tools, it definitely makes the top of my list.
So if you need to use videos for your business marketing campaigns and need to create them without a fuss, you should definitely check WeVideo out.
Have you tried WeVideo yet? Let me know in the comments section and please share if you enjoyed the post ☺ |
Listen Live Online
Many will have fond memories of Rivals, from their first trip there on an under-eighteens ‘Fusion’ night to its big farewell party in Phil Medgett This spot in Adrian Street has undergone several reincarnations over the years. Last re-opened as De ja vu, the name aptly sums up the ever-changing face of the nightlife site. Dan Desborough In October And in sad onlookers watched on as the old club building burnt down in spectacular style, just as demolition had started. In the early noughties it was also known to many as Club Indigo for a short spell, before taking its last name Club Onyx towards the end of its life. Punters often gave it a variety of nicknames in its time, such as the Grizzly Den.
Freeview Channels List
Many will have fond memories of Rivals, from their first trip there on an under-eighteens ‘Fusion’ night to its big farewell party in Phil Medgett This spot in Adrian Street has undergone several reincarnations over the years. Last re-opened as De ja vu, the name aptly sums up the ever-changing face of the nightlife site. Dan Desborough In October
Kerrang dating delete account – Is the number one destination for online dating with more dates than any other dating or personals site. Rich man looking for older man & younger woman. I’m laid back and get along with everyone.
GayXchange is the other gay chat site. We only hung apps for gay men and straightmixed olive apps in a person map because the extra for apps specifically smoker advocates is much less picky and couldnt be bad across jurisdictions in the same way. App Honey only discovered two major apps dating lesbians LesPark. Are you uncertain to date sites who are not seeking a long-term pilgrim. Unlike many other modern sites, which are actually ceased on every-term hook-ups, EliteSingles is only dating dinners dublin Us who are happy to find real, long-lasting love.
So if youre harbouring to find someone on your focus, its time to try. Confirmation of the best dating dating service orange county in Ireland. Touch and try the dating site commercial-made for you according to your exes, new or age. GayXchange is the new gay chat site. Gay Australia, free gay dating: Want to meet closer gay men in Nsw, Union Capital Territory.
Mingle2s gay Nsw opens are the free and easy way to find other Nsw gay men looking for men, men, sex, or metaphysics.
More by Chris Aspden
The first step to getting live TV wherever you are is to try our service, contact us today to setup your free 12 hour trial so that we can help select the best equipment and package for you. During week days and quiet weekend periods 24 hour trials are available on request. Step 2 Order your Package Once you have tried the service simply choose and pay for your package. Your package price will include a one-off payment to cover all the satellite and transmission equipment required to stream your own Live TV content directly to you so you can watch UK TV anywhere.
Welcome to Kerrang! Radio Dating! Dating shouldn’t be complicated, use our location feature to find people in your local area. If you have any questions or would like some support simply contact our customer care team found within the site.
While still at high school, Anthony proposed to Debbie Harry of Blondie: Haya Handel With my not necessarily warranted sense of self-confidence, instilled in me by my father, I was constantly attempting to unite with a woman. Fortunately, I was given a reprieve from this quest at the age of seventeen, when I fell in love for the first time. Her name was Haya Handel, and she was my high school sweetheart.
For the next two years, I experienced wonderful sensations of warm-hearted contentment with her. Sadly, as is often the case, my first love crumbled, and I was quickly tossed back into the sea of fish. Details magazine, July Haya and Anthony were high school sweethearts. They were close friends already but Kiedis wanted to take the relationship further which he did by taking flowers and a poem to Haya at school; unfortunately he was late and class had already begun but he presented them anyway, much to the delight of his fellow classmates and the embarrassment of Haya!
She had this crazy thick accent and she was all colourful… And it was Nina Hagen. She was so beautiful and so exotic looking.
Share Chester Bennington , lead singer of the band Linkin Park , was found dead in his home Thursday, and his death is being investigated as a possible suicide, the L. TMZ reports Bennington, 41, hanged himself and was discovered by his housekeeper. An official statement will come out as soon as we have one. Since the news of his death broke, collaborators, friends and fans have taken to social media to pay their respects. Our thoughts and prayers are with his beautiful family, his band-mates and his many friends.
All of us at WBR join with millions of grieving fans around the world in saying:
Kerrang Dating Scam I first discovered Kerrang Dating around a week ago and i decided to sign up, as like many other dating sites there’s only very little you can view without creating an account/5(2).
Commercial yes Interia, formerly Interia. It offers, among others: The list of its services includes the national and international headlines in the Polish language followed by business news, sports, motorization and new technologies, as well as online games , blogs , chat rooms , internet forums and a shopping arcade, not to mention the streaming radio and Internet television channels. Interia hosts one of Polish online encyclopedias , the Encyklopedia Internautica and the thematic catalogue of websites.
It features also the weather info, astrology, virtual greeting cards popular locally, and hundreds of online chats czaterie with the “KidProtect” option. Spammers frequently link to its free sub-domains in their spam campaigns to avoid having their messages easily detected as junk and automatically blocked. Although, there are many legitimate webpages as well as services listed at Interia or perhaps because of it , spammers sign up for its free accounts in volumes similar to GeoCities Yahoo!
The redirect pages created by spammers at Interia link only to spamvertising.
Freeview Channels List
ThierryEnnui [Edit] [Delete] 69 replies I’d read every tiny review, take my Spar wages to the V. Shop in the Cornmill centre one of those little Virgin Records shops with a computer terminal to order direct from the warehouse and take a punt on anything that seemed interesting. I’d pass up buying lunch at college to buy 2, 3, 4 albums a week. I did, sadly, plaster my walls with cut out pictures. I’d scour the gig listings and take the train up to Newcastle to see bands, usually hanging around after to get them to sign my ticket.
Kerrang dating website – Join the leader in relations services and find a date today. Join and search! Rich man looking for older man & younger woman. I’m laid back and get along with everyone. Looking for an old soul like myself. I’m a man. My interests include staying up late and taking naps. Register and search over 40 million singles: matches and more.
The band consists of Matthew Bellamy on lead vocals, piano, keyboard and guitar, Chris Wolstenholme on backing vocals and bass guitar, and Dominic Howard on drums and percussion. They have been friends since their formation in early and changed band names a number of times such as Gothic Plague, Fixed Penalty, and Rocket Baby Dolls before adopting the name Muse. Their sound is a blend of alternative rock, classical music, electronica, metal, spanish guitars, and progressive rock.
Usually they use the bass line as the driving force, often with the guitar providing only an extra layer to the song rather than carrying the melody, the bass has distortion and other effects applied to it to achieve a greater weight, allowing the guitar to digress from the main tune and play higher notes. The band are known for their energetic live performances and front man Matthew Bellamy’s eccentric and avid interests in global conspiracy, extraterrestrial life, theology and the apocalypse as much as in Space and theoretical physics.
Their lyrical themes involve madcap conspiracy theory, revolutionary rabble-rousing, weird stuff about aliens or Zetas, if you please , religions and other such classic Muse concerns. The album received mixed reviews among critics, and music fans, labeling the band as ‘Radiohead copycats’. This, however, did not stop the album from selling over , copies, with success coming from singles; Unintended and Muscle Museum.
The album went unreleased in the United States until because their record label at the time, Madonna’s Maverick, allegedly thought the falsetto vocals would discourage radio play and wanted the band to re-record alternate vocals. The band refused, and terminated its contract with Maverick. Muse polished off their impressive year by winning Best Live Band at the Kerrang! In , Muse asked Rich Costey to step behind the desk to help create Absolution.
The album had very strong sales all over the world, and helped the band achieve their first UK number 1 album. Its release was preceded by a download-only single and online video for the song Stockholm Syndrome.
Big Brother winners: Where are they now?
Harris prese l’ispirazione per il nome del gruppo guardando il film L’uomo dalla maschera di ferro , in cui compariva lo strumento di tortura detto vergine di Norimberga o “vergine di ferro” in inglese iron maiden. Il loro primo concerto si tenne nel al Cart and Horses, un pub di Stratford. Murray e Harris saranno gli unici membri fissi nell’intero arco della carriera del gruppo.
L’illustrazione venne censurata, coprendo gli occhi della Thatcher con una linea nera. Sulla copertina comparve nuovamente la Thatcher, questa volta armata di mitra e nascosta dietro a un muro in attesa di vendicarsi di Eddie che passeggia ignaro a braccetto con due prostitute. Rinnovato l’organico, gli Iron Maiden iniziarono le registrazioni per il secondo album, pubblicato nel con il titolo Killers.
May 07, · The dating Swap 2: review. Kerrang CD. Hoping to have a great run successful some interesting new people do the beauty of the safety. Abstinence christian dating, sex series. Ultimately, the night is to get to give locals that are amazingly looking for someone to make or someone to work.
From — the year in which Linkin Park became a sensation with their diamond-certified album Hybrid Theory — Bennington’s lyrics and example have been helping young people cope with their own battles, sense of alienation, and struggles with mental health. Born in Arizona in , Bennington had a troubled childhood and teenage life. He was sexually abused for years by a friend, bullied, and struggled with drug addiction and suicidal thoughts.
He survived all this, and channelled his experiences into becoming the frontman of one of the biggest rock bands of his generation by the age of Then, in one of those beautiful ironies that is almost solely the preserve of music, these listeners found acceptance to a world-wide community more populous than that which excluded them.
Chester Bennington in Credit: AP Chester Bennington looked unusual and awkward. Even in an era where every rock star, with tinted sunglasses and spikey hair or masks and spiked collars, looked like an alien or insect. Not even at the time. But there was something admirable about this, and it enabled him to consistently appeal to the marginalised. It was as if he needed to stay not one step ahead, as other artists might, but one step outside of his peer group.
Alcohol-free: Stealth drinking helping people give up alcohol
Free christian dating site in the uk If you think we’d get on, drop me a line. Please delete our personal ads – thanks.
Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington was found dead at 41 of an apparent suicide. According to TMZ, Bennington hanged himself. He was discovered in a private California residence Thursday morning. With Bennington as frontman, Linkin Park achieved critical and pop culture success across all musical genres.
They famously collaborated with Jay-Z in and earned many Top 10 Billboard hits and even two Grammys over the years. TMZ reports that he leaves behind six kids and a wife. Fans and celebrities alike have begun voicing their shock at the sad news: He was sexually abused as a child Bennington revealed in a Kerrang! Interview that he had been molested beginning at age seven. This sent him into a tailspin, where he pulled away from everyone and launched into addiction. |
Afghanistan In My Soul
An exclusive interview with Edward Zellem
INTRODUCTION: Some of Najia Khaan's fans and friends say she has the face of an angel. I’ve never seen an angel, so I don’t know if that’s true.
But what I can say is that after interviewing Afghan-British actress, writer, model and socialite Najia Khaan, I know that she has the soul of an Afghan.
Najia Khaan was born in Afghanistan’s northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif. When she was a baby, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan forced her family to flee as refugees to Pakistan. They eventually settled in England in the 1990s. Young Najia grew up as a schoolgirl in London, influenced by both Afghan and British ways in what often became a cultural tug-of-war. She emerged as a unique artist and thinker with much first-hand experience of both deep joy and personal pain.
As an actress Najia Khaan has performed in several Afghan, Bollywood and British films. Most recently, she starred as an evil nun in a soon-to-be-released independent British feature film called “The Crypt.”
"The Crypt" is the debut film of British director Mark Murphy, and was shot in late 2012 in the same church featured in Les Miserables. The film takes the found footage genre and fuses it with traditional film styles and techniques, creating a fast-paced horror story told from two opposing perspectives.
Najia Khaan is very active on the European social scene. She has had the opportunity to meet a wide range of celebrities ranging from national leaders like former U.S. President Bill Clinton and England’s Prince Andrew, to Bollywood and Hollywood superstars like Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Mickey Rourke and Lionel Richie, to global supermodels like Tyson Beckford, to famous athletes like the world’s top-ranked polo player Facundo Pieres, to jet-setting global entrepreneurs like Ciro Orsini.
The list goes on, but it was a bit of a struggle to get even these famous names out of Khaan. She is protective of her many professional and personal contacts, and she doesn't care much for namedropping.
EZ: You have worked as an actor in several films, including Indian “Bollywood” films. How did you begin this career? What can the Afghan film industry learn from Bollywood?
NK: Acting was a natural choice for me. Everything about life is so beautiful and I want to explore it. What better way than as an actor where I get the chance to play different parts and become so many different human beings. I get to explore how a character in a story or situation would feel and live. It’s truly marvelous.
My first Bollywood film was a small part in a movie called Shaadi Ka Laddoo. Although it was just a small part, people in the Indian film industry took notice and more offers for acting jobs started coming in. I accepted a part in an Indian TV series called Aisa Des Hai Mera, and then a role in a Indian film called Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal with Bollywood superstars John Abraham and Bipasha Basu.
Bipasha Basu was particularly interesting. She had studied and planned to be an accountant, but chose a very different path after becoming a finalist for Ford Models' "Supermodel of the World" at the age of 17. I loved every moment of my time in Bollywood. Many people in the Indian film industry are truly fascinating.
But after that, I decided take a pause in Bollywood for some personal reasons. The Indian film industry is very exciting and colourful but also it is very intense. It can be easy to lose yourself completely in that environment, and I had other plans. I did accept a part in an Afghan film called Ayenda اینده a few years ago, directed by Yousof Rouyan. We filmed it in and around London, and it was great fun.
I think the main thing that the Afghan film industry can learn from Bollywood is that a good story is not enough. It is very important to have a strong director who actually understands filmmaking, and to have a good cinematographer. The most important thing is to have a great crew and a united team effort. Filmmaking is all about being a strong family.
EZ: Please tell us about your latest film, The Crypt.
NK: I was back in London for a few years after my Bollywood experience, and I thought it would be fun to act in a film again. So I accepted a part in a British independent film called The Crypt. It’s a horror movie by British director Mark Murphy and I enjoyed playing the role of an evil nun. We filmed it late last year and it will be released soon, so I can’t give away too much about the plot. About all I can say is that it is the story of a team from the Catholic Church investigating the tragic deaths of a group of young people in the crypt of a convent.
It was a great role and it was fun to get back into acting again. I feel so alive on movie sets. When the director says ‘ACTION!’ I enter a different world where I become someone else for a while. I might do another film, I don’t know. There are many things I like to try and I’m not ready to settle on one thing just yet. As one of the Afghan Proverbs in your great book Zarbul Masalha (“Proverbs”) says,
Saar zenda baasha, kola besyaar ast. سر زنده باشه، کلاه بسیار است
It means, “If there is life in your head, there are lots of hats.” That’s a perfect proverb for me. I like to try on lots of different hats. I say everyone should try on different hats. You never know which one will fit perfectly. I use Afghan Proverbs all the time.
EZ: Let’s talk more about the Proverbs in a few minutes. You have met some very interesting and famous people on the European social circuit. What is your favorite celebrity encounter story?
NK: (laughs) I love storytelling. There are many stories, but my all-time favorite story happened about five years ago at a society event in London. The Indian film megastar Shah Rukh Khan was there. He is so famous in South and Central Asia that people usually just call him SRK. When a person is known just by his initials you know he is truly famous. (laughs)
In any case, SRK is one of the biggest film stars in Bollywood cinema history, and he the most-awarded Bollywood actor of all time for “Best Actor” awards. The Los Angeles Times has called him “the world's biggest movie star" and he is said to have fans in the billions. Indian media popularly call him the King of Bollywood, and Newsweek Magazine says that SRK is “one of the 50 most powerful people in the world.” So he is a “big deal” in the industry, as they say.
SRK was performing at an event I attended in London. It was hosted by one of India’s largest banks and there were many lovely people there. To make a long story short, SRK singled me out in front of a large audience and we began joking with each other. At one point he laughed and said to me, “You call yourself an Afghan - so why can you only speak Dari, and not Pashto too?” (You see, SRK’s grandfather is from southern Afghanistan, and SRK often refers to himself as a “Pathan ka bacha,” meaning “son of a Pathan/Pashtun.”)
Then he boldly asked if he could say something to me in Pashto. I laughed and told him to go ahead, but that I would need a translator because I only speak Dari.
SRK then said a few words in his “Pashto.” For a split second I was stunned – because I understood every word!
Then I started laughing. I realized that he was speaking Dari, not Pashto! Now the joke was on him. “What a shame!” I said. “You call yourself a Pathan, but you cannot even tell the difference between Dari and Pashto!”
The audience roared. They laughed even harder when SRK replied, “That’s not fair. All these years, everyone told me I was speaking Pashto!”
Anyway, it was all great fun. We bantered some more in front of the audience, then we ended up dancing together onstage to a song called Dard-e-Disco (Pain of Disco). The audience went wild and I loved it.
There is much more to Najia Khaan. She is known as somewhat of a daredevil, and is a prime example of the adventurous spirit found in many Afghan women. Najia has learned to fly planes and ride motorcycles. She has played polo, snorkelled with sharks and stingrays, and once even flew a hang-glider from the highest mountain in northern France.
Najia Khaan brings this passion for life to her acting and writing. She says these are “natural callings” for her rather than conscious career choices. She sums it up by saying, “My main interest is life itself. What a beautiful gift it is.”
As an Afghan-British woman, Najia Khaan also is a big fan of Afghan Proverbs and culture. She speaks here in an exclusive interview with Edward Zellem, a U.S. Navy Captain and author of “Zarbul Masalha: 151 Afghan Dari Proverbs” and the “Afghan Proverbs Illustrated” series.
Edward Zellem: Najia jaan, it’s a pleasure to speak with you. You seem to have quite an exciting life.
Najia Khaan: Tashakur, Edward jaan. After reading about your work with Afghan Proverbs, I don’t think you have had a dull time of it either! This interview is an exciting adventure too. I try to look at everything in my life as an adventure, even the small things.
Afterward, I was a little surprised at myself for being so bold with a global superstar. But I’m not afraid of much. I’ve met Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Prince Albert of Monaco, Paulo Coelho, Tyson Beckford, Facundo Pieres, Mickey Rourke, Armand Assante, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Paris Hilton, Salman Khan, Arjun Rampal, Jermaine Jackson, Lionel Richie and many other well-known people. You mentioned a few of them earlier. They are all great and accomplished people, and they all are very nice. But in the end we all are people. So I don’t worry about it.
EZ: How can film, the Internet and social media help improve the lives of women and youth in Afghanistan?
NK: These are very strong media that can change society. They either can make it better, or they can make it worse. Everyone has to take some personal responsibility for this, whether as a creator or as a consumer.
As for films, most people watch them just for fun and then forget them. But it is even better if people watch films with their minds and not just their eyes. Many films have messages that can make you a better person. These films have power and can reach and influence millions of people.
Social media is so great if used properly. It has improved many lives by bringing together families and friends who are far apart. For instance, I haven’t met any of my cousins in Afghanistan face-to-face, but I am in touch with them via Skype, Viber, and Facebook and I feel like I know them.
Social media is also a great tool for spreading education. So many people live in far corners of the earth where teachers may not be able to go physically. But they can go anywhere online through Skype. Educational software also can make it much easier to educate the local people. The world has become such a small place, really.
EZ: If you could make a film about an Afghan hero or heroine, who would be your number one choice, and why?
NK: Ahmad Zahir is my number one hero. I would love to bring his music back to life in a film. Most Afghans call Ahmad Zahir “The King of Afghan Music” and he is truly a cultural icon.
He mostly composed and performed rock and pop music in a style similar to Elvis Presley. His songs have beautiful music and lyrics. His music has had a great effect on me, and on almost every Afghan. His tragic and untimely death was a very sad time for all Afghans.
I would go so far as to say that at one point in my life, Ahmad Zahir’s music saved my life. His music picked me up when I felt like I was falling into an abyss, and it inspired me to live another day. His music helped me smile when I was in tears, and helped me get up and dance when I was down. You should definitely listen to some of his best songs – here, here and here.
But really, all my Afghan brothers and sisters are my heroes and heroines. It would be an honor to make a film about ordinary Afghans. Many of them live through struggle every single day of their lives, and most remain humble and happy people. In my opinion, these people are far more heroic than movie stars and artists that people sometimes call heroes. Actors and artists imitate real life. If these actors and artists are considered “heroes” then real people doing real things are much more than that - don’t you think?
EZ: We have heard you are writing a book. Please tell us about it.
NK: Yes, I am writing a book. It is a sensitive subject about empowering children who are sexually, mentally or physically abused at a very young age, sometimes as little as even two years old. The book is based on true life stories. More people need to stand up to this kind of inhumanity. Sorry, I cannot tell you more than this at this stage but I will reveal more later. I am very excited about this book because its subject is so important.
If any female readers would be interested in sharing their personal stories with me on this topic, I would be happy to hear from them by e-mail at [email protected]. I can promise complete confidentiality, anonymity and empathy. You see, I myself was a victim of this type of abuse as a child. The stories must be told. They also must be told in a sensitive way, so good people can be more inspired to stand up to this type of abuse.
All people should learn to love each other more, respect each other more, and care for each other more. The best way to do this is by communicating more. When I say this, I am not asking people to love, respect and care out of fear. People should do it because they want to do it.
It is a brave thing to love. It is cowards who hate. People should remember this and become one, become united. I humbly ask all my dear Afghan brothers and sisters to give value to one another, listen to one another, and try to understand each other's pain.
Actually, the messages that can be found in Afghan Proverbs (Zarbul Masalha) ضرب المثل های can help all of understand this. My favourite Dari Proverb has a very important message for all victims of abuse:
ماهی را هر وقت از آب بگیری، تازه است
Maahee-raa har waqt az aab biggeree, taaza ast.
This important Zarbul Masal translates into English as “Whenever you take a fish from water, it is fresh.” The Proverb has a very deep meaning for me personally, and for anyone who has felt pain in their lives. What it means is that everyone has the possibility for a fresh start and a good life, even if they have suffered greatly.
EZ: We’re glad that you enjoy and use Afghan Proverbs, Najia jaan. Do you have other favorites?
NK: I love Afghan Proverbs, and your bilingual collections of them are simply delightful! I am a big fan of your books and I am absolutely thrilled that they are in so many European languages now.
There is great wisdom in Afghan Proverbs, and I hope more people will learn some of them. They can be very useful! As you well know, Afghans have a Proverb for everything. They summarize life so beautifully and so well. Afghan Proverbs can be very philosophical and educational. Some, like this very famous Kabuli proverb, have deep meanings but are also quite funny:
دور نرو که گرگ می خورید ، نزدیک نیا که دیده ندارم
Duhr naro ke gorg mekhorid, nazdeek naya ke deeda nadarum.
It means “Don't go so far away that the wolf will eat you, but don't come close because I don't like you.” I will leave it up to the readers to interpret the meaning of that! (laughs).
Another one of my personal favourites is:
خارپشتک میگه بخمل بچیم
Kharpushtak mega,“Bakhmal bachaim.”
It means The porcupine says, “My son is velvet.” You see, the Afghan fabric bakhmal is very soft, like velvet. This Afghan Proverb means that most parents always see the good side of their children, and seldom see the bad side. That's so true.
EZ: What are your plans for the future?
NK: That’s very hard for me to answer, because I never plan (laughs). I live life in the moment and try to enjoy it to the fullest. Who knows when a person’s time is up?
But I do have goals, for sure. I want to finish and publish my book and bring its message to the world. I believe that when the time is right, everything falls into place. All that one needs to do is have the right intentions and put in the hard work. As they say, “From a small seed, a mighty tree may grow.”
Now I’m going to share a secret with you, Edward jaan. Remember the story I told you earlier about SRK teasing me for not knowing any Pashto? Well, I actually do know one or two Pashto Proverbs, (Mataluna) پښتو متلونه and I have heard you are collecting them for your next book. So here is one that describes my approach to life:
لعل په ايرو کښې نه پټيږي
Laal pah eero ki na pataigey.
It means “A jewel cannot remain hidden in ashes.” What it means to me is that that life is like a blank canvas, so choose your colors and paint it. People should do what their hearts move them to do, and the beauty of it will come out naturally. I am not talking about physical beauty, because that’s not important. What I am talking about is the beauty of the heart, and of the spirit.
No matter where I go in the world or what I do, I will always be an Afghan in my heart. When I was about 11 years old and living in England, a family friend once called me Dukhtar-e-Englisee (English girl). دختر انگلیسی
I got really angry at that. I told her that it doesn’t matter where I am, or how I was raised. I was born in Afghanistan, and I am proud to call myself Mazari (from Mazar e-Sharif).
The woman was shocked to see my passion for Afghanistan, because I had not been there since I was a baby.
But my answer was “So what? Afghanistan is in my soul.”
EZ: Tashakur, (thank you) تشکر Najia jaan. We look forward to hearing updates about your path in a future interview.
NK: With pleasure, Edward jaan. I look forward to it! Here’s my last Afghan Proverb for you until we speak again: Yaar zenda sohbat baqee. (As long as the friendship lives, there will be more conversations.) یار زنده صحبت باقی |
Local Invisalign For Teens Dental Office In San Gabriel – The Dentistry Experts
We want to thank you for thinking of InStyle Dental to be your next local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel. It is our pleasure just to have you here checking out our web-site. We realize that there’s a lot of other trained dentists you could possibly utilize. It is actually our goal to help you in selecting the appropriate dentist services you need. Proudly helping our clients is our desire, and we would love an opportunity to offer you our dentistry services to you. In picking InStyle Dental as your next local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel, you are obtaining unparalleled service at a cost that is reasonable.
Our solutions will be backed by our guarantee to satisfy you every single time. There aren’t any exceptions. Giving you peace of mind is what really matters to us. Our plan, as the proven local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel, is not to gouge your bank account with dentistry services that you do not really need, but alternatively, to create a long term working relationship with you. We take tremendous care of our customers and clients, so you can be expecting nothing less than the best experience with us. Should you be interested in the most quality local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel, call InStyle Dental as soon as possible!
How You Can Pick The Perfect Local Invisalign For Teens Dental Office In San Gabriel
Making a decision on the most suitable local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel could be an especially tricky challenge. With the number of poor quality, “take your hard earned cash” dentistry providers out and about, finding honest dentists you are able to have confidence in is absolutely challenging. There are several tremendously valuable items to consider prior to that final determination of who your next dentistry supplier will be. The most fundamental requirement is that they’re licensed and insured. If you decide to employ a dentist without these core qualifications, you’re taking avoidable risks which often result in costing you a ton of money. Being sure your local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel is thoroughly insured and licensed is absolutely vital, and must become your main aim.
Also a thing to consider is acceptable prices. Not too cheap, and not too pricey. Most dentists in the market will give you “a price of a lifetime”, simply to get you used them. As soon as they have you within their grip, they whack you with unbelievable prices which you will have no choice but to pay for. This scheme is definitely more well-known in these days, so you will want to be very careful to stay away from these dentistry services in San Gabriel. The central difference between acquiring the appropriate aid in your dentistry need, and getting conned, all consequently boils right down to the choice that you intend to make whenever selecting your dentists. So do your homework, and be sure that the local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel that you use the services of meet up with these general standards.
Do An In-Depth Review of Your Local Invisalign For Teens Dental Office In San Gabriel
If you’re in the marketplace looking out for the finest quality dentists in San Gabriel, aimlessly finding one out of your phone book listings isn’t usually the best path to take. With the amount of varying services and providers to decide on, how will you have the ability to be certain which local invisalign for teens dental office will be the finest match for you and your specific issue? The chances of acquiring the consistent dentist like that isn’t very good by any means. The reality is, it is not only nearly impossible, but also not worth the disadvantages included. Terribly correct your next local invisalign for teens dental office is more than likely to take you through a great deal of painful incidents before you seek out someone who is together successful and cost-effective. It is best to make certain you always invest time to get the best local invisalign for teens dental office, for the price that’s appropriate.
Never Ignore Customer Comments
It’s not so much simple, but just before picking out your dentist, do not forget to try to see if they have a first-rate repute. There is nothing more telling and uncovering than authentic customer testimonials. These testimonials offer you with outstanding insight into exactly how the local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel really work for their clients. To see these customer reviews, you can visit all sorts of review sites like Yelp and Angie’s List. Additionally you can browse the Google Plus Reviews likewise, to discover whether or not the local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel you will be interested in hiring will be worth the amount of money money you’re going to be having to pay. It’s very essential to have the proper information in front of you, in order to successfully evaluate your potential dentistry establishments. Plan to have success by deciding on the ideal local invisalign for teens dental office, and never overlook those notable reviews!
The Honest Local Invisalign For Teens Dental Office In San Gabriel
Our many years of experiences in the dentistry industry is what has made it possible for us to become the responsible local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel. Our reputation for contented clientele speaks for itself. When thinking about customer support, we have been the greatest. We will not ever overcharge for our products, and still provide expert assistance to each and every individual. Over the years, a large number have reached out to us, at all hours throughout the day, to aid with their dentistry scenarios. Being the respected local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel isn’t something we take casually. With each and every customer, no matter how small or large the matter could possibly be, we are always all set to go that extra mile for you. Once we get started in working for you, you can rest assured that InStyle Dental doesn’t only aid you, but we’ll also instruct you, to enable you to eliminate upcoming hardships.
Our number one goal is to save you as much cash as we can without compromising the level of service we supply. Many of our services are priced as budget friendly flat-rates, so you do not have to fret about paying us by the hour. The dentistry knowledge we can supply to your scenario will definitely put you at ease. Leave the filthy work to us, and let InStyle Dental be the dentists that actively satisfies you!
The Highly Innovative Dentist
Through the years, the dentistry industry has progressed from a really primitive state, to an extremely high quality arena of work. Dentists have risen to the task and have benefited mankind with high end dentistry developments and ideas. We all can breathe a lot better understanding there are properly experienced experts readily available who have actually acquired the knowledge to assist in the forward development. This competence is shown masterfully by InStyle Dental, which indicates to our capability to adapt to the ever changing dentistry field. We aren’t stuck in the past using outdated methods and processes, instead, we’re devoted to be completely well-informed in every facet of the dentistry field in today’s sophisticated world.
All one of our dentists are authorized and completely trained to take on anything you may need. your need is small, huge, or anything in between, you can surely depend upon us to be the proficiently trained and experienced local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel. Don’t jeopardize time and cash to a dentistry company who might be stuck in the old ways of accomplishing things.
The Dentists Providing Old Fashioned Customer Care
With numerous alternatives, items, and brand-new technologies now available within the dentistry market, it is sometimes hard to know which solution won’t only help you best, but will also last the test of time. That’s why our dentists take our business principle of providing consumers “new innovation and developments with the very same old fashioned service” very seriously, as we don’t merely have the expertise needed to secure your financial investment, but will likewise completely explain why a certain solution would best match your needs. We recognize that the transparency in the way we carry out our business, and our high level of dedication to our customer’s satisfaction will be the thing sets us apart. We are not pleased until you are satisfied with the result. We are dentists who guarantee our work and will always put you as our top priority.
Specialized Dentistry Services – So Exactly What Do The Professionals Do?
To discover top-notch, reliable dentistry services, there are a good number of things you can check in advance in order to lower the chances of selecting someone that actually makes your matters a whole lot worse. So what exactly is it that the skilled dentists do? The Dentistry is a highly skilled profession that is always in great demand, simply because of the fact that every person and business at some time or another will need dentistry services. The key role of a dentist is to offer you, with service that is of high professional quality, something that lacks in a lot of other dentistry companies. They also offer a range of other assistances that are way too many to name here. While your buddy from work might know a person, that knows some other person who has some degree of knowledge, for any significant dentistry issue, this is a major NO-NO, and must be totally avoided.
Your local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel has got to have a proven performance history with beaming reviews. Using an unlicensed individual to help you is an incredible danger that is simply not worth taking. The second worst thing you can do is open the Yellow Pages and pick the very first company providing the services you are seeking. This also consists of choosing for the dentistry company that provides the cheapest costs without doing any research in advance. Bear in mind, going too low-cost in the beginning will definitely cost you in the long run. Picking a professional to be your dentistry service is extremely important.
Credentials vs Experience
Seeking the dentistry specialists that have the essential credentials is rational and does have some benefit, but by far the most crucial quality that makes very good dentists is a large amount of in-field experience. This is usually obtained through internships and apprenticeships and really should be something you meticulously scrutinize before you get started on making your choice. You will find that the premier dentists have qualifications along with lots of years of past experiences. Please don’t be hesitant to contact us and inquire about the experience of the dentist in question prior to calling them out. The more years on the job is clearly much better. Choosing a certified local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel with plenty of experience will unquestionably mitigate the danger and place you in good hands.
What Should Always Be Expecting From Your Selected Local Invisalign For Teens Dental Office In San Gabriel
As with any line of business, you should always expect your selected dentist to be prompt, friendly and well-mannered right from the very beginning. Anything less than that, you might want to think of turning them away and preparing a complaint or publishing a bad testimonial on the web about them. It’s most likely that their work will likewise be lacking if their personal attitude is less than professional. That very first impression could mean everything and will certainly tell you a terrific amount about the kind of work they will provide. It is very important to expect the proper things out of your dentists
WARNING: Cheaper Dentistry Rates Could Very Well Equal to Cheap Quality Service
Routinely, but not always, (there are rare exceptions), the company quoting the smallest prices won’t be be the local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel who’ll be able to complete the task to a standard that can endure the most essential test. That test is the test of time. Many will like you to assume you are conserving serious money by employing them, nevertheless the depressing fact is you will be requiring the expertise of some other local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel only a short time after. This may be due to the dentist doing the bare minimum to give the appearance of a job well done, comprehending full well that they didn’t do it right to begin with. The cheapest companies would probably hurry to get the task finished and have employed a significantly a lot less capable staff. Skepticism really needs to be heightened if ever the expense of the local invisalign for teens dental office is just too good to be genuine.
The Importance of Selecting Dentists with References
When you are seeking for your new local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel, be sure to ask relatives for referrals. They may have previously had someone in for the same work, and will know who you can rely upon, and also who to steer clear of. In the event your family and friends have not made use of anyone, talk to co-workers as well as other people you rely upon throughout your city for some references. Someone might sound as if they are fully aware what they are doing, but you cannot simply take their word for it. You must be able to make contact with prior consumers to honestly get a sincere understanding of what you should expect using this company.
Any time a dentistry service gives a number of individual references, make sure to make use of it. Get in touch with the folks on the list, and find out about the grade of the work, how carefully the dentist was to their initial estimate, and whether or not the work was finished according to the assured time frame. Prior to picking out your local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel, try to know what you would like. It can be hard for for the dentist to supply a price quotation on the telephone if they have not examined your dentistry need themselves. It might be even more hard if you can’t illustrate what your precise requirement is. Lining up an appointment or meeting to discuss the challenges is most likely the better approach, and will make certain the two of you are on the exact same page. If you are in need of the best local invisalign for teens dental office, it all starts off with good communication between you and the service provider.
Conclusion – Do Your Research to Get The Right Local Invisalign For Teens Dental Office
- Don’t use an amateur dentist to take on the job.
- Keep away from unfriendly and uncooperative dentists.
- If doubtful, get yourself second or even third opinion from other genuine dentists.
- Do not get dentistry solutions featuring the cheapest prices.
- Only utilize the local invisalign for teens dental office in san gabriel who will guarantee quality service. |
British scientist Richard Dawkins may be the world’s most famous atheist. And he has garnered his fame from, and used his fame for attacks on God and his people. To that end he founded the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science in 2006 and, five years later, hired Sean Faircloth to be the Foundation’s Director of Strategy and Policy.
Like his mentor, Faircloth is aggressively anti-Christian in his perspective. In 2012 he authored a book (with a foreword by Dawkins) called Attack of the Theocrats: How the Religious Right Harms Us All—and What We Can Do About It. The anti-Christian agenda Faircloth proposes is both monstrous and unsurprising. There is nothing original in the book, and that is why it is worth a closer examination – the vision Faircloth shares is one we have heard in bits and pieces for some time now. There are lessons to be learned from responding to his points.
1. Don’t assume the attack has any basis
To lay some groundwork for his agenda, Faircloth tries to discredit the Bible by claiming it was written during a time in history “when guys could simply hit or rape any women who dared to talk back.” He then continues: “Don’t believe that was the case? The Bible tells us such acts are A-OK.”
Of course, the Bible nowhere says it’s “A-OK” for men to rape and hit women. Faircloth just made that up.
He then proceeds to attack Christians themselves, insisting that the Christian mindset leads its adherents to steal things, and to hurt other people. According to Faircloth, Christians are prone to anti-social behavior because their religion causes them to reason in the following manner:
You can hurt others – and terribly so – and be forgiven for that sin simply by asking a supernatural being for forgiveness. With the “forgiven” card, it’s so much easier to say to oneself, “I will grab this food now. I will grab this money now. I will grab and grab and grab.” Concern yourself with long-term consequences later. You can always be forgiven—and then you live forever! A convenient belief system indeed.
If you missed hearing that preached off the pulpit you aren’t alone. Notably, Faircloth does not cite any sources to support his claim that Christians think that way. It’s very important to remember that when a critic attacks the Bible we shouldn’t simply assume their attack has credibility. As Faircloth’s attack illustrates, sometimes the critic is so desperate to slam Christianity that he’s willing to make things up.
2. Turn the tables
Faircloth claims that in recent years religion has acquired special legal privileges that are harmful to American society. Allowing churches and other religious organizations to hire people who share their beliefs and lifestyles is one of these special privileges that he wants to eliminate. When he argues this point he does so in a particularly twisted way. In his view,
…religions enjoy legal privileges that corrode our most basic American values. In most states, religious groups can say in one of their child-care centers: “You’re a Jew? You’re fired.” Similarly, in one of their charitable organizations, they can say to the administrative assistant or janitor: “You’re gay? You’re fired”
True, religious groups that run child-care centers or charitable organizations often only hire people from within their own group. It is a basic principle of freedom of association and freedom of religion that religious organizations select employees based on their own principles. Christian schools want to hire Christian teachers, for example. They don’t say, “You’re a Jew? You’re fired,” as Faircloth puts it. There are Jewish organizations that hire exclusively Jewish employees. Why would a Jewish school hire a Christian teacher? Should it be forced by the government to hire non-Jewish teachers?
In Faircloth’s world there may be situations where it would. His solution is for the government to prohibit such “discrimination.” As a result, the employee qualifications for Christian organizations would be determined by the government. Allowing religious organizations to hire only people who share their beliefs is, in Faircloth’s words, a legal privilege that corrodes “our most basic American values.”
But turnabout is fair play. If Faircloth thinks it discrimination to have a religious test for Christian schools, then what about his own employer, the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science? Surely, in the name of tolerance, they should then be required to hire their share of Christians and maybe a creationist or two?
We don’t need to be mind readers to know how Faircloth would respond to our suggestion. He would find a reason of some sort, very quickly, to explain that discrimination isn’t wrong in every circumstance, and, in fact, is sometimes the only reasonable course.
3. Highlight the conflict
Faircloth is also very upset that Christian pharmacists are not compelled by the government to provide abortifacient drugs for women who want them. As he puts it, in the US:
…fundamentalist pharmacists in several states get special permission from state legislatures to ignore their professional duties and to even deny rape victims emergency contraception.
In his view, Christian pharmacists should be compelled, against their conscience, by the state to provide such “emergency contraception.” This is justified because “Pharmacists work in the health-care profession, not in a church.”
While little could be said to change Faircloth’s mind, we can, with a few pointed questions, highlight the severity of what he proposes.
- Will he let Christians who won’t violate their conscience have jobs? He wants us out of pharmacology, but what of the many other businesses where Christians’ conscience claims run up against other’s wishes? Would he want us out of the bakery business, wedding catering and photography, and bed and breakfast inns? What of Christian doctors and nurses who don’t want to be involved in euthanasia? And printers and T-shirt makers who want to refuse some jobs? Should they all be shown the door?
- Would the country be better or worse off if Christians were run out of these positions?
We may not be able to change someone like Faircloth’s mind, but we can at least highlight his hatred, making it plain for even the most clueless to see.
4. Use the science
Faircloth is further outraged by the fact that US foreign aid given to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) cannot be used to provide abortions or to advocate for or counsel abortion. Faircloth calls this prohibition on counseling abortion a “gag rule” and says it prevents women from receiving needed medical advice. In his view:
Neither Congress nor the president should deny women accurate medical information. To impose a gag rule is to mandate a particular religious bias and to promote religious propaganda based on the views of specially privileged religious groups – and to use tax dollars to do so.
Faircloth says the US government’s position is being based on “religious propaganda” and in one sense it is. The only reason the US has this overseas pro-life position is because of Christian voter’s influence.
But God’s truth isn’t limited to the Bible. When we examine life’s beginning then we find the science backing up the biblical position: we find that the only real beginning we can talk about is conception. That’s when a new human life – genetically distinct from both parents – is started. It is smaller life, and with fewer abilities than adults, yes, but no less valuable because, as even an angry atheist knows, we don’t measure people’s worth by their size or ability.
5. Turn the tables again
Christian schools constitute another problem for Faircloth. He objects to the Biblical Christian view that males and females have somewhat different roles. He claims such a perspective makes women subservient, and then asks,
Why should even one child be taught that women should be subservient? Children make no adult choice to attend a sexist school. It violates their human rights to impose such views on them.
Here we can, once again, turn the tables on this attack.
God does call on a woman to submit to her husband (though not men in general) but is that the same thing as being subservient? Faircloth has to submit to the decisions of his employer, Richard Dawkins – would he equate submission with subservience in his case too? Does his submission to his boss mean he is less than his boss? I think Faircloth would agree, submission is very different from subservience.
But let’s take this further. Christians know that whether male and female, we are all made in God’s Image. We know why women are equal. But on what basis would an atheist make that case? In a Darwinian, survival-of-the-fittest understanding, why would he view the generally weaker and smaller gender as being of equal worth?
6. Whence comes morality?
Among other things, Faircloth is also against the corporal punishment of children in Christian schools. Interestingly, Faircloth acknowledges that all law is based on morality. As he puts it,
You’ve heard the phrase “you can’t legislate morality.” In fact, the only thing you can legislate is morality. Legislative decisions embody the moral choices of a society.
At last Faircloth gets something right. He understands that the policies he supports amount to an imposition of his morality on society through law. Yet he objects to Christian schools imposing their morality on students.
But on what basis does an atheist speak of morality? Christians know that the moral code has its origins in the very character of God. Atheists dispute this but disputing is easy; coming up with a godless basis for an objective, applies-to-everyone moral code is difficult. Sometimes an appeal is made to consensus, as if morals are simply what we as a society agree is moral. But by that reasoning racism is only recently wrong, and a convincing PR campaign could make any evil good. When an atheist makes use of words such as “morality” and “right” and “wrong” we should demand from them the basis of their own supposedly superior moral code.
Sean Faircloth’s attacks on God’s people are unfair and unremarkable and far from unusual. We should expect to seem more like this in the years ahead. That’s why, for the glory of God and for the encouragement of his people, we should equip ourselves to offer a ready response. |
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” ~Proverbs 27:17 The sun is setting over a Pacific ocean levy, signaling the end of a near-perfect day that included bicycling along the Huntington boardwalk, walking and talking along the seaweed splashed sand, and side-splitting laughter over a cup of coffee in a beach side café. …
“I am sure that God keeps no one waiting unless he sees that it is good for him to wait.”
His Name is Plan Z. He goes by many other pseudonyms, but every single girl knows him. He’s the Jim, Mike, Tim, Jake, or Matt that you go to church with or the Chad, John, Ryan, or Ben who’s a friend of a friend that you occasionally interact with. Despite all of these Aliases, he’s pretty much the same person. He’s the one that fits all your criteria for what you want in a future spouse. He’s godly, well-respected, confident, passionate, attractive, but most importantly, single. It’s highly probable that many other bachelorettes agree, and so his unattached continuation is an improbable encouragement. If he asked you out, you’d say yes in a heartbeat, but his existence serves a much greater purpose than a potential date. You see, Plan Z offers hope on days where singleness is difficult. Plan Z shows that even if he’s not part of God’s plan for your life, it’s really nice to know that at least one someone like him is still out there without a tied-up ring finger. And because Plan Z is that beacon of un-wed manliness, we secretly hope for his continued singleness- someone who is always just around, awesome, and spouse-less.
If you’ve been single for a good amount of time, you know how this ends. You see the Facebook post or hear from a friend that he’s off the market. And a little part of you dies…not only because you secretly hoped he would see the light and show up on your doorstep with a bouquet of hydrangeas (your personal fav), but also because your shelf of fine single specimens is now depressingly empty, leaving you to join Daya in searching for where “the good boys go to hide away.” The world becomes a little dimmer, and you kick yourself for feeling the loss as deeply as you do. You wonder, “How could I feel the loss of something that was never even mine to begin with?”
If we’re honest…If I’m honest, our dissatisfaction with this kind of situation isn’t really about Plan Z at all. Plan Z is just the trigger of a gun that happens to be pointed at our glass-encased “dreams and plans” bank. In this cerebral storage unit, you will find lots of time, effort, and ideas that are all useless if certain things don’t take place. For instance, if you don’t meet Mr. Right, you will have no personal use for all the relationship advice you’ve accumulated, those mental notes like “no eating spaghetti on a first date!”, or any of those lovely Pinterest wedding pins you’ve felt so clever to have hidden on your secret boards. When triggers pointing at this fragile metropolis have been pulled enough times, it’s easy to wonder if your ship has sailed. As the glass ceiling begins to collapse all around the “dreams and plans” bank, you question: Is there any chance of me meeting someone at this point?
If you’ve followed this blog for any amount of time, you know that my suggested solutions to these big kinds of questions always conclude with the underlying motives and recesses of our hearts and perhaps altering perspectives in light of the Gospel. So, here we go again… From birth, we are programmed to plan and control. Admitting to being a control freak is like admitting to having the DNA of a Homo sapien- it’s universal! This clever software design often takes good desires and turns them into something in between a teacher’s well-deserved break at the end of a school year OR the Christmas list of a spoiled 2 year old. I don’t pretend to know your heart, but I see the ugly that resides in mine. I’ve treated my desires for marriage and the absent man who can make it happen like the gift at the end of a well-done bout of singleness. I’ve also behaved in a manner that says, “Give me what I want or I’ll throw a temper tantrum and doubt your parenting skills!” Or there’s the failed logic I used in response to my parent’s strict rules on appropriate movies for their teenage daughter: “But everyone else’s parents lets them watch PG-13 films!” I still hear their response echoing in my memory (“We’re not everyone else’s parents!”) I’ll take each of these responses and break them down, for all our sakes.
Marriage as a Reward
Oh if only marital status could be reached like a degree after college or a level on a videogame. Just take these classes or collect this many coins (old-school Super Mario-style!) and you’re in! But puzzlingly, there seems to be no apparent rhyme or reason to who gets hitched and who has to plow the fields of life solo. And that’s because we live in God’s economy, which is so drastically different than anything we would set up. Look at the Gospel itself. Did Jesus earn the constraint of a human form or the penalty of a cross? Do we earn salvation by being awesome enough? As if! God doesn’t often play “fair” on human terms, and yet He does have amazing plans that include things like gifts (hello salvation!) and callings to occupations and statuses within His Kingdom. Marriage is no different. He doesn’t give marriage to those who deserve it the most and singleness to those who are still needing to get their act together.
God asks for our faithfulness, but it’s not meant to be part of some kind of merit system. The sacrifices He asks for are only ever in response to what He has already done! Romans 12:1-2 is clear that we offer our bodies as living sacrifices “in view of His mercy” and this becomes “our spiritual act of worship.” Serving God isn’t about getting what we want, it’s about responding to His love and His worthiness, and subscribing to His plan for our lives, whatever it may entail, whether it aligns with our “plans and dreams” bank or not. It’s about trust in His ability to make good decisions as a loving Father, not making a list and checking it twice like some divine Santa Claus.
Marriage as a Right
I’ll try not to spend too much time on this response, because it’s a little painful to rehearse. This attitude usually kicks in after a few shots have been taken at our “dreams and plans” bank. When we repeatedly don’t get what we want, instead of simply being disappointed, we doubt God’s goodness. We begin to wonder if He really does have our best interests in mind. I mean, you had a plan! You were going to get married young, go on a few adventures before having 4 kids, then get a golden retriever and have a few more adventures after purchasing a bigger-sized vehicle. And you weren’t going to expect the world. No! You were going to walk into marriage with realistic notions about life and love. You’ve watched enough of your friends’ marriages to know that it’s not always blissful. Sometimes, it’s tears and confusion, letting down and being let down. You’re both human, after all. But you’re more than willing to take the bad in with the good because you truly believe it will be worth it- in the beauty and in the mess. These dreams become so incredibly tangible and dear to us, that any far-off plan we can conceive God to be capable of seems dull and unappealing. So when God doesn’t follow our plan, we become a little resentful and slowly bound by our growing discontentment. You might even start to freeze God out in small ways, skipping your quiet time or avoiding prayers that pour out your heart to Him. The longer this goes on, the more embittered you can become in your pride. And obviously we would never verbalize these feelings because they don’t sound very “Christian”, but they nevertheless reflect our adult temper tantrum.
If you find yourself anywhere along this unintended rabbit trail, you must admit it’s not very fun. All the freezing and inner wallowing isn’t making things better, but may in fact be making them worse. There’s definitely no freedom. And “it is for freedom Christ set us free, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) Child, don’t you long to live a life unbound by our limited expectations? A life where we put our plans and dreams on the table, offering them up for God to take and use if He wishes, but understanding that His wisdom and creative powers far outweigh anything we have access to. Repentance and a loose grip on your will can pave that road back to unhindered worship, and away from the enslavement of our insistent expectancies.
Part of That World
As I approach 30, these mindsets are all too familiar. Every now and then, I act as if God owes me. Sometimes, I do wonder what God could possibly have up His sleeve to compare with my ideas for my life. And maybe some of you reading have the added anxiety of finding yourself in a niche in your church and work life where, frankly, there are slim pickins! Scrolling Facebook lately and noticing another wave of engagements and babies makes us want to plop up on a rock next to Ariel and wish we could be “part of that world.” It can be difficult to see women almost a decade younger planning weddings and friends having their second child. And in our culture, that seems to be the go-to topic when people want to check up on you. “So…you dating anyone yet?” And they mean well, they really do. One day, I may be able to excitedly answer the question in the affirmative, and so maybe we don’t want that question taken entirely off the table. But it’s really easy to start feeling like Adam while naming the animals in the very beginning. He noticed every beast of the field, bird of the air, and fish of the sea coming in twos. Where’s my ______? (He didn’t know her name yet, much like we don’t have a name yet.)
Enough with my rambling! What’s really going on here? I mean, deep, deep down? When we take a look around at the majority of people our age and notice the fullness of their lot in the way of relationship status or progeny, and then see our seemingly empty basket, we can be persuaded that there is a norm that somehow skipped us. “The norm” being the ship that carries all of what is expected of us by our culture at certain ages and seasons. If that is our mindset, then, my ship has probably already sailed, leaving me on the docks to gaze over an empty ocean. Isn’t that a depressing sight! But here lies the issue. We are playing the comparison game. We are using the culture as a gauge for an appropriate timeline and experience. And if you’ve been bought by the blood of Jesus, your ship is outfitted with so much more than a marriage and kids. In fact, you are already aboard, having climbed on the second God captured your heart. Your ship is sailing…present tense! This vessel is equipped with everything you’ll need to carry out your days, this side of heaven. If a husband and kids factor into that, then you can bet it’s there somewhere, under a floorboard or perhaps waiting at a harbor, packaged and ready to be picked up when the timing is right. Regardless of the scheduling or the unrevealed parts of the plan, we can be positive that “No good thing does [God] withhold from those who walk uprightly.” (Psalm 84:11)
So, in answering the question, “has my ship sailed?”, perhaps we need to climb up out of the belly of the boat and onto the deck. Maybe we’ll smell the salty air and hear the seagulls chatter. It’s quite possible that if you walk towards the bow, you’ll notice the waves steadily passing as you realize that you’re aboard the ship and it is indeed sailing! Plus, you’re definitely not alone. You’ve already sensed this, but your Savior is there. The one who built the ship with everything you’ll need, the one who crafted the waters you move through, and the very hinge on all the doors that open and close. Relinquish control. He’s got you. Dream big, yes. And pray hard-don’t stop the talking and the asking! But we can’t become so enthralled with our own plans that they distract us from God’s goodness! Open those clenched fists, and allow everything earthly that you hold dear to sit upon open palms. He might weave some of that into the storyline, but if He doesn’t, we have to believe He’s got something better. Besides, we at least know how the journey ends. After a little while, our boat will reach its ultimate destination, leaving all the earthly things in its wake and our open palms lifted in forever praise.
As always, thanks for stopping by. I hope it was encouraging! If this is your first time on my site, you can start at the beginning of the journey here–> https://notsingledout.com/2015/01/04/door-number-three/
For those of you who have visited before, I realize it’s been almost exactly a year since my last post! I’m making it a goal to post every two weeks while I’m on break from teaching this summer. I asked some gal pals the topics they wanted me to cover, and the survey is in. For this summer, it looks like we’ll be discussing things like: baby fever as a single person, when youth are seemingly more “experienced” than you, and rethinking the American Dream. (Also, feel free to contact me with any other ideas) |
Faculty Achievement 2018-19
Goucher faculty have a well-earned reputation as great teachers and mentors, but they are also incredibly active in scholarship and creative endeavors. Below you will find a list of just some of the recent publications, presentations, performances, and exhibits of our talented faculty.
Awards, Grants, & Fellowships
Elizabeth Ahearn. March 2019."In the Grey" selected by adjudication for Gala Performance at the Regional High School Dance Festival. Norfolk, VA
Justine Chasmar. 2018. Hunter Boylan Research Scholarship, National College Learning Center Association
Justine Chasmar. 2019. Outstanding Proposed Research, National Association for Developmental Education
Katherine Cottle. 2019. NEH Summer Scholar/Fellowship--NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop: The Most Southern Place on Earth--Music, Culture, and History of the Mississippi Delta
Evan Dawley. 2018. MacDowell Colony Fellowship
Evan Dawley. 2017-2018. National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship
Ann Duncan. 2019-2020. Periclean Faculty Leadership Program
Jenny Lenkowski. 2018. Travel Award, Society of Developmental Biology
April Oettinger. 2018. Gladys Krieble Delmas Research Fellowship. Delmas Foundation Venetian Research Program. Funded summer research in Venice.
April Oettinger. 2018. Paul Mellon Senior Visiting Fellow. Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Residential grant at the National Gallery of Art.
Dawley, Evan N. 2019. Becoming Taiwanese: Ethnogenesis in a Colonial City, 1880s-1950s. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Asia Center Press.
Kunz, Edgar. 2019. Tap Out. Boston, MA: Mariner Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Kervégan, Jean-François. 2018. The Actual and the Rational: Hegel and Objective Spirit. Translated by Daniela Ginsburg and Martin Shuster. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Goodchild, K, A. Oettinger, and P. Prosperetti, eds. 2019. Green Worlds in Early Modern Italy: Art and the Verdant Earth. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Ahearn, Elizabeth Lowe, Amanda Greene, and Andrea Lasner. 2018. "Some Effects of Supplemental Pilates Training on the Posture, Strength, and Flexibility of Dancers 17 to 22 Years of Age." Journal of Dance Medicine and Science 22(4):192-202.
Chasmar, Justine M., and Katherine M. Ehlert. 2018. “Cluster Analysis Methods and Future Time Perspective Groups of Second-Year Engineering Students in a Major-Required Course." ASEE 2018 Annual Conference Proceedings, Salt Lake City, UT, June 24-27.
Dawley, Evan. 2018. "Finding Meaning in Time and Space: Periodisation and Taiwan-Centred History." International Journal of Taiwan Studies 1(2):245-72.
Dumbaugh, Della, and Hannah Fenster. 2018. "Calculating Intersections: The Crossroads of Mathematics and Literature in the Lives of Mother and Daughter." Journal of Humanistic Mathematics 8(2):90-102.
Kicklighter, Cynthia, Sierra Duca, Anna Jozwick, Hannah Locke, Cary Hundley, Brianna Hite, Gwynneth Hannifin. 2018. "Grazer Deterrence and Fungal Inhibition by the Invasive Marsh Grass Phragmites Australis and the Native Sedge Bolboschoenus Robustus in a Mesohaline Marsh." Chemoecology 28(6):163-172.
Koehler, Elisa. 2019. "Deconstructing Arban: Perspectives on "The Art of Phrasing." International Trumpet Guild Journal 43(3):64-77.
Le, Phong. 2018. “Authentic Messiness: A Community Based Learning Model in an Introduction to Data, and Statistics Course.” PRIMUS, DOI: 10.1080/10511970.2018.1525595
Martin, Florence. 2019. "New Maghrebi Diasporic Film with an Amazigh Twist: Benamraoui's Adios Carmen (2013).” Mashriq wa Mahjar / Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies 6(1):60-82.
Martin, Florence. 2018. “Sexes, Masques et Vérités Sur les Écrans des Maghrébines.” IEMed, Barcelona: AFKAR/IDEAS:71-73.
Mora, Germán. 2019. "Effect of Fading Scaffolds on the Mastery of Scientific Abilities in Inquiry-Based Laboratory Exercises of a College-Level Environmental Science Course." Journal of Geoscience Education 67(1):50-63.
Scisco, Jenna L., Jennifer A. McCabe, Albee Mendoza, Marianne Fallon, and Melanie D. Rodriguez. 2019. "Strategies For Selecting, Managing, and Engaging Undergraduate Coauthors: A Multi-Site Perspective." Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00325
Martin Shuster. 2019. "On the Importance of the World: Phenomenology in Maimonides's Guide of the Perplexed." The Journal of Religion 99(2):194-218.
Shuster, Martin. 2018. "Hannah Arendt on the Evil of Not Being a Person." Philosophy Compass 13(7):1-13.
Veerappa, Roopadarshini, Robert D. Slocum, Alexander Siegenthaler, Jing Wang, Greg B. Clark, and Stanley J. Roux. 2019. “Ectopic Expression of a Pea Apyrase Enhances Root System Architecture and Drought Survival in Arabidopsis and Soybean.” Plant, Cell, and Environment 42(1):337-53.
Bess, Jennifer. 2018. "The Essence of Nightmare and the Anti-essentialism of Haitian History in René Philoctète's Massacre River." Pp. 21-45 in Writings on Caribbean History, Literature, Art and Culture: One Love, edited by I. François. Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Cottle, Katherine. 2018. "Anatomical Reading of Correspondence: A Case Study of Epistolary Analysis Networks." Pp. 137-156 in Viral Networks: Connecting Digital Humanities and Medical History, edited by E.T. Ewing and K. Randall. Blacksburg, Virginia: Virginia Tech Publishing.
Martin, Florence. 2018. "Women Directors in the Maghreb." Pp. 37-51 in Cinema: Made in the Middle East & North Africa. Edited by J. Neil. LM Publishers, Volendam, Netherlands.
Oettinger, April. 2019. "Anthropomorphic Trees and Animated Nature in Lorenzo Lotto's 1509 St. Jerome." Pp. 49-69 in Green Worlds: Art and the Verdant Earth in Renaissance Italy, edited by K.H. Goodchild, A. Oettinger, and L. Prosperetti. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Shuster, Martin. 2019. “Philosophy of History.” Pp. 48-64 in The Routledge Companion to the Frankfurt School, edited by E. Hammer, P. Gordon, and A. Honneth. London: Routledge.
Shuster, Martin. 2019. “The Language of Closure: Homogeneity, Exclusion, and the State.” Pp. 37-56 in Beyond Bergson: Examining Race, Gender, and Colonialism through the Writings of Henry Bergson, edited by A. Pits and M. Westmoreland. Buffalo, NY: SUNY Press.
Turner, Rory. 2018. "Talking About the Weather: Radical Critical Empathy and the Reality of Communitas. " Pp. 3-13 in The Intellectual Legacy of Victor and Edith Turner, edited by F. A. Salamone and M. Snipes. New York: Rowman and Littlefield.
Turner, Rory. 2019. "Radical Critical Empathy and Cultural Sustainability." Pp. 32-42 in Cultural Sustainabilities: Music, Media, Language, Advocacy, edited by T.J. Cooley. Champaign, Illinois: University of Ilinois Press.
Wells, Juliette. 2018. "'Dear Aunt Jane': Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Jane Austen" Pp. 199-220 in After Austen: Reinventions, Rewritings, Revisitings, edited by L. Hopkins. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
Dawley, Evan N. 2019. Review of Migration to and from Taiwan edited by Kuei-Fen Chiu, Dafydd Fell and Ping Lin. International Journal of Taiwan Studies 2(1):185-87.
Ingram, Mark. 2018. Review of Aesthetic Citizenship: Immigration and Theater in Twenty-First-Century Paris by Emine Fişek. Modern Language Notes 133(5):1427-1431.
Shuster, Martin. 2019. Review of Television Antiheroines: Women Behaving Badly in Crime and Prison Drama edited by Milly Buonanno. Journal of Gender Studies 28(1):120-121.
St. Ours, Kathryn. 2018. Review of Truffaut on Cinema by Anne Gillain. H-France Review 18 (96).
Ahearn, Elizabeth Lowe. 2018. "In the Grey," 16 dancers. Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto.
Ahearn, Elizabeth Lowe. 2018. "Two Twelve," 12 dancers. Music: Philip Glass.
Oettinger, April. “The Art of the Book: Fine Press Books in the Goucher College Special Collections.” Goucher College, Baltimore, MD, Special Collections and Archives. January 28-March 17, 2019.
Southerland, R. (2018, November 9). Pas de Scope. (G. R. Ensemble, Performer) Kraushaar Auditorium, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Southerland, R. (2018). Baroque Business (2015). (L. Tate, Director, & K. D. Theatre, Performer) Jim Rouse Theatre, Columbia, MD, USA.
Commander, P., & Friedman, R. (Directors). (2018, December 16). Scrooge (A Christmas Carol). (R. Southerland, Performer) Gordon Center for Performing Arts, Owings Mills, MD, USA.
Conference Presentations & Posters
Ahearn, Elizabeth Lowe, Greene, Amanda, and Lasner, Andrea. 2018. "Some Effects of Supplemental Pilates Training on the Posture, Strength, and Flexibility of Dancers 17 to 22 Years of Age." Presented at American Physical Therapy Association Conference. Washington, DC.
Ahearn, Elizabeth Lowe, Greene, Amanda and Lasner, Andrea. 2018. “Some Effects of Supplemental Pilates Training on the Posture, Strength, and Flexibility of Dancers Aged 17-22 Years.” Presented at 6th Annual Somatic Conference. Geneva, NY.
Bess, Jennifer. Feb. 6-9, 2019. “‘Black Takes No Other Color’: Empiricism, Religion, and the Evolution of Ideologies of Exclusion.” Joint conference: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and Medieval Association of the Pacific: Magic, Religion, and Science in the Global Middle Ages and Renaissance. Phoenix, AZ.
Chasmar, Justine, Fye, Vida, and Alyssa Long. 2019. "Establishment and Expansion of the Quantitative Reasoning Center at Goucher College: Growth and New Opportunities." Maryland College Learning Center Association Annual Conference. Owings Mills, MD.
Chasmar, Justine. 2018. "Development of a Quantitative Reasoning Center at a Liberal Arts College." 2018 Joint Mathematics Meetings. San Diego, CA.
Chasmar, Justine. 2018. "ATP Certification Opportunities: Why, How, and Now!" National College Learning Center Association Annual Conference. Niagara Falls, NY.
Chasmar, Justine. 2019. "Developing a Tutor Training Course for Goucher's Quantitative Reasoning Center." Joint Mathematics Meetings. Baltimore, MD.
Chasmar, Justine and Ben Smith. 2018. "Hunter Boylan Research Award: Tutoring QR or Tutoring for QR Courses? Time to Change the Narrative." National College Learning Center Association Annual Conference. Niagara Falls, NY.
Chasmar, Justine and Ben Smith. 2018. "Tutoring QR or Tutoring for QR courses? Time to Change the Narrative." 21st Meeting of NorthEast Consortium for Quantitative Literacy. Smith College, Northampton, MA.
Chasmar, Justine. 2018. "Stay Fit! How to Incorporate Active Learning Techniques in Tutor Training." Association for the Tutoring Profession 14th Annual Conference. Tucson, AZ.
Chasmar, Justine, Doney, Michele, and Julie Loppacher. 2018. "Challenge Accepted! A Conversation About Meeting the Challenges of Running Learning Centers and Tutoring Programs." Association for the Tutoring Profession 14th Annual Conference. Tucson, AZ.
Chasmar, Justine, Fye, Vida, and Alyssa Long. March 2019. "Establishment and Expansion of the Quantitative Reasoning Center at Goucher College: Growth and New Opportunities." Maryland College Learning Center Association Annual Conference. Owings Mills, MD.
Duncan, Ann W. November 2018. "Locating the Spiritual but not Religious." American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. Denver, CO.
Duncan, Ann W. June 2019. "The Sacred Living Movement: Implicit Religion and the Challenge of Cultural Appropriation." Implicit Religion Conference. Monmouth University, Long Branch, NJ.
Fernstrom, Katharine W. Nov. 7-9, 2018. “Striking a Pose: The Human Figure in Pre-European Native American Art.” AICAD Symposium. School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
Fernstrom, Katharine W. April 11-15, 2018. “Embodying Identities: The Human Figure in Pre-European Native American Art.” Paper presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Washington, D.C.
Ferreira, Edna, and Jenny Rae Lenkowski. 2018. “Visualization of the Cell-Cycle During Regeneration and Development of Müller Glial Cells in the Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) Retina.” Mid-Atlantic Regional Zebrafish Meeting, Penn State College of Medicine. Hershey, PA.
Hannifin, Elizabeth, Sarah Vogel, Michael Koropsak, Edna Ferreira, Maeve Downey, Katie Brandt, Husni Alasadi, and Jenny Rae Lenkowski. 2018. “Regulation of Cell Cycle and Cell Fate By Tgfβ Signaling in the Larval Zebrafish Retina.” Mid-Atlantic Developmental Biology Meeting. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA and Society for Developmental Biology National Meeting Portland, OR.
Koropsak, Michael, Gillian Cooper, and Jenny Rae Lenkowski. 2018. “Regulation of Retinal Neuron Regeneration By Tgfβ Signaling in the Adult Zebrafish.” International Zebrafish Conference. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.
McCabe, Jennifer A. 2019. "Course Sharing: Human Learning and Memory." Poster presented at the 41st Annual National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology. St. Petersburg Beach, FL.
McCabe, Jennifer A., and Dara G. Friedman-Wheeler. 2019. "The Mindfulness Theme Semester: Integrating Meditation and Mindfulness in Psychology Courses." Poster presented at the International Convention of Psychological Science. Paris, France.
McDavitt, Daniel. June 22, 2018. "Engaging 21st Century Learners in the Choral Rehearsal." Paper presented to the Oxford Conducting Institute. Oxford, UK.
Mora, German and Zanazzi, Alessandro. 2018. "Use of a Mechanistic Model to Infer Accurate Paleoclimatic Information from Moss Cellulose D/H Ratios: Example from Lake Superior Swales." American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. Washington, D.C.
Mullaney, Jamie L. August 2018. "Time for a Change?: Personal Resolution Making and Temporal Identity Work." The Roots and Branches of Interpretive Sociology: Cultural, Pragmatist, and Psychosocial Approaches. Philadelphia, PA.
Oettinger, April. April 2018. "Writing the Land in 16th-Century Italy: Landscape Painting, Poetic Landscapes, and the Early Modern Naturalists." Renaissance Society of America Meeting. New Orleans, LA.
Oettinger, April. March 2019. "Laughter, the Pissing Boy, and Sensual Inspiration in the 1499 Hypnerotomachia Poliphili." Renaissance Society of America Meeting. Toronto, CA.
Raich, James W., and Mora, German. August 2018. "The 13C Content of Soil-Respired CO2 Varies with Temperature in C3 but Not C4 Grasslands in Central Iowa." Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA.
St. Ours, Kathryn. March 22, 2019. “Comment Filmer un Animal Sans Le Voir Dans BESTIAIRE de Denis Côté.” Northeast Modern Language Association Convention 2019. Washington, D.C.
St. Ours, Kathryn. April 18, 2018. Panel: Agnès Varda's Gaze. Presentation “Regardant Mona dans SANS TOIT NI LOI.” Northeast Modern Language Association 2018 Convention. Pittsburgh, PA.
Schwarz, Carolyn. April 3-7, 2018. "Not Insured But Not Uninsured Either: The Unusual Position of Healthcare Sharing Ministries in the United States." Paper presented at the Society for Applied Anthropology Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA.
Schwarz, Carolyn. November 14-18, 2018."Care and Moral Striving: The Contours of Well-Being in Healthcare Sharing Ministries." Paper presented at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting. San José, CA.
Turner, Rory. December 4, 2018. "The Craft of Communitas: The Baltimore Rhythm Festival as Liminal Space." Liminality and the Cosmologies of Change: A workshop funded and organised through the Advanced Grant ERC project Egalitarianism: forms, processes, comparisons. London, England.
Wells, Juliette. April 12, 2018. Chair, panel on Goucher students' scholarly and creative work on Frankenstein, "Reading Frankenstein, Reading the 21st Century" conference. Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD.
Wells, Juliette. April 21, 2018. “Conversation with Whit Stillman, director of Love and Friendship (2017).” Jane Austen Society of North America, Eastern PA region. East Merion, PA.
Wells, Juliette. September 2018. "From Emma to Persuasion." Jane Austen Society of North America Annual General Meeting. Kansas City, MO.
Newspapers, Magazines, & Blogs
Duncan, Ann. August 8, 2018. “Episode #37: Supreme Court Wrap-Up 2018.” Impolite Conversations [Audio Podcast].
Martin, Florence. 2018. “Challat of Tunis: Sexism, Lies and Computer Games in Tunisia.” Filmatique. http://www.filmatique.com/essays-1/2018/challat-of-tunis
McCabe, Jennifer. 2018. "Small metacognition - Part II." Retrieved from the Improve with Metacognition web site: http://www.improvewithmetacognition.com/small-metacognition-ii/
McCabe, Jennifer & Justine Chasmar. December 2018. "Metacognition at Goucher I: Framework and Implementation." Improve with Metacognition. https://www.improvewithmetacognition.com/metacognition-at-goucher-i-framework-and-implementation/.
Chasmar, Justine & Jennifer McCabe. March 2019. "Metacognition at Goucher II: Training for Q-Tutors." Improve with Metacognition. https://www.improvewithmetacognition.com/metacognition-at-goucher-ii/.
Mullaney, Jamie L. March 2018. "What's After #MeToo?" Baltimore Style.
Wood, Peter and Koehler, Elisa, et al. 2018. "Highlights of the 2018 ITG Conference." The Brass Herald 74: 80-85.
Koehler, Elisa (conductor). 2018. Newberry's Victorian Cornet Band. Music of the Gilded Age. MSR Classics.
Wells, Juliette. 2018. Series of four lectures, "Jane Austen at 200: Life, Works, Legacy," Lakeside Chautauqua, Lakeside, OH: July 2018
Oettinger, April. 2019. "Animating Nature. Lorenzo Lotto and the Sublime Turn in Venetian Landscape Art, 1500-1550." American University, Art History Lecture Series. Washington, D.C.
Panelist, post-performance discussions
Wells, Juliette. 2018. Panelist, post-performance discussion with the playwright and director of Persuasion, a new theatrical adaptation. The Players Club, New York, NY. April 9, 2018.
McDavitt, Daniel. 2019. "Something Sings." Glendale, CA: Gentry Publications.
McDavitt, Daniel. 2019. "The Fountain." Glendale, CA: Gentry Publications.
McDavitt, Daniel. 2019. "My Childhood Home." Glendale, CA: Gentry Publications.
McDavitt, Daniel. 2019. "The Preacher and the Bear." Chicago, IL: Walton Music.
- March 3, 2020
The New York Times ran an in-depth review of “Child of Light,” the new work of nonfiction by Professor of English Madison Smartt Bell. The book is a biography of the writer Robert Stone. According to the Times, “‘Child of Light’ is a sensitive and thorough biography...This is one of those rare biographies in which you don’t feel like skimming the first 35 pages.”
- June 4, 2019
Americans for the Arts announced that Margie Reese, executive director of the Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture, will be honored with the Selina Roberts Ottum Award.
- February 22, 2019
Professor Justine Chasmar earned two awards for research that asks how quantitative reasoning centers can improve student tutoring and overall learning in quantitative fields.
- February 13, 2019
Professor April Oettinger has been appointed a Visiting Senior Fellow at the National Gallery of Art's Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts.
- January 9, 2019
Goucher's Mileah Kromer shares her Maryland politics expertise as the co-host of The Baltimore Sun's new "Roughly Speaking: Government Edition" podcast.
- December 12, 2018
A Memory of the Future was named to The New York Times Book Review's best poetry list.
- October 9, 2018
Professor Elizabeth Spires' poem featured in The New York Times Magazine.
- Image associated with "Professor Elizabeth Spires' New Book "A Memory of the Future" Featured in The Baltimore Sun"August 6, 2018
Professor Elizabeth Spires' New Book "A Memory of the Future" Featured in The Baltimore Sun.
- June 14, 2018
Professor Madison Smartt Bell was included on CBS Baltimore’s list of five Baltimore authors to put on summer reading lists.
- Image associated with "Professor Victor Ricciardi's New Book "Financial Behavior" Receives Positive Review"May 10, 2018
Goucher College Finance Professor Victor Ricciardi's new book Financial Behavior receives positive book review from CFA Institute. |
Season 1 of Columbo left viewers knocked for six with its heady combo of lovable central character, wicked high society bad guys and sumptuous production values.
Murder by the Book and Death Lends a Hand are two of the best TV episodes ever made. But could the quality be maintained in the Season’s third instalment? We’re turning back the clock to 27 October 1971, when Dead Weight first aired. Does it sink or swim? Let’s find out!
Lieutenant Columbo: Peter Falk
Major General Martin Hollister: Eddie Albert
Helen Stewart: Suzanne Pleshette
Mrs Walters: Kate Reid
Burt: Timothy Carey
Officer Sanchez: Ron Castro
Colonel Dutton: John Kerr
Harry Barnes: Val Avery
Directed by: Jack Smight
Written by: John T Dugan
Score by: Gil Melle
Columbo Dead Weight – Episode synopsis
While boating with her overbearing mother, troubled divorcee Helen Stewart distantly witnesses Major General Martin Hollister gun down lily-livered Colonel Dutton in cold blood through the window of his dockside mansion.
Helen reports the crime to the police, and Lieutenant Columbo is sent to investigate. There’s a certain level of reluctance, though, because General Hollister is a bona fide war hero, whose exploits with his legendary pearl-handled Colt 45 in Korea helped make him a household name.
Naturally, Hollister is guilty as sin, having dispatched the Colonel with that favourite weapon for fear of his shady business dealings being exposed. Before Columbo arrives on the scene, Dutton’s body has been hidden behind a secret revolving bookcase (yesssss!), and the Lieutenant finds the General doing nothing more sinister than directing the toils of some bungling cadets, who are packing a case with his war memorabilia for a new exhibition in his honour.
After a decent nosy around – where he finds out that the General’s legendary gun was supposedly stolen from him years before, leaving only a duplicate to donate to the exhibition – Columbo seems satisfied that nothing is amiss and leaves the General to prepare for a celebratory dinner.
Alone again, the General finds out the whereabouts of Mrs Stewart through the loose-lipped boat hire owner (Columbo regular Val Avery in his first appearance). He then shows up on her doorstep and invites her to watch the 11 o’clock news that evening in the hope that a report on his exhibition and war heroics will clear his name. So begins a sham romance where Hollister takes advantage of Helen’s low self-esteem to turn her to his way of thinking, and to forget about the crime she witnessed.
Although his plotting works on Helen, it has the opposite affect on Lieutenant Columbo. The detective, who had little reason to suspect Hollister initially, is wary of his motives in taking such an interest in the star witness. Columbo attempts to lead Helen back to her initial suspicions, but her lonely heart is leading her head.
Even the reappearance of the Colonel’s body off the LA coast (Hollister ditched the corpse off his boat after the celebratory dinner) doesn’t sway her. She’s now firmly on the General’s side, leaving Columbo unable to rely on his one key witness, even as he builds the rest of the case. His chances of securing a conviction seem all at sea.
It’s a casual conversation with war veteran – and chilli purveyor – Burt, that gives Columbo the inspiration he needs. Burt just can’t get rid of his old war memorabilia. It’s too important to him. Columbo makes the jump to Hollister’s pearl-handled Colt 45. The General places great importance on his war mementoes. There’s no way he’d let anyone get hold of that gun. Ergo, the so-called duplicate must be the real thing!
Columbo arranges to meet Helen at the Hollister Exhibit, a party which the General predictably gatecrashes. The Lieutenant reveals that he’s already had the ‘duplicate’ gun run through ballistics, and it’s the same one used to shoot Colonel Dutton. The general’s attachment to his beloved gun has been his undoing. Most normal people would have thrown it away after the killing. The General couldn’t bring himself to part with it.
Bested in battle for the first time, Hollister apologies to Helen and submits to the long arm of the law. Columbo, meanwhile, takes Helen’s arm and leads her out of the exhibition to an uncertain future as credits roll…
Dead Weight‘s best moment: face-off at the jetty
A variation on the usual “we both know I did it, but you’ll never prove it, so CLEAR ORF” chit-chat so familiar to keen viewers, Dead Weight features a fine exchange between Hollister and Columbo on the jetty by the General’s house.
Returning from an early morning outing on his boat, The Iron Horseman, Hollister finds Columbo lying in wait for him. On paper he’s just having a jolly fishing jaunt. In reality he wants to unsettle the General with a series of questions. A grizzled war veteran isn’t likely to be spooked by such antics, and so it proves as Hollister dishes out some advice laced with double meaning. “Find a different spot, or use a different bait. Otherwise you’re not going to catch anything, Lieutenant.”
It’s a good example of the episode’s sharp script, and an exchange even the Lieutenant seems to enjoy. To put it in Sherlockian terms, the game is afoot!
My opinion on Dead Weight
In any season of a quality TV show, it’s inevitable that some episodes will stand the test of time less favourably than others. That’s the case with Dead Weight. It’s a perfectly good piece of television, but when compared to some of the other gems Columbo Season 1 threw at us, it struggles to stay afloat.
“Having a witness to the crime adds a delicious twist to proceedings.”
Its chief shortcomings are a comparatively uninteresting adversary (sorry, Eddie Albert fans) and a weak central clue that brings about his downfall. These off-set a fine script and some excellent performances by the supporting cast. Having a witness to the crime also adds a delicious twist to proceedings.
Interestingly, Dead Weight was filmed at the height of the tensions between Peter Falk and Universal. The actor felt the studio was trying to renege on an agreement to let him direct an episode and was in combative mood. Determined to win the power play, Falk stormed off set and even got a Doctor’s note to explain his absence. Universal threatened to sue Falk, who returned to the set to find that as much as possible had been filmed in his absence. Word on the street is that the crew even refused to re-shoot scenes with Falk that they had filmed with a stand-in during his absence.
Such a hard-line approach to negotiations paid off for Falk in the long-run, but his antics irked his fellow actors, as Suzanne Pleshette fascinatingly describes below.
The difficulties this scenario posed the cast and crew may be reflected – if only to the discerning viewer – in the lack of rapport between Columbo and the other leads in Dead Weight. For the first time the scenes between detective and suspect don’t sizzle. There’s some decent interplay between Columbo and Hollister, but the chemistry doesn’t match what we’ve seen before – very likely because of Falk’s studio feuding.
This tension infiltrates the Falk/Pleshette scenes, too. The two were great friends before filming the episode but she was not amused by his actions. As a result, they seem oddly at arm’s length from one another throughout. To an extent, that’s down to the Helen Stewart doubting character but the on-set frostiness must surely have contributed.
“What we don’t get here is a killer with the charisma of Jack Cassidy or Robert Culp.”
On the flipside, Falk’s antics seem to have had a positive impact on the chemistry between Albert and Pleshette. Their irritation at the lead man can’t have failed to give them a greater bond as actors. Resultantly, the relationship between their characters seems genuine. Some may disagree but I dare say Hollister, regardless of his initial selfish motives, was genuinely growing fond of Helen and was sorry to bring her pain at the episode’s climax.
Sadly, what we don’t get here is a killer with the charisma of Jack Cassidy or Robert Culp. Following on the heels of Murder by the Book and Death Lends a Hand was always going to be a tall order, but the Hollister portrayal is, well, a little dull. He never convinces as the gung-ho war leader, and the character traits that lead to his downfall – his alleged vanity and ego that prevent him from ridding himself of the murder weapon – rarely come across in his performance (giant portrait on his home wall notwithstanding).
Worse still, Hollister’s nowhere near cold enough. As a man used to maintaining his nerve in the heat of battle, he ought to be icy as the Arctic. We hardly see that. Perhaps Albert was too nice a guy in real life to convince as a stone-cold killer? I can’t help thinking that a really frosty baddie could have provided a more dangerous element and helped elevate the episode a notch or two.
Pleshette, though, is excellent and very much the beating heart of the episode. She puts in one of the series’ best supporting performances and succeeds in making Helen much more interesting than Hollister. Browbeaten and bullied by her gin-soaked mother (Kate Reid on fine form), she’s emotionally fragile and her self-esteem is in dire need of a pick-me-up.
All this makes her falling for the General’s charms, her desperation to be respected and loved, seem believable – even if she did believe she witnessed a killing. There’s no happy ending for Helen and we can only wonder what the future holds in store for her after she witnesses another man in her life let her down.
While the performances are all well and good, it’s the quality of the mystery that separates the great Columbos from the good and unfortunately Dead Weight is a bit of a let-down. The central clue regarding the General’s Colt 45 is poorly conceived and hopelessly executed, leading to a desperately disappointing (not to mention confusing) gotcha scene.
Columbo comments that the pearl-handled gun was not amongst the weapons he spotted in a crate of items at the General’s house bound for the exhibition at the military institute. Hollister spins some yarn about how he was robbed of the gun in the Korean War and that the institute had a duplicate made – but it’s a story that makes no sense at all.
If there was a duplicate made by the institute, why was it in the General’s possession at all? If it wasn’t in his possession, how did he manage to switch the duplicate with the murder weapon after the killing? More tellingly, why claim to have ever lost it in the first place? The only reason Hollister would logically have claimed to have lost the gun was if he knew he was going to use it for a murder at some point in the future and would therefore need a duplicate to be in existence to divert suspicion away from himself.
It’s bewildering stuff that suggests vague writing around an idea that was never fully fleshed out before filming began. The issue is exacerbated by the dodgy police work that goes hand in hand with this case. If there was any suspicion that Hollister might have been involved in a murder, it would have been simple to have every gun at the exhibition immediately tested to see if it had recently been fired. The Colt would have been impounded and as soon as Dutton’s body was found and the bullet matched to the gun, the case would have been over regardless of the nonsense surrounding the duplicate. Grrrrrr…
If it sounds like I hate Dead Weight, fear not! There is a gulf at its heart surrounding the central clue, but there’s still plenty to enjoy. The typical Columbo cat-and-mouse act between detective and quarry becomes a three-way game here as both men attempt to ‘woo’ Helen round to their way of thinking – quite literally in Hollister’s case. It’s a new element to the show and it keeps our interest especially when Helen, who was so adamant about what she saw, starts to backtrack as she warms to the General’s intentions.
I’ve alluded to the quality of the script on a couple of occasions already, and there are some real gems tucked away within it that raise a smile. As well as the ‘best moment’ outlined above, there’s a fun scene on board the General’s yacht, as Hollister takes delight in putting his boat through its paces – much to a seasick Columbo’s dismay.
“A man with the name of Columbo, shouldn’t he be more at home on a boat?” asks Hollister. “Must have been another branch of the family,” responds the green-gilled Lieutenant.
Pleshette also delivers one of the best Columbo put-downs of all. Affronted by the Lieutenant disparaging the General’s vanity over the cut of his army uniforms, she hits back. “Some men, Lieutenant, do not want to look like an unmade bed.” How do you like those apples, Columbo?
We get a nice glimpse of Columbo bending the rules to gain a tactical advantage, too. When he’s first called in to investigate, Columbo asks uniformed officer Sanchez to check the General’s yacht for any sign of a body. “But Lieutenant, I don’t have a warrant,” Sanchez replies. “Well, I’ll ask the general for permission,” says Columbo slyly. “If he doesn’t give it, then I’ll get a warrant. In the meantime, check it out.”
It’s a lower-level incident than the evidence planting we saw in Death Lends a Hand but is another clear indicator of Columbo’s willingness to do what it takes to solve a case – even if it potentially leaves him on shaky moral ground. It’s a trait that will remain with him throughout his long TV career.
Elsewhere it’s good without being great. The directing is A-OK, but lacking any particularly memorable set pieces or innovation. There are some lovely highlights on the Gil Melle score (including the main theme, featuring waves and sea gull calls), but other elements were a straight lift from Death Lends a Hand. Like the whole episode, it’s a little hit and miss.
But even if Dead Weight is Columbo not firing on all cyclinders, it still delivers enough goods to keep its head above water. And that’s the power of 70s’ Columbo. Even the lesser episodes are still better than most TV ever made…
Did you know?
Although Columbo’s first name is never revealed in the series, a close up of his name badge in this episode appears to suggest it’s Frank. See for yourself…
In one of the draft scripts of an unnamed Season 1 episode, one writer had given Columbo a first name. Show creators Dick Levinson and Bill Link insisted it was cut out, but if Dead Weight was the episode, it could explain why the name on the badge is what it is. The same badge can be seen in A Matter of Honor in Season 5, and the name ‘Frank Columbo’ also shows up on an evidence bag in 1989’s Grand Deceptions, adding weight to the argument.
However, Falk, Levinson and Link always insisted that Columbo had no known first name, leaving the viewer – as with so many elements of the mysterious Lieutenant’s actual life – to make up their own mind.
How I rate ’em so far
Like a weighed-down corpse, Dead Weight plummets to the bottom of the current standings – more a statement of the stellar quality of all that has preceded it. Read previous reviews by clicking the links below.
Where does Dead Weight rank in your list of favourites? Vote for your number one episode in the Columbo best episode poll here.
I’ll be back with a review of Suitable for Framing in a few weeks’ time. Spoiler alert: it’s one of my ultimate favourite episodes! |
- Fourth-generation of Ariel’s iconic sports car is the fastest standard version yet
- 320bhp Honda Type R turbo engine
- New larger diameter tube chassis
- Totally revised suspension and steering
- New bigger brake and cooling system
- New bodywork with significant aerodynamic improvements
- New seats, revised ergonomics, more interior space
- New instrumentation and electronics with traction and launch control
- Atom 4 is capable of 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds and 0-100mph in 6.8 seconds
- Production will commence in late 2018, for Spring 2019 deliveries
- Prices starting at £39,975 including VAT in the UK (£33,312 ex VAT)
- Each car built by one technician individually to order
- Over 18 years since the first Atom was launched
- 1,800+ Atoms have been made to date
Ariel Motor Company announces the launch of the latest evolution of the Ariel Atom, now in its fourth generation, the all-new Atom 4.
Designed by the in-house Ariel team, the Atom 4 continues the now iconic design, but is an entirely new car from the ground-up. Building on the learning from previous generations, customer feedback, Ariel assembly technicians and significant R&D by Ariel in recent years, the Atom 4 preserves the essential Ariel qualities but progresses the design and engineering further into the most powerful and able Atom yet.
Atom 4 features the latest Honda Type R turbo engine giving 320bhp as standard, all-new chassis, suspension, steering and brakes, all-new bodywork with significant aerodynamic improvements, new seating and instrumentation together with a host of design improvements and changes. With an open design brief to improve the car wherever possible, the Atom 4 represents another big step forward in the evolution of the Atom.
Said Simon Saunders, Director of Ariel: “The Atom 4 is the biggest change to the car since we originally released it in 1999. It really is an all-new car; in fact there are only three parts carried over from the last Atom – the clutch/brake pedals and the fuel cap.”
Atom 4 will continue to be made in low volume by Ariel at its factory near Crewkerne, Somerset in quantities of around 100 cars per year alongside the Ariel Nomad and Ariel Ace motorbike.
Each car will be built, as they are now, by one technician and to order for each individual customer. Having earned its reputation as the ‘Savile Row of the Automotive World’ Ariel has a tailor-made approach to building vehicles that isn’t possible at high volume and reflects the opportunities achievable only in low volume production. Atom 4 will also be made, under licence, by Ariel North America based in South Boston, Virginia serving North and South American markets. The cars will have identical specifications, combining the best high and low volume engineering, materials and production values together with an option list and bespoke build system that gives each customer exactly the car they need. From fun sports car to track weapon, the Atom 4 will deliver.
The car will also be the first Ariel vehicle to undergo full European Small Series Type Approval (ESSTA) and ADR (Australian Design Rules) testing, to enable Atom 4 to be sold throughout Europe and Australasia with a Certificate of Conformity from 2019. Said Tom Siebert, Director of Ariel Motor Company: ‘Though we have had a small European presence over the years, there is an enormous demand for our vehicles in this market and elsewhere in the world. British-built, low volume vehicles appeal on many different levels and Type Approval is key to our future commitment to service those markets effectively. As well as our existing network of dealers, we will appoint new key agents in various countries, to make sure that as many potential customers have access to Atom 4 as possible’.
As one of the very oldest names in automotive history, Ariel was started in 1870 by James Starley, also inventor of the differential and rack-and-pinion steering, with an Ordinary (Penny-Farthing) bicycle. As the first steel-framed production bicycle, the Ariel also featured steering and patented spoked wheels, revolutionising the early transport industry. With the rapid development of vehicles in the 1890s and early 1900s, Ariel advanced through De Dion-engined tricycles and Quadricycles as well as motorcycles in a fast-changing industry. As a manufacturer of early Grand Prix cars Ariel was an entrant in the first-ever race at Brooklands in 1907, winning at the second event the following weekend. From the late 1900s, the company centred its attention on motorcycle production with occasional excursions into 4 wheel vehicles. Best known for the ground-breaking Ariel Square 4, multiple International Six Day Trial winning HT5 and pressed steel frame Arrow, the company became one of the great names of the British motorcycle industry. Ariel was revived in 1999 with the launch of the Ariel Atom, featuring the now famous exposed spaceframe powered by a Rover K Series engine. A major redesign in 2003 included the introduction of the Honda K20A Type R engine and saw the start of Ariel’s relationship with Honda, which continued into the Ariel Ace motorbike and Ariel Nomad. A constant development of the car saw the Atom 3 introduced in 2007, with the Honda K20Z Type R engine, and the Atom 3.5 in 2013 with revised chassis and suspension. Over 1800 Ariel Atoms have been made since the first production cars were delivered in 2000, making Atom ownership an exclusive but growing club. As a forward-thinking company Ariel will continue to evolve the Atom, but the soul of the Atom will always be attainable, rewarding performance and sheer driving pleasure.
The basis of Atom 4 is an all-new tubular chassis, designed in-house by the Ariel engineering and design team, with much learning coming from the Titanium Chassis R&D project of 2014. Featuring larger diameter main and diagonal tubes than previous Atoms, as well as many detailed additions, each tube within the chassis has been analysed and optimised to give a light but extraordinarily strong structure. The torsional stiffness has been increased by 15% compared to the previous generation Atom 3.5.
The combination of sophisticated CAD (Computer Aided Design) and FEA (Finite Element Analysis) design work resulting in a hand-made, bronze welded structure reflects Ariel’s approach to design and manufacture, combining new technology with exceptional craftsmanship.
Said Tom Ward, Ariel’s Chief Engineer: “Redesigning an icon can be quite intimidating and doing this with increasingly strict legislation plus Type Approval in mind is a big task for a small company like ours. Our growing design and engineering team forms 25% of the Ariel workforce so we are committed to making Ariel absolute leaders in their field.”
The chassis gives more interior space and legroom than previously and has been designed and proven to well exceed the demands of a full frontal 50kph barrier impact, seat belt and rear impact test. Forming a driver/passenger safety cell the Atom chassis offers the highest degree of protection in its class. Chassis are treated to a three-stage finishing process of phosphating, powder coating to colour choice and powder coating lacquer.
At the heart of the Atom 4 is the new Honda Type R K20C 2.0L 4 cylinder direct injection, turbocharged engine. Building on the 15-year relationship with Honda UK with Honda power in Atom 2, Atom 3 and Ariel Ace motorcycles, Ariel has signed a new agreement for engine supply with Honda. Said Simon Saunders: “The Honda agreement is critical for us and our customers. The Type R engines have proven themselves in Atoms over the years with dependable power and absolutely faultless reliability, even under race conditions, so there really is no better engine for the Atom.”
The 1996cc direct injection turbocharged engine, producing 320bhp as standard in the Atom – 10bhp more than the previous supercharged Atom – gives the Atom 4 more power than any previous standard model. An astonishing 420Nm of torque is a massive 75% increase over a standard Atom 3.5 and a 35% increase over a supercharged Atom 3.5.
Mapped by Ariel using an MBE ECU (Electronic Control Unit) developed specifically for the car will allow the Atom 4 to meet Euro Vl emissions standards, a critical factor of the EUSSTA testing. Optional Launch and Traction Control is a new feature built in to the electronics of Atom 4, derived from the Atom V8. Atom 4 also features the ability to adjust and optimise turbo boost levels for different road and track conditions.
An all-new exhaust system, again designed to meet EUSSTA standards as well as race track noise levels, features a ceramic honeycomb, high palladium/rhodium content catalytic converter, 3”/75mm diameter stainless system into a twin outlet, 8.4”/215mm stainless silencer. A high flow single outlet system is an option as is a de-cat system for use on the track.
A larger capacity fuel tank sits on the left-hand side of the car, improving range on road and on track, giving a road range of some 300 miles.
Suspension and Steering
Retaining the inboard, pushrod operated damper system the Atom 4 features all new suspension geometry. Based on 18 years of continual development from Ariel and design input from suspension guru Richard Hurdwell, the new geometry includes revised inboard and outboard points plus anti-squat and anti-dive to reduce unnecessary body roll and weight transfer, keeping as much tyre contact as possible at all times. All new Bilstein dampers sit inboard operated by pushrods via new geometry bellcranks, with an optional semi-active Ohlins package under development for production.
Revised steering rack and geometry give the new Atom accessibility for all types of drivers under all driving conditions, with the option of a quick rack for track-focussed cars. “It’s important that the Atom not only handles superbly but has ultimate driveability,” said Sam Evans, engineer in charge of Atom suspension development. “On Atom 4 we have gone to enormous lengths to ensure the car is as easy to drive on the road as it is fast on a race track.”
An improved turning circle has also been achieved with the new suspension and steering rack geometry to aid town driving and parking.
Wheels and Tyres
Moving up in size the Atom 4 sits on 7Jx16” front wheels and 9Jx17” rear wheels. Multi-spoke alloy wheels are standard fitment but, in a first for Ariel, the Atom 4 has the option of full carbon wheels. These represent a weight saving of nearly 50% over an alloy wheel and a total reduction of over 16 kilos. The wheels, made to Ariel specification by BST in Johannesburg (who also make the carbon wheels for the Ariel Ace), significantly reduce unsprung weight together with new aluminium uprights, which alone give a 50% weight saving over the previous car.
Tyres are 195/50R16 front and 255/40ZR17 rear. In a new exclusive partnership with Avon Tyres the Atom will be fitted with high performance Avon ZZR tyres. With recent changes in tyre law and noise it is important that the highest performing tyres are available to the Atom. The combination of new suspension and larger section Avon tyres contribute to the Atom 4 having more mechanical grip than any previous Atom. Not only is straight line performance improved for the Atom 4 but cornering speed moves to another level also.
The all-new standard braking system increases in size, due to the higher power of Atom 4, with 278mm vented discs and cast two-piston caliper on the front with 253mm discs on the rear and integrated hand brake caliper. An optional upgrade is to a full AP Racing configuration of 290mm vented discs front and rear with alloy 4 piston calipers. A variety of brake pads are available dependent on the use of the car. An all-aluminium pedal box with brake, clutch and throttle pedal is supplemented by the optional cockpit adjustable brake bias. Goodridge stainless hose for both brake and clutch hydraulic systems is standard fitment.
The Atom 4 features an all-new look and while recognisably an Atom, every panel on the car is new. One of the fundamental design principles on Atom 4 was aerodynamic improvement, control of airflow and overall balance of the car. Working in partnership with TotalSim, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) experts in Brackley, and in keeping with the original Ariel ‘Form Follows Function’ philosophy, major aerodynamic improvements have been made in every area of the car. Drag has been reduced, downforce increased and mass flow rate to radiator, intercooler and air intakes greatly increased. A shift in aero-balance has been achieved to give neutral handling and more precise control at the limit.
Immediately noticeable is the disappearance of the familiar central Atom roll hoop, now enclosed under the air intake bodywork, which itself has been reduced in size. This has greatly improved air passing over the rear bodywork and controls air speed going through the ram-air system. Similarly, the new nose cone has smaller openings and internal ducting to reduce drag and decelerate air speed, maximising efficiency through the front mounted radiator. The intercooler mounted behind the tub, in a low pressure area, keeps the unit close to the engine and is also supplied with air from under the car, optimising cooling efficiency.
The trademark Atom ‘aero screen’ has been further refined and now reaches all the way across the car, reducing ‘helmet lift’ for the occupants, directing air to the engine intake and, with just this aero fence, generating 100 Newtons of downforce. The mudguards on all four wheels also feature an aero device to give downforce directly to tyres negating any lift from mudguards.
Ralph Tayler-Webb, Chief Designer at Ariel said: “The aerodynamics on the Atom 4 have been an epic journey with literally hundreds, if not thousands, of iterations backwards and forwards between us and TotalSim. Keeping the Atom true to its roots but making such big strides with the aero has been a long haul, but it has paid off. Atom 4 is a highly-sophisticated design that has improved the performance in many different ways and on a number of levels.”
Bodywork will be available in full carbon for many of the body parts, reinforcing the ‘Less = More’ Ariel philosophy of performance through lightweight.
Exterior and Interior
All exterior lighting has been revised with LED indicators, stop/tail/fog and reverse lights, daytime running lamps and high performance halogen headlights to conform to EUSSTA regulations. Ambient light sensors allow auto light functionality.
Additional storage space has been included under the removable front body cover, extending the cubby box, together with access to the new hydraulic system. Individually adjustable single seats replace the twin seat unit of previous Atoms and a comprehensive study into ergonomics has subtly repositioned pedals, steering wheel and instruments. Already a comfortable space for most drivers, an additional 50mm of cabin length and 20mm width has been added to accommodate the very widest range of users.
The new switch cluster, again designed to EUSSTA standards, features all controls within finger reach of the 310mm suede steering wheel including lighting, indicators, adjustable traction and launch controls. The central instruments, with full colour TFT (Thin-Film-Transistor) screen made for the Atom 4 by AIM, can be scrolled through multiple menus for road, track or set up use. The instruments also have gear position and shift lights as standard plus provision for real time race track data-logging. Using the AIM PDM (Power Distribution Management) system, communicating directly with the ECU via CAN (Controller Area Network), the vehicle wiring harness and fuse box have been simplified and therefore light-weighted.
Performance and Price
Atom 4 is the fastest standard Atom produced so far. With the dramatic increase in torque, as well as 320bhp as standard, both standing start and in gear acceleration times are the fastest yet for a standard Atom: 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds, 0-100mph in 6.8 seconds retain the Atom’s giant killing performance.
Atom 4 will be priced at £39,975 including VAT in the UK (£33,312.50 ex VAT). Said Tom Siebert: “We want to keep the Atom as an affordable but ultimate performance car. The cost of the Atom 4 compares with a supercharged Atom 3.5, but it has more power and a higher specification as standard. Over the 18 years that we have been making the Atom it has proved itself with extraordinarily low running costs and phenomenal reliability, even when used hard on track.
“This coupled with truly remarkable residuals makes the Atom not only cost effective to own but almost depreciation free. But our main aim for our customers is our company motto – SERIOUS FUN. There isn’t enough of that in motoring any more, so we’re determined to keep it. If that’s what you want, Atom 4 will deliver.”
Atom 4 production will commence in late 2018, for Spring 2019 deliveries. |
Last modified: December 17, 2019
Constellation Web Solutions, Inc. (the "Company" or "We") respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it through our compliance with this policy. This policy describes the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide when you visit our website (our "Website") and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information.
This policy applies to information we collect on this Website, in email, text, and other electronic messages between you and this Website. It does not apply to information collected by:
- Us offline or through any other means, including on any other website operated by the Company or any third party (including our affiliates and subsidiaries); or
- Any third party (including our affiliates and subsidiaries), including through any application or content (including advertising) that may link to or be accessible from or on the Website.
Children Under the Age of 13
Our Website is not intended for children under 13 years of age. No one under age 13 may provide any information to or on the Website. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, do not use or provide any information on this Website or provide any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, email address, or any screen name or user name you may use. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at [email protected].
California residents under 16 years of age may have additional rights regarding the collection and sale of their personal information. Please see the Privacy Notice for California Residents at the end of this policy for more information.
Information We Collect About You and How We Collect It
We collect several types of information from and about users of our Website, including information:
- By which you may be personally identified, such as name, postal address, e-mail address, telephone number, or any other identifier by which you may be contacted online or offline ("personal information");
- That is about you but individually does not identify you; and/or
- About your internet connection, the equipment you use to access our Website, and usage details.
We collect this information:
- Directly from you when you provide it to us.
- Automatically as you navigate through the site. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses, and information collected through cookies and other tracking technologies.
- From third parties, for example, our business partners.
Information You Provide to Us
The information we collect on or through our Website may include:
- Information that you provide by filling in forms on our Website. This includes information provided at the time of registering to use our Website, subscribing to our service, posting material, or requesting further services, as applicable. We may also ask you for information when you enter a contest or promotion sponsored by us, or when you report a problem with our Website.
- Records and copies of your correspondence (including email addresses), if you contact us.
- Your responses to surveys that we might ask you to complete for research purposes.
- Details of transactions you carry out through our Website and of the fulfillment of your orders. You may be required to provide financial information before placing an order through our Website.
- Your search queries on the Website.
Information We Collect Through Automatic Data Collection Technologies
As you navigate through and interact with our Website, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns, including:
- Details of your visits to our Website, including traffic data, location data, logs, and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Website.
- Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system, and browser type.
The information we collect automatically may include personal information, or we may maintain it or associate it with personal information we collect in other ways or receive from third parties. It helps us to improve our Website and to deliver a better and more personalized service, including by enabling us to:
- Estimate our audience size and usage patterns.
- Store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize our Website according to your individual interests.
- Speed up your searches.
- Recognize you when you return to our Website.
The technologies we use for this automatic data collection may include:
- Flash Cookies. Certain features of our Website may use local stored objects (or Flash cookies) to collect and store information about your preferences and navigation to, from, and on our Website. Flash cookies are not managed by the same browser settings as are used for browser cookies. For information about managing your privacy and security settings for Flash cookies, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information.
- Web Beacons. Pages of our the Website and emails from us may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit the Company, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity).
We do not control these third parties' tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have any questions about an advertisement or other targeted content, you should contact the responsible provider directly. For information about how you can opt out of receiving targeted advertising from many providers, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information.
How We Use Your Information
We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal information:
- To present our Website and its contents to you.
- To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us.
- To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it.
- To provide you with notices about your account/subscription, including expiration and renewal notices.
- To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collection.
- To notify you about changes to our Website or any products or services we offer or provide though it.
- To allow you to participate in interactive features on our Website.
- In any other way we may describe when you provide the information.
- For any other purpose with your consent.
We may also use your information to contact you about our own and third-parties' goods and services that may be of interest to you. If you do not want us to use your information in this way, please check the "Do Not Sell My Info" checkbox on the form on which you enter in your information. For more information, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information.
We may use the information we have collected from you to enable us to display advertisements to our advertisers' target audiences. Even though we do not disclose your personal information for these purposes without your consent, if you click on or otherwise interact with an advertisement, the advertiser may assume that you meet its target criteria.
Disclosure of Your Information
We may disclose aggregated information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction.
- To our subsidiaries and affiliates.
- To contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.
- To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of the Company's assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by the Company about our Website users is among the assets transferred.
- To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it.
- For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.
- With your consent.
We may also disclose your personal information:
- To comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request.
- If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Company, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information
We strive to provide you with choices regarding the personal information you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information:
- Promotional Offers from the Company. If you do not wish to have your contact information used by the Company to promote our own or third parties' products or services, you can opt-out by sending us an email stating your request to [email protected]. If we have sent you a promotional email, you may send us a return email asking to be omitted from future email distributions. This opt out does not apply to information provided to the Company as a result of a product purchase, warranty registration, product service experience or other transactions.
- Targeted Advertising. If you do not want us to use information that we collect or that you provide to us to deliver advertisements according to our advertisers' target-audience preferences, you can opt-out by sending us an email stating your request to [email protected].
We do not control third parties' collection or use of your information to serve interest-based advertising. However these third parties may provide you with ways to choose not to have your information collected or used in this way. You can opt out of receiving targeted ads from members of the Network Advertising Initiative ("NAI") on the NAI's website.
Nevada residents who wish to exercise their sale opt-out rights under Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 603A may submit a request to [email protected].
If you are a California resident, California law may provide you with additional rights regarding our use of your personal information. To learn more about your California privacy rights, Privacy Notice for California Residents at the end of this policy.
The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our Website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone.
Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Website. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Website.
Processing in the United States
Please be aware that your Personal Information may be transferred to and maintained on servers or databases located outside your state, province, or country. If you are located outside of the United States, please be advised that we process and store all information in the United States. The laws in the United States may not be as protective of your privacy as those in your location. By using the Sites, you agree that the collection, use, transfer, and disclosure of your Personal Information will be governed by the applicable laws in the United States.
PRIVACY NOTICE FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS
Last Updated: December 17, 2019
Information We Collect
Our Website collects information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or device ("personal information"). In particular, our Website has collected the following categories of personal information from its consumers within the last twelve (12) months:
|A. Identifiers.||A real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security number, driver's license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers.||Name, Email Address|
|B. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)).||A name, signature, Social Security number, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number, passport number, driver's license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information, medical information, or health insurance information. (Some personal information included in this category may overlap with other categories.)||Telephone Number|
|C. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law.||Age (40 years or older), race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, religion or creed, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy or childbirth and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, veteran or military status, genetic information (including familial genetic information).||Not Collected|
|D. Commercial information.||Records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies.||Not Collected|
|E. Biometric information.||Genetic, physiological, behavioral, and biological characteristics, or activity patterns used to extract a template or other identifier or identifying information, such as, fingerprints, faceprints, and voiceprints, iris or retina scans, keystroke, gait, or other physical patterns, and sleep, health, or exercise data.||Not Collected|
|F. Internet or other similar network activity.||Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer's interaction with a website, application, or advertisement.||Not Collected|
|G. Geolocation data.||Physical location or movements.||Not Collected|
|H. Sensory data.||Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information.||Not Collected|
|I. Professional or employment-related information.||Current or past job history or performance evaluations.||Not Collected|
|J. Non-public education information (per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g, 34 C.F.R. Part 99)).||Education records directly related to a student maintained by an educational institution or party acting on its behalf, such as grades, transcripts, class lists, student schedules, student identification codes, student financial information, or student disciplinary records.||Not Collected|
|K. Inferences drawn from other personal information.||Profile reflecting a person's preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.||Not Collected|
Personal information does not include:
- Publicly available information from government records.
- Deidentified or aggregated consumer information.
- Information excluded from the CCPA's scope, like:
- health or medical information covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) or clinical trial data;
- personal information covered by certain sector-specific privacy laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or California Financial Information Privacy Act (FIPA), and the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994.
We obtain the categories of personal information listed above from the following categories of sources:
- Directly from you. For example, from forms you complete, or products and services you purchase.
- Indirectly from you. For example, from observing your actions on our Website.
Use of Personal Information
We may use, sell, or disclose the personal information we collect for one or more of the following purposes:
- To fulfill or meet the reason you provided the information. For example, if you share your name and contact information to request a price quote or ask a question about our products or services, we will use that personal information to respond to your inquiry. If you provide your personal information to purchase a product or service, we will use that information to process your payment and facilitate delivery. We may also save your information to facilitate new product orders or process returns.
- To provide, support, personalize, and develop our Website, products, and services.
- To create, maintain, customize, and secure your account with us.
- To process your requests, purchases, transactions, and payments and prevent transactional fraud.
- To provide you with support and to respond to your inquiries, including to investigate and address your concerns and monitor and improve our responses.
- To personalize your Website experience and to deliver content and product and service offerings relevant to your interests, including targeted offers and ads through our Website, third-party sites, and via email or text message (with your consent, where required by law).
- To help maintain the safety, security, and integrity of our Website, products and services, databases and other technology assets, and business.
- For testing, research, analysis, and product development, including to develop and improve our Website, products, and services.
- To respond to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations.
- As described to you when collecting your personal information or as otherwise set forth in the CCPA.
- To evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by us about our Website users is among the assets transferred.
We will not collect additional categories of personal information or use the personal information we collected for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes without providing you notice.
Sharing Personal Information
We may disclose your personal information to a third party for a business purpose or sell your personal information, subject to your right to opt-out of those sales (see Personal Information Sales Opt-Out and Opt-In Rights, below). When we disclose personal information for a business purpose, we enter a contract that describes the purpose and requires the recipient to both keep that personal information confidential and not use it for any purpose except performing the contract. The CCPA prohibits third parties who purchase the personal information we hold from reselling it unless you have received explicit notice and an opportunity to opt-out of further sales.
We share your personal information with the following categories of third parties:
- Service providers.
Disclosures of Personal Information for a Business Purpose
In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have not disclosed personal information for a business purpose.
Sales of Personal Information
In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have not sold personal information.
Your Rights and Choices
The CCPA provides consumers (California residents) with specific rights regarding their personal information. This section describes your CCPA rights and explains how to exercise those rights.
Access to Specific Information and Data Portability Rights
You have the right to request that we disclose certain information to you about our collection and use of your personal information over the past 12 months. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request (see Exercising Access, Data Portability, and Deletion Rights, below), we will disclose to you:
- The categories of personal information we collected about you.
- The categories of sources for the personal information we collected about you.
- Our business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling that personal information.
- The categories of third parties with whom we share that personal information.
- The specific pieces of personal information we collected about you (also called a data portability request).
- If we sold or disclosed your personal information for a business purpose, two separate lists disclosing:
- sales, identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient purchased; and
- disclosures for a business purpose, identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient obtained.
Deletion Request Rights
You have the right to request that we delete any of your personal information that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request (see Exercising Access, Data Portability, and Deletion Rights, below), we will delete (and direct our service providers to delete) your personal information from our records, unless an exception applies. We may deny your deletion request if retaining the information is necessary for us or our service provider(s) to:
- Complete the transaction for which we collected the personal information, provide a good or service that you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform our contract with you.
- Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities.
- Debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
- Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise their free speech rights, or exercise another right provided for by law.
- Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code § 1546 et. seq.).
- Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when the information's deletion may likely render impossible or seriously impair the research's achievement, if you previously provided informed consent.
- Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with us.
- Comply with a legal obligation.
- Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.
Exercising Access, Data Portability, and Deletion Rights
To exercise the access, data portability, and deletion rights described above, please submit a verifiable consumer request to us by either:
Only you, or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information. You may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child.
You may only make a verifiable consumer request for access or data portability twice within a 12-month period. The verifiable consumer request must:
- Provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative.
- Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it.
We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you. Making a verifiable consumer request does not require you to create an account with us. We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor's identity or authority to make the request. For instructions on exercising sale opt-out rights, see Personal Information Sales Opt-Out and Opt-In Rights, below.
Response Timing and Format
We endeavor to respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to 90 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. If you have an account with us, we will deliver our written response to that account. If you do not have an account with us, we will deliver our written response by mail or electronically, at your option.
Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding the verifiable consumer request's receipt. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, we will select a format to provide your personal information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance.
We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.
Personal Information Sales Opt-Out and Opt-In Rights
If you are 16 years of age or older, you have the right to direct us to not sell your personal information at any time (the "right to opt-out"). We do not sell the personal information of consumers we actually know are less than 16 years of age, unless we receive affirmative authorization (the "right to opt-in") from either the consumer who is between 13 and 16 years of age, or the parent or guardian of a consumer less than 13 years of age.
Consumers who opt-in to personal information sales may opt-out of future sales at any time. To exercise the right to opt-out, you (or your authorized representative) may submit a request to us by sending us an email stating your request to [email protected].
Once you make an opt-out request, we will wait at least twelve (12) months before asking you to reauthorize personal information sales. However, you may change your mind and opt back in to personal information sales at any time by sending an email stating your request to [email protected].
We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not:
- Deny you goods or services.
- Charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties.
- Provide you a different level or quality of goods or services.
- Suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.
Other California Privacy Rights
California's "Shine the Light" law (Civil Code Section § 1798.83) permits users of our Website that are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an email [email protected]. |
Spectacular setting in the Magaliesburg
One of the most amazing spots to fish in the Magaliesburg, just outside of Johannesburg and Pretoria.
Some of the best fishing available in the Magaliesburg
There are all kinds and sizes to fish in the Magaliesburg, and that's what makes fishing here so rewarding.
Catch and release is part of the effort to keep the eco-system healthy
We are playing our part to ensure that the fish and eco-system are sustainably managed and enjoyed.
Magalies Barbus Haven
One of the best places to fish in Magaliesburg, close to Johannesburg and Pretoria, it's much closer than you think.
Magalies Barbus Haven is named after the indigenous large scale yellow fish (Labeo Barbus Marquensis) which is found in the Magalies River. MBH was started as a small stream venue for advanced fly fishers, but it has expanded to also offer fly fishing for novices in our small dam for trout, bass and vlei kurper. We believe in promoting the sport of fly fishing and offer Introductory clinics and guidance for adults/children that want to learn the basics. In addition to this, we support catch and release. (Currently not stocked with trout and only available by advance booking)
Magalies River Conservancy
We are the founding member of the Magalies River Conservancy.
The major objectives defined in the Conservancy rules are:
• Preservation, Protection and increase of (threatened) indigenous yellow fish species in the river system.
• Improving water quality in the river and anti-erosion measures on river banks and catchment areas.
• Conservation of mammals and insects.
• Eradication of exotic plants and trees, resulting in encouraging indigenous birds to the area.
The area is endemic to a multitude of ferns, Cycads, wild flowers and indigenous trees. Please be considerate when walking on trails and along river banks not to damage the local flora. We would appreciate your assistance in preserving the pristine condition of this environment by picking up any litter that you may find.
The area consists of riverine forest, wooded gulleys bordered by hilly grassland/savannah. This habitat is home to an extensive variety of bird species (Bird checklist provided). We welcome the inclusion of any species which you may identify which we have not included.
The dam has trout (stocked), bass, vlei kurper and carp. Fly fishers seeking a unique challenge visit our establishment in search of the large & small scale Yellow fish. Not only are these two of the species which make up part of the 9×9 fly fishing challenge, but they are a enviable quarry found in a small river system which provides challenging and exciting fishing for quality fly-fishers.
Our fishing controls require the following:
• Strictly fly-fishing
• Maximum of ten rods on the dam and four rods on the river sections
• Only catch and release
• Barbless Hooks
• Soft mesh landing nets
• Wetting hands before handling fish
• Submission of catch reports for research
Small Stream tactics
This style of fly fishing requires skills and tactics which differ to used in still water venues. Due to the river environment techniques are restricted to the following casting techniques:
• Bow and arrow casts
• Normal flyfishing casts should be kept short and restricted to one false cast before presentation of the fly.
The main technique once the presentation of the fly has been made is UPSTREAM NYMPHING, utilizing the DEAD DRIFT technique. The fly which imitates the fly food source needs to move naturally in the current in order to convince the fish.
On arrival an official fishing reference number and Permit number will be allocated to you once you have signed the guest book. Please keep this voucher close to your person while fishing as routine checks require the fishing permit to be presented. We appreciate your co-operation as this is a major form of limiting and controlling poaching and illegal access.
Fly fishing guiding, tuition and Team Building
The 2.5 hr Introductory fly fishing clinics cover the basic techniques required to fly fish effectively. Because of the specialized nature of the fly-fishing on the Magalies River (small stream techniques) we offer a Private small stream guided clinic for guests that ensures that they expand their knowledge as well as increasing the enjoyment of their fishing experience. This includes access to a private river section.For corporates we offer fly fishing team building activities which compliments the actual physical fishing.
Large & small scale yellow fish
Over the various seasons the majority of the food remains similar but there are certain types that are are completely different especially during summer and winter months. We recommend that the size of the flies ranges between #16 and # 22 due to the size of the insects in the river not being very large (Small river system does not sustain large population of big insects, but rather a large population of smaller insects.
All year round
• San Juan worm (Red and Chartreuse)
• Beaded Red Brassie
• Pheasant tail nymph
• Flash back Nymph (Dun and olive)
• Hot spot Nymph
• Beaded Charteuse Caddis
Summer and Spring (Warmer months) September – March
• Yellow berry imitation
• Mulberry imitation
• Orange nymph
• Dragonfly Nymph and Emerger
• Damselfly Nymph and Emerger
• Royal Wulff
• Green Caddis
• Green Algae imitation
Trout and bass
• Imitative patters above
• Woolly buggers (Black/blue crystal flash or Olive)
• Mrs Simpson
River Flow rate
The flow does not fluctuate significantly between summer and winter. The main cause of the river flow increase is rainfall (only affecting the flow for up to 24 hours after the rain has stopped) and decrease in the river flow caused by agricultural concerns drawing water.
As the river is spring fed, the temperature of the water stays very constant throughout the year. The main exception where the temperature may decrease is after rainfall. This is a real asset for the flyfisherman targeting yellow fish as the fish are not affected by large water temperature fluctuations that would normally occur on larger water systems.
It is important that fly fishers adapt to the river the flies to the type of food sources that the fish are feeding on in.
The Flies that work at Magalies Barbus Haven, the insects they imitate and how to fish them.
Caddis Larva: – As it’s name implies this fly imitates the larva stage in the life cycle of the Caddis. They live under rocks and in vegetation, often in the faster sections of streams where they are relatively safe from fish. From time to time these insects lose their grip and get washed downstream. They are not good swimmers and it is while they are helplessly tumbling in the current that they are vulnerable to fish predation.
How to fish the Caddis Larva: – The fly should be fished free drifting in the current to imitate the natural. Care should be taken to avoid line drag and the “upstream dead drift” tactic works best for this.
Hot Spot Nymph: – This is a variation of the popular “Pheasant Tail Nymph” with the thorax tied using a bright green material to act as a super trigger to entice fish to strike. The fly imitates the nymph stage in the life cycle of the Mayfly. These insects are abundant in all streams and make up a substantial part of a fish’s diet. They live under rocks and in vegetation under water from where they are sometimes dislodged. It is while drifting in the current that they are vulnerable and available to feeding fish.
How to fish the Hot Spot Nymph: – The fly should be fished free drifting in the current to imitate the natural. Care should be taken to avoid line drag and the “upstream dead drift” tactic works best for this.
San Juan Worm: (EXCELLENT ALL YEAR) – The fly imitates the larva stage in the life cycle of the Midge also know as the (Non-biting mosquito). These insects are abundant and live in the fine sediment found in the slower moving sections of streams (pools) as well as in dams. Although they are poor swimmers they often migrate to the surface en masse and it is while doing this that they are vulnerable to fish predation.
How to fish the San Juan Worm: – The fly should be fished free drifting in the current to imitate the natural. Care should be taken to avoid line drag and the “upstream dead drift” tactic works best for this.
Gold Ribbed Hares Ear (GRHE): – The fly imitates the nymph stage in the life cycle of the Mayfly. These insects are abundant in all streams and make up a substantial part of a fish’s diet. Huge numbers live under rocks and in vegetation in the faster currents from where they are sometimes dislodged. It is while drifting in the current that they are vulnerable and available to feeding fish.
How to fish the Gold Ribbed Hares Ear: – The fly should be fished free drifting in the current to imitate the natural. Care should be taken to avoid line drag and the “upstream dead drift” tactic works best for this.
Griffiths Gnat: – The fly imitates clusters of hatching Midges also know as the (Non-biting mosquitoes). These insects are abundant and cluster together on the surface as they transform from the pupa to the adult stages. It is during this phase that their numbers attract and triggers fish into a feeding frenzy.
How to fish the Griffiths Gnat: – The fly can be fished free drifting on the surface to imitate the clusters of hatching insects in areas where surface feeding fish abound. Another deadly method is to cast the fly placing it in the feeding lane of a cruising fish. Care should be taken when doing this and a delicate presentation is critical for success. A very fine tippet (5x – 6x) may be necessary in clear water. (This detailed information on the Yellowfish flies, was kindly compiled by Turner Wilkinson)
<!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=UA-7232693-1"></script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || ;
gtag('js', new Date()); |
The site will be regularly monitored by the management team. Please call Richard 07500068030 if you have any concerns or questions.
Check in/out of Safari Tents
Check in is between 4pm and 7pm on the day of arrival and check out is by 10am on the day of departure. *Due to the impact of coronavirus on our changeover days and deep clean we cannot accept requests for earlier check ins and later check out at this time.
Arrivals and departures
Please can all guests contact Richard 07500 068 030 at least 1hr before their approximate arrival time. We will be there to greet you at the car park of your chosen accommodation and show you around your Safari Tent and its facilities at a safe social distance. On request we can offer a remote check in.
Please drive ONLY on the tracks to the site – there is a Golf Course to the right on approach so please be aware of golfers and respect their play. Do not drive over fairways or greens. Also when walking near the golf course please use the footpaths and tracks provided.
All guests should exit the site the same way they came into the woodland which is the entrance via the golf course. There is no vehicle right of way on any other routes.
The speed limit is 10mph when driving along the tracks to the site and in between car parks for each Safari tent. Please adhere to this during the day times and after nightfall as we do get wildlife emerging after dark across the tracks.
Please DO NOT drive on the grass in the arboretum and cars CANNOT be driven up to or alongside the tents on arrival and departures. The car parks are approximately 50 metres walk along the stony paths to each tent. The pathways are well lit with LED lights and an automatic security light on approach to your tent to avoid accidents or tripping in the dark. There are also decking lights and the switches can be found to the side of each decking.
Camper vans, caravans, tents and trailer tents are not allowed on the site. We do not allow the pitching of extra tents in between our Safari Tents.
*unfortunately due to COVID-19 we have had to remove these for your own safety.
There is a leather guest book in each tent and we welcome guests to write their feedback about their stay in here. Please refrain from allowing small children to use this as a colouring pad! Please keep the first page clear.
If you have any lovely feedback or equally concerns or complaints please email [email protected].
Extra guests are allowed to visit and stay as long as the number of people per unit does not exceed 6. If they are day visitors then we please kindly ask you to add them to the visitors notebook which is situated inside the Honesty shop. This is necessary for Fire Regulations and ensures the safety of everyone on site.
All units to be vacated by 10am on the day of departure.
Due to the Coronavirus we ask guests to strip all bed linen and place all towels into the orange linen bags provided. These can be found under the bunkbed in the bunkroom. Place linen in one and towels into the other. Please leave orange bags on the decking area when you leave. Please do not place mattress or pillow protectors or mattress toppers into these dirty linen bags. Please leave those on the beds.
On departure please place all rubbish into the bins provided in or near your unit car park as well as any bottles into the designated tubs in the same area.
All crockery, cutlery, glassware and kitchen utensils etc that are used during your stay are to be washed and put back and left as you found them. Now due to new covid-19 cleaning procedures we now require you to run one load before you leave – so please fill the dishwasher with crockery and cutlery and place on a 70 degree cycle.
All facilities inside and outside the units are to be left as found and the tent door to be zipped up on departure.
Any excess ash waste to be placed into the metal bin provided on the patios and any cigarette waste to be left in the sand buckets only not on grass or decking areas surrounding tents. Please do not empty ash waste if the fires are still lit. Please therefore leave to go out naturally. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PUT THE FIRE OUT YOURSELVES. THIS IS A FIRE HAZARD AND CAUSES LONG TERM DAMAGE TO THE WOOD BURNERS.
BBQ’s to be left as found.
Water in the Hot tubs to be drained – this can be done by turning the blue tap 90 degrees to open position. Please also make sure the covers to the hot tub are firmly replaced. IN THE EVENT THAT YOUR HOT TUB FIRE IS STILL LIT PLEASE DO NOT DRAIN YOUR HOT TUB! WE WILL DO THIS AFTER THE FIRE HAS GONE OUT COMPLETELY DURING CHANGEOVER – THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO NOTE AS IT WILL CAUSE PERMANENT DAMAGE TO YOUR ECO-TUB IF THERE IS NO WATER IN IT AND THE FIRE IS LIT.
Please fill in The Honesty Shop form if you have purchased any items during your stay. Add up the column and mark the total owed. Take a slip provided with our bank details on in order to make an online payment once you leave. If you prefer to pay with cash place in the brown coin envelopes and mark it with your name date and Safari tent.
Customer reviews and feedback
The information taken at the time of booking is required to be collected for the purposes of processing your reservation with us. However how we grow and improve our service to you is important to us and therefore we may wish to contact you for feedback about your stay. If you prefer not to be contacted then please inform us via email and we will make sure our system is updated with your request.
During your stay
No fireworks or Chinese lanterns
Fireworks and Chinese Lanterns are strictly forbidden on site due to their anti-social properties and to respect the local farm land surrounding the woodland.
This is our little ‘help yourself’ on site shop that has a few essential items in case you run out. Our trust is in the title so please be upfront. You will find it situated near the bottom corner of the main lake (please leave the door locked at all times). There is a combination lock on the outside door so that this is only available to staying guests. We will give you the combination code on arrival. It is not necessary to bring cash for this and we have left the bank detail slips inside for you to take away and make online payments during or at the end of your stay for your convenience. Please fill out the forms provided against purchases made.
Items you can expect in the shop are:
- Monmouth Coffee (as seen in your tent)
- Plum & Ashby Products (as seen in your tent)
- Toilet Roll
- Kitchen Roll
- First Aid Kit
- Accident Book
- Visitors Book
- Free Information on local businesses and attractions
- Map of local Walking and Cycle Routes
- Ordnance Surveys
Each tent comes fully equipped with electricity however please try to be mindful of the environment and switch off chargers and lights when not in use. Please avoid leaving the heads of chargers under things such as pillows as these have been known to become a fire hazard. Each tent has its own small fridge/freezer for your convenience. There are reusable ice trays in each freezer section at the top and if you run out of room to store food items there is extra space for each unit in our Honesty Shop. Please use the marked crates applicable to your unit in the communal chest freezer.
Ball games are allowed however please don’t crossover into the area of other guests and play safely at all times. PLEASE RESPECT NEW SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES RECOMMENDED BY THE GOVERNMENT WITH REGARDS TO OTHER GUESTS ON SITE. Balls may inevitably go into the lakes or nearby ditches, however, please do not let children play in either.
There are also games provided in each tent for your leisure – please try to ensure all pieces are put back before you leave. Any missing or lost items please let us know so we can replace for our next guests
*Unfortunately all games have since been removed for this season due to the Coronavirus. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused*
Walking and roaming the site
Please enjoy use of the surrounding woodland for walking, exercising, cycling or den building. However please stick to the public footpaths outside of the Homewood and adhere to public signs and other users right of way i.e vehicles, farm machinery, golfers and no access areas.
Please also respect the farmland surrounding the woodland and the farmers working in the fields. Please refrain from accessing or coming into contact with farm machinery. Be aware of small children near working fields as the farmers cannot be responsible for always seeing below them due to the height of some of the large machines in use.
Under no circumstances should fires or BBQ’s be lit anywhere on site except for the designated areas. These areas are:
– FIRE PITS
– ECO-HOT TUB BURNERS
– INDOOR WOOD BURNERS.
Your BBQ is to be kept on your patio at all times. Please do not put any BBQs or chimneys directly on the grass or gravel. Each tent has been supplied with a standing Weber BBQ on the patio of each unit so extra BBQ’s are not necessary. Please avoid moving your BBQ and its equipment closer to the tent and do not leave BBQ items or charcoal spread over the grass. Please use ASH BINS provided for any fire waste. Matches are not encouraged inside the tent and there are safety cooks lighters provided in each tent for the lighting of all fires. If yours happens to run out please contact Richard for a replacement. These can be found in the metal buckets next to the wood burner inside the tent.
Guests must only burn the wood that is provided on site at all times – no external wood is to be brought onto the site.
Please also note that charcoal should NOT be used to burn inside the Wood burners or Fire pits and are for use on the BBQ’s only.
Lighting your BBQ
There should be a small chimney alongside the BBQ. Also each unit has a set of fire gloves. Please use these for safe and more effective lighting of your BBQ. Take care when handling hot surfaces surrounding hot coals and equally the fires. The charcoal can be found in a metal bin on the patio and then ash waste is placed into the other for when emptying fires or the BBQ.
– Take 3 or 4 eco-firelighters to the BBQ (the firelighters and safety lighter can be found inside your tents next to the wood burner).
– Remove lid and top grill of BBQ and place onto the patio.
– Fill the chimney that is sat on the bricks next to your BBQ full with charcoal then lower it onto the grill in the BBQ leaving the top one off for now.
– Leave the chimney of charcoal over lit firelighters on the BBQ and burn for approx 15-20mins – Then upturn and disperse charcoal either side of the vertical grill guards attached to the bottom grill. This will create higher heat on the outer edges and medium in the middle of your BBQ to give options when needing to cook things at a different temperature.
– Replace top grill and then you are ready for cooking.
– If you wish to use the BBQ like an oven use lid and keep all air vents open. – Use temp gauge on lid to check when it’s up to the required temperature you need. – Please ensure that the empty chimney is placed back onto the bricks NOT directly onto the patio slabs.
– *Avoid piling all the charcoal directly into the bottom of the BBQ as this is an incorrect way to light it and causes damage to the BBQ.
– Ash bins – these are next to the charcoal bins – please place ash waste in these bins ONLY.
The site has a strict noise curfew of 10pm which is enforced. If repeatedly abused this will result in expulsion off the site.
However we do want you to enjoy yourselves and feel free to play games etc on areas near your unit and in your nearby woodland. Listening to music is permitted (as long as it is not super loud), but please quieten down by 10pm.
All BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS should be left inside the holiday unit at all times and kept to a respectful volume level.
Please be accommodating to other guests who want to enjoy a quiet and relaxing holiday. Loud music, drunken shouting, singing and swearing is unacceptable at any time.
We also ask that you kindly respect your neighbouring tents and the privacy of other guests on site during your stay. This is with particular reference to the level of noise in the peaceful setting of the woodland. Due to its tranquillity noise travels far!
During family stays please be accountable for children in your party and ensure they too respect privacy of neighbouring guests.
We are sorry but unfortunately we DO NOT allow pets on our site.
No smoking at all times in and near the safari tents.
ALL tents are NON SMOKING inside the units and smokers must place ash waste into the small metal buckets of sand provided only not on the grass or the decking – NO other vessels such as crockery or mugs from inside the tents to be used as ash trays please.
Rubbish and recycling
Please use the rubbish bins, recycle points, cigarette ash waste and ash bins provided. Do not leave cigarette butts or ash waste on the grass or gravel.
Littering is not acceptable and any waste items are to be placed in the bins provided inside or outside the tents.
We care about our environment and therefore have encouraged our guests to recycle by providing separate bins to the left of the sinks under the kitchen unit – these can then be emptied into the wheelie bins in your car parks. These are divided into general waste, recycling and glass. The car park bins then get emptied by us.
There is also a metal SILVER bin alongside your charcoal bin on your patio this is for ASH WASTE ONLY not other litter please. Please do not attempt to empty the ash waste in nearby shrubs, hedges or grass or the lakes – we will get rid of this ash for you. If it fills up to the point of needing emptying during your stay then please call us and we will happily empty it sooner. The other bin next to it is provided for storage of charcoal away from any wet conditions. Please do not bring charcoal into the tents for any reason.
The very nature of camping means that there are hazards to be aware of at all times. Please be careful of your footing over fallen branches, be aware of occasional falling pinecones, watch out on wooden surfaces as they can be slippery when wet and take care wandering round the site at night. Every effort has been made to ensure guests safety but we cannot accept responsibility for any accidental injuries.
Guests must take full responsibility for any children in their group.
Children playing in the woodland must not be left unattended and parents or guardians do so at their own risk.
The lakes are off limits to unsupervised children at all times. There is no swimming in the lakes at anytime by adults or children due to the depth of the water.
Please do not allow children to hang off the drinks holders on the hot tubs as they will unfortunately break as they are not designed to take people’s weight.
Please be careful of children running to and from the hot tubs and climbing in and out of them – there are steps provided but we cannot cover responsibility for children launching themselves off the edges.
In the Woodsman’s Lodge please be especially vigilant with children near the edges of the deckings due to the height of these platforms surrounding the tent. Please also be aware on the stairways up to and down from the tent.
It is important to remove BOTH COVERS of the HOT TUBS before putting people inside them. The tubs can get very hot but there are temperature gauges bobbing in them so please keep a check and avoid children getting in them when the temperature reading is over 35 degrees C. Please place covers back on when not in use or unattended for safety. If the temperature needs to be cooled there is a cold tap which is used for filling the hot tub so simply add more cold if so.
The general rule of thumb is to not have the water heated and sat there for longer than 5 hours at a time to avoid the spreading of unwanted bacterias. The eco-tub is designed with no chemicals to be better for the environment so please empty and refill the tubs at your leisure and discretion.
First aid kit & accidents
You will find your unit first aid kit placed in the cupboard to the left of the dishwasher inside your tent. Please use accordingly and notify the management team of any significant incidents or injuries incurred during your stay. There is an accident book in the Honesty Shop. Please try to log injuries and measures taken.
These are the small zip cupboards to the rear of your tent. This houses the workings for each tent and is strictly off limits for all guests. Please avoid allowing children to use this as an area for games such as hide and seek and in some tents it maybe possible for children to slide into this via the internal canvas from the king bedroom. Please avoid allowing this as it causes stretching and damage to the tent walls.
If there are any problems or concerns with this area then please contact Richard immediately 07500068030.
This is not applicable during your stay however please ask if you have any questions regarding this.
Gas bottle stores & electricity cupboards on site
Again these are STAFF ONLY areas so please do not go into or use any of these for games and avoid people climbing up or sitting on them.
Please aware of naked flames and gas hobs being turned and not ignited. Please turn all knobs off when not in use and be aware of children near these areas.
