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Degeneration Symptoms
Central vision will become blurred, leading to difficulties in recognising people's faces, and activities like driving and reading. Colours may also appear less vibrant and straight lines may look distorted or wavy. Some AMD sufferers become sensitive to bright lights and whilst AMD will not lead to complete blindness, it usually affects both eyes.
MAIN TYPES OF Macular Degeneration
Both develop when the macula, a tiny part of the retina, starts to deteriorate.
- Dry AMD - is the most common form of Macular Degeneration. It happens when the cells of the macula are damaged due to a build-up of waste products. The loss of central vision may occur over a long period. There is no specific treatment, but a good diet may slow the progress of the condition, and reduce the risk of it turning into wet Macular Degeneration. Magnifying lenses, large print books and very bright lights can make reading easier.
- Wet AMD - is an advanced form of dry Macular Degeneration. New, abnormally-formed blood vessels under the macula leak blood and fluid. This can happen suddenly. In terms of treating wet AMD, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) medication can slow down deterioration, by preventing the growth of new blood vessels in the eye. Laser surgery is used to destroy the abnormal blood vessels. Visit your local eye care specialist for further advice on treatment, and to discuss options for what lenses could help.


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text: Fred Williams 0 Report post Posted April 11, 2005 A skeptic once wrote in my guest book ridiculing this passage in the Bible: Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers." (Genesis 9:20-25) The skeptic interpreted this as follows: And of course there's Noah and his kin, who, of all the human race, deserved to survive. That would be the same Noah whose first crop after the Flood was wine grapes. In celebration of all the blessings bestowed upon him, he got drunk as a skunk and lay around naked. Then when his thoughtful son Ham tried to help him out by getting help to cover his [behind], Noah cursed him and his descendants forever (and God, apparently, backed up that curse (and biblical literalists have used that as a justification for slavery and segregation of blacks {whom they imagine to be "Hamites"}, among other atrocities]). Was that mean drunk the best of the human race that God could come up with? While this interpretation more than anything else reveals the bias of the skeptic , it is a passage of scripture that does seem strange. But there is a piece to this puzzle that unlocks the verses and then it becomes crystal clear why Ham was cursed. Consider this verse from Leviticus: 'The man who lies with his father's wife has uncovered his father's nakedness…' (Leviticus 20:11) Ham was not cursed for covering a naked Noah, he was cursed for sleeping with Noah's wife (his mom)! The Bible explains it in a polite fashion by describing this vile act as "uncovering Noah's nakednessâ€ÂÂ. In Christ, Fred Williams Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Of the eight football teams from the North Region that qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs, Wabash drew its most familiar foe when ESPN News announced the Little Giants would host Albion this Saturday at 12:00 p.m.
The Little Giants and Britons have met 35 times in one of Wabash's most played rivalries. In fact, the series is dead even with each team having won 17 games with one tie. The two schools played virtually every year from 1969 through 1997 when Wabash ended the rivalry after taking a 19-14 victory.
Wabash enters the playoffs with a perfect 10-0 record after Saturday's 17-14 win in the 112th Monon Bell Classic. The Britons started the season slowly, going 1-3 out of the gates, but have won the last six games to finish 7-3 overall and champions of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Oh, and Albion has a national championship in football under its belt!
On paper a 10-0 team vs. a 7-3 team might look like a mismatch. That's hardly the case. Albion overcame some tough early season opponents and injuries to finish strong. In winning their last six games of the year, the Britons averaged 49 points per game, hanging 73 on woeful Tri-State, but knocking off a good Alma team 66-27 two weeks ago. Albion comes into the playoffs riding a 36-19 victory over rival Olivet, which finished 7-3 overall.
When you break down the Britons, it's very much like looking into a Wabash mirror.
Like Wabash, Albion boasts a very talented senior quarterback in Steve Wasil (photo left), a four-year letterman and three-year starter. Wasil averages 282 yards per game and has completed 52 percent of his passes, while tossing 31 touchdowns.
But Wasil is just one piece of a very talented and potent offense that generates 457 yards per game. Like Wabash, the running game is by committee. Running backs Kyle Klyn (459 yards), Mike Gehringer (390 yards, 6 TDs), Craig Beck (377 yards, 2 TDs) and Mike Matway (3 TDs) combine to average 170 yards per game on the ground.
The similarities to Wabash are clear in the receiving corps, too. Like the Little Giants, the Britons have a stable of very fine receivers, including All-MIAA tight end Troy Rundle, who has five touchdowns among his 17 catches, and at 244 pounds is quite a load. The deep threat is split end Peter Shaw, who averages 23 yards per catch and has scored nine touchdowns. Josh Silvernail has similar ability; he averages 28 yards on his 22 catches and has scored nine times. Toss in Kevin Polnasek's 26 catches and two touchdowns, and Wabash will be facing the most prolific passing offense of the season when Albion calls on Saturday.
The offensive line isn't all that experienced, but it is huge. The left side is anchored by seniors Derek Schlaud, a 6-4, 265-pound tackle, and Steve Dehring, a 5-10, 286-pound guard. The right side features junior Kyle Robinson at 6-4 and 290 pounds, along with guard Brian Leighton, a 6-3, 301-pound sophomore. Center Andrew Popovici is the baby of the bunch; he's a 6-0, 239-pound sophomore.
Defensively, Albion gives up just 15 points per game and recorded shutouts against Hope, Wisconsin Lutheran, and Tri-State, while holding Kalamazoo to just seven points. The Britons have picked off 20 interceptions this year, recorded 74 tackles for loss, and have 29 sacks through 10 games. The team has recovered 10 fumbles, too, for a 9 turnover ratio. The defense is a classic three-man front with four linebackers. One word describes the unit: athletic.
Senior middle linebacker Raymond Burton is a handful with 57.5 tackles, a sack, and an interception. Senior safety Padriac Timmons has 55 tackles and in interception, while senior All-MIAA defensive back Zak Voss has 53 tackles and two interceptions.
Junior defensive lineman Mike Sheldon is the sackmaster with 5.5 sacks among his 33 tackles. Fellow junior Derek Tracy adds five sacks and two interceptions. Inside linebacker Tim Gough earned MIAA Player of the Week honors earlier in the season, and brings 52 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, and an interception into the playoffs.
Sophomore Tommy Lefere and junior Chase Chandler are terrific corners with four and six interceptions, respectively. Both are outstanding athletes and are physical at the line of scrimmage and fast in the open field.
Albion has long been known for having fantastic kicking special teams and this year is no exception. Kicker Brian Balzerini has booted 10-of-17 field goals with a long of 41 yards, while nailing 42-of-47 extra points. Punter Tyler Hunter isn't used all that often, but averages 38 yards when he does punt. He has a long of 64 yards and has dropped 10 punts inside the 20-yard line.
Tommy Lefere averages 18 yards per punt return, while Nick Kyriakopoulos averages 19 yards on kickoff returns.
Wasil photo courtesy of Albion College Sports Information. Photo by Albion College Biology Professor Jeff Carrier.
Tickets: No passes will be honored for this game. Ticket prices are $8 for adults and $4 for students and children. Tickets can be purchased at the Wabash College Bookstore. The Bookstore will also handle online orders, but will NOT mail them. Online ticket orders can be claimed on game day at the Will Call Window on the south side of Little Giant Stadium.
Kickoff: Set for 12:00 p.m. EST.


