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A crushing blow to rail-trail coexistence
Bureaucracy has finally destroyed a plan for two visions of the Adirondack railroad corridor to coexist side by side, at least between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.
It was largely bureaucracy that slowed down a plan to build a multi-use path beside this 10-mile stretch of railroad tracks, dragging out the process for more than a decade. Now we learn that, 10 years after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it didn't need to review the plan, it's changed its mind. The extra expense and time for the engineering, mapping and planning the Corps requires are too much for the town of North Elba; it would bust the budget and the timeline for grant funding.
Therefore, the town council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday dropping the plan and asking the state to rip up the tracks and replace them with a trail. The timing was key: Earlier on the day of the vote, in Ray Brook in North Elba, the state held the second of four public-input meetings to help it decide whether to revisit its 1990s unit management plan that allowed trains to return to the Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor. A movement to replace the tracks with a multi-use trail, at least between Saranac Lake and the Old Forge area, has gained force in the last couple of years.
The town board members mostly don't even support the train. Last year they passed a similar resolution asking the state to rip up the tracks, even as they pursued the railside trail. To their credit, they were intent on fulfilling their commitment, even as the project reeled, trying to stay solvent – until the Corps of Engineers delivered the knockout punch.
Apparently the Corps changed its rules in 2008, and now, even though the first phase of this project got a permit from the Adirondack Park Agency – which is supposed to govern wetland construction in the Park – and even though the Corps almost never intervenes in the Park, and even though this railroad was built through these marshes more than a century ago, and even though the Corps took a pass a decade ago, it's now decided to charge in and, knowingly or not, ruin an important project with huge public support.
This trail would be excellent for locals' health, tourism, athletics and economic development. It could still happen, but only if the Adirondack Scenic Railroad is obliterated between these two villages. What was killed is a symbol that compromise is possible in the fiercely contested Adirondack land-use battles.
Granted, the expense and excruciating delays of this side-by-side rail-trail project had already proved that it was not feasible to extend the same kind of thing along the rest of the railroad. While railroad backers support a trail beside the tracks, they say it would only work if it diverged from the corridor to skirt tricky sections like Lake Colby, Rollins Pond and Lake Lila.
This blow hurts those railroad fans worst. They are already feeling besieged by doubters, and their letters and commentaries on the Enterprise Opinion page often have a sharp tone of defensiveness. We suspect they feel like they're on trial.
They are, whether they like it or not. They have a burden of proof. Besides choosing whether a train or a trail is the best use of the corridor, the state has to decide whether the tens of millions of tax dollars it has spent rehabilitating the railroad for the Adirondack Scenic Railroad's exclusive use has been worthwhile – and whether to spend trainloads more (estimates range from $15 million to $45 million) to complete the line. That public overhead was not originally part of the deal; the '90s plan recommended that trains be re-established with private investment rather than state funds. The railroad company, however, has not gotten private investors, except for a few of their own board members. It hasn't even had a finished business plan, although it may have one now, just in time for the corridor plan meetings.
Meanwhile, local governments along the corridor have lost confidence; most have passed resolutions asking the state to either replace the rails with a trail or at least to reopen the plan.
The trail group, Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates, also must be accountable. Some of the numbers in its studies seem incredibly high – for instance, the claim that more than 200,000 new visitors, not including snowmobilers, would come here to ride the trail every year. But ultimately, their idea hasn't been tried yet. The railroad has.
Between Utica and Old Forge, it seems like a success that spills over to the wider business community – between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, not so much.
Still, it's a viable business on that 10-mile run, even if its economic impact is modest. It's a shame to have to get rid of that to gain the obvious benefits of the trail. It didn't have to be that way.


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Dallas to Host U.S. World League Weekend
B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 16, 2012) – The Dallas Convention Center Arena will host the 2008 Olympic gold medal winning U.S. Men's National Volleyball Team along with national teams from Italy, France and Korea for an FIVB World League weekend on June 29-July 1.
The competition, which will be televised to an international audience of more than 70 million viewers, marks the last chance to watch these teams prior to the 2012 Olympic Games in London, where all four teams hope to compete.
Significantly for both volleyball and the city of Dallas, the FIVB World League weekend will open the USA Volleyball Boys' Junior National Championships on July 1-8, where more than 400 teams will compete for the junior national title, also at the Dallas Convention Center. Competitors, fans and Dallas residents have a unique opportunity to attend the World League matches and watch some of the best men's volleyball players in the world.
"Dallas eagerly anticipates hosting an FIVB World League weekend June 29-July 1," said Phillip Jones, president and CEO, Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau. "It will be an exciting weekend for both the city and the sport, as we also welcome international delegations from Korea, Italy and France. We are excited to see Team USA compete only weeks prior to the Olympic Games in London.
"Dallas has a storied history of hosting marquee professional, international, collegiate and amateur sporting events and is excited for the opportunity to also host this prestigious international event."
Due to the 2012 Olympic Games, the 23rd edition of the World League tournament, the world's premier annual men's volleyball event, has a different format. The tournament will be held May 18-July 1 with the Final Round set to take place in Sofia, Bulgaria on July 4-8.
"We are really looking forward to competing in Dallas in front of players from the USA Volleyball Boys' National Championships," said U.S. Head Coach Alan Knipe (Huntington Beach, Calif.). "That will be an important World League weekend and we hope to travel from Dallas to Bulgaria for the Final Round."
For the first time in the tournament's history, the World League Intercontinental (pool play) Round, still featuring 16 teams across four pools, will be played over four weekends with each country hosting all four teams in their respective pool on one weekend each.
The four pool winners, plus the best second-place team and host Bulgaria will qualify for the Final Round.
The United States, which is ranked sixth in the world and won the 2008 World League, and third-ranked Italy, an eight-time World League winner, will be the favorites in Pool C as they battle with longtime volleyball power France and upstart Korea.
All four teams will navigate their campaign with qualification for the London Games, with Italy hosting one of the European Olympic qualification tournaments halfway through the World League.
The local Dallas web site for information is visitdallas.com/worldleague2012. Tickets will go on sale by the end of February.
The USA Volleyball World League web site is http://usavolleyball.org/events/9282.
2012 World League Schedule
Pool C
(United States, Italy, France, Korea)
May 18-20 at Florence, Italy
June 15-17 at Lyon, France
June 22-24 at Gwangju, Korea
June 29-July 1 at Dallas, Texas
Pool A
(Russia, Cuba, Serbia, Japan)
May 18-20 at Hamamatsu, Japan
June 15-17 at Havana, Cuba
June 22-24 at Kalingrad, Russia
June 28-30 at Novi Sad, Serbia
Pool B
(Brazil, Poland, Finland, Canada)
May 18-20 at Toronto, Canada
June 1-3 at Katowice, Poland
June 8-10 at San Bernardo Do Campo
June 15-17 at Tampere, Finland
Pool D
(Argentina, Bulgaria, Germany, Portugal)
May 25-27 at Frankfurt, Germany
June 15-17 at Buenos Aires, Argentina
June 22-24 at Guimaraes, Portugal
June 29-July 1 at Sofia, Bulgaria

subset: commoncrawl


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After 4CC:
I think Hanyu mentally regressed under Orser. Orser did not care for the offload.
I think there is too much pressure on him.
After 4CC:
I think Hanyu mentally regressed under Orser. Orser did not care for the offload.
I think there is too much pressure on him.
I think it he's goes back to Nanami Abe
I think he should go for two quad toe loops in his long program program, rather than a quad toe loop and a quad salchow. His quad toe loop is consistent and beautiful. But the quad salchow isn't a consistent jump for him and his performance at 4CCs seemed to suffer after he popped the jump.
And if Hanyu never starts doing the 4S at some point, how is he going to get it consistent?
His 4S is quite consistent in practice it seems. And when he started jumping the 4T, it was inconsistent too.
Let the kid get a hold of that jump now. He will need it if he wants to be the top contender in the years after Sochi (which is very well possible at this point).
Moving from 4CC Ladies Free Skate thread ..
answer to Kalina:
Honestly Yuzus 4 Toe was already consistent in R&J FS, since he landed it perfectly at COC, GPF, JN and Worlds. He only missed it ONCE at COR... it was 5 times out of 6 , that is more than 80% at 17 yr...
While about the 4T-3Tcombo in the Scriabin SP , I think it was really a very big challenge for a 16-17 years old who had just lost his hometown rink and had nowhere to train
, so no wonder it was inconsistent in competitions ..But at early age Yuzu was already accustomed to challenges since he had the 3A-2T combo in the second half of the FS at 15!!
Considered that the 4T-3T is actually removed by Orser instead of trying to fix it , theres no room for improvements for sure in this field and no challenge left, while the 4S that Hanyu had landed successfully in practice and in shows before moving to Canada is still inconsistent and caused him a big trouble in the last 4CC FS some days ago . Yuzu said he lost his concentration after that mistake......
Finally I agree about the 3A , it was already at 100% in competitions together with the insane counter entrance under his former coach at 16-17 years of age.
Thanks for the link Kalina , Ive watched the interview, but considering the very poor stamina Yuzu has constantly showed in the FS, except for Sochi GPF may be where he trained by himself, its a bit difficult to see dramatic improvements in his SS unfortunately, as in his tecnique in general.
Last edited by giulia95; 02-15-2013 at 08:02 AM.