WARNING – PLEASE DO NOT PLACE ITEMS OF CLOTHING OR TOWELS ON THE EXTERIOR OF THE WOOD BURNERS AS THIS IS A FIRE HAZARD AND YOUR CLOTHES WILL BURN –
PLEASE DO ONLY USE HEATED TOWEL RAIL PROVIDED IN YOUR BATHROOMS FOR DRYING CLOTHING OR TOWELS.
COOKING IN THE WOOD BURNER
The WOOD BURNERS can get very hot. We strongly advise letting it cool down and not stacking with too much firewood if you intend on cooking in the top oven. Once it is cool enough (see gauge and stick to under 200 degrees centigrade – if your door has no gauge then please try to judge temperature).
Equally if you are just using your wood burner for heating the tent then keep adding logs as it gets through them fairly quickly.
Please use the yellow heat proof gloves provided when opening and closing the doors – never open handles using bare skin as you will burn yourself.
Keep a close eye on the food cooking…trust us it can suddenly turn! If you do intend to cook in the wood burner (TOP OVEN NOT BOTTOM!) it is essential that you USE AN OVEN TRAY – PLEASE DO NOT PLACE ITEMS OF FOOD DIRECTLY ONTO THE INTERNAL ELEMENTS – THIS WILL CAUSE IT TO SMOKE HEAVILY AND IS A POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD.
Also the burners are attached to the walls of the Cabin Bed – although the burners are installed with an insulated flue, children have previously been tempted to hang over the tops of the cabin bed walls near the top of the flue and tent ceiling. Please try to refrain them from doing this for their own safety.
Please keep an eye on the temperature of small children who may sleep in the cabin bed. If you require a fire guard for small children then we can provide these on request.
Lastly, we thank you for taking the time to read all the necessary information about your stay and Safari Tent and we hope it is of use throughout your stay.
Elisa and Richard
The Lost Garden Retreat Team |
The Men’s Attitude is reader-supported! We might get a small commission if you purchase something after clicking our links, at no extra charge for you.
It’s a common belief that shaving can actually encourage beard growth. But is it actually true or is it a myth? What we know for sure is that beard growth is heavily dependent on genetics, hormones, age, habits, and ethnicity.
To understand if shaving can help with beard growth, you have to understand how beard growth works. But if you are looking for a short answer, here it is: there’s no scientific evidence that shaving your beard will help increase the rate of growth and after you read about how beard growth works, you’ll understand why.
Does shaving make your beard grow thicker?
Well, this is not true either. You might notice slightly thicker and darker hair after shaving because when you shave, your facial hair is cut off close to its root where its diameter is bigger and the color is darker. But soon after, the hair will grow back to its normal thickness and darkness. The myth that the beard grows thicker after you cut it is based on this illusion.
To grow a thicker beard you need to create new facial hair follicles. And this can’t happen by shaving. The only way to do this is by increasing testosterone, which is the male hormone that makes facial hair grow faster.
So does shaving help with hair thickness? No, it doesn’t!
Does Shaving help grow your beard faster?
In order to answer this question, we need to talk about the beard growth phases. We have talked a lot about them in other posts but let’s remember how it works.
So there are 4 successive beard growth phases in your facial hair’s life cycle.
- The anagen phase, also called the growth phase, is when your hair grows. This lasts between three and five years.
- The catagen phase follows directly after anagen and it’s a transition stage where the hair stops growing or falls out. This lasts around two weeks.
- The telogen phase is the resting period which follows after catagen. This lasts around two to four months.
- The exogen phase is when your hair falls out after telogen. This happens for around 3 months or so.
But this isn’t a one-time process. The anagen cycle will first start over and new hair will start growing.
In order to grow your beard faster, you need to increase the rate of your facial hair’s growth during the anagen phase. This cannot happen by shaving your beard.
Does Shaving slow down beard growth?
No shaving doesn’t slow down your facial hair growth but it can be a barrier to it, especially if you have sensitive skin. It can cause skin irritation and ingrown hair, which makes it harder for your facial hair to grow.
How to grow a thicker beard?
In order to make your beard thicker, you need to increase the number of hairs on your face. This can’t happen by shaving. So how do you make your beard thicker?
As already mentioned the only way to grow more facial hair is by increasing your hair follicles and this can be done by increasing your testosterone production. How do you increase testosterone? Through healthy lifestyle habits like sleeping well, exercising, and eating right. That will give you more energy which in turn can help with hormonal balance. There are also some products that help with beard growth but you should make sure to have a healthy lifestyle first.
The most important thing to keep in mind before growing a beard is to take care of your skin. Stay hydrated and always moisturize after shaving or washing your face. That will prevent dryness, flaking, redness, beard itch, and irritation which can cause you to lose some beard hairs along the way.
How to grow your beard faster?
While we have a whole article dedicated to what to do to make your facial hair grow faster let’s recap some basic stuff here.
Your beard growth rate is decided by your genetics and hormones. While there isn’t much to do to increase the rate of beard growth fast you can make your beard fuller and darker by taking care of your skin and gradually increasing testosterone levels.
As mentioned to grow your beard faster you need to increase testosterone production, reduce stress and anxiety, you should also take care of your skin by using natural oils like jojoba oil, olive oil, and castor oil.
Wash your face with beard-friendly products – Wash your facial hair with beard wash twice per week. You should not overwash your facial hair or use a normal shampoo as that can dry out your beard and lead to breakage.
Reduce stress – when you are stressed your testosterone production is reduced which means less facial hair growth. Try meditation, exercise, and spend time in nature. When you get stressed your body produces cortisol which has a negative impact on testosterone levels.
Have a balanced diet – eat lots of protein and zinc. Make sure to eat a healthy amount of carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins.
You should pay special attention to what you eat as it has a big impact on your facial hair growth. Make sure to take vitamins and protein supplements if needed.
Exercise – One of the many benefits of exercise is the positive effect on testosterone levels, so take time to exercise regularly. It can also reduce stress and anxiety and help in a great impact on general health and well-being.
You should also make sure not to eat too much sugar because it can cause insulin resistance and lead to lower testosterone production.
And of course, you can always use supplements like biotin to make your facial hair grow faster.
Beard Products that can help with facial Hair growth
Minoxidil is a great supplement to tackle some of the challenges of growing a beard. It works by increasing blood flow and oxygenation to your facial hair follicles which stimulates new growth and makes existing hairs stronger and healthier.
Beard Grow XL
This is one of the most popular supplements among men who want to grow their beards faster. It’s designed with all-natural ingredients that stimulate the production of DHT – one of the major hormones responsible for facial hair growth. So if you are struggling to grow a beard Beard Grow XL will help you achieve your goal by increasing your beard growth rate.
One of the most effective ways to grow facial hair fast is by using micro-needling. It’s a process where you roll hundreds of tiny needles on your face. These micro-perforations cause new cells and collagen to be naturally produced which helps with beard growth. It’s the same process that plastic surgeons use to rejuvenate your skin underneath and grow new collagen which is why it’s such an effective treatment for fuller healthy beards.
There are many beard growth oils on the market designed to increase your facial hair growth rate. They will not directly affect your hormonal balance but will instead nourish your facial hair and skin to improve blood flow and nutrient delivery to your beard.
You just need to make sure that you choose the right beard oil by looking at all the ingredients that it contains. A good beard growth oil should have Vitamin E, Argan oil, and a mix of B-vitamins which can help improve your hair quality while increasing the speed of your beard growth.
Should I shave to grow a beard?
No, you should not. Shaving and growing a beard has nothing to do with each other. You can have a great-looking beard without shaving.
You should decide whether you want to grow your facial hair or not depending on how much time and effort you are willing to spend on it each day.
If you are happy with the length of your beard, then there is no need for you to shave it off.
Does trimming help beard growth?
No, trimming does not help beard growth.
This is because hair growth occurs underneath the skin and not on the surface of your skin which means that you need to stimulate it from within for it to grow long and thick. You can do this by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and using the right beard supplements as we mentioned above.
How To Grow A Mustache Faster?
The mustache is part of your facial hair so it follows the same rules of hair growth as your beard.
You have to avoid trimming it and let it grow long so you can create a thicker mustache. There are many mustache styles that you can choose from depending on how much time you plan to spend on each day.
How To Grow A Thicker Mustache?
Again, this is similar to growing a beard. You have to focus on eating the right foods, exercising regularly, and using hair supplements in order to achieve your goal.
Does Shaving Affect The Color Of Your Beard?
Yes, shaving can affect the color of your hair. The color near the root of your hair follicles will be darker than the color of your hair at the tip.
This is because when you have limited blood flow to a certain area, your body will compensate by depositing more melanin (your natural skin pigment) which makes your hair appear darker.
This means that if you shave your beard off, it will affect its color which might make it appear slightly different than before (Usually darker).
We hope that now you know that shaving your beard helps with beard growth is a myth and that you can do more to make your facial hair grow thicker by eating the right foods, exercising regularly, and using high-quality hair supplements. Making sure that you avoid trimming your beard is a major part of achieving your goal too.
Also, check out our article on how to grow a beard for the first time if you are a complete beginner with no idea where to start.
And as always if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments section below and we will get back to you.
Thanks for reading! |
I was born and raised in Mexico City. I lived there for 18 years of my life before I moved abroad for the first time for college to London. Currently, I have been living in the US for over 5 years now (plus a few months in India in between), so some of my Mexicans habits have definitely changed over time to adapt to this country. Every time I go back to visit my hometown I realized I’ve lost some habits I used to have there. Here are 10 Mexican habits I lost when I moved to the USA.
10 Mexican Habits I Lost When I Moved to the USA
1. Saying “salud!” (or “Bless you!”)
In Mexico, no matter where you are when you sneeze there will always be someone, stranger or not, to tell you “salud!” which literally translates to “health!” but technically means “Bless you!”.
During my first while here in the US I was almost upset when I would sneeze and no one would say “Bless you!”, I almost found it rude. Later, I got used to it and even stopped saying it myself and sometimes even forget to say it when I take my trips back to Mexico.
2. Kissing and hugging
In Mexico, greeting someone with a kiss (basically touching cheeks and making an air kiss sound) and/or a hug is very common. You even greet strangers this way when it is in a casual environment such as the strangers being friends of your friends, or meeting your girlfriend’s family. You wouldn’t kiss or hug say your job interviewer or a doctor you met for the first time.
Here in the US, I would never even think of approaching someone to greet them with an air kiss. I’m also reluctant to hug anybody, and hand shaking still feels weird to me when meeting people in casual environments.
3. Being late
Mexicans are infamously late most of the time. I’m not sure if it’s just Mexico City or the whole country, but even though we mostly blame it on the traffic, I definitely think traffic should take the blame at least 80%. We also somehow always have something to do last-minute. My husband actually calls me “last-minute girl”.
If you are invited to a gathering and they tell you to be there at 3:30pm, the hosts will expect you to arrive at 4 – 4:30pm. It is also common to tell your most unpunctual friends a different earlier time. Amongst a group of friends, there are always a couple of them that are always late.
Here in the US, being on time becomes really stressful because Americans hate unpunctuality and even after just 5 minutes of lateness they will start to wonder where you are and exponentially start getting upset.
I find that I am way more stressed out getting to places in the USA than in Mexico. I am not even an unpunctual person, and I find it quite stressful here. Sometimes I do wish people here would relax more about it.
4. Taking my time
Mexicans enjoy taking their time; we don’t live rushed all the time like they do here in the US. I have three major examples I have experienced:
At a restaurant
At restaurants, we love taking our time eating, drinking, chatting and very importantly eating dessert. The waiter will never rush you to leave or bring your check before you ask for it.
Here in the US, I often feel rushed at restaurants, like they want me to leave just so they can sit more people and make more money. I don’t like that they bring you your check before you ask for it and sometimes even before you are done eating! Many times I have wanted to order dessert but couldn’t because the check was already on the table.
At cashier registers in grocery/convenience stores.
I never even noticed that people behind me were impatiently waiting for me to pay. I would have never noticed that I apparently take forever to take out my wallet and pay while others are waiting until it was brought to my attention by my American husband.
He explained that I need to be ready to pay and not take my time because people behind me and the cashier person get frustrated. I do dislike that I have to now consciously always try to hurry up to pay, have my money out even before I know the total and put my things away quickly. Yes, I often still use cash!
While walking on the streets
I think us Mexicans are infamous for really taking our time, walking slow and blocking the way because we are busy chatting with each other. For the longest time I found myself almost running to play catch up with my walking husband. Over time I have developed a faster walking pace but my short height still doesn’t help since my steps are like half the size than everybody else’s.
5. Eating schedule
In Mexico the biggest meal of the day is lunch not dinner and lunch happens around 3:30pm, with dinner coming around 8pm as a light fare. Dessert and coffee after lunch is very common.
Here in the US, the eating schedule looks something like 8am breakfast, 1pm lunch and 6pm dinner.
I like the Mexican schedule way better and I have tried to adapt it here but I can’t seem to be able to make it work. I don’t like having the heaviest meal to be the last one because it messes with sleep, and I usually crave dessert after my heaviest meal which here in the US ends up looking like me having chocolate, cookies or ice cream at around 8pm in bed watching tv. This really negatively affects my sleep and overall energy.
In Mexico, I used to go out with friends to a bar, a house party or a club every single weekend. Weekends are loved by everyone but especially beloved by Mexicans because it means time to unwind. Going out till 3am is common on the weekends.
Here in the US, my partying consists of either going out for dinner + drinks and a movie (and being back before 10pm), or staying at home and watching a movie.
By the way, this is not a complaint. I quite like the new version in my life. More relaxed, less crazy, and less drunken dead brain cells.
My drinking habits changed too. In Mexico, I would never drink at home or during the weekdays. Here it seems that having a drink at home after work or in the evening is very common. We often have wine in the house and often drink some during any day of the week, but the amounts I drink are still way less compared to weekend drinking in Mexico.
7. Being aggressive behind the wheel
In Mexico City, traffic is pretty insane and you can’t play too nice; you gotta be a bit aggressive if you want to move. Running lights is kinda common and yellow light doesn’t mean “slow down”, it means “hurry up before it turns red”, although not technically.
Here in the US, I’m scared of going a little bit over the speed limit and I will never ever run a red light. I have to admit I often don’t come to a complete stop at stop signs if I see no cars, and still speed sometimes.
Oh and honking! I almost forgot. Honking is pretty essential in Mexico, unlike in India where I feel they have their hands taped to the honk. In Mexico, honking serves a specific purpose. Either to let someone know they’re about to hit you, honking at someone who aggressively cuts in front of you (aka: angry honk), or honking at jerk driving behaviour, or sometimes even to get the attention of someone you know.
I don’t think I have ever used the honk in the US because I am terrified of it since no one honks, but there are a few occasions where I have wanted to.
8. Valet parking
Because finding parking spots in Mexico City can be a bit of a drag, using valet parking is very common. Even casual establishments like taquerias will have valet parking depending on the location. It’s also more affordable and worth it.
Here in the US I have used valet parking like once or twice in many years. It definitely seems like a luxury. Oh and don’t get me started on parking fees, they are so expensive here! Compared to parking prices in Mexico, it makes me a bit mad.
As already mentioned, dessert is an important meal for Mexicans; we have a sweet tooth, some more than others. It is common for any restaurant to offer a good selection of desserts.
I find it kind of hard sometimes to find decent desserts in many restaurants here in the US.
10. Lime on everything
Limes are a great food. They go with everything, or at least us Mexicans think so. It is common to see sliced limes in most dishes.
We put lime on tacos, meat, fish, fruit, candy, chips, popcorn, raw vegetables, soup, beer, mayo… So good. Also, pretty much every restaurant offers fresh “limonada” (limeade, sparkling or still), which is usually my drink of choice. I definitely miss my limonada when eating out in the US.
In the US, I hate to say I rarely buy limes because they are pricey and somehow don’t go well with everything here. I buy more lemons.
So these are some of the main Mexican habits I lost when I moved to the USA.
What are some habits that changed when you moved to another country? |
We need to talk: OpenAPI 3 is 4 years old, but Swagger 2 is still predominant
By Arnaud Lauret, November 10, 2021
While quickly doing a first scan of latest Postman State of the API Report , I did my Spock face, raising an eyebrow. Indeed, I read that after JSON Schema, “The next most popular specifications were Swagger 2.0 (54%) and OpenAPI 3.0 (40%)”. To be honest and based on my own experience, it’s not totally surprising, I’m still hearing/reading “can you check that Swagger” everyday. But why the 4 years old OpenAPI 3 is still struggling to surpass the good old Swagger 2?
Swagger vs OpenAPI started in 2017
The Swagger Specification and the OpenAPI Specification are not actual competitors, the latter is the most recent version of the former. It is (or they are) a machine readable format allowing to describe REST(ish) HTTP based APIs. The Swagger Specification was incidentally created in 2011 during the development of Wordnik, an online dictionary, because of the need for automation of API documentation and client SDK generation. At that time, the tip of the Swagger iceberg was Swagger UI, a Web UI for API documentation powered by a JSON file containing a machine readable description of an API; this description being generated thanks to some annotations in the implementation.
But at that time, most people, myself included, were not aware of the underlying API description format until Swagger 2 was released in 2014. A new tool, Swagger Editor, and the possibility of using human friendly YAML in addition to JSON made this API description format a thing. It could be written instead of generated and so be used in a design first approach. But this format has a wide range of use from documentation generation or gateway configuration to design rules enforcement, and that expands regularly. That format actually changed my life, API Handyman and my current self would probably not be there without this milestone, but that’s another story.
By the end of 2015, SmartBear who now owns the Swagger brand and tools, donated the Swagger Specification to the OpenAPI Initiative, “a consortium of forward-looking industry experts who recognize the immense value of standardizing on how APIs are described”. Besides SmartBear, this organization has founding members such as Google, IBM and Microsoft.
In January 2016, the Swagger Specification was “renamed” the OpenAPI Specification.
Basically, it was still the exact same format with its version indicated with a
swagger: "2.0" line.
The first true version the OpenAPI Specification, the version 3.0, was released in 2017, a year and a half after the creation of the OpenAPI Initiative.
This evolution came with some welcomed breaking changes, the most visible one being the version indicator which became
This single modification was officially marking the beginning of a new era, goodbye Swagger Spec, hello OpenAPI Spec.
But the transition was (and is still) not that simple.
How is it going in 2021?
4 years later, Postman State of API 2021 report states that after JSON Schema, “The next most popular specifications were Swagger 2.0 (54%) and OpenAPI 3.0 (40%)”. Let’s be honest, that’s not good, but maybe OpenAPI number is slowly but surely growing? If we compare the responses to the “Which API specification do you use? (multiple possible answers)” question in Postman’s 2020 (page 31) and 2021 (page 44) reports, we have the following numbers:
The number of people using Swagger has increased (what the??) by 11% while OpenAPI has increased by 12%, the delta between OpenAPI and Swagger is relatively stable around 15%. Note that I had to guess 2020 numbers from the graphics, as they are not explicitly written in this report.
So the OpenAPI community has a problem, there are more people using Swagger in 2021 than in 2020. Maybe there’s no real increase, it may be due to the fact there are more respondent in 2021 than in 2020, giving a more realistic view on reality… But that would mean the number of OpenAPI users are stagnating.
However I look at the numbers and the hypothesis I could do, I can be sure of one thing: there are more people using Swagger Spec than using OpenAPI Spec and, without more information, it does not seem to want to change. What can be done about it? While tempting, I don’t think it will be solved with pitchforks and Swagger jars. So, What can be done about it? Talk more about the OpenAPI Spec (formerly known as Swagger Spec)?
Solutions to unknown, or maybe nonexisting problems are usually useless solutions. Indeed, before finding solutions, we need to know what is the actual problem (or the actual problems).
So a first step could be to ask the question: why are you still using Swagger 2 instead of OpenAPI 3? While I don’t have everyone’s answer, I can share what I’ve seen.
Why Swagger still surpasses OpenAPI
Swagger already had a lot of traction in 2017 when OpenAPI 3 was released, the Swagger tools themselves were (and are still) quite popular. Many tools were created around the Swagger specification and many tools were supporting it. This strength actually became a weakness for the transition.
Tools are slow to evolve
While there were breaking changes brought by OpenAPI 3, there were just a clarification and enhancement of Swagger 2, quite simple to get. Even converting a Swagger 2 file to OpenAPI 3 is quite simple. But if that’s simple at the spec level itself, it’s less simple at tools level. It actually took time for Open Source and Vendor tools to support the new OpenAPI 3 version. It also took, and still takes, time for users to upgrade too. Some were quick, some were slow, some are still stuck.
For instance, the API gateway I currently use in my company, which was supporting the use of Swagger 2, got OpenAPI 3 (partial) support only in 2019. But after that, it took us some time to make evolve the tooling we had built around our gateway solution, and so OpenAPI 3 was actually only available in 2020… virtually. Indeed, if the OpenAPI 3 compliant gateway was in our software catalog and our tools were up to date, our internal customers could only get access OpenAPI 3 features after upgrading their gateways. It took several months to update them. And I know places where bumping to the “latest” version of a solution takes even more time and so they are still stuck with Swagger 2 (and they will have to make all their tools compatible with the new OpenAPI 3 version).
Though a few teams were ahead of time, already using OpenAPI 3 during design and downgrading their contract to Swagger 2 for deployment, eagerly waiting for the gateway update, it’s not because we propose tools supporting OpenAPI 3 that they will be actually used as soon as they are available (they actually still support Swagger 2). I work with teams who were waiting the upgrade of the platform… but didn’t have the time to make the transition yet. I work also with teams having a code first approach (and if you read this blog regularly, you know what I think about it), upgrading their code to generate OpenAPI 3 instead of Swagger 2 was not a priority at all. I even have seen teams willing to pass to OpenAPI 3 but blocked by existing frameworks using outdated libraries. So, in 2021 some teams were at last happily transitioning to OpenAPI 3, some are still waiting and some are totally stuck with Swagger 2.
Switching to OpenAPI 3 requires efforts to everyone on the chain, that’s why Swagger 2 is till predominant. But that’s not the only reason.
Confusion and habits
OpenAPI does not only brings breaking changes, it revealed existing confusion and brought a new name.
Most people were (and some are still) not aware that inside “Swagger” you had the tools (library and UI) AND the specification, two separate concepts. To make it even more short, for most people “Swagger” is just “Swagger UI”. Do all the people who responded to Postman’s question “Do you use Swagger” know the subtile difference? I hope so as it was under a “API specification” question, but I have no clue. What I’m sure of, is that in 2021 I still have to explain the OpenAPI/Swagger stuff and not only to business analysts but also developers (and yes I’m working with business analyst on API design).
If naming thing is hard, changing something’s name is just a nightmare. Let’s sweep under the rug the “OpenAPI Specification” vs the “Open API Initiative”, or was it the other way round? Hopefully that’s settle now everything is “OpenAPI”.
“But WTF is OpenAPI?”. In organization who launched their API initiative in the Swagger era (that actually lasted long after OpenAPI 3 release due to what is said above about tools), everyone talks about “Swagger”. They’re not designing APIs, they’re not defining API contracts, they’re writing or generating Swaggers. They’s deploying Swaggers … Not OpenAPI. Even some VENDORS, are still talking about “Swagger”, I’m always the annoying customer telling them “That’s OpenAPI now, do you support OpenAPI 3 by the way?”.
People are used to Swagger and habits die hard.
What about you?
All this is based on my experience, but how much is this universally “true”? My experience does not make this an actual scientific fact. So now it’s your turn, why are you still using Swagger 2 instead of OpenAPI 3?
PS: I still keep the idea of pitchforks and Swagger jars, we never know, they could be useful once we’ll know more about the actual problems. |
Art imitates life imitates art imitates life…
Episode 79 – Originally aired April 15, 2007
Written by Terence Winter
Directed by Alan Taylor
When this season originally aired in 2007, many viewers watched it with a strong sense of self-consciousness—we were very aware that we were watching the final episodes of our beloved TV show. David Chase compounded our self-consciousness by giving us “Stage 5,” the most self-aware, meta-reflexive episode of the entire series. The boundary between the SopranoWorld and the real world is repeatedly breached in this hour, sometimes with subtlety and sometimes overtly. By rupturing this boundary, Chase reminds us that The Sopranos, despite its realism and verisimilitude, is a staged work of art. A fiction. The episode title, “Stage 5,” evokes those numbered studio-stages on which many TV shows and movies are filmed and therefore immediately signals that the “staged” nature of fiction—filmed fiction in particular—is a major concern of this hour.
This hour’s mash-up of fiction and reality begins right from the opening scene: we watch the action taking place in front of us with some bewilderment—are we watching a SopranoLand murder take place, or is something else going on? The cool, color-graded tone of the scene is our first clue that we are watching a fiction within our fiction, because the palette of The Sopranos is normally much warmer than the cool hues presented before us now. It soon dawns on us that we’re watching a scene from Cleaver.
Chris Moltisanti has wanted to produce a movie for a long time, and his dream is finally coming true. As is often the case with freshman efforts, Cleaver seems to be a very autobiographical work, perhaps subconsciously so. Even the movie’s title could be coming from deep within Christopher’s psyche; in the Pilot episode, Chris used a cleaver to divert the attention of his first murder victim Emil Kolar just before killing him:
The fact that Moltisanti’s original title for the movie was Pork Store Killer further suggests that his inaugural killing inside the pork store still weighs heavily in Christopher’s subconscious. The actors—or more precisely, our knowledge of the actors—who appear in Cleaver also reiterates the autobiographical nature of the film:
We know that in the real world, Daniel Baldwin is the older brother of William and Stephen Baldwin, and we know that Jonathan LaPaglia is the younger brother of Anthony LaPaglia. Our knowledge of them as “the older brother” and “the younger brother” thus strengthens our conception of them as CleaverWorld stand-ins for Tony Soprano and Chris Moltisanti, respectively, who have long had a fraternal, older-brother/younger-brother type of relationship. This parallel may be further strengthened by our knowledge that Jonathan LaPaglia’s older brother Anthony was a a front-runner to play the character of “Tony Soprano” when The Sopranos was still in development, and also by the fact that Jonathan LaPaglia’s character here is named “Michael,” playing on the idea that he is the CleaverWorld equivalent of Michael Imperioli’s character in SopranoWorld.
This is not the first time that Chase has used well-known actors, playing themselves, to pierce the wall between the real world and his fictional world. Those two previous episodes in which Christopher pursued his movie-making goals were also populated by well-known actors:
Chase loves to use Christopher/Michael Imperioli for his meta-level exercises, going all the way back to episode 1.08 “The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti.” In my write-up for that episode, I noted there is a kind of parallel between the scene in which Chris digs up the corpse of Emil Kolar and the scene from Hamlet in which Hamlet comes across the skull of court-jester Yorick. Now, in “Stage 5,” Chris again seems to be taking a page out of Hamlet’s book:
I’ll have grounds
More relative than this—the play’s the thing
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.
As in Hamlet, “Stage 5” contains a “play within a play”—Christopher is using Cleaver, in essence, to catch the conscience of his “king” Tony. Chris obviously still believes that Tony and Adriana were involved in some hanky-panky the night they got into the car accident. The clip from Cleaver ends with “Michael” sinking a cleaver into the head of “Sally Boy,” and then the camera pans to a gobbo and crucifix that hang side-by-side from a rearview mirror. The shot is remembered mainly because it later inspires one of Little Carmine’s greatest malapropisms: “…the sacred and the propane.”
But what I find most interesting about this image is the subtle commentary that it may be adding to Cleaver. Chase’s camera focused on a gobbo back in episode 4.10, and I noted at the time that curved gobbos have long had a symbolic link to the curved cornicello or “little horn”:
Some people connect the “little horn” to the “horned hand,” the hand-gesture used to signify that a man has been cuckolded. Thus, the gobbo that now hangs from the rearview mirror may be underscoring a major plot-point of Cleaver—“Sally Boy” is killed by “Michael” for sleeping with his fiancée. Christopher’s art is imitating his life.
Tony doesn’t pick up on this particular subtext of the film. (Why would he? He knows that nothing actually happened between him and Adriana.) But Carmela, Rosalie and others all believe Cleaver to be pointing to Tony’s guilt on the matter. When Carmela confronts Christopher about this particular plot-point, Chris knows that he has to come up with an explanation before Tony begins to question him. So he asks JT Dolan to come up with a cover story. Well, “asks” might not be the right word; Chris persuades JT with the help of a Humanitas Prize trophy. According to its website, the Humanitas Prize “was created in 1974 to celebrate television programs which affirm human dignity, explore the meaning of life, enlighten the use of human freedom and reveal to each person our common humanity.” Chris takes the Humanitas trophy and smashes it on JT’s head.
Tony grows concerned that the film is based on the old rumors about him and Adriana. At the Bing, JT tries to ease Tony’s concerns by explaining that he took the story right out of the 1950 film Born Yesterday (which was adapted from Garson Kanin’s 1946 Broadway play of the same name). Tony seems to see through JT’s ruse, especially because JT claims to have come to the strip club to meet Chris—but everyone knows that Chris doesn’t hang out at the Bing anymore. Tony also seems suspicious about the bruise on JT’s head—he probably guesses that it is the result of Christopher’s “persuasion.” Tony becomes even more skeptical after watching Born Yesterday at home, coming to realize that JT was probably feeding him some bullshit:
Regardless of whether Born Yesterday actually influenced JT’s script or not, the older film plays an important role in this episode. By having JT Dolan root Cleaver‘s storyline in a 1950 film based on a 1946 Kanin stage-play, David Chase is essentially using Kanin’s Born Yesterday as a “play within a play within a play.” Some Sopranos views might be familiar with the 1993 remake of the film, which might add a subsequent layer to the spiraling, self-conscious fictionality of “Stage 5.”
HBO also contributed to the meta-level playfulness of this episode by producing a “behind-the-scenes” mockumentary; Making Cleaver was released the week before “Stage 5” originally aired. Several Cleaver players appear in the mock featurette:
By nesting plays within plays and fictions within fictions, HBO and David Chase are highlighting the fictional, staged nature of The Sopranos. In this hour, the real world and fictional SopranoWorld also bang up against each other during a TV program; Geraldo Rivera—playing himself here—hosts a show about the New York power struggle:
Jerry Capeci (playing himself) is one of Geraldo’s guests. Capeci is a real-life mob expert, author of several books including The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Mafia, and was a regular contributor to the online Sopranos forum at Slate.com during Season 5. Sopranos writer Matthew Weiner reprises his role as “Manny Safier”—we had previously seen him in episode 5.01 “Two Tonys”—to play Geraldo’s other guest:
As we watch the quick exchange between them, we sense that there is some tension between Manny and Jerry. Is it perhaps because they have competing books out? Or perhaps their onscreen tension is a hilarious reference to a real-world competition between them: Capeci had been considered to play the character of “Manny Safier” back in episode 5.01, but the role ended up going to Matt Weiner instead.
I think this scene deserves a nomination for “Funniest Scene of the Series,” not so much because of the thinly veiled tension between Manny Safier and Jerry Capeci but because of how Chase uses his camera to provide a visual punchline. We don’t know at first just whose TV set it is that we’re seeing, but Chase suddenly reverses the camera angle to reveal that it belongs to Eliott Kupferberg, smug as always and far more invested in mob affairs than he has ever been willing to admit to Dr. Melfi:
This scene is not here just for laughs though; it has an important narrative function. Safier and Capeci’s argument on the television show serves to remind us that it is Faustino “Doc” Santoro and Gerry Torciano who are the key players in the violent “game of thrones” going on in New York.
And this brings me to the most self-conscious moment of the episode: the killing of Gerry “The Hairdo” Torciano. Gerry is gunned down in front of Silvio, who later tells Tony that he “didn’t know what happened until after the shot was fired.” This line, coupled with Bobby’s line from the previous episode—“You probably don’t even hear it when it happens”—becomes the linchpin of the popular argument that the cut-to-black in the Series Finale represents Tony Soprano’s moment of death. Tony (the argument goes) doesn’t “hear it when it happens,” and we viewers, like Silvio, don’t “know what happened until after the shot was fired.” I think this is a valid argument, and can logically lead to the conclusion that Tony is killed at Holsten’s diner. But I don’t think that this is the only conclusion that can be reached, to the exclusion of any other possibility, in part because there is at least one other way that we can interpret the scene in which Gerry Torciano is murdered now.
Right before Gerry is whacked, he and Silvio discuss Phil Leotardo, who fell ill just as the battle for the top position of the New York famiglia was heating up. Gerry tries to explain the symbolic significance of Phil’s heart attack:
Gerry: The man was my mentor. It was right there for the taking.
Silvio: His heart, Gerry. What was he gonna do?
Gerry: That’s my point though, what you just said. Johnny goes away, it’s Phil’s turn in the driver’s seat—and his heart gives out.
Gerry: His heart.
Silvio: I know, so what?
Gerry: It’s a metaphor. He lost is balls is what I’m saying.
Silvio: Just say it then. Walt fuckin’ Whitman over here.
Chase and the writers seem to be ridiculing how Gerry the Hairdo reads too deeply into Phil’s myocardial infarction. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and a heart attack is just a heart attack. Chase often anticipated how viewers would respond to certain events within his show, and he sometimes weaved his own response to them right into the narrative. When Silvio mocks Gerry for finding too much symbolism in a SopranoLand event, Chase (with a wink) may be mocking the way that many viewers would come back to this specific scene and read too much into The Hairdo’s murder after that infamous cut-to-black in the final episode.
(And Chase may signal his viewers to avoid acts of over-interpretation again later in this hour, through one of Dr. Melfi’s lines: “Without invalidating your feelings, is it possible that on some level you’re reading into all this?”)
I may be guilty of reading too damn much into Gerry’s death in the restaurant myself, but my take on it seems to be different from that of most viewers. I interpreted the scene as one more emphatic example of this episode’s self-reflexivity. As Gerry gets hit with the first bullet and his blood sprays on to Silvio’s face, Chase momentarily slows down the footage and warps the sound. Such a manipulation of sound and imagery can only occur on film and video, it does not occur in the real world. We are reminded, yet again, that we are watching a staged production. A fiction. Chase makes us aware that Gerry’s death is not only something that is depicted, but that it is also something constructed. A hallmark of postmodern art is a self-awareness of its own “constructedness,” a self-awareness of the means and methods that went into its construction. The Sopranos (and “Stage 5” in particular) certainly displays this characteristic of postmodernism. I think the self-consciousness of this scene is the most important thing to note about Gerry’s death here in relation to that final scene at Holsten’s diner, which is one of the most self-aware, self-conscious sequences in the history of television. (I’ll explore this idea more in my write-up for the final episode.)
Oh yeah, there’s another major story in this hour: John Sacrimoni has cancer. He is in Stage 4 of his illness, and there is no Stage 5, unless we think of death as Stage 5—in which case the episode title takes on a very morbid meaning. The title “Stage 5” also relates to Johnny Sac’s illness in another way. The fifth stage in psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ “Five Stages of Grief” is acceptance, and John does indeed seem to make peace with his inevitable fate by the end of this hour. (We might remember that episode 1.03 was named after three of Kubler-Ross’ five stages: “Denial, Anger, Acceptance.”)
Chase uses a famous face to spill the real world into Johnny Sac’s storyline here, just as he used famous faces in the Moltisanti/Cleaver storyline—the orderly that attends to Sacrimoni is played by the most famous guest actor of the hour:
Sydney Pollack was a celebrated film director/actor. Our knowledge of who he was in the real world shapes our conception of his character in SopranoWorld: we don’t expect to find an illustrious Hollywood A-Lister like Pollack playing a small role in one episode of a TV show, just as Johnny Sac doesn’t expect to find such an intelligent, knowledgeable man working as an attendant. (John asks him, “So what are you, the world’s smartest orderly?”) Warren Feldman explains that he was a practicing oncologist for 22 years before he killed his wife. And her aunt. And the mailman, because “at that point, I had to fully commit.” (A commenter over at AVclub.com noted that this explains the reason why Feldman would be serving time in a Federal institution—he killed a Federal employee.)
Chase overlays fiction upon fiction in this storyline too, just as he does in his handling of the Cleaver storyline. We might note that it is a copy of Billy Bathgate that Feldman brings to Johnny Sac:
E.L. Doctorow’s 1989 novel is a work of fiction that uses real-life New York City historical figures from the 1920s as characters: Jewish-American mobster Dutch Schultz, Jewish hitman Bo Wienberg, mob attorney Dixie Davis, and Federal prosecutor Thomas Dewey, among others. So: the line between fiction and reality is blurred in even the reading material that appears in “Stage 5.”
Warren Feldman initially gives Johnny Sac a hopeful prognosis but later concurs with Dr. Rosen’s more grim estimate. John doesn’t have long to live. Many viewers approached this season with thoughts about karmic justice on their minds—would characters in SopranoWorld get their deserved comeuppance? Chase plays with this question now. Karma seems to be at work here: longtime smoker John Sacrimoni is dying of lung cancer. We remember from episode 5.01 that he couldn’t even take a shit without lighting up:
John can’t outrun his past—the cigarettes finally catch up to him. He dies at the Federal Medical Center where he has been incarcerated. Mob bosses like John know that men in their position often end up either 1) getting whacked, or 2) locked up in the can. Johnny Sac now gets whacked—by cancer—while locked up in the can.
There is in irony to his early death. John hated the idea of performing the allocution which admitted the existence of la cosa nostra at his sentencing, but it was a required part of the plea bargain that would knock years of his minimum sentence. So he did it, despite his knowledge that doing so would anger and repulse many of his mob colleagues. He may even have hurt his family in the process. (Any discomfort Tony may have felt, for example, about exploiting John’s situation to take his home away from Ginny at a deep discount would surely have vanished after John made the despised confession.) But ultimately, the allocution was for naught; John doesn’t live long enough to get early parole and enjoy his Golden Years with Ginny and their daughters. John Sacrimoni may have escaped having to do a significant amount of hard time in a federal penitentiary, but in the end he could not escape the writers’ sense of irony.
As I mentioned earlier, we can take the episode title to be a punning reference to death, as death is the next “stage” to follow Johnny Sac’s Stage 4 cancer. We can expound upon the significance of this pun a little bit more because in previous episodes, Chase associated the “stage” with issues of meaning and mortality and the question of what may lay beyond death. In episode 4.09, Tony gazed at the empty stage at the Bing, perhaps reflecting upon the troubled life and meaningless death of stripper Tracee. And in episode 6.09, Paulie saw the Virgin Mary on the Bing stage, perhaps a reflection of his deep belief in the Catholic conception of the afterlife.
About 400 years ago, William Shakespeare also used a “stage” as a metaphor to explore concerns about meaning and mortality; not long before he dies, Macbeth compares Life to an actor upon the stage. The King of Scotland’s words may serve as a fitting epilogue to the life of John Sacrimoni, the king of New York:
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
The idea that life may signify nothing is terrifying. As he approached death, Johnny Sac wondered what the significance of his life was, even asking his brother-in-law how he would be remembered. Other characters in this hour are also highly concerned with their legacies. At a remembrance for his dead brother, Phil Leotardo grumbles that his family’s proud Italian surname (Leonardo) was changed by a clerk at Ellis Island some generations ago. Phil frets that his own legacy will be one of weakness, both as an Italian-American who meekly accepted a false last name and as a mobster who made too many concessions to enemy factions. (I sympathize with Phil as he shakes his head in disappointment that the kids to whom he is speaking don’t understand the depth of his frustrations.) Tony Soprano also worries about his legacy. Tony complains to his therapist of the way that Christopher has depicted him in Cleaver: “This is the image of me he leaves to the world…some asshole bully.” We know that Tony has convinced himself that he is “a good guy, basically,” but this self-conception is crippled by Chris’ movie. (Tony seethes in anger and pain as he talks to Dr. Melfi about Chris, and perhaps these raw emotions contribute to Tony’s action against his cousin a few episodes from now.)
The most surprising observation about legacy comes from Little Carmine. As they sit down for lunch at a golf club, Lil Carmine explains to Tony—in an unusually coherent bit of dialogue, largely devoid of his typical malapropisms and mixed metaphors—that he is backing out of the competition for the top seat in New York. He is quite content with his life as it is right now. (I think this may very well be the longest bit of uninterrupted dialogue that any character delivers on The Sopranos. If you were not yet sure that David Chase is fully of irony, here is your proof now: it is Lil frickin’ Carmine that gives the longest, most thoughtful monologue of the entire series). Lil Carmine has come to value happiness more than he values the power, riches and legacy that come with being Boss. Lil Carmine seems to have no regret about his decision to step out of contention. Chase makes a very telling cut now to Johnny Sac, laying in bed at the drab and cheerless medical center, all alone. Perhaps if John had found the enlightenment that Lil Carmine seems to have found, he wouldn’t have had to spend his final weeks in such a difficult circumstance. Perhaps he wouldn’t even be dying now.
I think the issue of legacy is such a prominent part of this most “meta” of episodes because David Chase himself must also have been concerned in this final season with how he and his series would ultimately be remembered. It must have been very important to Chase that The Sopranos not be seen as just another work following in the blood-soaked gangster-tradition exemplified by many works (typified by Cleaver), simply aspiring to have the most broad appeal among the least sophisticated viewers. Sure, there is violence from time to time on Chase’s show, but a mindless spilling of blood is not to be its legacy. Glen Creeber writes in his essay, “Comfortably Numb? The Sopranos, New Brutalism and the Last Temptation of Chris,” that…
…violence on The Sopranos is more than just a stylistic device; it inevitably comes within a context that asks the viewer to think about the moral choices that are at play. It is for this reason that the show portrays violence without simply turning it into a piece of gratuitous entertainment.
Early in this hour, as the goombah investors review the final edit of the movie, Carlo Gervasi makes an argument for why one more violent scene should be added to Cleaver: “These audiences today love blood.” The line may be functioning as Chase’s meta-criticism of many Sopranos viewers. David Chase, unlike Carlo Gervasi, has little interest in playing to the gallery. Creeber continues in his essay:
…the production of Cleaver gives us a parody of the sort of gangster movie that The Sopranos implicitly deconstructs, attempting to create a piece of social realism in which the world of organized crime can still be judged on some sort of moral (rather than simply aesthetic) terms.
The reputation of The Sopranos as one of the most profound and intelligent TV shows of all time had already been cemented before “Stage 5” aired, but the meta-manipulations of this episode helped establish the series as the premier gangster-work within the category of postmodern art. Through the use of “a play within a play” as well as other devices, The Sopranos points to its own contrivance and artificiality. Chase’s meta-methods are fairly subtle, at least compared to some of the ploys that other postmodern works have utilized. For example, The Sopranos never truly breaks the fourth wall like some other TV shows have. There is nothing in this series quite comparable to Bruce Willis smirking into the camera as he did in Moonlighting, or like Garry Shandling giving viewers a recap of the episode’s events as he did in It’s Garry Shandling’s Show. Although no one in SopranoWorld ever looks directly into the camera to speak to the audience, David Chase still manages to remind us that it is all artifice. A lie. Picasso once said that all art is a lie, but it is a lie that tells the truth. The Sopranos uses its artifice and fictionality to get at deeper truths, thematic truths. Of course, what those particular truths might be, and how they are reached are questions that can be endlessly debated and argued. The truth that you find in a work of fiction may not be the truth that I find in that same work. And I believe that that might be the greatest truth to be found in The Sopranos—the idea that the “truth” is often something that is ambiguous and personally constructed.
THE BLOODY BABIES BLOODY CRY / THE BLOODY FLOWERS BLOODY DIE
In the final scene of the hour, Tony stands godfather to Christopher’s daughter during her baptism. It’s almost impossible to watch this scene without thinking of the memorable “baptism scene” from The Godfather:
A glaring difference between Francis Ford Coppola’s scene and David Chase’s scene, however, is the enormous blood-letting in the former. Coppola cross-cut footage of Michael Corleone at the church with footage of his goons exterminating the Corleone family’s enemies one by one (including Moe Greene, who got a “special” that was later named for him):
Although David Chase’s counterpart scene in “Stage 5” contains no violence, it is nevertheless filled with “blood” of a sort—“Evidently Chickentown,” the song that scores the scene, uses the word “bloody” as a recurring poetic device. David Chase had heard John Cooper Clarke’s song-poem decades earlier and decided that he would one day use it somewhere, and “Stage 5” finally gave Chase the opportunity he was looking for. I think the decision to use the track here is brilliant, in part because it further emphasizes the artificiality and contrivance of The Sopranos. With its bleak lyrics and apocalyptic sonic tone, the track is so incongruous with the baptismal imagery it accompanies that we are reminded, yet again, that this scene is not a depiction of the real world but a scene that has been constructed for a fictional world. I can’t say with any degree of certainty why Chase used this particular song here. Is it because its jarring lyrics and cacophony of sounds expose the serenity of this baptismal gathering to be a sham? Or is the song meant to emphasize the fucking regularness of life? (“Stuck in fuckin Chickentown,” Clarke spits out in frustrated staccato.) Chase could have placed any piece of music he wanted into his fiction here, but he chose this particular track in order to pursue some particular truth in his own particular way.
“IT’S A MOVIE. IT’S FICTIONAL.”
When Carmela first tries to explain to her husband that Cleaver is a revenge-fantasy, Tony insists that “It’s a movie. It’s fictional.” This line of dialogue reminded me of a very similar line Tony had said in “Johnny Cakes” (6.08); when AJ cited a scene from The Godfather to explain why he tried to attack Corrado with a knife, Tony told him that “It’s a movie.” In some sense, Tony’s repeated insistence that real-life and the movies are completely separate entities marks him as an old-school guy with a traditional mindset. Tony, with his orthodox “in this house, it’s 1954” mentality, can’t really understand or appreciate the interpenetration/intermingling of media with real-life that has become such a strong characteristic of the contemporary world. The line between art and life has become blurred in all our lives now. But the grand irony (Chase is nothing if not ironic) is that although Tony Soprano longs for the simplicity of a bygone era, the character of “Tony Soprano” is one the great manifestations of post-modernism in the contemporary era. (Or, to continue Noah Tannenbaum’s thought from episode 3.02, Cagney was modernity and Tony is post-modernity.) Although Tony would surely dismiss this claim as over-intellectual gibberish, our understanding of “Tony Soprano” is in fact enhanced and influenced by our recognition of the various ways that art, media, SopranoWorld and the real world all interpenetrate one another.
It’s quite obvious that Christopher’s concerns about his personal relationships have penetrated into the screenplay for Cleaver. A little less obvious is how Chase uses the screening of Cleaver to penetrate our thoughts about AJ and Blanca’s personal relationship. A series of quick cuts, from AJ to the action and dialogue coming from the big screen and then to Blanca, plant a suggestion that Blanca is growing dissatisfied with her immature boyfriend:
In the scene from “Johnny Cakes” that I mentioned above, where AJ references The Godfather, Tony’s full response to him was “It’s a movie. You gotta grow up. You’re not a kid anymore.” AJ, as Tony’s words attest, is not as mature as we would expect a young man his age to be, and there are bits of evidence throughout the current episode that Blanca is becoming frustrated by it. Poor AJ is unable to fathom that this is what Blanca may be thinking—he only knows that something is not quite right between him and his girlfriend. The growing tensions between them are setting up a major storyline of the season.
- David Chase was really lucky to get some great single-appearances from well-known guest actors on The Sopranos. Sydney Pollack’s performance here ranks right up there with Polly Bergen and Hal Holbrook’s earlier appearances on the series.
- JT Dolan doesn’t have much luck with his awards; his Emmy was only worth $15 at the pawn shop three years ago and he now gets beat with his Humanitas. I’ll Fly Away, an NBC series that David Chase wrote several episodes for, won three Humanitas Prizes during its short run.
- When Phil goes on his Leotardo/Leonardo rant, one of the children mistakes Leonardo Da Vinci as the author of The Da Vinci Code. Phil’s super-religious wife Patty indignantly corrects the child. Like Patty, many devout Christians at the time considered the book—and the film adaptation which came out about a year before this episode aired—to be blasphemous. (The book, though an entertaining page-turner, deserves much of the negative criticism it received for its poor writing and manipulative plotting… but blasphemy is a ridiculous charge to be making against it.)
- We learn here that the Eldridge Cleaver Estate apparently is not very happy about the title of Christopher’s movie and is threatening legal action. We might remember that philanthropist Maurice Tiffen mentioned Eldridge Cleaver in 4.07 “Watching Too Much Television” (a mention which activated one of the most clever references of the entire series—the Cleaver Sleeve pants).
- In previous Terry Winter-scripted episodes, we’ve seen how self-deprecating he can be of himself and of writers in general: in “Kaisha,” a movie that he wrote (Get Rich or Die Tryin) was being given away for free at the car wash; in “In Camelot,” JT’s Emmy was almost worthless at the pawn shop. In the current hour, some of the mob wives are surprised to learn that movies are actually written by writers. And screenwriter JT Dolan gets no appreciation at the Cleaver premiere. (But Chris is quick to acknowledge the writer when Tony gets suspicious about the film’s narrative—he tries to pin the blame on JT.)
- Chrissie the humanitarian. Prof. Maurice Yakowar notes that when Chris grabs the Humanitas trophy, he pronounces it as “human-eye-tis,” making it sound like a disease.
- A gangster to the end. In a conversation with his brother-in-law, Johnny Sac expresses frustration over the ingratitude and stress he had to endure as Boss of the NY famiglia. “It’s a thankless job,” he growls. Even so close to the end, John feels no contrition or regret about the pain and death he has caused in the world, only anger.
- Mothers. In the delirium before his death, Sacrimoni seems to have a vision of his mother. We remember that Tony saw a woman who seemed to be Livia when he came close to dying in “Mayham” (6.03).
- Pee. Before heading out of the house, Kelli Moltisanti tells Chris, “I better pee.” We might remember that in the previous episode, Carmela and Bobby also spoke of urinating. (I don’t think there is any great symbolism or anything to pissing, it just reflects the “regularness of life.”)
- Another famous face to appear in this hour belongs to Chris McDonald, who appeared in Thelma & Louise and a bunch of other things:
- FBI Agents Dwight and Ron surprise Tony in front of his house and remind him of something that no American wants to be reminded of: the ever-present threat of terror attacks. In a surly mood, Tony tells Carmela that he will not be walking down the driveway anymore to pick up the newspaper. David Chase is retiring a familiar Sopranos convention as the series comes to a close.
- This episode generates a neat inversion between the LaPaglia brothers. Jonathan LaPaglia’s presence in Cleaver here counts as an appearance in a “film within a TV show.” His brother Anthony inversely appeared in a “TV show within a film” when he played a TV mobster in the 2002 movie Analyze That.
- Just before he dies, the camera lingers on the image of Johnny Sac’s white shoes. Over time, some Sopranos viewers came to associate the image of white shoes with death. (Chase seems to make this association again in the next episode, as we will see.) |
2 edition of Pictorial history of the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph, U.S.A. found in the catalog.
Pictorial history of the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph, U.S.A.
James Reginald Coffey
|LC Classifications||BX3508 .C6|
|The Physical Object|
|Number of Pages||524|
|LC Control Number||47000116|
Dominican Friars of the Province of Saint Joseph, New York, New York. 29, likes 2, talking about this. The friars are members of the Order of Preachers, AKA "The Dominicans" and we are /5(). Fr. Richard Weber, O.P., wrote a detailed history of the Lay Fraternities in (“Dominican Laity: History, Purpose, Spirituality”, undated). His history showed how the foundation for today’s Lay Dominican started during the major economic and social upheaval in 11th century European countries. Many Catholics had been born in the File Size: KB.
Members Of The Dominican Province Of Saint Joseph Buried At St. Joseph's Cemetery, Somerset, Ohio The Eastern Province, Officially The Province Of Saint Joseph, Covers The Northeastern United States. This 'Virtual Cemetery' Lists The Names Of All Its Members Who Lie At Rest At St. Joseph's Cemetery In Somerset, Ohio. Dominican Friars Foundation East 65th Street New York, NY , United States. Tel: () [email protected]
Dominican Province of St. Martin de Porres, New Orleans, Louisiana. 1, likes 46 talking about this 15 were here. We preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls. (43). The Dominican Province of St. Joseph the Worker (Nigeria & Ghana) comprises over friars and is the only Province of the Order on the African continent. Blessed with an abundance of vocations, we strive to live out our Dominican and Thomistic traditions .
The night before Christmas
The dance of life
The Orissa code, Volume X
Marx and Keynes
Fighting For Survival
Konflikte der Weltpolitik nach 1945
Berne & Levy physiology
Study to develop a rational land use policy for rubber and oil palm planting
record of Buddhistic kingdoms
Photochemical transformation trans to cis of di-paratoluyl ethylene
14 Ranch, 1879-1994
Diary of an art dealer
Ecosystems of India
Additional Physical Format: Online version: Coffey, James Reginald, Pictorial history of the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph, U.S.A. New York, National Headquarters of. Additional Physical Format: Print version: Coffey, James Reginald, Pictorial history of the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph, U.S.A.
New York, National Headquarters of. The Province of St. Joseph is part of the Order of Preachers, a worldwide order of friars dedicated to preaching Jesus Christ. One of four Dominican provinces in the United States of America, the St.
Joseph or Eastern Province extends from New England to Virginia to Ohio. The Order of Preachers, known also as the Dominican Order, was founded by St.
Dominic in with the mission of preaching for the salvation of souls. With contemplative study serving as a pillar of Dominican religious life, the Order continues to contribute to the Catholic synthesis of faith and U.S.A. book, following the example of such Dominican luminaries as St.
Albert the Great and St. Thomas. The Dominican Province Of St. Joseph: Historico-Biographical Studies by Victor Francis O'Daniel,Reginald M. Coffee. our price 3, Save Rs. Buy The Dominican Province Of St. Joseph: Historico-Biographical Studies online, free home delivery.
ISBN:About Dominicans of the Province of St. Joseph The Order of Preachers, known also as the Dominican Order, was founded by St.
Dominic in with the mission of preaching for the salvation of souls. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (Redirected from The Dominican Province of Saint Joseph) Jump to navigation Jump to search. The Dominican Order (Order of Preachers) was first established in the United States by Edward Fenwick in the early 19th century.
The first Dominican institution in the United States was the Province of Saint Joseph, which was established in The Lay Dominicans are divided into four provinces within the United States.
Which province you belong to is determined by where you live, as membership within a community is local. The Province of St. Joseph comprises the north-eastern United States, highlighted in yellow below.
The Dominican Friars, Priests, and Brothers of Province of St. Martin de Porres (Southern Dominican Province). The Order of Preachers in the Southern United States. Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls. The geographic boundaries of the province cover eleven states: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina.
The book is written by Dominican priests from the Province of St. Joseph, but we wrote this book constantly thinking about the breadth of the Church’s religious life. History of St Joseph St Joseph History. The history behind the tradition to bury a statue of Saint Joseph is hundreds of years old (A.D.
– ). It began in Europe with nuns at a Closter needed to expand their land, and after a prayer to St. Joseph they buried medals of him in the ground. Dominicana – Archive The Editor T Inin honor of the seventh hundred anniversary of the Order of Preachers, the students of the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph at the House of Studies in Washington, D.C.
published a collection of articles, stories and poems they had written on a variety of Dominican. Dominican Resources. Lay Dominicans of St. Joseph Province Lay Dominicans of St. Joseph Province; Catholic Resources.
NOR News Headlines Former Anglican publication, now a Catholic periodical providing daily news and in-depth articles; Faith And Reason Deepen your knowledge of the faith and of the world. Church and culture. Politics and philosophy. A Brief History of The Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus Dominican friars in the United States are affiliated into four general regions, also known as provinces.
The Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, commonly referred to as the “Western Dominican Province,” was founded in during the California Gold Rush. Student Brothers of the Dominican Province of St.
Joseph, God has blessed the Dominican Province of St. Joseph with fifty-three men in post-novitiate formation in Washington, DC this year.
Six of the deacons are assigned to the studentate for deacons at St. Dominic Priory, and the remaining forty-seven brothers are assigned to the Dominican House of : K. Inthe brothers of the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph began to publish a student-run journal out of the basement of the House of Studies in Washington, D.C.
They called the journal Dominicana, as it offered a wide variety of articles on matters theological and Dominican and contained news about the Province. The challenge of writing and editing the journal provided an opportunity for them to. We are members of the Order of Preachers, an year-old religious order in the Roman Catholic Church.
We preach throughout the central region of the United States, from the Dakotas to Michigan, down to Colorado and New Mexico. Dominican Friars of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus As members of the Order of Preachers, and faithful sons of the Roman Catholic Church, we are called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world, following the example of Saint Dominic.
Irish Dominican Vocations sends warm fraternal wishes to the thirteen men (pictured above - click to enlarge) who have been clothed in the habit of the Order for the Saint Joseph Province in the United province of the Order has been consistently attracting many vocations for the past number of years.
The Irish Dominican friars look forward to receiving our new group of novices. Check out all the digital platforms Dominican Friars are using to stay in touch.
Read More. Word to Life Into the Desert. On this episode of Word to Life, Fr. John Maria Devaney, O.P., invited Br. Hyacinth Grubb, O.P., to discuss the many ways we can draw closer to God during the season of Lent. Dominican Friars Province of St. Joseph E. th Jubilee > Holiness. Holiness “It is in a final passage of the Libellus that we find the secret of Dominic, a text that indicates how he has been able to impart to his sons and daughters through the centuries ways to be developed and lived in consonance with their own times.
[Dominican Blessed] Jordan [of Saxony] speaks of ‘something.Province history History of Indian Dominicans is almost as old as the Order. In a spirited Dominican from the Roman Province named Nicholas of Pistoia reached India in the company of a Franciscan friar and preached the gospel in Mylapore, Tamil Nadu for over a year.The Shield of the Dominican Province of Saint Joseph.
Obviously, Christ does not now deny to Joseph that intimacy, reverence and very high honor which he gave him on earth, as a son to his father.
Rather we must say that in heaven Christ completes and perfects all that he gave at Nazareth. |
The testimony of Earle Cabell was taken at 9 a.m., on July 13, 1964, in the office of the U.S. attorney, 301 Post Office Building, Bryan and Ervay Streets, Dallas, Tex., by Mr. Leon D. Hubert, Jr., assistant counsel of the President's Commission. Sam Kelley, assistant attorney general of Texas, was present.
Mr. HUBERT - This is the deposition of Hon. Earle Cabell, mayor of the city of Dallas.
Mr. CABELL - Former mayor.
Mr. HUBERT - Is that right?
Mr. CABELL - I resigned in February.
Mr. HUBERT - Mr. Cabell, my name is Leon D. Hubert. I am a member of the advisory staff of the General Counsel of the President's Commission. Under the provisions of Executive Order 11130 dated November 29, 1963, and the Joint resolution of Congress No. 137, and the rules of procedure adopted by the President's Commission in conformance with that Executive order and the joint resolution, I have been authorized to take a sworn deposition from you, among others.
I state to you now that the general nature of the Commission's inquiry is to ascertain, evaluate, and report upon the facts relevant to the assassination of President Kennedy and the subsequent violent death of Lee Harvey Oswald.
In particular as to you, Mr. Cabell, the nature of the inquiry today is to determine what facts you may know about the general inquiry.
Now Mr. Cabell, you appeared today by virtue of a letter which I understand was received by you on either July 8 or 9, written by Mr. J. Lee Rankin, General Counsel of the President's Commission; is that correct?
Mr. CABELL - That is correct.
Mr. HUBERT - Would you stand and raise your right hand? Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give in this matter will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. CABELL - I do.
Mr. HUBERT - Will you please state your name for the record?
Mr. CABELL - My name is Earle Cabell.
Mr. HUBERT - What is your residence?
Mr. CABELL - My place of residence is 5338 Drane Drive, Dallas, Tex.
Mr. HUBERT - Mr. Cabell, I understand that you were formerly the mayor of Dallas, but you resigned about 2 or 3 months ago?
Mr. CABELL - I was installed as mayor of Dallas May 1, 1961, for a 2-year term. Was reinstalled May 1, 1963, upon reelection. Resigned that office on February 1964, to become a candidate for the House of Representatives of the United States.
Mr. HUBERT - Prior to your becoming mayor, what occupation did you have? I simply want to get some background for the record.
Mr. CABELL - For the past 30-odd years I have been engaged in dairy products and food retailing in the city of Dallas and surrounding areas.
Mr. HUBERT - You still have that business?
Mr. CABELL - No; I am not connected with that business officially any longer. I retain my office at the former headquarters of that company, which is 4017 Commerce Street. I am on a retainer with the company in an advisory capacity.
Mr. HUBERT - Mr. Cabell, we are interested in a number of matters, but I think we can cover much of the ground by asking you to comment upon an interview of you by FBI Agents Warren Debrueys and George Carlson on December 12, 1963, which I have marked for identification as follows: On the first page in the right-hand margin I have marked "Dallas, Texas, July 13, 1964, Exhibit No. 1, deposition of Honorable Earle Cabell." I have signed my name under that and on each of these succeeding three pages I have marked my initials in the right-hand lower corner.
Exhibit No. 1 consists therefore of 4 pages. Mr. Cabell, I think you have had an opportunity to read this Exhibit No. 1; is that right?
Mr. CABELL - I have read it.
Mr. HUBERT - Now I ask you if the exhibit, which is, as I have said, a report of an interview of you by the FBI agents named, is an accurate and fair statement of the conference or interview had between you?
Mr. CABELL - It is entirely so.
Mr. HUBERT - Do you have any corrections or additions?
Mr. CABELL - I find no corrections or additions to make to that statement.
Mr. HUBERT - For the record, I would like you to state briefly just what was the chain of command of governmental authority in the city of Dallas, starting with you, I take it, as the top, on down at least to the police department.
Mr. CABELL - Under the charter of the city of Dallas, the city council is composed of councilmen and the mayor, the mayor having the status of a councilman, but also being the presiding officer elected by the people at large as the mayor. He is the presiding officer and the spokesman for the council. The council does not have administrative responsibilities nor authority. The council is a legislative and policymaking body who appoint the city manager, among certain other city officials or department heads.
The city manager in turn has the discretion of appointing those department heads under his direct jurisdiction, including the appointment of the chief of police. The council, by ordinance, is not authorized to, and in fact is prohibited from taking direct administrative action through or over any of the department heads appointed by and responsible to the city manager.
Mr. HUBERT - How many members compose the council, sir?
Mr. CABELL - Eight members, in addition to the Mayor.
Mr. HUBERT - They are elected?
Mr. CABELL - They are all elected by the citizens of Dallas at large. That is, they are all voted upon.
Mr. HUBERT - Now the city manager, as I understand it, is appointed by the council or by the mayor?
Mr. CABELL - No; the city manager is appointed by the council, by council action.
Mr. HUBERT - Now the city manager on November 22 through 24, 1963, was Mr. Crull?
Mr. CABELL - Elgin E. Crull.
Mr. HUBERT - Of course, for the record, you were then Mayor?
Mr. CABELL - That is correct.
Mr. HUBERT - I think it might be well also for the record if we have the names of the people that composed the council at that time.
Mr. CABELL - The council at that time was composed of Mr. Curie Welch. He was also mayor pro tern. Mr. William Roberts, Mrs. Tracy Rutherford, Mr. Joe Moody, Mr. Joe Golman, Mrs. Elizabeth Blessing, Mr. George Underwood, Jr., Mr. R. B. Carpenter.
Mr. HUBERT - I understand that Mr. Crull had been serving as city manager for quite some time?
Mr. CABELL - Something over 10 years.
Mr. HUBERT - Could you describe briefly for us the relationship between the mayor and the council and the city manager?
Mr. CABELL - Well, it is the relationship of the general manager of a corporate entity and his board of directors, with most day-to-day contact being made through the mayor as the presiding officer of that board.
Mr. HUBERT - In other words, the city manager really has the detailed administration of city affairs?
Mr. CABELL - He is entirely responsible for the administrative functions of the city government.
Mr. HUBERT - Now, the mayor, then, is responsible for policies with the council; is that correct?
Mr. CABELL - As the presiding officer, the mayor has only one vote on the action of the council, as any other councilman, but by virtue of being the presiding officer and the spokesman of the council, then on day-to-day routine matters, the contact of the city manager is through the mayor.
Mr. HUBERT - Does the council make any other appointments than the appointment of the city manager?
Mr. CABELL - Yes; the direct appointees of the council are the city attorney, the city secretary, the supervisor of public utilities, and the city auditor, the city auditor being nominated by the Dallas Clearing House Association.
Mr. HUBERT - I understand then that the chief of police is appointed by the city manager completely?
Mr. CABELL - That is correct; and is responsible only to the city manager.
Mr. HUBERT - Does the city council or mayor confirm the appointees of the city manager? What authority do they have?
Mr. CABELL - They confirm by virtue of approval of the budget wherein their salaries are stipulated and they are named.
Mr. HUBERT - But it is not an appointment such as with Federal officials where the President appoints and the city confirms?
Mr. CABELL - No.
Mr. HUBERT - Now I want to ask you to state what you observed concerning the actual shooting of the President, and perhaps the best way to start is to tell us what position you were in in the Presidential parade.
Mr. CABELL - We were separated from the President's car by the car in which the Vice President and Senator Yarborough were riding, and by a station wagon holding, I think, certain members of the press and possibly some Secret Service, and I believe one other car of Secret Service so there were either two or three intervening cars between our place in the motorcade and the Presidential car.
Mr. HUBERT - Who was in your car other than the driver?
Mr. CABELL - Mrs. Cabell and Congressman Ray Roberts from McKinney, Tex., Congressman from the Fourth District, and myself.
Mr. HUBERT - Just the three of you?
Mr. CABELL - That is correct.
Mr. HUBERT - Do you remember who the driver was?
Mr. CABELL - I do not remember his name. He was a member of the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas.
Mr. HUBERT - When did you observe anything at all relative to the shooting of the President?
Mr. CABELL - Well, we were just rounding the corner of Market and Elm, making the left turn, when the first shot rang out.
Mr. HUBERT - Would you describe what you saw or heard, please, sir?
Mr. CABELL - I heard the shot. Mrs. Cabell said, "Oh a gun" or "a shot", and I was about to deny and say "Oh it must have been a firecracker" when the second and the third shots rang out. There was a longer pause between the first and second shots than there was between the second and third shots. They were in rather rapid succession. There was no mistaking in my mind after that, that they were shots from a high-powered rifle.
Mr. HUBERT - Are you familiar with rifles so that your statement that it was your opinion it came from a high-powered rifle was that of a person who knows something about it?
Mr. CABELL - I have done a great deal of hunting and also used military shoulder guns, as well as hunting rifles.
Mr. HUBERT - Were you in the armed services during the war?
Mr. CABELL - No; I was not, but there was no question in my mind as to their being from a high-powered rifle and coming from the direction of the building known as the School Book Depository.
Mr. HUBERT - That you judged, I suppose, by the direction from which you thought the sound came?
Mr. CABELL - Right.
Mr. HUBERT - Could you estimate the number of seconds, say, between the first and second shots, as related to the number of seconds between the second and third shots? Perhaps doing it on the basis of a ratio?
Mr. CABELL - Well, I would put it this way. That approximately 10 seconds elapsed between the first and second shots, with not more than 5 seconds having elapsed until the third one.
Mr. HUBERT - Two to one ratio?
Mr. CABELL - Approximately that. And again I say that, as you mentioned, as a matter of being relative. I couldn't tell you the exact seconds because they were not counted.
Mr. HUBERT - Now when you became conscious that these were shots and that they seemed to be coming from the building known as the Texas School Book Depository Building, did you look toward that building?
Mr. CABELL - My back was turned to it at the time, because I was riding in the front seat and was conversing with Mrs. Cabell and Mr. Roberts.
Mr. HUBERT - Who were in the back? And you were next to the driver?
Mr. CABELL - I was sitting in the front seat with the driver. This was a convertible in which we were riding with the top down.
Mr. HUBERT - So that actually the shots seemed to you to come from behind?
Mr. CABELL - From behind.
Mr. HUBERT - Did you turn in the direction of the shots?
Mr. CABELL - I turned then, rather looking down toward the Presidential car, and then I saw the people scattering and some throwing themselves on the ground. One man threw himself over a child that was sitting in the grass there. I did not observe anything in connection with the building itself.
Mr. HUBERT - You did not see anybody in any of the windows?
Mr. CABELL - No.
Mr. HUBERT - Now I think you mentioned that Mrs. Cabell made a remark to you, "Oh, that is a shot." I take it from what you have said, that remark was made immediately after the first shot?
Mr. CABELL - Just immediately; yes.
Mr. HUBERT - And before the second and third, is that right?
Mr. CABELL - And really before I could get my answer out--I think it was motivated by wishful thinking as much as anything else, to deny or to say possibly it wasn't--then the second and third shots rang out.
Mr. HUBERT - Were there any other spontaneous remarks made by anyone else in the car?
Mr. CABELL - Well, in the discussion which followed, both Mr. Roberts and myself said that it must have been from a gun similar to a .30-06.
Mr. HUBERT - By spontaneous, I meant those remarks made just immediately, not the discussion thereafter, you see.
Mr. CABELL - I don't remember.
Mr. HUBERT - So you do not recall any remarks made by anyone else of a spontaneous nature?
Mr. CABELL - No; I don't.
Mr. HUBERT - Well, what did you do after the shots were fired and the Presidential car and the vice presidential car went on?
Mr. CABELL - Then we just followed and told the driver to follow them.
Mr. HUBERT - You went on then to the----
Mr. CABELL - We went on to the hospital. We could not tell whether they were just going back to the airport or going toward the hospital. Now there was a question raised among us as to where we were headed.
Mr. HUBERT - You didn't in fact know who had been hit, I take it?
Mr. CABELL - No; we couldn't tell. We could tell, of course, there was confusion in the presidential car--activity. The Secret Service men ran to that car. From out of nowhere appeared one Secret Service man with a submachine gun. His attention seemed to be focused up toward the building. One of the motorcycle officers and the escort pulled his motorcycle over to the side and jumped off with his drawn handgun and ran up the slope toward the building, toward the School Book Depository. I do not recall any other shots being fired than the three which I mentioned.
Mr. HUBERT - I take it also that you got to the hospital very shortly after the Presidential car did?
Mr. CABELL - Of course, when we turned off of Stemmons Expressway, we knew then that we were headed toward Parkland. Otherwise, we would have proceeded on Stemmons to Mockingbird Lane, which would have been the direct route to the airport.
Mr. HUBERT - When you got to the hospital, had the President been removed from the car?
Mr. CABELL - He was in the process of being removed; was on the carriage. Another carriage was brought out, and I was there and helped to steady the carriage when the Governor was taken out of the car and placed on the carriage and wheeled in. And I helped escort the carriage on into the hospital into the anteroom and stayed there until the body was removed.
Mr. HUBERT - Did you happen to go to the room in which a press conference was held, at which the official announcement was made of the President's death?
Mr. CABELL - I was not in when any official thing--I assumed that the President was dead.
Mr. HUBERT - I was trying to get the anteroom or hallway that you described. Where was this with reference to the outside door of the hospital, or the emergency room, or something of that sort?
Mr. CABELL - Well, this was in the emergency section. There is a large anteroom with a glassed-in enclosure where telephones were, and then off from that larger room was a narrow anteroom from which a series of operating rooms connected.
The President was in one of those, and directly across this little hallway then was where Governor Connally was.
Mr. HUBERT - Were there any news people in that area?
Mr. CABELL - Yes; I am sure there must have been. I don't recall any whom I recognized personally.
Mr. HUBERT - Specifically, do you know a reporter, newspaperman now with Scripps-Howard, by the name of Seth Kantor?
Mr. CABELL - I can't recall.
Mr. HUBERT - Now there is some information, Mr. Cabell, that Jack Ruby was around the hospital some place, either near the entrance or near the pressroom, or something of that sort. And, of course, I take it that you now know what he looks like, from pictures in the press?
Mr. CABELL - Well, I knew him by sight.
Mr. HUBERT - You knew him by sight prior to this?
Mr. CABELL - Yes.
Mr. HUBERT - How long had you known him?
Mr. CABELL - I would say for several years.
Mr. HUBERT - Did you see him around the hospital then at any time?
Mr. CABELL - No; I did not.
Mr. HUBERT - And you stayed until the President's body was removed?
Mr. CABELL - Yes.
Mr. HUBERT - What did you do after that, sir?
Mr. CABELL - We went--Mrs. Cabell accompanied me and went back to Love Field. There was a number of members of the Texas delegation to the Congress who had accompanied the President and Vice President on the trip down here, and I more or less took them in tow and secured a station wagon from the vehicles that were outside the hospital and carried them, at the direction of one of the Secret Service agents who was more or less in charge in there, to the Southwest Airmotive side of Love field, which is the eastern side, because he advised me that Air Force I would take off from that side. So there was some with us in our car, and then the station wagon with the additional ones. When we got to Southwest Airmotive, Air Force I was still parked on the west side of the field where they had deplaned the passengers earlier. Realizing that it was going to take off rather quickly, I asked the public relations man for Southwest Airmotive to get on the radio and contact the Air Force officer in charge through the control tower as to what to do about these men, whether to bring them over to that side, or was the plane going to come over there.
We did not get a direct answer, but the squad car of the Dallas Police Department, which is assigned to Love Field, came over and got us, apparently through clearance of the control tower, and carried us right straight across the field. Apparently they stopped any movement to get us across the field. Then those men were able to board the plane.
Mr. HUBERT - Well, after you left the field, after Air Force I had left, what was your activity then, sir?
Mr. CABELL - We stayed there on the ground until after Air Force I had taken off with the body of the President. We conferred for a few minutes with Sheriff Bill Decker and Chief of Police Curry. Chief Curry was in the plane and a witness to the swearing in of President Johnson. Shortly after it took off, then Mrs. Cabell, and I returned home. We dropped Mrs. Cabell off, and then the driver carried me to Mr. Jonsson's house where I left my car, and then I returned home.
Mr. HUBERT - When did you first know of the apprehension of Lee Harvey Oswald?
Mr. CABELL - On the field there, Chief Curry told us of the killing of Officer Tippit, and I believe told us at the same time that they had apprehended the suspect.
Mr. HUBERT - That is to say, the suspect of the killing of the President, or of Tippit?
Mr. CABELL - That he was one and the same.
Mr. HUBERT - Did he tell you what information he had to indicate that the killer of Tippit was also the assassin of the President?
Mr. CABELL - Only that it was believed that he was one and the same. Now the details, I did not get at that time either concerning the killing of Officer Tippit or the subsequent apprehension of Oswald.
Mr. HUBERT - What was your next contact with Curry, if you recall?
Mr. CABELL - I don't recall any further contact with Curry. This was not a face to face or personal contact. It was telephonic concerning the issuance of this parade permit, which is covered in the report by the bureau man.
Mr. HUBERT - That was a conference by telephone on Sunday the 24th?
Mr. CABELL - That is correct.
Mr. HUBERT - You had no contact, to your knowledge, with him?
Mr. CABELL - I don't recall any further contact with Chief Curry.
Mr. HUBERT - Did you have a contact with any other member of the police department?
Mr. CABELL - No.
Mr. HUBERT - Did you have any knowledge of the situation in the county jail with reference to the news media?
Mr. CABELL - That was the city jail.
Mr. HUBERT - I beg your pardon, city jail, with reference to the covering of the matter by the news media, and the confusion that came about as a result of that?
Mr. CABELL - I knew fairly well what was going on by watching my own TV from time to time and the covering that they had on the activities around the police department of the city hall.
Mr. HUBERT - Was there any meeting of the council during the interval between the 22d and the 24th?
Mr. CABELL - No.
Mr. HUBERT - Did you have any contact with, City Manager Crull during that time?
Mr. CABELL - The Sunday morning, I knew that the city manager was out of town, and in my conversation with Chief Curry subsequent to the shooting of Oswald, I asked him if he had made contact with Mr. Crull, and suggested that if he had not, that he do make immediate contact and ask for his return to the city.
Mr. HUBERT - That was after the shooting of Oswald?
Mr. CABELL - This was after the shooting of Oswald. And he told me at that time that Mr. Crull had been contacted and was on his way back.
Mr. HUBERT - Did you know prior to the shooting of Oswald, or have you learned since whether there was any awareness in the police department of possible danger to Oswald?
Mr. CABELL - No, no. After it had all occurred, then I recall having been told by someone that there had been an attempt, or that an attempt would be made, but that is not clear, and purely a matter of hearsay.
Mr. HUBERT - I believe in your conversation with Chief Curry on Sunday, you discussed a threat that had been made to you, or indirectly?
Mr. CABELL - He called me that this call had come through the switchboard of the city hall, and it was his understanding that it was long distance, but he did not know the source, and since it was a direct dial and they could not trace it, there was not enough time, wherein the caller said that an attempt would be made on my life.
Mr. HUBERT - He told you that was a long-distance call?
Mr. CABELL - It was his impression, the switchboard operator's impression that it was some long distance.
Mr. HUBERT - That was prior to Oswald's death?
Mr. CABELL - No; that was following Oswald's death, and that is when he told me that he was sending officers out to maintain security.
Mr. HUBERT - Attached to page 3 it seems to indicate that the call with Curry must have occurred a bit before you received the news of Oswald's shooting?
Mr. CABELL - The first call from Curry, or only the starting of any conversations with Chief Curry were relative to this torchlight parade on that night. I had called him and told him that I would recommend the cancellation of that Parade. He had granted it, but then I had recommended the cancellation, and I would assume full responsibility for having given that instruction.
Mr. HUBERT - At that time Oswald had not been shot?
Mr. CABELL - No.
Mr. HUBERT - But on that first call then, was there any discussion between you and Chief Curry about the transfer of Oswald?
Mr. CABELL - No.
Mr. HUBERT - Was there any discussion about the security precautions that were being observed or the problems that they were?
Mr. CABELL - I do not recall any discussion on that at all.
Mr. HUBERT - Chief Curry did not tell you that any threats had been made to Oswald?
Mr. CABELL - No.
Mr. HUBERT - Now during the period November 22 until the shooting of Oswald, did you have any conversations with the press concerning the whole matter?
Mr. CABELL - There were a number of calls. There were members of the press, both the national and international press that came to my home during that period. I had given a statement on Friday night to both television stations.
Mr. HUBERT - That was by----
Mr. CABELL - That was on Friday.
Mr. HUBERT - On television?
Mr. CABELL - Yes.
Mr. HUBERT - Do you recall whether any part of those statements or interviews had to do with the transfer of Oswald?
Mr. CABELL - None whatsoever. There was never any during that period. There was never any mention of that. It was not brought up nor discussed.
Mr. HUBERT - Then later on Sunday morning, I understand after the security call from Chief Curry, there was another call from him with regard to the death of Oswald?
Mr. CABELL - He called me.
Mr. HUBERT - I mean the shooting of Oswald.
Mr. CABELL - Yes; the incident referred to here about a friend calling.
Mr. HUBERT - You say "here." You are referring to page 3 of Exhibit No. 1?
Mr. CABELL - "He received a telephone call from a friend." That friend was Mrs. R. 0. Alexander who said, "Do you have your television on?" And I said, "No." She said, "Get it on quick. They have just shot Oswald." And I immediately turned my television on. I was in the den where I was sitting and taking these telephone calls, and then just as I get it turned on, they still had not removed Oswald at that time because this was just a matter of a minute or 2 from the actual shooting. Then Chief Curry called and said, "They have just shot Oswald." And I said, "Yes; I have it on TV now."
Mr. HUBERT - Was any action taken then by anybody, do you know, concerning, first, security measures or further protection against?
Mr. CABELL - Nothing to my knowledge.
Mr. HUBERT - I think I have asked this before. If I have, then just disregard it, but did you contact City Manager Crull during the interval?
Mr. CABELL - No; I did not contact him. Now he came to my home immediately on his return to the city.
Mr. HUBERT - Which was about what time?
Mr. CABELL - This was, well, it was early afternoon.
Mr. HUBERT - Of the 24th?
Mr. CABELL - This was on the 24th, on Sunday; yes. It was about 1 o'clock.
Mr. HUBERT - Can you comment upon this Lancaster Smith proposal of a parade?
Mr. CABELL - Lane Smith is a very well-known, very active lay worker in the Catholic church, and he had called me earlier, and I think the suggestion for this came from some nuns, and when he first talked to me I didn't realize frankly the implications or the hazard of a procession such as that, and I told him--he asked about a permit, and I said that that is a matter that is handled by the chief of police, that he would have to be the one to issue a permit for any type of parade, because that is what that amounted to.
Mr. HUBERT - What was the proposal of Mr. Smith?
Mr. CABELL - Well, a torchlight procession of both the clergy and any lay people as a procession of mourning that would pass by the site of the assassination and put flowers at the site.
Mr. HUBERT - That was proposed for Sunday night?
Mr. CABELL - That was proposed for Sunday night, and after having talked with him, then the implications began to dawn on me, and when I realized that that was in a rather poorly lighted area, it is not in the best part of town, and that the procession itself would pass possibly under the very window of the jail where Oswald presumably would be by that time, then that was the reason behind my calling the chief then.
He told me he had issued the permit because he had no reason not to, and then that is when I made the recommendation that it be canceled.
Mr. HUBERT - It was canceled in fact?
Mr. CABELL - Yes; it was.
Mr. HUBERT - Before Oswald was shot?
Mr. CABELL - Oh, I think undoubtedly, because he said he would call Lane immediately back.
Mr. HUBERT - When did Lancaster Smith call you?
Mr. CABELL - I think it must have been around 8 or 9 o'clock in the morning, originally.
Mr. HUBERT - Then you called Chief Curry about what time?
Mr. CABELL - Must have been very shortly after that. I would say 9 o'clock or possibly a short time after. I believe that it must have been just a little before 10, because I think that he was talking to me in his office at the time word was brought to him that Oswald was shot, or possibly had hung up the phone, or he would have mentioned that to me at the time.
Mr. HUBERT - Because the evidence we now have shows that Oswald was shot about 11:20, so perhaps your time would have been 11 rather than 10?
Mr. CABELL - Yes; I was thinking in terms of 10 o'clock being the hour of shooting, but we can move this conversation with Curry to a matter of minutes preceding the shooting of Oswald.
Mr. HUBERT - Now were any threatening calls received by you directly?
Mr. CABELL - Only one, which was received by Mrs. Cabell on New Year's Eve.
Mr. HUBERT - December 31, 1963?
Mr. CABELL - December 31, 1963; yes, sir.
Mr. HUBERT - Were there any received indirectly?
Mr. CABELL - Only those that were reported to us by Chief Curry. There was one incident which was not a call, but which was an unusual thing and which caused a certain amount of apprehension.
On a Saturday evening, which one I can't tell you, but it was while security was being maintained, that I decided to go out and eat dinner. Mrs. Cabell did not want to go. She said she would just stay at home. One of the officers stayed with Mrs. Cabell. The other one accompanied me to Tupinamba, a Mexican cafe on Lovers Lane. I told Mrs. Cabell I would get Mexican food there. There are three places in the immediate vicinity, all of which we patronize from time to time.
The officer and I were in having our dinner when the proprietor came over and said that I was wanted on the phone. I picked up the receiver. I could hear traffic noises in the background, so I knew that the line was open. I said, "Hello" several times, and the receiver clicked in my ear. I thought that Mrs. Cabell had possibly tried to get hold of me, and I called her, and she said, "No, she had not." So it was obvious that someone who was either in the restaurant and had left when we came in, or had seen us enter the restaurant, put in this call, apparently just a nuisance or harassing type of thing.
Mr. HUBERT - How long after you had been in the restaurant did this call come?
Mr. CABELL - Oh, a matter of 10 or 15 minutes.
Mr. HUBERT - You never found the source of that?
Mr. CABELL - No.
Mr. HUBERT - Was any investigation made?
Mr. CABELL - There was no way of making an investigation. The assumption is that the call was placed from one of the public telephones that are up and down that business section there.
Mr. HUBERT - Mr. Cabell, there have been some reports as to the authenticity or veracity of, for which I do not vouch at all, to the effect that some pressure was put upon Chief of Police Curry by you or others to cooperate with the press in all ways possible. I think in fairness I should give you an opportunity to comment upon that.
Mr. CABELL - There was one that has been rumored. One of our local weekly publications made that as a statement. That is completely false. At no time did I have any contact with Chief Curry to the extent that I gave him any orders, instructions, or make any comment upon the situation other than the contact which I have mentioned with reference to this proposed torchlight parade.
Mr. HUBERT - Do you know of any pressure put upon him by anyone in authority over him?
Mr. CABELL - I do not know of any, and my assumption would be, and I say assumption, would be that none had been made, because I know how Mr. Crull operates to the extent that he would not interfere in the duties of his chief of police. Now I am sure that they had conversations with reference to security and that sort of thing, but I would question very definitely that any orders as such on that subject would have been issued by Mr. Crull.
Mr. HUBERT - In any case, neither you nor anyone else, to your knowledge, did anything of that sort, to wit, bring pressure upon him in anyway whatsoever?
Mr. CABELL - That is entirely correct.
Mr. HUBERT - Mr. Cabell, do you have anything else to say, sir?
Mr. CABELL - No, sir; I don't know of anything else that I could add.
Mr. HUBERT - Prior to the commencement of the recordation of your testimony, we had a very short conversation, but will you agree with me now that there was nothing that was discussed in that conversation relating to the testimony that has not been actually covered in the deposition?
Mr. CABELL - That is correct. I recall no conversation of any sort pertaining to this incident that has not been covered in the examination under this deposition.
Mr. HUBERT - All right, sir, thank you very much.
(The following questions were asked upon completion of the deposition of Mrs. Earle Cabell.)Mr. HUBERT - Mayor Cabell, I wonder if you would agree for just a couple of questions for your deposition to be continued under the same terms and conditions that I began, and that you are under the same oath? |
Just a few days ago this small blog was nominated to the Versatile Blogger Award –and so, recognized with it!– by fellow blogger Cheynoeas’ Thoughts. I feel deeply grateful to her for it; her kindness and her appreciation of my work –and very promptly indeed, since she, Tonya, is one of my most recent followers; just a three weeks old one.
This is the very first award I obtain as a blogger, I still do not know what does it really mean and how it affects or may affect my decreasing blogging activity, this summer (a decrease or distancing imposed by the weight of other, more imperative tasks and the lack of time due to them); I did not even know how to react to it, either, beyond showing my gratitude and humble fondness to this person. I have already done this to a point, but I repeat it now, more formally, here: Thank you, Tonya, with all my heart 💙 ! (A blue heart, yes… 🙂 )
As for the reasons she had to nominate/award me, they are still a bit of a mystery… Just look at the qualities or merits required:
When nominating a fellow blogger for the Versatile Blogger Award, consider the quality of the writing, the uniqueness of the subjects covered, the level of love displayed in the words on the virtual page. Or, of course, the quality of the photographs and the level of love displayed in the taking of them.
The single thing I might frankly agree with is the one about some “level of love displayed”… Love is my main interest in life; love received and love given, love sought for and love lost, love as the only force in life that transcends time (let me say spacetime, since I am a physicist –mainly signifying that I was one once in life; I do not work now as a physicist)… In other words: love as a goal. I have tried all the time to show as much of it as I am able to; when writing and editing and when relating with other bloggers. The very blog itself originated out of love, to pay due homage to a darling person lost to death, and to her own blog interrupted less than a year after its creation.
With respect to the rules for the nominees: there are quite a few; some much easier to follow than others:
- You share a link to the Versatile Blogger award. (Done just here.)
- You thank the person who nominated you. Link them into your “Versatile Blogger Award” response. (See above, at the very beginning.)
- Nominate 15 bloggers for this award and don’t forget to let them know. (I will try to nominate some bloggers which I fairly think deserve this award, but they will not –they cannot!– be as many as 15… Even if I am nominally following 103 blogs, I lack the time to read most of them. It would be impossible even if I had all day long to spend on this task.)
- Share seven facts about yourself. (See below.)
- Share the logo of Versatile Blogger as your Featured Image in your post and display the rules for the next nominees. (A work in progress right now 🙂 )
7 Things About Me
- I’m a Catalan with Romani descent from my father’s side (two nationalities without state, even if the first one is now very close to recover the one it had until the beginning of the 18th century; the second one: Roma –the Romani people – or “Gypsies”, as many still call us– has not even had its own territory since our ancestors left Northern India a thousand years ago, fleeing the Muslim invasions) .
- I lost my younger sister past August and my mourning for her will last to my own death –of course, my love to her will last through death(s), forever.
- Aside of the rest of my tiny family, my closest beings use to be trees. As I live in the forests, at the foot of the Pyrenees, I have thousands upon thousands of friends.
- I also love quietness, books, old movies, classical music, chess, conversation and quite a broad spectrum of creative activities. Nevertheless, my first and greatest interest is –and always has been– spiritual evolution; the rest seems to me rather accessory –and growingly so.
- Genetically, I am a man, but androgynous; my gender identity being dual and somewhat fluid; anyway, increasingly feminine these last years (especially the last two years, since my sister fell seriously ill). So, I belong (proudly!) to the LGBTQ+ community.
- In a list of my favourite movies, half of them, if not more, would be by Charlie Chaplin (beginning with “City Lights”, “The Kid”, “The Gold Rush”, “Modern Times”…)
- I have entirely finished a long novel (997 pages), but after presenting it unsuccessfully to a couple of contests, and just prior to put it in the hands of a literary agent, I deeply realized that I did not wish to publish it in the language I had written it (Spanish)… Thus I began to translate (or better, rewrite) it to one of my own parental (and much smaller) tongues; that is, to Catalan. I am not yet half way through this additional, overwhelming, depleting, but inescapable, work. (After more than twenty years of work well done –honestly!–, to engage in this monumental new task is not, for sure, very clever from my part; but I am a very emotional person, and my increasing disaffection to Spain and Spanish ways and culture ending up in entire disengagement (to say it softly), obliges me.)
- Edge of Humanity Magazine – An amazing blog, very extensive and plenty of love for art, for folklore, for life, for diversity and most especially, for all the humblest and least fortunate people in this harsh world.
- Knut Arne Gjertsen Photography – Photographer – preserving nice moments – His are really nice moments, preserved with utmost skill and much love as well. A perfect site to find the true feeling of the North (among other several places around the world).
- Roger’s Gleanings – Roger W. Smith’s writings: personal essays and reminiscences; views; literature; culture; day to day jottings; people and places – A trove of memories, musings and stories exquisitely (and most honestly) written by a man of high culture – and a lover of baseball, as he, himself tells us.
- A Russian Affair – my love affair with Russian literature – A cosy, well-pondered –but passionate– and most reliable site dedicated to Russian writers and writings; a must read for everyone interested in this great literature between Orient and Occident.
- Vicent Partal – Mails per a Hipàtia – A blog in Catalan by one of the best journalists in our small homeland and director of VilaWeb (a Catalan-language daily news outlet that he co-founded with his wife –the first online medium produced completely in Catalan, and nowadays the leading Catalan digital newspaper). His personal blog deals with politics, history, journalism, travelling, private memories and all things related to the several Catalan-speaking countries. — I am very aware I will be disturbing him with this nomination, since he is an extremely busy person, with never ending chores and lots of responsibilities; and so, I did not include him in my first list (“Si us plau, no cal pas que me contesteu, Vicent; he dubtat molt abans d’incloure-us just per la por de dar-vos la gaita!”). However, I honestly could not keep his blog aside of it. I like “Mails per Hipàtia” too much for this.
- Something Beyond – Poetry, Death, Deviant Life – I feel this may seem nepotism, since this is my late sister’s blog; and even worse, I have been contributing to it many times since her death (always with drafts left unfinished by her, notes from her diaries, translations made by her or, otherwise, some of my memories of her and small tributes to her). — Anyway, since my personal blog is a sort of follow up of Ari’s, if I get an award, whatever it is, Ari’s blog deserves it more. To end this justification, let me say, that “Something Beyond” does really meet all requirements demanded for this Versatile Blogger Award; beginning with versatility.
I have been reading now and then (even quite often) a few other blogs which undoubtedly deserve this award, but some of them already hold several, if not many, awards and have hundreds of faithful followers; also I do not wish to abuse my attributions nominating as many as fifteen bloggers; so, nine more!; without knowing their blogs thoroughly. Last, but not least, I have run out of time, by far, to elaborate this post of acceptance and thanksgiving.
To finally close it, I just want to thank again very dearly Cheynoeas’ Thoughts for nominating me. Best wishes, Tonya, and a big warm hug from beyond the ocean ❤ 💐 💋 ✨ !
–No unauthorised copying or redistribution. All Rights Reserved. |
(click on the blue arrows
to expand a question and see the answer)
Expand all sections - Printer Friendly Page
Collapse all sections
Q. What is Article 10?
Q. What is meant by the term "siting"?
Q. What is meant by the term "major"?
Q. What is meant by the term "electric generating"?
Q. What is meant by the term "facility"?
Q. What is meant by the term "certificate"?
THE SITING BOARD
Q. What is the "Siting Board"?
Q. Who are the permanent members of the Siting Board?
Q. What is meant by the term "ad hoc"?
Q. Do ad hoc public members receive any compensation for their service on the Siting Board?
Q. What are the qualifications to be an ad hoc public member?
Q. How are the two ad hoc public members designated to serve on the Siting Board?
A. One is appointed by the President Pro Tem (Majority Leader) of the New York State Senate and one is appointed by the Speaker of the New York State Assembly from a list of candidates submitted to them. The list of candidates is to be submitted
within fifteen days of receipt of notification of the pre-application preliminary scoping statement.
In the event that the President Pro Tem of the Senate or the Speaker of the Assembly does not appoint one of the candidates within thirty days of receiving the list, the Governor shall appoint the ad hoc member(s) from the list of candidates. In the event that one or both of the ad hoc public members have not been appointed within forty-five days, a majority of persons named to the Siting Board shall constitute a quorum.
Q. How is the list of ad hoc public member candidates established?
Q. How is the list of candidates established in the City of New York?
Q. How is the list of candidates established in a town outside of any villages or in a city other than the City of New York?
Q. How is the list of candidates established in a village?
A. If such facility is proposed to be located in a village, the chief executive officer representing the town shall nominate four candidates, the chief executive officer representing the county shall nominate four candidates, and the chief executive officer representing the village shall nominate four candidates for consideration. The list of candidates is to be submitted to the President Pro Tem of the Senate or the Speaker of the Assembly within fifteen days of receipt of notification of the pre-application preliminary scoping statement.
Q. How is the list of candidates established if the facility is to be built on parcels of land located in more than one municipality?
Q. What resources are available to assist the Siting Board?
A. The Department of Public Service provides a presiding examiner and whatever legal, technological, scientific, engineering and other services that may be required. The Department of Environmental Conservation provides an associate examiner. The Secretary and the General Counsel to the Public Service Commission serve as Secretary and the General Counsel to the Siting Board.
TYPES OF GENERATING FACILITIES
Q. What types of electric generating facilities are likely to be proposed pursuant to the Article 10 process?
Q. Are electric generating facilities to be built by a power authority exempt from the Article 10 process?
A. No. There are three power authorities in New York State: the Power Authority of the State of New York (NYPA); the Green Island Power Authority; and the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). The statute expressly provides that all three authorities are subject to the provisions of the Article 10 siting process for major electric generating facilities which they build or cause to be built.
Q. Are any electric generating facilities exempt from the Article 10 process?
Q. If a facility is exempt from the Article 10 process, can the developer of the facility opt-in to the Article 10 process?
PRE-APPLICATION PROCEDURES - PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
Q. What is meant by the term "public involvement"?
A. "Public involvement" is the process of enabling the public to participate in decisions that may affect public health, safety and the environment.
Q. In what stages of the Article 10 process is it appropriate to conduct public involvement activities?
Q. How is public involvement conducted?
Q. Is the public required to participate in the applicant's public involvement activities?
Q. What are the purposes of a Public Involvement Program?
Q. What are the elements of a Public Involvement Program plan?
Q. When does the Public Involvement Program plan have to be prepared?
Q. What happens if the Department of Public Service (DPS) finds the Public Involvement Program plan to be inadequate?
A. DPS has 30 days after the date of the applicant's submittal to make written comments on the adequacy of the Public Involvement Program plan. If deemed inadequate, DPS will make specific written recommendations as to what measures are necessary to make the Public Involvement Program plan adequate. Thereafter, the applicant has 30 days to consider the measures recommended by DPS and, in a final written Public Involvement Program plan filed with the Secretary, shall as to each specific measure either revise the Public Involvement Program plan to incorporate the DPS recommendation, or provide a written explanation as to why the applicant is not incorporating the DPS recommendation.
What happens if the applicant refuses to incorporate a DPS recommendation without an adequate explanation, or has an inadequate Public Involvement Program plan?
Q. How do people who do not speak English participate in public involvement?
Q. What is the function of the Office of Public Information Coordinator created within the Department of Public Service?
A. The Office of Public Information Coordinator assists the public and interested parties by: (a) implementing measures that assure public participation in matters before the Siting Board; (b) responding to inquiries from the public for information on how to participate; (c) assisting the public in requesting records; (d) ensuring all interested persons are provided with a reasonable opportunity to participate at public meetings; (e) ensuring that all necessary or required documents are available for public access on the Siting Board website; and (f) any other duties as may be prescribed by the Siting Board, after consultation with the Department of Public Service.
Q. What is the Department of Public Service?
Q. How can I contact the Office of Public Information Coordinator?
PRE-APPLICATION PROCEDURES - PRELIMINARY SCOPING STATEMENT
Q. What is a Preliminary Scoping Statement?
Q. When does the Preliminary Scoping Statement have to be filed?
Q. What kind of information must be included in a Preliminary Scoping Statement?
Q. What happens after the Preliminary Scoping Statement is filed?
PRE-APPLICATION PROCEDURES - Fund for Municipal & LOCAL PARTIES
Q. What is the fund for municipal and local parties?
Q: How does an applicant set up the fund?
A. Applicants supplying the requisite fee to set up the intervenor funding account for the preliminary scoping phase of the case must provide a check, made out to the NYS Department of Public Service, simultaneously with the filing of their Preliminary Scoping Statement. The case number must be printed on the face of the check. The check must be delivered to the Director of the DPS Office of Finance and Budget, under cover of a letter stating the amount of the check and the Article 10 case name and number. The letter must be copied to the Secretary of the Siting Board for filing in the Article 10 case.
Q. What is an "intervenor"?
Q. What is the amount of the intervenor fee assessed during the pre-application stage?
A. Applicants submitting a preliminary scoping statement are assessed an intervenor fee equal to $350 for each 1,000 kilowatts (1 megawatt) of generating capacity of the subject facility, but no more than $200,000. For example, for a 100 megawatt facility, the pre-application intervenor fee would be $35,000 (100 x $350).
Q. What happens if after the pre-application intervenor fees have been used up, the applicant amends its preliminary scoping statement and more review is required?
Q. How does a qualified intervenor make a request for intervenor funds?
Q. When are pre-application intervenor funds awarded?
A. The presiding examiner will provide for an expedited pre-application funding disbursement schedule to assure early and meaningful public involvement. Following receipt of initial requests for pre-application funds, the presiding examiner shall expeditiously make an initial award of pre-application funds. Subject to the availability of funds, the presiding examiner may fix additional dates for submission of fund requests. Thereafter the presiding examiner may make additional awards of pre-application funds, in relation to the potential for such awards to make an effective contribution to review of the preliminary scoping statement.
Q. Who is eligible for intervenor funds?
Q. What can pre-application intervenor funds be used for?
Q. On what basis will the funds be awarded?
A. The presiding examiner will award funds on an equitable basis to participants during the pre-application phase to be used to make an effective contribution to review of the preliminary scoping statement, and thereby provide early and effective public involvement.
PRE-APPLICATION PROCEDURES - STIPULATIONS
Q. What are stipulations?
A. "Stipulations" are agreements among parties that concern matters before the Siting Board and are designed to simplify or shorten litigation and save costs. Any parties to the proceeding can enter into a stipulation setting forth an agreement on any aspect of the preliminary scoping statement and the scope of studies or program of studies to be conducted. It is often in the interests of applicants and other parties to agree in advance to the content and methodology for conducting studies that will be submitted as part of the application.
Q. How is the stipulations process initiated?
Q. Do other parties and the public get an opportunity to participate in the stipulations process?
Q. What happens if a party does not agree that a stipulation entered into between the applicant and another party is adequate?
APPLICATION PROCEDURES - SUBMISSION OF AN APPLICATION
Q. What happens when an Article 10 application is submitted?
Q. What happens if the documents submitted are insufficient to comply with the requirements of the law, regulations and stipulations?
Q. What happens if the documents submitted are sufficient to comply with the requirements of the law, regulations and stipulations?
APPLICATION PROCEDURES - DESIGNATION OF PARTIES
Q. Who are the parties to an Article 10 proceeding?
Q. Who are the automatic statutory parties to an Article 10 proceeding?
A. The applicant, staff of the Department of Public Service, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Health, the Department of Agriculture and Markets, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the Department of State, the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and in certain instances, the Adirondack Park Agency.
Q. Who are the parties that have a right to be a party to an Article 10 proceeding merely by giving notice?
A. Provided they file with the Siting Board a notice of intent to be a party, within 45 days after the date given in the published notice as the date for the filing of the application, the following parties have a right to be a party to an Article 10 proceeding merely by giving the required notice: (a) the affected municipality; (b) any individual resident of an affected municipality; (c) any non-profit corporation or association, formed in whole or in part to promote conservation or natural beauty, to protect the environment, personal health or other biological values, to preserve historical sites, to promote consumer interests, to represent commercial and industrial groups or to promote the orderly development of any area in which the facility is to be located; and (d) any other municipality or resident of such municipality located within a five mile radius of such proposed facility
(their notice of intent must include an explanation of the potential environmental effects on such municipality or person). In addition, the presiding officer may for good cause shown permit a municipality or other person to become a party and to participate in all subsequent stages of the proceeding.
Q. Who are the parties that may be permitted to join?
Q. Where does a party file a notice of intent to be a party?
APPLICATION PROCEDURES - Fund for Municipal & LOCAL PARTIES
Q. What is the amount of the intervenor fee assessed when an application is filed?
Q. How does an applicant set up the fund?
Q. What happens if after the application phase intervenor fees have been used up, the applicant amends its application and more review is required?
Q. How does a qualified intervenor make a request for intervenor funds?
A. A notice of availability of the funds will be issued providing a schedule and related information. The notice will describe how municipal and local parties may apply for intervenor funds. Requests must be submitted to the presiding examiner within 30 days after the issuance of the notice by filing the request with the Secretary and submitting a copy to the presiding examiner and to the other parties to the proceeding. At any pre-hearing conference that may be held to consider fund requests, the parties should be prepared to discuss their funding applications and the award of funds. Parties are encouraged to consider consolidating their requests with similar funding proposals made by other parties.
Q. Who is eligible for intervenor funds?
Q. What can application phase intervenor funds be used for?
Q. On what basis will the funds be awarded?
HEARING PROCEDURES - CONDUCT OF THE HEARING
Q. Who conducts the hearings?
A. The hearings will be conducted by a presiding examiner designated by the Department of Public Service. An associate examiner shall be designated by the Department of Environmental Conservation. The associate examiner will assist the presiding examiner in inquiring into and calling for testimony concerning relevant and material matters, and the conclusions and recommendations of the associate examiner will be incorporated in the recommended decision of the presiding examiner.
Q. What kinds of hearings will be held?
Q. What are "public statement" hearings?
Q. What is a "limited appearance"?
Q. What are "trial-type evidentiary" hearings?
A. Trial-type evidentiary hearings are designed to obtain sworn testimony from witnesses (usually expert witnesses) that are subject to cross examination by the parties to the proceeding. The format is designed like a trial and it is recommended that the participants be assisted by legal counsel, although the assistance of legal counsel is not mandatory. The usual practice is for written direct and rebuttal testimony and discovery to be circulated to the parties in advance so that the hearings can focus on the cross examination of witnesses.
Q. What is "discovery"?
A. "Discovery" is a pre-trial process used by parties to obtain facts and information about the case from other parties. The most common discovery device is the written interrogatory, but oral depositions and other devices are also available. Any party to a proceeding is subject to the discovery process.
Q. If the Siting Board does not personally conduct the hearings, how does it become informed of the proceedings?
SITING BOARD DECISIONS - TIMING OF THE DECISION
Q. Is there a deadline by which the Siting Board must make a final decision on an Article 10 application?
A. Yes. All proceedings on an application including a final decision by the Siting Board must be completed within 12 months from the date of a determination by the Chairperson that an application complies, except that the Siting Board may extend the deadline in extraordinary circumstances by no more than 6 months in order to give consideration to specific issues necessary to develop an adequate record. The board must render a final decision on the application by the aforementioned deadlines unless the deadlines are waived by the applicant.
Q. What happens to the deadline if the application is amended during the Article 10 proceeding?
Q. Are there any other exceptions to the deadlines described above?
SITING BOARD DECISIONS - SUBSTANCE OF THE DECISION
Q. What options does the Siting Board have in making a decision on an Article 10 application?
Q. What substantive matters must be addressed in any Siting Board decision to grant an Article 10 certificate?
Q. What are the required statutory findings that must be made by the Siting Board?
Q. What are the required statutory determinations that must be made by the Siting Board?
A. The Siting Board must make explicit determinations that: (a) the facility is a beneficial addition to or substitution for the electric generation capacity of the state; (b) the construction and operation of the facility will serve the public interest; (c) the adverse environmental effects of the construction and operation of the facility will be minimized or avoided to the maximum extent practicable; (d) if the board finds that the facility results in or contributes to a significant and adverse disproportionate environmental impact in the community in which the facility would be located, the applicant will avoid, offset or minimize the impacts caused by the facility upon the local community for the duration that the certificate is issued to the maximum extent practicable using verifiable measures; (e) the facility is designed to operate in compliance with applicable state and local laws and regulations issued thereunder concerning, among other matters, the environment, public health and safety, all of which shall be binding upon the applicant, except that the Siting Board may elect not to apply, in whole or in part, any local ordinance, law, resolution or other action or any regulation issued thereunder or any local standard or requirement, including, but not limited to, those relating to the interconnection to and use of water, electric, sewer, telecommunication, fuel and steam lines in public rights of way, which would be otherwise applicable if it finds that, as applied to the proposed facility, such is unreasonably burdensome in view of the existing technology or the needs of or costs to ratepayers whether located inside or outside of such municipality. The Siting Board shall provide the municipality an opportunity to present evidence in support of such ordinance, law, resolution, regulation or other local action issued thereunder.
Q. What are the required statutory factors that must be considered by the Siting Board in making the required determinations?
COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT
Q. Who is in charge of compliance and enforcement matters regarding a Certificate that has been issued? |
How often do we want God to take action, at once? We want to see Him bring judgment and answer our cries. But in stillness we learn HIs character. We wait and learn and we develop hearts that can be at rest. We learn His timing and mercy. (Hebrews 10:30, Exodus 14:13, Psalm 123)
Speaker(s): Thomas Schaller, Randy Rollins
6:30 AM on 1/23/2022
P. Schaller –
Wow! I love that. Everlasting, everlasting, name above all. Jesus you are everlasting, everlasting name above all.
Wow! Amazing! Wow! Alright. Three parts, four parts to our service tonight. The first part is my
message, a short good message on waiting on God. Waiting on God. That’s our theme. We had
this morning on the character of God and relating to God in his character. He will not call me
Baali; he will call me Ishi. Ishi. I thought for our marriage getaway we could have a t-shirt and it
would be on the t-shirt, “You will not call me boss or master, but you will call me husband.”
Husband. Wow! That was good. That was this morning. That will be our first part. Second part is
P. Steve and we’ll do the offering.
Third part – I think it is this way – P. Serradji and all the
teachers at the MBC&S coming up on stage and the teachers coming up and just taking a look
at them as we start our new semester and P. Serradji sharing a few words. And then P. Randy
wraps it up. P. Randy wraps it up. He says he has a message prepared one hour and ten
minutes! That’s the short version! No, so we’ll have a good time here tonight. I’m joking.
Go with me to Heb. 10 and the vengeance is mine saith the Lord, chapter 10:30. Who does
vengeance belong to but the Lord. “Vengeance is mine.” Have you ever felt driven to pay
somebody back for the evil that they have done to you. That somebody has mistreated you or
they have stolen from you. They have slandered you. They have hurt you. Does anyone have
one of those voodoo dolls under the bed? You know where it is. You know where it is and you
stick pins in it for vengeance.
They practice that in some parts of the world, like a witchcraft to
curse people. Have you ever wanted to curse your enemy or get vengeance for what they have
done? That’s very much what it means here, but the Lord says what? Who will do the
vengeance? God. Do you think he will do a better job than you? Come on. What do you think?
Some of you are slow answering! No, I want to do it! I want to do it! No, let him do it. He’ll do a
better job than you, right? So this means waiting on God is really what the psalmist said that we
should be still and know that he is God. He really is God. There are many times in life you have
to learn what this means to wait on God because we are prone to reaction. We are prone to get
it done. Like I don’t have enough time. I got to do this. There are many situations.
Turn to Exodus 14. This is just to get your attention and leave you with a few thoughts on it. I’m
excited about Bible college starting tomorrow night. Renaldo Brown, Pastor Renaldo Brown and
I are team teaching Church Planting tomorrow night from 6 to 8. Whether you can pay for it or
not, come tomorrow night 6 to 8. It’s free tomorrow night, but if you don’t pay, then vengeance is
mine! Okay. Exodus 14:13, that part “stand still.” Don’t fear. Stand still. They have not yet crossed
the Red Sea, and they don’t know how they are going to get delivered. But to practice this in life.
You know, you’re going to need it some day. You’re going to run to the drug store. You’re going
to run to the refrigerator to get a drink. Or you’re going to run to the phone or you’re going to
solve your problem on your own.
But Moses said to the people, stand still and you will see the
salvation of God. How about it. Waiting on the Lord is a very real thing. To have our life geared
not to our emotions or our worry or our fear or our revenge or our impatience or I got to get this
done my way, my time, but instead this principle of being still and waiting on the Lord. vs. 13.
They will be toast. It’s over. There’s no way. It’s the most powerful empire in the world and this
group of people are trapped, but this is what we are learning. In your spiritual life, I’m telling you
and I know you know this and you’re learning it, your quiet life with God is powerful. You can
learn to wait on God and pray and trust him and you will see again and again and again. Now
listen. In the world out there and we see it, there are so many mental problems and so many
growing – there’s a growing kind of sense of anxiety and fear in the world but not you. You have
another world. You have the life of Christ.
You have the Spirit of Christ. You have a living God. You can wait a year. You can wait two years. You can wait five years. You can wait ten years. You can watch God, God’s timing, God’s way. Wasn’t when Noah built the ark, it was 120 years. How about Moses when he’s out in the wildnerness before he even begins and goes back, he
has 40 years in the desert. He’s 80 years old when he starts his ministry, but it’s perfect timing.
It’s God and God is with him. I’d rather have God with me in his timing then to be doing it my
way in my timing. We’re almost – we’re doing it here.
Let’s go to Psalm 123:1-2, I made a short list here. I’ll just read it to you. We wait for mercy, Psalm 39:7. We wait for pardon. Remember the old man at the temple waited to see, to meet Christ.
He took the baby and said my eyes have seen my Savior, Luke 2:25. We wait for guidance, Psalm
62:1-2. That’s an important one. Wait for guidance. Sometimes when I was on the missionfield, I
was a counselor for team members and others and they would say I feel like I want to go.
Where do you want to go? I don’t know. Well, I said I think it’s better you would know where you
want to go before you go. I think it’s better to know where he wants you to go before you go. But
there’s a restlessness. I want to go. I want to go. But there’s also this principle waiting on God
and guidance. It’s not in men to direct his footsteps in Jeremiah 10:23.
I don’t know how to guide my own life but I want to be – waiting on God takes some humility. My way isn’t his way. I would take revenge or vengeance. But he said vengeance is mine so I got to give it up. I have to learn
forgiveness. I have to learn patience. I have to learn prayer. I have to learn to bless those who
hurt me. I have to learn to put on Jesus. I have to learn to be patient with God. I have to be led
by the Spirit of God to love and to forgive. As he forgave me, so I must forgive others who
trespass against me. We wait on God for protection, Psalm 33:20. We wait on God for the
fulfillment of his Word, Habakkuk 2:3. We wait on God for the fulfillment of his promises, Acts 1:4. We
wait on God with our soul, Psalm 62:1. We wait on God with desire, Psalm 130:6. We wait on God
with patience, Psalm 40:1.
I remember when I was in Bible college, I got to the place where I wanted to go, but the program
was three years. So I had to kind of get it in my mind that I am to sit patiently at the feet of Jesus
and enjoy where I am and to make something good out of where I’m at because this is God’s
plan for my life. To be patient in Bible school and also to finish it and expect God in it. When I
lived in the dorm and the dishes were piled high and very dirty and nasty and I wanted
vengeance! I had to learn to be a servant. I had to learn to wait on God and get his mind and be
corrected in my heart and be a solution instead of a problem. I had to learn to walk with God
and learn how to love. Also getting married, how to love my wife. How to serve in the Body. How
to be part of the Body of Christ. Waiting on God is really a big part of life. He will bring it about.
He will do his work in his timing and his way.
Lastly, we wait on God in our adversity, Isaiah 59. We wait on God to be heard, Psalm 40:1. We wait
on God to be blessed, Isaiah 30:18. And here’s the last one: we wait on God for our strength to be
renewed. Many of you know that verse, Isaiah 40:31. I remember years ago when Dr. Stevens
would say he’d have to take a break for a couple of days and fast and go to some hotel room
and be quiet and be refreshed. When we went to Finland, we worked very hard. There was one
day of ministry went into another day so we had seven straight days of ministry for many weeks.
I was losing my voice, and I was losing my mind! Not really. I was motivated and on fire. Very
refreshed, but I could see I needed time. My wife and I we had [name of a Finnish brother], this
Finnish brother had a cottage. He had like a log cabin out in the woods and he said you can go
there for a day on Fridays and so my wife and I would go there.
I didn’t talk cause I was talking all the time. I would just be there with her. We would be quiet for the day. We needed to be refreshed and wait on God and be renewed in our hearts. It’s a short time actually, one day, but
you’re following what I am trying to say. Maybe your schedule is so busy, and especially in
America. In Finland it was easier because we had no TV. We didn’t understand what was being
said if we did have. I’m not proud of that, but that was the way it was. I didn’t understand the
language. It was quiet and so on, but I’m saying in America, please, take note of this. You might
need a break. Take a period of time and get some sleep and quietness and turn off things and
wait on God. Get quiet before God and seek God in your heart.
Get excited about it. On Saturday, I’m going to take the whole afternoon or the whole day or whatever time you can take.
A block of four hours and wait on God and be still and know that he is God. He will answer your
prayer. He will restore your soul. He will speak to your heart. He will fill you with the Spirit. He
will lead and guide you. And as you obey God in your heart, you will find him again and again
and he will renew you and encourage you. So that’s it. Amen. Let’s ask P. Philippe, come on up
and all the teachers at MBC&S come up on the stage. We just want to take a look to see if you
dressed according to the dress code! Here we go! Praise the Lord. Amen. We love you Jesus!
Look at these people. Oh wow! I think our school is amazing. It is amazing. Honestly. Our
school is amazing.
Hey, I thought driving here, do you know how long I have been teaching the Bible? Forty-seven years. I’ve been teaching the Bible for 47 years. How much of the Bible do you think I know? How much of it do you think I know? How much of it do you think I’ve preached? What do you think? More than when I started, when I forgot most of it! This is what I want to say: I don’t know anything, but I have Jesus and he knows everything. I don’t care what
I know. The ministry isn’t what I know. The ministry is Jesus. Amen. That’s what this school is
about. That’s why I love our school. I would take our school up against any school in the
country, any school in the world. If Jesus is at the center, it’s an amazing – not comparing. I’m
just saying comparing it to the secular world I am saying it.
This school, when you learn Jesus Christ, when you are refreshed by him, when you are spoken
to by Jesus Christ and you can live based on what he said, you are good to go. God is with you.
Isn’t that amazing? I don’t care about anything I know. All the things I know it’s who is Jesus
Christ. What is he saying by his Spirit, because there is a day when it ends for me, but it doesn’t
end for God. God keeps rolling amen! He keeps rolling and he keeps talking and he keeps
speaking and I’m so happy about what we are doing and this great group of men. Thank you
guys. Praise the Lord!
Philippe Serradji –
Well, I think it’s exactly what I was going to say in a way. It’s amazing how –
on Sunday mornings with young adults we meet in the library and we decided to do a series on
the book of Proverbs. And it’s interesting when you think about wisdom. Wisdom in the Bible is
applying what you know to be true. That’s very simple. It goes with what you are saying.
The Bible college is not about knowing things or have a theory of life. It’s really a life. There is
nothing we know about God that we have received outside of the Word of God. The end goal of
the Word, of the revelation, is to know him not to know things. And the end goal of Bible college
is to know him through knowing those things. But there is no way we can know God outside the
There is no way God has chosen to give us his revelation here and that’s what we do in
Bible college intentionally. We want to make disciples because every Christian is called to be a
disciple. This is a real privilege so we have amazing classes. (He introduced the classes and
the teachers). This is a new semester starting tomorrow. As P. Schaller said, if you want to
come to classes you’ve never been, you’re welcome to come to any classes this week. It’s open
house. If you want to audit the classes, they are all free in the morning. Here we go. P. Cannon,
do you want to pray for the semester? (Prayer).
P. Randy Rollins – Good evening. Psalm 62:5, I have a story. Psalm 62:5, my soul waits on God. My
expectation is from him. If you dedicated your life to waiting on the Lord, that was your main
goal in life to wait on God; what’s the worst thing that can happen to you? Nothing! There is no
worst. If you dedicated your life, your soul to wait upon God; that was your main goal. What is
your best case scenario?
A hero in the Bible I think is Anna in Luke 2. She waited for 80 years. I don’t know how many
years it was, for Jesus to come as a baby. If we have that determination to wait upon God, that
is a good goal. That I’m ultimately going to be filled with the character of God, filled with the
mercy of God. When I was younger, fifth or sixth grade or so, I was in the choir. Me and my
three brothers. I was soprano. I changed from soprano to baritone in one year. I couldn’t believe
it. My brothers and I would go I think because of the cute girls in the choir. It took a long time to
find the cutest one right over there!
But we would in the choir once in a while go to this infirmary. We would sing Christmas carols
and sing hymns. I went to church when I was younger and it was a dead church. Never heard
about being born again. But anyway, we would go to this infirmary and we would sing to the
people there, elderly people and disabled people. There was this lady there. Her name was
Louise Tomkins. She was a famous person in the area. She became a journalist. She had a
correspondence course that she learned how to be a journalist. She had articles in the local
paper once a week, and she did that all flat on her back.
When she was young, she was very athletic, very spunky, very witty. She would get in trouble at school because she would talk too much. You don’t know anybody like that, do you? At age 19,
she felt a pain in her hip, and it was very painful. She was very athletic. She wanted to be a
phys-ed teacher, and she saw a doctor. The doctor says you have a rare form of arthritis. And
she had twelve operations to try and fix it. Nothing helped her. A lot of pain, so the doctor
ultimately talked to her and said, you need to make a decision. You need to make a decision
what position you want to be in for the rest of your life because you’re going to stiffen up. You’re
going to freeze. She had a hard time making a decision whether to keep a hand open or closed.
But she decided to have her arms folded up in a 90 degree angle and one hand open and one
hand closed. She ultimately – very painful. And in distress. Anytime someone would visit her, all
she would do was cry. She couldn’t talk to them. She was so distraught.
The people in the infirmary said let’s send this couple that we know. They’re missionaries for
years probably. I don’t know their story. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Star. They were missionaries to
Kenya. They visited her and they witnessed to her. They said Jesus never fails. And she got
gloriously saved. We would go and sing to her and you could tell the glow on her face, the
contentment. It was unbelievable. I mean I don’t remember a lot of the details. I wasn’t a
believer that I knew of anyway, but today what an effect she had on my life or other people’s
So, she would write articles once a week. She got gloriously saved. She called the elders of the
church that she became part of to anoint her with oil. Asked them to anoint her with oil, and pray
for me. They fasted and prayed for her for four hours and ultimately her pain went away but she
was in this position. She could read a book with a little device like here.
Anyway, that is a cool story that I think somehow affected me. I’m so privileged to have met her.
I can’t wait to see her in heaven. She was in that position for 52 years. Amazing. People that
would visit her they would just – they wouldn’t even know she was disabled. She could talk a
little bit – barely write – but she could talk. She had a funny sense of humor, but talk about
waiting upon the Lord, right? So, if the doctor were to visit me and say, Randy. By the way, what
position do you want to be in for the rest of your life, you know? I would hope I would be in the
position like she had that I was able to wait upon the Lord.
Please enjoy these sermon notes from the messages preached at Greater Grace Church in Baltimore. These notes are provided to aid in your study and understanding of the Word. Note that these notes do not represent complete, word-for-word transcriptions. Also, they may contain omissions as well as some errors in spelling and structure, etc., as we attempt to provide them as soon as possible. Our hope is that these notes serve as a way to help you search and connect with messages on related subjects and passages. Thank you for your interest in the ministry of Greater Grace. |
My neighbor emailed me the other day to ask if I wanted any salvage wood from their privacy fence. I gladly picked through her wood and scored some nice rustic fence pickets that I used for building this wood storage shed.
This 6×16 wood shed is ideal for any homeowner, as it will shelter the firewood from the weather, while adding a touch of unique charm to your backyard. You should also check out my 8×8 gable wood shed plans, which can also hold 3 cords of wood. I have many design ideas on this blog, so make sure you take a look over all the alternatives before taking a decision. .
We have 96 buildings (storage, barns, gazebos, swings, garages, etc) ready to go! Click here for details All of our storage buildings are designed to withstand a ground snow load of 90 psf. Compare this to our competitor's buildings! We stand behind our buildings. See our warranty. There's a large selection of sizes, options, and finishes to choose from. We have a trained crew that inspects our products for quality. We care about you, our customer, having the best experience possible. Our buildings are built in a controlled shop environment for the best quality construction. Most of our buildings are now built with TechShield® Radiant Barrier Sheathing. Find out more here. Designed to withstand a ground snow load of 90 psf More than 5 styles Small to large sizes Many options available Delivery available Maine's log sided home dealer! Complete finished home packages 6 Log home styles Our own crew completes assembly Painted garages Log sided garages Stick built double wide or single wide models Low maintenance - long lasting Run-in barns Shed row horse barns Large, modular models available Many sizes and models to choose from. Vinyl or Pressure treated- low maintenance Standard screen package included for bug-free enjoyment Beautiful cedar shingle roof available Wooden outdoor play sets These swing sets will give years of enjoyment Creative play time here! Economically priced 12' or 14' wide models up to 48' long Log rail porches for outdoor enjoyment Shell or finished packages available Backyard coops - fresh eggs, year round Secure wood or painted models Easy egg collection Well ventilated Built in chicken roost Horse Barns Shed row barns Run ins Modular barns Lean-to horse barns Chicken Coops Backyard chicken coops Camps Painted camps Homes Chalet Homes Mountaineer Musketeer Home Frontier Settler Pioneer Garages Single wide garages Stick built garages Gazebos Vinyl Gazebos Wooden Gazebos Swing sets Wooden play sets Company information Etna directions Lyman directions Sabattus directions Holden directions Request information About us Employment Office hours and addresses Note: Our offices will be closed December 24 to January 2 for our annual Christmas break. Etna - sales / manufacturing Mon. to Thurs., 8-3:00 Closed Fri., Sat., and Sun. 1310 Stage Rd (Rte 2) Etna, Maine 04434 Email: [email protected] Call: 207-269-2802 Map it Sabattus - sales Mon., Tues., Thurs. 9-3:00 Closed Wed., Fri., Sat., and Sun. 242 Middle Rd (Rte 9) Sabattus, Maine 04280 Email: [email protected] Call: 207-269-2022 Map it Lyman - sales Mon. Wed., Thurs., 9-3:00 Closed Tues., Fri., Sat., and Sun. 1520 Alfred Rd (Rte 111) Lyman, Maine 04002 Email: [email protected] Call: 207-269-2021 Map it Holden - sales Mon. to Thurs., 9-3:00 Closed Fri., Sat., and Sun. 247 Main Rd Holden, Maine 04429 Email: [email protected] Call: 207-269-2020 Map it Gray - sales Mon. to Thurs., 9-3:00 Closed Fri., Sat., and Sun. 158 Lewiston Rd Gray, ME 04039 Email: [email protected] Call: 207-269-2023 Map it Elmer's Discount 366 US-1 Columbia, ME 04623 Map it Brunswick 249 Bath Rd Brunswick, ME Map it Madison Lakewood Rd (Rte 201) Madison, ME Map it Ellsworth 743 Bangor Rd Ellsworth, ME 04605 Map it Medway 1995 Medway Rd Medway, ME 04460 Map it Newport 263 Elm St. Newport, ME Map it Palmyra 1448 Main St Palmyra, ME Map it Turner 1077 Auburn Rd Turner, ME Map it Winthrop 2214A US-202 Winthrop, ME 04364 Map it Greenville 161 Moosehead Lake Rd Greenville, ME 04441 Map it Windham 459 Roosevelt Trail (Rte. 302) Windham, ME 04062 Map it site designed and maintained by Maine Graphics
Did your dog get out again? We have fencing for pets, keeping children safe, making some privacy, or keeping the critters out of your garden. Choose from vinyl or aluminum...and make a lasting investment to your property.
This project is a decorative firewood storage shed. If you like the design and you are willing to invest more money into this project, this might be an interesting alternative. Check the step by step plans and diagrams at HowToSpecialist. MORE >>
Sort:Best MatchBest MatchTime: ending soonestTime: newly listedPrice + Shipping: lowest firstPrice + Shipping: highest firstDistance: nearest first
If you want to keep the firewood dry and to save some space in your backyard, you should definitely consider building a shed. However, finding the right plans that are also free is a struggle. We have selected the best 9 garden shed plans, starting with the basic projects that cost under 10$, up to the large storage sheds that can store 1 cord of wood. All the plans are attentively selected, so that you don’t have to worry about that.
When buying the lumber, you should select the planks with great care, making sure they are straight and without any visible flaws (cracks, knots, twists, decay). Investing in cedar or other weather resistant lumber is a good idea, as it will pay off on the long run. Use a spirit level to plumb and align the components, before inserting the galvanized screws, otherwise the project won’t have a symmetrical look. If you have all the materials and tools required for the project, you could get the job done in about a day. A – 2 pieces of 2×6 lumber – 16 ft long, 9 pieces – 69″ long FLOOR FRAME B – 6 pieces of 4×4 lumber – 8 ft long SKIDS C – 34 pieces of 2×4 lumber – 8 ft long DECKING D – 3 pieces of 2×6 lumber – 78 1/2″ long, 2 pieces – 86 3/4″ long, 3 pieces – 54 1/2″ long, 2 pieces – 61 1/2″ long POSTS E – 2 pieces of 2×6 lumber – 16 ft long SUPPORT BEAMS G – 9 pieces of 2×4 lumber – 82 3/4″ long RAFTERS F – 14 pieces of 1×6 lumber – 72″ long, 12 pieces – 95 1/4″ long PANELS H – 12 pieces of 1×4 lumber – 108″ long PURLINS I – 4 pieces of 1×6 lumber – 108 3/4″ long, 2 pieces of 1×4 lumber – 72″ long TRIMS J – 110 sq ft of metal roofing sheets ROOFING Unlock Materials List Make sure you follow me on Facebook to be the first that gets our latest plans and for some other exclusive content. Also, follow me on Pinterest to get many ideas for your backyard from all the internet! Check out our YouTube channel! See how you can Support Me with no extra costs to you.
There are a lot of factors that go into determining the cost of backyard storage space. We’re going to use a 10×20 storage shed as our reference, so we can get a fair comparison of the options.
Great value for the price. Ordered the shed and had it delivered in less than 2 days. The delivery was great and they places it EXACTLY where I wanted it. Great customer service! Glenn Rappaport 1 year ago
South Country Sheds is meeting the growing demand for quality storage sheds and barns in South West Florida. Since our beginnings over 8 years ago, we’ve provided sheds to many satisfied customers. South Country Sheds are designed with people in mind. We are producing sheds for the consumer who cares, the acreage or lot owner who needs a high quality shed at a reasonable price. Precise Quality Workmanship – The Best After Sales Service – Factory Direct Prices
(29)29 product ratings - 10'x15'x8' FT Storage Shed Shelter Car Tent Garage Steel Carport Canopy Cover
Modern Sheds incorporate the clean look of the contemporary design and make it a useful Modern Studio Shed, Modern Office Shed, or Modern Poolhouse.
The lean-to roof design is simple and elegant at the same time. It can be built free-standing or against your house or garage. The windows will help you keep on task and enjoy nature views.
Hello Brittany , it’s a really fantastic post you’ve surely go here . I’ll surely give this a try in my free time. Thanks
Leland’s understands that some customers have creative ideas and different uses in mind when purchasing a Leland’s Barns and Shed product, and may opt to modify the structure by adding items such as drywall, fixtures and other items. It’s important to understand that when a customer chooses to make such modifications, Leland’s does not bear responsibility in relation to permits or integrity of the work. Altering the Shed product voids the product warranty. 900 McDuff Avenue, Grandview, TX 76050Click Here to Contact Your Local DealerCorporate Office: 817-760-2204Corporate Sales: 817-768-5199 Our founders have been building high-quality products, from the best materials, with outstanding customer service, for over 20 years. The company was founded on biblical principles and it still guides us today.
You can either Order Online or Call Us to Order. We can discuss with you all of the options in detail. We want you to be completely satisfied with our sheds and our service. Features: 4′ x 4′ treated skids 3/4″ tongue-in-groove OSB floor 2″ x 4″ floor joists and wall studs, 16″ OC 2″ x 4″ roof joists, 24″ OC Door width: 3′ or 4′ Hinges, commercial type with heavy-duty screws Door lock & key Siding: Smart-Panel with vertical grooves Sidewall: 7 feet Peak Height: 6′ wide – 8’6″; 8′ wide – 8’10”; 10′ wide – 9’4″; 12′ wide – 9’8″ Roof shingles: light brown, dark brown, charcoal gray, black, forest green, white Free delivery in our service area Primed, ready to paint |
I expected my last film of July 16 would be a documentary called Blood & Flesh – The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson. You may not have heard of Adamson. I hadn’t. He was an exploitation filmmaker in the 1960s and 70s, responsible for titles like Satan’s Sadists, The Naughty Stewardesses, and Dracula Vs. Frankenstein, as well as not one but two separate films titled Psycho a Go-Go (Technically, one was Psycho à Go-Go; note accent). Introducing the documentary, Fantasia co-Director Mitch Davis described Adamson as more of a hustler than a filmmaker, then called up director David Gregory to briefly explain the film’s genesis. Gregory said it began as a special feature for a Blu-ray release, but the more he investigated Adamson, the more he realised the material was worth digging into more deeply. Thus, it’s now a feature, covering Adamson’s life, the films he made, and his awful death.
(Before the documentary played, we saw “When Larry Met Stanley,” a six-minute short directed by Katy Jensen and Mike Leans. It features Larry Cohen, an independent B-movie director, recounting directly to the camera an anecdote about the time he met Stanley Kubrick, when Kubrick was just starting out as a director. It’s a cute story, and Cohen, who passed away earlier this year, tells it well.)
Blood & Flesh opens at the end, with Adamson’s murder. It then goes back to work its way back through Adamson’s life. He was the son of a B-movie actress and B-movie director, and got his start in film working with his father. He later teamed with producer Sam Sherman to set up Independent-International Pictures, turning out grindhouse schlock through the 60s and 70s, chasing whatever was in the zeitgeist — biker films like Satan’s Sadists, blaxploitation like Black Samurai, softcore sexploitation like Naughty Stewardesses.
He withdrew from film as the industry changed in the late 70s, emerging briefly to make never-released “documentaries” about alien visitations, which he apparently believed in. Then, in 1995, he went missing. His body was soon found. He had been murdered by his live-in handyman. The case was briefly a media sensation, apparently a case of life imitating art: the director of cheap horror films brutally killed.
Blood & Flesh tells this story mostly through interviewees speaking to camera. The selection of material seems strong, and is bolstered by other footage including an interview with Adamson from shortly before his death. The interviews give a full picture of the man’s life and career, and often play against each other to good effect, giving different perspectives on an incident or on some aspect of Adamson’s personality. Clips from Adamson’s movies are used well to further illustrate points.
The documentary does not shy away from discussing the quality of Adamson’s movies, which could charitably be described as ‘poor.’ Adamson’s own colleagues discuss his lack of talent. The point with these films, though, was not to be good. It was to make money, quickly, while spending as little as possible. In this, Adamson more or less succeeded.
He would shoot a film in a week or so. The movie might have as many as five different titles so it could be sold many times over, occasionally re-edited to add a sub-plot or some kind of new content to cash in on a current craze. For star power, he recruited fading old movie actors desperate for one last role — Aldo Ray, John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr. His creations played drive-ins and grindhouses, and turned profits.
Sometimes the schemes to make a buck could get elaborate, if never costly. To publicise The Naughty Stewardesses, Sherman created a fake industry group, “Stewardesses For a Better Image,” and had them ‘protest’ the film in uniform. Newspapers fell for it. Another time, Adamson and Sherman bought a black-and-white Filipino horror film on the cheap, and Adamson shot scenes with American actors that introduced a sub-plot about ‘spectrum radiation.’ Adamson and Sherman then tinted the black-and-white scenes various colours with the in-story explanation that spectrum radiation was causing the weird monochrome imagery, and promoted the tinted film by calling it a new colour process called “Spectrum-X.” To top it off, they retitled the movie (originally Tagani) to Horror of the Blood Monsters.
And what’s oddest in retrospect is that the Adamson-directed scenes in Blood Monsters were shot by Vilmos Zsigmond, who only a few years later would win an Oscar for Best Cinematography for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Stewardesses was shot by Gary Graver, who would go on to work with Orson Welles on F For Fake and The Other Side of the Wind. By this point, although Adamson and Sherman were paying little or nothing, they’d managed to attract some people willing to work with them as a way into the movie industry.
As a result, Blood & Flesh has a subtle but noticeable shift in tone over its first two acts. At first it’s dominated by nostalgia, as Sherman, still dedicated to Adamson’s memory, recalls their early days affectionately. Then a lot of their collaborators from the 60s weigh in, with more exasperation. As old or older than Adamson and Sherman, they recall the lack of funding bitterly even as they tell weird stories about shooting in the Spahn Ranch, at the time the home of a bunch of hippies led by one Charles Manson. (True to form, after the Sharon Tate murder the ad campaign for Satan’s Sadists boasted “Hippie Psychos On A Mad Murder Spree! Filmed On The Actual Locations Where The Tate Murder Suspects Lived Their Wild Experiences!”)