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Wednesday, March 17, 2010
In Good Company: Thoughts on Persuasion
Persuasion is an odd entry in Austen's bibliography. Her last novel, it is the most sober of the six, with very little of the sharp, acidic humor that characterizes most of her writing. In other Austen novels, characters like Anne's vain father Sir Walter, whose chief enjoyment is reading and rereading his family's entry in the Baronetage, and her sisters, proud Elizabeth and self-pitying Mary, would be figures of, admittedly quite barbed, fun. In Persuasion, they are grotesques, and their ridiculousness is more often used to evoke horror rather than humor--that the petty concerns and selfish passions of these worthless people should proscribe and direct nearly every decision in Anne's life. Persuasion is also the most blatantly romantic of Austen's novels. Its plot is a straightforward Cinderella story--an unappreciated but superior young woman longs for a prince to whisk her away from her unhappy life, and then he does--and the terms in which it is related are earnest and heartfelt. "You pierce my soul," Captain Wentworth writes Anne at the end of the novel. The same writer who in her other novels could never seem to write a confession of love without either stepping away ("Elizabeth ... immediately, though not very fluently, gave him to understand that her sentiments had undergone so material a change ... as to make her receive with gratitude and pleasure his present assurances.") or poking fun ("exactly at the time when it was quite natural that it should be so, and not a week earlier, Edmund did cease to care about Miss Crawford, and became as anxious to marry Fanny as Fanny herself could desire."), and usually both, here gives us such protestations as "I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you."
What's most unusual about Persuasion, however, is that unlike all of Austen's other novels it doesn't revolve around the protagonist's growth. Anne Elliot, who is unique among Austen's heroines for being a woman rather than a girl, is a finished person, and one that Austen quite obviously finds admirable. There is in Persuasion none of the not-so-gentle authorial poking and prodding that Fanny Price--probably the Austen heroine who comes closest to Anne's mixture of self-possession, selflessness, and moral rectitude--endures in her own novel, because Anne has none of Fanny's flaws. She's mature and confident enough to know her own worth and can hold her ground when it really matters. Neither does Captain Wentworth undergo a Mr. Darcy-like transformation, though one might very well be in order given that he spends the first two thirds of the book coldly ignoring Anne, insulting her to her face, and flirting with another woman in front of her (and in the process leading that woman on). Most of this is inadvertent or unwitting, but that's not usually an excuse for an Austen hero. Persuasion, however, keeps making excuses for, and trying to downplay, Wentworth's behavior, and his journey is mostly about letting go of his anger towards Anne and realizing that he still loves her. Even this revelation isn't the source of the novel's tension. There's never much doubt that, if they can only keep from attaching themselves to anyone else (never a great temptation), Anne and Wentworth's reunion will happen--"We are not boy and girl," Anne thinks, "to be captiously irritable, misled by every moment's inadvertence, and wantonly playing with our own happiness."
What Persuasion is actually about is Anne's search for a place, a group, in which she no longer has to feel alone. In one of the novel's most famous exchanges, Anne's cousin Mr. Elliot asks her what her idea of good company is. Upon hearing Anne's requirements of "clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation," he laughingly replies that "that is not good company, that is the best." But the best company is exactly what Anne, who is terribly lonely, terribly unappreciated, and terribly under-stimulated, is looking for, and Persuasion is made up of set pieces in which she moves from one social group to another (each time observing how completely the social mores and priorities change, how what seemed vital in one setting becomes a trifle in another), looking for that perfect fit. She doesn't find it in her father's cold, unloving house, where family pride trumps manners and propriety, nor among her brother-in-law's family, the Musgroves, who though warmly appreciative of her are not on her intellectual level, nor in the stuffy drawing rooms in Bath, where the gossipy, fashion-obsessed chatter rises to a deafening din. Anne finds her place among the retired officers of the British Navy.
Persuasion is a book-long paean to the navy, whose officers are described as friendly, courtly, virtuous, loyal, and intelligent. Anne is struck by these qualities in Captain Wentworth and his brother-in-law Admiral Croft, but upon falling into a whole set of former officers at Lyme, she feels "such a bewitching charm in a degree of hospitality so uncommon, so unlike the usual style of give-and-take invitations, and dinners of formality and display, that Anne felt her spirits not likely to be benefited by an increasing acquaintance among [Captain Wentworth's] fellow officers. "These would all have been my friends," was her thought". Of course, Anne can't enter the society of the navy on her own power. It's her reconciliation with and marriage to Wentworth that achieve this, and so the novel's central romance is actually a means to the end of finally placing Anne in that best company she's been longing for, of finally ending her loneliness.
There are two points that mar my enjoyment of Anne's journey from loneliness to the society of her peers. The first is that, whether intentionally or not, this journey is also one in which Anne rejects relationships with women--which dominate the circles she moves in in her father's house, among the Musgroves, and in Bath--in favor of those with men. Sisterhood, whether literal or figurative, is never an unalloyed good in Austen's novels. Even in novels like Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility, in which the heroines' relationships with women are often deeper and more significant than even the driving romance, there are negative examples of sisterhood--Lydia, Kitty, and Mary Bennet, or Lucy and Anne Steele--and in novels like Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey positive relationships between women are often drowned out by toxic ones. In Persuasion, however, there is not a single example of positive, nurturing female friendship, and most of the female characters other than Anne are deeply flawed. There are wicked, selfish women in the novel--Elizabeth, Mrs. Clay--and foolish ones--Mary and the entire Musgrove tribe--but even those women Anne thinks highly of turn out to be unsuitable as friends and confidantes.
Lady Russell is the most obvious example--the whole of Persuasion is concerned with Anne establishing firm boundaries between herself and the woman who has been like a mother to her, and whose influence over her she now views as a source of harm. Lady Russell's attempts to exert a similar influence on Anne in the second half of the novel, by persuading her to marry Mr. Elliot, are met with steely, unbending refusal, as well as a subtle weakening of Anne's regard for her mentor for failing to doubt Mr. Elliot's intentions as she does. Mrs. Smith, with whom Anne appears to have struck a friendship of equals, and who seems to be acting as Anne's friend when she provides her with concrete proof that Mr. Elliot is a cad, is actually one of the most designing characters in the novel. Even knowing Mr. Elliot's character, she encourages Anne to marry him in the hopes of advancing her own interests through their marriage, and only reveals the truth once it's clear that she has nothing to gain from lying. Given her dire straits, it's hard to blame her for grasping at any available straw, but she's hardly a moral character or a good friend. The only truly admirable female characters in the novel are the ones Anne sees from a distance, from whom she is separated from by the lack of an entry pass into their world--the navy wives, Mrs. Harville and Mrs. Croft (the latter may very well be the coolest female character in an Austen novel--she has sailed as far as the East Indies with her husband, and calmly takes the reins from him when they're out driving in their carriage). It is, however, significant that even in the absence of that pass Anne manages to strike up an intimacy with a navy man, Captain Benwick (who may be the only character in the novel she considers an intellectual equal), and that the most open, honest and emotional conversation she has with any character in the novel is with another naval officer, Captain Harville.
My second issue with Persuasion is with Anne herself, and with the fact that, at some point over the course of the novel, her loneliness comes to seem less like a predicament and more like a choice. Anne is, as I've said, a Cinderella heroine, someone who is put-upon and unappreciated. But Anne is no Fanny Price, an emotionally battered, financially dependent, mousy person who probably can't bring herself to speak out against her mistreatment. Neither is she Elinor Dashwood, who suffers silently until she's dealt one blow too many and then explodes with anger and frustration. It's true that her position as a single woman in Regency England means that the choices available to Anne are not so much broader than the ones available to Fanny. She can't just pick up and leave a setting that doesn't suit her, but I'm not sure that she wants to. I think that Persuasion wants us to think of Anne as saintly, someone who can put up with her father's vanity, her sisters' pride or dependence, her in-laws' silliness, without losing her patience or composure, but the superiority with which Anne views almost everyone she encounters in the novel belies this approach. There is something off-putting about being the sort of person who spends their life believing themselves to be superior to everyone else and detaching themselves from their surroundings because of that belief, even if it is entirely justified. It smacks of not trying hard enough to find one's own level. Anne seems to enjoy being the smartest person in the room, the one who sees and silently laughs at everyone else's foibles and weaknesses, a little too much, and the novel lets her get away with this.
We are enjoined, of course, from mistaking characters for their author, and lord knows that Jane Austen has suffered from this fallacious tendency far more than most, but it's impossible to know more than a little of her life and not wonder just how much of Austen, or of her idealized image of herself, there is in Anne. It's easy to imagine Austen as the smartest person in the room, as someone whose superiority over others was a source of both pleasure and loneliness. Is this why Anne is missing the flaws that makes Austen's other heroines so human and so real? Is this why she's inhumanly saintly where a real person in her position would be just a little bit wicked? I'm dipping my toes in forbidden waters and so I'll stop, but whether or not I'm on the right track, the fact remains that there's something not quite right about Anne Elliot, something that stops Persuasion, despite being one of Austen's finest technical achievements, and one of the most romantic stories I've ever read (I swoon at Captain Wentworth's letter. Every time), from quite working. In the novel's penultimate chapter, Anne glides through her father's house in Bath, rapturously waiting for Captain Wentworth to formally ask for her hand in marriage, benevolently observing the characters who have imposed on her throughout the novel: "Mr. Elliot was there; she avoided, but she could pity him. The Wallises -- she had amusement in understanding them. Lady Dalrymple and Miss Carteret -- they would soon be innoxious cousins to her. She cared not for Mrs. Clay, and had nothing to blush for in the public manners of her father and sister." Ignoring them, she finds a quiet corner, and talks about the past with Captain Wentworth. It's hard not to think that, instead of finally finding her good company, Anne has found someone with whom she can feel superior, someone to be alone in a crowd with.
24 comments:
Thanks for this, Abigail. I've long found Persuasion to be among my least favourite of Jane Austen's novels, partly because of the feeling that so little actually _happens_. But I'm going to try it again in light of your thoughts, and hopefully I'll have a better handle on Anne this time.
By the way, If you were interested in writing it, I'd love to see an article by you on how much you have, or haven't come to terms with the Keira Knightley P&P. Having now watched it many times, I am charmed despite its flaws; I wonder whether you've been equally succeptable?
- March 17, 2010 3:54 PM
- Kate said...
Thank you for this. I'm always happy to discuss anything about Jane Austen, and I've always liked "Persuasion." Although I'd never considered Anne as lost until she finds Navy society, I think you are right in your assessment. Some of Anne's best characteristics are revealed with Cpt Benwick. I look fwd to rereading "Persuasion" with this perspective in mind.
I would also agree with you that "Persuasion" is mostly about Cpt Wentworth's change from resentment and pain back to renewal of his love for Anne. The novel works best for me when the steps of Wentworth's changes are delineated clearly. The scene you mention, where Anne overhears Louisa Musgrove explaining to Wentworth that Anne refused Charles Musgrove on the advice of Lady Russell, is the most problematic for me. I never understand why Austen made the choice to stick Lady Russell in there. We know that Anne has come to regret following Lady Russell's advice about refusing Wentworth. We know that Anne's character would lead her to refuse Charles because she didn't love him and would never belong with him. I want Anne to have refused Charles due to her own judgement, and I want Wentworth to hear at this moment that Anne went against Lady Russell's advice, indicating to him how Anne has changed. Every time I read the book I expect the scene to play out according to my order, as if I'd misread the scene each time before. Critically, Wentworth's behavior toward Anne changes after this moment, as if he heard the scene the way I've described it! After Louisa's speech Wentworth attends to Anne and hands her up into his sister's carriage for the ride home, one of the novel's many romantic moments.
Perhaps, as you say, the open romanticism in "Persuasion" is the reason I like it so much. When you quote Austen's pitiful moments of romance-resolution in her other novels you leave out Emma's acceptance of Mr. Knightley, the most disappointing let-down in romance-writing history. When Mr. Knightley proclaims his love, what does Emma say? "Just what she ought, of course. A lady always does." Ack. "Persuasion"'s open-hearted details make it so enjoyable.
Perhaps each Austen novel suits a certain emotion. "Emma" is one of the easiest to reread because it's emotions are met every day. "Mansfield Park" is one of the most unpleasant to read because it's dark view of society is so depressing. "Persuasion," then, is appropriately enjoyed only occasionally. It's romanticism, and loneliness, are not to be experienced regularly.
- March 17, 2010 5:19 PM
I fail to understand how the book can be simultaneously all about Anne's search for "the best company," and yet show her "not trying hard enough to find one's own level." Either can be true; both cannot. I've always read "Persuasion" as being about the reawakening of Wentworth's love, and Anne's hope. At the beginning of the book, she has been too depressed and confined to seek out new possibilities for her life, but once the family is finally jarred from its house and she is out in the world, she begins searching in earnest -- and, appealingly, her ability to imagine a better and more vital life for herself reawakens before her hopes of reuniting with Wentworth.
- March 17, 2010 10:01 PM
- James said...
It's great to read your assessment of Persuasion, an underrated entry in Austen's canon, but I have to disagree a bit with your take on Anne. I don't read her as being nearly as smug in her superiority as you seem to; I instead go very much along with the above comment that calls her depressed, unhappy in her isolation. I'd have to do a bit of digging through the text to support this assertion, of course, which I'm too lazy to undertake now.
You say "Anne seems to enjoy being the smartest person in the room, the one who sees and silently laughs at everyone else's foibles and weaknesses, a little too much, and the novel lets her get away with this." This reminded me very much of a similar line in the movie "Broadcast News," when Holly Hunter's character is sarcastically admonished, "It must be nice to always believe you know better, to always think you're the smartest person in the room." and she earnestly replies, "No, it's awful."
- March 18, 2010 4:47 AM
- MJS said...
Insightful as always, and I'm intrigued by this view of Anne, who has always struck me as Austen's final attempt at autobiography. I know, I know, this is folly - but the point remains, that there is something about Anne Elliott that smells like vindication. And the fact that Persuasion is undoubtedly the most romantic of Austen's novels lends credence to the idea that she was writing Anne as though experiencing her life, instead of commenting on it as she had with her other heroines.
I can't help but read Persuasion and feel the finality. There's a sense of adulthood that permeates it, so much so that when I was younger I couldn't tolerate it. I wanted the relative joviality of the other novels; Anne I couldn't stand until I had tasted some of her lonely experience, or imagine that I had.
I wonder, too, if Anne Elliott and a pre-Collins Charlotte Lucas aren't kindred spirits, if Charlotte is just the cynical version of Anne.
Now I want to reread Persuasion. Never a bad thing, inspiring a Jane Austen reread!
- March 18, 2010 4:59 AM
It's almost sad how thrilled I was to come into your journal and see another post on Austen! I know you primarily write about science fiction and contemporary fiction but I adore hearing your thoughts about older works of art. I actually may have clapped my hands at seeing this post up!
Additionally, I really enjoyed that point you made about Anne's superiority to pretty much everyone else in Jane Austen's oeuvre. Like you said, even Fanny Price gets mocked (albeit gently) by Austen in her role as narrator. The closest Anne gets to a fault is when she admits that she takes some pleasure at seeing Wentworth realize that her "indecisiveness" might be better than Louisa's hastiness after Louisa's fault-- and even then, she backtracks hastily.
On the other hand, I do feel that Anne gets saved from insipidity because the people around her truly *are* so utterly self-serving and wretched and unable to comprehend her-- and her circumstances at the beginning of the story (losing her bloom, having to deal with losing her home) make her captive to her family and their ridiculous ways.
It really does seem that the more morally 'correct' an Austen heroine is, the more pitiable and long-suffering she must be to counterbalance. And following your thoughts on Anne being a bit of an expy of Austen herself, Anne's concern of losing her youthful 'bloom' and being trapped in insipid company seem likely to echo Austen's own...
- March 18, 2010 8:56 AM
- Abigail Nussbaum said...
I wrote about Knightley Pride and Prejudice around the time it came out. You can find that post here. I'm afraid I wasn't very impressed - it struck me as an attempt to pour Austen's story into a Wuthering Heights-type mold.
Kaffee Beast:
I think your reading of the conversation between Captain Wentworth and Louisa is wrong. Louisa says that "papa and mamma always think it was her great friend Lady Russell's doing, that [Anne refused Charles]. They think Charles might not be learned and bookish enough to please Lady Russell, and that, therefore, she persuaded Anne to refuse him." But in chapter 3, when the facts of Charles Musgrove's proposal are related, we're told that