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Beautiful Red Bob
Bobs are still very trendy even on the brink of 2014, as long as you don't go for something too tacky as far as colors or even how you cut the fringe. Here is a perfect example of a stunning bob done just right with nice edges in the bangs accentuated by a lovely almost natural looking red, which was captured by the talented photographer Emad Joe.
Photography by Emad Joe


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ideate. prototype. pitch.
InnoVention is a School of Engineering competition that challenges NYU students from across the globe to prototype and pitch commercially viable ideas for real world problems.
The InnoVention prototyping competition challenges NYU students to validate, prototype and pitch commercially viable ideas for real world problems. The goal is to build a robust culture of competition at the School of Engineering that drives innovation through ideation and entrepreneurship and ultimately encourages students to take part in the NYU Entrepreneur's Challenge and NYU Summer LaunchPad.
Winners of the SparkStart stage will receive a cash prize of $500 to support their Prototyping efforts. Teams are accountable for the spending of the award and it is encouraged that the funds should go to building a working prototype. Additional funds will be made available by request by the team with the approval of both their faculty mentor and the InnoVention Project Manager as a reimbursed check.
Winners receive and additional $500 stipend for prototyping efforts when they are chosen to advance into the Demo Day Stage. Teams are eligible for additional funds on activities and purchases approved by their faculty mentor and the InnoVention Project Manager.
A prize pool the six teams that present. Judges decide winners in each category for hardware and software as well as the top three overall. Top teams are also be seeded into final interviews for the NYU Summer LaunchPad.
Submissions are evaluated by a jury of influential investors and business executives based on their potential impact, feasibility, and patentability. But this is not a business plan competition, it is a space for innovative thinkers to get hands-on experience developing ideas, prototyping products, and pitching investment opportunities to seasoned professionals.


text:
Answer by Lisette Manrique Miller
Mara, To reflect on your words, what's most important about how you make a living is that you have a passion for what you do. If you're enjoying engineering feel that it is a good fit for your career, then keep going! Your background in psychology biology is a GREAT fit for medical device design. The FDA is more-than-ever focused on ensuring that appropriate usability studies are conducted before medical devices are approved for use in the market. That means that we need to be able to capture both the patients' and clinicians' needs, and design a product that not only functions well, but is safe to use too. Getting a degree in engineering is a good foundation for your technical background, and you may leverage your prior experience as a lens for bringing human factors into your designs. It is realistic to become an engineer later in life if you're willing to make the sacrifices associated with starting new in any career. Consider that you may be starting at a modest salary, and that compared to your peers you'll be working on more basic assignments early in your engineering career. But life experience and maturity will likely allow you to progress quickly. Also getting hands-on experience in industry is critical to obtaining a job after you graduate. Apply for internships, co-ops, or part-time work whenever possible, within the industry which interests you most. If paying jobs aren't available, consider volunteering to get initial experience. Lastly, be aware that most engineering workplaces remain to be male-dominated, which may be different than what you're used to. The ratio of women to men in engineering classes is often higher than that in industry, so don't be misled by the gender balance in your school. This imbalance in industry is not necessarily negative; just something you should be aware of, or become familiar with, especially if this type of work environment is new to you. Best of luck with the rest of your classes. Stick with it! We need more women engineers out there. Lisette
Sponsored by


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Slick and Styled Voluminous updo
This is a nice formal hairstyle that is neat in appearance. This redhead has her hair parted at one side with the hair combed forward and twisted onto the forehead. At the sides, the hair is combed back behind at the ears and styled into a low updo.The hair is cut to a medium length.The hair is coloured a shimmering red.
Moods Hair Salon Hair: Moods Hair Salon Make-up: Karin Shoji Photography: Justin Brimacombe


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Lovely and colourful whole flat in Florence
Floor No.(with elevator)
- Family/child friendly
- Internet/WiFi
- Kitchen
- Washer/dryer
- Parking available
- Disabled access
- Elevator in building
Accommodation summary
|Stradone di Rovezzano, 50136 Firenze, Italy
|Property type
|Property ID
Spacious and colorful studio flat on ground floor with a relaxing garden. Cool during the hot summer and well heated during winter.
Located in a calm, quiet residential area 15 minutes away from downtown by bus and 9 minutes by train to SMN main station (bus stop and railroad station within very short walking distance).
Free parking spaces for cars or caravans just outside the house.
Complete kitchen with oven/microwave and cookers, bathroom with shower, king-size folding bed, sofa/bed for a child and extra mattress for an eventual third guest. TV with DVD, stereo, fan, hairdryer, bedsheets and towels.
Pizzeria/restaurant (the best Neapolitan pizza chain in Florence) right around the corner and 3 big supermarkets 5 minutes by foot.
House rulesPets not allowed (eccept if they are really quiet!)
Smoking allowed only in the yard.
Keep quiet after 11:00PM for neighbours' sake: no loud music,no noise in the yard etc.
|Weekly rate for up to 2 guests
|€ 247
|Monthly rate for up to 2 guests
|€ 1000
|Price for > 2 guests
|€ 12 per guest/night extra
|Check-in After
|Check-in before
|On arrangement
|Check-out Before
|Cancellation Policy
Reviews of this property
The house is beautiful and the garden is great! But also is a cold house!! When we arrive it was rainning and the flat is a ground floor and was cold and damp and the owner said that the heating was automatic... But the fact was that radiators were frozen.
Cold unit - public transport non existent in the weekend. If the passing local man had not told us to catch the bus, (also not frequent in the weekend) we would have been sitting at the train station and missed our flight out
Laura is very friendly and helpful.
The flat was very clean and the bed very comfortable.
The best for us was the terasse. It was nice to sit outside.
The next bus-stop is 3 minutes ago. Five minutes ago there is another one with more lines. All ride to the center.
Our busses needed good 30 minutes to the main station Santa Maria Novella,
but there are stops before nearest to the Duomo.
The next supermarket is a big one with a good sortiment.
For us it was a good place. After the sounds of the center of Firenze it was good to come back to have some quiet ....
Laura was a perfect host. To contact her was easy and she always helped us with questions or problems. Her flat is small but very comfortable and perfect for two people. The terace invites you to spend the evening on it and it is also great that you are allowed to use two bikes. We enjoyed our time in Florence and would like to come back to Laura.
I highly recommend...
Laura welcomed us, very very kind and very helpful in guiding us
Very Clean, colourful,nice stick notes on the wall, well decorated, modern studio flat with all the required facilities as mentioned in the property description.
Relaxed environment, we liked this flat and it was a Pleasant stay..
My daughther liked this flat very much....We will visit again.
El apartamento muy acogedor. No es demasiado grande pero,al poder utilizar la terraza, este problema se resuelve. Laura fue amable con nosotros y nos ayudó en todo momento.
No está en el centro de Firenze pero hay un bus que te lleva directo y el servicio dura hasta las doce de la noche.
Nette, kleine Wohnung in einem Mehrfamilienhaus; gemütliche Terrasse; ideal für zwei Personen; Laura ist gut erreichbar; würde ich weiterempfehlen
Ho soggiornato per quattro giorni nel monolocale di Laura, tutto perfetto...locale colorato ed accogliente, facile trovare parcheggio auto. Laura è stata molto gentile e disponibile....dovessi tornare a Firenze prenderei sicuramente in considerazione la possibilità di soggiornare nuovamente nel suo appartamento.
Monolocale piccolo ma dotato di tutto. Silenzioso e comodo,essendo al primo piano,soprattutto per chi ha bimbo/a e deve caricare e scaricare ogni volta tante cose.
je suis allée visiter Florence avec ma fille (18ans) et nous avons logé chez Laura.
Le studio correspond aux photos propre bien agencé terrasse agréable, endroit calme et sûr
L'arrêt de bus n'est pas loin compter bien 20 à 25 min pour se rendre à la gare.
Un Conad (superette) est à 10min à pied.
- Quality assured accommodation
- Every host is verified by telephone
- Secure payment via SSL encryption