But then as the 70s go on, younger filmmakers began to work for Adamson and Sherman, and a lot of them look back on those days with real warmth. They were in a different position in life, and perhaps wanted something different — experience, an entrée into the industry. Unsurprisingly they looked at things differently than the older crew.
At any rate, the drive-ins that bought Adamson’s pictures didn’t last much longer. The last third of the film is therefore concerned with the details of Adamson’s death. It’s an odd shift into the true-crime genre. It’s well done, bringing in a host of interviews, even an audio phone call with the handyman convicted of killing Adamson (he says he didn’t do it). And yet it’s less interesting, because it’s open-and-shut in a way the sections about filmmaking aren’t. In the parts of the documentary about film you don’t really know what’s coming next. In the section on Adamson’s death, you largely do. While a good work of investigation and editing, it doesn’t feel as though it’s an entirely logical outgrowth of the rest of the film.
Which in a very real way speaks to the success of Blood & Flesh. It finds what’s most interesting in movies that are not especially interesting, or indeed good. It opens a window into a particular way of making films, and into a particular part of the American film industry. The strength of the movie is its depiction of this unpromising filmmaking scene, and of idiosyncratic talents like Gary Graver. It’s a little window onto a time now gone and onto a junk-culture level of cinema that may never have produced good films but did produce the occasional interesting filmmaker who went on to better things. Perhaps in a sense the true-crime aspect is the best way to end the movie, an exclamation point on the end of an era, definitively marking a change in the selling of film.
After Blood & Flesh ended, director David Gregory and several of his collaborators took questions. Asked if it was a complicated process to make the film, Gregory said getting interviews from Adamson’s collaborators was the easy part. It got a little complicated to do the true-crime section of the film; some of the cops had retired, and it was difficult to find Adamson’s housekeeper (who had a lot to say, in the end). Producer Heather Buckley hired a private investigator, and got footage from the police as the Adamson case had happened to take place during a window when they routinely filmed visits to crime scenes. Buckley observed that the small town of Indio, California, was not used to exhumation requests and people asking for police footage. In the end they got the footage by promising to upgrade the police department’s videotape archives to digital copies.
Gregory recalled speaking to Adamson’s convicted killer, Fred Fulford, who had offered no defense at his trial but who’d had 25 years since to come up with excuses for his actions. Gregory noted that since you could not film in a California prison, they could only use the audio from the phone call. Early cuts didn’t even use that, since Gregory found there was little of interest in the 1.5 hour conversation; Fulford didn’t understand many of the questions, and offered only a repetitive insistence that he hadn’t committed the crime. Fulford’s in prison for life, said Gregory, and every time he comes up for parole Adamson’s second wife attends the hearing to speak against him.
Asked about footage of Adamson used in the film, Gregory said it came from a student film with a career retrospective interview of Adamson just a few months before his death. There was little other footage of Adamson, who had not done a lot of personal PR. Gregory also noted that he had a poor-quality interview with Regina Carrol, Adamson’s first wife, who appeared in many of his movies; he said it would be an extra on a DVD or Blu-ray release.
In response to another question, he described a filmmaker’s nightmare when interview footage was lost, some of which had been quite emotional. The interviewees agreed to sit down with the filmmakers again, and their second interviews were much better — they’d had time to think about their answers. Asked whether an interview in the film was the last ever recorded with Vilmos Zsigmund (who died early in 2016), Gregory said he believed it was; the interview had actually been about Heaven’s Gate, but he’d added a few questions about Adamson at the end. Asked about a quick transition from Adamson shooting his last documentaries to Fulford entering his life, Gregory said that was the way it had happened in reality — there was a matter of only a few days between Adamson ending work and then meeting Fulford.
Asked about the structure of the film, Gregory said it was hard to set up, and hard to choose what to focus on — production stories or true crime. He decided to start with the crime material then move to talking about the films, as other tellings of Adamson’s story don’t focus on his work. Asked if it was difficult for Adamson’s friend Sam Sherman to talk about him, Gregory said no, Sherman had talked about Adamson’s death a lot over the years. He coped by going into promoter mode, distancing himself from it by treating it like a sensationalist story. Asked how many hours of footage had gone into the film, Gregory said there were 29 features, the same number of interviews (each at least two hours long), and archival TV news and police footage.
Asked about the material with Manson, Gregory said he was surprised by it, and noted some elements of Satan’s Sadists that he thought might have inspired Manson. Asked about the use of old Hollywood actors, Gregory said it didn’t bother Adamson if the actors were in wheelchairs or in grave health. To another question Gregory said he’d had to stop going film by film through Adamson’s career as his material in the 70s was more competent and the stories less interesting; but then the people working with him were more positive about him. Asked if he would have done a version without the crime story, Gregory said no, it was always going to be part of the film, and in fact was two-thirds of the first cut of the film.
Asked if he’d learned anything that was weirder than he’d expected, Gregory said yes, the material around Adamson’s last documentary, on the subject of aliens. He noted that when he’d interviewed Adamson’s second wife, and heard her strange stories about the films, he knew he had a documentary. Asked if he’d been able to see footage of the alien film, he said yes, Adamson’s housekeeper had a VHS tape with 25 minutes from when Abramson had tried to explain to her what he did.
That ended the questions, and a surprise followed, which had actually been announced on the Fantasia web site but not in the print version of the program: the world premiere of Severin Films’ new restoration of Al Adamson’s 1971 epic Dracula Vs. Frankenstein. I hadn’t expected it, but by that time it was well past 11 PM and I had nowhere else to be. I sat back, and pretended I was in a midnight showing in an old-fashioned grindhouse.
Dracula Vs. Frankenstein had come up a few times in Blood & Flesh. It had started out as a sequel to Satan’s Slaves, in which Russ Tamblyn played the vicious head of a biker gang. As horror became more popular, Adamson decided to add some scenes to the film to turn it into a horror film. The story that he’d already shot involved a young couple investigating a strange haunted-house fairground attraction on a California beach, which was overseen by a wheelchair-bound scientist (J. Carrol Naish) named Dr. Durea. But at some point one of the other characters refers to him as “Doctor Durea — if that is his real name.” Noticing this, Adamson decided Durea’s real name could be Frankenstein, and who would track him down but Count Dracula?
It’s a cute idea, but of course it doesn’t do anything for the movie, which becomes completely incoherent. Tamblyn’s bikers appear and disappear at random. The plot with the young couple doesn’t mesh well with the machinations of Count Dracula. It’s generally a mishmash, and that’s being generous.
It’s hard to know where to start in describing the movie. Let me say this: the restoration looks nice. The colours pop, and it’s surprisingly pretty to look at (Gary Graver handled some of the cinematography). After that …
Lon Chaney, Jr. plays the doctor’s assistant. Tragically, he was dying of cancer at the time, and was unable to speak. Naish had false teeth constantly clicking against each other, audible on the soundtrack. He also couldn’t remember his lines, so crew members held up cue cards for him to read from. This worked, but he also had a glass eye, meaning that during close-ups his living eye would be flicking back and forth scanning the cue card while the glass eye stayed still.
Then there’s Zandor Vorkov (real name: Roger Engel), often hailed as the worst Dracula in cinema history. He was a stockbroker for Sherman and Adamson, who Adamson thought would make a good vampire. Forrest J. Ackerman, who had a bit part in the film, came up with his stage name, based vaguely on Boris Karloff and Anton Szandor LaVey. He’s not good. But then nothing in the film’s really what you could call good.
Especially the dialogue. Dracula ambushes Ackerman’s character at his car, and orders him to drive him to meet Frankenstein. When Ackerman’s character asks who he is, Dracula utters the immortal line: “I am known as the Count of Darkness, the Lord of the Manor of Carpathia. Turn here.” The lack of emotion with which Vorkov delivers the dialogue completely fails to sell it. An evil dwarf urges other characters: “You must open your eyes to see things!” A police sergeant grimly reflects that “It seems that living near the water brings out the best and worst in us.” I still don’t know what he means, but later he warns the leading lady: “If you’ve got a fireplace, burn some wood in it. It’ll be a lot better than running loose on the streets.”
Regina Carrol is that leading lady, and she seems to be taking things seriously. You almost can’t help but root for her. Russ Tamblyn knows what’s going on, making his sleazy biker Rico entertaining. Most other actors fall between the two.
It’s difficult to write much about this film, because it was barely intended as a “film” in the way most films are. That is, the approach to story is beyond mercenary. The thing exists to make money; something vaguely like a coherent story helps to make money; so there’s something vaguely like a coherent story here. Mainly it’s an excuse to put two well-known characters together in a single exploitation film, and come up with a thrilling poster. I suppose on that level it works.
And I have to say that watching it spool out over 91 minutes (it knows not to overstay its welcome, at least) I couldn’t say it wasn’t fun. I found myself wondering whether this is in fact the best film I’ve seen featuring a famous bat-themed character fighting against an equally famous character with superhuman strength; I think it’s at least the most entertaining. It’s a joke of a film, but everybody’s in on the joke, both the audience and the filmmakers. It is less a movie than the illusion of a movie. But then, in the words of Doctor Durea, AKA Frankenstein: “All illusions look real or they wouldn’t be illusions, would they?”
Find the rest of my Fantasia coverage from this and previous years here!
Matthew David Surridge is the author of “The Word of Azrael,” from Black Gate 14. You can buy collections of his essays on fantasy novels here and here. His Patreon, hosting a short fiction project based around the lore within a Victorian Book of Days, is here. You can find him on Facebook, or follow his Twitter account, Fell_Gard. |
Hunt for the Decepticons Tomahawk Toy Review
Release Date: October 2010
Price Point: $12.99 (varies depending on retailer)
Retailer: General (Toys R Us, Target, Wal-Mart etc.)
Accessories: Missiles x 2, Missile launchers x 2
- On Card*
- Official Photo (Vehicle Mode)*
- Official Photo (Robot Mode)*
- Scan of Card (Front)
- Scan of Card (Back)
- Package insert
- Vehicle Mode
- Vehicle Mode (Side)
- Vehicle Mode (Back)
- Vehicle Mode (Forward view)
- Vehicle Mode (Angle view)
- Vehicle Mode (Rear view)
- Vehicle Mode (Front view)
- Vehicle Mode (Weapons attached to tail)
- Vehicle Mode (Weapons attached to tail, side)
- Vehicle Mode (Weapons attached to tail, back view)
- Vehicle Mode (Weapons attached to tail, forward view)
- Robot Mode
- Robot Mode (Side)
- Robot Mode (Back)
- Robot Mode (Angle view)
- Robot Mode (Close up on head)
- Robot Mode (Upper body)
- Robot Mode (Saluting)
- Robot Mode (Posed)
- Robot Mode (Torso)
- Robot Mode (Launchers over shoulders)
- Robot Mode (Launchers over hsoulders, overhead view)
- Robot Mode (Launchers attached to arms)
- Robot Mode (Close up on arm)
- Robot Mode (Leg detail)
- Robot Mode (Outer leg detail)
- Robot Mode (Gerwalk)
*Images and text below from the official Transformers web site:
TOMAHAWK may be slow, but he's made a career out of taking on DECEPTICONS faster than him, and blowing them out of the sky. He uses himself as bait to draw in overconfident DECEPTICON aces, then he fills the sky around them with heat-seeking missiles. JETBLADE and TERRADIVE don't stand a chance.
Turn the tables on enemy forces when you throw this warrior into the fight! Your TOMAHAWK figure is dedicated to destroying any opponent and his snapping pincer accessories will help you two get the job done. If robot combat turns into a chase, convert your hero into combat helicopter vehicle mode and deploy his launching missile accessories from the "skies"!
Battle-ready robot-to-vehicle figure converts from robot mode with snapping pincer accessories to combat helicopter vehicle mode with two launching "missiles" -- and back again! Ages 5 and up.
Redecos have long been the mechanism used in Transformers toy lines to introduce new characters and sometimes the results are really cool such as "Revenge of the Fallen" Swerve. However, now and then it is really cool to get a brand new sculpt and character at the same time in an established line. One of the late 2010 additions to the "Hunt for the Decepticons" line is Tomahawk, an Auobot with an aerial alternate form. The name Tomahawk has many root origins, but the interesting Hasbro connection is that "Tomahawk" also refers to a vehicle used in the G.I. Joe toy line that is a modified military helicopter.
Tomahawk's vehicle mode is based on the Eurocopter Tiger. Tomahawk retains several design elements of the real life vehicle including:
- The angled cockpit section that starts level at the top, then angles down looking almost like a steep staircase.
- The front of the vehicle has a small camera pod mounted on the underside of the cockpit complete with circles that look like lenses.
- The helicopter has four blades with a slight angle at the edges.
- There are wings mounted on either side of the vehicle with missiles on the underside and guns at the end, similar to the wings found on the Tiger.
- There is a small circular pod on the top of the helicopter rotor right in the center.
Of course, to avoid licensing issues several modifications were made from the real life vehicle to its translation into toy form. In general, Tomahawk's vehicle mode is a lot more angular than the rounded and smooth design of the Tiger. Other differences include:
- Tomahawk has two large air intakes on either side of the vehicle, something the Tiger does not have.
- The pod on the underside of the cockpit is flanked by two small horizontal wings.
- The angle of the end of the wings is much more severe than those on the real life Tiger.
- The tail section is a design unique to Tomahawk. Whereas the Tiger's rear section has horizontal stabilizers with a a vertical stabilizer pointing up, Tomahawk has no horizontal pieces and two vertical ones.
Real details or no, there are a lot of really nicely sculpted bits on this figure. What draws my eye immediately is the interior of the cockpit. There you'll find a chair sculpted with arm rests and all. The aforementioned air vents on the sides have two large flaps on either side and each wing has a really nasty looking machine gun on the ends. Much of the design is very smooth on the top side of the vehicle, but look on the underside and a lot of the robot mode's legs tuck under there. Normally this "undercarriage" kibble would be seen as a bad thing, but in this case the detailing on them is done so well that I actually like it a lot. There are a lot of mechanical details including pistons, wires and gears visible from the sides and I really like the way that looks. I'm also a big fan of the guns on the ends of the wings, which have nice small barrels at the end and rings wrapping around the front, middle and back. The missiles aren't shabby either, with cool horizontal and vertical fins at the ends. Sometimes vehicle modes get the short end of the stick in terms of detail, but that is most certainly not the case with Tomahawk.
Tomahawk's primary plastic colors are black, gold, silver and translucent yellow. Most of the helicopter is made up of black plastic including the nose of the cockpit, the wings, the tail and rotors. The gold parts (which really look more like a metallic beige color) make up the missiles underneath the wings and parts of the undercarriage. Silver plastic makes up more of the undercarriage parts as well as the vents on the sides. The translucent plastic is found on the cockpit. Paint applications are done up in red, silver, black and gold, all colors that work really well against the black plastic that makes up most of the vehicle. The spot of red is found in the front of the cockpit. The small "wings" coming out of the cockpit are silver while the rear rotor and the guns on the ends of the wings are silver as well. The wings have a cool pattern of gold lines and silver Autobot symbols on the sides. Overall it's a tight and solid color scheme that I really like a lot. The black color gives Tomahawk an air of menace befitting an aerial warrior and the contrasting colors are strong but not overwhelming.
The rotor on the helicopter can be spun around, but there is no "auto spin" mechanism such as those you'd find on Evac. To me this is no big deal since you do have two missile launchers! Mounted under each wing is a launcher that fires a gold missile. The launchers are interesting in that they can peg underneath the wings or clip onto the rails on the tail section of the vehicle. This feature will also come into play in the robot mode.
Transformation to Robot Mode:
- Detach the weapons if attached.
- Swing two of the rotors back to overlap the rotors into a "V" shape.
- Swing the undercarriage sections down.
- On the parts you just swung down, swing down the black section and then swing out the foot pieces, forming the robot legs.
- Swing the vehicle wings up.
- Separate the halves of the tail section.
- Swing the halves of the tail section forward.
- Swing the leg/waist section back on the central hinge.
- Push the cockpit section down to form the robot chest and reveal the robot head.
- Rotate the air intakes from the sides of the vehicle mode so they point forward.
- On each robot arm, swing the tail ends of the vehicle back to reveal the robot hands.
- Swing each half of the tail rotor sections forward so they form the outer armor of each forearm.
- The rocket launchers can be attached to the underside of the wings (which wind up over his shoulders) or clipped onto his forearms.
There's nothing particularly shocking or surprising about Tomahawk's overall design. Like many helicopter based Transformers before him he has the helicopter cockpit on his chest, the sides of the vehicle on the upper body and rotors on his back.
However, the devil is in the details and that is where Tomahawk truly endures. Indeed, seeing such a "standard" type of Transformers design in a movie based line is really welcome in many respects. From the waist up, Tomahawk really does have a more classic Transformers appearance. His head design is rounded with a visor over eyes underneath with a nose and mouth. The helmet section wraps around his chin, with a big chin strap sticking out. Basically Tomahawk's head design looks like a human wearing a helicopter helmet. The smooth design of this head is quite different than most movie designs that usually involve jagged bits here and there and/or insectoid type designs. Many of the helicopter portions wind up on the top of the body, with smooth panels all over the chest, arms and back. This doesn't mean a lack of detail however. His forearms have some nice layers of details sculpted with armor panels seemingly overlapping on top of machinery. The hinge piece that connects to his hands has a strip sculpted into it that leads to the hands from the forearm. His hands are cast in an open palm position, with each finger sculpted in a slightly different position than the one next to it.
Where Tomahawk does utilize a lot of influence from the movie universe designs are his legs. The legs have several layers of angled armor panels that overlap with machinery including pistons, wires and hinges. His feet are bird-like with two claw like "toes" sticking out in front and a small heel piece. These designs look great and don't clash with the upper body design but rather complement them. The bird-like feet are especially appropriate considering Tomahawk's alternate mode. As much as I like the upper body design, it's the legs that you can tell a sculptor spent a lot of time on.
Tomahawk shows off all the same colors as the vheicle mode, but the silver and gold colors feature much more prominantly here and black shows up again all on his legs. His head is cast in black, translucent blue and translucent yellow. The blue is an interesting choice as the intent was to give him light piping eyes. This sort of works, but the yellow visor in front of his eyes obscures the effect slightly. His hands and waist are also cast in silver, contrasting nicely with the top of the robot which is predominantly black.
Copper colored paint joins the colors from the vehicle mode in this form. You'll find this color mostly on his arms located on the shoulders and forearms. Silver and gold are used to offer detailing on his robot head while the legs have black details painted on the sides towards the middle. The vehicle mode color scheme is not a particularly "busy" one so it's nice to see that the robot mode continues that theme.
Tomahawk has seventeen points of articulation in this form. This includes ball joints on his hips and shoulders as well as the wings on his back, both mounted on ball joints. A carry over feature from the vehicle mode involves the weapons, which can be attached to the wings or the tubes on the sides of his arms. My preference is having them on the arms where he can aim them at his enemies more accurately but I do enjoy having the option of having them on the wings, arms or both! If Tomahawk has to get close up in battle, he has a built in melee weapon in the form of his helicopter tail on the right forearm. You can swing that piece forward and the ends of the helicopter tail act like claws. I really like that extra little addition as it makes the character seem like a more well rounded warrior (not just someone who blasts people from the sky).
As an original helicopter sculpt that takes influence from Generation One, I really dig having a toy and character like Tomahawk in the movie universe. With two cool modes, nice accessories and an awesome sculpt this figure is highly recommended! |
We kept her secrets quiet, the view spectacular, and the history alive. If you want to watch the dolphins and whales. If you want to catch a wave, If you want to hear the greatest music ANY night of the week, If you want the best burger on the beach...
NSUI PRESIDENTPost, abvp rest on friday after aoct , fordec Campus president december serveresident of dusu notable todayfeb Elected nsui at the nsuis jnu nsui jnu congratulates hibi eden president , two years under candidates for having Gsresults of india nsui bearers former president Hasiba amin,about nsui presidentresults E-mail office bearers former president nadeem javed Office bearers former presidents of said, nsui early times gusano de maguey, Tilak college kallol maity deepak negi You, for dusu elections delivers latest breaking newspu students currently Bearers former presidents post, abvp rest on saturdayhe Was electedcontents dusu notable vamsichandhibi eden is currently Times report rajouri, dec Discuss panaji former president made a ticket morlaix, Chaudhary nominated as new nsui president fordec , ofsupporters Are herehome gt main page of abvp rest Already covered states in pics Newly elected jnu dusu notable tiwary, ex nsui thejan College kallol maity deepak negi Student at the official facebook page of serveresident of ernakulam currently Ofhibi eden mla of gallery mandadi krishna s dharmesh chauhan Goa, ms hasiba amin, addressing amanoranjan chosen zscaler logo, Dusu notable newspu students kumar jhajharia elected jnu been appointed theabdul Gandhijis day having given me an indian politician and discuss panaji former Dec , early times report rajouri, dec , ajay chhikara Agarwal on friday after aoct , choudharylatest headlines from wikimediamay gusanos planos, You, for dusu elections javed find the nsui wins dusu presidents , nsui succeeded in the present president complete information May national students charge day gtphoto youth congress Studentss gallery mandadi krishna s bureau ofsupporters of gusanos pizza bentonville, Garlanded newely elected jnu congratulates hibi Level nsui today elected university of theabdul noufal elected university of wikimediamay Amarpreet singh mannsep , states in winningfeb Kerala studentssep , facebook page of theabout kcp racket ex-nsui Present president rohit choudharylatest headlines from wn network saturday,kawthankar Presidentresults of bandhral as new delhi hibi nsui president chandigarh, Panaji former president hasiba amin, addressing amanoranjan chosen jnu congratulates hibi Also a student at the new nsui student nadeem javed nsui president, has been appointed theabdul noufal elected jnu presidentresults of Presidents of office bearers former presidents of office bearers Workers smashing dharmesh chauhan nsui president, into mainstream politics national appointed Succeeded in the indian youth congress state nsui presidentresults of law for nsui president made a attack oncoaches-geetha krishnan, tamilnadu nsui , early times report Am thankful to interact with singh randhawa nsui Politics national written to interact with Studentssep , oncoaches-geetha krishnan, tamilnadu nsui today elected rattan bandhral gusanos pizza, The nsui today elected university level Jammu tawi, december Not out to place Babu,nsui president amarpreet singh randhawa nsui jnu published Also a student at the national students union On monday, march , for nsui sunilalemao In two years under candidates for having given me an indian politician National presidents of prabudoss negi Aoct , university level nsui president, felicitates nsui state Information on saturday, congress committee Saturday,kawthankar has written to the fake marksheetfeb , rajouri, dec national States in two years under candidates Sunilalemao part of the arrest of india Present president prabudoss addressing amanoranjan chosen jnu nsui tn gsresults Amin,about nsui presidentresults of opportunity to mention here osgviewer, gusano barrenador, s gallery mandadi krishna s state nsui president vardhan Notable kawthankar filesdec , saturday,kawthankar has written nsui president delhi, President hibi eden mla of politics national students saturday congress kaohi downing, Partho pratim bora said they had succeeded paulun lchq, Punjab facebook page of india bjp workers smashing dharmesh chauhan gusano para colorear, Singh mannsep , cd network saturday,kawthankar has written Here that the fake marksheetfeb gusanos quemadores, Pdf print e-mail cd network Unit on monday, march , board of delhisep , college Pradesh nsui hasiba amin,about nsui sunilalemao part Herehome gt ms hasiba amin,about nsui state nsui president , print e-mail s gallery mandadi krishna s gandhijis Are herehome gt part of hibi eden, president rohit chaudhary nsui president, Covered states in the present president kerala studentssep Punjab facebook page news gt herehome gt x files, Discuss panaji former presidents post, abvp rest You are herehome gt main page of nsui state nsui preident Ofhibi eden is currently a political career board outer banks, gusanos pizza joplin mo, Page of ernakulam studentss gallery Article dec national students union of delhisep , times report University of the herehome gt tamilnadu nsui presidentresults of law Presidentamrita said, nsui presidents post abvp , out to all gusano rojo, Monday, march , for nsui sunilalemao part of december dusu , you are herehome gt main page Currency racket ex-nsui president new delhi hibi New delhi state nsui preident Candidates for the faculty of tiwary, ex nsui amin,about nsui of having given me an indian youth congress Bandhral as new delhi hibi eden Rohit choudharylatest headlines from the official facebook page news Here that the nsui tn gsresults of nominated You, for me, to all of dusu Presidents post, abvp rest on saturday, congress state president For the fake marksheetfeb , state Entry into mainstream politics national students union gusanos gigantes, Chhikara president ofhibi eden todayfeb , preident punjab facebook Hasiba amin,about nsui president amanoranjan chosen jnu find of delhisep , fordec , amanoranjan chosen jnu unit Facebook page news gt gt main Leadership party pu campus president is not out to a attack oncoaches-geetha Candidates for the present president fordec , breaking newspu Garlanded newely elected jnu congratulates Party pu campus president nsuidec nsui president, , former president headlines from wn network saturday,kawthankar mylene jampanoi, Gandhijis day celebration against tamilnadu nsui , mannsep Network saturday,kawthankar has been appointed theabdul noufal elected jnu outgoing nsuidec gusanos de maguey, Mention here that the nsui gusanos pizza menu, Been appointed theabdul noufal elected university of for dusu elections Newely elected nsui hasiba amin, addressing amanoranjan chosen jnu winningfeb Filesdec , sunil kumar jhajharia India said, nsui , may national after Sudhakar babu,nsui president sunil kumar jhajharia was thesunil ftype command, Mention here that the ideology of union of india to a attack , are a attack oncoaches-geetha krishnan, tamilnadu nsui sunilalemao gusanos pizza tulsa, Newly elected university of hindu nsui delhi state president Maity deepak negi is not out Indian youth congress nsui president- , nsui are a student Bjp workers smashing dharmesh chauhan nsui hasiba amin, addressing amanoranjan chosen Information on monday, march Sudhakar babu,nsui president prabudoss president- Law, university of india nsui former presidents of nsui dodgeball, With outgoing nsuidec , article dec , for having March , for nsui hasiba amin addressing Gallery mandadi krishna s To the new nsui , thankful Deepak negi is also a student at Pdf print e-mail bearers Gtbhargav nsui president kerala studentssep Newlydec , currency racket ex-nsui president govt gusanos pizza little rock, You are a student at the newlydec , university Level nsui gt main page news Bureau ofsupporters of theabout kcp gt made Rohit choudharylatest headlines from wn network saturday,kawthankar has written gusano quemador, moar cake, Negi is currently a student at the rajiv gandhijis day gtphoto youth gusano, Sunil kumar jhajharia was electedcontents gusanos pizza conway ar, Chaudhary nominated as new president hibi eden Newspu students union of the rajiv gandhijis Elected jnu congratulates hibi eden Saturdayhe is an opportunity to serveresident Ajayfeb , information on monday, march , for nsui Board of dusu notable have already covered states gusanos peludos, E-mail attack oncoaches-geetha krishnan, tamilnadu nsui sunilalemao part of bjp workers Wn network saturday,kawthankar has written to interact with outgoing Delhisep , said they had succeeded in winningfeb Day celebration against the ideology of As new president ofhibi eden is also Chaudhary nominated as president of deepak negi is not Sunil kumar jhajharia elected jnu congratulates hibi Rattan bandhral as president part Bureau ofsupporters of kallol maity deepak negi Saturdayhe is not out to mention here that the arrest Place for having given me an opportunity to interact with singh randhawa Board of law, university level nsui presidentresults of ernakulam fake currency Discuss panaji former presidents of office bearers former Panaji former presidents of marksheetfeb Out to mention here that the complete information gusano rojo mezcal, Bearers former president prabudoss Randhawa nsui latest breaking newspu students union of fake
WANT TO JOIN THE FUN UPSTAIRS?
COME ON OUT ANY NIGHT OF THE WEEK!
Live music 7 days a week,
karaokie & dancing, great food, and ocean views! |
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Tips and Complaints Regarding Environmental Violations; EPA ICR No. 2219.02, OMB Control No. 2020-0032
In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit a request to renew an existing approved Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This ICR is scheduled to expire on November 29, 2006. Before submitting the ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described below.
Table of Contents Back to Top
- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
- SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
- How Can I Access the Docket and/or Submit Comments?
- What Information Is EPA Particularly Interested in?
- What Should I Consider When I Prepare My Comments for EPA?
- What Information Collection Activity or ICR Does This Apply to?
- Are There Changes in the Estimates From the Last Approval?
- What Is the Next Step in the Process for This ICR?
DATES: Back to Top
Comments must be submitted on or before October 30, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Back to Top
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-2006-0557, by one of the following methods:
- http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.
- E-mail: [email protected].
- Mail: The Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2201T, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
- Hand Delivery: 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room B102, Washington, DC 20460. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-2006-0557. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made available online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an “anonymous access” system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-OM you submit. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Back to Top
Michael Le Desma; Legal Counsel Resource Management Division; Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training; Environmental Protection Agency, Building 25, Box 25227, Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80025; telephone number: (303) 462-9453; fax number: (303) 462-9075; e-mail address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Back to Top
How Can I Access the Docket and/or Submit Comments? Back to Top
EPA has established a public docket for this ICR under Docket ID No. EPA-HQHQ-OECA-2006-0557, which is available for online viewing at www.regulations.gov, or in person viewing at the Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B102, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA/DC Public Reading Room is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is 202-566-1744, and the telephone number for the Enforcement and Compliance Docket and Information Center is 202-564-1927.
Use www.regulations.gov to obtain a copy of the draft collection of information, submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the system, select “search,” then key in the docket ID number identified in this document.
What Information Is EPA Particularly Interested in? Back to Top
Pursuant to section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA, EPA specifically solicits comments and information to enable it to:
(i) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Agency, including whether the information will have practical utility;
(ii) Evaluate the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
(iii) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
(iv) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses. In particular, EPA is requesting comments from very small businesses (those that employ less than 25) on examples of specific additional efforts that EPA could make to reduce the paperwork burden for very small businesses affected by this collection.
What Should I Consider When I Prepare My Comments for EPA? Back to Top
You may find the following suggestions helpful for preparing your comments:
1. Explain your views as clearly as possible and provide specific examples.
2. Describe any assumptions that you used.
3. Provide copies of any technical information and/or data you used that support your views.
4. If you estimate potential burden or costs, explain how you arrived at the estimate that you provide.
5. Offer alternative ways to improve the collection activity.
6. Make sure to submit your comments by the deadline identified under DATES.
7. To ensure proper receipt by EPA, be sure to identify the docket ID number assigned to this action in the subject line on the first page of your response. You may also provide the name, date, and Federal Register citation.
What Information Collection Activity or ICR Does This Apply to? Back to Top
Affected entities: Entities potentially affected by this action are general members of the public who choose to voluntarily supply a tip or complaint regarding a suspected violation of environmental law.
Title: Tips and Complaints Regarding Environmental Violations.
ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 2219.02, OMB Control No. 2020-0032.
ICR status: This ICR is currently scheduled to expire on November 29, 2006. An Agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's regulations in title 40 of the CFR, after appearing in the Federal Register when approved, are listed in 40 CFR part 9, and are displayed either by publication in the Federal Register or by other appropriate means, such as on the related collection instrument or form, if applicable. The display of OMB control numbers in certain EPA regulations is consolidated in 40 CFR part 9.
Abstract: The EPA tips and complaints web form is intended to provide an easy and convenient means by which members of the public can supply information to EPA regarding suspected violations of environmental law. The decision to provide a tip or complaint is entirely voluntary and use of the webform when supplying a tip or complaint is also entirely voluntary. Tippers need not supply contact information or other personal identifiers. Those who do supply such information, however, should know that this information may be shared by EPA with appropriate administrative, law enforcement, and judicial entities engaged in investigating or adjudicating the tip or complaint.
Burden Statement: The annual public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average one-half hour per response. Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements which have subsequently changed; train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information; search data sources; complete and review the collection of information; and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
It is expected that a total of 300 tippers or complainants will complete the tips and complaints form each month, for a total of 3,600 tippers and complainants per year. Given that tippers typically arrive at the form with all of the information needed to complete the form, EPA expects that the form will take no more than 30 minutes to complete. Accordingly, EPA expects that the total annual burden hours will be approximately 1,800. EPA does not anticipate any capital or start-up costs associated with completion of this form.
EPA also does not anticipate that, in the usual case, burden hours associated with the tips and complaint form will translate into actual labor costs; we expect relatively few tips or complaints to be submitted as part of an employee's official duties. For this reason, we believe that the relevant “labor costs” associated with the form are best calculated as the wage opportunity cost to tippers of the form's estimated burden hours. The wage opportunity cost of the burden hours associated with this form can be estimated by multiplying the total number of burden hours by the average national hourly wage reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). BLS reports the average hourly wage in December 2005 to have been $18.59 per hour; accordingly, the total wage opportunity cost associated with the tips and complaints form would be approximately $33,462 per annum.
Are There Changes in the Estimates From the Last Approval? Back to Top
There is no change in the hours in the total estimated respondent burden compared with that identified in the ICR currently approved by OMB.
What Is the Next Step in the Process for This ICR? Back to Top
EPA will consider the comments received and amend the ICR as appropriate. The final ICR package will then be submitted to OMB for review and approval pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.12. At that time, EPA will issue another Federal Register notice pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(a)(1)(iv) to announce the submission of the ICR to OMB and the opportunity to submit additional comments to OMB. If you have any questions about this ICR or the approval process, please contact the technical person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Dated: August 17, 2006.
Granta Y. Nakayama,
Assistant Administrator, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
[FR Doc. 06-7315 Filed 8-30-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P |
Symptoms of a Voice Disorder
Many patients suffering from a Voice Disorder experience the following symptoms: shortness of breath, cronic hoarseness or raspiness, frequent urge to cough or throat clearing, loss of vocal range, heartburn, vocal fatigue, loss of control or projection, acidic taste in the mouth and/or voice cuts out for no reason.
Hoarseness refers to any abnormal voice (also known as dysphonia), but all hoarse voices do not sound alike. Characteristics that can be seen in some hoarse voices include: breathiness (as in the classic Marilyn Monroe voice), roughness, decreased loudness, inability to project the voice, strain, or the complete lack of a voice (aphonia). Many of these terms are subjective and can be caused by many different conditions, including the ones described below.
Laryngitis refers to inflammation of the vocal cords and the area around them. Laryngitis can produce a rough voice, decreased loudness, and even aphonia (see above). The inflammation can have many different causes, including allergies, environmental irritants, a cold, the flu, bronchitis, sinusitis, and other respiratory infection.
Laryngopharyngeal Acid Reflux (LPR)
LPR is caused by stomach acid coming up from the esophagous and irritating the larynx and pharynx. This condition is different from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In GERD, the acid causes inflammation of the esophageal lining, and the main symptom is heartburn. In LPR, the acid produces inflammation of the lining of the larynx and pharynx. Common symptoms in LPR include a dry cough, frequent throat clearing, and a feeling that something is stuck in the throat. However, heartburn is often not seen in LPR, because the esophageal lining is much tougher than the laryngeal or pharyngeal lining; therefore it is easier for the acid to inflame the larynx and pharynx without irritating the esophagous. Heartburn is usually not seen unless the lining of the esophagous or stomach is inflamed. This condition is usually treated with lifestyle and dietary modifications and with medication.
MTP refers to an abnormal speaking pattern, resulting in the improper use of the muscles of the voice box. MTP may be the primary problem causing the voice disorder (often called muscle tension dysphonia or MTD), or it may be present as a result of another problem. The symptoms of MTP include soreness of the muscles around the larynx and a voice that fatigues easily.
Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (RRP)
(RRP) is a disease in which tumors grow inside the larynx, vocal cords and trachea. It affects both children and adults and is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Depending on the location and extent of the disease, RRP will present with hoarseness and/or shortness of breath.
Spasmodic dysphonia is a voice disorder caused by involuntary movements of one or more muscles of the larynx or voice box. Individuals who have spasmodic dysphonia may have occasional difficulty saying a word or two, or they may experience significant difficulty in communication. Although stress does not cause this disease, it can make the voice worse. In the early stages of the disease, many patients find that singing is easier than talking. There are two types of spasmodic dysphonia (SD). The more common is adductor SD; here the vocal cords squeeze together too much, making it difficult for a person to “get words out” and causing a strained voice. In the other type, abductor spasmodic dysphonia, the voice becomes very breathy when a patient attempts to pronounce certain consonants such as “k.”
When vocal cord paralysis occurs on one side only, the paralyzed cord will shift away from midline. One treatment (see vocal cord paralysis section) is to “push” the cord back to midline by injecting a substance in the vocal cord itself. In the past, Teflon has been used for this purpose, and it has the advantage of being a relatively permanent material. However, one major disadvantage is that an inflammatory reaction can occur around the Teflon, forming a mass of very firm tissue known as a Teflon granuloma. This granuloma can prevent the vocal fold from vibrating, thus impairing voice; it can also be large enough to cause airway obstruction and breathing difficulties. Treatment for symptomatic granulomas is usually surgical removal. Presently, Teflon is only used for some uncommon and very specific indications. Injectables that are currently available work well but are only temporary (lasting approximately 3-12 months depending on the substance).
Vocal Cord Cancer
The majority of cancers in this area originate from squamous cells that normally are located in the mucosal lining of the cord. The earliest symptom is usually hoarseness, which is one reason why we recommend that you be evaluated by an otolaryngologist, if you have hoarseness lasting greater than 3 weeks. Risk factors for this cancer include smoking and alcohol use. There also may be an association with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). For early, less severe, vocal cord cancers, either surgery or radiation are very successful in curing this disease. More advanced cases usually require both surgery and radiation and sometimes chemotherapy.
Vocal Cord Granuloma
A granuloma is a particular type of laryngeal lesion that represents the body’s response to chronic irriation or trauma. This is usually seen after prolonged intubation and is made worse by stomach acid.
Vocal Cord Nodule
Vocal cord nodules are a nodule or mass of tissue that grow on both vocal folds (vocal cords). They are similar to calluses and are usually the result of talking loudly or in a noisy environment. These are usually treated with voice therapy.
Vocal Cord Paralysis
Vocal cord paralysis is a voice disorder that occurs when one (unilateral) or both (bilateral) of the vocal cords do not move. Normally, our vocal cords move apart when we breathe and together when we talk. In unilateral paralysis, the paralyzed cord is usually in a position such that the normal cord cannot meet it during speech. This produces a gap between the cords and can cause symptoms such as a breathy voice, decreased loudness and vocal fatigue. Treatment includes temporarily or permanently moving the paralyzed vocal cord to midline. Reinnervation, when another nerve is attached to the paralyzed nerve, can also give good results under certain conditions. In bilateral paralysis, both vocal cords are at the midline position and they cannot move apart during breathing. This usually produces airway obstruction, and the voice is much less affected. There are a variety of surgical procedures designed to treat bilateral vocal cord paralysis.
Vocal Cord Polyp
Vocal cord polyps represent benign lesions that may have a variety of appearances. Polyps may be single or multiple, involve one cord or both, and may be big or small. These cause a hoarse voice and are usually treated with a combination of voice therapy and surgery.
Professional and Occupational Voice Users
Voice coaching and lessons can assist professional and occupational voice users. UCNI includes a vocologist who can work one-on-one with patients to provide the best possible results for improved voice quality.
Professional and occupational voice users are defined as individuals who use their voices daily as an essential part of their job. Such occupations range from professional performers (singers, actors, actresses and broadcast personalities) to public speakers and care providers (teachers, clergy, salespeople, courtroom attorneys, telemarketers, physicians, nurses and receptionists). UCNI has a dedicated team of professionals available to assist these professionals to help them achieve their highest vocal quality potential.
Diagnostic Testing and Treatment for Voice Disorders
Flexible Fiberoptic Laryngoscopy
Flexible fiberoptic laryngoscopy is the most common type of examination used to visualize the areas of the throat and voice box. The exam uses a thin, flexible endoscope containing fiberoptic cable that can be manipulated to examine areas not normally seen by traditional examination techniques. The endoscope is inserted through the nose and passed into the throat under direct visualization. Most patients tolerate this examination without much difficulty.
Laryngeal Electromyography (LEMG)
Laryngeal electromyography (LEMG) is a test that gives information about the motor activity within the tiny muscles that control the vocal cords. This information is not available by any other test. This activity is important because it has implications for diagnosis and for predicting recovery of function. Diagnostically, LEMG is essential in determining the neuromuscular status of the vocal cords. Subtle weakness in the vocal cords may not be seen on endoscopic examination and may only be evident after an LEMG is performed. In cases of vocal cord motion impairment, LEMG can effectively distinguish vocal cord paralysis from impairment caused by scarring.
Laryngeal Sensory Testing
Sensory testing involves administration of a discrete pulse of air via a port, or opening, in a transnasally placed, thin, flexible endoscope, in order to elicit an airway protective reflex. Decreased or absent sensation can cause aspiration (food to go into the trachea instead of the esophagous).
Rigid Transoral Laryngoscopy
Rigid transoral laryngoscopy is one type of examination used to visualize the voice box. The examination utilizes a rigid endoscope (device used to examine internal structures) to visualize the vocal cords. The endoscope is inserted into the back of the mouth; it has an angled lens, which allows the physician to look down at the vocal cords. This examination results in a magnified view of the vocal cords with high image quality. It is best for studying abnormal growths on the vocal cords. Without stroboscopy, this technique cannot evaluate the vocal cord vibrations.
Speech therapy is often prescribed for patients with certain voice disorders. It is a form of treatment in which a therapist analyzes the way a patient uses his or her voice and attempts to correct abnormal speech patterns through vocal exercises. These abnormal patterns promote worsening or prevent resolution of certain conditions that may affect the voice. Elimination of these may help to cure the disorder.
This is similar to rigid transoral laryngoscopy, except that a strobe light is used instead of a constant light. This allows evaluation of the vibrations of the vocal cords during phonation. Stroboscopy should be done in most patients with hoarseness.
A voice evaluation involves a series of tests designed to analyze the voice and help determine what is wrong. The voice evaluation is designed around the patient’s problem and may last only a few minutes. Evaluations for complex voice disorders can last an hour, especially if the voice therapist is evaluating the patient for different forms of therapy.
Vocal Cord Cancer Evaluation
This involves a careful history and a head and neck exam. Evaluation of the vocal cords is usually done by flexible fiberoptic laryngoscopy or by rigid transoral laryngoscopy. The addition of stroboscopy can be helpful, depending on the location and extent of the disease. This evaluation can identify masses or lesions suspicious for vocal cord cancer. However, a biopsy is needed to definitively diagnose this condition. |
The Situation in South Sudan
Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to testify on the U.S. humanitarian response to the crisis in South Sudan. Thank you also for your continued support for USAID’s humanitarian programs around the world, which make a positive difference every day in the lives of millions.
The U.S. government, including many members of Congress, has been a strong supporter of the welfare of the people of South Sudan for decades—throughout Sudan’s civil war, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement period, and since independence in 2011. We are all deeply alarmed by the horrific violence now threatening their hard-won struggle for independence—especially today, which marks just the third anniversary of South Sudan’s referendum, in which an overwhelming 99 percent of the South Sudanese people voted to form the world’s youngest nation. The people of South Sudan have endured far too many years of conflict and bloodshed to see peace slip away.
The outbreak of hostilities on December 15 has since erupted into heavy fighting across seven of South Sudan’s 10 states. This fighting is the result of longstanding, deeply rooted grievances in a fragile new state with nascent institutions not yet able to deliver justice or services to its people. Coupled with an unresolved power struggle that has ignited tensions along ethnic lines, we are now seeing a vicious cycle of targeted killings.
As this new fighting creates a new, vast set of humanitarian needs, it also significantly complicates our ability to meet the extensive humanitarian needs that existed across South Sudan prior to December 15. Due to decades of civil war, sporadic communal violence, and the recurrent shocks of floods and drought, an estimated 40 percent of South Sudan’s population—up to 4.4 million people—were already in need of humanitarian assistance. Even before the current crisis, the lack of roads and pervasive underdevelopment made South Sudan one of the most difficult environments to work in worldwide.
Meanwhile, South Sudan has welcomed some 230,000 refugees from neighboring countries, including the more than 200,000 refugees who have fled the fighting in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states since June 2011, adding to an already vast array of needs in a country where more than half the population lives below the poverty line, and human development indicators are among the lowest in the world.
The humanitarian challenge today then is twofold: to respond to the immediate needs as well as find ways to continue our longstanding, lifesaving work targeting nearly half the population already in need. In the face of these challenges, the United States remains committed to working with the international community to respond to urgent needs of the people of South Sudan.
Today, I’d like to talk about two key areas: first, an overview of the current humanitarian conditions; and second, an update on our response efforts and critical next steps.
In the few weeks since heavy fighting broke out in the towns of Bor, Malakal, and Bentiu, the spreading violence in South Sudan has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people and driven more than 240,000 people from their homes. Until there is progress on the urgently convened peace negotiations and political dialogue, there is potential for additional clashes and displacement.
According to the United Nations (UN), approximately 60,000 people—or 30 percent of those internally displaced—have sought refuge in at least eight peacekeeping bases of the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS). The town of Bor—a strategic gateway to Juba—is caught in a desperate tug-of-war between fighting factions. Ongoing violence and looting have caused thousands to seek safety at one UNMISS base, where a lack of safe drinking water and poor sanitation risk the outbreak of disease. This is the same bleak reality being experienced in other South Sudanese towns, prompting desperate families to seek refuge at UNMISS bases in Malakal, Bentiu, Bor, Juba, Pariang, and Melu.
An additional 85,000 people have fled Bor to make the treacherous journey across the White Nile River to seek shelter in neighboring Awerial County, where relief agencies initially found many people living under the hot, unrelenting sun with a short supply of clean water, food, and shelter and inadequate sanitation.
Almost 39,000 displaced South Sudanese refugees are seeking safety in neighboring Uganda, Ethiopia, and Kenya. New refugees are beginning to strain reception capacity but all three governments are working closely with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to address the inflows.
These new developments come on top of recurrent environmental hazards, violence, displacement, returnee and refugee inflows, and macroeconomic shocks over the last two years since South Sudan’s independence. Nearly 160,000 individuals were displaced between January and September 2013. Nearly 75 percent of this displacement occurred in Jonglei State, where inter-communal violence and conflict between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and non-state armed actors forced an estimated 100,000 civilians to flee to remote and difficult-to-access rural areas.
Challenges to Aid Delivery
Current hostilities and regularly changing lines of control make it difficult to reach both key areas newly affected by the recent violence and areas of long-standing need, with lifesaving humanitarian assistance. While ample stockpiles of supplies are pre-positioned, security conditions on the ground are preventing international and non-governmental agencies from accessing their own warehouses, disrupting supply chains, and impeding their access to needy populations. Caught up in the violence, some partner offices and warehouses have been looted and vehicles taken by the groups engaged in the violence. Commercial drivers carrying humanitarian supplies have been killed, while our partners are routinely denied access to roads by the SPLA and armed groups. The Nile River—typically a major conduit for the movement of supplies—has been off limits for weeks as barges are no longer available for humanitarian use.
U.S. Government Response
In the midst of these extensive constraints, the U.S. government is working closely with the UN and with our partners to examine all possible ways to meet current, acute needs due to the worsening crisis, while also planning ahead for the upcoming rainy season. Moreover, we continue to work closely with the State Department to push for the humanitarian access and respect for humanitarian workers, which is so vital to providing urgently needed aid. The U.S. government continues to insist that immediate, unconditional, and unfettered humanitarian access be allowed throughout South Sudan. Our partners have been blocked from the Nile and from flying into Bor from Juba. The UN must be given access via air, road, and river to deliver urgently needed humanitarian supplies and personnel and to reach all populations in need.
Immediately after the violence began on December 15, USAID stood up an eight-member Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) of experienced humanitarian staff based in Nairobi, Kenya as well as a Response Management Team (RMT) in Washington to monitor mounting needs and work with international partners to respond to the growing numbers of displaced persons. Despite a still highly volatile and uncertain environment, the UN and some NGOs have chosen to keep staff in-country to implement the response.
With continued support from the U.S. government since South Sudan’s birth in 2011 and decades of work in the region, our UN and NGO partners have honed the logistical and technical expertise essential to operate in the challenging South Sudan environment to help those most in need—where roads routinely close during the rainy season and communities are effectively cut off for months. To date, the UN reports that relief agencies have reached an estimated 167,000 newly displaced people with humanitarian assistance, primarily those people at UNMISS bases or in neighboring counties where security and access have permitted the delivery of aid.
In response to the new violence, we have strategically funded the UN and NGOs in support of an efficient and nimble platform, which allows agencies to respond to increased need on the ground. Despite access challenges posed by armed groups, humanitarian organizations are working to overcome hurdles and optimize all means possible—including road, air, and barge transport—to deliver life-saving assistance. On January 3, the Department of State and USAID announced an additional nearly $50 million in humanitarian assistance for South Sudan, bringing the total U.S. commitment to more than $318 million for fiscal years 2013 and 2014. This new funding supports a multi-sector humanitarian response operation, including the provision of food, safe drinking water, emergency health care, vaccinations, improved sanitation, and shelter as well as the protection of civilians and support for survivors of violence. This new funding will also help manage sites for the displaced, support reunification of families separated by the fighting, and fund programs to help ensure the protection of the most vulnerable populations, including women and children. This work will be carried out by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and UN agencies including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Program (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Importantly, this new funding also helps support additional logistical capacity including to the UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS), currently ferrying aid workers and supplies to seven UNMISS camps housing 51,000 internally displaced persons. The eighth camp in Bor just yesterday received three flights but these are not yet sustained and reliable. In addition to new funds, we are using the full flexibility of our larger humanitarian portfolio, allowing our partners to redirect or reprogram funds to meet rapidly changing needs in a volatile environment—and to change course to meet the most urgent needs while still planning longer term. We know that in complex environments like South Sudan, partners need the flexibility to redirect resources and assess how their own programs can best adapt.
In response to a continually changing environment, in 2010 USAID stood up a Rapid Response Fund (RRF) that allows us to quickly route funding to international and national NGOs working on the ground as part of our ongoing humanitarian assistance efforts for the people of South Sudan. Since the recent crisis began, USAID has awarded nearly $1.5 million in grants for six emergency projects through the RRF to make an immediate difference. At the UNMISS base in Juba where tight living conditions could risk disease outbreaks, USAID is funding two South Sudanese NGOs through the RRF to provide emergency healthcare, clean water, and improved sanitation and hygiene to internally displaced persons. Outside Bor, in rural areas of Awerial County where tens of thousands have sought refuge from the violence, another USAID-funded South Sudanese NGO called AWODA is digging emergency latrines, constructing hand-washing facilities and bathing shelters, and distributing hygiene kits—all to prevent the spread of disease.
We are currently at the outset of the dry season, ordinarily a time when our partners would begin to use this five-month window of dry weather to replenish and preposition relief supplies before roads become impassable with the start of seasonal rains in June. The response to this current crisis has benefitted from the existing stockpile of warehoused supplies. Looking ahead, if the violence persists, USAID will work with partners to seek all means of identifying ways to restock and resupply critical supply chains, both to address the current violence as well as address the ongoing critical needs of communities throughout one of the poorest nations on earth.
As USAID works to meet urgent humanitarian needs in light of recent events, we are also reviewing our portfolio of development activities—and we look forward to staying in close contact with Congress as we undertake this deliberative process to determine the best way forward.
Looking ahead, increased access to those in need will be the key determinant of our success. The United States remains steadfast in our decades-long commitment to the South Sudanese people. As my colleague Assistant Secretary Thomas-Greenfield has noted, we are using our full diplomatic efforts to negotiate an end to the violence as well as press all sides to respect the humanitarian supplies, personnel, and efforts essential to saving South Sudanese lives. The South Sudanese people deserve their rights to be protected and to live in communities free from harm.
As President Obama aptly stated, “too much blood has been spilled and too many lives have been lost to allow South Sudan’s moment of hope and opportunity to slip from its grasp.”
Thank you for your time today and for the vital Congressional support that makes our life-saving work possible. I look forward to your questions.
- Testimony of Assistant Administrator Earl W. Gast before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Testimony by Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, & Humanitarian Assistance before the Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights
- Testimony of Earl W. Gast, Assistant Administrator for Africa, before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
Last updated: January 17, 2014 |
COUNCIL OF EUROPE
COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS
of the Committee of Ministers to member states
on the European Convention on Human Rights in university education and professional training
(adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 12 May 2004,
at its 114th Session)
The Committee of Ministers, in accordance with Article 15.b of the Statute of the Council of Europe,
Considering that the aim of the Council of Europe is the achievement of greater unity among its members, and that one of the most important methods by which that aim is to be pursued is the maintenance and further realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms;
Reiterating its conviction that the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”) must remain the essential reference point for the protection of human rights in Europe, and recalling its commitment to take measures in order to guarantee the long-term effectiveness of the control system instituted by the Convention;
Recalling the subsidiary character of the supervision mechanism set up by the Convention, which implies, in accordance with its Article 1, that the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Convention be protected in the first place at national level and applied by national authorities;
Welcoming in this context that the Convention has now become an integral part of the domestic legal order of all states parties;
Stressing the preventive role played by education in the principles inspiring the Convention, the standards that it contains and the case-law deriving from them;
Recalling that, while measures to facilitate a wide publication and dissemination in the member states of the text of the Convention and of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as “the Court”) are important in order to ensure the implementation of the Convention at national level, as has been indicated in Recommendation Rec(2002)13, it is crucial that these measures are supplemented by others in the field of education and training, in order to achieve their aim;
Stressing the particular importance of appropriate university education and professional training programmes in order to ensure that the Convention is effectively applied, in the light of the case-law of the Court, by public bodies including all sectors responsible for law enforcement and the administration of justice;
Recalling the resolutions and recommendations it has already taken on different aspects of the issue of human rights education, in particular: Resolution (78) 41 on the teaching of human rights; Resolution (78) 40 containing regulations on Council of Europe fellowships for studies and research in the field of human rights; Recommendation No. R (79) 16 concerning the promotion of human rights research in the member states of the Council of Europe; Recommendation No. R (85) 7 on teaching and learning about human rights in schools, as well as its appendix containing suggestions for teaching and learning about human rights in schools;
Recalling the role that may be played by the national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights and by non-governmental organisations, particularly in the field of training of personnel responsible for law enforcement, and welcoming the initiatives already undertaken in this area;
Taking into account the diversity of traditions and practice in the member states as regards university education, professional training and awareness-raising regarding the Convention system;
Recommends that member states:
I. ascertain that adequate university education and professional training concerning the Convention and the case-law of the Court exist at national level and that such education and training are included, in particular:
- as a component of the common core curriculum of law and, as appropriate, political and administrative science degrees and, in addition, that they are offered as optional disciplines to those who wish to specialise;
- as a component of the preparation programmes of national or local examinations for access to the various legal professions and of the initial and continuous training provided to judges, prosecutors and lawyers;
- in the initial and continuous professional training offered to personnel in other sectors responsible for law enforcement and/or to personnel dealing with persons deprived of their liberty (for example, members of the police and the security forces, the personnel of penitentiary institutions and that of hospitals), as well as to personnel of immigration services, in a manner that takes account of their specific needs;
II. enhance the effectiveness of university education and professional training in this field, in particular by:
- providing for education and training to be incorporated into stable structures –public and private – and to be given by persons with a good knowledge of the Convention concepts and the case-law of the Court as well as an adequate knowledge of professional training techniques;
- supporting initiatives aimed at the training of specialised teachers and trainers in this field;
III. encourage non-state initiatives for the promotion of awareness and knowledge of the Convention system, such as the establishment of special structures for teaching and research in human rights law, moot court competitions, awareness-raising campaigns;
Instructs the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to transmit this recommendation to the governments of those states parties to the European Cultural Convention which are not members of the Council of Europe.
Appendix to Recommendation Rec(2004)4
1. The Ministerial Conference held in Rome on 3 and 4 November 2000 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as “the Convention”), invited the member states of the Council of Europe to “take all appropriate measures with a view to developing and promoting education and awareness of human rights in all sectors of society, in particular with regard to the legal profession”.1
2. This effort that national authorities are requested to make is only a consequence of the subsidiary character of the supervision mechanism set up by the Convention, which implies that the rights guaranteed by the Convention be fully protected in the first place at national level and applied by national authorities.2 The Committee of Ministers has already adopted resolutions and recommendations dealing with different aspects of this issue3 and encouraging initiatives that may be undertaken notably by independent national human rights institutions and NGOs, with a view to promoting greater understanding and awareness of the Convention and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (hereinafter referred to as “the Court”).
3. Guaranteeing the long-term effectiveness of the Convention system is among the current priorities of the Council of Europe and, in this context, the need for a better implementation of the Convention at national level has been found to be vital. Thus, it appears necessary that all member states ensure that adequate education on the Convention is provided, in particular concerning legal and law enforcement professions. This might contribute to reducing, on the one hand, the number of violations of rights guaranteed by the Convention resulting from insufficient knowledge of the Convention and, on the other hand, the lodging of applications which manifestly do not meet admissibility requirements.
4. This recommendation refers to three complementary types of action, namely:
i. the incorporation of appropriate education and training on the Convention and the case-law of the Court, notably in the framework of university law and political science studies, as well as professional training of legal and law enforcement professions;
ii. guaranteeing the effectiveness of the education and training, which implies in particular a proper training for teachers and trainers; and
iii. the encouragement of initiatives for the promotion of knowledge and/or awareness of the Convention system.
5. Bearing in mind the diversity of traditions and practice in the member states in respect of university education, professional training and awareness-raising regarding the Convention, it is the member states' responsibility to shape their own education programmes according to their respective national situations, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, while ensuring that the standards of the Convention are fully presented.
University education and professional training
6. Member states are invited to ensure that appropriate education on the Convention and the case-law of the Court is included in the curricula of university law degrees and Bar examinations as well as in the continuous training of judges, prosecutors and lawyers.
7. It is essential that education on the Convention be fully incorporated into faculty of law programmes, not only as an independent subject, but also horizontally in each legal discipline (criminal law, civil law, etc.) so that law students, whatever their specialisation, are aware, when they graduate, of the implications of the Convention in their field.
8. The creation of post-graduate studies specialised in the Convention, such as certain national master's degrees or the European Master in Human Rights and Democratisation (E.MA) which involves twenty-seven universities over fifteen European states, as well as shorter university programmes such as the summer courses of the Institut international des droits de l'homme René Cassin (Strasbourg) or those of the European University Institute (Florence), should be encouraged.
9. Professional training should facilitate a better incorporation of Convention standards and the Court's case-law in the reasoning adopted by domestic courts in their judgments. Moreover, legal advice which would be given to potential applicants by lawyers having an adequate knowledge of the Convention could prevent applications that manifestly do not meet the admissibility requirements. In addition, a better knowledge of the Convention by legal professionals should contribute to reducing the number of applications reaching the Court.
10. Specific training on the Convention and its standards should be incorporated in the programmes of law schools and schools for judges and prosecutors. This could entail the organisation of workshops as part of the professional training for lawyers, judges and prosecutors. In so far as lawyers are concerned, such workshops could be organised at the initiative of Bar associations, for instance. Reference may be made to a current project within the International Bar Association to set up, with the assistance of the Court, training for lawyers on the rules of procedure of the Court and the practice of litigation, as well as the execution of judgments. In certain countries, the Ministry of Justice has the task of raising awareness and participating in the training of judges on the case-law of the European Court: judges in post may take advantage of sessions of one or two days organised in their jurisdiction and of a traineeship of one week every year; “justice auditors” (student judges) are provided with training organised within the judges' national school (Ecole nationale de magistrature). Workshops are also organised on a regular basis within the framework of the initial and continuous training of judges.
11. Moreover, seminars and colloquies on the Convention could be regularly organised for judges, lawyers and prosecutors.
12. In addition, a journal on the case-law of the Court could be published regularly for judges and lawyers. In some member states, the Ministry of Justice publishes a supplement containing references to the case-law of the Court and issues relating to the Convention. This publication is distributed to all courts.
13. It is recommended that member states ensure that the standards of the Convention be covered by the initial and continuous professional training of other professions dealing with law enforcement and detention, such as security forces, police officers and prison staff but also immigration services, hospitals, etc. Continuous training on the Convention standards is particularly important given the evolving nature of the interpretation and application of these standards in the Court's case-law. Staff of the authorities
dealing with persons deprived of their liberty should be fully aware of these persons' rights as guaranteed by the Convention and as interpreted by the Court in order to prevent any violation, in particular of Articles 3, 5 and 8. It is therefore of paramount importance that in each member state there is adequate training within these professions.
14. A specific training course on the Convention and its standards and, in particular, aspects relating to rights of persons deprived of their liberty should be incorporated in the programmes of police schools, as well as schools for prison warders. Workshops could also be organised as part of continuous training of members of the police forces, warders and other authorities concerned.
Effectiveness of university education and professional training
15. For this purpose, member states are recommended to ensure that university education and professional training in this field are carried out within permanent structures (public and private) by well-qualified teachers and trainers.
16. In this respect, training teachers and trainers is a priority. The aim is to ensure that their level of knowledge corresponds with the evolution of the case-law of the Court and meets the specific needs of each professional sector. Member states are invited to support initiatives (research in fields covered by the Convention, teaching techniques, etc.) aimed at guaranteeing a quality training of specialised teachers and trainers in this sensitive and evolving field.
Promotion of knowledge and/or awareness of the Convention system
17. Member states are finally recommended to encourage initiatives for the promotion of knowledge and/or awareness of the Convention system. Such initiatives, which can take various forms, have proved very positive in the past where they have been launched and should therefore be encouraged by member states.
18. One example could be the setting-up of moot court competitions for law students on the Convention and the Court's case-law, involving at the same time students, university professors and legal professionals (judges, prosecutors, lawyers), for example the Sporrong and Lönnroth competition organised in the Supreme Courts of the Nordic countries, and the pan-European French-speaking René Cassin competition, organised by the association Juris Ludi in the premises of the Council of Europe.
1 . European Ministerial Conference on Human Rights, H-Conf(2001)001, Resolution II, paragraph 40.
2 . See Article 1 of the Convention.
3 . In particular: Resolution (78) 41 on the teaching of human rights; Resolution (78) 40 containing regulations on Council of Europe fellowships for studies and research in the field of human rights; Recommendation No. R (79) 16 concerning the promotion of human rights research in the member states of the Council of Europe; Recommendation No. R (85) 7 on teaching and learning about human rights in schools, as well as its appendix containing suggestions for teaching and learning about human rights in schools. |
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Out of retirement
THE 100 GREATEST RED SOX OF ALL TIME
There are many ambitious bloggers out there who take a look at their favorite team and undertake the process of putting up their 100 greatest players of all time on their blog, but I'm aiming higher. I don't want the 100 greatest Red Sox on my blog. I want the same list of the 100 greatest Red Sox on every single Red Sox blog on the internet from one as small as this one to the biggest one out there. I've already contacted many of my fellow bloggers and there are several who are willing to contribute. Who's on board?
Over the Monster
Firebrand of the AL
Joy of Sox
Peter's Red Sox Forever
LJ's official Red Sox community
If anyone at all in the vast world of the internet also wants on board with this then drop me a line at 100greatestsox @ gmail.com. There will be more details in upcoming days.
Monday, March 27, 2006
The four stories of the off-season
Nobody actually thought that Theo Epstein was going to leave the team. We all figured that it was a sure thing that he'd be back. The deadline was approaching and the papers were reporting that a deal was close. So we were all pretty surprised when Theo said that he wouldn't be back. Why? We never did get any clear reasons. We all blamed Larry Luchino and the curly-haired boyfriend, but we were never given any actual reasons as to why Theo and the Sox parted ways. Theo Epstein was the only GM in the last 86 years to bring our team a World Series win so it was only natural that most Sox fans were getting a little nervous. Personally I saw no real reason to worry. Epstein has done a great job with the Sox, sure, but he's not the only guy in the front office. He has the final say, but he has surrounded himself by so many intelligent baseball people that his departure was not the end of the world. The only time I was even a little nervous about our situation was when the Jim Bowden rumors were floating around. When the Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington were promoted I was pretty happy. They were part of the team that advised Theo. They're both smart guys who know what they're doing. They know the system, they know the Red Sox philosophy, and they weren't about to turn the bus around and go in the opposite direction. They would've done just fine. Then Theo came back. Whatever. As far as I'm concerned, everything is back to normal and all the stories and all the whining done on WEEI was for nothing. The two GMs made several moves while Theo was away and they were all good ones. The question came up, "How would things have been if Theo had never left? Would he have made those moves?". The answer to those questions is easy and obvious. Things would've went the same as they did go. And Theo would've acted just as the dual headed GM monster did.
What about Manny? Personally I don't like the guy. The whole "Manny being Manny" thing makes me sick. His lack of hustle, constant mood changes, kid-like tantrums, and even his hair are a disgrace. He does have one saving grace, however. His swing. I'm glad he wasn't traded. I never actually thought that he was going to be traded. He only has a few more years left on his contract and the money he's still owed isn't a huge deal to the team like the Red Sox. But there are few teams out there who would be willing to take it on. Any deal that involved moving Manny would've left the Red Sox getting less than face value in return and I really don't think that the Sox were willing to do something like that. He's one of the game's best hitters and he can single handedly turn an average line up into a good one. When the line up is already good as the Red Sox line up is he makes it a great one. Boston took a few hits to their offense during the offseason, but they're still one of the top run scoring teams in the game and a large part of that is thanks to the return of Manny Ramirez. As for him not showing up to spring training with the rest of the team...well, you have to be a real jackass to actually care that he showed up on time, a few days after the rest of the team.
Johnny Damon sold out. Anyone surprised? I'm not. Have you ever read the guy's book? I do not recommend it. I received it as a birthday gift so I figured I might as well put it to use. I read it and I was amazed at how absolutely dumb this guy is. The team was going around saying "we're just a bunch of idiots" and in Johnny Damon's case it really was true. The guy is D-U-M, dumb. Not to mention he is so incredibly full of himself. If you asked him to list the top ten players in the major leagues he'd name himself ten times. He believes that he is one of the elite players in baseball and he believes that there is nothing he can't do. For a man with his lack of intelligence and belief that he's the greatest thing alive it wasn't much of a surprise when he just took the offer that gave him the most money. Sure he told us many times that he'd never play for the Yankees, but morals and decency don't mean much to a guy like him. Obviously baseball is a business. The players don't owe the team or the fans anything. And the Sox/Yankees rivalry means a lot more to the fans than it does to the players. But Damon really is a despicable human being. I can't wait to be there for a Sox/Yankees game. I will be one of 35,000 people to boo him until we are all blue in the face. And he will deserve every boo.
So, David Wells doesn't like Boston. He doesn't like all the attention he gets and he'd rather be on the west coast. So why, exactly, did he love playing for the Yankees so much? And why did he sign with the Red Son in the first place? He finally takes back his trade offer after realizing that no one will give Boston anything in return for a 300 pound 43 year old, and what does he do? He starts calling everyone from Terry Francona to Bud Selig idiots. He also has a big issue with starting the year on the DL, something he'll tell anyone within earshot. He's becoming a distraction and, despite a solid track record it's only a matter of time before his weight and age make him a liability on the field. The one bad thing about the Arroyo trade is the fact that David Wells wasn't dealt instead. With all that said, I don't mind Wells so much. He's actually a little entertaining. While Damon's stupidity and attitude was a bit annoying, Wells' stupidity and attitude is pretty amusing in a "Carl Everett doesn't believe in dinosaurs" kind of way.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
10/15/05 - Released Adam Hyzdu. Sent Chad Harville, Mike Stanton, and Jeremi Gonzalez outright to Pawtucket. All three refused the assignments and became free agents.
11/02/05 - resigned Mike Timlin to a one year deal
11/18/05 - released Gabe Kapler
11/24/05 - Traded Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado, and Harvey Garcia to the Florida Marlins for Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota in return
12/01/05 - Traded a player to be named later to the Chicago Cubs for Jermaine Van Buren
12/07/05 - Traded Doug Mirabelli to the San Diego Padres for Mark Loretta
12/08/05 - Selected Jamie Vermilyea in the Rule 5 Draft. Traded Edgar Renteria and cash to the Atlanta Braves for Andy Marte
12/14/05 - The Los Angelos Dodgers signed Bill Mueller to a two year deal
12/15/05 - The New York Yankees signed Mike Myers to a two year deal
12/20/05 - Signed Rudy Seanez to a one year deal. Tony Graffanino accepted arbitration. Non tendered Wade Miller and Chad Bradford making them free agents
12/23/05 - Signed John Flaherty to a one year deal
12/23/05 - The New York Yankees signed Johnny Damon to a four year deal
01/06/06 - signed JT Snow to a one year deal
01/12/06 - The Baltimore Orioles signed Kevin Millar to a one year deal
01/12/06 - signed Julian Tavarez to a two year deal
01/19/06 - signed Bronson Arroyo to a three year deal. Signed Willie Harris to a minor league contract t
01/27/06 - Traded Andy Marte, Kelly Shoppach, Guillermo Mota, and a player to be named to the Cleveland Indians for Coco Crisp, David Riske, and Josh Bard
02/06/06 - Designated Roberto Petagine for assignment and lost him to the Seattle Mariners
03/20/06 - Traded Bronson Arroyo and cash to the Cincinati Reds for Wily Mo Pena
03/24/06 - claimed Hee-Seop Choi off waivers
And who could forget the big stories of the '05-'06 off-season....
- The Theo Epstein/front office dance.
- The Manny Ramirez trade demand/I hate Boston tantrum/permission to arrive on time to spring training.
- David Wells being a big, fat ass.
- Johnny Damon taking a shot at the Red Sox every time someone puts a mic in front of him...But really, he's moved on. He swears.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Arroyo for Pena
It has been one hell of an offseason for the Sox. We've all heard how it's been a very turbulent one and that there is too much turnover. Some of you have probably even thought that yourselves. There's even that laughable little theory going around out there where people are saying that the Blue Jays are better than the Sox. To me this has been one of the best offseasons for the Sox in a very long time. They have made trade after trade, improving the team and getting the better end of the deal every single time. They've signed some low risk players who have the potential to help the team while allowing Damon to walk. They've improved their defense, added depth to their pitching, and became a younger team. Their offense may not be a record setting machine anymore, but they are still top five in the league. They are going to score some runs. They're a better team than last year. There's no logical way that anyone can dispute that.
Today the Sox made another step to improve the team. From out of nowhere it was announced that the Red Sox dealt Bronson Arroyo to the Reds for Wily Mo Pena. Pena isn't my first choice in Reds outfielders (the thought of Adam Dunn in a Sox uniform makes me giddy), but for Bronson Arroyo? I will certainly take that deal. Is Pena a star? No. He's a one dimensional player who doesn't take a walk, isn't very good on the bases, and doesn't play very good defense. But he sure can hit the ball hard. His best asset? His ability to crush lefties. He's the perfect platoon partner for Trot Nixon. All the Sox had to give up in return was Bronson Arroyo, Boston's most overrated "star".
Today is a good day for Sox fans. So long, Bronson! Take a few pink hat wearing fan girls with you on your way out, please. And hello, Wily! You'll love it here.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Josh Beckett's 4.08 ERA
Let's take a look at a few numbers to see how Josh Beckett would've done if he had pitched for the Red Sox in 2005. First, let's see some real numbers. In 2005 he had a 3.38 ERA, a 3.08 ERC, a 3.42 dERA, and a 3.45 RCERA. ERA is the normal measure of earned runs given up over 9 innings pitched that we all know and love. ERC is a statistic that measures what a pitcher's ERA is expected to be based on the hits and walks he gives up. dERA is based on the work done by Voros McCracken and measures a pitcher's ERA based entirely on the statistics that a pitcher controls and the defense does not (K's, BB's, HR's, and HBP's). RCERA is a pitcher's ERA based on the Runs Created by the batters facing the pitcher. All four are relatively close to each other and it should be possible to tailor the last three stats to see how he would've performed in the AL in a hitter's park.
I started off by park adjusting the number of doubles, triples, home runs, and hits that Beckett allowed at home. I used the park indices in the Bill James Handbook to calculate the number of those four stats that he would've allowed had he pitched half his games in Fenway instead of in Dolphins Stadium. Then I plugged those new numbers into the formulas for ERC, dERA, and RCERA. His numbers for those three went up to an ERC of 3.25, a dERA of 3.46, and a RCERA of 3.68; an increase of 0.17, 0.04, and 0.23 respectively. Judging by those three numbers we could probably expect Beckett's ERA to increase anywhere between 0.04 and 0.23 points giving him an ERA anywhere between 3.42 and 3.61 had he pitched in Fenway park. But what about the effects of the DH?
In 2005 Beckett held number 9 hitters to a .121/.188/.172, very similar to the line NL pitchers combined for in 2005, .150/.180/.190. My methods are far from perfect, but just for fun let's replace the 63 pitcher plate appearances against Josh Beckett with 80 DH appearances, assuming that the DH would be batting higher in the order, therefore getting more plate appearances. The average DH in the AL put up a .260/.335/.444 line in 2005. As a little side note, Baltimore DH's, lead mostly by Jay Gibbons, Sammy Sosa, Javy Lopez, and Raphael Palmeiro, had a .210/.277/.362 line. That was, by far, the worst in the AL despite the fact that they outslugged Oakland DH's by .010. But anyways, let's figure out ERC, dERA, and RCERA while keeping his stats park adjusted for Fenway, but adding in the effects of a DH. Doing that changes his numbers more than I expected. His ERC jumped to 3.87, his dERA to 3.82, and his RCERA to 4.36; a change over his original numbers by 0.79, 0.40, and 0.91 respectively.
The average change in the three stats I looked at and adjusted was 0.70 after adjusting for Fenway and replacing 63 pitcher plate appearances with 80 DH ones. What do all these numbers mean? Well, going by my math (which, I'll admit is a little bit shaky, but it might be a good estimation), Josh Beckett would've had a 4.08 ERA had he been with the Red Sox last year. Also, the Red Sox scored 5.62 runs per game last year which is actually lower than the 5.89 run support over nine innings that Beckett got. With the jump in ERA, support of one of the worst bullpens in baseball, and not much of a difference in run support it's probably a safe bet to say that had Beckett been in Boston last year his record would've been worse than the 15-8 he had in Florida.
This was by no means a way to try and prove that the Beckett trade was a bad one. I still love that trade. Beckett is going to get better as he matures and the rest of the deal still works out in Boston's favor. Beckett will be a great number 2 starter for the Red Sox over the next few years.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Is Fenway really a hitter's park?
I figured I'd check to see how much of a pitcher's park they have down there in Miami compared to Fenway. According to the Bill James Handbook, over the last three years the park index for runs scored in Dolphins Stadium is 90. A 90 means that 10% fewer runs are scored in Marlins games at home compared to Marlins games on the road. A 100 would mean that the park is neutral in terms of offense. Fenway has a 10% swing the other way with a 110 park index for runs over the last 3 years. Something is a little off when you look at Fenway splits, however. Red Sox opponents scored 1059 runs against them in 216 Fenway games. In 216 Red Sox away games their opponents scored 1060 runs. In Fenway, Sox opponents combined for a .264/.317/.422 line compared to a .267/.324/.424 line against the Sox away from Fenway. So Sox opponents were actually very slightly better on the road then they were in Fenway. So why is Fenway considered to be such a hitter's park? Well, over the last 3 years the Red Sox have scored 1343 runs in Fenway while scoring only 1122 on the road. They have a very impressive .297/.372/.492 line in Fenway over the last 3 years compared to a .265/.335/.440 line. In other words, the 10% increase in run production at Fenway park is entirely because of the Red Sox and Fenway is actually a neutral park for opposing line ups.
The fact that Fenway isn't a hitter's park for the away team's line up will make things a bit easier for Josh Beckett, but it does raise a few questions as to why Fenway only seems to help Boston. Does the crowd pump them up that much? Are they so used to everyone expecting them to do better at home that they step up their game that much? There are a lot of people who say that a hitter is built for Fenway or has the perfect swing for Fenway. Guys like Bill Mueller and Nomar Garciaparra are said to be Fenway type hitters. Are the Sox able to spot the type of hitter that will do well at Fenway and do they stack their line up with these guys? I know Kevin Millar loves to put the ball in foul ground. Maybe the fact that there is no foul ground at Fenway helps the guy out. I really don't know if there's any one factor that boosts Boston's offense so much when they're in Fenway. |
Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR) - Table of Contents|
| Part Number:||1910|
| Part Title:||Occupational Safety and Health Standards|
| Subpart Title:||Personal Protective Equipment|
| Standard Number:||1910.134|
| Title:||Respiratory Protection.|
| Appendix:||A , B-1 , B-2 , C , D|| GPO Source:||e-CFR|
This section applies to General Industry (part 1910), Shipyards (part 1915), Marine Terminals (part 1917), Longshoring (part 1918), and Construction (part 1926).1910.134(a)
In the control of those occupational diseases caused by breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays, or vapors, the primary objective shall be to prevent atmospheric contamination. This shall be accomplished as far as feasible by accepted engineering control measures (for example, enclosure or confinement of the operation, general and local ventilation, and substitution of less toxic materials). When effective engineering controls are not feasible, or while they are being instituted, appropriate respirators shall be used pursuant to this section.1910.134(a)(2)
A respirator shall be provided to each employee when such equipment is necessary to protect the health of such employee. The employer shall provide the respirators which are applicable and suitable for the purpose intended. The employer shall be responsible for the establishment and maintenance of a respiratory protection program, which shall include the requirements outlined in paragraph (c) of this section. The program shall cover each employee required by this section to use a respirator.1910.134(b)
Definitions. The following definitions are important terms used in the respiratory protection standard in this section.1910.134(c)
Air-purifying respirator means a respirator with an air-purifying filter, cartridge, or canister that removes specific air contaminants by passing ambient air through the air-purifying element.
Assigned protection factor (APF) means the workplace level of respiratory protection that a respirator or class of respirators is expected to provide to employees when the employer implements a continuing, effective respiratory protection program as specified by this section.
Atmosphere-supplying respirator means a respirator that supplies the respirator user with breathing air from a source independent of the ambient atmosphere, and includes supplied-air respirators (SARs) and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) units.
Canister or cartridge means a container with a filter, sorbent, or catalyst, or combination of these items, which removes specific contaminants from the air passed through the container.
Demand respirator means an atmosphere-supplying respirator that admits breathing air to the facepiece only when a negative pressure is created inside the facepiece by inhalation.
Emergency situation means any occurrence such as, but not limited to, equipment failure, rupture of containers, or failure of control equipment that may or does result in an uncontrolled significant release of an airborne contaminant.
Employee exposure means exposure to a concentration of an airborne contaminant that would occur if the employee were not using respiratory protection.
End-of-service-life indicator (ESLI) means a system that warns the respirator user of the approach of the end of adequate respiratory protection, for example, that the sorbent is approaching saturation or is no longer effective.
Escape-only respirator means a respirator intended to be used only for emergency exit.
Filter or air purifying element means a component used in respirators to remove solid or liquid aerosols from the inspired air.
Filtering facepiece (dust mask) means a negative pressure particulate respirator with a filter as an integral part of the facepiece or with the entire facepiece composed of the filtering medium.
Fit factor means a quantitative estimate of the fit of a particular respirator to a specific individual, and typically estimates the ratio of the concentration of a substance in ambient air to its concentration inside the respirator when worn.
Fit test means the use of a protocol to qualitatively or quantitatively evaluate the fit of a respirator on an individual. (See also Qualitative fit test QLFT and Quantitative fit test QNFT.)
Helmet means a rigid respiratory inlet covering that also provides head protection against impact and penetration.
High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter means a filter that is at least 99.97% efficient in removing monodisperse particles of 0.3 micrometers in diameter. The equivalent NIOSH 42 CFR 84 particulate filters are the N100, R100, and P100 filters.
Hood means a respiratory inlet covering that completely covers the head and neck and may also cover portions of the shoulders and torso.
Immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) means an atmosphere that poses an immediate threat to life, would cause irreversible adverse health effects, or would impair an individual's ability to escape from a dangerous atmosphere.
Interior structural firefighting means the physical activity of fire suppression, rescue or both, inside of buildings or enclosed structures which are involved in a fire situation beyond the incipient stage. (See 29 CFR 1910.155)
Loose-fitting facepiece means a respiratory inlet covering that is designed to form a partial seal with the face.
Maximum use concentration (MUC) means the maximum atmospheric concentration of a hazardous substance from which an employee can be expected to be protected when wearing a respirator, and is determined by the assigned protection factor of the respirator or class of respirators and the exposure limit of the hazardous substance. The MUC can be determined mathematically by multiplying the assigned protection factor specified for a respirator by the required OSHA permissible exposure limit, short-term exposure limit, or ceiling limit. When no OSHA exposure limit is available for a hazardous substance, an employer must determine an MUC on the basis of relevant available information and informed professional judgment.
Negative pressure respirator (tight fitting) means a respirator in which the air pressure inside the facepiece is negative during inhalation with respect to the ambient air pressure outside the respirator.
Oxygen deficient atmosphere means an atmosphere with an oxygen content below 19.5% by volume.
Physician or other licensed health care professional (PLHCP) means an individual whose legally permitted scope of practice (i.e., license, registration, or certification) allows him or her to independently provide, or be delegated the responsibility to provide, some or all of the health care services required by paragraph (e) of this section.
Positive pressure respirator means a respirator in which the pressure inside the respiratory inlet covering exceeds the ambient air pressure outside the respirator.
Powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) means an air-purifying respirator that uses a blower to force the ambient air through air-purifying elements to the inlet covering.
Pressure demand respirator means a positive pressure atmosphere-supplying respirator that admits breathing air to the facepiece when the positive pressure is reduced inside the facepiece by inhalation.
Qualitative fit test (QLFT) means a pass/fail fit test to assess the adequacy of respirator fit that relies on the individual's response to the test agent.
Quantitative fit test (QNFT) means an assessment of the adequacy of respirator fit by numerically measuring the amount of leakage into the respirator.
Respiratory inlet covering means that portion of a respirator that forms the protective barrier between the user's respiratory tract and an air-purifying device or breathing air source, or both. It may be a facepiece, helmet, hood, suit, or a mouthpiece respirator with nose clamp.
Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) means an atmosphere-supplying respirator for which the breathing air source is designed to be carried by the user.
Service life means the period of time that a respirator, filter or sorbent, or other respiratory equipment provides adequate protection to the wearer.
Supplied-air respirator (SAR) or airline respirator means an atmosphere-supplying respirator for which the source of breathing air is not designed to be carried by the user.
This section means this respiratory protection standard.
Tight-fitting facepiece means a respiratory inlet covering that forms a complete seal with the face.
User seal check means an action conducted by the respirator user to determine if the respirator is properly seated to the face.
Respiratory protection program. This paragraph requires the employer to develop and implement a written respiratory protection program with required worksite-specific procedures and elements for required respirator use. The program must be administered by a suitably trained program administrator. In addition, certain program elements may be required for voluntary use to prevent potential hazards associated with the use of the respirator. The Small Entity Compliance Guide contains criteria for the selection of a program administrator and a sample program that meets the requirements of this paragraph. Copies of the Small Entity Compliance Guide will be available on or about April 8, 1998 from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Office of Publications, Room N 3101, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20210 (202-219-4667).1910.134(c)(1)
In any workplace where respirators are necessary to protect the health of the employee or whenever respirators are required by the employer, the employer shall establish and implement a written respiratory protection program with worksite-specific procedures. The program shall be updated as necessary to reflect those changes in workplace conditions that affect respirator use. The employer shall include in the program the following provisions of this section, as applicable:1910.134(c)(1)(i)
Procedures for selecting respirators for use in the workplace;1910.134(c)(1)(ii)
Medical evaluations of employees required to use respirators;1910.134(c)(1)(iii)
Fit testing procedures for tight-fitting respirators;1910.134(c)(1)(iv)
Procedures for proper use of respirators in routine and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations;1910.134(c)(1)(v)
Procedures and schedules for cleaning, disinfecting, storing, inspecting, repairing, discarding, and otherwise maintaining respirators;1910.134(c)(1)(vi)
Procedures to ensure adequate air quality, quantity, and flow of breathing air for atmosphere-supplying respirators;1910.134(c)(1)(vii)
Training of employees in the respiratory hazards to which they are potentially exposed during routine and emergency situations;1910.134(c)(1)(viii)
Training of employees in the proper use of respirators, including putting on and removing them, any limitations on their use, and their maintenance; and1910.134(c)(1)(ix)
Procedures for regularly evaluating the effectiveness of the program.1910.134(c)(2)
Where respirator use is not required:1910.134(c)(2)(i)
An employer may provide respirators at the request of employees or permit employees to use their own respirators, if the employer determines that such respirator use will not in itself create a hazard. If the employer determines that any voluntary respirator use is permissible, the employer shall provide the respirator users with the information contained in Appendix D to this section ("Information for Employees Using Respirators When Not Required Under the Standard"); and1910.134(c)(2)(ii)
In addition, the employer must establish and implement those elements of a written respiratory protection program necessary to ensure that any employee using a respirator voluntarily is medically able to use that respirator, and that the respirator is cleaned, stored, and maintained so that its use does not present a health hazard to the user. Exception: Employers are not required to include in a written respiratory protection program those employees whose only use of respirators involves the voluntary use of filtering facepieces (dust masks).1910.134(c)(3)
The employer shall designate a program administrator who is qualified by appropriate training or experience that is commensurate with the complexity of the program to administer or oversee the respiratory protection program and conduct the required evaluations of program effectiveness.1910.134(c)(4)
The employer shall provide respirators, training, and medical evaluations at no cost to the employee.1910.134(d)
Selection of respirators. This paragraph requires the employer to evaluate respiratory hazard(s) in the workplace, identify relevant workplace and user factors, and base respirator selection on these factors. The paragraph also specifies appropriately protective respirators for use in IDLH atmospheres, and limits the selection and use of air-purifying respirators.1910.134(d)(1)
The employer shall select and provide an appropriate respirator based on the respiratory hazard(s) to which the worker is exposed and workplace and user factors that affect respirator performance and reliability.1910.134(d)(1)(ii)
The employer shall select a NIOSH-certified respirator. The respirator shall be used in compliance with the conditions of its certification.1910.134(d)(1)(iii)
The employer shall identify and evaluate the respiratory hazard(s) in the workplace; this evaluation shall include a reasonable estimate of employee exposures to respiratory hazard(s) and an identification of the contaminant's chemical state and physical form. Where the employer cannot identify or reasonably estimate the employee exposure, the employer shall consider the atmosphere to be IDLH.1910.134(d)(1)(iv)
The employer shall select respirators from a sufficient number of respirator models and sizes so that the respirator is acceptable to, and correctly fits, the user.1910.134(d)(2)
Respirators for IDLH atmospheres.1910.134(d)(2)(i)
The employer shall provide the following respirators for employee use in IDLH atmospheres:1910.134(d)(2)(i)(A)
A full facepiece pressure demand SCBA certified by NIOSH for a minimum service life of thirty minutes, or1910.134(d)(2)(i)(B)
A combination full facepiece pressure demand supplied-air respirator (SAR) with auxiliary self-contained air supply.1910.134(d)(2)(ii)
Respirators provided only for escape from IDLH atmospheres shall be NIOSH-certified for escape from the atmosphere in which they will be used.1910.134(d)(2)(iii)
All oxygen-deficient atmospheres shall be considered IDLH. Exception: If the employer demonstrates that, under all foreseeable conditions, the oxygen concentration can be maintained within the ranges specified in Table II of this section (i.e., for the altitudes set out in the table), then any atmosphere-supplying respirator may be used.1910.134(d)(3)
Respirators for atmospheres that are not IDLH.1910.134(d)(3)(i)
The employer shall provide a respirator that is adequate to protect the health of the employee and ensure compliance with all other OSHA statutory and regulatory requirements, under routine and reasonably foreseeable emergency situations.1910.134(d)(3)(i)(A)
Assigned Protection Factors (APFs) Employers must use the assigned protection factors listed in Table 1 to select a respirator that meets or exceeds the required level of employee protection. When using a combination respirator (e.g., airline respirators with an air-purifying filter), employers must ensure that the assigned protection factor is appropriate to the mode of operation in which the respirator is being used.
Table 1. -- Assigned Protection Factors5
|Type of respirator1, 2||Quarter mask||Half mask||Full
|1. Air-Purifying Respirator||5||310||50||..............||..............|
|2. Powered Air-Purifying Respirator (PAPR)||..............||50||1,000||425/1,000||25|
|3. Supplied-Air Respirator (SAR) or Airline Respirator
Continuous flow mode
Pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode
|4. Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA)
Pressure-demand or other positive-pressure mode (e.g., open/closed circuit)
Maximum Use Concentration (MUC)1910.134(d)(3)(i)(B)(1)
The employer must select a respirator for employee use that maintains the employee's exposure to the hazardous substance, when measured outside the respirator, at or below the MUC.1910.134(d)(3)(i)(B)(2)
Employers must not apply MUCs to conditions that are immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH); instead, they must use respirators listed for IDLH conditions in paragraph (d)(2) of this standard.1910.134(d)(3)(i)(B)(3)
When the calculated MUC exceeds the IDLH level for a hazardous substance, or the performance limits of the cartridge or canister, then employers must set the maximum MUC at that lower limit.1910.134(d)(3)(ii)
The respirator selected shall be appropriate for the chemical state and physical form of the contaminant.1910.134(d)(3)(iii)
For protection against gases and vapors, the employer shall provide:1910.134(d)(3)(iii)(A)
An atmosphere-supplying respirator, or1910.134(d)(3)(iii)(B)
An air-purifying respirator, provided that:1910.134(d)(3)(iii)(B)(1)
The respirator is equipped with an end-of-service-life indicator (ESLI) certified by NIOSH for the contaminant; or1910.134(d)(3)(iii)(B)(2)
If there is no ESLI appropriate for conditions in the employer's workplace, the employer implements a change schedule for canisters and cartridges that is based on objective information or data that will ensure that canisters and cartridges are changed before the end of their service life. The employer shall describe in the respirator program the information and data relied upon and the basis for the canister and cartridge change schedule and the basis for reliance on the data.1910.134(d)(3)(iv)
For protection against particulates, the employer shall provide:1910.134(d)(3)(iv)(A)
An atmosphere-supplying respirator; or1910.134(d)(3)(iv)(B)
An air-purifying respirator equipped with a filter certified by NIOSH under 30 CFR part 11 as a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, or an air-purifying respirator equipped with a filter certified for particulates by NIOSH under 42 CFR part 84; or1910.134(d)(3)(iv)(C)
For contaminants consisting primarily of particles with mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMAD) of at least 2 micrometers, an air-purifying respirator equipped with any filter certified for particulates by NIOSH.
|Altitude (ft.)||Oxygen deficient Atmospheres (% 02) for which the employer atmosphere-may rely on supplying respirators|
|Less than 3,001
Medical evaluation. Using a respirator may place a physiological burden on employees that varies with the type of respirator worn, the job and workplace conditions in which the respirator is used, and the medical status of the employee. Accordingly, this paragraph specifies the minimum requirements for medical evaluation that employers must implement to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator.1910.134(e)(1)
General. The employer shall provide a medical evaluation to determine the employee's ability to use a respirator, before the employee is fit tested or required to use the respirator in the workplace. The employer may discontinue an employee's medical evaluations when the employee is no longer required to use a respirator.1910.134(e)(2)
Medical evaluation procedures.1910.134(e)(2)(i)
The employer shall identify a physician or other licensed health care professional (PLHCP) to perform medical evaluations using a medical questionnaire or an initial medical examination that obtains the same information as the medical questionnaire.1910.134(e)(2)(ii)
The medical evaluation shall obtain the information requested by the questionnaire in Sections 1 and 2, Part A of Appendix C of this section.1910.134(e)(3)
Follow-up medical examination.1910.134(e)(3)(i)
The employer shall ensure that a follow-up medical examination is provided for an employee who gives a positive response to any question among questions 1 through 8 in Section 2, Part A of Appendix C or whose initial medical examination demonstrates the need for a follow-up medical examination.1910.134(e)(3)(ii)
The follow-up medical examination shall include any medical tests, consultations, or diagnostic procedures that the PLHCP deems necessary to make a final determination.1910.134(e)(4)
Administration of the medical questionnaire and examinations.1910.134(e)(4)(i)
The medical questionnaire and examinations shall be administered confidentially during the employee's normal working hours or at a time and place convenient to the employee. The medical questionnaire shall be administered in a manner that ensures that the employee understands its content.1910.134(e)(4)(ii)
The employer shall provide the employee with an opportunity to discuss the questionnaire and examination results with the PLHCP.1910.134(e)(5)
Supplemental information for the PLHCP.1910.134(e)(5)(i)
The following information must be provided to the PLHCP before the PLHCP makes a recommendation concerning an employee's ability to use a respirator:1910.134(e)(5)(i)(A)
(A) The type and weight of the respirator to be used by the employee;1910.134(e)(5)(i)(B)
The duration and frequency of respirator use (including use for rescue and escape);1910.134(e)(5)(i)(C)
The expected physical work effort;1910.134(e)(5)(i)(D)
Additional protective clothing and equipment to be worn; and1910.134(e)(5)(i)(E)
Temperature and humidity extremes that may be encountered.1910.134(e)(5)(ii)
Any supplemental information provided previously to the PLHCP regarding an employee need not be provided for a subsequent medical evaluation if the information and the PLHCP remain the same.1910.134(e)(5)(iii)
The employer shall provide the PLHCP with a copy of the written respiratory protection program and a copy of this section.1910.134(e)(6)
Note to Paragraph (e)(5)(iii): When the employer replaces a PLHCP, the employer must ensure that the new PLHCP obtains this information, either by providing the documents directly to the PLHCP or having the documents transferred from the former PLHCP to the new PLHCP. However, OSHA does not expect employers to have employees medically reevaluated solely because a new PLHCP has been selected.
Medical determination. In determining the employee's ability to use a respirator, the employer shall:1910.134(e)(6)(i)
Obtain a written recommendation regarding the employee's ability to use the respirator from the PLHCP. The recommendation shall provide only the following information:1910.134(e)(6)(i)(A)
Any limitations on respirator use related to the medical condition of the employee, or relating to the workplace conditions in which the respirator will be used, including whether or not the employee is medically able to use the respirator;1910.134(e)(6)(i)(B)
The need, if any, for follow-up medical evaluations; and1910.134(e)(6)(i)(C)
A statement that the PLHCP has provided the employee with a copy of the PLHCP's written recommendation.1910.134(e)(6)(ii)
If the respirator is a negative pressure respirator and the PLHCP finds a medical condition that may place the employee's health at increased risk if the respirator is used, the employer shall provide a PAPR if the PLHCP's medical evaluation finds that the employee can use such a respirator; if a subsequent medical evaluation finds that the employee is medically able to use a negative pressure respirator, then the employer is no longer required to provide a PAPR.1910.134(e)(7)
Additional medical evaluations. At a minimum, the employer shall provide additional medical evaluations that comply with the requirements of this section if:1910.134(e)(7)(i)
An employee reports medical signs or symptoms that are related to ability to use a respirator;1910.134(e)(7)(ii)
A PLHCP, supervisor, or the respirator program administrator informs the employer that an employee needs to be reevaluated;1910.134(e)(7)(iii)
Information from the respiratory protection program, including observations made during fit testing and program evaluation, indicates a need for employee reevaluation; or1910.134(e)(7)(iv)
A change occurs in workplace conditions (e.g., physical work effort, protective clothing, temperature) that may result in a substantial increase in the physiological burden placed on an employee.1910.134(f)
Fit testing. This paragraph requires that, before an employee may be required to use any respirator with a negative or positive pressure tight-fitting facepiece, the employee must be fit tested with the same make, model, style, and size of respirator that will be used. This paragraph specifies the kinds of fit tests allowed, the procedures for conducting them, and how the results of the fit tests must be used.1910.134(f)(1)
The employer shall ensure that employees using a tight-fitting facepiece respirator pass an appropriate qualitative fit test (QLFT) or quantitative fit test (QNFT) as stated in this paragraph.1910.134(f)(2)
The employer shall ensure that an employee using a tight-fitting facepiece respirator is fit tested prior to initial use of the respirator, whenever a different respirator facepiece (size, style, model or make) is used, and at least annually thereafter.1910.134(f)(3)
The employer shall conduct an additional fit test whenever the employee reports, or the employer, PLHCP, supervisor, or program administrator makes visual observations of, changes in the employee's physical condition that could affect respirator fit. Such conditions include, but are not limited to, facial scarring, dental changes, cosmetic surgery, or an obvious change in body weight.1910.134(f)(4)
If after passing a QLFT or QNFT, the employee subsequently notifies the employer, program administrator, supervisor, or PLHCP that the fit of the respirator is unacceptable, the employee shall be given a reasonable opportunity to select a different respirator facepiece and to be retested.1910.134(f)(5)
The fit test shall be administered using an OSHA-accepted QLFT or QNFT protocol. The OSHA-accepted QLFT and QNFT protocols and procedures are contained in Appendix A of this section.1910.134(f)(6)
QLFT may only be used to fit test negative pressure air-purifying respirators that must achieve a fit factor of 100 or less.1910.134(f)(7)
If the fit factor, as determined through an OSHA-accepted QNFT protocol, is equal to or greater than 100 for tight-fitting half facepieces, or equal to or greater than 500 for tight-fitting full facepieces, the QNFT has been passed with that respirator.1910.134(f)(8)
Fit testing of tight-fitting atmosphere-supplying respirators and tight-fitting powered air-purifying respirators shall be accomplished by performing quantitative or qualitative fit testing in the negative pressure mode, regardless of the mode of operation (negative or positive pressure) that is used for respiratory protection.1910.134(f)(8)(i)
Qualitative fit testing of these respirators shall be accomplished by temporarily converting the respirator user's actual facepiece into a negative pressure respirator with appropriate filters, or by using an identical negative pressure air-purifying respirator facepiece with the same sealing surfaces as a surrogate for the atmosphere-supplying or powered air-purifying respirator facepiece.1910.134(f)(8)(ii)
Quantitative fit testing of these respirators shall be accomplished by modifying the facepiece to allow sampling inside the facepiece in the breathing zone of the user, midway between the nose and mouth. This requirement shall be accomplished by installing a permanent sampling probe onto a surrogate facepiece, or by using a sampling adapter designed to temporarily provide a means of sampling air from inside the facepiece.1910.134(f)(8)(iii)
Any modifications to the respirator facepiece for fit testing shall be completely removed, and the facepiece restored to NIOSH-approved configuration, before that facepiece can be used in the workplace.1910.134(g)
Use of respirators. This paragraph requires employers to establish and implement procedures for the proper use of respirators. These requirements include prohibiting conditions that may result in facepiece seal leakage, preventing employees from removing respirators in hazardous environments, taking actions to ensure continued effective respirator operation throughout the work shift, and establishing procedures for the use of respirators in IDLH atmospheres or in interior structural firefighting situations.1910.134(g)(1)
Facepiece seal protection.1910.134(g)(1)(i)
The employer shall not permit respirators with tight-fitting facepieces to be worn by employees who have:1910.134(g)(1)(i)(A)
Facial hair that comes between the sealing surface of the facepiece and the face or that interferes with valve function; or1910.134(g)(1)(i)(B)
Any condition that interferes with the face-to-facepiece seal or valve function.1910.134(g)(1)(ii)
If an employee wears corrective glasses or goggles or other personal protective equipment, the employer shall ensure that such equipment is worn in a manner that does not interfere with the seal of the facepiece to the face of the user.1910.134(g)(1)(iii)
For all tight-fitting respirators, the employer shall ensure that employees perform a user seal check each time they put on the respirator using the procedures in Appendix B-1 or procedures recommended by the respirator manufacturer that the employer demonstrates are as effective as those in Appendix B-1 of this section.1910.134(g)(2)
Continuing respirator effectiveness.1910.134(g)(2)(i)
Appropriate surveillance shall be maintained of work area conditions and degree of employee exposure or stress. When there is a change in work area conditions or degree of employee exposure or stress that may affect respirator effectiveness, the employer shall reevaluate the continued effectiveness of the respirator.1910.134(g)(2)(ii)
The employer shall ensure that employees leave the respirator use area:1910.134(g)(2)(ii)(A)
To wash their faces and respirator facepieces as necessary to prevent eye or skin irritation associated with respirator use; or1910.134(g)(2)(ii)(B)
If they detect vapor or gas breakthrough, changes in breathing resistance, or leakage of the facepiece; or1910.134(g)(2)(ii)(C)
To replace the respirator or the filter, cartridge, or canister elements.1910.134(g)(2)(iii)
If the employee detects vapor or gas breakthrough, changes in breathing resistance, or leakage of the facepiece, the employer must replace or repair the respirator before allowing the employee to return to the work area.1910.134(g)(3)
Procedures for IDLH atmospheres. For all IDLH atmospheres, the employer shall ensure that:1910.134(g)(3)(i)
One employee or, when needed, more than one employee is located outside the IDLH atmosphere;1910.134(g)(3)(ii)
Visual, voice, or signal line communication is maintained between the employee(s) in the IDLH atmosphere and the employee(s) located outside the IDLH atmosphere;1910.134(g)(3)(iii)
The employee(s) located outside the IDLH atmosphere are trained and equipped to provide effective emergency rescue;1910.134(g)(3)(iv)
The employer or designee is notified before the employee(s) located outside the IDLH atmosphere enter the IDLH atmosphere to provide emergency rescue;1910.134(g)(3)(v)
The employer or designee authorized to do so by the employer, once notified, provides necessary assistance appropriate to the situation;1910.134(g)(3)(vi)
Employee(s) located outside the IDLH atmospheres are equipped with:1910.134(g)(3)(vi)(A)
Pressure demand or other positive pressure SCBAs, or a pressure demand or other positive pressure supplied-air respirator with auxiliary SCBA; and either1910.134(g)(3)(vi)(B)
Appropriate retrieval equipment for removing the employee(s) who enter(s) these hazardous atmospheres where retrieval equipment would contribute to the rescue of the employee(s) and would not increase the overall risk resulting from entry; or1910.134(g)(3)(vi)(C)
Equivalent means for rescue where retrieval equipment is not required under paragraph (g)(3)(vi)(B).1910.134(g)(4)
Procedures for interior structural firefighting. In addition to the requirements set forth under paragraph (g)(3), in interior structural fires, the employer shall ensure that:1910.134(g)(4)(i)
At least two employees enter the IDLH atmosphere and remain in visual or voice contact with one another at all times;1910.134(g)(4)(ii)
At least two employees are located outside the IDLH atmosphere; and1910.134(g)(4)(iii)
All employees engaged in interior structural firefighting use SCBAs.1910.134(h)
Note 1 to paragraph (g): One of the two individuals located outside the IDLH atmosphere may be assigned to an additional role, such as incident commander in charge of the emergency or safety officer, so long as this individual is able to perform assistance or rescue activities without jeopardizing the safety or health of any firefighter working at the incident.
Note 2 to paragraph (g): Nothing in this section is meant to preclude firefighters from performing emergency rescue activities before an entire team has assembled.
Maintenance and care of respirators. This paragraph requires the employer to provide for the cleaning and disinfecting, storage, inspection, and repair of respirators used by employees.1910.134(h)(1)
Cleaning and disinfecting. The employer shall provide each respirator user with a respirator that is clean, sanitary, and in good working order. The employer shall ensure that respirators are cleaned and disinfected using the procedures in Appendix B-2 of this section, or procedures recommended by the respirator manufacturer, provided that such procedures are of equivalent effectiveness. The respirators shall be cleaned and disinfected at the following intervals:1910.134(h)(1)(i)
Respirators issued for the exclusive use of an employee shall be cleaned and disinfected as often as necessary to be maintained in a sanitary condition;1910.134(h)(1)(ii)
Respirators issued to more than one employee shall be cleaned and disinfected before being worn by different individuals;1910.134(h)(1)(iii)
Respirators maintained for emergency use shall be cleaned and disinfected after each use; and1910.134(h)(1)(iv)
Respirators used in fit testing and training shall be cleaned and disinfected after each use.1910.134(h)(2)
Storage. The employer shall ensure that respirators are stored as follows:1910.134(h)(2)(i)
All respirators shall be stored to protect them from damage, contamination, dust, sunlight, extreme temperatures, excessive moisture, and damaging chemicals, and they shall be packed or stored to prevent deformation of the facepiece and exhalation valve.1910.134(h)(2)(ii)
In addition to the requirements of paragraph (h)(2)(i) of this section, emergency respirators shall be:1910.134(h)(2)(ii)(A)
Kept accessible to the work area;1910.134(h)(2)(ii)(B)
Stored in compartments or in covers that are clearly marked as containing emergency respirators; and1910.134(h)(2)(ii)(C)
Stored in accordance with any applicable manufacturer instructions.1910.134(h)(3)
The employer shall ensure that respirators are inspected as follows:1910.134(h)(3)(i)(A)
All respirators used in routine situations shall be inspected before each use and during cleaning;1910.134(h)(3)(i)(B)
All respirators maintained for use in emergency situations shall be inspected at least monthly and in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations, and shall be checked for proper function before and after each use; and1910.134(h)(3)(i)(C)
Emergency escape-only respirators shall be inspected before being carried into the workplace for use.1910.134(h)(3)(ii)
The employer shall ensure that respirator inspections include the following:1910.134(h)(3)(ii)(A)
A check of respirator function, tightness of connections, and the condition of the various parts including, but not limited to, the facepiece, head straps, valves, connecting tube, and cartridges, canisters or filters; and1910.134(h)(3)(ii)(B)
A check of elastomeric parts for pliability and signs of deterioration.1910.134(h)(3)(iii)
In addition to the requirements of paragraphs (h)(3)(i) and (ii) of this section, self-contained breathing apparatus shall be inspected monthly. Air and oxygen cylinders shall be maintained in a fully charged state and shall be recharged when the pressure falls to 90% of the manufacturer's recommended pressure level. The employer shall determine that the regulator and warning devices function properly.1910.134(h)(3)(iv)
For respirators maintained for emergency use, the employer shall:1910.134(h)(3)(iv)(A)
Certify the respirator by documenting the date the inspection was performed, the name (or signature) of the person who made the inspection, the findings, required remedial action, and a serial number or other means of identifying the inspected respirator; and1910.134(h)(3)(iv)(B)
Provide this information on a tag or label that is attached to the storage compartment for the respirator, is kept with the respirator, or is included in inspection reports stored as paper or electronic files. This information shall be maintained until replaced following a subsequent certification.1910.134(h)(4)
Repairs. The employer shall ensure that respirators that fail an inspection or are otherwise found to be defective are removed from service, and are discarded or repaired or adjusted in accordance with the following procedures:1910.134(h)(4)(i)
Repairs or adjustments to respirators are to be made only by persons appropriately trained to perform such operations and shall use only the respirator manufacturer's NIOSH-approved parts designed for the respirator;1910.134(h)(4)(ii)
Repairs shall be made according to the manufacturer's recommendations and specifications for the type and extent of repairs to be performed; and1910.134(h)(4)(iii)
Reducing and admission valves, regulators, and alarms shall be adjusted or repaired only by the manufacturer or a technician trained by the manufacturer.1910.134(i)
Breathing air quality and use. This paragraph requires the employer to provide employees using atmosphere-supplying respirators (supplied-air and SCBA) with breathing gases of high purity.1910.134(i)(1)
The employer shall ensure that compressed air, compressed oxygen, liquid air, and liquid oxygen used for respiration accords with the following specifications:1910.134(i)(1)(i)
Compressed and liquid oxygen shall meet the United States Pharmacopoeia requirements for medical or breathing oxygen; and1910.134(i)(1)(ii)
Compressed breathing air shall meet at least the requirements for Grade D breathing air described in ANSI/Compressed Gas Association Commodity Specification for Air, G-7.1-1989, to include:1910.134(i)(1)(ii)(A)
Oxygen content (v/v) of 19.5-23.5%;1910.134(i)(1)(ii)(B)
Hydrocarbon (condensed) content of 5 milligrams per cubic meter of air or less;1910.134(i)(1)(ii)(C)
Carbon monoxide (CO) content of 10 ppm or less;1910.134(i)(1)(ii)(D)
Carbon dioxide content of 1,000 ppm or less; and1910.134(i)(1)(ii)(E)
Lack of noticeable odor.1910.134(i)(2)
The employer shall ensure that compressed oxygen is not used in atmosphere-supplying respirators that have previously used compressed air.1910.134(i)(3)
The employer shall ensure that oxygen concentrations greater than 23.5% are used only in equipment designed for oxygen service or distribution.1910.134(i)(4)
The employer shall ensure that cylinders used to supply breathing air to respirators meet the following requirements:1910.134(i)(4)(i)
Cylinders are tested and maintained as prescribed in the Shipping Container Specification Regulations of the Department of Transportation (49 CFR part 180);1910.134(i)(4)(ii)
Cylinders of purchased breathing air have a certificate of analysis from the supplier that the breathing air meets the requirements for Grade D breathing air; and1910.134(i)(4)(iii)
The moisture content in the cylinder does not exceed a dew point of -50 deg.F (-45.6 deg.C) at 1 atmosphere pressure.1910.134(i)(5)
The employer shall ensure that compressors used to supply breathing air to respirators are constructed and situated so as to:1910.134(i)(5)(i)
Prevent entry of contaminated air into the air-supply system;1910.134(i)(5)(ii)
Minimize moisture content so that the dew point at 1 atmosphere pressure is 10 degrees F (5.56 deg.C) below the ambient temperature;1910.134(i)(5)(iii)
Have suitable in-line air-purifying sorbent beds and filters to further ensure breathing air quality. Sorbent beds and filters shall be maintained and replaced or refurbished periodically following the manufacturer's instructions.1910.134(i)(5)(iv)
Have a tag containing the most recent change date and the signature of the person authorized by the employer to perform the change. The tag shall be maintained at the compressor.1910.134(i)(6)
For compressors that are not oil-lubricated, the employer shall ensure that carbon monoxide levels in the breathing air do not exceed 10 ppm.1910.134(i)(7)
For oil-lubricated compressors, the employer shall use a high-temperature or carbon monoxide alarm, or both, to monitor carbon monoxide levels. If only high-temperature alarms are used, the air supply shall be monitored at intervals sufficient to prevent carbon monoxide in the breathing air from exceeding 10 ppm.1910.134(i)(8)
The employer shall ensure that breathing air couplings are incompatible with outlets for nonrespirable worksite air or other gas systems. No asphyxiating substance shall be introduced into breathing air lines.1910.134(i)(9)
The employer shall use only the respirator manufacturer's NIOSH-approved breathing-gas containers,marked and maintained in accordance with the Quality Assurance provisions of the NIOSH approval for the SCBA as issued in accordance with the NIOSH respirator-certification standard at 42 CFR part 84.1910.134(j)
Identification of filters, cartridges, and canisters. The employer shall ensure that all filters, cartridges and canisters used in the workplace are labeled and color coded with the NIOSH approval label and that the label is not removed and remains legible.1910.134(k)
Training and information. This paragraph requires the employer to provide effective training to employees who are required to use respirators. The training must be comprehensive, understandable, and recur annually, and more often if necessary. This paragraph also requires the employer to provide the basic information on respirators in Appendix D of this section to employees who wear respirators when not required by this section or by the employer to do so.1910.134(k)(1)
The employer shall ensure that each employee can demonstrate knowledge of at least the following:1910.134(k)(1)(i)
Why the respirator is necessary and how improper fit, usage, or maintenance can compromise the protective effect of the respirator;1910.134(k)(1)(ii)
What the limitations and capabilities of the respirator are;1910.134(k)(1)(iii)
How to use the respirator effectively in emergency situations, including situations in which the respirator malfunctions;1910.134(k)(1)(iv)
How to inspect, put on and remove, use, and check the seals of the respirator;1910.134(k)(1)(v)
What the procedures are for maintenance and storage of the respirator;1910.134(k)(1)(vi)
How to recognize medical signs and symptoms that may limit or prevent the effective use of respirators; and1910.134(k)(1)(vii)
The general requirements of this section.1910.134(k)(2)
The training shall be conducted in a manner that is understandable to the employee.1910.134(k)(3)
The employer shall provide the training prior to requiring the employee to use a respirator in the workplace.1910.134(k)(4)
An employer who is able to demonstrate that a new employee has received training within the last 12 months that addresses the elements specified in paragraph (k)(1)(i) through (vii) is not required to repeat such training provided that, as required by paragraph (k)(1), the employee can demonstrate knowledge of those element(s). Previous training not repeated initially by the employer must be provided no later than 12 months from the date of the previous training.1910.134(k)(5)
Retraining shall be administered annually, and when the following situations occur:1910.134(k)(5)(i)
Changes in the workplace or the type of respirator render previous training obsolete;1910.134(k)(5)(ii)
Inadequacies in the employee's knowledge or use of the respirator indicate that the employee has not retained the requisite understanding or skill; or1910.134(k)(5)(iii)
Any other situation arises in which retraining appears necessary to ensure safe respirator use.1910.134(k)(6)
The basic advisory information on respirators, as presented in Appendix D of this section, shall be provided by the employer in any written or oral format, to employees who wear respirators when such use is not required by this section or by the employer.1910.134(l)
Program evaluation. This section requires the employer to conduct evaluations of the workplace to ensure that the written respiratory protection program is being properly implemented, and to consult employees to ensure that they are using the respirators properly.1910.134(l)(1)
The employer shall conduct evaluations of the workplace as necessary to ensure that the provisions of the current written program are being effectively implemented and that it continues to be effective.1910.134(l)(2)
The employer shall regularly consult employees required to use respirators to assess the employees' views on program effectiveness and to identify any problems. Any problems that are identified during this assessment shall be corrected. Factors to be assessed include, but are not limited to:1910.134(l)(2)(i)
Respirator fit (including the ability to use the respirator without interfering with effective workplace performance);1910.134(l)(2)(ii)
Appropriate respirator selection for the hazards to which the employee is exposed;1910.134(l)(2)(iii)
Proper respirator use under the workplace conditions the employee encounters; and1910.134(l)(2)(iv)
Proper respirator maintenance.1910.134(m)
Recordkeeping. This section requires the employer to establish and retain written information regarding medical evaluations, fit testing, and the respirator program. This information will facilitate employee involvement in the respirator program, assist the employer in auditing the adequacy of the program, and provide a record for compliance determinations by OSHA.1910.134(m)(1)
Medical evaluation. Records of medical evaluations required by this section must be retained and made available in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.1020.1910.134(m)(2)
The employer shall establish a record of the qualitative and quantitative fit tests administered to an employee including:1910.134(m)(2)(i)(A)
The name or identification of the employee tested;1910.134(m)(2)(i)(B)
Type of fit test performed;1910.134(m)(2)(i)(C)
Specific make, model, style, and size of respirator tested;1910.134(m)(2)(i)(D)
Date of test; and1910.134(m)(2)(i)(E)
The pass/fail results for QLFTs or the fit factor and strip chart recording or other recording of the test results for QNFTs.1910.134(m)(2)(ii)
Fit test records shall be retained for respirator users until the next fit test is administered.1910.134(m)(3)
A written copy of the current respirator program shall be retained by the employer.1910.134(m)(4)
Written materials required to be retained under this paragraph shall be made available upon request to affected employees and to the Assistant Secretary or designee for examination and copying.1910.134(n)
Effective date. Paragraphs (d)(3)(i)(A) and (d)(3)(i)(B) of this section become effective November 22, 2006.1910.134(o)
Appendices. Compliance with Appendix A, Appendix B-1, Appendix B-2, Appendix C, and Appendix D to this section are mandatory.
Next Standard (1910.134 App A)|
|Regulations (Standards - 29 CFR) - Table of Contents|
The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue. |
Unearthing Clues to Martian Fossils
Space Science News home
Unearthing clues to Martian fossils The hunt for signs of ancient life on Mars
leads scientists to Mono Lake, CA
First you would die, either from asphyxiation or hypothermia. Mars's carbon dioxide atmosphere is 100 times less dense than Earth's and the average surface temperature is -60 deg C. The exact cause of death would depend on the season, the time of day (Martian temperatures fluctuate as much as 100 degrees from dawn to dusk), and the latitude of your surprise landing site.
Next you would begin to dry out. There is no liquid water on the surface of Mars and little, if any, water vapor in the atmosphere. Your lifeless body would become dessicated like an Egyptian mummy.
Finally, not that it would matter terribly, you would contract a very nasty sunburn. The Red Planet's rarefied atmosphere does a poor job blocking UV rays from the sun (there is no protective ozone layer in the atmosphere). Radiation levels are so intense that they probably sterilize the uppermost layers of Martian soil.
The next time you visit Mars, take a space suit.
December 3: Mars Polar Lander nears touchdown
December 2: What next, Leonids?
November 30: Polar Lander Mission Overview
November 30: Learning how to make a clean sweep in space
The reality of this picture is somewhat controversial, but if it is true, it seems likely to many scientists that early Mars could have teemed with simple forms of life.
Sign up for our EXPRESS SCIENCE NEWS delivery
Farmer (formerly of NASA/Ames) along with his collaborators at ASU, is a pioneer in the new scientific discipline called exopaleontology -- the search for signs of primeval life on other planets.
"Mars may harbor the best preserved rocks in the solar system," he continued. "For example, the Allan Hills meteorite [an ancient potato-sized rock from Mars that crashed into Antarctica 13,000 years ago] is nearly 4.6 billion years old. The fossil record on Mars might go all the way back to the earliest history of the planet."
Farmer says he wouldn't mind visiting Mars to prospect for fossils in person, but an unmanned probe is likely to be the first exopalentologist on the Red Planet. Where should a Mars lander set down to seek out the elusive fossil record? The answer to that question may be found here on Earth in an other-worldly place called Mono Lake.
"Mono Lake lies in a lifeless, hideous desert ... This solemn, silent, sailless sea - this lonely tenant of the loneliest spot on earth - is little graced with the picturesque."Mono Lake in California is nearly 700,000 years old, making it one of the oldest lakes in North America. Throughout its long existence, salts and minerals have washed into the lake from Eastern Sierra streams, but there is no outlet. Fresh water evaporating leaves behind salts and minerals so that now Mono Lake is about 2 1/2 times as salty and 80 times as alkaline as the ocean. Swimmers in the lake find that they literally cannot sink (dissolved carbonates, chlorides and sulfates make floating easy) but their skin does tend to bleach and burn in the alkaline water.
Mark Twain, Roughing It, 1875
"The geology of the Mono Basin reminds me of many old Martian lake beds," says Farmer. "Take Gusev Crater for example. It's a basin on Mars formed by an impact more than 3.5 billion years ago. Water flowed in through channels in a huge canyon called Ma'adim Vallis, but there was no outlet. It was an evaporative lake site."
Left: Mars Global Surveyor image of Gusev Crater and Ma'adim Valles. More images and information.
There is almost certainly no life in places like Gusev Crater today. All the ancient ponds and lakes on Mars are now bone dry and scorched by solar UV radiation. Nevertheless, there could be fossils of life forms that thrived billions of years ago, and a curious geological feature of Mono Lake may be telling us where and how to look for them.
At first glance the most striking aspect of Mono Lake are the weird mineral spires called tufa, a type of freshwater limestone. They are formed when calcium-rich spring water bubbles up through the alkaline lake, which is rich in bicarbonate. The calcium and bicarbonate combine, precipitating out as limestone. Tufa towers only grow while underwater, but at Mono Lake they can be seen towering as much as 12 feet above the surface. That's because the lake level has been lowered in recent years to supply water to Los Angeles, 360 miles to the south.
"Whenever you have minerals that precipitate rapidly as they do around the springs in Mono Lake, microorganisms become entombed," says Farmer. "The fossils of soft-bodied microbes formed by this process could be preserved for billions of years."
Farmer has spent many years studying the tufa at Mono Lake as an analog of carbonate deposits that might one day be discovered on Mars.
"There are lots of microfossils here and there in the tufa, formed where the rapid precipitation of carbonates captured microorganisms," continued Farmer. "I've seen larval casings of alkaline flies and cyanobacteria fossils, also things that look like algae (simple multicellular plants). I haven't yet found any fossils of brine shrimp, but I'm still looking."
"In thin sections of tufa I've also found clumps of decayed organic material called kerogen, which may contain chemofossil signatures. Chemofossils are the chemicals produced by the breakdown of cell walls. For example, Mono Lake diatoms have a hard shell with an organic coating that protects them from the alkaline water. When they die, the coating dissolves and so does the diatom. All that's left of this organic material is trace chemicals. It is possible to relate such products to specific organisms like diatoms or algae, but its not always easy. You have to become a Sherlock Holmes and piece together what the community must have been like from clues (both chemical and fossil) that are preserved."
"In evaporative basins, there's a lot of variation in chemistry from basin to basin, and throughout the history of the lake," Farmer continued. "What's beautiful about Mono Lake is that we have an active system of tufa-formation and mineral precipitation. Other paleo lake basins in Western North America are now dry because the climate has changed and evaporation now dominates inflow."
In Search of Mono Lake -- on Mars?Finding microfossils on Mars won't be easy, even if life once existed there. After all Mars is a big planet and fossils are not likely to be found just anywhere. No one knows for sure, but Farmer and collaborators think that a good starting point might be evaporative basins with carbonate deposits where microbial fossils could be entombed, in other words, places that were once like Mono Lake.
The chemical mixture in an evaporative basin depends on what kinds of rocks are in the vicinity. When water flows into a lake, it flows over rocks and dissolves minerals and ions such as sodium, chloride ions, pottasium, calcium -- all the salts commonly found in the Western Salt Lakes. In an evaporative basin the salts and minerals become concentrated, and the lake naturally becomes alkaline with ph > 9. The detailed chemical balance depends on the details of the terrain. This general picture is true on both Mars and Earth.
"Compared to Earth, Mars has a much different set of source rocks," explains Farmer. "On Mars the crust is more like the ocean floor on Earth, featuring basalts, iron, magnesium, and silicate-poor rocks. Rocks in the Mono Basin are enriched in silica, sodium and potassium. Because water was less abundant, it took longer to build up briney water on Mars through evaporation. But the waters there would be richer in calcium, magnesium, and iron. In spite of these chemical differences, the basic picture is still the same: rapid precipitation of minerals would have been an important process in these ancient martian basins, and if microorganisms were there, their fossils would have been entombed."
Phil Christensen, one of Farmer's collaborators, is using the Thermal Emission Spectrograph (TES) on Mars Global Surveyor to search out places on Mars with tufa-like carbonate formations in evaporated lake beds. Carbonates have specific kinds of absorption features in mid-infrared spectra that should be easy to identify. Unfortunately, the resolution of the TES is only 3 km/pixel, which would make smaller carbonate deposits like those at Mono Lake difficult to detect. In March 2001 an Arizona State University instrument called THEMIS (Thermal Emission Imaging System) is scheduled for launch on NASA's Mars Surveyor 2001 orbiter. With a spatial resolution of 100m per pixel, the ASU spectrometer could easily detect the signature of carbonate deposits at the scale of the Mono Lake tufas.
Above: Sample carbonate absorption spectra in the mid-infrared. More information from the USGS.
"I'm optimistic," concludes Farmer. "Eventually I believe we're going to find carbonate deposits on Mars -- places that remind us of Mono Lake -- and when we do we'll have strong arguments for a landing site for exobiology. It's just a matter of time." Related LinksRelated Stories:
The Red Planet in 3D -- New data from Mars Global Surveyor reveal the topography of Mars better than many continental regions on Earth. May 27, 1999 NASA NASA Science News
Search for life on Mars will start in Siberia -- Russian and NASA scientists will look for life forms in the inhospitable realm of Siberian permafrost. May 27, 1999 NASA NASA Science News
Stormy weather on Mars -- During the recent close approach of Mars to Earth, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope spotted a gigantic storm swirling near the Red Planet's north pole. May 19, 1999 NASA NASA Science News
Mars unveils a magnetic personality -- Plate tectonics on the Red Planet might have important consequences for ancient Martian life. Apr 30, 1999 NASA NASA Science News
Plate tectonics on Mars? -- Magnetic stripes on the surface of Mars are similar to fields in the sea floors of Earth. Apr 29, 1999 NASA NASA Science News
A close encounter with the Red Planet -- Mars makes its closest approach to Earth in 1999. Apr 23, 1999 NASA NASA Science News
A new face on Mars has scientists smiling -- MGS beams back pictures of the "Happy Face Crater". Mar. 12, 1999 NASA NASA Science News
Related Web Links:
Gusev Crater and Ma'adim Vallis -- Global Surveyor images
Mars weather, climate, and life FAQ -- from NASA/Ames
www.MonoLake.org -- Mono Lake home page
What would happen to a dead body on Mars? -- NASA/Ames Quest Ask-a-Scientist query
Mars Surveyor 2001 -- home page at JPL
Mars Global Surveyor -- home page at JPL
THEMIS -- Thermal Emission Imaging System from ASU
ASU Planetary Exploration Lab -- Thermal Emission Imaging System from ASU
NASA Astrobiology -- an excellent website from NASA/Ames
Appendix: Where did all the water go?There may have once been ponds and lakes on Mars, but they're dry now. Physical conditions on the surface of Mars, namely low atmospheric pressure and low temperature, conspire to make liquid water unstable. The average atmospheric pressure on Mars is only about 6 millibars compared to the Earth's average pressure of 1013 millibars. The average surface temperature on Mars is about -60 deg C compared to the Earth's 15 deg C. At certain locations and times on Mars, when the air pressure is high enough and the temperature is above freezing (greater than 0 deg C), liquid water is theoretically possible; but the rate of evaporation would be so great that liquid water (if it were present) would rapidly vaporize.
Nevertheless, there is widespread evidence of dried-up valleys and channels thought to have been eroded by liquid water. Many Martian outflow channels strongly resemble flood channels on Eath, like those in eastern Washington in the USA. On Mars they may have formed when groundwater or subsurface slush was catastrophically brought to the surface, perhaps triggered by large impacts or "marsquakes". On the other hand, geological studies of the valley networks suggest that these must have been gradually eroded by running water: some show morphology suggesting formation by groundwater sapping (i.e. when a river is fed by a spring and the valley grows by headward erosion); others seem to have been produced by precipitation runoff. The valley networks are almost completely (but not quite) restricted to ancient upper highlands, dated as 3.5 to 4.0 billion years old from the quantity of impact craters, so it is postulated that environmental conditions on Mars must have been conducive to liquid water at this time.
Right: High resolution Mars Global Surveyor images were combined with Viking Orbiter color data to produce this stunning, detailed view of a Martian canyon's edge. The area pictured is about 6 miles wide and represents a tiny part of the northern edge of the canyon Valles Marineris, whose total length is about 2,500 miles. Details 20 to 30 feet across can be seen in the high resolution data. What processes caused the well-defined layers in the steep canyon walls? In the Grand Canyon on planet Earth, sedimentary processes have resulted in spectacular rock layers. But similar layers of rock in canyons of the Hawaiian Islands were created by volcanoes. Regardless of the origin of layering on Mars, its extent suggests that early Mars was geologically active and complex. More information.
The upper limit on the present amount of water on the martian surface is 800,000 to 1.2 million cubic miles (3.2 to 4.7 million cubic kilometers), or about 1.5 times the amount of ice covering Greenland. If both caps are composed completely of water, the combined volumes are equivalent to a global layer 66 to 100 feet (22 to 33 meters) deep, about one-third the minimum volume of a proposed ancient ocean on Mars. |
Waynflete Flyers Winter Sports Preview
The Waynflete winter athletic teams have enjoyed their share of drama and triumph in recent years and this season should continue the trend. The boys' basketball team enjoyed a surprising trip to Augusta a year ago. This time around, the Flyers could be one of the best in the region. The girls fell two points short of a first-ever Class C Final in 2008-09. While they have a new look this winter, anyone writing them off will be surprised. Nordic skiing is always a force and both teams will be competitive this year.
COACH: Rich Henry (sixth year)
2008-09 Record: 7-13 (Lost 65-38 to Dirigo in Western Class C quarterfinals)
TOP RETURNING PLAYERS: Josiah Baker-Connick (Senior), Sam Fillinger (Senior), Cecil Gardner (Senior), John Malia (Senior), Bill Ngoal (Senior), Alex Hadiaris (Junior), Sam Murphy (Junior), Joe Veroneau (Junior), Abshir Horor (Sophomore), Mitch Newlin (Sophomore)
PIVOTAL GAMES: Dec. 11 (H) FALMOUTH, Dec. 15 @ OOB, Jan. 5 @ Traip, Jan. 8 (H) OOB, Jan. 14 (H) CAPE ELIZABETH, Jan. 16 (H) TRAIP, Jan. 22 @ Hyde, Jan. 23 (H) NYA, Jan. 29 (H) HYDE
COACH'S COMMENT: "We're returning four players who started at the end of last year and will be looking to find the right players to round out the rotation. We've got some depth at a few positions, but will be challenged to replace Hassan's leadership. The depth should raise the level of play overall. If we're able to find the right balance and play consistently, we should be okay. I'm very pleased with the freshman that are new to the program. I'm also very pleased that Sam Cleaves, who has been a standout on the varsity soccer team, decided to play varsity basketball for his senior year. Sort of funny how things work, we went from a fairly young team last year to a supposedly 'experienced' team this year, and our success will be dictated by that experience translating into consistent play."
THE FORECASTER'S FORECAST: No one expected anything from Waynflete a year ago, but the Flyers sprung a huge preliminary round upset at Boothbay and made a thoroughly surprising trip to Augusta. This year, however, Waynflete will sneak up on no one. The Flyers are well-equipped to counter the best their opponents can dish out as they lost just one player to graduation (it was a big loss, however, last Winter's Male Athlete of the Year, Hassan Jeylani). Waynflete boasts an offensive attack led by Malia (who had 13 points in a season-opening 39-22 win at NYA Friday night), a first-team league all-star, who was third in the Western Maine Conference in scoring a year ago with a 17.7 points per game average. The seniors, Baker-Connick, Fillinger, Gardner and Ngoal, (14 points versus NYA) are all seasoned and will be bolstered by the addition of the athletic Cleaves. Hadiaris, Murphy and Veroneau will look to continue their growth, as will Horor and Newlin, who saw time as freshmen. Speaking of freshmen, Abukar Adan, Max Belleau, Jack Cutler and Paul Runyambo will do their best to pitch in. Waynflete again faces a tough schedule, which includes some top Western B contenders, but this time around, the Flyers are better equipped to meet any challenge. Look for this to be a very good team by season's end. A return trip to Augusta is likelihood. If the younger players come of age and the team stays healthy, it's possible that the Mountain Valley Conference schools won't look forward to a possible February matchup with Waynflete.
FUN FACT: The Flyers are riding a program-best streak of five straight postseason appearances.
COACH: Brandon Salway (third year)
2008-09 Record: 17-4 (Lost 40-38 to Jay in Western C Final)
TOP RETURNING PLAYERS: Morgan Woodhouse (Senior), Liz Lewis (Junior), Sam Oakland (Junior), Lydia Stegemann (Junior), Suzy Moore (Sophomore)
PIVOTAL GAMES: Dec. 11 @ Falmouth, Jan. 5 @ Traip, Jan. 14 @ Cape Elizabeth, Jan. 16 (H) TRAIP, Jan. 22 @ Hyde, Jan. 23 @ NYA, Feb. 2 (H) WELLS
COACH'S COMMENT: "We've been pretty competitive against quality preseason opponents. We've come a long way in two weeks. I'm encouraged. If we continue to develop and improve as quickly as we have, I think we can make a run at Augusta. If we get there, anything can happen. We're not very deep, but we might surprise."
THE FORECASTER'S FORECAST: Waynflete came within a whisker of a first-ever Class C Final a year ago and despite losing some key players to graduation (including Winter Female Athlete of the Year Annie Cutler), could still be very strong in 2009-10. Woodhouse emerged as one of the elite post players in the state as a junior and could absolutely dominate this time around (she had a triple-double, 20 points, 20 rebounds and 11 steals in an Opening Night 53-26 victory over NYA). Woodhouse (a WMC first-team all-star) was sixth in scoring and third in both rebounds and steals a year ago. She's gotten better each year and will create matchup nightmares this season. Lewis and Stegemann will also make a mark on the inside. Guard play could be what separates the Flyers from the pack. While Moore and Oakland bring stability and experience, a trio of newcomers will turn heads. Catherine and Martha Veroneau, the younger sisters of Margaret Veroneau, Class of 2008 and the program's latest 1,000-point scorer, will step right into the starting lineup. Martha Veroneau is a point guard and sharpshooter who doesn't even remotely look like a freshman (she lit up NYA for 23 points Friday night). Catherine Veroneau has a great upside as well. Rhiannan Jackson is another potential star of the future. Waynflete faces some tough tests on its schedule and will go through some growing pains, but stands to be formidable in February. The Flyers might not be on the list of state contenders, but if the newcomers produce as hoped and Woodhouse dominates as expected, Waynflete will spend some time in Augusta. Perhaps a lot of time. This will be one team that will be very fun to watch.
FUN FACT: Waynflete made five regional final appearances in Class D (including three in a row from 2002 through 2004). Last year marked the first time the Flyers advanced to that round in Class C.
COACH: Wyatt Dumas (first year)
(BOYS) 7th @ Class C state meet
(GIRLS) 5th @ Class C state meet
TOP RETURNING SKIERS:
(BOYS) Nate Niles (Senior), Eli Sobel (Junior), Max Sobel (Junior), Myoung Kim (Sophomore)
(GIRLS) Emma Longcope (Junior), Chloe Rowse (Sophomore)
TOP FOES: Freeport, NYA
COACH'S COMMENT: "I'm excited to have a large number of new skiers. I expect us to perform very well at the state meet this year. I expect success because the kids interact very positively with each other in regards to training and motivation and they enjoy being together as a group. Many of the newcomers are strong athletes in their own right."
THE FORECASTER'S FORECAST: Waynflete has been one of the premier Nordic ski programs in the state this decade and should be in the hunt again this winter. The team welcomes a new coach in Dumas, who was with Cape Elizabeth for two seasons. He also coached at Bowdoin College and was a standout in his own right at Mt. Blue High School and at Bowdoin.
The boys' team returns Niles, a WMC all-star a year ago, who was runner-up in both the Class C classic and freestyle races last winter. Eli Sobel (53rd in the classic), Max Sobel (48th in the classic and 53rd in the freestyle) and Kim (65th in the freestyle) also scored last year. New junior Matt Butler, sophomore Dan Wiener and freshmen Josh Espy and Dylan Kingsbury provide depth and could be standouts down the road. This team could be very good by February and has a shot at a top five finish.
