text:
Beck likened Gore to Nazi propagandist, let Inhofe distort his climate change testimony
On the March 22 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck allowed Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) to distort former Vice President Al Gore's March 21 testimony before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Meanwhile, Beck himself likened Gore to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels for Gore's statement, during his testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, that he would initiate a "mass persuasion campaign" to urge Congress to act on climate change.
Inhofe noted that he asked Gore at the Senate hearing to sign a pledge requiring that his Tennessee residence consume no more energy than the average U.S. household. Inhofe's pledge stems from recent allegations by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research (TCPR) that the Gores used more than 220,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2006. Inhofe told Beck: "I said, 'Are you ready to change the way you live, 'cause you're consuming 20 times the amount of energy?' and he would not respond to it. I asked him three times if you go back and review the tape." In fact, as Media Matters for America repeatedly noted, Gore did not explicitly answer with a yes or no to Inhofe's question. Gore said that he and his family "purchase wind energy and other green energy that does not produce carbon dioxide," but Inhofe interrupted him six times. It was not until Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), the committee chair, promised Inhofe five minutes of additional questioning time that Gore was able to offer a full response:
GORE: We live a carbon neutral life, Senator, and both of my businesses are carbon neutral. We buy green energy. We do not contribute to the problem that I'm joining with others to try to help solve. We pay more for clean energy, and I think that utilities ought to provide more green energy that doesn't produce CO2, and we are in the midst of installing solar panels.
Beck and Inhofe went on to discuss Gore's "mass persuasion campaign," a movement to draw attention toward the challenge of climate change -- which prompted Beck to declare that Gore "sounded a little bit like Goebbels."
From the March 22 edition of CNN Headline News' Glenn Beck:
BECK: OK. The pledge that you asked him to sign that he wouldn't.
INHOFE: Yeah.
BECK: He didn't even answer the question on that.
INHOFE: He uses 20 times the amount of energy as the average American and, yet, if you will look at the -- this movie, this thing that he has on, the last slide says: "Are you ready to change your -- the way you live?"
Now, so I said, "Are you ready to change the way you live, 'cause you're consuming 20 times the amount of energy?" and he would not respond to it. I asked him three times if you go back and review the tape.
BECK: Right.
INHOFE: So, I think that's it. Here's what we need to do. We had a pledge for him to sign, just to do what he's asking the rest of America to do, and I think, every week or two, we should say, "All right, it's been two weeks now. Have you signed the pledge yet?"
BECK: It is really -- one of the things in it that I heard yesterday in his testimony that I thought was disturbing was this -- what did he call it? -- a massive persuasion campaign. That sounded a little bit like Goebbels or Gore-bels.
INHOFE: Well, yeah. But also, we had a chance -- and this plays into this. In New York, there was a bunch of his people -- and this is The New York Times; they all love him -- and yet they said in The New York Times that he is getting so extreme in some of his examples that he's hurting his own cause.
BECK: Right.
INHOFE: And I told him that. And that is happening. I'm recognizing. We're seeing a major shift, Glenn, of the people who are his top supporters are coming over now and saying, "Hey, wait a minute. Let's look at the science again. This [inaudible] thing isn't working."
BECK: Hey, you know, Senator, I tend to agree with you on the fact that he's going to hang himself. I mean, he's -- to me, it almost seems like he is going to be the next Cindy Sheehan, where the Democrats ran out to embrace Cindy Sheehan and get their photo taken and be there when it was hot, but then, once the Cindy Sheehan thing started to be exposed on who she really was, I mean, you can't -- you won't find those pictures of those people anywhere.
INHOFE: I think that -- I think that's a great analogy, because, right now, if you watch very carefully, he'll -- he prides himself in trying to intimidate people or being condescending, and that just doesn't play. You know, people -- there's nothing wrong with humility. He ought to try it sometime.
BECK: Senator, when he was talking about some of the programs, I cannot help but think that -- what a lot of people don't -- you know, the freshmen in college that are, you know, gung-ho on the Earth, what they don't understand, because they haven't been around long enough, is that this really is nothing but a tax program.
There are millions, billions, and, globally, trillions of dollars at stake here, and that's what really this is all about, isn't it? A tax program?
INHOFE: It really is. Now, what I tried to do, is I said -- I went down to the floor in 1993 when we had the Clinton-Gore tax increase. It was that $32 billion tax increase.
This is a $300 billion tax increase -- 10 times greater than the other one. That means every man, woman, and child, or every family of four who's watching you right now will have to pay an additional $2,700 a year in taxes. That's huge.
And so he doesn't like to talk about that. And if you notice, he would never respond to that. Well, he knows it's true. In fact, I'll tell you this: The figures that he had when he was in the White House as vice president were $338 billion.
BECK: Senator, keep up the good work. Thank you.
INHOFE: Hey, will do. Thank you, Glenn.


text:
Obama's "Failed" Presidency
Eighteen months into his first term, pundits and partisans are engaged in a shallow debate over how the president will be judged. They're missing the point.
Call it the herd instinct, the echo chamber, a pack mentality, whatever -- there's no denying that today's 24/7 news cycle presents a big challenge for introducing intelligent political analysis and commentary into the public debate. We journalists and pundits spend way too much time reading and talking to each other, chasing the so-called narrative and trying to pick winners and losers in the Washington arena.
There's a lot of that going on now, centered on how President Obama has pushed through Congress three landmark pieces of legislation -- an economic stimulus package, health care reform and an overhaul of financial regulation -- plus scores of other policy changes, yet is regarded by many as teetering on the edge of failure. The Washington Post and The New York Times went so far this past weekend as to ask dozens of so-called experts what the president can do to pull himself out of the ashes.
The real question, of course, is how you define failure. Obama promised and delivered a big stimulus, though it wasn't as big as some wanted and was bigger than many thought we could afford. Almost all nonpartisan economists say it helped pull the economy out of recession and created jobs, but the vast majority of Americans don't believe it for a minute.