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The famous Original Tacky Glue is considered the ultimate in glues because it is incredibly versatile. Ideal for craft and household use. Dries clear and flexible. Recommended for all craft surfaces.
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This is my favorite product of all time. Go Tacky Glue!
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iHerb Customer Reviews
Savings of: $1.60 (34% off)
Good gluten-free flour
Posted by Reviewer2576914 on Oct 25, 2009
We mix this with Potato Starch and Tapioca Flour for a base gluten-free flour to replace cup-for-cup wheat flour in any recipe and everything turns out great. 1 bag sorghum, 1 bag potato, 3 cups tapioca.) Great price at iHerb!
One of the essentials in my gluten free pantry!
Posted by iHerbalicious on Nov 20, 2012
I have a coeliac disease so a gluten free diet is of a vital importance to me. I buy most of gluten free flours from iHerb, since in our country (EU market) selection of GF products is not that wide - in last years has improved a lot but we are not there yet;) And GF sorghum flour is one of the products that have not yet reached our shelves, so I am really glad I discovered it on iHerb. I must say that from all GF flours I've tried, sorghum flour is the one that (taste wise) the most resembles wheat. I use it in my home baked GF bread (I mix it with other GF flours, but usually sorghum flour represents 50%) and it is great for thickening sauces. I heartily recommend it to all of coeliacs out there! :)
The best gluten free flour I have used.
Posted by Reviewer1963992 on May 25, 2010
I almost gave up on gluten free baking until I tried one more attempt with sorghum flour. Now I can make baked goods that taste similar to the wheat versions we were use to using sorghum, coconut, and tapioca flour. I also use lots of ground oats.
Bob's Sorghum flour
Posted by Reviewer3033884 on Jun 08, 2010
Blend this with your Sweet Rice Flour, potato and corn starch, and your bread will be much tastier!!! It is too bad IHerb doesn't carry the Bob's Sweet Rice Flour. They ship fast and free if your order is large enough.
great product!
Posted by Reviewer3019553 on Jul 29, 2008
We are a wheat-free family and I use sorghum flour in all the recipes that call for soy or garbanzo flour. It works just as well without the uncooked bean flavor. It has a very mild flavor.
Bob's Red Mill Sweet White Sorghum Flour
Posted by Reviewer1434920 on Jul 28, 2010
really like this flour as it provides protein when added to my other gluten free flours and lowers the overall GI. works really well at 20-30% of the overall flour mix and taste is quite good
GLuten free flour
Posted by Reviewer2166946 on Mar 06, 2012
This is a very tasty flour at an excellent price - we pay almost 3 times this price in Australia. I always mix it with other flours at a rough 20%.
Glutenfritt mel!
Posted by etiskhandel on Mar 20, 2013
bob's red mill produserer okologisk mat og har forsket paa glutenfrie produkter i 30 aar med det formaalet aa skape de beste innen glutenfrie produkter. Jeg bruker dette melet til pizzabunner og vafler. I forhold til annet glutenfritt mel saa syntes jeg dette er bedre fordi det ikke klumper i rora. Er veldig fornoyd, og bestiller jevnlig :)
Posted by Reviewer3234154 on Feb 01, 2012
this is a must for any gluten free pantry. sweet flour with body and substance. this is a heavy flour and best used with other lighter flours, but makes all the difference in taste and texture.
Great flour for gluten free baking!
Posted by Reviewer3020614 on Sep 28, 2011
I use sorghum flour as part of an all-purpose flour mix I make to prepare gluten free baked goods. Mixing the flours with sorghum far exceeds using plain rice flours! iHerb delivered it fast and securely!!


