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Lynne Thigpen Dead at 54Thigpen died Wednesday night in her Los Angeles home. She had been in good health and the cause of death was not immediately known, network spokeswoman Beth Haiken said Thursday.
Production was shut down on "The District," which stars Craig T. Nelson as Washington, D.C., police Chief Jack Mannion. Thigpen played Mannion's secretary, Ella Farmer.
"I'm in shock. She was a wonderful actress and a friend," Nelson said in a statement.
"The beauty, compassion and talent that you saw on the screen was not just superb acting, it was the very essence of this wonderful woman," said John Wirth, the drama's executive producer. "We will miss her terribly."
Haiken said the 20th episode was in production this week; two more episodes were planned for the season. She said no decision had been made about how Thigpen's death would be dealt with on the show.
Thigpen, who was born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, and made her home in New York, had a distinguished stage career and also worked steadily in films and television.
In 1997, she received the Tony Award for best supporting actress for her role as a black Jewish feminist in Wendy Wasserstein's play "An American Daughter."
Thigpen re-created the role in the 2000 TV movie version of the play.
She also was nominated for a Tony for her role in "Tintypes," and won Obie Awards for "Jar the Floor" and "Boesman and Lena."
On TV, she portrayed the chief in the PBS series "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?" and "Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?" She also appeared in the series "thirtysomething" and "L.A. Law" and the Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations of "Night Ride Home" and "The Boys Next Door."
Her film credits include "The Insider," "Shaft," "Random Hearts," "Lean on Me," "Tootsie" and the recently released "Anger Management."
I'm not sure what to say. I've seen her on various shows, but I think I'll always remember her as the woman off of that PBS gameshow Carmen San Diego.


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With Oscar winner Rachel Weisz and Oscar nominee Darren Aronofsky as parents, little Henry has impeccable credentials.
With Oscar winner Rachel Weisz and Oscar nominee Darren Aronofsky as parents, little Henry has impeccable credentials.
Henry is one of the four kids of Heidi Klum and Seal (that's him in the cute multicolored hoodie). Trivia: Seal's real name is Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel.
Like his dad, football player Henry Baskett III, he goes by Hank. And like his mom, former Girl Next Door Kendra Wilkinson, he's a regular tabloid cover star.
With parents like Karen Elson and Jack White, we're pretty confident that little Henry is going to grow up to be pale.
His parents, actors Colin Farrell and Alicja Bachleda, may have split up, but little Henry sure looks happy.
With a last name like Driver, you have to pick a first name carefully. Luckily, mom Minnie gave her son the very proper name Henry.
The youngest of Julia Roberts and Danny Moder's three kids, he really lucked out in the naming department: his older siblings are named Hazel and Phinneas.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus was pregnant with son Henry during filming of Seinfeld, so she spent a lot of episodes holding bags of groceries or hiding behind couches. Now Henry is all grown up - and pretty darn cute.
Harry is actually a nickname for Henry. As long as he is still a single, redheaded royal, I'll call him whatever he wants me to.

subset: commoncrawl


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Web Stories
Traffic and Transit Task Force will hold public forum
Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. · Fields Center, 58 Prospect Ave.
Posted November 1, 2013; 10:50 a.m.
The Alexander Street/University Place Traffic and Transit Task Force invite the public to a forum from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Fields Center, 58 Prospect Ave. Traffic and transportation studies are underway for the Alexander Street and University Place area. A progress report and preliminary findings will be presented. There will be time for public discussion and comment.