The TARP bailout -- passed under President Bush but now owned by Obama, who extended it with bailouts of GM, Chrysler and others -- is also seen as a success by economists but is absolutely hated by voters. In fact, a vote for TARP is proving a kiss of death for many Republicans and will be trouble in the fall for some Democrats.
Obama also promised health care reform and delivered a bill that his predecessors couldn't. But liberals are unhappy that Obama abandoned the public option, conservatives see it as a government takeover and the public is understandably confused and will have to wait years to see if it works.
He also promised to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq and to double down in Afghanistan, both of which he is doing -- to mixed success and to mixed reviews from those who elected him to do what he promised.
Today Obama signed into law a Wall Street regulatory bill designed to prevent another financial crisis or at least limit the damage from one. The bill's failings will become clear in time. But the bigger political problem for him is that any success in curbing a crisis will never be known because you can't prove a negative.
By any objective account, Obama has amassed a striking record of accomplishment -- one very close to what he promised during the campaign. Some pundits look at that and say the White House political operation must be the problem. It's just not capable of getting the message out. No doubt, Obama and his aides have stumbled often, but that's hardly the major problem.
The real reason for the talk of failure -- and the reason it's real -- is that most Americans aren't happy with the economy and they're in no mood to judge anything else that's happened a success. In some instances -- such as when they say the stimulus did more harm than good -- they are demonstrably incorrect. In others, they don't like the growth of government and think doing nothing would have been better. Or else they think Obama's priorities have been all wrong.
Americans are unhappy with Washington because the economy still looks like it is a mess. They don't want to hear that it would have been worse otherwise or that it was all Bush's fault. They want results -- more jobs and more prosperity and lower deficits. But no one can make that happen overnight. Certainly not Obama and certainly not Congress or Washington regulators. You can't blame Obama if he finds it ironic that the very people who want the government to do a lot less complain that it hasn't done more to solve their problems -- problems that most economists blame on private-sector greed and a lack of better government regulation.
So is Obama failing? If we judge by the public mood, by poll numbers, by the likelihood of big Democratic losses in the November elections, absolutely. If we judge by whether he's lived up to what he promised in difficult circumstances, the answer is he's doing quite well.
We'll just have to wait and see. If the legislation and policy changes he's implemented lead to a more stable economy and financial system, with more health care at prices society can afford, if the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan lead to an acceptable outcome, if his debt commission produces a sensible approach that is adopted despite the obvious pain it will cause, then we'll eventually reward him with good grades. If not, there'll be no shortage of F's painted over his name.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
PARIS - "It's all cinema, it's all from film," said Jean Paul Gaultier, summing up haute couture.
Paris' enfant terrible seemed to have a point, speaking on the last day of fall-winter shows that have seen spectators transported from apocalyptic opera houses to the circus and flung across the four corners of the globe.
Gaultier's feline-infused couture collection - Wednesday's highlight - took for inspiration Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini and "The Pink Panther."
The references merged with theatrical panache to produce once of his best shows in seasons.
But the cinema continued throughout Wednesday. In Valentino's encyclopedic show, continents and eras were merged and had Baz Luhrmann in delight.
"Haute couture, like cinema, is unreal. It's theatre - a romantic aspiration that's more beautiful, more extraordinary than reality," said the burlesque "Moulin Rouge" director who sat on the coveted front row.
With a delicious purr, Gaultier pounced back into top form with a feisty couture collection, proving that despite a couple of off seasons, he still has a lot of tricks up his embroidered sleeve.
This fall-winter's muse was the female panther, which inspired a slew of fresh ideas, including plenty of new ways to wear leopard and how to dress in feathers to look like a cat.
If it sounds eccentric, it was.
Leopard print featured cheekily on tights below one stylish all-black crepe dress, and there were several incredible couture coats. At first glance they looked like fur but were made entirely of feathers, speckled like a big cat pelt and with white feathers at the edges to resemble skin.
Gaultier, ever the showman, ensured the wackiness infused the show's presentation as well.
Forty-three looks filed by to the infectious theme of "The Pink Panther," showcased on models who clawed as they walked. Guests looked on from stalls divided into lionesses, panthers, lynx and leopards. Sometimes they applauded, sometimes they simply laughed.
But aside from all the fun, there was some serious couture at work here.
Inspired by clown costumes, Gaultier showed flair with a new silhouette produced by dramatic 1980s-style ice-cream cone-shaped chaps.
It was fresh and engaging, and it seemed to say one of the big cats of Paris is back.
As guests arrived at Valentino's show, they glanced inquisitively at the zebra heads and gold-rimmed fisheye mirrors mounted on the walls of the "Hotel de Rothschild," transforming the 19th century mansion into a vintage-style cabinet of curiosities.
"Enchanting, encyclopedic couture," the program notes promised revelers.
When the first tight gown swept by with the image of orange rhinoceros on 3-D bed of myriad earth brown lacing, apparently inspired by a painting of Elizabeth I, it was clear the show would follow through on the promise.
Designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, in the process, seemed to have pulled off their most eccentric and imaginative show to date.
Oriental motifs and arabesque patterns fused with Scottish herringbone tweeds and Renaissance capes were thrown into the creative cauldron. This appeared alongside embroideries of lion's heads, bees, beetles and dragonflies, often to luxurious effect.
That's not to say all the looks worked. Some were too austere, and on the more elaborate silhouettes the patterning at times came across as busy.
Returning to the couture stage after a 13-year hiatus, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren used a raked Japanese garden as the vehicle for their shadowy, minimalist creations.
In an unusual presentation, the Dutch design duo meditated back-to-back in the lotus position before the collection showcased the 20 black, architectural creations. (Twenty represented the amount of years they've been in the fashion industry.)