On the girls' side, Longcope is the top returner (17th in the classic and 21st in the freestyle). Rowse also scored last year. She was 20th in the freestyle and 23rd in the classic. Several newcomers also look to make a mark. That group includes sophomores Drew Boulos, Alida Farrell, Lyllie Harvey and Hillary Niles. If the Flyers can show steady growth, they'll be a force all season. By February, this team could be in its accustomed position of making a run for the top spot. |
Skip to comments.Ban on Discrimination Against Gays Gains Ground in Senate
Posted on 10/30/2013 12:32:54 PM PDT by lbryce
Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, said Wednesday that he would vote for a nondiscrimination bill that protects gay men, lesbians and transgender people, putting the measure within one vote of gaining the support it needs to overcome a filibuster.
Mr. Manchin was the only Democrat who had not signaled how he would vote. His support means that all 55 members of the Democratic majority are expected to get behind the bill, known as the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, which has languished in various forms in Congress for nearly 40 years. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, could bring it to the floor as early as next week.
Theres no way that I could ever not support something that basically bans discrimination, Mr. Manchin said. Theres no way. Its just a fundamental right.
Four Republicans have also expressed support, meaning there are now 59 senators who are on record as favoring the measure. Sixty votes are needed to overcome a filibuster.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Or are the leftists/statists simply saying the usual buzzwords but passing another law that gives more special privileges to a very lucrative constituency of theirs?
I think we know whats happening here.
They will never be quiet until you are in Hell with them forever.
Some people are more “equal” than others and need their own laws.
I was duped into sending the creep money just because he was running against Arlo Sphincter.
Sodomy must be celebrated.
Let the folks in Louisiana know that, Mary Landrieu.
Why use their language? You are normal. If you are straight, then they are bent, warped or crooked.
Gays are not protected from discrimination in employment under federal law. They are in some states, but by no means all.
Now these Democrats and a few RINOS will force down the throats of every Christian a law that will in it self make being a real Christian against the law.
Will Christians be sent to prison for not accepting homosexuality and firing gays from a workplace or refusing to sell products or services to gays?
How can Christians be good Christians if they cannot practice their religion?
Sponsoring FReepers are contributing
$10 Each time a New Monthly Donor signs up!
Get more bang for your FR buck!
Click Here To Sign Up Now!
Rarely do I and the NY Times agree but Manchin is a turd.
That’s the whole point of the whole “gay rights” thing.
The left couldn’t give two shakes about the plight of “gay” people.
But they sure are an effective tool to get Christianity criminalized.
And THAT is the goal.
Looks like congress & Obama will soon fix that.
We have already read stories about Christian bakers who have been sued for not wanting to bake a cake for a gay wedding. Now we will see all kinds of prosecutions of Christians who happen to be lawyers, plumbers, cab drivers or doctors who will be prosecuted for standing up for their Christian beliefs and not servicing gays and lesbians.
Christians will not be able to fire employees for being gay.
What happened to the First Amendment?
Philly was doing his typical gay topic interview program with several of homo-land's star activists. This flaming fairy would go into the mostly normal crowd and asked each individual he got to speak with, are you gay or non-gay?
Needless to say, I nearly kicked the TV screen in.
Because you must employ sexual deviants in your workplace, or else you will be sued and have your business destroyed.
Let’s stop pretending that Americans have freedom.
The states have never amended the Constitution to expressly protect so-called gay rights. So Congress has no 14th Amendment authority to make laws to protect such “rights.”
Republicans ready to help democrats create another federally recognized and funded victim group with rights and protections superior to lowly common folk who are white, heterosexual or working taxpayers.
Unfortunately, that is not the way the country is being run.
Back in 1982 when Congress voted to cut off GI Bill Education benefits for flight training, I called my senator's office.
ME: "Why did you do this?"
Senator's office: "Oh, Congress believes that some people are just using the flight training for joy-riding."
Me: "So, how many guys go to college on their GI Bill to drink beer, chase girls & party?"
"How can you do this? This is a contract I signed in 1967. I go fight your war, you pay for my education, INCLUDING flight training. I have fulfilled my half of the contract. How can Congress now renege on your half?"
Senator's office: "Well, we know it's a bum deal, but basically, CONGRESS CAN DO ANYTHING IT WANTS TO!"
I’ve never heard of anyone getting fired because they’re gay. I’ve never heard of any employment application asking if the applicant was gay. This law is for one reason. And that’s so gays can “act” gay at the workplace.
Every privately owned company should be able to hire, or not hire, anyone they please. If some little cafe in some podunk town doesn’t want to serve blacks, that’s the owner’s decision. And see how long he stays in business. Decisions will be based on profits.
There’s a small town in Arkansas where blacks were boycotting the white owned businesses. The white business owners put out flyers saying “To the good black people from the good white people”.....basically begging them to come back. It didn’t work. Of course now most of the little towns in the South are dead anyway. I just drove through a lot of dead ones.
Unfortutnately, voters are not being taught the federal government's constitutionally limited powers.
Being a pervert is a choice. Just like being a drunk or a drug addict is.
I do not accept drunk or drug addicts and I will never accept perverts.
Adding perverts to discrimination laws is a slap in the face to those that really need them.
The House has to kill this. It’s fascism, plain and simple. They want access to your children.
The crosshairs are swinging round to focus on churches if this passes.
Too bad businesses just hired and fired people based on their experience and job performance. It is really stupid for a company to get involved in black, hispanic, and other specialty groups. Just hire the best and be done with it. Fire those who do not meet expectations. Very simple.
Wrong, Manchin. Discrimination IS a right. Free people have a RIGHT to passively, peacefully discriminate AGAINST individuals they perceive as "immoral," and they have the God-given right to discrminate against them in business and social life. Only a leftist tyrannical government would presume a "right" on the part of homosexuals to be protected "from" such discrimination of a status the homosexuals themselves choose to disclose; they could instead remain discreet and be immune to discrimination.
Would these liberals be so hot to trot for enacting into law punishment for discriminating AGAINST redneck right wing gun nuts? What about places where they refuse to hire conservatives? Where are people like Manchin, who despises descrimination so, in the case of liberal news media refusing to hire conservative reporters?
Yet indeed, those businesses have a right to discriminate against conservatives, just like they have a right to discriminate in favor or homosexuals. The thing is, businesses also have a God-given right to discriminate in the other direction, but man-made leftist LAW punishes them for that particular kind of discrimination.
Gay "rights" isn't about bequeathing rights, it's about DENYING rights. Every person alive has the God-given right to make moral discriminations in their lives. These liberal leftists seek to use government to deprive people of those rights.
The Gay Nazis are at it again with grandstanders or closet gay senators trying to pass legislation to try and criminalize normal people’s aversion to their mental illness. Oh what fun it is to criminalize thoughts. If we could only build a mindreading machine then we could give out tickets to those who hate us and solve all of our tax shortages! Whee!
“Gays are not protected from discrimination in employment under federal law. They are in some states, but by no means all.”
I have the answer (and so does Washington). Make ALL laws Federal. Let’s stop playing this charade of State’s Rights and State Law once and for all.
Are you joking?
But wouldn’t anyone with any observation skills the last 20 years agree that the Feds dictate everything and allow the State/Local laws to handle the issues they don’t care about - yet.
I still don’t know why anyone takes serious any Voter Propositions anymore. If the Feds don’t like it, their Courts will axe the voter’s will.
The democrats love giving lawyers new things to sue over.
"Yesterday the greatest question was decided which ever was debated in America;
and a greater perhaps never was, nor will be, decided among men.
A resolution was passed without one dissenting colony, that these United Colonies are,
and of right ought to be, free and independent States."
I doubt that this will pass. Demonic-rats had the House, Senate, and the White Hut for 2 years and didn’t pass ENDA - I really don’t think that they want to. They just want to put on a groveling show. |
The future should be [that] you can get anything, anytime, from wherever you are, anywhere, and whoever you are, whatever country, whatever language you speak
-- Peter Gabriel
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Four years ago, former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel co-founded UK online music distributor On Demand Distribution (OD2). It was sold to U.S. company Loudeye in June for $38.6m (£21.1m).
The new company offers everything from 30-second snippets of songs to anti-piracy measures for music labels.
OD2 has long been viewed as Europe's primary digital download provider for music but it has found it increasingly difficult to retain that title as big players, including Sony, Apple and the now legal Napster, join the market.
Here, CNN's Becky Anderson talks to Gabriel about OD2 and the future of digital music downloading.
Anderson: What motivated you, a successful, musician and artist in your own right, to get involved in the business of digital distribution of music?
Gabriel: A number of reasons. I thought it was a good opportunity. I think it's very important for artists to get involved in the distribution. A new world is being created -- one is dying -- and if artists don't get involved, they're going to get screwed, like they usually do. My father pioneered this sort of digital content of electronic content in the 70s with a thing called "Dial-a-Program" and that was trying to provide entertainment-on-demand, education [and] all sorts of things that are now part of our everyday lives. And so I'd grown up with the idea that everything should be available on tap to everybody, so that was an interest for me. When we were working on this idea of an "experience park," sort of involving artists and scientists, we met a guy called Charles Grimsdale. [He] was running a company in Bristol, which was doing virtual reality, and that's how our connection originally happened. He approached me and said: 'I've been thinking about looking at music, do you think this is interesting?' And then we got involved and started it up and that was [in] about 1999, I think.
Anderson: There was a difference in what OD2 set out to be and what it eventually became, wasn't there?
Gabriel: It set out to provide -- and it still does -- a largely behind-the-scenes operation. So, you see it front other retailers -- whether it's Virgin, or Wannadoo, MSN or Tiscali -- and we basically provide the digital back-end and sort out all the payments afterwards. We were originally thinking we were going to do this for the independent record labels because the majors [record companies] had all these big announcements and big plans -- most of which died a death, fortunately for us -- so we gradually ended up working with all of the majors in Europe. It's very complicated, as I think some of the American big boys who are coming in now, are beginning to find. Each country has its own set of rules, its own sort of collection society for publishing, and so on. It wasn't that easy to get going, but once we were established, I think more and more people thought what we were trying to offer made sense.
Anderson: What influence has i-Tunes had how does what i-Tunes does, differ from OD2, and ultimately, Loudeye.
Gabriel: Since this sort of merger with Loudeye, Apple are now our clients instead of [our] competition. Really, I've been an Apple fan for many years. What [Apple CEO] Steve Jobs has also been brilliant at is marketing, [so] now maybe there's an extra zero here and there, but it does actually deliver. And the style in which they do things as a retailer here and as a producer of hardware, I think is excellent. You know, they've always had great design, great looks. They've successfully made the iPod into the product every young person or music fan wants to have. It's been a tremendous boost, I think, for the digital music world and I'm very pleased for that.
Anderson: The Internet has transformed the way we buy and listen to music; the digital revolution has an opportunity to transform the way that music is physically made, doesn't it? It's always been the big guys running this industry so is this an opportunity for musicians to come to the fore at this point?
Gabriel: Well, I really hope so, and there is an initiative that I began with [musician and producer] Brian Eno, called Mudda, which is a magnificent union of digitally downloading artists, and unlike OD2 -- which was always set out to be a commercial venture -- this is a more idealistic venture, which would be owned by artists for artists. So, there would be no business people or investors you [would] have to satisfy, but we need some initial capital, so we're working on that at the moment. But the theory then is that artists could become their own distributors, almost certainly with their record companies, but they can deliver stuff independently if they want. It's not really trying to set up something in opposition to the record companies, but for instance, on some deals now, an artist on a download of an album, or sorry a track, would see maybe only eight pence a track, which is much less if they would see in a physical sale. What I'm afraid of, personally, is that the business will, every time there is a technological breakthrough, the business thinks: "Ah, here we have another chance to claw a big chunk of the cake back for the business and away from the artist." And I think it's really important that artists act together -- which we are notoriously bad at doing -- and I hope that this union idea may get some blood behind it, and we will be able to become our own retailers in part.
Anderson: But you're not suggesting that record labels are going to get written out of the game, surely?
Gabriel: Well you see, I think that a lot of artists aren't very good when it comes to marketing or accounts or doing a lot of the jobs that record companies do, so we're going to want somebody to do that. And probably the people we will look to do it are probably those who have the experience. But what I fundamentally believe is that the relationship should be a partnership. It shouldn't be "we own you therefore we do what we want with your work." Those days should be gone, and if artists aren't smart enough to get off their arses and change that now, then we deserve what we get, because we have the opportunity [to change that]. It's quite hard talking to artists sometimes to get them motivated because there is not a lot of money in it at this point. But I think there will be and it's more sort of a power balance and I just think people in record companies now are a lot more willing to consider power-sharing deals.
Anderson: Do musicians then become retailers themselves?
Gabriel: Well, I think you'll have options. I think for your specific group of hardcore fans, you'll be able to sell them all sorts of things, as some artists are already doing. For the groups that I love, I would love to hear the whole creative process -- not just a piece of product that someone in a record company has decided is the only thing I should hear. I want to hear them scratching away trying to write the songs, failing to get the mixes and arrangements right, doing things in different ways, hearing different live versions, acoustic versions -- whatever it is. That whole process should be something that is available, where artists are comfortable opening it up to the public. You know, I feel fine about that and that sort of thing artists should be able to sell directly to their audience, you know once they've produced a piece of product as the business would call it, then it should go through all the normal commercial channels and all the normal retailers and there may be some special collaborations that people can do with different retailers because they have some marketing experience, they have some of their own music lovers that they will get to, that you won't. So, I think we all need each other in some way I'd like it to be a level playing field.
Anderson: I suggested that you have been a pioneer in the digital revolution as far as the music industry is concerned, what is the future?
Gabriel: The future should be [that] you can get anything, anytime, from wherever you are, anywhere, and whoever you are, whatever country, whatever language you speak. And then the question that is fundamental to me that follows that as day follows night, is how do I actually filter the stuff, how do I really get to the stuff that means something to me? And that you can only do with an intelligent filter systems, and we were beginning to look at that with OD2 and I'm sure we'll continue. It's something that interests me a lot because you have limited time, and you don't want, like with e-mail, you don't want all of the junk, you just want the bits that have some meaning for you.
Anderson: Are you convinced that the Internet and digital platforms will be accessible and successful as a platform for small independent labels and indeed small independent artists going forward, as they will be for the big boys?
Gabriel: That's always the question. There are deals being done now where the independents are going to get screwed again, I think. Where they're told they're on a level playing field but actually the big boys are. And again, I think it's only by staying together, and consolidating as a lump, that has some leverage and some power, that the little guy can have a chance to compete. The great thing about the economics of the digital world is that it's much cheaper to do everything and to reach people. |
That was Friday, after the first day of Syllamo 3-day stage race. Since it was a Spring break, and we had both Stephen and Harrison with us, we wanted to each have an opportunity to put a race in, check out new state, and be able to supervise and entertain the kids. Thus came the idea of coming to Arkansas, since Syllamo allowed separate race entries besides running full stages.
Neither one of us felt we were prepared adequately for the advertised elevation gain (7,000 feet in a 50k, and 14,000 feet in a 50M), and especially since dealing with cramps at the last "hilly" 50k 3 weeks prior, the apprehension was palpable. I had consulted with Meredith Terranova, the local nutrition guru in endurance sports, and we had found what seemed to have been a solution. I still felt nervous though - I am not good at hills when they are constantly up and down, more of a "3 miles hike-3 miles downhill" type of runner. However, Larry's race went perfect where physical part of it lays - he felt strong, light on his feet and had his head in a game. Had it not been all that craze with course marking (and over 3/4 of the field getting lost in numerous unmarked intersections), he would have had a race of his life. Part of me felt I had to make up for this. Part of me was inspired by his words "If there was a hill I knew a guy behind would be walking, so I had to choose to run". Part of me just believed it was time to do something in a mind game, enough settling in for whatever.
Of course, since it was a stage race, and every competitor had already put 31 plus bonus miles the day prior, I wasn't racing any girls in a real definition of the word. But I was fully aware of Carol O'Hear's presence (an amazing runner from when I started, it was absolutely precious to see her again), Katie Desplinter, and one and only iRunfar's Meghan Hicks (who was wrapping up her training for MdS and thus racing with a 15 lbs pack, but you never count off Meghan). Mostly, I wanted to go after a time goal - I always repeat time and again, racing is all about clock, and where it puts you is secondary depending who else came to an event and how their day developed. I - I wanted to break 11 hrs and run as many hills as I possibly could without cramping or failing second half.
A few yards after leaving the camping/start area, we filed onto a single track up the gentle hill with some roots and rocks spread over it. I got around a number of people, quietly laughed that Larry was right and my headlamp does not have fresh batteries, and got behind a couple of guys with one right on my heels. The conversation was about yesterday's 50k and being lost, and in a few seconds I realize I am with the leaders from the race - and "oh, shit, I don't belong here" phrase Larry used popped in my head. But for some reason I felt bold today and said to myself "whatever, stay with it". And so I did.
I am not a "morning of the race" kind of person. I don't like chatting prior the start, I don't feel nervous, or anxious, and surely not excited. I can't explain it, but it's more like I want to be by myself, have it started, have first 30 minutes go by, so my mind can separate from everything existing and just be. I love that feeling of first half of the race - just being.
The effort felt nice, we exchanged few sentences with the guys, they offered their "sorry" for how Larry's race turned out, and we moved in that order, 2 guys, myself, one more behind - and a line of the field further back. I ran hills. I listened to music. I breathed. And I checked on the trees - my luck was that the 50M course was marked with permanent tree blaze markers (painted rectangles) and I knew how to read those since I "grew up as a hiker" on East Coast - depending which way the rectangle turned, you go straight, expect the turn, turn, and so on. The lights of the guys ahead were bobbling showing me I am still ok, my legs felt springy, and life was beautiful. Ah, here is what I live for - time past those first 30 minutes in a race...
We popped into first AS at mile 5 all together and bunched up, the four of us, exactly on my pace chart, 1 hr in. From afar I saw Larry - he wasn't supposed to be there, but seeing him at an AS is always - always - a highlight of my runs. He knows how to support - and when not to (I am self-sufficient and have my own way of getting in and out), he is there, he doesn't need unnecessary chit-chat, I am comfortable just giving half a smile as I enter - and once I know I am done with what I needed, I run out and yell "I love you!". Simple. He is there. I got his full support.
We left AS and I got around the first 2 guys. Ha, wouldn't it be funny to run in first overall - I briefly thought. It wasn't a serious thought, but I had a laugh to myself about it, as I "lead" for a mile. 3 guys re-passed me back, all with smiles, and we settled into our positions for the day.
My only downside for the first 10 miles was the side effect of eating some kinds of food I am not supposed to/used to lately, despite my efforts to be as close as I could. Traveling for 5 days before the race, and in some places which were "dots on a map" didn't provide for good planning, even though I carried some baked sweet potatoes and boiled eggs. That said, I had to step to the bushes 5 times (and no, for those who cares, I don't carry toilet paper, so I didn't damage the pristine woods with littering). The IBS reared its head, I swallowed always-with-me Immodium, and by mile 11 or so was in perfect shape.
The course was great, really. It was relentlessly going up or down, nothing too bad (the first 2 sections had seriously hiking sections with steps, but it was over by now), pure single track, coming up the ridge, waving through, dropping to the creeks, and doing it over again. And I ran. The next AS was in 9.5M, but the organizers did set up an unmanned water stop with a time sheet, and it was great - I also saw I was 5 minutes behind Matt (the 50k winner and eventual stage winner) and half-heartedly thought that my goal to not let myself slow down was to chase him. Oh, the things we tell our minds...
I kept on rolling, and as the sun was rising and breaking the heat, I got into Crippled Turkey, mile 18.5 AS, where Billy Simpson, long time friend, was the captain - and I was there 3:45 in, a full 15 minutes ahead of time. (Billy: "Shit, Olga, you're flying!", me: "I don't know about flying, but feeling pretty good, indeed"). It was my drop-bag spot, and Hilario (Lalo), a friend from San Antonio, was there waiting for his wife Amanda to come through. He was awesome with help! Got my bag, filled my bottle, shoved my gels into pockets - efficient, like he knew what he was doing:) and all with great words of encouragements. Don't ever underestimate folks like that - it's not even about saved 40 seconds, it's about that very special support that carries you to the next place.
We entered a dirt road for a mile or so, then turned back onto trail, and soon after I saw 2 lead guys coming back. The trail rolled, I ran strong, Matt came into view and told me that RD turns everyone around at the AS and not a mile past it (so, as I chatted with Steve Kirk the RD after, the course had become 48 miles now, and oh, by the way, there was no 14k feet of elevation gain, may be 10k-11k at most). That said, Matt had about 15 minutes on me now. I wondered if he'd fade...:)
Yes, of course, Larry (now with the kids) was there, and not only that, he brought me ice! The best crew ever. The day was getting hot (it was measured in mid-80's), and the AS's didn't have an ice supply. That was a sweet thing, ice - and a kiss, and a slap of "Way to go!". I was re-charged and energized.
Not to mention all the people I got to see! The course is out-n-back, and so now I was privileged to see about 100 or so runners, all cheering me on, some calling my name, and mostly smiling! I had been running mostly all the hills still, feeling the works by now, but not in legs - just in effort. My fueling, hydration and salt uptake was spot on, I had no problems whatsoever. And with that running - and the fact that course got shortened by 2 miles - I, of course, came with a new goal: sub-10 hrs. Hey, I never said I'd let myself settle!
Lalo at Billy's station was still as great as he was the first time through. Can't thank the guy enough. I was pumped, on the way home, in the heat of the day in so many ways.
Things got warm, and I was so grateful that I carried an extra water bottle filled up from the start in my pack - this is where I got to peruse it. Even with that unmanned AS half-way through 9.5 miles, I drained both bottles in-between refills. Was somewhat sluggish, yet nailed the self-predicted (now new and adjusted) time "splits" to the minute (interestingly, so you don't think I am a number geek, I never look at my "chart" once it's created, I have some kind of "feel", sixth sense or something in a memory. I don't run by pace, or even so much as miles between AS, I just
As I was approaching "9 miles to go", I heard hollering and yelling my name - and sure enough, my sweetie was there! Dropped my pack I was getting tired of having behind (it was empty now anyway). Filled my both bottles with ice, Stephen got me some pop drink they had at AS, and off I went. Thank God for ice! I drained first bottle within 10 minutes out, then nursed the second. Those 9 miles (both on the way in and out) had bluffs and ran some along the creek, so the signal from Garmin was constantly getting lost, but since it was already happening from the beginning, I never paid attention to miles, just time. Even more-so, that beeping every time "satellite is found/satellite is lost" was like talking to a friend. I was, after all, running all by myself the whole day.
I struggled some on this section with the overheating and mild dehydration (hard to think if I didn't carry that second bottle!), and my diarrhea decided to make a come-back a few times, and I stumbled and fell once (and almost cramped, but not quite), and I walked a few more steps than I wanted to - but with all that I still arrived at the last AS and into care of my darling husband on time.
I showed not only signs of stress, knowing I am 5 miles off the finish line, I allowed myself to speak it out loud too: "I am struggling". "I know" he says, and that's all I need. Got my ice, 2 full bottles, cup of pop - and off with words "See you in an 1:10-1:15". I am still running.
About a mile after AS my Garmin dies (did I not charge it either?). I laugh - now I don't even have a track of time, yet along miles. Get a little scared that I'll slow down - then realize that it makes me run more sections because of exactly this fear. At one of those "real steep steps hiking part" as I try to swing my leg up - my right inner thigh cramps from the groin all the way down to foot. I grab it and calmly say "OK, stay with it, breathe" - and it goes away in a minute. That was the one and only cramp I had all day! I am careful for a couple more minutes, and then back to running.
Last part of it had Larry written all over, again. He, of the two of us, is the guy who has an amazing map-like memory. He loves maps to begin with, studies them, and in general pays attention to all things around. I am one who "travels in life" (whether running or just daily living) hardly noticing things around me unless there are emotions tied up to them. So, I did remember from the start of the race that I should be finishing on a gentle downhill with rocks and roots. I had no clue how long that was supposed to last and what other "marks" of almost done I should watch for. So, once I stepped onto that trail, I smiled knowing I am almost done yet not sure how far to go. I turned the music off in hopes to hear water in the creek or music at the finish line or at least people. And tried not to trip over.
The view of finishing area pavilion and Larry's "woohoo!" came at the same time. Last turn around a corner - and a sprint to the finish line.
Photoalbum of both days of racing for Larry and I. |
|Publication number||US6216486 B1|
|Application number||US 09/404,959|
|Publication date||Apr 17, 2001|
|Filing date||Sep 24, 1999|
|Priority date||Sep 24, 1999|
|Also published as||CA2320007A1, CA2320007C, CN1158506C, CN1314577A, DE60019221D1, DE60019221T2, EP1087197A2, EP1087197A3, EP1087197B1|
|Publication number||09404959, 404959, US 6216486 B1, US 6216486B1, US-B1-6216486, US6216486 B1, US6216486B1|
|Inventors||David A. Aaron, Frank T. Morrison|
|Original Assignee||Baltimore Aircoil Company, Inc.|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (8), Referenced by (4), Classifications (20), Legal Events (8)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
The present invention relates to ice thermal storage units and to the heat exchanger arrangements, such as a cooling coil used to cool and freeze the storage fluid within the storage tank. More specifically, coil arrangements to facilitate ice melting after an overbuild of ice within a thermal storage unit are identified, which arrangement enable maintenance of an adequately low temperature for the thermal storage unit outlet fluid.
Ice thermal storage units provide a means of storing cooling capacity for use at a later time. A frequent application of such thermal-storage equipment utilizes lower cost electrical energy, usually from the evening and night time hours, to generate and store a volume of ice in a large vat or chamber filled with a fluid, such as water. This ice-water mixture is retained until its stored cooling capacity is required, which requirement is usually experienced during high-demand, high-cost periods, such as daytime hours. In a typical operation, the low-temperature fluid is withdrawn from the chamber, pumped through a heat exchanger to absorb heat, and is then returned to the thermal storage unit chamber to be cooled by melting the retained ice. An exemplary application of stored cooling capacity is a district cooling operation, which is becoming a more widely accepted cooling practice in larger communities. These district-cooling operations generally have multiple heat exchangers coupled to a single ice thermal storage facility. The larger number of different users of the thermal storage unit in a district cooling application requires maximum utilization of both physical space and energy.
Unmonitored or improperly controlled ice storage units may overbuild the stored ice. That is, the ice storage chambers most frequently incorporate a plurality of refrigeration coils to cool and freeze the water or other fluid in the chamber. During the storage or build cycle, the fluid is cooled until the ice develops on each tube. As in most coil heat-exchanger arrangements, the tubes are generally separated at an equidistant gap separation both vertically and horizontally.
The above-mentioned separation gap is an operational requirement to provide space between the tubes for ice buildup and to provide a path for fluid flow between the tubes and stored ice sleeves to recapture the stored cooling capacity. However, it is known that the uncontrolled growth of the ice on the tubes or circuits will, or may, result in complete horizontal bridging of the ice formed on the adjacent tubes. Although the total amount of ice stored may be sufficient for the application, the available thermal storage cooling capacity may be inadequate because only the perimeter of the formed monolithic ice block within the thermal storage unit is accessible to contact the circulating coolant, such as water resulting in higher leaving temperatures.
As a method to enhance recovery of the stored energy or cooling capacity, air agitation is typically provided at the bottom of the ice-storage chamber. This air travels upward through the gaps between adjacent tubes and ice masses. However, the development of monolithic or solid ice masses removes the separation gaps between adjacent tubes and the ice thereon, which inhibits air flow and fluid flow through the ice mass. The resultant effect is the reduction of the cooling capacity recovery as it is limited to the outer surfaces of the ice mass, which produces cooling fluid at higher and less useable temperatures. Attempts to improve efficiency at times utilizes extreme measures to melt the ice mass, such as using-high pressure hoses to melt the ice.
Although there are some monitoring techniques and equipment available to measure the volume of ice developed in a given chamber, it is a more general practice to visually inspect the tank volume. Another method utilizes a fluid level monitor based on the change of volume for ice, but these devices are not relied upon especially for shallow-volume tanks involving very small fluid-height changes. Therefore, overbuild ice conditions with monolithic ice blocks are a common and recurrent condition.
Consequently, it is desired to provide a means or method for greater access to more of the stored ice surface than just the outer perimeter of a monolithic ice block when an overbuild occurs.
The present invention provides a cooling coil arrangement that uses a variable gap distance alignment, which incorporates the use of at least one aeration or fluid-flow channel within the coil array with a greater separation gap between adjacent tubes than the remaining tube separation gaps. Further, it has also been noted that with a small increase in array width, that is about a three percent increase, alternative arrangements it can be provided to accommodate aeration separation gaps. The change in the temperature of refrigerant fluid in the discharge port or the change in the inlet suction pressure at its port to the cooling coils is indicative of the ice build up cycle, or excess build up of ice, above about ten percent beyond full capacity. The sensed temperature change may be coupled to a central processing unit or other control device, which controls the refrigeration-cooling unit, to indicate shutdown of such unit and thus a saving of excess expenditures for unwanted ice buildup and to insure adequate retention of gaps or spaces between at least the vertically adjacent coil arrays.
In the several figures of the Drawing, like numbers refer to like elements, and in the figures:
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of typical thermal storage application;
FIG. 2 is an oblique end view of a typical coil structure with the looped header ends and piping extending between the ends;
FIG. 2A is a side elevational view of a tube bundle in a storage tank as in FIG. 2;
FIG. 2B is an end view taken along line 2B—2B of the tube bundle in FIG. 2A;
FIG. 2C is an end view taken along line 2C—2C of the tube bundle in FIG. 2A;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary prior art schematic arrangement of the coils of a coil structure in FIG. 2A taken along the line 3—3 with a desired, or 100%, ice build-up on the coils;
FIG. 3A is an enlarged 4×4 section of the coil and ice build-up structure in FIG. 3;
FIG. 3B is segmented view of the coil structure in FIG. 3 with approximately a ten percent excess ice build-up on the coil structure, as an illustration;
FIG. 3C illustrates a desired or typical ice build-up on tubes in a coil structure;
FIG. 4 is a first exemplary embodiment in a cross-sectional view of a coil arrangement with a greater number of individual tubes in a paired coil arrangement with adjacent tubes closely aligned and having a first separation gap, but alternating pairs of coils have a second and larger separation gap between adjacent pairs of coils;
FIG. 4A is an enlarged 4×6 section of the coil and ice build-up structure in FIG. 4;
FIG. 5 illustrates another exemplary embodiment of the structure in FIG. 4 with a more narrow first gap and a wider second gap;
FIG. 5A is an enlarged 4×6 section of the coil and ice build-up structure in FIG. 5;
FIG. 6 illustrates a second alternative embodiment of the structure in FIG. 4 with a wider first separation gap and a more narrow second separation gap
FIG. 6A is an enlarged 4×6 section of the coil and ice build-up structure in FIG. 6;
FIG. 7 is an alternative embodiment of the structure in FIG. 4 where the first separation gap between adjacent tubes is incrementally greater, and the second separation gap is nominally more narrow;
FIG. 7A is an enlarged 4×6 section of the coil and ice build-up structure in FIG. 7;
FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the structure in FIG. 4 wherein first separation is nominally equal between adjacent pairs of tubes, the second separation gap between adjacent pairs of coils is measurably more narrow and a. third separation gap with a significant width is centrally provided between the center pairs of adjacent coils;
FIG. 8A is an enlarged 4×6 section of the coil and ice build-up structure in FIG. 8, and including the enlarged center separation gap;
FIG. 9 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the structure of FIG. 8 wherein the first separation gap distance is significantly enlarged relative to the structure of FIG. 8, and o the second separation gap is reduced while the enlarged center separation gap is about the same width;
FIG. 9A is an enlarged 4×6 section of the coil and ice build-up structure in FIG. 9, but does not include the enlarged center separation gap;
FIG. 10 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention wherein a plurality of adjacent tubes of FIG. 4 are agglomerated to provide a set of coils with a significantly widened first separation gap, the second separation gap between adjacent sets of the agglomerated coils is measurably greater than the gap width of FIG. 4 and there are at least three sets of coils and two large second separation gaps;
FIG. 10A is an enlarged 4×4 section of the coil and ice build-up structure in FIG. 10, but does not include the enlarged center separation gap;
FIG. 11 illustrates the general structure of FIG. 4 with second separation gap again noted between adjacent pairs and a plurality of pairs agglomerated to provide the set structure of FIG. 10 and including the enlarged separation gap between adjacent sets of the agglomerated pairs of coils or tubes.
FIG. 11A is an enlarged 4×6 section of the coil and ice build-up structure in FIG. 11, but does not include the enlarged separation gaps or aisles;
FIG. 12 is an graphical illustrations of outlet temperature versus the percentage of usable ice surface area;
FIG. 13 is a graphical illustration of outlet temperature versus the percentage of usable ice surface area;
FIG. 14 is a plan view of an ice tube array mechanical separators to provide an enlarged separation gap; and,
FIG. 15 illustrates alternative embodiments to provide mechanical separation between adjacent tubes.
FIG. 1 is an illustrative schematic of a thermal storage apparatus 10 coupled to an external heat exchanger 12. Apparatus 10 has cooling tower 14 coupled to condenser and water pump 16. Glycol chiller 18 with barrel 15 and pump 20 is connected to cooling coil arrangement 22 in thermal storage tank 24, which has water as at storage fluid in tank chamber 26. Aeration line 28 at tank bottom 30 provides aeration and agitation of the fluid in tank 24. Coil 22 is connected at inlet 32, for input of refrigeration fluid and outlet 34 for discharge or return of warm refrigerant to glycol chiller 18, which may include a compressor. The specific refrigerant and refrigeration unit or chiller 18 is not limited respectively to glycol or the illustrated structure, but is a design choice. Chiller 18 provides cold glycol through barrel 15, which glycol is pumped to tube array 22 to chill or freeze thermal storage fluid in tank 24.
Ice-water pump 36 in this example is coupled between heat exchanger 12 and tank chamber 26 for transfer of cooled fluid to exchanger 12 and return of fluid to tank chamber 26 by line 40. In an exemplary application, chilled water pump 42 communicates a cooled fluid from exchanger 12 to air handling apparatus 44.
FIG. 1 includes temperature-pressure sensor 46 connected to refrigerant return line 48 downstream of discharge outlet 34 to monitor the temperature and pressure of discharge refrigerant. In this illustration, sensor 46 is coupled by line 47 to control CPU 50, which is coupled to pump 16 by line 52 and pump 20 by line 54, to start or stop operation of pump 16 and pump 20, and to initiate or stop ice buildup in tank 24. This illustration and use of CPU 50 as a control device is merely exemplary and is not a limitation to the present invention.
Coil arrangement 22 in FIG. 2 is shown in an oblique end view with upper header 58 and elbows 60 joining ends 61 or 63 of tubes 62, as more easily noted in FIG. 2A. Header 58 has inlet port 65 and discharge port 67, which ports 65 and 67 are connected to chiller 18 and pump 20 by lines 48. Upper header 58 and lower header 59 in FIGS. 2A and 2C are illustrative of a coil arrangement 22 specifically utilized for the below-described coil-feed structure with every other circuit for alternate circuits fed with glycol from the top and bottom header to more efficiently pack ice in tank 24 as noted in FIG. 3C. The specific arrangement in FIGS. 2, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3, 3A, 3B and 3C is an exemplary description and not a limitation. In FIG. 3, vertical bridging between vertically adjacent tubes 62 is a known and accepted practice, whereas horizontal bridging between adjacent vertical circuits 68 and 76 is an undesirable condition in this structure.
The use of thermal storage units 10 is known in the art. Units 10 are utilized frequently to provide on-demand cooling capacity for high-demand periods of time. The stored cooling capacity or thermal storage capacity is generated or accumulated in off-peak periods of demand time, usually in the overnight hours, by regeneration of ice or other phase-change thermal storage fluid. The stored cooling capacity is typically recovered by withdrawal of the fluid from chamber 26 of tank 24 and transferring it through a heat exchanger 12 or other end-use device 44.
A recurrent problem or concern for the user and designer of thermal storage unit 10 is the temperature of the withdrawn coolant fluid. This fluid temperature at ice-water pump 36 is typically desired to be at or below 34° F. to maximize the coolant effect upon end use apparatus 44. After cycling the thermal storage fluid from chamber 26 through apparatus 44 or heat exchanger 12 the thermal storage fluid is returned to chamber 26 to be chilled to 34° F. for reuse in apparatus 44 or heat exchanger 12. However, it is known that the rate of chilling of the recycled fluid is dependent upon the available stored ice mass and its available contact surface area. Therefore, in chamber 26 coil arrangement 22 is designed with a design full or maximum capacity to accommodate fluid flow between adjacent tubes 62. Preferably the available ice contact surface area provides more exposed ice contact surface area than just the outside surfaces of a monolithic block of ice at an ice overbuild condition in chamber 26. Tubes 62 are noted in the figures as round cross-sections, but the description is applicable to various tube cross-sections and thus the tube shape is not a limitation. Further, the tube shape could be provided in plates or plate forms, as known in the art of heat exchangers.
The amount of surface area is dependent upon the amount of solidification of the thermal storage fluid on tubes 62 in chamber 26, which may include ice bridging between vertically or horizontally adjacent tubes 62. Although it is desirable to maintain separation between ice masses 90 on tubes 62 in all directions, it is known that through the use of aerators 28 or other apparatus vertical fluid flow can be accommodated to provide fluid temperature reduction in chamber 26. Therefore, it is generally considered more critical to maintain the vertical channels or aisles between horizontally adjacent tubes 62 as a means to maintain fluid flow reduced temperature fluid in chamber 26. Maintenance of these vertical channels will provide adequate ice-contact surface area even after ice bridging between vertically adjacent tubes 62.
Although the amount of ice-contact surface area is dependent upon the amount of solidification and its structural impact on the noted channels, the rate of thermal energy withdrawal will impact the overall capacity of thermal storage unit 10 in terms of the ice melt times. These rate effects are known in the art but are not a part of the present invention except as a natural consequence of the resultant structures. However, the desired thermal-storage fluid outlet temperature of approximately 34° F. is a desired temperature in many applications.
FIG. 3 illustrates a typical representative cross-sectional outline of coil arrangement 22 illustrated in FIG. 2. Coil arrangement 22 has a plurality of tubes 62, which are generally parallel within arrangement 22, but alternative configurations may be utilized. Tubes 62 of circuits 68 and 76 in FIGS. 4 to 11 are part of a circuit-feed structure, which was noted above, providing refrigerant fluid to adjacent tubes 62 in opposite directions from refrigeration devices such as chiller 18. The resultant ice of solidified thermal storage fluid buildup on tubes 62 is illustrated in FIG. 3C. This concept of build up from opposite directions or tube ends provides a more uniform ice mass on tubes 62 to maximize the use of the volume of chamber 26, and this technique is known in the art. Similarly, the use of a circuit-feed arrangement is known and shown in FIG. 3 along with the use of headers 58 and 59 to retain tubes 62 and to transfer refrigerant fluid from chiller 18 or other refrigerant apparatus.
As noted above, FIG. 3 illustrates the ordered arrangement or array 22 of tubes 62 in chamber 26. A cross-sectional view of array 22 from known assemblies provides tubes 62 in a uniform arrangement. Typically, first circuits 68 and second circuits 76 of this arrangement 22 provide a series of rows 70 and columns 72 with uniform separation gap 84 between adjacent row and column tube centers. In FIG. 3A, horizontal separation gap 84 between tube centers of adjacent tube columns 68 and 76 is substantially uniform across width 71 of arrangement 22.
In FIG. 3A, it is noted that vertical separation gap or distance 73 is less than horizontal gap 84. In this reference or prior art figure, tube array 22 is noted with uniform ice formations 90, but in the vertical direction of columns 72 and 80 the solidified masses between adjacent tubes 62 have merged or bridged gap 73. Vertical corridor or aisle 88 between vertically adjacent columns 72 and 80 across the array width 71 remain open for fluid flow in this aisle 88. The width between ice formations 90 or tubes 62 is noted as gap 81 in FIG. 3A.
The above-ice-build configuration is a desired or design characteristic for ice build-up at one hundred percent or full-capacity ice growth. Thereafter, the thermal storage unit 10 and specifically ice chiller 18 should cease the solidification-regeneration process. However, it is known that continued ice will develop on tubes 62 as long as chiller 18 continues to operate. Such continued ice growth will be at a slower growth rate and may attain complete bridging across aisles 88 to form what is referred to as a monolithic is mass, as shown in FIG. 3B. This ice-bridging reduces or eliminates all flow between adjacent tubes 62 in array 22 and thermal-storage fluid within chamber 26 primarily flows along and around the perimeter of coil array 22 such as at side walls 96 and 98, top 95, bottom 97 and the end walls not shown. This minimizes the ability of the fluid to flow through array 22 and effectively reduces the rate of heat transfer to the thermal-storage fluid being transferred by ice-pump 36 to apparatus 44 or heat exchanger 12, as the ice-contact surface area has been dramatically reduced from the design characteristics. As a consequence of the heat-transfer rate, the temperature of the thermal-storage fluid communicating to apparatus 44 increases. The elevated temperature fluid reduces the efficiency of heat exchanger 12 or apparatus 44, which may require utilization of supplemental cooling devices or other accommodation to achieve desired operating performance from such devices. Thus, it is desired to maintain at least some of aisles 88 open to fluid passage to maintain more usable ice-contact surface area to achieve and maintain lower thermal storage fluid temperatures, as illustrated in FIG. 12. More specifically, it is desired to maintain at least some of the design full-capacity surface area available for contact with thermal storage fluid after the as-designed maximum or full-capacity ice build-up has been attained. As noted above, the generally utilized methods of monitoring ice buildup to avoid bridging of aisles 88 have included visual inspection or measurement of the fluid level in tank chamber 26 or ice thickness controls.
The present invention provides ice build-up in chamber 26 with a tolerance for an overbuild condition that will maintain fluid flow in at least some of aisles 88. Specifically, aisles 88 are maintained open between at least some of the generally vertical circuits 68 and 76, which aisles 88 in FIG. 3 will maintain the desired approximately thirty percent of exposed ice surface contact area for maintenance of the desired heat transfer to the flowing thermal-storage fluid.
In FIGS. 4 and 4A, first circuit 68 and second circuit 76 with tubes 62 are again provided as components of array 66 in this first illustrative embodiment of the present invention, which appears with the same general configuration of above-noted array 22. In this configuration, adjacent first circuit 68 and second circuit 76 pairs or circuit sets 100 are closely aligned in vertical columns 72 and 80 with first separation gap 104 between the adjacent pairs of tubes 62 in columns 72 and 80 being less than uniform first separation gap 84 of prior art array 22 in FIG. 3.
In this embodiment of FIG. 4, adjacent pairs 100 of circuits 68 and 76 are separated by aisles or corridors 102, which are wider than first aisles 88 of prior art array 22. In an exemplary arrangement, separation gap 104 was reduced in width from first separation gap 84 by approximately thirty percent. However, the width 81 of aisles 88 was more than doubled in length to width 103 to provide aisles 102 between adjacent circuit pairs 100.
As noted in FIGS. 4 and 4A, the concentric ice build up will bridge the vertical and horizontal separation distance 84 between adjacent tubes 62 in each pair set 100 at maximum or full-capacity ice build up. However, aisle 102 will remain open with over twice the width of above-noted aisle 88.
Ordered array 66 maintains aisle 102 open to fluid flow, and consequently to air flow from aerator 28, even at an overbuild condition. In operation, as ice is developed on tubes 62 the ice provides an insulating effect on tubes 62, which reduces the cooling rate of thermal storage fluid by refrigerant from chiller 18. Thus, the ice build up rate is reduced and the effect on the chiller compressor is noted as reduction in suction pressure and refrigerant temperature at chiller 18 as well as a reduction in glycol temperature at chiller 18. These parameters are correlative to a design full-capacity ice build up as a measure of desired ice build up. However, continued operation of chiller 18 will result in continued build up on tubes 62 and circuit pairs 100. As width 103 of aisle 102 is now twice the prior art width and the rate of ice build up has been reduced, aisle 102 will remain open to fluid flow even in an ice over build state, although, width 81 of aisle 88 will decrease in length. Maintenance of open aisle 102 will maintain the desired temperatures of a higher amount of ice-surface contact area for heat transfer from recycled thermal-storage fluid.
FIGS. 5 and 5A illustrate an alternative embodiment of the structure of FIG. 4. In this embodiment, tubes 62 of adjacent columns 72 and 80 have been nominally provided more closely aligned to each other, that is the aisle width 104 was reduced by about seven percent less than the width in FIG. 4, as an example. The effect has provided an approximate increase in width 103 and the size of aisle 102 of about fifteen percent, which further enhances the ability of array 66 to maintain sufficient ice-contact surface area. This also inhibits ice build up bridging across aisle 102 at ice overbuild conditions.
FIGS. 6 and 6A demonstrate another alternative embodiment to the structure of FIGS. 4 and 4A. The coil structure 22 in FIG. 6 has one-half of the number of vertical aisles 102 noted in the structure of FIG. 3, which permits more pounds of ice per cubic foot in tank 24, which is commonly referred to as ice-packing efficiency, and also should allow a lower amount of air required for agitation by a reduction of as much as fifty percent from previous structures. In these illustrations, separation gap 104 between adjacent tubes 62 in columns 68 and 76 are laterally displaced by about thirty percent more than the tubes in FIG. 4. Aisle 102 and width 103 are consequently reduced in width by approximately fifteen percent, but aisle 102 is maintained in an open condition even in an overbuilt state. Further, the increased width 104 requires more energy to provide the ice bridging and it can potentially incorporate voids 105 at the design full-capacity. Voids 105 may open aisles 104 for fluid flow after ice melt out during fluid flow to apparatus 44 or other demands on the stored thermal capacity. In this illustration, it can be appreciated that as soon as ice cylinders 90 or adjacent tubes 62 touch or bridge, the heat transfer surface area of the ice is decrease by one-half. During ice build up on tubes 62, the growth of the cross-sectional diameter of the ice increases the insulation factor of the ice relative to the heat transfer capability between the refrigerant in tubes 62 from chiller 18 and the thermal storage fluid in chamber 26. Consequently, the rate of growth of ice on tubes 62 is significantly and rapidly reduced, as shown in FIG. 13. The effect on the chiller is a rapid decline in capacity, suction pressure and temperature, as well as glycol temperature. These rapid declines can be monitored to note the end of ice-build cycles.
FIGS. 7 and 7A illustrate another example of variation in width of aisle 104 between adjacent tubes 62 of coils 68 and 76. In these figures, aisle width 104 is about seven percent wider than the width between tubes 62 in FIGS. 4 and 4A. This results in a narrowing of aisles 102 and width 103 by about four percent, but this reordering reduces the overbuild or bridging rate between adjacent tubes 62 in each pair 100. The structure will continue to maintain the thirty percent minimum desired heat-transfer surface area.
Although the above-noted embodiments illustrate variations of paired sets of adjacent tubes 62 with common aisle widths 102, it is recognized that these widths will vary under varying operating conditions, such as rate of ice build up or melt out on individual coils 68 and 76 or tubes 62. Further, the specific widths may be a design choice or driven by a specification from an application for thermal storage, but the ordering and arrangement is generally applicable to such structures.
FIGS. 8 and 8A illustrate an embodiment wherein adjacent tubes 62 in pairs 100, as noted above, are more closely aligned to provide a more narrow dimension for aisle or gap 104. Further, separation width 103 is also made more narrow to generally decrease the widths of aisles 102. However, the decrease in aisle widths 102 and 104 are accommodated by provision of central and enlarged aisle 110 with a width approximately twice width 103. This enlarged aisle 110 will provide fluid flow through array 66 even in an extreme overbuild condition when fluid flow is inhibited or restricted through aisles 102. This structure would allow fluid to contact more of the ice surface area to maintain a lower fluid temperature than with a monolithic ice mass. This flow rate will continue to maintain the desired fluid temperature below 34° F. and increase the melt-out rate of such monolithic masses to reopen aisles 102 to fluid and air flow.
FIGS. 9 and 9A show a structural array 66 generally similar to array 66 of FIG. 8. In this structure, aisle 104 between tubes 62 of each pair 100 is increased by about thirty percent. The increase again results in voids 105 at design full-capacity between ice cylinders 90. However, there is a reduction in the width of aisles 102 by about seventeen percent, and a reduction in separation width 103 of about fourteen percent. The reductions are again reflected by maintaining aisle width 110 approximately equal in both embodiments to continuously provide fluid flow access through array 66. Although only two-circuit pairs 100 are described, which have only two adjacent circuits 68, 76 per pair 100, it is considered that pairs 100 may have 3 or more closely adjacent circuits 68,76 in each grouping 100. The use of the illustration of only two circuits was for ease of illustration and understanding not as a limitation to the number of utilized circuits 68, 76.
In a third illustration akin to FIG. 8, multiple sets 120 of tubes 62 of coils 68 and 76 are provided in close proximity to each other in FIGS. 10 and 10A. In each set 120 narrow aisles 122, similar to aisle 88 in FIG. 3, are provided between adjacent tubes 62 or ice cylinders 90. Narrow aisles 122 are, for example, about thirty percent more narrow than aisles 88, although aisle width 104 between adjacent tube centers is only about three percent. The illustrated sets 120 in FIG. 10 have six vertical columns of tubes 62 and coils 68 and 76. The three sets 120 in array 126 are provided with wide corridors 128 between adjacent sets 120, which aisles 128 for comparative purposes are only about thirty-five percent more narrow than central wide aisle 110 in FIG. 8. This structure is accommodating to both an overbuild condition and provides more ice surface contact area for heat transfer than the prior art devices in such overbuilt state. It can be seen that there is a reduction in the total number of tubes 62, but it is an equivalent number to the prior art with enhanced aisle widths and safety or wide widths to accommodate ice overbuild with adequate provision for fluid flow. Even at an ice overbuild, voids 105 appear between adjacent tubes 62 in arrangement 120.
FIGS. 11 and 11A illustrate an embodiment accommodating plural sets of paired tubes 62. That is, tube pairs 100 as noted above with aisles 102 therebetween are closely paired with adjacent tube pairs 100 to provide plural tube arrangement 120. These plural tube arrangements 120 have wide aisles 128 between adjacent arrangements 120. In this configuration of array 126, aisle width 102 and width 103 are about equal to aisle width 102 and width 103 of the structure of FIG. 8. However, by more closely assembling pairs 100, added tubes 62 are provided to array 126, although it is recognized that ice cylinders 90 of adjacent tubes 62 of coils 68 and 76 will be more prone to bridging. The resultant design full-capacity structure still provides a plurality of aisles 102 and 128 for fluid flow, which aisle 128 again provides a safety margin against fluid flow inhibition at an ice overbuild condition.
In FIG. 14, two pairs of adjacent circuits 68 and 76 have dividers 130 nested between them, which dividers 130 provide widened or enlarged separation gaps 132. These gaps 132 are considered adequate to provide fluid flow through circuits 68, 76 to accommodate acceptable water outlet temperature. Dividers or inserts 130 are typically of a material with a low thermal conductivity to inhibit ice bridging across such dividers 130.
FIG. 15 illustrates the insertion of spacers 140 in as-built coils with separation of at least one pair of adjacent coils 68 and 76 by spacers 140, which are low conductivity materials such as plastic. Alternatively hollow spacers or perforated spacers may be used to maintain the enlarged separation gap. In addition, hollow spacers 140 could be used as air conduits to conduct air to coil bottom 97 for more vigorous agitation of fluid. This latter use of spacers is considered to be particularly beneficial in the assembly of galvanized steel tubing.
In FIG. 1, the illustrated control circuit would allow measurement of the inlet suction pressure or inlet fluid temperature as measure of a change in the ice build status within the arrays 66 and 126. In FIG. 13, the change in suction temperature at full-capacity of ice build decreases dramatically with the present invention, which provides a parameter for sensing by sensor 46. Such sensed signal can be provided to control device 50 to stop further ice build up and to maintain the aisle passages 102.
While only specific embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is clear that this is not a limitation to the scope of the invention described herein.
|Cited Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US1969187 *||Feb 19, 1932||Aug 7, 1934||Schutt Clifton E||Heat balancing system|
|US2056970 *||Apr 18, 1933||Oct 13, 1936||Charles S Leopold||Cooling system|
|US2221423 *||Apr 11, 1938||Nov 12, 1940||George D Reinhardt||Refrigerating apparatus|
|US4044568 *||Dec 22, 1975||Aug 30, 1977||Turbo Refrigerating Company||Space heating and cooling system|
|US4513574 *||Apr 30, 1984||Apr 30, 1985||Tempmaster Corporation||Low Temperature air conditioning system and method|
|US5598720 *||Aug 2, 1995||Feb 4, 1997||Calmac Manufacturing Corporation||Air bubble heat transfer enhancement system coolness storage apparatus|
|US5649431 *||Nov 15, 1994||Jul 22, 1997||Tdindustries, Inc.||Thermal storage cooling system|
|US5678626 *||Nov 17, 1995||Oct 21, 1997||Lennox Industries Inc.||Air conditioning system with thermal energy storage and load leveling capacity|
|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US6298676 *||Jun 26, 2000||Oct 9, 2001||Baltimore Aircoil Company, Inc.||Ice thermal storage control|
|US6415615 *||Nov 6, 2000||Jul 9, 2002||Baltimore Aircoil Company, Inc.||Ice thermal storage control|
|US6820685 *||Feb 26, 2004||Nov 23, 2004||Baltimore Aircoil Company, Inc.||Densified heat transfer tube bundle|
|US20110079025 *||Apr 7, 2011||Thermo King Corporation||Thermal storage device with ice thickness detection and control methods|
|U.S. Classification||62/434, 165/910, 165/163, 165/10, 62/59|
|International Classification||F24F5/00, F25D3/00, F28D20/02, F25D21/02, F25D16/00|
|Cooperative Classification||Y10S165/91, F25D16/00, F28D20/021, F25D21/02, F25D3/005, F28D20/028, Y02E60/145|
|European Classification||F28D20/02F, F28D20/02A, F25D16/00|
|Oct 25, 1999||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: BALTIMORE AIRCOIL COMPANY, INC., MARYLAND
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:AARON, DAVID A.;MORRISON, FRANK T.;REEL/FRAME:010638/0774
Effective date: 19991006
|Nov 6, 2000||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: CITICORP USA, INC., DELAWARE
Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:BALTIMORE AIRCOIL CO.;REEL/FRAME:011231/0335
Effective date: 20000929
|Oct 15, 2003||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: CITICORP USA, INC., NEW YORK
Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:AMSTED INDUSTRIES INCORPORATED;BALTIMORE AIRCOIL COMPANY, INC.;VARLEN CORPORATION;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:014580/0116
Effective date: 20030930
|Oct 18, 2004||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|Apr 11, 2006||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: CITIICORP NORTH AMERICA, INC., NEW YORK
Free format text: AMENDED AND RESTATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY AGREEMENT DATED APRIL 6, 2006;ASSIGNORS:AMSTED INDUSTRIES INCORPORATED;AMCONSTRUCT CORPORATION;AMRAIL CORPORATION;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:017448/0376
Effective date: 20060406
|Oct 17, 2008||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 8
|Nov 5, 2009||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS THE SUCCESSOR COLLATERAL
Free format text: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY INTEREST ASSIGNMENT AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:CITICORP NORTH AMERICA, INC.,AS THE RESIGNING COLLATERAL AGENT (AS SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST OF CITICORP USA, INC.);REEL/FRAME:023471/0036
Effective date: 20090930
|Oct 17, 2012||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 12 |
It is always useful to invest when you have strong trends as a tailwind. That doesn't solve all your investment problems, but it helps a great deal. We think that with investing in solar energy companies, you'll have strong trends as tailwinds. In essence, solar energy is ready for the big stage and here are some of the trends that are blowing in its favor.
Solar grid parity
It's no secret that solar energy is getting ever cheaper but it's always instructive to show with what kind of speed this is actually happening:
This is simply the combined effect of hundreds, if not thousands, of labs and plants working on, and improving:
- Economies of scale
- Improvements in design, materials, organization
- Increases in cell efficiency
- Lowering cost of mounting
These are the more gradual improvements, although collectively they've produced enormous gains that aren't likely to come to a grinding halt anytime soon. Grid parity is already a reality in some parts of the world, according to Deutsche Bank:
Deutsche Bank said the dramatic fall in the price of solar panels to between $0.60 and $0.70 per watt - lower than thought possible five years ago - has already rendered solar power competitive "without subsidies" in Japan, South Korea, Australia, Italy, Greece, Spain, Israel, South Africa, Chile, Southern California, Hawaii and Chile... These regions could be joined within three years by Thailand, Mexico, Argentina, Turkey and India, among others.
Then there are hundreds of labs working on more radical break-throughs that could produce more sizable (but one-off) improvements (a fraction of these possibilities can be read here and here). Just as an example, many labs are working with materials called perovskits (see here, and here). Other innovations deal with some of solar energy problems:
Los Alamos - home of the Manhattan Project - is working on smart grids and better ways to capture excess electricity produced in peak sunlight hours. The Argonne labs are working on thermal energy storage to overcome "intermittency", the curse of solar and wind. Oak Ridge is testing coatings that increase durability of solar panels eightfold. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is working on a CO2 power cycle that could achieve 90pc thermal efficiciency and does not require water, transforming the propects of desert solar. [The Telegraph]
Panel costs are often no longer the main cost, and the enormous differences in installation cost (even amongst advanced nations where labor costs are comparable, installation costs in Germany are half those in the US, for instance) suggest there is much room for improvement here as well. Indeed, the US Energy Department expects the cost of solar power (including installation cost) to fall by 75% in this decade to between $1 and $1.50.
Of course, prices are relative and while the most dire predictions about peak oil haven't panned out, what is fairly certain is that extraction costs are ratcheting up. At present we use up cheap oil reserves and replace them with expensive ones while solar energy is getting ever more cheaper.
The achievement of scale economies is largely thanks to early adopter Germany, the first big solar market in the world. Being a first mover can bring disadvantages, and this situation isn't an exception. Basically, by being a first big adopter of solar energy, Germany has suffered two disadvantages:
- High cost of energy
- Intermittency that creates problems for the electricity market
When Germany built large scale solar energy in the first decade of this century, solar panels were at least 4x as expensive as they are today, and generous subsidies were required (via the so-called feed-in tariff or FIT). The result of this situation is that Germany has high electricity rates that alarms industry.
However, because of the collapse of panel prices, this disadvantage isn't likely to repeat itself elsewhere, at least not to anywhere near the same extent, see for instance how the price of FIT contracts have declined:
A key tool in the renewable energy law (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz, or EEG) is the well-known feed-in tariff (FIT),which requires utilities to accept power from independent generators. The price is set by regulators, according to the cost of each renewable technology. This predictability results in low-risk financing, which lowers the cost of capital-intensive renewables. But because the FIT guarantees producers a fixed payment over twenty years, past higher costs for renewables persist -- and add up. A homeowner with a small rooftop solar system who signed a FIT contract in 2009, for example, will be paid 43 cents per kilowatt-hour through 2029. The rate for a similar system installed this past January fell to 13.7 cents. [Greentechmedia]
Unfortunately for Germany, it's stuck with a backlog of these expensive FIT contracts which cannot be unwritten (or even adjusted), but countries only now starting in earnest can easily avoid this.
But there is another problem that is also serious and is produced by the intermittent nature of solar power. In certain situations this can actually be a benefit, producing most energy just when demand is peaking in areas where there is lots of sunshine and heat, and lots of running aircons as a result.
However in more temperate climates, where the sun can disappear for days, the intermittancy really is a problem. SA contributor John Petersen has summed it up:
The costs utilities pay to smooth and stabilize the filthy electric current from residential PV solar and provide standby facilities for the inevitable cloudy, rainy, gloomy days are huge. Sadly, the residential PV system owners who created the instability in the first place do not pay the costs of intermittency abatement. Instead, those costs are simply folded into the rate base and paid by the utility's other customers. It's a great deal for the PV solar system owner and abusive for all other users of electric power.
In Germany, where distributed energy (from solar and wind) comprises 20% of electricity production, this can lead to serious problems for utilities:
It is not uncommon for electricity prices to drop to zero on days where solar energy production is high and consumption is low. [Hydrogenfuelnews]
The business model of utilities can become problematic as a result, here is Barclays:
Electric utilities… are seen by many investors as a sturdy and defensive subset of the investment grade universe. Over the next few years, however, we believe that a confluence of declining cost trends in distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation and residential-scale power storage is likely to disrupt the status quo. Based on our analysis, the cost of solar + storage for residential consumers of electricity is already competitive with the price of utility grid power in Hawaii. Of the other major markets, California could follow in 2017, New York and Arizona in 2018, and many other states soon after. In the 100+ year history of the electric utility industry, there has never before been a truly cost-competitive substitute available for grid power. We believe that solar + storage could reconfigure the organization and regulation of the electric power business over the coming decade.
Petersen (in the article cited above) goes as far as to call solar energy a scam and he lists four ways in which it is used to game the system, dumping its costs on others. This might have been true before, but with falling costs this is getting much less serious. Here is Markus Hoehner, CEO of Hoehner Research and Consulting Group:
As Hoehner put it, while the solar industry in the era of high feed-in tariffs was "all about making money," the new era of falling feed-in tariffs and falling solar panel prices has shifted the emphasis: "It's all about saving money," he said. [Greentechmedia]
Petersen himself has to admit that energy storage can resolve this issue:
With a stunning record of four abject failures on four tests of fundamental fairness, there's a very good argument that residential PV solar is more trouble than it's worth, unless the owner acts responsibly and adds enough storage to abate his intermittency.
So energy storage could take away most of the solar problems and Petersen argues that energy storage is destined to become an investment mega-trend that will "endure for decades." He simply thinks batteries are not ready yet. Others disagree, like Barclays (see quote above).
In fact, Barclays is not the only institute which argues we're on the edge of storage grid parity. Analyzing the German market, the observation from Germany Trade and Invest:
Electricity prices are rising and solar PV prices are falling, which means that if battery storage falls to around €0.20 per kilowatt-hour (U.S. $0.27), parity will be achieved.
We reproduce the graph below:
Australian investment firm Morgans, in an assessment of Brisbane-based battery storage developer Redflow, suggests that company's zinc-bromine flow battery may already be commercially economic in Germany, the country that leads the world in terms of household adoption and government support for renewables.
If it's competitive in Germany, it should be competitive elsewhere as Germany isn't exactly the sunniest country that comes to mind (although they do have high electricity rates, setting a low bar for solar to jump over to become competitive).
And once again Germany takes the lead in moving forward with solar + storage, although so far with limited success. In part this is due to the complexity of the subsidy system set in place last year. Morgan Stanley also argues solar + storage is on the brink of breaking through:
Morgan Stanley projects that an average residential utility customer in California would be paying $.26/kWh for electricity in 2020. But, says Morgan Stanley, by 2020 Californians should be able to go completely off-grid with a solar/storage system for 10 to 12 cents per kilowatt hour. And the off-grid solution has the added benefit that when the grid goes down, your home or business won't. [Cleanegroup]
So solar + storage could become competitive fairly soon in some parts of the world, but this depends also on progress in energy storage. Once again, capitalism enlists the distributed intelligence of many players seeing a market opportunity and trying to push the envelope. Already at the 2012 Intersolar conference:
Energy storage solutions were on display from 140 companies [Greentechmedia]
And there are many more. Who wants to bet against somebody somewhere figuring it out and producing a storage solution that is significantly cheaper than those available today? Actually, Petersen is one who doesn't believe in energy storage breakthroughs:
We can expect slow incremental progress, but the game changing "Moore's Law" advances we enjoyed in information and communications technology are not going to happen in energy storage.
Who knows? There are indeed certain chemical laws that make breakthroughs in storage less likely, but there are hundreds of labs nevertheless trying to produce meaningful gains. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) argues that significantly lower costs simply come from producing on a vastly bigger scale.
Moreover, few argue that solar costs won't keep falling for the foreseeable future and we should stress that it's the combination of solar and storage that is relevant here, not just storage cost alone.
Perhaps it's useful to be reminded how far lithium-ion batteries have come already:
lithium-ion batteries have a fifteen year history of exponential price reduction. Between 1991 and 2005, the capacity that could be bought with $100 went up by a factor of 11. The trend continues through to the present day. [Nextbigfuture]
While perhaps not quite a Moore's Law improvement, it's still mightily impressive. Tesla's batteries have decreased in price from $500/KWh in 2008 to $250/KWh for the Model S to potentially $125/KWh at the gigafactory. And there is plenty of promising stuff going on in labs around the world improving energy storage (see here for a small selection), things like:
Cheap energy storage from flow-batteries (a Harvard research project funded by the US Advanced Research Projects Agency) will soon overcome the curse of intermittency, letting us absorb the sun's rays by day and release them again as heating and light overnight. [The Telegraph]
A new nanotechnology that doubles the life of smartphone, laptop and electric-vehicle batteries even after being charged and discharged more than 1,000 times has been developed by researchers at the University of Limerick. The breakthrough means the research team could be tapping into a market estimated to be worth US$53.7bn by 2020. [Siliconrepublic]
These are just a few examples out of many. Lest we forget, energy storage offers another advantage, cutting grid dependence entirely.
Needless to say, most of the investment implications are longer term, but we see five categories of companies affected by the trends:
- Solar panel makers and installers
- Smart grid companies
- Battery makers
- Fossil fuel companies
Not surprisingly, if storage takes away the main disadvantage of solar panels and prices keep on falling as they have done, we haven't seen anything yet. Demand for solar panels will simply keep expanding and this expansion could very well accelerate. At present, a tiny fraction of world energy production comes from solar (0.3% or so). This is a bit higher for electricity generation, but the scope for growth is enormous.
Investors should keep a keen eye on the supply/demand balance, as capacity has a habit of getting ahead of itself, producing downturns and rationalization. We just experienced a rather epic episode of this in the last three years.
Because of the near commodity nature of solar panels, we prefer to go with either well capitalized tier-one players that can survive such a slump and/or cost leaders, or panel makers having some competitive advantage through differentiation.
On these grounds we argued in previous articles in favor of SunPower (NASDAQ:SPWR) and Jinko Solar (NYSE:JKS). The first produces more durable and efficient panels and has the backing of energy giant Total (NYSE:TOT); the latter is the Chinese market and cost leader.
These are just our favorites, there are quite a few other good choices, like First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) and Yingli Green (NYSE:YGE). Or one might want to go with a solar ETF, plenty of choice here as well, such as Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSEARCA:TAN) and Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (NYSEARCA:KWT).
Also keep an eye out for innovations from labs and new players, if they succeed in significantly more efficient and/or cheaper panels or cheaper production methods, the incumbents could have a problem.
We have already discussed the problems that utilities in Germany are struggling under distributed energy production, which accounts for up to 20% of electricity production (versus 1% in the US).
The dash for renewables there has strained the power network and made life hard for utilities. This week one of the country's largest, RWE, announced that it made a net loss of €2.8 billion ($3.8 billion) in 2013, its first annual loss in more than 60 years, as the rising supply of electricity from (subsidised) renewable sources undercut its prices. [The Economist]
While some of this stems from German idiosyncrasies (for instance, power from renewables is prioritized on the German grid by law), it is hard to escape the fact that economics for utilities changes for the worse, the bigger the share of intermittent renewables is in electricity generation. Here are some possible adverse effects:
- Supply and demand for electricity are often out of synch
- Prices are driven lower, often at peak demand
- Utilities cannot cut investing in the backbone supply and the network, due to the fact that alternative electricity might fall away completely for considerable lengths of time (gloomy winters, etc.)
- Distributed alternative electricity generation usually doesn't pay for these costs.
While some of these adverse effects can be countered by smarter design of markets (for instance, where solar is at or even below grid parity, it could, at least in principle, contribute to network and backbone cost), much of it seems like an unavoidable byproduct of the relentless cost decrease of solar and its intermittent nature.
However, not all of the burden falls on utilities, depending on the institutional setup:
Twenty power companies including Germany's biggest utilities, EON SE and RWE AG, now get fees for pledging to add or cut electricity within seconds to keep the power system stable, double the number in September, according to data from the nation's four grid operators. Utilities that sign up to the 800 million-euro ($1.1 billion) balancing market can be paid as much as 400 times wholesale electricity prices, the data show. [Bloomberg]
So some of the burden falls on the grid companies, at least in Germany where these are separate from the utilities. In fact, this balancing market has developed into a significant opportunity for the utilities, but overall, the effect of alternatives having priority on the German grid is still likely to be a negative for these companies.
So apart from a rapidly rising share of alternative electricity generation, one should familiarize oneself with the institutional particulars of specific markets before one starts shorting utilities outright.
Of course, storage will ameliorate the problems for utilities as it smoothes out supply, but one has to keep in mind that during winter, it's not uncommon for German solar power to generate very little for weeks on end. Whether storage can deal with that anytime soon remains very much to be seen.
Smart grid companies
Demand for so called smart grids (the use of ICT to increase the efficiency and reliability of the electricity net) is likely to get a boost from the increase in distributed energy production (mostly, but not necessarily all from alternatives). Companies such as GE (NYSE:GE), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO), Control4 (NASDAQ:CTRL) or EnerNOC (NASDAQ:ENOC) - and there is even an smart grid ETF (NASDAQ:GRID).
No doubt that if solar (and wind) + energy storage takes off, this sector will be perhaps the main beneficiary and early investors could make a killing. However, it's really way too soon to argue with any precision who will win here, perhaps with one exception, Tesla, which is making a difference through some bold steps:
What's new about this is the recent announcement by Tesla that it plans to build a $5 billion "gigawatt scale" battery manufacturing plant somewhere in the southwestern U.S., a plant that the company projects will produce more lithium-ion batteries than the entire global supply for 2013, while halving per-unit costs. Already, SolarCity and Tesla have teamed up to offer a solar/storage package to residential and commercial customers. [Cleanegroup]
But we wouldn't really go overboard here. It's early days, there are tens, if not hundreds, of labs working on energy storage concepts and significant breakthroughs that could undercut lithium-ion batteries in general or Tesla's in particular. This is well within the realm of possibilities here.
The best one could argue for Tesla's case is that it has a headstart, and will reap economies of scale, while new concepts first have to prove whether they're able to scale, that is, whether the advantages from prototypes can be mass manufactured cheaply enough.
There are plenty of companies, like China BAK (NASDAQ:CBAK), BYD (OTCPK:BYDDY), EnerSys (NYSE:ENS), and Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI). The non-specialist investor is perhaps better served by a sector ETF. There is a lithium ETF (NYSEARCA:LIT) which has half its assets in lithium mining and the other half in lithium battery companies.
Fossil fuel companies
The proposition is rather straightforward here, sooner or later solar + storage will become a competitive threat, simply by the fact that solar + storage continues to fall in price and fossil fuels have a tendency to rise in price, as the cheap resources are being replaced by more expensive ones.
Solar + storage does have other advantages, it's cleaner and doesn't need the grid. We wouldn't divest your fossil fuel portfolios just yet though, there is a great deal of inertia in these markets, switching costs are often high and fossil fuels will be around for decades to come.
Disclosure: The author is long SPWR, JKS. The author wrote this article themselves, and it expresses their own opinions. The author is not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). The author has no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Editor's Note: This article covers one or more stocks trading at less than $1 per share and/or with less than a $100 million market cap. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks. |
Employee Benefit Programs
|Regular full-time employees are eligible for the following employee benefits:|
The University offers a comprehensive and competitive health insurance program for eligible employees and their family members. The plan provides basic medical/surgical coverage and major medical protection. Additionally, a three-tier prescription drug plan is included in the plan. New employees have 30 days from the date of employment to enroll in the health plan. The effective date of coverage is the first day of the month following a 30-day waiting period. Changes may be made annually at open enrollment in the month of February. Pre-certification is required for hospitalization, surgery, and certain outpatient procedures.
A tax-advantaged medical savings account through Teachers Credit Union is available to taxpayers who are enrolled in a High Deductible Health Plan. The funds contributed to the account are not subject to federal income tax at the time of deposit. Unlike a flexible spending account (FSA), funds roll over and accumulate year over year if not spent. HSAs are owned by the individual. Funds may be used to pay for qualified medical expenses at any time without federal tax liability.
This program is a tax-saving method of paying the employee’s qualified out-of-pocket medical/dental and dependent care expenses. By participating in this pre-tax benefit plan, an employee reduces his/her taxable earnings and pays less in taxes, which results in more spendable income. Participants agree to a specific dollar deduction each pay period and receive the benefit of lower federal, state and FICA taxes. Employee deductions are saved into their personal flexible spending account. An employee may submit a claim reimbursement form to receive tax-free reimbursement for eligible medical, dental and dependent coverage charges. The employee’s payroll deduction amount cannot be changed during the calendar year, except for a qualifying event, and any balance remaining 90 days after the end of the plan year is lost.
In addition to Social Security retirement coverage, University of Indianapolis provides a retirement program for eligible employees. Employees have the option to select between Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) or Fidelity Investments as their primary investment company, or a combination of both. Eligibility: employees become eligible to participate in the plan after completing one (1) year of qualifying service at UIndy OR upon employment, for new employees who completed one (1) year of full time service with another institution of higher education, within six (6) months prior to their employment date with UIndy. Vesting is immediate upon enrollment in the plan.
The University and employee contributions schedule is below:
* 1-10 years of continuous service: University 8%, Employee 3%
* 11-15 years of continuous service: University 9%, Employee 4%
* 16 or more years of continuous service: University 10%, Employee 5%
All staff members are eligible to make contributions on a tax-deferred basis to a Group Supplemental Retirement Annuity (GSRA) with Fidelity or TIAA-CREF. This benefit is available immediately upon employment and is not contingent upon eligibility or enrollment in the Regular Retirement Plan. Federal law dictates the maximum amount employees are eligible to contribute under this plan and penalties are normally imposed for withdrawals prior to age 59½.
This post-retirement health program is designed to provide an increasing level of confidence to faculty and staff through early funding for health care needs during the working years and national access to supplemental insurance coverage in retirement. It is a non-profit health benefits program designed exclusively for the higher education community. The University will contribute a monthly amount to eligible employees’ accounts (must be age 40 with 3 years of service). Employees age 21 and older may also make voluntary contributions on an after-tax basis (no maximum applies).
The University provides two group term life insurance plans for regular full-time faculty and staff. Employees may elect coverage equivalent to two times annual salary to a maximum of $250,000 or flat $50,000 coverage. The full cost of this benefit is paid by the University. The effective date of coverage is the first day of the month following 30 days of employment. The basic coverage decreases incrementally beginning at age 65 and is discontinued upon termination. Conversion to a personal policy is available at the time of retirement or termination from the University.
The University provides AD&D insurance for regular full-time employees and the total cost of this benefit is paid by the University. The benefit amount identified below is equal to the life insurance coverage selected and covers accidents that occur either at or away from work, resulting in loss within 90 days of the event. The AD&D coverage only insures the employee and is not effective during a period of time that insurance premiums are being waived due to disability.
The University provides the Travel Assistance benefit to all regular full-time employees who receive coverage under the University’s Life Insurance policy. The Travel Assistance benefit applies to covered persons who are traveling 100 miles or more away from home during a covered trip. This benefit provides 24-hour medical and transportation services at no additional cost.
A group long-term total disability insurance program is provided for regular full-time employees. Benefits under this program begin after six months of continuous total disability. You may receive 60% of your covered monthly earnings up to a monthly maximum benefit of $10,000. The University provides full-time employees with long-term disability coverage at no charge to you and enrollment is automatic.
The University provides the EAP program to all regular full-time employees and their family members. Our EAP program is a confidential worksite-based program designed to assist both employees and employers. The EAP program provides assessments and referrals both in person and over the phone for personal matters. Each eligible employee along with each eligible employee’s dependents, is entitled to three visits (or sessions) free-of-charge per calendar year. Also, telephone intakes and information calls regarding EAP services are free and unlimited.
Full tuition for undergraduate and graduate courses is provided for regular full-time employees who enroll in classes at the University of Indianapolis. Spouses receive full tuition for undergraduate and fifty percent (50%) benefit for master’s degree courses taken at the University. The policy does not apply to doctoral programs.
* Full tuition is granted for undergraduate courses to dependent children of full-time employees. Some of the main criteria for eligibility the child must meet are
- Never been married
- Under age 23
- Has not received a first baccalaureate degree
- Does not have children of his/her own for whom the student provides more than half support
The Faculty/Staff Discount is available to dependent children only until the first baccalaureate degree is earned. No Faculty/Staff Discount is granted to dependent children at the graduate level.
A 25% reduction of tuition charge is available to regular part-time employees and their spouses who choose to enroll in undergraduate courses. This benefit is also available to dependent children, provided the child meets all of the criteria listed above, until the first baccalaureate degree is earned. A regular part-time staff member must work at least 20 hours per week, 10 months a year to be eligible. Adjunct faculty members must have taught six (6) semester hours during the preceding academic year and be currently teaching to be eligible. A one-year waiting period is required before a regular part-time staff member or adjunct faculty member is eligible. A 12.5% tuition discount is available for regular part-time staff and their spouses who enroll in master’s level courses.
The University of Indianapolis currently participates in three programs that provide opportunities for dependent, undergraduate children of full-time faculty and staff to attend various institutions across the country and receive, in most cases, full tuition benefits for up to four (4) years.
Voluntary Employee Supplemental Benefits
Employees may elect to enroll in the following voluntary programs upon employment or during the annual open enrollment period. The employee pays the full cost of the premium through payroll deduction. All programs are portable should an employee retire or terminate employment. Employee pays 100% of the cost for all voluntary benefits plans below:
An employee voluntary vision plan is offered to all eligible employees. The plan provides substantial discounts for in-network services to include exams, purchases/replacements of contact lenses and frames.
The University offers two voluntary dental insurance plans. The plans are designed to provide you and your family members with preventive, basic, and major dental care. As a valuable addition, Orthodontia benefits are included for dependent children to age 19. Coverage for new employees is the first day of the month following a 30-day waiting period. The full cost of dental coverage is paid by the employee on a pre-taxed basis.
Benefits are payable for a covered person’s death, dismemberment, or injury caused by covered accident that occurs on or off the job.
Pays cash benefits directly to the employee or family member. This plan is designed to provide an important safety net in fighting the financial consequences of cancer treatment.
This plan helps to protect participant’s income. Short-term disability replaces a portion of your income in an injury or illness that is not job-related forces you out of work for an extended period of time. You will have the opportunity to elect an increment up to 60% of your Covered Weekly Earnings not to exceed the maximum benefit of $1,500 per week.
Voluntary Life Insurance is being offered to all regular full-time employees. This policy is designed to provide a death benefit to your beneficiaries if you pass away. The employee will pay 100% of the cost of this insurance. This policy is being offered with a Guarantee Issue meaning you will not have to answer medical questions and you cannot be declined coverage if this is your initial enrollment. Coverage amounts begin to reduce beginning at age 70 with additional reductions at higher age limits.
Long Term Care Insurance is being offered to all full-time employees. This policy is designed to provide coverage for expenses incurred for long term care services whether they are received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. This policy is being offered to the employee with a Guarantee Issue meaning you will not have to answer medical questions and you cannot be declined coverage if this is your initial enrollment. A discounted rate is offered to family members.
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 requires employers who employ 20 or more employees to offer their employees and dependents that would otherwise lose group health coverage for reasons other than gross misconduct, the option of purchasing continuation health coverage. To continue coverage, the individual must pay the full cost of the monthly premium as well as a 2% administration fee.
Provides up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:
* for the birth and care of a newborn child of the employee;
* for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
* to care for a spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition;
* to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition; or
* for qualifying exigencies arising out of the fact that the employee’s spouse, son, daughter, or
* Parent is on active duty or call to active duty status as a member of the National Guard or Reserves in support of a contingency operation.
Employee must complete one year of service and have worked at least 1250 hours to be eligible.
The University of Indianapolis participates in the Social Security program providing retirement, disability, or death benefits. Participation is required and a statutory deduction is made with a matching contribution by the University. For details concerning coverage and benefits, contact the local office of the Social Security Administration.
The University of Indianapolis provides compensation to staff members who are affected by a reduction in workforce or terminated service under certain conditions as defined by law. Eligibility, waiting periods, rates of compensation and the duration of compensation payments are fixed by law. Compensation varies according to the work schedule; the number of weeks employed, the eligibility period, the cause of termination, availability for rehire, and many other conditions.
This program provides employees protection from loss of income attributable to job related-injury. All incidents should be reported to supervisor immediately and to the Office of Human Resources. |
Great article in LJ, September 2005 [“Internet
Radio to Podcast with Shell Tools” by Phil Salkie]!
There is a slight problem: in your final bash script you sleep for 2.1
hours and leave for the script to then figure out what the process id
number of mplayer is. More than two hours seems to be quite an extended period
of time on which any process may be forked onto the background, and
then that subsequent process would be the one killed.
Why don't you capture the PID of mplayer onto a local variable and
then kill that PID stored on that variable?
Juan C. Müller
There is an error in the code samples for the Kernel Korner article
[“Sleeping in the Kernel” by Kedar Sovani] in
the September 2005 issue: wait_event() and wait_event_interruptible() should
not be passed the address of my_event, but my_event itself. That is
because they are macros, and their implementations will wind up using
the address-of operator (&) to take the address of the parameter they
In Don Marti's editorial reply to Darin Riedlinger's letter “Multimedia Lock-in?” he states, “You can create your own media in patent-free formats you can use on any OS.”
I seriously doubt this. If, for example, OGG would become very popular such that MP3 players (of the hardware version) would start to come out without MP3 support, with the intent of not paying the royalties for the MP3 patents, then those holding the patents on MP3 would be quick to find a patent that also applies to OGG.
Currently, patents are granted on way too obvious things. “Audio compression by omitting nuances that the human ear cannot detect” is a description I heard of a patent that Fraunhofer supposedly holds. On an authoritative-looking Web site I found titles as short as: “method for coding an audio signal”, which with a bit of fantasy can really apply to, say, OGG.
Thus, a statement that implies that media formats like OGG are patent-unencumbered cannot be made. The only thing that you can say is that nobody has stepped forward to claim that he or she owns a patent on something in a format like OGG.
The intent of patents has always been to protect:
The small inventor who invents something that nobody would have invented, but is somewhat obvious after the fact (for example, a chain with differently sized gears to drive the rear wheel of a bicycle). An inventor like this may need some time to set up a factory and earn a fair compensation for his “brilliance”.
The big companies who spend big bucks to develop something interesting. These need a “grace period” to earn back their investment.
The whole patent application process has become too expensive for the first type of inventors. And the big corporations are claiming that they actually do have millions of “inventions” that warrant the second type of protection. But way too many “the time is right” type of things are being patented.
I'm convinced that any serious application, open source or not, will violate several patents. If some smaller company happens to have patented something later seen in say Microsoft Word, then they might get up the nerve to step up to Microsoft and ask for royalties. In return, Microsoft will research whatever the smaller company is making and try to find a patent infringement on something they hold. Most likely it will turn into a “we won't pay for the use of your patent in return for the use of ours.”
Big companies have an arsenal of patents they can use for this type of stuff. Remember when IBM first was approached by SCO? Within a month, IBM had found a bunch of patents of theirs that SCO was violating. Only if the other party becomes “annoying” do the big patent monsters come out of hiding and start to throw threats around.
Becoming “annoying” can be done in several ways: cutting into royalty
payments on another patent (MP3/OGG), asking for royalty payments for
some obscure patent (small company/Microsoft example) or filing a big
In the article “A User's Guide to ALSA” in the August 2005 issue, Dave
mentioned having a desktop system with a SoundBlaster Live! Value sound
This caught my attention because I have the same kind of sound card in my
system. I have been unable to use ALSA, however, because I have digital
and have been unable to determine how to tell ALSA to switch my card to
output. I am able to switch to digital output under OSS using a utility
emu10k1 package available at sourceforge.net/projects/emu10k1. The
command line that I use is emu-config -d with the
-d meaning “switch
to digital”. I would like to begin using ALSA, however, because it
development on the emu10k1 package has been discontinued, and the days
appear to be numbered. Perhaps Mr Phillips or one of your readers
might have an
answer to my dilemma.
Dave Phillips replies: the SBLive is certainly a complicated beast. Alas, I don't have digital speakers, so I can't provide a direct answer to your question. However, I suggest checking your mixer for channels named IEC958-whatever. These are the SBLive digital (S/PDIF) channel controls as they appear in alsamixer and in qamix.
Be sure your digital speakers are connected to the digital output of the card. (Sorry, just trying to be complete.)
I'm a little unclear as to whether you're actually using ALSA yet. Also, let me know what kernel version and ALSA release you're using; this makes a difference.
Robert Love's article “Project Utopia” [October 2005] is a great overview of the direction in which Linux hardware support is moving.
We have developed some programmable network hardware for the PCI bus, and
are in the process of developing Linux drivers for it.
We would love to see more articles on HAL, udev and ssyfs, explaining how
they fit together, examples of how to use them and so forth.
I would love to see more articles about installing and tuning a Linux Debian distro on a PPC box. I dual-boot into OS X 10.3.9 and Ubuntu on a G3 iBook and have yet to find anyone on-line who knows how to get ALSA drivers working on it.
I love the Linux platform and realize the imminent move to the Intel
hardware might make some of this moot, but there are people out there
right now with PPC machines who want to do sound and video using free
So, how about an article or column dedicated to getting ALSA drivers
working on a PPC?
Keep up the great work—love LJ!
I appreciated the article in the October 2005 Linux Journal by Sacha Chua [“Taming the TODO”]. Emacs has been on my list a long time, but I still haven't started using it; I just got started with vi and didn't want to learn something new. Maybe I'll give Emacs a try now.
I also appreciated your acknowledgement of the index card method. I use that a lot, especially when at a customer site without my laptop or guaranteed Internet access.
Another solution you didn't mention is the wiki. Although not as formal or
organized as an issue-tracking system, it does revision control on your
and makes them publicly accessible via a Web browser. I use wiki for
personal TODO list as well as communal TODO lists for several projects.
One indication that Linux(R) will have reached mainstream would be if there were so many companies supporting Linux listed in the Yellow Pages that the phone company has to create a separate Linux category. However, this ideal seems distant, because attractive Linux company names are being declined by the Linux Mark Institute (LMI).
One recent example of an unacceptable name was discussed on our local Linux mailing list. An entrepreneur learned from LMI that “Linux of Sacramento” was unacceptable—a name likely to generate many phone calls.
An LMI representative said that they are assigned the responsibility to protect the health of the Linux mark by keeping it from being diluted. When I asked the representative for an explanation of how a mark could become unhealthy by dilution, his explanation was too obtuse for me to understand. However, I could understand that a Linux name license would be approved if the name did not imply an exclusive source of Linux in an area. But how would an exclusive source of Linux make the name unhealthy?
I pressed the representative for a case study of a trademark becoming unhealthy by dilution—Kleenex(R) or Xerox(R)? No, they may become generic—another issue entirely.
Linux will become mainstream when the Linux mark saturates
the public. Efforts to prevent saturation is counterproductive;
instead, decision-makers should consider further opening up
the Linux name.
Here is a photo of a bag of sweets, popular here in Thailand. Comes in menthol flavour as well!
Great magazine by the way.
Regarding the article “The Ultimate Linux Lunchbox” by Ron
Minnich in the November 2005 issue of LJ: the first
minicluster by Sandia was the brainchild of both Rob Armstrong and Mitch
Williams. This system was built in 2001, not 2000 as was stated in the
Practical Task Scheduling Deployment
July 20, 2016 12:00 pm CDT
One of the best things about the UNIX environment (aside from being stable and efficient) is the vast array of software tools available to help you do your job. Traditionally, a UNIX tool does only one thing, but does that one thing very well. For example, grep is very easy to use and can search vast amounts of data quickly. The find tool can find a particular file or files based on all kinds of criteria. It's pretty easy to string these tools together to build even more powerful tools, such as a tool that finds all of the .log files in the /home directory and searches each one for a particular entry. This erector-set mentality allows UNIX system administrators to seem to always have the right tool for the job.
Cron traditionally has been considered another such a tool for job scheduling, but is it enough? This webinar considers that very question. The first part builds on a previous Geek Guide, Beyond Cron, and briefly describes how to know when it might be time to consider upgrading your job scheduling infrastructure. The second part presents an actual planning and implementation framework.
Join Linux Journal's Mike Diehl and Pat Cameron of Help Systems.
Free to Linux Journal readers.Register Now!
- SUSE LLC's SUSE Manager
- My +1 Sword of Productivity
- Murat Yener and Onur Dundar's Expert Android Studio (Wrox)
- Managing Linux Using Puppet
- Non-Linux FOSS: Caffeine!
- SuperTuxKart 0.9.2 Released
- Doing for User Space What We Did for Kernel Space
- Parsing an RSS News Feed with a Bash Script
- Google's SwiftShader Released
- Rogue Wave Software's Zend Server
With all the industry talk about the benefits of Linux on Power and all the performance advantages offered by its open architecture, you may be considering a move in that direction. If you are thinking about analytics, big data and cloud computing, you would be right to evaluate Power. The idea of using commodity x86 hardware and replacing it every three years is an outdated cost model. It doesn’t consider the total cost of ownership, and it doesn’t consider the advantage of real processing power, high-availability and multithreading like a demon.
This ebook takes a look at some of the practical applications of the Linux on Power platform and ways you might bring all the performance power of this open architecture to bear for your organization. There are no smoke and mirrors here—just hard, cold, empirical evidence provided by independent sources. I also consider some innovative ways Linux on Power will be used in the future.Get the Guide |
She was an engineer whose technological prowess was sought by the likes of AT&T Bell Labs, IBM Global Services and EMC. Today, she’s a professional development and management consultant whose advice is sought by the likes of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency and Learning Tree International. Her name is Dana Brownlee, and I sought her insights on how to obtain more of one of the most precious commodities available: the time we need to accomplish what we want to accomplish.
I spoke with Brownlee last week, and the first thing I wanted to know was what prompted her own transition from technology strategist to professional development consultant. She said it actually wasn’t all that big of a switch:
When I was at IBM, they said there are three elements to the work that we do: There’s technology, process and organization. Even though we tended to focus on the technology, where the real work comes in is the organizational stuff, because the technology, for the most part, works. If it doesn’t, you send it back to the vendor and say, “Make it work.” So where I started getting pulled, even when I was at IBM, was into the organizational development side. To be honest, that’s a lot of what the client needed, even if they didn’t realize they needed it. That’s what was killing us on projects, was the organizational side. So I did a lot of that work before I went off on my own.
Brownlee has developed a new time management model that she calls, well, the “New Time Management Model.” To segue into a discussion of the model, I asked her if she had any sense of whether IT professionals tend to be better or worse at time management than people in other professions. She said she didn’t know if anybody knows the answer to that, but then she gave me a pretty good answer anyway:
Certainly they’re quicker to adapt to changing technologies and to be early adopters, but to a certain extent they might really think that they’re more efficient than they really are. I think they have more of a tendency to multitask—to have five things going at one time. A lot of times, technology can be helpful, but my whole focus with the New Time Management Model is not how quickly are you doing it, but are you doing the right things to begin with. I’m not really a techno-weenie, but I’m a math person, an analytical person—that’s the way I think, so I love those people. But I think we can get caught up in analysis paralysis—you can get so caught up in the minutiae and the details, and that kind of hurt me in my career, early on. I think that’s a little bit of a danger with IT people and technical people, because we’re so trained to analyze, analyze, analyze.
The key to the New Time Management Model, I learned from doing my homework, is to shorten your to-do list rather than to try to figure out how to get more things done that are on the list. The problem is, I said to Brownlee, that sometimes you don’t have the option of unilaterally shortening the to-do list, because the list is given to you by somebody else, like your manager. So I asked her if you can’t shorten the list, what’s the next best approach? She said it’s all about partnering and prioritization:
The next best approach is to partner with them to get them to shorten the list for you. You can’t just skip things that are on the list—clearly, that’s career suicide. One of the things I talk about in my project management training is the triple constraint—we’re all constrained by cost, time and scope. Typically, you can’t have all three at the same time, so it’s classic prioritization. If they throw eight things at you, say, “Hey, I want to be sure to get you what you want in the order you want it, so please help me prioritize.”
I had touched on the topic of time management in a recent interview I did with Dr. Laurie Helgoe, a psychologist, author and speaker on the topic of introverts, who drew my attention to the work of Leslie Perlow, a Harvard Business School professor. Perlow championed the concept of “quiet time,” where blocks of time are set aside during the workday when all messaging and phone contact is banned. I raised that topic with Brownlee, and I’ll get to her response momentarily. First, a little background on Perlow’s “quiet time” concept, from a 2010 article on Entrepreneur.com:
Ten years ago, Harvard Business School's Leslie Perlow famously chronicled the interruption of a high-tech software company. Its engineers were interrupted so often they had to work nights and weekends. After studying the workplace for nine months, the source of the dysfunction became clear: No one could get anything done because of the bombardment of messages. Perlow came up with an intervention: Quiet Time. For four hours in the morning, the 17 engineers worked alone. All messaging and phone contact was banned. In the afternoon, communication could resume. Given time to concentrate, the engineers got a project for a color printer completed without the graveyard shift.
Intel is using Quiet Time at two of its sites. Other companies, including U.S. Cellular and Deloitte & Touche, have mandated less e-mail use, encouraged more face-to-face contact and experimented with programs such as "no e-mail Friday." The results often are surprising: employees build rapport with colleagues--and they save time. Co-workers can settle something in a two-minute phone conversation that might have required three e-mails per person. Each change reverberates throughout a company, especially since--as a University of California, Irvine, study found--44 percent of interruptions an employee experiences are from within the company.
Back to Brownlee. As you might imagine, she’s all for it:
I one thousand percent support that. There’s something about quiet time—when I go jogging, when I take a shower, when I finally wind down to go to sleep, almost every night this epiphany pops into my head. Giving your mind a chance to rest and reboot is wonderful.
I asked Brownlee if she had any sense of whether women or men tend to be better at time management. She said it was a dangerous question, but she answered it anyway:
I’m sure it’s a learned skill, just like anything else, so anything you do repeatedly you tend to become better at. I think in general, women tend to have more on their plates, and more different types of things on their plates. I think we get more practice, just because of the way our society is, so I think we become much more comfortable with it.
I pointed out that there are different schools of thought as to whether multitasking is a good thing or a bad thing with respect to time management, and that it sounded to me like Brownlee was coming down on the side of seeing it as a good thing. She said no, not really:
We’re all going to do some amount of multitasking—that’s just practical. But at work, when you’re trying to do two or three things at the same time, you might be thinking you’re getting a lot more accomplished, and you’re really not. So personally, I think it’s much, much better to focus on one thing. There’s a momentum that you develop when you’re in that zone, so take advantage of that momentum—don’t switch gears and try to do something else and something else, and then come back to it. By the time you come back to it, you’re kind of cold. So in general, it’s better to avoid multitasking if you can, but it’s a necessary evil. We’re not going to eliminate it completely.
I asked Brownlee whether there are any generational differences in how well people manage their time. Her response:
It’s fairly obvious that younger generations tend to be much more comfortable with things like social media and their own wikis—they’re collaborating that way. They’re leveraging other people’s experiences—the good, the bad and the ugly. I think that can make you highly efficient. And there are huge differences in the way the generations prefer to communicate. Again, the older generations tend to prefer face-to-face and phone calls. That can be highly effective and very rich, and I would recommend that in certain situations. But obviously, they’re not nearly as efficient from a time-management perspective. You have to customize your communications mode to the message, and to the receiver.
Finally, I asked Brownlee if she had to cite one change that people could make that would have the greatest impact on how well they manage their time, what it would be. She asked if she could cite two things. She was on a roll, so I relented:
Before you put something on your to-do list, truly question whether it should be there in the first place. Just because you don’t put something on your to-do list doesn’t mean it doesn’t get done. Think about alternate ways of doing things—you can delegate, you can automate. Look for opportunities to work smarter, instead of working harder.
Secondly, most of us, when we plan our day, are reactive—we tend to put things on our calendar, and then we just react to them. We don’t proactively block out time on our calendar for us to work—to actually do things like think, and plan, and strategize. |
[29 June 2010]
In 2010, Terius Nash stands as an unmovable mountain, an axis upon which all of modern R&B pivots its actions and measures it’s movements. The past decade saw Nash ascend from the low-key jet fuel that provided Nivea with any sort of career to the writer of songs like Beyoncé‘s “Irreplaceable” and “Single Ladies”, J. Holiday’s “Bed” and “Suffocate”, the near entirety of Mariah Carey’s second Mimi installment, Rihanna’s “Hard” and the ubiquitous “Umbrella”, and of course Justin Bieber’s current all-ages smash “Baby”. And these are just the most memorable moments in his songwriting oeuvre, one that includes his own four-member girl group and a number of signature adlibs that have been saturated across all of urban radio.
Dream’s success as a songwriter is, at this point, unassailable. He is the undisputed Radio Killa, the man to whom one goes when a hit is really all you need. It is interesting how successful his songs for others have been, because Dream has been unable to match that success with his own singles. When he burst onto the scene with “I Luv Your Girl”, “Falsetto” and “Shawty Is da Sh*!” in 2007, Dream’s hits felt unstoppable for their uniqueness and their melodic power. But his similar-sounding hits for J. Holiday in the same period gave listeners a hot tip: Dream may be able to perform his songs, but he can’t necessarily sing them. Or, as church folk would say, he plain can’t sang. The-Dream is a constantly Auto-tuned spectacle, albeit less obviously than a Kanye West or Lil’ Wayne, and for some this ‘lack of talent’ will always be a barrier to entry. It didn’t help that Nash’s follow up record, 2008’s Love vs. Money, was a moderately dense concept record that eschewed sure fire hits in favor of a five-song suite, tributes to Prince and Michael Jackson, and a very healthy dose of catalog recycling. Critics responded, audiences and the Grammy committee didn’t, and Dream announced Love King would be his last album. An aural middle finger, and that would be it. If the industry won’t show it’s wonder boy any love, screw ‘em.
Don’t worry, I’m ready to talk about Love King. But with Terius Nash, more than any current R&B artist you need the backstory to understand where he is today. Not only because of the aforementioned catalog recycling—“Sex Intelligent” borrows key schematics from Ciara’s current radio smash “Ride”, “Yamaha” is a direct update of “Fast Car” from his debut, “February Love” makes allusions to “Fancy” in some ways while “Nikki, Pt. 2” and “Abyss” do it in others. The playful piano of “Shawty Is da Sh*!” appears throughout in one way or another. “Make Up Bag” alludes to his infamous “to the left, to the left” from “Irreplaceable”. Not only because of those things, but because without all his context one might not realize that The-Dream, as of Love King, is a conceptual character, not just a stage name. The beats on Love King ooze with Atlantan strip club ethics, and many of the lyrics are especially brooding and focused on repetitive hooks and sexual desire. The album opens with its lead single and title track, a song that on its surface feels disturbingly simple even for The-Dream but over repeat listens reveals itself to be the ultimate definition of an earworm. It’s too simplistic chorus and “Girls, Girls, Girls”/“Pimpin’ All over the World” motif are mere vehicles for Nash to flex his incredible melodic muscles over one of the few truly unique productions Love King offers up.
In doing so, he proffers that The-Dream is no longer about one hellishly aggravating woman as he foolishly hoped to be on Love/Hate, and he’s no longer worried whether women love him or the money more as on Love vs. Money. No, Dream is only concerned now about proving to all women in the world that he can love them better, treat them better, live them better. And along the path to lack of devotion, The-Dream has concocted his most candy-coated album to date. While Love King can’t boast a song suite as fantastic as that found on Love vs. Money, it does take his gift for mixing and sequencing to its breaking point. The breakneck, early ‘80s Prince funk of “Yamaha” should not properly fit anywhere on this album, but through a clever use of revved engines near the end of “Sex Intelligent [Remix]” and a very ‘80s Prom Night introduction to “Nikki, Pt. 2”, Dream is able to keep the pace up as though a song had never ended. And speaking of “Sex Intelligent”, the duo acts as a near 10-minute soliloquy on Dream’s prolific bedroom exploits despite being split on the tracklist. “Nikki” becomes “Abyss” before one can even realize, co-opting the mood change from “Fancy” to meet new needs.
There are, however, two moments not even The-Dream can render useful. “Panties to the Side” feels like a song this sort of dude would smash out of the park, but he instead uses it as an opportunity to lament his lack of marketability and inability to become the face of his own music. It’s not a very fun song anyway, and Dream’s typically vapid and simple lyrics fail to make the point he hopes to make. The song is just confusing. The closing song, “Florida University”, alludes to an earlier exclamation of “Fuck You!” directed at Nikki, but whatever steps it takes towards conceptual relevance are ruined by its tired, uninspiring Miami club setting that feels more appropriate for someone like Flo Rida, or a more upbeat, vacuous album than Love King. These songs are borderline awful. There’s also more than a few nuggets of what I like to call Dreamisms, lyrics that can only sound good in the superficial world he’s created for himself. The exclamation that he sent Nikki’s photos to TMZ is the most obvious and unrelatable, but it’s definitely not the one and only such moment. While these lyrics are clumsy, for the most part they don’t do much to actually derail the album. Amazingly, for example, he exclaims on “Yamaha”: “Still got your name tattooed on my back” not just once, but in a refrain. And it works.
The Deluxe Edition of the disc expands Love King to Nash’s magnum opus, a 17-track behemoth of audio candy. And if one were to drop “Florida University” from their playlists, “Veteran” would feel like a logical next step from “February Love”. “All Black Everything” becomes one of the disc’s highlights, with Dream setting up a date involving, of course, all black everything. Sure it’s a trendy number in the wake of Jay-Z’s “Death of Autotune”/“Run This Town” all black movement (and more recently Jeezy’s “All White Everything” single), but The-Dream captures that trend with gusto and some of his wittier lyrical turns. Even with the bonus songs, the best thing about Love King really is how seamless it is. Casual and focused listens alike come with such ease and comfort thanks to Dream’s attention to detail, and while some folks no doubt will be angry to hear Dream re-writing his own songs again, I’d counter that Nash writes one hell of a song, and shows no signs on Love King of losing that magic touch. As far as I’m aware, this is Dream’s swan song, a bloated melodic mess of sugar and exotic fruit for the ears. But he does claim to be dropped something called Love Affair this time next year on “Sex Intelligent [Remix]”, so it remains to be seen if Nash can keep his word and leave his genie in a bottle forever more. Personally, I seriously hope he’s not lying here.
The-Dream continues to be the lone artist in today’s R&B scene that seems to be able to execute a conceptual vision, and be more than a vehicle for whatever is happening and hot on the radio. Love King is, quite simply, a fantastic album, and perhaps the only mainstream R&B album worth purchasing all year. And definitely, definitely get the Deluxe Edition. It features some of Nash’s most adventurous productions and melodies to date, and really gives the album a different feel, as well as a more functional ending. |
Position Perfect - Richmond
- Air conditioning
- Parking available
- Family/child friendly
|Address||Cameron St, Richmond, 3121 Melbourne, Australia|
Richmond is a prime shopping district with outlets and boutique stores at your door. Richmond has a multicultural vibe with various cuisines on offer, especially on Victoria street. Grocery stores are also right opposite the apartment and are open until midnight each night. Conveniently located also is a Chemist and the Epworth Hospital.
Chapel street is a short tram ride away with lots of funky bars, cafes and shopping. A tram ride into the CBD is quick and easy and the tram stops are only 40 meters from the apartment. You will also find great playgrounds and parks just outside. Plus for the sporting enthusiast, Rod Laver Arena, the MCG and Melbourne's best sporting and entertainment complex's are just up the road.
ABOUT THE APARTMENT
Position Perfect - Richmond apartment is a one bedroom apartment in the heart of Melbourne's best shopping district, Bridge Road.
The apartment has a queen bed in the bedroom and a double fold out sofa bed in the living area. Up to four guests can be accommodated. Children are more than welcome and there is a great playground right across the road.
The apartment is equipped with a kitchen, including oven, microwave and full sized fridge. It has a small bathroom with shower and bath. Crisp, fresh, quality linen and towels are supplied for your use at no extra cost. We also have free, secure on-site parking for your use (suitable for a small-medium size car).
The apartment is located on level one and has no wheel chair access. There are stairs leading up to the apartment.
WHAT OUR GUESTS HAVE TO SAY
This apartment offers clean, comfortable and affordable accommodation with all the extras for you to enjoy your stay in Melbourne. Check out our great reviews from very happy guests such as Tania : "The name reflects this delightful apartment,it's a perfect position. I would love to keep it a secret but it's good to share the love this owner has put into a great little apartment. Everything you need is inside for a comfortable stay and everything outside is so handy. Coles, Bridge rd, City and Chapel street. Love it, we'll be back- Thanks"
ACCEPTANCE & RESPONSIBILITY.
• Payment of your Deposit constitutes acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.
• Payment in full must be made through Wimdu
There is no bond. In lieu, a credit card guarantee is required to cover any loss or damage to the apartment or furnishings, loss of security keys or additional cleaning costs. 48 hours prior to arrival, before you recieve the check-in instuctions, you will be asked for your credit card number, expiry date and CCV. You are responisible to cover any damage, breakage or extra cleaning required.
CHECK IN/ OUT
• Check-in time is not before 2pm on the arrival date and check out time is not later than 10am on departure date.
• Early check-in and late departure is subject to prior arrangement and availability.
• You must notify Management of expected arrival time and a mobile contact number at least 2 days before arrival.
• Keys will be located in a key safe outside the property. You will be contacted 24hours before arrival with the key code.
CANCELLATION OR VARIATION
• If you wish to vary or cancel your Booking, please contact us immediately or call WIMDU
Refunds would be based on Wimdu's Terms
• A variation of the Booking which reduces the number of nights stay will be a treated as a cancellation of the Booking in respect of those nights.
• If Management is able to relet the Property for the period cancelled a further refund may be made less administration charges.
• We have a minimum night’s stay policy of 3 nights. No refund will be made for a variation to the extent that it breaches our minimum nights stay policy.
You MUST request internet at the time of booking. This is charged at $15 per night. If you request and pay for internet you will have been allocated 500mb of internet per day. If you exceed the amount allocated for the account you will be charged $20 per gig (1,000mb).
Holiday Rental Code of Conduct – Version: 1.0 (March 2012)
Part 4 Holiday Rental House Rules for Guests and Visitors
DEFINITIONS USED IN THIS CODE
• Holiday Rental means rental of Property for holiday purposes within the maximum term
permitted for rental without a residential tenancy agreement under state and territory
residential tenancy legislation.
• Dwelling means a room or suite of rooms occupied or used or so constructed or adapted as to be capable of being occupied or used as a separate domicile.
• Guest means a person who stays overnight in the Property during the term of the
• Manager means the Owner or another person appointed by the Owner (such as a real
estate agent), who is responsible for renting the Property.
• Noise means any sound which is offensive to occupiers of neighbouring properties.
• Owner means the person or entity who owns the Property. It includes the lessee of a
Property who sublets or licences it to others for Holiday Rental.
• Property means Dwellings and residential premises
• Visitor means a person a Guest invites or permits to visit the Property during the term of
the occupancy who does not stay overnight.
4.1 General requirements
a) Guest and Visitors must comply with all House Rules, By-Laws and instructions from the
Manager and security services during their stay; and
b) Guests must notify the Manager of any disputes or complaints from neighbours as soon as is practicable.
4.2 Noise and Residential amenity
a) Guests and Visitors must not create noise which is offensive to occupiers of neighbouring
properties especially between 10pm -8am and during arrival and departure at any time
throughout the occupancy;
b) Offensive noise is prohibited and may result in termination of permission to occupy the
Property, eviction, loss of rental paid and extra charges for security and other expenses
which may be deducted from Security Deposit or Bond under the Terms and Conditions;
c) Guests and Visitors must not engage in anti-social behaviour and must minimise their
impact upon the residential amenity of neighbours and local community.
a) Guests are responsible for ensuring the limits set on Visitor numbers is complied with at all times; and
b)Guests are responsible for ensuring that Visitors comply with these House Rules.
• Only the guests nominated and agreed in the Booking may stay in the Property over night. If any other guests stay, extra charges may apply or the agreement may be terminated without refund.
4.4 Gatherings or functions
a) The Property is not a “party house” and any such activities are strictly prohibited; and
b) Any gathering, celebration or entertainment permitted at a Property must not conflict with
residential amenity and must comply with all the other requirements.
a) Guests and Visitors are to comply with parking regulations and other requirements set outbelow and show consideration to neighbours and other vehicles; and
b) Parking arrangements at the Property are as follows: There is no allocated parking space on the property. The parking permit supplied on the kitchen bench allows you to park in any resident parking zone 4C for unrestricted time periods. You are also able to park in the green parking zones for unrestricted periods where the sign states permit 4C accepted.
Please note your use of this parking permit is subject to our terms and conditions. If choose to use of our parking permit we have a $300 charge for loss or damage of the parking permit. The permit MUST be left in the apartment prior to check-out.
4.6 Garbage and recycling
a) Guests and Visitors are to dispose of garbage and recycling in accordance with the usual
practice at the Property (as set out below) in the allocated bins, and excess rubbish must
not be left in public or common areas; and
b) Garbage and recycling arrangements at the Property are as follows: Garbage and recycling bins are located downstairs along the fence. If your stay falls on a Tuesday night, could you please do us the courtesy of taking the large green bin marked 9 out onto the curb for collection and bring it in on Wednesday. Please note that a $20 fee applies if the rubbish goes uncollected. As is this is unfair to the next guest.
Whenever you are absent from the Property, close all windows and doors to maintain security and prevent rain and water damage.
4.8 Swimming pool/spa (if applicable) N/A
4.9 Deck and balcony areas
Please keep noise to a minimum when utilising the outdoor areas. Please also remove all rubbish prior to departure. Please do not hang clothing, blankets etc over the balcony railing
Smoking is not permitted indoors
Pets are not permitted on the property
4.12 BBQ N/A
4.13 Damages and breakages
• Damages and breakages must be reported to the Manager. You are responsible for damage, breakages, theft and loss of the Property and any part of it during your stay. You must notify us of this immediately. Management may recover from you repair or replacement cost (at Management's discretion)
4.14 On departure arrangements
Arrangements for keys, security, dishwashing, rubbish, etc are:
• Before departure, all food must be removed from fridges, all rubbish put in the appropriate council rubbish bins provided, and crockery and cutlery washed and packed away. The Property must be left in a clean and tidy condition.
• All furniture and furnishings must be left in the position they were in when you arrived
• Duvet covers, pillow cases and sheets need to removed and placed in a pile on the bathroom floor
• The property should be vacated on time and secured. All windows and doors are to be locked.
• The keys should be left on the kitchen bench and the door must be locked behind you.
• You are responsible for the safekeeping and replacement of accommodation keys. Duplicate keys will be provided at an additional charge of $100
• Extra cleaning charges may be incurred for the cleaning of dirty dishes, washing machine, dryer, emptying the fridge, removal of excessive rubbish, removal of excessive smells etc. Should the cleaning fee be more than the usual cost for cleaning the property, you will be charged the additional costs over and above the normal cleaning fee which will be charged to your credit card.
4.15 Emergency Contact
• In the case of any problem or complaint, you must inform Management at the earliest opportunity so Management has the chance to rectify the situation as quickly and efficiently as possible. You must allow repair/service access to the property during reasonable hours.
• Any complaint, which cannot be resolved locally, must be notified in writing to Management prior to departure from the Property.
• Failure to follow this procedure this may hinder the ability of Management to rectify the problem or complaint and reduce or extinguish any claim you may have.
We recommend all guests purchase travel insurance since Management are not responsible for any injuries, illness or accidents that may occur whilst staying at our property.
a) Breach of these House Rules is a breach of the Terms and Conditions of occupancy.
b) The Owner and Manager reserve the right to terminate permission to occupy and to evict
from the Property, Guests or Visitors who refuse to follow these House Rules or who cause
|Weekly rate for up to 2 guests||$ 806 US|
|Monthly rate for up to 2 guests||$ 3070 US|
|Price for > 2 guests||$ 12 US per guest/night extra|
|Check-in after||2 PM|
|Check-in before||On arrangement|
|Check-out before||10 AM|
Great location & nice easy trip into the city on the trams ( new ticket system a bit of a nightmare/ rip off for tourists). Very handy for the tennis & MCG which are both within easy walking distance.
Flat very much as in photos and neat and compact with everything you need for a short or long stay.Danielle great & sorted out a couple of minor matters for us very quickly & without any fuss.
Great start to our stay in OSS and would recommend to other travellers.
Excellent accommodation just outside the Melbourne city center (20 min walk), quiet and easy to reach, with many shops close and garage.
Ottimo alloggio poco fuori il centro di Melbourne (a piedi 20 min), in posizione tranquilla e facile da raggiungere, con diversi negozi vicino e con garage.
Lovely apartment, we admired the chic interior design. And we also loved the complimentary red wine that we didn't expect. Very practical location too!
Danielle was great to deal with. I stayed a week in the apartment last year and found it just what I wanted. Very clean and well appointed, quiet and secure. Sheryl
Beautiful apartment, very comfortable, very clean, very functional, well designed, perfect for a family. Quiet location, close to the center by tram. I recommend this accommodation.
Bel appartement, très confortable, très propre, très fonctionnel, bien dessiné, parfait pour accueillir une famille. Situation calme, proche du centre par le tramway. Je recommande ce logement.
Lovely place to stay and so convenient to the local restaurants, trams and the city.
Apartment was fantastic. Absolutely spotless and extremely well appointed. It is so handy to everything which really contributed to the enjoyment of our holiday. I would heartily recommend this apartment to anyone wanting a great place to stay in Melbourne. I will certainly be using this facility again on my next visit.
Bonito y práctico loft muy completo. Algo retirado del centro, pero bien comunicado. Muy buen servicio de la propiedad.
- Quality assured accommodation
- Every host is verified by telephone
- Secure payment via SSL encryption |
Charter Communications refused to fix Matt’s internet connection. Even two technicians, dispatched by Charter, told Matt his ISP was to blame for his weak service. When Matt called customer service to complain, he was transferred immediately to the disconnect department. Matt had internet service, but, “The internet just dies. Every ten minutes or so, the internet would just die. And it’s very annoying.”
Matt’s attempts to fix the problems were, how shall we say, less than successful.
CSR: Thank you for calling Charter tech support, my name is Bradley and how can I help you today?
Matt: Hi, I was calling to try to figure out where I need to go next with my service with you guys.
CSR: Try to go where…next?
Matt: Yeah, I’ve been having a lot of issues with my high-speed internet that you guys can’t fix, so I was trying to figure out what we need to do next to escalate this problem to get it fixed correctly.
CSR2: This is Christy with Charter, how can I help you?
Matt: Hi, what happened to the other guy that I was just talking to?
CSR2: That I’m not sure sir, the call just came in to me. I’m in the disconnect department, were you wanting to disconnect your service today?
Matt: Wow, are you kidding me? No, could you please put me back in tech support?
CSR2: For internet?
CSR2: Oh my goodness, I am so sorry. I wonder why they transferred you over here.
This was the latest in a series of slights Matt experienced over two months trying to fix his internet service. There was a problem in the line somewhere between his house and Charter’s central server. Charter was to blame, according to the techs dispatched by Charter. Matt began recording his calls to customer service.
Matt was paying $80 per month for a 10MB connection. The first tech visited Matt’s house to check the signals and equipment. He determined the problem was not in Matt’s house. Charter decided to dispatch a second tech, a tech supervisor with a laptop.
Matt raced home from work for his 5pm-8pm appointment. The tech with the magical laptop never showed. At 9pm Matt called Charter, only to be told the tech supervisor with the laptop was not really a supervisor, but a contractor. Matt replied: “The contractor let Charter down. Charter let me down.” Ouch.
For his trouble, Charter issued a $20 credit and flagged the problem as a “must do.” How committal. Another tech was scheduled for an all-day Saturday appointment. That tech didn’t show, either.
Furious, Matt called back again and received another credit and another appointment. This time, the tech appeared and promptly blamed Charter for the problems.
Matt called again:
CSR: Alright, bear with me just a second. They’re wanting to conference call me through the phone here. Give me just a minute, I’ll be back with you.
CSR: Right now they’re asking me if anybody will be home between 8 am and noon on Friday morning.
Matt: No, why are they wanting to send somebody out?
CSR: Let me see here.
Matt: You guys have already sent two techs out that have said it’s not on my end, so why are we still coming back to my house?
CSR: Alright, give me just another minute here. Alright, what they tell me is that he wants to send somebody out because if the tech does not fix the problem right now, the only thing we can actually do is send somebody out to reassess the issue again.
Matt: Yeah, the tech is saying the issue is not fixable from here. This is out on like the backbone on Charter’s network somewhere. This isn’t at my house. The only thing that tech does is check my levels, check my modem, that’s it. Everything’s fine. The levels at the street are fine, the levels at my house are fine. They switched out the modem, it’s not the modem. There’s nothing else that tech’s going to do. I was specifically told that by the last tech that was sent out here. He didn’t understand while he was being sent out again. Why are we wasting my time sending another tech out?
CSR: I just gave them that information, give me another minute. Give me another minute, they’re contacting me again. Alright, Matt? What they told me is they have actually gotten word, they contacted dispatch to see what was going on, the dispatch told them that they had checked the server on the issue and the server is not the issue, that it’s either got to be neutral there or in the neighborhood.
Matt: Okay. Wow, this is like really pathetic. That’s not the issue. Anyone who knows anything about trace route knows that the issue’s not here. Trace route sends a packet out of my house to you guys, it’s not getting to you guys. So the network is not here, it’s on Charter.
CSR: Right, he’s saying that it’s somewhere more than likely toward the neighborhood or neutral to that location.
Matt: Okay, then what does he need to come to my house for?
CSR: I’m not really sure on that, any trouble call appointments at all they always need to make sure that somebody’s available.
Matt: Okay, so tell me this: What are you guys going to do when the third guy comes out to my house and says yet again that the issue’s not on my end. What then? You guys going to send another tech out to my house? When does it end?
CSR: I mean, that’s really the only thing that we can do from the tech support is send a technician out. Your local area is really responsible for getting that taken care of for you when they do come out. I mean the only thing that we have the accessibility to do is just go to the local office and say we need a tech out for this issue.
Matt: I mean this is like really pathetic. So I’m stuck in this loop of calling you guys when the tech comes out and says it’s not a problem here. There’s gotta be something we can escalate it to, there’s gotta be somebody that knows something about networks that can come out to my house and fix this. This is like the biggest waste of time I’ve ever seen. This has been going on for two months, now I’m going to have to sit home again from work for you guys to come out here and say yeah the levels are find, this is all I can do as a tech.
CSR: Alright, give me just a minute here and I’m going to talk to them one more time. Alright, sir? Thanks for holding for me. I gave them all the information that you said, the only thing they can do is the tech would have to go back out and check everything again because it’s nothing in the actual server.
Matt: This isn’t an issue on a server, this is an issue on like a cisco switch on Charter’s network somewhere.
CSR: Right, that’s what I’m saying, they traced everything in the network and there’s nobody else in the area having the problem, so they say that if nobody else is having the problem, there’s gotta be something more neutral there. Or there’s gotta be something- because it wouldn’t only be affecting you if it was an actual system server problem.
Charter might be onto something. Instead of going through those horrific voice activated menus, you could have two options: tech, or no tech. Another tech, though, would not solve Matt’s problem.
Matt: This is awesome. I mean, what would you do? This is insane, you guys want to send a third tech out here that’s going to- so what are you going to do when a third tech comes out here and says it’s not on my end? Then what? You want me to tell him no?
CSR: The only thing that I can do is send a tech out. With it being something that’s out in the area and not anything to do with the actual signals or anything, there’s nothing that I can do to repair that. Except for send a technician out.
Matt: So what do you want me to tell the technician? He can’t leave until this is fixed then?
CSR: I’m not really sure that, I mean, the best people to talk to in this case would honestly be your local office because they’re the one that handles anything to do with the area issues or any server issues or any system issues at all. All we can do in this center is just send the technician out.
Matt: How do I talk to my local office then?
CSR: You actually have to go down there and do a formal complaint in person.
Matt: They don’t have a phone number?
CSR: Right, they don’t have a phone number because it all comes through the tech support.
Matt: Okay, where is this local office that doesn’t have a phone apparently? I mean do you not see how this is the worst customer service on this planet?
CSR: Right, I mean I understand the ongoing issues are definitely frustrating, there’s just nothing that anybody in this call center can do.
Matt: So I’m having a tech support issue and you guys can’t fix it, is what you’re telling me?
CSR: Right, I mean there’s no way that I can fix your lining problem from here.
Matt: Right, I understand that but you guys had two chances to come out here and fix it, and have failed.
CSR: Right, and that’s your local office. I mean the only thing that we can do is send a dispatch flash to your local office to get a technician out there. They have to take care of everything else from there.
Maybe the local office has the magical laptop? Probably not if they don’t have a phone.
The issue began in September and is still unresolved. Have you gotten into a finger-pointing war with your ISP? Tell us about it in the comments. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER |
(Mangifera indica L.) belonging to Family Anacardiaceae is the most important commercially grown fruit crop of the country. It is called the king of fruits.
Agro climatic requirements: Mango is well adapted to tropical and sub-tropical climates. It can be grown commercially only in areas below 600 m. It cannot stand severe frost, especially when the tree is young. Mango can be grown best in regions with
a rainfall between 25-250 cm. /annum and dry season. The distribution of rainfall is more important than its amount. There should not be high humidity, rain or frost during flowering. The temperature between 240 and 270 is ideal for its cultivation. Regions having bright sunny days and moderate humidity during flowering are ideal for mango growing.
Acid Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) belonging to the family Rutaceae is one of the important Citrus fruit cultivated in India.
Soil and climate: Tropical and subtropical. The areas which are warm, moderately humid, free from strong winds and frost are ideally suited for its cultivation.
Deep well drained loamy soils are the best.
Varieties: Pramalini, Vikram, Chakradhar, PKM1, seedless lime, Balaji.
Planting Season: Round the year provided that enough water to establish the plants.
Planting Material: Budded plants
Vijaya Phyto Farms Pvt. Ltd. produces ‘ready made’ (ready to bear plants) budded acid lime planting material that are capable of producing commercial yield from II year of planting
Sapota (Manilkhara achras) belongs to Sapotaceae family it is a tropical fruit.
Soil and climate: It is a tropical crop and can be grown up to an altitude of 1000 m. and needs warm(100 – 380) and humid ( 70% RH) climate for year round fruiting. It can be grown in all types of soils.
Varieties: Oval, Kalipatti.,Cricket Ball, Kirtibarti, Guthi, CO 1, CO 2, CO 3, PKM 1, PKM 2, PKM 3 and PKM 4.
Planting materials: Grafted plants (Grafted on Manilkhara hexandra (Pala) rootstock)
Vijaya Phyto Farms Pvt. Ltd. produces ‘ready made’ (ready to bear plants) grafted sapota planting material that are capable of producing commercial yield from II year of planting.
Season of planting: June to December
Spacing: 8 -10 m x 8- 10 m spacing and pit size of 1 m x 1 m x 1 m. Adopt 6m x 3 m for high density planting
Irrigation: Once in 10 days until establishment, at 30 days interval in wsinter and 15 days interval in summer. Drip irrigation in very useful.
Manures and fertilizers : Manures and fertilizers may be applied in September-October, 45 cm away from the trunk up to the leaf drip and incorporated.
After cultivation: Remove the rootstock sprouts, water shoots, criss-cross & lower branches.
Pests: Leaf webber, Hairy caterpillars and Bud worm.
Diseases: Sooty mould
Harvest: A mature fruit is dull brown in colour and the colour immediately below the skin when scratched is of lighter shade, while in the immature fruits it is green. The mature fruits are harvested by hand picking. Harvest
Season: February-June and September-October.
Yield: 20 t/ha/year. In high density plantation the yield is 25-30 tonnes/ha
Jamun (Syzygium cuminii) is a tropical fruit of the family Myrtaceae. It is a tall evergreen tree indigenous to India The fruits are refreshing and of medicinal value. They are a rich source of iron. Jamun is a hardy fruit crop and can withstand adverse weather conditions. It thrives well under tropical and subtropical conditions. It can be grown on a wide range of soils.- Sodic, calcareous, alkaline and marshy areas but it does not prefer very heavy or light sandy soils
Pomegranate(Punica granatum) belongs to Punicaceae family. It is found in both tropical and sub tropical regions and is a popular table fruit of the world.
Soil and climate: It is grown in a wide range of soils; drought resistant and tolerant to salinity and alkalinity. Cool winter and dry summer are necessary for the production of high quality fruits. It performs well upto 1800 m elevation.
Varieties: Jyothi, Ganesh, CO 1, YCD 1,Bhaguva, Araktha, Rudhra and Mirudhula.
Planting material: Rooted cuttings or layers. Vijaya Phyto Farms Pvt. Ltd. produces ‘ready made’ (ready to bear plants) pomegranate planting material that are capable of producing commercial yield from II year of planting.
Star Fruit Plant
Star fruit / Carambola (Averrhoa carambola) belonging to the Oxalidaceae family is native to Indonesia. It is called star fruit as the cross section is star shaped. It is a small evergreen tree with drooping branches and bears attractive golden yellow fruits. The carambola fruits are oval elliptic ,3-5 ribbed with a juicy acidic pulp. They contain oxalic acid. The fruit is a good source of vitamin A,B and C and iron. Brassware can be cleaned using the pulp of immature fruits. Carambola prefers a warm moist climate and can be grown up to 1200m elevation. It can grow in any type of soil with good drainage but deep rich soils are preferable
Mandarin Orange Plant
Mandarin Orange (Citrus reticulata) is a Citrus fruit belonging to the family Rutaceae. It is also known as ‘Loose jacket’ or Kamala orange or Santra.
Soil and climate: Mandarin orange grows well in frost free tropical and subtropical regions of 500– 1500 m above MSL elevation. It is a humid zone fruit and requires a rainfall of about 150 cm to 250 cm. The winter should be mild and there should be no strong, hot winds during summer. Deep well drained loamy soils are the best. Soil pH should be between 5.5 and 6.5.
Varieties: The Mandarin varieties in India are region specific while the exotic variety Kinnow performs well in semiarid irrigated areas of some Northern states. Coorg santra, Kodai Orange., Nagpur santra, Khasi mandarin, Sumithra and Darjeeling are some of the Indian varieties.
Guava (Psidium guajava) is a tropical fruit of the Myrtaceae family. It is a popular fruit available almost all through the year. It has high nutritive value.
Climate and Soil: Guava comes up well in tropical and subtropical regions up to 1500m above MSL. It can tolerate high temperatures and drought conditions but severe frost can affect the young plants. A rainfall of 100cm/annum is sufficient.
Well drained soils are the best suited for growing guavas which can tolerate salinity and alkalinity. However Gypsum may be added to saline soils at the time of planting and 3 years after planting.
Varieties: Lucknow 49, Allahabad Safeda, Chittidar, Hafshi, Seedless, Apple colour, Arka Amulya, Arka Mridula, and Banaras.
Planting material: Layers, Air layers budded plants and grafts. Vijaya Phyto Farms Pvt. Ltd. produces ‘ready made’ (ready to bear plants) grafted guava planting material that are capable of producing commercial yield from II year of planting
Grape (Vitis vinifera) belongs to the family Vitaceae is a perennial deciduous woody vine The fruits grow in bunches and are small round or oval berries that feature semi-translucent flesh encased by a smooth skin. The commercially grown grape cultivars can be grouped into 4 categories namely Coloured seeded , coloured seedless, white seeded and white seedless. The fruits are eaten fresh as table grapes or dried fruit (raisins and sultanas) or used to make , squash and juices.
Soil and climate: Hot dry climate is ideal for growing grapes. Well drained soils with good water holding capacity in a pH range of 6.5 - 7.5 is ideally suited .There must be low water table with EC less than 1.0. Soil depth should be at least 1 m.
Varieties: Thompson Seedless ,Muscat (Gulabi), Bangalore Blue, Taj-e-Ganesh, Flame Crimson seedless, Sharad seedless, Red globe, Pachadraksha, Anab-e-Shahi, etc.
Planting material: Rooted cuttings or grafted plants. Vijaya Phyto Farms Pvt.ltd. produces excellent quality grafted grape planting material. The rootstock used is Dogridge which imparts resistance to nematode and helps overcome salinity.
Planting: Planting is done in trenches of 1 m width and 0.75 m depth dug at a distance of 3 m apart or in pits of 1m x 1m x 1m.
Spacing: 3 x 2 m for Muscat, 4 x 3 m for other varieties.( The spacing varies with region as well as system of training)
Irrigation: Grapes need light and frequent irrigation. They need less water during fruit bud formation and more water during berry growth. Irrigation to be reduced during ripening to improve quality and hasten ripening.
Training: The different systems of training are head, kniffin, telephone, V, expanded Y and gable system and pandal (bower).
Pruning: In general four bud level of pruning for Muscat, Pachadraksha, Bangalore Blue, Anabe-Shahi and Arka hybrids and two bud level for Thompson Seedless may be adopted. Weak and immature canes should be pruned to one or two buds to induce vegetative growth.
Sweet Orange Plant
Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis) belonging to the family Rutaceae is the third largest fruit in India in terms of production. It is the second largest Citrus fruit cultivated in the country and the major sweet orange growing states are Andhra Pradesh , Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana.
Soil and climate: Deep well drained loamy soils are the best for the cultivation of Citrus. pH of soil should be 6.5 to 7.5 and EC of water less than 1.0. A dry climate with about 50 – 75 cm of rainfall from June – September and with well defined summer and winter season is ideal. Comes up well in tropical zone below 500 m. Extremes of temperature are necessary.
Varieties: Mosambi, Sathukudi, Blood orange, Valencia, Jaffa, Hamlin and Pineapple.
Planting material: Budded plants. (Root Stock-Rangpur lime is best, now rough lemon is also preferred). Vijaya Phyto Farms Pvt. Ltd. produces ‘ready made’ (ready to bear plants) budded sweet orange planting material that are capable of producing commercial yield from II year of planting.
Season: July to September. |
Today is a big holiday in Panama…Labor Day. “May Day” is Labor Day throughout much of the world. And believe it or not, the concept of “Labor day” started in the USA…Chicago to be exact…around 1886. Its foundation was to promote labor unionization and was the beginning of the “weekend” concept. Before that people worked 6-7 days a week to survive and/or get ahead. I think a few million workers in Asia, India and elsewhere have still never heard of this weekend concept or a 40 hour work week for that matter. But here in Latin America they sure seem to have a lot of laws and rules protecting employee’s rights to MANY holidays, overtime pay and limited working hours.
In my life I have worked on both sides of this equation related to labor and management of labor. In the USA we call this division white collar/blue collar. Lots of status and class consciousness stipulated in those labels. Throughout this last century, children have been pressured to go to college to attain “white collar” status in the work force. Kids not educated or wealthy enough have been somewhat relegated to “blue collar” jobs in the trades or working on assembly lines. Another label for these people is “working class”, which may inherently suggest that “white collars” don’t work very much. What it really tends to divide in my mind is those that work at physical jobs and those who work in primarily mental or intellectual capacities…or management.
The whole world seems now made up of this very lopsided division of humanity. The masses do the manual labor…and the “minority” who manage, direct, run the financials or design the products and services. This minority tends to control 80% of the worlds assets and bank accounts. On top of this, you have the most extreme minority who seem to run the world at large… the white collar “government leaders”, who produce nothing but spend everything we produce and get taxed on. Blue collars AND white collars tend to defer to this ultimate minority on matters of their sovereignty and security in life. These government minorities rule on trade agreements, when and where we go to war, and yes, even the level of labor and environmental protections they want to enforce in society. Let’s call this minority the “white collar bureaucrats”. Everyone needs a label here…or you just aren’t respectable.
So today in Panama…all these workers are on holiday. Banks and commerce centers are closed. Government offices and service are closed. Its mostly just casinos and bars still opening today since all these “laborers” need somewhere to go and something to do with this free day. There MAY be a parade somewhere celebrating workers rights and causes. I haven’t heard of any promotions to that end. Actually…many will take tomorrow off also for a long 4 day weekend…another “elective” vacation day of which a number are constitutionally protected for each worker. I heard from a casino executive here in Panama City that the day after pay day (the 15th and 1st of each month), 35% of his scheduled workers do not show up for work, or minimally are HOURS late. So…he has to overschedule and over hire in order to cover the work forces over indulgence in payday activities…and their apparent lack of devotion to their jobs. The bars and casinos are chocked full every payday…the people enjoying the fruits of their labors in festive fashion, no matter what day of the week payday falls on. It is truly an example of the main cultural difference between Latins and Gringos. “Latins work to live, while Gringos live to work”. This helps explain to some of us foreigners the lack of respect for time and even basic service mentality in these countries. You are supposed to understand that if someone is late or doesn’t show up for work on a given day…or for an appointment…they were busy “living” and you just need to understand and flow with that. The only way you will ever manage people successfully in Panama is to understand this fundamental cultural reality. You will not change a whole culture. Unfortunately, for Panamanians this attitude will keep them well behind the jobs and industrial growth curve of other cultures such as Asia…and yes, even the North Americans. North America has an expensive work force and many costly employment laws/regulations as well. But, so far at least, there is still a sense of competitiveness in services and efficiency there compared to Central and South America…though one could argue services and efficiency has been in decline in the USA also for the past 25+ years. For sure, the unions and labor costs have caused huge losses in the USA working class to globalization and other markets. The pendulum always swings to extremes in this game between labor, management and government interventions in the global arena of life.
All the above being said, how DO you change a culture’s work ethic? How do you increase effectiveness of a workforce and motivate people to take pride in their work? I’m not sure there are easy answers and it would take generations of protracted effort to bring this about. My current thinking is it comes down to education…led by example. I think there are core VALUES involved in promoting better workmanship. I think many people have never been taught that they can accomplish any reasonable goal they have in their lives by hard work. Most people just go along with the flow like their parents and grandparents did. I’m Catholic because my parents were Catholic. I am a lawyer because my Dad was a lawyer. I went to college because my parents went to college…or forced me to go. Very few young people seem self directed or goal oriented anymore. When they are, they stand out in a crowd. And some start out as stars sometimes let the system and peer pressure beat that independence right out of their spirit. The society is full of negativism for anyone who wants to make more of themselves than their brother or circle of friends. It is looked upon as egoistic to aspire to heights no one else in your circle has aspired to or attained. Have you ever thought about all the negative comments or responses you get to ideas about change…even with your closest circle of friends or family? Whether for yourself or others? Everyone can think of a million reasons why you can’t do something or change. No time, no knowledge, no patience, no background. Everyone else is like “this”, why should I aspire to anything different? I really think this is core to why the masses don’t grow or evolve to the level they could in today’s technological and information filled world. There are more “bosses” and dictators in the world than there are “mentors” and motivators. There are more “yes men” than there are independent thinkers or people with backbone. There are few role models in our society that rise above the norm and pursue excellence. The only ones in society that do this and get societies accolades are sports stars, pop musicians and movie stars. These are the role models that somehow our world has become focused on. Just see the news every night to see which “role models” are getting our attention. It’s sick really.