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Happy St. Patrick's Day, y'all! Here at Dance Spirit, we're celebrating by binge-watching videos of Irish dancers in action. The videos in my top-3 countdown have literally nothing to do with each other—except for how awe-struck I am by each one. Seriously, if you're an Irish dancer, give yourself an extra pat on the back today from all of us at DS. We #bowdown to your flying footwork, insanely immovable core strength and oh my gosh those bouncing curls. Color me green with envy!
#3: Ed Sheeran + hard-shoe #goals = BRB, watching this on repeat for the rest of the day
#2: File this under Weird/Wonderful. No further comment.
#1: Nothing conjures the full spectrum of Irish-dance feels like a good old Riverdance supercut. So, you're welcome.
Welcome to the new dancespirit.com—a completely addictive way to enjoy our top-notch dance content.
It's got all the stuff you've always loved: gorgeous images of your favorite dancers, internet-breaking viral videos, thoughtful technical advice for dancers of all styles, effective health and wellness tips, crazy-good giveaways. And now there's a lot more of it—right at your fingertips.
We've invested in the latest technology to produce a brilliant digital experience, using the powerful tools for social discovery and engagement developed by our partner, RebelMouse. They know what they're doing, guys.
Produced by the editors and writers you trust. Powered by RebelMouse. BOOM.
Pacific Northwest Ballet principal Noelani Pantastico is famous for her passionate stage presence and strong, powerful technique. Originally from Oahu, HI, Pantastico trained at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and frequently attended summer courses at PNB. In 1997, she joined PNB as an apprentice, and was promoted to principal in 2004. Four years later, she joined Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo as a soloist—but, in 2015, Pantastico headed back home to PNB, and she's danced there ever since. Catch her in the company's June program, which features George Balanchine's La Source, Jerome Robbins' Opus 19 and Alexei Ratmansky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Read on for her letter!
"Dear Noe,
You'll soon enter a career that will shape the course of your existence. Pay attention and enjoy every moment, because it goes very quickly. Life in the dance world is beautiful, although there will be times when deep reflection is necessary, and when roadblocks will make you rethink your career path. This is normal, and it's OK. Here's some advice that will help you get through.
Don't complain, and ignore idle gossip. Negativity will do nothing for you. It's wasted energy. Your mental state is connected to your physical being and immune system—being mindful can help you stay healthy. You won't want to believe this, but the sooner you do, the sooner you'll get better and won't be dealing with so many ailments. When you're dealing with pain, injury or even a common cold, consider whether you're also going through an emotional problem or change. This is total body care.
Don't try to control the course of things. Everything that happens is meant to happen. There's a lesson in every moment. Just listen, observe and work hard. This will give you intelligence and power, and ultimately the ability to handle anything the world throws at you.
Lastly, give the best you can every day. Don't waste a minute. Remember: Life responds to you and to what you put out there. It's not about what happens to you, but about what you make of it. Be meticulous with your steps. Care for every motion. Your love and gratitude will vibrate beyond you.
I love you very much,
Photo by Angela SterlingPantastico in Jean-Christophe Maillot's "Roméo et Juliette"
"When a biology major asked if I was illiterate because I studied dance, I realized just how much of a joke my field of study is to some people."
That's how Camryn Eakes, a junior dance major, opens her incredibly powerful open letter asking fellow Chapman University students to (as the title puts it) "Recognize the complexities of the dance major." It's a frustration that's way too familiar to just about every dancer: We've all had this beloved art form of ours questioned, ridiculed, trivialized or worse.
Eakes' passionate writing speaks to so many of the misconceptions that drive dancers CRAZY, along with the huge demands our art form puts on us:
"Dance requires us to be willing, to expose our rawest self to any set of eyes. Every day, I must be willing to relive both the euphoric and depressing memories I house in the deepest depths of me. That's my job; that's our job. We are storytellers, protesters, advocators, thinkers, entertainers, actors and innovators. Studio time is our lab, our calculator, our pen and paper. It is not enough just to physically show up to class. Our growth and talent is a full-time investment inside and out of class and that's just part of being an artist. We cannot destroy our bodies with alcohol and all-nighters. Our bodies are our tools and something we can't purchase over and over again when it breaks. The professional artist lifespan is only so long as our health will last, that we cannot afford nor want to lose any time we have enjoying and delving deeper into what we cannot live without."
You can read the complete version of Camyrn's letter on The Panther's website. And check out this video of Camryn dancing—she's obviously a gorgeous mover and a beautiful writer.
In our "Dear Katie" series, former NYCB soloist Kathryn Morgan answers your pressing dance questions. Have something you want to ask Katie? Email firstname.lastname@example.com for a chance to be featured!
Dear Katie,
I have super-archy feet, which is great—sometimes. But they're hard to control because they're so flexible. How can I make them stronger and easier to work with? I have a hard time even standing properly in pointe shoes.
Dear Natalia,
While I'm sure many of your fellow dancers envy you, having beautiful feet can be tough! The first thing to do is to make sure you have the right pointe shoe. You need a good, strong shank to support that arch, but not a rock-hard shoe that'll keep your feet from getting stronger. Go to your local dance store and try everything. Having the right shoe can do wonders!
Establish a daily Thera-Band routine. Your super-flexible feet will need a really high-resistance band—I'd suggest either a black, gray or blue band. Do lots of simple push-through-the-feet exercises to build stability in your ankles and metatarsals.
Once you're in your pointe shoes, add extra relevés, élevés and balances to your pre-class warm-up to improve your strength. Even doing simple tendu and dégagé exercises in your pointe shoes, focusing on pushing through your metatarsals, will help your feet and ankles learn to stabilize the rest of your body. It's all about repetition and time!
Using a Thera-Band every day is super important.Photo by Nathan Sayers
Dear Katie,
I've loved dance for as long as I can remember, and I want to pursue it professionally. But lately, I haven't felt
the same joy when I dance. I'm always sad at the studio, and I'm not even sure why. I miss the old me. What should I do?
Dear Saleen,
Many dancers go through a "burnout" period, either in their training or once they become professionals. Think back to why you started dancing in the first place. Was it the music? The freedom of the movement? Reconnecting with those initial feelings can help you find your joy again.
We dancers also tend to get caught up in the pursuit of perfection, and that can mess with your head. Scary as it sounds, try taking a few days, or even a week, away from dance. (Pick a time when not a lot is going on at the studio, so you won't be missing any performances or other important opportunities.) Odds are, just putting a little space—mentally and physically—between you and the dance world for a while will allow you to come back to class newly energized and excited.
However, if that time away leads you to realize that you no longer want to dance, that's OK too! It doesn't make you a failure. It just means your passions and goals have changed. And if that's the case, it's better to realize it now than 10 years down the road.
Dear Katie,
I just got a big part in my school's musical. There's a lot of dancing, which I'm not worried about at all—but I also have to sing and speak. I'm not used to using my voice onstage! What can I do to get comfortable?
Dear Karen,
The first time I had to speak and sing onstage, I was terrified. Thankfully, I had some great coaching. I'll pass along the wisdom I received!
Dancers are taught to lift up through their bodies. But if you lift up while singing, you'll run out of air. Instead, during singing and speaking passages, focus on staying grounded. Let your body relax and your weight drop into the floor—foreign as that might feel.
Be sure to actively enunciate every lyric or line of dialogue, too. In normal speech, eliding your words, so they slur together a bit, is OK. But onstage, it's not—the audience has to hear everything clearly to be able to understand you. You might feel silly hitting every "t" and "d" hard, but it's important!
Finally, focus on projecting your voice, just as you project your dancing up and out. The people in the back row have to hear you as well as see you! Well-supported breathing, using your diaphragm, will help your voice carry to the far reaches of the theater
Remember when getting a selfie/making a dance video in the Rain Room was the coolest of cool-kid things to do? Now there's a fabulous new place to create Instagram magic: The Attention Room, an immersive exhibit in L.A. promoting Charlie Puth's newest single, "Attention." It's basically a big black box filled with crazy LED projections that make you look like you're suspended in a disco queen's re-imagining of deep space.
Naturally, genius filmmaker/ultimate cool kid Tim Milgram just made a dance video there. And he casually brought Jade Chynoweth, Sean Lew, Jake Kodish and Jason Glover (to name just a few) along for the ride.
It's super trippy, and just plain super:
Angelenos, you can see The Attention Room for yourselves at 8017 Melrose Avenue, now through April 30.
When über-talented duo Chelsie Hill and Josh Killacky dropped their collab video a few weeks back, we were blown away—and so was Ellen DeGeneres. Naturally, DeGeneres (who's not-so-secretly the biggest dance fan ever) invited them to perform "Ellen" and the result was absolutely incredible.
Hill and Killacky have top-notch chemistry, their musicality is #onpoint and the choreo is so beyond perfect. We can't stop watching—see for yourselves:
If you follow ballet darling Juliet Doherty on Instagram—which you probably do—you already know that the two-time Youth America Grand Prix gold medalist is a self-proclaimed "plant-powered ballerina." Doherty has followed a vegan diet for four years now, and though she never forces her lifestyle on her followers or IRL friends, she does love sharing her daily eats and the plant-based meals and snacks that help her perform at her best. Curious as to what that entails? Here's a day in the life of Juliet's meat-and-dairy-free diet.
I always start my day with a big glass of water.
Today, I squeezed the juice of half a lemon in because I have a lemon tree in the yard and a surplus of them to use! I love adding lemon not only for the flavor, but also because they are alkalizing to the body and help restore a balanced pH, they add extra vitamin C to your diet to fight against colds and the flu, and they increase peristalsis, which helps eliminate waste from the body, and cuts down on that bloated feeling.
Then it's oatmeal for breakfast.
Rolled oats are a go-to breakfast food of mine. They're filling, and the complex carbohydrates along with the protein from the oats gives me sustained energy. Plus they're quick and easy to cook!
Here are all the ingredients I used for my breakfast:
- 1⁄2 cup rolled oats
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 1 cup frozen organic blueberries
- 1 banana
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
I add ground flaxseed for some good omega-3 essential fats. Even Gandhi once said, "Wherever flaxseed becomes a regular food item among the people, there will be better health." I try to incorporate a bit of flaxseed into my food each day either in oats, a smoothie or even salad. The blueberries and banana each have their benefits: antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, minerals, the list goes on and on. I always have different fruits with my breakfast, and they make the oats taste sweeter. Natural maple syrup contains trace minerals like zinc, but I really just added it because it's sooo delicious. This all keeps me fueled through three hours of rehearsal in the morning.
Next up: a quick snack before technique class.
I had an apple and 16 oz. of coconut water with a scoop of chocolate plant protein. Fruit is such a great option for fast energy because your body digests it quickly. I love coconut water, which replenishes the electrolytes lost while sweating. Sometimes I add a bit of plant protein powder if I feel like I want more protein that day. The protein powder I use is a blend of proteins sourced from peas, brown rice, and hemp. Nutrient dense and yummy!
After class, it's time for lunch.
I got lunch from a smoothie bar. I love smoothies because you can pack a lot of nutrition in and you won't feel stuffed while you're dancing. Here's what was in my green smoothie:
- 1 large banana
- 1 cup mango
- 1 cup kale
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 tbsp coconut butter
- 16 oz coconut water
Then it's time for a two-hour pas de deux class, followed by dinner.
Finally, time to go home and have dinner! I kept it quick and simple tonight by making a salad and popping a sweet potato in the oven. My salad was super high-protein and took less than five mins to put together. Here's what I ate:
- 1 large handful of arugula
- 1⁄2 head of romaine heart lettuce
- 2 stalks of celery
- 2 cups of garbanzo beans
- 1⁄4 cup raw sprouted pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp fig balsamic dressing
- 1 large baked sweet potato
Everyone knows how important it is to get your greens each day. Maybe I'm weird, but I love salads and enjoy the taste of fresh raw veggies. Beans and lentils are so good for you, so I aim to have at least a cup a day. By using two cups of garbanzo beans in my salad I added 30 grams of protein! I topped my salad with some raw sprouted pumpkin seeds. Studies have shown that sprouting seeds boosts their nutritional value and makes them easier to digest. Today I opted for a dressing without oil, but other times when I have fewer fats throughout the day I like to add a little olive oil to my salad.
I'm not afraid of fats!
Natural plant fats such as avocados, nuts and seeds are necessary for the mind and body to function properly. Especially as highly active people, we need fats to recover and repair.
An extra active day requires a stretch and a late-night snack.
If I have time, I like to stretch at night. I feel that helps me sleep better, because my muscles are more relaxed, and I wake up less sore. Tonight I stretched for 30 minutes. A little later in the night, I had a cereal craving. It's important to listen to my body when it's telling me it needs more nourishment! I ate one cup of Kashi Autumn Wheat cereal with a cup of organic soy milk. Kashi cereals are my favorite; they're minimally processed compared to most cereals, and they have very few ingredients, which is always better when it comes to eating packaged foods. I make sure my milk is organic and non-GMO.
Why did I go vegan?
When I ate animal products, I used to have chronic stomachaches. I was always so bloated and uncomfortable. Since eliminating meat and dairy from my diet, I don't get the stomachaches, I feel lighter, and I'm more energized. That's a great feeling to have when you spend the whole day in a leotard, and need to be dancing intensely. I rarely get sick, and have never had a dance-related injury. And I've found it's not hard to nourish my body and thrive as a plant-based athlete.
Here's my advice for going animal-free.
Eat mindfully! Choose foods that will best support your training, performances and recovery. Fueling my body properly is something I consider essential to feeling and performing my best!
I don't know about you guys, but I'm still #shook. Like, beyond shook. I mean, remember when this season's "DWTS" cast was announced? Remember when we basically called it that our former cover girl (and "Glee" superstar and Beyoncé backup dancer) Heather Morris was gonna win it all? Yeah, that's not happening—Morris and her partner, Maks Chmerkovskiy, were sent home last night. So while that news sinks in, let's talk about the amazing dancing that happened (because there was lots of it, despite the crazy elimination). On to the dancing and the stars!
Team Girl Group vs. Team Boy Bands
I'm a sucker for lots of things, but specifically coordinated outfits, giant neon signs that say "Ladies Night" and the iconic TLC masterpiece, "No Scrubs." Seeing as the Team Girl Group dance had all of those things, it's getting a big shoutout. Team Boy Bands gets one, too, because they were equally as amazing, and it's not their fault they had #NoScrubs to dance to.
Normani and Val's Salsa
To say this dance was a highlight is an understatement—Normani can bring the heat. She and Val were living their best life out there. Her dancing skills are amazing to begin with, but her performance skills are literally beyond. The duo easily executed some super-tricky partnering and flips for a score of 38/40.
Heather and Maks' Rumba
If you look up "Perfect Rumba," chances are the example would be this video. Maks Chmerkovskiy is the definition of an attentive and trustworthy partner. Seriously, this dance was incredible. Every moment was picture-perfect, every flick of the wrist and développé was precisely timed, and every step was fused with musicality. Naturally, the judges felt the same way and gave the pair a well-deserved 40/40.
But apparently, perfect scores mean nothing and everything is a lie: Heather Morris and Maks Chmerkovskiy, aka The Couple That the Entire World Thought Would Win, were eliminated. It's a whooooole new ball game in the ballroom, so be sure to catch next week's recap—it's bound to be a very interesting episode after this shake-up.