Sluggishly from the backstage darkness, the dresses appeared in stiff technical silk with Oriental, almost organic silhouettes. They cut some beautiful and contemplative shapes.
The models then dropped to the floor one by one and the designers moulded the dresses with their hands into various abstract forms. It produced a striking visual landscape: An interlocking mound of black with model piled upon model in several heaps of black fabric.
Lebanese designer Elie Saab unabashedly celebrated the glitz of the red carpet in a couture show which used the exact colour the A-listers tread.
The first series of sweeping embroidered silk gowns brushed the red-colored catwalk as they filed by, merging with it in a "trompe l'oeil" effect.
It could be said that Saab - famed for dressing royalty and celebrities for the red carpet - is finally embracing the colour that made his name.
Pearlized hues followed, with delicately cinched waists and glittering with thousands of embroidered sequins - as is the Saab signature.
Several looks in rarely used jade green were the highest point in the show, cutting a striking image against the red of the runway.
However, a series of gowns in ultramarine were so bold they might be hard for mere mortals to pull off. Perhaps it was a reminder: This show is not for mortals; this is haute couture.
Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP


text:
Well, that's one way to get by.
Well, that's one way to get by.
EJ looks kinda cute in panel 4.
Still someone please kick him in the nuts.
OK, now I gotta wonder … is he the bottom or the top? Or does he just do blowjobs? *snort*
I'm actually… beginning to like EJ. He just wants to help!
He's totally a bottom.
Biggs' face in panel one. Followed by EJ's look of complete bafflement. Awesome.
I'm curious as well.
*kicks self for missing the u-stream*
Well, he says "they're the fags, not me." Combining that with the occasional belief that "only the catcher is gay," and what I've been told about supply and demand, I'd *guess* that EJ's a top, at least professionally.
Yeah, I thought of that… but I also thought of "they're doing it because they want to, I'm only doing it for money." Male prostitutes aren't all gay, after all. ;-)
That makes it sound as if male prostitutes only cater to other men.
Is that not essentially true? I mean, we're not talking about hiring himself out as a dancing partner or arm candy at the soiree here, we're talking street prostitution, and my understanding was that the clients for that are almost exclusively male with the very occasional couple mixed in.
Speaking as someone who knows a couple of guys who have been male prostitutes at some point in their lives, the clientele is primarily male. It is VERY rare to have a woman pick up a prostitute from the street and bring her back to her place. However, a woman will mack with the repair man or the pool boy or the delivery guy or the bachelorette party stripper.
If you are paying for sex you can have a man or a woman. So if you are paying and want a man that makes you the gay. Taking the money makes you someone who wants money. Whose butt is involved doesn't really matter.
But if you are a woman who is paying for a man . . . that can't make you gay.
He's a special kind of deranged, our EJ…
… Awww. EJ that's kinda… Sweet. Fucked up, but sweet.
…You know there's going to be yaoi of that now right? I'm just going to be cheerfully browsing porn and BAM. Naked EJ in my face. Like I don't get enough of that in canon. [/joking]
I'm kinda rooting for these two. Quietly. Out of Jakeskin's hearing range.
Right there next to naked Moze.
Don't even joke about that. I'm still having nightmares, and not just cause of naked Moze, but because of Tuesday or whatever's her name being naked there too. I mean, seriously. Yikes.
And EJ's definitely a bottom. That's why he's so angry all the time; he just wants a good humping, but doesn't want to admit to wanting it. :-P
Yegh, why did we bring that back up? That was just…disgusting…for all parties involved.
The Continuing Adventures of EJ, the Angriest Prostitute are just full of twists, aren't they
Spike: take note, I am sensing a possible opening into the world of children's writing here.
I wonder if EJ ever did work for Dr. Bash.
…There'd probably be a lot of yelling.
Given the way the lives intertwine here, I wouldn't be surprised at all if EJ and Dr. Bash have had at least one encounter.
Oh Jesus, now I'm getting mental images of that you guys, oh my god @_@ Brain bleach, please.
I just don't see how someone with EJ's temperament could even BE a prostitute. How does he stop yelling, raging, and being a maniac long enough to get butt-banged??
Maybe some dudes are into that?
Definitely. I mean, look at the kind of shit Reagan sells at work.
Also, I'm still betting EJ's a top – in which case his perpetual aggression might be an *asset,* for some clients?
the shit Reagan sells… and the guy she guesses whether its fish hooks, razor wire, or some other godforsaken stuff… yeah, suppose some people are into strange things, mind you they were all in his pants, tight pants, with blood and what looked like diarhrea.
anybody want to play the game "Put It in Muh Pantz's" anymore?
Wow, you really begin to wonder how these two even met in the first place… and then you regret it immediately.
You know, as EJ gets more fleshed out Im starting to find him allot more interesting. Lots of male addicts do a bit of man-whoring if they're down and out… but a Non-addict doing it, just to get money for his friend? Goddamn! Talk about loyalty.
Maybe that's why Biggs is so adamant that EJ not go back to that; maybe he's been there himself…?
Or maybe he feels guilty?
Loyalty? LOYALTY?!? I believe the word you are searching for is CODEPENDENCE!
I am extremely tired, or falling prey to most of this discussion. Either way, I definitely read "codependence" as "codpiece".
The former, agreed. The latter…
I think Imma go look at some LOLcats for awhile, try to scrub my brain out with innocence and narcissism.
Co-dependency? Bah. Get outta' here with your pop-psychological buzz words. EJ is scarily loyal to support another person's Addiction through what is to him non-conventional sex acts. If it was just keeping Biggs alive, that'd be different; but EJ's keeping him fixed. He doesnt want to see him suffer. Theres compassion in that. Loyalty.
Not saying your wrong as such, just that people are quick to label. And I think theres some genuine loyalty in here too.
Now I have to wonder if EJ's actually a licensed prostitute. Or if that's someone else who will be out for their blood.
