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Serious Eats Neighborhood Guides: Chris Bradley's Gowanus
Locals' guides to New York neighborhoods.
Chris Bradley, the executive chef of Danny Meyer's latest restaurant inside the Whitney Museum of Art, Untitled, is something of a pioneer: he's lived in Gowanus, the neighborhood bordering Park Slope and Caroll Gardens, for the past four years. His commute to work isn't speedy, but it's worth it to live in a place that he thinks is going to make it big in the next year. "It's one of those frontier lands where rent is still cheap," he says. "The young and the hungry will come."
Until then, Chris is happy to visit them as much as he can. He procures many of his restaurant's pastries and desserts from neighboring food artisans, and often makes fresh pickups in the morning, bringing desserts with him on the subway to the Upper East Side. Chris, who was previously the executive sous chef at Gramercy Tavern, has his hands full finishing plans for the downtown Whitney restaurant, which is slated to open in late 2015. In his downtime, he enjoys his own personal weekend schedule by eating his way around the neighborhood.
Note: Except where noted, all restaurants have been confirmed open and are ready for business!
Chris's Picks
Bagel: It's right on the Gowanus-Park Slope border, but Brownstone Bagels is great. I usually get a whole grain bagel with butter and honey. My weekend is from Monday to Tuesday, so it's my weekend food.
Breakfast: When I'm craving corned beef hash and eggs over easy, or an omelette, Station Diner is my go-to, classic dinner.
Delivery food: There's an Italian shop called Zito's that just opened on 5th (the original is on 7th). I like the meatball sub and the bracciole, and they do a Sixpoint beer-braised beef sandwich that's great. Or if I'm feeling like banh mi, I order from Hanco's. I usually go with the pork, and get it spicy, with jalapenos and extra cilantro. I get a passion fruit bubble tea too, so I have a little sweet to cut through the heat.
Sandwich: There's a place called Root Hill Café that hits my coffee and sandwich requirement. They have a BLT that's really nice, served on whole grain bread with roasted tomatoes. I get it with spicy mayo that has a little sriracha in it.
Pie: Four & Twenty Blackbirds is really my anchor for this neighborhood; they were some of the first people to get out there. I stop in and get a slice frequently. The black-bottom oatmeal is my decadent breakfast. It's a rich, salty, and sweet combination of oatmeal, dark caramel, and chocolate on the bottom layer of the pie. I buy one or two pies a day for the restaurant there.
Thai takeout: Hop Hap is my go-to takeout spot. I order the drunken noodles with either pork or chicken, very spicy, all the time.
Tacos: There's a place called Oaxaca where I go to get the special of three tacos with beans and rice. There's a braised beef cheek special that's great. I get that, plus a pork and a beef taco.
Late-night eats: Littleneck is open late on the weekends, and I like to pop in after work for a lobster roll or an Ipswitch clam roll.
Dive bar: Canal Bar is where I go to watch the game, get a bucket of beers, and sit in the backyard. They always do happy hour specials. It's great on a weekend—the real weekend.
Nicer wine, beer, or cocktail bar: Lavender Lake just opened up this summer, pretty much across the street from my house. They have good beers, nice wine and cocktails, and a nice outside area. Anything with gin in the summer and bourbon in the winter is a go-to for me. They have great brussels sprouts, and in the summer they were doing great crostini with boquerones and avocado that was my summertime snack. There's a cool look to the place; it attracts the freelancers and independent guys who work in shops around the neighborhood. [Ed. note: Lavender Lake suffered damage from the hurricane, and has not yet re-opened to the public. Support them when they come back.]
Can't-miss neighborhood spot: The guys from Brooklyn Brine now have a storefront shop where you can do tastings, and it makes for a cool little afternoon. Their whole processing facility, from making the pickles to canning, is there, right in the neighborhood. They do these great Moroccan green beans and fennel-cured beets. I sometimes come home with a five-gallon bucket of pickles. I use them in the restaurant, too.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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South Korea claims that the above blue-pained model plane is actually a North Korean drone. Sure that's weird, but is there one weirder?
Gizmodo has an excellent write up about the suspected North Korean drones here, and a spotter's/survivor's guide for drones here.
Naturally, the world of remote-operated surveillance vehicles is somewhat secretive. Still, we know about all kinds of massive, minute, and thoroughly bizarre drones that the world's governments and yahoos have built.
Which one do you think is the strangest?
Photo Credit: South Korean Ministry of Defense

subset: commoncrawl


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By Steve Wright, 12/20/2012
Evolution of the Hot Saw
Cahoon has played major role in developing juiced up cookie cutters
If you believe in fate, Dennis Cahoon's 62 years on this earth might serve as an example. He raced motorcycles as a young man, before embarking on a 32-year career as a logger and timber-faller in California's Sierra Mountains.
It's as if Cahoon were destined to make hot saws – the high-powered chainsaws featured in STIHL ® TIMBERSPORTS® most exhilarating and, oftentimes, exasperating event. It's hot-rodding for lumberjacks, complete with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, compressed into less than 10 seconds.
"People just started hot-rodding the chainsaws," said Cahoon, who lives in Chico, Calif. "Real good (timber) fallers had mechanics working on theirs to make them go real fast. As far as the engines involved, it jumped from chainsaws to go-kart motors. Then the motorcycle came around, then the snowmobile (engine) got involved, with Russ Lemke."
"I always wanted to build a hot saw out of a motorcycle engine," added Cahoon. "That's how it evolved for me."
And as long as Cahoon is around, the evolution of the hot saw will continue. In the last few years, Cahoon has had the opportunity to experiment with replacing the heavier aluminum parts of a hot saw with lighter carbon fiber, thanks to a meeting with a Formula 3 race car manufacturer. The result is T.J. Bexten's hot saw, which weighs 10 to 15 pounds less than the typical ones employed by most STIHL ® TIMBERSPORTS ® Series pros, which weigh about 60 to 65 pounds.
"(Bexten's) is right at 50 pounds, a hair under," Cahoon said.
Economically, carbon fiber parts are out of reach for most competitors. Hot saws are a big investment to begin with.
Ten-time STIHL ® TIMBERSPORTS ® Series champion Jason Wynyard of New Zealand probably has $15,000 invested in his hot saw, according to Cahoon. But a more typical investment is $5,000 to $6,000, still a tidy sum.
"Carbon fiber costs a lot more money," Cahoon said.
DC Hot Saws is the name Cahoon has given to his home shop, which he describes as a hobby rather than a business. It's not like there's a huge demand for competition-level hot saws.
"There's just a small group of people doing it," he said. "It's around the world, but a small group."
Cahoon's primary goal isn't to make a hot saw that will necessarily challenge the STIHL ® TIMBERSPORTS ® world record for three cuts in 19-inch wood of 5.085 seconds set by Matt Bush in 2003. It's to build hot saw that will allow someone to stay competitive and take a bit of the make-or-break aspect out of the event.
Cahoon relies primarily on the 250 cc Honda CR motor to do that.
Arden Cogar Jr. doesn't run one of Cahoon's hot saws, but he's quite familiar with his work.
"Dennis is a very skilled fabricator and has had his hands on the development of at least 20 to 25 (hot saws) used on the 2012 Series," Cogar said. "His ideas are sound. His knowledge of the two-cycle engine is vast. He is a motor-head personified – building race engines that are pound-for-pound the most powerful motors in racing sports."
Cahoon competed in the STIHL ® TIMBERSPORTS ® Series for three years in the mid 90s, and he continues to compete in various lumberjack competitions around the U.S. But he's had both hips replaced after three decades in the logging business, and he seems content with his hot saw hobby.
"I'm trying to make a user-friendly saw, something that will get you in the seven-second range," Cahoon said. "It's a task to make three cuts. It's something that's got to be learned."
In other words, no matter how good the machine is, the sawyer still has to have some skill.
"There's a time to race and a time to just make your cuts," he said. "I'm trying to get people into an affordable, user-friendly hot saw.
"It's all about how it handles. That's what I don't like about the Rotax (snowmobile engine) hot saws. They steer you, instead of you steering them. If it's steering you, and you can't make three cuts, you're not going to be any good."
Cahoon has made hot saws from motorcycle engines as big as 500 cc's, but those are primarily for the 27- to 30-inch wood that is used in some western U.S. lumberjack events.
"The optimum is 250 to 350 (cc's) for 20-inch wood," Cahoon said.
While the hot saw engines have changed over the years, the chain itself has remained essentially the same.
"You've got a chain speed of about 200 miles-per-hour," Cahoon said. "It's kind of funny, because the chain hasn't evolved too far from where it was back in the 50s and 60s. It's a limiting factor.
"A lot of people don't think about the chain. A sharpened chain makes a really big difference. If you have an average motor and a good, sharp chain, you'll probably win more contests than having the best motor and an average chain."
If anyone would know that, it's "motor-head personified," Dennis Cahoon.