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Power is server virtualization without limits. Businesses are turning to PowerVM server virtualization to consolidate multiple workloads onto fewer systems, increasing server utilization and reducing cost. PowerVM provides a secure and scalable server virtualization environment for AIX, IBM i and Linux applications built upon the advanced RAS features and leading performance of the Power Systems platform.
Learn more
- IBM PowerVM Virtualization (237 KB)
- IBM PowerVM Virtualization Introduction and Configuration
- VIOS Shared Storage Pool enhancements
- IBM PowerVM Best Practices
- PowerVM case studies
- Webinar Series on Power Systems virtualization
- IBM PowerVP - Virtualization Performance
- IBM PowerVC - Virtualization Center
- Deliver services with superior economics by consolidating virtualized workloads
- Deliver services built for the cloud faster by automating deployment of virtual machines (VMs) and storage
- Optimize utilization of server and storage resources to control cost and boost return on investment (ROI)
- Scale out or scale up your virtualized deployments without paying underlying performance penalties
- Eliminate scheduled downtime by deploying live mobility between servers
- Deliver higher quality services by improving virtual resource management
IBM® PowerVM® provides the industrial-strength virtualization solution for IBM Power Systems™ servers that run IBM AIX®, IBM i and Linux workloads. Based on more than a decade of evolution and innovation, PowerVM represents the state of the art in enterprise virtualization and is broadly deployed in production environments worldwide by most Power Systems owners.
The Power Systems family of scale-out and scale-up servers includes proven1 workload consolidation platforms that help clients control costs while improving overall performance, availability and energy efficiency. With these servers and PowerVM virtualization solutions, an organization can consolidate large numbers of applications and servers, fully virtualize its system resources, and provide a more flexible, dynamic IT infrastructure. In other words, Power Systems with PowerVM deliver the benefits of virtualization without limits.
PowerVM also offers a secure and resilient virtualization environment, built on the advanced RAS (reliability, availability and serviceability) features, extreme scalability and leadership performance2 of the Power Systems platform, based on the outstanding Power processors.
Advanced virtualization
A customer comparison of systems including IBM PowerVM
Secure virtualized workloads
Find out how the solution you chose can make a difference.
Innovation for the 3rd platform
Virtualization, multi-tenancy, and cloud demands
1 PowerVM Case Studies: ibm.com/systems/power/success/index.html
2 Power Systems benchmark results: ibm.com/systems/power/hardware/benchmarks/index.html
Contact an IBM Sales Specialist
- Email IBM
- Find a Business Partner
- Call IBM: 1-866-872-3902
Priority code: Power
Browse Power Systems
PowerVM videos
PowerVM client success
- See how Winn-Dixie saves $5 million with PowerVM
PowerVM partner solutions
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text:
by John MacArthur
Many people mistakenly think of faith as inherently noble. A once-popular song extols the virtue of faith, or believing: "I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows."
No one really believes that, of course, but that is not the point. The song is a paean to faith—without regard to the content of that faith. The object of faith was of no concern to the songwriter. The sentiment that song expresses is by no means biblical. It is an echo of one of the worst lies of our age—the notion that it isn't important what you believe as long as you believe passionately enough.
Did you know that faith can be seriously harmful? Some varieties of faith actually lead away from the true God—they substitute superstition, falsehood, or faith itself in place of truth. Such faith inevitably leads to spiritual disaster. It is reckless faith.
Reckless faith goes to two extremes. At one end of the spectrum it looks within—relying on feelings, inner voices, fantasy, or subjective sensations. At the other extreme it fixes its hope on some external human authority—the teachings of a supreme leader, religious tradition, magisterial dogma, or some other arbitrary canon.
An obvious non-Christian example of the first extreme is New Age mysticism. A similar example of the second is Islam. But even among groups that profess Christianity, both varieties of reckless faith are clearly seen. The charismatic movement, for example, tends toward the first extreme; Roman Catholicism epitomizes the second.
(Interestingly, there have been recent developments of a strong convergence occurring between the charismatic movement and Roman Catholicism. Such a bizarre unity reminds us that the vast spectrum of theological errors all flow out of one satanic origin. More on that in the coming weeks.)
Note that at both poles, reckless faith seeks spiritual truth apart from Scripture—and that is the very point at which it becomes reckless. Both kinds of reckless faith also have this in common: they are irrational and anti-intellectual. "Anti-intellectual" doesn't mean they oppose intellectual snobbery. It means they spurn the intellect and encourage blind, uncritical trust. Anti-intellectuals often set faith against reason, as if the two were opposites. That kind of faith is gullibility. It is foolishness, and not biblical faith. Biblical faith is never irrational.
Authentic faith, in contrast, can never bypass the mind. It cannot be irrational. Faith, after all, deals with truth. Truth is objective data to be known, studied, contemplated, and understood. All those are activities that engage the intellect.
That means genuine Christianity cannot be anti-intellectual. The body of truth on which our faith is based has depths that are mysterious—unfathomable to the merely human mind, or inscrutable—but truth is never irrational. The difference is all-important. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). Therefore what God says is true—and the antithesis of what He says must be false. Truth cannot be self-contradictory. Truth makes sense; nonsense cannot be true.
Moreover, the doctrine on which we base our faith must be sound—which is to say it must be biblical (1 Timothy 4:6; 2 Timothy 4:2–3; Titus 1:9; 2:1). "If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing" (1 Timothy 6:3–4, emphasis added). Sound, biblical doctrine therefore underlies all true wisdom and authentic faith. The attitude that scorns doctrine while elevating feelings or blind trust cannot legitimately be called faith, even if it masquerades as Christianity. It is actually an irrational form of unbelief.
God holds us accountable for what we believe as well as how we think about the truth He has revealed. All Scripture testifies to the fact that God wants us to know and understand the truth. He wants us to be wise. His will is that we use our minds. We are supposed to think, to meditate—to be discerning. And that is what we will continue to pursue as this series unfolds over the coming weeks.
Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:2–6)
Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:2–6)
(Adapted from Reckless Faith.)
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If divine revelations (irregardless of infallible or fallible) are on regular basis and ubiquitous to many recipients (not to mention 500 million believers), then its practitioners no longer operate as prescribed by Hebrews 11's faith; but instead as a whole presumes on par with OT prophets. By and large it will lead to all kinds and sorts of "mormonisms"-- the church's Pandora's gate is wide open for severe and serious errors.
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Oh man, this is such a good post. I have often used the same term "reckless faith" when distinguishing that from biblical faith based on what we know to be true.
Simply enough, faith is the *assurance* of things hoped for, the *conviction* of things unseen (Heb. 11:1). And as Paul wrote to the wonderful church in Thessalonica, he knew that they were saved because the Gospel came to them not only in word, but in power, the Holy Spirit and full conviction (1 Thess. 1:5).
It always comes around to a legitimate work of the Holy Spirit, where true conviction and true faith are established.
Thanks for such clear and helpful post, John. Looking forward to seeing you at the USNA this weekend!
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Absolutely spot on!
The best part is that more and more of the Bible is being independently proven true every day... and frequently by people who set out to DISPROVE it. But do you hear Pastors preaching this?
Look into Biology, Physics, Archaeology, etc..
The unfortunate part is that SO many Christians have been "taught" that the bible is a bunch of quaint stories without any historical or truthful basis.... and so they stick their heads in the sand.... How often do you hear Pastors teaching Astrophysics or Biology from the pulpit?
You never hear of how many Scientists come to know Christ because of Science - not in spite of science!
but really... In all honesty... Why would you want to believe in something that isn't true? If you went through the Bible - and it was OBVIOUSLY, Testably false.... Why would you still hang on? Some would say - Well... Just to cover the bases... Those are the "Idol Shepherds" out there... The ones who believe that All religion is equally true (Which means they are all Equally FALSE)... and so they worship all of them.... Just to make sure...
When Jesus was asked "What is the First commandment" - what did he say? Worship God with all your Heart, Mind, and Strength... That clearly includes our REASON as well as our Emotion! If we refuse to worship God with our Reason as well as our Heart - then we are not worshiping him in truth!
Faith is Substance . its good for us Christian back to the very basic our Faith in Christ Jesus Alone. we forgot the very foundation of our faith it is Christ in Him All the Glory and Honor Always Belongs To Him Amen.
I don't know how many times I have had someone base truth on a feeling. Even when I interject biblical truth into the equation it is treated with suspect simply because it goes against the feeling that they have. These people will often agree with the truth but will reject it with their lives because it goes against the "feeling" that they follow.
This feeling they will call "the Spirit" but it has nothing to do with holiness or honoring Christ. It in contrast separates them from Christ and honors their flesh while aligning with the world. At it's very best it is spiritual immaturity.
What then is reckless faith and what is rational faith? Examples of both would have made this write up more informative.
When Moses commanded the Israelites to march towards the sea and when Joshua commanded them to go into river Jordan, is that foolishness or reckless faith on both occasions?
What about Peter at the beautiful gate with the lame man. Faith is nothing more than absolute believe and trust in God and His word. Is it rational to believe that the death of a Jewish man executed by the Roman government over 2000 years ago is the means by which a God we can not see, smell, touch , feel or taste has chosen to deliver people from a hell which we don't know exists.
What is rational in the belief that the God who created the universe, the one who is meant to be the all powerful became a child and by the way he was conceived without sex! The all knowing did not know a thing, and had to be taught by the people he created?
Faith operates in the realm of God, we can not see, smell, touch , feel or taste God, that in itself makes the concept that there is a God an irrational belief to the mind. That is why spiritual things can only be FULLY understood by faith. While there may be such a thing as reckless faith, foolish faith and presumptuous faith, there is hardly anything like irrational faith because faith deals with hope as substance and accepts what can not be seen as reality!
I have often been told during difficult times to simply have faith. If I wasn't a Christian I would be wondering 'have faith in what?' I know of so many people who have faith in irrational things. Thanks John for your clear cutting words of wisdom and insight.
Response t0 #10:
BJ, I think the harmony you're looking for starts with, as you already mentioned, that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). When the Bible speaks, God speaks.
God has spoken about Himself in Scripture - who He is, what He has done, etc. If we have faith that this is true and He is as sovereign as He claims, then it is indeed a rational and reasonable faith to step into, say, the Jordan when the water is still flowing because you know who God is. It may be reckless from the perspective of a bystander who doesn't know God, but not for the one taking that step who has full confidence in God and His omnipotence.
I like your point that, from the world's perspective, the supernatural work of God is foolishness and unreasonable (The Apostle Paul met all kinds of these people), but it is this very "foolishness" that God uses to shame the wisdom of the so-called wise of the world and save those who believe (1 Cor. 1:18).
As Pastor John mentioned, faith that is not founded and grounded in Christ, is indeed a reckless faith, for it has no power. Faith that is based on the clear words of Scripture is a true faith when we believe it because, indeed, we haven't seen the things that are written about, but we believe the author of the words written.
As the Lord said so well Himself to the woman at the well when speaking of true worshipers (true Christians!), "We worship what we *know*" (Jn. 4:22).
An interesting parallel is when Paul ordered the Corinthian church to be orderly and not reckless in their gatherings. One of the things he said was: "I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also" (1 Cor. 14:15). Cognizant, intellectual understanding of what your faith is in, is paramount. It affects everything else.
The nature of God makes our faith reasonable and completely rational. Every single person that calls the Bible irrational has an extremely low view of God. That's always the root of the problem. The higher the view of God, the easier it is to believe what God has done.
To believe in a God who is also Jesus, who is also the Holy Spirit and who can stop evil but will not, yet commands us to; if He lets us, is beyond human reason. Hope must be in some other kind of irrational belief; not human.
Thanks for the comment! Put that way, it would seem that indeed, there are realities which are humanly irrational. Our challenge is to articulate revealed truth to so as to show is it not irrational, even if we cannot comprehend how it all fits together.
Deuteronomy 29:29 says, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." This clearly indicates there are matters hidden in the mind of God which we, this side of heaven—and perhaps eternally—will never know or comprehend.
But there is a massive difference between comprehension and rationality. For example, the Trinity is shown to be rational when distinguishing between "nature" and "persons". There is one God in nature, but three in persons. He is one is a sense, and three in another sense. So the Trinity is not a logical contradiction (irrational). But the Trinity remains impossible to comprehend in almost any meaningful sense because there is no earthly construct to which it can be related.
Bridging the gap between rationalizing and comprehending the Trinity could only happen (if at all) with more information from God. But again, something is not irrational just because it is incomprehensible. To use simple example, quantum mechanics is incomprehensible to me because I lack a massive amount of information, but it is not irrational.
This series is taking issue with the idea that faith is the act of throwing up one's hands in refusal to engage the mind in that which the Lord has actually revealed for us (that is, for our benefit). True faith certainly trusts God in those hidden matters, but it also engages fully with that which has been revealed.
Thank you Pastor John MacArthur. I really needed to hear this truth today. May the Lord multiply His grace and peace to you.
God is not irrational, but He is revealing. It is His testimony we are to believe. Where is this testimony found and what are the characteristics of this testimony? The following is from J.I. Packer's, "The Interpretation of Scripture". I hope this helps.
".., it is the very nature of Christian faith to believe, on the authority of God, truths which may neither be rationally demonstrated nor exhaustively understood. We must remember that God does not tell us everything about His acts and purposes, nor put us in a position to work them all out for ourselves. We shall not reach right views about the things of God by backing our independent judgment, but only by taking His word. We are wholly dependent on Him for our knowledge of His ways.
God, then, does not profess to answer in Scripture all the questions that we, in our boundless curiosity, would like to ask about Scripture. He tells us merely as much as He sees we need to know as a basis for our life of faith. And He leaves unsolved some of the problems raised by what He tells us, in order to teach us a humble trust in His veracity. The question, therefore, that we must ask ourselves when faced with these puzzles is not, is it reasonable to imagine that this is so? but, is it reasonable to accept God's assurance that this is so? Is it reasonable to take God's word and believe that He has spoken the truth, even though I cannot fully comprehend what He has said? The question carries its own answer. We should not abandon faith in anything that God has taught us merely because we cannot solve all the problems which it raises. Our own intellectual competence is not the test and measure of divine truth. It is not for us to stop believing because we lack understanding, or to postpone believing till we can get understanding, but to believe in order that we may understand; as Augustine said, "unless you believe, you will not understand." Faith first, sight afterwards, is God's order, not vice versa; and the proof of the sincerity of our faith is our willingness to have it so. Therefore, just as we should not hesitate to commit ourselves to faith in the Trinity although we do not know how one God can be three Persons, nor to faith in the incarnation, although we do not know how the divine and human natures combined in the Person of Christ, so we should not hesitate to commit ourselves to faith in Scripture as the infallible Word of the infallible God, even though we cannot solve all the puzzles, nor reconcile all the apparent contradictions, with which in our present state of knowledge it confronts us. On all these articles of faith we have God's positive assurance; and that should be enough.
Dear Randy
Thank you for what I consider an excellent post. I agree with pastor John that there are some who would not engage their minds with scripture and thereby err in various ways. As believer, the fact that we need to engage with our minds is attested to in scriptures. For example Luke 10:27
27 So he answered and said, " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,'[a] and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"(NKJV).
God gave as an incredible tool - the mind. However, what the mind (reason) can not fathom, faith can!
Romans 8:33-34
....Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 "For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?"[a]
Faith is truth and fact based. The 'fact is that the word of God is the 'truth'. Faith is required to believe that. To want to reason out everything about God is to put Him in a box. Romans 8 above says we can't.
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Editorial: Week ahead could be crucial for farm bill
Could it be in a few weeks that the price of a gallon of gas looks like a bargain when compared to the cost of a gallon of milk?
That could be the case unless Congress can reach an agreement soon on a new farm bill that seems to have been held up in negotiations forever now. Leading negotiations in the Senate is Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.
Without a new farm bill, come January pricing regarding milk would revert to a policy enacted in 1949. At that time, government was paying milk producers a much higher price for the commodity. While opinions vary as to what that actually would mean for consumers today, some have suggested $7 for a gallon of milk might be the new norm.
As might be expected, lawmakers cringe at such a suggestion.
While it is the price of milk that has moved the farm bill front and center in discussions today, the real cause for legislative inaction has been disagreement over farm subsidies and food stamp requirements.
While Stabenow has said numerous times in interviews over the years that as chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee she has been blessed with being able to work closely with her GOP counterparts, this year the farm bill's negotiations have tested not only her's, but all of our's resolve.
This coming week could be insightful as to where the farm bill is headed. House Republicans have set Dec. 13 as the deadline for consideration of any bill this year. Either a bill will be ready by then or the House might approve a temporary extension of the current bill – thus keeping milk prices at current levels.
Coupled with the farm bill is the Jan. 15 government shutdown facing Congress unless a new budget bill is in place. The last thing anyone wants right now is more frustration from inaction with either bill.
And, neither does Congress want to give milk producers a new advertising campaign from the ever popular "got milk?" to this one instead, "afford milk?"