"She had been solicited, when about two-and-twenty, to change her name by the young man who not long afterwards found a more willing mind in her younger sister: and Lady Russell had lamented her refusal; for Charles Musgrove was the eldest son of a man whose landed property and general importance were second in that country only to Sir Walter's, and of good character and appearance; and however Lady Russell might have asked yet for something more, while Anne was nineteen she would have rejoiced to see her at twenty-two so respectably removed from the partialities and injustice of her father's house, and settled so permanently near herself. But in this case Anne had left nothing for advice to do;"
As you say, Captain Wentworth hears Louisa's version of the story, and we know that later, once he realizes that he is still in love with Anne, he takes courage from the knowledge that she'd refused Charles Musgrove: "I knew to a certainty that you had refused one man, at least, of better pretensions than myself; and I could not help often saying, 'Was this for me?'" That could be the reason that he's more courtly towards Anne after that conversation, though it isn't the first time that he comes to her aid in Uppercross - he rescues her from her nephew several chapters earlier.
I fail to understand how the book can be simultaneously all about Anne's search for "the best company," and yet show her "not trying hard enough to find one's own level."
Perhaps I shouldn't have used the word 'search,' then, because none of Anne's changes of scene are self-motivated. She's moved about by other people's choices. The novel's plot is kickstarted by Sir Walter having to rent out Kellynch because of his inability to live within his means, Anne stays in Uppercross because Elizabeth and Mary decide between them that she should nurse and keep Mary company, the trip to Lyme is Louisa and Henrietta Musgrove's idea, and Bath is where Sir Walter and Elizabeth have moved to.
I do agree that there's a process of awakening for Anne over the course of the novel - it's most prominently noted in the improvement of her health and appearance - but it's the result of circumstances outside of Anne's control.
- March 18, 2010 9:26 AM
- Abigail Nussbaum said...
I instead go very much along with the above comment that calls her depressed, unhappy in her isolation
Unhappy, yes, but depressed, especially in the sense that we use that word today, I think not. Anne's reserves of patience and fortitude are much too deep for someone in the grips of depression.
This reminded me very much of a similar line in the movie "Broadcast News," when Holly Hunter's character is sarcastically admonished, "It must be nice to always believe you know better, to always think you're the smartest person in the room." and she earnestly replies, "No, it's awful."
I think my point is that for Anne, and possibly for Austen as well, it's both.
I can't help but read Persuasion and feel the finality.
What strikes me is that the book was written in 1816, only a year before Austen died and at a time when she was already beginning to feel the effects of the illness that would kill her.
An interesting observation about Charlotte Lucas, whom I've come to think of a sort of sinister, shadowy figure that dogs Pride and Prejudice and indeed all of Austen's novels. It's hard to imagine Anne Elliot succumbing to that cynicism - she's written to be above those sentiments - but I suppose it's not impossible.
I do feel that Anne gets saved from insipidity because the people around her truly *are* so utterly self-serving and wretched and unable to comprehend her
That, and the fact that she does have a sense of humor about herself - when she meets Captain Benwick, for example, she earnestly implores him to put the past behind him and embrace life, then observes the irony of giving that kind of advice to someone else when she's been so bad at following it herself.
- March 18, 2010 9:27 AM
I do think it is interesting that Persuasion was written as Jane Austen became terminally ill, because I see it as a repudiation of illness and decline. In Mansfield Park there was a suggestion that vitality was not quite proper, and that weakness and insipidity were almost equivalent to fastidiousness and good breeding.
As Austen struggles with her own illness she magnificently rejects this tempting vision. Anne is sinking into anaemic decline but through the course of the book she shakes it off and becomes full-blooded.
- March 18, 2010 5:05 PM
Persuasion is my favorite entry of the Austen canon.
As you noticed, it further sharpens Austen's critique of 'sisterhood.'
It's also one of the few Austen stories where I don't wind up feeling more than a little sorry for the girl's roped-in beau at the end.
- March 21, 2010 5:36 AM
- Foxessa said...
I cannot agree with your reading of Anne Eliot's character as enjoying being the smartest person in the room. I have read this novel countless times, at all stages of my life experience, and never ever got an inkling of that reading. And she is dependent, without independent financial means. What will happen when her father dies -- if she hasn't married? She will have to live, likely, with the Musgroves.
What you are reading as a flaw in in her character may be that condition of the novel itself, as unfinished, when Austen died. There hadn't been an opportunity for the last finishing touches, the corrections, the additions, the deletions.
Love, C.
- March 21, 2010 10:47 PM
- Abigail Nussbaum said...
That Anne is a dependent is clearly important, and I don't mean to imply that she has chosen to stay with her inferiors or indeed that she has that choice. But as I say in the post, she isn't as downtrodden as Fanny Price or as frustrated as Elinor Dashwood, which leaves only two ways to read her calm acceptance of her situation as her family's unappreciated caretaker - either she's a saint, or there's a part of her that likes that position. Which, to be honest, I think is only to be expected. How could someone - especially someone who has no means of expressing their intelligence or accomplishments - help developing a dependence on other people's dependence on them, on their superiority to others?
I'm wary of assuming that Persuasion is an incomplete work. Austen finished the novel in August 1816, and at the time of her death, nearly a year later, had already started and been forced by illness to abandon another novel, Sanditon.
- March 22, 2010 10:35 AM
- ibmiller said...
Fascinating reading against the grain! I've never thought to read Anne this way before - though it may well add an interesting perspective to Austen's comment that "pictures of perfection make me sick & wicked" (probably a paraphrase), and that Anne is "almost too good for me." However, I tend to think that Anne is intended as an admirable, likable character.
I tend to think Persuasion is indeed at least partly unfinished, but mostly unrelated to Anne. My reasons for feeling a lack are in the characterization of Lady Russell, who I believe was intended to be more sympathetic, and various structural elements which indicate there were going to be a third volume with at least one major event. However, the fact that there is Sanditon after Persuasion was at the very least set aside is a good point.
I am a bit confused as to your characterizing Elinor Dashwood as someone who explodes in anger and frustration - Emma Thompson's Elinor certain does this, but it's actually one of the reasons I find her portrayal disappointing, for all its skill and depth. I don't see Elinor every exploding - she does feel more than she thought she felt, but her reaction in the text seems to be more along the lines of turning very white or running out the room and crying.
- March 22, 2010 5:49 PM
- Foxessa said...
Part of Anne's care taking is that she cares deeply for their home, the estate, and the people dependent upon it for their living. She is living up to her mother's memory, whom Anne evidently resembles greatly in character, if not, perhaps? in physical features?, and whose memory Anne' loves tenderly. This is one of the reasons Lady Russell so cares for Anne. She loved Anne's mother and she loves her mother in Anne.
Austen had written at least one other ending to Persuasion, btw, in which things didn't end so happily as they do in our, now, canon version. This last chapter was also 'finished' by someone else -- I don't recollect exactly at the moment -- but it wasn't really finished, as we think of finished.
From my own novel writing experience, I know I've often finished the last chapter after I turned in the ms. Rewrote it a great deal after that.
I still don't see Anne as seeing herself as self-sacrificing or the smartest person in the room.
Love, C.
- March 22, 2010 10:55 PM
I've been waiting for you to write about Persuasion, my favorite Austen novel. Anne is the Austen heroine I most identify with--I'd like to be Lizzie, but really I'm Anne, who does the dutiful thing, but secretly harbors less than generous thoughts about the ones she's doing it for. She's a very admirable, very likable character, but not a perfect one.
- March 23, 2010 6:44 PM
- The Rush Blog said...
Anne Elliot is as downtrodden as Fanny Price or Elinor Dashwood. However, a good of this behavior stemmed from Anne's own tendency to allow others - especially Lady Russell - to exert influence upon her. Because of this tendency, marital happiness with Fredrick Wentworth eluded Anne for years. I would not be surprised if this had emotionally affected her.
Only when she finally learned to think for herself - as she did in Bath when she disregarded her father's wants and decided to visit her old friend, Mrs. Smith; and when she disregarded Lady Russell's attempts to persuade her to consider William Elliot as a future husband - did Anne grow as an individual.
For me, the main problem with "PERSUASION" was the character of William Elliot. I found it unnecessary for Austen to make him another member of her gallery of rogues. This did not exactly make him an effective rival against Wentworth for Anne's affections and hand in marriage.
- August 28, 2010 9:37 PM
I've never forgotten this post, because I've never gotten over my disappointment at seeing you condemn a woman as arrogant for the crime of simply admitting her own intelligence. Anne is demonstrably clever and quick-witted; many of the people around her demonstrably are not. She observes this. Because she does not apologize for it, you condemn her. I mean, pop culture loves to tear women down for no greater crime, but my error was apparently in expecting better from you.
- September 23, 2010 11:37 PM
- Abigail Nussbaum said...
I'm sorry that this post upset you, but I don't think that your reading of it is accurate. I'm not tearing Anne down or even condemning her - I'm criticizing her. And my problem with her is not that she admits her intelligence, but that on some level it seems to me that she prefers to be the big fish in the small pond.
- September 24, 2010 11:07 AM
I've only just found your blog and am really enjoying reading your posts on Austen. What you said about Persuasion being the most harsh on the idea of sisterhood makes me wonder. When young, Austen's sister Cassandra's fiance died, and Cassandra kind of hurried into a widowhood - wearing drab clothes, sitting to the side at dances, etc. And Austen stuck like glue to her, especially after Lefroy left. I wonder if by later in her life (and when Persuasion was written she was living in a house with her mum, sister and another female friend) she was simply tired of non-stop female company. It's not as though many women then had the chance for real friendship with a man, but they usually had more variety in their company at least.
- June 09, 2011 5:08 PM
Just found your blog and have really been enjoying poking around in its archives.
I'm having a little trouble understanding the point in this essay though - these interpretations of Anne seem to be two parts to a whole human. The quote about her inner thoughts at the end is quoted like an indictment, but there really is nothing like getting out from under the thumb of other people. A little "Sayonara b*tches!" seems like a pretty normal reaction, not an example of extreme smugness. It doesn't matter if she knows these people mean well for her, or the times they crush her are because of faults not intention, it's hard not to have a little resentment at being held to those whims. It's part of living in close quarters. Should she not have felt relief or vindication? I'm having a hard time thinking of any other reaction any personality could have had.
Also, if she really enjoyed being the big fish in the small pond, then it would have been a very different novel. Someone like that lowballs their company, so she wouldn't have stayed true to her heart without expectations of reward, but would have gone on to marry someone she can push around and then lord it over anyone she could. If she truly enjoyed her predicament, why would she pursue an escape when she was placed near that opportunity? It's a really long leap between knowing she's the smartest person in the room and being smug about it. I feel like it's a little unfair to criticize her for seeing these vain, grasping people she's surrounded by as anything other than they are. To forgive them would be saintly, but that would also be insufferable and...smug.
I chalked up the inordinate amount of awful people around Anne to mechanics rather than Anne not trying to find her level. As you said, she doesn't really have a choice in matters like where she is or who she associates with. The novel is about persuasion, it would be interesting to have a positive mentor or friend whose persuasions help Anne, but it would dilute that angle of the story quite a bit.
-ck (sorry for the anon, don't have a blogspot account)
- February 04, 2012 10:17 AM
- nanowrimo said...
Having recently read Persuasion for what must have been the twentieth time, my obsessive nature took over, relegating me to hunt unabashedly through the internet to further feed my imagination on the stories of Anne Elliot and her world. Thereby bringing me here, to this post.
Though I'm constantly picking a new favorite Austen novel (being heavily dependent on which one I've read last), Persuasion, and Anne Elliot in particular, have always held a special place in my heart. Perhaps it is the heavily romantic undertones which I love, but I've also held up Anne, Elinor Dashwood, and Eleanor Tilney as the Austen heroines I would most like to become. I admire their intelligence, empathy, and forbearance. Or perhaps as Austen would put it, their "elegance of mind, principle of judgement, and warmth of affection".
That having been said, your evaluation of Anne was inevitably thought-provoking and interesting. Going through the novel, I can't help but notice multiple proofs of what you've said. Anne even states that she was saved "by some feeling of superiority from wishing for the possibility of exchange, she would not have given up her own more elegant and cultivated mind for all their (Musgroves) enjoyment".
And yet, I feel that I can't stop from loving Anne. I never saw Anne as feeling happy to be smarter than other people. I always understood her as feeling safe with those she already knew. After losing her mother and then Wentworth, I think Anne was afraid of what would happen if she put herself out there again. She felt safer to keep her musings and hurt to herself, surrounding herself with people whose motives she already understood so that she would know how best to hide herself from them. Her fascination with the Navy and attraction to Wentworth is dependent on their honest and frank relationships. She longs for a similar sphere where no one judges anyone else, and acceptance is found in being true to yourself. She values Wentworth's open heart to Mr. Elliot's discerning intelligence, which belies (at least to me) the notion of her smug smartness. Anne's flaws, then, are not just yielding to persuasion, but in letting the sadness of her separation from Wentworth overpower her desire to direct her own happiness.
I do, however, agree about the inconstancy of female companionship, but I think that's a general observation that can be applied to most of Austen's novels.
I apologize for the long post, but what you said really made me re-evaluate my favorite character. It's what I love about reading Austen. There is such complexity in all her heroines that one never can stop learning from them!
- October 27, 2013 4:45 AM
- Unknown said...
Here are two examples of Anne being "real",
"She felt that she could so much more depend upon the sincerity of those who sometimes looked or said a careless or a hasty thing, than of those whose presence of mind never varied, whose tongue never slipped."
― Jane Austen, Persuasion
"When the evening was over, Anne could not but be amused at the idea of her coming to Lyme, to preach patience and resignation to a young man whom she had never seen before; nor could she help fearing, on more serious reflection, that, like many other great moralists and preachers, she had been eloquent on a point in which her own conduct would ill bear examination."
I think that Anne is the contradiction to the "superior" attitude her family takes, in more ways than one. Her family feels they are of such consequence, which she doesn't, (she is upset about the house being rented out, but with good reason, her dad is a douche and had no repentance) and she chooses to visit her friend instead of social engagements. I can accept certain aspects of her wanting to feel like the smart person, but when speaking with the Cpt they talk of things they both have an interest in , reading. I am not sure why her not feigning an interest in social gatherings and things of no consequence (in her mind) like when she speaks with Lady Russell about small talk, is any superiority, its more real than other characters attempts at being in social situations they might not want to be in. Anne isn't a girl, she is a women, who at that point in her life knew and accepted what she felt her place was (and I only mean in how dismissive her family was to her and how she was mostly ignored) wow I just had a thought, maybe that is a reason she was so aloof, her family treated her poorly ?...
- January 27, 2014 5:02 AM
- Unknown said...
Here are two examples of Anne being "real",
"She felt that she could so much more depend upon the sincerity of those who sometimes looked or said a careless or a hasty thing, than of those whose presence of mind never varied, whose tongue never slipped."
― Jane Austen, Persuasion
"When the evening was over, Anne could not but be amused at the idea of her coming to Lyme, to preach patience and resignation to a young man whom she had never seen before; nor could she help fearing, on more serious reflection, that, like many other great moralists and preachers, she had been eloquent on a point in which her own conduct would ill bear examination."
I think that Anne is the contradiction to the "superior" attitude her family takes, in more ways than one. Her family feels they are of such consequence, which she doesn't, (she is upset about the house being rented out, but with good reason, her dad is a douche and had no repentance) and she chooses to visit her friend instead of social engagements. I can accept certain aspects of her wanting to feel like the smart person, but when speaking with the Cpt they talk of things they both have an interest in , reading. I am not sure why her not feigning an interest in social gatherings and things of no consequence (in her mind) like when she speaks with Lady Russell about small talk, is any superiority, its more real than other characters attempts at being in social situations they might not want to be in. Anne isn't a girl, she is a women, who at that point in her life knew and accepted what she felt her place was (and I only mean in how dismissive her family was to her and how she was mostly ignored) wow I just had a thought, maybe that is a reason she was so aloof, her family treated her poorly ?...
- January 27, 2014 5:03 AM
- The Rush Blog said...
Even in novels like Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility, in which the heroines' relationships with women are often deeper and more significant than even the driving romance, there are negative examples of sisterhood--Lydia, Kitty, and Mary Bennet, or Lucy and Anne Steele--and in novels like Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey positive relationships between women are often drowned out by toxic ones.
That is only normal. Not all relationships between women - whether related or not - are going to be positive. The same rule apply to men.
- November 18, 2016 11:37 PM