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I was just wondering, in object orientend programming, how would you assaign a direction for an object.
For example:
Lets say I have an object in position (100, 350) and but I wont it to move to point ( 600, 39)
How would I give the object a direction it could move towards? would you use pythagoras theorem


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Raptors Rewind- TSN 2 Or Not Edition
1st Quarter
Well I have a combo of radio and video feed. Bosh was fouled by Yi and went to the line and made the free throws. Jason Kapono would nail a 3 pointer and raps had an early 5-0 advantage. A couple of buckets for J.O and it was a 9-0 run for the Raptors to start the game causing Lawrence Frank to call a 20 second time out. Jamario Moon would get a couple free throw and then later get an alley opp feed from Jose Calderon. Calderon would then get a 3 pointer and the Raptors had a 16-2 lead early on. It was like continuing on from the game in New Jersey.
Vince Carter had his second basket of the night and the only points for Jersey to this point. Vince would hit a 3 pointer after a Bosh miss and he had all 7 points for the Nets to this point. Jermaine O'Neal would respond with a jumper. O'Neal would later make a pair from the line they had a 20-9 lead. J.O was hustling on defense to drawing an offensive foul. Ryan Anderson was fouled and heading to the line for New Jersey. He would make both and the Nets were now down 9. The Nets would cut it to seven but Bargnani would get a kind roll on his jumper to extend the lead back to 9 points. The Raptors had a 26-15 lead and aside from Vince Carter scoring a bit this looked much like the game in New Jersey. Ryan Anderson hit a 3-ball for the Nets. Raptors had made a turnover the second in a row. But the Nets could not convert this second time. Antony Parker missed a 3-ball from the corner that would go out of bounds off a Raptor. Keyon Dooling would get a steal and score the Nets were back to within 6 points. Roko Ukic would get a basket and Vince Carter buzzer shot would not fall. Despite going over 4 minutes without a field goal the Raptors still lead 28-20 after one.
2nd Quarter
The Nets would end up on the line with two free throws from Ryan Anderson. He would make only 1-2 from the line. J.O would get to the line himself but he would miss both. Josh Boone was able to score on the other end for the Nets and it was a 28-23 Raptor lead. A Ryan Anderson 3-ball and the lead had shrunk to just 2 points. Jermaine O'Neal would finally respond for the Raptors. The Nets would score again but Roko Ukic would find J.O and set the table for an O'Neal throw down. J.O had 12 points to lead all scorers in the game and Raptors lead 32-28. Chris Bosh would hit Joey Graham streaking to the hoop and Joey would throw it down. Brook Lopez would score a basket from in the paint for the Nets. Joey Graham with a spin and a pass to Kapono who would hit a big 3 ball for the Raptors. Raptors lead was back up to 7 with a 37-30 lead. Chris Bosh had a huge block. But Raptors could not convert it into points.
The Nets had pulled to down just 5 and Jermaine O'Neal who was having a good game would have to sit with 3 fouls. Jason Kapono would make a long 2 pointer from the corner to make the lead 7 again. But Brook Lopez would get a thrown down off a V.C pass. Yi JianLian would hit a 3-ball and this was a 2 point basketball game with the Raptors up 37-35. Chris Bosh was with out a field goal but he would drive strong and get sent to the line. He would make both and Raptors lead 41-37. Josh Boone got offensive board on a missed 3 pointer from Yi. Boone would put it in the basket to pull the Nets to with in just 2 points. Andrea Bargnani was fouled and made 2 from the line. Bosh was blocked and then had it stolen away. He wanted a foul called. But instead Jersey would score in transition and he would get called for a technical foul. The Nets had their first lead of the night 44-43. The Nets would score again on a second chance opportunity. Jose Calderon would get a 3 pointer or was it a 2. For now it was a 3 pointer and Raptors trailed 46-45 at the half.
3rd Quarter
The Nets had 14 second chance points and Raptors 0. That was the big reason the Nets were in this basketball game and actually winning it. Seems Jose got credit for the 3-ball after all so it was 46-46. Chris Bosh hit a jumper and Raptors had a lead. Jamario Moon had a jam the lead was 50-48. Vince Carter would score to tie it. Bobby Simmons would hit a 3 pointer to give the Nets a 53-50 lead. Chris Bosh would score ot pull back to just 1 down. But Devin Harris who had been quiet got a basket and the Net lead was back to 3 points. Raptors found a cutting Moon who would take it to the hoop and score. Bobby Simmons would answer with a 3-ball and Kapono answered with a 3-ball of his own. The Nets had a 58-57 lead with a time out on the floor.
Vince Carter out of the time out would hit a jumper. Chris Bosh would answer with a score for the Raptors. Raptors would get a turnover and a J.K 3-ball in transition and the Raptors had the lead back at 62-60. Raptors battled on the glass and it turned into two free throw for Jamario Moon at the other end. Moon made both and he had 9 points and 8 rebounds to this point for the Raptors to this point. Bosh denied Ryan Anderson's attempt and that would get converted on the other end by Jose Calderon with a jumper the Raptors lead was 66-60. Raptors continued to play better defense and Andrea Bargnani on the offense would drive and get to the line. He would make both and the Raptors were on an 11-0 run if my math is right. Joey Graham would block Vince Carter and it would lead to a double foul call as Andrea and Vince would get tied up. Carter would exchange words with Andrea. Calderon would extend the run with another basket. Vince Carter would end the run with a 3-ball but his Nets were still down 7 with the score 70-63. Both the Raps and Nets would get a chance to change the score but both failed. So it was 70-63 after 3 quarters of play.
4th Quarter
So the Raptors came into the 4th quarter with a 7 point lead. They needed to hold on to it unlike the last time these two teams hooked up in this building. Both team came up empty on their first couple trips of the quarter. Andrea Bargnani was playing hard on defense, He would get rewarded being sent to the line on the offensive end and he would make both for the first points of the quarter. The Nets would have a turnover and Raps had a chance to extend the lead to double digits. However they could not and instead Harris would get to basket for basket plus the foul shot. Devin Harris would again get to the line and make both the Raptors lead was 4 at 72-68.Devin Harris had 7 straight points for New Jersey and the lead was now just 2 points 72-70 for Raptors. Jay Triano had seen enough and called a time out.
Jose Calderon would miss a 3 point shot out of the time out but it would not fall. Devin Harris would get fouled by J.O and Devin Harris was back on the line again with a chance to tie the game. He would do just that. Raptors were 0-7 in the quarter and Brook Lopez would score on the offensive put back to give the Nets the lead 74-72. Raptors were ice cold and Vince Carter who had been watching the Nets take the lead was now in the game looking to close it out for his team.
Vince out of the time out would drive and get sent to the line on an Andrea Bargnani foul. He would get the basket and the foul and the Nets had a 5 point lead. The Raptors continued to miss and Devin Harris drove and was sent to the line to take a couple free throws and he would make them. Jose Calderon would final give the Raptors a chance to score by driving to the basket and drawing the foul. He would make both which is nothing new for Jose he has made 58 straight to start the season. Devin Harris would come down and drain a bucket in response. Ryan Anderson would hit a 3 pointer, and a once 7 point Raptor lead had turned into a 10 point Nets lead.
Raptors had been out scored 21-4 to this point in the 4th quarter. Jermaine O'Neal would miss a pair off free throws for the second time on this night. The Nets would take advantage and score and had an 86-74 lead and were totally out classing the Raptors in this 4th quarter. A Jose Calderon 3-ball after Anderson made a pair from the line but the lead was 11 for the Nets. Jason Kapono would get another 3 pointer after a rare pointless trip for the Nets. Rookie Ryan Anderson was back at the line he would make 1-2. The young rookie had 21 points and 8 rebounds for the Nets.The lead was 89-80 for the Nets with under 2 minutes to play. Raptors were starting to wake up but it was far to late. Jay Triano frustrated with a call would get his first technical foul as a head coach. Carter would miss the Tech and Chris Bosh would hit a 3 pointer and the Raptors were down now just 5 points. Just 53 seconds left to play and it was the Raptors looking to make the unreal late comeback to steal a win. Vince Carter missed a fading mid range jumper and Jose Calderon would get a look at a 3 pointer to get the game to just 2 points down. But it would miss and the Raptors chances were pretty much over despite making it a bit more exciting down the stretch. The Raptors were extending this game but their fate was sealed. The Raptors let one get away losing by a final score of 94-87. The boxscore tell the tail of how the Raptors let this game slip away.
Nets/Raps Boxscore
It doesn't get easier for the Raptors to watch for those with or without TSN2. The Dallas Mavericks come to town and that will be far from an easy win for this Raptor Basketball team. The fall to 10-14 on the year and 4 games below .500.
3 comments:
I can't understand how we can beat you guys in Canada, but in Jersey we get housed by a ridiculous amount.ReplyDelete
Your lack of a crowd and a real home court advantage. Jack Armstrong on of our broadcasters has said for years that he feels the lack of a real home court advantage cost the Nets 4-5 games a season. I do not disagree with him saying that. Atlanta is another place that has in the past been a dead crowd for years.ReplyDelete
Certainly seems as if your right. It's unfortunate. Only good thing is I can get any seat I want.ReplyDelete
Armstrong is probably being nice by saying 5.
Atlanta I could understand, the franchise didn't do anything for well over a decade.
Up here I believe the Knicks control a lot of the market. I live about 20 minutes from the Meadowlands and NYC, and a lot of people around here are knicks loyalists. We couldn't even sell out playoff games


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Things are moving rather quickly on Universal's reboot of The Mummy. It was announced back in May that Star Trek screenwriters/prolific producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman would be developing reboots of both The Mummy and Van Helsing, with Tom Cruise attached to star in the latter. In subsequent interviews Kurtzman hinted at approaching the reboots with a darker tone than their original counterparts, and sure enough, Underworld and Total Recall director Len Wiseman is now being lined up to take the helm of The Mummy.
Hit the jump for more, including Wiseman's thoughts on the monster redo.
The script for the Mummy reboot is being written by Prometheus co-writer Jon Spaihts, and Wiseman tells Deadline that he connected with the project's darker take:
"When I first heard Universal was relaunching this, that is the image that popped into my head, the period tale, the old monster, but when Bob and Alex pitched it, there was a great new take and approach, and a very different mummy as well. It's a darker twist on the material, a scarier version."
Wiseman already has a professional relationship with Kurtzman and Orci as he helmed the pilot for their Hawaii Five-0 TV series reboot and he's also set to direct the pilot for their Sleepy Hollow TV adaptation, so the move makes sense. Kurtman notes that they're reaching into the roots of The Mummy with this reboot, and he adds that the original film "at its beating heart is a horror movie and then an action movie." In other words, expect quite a few action sequences.
When the reboot was first announced, I was hoping Kurtzman and Orci would take the project in a strong adventure direction. In a landscape full of "dark and gritty" tentpoles, it would've been nice to see a cheeky yet grounded 1930s adventure monster movie. But alas, that's not really Wiseman's forte so it appears we're in for a rather gritty take on The Mummy.
Universal is eager to get this thing going so they're aiming for a 2014 release date, which would mean production would have to begin sometime next year. Much is still unknown about the project, so hopefully we hear some promising news soon.