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There's a reason why the magical island of Saint Lucia is praised year after year as the most romantic island for weddings and honeymoons by numerous travel sources. In 2002 – 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 Saint Lucia was awarded World's Leading Honeymoon Destination as well as the Caribbean's Leading Honeymoon Destination award for 2011 and 2012. The colorful towns, picturesque views, intimate sunsets and magical beaches all confer to the romance that that you experience every time you visit.
Sunset at Capella Marigot Bay Resort and Marina
I have never felt so warm inside as I look around and breathe in an air filled with love and excitement when strolling through golden sands towards the most intimate sunsets. Saint Lucia is truly the one destination that offers perfectly luxurious getaways for the perfect couple. Here, you can share freshly cut coconuts with the one you love and also experience an exhilarating rainforest zip line tour. This land of magic and mystery allows you the freedom to tie the knot anywhere you like! I have witnessed many weddings that leave me with tears of joy as I feel that connection that many feel whenever they come in contact with the most beautiful wedding, honeymoon and vow renewal spots that this destination island has to offer. You have the option to be enchanted by a lovely beach wedding that has you feeling like a dream come true with the waters of the Caribbean Sea flowing gently over your toes or a tropical garden wedding where you are surrounded by unique designs of flora and sweet chirping melodies of little song birds. There is also the option to have a more traditional wedding in historic churches where you can continue to write your history together.
It really is very simple and easy to say I do right here! Here is what you need to plan a destination wedding in Saint Lucia:
- Passport of each party
- Birth Certificate of each party
- Decree Absolute if one of the parties is divorced
- In the case of a widow or widower, a death certificate of the deceased spouse
- A Deed Poll if a name has been changed
- If one of the parties is under the age of 18 years, evidence of a consent of parents in the form of a sworn affidavit stamped by a Notary Public.
- An authenticated translation of any document not in English
- Applications made by a local solicitor to the Attorney General or notary who prepares and signs the license.
Yes, a destination wedding would be perfect for you and also perfect if you wish to say I do all over again. I love vow renewals too as I get to witness couples fall in love again whilst sailing away towards the horizon with personal chef and assistant services on board.
If you wish to say I do, contact your Capella Marigot Bay romance specialist at email@example.com to help make that dream wedding your reality.


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Wasting Time in School is seeking examples of time-consuming, learning lite assignments.
For example, a Houston parent thinks memorizing a rap about pronouns is a waste of time for gifted eighth-graders who've mastered pronouns in elementary school.
Sit down learn it,
you don't need a permit.
Memorize it, do it now:
Pronouns take the place of nouns.
The SUBJECT list—
It's nothing new:
IT, WE, THEY, and WHO.
And it goes on. And on.
Some 80 percent of elementary teachers are women, notes the blogger.
Imagine that 80+ percent of elementary teachers were male, and that they were constantly assigning girls to design football plays or battle plans for assignments putatively related to math or social studies. Would no one raise the complaint that men were being insensitive by assigning so many projects that most girls didn't actually enjoy or identify with, and that were barely related to any legitimate academic objective in the first place?
I was just visiting my brother's family in Oregon after attending our sixth wedding since May. (Yes! The wedding marathon is over!) Their girls love to sit and do arts and crafts projects. Their son wants to run, climb and destroy.
Here's Simon and Garfunkel on time:


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About the Author: Melanne Verveer serves as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues.
The Women's Entrepreneurship Summit (WES), which took place last Friday, represents the first-ever Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) high-level policy and public-private partnership to recognize the important role women play in driving economic growth. The Summit was jointly hosted by the Japanese and U.S. governments -- the APEC Chairs for 2010 and 2011, respectively. In attendance was a talented group of women from across 21 APEC economies, including a venture capitalist from Japan, a second-hand clothing entrepreneur and women's rights activist from Papua New Guinea, and a beauty queen turned media mogul from Malaysia.
The Asia Pacific region's economy is among the world's most dynamic. The 21 economies of the region make up nearly 60 percent of total global economic output. The APEC region is already greatly benefiting from women's economic participation, because the gender gap is narrower here than in other regions. Yet, even here, women's economic potential is still largely untapped. And that is why we have gathered in this unprecedented APEC WES Summit. Women's lack of economic participation is due to a variety of obstacles -- obstacles that a UN agency has calculated cost the Asia-Pacific region between USD 42-46 billion a year in lost GDP.
We all recognize that if the APEC region is to expand and spread the benefits of globalization and inclusive growth more broadly, women must be an important part of the new growth paradigm. In recent years, studies confirm that investing in women is "smart economics," and that gender equality yields higher growth outcomes and lower poverty. The World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report, as well as reports by Goldman Sachs, the World Bank, and Ernst & Young all illustrate how women's economic participation promotes enterprise development at the micro and small and medium enterprise (SME) levels, as well as better business management and returns on investment.
Women's progress is critical to a country's progress, and women's economic participation is critical to economic prosperity. Moreover, women provide a multiplier effect in their economic participation because they invest upwards of 90 percent of their incomes back into their families and communities.
Women still face considerable hurdles when trying to start a new business or expand an existing one beyond a certain revenue mark. Among the biggest are lack of access to training, markets, mentors and networks, as well as the presence of discriminatory laws and regulations such as those that needlessly complicate business entry.
One of the biggest challenges is access to financing. Even where some of the legal and policy barriers are not prominent, lack of access to credit is common in every economy.
Closing the gender gap in economic participation is the best prescription for economic growth. With this Summit, we hope to have established the foundation for post-recession growth, but we cannot tackle that challenge -- and we will not be as successful as we could be -- without unleashing women's economic potential. I am confident that this historic Summit will spark a new commitment to addressing these issues, will open new avenues for collaboration and progress, and will launch structural reforms to increase women's access to education, training, and finance.
For more resources about women in business and about the Summit, please visit their website.


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The Black Keys: History of the Rock Band
Formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001, The Black Keys are a rock duo comprised of members Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. They made a name for themselves in the indie scene with their blues and garage rock sound and gained more mainstream exposure when their music was featured in Hollywood productions. However, The Black Keys got their big break after working with producer Danger Mouse. Their success continued with Grammy wins and hit singles during the next decade. In this WatchMojo.com video, we take a look at the history of The Black Keys.


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Extreme Blessing For NYC Couple
There is an adage that says, "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."
For 10 members of the Lighthouse Christian Fellowship Church in Westfield, this saying holds true following work they have done over the past week.
Pastor David Herr, along with Lydia and Judah Herr, Isaac and Seth Byard, Dawn Bowen, Jillian Douglas, Sarah Harp, Bruce Diamond and Ariana Cooke traveled to New York City this past week to help rebuild for victims of Superstorm Sandy. And, in their journey, they were able to see the reactions of Burt and Jeanne Metz of Breezy Point, N.Y., a couple who received a surprise home makeover.
"We were working on a home that they were redoing for an elderly couple who hit on very hard times," Herr said. "The wife has been a two-time cancer survivor. After they retired, they contracted a carpenter to work on their house to refurbish it, fix it up. Shortly after that, before the work ever got completed, he died and their money that they gave him was lost, so their life savings was kind of swallowed up in that. Then, the storm hit, and it came in about four feet into their first floor, which, they only have one floor. It just created all kinds of damage, so they were very discouraged."
Herr said a member of his church was questioning what could be done to help victims in the New York City area following the October storm. So, he contacted the New York School for Urban Ministry, which ended up hosting the group and putting it in touch with Operation Blessing International and Samaritan's Purse.
Operation Blessing International is nonprofit organization with a mission to alleviate human need and suffering in the U.S. and around the world. Samaritan's Purse, on the other hand, works to help the world's sick, poor and suffering. It also provides emergency relief programs to victims of natural disaster, war, disease and famine. The group from Lighthouse Christian Fellowship worked with these two groups to help restore what they could in New York.
"NYSUM hosted us, we went there and stayed in their school every night. They gave us some orientation and training, and they provided breakfast and lunch for us. They also connected us with different faith-based ministries that were reaching into the areas of Breezy Point and Rockway," Herr said. "NYSUM was the vehicle, or the facilitator, to connect us with groups that were actually doing the work there, helping to rebuild."
On Jan. 7, the group worked with Blessings International to help work on the Metz's home. They returned to the Metz's to welcome the couple home just two days later.
"It was like an 'Extreme Makeover,' except it was an Extreme Blessing," Herr said. "It was really touching, because they had no idea all this was going to be done. There was new furniture, everything was new, and it was all a gift from volunteers and donations to bless this couple."
The group also helped victims in Rockaway, N.Y., when they spent the day last Tuesday volunteering with Samaritan's purse.
"Our job there was to work in people's basements," Herr said. "The drywall had already been taken off, about four feet to the floor. It was our job to pull nails and spray a disinfectant to stop mold. We did a lot of sweeping and cleaning up. It was kind of neat, because the homeowners were there and they were looking at weeks of work that we accomplished in hours because of the large group and just putting our heart into it. They were so encouraged and so thankful they can go on with rebuilding."
To travel to New York City, each person had to raise roughly $150 to cover the cost of their stay at NYSUM, gas, meals and other expenses. Members of the church also donated toward the cause.
"We took a love offering at the church to help offset costs for gas and transportation that way," Herr said. "I think a lot of people have been looking for ways to give where they know it is going to the right source. It was really neat."
The group also needed to find a way to get to New York City. Herr learned that the cost of renting a van large enough would be very expensive. Then he learned about Tom and Judy Marsh, who are members of a Baptist church of the area. Herr said the couple bought a van and loan it to their church to be used for any outings.
"So, we got in contact with them and they willingly donated their van for us to use," Herr said. "It was really great to see the churches work together to accomplish something like that."
The 10 who volunteered their time this past week were all very different, according to Herr. The youngest member of the trip was only 15, while others were college-age, up to adults in their 60s.
"The group that signed up was very interesting and from different walks of life, but it all worked together well. So, that was really special, because there sometimes can be internal problems, and we didn't have any of that," Kerr said.
Additionally, Herr recalled seeing the reactions of the people the group helped while in New York City.
"Just to see their reaction and how appreciative they were. Oh my, they were overwhelmed," Herr said. "Sometimes, you think, 'Why go, why spend all that money?' What really encourages the people that have been traumatized by all this is to see people come volunteer to help and encourage them. We had the opportunity to give people hope, and that's really special."


