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"Invisible Ink is a powerful tool for anyone who wants to become a better screenwriter. With elegance and precision, Brian McDonald uses his deep understanding of story and character to pass on essential truths about dramatic writing. Ignore him at your peril." —Jim Taylor (Academy Award?- winning screenwriter of Sideways and Election)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Cast Away: Act One Breakdown
34 comments:
- Anson Jew said...
Great article, Brian!
I agree, that too often in movies today, the first act is given very little attention. I think this is why so many so many sequels are such artistic failures -- they think that since they've already established the characters in the first movie, they can zip through the first act, rather than spending time telling the audience "well, where are the characters NOW?"
I went to a screenwriting conference one year and Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3) did a talk on writing killer endings. He said that if your ending sucks, you need to work on your beginning. Everything hangs on how well you develop that first act.
I had my own experience with this when I did a 24-Hour comic book. The idea for a 24-hour comic is to write and draw a 24-page comic book in 24-hours.
I started the comic not really knowing where I was going. I just started drawing -- no prep or outline or preconceived ending or anything--I just started scribbling away.
I had enough presence of mind to know how important character development was, so I started the story by coming up with actions to help define who the character was and (very importantly) showing the effect those actions had on other people. I also added the character's own commentary on those actions.
Once I had done that, I had basically written my first act -- and amazingly, the other two acts practically wrote themselves. Defining my character strongly in the first act helped me find what the inciting incident would be in the second act and led logically to what happens in the third. The twists and turns in the third act were connected with events that happened in the first act even though I had no idea at the time I wrote them that they would have any significance later on.
The resulting mini-comic (Vice) was favorably reviewed by Sequential Tart and is still (5 years later) one of my best selling titles at Comic-Con.
- imyjimmy said...
A good movie with a clear first act. How did that ever get past the producers?
- Brian McD said...
Hey Anson,
Thanks, man. Glad you dug the post.
Michael Arndt is correct everything hangs on that first act. It's what Billy Wilder said too: "If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act."
And thanks for sharing your story about the creation of your 24/hour comic book.
First acts can make a huge difference in the overall quality of one's work.
- Enrique E. said...
Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge, Brian. I have learned so much reading both your blog and your books. This post has helped me decide to keep the length of the first act in a screenplay I am writting. I thought it was too long, but why I should shorten it if it is entertaing and, most of all, the story needs it. Of course, there will be plenty of changes as it is a first draft, but not in the direction of making the first act weaker. Thanks again from Spain.
- Brian McD said...
Hello Enrique,
Thanks so much for taking the time to write to let me know that my books and blog have helped you.
If you feel like your first act might be long then you can find away to give the audience a tastes of what is to come. Sometimes it helps to start with an "outer boundaries" scene, as I mention in my first book Invisible Ink. The "outer boundaries" refers to the most heightened aspects of your story's world.
Murder mysteries start with a murder. After the murder the writer can introduce the detective in his or her normal life. Starting with the outer boundary scene allows the writer time to layout the first act because the audience has been promised that there is excitement to come.
The movie JAWS starts with a shark attack and then we see Sheriff Brody in his ordinary life.
The film Raiders of the Lost Ark starts with Indiana Jones on an exciting adventure and then we see him in a normal setting.
It is a great technique because it both sucks your audience into your story and buys you time to spend on your first act.
That may help you.
Thanks again for writing and good luck with your screenplay.
-- Brian
- Sprite said...
Hi Brian,
very insightful post as usual.
I need to talk to you, what is the best way to do so? email? do you still have the same office? should i visit your office?
- Paul Chadwick said...
Astute as always. I liked this film enormously, partly for the reasons you lay out so well.
It has one of the great grace note moments: that staring Sperm Whale eye checking out Tom as he drifts toward shipping lanes.
One note: the title is two words, Cast Away. Netflix customers might be confused when Nic Roeg's film Castaway shows up, though not necessarily disappointed, since Amanda Donahoe goes topless for most of the movie.
- Brian McD said...
Hey Paul,
Thanks for the clarification on the title.
Thanks again for taking the time to read the blog and share your thoughts. I appreciate the kind words.
-- Brian
- Kaki Flynn said...
What are your thoughts on collaboration in this realm?
I read an Andrew Stanton comment on the value of collaboration, where he basically says it takes 10 years for one person to write a solid screenplay, five people five years, and ten people one year.
I'm not heading down the path of looking for a short cut here - I'm talking about the value of many minds interlinked working towards the same goal.
Have you heard of any kind of process like that in this world?
I want you to write however you feel about the topic; but the reason I'm asking is that I'm finding the process of putting down stories alone very strange, since other areas of my life where I've had the most success have involved focused collaboration.
I'm an adventure guide; good guiding companies have my co-instructor and I go through a pretty intense process to connect days before the group we are guiding even arrives.
The result is a magic bond between us and our group.
Other companies, we just kind of chat while packing out supplies, and the connection just isn't there.
Do you ever write with a partner? Are you constantly bouncing ideas of of others, etc?
- Brian McD said...
Hello Kaki,
Collaborations can be tricky and they can be great. I have, in the past, written with partners and most of the time it was fine. Sometimes it's great because writing is a lonely activity.
In television comedy there is often a room full of very funny people trying to make the show as funny as possible. I have heard that on the show Cheers if two writers shouted out the same joke they would throw the joke out and come up with something less predictable. In this case the collaboration pushes everyone to be better and the group becomes better than the sum of its parts.
But they all have the same goal – make the show as funny as possible.
The trick is that all collaborators have the same goal. This is not as easy as it may sound. I happen to know that at Pixar the story is the king. If you are working with people who agree that the story is what matters most than collaborations can be great.
But when people have their own agenda it can hurt both the story and the partnership.
There have been some screenwriting collaborations: Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler (who hated each other) Billy Wilder and Walter Newman, Billy Wilder and fill-in-the-blank, Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. (they were married), Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, Albert Brooks and Monica Johnson.
I suspect that Wilder could have written screenplays on his own, but had little confidence with his mastery of English. I wish I was as good with English as he was.
But, here's the thing all of these writers could have written a good screenplay on their own. It's two or more good writers coming together that allow them to do something great.
You say that you are looking for a shortcut but if you want to be good at this don't be afraid of the time and effort that it takes to get there.
A writing partnership is like any other kind of relationship, if you are both looking for someone to fix your problems it will never work out. But if you are both complete on your own you have a chance at making it work.
- Clint said...
I'll agree with you about the first act for the most part. It's been a long time since I've seen the film, but for me it was plotted to the point of being too contrived. Everything fit a bit too well, which made me too aware of the bones underneath. But it didn't prevent me from enjoying the first act.
What I missed was the second act. That is, the second act I was expecting. Instead of an exploration of how a man adapts to the singular truth of a solitary, unconnected life, a la Robinson Crusoe, the movie literally skips right over that part. I still remember how stunned I was by the four-year jump. (That said, I was almost as disappointed by Defoe's equally abrupt end to Crusoe. Cast Away was better in that regard.)
To be clear, I don't think it's a bad film. What's in it is quite well done. It was just unsatisfying for me for leaving out what was for me the most interesting part of the story.
- Brian McD said...
Hey Clint,
Thanks again for continuing to read the blog.
When I teach classes people say that things like the things I pointed out in Cast Away are too obvious. But that's only after I have pointed them out. If I ask people to point out structural elements before hand I am always met with blank stares.
Some people have a taste preference and well-structured work always feels a little fake to them. These things feel too polished to them. But often they are having a problem with the stylistic approach of the film itself. Structure is often completely invisible to people if the filmic style looks rough and hand-held and the acting feels improvised.
Your problem with act-two is interesting because you have not separated what YOU wanted to see versus what the story was actually about. The first act of the film did not promise that it would be "an exploration of how a man adapts to the singular truth of a solitary, unconnected life".
To become that film would have been poor structure. What you wanted to see is a personal interest, but not a misstep.
The film did not skip over his loneliness. More importantly, it took everything away from the character and left him to become aware of the things that were important to him and how he had turned his back on time.
If a storyteller any storyteller promises of thing and promises another it's bad structure. Here's an example:
Once when I was a kid I drank poison. I was playing with a puppy one day and he bit me in the nose and I had to go to the hospital to get shots. But it turned out okay.
What's wrong with that story? I promised in my set-up it would be about me drinking poison and then my next sentence had nothing to do with that. That's just plan bad storytelling -- even if the puppy story had been fascinating.
And what if my reasons for not telling the poison story is that it would be an obvious follow-up? People would know where the story was going if I just told a conventional story so a mixed it up. Guess what? If you told stories like this in real life you would have many friends because no one could follow what the hell you were talking about.
My point is that in order to say that the second act of the film was wrong you would have to lay out a case by showing point by point how act-one had promised something it did not delver. And I guess I don't see that.
- Clint said...
Hey, Brian. Yes, I still heart the blog. I think I've read all the posts now, back to numero uno, even if I haven't commented on them all. It's a measure of how eerily our tastes track that simply not embracing a film as much as you felt somewhat heretical.
And that's the point I have to make: I did think Cast Away was well done, and took care, or tried at least, to make it clear I didn't think the structure was "wrong," only not what I was expecting. As I said, it's been a very long time since I've seen the film—probably since it was in theaters, in fact—so my memory of the first act is sketchy. Just certain scenes. I do know *something* led me to expect the second act I had in mind—hence my shock while watching it—but at this distance I certainly can't argue that it was definitely the first act, rather than merely the expectations I brought in to the theater with me. Based on your track record with films I love and admire, I defer to your judgment on this one. If and when I watch the film again, I'll come back to confirm or deny.
- Clint said...
I can't not add: The only other book on story and screenwriting I recommend these days along with Invisible Ink is So Your Mama Loves It, by Sheila Gallien.
Who is Sheila Gallien? She was sole assistant for six years to Bill Broyles, Jr. She was in the trenches with him—brainstorming, writing, studio notes, development meetings, revisions, the works—from Apollo 13 through Unfaithful and a couple of unfinished scripts of his. He wrote a glowing foreword for her book. (It's now available only as an e-book.)
Considering who she learned from, I suppose it's no wonder your books complement each other so well.
- LissBirds said...
I disagree. Castaway was a disappointment in my eyes. I saw it in the theater, beginning to end. When I first read this post, I thought you were going to say Castaway failed because it had no first act.
Tom Hanks's character was so generic that I couldn't identify him. So what if he was obsessed with time? That's such a minor, superficial flaw it can't be considered an aspect of his character. Also, his character had no desire, no great need to grow, no forward motion. So he learns the importance of patience...not the most dramatic epiphany out there. He delivers a package at the end in one of the most heavy-handed symbolic sequences of modern cinema. To me, there was no plot, and the movie's "success" rode solely upon Hanks's performance.
I frankly didn't care if Hanks got off the island or not because I didn't care about him as a character. I can't even remember his character's name, so that really speaks to how memorable he was. It's a classic case of a story that suffers from being plot-driven rather than character-driven, and all the visual symbols in the world can't save a movie with no soul.
- Brian McD said...
Sorry it didn't work for you. Not everything works for everyone.
- Brian McD said...
Just a note. You said that the film had no plot, but was plot-driven rather than character driven. Can it be both?
- LissBirds said...
Good point. :) I meant "no plot" meaning whatever plot it possessed was poor and uninteresting. Really what the movie lacks is story, not plot. It ultimately feels to me as though it isn't about anything because it involves a character I can't empathize with who doesn't achieve any meaningful character growth.
- Brian McD said...
Like I said, not all films are going to work for all people. I'm going to address some of what you said in you comments, but first I want to say that I try to keep these back and fourth exchanges to a minimum because they can be endless and no one changes their position. I also understand that it is unfair of me to have the last word with these things. So if you want to respond to this comment you can, but I will not respond further. That way you get the last word. I hope that is fair.
I respect that you did not like the film, but respectfully disagree with the points you made.
You said that you didn't even know the character's name. How do we know character's names in film? People call them by their names. But Tom Hanks spends most of the film on an island all alone. Names are not character actions are character. Charlie Chaplin's tramp has no name at all.
You may feel that Tom Hank's character was generic, but you did not say that his character was flawed in a way that did not serve the story. The character did fulfill the needs of the story. Making him standout in some way that did not serve the story would be superfluous.
He was a man obsessed with time, but a man who made no time for his life. You said that he learned 'importance of patience'. I never said that and it isn't on the film.
He learns that he needs to make time for his life, that it could be over before he knows it. He doesn't take the time to be with the woman he loves and losses her. When he is alone on the island it is the desire to see her again that keeps him going. He would do anything to have his time with her again.
At one point in the first act Hanks promises a friend, whose wife has cancer, that he will help him find a good doctor for her. In act-three when Hanks is rescued he is reunited with his friend ho tells him that his wife has died. Tom Hanks' response is that he should have been there for his friend. It is clear what Tom Hanks was meant to learn.
To learn that life is short and that one should appreciate the ones you love does not seem to be a small lesson. I had to say goodbye to my best friend before he was unplugged from life support. I never thought I would have to do that. A certainly thought there would be more time.
The lesson in Cast Away is one of the most important we can learn.
You may have hated the film and it may not work for you, but this is no reflection on the construction of the film. To say that there is no first act is inaccurate. You may not like it but it is there. What is established in that first act is clearly what the rest of the piece explores.
Your personal dislike of the film is not proof that it has a weak structure.
You use the word "I" a lot in your arguments which leads me to believe that your observation are personal and subjective rather than objective facts about how the contraction is off.
- LissBirds said...
That sounds fair, though I will miss this discussion.
And every film does work differently, but I believe if a story is crafted strongly enough, 90% of people will at least appreciate it, even if they don't like it. While I reacted to Hanks's wonderful acting, I do not appreciate the structure of this story, and all the symbols and great acting in the world can't save a poorly-crafted story.
But I see major flaws in the structure of Cast Away, especially in the first act. He was a man obsessed with time, okay. But is that really a flaw? Isn't it more of a bad habit? Was it really causing him that much pain in his life? I guess you could argue yes. But where did this obsession with time come from?
Here's the real flaw of this story: there is no backstory for Tom Hanks's character. Why did he become obsessed with time? Did something happen to him in his past? We are told to accept this as the case without being given a reason why.
We know that Rick from Casablanca won't stick his neck out for anybody because he was jilted by Ilsa. (We don't learn that in the first act, but in the first act there are clues dropped that suggest he wasn't always this way, and this mystery whets the audience's appetite to learn why he is like this.) To give a more straight-forward example, Marlin from Finding Nemo is a nervous father because all of his eggs, except one, and his wife, were killed off.
These incidents in these main character's lives develop into a dysfunctional way of dealing with the world and therefore drive their actions. Nemo's getting lost is a direct result of Marlin's overprotecting attitude.
Did Tom Hanks's obsession with time cause the plane to crash? I don't think so. It was an accident. A coincidence. Oh, wow, what a coincidence: a man obessesed with time now has all the time in the world. How ironic. As many writers have said: coincidence has no place in fiction.
A character can learn life is short in so many other meaningful ways. I'm sorry to hear about your best friend, and I find that anecdote 100x more emotionally powerful than any of the events in Castaway. It doesn't take a desert island to learn that lesson--that lesson can be learned in everyday life. Maybe there are lessons in life that you can't learn in everyday life that you would need a gigantic event like being on a desert island to learn. But what are they? Alas, the film didn't go in that direction, thus undercutting the power of setting: if the same story can be told elsewhere, then this particular setting really doesn't matter, and either the setting or the plot should be changed so that something fits.
Going back to character arc and the necessity of the character's flaws and actions to be the cause of events: did his friend's wife really die because of Tom Hanks's flaw? The link is tenuous at best. Did he lose his fiancé because of his actions?
And what does the character learn as a result of his addressing his character flaw? He learns to slow down because he was forced to by being on an island for years. There was no moment of realization where he chose to change his viewpoint. (The moment of realization being not to end his life, but that is a different story beat altogether.) At the end of the story, there is no result to Hanks's character learning his lesson. In fact, he is punished at the end of the story by learning that while he was away, his fiancé married another man. This is an event out of his control, not a direct result of his flaw, and therefore, "plot-driven," not "character-driven."
- LissBirds said...
There is no changed man who has accomplished something by changing his attitude: he was acted upon, not acting on the world. This is what I meant by "plot-driven" and not "character-driven." The island didn't even matter in the end, because this same event (fiancé abandoning him) couldnt've happened if his plane never crashed and he stayed a member of society. If a great guy with no flaws was marooned on an island for four years, probably any woman would assume he was dead an move on and marry someone else. Therefore, Hanks's "flaw" doesn't play in to her decision, thus weakening the impact of his flaw even further.
What would have been more interesting to me personally (and yes I use "I" because I am the one watching the film, and I am judging the story) is if less time was spent on the island and the bulk of the film took place after the island. If the island became the backstory, more story questions can be asked: How do you adjust to everyday life after an event like that? What demons haunt you that no one else can even begin to understand? How will this affect him in relationships? To me, personally, these are more interesting story questions. The only story question to be asked with the story the way it is now is "Will he get off the island or won't he?" Also, the movie could've shown us how Tom Hanks decides to change his life now the has learned to appreciate time and life itself, but instead the film leaves us with a cryptic symbol of him delivering a package. How is this relevant?
Finally, for the heck of it, I looked up John Truby's review just to see if I'm way off-base with analyzing Castaway. Turns out I'm not, and Truby points out many of the reasons why I don't like this movie, much more eloquently than I can:
Interesting to note is that he says the set-up is flawed. i.e., the first act. More importantly he says the middle act is lacking conflict, with conflict being the very the engine of story. I guess this is what you could say I meant when the story had "no plot."
If you want a better-crafted story about a castaway on a beach, watch The Black Stallion.
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- ERIK said...
Sorry for all the deleted comments Brian and friends, my response to Ms. LissBirds essentially BROKE blogger.
I have posted my response in full at my own blog here:
If you have responses, please put them back in Brian's comments section here, and not on my blog. I will not address comments put there. This is Brian's discussion and I am not trying to steer his readers to my blog. It is simply a matter of practicality.
My response begins:
"Hi LissBirds,
I want to respond to a few of the points in the comments of yours that Brian refrained from addressing. I don't want to do a point-by-point attack however, so I'm just going to address what I see as a few key points you make. One last note, before I begin: I recently read a draft of the script and re-watched the film, so I am speaking from a place of familiarity, for what it's worth..."
Please read my blog for the FULL response.
Thanks, Erik
- chirag said...
Thank you for bringing more information to this topic for me. I'm truly grateful and really impressed.
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- Kavita Mevada said...
Very useful information you provided.
"Cast Away"'s ending is so tragic, poignant, and potent. It presents a quandary that only the best problem solvers could find an effective solution to/for.
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THE KID in CARINE ROITFELD's CR FASHION BOOK Magazine - Worldwide - Fall / Winter 2012
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text: Haitians protest against the United Nations peacekeepers in Port-au-Prince in November 2010. Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images Shots - Health News After Bringing Cholera To Haiti, U.N. Plans To Get Rid Of It January 12, 2013 On the third anniversary of Haiti's devastating earthquake, the country is laying plans to rid itself of the cholera epidemic that followed in its wake. Most scientists now think Nepalese soldiers unwittingly spread the pathogen in Haiti when they joined a United Nations peacekeeping force. After Bringing Cholera To Haiti, U.N. Plans To Get Rid Of It Listen · 3:56 3:56 Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/169075448/169210053" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript


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Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting August 2010
Summer Salsa
Stitch up Nine-Patch blocks and combine them with setting squares for an easy checkerboard-style quilt.
Summer Salsa Color Option
Checkerboard Nine-Patch
Kick Summer Salsa up another notch with a bold expanded color palette. The large-scale prints of Berkeley by Alice Kennedy for Timeless Treasures fit well within the large setting squares. For a smaller version that maintains symmetry, quilt tester Laura Boehnke used only the center portion of the original design. Learn more about this fabric collection.
Nature's Neutrals
It's hip to be square when you stitch simple blocks from Japanese prints and yarn-dyed woven fabrics in a range of muted shades reminiscent of moss, bark, stone, and sky.
Nature's Neutrals Color Option
Scrappy Charm Squares
Like shortcuts? A charm pack is perfect for this pattern's 2-1/2" squares and narrow strips. Quilt tester Laura Boehnke used 1930s reproduction prints from Judie Rothermel's Aunt Grace collection for Marcus Fabrics. The result is a scrappy table topper with more pronounced color variations than the original.
Points of Pride
Foundation and curved piecing pay off on a star-studded bed quilt. Our tips and tricks prove it's possible to master these easier-than-they-look techniques.
Points of Pride Color Option
Foundation-Pieced Arcs
Points of Pride goes global with Asian-inspired prints from Imperial Collection 6 by Robert Kaufman Fabrics. Quilt tester Laura Boehnke created blocks in four colorways to add interest. A 4-inch-wide border gives the medallion-style wall hanging a polished appearance.
"I used one gold tone-on-tone for all of the points in the blocks, and I like how the blocks look like sun rays when placed together," Laura says.
Linked Together
Grab two bundles of precut 2-1/2x42" strips in your favorite fabrics to devise an interesting illusion of interlocking squares and strips.
Linked Together Color Option
Batik Squares and Strips
Watch new shapes emerge as you tweak the color placement of Linked Together. By using the same batik for the rectangles in the diagonal units and the 2-1/2" squares in the block segments, quilt tester Laura Boehnke made the spinning pinwheels prominent. A tan batik in the inner border and each block corner unifies the design.
Bali Pop (precut 2-1/2"-wide strips) batiks in Berry Bliss from Hoffman California Fabrics help achieve the look. "The mottled prints blend when you piece them together, resulting in a seamless appearance," Laura says.
Outside the Box
Six rows of 16-Patch blocks plus calculated color placement equals a head-turning quilt whose sum is greater than its simple square parts.
Outside the Box Color Options
Blooming Borders 16-Patch Throw and Flannel Furrows 16-Patch Throw
Piece the same 16-Patch block using bright prints or holiday flannels. Bright colors from the Garden Whimsy collection by Kim Schaefer for Andover fabrics radiate from the center in Blooming Borders 16-Patch Throw. Quilt tester Laura Boehnke rotated the same 16-Patch block to diagonal rows in the Flannel Furrow variation.
Go to the free quilt pattern for Flannel Furrows 16-Patch Throw (left).
Go to the free quilt pattern for Blooming Borders 16-Patch Throw (right).
Coneflower Pillow
Take creative license with textured materials—velvet, linen, and hand-dyed wool—and appliqué an artistic bloom on a pillow that's appealing to the eyes and soothing to the touch.
Coneflower Pillow Color Option
Wool Flower Pillow
A purple wool 18-1/2" square makes a bold background for executive editor Jennifer Keltner's version of Coneflower Pillow. She embellished some of the petals and leaves, which are all cotton, with rows of long running stitches.
Color Your World
Spruce up your surroundings with a quilt that radiates fearless fun. Don't be fooled by what looks like blocks set on point. This clever design is really blocks set side by side.
Get this free quilt pattern here.
Snowballs and Stripes
Warm up Color Your World with harvest-inspired hues. To create a harmonious look, quilt tester Laura Boehnke pieced four identical blocks using fabrics from the Olivia collection by Gudrun Erla of G.E. Designs for Red Rooster Fabrics. Geometric prints in the border and star points frame the soft florals featured in the center of the Snowball units.
Blue Jeans & Bubble Gum
Like a happy memory, this vintage blue-and-pink Churn Dash quilt will have you yearning for yesteryear. Craft a modern-day version with scraps of prints, stripes, plaids, and checks.
Blue Jeans & Bubble Gum Color Option
Twisted Churn Dashes
A chocolate brown border contrasts with the light blue background on this contemporary wall hanging. As a nod to the original quilt's mix of plaids, stripes, and checks, quilt tester Laura Boehnke chose a dotty "stripe" from the Color Defined collection by Faye Burgos for Marcus Fabrics for the setting squares and triangles. For a less scrappy look, Laura used similar color placement in each Churn Dash block.
See more
Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting February 2010
Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting April 2010
Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting® October 2010
Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting June 2010
Color Options from American Patchwork & Quilting December 2010