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Goin off: Female Hockey Player Fights 2 Boys During The Game! (Refs Don't Even Jump In)
Somebody needs to look into them refs.
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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Standard Cassis Berry Extract 35
Clinical Research Data
Just The Berries Research and Manufacturing Facility
Various Products made from New Zealand Blackcurrant
New Zealand Blackcurrants have a most remarkable chemical composition from the aspects of quantity of beneficial nutrient components, uniqueness in the plant kingdom, and a variety of health benefits for humans.
Blackcurrants from New Zealand have an extremely high vitamin, antioxidant, anthocyanin and polyphenol content when compared to other fruits, berries, and even blackcurrants grown elsewhere.
New Zealand Blackcurrant berries contain extraordinarily high amounts of:
The high levels of antioxidants shown in the ORAC value help fight free radicals excessively formed in human body. When free radicals damage cells in the body they have the potential to become cancer cells. Antioxidants have a really unique role in eliminating the molecules that can cause cancer.


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Keep on trucking PL! H appy new year...
The reason for this e-mail is to praise the administrator and the members of this forum. When I started with this forum to write better, I didnt have a clue where it would take me. I now feel I know the language a little better and have a basic grasp of its reason for better communication. I took from the language what I could understand and applied it to my personal style of writing.
I honor this forum for its knowledge, patience and sharing that knowledge with others like me who wants to improve there writing skills (in this case English). I owe this forum and the administartor my graditude for what they have taught me. I will forever be in your debt. Thank all of you.
Keep on trucking PL! H appy new year...
Hi everybody!
I share your opinion . In my turn, I find this FORUM interesting in many ways because it is varied and it contains useful information. However, on the side of ORGANIZATION, I find that additional efforts must be welcome. MY BEST WISHES TO ALL MEMBERS.
Unbelievable, the wealth on idioms and sayings the English language has!Keep on trucking
I keep seeing new ones every day


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New Logo Design for CaJenn Construction & Rehab Services
Held by: Billy Jennings (bjennings)
Last rated:
Contest Statistics
Scores (299 total)
5 4
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3 51
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This Project 22
Average 1
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Logo design created by professional graphic designer Armada Jamaluddin
Entry designed by:
Armada Jamaluddin
$12,125.00 earned, 38 projects done
I have a sense of humor and spontaneous artistic creativity in translating feelings into art media, have intuition to inflate something unknown to known, all the work I dedicate to my parents
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Ottawa-Gatineau > Profile >
Listing Profile
1593 Bank
Ottawa, ON K1H 7Z3
Lat/Long: 45.3786672, -75.6674286
Area(s): Ottawa East
About Us: In more than 1000 stores all across Canada, Home Dealers are there to help their neighbours. It can be anything at all - from planning the largest home building or renovation project to finding the perfect gift item. Help is close to Home.
Hand and power tools, housewares, plumbing and electrical supplies, paint and painting supplies, sporting goods, automotive and farm supplies. Home Hardware stores also feature giftware and seasonal lines including lawn and garden supplies.
Pay by:
Ottawa-Gatineau Local web marketing · Ottawa-Gatineau Local business directories · Ottawa-Gatineau Local SEO · Ottawa-Gatineau community information
Copyright 1999-2019 TransCanada FoundLocally Inc. (403) 245-2194 Contact FoundLocally
Date: 7/14/2020
🍁 Canada FoundLocally
🍁Trans Canada Highway
🍁 Moving In Canada
🍁 Web Marketing & SEO


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See more from the Dolce Babi Naples collection.
Dolce Babi Naples Full Panel Crib by Bivona & Company
The Dolce Naples Collection traditional elements like dentil molding and fluting to create an environment that is both timeless and thoroughly modern. Its design is extremely detailed just amazing to look at . The Naples Collection comes with Convertible Crib, Double Dresser, 5 Drawer Dresser, Hutch, Nightstand, Guard Rail, and Full Size Bedrails. The collection comes with a choice of five finishes Vintage Onyx, Nantucket Grey, Harvest Brown, Grey Satin and Cherry.
- Converts to toddler bed (optional guard rail sold separately), day bed & full size bed (bed rail sold separately).
- 80-60 mm slats on the headboard & footboard. 45mm slats on the sides
- Dolce Babi logo plate provided for optional personalization
- Just the Right Height ™ feature
View More Dolce Babi Nursery Sets
View More Dolce Babi Cribs
View More Dolce Babi Conversion Kits
Additional Info
|Dolce Babi
|Product Dimensions
|58.7" x 31.5" x 53.7"
|Type of Wood
|Poplar with Veneers
|Manufactured In


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Little Big Town Do a Little 'Day Drinking' on the Beach in Summery Music Video
Sitting in traffic after a long Friday, or watching the clock tick toward 5PM sounds like the least fun way to start out your weekend. In their 'Day Drinking' video, Little Big Town encourage fans to start the party early and tip a cold one back sooner rather than later.
The video was shot in Miami, Fla. and begins with the four band members, Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet, sitting in a convertible, stuck on the Old Port Bridge. As times goes on, fellow drivers get more and more irritated while traffic sits a complete halt. Everyone can relate to that growing feeling of impatience -- and that's where a little day drinking and spontaneous irresponsibility can come in handy.
The foursome hop out of the car and summons other drivers to follow them to the beach. Bikinis, beach volleyball and drinks are abound as everyone shakes off the work week with a little bit of lounging and a whole lot of drinking. Shots of LBT performing in front of a black and white wall in the Wynwood Arts District are interspersed throughout their beach activities.
It's a fun, summery and oh-so-irresistible music video, highlighted by lots of smiling, laughter and the catchy hit 'Day Drinking.' As Westbrook says, "It makes me think about those summer days when all that's on the agenda is hanging out, relaxing and having a good time with friends."
The track is the lead single off the foursome's forthcoming sixth studio album, due in Fall 2014.
Have Country Fans Really Gone Wild?


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705SP #01 Drill
Product Description
Heavy duty 135 degree split point for self centering and quick penetration. Heavy duty web geometry provides added rigidity.
- Type NAS907-B
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- Steam Oxide Treated
- High-Speed Steel (HSS)
Recommended for drilling high tensile martensitic stainless steels, titanium alloys and hard steel. Very popular in truck and trailer manufacturing.
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Mission Statement
The mission of Harnett County Department of Social Services is to provide services to individuals and families to achieve self-sufficiency, safety, and improve their quality of life. Our goal is to improve the quality of life for the citizens of our county by providing services that are outcome focused and cost effective. The programs of our agency are vast and touch the lives of many families within our communities.
We think it is important that you know and understand what we do. Hopefully the information presented will be of assistance to you in accessing the benefits and services offered by the Department of Social Services and will give you an insight to our mission.
Please call me at 910-893-7500 or email firstname.lastname@example.com if I can assist you in any way.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve the citizens of Harnett.
Paul D. Polinski


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A black and Muslim Canadian woman, Suaad Hagi Mohamud, was falsely arrested in Kenya for identity fraud and stranded for three months, because both Kenyan and Canadian officials claimed that she was not a Canadian citizen. Even mainstream Canadians blamed the Harper government for discriminating against her because she was not white.
Now Mohamud is suing the Canadian government.
Kenyan stranding triggered by skin colour: Mohamud:
A Toronto woman who was stranded in Kenya over false claims she was an impostor said she believes the colour of her skin played a role in her ordeal.
In an exclusive interview with the CBC's Diana Swain, Suaad Hagi Mohamud was asked if she thought things would have been different if she were white.
"I wouldn't be stopped at the Kenyan airport if I'm a white," Mohamud said.
"The Canadian High Commission wouldn't be treating me the way they treat me. If I'm a white person, I wouldn't be there in one day. I wouldn't have missed the flight."
Mohamud, 31, who was visiting her mother in Kenya, had been stranded in the country since May after Kenyan authorities said she didn't look like the picture in her passport photo.
Mohamud, who filed a $2.5 million lawsuit against the federal government on Friday, said the reaction by officials to her situation was "really frustrating" because "deep inside I thought we all the same."