If EJ even bothered to get a license, it was probably revoked, like, a day later for excessive amounts of creepy and beating up the customers.
EJ is actually kind of endearing. He grows on you, sorta like a fungus with puppy dog eyes. I'm curious as what Biggs did to earn this kind of loyalty from him. What makes me even more curious is, just how long would the Elliots survive without one another?
I'll agree with that. The more we learn of how complex these two are, the less I hate EJ. Biggs has honestly somewhat intrigued me from his first appearance, but EJ is getting more and more interesting by the page.
This is like Lenny and George gone HORRIBLY, HORRIBLY WRONG!
Somebody pass the brain bleach?
But in this version Lennie likes hard things.
I didn't think of that, but that's actually a good point.
Hm. Wonder if any of our other Templar buddies are literary doppelgänger?
Wow… Both of them are starting to get more fleshed out EJ's willingness to do anything for Biggs and Biggs having a sort of Paternal tone towards EJ.
Mention he's a prostitute and suddenly everybody loves him. Weird.
Ooh, ooh! I still think he's a tool! Me! Me!! :P
What? People love prostitutes.
I don't think anything by the hour counts as 'love'. :p
Money can't buy me love, but I can rent it from time to time.
I don't care too much for money- 'cause money can't buy me love!
CAN'T BUY ME LOOOOOVE, CAN'T BUY ME LOOooOOOOOooOOVE!
I need sleep.
I still hate him…. kinda… I want to smack him more. And maybe sew his mouth shut…. with hot nails…. and barbed wire.
I think it is more the fact that he does what he does out of loyalty to his friend. Sure he is fucked in the head, sure he is an insecure immature whiny violent psychotic wanker, but he is also a loyal friend. More loyal than any friend I have had,
Is it just me, or is EJ getting thinner every page?
Apparently, when you become more likable, the pounds just fade away. Really though, The Elliots are starting to become some of the most complicated characters of the entire series, I'm suprised, though I wanna know how good ole Benny lost his arm.
I'm guessing it had something to do with a complication from a missed shot or some other IV mishap. Perhaps a severe abscess, or if he was shooting cocaine then he could have really damaged his veins if he was good at IVing, or done far worse damage to his arm if he isn't– cocaine is a very powerful vasoconstrictor.
wrong Elliot, EJ is the stupid one in the hoodie,
BIggs is the haggard heroin addict.
I know– I think that The Final Warden was wondering about the Reclamation founder guy, 'Barney'. AFAIK both Elliots have their arms.
Either that, or I'm just horribly confused :)
I think we're all just horribly confused :p
What I find really interesting about this page is how Biggs is so angry and acting almost violent, while EJ is suddenly calm and happy.
Suddenly I like EJ a little bit more.
This pair is so bizarre.
EJ has always reminded me of some of the people I worked with when I did Mental Health/Mental Retardation group care. And, frankly, of myself when I'm having seizures and seizure accessories. Perpetually angry, because the world is perpetually confusing, and damn if it doesn't seem like everyone's doing it on *purpose* sometimes, and then acting like they don't understand what you're doing when they are clearly smarter and should KNOW, you're sure not being mysterious, and meanwhile they all act like you're being slow on purpose and should somehow be tuned in to whatever magic telepathic spaceman channel they're all running, with all its info. It's very frustrating. Like being in a place where you don't speak the language, but everyone insists that you must! and then keeps changing the verbs. I like EJ, and feel great sympathy for him, even while I know just how intolerable he surely is.
I dunno, he seems so bloody focussed *all* the time. Would that fit the profile?
Of course. Wouldn't you pay close attention when things are confusing?
I'd hit it
Five bucks gets ya ten minates with Surly here. Careful now, hes a biter.
I'm thinking that when withdrawal really hits him, Biggs will be ready to take any kind of money, just get his fix.
Holaved, yeah, it does actually. That hyperfocus is part of it– when all the world's an advanced calculus test, you HAVE TO focus very hard in all but the most routine situations. And threats to the routine are very very upsetting, and anything that interferes with the focus is infuriating.
I'm not sure that's what Spike's after, of course, but man, if it is? Spot on. I've seen it, I've BEEN it, that's what the biological stupid can do to a person. It can go other ways, of course, people are highly variable, but the EJ option is not uncommon.
None of this is to say that EJ isn't also a jerk. He's a big jerk. I'd avoid him. But he's a jerk in ways I recognize, and feel some sympathy for. You wouldn't like me when I'm stupid.
Probably unintentional Bruce Banner reference there is rather applicable to EJ…
Spot on, eh? Hmmmm.
Who knows what evil lurks in the mind of Spike?
I've read your posts on EJ, and they are truly insightful. Up until now I saw EJ as just an intolerable brat who wouldn't go away, but your comments have changed that, and I can and do feel some sympathy for him. I'll probably have to go back and re-read the some of the parts with him in it now.
This is probably the best and most well-developed character writing I've seen in this series (or any series for that matter), and the fact that these two characters alone (who technically aren't the main characters) are getting so much discussion is a testament to Spike's writing.
On a side note, I wonder about Scip's apartment…
fyi- every city has 10-100 old men who will go down on you, or jerk you off, or just touch themselves with your bare foot (New Orleans) and pay you for the privilege. The backup plan in a lot of punk communities and maybe in Templar?
Say whatever you want about the Eliots, I like them both better (yes, even EJ) than Ben, who I still believe needs a good kick in the ass or a jab in the face.
And yes, EJ is totally a bottom. I think.
I go from hating to loving EJ at least once per page.
I love how biggs is desperate for money, but not THAT desperate. there are somethings that you just don't want to touch.
He probably just gives head to lonely businessmen, guys. Sheesh.