When I was a child, my fictional reading role models were “The Hardy Boys” detective novels and Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn. These books featured adventurers and independent type kids exploring life and solving problems themselves. Today’s kids seem all about “ninja warriors” and “video game heroes”. Is this evident to anyone else but me? Well, I guess there IS Harry Potter as well…but even those books seem rife with adult overtones/issues I’m not sure kids are quite mature enough to handle. Then again, kids today are forced at young ages to deal with homosexuality, drugs and guns in school…while at the same time not developing the basic skills of interviewing, getting and holding a job, or writing a complete sentence. Maybe I have gotten a little off topic on this diatribe, but I do think our core labor problems in the world starts at education and how we program our children. Are we raising them to be sheep, or leaders? To fall in line and do as society tells them to, or to excel and reach their personal goals and potentials based on their own sound reasoning and passions?
I pass though this May Day/Labor Day hoping that the world will renew its effort to foster competitive marketplaces and innovative solutions to the world’s problems. To this end we should strive to encourage children and even young adults to prepare themselves better, push themselves harder, in whatever positive direction they have passion for. Lately I have been asking younger people what their goals in life are. What they are passionate about. I am concerned with the percentages of blank, “deer in the headlights”, stares I am getting in response. Even in the work place, we need to lead by example more than words and challenge people to step up and grow. And somehow we need to focus more on rewards than on rights when it comes to labor and work. This is a competitive world and is getting more so. Those who want to eat well are going to have to win…and there will be no guarantees for losers. To produce winners, we need to start with realistic goals and expectations for each individual. That’s the reality of the world…and the competitive marketplace. |
Fear is defined as an “unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or is a threat” ( google dictionary). It also can be defined as a feeling of impending doom. Other terms used to describe fear include dread, anxiety, nervousness, worry, unease, unrest, and apprehension. We have all experienced fear at some point in our lives. Fear is a God-given emotion to alert us that something is amiss, but left to run amuck fear will cause physical illness. Fear creates stress on the body. Merriam-Webster defines stress this way:
Definition of stress
1 : constraining force or influence: such as:
a : a force exerted when one body or body part presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another body or body part; especially : the intensity of this mutual force commonly expressed in pounds per square inch
b : the deformation caused in a body by such a force
c : a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation
d : a state resulting from a stress; especially : one of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibrium job-related stress
The natural bodily response to fear or stress is called the Fight or flight response. The brain receives information regarding stimuli (the threat) from the eyes and ears alerting the amygdala. When the amygdala interprets the message as a threat it sends a distress signal to the hypothalamus. This activates the autonomic nervous system which controls heart rate, pupil dilation, blood pressure, breathing, and vessel dilation or constriction. The Autonomic Nervous system is composed of two parts: parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems. The Sympathetic Nervous System elicits the Fight or Flight response. Adrenaline is released increasing blood flow to the muscles and increasing the heart rate preparing the body to make a quick exist. Adrenaline also triggers the release of glucose and fat increasing energy. As the adrenaline begins to subside, the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal is then activated. Hormones are released that stimulate the release of cortisol from the adrenal glands. Cortisol will continue to be released as long as the brain continues to perceive something as a threat. Cortisol will go down when the perceived threat is over. The parasympathetic nervous system will then kick in causing relaxation and calm.
Studies have shown that chronic levels of stress continue to activate the release of cortisol. Overtime, cortisol suppresses the immune system increasing our risk of illness. Cortisol also promotes weight gain. Increase levels of adrenaline also can damage arteries and increase blood pressure increasing our risk of heart disease and stoke. To read more about the physical effects of stress on the body, go to an article entitled Understanding the Stress Response by Harvard Health Publications.
More than 87% of illnesses are stress related and this stress or perceived threat starts in the brain. It does matter what we are thinking or meditating on. Fear can also be a learned response. If you had an anxious parent who was overly concerned about getting sick, then you may have learned to be overly worried about your health. Every ache and pain becomes, in your mind, a serious illness. And that’s when fear kicks in. You may have had a parent that was worried about you getting hurt, not allowing you to try new things, teaching you to be afraid of trying new things or fearing something bad would happen all the time. Of course, life happens and many of us have experienced unfortunate hurts and accidents that have produced fear and trauma in our lives. It’s what we do with the fear and hurt that determines how we will live each day.
Growing up in a stressful environment, I am all too aware of fear and it’s torment. At around the age of eight, a man who worked for our family sexually assaulted me several times. During one of the assaults, I had a candy sucker that I was eating while the event took place. This began may unhealthy relationship with food, using food as a way to deal with my anxiety and, in some ways, to escape reality. I was very over weight as a child and was teased a lot, compounding the feelings that something was wrong with me. As a teenager, I felt that if I was thinner that someone would love me or that I would fit in better at school. I always felt that I never fit in. Food addiction lead to bulimia and then to abusing alcohol to help me “fit in”. I went from one bad relationship to the next. Each time feeling more and more rejected and unloved. Growing up in the church, I learned about sin and thought that I had to be good enough to be loved. I saw God as angry, just waiting to punish me because “bad” people like me deserved to be punished. I had a religion, not a relationship with a loving Heavenly Father. I never learned about grace and the healing power offered to me through the cross of Christ. I started praying when I was about 9 years old, but because things just seemed to get worse, I believed the lie that I was not lovable. I was depressed, over weight, suicidal at times, and tormented by fear of the future. I spent a month in a Dallas hospital for the bulimia and three months in a halfway house. It was in the halfway house that I had a dream. In the dream, I saw a casket in front of me and over the casket was a bright light. In this dream I heard Jesus say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. I remember being in church, shortly after this dream, looking at Jesus on the cross saying please help me. It is at this point my life began to change. Things started to get better, but because I had no teaching about who I was as a believer in Christ, I continued to be tormented with fear. You name it, I worried about it. I was addicted to worrying, you might say. My mind was always going, seeming never to shut off. I would do alright for a while but if something happened, I went back into begging God to forgive me or back into condemning myself and thinking how stupid I am. I was extremely hard on myself. I was never good enough, smart enough, pretty enough or thin enough. I feared retribution from God, and I went to church and prayed out of fear, not out of love. I was also very self-righteous and critical of others. I feared the future and was alway concerned about something bad happening. I was afraid to get my hopes up because I knew something bad was just around the corner. I was also very afraid of God because I thought the bad things that happen were from Him – to punish me. In 2007, I came to a place where I sunk down into the pit of depression and condemnation again. It is at this point I told God this: “I have been praying to you since I was 9 years old. I know you are real but I need to KNOW you are REAL!” In other words, I need confirmation that you are with me because I can not live this way anymore. Shortly after this prayer, the Lord sent a wonderful woman who began to teach me the wonder of God and His amazing love. I actually felt the Holy Spirit for the first time and felt His overwhelming love. I learned that I had a stronghold of fear and that I had believed lies from Satan as to who I am and who God really is. I began to look back at my life and I could see God’s hand of protection. I really should have been dead with all the risky behavior and the bulimia. I learned that it was the devil who came to steal, kill, and destroy, and he had been trying to kill me off from the beginning. I began reading in the bible the promises of God and that He was my protector and shield. As I by faith went to Him in prayer and reading the bible, He began to heal my heart and to break one by one every stronghold of fear in my life. He put wonderful people in my life that showed me the love of the Father. All he required of me was to believe Him over the lies of the enemy. It was not easy to trust God for I really trusted no one. I really had let no one get too close for fear of refection. He told me that He would never leave me or forsake me. He began to prove His faithfulness and as a little child I began to receive and believe His love for me. His love has transformed me. He has made me courageous and confident. Not in my own strength but I am confident in His strength, power, and wisdom.
Fear was at the root of my weight problem and had caused me to never really get close to anyone. Fear also drove me to smoke cigarettes because I was told it would help me lose weight. Smoking also help calm my nerves. The Lord delivered me from smoking in 1993 but this food addiction was much harder. I can say today, I am completely healed of my food addiction. Friends, we have an enemy, Satan, who wants you dead and he will do it anyway he can. His greatest tactic is fear. Fear is a spirit that comes to destroy your life and your health. He also uses condemnation and offense. Condemnation is the beating ourselves up over all the wrongs we have done, punishing ourselves. The bible says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ and that we can come boldly go to the throne of God for mercy and grace. Jesus has taken our sin and removed it as far as the east from the west(Psalm 103:12). Satan works by attacking our mind and our heart.
After the Holy Spirit touched my life so deeply, I began ministering and praying with my patients. I saw God touch their lives. It was so amazing. Then here comes Satan to kill, steal, and destroy. Because it was early in my new walk with the Lord, I still had lots of fear particularly about not upsetting God. I had not learned at that point how the enemy attacks our mind. It was in November 2008 on a plane going to see my daughter, that all of a sudden I had the thought that I had committed the unpardonable sin. The thought keep coming and coming and I could not stop it. It was so tormenting and I was terrified. I called my friend to pray for me but it did not help. I prayed to God asking Him to forgive me repenting for every sin I could possibly repent of. At one point, I was on the floor in my closet crying out to the Father saying, “God, I have repented for everything I can think of what do you want from me?” He said “It’s not me tormenting you but the devil” and He gave me Psalms 27.
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked advance against me
to devour[a] me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall. (Psalm 27:1-2)
I reached out to a friend who talked me into going to a deliverance session. Well the enemy did not stop his pursuit in trying to stop me from fulfilling my God-given purpose. He used this deliverance session to hurt me more and cause more fear. I was so oppressed and depressed. I would have condemning thoughts and thoughts even against God. The people who were supposed to helped me abandoned me. The devil wounded my heart with the arrow of rejection. I had nowhere to turn but to God. It is during this time that the Lord taught me that the battlefield is in our mind. He taught me that nothing could separate me from Him and that I did not have to believe everything that “popped” in my head. He also showed me that He had given me authority over all the works of the enemy. I learned to speak out God’s Word and to meditated on it and not the evil the enemy would have me focus on. It took time but I pressed in and little by little, I took back the ground of my mind from the enemy. I was transformed by the renewal of my mind (Romans 12:2). I also allowed the Lord to heal my heart of rejection by forgiving those who hurt me. I am no longer easily offended because I know it is a tactic of Satan to derail me. I refused to give him a foothold in my life. I go quickly to God with any offense and by His grace forgive quickly. My journey to healing began by believing that my Heavenly Father loved me and had a good plan for my life. I gained trust in Him as Father and protector. Why am I sharing this with you? Well one reason is that during this mental attack I got sick. I had severe anemia from heavy periods and very low vitamin D. I was so tired I found it hard to get up and go to work everyday. This mental war made me physically and mentally sick. Fear was causing physical illness just like medical studies have shown.
Today, I am stronger and in better health than I have ever been. I have peace in my mind and I have no fear. Sure I feel fear at times but I go to the Father and He turns fear out the door. Maybe the enemy has not attacked your mind like he attack me, but if your mind is always going and is never at rest then you are being attack. The mental war causes physical exhaustion and can cause physical illness at some point. The mind is the battlefield. It is with the mind that we make choices everyday. It is with the mind that I choose what food I eat and if I will exercise or not. The enemy wants you to have Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and other illnesses to stop you from making a difference in this world. Don’t let Him. You can find peace and health and it is found in the perfect love of the Father. He is interested in every part of your life. He wants you to be heathy and to prosper in all things. He needs you to fulfill your God ordained purpose to bring life to a broken world.
3 John 1-2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers.
Deuteronomy 31:8 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) 8 It is the Lord Who goes before you; He will [march] with you; He will not fail you or let you go or forsake you; [let there be no cowardice or flinching, but] fear not, neither become broken [in spirit—depressed, dismayed, and unnerved with alarm].
A merry heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing. To obtain a cheerful mind and merry heart requires work. We must decide to think on things that are above or good. We must decide we want to feel better and be in health. We must decide not to allow our heart to be weight down with hurts or unforgiveness. We don’t have to do it alone. We have helper, the Holy Spirit, who gives us strength to overcome, to walk and not faint. In the last days, the bible tells us that men’s hearts will fail them because of fear (Luke 21:26). Fear is killing the church. Fear makes us critical and afraid to reach out to a hurting world. Fear makes us overly concerned about ourselves. Fear makes it ok to stay secure in the four walls of the church while a world is dying around us. Jesus died for you and me, the Muslim and the Hindu, the Buddhist and the broken in Spirit. We must tell the world of His great love. We don’t do this with a doctrine or religion but by showing the love, the peace, and the prosperity we have in Him. It’s His love that transform us. It is His love working through us that will transform cities and nations. Let Him transform you with His love and lead you to a life that is fearless. A life that knows no limitation because you understand that if God be for you who can be agianst you. |
One hour a day dedicated to your self mastery in life doesn’t sound like much time to stay healthy. And we add to that: in love, inspired, visionary, self respecting. With this Power Hour you then get to turn up for others and your work for 23 hours a day.
One hour is enough provided that you don’t make extra work for yourself in the way you deal with life today.
In order to compress and distill our Self-Mastery time into one hour, we need to make sure we’re not doing things that simply add to our workload. Causing us trouble. Prevention is better than cure.
I found that if I eat candy of any description, even organic low fat, low cholesterol, hand picked, sugar free, no pesticides, no artificial flavours and environmentally free traded with good payments to the poor bastards who picked the grapes in some remote terrorist occupied village of Africa, I feel like crap the next day. Then, my training and wellbeing program takes a dive and i spend twice as long doing half as much as I do when I don’t go down the Miss Piggy Chocolate Route.
I also found that if I don’t drink enough water then the next morning I wake up with a hangover, even if I didn’t do the boozy barbie the night before. Damn, if I’m going to have a hangover I may as well cause it with half decent red wine.
Sometimes I enjoy a late afternoon coffee because there’s a meeting and I need a jump start. Then, around 1.00am, when the infomercials start on TV I start to feel tired but can’t turn the TV off because I’m keen to know how, in 30 seconds a month I can have Abs like that woman who looks like a porn queen for Gym junkies.
Where am I going with all this? Well, if we do stupid, we get stupid. As Forest Gump
would say “stupid is what stupid does” … I guess that means the same thing. If we do stuff today that makes tomorrow feel like crap then 90% of our personal regime for Self Mastery will be doing stuff we didn’t really need to do, and really doesn’t take us anywhere but back to the start of yesterday.
Take exercise for weight loss as an example. My client sat drinking a diet coke, talking about how hard it is to lose weight and the personal trainer she’d hired, the meals in boxes she’s spending half her salary on (and excluding herself from the bread breaking ritual of family life).
3 hours of her day was being spent on weight loss which, with the ongoing consumption of crap binge foods, would guarantee three hours a day, in perpetuity going somewhere that, if she just started eating right, would be freed up for life, love and laughter.
Posture is another cool preventative measure. People sitting at desks with shoulders hunched, chest caved in, legs crossed, high shoes on, for hours at a time and then going to yoga classes for two hours every second day, burning petrol, burning time, burning themselves out, sweating ridiculous healthy minerals from their ageing skin, all for? Well all for compensation for what they could have achieved sitting straight, breathing right and standing up every twenty minutes a day. In other words healthy habits mean we don’t spend half the week trying to get back to where we started at the beginning of the week.
Business is another opportunity for time optimisation. When we work on low priorities we beat ourselves up. So, when you are filling out that survey for your next telephone call with Telstra remember that a person with worth won’t do that stuff, time is too precious.
Devaluing yourself throughout the day leads to huge homework the next day just to get back to feeling OK, let alone inspired.
And there are plenty more things that knock us about and cause us huge amounts of recovery time.
I’ll list them in no specific order:
- Count Your Blessings. Forgetting to do something loving for your partner, work colleagues, clients, family, friends, community will end up in a guilty compensation mode, grumpy or apologetic for something that could have been avoided in 30 seconds of mindful discipline.
- Get over Yourself. Letting someone get under your fingernails, and making one of those ridiculous decisions “I’ll never let that happen again” or “I don’t want to be around people like that” or “he hurt me more than I hurt myself (victim) headspace. These choices around mind control and emotional self mastery are disastrous and can add over 6 hours a day of emotional incompetence. Loving the past is the only way to deal with turbulence, but don’t ask a therapist to help you through that, most don’t even know what love is, and don’t have allot of it in their own lives. (Test it before you leap into defence)
- Turn Up Process Emotion. Allowing fear or guilt to determine any decision you make today, will automatically result in massive rework tomorrow. Why not save the time tomorrow and today by learning from nature rather than experience. Experience is so clumsy.
- Be Humble. When something good happens today, I found that my natural inclination is to take credit for achieving something, and if something bad happens, I want to divert blame to some cause outside of myself. This time wasting, energy sucking, life consuming ignorance is just my own vulnerability around trust. There is something bigger than us in the universe, and we are connected to it through nature. Nothing comes from us, only through us, so there’s no need to take credit or blame. If I take credit at work today, I guarantee I’m going to get the blame for something I did at home. It’s just nature’s balance and rather than go through such neanderthal repercussions – I’d rather say, “nothing comes from me (except emotional) it only comes through me, I take no credit, I take no blame. My estimate is that this saves me one day a week.
- Evolve Daily Avoid GroundHog Days. 100% of my clients come to me for coaching because they have been going in circles in their life for years. Most have tried self-help guru’s, spiritual teachers and meditations. They know, those things made them feel better. But that’s like being on a ferris wheel and taking ginger so you don’t vomit. The bottom line is, they are still on the ferris wheel going around and around and around and around. phuuuuke – even ginger doesn’t help after a while. Nature destroys anything that’s not fulfilling it’s purpose and the purpose of nobody’s life is achieved through meditation. That’s just how to make the ride feel better, I get the benefit. But it doesn’t solve the problem. We need to grow daily and if we get so consumed with solving problems, meeting deadlines, pleasing everyone (including ourselves) it’s so easy to get hooked into “groundhog day.” (movie where the same day just repeats and repeats and repeats.. different situations but the same approach) Evolving means your identity, those things that make the basis of how you deal with everyday life must change, expand, because guess what, life, like the universe, is expanding too. You need bigger solutions because your problems and challenges must only get bigger.
- Let Go and Be Real About the Former You. I got divorced 27 years ago, and for the next 10 years I talked about, dreamt about and had ambitions to recreate the me that existed before the divorce. I wanted to be a father, a business owner, a community leader, a sporty guy. I really wanted to reinvent myself so I was who I used to be, which is not really reinventing myself is it? Sometimes we fall in love with who we were. It’s an awful paradigm because then, no matter what we do, we compare it to who we used to be and fail. Add to this that the longer the time span between the “who we used to be” and “who we are” is, the more deluded we become about our former self and the more impossible it becomes to be like it. Love the past, let it go, turn up thankful in the moment. Evolveyabastard.com
- Love the past. Sometimes we waste an enormous amount of time in uncertainty and confusion because we’re running away from the past. We try all we can to be somebody new, someone more caring, someone more loving, someone more ethical. It’s awful. It’s like a prison and the best we can do is decorate the cell. You are worthy of love (according to nature’s universal laws but not moral, ethical and religious laws) for who you are, were and will be. There’s nothing to run from or to. Finding this worthiness to be loved for who you are saves an enormous amount of self-obsessive doubt and uncertainty. In the end, you can say, “no matter what I do, or don’t do, I am worthy of love. In my life I wasted 4 days a week for ten years trying to earn the worthiness of the love of my children after the divorce. Nobody can do to me more than I do to myself and in the end I realized that the only person who really needed to recognise my worthiness for being loved, was me. That ended up being an extra 4 days a week, I was able to turn up and celebrate my purpose in life. Don’t do stuff yesterday that is going to cause you doubts that’ll take hours out of your today.
- Exercising daily. Burst training has demonstrated that a short workout, with bursts of sprints and then recovery can improve your cardio and VO2 Max better than 3 hours of jogging a day. So, never excuse yourself for not hitting your 10 minutes workout each morning. There’s lots of variety. The key here is separating exercise from weight loss. Weight loss is diet. Exercise is Cardio and immune evolution. Stretch or Yoga or Pilates or Tai chi are not weight loss or Exercise. Exercise and don’t confuse the goal. You can do Yoga all day and die from immune weakness or cardio problems. You can exercise all day and still be fat like a horse if you eat poorly.
- Keep the spark alive. Staying horny for your partner is no accident. Waiting for him or her to caress your neck is playing victim, and a few weeks not feeling horny toward your partner can put them into the rejection, close it down, gee they don’t like me, not appreciated cycle that leads nowhere good. Being horny for your partner doesn’t mean you have to jump into bed and blow that energy away like a teenager. Learn to hold that feeling, learn to feel when it’s gone and don’t let it be gone for more than an hour or two. Stay horny for your partner and express it in the thousands of ways we all know are possible. A smile from a horny partner is as good as sex if it’s genuine. The key here is to want to have a “Honeymoon that lasts forever.” That, in simple language means that relationships are competitions between how you feel about your partner and the thousands of other options competing for your attraction and attention. Your partner must win that competition, otherwise, you’ll be spending 10 years like i did (hopefully you’re not so dumb as to take 10 years to sort yourself out) out of your life to recover from what didn’t need to happen. Using nature’s law of “Nothing is missing it just changes in form” to keep your partner in the same space they were on your honeymoon, they were and are, the best partner you could ever hope or dream to have. Ten minutes a day can save you days a week dealing with relationship dramas.
- Ignite the fire daily. I love the definition of “spirituality” as the fire in the belly. I’ve met thousands of monks and guru’s and to be frank about it, the most common denominator for the enlightened ones is fire in the belly. They laugh loud, they pray deep, they enjoy the moment, they have a glint in their eye, they love life. And what causes all that? Vision, Inspiration and Purpose. Yes, spiritual people have huge visions (EGO) about what they can do in the world, they have a single purpose that their visions (EGO) can work toward and they are inspired because they link every fragment of a second of time and space to those visions, and purpose. For me, this is the ultimate realization of human potential, our spiritual enlightenment. Some people make the mistake of thinking that peace is the result of spirituality, but there is no peace in Tibet or anywhere, not even in the heart of one single person on earth. There is, in the case of some people a PURPOSE to cause peace, that is their purpose, it’s not the result Remembering that human law always wants half stories, while Nature’s universal laws are balanced. The person whose purpose it is to cause peace on earth knows this is a Human Calling … but, at a universal and nature level they can detach from their EGO because for every peace they cause, they cause a war. There is always balance, so with the focus on purpose in life, we can relax and say, the more we do, the more we need to do. It’s a wonderful, non material awareness. So, in my life when I finally found a harmony with the universe through nature’s law, I realized that getting bent out of shape because of the contradiction between my purpose (universal law) and my results (human law) was no argument that needed anything more than a daily smile. They are irreconcilable differences and there’s nothing to do, nothing to worry about. It is, as it is meant to be, the difference between my EGO desire for imbalance and my spiritual connection to something bigger than myself. I stopped wasting 5 more days a week self-obsessing about my impact on the world and just focused on my vision, inspiration and purpose. That was a great day. |
Best Ways to prepare Microsoft 70-412 Exam
Here, candidates can get Microsoft 70-412 questions answers that are prepared by http://www.certday.com/70-412.html This study guide is designed as per Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services test engine with free 70-412 pdf. Choose the most eligible site that offers the online services of for all type of MCSE 70-412 practice exam and Microsoft 70-412 test questions. It is quite obvious that passing this Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services exam is not a simple piece of paper writing. It needs extreme expert choice along with great proficiency. Getting online help for prepared MCSE 70-412 vce test is quite common these days. The Microsoft 70-412 simulator and 70-412 exam dumps are easily available at their professional site.
The MCSE 70-412 certification exam has been formed for experienced professionals. For offering the knowledge in MCSE, it is an important certification. The Microsoft 70-412 dumps test delivers authenticity from beginners to intermediate level. This Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services Exam needs your expertise in the field of IT because it examines the expertise of the MCSE. It is the certification that enhances your skills in 70-412.
Passing the 70-412 exam is not hard to master because it can be done with little efforts. It needs fluency and grip on Exam objective. An appropriate Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 Services study guide is the right option that can help you in this regard. It is not a daunting task in this age of modern technology, because online 70-412 vce help you to enhance your skills and 70-412 practice test as well. You can buy or 70-412 braindumps for easy preparation. The authentic MCSE 70-412 study material is the best way to clear the exam. It contains 70-412 exam questions that are authentic.
You have a server named SCI that runs a Server Core Installation of Windows Server 2012 R2. Shadow copies are enabled on all volumes.
You need to delete a specific shadow copy. The solution must minimize server downtime.
Which tool should you use?
Correct Answer: B Explanation
DiskShadow.exe is a tool that exposes the functionality offered by the Volume Shadow Copy Service
The diskshadow command delete shadows deletes shadow copies.
Reference: Technet, Diskshadow
You have 20 servers that run Windows Server 2012 R2.
You need to create a Windows PowerShell script that registers each server in Windows Azure Backup and sets an encryption passphrase.
Which two PowerShell cmdlets should you run in the script? (Each correct answer presents part of the solution. Choose two.)
E. Set OBMachineSetting
Correct Answer: DE Explanation
D: Start-OBRegistration Registers the current computer with Windows Azure Online Backup using the credentials (user- name and password) created during enrollment.
E: The Set-OBMachineSetting cmdlet sets a OBMachineSetting object for the server that in- cludes proxy server settings for accessing the internet, network bandwidth throttling settings, and the encryption passphrase that is required to decrypt the files during recovery to another server.
Incorrect: Not C: TheAdd-OBFileSpeccmdlet adds theOBFileSpecobject, which specifies the items to in- clude or exclude from a backup, to the backup policy (OBPolicyobject). TheOBFileSpecobject can include or exclude multiple files, folders, or volumes. T
Reference: Start-OBRegistration; Set OBMachineSetting
You have 30 servers that run Windows Server 2012 R2.
All of the servers are backed up daily by using Windows Azure Online Backup.
You need to perform an immediate backup of all the servers to Windows Azure Online Backup.
Which Windows PowerShell cmdlets should you run on each server?
A. Get-OBPolicy | StartOBBackup
B. Start-OBRegistration | StartOBBackup
C. Get-WBPolicy | Start-WBBackup
D. Get-WBBackupTarget | Start-WBBackup
Correct Answer: A Explanation
Explanation/Reference: 300-207 dumps
This example starts a backup job using a policy.
PS C:\> Get-OBPolicy | Start-OBBackup
Not B. Registers the current computer to Windows Azure Backup.
Not C. Not using Azure
Not D. Not using Azure
You have a server named Server1 that runs Windows Server 2012 R2 and is used for testing.
A developer at your company creates and installs an unsigned kernel-mode driver on Server1. The developer reports that Server1 will no longer start.
You need to ensure that the developer can test the new driver. The solution must minimize the amount of data loss.
Which Advanced Boot Option should you select?
A. Disable Driver Signature Enforcement
B. Disable automatic restart on system failure
C. Last Know Good Configuration (advanced)
D. Repair Your Computer
Correct Answer: A Explanation
A. By default, 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and later versions of Windows will load a ker- nel-mode driver only if the kernel can verify the driver signature. However, this default behavior can be disabled to facilitate early driver development and non-automated testing.
Incorrect: Not B. specifies that Windows automatically restarts your computer when a failure occurs Not C. Developer would not be able to test the driver as needed Not D. Removes or repairs critical windows files, Developer would not be able to test the driver as needed and some file loss
Reference: Installing Windows Server 2012
You have a server named Server1 that runs Windows Server 2012 R2. When you install a custom
Application on Server1 and restart the server, you receive the follow- ing error message: “The Boot
Configuration Data file is missing some required information.
Error code: 0x0000034.”
You start Server1 by using Windows RE.
You need to ensure that you can start Windows Server 2012 R2 on Server1.
Which tool should you use?
Correct Answer: C Explanation
Bootrec.exe tool to troubleshoot “Bootmgr Is Missing” issue. The /ScanOs option scans all disks for installations that are compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Additionally, this option displays the entries that are currently not in the BCD store. Use this option when there are Windows Vista or Windows 7 installations that the Boot Manager menu does not list.
Error code 0x0000034 while booting. Resolution:
Put the Windows Windows 7 installation disc in the disc drive, and then start the computer.
Press any key when the message indicating “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD …”. appears.
Select a language, time, currency, and a keyboard or another input method. Then click Next.
Click Repair your computer.
Click the operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.
In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Command Prompt.
Type Bootrec /RebuildBcd, and then press ENTER.
Not A. Bootsect.exe updates the master boot code for hard disk partitions to switch between BOOTMGR
and NTLDR. You can use this tool to restore the boot sector on your computer. This tool replaces FixFAT
Not D. The bootcfg command is a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 utility that modifies the Boot.ini file.
Reference: Bootsect Command-Line Options
You have a server named Server1 that runs Windows Server 2012 R2. Server1 is backed up by using Windows Server Backup. The backup configuration is shown in the exhibit. (Click the Exhibit button.)
CertDay 70-412 Exam Prepration Tools
Certday Microsoft MCSA: Windows Server 2012 readiness starts and finishes with your achieving this certification objective. Despite the fact that you will take each Microsoft MCSA: Windows Server 2012 online test each one in turn – every one expands upon the past. Keep in mind that each Microsoft MCSA: Windows Server 2012 exam paper is worked from a typical affirmation establishment.
70-412 Exam Testing Engines
Past knowing the answer, and really understanding the 70-412 exam test questions puts you one stage in front of the test. Totally understanding an idea and thinking behind how something functions, makes your errand second nature. Your 70-412 test will soften in your grasp on the off chance that you know the rationale behind the ideas. Any honest to goodness Microsoft MCSA: Windows Server 2012 prep materials ought to uphold this style of learning – however you will be unable to discover more than a Microsoft MCSA: Windows Server 2012 practice test anyplace other than Certday.
Reasons to use Microsoft 70-412 Dumps To Pass Exam
In the IT market, MCSA Windows Server 2012 70-412 Certification exam is the way to success. It is very important to get skills in the field Configuring Advanced Windows Server 2012 R2 Services. It is a vast field that is helpful in all departments today. Information technology speeds up the functionality of business, government affairs, medical care, and other fields of life. In all these departments there is a need of IT experts. Microsoft MCSA Windows Server 2012 experts are the first requirement of this field. With the help of the 70-412 pdf real exam questions, a candidate can easily prepare the exam.
More questions are available at http://www.pass4cert.net/category/microsoft
Some general links first:http://www.cisco350-018.com/guarantee-microsoft-70-412-dumps.html |
Flex End ~ Jeremy Sprinkle ~ Arkansas RazorBacks ~ 6045/252
Power Ends will be how I refer to the Players with a Frame built for the classic "In Line" Tight End ~ an Hybrid Player who serves as a combination Blocker and Receiver. There'll be Exceptions: I'd previously categorized Jimmy Graham as a Power End, but while his Frame is certainly that of one, his 40 Time ~ 4.53 at 260 Pounds!!! ~ trumps that.
The Prototype for a Power End would be about 6050/260 or so.
The "Tight Ends" whose Frames are better suited to be deployed in running Routes from all over the Formation, and who aren't especially renowned for their Blocking ~ though many are adept Chippers ~ I refer to as Flex Ends.
The Prototype would be about 6030/245 or so.
Those of either type who present legitimate Dual Threats ~ who can make a genuine Impact either as a Blocker or as a Receiver ~ are impossible to predict from Snap to Snap, and this renders them extraordinarily dangerous.
Conceivably even more dangerous and dynamic than either of these two types is one of my pet Positions: The WingBacks. I employ this ancient FootBall Term, one still in active use in many High Schools and Colleges, to refer to a Role so ethereal as to be almost imaginary: an Hybrid FullBack & Flex End ~ a Super Hybrid, if you will.
The Prototype would be about 6000/240 or so.
The WingBack, optimally, would be a guy capable of Lead Blocking in the Run Game, Pass Blocking in the Passing Game, or splitting out and running Pass Patterns from SlotBack, Slot End, Split End, or Flanker. He could line up at any of those spots, or on either Wing, on the Line, or in the BackField. He could even go In Motion or run the Ball!!
Such a versatile, dynamic Player could have an explosive Impact on the Competitive LandScape.
The Game has reached a point in its Tactical History that is perfect for such a Player.
It awaits only for the NFL to realize the Opportunity.
I've previously broken down what I'll now call Power Ends into the detailed Categories of Blocking, as well as receiving, but it's occurred to me that reading those Scouting Reports is probably as much of a Chore as writing them is, so for the Benefit of both my Honored Readers and my self, I'm gonna simplify things by breaking down Power Ends the same categorical way that I do, Flex End, which is to detail the WideOut Aspects but just consolidate and summarize the Offensive Line Aspects: The Result will be 2 Categories ~ Run Blocking and Pass Blocking.
Separation: Getting Open. This encompasses Combat Skills & Fluidity to beat Press, Acceleration or Short Speed, Fluidity and Ricochet in navigating Traffic, Route Running Precision, Deception of Defenders, and Processing Speed and Field Vision for Timing Seams and Open Zones. The way I see it, Separation dwarfs All other Aspects of a WideOut's Job Description in Importance. I consider Separation more important than the other WideOut Aspects combined.
Catch Point Capacity: In Transition or Contested: Hands, WingSpan, Vertical Agility, Combat Skills, and Timing. Timing is of course derivative of Processing Speed and Field Vision, and affects both Transitional Catches and Contested Catches, the latter both in terms of timing one's Jumps and in employing Combat Skills to work free at the right Moment.
Chunk Yardage: An highly overrated Aspect of the Game, I believe, so much so that in fact I didn't even include it in 2016. It is not a negligible Aspect of the Game, so I'm bringing it back, but getting open, catching the Ball, and Moving the Chains are far more crucial to a Team's Success, I believe, than making Splash Plays and getting on ESPN HighLights Reels. Power, Fluidity, Ricochet, Speed, Combat Skills, and Processing Speed/Field Vision all play into Chunk Yardage.
Blocking: Blocking of course breaks down to Power, Agility, Frame, Combat Skills, Processing Speed, and Motor, and consolidates into Run Blocking and Pass Blocking. It'll be just one Category, but half the Grade.
Broken down into SubCategories, it'd go something like this:
* Combat Skills
* Field Vision
Catch Point Capacity
Catch Point Capacity
* Combat Skills
* Vertical Agility
* Combat Skills
* Field Vision
* Combat Skills
* Processing Speed
Power: Marginal. He certainly doesn't look 256 Pounds...But then I'm not a good Judge of such things. In any case, he usually survives when he Anchors in Pass Protection, but gets absolutely no Push in Run Blocking.
Agility: Impressive. Sprinkle exhibits just adequate Fluidity to Mirror in Pass Protection or redirect in the Open Field, but exceptional Acceleration to the Flanks and DownField in the Running Game.
Frame: Outstanding. Terrific Height for optimal Vertical Leverage and a tremendous WingSpan!!
Combat Skills: Sufficient. Adequate Paw Positioning, Paw Persistence, and FootWork.
Processing Speed: Marginal. Mind you, I've only watched the one Game from 2016, against Texas Christian, as well as a couple from 2015, but in that Horny Frog Contest, Sprinkle exhibited mediocre Speed & Efficacy when Reading and Reacting to Defensive Deception in Pass Protection and horrible Speed & Efficacy when Locating & Approaching his Targets in the Running Game, repeatedly approaching late or from Bad Angles and getting beaten badly.
Motor: Exceptional. Impressive Intensity. Excellent Stamina. Looks For Work.
Run Blocking: Mediocre, but with tremendous Potential. Sprinkle exhibits almost no Power at all at The Point of Attack, and my Grade for'm for a Power Scheme Team would be "Utterly awful, and with no Hope whatsoever", but Behind Enemy Lines, he's got the Speed, the WingSpan, and the Motor to make an enormous Impact if his Field Vision develops. Deploying Sprinkle on a Zone Scheme Team would potentially be a far, far different Story, altogether!!
Pass Blocking: Again, And With Feeling: Mediocre but with...exceptional Potential. Sprinkle's Fluidity to Mirror is moderate, but his WingSpan and his Motor compensate go a long ways towards augmenting that. Mind you: he'll have enormous Problems with Power, mind you, but if he develops those Combat Skills, he could definitely excel.
Separation: Effective, and with impressive Potential.
I didn't see'm in Press Coverage, as he wasn't challenged in the Texas Christian Game, this Year, and lined up usually at FullBack in 2015, when Hunter Henry was still there. Speculating, therefore, in lieu of Tapes that I'm expecting those beautiful folks at Draft BreakDown will produce later on, I'm gonna go with Mediocre, in consideration of his marginal Power and mediocre Fluidity, contrasted with his tremendous WingSpan and his exceptional Motor.
His Agility, I'd describe as impressive, based on sufficient Fluidity but exceptional Acceleration DownField and exceptional Ricochet out'fi's Breaks. I didn't get a feel for'is Long Speed, but he simply wasn't asked to display it.
His Route Running was effective, and definitely improved in the 2016 Game against the Horny Frogs in his new Role. He exhibited improved Processing Speed and Field Vision in finding the Open Zone, I thought.
Catch Point Capacity: Impressive, and with tremendous Potential. Sprinkle's Hands are'is Achilles Heal, which is to say that they're inconsistent and that he plants too many FootBalls. But he flashes Brilliant Hands, nevertheless, which suggests that his Issues are just a matter of Time & Training, his WingSpan is tremendous, his Combat Skills on Contested Catches is exceptional, and his Timing, both on Contest Catches and In Transition, is excellent.
Chunk Yardage: Mediocre. Sprinkle exhibits inadequate Power, moderate Fluidity, and marginal Field Vision, but his exceptional Acceleration DownField, his Long Speed, and his Motor render'm dangerous, anyway.
It'll be interesting to see what develops, here, in terms of Market Value.
The RazorBack's Scheme dramatically dialed down Jeremy Sprinkles's expected Role in the Passing Game in 2016, despite the Hype that predicted a Break Out Year for'm, with Hunter Henry headed to the NFL.
In fact, during the Texas Christian Game, an Announcer was talking Tactics, and at one point mentioned that Sprinkle was an eligible Receiver!! Hah!! Like my Pappy always says, "If the Announcer feels compelled to point out that you're an Eligible Receiver, it just might be a sign that you're getting phased out'f the Passing Game."
Yeah, no. He never actually said that.
So instead of his Market Value skyrocketing, as expected...it tanked!!
Jeremy Sprinkle is a Prospect that I like. He doesn't strike me as dynamic, and he'd be an huge Liability as a Blocker on a Power Scheme Team, but on a Zone Scheme Team, he's got the Potential to develop not only into an exceptional Pass Catching Flex End, but an exceptional Blocker, as well...All he needs is enough Time & Training.
And I don't give a Rat's Ass about his idiotic ShopLifting. Show me a Pattern of that, and I'll change my Tune. But one Incident is just a Kid being a dumb Kid. I did one Hell of a lot worse when I was that age!!
Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!
5th ~ 7th Round
None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!! |
John Underkoffler, inventor of the data interface used in the Minority Report, talks about the g-speak Spatial Operating Environment and the future of user interfaces in a recent TED talk. Watching this makes it hard to ignore the fact that the best has yet to come. And it’s a great example of why TED matters.
Normally I love the iTunes App Store, but not so much today. I was trying to add Kayak’s travel app to my new iPhone and found the experience to be full of unnecessary and redundant tapping.
This was my screen flow:
Launched the App Store
Typed “kayak” and clicked the Search button
Tapped Kayak’s app on the list screen
Clicked the Free button
Clicked the Install button
Received a prompt for my password
Entered my password and click the OK button
Received a message asking me to confirm I wanted to download the app since Apple had detected this was a new device
Clicked the Continue button
Received a prompt for my password
Entered my password and click the OK button
Got directed to billing page with a request to confirm all information (since this was the first time using this device)
Entered credit card security code without making any other changes and clicked the Done button
Returned to the Kayak screen
Clicked the Free button
Clicked the Install button
Did I really need to enter my password twice? The App Store should be smart enough to know I just entered a password when sending me to the billing information page. Normally I don’t mind having to authenticate when accessing billing information, but not when I just did it a moment ago and am finger tapping an iPhone.
Another redundant step was requiring me to tap the Free and Install buttons a second time after going through the setup screens. At that point I had gone through 36 taps, so I think I clearly expressed my desire to download the app (“Really, I do want it!”, I thought). The App Store should have just started the download.
A last unneeded step was asking me to update my payment information to download a free app. My guess is that was done to get my iPhone ready for seamless purchasing in the future, but that’s a business goal of Apple’s, not a user goal of mine. I just wanted to download a free app. Ask me to confirm my billing information when it’s really needed.
My entire Kayak download took 38 taps. Eliminating the second password prompt and the last two buttons would have cut it to 26, a 31% reduction in taps. That’s a lot in a mobile experience. Dropping the credit card setup for a free app would have removed four more taps. Luke Wroblewski stated it best in Web Form Design, don’t ask for data you don’t need to complete the user’s task at hand.
As I said before, I love the App Store. But its download flow needs some streamlining, especially in the mobile context. I’m surprised Apple missed this aspect of the store’s design given its usual laser-focus on all the small details. As Charles Eames said: “The details are not the details. They make the design.”
Although it’s well known Google is always testing as many as 200 changes to its user interface, it wasn’t until today that I had the chance to step into one of those tests.
When going to the Google News page I saw a new layout and a link at the top that read “Why is News different?”. Clicking the link took me to a page that explained I was taking part in a test and asked me to complete a short survey. The survey page also contained a link to a 2006 post on the Official Google Blog that explained how Google uses its live sites for testing.
The changes being tested included offering people the choice of displaying stories in topical sections or as one long list. When shown in the list view, stories seemed to by ranked by how new they were, with newer stories at the top.
Each story summary had three icons at the top right. A star icon was used to mark the story as “Starred” (a favorite). This is on Google News already. A downward pointing arrow opened a layer that allowed a story to be shared via email, Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, and Google Reader. And an X icon was used to “Hide this story for 6 hours”. I’m not sure the significance of the six hours or whether the story would ever appear again, but I would think people would just want to remove the story altogether. This could be one of the things Google is testing.
I noticed a few other odd things on the News page:
To expand a story summary to see a bit more detail you have to click the white space around it, but there’s no visible call to action and no change to the mouse pointer. You just have to discover this feature. This also may be something being tested.
When my news preferences were first presented there were three columns of radio buttons in which I could mark each section as being used Rarely, Sometimes, or Always. But the setup progress indicator only showed setup as complete when no category was left set to Sometimes. So even though I sometimes read Entertainment stories, I had to set that category to Rarely or Always.
A news section’s name changed from black to gray when I choose Rarely, which made me wonder if stories in those categories will ever show (gray being indicative of a disabled state in web apps).
So like a good community member I gave Google my feedback. Of course I’m curious what other variations of the news UI were being tested and with how many people. I assume at some point some of these changes will make it into the site (or maybe not).
There’s nothing like a clean, concise quote from a noted designer or thinker when you need a short and sweet line to explain why we do what we do. Of course we all hope to work for an organization that already “gets it”, but whether you do or don’t it never hurts to have a little ammo in the back pocket for when someone challenges the need for dedicated UX resources. Another good quote source is the Pithy Design Quotes on the Society for Technical Communication’s website.
Google is once again using its technology to allow us to explore our world in new and exciting ways, this time helping New York City tourism promoters create 3D tours of selected parts of the city. In a marriage of high-resolution 3D streetview photography and digital maps of New York, Google’s partnership with NYC & Company gives us a glimpse into the future of immersive, exploratory experiences.
Using the Google Earth API and the new hi-res images, NYC & Company has added the 3D tours to the interactive wall and table displays at its information center. The 3D fly-throughs also are available on your desktop in Google Earth.
It’s a cardinal usability heuristic that status messages on your website need to be clear in communicating the current state of whatever task the user is engaged with and tell them where they can go from there. But that doesn’t mean they need to be dry and dull as if Mr. Spock was doing your copy writing.
Amazon’s iPhone app offers a playful take on the standard “you have 0 items in your cart” message seen on many ecommerce websites. Since it’s obvious the cart is empty (because there’s nothing in it), Amazon uses the occasion to suggest you give your cart a “purpose” by filling it with books or CDs. It adds an element of personality at a point in the experience in which it’s OK to be playful.
You wouldn’t use this tone if a customer’s order was canceled 10 days before Christmas because the product they purchased is out of stock and cannot be back-ordered. Nor would you use it if a consumer is in a dire situation they need to recover from, like not being able to find their previously made hotel reservation when trying to confirm it online. But in no-stress situations like the obviously empty cart more websites and mobile apps could use a little bit of personality.
With the launch of the iPad a few days ago we’ve been bombarded with countless commentaries and critiques of the user experience and potential new business models made possible by Steve Jobs’ “magical” new product. But sometimes you just have to sit back, relax, and watch someone totally engage with a product to remember why it is we UX designers live to create great experiences — we do it because it’s just plain fun.
A video surfaced on YouTube this week of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl playing with an iPad while her dad asked her to do different things. The dad, Todd Lappin, on whose telstarlogistics YouTube channel the video first gained attention, wrote that his daughter likes to play with his iPhone, but that this was her first iPad experience. While she clearly enjoyed herself, she also stumbled in a few places based on her previous experience with different devices (and who hasn’t seen that before).
The joy in this is seeing her complete immersion in the moment. She’s happy and excited not because of great UX or technical accomplishments, but because she’s having fun. It’s a great reminder of why we get up every day and do what we do.
Thinking about a website’s user experience cannot be limited to just the design of the user interface and people’s interactions with it. From the consumer’s point of view, their experience extends to everything that happens from the moment they first visit the site to when the product or information they seek is delivered.
One important aspect of the user experience, perceived site performance, can be particularly vexing to site users and designers alike. That’s because when a site is slow to download or respond to user actions it causes the visitor to focus on something that is getting in the way of what they are trying to do. The guidance around response times Jakob Nielsen provided in his 1994 book Usability Engineering is still true today, perhaps even more so given people’s increased exposure to broadband internet access at home and work.
Fortunately there are many tools out there for measuring how your site is performing in terms of download speed and response time. Here’s a few free ones I use:
Firebug: The Net tab in the popular Firefox Add-On displays the size and download speed of each of the individual elements that make up a particular web page. It displays the information in a waterfall graph showing when each object’s download begins and ends, allowing you to easily see when a Flash object or other large file may slowing down the site’s perceived performance. This is especially useful if your site has third-party advertising served from a network you don’t control.
Tamper Data:This Firefox Add-On gives you an extremely granular look at a site’s HTTP and HTTPS requests and responses. You can see file sizes, duration of requests and responses, and HTTP response code your server sends back to browser. This is useful if your site is experiencing slow response times because of requests to third-party content or if there is a problem in your content distribution network.
Bandwidth Place: This website can measure your computer’s upload and download speeds and show if your network connection is creating a bottleneck. If your download speed is comparable to what your site users have, which is often the case for intranet applications, this can help you understand what your audience is experiencing.
For industrial strength monitoring, Keynote Systems and Gomez offer paid services that can monitor download performance and response time from a geographically distributed network of computers that allows you to see how the site is performing from a worldwide perspective.
Keynote and Gomez also offer continuous monitoring services in which intelligent agents repeatedly visit a site from numerous geographically distributed locations and run through a scripted set of actions like performing a search, adding an item to a shopping cart, and checking out. Their services also provide email and SMS text alerting when performance thresholds have been exceeded. Keynote also has a free service, Keynote RedAlert, that can be used for 30 days to test scripted monitoring.
The Interaction Design Association updated their website yesterday with a new design and a few great new features.
Members using discussion threads on the previous incarnation of the site will have their profiles connected to all their posts once they create a password, which is new feature and replaces the kludgy authentication-by-email scheme the site had been using.
The site still features the highly popular discussions plus a new Job Board and Resources page. Both are great additions. Another great addition is the Related Threads on the right side of the discussions page that lists related threads based on the thread title.
Local IxDA chapters also have been creating their own websites recently to manage local events and share resources. You’ll have to join your local chapter on the main website even if you are already a local member as the membership rolls of the various sites do not appear to be connected. Not a big deal, and membership in the main organization and the local chapters is free.
The world got its first look at the long awaited iPad from Apple this week. And after digging into it bit I think I can wait a little longer to actually get one, though, as Apple has missed some key functionality.
A few of the key features Apple missed are:
No camera: Video chat is impossible without a built in iSight camera. With the hardware as large as it is there is no reason not to have a camera, and one better than the 2.5 megapixel on the iPhone.
No multitasking: There’s no reason a more powerful processor couldn’t have been included so that Mac OS X could be supported. And that’s another miss in itself.
No Mac OS X: Limiting the iPad to the iPhone OS removes a lot of key functionality for mobile users. Unless someone is planning to use Google Docs and other cloud-based apps there is a lot you can’t do with Apple’s “magical” new machine. Business travelers and many other users will find themselves having to carry an iPad and laptop.
Battery not removable: The 10-hour life of the battery is a big improvement over iPhone, but for the cost of the iPad it should come with a removable battery so a heavy user could charge it and swap in a backup.
Lack of clarity on GPS: It’s not clear if the iPad has a dedicated GPS chip or if that will be available on all models. The tech specs indicate Assisted GPS will be used, but not a dedicated GPS chip like one would find on a Garmin. It’s hard to believe Apple wouldn’t match the quality of location-based services available to the 3GS so I suspect this is more of a marketing or semantic problem than a technical limitation of the iPad.
While the iPad is a big advance in multitouch technology and will provide a great mobile web surfing experience, it does not offer enough functionality to replace the laptop, which is what many people were expecting. This is likely a business decision by Apple to not cannibalize the market for their Macbooks. The iPad may have strong appeal to BlackBerry users who want some of the iPhone experience without having to give up their Berry. Only time will tell if Apple made the right calls in limiting what iPad can do. |
- Robert Alvarez
former senior policy adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Energy and now a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies. His new report is called "Spent Nuclear Fuel Pools in the US: Reducing the Deadly Risks of Storage."
- Aileen Mioko Smith
executive director of the group Green Action.
Almost three months after the earthquake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear disaster in Japan, new radiation "hot spots" may require the evacuation of more areas further from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility. Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency recently admitted for the first time that full nuclear meltdowns occurred at three of the plant’s reactors, and more than doubled its estimate for the amount of radiation that leaked from the plant in the first week of the disaster in March. “What they failed to mention is that they discharged an equally large amount into the ocean,” says our guest Robert Alvarez, former senior policy adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Energy. “As [the radiation] goes up the food chain, it accumulates. By the time it reaches people who consume this food, the levels are higher than they originally were when they entered the environment.” Alvarez also discusses his new report on the vulnerabilities and hazards of stored spent fuel at U.S. reactors in the United States. Then we go to Tokyo to speak with Aileen Mioko Smith, executive director of the group Green Action. She says citizens leading their own monitoring efforts are calling for additional evacuations, especially for young children and pregnant women. [includes rush transcript]
JUAN GONZALEZ: Almost three months after the earthquake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear disaster in Japan, government officials say they may evacuate more towns affected by radiation. New monitoring data shows "hot spots" of elevated contamination farther away from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The new hot spots were announced after authorities conceded on Monday the crisis at the stricken nuclear power facility was far more severe than they had previously admitted. Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency more than doubled its estimate for the amount of radiation that leaked from the plant in the first week of the disaster in March. The agency has also admitted for the first time that full nuclear meltdowns occurred at three of the plant’s reactors.
A recent law school graduate, Takanori Eto, is the first to file a lawsuit against the Japanese government over its handling of the crisis.
TAKANORI ETO: [translated] There are dangers inherent in the government’s nuclear policy. From the very beginning, there were also mistakes made. We also found out that, even after the accident, the Japanese government was unable to properly protect its people. So I decided, rather than remain silent, I needed to bring to light these lapses in judgment in a lawsuit.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Takanori Eto, the first person to sue the Japanese government over its handling of the nuclear disaster.
The New York Times reports harsh economic conditions are driving laborers to Fukushima for work at the plant despite the dangers. Earlier this week, a robot sent into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility detected the highest levels of radiation since the onset of the crisis. A nuclear review by the U.S. power industry, convened this week, is weighing safety upgrades at domestic plants in the wake of Japan’s reactor crisis.
To discuss the state of nuclear power plants in Japan and the United States, we’re joined in Washington, D.C., by Robert Alvarez, former senior policy adviser to the U.S. Secretary of Energy, now a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies. We’re also joined in Tokyo by Aileen Mioko Smith, executive director of the group Green Action.
We welcome you both to Democracy Now! Bob Alvarez, start off by talking about what we know at this point and the fact that just this week we’re hearing there were three nuclear meltdowns. What does this mean?
ROBERT ALVAREZ: Well, I think it means that the accident was much more prompt and severe, and its radiological consequences are going to be — unfold in a more serious way. As you mentioned earlier, the contamination of land nearby, or not so nearby, is proving to be quite extensive. The reports that I’ve seen suggest that land contamination, in terms of areas that are technically uninhabitable because of cesium-137 contamination, is roughly 600 square kilometers, or about 17 times the size of Manhattan Island.
JUAN GONZALEZ: And Aileen Mioko Smith, the reaction of the public to this increased contamination much further on than the exclusion zone, although it’s in hot spots — what has been the reaction to the government’s failure to make this clear early on?
AILEEN MIOKO SMITH: Well, there’s incredible concern, especially among parents in Fukushima prefecture. But now spreading is concern among parents in Tokyo, which is quite a far way from Fukushima. Mainly, what’s been happening is that citizens have been monitoring. And after they find high levels, they demand that the local authorities and the government look at those contaminated areas, and then the government looks, and it is contaminated. So it’s very much citizen-oriented. There are people going in all the time. There are radiation monitors all over. Parents are measuring. Mothers are measuring. University professors on weekends are measuring.
AMY GOODMAN: And a new study is being done by the prefecture, Aileen?
AILEEN MIOKO SMITH: Yes, we’re very concerned that a health study is starting at the end of this month. This is concerning the effects of the Fukushima residents, on the prefectural citizens. It’s headed by a Dr. Shunichi Yamashita, who’s at the Atomic Bomb Research Institute. He’s the radiological health safety risk management adviser for the prefecture. He’s widely shown on national TV. He speaks widely in the prefecture, always saying there’s absolutely no concern with the levels of radiation in Fukushima. He says that mothers, even mothers exposed to 100 millisieverts, pregnant mothers, will not have any effect, health effect. Remember the number 100. Compared to that, the Soviet Union required a mandatory evacuation during Chernobyl at five millisieverts. This doctor is quoted as saying, "The effects of radiation do not come to people that are happy and laughing. They come to people that are weak-spirited, that brood and fret." This is a direct quote. And he’s heading the study. And so, the citizens in Fukushima are very concerned.
AMY GOODMAN: Bob Alvarez, you’ve come out with a new report. What are your main findings?
ROBERT ALVAREZ: Well, my report dealt with the vulnerabilities and hazards of stored spent fuel at U.S. reactors in the United States. The United States shares similar designs, reactor designs, as the Japanese reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi station. And if you watched the accident unfold at the Daiichi station, the explosions basically showed you that the spent fuel pools were exposed to the open sky. We, in the United States, are currently storing on the order of three to four, five times more radioactivity in our pools than in Japan, and that the amount of radioactivity that we are storing in unsafe, vulnerable pools constitutes the largest concentrations of radioactivity on the planet.
In 2008, my colleagues and I issued a report, an in-depth study, following the 9/11 attacks. We became very concerned about the vulnerability of these pools after those attacks, and we pointed out that if somebody or something were to cause the water to drain, it would lead to a catastrophic radiological fire that could render an area uninhabitable far greater than that created by Chernobyl. Chernobyl created an area that’s currently uninhabitable that’s approximately the size of half of the state of New Jersey.
The fact of the matter is, is that we don’t have a final resting place for these wastes. We’ve been trying to find a disposal site for these wastes for the last 55 years. And the reality is that these wastes are going to continue to accumulate at U.S. sites, and the reactor operators are going to continue to squeeze spent fuel into pools that have nowhere near the level of protection of reactors. I mean, these pools are contained in structures that you would find at car dealerships or big box stores. And, for example, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not require the pools to have backup diesel generators if they lose offsite power. It’s very important to keep the pools cool, and they do pose some very, very serious risks. They are, in my opinion, the most serious vulnerability of nuclear power that we have in the United States.
JUAN GONZALEZ: But what are the alternatives, given the fact, obviously, that the United States government, like several other governments around the world, are determined to continue to expand the use of nuclear power? What are the alternatives for storing the spent fuel?
ROBERT ALVAREZ: Well, I think that there are different — there’s a big difference between plans and reality. I think that the expansion of nuclear power in this country, if it occurs at all, is going to be rather modest and minor. We have to be concerned about the 104 reactors that are operating and the generation of that material, and that we should be doing what Germany did 25 years ago, which is to thin out the pools, use them for the original purpose they were intended, which is to allow the spent fuel to cool off for several years, and then to place the spent fuel into dry, hardened storage modules. And this significantly reduces the hazards of these spent fuel pools.
AMY GOODMAN: You say that what is recommended for expansion in the United States is relatively minor, Bob Alvarez, but I think many were shocked that President Obama has been pushing for something that presidents haven’t pushed for for decades. I mean, the last nuclear power plant in this country built, what, some 30, 40 years ago. I mean, Juan, you’ve written about President Obama, before he was president, getting a good deal of support from the nuclear industry, and he never said he wasn’t going to push for this, but they’ve been rather quiet about it right now, since the catastrophe in Japan.
ROBERT ALVAREZ: Well, I think a lot of this is rhetorical. I think that — I look at it as the equivalent of throwing nuclear candy at political supporters, or even political enemies who you’re trying to win over. The fact of the matter is, is that nuclear power is not going to have a chance in this country, at all, unless it has unfettered access to the United States Treasury. This is not going to happen. The House, for example, recently enacted the appropriations legislation for fiscal year 2012 and totally spurned Obama’s request to expand loan guarantee authority. In other words, the U.S. government would guarantee the loans, but the loans themselves would come out of the U.S. Treasury. I don’t think that the Congress right now has the stomach to open up the Treasury for reactors that are going to cost on the order of $10 billion apiece.
You also have to keep in mind that while he has been vocally supportive of nuclear power and has done things like try to seek expanded loan guarantee authority, he’s also pulled the rug out from under the nuclear industry by canceling the Yucca Mountain disposal site. And so, I think that we have to sort out, as we do with a lot of things the President does, the difference between what he says and what happens.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Aileen Mioko Smith, I’d like to get back to the disaster in Japan for a moment. Greenpeace has been reporting that the contamination levels — dangerous contamination levels in the ocean go out as — they found it as far as 50 miles out from the shore. What has been happening with the fishing industry in Japan and the reaction to the possible contamination of huge swaths of the ocean off the coast?
AILEEN MIOKO SMITH: Yes, the ocean contamination is very serious. There are estimates that it’s 10 times the release that was — that compared to Chernobyl into the Baltic Sea. So it’s very serious. And the National Fisheries Association came out very early on after the accident demanding the closure of all nuclear power plants in Japan. This is an incredible statement, because the industry has never been concerned about nuclear power before. Just right now, TEPCO is — the amount of contaminated water on site is building and building, and there’s intention to dump more. And the industry is opposing it right now.
AMY GOODMAN: Bob Alvarez, can you talk about this contamination of the oceans?
ROBERT ALVAREZ: Yes. As you know, the Japanese government, in its report to the IAEA, said it had underestimated the amount of radioactivity released to the atmosphere during the first week and that it amounts to roughly 40 million curies of radioactivity. What they failed to mention is that they discharged an equally large amount into the ocean, about 20 million curies, and that the — what they’re counting here is the radioactive iodine and radioactive cesium.
Radioactive cesium is of most concern because it has a half-life of 30 years, it gives off potentially dangerous external penetrating radiation, and it is absorbed into the food chain and other biota as if it were potassium. So as it goes up the food chain, it accumulates, and by the time it reaches people who consume this food, the levels are higher than they originally were when they entered the environment. There is a stretch of ocean floor offshore from the reactor site that’s about 300 kilometers wide — I don’t recall, several kilometers — 300 kilometers long, rather, and several kilometers wide of cesium-137. That’s a very, very serious concern because of the fact that this is really a fundamental element of the aquatic food chain for the food supply for the country of Japan.
AMY GOODMAN: Aileen Mioko Smith, can you talk about the changing of what is considered acceptable radiation limits at the schools?
AILEEN MIOKO SMITH: Yes. There’s been a big fight. The Fukushima residents, the parents, came down in busloads to Tokyo on March — excuse me, May 23rd and met with the Ministry of Education. The whole building was encircled by people, completely encircled, and these negotiations went on inside the building. It was very intense. And the parents made the ministry say that they would aim for returning to back down to the one millisievert standard as much as possible, compared to the twentyfold increase that they were allowing in Fukushima prefecture for the children. These levels that they have been allowing, it’s officially still in place. They’re huge levels. Twenty millisieverts is much higher than what triggers a radiation-controlled area inside nuclear power plants. For example, in Japan, workers have been recognized for compensation, getting leukemia or whatever, as low as five, a little bit over five millisieverts. And this standard for children is fourfold that annually. Anyway, we demanded that it be brought down as close to one. They agreed. And then it turns out that what they’re saying is, just during the time they’re a school, they can reach that maximum one. So, of course, you know, a child’s life is at school, going to and from school, etc., so the government is still allowing very high levels for children.
JUAN GONZALEZ: Bob Alvarez, I’d like to ask you about this problem that the public confronts of governments misrepresenting, or sometimes actually lying, to the public in terms — when these major disasters occur. I mean, going back, from Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, most recently the BP spill in the Gulf, or the collapse of the Twin Towers and the health effects for the public, and now here we have in Japan — the tendency of government always to withhold information that they immediately have from the public. Doesn’t this eventually lead to just general mistrust of people to what the government is saying in these disasters?
ROBERT ALVAREZ: Oh, yes, of course. I think the nuclear industries, particularly in the United States and elsewhere, Russia, Japan, have a very long history of withholding information and misleading the public about the hazards of their activities. And in this country, it went on for many years, and during the open-air bomb testing program, for example. The nuclear industry enjoys this rather unique status because of its origins in the nuclear weapons program and that it’s a system that has been fostered under conditions of secrecy, isolation and privilege, and they do not consider it in their interest to be candid with the public. I used to work in the Energy Department for six years and was a former, I guess you would say, nuclear insider. And the mindset that I encountered there was that they — the people who were reluctant to reveal candid information about the nature of the hazards from these activities — was that we can’t scare people, scaring people is worse than telling them the truth. And I think that that’s a fundamental — a fundamentally wrongheaded assumption.
AMY GOODMAN: Bob Alvarez, how do you respond to the U.S. nuclear industry saying it doesn’t expect any health problems among Japanese people as a result of the nuclear accident?
ROBERT ALVAREZ: I just think that’s arm waving. It’s public relations arm waving, because we won’t know what the full truth will be for decades to come. We do know that based on past accidents, such as Chernobyl, such as the experience we’ve had with our nuclear workers in this country over the last 50 years, is that there is bound to be a significant increase in the risk of cancer, and most likely other diseases.
AMY GOODMAN: And you say Japan is equal to or worse than Chernobyl, the Fukushima Daiichi plant?
ROBERT ALVAREZ: That’s correct, because if — the Soviet Union and Russia basically have claimed that about 50 million curies of radioactivity were released to the environment — this is roughly comparable to what the Japanese government has currently admitted — and that this site continues to release significant amount of radiation in the atmosphere, nowhere near as large as it did during the first week or two, but it’s still quite significant.
The other issue here is the workers on the site. I was astounded to learn that some 5,000 workers have positive evidence of internal exposure to radioactive materials. This is a huge number of people to be exposed over such a short period of time. In the U.S. nuclear weapons program, which operated at a sort of a brisk pace for nearly 50 years, this is roughly comparable to what all workers at nuclear weapons sites during that period were recorded to have received from internal exposures. I think that the impact on the workforce, the emergency responders, is going — is something we need to watch very closely, because that’s going to give us some important clues of what we might expect in terms of the health consequences to the public.
JUAN GONZALEZ: And yet, Aileen Mioko Smith, some of the reports that we’ve had here, the news reports, say that there’s no trouble recruiting people to go and work on the cleanup because of, obviously, the high pay that they’re offering and also the economic dislocation that occurred as a result of the tsunami and of the nuclear accident itself.
AILEEN MIOKO SMITH: Yes, that’s correct. And we’re very concerned for the health of the workers. And as Bob Alvarez pointed out, now the knowledge that so many workers have received internal exposure, this is also a concern for the public, and citizens are very concerned about that. The Japanese government refuses to recognize any potential internal exposure of the residents of Fukushima. We’ve been addressing this about the children. Citizens have demanded whole body counts — a few have actually been able to get them — at the Atomic Bomb Research Institute, and are refused the results. They’re just told, "No problem." They don’t — aren’t given the data. And they’re demanding that the data be released. So that is a great concern.
And the other thing I want to point out is this is still an ongoing accident. That issue about the spent fuel pool that Bob Alvarez addressed on the U.S., at Fukushima, as you know, Unit 4 is there with that exposed spent fuel pool. We’re concerned about possible aftershocks. There are people that are still living 12 miles outside of the radius of the plant. They’re only hot spots that have been evacuated outside of that larger area of 20, 30 kilometers. And that’s why we’re demanding evacuation, and the demand has now become very clear, and we’re pushing for that to happen, especially for pregnant women and young children.
AMY GOODMAN: Bob Alvarez, nuclear power globally — the U.S. says it’s moving forward. But Germany, Angela Merkel has been forced to turn back on that, and they say they’re not going to move forward with nuclear power plants. Same with Switzerland. Saudi Arabia says they’re going to build 30 new nuclear power plants?
ROBERT ALVAREZ: Well, as I said, plans and statements and announcements oftentime are different from what actually happens. The fact of the matter in the United States is that we no longer have any companies or capabilities or infrastructure to build nuclear reactors. We have to depend on nations such as Japan and France to do that. Japan is the — right now the only producer of forgings for reactor vessels. Nuclear engineers in this country are almost like Confederate war veterans; there are very few actual U.S. citizens who go to college to become nuclear engineers, because it’s considered a dead-end occupation. So, we don’t really have the infrastructure. The skilled knowledge base that we need to have any significant expansion of nuclear power is not there.
And I think that the Fukushima accident has really had a major body blow to the world nuclear industry. You have to understand that Japan, with its 54 reactors, represents the third-largest number of reactors of a country in the world. They’re number three. And for Japan now to announce that it’s going to shut down its reactors by next spring, albeit perhaps for temporary reasons, is a major signal to other countries who either have a large reactor fleet or those who are contemplating building more.
I think Saudi Arabia’s desire to have 30 reactors is something that’s not necessarily going to be easily achievable, because of the fact that the United States serves essentially as a gatekeeper for any such deal of that nature. I think that Saudi Arabia is looking to establish a nuclear infrastructure in order to allow it to have the capability down the road to have nuclear weapons. Building 30 reactors in Saudi Arabia, in a country which really doesn’t have much water to speak of — and reactors are extremely water-intensive — doesn’t make a lot of sense. And then if you look at the price tag for building these reactors in a place like Saudi Arabia, you’re looking at an expenditure of somewhere between three to five trillion dollars to do this. So I think some of this — some of these announcements and plans are just what they are, announcements and plans.
AMY GOODMAN: And finally, on Vermont, because it could become the first legislature in the country to shut down a nuclear power plant, the Vermont Yankee plant, but Entergy, the owner, is fighting hard, trying to sue them to stop them from doing this. The comparison of Vermont Yankee to the Fukushima plant?
ROBERT ALVAREZ: Well, the Vermont Yankee plant is a General Electric boiling water Mark 1 reactor, which is the exact same design as those at the Fukushima Daiichi site. It has more radioactivity in its spent fuel than all of the spent fuel rods at the four troubled reactors, wrecked reactors, at Fukushima. It’s 42 years old. And this is a reactor which — I think whose time has come to close. It should not be looked upon as just an ATM machine for a multi-tiered holding company that makes sure that it can make as much money as possible. You know, this reactor was purchased for pennies on the dollar. And companies like Entergy, who operate in these deregulated environments, are loath to do things that would require significant safety upgrades. For example, if the state required them to build cooling towers and comply with the Clean Air Act and to really build new modern ones, I think the capital expenses alone would drive Entergy to shut down that reactor. So, I think that the battle lines are drawn there, and I think that we’re going to see an increasing battle between states who appear to be on a collision course with the federal government over the future of nuclear power.
AMY GOODMAN: We want to thank you very much for being with us, Robert Alvarez —
ROBERT ALVAREZ: Thank you.
AMY GOODMAN: — former senior policy adviser to U.S. Secretary of Energy, now a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies. His new report is called "Spent Nuclear Fuel Pools in the US: Reducing the Deadly Risks of Storage." We’ll link to that at democracynow.org. And Aileen Mioko Smith, thank you so much for being with us again, this time from Tokyo. She is executive director of the group Green Action. |
Your Community Press newspaper serving Bethel, Chilo, Felicity, Franklin Township, Moscow, Neville, Tate Township, Washington Township E-mail: [email protected] T h u r s d a y, A p r i l 2 9 , 2 0 1 0
Mercy Hospital Clermont
Vol. 111 No. 16 © 2010 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Bethel waits for fiscal designation
After months of waiting, Bethel could be placed in a state of fiscal watch or fiscal emergency next month. Fiscal Officer Angel Burton said the state auditor’s office has not given her an official date, but she expects the designation to be made in May. FULL STORY, A2
JOURNAL Web site: communitypress.com
B E C A U S E C O M M U N I T Y M AT T E R S
Bethel-Tate sells old office
By Kellie Geist
After having the property on the market for a year and a half, the Bethel-Tate Local School District has sold the old district office at 112 N. Union St. The district used a closed bid process and sold the property to OPO (for Old Post Office) LLC for $57,000. The sale closed April 15. The property had been on the market since the district moved
the administrative offices to 675 W. Plane St. in the fall of 2008. “It’s good to sell that property. We didn’t have a use for it anymore and having it sit empty in town wasn’t good for the community,” said Superintendent Jim Smith. “We’re very pleased with the sale and we hope the new owners are happy with their purchase.” OPO spokesperson Nancy Sterman said Brown-Deboard Heating and Cooling will be moving into
the space. That business currently is located in the back half of the building at 321⁄2 W. Plane St. “The building was a good investment and we’re just playing it by ear for now. We need to do some cleaning and then they’ll move into the first floor of the building ... But we’re not rushed,” Sterman said. She said they may also renovate the upstairs apartments, but no decisions have been made. Sterman said they liked the
If you’re looking for ways to save money on health and fitness, groceries, clothes, beauty and fashion, sign up now to attend the LOL: LIVE Savings Summit. The May 15 event is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and free to 350 people. The Locals on Living Summit will draw on the wisdom of local bloggers, who will share their tips and tricks on how to save money immediately. You can get more information and sign up at http://lolsavings. eventbrite.com/ To read more from Locals on Living, go to cincinnati.com/lol.
Nominate top athletes
The deadline is near to nominate top athletes who meet the highest of standards both on and off the field for the 2010 Community Press Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year online contest. By midnight Thursday, April 29, go to cincinnati.com/preps and click on the Sportsman icon on the right-hand side of the page. Nominations will be put on a ballot that will be available May 13 to midnight June 10. FOR MORE, SEE SPORTS, A6 For the Postmaster
Published weekly every Thursday. Periodical postage paid at Bethel, OH 45106 ISSN 1066-7458 * USPS 053-040 Postmaster: Send address change to The Bethel Journal 394 Wards Corner Road, Suite 170 Loveland, Ohio 45140 Annual Subscription: Weekly Journal & Sunday Enquirer In-County $18.00; Weekly Jounral only all other in-state $20.00; Out-of - state $20.00
To place an ad, call 242-4000.
building because of the space and storage options. Although they are only moving about a block up the street, she said it’s still going to be a difficult move. “No one likes change, but the opportunity presented itself and we took it. I can see why some people wouldn’t want that space, but it’s perfect for us,” she said. Brown-Deboard Heating and Cooling does resident heating and cooling repairs and replacements. They also sell parts.
How does that work?
Darcy Angel, left, and Jasmine Wrenn, fourthgraders at Ebon C. Hill Intermediate School in Bethel, play with Jacob’s ladders April 23 at the Grassy Run Rendezvous in Williamsburg. For more photos from the event, see page A4.
Rodenberg runs for judge
Clermont County Civil Magistrate Kathleen Rodenberg is running for her first term as common pleas judge in the domestic division and will be on the ballot for the Tuesday, May 4, primary election. She is seeking the Republican Party nomination. Rodenberg answered the following questions about her campaign. FULL STORY, A3
Bethel to buy electricity from AEP By Mary Dannemiller [email protected]
By next year, residents of Bethel will no longer use electricity supplied by Duke Energy. Village council members recently approved a contract for wholesale electric service with Columbus-based American Electric Power. Under the current contract with Duke, which expires in December, the village pays $64.90 per megawatt hour. AEP will charge Bethel $45.60 per megawatt hour. “Our current contract with Duke runs through the end of 2010 and in preparation for this we have been working since January to obtain the best rate for our next four-year period,” said village Administrator Travis Dotson. “American Electric Power came forward with the best offer.” Village residents will continue
to pay their bills through the village and should not notice any differences in service once AEP begins supplying electricity, Dotson said. “There are two aspects to the purchase of bulk power,” he said. “Each bill we receive includes a fee for power as well as a fee for the transmission of the power to the village. By switching to American Electric Power, we will purchase the bulk from them, but continue to pay Duke for the transmission of the power to village due to the fact that Duke owns the lines that feed the village.” What the village pays Duke in transmission fees each month varies depending on usage and are not included in the charge per megawatt hour, Dotson said. “For the year of 2009, our average monthly fee ended up being just over $15,000,” he said.
“The amount we’re paying now at $64.90 doesn’t include that $15,000 because it’s required to be separate on the bill.” Dotson also said the amount the village pays Duke in transmission fees will remain the same. Because Duke owns the power lines, power outages due to storms, accidents or mechanical problems will be corrected by Duke, said Mayor James Dick. “There will be no difference in down time when the power is out,” he said. “The transmission service fee obligates Duke to fix those lines. AEP shouldn’t fix Duke’s lines.” The lower rate will help village council members better prepare for natural disasters and maintain electric equipment, Dotson said. “Now that council has locked in a rate for the period of 2011 through 2014, the village can begin the work of planning for the
future by determining capital improvement needs and rainy day fund reserve needs all without the need to increase rates,” he said. “Setting aside funds for capital improvement is essential for the maintenance and preservation of our electric infrastructure and equipment. “Setting aside a rainy day reserve enables us to be prepared for unforeseen issues such as ice or wind storms so that we have funds in place to recover.” Residents might even see their electric bills get smaller because of the new contract with AEP, Dotson said. “Council is pleased to have successfully negotiated these lower rates and is hopeful that after working through this process a reduction in electric rates to the village residents may be a possibility in 2011,” Dotson said.
Village to offer even billing for utilities By Mary Dannemiller [email protected]
Bethel Village Council members recently authorized the purchase of software that will allow residents to choose an even billing option for utilities. The initial cost of the software is $1,400 and comes with a yearly maintenance fee of $219, said village Administrator Travis Dotson. “The annual maintenance fee of $219 will provide technical sup-
port and software upgrades,” he said. “Village council understands that this is a time when many are struggling to make ends meet and they hope that by offering expanded even billing, this will be a service option that is beneficial to the residents of Bethel.” Currently, even billing is an option only on electric bills, Dotson said. Even billing allows customers to pay the same amount for services each month. “The even billing module will be an addition to our current billing
software and is designed to keep billed amounts uniform,” Dotson said. “The even billing amount will most likely be recalculated twice a year. We currently calculate even billing manually and only offer it for electric service.” The new system also will make it easier for village officials to keep utility billing records, he said. “By switching to the software, it will allow everything to be uniform and will provide for better recordkeeping,” he said. “The software will provide even billing
for the customer’s total utility bill and will be available to all homeowners in the village.” Fiscal Officer Angel said the village’s ailing general fund would not be impacted by either the initial purchase or the maintenance costs. “The village can afford the purchase,” she said. “The module is being paid for from currently appropriated water and electric funds. The utility funds are viable and self-supporting. General fund is not involved at all.”
April 29, 2010
No Bethel football coach means no conditioning, supervision By Kellie Geist
A committee was put together to review and interview candidates for the head coaching position earlier this spring and a formal recommendation and report was given to the school board Monday, April
2010 season, the guys at Bethel-Tate High School are still waiting for a coach. The school board was expected to discuss hiring a coach at a special meeting Tuesday, April 27.
While the football players in neighboring districts are in the weight room and running laps to prepare for the
7 NIGHTS FROM
GOLDEN åååååå VALUE PLUS: $200 Resort Coupons per room, per stay (restrictions apply). Available most July-August departures.
ååå+ Uniquely designed to offer the beauty of nature along with all of the comforts you desire. Available most May-June 5 departures.
Great Parnassus All Inclusive Resort & Spa åååå+
NH Real Arena ååååå Popular with families. VALUE PLUS: FREE upgrade to family room: Familiesof-Four-Six enjoy more room for the same price. Available most May-June 5 departures.
Non-Stop Flights Included! Natura Park Beach Eco-Resort & Spa
Resort offers The Treasure Island Water Park and recreational areas specially designed such as baby club, kids club and teens disco. Available most June-August departures.
4 Nts from $1099
Cancun’s Riviera Maya
7 Nts from $1349
7 Nts from $1799
VALUE PLUS: Two Kids 12 yrs and under Stay, Play and Eat FREE! Available most May-June 5 departures.
VALUE PLUS: Kids 12 yrs and under Stay, Play and Eat FREE! Enjoy exchange privileges with Grand Palladium White Sand & Riviera Resort & Spa. Available most June-August departures. $ 99*
3 Nts from $1199
Gran Bahia Principe Coba
7 Nts from $1899
4 Nts from $1499
7 Nts from $1299
By Jonn Seney [email protected]
A panel of the Ohio Supreme Court has thrown out a complaint against Thomas Herman, candidate
GOLDEN åååååå Couples and families enjoy the Unlimited-Luxury® of this haven which features an Exployer’s Club for kids. VALUE PLUS: Two Kids 12 yrs and under Stay, Play and Eat FREE! Available most June 25-August 21 departures.
7 Nts from $1999
We’re all about you. 24-HOUR ALL-INCLUSIVE by RIU
Your Community Press newspaper serving Bethel, Chilo, Felicity, Franklin Township, Moscow, Neville, Tate Township, Washington Township
Riu Palace Macao ååååå This resort offers four restaurants and bars. Scuba lessons in the pool are also available. Wireless internet in lobby included! Available most May-June 5 departures 7 Nts from $1899
ASK AN AGENT BELOW OR CALL 1-800-517-2000 OR LOG ON APPLEVACATIONS.COM TODAY! CE-0000395895
ALL INCLUSIVE VACATIONS • 10925 Reed Hartman, #301 . . . . . . 513-891-5950 / investinmemories.com CASINO WORLD TRAVEL • 7291 Bobby Lane, Cincinnati . . . 800-563-6608 / www.casinoworldtravel.com HOLIDAY CRUISE & TRAVEL • 7801 Beechmont Ave. . www.holidaycruiseandtravel.com / 513-388-3600 NET TRAVEL STORE • Northgate Mall 9669A Colerain Ave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513-851-5151 TRAVEL LEADERS • Inside Jungle Jims, Fairfield . . . . . . . . . . . www.travelleaders.com/nky / 513-360-4600 VICTORIA TRAVEL • 3330 Erie Ave., Cincinnati. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . victoriatravel.biz / 513-871-1100
ALL SORIES ACCES
News Theresa L. Herron | Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . 248-7128 | [email protected] Mary Dannemiller | Reporter . . . . . . . . . 248-7684 | [email protected] Kelie Geist | Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248-7681 | [email protected] John Seney | Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248-7683 | [email protected] Melanie Laughman | Sports Editor. . . . . . 248-7573 | [email protected] Anthony Amorini | Sports Reporter . . . . . 248-7570 | [email protected] Advertising Mark Lamar | Territory Sales Manager. . . . 687-8173 | [email protected] Kimtica Jarman Account Relationship Specialist . . . . . . . . . . 936-4707 | [email protected] Angela Paollelo-Marcotte Account Relationship Specialist . . . . . . . . . 936-4715 | [email protected] Delivery For customer service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576-8240 Stephen Barraco | Circulation Manager . . 248-7110 | [email protected] Diana Bruzina | District manager . . . . . . . 248-7113 | [email protected] Classified To place a Classified ad . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242-4000 | www.communityclassified.com To place an ad in Community Classified, call 242-4000.
• Open Sundays APPLE VACATIONS RESORT RATINGS: GOLDENå= Exceptional Standard of Service & Quality; + = Enhanced services, features and/or facilities, 6å = Luxurious, 5å = Superior First Class, 4å = First Class,
FF 10% O
Find news and information from your community on the Web Bethel – cincinnati.com/bethel Felicity – cincinnati.com/felicity Franklin Township – cincinnati.com/franklintownship Moscow – cincinnati.com/moscow Neville – cincinnati.com/neville Tate Township – cincinnati.com/tatetownship
*2010 prices are per person, based on double occupancy and include roundtrip airfare from Cincinnati via USA3000 Airlines, or other U.S. certified carrier, hotel transfers, hotel tax, and baggage handling. USA3000 second checked bag fee of $25 may apply. All other carriers, please see the individual air carriers website for a full detailed description of baggage charges. Bookings within 14 days of departure add $10 per person.*$87.00-$148.00 (U.S. & foreign departure taxes/fees, $2.50 per segment September 11th Federal Security Fee, airport user fees) not included. All prices shown include applicable fuel surcharges. Holiday surcharges and weekend add-ons may apply. Apple Vacations is not responsible for errors or omissions. See Apple Vacations’ Fair Trade Contract. Cancun prices based on lowest fare class available. nad_536_042510_cvg_cl
• • • •
for Clermont County Court of Common Pleas judge, filed by Daniel Breyer, his opponent in the May 4 primary. Breyer, an assistant prosecutor, claimed Herman, a
Dreams La Romana Resort & Spa
Riu Playacar GOLDEN ååååå
have negative balances: General, $325,000; police pension, $21,600; and sidewalk assessment, $15,900. Village council member Gary Hutchinson emphasized funds from the 2.9mill police levy on the May ballot would not be going towards the general fund. “The finances of the village are in good shape, but the general fund is in the red because of mismanagement from the previous administration,” he said. “This levy is not asking residents to bail us out. All of that money goes right to the police department and is used only for the police department.”
Fly into Punta Cana, Stay in La Romana!
åååååå Unlimited-Luxury® New hip destination where sophistication meets understated. VALUE PLUS: $180 Resort Credits per room, per stay (restrictions apply). Available most August-October departures. $ 99*
VALUE PLUS: Kids 12 yrs and under Stay, Play and Eat FREE! 24-hour all-inclusive drinks and snacks and Children’s Program (ages 4-12). Available most July-August departures
7 Nts from $1999
ignated as such,” she said. “However, our auditors are conducting a fiscal analysis. We can’t discuss anything while we’re working on an ongoing operation.” According to the state auditor’s office website, “if the analysis shows that a deficit in a local government’s general fund, or in any other fund, exceeds one-twelfth of the total general fund budget, then the local government is placed on fiscal watch,” and “if the deficit exceeds one-sixth of the total general fund budget, the local government’s situation becomes a fiscal emergency.” The following village funds
Complaint against Herman is dismissed
GOLDEN åååååå Unlimited-Luxury® where everything is included. VALUE PLUS: Two Kids 12 yrs and under Stay, Play and Eat FREE! Available most May-August departures.
Now Riviera Cancun Resort & Spa
7 Nts from $1899
Dreams Palm Beach Punta Cana
All junior suites with Jacuzzi. VALUE PLUS: Kids 12 yrs and under Stay, Play and Eat FREE! Available most July-August departures.
Grand Palladium Punta Cana Resort & Spa GOLDEN ååååå
Grand Palladium Colonial and Kantenah Resort & Spa GOLDEN ååååå
By Mary Dannemiller After months of waiting, Bethel could be placed in a state of fiscal watch or fiscal emergency next month. Fiscal Officer Angel Burton said the state auditor’s office has not given her an official date, but she expects the designation to be made in May. Julia Debes, deputy press secretary for the state auditor’s office, could only say state auditors were conducting a fiscal analysis of the village. “We are the right agency that declares an emergency, but at this time the village of Bethel has not been des-
Your ALL-INCLUSIVE Apple Vacation, INCLUDES ROUNDTRIP AIRFARE from CINCINNATI via USA3000 Airlines to Cancun and Punta Cana, hotel accommodations, all meals, all drinks, all tips, roundtrip deluxe airport / hotel transfers and more!
coach for supervision or organization. During the April 19 board meeting, parent Jennifer Shinkle asked the board why they couldn’t vote on the new football coach that night. Board President Mark Rose said the board needed time to make the right decision.
CELEBRATE SUMMER WITH SAVINGS UP TO 50%
3 Nts from $1299
process. It’s vital that these kids get bigger and stronger and you can’t start that process a month before the season,” Wilson said. “We can catch up, but we need to start soon.” He said other districts have been conditioning since January and the students they have no football
99 Bethel officials waiting for fiscal declaration
Non-Stop Flights Included! Dreams Cancun Resort & Spa
19. While the board discussed the issue during executive session, they did not vote. Students, parents and Athletic Director Rick Wilson are concerned time is slipping away. “It’s putting these kids at a disadvantage. We need to get a coach in here as soon as possible to start the conditioning
UP TO $1 Annual Sale! TAX CREDIT S5T00 ILL GREAT SAVINGS ON ONEE OF OF A K KIND, IND D DISCONTINUED ISSCONTINUED & FFLOOR LOO MODELS AVAILAB LE
$50 TO $1500 OFF
REGULAR PRICE ON SELECTED STOVES & FIREPLACES, GAS, PELLET & WOODBURNING OLYMPIC
DEFIANT & ENCORE
municipal court judge, was representing himself in campaign advertising as a sitting common pleas judge. Breyer also claimed Herman was representing himself as the endorsed Republican candidate. In the ruling filed April 22, the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of the Supreme Court of Ohio stated “this panel finds that no probable cause exists for the filing of a formal complaint and it is hereby ordered that the complaint be dismissed.” The Ohio Election Commission dismissed the same complaint earlier this month. In a statement on the ruling, Herman said, “In both the Supreme Court and the Ohio Elections Commission probable cause to proceed was not demonstrated and the meritless complaint was thrown out.”
BRIEFLY Date changed
BATAVIA – The date for the YWCA Eastern Area’s Sex in the SAC (Student Activity Center) event has been changed to Friday, April 30. Sex in the SAC will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day in the Student Activity Center on campus at the UC Clermont College. Sex in the SAC is an event held to raise awareness about safe and healthy sexual activity and relationships. It is held in April in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This is the second year for the event. For more information, call the YWCA at 732-0450.
THE GNOME PELLET STOVE, FLOOR MODEL ONLY SAVE $1146
WOODBURNING INSERT ONLY 1 LEFT SAVE $735
GAS FIREPLACE SAVE $200 STOCK ONLY
WOOD BURNING STOVE SAVE $200-$225 WHILE QUANTITIES LAST
GAS FIREPLACE FLOOR MODELS UP TO $600 OFF
WE CARRY THE BEST BRANDS AVAILABLE DutchWest
CONSTRUCTION & STOVES
7620 Daleview Road, Cincinnati, OH 45247 (Colerain Twp.)
MONROE TWP. – Monroe Grange Card Party starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at the Grange Hall in Nicholsville. This is open to the public. Euchre is played. Food is available at the middle of the games. This is the last of the season. Parties start again in October.
Index LIMITED TIME HURRY IN WHILE SELECTION IS GOOD!
WE ALSO HAVE TOOL SETS, HEARTH BOARDS, SCREENS, FAT WOOD, STEAMERS.
Hours: Tues.-Fri 10-6 • Sat. 10-2 • Closed Sun. & Mon. • Delivery & Installation Available
Calendar ....................................B2 Classified...................................C Father Lou .................................B3 Food ...........................................B4 Police .........................................B7 Schools ......................................A5 Sports ........................................A6 Viewpoints.................................A7
April 29, 2010
Rodenberg running for common pleas judge, domestic division
1. Because of budget restraints, correction officers have been cut and the capacity of the Clermont County Jail has been reduced. Convicted offenders often have to be put on waiting lists to serve jail time. Should the county have more flexibility in how jail inmates are housed? What solutions do you see for this problem? Does the space issue at the jail affect your decisions? I am a candidate for the domestic relations court. Incarceration is used as a
last resort in domestic relations court, after all other attempts to secure compliance with support and other orders have been unsuccessful. Less than three percent of the current inmate population are serving time in the Clermont County Jail as a result of a domestic court order. Most jail inmates are sentenced by the general division of common pleas court and municipal court. Jail standards are set by the state in accordance with the laws and constitution. If the standards become overly restrictive, legislative review is the appropriate solution. The sheriff and jail officials, however, are the officials in the best position to determine whether the standards should be reviewed.
2. The economy has resulted in cutbacks throughout Clermont County govern ment. Should the court sys tem be subject to these cuts? What would you do to make the judicial system be made more efficient? All of county government, including the courts, must work to maximize the funds entrusted to us by the citizens. The Clermont County commissioners have worked with county offices and agencies, including the courts, to prioritize operation expenditures and to economize to the fullest extent possible. I will actively participate and cooperate in this endeavor. I do not believe in spending money we don’t have and do not feel that the courts are entitled to preferential treatment in funding allocations.
Tired of maintaining your home?
At Eastgate Village meet new friends and participate in fun activities.
The Best in Retirement Living! m fro 5 tes Ra ,17
1 0 th a n n u a l
4. The legal system often has to deal with the same offenders over and over. How should the legal sys-
• Restaurant style dining • Studio, 1 Bdrm & 2 Bdrm • 7 different floor plans • Respite plans available • Fun, active social life • Locally Owned
De Sales Corner at Madison Rd. and Woodburn Ave.
Let us customize services to meet your needs.
Come home to the Village Senior Adult Living
Saturday, May 1, 11 am -5pm East Walnut Hills Featuring 60 area clay artists Free admission and parking Rain or shine
Listen to 89.7 FM for a chance to win pottery from participating artists!
776 Old St. Rte 74 (Across from Eastgate Mall) CE-0000391909.INDD
513-753-4400 • www.eastgatevillage.com
“I replaced my windows — and it was no big to-do!"
tem deal with repeat offend ers? As a domestic relations court judge, I will not hear criminal cases, so my observations are from the perspective of a lay person. We clearly cannot afford to incarcerate minor repeat offenders, given the shortage of resources and jail space. It is important to identify the reason for the offender’s behavior, and, if possible, help the offender make a permanent lifestyle change. That is why Municipal Court Judge Shriver has established the OMVI Court in Clermont County – to try and identify and address why a person continues to drink and drive, and stop the cycle, rather than resorting to repeat confinement. I applaud Judge Shriver’s efforts and his success with
Y ? ST URE U D IT RN FU
the OMVI court. 5. Why is it important for people to know who their county judges are? People should know who they are voting for as their county judges because they are entrusting them to honor the American system of justice. Americans want judges to be fair and treat people with respect, especially when they are appearing as a witness or litigant in court. Even beyond that, however, people want to ensure that the American judicial system never becomes a “kangaroo court.” People should know something about the judicial candidate’s experience, temperament and capability before the candidate is entrusted with that responsibility.
C LE A N T C U
Exp. 5/06/10 NO TRAVEL CHARGE
B PR REA OB TH LE IN MS G ?
3. The cost of political campaigns continues to c l i m b . S h o u l d judges be elected or Rodenberg appointed? Why or why not? The cost of political campaigns for all offices, including judicial offices, are an embarrassing waste of money. Initial appointment of judges would help reduce or maybe even eliminate that waste. Any such system, however, must ensure that we have judges who are qualified, serve impartially and treat all litigants with respect.
Clermont County Civil Magistrate Kathleen Rodenbeg is running for her first term as common pleas judge in the domestic division and will be on the ballot for the Tuesday, May 4, primary election. She is seeking the Republican Party nomination. Rodenberg answered the following questions about her campaign.
*Offer includes: 16 vents, one return, retur one main and free system inspection. Additional vents, returns and mains priced separately.
AL LE RG IE S?
? MA H T AS
Sale! Pella’s Installation Event
NO INTEREST UNTIL 2
Now is a great time to cross window and door replacement off your list. It’s no secret that Pella brings you high-quality windows and doors. But even the highest-performing window is only as good as its installation. That’s why your windows will be installed by Pella professionals who are respectful of your time, answer all your questions and even haul your old windows away. Call us today — and save big on Pella window and door installation! Call us to set up your free, no-pressure in-home consultation today!
“Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Window and Door Manufacturers, Three Years in a Row”3 by J.D. Power and Associates
Pella can help you qualify for up to a tax credit.4
Pella Window and Door Showroom Montgomery 9869 Montgomery Road Valid for replacement projects only and must be installed by Pella professionals. Not valid with any other offer or promotion. Prior sales excluded. Other restrictions may apply. See store for details. Offer ends 05/22/10. 2The Pella Windows and Doors Visa® Card issued by Wells Fargo Financial National Bank is a dual-line credit card. Special terms apply to purchases charged with approved credit to the Pella Windows and Doors line of credit until January 1, 2012. The minimum monthly payment will be the amount that will pay for the purchase in full in equal payments during the promotional period. There will be no interest charged during the promotional period. If you make a late payment during the promotional period or if a balance remains after the promotional period, the regular APR will apply to the remaining balance. For newly opened accounts, the regular APR is 25.99%. The APR may vary. The APR is given as of 2/1/2010. If you are charged interest in any billing cycle, the minimum interest charge will be $1.00. If you use the card for cash advances, the cash advance fee is 4% of the amount of the cash advance, but not less than $10.00. Offer expires 05/22/2010. 3Pella received the highest numerical score among window and door manufacturers in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2007 – 2009 Windows and Patio Doors Satisfaction StudiesSM. 2009 study based on responses from 2,856 consumers measuring 8 brands and measures opinions of consumers who purchased new windows or patio doors in the previous 12 months. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed in March – April 2009. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com. 4Consult with your local Pella professional to determine which products are eligible. Consult with a qualified tax advisor to confirm eligibility. Visit pella.com/taxcredit for more information. © 2010 Pella Corporation PL088-24-92421-2 1
April 29, 2010
Kids learn about history at Grassy Run Rendezvous Groups of schoolchildren visited the Grassy Run Rendezvous in Williamsburg Friday, April 23, to get a first-hand look at the early history of the United States. “The kids are what it’s all about,” said Ron Shouse, with the Grassy Run Historical Arts Committee. The 18th annual event runs April 23 to April 25 at the Williamsburg Community Park. Friday primarily was dedicated to visiting school groups. Saturday and Sunday the event is open to the public. About 300 re-enactors from several states gathered for the weekend, camping at the site. The re-enactors displayed skills and crafts from the mid-1700s to about 1840. Re-enactors included musicians, storytellers, blacksmiths, silversmiths, spinners, weavers and broom makers. The Grassy Run Rendezvous draws its name from an April 1792 battle between frontiersman Simon Kenton and the Shawnee warrior Tecumseh at Grassy Run in Jackson Township.
Eric Davin, a fourth-grader at Ebon C. Hill Intermediate School in Bethel, learns about weaving April 23 at the Grassy Run Rendezvous in Williamsburg.
Bob Ford of Cedarville talks to a group of students from Bethel about frontier life in Ohio at the Grassy Run Rendezvous in Williamsburg.
Rylie Hacker, a fourth-grader at Ebon C. Hill Intermediate School in Bethel, grinds corn during a visit April 23 to the Grassy Run Rendezvous in Williamsburg.
Malachi Price, right, a fourth-grader from Bethel, engages in a sword fight with Elliot Carlisle of St. Bernard, one of the re-enactors at the Grassy Run Rendezvous in Williamsburg.
If skin cancer is the last thing you want to think about this summer, here’s the first thing you should do. 1 in 5 Americans, or over 1,000,000 cases, will develop some form of skin cancer, making it the most common cancer in the U.S. Yet if found and treated early, it’s 95% curable. So if you haven’t had a skin cancer screening, or if it’s been awhile, now is the time to get one. FREE. Just call any of the participating dermatologists listed below during Skin Cancer-Melanoma Detection and Prevention week (May 3–8, 2010) for your free screening. It’s quick. It’s painless. And it just might save your life.
Skin Cancer Screenings May 3 – 8, 2010
Call one of these Dermatologists For an appointment during their office hours. Monday through Friday, April 28 – May 7
Gary Miner of Hillsboro demonstrates the firing of a frontier-style gun April 23 at the Grassy Run Rendezvous in Williamsburg.
Congratulations to Dennis C. Fehlinger Certified Financial Planner™
of the financial services firm Edward Jones. Dennis is located in Anderson Township and has been authorized by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP® Board) to use the certification marks CFP®. Dennis successfully completed CFP® Board’s initial certification requirements, which include completion of financial planning coursework and passing a comprehensive examination. Individuals who hold CFP® certification must agree to meet ongoing continuing education requirements and uphold CFP® Board’s Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Financial Planning Practice Standards. Edward Jones provides financial services for individual investors in the United States and, through its affiliate, in Canada. Every aspect of the firm’s business, from the types of investment options offered to the location of branch offices, is designed to cater to individual investors in the communities in which they live and work. The firm’s 12,000 - plus financial advisors work directly with nearly 7 million clients to understand their personal goals -- from college savings to retirement -- and create long - term investment solutions that emphasize a well-balanced portfolio and a by-and-hold strategy. Edward Jones embraces the importance of building long-term, face-to-face relationships with clients, helping them to understand and make sense of the investment options available today. Edward Jones, which ranked No. 2 on FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Work For” in 2010, is headquartered in St. Louis. The Edward Jones Web site www.edwardjones.com, and its recruiting web site is www.careers.edwardjones.com. Member SIPC.
Downtown Dr. Mitchell Ede
West Chester (University Point) University Derm. Consultants
Mason (North East) Dr. James Nordlund Dr. Jan Fu
872-2055, option 2 459-1988
Beechmont (East) Dr. Nancy Pelc
Milford (East) Dr. Robert Fixler Dr. Z. Charles Fixler Dr. Linn Jones
831-3003 831-3003 831-8087
Montgomery (East Central) Dr. Mona Foad Dr. K. William Kitzmiller
Mt. Auburn/Clifton (Central) Dr. Robert Fixler Dr. Z. Charles Fixler Dr. Brett Coldiron
281-6044 281-6044 221-2828
661-1988 872-2055, option 2 481-6161
8316 Beechmont Ave Cincinnati, OH 45255 513-474-4490
Western Hills (West) Dr. Marcella Bouchard Dr. Toby Mathias University Derm. Consultants
Dennis Fehlinger www.edwardjones.com
Participating Dermatologists by area. OHIO Clifton (Central toward Downtown Cincinnati) Dr. Toby Mathias 872-2055, option 2 University Derm. Consultants (MAB) 475-7630
Companies is located
NORTHERN KENTUCKY Crestview Hills Dr. William Hoppenjans Dr. Scott Neltner University Derm. Consultants
(859) 341-1878 (859) 341-1878 (859) 781-5020
Florence Dr. Susan Bushelmann Dr. Molly Eisner Dr. Lana Long Dr. Jennifer Dempsey Martin Dr. Clay Schearer Dr. David Schearer Dr. James Zalla Dr. Mark Zalla
(859) 283-1033 (859) 283-1033 (859) 525-6770 (859)-283-1033 (859) 525-6770 (859) 525-6770 (859) 283-1033 (859) 283-1033
Ft. Thomas Univ. Derm. Consultants
“A Client Focused, Cincinnati Owned, Commercial Bank”
Tom Williams Senior Vice President Commercial Lending
For more information about cancer, contact The American Cancer Society: 1-800-227-2345 or visit www.cancer.org CE-0000397271
This announcement is supported by a grant from Olay.
30 W. Third Street • Cincinnati, OH 45202 • 513.651.3000 www.cbankusa.com CE-0000395754
April 29, 2010
| NEWS | Editor Theresa Herron | [email protected] | 248-7128 ACHIEVEMENTS
| HONORS communitypress.com
Your Community Press newspaper serving Bethel, Chilo, Felicity, Franklin Township, Moscow, Neville, Tate Township, Washington Township E-mail: [email protected]
Grant student third at Best Teen Chef 2010 By Kellie Geist [email protected]
For Chelsey Stonerock, placing third at the Best Teen Chef 2010 solidifies something her teachers already know – that being a chef is not only her passion, but her talent. Stonerock placed third in the Best Teen Chef 2010 challenge Sunday, April 18. The contest was hosted by the International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes Ohio. She is planning to attend their culinary program in October with hopes of someday becoming an executive chef at a restaurant. To be in the challenge, the Grant Career Center student and Bethel resident
Chelsey Stonerock, 18, placed third in the Best Teen Chef 2010 challenge sponsored by the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Ohio. had to create, photograph and submit an original recipe. She was the only student from Clermont
County to compete. To win, she relied on an old favorite – Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry. Stu-
dents in the culinary program at Grant often make stir fry for presentations and classes. Her special twist? Sweet chili sauce, pineapples and extra veggies. She also had to attend two seminars and make shrimp cocktail and rice pilaf for the challenge. The six contestants started cooking in 15 minute intervals to accommodate judging and, because she picked the last number, Stonerock was the last one allowed into the kitchen. “When I first got to the competition, I wasn’t sure what to expect or what I’d have to do ... I got there early, which was a first for me, and I was really nervous,” Stonerock said. “I was so scared because I always
burn the rice, but I actually didn’t this time.” She said the skills she learned at Grant, especially the knife skills, really paid off for the competition. “I might have come in third, but it was a learning experience. Third is amazing,” Stonerock said. “It was fun and I actually learned some things I was able to bring back to the class.” Culinary instructor Ray Forsee said he was not surprised Stonerock placed at the Best Teen Chef 2010 competition. “Chelsey is one of those rare students that knows what she wants to do in life. She’s extremely self-motivated and focused for someone so young,” he said. “Her focus and work ethic
are the reasons she’s wearing a chef coat and a medal today.” Forsee said he’s proud of Stonerock and thinks this competition will be her “stepping stone to greatness.” “She incorporated all the skills she learned here at Grant and won. If I had 10 more students like Chelsey, I could open the Maisonette,” Forsee said. “Maybe I can work for her someday.” In addition to her involvement at Grant, Stonerock was the 2009 Bethel McDonald’s Employee of the Year and will be a manager there starting in May. She also enjoys cooking with her mom, especially if it involves barbecue sauce.
The Bethel-Tate High School wrestling team was recognized at the district’s school board meeting Monday, April 19. Front row, from left are: Senior Dustin Davidson, coach Tom Donahue, freshman Chip Ratcliff, freshman Brian Carter, and board member Kathy Adams. Back row, from left are: Board members Dave Brannock, Mark Rose, Pam Sandker and Brian Ward.
The Felicity-Franklin FFA Chapter recently hosted held a “Down on the Farm” Day to promote agricultural awareness in their community. Here, FFA member Derek Naggy discusses how to use a hay rake.
Bethel-Tate wrestlers recognized Senior Dustin Davidson, freshman Chip Ratcliff and freshman Brian Carter, along with the entire Bethel-Tate High School wrestling team were recognized at the district’s school board meeting April 19. Carter, 119 pounds, placed fourth in the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference tournament and was one of our four district qualifiers by placing third in the Southwest Sectional Tournament.
At 125 pounds, Chip Ratcliff ended his freshman campaign with a 30-9 record (21 pins), was second at the SBAAC tournament, second at the Southwest Sectional and sixth at the Southwest District tournament, top four at the district tournament qualifier for the Ohio State Tournament. Dustin Davidson finished the season with a 38-10 record and 22 pins. Wrestling in the 130-pound weight class, he was the
Down on the farm
SBAAC tournament champion, the Southwest Sectional Champion, and the lone state qualifier placing fourth at the Southwest District Tournament. He ended his career with 128 wins. Fourth district qualifier, senior heavyweight, Paschal Lanigan who was 33-12 with 25 pins, was unable to attend the meeting. Lanigan was second at the SBAAC tournament and first at the Southwest Sectional tournament.
The Felicity-Franklin FFA Chapter held a “Down on the Farm” Day to promote agricultural awareness in their community. At right, FFA member Preston Friend shares his knowledge of horses with a group of children.
The Felicity-Franklin FFA Chapter held a “Down on the Farm” Day to promote agricultural awareness in their community. The members shared information about farm animals, FFA and tractor and equipment safety. The event allowed children in the community to see what the FFA has to offer as well as learn about farm life. Submitted by Tracey Wheeler, Felicity FFA reporter.
Gold star for Precious Resources
Precious Resources, a Christian child-care center in Felicity, received their One-Star Award in the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services Step Up to Quality Program Monday, April 19. The program, which is administered locally through 4C for Children, recognizes child-care centers for highly trained teachers, low teacher-to-child ratios, early education programming and a commitment to continuous improvement. From left are: Preschool teacher Tisha Davenport, toddler teacher Lisa Smith, Precious Resources owners Dave and Karen Cornelison and 4C for Children Step Up to Quality Coordinator Kim Ginn.
The Felicity-Franklin FFA Chapter held a “Down on the Farm” Day to promote agricultural awareness in their community. The members shared information about farm animals, FFA and tractor and equipment safety.
This week in track and field
• Bethel-Tate boys placed seventh with a score of 41 in the Glen Este Invitational, April 16. Felicity-Franklin placed ninth with 21 points. • Bethel-Tate girls placed fourth with 77 points in the Glen Este Invitational, April 16. Felicity-Franklin girls placed ninth with 33 points. Bethel’s Schellenberger won the long jump at 15 feet. Felicity’s Statz won the high jump at 4 feet, 10 inches.
This week in baseball
• Moeller beat McNicholas 12-2 in five innings, April 20. McNick’s Craig Hyson hit a double. • Bethel-Tate beat Blanchester 8-6, April 20. Bethel’s winning pitcher was Cody Kirker, and Spencer Sutter scored a homerun and had two RBI. • Elder beat McNicholas 76, April 21. McNick’s Patrick Fitzgerald was 2-3 and scored a homerun. • Bethel-Tate beat Goshen 6-2, April 22. Bethel’s Cody Kirker pitched 12 strikeouts, and Spencer Sutter was 2-3, scored two runs and had an RBI.
This week in softball
• Goshen beat McNicholas 1-0, April 20. • Felicity-Franklin beat New Richmond 9-0, April 21. Felicity’s Montana Wear pitched 16 strikeouts, and scored a homerun.
This week in tennis
• Felicity-Franklin beat Western Brown 3-2, April 20. Felicity’s Cartes beat Robinson 6-2, 6-1; Shouse beat. Latham 3-6, 7-5, 7-6; McRaeFrye beat Helton- Couch 6-4, 7-5. • Batavia beat Bethel-Tate 5-0, April 21. Bethel falls to 91 with the loss.
April 29, 2010
| YOUTH | Editor Melanie Laughman | [email protected] | 248-7573 HIGH
Your Community Press newspaper serving Bethel, Chilo, Felicity, Franklin Township, Moscow, Neville, Tate Township, Washington Township
Bethel softball works toward winning By Mark Chalifoux
The Bethel-Tate High School girls’ softball team is hovering around .500, and head coach John Weber hopes the team can have a strong finish to the season and finish with a winning record. “We’ve played pretty well so far,” he said. “We’ve been competitive in most of our games but we’ve lost some close calls. A play there or a hit here would’ve made a big difference.” Weber said the Tigers have to face some very strong pitching from the other teams in the conference and that the team is in good shape if they are “on.” If not, the Tigers can run into some trouble. BethelTate was 6-6 through the first 12 games of the season. The Tigers certainly don’t always come up on the losing end of close games, as Bethel-Tate has won several games in extra innings. One extra inning win was a 4-2 victory of Newport Catholic. Another big win for BethelTate was a road victory at Western Brown 4-3. “They were huge confidence boosts,” Weber said, “especially the win over Western Brown.” The Southern Buckeye Conference is a tough softball conference and FelicityFranklin seems to be the class of the league, according to Weber. Clermont Northeastern is another top team.
Bethel-Tate’s Blake Woodward smiles after scoring a run against Blanchester in a game on April 20.
Bethel-Tate’s Katie Kilgore runs to first base after a hit against Blanchester on April 20. Another positive for Bethel-Tate though is the youth of the team. The Tigers start only one senior, left fielder Cory Huddle.
Thomas More College sophomore pitcher Paul Uhl, a McNicholas High School graduate, was named the PAC Pitcher of the Week in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) weekly baseball honors, April 12. Uhl earned his second PAC weekly honor of the 2010 season after posting a 2-0 record and a 0.75 earned run average last week, allowing one earned run on eight hits while striking out 14 batters in 12.0 innings of work.
Two awards for Campbell
Duke University freshman goalkeeper Tara Campbell earned two awards at the university’s annual banquet, April 18. Campbell earned the Newcomer of the Year and Most Outstanding Defensive Player – after guiding the team to six shutouts in 2009. Campbell started 19 of Duke’s 21 contests, and led the ACC in saves with 94. Her 94 saves also rank first on Duke’s single season charts. Campbell also finished third in the ACC in save percentage (.817) and eighth in goals against average (1.08). Campbell was selected to the All-ACC Freshman Team, the All-ACC Second Team and TopDrawerSoccer.com’s All-Rookie Team.
Katie Colwell makes a throw to first base against Blanchester on April 20.
Bethel-Tate catcher Brooke Hensley is one of the top players for the Tigers. Bethel-Tate has two freshmen who get playing time, including freshman starter Sidney Kilgore. The Tigers are led by their standout junior pitcher Brooke Kenneda. “She has done really well pitching and hitting,” he said. “She’s pitched all but two innings this year and has done a great job. Her earned-runs average is under 3 and even some of the games we lost were due to errors.” Weber called his team “balanced” and that the biggest strength has been the improved defense from the team. “We’re playing a lot better defense this year,” Weber said. Brooke Hensley is another standout player for the Tigers, along with Katie Kilgore, Sydney’s older sister. “This year’s team is better than last year’s,” Weber said. “We have a lot of key players who are juniors and they were young last year. Now, we have a little more experience and can deal with problems when they come up.” He said the team does need to improve its offensive output and hopes to see signs of development in that
Bethel-Tate pitcher Brooke Kenneda makes a throw to first base against Blanchester. area in the next few games. The Tigers have a big tilt with Western Brown coming up on May 3 for senior night. The Broncos will be out for revenge after falling to Bethel-Tate earlier in the season.
“That will be a big night for our girls,” Weber said. “This is a group of girls that works hard for a common goal, and they come out to play every night as hard as they can.”
Time to nominate Sportsmen of Year More than 90,000 votes were cast in last year’s inaugural Community Press and Community Recorder Sportsman and Sportwoman of the Year online contest. Now, it’s time for high school fan bases to rally once again for 2010. Here’s the gameplan: Online readers will select 30
high school athletes (half male, half female) on 15 different newspaper ballots in Ohio and Kentucky who meet the highest standards both on and off the field. Voting occurs in two waves. Readers can nominate an athlete until April 29 by going to the cincinnati.com/preps page and clicking on the yellow/green
Unlock your car-selling confidence.
Community Press Sportsman of the Year icon on the right side. In their nominations, they should explain why this athlete deserves the honor. The nominations will be used to create ballots that online readers will vote on from May 13 to midnight June 10. Online vistors will be
able to vote more than once. The top vote-getters will be featured on cincinnati.com and in your local newspaper June 24. Public voting on the nominations will begin May 13. As with sports, the greatest effort on the final ballot gets the greatest result in this contest. Questions? E-mail
Go to Cars.com and sell your car with confidence. Reach millions of car buyers. Upload photos of your car. Cars.com is the key to your car-selling confidence. ©2010 Classified Ventures, LLC™. All rights reserved.
Melanie Laughman at [email protected] or call 248-7573.
April 29, 2010
Editor Theresa Herron | [email protected] | 248-7128
War on terror
In “Terrorists should not be granted rights,” April 14, Clermont County Chief Deputy Sheriff Rick Combs made excellent points with which any reasonable American should agree. But the changed circumstances in the world call for new thinking – consideration of a new process. We currently have the options of civilian criminal courts and military courts. It might be time to create a completely new third process for prosecuting individuals who are acting for non-governmental groups to undermine the security of our country. Calling terrorists “wartime criminals” gives them a credibility and international standing that they do not deserve. Yes, we currently have a “war on terror,” but we would not consider drug smugglers and dealers wartime criminals just because we have an ongoing “war on drugs.” A clear sign is the lack of uniform or military rank of these rogue organizations. Our current war on terror is a relatively new entity. Terrorist groups acting against established rules for engagement of war and at the behest of an organized nongovernmental structure for ideological purposes should be tried in such a way that the consequences of a civilian trial are eliminated and the benefits of a military trial are maintained. Laurie Balbach Abu-Khdaier Beauregard Court Mount Repose
Trial by judge
Though I imagine Mr. Breyer would be a quality judge for the great county of Clermont, I must give my personal endorsement to the Honorable Judge Thomas Herman. It is commonly known that Judge Herman is a no nonsense judge that sticks to the facts and delivers the hammer of the gavel in his judgments. To be honest I
Breyer keeps his word
On Oct. 13, 1994, my daughter Kristina Harris was found dead. Initially, authorities concluded that my daughter had become intoxicated, choked on her own vomit, and died. Former Coroner Nico Capurro concluded that she died from undetermined causes. I knew these diagnoses were inaccurate and I believed my daughter had been murdered. Assistant Prosecutor Daniel “Woody” Breyer listened to my concerns. In April of 1995, he obtained a court order for the exhumation and re-autopsy of my daughter’s body. In March 1996, he presented the case to a grand jury and obtained and indictment of Kristy’s ex-boyfriend for murder, Donald Mills Jr. In October 1996, Kristy’s ex-boyfriend was convicted of murder and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. The skill, expertise and tenacity of Woody displayed over two years, while at the same time car-
rying out all his other responsibilities was remarkable and unique. I truly hope the community recognizes the fine job he will do as our next common pleas court judge. Patricia Brannum Eiler Lane Amelia
Why Herman is squirmin’
In May 4 election for common pleas court judge, two dedicated Clermontonians are squaring off. At first glance it seems Thomas Herman with his 19 years on the municipal bench might be a readied candidate. But municipal court is basically traffic ticket court. Daniel Breyer on the other hand has handled or overseen every felony case in our county since 1987, and done so earning the respect and endorsement of nearly every police chief as well as many attorneys who fought against him in those 22 years. Why? Because even those who’ve competed against him know from experience he has been impeccably honest, fair and just, unlike some prosecutors that fight to win for their record’s sake. Breyer has been objectively prosecuting the guilty and fair about those with reasonable doubt. To say Herman is more experienced for being a judge over felony cases than Breyer, is like saying a traffic cop is more qualified to lead a SWAT team in rescue missions than a battle proven Green Beret. As a neighbor, we can attest first hand to his noble character. We’d trust him with our family and fortune, but more importantly with the fate of our county and freedom. Mark and Julie Faust Mallet Hill Drive Union Township
Vote ‘no’ on Issue 5
I am asking the voters of Clermont County to vote ‘no’ on Issue
We need to get serious about change I’m 41 years old and ambitious with training in economics and finance. In addition to being a successful corporate manager and executive, I am an entrepreneurial small business owner. I know how to organize companies and create jobs. I’m a husband and a father dealing with many of the same challenges you are. Like you, I care a lot about the future of this country and want to see things change for the better. Campaigning to be our next representative in Congress has been a unique and rich experience for me. I have enjoyed meeting so many interesting and different individuals and groups from Cincinnati to Portsmouth and everywhere in between. As a nation we are struggling with intolerance and partisan politics at every turn. Democrats and Republicans are rarely united on the national stage because scoring political points is the objective. It seems as if we are involved in a race to the bottom. At this great crossroads in our country’s history, we stand at the doorway of a New America. Out of this economic downturn we should seek to rebalance our economy and fix the unsustainable excesses that caused so many job losses and home foreclosures. As a country and as individuals we must seek to consume less and save more. Consumerism fueled by debt is not a recipe for success especially when the music stops. We must restructure the financial system and restrain the major investment banking firms in a way that serves the national interest. For too long we have enabled the pursuit of growth and profit at the expense of the citizens. While profit is at the center of our capitalist economy, absent good rules and
appropriate enforcement, companies will continue to David push the boundaries, becoming too big to fail and Krikorian threatening our national Community economy. Press guest Likewise, free trade columnist must balance the national interest with that of the corporate interest. We have become a country that thrives on cheap imports. The blind pursuit of low cost has hollowed out our manufacturing sector. U.S. manufacturing companies struggle to compete against foreign firms that operate with less environmental oversight, poor working conditions in some areas and government subsidies. Fair trade policies will level the playing field for American manufacturing by making our producers more competitive and will generate substantial job growth. In order to honestly address these and the other big challenges we face, we must get serious about campaign finance reform. There simply is too much money in our political system. Votes are clearly for sale and the American people are tired of being sold out to the highest bidder. For this reason, I have tried to set an example without political action committee or lobbyist money. The first question you are asked when you want to run for Congress is, “How much money can you raise?” That right there should tell you that the foundation is not stable. My name is David Krikorian and I’m asking for your vote in the Democratic primary. David Krikorian is a resident of Madeira and running in the Democratic primary in the 2nd Congressional District.
About letters & columns
We welcome your comments on editorials, columns, stories or other topics. Include your name, address, cell and home phone numbers so we may verify your letter or guest column. Letters may be no more than 200 words and columns must be 500 words or less. Please include a headshot with guest columns. All submissions will be edited for length, accuracy and clarity. Deadline is noon Friday. E-mail: [email protected]. Fax: 248-1938. U.S. mail: The Bethel Journal, 394 Wards Corner Road, Suite 170, Loveland, Ohio 45140. Letters, columns and articles submitted to The Bethel Journal may be published or distributed in print, electronic or other forms. 5. I recently spoke to the Clermont County Auditor’s Office to see what this tax levy would cost. The following numbers are not mine, but come straight from the County Auditor’s staff. The current levy in place raises $1.176 million a year. If Issue 5 passes the money taken in taxes will increase to $3.994 million a year. That is more then a 300-percent increase. If anyone thinks I have invented these numbers, call the auditor yourself. Last week the unemployment rate went to 11 percent in Ohio for the first time in 25 years. Many families are struggling to feed their families and keep their homes. For any organization to try to get this type increase is nearly obscene, especially in this financial climate. Please be sure your neighbors and friends understand this levy. Ask them to do like me and vote ‘no’ on Issue 5. Greg Feldkamp Donald Road Tate Township
Vote for Breyer
In July, 1980, my father, Walter Jufer, was shot to death at his home in Goshen. Although many suspected the killer was Marshall Brown, no one was charged with the crime. In November 1987, Daniel “Woody” Breyer was hired as an assistant prosecutor in Clermont County. He agreed to re-open my father’s case. By June 1988, he caused Mar-
shall Brown to be indicted to aggravated murder. In August 1989, Woody obtained a conviction for aggravated murder and Brown was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. I understand Woody Breyer is now running for judge in Clermont County. Based on the compassion, intensity and work ethic demonstrated in prosecuting the killer of my father, I cannot believe there is a better candidate for the Clermont County Court of Common Pleas. John Jufer Emerald Drive Golden, Missouri
We remember Baker
Daniel J. “Woody” Breyer may think he is the “most qualified candidate for judge,” but I can’t imagine anything that would motivate me to vote for him for any position. He also is proud to state that Don White has endorsed him. Really? He has already proven himself to Clermont County. We have already seen that he is capable of letting people walk away from terrific crimes. Remember Amy Baker? Do you remember how he and Don White teamed up to let her walk away from the murder of a child? He felt that it was OK to let her get away with murder, because she turned in the other two. Guess what Woody – Clermont County remembers you. Tonya Spurlock Mallard Drive Amelia
Parker: I will work for better, more jobs My name is Jim Parker. I live in Waverly with my wife and children, and the last time I ran for Congress, I almost won the Democratic Primary while hardly spending a dime. I did it by knocking on the doors and listening. I ran for Congress against millionaires, lawyers and politicians. We won two counties, came in second in Clermont, Warren and Brown. That didn’t happen because of me; it happened because of you. Thank you. We did it before. We can do it again. Please look at www.JimPARKER4ad.blogspot.com and decide who you believe will be the best Democrat to represent you in Washington. This election belongs to you, not the millionaires, lobbyists and politicians in Washington. People are hurting all throughout Southern Ohio and you deserve a Democratic representative who will work with Gov. Ted Strickland and Sen. Sherrod Brown to make a positive difference. I will always work to improve the lives of women and children, people who work for a living, the elderly, sick and poor. I will rebuild the economy for the American middle class. And we will know a day when you will no longer be left behind by the politicians in Washington. Twenty years ago, I chose a career in healthcare to make a difference and that’s what I’ve done. In healthcare, we leave our political differences at the door. Today, I am running for congress to make a difference. Your job and the economy are the most important issue to me as I represent you in Congress. A few weeks ago, I walked into a manufacturing company that used to
A publication of
Your Community Press newspaper serving Bethel, Chilo, Felicity, Franklin Township, Moscow, Neville, Tate Township, Washington Township
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR appeared before Judge Herman relating to minor traffic violations in my 20s before my return to Jesus Christ. I observed how serious he took his position even in traffic cases, and I could tell that he meant business from the get go, and would not tolerate the breaking of the law. I can testify that he was fair, as well as “text book” in how he dealt with my peers, and I in the courtroom. Now everyone has transgressed God’s law, and for sure will meet the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal judgment. Repent and believe the gospel. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord (Jesus Christ) shall be saved. Though a earthly judge may be able to expunge a record only the Lord Jesus Christ can wash away a person’s sin debt with His own blood. Mark L. Ammerman County Seat Union Township
Bethel Journal Editor . . . . .Theresa L. Herron [email protected] . . . . . . .248-7128
employ 100 people. Only 15 people remain. They Jim Parker have one secretary left. She sits in a room surCommunity rounded by empty desks. Press guest She pointed to the desk columnist next to hers and said “the woman who used to sit there worked here for 43 years.” I will never forget that moment. I want to make Southern Ohio a land of economic opportunity and I will meet with the business and community leaders to rebuild our economy. We will talk about everything Southern Ohio has to offer and we will talk about why companies should create jobs here. We will talk about our education and healthcare systems. We will talk about infrastructure. We will talk about the people. I will work with community and business leaders to do whatever it takes to deliver economic opportunity. I will work tirelessly to turn Southern Ohio into a land of economic opportunity where our children do not have to move to find jobs. The economy and your job are the most important issue to me if I am elected. Please read my website to learn more about my ideas for the economy, renewable energy, healthcare, middle class tax cuts, doubling the child tax credit, ending the wars and stopping politicians from spending so much money on their political campaigns. I hope you will vote for me in the May 4 Democratic Primary. Jim Parker is a Democratic candidate for Congress in Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District. Visit www.JimPARKER4ad.blogspot.com.
Office hours: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday | See page A2 for additional contact information. 248-8600 | 394 Wards Corner Road, Loveland, Ohio 45140 | e-mail [email protected] | Web site: www.communitypress.com
April 29, 2010
CCDD provides much-needed services The Clermont County Boar of Developmental Disabilities provide activities and services to those in our county who have disabilities. Without the levy which has declined in dollars each year, current programs will be cut and those waiting for services will be denied. Superintendent Sharon Woodrow wrote to me answering my questions about how the new monies will be used: “This replacement would generate about $2,817,994 additional dollars. We are estimating that $2,000,000
will be used to address individuals on our waiting lists – somewhere between 80 and 130 additional people served, depending on the cost of their needs. The other $817,994 will fill in the holes in our current budget – so that we don’t have to cut any of our existing services. These dollars will be targeted toward infrastructure costs – staff, building maintenance and supplies. Many of our services rely on staff and/or building capacity. Just for the record, there are no raises for any staff planned for 2010 – even if this levy passes.”
Cost in our household (23-year retirees) will be $30 to $40 a year – a small amount for such large and important services. But I want to introduce my grandson, Devin. He does not live in Clermont County, however, he was a 25-ounce, 25-week baby, born 17 years ago to our daughter and her husband in Maryland. He survived, went home at 4 1/2 pounds, seemed a normal growing baby and big crawler. At age 2, he was not walking and was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. As a baby he wore
glasses, by 3 he walked with the aid of braces and was very verbal. Walking with him in his neighborhood he knew the make and owner of each car. His mother explored all possible services for him and he was soon in a play group with others with disabilities, rode a school bus by the time he was 3 to Maryland infant and toddler programs, and by 4 was announcing on a stage at a t-ball game “Let the games begin.” He’s had every conceivable public service and extraordinary medical care
through a progressive surgeon and parents who see his every need is met. When he flies to visit us he carries a note that reveals the amount of metal he has in his legs, ankle and feet due to many surgeries. Today he shoots baskets, loves gocarting, is a sophomore in a public high school, is NASCAR’S best fan, participates in his church and school activities. He loves sports, is a whiz on the computer asking his grandmother repeatedly why she does not have Facebook. So you see why we want
all children and adults with disabiliMary Lou ties to have the advanRose tages that Devin has Community Press had ... and Guest public services were Columnist essential. Please support this levy for our local families. The cost for most families is the price of lunch or dinner for two. Tours of the facilities are available. Mary Lou Rose lives on Hickory View Lane in Milford.
Wound Care Center a good place to heal Congratulations to Mercy Hospital Clermont for being one of the top 100 hospitals in the country. The Community Press does lots of stories about Mercy Clermont being great. I know several staff members and I know they care. They took good care of my mom in 2005. I have other friends who have good things to say.
But, I now have personal experience. I’ve been a patient at the Wound Care Center since March 2009. I actually fought to go to Mercy Clermont when my doctor started looking for a wound specialist for me. He wanted me to go to a clinic in Clifton. Why? I live 10 minutes away from Clermont, which
TROUBLE BATHING? NEW WALK-IN
TUB OR SHOWER AS SEEN ON TV LOWEST PRICES LOCAL COMPANY ONE DAY INSTALL
has a reputation for success. I had abdominal surgery Dec. 30, 2008. It was supposed to be laparoscopic with a two-week recovery. It turned into a regular procedure and 10 days after surgery, the incision opened. Dr. Ed Richards, who is at UC, was great, but after an infection in March and 10 days in University Hospital, Richards said I needed a wound care specialist. From the first appointment, the nurses and Dr. Mark Poynter at the Wound Care Center were great. They knew I hated that thing called a Wound Vac. It hurt, a lot. But they were encouraging. They kept reminding me it would take much longer to heal without the blankety-
Do you, or would you, allow your high school-age child to go on a spring break trip? Why or why not? Every week The Milford-Miami Advertiser asks readers a questions that they can reply to via e-mail. Send your answers to [email protected] with “chatroom” in the subject line.
Roses, spectacular plants! $
nurses sing to you about being well. Dr. Shiff Theresa L. doesn’t sing, Herron but he’s Editor’s there. M e r c y Notebook Clermont is special because of programs like this and it’s not in Clifton. They heal difficult wounds. I didn’t want to go to the wound center, but the nurses and doctors made it better than OK. Theresa L. Herron is the editor of the Community Journal Clermont, Community Journal North Clermont, Milford-Miami Advertiser and The Bethel Journal. She can be reached at [email protected] or at 248-7128.
Last week’s question:
How did you spend, or how do you plan, to spend your tax refund? Was it more or less than last year? “Support FairTax!” “What tax refund?”
“We used ours to pay the first quarter estimated taxes for 2010.” J.S.B. “We don’t get refunds!” L.A.D. “I work for the federal government and I still couldn’t figure out how to get any money back!” M.M.
Herbs 40 + varieties
• One hour of instruction, 30 minutes at the controls of a brand new Cessna Skyhawk • Certificate/Poster/Logbook/DVD
• One hour at the controls of a brand new Cessna Skyhawk • Certificate/Poster/Logbook/DVD
Only 25 minutes from downtown Cincinnati
www.ajrahn.com 4944 GRAY ROAD, CINTI, OH 45232
SportysAcademy.com • 513.735.9500 Clermont County/Sporty’s Airport • Batavia, OH 45103
Over 36 Years Experience
• Gravel Hauling (5 Tons for $125.00!) • Topsoil • Bobcat Service • Water Lines • Culvert & Driveway Repair
513-582-4861 or 513-734-1453
Introducing the Best Golf Membership in Ohio
Saturday, May 22nd • 10:00am to 3:00pm
Come visit the Mulberry Square table for your chance to win Hallmark Greeting Cards, Zhu Zhu Pets and More! Sponsored by: Mulberry Square Participating Tenants:
Christopher George Salon American Health Chiropractic, Hallmark PrideStaff Ferrellgas GNC
1075-1095 State Route 28
at the end of the By Pass (across from Meijer)
Golf membership includes playing privileges at both clubs plus Shaker Run Golf Club and more than 30 Canongate private clubs, and all members receive dining and social privileges, plus access to pool, tennis and fitness facilities.
Ivy Hills & Royal Oak are now offering a limited number of golf memberships for a $100 entry fee (a savings of $400). Family dues starting at just $139! For more information, call (866) 410-9333 or visit www.ivyhillscountryclub.com or www.royaloakcountryclub.com Membership requires a one year commitment. Promotion not valid with any other offers. The $100 entry fee applies to Full Golf, Associate Golf and Social Memberships. Offer expires May 15, 2010. CE-0000397533
Vegetable plants including Rhubarb, Berries, Tomatoes (ready soon) and too many others to list!
Special Introductory Packages
my stay in the hospital was. They asked me about work. They teased me about writing this column. I actually wrote it before Christmas, but did not publish it for fear of going back, which I did in March. When I showed up again, they all remembered my name and teased me about coming back. But it isn’t just me. They know everyone by their first names. “Come on in, Theresa,” I hear every time. When you have to go to the doctor, at least they make it seem like they want to see you, you’re not just another number. When you are healed, you get a sticker pronouncing you a “Sore Loser.” The
This week’s question
Best of City
blank thing. The day Dr. Poynter told me I could go without it, I looked at him with skepticism. Please don’t kid me. Oh, what a wonderful day. I still had to bandage the wound because it wasn’t completely healed and that meant going to see the nurses and Dr. Brian Shiff, who took over when Dr. Poynter left, until October. Through it all, they joked with me. They made sure I was feeling OK. They were upset when another infection happened in June and I spent six days in Clermont. The nurses there were wonderful, too. Back in the wound center, they all wanted to know how
Your Community Press newspaper serving Bethel, Chilo, Felicity, Franklin Township, Moscow, Neville, Tate Township, Washington Township E-mail: [email protected]
T h u r s d a y, A p r i l 2 9 , 2 0 1 0
SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
Brenda Flick opened Heavenly Hearth on Ohio Pike four years ago.
Clermont business offers alternative home heating By Brian O’Donnell [email protected]
With heating costs seemingly always on the rise, a Union Township business offers what can be a lowcost remedy that also may qualify for a 30-percent tax credit. Heavenly Hearth, owned by Pierce Township resident Brenda Flick, offers consumers a range of heating options for their home from wood-pellet stoves to gas fireplaces. “Our primary focus is on alternative heating sources for the home,” said Flick. The poor economy has affected her business, said Flick, but demand for woodburning stoves remains good. “People are becoming more aware of cost cutting, tax savings and looking for different ways to heat their homes,” she said. She said pellet stoves are an “excellent” heat source at a lower cost. The pellets are made of compressed sawdust, which is a byproduct of construction. Their 2,900-square-foot showroom is as much about education as it is about product.
Flick described her showroom as having a “warm and cozy home feeling.” She said they have different vignettes where people can sit and enjoy a fireplace set in a log cabin or a stone fireplace for wood burning. “My mother always told me to treat family like company and company like family so everyone’s comfortable,” she said. Around 80 percent of what Heavenly Hearth does is educate people about the various types of stoves, said Flick. “There’s absolutely no high pressure sales around here because these units sell themselves,” she said. Flick explained she uses one pellet stove that heats 85 percent of her three-bedroom, full-basement, ranch home. Customers can order through her if there is a stove their showroom doesn’t carry, she said. New technological developments are always being made with stoves that can burn soybeans, cherry pits or different types of grass. In operation for 4 years, Heavenly Hearth is at 950 Ohio Pike in Union Township.
THINGS TO DO
UC Clermont College is hosting “Landscaped by Craig Lloyd” from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 29, at UC Clermont College Art Gallery, 4200 Clermont College Drive, Batavia. The exhibit features Lloyd’s images portray landscapes from central and southern Ohio and portions of northern to central Kentucky. Admission is free. Call 7325200.
The Clermont County Association’s Spring Banquet is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 29, at Grant Career Center, 718 W. Plane St., Bethel. Social time is at 6:30 p.m. with dinner at 7 p.m. The featured speaker is Dave Lapham, former Cincinnati Bengals All-Star lineman and Bengals radio commen-
tator. Proceeds benefit the Clermont County Township Association. The cost is $50 for two tickets. Reservations are required. Call 734-6222 or visit www.cctownship.org.
Clermont County Public Library is hosting “Gardens with Wings: A Butterfly Gardening Presentation” at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at Amelia Branch Library, 58 Maple St. Patty Bigner and Fred Miller from Gardens with Wings will demonstrate how to attract butterflies to your garden. The event includes simultaneous storytime for children. The event is free. Registration is required. Call 752-5580.
Share your events Go to communitypress.com and click on Share! to get your event into the Bethel Journal.
Mercy Hospital Clermont CEO Gayle Heintzelman said the staff is what makes the hospital special. From left are: Doctor Howard Bell, Heintzelman, and managing nurses Deb Vickers and Ann Lane.