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Isn't it amazing how much stuff happens when you are gone? Whether it is while on vacation or doing ministry outside your local church, inevitably the unforeseen happens when the one full-time pastor is gone and you cannot do anything about it. While I was in Zambia, I missed a very important funeral and a sudden open heart surgery of one of our elderly members. Because of this, my time in Zambia reminded me of the importance of my "motto" for pastoral ministry:
"Expendable, But Appreciated"
Expendable: I realized that I must pastor this church in such a way that allows this church both to flourish while I'm here and continue to do so once I'm gone (Lord willing, I hope a long time from now). This requires me to delegate responsibilities, share the pulpit, share my authority (plurality of pastors/elders), raise up and train leaders, train my people to disciple, serve, and minister to one another, and personally take breaks with my family that require my people to step up while I'm gone, to mention a few. For different reasons, too many pastors want their ministries built around them, yet in doing so we are hurting the next generation in the local church from moving forward after we are gone.
… But Appreciated: Some of you may be thinking, "If I work myself out of a job… then I won't have one! Since my full salary package, benefits, and insurance absorb close to a third of our annual budget as a smaller church, it is also a good idea to give reasons for the church to still keep me around. Unfortunately, some pastors (especially at smaller churches) accomplish this by building the ministry around them to where the church feels helpless if something happened to the pastor. I prefer my "job security" to be in the form of appreciation for me and my efforts to care faithfully for their souls. It is the church's desire to keep me as their pastor year after year out of appreciation for my ministry of the word, friendship, and spiritual care for their souls that creates the dynamic of a local church who will not miss a beat if I, in the providence of God, am hit by a truck tomorrow.
Almost 10 years later, the balance of this motto has shown to bear much fruit. Yesterday was my first Sunday back after being in Zambia for 2 weeks. I observed 2 important things upon my return: 1) The church not only was cared for very well in my absence, but it was amazing the amount of visitors who had come while I was gone and had come back. The church never missed a beat in my absence. 2) I felt missed. I saw it in the eyes of so many as they spoke their kind words that they genuinely missed me while I was gone and was glad I was back. For both these reasons, yesterday was a huge encouragement to my soul.
I began applying "this motto" at the very beginning of my pastorate at Auburndale, but it is never too late to begin this work where you are. Empower biblically qualified people to do the work with you. Share the responsiblity, authority, and equipping of your people and the ministry you do. I am confident that you will not only see God work in more fruitful healthy ways, but you will be more "appreciated" by your people for it.