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John Keats
John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821 / London, England)
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His Last Sonnet
Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art! -
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night,
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like Nature's patient sleepless Eremite,
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Super Stardust Delta
Sky high? How PS Vita performs on long haul
Patrick Garratt's suffering is just an opportunity to us. We had the boss put the Vita through its portable paces on a torturous flight to the US.
Super Stardust Delta headlines
Super Stardust Delta and DLC free with Vita 3G activation
One other tidbit from Sony's Q&A livestream: US owners who activate their new handheld's 3G connection will receive a free copy of Super Stardust Delta and the Blast Pack DLC for free. The Vita alunches in the US on February 22, although those who ponied up for the First Edition 3G Bundle can grab theirs […]
Vita games appear on US PS Store
Vita games have appeared on the US PS Store, showing some slight discounts over their physical counterparts.
Sony UK's swish Vita promos excite for launch
Sony invites you to a convivial evening of DJ-mixed tunes and face time with rows of demo units: the Vita Room. We sent Colin Gallacher to the swankiest console promotion in the UK.
Super Stardust Delta demo launches in Japan
Sony's released a demo of Super Stardust Delta alongside the full game's release in Japan. The taster will allow you to try the twin-stick shooter's first planet, Alena, as well as its new controls. Get both the demo for free and the full version for ¥1,000 on the Japanese PlayStation Store for Vita.Thanks, Andriasang.
Ten new videos released from PS Vita event in San Francisco
Sony has released ten new videos from its PS Vita showcase event, held at Vita Hill Social Club in San Francisco recently. Below the break you will find 11 videos for: Uncharted – Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush, Escape Plan, Hot Shots Golf, Hustle Kings, LittleBigPlanet, Reality Fighters, Little Deviants, Super Stardust Delta, Unit 13, and […]
Vita in 200-screen avalanche: Uncharted, LBP, WipEout
A gazillion screenshots for PS Vita games have been released – well, maybe not a gazillion, but 200 at least. Shots include art and in-game screens from: Everybody's Golf, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, WipEout 2048, Resistance: Burning Skies, Sound Shapes, Super StarDust Delta, Top Darts, MotorStorm RC, Lumines, Gravity Rush, Michael Jackson The Experience, Reality Fighters, […]
Super Stardust Delta trailer shows things going bang
D'Toid's come live with a new trailer of Housemarque's Super Stardust Delta, showing how you can destroy asteroids using the unique features of Vita. The Vita version of the PSN classic looks properly mint, but is not a sight for sore eyes and head on a Tuesday morning. Just saying. You can get the video […]
Super Stardust Delta latest


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Fall 2020
5221 International Commercial Arbitration - DIMITROFF/RUSSELL- 18796
Sashe Dimitroff (ADJUNCT)
William Russell (ADJUNCT)
Credits: 2
Course Areas: International Law
Energy, Natural Resources and Environmental Law
Time: 5:30p-7:30p TH Location:
Course Outline: Winston Churchill said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the rest. For international commercial transactions, international arbitration is the worst form of dispute resolution, except for all the rest. Supported by an international treaty signed by more than 140 nations, international arbitration has become the prevailing method of resolving international commercial disputes. And international transactions have become increasingly common in the global economy,the daily volume of international trade today across national borders exceeds the total volume of international trade through the end of the nineteenth century!
This is a comprehensive course covering all stages of the international arbitral process, from the drafting of the arbitration clause to the enforcement of the arbitral award. It should be of value both to students who plan to develop a transactional practice as well as those planning to become trial lawyers.
This will be a highly interactive course. In addition to relevant written material, the course will also feature videotaped scenes from mock arbitrations that the Institute for Transnational Arbitration generated at its Annual Arbitration Workshops. Consisting of mock scenarios, and performed by some of the world's leading international arbitrators and counsel, the videotapes vividly demonstrate the major phases of an international arbitration. Students will be assigned roles as counsel and as arbitrators and will either argue (in the case of counsel) or deliberate (in the case of arbitrators) various issues presented in the hypothetical scenarios.
The course will begin with preliminary considerations bearing on the selection of the international arbitral process. The course will then address the five stages of the international arbitral process:
Stage I. The making and enforcement of the arbitration agreement.
Stage II. The selection and appointment of the arbitral tribunal.
Stage III. Preliminary proceedings, including procedural orders and interim relief.
Stage IV. The evidentiary hearing on the merits.
Stage V. The making and enforcement of the arbitral award.
Ben H. Sheppard, Jr. is a Distinguished Lecturer and Director of the A.A. White Dispute Resolution Center. Prior to his retirement, he was a partner at Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. in Houston, where he practiced from 1969-2005, and was co-chair of the firm's international dispute resolution practice.
Course Syllabus: Syllabus
Course Notes:
First Day Assignments:
Final Exam Schedule: 12/10 6-8pm
This course will have:
Satisfies Skills Course Requirement: No
Satisfies Senior Upper Level Writing Requirement: No
Experiential Course Type: No
Bar Course: No
DistanceEd ABA 306:
Pass-Fail Student Election:
4604 Calhoun Road
Houston, TX 77204-6060
713-743-2100 General
713-743-2094 Legal Clinics


text:
I was chatting with Jong the other day… Yes, I have a golden bat phone that must be handled with asbestos gloves so I'm not burnt by his radiant awesomeness.. and somehow we got onto the subject of our (Australian) barbarian rugby players.
Something about how awesome us Aussies were, and how he was prepared to wipe half dozen times in his 1st encounter before he ripped his shirt off.
Ohh no that's right, I referred to Australia as Oz and he wondered if folk from Oz referred to Oz as Oz.
My response was:
Yeah Aussies are inherently lazy and Oz is one less character that Aus, yet sounds the same.
He was surprised he hear we Aussies are (can be) lazy as his image of us is our barbarian rugby players.
At which point I pointed out that rugby is only two of the 5(+) codes of footy we play here. Yes we have Gladiator Rugby Union, Barbarian Rugby League, Gnome kicking soccer, Mattress wearing wuss gridiron and of course the greatest game in the world, Aussie rules.
Sure Aussies have at some point in time been the leaders in just about every sport invented, and yes we are a hard working bunch, and yes we are very, very competitive, but it's in an Australian way.
Greg Norman may be one of the best known golfers, friend to US Presidents and all, but he's a lazy bugger… Why win when 2nd or 3rd is good enough. Mark Webber won his 1st F1 GP the other day, finally (apparently he then got caught in a when Harry met Sally moment then).
Some of our greatest sportspeople are surfers… What's your image of a surfee?
Anyway, I think the thing that defines an Australian is our laid back attitude.
She'll be right mate!
No wucking furries!
This can be handy when your raiding.
Wipe for the 100th time… No worries mate, just grabbing another tinny from the Esky and we'll give another crack.
Sure we have Minus-DKP types, but you will probably find that they are only in a rush cause the bottlo is about to close and they need to hit the frog and toad to grab a slab for the next Naxx wing.
Want to go to Ulduar in your level 78 greens, yeah we'll go have a captain cook, cause we want to give things a fair hard crack.
So if you get the chance, run an instance with an Aussie.
We don't suffer fools gladly, but we like to think of ourselves as the underdogs, so no boss is too big that we can't either dack it, give it a wet willy or at the very least give it an atomic wedgie.
Just don't call us Kiwis! (Or say "I have a friend from Australia, he lives on the island east of the mainland called New Zealand). We love our Kiwi cousins, but they love their polymorph just a little too much (Seriously, why would you poly an Elf chick onto a sheep before you screw it unless you are a Kiwi?)
Gnomer and Out!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.