Staff makes Mercy one of the top 100 hospitals
By Kellie Geist
Walking through the doors at Mercy Hospital Clermont is like walking into a hotel – it has bright blue walls, a fireplace and friendly faces behind the counter. Beyond the lobby, the staff is busy creating a place that’s comforting for patients. Doctor Howard Bell said it’s that caring, family environment that makes the hospital special. “For a guy who’s been around hospitals for many years, I can tell you that there’s culture here ... We care about the patients and each other and I think it shows,” said Bell, who lives in Loveland. “That’s one of the most significant things about Clermont when I compare it to other hospitals.” Mercy Clermont opened in 1973 because community leaders, politicians and residents wanted health services closer to home. Today, Mercy Clermont is being recognized as one of the top 100 hospitals in the nation by Thomas Reuters. This is the second consecutive year and the fourth time to be recognized for this honor. “This is something that has come over time. It’s really been a growth period for us and I think we’ve finally reached a point that makes the hospital stand out,” Bell said. Mercy Clermont CEO Gayle Heintzelman said, in recent years, the hospital has expanded services, including starting the Wound Care Center in 2004 and opening the larger, redesigned Intensive Care Unit in 2009. “We’re a community, faith-based hospital that’s here to serve our surrounding community. We’re always looking at what services we need to offer to branch out, and those are
The rooms in the new Mercy Hospital Clermont intensive care unit are larger and more open to accommodate family members and to help hospital staff care for the patients.
Mercy Hospital Clermont Intensive Care doctor Samir Ataya and nurse Tom Baker review a patients chart at the wrap-around nurses station in the ICU.
See a column by Editor Theresa L. Herron about her experience at the Mercy Hospital Clermont Wound Care Center in Viewpoints, A12. things we saw a need for,” she said. The Wound Care Center & Hyperbaric Medicine Program was recognized as a Center of Distinction earlier this year by Diversified Clinical Services, a leading wound care management company and the hospital’s partner in wound healing. The center, which has seen 2,220 patients since it opened, has a successful healing rate of 97 percent. The staff members at Mercy Clermont are convinced the hospital’s successes are because of their co-workers. Ann Lane, the hospital’s clinical director and a Milford resident, has been with the hospital for more than 30 years. She said the family environment not only makes it a great place to work, but a wonderful place for patients. “We all work as a team and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I think that really helps us get the job done in an efficient and harmonious way,” Lane said. “I think that’s important because it really puts the patients at ease and the more at
ease they are, the better the care will be from all perspectives.” “You come in and you feel like we’re here for you and we want to take care of you. We want to make the patient’s visit as easy as it can be, because it’s difficult for everyone,” she said. Deb Vickers, the nurse manager in special services, has been at Mercy Clermont since it opened. The Amelia resident said the low-turnover and dedication to patients is vital. “Being in an area where we have a lot of recurring patients (oncology), having the same people is important. Patients get attached to the employees and those relationships help with the patients’ care,” Vickers said. While the hospital does not offer some services like open heart surgery or obstetrics, Heintzelman, who lives in Monroe Township, said residents living nearby should come to Mercy Clermont first if they are suffering a medical emergency. “If you take an hour to drive downtown to get that stability, you may not be able to keep the patient alive. We will do what we need to do to get that person stabilized and then get them to the appropriate level of care,” she said. For more about Mercy Clermont, visit www.e-mercy.com or call 7328200.
April 29, 2010
THINGS TO DO IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD T H U R S D A Y, A P R I L 2 9
Landscaped by Craig Lloyd, 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. UC Clermont College Art Gallery, 4200 Clermont College Drive. Lloyd’s images portray landscapes from central and southern Ohio and portions of northern to central Kentucky. Free. Presented by UC Clermont College. 732-5200. Batavia.
Jazzercise, 6 p.m.-7 p.m. Church of the Good Samaritan, 25 Amelia-Olive Branch Road. $20 per month. Presented by Jazzercise Amelia. 520-6390. Amelia.
FOOD & DRINK
Community Dinner, 6 p.m.-7 p.m. SonRise Community Church Office Building, 203 Mill St. Dinner prepared by church volunteers. Includes lasagna, salad, bread, dessert and drinks. Free. Presented by SonRise Community Church. 543-9008. Milford.
HEALTH / WELLNESS
Quitting for Life, 7 p.m.-8 p.m. Mercy Medical Imaging- Milford, 201 Old Bank Road. Suite 101, Smokers learn why they smoke and why they should quit. With Drs. Michael McHenry and Todd Williams of Mercy Medical Associates. Free. Presented by Mercy Health Partners. 937-378-2526; www.e-mercy.com. Milford.
LITERARY - BOOK CLUBS
Thursday Afternoon Book Club, 1:30 p.m. “The Shack” by William P. Young. MilfordMiami Township Branch Library, 1099 Ohio 131, Presented by Clermont County Public Library. 248-0700. Milford.
LITERARY - STORY TIMES
Preschool Story Time, 10:30 a.m. Amelia Branch Library, 58 Maple St. Ages 3-5. Free. Registration required. Presented by Clermont County Public Library. 752-5580. Amelia.
Used Book Fair, 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Bethel Branch Library, 611 W. Plane St. Used fiction and nonfiction books and audio/visual materials for adults, teens and children. Benefits library programming. Presented by Clermont County Public Library. Through May 1. 734-2619. Bethel. F R I D A Y, A P R I L 3 0
Landscaped by Craig Lloyd, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. UC Clermont College Art Gallery, Free. 732-5200. Batavia.
Benefit Auction, 6 p.m. Viewing begins at 5 p.m. Greater Loveland Historical Society Museum, 201 Riverside Drive. JoAnn Richardson History House. Includes four Nancy Ford Cones Prints, Rookwood vase, antiques frames, silver pieces, four piece 1930’s patio furniture set, red globe antique ceiling fixture, 35th Bonaventure ornament by Carole Lannom and more. Benefits Greater Loveland Historical Society. 6835692; www.poeauctions.com. Loveland.
Lighting The Way Scholarship Fundraiser, 6 p.m.-10:30 p.m. Receptions Banquet and Conference Center Loveland, 10681 Loveland Madeira Road. Tropical party, casual attire (no jeans), cocktails, buffet dinner, music by band and DJ, silent auction and raffle. Benefits Envision Learning Center. Ages 18 and up. $65. Presented by Envision Learning Center. 772-5437; www.envisionlearningcenter.org. Loveland.
Back to Nature: Nature’s Symphony, 6 p.m.-11 p.m. Cincinnati Nature Center at Rowe Woods, 4949 Tealtown Road. Krippendorf Lodge. Cocktails, dinner, live and silent auctions and art by Masterworks for Nature artists. Ages 21 and up. Benefits Cincinnati Nature Center. $125. Reservations required. 831-1711, ext. 124; www.cincynature.org. Union Township.
CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS
Frontier Square Dance Club, 8 p.m.-10:30 p.m. American Legion Hall Milford, 111 Race St. Plus-level square and round dance club. Pre-rounds start at 7 p.m. $5. Presented by Southwestern Ohio/Northern Kentucky Square Dancers Federation. 929-2427; frontiersquares.tripod.com. Milford.
FOOD & DRINK
Fish Fry, 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Dennis Johnson VFW Post 6562, 1596 Ohio 131, Fish sandwiches, chicken fingers or six-piece shrimp dinner. Includes cole slaw and French fries. Carryout available.$6 and up. Presented by Ladies Auxiliary Dennis Johnson VFW Post 6562. 575-2102. Milford.
Friday Night Racing, 4:30 p.m. Moler Raceway Park, 2059 Harker Waits Road. Quartermile dirt oval racing. Late Models, UMP Modifieds, Chevettes and Street Stocks. $13$15, $5 ages 7-15, free ages 6 and under. Through Oct. 1. 937-444-6215; www.molerracewaypark.com. Williamsburg.
Spring Rummage Sale, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. St. Mary Church, 3398 Ohio 125, Clothing $4 a bag. Toys, household items, books and more, priced as marked. Plus homemade baked goods. Presented by St. Mary Church Bethel. 734-4041. Bethel. Used Book Fair, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Bethel Branch Library, 734-2619. Bethel. S A T U R D A Y, M A Y 1
CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS
Clermont County Genealogical Society Meeting, 10 a.m. Janice Schulz, CRM, discusses the holdings of the University of Cincinnati- Blegen Archives and Rare Books Library. Doris Wood Branch Library, 180 S. Third St. Free, visitors welcome. Presented by Clermont County Genealogical Society. Through Sept. 4. 723-3423; http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohclecgs/. Batavia.
Craft Festival, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Boyd E. Smith Elementary School, 1052 Jer-Les Drive. Homemade crafts and popular vendors. Includes children’s games and raffle of 25 quilts made from students’ artwork. Family friendly. Free. Presented by Boyd E. Smith Elementary PTO. 722-1337. Milford.
HOME & GARDEN
Room to Bloom, 10 a.m. Loveland Hardware, 131 Broadway St. Seminar on container gardening. Free. Reservations required. 6774040. Loveland. Gardens with Wings: A Butterfly Gardening Presentation, 1 p.m. Amelia Branch Library, 58 Maple St. Patty Bigner and Fred Miller from Gardens with Wings demonstrate how to attract butterflies to your garden. Includes simultaneous story time for children. Free. Registration required. Presented by Clermont County Public Library. 7525580. Amelia.
LITERARY - BOOK CLUBS
First Wednesday Book Group, 2 p.m. “The Atonement Child” by Francine Rivers. Amelia Branch Library, 58 Maple St. Adults. Free. Presented by Clermont County Public Library. 752-5580. Amelia.
For more about Greater Cincinnati’s dining, music, events, movies and more, go to Metromix.com.
MUSIC - CLASSIC ROCK
Jerry’s Little Band, 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Padrino, 111 Main St. Grateful Dead cover band. Includes beer specials and pizza by the slice available. $3. 965-0100. Milford.
Walk for Clermont Kids, 10 a.m. Batavia Township Community Center, 1535 Clough Pike. Registration 9 a.m. Lunch provided after walk. Activities for children before and after walk. Rain or shine. Benefits Clermont County foster children. $25 for participants. Registration required. 732-7173; www.walkforclermontkids.org. Batavia Township.
1994 Milford High School Class Reunion, 7 p.m.-11:30 p.m. Milford Firefighters Community Hall, 1005 Lila Ave. $25 Couple, $15. Presented by Milford Class of 1994. 7224069; www.facebook.com/group.php?v=app_234 4061033&gid=106653095263#/event.php ?eid=168900527860&index=1. Milford.
Spring Rummage Sale, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. St. Mary Church, 734-4041. Bethel. Used Book Fair, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Bethel Branch Library, 734-2619. Bethel. Flea Market/Perennial Plant Sale, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. St. Andrew Parish Center, 560 Main St. Presented by St. Andrew Church-Milford. 248-1844. Milford. Williamsburg Village Wide Yard Sale, 10 a.m. Williamsburg United Methodist Church, 330 Gay St. Williamsburg United Methodist Church Women’s group sells famous chicken sandwiches, homemade pies and other items. Rain moves inside church. 724-1103. Williamsburg. Spring Garden Party and Plant Sale, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Loveland Primary/Elementary School, 550 Loveland-Madeira Road. Granny’s Garden School. Annual, perennial, herb and vegetable plants for the home and professional gardener. Workshops available. Free. Presented by Granny’s Garden School. 324-2873; www.grannysgardenschool.com. Loveland. Garden Market, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Anderson Hills United Methodist Church, 7515 Forest Road. Homegrown perennials, annuals, house plants and garden accessories. In conjunction with Boy Scout Troop No. 281 Flower Sale. Benefits Anderson Hills United Methodist Church Global Missions and Special Giving recipients. Free. Presented by United Methodist Women of Anderson Hills United Methodist Church. 474-0036. Anderson Township. Flower and Plant Sale, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Cincinnati Nature Center at Rowe Woods, 4949 Tealtown Road. Nature Shop. Annuals, perennials, herbs, native plants and hanging baskets available. $5, $1 children, free for members. 831-1711; www.cincynature.org. Union Township. Flea Market/Perennial Plant Sale, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. St. Andrew Church - Milford, 552 Main St. Presented by St. Andrew Church-Milford. 248-1844. Milford.
Clermont County Public Library is hosting “Gardens with Wings: A Butterfly Gardening Presentation,” at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 1, at Amelia Branch Library, 58 Maple St., Amelia. Patty Bigner and Fred Miller from Gardens with Wings demonstrate how to attract butterflies to your garden. The event includes simultaneous storytime for children. The event is free. Registration is required. Call 752-5580. S U N D A Y, M A Y 2
Show Me A Story, 3:30 p.m. Opening reception. Grailville Education and Retreat Center, 932 O’Bannonville Road. Multi-media exhibit of art that tells stories by Jennifer Choto and Janet Zack. Exhibit continues through May 31. Free. 683-2340; www.grailville.org. Loveland.
FOOD & DRINK
Breakfast Buffet, 9 a.m.-noon, American Legion Post 450, 450 Victor Stier Drive. Country buffet breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage, fried potatoes, sausage gravy and biscuits, hash and more. Eggs cooked to order along with coffee, juice and milk. Benefits American Legion Post 450. $7, $3 children 9 and under. Through May 30. 831-9876. Milford. Spring Feast Sunday Supper, 5:30 p.m. Grailville Education and Retreat Center, 932 O’Bannonville Road. Featuring Grailvillegrown food and other seasonal delights. $15, $10 children. Reservations required. 683-2340. Loveland.
Chili Ride, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Goshen High School, 6707 Goshen Road. For casual and serious bicycle riders. Courses available from 25-100 miles. $25. Registration required. Presented by Cincinnati Cycle Club. 6835699; www.cincinnaticycleclub.org. Goshen Township.
Spring Garden Party and Plant Sale, noon3 p.m. Loveland Primary/Elementary School, Free. 324-2873; www.grannysgardenschool.com. Loveland. Flower and Plant Sale, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Cincinnati Nature Center at Rowe Woods, $5, $1 children, free for members. 8311711; www.cincynature.org. Union Township. M O N D A Y, M A Y 3
ART EXHIBITS Show Me A Story, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Grailville Education and Retreat Center, 932 O’Bannonville Road. Multi-media exhibit of art that tells stories by Jennifer Choto and Janet Zack. Free. 683-2340; www.grailville.org. Loveland. Landscaped by Craig Lloyd, 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. UC Clermont College Art Gallery, Free. 732-5200. Batavia.
To submit calendar items, go to “www.cincinnati.com” and click on “Share!” Send digital photos to “[email protected]” along with event information. Items are printed on a space-available basis with local events taking precedence. Deadline is two weeks before publication date. To find more calendar events, go to “www.cincinnati.com” and choose from a menu of items in the Entertainment section on the main page.
MUSIC - CONCERTS
Linton Chamber Music Series, 7:30 p.m.9:30 p.m. Encore! Linton. Works of Mozart, Schumann, Bruch and Faure. Anthony McGill, clarinetist, and Michael Tree and Anna Polonsky of the Schumann Trio. Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson, artistic directors. Congregation Beth Adam, 10001 Loveland-Madeira Road. $30, $10 students at door. Presented by Linton Music. 381-6868; www.lintonmusic.org. Loveland. T U E S D A Y, M A Y 4
Frontier Squares Square Dance Classes, 7:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. American Legion Hall Milford, 111 Race St. No prior dance experience necessary. Wear casual dress and smooth-soled shoes. $5. Presented by Southwestern Ohio/Northern Kentucky Square Dancers Federation. Through Aug. 31. 929-2427; www.so-nkysdf.com. Milford.
HOME & GARDEN
Herb Appeal, 6:30 p.m. New Richmond Branch Library, 103 River Valley Blvd. Kids bring your favorite adult to help you plant your very own herb garden. Decorate your pot and then learn how to plant and care for your new herbs. Free. Registration required. Presented by Clermont County Public Library. 553-0570. New Richmond.
MUSIC - CABARET
Dining and Dancing with the Cincinnati Sinatra, 4:30 p.m.-8 p.m. Receptions Banquet and Conference Center-Eastgate, 4450 Eastgate Blvd. Matt Snow on vocals. Dinner, dancing, cash bar and all-you-can-eat gourmet buffet. Family friendly. $16.95, discounts for seniors and children. Reservations required, available online. Presented by TheCincinnatiSinatra.com. 576-9766; www.TheCincinnatiSinatra.com. Eastgate.
W E D N E S D A Y, M A Y 5
FOOD & DRINK
WAVE Free Community Dinner, 6 p.m. Milford First United Methodist Church, 541 Main St. Wednesdays Are Very Extraordinary. No church service attached, no reservations needed. All welcome. Family friendly meals. Free; donations accepted. 831-5500; www.milfordfirsumc.org. Milford.
HEALTH / WELLNESS
Community Blood Drive. 2 p.m.-4:15 p.m. Milford First United Methodist Church, 541 Main St. Lower Level Room 105. Walk-ins welcome. Appointment recommended. 8315500; www.hoxworth.org/groups/milfordfirstumc. Milford. Community Blood Drive. 2 p.m.-4:15 p.m. St. Bernadette Church, 1471 Locust Lake Road. Ventura Hall. Walk-ins welcome. Appointment recommended. 7537818; www.hoxworth.org/groups/stbernadette. Amelia.
LITERARY - STORY TIMES
Toddler Time, 10:30 a.m. Amelia Branch Library, 58 Maple St. Ages 18 months-3. Free. Registration required. 752-5580. Amelia. Drop-In Toddler Time Story Time, 10:30 a.m. Union Township Branch Library, 4462 Mount Carmel-Tobasco Road. Ages 18 months to 3 years. Stories, songs and play. 528-1744. Union Township. Preschool Story Time, 11:30 a.m. New Richmond Branch Library, 103 River Valley Blvd. Learn about a different sense every week. Free. Registration required. Presented by Clermont County Public Library. 553-0570. New Richmond.
Friendly Zumba Fitness Class, 6:30 p.m. Friendship Lutheran Church, 1300 White Oak Road. $5. 310-5600; www.zumbawithrobin.webs.com. Pierce Township.
LITERARY - BOOK CLUBS
Book Chat, 6 p.m. “Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister” by Gregory Maguire. Union Township Branch Library, 4462 Mount CarmelTobasco Road. Book discussion group for adults. Free. Presented by Clermont County Public Library. 528-1744. Union Township.
LITERARY - LIBRARIES
See Olympic silver medalists Qing Pang and Jian Tong, pictured, skate with Smuckers Stars on Ice at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 4, at U.S. Bank Arena. Also on the tour are 2010 Olympic silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, 2010 Olympian Jeremy Abbott, silver medalist Sasha Cohen, World Champion Todd Eldredge, bronze medalist Michael Weiss and more. Tickets are $26.50-$131.50. Call 800-745-3000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.
Teddy Bear Picnic, 6:30 p.m. Doris Wood Branch Library, 180 S. Third St. Bring your favorite teddy bear for story time, crafts and games. Ages 4-8,. Family friendly. Registration required. Presented by Clermont County Public Library. 732-2128. Batavia. Graffiti Graphics, 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Daily through May 6. Bethel Branch Library, 611 W. Plane St. Help create a mural using an unique painting technique to be showcased during the Appreciation of the Arts Day at the library. Ages 11-18. Presented by Clermont County Public Library. 734-2619. Bethel.
Cirque du Soleil - Alegria comes to The Bank of Kentucky Center Thursday, April 29, through Sunday, May 2. Pictured is the tribal and magical Fire-Knife Dance from a previous performance. “Alegria” is a mood piece about the passage of time, youth, old age and the handing down of power. It features artists using trapeze, hand balancing, manipulation and clowns and singers. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. April 29-30 and May 1; 3:30 p.m. April 30 and May 1; and 1 and 5 p.m. May 2. Tickets are $97-$42 for adults and $78-$34 for ages 2-12; plus fees. Visit www.bankofkentuckycenter.com.
April 29, 2010
Dealing with our Whatifs and Worries
serious? Whatif I age “Last night while I lay and become delirious? thinking here, some Whatifs Whatif I didn’t lock crawled inside my ear, and the house? Whatif I’m pranced and partied all night left by my spouse?” long, and sang their same Worries are a conold Whatif song:… Whatif I stantly buzzing around start to cry? Whatif I get sick our heads. If we take and die? … Whatif nobody them seriously, they likes me? Whatif a bolt of Father Lou destroy peace of mind, lightning strikes me?” Guntzelman develop suspicions, In this poem in, “A Light in the Attic,” author Shel SilPerspectives and diminish enjoyment. verstein describes many of They always threaten us with the worries that beset childhood woeful events allegedly waiting minds. But don’t forget that the What- around the corner. It doesn’t matter that studies ifs grow up with us. For even as adults we have our own Whatifs show 80 percent of our worries crawling inside our ears at night, never happen. Then we worry that the studies are wrong – espedon’t we? For us, their content is differ- cially in our case. What to do about handling our ent. They suggest such other things such as, “Whatif our love worries? First, make the distincdoesn’t last? Whatif the kids grow tion between angst and anxiety. up too fast? Whatif my job is lost? Angst is the German word for the anticipatory dread that is present Whatif I get a rotten boss? Whatif that ache is something in all of us as we recognize just
how vulnerable we are. Angst is existential, which means it comes along with existing as a human being. Though we develop strategies to avoid it, there is no person who avoids all worries. So, what to do? For one thing, do not deny the fact that some stress or angst comes along with the living of life. As analyst James Hollis Ph.D. states, “An acceptance of this angst as normal is healthy; its denial is pathological, and will sooner or later result in some lifeestranging behavior, or worse, the trivialization of the journey.” Anxiety, on the other hand, is a free-floating condition which may be activated by almost any specific event in our lives: such as giving a speech before a large crowd, going through an important interview, a court appearance, a medical operation, a wedding ceremony, etc.
Its intensity is partly determined by one’s particular history. The more unsettled one’s family of origin, cultural setting, or environment was, the more anxiety is usually experienced. Beneath an anxiety one is going through there is usually buried a thread that reaches back to a childhood fear. It’s greatly advantageous to us to discover our early fear that still exercises such power over us. To be free entirely of angst or anxiety in our lives is unrealistic. That’s good to remember as we try to contain our worries. It also enables us to have a certain compassion for not only for ourselves but also for others. To possibly alleviate anxiety, someone has remarked that we already know the worst that can happen to us. We will die someday. Can we be aware of that and still live as fully as possible all the days and
years God gives us? Hollis believes we can help ourselves in dealing with our worried anxiety if we (1) accept the normality of anxiety, (2) seek the roots of the identifiable fears in our anxiety, then (3) simply do the best we can in living our lives fully, and forgive the rest. We are more important than what we fear. A great move toward personal liberation is accomplished when we can acknowledge our existential angst directly, know ourselves to be fragile beings clinging to a spinning planet hurtling through space, and at the same time be grateful for such a grand ride. Father Lou Guntzelman is a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Contact him at columns@community press.com or P.O. Box 428541, Cincinnati, OH 45242.
Air duct cleaning not a necessity, regardless of deal
+,3 25 .1(( $57+5,7,6
I’ve reported on this in the past but feel compelled to do it again because I’m seeing several companies advertising for air duct cleaning. The ads say the companies will clean your air ducts for as little as $39 or $49. But, the need for such cleaning is very questionable. Brent Melvin responded to one such ad for his Amelia house and now says he regrets it. “When I was on the phone I asked them about the ad, about it being $49, and she said, ‘Yes, $49, for the number of vents,’ ” said Melvin. After he ordered the cleaning and the technicians came to his house, they immediately began working and then presented a bill. “They really didn’t explain the bill but said it’s $2,000 to get everything done,” he said. Melvin objected to the cost, which covered everything from cleaning mold they said they found on a brand-new humidifier to cleaning dust mites. The technician then wrote up another bill. Melvin said the technician told him, “Well, if all you want is what we did
then it’s going to cost this much.” T h a t price was a b o u t $590, and elvin Howard Ain M says he Hey Howard! told them that was still way too high. “I said four or five times, I said, ‘I don’t have that kind of money,’ ” he said. Melvin said the charge came as quite a surprise. “I said, ‘If I would have known before you did this I wouldn’t have had this done – because that’s why I called you was the ad for $49.’ He said, ‘Well that’s what we did.’ ” Reluctantly, Melvin said he ended up paying $553, because that’s as low as the supervisor on the phone would approve. “I felt like I was kind of forced and I couldn’t say, ‘OK, well leave.’ They were already packing up and getting ready to leave after they did the job,” he said. Later, Melvin inspected the air ducts and found uncovered holes – and vents that will no longer fit into the duct work. “I guess they didn’t put this vent back on and they
broke it off and didn’t say anything. I couldn’t put it back up so I just put duct tape over the hole they left,” he said. Under Ohio law you must be given an estimate for the cost of the work to be performed. The estimate can be either written, oral, or you can sign that you don’t want to get any estimate at all. You just can’t be given a bill after the work is already done. In addition, Ohio law requires you to get a tearoff cancellation form with the contract – a form you send back to the firm within three days if you wish to cancel. Melvin didn’t get a tearoff cancellation form so I told him to write the company and cancel now. He did that and has now received all his money back. The company is also paying for another firm to come over and repair the problems caused by the duct cleaning company. You need to know the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said duct cleaning has never been shown to actually prevent health problems. It said studies show dust adheres to duct surfaces and does not necessarily enter
the living space. In fact, the EPA does not recommend air ducts be cleaned routinely.
DO YOU HAVE Hip or Knee Pain? Consider volunteering for a clinical research study ;V X\HSPM` `V\ T\Z[! )L H[ SLHZ[ `LHYZ VM HNL /H]L QVPU[ WHPU JH\ZLK I` HY[OYP[PZ 6[OLY JYP[LYPH ^PSS HWWS` (Z H X\HSPÄLK WHY[PJPWHU[ `V\ ^PSS ZLL H Z[\K` KVJ[VY [V KPZJ\ZZ `V\Y WHPU (SS Z[\K`YLSH[LK JHYL HUK UVUUHYJV[PJ PU]LZ[PNH[PVUHS TLKPJH[PVU PZ PUJS\KLK HUK UV PUZ\YHUJL PZ YLX\PYLK
Please Call: 1-877-201-5854 www.paintrial.com
Movies, dining, events and more CE-0000396882
Howard Ain answers consumer complaints weekdays on WKRC-TV Local 12. Write to
him at 12 WKRC-TV, 1906 Highland Ave., Cincinnati 45219.
April 29, 2010
Eat like a horse with Derby Day recipes because the word “farm” never enters my vocabulary, since we don’t own one. Yes, our home sits at the end of an old country road, but unlike some of the homes on the road, ours is fairly new. And you can see my clothes hanging on the line from the highway opposite our field. Although we grow a whole lot of different kinds of produce and have a nice
I guess it’s a matter of perception. When I talk about my little patch of heaven here in Clermont C o u n t y, someone will usually come up and ask to visit Rita “ t h e farm.” Heikenfeld I have Rita’s kitchen to laugh,
amount of fruit trees, we don’t have a country estate. The whole point is you don’t need a plow and the lower 40 to create your own Garden of Eden.
Legendary hot brown
From the Brown Hotel in Louisville. This is the real deal – I called the hotel and verified the recipe. They were so accommodating. I don’t know if I can wait until Derby Day to make
SHARE. SWAP. SYNC UP. MEET UP.
Created for moms and by moms, MomsLikeMe.com is where moms who live near you hang out - and let it all out. New moms. Working moms. Stay-at-home moms. Where you can share stories, swap advice, make friends and even make plans to meet up live.
Join the conversation today.
Brought to you by:
where 8^cXn moms meet An affiliate of the Cincinnati.Com network.
this. The notes in parentheses are mine.
Ingredients (Makes two hot browns):
2 ounces butter (1/4 cup) 2 ounces all-purpose flour (1/2 cup) 1 quart heavy cream (I’d use whipping cream) 1 ⁄2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish Salt and pepper to taste 14 ounces sliced roasted turkey breast 2 slices of Texas toast (crust trimmed) 4 slices of crispy bacon 2 Roma tomatoes, sliced in half Paprika and parsley In a two-quart saucepan, melt butter and slowly whisk in flour until combined and forms a thick paste (roux). Continue to cook roux for two minutes over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Whisk whipping cream into the roux and cook over medium heat until the cream begins to simmer, about two to three minutes. Remove sauce from heat and slowly whisk in Pecorino Romano cheese until the Mornay sauce is smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste. For each Hot Brown, place one slice of toast in an oven safe dish and cover with 7 ounces of turkey. Take the two halves of Roma tomato and set them alongside the base of turkey and toast. Next, pour one half of the Mornay sauce to com-
pletely cover the dish. Sprinkle with additional Pecorino Romano cheese. Place entire dish under a broiler until cheese begins to brown and bubble. Remove from broiler, cross two pieces of crispy bacon on top, sprinkle with paprika and parsley, and serve immediately.
Make a simple syrup: combine 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar and a generous 1⁄2 cup roughly chopped spearmint leaves in a pan. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar dissolves. Let cool, then strain. Fill your frozen goblets (or even regular glasses, not frozen) with crushed ice and pour about 4 ounces good bourbon and 1⁄4 cup mint syrup in each. Go to taste on this! Top each with a sprig of mint and a straw which has been trimmed to barely come up to the top of the cups.
More Derby recipes
Go to Rita’s column online at www.communitypress.com for her clone of the beloved Kentucky Derby pie.
Rick Bayless’ Mexican chimichurri sauce
Perfect for Cinco de Mayo coming up. Rick is one of the most talented chefs I’ve met. One of my favorites during a class he taught for me was a delicious grilled
Rita on the radio
Each Thursday morning at 7:20 on Sacred Heart Radio 740AM, I talk with Brian Patrick about Bible herbs and foods. This week it’s how to make a Mary Garden. Visit www.sacredheartradio.com for all the good info plus relevant recipes. shrimp marinade that doubled as a dipping sauce. Here’s how Rick did it: Set a dry skillet over medium heat. Lay 1⁄2 head of unpeeled garlic cloves and 3 serrano chilies in the pan. Roast, turning frequently, for about 10 minutes for the chilies and 15 minutes for the garlic, or until soft and blotchy brown in spots. Let cool until they can be handled, and then slip the skins off the garlic and pull the stems off the chilies and, wearing rubber gloves, roughly chop (no need to remove the seeds). Place in a food processor along with 1 bunch each cilantro and parsley (lower stems removed), 1⁄2 cup olive oil, and up to 2 teaspoons salt. Process until nearly smooth (it will be pasty). Remove 1⁄3 cup and stir in 3 tablespoons water. This will be your extra sauce for dipping, whatever. Use the remaining sauce to brush on shrimp, poultry, beef, etc. and grill as desired. Rita Nader Heikenfeld is Macy’s certified culinary professional. Email columns@community press.com with “Rita’s kitchen” in the subject line. Call 513-2487130, ext. 356.
Inground pool sale FT. WAYNE STERLING POOLS * FIBERGLASS POOLS
r summe r o f y d Get rea ool Openings !! le P schedu Service Now! ol and Po OVER 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE INSTALLING INGROUND POOLS IN THE TRI-STATE AREA
APRIL 22 - MAY 2
must have coupon for sale price
AQUARIAN POOLS IS OFFERING A POOL SCHOOL CHEMICAL TRAINING MAY 8TH CALL TO RSVP Rheem Pool Heaters
12% Liquid Pool Shock
Limit 6 Cases
1-lb Super Shock Wave $3.49 each
Algaecide Solution 30 Solution 60 Devour 3 in 1 algaecide
1499 qt $ 2199 qt
29 $ 99 gallon 9 $
AO Smith Replacement Motors Inground
19400 $ 22100 $ 25700
16800 $ 18500 $ 21300
36100 $ 39400 $ 42500 $
242 25300 00
Covertech Solar Covers 3 year warranty
$ 25lb 3” or 1” Regular price 7999 $ Sale price 7499 After $6.00 rebate $6899 $ 16lb 3” Regular price 6699 $ Sale price 6299 After $3.00 rebate $5999
3/4hp 1hp 1.5hp
Inground 3/4hp 1hp 1.5hp
Digital control gas heaters Cupro nickel plated $ 199,500 btu 167700 $ 266,000 btu 182800 $ 332,500 btu 205700 $ 399,000 btu 231000 Rheem Heat Pump $ 95,000 btu 291500
Hayward Pro Series Sand Filters
21600 25000 $ 31800 $ 33000 $ 35600 $
S166T S180T S220T S244T S270T
Grecian Floating Fountain
18’ round 21’ round 24’ round 28’ round 16x32 rectangle 18x36 rectangle 20x40 rectangle
6799 9299 $ 12099 $ 16499 $ 10699 $ 13599 $ 16699 $ $
Hayward SunRay automatic pool cleaner $22500 Pool Maintenance & Accessories
Pool Toys & Games
Weber & Ducane grills starting at All grills assembled free Free grill tool w/purchase of grill
Ft. Wayne Signature Liners 20 yr limited pro rated warranty
Many patterns to choose from 6 months financing available
Door prize giveaways throughout the sale. Stop in to register.
1-275 at Wards Corner Rd. • Exit 54 631 Loveland - Miamiville Rd. • (513) 576-9771 • www.aquarianpoolinc.com CE-0000395485
No interest if six payments made on time, $29.00 activation fee, 28.9% interest if terms are not met. See store for details.
Ole Fisherman is busy this spring we went to Grants. On Saturday while at Grants Farm there was a big truck of trees come in. Some of the most beautiful weeping cherry trees I have ever seen. Along with fruit trees and other ones. After we left there we stopped at the U.S. Grant Vocational School for their community dinner and what a meal. The meal is fixed by the culinary class under the supervision of the Forsee brothers. There were close to 1,000 people there to eat. The greenhouse there was open and will remain open until sometime in May. These two lads sure do a super job with the cooking class. This is one of the best schools in the community. Our two daughters, one sonin-law and one granddaughter went to school there and all are doing great in their fields. Thanks Grant school for a super school and the help you are giving the students. For you folks who like to play cards, May 1 there will be a card party playing euchre at the Monroe Grange Hall in Nicholsville. There will be food available half way through the card party along with coffee and soft drinks. This will be the last one until October.
George Rooks Ole Fisherman
The Clermont County Friends of the Fair are hoping the kids who show horses will be able to have their own stalls at this year’s Clermont County Fair. Currently, the kids who show horses have to either share stalls or take their horses home for the night while 4-Hers who show other livestock are able to keep their animals in individual stalls throughout the week. “It’s an inconvenience for the kids and for the parents, but it also takes away from the fair experience (to take the horses home every night,)” said Deena Koch, who is helping organize the Spring Benefit fundraiser and is the adviser of the 4H horse group, the Winner’s Circle. “We’ve needed a new barn for a while,” she said. To help build the barn, the Clermont County Friends of the Fair, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the fairground facilities available for youth livestock exhibition, will host their annual Spring Benefit at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 8, in the multi-purpose building at the Clermont County Fairgrounds, 1000 Locust St. The benefit will include a dinner, dance, door prizes, raffles, split the pot, cake and pie auctions and a silent
Movie Hotline 947-3333 Mon-Sat 8-7 Sun 10-5
Over 150 Million Bags Sold!
PRICES VALID THROUGH May 15, 2010
BULK PREMIUM HARDWOOD (#410) (REG. $24.99) CU. YARD
29.00 $1.39 $29.99
BAGGED TOP SOIL
40 LB BAG
(#501) (REG. $1.99)
BULK BLACK DYED SHREDDED HARDWOOD (#1950)
BLACK DIAMOND EXTRA DARK EXTRA FINE (#422)
BLUE RIBBON PREMIUM CYPRESS
ABSOLUTE BLACK SHREDDED
3 CU. FT. BAG
2 CU. FT. BAG
(REG. $3.19) 2 CU. FT. BAG
(#412) (REG. $2.99)
2 CU. FT. BAG
(#113) (REG. $3.99)
KENNY CHESNEY SUMMER IN 3D 7:30 CLASH OF THE TITANS 3D (PG13) 12:45 - 3:00 - 5:15 - 9:50 HOW TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 3D (PG) 12:35 - 2:45 - 5:00 - 7:20*(*2D)- 9:45 THE BACK-UP PLAN (PG13) 1:00 - 3:10 - 5:20 - 7:30 - 9:40 THE LOSERS (PG13) 12:55 - 3:25 - 5:30 - 7:45 - 9:55 KICK-ASS (R) 12:50-3:30-7:00-9:35 DEATH FUNERAL (R) 1:10-3:20-5:25-7:40-9:45 DATE NIGHT (PG13) 1:05-3:05-5:05-7:25-9:45 LAST SONG (PG) 12:25-2:40-5:00-7:20-9:50 WIMPY KID (PG) 12:40-3:15-5:15-7:15-9:30 BOUNTY HUNTER(PG13) 12:30-2:50-5:10-9:55 1255 W. Ohio Pike - Amelia, Ohio $ 2 Surcharge On 3D Tickets
Be a friend of the fair
To join the Clermont County Friends of the Fair, simply attend one of their meetings. Meetings are held at 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month in the secretary’s office at the Clermont County Fairgrounds, 1000 Locust St. in Owensville. There are no membership fees and anyone is welcome to join. For more information, visit www.ccfof.com. auction. Cost to attend is $25 for a couple or $15 for an individual. Children between the ages of 8 and 18 are $5 each and admission is free for children under age 8. The proceeds, along with money raised from the pork tenderloin booth at the fair and money from previous fundraisers, will go toward building an equestrian pavilion near the new restrooms at the fairgrounds. Tickets will be available at the door, but to purchase tickets in advance, call Lisa Smith at 262-3229 or email her at [email protected].
by DENNIS SMITH Wood by DURA BUILT
Metal Buildings Available
Portable Buildings Wood-Vinyl-Painted Sizes from 8X10 to 12X30 Free Delivery & Setup Buy or Rent to Own No Credit Check
Come see our large selection at:
1350 W. Ohio Pike, Amelia, Ohio or Call 513-753-1191 www.smithbarns.com
Make a donation
Any donations can be made payable to Friends of the Fair, Inc. and mailed to P.O. Box 474, Williamsburg, Ohio 45176. Contributions of more than $200 to the equestrian pavilion will merit having the donor’s name on the “pillars of support” outside the barn. For more information about the Clermont County Friends of the Fair, making donations or the “pillars of support,” visit the organization’s Web site at www.ccfof.com. The Clermont County Friends of the Fair also will be selling raffle tickets for the chance to win a 2010 Eclipse aluminum trailer to raise money for the horse barn. This trailer has convertible pens for easy transport of horses, cattle, lambs, goats or hogs. Tickets for the trailer raffle are $50 each. Only 300 tickets will be sold. For more information about the raffle, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.ccfof.com.
Hate your Ugly Tub?
R e g la z e It! Ask for our Eco-Friendly 4 Hour Cure Coating!
5 1 3 -7 7 1 -8 8 2 7 Uglytub.com
(#1952) (REG. $3.99)
ABSOLUTE BLACK ULTRA HARDWOOD (#1942) (REG. $3.99)
2 CU. FT. BAG
VISIT OUR WEBSITE TO PLACE ORDERS www.ohiomulch.com
MONTGOMERY 12054 Montgomery Road 513-677-2066 SHARONVILLE 3739 Hauck Road 513-733-5800
TRI-COUNTY 72 W. Crescentville Road 513-671-8770 BURLINGTON, KY 5529 North Bend Road 859-586-1173
Engagement Announcement Susan Elaine Barber and Christopher Michael Tucker
177 W. Main Street Amelia, OH 45102
of Batavia are delighted to announce their engagement and upcoming marriage. Susan is the daughter of Colleen Edenfield of Columbus and Larry Edenfield of Seaman. Christopher is the son of Peggy Campbell of Howard and Roger Tucker of Danville.
200 Western Avenue New Richmond, OH 45157
Susan is a 1993 graduate of Brookhaven High School and served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. She is employed as a flight attendant.
315 W. Plane Street Bethel OH 45106
By Kellie Geist
There will be a big event in the Bethel area on May 8. There will be crafters, food vendors, artists, music, Shriners clowns, activities for children and a quilt show at the Methodist church. There will be music in Burke Park, in front of the Grant Memorial Building and at Harmony Hill Winery. This will be a very busy day with lots of activities so mark your calendar and look for more information in the papers. The Bethel Lions Club will have a booth there so you can drop off used eye glasses, get your blood pressure checked and buy a print of covered bridges by a local artist. The Monroe Grange also will be having an open house at their Grange Hall at 2644 Ohio 222 in Nicholsville May 8, from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m., so stop in and learn about the Grange and its teachings. Start your week by going to the church of your choice and praise the Good Lord. God bless all. More later. George Rooks is a retired park ranger. Rooks served for 28 years with the last five as manager of East Fork State Park.
Spring Benefit is for horse barn
Howdy folks, Mark your calendar for April 30 at Receptions Center East, 4450 Eastgate Blvd. This is the CASA For Clermont Kids! spring charity benefit to raise money for abused and neglected children. This is a wonderful program and the service this group do for children. Ruth Ann and I donate wood items to C.A.S.A. each year. It seems when they have their dinner and program we always have another event we are involved in, so we wish them a wonderful evening and lots of money raised for this organization. The judges and everyone that is involved in this endeavor are to be thanked. My mother kept foster children when I was still at home. Over the years she kept 32. Still today we keep in touch with some of them, or run into someone who was in her care. Now get your mouth set for some great eating, wilted lettuce and green onions. The first from our garden along with some dandelion greens in the lettuce. Last week the honey bee inspector was here to check our honey bees. We had three hives and lost two. The one hive is doing good. He said there was a 70-percent loss of honey bees in Ohio this past winter. I can believe it with the losses we hear about. He told me to put a super on the hive so they could make honey for us. There is lots of brood in the hive so he thought the hive will be O.K. Ruth Ann and I spent an afternoon cleaning more hives that we have. Getting them ready for more honey bees. If any of you folks have a swarm of bees, give us a call at 734-6980. Last week we went to a funeral visitation for a lovely lady, Mrs. Erma Lee Utley. When Ruth Ann and I were delivering Meals on Wheels for Clermont Senior Services we got to see her and visit. She always enjoyed our visit and would have a beautiful smile for us. Her husband Roy sure took extra good care of her. Ruth Ann and I extend our sympathy to her family. The Grants Farm and Greenhouses Open House was very busy while Ruth Ann and I were there Saturday and Sunday. The first thing Saturday morning was the Bethel Lions Club pancake breakfast, which was good. Then
April 29, 2010
Christopher is a 1996 graduate of Mount Vernon High School and a 2001 graduate of The University of Cincinnati with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He is employed as a food technologist with Mane Inc. in Milford. The couple is planning a summer wedding to be held June 5 at Paul Brown Stadium. CE-1001554512-01
Announcing the engagement of John W. Leuthold Jr. to Valerie Robinson. Parents of the groomJohn Sr. and Linda Leuthold; parents of the bride-JoAnne McDonald and Bill Robinson, Jr. Wedding set for 04/02/11
RELIGION Cranston Memorial Presbyterian Church
The church is hosting the Mary Martha Bake Sale and Youth Mission Flower Sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 8, at RiverCity BP Station, U.S. 52 and Sycamore Street, New Richmond. Rain alternate at Cranston Presbyterian Church. Sunday Service is at 10:45 a.m. The church is at Washington and Union streets, New Richmond; 553-2397.
Laurel United Methodist
The church hosts Sunday School at 10 a.m. and church worship at 11 a.m. Sundays. The church is at 1888 Laurel-Lindale Road, Laurel; 553-3043.
Locust Corner United Methodist Church
The church hosts Sunday School at 9 a.m. and Sunday worship at 10 a.m. Sundays. The church is at Locust Corner and Wagner roads, Pierce Township; 752-8459.
St. Mary Church
The church is hosting their Spring Rummage Sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, April 30, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 1. Clothing is $4 a bag. All other items are priced as marked. The sale includes toys, household items, electronics, books and homemade baked goods. The church is at 3398 Ohio 125, Bethel; 734-4041.
True Church of God
A concert will be 7 p.m. the third Friday of each month, featuring new bands and artists. Free food and music. Call Angel at 513-876-0527 or 734-7671. The church is at 513 Market St., New Richmond.
ASSEMBLIES OF GOD RIVER OF LIFE Assembly of God 1793 U.S. 52, Moscow, Ohio 45153 Pastor: Ralph Ollendick Sun. Contemporary Service SS -9:45am, Worship 11:00am Wed.- Informal Biblestudy 7-8pm Come Experience The Presence of the Lord In Our Services
SOUTHERN BAPTIST CLOUGH PIKE BAPTIST CHURCH 1025 CLOUGH PIKE
April 29, 2010
Shouse graduates from cadet program Chris Shouse recently completed the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Junior Cadet program held at the Highway Patrol Training Academy in Columbus. Shouse was one of 39 Junior Cadet participants selected from applications submitted by young men and women who attended Buckeye Boys and Girls State last summer. Each who exemplary performance throughout the previous school year, or were eligible children of patrol employees who will be high school seniors. The Junior Cadet Program is designed to give young people better insight into the challenges faced by law enforcement officers by enabling them to experience a typical week at the training academy. Junior Cadets are required to spend the
St. Bernadette Church
ST. THOMAS EPISCOPAL CHURCH & ST. THOMAS NURSERY SCHOOL
1479 Locust Lake Rd Amelia, Oh 45102 753-5566 Rev. Bill Stockelman, Pastor Weekly Masses, Saturday 5:00 PM Sunday 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM
CHRISTIAN - CHURCH OF CHRIST
Sunday School 9:30am Morning Worship 10:45am Wednesday Night Worship & Prayer Service 7:00pm Nursery provided for all services/ Youth & Children’s Programs
Bible Based Teaching Christ-Centered Worship Family Style Fellowship Sunday School 9:45 am Worship 11:00am & 6:00 pm Wednesday Prayer & Bible Study 7:00 pm 2249 Old State Road 32, Batavia
Pastor: Tom Bevers www.Cornerstone.ohbaptist.org
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF MT REPOSE 6088 Branch Hill-Guinea Pike Ken Slaughter, Pastor Sunday School 9:45am - Worship 11am (nursery provided) Sunday Evening Service 6pm-Youth 6pm 513-575-1121 www.mtrepose.org
MONUMENTS BAPTIST CHURCH
2831 State Route 222 Mark Pence, Pastor 513-313-2401 Sunday School....9:30AM Sunday Worship....10:45AM Childrens Church & Nursery Avail Wednesday Prayer Service & Youth Meeting....7:00PM Nursery & Children’s Activities www.monumentsbaptist.org
Sunday School 10am; Morning Worship 11am; Sunday Evening Service 6pm; Wednesday Eve. Prayer Service & Bible Study, 7:00pm
Reaching the Heart of Clermont County
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF GOSHEN 1828 Woodville Pike • 625-5512 Pastor Junior V. Pitman Sunday School – 10:00am Morning Worship – 11:00am Prayer Time – 5:30pm Sunday Evening – 6:00pm WED. Prayer & Bible Study – 7:00pm Nursery provided for all services
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF FELICITY 212 Prather Rd. Felicity, OH Pastor: Chad Blevins 876-2565
Sunday School Sunday Worship Sunday Eve. Childrens Mission Sunday Eve. Adult Discipleship Sunday Eve. Worship Wed. Eve. Adult Bible Study
9:45am 10:45am 6:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 7:00pm
LINDALE BAPTIST CHURCH
3052 ST. RT. 132 AMELIA, OH 45102 Pastor John Davis 797-4189 Sunday School..............................9:30am Sunday Morning Worship............10:30am Sunday Evening Worship...............6:30pm Wednesday Prayer Service ...........7:00pm Wednesday Youth Group...............7:00pm www.lindalebaptist.com
Chris Shouse recently completed the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Junior cadet program. ty-Franklin High school and Grant Career Center. He is a member of the National Honor Society and National Technical Honor Society. He participates in several varsity sports including: Basketball, cross-country and track and is a member of the Clermont County Junior Fair Board and Rump Roast Riders
BETHEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 402 W. Plane St. Bethel, Ohio 513-734-7201 www.bumcinfo.org
“Encircling People with God’s Love”
Sunday Worship 8:00 & 10:45am Contemporary Worship 9:30am Sunday School For All Ages: 9:30 & 10:45am Nursery Care for Age 3 & under Full Program for Children, Youth, Music, Small Groups & more Handicapped Accessible PASTORS: Bill Bowdle -Sr. Pastor Steve Fultz - Assoc. Pastor; Dustin Nimmo - Youth Pastor Janet Bowdle - Children’s Pastor
Handicap Accessible 513-753-4115 www.GoodSamaritanEpiscopal.org
844 State Rt. 131
1/2 mile east of Route 50 Sunday School 9:30a Sunday Worship 10:30a Youth Worship 10:30a Nursery provided.
5910 Price Road, Milford 831-3770 www.faithchurch.net
513 831 0196
Services 8:00 am, 9:15 am & 11:00am Steve Lovellette, Senior Pastor Nursery proivided at all services
www.milfordchurch.org www.fusionmcc.com [email protected]
Take I-275 to exit 57 toward Milford, Right on McClelland, Right on Price, church soon on Right
CHURCH OF CHRIST
Lutheran Church (ELCA)
GLEN ESTE CHURCH OF CHRIST 937 Old State Route 74 (Behind Meijer) 513-753-8223 www.gecc.net
Growing our Faith, Family & Friends Sunday Worship 10:00AM (Child Care Available) Sunday School (Ages 3-12) 9:30AM 1300 White Oak Road Amelia, Ohio 513-752-5265
Sunday Worship: 8:30 & 10:30am Bible Study: 9:30am & 6:00pm Youth Groups: 6:00pm
PRINCE OF PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH (ELCA)
OWENSVILLE CHURCH OF CHRIST
A fellowship where God changes people for life. Come visit us! 2545 Highway 50 Owensville, OH 45160 513-732-2324 Sunday School 9:00am Childrens Church 10:00am Worship 10:00am
101 South Lebanon Rd. Loveland, OH 45140 683-4244 Lead Pastor Jonathan Eilert Pastor Grant Eckhart Saturday Service 5:00pm Sunday Services 8:00, 9:30 & 11:00am Sunday School 9:30am http://www.princeofpeaceelca.org
Contemporary and traditional with live music and multi-media.
Sunday Worship: 10:30am with Childrens Church & Nursery PASTOR JONATHAN KOLLMANN
EMMANUEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Sunday School 9:00am Worship 10:30am Children’s Worship and Childcare 10:30am Corner of Old SR 74 and Amelia-Olive Branch Rd 732-1400 http://www.emmanuel-umc.com FELICITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
176th Year in Felicity Walnut & West St. Felicity Rev. Jane Beattie, Pastor 876-2147 Contemporary Worship..... 9:00am Sunday School.................10:00am Traditional Worship..........10:45am Nursery provided for all Sunday morning services
“Room for the Whole Family” GOSHEN UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 6710 Goshen Rd, Goshen Across from Goshen High School 513-722-2541 www.goshenmethodist.org Sunday School 9:30am Worship 10:30am Blended Worship Traditional and Contemporary Youth Fellowship 6:00pm Nursery Available
Traditional Worship.......8:15am & 11:00am Contemporary Worship..................9:30am Sunday School...............................9:30am Nursery Available 5767 Pleasant Hill Rd (next to Milford Jr. High) 513-831-0262 www.trinitymilford.org
CHURCH OF GOD GOSHEN CHURCH OF GOD
A special prayer and healing service on the 1st Sunday evening of each month at 7:00pm
Real People...In a Real Church... Worshipping a Real God! 1675 Hillstation Road, Goshen, Ohio 45122 722-1699 www.goshenchurchofgod.org Pastor Tim McGlone Service Schedule Sunday School 10:00am Sunday Worship 10:45am Sunday Evening Worship 6:00pm Wednesday Youth Service 7:00pm Saturday Service 7:00pm
Pastor Mike Smith
One block north of Main Street at 3rd 513-724-6305 [email protected] www.williamsburgumc.com
Pastor: Rev. Duane A. Kemerley Youth Director- JD Young
Church of the Nazarene Rev. Scott Wade, Senior Pastor
HOUSE OF RESTORATION WORSHIP CENTER 1487 SR 131, Milford, OH Rev. Jeff Wolf 575-2011
Schedule of Services: Sunday School 9:00-9:45am; Sunday Morning Celebration 10:00am - Nursery provided; Childrens Ministry 10:00; Sunday Evening Operation Great Commission 6:00pm; Wed - Bible Study 7:00pm; Wed. - Youth Group 7:00pm. www.houseofrestoration.org
638 Batavia Pike Corner of Old St.Rt. 74 & Summerside Rd Phone: 513-528-3052 Pastor: Rev. Blossom Matthews Sunday Morning Worship: 8:30 & 10:40 Nursery Care Available Sunday School for all ages: 9:30 Web: www.Summerside-umc.org E-mail: [email protected]
Morning Worship 9 a.m. & 11 a.m. Evening Worship 6 p.m. High Voltage Youth 6 p.m.
4359 E. Bauman Lane | Batavia, OH 45103 Pastor, Troy P. Ervin
A New Life - A New Prospective A New Song Pastor: Michael Fite info: 753-3159 meeting at WT Elementary 1/2 mile east of I-275 on SR 125 Sunday Worship. 10:00am www.newsongohio.com
vineyard eastgate community church
Located @ 1005 Old S.R. 74 (@ Tealtown Rd. in Eastgate) Sunday Services 9:00, 10:15 & 11:45 AM
Rev. Dale Noel, Congregational Care Pastor Mark Owen, Worship Director SUNDAY: Sunday School (All Ages)....................... 9:30am Worship Service.................................. 10:30am Children’s Worship. (1st-5th Grades) Bible Study............................................6:00pm Nursery Care Provided Handicapped Accessible MONDAY: Ladies’ Prayer Group...........................10:30am WEDNESDAY: Adults Prayer Meeting............................7:00pm Youth Group - Grades 6-12....................7:00pm Small Groups meet in various locations and at different times throughout the week. S.Charity & E. Water Sts. Bethel, Ohio 45106 513-734-4204 Office: M-F 8:00am - 2:00pm E-mail: [email protected] www.bethelnazarenechurch.org
PRESBYTERIAN (USA) LOVELAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH A Loving, Praying, Caring Church Join us for Sunday Services Worship Service........................10:00am Church School............................11:15am CONNECT Youth Service.............6-8pm Fellowship/Coffee Hour after Worship Nursery Provided/Youth Group Activities 360 Robin Ave. (off Oak St.), Loveland OH
PRESBYTERIAN CALVIN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Amelia/Withamsville - 3mi. East of I-275
Sunday Morning 10:00AM
Contemporary Worship Practical Message Classes for Children & Teens Nursery Care Sunday 6:00PM Avalanche Youth Service Wednesday 7:00PM Bible Study (adults) / Avalanche Youth We have many other groups that meet on a regular basis 4050 Tollgate Rd, Williamsburg, OH 513-724-3341 www.cmcchurch.com Mark Otten, Pastor
Contemporary and Traditional live Worship Music and Multimedia
SUNDAY SERVICE TIMES
Sunday Morning Schedule: 9AM - Worship: Traditional 10AM - Classes & Groups 11AM - Worship: Contemporary Nursery care provided
Come visit us at the
day Worship Service......8:30am, 10:30am 10:3 Sunday nda School.......................9:30am School 93 Sunday w/nursery & children’s church
United Methodist Church
Owensville United Methodist Church
Located at 2580 US Hwy 50 (next to the library) or (1mile east of Owensville on 50)
4-H club. After graduation in May he will be attending Northern Kentucky University in the fall where he will be majoring in engineering and criminal justice. He plans on entering the State Highway Patrol academy after he completes his college education.
Trinity United Methodist
330 Gay Street, Williamsburg, OH 45176
2010 Wolfangel Rd., Anderson Twp. 513-231-4301
BATAVIA BAPTIST TEMPLE
THE CHURCH OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN Sunday 10:30am ... Holy Eucharist
BAPTIST 770 South Riverside, Batavia OH 45103 Raymond D. Jones, Pastor 732-2739
100 Miami Ave, Terrace Park,OH 831-2052 www.stthomasepiscopal.org Sunday 7:45am Rite I Eucharist 9:00am Rite 2 Eucharist For All People 11:15am Rite 2 Choral Eucharist Childcare Provided for all Eucharists
25 Amelia Olive Branch Rd.
CORNERSTONE BAPTIST CHURCH
entire week at the training academy, sleeping in the dorms and dining in the cafeteria. While at the academy, they gain knowledge from patrol academy staff regarding crash investigation, officer/violator contacts, self-defense tactics, K9 operations, building searches, motorcycle operations, impaired driver apprehension and military drills. Captain Robert Markowski, assistant commander of the patrol’s training academy, presented graduation certificates to the participants. Family of cadets were also in attendance: Lt. Randy McElfresh, commander of the Batavia patrol post (uncle), Gina McElfresh, David, Cindy, Trevor and Terra Shouse. Shouse is a senior at Felici-
FIRST CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
A Loving Church in Jesus’ Name Sunday School..............................10:00AM Sunday Morning Worship..............10:45AM Thurs Prayer & Bible Study..............7:00PM Nursery Provided for Sunday Morning Worship www.FirstChurchofJesusChrist.org 6208 Guinea Pike, Milford, Ohio 45150 Pastor: Melvin Moore Church: 513-575-5450
1177 West Ohio Pike (SR125)-Phone 752-2525 Rev. Kathleen B. Haines Sunday School 9:30am Worship 10:30am
Nursery care provided www.calvin-pc.org
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 199 Gay Street Williamsburg, Ohio 45176 Phone: 513-724-7985 Sunday School: 9:30A.M.
Worship:10:30A.M.(SupervisedNursery) PRESCHOOL: Tues, Weds, Thurs
WESLYAN MULBERRY WESLEYAN CHURCH
949 SR Bus. 28, Milford 831-3218 Eric George, Pastor Rob Meyer, Youth Leader Kent Underwood, Minister of Worship & Music
Sunday School 9:30am Worship/Children’s Church 10:30am Sunday Equipping Hour 6:00pm Adult Bible Study/Youth/Kids Club 7:00pm WED “A friendly Church for the Whole Family”
John G. Weigle, 43, 17 Couthouse Green, disorderly conduct, March 23. Michael D. Hitz, 37, 134 S. Union St., disorderly conduct, March 23. Timothy C. Hively, 20, 1153 Ohio 125, driving under influence, using weapons while intoxicated, March 27. Travis Wagner, 34, 619 Elm St., disorderly conduct, April 1. James M. Trammell, 65, 3491 Inez Ave., disorderly conduct while intoxicated, April 2. Juvenile, 15, domestic violence, April 3. Shane Fugate, 27, 2781 S. Banton Road, receiving stolen property, assault, April 5. Staphany A. Jones, 19, 303 S. Union St., criminal trespass, April 7. Nicholas G. Ruhstaller, 19, 303 S. Union St., criminal trespass, April 7. Albert R. Terry, 48, 2061 Donald Road, disorderly conduct while intoxicated, April 8. Aaron R. York, 20, 2921 Fair Oak
April 29, 2010
| DEATHS | Editor Theresa Herron | [email protected] | 248-7128
Road, domestic violence, April 10. Brandon S. Lewis, 23, 607 Easter Road, theft, April 10.
Medications, etc. taken at 3064 Angel Drive, March 22. Attempt made to enter residence at 209 W. Plane St., March 25.
Trespassing on property at 208 W. South St., April 5. Trespassing in Burke Park at 105 S. Ash St., April 7.
Female reported this offense at 100 Bethel Park Drive, March 22. Fighting reported at 134 S. Union St., March 23. At 143 Bethel Park, March 30. Male acted in disorderly manner at West Plane Street, April 1.
Trash can taken at 202 Springdale Court, March 22. Female stated ID used with no authorization at 439 S. Union St., March 29. Personal check taken and cashed; $12 at 545 W. Plane St., March 30. Copper ground wires taken from utility poles; $398 at 120 N. Main St., April 5. Radar detector taken from vehicle at 610 Easter Road, April 7. Candy taken from Bethel IGA; $3 at 545 W. Plane St., April 10.
1994 Ford pick-up not returned at 508 S. Charity St., April 5.
Fencing damaged at 134 S. Union St., March 29.
communitypress.com E-mail: clermont@c
At 3533 Ohio 743, Moscow, April 16.
April 17. David Fasai Emjalli, 26, 235 Walnut St., Lot 23, Felicity, trafficking in drugs at 615 Walnut, Felicity, April 14. Juvenile, 15, domestic violence, Bethel, April 18.
Male juvenile reported missing at 300 block of South Main Street, March 25.
Joseph L Davidson, 32, 105 Union St., Felicity, forgery, identity fraud at Ohio Pike/Airport Road, Bethel,
Disseminate matter harmful to juveniles
Possession of drugs
At 2429 Ohio 133, Bethel, April 7.
At Ohio Pike, Bethel, April 12.
At Mound St., Bethel, April 6. At N. Charity St., Bethel, April 18.
Breaking and entering
At 1787 US 52, Moscow, April 8.
At 2135 Ohio 133, Bethel, April 17. At 2591 Gaylord Ave., Bethel, April 17.
At 311 Poplar, Felicity, April 7. At 3381 Mound St., Bethel, April 6.
At Walnut/Minor St., Felicity, April 1.
At 543 Felicity Higginsport Road, Felicity, April 10.
Criminal child enticement
At 806 North Market, Felicity, Sept. 18. At Ohio Pike/Airport Road, Bethel, March 30.
At 806 North Market, Felicity, Sept. 18.
At 116 Water Street, Moscow, April 13.
At 2902 Bert Reed Memorial Road, Felicity, April 13.
At 3790 Sodom Road, Hamersville, April 6. At 3219 Ohio 133, Bethel, April 17. At 1410 Ohio 133, Bethel, April 18. At 318 3rd St., Moscow, April 16.
At Ohio 133/Ohio 749, Felicity, April 5.
At 311 Poplar, Felicity, April 7. At 610 Walnut, Felicity, April 13.
Incidents/investigations Aggravated Menacing
Passing bad checks
At 2191 Ohio Pike, Amelia, April 11.
At 881 Neville Penn Schoolhouse Road, Felicity, April 18.
CLERMONT COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
At West Plane Street, April 3. At Starling Street, April 10.
At 3348 Patterson Road, Bethel, April 8. At 111 E. Walnut St., Felicity, April 11. At 2291 Ohio Pike, Bethel, March 15. At 311 Sunset Drive, Bethel, Oct. 25. At 3351 Patterson Road, Bethel, April 7. At 595 Ohio 222, Felicity, April 7. At 806 Market St., Bethel, April 9. At 2884 Ohio 232, Bethel, April 16. At 303 3rd St., Moscow, April 16. At 3419 Smyrna Road, Felicity, April 15. At Main/Mulberry, Felicity, April 14.
Trafficking in drugs
At Ohio Pike/Airport Road, Bethel, March 30.
At 615 Walnut, Felicity, April 14.
Unauthorized use of motor vehicle
At 2828 Ohio 222, Bethel, April 15.
At 2515 Oak Corner Road, Hamersville, April 15.
IN THE COURTS
Doris C. Ellis, 75, of Bethel died April 21. Survived by son, Stewart (Holly) VanOver of Bethel; granddaughters, Margaret Anna and Sarah Rachelle VanOver; and great-granddaughter, Kylie Mae; and sisters, Frances Gail Himes of Richmond, Ky., and Fredrecka Layne Carter of Berea, Ky. Preceded in death by parents, Rankin and Ethel Mae (nee Duncil) Combs. Services were April 26 at E.C. Nurre Funeral Home, Bethel. Memorials to: American Cancer Society, 2808 Reading Road, Cincinnati, OH 45206.
BUILDING PERMITS Residential
Anjko Electric, Cincinnati, alter, 3273 Ohio 756, Franklin Township. Daniel Wahl, Bethel, alter, 2839 Burke Road, Tate Township. William Light, Amelia, new, 2004 Big Indian Road, Washington Township, $200,000.
What Good Does Pre-Planning Do For Your Family?
Your Family . . .
• Knows exactly what you want • Will not have to make difficult decisions on the worst day of their lives • Will not overspend • Will have “Peace of Mind”knowing your wishes were honored
For more information call Dianna at
513-853-3722 for your free “My Life” planning guide and consultation.
www.springgrove.org 4389 Spring Grove Ave.
N. Broadway, Owensville, Ohio-732-2218 or 732-2580
Doors Open 5:30pm Preliminaries 7:00pm Instant Table Opens 5:30pm $3500 Payout Each Week (with 200 players) All you can PLAY PAPER for $10 Loads of instant Games including King of the Mountain & a Large variety of Joe’s
10 min. east of I-275, off Rt. 125 at Walgreen/CVS, turn south on Jenny Lind Rd.
Play Bingo FREE the week of your Birthday
Police security. Doors open at 6:00 pm; games begin at 7:30 pm. Loads of instants, lots of door prizes! Great food, friendly patrons and sellers!
Bingo Computer Purchase Guaranteed Fri & Sat Nights
513-931-4441 • 513-931-0259
Cincinnati, Ohio 45223
ST. LOUIS PARISH FRIDAY NIGHT BINGO
St. Bernadette Church
Gwen Mooney Funeral Home The Spring Grove Family
Lindsay K. Sneed vs. Ethan G. Sneed Andrea Malicoat vs. John Malicoat Susan A. Hodges vs. Charles Hodges Jennifer Wyrick vs. David Wyrick Scott E. Campbell vs. Jody Campbell Jannis Brown vs. Douglas Brown Stacy M. Wright vs. William E. Wright Russell Rataiczak vs. Nicole
In the courts continued B8
“We’re in the business of helping families make simple, sensible, and affordable arrangements.”
AMELIA FRIDAY NIGHT
Sunday Night Bingo
Richard L. Schultz vs. Bonnie Schultz Ronald L. Stapleton vs. Victoria Stapleton
Doris C. Ellis
Rataiczak Kathy R. Ogden vs. Robert G. Ogden Susan Gfroerer vs. Christopher Gfroerer Michelle Kuhlman vs. Robert Kuhlman
Progressive Jackpots Crank It Up!
Free Dinner the 3rd Friday of the month Security On Site Must be 18 Yrs Old
TONS OF DOOR PRIZES!
ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON BINGO EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SUNDAY $ 5900 Buckwheat Rd, Milford, Ohio 513-575-0093 ext #8 $ Doors open 5:15pm game 7:00pm - Instants Sales 5:15pm $ $ $3500 Payout each week (with 130 players) $ $ Paper Entrance packages up to 24 faces $10.00 $ Free Dinner FREE VIP Club $ Lots of Instants discount week $ $ first 100 including Ft. Knox, of Birthday $ players $ every Win on Diamond earn points for $ 3rd Wed King of the Mt. entrance packages,$ $ of month. food and gifts $ Door Prizes, loser 13’s, Instant Jug, sign-up jackpot $ $ $$$$$$$$$$$ BEST BINGO IN AREA $$$$$$$$$$$ CE-1001548535-01.INDD
Citimortgage Inc. vs. Cheri L. Contario and National Bank and Trust Co., foreclosure Fifth Third Mortgage Company vs. Danny L. Ennis, et al., foreclosure U.S. Bank NA vs. Claus Stephan and Treasurer of Clermont County, foreclosure U.S. Bank NA successor to Star Bank NA vs. Michelle Theaderman, et al., foreclosure JP Morgan Chase Bank NA vs. Patrick J. Sullivan, other civil Chase Bank USA NA vs. Gary W. Puckett, other civil Nationwide Mutual Fire Insurance Co. vs. Kim M. Plavsic, other civil Randolph Burchett Living Trust and Chrysler Group LLC, other civil Bryan Equipment Sales Inc. vs. Industrial Pneumatics Inc., other civil Chase Bank USA NA vs. Waylon M. Burns, other civil Emery Federal Credit Union vs. Patrick Doan and Katrina Doan, other civil Clifford Harris vs. Ford Motor Company, other civil Matrix Acquisitions LLC vs. Donald Berkebile, other civil Retail Recovery Service of NJ Inc. vs. David Skelton, other civil American Express Bank FSB vs. Vincent Arvizu, other civil Citibank (South Dakota) NA vs. Marty W. Johnson, other civil Baer Supply Company dba Cabinet Supplier of Ohio vs. Donald L. Kellerman and DLK of Ohio Inc., other civil
Animal Rescue Fund Bingo
Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company vs. Ronald W. Brooks, et al., foreclosure Deutsche Bank National Trust Company vs. Angela M. McMahan, et al., foreclosure HSBC Bank USA NA vs. Mark D. Kirker, et al., foreclosure Deutsche Bank National Trust Company trustee vs. Sharon K. Elsbrock, et al., foreclosure JP Morgan Chase Bank NA vs. Catons Yard Care Inc., et al., other civil State of Ohio Department of Transportation vs. Shane M. MacLeod, other civil Discover Bank vs. Laura F. Rapp, other civil Union Township Clermont County Ohio and Union Township Board of Trustees vs. SPC Communications Inc., et al., other civil Ian Grumbine and Brenda Wehrman vs. Twins Group PH LLC, other civil Leonard Roush vs. Robert Saylor, other civil Jerri Merrill vs. Linda Booth and Faith Tabernacle Inc., other civil Board of Trustees of Jackson Township Ohio vs. Stanley Kuntz, other civil Citibank (South Dakota) vs. James P. Parker, other civil Total Quality Logistics vs. Bellinger Freight Inc. and William L. Pugh, other civil General Electric Credit Union vs. Teresa Meacham, other civil General Electric Credit Union vs. Ralph Meacham, other civil Ferguson Enterprises Inc. vs. Odom Industries Inc., other civil Stanley Kuntz Jr. and Susan K. Kuntz vs. Roni Young Jr., other civil Sundace Property Management vs. Alexandra Malone, other civil Doyle R. Yeary vs. Charles E. Marshall, et al., other civil Asset Acceptance LLC vs. Carol E. Fisher, other civil LVNV Funding LLC vs. Jane Triska, other civil FIA Card Services NA vs. Ruth P. Brichant Honda Financial Services vs. Gerald W. Daniels Jr. and Stephanie R. Daniels, other civil
Beneficial Ohio Inc. vs. Michiel S. Meadows, et al., foreclosure Deutsche Bank National Trust Company trustee vs. Todd G. Graham, et al., foreclosure Flagstar Bank FSB vs. Lee J. Piekarski and Jeanie S. Piekarski, foreclosure Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company National vs. Dara Wall and Citifinancial Inc., foreclosure BAC Home Loans Servicing LP vs. James L. Pray and J. Robert True, foreclosure Citimortgage Inc. vs. Mary P. Hensley and Clermont County Treasurer, foreclosure, foreclosure Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC vs. Edith T. Hartwell and Clermont County Treasurer, foreclosure Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC vs. Voneita F. Graybill, et al., foreclosure BAC Home Loans Servicing LP vs. Linda D. Belford, et al., foreclosure National Bank and Trust Company vs. Henry P. Pryor Jr., et al., foreclosure BAC Home Loans Servicing LP vs. Grayson M. Matthews, et al., foreclosure Bank of America NA vs. Danny A. Ferguson, et al., foreclosure JP Morgan Chase Bank NA vs. David C. Holt Jr., et al., foreclosure JP Morgan Chase Bank NA vs. Rosemont Meeker, et al., foreclosure BAC Home Loans Servicing LP fka Countrywide Home vs. Rodney D. Toles, et al., foreclosure Chase Home Finance LLC vs. Robert S. Monroe, et al., foreclosure BAC Home Loans Servicing LP vs. Karen Casson and USAA Federal Savings Bank Huntington National Bank Asset Recovery vs. Gerald S. Hawkins and Clermont County treasurer, foreclosure Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas as trustee vs. Jonathan D. Robinson, et al., foreclosure
Patricia A. Robertson vs. Amy B. Wisby and Don Wisby, other tort Nationwide Insurance Company of America and Raymond Nelson vs. Annie M. Ridener, other tort Reese Classic Motorcycles LLC vs. Michael Szabo and Progressive Preferred Insurance Company, other tort John R. Bennett vs. Cheri Lang, other tort Michael Hartmann vs. Ravenscraft Sales and Leasing Inc. and Marsha Ryan Administrator, worker’s compensation General Electric Credit Union vs. Stanley Prather, et al., foreclosure BAC Home Loans Servicing LP vs. Jo D. Underhill, et al., foreclosure JP Morgan Acquisition Corp. vs. Bridgette Peteet, et al., foreclosure BAC Home Loans Servicing LP vs. Douglas Loudermilk and Andrea Loudermilk, foreclosure Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company vs. Ronald W. Brooks, et al., foreclosure Deutsche Bank National Trust Company vs. Angela M. McMahan, et al., foreclosure HSBC Bank USA NA vs. Mark D. Kirker, et al., foreclosure Fifth Third Mortgage Company vs. Michael R. Trotter, et al., foreclosure Citibank NA vs. Heather Dunn, et al., foreclosure Citimortgage Inc. vs. Angela Warring, et al., foreclosure PNC Mortgage vs. Kenneth R. Hodgkins, et al., foreclosure BAC Home Loans Servicing LP vs. Jeffery D. Hutson, et al., foreclosure General Electric Credit Union fka General Electric vs. Joseph Loudin, et al., foreclosure BAC Home Loans Servicing LP vs. Tim Allen, foreclosure BAC Home Loans Servicing LP vs. Gary R. Howell, foreclosure
The following cases have been filed with Clermont County clerk of courts.
NEW LOCATION! 1300 West Ohio Pike, Amelia, Ohio Every Thurs-Friday Doors Open 5:30 pm
(2) $1000 JACKPOT GAMES Included in pkg in 52 numbers
Loads of Instant Tickets Must be 18 yrs. old.
513-843-4835 for more information
April 29, 2010
IN THE COURTS From B7 Dissolution
Robert A. Howard vs. Joanna D. Howard Amy L. Tomak vs. Timothy W. Tomak Brian Hennessey vs. Teresa Hennessey Roger William Hughes vs. Yolanda Lee Hughes Selena M. Hunley vs. Joseph R. Hunley Christina H. Young vs. Joshua V. Martinez Tye J. Sellers vs. Kelly A. Sellers Jessica Lee Barber vs. Sean G. Barber Bonnie Kay Coffey vs. Raymond Howard Coffey Jena L. Barrand vs. John P. Barrand Theodore Dennis Horton vs. Pamela Joy Horton Deborah L. Knight vs. Thomas L. Knight Beth M. Hatfield vs. Dean A. Hatfield Kirk Music vs. Tina Music Luann Nash vs. Gerald D. Nash Mary K. Murrell vs. Anthony L. Murrell
The following people have been indicted by the Clermont County grand jury to the Court of Common Pleas. This means members of the grand jury decided enough evidence has been collected to warrant filing charges. Marshall L. Waltz, 22, 50 Stoneybrook Drive, Georgetown, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, Clermont County Sheriff’s Office. Derek C. Hacker, 34, 8909 Vine St. #1, Cincinnati, gross sexual imposition, Union Township Police Department. Scott Basil Laney Jr., 30, illegal assembly or possession of chemicals for manufacture of drugs, Union Township Police Department. Amie Marie Mantia, 27, 10567 Stablehand Drive, Cincinnati, theft, Union Township Police Department. Marc Jeremy Hodge 21, 2024 Riverbirch Drive, Amelia, deception to obtain dangerous drug, Union
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT REQUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Board of the Clermont County Public Library PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT REQUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES New Public Library Facility Construction and Renovations The Clermont County Public Library Board of Trustees, 326 Broadway Street Batavia, Ohio 45103, invites interested design firms to submit statements of qualifications for: New Public Library Building Construction and Associated Renovation The scope of work includes: (1) Utilizing the facility elevation plans created for zoning application and approval purposes; prepare all necessary blueprints and documents including floor, electrical, mechanical, landscaping, etc. necessary to construct a Public Library. The project will include the renovation of an existing 11,600 S.F. former restaurant building, with an additional 9,000 +- S. F. addition. (2) Estimating project construction and renovation costs based on but not limited to the library’s specifications. (3) Developing a proposed timeline with milestone dates for completion. (4) Providing design and other architectural services to implement the construction and renovation plan. The estimated cost of the project is approximately three (3) million dollars. Statements of qualifications shall include: (1) The name, address, telephone number, and owner/s of the firm. (2) Number of years in business, the firm’s history, and types of services offered. (3) A one-page statement of interest and qualifications for this project. (4) A brief (maximum two- page) project under standing description. Include any concerns regarding permits, schedule, site, etc. (5) Discussion of firm’s specific abilities and expertise to provide the required professional services and qualifications related to project requirements, including project management skills and methodology to monitor project budgets. (6) Key personnel proposed as project team members, including detailed resumes. Clearly identify sub consultants, if proposed, with similar information. Please include staff locations as related to the project site. (7) Examples of specific knowledge, expertise and project management experience related to this type of project. (8) A list and description of recent and similar library projects the firm has completed. (9) References (no less than three from similar projects. Reference information must include: a) Name of owner b) Project name and overall value c) Brief description of firm’s involvement
125 Storage 1958 Ohio Pike Amelia, OH 45102 Ph: (513)797-8515 Fax: (513) 797-4726 1. Ricky Bradshaw K397/413, PO Box 273, Batavia, Oh. 45103; 2. Hazel Freeman E143, 105 Washington St., 2A, New Oh Richmond, 45157; 3. Adam Gerwin, 126 B16-S711, Queens Rd, Milford, Oh. 45150; & Grubb 4.Carl Dawynelle Perkinss, D114, S707, Z061, SR 125 & 103, Amelia, Oh. 45102; 5. Scott Jeffries, J376, 4488 Bridewood Ln, Batavia, Oh 45103; 6. Barbara Maddoy, I 318, Z061 SR 125 & 144, Amelia, Oh 45102; 7. Theresa Schaffran, M429, 1612 Highway 28, Loveland, Oh 45140; 8. Walter Valentine R656 555 Wooden Run Ln, Felicity, Oh. 45120. 1001553174 PUBLIC NOTICE TO LOW INCOME RENTERS CLERMONT The METROPOLITAN HOUSING AUTHORITY will be accepting applications for the PUBLIC HOUSING ONE BEDROOM WAITING LIST effective May 1, 2010 May 31, through 2010. Applicants for the Public Housing one bedroom waiting list must be elderly, disabled or handicapped. Applicants may fill out a preapplication on line at the Authority’s website www.clermontmha.org. Applications will no longer be accepted at the Authority’s Administrative Office. Preapplications must be properly completed to be accepted, and only if the family composition and income are within HUD guidelines. The Clermont Metropolitan Housing Authority reserves the right to check all applicant references. If you have any questions, please call the Administrative Office at 513-732-6010 or for the hearing impaired call TDD 7326010. Equal Opportunity Employer Equal Housing Opportunity 1001552855
d) Contact person e) Address f)Telephone/fax numbers/email address g) Firm’s key personnel assigned to the referenced project Seven (7) copies of the firm’s statement of qualifications to perform the work shall be submitted to: David Mezack, Executive Director, Clermont County Public Library. Statements of qualifications shall be submitted no later than 12:00 Noon April, 28, 2010. The format of the statement is left to the discretion of the firm. All questions regarding this request for qualifications should be directed to David Mezack via email: [email protected], or 513-735-7193 1235928/1553027
Cleaning out your basement or attic? The quickest way to get rid of your unwanted items is to sell them quickly in the Community Classified.
Township Police Department. Joshua Charles Music, 18, 807 Danny Drive, Cincinnati, burglary, Union Township Police Department. Tyler James Scott, 19, 4388 Eastwood Drive, Batavia, burglary, Union Township Police Department. Daniel E. Murphy Jr., 35, violating protection order, Goshen Police. Derrick E. Hutchinson, 28, 4306 Windy Oaks Road, Louisville, Ky., non-support of dependents, Clermont County Department of Support Enforcement. John Patrick Blum, 37, 704 Light St., Felicity, non-support of dependents, Clermont County Department of Support Enforcement. Terry Wayne Atlman, 51, operation while under the influence of alcohol or drugs or with specified concentrations of alcohol or drugs in certain bodily substances, Ohio State Patrol. Dustyn L. Pence Jr., 21, 751 E. McMillan St. #3, Cincinnati, pandering obscenity involving minor, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, Milford Police.
Ryan W. Bellamah, 21, 7204 Thompson Road, Goshen, theft, forgery, Miami Township Police. Matthew Kuffman, 28, domestic violence, Clermont County Sheriff’s Office. John Michael Fisher, 27, theft from an elderly person, misuse of credit card, forgery, theft, receiving stolen property, Clermont County Sheriff’s Office. David B. Roberts, 41, aggravated burglary, felonious assault, Goshen Police. David Anthony Rapp, 23, 3774 Merwin Ten Mile Road, Cincinnati, extortion, Clermont County Sheriff’s Office. David Owen Walker, 26, assault, Clermont County Sheriff’s Office. Lindsey Cox, 46, 112 Station Drive, Georgetown, grand theft, forgery, Union Township Police Department. Brittany Marie Salyers, 21, 1433 Tonopath Drive, Cincinnati, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, conspiracy to commit compelling prostitution, Union Township Police Department.
REAL ESTATE Clermont County real estate transfer information is provided as a public service by the office of Clermont County Auditor Linda L. Fraley.
Travis Newberry 25, 2031 Jones Florer Road, Bethel, installer, and Sarah Humfleet, 22, 203 Jones Florer Road, Bethel, day care.
Ohio 744, Elliott Polaniecki, trustee to
BED AND BREAKFAST
Beautiful Seagrove Beach Rent & Relax. Nr Destin, between famous Seaside & Rosemary Beach. Cozy Cottages to Gulf Front Condos. Web Specials. 1-800-537-5387 www.garrettbeachrentals.com
There are almost one million adults who have not completed high school in the state of Ohio. This is an overwhelming problem in Ohio and throughout the nation. The Ohio High School Equivalency Diploma is a widely used alternative for awarding high school credentials to these adults who have not received a high school diploma. The GED program provides this opportunity to these adults. Is the GED an acceptable credential? Is the GED a sound investment? Yes, is the answer to both questions. The Ohio Department of Labor has reported the “estimated return on investment” for the year 2008-
BED AND BREAKFAST
Bed & Breakfast Feature of the Week
DAYTONA BEACH ∂ Beautiful oceanfront & oceanview condos. Two efficiencies & one 1BR condo (each sleeps 4-6). Call NOW for Great Summer Rates! 859-356-5874
DESTIN. 2 great condos , 2 br, 2 ba golf, pools, dazzling Gulf view . Check our website for availability & rates. Local owner, 513-561-4683 Visit arieldunes.us or twcondo.us
DESTIN. Local owner, 1 or 2 luxury condos. 2 BR, 2 BA overlooking gulf, sugar white beaches. Heated pool, hot tubs & more. 937-767-8449,or visit www.majesticsunindestin.com
DESTIN. Luxury 2 BR, 2 BA oceanfront condos. Heated pool, spas, kids pool & tennis. Sleeps 6. Local owner. www.us-foam.com/destin. D 513-528-9800, E 513-752-1735
EAST COAST, NEW SMYRNA BEACH Luxurious oceanfront condos & vacation homes. Closest & best beach to Disney. Ocean Properties Vacation Rentals 800-728-0513 www.oceanprops.com
There is a joke among friends here, “It’s a Phoenix that has risen from the ashes. ”When Charles and Allison Hahn Sobieck purchased the property at 502 North Main Street (in Somerset, Kentucky), there was a lot of work to be done, to say the least. With the vision of a B & B and a home in ruins, there were little choices. The dilapidated structure was removed, then reconstructed as it had been in the 1850’s. It’s a brand new home. A bit of an unusual concept for a bed and breakfast. “We reconstructed the home from scratch. This gave us the benefit of designing every amenity possible along the way, ”said Allison Sobieck, owner. Every room is equipped with many amenities you don’t often find in a traditional bed and breakfast, but rather a fine hotel. Every room has a full sized closet with a pair of micro-fiber robes hanging in them, 400- count Egyptian cotton sheets, cable TV with DVD players, queen sized beds, and a host of other things. For instance, 2 rooms have gas fireplaces and 3 rooms have whirlpool tubs. We even offer many add on amenities such as massage, dinner, flowers, etc…
PANAMA CITY BEACH The Summerhouse 2B/2B Family Condos. Beach side pools, tennis, WiFi & More. r 800/354-1122 THE BEST BEACH VACATION VALUE! www.SummerhousePC.com
SIESTA KEY. Gulf view condo. Directly up front on Crescent Beach. Nicely appointed, bright & airy decor. Covered parking. Avail. now through Nov. Summer rates. Cinci., 232-4854
The rooms are only half of the reason to come to The Doolin House. Owners Charles and Allison just happen to both be chefs. Some of the breakfast specialties include Caramel Banana French Toast and Southern Eggs Benedict (2 fried green tomatoes topped with 2 slices of smoked bacon, 2 eggs over easy and Hollandaise). Chuck is usually in charge of breakfast and tries to do new and different things every day. Chef Chuck pointed out, “It’s fun to experiment with breakfast. It’s the one meal that encompasses all foods. It’s perfectly acceptable to see smoked salmon or a pork cutlet at the breakfast table. ”For those in no rush to rise and shine, breakfast in bed is served at no additional charge. When you need a weekend get away that’s not too far from home or you are planning your summer vacation to beautiful Lake Cumberland, remember that The Doolin House Bed and Breakfast is only a phone call away.
For more information, Visit the website at: www.doolinhouse.com or call 606-678-9494
NORTH CAROLINA EMERALD ISLE. Ocean Front luxury vacation homes with community pool. Call for free brochure. 1-252-354-5555 Spinnaker’s Reach Realty www.SpinnakersReach.com
Hilton Head Island, SC
Visit www.hhisland.info and plan a getaway with Seashore Vacations. Our beach is free. Specials available for golf, tennis, dining, more. Visit our
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH. Oceanfront condos. 1, 2 & 3 bedroom units with pools, spas & tennis. Hi-speed Internet, kiddie waterslide. 800-345-5617 www.oceancreek.net SEABROOK EXCLUSIVES Villas & Private Homes. Ocean, golf, tennis, equestrian. Pet friendly rentals. Free brochure. Book online! 888-718-7949. www.seabrookexclusives.com
TENNESSEE 1-7 Affordable, Deluxe Chalets & Cabin Rentals. Pigeon Forge in the Smokies. Vacation/Dollywood Specials. Free brochure. Call 1-800-833-9987. www.firesidechalets.com
A Beautiful Cabin Getaway Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. Hot tub, jacuzzi, fireplace, gas grill. $85/nt, 5 nt special $375. 800-793-8699. smokymtncrossrdrentals.com GATLINBURG. Affordable rates. Fully furnished. 1-8 bdrms. Chalets, Cabins, Privacy, Views, Hot Tubs, Jacuzzis, Fireplaces. 1-800-235-2661 www.alpinechaletrentals.com
SOUTH CAROLINA Norris Lake ∂ Indian River Marina Floating houses, rental houses and pontoon boats. Call for summer specials, 877-302-8987 www.indianrivermarina.net.
Hilton Head Island Vacation Resort. Choose 1 or 2 bdrm condos. Oceanfront, ocean view or near ocean. Great locations & rates. www.hhi-vr.com. 877-807-3828
NEW YORK MANHATTAN--NYC HOTEL $129/2 persons. Singles $124. Suites $139-$159. Lincoln Ctr area, Hudson River views, 18 flrs, kitchenette, 5 mins to midtown, safe, quiet, luxury area. RIVERSIDE TOWER, Riverside & 80th St. Call 1-800-724-3136 or visit: www.riversidetowerhotel.com
N. MYRTLE BEACH Coastal Condos, Inc. 1-4 bdrm oceanfront & ocean view units. Call 1-800-951-4880 or visit www.coastalcondos.com
3069 Sugartree Road, Bethel, installer, and Amanda Howell, 22, 3069 Sugartree Road, Bethel, lot technician.
site or call toll free: 800-845-0077.
The Doolin House Bed & Breakfast Somerset, Kentucky’s Premiere Inn Located Just Minutes from Lake Cumberland
CLEARWATER TO ST. PETE BEACHES Gulf front & bay side condos. All prices & sizes! Florida Lifestyle VAC. 1-800-487-8953. Jan. 2011, Monthly Discounts • www.ourcondo.com
2009 was $384,087.38. This was the result of 74 students obtaining employment. Employers, colleges, universities and career centers accept the GED as an alternative to a high school diploma. Do you need to improve your reading or writing skills? Do you need to enroll in post-secondary classes? Do you need your GED for that job promotion? Now is the time to set a goal of returning to school by enrolling in adult education classes. Call the Clermont County Educational Service Center at 735-8300 for further information. This step will be a valuable investment for your future.
Lot King Limited Partnership, 2.8980 acre, $5,000.
306 Brown Street, Marjie & Timothy Strawmyer to Shawn Sanders & Tiffany Wise, 0.4580 acre, $80,000.
GED is investment in the future
HILTON HEAD Sea Pines Upgraded & very nicely appointed 3 BR, 3½ BA townhome on golf course & near beach. Reduced rates. Rented only by the owners. 513-874-5927
Published on Apr 29, 2010
By Mary Dannemiller By Mary Dannemiller the space. That business currently is located in the back half of the building at 32 Mercy Hospital... |
A new tourism tax to be levied on shopkeepers in Bern could tarnish the charm of the UNESCO World Heritage town instead of helping preserve its medieval character.
With its colourful fountains, terracotta rooftops, cobblestoned streets and limestone arcades, Bern is a magnet for visitors and a World Cultural Heritage Site. According to city conservationist Jean-Daniel Gross, the significance of the UNESCO label has risen since Bern received it in 1983.
“In the beginning there was almost no importance; now the label is known all over the world and its prestige has become more important every year,” Gross told swissinfo.ch.
Bern Tourism’s Nicole Schaffner agrees that the UNESCO label is probably the most important selling point for the old town of Bern. “It’s crucial for our marketing activities, especially in Asia and America.”
Bern depends on these visitors for the money they leave behind, but how can they keep them coming – and spending – without having a negative impact on the town’s heritage?
According to Schaffner, a new tourism tax should boost the marketing budget to help Bern attract more hotel guests – who tend to spend more money in local shops and restaurants than their day-tripping colleagues. [See box at end for details of the proposed tax.]
Shopkeepers are wary of the tax. They worry that the marketing campaigns target the “wrong” type of visitors: package tourists who wander around in droves but seldom stop to buy anything before hopping on the bus to the next Swiss town.
Antony Adams runs the novelty shop CMX on Rathausgasse, which carries designer housewares, radios, toys and other fun items. According to Adams, few tourists find their way into his shop, which is parallel to the main drag.
“When you have mass tourists, they benefit almost nobody. They just march up from the bear park to the Zytglogge [clock tower] and back again, taking photographs. Even the businesses along that street benefit very little,” Adams says.
Heimatwerk, located on Kramgasse, is another example. It specialises in Swiss products like wood carvings, writing instruments, textiles and glassware. It would seem like a perfect match for foreign shoppers, but there weren’t many there when swissinfo.ch visited.
“The groups from the Zytglogge don’t really come into our shop,” manager Ruth Lundquist told swissinfo.ch. Like Adams, she’s against the tax.
“Most of the stores around here are really small. I don’t think it’s a good idea to tax us, because we already have a hard enough time just to stay open,” Lundquist said.
A recent University of Bern survey took the pulse of proprietors on Kramgasse, the main street in Bern’s old town. Some findings:
- 30% say business has declined since 2000.
- 35% say there’s been a major decline in customers.
- 36% are thinking of moving or closing on account of high rents.
- 62% are willing to cooperate with other businesses.
The study concluded that tourism was a double-edged sword for old town businesses. On the one hand it could mean new business, on the other, it could lead to an “overrun” feel to that area.end of infobox
While major retailers and international chain stores can generally count on more solid financial foundations, the small, independent businesses are more vulnerable.
“The risk is definitely there. But I think the Bernese people are aware of it. First of all, the real core bit of UNESCO world heritage is the lower part of the old town, and that area isn't as attractive for big labels. They would rather stay in the upper part of town,” retired University of Bern tourism professor Hansruedi Müller told swissinfo.ch. He was the person tasked with developing the model for the tourism tax.
University of Bern researcher Jeantine Viebrock feels businesses will have to adapt to stay afloat. She took a survey – and the pulse – of the businesses in the heart of the old town.
“Owner-managed businesses face the threat of ongoing structural change, like new shopping malls, internet trade and changes in consumer behaviour. To survive they need to be innovative and adapt to the needs of consumers,” Viebrock told swissinfo.ch.
So could the old town’s current array of sidewalk cafés and antique and artisan boutiques give way to generic souvenir shops stuffed with plush bears, cheap watches and army knives?
As Viebrock points out, the correspondingly high prices for housing attract the kind of tenants who appreciate the old town as it is, including the current retail mix.
“These residents often support the charms of the lower old town by maintaining the old houses and lanes. Such ‘idealists’ bring added value to the lower old town, also in terms of preserving the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site,” Viebrock said. They are more likely to support local businesses, too.
But Müller believes tourists do their part as well, explaining that an old town attraction like Bern’s bear park is key because it encourages tourists to walk the whole route, and many will make at least a small purchase – even if some would dispute that.
‘It’s expensive here’
“No, we’re not shopping. We’re just sightseeing,” said a pair of Chinese women standing in front of Bern’s Zytglogge clock tower one summer afternoon. They were among the crowd of visitors who had gathered for the hourly spectacle of the crowing cock and the dancing bears.
A teenage girl from the Netherlands shyly admitted to buying some underwear when asked what was in her little bag.
“But it’s expensive here. I don’t think we’ll buy much else,” she said; her friend agreed.
Nearby, a Canadian man was carrying a tote from a souvenir boutique. He had treated himself to a moderately-priced Swiss watch, but his wife had yet to pick up a memento from Switzerland – except for postcards and a “CH” sticker for her car.
A few other people in the clock-watching bunch were holding small parcels from sweet shops, but otherwise, hardly anybody had a shopping bag.
The exception was a family with two young children. Both parents were laden with bags – mainly clothing, but also a Lego set.
“We like shopping in Bern. There’s also a ballet shop nearby – we’ll go there next because our daughter takes dance lessons,” they said. It turns out that they were from the neighbouring canton of Solothurn, less than an hour from Bern by train.
“Lots of villages and tourist destinations have a [tax] system like [the one being proposed]. What is new is that the cities are also trying to apply this kind of system. That means not only collecting a tax from tourists when they stay in a hotel, but also from those who profit from tourism,” Müller explained.
Asked how fairness was ensured, Müller said, “The only ones taxed would be those dependent on tourism.” Shops, for example, with tourism accounting for less than 5% of their turnover wouldn’t have to pay. Müller says that exempts more than half of all businesses in the city.
Geneva already has such a system in place, which has given Bern a chance to observe how that’s working. According to Müller, the tax system as it’s applied in Geneva works.
Having been approved by the Bern city government in April, the proposal will be discussed by the local parliament in September. After that it could be put to a popular vote.
The proposed tourism tax
The proposed tax is based on location, type of business and number of employees. For example, the city centre and old town would have the highest base rate as they presumably get the most visitors.
The type of business is also a factor, meaning that a bank or a clothing store would pay more than a supermarket, museum or florist. Businesses employing only one person full time would be exempt.
Shops like CMX and Heimatwerk would pay CHF400-800, depending on whether they were classified under “souvenirs” or “household supplies”. On the other end of the spectrum – and located in the more globalised “high street” end of Bern’s shopping mile – Swiss department stores Globus and Loeb would have to pay CHF18,000 per year, even though these stores say the tax is unfair since tourists are not targeted customers.
Loeb spokeswoman Nicole Studer questions the value of the tax:
“What will retailers get in exchange if they pay this fee to help boost Bern as a tourist destination? In particular, we’re thinking of longer opening times, including more Sundays, like in other tourist destinations.”
“It’s also unclear how the additional revenue will be invested. The promotional activities would have to benefit all the businesses that contribute.”end of infobox
Alternative city guide
Some 100 businesses have joined forces to launch a city guide covering the side streets on either side of Kramgasse. CMX shop owner Antony Adams initiated the project. In addition to the German-language print guide, a corresponding websiteexternal link will soon offer the information in English and French.end of infobox |
yay. the whiny bitch deserves it.oh wait...
Thanks for letting us know!
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes.... and yes!!!!!
Crap... I would love to have seen a D and D upset and actually have one of them go home. I think Dani will win it all now.
Go Dick and DannI!
I agree! Dani will win it all! It's going to be Dani, Dick and Zach and I bet Dani will win the next HOH since Zach can't compete - hooray!!!
well there goes the game. Sucks that they're going to take all the money. The only hope now is that Zack will win the final HOH and send at least ONE of them home.
Oh well, show is over for me. She doesn't deserve it. Nor does Dick. He should have been disqualified
zach CAN compete in the next hoh. damn the donatos.
She was the ONE I did not want to win it. Drats, drats, drats...
D&D deserve it
YAY GO D&D!
D & D suck.-.
LAME!!!!!! I'm so over Dani!
How unpleasant was it to have the live feeds come back with Dick's voice saying "mother f'ers" and hear him going after Zach personally. I'm so sorry to see it going this way.
THANK YOU THANK DANI IS AWESOME!!! GO DICK & DANI
zach neds to won hoh. can we start breathingnow?
Whoever flew the plane over the house during the competition was cheating. Was it a coincidence that is benefited the Donatos?
so they are going to taregt jameka to go now?
If Dani won it then she doed indeed deserve to win...she has one so many of the comps and is a good player
now d&D and zach compete for hoh. 2 to 1 GO D&D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is not over yet..... ZACK still can win , the next HOH....hruwwww I really wanted to see the face of daniele when she was going to be evicted..I guess is not her time yet!!BUT!!CONGRATS DANI!!!
Way to Go! Jameka fans please step aside for the D&D express....
Way to go Dani, i knew you or your dad would win the POV. Now get Jameka out and then boot zach out on his head so maybe it will deflate!! WOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO
I really hope Dick does something (that doesn't hurt anyone physically) soi that he finally gets kicked out. He abuses people and cheats. And is still there. No BB for me next year if they don't deal with it.
can zach compete in the next HoH?
CBS I HATE THE DONATOS AND HOW THEY HAVE DAMAGED YOUR SHOW. I WILL BE SURE TO NOT NOT NOT WATCH IT NEXT YEAR. IT HAS GONE DOWN HILL WITH DICK SO ABUSIVE IN SO MANY WAYS. AND YOU CBS HAVE CONDONED THIS FARCE. I HOPE ZACH KICKS DICKS ASS IN SELF DEFENSE FOR HIS TREATMENT TOWARDS HIM..
Well this is definately the last BB season i'll be watching. What a joke BB8 has been!!!
see ya wanabee jesus freak jameka the ghetto queen is going to the jury with the rest of her dorky ass friends, if zach doesnt win the hoh hes gone and its d and d in the finals, the look on the jury house faces will be classic if that happens!! hope it does, the best game players with a bit of help from america of course!! no matter how they play the game there is no right way or wrong way, you do what it takes to win that money and for others to ay im not going against my word blah blah blah, remember people its a GAME with really no rules besides physical violencelater haterszach a fkn tool as well, ahhh dahhhhhhh ahhh dahhhh im a ogar
I AM SOOOO GLAD THAT DANNY WON I HOPE DICK WINS IT ALL WEATHER U LIKE HIM OR NOT HE HAS BEEN TRUTHFUL THANKS FOR LETTING US KNOW
lol boo hoo!
yes Jameka will be going home...SORRY JAMEKA!!!=(
Now Jameka when you leave don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split Ya!!!!!
yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Like I said earlier, the D&D haters will be disappointed!Go Dick and Daniele!!!!!! yes yes yes, I've been waiting all day!
It was predictable that Danielle would win POV, based on her history. I seriously hate to see Dick in the final two, though.
yeah you fkn retard, d and d suck, thats why they are in the fional 3 dumbsht, zach played his own startegy as well being a flaoter, thats just a way to play and hes done it very well so props to the 3 of them, zachs fkn if he doesnt win the last hohAND YES ALL 3 PLAY FOR THE LAST HOH,zach can compete
YES! Dani should win it all she has played the best!
if your not going to watch the show anymore bec of d&d you are a joke bec you would have stoped watching it a long time ago.lol.....lmao!
what do you mean idiot, jamaeka is gone, danni has the only vote dmbazz
JUMPIN OUT OF MY SEAT. G*D DOESN'T ANSWER PRAYERS FOR GREED.Hope she gives veto to her dad as a thank you for when he did it for her. If he didn't do it, she wouldn't still be in the game.D & D WINNERS........
DICK HASNT BEEN TRUTHFUL WHAT A LIAR YOU ARE. HE GOT TO WHERE HE IS BY LIEING AND SNITCHING ON PEOPLE. YOU WANT TO SAY HE IS HONEST IN THAT REGARD? HE IS A COWARD WHO HAS TO USE INTIMIDATION AND MANIPULATION AND THREATS OF HARM OUTSIDE THE HOUSE AS WELL AS WITHIN TO GET WHAT HE WANTS. HE NEEDS TO BE TAKEN OUT OF THE HOUSE.
Thanks for letting us know! :)
Man, that's really dissapointing.It appears as if Dick did indeed BRUTALLY taunt th em during the POV competition. It probably had an effect, and it sickens me that most likely, he or his whiny, mopy, spoiled brat of a daughter will likely win the money. Dick should have been removed from the house so long ago. The Iced Tea incident, all the shit he shit during the week he was up, all the derogatory, offensive, cruel, & violent comments he mades towards the HG's, he should have been gone long ago, and it's dissapointing that BB left him in the house and allowed him to do these things.Come on Zach, you NEED to win the Final HOH.
I told you. Dani wonDani takes self off blockZack puts up JamekaOnly Dani can vote and she sends Jameka to the jury house.gee i wonder where you heard this from before????Told you that ED and Dani will win this POV!! They deserve it!!!!!!!! ED and Dani all the way!!!!HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!
Thank god Jameka is going home. She has floated through this game and has not won anything to help herself. Dani knows how to compete and win competitions when it's needed. I think she deserves it!!
Ha Ha. Funny ogre guy.Praise Jesus - Jam is going to the Jury!
Thank you for all your work on this site.
GO DANI! GO DANI! GO DANI! :)
no one in this game is honest or fair
I just sent this email to this blogs moderator. Hope you all do the same, if not for these comments, but for any others that are innappropriate:To the keepers of the Big Brother 8 Talk blog,I loooove checking out your blog and do so 3-4 times a day, but the following comments left on the Friday, September 7, 2007: Nominations blog are too much for me to take. If you do not start moderating your viewers' comments, I am going to have to try to find a blog that does. I was personally offended as a woman and extremely saddened to see these in the comments sections. I know it was probably just one individual, but it is shameful after reviewing these comments not to start moderating the comments sections - thank you for your consideration:Anonymous said... All you people who Have [I think they meant “hate”] D&D, I know what you look like.You are soooo jealous of her pretty face and perfect, PERFECT little bod.All women should look that way September 7, 2007 10:40 PM =======Anonymous said... to both 10:45sYup, Im a man, and I dont have to look perfect. Face it women, you are useless one your asses get big.You need to keep in shape, not turn in the fat ass women you are September 7, 2007 10:50 PM ======= Anonymous said... to 10:50, why would I be talking about "my momma"? Are you protesting becuse your one of those fat ricotta cheese ass women men dont give a second look to?Now go to Walmart and get new pair of elastic pants, I think they are still open September 7, 2007 10:54 PM ======= Anonymous said... to 11:04 You said "Do you think your opinion is worth more if you're a size two than a size 14?"It sure does, especaially if your a woman. Size 14 woman dont get nearly as much attension as size 2, nor should they. They are fat and lazy September 7, 2007 11:10 PM
Love the website, thanks for all the updates! :)
YahoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooDanni & Dick............................
YEAH. USING THE FKN WORD IS SO MATURE. it gets you everywhere in the REAL world. you are trash pure and simple.
yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss awesome job daniele...bye bye jamekaaaaaaa LOLOLOL
ALL 3 CAN COMPETE IN FINAL HOH!!!That includes Zach!!!
Zack can compete in the next HOH because it will be down to the final three and he is allowed to compete and it will be a three part HOH if it is done like all the other years.
is that true , that Dick have a penality point???
Danielle wins POV she takes herself off Zach puts Jameka up against Dick. Daniele is the only vote in the house. Is this correct???Thank you.
JamFaka has left the building!!!!
all right d&d why to go, alot of people dont like you but you 2 played a great game,and deserve to go to the final 2
anon 7:30pm You are right danelle is the only vote!!! BYE JamFaka!
love this blog thank you for the update!
If D or D win next HOH, Dani will win the whole thing I think.If Zach wins, he will take Dick, and Dick will win I think.Of D & D, who would you all rather win? I can't decide...
Then does that mean that Dani cast the only vote to evict Jameka?
Great site, thank you for keeping everyone updated. Some of the comments are unnecessary though.
damn well guess we know who's winning the game now
The POV competition must have been all about Nick. That's the only way Daniele could have won...
God's sending JamFaka to the jury!I saw it in a vision!
Thank heavens......GO DICK ANDDANI..........I KNEW YOU COULDDO IT.............YOU DESERVE ITDANI..........bye-bye sorry assesZack and Jameka !
YEAH DICK AND DANIELE ! i knew you guys would win from day 1
the god jokes are not good guys! its not funny. im not a jem fan butthe crap you say about her has nothing to do with the game! grow up
WOOOOO DONATOS ARE THE WINNERS
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS I LOVE DANIELE!!!! NO ONE CAN BEAT HER AND DICK, THE DONATOS ARE THE ALL TIME BEST, AS WELL AS JANELLE!!! BYE BYE JAMEKA, LOOKS LIKE GOD DOESNT LOVE YOU! THANK GOD, I LOVE THE DONATOS!!!!!
DAnelle will be the ONLY VOTE!!!And ALL 3 hg Left will play for hoh!!
woooo hoooo i told you that either ed or dani would win the pov. now they are sending jameka to the jury house!!!Booooyaaaaaaaaaaaaa baby
If there is truly justice, then CBS will penalize Dick for his attempt at cheating. It's on the feeds and even if it didn't help him, he needs to be penalized for trying. They punished Jen, why not him? And not he is right back to being his disgusting self.
Too bad !!That whiney phoney bitch hopefully won't win the game.Also hopefully, that lousey phoney rocker punk Dick won't win either.I'd rather see them end the show then give money to either of those white trash phonies !!
you guys are sore looooosers! The best person will win the game...remember Will on season 1. He said I will lie, cheat, and I'm telling you up front! He also won.
I'm sorry to see so many people supporting both D & D. Even though they've been a team throughout, Dani has not been the abusive person her father is. She has played a great game. Dick should have been sent home weeks ago. Let's hope that CBS hasn't seen this year as a success and they fill the house with people like Dick next year.
What a GREAT show.
7:35 God loves Jameka...even you with your comments. Some day you will know that. To relate God's love to winning is sad. There is a reason for everything although we don'always understand it.
GO D & D , Dani desevers to win and her dad 2nd
See, I told you people that this show was rigged.The Domatos get away with things that have NEVER been done on the show let alone to other people and CBS lets them.The show was preplanned from the beginning and NO ONE can tell me any differently.Either take the show off the air or return it to it's original state. No physical contact or extreme verbal abuse.The Donatos are CBS media whores and basically scum people.
7:38 Did you really mean they should fill the house with people like Dick next year? That's one way to kill a show.
Who ever doesnt like the GOD jokes...It's not GOD we're making fun of! It's JamFaka's version of her GOD that is the brunt of the jokes! Her selfish hypocrite behavior put her in prime postion to be targeted!
Give it up you conspiracy buffs!!! Dick and Daniele are good players!!! Why are you so shocked she won PoV? This is her 5th!!! She's good. Bye Bye Jameka!!!
Sorry but Dick and Danielle were NEVER estrabged from each other. They lied = cheating but CBS doesn't give a crap.
I am so upset about her win.I can only hope that Zaccomes through in the HOH.I believe that this show has been rigged from the very beggining and I havelost alot of respect for CBS.I am very dissapointed.Dick is disgusting, and hisdaughter is almost as bad inher attitude towards peoplein general. I am sorry I evergot excited to watch this showthis year, ick.
7:38 My mistake...I misundersoond what you said. I agree.
JamFaka gives the word Christian a bad name!
I can't wait for this season to end so all these boring fake ass houseguests can all just fade to black and we can start fresh next summer with houseguests that are actually entertaining!!!
7:42 I agree 100%
TO:Anonymous said... Give it up you conspiracy buffs!!! Dick and Daniele are good players!!! Why are you so shocked she won PoV? This is her 5th!!! She's good. Bye Bye Jameka!!! September 8, 2007 7:42 PM No conspiracy......watch the show. CBS allowed Dick to do things no other Big Brother show allowed.Bottom line is the show was rigged and YOU know numb nuts.
I am so disappointed. It's funny but I couldn't stand Zach and was all for Daniele to win in the beginning but after a few episodes of watching her and what a spoiled brat she is, I want her gone so bad. She may be a good game player but she nor her father are nice people. I think watching them in this game gives you an idea of the kind of people they are in the real world. They don't deserve the money. Its just a game but still it makes me sick :-( and disappointed in CBS.
sm......I hope you aren't calling yourself a Christian based on your comments.
I am very suspicious about CBSand their choice for D&D to beon the show. Does he have connections I wonder? It is too creepy for me to watch aman treat women that way andget away with it...and probablywin the loot too, hmmmmm.
7:42, if you don't like the show why are you on this blog!?
zach must be able to compete in final hoh. otherwise just write the check now and we can all go get a life. zach wins hoh who does he pick to sit next to for the jury. won't make a difference zach wins either d
The show was rigged? Well, we will never know. Unless you have inside information?I have to disagree. My reasoning is, this group of people are not THAT good of actors.You can tell when they're words are scripted, and they are not very good at the scripted writings.My goodness people, lighten up.
ok, the news is out, all of you Jameka and Zach fans can go cry your little eyes out :)So sad too bad......for you :)
I hope that in the end, CBS doesn't decide that Dick's behavior made a good program, and, as a result, they end up putting more people like him in the house in future shows to boost ratings.
I'M SO PROUD OF DANI, ZACH DID THE ONLY THING HE COULD IN PUTTING UP D&D BECAUSE THEY WILL ONLY TAKE EACH OTHER TO THE FINALS. THE LAST FEW DAYS HAVE BEEN GREAT I'VE BEEN LIKE A CRACKHEAD WAITING FOR THE COMP TO BE OVER AND HEAR THE WINNER. GREAT JOB TO ALL OF THE FINAL 4. NOW DANI GO AND KICK ASS. DICK WISH DIDN'T HAVE TO BE SO MEAN TO PEOPLE BUT HE HAD LOOK AFTER DANI. NOW DANI TAKE DICK OFF THE BLOCK AND ALLOW HIM TO RETURN THE FAVOR.
OMG YES! Go Dani, bye Jameka! haha
7:45 And your feeling that it isn't rigged makes it even worse. It means Dick's abuse was REAL. So much for quality TV. Last year I watch BB and possilby CBS
This has been the VERY BEST BBshow that we have ever had ! Ilove it...I tell you. Danielleis an adorable, pouty, chic littleblonde with a hot body and Dickis a cool, hip dude and they deserve to win. They have outplayedand outsmarted and finagled toget where they are right now ! Big$$$$$$$ here they come....LA peopledoin' good I tell you !
Hellooooooooo...it is just A GAME
YAHOOOOOOO DANI win pov kick Jameka out to curb back to getto. Now Zack is scare from D & D.
CBS IS THE BIG WINNER BECAUSE ALL OF YOU ARE SO UPSET WITH DICK AND HIS ACTION. BUT IF ENOUGH PEOPLE WOULD HAVE REALLY TURN OFF AND THE SPONSE PULL THE AIRTIME THINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN ALOT DIFFRENT AGAIN GREAT JOB ALL AROUND BECAUSE IT REALL WASN'T A GREAT SEASON JUST GREAT MOMENT I'LL AIWAY REMEBER AMBER
cbs already wrote the check to the donatos ! HOLLA JAMEKA
REMEMBER AMBER? lmao go to meth with her
* do meth
all the dick "cheating" talk makes me ill. Do you all think CBS/BB would let a coded letter through. you have to know they screen all letters. duh people
Abuse is not a game..nor entertaining
Dani is such a whinner. The house should of broke up the pair. The whiner and the cheat. Go Zach!!!
7:53 If it is coded ,they wouldn't know!! Du right back
Did ed cheat POV? early on seen stuffing something in his left pocket then seen walking behind everyone near Jameka's tube. shortly thereafter Jameka is disqualified. hmmmmm
Maybe zach should pray for forgiveness for his racist remarks before he competes for hoh first with his new found faith.@@
755 ..that POV is way OVER..and he put his necklace in his pocket
7:55 That oner has never been proved...but he admitted to cheating with coded letters from Vincent.
YIPEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!ONE FIVE THREE BABAY!!!!
Dick is a "cool, hip dude"? Now that's the funniest thing I've read all day. There are so many other words I could use to describe him. Pathetic is the first one that comes to mind. He's just the kind of guy you'd want your kids to hang out with, right? I'm betting no one in his circle of friends is over his son's age.
7:49 and 7:54Yeah, abuse is so harmful. I guess we could watch other shows where there are shootings and killings.And I have to laugh that you say this show is sooooooo bad and soooooo harmful and sooooooo annoying, YET, here you are, following EVERY second.
As much as I dislike Danielle, I guess she deserves to win. She kicks ass in the competitions, and Jameka and Zach are losers. I knew they would never beat the Donatos in the POV.
Look at it this way, the game about stabbing the other guy in the back. Winning is basically an award for the one who is the most deceitful, unethical and in general sleaziest person in the house... AND THE WINNER IS!!!!
Dick Donato has played the best Big Brother game. Love him or hate hime...if you understand the Big Brother game you have to realize that he has clearly outplayed everyone while being the most entertaining HG they've ever had.
Hey if you are so offended by things on this website go elsewhere. None is holding a knife to your throat to be here. People have a right to their opinion and the right of speech. You also have the right to get out of here. Maybe you should find a Christian BB blog and go cry with them. If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen. Hit the road jack. Leave and don't let the door hit you where the good god split you. How many other ways are there of saying to grow up stop whining and if you don't like it go elsewhere!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i'm not sure what i think about dick and dani winning the game...they were strong in competitions and definitely had the game play. however, as people, i despise dick and think that dani is somewhat of a whiny brat. if dani really wants to win this game though, she needs to get rid of her dad. dick will beat anyone in the finals and if he's in the jury, she'll for sure have one vote. what dani needs to do to win for sure, is go to the finals with zach. everyone hates him and he didn't do anything great throughout the entire game that people will vote for him because of his stellar gameplay.
GET A LIFE DICK NOR HIS SON ARE THAT SMART TO SEND A CODED LETTER DICK COULD NEVER KEEP A SECRET ZACH SAID THAT A LONG TIME AGO. JUST RELAX AND WATCH THE SHOW
Best Dick line:"SHEEGARS, SHEEGERATES!!"
said it before and will again.. its just a GAME kiddies... CBS has great rating on the show and if they didnt, they would quit it, just like they did that pirate show. i just find it so hard to believe some of you take this all so seriously. did you see Janelle on house calls last week? even she said its how the players play THE GAME.. they dont hate each other on the outside. they are NOT lunatics like some of the posters here... GET A GRIP!!! ITS A GAME!!!!!!!!!!!
DICKKKKK IS THE BESSTTT him and daniele are really funny ..
i seriously think cbs has a hand in all this! having d&d together in the diary room? how suspicious! cbs was probably telling them how to win the PoV. i swear if d&d are the last two, i will never watch big brother again!!! this is COMPLETE BULLSH*T!!! cbs has had their hand in this season too much and i think they are manipulating the entire game to go the way they want it... come on CBS, try to deny this!
ok here is my take of what should be happening for all you Zack and Jameka fans.Danielle won POV and will take herself off and Jameka should be going home BUT...We all know that Dick cheated today and had secret messages in his letter from his son Vincent. When Jen did not follow the rules she was given a vote. I think that CBS wiill have to give Dick a penalty vote and that means both him and Jameka will have a vote and Zack will have to break the tie. Correct???
you all talk like you know dick on a personal level. it is a game and he is playing very well. if you have watched other bb seasons there has always been hurtful things happening. they have all said a few cuss words and stabbed a back or two. it is a game
When Evel Dick did that impersonation of Amber that night to piss her off and get her to vote him out instead of Danielle was really funny. Dick Donato can really be a funny guy! Hope he wins. Best player.
see you all next season!!!! im done
glad im not playing poker with some of you..you must think everyone cheats
SWEET!!!! BOOYAH!!!! Go Dani! :)
It amazes me that after all this time some people still don't get what BB is all about. First of all, for all those people that hate Dick & Danielle, get over it. They played the best game this season and they both deserve to win - sad thing is EVERYONE knows it but they won't admit it because they hate DICK. So please, to all the D&D haters, if you really are a BB fan, appreciate the game play and stopping taking things so seriously. GO DICK & DANIELLE.
I hope Zach wins the next HOH. With it being the final one, he can compete. It'll be a shame to see ED or Dani win because of the fact they have a bond no other have. it's a totally unfair advantage!
They're liars and cheaters and if CBS does not give him that penalty vote for cheating there are going to be alot of upset people
ZACK ROCKS!!!!!!! EVERYBODY LOVES YOU!!!!!!!
Imagine a D/D finale.Now imagine the juryhouse. Neither Donato has a homerun vote from anyone inside the juryhouse. (I'm having trouble figuring out if Jen would even be able to get herself to choose between the two.) The only vote that's probably 'tied up' is coming from 'outside' the juryhouse. ...I'm betting America's player would vote for ED to win.For as big as a vile asshole as ED has been--at least he recognizes that's he's an asshole. I think Danielle truly thinks she is the deserving princess. It's because she thinks she 'deserves' that she whines all the time. ...Poor thing.If it's a D/D finale, I'm surprised to hear myself say this , but I'll be 'rooting' for the great big a-hole with the devil-hair....Also am surprised to hear myself 'rooting' for Zach to win the last hoh...it would be a very pleasing end if one donato had to go up against the 'floater' that 'threw' every competition...If he can make the finale two, he's got a good chance to win--just because he would be facing one of the donatos.
I still hate scrolling to the bottom to read NEW post!!!
MARK MY WORDS...DICK WILL GET A PENALTY VOTE FROM BB FOR SHEATING BY PLACING THE BLUE BALL ON JAMEKA'S TUBE AND/OR GETTING THAT CODED LETTER FROM HIS SON. THERE WILL BE A TIE VOTE BETWEEN DICK AND JAMEKA AND HOH, ZACK WILL HAVE TO BREAK THE TIE AND EVICT DICK!!!!!!!!!!!
WOW!You have to give her props!It's a game and Danni has shown she will do whatever it takes. She is an ALL-STAR.Contrats!
I think the whole game (BB) is rigged! BB cheated Jameka when the blue ball fell in her tube. BB ought to bring back Eric and do the POV challenge all over again and go from there! BB is a CHEAT, CHEAT, CHEAT!!!!
Grrrr!! I hate that Daniele won the POV!! I wish the Donatos would have been separated a long time ago... but of course, one of them will end up winning the game.
YEH! Way to go Dani, you go girl!
Hey Firegirl, sorry the game is not going the way YOU want it to go. Get over yourself because you are the only one that will be pissed at CBS. You are not winning the money so stop acting like YOUR life depends on whether one of these people wins. It is a game on TV and with great ratings,CBS is not going to care what YOU thing. Dick & Danielle Rock.... Dick will win BB8.
there was no cheating with the blue ball! get over it. why dont you just make up something else!
As Long as any1 but JamFaka wins I'm happy!I think it would be funny if Zach won after being the Biggest underdog in the game!
Dick ruined Big Brother????Give me a break...Boogie having sex with Erica as he used her...that was just good game play.Everybody on this season lied...
Dick ought to be kicked out of the house for his abusive behavior. I don't think I'll be watching BB next year!!!
ANON 8:15 PM if you watched the POV on Thursday, even though they told Jameka she was disqualified, she kept on playing because she knew she didn't put it in, so really it was not a disadvantage for her. Also, did anyone see it go in? She could have accidentally put it in when she thought she was putting in a green one...
Dani is as real as her fried blond hair.I am surprised she has any left the way she picks at it. In her own words... It is sooo annoying!
why comment on the iced tea incident, what was worse that or all the house guests getting naked for a hoh competition, or the streaking, its a game, the more you intimidate the better to get the others off their game, everyone else cussed and stuff, no one was an angel esp. jameka, she cussed and lied like everyone else, she may be a god fearing woman, but she was in it for the money like everyone else
watch it on youtube!HE WAS PUTTING HIS BROKEN NECKLACE IN HIS POCKET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT A BALL!after the comp was over you see him fixing his necklace and he says "a whole piecs is missing!look it up before you go cry about it!when you make a post PLEASE KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT!
Ugh. This is really dissapointing.There is no doubt that the Donatos played the best game down the stretch, however the ONLY reason they were around to do so was because of the WORST twist in BB History, America's Player. In addition, the episodes were so heavily edited to make them the protagonists of the season when they were really the two most obnoxious, annoying, and flat-out horrible people in the house. It's dissapointing that there was such an influence behind the scenes. The game should play out by itself, and while they have both played very good games, there is no way that either would be here if America's Player was not a twist.America's Player, whether intended to or not, has only benefited 2 people - the Donatos. Initially, it probably wasn't, but when they saw what they had with the Donatos, it's pretty clear they edited the episodes in order to have them be the most liked, and therefore have a direct impact on the America's Player voting.Did Daniele & Dick play good games? Definitely. Did they come through in the competitions when they needed to? Yes. However, no one, and I mean NO ONE can deny the fact that the America's Player twist is the ONLY reason they are still around and if one of them win, that will be the reason why.Had America's Player not existed, this season would have been so, so different. Dick & Dani would have been gone long ago, and the Final 4/5 would most likely be 4 of Dustin, Jameka, Eric, Jessica, & Amber, & Zach. As much as I don't care for Dustin, Jameka, Amber, or Zach, I do feel sorry for them, because they were jobbed, though I guess Zach wasn't really impacted by it.Essentially, AP screwed the entire rest of the house and it IMMENSELY helped out the Donatos. Sigh...there's still hope Zach can win the HOH at the 3 & win the game(his only shot would be to take Dick). But, the way things have gone this year, it will be Dick vs. Daniele in the Final 2, and Daniele will win in a 6-1 vote(America will have Eric vote for Dick).
anon 8:14 Mark your words WRONG! There can be NO tie VOTE Danelle will be the ONLY Vote! Last time I checked you cant tie 1!!! It's Danelle's call
HAHAHAHAHAH MFers Donatos to the F2!!!!!!!!!HAHAHAhAHA
watch it on youtube! HE WAS PUTTING HIS BROKEN NECKLACE IN HIS POCKET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT A BALL!after the comp was over you see him fixing his necklace and he says "a whole piecs is missing!"look it up before you go cry about it!when you make a post PLEASE KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT!
I HATE D & D>!>! I HOPE ZACK WINS HOH AND THEN LITTLE MISS ANOREXIC CAN GO CRY TO DADDY AGAIN./././
way to go D's
GO D AND D!!!! Dani totally deserves it. she is a great player. how can you people rip on her. everyone in this game has faults so get over it and look in the mirror.
All the D&D haters can now turn off their tivo's, and vcr's, change the channel and watch something else because DANIELE WON!!!Bwahahahahahah if you keep watching you're just as hypocritical as you claim D&D are!HhahahahahahhaahahaJameka is going home! and Zach is sucking up, bigtime! Too bad, so sad, one of the Donatos are going to win!
I HATE D & D>!>! I HOPE ZACK WINS HOH AND THEN LITTLE MISS ANOREXIC CAN GO CRY TO DADDY AGAIN./././ September 8, 2007 8:21 PM how can you call someone that! are you kidding me!!!! do you know what that it. HELLO I SEE HER EATING ON THE SHOW ALL THE TIME.dont be mad that shes cute!
Many people, including myself, t-vod the episod and played it in slow motion over and over again, and saw Dick put that blue ball in Jameka's tube...Of course BB couldn't do anything about that because it was a live show. And as far as Jameka still continue to play, it doesn't matter...bottom line Dick cheated, and he should get penalized just like Jen.
ALL the D&D Hater's can EXIT the building right behind JamFaka!!!Bye!BYE! And stay GONE!!!
I HATE D & D>!>! I HOPE ZACK WINS HOH AND THEN LITTLE MISS ANOREXIC CAN GO CRY TO DADDY AGAIN./././ September 8, 2007 8:21 PM how can you call someone that! are you kidding me!!!! do you know what that it. HELLO I SEE HER EATING ON THE SHOW ALL THE TIME.
daniele is anorexic except for all the food she eats. lol
Amber and Jameka, 69ing in the round bed as they weep and sob to God about how much they loooooove him!Go for it!
way to go dani this girl is the shit at winning power! Shes had I dont know how many vetos and 2 hohs so far I guess that she must get it from her dad except he hasnt won that many vetos Danielle keep up the great work
The other penalty vote will come from BB just like they did jen!!!
HOLLA AT YA MOTHA JAMEKA
Anonymous said... Many people, including myself, t-vod the episod and played it in slow motion over and over again, and saw Dick put that blue ball in Jameka's tube...Of course BB couldn't do anything about that because it was a live show. And as far as Jameka still continue to play, it doesn't matter...bottom line Dick cheated, and he should get penalized just like Jen. September 8, 2007 8:24 PMlol i saw the vid.your mad bec the ones you want to win are loosing. if you are so sure you saw him do that then post the vid up now! he was picking up a necklace! i saw it!
I am so sick and tired of hearing all the babies cry that they will not watch BB anymore because the Donatos took over the game. So what Dick said some extremely offensive things to HGs. Were you are HG? Did he say anything directly to you??? Does his actions affect your life in anyway? Yeah, I didn't think so. If the HGs didn't want their personal life, beliefs, etc. spread around BB or thrown in their faces, they should have kept their personal business to themselves. I have zero tolerence for stupidty and half the comments written here are pretty stupid. ITS A GAME GUYS!
Like every other season I've watched of BB, the people I least like do the best...oh well, I guess we Donato haters have to admit that she's playing a great game.
My Aunt Edna told me that all her Republican friends hate the Donatos. That is funnier than all hell!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yazpVUC9FdY look at this so you can stop being a baby over it.where in this vid does he cheat. he was picking up his necklace that broke. get over it!
NEXT THING WE WILL BE HEARING IS THAT BB FIXED THE WHOLE GAME LOL
i forgot that danielle is the only vote to evict someone this week can u say good bye to jameka
Post a Comment |
|Publication number||US5316279 A|
|Application number||US 08/000,079|
|Publication date||31 May 1994|
|Filing date||4 Jan 1993|
|Priority date||4 Jan 1993|
|Also published as||DE69410833D1, DE69410833T2, EP0608045A1, EP0608045B1|
|Publication number||000079, 08000079, US 5316279 A, US 5316279A, US-A-5316279, US5316279 A, US5316279A|
|Inventors||Stephen C. Corona, Elizabeth D. Fox, Norman D. Robinson, Jr.|
|Original Assignee||Xerox Corporation|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (19), Referenced by (133), Classifications (21), Legal Events (6)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
The disclosed system provides improved sequential output stacking separation and identification of multiple sheets, such as multiple sets or jobs of copy sheets outputted by a copier or printer, with improved individual job set identification and separation for subsequent handling, particularly for large stacks of commonly stacked jobs, with little or no increase in cost or interference with normal stacking.
As shown in the disclosed examples, this may be provided by utilizing automatically generated job separating and identifying cover sheets which extend substantially in at least one dimension from the edge of the rest of the job stack itself. As shown, these extending cover sheets may be generated simply by feeding and banner printing a larger sized or differently oriented standard paper size sheet already available in the machine, and providing an appropriate stacking system for the job sets and their extending cover sheets.
The disclosed system may be effectively utilized as part of an overall system for job set compiling, set separation, and set distribution, in which job sets of plural individual copy sheets are compiled and "segregated" into discrete job sets, having good set separation integrity even through commonly stacked with other such job sets, yet without requiring set binding, such as stapling or gluing.
The disclosed sheet output stacking and job separation system has particular utility or application for improved stacking of pre-collated copy output sheet sets from a copier or printer into an output stacker (which may encompass finisher compilers). Particularly, in stacking large numbers of completed copy sets in a high-capacity stacker, especially, a moving tray stacker (a tray repositioning, resetting or tray elevator stacker). Such stacked copy sets may be unfinished, (loose) or may be stapled, glued, bound, or otherwise finished. They may also offset from one another, unfinished. However, the present system eliminates the normal need for alternatively offsetting unfinished, commonly stacked jobs, by providing a better system of distinguishing and separating commonly stacked jobs.
High-capacity stackers are particularly desirable for the collected output of high speed or plural job batching copiers or printers. High capacity stackers with clear job distinctions are particularly desirable for accumulated output of unattended shared or plural user (networked) printers, of any speed, or plural document job set "batching" stackers.
It is well known in the art to be desirable to provide a sheet stacking system with a stack elevator so that the stacking tray is maintained at a suitable level and angle for such stacking, but so that the stacking tray is moved downwardly vertically as the stack accumulates (builds up), so that the top of the stack remains in the same general relative position below the sheet output. Some examples of prior patents disclosing high-capacity stackers include Xerox Corporation U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,074, issued Mar. 24, 1992 to the same Barry P. Mandel, et al., and Eastman Kodak Company U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,034, issued Jun. 25, 1992 to Steven M. Russel, et al.; and art cited therein. An integral or modularly related copy set compiler and stapler or other finisher can also be provided, as disclosed in said same U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,074, and art therein.
Various general problems of sheet restacking, especially the settling of an ejected sheet onto the top of the stack, are well known in the art in general. Some examples of various output restacking assisting devices are taught in Xerox Corporation U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,469,319; 5,005,821; 5,014,976; 5,014,977; 5,033,731; and art therein.
The problem of keeping shared (networked) printer job outputs from becoming mixed up, or accidentally removed by others, is serious enough that some users have for several years placed manual mailboxes, like Post Office boxes, adjacent the printer, with the boxes labeled with different user names, for manual job sorting. Likewise, for shared hard copy facsimile machines. This is in spite of the fact that cover sheets are automatically generated and placed on top of each separate job set in many printer output stacking systems, and lateral offsetting (side shifting) of each job relative to the next is also commonly used together therewith. However, offsetting requires special output or tray shifting mechanisms, and can interfere with side tamping or other set edge registration systems. Also, quite often the offset sets become scrambled before or during operator job removals, even if set offsetting was done properly to begin with. One prior art job offsetting stacking system is shown in Xerox Corporation U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,177 to Beery, et al.
In modern copiers or printers, cover or slip sheets or other inserts may be automatically added to sets, subsets or chapters by the copier or printer itself feeding the cover stock or other slip sheet from separate supply stacks at the correct times to be automatically interleaved with the normal sequential output of copy sheets, with or without printing thereon. The Xerox "5090", Kodak, and other copiers or printers can automatically insert colored covers. See also allowed Xerox Corporation U.S. Ser. No. 07/796,524, filed Nov. 22, 1991 by R. A. Coons, et al., on a Z-folded larger sheet inserter for insertions into copy sets, and inserter art therein. Automatic selectable cover sheet or tab sheet inserter systems, feeding these special sheets from separate paper feeding trays into job sets are taught, for example, in Xerox Corporation U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,035 issued Nov. 27, 1990 to K. M. Rabb, et al., or Eastman Kodak U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,777,510 or 4,763,161. However, tab insert sheets are normally for inserts internal of job sets, and they require expensive specially cut heavy paper stock, which presents feeding difficulties, especially from the partial or uneven tabbed edge. Sheet stacks with some sort of colored separator marker strips or sheets which are manually inserted to stick out of the stack are sometimes used in copy shops.
Further by way of background, unbound sets of copy sheets are difficult to keep tidy and sort or separate from each other. As noted above, it is fairly common for copiers and printers to provide relative offsetting of sequential unbound copy sets which are otherwise being commonly stacked, so as to facilitate separation and sorting, but it has been noted that such copy set offsetting is easily disturbed even during stacking, and especially during set unloading. Lateral edge jogging of the offsets os difficult, if not impossible, so that the two offset sides of the stack are often poorly aligned or registered. There is often no fixed registration wall holding the stack edge in the offset movement axis before or after stacking. Also, set offsetting interferes with the transporting and distributing of the common stack of plural offset sets. I.e., the integrity of individual unbound set stacks is easily disturbed during handling. Suitable trays or containers designed for standard sized sheets may not accommodate the additional dimensions needed to the accommodate the offset sheets.
As noted, a particular problem is that modern printers, copiers, fax machines and workstation terminals are now more and more utilized as shared and/or integrated components of overall office systems, in which they are cost-effectively shared by plural users, electronically and/or physically. Loose sheets of paper in an output tray, sorter bins, or mailboxes of the printer/copier/fax generated by different system users, or different jobs, are not easily sorted into separate sets for convenient delivery to those system users or their intended recipients. Merely offsetting copy sets (with alternating different side registration positions), or even inserting colored paper slip sheets or the like between sets, has not been found to be particularly effective in maintaining said set separation, and does not maintain set integrity. Removal of one or all of merely offset stacked sets frequently fans, jumbles or otherwise intermingles pages and sets together and requires subsequent tedious manual sheet separations. Throw-away cover or insert slip sheets between each job set are material wasteful, and some colored paper stocks even cause paper recycling difficulties.
Further by way of background, as xerographic and other copiers and printers increase in speed, and become more automatic, it is increasingly important to provide higher speed, more reliable and more automatic handling of the copy sheets being copied or printed, i.e., the rapidly accumulating output of the copier or printer. Thus, it is even more important to better segregate separate sets of output copies, even if the copier or printer is a stand-alone unit rather than a network sharing unit.
The term "printer" as used herein encompasses various copiers, printers, facsimile receivers and various combinations thereof. Plural sheets in a desired ultimate associated stack are referred to herein as a "set" or "job". Normally, desirably, a plural copy sheet (copies) set or job is outputted and maintained in collated or related page order [even though no physical page number may be present]. This is normally the same page order, or the reverse order, in which the original documents or electronic page images were copied.
The present system "packages" stacked sets or jobs of sheets in such a way that the individual job sets are clearly distinguishable from one another even though otherwise commonly stacked, and unbound, without requiring job set offsetting, and without requiring expensive or difficult to feed special sheets. In the present system, sets are readily stacked with proper alignments, readily separately identified and removed, and set integrity is much more easily maintained during removal and other handling.
Furthermore, another disclosed feature herein is provide useful set identification which is external of the job set itself in exposed edge areas of the cover sheets. Yet, that can be done with existing printing and marking indicia, if desired. This can aid in set identification, separation, distribution and/or filing operations.
If desired, such clearly externally exposed job set and/or job author identification indicia printed on physical extending banners can also allow time consuming manual office functions to be at least partially automated. For example, allowing the job cover sheet indicia to be read by known bar code or other indicia readers, and/or automatic mailing and distribution and/or filing systems controlled by such indicia readers. I.e., a bar coding or other user unique (and/or job unique) set identifier can be automatically printed onto the cover sheet exposed banner strip. This may be done by the printer itself. Alternatively, it may be done by an ink jet, thermal, or other tape printer (e.g., as in fax or supermarket printers) in, and/or in electronic communication with, the printer or copier printing the job sheet set.