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As you may or may not be aware, Ohio's governor is attempting to get a bill through that will do away with collective bargaining. For some reason, he feels the need to aim his focus on police officers, firefighters, teachers and all other state employees. Unfortunately, the bill has gone through the Ohio Senate (it passed 17-16) and is now in committee in the Ohio House of Representatives.
If this bill (Senate Bill 5) passes, as it is currently written, teachers' salaries will be reduced to $17,000 to $32,000 a year. This is a DRASTIC cut for many teachers who have moved up the pay scale to the $55,000 level. Our district tops out at around $62,000 a year for teachers with a masters degree plus 32 additional credit hours.
(Do not EVEN start on the bit about being paid during the summer and having 3 months off. If you've done your homework, you know that argument is ridiculous.)
We currently pay $20 a month toward our health insurance. I can't tell you enough how fortunate we are to have such good health insurance. So far my cancer episode has cost almost $200,000 and I've only had to pay about $5,000 out of pocket.
SB 5 states that we will pay 20% of our insurance. I know what it costs the district to insure me and my family (a little over $17,000 a year), so I've done the math. Instead of paying $20 a month, I'll be paying close to $300 a month.
I'm still not sure of the correct interpretation, but I may also lose my seniority AND my continuing contract.
Of course we'll also lose the ability to strike (I don't think the teachers' union in our district has EVER gone on strike, and I doubt they would, so quite frankly, this is the least of my worries).
So, if SB 5 passes as it is written, I will have my pay cut by over 40% AND pay 15 times more than I am currently paying for my health insurance.
As you can imagine, morale in schools throughout the state of Ohio is pretty much at an all-time LOW.
And this is just how it will affect me and my family. And we have two kids in college right now.
I have not checked out the issues that law enforcement personnel and firefighters will face. The people who think nothing of putting themselves "in the line of fire" so to speak, will also have to take cuts, as will ALL state employees, because the governor wants to balance the budget. (I wonder if he'll be taking a cut in pay and paying more for his benefits too? I'm not EVEN going to get started on that!)
We are making cuts in our family budget, in case SB 5 passes as is. We usually order pizza every Saturday night (the pizza shop knows who we are as soon as I place the order...yes, we're regular customers), and we haven't done that for a few weeks. We usually eat out once (or occasionally twice) during the week, and we haven't done that for several weeks. On pay days at my school (every other Friday) we get to wear jeans. On the opposite Fridays we also get to wear jeans, but we have to pay $5 to do so, and the money is donated to a good cause. I'm sorry about not always contributing to the cause, but I'm not spending $5 to wear jeans. I haven't done that for the last two "pay-to-wear" jeans days. We were talking about going to Myrtle Beach this summer, as we haven't been there since 2006, but we're not going now. We'd also been sort of kicking around the idea of maybe thinking about beginning to look at a new vehicle. Hahaha...NOT GOING TO HAPPEN NOW! There are other ways we're trying to cut back, but I won't bore you with the details.
Even with all this going on, I know that I am truly blessed:
I have my family, and for the most part, everyone is healthy right now. (Ted is dealing with some knee/back issues but we hope to get them resolved soon.)
Our sons are doing well in college and learning about "life," in addition to academics.
We have vehicles that run well and are NOT in need of repair (*knock on wood*) at this moment.
Our cats bring us so much joy and laughter, that we can't imagine what we ever did before we adopted them.
Things will work out, one way or another. If the worst possible scenario comes to fruition, then at least we know we won't be going through it alone.
As I've said all along in my adult life...things could always be worse. That's why I'm counting my blessings.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Counting My Blessings
As you may or may not be aware, Ohio's governor is attempting to get a bill through that will do away with collective bargaining. For some reason, he feels the need to aim his focus on police officers, firefighters, teachers and all other state employees. Unfortunately, the bill has gone through the Ohio Senate (it passed 17-16) and is now in committee in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Posted by Cindi at 5:45 PM
4 comments:
- Paulie said...
My gosh, I was so happy to see that you finally posted again BUT what a predicament! Teachers never get paid what they are worth anyway. How very sad. Are you close to retirement?
- March 20, 2011 at 10:01 PM
- Cindi said...
No Paulie, I'm not. I'm about 6 years away from when I can retire, BUT (until this came up) I knew that I would have to continue on for as long as possible because of our great insurance. If the changes go through as written, my insurance will still be much better and more affordable than what I can get if I retire, so I'll just keep going and going and going and going....
- March 21, 2011 at 7:41 AM
- David Julian said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- March 21, 2011 at 6:11 PM
- David Julian said...
Sorry to hear this Cindi. The news is full of this story from Wisconsin and Indiana. I was not aware of it in Ohio. It's a sad case. I hope some learn the lesson of not electing those in the GOP. They attack my community regularly. Now it is our teachers, fire fighters and other public servents. I'm not sure how these folks ever get elected. I hope the good citizens of Ohio are smart enough to throw them out at their first opportunity.
- March 21, 2011 at 6:13 PM


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In the interest of full disclosure, Mike Eruzione wants bidders to know that some items up for auction, like his gloves and shoulder pads, "don't smell very good." But they're authentic, just like the rest of the memorabilia the 1980 Olympic hockey hero from Winthrop is selling.
Offerings include his jerseys, stick, the cowboy hat he wore at opening ceremonies —
Selling artifacts from the "Miracle on Ice," which Sports Illustrated named the Top Sports Moment of the 20th century, is a delicate issue and Eruzione accepts that. "I've seen some comments like: How can you do that? That's a piece of history," he said. "I can understand that. . . . I know there are going to be some negative comments."
But he is firm in his reason for selling.
Eruzione will use the proceeds, which the auction house estimates could surpass $1.5 million, to benefit his children and grandchildren and the Winthrop Foundation, the charitable nonprofit organization that he founded in his hometown.
"My parents always taught me to take care of family," he says. "What better way than this?"
Heritage Auctions puts "The Mike Eruzione Collection" on the block in New York Feb. 23, the day between the dates when the Boys of Winter shocked the Soviet Union and then defeated Finland for the gold medal.
Eruzione is not the first famed Boston athlete to auction off keepsakes from his playing days. Bob Cousy sold one of his Celtics championship rings, his league Most Valuable Player trophy, an All-Star Game uniform, and other memorabilia a decade ago to help provide for his daughters and grandchildren.
"I don't need the money," said the 58-year-old Eruzione, who is director of special outreach for Boston University's athletic department and a popular motivational speaker. "My wife and I have enough to live very comfortably."
But given the demand for sports collectibles, Eruzione says he'd been thinking of turning his Olympic gear — which has sat in his attic for 33 years — into cash for his two sons, his daughter, his new grandson, and others who may follow.
"When I heard that Paul Henderson sold his jersey from the 1972 Summit Series for $1.275 million, I said to my wife, 'Honey, we've got to get that jersey out of the attic,' " he said.
The white jersey with his name and number (21) that Eruzione was wearing when he scored the winning goal against the Soviets is expected to fetch at least $1 million; the stick that he used, and the blue jersey that he wore in the gold-medal victory over the Finns, likely will go for six figures apiece, based on current online bids.
"Obviously Mike's jersey is one of a kind from a very unique moment," said Chris Ivy, Heritage's director of sports auctions.
Collectors are willing to pay dearly for historic uniform items. Babe Ruth's first New York jersey went for $4.4 million last year, a record for any piece of sports memorabilia. Last month the Yankees jersey that Don Larsen wore when he pitched his perfect game against the Dodgers in the 1956 World Series was bought for $756,000.
Before making the decision Eruzione consulted with his family ("My daughter at first was reluctant") and with BU coach Jack Parker, who had four players on the 1980 team. "I was concerned about the perception, how people would feel about it," he said. "Jack looked at me and said, 'Good for you.' That kind of solidified it for me."
Some of Eruzione's team members have already put their Olympic items up for sale. Mark Wells and Steve Christoff have auctioned their gold medals, and the captain says that his teammates' reactions to his decision have been positive.
"It's all been good," said Eruzione, who realizes that his sale probably will elevate the going rate for his colleagues' mementos as well. "I'm doing it for the right reason. If I was broke and needed the money, they'd feel bad for me."
Virtually everything in Eruzione's Olympic equipment and travel bags — nearly two dozen items — will be under the hammer. Besides his playing equipment, the collection includes parade and award uniforms, team parka outfit, knitted hats, sweatsuits, sweaters, sweatshirts, T-shirts, and socks.
"I don't know where my helmet is," Eruzione said. "I don't know where my skates are. That's what's driving me nuts. I don't know whether I donated them or not."
His elbow pads are on display at the Winter Olympic museum in Lake Placid, which would like to keep them. Everything else goes to the highest bidder, which Eruzione feels is better than having his equipment molder and mildew in a trunk that he rarely opens. He does not need to play dress-up to remind himself of what he and his teammates accomplished in the Adirondacks.
"When a guy wins an Oscar, the Oscar is what he wanted," Eruzione said. "We wanted a gold medal. That's what we went there for."
John Powers can be reached at email@example.com.