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To our readers: Hook delayed by snow in Philly
Dear Readers,
Even though the Hook always bears a Thursday publication date, many of you have grown accustomed to picking up copies on Wednesday afternoon at some Charlottesville locations. Not this week. The near-Philadelphia plant where the paper gets printed has experienced near-blizzard conditions today, so the Hook can't begin hitting the streets until mid-day tomorrow. We apologize for the delay.
Hawes Spencer, Editor & Publisher
21 comments
Reality Check
LMAO . How could I destroy the written beauty of the English language without my apostrophe . I just hope my 11 grade AP english teacher never reads blog's .... I loved that Women style and would never want to let her down !
I agree with your comment's (ooops) about the Hook Layout . The ease of reading and layout is refreshing .I find the journalism to be the hardest hitting in the area on the tiff issues . It feeds my chaotic mind so well.
Now before the nay sayer's jump up, fair warning , I am hard headed and set in my way's , you have a better chance of removing a T BONE from a pit-bull;s jaws than change my opinion on the journalism found at the Hook . Save you your keystrokes and banter for somebody that is easily persuaded .
The Hook is miles ahead of the Cville Weekly in graphics and layout. Much more elegant and better use of whitespace. Cville's covers, in particular, are very chaotic-- but not in a good kinetic way, either. Kudos to the Hook's art director!
Dakota, if you ever come home and discover that someone has removed the apostrophe key from your keyboard, t'was me.
I agree Buffalo Girl - like the guy in the article you quoted said, the word blizzard is being "bandied about" far too cavalierly. I'm tired of all the hyped up drama words that the media uses to describe something of a normal caliber. Maybe because the modern lifestyle lacks enough excitement, people are a little too eager to make mountains out of molehills and use all this dramatic language to describe things that don't deserve it. Enough already.
Is BuffaloGirl really Robert Frost?
Like I mentioned earlier-
Harry February 11th, 2010 | 5:55 am
Tina- I would guess cost, quality and format. Call The Hook and ask them.
fair trade, and organic.
Where's Al gorelioni?
He could fly them in with a private jet.
Glad we get it online, plus there arent any fun comment threads to follow in the paper edition.
I am set in my way's and I like the real deal in hand :) . I learned quick with my Kendal , it's just not the same !
I will use the Kendal for an ice scraper ......give me something I can hold onto like my weekly issue of the Hook .
I just come here to spout off at the mouth :) .
P.S The Staunton News Leader has a printing press for sale , they farmed their printing out to the Daily News Record . Maybe the Hook can print their own .
I'm in blizzard country the panhandle of Maryland on the West Virginia line, don't ask, not here by choice, and yes, they did have a blizzard over the weekend, 20 foot drifts piled on the roadside, snow still blowing and drifting across the road and the state of emergency in West Va and Maryland has brought the National Guard to the scene. Having interviewed several of them, even they are in a quandry, where to put all the snow-in some places 60" in 3 days --the editor of the local paper is so tired that all he could write today in the Morgan Messenger was :
"Dear Reader,
Been digging snow, fighting the blizzard and trying to stay warm, just like you probably have.
Not much time for heavy editorial thoughts. The snow's heavy enough!
Hope everyone out there is making it through okay.
Don't forget to thank the people who do you a good turn in this rough season."
We got alot of snow, but I now understand, from first hand observation, why the Hook was late--has this ever happened before ?
ah ha's
Did you have a point to make ?
Dakota ------> snickers
Darn, I'm one of your loyal fans that knows exactly where to find the Hook on Wed. afternoons, and will miss it. I posted this at a previous blog, but perhaps worth reposting, for all those unsure of what constitutes a "true blizzard".
As I sat at my desk at 5:30am this morning, the phones began to ring, but there was no one there; the lights flickered, but stayed on; the wind howled in the tall oak trees, and the world was white with blowing snow; having grown up in Buffalo, New York, I wondered-- is this the blizzard some have been wanting to see ?
Growing up in Buffalo, as a child, I lived through many a blizzard and only remember the excitement of playing in the snow; building snow forts, which we made into little houses and stayed in for hours; turning the backyard into a frozen pond for skating, and drinking lots of hot chocotate. But, my parents would tell a different story ââ?¬â??and no I never remember losing power.
A piece in today's Washington Post by Jonathan Capehart reminded me that true blizzards are not all fun and games, and perhaps we were lucky this time.
He writes: " I'm from Upstate NY-Albany and Buffalo..I can't keep quiet any longer about the abandon with which the word " blizzard" is being bandied about"Š.According to the National Weather Service, a blizzard requires certain conditions: There must be sustained wind or frequent gusts to 35 miles an hour or greater, and such falling or blowing snow that visibility is reduced to less than a quarter-mile. Moreover, these conditions must prevail for a minimum of three hours.
Forgive me but: I lived through Buffalo's Blizzard of 1977 (houses buried in snow, winds gusting to 69mph, thousands of cars abandoned, people stranded, bone chilling cold). That experience gave me an appreciation of what a true blizzard is"Š.I think the best definition comes not from the National Weather Service but from my colleague and fellow Buffalonian Tom Toles:" It's Really scary. You can't see a thing-and you think you are going to die."
And now Washington is being hit again, much harder than we are, the momentary white-out at 5:30am in my yard has given way to glorious sunshine, and the Post writer may in fact be experiencing a Buffalo-type blizzard, I for one am glad to be here.
Why don't you guys have it printed locally? Where is the love for Virginia businesses?
I sure hope not. I like to pick up a few copies of The Hook when there is a story of interest that I wish to preserve. One of the most recent where I picked up a dozen copies was when they did their "Tarnished Badge" story.
And the story damn well fit one of the cops it was written about. The parents at Albemarle High School were ready to lynch him from the nearest tree.
Patsy- too expensive I am sure- same reason The Daily Progress is not printed locally either.
Also, the quality fo the printing is most likely better coming from the Philly area.
Well they aren't delivering the US mail today either
St Halsey, it seems the postal workers are on a school schedule now.
If schools are closed, the postal service is too. :)
Why isn't The Hook printed in Virginia?
The Christian Science Monitor recently gave up printing on newsprint and now is all website. I wonder whether the Hook might consider doing the same?
Tina- I would guess cost, quality and format. Call The Hook and ask them.
I don't know where CvilleWeekly is published, but everything about it is of lower quality. The Hook's paper, and clarity of type, make it a superior product and my guess is - that, combined with cost, necessitated going out of state. Please don't ever think of going paperless, the art design of the covers and layout is phenomenal and I enjoy this publication in print more than any other. Thanks to all the Hook staff out front, and behind the scenes, that produce this- joy of a weekly, year in and year out.


text:
Ellen Pao, who's suing the fabled venture-capital firm of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers for gender discrimination and retaliation, is showing up every day for work with the partners she's accused of doing her wrong—and who have accused her of lying.
"I don't plan to quit," she wrote on Quora Monday, as TechCrunch noted.
She's even going out for cocktails with her colleagues. Sort of.
Reuters Sarah McBride reported this scene at a recent Kleiner Perkins party held at Reposado, a Mexican restaurant just off University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto:
There, Pao held court on one side of the room, greeted with hugs and hearty handshakes by a number of start-up entrepreneurs she has worked with. Meanwhile, other Kleiner partners at the bash—including Matt Murphy and Ted Schlein—clutched their drinks and steered clear of their suddenly famous colleague.
At the entrance, two arrivals loudly told the female Kleiner assistants who were greeting guests: "I'm on team Ellen."
Those two aren't the only ones. PEHub, a private-equity news site, polled its readers about how the case affected their view of Kleiner; 69 percent said it had changed their opinion of the firm for the worse. Her Quora post drew a dozen or so comments, almost all expressing strong support.
Pao is on the board of three Kleiner-backed startups, including Flipboard, a hot maker of software for reading content on smartphones and tablets—one of Kleiner's highest-profile bets on mobile and social apps.
Top Kleiner partner John Doerr has said Pao's claims are false. In other word, he's calling her a liar. Why does he want her representing the venture-capital firm on Flipboard's board, then?
Of course, for Kleiner to take any action against Pao while the lawsuit is pending would be legally suicidal for the firm—it would be a prima facie act of retaliation.
And Pao, by continuing to show up for work, could be seeking to demonstrate that her job performance isn't an issue—not to mention picking up a paycheck and a long-term share in Kleiner's profits.
Of course, if things are awkward now, imagine how they'll get when Kleiner and the individual partners named in the lawsuit file their response.
Pao filed her lawsuit on May 10. Kleiner's response is due on June 13.


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Katherine Perkins
Katherine Perkins has done various jobs at IPR member stations since 1999. She is now Program Director for News/Talk and Executive Producer for Talk Shows. As part of her job she is responsible for managing the sound of the news and information stream on IPR and long-term planning and oversight for Talk of Iowa and River to River. She oversees the broadcast schedule for the news and information stations that are part of IPR. She also continues to produce talk shows, but mostly tries to stay out of the way of the hosts and producers, so they can continue to produce great programs. Before she assumed Executive Producer duties, Katherine was a talk show producer, researching topics, developing content and booking guests for Talk of Iowa and River to River, a role she has performed since 2007. Katherine's reporting and producing have won statewide and national recognition. She's spent her entire career (more than 20 years) in public media, starting as a student reporter and weekend anchor for WSIU in Carbondale, IL
Katherine has a master's degree in public affairs reporting from University of Illinois – Springfield, formerly Sangamon State University. She earned her bachelor's degree in radio-television from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale.


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Lech, Zürs, Stuben, St. Christoph, St. Anton. These names are music in the ears of winter sports lovers. More than 100 years ago Alpine skiing set out from the Arlberg area to conquer the Alps. Hannes Schneider, a skiing instructor, invented the "Arlberg technique" which became world-famous. And the world cam to St. Anton – no other Austrian ski resort is more international.
85 cable railways and lifts give access to a fantastic arena offering all opportunities: 276km of prepared slopes and 180km of deep-snow downhills, relaxed family runs for beginners, varied funparks for snowboarders and new school skiers, a Cyber Area for carvers, demanding steep slopes and high-alpine tours for the sporty and for pros.
The area of the Arlberg ski area covers 50km² and ranges from St. Anton (1,300m) to Vallugagipfel summit (2,811m)!
The Arlberg ski area ranks amongst the top European ski areas and has been awarded many prizes.
Thanks to the natural snow conditions and state-of-the-art snow making facilities snow is guaranteed from late November to May. A team of experts works 24 hours a day to provide for top conditions. Be enchanted by the Arlberg ski region with the villages of St. Anton, St. Christoph, Stuben, Zürs and Lech!