And EJ is just flawed! Given his circumstances, his age and lower-rung status, I can be way more forgiving. How many teenaged boys do YOU all know that don't have tempers? Just because he faces a violent world with violent behavior…? (too much character-bashing in the comments, woah) O.o
I'm a bit late to the discussion, but I have trouble seeing EJ as "loyal." I do have some sympathy for him (no doubt he's been through some real crap to end up wear he is), but in the end I can't get past the fact that he's really, horribly manpulative, in the way a young child can be. He's willing to do ANYTHING to keep Biggs around, not because he's loyal to Biggs per say, but because he can't or is afraid to be by himself. Sure, he'll defend Biggs against others and prostitute himself to get Biggs drug money, but he doesn't hesitate to threaten or hurt Biggs to make him stick around, either.
Both characters are terribly messed up, but I find it alot easier to be sympathetic to Biggs, who IS trying really hard to put up with EJ, despite all the shit he causes.
EJ's clearly been to the churchyard a few times.
By the way, anyone know what the "J" stands for? Last name, or middle name? Biggs is clearly Elliott Biggs.
O_O Is EJ his kid??? That totally makes sense. Why they're both named Elliot, why he lets him stick around, why he didnt want the girl punching him. HA! I discovered the secret!!


text:
DealChaat's #PhotoKaari Contest going at a good clip and some nice pictures submitted. A great way to continue celebrating the festival of colors, Holi, without all the mess and waste.
FUN in 3 easy steps
1. Go "Like" the Dealchaat page on Facebook
2. Upload your masterpiece
3. Tell all your friends to VOTE for your pic
EVERYBODY wins something (till prizes last)
Have pictures capturing your most awesome memories from Holi? Played with mud, got your dog colored all pink and blue, got your grandfather to play with you too, your kid's first holi or that with your neighborhood gang … whatever triggers your Holi memory and that your friends will like. Submit them to the DealChaat PhotoKaari contest. The best thing is that you make your own rules … only you have to "LIKE' the DealChaat page on Facebook.
(Don't have any Holi pics? Well its a good thing then that Holi is just around the corner. Time to get that camera ready! Because you don't wanna miss out on the awesome prizes!)
The picture that gets the most number of votes will win!
Don't like playing Holi at all? Worry not my friend.
We won't hold it against you if you submit any other pic with a lot of color in it. Hey, Holi means color and anything with colors will fly (especially a colorful parrot?).
Contest ends 10th April 2013. So hurry and go shutterhappy.
– #PhotoKaari Contest – Participate to WIN exciting prizes.
Click the image


text:
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text:
A Marin County judge declined to reduce bail Wednesday for two Novato bank robbery suspects.
Joshua James Metoxen, 23, and Jack Henry Dennis, 20, were arraigned before Judge Terrence Boren but delayed entering pleas.
Metoxen and Dennis, both residents of Napa County, are charged with robbery and attempted robbery. Prosecutors allege they robbed the US Bank in the Hamilton Safeway on Feb. 19, then returned last Thursday and tried to rob it again.
The second time, a bank employee recognized Metoxen and called police. Metoxen allegedly fled to a car containing Dennis, and both men were arrested after Novato police stopped the car a short time later.
Metoxen is also a suspect in numerous other robberies in Sonoma, Lake and San Mateo counties, authorities said. At the time of his arrest, he was wanted on a $750,000 warrant from Lake County.
Authorities are also investigating whether Metoxen was involved in other robberies in Marin, including the Westamerica in Strawberry on March 13.
Bail is set at $1 million for Metoxen and $500,000 for Dennis.
Dennis' defense attorney, William Daley, asked the judge to lower his bail, saying his only alleged involvement was driving the car.
He also said Dennis' parents have arranged a drug treatment program for him if he is released. The parents were in court.
Deputy District Attorney Otis Bruce opposed the bail reduction, and the judge left it as set for now. The suspects return to court Tuesday to enter a plea.
Metoxen has prior convictions in Napa for assault, drug possession and theft, according to a filing by Deputy District Attorney Teresa Leon Varela.
Contact Gary Klien via email at email@example.com


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Segura joins list of bizarre Brewers injuries
MILWAUKEE -- There have been incidents with salad tongs, scorpions and cacti. And another with a thick phone book during a motivational session.
While Jean Segura's injury from Ryan Braun's bat in the dugout Saturday night was scary, it was another in a long line of odd mishaps suffered by members of the Brewers' organization over the past couple of decades.
Here is a look at some of them:
Segura's injury was the second bit of misfortune for the team in this young season. Francisco Rodriguez stepped on a cactus with his bare foot while in Arizona for Spring Training this year, hampering his conditioning before the start of this season. He still was picking spines out of his foot last week, but entered Sunday 11-for-11 in save chances this year.
Arizona is a popular place for the Brewers to suffer unusual injuries. General manager Doug Melvin ended up in a hospital emergency room in 2013 after picking up what he thought was a harmless bug on his hotel room floor during Spring Training. It turned out to be an Arizona Bark Scorpion, which is highly venomous, and it stung him on the middle finger of his left hand.
Jonathan Lucroy missed two months with a broken hand in 2012. Lucroy said it occurred when a suitcase shifted in his hotel room and fell on his hand.
Chris Narveson missed a start during the pennant race in 2011 after slicing his right thumb with a scissors while trying to fix laces on his glove. He needed eight stitches and went 16 days between starts.
Salad wasn't a healthy choice for Matt Wise in 2006. The Brewers reliever missed a few days after cutting his hand on salad tongs while eating in the clubhouse in Kansas City.
Third baseman Wes Helms injured his right knee while slipping on a wet rubber mat in a tunnel between the dugout and clubhouse when the team was in Puerto Rico to play the Expos in May 2004. He missed 35 games. He compared it to walking on black ice in the balmy tropical climate.
Likely the most infamous of quirky Brewers injuries involved Steve Sparks in 1994. The knuckleballer dislocated his left (non-throwing) shoulder during Spring Training in Chandler, Ariz., while attempting to rip apart a phone book. The Brewers had motivational speakers talk to the players and two of the presenters ripped apart thick phone books to show what could be done with inspiration. When Sparks attempted it, he dislocated the shoulder, an injury that prevented him from making the team out of Spring Training.