text: James Ritson 691 Posted June 5, 2017 Official Affinity Photo iPad Tutorials New to the latest update of the app (1.6.9), we've got a brand new set of tutorials that follow a more structured approach. You can access them from the Tutorials option in-app or by following this link: https://affinity.serif.com/tutorials/photo/ipad They are sorted into categories: Basic Operations Advanced Corrective and Retouching Creative Tools Filters and Adjustments Export Persona Just some quick info about the new videos: They're all shot in 4K resolution (supported on desktop machines) for extra clarity. There are localised subtitles for all the languages supported by the app (English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese Simplified, Japanese). Hope you find them useful! James 25 2 Arctic Gorilla, DWright, stokerg and 24 others reacted to this Affinity Photo Video Tutorials - Affinity Photo for iPad Tutorials Looking for a manual/documentation? Check affinity.help for online help! @JamesR_Affinity for tutorial sneak peeks and more Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Follow RFF News on your cell phone. Text follow rff to 40404 you will receive txt messages with RFF News
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Am I the only one who thinks(take it fwiw I'm bad at this) that the pink/orange shirt girls look like Courtney Robertson(and sister Rachel Robertson?)
CBS doesnt usually cross network pollinate, lol
So you're implying that CBS probably wouldn't bother again?
So is the final count 2 F/F, 4 M/F, and 5 M/M?Hmm... if there were another M/F team, it would be the same pattern as Season 4 (2 F/F, 5 M/F, 5 M/M)
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Taking Back Sunday, Philly 2016
Taking Back Sunday, Philly 2016
from 25.00
Please note: This is an ACTUAL photograph print you are buying, not a computer print out. All orders are final, no exchanges or refunds are available. Most prints ship within 7 days.
These prints will be printed on high quality, metallic photo paper. If you would like a different type of paper please specify in an email to me.
The versions represented here are thumbnail versions, the actual print will not be cropped this way.
Click to see full size image, print will not have logo on it.
Add To Cart


text: Healthcare organisations are continuing to feel the pressures of less reimbursement from the government / payors as well as increased costs to take care of patients. Within the healthcare industry, the trend for acquisitions, joint ventures, asset swaps and divestitures continues to increase. Adapting to this continually changing environment is difficult and Protiviti's can assist throughout the continuum of activities required. We can offer assistance throughout the investment transaction lifecycle from strategy and due diligence to post-merger integration and stabilisation.


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This is the nearest street address. [ 20702 Ashburn RD ASHBURN VA, 39.043563, -77.487492 ].
0.015 km near the corner of Hay Rd and Ashburn Rd
0.015 km near the main intersection of Hay Rd and Ashburn Rd
39.0437, -77.4875
View Street Addresses in the 20147 postal code Note: These street addresses have been submited to geocoder.ca in association with the 20147 postal code in ASHBURN, VA via a crowdsourcing process. They are provided "as is", none has been verified by geocoder.ca nor does geocoder.ca claim to have a complete list of all existing addresses in the 20147 postal code area.


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Formation 1.1
Formation is a unified idea and personal information organizer. Keep a journal, jot down ideas, make a grocery list, track your DVD collection, manage passwords, design entire creative projects! By harmoniously combining lists, notes, contacts, calendar, mediabrowser, scrapbook, smartlinks, and more, Formation brings together a wealth of powerful organizing tools, an innovative interface and total flexibility into a single elegant, comprehensive package. What's New
Version 1.1.4:
- Minor maintenance release (fixed a small graphical glitch, other minor fixes).
- If no major new issues are found this will likely be the last 1.1.x version before the big Formation 2 launch (which will be a free update for all registered uers). Requirements
PPC, Mac OS X 10.2 or later


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BIG-HITTING Corey Anderson propelled Somerset to a 32-run victory over Sussex on the DLS Method in a rain-affected NatWest T20 Blast South Group contest at Taunton.
Put into bat in a match reduced to eight overs-a-side, Somerset posted a competitive 102-3, courtesy of Anderson's forthright innings of 41 not out from 17 balls. Required to chase down a revised target of 104 to win, Sussex failed to recover from the loss of early wickets and came up short at 71-4, despite a gutsy unbeaten 42 from Stiaan van Zyl. Unhappy at the decision made by umpires Stephen Gale and Jeremy Lloyds to play on in steady rain, Sussex captain Ross Taylor declined an invitation to speak to the media. Burly New Zealander Anderson arrived in the middle with Somerset on 27-1 in the third over and immediately took England paceman Chris Jordan to task, hoisting his first delivery back over his head for a massive six. When Jordan returned at the other end to send down the seventh over, Anderson greeted him with another huge straight six, much to thge delight of a near-full-house audience.. Somerset's overseas hired hand dominated stands of 36 and 35 with Steve Davies and Roelof van der Merve for the second and third wickets respectively, accruing a quartet of fours and three sixes into the bargain. George Garton did his utmost to keep the scoring in check, the Sharks seamer inducing opener Lewis Gregory and van der Merve to hole out to deep mid-wicket. But Anderson remained at large to ensure the home side realised three figures, with van der Merve contributing a valuable 16 from 11 balls. Somerset struck an early blow when Chris Nash hoisted a length ball from Craig Overton to Gregory at deep backward point with the score on nine. Stiaan van Zyl and Laurie Evans did their best to keep up with the rate in pouring rain, only for the hosts to turn the screw. Sussex needed a further 79 off five overs at 15.8 an over when leg spinner Max Waller entered the attack and changed the complexion of the game. Electing to bowl medium pace in slippery conditions, Waller had Evans stumped by Davies for five off his first delivery and then pinned Sharks skipper Ross Taylor for one later in the same over as the visitors lurched to 27-3. South African van der Merve kept things tight at the other end to ramp up the pressure on Wiese and Van Zyl, who struggled to get the ball off the square as conditions worsened. Waller continued to cause problems for the batsmen, deploying clever variations of pace to keep a lid on things and leave Sussex requiring a notional 60 off 12 balls to win. Having returned impressive figures of 2-13 from two overs, Waller then held a catch at long-on as Wiesse perished at the hands of Overton. Van Zyl summoned defiance aplenty in an innings of 42 not out from 22 balls, but he lacked the support needed to make a game of it. The Cape Town-born all-rounder helped himself to 3 fours and 3 sixes in a losing cause. A third successive home win moved Somerset, who now have 10 points from nine games, into a share of second place in the South Group, two points behind leaders Glamorgan.


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Even though in reality, my eye brows are quite thick and dark and therefore does not need much more pigment, I still like toying with brow products.
My favourite item for brows is Shu Uemura Hard Pencil. It's just so easy to use. But I like the idea of having everything in one place – this is where Urban Decay's Brow Box comes into play.
In this pretty, purple kit is a pair of tweezers, a brush, two brow powders and a wax:
First impressions – what a cute box! But kinda bulky. I hate bulky packaging, even if it's pretty. Unless its Jill Stuart…I can forgive Jill Stuart packaging under any circumstances.
In the top of this compact lies the mirror, tools and two powders, and in the bottom is a large tray of brow wax. Brow wax is the bomb! It keeps all your hairs in place and also can be using with the powder so that it really sticks and stays in place.
Push the push pop:
And out pops….
The brow wax! I'm glad you get a lot of this because it's quicker to get through. Do not be alarmed by the beige colour…it's pretty much clear when applied.
Oh let's talk about shades! There's four to choose from:
I don't like anything too dark, so I went for Beige Betty. I find that brow products always run darker than they look.
The applicator is a synthetic angled brush – it's ok. The tweezers aren't quite Shu Uemura but they are ok for thick hairs. They don't catch find or short hairs.
The powder looks like it isn't very pigmented – it is seriously pigmented enough for brows, especially when mixed with the wax.
Brows with no product:
Brows with Beige Betty, a mixture of the powders:
I like this it works pretty well!
Overall I like the Brow Box – it has nearly everything you need and is rather nice to use. On the downside though, it's a bulky little box – I wouldn't carry it around with me or even take it on holiday, I'd take something that's more space saving to be honest.
This retails for £15 from Boots, Debenhams and the usual Urban Decay retailers but don't bother – I bought this from eBay for just £8 including post and packing, brand new!