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A brand new "Cars" model rolls out today and Pixar, the animation studio that can seemingly do no wrong, says it was all about reinventing the franchise's wheels.
"At Pixar when we do sequels we like to do something really different," director John Lasseter, tells Popcorn Biz. Lasseter, who directed the first film and - after ascending to the position of Chief Creative Officer for both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios - made a point to find time in his hectic schedule to get in the driver's seat for the second, says from the start there'd be no retreading.
"I go to see the sequel of a movie I really love and they just rehash the same story all over again and it makes the original seem less original," explains Lasseter. "If we're going to do a sequel, it's to come up with a really great story that's different than the original. When I talk about that within the story, it's really getting to what is the emotional core of the story. And that is the main character's emotional change - what is it he learns in the story? That's where the heart of Pixar films is always found."
U.S. & World
"The first 'Cars' was really about Lightning McQueen learning that the journey in life is a reward. He learned to slow down, enjoy life and not let the modern fast-paced life take up all your time" says Lasseter. For the follow-up, he says, "we wanted to have a friendship story between Lightning McQueen and Mater. It's about how friendship can be tested when you take the friendship out of its home. Taking Mater out of Radiator Springs, he's just embarrassing to Lightning McQueen, and Mater learns that people are not laughing with him, they're laughing AT him."
"That became the emotional core of how the two came together," says Lasseter. "That was really important for us to get, because we were setting this into the spy movie genre and traveling around the world. And both of those elements that were inspiration to me in different ways."
That character-driven story is layered into a series of races set in exotic locales around the globe, which provide a seamless entry point for the film's spy element and the introduction of new characters Finn McMissile (voiced by Sir Michael Caine) and Holly Shiftwell (Emily Mortimer).
"I love spy movies and I think the Bourne movies upped the ante on how cool and fast-paced [films can be]," says Lasseter. "We set out not to make a parody of a spy movie – we set out to make a spy movie. It just has cars as characters. We studied deeply the whole history of car chases. We pulled them from every movie we could find one and all the cool ones and really studied how do they shoot them, how do they cut them. Once this movie started, I really wanted it to GO. I wanted just to not stop. I always joke that they should put seat belts in the theaters for this movie, because I really wanted it to be fast-paced."
Lasseter says his ability to entertain children and grown-ups at the same time is due to the fact that he's kept his feet – and his creative brain – in both camps. "I'm just a little kid," he laughs. "I discovered that being in animation I don't have to grow up. But I always trust that little boy in me on the stuff I find really fun. I think one of the biggest challenges of this movie was trying to make it as good or better than the original, but 'different' was a super-big challenge. Every Pixar movie, the challenge is making a great story because that's what we put the most importance on."