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Don't miss out on the last day of the RISE Hispanic Sessions. We'll be at the MACC all day. Show up or register online at www.riseaustin.org.
Thursday, March 4
10:00 – 11:30am Targeting and Motivating the Latino Community
10:00 – 11:30am Starting a Company without start-up money: How to grow a business organically?
10:00 – 11:30am "Social Business Tool Kit : A practical road map"
12:00 – 1:30pm Performance Lab Entrepreneurship Beyond Business
12:00 – 1:30pm Local to Global: Modern Media and Filmmaking
12:00 – 1:30pm Strategies for Bootstrapping a New Publication
2:00-3:30 Performance Lab Hispanic Philanthropy
2:00-3:30 Event Production/Music Festivals 101
2:00 – 3:30pm Engaging the Hispanic/Latino Community
4:00 – 5:30pm The Impact of Corporate Culture on Performance
4:00 – 5:30pm Auditorium UNDERSTANDING THE LATINO COMMUNITY
4:00 – 5:30pm "Spa for the Soul"-Entrepreneurial Survival Skills for 2009
Also, don't forget to to RSVP for the RISE Hispanic/Latino Networking Happy Hour. We'll be at the Nomad from 5:00 – 8:00pm.


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This is not an offer for credit and should be used for estimation purposes only based on the information you provided. You should not base your decision on this estimate alone. Title, registration, tax and other fees, and personal circumstances such as employment status and personal credit history, were not considered in the calculations.
The sun just broke the horizon, but your day began hours ago—the second you started your trusty Yamaha Portable. Maybe you're skimming the marsh in a jon boat during duck season, pushing a sailboat 'til the wind kicks up or hopping to the cuddy on a tender. Wherever the day takes you, these nimble, lightweight, efficient portables are up for the ride. Available in a range of horsepower from the F20, to the F2.5, including the redesigned F8 with 7.5 percent more displacement, these 1- or 2-cylinder dynamos provide big performance in streamlined designs.
4 positions
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3 Year Limited Pleasure Boat
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Archived posts and threads from the 2013-14 Figure Skating season.
Archived posts and threads for 2013-14 Figure Skating Competitions and Events.
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Drink up, Jamie Chung – you're headed for a "Hangover."
The former "Real World: San Diego" reality star has landed a role in "The Hangover 2," a rep for the actress confirmed to Access Hollywood.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Access' Top 10 Movies We Can't Wait For In 2011!
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, which first broke the news, the 27-year-old beauty will join the cast as Ed Helms' new on-screen fiancee in the sequel to the 2009 Las Vegas-set bachelor party big screen romp.
It's the second lovely lady tapped to play the love interest of Helms' character, Stu. In the first installment, Heather Graham played a stripper Stu marries in Vegas. However, it was previously announced that Heather would not be returning for the sequel.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Man Of Many Laughs — Zach Galifianakis
"The Hangover 2" finds the guys — Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms and Justin Bartha – on a trip to Thailand.
In addition to her stint on MTV's "Real World" and "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Inferno II," Jamie's acting credits include roles in "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry," "Sorority Row" and "Grown Ups."
She also stars in Zack Snyder's upcoming fantasy flick "Sucker Punch," alongside Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish and Jena Malone. Jamie also recently wrapped production on the thriller "Premium Rush," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Bradley Cooper: Hollywood's 'Hangover' Heartthrob!
As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Jamie isn't the only new face joining the gang for the "Hangover" sequel.
Liam Neeson will also have a cameo in the film as a tattoo artist in Thailand – a role the veteran actor stepped into after Mel Gibson was axed from the project due to complaints from the movie's cast and crew.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Keepin' It Real With TV's Hottest Reality Stars!
Where does "The Hangover 2" rank on Access' Top 10 Movies We Can't Wait For In 2011? CLICK HERE to find out!
Copyright 2010 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: 2010 Toronto Film Festival: Zach Galifianakis Talks 'The Hangover 2' & Working With Robert Downey Jr.
PLAY IT NOW: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis & Todd Phillips' NYC 'Due Date' Premiere
More from Access: [ 'The Hangover 2' Bradley Cooper Vanessa Hudgens ]


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Sunday, September 10th, 10:30am - 1:00pm
Holy Family Catholic Church * Port Allen
Y'all... It's my favorite day of the year to be Catholic!
Come get some Yum-O lunch and bid on a fun photo shoot with crazy ole me!
And... they have lots more fun stuff to bid on too!
1 hour photo session and 5 digital downloads!
Just in time for Holiday cards...
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Ava and Jacob Saucier Memorial Jambalaya Benefit 2017
Sunday, September 10th, 10:30am - 1:00pm
Posted by EnsiteDesign at 8:41 AM
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In 1972, a pair of New York Yankees pitchers traded wives. It's the kind of story any Red Sox fan would love to see on the big screen, but one of the players involved feels very differently.
It wasn't until spring training of 1973 that their fellow Yankees learned that pitchers Mike Kekich and Fritz Peterson had traded spouses, with Marilyn Peterson moving in with Kekich, and Susanne Kekich marrying Fritz.
The latter union continues to this day, but Mike Kekich has since remarried and tried to distance himself from the whole thing, something that he fears is becoming increasingly difficult with Sox fans Matt Damon and Ben Affleck planning a film about the scandal.
U.S. & World
"Kekich is panic-stricken. He has moved away and has a new identity," a source told the New York Post. He is freaked out that those working on the movie found out where he is. He isn't too keen on having the scandal dredged up again after all this time."
Affleck is currently working on a script with his little brother, Casey, and Damon is said to be making the film his directorial debut.Though there's speculation that Damon and Affleck may play the wife-swapping pitchers, it seems unlikely that the lifelong Sox fans would ever don Yankee pinstripes.