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About the Foresight Institute
Facilitating communication among brilliant minds
Bringing brilliant minds together - 1:03 Foresight's approach to technical workshops.
Mission — Promoting Transformative Technologies
Foresight Institute is a leading think tank and public interest organization focused on transformative future technologies. Founded in 1986 on a vision of coming revolutions in technology that will bring both great opportunities and great dangers, and including ideas of how to prepare for these technologies, its mission is to discover and promote the upsides, and help avoid the dangers, of nanotechnology, AI, biotech, and similar life-changing developments.
Foresight is the primary force pushing for the kind of nanotechnology that will truly transform our future, from medicine to the environment to space settlement. This advanced form of nanotechnology has been variously called atomically precise manufacturing (APM), productive nanosystems, molecular manufacturing, or molecular nanotechnology, and should be distinguished from the bulk of current efforts in nanotechnology, which are focused on materials science and simple nanodevices. We follow and advocate the development of current nanotechnology and its application to pressing current needs, but our primary effort is to bring the vision and goal of developing advanced nanotechnology, or APM, to new audiences, including inspiring young researchers.
About Foresight's founding vision … (and how it has guided Foresight's efforts for three decades)
Thirty Years of Nanotechnology and Foresight … Securing a future worth having by advancing understanding of emerging revolutionary technologies
Foresight's mission is to:
Foresight Activities
In 1986 Foresight was founded on a vision of the emerging field of nanotechnology in which current capabilities in nanotechnology lead eventually to fabrication of complex products with atom-by-atom control of the manufacturing process. This ultimate development of nanotechnology, sometimes termed molecular manufacturing but now more often termed APM (atomically precise manufacturing), was first described by Richard Feynman in 1959 in a visionary talk "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom." Foresight has worked to educate the public, researchers, and policy makers about Feynman's vision—what advanced nanotechnology would be like, and what it could do. We ground these expectations in the current achievements and applications of nanotechnology, consider how to move from current nanotechnology to advanced nanotechnology, and how to capture the opportunities and avoid the risks of the ultimate manufacturing technology.
Foresight Activities include:
Christine Peterson introduces the Foresight Institute
From Breakthrough Philanthropy, an evening catalyzing radical advances in technology to address humanity's greatest challenges, Dec 7th, 2010, in San Francisco:
List of all Thiel Foundation event videos
"The Foresight Institute"
A 30-slide overview presented in April 2010 (18.3 MB PDF file) addresses Foresight's history, vision, programs, and accomplishments.
Partners and Sponsors
Foresight works with a wide variety of organizations as partners, sponsors and corporate members. Through Foresight, these organizations reach our members and those visiting our Web site with their message, receive their choice of Foresight publications and information feeds, take advantage of discounts on many goods and services, are invited to special gatherings and events and and receive valuable introductory gifts. For more information on becoming a corporate member, click here. Click below to see our past or current partners, sponsors and corporate members.
Contact Information
Foresight Institute
Send requests for information about Foresight Institute
activities and membership to firstname.lastname@example.com.
About Foresight
Foresight Programs
Home About Foresight Blog News & Events Roadmap About Nanotechnology Resources Facebook Contact Privacy Policy
Foresight materials on the Web are ©1986–2017 Foresight Institute. All rights reserved. Legal Notices.
Web site developed by Stephan Spencer and Netconcepts; maintained by James B. Lewis Enterprises.