text: From the department of truly horrendous ideas: Brad Pitt will star in a "futuristic" version of The Odyssey, Homer's classic epic poem about Odysseus' struggle to get home. The story of Odysseus' struggles with the cyclops, Circe, and sirens will be translated to an outer-space setting. Pitt is making the film with Warner Bros., which also made Troy, his film based on Homer's Iliad. George Miller is in line to direct, which is the best reason yet to hope Miller's Justice League film comes out of development hell soon. [Variety]


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Miley Cyrus: It's 'Selfish' That You Expect Me to Be a Parent to Young Fans!
Do you think Miley should complain about the pressures of being a role model?
Miley Cyrus knows the responsibilities that come with fame, but sometimes the expectations of being a tween role model are just too much to handle.
"My job is to be a role model, and that's what I want to do, but my job isn't to be a parent," the pop star, 17, says in Harper's Bazaar's February 2010 issue. "My job isn't to tell your kids how to act or how not to act because I'm still figuring that out for myself."
Miley's definitely acted out as only teenagers can … like the racy photos she posted on her MySpace account in April 2008 or the time when she pole danced during a performance at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards. But the starlet says she shouldn't be criticized for setting a bad example, and that people should just leave her alone so that she can figure out who she wants to be.
"To take that away from me is a bit selfish," she says. "Your kids are going to make mistakes whether I do or not. That's just life."
Miley also wants us to know that there was nothing wrong with her now infamous Vanity Fair shoot (pictures above) back in April 2008 with famed photographer Annie Leibovitz. "Here, my parents are thinking they're seeing a beautiful photograph by a major photographer, and the people of America want to see something dirty in that?" she says about posing in a bed sheet. "It doesn't make sense to us because [my family] doesn't look for negativity."
And while negativity may have followed her, Miley found an escape route: Jetting to Georgia in the summer of 2009 to film The Last Song. She recalls crying on the plane ride there and telling her mom how happy she was to be getting out of L.A. But the best part about spending time in the South? "I did karaoke. I danced. All this stuff would've been such a big deal in Los Angeles: Who's she with? Why is she dancing? I felt so alive and real [there]."
We get your point, Miley. Most 17 year olds should be able to have a little fun without being constantly scrutinized!
Get More on Miley Cyrus:


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In two recent posts, "You're right. Both Tel Aviv and Riyadh play us like violins" and "The other Tom's Sunday column," Tom Barnett appears to lay the groundwork for supporting, or at least being indifferent to, a war on Iran. I don't mean to say that Tom has a secret agenda, or even that he embraces the logical result of his thinking. Nonetheless, the conclusion that naturally flows from his writing is a command to opponents of offensive operations against Iran: take it easy.
Working backwards, Barnett seconds New York Times columnist Tom Friedman's call for a 9/12 President. The 9/11 emergency, so goes the argument, is over. This is because emergencies are ruled by terrorists, but policy is ruled by states. We are in this for the long haul. This means getting back to normal, and letting the American system that works so well in generating wealth and happiness function. National security will take care of itself, as it always has, because we are the biggest and best country on the block.
But earlier, Tom notes that the Israeli and Saudi governments are manipulating our policy towards Iran. While the Jewish and Wahabi States are not fans of each other, both fear the rise of Iran more than they fear each other. So both advocate, using whatever means they can, for an American strike on Iran.
What a 9/12 President would do is obvious: attack Iran.
Barnett has opposed war with Iran before on the grounds that it would wreck the "big bang effect" caused by the Iraq War. I assume, that when Tom appears to endorse ludicrous ideas (like Friedman's line of "I will not vote for any candidate who is not committed to dismantling Guantánamo Bay and replacing it with a free field hospital for poor Cubans"), Barnett is actually America's governmental infrastructure (especially when it comes to national security) is sufficiently readjusted to the point where just playing for time makes sense. (America famously used the playing-for-time strategy in the Cold War.)
But if we are now playing for time, that means allowing the instability in the middle east to unfold as it will. It means that we no longer need a president who focuses on those problems, but one who allows our response to do the work for him. The rise of Iran surely is a consequence of the take-down of Iraq, as is the push-back from Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Of course, it was dysfunction in the Sunni Arab world that led to 9/11. But Iran's been deeply involved in the Sunni Arab system since 1980, at the latest. The Iranian government is just as much part of that violently dysfunctional systems as Iraq's Saudi Arabia's, or Syria's. A "9/12" President would treat the middle east as just another part of the world, and if our two closest allies in any region are threatened by a rogue enemy, would he act as an ally does or think deeply about what that means for transformative, systemic, change?
The former, of course.