As much as we love the idea of turning this story into a film, we feel for Kekich. It was almost 40 years ago, and it's not like he did anything illegal, or even inherently immoral, just a little weird is all.


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Editors' note (March 4, 2010): The rating on this product has been lowered because of changes in the competitive marketplace, including the release of 2010 models. The review has not otherwise been modified. Click here for more information.
Much like Vizio, budget TV brand Westinghouse has decided to capitalize on the usual energy-efficiency of small-screened LCDs. Its "greenvue" line, which includes the SK-H640G series, is said to surpass Energy Star by 20 percent. That's not a very high standard yet, however, and according to our tests, the 32-incher, while among the most efficient of its kind, will save you at most a few bucks a year over similar TVs. Compared with those TVs, it also came up a bit short in the picture quality and features departments, but simple its design and control scheme could appeal to bargain hunters fed up with a typical HDTVs' complexity.
We performed a hands-on evaluation of the 32-inch Westinghouse SK-H640G, but this review also applies to the 26-inch Westinghouse SK-26H640G. According to their specifications, the two models are identical but for screen size, so they should exhibit very similar picture quality.
Despite the "green" marketing, the Westinghouse SK-H640G series comes dressed in only glossy black, although a small gray strip along the bottom edge does provide a subtle accent. The set is more compact than many of its low-buck brethren, and we also approve of the looks of the oval-based stand, although sadly it doesn't swivel.
The little remote seems cheap, and its loose battery cover fails to alleviate that impression. The buttons are grouped somewhat logically, but ease-of-use is spoiled by their small size and cryptic icons. One saving grace is the ability to directly access different input groups via dedicated buttons.
Speaking of cryptic icons, Westinghouse made the unusual decision to base its menu system around a row of often arbitrary symbols along the top of the screen, thankfully supplemented by yellow text names. Our favorite is the almost whimsical tube of mercury that represents, yes, color temperature (it's blue in the above image to signify "cool"). We wouldn't mind this simple arrangement, which seems more appropriate to an entry-level TV than the complex systems found on many competitors' models, if the company had included actual numbers along with the bar graphs representing levels for items like contrast and brightness. As it stands there's no easy way to dial in a particular setting, aside from counting pips on the bar.
Like most entry-level LCD TVs the Westinghouse has a native resolution of 1,366x768, or 720p, as opposed to the 1080p resolution found on step-up models. Of course, at this screen size the benefits of 1080p are negligible, except with computer sources, so we don't consider this feature omission a big deal. Nonetheless it's worth mentioning that unlike most 720p LCDs we've reviewed, the SK-H640G series cannot accept 1080p sources (although it can handle 1080i; see Performance for more details).
That wacky menu system hides a sparse selection of picture controls. Five presets are available but you can only adjust the one labeled Custom, which is not even independent per input. Worse is the fact that changing a parameter (like Brightness) when you're in another mode causes the set to revert to Custom, which erases whatever custom settings you have. This arrangement, combined with the Westinghouse's lack of numeric indicators as mentioned above, makes it one of the least-friendly TVs to adjust that we've encountered in a while.
Westinghouse neglected to include a slider for the backlight, instead restricting its control to three positions labeled Bright Room, Medium Room and Dark Room. Aside from the three color temperature presets, no advanced picture controls are available. Most sets in this price range, by contrast, at least offer controls for noise reduction and film mode, and most have significantly more.
Four aspect ratio controls are available for both standard- and high-def sources. The "1:1 mode" option with HD sources minimizes overscan, showing as much of the picture as possible, so we recommend using it unless you notice interference along the extreme edges.
The Westinghouse offers standard connectivity for the entry-level breed, with two HDMI and one each PC and component-video jacks, in addition to an RF input, and an optical digital audio output. The side panel adds an AV input with composite video.
The Westinghouse was certainly not among the best-performing LCDs in its class, exhibiting light black levels and issues with both standard- and high-def video processing. On the other hand, despite a paucity of controls, its color remained a strong point.


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June 27, 2009. We did it, we finished the Swim Around Bainbridge and had a fantastic party to celebrate!!! I haven't been able or willing to write a finishing blog post, that will have to wait. But here's the basic news, I'm done and it was a fantastic trip.
BTW, I'm keeping this post at the top of the blog, page down for some more recent swimbi doings.
air 66F
water 51F
wind variable 0-5 mph
visibility 5-20 feet
low tide, falling
June 27, 2009, noon
today's distance 0.54 mile
total 41 miles
View Swim Around Bainbridge in a larger map
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Day 38, Finish Party at Fort Ward Park
Posted by Mark Powell at 9:05 PM 1 comment:
Labels: Bainbridge Island, Fort Ward, ocean, swim
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|North Norway, Aurora Borealis & Whales
|7 nights
|s/v Rembrandt van Rijn
|English speaking voyage
|More about:
Arctic cruises
North Norway cruises
PLEASE NOTE: All itineraries are for guidance only. Programs may vary depending on local ice, weather, and wildlife conditions. The onboard expedition leader determines the final itinerary. Flexibility is paramount for expedition cruises. Willingness to compromise on comfort is a basic requirement on board a historic sailing vessel. Important information about the sailing program: The boat is equipped with sails to be used in good conditions (based on open sea, water depth, wind, and time). This is not guaranteed. The captain decides whether to use the sails or the engine. There is no claim to one or the other propulsion method. If sails are used, the crew operates them. Guests must follow the safety instructions of the team. The average cruising speed for s/v Rembrandt van Rijn 6.5 knots.The North Norway cruise follows the path of more than one kind of whale as it travels amongst the fjords of Troms. The long Norway nights offer travellers on this expedition an excellent chance to take in the beauty and wonder of the Northern Lights.