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It's shocking that replacing a smart car key -- one with an embedded computer chip -- is so expensive, running as much as $400, consumer advocates and dealership F&I managers say.
Given that, it's also surprising that most dealerships don't offer key-replacement insurance. In an informal online survey of dealerships this year, 29 percent of respondents told Automotive News they offer it -- which suggests that 71 percent don't.
That probably varies by brand. Some brands, including luxury imports, rely on smart keys more than others. But some high-volume models from Nissan and Toyota offer smart keys and push-button starters, too.
Some dealerships don't offer key-replacement insurance to save time. They're trimming their menus, and extended-service contracts and GAP trump key replacement.
But more and more consumers are learning the hard way that a replacement key costs an arm and a leg. It's easy to find angry comments online.
This isn't a new controversy. Clarence Ditlow, executive director for the Center for Auto Safety, said by phone this week that the consumer-advocate group complained to the Federal Trade Commission six years ago that car companies charged too much for replacing smart keys and that the automakers allegedly refused to share data so independent shops could make cheaper replacement keys.
Just two weeks ago, California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that according to the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association would have had the effect of allowing automakers to withhold electronic key code data from independent locksmiths.
The auto industry, the aftermarket and consumer advocates don't agree on much. But it's about time they agree that the high cost of key replacement is a problem.


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When It Is OK To Work for Free as an Actor
Casting director Heidi Levitt shares the importance of working for "experience" instead of pay and how it can help a young artist's career.
When It Is OK To Work for Free as an Actor
Casting director Heidi Levitt shares the importance of working for "experience" instead of pay and how it can help a young artist's career.
Keep in mind that casting directors and actors are working towards the same goal!
Commercial Auditions: Acting Required
Remember, commercial auditions are not just about having the right look.
Why You Need To Stay in the Game Long Enough To Succeed
The actor who succeeds is the one who has the information. They have a well-thought-out agenda, a deep-seated belief in themselves, training, and most importantly, the talent and commitment to carry out their plan.
Where Do You Find Your Acting Community?
Television and the Internet are the new "theater." It is not that casting directors don't go to the theater anymore; it is just that the venues to discover talent have broadened exponentially. Veteran actors need to adjust their way of thinking and connecting.
The Unpredictable Life of a Casting Director
Everyone is jaded in Hollywood. It goes with the territory, but I think it is important for actors to remember that we too, on the other side of the camera, experience the same shuffle.
Why Every Actor Needs a Mother
Moms want their kids to follow their passions and find success. They want them to fall in love, be true to themselves, and remember to call their mother at least once every week, and occasionally offer up a big thank you mom!
Heidi Levitt shares her award season advice for actors everywhere!
5 Ways to Apply Spring Cleaning to Your Career
Use this time to refresh your career and move forward into the summer.