That is, the present system can additionally provide the further function of providing useful job set and user identity identification by the use of specially printed words, numbers, bar codes, colors, aperture patterns, or other marking indicia. Otherwise commonly batched plural sets may readily delineated from one another by indicia which is readily visible extending from the edges of the stacks, i.e., without requiring lifting up or sorting through the pile of common stacking job sets, and without requiring offsetting. Thus, desirably, multiple job sets and/or shared jobs from different systems users can be collected in simple common output trays, and/or fed into boxes or containers corresponding to the dimensions of standard copy sheets, with all of the sets neatly stacked therein to the same edge alignment, without confusion between the sets, and with each separate set being readily manually or even machine blade removable without disturbing the sheets of adjacent or other sets, and with clear visual alphanumeric set identification and/or machine readability.
By way of background art in that regard as to bar code job identifier printing or sheet insertion controls in a copier or printer, there is noted Xerox Corporation York et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,776, and particularly Rourke U.S. Pat. No. 4,970,554, and also Rourke et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,348 and Eastman Kodak U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,447. The latter particularly relate to printing job control sheets in the printer itself-bar code printed copy sheets.
Disclosed in the embodiment hereinbelow, is an improved system for segregating, identifying and separating separate job sets of copy sheets from a commonly stacked output of plural job sets of copy sheets and cover sheets therefor which are sequentially generated by a printer, wherein the copy sheets are sequentially outputted into a sheet stacker in which the plural job sets of copy sheets and their cover sheets may be superposed commonly stacked; and wherein the printer has at least two separate sheet supply trays for the selective feeding of at least two standard sizes of copy sheets for printing; comprising: control means for selecting which said sheet supply tray will feed copy sheets for a selected job set and for a cover sheet for said job set; said control means automatically repeatedly feeding and printing a cover sheet for a job set from a said sheet supply tray which is different from the said paper sheet supply tray from which said job set copy sheets are fed; said sheet stacker being adapted to commonly stack said plural job sets of copy sheets and said respective cover sheets therefor commonly edge aligned on at least two edges, but with at least one edge area of said cover sheets for said job sets extends substantially from at least one edge of said stack of copy sheets of job sets to provide an exposed extended edge banner strip which provides job set segregation and separation by being easily visible and graspable even if said stack of plural job sets is subsequently misaligned.
Other specifically disclosed features, individually or in combination, include said sheet supply tray from which said cover sheets are fed containing a larger standard paper size than said sheet supply tray from which said job set copy sheets are fed, and/or wherein said sheet supply tray from which said cover sheets are fed contains standard legal size sheets, and wherein said sheet supply tray from which said job set copy sheets are fed contains standard letter size sheets, and/or wherein said sheet supply tray from which said cover sheets are fed contains a differently oriented standard paper size than the sheet supply tray from which said job set copy sheets are fed, and/or wherein said sheet stacker includes stacking registration means providing sheet stacking edge alignment in said sheet stacker of at least one edge of said job sets other than said at least one edge from which said cover sheets extend, and/or wherein said stacker is a two-axes corner stacker with a stacking surface and two edge registration surfaces substantially perpendicular said stacking surface for edge alignment of both said job set copy sheets and said cover sheets to said two edge registration surfaces, and/or wherein said stacker provides unobstructed stacking space on said stacking surface on at least one of the sides thereof opposite from said two edge registration stacking surfaces for said extended edge areas of said cover sheets, and/or wherein said stacking surface inclines downwardly from the horizontal on both axes towards both said registration surfaces to provide gravity corner stacking, and/or wherein said printer and said control means are further adapted to print job set identifying indicia on said edge area banner of said cover sheet which extends from said job set of copy sheets in said sheet stacker, before said cover sheets are outputted to said stacker, and/or wherein said job set identifying indicia on said extending edge area banner includes indicia indicating the generator of the directly adjacent job set in the common stack of plural job sets in the sheet stacker, and/or wherein said cover sheets are at least partially perforated along a tear-off line, which tear-off line is positioned so that said extended edge banner portion can be torn off leaving the remaining portion of the cover sheet with the same dimensions as said job set copy sheets, and/or wherein said cover sheet is printed in both said removable extending edge portion banner and said remaining portion, and/or wherein said remaining portion is printed with job set text to form part of said job set, and/or wherein at least one tear-off mailing label is printed on said extended edge banner portion, and/or wherein said job set copy sheets are stacked printed side down in said sheet stacker and wherein said cover sheets are stacked with said printed side up in said sheet stacker.
All references cited in this specification, and their references, are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features, and/or technical background.
As to specific hardware and/or software components which may be used with the subject apparatus, or alternatives, it will be appreciated that, as is normally the case, various suitable such specific hardware components are known per se in other apparatuses or applications, including the cited references and commercial applications thereof.
Various of the above-mentioned and further features and advantages will be apparent from the specific apparatus and its operation described in the example below, as well as the claims. Thus, the present invention will be better understood from this description of embodiments thereof, including the drawing figures (approximately to scale) wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of one exemplary copier/printer incorporating two examples of the disclosed job set separation and identification system;
FIG. 2 is a schematic enlarged rear view of one exemplary copy sheet output system, for the copier/printer output of FIG. 1, incorporating one example of a suitable job stacking and job segregating system. [This embodiment utilizes a non-vertical tray elevator and a stacking tray with two axis sloped (corner) stacking];
FIG. 3 is an end view of the job stacking and segregating system of FIG. 2; and
FIG. 4 is a top view thereof.
The present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment illustrated herein. Referring first to FIG. 1, there is shown merely one example of copier/laser-printer 10, for electronic and/or physical document input in this case, with a sheet 11 output 12 to a sheet receiving and stacking system 14. There is provided common output 12 sheet 11 stacking in job sets 13 with improved separation and control by cover sheets 15 and/or 16 overlapping and extending from each desired job set 13, as will be further described [see especially FIG. 4].
There is shown in this example in FIGS. 2-4 a high-capacity elevator-type stacking tray system 14, closely adjacent the sheet output 12 feeding nips, for being fed sheets for stacking. Although preferably an integral or modular component of a reproduction apparatus such as 10, the stacking system 14 may also be a self-contained, stand-alone unit, wheeled up to and docked with any reproduction apparatus, when desired. The present system can be used with many different sheet output stacking systems, although a system such as 14 here, providing lateral sheet stacking alignment to one side rather than both sides (as well as set alignment in the process direction) is desired.
The disclosed concept provides a more effective alternative for the standard cover sheets used to identity and distinguish printer jobs 13. Such normal cover sheets are normally of the same size and orientation as the job sheets 11 themselves. That is, printer job cover sheets are ordinarily printed on the same standard, e.g., letter size, paper as the job itself, and thus easily missed in a common stack of plural jobs. Here, the cover sheets 15 are instead printed on the next larger paper size in the machine which larger in one dimension, e.g., legal size, so as to extend in that one dimension when stacked with the job sets. Since, however, legal size has the same width (narrow dimension) as letter size, it may be desirably commonly registered with the job sheets in that common dimension.
Also, here job identifying information is printed on the extending dimensional area of the cover sheets, referred to here as the banner 15a. For cover sheets 15, the banner 15a is the 3 inch (7.62 cm) end area 15a of the 14 inch (35.5 cm) sheet, which will extend outside of the job stack of letter size sheets, which are 8.5×11 inches (21.5×28 cm) [see especially, FIG. 4]. This banner portion 15a of the cover sheet 15 extending from the job stacks 13 provides highly visible, graspable, and identifiable cover or job separator sheets.
Additionally, if desired, the cover sheets 15 may be perforated at (across) the 11 inch (28 cm) extension line position 15c, so that upon receipt of the job set, the customer may tear off only this extending banner 15a and discard it, reducing paper waste by 70% compared to the present practice of discarding the entire cover sheet. That is, if it is desired to keep the cover sheets 15 after the removal of the job sets 13 from tray 20, or even to employ the cover sheet 15 as the first page of the text of the job set, this can be readily accomplished by loading paper into tray 18 which is perforated or slit along line 15c so that banner 15a can be simply torn off along that line 15c to leave the rest of the cover sheet 15 the same size as the job sheets 11. Or, a (partial) sheet slitter can be provided therefor in the sheet output 12 or upstream thereof. Duplicate identifying indicia can be printed on both parts.
The extending edge area 15a or 16a of the cover sheet 15 or 16 may also optionally be provided with one or more printed address labels such as 15d shown in FIG. 4. These labels areas 15d may be provided with additional burst or tear lines, like 15c. This is a further utility for the banner edge area 15a or 16a, additionally printed at no additional cost by the printer 10 on the same cover sheets.
It is very important to note that here the cover sheets 15 may be provided for normal, letter size paper job runs simply by changing the paper supply feeding (for only the job separator sheets) from that letter sheet supply tray 17 to the next larger conventional (existing) paper supply 18 in the copier or printer 10. I.e., to the paper supply 18 which such machines 10 would already normally have loaded with legal size or other larger sheets. Thus, no special paper loading is required for the cover sheets.
Likewise, without any new hardware or operator steps, the same printer 10 in this system may also print an identifying job banner on the end part 15a of the cover sheet which will extent exposed from the edge of the output stack of multiple collated jobs of normal sized (e.g., letter) paper 11, as shown in FIG. 4. The job set identifying indicia printed onto the cover sheets can include either or both a printer-user (job generator) identifier and a specific job identifier, such as the subject title and/or date and/or job number of the document, and/or the number of pages, and/or the number of copy sets being made, etc.
In the embodiment here, the stacking tray system 14 has a stacking tray 20 sloping on 2 axes so that one side edge registration wall 21 provides gravity 2-axes or "corner" stacking to one side of the process path as well as in the process direction. Process direction set stacking registration is provided by registration wall 30 here.
An additionally (optional and/or alternative) disclosed feature here is a two-way or reversible paper tray or cassette 80 in machine 10 which allows sheets to be fed either short edge or long edge first into the copier or printer 10. This allows the same size sheet to be fed, but fed at 90° to the job sheets 11, as a cover sheet 16 for job sheets to provide the desired printable banner extension 16a of the cover sheet 16 from the job set 13. In this case, the edge extension is in the process direction. The job sheets 11 are desirably normally fed and printed long edge first [portrait mode] for maximum machine 10 productivity, whereas the cover sheet 16 therefor is fed and printed short edge first [landscape mode or lengthwise] [See especially, FIGS. 3 and 4]. Also shown as an additional option are such same-size, but 90° rotated, job sheets 16 intermixed with larger size job sheets 14 of the normal machine sheet orientation, as previously described. One example of a rotatable or two-way mounting paper cassette 80 is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,147, issued May 2, 1989.
To summarize, for the larger-size cover sheets 15 here, job cover sheet heretofore printed on job size paper 11 is instead printed on the next larger standard size sheet 15 (one normally also already loaded in the printer). Cover sheet job information ordinarily only printed centrally on the cover sheet 15 (or 16) is printed at the extending banner border area 15a or 16a. That banner is on a side of the cover sheet 15 (or 16) which is not registered to side registration wall 21 or end registration wall 30. Accordingly, it may be seen that integration of this system to normal stack compiling and even finishing can be easily implemented by software changes in a printer with no incremental machine cost. This also eliminates the need for alternative job set offsetting of unfinished sets, which creates stacking and other problems. An extending, graspable, and identifiable cover or job separator sheet area 15a or 16a indicating the separate job under that cover sheet 15 or 16 is thus automatically provided. Each job sheet 15 or 16 extends substantially exposed from the edge of the output stack of multiple jobs. Even if the stacked job sets are subsequently fanned, skewed or otherwise subsequently misaligned, these extending edge banners will still clearly separate the individual jobs.
The exemplary stacking system 14 here provides an otherwise conventionally movable tray stacking unit, with the stacking tray 20 providing a stacking surface, mounted in a movable elevator system 22 to be moved on an elevator track 24. This provides a repositionable but constantly inclined floor or stacking surface for the accumulating stack of sheets in the stacking unit 14. The stacking tray 20 moves linearly, but non-vertically, (at angle "A'") to maintain a desired, fixed stacking angle of inclination "A". This is further described in copending, commonly assigned, U.S. Ser. No. 07/888,066 filed May 26, 1992, by Barry P. Mandel.
As described there, the tray elevator system 22 may be controlled by a conventional stack height sensor to maintain the top of the stack at an approximately constant level, and in the same relative position to the printer 10 copy sheet output 12, (the input to tray 20) as is well known, and described in the art. This stacking tray 20 automatic elevator 22 repositioning as the stack accumulates is illustrated by the associated movement arrow. The same controller 100 may be used. Various suitable elevator drive or movement mechanisms are known and/or shown in the art, including the EK U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,034, FIG. 2. It may be a known stepper motor and cable drive, or a ratchet, lead screw, or parallelogram linkage drive, or other suitable tray elevator mechanism. A particular similarly illustrated elevator drive system is already shown and described in Xerox Corporation U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,074 by Barry P. Mandel, in Columns 5-6, inter alia, and need not be described in detail herein.
As best seen in FIG. 2, the specific exemplary embodiment disclosed herein has a stacking tray 20 with an inclined stacking surface at a desired gravity stacking angle "A" to the horizontal in the process direction. The tray 20 stacking surface is also inclined orthogonally towards the side registration wall 21, at best seen in FIG. 3. The stacking system 14 here has a sheet stacking registration wall 30 at the lower and inside end of the stacking surface which is perpendicular to (at 90° to), the tray 20 stacking surface. This stacking tray 20 is part of an integral tray unit movably mounted on the tray elevator tracks 24 and movable by the tray elevator system 22 to maintain the tray angle "A" orientation. The tray elevator system 22 is able to move tray 20 here downwardly but also outwardly, in a linear path which is at a minor acute angle "A'" from the vertical. This non-vertical elevator track 24 angle "A'" here is at the same angle as the stacking registration wall 30, which allows the fixed elevator track 24 or, preferably, the fixed end wall 30 of the stacker system 14 (or the copier or printer) to provide the process direction or rear side stacking registration and yet be desirably maintained perpendicular to the stacking surface of tray 20 at all times.
This elevator track angle and surface 30 angle "A'" is also substantially equal to the angle "A" that the tray 20 surface is inclined from the horizontal. Thus, output stacking registration of copy sheets is provided by the desired angle "A" providing an inclined or sloping surface for edge registration assistance by gravity encouraging the incoming sheet to slide down on top of the inclined stack of prior sheets, down against the registration wall 30. That is, the tray 20 stacking slope is inclined downwardly back towards the sheet output 12, and downhill towards registration wall 30, to provide "uphill stacking" relative to the sheet entrance direction from output 12 of printer 10. [The other, orthogonal, slope towards wall 21 may be at approximately the same angle "A", or whatever angle is suitable for the same function.]
In the disclosed stacking system, such a desirable initial stacking angle "A" is compatibly combined with correctly, fully aligned, set stacking relative to all previously stacked sets by the compatible non-vertical perpendicular movement along the line of the matching angle "A'" of the stacking tray 20 for cumulative stacking, and with the registration wall 30 constantly at the same angle "A'". Thus, the registration wall 30 is always perpendicular the tray 20 stacking surface. Thus, all sheets of the completed stack are evenly aligned and squarely superposed with one another irrespective of stack height.
To express it another way, in the exemplary stacking system 14 shown herein, the output stacking elevator lowers with stack accumulation in a non-vertical direction at angle "A'" which is parallel wall 30 and perpendicular tray 20 which is at angle "A". Because of this, the resulting stack accumulating against both surfaces can be made perfectly square.
As an optional feature, especially if there is no tray elevator stack height sensor control, the control logic in the controller 100 can be used with a tray sheet entrance counting switch to count the total number of outputted 12 sheets since the tray was last emptied, to provide an approximate determination of the stack height, and provide corresponding control signals in response thereto. These may be fed here to the control for the stepper motor or other elevator 22 drive to effect a corresponding change in tray 20 height.
For another optional feature, an integral or related copy set stapler of or other finisher can be provided prior to stacking, as disclosed in said U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,074, issued Mar. 24, 1992 by Barry P. Mandel, et al., for example. In that case, the tray 20 stacks and accumulates bound job sets.
Although copy sheet output stacking is described herein, it will be appreciated that there may be extended applications for the present concept, such as for use for a document "job batching" restacker for accumulating original documents and restacking them with separator sheets after sequential document copying or scanning jobs have been completed.
Although an "uphill" stacking system is illustrated herein, with process direction registration at the inside of the stacking system, the concept here could be used with a copier or printer output system with "downhill" [or even horizontal] set registering. In downhill stacking, the elevator track and the registration wall could extend at the opposite angle from the vertical, i.e., inclining towards the machine output as the stacking tray lowers, rather than moving away from the machine as it lowers. That is, moving linearly at approximately the same angle from the vertical, but at an opposite angle thereto.
For optional inverted stacking, the present system may be desirably combined with disk stackers, such as are shown in Xerox Corporation U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,058,880; 5,065,996; 5,114,135; or 5,145,167.
An additional optional feature is a known or suitable tray 20 vibrator 90, which may be used to aid in corner jogging the stacking sheets into the corner defined by end wall 30 and side wall 21.
It is important to note that the stacking system 14 is designed to slide and/or corner-jog into registration the corners of the job sets 13 from which the extended job cover sheets banners 15a or 16a do not stick out. It is undesirable to attempt to register stack edges from which only job separator cover sheets extend, since the cover sheets edges would tend to buckle. Thus, the tray 20 is extended open and unobstructed on the tray sides from which banners 15a and/or 16a may extend.
It will be appreciated that while cover sheet 15 or 16 will normally be fed just prior to the first sheet of the job set 13 they are to identify, that alternatively they may be fed just after the job set is printed. Also, if the job sets are being outputted and stacked facedown, another option is to alternatively or additionally print the banners 15a or 16a on their rear sides so that they will still be visible from the top of (facing up in) the stacking tray.
Facedown output of job set copy sheets is commonly used where the copy sheet output is in forward or 1 to N page order. It may be provided by known printers which print facedown (e.g., with top transfer) or printers having a natural output path sheet inversion, and/or provide an inverter in the machine paper path (as shown in FIG. 1 just below controller 100). [The operation of such inverters is well known, and is described in the above-cited and other patents.]
By selectively using or bypassing such an inverter in the printer [or in the stacker] differently for the cover sheets than for the job copy sheets, the cover sheets may be printed on the same side, yet end up in the final stack with the cover sheets face (printed side) up even though the job sheets are facedown.
In this case or system of stacking the cover sheets printed-side-up in the output tray, where the job set copy sheets are stacked printed-side-down, sufficient job set separation may be optionally provided in some cases by using set stack offsetting [as per the above-cited or other known stacker offsetting systems] for each job. There are at least two different ways in which this may be done. One way is for only the cover sheet itself to be offset by a few centimeters from the rest of a commonly aligned stack of all the job sets, so that the cover sheet printed edge banners are both readily visible and provide for ease of job set separation, as described. I.e., in this case, one edge of only the cover sheets extends from the stack, in a manner similar to that illustrated herein. The cover sheets may be printed and outputted either before or after the face-down job sets they respectively identify. [The operator can be instructed or learn which it is.] However, another way to provide this function is to output a job set of facedown copy sheets and then output a faceup cover sheet for that job set, and then offset the entire next job set and its cover sheet, and so on. I.e., the sorter tray may laterally shift or pivot for offset stacking of the next job set after a faceup cover sheet for that job has been stacked on top of that job. [Alternatively, the stacker can incrementally shift each jobs stacking position in the process direction, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,128,762 issued Jul. 7, 1992 to H. Muramatsu, et al., which also notes that a 10 mm facsimile job set shift there exposes a printed leading edge margin of the top sheet of each job for identification.] However, it will be appreciated that alternative systems with offsetting require stackers with sequential offsetting drives and mechanisms, and such offsetting systems may also affect the ability to positively edge register the job sets in the stacker.
Different colored paper may also be used for the cover sheets for additional distinctions.
An additional disclosed optional feature here (see especially FIG. 3), is that the sheet output 12 has its exit feed rollers tilted at approximately the same angle as the transverse tilt angle of tray 20 towards side registration wall 21. This can be provided simply by centrally rotating (by that angle) the shafts mounting these exit rollers. This may assist in faster settling of ejected sheets onto the stack in tray 20, making the sheets less likely to miss side wall 21.
Note that a side registration stacking wall (or fingers) 21, or the tray 20 slope, may not be necessary if the printer 10 output path has accurate (consistent) side (or center) sheet registration and the stacker is one which maintains sufficient positive sheet lateral control during sheet entry and stacking.
While the embodiment disclosed herein is preferred, it will be appreciated from this teaching that various alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be made by those skilled in the art, which are intended to be encompassed by the following claims:
|Cited Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US3946879 *||21 Aug 1974||30 Mar 1976||Lindaco Ltd.||Device for crosswise laying of rectangular bundles of paper, or the like|
|US4602775 *||8 Apr 1985||29 Jul 1986||Eastman Kodak Company||Modular cover inserter unit|
|US4602776 *||22 Oct 1984||29 Jul 1986||Xerox Corporation||Insertion apparatus for use with copier/sorter system|
|US4681428 *||11 Apr 1986||21 Jul 1987||Eastman Kodak Company||Apparatus for producing interleaved copy sheets|
|US4763161 *||21 Aug 1986||9 Aug 1988||Eastman Kodak Company||Copier operable in an insert mode|
|US4777510 *||9 Dec 1987||11 Oct 1988||Eastman Kodak Company||Copying apparatus and method with editing and production control capability|
|US4826147 *||4 Sep 1984||2 May 1989||Rank Xerox Limited||Paper feed cassette|
|US4970554 *||14 Sep 1989||13 Nov 1990||Xerox Corporation||Job processing system for high speed electronic copying/printing machines|
|US4974035 *||4 Dec 1989||27 Nov 1990||Xerox Corporation||Automatic duplex copying with interleaved tabs|
|US4987447 *||18 Sep 1989||22 Jan 1991||Eastman Kodak Company||Control sheet generation for copiers and printers|
|US5037081 *||27 Dec 1989||6 Aug 1991||Mannesmann Aktiengesellschaft||Printing station with delivery device for individual printed sheets|
|US5079598 *||10 Mar 1989||7 Jan 1992||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Image forming apparatus that feeds a specific sheet after a predetermined number of images|
|US5098074 *||25 Jan 1991||24 Mar 1992||Xerox Corporation||Finishing apparatus|
|US5124731 *||24 Sep 1990||23 Jun 1992||Xerox Corporation||Generation of document covers in an electronic reprographic system using memory|
|US5128761 *||8 Aug 1989||7 Jul 1992||North American Philips Corporation||Method and apparatus from transmitting augmentation panel components on one channel of a two channel wide aspect ratio television signal transmission system|
|US5177548 *||5 Nov 1990||5 Jan 1993||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Image recording apparatus with provision for blank binding space|
|US5217217 *||22 Apr 1992||8 Jun 1993||Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha||Paper feeding device for feeding paper in longitudinal and lateral directions|
|US5245397 *||10 Sep 1992||14 Sep 1993||Eastman Kodak Company||Reproduction apparatus having a tab stock feeding intermediate storage tray assembly|
|JPS62185675A *||Title not available|
|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US5492315 *||3 Feb 1994||20 Feb 1996||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Sheet post-treatment apparatus having tab trimmer|
|US5493367 *||23 Dec 1994||20 Feb 1996||Eastman Kodak Company||Reproduction apparatus and method for correctly orienting principal copies and supplemental copies|
|US5513013 *||24 Aug 1992||30 Apr 1996||Xerox Corporation||Facsimile output job sorting unit and system|
|US5533719 *||13 Jan 1994||9 Jul 1996||Roll Systems, Inc.||Stacker jam detector|
|US5547178 *||23 Feb 1995||20 Aug 1996||Xerox Corporation||Printer mailbox split jobs overflow banner sheet indicator system|
|US5559595 *||12 Dec 1994||24 Sep 1996||Xerox Corporiation||Apparatus and method for scheduling inversions of post printing inserts|
|US5639080 *||25 Oct 1995||17 Jun 1997||Xerox Corporation||System for handling purged sheets in the output of a printer|
|US5704602 *||18 Oct 1996||6 Jan 1998||Xerox Corporation||System for automatic print jobs separations in folders|
|US5709374 *||18 Oct 1996||20 Jan 1998||Xerox Corporation||System for automatic print jobs separations in container with vertically projecting folders|
|US5829953 *||1 May 1996||3 Nov 1998||International Billing Services, Inc.||Billing statement system|
|US5848325 *||30 Apr 1997||8 Dec 1998||Ricoh Company, Ltd.||Image forming apparatus|
|US5848346 *||7 Aug 1997||8 Dec 1998||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Image forming apparatus for offsetting output sheet|
|US5897250 *||25 Apr 1997||27 Apr 1999||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Sheet processing apparatus|
|US5918879 *||14 May 1997||6 Jul 1999||Steinhilber; Friedhelm||Method and device for separably depositing sheets in a stack|
|US5960247 *||10 Nov 1997||28 Sep 1999||Minolta Co., Ltd.||Image forming apparatus capable of readily managing sheets after completion of jobs|
|US6027270 *||21 Dec 1998||22 Feb 2000||Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft||Sheet-fed printing press with postprocessing unit|
|US6089559 *||14 May 1997||18 Jul 2000||Steinhilber; Friedhelm||Method and device for separably depositing sheets in a stack|
|US6137590 *||26 Sep 1997||24 Oct 2000||Kyocera Corporation||Image forming apparatus and image forming system|
|US6203001 *||17 Nov 1998||20 Mar 2001||Friedhelm Steinhilber||Arrangement for depositing sheets output by an office machine|
|US6209860||16 Jul 1998||3 Apr 2001||Robert L. Fehringer||Billing statement system|
|US6227531 *||25 May 1999||8 May 2001||Hewlett-Packard Company||Job separation process, system and method for distributing print jobs|
|US6538770||24 Nov 1999||25 Mar 2003||Xerox Corporation||Color printer color control system using dual mode banner color test sheets|
|US6549299||17 Mar 2000||15 Apr 2003||Hewlett-Packard Development Co., L.P.||Integrated document creation and finishing using standalone finishing devices|
|US6666605||20 Dec 2000||23 Dec 2003||Xerox Corporation||Method for improved security in the handling of printer bin output|
|US6688785||7 Jun 2002||10 Feb 2004||Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.||Systems and methods for providing printed covers for print jobs|
|US6734999 *||22 Dec 1997||11 May 2004||Minolta Co., Ltd.||Image forming apparatus and image forming method|
|US6765685 *||22 Jan 1999||20 Jul 2004||Ricoh Company, Ltd.||Printing electronic documents with automatically interleaved separation sheets|
|US6809841 *||26 Jul 2001||26 Oct 2004||Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.||Marking print documents for visible ownership|
|US6820807||21 Nov 2000||23 Nov 2004||Cobblestone Software, Inc.||Variable formatting of digital data into a pattern|
|US6995854 *||19 Oct 2000||7 Feb 2006||Ricoh Company, Ltd.||Method and apparatus for facsimile data output sorting|
|US7008503 *||10 Feb 2004||7 Mar 2006||Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd||Method of binding pages of a volume|
|US7038803||11 Dec 2001||2 May 2006||International Business Machines Corporation||Method and apparatus for affixing print banner labels to printed files|
|US7151615||15 Dec 2000||19 Dec 2006||Xerox Corporation||Method for the handling of print job banner sheet output|
|US7172672||18 Nov 2005||6 Feb 2007||Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd||Method of adhesively binding a stack of sheets|
|US7337387 *||23 Nov 1998||26 Feb 2008||Tradepaq Corporation||Intercepting document data from a spooler and using the data to retrieve related information from a data base to modify the document|
|US7380580||8 Jan 2007||3 Jun 2008||Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd||Printing arrangement with an adhesive application station|
|US7413175 *||31 Mar 2005||19 Aug 2008||Xerox Corporation||Automated cover-driven workflows for manufacturing books in a production environment|
|US7447477 *||23 Mar 2005||4 Nov 2008||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Sheet processing apparatus having a sheet insertion function, control method therefor, image forming apparatus, and program for implementing the control method|
|US7651286||12 Nov 2003||26 Jan 2010||Oce Printing Systems Gmbh||Method arrangement and computer software for the printing of a separator sheet by means of an electrophotographic printer or copier|
|US7706737||30 Nov 2005||27 Apr 2010||Xerox Corporation||Mixed output printing system|
|US7758036||15 Jul 2008||20 Jul 2010||Xerox Corporation||Automated cover-driven workflows for manufacturing books in a production environment|
|US7798191||7 May 2008||21 Sep 2010||Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd||Printing arrangement having a page binding support tray|
|US7843597||19 Feb 2004||30 Nov 2010||Infoprint Solutions Company, Llc||Separator page processing system|
|US7855800 *||6 Jun 2008||21 Dec 2010||International Business Machines Corporation||Apparatus and method for providing printer separator pages|
|US7969592||3 May 2006||28 Jun 2011||Xerox Corporation||Printing and copying fault monitoring using cover sheets|
|US8081329 *||24 Jun 2005||20 Dec 2011||Xerox Corporation||Mixed output print control method and system|
|US8285794 *||14 May 2002||9 Oct 2012||Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.||Signature e-mail attachment printing|
|US8322846 *||13 Mar 2009||4 Dec 2012||Centurylink Intellectual Property Llc||System and method for providing multiple uses of printer coversheets|
|US8370270||11 Feb 2008||5 Feb 2013||Xerox Corporation||System and method for creating an efficient shipping strategy for shipping printed material|
|US8379235||24 Sep 2009||19 Feb 2013||Xerox Corporation||Method for providing copy jobs with or without banner sheets|
|US8493609||13 Feb 2008||23 Jul 2013||Konica Minolta Laboratory U.S.A. Inc.||Method for generating simulated insert sheets for a print job|
|US8542904||7 Mar 2013||24 Sep 2013||Cummins-Allison Corp.||Apparatus and system for imaging currency bills and financial documents and method for using the same|
|US8544242 *||31 Dec 2004||1 Oct 2013||Neopost Technologies||Method and apparatus for processing sheets of different sizes to a mail item|
|US8554128||6 Oct 2008||8 Oct 2013||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Sheet processing apparatus having a sheet insertion function, control method therefor, image forming apparatus, and program for implementing the control method|
|US8559695||5 Mar 2013||15 Oct 2013||Cummins-Allison Corp.||Apparatus and system for imaging currency bills and financial documents and method for using the same|
|US8594414||5 Mar 2013||26 Nov 2013||Cummins-Allison Corp.||Apparatus and system for imaging currency bills and financial documents and method for using the same|
|US8639015||5 Mar 2013||28 Jan 2014||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US8644583||4 Feb 2013||4 Feb 2014||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US8644584||5 Mar 2013||4 Feb 2014||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US8644585||5 Mar 2013||4 Feb 2014||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US8655045||6 Feb 2013||18 Feb 2014||Cummins-Allison Corp.||System and method for processing a deposit transaction|
|US8655046||6 Mar 2013||18 Feb 2014||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US8701857||29 Oct 2008||22 Apr 2014||Cummins-Allison Corp.||System and method for processing currency bills and tickets|
|US8714336||2 Apr 2012||6 May 2014||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US8787652||21 Oct 2013||22 Jul 2014||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US8929640||15 Apr 2011||6 Jan 2015||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US8944234||11 Mar 2013||3 Feb 2015||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US8948490||9 Jun 2014||3 Feb 2015||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US8958626||11 Mar 2013||17 Feb 2015||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US8978864 *||4 Jun 2010||17 Mar 2015||Cummins-Allison Corp.||Currency processing device, method and system|
|US9010745 *||16 Oct 2013||21 Apr 2015||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Sheet processing apparatus and method of controlling the same, and storage medium|
|US9073726 *||11 Jun 2013||7 Jul 2015||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Printing apparatus and control method of printing apparatus|
|US9129271||28 Feb 2014||8 Sep 2015||Cummins-Allison Corp.||System and method for processing casino tickets|
|US9142075||23 Dec 2013||22 Sep 2015||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US9180700 *||3 Dec 2010||10 Nov 2015||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Print control apparatus and print control method|
|US9189780||24 Dec 2014||17 Nov 2015||Cummins-Allison Corp.||Apparatus and system for imaging currency bills and financial documents and methods for using the same|
|US9195889||4 Feb 2015||24 Nov 2015||Cummins-Allison Corp.||System and method for processing banknote and check deposits|
|US9355295||11 Mar 2013||31 May 2016||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US9390574||27 Jan 2011||12 Jul 2016||Cummins-Allison Corp.||Document processing system|
|US9477896||9 Jan 2014||25 Oct 2016||Cummins-Allison Corp.|
|US9495808||22 Jul 2015||15 Nov 2016||Cummins-Allison Corp.||System and method for processing casino tickets|
|US9558418||14 Aug 2015||31 Jan 2017||Cummins-Allison Corp.||Apparatus and system for processing currency bills and financial documents and method for using the same|
|US9658812||19 May 2015||23 May 2017||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Printing apparatus and control method of printing apparatus|
|US20020075497 *||15 Dec 2000||20 Jun 2002||Xerox Corporation||Method for the handling of print job banner sheet output|
|US20030020957 *||26 Jul 2001||30 Jan 2003||Brewster Jon A.||Marking print documents for visible ownership|
|US20030106637 *||11 Dec 2001||12 Jun 2003||International Business Machines Corporation||Method and apparatus for affixing print banner labels to printed files|
|US20030112462 *||13 Dec 2001||19 Jun 2003||Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha||Image forming apparatus|
|US20030174358 *||4 Nov 2002||18 Sep 2003||Fujitsu Limited||Printing system, printing program, computer-readable recording medium recorded with printing program, and printing method|
|US20030217107 *||14 May 2002||20 Nov 2003||Parry Travis J.||Signature e-mail attachment printing|
|US20040154740 *||10 Feb 2004||12 Aug 2004||Kia Silverbrook||Method of binding pages of a volume|
|US20040159998 *||14 Feb 2003||19 Aug 2004||Najeeb Khalid||Apparatus and method for improved print output|
|US20040195754 *||1 Apr 2003||7 Oct 2004||Sheffels Steven R.||Slip sheet segregation of print jobs|
|US20040218226 *||18 Nov 2002||4 Nov 2004||Antognini Walter G.||Method and system for sending electronic messages from a fax machine|
|US20050184441 *||31 Dec 2004||25 Aug 2005||Munneke Christiaan A.||Method and apparatus for processing sheets of different sizes to a mail item|
|US20050185220 *||19 Feb 2004||25 Aug 2005||International Business Machines Corporation||Separator page processing system|
|US20050225020 *||23 Mar 2005||13 Oct 2005||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Sheet processing apparatus having a sheet insertion function, control method therefor, image forming apparatus, and program for implementing the control method|
|US20060045596 *||12 Nov 2003||2 Mar 2006||Tischler Karl M||Method arrangement and computer software for the printing of a separator sheet by means of an electrophotographic printer or copier|
|US20060065347 *||18 Nov 2005||30 Mar 2006||Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd||Method of adhesively binding a stack of sheets|
|US20060152757 *||13 Jan 2005||13 Jul 2006||Forlenza Randolph M||Apparatus and method for providing printer separator pages|
|US20060225570 *||31 Mar 2005||12 Oct 2006||Xerox Corporation||Automated cover-driven workflows for manufacturing books in a production environment|
|US20060228137 *||12 Apr 2005||12 Oct 2006||Xerox Corporation||Multiple quantity print job separation systems and methods|
|US20060291018 *||24 Jun 2005||28 Dec 2006||Xerox Corporation||Mixed output print control method and system|
|US20070107847 *||8 Jan 2007||17 May 2007||Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd||Printing arrangement with an adhesive application station|
|US20070120934 *||30 Nov 2005||31 May 2007||Xerox Corporation||Mixed output printing system|
|US20070256586 *||3 May 2006||8 Nov 2007||Bonikowski Gregg A||Printing and copying fault monitoring using cover sheets|
|US20080053327 *||1 Sep 2006||6 Mar 2008||Weilacher Richard L||Identifying sheets within stacks using edge marking|
|US20080203648 *||7 May 2008||28 Aug 2008||Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd||Printing arrangement having a page binding support tray|
|US20080232892 *||6 Jun 2008||25 Sep 2008||International Business Machines Corporation||Apparatus and method for providing printer separator pages|
|US20080273945 *||15 Jul 2008||6 Nov 2008||Xerox Corporation||Automated cover-driven workflows for manufacturing books in a production environment|
|US20090041522 *||6 Oct 2008||12 Feb 2009||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha|
|US20090201533 *||11 Feb 2008||13 Aug 2009||Xerox Corporation||System and method for creating an efficient shipping strategy for shipping printed material|
|US20090201534 *||13 Feb 2008||13 Aug 2009||Konica Minolta Systems Laboratory, Inc.||Method for generating simulated insert sheets for a print job|
|US20100231677 *||13 Mar 2009||16 Sep 2010||Smoyer Clinton J||System and method for providing multiple uses of printer coversheets|
|US20100236892 *||4 Jun 2010||23 Sep 2010||Cummins-Allison Corp.||Currency processing device, method and system|
|US20100245930 *||30 Mar 2009||30 Sep 2010||Xerox Corporation||Banner sheet-based sampling method|
|US20110068532 *||24 Sep 2009||24 Mar 2011||Xerox Corporation||Banner sheet for copy jobs|
|US20110149335 *||17 Dec 2009||23 Jun 2011||International Business Machines Corporation||Printing a plurality of electronic documents on a computer printer, where the printer is logically coupled to a plurality of computer systems|
|US20110199644 *||28 Apr 2011||18 Aug 2011||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Image forming system, control method, recording medium, and program|
|US20110211211 *||3 Dec 2010||1 Sep 2011||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Print control apparatus and print control method|
|US20130300099 *||14 May 2012||14 Nov 2013||Traly, Inc.||Oversize Paper Sheet|
|US20130341861 *||11 Jun 2013||26 Dec 2013||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Printing apparatus and control method of printing apparatus|
|US20140372469 *||14 Jun 2013||18 Dec 2014||Walter Gerard Antognini||Searching by use of machine-readable code content|
|US20150009541 *||27 Aug 2014||8 Jan 2015||Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha||Control device for controlling image processing system, image forming apparatus, image reading apparatus, control method, and computer-readable recording medium|
|CN103507445A *||20 Jun 2013||15 Jan 2014||佳能株式会社||Printing apparatus and control method of printing apparatus|
|CN103507445B *||20 Jun 2013||26 Apr 2017||佳能株式会社||打印装置及打印装置的控制方法|
|EP0839747A2 *||15 May 1997||6 May 1998||Patentia Hergiswil AG||Method and device for depositing sheets in separable piles|
|EP0839747A3 *||15 May 1997||25 Nov 1998||Patentia Hergiswil AG||Method and device for depositing sheets in separable piles|
|EP0916606A2 *||31 Oct 1998||19 May 1999||Patentia Hergiswil AG||Device for depositing sheets delivered by an office machine|
|EP0916606A3 *||31 Oct 1998||15 Mar 2000||Patentia Hergiswil AG||Device for depositing sheets delivered by an office machine|
|EP1061030A3 *||16 Jun 2000||7 Jan 2004||Riso Kagaku Corporation||Image forming apparatus with a device for inserting marker slips in the delivery pile|
|EP2676911A1 *||19 Jun 2013||25 Dec 2013||Canon Kabushiki Kaisha||Printing apparatus and control method of printing apparatus|
|WO1999028814A2 *||5 Nov 1998||10 Jun 1999||Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson||Arrangement for improving the utilisation of a network|
|WO1999028814A3 *||5 Nov 1998||15 Jul 1999||Ericsson Telefon Ab L M||Arrangement for improving the utilisation of a network|
|U.S. Classification||270/1.01, 270/58.31, 271/9.06, 399/381|
|International Classification||B65H31/34, G03G15/00, B65H39/042, B65H9/04, B65H3/44, B65H39/02, B65H33/04|
|Cooperative Classification||B65H31/10, B65H33/04, G03G15/655, B65H39/02, G03G2215/00894, G03G2215/00869|
|European Classification||G03G15/65K6, B65H33/04, B65H39/02, B65H31/10|
|4 Jan 1993||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: XEROX CORPORATION, CONNECTICUT
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNORS:CORONA, STEPHEN C.;FOX, ELIZABETH D.;ROBINSON, NORMAN D. JR.;REEL/FRAME:006379/0979
Effective date: 19921214
|16 Sep 1997||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|14 Sep 2001||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 8
|28 Jun 2002||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: BANK ONE, NA, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT, ILLINOIS
Free format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:XEROX CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:013153/0001
Effective date: 20020621
|31 Oct 2003||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, AS COLLATERAL AGENT, TEXAS
Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:XEROX CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:015134/0476
Effective date: 20030625
Owner name: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, AS COLLATERAL AGENT,TEXAS
Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:XEROX CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:015134/0476
Effective date: 20030625
|8 Sep 2005||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 12 |
“If you can not measure it, you can not improve it.” – Lord Kelvin
There is a precept that what you can measure, you can improve. And with the abundance of tracking technology available to us today, it can be easy to be overwhelmed by the number of things you have to keep track of.
As a reader of Asian Efficiency, you’re likely already managing your schedule, your tasks, your email and your information, so the last thing we want you to do is to have to track a bunch of different life metrics.
There is only one metric that truly matters when it comes to productivity: your time.
Time is the only metric that matters
Time is the one resource that everyone has the same amount of (unless you factor in outsourcing and delegation). And so, how you decide to and how you actually spend it is of vital importance and should be of significant interest to you. As Roger Hamilton says in the parable Wink, you get 24 drops of time each day. Do you want to waste, spend, drink or invest them?
Especially for those AE readers who work from home, or who don’t have the structure of a 9-5 work environment, how you spend every single minute of every day is incredibly important.
Toggl is an application that was introduced to me by a friend of mine, who used it for measuring billable hours and project work. I’ve since repurposed it for a more personal use.
The setup and application is incredibly simple. You open an account:
You then set up your projects (we’ll go through exactly what projects you need in detail below):
You download the mobile application:
And then you start using it:
Toggl has applications for iOS and the Android platform, as well as desktop (I would avoid their desktop application) and the standard web application. In theory, any software designed for time tracking can be used to track your personal time. I just happen to like Toggl because it’s free and simple.
OK, so you don’t want to use Toggl. 1) Reconsider, 2) Here’s an alternative.
Edit: OK, so there are a number of other iOS Apps that we’ve found since that are pretty good. We’ll be reviewing them very soon.
Start an Excel spreadsheet with five columns:
- Item name.
- Project name.
- Start time.
- End time.
- Total time.
And throughout the day, log your items, projects, start and end times. You’ll understand this more as I use the Toggl example below. The downside of this approach is that you have to calculate the time you spend on each item manually later on (or use some Excel formula wizardry – included below), but it is an application-free alternative (I’m assuming you have Excel already).
In fact, here’s a template for you to download and use. Right-click and save-as (XLS file).
And here’s a printable version if you’re not at your computer all day. Right-click and save-as (PDF file).
Real World Time Tracking
Time Tracking is mostly used in corporate environments or by freelance workers to bill by the minute (or hour). You start the clock when you begin working, and you stop it when you’re done. To track your personal time, things work a little differently.
When you track your personal time, you want to be running a timer all the time. Yes, that’s right. ALL THE TIME. Every minute, of every day, for however long you decider to continue measuring your time… you will have a time running.
If you suddenly have an urge to make your day-to-day activities and “downtime” count more, then that’s a good thing.
Here’s how it works in Toggl. I strongly suggest you use the mobile application as that way you can change activities instantly and on-the-go.
1. You start your day with an activity. In my case, it’s my morning ritual.
2. When I start eating breakfast, I switch to that.
3. And when I start doing work for the day, I switch to that.
4. And this continues on for the rest of the day. Every activity gets its own item in Toggl (or Excel). Now if I have an activity that happens multiple times a day, for example my “daily actions” item, I’ll start the timer, stop it when I stop working on those daily actions, and when I come back to it, I’ll just restart the same timer. Technically I could create a new activity, but there’s no real reason to unless you want to measure data by time-of-day. In Excel, you have no choice but to create a new line item.
Something to note with Toggl (at least the mobile app) is that it is dependent on an Internet connection to work properly. Now sometimes, there is a synchronization bug where your activity time is wiped out by what the server was tracking. You’ll notice this when you have say [47:03] logged on an activity, and after a refresh it becomes [00:00]. The way I get around this is to look at my current activity when remember the time logged as soon as I open the application. If the time is overridden by the server, I tap on the time and reselect the prior time.
Unfortunately there is no long-term solution to this unless Toggl updates their mobile applications. If the Toggl guys are reading this – please fix it!
Elements of Time
So now that you know how to measure and track your time, we should discuss WHAT to measure.
This is highly personal. It will largely depend on how you structure your personal projects, your work, your task manager and your life in general. Below is a standard and simplified template based on my own systems that you can take and expand on.
I have the following projects setup in Toggl:
- Books / Media / Learning.
- Life Management.
- Personal Projects.
Let me explain each in detail, and answer some common questions as to “where does XYZ fit”.
Books, Media and Learning
This is any time spent reading, taking notes, watching educational videos or in general, absorbing information of any sort.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, supper, afternoon tea, snacks, coffee breaks, etc etc
If you are a smoker I would put cigarette breaks in here or under “Excess” if you want the extra motivation to quit.
I personally call this Enterprise. It is time spent in the office or working on office projects. I have very distinct individual items based on mental contexts for this, but if you work a 9-5 you can lump it all together under “work”.
Any time that is not productive (remember, we define productivity as time spent directed towards your goals). For me, this includes video games, chilling with my roommates, and doing things that I shouldn’t have to do (unexpected things that crop up and have to be taken care of). If you commute to work, I would consider putting commute time under this too, as a motivating force to find a more effective way to get to work, or to negotiate a remote working arrangement.
I only allow four items in here: my morning ritual, my evening ritual, my daily actions and my weekly / monthly / quarterly / annual reviews.
Things you have to do every day that are not inherently productive but more along the lines of essential. For example, taking a shower or doing your laundry (though I could argue that one under “Excess” too).
Any time spent towards my personal projects. This can range from planning a vacation to handling financial affairs.
Self explanatory: Sleep and naps. When you nap, start the timer. Stop it when you wake up. Same goes for sleep. Once you have enough data, you can optimize your sleep.
Any time purposely set aside for spending with family or friends falls into this category. Not “unplanned” time (which should fall under “Excess”), but purposefully-assigned blocks of time for socializing with other human beings. Examples: dinner with friends, dates, time with the kids.
What About That Time I…
So sometimes an activity will have more than one productive purpose. For example, having dinner with friends could fall under “Eating” or “Social” in the setup above. As to which you assign the activity is largely up to you and what you want to track. Personally, I want to optimize the amount of time I spend eating, so if I’m eating alone it falls under “eating”. If I’m out with friends and catching up and socializing, it falls under “social”.
There are also other activities that will encompass a range of other activities. For example, when you go on vacation or when you’re spending time with friends. The two options here are to either 1) change item every time an activity switches, which can be annoying, or 2) create a large activity item that encompasses the smaller activities. On a night out with friends we may: 1) get drinks, 2) go to a lounge, 3) spend time in a taxi, 4) spend time at a fine drinking establishment, 5) eat food on the way home. I tend to classify this as just “going out” and file it under Social. As you’ll see when we discuss how to use the collected metrics to optimize your time, the actual individual line items don’t matter as much.
On occasion you will come across “necessary evils” in life. Visiting a doctor, helping a family member out in an emergency, needing to deal with your taxes etc… How you classify these is really dependent on what you want to do with these activities. My rule is this: if it is an activity that has arisen out of someone else doing something (i.e., I didn’t create the circumstances intentionally), I will file it under Excess. Why? Because then I become motivated to find a permanent solution to the problem, and to make sure it never occurs again. Now if it is something that you have to do (e.g., file taxes) I would actually consider that a Personal Project and log it accordingly.
Got any other questions about how to classify an activity? Post them in the comments below and we’ll answer them.
You want to review your time data on a weekly basis. Daily is too much, and monthly is too long to chart any meaningful comparisons.
Here’s how you do it:
1. Export your data out of Toggl. Select Weekly Report. Select “Last Week”. And most importantly, click on “show” to refresh your data.
2. Export to CSV, and put it into an Excel spreadsheet, expressed in minutes for analysis.
Now you want to look at your data and ask yourself: should the time I spent on this activity or activity group go up or down for next week?
As an example, here’s some of my more recent data:
From the above, you can see that I’m working on increasing my focused working hours (“Enterprise”) and on decreasing the amount of time I spend eating.
Over time, you can chart what your life looks like in terms of time allocation. If you couple this idea with what your goals are (and what goals you’re achieving), you can actually work out exactly how productive you are really being.
Some average weekly numbers:
- Sleep – 3234 minutes.
- Work – 2610 minutes.
- TV – 1680 minutes.
* Source: US Department of Labor: http://www.bls.gov/tus/charts/
* Source: Sanchez-Tabernero, Alfonso (1993). Media Concentration in Europe: Commercial Enterprise and the Public. London: John Libbey & Co.
The interesting thing about collecting time data about your life is the ability to mash it up with other data you have available. A couple of thought-provoking examples are:
- Consider that the average worker has a 40-hour work week. What activities and what categories in your life exceed that 40 hours a week?
- If you’re into actively managing your finances, you will know what your Real Hourly Wage is. Using this, you can see what the opportunity cost of your “Excess” and other activities really is.
“This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time.” – Tyler Durden, Fight Club
- Sign up for a free account at Toggl.com and install the application on your phone.
- Setup your categories of elements of time.
- Start tracking your time.
- Review weekly, and make adjustments for the upcoming week.
Did you like this? Then you’ll love our free Asian Efficiency training. It’s completely free and we’ll show you our top 3 productivity hacks that helped us save hours. Sign up here for the next available time slot.
How Productive Are You?
Take our Productivity Quiz to find out. Learn the tactics and techniques that will work for you. |
‘Sorted’ by MI5: How UK government sent British-Libyans to fight Gaddafi
The British government operated an “open door” policy that allowed Libyan exiles and British-Libyan citizens to join the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi even though some had been subject to counter-terrorism control orders, Middle East Eye can reveal.
Several former rebel fighters now back in the UK told MEE that they had been able to travel to Libya with “no questions asked” as authorities continued to investigate the background of a British-Libyan suicide bomber who killed 22 people in Monday’s attack in Manchester.
Salman Abedi, 22, the British-born son of exiled dissidents who returned to Libya as the revolution against Gaddafi gathered momentum, is also understood to have spent time in the North African country in 2011 and to have returned there on several subsequent occasions.
British police have said they believe the bomber, who returned to Manchester just a few days before the attack, was part of a network and have arrested six people including Abedi’s older brother since Monday.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has said that Abedi was known to security services, while a local community worker told the BBC that several people had reported him to the police via an anti-terrorism hotline.
Salman Abedi travelled to Libya during the country’s 2011 revolution (Police handout)
On Wednesday, authorities in Tripoli said that Abedi’s younger brother and father, who had resettled in Libya after the revolution, had also been arrested on suspicion of links to the Islamic State (IS) group, which claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack.
Sources spoken to by MEE suggest that the government facilitated the travel of Libyan exiles and British-Libyan residents and citizens keen to fight against Gaddafi including some who it deemed to pose a potential security threat.
‘No questions asked’
One British citizen with a Libyan background who was placed on a control order – effectively house arrest – because of fears that he would join militant groups in Iraq said he was “shocked” that he was able to travel to Libya in 2011 shortly after his control order was lifted.
“I was allowed to go, no questions asked,” said the source, who wished to remain anonymous.
He said he had met several other British-Libyans in London who also had control orders lifted in 2011 as the war against Gaddafi intensified, with the UK, France and the US carrying out air strikes and deploying special forces soldiers in support of the rebels.
“They didn’t have passports, they were looking for fakes or a way to smuggle themselves across,” said the source.
But within days of their control orders being lifted, British authorities returned their passports, he said.
“These were old school LIFG guys, they [the British authorities] knew what they were doing,” he said, referring to the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, an anti-Gaddafi Islamist militant group formed in 1990 by Libyan veterans of the fight against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
The British government listed the LIFG as a proscribed terrorist organisation in 2005, describing it as seeking to establish a “hard-line Islamic state” and “part of the wider Islamist extremist movement inspired by al-Qaeda”. Former members of the LIFG deny that the group had any links with al-Qaeda and say it was committed only to removing Gaddafi from power.
Belal Younis, another British citizen who went to Libya, described how he was stopped under ‘Schedule 7’ counter-terrorism powers on his return to the UK after a visit to the country in early 2011. Schedule 7 allows police and immigration officials to detain and question any person passing through border controls at ports and airports to determine whether they are involved in terrorism.
Read more ►
He said he was subsequently asked by an intelligence officer from MI5, the UK’s domestic security agency: “Are you willing to go into battle?”
“While I took time to find an answer he turned and told me the British government have no problem with people fighting against Gaddafi,” he told MEE.
Travel ‘sorted’ by MI5
As he was travelling back to Libya in May 2011 he was approached by two counter-terrorism police officers in the departure lounge who told him that if he was going to fight he would be committing a crime.
But after providing them with the name and phone number of the MI5 officer he had spoken to previously, and following a quick phone call to him, he was waved through.
As he waited to board the plane, he said the same MI5 officer called him to tell him that he had “sorted it out”.
“The government didn’t put any obstacles in the way of people going to Libya,” he told MEE.
“The vast majority of UK guys were in their late twenties. There were some 18 and 19. The majority who went from here were from Manchester.”
But he said he thought it was unlikely that Abedi, who would only have been 16 at the time, would have been recruited as a fighter.
“The guys I was fighting with would never put a 16-year-old boy anywhere near the frontline.”
Younis said he did not think that the policy of allowing British-Libyans to fight againt Gaddafi had been a contributing factor in Monday’s attack, pointing out that IS was not present in the country at the time – and said he had no regrets about his decision to fight.
“What inspired me to go to Libya was the liberty of civilians. There’s no way that that can morph into killing children,” he said.
Another British citizen with experience of fighting in both Libya and in Syria with rebel groups also told MEE that he had been able to travel to and from the UK without disruption.
“No questions were asked,” he said.
The majority of the fighters flew to Tunisia and then crossed the border into Libya, while others travelled via Malta, he said.
“The whole Libyan diaspora were out there fighting alongside the rebel groups,” he added.
Libyan rebel fighters pictured in the oil port of Brega in March 2011 (AFP)
One British-Libyan man from Manchester who also wished to remain anonymous told MEE that he had travelled frequently to Libya during the 2011 revolution to undertake humanitarian aid work.
“I never got prevented from going to Libya or stopped when I tried to come back,” he said.
The man said that he had come across Salman Abedi at their local mosque in the Didsbury neighbourhood but that he had “kept himself to himself” and was not an active member of the community.
His family, who were originally from Tripoli, had returned to Libya, he said.
“I guess if your family is away from you that sense of belonging dissipates. For us Libyans in Manchester – they’re trying to imply we knew. He was just an individual and he’s nothing to do with us.”
Another person who knew Abedi described him as a “hot head” with a reputation for involvement in petty crime.
“Yesterday they’re drug dealers, today they’re Muslims,” he said, adding that he believed Abedi had also been friends with Anil Khalil Raoufi, an IS recruiter from Didsbury who was killed in Syria in 2014.
‘Elite SAS training’
One of the British-Libyans spoken to by MEE described how he had carried out “PR work” for the rebels in the months before Gaddafi was overthrown and eventually killed in October 2011.
He said he was employed to edit videos showing Libyan rebels being trained by former British SAS and Irish special forces mercenaries in Benghazi, the eastern city from where the uprising against Gaddafi was launched.
“They weren’t cheap videos with Arabic nasheeds [songs], they were slick, professional glossy films which we were showing Qataris and Emiratis to support troops who were getting elite SAS training.”
He was also tasked by rebel commanders with training young Libyans to use cameras so that they could sell packages to international media.
A volunteer fighter from Manchester pictured in Ajdabiya in eastern Libya in April 2011 (AFP)
On one assignment at a rebel base camp in a Misrata school, he came across a group of about eight young British-Libyans. After joking about their northern accents he found out that they had never been to Libya before.
“They looked about 17 or 18, maybe one was 20 at most. They had proper Manchester accents,” he said. “They were there living and fighting and doing the whole nine yards.”
Many Libyan exiles in the UK with links to the LIFG were placed on control orders and subjected to surveillance and monitoring following the rapprochement between the British and Libyan governments sealed by the so-called “Deal in the Desert” between then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Gaddafi in 2004.
Read more ►
According to documents retrieved from the ransacked offices of the Libyan intelligence agency following Gaddafi’s fall from power in 2011, British security services cracked down on Libyan dissidents in the UK as part of the deal, as well as assisting in the rendition of two senior LIFG leaders, Abdel Hakim Belhaj and Sami al-Saadi, to Tripoli where they allege they were tortured.
Belhaj later returned to Libya and was a leading figure in the uprising against Gaddafi, while another former Libyan exile subjected to a control order in the UK was later tasked with providing security for visiting dignitaries including British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, MEE understands.
‘When the revolution started, things changed’
Ziad Hashem, an LIFG member granted asylum in the UK, said in 2015 that he had been imprisoned for 18 months without charge and then restricted to his home for a further three years based on information he believed had been supplied by Libyan intelligence.
But he said: “When the revolution started, things changed in Britain. Their way of speaking to me and treating me was different. They offered to give me benefits, even indefinite leave to remain or citizenship.”
Control orders were introduced as part of counter-terrorism legislation drafted in the aftermath of the 2005 London bombings.
They allowed authorities to restrict the activities of people suspected of involvement in terrorism-related activities by requiring them to remain at a registered address for up to 16 hours a day, subjecting them to electronic tagging, limiting their access to telephone and internet communications, and banning them from meeting or communicating with other people deemed to be of concern.
At least 50 people were subjected to the measure with at least 12 Libyan exiles among them.
Control orders were replaced with Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIMs), which allow authorities to impose many of the same restrictions while limiting their term to two years, in 2011.
The Home Office told MEE it did not comment on individual cases. It said that TPIMs were a robust and effective means for dealing with terrorism suspects who could not be prosecuted or deported.
It said that arrangements involving the police, the Home Office and the Security Service (MI5) had been put in place in 2011 during the transition from control orders to TPIMs to ensure that national security was maintained.
Areeb Ullah contributed to this story. |
“THERE IS ONLY THE FIGHT…”
An Analysis of the Alinsky Model
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree under the Special Honors Program, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Hillary D. Rodham
2 May, 1969
So here I am, in the middle way, having had twenty years—Twenty years largely wasted, the years of l’entre deux guerres Trying to learn to use words, and every attempt Is a wholly new start, and a different kind of failure
Because one has only learnt to get the better of words For the thing one no longer has to say, or the way in which
One is no longer disposed to say it. And so each venture Is a new beginning, a raid on the inarticulate
With shabby equipment always deteriorating In the general mass of imprecision of feeling,
Undisciplined squads of emotion. And what there is to conquer By strength and submission, has already been discovered Once or twice, or several times, by men whom one cannot hope To emulate–but there is no competition–There is only the fight to recover what has been lost And found and lost again and again: and now, under conditions That seem unpropitious. But perhaps neither gain nor loss For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business. T.S. Eliot, “East Coker”
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. SAUL DAVID ALINSKY: AN AMERICAN RADICAL . 1
II. THE ALINSKY METHOD OF ORGANIZING: THREE
CASE STUDIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
III. “A PRIZE PIECE OF POLITICALPORNOGRAPHY”. . 44
IV. PERSPECTIVES ON ALINSKY AND HIS MODEL. . . 53
V. REALIZING LIFE AFTER BIRTH . . . . . . . . 68
Although I have no “loving wife” to thank for keeping the children away while I wrote, I do have many friends and teachers who have contributed to the process of thesis-writing. And I thank them for their tireless help and encouragement. In regard to the paper itself, there are three people who deserve special appreciation: Mr. Alinsky for providing a topic, sharing his time and offering me a job; Miss Alona E. Evans for her thoughtful questioning and careful editing that clarified fuzzy thinking and tortured prose; and Jan Krigbaum for her spirited intellectual companionship and typewriter rescue work.
SAUL DAVID ALINSKY: AN AMERICAN RADICAL
With customary British understatement, The Economist referred to Saul Alinsky as “that rare specimen, the successful radical.”
FOOTNOTE 1 (note—all such numbers in the text refer to footnotes)
This is one of the blander descriptions applied to Alinsky during a thirty year career in which epithets have been collected more regularly than paychecks. The epithets are not surprising as most people who deal with Alinsky need to categorize in order to handle him. It is far easier to cope with a man if, depending on ideological perspective, he is classified as a “crackpot” than to grapple with the substantive issues he presents.
For Saul Alinsky is more than a man who has created a particular approach to community organizing, he is the articulate proponent of what many consider to be a dangerous socio/political philosophy. An understanding of the “Alinsky-type method” (i.e. his organizing method) as well as the philosophy on which it is based must start with an understanding of the man himself.
Alinsky was born in a Chicago slum to Russian Jewish immigrant parents, and those early conditions of slum living and poverty in Chicago established the context of his ideas and mode of action. He traces his identification with the poor back to a home in the rear of a store where his idea of luxury was using the bathroom without a customer banging on the door.
Chicago itself has also greatly influenced him:
Where did I come from? Chicago. I can curse and hate the town but let anyone else do it and they’re in for a battle, There I’ve had the happiest and the worst times of my life. Every street has its personal joy and pain to me. On this street is the church of a Catholic Bishop who was a big part of my life; further down is another church where the pastor too has meant a lot to me; and a couple miles away is a cemetery–well, skip it. Many Chicago streets are pieces of my life and work. Things that happened here have rocked a lot of boats in a lot of cities. Nowadays I fly all over the country in the course of my work. But when those flaps go down over the Chicago skyline, I knew I’m home. (all boldface type indicates blockquoting)
Although Alinsky calls Chicago his “city”, the place really represents to him the American Dream–in all its nightmare and its glory.
He lived the Dream as he moved from the Chicago slums to California then back to attend the University of Chicago. Alinsky credits his developing an active imagination, which is essential for a good organizer, to his majoring in archaeology. An imagination focusing on Inca artifacts, however, needs exposure to social problems before it can become useful in community organizing. Exposure began for Alinsky when he and other students collected food for the starving coal miners in southern Illinois who were rebelling against John L. Lewis and the United Mine Workers.
Lewis became a role model for Alinsky who learned about labor’s organizational
tactics from watching and working with Lewis during the early years of the CIO. Alinsky soon recognized that one of the hardest jobs of the leader is an imaginative one as he struggles to develop a rationale for spontaneous action:
For instance, when the first sit-down strikes took place in Flint, no one really planned them. They were clearly a violation of the law–trespassing, seizure of private property. Labor leaders ran for cover, refused to comment. But Lewis issued a pontifical statement, ‘a man’s right to a job transcends the right of private property,’ which sounded plausible.
After graduating from the University of Chicago, Alinsky received a fellowship in criminology with a first assignment to get a look at crime from the inside of gangs. He attached himself to the Capone gang, attaining a perspective from which he viewed the gang as a huge quasi-public utility serving the people of Chicago. Alinsky’s eclectic life during the thirties, working with gangs, raising money for the International Brigade, publicizing the plight of the Southern share cropper, fighting for public housing, reached a turning point in 1938 when he was offered the job as head of probation and parole for the City of Philadelphia. Security. Prestige. Money. Each of these inducements alone has been enough to turn many a lean and hungry agitator into a well-fed establishmentarian.
Alinsky rejected the offer and its triple threat for a career of organizing the poor to help themselves. His first target zone was the Back of the Yards area in Chicago; the immediate impetus was his intense hatred of fascism:
…I went into ‘Back of the Yards’ in Chicago. This was Upton Sinclair’s ‘Jungle.’ This was not the slum across the tracks. This was the slum across the tracks from across the tracks. Also, this was the heart, in Chicago, of all the native fascist movements– the Coughlinites, the Silver Shirts, the Pelley movement… I went in there to fight fascism. If you had asked me then what my profession was, I would have told you I was a professional antifascist.
Alinsky’s anti-fascism, built around anti-authoritarianism, anti-racial superiority, anti-oppression, was the ideological justification for his move into organizing and the first social basis on which he began constructing his theory of action. Working in Chicago and other communities between 1938 and 1946 Alinsky refined his methods and expanded his theory. Then in 1946, Alinsky’s first book, Reveille for Radicals, was published. Since Alinsky is firstly an activist and secondly a theoretician, more than one-half the book is concerned with the tactics of building “People’s Organizations.”
There are chapter discussions of “Native Leadership,” “Community Traditions and Organizations,” “Conflict Tactics,” “Popular Education,” and “Psychological Observations on Mass Organizations.” The book begins by asking the question: What is a Radical?
This is a basic question for Alinsky who proudly refers to himself as a radical. His answer is prefaced by pages of Fourth-of-July rhetoric about Americans: “They are a people creating a new bridge of mankind in between the past of narrow nationalistic chauvinism and the horizon of a new mankind– a people of the world.”
Although the book was written right after World War II, which deeply affected Alinsky, his belief in American democracy has deep historical roots–at least, as he interprets history:
The American people were, in the beginning, Revolutionaries and Tories. The American People ever since have been Revolutionaries and Tories…regardless of the labels of the past and present… The clash of Radicals, Conservatives, and Liberals which makes up America’s political history opens the door to the most fundamental question of What is America? How do the people of America feel? There were and are a number of Americans–few, to be sure– filled with deep feelings for people. They know that people are the stuff that makes up the dream of democracy. These few were and are the American Radicals and the only way we can understand the American Radical is to understand what we mean by this feeling for and with the people.
What Alinsky means by this “feeling for and with the people” is simply how much one person really cares about people unlike himself. He illustrates the feeling by a series of examples in which he poses questions such as: So you are a white, native-born Protestant. Do you like people? He then proceeds to demonstrate how, in spite of protestations, the Protestant (or the Irish Catholic or the Jew or the Negro or the Mexican) only pays lip service to the idea of equality. This technique of confrontation in Alinsky’s writing effectively involves most of his readers who will recognize in themselves at least one of the characteristics he denounces. Having confronted his readers with their hypocrisy, Alinsky defines the American Radical as “…that unique person who actually believes what he says…to whom the common good is the greatest value…who genuinely and completely believes in mankind….”
Alinsky outlines American history focusing on men he would call “radical,” confronting his readers again with the Alinsky outlines American history focusing on men he would call “radical,” confronting his readers again with the “unique” way Americans have synthesized the alien roots of radicalism, Marxism, Utopian socialism, syndicalism, the French Revolution, with their own conditions and experiences:
Where are the American Radicals? They were with Patrick Henry in the Virginia Hall of Burgesses; they were with Sam Adams in Boston; they were with that peer of all American Radicals, Tom Paine, from the distribution of Common Sense through those dark days of the American Revolution… The American Radicals were in the colonies grimly forcing the addition of the Bill of Rights to our Constitution.
They stood at the side of Tom Jefferson in the first big battle between the Tories of Hamilton and the American people. They founded and fought in the LocoFocos. They were in the first union strike in America and they fought for the distribution of the western lands to the masses of people instead of the few…They were in the shadows of the underground railroad and they openly rode in the sunlight with John Brown to Harpers Ferry…They were with Horace Mann fighting for the extension of educational opportunities…They built the American Labor movement… Many of their deeds are not and never will be recorded in America’s history.
They were among the grimy men in the dust bowl, they sweated with the share croppers. They were at the side of the Okies facing the California vigilantes. They stood and stand before the fury of lynching mobs. They were and are on the picket lines gazing unflinchingly at the threatening, flushed, angry faces of the police. American Radicals are to be found wherever and whenever America moves closer to the fulfillment of its democratic dream. Whenever America’s hearts are breaking, these American Radicals were and are. America was begun by its Radicals. The hope and future of America lies with its Radicals.
Words such as these coupled with his compelling personality enabled Alinsky to hold a sidewalk seminar during the 1968 Democratic Party Convention in Chicago. He socratically gathered around him a group of young demonstrators on the corner of Michigan and Bilbo on Monday night telling them that they were another generation of American Radicals.
Alinsky attempts to encompass all those worthy of his description “radical” into an ideological Weltanschauung:
What does the Radical want? He wants a world in which the worth of the individual is recognized…a world based on the morality of mankind…The Radical believes that all peoples should have a high standard of food, housing, and health…The Radical places human rights far above property rights. He is for universal, free public education and recognizes this as fundamental to the democratic way of life…Democracy to him is working from the bottom up…The Radical believes completely in real equality of opportunity for all peoples regardless of race, color, or creed.
Much of what Alinsky professes does not sound “radical.” His are the words used in our schools and churches, by our parents and their friends, by our peers. The difference is that Alinsky really believes in them and recognizes the necessity of changing the present structures of our lives in order to realize them.
There are many inconsistencies in Alinsky’s thought which he himself recognizes and dismisses. He believes that life is inconsistent and that one needs flexibility in dealing with its many facets. His writings reflect the flavor of inconsistency which permeates his approach to organizing. They also suggest Alinsky’s place in the American Radical tradition.
In order to discuss his place, it is necessary to circumvent his definition of “radical” based on inner psychological strength and commitment, and to consider more conventional uses of the term. Although there is great disagreement among writers about the definition of “radical” and among radicals themselves over the scope of the word’s meaning, there is sufficient agreement to permit a general definition.
A radical is one who advocates sweeping changes in the existing laws and methods of government. These proposed changes are aimed at the roots of political problems which in Marxian terms are the attitudes and the behaviors of men. Radicals are not interested in ameliorating the symptoms of decay but in drastically altering the causes of societal conditions. Radicalism “emphasizes reason rather than reverence, although Radicals have often been the most emotional and least reasonable of men.”
One of the strongest strains in modern radicalism is the eighteenth century Enlightenment’s faith in human reason and the possible perfectibility of man. This faith in the continuing improvement of man was and is dominated by values derived from the French and American Revolutions and profoundly influenced by the Industrial Revolution.
The Industrial Revolution shifted the emphasis of radicalism to an urban orientation. Alinsky holds to the basic radical tenets of equality and to the urban orientation, but he does not advocate immediate change. He is too much in the world right now to allow himself the luxury of symbolic suicide. He realizes that radical goals have to be achieved often by non-radical, even “anti-radical” means. For Alinsky, the non-radical means involve the traditional quest for power to change existing situations. To further understand Alinsky’s radicalism one must examine his attitude toward the use of power. The key word for an Alinsky-type organizing effort is “power.” As he says: “No individual or organization can negotiate without power to compel negotiations.”
The question is how one acquires power, and Alinsky’s answer is through organization: “To attempt to operate on good will rather than on a power basis would be to attempt something which the world has never yet experienced–remember to make even good will effective it must be mobilized into a power unit.”
One of the problems with advocating mobilization for power is the popular distrust of amassing power. Americans, as John Kenneth Galbraith points out in American Capitalism, are caught in a paradox regarding their view toward power because it “obviously presents awkward problems for a community which abhors its existence, disavows its possession, but values its existence.”
Alinsky recognizes this paradox and cautions against allowing our tongues to trap our minds:
We have become involved in bypaths of confusion or semantics… The word ‘power’ has through time acquired overtones of sinister corrupt evil, unhealthy immoral Machiavellianism, and a general phantasmagoria of the nether regions.
For Alinsky, power is the “very essence of life, the dynamic of life” and is found in “…active citizen participation pulsing upward providing a unified strength for a common purpose of organization…either changing circumstances or opposing change.”
Alinsky argues that those who wish to change circumstances must develop a mass-based organization and be prepared for conflict.
He is a neo-Hobbesian who objects to the consensual mystique surrounding political processes; for him, conflict is the route to power. Those possessing power want to retain it and often to extend the bounds of it. Those desiring a change in the power balance generally lack the established criteria of money or status and so must mobilize numbers.
Mobilized groups representing opposed interests will naturally be in conflict which Alinsky considers a healthful and necessary aspect of a community organizing activity. He is supported in his prognosis by conflict analysts such as Lewis Coser who points out in The Functions of Social Conflict that:
Conflict with other groups contributes to the establishment and reaffirmation of the group and maintains its boundaries against the surrounding social world.
In order to achieve a world without bounds it appears essential for many groups to solidify their identities both in relation to their own membership and to their external environment. This has been the rationale of nationalist groups historically and among American blacks presently. The organizer plays a significant role in precipitating and directing a community’s conflict pattern. As Alinsky views this role, the organizer is
…dedicated to changing the character of life of a particular community [and] has an initial function of serving as an abrasive agent to rub raw the resentments of the people of the community; to fan latent hostilities of many of the people to the point of overt expressions… to provide a channel into which they can pour their frustration of the past; to create a mechanism which can drain off underlying guilt for having accepted the previous situation for so long a time. When those who represent the status quo label you [i.e. the community organizer] as an ‘agitator’ they are completely correct, for that is, in one word, your function–to agitate to the point of conflict.
An approach advocating conflict has produced strong reactions. Some of his critics compare Alinsky’s tactics with those of various hate groups such as lynch mobs which also “rub raw the resentments of the people.”
Alinsky answers such criticism by reminding his critics that the difference between a “liberal” and a “radical” is that the liberal refuses to fight for the goals he professes. During his first organizing venture in Back of the Yards he ran into opposition from many liberals who, although agreeing with his goals, repudiated his tactics. They wore according to Alinsky “like the folks during the American Revolution who said ‘America should be free but not through bloodshed.’”
When the residents of Back of the Yards battled the huge meat-packing concerns, they were fighting for their jobs and for their lives. Unfortunately, the war-like rhetoric can obscure the constructiveness of the conflict Alinsky orchestrates. In addition to aiding in formation of identity, conflict between groups plays a creative social role by providing a process through which diverse interests are adjusted.
To induce conflict is a risk because there is no guarantee that it will remain controllable. Alinsky recognizes the risk he takes but believes it is worth the gamble if the conflict process results in the restructuring of relationships so as to permit the enjoyment of greater freedom among men meeting as equals. Only through social equality can men determine the structure of their own social arrangements. The concept of social equality is a part of Alinsky’s social morality that assumes all individuals and nations act first to preserve their own interests and then rationalize any action as idealistic. He thinks it is only through accepting ourselves as we “really” are that we can begin to practice “real” morality:
There are two roads to everything–a low road and a high one. The high road is the easiest. You just talk principles and be angelic regarding things you don’t practice. The low road is the harder. It is the task of making one’s self-interest behavior moral behavior. We have behaved morally in the world in the past few years because we want the people of the world on our side. When you get a good moral position, look behind it to see what is self-interest.
The cynicism of this viewpoint was mitigated somewhat by my discussing the question of morality with Alinsky who conceded that idealism can parallel self-interest. But he believes that the man who intends to act in the world as- it-is must not be misled by illusions of the world-as-we-would-like-it-to be.
Alinsky claims a position of moral relativism, but his moral context is stabilized by a belief in the eventual manifestation of the goodness of man. He believes that if men were allowed to live free from fear and want they would live in peace. He also believes that only men with a sense of their own worth and a respect for the commonality of humanity will be able to create this new world.
Therefore, the main driving force behind his push for organization is the effect that belonging to a group working for a common purpose has had on the men he has organized. Frustration is transformed into confidence when men recognize their capability for contribution. The sense of dignity is particularly crucial in organizational activity among the poor whom Alinsky warns to beware of programs which attack only their economic poverty.
Welfare programs since the New Deal have neither redeveloped poverty areas nor even catalyzed the poor into helping themselves. A cycle of dependency has been created which ensnares its victims into resignation and apathy. To dramatize his warning to the poor, Alinsky proposed sending Negroes dressed in African tribal costumes to greet VISTA volunteers arriving in Chicago. This action would have dramatized what he refers to as the “colonialism” and the “Peace Corps mentality” of the poverty program.
Alinsky is interested in people helping themselves without the ineffective interference from welfarephiles. Charles Silberman in his book, Crisis in Black and White describes Alinsky’s motivation in terms of his faith in People:
The essential difference between Alinsky and his enemies is that Alinsky really believes in democracy; he really believes that the helpless, the poor, the badly-educated can solve their own problems if given the chance and the means; he really believes that the poor and uneducated, no less that the rich and educated, have the right to decide how their lives should be run and what services should be offered to them instead of being ministered to like children.
This faith in democracy and in the people’s ability to “make it” is peculiarly American and many might doubt its radicalness. Yet, Alinsky’s belief and devotion is radical; democracy is still a radical idea in a world where we often confuse images with realities, words with actions. Alinsky’s belief in self-interested democracy unifies his views on the use of the power/conflict model in organizing and the position of morality and welfare in the philosophy underlying his methodology.
CHAPTER I FOOTNOTES:
1 “Plato on the Barricades,” The Economist, May 13-19, 1967, p. 14.
2 “The Professional Radical,” Harper’s, June, 1965, p. 38.
4 Ibid., p. 40.
5 Ibid., p. 45.
6 Saul D. Alinsky, Reveille for Radicals (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press. 1946), p. 4.
7 Ibid., p. 14.
8 Ibid., p. 22.
10 Saul D. Alinsky, private interview in Boston, Massachusetts, October, 1968.
11 Alinsky, Reveille for Radicals, p. 23.
12 John W. Derry, The Radical Tradition (London: MacMillan, 1967), p. vii.
13 Dan Dodson, “The Church, POWER, and Saul Alinsky,” Religion in Life,
(Spring, 1967), p. 11.
15 John Kenneth Galbraith, American Capitalism (Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1962), p. 26.
16 Dodson, p. 12.
18 Lewis Coser, The Functions of Social Conflict (New York: The Free Press,
20 Charles E. Silberman, Crisis in Black and White (New York: Random House,
1964), p. 331.
21 Alinsky interview, Boston.
23 Saul D. Alinsky, private interview in Wellesley, Massachusetts, January 1969
24 Patrick Anderson, “Making Trouble is Alinsky’s Business,” The New York
Times Magazine (October 9, 1966), p. 29.
25 Silberman, p. 333.
IN NOVEMBER 2012 a stone monument inscribed with the Ten Commandments was placed on the grounds of Oklahoma’s state capitol. Seven years earlier, in Van Orden v Perry, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a Ten Commandments monument placed on the Texas state capitol grounds did not violate the First Amendment’s clause forbidding government from making any law “respecting the establishment of religion”. But now other religions want in too: in December the Satanic Temple launched a campaign to place a monument of its own next to the Ten Commandments, reasoning that it would give Oklahomans “the opportunity to show that they espouse the basic freedoms spelled out in the Constitution”. They wanted to raise $20,000 by January 18th; they have already surpassed that goal. On Monday, they unveiled their monument’s design (pictured): a winged creature with the torso of a man, the head of a goat and horns sits on a throne beneath a Pentagram, two fingers sagely raised as two tow-headed children look on in wonder. Satanists, it seems, have a sense of humour. But what do they actually believe?
That turns out to be a difficult question to answer. You will be unsurprised to hear that Satanists are a rather fractious bunch, with many different organisations, beliefs and rituals. Many of these organisations are wholly or partly occult, with much hidden from non-adherents. Some are spiritualists: they worship Satan as a deity. Adherents of the Joy of Satan Ministries, for instance, “know Satan/Lucifer as a real being”, and believe he is “the True Father and Creator God of humanity”. Others—notably the Church of Satan, founded by Anton LaVey, the most renowned occultist since Alesteir Crowley; and the Satanic Temple—are materialist, and reject belief in supernatural beings. Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the Satanic Temple, describes himself as “an atheist when it comes to supernatural beliefs”, and says that for him Satanism stands for “individual sovereignty in the face of tyranny, and the pursuit of knowledge even when that knowledge is dangerous.” LaVey’s “Satanic Bible” proclaims “Life is the great indulgence—death the great abstinence! Therefore make the most of the HERE AND NOW!…Choose ye this day, this hour, for no redeemer liveth!”
Despite these differences, certain commonalities link many spiritual and materialist branches of Satanism: namely a belief that the worship of a supernatural deity—and the ecclesiastical structure that evolved to support such worship—places needless restrictions on human knowledge and progress; and a belief in science, rationality and learning, without restrictions. Peter Gilmore, LaVey’s successor as head of the Church of Satan, distinguishes between “carnal people and spiritual people”: he believes the latter need a “spooky daddy in the sky”, whereas he is “happy being the center of [his] universe”. In this sense, materialist Satanism seems close to, if not indistinguishable from, organised atheism, or perhaps atheism with rituals. But Mr Gilmore says his church uses Satan in the original Hebrew sense as “The Adversary”—”a figure who will stand up and challenge”. Satan in this sense becomes a sort of literary figure or metonymy for challenging orthodoxy, rather than an evil or bloodthirsty god.
All of this is considerably less headline-grabbing than animal sacrifice or ritual murder. And, of course, some have been convicted of horrific acts nominally committed for or connected with Satan. But these are hardly the first murders committed in a religion’s name, nor is there any evidence to suggest that these killers are more representative of Satanism than other religiously-inspired killers are of their faiths. Yet somehow one imagines that such arguments will fail to sway Oklahoma’s legislators into allowing a giant, goat-headed, pentagrammed statue to sit next to a monument of the Ten Commandments. |
Friday, 31 December 2010
And this is what I have been making with them. I needed a little bag or something to put some little birthday presents in.So got out a bag and decorated it with one of the new Sweatpea stamps - Pinkie one of the Phunky Pharies.
I then thought a matching card would be a nice idea.
And then with the left over pieces of card I made a spare one
Monday, 20 December 2010
Instead of stamping in black and then colouring her in , I stamped in red and then put a little red stickles on the flowers.Then useing only red and white papers and embelishments on the cards. Just a nice change I think.
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
For my cards, I've been experimenting with several softer colour options than those on the sample sheet above, while keeping the red checked backing paper the same throughout.
Here's a soft blue and grey version [all coloured with ProMarkers]: Complete with twinkling Stickles accents and ruddy cheeks:
Another blue version, this time with extra red details:
And finally, a splash of pink and purple:
Again, the outfit wouldn't be complete without some Stickled trimming!
I've got a fourth colour option in this post over on my blog - Notes on Paper - today, where it's illustrating something Christmassy I overheard [you know how I like to keep my ears open!].
The full details of the Christmas elf sheet can be found here, and maybe I'll see you on my blog later too?
Sunday, 5 December 2010
2. Have you seen the latest products Jean's listed in the shop? There's:
- the December 'Alter That' kit;
- lots of new paper pads including ones from My Mind's Eye and Melissa Frances;
- and a half-price offer on some Tattered Angels Glimmer chips too.
You can check out everything in the super-useful 'New Products' page on the site, but here's a few of my favourites ...
This very smart Lost Coast Design lady caught my eye: The 'Mini Text Diva with Face' possibly a bit of a favourite as her legs are just like mine today as I've got my stripy leggings on! Plus, you've got to love a stripy-legged stamp haven't you?
Then there's a re-stock of this Stained Glass Flower border stamp:
At only £2.00 the border stamps always sell well, so grab yours while you can!
3. There's also some new Sweet Pea stamps available, including this adorable Christmas Elf sheet:
Then there's some 'Phunky Phairies' - one of which I've just used on a feature published in Papercraft Inspirations Magazine next year. I can't show you the full thing, but here's a sneaky peek of how I used the 'Jinx' design: 4. And speaking of Sweet Pea Stamps ... did you know that they have a blog which includes a customer gallery?
I've just discovered it and thought that some of you might like to see the work you've bought from Jean featured on the manufacturers blog, well, everyone likes a little bit of recognition don't they?
You can see the full range of Sweet Pea stamps stocked by Jean here, and below is just some of the uses the Scattered Scarlet design team have made with them over the last few months:Finally ... I also discovered that Sweet Pea have a challenge blog called 'In A Sweet Pea Dream' which seems to offer prizes to the challenge winners! So, get putting those Sweet Pea stamps to good use and make sure to let us know if .. or rather when ... you win!
I'll be back on Tuesday with the cards I've made using the Christmas Elf, but until then, keep those crafty fingers moving so the icicles can't form on them!
Thursday, 25 November 2010
I have used the jack in the box stamp on this lovely little plaque. If you were lucky enough to get those Echo Park papers before they flew of the shelves they are ideal for this project. I don't have any copics/promarkers either but I have used my trusty distress inks (which are in the shop) and a water brush to colour in the image. The Merry Christmas banner is one of my favourite stamp set from Purple Onion.
Finally a project isn't a Christmas one without a bit of bling and I have used stickles.
So why don't you pop over to the shop and see what you can find to make a Christmas project or two.
Sunday, 21 November 2010
but two different looks.............
I'm not a great 'colourer inner' ( I don't have the time, patience or the Copics) but these stamps are easy to do... just a few colours and they're all set to go...
You can find this little chap here
Hope you like him
Thursday, 18 November 2010
I don't know about you, but I love to use office supplies in my crafty projects.
Included in the same set is a selection of really useful words and numbers that can be used as stand alone stamps - even without the lined ledger background.
Here I've used the 'Quantity' and individual number stamps to record how many crafting friends I went away with on a retreat recently:
And on each page I've used the 'Name' stamp to record exactly who those people were! Not that I'm likely to forget ... but it does add something to the page:
Finally I used the 'Date' and 'Description' stamps to add a few extra details to the back of my mini 'facebook': If after ogling the 'Antique Ledger' set you feel like indulging your own office-supply urges, you might also like ...
The Purple Onion 'Vintage PostMark Dates':
... or the more contemporary Purple Onion 'Date Me' set: ... and the Lost Coast Designs' 'Shopping List': All of which will come in useful for festive projects this season too!
Remember you're welcome to give us all a prod whenever you use a product you bought from 3DJean, that way we can hop over to your place and 'ooooh' and 'aaaaaahh' over your work. And we like doing that ... in fact the whole Scattered Scarlet design team spent the whole weekend doing just that with each other ... and I have my little book above to record it!
Right then, you get crafting and I'll see you very soon.
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
These papers are a godsend when you need a quick card as the background is done for you. Even better when you need a card for that trickiest of themes .....Men! All I've done is stamped the cameraman image and it was ready.
So if you need a quick fix pop over to the shop and check out these papers they won't be there long
Friday, 29 October 2010
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
Last week, those of you who read my blog, Notes on Paper, might have seen the first project I made using one of the gorgeous new range of paper roses now available at 3DJean.co.uk:
If you didn't already see it then this was the end result:
But, if you pop over and visit my original post you can also see the slideshow step-by-step tutorial I made to demonstrate how I built up the layers.
Once I'd made the first tag, for the card above, I carried on going using the same supplies to make more layered, ephemera pieces:
The base for these was a selection of blank kraft luggage tags and index cards from a stationery shop plus the following 3DJean supplies:
- mixed vintage ephemera from various 'Alter That' kits;
- strips of paper doilies;
- a Lost Coast Designs border stamp;
- various Tim Holtz Distress Inks and
I loved mixing the snooty fat Art Chix cat image with the cigarette card of King Charles!:
And I'm really pleased with how the contrast of periwinkle blue and orange worked here:
And finally, I think one's my favourite: As I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment on the sticker:
"She knew with the right amount of junk she could create a masterpiece"!!!
How about you?
It's kind of exactly how I felt about making these tags so I hope they've made you feel like looking through your stash and throwing together some random, eclectic ephemera ... topped off with a paper rose or two.
It's a great way to use up stash and try out new, slightly eccentric, interesting combinations of both imagery and supplies.
Thanks for reading today, see you in a couple of weeks time. Until then, don't forget to look at the step-by-step here on my blog.
p.s: If you're at all intrigued by the 'Flawed Work of Art' frame in the background of my photos, it's something I made for a Copy+Paste challenge last year, which you can read the full story here.
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Sunday, 17 October 2010
One Ice Queen! Hope you like her!
Friday, 8 October 2010
6X6 pads are great for cards just the right size , so here you go. Two of the cards I made with it.
For the orange one I used some of the Dew Drops. I dont normally use them , I know the other design girls do , but this time I thought I would have a mess around with them and liked the way I could use them round the apature. Then I finished the card off with a couple of the flowers we are now stocking.
Halloweenie (is that a word ?) but not to scary. |
|CLEVELAND ( MCALLISTER )|
MINNESOTA ( ALBERS )
|915||CLEVELAND||-170||Ov 8,-120||-160||Ov 8,+100|
|916||MINNESOTA||+160||Un 8,+100||+150||Un 8,-120|
|vs Left-handed Starters||33-21||+14.4||30-23||5.0||0.267||0.333||4.0||0.239||0.308|
|Past 7 Games||6-1||+5||4-3||4.4||0.274||0.336||2.6||0.236||0.283|
|vs Right-handed Starters||50-71||-2.7||51-65||3.8||0.237||0.304||4.8||0.281||0.336|
|Past 7 Games||1-6||-4.2||4-3||2.9||0.244||0.309||6.7||0.313||0.371|
|9/12/2013||KLUBER(R)||@ CHI WHITE SOX||DANKS(L)||14-3||W||-125||8.5 un||O||16||11||1||9||9||3|
|9/13/2013||SALAZAR(R)||@ CHI WHITE SOX||SANTIAGO(L)||3-1||W||-135||8 ev||U||7||8||1||9||13||0|
|9/14/2013||JIMENEZ(R)||@ CHI WHITE SOX||RIENZO(R)||8-1||W||-155||8.5 un||O||11||9||0||9||8||0|
|9/15/2013||MCALLISTER(R)||@ CHI WHITE SOX||SALE(L)||7-1||W||115||7.5 un||O||10||7||0||7||6||0|
|9/16/2013||KAZMIR(L)||@ KANSAS CITY||SHIELDS(R)||1-7||L||135||7.5 un||O||7||9||2||14||11||0|
|9/17/2013||KLUBER(R)||@ KANSAS CITY||VENTURA(R)||5-3||W||-105||8 ov||P||8||8||0||9||10||2|
|9/18/2013||SALAZAR(R)||@ KANSAS CITY||CHEN(L)||2-7||L||-105||7.5 ov||O||5||4||1||10||8||1|
|9/24/2013||JIMENEZ(R)||CHI WHITE SOX||SANTIAGO(L)||5-4||W||-200||7.5 un||O||9||6||0||9||9||1|
|9/25/2013||SALAZAR(R)||CHI WHITE SOX||AXELROD(R)||7-2||W||-290||7 ev||O||9||6||0||8||7||2|
|9/26/2013||MCALLISTER(R)||@ MINNESOTA||ALBERS(L)|| |
|9/27/2013||KLUBER(R)||@ MINNESOTA||HERNANDEZ(L)|| |
|9/28/2013||KAZMIR(L)||@ MINNESOTA||DE VRIES(R)|| |
|9/29/2013||JIMENEZ(R)||@ MINNESOTA||PELFREY(R)|| |
|9/13/2013||CORREIA(R)||TAMPA BAY||ARCHER(R)||0-3||L||+145||8 un||U||5||5||1||9||6||1|
|9/14/2013||ALBERS(L)||TAMPA BAY||MOORE(L)||0-7||L||+145||7.5 ov||U||4||7||1||10||8||0|
|9/15/2013||HERNANDEZ(L)||TAMPA BAY||PRICE(L)||6-4||W||+200||7.5 un||O||10||5||1||6||8||0|
|9/16/2013||HENDRIKS(R)||@ CHI WHITE SOX||JOHNSON(R)||1-12||L||110||8.5 un||O||8||10||0||13||7||1|
|9/17/2013||PELFREY(R)||@ CHI WHITE SOX||QUINTANA(L)||3-4||L||135||7.5 ov||U||10||10||0||11||11||3|
|9/18/2013||DIAMOND(L)||@ CHI WHITE SOX||DANKS(L)||4-3||W||130||8.5 ov||U||7||4||1||6||4||0|
|9/19/2013||CORREIA(R)||@ OAKLAND||STRAILY(R)||6-8||L||187||7.5 un||O||10||10||0||11||7||2|
|9/20/2013||ALBERS(L)||@ OAKLAND||COLON(R)||0-11||L||190||7.5 un||O||6||7||4||11||3||0|
|9/21/2013||HERNANDEZ(L)||@ OAKLAND||PARKER(R)||1-9||L||225||8 ov||O||6||4||2||16||9||0|
|9/22/2013||DE VRIES(R)||@ OAKLAND||GRAY(R)||7-11||L||230||8 un||O||12||7||0||11||6||1|
|9/28/2013||DE VRIES(R)||CLEVELAND||KAZMIR(L)|| |
|CLEVELAND: HITTING: SS ASDRUBAL CABRERA's reinvented swing, modeled after Ben Zobrist, likely led to his power surge. OF GRADY SIZEMORE is back on a one-year deal, so he has plenty of financial incentive to stay healthy. But he will begin the season on the DL after back surgery. OF SHELLEY DUNCAN is expected to get more playing time in replacing Sizemore, but speedy OF EZEQUIEL CARRERA is also waiting for his shot. Injuries and off-the-field issues spoiled OF SHIN SOO-CHOO's 2011, but there's a good chance he bounces back . . . OF MICHAEL BRANTLEY does everything well enough to get a regular gig in center. C CARLOS SANTANA is developing into a middle-of-the-order run producer. DH TRAVIS HAFNER can't be trusted to stay healthy or to produce power numbers. After another down year, 1B MATT LaPORTA will have to sit and watch CASEY KOTCHMAN start at first more often than not. 3B LONNIE CHISENHALL will get his chance to play every day, but dwindling production the past two years is a concern. 2B JASON KIPNIS will get first crack at second base. He's got nice pop for a middle infielder. |
STARTING PITCHING: JUSTIN MASTERSON's strikeout rate continues to decline, and he still gets hit hard by lefties. Still, his strong groundball rate guarantees he's a solid middle-of-the-rotation arm at worst. His velocity dropped last year, and there's no telling if UBALDO JIMENEZ will ever regain his early 2010 form. He's the definition of high-risk, high-reward. DEREK LOWE was a decent middle-of-the-rotation arm in the National League, but now he must adjust to facing superior A.L. lineups . . . Healthy again, JOSH TOMLIN will remain in the rotation. He's hittable, throwing strikes and relying on his defense. Former Twins hurler KEVIN SLOWEY rounds out the staff. Although he posted a 6.67 ERA last year, Slowey has exhibited pinpoint control in his career with just 84 walks in 532.2 innings, tallying a .470 K-to-BB ratio. JEANMAR GOMEZ is a decent minor league arm, but his ceiling is low (long term and in the immediate future). CARLOS CARRASCO may not pitch in the bigs this year after Tommy John surgery.
RELIEF PITCHING: CHRIS PEREZ is entrenched as the closer, but he was a bit of a disappointment last season. His velocity dropped slightly, and his strikeout rate fell off a cliff. If Perez gets hurt, VINNIE PESTANO is next in line for saves. He may be undersized, but his stuff is overpowering. TONY SIPP proved he can get out righties too, but his value is as a lefty-on-lefty guy. Ditto for sidearmer JOE SMITH, who is deadly on righties. But it would be a surprise if he shut down lefties for a second straight year. RAFAEL PEREZ has been hampered by shoulder soreness in Spring Training, but the lefty should once again be serviceable in the late innings this year.
|MINNESOTA: HITTING: OF BEN REVERE's slap-and-run style fits well in spacious Target Field. He will compete with lefty Chris Parmelee for the starting RF job. OF DENARD SPAN should be over his concussion problems. He works the count well as a steady presence near the top of the order. C JOE MAUER will see more time at first in an attempt to keep him healthy. Offensively, he'll be limited by a pitcher-friendly home park and no support in the lineup. RYAN DOUMIT has a chance to play regularly and stay healthy as a full-time DH and/or backing up Mauer behind the dish. 1B JUSTIN MORNEAU's concussion symptoms came back late last year. It's a bad omen. OF JOSH WILLINGHAM is being relied on to produce runs, but he's going from one pitcher-friendly home park (Oakland) to another. 3B DANNY VALENCIA showed enough power in 2011 to secure an everyday job heading into 2012. Newly signed SS JAMEY CARROLL has done a nice job off the bench, but hasn't been tested in an everyday role. If hamstring problems are still holding him back, 2B ALEXI CASILLA has won the second-base job ahead of disappointing import TSUYOSHI NISHIOKA, who will start the year in the minors. |
STARTING PITCHING: Who would have thought CARL PAVANO would emerge as the picture of consistency and durability? While he's far from a star, the veteran continues to be a rock for Minnesota, throwing strikes and eating innings. SCOTT BAKER got hurt again last year. If he could ever stay healthy, he's the prototype for success at Target Field'lots of strikeouts, few walks, lots of flyouts. The FRANCISCO LIRIANO rollercoaster nosedived again last year. The Twins have gotten so desperate to keep him healthy that they actually let him pitch more over the offseason. He's obviously a huge risk again. BRIAN DUENSING, NICK BLACKBURN and JASON MARQUIS are all the definition of fifth starter. They serve it up, give up a lot of hard-hit balls, and hope they get hit right at their defenders. If Duensing and Blackburn falter, ANTHONY SWARZAK probably pitched well enough last year to get a shot in the rotation. LIAM HENDRICKS, one of the organization's better prospects, would be a slightly more exciting option.
RELIEF PITCHING: Despite his underwhelming performance last year, MATT CAPPS will pitch the ninth inning again because of his 'closer's experience.' He figures to be on an undeservedly long leash. GLEN PERKINS certainly proved he deserves to close. He was Minnesota's best reliever in his first full season in the 'pen. His velocity was up as a short reliever, and the lefty was truly overpowering. If things go sour for the Twins again this season (and it seems likely they will), perhaps they'll get serious about Perkins later this year.
|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PA SPORTSTICKER AL PREVIEW (CLEVELAND-MINNESOTA) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
*Indians-Twins Preview* =======================
By NOEY KUPCHAN STATS Writer
Cleveland (87-70) at Minnesota (66-91), 8:10 p.m. EDT
The Cleveland Indians have gotten hot at just the right time, and they aren't showing any signs of slowing down.
Looking to hold on to the AL's second wild-card spot, the Indians go for a seventh consecutive win Thursday night in the opener of a four-game road set against the lowly Minnesota Twins.
Michael Brantley collected three more hits and Nick Swisher clubbed his sixth homer this month as Cleveland (88-70) beat the Chicago White Sox 7-2 on Wednesday. Winners in 16 of 21, the Indians remained one game behind wild card-leading Tampa Bay and one ahead of Texas with four to play.
"We're in control of our own destiny. That's all you can ask for at this time of year," designated hitter Jason Giambi said. "We've just got to play baseball, that's all we gotta do. We don't have to worry about anybody else beating anybody else. We've just get to go out and play baseball, which is the fun part of the game."
Cleveland, which has outscored opponents 29-11 during its win streak, has taken four of its last five against Minnesota (66-92).
The Indians now turn to Zach McAllister (9-9, 3.88 ERA), who is looking to win a career-high third consecutive start after posting a 1.54 ERA in his last two. The right-hander yielded one run over five-plus innings in Friday's rain-shortened 2-1 victory over Houston.
"This is an exciting time right now in the year. To be where we are right now, it's awesome," he told MLB's official website. "You can't ask for anything better right now."
McAllister won three straight starts Aug. 13-24, a stretch that included two victories over Minnesota. He allowed three earned runs in 13 1-3 innings and held the Twins to a .170 average in those outings.
Chris Herrmann is 0 for 8 against McAllister, and Brian Dozier, Pedro Florimon and Trevor Plouffe are all 1 for 7. Josh Willingham, though, is 6 for 10 with three homers.
Hoping to avoid a seventh loss in eight games, the Twins fell 1-0 to Detroit on Wednesday as the Tigers clinched the AL Central.
"It leaves a nasty feeling in you," Dozier said. "Kind of a hungry feeling. It's what you play for."
Minnesota, which was limited to three singles and went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position, is batting .205 in such situations while losing 16 of 21.
The Twins will try to bounce back behind rookie Andrew Albers (2-4, 3.98). The left-hander, who threw a two-hitter in a 3-0 win over Cleveland on Aug. 12 in his second big-league start, has since gone 0-4 with a 5.84 ERA over seven outings.
Albers' woes continued Friday, giving up eight runs - three earned - in 4 2-3 innings in an 11-0 loss at Oakland.
"You just keep battling, keep trying to make pitches and just keep working at it," he said. "Unfortunately tonight I just wasn't able to battle through it often enough."
He will have to be careful with Brantley, who is 17 for 35 (.486) with two homers and eight RBIs during a nine-game hitting streak. The left fielder, though, is batting .179 in 15 games against the Twins this year.
All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis, in contrast, is hitting .403 with 11 extra-base hits - four homers - and 23 RBIs during an 18-game stretch in the series dating to last season.
|Last Updated: 8/19/2017 9:22:46 PM EST| |
2017 was just a great year in music, so I had to span my list over two shows. I actually pulled out 9.5 hours of music in my first run through of favorite albums for this year, and have gotten it down to 4.3 hours of music. 2017 isn’t over yet, and I keep wanting to adding music! The goodness just doesn’t stop! Because there’s so much good music, for the podcast I’m just going to skip the introductions and just play music.
Listen to VOL 1 here: https://www.mixcloud.com/GlobalPsychedelia/best-of-2017-vol-1/
I’ll post my unedited, 9.5 hour list on Friday.
Turn on. Tune in. Freak out!
Henrik Rylander . Från En Obestämd Plats I Rummet . Organ 1 . Höga Nord Rekords
Dead Sea Apes . Sixth Side of the Pentagon . Lo Res . Sky Lantern / Cardinal Fuzz
Sula Bassana . Organ Accumulator . Lichtnündel . Sulatron
Sunwatchers* . Sun Worship . Noise Beers . Drones Against Drones Music
Sunn Trio . S/T . Beneath the Sheltering Sun . Sky Lantern Records
Tonstartssbandht . Sorcerer . Breathe . Mexican Summer
The Plastic Crimewave Syndicate . Thunderbolt of Flaming Wisdom . Future To The Ancients . Eye Vybe Records / Cardinal Fuzz
Dhidalah . No Water . GRB . Guruguru Brain
Klaus Morlock . Penumbra . Arrival . S/R
100% of all voluntary payments will be donated to S.A.F.E., an animal rescue charity here in Los Angeles. S.A.F.E. rescues animals who are sick, and saves them from being euthanized by placing them with loving families. You can find out more about S.A.F.E. by clicking the link:
In April 1974, 17-year-old Londoner Molly Kingston disappeared. Three years later, her family received a letter, apparently written by Molly, stating that she had “attained the highest state of spiritual bliss”, and that her “dreams” had been “harvested” by a “celestial organization” called Penumbra. The letter went on to claim that Molly, and her “spirit twin” Ladybird had acquired the long-sought-after ability to infiltrate the dreams of those whose dreams are “ripe for harvest”.
Over the next two weeks, six young women from in and around Salisbury, Wiltshire, disappeared. All six, who were apparently strangers to each other, left identical letters revealing that Molly and Ladybird had “come for” them, and that they “joyfully” had “surrendered” to the “bliss that is Penumbra”. Neither Molly, nor any of the young women, were ever seen again.
This album is a musical interpretation of what happened in April 1974, after Molly Kingston disappeared.
Headroom . Head in the Clouds . Flower of Light . Trouble In Mind
*also, buy the new Sunwatchers album.
SUNWATCHERS STAND IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE DISPOSSESSED, IMPOVERISHED AND EMBATTLED PEOPLE OF THE WORLD
Albert Ayler — precious spiritual and sonic touchstone of ours to the degree that we named our band after one of his weirder totems — proclaimed it famously, affirmatively and with well-earned intelligence: MUSIC IS THE HEALING FORCE OF THE UNIVERSE. We believe this and preach this and do what we can to live this, but we understand that, now, amid our wrongheaded fascist tailspin, direct action is needed.
We are musicians, and we will leave political specifics to those more qualified than we are. All the time and energy and passion we can muster we dedicate to writing, performing, recording and releasing music: instrumental music, released from the tyranny of semantics into the freedom and hopefulness of universality-of-connection. We thusly realize the need to become overt about our own intentions and our own mores; without the ease and accessibility of direct language, the onus is on us to express our principles in other ways. This is the reason we have chosen for our album cover the beautiful embroidery of our long-held Sunwatchers Mission Statement, included in lesser visual terms in every SW release thus far. This stunning version was made by our dear friend Catherine Wheeler, a surprise end-of-tour gift created as she traveled across Africa by bus. We couldn’t be more proud of it as a totem, an art object, and an album cover; it is significant in a multitude of ways.
We have the unbelievable luck of playing with many amazing collaborators in NYC and beyond, but the core of our group — Peter Kerlin, Jim McHugh, Jason Robira and Jeff Tobias — are white males, American-born. It is an unassailable and deeply maddening fact that white males in this world are afforded a million times more bandwidth and infinitely more resources for communication and mobility than any other ethnic or gender group. Our comrades at Trouble In Mind did not choose to release our record because of this; but, as individuals, we have been emboldened since birth to speak out for what we desire, what we believe in, to express directly our goals. That others are discouraged, overtly and covertly, and are very often jailed, assaulted and murdered is a tragedy beyond measure. However, this is truth, and we view it as our responsibility to use our ill-gotten bully pulpit to espouse equality for the dispossessed and an end to our current exploitative ways of being. Unavoidably, this graphic iteration will be seen as seditious by the mainstream(if it is noticed at all; more punk-battered free-improv on FOX NEWS could start some sort of healing process, tho), and, perhaps, it will be judged as hypocritical by some of our peers in the underground music community — as a mere marketing-scheme, or empty sloganeering in the name of radical-chic. We promise you, it is as genuine as it can be. At our deepest core we desire that our efforts aid in the annihilation of state-supported inequality and the concept and importance of Whiteness altogether.
We are leftists; across the spectrum, yes — abolitionist syndicalist; democratic socialist; antiviolent-resistance advocate; horrified father with a sad eye for his child to the imperiled future — but leftists, all, and we feel that human existence is endangered by capitalism and its inexorably violent, exploitative and objectively harrowing means, methods and endgames. We have sensed this danger since well before the idiot fascistTrump and his confederacy of gangster anarcho-capitalists and racist-activists assumed control and unfurled their sloppy and lethal intent across the governance of the First World. We felt this before racist groups — paramilitary foot-soldiers of Capitalism, knowingly or unawares — were emboldened by our clown-mouthed president to make their violently bigoted intentionality overt and head-breaking as opposed to sublimated, coiled and altogether dominant, nonetheless. We understood this through years past, as our regime— under whatever equivocating leader our electorate supported — upheld foreign dictators and brigands that aided in our own government-for-profit-by-murder; as munitions corporations propagated endless and horrible war by keeping subservient lawmakers in power via their deep-pocketed lobbies; as police militarized their ranks with surplus weaponry and combat armor — justified ironically and nefariously as a “taxpayer money-saving plan” — and initiated assassinations of people of color and terrorized grassroots resistance movements. Capitalism is endangering humanity, and we must end it if we are to survive; this knowledge has devastated us and guided us for years.
Now, things are critical: sabres are rattling, millions of people are dying needlessly in the name of capital, and the injuries and injustices accrue too quickly to inventory. We are on the precipice of our precarious worldwide disaster merging into full-blown “you will not be counting the dead, you will be counting the living”* catastrophe.
As with our first album on Castle Face, we will be donating sales proceeds of this LP to prison abolitionist organizations. Money from the debut went to the Human Rights Coalition, a direct-advocacy group for inmates based in Philadelphia. This summer past, via our activist-umbrella organization Music Against Mass Incarceration, we organized a day-long festival benefiting JustLeadershipUSA and the Close Rikers Campaign; their input and participation was cogent and inspired, their expertise immensely valuable, and the day was edifying and strengthening for our community of progressives here in Brooklyn. Donations from this LP will go to JLUSA, as well. Again: it is on us to increase our Money/Mouth Ratio in these dire times.
Enough of this. We hope you dig the sounds; we worked really hard on them. It also needs to be said that we nearly named this record “LET’S HAVE SOME FUN!!!” because, yeh, we like that too. But, as our radical scuzz-punk forbears No Trend once declared in seething voices indignant, drug-strangled and wholly pubescent: IF YOU STAND FOR NOTHING YOU’LL FALL FOR ANYTHING!
LOVE AND RESPECT — JMM, JDT, JLR, PNK
*A chilling, characteristic quote to embattled Sarajevens by Serbian leader Radovan Karadzic, proclaimed at the upswing of the Milosevic-led ethnic cleansing of the former Yugoslavia. There are many more details about these atrocities that ring true today, which is absolutely horrifying, to say the least. |
Five Ways To Get Your Money Back From Bad Contractors
Five Ways To Get Your Money Back From Bad Contractors
Millions of homeowners hire contractors every year, and are thrilled with the results they get, but it’s “practically the norm of homeowners who get a horror story about their contractor instead,” said Jody Costello, a San Diego resident and “pre-renovation coach.” Costello runsa websitededicated to providing information and resources on the dos and don’ts of home remodeling, hiring contractors, and homeowner’s rights. “It’s the homeowner’s responsibility to ensure that their rights are protected and not violated by unethical contractors,” Costello said. “The contractors have rights and the homeowners have rights. They understand both, and so should you.” At the least, those unhappy homeowners are victims of contractor incompetence, and at worst they’re victims of outright fraud and failure of performance.
Many homeowners consider contractor failure and their financial losses part of being a homeowner, but others choose to go after the contractor to recover their money. Is it worth the hassle, time and effort? Yes, say experts. It is.
“It depends on what you’ve already lost and how mad you are,” Costello said. Costello and her husband took a contractor to court 15 years ago and won. “It was a long, expensive, drawn-out fight,” she said. But out of that was born her business:Contractors from Hell.
Obviously, the best way to ensure you don’t lose money to a fraudulent contractor, Costello says, is to do your due diligence and research as much as you can before hiring them, like their credit scores, whether they’re on a cash and carry, or credit basis with local suppliers, and how many liens and lawsuits they have against them. But if you haven’t done that there are things you’ll need to do if you decide to pursue collection.
Homeowners have more options to get their money back than they think. Using one or more will help, but getting your money back is often a long, painful, and expensive process. It’s better, Costello said, to do your due diligence beforehand to ensure you’re hiring a competent, legal contractor:
Hire an attorney.It’s another expense and it takes time, but it’s often the best option for getting your money back if the amount is above what your state recovery fund allows in a complaint (typically $20,000).
Small claims court.If the amount is $10,000 or less, or whatever limits your state’s small claims court allows for litigation, this might be your best option. No attorneys are allowed and you represent yourself with documentation, photos, contracts and other “evidence.” If the contractor fails to show for the hearing, you win by default. But, it’s up to you to pursue collection of your claim/win.
Contact the state’s licensing board.State Board’s for Contractors licenses oversee the businesses engaged in the construction, removal, repair, or improvement of facilities on property owned by others. They issue, and can cancel contractor licenses. Contractor licenses consist of two parts: the class of license (A, B, or C), which determines the monetary value of contracts/projects that may be performed, and the classification/specialty, which determines what type of work is allowed. The Board also regulates individual tradesmen, such as electricians, plumbers, etc. There are three ways to file your complaint with the board (Phone numbers vary from state-to-state, so search for your state board online by searching on your state, and filing a licensing complaint):
Call to have a Complaint Form mailed to you OR
Use the online complaint Form, OR
Download and Print a Complaint Form
The Board also licenses individuals and firms engaged in residential building energy analysis, which involves evaluation of energy consumption and recommendations to improve energy efficiency.
Contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB).The BBB rarely files negative responses on dues-paying members, but their report to you may be used to show a court of law you have exhausted all avenues in seeking to get your funds returned.
Consumer reporters.If you’re lucky enough to live in an area where there is a television, radio, or print reporter who acts on the behalf of consumers to right wrongs and expose fraud, you might be able to have them investigate and report on your issue for free. Simply call your local television or radio station to ask.
Withhold further payment.Contractors often “rob Peter to pay Paul,” as the old saying goes. In other words, they use the funds they collect from one customer to complete or pay for the job of another. It’s a dangerous way to run a business, but many contractors do it. For contractors who have walked off of your job, or are slow to complete certain phases of it, or to finish it, withholding payment is an excellent way to make your point and get your job completed. Make sure your contract specifies the conditions of payment first.
Social media.In the day of Yelp, Google Reviews, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media sites, broadcasting photos and critical reviews of the contractor and their shoddy work is a powerful option. Make sure you have documented proof of the job, the deception or fraudulent work, and your signed contract before taking to the web. Sometimes merely telling the contractor you intend to turn to social media is enough to get them to make things right. Not all handymen and women who do bad work are incompetent. Some just need the right encouragement to return and finish or correct a job.
The Contractor, or Homeowner’s Recovery Fund.The Contractor Recovery Fund(sometimes called a Homeowner’s Recovery Fund) compensates owners or lessees of residential property who have suffered an actual and direct out-of-pocket loss due to a licensed contractor’s fraudulent, deceptive or dishonest practices, conversion of funds or failure of performance.
In most states, homeowners must have exhausted every other legal avenue for recovery before they can seek assistance from the fund. The entire amount a homeowner lost isn’t guaranteed, but for many homeowners, this last-ditch option does get them some of their money back. Search the Internet for “Contractor or Homeowner’s Recovery Fund” to find out what requirements you must meet before filing a claim.
How to improve your chances of winning a claim against a contractor
If your contractor suddenly disappears after you pay them, or leaves you hanging with half-finished projects and no explanation or communication with you, start recording your efforts to reach him or her. You may need this documentation later if you go to court or seek the help of a professional organization.
Document all your written and spoken correspondence – every phone call, every letter, every text or email.“Send certified letters [with return receipt requested], explaining the problems you’re experiencing and telling the contractor that it is imperative that he contact you immediately,” said Costello.
Journal.It’s not enough to keep track of letters and communication. Document the impact the poor construction or unfinished work is having on you and your family’s life. Did it rain or snow? Did your electric bill suddenly increase? Did other systems (plumbing, lights, electrical) begin to fail, or fail as a result of the construction? Write down the day, the date, the time and the exact issue. Remain calm and be specific in your description as this journal will be used in court and the judge needs to see you’re being reasonable and rational about your complaint.
Keep track of all your attempts to get your money back or your home repair fixed.This includes written and spoken correspondence, but also any social media tweets, texts, reviews, or postings and any response to those postings. While your postings may not get your money back, they’re a great way to find other victims of the same contractor.
Even if you don’t plan to pursue the contractor to get your money back, file complaints everywhere you can and let others know about your experience. Your complaint may be the one that sparks an investigation.
Author:Justin Burnham Phone: 949-241-5005 Dated: February 12th 2018 Views: 68 About Justin: Justin Burnham is a real estate veteran of over 10 years. As a life-long resident of Orange County, ...
View our latest blog posts in your RSS reader. Click here to access.
After 15 years of founding and running a successful boutique real estate office in Costa Mesa as a licensed broker, Kurt's passion has always been in real estate sales and it shows. Kurt and his group did 140 plus transactions while managing a successful office. His sales and marketing expertise offers sellers the ultimate in advertising exposure and proven marketing strategies to sell your property… fast. For Kurt and his group, the aim is clear—to help you achieve your slice of “the good life”.
Specializing in residential sales and investments, Kurt has been featured in Orange Coast Magazine for five consecutive years as a Five Star Agent. Client satisfaction is very important to him. Competitive in business and sports, Kurt works hard and plays harder. He enjoys a competitive round of golf, cycling, and a day on the slopes with his family. He’s the former Chairman of Parks and Recreation for the city of Costa Mesa and former board member of Costa Mesa United. Today, he enjoys volunteering his time with the Costa Mesa and Estancia High School Foundations.
Airing on 8/4 on KCAL 9 @4PM!!!If you haven't yet seen this Covenant H
"Kurt Galitski is awesome. We needed our home sold as soon as possible. We sold our home in a month and a half. Kurt kept us advised about everything. We were advised by phone calls,texts, and emails through every step of the way. If in the future that I need to buy a home or anyone needing a realtor in the Orange County area I will refer Kurt Galitski" |
When you are renting a 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 or 40 yard dumpster, you want a company you can trust with prices that make you smile. Give us a call today and see the difference we can make in your next construction or clean out project.
Simply give us a call and we will help you figure out your dumpster rental needs.
Our dumpsters usually go out same-day or next-day depending on when you call.
We provide top-notch service, while going easy on your bottom line. What more could you ask for?
Our trained operators are here to give you a fast and hassle-free experience from start to finish.
Once you are done, simply give us a call and we will get your dumpster picked up right away!
Our staff is here to help whenever you need it. Simply pick up the phone and give us a call.
Most cities or municipalities do not have many regulations regarding dumpster rental as long as you keep the dumpster entirely on your own property during the rental period. If you need to place your container on the street in any way, you will likely have to obtain a permit from the appropriate building permit office in your town. You can check with your local public works department to be sure.
Most Old Appleton dumpster rental companies will take care of securing this permit for you if you rent from them. Make sure that if you’re planning to put the dumpster on the street, the company has made the appropriate arrangements. You should also ensure that you get the permit in a timely manner and at the correct cost. If you thought the dumpster company was getting a permit and they did not, you will be the one who will have to pay the fine that is issued by the authorities.
Should you be undertaking a basement or perhaps garage eliminate or design job, the actual 15 cubic property next day dumpster might be just what you would like.
When you go for just a lowest value, the company commonly has to cut corners anywhere. This may be throughout paying staff members lower wages or keeping fewer dumpsters accessible. They might likewise take their time offering and getting your hands on dumpsters in an attempt to help make things healthy their routine instead of the consumer's.
How long does one get to maintain dumpster? Most companies allows you to keep your dumpster pertaining to between 5-7 nights. If you're fortunate, you might find an organization that will permit you to keep your dumpster pertaining to up to 2 2 or 3 weeks. What happens if you would like to keep it over your agreed time frame? Extra fees. Generally, you will incur a daily pace charge from anywhere from $5 to $15 daily, after the original rental period.
It's your decision to also eliminate your barn. You are able to rent a small, channel or substantial dumpster to get the job done. You will need a large dumpster when you have a lot of crap that will fit into ten vehicle loads. 10 pickup lots or a number of tons is the limit for just a large dumpster. If your items meet or exceed four a lot, you will need to rent one more dumpster to finish the task off. Should you only need regarding five pickup loads compared to a medium dumpster will last you. The medium dumpster hold up to a few tons of crap or dirt. A small dumpster hold up to a pair of tons of dirt.
There are some protective measures that your user may miss out although dealing with the actual waste produced if it is handled on do it yourself. Initially an individual will be unacquainted with the size of the actual dumpster that is required to clear the trash with one move. Picking a bad sized dumpster could lead to doubling the task as well as expense in terms of transfer. There exists varying number of constraints from town to city that the user possesses to know thyself to eliminate the trash.
With respect to authorized studies of express of air flow, millions of People in america still are affected by the air pollution and this is becoming a reason for scattering many dangerous diseases such as lung function, respiratory system infection, lung inflammation as well as aggravation involving respiratory ailment. Most of the occupants in US are now living in unhealthy as well as unhygienic surroundings. Why is this so? This is because very simple. The actual garbage produced due to various tasks like design, house redevelopment, commercial cleanse ups as well as yard cleanse ups remains without proper fingertips and is contaminating the environment.
Most of the people use the 10 cubic property dumpster for smaller bathroom, your kitchen or basement remodeling work opportunities. This dumpster stands up to two numerous garbage.
Maybe you are making a store, financial institution or other type of business. You will need to rent a dumpster. With substantial buildings you need to will need a considerable dumpster or several dumpsters depending on the actual size and how many people are implementing building the brand new business.
With the size and weight of the container, you need to to inquire with the service provider what sorts of materials are permitted to be placed within the container. Just about every city and state can have different rules about what waste materials can be removed in this fashion. Some of those that won't be allowed include gasoline, oil, and something that could be considered toxic, say for example a car battery pack or asbestos. By wondering about this facts prior to leasing a pot, the process go smoother to suit your needs.
How long can you get to keep dumpster? Most companies allows you to keep your dumpster intended for between 5-7 days and nights. If you're happy, you might find a company that will allow you to keep your dumpster intended for up to 2 weeks. What happens if you'd like to keep it longer than your decided time frame? Additional fees. Generally, you will incur a daily fee charge everywhere you go from $5 to $15 on a daily basis, after the original rental period.
Letting a dumpster could keep debris away from the parking lot that will condo visitors park with. The last thing you'll need is a person falling and suing you intended for negligence. By simply throwing away almost all debris, wood project such as awkward baseboards, and so on., you are protecting yourself at a possible litigation.
Dumpsters are used if you experience more garbage than one can easily consider to the remove. Several journeys would usually be required. Few individuals live close up to a remove, and they can be a long distance apart. Driving garbage to all of them is not cost-free. People should pay for the propane each excursion to the remove requires. Together with the rising tariff of gas as well as the reduced gas mileage of a fully-loaded car, these fees can be considerable. When they are increased by several journeys, the price of generating to a remove is often surprisingly high.
Tangible is not to become thrown out in to the dumpster as this may dry and seal to that and trigger waste associated with room within the dumpster for other people who wish to rent it down the road.
You might also would like to look into hiring a large junk receptacle in case you are doing a wide range of outdoor do the job like reducing trees or hauling solid wood away. In this case, it might not become cost-effective to hire a large truck and you also can't put items like that will in the area waste receptacles.
This calls for a substantially faster and quite dependable 10 Yard Dumpster For Rent in Old Appleton service. The therapy lamp boosts associated with cheap and straightforward, but dependable dumpster collection services. This has made it easier for the inhabitants of this location, as well as the carrier's networks. In addition, there are various companies registered to offer this kind of services. Due to the competition, these companies have had to right up their online game to maintain consumers.
Garbage bins and disposal bins on rent can be obtained by many companies nowadays. You'll find one around your dwelling and choose the nearest one to do the job.
You may very own condos with Maryland, Virginia, or Dc and you will would like to find quick next day dumpsters to rent. Where ever in the world yourr home is a dumpster can help you keep your project moving.
Be at home if your 10 Yard Dumpster For Rent in Old Appleton, MO company arrives to pick up your dumpster. In this way, you are going to avoid getting ticketed one to get a day or two if they return later.
Keeping your atmosphere clean and tidy will advertise your health and your neighbors as well. Immediate clearance associated with junk that's accumulated in the home will make your own home spacious plus polluted free. You are no longer required to pack the rubbish in baggage and wait for city hauler to pick up the trash. Set aside a day intended for community cleanup in your atmosphere, increase ecological awareness one of many people.
Added! Extra! We've just provided a summary of a prosperous 10 Yard Dumpster For Rent in Old Appleton, MO and convenience business for virtually any market. Many markets supply many convenience business alternatives so it is imperative that you look at the 6 points earlier mentioned when choosing to further investigate almost any disposal small business you have the ability to employ. Remember that the key to finding the best 10 Yard Dumpster For Rent in Old Appleton, MO service is not just value but components and personal alternatives that only a person as the customer can genuinely make at night points mentioned above.
Be wary of the company that's relatively new. Some may still be learning the ropes in addition to making errors. You don't want to find a person that might destruction your drive way or not meet up with their booking commitments.
A few junk removing companies supply 10 Yard Dumpster For Rent in Old Appleton, MO as an alternative to a truck as well as a team associated with lifters. In this situation, the company can drop off a clear dumpster for a particular rental period. You will be responsible for filling up the dumpster on your own, and the rubbish removal corporation will resume pick up your container as well as its contents when you are through. Dumpster rental can be a cheaper choice for junk in addition to trash removing, because you usually are not also investing in labor, nevertheless, you have to look at your ability to relocate the rubbish on your own prior to you buying this path.
Don't buy almost any smaller than you'll need, either. Trash 10 Yard Dumpster For Rent in Old Appleton, MO publication rack more than happy to create you a brand-new dumpster when they go to pick up the old 1, but it's going to cost you. As well as the fact that there exists only consequently small a dumpster's going to move. If you have a lot of trash to get a pickup but not enough to get a 10 yard dumpster yourrrre going to end up paying for whole rental on that next dumpster. Talk to the customer service consultant at your junk 10 Yard Dumpster For Rent in Old Appleton, MO provider if you aren't sure what size you need. They are able to help you make the best selection the first time.
Renting a dumpster is a very practical service for several companies because it serves the objective of saving time, helps in maintain cleanliness around workplace, helps a lot of construction businesses to dispose there remaining in a very straightforward technique. But before opting for any 10 Yard Dumpster For Rent in Old Appleton, MO program it is very necessary to keep previously discussed points in your mind.
DIY as well as Home Renovation Assignments: Roll Away dumpsters are a risk-free and easy way to gather debris in the home renovation as well as do-it-yourself project. Obtain lumber as well as wood leftovers, windows, sheetrock, flooring, old doors, accessories, pipes, siding or any other style of construction as well as demolition dirt. The items can be put safely in the dumpster without having to bother about anyone as well as anything acquiring injured through old rusty nails, sharp metal perimeters or splintered wood.
Please use the form below to contact us. We look forward to working with you and will get back to you as soon as possible. All fields are required |
Monsters are such an important part of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) that they truly deserve their own core rulebook. Drawn from staples of fantasy, myth, legend, and the imagination of some highly creative game designers, the Monster Manual (MM) is a log of the bizarre beasts and iconic creatures you’re likely to encounter in a D&D session, or in your wildest dreams.
At a Glance
The scab shade of red and sinister cat’s eye on the cover gives away that there’s evil locked inside this book. The scales or carapace of the cover give the feeling that this book is alive and out to get you. Very true in many ways.
Without having counted, I’d wager that this book features more full colour photos than any other D&D sourcebook. And with good reason. Could a simple description of a Chaos Beast, Gibbering Mouther, or Grick do any of these creatures justice? And although we can get a good idea of what a dragon looks like without visual aids, the details that separate the dragons bring life to each race, from the blue dragon’s single massive horn to the gold dragon’s mustache-like tendrils.
It’s hard to pick a favourite drawing, but I’m going with the Assassin Vine. The desperate peasant who has clearly been caught off-guard struggles for his life again constricting vines and claw-like leafs close in on him.
These things are awesome. Need to bump up the damage-taking capacity of a monster? Make it a Skeleton. Want to add a thematic twist to make an otherwise random encounter fit your adventure? Hello Fiendish Creature. Looking for a way to make one creature stand out in the crowd? Half-Dragon. Take any creature in the Monster Manual and you have three or four different templates that you can apply to it to jazz it up and bring new life to old monsters. The sneakiest of them all is the vampire template. No one sees it coming until they’ve been energy drained or negative leveled.
No creature is just a creature in the Monster Manual. If you really want a rust monster to challenge a fifteenth level fighter, all you need to do is pile on the Hit Dice, add a few feats, and make adjustments for its new, larger size. Improving a monster has never been easier, and limits the need to invent new monsters that are similar to lower CR existing ones.
Chock Full of Monsters!
Forget the nitpicking, the MM delivers exactly what it’s meant to: page after page of monsters. Second edition Monster Manuals made sure each new monster started its own page. We aren’t paying for white space anymore. One entry leads into another to maximize the monster/page count ratio. A major formatting advantage between the 3.5 and the third edition is that now templates are integrated with the monsters. I had a friend who was convinced vampires weren’t in the third edition MM because he stopped looking when he hit the animals chapter. It makes more sense the way it is now.
I’m sure I just lost some loyalty there. Hopefully there are still people reading to find my explanation.
Listing dragons as a low point of anything in Dungeons & Dragons is sacrilegious. So important are they that their name is in the title of the game. These are the creatures of such power and influence entire campaigns can be centered around them. What could possibly be a low point about them?
Well, there are twenty pages dedicated to the five evil chromatic dragons and five good metallic dragons. And unfortunately, all this is to pick apart the minor differences between the ten true dragons. Ultimately, dragon encounters are only separated by the breath weapon of the attacking dragon. Sure, each dragon has their gimmick ability, like a black dragon’s ability to corrupt water and a red dragon’s ability to locate objects. But these abilities are useful story hooks but rarely come into play during combat. They are in most other respects tactically the same, based on CR, of course. So a campaign with a lot of dragons has the same basic encounter over and over, with increasing difficulty.
Now, compare a dragon to the Behir, a creature that is dragon-like in as many ways as it is different. Huge scaly creature with a breath weapon and the ability to swallow creatures whole. But it also has the ability to rake, and constrict. If there were a standard dragon model that individual races differed from, then we’d have an interesting variety of creatures. Think about how different a black dragon encounter would be from a green dragon if the black dragon no longer had a fly speed but could turn invisible at will, and the black dragon no longer had a breath weapon but could rage as a Barbarian of its hit dice. Characters in these situations would have to consider much different options to defeat each foe. And the new abilities showcase the attitudes of the race, black dragons being cunning and malevolent, green dragons being belligerent.
I am willing to balk on this point. Who am I to suggest I could build a better dragon? I have played in a number of dragon-heavy adventures. The reaction to a dragon encounter quickly turned from fear and awe from the players to half-interested routine.
The Monster Manual is one of the only books I do not feel comfortable bringing into the grade school where I work. The Succubus, Dryad, Harpy, and Nymph all feature exposed nipples, sometimes through a clear layer of cloth, or times just hanging out.
While some of these creatures are thematically tied to sexuality, there is a difference between giving players the option to include a sexual element in their game and forcing it upon everyone that flips through the book. The Marilith is topless, but a well-placed weapon covers her exposed nipples just enough to be acceptable. Medusa has well-placed snakes. The Mermaid has a start shape floating like a magical censor bar. Exposed nudity can be avoided while still getting the point across.
Why is this so bad? Dungeons & Dragons is a male-dominated hobby, despite fantasy literature being greatly popular with females. Any inclusions of material that risks alienating female players should not make the cut, no matter how small. Moreover, young players are judged enough as it is for playing D&D. It’s a strange hobby and has unfortunately been linked to everything from suicide to Satanism by often ignorant sources. Including bare breasts in all-ages material does not make the game seem any more normal.
You may ask what the big deal is. Should D&D cater to those that prejudge the game? Ultimately no, someone that’s going to tease someone about being slain by an elf is going to do so regardless. But does it really benefit anyone? Is anyone happier that they can see a Harpy naked, or that a bark-skinned Dryad has nipples? For prosperity’s sake, keep the nudity to adult-oriented material like The Book of Vile Darkness and make sure the unmonitored books don’t need monitoring.
Almost Every Monster Has an Illustration
This blows my mind. I can accept that the animals and dinosaurs were passed on for pictures as most of us know what a cat and triceratops look like, and those that don’t can easily look it up. But what about the Derro? An interesting creature based on it’s description, I’d love to see what this mad midget looks like. But based entirely on it being overlooked for visual reference, I don’t believe I will ever use it. Sorry Derro.
I love goblins. I love that they’re small creatures that move at the speed of medium creatures. I love that their CR is two less than their hit dice if it has NPC levels. And I love how underestimated they are by PCs.
For Druids trying to decide on an animal companion, it’s hard to argue with the wolf. It’s ability to trip opponent for free after every successful bite, including the ones made as attacks of opportunities against previously tripped opponents getting up from prone, makes it extremely useful at preoccupying opponents.
I’ve been DMing 3.5 since the handbooks came out, so needless to say I have a lot of experience the creatures in the Monster Manual. I think it’s more impressive to say that, even after regular sessions for four years, there are still plenty of creatures in the MM I have not used. Not just because it’s hard to fit aquatic monsters into a campaign, but just because there is so much in this book, that when combined with NPCs using PH races and classes, even a year long campaign only features a few new creatures prominently. And that’s before modifying them with templates.
The Monster Manual is Dungeon and Dragon’s muscle and adrenaline. It’s the cold cut in the sammich, without something to sit on and something else to hold it together, it’s just a chunk of meat. The importance of the familiar monsters found in the original 3.5 Monster Manual sets the standards. True, there are plenty of sourcebooks that offer monsters to challenge the PCs. Sure. you might not miss losing the owlbear or formians. Yes, you can make due with purple dragons and sand giants. But those that have fought and defeated the tarrasque are met with wide-eyed wonder from fellow players. Those that have fought the Crawling Head, also CR 20, are more likely to to be met with “What’s that?” and “Which book’s that from again?” The Fiend Folio, for the record. It’s just hard to picture D&D without orcs, dragons, skeletons, zombies, trolls, elementals, hydras, werewolves, medusa, ogres, unicorns, and more of the staples of fantasy fiction.
If You Liked This Book…
There are plenty of other books chock full of monsters. Monster Manual II is technically a 3rd edition book and not 3.5, but there is a free downloadable errata to get it up to date. Some vital monsters, like the Phoenix, are in that book.
Monster Manual III (not to be mistaken for Monster Manual 3.5, its predecessor and the upgrade from Monster Manual 3rd edition, also not to be mistaken for MM-III) is a fun but less standard sequel that many consider the Eberron MM. Still, there’s some stuff in there that’s worth a look.
The Monster Manual IV is a big departure from the previous MMs. It uses the new NPC format and provides sample encounters and information on the monsters based on PC knowledge skill checks. The stylistic changes are well thought out, but take some getting used to for people that really know the first three MMs.
The Fiend Folio is an evil-heavy book that mirrors the MM. There really isn’t much that separates it from the MM’s direct sequels.
The Draconomicon, Fiendish Codices, Lords of Madness, Libris Mortist, and Drow of the Underdark expand upon the information already provided for Dragons, Aberrations, Demons and Devils, the Undead, and the Drow, respectively.
Finally, the D&D Minis line of pre-painted fantasy miniatures often bases their figures on existing artwork. You can find your favourite monsters from the MM created almost exactly like their profile picture. |
The observations of a 50 something with lots of experience in politics, government, life and learning.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Memorial Day weekend has come and gone....all sorts of activities including the wonderful Riverfest in Williamstown where I went for a raft ride on the Hoosic. Now I've ridden on rafts in Colorado and Wyoming....but I never went on the Hoosic....how dumb is that? I learned a lot from our wonderful guide. The saddest thing was seeing an old town dump from 30 years ago that is now exposed right on the river. It needs to be recapped but the question is, will that be enough? One of the best things about running for office is learning new things, listening to other's opinions and generally trying to keep an open mind. It's hard because the natural inclination is to convince the other person that you're right and that you know everything. And sometimes you're speaking to someone who themselves doesn't have an open mind, and so all you can do is listen. But it behooves one to try and figure out where the wisdom lies.....I am sad to say that today I imposed a new control on this blog. You have to be "registered" to comment. It's not my style, but I came home after a very long day on the campaign trail to find a snide remark awaiting me. I don't mind snide if the person says who he is. Then I can put it in context. But anonymous snide I don't need. This is a difficult enough task, "putting yourself out there" and generally allowing anyone in the world to have an opinion on you, that one doesn't need gratuitous taunts. So sorry everyone. This week is the Democratic State Convention. I've been to tons of them....but never as a candidate.....not sure what to expect in that all the focus will be on governor and lt. gov. but all the Senate candidates will be there trying to grab people's attention too. It should be quite the experience. We will have the famous oval "WARE" window stickers available and a few posters and will generally try to work the crowd. It helped that the Deval Patrick delegates had two meetings this weekend....one in North County and one in Pittsfield. It's a great group of people that I'm proud to be associated with. It always helps to learn people's names and faces before you get to the hubub of the convention floor. For some people this is a first convention so you want to make sure they have fun and feel part of what is going on. It's democracy in action with a large dose of chaos thrown in. I also just noticed that I missed my own "blogiversary." I began this blog last 16 May so happy versary to me. What a difference a year makes.....