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More puzzling over Ron Paul
I have received a few replies to my post on Ron Paul which I would like to respond to. One person commented the following (on Facebook):
Secondly, I think non-interventionism is a terrible idea. This has nothing to do with the War in Iraq: although I was and am in favour of that intervention, I recognise that there were valid arguments against it (unrelated to non-interventionist dogma). However had non-interventionism been applied as a general concept, it would have affected the course of the 20th century (for example) in ways that, as far as I can make out, would have been disastrous and appalling. As everyone knows the US involvement in the Great War was not directly related to "territorial self-defense," and during the Second World War the US would have been compelled to fight only in the Pacific, if it was to restrict its foreign operations to "territorial self-defense." As Lee Harris writes:
Whatever our disagreements on non-interventionism, however, it is another matter - monetary policy - which really makes me leery of Ron Paul's Weltanschauung. The first commenter I quoted also wrote:
To conclude, for the reasons mentioned above (also see Stephen Bainbridge's excellent overview), although I agree with some of Ron Paul's policy positions, I do not support his candidacy and even on strictly libertarian grounds I think it would be disastrous for that cause.
Ron Paul is NOT an isolationist. He has been consistently non interventionist for decades. You can read it for yourself in his book, "A Foreign Policy of Freedom", a compilation of Ron Paul's speeches on the floor of The House of Representatives which is a very prophetic read.A friend of mine, Charlie, wrote (in a follow up comment):
Isolationism is a foreign policy which combines a non-interventionist military policy and a political policy of economic nationalism (protectionism). In other words, it asserts both of the following:
Non-interventionism - Political rulers should avoid entangling alliances with other nations and avoid all wars not related to direct territorial self-defense.
Protectionism - There should be legal barriers to control trade and cultural exchange with people in other states.
Isolationism depicts a totally autarkic nation going alone; non-intervention simply means not doing liberal intervention - i.e. not invading countries to force them to become liberal democracies. You can still make an impact on the international scene and trade freely without spreading democracy through the barrel of a gun. Paul advocates 'letters of marque' as well - basically the concept I have long advocated of declaring open house on your enemies. So instead of spending trillions of dollars occupying Iraq you simply remove protections prohibiting your citizens going and waging private war against the regime (though obviously in the process they forfeit their own protections).First of all, I find the intensity of support for Ron Paul from people who believe in non-interventionism a bit odd. While Paul is not a pure isolationist, it is my understanding that non-interventionists are meant to be in favour of open immigration, which Paul clearly in not.
I'd much rather hawks set up a charity to raise money to pay Blackwater or Sandline to go and kick the shit out of Saddam or Shwe than to tie the entire resources of the state to that purpose when large numbers of taxpayers vehemently disagree and the cost is huge and ongoing, victory vaguely defined and by no means guaranteed.
Secondly, I think non-interventionism is a terrible idea. This has nothing to do with the War in Iraq: although I was and am in favour of that intervention, I recognise that there were valid arguments against it (unrelated to non-interventionist dogma). However had non-interventionism been applied as a general concept, it would have affected the course of the 20th century (for example) in ways that, as far as I can make out, would have been disastrous and appalling. As everyone knows the US involvement in the Great War was not directly related to "territorial self-defense," and during the Second World War the US would have been compelled to fight only in the Pacific, if it was to restrict its foreign operations to "territorial self-defense." As Lee Harris writes:
A libertarian like Buckle can recommend a policy of non-intervention in domestic politics and recommend it with a clear conscience; but a policy of non-intervention in international politics is another matter. We may persuade our own government not to intervene, but what have we achieved if other nations do not follow suit? Dean Acheson used to say: "Don't just do something—stand there." His point was that by just doing something, we often find ourselves confronted with the unexpected negative consequence of our action. Yet it is a beguiling illusion to think that by standing there and doing nothing we can manage to avoid blowback. When another party commits an act of aggression, and we take no action against it—as the English and French took no action against Hitler's march into the de-militarized Rhineland in 1935—we will inevitably find that our passivity has only served to embolden the aggressor to behave even more aggressively, which was precisely what happened in the case of Hitler.Letters of marque, which Charlie mentions above, are documents that have to be approved by Congress which, according to some interpretations, would allow private individuals to undertake hostilites against foreign targets while remaining "privateers," i.e. without falling under the definition of "pirates." Although the US is not a signatory to the Paris Declaration (1856) banning such practices, the US has since then abided by its principles and I believe that from an international law standpoint would be obligated to continue to do so under the rubric of customary law. Although I am convinced that the Westphalian system has some flaws (to wit, that state sovereignty and legal equality between the states should not be absolute: the sovereignty and equality of states that are undemocratic need not be accorded the same respect that democratic states rightfully enjoy) it seems to me that Charlie's proposal would establish a sort of unilateral state-sponsored anarchy in which the states that don't follow his vision would simply gain the upper hand on the international stage (potentially applying principles that conflict with what I view as superior Western values), while the US would not allow itself to mount a defence unless its territory was breached. On the other hand I agree with Charlie on the importance of democratic principles, and that war and foreign interventions should only be undertaken within such a framework. In this regard I might note that this is exactly what happened in both the US and the UK in the run up to the War in Iraq.
This brings us back to Ron Paul's remark. If the inherent complexity of the world exposes any foreign policy to the risk of blowback, then it would be absurd to criticize a nation's foreign policy simply because it led to unintended negative consequences. Furthermore, such criticism would be unwarranted in direct proportion to the degree that the behavior of other players on the world stage was unpredictable and inscrutable, since any factor that increases the complexity of a system makes it more difficult to manage intelligently. Given the fact that the behavior of radical Islam is on an order of unpredictability and inscrutability that eclipses all previous geopolitical challenges that our nation has faced, it is a utopian dream to imagine that the United States, as the world's dominant power, could possibly escape blowback by any course of action it tried to pursue. We are both damned if we do, and damned if we don't.
We may agree with Ron Paul that our interventionist policy in the Middle East has led to unintended negative consequences, including even 9/11, but this admission offers us absolutely no insight into what unintended consequences his preferred policy of non-intervention would have exposed us to. It is simply a myth to believe that only interventionism yields unintended consequence, since doing nothing at all may produce the same unexpected results. If American foreign policy had followed a course of strict non-interventionism, the world would certainly be different from what it is today; but there is no obvious reason to think that it would have been better.
Whatever our disagreements on non-interventionism, however, it is another matter - monetary policy - which really makes me leery of Ron Paul's Weltanschauung. The first commenter I quoted also wrote:
Foreign policy goes hand in hand with monetary policy. The federal reserve is responsible for inflation which pays for the wars of neoconservatives and neoliberals who pursue a interventionist foreign policy and are the only ones benefiting from the military-industrial complex and central banking complex. Every one that is not part of this group of elites are the ones suffering economically and socially (civil liberties).And Charlie wrote:
I think the most challenging, marginalising and complex part of Ron Paul's message concerns Monetarism. He is pro metal-backed money supply and wants to abolish the federal reserve system. Whilst I can see strong motivations for thinking like this and am myself quite skeptical of national monopolies on the money supply I am not intimately familiar with the details. I think perhaps the best solution is to repeal laws prohibiting use of alternate money supplies in a country - i.e. if I want to set up my own gold-backed currency and compete with the Euro or Dollar I should be able to.I'm glad Charlie recognises that Ron Paul's vision in monetary matters is "challenging, marginalising and complex." Indeed, there are several dubious statements in the above two comments. It seems to me that foreign policy and monetary policy do not go "hand in hand" and it is certainly untrue that wars are paid for by inflation - they are paid for by taxes (and I'd like to note that the richest 5% of taxpayers - are these the "elites"? - pay 60% of income tax revenues in the US). Megan McArdle ably explains why returning to the gold standard would be a crazy idea. Additionally, although I'm not particularly against the idea of allowing alternative currencies, it doesn't seem like a particularly pressing matter to me. Why would you want to set up your own gold-backed currency? How will this improve society, and what problem are we trying to address? Megan, again, puts it best:
Ron Paul's supporters see the might of his common sense slashing through the doubletalk of the financial solons. I see a really, really smart economist responding to Ron Paul the same way you react to Cousin Mildred when she corners you after Christmas dinner to complain about the flouridation of the water supply. WhatFinally, presumably in response to my claim that Ron Paul has "odd associations," Charlie sent me this message:
CongressmanDr. Paul is saying doesn't make any particular sense; American consumers are not particularly suffering because of the decline of the dollar, the dollar is not declining because of Fed policy, and the Federal Reserve has nothing to do with a relative scarcity of oil and food, which is what is driving the CPI increases he complains about. If we were on the gold standard, oil and food would still be getting more expensive, and people on fixed incomes would still be feeling the pinch.
This is not anti-semitism. If some people against the state of Israel existing are somehow giving money to the Ron Paul campaign it doesn't seem much different to me from Log Cabin Republicans funding Mick Huckabee's campaign - you take any support you get, as long as there are no conditions tied to it. Obviously if a Neo-Nazi walks up to Ron Paul and offers him a million dollars then that calls him into question, but nothing like that is what has happened.I certainly do not believe, and have not seen evidence to suggest, that Ron Paul is an anti-Semite. However his associations are odd and at times unsavoury. As far as I know no neo-Nazi has given Ron Paul a million dollars, but he has refused to return a smaller donation ($500) from Don Black of Stormfront. In addition Paul gives credence to cliches about libertarians and their belief in conspiracy theories, which is something I particularly dislike.
To conclude, for the reasons mentioned above (also see Stephen Bainbridge's excellent overview), although I agree with some of Ron Paul's policy positions, I do not support his candidacy and even on strictly libertarian grounds I think it would be disastrous for that cause.