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Do you have a friend who's super smart, but when it comes to street smarts he's ... let's say "lacking"? Even the smartest people pull dumb moves sometimes, and for some reason it's extra surprising and disappointing when a smart person screws up. How could that president or general carry on an affair knowing it could easily get out? How did that company CEO think he could embezzle millions and no one would find out?
The truth is that book smarts or business savvy don't make a person perfect. Or streetwise. In fact, smart people seem prone to spectacular lapses in judgment more so than "average" people.
Why? One study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology gave logic problems to people to solve and found that smart people tended to make more mistakes than those of average intellect, because smart people were more likely to take shortcuts or make assumptions due to overconfidence. This is called the bias blind spot [source: West et al].
Of course, overconfidence isn't the only road to a dumb decision. Many of the dumb choices you'll see on this list were motivated by greed, pride, stress, and even sheer laziness. Let's look at 10 memorable moments of "what were you thinking?"
Bill Clinton Has Affair with Intern, Lies Under Oath About it
After serving two terms in the U.S.'s highest office, President Bill Clinton started the Clinton Foundation to address some of the most pressing issues affecting the world today, from childhood obesity and climate change to global health. So, how did such a charitable and intelligent guy become part of one of the most notorious presidential sex scandals?
In 1999, President Clinton faced impeachment after details of an affair with 21-year-old intern Monica Lewinsky. While the affair itself was a pretty dumb move -- if you're going to have an affair, maybe don't choose someone that works for you -- the even dumber thing Clinton did was lie under oath.
The affair came to light in 1998 as part of a sexual harassment investigation filed by Paula Jones against Clinton [source: Linder]. In January 1998, Clinton was questioned about it formally by Jones's lawyers and lied under oath, saying the affair with Lewinsky never happened. Who can forget Clinton wagging his finger at the press and saying, "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky"? He stuck to that lie until that August when her infamous blue dress -- stained with Clinton's semen -- came to light. Clinton later said they "only" had oral sex so he had not lied when he said they did not have sexual relations.
If Clinton hadn't lied under oath about his affair with Lewinsky, there would have been much less fodder for an impeachment case later on, but Clinton was acting out of fear and stress that the revelation would hurt his political career [source: Linder].
Whether it did is debatable. While Clinton was found not guilty in his impeachment trial, some say the whole ordeal damaged the mystique of the presidency [source: Linder]. However, Clinton's other acts as president -- like ending the war in Bosnia and balancing the federal budget -- helped save his reputation. In fact, he left office with the highest approval rating of any postwar president [source: American Experience].
Gary Hart Dares the Media to Follow Him Around
Gary Hart was a married politician, lawyer, author, and college professor whose hubris led him to making an incredibly dumb move: provoking the media.
Hart's pitfall -- besides having an affair with a model named Donna Rice while running for office -- was assuming that he was smarter than reporters. Hart must have thought that he could count on absolute discretion from Rice and everyone else who knew about the relationship. And with his background he should have known better.
Hart was a campaign manager-turned-politician, and in 1987, the favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination [source: Currie]. Reporters suspected an affair between Hart and Rice, but it was Hart's arrogance that did him in. When rumors surfaced that he was cheating on his wife, rather than dodging the questions or coming clean, Hart adamantly denied the rumors, and dared the media to follow him around. ("You'll be bored," was his actual comment.)
Surprise! Reporters did just that, and that same day, they spotted Rice leaving Hart's house. Then they discovered that Hart had taken a romantic cruise with Rice, on a boat called -- no, seriously -- "Monkey Business." Then, reporters began hounding Rice's close friend (and "Monkey Business" shipmate) Lynn Armandt about the relationship. Armandt dodged reporters for weeks before she finally caved and confessed to knowing first-hand about the Hart-Rice affair [source: Green]. From the account of the affair that Armandt later shared with People Magazine, the biggest surprise in this scandal is that it didn't break sooner. Neither party was very discreet, and Rice had told several friends about her tryst.
The Rice scandal rocked Hart's presidential bid, and he withdrew from the race in May of 1988 [source: Sabato].
Robert McCormick Uses the Company Card for Strippers
Robert McCormick was CEO of an Internet technology company Savvis, but that position didn't prevent him from making a colossal blunder in the common sense department.
McCormick went to an exclusive "gentlemen's" club -- appropriately named Scores -- and managed to ring up a $241,000 tab on his company credit card [source: Maull]. Yes, we said the company credit card. Scores is known for its high prices: $10,000 lap dances, bottles of champagne that cost thousands of dollars, and -- McCormick claims -- for fraud.
When McCormick received the extravagant bill, he disputed almost all of the charges, telling American Express that he rang up no more than a paltry $20,000. Scores countered that the club has a policy in place to verify any charge over $10,000. They take cardholder's fingerprints and even have the customer call their credit card company to verify the charges over the phone. After two years without payment, and McCormick unable to produce any documentation showing fraud, American Express sued McCormick for the money [source: Maull].
Savvis, McCormick and American Express eventually settled the case confidentially and out of the courtroom, but not before McCormick resigned from the company over the scandal [source: Rivera].
Stephen Glass Fabricates Most of his Journalistic Work
At just 25 years old, Stephen Glass was already an associate editor at the prestigious publication The New Republic. He was a journalist wunderkind with a promising career ahead of him, but in May 1998, that came crashing down when Forbes reporter Adam L. Penenberg outed Glass for making up the facts in his piece "Hack Heaven" [source: Peneberg]
"Hack Heaven" was about a teenaged computer hacker who busted into a major software company's system, and posted internal information on the company Web site. According to the riveting story, rather than prosecute the teen, the company offered him a job. It's a dream scenario for any young hacker, but the problem is none of it was true.
Probably the most damning detail Penenberg uncovered was that the company in the story, Jukt Micronics, didn't exist. Glass's editor at The New Republic launched an investigation into the rest of Glass's work and discovered that 27 of his 41 pieces for the magazine were total fabrications or contained some made-up facts [source: Bissinger]. Glass even faked backup notes, phone numbers and created false Web sites to get through the fact checking process at the magazine. He also falsified articles that appeared in George and Rolling Stone magazines. Vanity Fair called it "the most sustained fraud in the history of modern journalism."
So, what drove such a talented young reporter to do this?
Glass said he felt extreme pressure to succeed at any cost. He was a social outsider growing up who never felt that he had his parents' approval. Those childhood anxieties followed him into his career, and stress and a fear of failure drove him to do anything -- even violating journalistic ethics at elaborate lengths -- to succeed [source: O'Neill and Karas]. While his rocky childhood doesn't totally excuse Glass's actions, we can all identify a little bit with the pressure to perform.
The scandal haunted Glass even after he left journalism. In 2000 he graduated from law school, but despite passing the California and New York state bar exams, in 2012 he was still fighting for the right to practice law because of the plagiarism in his past [source: O'Neill and Karas].
Andrew Wakefield's Autism-Vaccine Hoax
In 1998, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a well-regarded scientist, published an article in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, claiming that there was a link between autism and the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine.
The trouble is, Wakefield falsified much of the data in that paper.
Investigative reporters and the medical community have since discovered that Wakefield's paper was a complete fraud. He faked his patients' medical histories and published the results of his fraudulent study all in the name of money. What Wakefield didn't count on was that payoff coming to light.
The British Medical Journal discovered that Wakefield had received $674,000 from lawyers who were hoping to sue vaccine companies [source: CNN]. In order to get the results that the lawyers wanted, Wakefield faked his data in a couple of different ways: He chose some patients in his 12-person study who already had signs of autism and lied about others developing autism after getting the MMR vaccine [source: CNN].
In 2004, some of his fellow researchers found out about the law firm backing the research and withdrew their names as study co-authors [source: CNN]. The Lancet retracted the paper in 2010 and Wakefield was stripped of his medical license.
Wakefield and some of his fellow scientists continue to defend the study, saying that there was a scheme to cover up the link between vaccines and autism, but no peer-reviewed study has been able to replicate Wakefield's results [source: CNN].
That faked paper from the '90s is having real public health effects to this day. Some parents -- fearing for their children's safety -- are still opting not to get the MMR vaccine. This drop in vaccination rates has caused a spike in cases of measles, a dangerous childhood illness [source: CNN].
Thomas Edison Electrocutes an Elephant
Thomas Edison was the quintessential genius -- a self-made man, inventor, and scientist, but even geniuses screw up sometimes.
Around the turn of the last century, Edison researched and developed electricity, specifically direct current (DC) electricity. There are two types of electricity that we use today: direct current and alternating current (AC). In the U.S., AC is the standard, but that wasn't always the case.
Back in the early 1900s, the AC/DC debate was similar to the VHS or Beta videotape wars of the 1980s. Which type would win out? Scientists got pretty competitive. Edison was making big money off of his DC patents, since it was the standard in the U.S. at the time, so when George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla discovered a competing form of electricity -- that happened to be more efficient and less expensive -- things got ugly [sources: Long,PBS].
In an effort to discredit Westinghouse's and Tesla's AC electricity, Edison did what any level-headed scientist would do: He electrocuted a bunch of animals to show that AC current was more dangerous than DC. He even called these electrocutions "getting Westinghoused" [source: Long]. He started these "experiments" on smaller animals, like dogs and cats, but when the Luna Park Zoo on Coney Island had an elephant named Topsy that they were planning to put down, Edison jumped at the chance to electrocute her [source: Long].
All of those cruel animal deaths turned out to be for naught. Because of some complications with DC, the U.S. ended up adopting AC as the electrical standard despite Edison's wrong-headed efforts [source: Long].
Elizabeth Fleischmann-Aschheim Gives Herself Radiation Poisoning
When Wilhelm Rontgen discovered the X-ray in 1895, the news swept not just the medical community, but the media as well. That's how 30-year-old Elizabeth Fleischmann-Aschheim learned about the discovery that captivated her imagination. Though she never completed high school, she decided to learn all about radiophotography and became a very skilled radiographer in just a year, thanks to help from her brother-in-law, who was a physician [source: Palmquist].
Fleischmann opened California's very first X-ray laboratory, making her the first radiographer in the state [source: Palmquist]. These accomplishments were no small feat in the late 1800s, especially for a woman.
Fleischmann and her brother-in-law performed many X-ray experiments, sometimes involving hours of radiation exposure [source: Breyer]. But from early on, it was clear that X-ray exposure was dangerous: More than 20 radiologists and X-ray manufacturers had reported severe injuries after repeated or long-term exposure by the end of 1896 [source: Palmquist].
Despite the evidence that radiologists should take safety precautions, Fleischmann refused to wear protective gear, because she was afraid it would scare off her patients. She paid for that stubbornness with her life. In 1905 she died from radiation poisoning when she was only 46 years old [source: Breyer].
Jonah Lehrer Plagiarizes ... Himself
Journalist Jonah Lehrer rose to stardom by age 31. He wrote for prestigious publications like the Wall Street Journal and The New Yorker and was a published author. His books focused on neuroscience, including "Imagine: How Creativity Works," about how the creative brain works [source: Harris].
In June of 2012, Lehrer got caught plagiarizing, a cardinal sin in journalism. Unlike most cases of plagiarism, though, Lehrer actually copied ... himself. He reused whole paragraphs from his Wall Street Journal pieces in blog posts that he wrote for The New Yorker [source: Kaufman]. In a New York Times interview, Lehrer apologized for the plagiarism, saying it was just plain laziness that drove him to duplicate his work across the two publications [source: Kaufman].
That alone might not have been enough to permanently damage his career -- the words he copied were his own, even if it was unethical to recycle them without his publisher's knowledge -- but just a month later, the magazine Tablet outed him for making up Bob Dylan quotes for "Imagine" and then lying about it [source: Kaufman].
Tablet reporter Michael C. Moynihan questioned Lehrer about some of the quotes in "Imagine," and Lehrer told him that the quotes came from an old interview that had not been made public. Lehrer later admitted that he made up the quotes, and that when Moynihan questioned their veracity, he panicked and lied about the source [source: Kaufman].
When the story broke, "Imagine" publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt pulled the e-book and stopped all shipments of the book's physical copy [source: Kaufman]. Lehrer also resigned in disgrace as a writer for The New Yorker.
Orly Taitz Tries to Prove Obama Ineligible for Office
Sometimes, being an attorney just makes you do things that other people wouldn't bother with. Exhibit A: Orly Taitz, lawyer and dentist. Proof that lots of education doesn't necessarily lead to smart decisions.
In 2009, Taitz got busted for posting a fake Barack Obama birth certificate from Kenya online. Critics immediately pointed out that Kenya was not a republic in 1961, the year of Obama's birth, as the false document purported [source: PolitiFact.com]. But that was just the beginning. In February 2012, she sued the Mississippi secretary of state and Democratic Party for including President's Obama's name on the ballot, saying that candidates must be U.S. citizens. The Party came back with a signed and sealed Certificate of Live Birth from the state of Hawaii that included a verification of Obama's birth date [source: Seitz-Wald]. Undaunted, Taitz filed similar failed suits in Kansas and Vermont [sources: Reilly, Seitz-Wald].
Taitz has become something of a joke in the media, where she's often called "the birther queen." She probably has many motivations for these attacks, but one is fierce political fervor. Taitz grew up in communist Moldova and believes that Obama is a communist that must be stopped [source: Fletcher]. An avid GOP supporter, Taitz feels that the party didn't do enough to fight Obama, even calling the GOP leadership "spineless" in a post on her blog [source: Taitz]. These suits didn't anything for her credibility as a lawyer. And they didn't help with her failed run for California senator in 2012 either.
CIA Head David Petraeus Has Affair, Busted by Unsecured E-Mail
For David Petraeus, keeping secrets was part of his job. But this one didn't stay hidden. Petraeus is a retired four-star general in the U.S. military who was serving as director of the CIA when an FBI investigation discovered his affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. The affair led to Petraeus's eventual resignation [source: Raddatz].
The pair's big mistake was thinking that personal information would stay personal, which is seldom the case. To keep their correspondence on the down-low, Petraeus and Broadwell (both married to other people) shared a Gmail account, and rather than sending e-mails to each other, they only saved their messages as drafts. That didn't turn out to be as secure a plan as they thought [source: Gorodyansky].
The trouble began when Broadwell used the same computer to harass another woman -- Jill Kelley -- who Broadwell suspected of having her eye on Petraeus.
Kelley forwarded those anonymous e-mails to a friend at the FBI, launching the investigation that ended Petraeus's tenure at the CIA [source: Lush]. Investigators were able to use the IP address attached to the Kelley e-mails to trace the e-mail account back to Broadwell's computer, where they discovered the drafts from both Broadwell and Petraeus in another email account [source: Gorodyansky]. The jig was up. An IP address is a unique identifier that your computer uses to talk to a computer network. There are ways to mask an IP address, but Petraeus apparently did not take those precautions. Surprising for the head of the CIA!
There are all kinds of intelligence, but no amount of smarts makes a person immune to pulling dumb moves from time to time. Sometimes, these mistakes are career-ending catastrophes and sometimes they're little mistakes that we all make on a daily basis. None of us gets it right 100 percent of the time, and people that we look up to as smart and savvy are no different.
Can You Become Ambidextrous Later in Life? It Depends
Most people throughout the world are right-handed. So can they teach themselves to use their left hands, too and become ambidextrous?
Author's Note: 10 Really Smart People Who Did Really Dumb Things
Just like my Sports Cheating Scandals article, this one was a lot of fun to research! There's something cathartic that comes with learning that even someone you'd consider a role model has made some bad choices. It certainly puts your own bad choices in perspective!
The dumb decision that hit me closest to home was Edison electricity tests on elephants. I'd run across videos of those "experiments" before, and they disturb me every time. Edison is one of my heroes, and knowing that even he has the capacity to lose sight of the big picture humanized him just a little bit, even if it did tarnish my image of him at the same time.
Related Articles
- American Experience. "Biography: William Jefferson Clinton." PBS. (Dec. 17, 2012) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/clinton-bill/
- Bissinger, Buzz. "Shattered Glass." Vanity Fair. September 1998. (Dec. 11, 2012) http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/archive/1998/09/bissinger199809
- Breyer, Melissa. "7 Scientists Killed by Their Own Experiments." Mother Nature Network. November 29, 3012. (Dec. 12, 2012) http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/7-scientists-killed-by-their-own-experiments
- CNN. "Retracted autism study 'an elaborate fraud,' British journal finds." CNN Health. January 5, 2011. (Dec. 11, 2012) http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/05/autism.vaccines/index.html
- Currie, Tom. "10 of the Biggest American Election Year Scandals." Mandatory. November 5, 2012. (Dec. 10, 2012) http://www.mandatory.com/2012/11/05/10-of-the-biggest-american-election-year-scandals/4
- Fletcher, Dan. "Orly Taitz." Time U.S. August 10, 2009. (Dec. 17, 2012) http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1915285,00.html
- Gorodyansky, David. "Petraeus Scandal Shows How Transparent Online Communications Can Be." Forbes. Dec. 4, 2012. (Dec. 12, 2012) http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidgorodyansky/2012/12/04/patraeus-scandal-shows-how-transparent-online-communications-can-be/
- Green, Michelle. "Chronicle of a Ruinous Affair." People. June 15, 1987. (Dec. 10, 2012) http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20096528,00.html
- Harris, Paul. "Jonah Lehrer: the prodigy who lights up the brain." The Guardian Observer. March 24, 2012. (Dec. 12, 2012) http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2012/mar/25/jonah-lehrer-popular-science-profile
- Kaufman, Alexander C. "'Imagine' Author Jonah Lehrer Resigns from New Yorker, Admits Lying." The Wrap. July 30, 2012. (Dec. 12, 2012) http://www.thewrap.com/media/article/new-yorker-writer-jonah-lehrer-resigns-after-lying-fabricating-quotes-49916
- Kaufman, Alexander C. "Jonah Lehrer Apologizes for 'Stupid,' 'Lazy' Self-Plagiarizing in the New Yorker." The Wrap. June 20, 2012. (Dec. 17, 2012) http://www.thewrap.com/media/article/jonah-lehrer-apologizes-stupid-lazy-self-plagiarizing-new-yorker-45031cortex/2012/06/daniel-kahneman-bias-studies.html
- Linder, Douglas O. "The Impeachment Trial of President William Clinton." UMKC School of Law. 2005. (Dec. 10, 2012) http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/clinton/clintontrialaccount.html
- Long, Tony. "Jan. 4, 1903: Edison Fries and Elephant to Prove His Point." Wired. January 4, 2008. (Dec. 11, 2012) http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2008/01/dayintech_0104
- Lush, Tamara. "Petraeus scandal: Jill Kelley goes on the attack." The Christian Science Monitor. November 27, 2012. (Dec. 12, 2012) http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1127/Petraeus-scandal-Jill-Kelley-goes-on-the-attack
- Maull, Samuel. "CEO sued over $241,000 bill from topless club." USA Today. September 21, 2005. (Dec. 10, 2012) http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2005-10-21-topless-suit_x.htm
- O'Neill, Ann. "Trust me, an infamous serial liar says." CNN. Dec. 19, 2011. (Dec. 11, 2012) http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/16/justice/stephen-glass/index.html
- PBS. "Tesla Life and Legacy." (Dec. 17, 2012) http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_warcur.html
- Palmquist, Peter E. "Elizabeth Fleischmann: A Tribute." Purdue University. 1990. (Dec. 12, 2012) http://www.cla.purdue.edu/waaw/palmquist/Photographers/FleischmannEssay.htm
- Penenberg, Adam L. "Lies, damn lies, and fiction." Forbes. May 11, 1998. (Dec. 11, 2012) http://www.forbes.com/1998/05/11/otw3.html
- PolitiFact.com. "Alleged Obama birth certificate from Kenya is a hoax." August 21, 2009. (Dec. 17, 2012) http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/aug/21/orly-taitz/alleged-obama-birth-certificate-kenya-hoax/
- Raddatz, Martha. "Petraeus Sex Scandal: Former CIA Chief Tells Friend He 'Screwed Up Royally.'" ABC News. November 29, 2012. (Dec. 12, 2012) http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/petraeus-sex-scandal-cia-chief-tells-friend-screwed/story?id=17835234#.UMj7PbaN4lg
- Reilly, Mollie. "Orly Taitz Loses Obama California College Records Suit in California Court." Huffington Post. Dec. 2, 2012. (Dec. 12, 2012) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/02/orly-taitz-obama-college-records_n_2229370.html
- Rivera, Lauren. "$241,000 strip club tab finally settled." CNN Money. March 8, 2006. (Dec. 10, 2012) http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/08/news/newsmakers/scores.suit/index.htm
- Sabato, Larry J. "Gary Hart and Donna Rice 1987." Washington Post. 1998. (Dec. 10, 2012) http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20096528,00.html
- Schulz, Kathryn. "Alan Dershowitz and the Bias Blind Spot." Slate. May 14, 2010. (Dec. 17, 2012) http://www.slate.com/blogs/thewrongstuff/2010/05/14/alan_dershowitz_and_the_bias_blind_spot.html
- Seitz-Wald, Alex. "Orly Taitz's birther suit backfires." Salon. June 7, 2012. (Dec. 12, 2012) http://www.salon.com/2012/06/07/orly_taitzs_birther_suit_backfires/
- Taitz, Orly. "Very important. I need a volunteer to prepare a list of addresses of all AGs and all SOS and divide them in 2 groups: 1-from the states that voted for Obama and 2-from the states that voted for Romney." Dr. Orly Taitz, Esquire. November 17, 2012. (Dec. 12, 2012) http://www.orlytaitzesq.com/?p=363228
- What is My IP. "About IP Addresses." (Dec. 12, 2012) http://www.whatismyip.com/