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Filter upcoming events
Kid's Halloween Fun DayLocation: Barefoot Landing
Dress up your kids and dress up your pets for the Kid's and Pet's Halloween Costume Contest at Barefoot Landing! There will be prizes awarded as well as kid's activities for a day full of fun!
When you arrive, head over to the carousel to register at noon. Then, at 1 p.m. the kids' contest will begin, followed by the pet portion! There will also be other fun activities including karaoke for kids, prizes and more!Next Date:


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By Tiernan Ray
Here are some things going on this morning in your world of tech:
No buy here
Shares of Best Buy (BBY) are plunging, down $10.10, or 27%, at $27.47, and falling as much as 30% earlier, after the company this morning said its "comparable-store" sales declined 0.9% in the nine-week period ending January 4th, compared to the prior-year period, which CEO Hubert Joly attributed to "the aggressive promotional activity in the retail industry during the holiday period, which we believe did not result in higher industry demand and had a deflationary impact on our revenue" as well as factors such as "a disappointing mobile phone market."
On a conference call following the release, Joly told analysts that the decision by Amazon.com (AMZN) to guarantee delivery of goods "late into the holiday season, for Monday" had "completely shocked the industry."
The stock already got one downgrade this morning, from Oppenheimer & Co.'s Brian Nagel, who cut his rating to "Perform" from Outperform, and cut his price target to $30 from $50.
CNBC's Jim Cramer this morning lamented "so many analysts loved this one, and they were all wrong" on Best Buy. He said "Without a doubt, the momentum that Best Buy had is over, and I don't know whether you can recover."
Signs of trouble at Yahoo!?
Shares of Yahoo! (YHOO) are down 53 cnts, or 1.3%, at $40.54, after the company yesterday afternoon said, after market close, that COO Henrique de Castro will leave the company immediately.
CNBC's Carl Quintanilla this morning cited an internal Yahoo! memo telling employees that she had reflected and "made the decision our COO should leave the company."
Topeka Capital Markets's Victor Anthony this morning reiterates a Buy rating, and a $50 price target, writing that "The firing of COO Henrique de Castro after a 15 month tenure sends a clear signal, in our view, that Yahoo!'s core business continues to struggle to achieve growth objectives."
"However, we remind investors to continue to own Yahoo! for upside tied to Alibaba through an IPO and for Yahoo Japan," adds Anthony.
The stocks that are loved today
Shares of SolarCity (SCTY) are up $4.44, or almost 7%, at $72.94, after Deutsche Bank's Vishal Shah started coverage of the stock with a Buy, and a $90 price target, writing that "SCTY is one of the pioneers in the residential solar leasing market and is poised to benefit from accelerating growth of distributed generation as retail electricity customers switch to solar and increasing number of US states achieve grid parity by 2016 timeframe."
Shares of enterprise software vendor VMware (VMW) are up $2.84, or almost 3%, at $101.17, after Citigroup's Walter Pritchard late last night raised his rating on the shares to Buy from Neutral, and raised his price target to $120 from $87, writing that "Our checks with resellers, recent survey work as well as deeper modeling suggest 2H13 growth trends remain sustainable into 1H14."
"ELAs cycle appears more diffused than we estimated, while vSphere capacity / pricing is stable and vCloud management tools penetration is still low, but improving."
Shares of cloud computing technology firm FireEye (FEYE) are up $2.29, or almost 4%, at $67.74, after William Blair's Jonathan Ho this morning initiated coverage of the name with an Outperform rating, writing that the $1.1 billion deal to acquire security startup Mandiant, announced two weeks ago, "provides a significant catalyst for FireEye to expand into new product categories such as IPS, endpoint, and threat intelligence."
"We believe the Mandiant acquisition provides a framework for ex- tending malware detection into real-time remediation and a path to end-to-end security."
Shares of Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) are are up 77 cents, or almost 3%, at $29.61, after Merrill Lynch's Scott Craig raised his rating to Buy from Neutral, on the prospect of rising earnings estimates, with a $39 price target.
Shares of Micron Technology (MU) are down 15 cents, or 0.6%, at $23.18, after JMP Securities's Alex Gauna raised his rating on the shares to Outperform from Market Perform, with a $31 price target, citing favorable chip prices amidst a stabilizing PC market, as well as the possible contribution of "the Internet of things."
Speaking of Micron, Sterne Agee's Vijay Rakesh this morning reiterates a Buy rating on the shares, and a $28 price target, writing that his "checks" suggest that "DRAM pricing should continue to be stable despite weak PC builds into MarQ, as much of OEM demand is satisfied by qualified supply from MU-Samsung" and that "NAND demand in January improved from Nov-Dec, partly with demand from Europe and Chinese smartphone+New Year demand."
Rakesh also reiterates a Buy rating on SanDisk (SNDK), and a $74 price target.
A broader Apple opportunity in China?
Following fanfare yesterday by Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook and China Mobile (CHL) chairman Xi Guohua about the two companies' deal to sell the iPhone, The Wall Street Journal's Paul Mozur this morning writes that the partnership between the two "won't be limited to handsets, but will also entail broad cooperation between the two companies," citing remarks by Xi.
Apple shares are down $2.31, or 0.4%, at $555.05.
InvenSense speaks
Shares of camera sensor maker InvenSense (INVN) are up 43 cents, or 2%, at $21.11, after the company yesterday spoke to a packed room of investors at the Needham & Co. growth conference in New York, according to a note this morning from Needham's own Vernon Essi, who has a Buy rating on the stock, and a $20 price target.
Writes Essi, "The presentation was more or less status quo with regards to data points and any incremental clues about a potential Apple relationship" and talked about such things as "their motion processing features with Android KitKat" and "the wearables market, the OIS opportunity, its litigation with ST Microelectronics (STM), and the rationale for purchasing Analog Devices's (ADI) microphone business."
AOL ditches local news
Shares of AOL (AOL) up $2.57, or 5%, at $49.93, after the company this morning announced it would partner with investment holding company Hale Global on a joint venture that would take over the operations of AOL's "Patch" local news site.
SunTrust Robinson Humphrey's Rob Peck this morning reiterates a Neutral rating on AOL shares, writing that "We think that while anticipated, this is a good move by Tim Armstrong and the AOL board for 2 main reasons: 1) We believe the ROI of the spend on the unit was very low and we are happy to see the company redeploy those resources to potentially higher capital ROI efforts, like video; 2) We think this shows that Tim Armstrong is focused on shareholders."