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Tags: Kite surfer Sunset Mandrem, Kitesurfing, Kitesurfing at Sunset, Kitesurfing at Mandrem, Kite surf, ocean, surf, waves, splash
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kite surfer jumping mandremby serenityphotography
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- As the afternoon wind gains force along the Goan coast, the kitesurfers come out to play. The sea off of Arambol and Mandrem in North Goa offers ideal conditions to kitesurf. The Beaches of North Goa in India, such as Arambol and Mandrem, are more laid back than some of Goa's busier resorts. The nightlife is more low-key and alternative, and the modest accommodation is popular with open-minded visitor from around the world. See more at www.SerenityPhotography.co.uk
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- Location
- kent, england
- Artist Biography
- Born in Dover, England, I became disillusioned with the rat race and began travelling in 1997. On my first round the world trip I discovered a passion for travel, photography and scuba diving. Since then I have spent a total of five years on the road, become a diving instructor and semi-prof ...


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by Anton Shilov
There are rumours floating around the Internet that Advanced Micro Devices may cease to use ATI brand for its graphics products. Even though some believe that this will strengthen the corporate "AMD" trademark, in reality this may be the worst branding decision ever made by the company.
The Sunnyvale, California-based supplier of central processing units (CPU) acquired ATI Technologies back in 2006 with a bid to start offering complete platforms consisting of core-logic sets and microprocessors as well as in order to integrate graphics processing units (GPUs) and CPUs into a single piece of silicon. As a result of the acquisition, the company decided to put its own trademark onto AMD-compatible chipsets as well as onto consumer products, such as Imageon for mobile phones and Xilleon for digital TVs (in fact, while some consumer electronics companies saw value in ATI brand, they have never put AMD logo onto their devices), but decided to keep calling graphics cards as ATI Radeon. Later on the company had to sell off mobile graphics as well as DTV business units due to poor execution and bad need for money. The rumour mill says that now AMD wants to reject the ATI brand.
Even though many say that it is not necessary to pay for well-known brands, consumers love recognizable labels and trademarks and are willing to pay for them. The reasons are pretty simple: well-known brands are associated with high quality, performance, experience and are generally recognizable. As a result, Volkswagen Group retains brands like Audi, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Seat, etc; whereas LVMH holding preserves tens of brands that ultimately compete against each other. The reasons for that are pretty obvious: loads of money are invested into creation of a brand and its support. Many consumers have either acquired or simply know from advertisements that ATI produces graphics cards, whereas Moët et Chandon makes champagne; hence, LVMH will hardly start selling something like "Louis Vuitton Moët Hennesy Brut Imprerial". It is noteworthy that when Rackable acquired SGI in 2009, it actually decided to use SGI name instead of its own due to the value of the brand.
Found in 1985, Array Technologies Inc. (ATI Technologies later on) has always been associated with graphics processors and multimedia. Moreover, throughout the larger part of its history ATI has been associated with innovations and leading edge performance. ATI introduced numerous "world's first" and thanks to 25 years history it is recognized as a respectable supplier of graphics adapters. In fact, only in the most recent decade ATI held graphics performance crown in seven years out of ten. Besides, at present the world's most powerful graphics card is ATI Radeon 5970, which greatly attracts gamers and performance-minded users. In Q2 2010 graphics business products group (GPG) of AMD shipped over 50% of the world's discrete GPUs, a clear indicator than ATI is better known on graphics boards market than AMD on microprocessor market.
Established in 1969, Advanced Micro Devices was used to be a second source of chips developed by Intel Corp. and later a maker of inexpensive microprocessors. The situation changed significantly in late 1999 with the introduction of the Athlon chip, but the chipmaker only managed to retain performance leadership in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2006. At present AMD is concentrating on platformization of its offerings and cannot offer CPUs that would successfully compete against Intel's top-of-the-range offerings.
All-in-all, ATI label is associated with graphics performance and leadership (both in terms of performance and market share), whereas AMD brand is associated with inexpensive chips found in 19% of today's x86-based systems.
But there are more issues than just the value of the brand for the particular market. For many years Intel used ATI Radeon graphics boards for public performance measurements, in addition, the large chipmaker helped to advertize Intel- and ATI-based personal computers. In fact, ATI was invited to Intel Developer Forums even after it was acquired by AMD. Will the world's largest chipmaker in some ways help to promote personal computers with "AMD Radeon", thus helping its arch-enemy to gain brand recognition? Will it invite AMD to take part of IDF? At present ATI commands 51.1% of discrete GPU market and 24.5% of all graphics adapters market, thus, ATI Radeon boards are installed into Intel-based systems and GPG's market performance is not limited to market share of AMD platforms. If ATI logo is dropped in favour of AMD's, so will likely market share of the graphics division.
It should be noted that with the dawn of the accelerated processing unit (APU) era it would make sense for AMD to sell them under one single trademark since AMD Fusion 2000 with ATI Radeon HD 5610 graphics core does not sound easy for average consumers. Still, when selling chipsets AMD barely notes the class of the integrated graphics core and it hardly will in the Fusion era.
For years both AMD and Intel "borrowed" numerous technical and marketing solutions from each other. AMD went platformization route, just like Intel, whereas the latter integrated memory controller into its microprocessors and introduced point-to-point interconnection for multi-socket platforms. Intel is unlikely to drop Havok or McAfee brands despite of the fact that Intel is among the world's most known trademarks. The reason is simple: Intel is not known for cross-platform middleware or antivirus software. Will AMD, which is not known for graphics processors, dare to drop the very well known ATI trademark?
For over a quarter of a century ATI has been a renowned graphics brand, whereas AMD has been known for microprocessors. Although Bentley is owned by Volkswagen Group, the Continental GT is still Bentley Continental GT, not Volkswagen Continental GT or Volkswagen Bentley Continental GT. Rebranding "ATI Radeon" premium graphics label into anything else will require AMD to do something it has never been truly keen of: to greatly alter its advertising and marketing initiatives so that to tell the market that the heritage of ATI is still there and the Radeon GPUs are still premium computer components, not inexpensive solutions with nice price to performance ratio. Perhaps, some things should just remain as they is?
AMD did not comment on the news-story.