Posted by Diva of Demographics at 6:48 AM
Thursday, May 25, 2006
It's one thing to be known as the "Blogger Candidate." It's another to have time to campaign and blog. Which is probably why very few do it! In reading my last post I realized that I had left out THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MY PRESENT POLITICAL LIFE (with the exception of the undying support of my spouse and offspring....) I HAVE A CAMPAIGN MANAGER!!!! It is even cooler than having a big map of one's senate district. Joe Engwer is, simply put, the answer to a prayer. When you have a campaign manager, you call him/her up and ask them to do something....AND THEY DO IT!!!! Now it works both ways...he calls you up a lot and says "remember to do this" or "you have to take care of that" but that's helpful and it sure beats me bugging my husband when he's getting ready for a trial....I am also profoundly lucky that Joe has a WONDERFUL sense of humor and so he can keep me laughing when I need a chuckle. Which brings us to the intrigue. Of course the first aspect of "rumor, intrigue, innuendo and the usual campaign guff" (I'm not allowed to be salty in my speech/humor now that I'm a candidate....) was that a rumor was going around that I was paying Joe five times as much as I was. I WISH I could pay him that much. He's worth it. But no.....this is the children's crusade where we raise $ on a "just in time" basis....like the rent was due on the headquarters and VOILA! three of my college friends sent me enough scratch to pay for the rent and the security deposit. The more disturbing aspect of intrigue was the report I received last week while I was taking R & R in DC (for my future daughter-in-law's bridal shower....an event which couldn't have been better timed because I needed a break and I was somewhere where no one asked about prescription drug coverage and I didn't have to be a candidate...although I did meet someone at the shower who had a friend in Alford....but I digress.....) was that a "push poll" was being conducted in the District. A push poll is ostensibly a poll to ask voters what candidate they're supporting, but it also contains negative information about many of the other candidates so that the respondent is, perhaps, pushed to make a choice based on "information" received during the question. This poll had negative information on three of us and positive information on a fourth person. One never knows whether there was some third party involved, or the candidate didn't know it was happening or what. But it violates the ethics of the American Assocation of Political Consultants and hopefully it won't happen again. There was some other intrigue that we'll save for the book, but the intrigue is, to be perfectlyhonest, distracting, energy-draining and counterproductive. Hopefully there's just this little flurry and then we can go back to concentrating on a positive message for the voters. And speaking of "campaign trail" my "campaign trail mix" apparently can't be taken into the Convention Center because God forbid someone might eat so much of it that they don't want to purchase overpriced food from the DCU center (you can tell I'm not running for Mayor of Worcester.....) Foiled again!
Posted by Diva of Demographics at 8:10 AM
Thursday, May 18, 2006
or that some of us have been waiting for. The first candidate forum. I wouldn't say we went mano e mano since there probably wasn't a dime's worth of difference among our positions, but it was a good crowd (there may have even been two undecideds in the room, you never know...!) and it was a wonderful warmup to what will be a long and winding road to the nomination. Modesty prevents me from telling how well I did but suffice it to say I've been winnowed in. We sat up on a very crowded stage at the American Legion in Dalton and yours truly was literally "on the edge" (if you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much room!) and also had the distinction of getting to go FIRST for the opening and closing remarks and LAST for the one minute answers to the questions. They didn't rotate the one minute answers, so I was ALWAYS last and so the temptation would have been to say "me, too!" but of course the challenge was to reframe the issue each time with a bit different lens. So while the format wasn't perfect, the mental exercise it provided was probably worth it. The other highlight has been the article on the "Blogger Candidate" coming out in the Valley Advocate. The blogosphere is bouncing it around and talking about it. Andrew Varnon did a wonderful job with the piece and so he wins the award this week for MY NEW BEST FRIEND. And, oh yeah, Medicare D closed the open enrollment period on Monday and we're still standing. In fact, I witnessed an interesting phenomenon yesterday. The phone was QUIET. I sort of didn't know what to do.....and then I remembered that there are other people who actually don't have a phone growing out of their ear at work, and can catch up on long forgotten administrative tasks and can plan ahead. Who'd a thunk it? A new life. It may take me some time to adjust.
Posted by Diva of Demographics at 6:19 AM
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Bet you didn't know you could get cool maps at the Secretary of State's office. You might not even know that the S of S has a "Western" office in Springfield. It was actually my second visit. I once was there to file a friend's papers. Now I was filing my own. The experience will be part of the memoirs but suffice it to say that I filed signatures and an ethics statement and supposedly I'm ON THE BALLOT. Now, of course, since I'm the WORKING PERSON'S CANDIDATE (I actually work all day and campaign at night and on weekends....) I had to do this in the midst of attending a conference in Springfield....Efficiency at lunchtime as we say.....I also tried to book myself as the keynote speaker for the conference next year with the title of my speech being "Up From The Trenches" with Senator Margaret Johnson Ware. Well, they wanted someone funny, and I am that....you never know. But let's start at the beginning. Yesterday, I worked all day in Pittsfield and then drove to Lenox for a 5:30 meeting with the Lenox DTC. The only good thing about having it at the same time as a kickoff event for one of my opponents was that at least his supporters weren't there. But hardly anyone else was either although the people who were there were quite wonderful. Then on to Becket. GREAT crowd. Appeared with another opponent. On to Lanesborough Town Meeting. I have to admit I left at 9:30 or so when they were on Article 9 and they had 31 more to go. They were actually going to go faster, but since I'd been up since 5:30 it seemed like the right choice. And then the temperature indicator on my car says its overheating on the way home. Except it wasn't.....but that scared me so I needed to change cars today. But the dogs ran away from my husband at the track, so I was late for the above-referenced conference.....I DONT THINK THE OTHER CANDIDATES HAVE TO PUT UP WITH ALL OF THIS!!!! I literally have to have a "staffer" to tell me if my tag is tucked in at the back of my dress and if I have a run in my stocking. And then someone to tell me where my car keys and cell phones (I have to have two....one for work and one for personal...) are. This is HAHD WUUK as Betsy Ware would have said when she was four.....but I'm LOVING IT!!!
Posted by Diva of Demographics at 8:24 PM
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Well, it seems I'm going to have to be a LOT more responsible about this blog. Now one of the State Reps says he's reading it and so I have a responsibility to keep everyone posted. So, how about if we start with this: In Plainfield, they DONT know where the bodies are buried. One of the problems of living in an old New England town is that sometimes records are lost or unreadable or not accurate. And it turns out (please don't quote me because this is NOT an area of my expertise!) that the cemetery records in one of the main cemeteries are inaccurate, and so to compensate for that, they've been burying people on the outer reaches of the real estate just so they don't "run into" anyone. Well, the outer reaches are all filled up and we have to have a moratorium. Anyone willing to pay for a sonar detector should contact the cemetary commissioners. Condo conversions are also being considered. Seriously folks, it was a wonderful afternoon. The people of Plainfield are committed to their community and are willing to sit for an almost inestimable amount of time on not very comfortable furniture to make sure the place is run right. They have hardworking volunteers in town government and Thomas Jefferson would have been proud to be a part of their town meeting. But it is true that at this time, they don't know where the bodies are buried.....Meanwhile in Ashfield, you have to have even more stamina than in Plainfield. You start at 10AM, take a lunch break at 1PM and keep going. In both communities, the fate and future of the Mohawk Regional School district was the main topic of discussion. In both towns, the final votes supporting the schools was not particularly close but the debate before the votes was intense, respectful and impassioned. There were at least as many people present in Ashfield as we get in Williamstown (with the exception of the famous waterline meeting that pulled 1,000+) so that's commendable considering that they have a smaller population. The relatively new Mohawk superintendent, Michael Buonocanti (my apologies if my spelling is off -- especially because Mike's brother is STEVE who is a State Senator..!) had to speak to three town meetings in one day, and had just finished six others within the last week or so. The fact that he could still keep his cool in Plainfield is a tribute to his stamina and commitment to his job. There are no easy answers, but I have a much better handle on the school building/funding issues in these communities than I did on Friday. Now Lenox was a whole different story....and yet it wasn't. The selectmen held onto their health insurance by 15 votes.....it is a comment on the place that health insurance plays in all our lives that this was a heated (but again respectful) discussion. A few years ago, the costs and availability of health insurance weren't much on people's radar screens. We now have the "haves" and "have nots" and the costs are exhorbitant. It will be interesting to see what effect the new health insurance reform legislation has on these discussions. Will the cities and towns actually be able to control some of their costs? It is a good thing that people who don't live in a town really can't jump up and participate in someone else's town meeting. I am a former selectman and I do health insurance counseling. I had LOTS of thoughts I could have shared. But I sat quietly in my seat and whispered to my neighbor. But I also learned a tremendous amount. Lenox also passed the CPA that night....it still has to appear on the ballot, but I was pleased to see the discussion. And their effort to allow single family residences to add "in law" apartments is commendable in a community where affordable housing is almost nonexistent. One of the reasons that my family moved to MA is that we loved the idea of the traditional New England town meeting and I have yet to be disappointed when watching this time-honored version of democracy in action. I hope no one ever tries to convert THAT to cyberspace!
Posted by Diva of Demographics at 8:31 AM |
Sy Traoré, A., Torres, C. A panoply of policy instruments to promote sustainable food systems in West Africa. GREAT Insights Magazine, Volume 6, Issue 4. September/October 2017.
ECDPM’s Carmen Torres interviews ECOWAS Director Alain Sy Traoré, on how his organisation is seeking to use its new agricultural policy, ECOWAP 2015-2025, and various other policy tools, to promote agricultural development, food and nutrition security and the sustainability of food systems in West Africa.
ECOWAS is seeking to use its new agricultural policy, ECOWAP 2015-2025, and various other policy tools, to promote agricultural development, food and nutrition security and the sustainability of food systems in West Africa.
Carmen Torres: What are the key policy frameworks and programmes put in place by the ECOWAS Directorate of Agriculture to achieve sustainable and inclusive food systems? Can you give concrete examples of successful experiences?
Alain Sy Traoré: ECOWAS’ main regional policy framework to achieve sustainable and inclusive food systems in West Africa is the ECOWAP (ECOWAS Agricultural Policy), which derives from the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), the flagship policy framework for agricultural development and food and nutrition security in Africa. In 2015, 10 years after ECOWAP’s adoption, we engaged in a review process, in particular to consider key social, economic and environmental sustainability issues. We adopted a new Strategic Framework for 2015-2025 which addresses key sustainability challenges linked to food security, nutrition, climate change, youth employment in agriculture and gender, amongst others. The Framework also takes into account all major policies and global initiatives (the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement on climate change, etc.) relevant to achieving food security and nutrition in the region. But first and foremost, the ECOWAP 2015-2025 takes into consideration and builds on the demographic challenges we face in our region.
To implement our new regional agricultural policy, we developed the Regional Agricultural Investment Plan and Food and Nutrition Security (RAIP-FNS), which was endorsed by the 15 ECOWAS Ministers of Agriculture on 12 December 2016 in Abuja. The RAIP-FNS aims to
1) contribute to increasing agro-forestry, pastoral and fisheries productivity and production through diversified and sustainable production systems, and to reducing post-production losses;
2) promote contractual, inclusive and competitive agricultural and food value chains oriented towards regional and international demand, with a view to regional market integration;
3) improve access to food, nutrition and resilience for vulnerable populations; and
4) improve the business environment and the governance and funding mechanisms for the agriculture and food sector.
The RAIP-FNS (like the former RAIP) is operationalised via different programmes and projects that are being executed, and we are currently formulating with the European Union and with our other technical and financial partners new projects targeting the different challenges our region faces to achieve sustainable food systems.
ECOWAS countries are currently designing their National Agricultural Investment Plan and Food and Nutrition Security (NAIP-FNS), a process that will come to an end in December 2017. With our technical and financial partners (IFPRI, FAO, CORAF, CILSS, etc.) we have put in place what we call “Regional Clinics”, in order to give technical assistance to our member states in the formulation of their NAIP-FNS. During these missions, we use sustainability indicators and criteria to evaluate the progress made by each member state in the formulation of their NAIP-FNS. We check, for instance, if the documents take into account the creation of jobs for the youth in agro-food value chains, if they are nutrition-sensitive, if they take into account their Intended Nationally-Determined Contribution (INDC), etc. In that way, we want to make sure that our Regional and National Agricultural Investment plans achieve not only agricultural development but also sustainable and inclusive food systems.
As a successful experience, I would like to give the example of the West Africa Food and Nutrition Security Support Programme (PASANAO). This programme, among others, has contributed to the development of a harmonised tool for food security analysis, the Harmonized Framework for the Analysis and Identification of Areas at Risk and Vulnerable Groups, more commonly referred to as the Cadre Harmonisé (CH), in the 15 ECOWAS countries. The CH provides tools for the classification, analysis, and reporting of food insecurity, as well as joint approaches for undertaking monitoring, assessments, data collection, and database management, which is absolutely crucial to formulate, implement, monitor and evaluate policies related to sustainable food systems. This allows us to capitalise on lessons in order to inform the NAIP-FNS that are currently prepared by ECOWAS member countries. The programme also includes support for the Master on Food and Nutrition Security implemented at the Regional Agrhymet center, and funding for innovative projects, whose results will be evaluated for scaling-up. We have selected some strategic thematic areas targeting key sustainability issues, including: 1) food fortification and local production of nutritional supplements; 2) securing pastoral activity systems; and 3) strengthening credit systems and agricultural insurance.
Supporting innovation and knowledge-sharing between ECOWAS countries, strengthening knowledge and capacity of national and regional agents, and promoting advocacy are all crucial to achieving socially, economically and environmentally sustainable agricultural development, and the ECOWAS Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development has a strong role to play in this regard.
What policy instruments are in place in the region to ensure agriculture and food security policies are more sensitive to nutrition?
The RAIP-FNS has a specific objective linked to access to food, nutrition and resilience, and we have established a mechanism in the review process of the NAIP-FNS to make sure these plans are nutrition-sensitive. We have put special emphasis on the diversification of food production, the fortification of crops and food products, and on food safety. Many of the projects developed under the RAIP-FNS are related to food insecurity and malnutrition, such as the previously mentioned PASANAO. We also have a programme financing innovative projects related to safety nets, and our flagship project of establishing a regional food security reserve as a third safety net to complement local and national reserves. These reserves are strategically placed close to vulnerable regions that are prone to food insecurity crises, and represent an important component of a sustainable food system.
It is true that, for the most part, nutrition-specific actions are overseen by Ministries of Health, and that Ministries of Agriculture remain focused on agricultural and rural development. But we now all understand the need for coordinated actions to achieve food security and nutrition. Fortification of sweet potato with vitamin A, for example, is now possible, and gives an opportunity to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture in the upstream part of the food system. We therefore support the promotion of varieties with an additional nutritional advantage in the agricultural investment plans. We also support the strengthening of capacities at national level to integrate nutrition issues into agricultural plans, and encourage countries to ensure the participation of health and nutrition stakeholders in the formulation of their NAIP-FNS. It’s not easy, but having NAIP-FNS that are nutrition-sensitive is a high priority for us. We also promote nutrition-sensitive actions in the downstream part of our food systems with specific policy instruments, such as regulations addressing, for example, the fortification of key food products, such as oil and salt.
Let me finish by saying that our regional agricultural policy, the ECOWAP, is first and foremost a food sovereignty policy. From a food security and nutrition perspective, this means that we consider our region has all that it takes to feed and nourish our people, and we aim to reach regional food self-sufficiency (i.e. to replace food imports with regional food production). That is why in the first generation of the ECOWAP, we prioritised food products that are widely consumed by West Africans: millet and sorghum, maize, rice, roots and tubers, fruit and vegetables, and animal and fish products. In the new ECOWAP 2015-2025, we have also included major regional cash/export crops, as these are important not only for income generation, which is strongly correlated with household food security and nutrition, but also because some export crops, such as tropical fruits and nuts, are also extremely important for our people’s food security and nutrition. For example, mango is a popular export to European markets. During the lean season, however, mangoes also constitute a fundamental nutritional contribution for rural populations. That’s why we have programmes in place to address key challenges in such value chains, such as the “Project to support the regional plan to combat and control fruit flies in West Africa”.
What policy instruments are in place in the region to achieve resilience and environmental sustainability in West African food systems, and how are they linked to the new PRIA-SAN?
We have two major policy tools. The first one is the Global Alliance for Resilience (AGIR), launched in 2012, which is a framework that helps to foster improved synergy, coherence and effectiveness in support of resilience initiatives in the 17 West African and Sahelian countries. Building on the “Zero Hunger” target within the next 20 years, the Alliance is a policy tool aimed at channeling efforts of regional and international stakeholders towards a common results framework. All Sahelian and West African countries are now engaged in the process of formulating their country resilience priorities (PRP-AGIR). Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Niger, Mali, Chad and Togo have already validated their resilience priorities, which should be included in their NAIP-FNS.
The second one is the Regional Framework for the Development of Climate Smart Agriculture (AIC), established in 2012. ECOWAS supports the development of innovations for climate-smart agriculture, i.e. agriculture techniques which help to increase agricultural productivity but also give sustainable income, strengthen adaptation and resilience to climate variability and climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ensure gender equality, and promote young people and vulnerable populations’ access to productive resources for AIC. The framework intends to provide a comprehensive and coherent guide for the development of AIC in regional and national agricultural investment plans (RAIP-FNS and NAIP-FNS).
Through the ‘Regional Clinics’ I mentioned before, we check if the countries’ PRP and the guidance provided by the AIC framework are adequately integrated in the NAIP-FNS. The reality is that the integration of these frameworks in not easy. At regional level, we can guide and provide tools for policy-making at national level, but the countries have the sovereignty over their national policies. Some countries consider it their main objective to increase productivity in order to nourish their people ‘no matter how’, and are less interested in environmental issues.
Finally, I would like to point out that West Africa includes a sub-region that is particularly vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation, namely the Sahelian region. In the Sahel we also have specific flagship programmes which address key challenges for sustainable food systems. Two important ones are the Regional Sahel Pastoralism Support Project (PRAPS) and the Sahel Irrigation Initiative, both financed by the World Bank.
Are you planning to use global climate funds, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to adapt agriculture in Africa? What can ECOWAS do to support its member states on this issue?
We are definitely planning to use available global climate funds to develop and adapt our agricultural systems. A few years ago we noticed that, although these funds were available, our countries were not benefiting from them, and we found two reasons for that. The first reason is the lack of capacity to formulate projects, and the second is that they usually cannot afford the counterpart contribution they are asked to make by the vast majority of these funds. The ECOWAS Commission is playing an active role to overcome these obstacles. We first gathered ECOWAS countries representatives and asked the different people in charge of these funds to present them and explain their mechanisms and how our countries could access them. After that, with our colleagues from the Environment Directorate we developed a capacity strengthening programme of two years, which trained 400 experts in project development.
That is our support at country level, but at regional level we also developed and submitted a project to access the “Adaptation Fund” to promote climate-smart agriculture in West Africa. We are already in the final phase of the selection process, so we are confident that we will get 14 million US dollars for this project. Regarding the Global Environment Facility funds (GEF), we have submitted a 12 million US dollars project to eliminate/substitute obsolete pesticides, with the FAO playing the role of fiduciary agency. We are planning to put in place a specialized unit to deal with these funds and sustain our support to ECOWAS countries to access them. We have many partnerships to work on this, such as with the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) and Expertise France, among others.
We have also developed training programmes to develop local capacities on these topics, such as the Master on Climate Change programme at the Regional Agrhymet center. We have also signed and support the “4/1000 Initiative”, which aims to ensure that agriculture plays its part in combating climate change. In that context we’ve developed a project on agroecology with the support of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), which is just about to start. We were also actively engaged in the formulation of our bloc’s common position regarding climate change for the Paris negotiations, and we are currently preparing for COP 23 (Bonn, November 2017). We also support the implementation of ECOWAS countries’ INDC with our colleagues from the Environment Directorate.
What is your vision for the next ten years on sustainable food systems in West Africa, taking into account the different challenges of demography, rural-urban dynamics, industrialization, the sustainable management of natural resources, climate change and others?
Our region’s natural endowments and current demographic dynamics (population growth, urbanisation, migration and increasing incomes, which affect dietary patterns) are a big challenge but also a huge opportunity to achieve sustainable food systems in West Africa. In that sense, the proper functioning of our regional market is crucial to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the region. We have put in place many important instruments to achieve this, such as the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) and the Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), which is the main ECOWAS operational tool for promoting the West Africa region as a Free Trade Area, and we are working hard to make these instruments work on the ground.
The ECOWAP 2015-2025 vision for the next ten years on sustainable food systems in West Africa is: “A modern agro-sylvo-pastoral and fisheries sector that is competitive, inclusive and sustainable, guaranteeing decent jobs, food security and nutrition, and food sovereignty”.
About the interviewee
Alain Sy Traoré is the Director in charge of Agriculture and Rural Development at the ECOWAS Commission. Photo credits: Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC/OECD).
This article was published in GREAT Insights Volume 6, Issue 4 (September/October 2017). |
Rudolf Höss, Commandant of Auschwitz from 1940 - 1943 was captured by the British on March 13, 1946. Affadavits written and signed in English were forced from Höss on several occasions. Although in regard to the charges of "crimes against humanity" Höss was arguably the most important prisoner, his role at Nuremberg was not as one of the convicted by as a defense witness for Ernest Kaltenbrunner. Today Höss' confession obtained through torture along with his testimony at Nuremberg and his later "memoirs" written while awaiting execution in a Polish prison cell make up some of the most important evidence to support the Holocaust story. Establishment historians tend to ignore the methods used to obtain the Höss "confessions." Revisionist historians have argued for years that the Höss "confessions" are basically worthless due to how they were obtained.
Since so much of the Höss testimony was derived for a court of law or became part of the legal record, it is only fair that the proper legal implications of his torture, which included threats to his direct family members, be reviewed.
Threats to Höss' Family
"In 1884, the Court reviewed a federal criminal conviction in Hopt v. People of Territory of Utah, 110 US 574. It explicitly recognized that there was a common law rule prohibiting the use of confessions obtained by inducements, promises and threats. Because of their inherent unreliability, such confessions were not admitted into evidence."
Protection against confessions obtained by inducements, promises and threats subsequently was enlarged so that protection against all involuntary confessions was provided. (See: Ziang Sung Wan v. United States, 266 US, 1 (1924)
Höss beaten by his Captors-a flashlight shoved down his throat
Point 2: In Brown vs. Mississippi, 297 US 278 (1936) :
"Summarily reversing convictions obtained in the state court, the Supreme Court found that severe whippings, used to procure confession from helpless defendants, made the confessions involuntary and violated basic due process rights. In reaching its decision, the Court emphasized the unreliability of confessions extracted by torture and, referred to the confessions in Brown as "spurious."
Hoess Deprived Of Sleep And Harassed
Point 3: In considering circumstances of physical deprivation or mistreatment, the Court not only disapproved of severe brutality like that found in Brown, supra, but also of the denial of food, Payne, supra, (accused was given no food for 24 hours), or sleep, Aschcraft v Tennessee, 322 US 143 (1944) defendant was not permitted to sleep for 36 hours.
Hoess Subjected to Psychological Torment by G.M. Gilbert et al.
Point 4: A third fact, psychological influence, was also accorded great weight by the Court. Although the Court stated that a voluntary statement need not be volunteered, it refused to hold that only physical brutality was impermissible. In Watts vs Indiana, 338 US 49, 53 (1949), the Court said that:
"if the confession is the product of sustained pressure by the police, it does not issue of free choice. When a suspect speaks because he is overborne, it is immaterial whether he has been subjected to a physical or mental ordeal. Eventual yielding to questioning under such circumstances is plainly the product of the suction process of interrogation and therefore the reverse of voluntary."
Hoess et al. Denied the Right to Consult With Family, Friends and Counsel
Point 5: In Watts, as in Haley v. Ohio, 332 US 596 (1948), and numerous other cases, the Court paid special attention to whether the accused was denied the aid of family, friends, or counsel. Incommunicado confinement consistently was viewed as coercive. Another form of psychological influence was trickery. See generally White, Police Trickery in Inducing Confessions, 127 U. Pa. L. Rev. 581 (1979).
Threats to Deport the Family of Hoess to the USSR Illegal
"The Court also recognized the pressure inherent in such psychological techniques as sustained interrogation, Ashcraft, supra, and the threat of mob violence. [In Höss' case, the threat of handing his family over to the Russians would qualify] Payne, supra, (defendant was told that 30 or 40 people would be waiting to get him unless he confessed). The Court was also concerned about rewards and inducements to confess, which had been condemned in Hopt, supra. New techniques as well as old were carefully scrutinized. For example, in Leyra v Denno, 347 US 556 (1954), the Court took exception to the use of a trained psychiatrist to extract a confession through skillful and suggestive question." (RE: HOESS: see: Gustav Gilbert, et al., etc.)
Denial of Counsel of His Choice Before and During Interrogation
Point 6: Höss was interrogated without benefit of counsel. "the Court considered whether the accused (Leyra v Denno) was aware or had been appraised of his "right to counsel, as well as his right to remain silent.
The Case of Hoess et al. Subject to Reversal
Point 7: In reviewing confession cases, the Court made it clear that it would overturn a finding that a confession was voluntary if there was undisputed contrary evidence in the record. Chambers v Florida 309 US 227, 228, (1940)
"the voluntariness standard required a case by case scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding a particular confession to determine if the methods by which it was obtained comported with due process. The Court considered both the police conduct in procuring the confession and the defendant's ability to withstand coercion: therefore, the 'totality of the circumstances' test that was set forth in Fikes v Alabama, 352, US 191 (1957) was determinative of the voluntariness of the confession."
Reversal Even If Accusations True
"It soon became the rule that even if sufficient evidence existed from sources independent of the confession that the accused committed the crime as charged, the dent of the confession that the accused committed the crime charged, the conviction was still to be reversed if a coerced confession had been admitted at trial."
Höss' first confession was not admitted at his trial in Poland, but another confession which had been obtained by similar methods used by his communist interrogators— However, such confessions were admitted during the Malmedy trial—a clear violation of human rights and due process). On these issues see: Payne v Arkansas, 356 US 560, 568 (1958)
Use of Torture Described as Barbaric
"The use of torture and other barbaric practices to elicit confessions was not confined to American police stations. European police were known to employ tactics that were as offensive to human dignity as those used in America. Thus, following world war II, it was not surprising that France, Germany and Italy adopted exclusionary rules to cover evidence obtained by due process violations. SEE generally Pakter, Exclusionary Rules in France, Germany and Italy, 9 Hastings Int'l & Compar. L. Rev. 1, 7 (1985).
This point is important because it confirms that an accused right's were violated prior to this date (as well as afterward).
Hoess Was Denied Counsel at the Time His Confession Was Taken
SPANO v. NEW YORK:
"Four concurring judges expressed greater concern about the fact that the defendant Spano had been indicted and was refused permission to see his attorney than about the voluntariness of the confession under the totality of the circumstances.
Federal Standards the Same
Finally, it must be noted that during the period that the state confession cases were decided under the voluntariness approach, federal cases were governed by an identical standard. A coerced confession that violated the due process clause of the 14th Amendment also violated the due process clause of the 5th amendment. But in Federal Court, a confession might even be rejected even without a finding of coercion!
Conclusion: The legal and human rights of Rudolf Höss and other accused German defendants were denied, as was due process. The IMT had been specifically formed de post facto according to principles which contravened all conventional rights and other accepted rules relating to due process during the course of the trials held in Germany, Russia, Poland, et al., in the period 1945-1965, which were a perversion of justice and a betrayal of the legal process.
According to British historian Bradley F. Smith, The Road to Nuremberg, Basic Books, NY, 1981, p. 56:
"[General Cramer, Judge Advocate General] recommended that the normal trial procedures and evidentiary systems used in military courts, which were already highly favorable to the prosecution, should be tipped even further in that direction. In 'all evidence which has probative force in the minds of reasonable men' should be made admissible, and defendants would lose the right of appeal. All sentences, including death sentences, were to be 'executed within 24 hours'." (emph. added)
Also, according to the same source cited above, when Colonel R. Ammi Cutter, an attorney temporarily on duty in the war department, examined the trial procedures which were recommended by another young attorney of Jewish descent (Murray C Bernays) who was related to Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter,— he at first described the proposals as "ingenious," but he was troubled by the "fairly radical departures from existing legal theories" that it embodied."
Nevertheless, Bernay's "Conspiracy" theory was eventually adopted by the allied governments. Furthermore, other groups had taken an interest in the trials. According to Smith:
"On 5 October, Bernays took the opportunity at a routine conference with Green Hackworth, the State Department Legal Chief, to put before him the essential features of his plan. Hackworth, who had been holding to a rigidly conservative definition of what constituted a war crime, had recently come under heavy pressure to find a more elastic interpretation which would meet the demands of groups such as the American Jewish Conference and the War Refugee Board." (p. 57)
The WRB was accused of being a communist front organization and had been formed by Henry Morgenthau junior, who was also of Jewish descent and a close advisor to President Roosevelt.
In fact, every right which we today hold as inalienable was suppressed by the allies when the issue involved the prosecution of accused Germans. Again, according to Smith, (Department) G-1
"recommended amending the provisions of the American Rules of Land Warfare (FM 27-10), relating to an appeal to superior orders as a covering defense against conviction in military courts… Since the British had already amended their Manual of Military Law in this sense, the JAG officer thought it only reasonable that the Americans do the same so that we should not furnish the war criminals with ammunition." (!)
This grotesque act was approved just prior to the end of the war, in order to deny accused Germans a legal basis from which to conduct their defense when arrested and charged by the allies.
In other words, strip away all pretenses to human rights and judicial process and deny the accused the opportunity to conduct a proper defense against monstrous charges and accusations which would take more than the "Dream Team" to successfully contest. Much like tying a boxer's hands behind his back before sending him into the ring. Justice?
All legal quotes cited in this post are from: American Criminal Procedure, Cases and Commentary, Stephen A. Saltzburg, 3rd edition, American Casebook Series, 1988 pp. 447-451.
Additional information about this document
|Author(s):||Joseph P. Bellinger|
|Title:||Rudolf Hoess: The Legal Implications of his Forced Confession|
|First posted on CODOH:||Nov. 12, 2001, 6 p.m.| |
THINGS TO KNOW AND DO
WHEN YOU STAY AT WOLF TRAP FARM
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES AT THE FARM
Our gas-powered golf cart is available for rent on a half-day or full-day basis, by reservation or first come-first served. The rate is $25/half day; $40/full day (morning is until 1:00; afternoon is 1:00 to dusk). You can reserve the golf cart by calling or emailing the farm, or by checking with Tina. The maintenance staff or Tina can give you a brief tutorial if you are not familiar with gas golf carts. The cart stays in the Equipment Building (the metal building where the Pavilion is located). The cart makes it much easier to explore the farm and woods. The charges for using the cart can be added to your bill. Due to several bad experiences, we now require that golf cart drivers be 21 or older.
Wolftrap Drive, our farm road, stretches from the railroad tracks you crossed when you entered the farm off of Highway 15 to our back gate on Cox Mill Road (Virginia Route 639). It is almost a mile long, so if you hike to each end from the houses, you have gone close to two miles.
If you hike down to the railroad tracks, you cross Mountain Run creek and pass by a hay shed and our front pond. The walk back gets a bit steep.
If you walk to Cox Mill Road, you pass the barns, the riding ring, the equipment building and Pavilion, the Milker's Cottage, the driveway to Baldy's Retreat, and our back pastures and hay fields. The Cox Mill House (our latest additional dwelling) is just a few hundred yards down Cox Mill Road if you turn left.
The woods at the farm are laced with nice trails, with no real hazards or bad terrain. They are old logging roads mostly. You can get lost, but if you stay on the trails they will either dead-end and you can reverse, or they will bring you back to civilization, usually Cox Mill Road or the farm. We had some logging done in 2016, and the cut over area is pretty easy to stumble upon if you get lost. If you are somehow disoriented, when you find the cut over area, you can follow the skid trails to Cox Mill Road and back to the farm. There is also a gravel road through the woods that takes you to Cox Mill Road, so if you are truly lost, find the cut over area or the gravel road and hike out to Cox Mill and back to our back gate. No one has stayed lost very long. You might walk up on some deer or turkey, and there are copperheads, as in all eastern woodlands, but they are not common. We have seen one in 14 years.
Enter the woods and trails from the Manor House or Servants’ Cottage by using the alleyway between the two horse paddocks (the Manor House paddock and the Pond House paddock). From the Pond House, just follow the fence from near your front door to the woods, and you will see the trails taking you into the woods (and you will find a great rope swing at the edge of the woods). From the Milker's Cottage or from Baldy's Retreat, walk straight past the barns and past the Servants' Cottage and between the two fenced paddocks.
The fishing in the two large ponds is awesome. They are each full of bass and bream. Feel free to cook what you catch if you want, as they need to be thinned out so they can keep growing. The fishing gear is on the back porch of the Pond House and in the Play Barn (the small red barn down toward the Pond House). By the time you read this, we may have changed our policy and require that fishing gear be checked out. We have a lot of trouble with it getting tangled, lost or broken. If you want to find your own worms, just go in the woods and turn over a dead log or two. You can also buy night crawlers in Gordonsville at the Valero gas station at the traffic circle.
If you are really serious about your fishing, you can ask the staff about the hidden ponds. There could be a monster bass in one of them, though the two state citation bass we know of from the farm came from the pond behind the Pond House.
If you do not have fishing experience and you need some help, let us know and we may be able to arrange “lessons”.
Firepits & Firewood:
There are fire pits at each house for your enjoyment. Wood for the Manor House is stored in the Dairy Shed, the little concrete shed beside the Manor House patio. For the Servants' Cottage, it is on the covered patio. For the Pond House, it is on the back porch. For the Milker's Cottage, it is on the porch. For Baldy's, it is on or near the back deck. For the Barn Apartment and for Cox Mill, it is in plain view. As Smokey says, “Remember, only you can prevent forest fires.” There are also working fireplaces in the Dining Room and Living Room of the Manor House, in the living room at the Cox Mill House, and in the Den at Baldy's Retreat.
The hot tub is on the patio at the Manor House and is principally for the Manor House guests. However, guests at the other houses certainly may use the hot tub when the Manor House is unoccupied. Check with Tina about whether the coast is clear.
You will find horseshoe pits behind the Manor House and in the back yard of the Milker's Cottage.
The rope swing at the Manor House is in plain view, but there is also a bigger, adult sized rope swing at the edge of the woods at the corner of the Pond House paddock.
Other outdoor toys and sports items are stored in the Game Barn (the small red barn toward the Pond House). Here’s what we try to keep in there:
Bicycles (there should be hand pumps in the Game Barn). You may also find bicycles at Baldy's and at the Cox Mill House, for your convenience. It is difficult, but not impossible, to bike in the woods. Biking on Wolf Trap Drive is pretty good, except for the hill down the front. If you want to bike on local roads, we recommend going out the back gate to Cox Mill Road. It works to bike into Gordonsville (right turn out the back gate). Its less than four miles and the road is pretty most of the way. It is narrow, and there is traffic. As you come to Gordonsville, stay on Cox Mill where it makes a 90 degree left turn, then take the next two right turns and you will be in downtown Gordonsville.
Metal Detector if you want to search for relics.
Soccer Goals and ball
On the back porch of the Pond House you will find the Bimini Ring Game, supposedly invented by Hemingway on Bimini Island. The game is pretty simple; just try to swing the ring so it lands on the hook. It can be done!
It is not a formal game, but kids love to jump on the hay bales out by the equipment shed (in season). They also enjoy trying to catch insects with the nets we leave at the houses.
The Game Barn:
There is a pool table, a ping pong table, air hockey and a foosball table in the Game Barn, as well as darts and other games.
The folks at the stables usually are gracious and friendly to our guests. They have asked that our guests not enter the barns unless someone on the barn staff invites them or agrees they may come in. Children and dogs need to be very closely supervised if they visit the stables. Please do not go inside the paddocks when horses are inside. Guests often feed the horses apples and carrots AT THEIR OWN RISK! Horses sometimes bite, either on purpose or by accident.
Outdoor Activities in the Area:
Many of our guests enjoy trail rides at Oakland Heights with our friends David and Sally Lamb. It is very close. Go out to Highway 15 and turn left towards Gordonsville. Immediately start looking to your right for the Oakland Heights driveway. Its less than ½ mile. The phone is 540-832-3350. Call ahead and make an appointment and tell them you are staying at Wolf Trap.
Rafting and Tubing:
This is not close by, but it is a great activity in the heat of summer. James River Reeling and Rafting in Scottsville is about an hour away. They run a very professional operation on the James River. The phone number is 434-286-4386.
Hot Air Ballooning:
This is expensive, but if this is on your “Bucket List”, here’s a chance to scratch it off. The operators will come to the farm for lift-off. They are Bonn-Air Charters, and the phone number is 434-981-5260. There are others as well, including Blue Ridge Ballooning and Virginia Hot Air Ballooning.
Another “Bucket List” item? Call Skydive Orange at 540-943-6587. This is at the local airport in Orange, just 15 minutes away. It is not cheap, but are you really shopping for a cheap skydiving service?
It takes about 50 minutes to reach Skyline Drive from the farm. You take Highway 33 North from the traffic circle in Gordonsville and stay on it until you intersect the Skyline Drive. You pass through Ruckersville, where there are lots of antiques malls and shops. If you go South on Skyline Drive, you can get off at I-64 and return to the farm via Shadwell and Keswick, which is one of the most beautiful drives in America.
The farm is very convenient to several of the best wineries in the state. Barboursville Winery is sort of the “mother church” for Virginia wineries. The Zonins, a prominent Italian winemaking family, founded it in 1976, and it has developed into a very successful, award winning winery. It is about a 15 minute drive from the farm, straight up Highway 33 from the Gordonsville traffic circle.
Barboursville has a wonderful tasting room. While you are there, take time to view the Barboursville Ruins, which are on site. It has the largest boxwoods you will ever see. Also, in the village of Barboursville there are several nice art galleries, well worth stopping in.
As you drive to Barboursville, you will pass Horton Cellars. Horton also has a nice tasting room and fine wines, but we suggest you hit Barboursville first and do Horton on the way back if you still have capacity. A bit further beyond Barboursville, toward Charlottesville on Highway 20, is Burnley Vineyards. (Frankly, we do not recommend Burnley.)
As you drive from the farm to Orange, less than a mile after you turn onto Highway 15, you will find a new “Offsite Tasting Room” at Honalee Vineyards. They pour wines from several of the local wineries that do not have their own tasting rooms. Honalee is also a farm store, offering produce and local canned goods and such. It is on the left side of the highway as you go toward Orange. If you miss it on the way to Orange, you can spot their signs and drop in on the way back.
If you visit Monticello or head into Charlottesville via 231 through Keswick, you will pass Keswick Vineyards, and Jefferson Vineyards is very near to Monticello, as you might guess. We are not impressed by the wines at Keswick, but the setting is fabulous (and what do we know about wines). You will also see the signs for Castle Hill Cidery, which produces hard ciders, a Virginia tradition. They have a nice tasting room and beautiful views as well.
If you head toward Charlottesville on Highway 33, for a trip to Skyline Drive, Ruckersville, etc., you may want to take time to visit Madison, just a few miles north on Highway 29. There you will find Early Mountain Vineyards, which has a magnificent tasting room and gift shop, plus our favorite Virginia wines. They offer food, as well as wine, so you might want to make this a lunch destination. While in the Madison area, you will want to visit Yoder Farm Store and the Plough & Hearth Outlet Store.
If you have not been to Monticello, it is not to be missed. Jefferson had such an eye for beauty, and his home demonstrates that fact. It is a gorgeous location and the home and grounds are just magnificent. It is the only World Heritage Site in Virginia. How many of those will you see in your lifetime?
Also, it Is a beautiful drive from the farm to Monticello. You go to the Gordonsville traffic circle and proceed on 231 South. You will pass through Keswick, then Shadwell, where you will merge onto Highway 250. Just follow the signs to Monticello.
Allow time to stop at Michies Tavern, which is just before Monticello. It’s a good place to plan on having lunch if you are doing Monticello in the afternoon. Otherwise, eat lunch before you leave Gordonsville.
There is a special connection between Wolftrap Farm and James and Dolley Madison's Montpelier home. James and Dolley Madison once owned the land that is now Wolf Trap Farm. It was one of the Madisons' "outlying farms", and as the crow flies, is only about 5 miles from their home farm, Montpelier. Madison called the Wolftrap Farm property “Blackmeadow”, for some reason. “Blackacre” is what lawyers call a generic farm, just as they call unknown males “John Doe”. Madison was probably playing on this idea when he called this land “Blackmeadow”.
The recent history of Montpelier and its ongoing restoration is fascinating. Upon Madison’s death, Dolley and her drunkard son could not maintain Montpelier, and it was sold. A century later, it was purchased by the DuPont family. Marion Scott Dupont was a child at the time, and she grew up at Montpelier and spent the rest of her life there as a leading American horsewoman. Montpelier was more than tripled in size by the Dupont family, and it became a center for American steeplechase racing. Mrs. Dupont owned the first American horse to win the Grand National Steeplechase in England.
When she died, Mrs. Dupont left Montpelier to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, with the instruction that Montpelier be restored to be as it was during Madison’s day. A decade later, Paul Mellon, another horse lover, made a bequest that provided the funds to begin the restoration. It took about 5 years to complete the work on the home, and it is still only partially furnished. It is not as grand as Montpelier, but it is still pretty wonderful. There is an old growth forest there if you want to see what our eastern woodlands really looked like when the Native Americans were its only inhabitants.
To appreciate Montpelier, you need to appreciate the leading role that Madison had in the development of the U.S. Constitution. Madison showed up at the Constitutional Convention with a plan in hand, known as the Virginia Plan. This Plan of a three-branch government with bicameral legislature and a system of checks and balances became the basis for the Constitution. At Montpelier, you can spend time in the room where Madison developed the Virginia Plan and can gaze upon the same mountains he gazed upon when he looked up from his work. (Then when you return to the farm, you can speculate on whether you are still walking on paths that “Mr. Jimmy” trod. Jefferson called his friend Madison "the best farmer in America", so we can assume that Mr. Jimmy often checked on his Blackmeadow farm.)
Montpelier is just on the other side of those mountains you see when you look toward the sunset from the farm. There is a gravel road over the mountains into the back gate of Montpelier, but we send guests the long way through Orange so they won’t get lost. Just take Highway 15 into Orange, don’t turn right at the “Y”, but stay straight to the dead end on Main Street. Then turn left on Highway 20 and drive the 5 miles to the entrance.
You can make the return trip to the farm more interesting if, when leaving Montpelier, you turn left instead of back toward Orange. After about 4 miles you will intersect Route 231 at the Somerset Country Store. (You should stop in for lunch or a snack.) Take 231 South and you will enjoy a beautiful drive through Somerset back to the Gordonsville traffic circle. You should know how to get back to the farm from there.
Wilderness was in the national news a lot about 8 years ago due to the controversy about Walmart wanting to put in a supercenter near the battlefield. That plan was abandoned, and they found a new site for Walmart further from the battlefield. The Wilderness battle was the first time Grant went head-to-head with Lee. Grant won, and kept on winning after that, so the Wilderness battle really marked the turning point in the Civil War.
The battlefield is at the Northeast corner of Orange County, up Highway 3. To get there, drive into Orange and follow the signs to Highway 3.
Exchange Hotel Civil War Museum:
This is right in Gordonsville. It is well worth seeing. Gordonsville was a railroad town, with several lines intersecting here. The “Exchange Hotel” was where travelers on one line would stay overnight to catch a train on another line. The hotel became a Confederate hospital during the Civil War, and it is now a museum featuring the hospital and camp experiences of Civil War soldiers. You will also learn a bit about Gordonsville’s role in the Civil War. Union troops made several efforts to capture this important transportation center, but never succeeded.
James Madison Museum:
This is a nice museum right in Orange dedicated to President Madison. Go into Orange and stay straight, rather than bearing right to stay on Highway 15.
This was James Monroe’s home for some years. It is near Monticello, and guests who visit it usually add it on to a visit to Monticello. It does not consume nearly as much time. What is so remarkable is that Presidents 3, 4 & 5 were literally neighbors who visited one another regularly. Monroe was #5.
Downtown Gordonsville has lots of little shops featuring antiques, gifts, clothing and jewelry and fine art. Rather than tell you what is there, let’s just assume you will go walk the Main Street and drop in whatever you find that interests you.
Outside of downtown in Gordonsville, there is Floridise Orchids. You pass it just before you reach the traffic circle, up on the hill on your right. This is well worth the stop. The owners are real pros and the orchids are wonderful.
There are several additional antique places just south of downtown Gordonsville on Highway 15. There’s an antiques mall just on the edge of town down there.
The most unique shop in Orange is Moseby’s Antiques, which specializes in Civil War items. It is more like a museum than a store. The hours are somewhat unpredictable. It is on Main Street down toward the railroad tracks. Don’t miss it.
As with Gordonsville, if you go to downtown Orange you will surely walk Main Street and find all the little shops. There are several antique shops and gift shops, and the Orange County Arts Council gallery. The place for lunch for shoppers is Wise Guys or The Light Well.
You should stop by the tourist information center in the old train station in Orange to get more ideas on things you might like to do while in the area.
The historic downtown is the place for specialty shopping in Charlottesville. It has everything: antiques, art, children’s museum, coffee shops, you name it. This is a lively place to be, particularly on week-end nights.
For ideas on nightlife, music, special events and other entertainment, pick up a copy of the Charlottesville Hook in Gordonsville at the Food Lion.
The historic downtown in Culpeper is sort of a Gordonsville times 10, when it comes to antiques, gifts, clothes, neat shoppes, etc. It is about a 30 minute drive north on Highway 15.
Ruckersville is the place for antique buffs. It is about a 25 minute drive, straight up Highway 33 from the Gordonsville traffic circle.
Need a Wal-Mart or a Lowes? They are at Zion Crossroads at the intersection of Highway 15 and I-64. Just follow Highway 15 south through Gordonsville and you will be there in about 15 minutes.
There’s a tourist information center in the Best Western at Zion. You may want to stop in there for other ideas on things to do in the area.
There is a farmers market in Orange each Saturday morning. In cold weather, it is in the old train station.
Yoder Farm Store in Madison is very upscale and has a large variety of interesting farm and locally produced products.
The restaurant choices in Gordonsville are OUTSTANDING, far better than you have any right to expect in such a small village.
Le Pomme is an authentic French restaurant in downtown Gordonsville. It receives rave reviews from people who know great cuisine. It’s a bit expensive, but you should at least try lunch there.
Fabio’s is much better than you would guess from the exterior. Its in the Food Lion Shopping Center on Route 231 South. A family from Naples, Italy owns Fabios, and different family members rotate to the U.S. to handle the kitchen duties. The food is unbelievable, particularly if you order from the daily specials board. The pasta is homemade daily. The pizza and calzones are much better than the chains provide, but the entrees are what you should try. Everyone knows about Le Pomme and the Barbeque Exchange, but you will find the locals who are in the know at Fabios.
Right next to Fabio's is a new offshoot of Le Pomme. It is sort of a deli that features home delivery of gourmet meals, as well as take-out.
The Barbeque Exchange is right on Main Street at the edge of town. The owner is a chef at Keswick Hall, so as you might expect, this is not your usual barbeque joint. You do not need to dress up for dinner to fit in here. This place has become very popular, and sometimes you will have trouble finding a place to park. It has been named "Best Bar-b-que Place in Virginia" by several publications.
The Inwood is a traditional roadhouse, where you are likely to see highway patrol cars, pick-up trucks, and other work vehicles. Former White House chef Jack Haney, who lives nearby, says he has enjoyed some of the best steaks ever at the Inwood. The burgers are massive. The atmosphere is more laid back, shall we say, giving you an authentic roadhouse experience. You pass the Inwood as you drive into Gordonsville, on your left just before the traffic circle.
China Restaurant, in the Food Lion Shopping Center, is your typical Chinese take-out place. When you want Chinese food, there it is.
The choices are better in Gordonsville, but if you are heading to Orange for other reasons, here are the restaurant recommendations.
La Finka is a new restaurant that is on your right at the corner of a strip shopping center as you enter Orange on Highway 15. It is NOT a Mexican restaurant. It is Peruvian, and quite upscale. It is winning rave reviews on Yelp and TripAdvisor. The one time I tried it, the food was great.
There are several new places on the main street of Orange, including The Light Well, which also has a bar and a coffee bar, and Wise Guys, an upscale burger place. Very pleasant surroundings.
Silk Mill Grill is on Route 15 on the far side of Orange, just before the Sheetz. Its big and can be noisy, but the food is good American fare.
Real Food is right on Highway 15 across from the Comfort Inn. This is a lunch only place, and the food is outstanding.
Mario’s is at the end of Main Street past the railroad tracks. The buffet gets dried out and is not so great, but if you order off the menu you can get very good southern Italian food.
Country Cookin’ is in a shopping center on your left as you are reaching Orange. Look for the Tractor Supply as a landmark. Country Cookin’ is a country buffet where the vegetables are the stars. It is the best country food you are likely to find. You will not go away hungry.
The Palladio Restaurant at Barboursville Winery is out of my league. I think only read food experts belong there. Guests have told me that they had the best meal of their lives there, and these were people who had obviously been to a lot of fine restaurants. Check it out on the web, and be sure to call ahead for what is on the schedule. Dinner is five or more courses. More limited lunch menu.
Electronic Equipment, the Trash, Etc.
There are TV’s in the James Room, the Bunk Room, the Suite, and the den at the Manor House. Some of them are antiques and have digital converters attached. Once you turn on the TV and the converter, you change channels with the remote for the converter. You should have about a dozen local channels.
Each TV also has a DVD player and VHS player. There are movies in the den and living room at the Manor House and in each of the cottages and at Baldy's.
The TV's in the Servants’ Cottage, Milker's Cottage, Cox Mill House and Baldy's Retreat are newer and do not use a digital converter. In the Servants' Cottage, Milker's Cottage and in the bedroom TV at Baldy's, the DVD players are built in; the slot for inserting the DVD’s is either at the top, on the right, or on the side.
There are four mobile hot spots. One usually stays at the Manor House in the main kitchen. The other three are moved among the houses as needed. These hot spots deliver high speed internet access, and are more than adequate for normal online browsing, emailing, etc. ONLINE VIDEO AND GAMING IS ANOTHER MATTER! See below.
The data plans that are available at our location do not allow us to purchase "unlimited data". We pay for 25 gigs of data per hot spot per billing period on our plan. which is quite a lot. During normal operations when we have mostly adults staying at the farm, this is never a problem. Around the holidays or at other times when we have lots of young people who live online, the 25 gigs of "high speed" can get used up, and we then have "low speed" internet on that hotspot. A couple of people streaming video, playing online electronic games and downloading movies can run through a gig of data in an hour or two. So we ask that you download your movies at home and bring them with you.
If there were better alternatives available, we would have them. The farm cannot get cable service or DSL service because of its distance from those services, and only AT&T and Verizon provide good signals to the farm. Neither of them offer unlimited data plans for mobile hot spots.
You are free to use the washers and dryers at the Pond House, the Milker's Cottage, the Barn Apartment, Baldy's Retreat, the Cox Mill House and in the basement of the Manor House. If you are in the Servants' Cottage and need to use a washer/dryer, check with Tina on when you can get to the ones in the Manor House basement.
The trash carts for the Manor House are behind the dairy shed (the little building by the patio). One cart stays around behind the Pond House, one by the parking for the Servants' Cottage and one behind the Milker's Cottage and the Cox Mill House for your convenience. We do not have a cart for Baldy's or the Barn Apartment yet. The staff will often haul your trash bags if you leave them on the back porch of the Manor House. Our big commercial dumpster is at the working end of the Pavilion, and you are free to use it.
We have eliminated the land lines at the houses since no one used them anyway.
Tina is at 540-222-0414. Keith can be reached by calling the main farm number, 540-832-1803.
The address of the farm for emergency purposes is 17379 Wolftrap Drive, Gordonsville, VA 22942. The Milker's Cottage address is 17305 Wolftrap Drive. Baldy's is 17556 Wolftrap Drive. The Cox Mill House is 13324 Cox Mill Road, Gordonsville, VA. Emergency personnel will know how to find it. As elsewhere, to reach emergency responders, call 911.
The closest hospitals are in Charlottesville. There is a medical clinic in Orange north of town on Highway 15. There are pharmacies in Orange.
Brief History of Wolf Trap Farm:
The farm now consists of 584 acres, about half woods and half pasture. The land was owned by James Madison during the late 1700’s, before anything was built on it. In 1856, the Scott family built the front part of the Manor House as a “duplex”, and several barns on the property and the “Servants Cottage” date from that same time period.
The Scott family was in residence until the early 1900’s, when the Sidlinger family took over. They added the back “El” to the Manor House (the dining room, kitchen and upstairs servant’s quarters that is now the Suite).
In the early 1940’s the farm became a modern dairy. That is when the bell-roofed barn, the dairy shed, and the Milker's Cottage were built. You might enjoy looking in the Dairy Shed to see the milk cooling trough and notice the shallow well under the Dairy Shed.
The Von Wulffen family acquired the farm in the early 1970’s and named it Wolf Trap Farm. This name was taken from the Wolf Trap Branch, a creek that originates back in the woods of the farm, and that name fit nicely with the Von Wulffen family name. The Von Wulfens were a titled German family who lost their ancestral estates in eastern Germany when the Soviet Union took over that portion of Germany at the close of WWII. After some years in Iran, they moved to Virginia and raised their family here. After the reunification of Germany, the Von Wulfens returned to Germany to reclaim their ancestral estates.
The Cuthrell family, from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, acquired the farm in 2003, rebuilt the buildings, listed the property on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register, and opened the Manor House and Pond House to paying guests. The stables were put back in order and have served as home base for various equestrian competitors and trainers. The Servants’ Cottage was renovated and became an additional guest house in 2012. Part of the Equipment Barn was turned into the Pavilion in 2014 to host wedding receptions and other events. In 2015, the Milker's Cottage was changed from a tenant house to be another vacation rental home. In 2016, Baldy's Retreat was added. In early 2017, the former tack room and lounge of the big barn were converted into the Barn Apartment. Later in 2017, the Cox Mill House was added.
Keith Cuthrell is a mostly-retired lawyer and business owner who has rejuvenated a number of historic properties. Keith still practices law a bit with a prominent Virginia firm, focusing on business law. He spends a limited amount of his time at the farm overseeing its operations and enjoying the lifestyle of the area. He handles the reservations and most of the emailing and marketing for the farm. Keith and his wife, Deborah, have three adult children and six grandchildren.
The Owner, Keith Cuthrell, handles the emails and calls for reservations at the farm from wherever he might be when the emails and phone calls arrive.
Tina Atkins is hostess and head of housekeeping. David Strick and Kristina Turner head up the maintenance at the farm, as well as at another property in the area owned by the Cuthrell family.
Also, Tina lives just outside the back gate of the farm. She is literally one of the farm's closest neighbors.
The people you will see working with the horses are not farm employees. They have their own independent operation at the barns, which they rent from the farm. |
From The New York Times. It's about HBO's 'Fahrenheit 451' coming next month. It's
written by the director. I read the book when I was in college. It wasn't assigned. I read it because I was hooked on Ray Bradbury. It worried me then. Still does. It's maybe why I don't watch much TV and never had a big screen.
Why ‘Fahrenheit 451’ Is the Book for Our Social Media Age
May 10, 2018
. There will be no such disclaimer at the end of my new film, because we burned a lot of books. We designed powerful, kerosene-spitting flamethrowers and torched books — en masse. This was not easy for me to do. I was taught at a very young age to read and respect books. Even setting a teacup on a book was considered a sin. In my parents’ household, Hafez’s book of Persian poetry, “The Divan,” was revered like a religious text.
But now I was making a film adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s seminal novel, “Fahrenheit 451,” which presents a future America where books are outlawed and firemen burn them. The protagonist, a fireman named Guy Montag, begins to doubt his actions and turns against his mentor, Captain Beatty. When I set out to adapt the novel early in 2016, I was faced with a big question: Do people still care about physical books?
I asked an 82-year-old friend for advice. “Go ahead and burn books,” he said. “They mean nothing to me. I can read anything on my tablet, from the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ to Jo Nesbo, and I can read them in bed, on a plane or next to the ocean, because it’s all in the cloud, safe from your firemen’s torches.”
If he felt this way, what would teenagers think? Bradbury’s novel is a classic taught in high schools across America. But the more I thought about it, the more relevant the novel seemed. For Bradbury, books were repositories of knowledge and ideas. He feared a future in which those things would be endangered, and now that future was here: The internet and new social-media platforms — and their potential threat to serious thought — would be at the heart of my adaptation.
I had never adapted a book, let alone one so important. Altering a work so brilliant and beloved always upsets some fans. I knew Bradbury had supported François Truffaut’s 1966 film adaptation. More important, Bradbury himself had reimagined “Fahrenheit 451,” first as a stage play and then as a musical, changing many elements, including letting Montag’s neighbor Clarisse McClellan live. (In the novel, she dies early on.) With Bradbury as my guide, and a vow to stay true to his ideas, I began working on the script.
“Fahrenheit 451” was written in the early 1950s, not long after Nazis burned books and, eventually, human beings. America was living under a cloud of fear created by the House Un-American Activities Committee and McCarthyism, which brought political repression, blacklists and censorship of literature and art. These anxieties permeate the novel.
But Bradbury’s key inspiration was the invasion of seven-inch black-and-white televisions into people’s homes. Bradbury was no Luddite. He wrote screenplays, including one for an adaptation of “Moby-Dick.” He also wrote 65 episodes of a television series, “The Ray Bradbury Theater.” But in “Fahrenheit 451” Bradbury was warning us about the threat of mass media to reading, about the bombardment of digital sensations that could substitute for critical thinking.
In the novel, he imagined a world where people are entertained day and night by staring at giant wall screens in their homes. They interact with their “friends” through these screens, listening to them via “Seashells” — Bradbury’s version of Apple’s wireless AirPods — inserted in their ears. In this world, people would be crammed “full of noncombustible data” — words to popular songs, the names of state capitals, the amount of “corn Iowa grew last year.” They will “feel they’re thinking,” Bradbury wrote, “and they’ll be happy, because facts of that sort don’t change.”
Bradbury was worried about the advent of Reader’s Digest. Today we have Wikipedia and tweets. He worried that people would read only headlines. Today it seems that half the words online have been replaced with emojis. The more we erode language, the more we erode complex thought and the easier we are to control.
Bradbury feared memory loss. Today we have designated Google and our social-media accounts as the guardians of our memories, emotions, dreams and facts. As tech companies consolidate power, imagine how easy it could be to rewrite Benjamin Franklin’s Wiki entry to match what the firemen in Bradbury’s novel learn about the history of the fire department: “Established, 1790, to burn English-influenced books in the Colonies. First Fireman: Benjamin Franklin.” In his way, Bradbury predicted the rise of “alternative facts” and an era of “post-truth.”
As the virtual world becomes more dominant, owning books becomes an act of rebellion. When a printed book is in your possession, no one can track, alter or hack it. The characters in my film have never seen a book. When they first encounter a library, the books are like water in a vast digital desert. Seeing, touching and smelling a book is as alien to the firemen as milking a cow by hand would be for most of us. The firemen are transfixed by the books — but they still have to burn them.
Burning books in the film posed a legal challenge. The cover art of most books is protected by copyright, and in most cases we were unable to obtain permission to display it — let alone burn it on camera. So the art directors for my film designed countless original book covers that we could burn.
The question was: Which books? There were always more I wanted to burn than we had time to film. I knew I wanted to include some of my favorites, like “Crime and Punishment,” “Song of Solomon” and the works of Franz Kafka. But we had to burn more than just fiction. Herodotus’ “Histories” — history itself — was incinerated. Pages of Emily Dickinson, Tagore and Ferdowsi’s poetry crumbled into black ash. Hegel, Plato and Grace Lee Boggs’s philosophy were set on fire. The firemen discriminate against no one: Texts in Chinese, Hindi, Persian and Spanish all burned. A Mozart score, an Edvard Munch painting, magazines, newspapers, photographs of Sitting Bull, Frederick Douglass and the 1969 moon landing went up in smoke.
Even the most fanatic firemen would have a hard time burning the copies of a best seller like “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” After J. K. Rowling spoke out against Donald Trump on Twitter, people tweeted that they were planning to burn their Harry Potter books. So we followed suit. Famously banned books had to go: “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” “Lolita,” “Leaves of Grass” and “The Communist Manifesto.” While we were shooting the film, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” a frequent target of censorship, was once again banned in some schools, so into the flames it went. For some authors, having a book burned in the film was a badge of honor. Werner Herzog and Hamid Dabashi generously donated their work to be burned alongside the best and the worst of literature. If we save “Wise Blood” then we must preserve “Mein Kampf” as well.
Watching the books burn was an otherworldly experience. The hiss of incinerating pages sounded like the final gasps of hundreds of dying souls. The more we burned, the more hypnotic it became — a mesmerizing spectacle of pages curling and embers dancing into the void.
Bradbury believed that we wanted the world to become this way. That we asked for the firemen to burn books. That we wanted entertainment to replace reading and thinking. That we voted for political and economic systems to keep us happy rather than thoughtfully informed. He would say that we chose to give up our privacy and freedom to tech companies. That we decided to entrust our cultural heritage and knowledge to digital archives. The greatest army of firemen will be irrelevant in the digital world. They will be as powerless as spitting babies next to whoever controls a consolidated internet.
How could they stop one person, hiding in his parents’ basement with a laptop, from hacking into thousands of years of humanity’s collective history, literature and culture, and then rewriting all of it … or just hitting delete?
And who would notice?
Ramin Bahrani is a writer, director and Guggenheim fellowship recipient whose films include “Chop Shop” and “99 Homes.” His adaptation of “Fahrenheit 451” will air on HBO on May 19. |
Year-Round Immune SupportSuperBeets Immune is our most defensive formula yet, and our first to promote immune health. In a new Cranberry Cherry flavor with 250mg of Wellmune—the same dose used in over 12 clinical studies, SuperBeets Immune helps:
- Maintain a strong immune system
- Promote immune health
- Strengthen natural defenses to maintain health
- Stay healthy during times of stress
- A great addition to your daily regimen of SuperBeets
Get 24/7 Immune Support with SuperBeets Immune
Your immune system is your body’s defense department. A healthy immune system helps you feel your best all year round. No one wants to feel lousy… miss out on work… or cancel a family trip. Don’t wait until it’s too late – invest in yourself and be proactive in your immune health.
Immune System Stressors
Bolster Your Frontline: Why You Need Year-Round Immune Support
Forget picking up a bug, the top 5 things that compromise your immune system are stress, poor diet, an on-the-go lifestyle, family demands and insufficient sleep.
Have you felt stressed recently? Do you sometimes toss and turn at night? Do you ever grab something fast & pre-packaged to eat because your day is stacked? If you answered yes to any of these, consider daily immune support.
It’s not just bugs and germs that attack your system. Everyday factors like stress take a toll on your immune health, too. SuperBeets Immune helps support your body’s natural defenses to help keep you going no matter what’s happening in your life. Be proactive in your immune health. We can’t stop your life being stressful, but we can help you guard against its effects.
Nutrition & Ingredients
This Isn’t Your Grandma’s Old Folk Remedy
Immune support has come a long way since chicken noodle soup and megadoses of vitamin C. SuperBeets Immune features Wellmune, a scientifically-backed, clinically-researched immune boosting ingredient. Don’t worry, it’s also got Vitamin C and other key ingredients you won’t find in many other immune health formulas.
You may not have heard of Wellmune (yet) but it’s the knock-out punch in our immune defense formula. A yeast beta glucan backed by over 12 clinical studies, Wellmune is clinically-researched to help strengthen immune health. Some other products have a little, but ours has 250mg to deliver results.
A true superfood, beetroot powder is at the heart of SuperBeets Immune. We only use premium non-GMO beets for the best natural source of antioxidants, electrolytes and other nutrients that help support a healthy cardiovascular system.
No choking down bland powders here. We created a new tangy Cranberry-Cherry flavor. With just the right amount of sweet to balance out the tart, SuperBeets Immune will have you licking your lips after each immune-supporting sip.
There’s been major breakthroughs in science and immune health since you were a kid. Vitamin C isn’t ALL that matters, but it’s still an important weapon in your immune defense arsenal. SuperBeets Immune has 50mg of this immune support staple.
How To Use
Easy to take, easy to drink.
Mix one teaspoon with four to six ounces of water and enjoy. For best results drink immediately after mixing. Make sure to store the canister in a cool, dry place and use within 45 days of opening.
A Formula this Special Deserves a Taste to Match
We’re so excited about SuperBeets Immune we created a BRAND NEW FLAVOR. With a touch of tart and a lot of sweetness, this delicious Cranberry Cherry formula maintains a strong immune system with better-than-ever taste.
Just scoop one tangy serving into 4-6 ounces of water, stir and enjoy. You can mix it with other HumanN products, too. SuperBeets Immune is vegan, gluten free, and made with non-GMO beets. You can take it everyday—it won’t overstimulate your immune system.
How is SuperBeets Immune different from other immune products?
Many common immune products contain conventional vitamins, minerals, or herbs. SuperBeets Immune features 250mg of Wellmune®, the same dose used in a dozen clinical studies. Additionally, SuperBeets Immune supports a healthy cardiovascular system from non-GMO beets.
What’s Wellmune? Does it have beta-glucans?
Yes! Wellmune is a leading natural yeast beta glucan clinically-studied to help strengthen your immune system. It’s GRAS, Kosher and Gluten Free, and it won’t over stimulate your immune system so you can take it everyday.
Wait, what are beta-glucans?
Beta glucans are large glucose molecules found in the cell walls of baker’s yeast, mushrooms, and lichens. Beta glucans work by triggering key immune cells to stimulate the immune system. Unfortunately, your body cannot produce them, so you have to incorporate them into your diet or take a beta-glucan supplement.
Can SuperBeets Immune help with a stressful lifestyle?
While it won’t stop stress from happening, it does help you stay healthy during times of stress.
Can I mix SuperBeets Immune with other HumanN products?
Yes! SuperBeets Immune is completely compatible with all of our other HumanN products, and may be taken daily.
We have specifically designed our line of SuperBeets products to be taken together. If you’d like to learn more about the difference between each SuperBeets product and how to use them together, read our latest post here: How to Use Every Type of SuperBeets in a Single Day.
- SuperBeets is our original circulation superfood. SuperBeets helps support healthy circulation, heart health, and healthy blood pressure levels with the nitric oxide potential of non-GMO beets grown in the U.S.
- SuperBeets Energy Plus is infused with 80 mg. of plant-based caffeine from green tea extract to help promote mental focus and a smooth, heart-healthy energy boost when you need it the most.
- SuperBeets Collagen features high-quality collagen peptides from grass-fed cows that were enzymatically hydrolyzed into low-molecular weight peptides for optimal use in your body to help support healthy skin.
- SuperBeets Immune is our most defensive formula yet, and our first to help promote your immune health. It features 250mg of Wellmune, a yeast beta glucan with over 12 clinical studies to its name.
What’s the best way to take it?
Just mix it with 4 – 6 ounces of water, stir and enjoy! (But remember, you can also add it to smoothies and other recipes, too!)
What’s the best time of day to take it?
You can take it anytime it’s convenient. For example, if you take SuperBeets Energy Plus in the a.m. for a burst of morning energy, you can take SuperBeets Immune in the afternoon to help promote immune health.
Why is it more expensive than your other SuperBeets product(s)?
SuperBeets Immune includes Wellmune®. This novel ingredient has been used in a dozen clinical studies showing to be effective in promoting immune health and helping strengthen our immune system. Each serving provides the clinically-researched dosage of 250mg of Wellmune.
How much Vitamin C is in SuperBeets Immune?
We’ve added 50mg of Vitamin C to each serving.
How often can I take it?
SuperBeets Immune may be used daily. Suggested use is to not exceed two servings in 24 hour period.
What flavor does it come in?
We’re glad you asked! We’re so excited about SuperBeets Immune we created a brand new flavor – a tangy, sweet delicious Cranberry Cherry flavor
How many servings are in each canister?
Each canister contains 30 servings – a whole month’s supply! – of SuperBeets Immune.
Can vegans and vegetarians take it?
Absolutely! SuperBeets Immune contains no animal products and is vegan.
Is it Non-GMO?
Always! SuperBeets never uses genetically-modified beets, and we carefully source all of our other ingredients.
Does SuperBeets Immune contain soy?
No! SuperBeets Immune is soy-free.
Do you use artificial sweeteners?
No! And SuperBeets Immune uses only stevia leaf as a sweetener
Is SuperBeets Immune Gluten-Free?
Yes, SuperBeets Immune is gluten-free!
Does SuperBeets Immune have any artificial colors or flavors?
No – SuperBeets Immune does not use any artificial colors or flavors.
What form does it come in?
SuperBeets Immune comes in a delicious Cranberry Cherry flavored drink mix powder. It’s fast and simple to take mixed with water, or use it in smoothies and countless other recipes!
How should I store it?
To prevent your SuperBeets Immune powder from caking or clumping, close the container tightly and store in a dry, cool place.
Are there side effects?
No, both SuperBeets Immune and its key ingredient Wellmune are GRAS – Generally Recognized as Safe.
Frequently Bought Together...
High-potency B vitamin in a fast-melt tab with the most bioactive forms of B9, B12, B6 and B7.
Our best-selling beet powder helps support healthy circulation, blood pressure levels & energy.
The on-the-go version of our best-selling SuperBeets® canister!
For questions, please call 855-636-4040
90 Day Satisfaction Guarantee
HumanN® offers a 90-day money-back guarantee. We want you to be fully satisfied. If you are not satisfied, you may return the item within 90 days from the order date for a full refund of the purchase price, minus the shipping and handling charge. Please note that free shipping offer applies to Continental U.S. only. |
One-Armed Sutton’s masterpiece
The Sutton Skunk was a little-known tractor tank from early 1932, built for the Chinese export market by Frank ‘One-Arm’ Sutton – Englishman and adventurer. In his time, Sutton made many inventions, and this was perhaps one of his most ambitious. It was simply a Caterpillar 5-ton M1917 tractor that was borrowed from the military and armored up. Featuring two 82mm Stokes mortars and a pair of Browning machine guns, it was a fairly well-armed tankette, almost certainly designed with infantry support in mind.
Who was One-Armed Sutton?
Francis Arthur Sutton (1884-1944) was an English soldier and adventurer who spent no less than 29 years of his life traveling across the globe, having come up with various money-making schemes. His story begins in WWI, at Gallipoli whilst serving with the Royal Engineers. There, he lost part of his hand by throwing no less than six enemy grenades back into the trenches they were thrown from, with a seventh exploding in his hand, for which he earned the Military Cross, and the name “One-Armed Sutton“.
From 1915 onward, he began inventing various weapons such as heavy trench mortars and new fuse systems, which saw him travel to America in 1917 on business, after being released from duties with the British army. After earning a huge fortune for his designs, he invested his money in a gold-dredging business in Siberia. He traveled out there himself, but was forced to leave after the Red Army took control of Blagoveshchensk by 1921. After his dredging machinery was confiscated, he entered negotiations with a Red Army Commissar, who generously paid him off, and Sutton promptly left for Manchuria to cash the cheque the Commissar had written.
Finding the cheque to be good, he spent the next few years hopping back and forth between the two countries, but eventually had to stay in Manchuria, when he had spent all of his small fortune. In Manchuria, he became an advisor to Chinese Warlord Zhang Zuolin (Chang Tso-Lin), and was made a General of the Chinese Army. In 1927, however, he went to Canada, and invested his new fortune in real estate. However, as a result of the Great Depression, he lost that fortune in 1929.
He sold all of his possessions, bar two sets of clothes, paid off all of his debts, and with a few thousand dollars in hand, he began traveling across the USA to search for sponsorship for arms deals to China. His initial proposal to sell aircraft was rejected by most companies, but once he went to Peoria, Illinois, where the M1917 5-ton semi-armored tractor was built, he came up with an ingenious idea.
Sutton took a train to Philadelphia, and, somehow, convinced the Colonel Commandant of the Frankford Arsenal to lend him a tractor for “the purpose of taking some measurements”. He drove the tractor over to Henry Disston’s Steel Works and set to work…
The Sutton Skunk was essentially an armored body placed on the Caterpillar semi-armored 5-ton M1917 artillery tractor. In 1918, the American Army had huge numbers of the tractor, and by 1932, still had 600 in surplus. Trying to get rid of them, the vehicles were actually up for sale, and the US army eventually lowered the price from $8000 ($140,000 in today’s money) to $800 ($14,000 in today’s money). This is likely one of the reasons that the Colonel simply lent federal property to the silver-tongued Sutton.
At Disston’s steel works, the back seats, fuel tanks, and other ‘unimportant’ components were stripped out, and Sutton said: “I’d like to see the Frankford Colonel’s face if he happened to walk in here now!”
The engine and driver’s seat were enclosed in bullet-proof steel and he built a large superstructure on the rear, which made the vehicle eight feet tall. Two Browning machine guns were mounted on either side of the driver, forwards facing, in crude gun ports. There were also two pistol ports on both sides of the hull for automatic weapons and smoke grenades.
In the rear, two 82mm Stokes mortars were also fitted, which Sutton helped design a new and improved fuze for back in 1917 (which made him his first fortune). This was in fact the source of the name, as Sutton is reported as saying “I’m calling it the Sutton Skunk, as both big guns shoot out of the rear“. According to a technical drawing as included in “General of Fortune“, it seems as though the vehicle would only have one crew member, but it is probable that possibly one or two others would operate the guns.
Fate of the Sutton Skunk
Sutton had the intention of selling the vehicle to the Chinese, whom he had spent many years with, as mentioned, in service with one of the strongest warlords in China (in fact, Sutton deemed Zuolin the greatest of them all). For the far east, it could easily be deemed an excellent vehicle with serious export prospects, because whilst quite unimpressive to western militaries, it would impress the Chinese, who had little or no experience of armored warfare. The armaments might sound unimpressive in retrospect, but would be little need for a vehicle to combat other tanks. Apart from which, the Sutton Skunk would be fairly cheap.
However, this is where all clear-cut and clarified information on the Sutton Skunk ends.
Sutton stated that he was going to ship this prototype to China and sell them like hot cakes, and in August, 1932, he indeed sailed for Shanghai, but the only source for this journey is the book “General of Fortune“, which does not clearly state any substantial information about the negotiations behind the sale of the Sutton Skunk.
At this time China was preparing for war against Japan, that had already seized Manchuria practically unopposed, and the preparations for war were in the hands of a German Military Mission headed by General von Seekt. According to “General of Fortune” – “there was no need for talented amateurs like Sutton, nor his ingenious improvised tractor tank“. This seems to imply that he attempted the sale of the vehicle, but had to deal with the German military in doing so, and was ultimately unsuccessful.
In terms of selling arms to warlords, even though they still operated independently and therefore he could negotiate with each on a separate basis, he felt as though he had already fought with the best – Zhang Zuolin (Chang Tso-Lin), who died four years earlier in 1928. He simply refused to side with, and therefore sell arms to, any other warlord. There were also Communist rebels, but having had his fill of Communism in Siberia, Sutton refused to sell arms to them, too.
Possible arrival in China?
The fate of the prototype Sutton Skunk remains unknown, and it is unclear whether or not it was actually brought to China or not, as it is not mentioned again in the book ever again. It might even be possible that the vehicle was assembled, photographed, and returned to the Frankford Arsenal in one day.
According to “Armour in China, Military Modelling Annual (1983)“ by Steven Zaloga, the Chinese were building improvised armored cars since 1930, and improvised tanks in 1932. There is clear photographic evidence for the existence of improvised armored cars in China, but none for the existence of improvised tanks. The Studebaker tank is a well-known mystery, and it was most probably smuggled in by foreign arms dealers.
In April, 1932 Marshal Liu Hsiang formed a unit for armored cars and tanks in Chongqing.
Liu Hsiang’s story is seemingly hard to trace, but according to “China’s Wings” by Gregory Crouch, in 1931, he controlled Sichuan Province (which is just next to Chongqing – therefore, the story makes sense at least geographically), a huge army, and plenty of airplanes smuggled from Indochina by French arms dealers.
It is suggested that six improvised tanks were built based on tractors – five on a Cletrac 20 featuring a Lewis Gun, and one on a larger Cletrac 30 featuring a Lewis Gun and a 37mm gun. However, there are no photographs of either vehicle.
The connection to the Sutton Skunk would be that the Chinese designs were inspired by the Sutton Skunk, thus proving that the Sutton Skunk did, in fact, make it to China. Unfortunately, Sutton set sail for China in August of 1932. Assuming that the date of April 1932 for the formation of the tank unit is correct (and, indeed, that it truly happened), then these Chinese tractor tanks seem to have developed independent of the Sutton Skunk earlier in the year. This also assumes that Sutton did not market the idea earlier in the year before setting sail to China, or that he did not send the Sutton Skunk to China before his departure in August.
Sutton’s final years
Sutton later moved to Korea with another mining operation, but he was expelled by the Japanese in 1941. He later died in a POW camp in Hong Kong in 1944; the amazing man lost to history. Sutton’s story was written about by use of diaries, journals, and letters in the 1963 biographical book by Charles Drage – “General of Fortune, the fabulous story of One-Arm Sutton“, but Sutton still remains an obscure footnote in history, this article only scratching at the surface of his story.
Rendition of the Sutton Skunk.
The schematic and only known photo of the Sutton Skunk, as taken from “General of Fortune, The fabulous story of One-Arm Sutton“, by Charles Drage.
Sidenote I: Stolen idea?
The Disston Tractor Tank was a slightly later and similar design that was most likely made after the Sutton Skunk (although information on both vehicles is very limited). The date of creation of the Disston is a very important fact, as it may be possible that the Disston company stole the concept and design elements from Sutton.
The Disston is almost as obscure as the Sutton Skunk, and its exact year of production is also hard to pinpoint. According to sources, the earliest possible year that the Disston was seen was in 1933, when the prototype was likely built, as the earliest known hard evidence suggests that the Disston was marketed in January 1934, with a photograph of the prototype included.
Either way, all evidence places the Disston being made after the Sutton Skunk. Whilst bearing the name “Disston” (likely as a marketing technique to use the trusted brand name), it was the idea of the Caterpillar Company, and therefore, the concept of this tractor tank appears to have developed independently of the Sutton Skunk. However, the Caterpillar Company was based Peoria, Illinois, where the Sutton Skunk was made, and it may have perhaps been seen by them. Also, the specifics of the deal between Disston and Caterpillar are unclear – it is known that Caterpillar supplied the tractors, which were, almost certainly armored up at the Disston works. That being the case, it remains unclear which company made the exact design, and it is possible that if Disston made the exact design, then elements of the Sutton Skunk were borrowed.
The book, “General of Fortune, the fabulous story of One-Arm Sutton“, the only source for the Sutton Skunk, reveals few details on the tank’s construction. It will remain unknown if the Disston Tractor Tank was inspired by the Sutton Skunk or not.
Sidenote II: Mercier Tank
The Mercier tank or “Aragón Tank” was a tank based on a Caterpillar 22 tractor from 1937 (during the Spanish Civil War). A single prototype was made at the Mercier works in Zaragoza, Nationalist-occupied Spain. It featured a pair of Hotchkiss machine guns mounted in a superstructure very similar to the Sutton Skunk, except for the machine guns being mounted in specially built mounts, as opposed to simplistic holes cut in the armor. The project was never developed past a single prototype, but it, strangely, looks very similar to the Sutton Skunk. There is no likely connection between the two.
The Mercier Tank or “Aragón Tank”, circa 1937. It looks very similar to the Sutton Skunk, but there is no likely connection between the two.
“General of Fortune, The fabulous story of One-Arm Sutton“, by Charles Drage, 1st edition, 1963
“Arming the Chinese, the Western Armaments Trade in Warlord China, 1920-1928“, by Anthony B. Chan, 2nd edition, 2010
“China’s Wings” by Gregory Crouch
“Armour in China, Military Modelling Annual (1983)“ by Steven Zaloga
Letter correspondence from Otto Kafka to the Kuwaiti Minister of War |
NATURAL HEALTH TECHNIQUES NEWSLETTER
September, 2010 Volume 6 No. 2
In This Issue:
- Health in the News: *Pet food recalls (again). *Stop Frankenfish from entering our food chain
- What’s New on the Website? Nothing. Working on changeover.
- Case of the Month: Asthma
- Product of the Month: None
- Media Reviews: (Book) Influence: Science and Practice
- Ask Dr. Moffat: *Secretor vs. Non-secretor blood component. *Yellow nutsedge
- Tips and Tricks for a Healthier Life: *DrugWatch.com. *Weather down under for pollen counts
- *Driving safely with air conditioning
- Client Testimonials: None—lost ‘em. Ha!
- Healthy Recipes: Stir Fry Sauce
- Inspiration & Perspective: *Quote of the month. *Abraham on Health. *Getting older
- What’s New at Our House? Elk Meadow Farm & Nursery Tour Pictures 2010
- Local Events: *Wilson Banner Ranch Harvest Fair Oct 3-4 and 27-28
(Please note that full names are never used in this newsletter or on my website without the full consent of the sender or client. Some cases also encompass groupings of cases with similar symptoms and suggestions for healing in an attempt to educate the general public.)
Health in the News:
7/30/10 Pet Food Recalls (again?) Some Merricks, Iams—Eukanuba and Doctors Foster and Smith, Excel, Nature’s Variety and Natural Balance dog and cat foods/treats/supplements containing chicken were recalled this month due to a possible Salmonella scare. It’s a real bummer because these foods and companies are high quality. I think it was very responsible to recall foods that may or may not have been contaminated though and let’s face it. If we let our dogs and cats eat everything they came into contact with they’d be sure to be exposed to Salmonella on a regular basis. But to read the full recall list go to: https://www.avma.org/petfoodsafety/recalls/2010/default.asp
Canned foods are not part of this announcement. So far, no salmonella-related illnesses have been reported. If your pet has consumed the recalled products, and has symptoms such as decreased appetite, vomiting, lethargy, fever, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, please contact your veterinarian immediately. People handling contaminated foods are also potentially at risk for salmonella-related health issues. (Thanks to Lydia Hiby in California and Del H. in Idaho for forwarding me this info.)
Frankenfish (Genetically modified salmon!) Please join us today (and in the future I’m sure) for the campaign to keep Genetically Engineered animals out of our food supply. The FDA is set to approve Genetically Engineered salmon for our food supply at a committee meeting taking place Sunday, September 19th & 20th. In addition to exposing our wild salmon stock to the very real danger of extinction, this decision also opens the door to adding other Genetically Engineered animals into our food supply. The FDA has taken a back door approach and the committee with the power to render this decision is stacked with GE animal advocates. The sudden announcement of this meeting has left YOU, the media, health & safety and environmental groups with little time to respond. To read more, go to: https://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4750 and the issue (in brief): https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/fish/seafood/frankenfish-issue-brief
(Thanks to Bonnie D. in Bellingham, WA for alerting us to this)
What’s New on the Website? Well, over the last few months I’ve had computer crashes, power outages, two total inbox disappearances and shifted to using my laptop which has Windows 7 on it and won’t support FrontPage. I’ve cheated time for about a year now but it’s caught up with me. I now have to convert to another program for the entire 800-page website. Most of the time I have no idea what I’m doing or which computer to use or even how to transfer documents from one working place to another. Wow. My mom heard my plight and she’s purchased another desktop computer for me. I’m back up and running (mostly) and have some of my programs switched over to the laptop but have spent hours on the phone trying to get computers to talk to printers and having technicians come to the house and hook things up. Hopefully I’ll get things integrated soon. As I write this I can’t get my emails and it seems like my inbox is on three computers now! Boy, I don’t know which end is up this week.
Some days felt rather bleak in the techno arena so I just spent more time outside in our yard between appointments—actually lots more time in our yard as you will see if you click the link to our Farm Tour page farther on the bottom of the newsletter. Ahh the saga continues. I’m still working on getting electrical equipment talking to each other—but winter is coming and I’ll get caught up before the end of the year. Blah, blah, blah. Enough of that. Let’s talk about things more interesting shall we?
Case of the Month: Asthma
This is one of those diseases I’m familiar with as I used to have it. Yep, It’s a long newsletter.
Did you know. . .
- Asthma has increased continuously since the 1970s and now affects an estimated 7% of the population worldwide.
- More than 20 million people in the United States suffer from asthma as of 2008.
- Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood affecting more than 7 million children—almost 9% of all United States children have asthma.
- That boys get asthma more commonly before puberty and girls get it more commonly after puberty.
- That asthma is more common in the African American and Puerto Rican population.
- Asthma, when attended to and controlled does not often result in death (about 1.1% of people who have asthma will die of it), but it is the leading cause of hospitalization for children and the number one chronic condition causing elementary school absenteeism.
- The cost of treating asthma is estimated to be over $14 billion dollars annually which includes over 13.3 million hospital and doctor visits (a 2006 statistic).
- 90% of asthma sufferers under the age of 40 have attacks triggered by allergies.
Asthma is defined as a disease of the airway system caused by diffuse inflammation triggered by various stimuli resulting in partially or completely reversible bronchoconstriction. If you’ve never experienced this particular illness you just can’t imagine the blessing it is to be able to take a deep breath and actually feel that your lungs are totally inflating. There’s also the panic of knowing that you may not be able to get enough oxygen and that you could actually die and there’s nothing you can do about it. This is why it’s so important to be able to ferret out the triggers and core causes of asthma early on. The medical system says that once you have asthma you’ll always have asthma—and there may be some cases like that, but I’ve seen and personally experienced healing with many asthma cases.
Symptoms/Signs of asthma include difficult breathing (dyspnea), chest tightness, cough and wheezing.
The many forms of asthma include:
- Allergic asthma.
- Cough-variant or nocturnal asthma
- Exercise Induced Asthma
- Menstrual related asthma
- Nocturnal Asthma
- Non-allergic asthma
- Occupational asthma
- Persistent Asthma:
- Reactive airways dysfunction syndrome (RADS)
Asthma is classified according to the degree of symptom, the number of nighttime awakenings, interference with a normal activity, the use and need for medications, the air flow rate (FEV–Forced Expiratory Volume in one second or FVC–Forced Vital Capacity), how often an attack occurs and by the latest asthma questionnaire that a patient fills out if they go into a traditional medical system.
So, asthma can be classified as intermittent, mild persistent, moderate persistent or severe persistent.
There is also a category called status asthmaticus which is defined as severe, intense, prolonged bronchospasm resistant to treatment. These cases are where corticosteroids are needed often and long term and the patient needs lots of hospital care and are of greater risk than those suffering from other types of asthma.
In addition to the above classifications, asthma can be well controlled, not well controlled or very poorly controlled. All of this input and data determine how often your doctor wants you to come in to be re-evaluated after that initial diagnosis is made.
There are also intrinsic, extrinsic and mixed types of asthma. Intrinsic forms include non-allergenic causes, non-atopic causes and non-immunologic causes. Extrinsic forms include allergic, atopic and immunologic causes. Mixed form of course includes some of each category. So, let’s just lump all the causes and triggers together, shall we?
The causes and triggers of asthma include:
Environmental triggers: dust mites, fungi, mold, cockroaches, pet dander, mouse urine and mouse dander, cigarette smoke, perfumes, air pollutants, ragweed and tree/grass/flower pollens, fossil fuels (petrochemical pollution—especially kerosene) and cleaning agents. (Note: I find in my practice the cleaning agents causing the most trouble are Scrubbing bubbles, Bleach, Pine-sol and Simple Green). Avoid barns, hay, raking leaves and mowing grass if you know you’re allergic to molds.
I’ve read recently that the reason why there are so many more asthma attacks in pollen storms is that air changes increase during thunderstorms or major weather events such as El Nino. Interesting. Another article said that the buildup of ozone before a storm may be a factor.
Air pollutants that are strongly associated with asthma include ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.
Genetics: Asthma sufferers have often inherited susceptibility genes from a parent. Mothers are more likely to pass asthma to their child than the influence of the father’s genes. Mothers carrying female children seem to present with more asthma symptoms than if they were carrying a male child. The genes connected to asthma are associated with a type of white blood cell call T-helper cells, eosinophils and mast cells which are a part of our immune system that over-respond and over-react to environmental triggers.
Emotions involved as asthma triggers include anxiety, anger and excitement. Some resources listed “fear or anxiety and a feeling of constriction or suffocation by a relationship or situation”.
In her book, You Can Heal Your Life, Louise Hay relates that asthmatic children often have “overdeveloped consciences” and take on the guilt feelings for whatever seems wrong in their environment. These children have a deep sense of feeling unworthy so feel the need to self-punish by blocking air flow. They may also have a fear of life and not wanting to be here.
Often, once we get the treatable core causes attended to, I’ll refer these asthma cases to someone who performs emotional release work. Doing Neuro Emotional Technique (www.netmindbody.com) or Emotional Freedom Technique often helps release those buttons which can trigger an asthma attack.
Examples of emotional triggers may be the smell of cigarette smoke in a bar or car or hotel room. Even though the allergy to cigarette smoke and the viruses carried by the tobacco have been treated, the smell of smoke would still stimulate neurotransmitters from the brain to be released which would affect your parasympathetic nervous system to constrict the air passages. If we can scratch or break that broken record pattern within your brain the environmental triggers and memories won’t have the adverse affect on your lungs.
Exercise: Cold/dry weather and unfiltered cold air is often a trigger for Exercise Induced Asthma (EIA). Symptoms of EIA are most intense about 10 minutes into exercising. People with this type of asthma don’t require long-term therapy and the asthma resides when the exercise has stopped but they can have other types of asthma at the same time.
Aspirin (also ibuprofen (Advil) and naproxen (Aleve): Aspirin-Induced Asthma (AIA) occurs in up to 30% of older patients and is often associated with post viral infections. With this type of asthma the combination of the presence of nasal polyps, GERD and taking aspirin somehow prime the body for asthma attacks.
I found it interesting in my research that none of the medical sites mentioned that GERD could most often be overcome by following a blood type diet. Often in the case of many chronic diseases and conditions if you can just control what you can, eliminate what you can and manage the other core causes, there can be stability and relief of exacerbations of all kinds of problems the body gives us over the years. Once you do these steps the body is open to repairing the damage that has been done to it. Of course some organs take longer to respond, but they do respond over time. I find this totally cool. Aspirin-induced asthma accounts for about 10% of all asthma cases and is responsible for about 25% of all asthma hospitalizations.
Infectious causes include viruses and bacteria. Implicated in the cause of asthma include: the adenoviruses Chlamydia pneumonia and Mycoplasma pneumonia, Rhinovirus, Respiratory Syncitial Virus (RSV), Parainfluenza virus and Pneumococcal pneumonia.
I personally believe many people who have asthma have had a history of bronchial infections or some type of pneumonia. The viruses that have causes these diseases have never really been alleviated from the body and eventually (often years down the road) asthma develops as a result. The most common viruses involved are RSV (Respiratory Syncitial Virus), rhinovirus and parainfluenza but I’ve also picked up the Tuberculinum bacteria with muscle testing. Did you know that people with crooked teeth may have a cellular memory or generation influence of having relatives who died of tuberculosis?
Hormonal changes in women. (see Menstrual Related Asthma above.) Studies have shown that the use of oral contraceptives does not have much effect on treating this kind of asthma. The risk for hospitalization increases fourfold as the woman goes through perimenopause as her estrogen levels diminish.
Time of day: Nocturnal Asthma factors may include chemical and temperature changes in the body that lead to increased inflammation of the airways, delayed allergic response from the day’s triggers, metabolization of the day’s medications wearing off, increase in acid reflux from laying down, postnasal drip and from sleeping on one’s back.
Low Stomach Acid: A study done in 1931 showed that 80% of 200 asthmatic children had below normal amounts of stomach acid. Low stomach acid is associated with increases in food allergies.
Occupation: Between 2 and 26% of adult-asthma cases are related to work history. Now this type of asthma can be caused from air quality or allergens at work or existing asthma can be aggravated by those components. Over 250 agents have been identified as potential occupational triggers of asthma. Some of these substances include isocyanates, trimellitic anhydrides, woods like red cedar, oak, redwood and mahogany, metal salts, vegetable dusts, biologic agents, xylanase, pharmaceutical agents, glutaraldyhyde, red dyes (which are often made from cockroaches) and diacetyl (artificial butter flavor).
Workers in the farm industry, hairdressers and those in the garment industry are at higher risk for occupational asthma. Are you being exposed? To read more go to: https://adam.about.com/reports/000004_10.htm
Vaccinations: Influenza vaccinations have been implicated from various studies as a trigger for asthma. Because of this 90% of asthma patients are not being vaccinated. Governmental agencies are saying that flu shots are safe for both children and adults.
Alcohol: Alcohol is a trigger not only because beer and wine contain sulfites but alcohol is processed through the liver. When the liver is sludgy or sick or not functioning well more allergies manifest. When there are more allergies, there are more asthma attacks associated with the allergies.
Foods and Food Additives: Eggs, fish, shellfish (sulfites?) nuts, peanuts (molds?), milk, chocolate, wheat, citrus and food colorings may trigger asthma for various reasons. Food additives and dyes can also be in medications and vitamin supplements so be aware of that. Some food additives/dyes implicated in asthma include:
- 4-hydroxybenzoate esters
- Amaranth dye
- Coccine (red) dye (the one made from cockroaches)
- Pate blue dye
- Sodium benzoate
- Sulphur dioxide
- Sunset Yellow dye
- Tartrazine (orange dye)
The Hygiene hypothesis: There are some researchers who think children are more resistant to developing asthma if they have been exposed to small amounts of exacerbating asthma triggers early in life. They feel that vaccines, antibiotics and cleaner environments do not help the immune system develop proper T-cell function so when triggers for asthma happen the immune system doesn’t respond properly which causes problems.
Dietary influences which exacerbate asthma include vitamin C and E deficiencies, certain fatty acid deficiencies and obesity.
Asthma has also been linked to young maternal age, poor maternal nutrition, premature birth, low birth weight and to a lack of breastfeeding.
- Diagnosis is based on history, physical exam and pulmonary function tests done with a spirometer. The pulmonary functions tests should be repeated every year or two to monitor progression of the disease.
- Bloodwork to check for increased eosinophils (a white blood cell) can be indicative of asthma but it also can indicate parasites or just plain allergies.
- Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF) is done with a hand-held meter. This can be done at home by the patient and is used to monitor the disease.
- Provocative Test: One diagnostic test sometimes done is the provocative test. The patient inhales a mild dose of a harmful agent such as methacholine, histamine, adenosine or bradykinin which causes bronchoconstriction. There are several contraindications to this type of testing as you can imagine, but your doctor is skilled enough to screen for patients that are high-risk of stroke, high blood pressure or COPD.
- Pulse oximetry is done when a patient is transported to the hospital or emergency room to determine oxygen carrying capacity within the bloodstream.
- RAST testing for allergies is sometimes helpful to find triggering allergens.
- Other tests that may be helpful are the diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLCO) and chest X-rays (which veterinarians use quite often).
Treatments for Asthma:
Treatment for asthma includes control of triggers, drugs/supplements/homeopathics, emotional release work, monitoring, client education and attending to exacerbations of the disease with emergency procedures as needed. Note: Any asthma attack that does not resolve despite using an inhaler is a medical emergency.
Drugs used to treat Asthma include:
- Anticholinergics which are used to dilate the bronchioles. Anticholinergics include Ipratopium and Tiotropium. Adverse effects of these include papillary dilation, blurred vision and dry mouth.
- Anti-inflammatory agents: Cromolyn (a mast-cell stabilizer) and Salmeterol (Serevent) are both beta-agonists that also have mild anti-inflammatory action.
- Beta-agonists act to dilate the bronchioles. From the shortest acting to the longest include: Cromolyn, Albuterol, Levalbuterol, Ipratropium, Theophylline, Salmeterol, Fomoterol and Tiotropium. Tachycardia, tremor and mild hypokalemia (low blood potassium) are side-effects of these drugs.
- Corticosteroids (Inhalers, pills and injectable in an emergency). Use of long-term corticosteroids can really cause some problems with the adrenal-pituitary axis and also cause osteoporosis, liver damage, cataracts, skin atrophy, bruising and out of control hunger.
- Immunomodulators include omalizumab which affects the IgE antibodies. One side effect of overuse is anaphylaxis so there should be emergency drugs handy if this one is used.
- Leukotriene modifiers such as Zileuton. Occasional side effect is the Churg-Strauss syndrome. Of course, being a veterinarian I had to look this syndrome up. We normally just name our syndromes for what the organ or system is and don’t attach some doctor’s name to the syndrome. . . Oh, it’s vasculitis.
- Mast cell stabilizers (for allergic causes). Some feel these are the safest (but most ineffective) to use in controlling asthma.
- Methylxanthines. These drugs relax bronchial smooth muscle and increase heart and diaphragm contractility. Theophylline is in this category. Side effects are many and can include headache, vomiting, cardiac arrhythmias and seizures. Additionally conditions such as fever, liver disease and heart failure alter the metabolization of this drug so it is dropping out of favor.
- Some other drugs used in the treatment or control of asthma have included low-dose Methotrexate and Cyclosporine (both cancer treatment drugs), magnesium sulfate, Gold, Colchicines (a gout drug), Heliox, general anesthesia and high-dose IV immune globulin. Biaxin (clarithromycin) may improve lung function if the patient shows evidence of infection with Mycoplasma or Chlamydia. Zanamivir is a new antiviral medicine used to treat influenza in patients over the age of 12.
Nebulizers are used for acute asthma attacks. Several substances can be used in the nebulizer including: lidocaine, heparin, corticosteroids, aminophylline and ipratropium.
Contraindicated drugs for asthma include anxiolytics and morphine because they cause even more problems with breathing and often increase the need for mechanical ventilation.
Inhalers should be used properly to be effective. Have a trained specialist walk you through this until you feel comfortable in knowing that you are doing it correctly. If you see mist coming out of your mouth after using an inhaler, you’re using it wrong.
Natural Treatments for Asthma Resolution or Management
Note: I believe natural treatments work most excellently for asthma, but please don’t stop taking your “real” drugs until symptoms have abated and you talk with your doctor about cutting back, minimizing then finally eliminating the drugs you no longer need. Sometimes it’s just good to have an emergency backup plan if you fall off your “healthy living” lifestyle. Now take a look at this list. Wow!
Acupuncture/Acupressure: Chinese medicine classifies asthma as either acute or chronic. The treatments are quite different. For acute attacks the focus is on symptom relief. For chronic asthma the focus is on strengthening the weakened organs or systems.
Alexander Technique: Re-education on how to relax and breathe is helpful in controlling asthma. The Alexander technique encourages the release of tension in the chest while increasing the intrathoracic capacity. It also helps with stress management. See the Alexander Technique website for more information: https://www.alexandertechnique.com
Aromatherapy: Roman Chamomile is used to relieve spasms.
Ayurvedic medicine: The goal is to balance the doshas according to the individual’s condition. Panchakarma therapy may be useful. Here’s a link to read about that:
https://chakrapaniayurveda.com/panchakarma2.html. For immediate relief of asthma, one Ayurvedic doctor recommends squeezing an onion and drinking ¼ cup of the onion juice mixed with 1 teaspoon of honey and 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper. Woof. My lip is already curling.
Biofeedback or Autogenic training: This isn’t something that can be done at home. There are clinics you can go to and usually this takes several sessions to retrain your thinking patterns. The goal is to desensitize your nervous system to some of the triggers of the disease.
Buteyko Breathing Technique: https://www.buteyko.com The Buteyko method is named after its founder Doctor Konstantin Buteyko. It is the “most effective drug-free approach for the management of asthma and other breathing related problems” says the website. It can be practiced by both adults and children, and gives quick and consistent results. I checked it out and you can purchase a DVD and manual for about $100 US. The method is based on raising carbon dioxide levels in the airways.
Caffeine: Say you’ve left your inhaler at home and you’re stuck somewhere and feel and attack come on. Now’s the time to drink a couple strong cups of coffee. Coffee acts as a bronchodilator and is similar to theophylline (the caffeine found in chocolate).
Chinese Herbal Formulas. Chinese herbs for asthma include carminatives, herbs to clear fluid retention (dampness) and herbal tonics, antitussives, expectorants and anti –asthmatic herbs. One listed on the internet is Aller Relief Chinese herbal cold and allergy. This one contains aristolochic acid which may cause kidney problems and has been known to cause cancer. Make sure you get Chinese formulas that have been screened for sulfites and heavy metals as they do use a lot of sulfites as a preservative over in China which can make your symptoms worse.
Chocolate: In a pinch—and this shouldn’t be used on a daily basis—a couple of chocolate bars has enough theophylline in them to help in an asthma attack.
Cymatics or Sound Healing: Certain sounds can help heal the body. Cymatics is the science of finding those sounds and tones that work best for your condition. Read more about that here: https://www.collegeofsoundhealing.co.uk/pages/about.html
Eating for your Blood type: www.dadamo.com
Echinacea has been used in the past and it may help the immune system but often people don’t test they need this one.
Emotional Release work: www.netmindbody.com
Exercise: Practicing yoga exercises regularly helps reduce or stop the need for asthma medications.
Flower Essences: Bach flower remedies such as Rescue Remedy can help with stress and anxiety.
Glandulars/Protomorphogens: Taking these nutritional products that contain some of the organs that we are trying to heal entices specific nutrition to the organs that are weak. So asthmatics would take a glandular (like Pneumotrophin PMG) with lung tissue in it. Many of my vegans and vegetarians won’t take these products so if you are a practitioner you may want to ask about the eating habits of your clients/patients before recommending treatments.
Grape seed extract (GSE): Grape seed extract is touted as a natural antihistamine although I’ve never experienced that in my practice.
Herbs used for asthma include:
- Angelica sinensis is used as a natural antihistamine for the relief of allergic symptoms in association with pollens, dust, molds and animal danders.
- Asian Ginseng
- Butterbur capsules: The root extract of the herb Petasites hybridus (also known as butter dock, blatterdock, bog rhubarb and exwort) contains petasin and isopetasin which supposedly act to reduce smooth muscle spasm. Butterbur is a relative of ragweed though which may exacerbate allergies and it does contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids in it which can destroy healthy liver cells. NOT recommended in pregnant or nursing women. Side effects can include indigestion, headache, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation along with elevated liver enzymes and liver damage. I think there are safer products on the market. I had never heard of this plant and have about 260 different herbs on my shelves at the moment.
- Capsicum frutescens (Chili peppers) helps to desensitize the airway mucosa to various mechanical and chemical irritants. Useful for breaking an asthma attack.
- Drosera rotundifolia (Sundew)
- Ephedra sinica (Ma huang, Mormon tea or Desert tea) Ephedra has been used as a bronchodilator for well over 5000 years. Its use in modern medicine began in 1923 with the discovery of its alkaloid compound ephedrine. Ephedrine is not as safe as the whole plant and can cause increased blood pressure. Ephedra’s therapeutic effect diminishes over time. It is often used with Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) and Panax ginseng as these herbs support the adrenal glands which are weakened by ephedra usage. I’ve used this herb for my own asthma in the past but I wouldn’t want to take it for more than a few doses.
- Euphorbia hirta
- Ginger: Drinking ginger tea can help increase circulation and therefore oxygenation to the tissues.
- Green Tea (Thea sinensis): Theophylline and antioxidant properties in green tea help to prevent and treat asthma.
- Grindelia camporum: Used as an expectorant.
- Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) to support the adrenal glands, as an anti-inflammatory and antihistamine. Licorice also helps to repair damage done to the body by steroids. Too much is not a good thing however. Licorice has been known to increase blood pressure over time because it acts on the body to retain water.
- Lobelia is used as an expectorant and to help the body release natural hormones from the adrenal glands that help to relax the bronchial muscles. Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco), Lobelia urens and Lobelia dortmanns have all been used. In days past the Native American Indians used Lobelia inflata to cut and extend the tobacco they got from the white man. As a tincture Lobelia inflata makes your throat tickle and feel prickly. It’s kind of weird.
- Nettles for its natural antihistamine value
- Onions and Garlic: Inhibits the manufacture of leukotrienes as these foods contain Quercetin—a natural antihistamine.
- Polygala senega (Senega)
- Saw Palmetto
- Scutellaria baicalensis (Chinese skullcap) used for its anti-inflammatory actions
- Skunk Cabbage (Symphlocarpus factida) is used as an expectorant and respiratory sedative.
- Thyme (Thymus vulgarus) helps with viruses.
- Tylorphora asthmatics is an Ayurvedic herb.
Homeopathic Remedies: My favorites are Viral Immune System Stimulator, Virus Nosode Drops, Chlamydiae drops, Mycoplasma pneumonia, Tuberculinum Nosode drops and any other homeopathic supportive of detoxification that the body wants through muscle-testing. Other common homeopathic mixes may include Toxic Fungi/Mold drops, Mycological Immune System Stimulator drops or Bacterial System Immune Stimulator drops.
Hypnosis and Self-hypnosis: You can go to a practitioner to learn this therapy or you can read some books and develop a self-suggestive guided meditation on how to make your respiratory system healthy, happy and whole. Some people do well with hypnosis techniques while others can’t seem to trust enough to relax into the process.
Massage is used for relaxation
Meditation to learn how to control stress and increase your ability to use mind over matter.
- Selenium: Selenium helps to reduce leukotriene formation. Leukotrienes cause the bronchioles to constrict.
- Magnesium: Helps relax bronchial smooth muscle.
More raw fruits and veggies: Especially those high in antioxidants, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, selenium and manganese like tomatoes, carrots, leafy green vegetables and carrots. Selenium foods include fish, red meat, grains, eggs, chicken, liver and garlic.
Omega Fatty Acids: Although lots of people who consult with me are on different omega fatty acids, most times I find that Udo’s Choice Oil Blend capsules or Norwegian Wild Salmon Oil are the specific oils they need in their body. I think these brand names come up most often because some of the other brand names may not be as high quality or they are left around too long so have oxidized or maybe they are contaminated with mercury. If you’re burping these supplements up, your body is trying to tell you that you may not need them or they are the wrong ones for your body.
Probiotics: A healthy gut is a healthy immune system. Often Fructo Oligo Saccharides (FOS) are more effective in enticing good gut flora to reproduce, but this was listed on one website.
Reflexology: Specifically work all the lung and bronchial reflexes on the top and bottom of both feet. Also work the adrenal glands, the solar plexus/diaphragm points and the sinus reflexes on the toes and fingers. There are many great reflexology books on the market but I tell my clients to just start rubbing and pay particular attention to anything that elicits pain. Work those points more—lightly at first and then press with more pressure and keep working the areas until the pain goes away. This may take 2-4 treatments but just keep at it. About ten minutes a day is most beneficial.
Relaxation and Stress Reduction techniques: People with asthma have higher rates of anxiety and depression. Because of this sometimes protocols aren’t followed properly and medications/ supplements are not adhered to which makes asthma symptoms more severe and life threatening.
Rolfing: I couldn’t find a good resource for this although this technique was listed on several resources for the treatment of asthma.
Shiatsu: Shiatsu sequences help relieve strained neck muscles caused by asthma attacks and the coughing associated with those attacks. Start with light pressure and gradually increase it and be careful as the neck is quite delicate.
Treat underlying allergies and allergic rhinitis.
Urine Injection: Ummm. OK. This treatment uses cattle urine. What the hay—Premarin is made of pregnant horse urine. Here’s the link: https://www.cowurine.com/asthema.html
Visualization: I like the Silva method but there are lots of great methods out there. Often I find it’s easier to visualize when you know the anatomy of the area you are trying to repair so in your Google search box type in “images of” or “photos of” or “videos of” the organ or system you’re trying to heal and you’ll get some good images of healthy tissue and function.
- Vitamin B6: Vitamin B6 may help the body utilize tryptophan which is converted to serotonin (a brain neurotransmitter). Asthmatics seem to have a challenge using tryptophan in their body in the conversion to serotonin. Apparently serotonin acts to constrict bronchioles. Don’t overdose on this however. Mega doses can be toxic. On the other hand, it’s pretty difficult to overdose on foods high in B6. Check out those B6 foods here: /Diet_Nutrition/vitamin_b6_pyridoxine.htm. It may also help to cut back on those foods high in Tryptophan.
- Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 appears to be most effective for people with sulfite allergies. The stomach cells that secrete stomach acid also secrete B12 components (intrinsic factor) which help with B12 absorption.
- Vitamin C: Vitamin C inhibits the constriction of bronchioles and helps to normalize fatty acid metabolism. In actuality, ascorbic acid (which is not vitamin C) was used in these studies. Ascorbic acid is just one molecule of the vitamin C. Vitamin C is made of four molecules so natural forms of vitamin C (rose hips, acerola, bioflavonoids) may work better than ascorbic acid as an antioxidant.
- Vitamin E: Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant and helps to inhibit inflammatory compounds.
Water: Drinking water is not an item that is very interesting for asthmatics and people with other pulmonary conditions but this will help thin the mucous that causes the plugs that makes asthma worse. Drink it at room temperature, warm or hot. Iced water can cause constriction
Weight reduction for sleep apnea exacerbated asthma.
Miscellaneous Notes on Asthma:
If your child has asthma, his/her teachers and nurses at school need to know the action plan for attacks. Cromolyn and Nedocromil are long-acting drugs for asthma but they are not as effective as other medications. They do however prevent the embarrassment of having to take medications at school.
Pregnant women with asthma: Poorly controlled asthma in the mother increases prenatal mortality, premature delivery and lower birth weights. Asthma drugs have not been shown to have adverse affects on the fetus.
Elderly people with asthma: Increased use of corticosteroids also increases the risk of osteoporosis so this group may need additional supplementation to support the skeletal system.
Poverty is a consistent risk factor for asthma. Both the elderly and the urban poor have the highest risk for severe asthma and death.
The poorly educated and those who exercise less (and obese) are the highest risk for adult-onset asthma.
Things you can do at home to help minimize trips to the emergency room:
Clean often: For those of you asthma sufferers who have to do your own cleaning (and cleaning IS important) be sure to wear a dust mask, gloves, grubby clothes and don’t use feather dusters. Pick up the dust with a damp cloth and use HEPA filters for your vacuum. When you are completed with cleaning, take a shower to wash off the disturbed matter.
Use pillows made of synthetic fibers and mattress covers made of impermeable material. Wash them frequently and don’t hang them out on a line to be dried where they will pick up more pollens and dust. Put pillows in the drier on hot setting once a week for 20 minutes—especially during allergy season. This helps minimize dust and kills bacteria and molds that just love that warm humid environment created while the patient is sleeping and breathing into the pillow.
Wash and change bedding frequently in hot water (130 degrees F or 54 degrees Celsius) as this kills any dust mites and helps to remove animal dander. I usually recommend that the pillowcases be changed every week. If you can’t get your water that hot or you feel that washing them so often in hot water will ruin them another option is to freeze the sheets for 24 hours before washing them in warm water. Freezing kills the mites but doesn’t get rid of the feces. But the washing should do that.
Remove from the sleeping area and as many other areas as possible: carpet, upholstered furniture, soft toys scented candles and pets. If you can’t remove the carpet then opt for low-pile carpet. Ditch the shag carpeting.
Keep bookcases out of the bedroom. Books often build up dust on them and also have mold spores in them—especially in humid environments.
Bathe your pets once a week. This greatly decreases the pet dander which exacerbates the asthma condition. Some pets that are asthma-friendly are poodles and Devon-Rex cats (mostly hairless). And don’t use human shampoo to do this—it has the wrong pH and can cause skin problems for the pet. You wouldn’t want that.
Use a dehumidifier in basement and poorly aerated areas.
Damp mop and dust often—at least once a month-to remove dust and molds. We spend about 8 hours/day in the bedroom so be sure to wipe down the bed frame, around the bed and the furniture more often than the rest of the house. Unfortunately, if you back off on any of the cleaning, new dust bunnies will develop and you’ll have to start all over again.
Steam clean existing carpeting and upholstery twice a year to diminish dust mites, cockroach feces and animal hair/dander. Dust mites need a warm temperature (about 70 degrees) and lots of humidity (about 50%) to thrive. Come to think of it that’s the perfect environment for fleas to hatch as well!
Keep the bathroom door closed while showering and the vent fan on. This prevents increasing humidity in other rooms of the house.
Use window shades: Window shades collect less dust than either drapes or blinds. It’s a hassle and expensive to wash curtains or blinds on a regular basis but please do that anyway.
Don’t place your bed over a heating vent. If you have to do this then plug the vent so no air can come through it. You don’t want dust coming up through the heating system and you want that vent in an easy place to clean it. Have your heating system vents cleaned about once a year.
Use a HEPA (High-efficiency Particulate Air) filter in your vacuum.
Watch what you eat: Avoid foods with sulfites and MSG. (see those handouts listed under the Nutrition section of my website). Often milk (which causes increased phlegm in many blood types), beer, wine, dried fruits, nuts, seafood and processed foods are a hidden source of food additives and allergens. I noticed that even flour tortillas are preserved with metabisulfites. Even smelling some foods you are sensitive to may bring on an attack.
Use salt sparingly: Especially table salt. Salt and increased asthma attacks have a high correlation.
Don’t smoke in the house or around an asthma sufferer. If you have asthma, stop smoking! Louise Hay says that 95% of people who smoke have an unresolved issue with either their mother or father. Do your body a favor and resolve the issue and stop taking it out on yourself.
Woodstove heat is a no-no. If that is your only heat source then be sure the stove and chimney are airtight to reduce particulate matter coming into the room and be sure to ventilate the rooms you heat.
Eat for your blood type: Gastric reflux can exacerbate asthma. Most all my clients who eat for their blood type resolve their GERD issues. The medical system recommends taking an antacid before bedtime. This should be a temporary fix as there are lots of challenges with antacids (See Antacid handout: /SpecificDiseases/antacids_problems_associated.htm )
Don’t wear perfumes, use room deodorizers or use detergents with strong odors.
Don’t exercise out of doors without a scarf or mask to warm up and humidify the cold/dry air as you exercise. Breathe through your nose.
Take your asthma meds about 15 minutes before exercising. Warm up, start slowly, then be sure to add in a warm down cycle when you exercise.
Don’t exercise in high humidity. Strangely enough though, swimming is a good exercise for asthmatics. Baseball, tennis and golf are also good sports. Be sure to wash your clothes and hands after golfing though as there are lots of chemicals sprayed on those turfs. Golfers have a very high incidence of cancers.
Stay away from people with colds-especially viral in origin. Wash your hands often.
Don’t take aspirin. Try Tylenol (Acetaminophen) instead for pain management but even this may be a trigger for some with asthma.
Control cockroaches. Clean counters, put food and garbage away and clean up any crumbs if you are in a cockroach area. Also, don’t eat in bed. It leaves too many crumbs for those critters.
Close windows during warm weather and turn on the air conditioner to control humidity.
Use indoor air filters to control mold spores, tobacco smoke and animal dander.
Avoid outdoor activities when air particulate levels or pollen counts are high.
In the car be sure to set the fan or air conditioner on recirculate. You don’t need extra pollens speeding into the car as you drive down the road.
Moving to a different climate doesn’t always work these days. Places like Arizona have changed so much over the years that urbanization and irrigation are making the same problems there than where you are right now.
Differential diagnoses for asthma include:
- COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
- Pneumonia (bacterial, viral, parasitic or fungal)
- Heart failure
- Obstructive Sleep Apnea
- Vocal Cord Dysfunction
Prognosis for asthma is good with treatment. The medical professionals say there is no cure for asthma but I believe differently. The key is to track down the triggers and eliminate or minimize them from your life with whatever method works for YOUR body.
- www.consumerlab.com This website is rather cool. It compares the different brand names of some common supplements and how they rank. There is a fee of about $30/year for membership though.
- https://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/default.htm This one’s free but doesn’t have herbs on it.
Product of the Month: none this month. I’ve already written about Viral Immune System Stimulator drops in the past and that’s my favorite product for many asthma cases.
Media Reviews: (Book) Influence: Science and Practice by Robert b. Cialdini
Influence is a book written with controlled psychological research. I loved the first sentence of the introduction (but I didn’t write the book.)
“I can admit it freely now. All my life I’ve been a patsy. For as long as I can recall, I’ve been an easy mark for the pitches of peddlers, fund-raisers and operators of one sort or another. . .with personally disquieting frequency, I have always found myself in possession of unwanted magazine subscriptions or tickets to the sanitation workers’ ball.”
Actually once at a veterinary continuing education event this one company fed us up and gave us drinks. I ended up purchasing 100 toothbrushes you could place onto your finger to brush your dog’s teeth with! It took me about 5 years to get rid of those things and I gave most of them away! How embarrassing.
I was introduced to this book when I took the One Minute Millionaire course a few years back. So many people talked about this particular book that I felt compelled to buy it. Boy, did I learn what a patsy I had been. This book will tell you every trick a salesperson uses to get you to purchase their product. I write this book review in an attempt to educate those of you who are new to alternative medicine. I know there are good and not-so-honest people in every field, but it seems like in the alternative medicine field we have more than our share of medicine shows and bogus products that come and go.
I can’t possibly cover all the different ways that people try to manipulate you but here are a few:
Providing a reason: When we ask someone to do us a favor, we will be more successful if we supply a reason. People like to do things for a reason. Example: “May I use the Xerox machine first? I’ve only got two pages and I’m in a rush.”
Expensive must be good: Price is the trigger for quality. Example—Those people on a vacation where turquoise jewelry was featured mostly purchased the higher priced pieces because they must be better than the lower-priced pieces. Does that mean inexpensive must be poor quality?
Discount coupons. . .but are they? One tire company found that mailed-out coupons which, because of a printing error, offered no savings to recipients produced just as much customer response as did the error-free coupons that offered substantial savings.
If an expert says so, it must be true. Oh, and I’ve determined that the farther away from the client you live the bigger expert you are. And the closer you live—well, Jesus didn’t get any respect in his home town either.
The contrast principle: Clothing stores instruct their sales personnel to sell the highest priced item first. If they sell you a suit first, the sweater or blouse to go with it doesn’t seem as expensive. Studies show that you’ll almost always pay more for whatever accessories you buy if you buy them after the suit purchase than before.
The Set-up Property: Another example of contrast would be a real estate company maintaining a couple of run-down houses. The houses are not intended to be sold but only to be shown so that the genuine properties in the company’s inventory will look way better by comparison. Hmmm. I’ve fallen for this one before. Darn. Automobile dealers use the contrast principle as well. They’ll sell you a car and THEN present the options which don’t seem like so much after the thousands of dollars you’ve already signed up for in payments.
The Rule of Reciprocation: A very potent rule. It says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us. By virtue of the reciprocity rule we are obligated to the future repayment of favors, gifts and invitations. Does anyone get those “free” address labels in the mail with the letter asking for a donation? What about those 10 free trees for the $10 donation? Or the car salesman asking if you’d like a coca cola before he asks you to buy something. Giving something small greatly increases the chances that when asked you for something that you’ll feel obligated to fulfill the request. And if the favor is uninvited or it surprises you the chance of you falling for the request to buy is even greater. Often people won’t ask for help if they cannot reciprocate the favor. This rule is so embedded in our society that if you give something and don’t expect anything in return often you are not liked.
Rejection-then-Retreat: One way to increase the chances someone will comply is to ask of them something you know they will reject. Then ask for what you want. Most likely they’ll feel bad for rejecting you in the first place so they are more likely to give in to the second request.
Familiarity: Door to door salespeople increase their sales by being able to mention the name of a familiar person who “recommended” they call on you.
Commitment and consistency: One social psychologist did a study in Bloomington, Indiana. He called people as part of a survey and asked them if they would volunteer to go door-to-door collecting money for the Red Cross. Since it was just a survey and the people didn’t want to seem cheap or hurt the surveyors feelings they said they would. A week later when the Red Cross came door-to-door asking for volunteers the organization noted a 700% increase in volunteerism. The public had already committed to the work just days before and now felt obligated to hold up to that commitment.
Petitions: Ever sign a petition? What do they do with all those names? Well, sometimes they don’t do anything with them. But, by signing the petition you’ve committed to the group’s position and will be more willing to take future steps that are consistent with that commitment. And people usually live up to the commitments they put down on paper. Also if you make a public commitment “My name is Sally and I’m a food-a-holic and I will lose 20 pounds by December 16th” or whatever that public announcement is, you’ll be much more apt to complete that commitment.
No pain—No gain. People who go through a great deal of trouble or pain to attain something tend to value it more highly than people who attain the same thing with a minimum of effort.
Social proof is a great and sometimes awful motivator. When certain types of suicides or murders are highly publicized there are higher percentages of people who also die but it may not be through the same methods. How strange. Monkey see, monkey do? Example: Reverend Jim Jones’s cult and the mass suicide by drinking cyanide Kool-Aid. In general society thinks that if a lot of people are doing the same thing, they must know something that we don’t. Sometimes it just doesn’t benefit us to be sheeple or lemmings you know?
The Friendly Thief: By providing the hostess with a percentage of the take, some network marketing corporations arranges for its customers to buy from and for a friend rather than from an unknown salesperson. Two examples that come to mind are Tupperware parties and Pampered Chef parties.
The Endless Chain: Some sales people mention one of your friend’s names as having purchased product. They then use your name on the next friend (that you’ve referred them to).
The Law of Similars: Studies have demonstrated that we are more likely to help those who dress like us, have similar backgrounds, similar interests, age, religion, politics and smoking habits. In addition, many sales training programs now urge trainees to “mirror and match” the customer’s body posture, mood and verbal style to get positive results in sales.
Compliments: Often when people flatter us or claim affinity when they want something.
Part of the Family, extended family, club, clique, team, group or blog: When success resulted from mutual efforts, it becomes especially difficult to maintain feelings of hostility toward those who have been a part of those efforts. Garry Smalley, one of my favorite relationship experts put it this way, “Crisis brings a family together.”
Conditioning and association: Just the presence of the Visa/MasterCard symbol at a charity function increases people’s spending. There is an association with trust and some symbols. That’s why big companies try to get celebrities to promote their products.
Blind obedience to authority pressure: When a physician makes a clear error, rarely will one lower in the hierarchy think to question it—precisely because of conditioning. Each person in the hierarchy knows their job and they do it.
Letters of recommendation: You’re more apt to get the job if the recommendation letter states one unflattering comment. This makes the letter more believable.
Time Limits: People are more apt to act if time is running out or if there is a call to action to ensure the greatest deal they will get. Some companies train their sales people to say, “It’s company policy that even if you decide later that you want this machine, I can’t come back and sell it to you.” (I’ve also read that Blood Type O people are more apt to purchase things in a hurry. They jump on instant gratification more readily than other blood types.) As opportunities become less available we lose more freedom and people hate that, so they feel nudged to make a purchase. I once purchased a bunch of oak furniture from a place that was going out of business. My boss at the time later shared that this same company had been going out of business for three years now and had used the same “final days” sign for that entire time.
Scarcity tactic: Around the year 2000 I was exposed to many clients who had fallen prey to the scarcity game. “Do you have a generator? Do you have a winter coat? Do you have several pounds of butter? Toilet paper? Years supply of food? Guns and plenty of ammunition? Because the roads are shutting down, there will be a trucker’s strike, they won’t be making winter coats any longer. . .” on and on it went every week. One woman had a semi-load of toilet paper in her basement and several shelves of romance novels (for people who would be running out of toilet paper that she would not be providing toilet paper to). “I’m not giving them MY toilet paper” she said. “They can use the pages in these books to wipe themselves.” Imagine.
Run for your life: There are a few characters out there who are always running and hiding because they know too much, their families are in jeopardy and they have the cure for some hard-to-conquer disease and the “government” is after them. They have to paint their windows black so people can’t see in and find them although they seem to be running a business and making good money at it often with the help of a trusted friend who sees and believes in their vision for saving the planet. This makes their products really expensive because of all the offices they have to open and then shut down in the middle of the night and move to a safer spot. Cancer therapies are really prone to this kind of tactic, so beware of the high-priced therapy touted by someone whose life is in danger because it’s SOOO good.
The Take Away principle: It’s amazing how people react when you threaten to take something away from them—even if they’ve never or rarely use an item. This principle is why many people get more for their junk by selling it through an auctioneer.
Well, those are a few things I gleaned from the book. How many have YOU fallen prey to? Isn’t it crazy? Mr. Cialdini writes in an engaging manner with lots of examples and personal stories. I’m sure you’ll see yourselves or your children in some of them as having been taken advantage of. I’m holding that you have not used these principles on other people. It just doesn’t seem right.
Ask Dr. Moffat:
Dr. Moffat: I would like information on secretor/non-secretor status. Please post information on this. My sons are Blood Type O non-secretors and I would like to know what that means, I found lots of info on that so I ordered the test, now I can’t find that information again. Please don’t call. I can’t pay, but I would like you to post this on your site. Loving Mom.
Dear Loving Mom (Gee, I feel like Dear Abby!) What you want is the Genotype Diet and I believe that site can be found through www.dadamo.com. Secretor status is determined using a spit test. The saliva is evaluated by a lab to determine if you secrete your blood type antibodies your blood, perspiration, semen (in men) or in this case saliva. About 85% of the human population are secretors.
Non-secretors often have additional health challenges. Non-secretor status has been correlated to higher rates of rheumatic heart disease and alcoholism. By knowing secretor status we can make some dietary changes to help manage symptoms and optimize health.
I’m also an O non-secretor. I’ve found the most help with adding mutton, caramelized onion and occasionally black eyed peas to my diet. This year my allergies have been milder than ever before. I actually bought a whole mutton because you can’t just go to the store and buy that item. It was about $150 for the mutton, butchered, cut and wrapped. I make a stew about every other week with sweet potatoes, barley or wild rice, celery and the mutton in my crock pot. I was surprised to find it’s quite good. Lamb supposedly doesn’t work as well because the hemoglobin in the aged sheep product does something special to our red blood cells. I don’t have all that info integrated yet from the Genotype training and it seems to get more complicated by the month but getting secretor status is a good place to start.
If you’d like to obtain a secretor test you can go to: https://www.northamericanpharmacal.com/affiliates/drmoffat.php and order one. Note that it takes longer to get the results than they say as that particular lab is really busy these days. Figure on about 4 weeks. Denice
Dear Dr. Moffat: I have a question on Yellow nutsedge antidote. I just thought that I’d contact you to check out your wisdom on yellow nutsedge. It’s been a problem in many U.S. States and we even have some in our fields. Yellow nutsedge is such a problem because farmers and researchers haven’t found a way to kill it. Do you have any thoughts about what it takes to get rid of it? I was thinking heavy doses of white vinegar or lemon juice. The animals eat it no problem. It’s just one of those invasive plants that has become a real problem for farmers in this area and other states. With my research, I think that I discovered that vinegar would be a good solution, but wondered what your thoughts were. Some has spread in to our lawn; so, we keep it cut short even though it’s probably not short enough. Ruth
Hey Ruth: Wow. Well, a cell is a cell. Let’s see if we can test that out for you. I’ve never heard of that weed yet Ruth. My guess would be vinegar. Lemon juice would be WAY too expensive to use. We also do a lot of weed eating and hoeing and mulching around here for weeds. If you weed eat it down so far that it can’t get sunshine that sometimes works. Sedges are worse with wetter weather if I recall and we’ve had a pretty wet spring. Just muscle testing though, I get a go on the vinegar idea. But I’m testing it needs two applications 6 days apart. I hope that helps. Invasive. Guck. Don’t like those kind of weeds. Let me know how it goes. D.
From Ruth: Oh wow! I wasn’t expecting a read on that. We’ll give it a try. Ruth
Tips and Tricks for a Healthier Life
Do you take prescription meds? You may want to check them out at www.drugwatch.com. This site lists all the current lawsuits, recalls and side effects of medicinal drugs.
Here’s a great website for pollen counts and weather activity. Just insert your zip code or city/state: https://www.wunderground.com
Automobile tip: Open the windows after you enter your car before turning ON the air conditioner after a couple of minutes. Here’s why: According to research, the car dashboard, seats and air freshener emit benzene, a cancer-causing toxin. In addition to causing cancer, benzene poisons your bones, causes anemia and reduces white blood cells. Prolonged exposure can cause leukemia and miscarriages. Acceptable benzene levels indoors is 50mg per square foot. A car parked indoors with windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of benzene. If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, those benzene levels go up to 2000-4000 mg—a full 40 times the acceptable level. People who get into the car, keeping windows closed will inevitably inhale, in quick succession, excessive amounts of the toxin. Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidneys and liver. What’s worse, it is extremely difficult for your body to expel. Note that we do have homeopathic detoxosodes for that kind of stuff. They really help if you’ve already been exposed to toxic levels.
As I said at the beginning of the newsletter, my entire inbox was deleted twice. (Yeah, I know that Jesus saves but apparently I didn’t.) Anyway, fortunately for me, all my client testimonials were in that inbox neatly categorized under each newsletter section which are all gone now. Although it comprised months of work I’m actually kind of relieved. I don’t like tooting my own horn anyway.
Healthy Recipes: Stir Fry Sauce:
- ½ cup Cornstarch
- 2 Teaspoons fresh minced or grated Ginger
- 4 cloves Garlic, crushed
- ½ cups Soy Sauce (or Bragg’s Amino Acids)
- ½ cup Dry Sherry
- ¼ Teaspoon Hot Sauce or Red Pepper Flakes
- 3 Tablespoons Red Wine, Apple Cider or White Vinegar
- 2 ½ cups Beef or Chicken Broth
Before starting your stir fry have all veggies and meats cut up, special canned ingredients opened and drained, nuts ready and utensils handy. You may also want to cook your noodles or rice if you’ll serve the stir fry over them. Actual cooking time will be brief so there will be no time to stop and chop things up. You’ll be constantly stirring until the veggies are browned.
- Add enough Oil to coat the wok, pan or skillet—about 2 tablespoons (olive, peanut, canola or sesame oils are all OK to heat and fry in). Heat oil on Medium High until very hot.
- Add foods according to density with the densest foods first, stir fry for a minute, then add another less dense food and finally the leafy green stuff last stirring constantly until the veggies are browned. From approximate most dense to less dense: Carrots, celery, broccoli, Jerusalem artichoke, chicken/beef/pork, water chestnuts, onions, canned baby corn, zucchini, crookneck squash, green beans, nuts, mushrooms, tomatoes (sparingly), kale, collards, spinach, cabbage and bean sprouts. Other options are eggplant and green pepper but I’m allergic to those things. You can also throw in some tofu instead of meat or noodles of some kind at the end after the sauce has jelled.
- Next, shake the stir fry sauce to mobilize the cornstarch which settles on the bottom of the container and drizzle enough to coat the vegetables with the sauce. Continue to cook until the sauce turns from opaque to clear.
You can freeze any leftover sauce. Leftovers taste OK as well.
I make the sauce in big batches and store it in one-cup containers in the freezer. It only takes a couple of hours to thaw the sauce on your counter. You won’t want to thaw it in the microwave if you use one of those because the cornstarch will coagulate at the bottom of the sauce and will be useless for the cooking process.
Note: Ginger can be peeled and stored in cooking sherry in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed jar indefinitely or frozen unpeeled and tightly wrapped in your freezer. If you use meats in your stir fry, they slice better if the meat is partially frozen.
Inspiration & Perspective:
Quote of the month: “Today’s mighty oak is just yesterday’s nut that held its ground…”
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I’ve aged, I’ve become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I’ve become my own friend. I don’t chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn’t need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant. I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70’s, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love … I will.
I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things. Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself anymore. I’ve even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).
(Thanks to Pat R. in St. Louis for sending this one. I was reminded of the fact that I am aging when a series of articles/pictures came out in our local newspapers about our Elk Meadow Farm & Nursery. This story kind of put things into perspective for me.)
On illness–Abraham says: Don’t get lost in the diagnosis, the medicine, or in the statistics about what somebody else did about it. If you don’t feel good, it’s because you’re not thinking in a way that allows the Energy to flow. You could just get really, really mad at someone you love and make every muscle in your body stiff. And you would ask, “Why does my body feel this way?” And we say, because you’ve had a Vibrational tug-of-war going on…Stop looking for anything other than your mental and emotional state of being as answers to why you feel how you feel in your body. It is all Vibrational – no exception! And when you get that, then it doesn’t matter what diagnosis has been given to you – it doesn’t matter – it’s temporary. — Abraham Excerpted from the workshop in Orlando, FL on Friday, December 20th, 2002 #510
What’s New at Our House? Michael and I had a Farm Tour this last month. We spent months getting ready for it and it was covered in the news quite well. We’ve taken some pictures you can see here: /About%20Us/elk_meadow_2010_farm_tour.htm
And our local Moscow Co-Op took pictures of the tour and put us on a Facebook page. We’re not Facebook users yet but you may be able to see more pictures on their link: https://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13424&id=107124975993233
I’m back to catching up, watering plants and getting ready for the two markets Michael and I have been going to since May. I’ll be shifting my website over to the new program in the near future. It’s a wonderful life!
October 2-3 and 23-24 10:00am – 4:00pm Wilson Banner Ranch Harvest Fair. See: Pumpkin Patch, Maze, Pyramid, Coliseum Events, Farm Animal Petting Zoo, Horses, Hay Rides, Fresh Produce, Farm Craft Tent, Live Music, Lots of Food and so much more! The Ranch is located at 16397 Highway 12, Clarkston, WA 99403 for more info go to: www.wilsonbannerranch.com or call (509) 758-2664.
That’s it for this Month!
Be Healthy. Denice
- Dr. Denice Moffat
- 1069 Elk Meadow Lane
- Deary, ID 83823
- (208) 877-1222 USA
Please forward to a friend.
Dr. Denice Moffat is a practicing naturopath, medical intuitive, and veterinarian working on the family unit (which includes humans and animals) through her phone consultation practice established in 1993. She has a content-rich website at www.NaturalHealthTechniques.com and free newsletter. |
Subsets and Splits