text:
Spurned by VW, Indiana turns to Right to Work
Is the scale about to tip in favor of the industrial, unionized Midwest when it comes to landing new auto assembly and parts plants?
The Republican governor and lawmakers of Indiana think so, and a German automaker played a bit role.
Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana is citing Volkswagen AG, in part, for his decision to support a Right to Work bill set to become law.
Indiana would become the first state in about a decade, and the first in the industrial upper Midwest, to pass such a measure.
The laws -- popular across the South, where suppliers and foreign automakers have established manufacturing hubs, creating thousands of jobs -- ban unions from collecting mandatory dues from workers at private companies.
Daniels, appearing on INside Indiana Business Television this month, said he was frustrated year after year when Indiana missed out on projects that were awarded to states with Right to Work laws.
The state's recruiting efforts became especially frustrating when the economy screeched to a halt and jobs vanished altogether, Daniels said.
Still, southeastern Indiana was able to snag a $550 million Honda assembly plant that opened in 2008 to build the Civic and will launch Acura ILX output beginning this spring.
Toyota assembles crossovers and minivans at a plant in Princeton, Ind., and shares production with Subaru at Fuji Heavy Industries factory in Lafayette, Ind.
General Motors -- a longtime employer in the state -- retained a large pickup plant in Fort Wayne, Ind., during its trip through bankruptcy.
But one prize that Indiana missed out on, according to Daniels, was the VW assembly plant that ended up in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The $1 billion project -- courted by many states -- is expected to play a central role in VW's push to increase U.S. sales to 800,000 units by 2018 and become the world's top automaker.
"I couldn't get VW to return our call," Daniels said on the program. "We've won on Honda, we won on Toyota ... we're clearly the fastest growing automotive state, and we couldn't even get them to talk to us."
"Why would that one company not even talk to us? I think I know."
VW declines to comment on the matter.
Time will tell if Right to Work laws tip the balance when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of industrial site selection.


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Web Stories
Former war crimes ambassador to speak, Dec. 3
Posted November 25, 2002; 04:47 p.m.
Scheffer, senior vice president of the United Nations Association of the United States of America, will present a lecture titled "The United Nations and International Law: Still Relevant?" at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 3, in Dodds Auditorium, Robertson Hall.
The association is the nation's leading center of policy research and public outreach on the United Nations and multilateral issues. Before joining the organization earlier this year, Scheffer spent 11 months as a senior fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace, where he wrote and spoke extensively on his experiences in the Clinton administration and on the legal issues arising from the post-Sept. 11 campaign against terrorism.
During the second term of the Clinton administration, Scheffer was ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues with responsibility for coordinating U.S. support for the ad hoc international war crimes tribunals and U.S. responses to atrocities around the world. He was the chief U.S. negotiator in United Nations talks to establish the permanent International Criminal Court. During the first term of the Clinton administration, he served as senior adviser and counsel to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Madeleine Albright.
The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the United Nations Association.
Contact: Lauren Robinson-Brown (609) 258-3601


text: You call this site a "cult" as compared to that disgusting other site.... Thats laughable. Thats a group of ****ing aquas who cant stand opposing views. Not only that,....... well I will leave that other **** alone. But, I have no respect for anyone that posts there who knows certain truths about certain people there. Its a ****ing disgrace. But, hey if thats your cup of tea.... enjoy.


text:
Bush Business Cubix 48W Hutch; Danish Oak/Sage, Installed
- Furnishing Color: Black
- Material: Laminate
- Adjustable: Yes
new furniture all in a single visit. Simply select this service at checkout.
Full-Service Delivery & Set-Up is not available for fireproof file cabinets & safes, Bush? assembled SKUs and items with an Extended Assortment flag. The $1,000 minimum requirement does not include taxes and shipping charges. The furniture delivery date you receive in your order confirmation reflects delivery to the installer. You will be notified separately with a delivery and installation date for your location of up to 14 additional business days from the date given on your order confirmation.
Additional fees apply to the following: If an installer is not in your immediate area, businesses located in the state of New York, stairs (quoted per stair), before/after working hours (8:00am-5:00pm), weekend deliveries, customer requested installation dates, panel systems, tables over 8 feet and removal of old furniture. Due to the nature of high-volume orders, we need to work directly with the installer for a quote.
- Thermally Fused Laminate surface offers superior resistance to scratches and stains
- Mounts onto 48"W Desk or on one side of 48"W Corner Desk
- 47.51" W x 13.75" D x 36.51" H
- Meets ANSI/BIFMA standards for safety and performance in place at time of manufacture
- American Made & GSA Approved
- All hutches include fully finished back panel and fabric covered tack board
- Fully Assembled with White Glove premium service: delivery, installation, finishing detail and packaging removal
- Commercial quality backed by 10 year warranty
|Furnishing Color : Black
|Number of Shelves : 3
|Material : Laminate
|Adjustable : Yes
|Height (in.) : 36-1/2"
|Width (in.) : 47-1/2"
|Depth (in.) : 13-1/2"
|Brand : Bush
|Weight : 104.00 lbs. per Each