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Please be kind to my bandwidth, and remember that if you browse any of the rest of my website, it's still completely a work in progress.
edit: I will no longer be able to host this. Sorry.
Why so? Is it the same dilemma as Java programmers relying on "System.out" to show stuff while debugging?
If you're interested in outputting stuff to the user, I personally use JQuery to replace a div/textbox's text.


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<![CDATA[Today, the 29th of April, is the third wedding anniversary of Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
On this day in 2011, Prince William married Miss Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey. It was an event watched by nearly 2 billion people worldwide. Since then, the royal couple have spent many happy moments together, gone on three foreign tours, and had one son, Prince George of Cambridge.
Their third wedding anniversary comes just a few days after the family of three returned from their extremely successful tour of Australia and New Zealand. This year's anniversary is special as it will be the first anniversary that the new parents celebrate after the birth of their son last July.
Tradition says that a married couple should exchange gifts of leather on their third wedding anniversary. However, before embarking on their visit Down Under, Prince William reportedly gave his wife a Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch embedded with a sapphire to match her engagement ring and is worth £3,600. Cartier watches have a special significance to William as his late mother, Princess Diana, also wore a Cartier watch and had one specially engraved for William as a birthday present. Kate was seen wearing her new anniversary present on every day of the tour.
The Duke and Duchess have spent their past two wedding anniversaries apart. Last year, Kate performed a solo engagement in Hampshire while William was on shift at his job as a Search and Rescue pilot for the RAF. This year, it seems that the couple will enjoy a quiet day together with their family.
From everyone here at Royal Central we wish William and Catherine a very happy anniversary!
Photo credit: Defence Images via photopin cc]]>


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Well, happy Holidays and New Year. For those that care, miislita.com site is getting a new host. We are doing some house cleaning in the site. That's why it will not be available for now. Expect new great things in 2013. In the meantime, enjoy your staying at this blog.
Happy Holidays & New Year, and things to come
12 Wednesday Dec 2012
Posted Newsin