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Special Saturday Video: A Wreck Odd-To-See
The other day "devoted Wreckie" Roger H. sent me one of those videos. You know, the ones that first make you giggle, and then wince, and then cringe back in horror, and then start laughing because omigosh this is so bad, and then you go get your husband and make him watch it, whereupon you discover it's even more hysterical the second time through.
Needless to say, I knew Roger's creation was something special. Something that had to be shared. Something that I dare you to watch all the way through with the volume up.


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Our entire household has been fans of the LEGO series of videos games. That is why we were so excited to be provided this opportunity to test out the new LEGO Marvel Super Heroes game for the Xbox through Walmart and share on our honest feedback on it.
This new series follows the same formula as prior LEGO games: You play through the story mode, switching between various characters at appropriate times to beat up bad guys, solve puzzles, and save the day. This all happens in a world built of LEGO bricks and occupied by LEGO mini-figures.
Playing through the story mode took only a couple of hours. The missions revolve around chasing Magneto, Dr. Doom, and Loki, who have teamed up to collect cosmic bricks in an effort to use them for their own nefarious intentions. The chapters you play through feel more like individual issues of different comics rather than a natural progression towards the end, but our kids didn't seem to mind this lack of coherence.
It's not surprising however because this isn't called LEGO X-Men or Avengers, but the very broad Marvel Super Heroes. Rather than focus on one series from Marvel, this game is all-encompassing in its cast of characters. All told, you can unlock and play as over 100 different characters. This is a staggering amount and will be a joy for any comic book fan.
The heroes and villains you would expect are there but what really makes it great are some of the more obscure and silly characters. Sure, you might be able to name everyone in the Fantastic Four, but would you recognize Dormammu or M.O.D.O.K.? I can tell you we all had a good laugh after unlocking Howard the Duck (yes, he's a Marvel character) as well as the corresponding Xbox achievement called "Really?".
And that leads to one the main reasons why the LEGO games are such a hit: the humor. The sharp-witted dialog and physical comedy will appeal to players of all ages. While characters discuss plans in the foreground, The Hulk is vacuuming up the mess they just made (and some of the crew themselves) in the background. Ignoring the first mission's focus on groan-worthy puns, the game quickly hits its stride. From Pulp Fiction and Snakes on a Plane, parents will enjoy the pop culture references and inside jokes that go right over your kids' heads, making this a great game to play as a family.
Don't worry about your kids completing the story mode in a day or two and never playing the game again. That represents just fraction of what there is to do. Most of their time will be spent exploring the expansive LEGO version of NYC, seeking out puzzles, mini-games, and side missions in order to unlock the majority of characters, vehicles, and modes this game has to offer.
While the game is a blast to play, the kids and I both grew frustrated with how the split-screen and camera work. As your characters often need to be in different areas of a room, your view splits so you both can see what you're doing. This isn't done by dividing the screen in a top & bottom or left & right fashion. The split rotates relative to the position of your characters. It also merges back together as you get close, then divides as you separate.
While this initially seemed like a good idea, in practice it gets really confusing because you can switch to a different member of your party instantly. While you were on the right side of the screen with one, the character you switch to may appear on the left, forcing everyone to hunt for where they need to be looking. Many times we'd be trying to figure out which character we were controlling and where they were, right in the midst of battle. Other times, we'd be trying to look at or aim at something but the movement of the other player would move our target out of view.
Despite this, both kids agreed this was one of their favorite games in recent memory. We certainly give it our approval and will now return to our desperate attempts to unlock Deadpool.
Suggested Retail Price- $49.96
Available At: Walmart


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NEW YORK -- Chuck Lorre _ whose trio of hits includes "Two and a Half Men," `'The Big Bang Theory" and "Mike & Molly" _ isn't just a towering comedy mogul.
He's also one of the most widely distributed writers in the world. His tart, often darkly funny dispatches reach a weekly audience of more than 30 million.
Granted, the number of people who actually read these tiny treatises is another question. Each of Lorre's posts appears on-screen for a single fleeting second at the end of his shows, in the form of so-called "vanity cards" _ a graphic ID for the show's production company.
The "Chuck Lorre Productions" vanity card has been an outlet for Lorre's random observations since 1997, when alert viewers of the ABC sitcom "Dharma & Greg" began noticing fine print on the screen which, by freeze-framing their VCR, they could dwell on long enough to read.
Among Lorre's propositions on Vanity Card No. 1: "I believe that the Laws of Karma do not apply to show business, where good things happen to bad people on a fairly regular basis" and "I believe that when ABC reads this, I'm gonna be in biiiig trouble."
As the years passed, Lorre kept issuing a fresh card for every episode of each show with his latest reflections, revelations and rants.
On one, he listed "words that confused the CBS censor" (a frequent object of his ire). Among them: kumquat, manhole, cunctation and Dick Butkus.
On another, he recalled a long-ago encounter with a 16-year-old guitar prodigy named Pat Metheny. It was a reality check that led to his eventually ditching his music career to "find work in television. Nobody's a prodigy there."
Now 333 of those musings _ including a few that were censored by the network _ have been gathered by Lorre in a rather magnificent coffee- table book, "What Doesn't Kill Us Makes Us Bitter" (Simon & Schuster; $100), complete with lavish illustrations and even a sewn-in bookmark, a courtesy usually reserved for cookbooks and Bibles. (Proceeds will benefit Lorre's Dharma-Grace Foundation, which supports the Venice (Calif.) Family Clinic.)
In a foreword, Lorre explains that his vanity-card mission has been "to use prime-time television to chronicle an unraveling life and raveling career in subliminal, one-second increments." And with his output already available on his website, he decided the book should be graphically ambitious "in a desperate attempt to add value to something that was never intended to have any."
Lorre may come across as wryly self-dismissive. But in a recent interview he says he takes his scribblings very seriously.
"I started this because it was an opportunity to try and write prose, and I found it very satisfying, and very different than writing a script. This is much more personal. And at times," he adds with one of his frequent whatta-ya-gonna-do? shrugs, "it's gotten TOO personal."
You want personal? Just consider Card No. 337, first aired on March 31, 2011. "Never forget," Lorre wrote in part, "that God/The Universe is determined to kill you by whatever means necessary."
That sentiment was vented while erratic, hard-partying "Men" star Charlie Sheen was clashing bitterly with Lorre and the show's studio, Warner Bros. Only a few weeks earlier, they had been forced to fire Sheen and cut short the show's eighth season.
While being bashed by Sheen all over the media ("I think I'm fairly immune to name-calling now," he wrote in Card No. 345), Lorre was under the gun to salvage TV's top-rated comedy and keep his other shows on track.
How did he cope? "I threw myself into the work even more," he says. "The only thing I could do was work harder.
"It was a terrible time. It was awful," he goes on. "I was really heartbroken by how it all played out. And angry. He was my friend. We were all concerned about him. We thought he was going to die."
Sheen now stars in a TBS sitcom "Anger Management," while "Men" has entered its 10th season with Ashton Kutcher in his sophomore year as Sheen's replacement. Lorre insists that, despite that stormy period, the man once billed as "the angriest man in television" has found peace of mind.
"You need to get to know Chuck 2.0," he says when past reports of Combative Chuck are mentioned. "I look around sometimes and I can't believe all this has happened to a journeyman guitar player. Truly, I've been blessed."
He allows that there was a time "when anger was the fuel to fend off other voices that wanted control of the creative process. I've never been a big fan of creation by committee: a committee of other comedy writers, yes; network executives, no."
With a wiry frame, a trim beard and a head of tangled curls, Lorre is self-taught as a sitcom scribe. Now 60, the Long Island, N.Y. , native got the itch to write for TV in his mid-30s, after a decade or more spent touring the country as a less-than-wildly-successful guitarist-songwriter.
After writing a spec script for "The Golden Girls," he found his way to "Roseanne," then created the ABC sitcom "Grace Under Fire," starring comedian Brett Butler, and "Cybill," starring Cybill Shepherd. These were rocky stretches for Lorre, each marked by his premature exit.
"Dharma & Greg" proved to be a more pleasant experience. But it wasn't easy.
"Telling a story in a 22-minute sitcom is hard," Lorre says. "There was a lot of faking it while I was learning the craft. I didn't get the hang of it for 12 or 13 years."
That was around 2003, when he co-created "Two and a Half Men."
In 2007, he hit the jackpot again when he co-created "The Big Bang Theory."
Then, in 2010, he won the triple crown with "Mike & Molly."
All were huge successes and established Lorre as the biggest sitcom magnate since Norman Lear's reign in the 1970s with such blockbusters as "All in the Family" and "Sanford and Son."
No wonder Lorre feels a new level of confidence.
"I have more faith," he says in his soft, unhurried tone. "The difficulty factor has ceased to cause me to panic. I may not have the answer, but I know I'm surrounded by really smart people, and somebody's gonna have the answer."
Now Lorre's horizons are expanding further. He recently signed a four-year development and production deal with Warner Bros. that covers broadcast, cable and films. (Lots more reach for his vanity cards?)
"I'm developing a drama series, believe it or not," he says. "It's terrifying but exhilarating: freed from the tyranny of jokes."
But don't think he's renouncing the sitcom genre he is currently the undisputed master of.
"To make people laugh out loud, I think that's a noble effort," Lorre declares. "It's worth doing. I'm doing the best I can. And I'll try and be better."
Warner Bros. and TBS are units of Time Warner Inc.; CBS and Simon & Schuster are divisions of CBS Corp.
EDITOR'S NOTE _ Frazier Moore is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. He can be reached at fmoore(at)ap.org and at http://www.twitter.com/tvfrazier