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Press Room
The Hyde Receives Upstate History Alliance
April 15, 2003
CONTACT: Alice Grether
518-792-1761 x 15
Glens Falls, NY - The Hyde Collection is pleased to announce the receipt of a $2,500 GET SET grant from the New York State Council of the Arts, administered by the Upstate History Alliance. This funding, in part, allows the Museum to hire Paul Himmelstein of Appelbaum and Himmelstein, as a lighting consultant to develop a lighting plan for Hyde House. Mr. Himmelstein, a professional conservator, has served as a consultant to a number of museums and historic sites such as The Adirondack Museum, Hudson River Museum, Samuel Morse House, and Monticello.
The goal of the lighting plan is to provide better protection for the artwork while enhancing the historic character of Hyde House and maximizing viewing experience for our visitors. We are thrilled to receive this funding, stated Hyde curator Erin M. Coe. A comprehensive study of the lighting conditions in Hyde House has never been completed, although the museum has made great strides in protecting the collection from the damaging effects of light, lighting problems persist.
The lighting consultant recommend a lighting plan design with both short and long term goals. Initially these measures will include replacing lighting fixtures and bulbs on the now thirty-year-old track lights and, in some cases, installing pictures lights above paintings to improve visitors access to the works of art on view. Other lighting concerns to be addressed include controlling light levels from the skylights and all windows in Hyde House by installing more historically sensitive, yet light blocking materials.
The lighting plan is a component of the Museum's Comprehensive Plan and is part of the Furnishing Plan, which is guiding the restoration of Hyde House to its 1936-1963 era appearance. Although the remainder of the Museum complex will remain open, Hyde House will close to the public effective July 1, 2003 in order to begin this restoration process.
The GET SET grants are one of a series of grants offered to help museums and historical societies strengthen and develop their institutions and work with their communities. These grants are designed to make it easy for organizations to access professional help and improve their institutions. To learn more about these grant programs, eligibility requirements and deadlines, visit UHA's web site at www.upstatehistory.org or contact Linda Norris at the Upstate History Alliance, by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com and by phone by 1-800-895-1648.
As part of The Hyde's comprehensive Furnishing Plan, Hyde House will be closed effective July 1, 2003 due to renovation and restoration. However, the remainder of the museum complex will remain open with exciting exhibitions scheduled: Frederic Remington: Illustrator, Sculptor, Painter, May 25 - August 24, 2003; INSIDE/OUT: Revisioning Hyde House by Margo Mensing and Susie Brandt, August 10 - November 16, 2003; and FORM(ATION): Modern and Contemporary Works from the Feibes & Schmidt Collection, September 7 - December 7, 2003.
Note to editors: For more information, contact Alice Grether at 518-792-1761 ext. 15.
The Hyde Collection is a historic house and art museum complex that combines the heritage of the Adirondack Region with a distinguished permanent collection consisting of works by European old and modern masters and American artists, important decorative arts and antique furnishings. In addition, the Museum provides changing exhibitions in four gallery spaces, lectures, concerts, family activities and school programming as well as a Museum Shop. Admission free with voluntary donations accepted. The Hyde Collection is a publicly supported institution located at 161 Warren Street, Glens Falls, New York.
Open year-round Tuesday-Saturday 10 AM - 5 PM; Thursday till 7 PM; Sunday noon - 5 PM. Closed Mondays and national holidays. Admission free. For information, call 518-792-1761. www.hydeartmuseum.org


text:
Think JPP becomes a beast again?
I do
Think JPP becomes a beast again?
I do
I don't know about Ojomo starting, but I sure hope he gets playing time.
Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience. MB Rule # 1
If anything, Tracy has the better opportunity to getting more reps than Ojomo. I'm not even talking about starting either.
Who knows if Ojomo will even get a snap next year? It's a stretch to think he'll be the starter when Tuck and Tracy are ahead of him right now.
I can't wait for camp to start so we can actually see where each of them stands in terms of competition. I do hope for JPP to have a bounce back year though. He needs to learn how to beat double teams. Having someone on the other side that plays better than Tuck or Osi did last year will definitely help.
I wouldn't be shocked if Osi returns. Very dead market for DEs...despite him visting the Falcons yesterday. We'll see. I think it's 50/50.
Tuck has that spot on lock. If any of the guys that are mentioned where good enough to bump out Tuck from the starter role they would have taken significant snaps last year.


text:
Another book you'll want to invest a walk to the local library in is Alice Walker's The Color Purple. The book is beautiful, in every aspect, but what draws me today is a small bit that has tied itself to software (for me). A character is writing to her sister about the pants she is making as a gift: "Every stitch a kiss."
It's obviously important to love what you do. But how many of us put that much love into our writing? I know that many do, and I can instantly tell by using their software. This community being one. DJB's software being more. Given the opportunity to view the source code, the love is even more apparent.
And that is how I would like to approach my work. "Every line a kiss." When I put that much of myself into a creation, it becomes a mirror, and therefore can't help but reflect greatness. This is true of us all.
Social Awareness
When we become more aware of ourselves through our very creations, we begin to notice the blaring connections to others on the periphery. Which is why it's important that you spend your invaluable time on raising other people up around you. An overly healthy network enriches yourself.
Look at your creation, look at yourself, ask how you can be applied to the water crisis. How you can help abused children. Not far off a goal. For instance, I have a feeling that the trust metric behind this community could very well be used to create a trusting safe-house network for those who are abused to seek shelter and compassion. This ranges from children to prostitutes and women trapped in the pornography industry under the threat of more violence. Can you apply the code to something as real as that?
We waste a lot of time. We waste a lot of resources. It's time, given that our work lives are readily apparent and in the open, that our everyday life becomes the same. An open source, free life, raising everyone up to the same level. Think of that.


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Chief Many Longbeards wrote:where you been hidin, charlie, in the turkey woods?
How did you guess that? A lot new tech gets by me, my GPS is a 1996 Garmin so more time to get out the woods is sometimes necessary.
Chief Many Longbeards wrote:GameHide came out with ElimiTick treated camo a couple years ago.
GameHide clothing is treated with Pyrethrins an extract from chrysanthemum flowers which according to the FDA may cause wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath,difficulty breathing and chest pain. Pyrethrins are more effective for mosquito control and is the active ingredient used for Thermacells and most mosquito foggers. ThermaCells are really just miniature foggers.
Permethrin is an odorless man made chemical, the FDA has found in rare cases it has caused some minor skin irritations usually only if clothing is worn too soon after application. Permethrin is the most effective tick, chigger, spider and beetle repellent/killer.
Permethrin is deadly to cats, so if you have a cat you care about keep this stuff away from them. My neighbor's trail cam got a series of cougar (as in mountain loin) pictures last week. We are not at all happy about a cougar in the area it is going to make walking through the corn an adventure. Perhaps permethrin will kill it or at least repel it?


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The release went successfully and we got very few bug reports regarding the number of downloads. We will probably make a 1.2.1 release in a few days/weeks with better IPv6 support as there were a few problems.
GnomeMeeting SIP
Things are getting along nicely. I just finished implementing Call Forwarding in SIP and fixing a few problems in OPAL. I'm now spending most of my time on OPAL and not on GnomeMeeting, GnomeMeeting being only a way to test my changes. There are still many things left to do, but I'm progressing quickly. Having SIP support in GnomeMeeting is really exciting.
Nothing new here. Jonita is working all the time, so we don't have much time to spend together. Hopefully things will be better in January.