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Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Dry Run
The "Pinging" sound of metal bats was odd. Only a few thousand were in attendance. And the final score really wasn't what this afternoon was all about. Today--Our Washington Nationals opened New Nationals Park with a special match up. George Washington University played St. Josephs in the first baseball game ever played on South Capitol Street. The Dry Run set up to test whether the new ballpark is ready for Prime Time on Opening Night--March 30th. The African Queen and I were not going to miss it.
Did New Nationals Park ever look nice!! Wide expansive walkways, clean sightlines--clear of obstructions with Neon Lit Concession Signs standing out along the Main Concourse. The Playing Field--pristine green. The Sound System--Loud. You could rarely understand the words being spoken over the P.A. at RFK Stadium. At New Nationals Park--that's not going to be a problem. Even inside the Glass Enclosed Diamond Club--you could clearly hear what was being said.
At 1:05PM "Let's Play Ball" was heard and The First Pitch in New Nationals Park History was delivered. The Game was on. And while these two college teams tested the playing field-- Sohna and I sampled the facility.
But not before running into, seemingly, all our friends from RFK Stadium. Officials, Ushers, Security Personnel, Concession Workers--and of course--MY BEST FRIEND!! SCREECH!!, Clint, The NatPack--and Nats320 Cub Reporter--Tom (doing his best imitation to usher The African Queen across the Baseball Alter). Old Home Week began this afternoon. The greetings, hugs and laughter--made the day. Everyone on deck to check out the new South Capitol Street Digs--but fondly remembering all the goods times we spent together on East Capitol Street.
Without missing a beat--The African Queen and I felt like no time had lapsed between baseball seasons. And when we started up the First "LET TEDDY WIN!! Chant in the 4th inning--all was back to normal. Of course Teddy came up short once again--as George--Surprise, Surprise--won The Very First Presidents Race at New Nationals Park. Although, Our Lovable Loser Embraced The Love again--His Hearing of that Great Chant--Let Teddy Win!!. Let Teddy Win!!" raised Teddy's Spirit. Really, everything was back to normal. Fun was at hand--over baseball. Only Our Washington Nationals were missing.
Today--all patrons were limited to The Main Concourse. No Upper Deck, No Club Level or President's Club Seating Available. But, anyone could stroll completely around the new ballyard's main seating bowl. There was alot to see, view and take in--and that's what The African Queen and I enjoyed the most--exploring.
Nothing more special than The PNC Diamond Club. Located directly behind Home Plate--this facility a steep upgrade from the one at RFK Stadium. The 1924 World Series Bar, The Vintage Baseball Artwork (recreations), with some seriously nice food offerings.
Centerplate has upped the ante at New Nationals Park. Executive Chef Michael Snead sent out some nice choices today. Salmon with Dill Sauce, a terrific Lean Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry, Orange and Fruity Chutney, Baked Ravioli, Chicken Wraps, Quiche, Sauteed Vegetables and a very fresh Spinach and Greens salad, crumbled blue cheese on top. Nice stuff and well appointed. Nothing looked overcooked or unsavory. The dessert table--to die for--Raspberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Brownies, Fruit Tarts, M&M Cupcakes, among others. What a difference from Aramark's work at RFK Stadium (and yes Tom--SBF is writing this food review this time--not The AQ. Tom understands the fun of that statement).
But nothing beat the sizzle of the Half Smoke. The smell, the sound of a new ballpark being born today.
And anyone there had to love the neon signs. Art Deco--at it's best. The Greens, The Blues, The Reds and Yellows. If someone had added in some Glass Brick--The 1940's & 1950's could be relived. During checkout at any concession stand--Our Washington Nationals have implemented a credit card swipe machine. Just flash your card and your purchase is instantly paid for. No worries about having that extra cash now. No greenbacks needed to enjoy the food--including Curly "W" Red Sundaes (at $5 a pop).
The HDTV Scoreboard--just stood out. The Sight of Our Manager Manny Acta displayed answering a series of questions between innings--very funny. As always, this Most Charismatic of Men showed his lighter side. When asked what his first job was, he replied: "Watering Plants at a Nursery." Favorite Food? "Steamed Cabbage made by My Mom!!" (laughing) You just got to love a guy like that!! He's serious on the job--but also understands the fun of the game.
Other Highlights:
Most every column surrounding The Main Concourse is covered right now, awaiting an unveiling, Artist Renditions of Hall of Fame Players. Some of these wrapped columns showing what Baseball Great will be displayed on them. My understanding is that the only Non-Hall of Fame Player to be depicted is MY FAVORITE PLAYER OF ALL TIME!!--Frank Howard. Sandy Koufax and Jackie Robinson were two ready to be shown.
As a gift from Our Dear Friend Richard--Sohna received an Autographed Baseball signed by The Entire George Washington University Baseball Team. The First Team, to not only play at New Nationals Park--but Win. Yes, The Colonials won this affair 9-4. Do we call this victory--another Curly "GW" In The Books? Charlie--any help would be appreciated.
Ticket Holders were given a George Washington Racing Presidents Bobblehead (the same one as given out in 2007), along with a fabulous Full Size Poster of Our Washington Nationals 2008 Schedule with Promotions. This was nice, produced on heavy, quality cardboard and suitable for framing. Hopefully, Nats Fans can pick up one of these--at a later date--it's worth having.
The Gift Shops weren't open, nor The Kid's Strike Zone--but once everything is operable--did you know you can Build Your Own Screech?!! The Build A Bear--Screech Workshop!! I think The African Queen and I might attempt to tailor Our Best Friend!!--one day. One Fan telling Sohna--as his young son attempted to get into the jungle gym: "I know I am not going to be watching much of the game, as I will be spending alot of my time here in the Kids Section."
Outside New Nationals Park--a tribute to Washington's Baseball Past. A series of important years in DC's Baseball History are engraved on the sidewalk leading into The Home Plate Gate. To their side--Monuments--explaining the dates importance. This Section was roped off--as construction is not complete--but the dates shown included 1859, 1910, 1924, 1937, 1948, 1961, 1971 & 2005. We would have loved to check out the details, but couldn't--next time for sure.
Finally, outside New Nationals Park--Red Curly "W" Bike Racks. Another form of transportation--they look nice--but will there be security? Yes.
Sohna and I enjoyed today's visit. You might not be able to see any of Washington's Historic Landmarks from the Main Concourse--but it did not take away from the simplistic beauty of Our New Ballyard. No it's not 100% ready, but good enough for Opening Night--March 30th. As Our Good Friend Tom noted: "The Sightlines-Clean, directly looking out to the field." Tom sat in many different places today--as he always does in ballparks--and found no bad seats for watching baseball.
Today's Dry Run offered a glimpse into what's in store for Fans of Our Washington Nationals. First Impressions--very nice and comfortable. As much as we loved RFK Stadium--New Nationals Park is NOW the place to be.
At the conclusion of this afternoon's affair--Principal Owner Mark Lerner and Team President Stan Kasten appeared especially giddy with today's events. Mr. Lerner, as well as, other members of his family are alumni of George Washington University. The reason GW was given the honor of playing the first game today.
14 comments:
How the %!#%!%!%! did you get to go to this game, it was suppose to be only for GW studetns & alums!? I know folks who could only get limited # tickets or no tickets even if they were one of the above!!! this shows you are nothing more than a mouthpiece for the Nationals organization!!!
- Jim H said...
Now come on, Anonymous. (Nice moniker).
Mouthpiece? Yeesh.
SBF is a BLOGGER. He is not bound by any obligation to objectivity. He openly roots for this team, and has since day one.
If you've ever read this space, you'd also realize SBF works for a media organization (not in front of the camera or as a reporter). And the press had access to the game today.
This space is not an attempt at unbiased rational reporting. It's a BLOG...and one that helps inform all Nats fans about what's happening with their team.
SBF does nothing to hide his love of this team. He never has. He's forged some strong relationships with the Nats front office and players. That's to the betterment of having additional information to deliver here. Nothing wrong with that.
- Brandon said...
Thanks so much for the tour! All the new features look really great. Can't wait for Saturday and Sunday's games.
And I thought you spent all your time in the Diamond Club!
Go GW Baseball!
- Edward J. Cunningham said...
I would have believed SBF if he said he (or the African Queen) was a GW alum, but it was probably his media credentials that got him in.
As for "Anny", I won't give him the dignity of a reply, but I will say that I think the vast majority of Nats fans (and by vast majority, I mean 100%) do not begrudge SBF or J.D. (of J.D. Land) for getting into the ballpark first. I will see the park myself on the 29th, and then 11 days later on April 10th.
- Edward J. Cunningham said...
SBF:Outside New Nationals Park--a tribute to Washington's Baseball Past. A series of important years in DC's Baseball History are engraved on the sidewalk leading into The Home Plate Gate. To their side--Monuments--explaining the dates importance. This Section was roped off--as construction is not complete--but the dates shown included 1859, 1910, 1924, 1937, 1948, 1961, 1971 & 2005. We would have loved to check out the details, but couldn't--next time for sure.
Here's my best guess as to the significance of the dates.
1859--This is when the first organized baseball team in Washington, D.C. began playing. The Civil War was two years away, professional baseball was 10 years away, and the National League was 17 years away---but the Olympics were playing ball in D.C.
1910--Who's the chief executive who first threw out a baseball on Opening Day? SHUT YO' MOUTH!!! But..but...I was just talking about---TAFT!!!
1924--The Washington Nationals win their first American League pennant and only World Series while in D.C. The next time they would be world champions would be 63 years later---as the Minnesota Twins.
1937--First All-Star Game at Griffith Stadium. Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean is injured by a line drive in the third inning that fractured his toe. Dean was never the same pitcher and he was out of baseball by 1941 at the age of 31.
1948--The Homestead Grays win their final Negro League World Series championship. Part of their season--and I believe some of their home World Series games---were played in Washington, D.C. It is their fifth pennant and third world title---more than any other Negro League franchise.
1961--The American League expands, placing a team in Washington to replace the original Washington Nationals/Senators who move on to Bloomington, MN to become the Minnesota Twins.
1971--The expansion Washington Senators play their last season in D.C. moving to Arlington, TX to become the Texas Rangers. [snark]To show their enduring gratitute for getting major league baseball, the good fans of the Dallas/Fort Worth area make history. The 1972 Texas Rangers are the only team in the history of major league baseball to draw fewer fans in their inaugural year in their new city than they did the last year in their old city.[/snark]
2005 The Montréal Expos move to Washington, D.C. becoming the Washington Nationals.
- Chuck B. said...
Lighten up Anon.
For all the work SBF does to bring us this great blog, I think he deserved this perk, if you will.
Thanks for the great pictures, SBF.
I can't wait for the 29th and the 30th. I feel like I am 8 years and it is Christmas eve.
- Edward J. Cunningham said...
Chuck, you're nicer than me. Real Nats fans can and DO care about what SBF has posted in his blog, and that's a lot more than what I can say about Annie.
- Unknown said...
Good work, looks like you both had fun...
Great photos. I am jealous. Counting down to opening day. And thanks Edward for the take on the years! There's no question the team made the right decision adopting Washington history instead of Expos history.
I noticed that there is something written on top of the visitors' dugout, but the top of the Nats' dugout is blank. Do you know if they plan to have something on the Nats' dugout by opening day? I assume that they do.
- Screech's Best Friend said...
Mike Edgar: I would be surprised if the home dugout does not say "Nationals" in some way. It would be a total shocker.
Geez- i was hoping Clint was going to be gone this year.
Hopefully he took some speaking classes over the winter
The ushers really enjoy hearing the TRUTH from the ones that count the most OUR FANS! Thanks as always Pete


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As the one-year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death approaches, his estate and concert promoter AEG reached a $1.3 financial settlement with Los Angeles to cover the cost associated with the King of Pop's memorial service, The Associated Press reported.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and AEG President Timothy J. Leiweke said in a joint statement Friday that both AEG and Jackson's estate will donate $1 million to the city's general fund, while the Los Angeles Police Foundation will receive the remaining monies.
It cost the city of Los Angeles $3.2 million to fund the memorial service last July at the Staples Center. The AP added that police overtime totaled $2 million.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
"It was important to us that all parties agreed that this was not an obligation but a choice we believed was important to make at a time when thousands of city employees are being reduced," Leiweke said in the statement. No additional comment was provided by a representative from Jackson's estate.
Jackson died June 25 last year from an overdose of sedatives.


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| 16°C Belfast
Striker Robert Lewandowski dodged questions linking him with Manchester United after scoring as Poland drew 1-1 with Greece in a dramatic opener to the European Championships in Warsaw.
The Borussia Dortmund front man refused to confirm Poland coach Franciszek Smuda's suggestion earlier this week that he would be playing at Old Trafford next season
Lewandowski said: "I am so happy to score this goal in the opening match. But I'm not going to concentrate on these issues (joining United). Euro 2012 is the priority. I'm totally focused on the national team."
The 23-year-old scored Poland's goal in the first half, only to see Greek substitute Dimitris Salpigidis equalise after the break in a match which saw both teams finish the game with 10 men.
But he rued a string of missed Poland chances which could cost his side in Group A, especially missing a first-half header in front of a gaping goal.
He said: "I did everything to take the ball. I was just millimetres away but this is football and I hope next time I score.
"I regret that we did not take more of our chances in the first half. It could have been two or three zero but we still have a positive attitude."


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The Bears were 7-3 in games decided by a TD or less. Historically, that number evens out through the years, so it's very likely the Bears regress back toward the mean. You also can't ignore that 4 wins came over Jimmy Clausen, Joe Webb, Drew Stanton, and Tyler Thigpen.
I'd love to see them do well, but they have a below avg offense that really didn't get any better, a new rule was put in place that eliminates one of their distinct advantages as field position was a game they played rather well, and their defense, while solid, just won't likely be good enough to overcome the other factors. Add in the probability of more injury issues and I wish I could come up with more than 7 wins, but I can't.