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One of the oldest and best of the truly American dishes enjoyed all across our country is corn pudding — sweet, just-ripe summer corn freshly cut from its cob, delicately seasoned and bound in a rich custard. It's so popular that many Americans may be better acquainted with its out of season version made with canned cream-style corn. But while that's good, it simply can't compare with one made from fresh-from-the-field corn so naturally sweet that some old cookbooks suggested serving it with wine sauce as a dessert.
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The national LGBT organizations Freedom to Work and Lambda Legal announced Monday they had reached a settlement with a government contractor based in Maryland on behalf of a transgender woman who said she had been harassed on the job.
The woman filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), stating she had been subjected to physical and verbal harassment in the workplace for two years. She detailed coworkers using derogatory terms to refer to her, calling her a "tranny," "drag queen" and "faggot." The EEOC investigated the complaints and issued a letter in September 2012 that found there was reasonable cause to believe the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on a variety of characteristics, including sex.
"The investigation revealed that Charging Party was subjected to derogatory gender-based comments that were frequently made by both coworkers and supervisors," the EEOC letter read. "Both Charging Party and witness interviews revealed that Respondent's management failed to take corrective action despite being fully aware of the harassment Charging Party was being subjected to. This lack of corrective action enabled the harassment and offensive atmosphere to continue."
According to a statement from Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work, the EEOC's determination of "reasonable cause" marks the first time the commission has investigated allegations of anti-transgender harassment and ruled for a transgender employee. The EEOC issued a decision in April 2012 finding that discrimination based on a person's gender identity violates Title VII's prohibition on sex discrimination.
Notably, there have been other instances in which gender-identity discrimination was determined to be a violation of the prohibition on sex-based discrimination. For example, in 2011, the federal 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Florida, Georgia and Alabama, ruled in favor of a transgender woman who was fired after informing her employer, the Georgia Legislature, that she was beginning her gender transition.
In the Georgia case, Glenn v. Brumby, the court found the employee was a victim of "sex-based discrimination that is subject to heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause" and could not be penalized for gender non-conformity. Although the case did not deal directly with Title VII, which governs private employers, the justices writing for the 11th Circuit frequently referenced Title VII in their decision.
In the Maryland case before the EEOC, the government contractor denied admission of any wrongdoing, but did agree, as part of Monday's settlement, to re-publicize its nondiscrimination policies and conduct anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training specifically focusing on transgender and other LGBT issues at its facility. Due to the contractor's cooperation, Freedom to Work and Lambda Legal decided not to publish the names of their client or the government contractor in question.
"We applaud the EEOC for conducting such a thorough investigation and interviewing so many witnesses to the anti-transgender harassment," Almeida said in a statement issued jointly by Freedom to Work and Lambda Legal. "This case shows that the EEOC takes very seriously its role in protecting LGBT Americans' freedom to work."
"Slowly but surely, we are gaining recognition of the rights of LGBT employees, but this case shows that employers and employees need laws that spell out gender identity and sexual orientation protections specifically, to help prevent discrimination in the first place," said Greg Nevins, the supervising senior staff attorney at Lambda Legal's Southern Regional Office in Atlanta.
Nevins also appealed for further movement from Washington.
"We need action by the 113th Congress to pas the Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), and even more immediately, President Obama should sign the executive order banning LGBT discrimination by companies that profit from federal contracts," Nevins continued. "That executive order should have broad support across the political spectrum, since federal dollars should neither fund discrimination nor go to employers whose personnel and productivity suffer because discrimination and harassment are tolerated."


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TORONTO - Five big Canadian banks and a credit union were downgraded Monday by Moody's rating agency, which believes they will be more vulnerable than in the past if there's a major shock to the economy.
The downgrades, which Moody's had warned were likely to happen, reflect the agency's ongoing concern that Canadian household debt has risen to historical highs — putting pressure on the institutions' mortgage businesses.
"The Canadian consumer is leveraged almost to the extent that the U.S. consumer was ahead of the housing crash down there some years ago," said Moody's vice-president David Beattie.
As a result, Moody's thinks it's likely that consumers will slow down their borrowing, a major source of business for the banks.
There's also a remote possibility defaults could jump to a dangerous level for the banks if there's a major economic shock that causes a lot of unemployment and a dramatic drop in real estate prices, he said.
"If we thought it was a higher probability, we wouldn't rank the banks as high as we do," Beattie said.
He noted the five banks and the Quebec-based Desjardins credit union remain among the most highly rated of those tracked by Moody's.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD) is the highest rated of the six, at AA1 (down from AAA). Scotiabank and Desjardins drop to AA2 (from AA1), CIBC (TSX:CM), Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO) and National Bank (TSX:NA) slip to AA3 (from AA2).
A downgrade by a credit rating agency usually means investors will demand a higher interest rate when a company goes to raise cash by issuing bonds or other debt.
The rating agency said National, BMO and Scotiabank face additional risk from the amount of their profit that comes from capital markets operations, which lend large amounts to corporations and advise businesses on debt and stock issues.
"What's concerning for us is the degree of reliance that some of the Canadian banks have to their capital markets businesses — because of their instability," Beattie said.
He noted that Moody's had already downgraded Royal Bank (TSX:RY) last year as part of a review of large global players in the capital markets industry.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty issued a statement saying the Canadian financial sector is "sound and well regulated" by the federal government.
"Our government has taken aggressive and proactive actions since 2008 to protect the Canadian housing market and curb personal debt. We will continue to monitor the housing market to ensure its long-term stability," Flaherty said in statement.
New Democrat finance critic Peggy Nash disagreed, accusing the Conservatives of mismanaging the long-term health of Canada's economy.
"With sluggish business investment and a contracting government sector, Conservatives have relied on consumer debt to prop up Canada's economy. This reckless policy has clearly hurt Canada's banks," Nash said.
Moody's Investors Services warned in October it was placing the long-term ratings of the six Canadian financial institutions banks under review for a possible downgrade.
Royal Bank wasn't on the list because its long-term deposit rating had already been dropped to Aa3 from Aa1 in June as part of a move to cut the credit ratings of 15 of the world's largest banks, including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.
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