text:
- KCII Radio - http://kciiradio.com -
Iowa 4-H Foundation Announces Hills Bank Leadership Grants for 2011
Posted By News On @ 6:26 am In Today's Local News | Comments Disabled
The Iowa 4-H Foundation has announced the 2011 Hills Bank and Trust Company Leadership Grants for current high school juniors planning to attend college in the fall of 2012. High school juniors residing in or attending school in Iowa, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Louisa, or Washington counties in Iowa are eligible to apply. Applicants will be evaluated on their involvement in community service and student group activities, work experience, and high school scholarship information. Recipients will receive a $1,000 scholarship to be used at any of Iowa's accredited universities, colleges, or community colleges. Applications and detailed information can be found at local county extension offices and via a link on our website at kciiradio.com.
www.extension.iastate.edu/4H/teens/scholarships.htm [1]
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URL to article: http://kciiradio.com/2010/12/iowa-4-h-foundation-announces-hills-bank-leadership-grants-for-2011-3/
URLs in this post:
[1] www.extension.iastate.edu/4H/teens/scholarships.htm: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/4H/teens/scholarships.htm
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text:
Thanks for the linkI was looking at those Maxim drivers but didn't think any of them supported PWM. Am I wrong?Nice to know about the free samples!
What's the hardware used?
And does this allow pwm for each led individually?
#define __rows 8#define __leds_per_row 8byte brightness_red[__leds_per_row][__rows]; byte brightness_green[__leds_per_row][__rows];byte brightness_blue[__leds_per_row][__rows];
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text: I just got my SW insider today and the map that came with it really helped answer alot of questions. It helped clarify that Naboo and Dagobah are not the same planet as some folks were speculating. I didn't realize that there were so many planets that were close to each other and/or far away.


text:
Oh Japan. There's so much to say about today. It's was just an amazingly jam-packed day, full of more than I could possibly fit into this post. But I'll do my best!
My grandpa and I had a tour scheduled for the morning. It was a city tour and then a trip to Tokyo tower. We got up nice and early at 6:00am and met for breakfast at 6:30. As we arrived in the port, there were people outside banging on drums and welcoming us. They typically do that when we arrive someplace (which I think is really cool).
As we were eating breakfast, Dan invited Ben (the other kid on the ship) and myself to go out and explore the city after we got back from tour. It worked out pretty well that we had the city tour beforehand, because I got a really good lay of the land for explore later. We had a bus drive us around, narrating our route through the city all the way to Tokyo tower. Tokyo tower looks exactly like the Eiffel Tower, but in the middle of Tokyo. From the observation deck, we were able to look around and see just how massive of a city Tokyo really is. I've never seen anything like it before. As far as you could see were skyscrapers. Even in Sydney, which was a large city, you could see in the horizon where the buildings stopped and the city ended. But here it just went on forever!
Driving around was interesting because it was a fascinating mixture between the traditional Japanese culture and the modernized city life. Because America is such a young country, we don't really have any ancient culture like some other places do. I find it really fascinating to see these buildings and style of architecture that are so unique and special to to Japan.
We got back to the ship and ate lunch then I met up with Dan and another couple who were coming along. Our plan was to visit the fish market (which Dan and I had driven past on the tour earlier, so we knew how to get there), and then visit Ginza (which is the iconic Times Square-esque area of Tokyo). The fish market was really facilitating. They really utilize every inch of restate here and that was especially evident in the back alleys that they used to set up shops. They were really only back-alleys in the sense that they were the space between buildings, but they were nothing like what we have at home. I don't think there was a single, empty alleyway. Each one had shops or vending machines or something down them. It was so amazing to see.
After passing through the fish market, we separated from the other couple to go inside a mall type place. There was a lot of indoor restaurants and shops and even an art gallery. We stopped off to use some free wifi for a little bit and chatted. After that, we walked around some more and even decided to pop down and take a look at the subway system. Neither of us wanted to actually attempt to ride the subway, in fear of getting lost, but it was really fascinating to go down there and see all the hustle and bustle.
When we finally emerged from underground (it was a bit of a maze down there), we found ourselves in the heart of Ginza. It was awesome. The place was so busy. There were so many stores and shops and places I had no clue what they were. I'd never been in a large city like it. It was just incredible. And again, even with thousands of people and hundreds of stores, we were walking past a random noodle house and noticed a few passages from the ship. We popped inside to say hi. We even stopped in the Apple store (which was ginormous) and looked around. It was four stories tall.
We managed to get back to the ship without any problems. We actually only walked down the same street the entire time, so getting back was simple. We probably walked 7 miles or so in all. I was exhausted by the time that we got back to the ship. Apparently there was some really rough water that evening that people were having trouble sleeping through but after that day, I was knocked out!
Tokyo was really cool. I definitely want to go back and stay longer!


text:
By Kevin Tate/Outdoors Writer
When the sun set and the sky turned clear, you could look out into the void and see forever.
Along the spiral arm of our galaxy, the band of stars that forms the Milky Way was bright while companion dots salted the rest of the black. Orion's belt and the Big Dipper marched around the heavens above. Down below, the warm, breath of the world calling it a day rustled leaves and whispered through branches only beginning to bud, creating just enough mystery to be exciting. In the void between, navigation lights on a jet soundlessly high blinked far and fast through the night, moving on a mission, carrying people who had it all figured out, people who knew why they were here, who had a purpose for what they were doing, smart, well-dressed people going somewhere exciting, to places I could only imagine to do things I might someday do.
The night breeze gathered speed and wrapped around us. With our backs to it and our faces toward the fire, we felt it push against us, watched it whistle through our legs crowded close to the flames, saw it gutter the blaze that rose from oak logs turning to ash from coal. The turbulence roiled the smoke and bent it this way and that like an unguided river coursing through the night. I doubt it followed age or beauty, as the old saw goes, but it certainly followed me.
In the glowing heat from the floor of the campfire – that first of all innovations that separates man from beast – water turned to steam deep inside green wood, popping like rifle shots, giving rise to flocks of sparks that fled along the breeze, cutting and darting like doves crossing a September hay field.
Eventually darkening embers watched the last open flames wane, then disappear, return on a spark, then disappear again. As the glow subsided and we called it a night, we carried what residual warmth we could to our sleeping bags that lay cold against tarps spread over hard ground. As rustles and zips faded to silence, lying with backs curved against the planet and nothing between us and eternity but thin nylon, it was easy to feel small in a universe large beyond all imagining. Eventually exhaustion surpassed discomfort and carried its weary travelers through the night. In places like this, the body rests as it will, but the mind rests like nowhere else.
In the wood smoke and the wind, in the quieting dark, in places too many to name and times long forgotten, the overnight connection to nature offered by the nocturnal outdoors is handy medicine for the soul. I'm ready to get my prescription refilled.
Kevin Tate is V.P. of Media Productions for Mossy Oak in West Point.