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LocationOcala FL
Ocala, FL 34480
New 2019 Grand Design Transcend 32BHS
Grand Design Transcend travel trailer 32BHS highlights:
- Bunkhouse
- Bath and a Half
- Dual Entry
- Outdoor Kitchen
- Pet Drawer
- Walk-Through Bath
- Universal Docking Station
Dreaming about finding a travel trailer to fit everyone's needs in your larger family? Do you enjoy adventure and comfort when you camp? This Transcend might just be what you have been searching for! Beginning with the dual entry doors allowing quick and easy access to the front master bedroom and the main living area, to the private bunkhouse with a half bath and quad bunks for the kids, this model offers it all. The convenient walk-through full bath next to the bedroom allows everyone to stay refreshed for the next adventure. You can relax on the tri-fold sofa and booth dinette while watching the entertainment center with a 32" LED TV on a swing arm to get the best view, your dog can eat from the pullout pet drawer, and the L-shaped kitchen allows you to whip up meals without having to move for someone returning from the full bath. There is even an outside kitchen to make hamburgers and such while visiting with other campers. Step inside today!
Like all Grand Design products, the Transcend is no different when it comes to functionality and quality construction. The Transcend features a Strong Wall aluminum exterior that includes a satin metal exterior skin that is 25% thicker than the competitors for a more durable and better looking finish. It also includes a fully enclosed and heated underbelly. The roof is double insulated to keep you warm in the cooler climates and cooler in the summer heat. You will also enjoy upgraded furnishings, solid hardwood cabinet doors and drawer fronts, a residential ductless heat system, plus E-Z Lift bed storage, and panoramic windows so the view outside can easily be part of your interior when opened. Make a great choice and select any Grand Design Transcend for your weekend adventure headquarters!
Stock# 39512
|36 ft 11 in
|Int Height
|6 ft 10 in
|Hitch Weight
|728 lbs
|Gross Weight
|9295 lbs
|Dry Weight
|7738 lbs
|Fresh Water Capacity
|51 gals
|Grey Water Capacity
|78 gals
|Black Water Capacity
|78 gals
|Tire Size
|Furnace BTU
|35000 btu
|Number Of Bunks
|Available Beds
|Cooktop Burners
|Number of Awnings
|LP Tank Capacity
|Water Heater Capacity
|17.8 gal
|Water Heater Type
|DSI Quick Recovery
|15000 btu
|TV Info
|Awning Info
|21' Electric
|Axle Count
|Number of LP Tanks
|Electrical Service
|30 amp
Scan this QR code with your smartphone to save this page and have mobile access to this unit's information.
*All calculated monthly payments are an estimate for qualified buyers only and do not constitute a commitment that financing or a specific interest rate or term is available. Financing terms may not be available in all Campers Inn locations. Campers Inn RV Sales is not responsible for any misprints, typos, or errors found in our website pages. Any price listed excludes sales tax, registration tags, and delivery fees. Manufacturer pictures, specifications, and features may be used in place of actual inventory in stock on our lot. Please contact us for availability as our inventory changes rapidly.


text:
How to save money on back-to-school supplies
As kids start to head back to school, take a look at some tips to help you save money on supplies.
Start shopping at home: Before you head to the store, see if you have any of the supplies at home. You might have a stack of unused notebooks, pencils or an extra glue stick at home.
Stick to the list: When your kids walk down the school supply aisles, they are likely to see items they want that aren't on the list. Before buying extra items that your kids want, first buy all of the necessities and see if you're on budget.
Avoid the designer, trendy items: Your child might be eying a designer backpack, or folders that are triple the cost of the normal paper folders. Before you start splurging, first buy the basics. You can also wait to buy the more expensive backpacks or pencil cases after school starts to see if they go on sale.
Take advantage of sales: Most large retail stores will have sales on back-to-school supplies. Take advantage of those discounts, and also watch for coupons. For clothes, try to hit the Labor Day weekend sales, or look for sales on items (like jeans or t-shirts) that you know your child will wear all year.


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Tower of Fortune Review
- Publisher: Game Stew
- Genre: Role Playing
- Released: 28 Apr, 2012
- Size: 13.2 MB
- Price: $0.99
- Clever use of LCD-like aesthetics; varied and distinct progressive sprites for random enemies.
- Addictive RPG adaption of slot-machine gameplay; luck-based, but entirely within your control over time.
- RNG can be frustrating and time-consuming; turns a small break in to a moment of annoyance.
Tower of Fortune's strength is in its addictive use of the infamously random slot-machine, while still providing players with the ability to overcome these odds through the use of items purchased with gold you've accumulated over time; it's a thin line to balance, but a fun one too.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
[This game was featured as the Mini-review for the Friday News Wrap-Up for the 18th of May, 2012]
If there's one inevitable fact a gamer has to face up to when playing a dungeon-crawling RPG, it's that they'll eventually have to deal with the dreaded 'RNG' monster. For those not familiar with it, 'RNG' stands for 'Random Number Generator' and refers to the luck required to survive some encounters; to get certain items to drop; and so on.
Tower of Fortune by Game Stew is bold in its use of a slot-machine system to determine how an encounter plays out, stripping away the need to roam dungeons and placing you in direct combat with random enemies on each tier of the tower. The 'luck' isn't entirely out of your hands though as money earned from previous attempts remains in your pocket, giving you the option to purchase items for better survivability and gambling on better stats when you level up.
The game's retro LCD style of presentation is almost quaint, especially when paired with the decidedly more modern sound effects and music tracks that punctuate various events.
For some, the open use of random outcomes may be a turn off, but much like a slot-machine it's a hard game to put down once you've mastered its secrets. A real treat if you enjoy simple distractions.
Description===== Tower of Fortune is being chosen one of the "Best iPhone and iPad Games of 2012: Arcade" by Toucharcade =====
People say
- A surprise gem of RPG - by Missattha
- Excellent Slot/RPG game with unique art and addicting gameplay - by BazookaTime
- Fun, Addictive and stylish - by Anne Packrat
- Classic retro game - by Shaolean
- Terrific RPG hybrid - by Retr0spective
- Amazingly addictive - by Won'tgetfooledagainson
- Old school with a twist - by Ricepirate Mick Lauer
- I'm hooked - by Monster Party
- Deeply engrossing game - by David Magallon
- Highly enjoyable - by Pyong
- A Reel Good Time For RPG Fans - by Toucharcade, 4/5
- ... it's a hard game to put down once you've mastered its secrets - by AppSpy, 4/5
- ... it's just really freaking addicting and clever - by 148Apps, 4/5
Appstore Customer Ratings
Average rating for all versions: 4.5/5
Tower of Fortune is a retro-style slot machine/RPG. You play as a retired hero and lived with daughter peacefully. Until one day, an unknown power from the mystic tower took her away. This force the hero to draw the sword again and fight for his daughter.
- One button gameplay, easy to learn and no tutorial needed
- Retro pixel graphics and funny animation
- RPG mechanics such as combat, powerful equipment from defeated boss, level up and skill upgrade system, hero transform and much more...
- 4 slot machine game: Combat in the tower, Treasure in the chest, Fight the scum family, and Rest in the tavern
- Customize your camp with various options such as dungeon scene, cauldron and mystic mascot
- 39 kind of enemies want to stop you to find the truth
- 37 powerful equipment from the ancient god to collect
- 39 random combat quest and 12 random tavern quest to challenge
- 3 different game ending to discover
- Endless spin and fun!
Gameplay Movie


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The Central Connecticut softball team will honor the 2014 seniors on Sunday as they host Mount St. Mary's for their final NEC matchup of the season in a doubleheader set to begin at 12 p.m.
The Blue Devils (25-14, 9-5 NEC) are currently ranked second in the NEC, just one spot ahead of the Mountaineers (19-20-1, 7-5 NEC) and are still looking to clinch an NEC Tournament berth. On Friday, the Mount was swept by Bryant, who earned the right to host the 2014 NEC Tournament with the victories. With several outstanding NEC contests, Bryant is the only team to have clinched a spot in the tournament.
As of Monday's NCAA rankings release, the Blue Devils are ranked #10 in the nation with a 1.62 earned run average. Junior pitcher Laura Messina posts a 1.49 ERA and was also ranked tied for second in the country, first in the NEC, in shutouts with 10 before adding another this week against UMass-Lowell.
Messina currently leads the league in strikeouts (221) while Mount St. Mary's Nicole Pagano ranks second with 187. Pagano edges Messina with a 0.95 ERA.
Last season, the Blue Devils split with the Mountaineers, dropping the first game 5-3 before coming back to claim the 11-2 victory in five innings.
The squad will see off seniors Tessa Brown, Arielle Bruno, Julie Marks and Emily Pogemiller on Sunday in a senior day ceremony set to begin before the first pitch. Fans can follow all of the action live via LIVE STATS.