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Dancing with the Stars on InFANity
InFANity is a show on the TV Guide channel that I'd never heard of before – but this week they delve into Dancing with the Stars. The video is in five parts, each part covering different aspects of the show. Every part has a lot of clips of dances and interviews, past and present. Stars from every season are interviewed, as are the judges and the hosts. The only people we see, but don't hear a lot from, are my favorites – The Pros.
Part 1 – About the Show and the Judges
Part 2 – The Stars and The Winners


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In order to prevent the compression and discomfort that is often associated with Ustrasana, it is important to find a long arc of extension from the sacrum to the crown of the head. Starting with a strong foundation by isometrically pulling the legs together or putting a block between your ankles, press into the block and draw powerfully into the midline of the body to engage and strengthen the adductor muscles of the hip. This will help to open your low back as you work into the extension of the posture. From this foundation, keep your hips in line with your knees and lift your upper back (thoracic spine) towards the ceiling as you arc backwards. Once you put your hands on your heels, you can press against your heels to create engagement of the lower and middle Trapezius, allowing the muscles of your middle back to help in creating the lift of the chest towards the ceiling. Another common misalignment is collapsing the neck backwards to get a stretch on the front of the throat. This can be valuable in stretching an area that we do not get to open often, but you want to be careful not to feel any compression in your neck. It is more beneficial to keep your neck long, to allow this to be an opportunity to strengthen the cervical stabilizers, the deep neck flexors (Longus Capitis and Longus Colli). Another option is to take a blanket and roll it up length-wise. You can wrap the blanket around your neck like a "yoga scarf". As you come back into the posture, your head will rest on the blanket preventing hyper-extension of your neck.
Camel, Bridge and Bow all bring us into this position of opening the front body. The differences we experience in the spine and in the muscular work are a result of the point of stabilization and the resulting effect on the body. In Camel, our legs are grounded so the extension and expansion is more focused on the thoracic and cervical spine. We are resisting the pull of gravity as we arc backwards. As we resist the pull of gravity, the Psoas, Abdominal, and deep cervical flexor muscles have to contract eccentrically. Simultaneously, our Middle and Lower Trapezius concentrically contract to lift us against gravity. In bridge posture, our feet, shoulders and head are grounded as we come into spinal extension. Bridge brings our lumbar and thoracic spine into extension, but our cervical spine into flexion which creates less of a challenge in the cervical spine. Bridge requires the Glutes, Hamstrings and Paraspinals to concentrically work to lift us against the pull of gravity. The foundation in Bow is our pelvis and ribs. This posture brings the focus into opening the hips and shoulders, as well as the lumbar and thoracic spine. Bow requires strength of the Paraspinals, Glutes, Quadriceps, and Trapezius to concentrically work to lift us against gravity. Of the three, Camel is the one asana that challenges our ability to resist the pull of gravity. This is especially apparent in the work of our deep cervical flexors, which helps to bring more stability to our cervical spine creating a unique experience of spinal extension.
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—Marlysa Sullivan
Ustrasana represents sustainability, the ability to move forward and open expand, even when you've been "cut off at the knees." It is an asana that I personally shelve under "once in a blue moon," so to understand it more, I began talking to other yogi friends and fellow teachers about their insights into Ustrasana. "Ugh" was the resounding response. In my estimation, Camel pose may be in the top ten of the most frequently avoided asanas today. But why?
The pose itself is very complex. To begin, it requires finding a powerful connection to the earth, but through the knees instead of the feet. This is a very humbling experience for many people. To get grounded in other standing asanas can feel more accessible, as we often supplement the activation of the core with the power of the legs and feet. But, in Ustrasana, we are "brought to our knees" and asked to access our strength deep within, which can uncover weakness and fear that are not always apparent when we are standing on our feet.
From this place where our self-doubts and fears surface, we are asked to unabashedly expand our hearts. The opening of the heart in Ustrasana is an experience that calls on our ability to trust and have faith. As we lean back, blind to what is behind us, we have to trust that we are strong enough to support ourselves, and that we are supported by an unwavering force that is bigger than ourselves. This action is one of surrender, the paradox of Camel. How do we draw upon our inherent strength and at the same time let go into the experience?
Oh, and then there is our head. That tyrannical space of control we have to maintain without letting it take over or completely drop out. If our heads have led most of our lives, then the wisdom of the heart is often overshadowed by the fluctuations of the mind. This will send us reeling in Ustrasana, with our heads feeling heavy, like a lead weight that we cannot control. The space of the throat and neck can seem inadequate to support this intellectual surrender. So how do we find the space of freedom and equanimity in Ustrasana?
Learn from the camel. Camels represent fortitude and determination. They teach us to stay the course and trust in the outcome. Camels seem to have the gift of accomplishing the impossible, and when we bring our bodies into the pose of the camel, we awaken that same gift inside of us. Through the belief that we can sustain ourselves even when we feel like our feet have been knocked out from under us, we discover our deep strength that supports our immense expansion. Though this asana is daunting to many, it guides us bring our dark spaces into the light. With consistent practice, you can begin to confront and explore what we so often try to hide away, and in the knowing of ourselves that results, we will find the source of strength that will sustain us even in the sometimes harsh climates of our lives.
—Kelly Golden