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Partner: UNT Libraries
Department: Department of Learning Technologies
Decade: 2000-2009
Collection: UNT Theses and Dissertations
Analyzing Learner Characteristics, Undergraduate Experience and Individual Teamwork Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Toward Identifying Themes to Promote Higher Workforce Readiness
Date: August 2009
Creator: Frederick, Consuelo V.
Description: With the world amidst globalization and economic flux affecting business, industry, and communities the need to work together becomes increasingly important. Higher education serves an important role in developing the individual teaming capabilities of the workforce. This environment is the time and place - opportunity for student personnel to develop these capabilities. This multiple case study utilized the analysis phase (learner, setting and job) of an instructional design model to analyze learner characteristics, the higher education environment/undergraduate experience, and the job/skills associated with individual teamwork knowledge, skills, and abilities of students from a senior cohort of the TRiO - SSS Project at a public student-centered research institution. The results yielded themes to promote the development of target populations individual teamwork KSAs which should increase their readiness to meet the teaming demands of today's employers. With an engaging undergraduate experience, inclusive of interaction with faculty members and collaborative learning with their peers, structured opportunities to practice individual teamwork KSAs in a work setting or internship, these underrepresented students may be an asset that is needed to meet the global workforce needs and fill civic capacities in their home communities.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
An investigation of factors affecting Omani faculty members' adoption of information and computing technology.
Date: August 2009
Creator: Al Senaidi, Said
Description: The purpose of this study was to explore the factors influencing information and computing technology (ICT) adoption for Omani faculty members from a framework of Rogers' theory of diffusion of innovation. Three hundred Omani faculty members from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) participated in the study. The survey consisted of five parts: (a) an 18-item questionnaire on ICT uses and skills, (b) a 1-item questionnaire on adopter category, (c) a 44-item self-constructed questionnaire on perception of barriers to adopting ICT, (d) a 50-item questionnaire on ICT attributes adapted from Moore and Benbasat, and (e) a 15-item questionnaire on demographic and job-related variables. Descriptive statistics indicated that the faculty members overall used ICT at the "Sometimes" level and had ICT skills at the "Intermediate" level. The most frequently used and skillful ICT functional areas were Website browsing, Internet search engine, and word processing. One-way ANOVAs found significant group differences of ICT uses and skills, perception of barriers, and perception of ICT attributes in the category of adopter. Early adopters used ICT more, had higher ICT skills, perceived fewer barriers in the adopting process, and recognized higher values of ICT attributes than later adopters did. Multiple regression analysis showed the level of ICT ...
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
The Global Village Playground: A qualitative case study of designing an ARG as a capstone learning experience.
Date: May 2009
Creator: Dondlinger, Mary Jo
Description: The Global Village Playground (GVP) was a capstone learning experience designed to address institutional assessment needs while providing an integrated, contextualized, and authentic learning experience for students. In the GVP, students work on simulated and real-world problems as a design team tasked with developing an alternate reality game that makes an impact on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the design of the GVP as a capstone experience. The research design follows a qualitative case study approach to gather and analyze data collected from the instructors and students participating in the pilot implementation of the GVP. Results of the study show predominantly favorable reactions to various aspects of the course and its design. Students reported to have learned the most through interactions with peers and through applying and integrating knowledge in developing the alternate reality game that was the central problem scenario for the course. What students demonstrated to have learned included knowledge construction, social responsibility, open-mindedness, big picture thinking, and an understanding of their relationship to the larger society and world in which they live. Challenges that resulted from the design included the amount of necessary to build ...
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
Instructor immediacy and presence in the online learning environment: An investigation of relationships with student affective learning, cognition, and motivation.
Date: December 2008
Creator: Baker, Credence
Description: Bivariate correlation was used to examine possible relationships between instructor immediacy and instructor presence, and a statistically significant correlation was found. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine whether the linear combination of instructor immediacy and presence caused significant variance in student affective learning, cognition, and motivation. For all three of the latter dependent variables, the linear combination of instructor immediacy and presence was found to cause statistically significant variance. However, although the overall regression models were significant in all three tests, instructor immediacy was not found to be a significant individual predictor for causing variance in affective learning, cognition, or motivation, whereas instructor presence was found to be a significant individual predictor of all three. Finally, factorial ANOVA revealed that, for perceptions of instructor immediacy, only classification and course type were found to explain significant variance, with undergraduate students in asynchronous courses reporting significantly lower instructor immediacy. For perceptions of instructor presence, graduate students tended to rate their instructors as having higher presence than did undergraduate students, and students in synchronous courses tended to rate their instructors as having higher presence than did students in asynchronous courses.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
Relationships between perceptions of personal ownership of laptop computers and attitudes toward school.
Date: December 2008
Creator: Brogdon, Sherri Gorham
Description: The feeling of ownership is a topic of research that has not been addressed as a component in the integration of technology in the K-12 classroom. The effectiveness of this abstract concept in relationship to digital computing is important in the evaluation of one-to-one initiatives in education. This paper reports findings of a research study conducted using a new ownership survey instrument I developed, the Laptop Usage Inventory (LUI). Also administered during the study was the Student Attitude Survey given in a pretest/posttest design. The instruments were administered to seventh and eighth grade students in a north Texas middle school in the 2007-2008 school year. The methodology used to evaluate the Laptop Usage Inventory consisted of Cronbach's alpha and various scaling methods. LUI scale scores were correlated with the results of the Student Attitude Survey to compare students' attitudes toward school before and after using a laptop computer for the school year. Implications for laptop initiatives and for the classroom are discussed and a future research agenda is presented.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
The relationship between computer use and academic achievements.
Date: August 2008
Creator: Huang, Sharon Hsiao-Shan
Description: Computer technology has been used in education for years, and the government budgets large amounts of money to foster technology. However, it is still a debated whether computer technology makes a difference in students' learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to find if any relationship exists between computer use by teachers and students and the students' academic achievement in math and reading for both traditional populations and English language learner (ELL) tenth graders. Computer use in this study included the computer activities by students and teachers, in terms of the time, frequency, activities types, the places students use computers, teachers' computer activities, and the training teachers received. This study used data gathered from tenth grade students from the dataset Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Fifteen thousand, three hundred and sixty-two students were randomly selected to represent all U.S. tenth-graders attending schools in 2002. The findings showed diverse relationships consistent with the literature. Based on the findings, some suggestions were made to teachers and parents about the quality of school work and computer use by students and teachers.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
Using SERVQUAL to Measure Users' Satisfaction of Computer Support in Higher Educational Environments
Date: August 2008
Creator: Yu, Brenda Wai Fong
Description: The purpose of this research was to measure users' satisfaction with computer support in the higher education environment. The data for this study were gathered over a 5-week period using an online survey. Subjects (N=180) were members of a college at a major Texas university, which included both faculty and staff. SERVQUAL was the instrument used in this study. Two-ways statistical ANOVA analyses were conducted and revealed three statistically significant differences for Gender, Classification, and Comfort Level.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
Influence of pre and post testing on return on investment calculations in training and development.
Date: May 2008
Creator: Hiraoka, Calvin H.
Description: When expenses become an issue, training is often one of the first budget items to be cut. There have been a number of evaluation studies about rates of return from training interventions. Most results are based on interviewing participants about the value of the intervention and its effect on their productivity. This often results in quadruple digit return on investment indications. Decision makers who control the budget often view these kinds of results with skepticism. This study proposes a methodology to evaluate training interventions without asking participants their opinions. The process involves measuring learning through a series of pre-tests and post-tests and determining if scores on pre-tests can be used as predictors of future return on investment results. The study evaluates a series of return on investment scores using analysis of variance to determine the relationship between pre-tests and final return on investment results for each participant. Data is also collected and evaluated to determine if the financial results of the organization during the period of the training intervention could be correlated to the results of the training intervention. The results of the study suggest that the proposed methodology can be used to predict future return on investment from training ...
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
Identifying factors that predict student success in a community college online distance learning course.
Date: December 2007
Creator: Welsh, Johnelle Bryson
Description: The study's purpose was to identify demographics, educational background, finances, formal and informal education and experiences, reading habits, external environmental factors, psychological factors, and computer efficacy factors that predict a student's ability to successful complete an online (Web-based) distance learning community college course. Major student retention theories and student attrition and persistence research guided the study. Distance learners (N = 926) completed four surveys, which collected data for 26 predictor variables that included age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, support others, course load, first-time student, last semester attended, student type and location, financial stability, tuition payment, prior learning experiences, reading habits, family support, enrollment encouragement, study encouragement, time management, study environment, employment, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, locus of control, self-efficacy, computer confidence and skills, and number of prior online courses. Successful or unsuccessful course completion was the dependent variable. Statistical analyses included Cronbach's alpha, Pearson chi-square, two-sample t test, Pearson correlation, phi coefficient, and binary logistic regression. Variables in each factor were entered sequentially in a block using separate binary logistic regression models. Statistically significant variables were course load, financial stability, prior learning experiences, time management and study environment, extrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, and computer skills. Selected predictor variables (N = 20) ...
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries
Improving learner reaction, learning score, and knowledge retention through the chunking process in corporate training.
Date: December 2007
Creator: Murphy, Maureen
Description: The purpose of the study was to investigate the application of the chunking process to the design and delivery of workforce training. Students in a 1-hour course (N = 110) were measured on learner reaction, learning score achievement, and knowledge retention to see whether or not chunking training in a 1-hour session into three 20-minute sessions to match adult attention span resulted in a statistically significant difference from training for 1-hour without chunking. The study utilized a repeated measures design, in which the same individuals in both the control group and experimental group took a reaction survey instrument, a posttest after the training, and again 30 days later. Independent samples t tests were used to compare the mean performance scores of the treatment group versus the control group for both sessions. Cohen's d was also computed to determine effect size. All hypotheses found a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control group.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries


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Here's how RW members rated this race (154 votes).
In short: Very Well Marsahhaled and OrganisedIn full: This course is far superior than the old Glos 20 course. 3 laps did not bother me. Hills on the last lap were a killer, but it is difficult to find a flat course in Gloucestershire, I should know I live here. Very well marshalled. Lots of encouragement, professional. Considering a new course had to be devised, organisation was good also. The good weather helped. I liked the mug, very pratical. You can never have enough mugs in the kitchen. I have enough medals and t-shirts. So more mugs next year. My Garmin like others I spoke to clocked 20.2, so maybe the course was long or maybe Garmins aren't as accurate as they should be. I will be back.Date of review: March 19, 2010
In short: Beautiful day, well organised and a PB - thanks.Date of review: March 13, 2010
In short: Excellent support from all the marshals throughout the run, well needed by the 3rd loopIn full: Enjoyed run, helped by excellent weather conditions. Thanks again to the marshals and supports dotted around the course.A big thumbs up to the fit blond lady running what appeared to be in the wrong direction, she was offering plenty of support, many thanks. If anyone knows where she came from and where she was going please let me know.Last years poor reward of goody bag with a grand total of tee-shirt was bettered this year by the presentation of a mug! I think we were all mugged.Date of review: March 10, 2010
In short: Well organised and lots of encouragementIn full: Still not sure if this is a better course. Managed a PB which is always good news but that may have been down to excellent weather rather than the race or the course. The finish area not very exciting and with a cold wind chilled down quickly at the end of the race - so headed back to the car park. With race HQ so dar away there was no point in hanging around.The course itself is challenging (recognise bits from the Beacon 10K) and the last hill you know will be tough on the last leg.Like lots of runners don't like laps but could be a lot worse.Well done to Gloucester AC and the marshal for their support. Date of review: March 9, 2010
In short: Hope this helps my marathon prep!In full: Enjoyed the races, have to say the marshalls were excellent, understood my finger pointing from a long way out towards the end of the race to stop me setting off on a 4th lap. Maybe more people on the water stations would help, a few times they were overwhelmed and tubs of jelly babies perhaps?Date of review: March 8, 2010
In short: An excellent opportunity for a long pre-Spring marathon training run. Some elements were better than in 2009 and some not so good …In full: The 2009 Gloucester 20 was my first ever 20-mile run and proved to be a very positive event, so the 2010 event went into the diary as a "must do" as soon as the date was published. It soon turned out that the 2010 event was to be held on a new course, so how did it compare?Firstly, that new course. Yes, it is a shame that the Race HQ, the main car park and the start/finish were all in different locations, but the pre-race instructions made the arrangements clear enough. There were also split locations in 2009, so this isn't a feature of this course specifically. The Gloucester 10 and the Gloucester Marathon are organised in a similar way too. Personally, I am hugely impressed with the way that Gloucester AC keep all these road events running against all the odds. I can't imagine that they won't have looked at lots of alternatives and done the best under the circumstances (which include some pretty NIMBY-ish villagers in Longney and Epney, by all accounts, as well as a Sports Centre that is in the middle of a whole network of busy residential roads). I would just say "well done" to the organisers and congratulate them on not having given up running these events long ago.As for the course, it was three laps instead of two, which really is not an issue. Quite similar terrain to last year, although there was of necessity a stretch with steady traffic on the B4008. There were a couple of inclines, probably similar overall to the previous course, although I found the second one (at miles 6.5, 12 and 17.5) to be increasingly nasty each time I came to it. Good compensation afterwards, though, in the form of a long fast gentle descent down to the railway bridge and beyond. Although I prefer the Longney/Epney loop, I would happily run this course again.And what about the rest of the event? Advance information was quite late in appearing on the website, although this may have had something to do with the planning necessary for the new course. Pre-race instructions and the running number arrived in good time and the directions were perfectly adequate. It was a shame that there was nothing other than a row of portaloos at the main car park. I shouldn't think many people would have gone to the Race HQ before the event and it would have been really nice just to have a garden marquee with a tea urn in the corner of the car park. Maybe next year ...The distance to the start was fine - a good opportunity for a warm up jog. The start itself took me completely by surprise! (Note to Results Officer: please deduct half a minute from the finishing time of every Westbury Harriers runner - we were all standing around at the back chatting when we became aware that the stampede had started!)On course, the marshalling was excellent and the marshals were visible and clear in their instructions at every junction and blind bend. Well done! Drinks stations were well-spaced too and the helpers invariably friendly and efficient - thanks to you all too!The finish was a little disappointing, and one or two reviewers have already commented on this. Yes, a Mars Bar or a banana would have been hugely welcome to provide some energy for the return to the car park or the Race HQ. (I did see a table set up in the car park with drinks etc - perhaps that could have been at the finish instead, unless it was a private club arrangement?) I was disappointed with the mug (I don't like commemorative mugs, but maybe others do?), but in contrast I really liked the 2009 Gloucester Old Spot T-shirt. Finally, the Race HQ is well tried and tested and the hot showers very welcome. It was well worth the short drive in order to get a shower, a cup of tea and a piece of cake.In conclusion, a competently organised and marshalled event which is an essential part of the Spring marathon calendar. A few niggles, some of which are down to personal taste, but overall a big thank you to the organisers for another good day out!Date of review: March 8, 2010
In short: Better than last yearIn full: I found the pre-race instructions and directions perfectly clear, so I'm not sure why others didn't.The fabulous weather on the day doubtless helped, but I thought 2010 was a big overall improvement on 2009 - i.e. better parking, shorter walk at the start & end, I preferred the new 3 lap course to the old 2 lap course, less concerns about road safety (which soured the atmosphere last year, hence the big drop in numbers this year).Well marshalled by friendly folk who appeared to know what they were doing in terms of traffic control at the junctions.Quite expensive for a few cups of water and a mug, but otherwise no complaints from me.Date of review: March 8, 2010
In full: It came as a surprise when everyone begun to run, as there was no indication that the race had started!!For someone who hates laping, I really enjoyed the course. The laps were varied enough not to seem repetative and couldnt have asked for better weather.The marshalls were really friendly and supportive throughout.My Garmin clocked a slightly longer course of 20.15 miles and it wasnt obvious that mugs were being given out at the end (I had to go back for mine!!). Apart from the few organisation issues, a great race. Thanks Glouc AC.Date of review: March 8, 2010
In short: Perfect marathon training - the marshalls made it!In full: My first 20 miler for my first marathon so it acheived what I needed. Some people complained about not finding the start, but as long as you parked in the park n ride as per instructions and followed the crowds, it was fine - although I admit there wasn't any signs to the start and from the finish. Once out of the industrial estate, the course was really pretty. As one of the girls at the back, can I say a massive thanks to the marshalls as you were absolutely fantastic - full of encouragement and cheering us through. And also to the St John's Ambulance on bikes who came and chatted with us on the way round and checked we were ok at regular points. I know I was running it as a slow training run rather than a race, but I was surprised to be running most of the race at the back; it's a fast club race. After the posts on last years race I wasn't really looking forward to this, but I did - well done Gloucester AC. Date of review: March 8, 2010
In short: Not up to the usual standard of the Gloucester 20In full: Organisation seemed a bit muddled compared to previous years. OH and I received two numbers with no indication of which was which, the distance from the car park / start to the Race HQ meant that most people didn't bother going. Couldn't hear the start and with no clock at the finish line am still not sure how long I took. Finish was very flat [in terms of atmosphere] - I even missed getting my mug as there was nobody handing them out or at least directing you to where they were. Previous years have had chip timing and I must confess to hating the three lap format, I always used to find that two was one too many -although I can see the convenience from the point of view of water stops etc. Date of review: March 8, 2010
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Biography(Masterpieces of American Literature)
Joyce Carol Oates was born on June 16, 1938, in Lockport, New York, a small city on the Erie Barge Canal near Buffalo, to Fredric James and Caroline (Bush) Oates. Her father was a tool and die designer, and Oates's childhood was spent in a rural town, where she attended a one-room schoolhouse. From earliest memory she wanted to be an author. As a small child she drew pictures to tell stories; later she wrote them out, sometimes producing handwritten books of up to two hundred pages with carefully designed covers.
Oates's childhood was simple and happy, and she developed a closeness to her parents that flourished in her adult years. Her brother, Fredric, Jr., was born in 1943, and her sister, Lynn Ann, in 1956; in that year Oates graduated from Williamsville Central High School, where she had written for the school newspaper, and was entering Syracuse University under a New York State Regents Scholarship, the first in her family to attend college. During her freshman year, a tachycardiac seizure during a basketball game profoundly affected her view of life by bringing her face-to-face with her mortality. She continued writing stories, and in 1959 she was selected cowinner of the Mademoiselle college fiction award for "In the Old World." An excellent student, she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated in 1960 at the top of her class.
She received a Knapp Fellowship to pursue graduate work at the University of Wisconsin, where she met a Ph.D. candidate named Raymond Joseph Smith. She and Smith were married on January 23, 1961, and later that year she received her M.A. in English. Smith and Oates moved to Texas, where he taught in Beaumont and she began doctoral work at Rice University in Houston; however, with one of her stories appearing on the honor roll of Martha Foley's Best American Short Stories, Oates soon decided to devote herself to her writing.
Her first collection of stories, By the North Gate, appeared in 1963, followed a year later by her first novel, With Shuddering Fall, which, like many of her stories, depicted passionate individuals and violent situations. In 1967, A Garden of Earthly Delights appeared as the first novel in a thematic trilogy exploring the American obsession with money. It was followed by Expensive...
(The entire section is 951 words.)
- Masterpieces of American Literature
- Literary Essentials: Short Fiction Masterpieces
- Survey of Novels and Novellas
- Society and Self, Critical Representations in Literature
- American Culture and Institutions Through Literature, 1960-1969
- Poets and Poetry in America
- Great Authors of World Literature, Critical Edition
- Short Stories for Students (Volume 17)
- Novels for Students (Volume 24)
- Novels for Students (Volume 8)
- Short Stories for Students (Volume 8)
- Short Stories for Students (Volume 1)
- List of Insights