South route: (around Senja)
Day 1: Paris of the North
Your adventure begins in Tromsø, nicknamed the "Paris of the North," located in an area rich with Norse and Sámi history.
Enjoy exploring this sub-Arctic Norwegian town, said to have been inhabited since the last ice age.
All voyages with s/v Rembrandt van Rijn aim at departing from Tromsø in the evening of day one, while s/v Noorderlicht will set sail in the early morning of day two. All passengers of Rembrandt are kindly asked to board the vessel by 17:00, while passengers of Noorderlicht are welcome to board the vessel between 17:00 and 23:00.
Day 2: In search of Norway's whales
The itinerary depends largely on the weather conditions, the amount of daylight during the voyage, and the expected location of the whales.
You might sail clockwise or counter-clockwise around the island of Senja.
Day 3 – 6: Whales of the shelf
You spend the next several days along the north coasts of Senja and Andfjorden, areas where many whales have been spotted in recent years.
Keep a look out for sperm whales and other whale species here. Near Andenes, along the edge of the continental shelf, whales dive particularly deep to feed on giant squid.
You may also see white-tailed eagles, one of the largest birds of prey in Europe, vying for their share of the herring. In the afternoon, you find a place for the night in one of the scenic fishing villages nearby, such as Skrolsvik, Andenes, Gryllefjorden, Hamn and/ or Sommarøy.
Once the sun has set, you can make short hikes along the coast or in small villages – and maybe even catch sight of the aurora.
Day 7 – 8: Under the northern lights
Continuing your circumnavigation of Senja, you sail to the small island of Sommarøy. Here there are good opportunities to see the northern lights as well as embark on pleasant hikes.
You spend the last morning of the cruise exploring the island's small bays and white beaches.
On day seven, you sail back to Tromsø and arrive around midday. You'll have enough time to shop for souvenirs in town, visit a museum, or simply take a walk in the fresh winter air.
After spending the last night on board, you disembark on day eight (Saturday) with memories that will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.
Important note: Tromsø is the base and gateway in which our voyages start and end
These voyages focus on viewing the aurora borealis and whales, and the expedition leader determines the final itinerary to be intruced during the welcome briefing on day one.
The map shows two possible routes that we may take in order to raise our chances for wildlife sightings:
One route (the described one) heads south around the island of Senja, mainly in the period from mid-January till March.
The other route (represented by the dotted line) heads north to the Kvaenangen fjord, very likely to be visited during November to mid-January.
Because of the seasonal occurrence of herring and whales in these fjords, the whale safari cruises take place in winter, when the Northern Norway days are short and the nights long.
Whale watching (orcas and humpbacks) is highly dependent on the variable herring stocks in the area, and this is ultimately unpredictable. Other whales (i.e., sperm whales) are not dependent on herring, which is why we have a good chance of seeing them in specific areas, such as along the south route near Andenes.
Our chances of seeing orcas are minimal, while the odds of encountering other species (for instance, humpbacks) are higher. The expedition leader will adapt the sailing plan to maximize your chances of seeing whales.
Additional note: The coasts and fjords of Norway are renowned for their beauty
In the far north of the country, about 350 km (217 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, lie the islands of Kvaløya and Senja. Enormous schools of herring gather in the fjords around these islands to live out the winter.
This abundance of food creates one of the largest concentrations of biomass on Earth, which in turn attracts large numbers of whales. It is these giants of the sea that this voyage is dedicated to finding.
During winter the daylight is limited, but the nighttime hours are far from wasted: North Norway is one of the best areas in the world to see the northern lights, a magical phenomenon that can only be fully appreciated when the sky is clear and dark, with minimal light pollution.
This voyage offers ample opportunities to admire the auroras from the remote bays and fishing villages where you'll spend the night.
Highlights you might experience
s/v Rembrandt van Rijn
Our three-mast schooner, Rembrandt van Rijn, is well suited for expedition cruising among the fjords of Greenland and Spitsbergen. Full ship info >>
Cabins & Prices
Triple Private Porthole
- 1 porthole
- 1 upper/lower berth + 1 lower berth
- Private shower and toilet
- Ample storage space
Price for the complete cabin, fully occupied.
Share your cabin with others for the best price
Twin Private Inside
- 1 upper / lower berth
- Private shower and toilet
- Ample storage space
Price for the complete cabin, fully occupied.
Price for the complete cabin occupied by 1 person (1.7x the shared rate).
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Twin Private Porthole
- 1 porthole
- 1 upper / lower berth
- Private shower and toilet
- Ample storage space
Price for the complete cabin, fully occupied.
Price for the complete cabin occupied by 1 person (1.7x the shared rate).
Share your cabin with others for the best price


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These two group activities use mathematical reasoning - one is numerical, one geometric.
EWWNP means Exploring Wild and Wonderful Number Patterns Created by Yourself! Investigate what happens if we create number patterns using some simple rules.
Place this "worm" on the 100 square and find the total of the four squares it covers. Keeping its head in the same place, what other totals can you make?


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My first impression of this slice of pristine countryside on the South Island is that we've been transported back to the Northern Hemisphere and plopped in the middle of a dairy commercial. Lush, green meadows are a gateway to the snow-capped mountains of the Southern Alps, the vivid azure sky is only occasionally punctuated by fluffy cumulus clouds, and I half-expect Heidi to come gambolling downhill toward us, dozens of cows or goats in tow.
Turns out this really was the scene of a dairy commercial -for a Swiss company, no less -as well as various international car, beer and chocolate commercials. Not to mention select scenes from the Narnia and Lord of the Rings films, among others.
"You might want to put on some rain gear, and think about a string to keep your sunnies in place -it's gonna get wet out there," our operator with Dart River Jet Safaris advises my husband Steve and me. The fellow has a glint in his eye that I hope is merely playful, not sinister. Just days earlier, five passengers with a competing jet-boat company suffered various injuries when their boat struck some rocks in the equally shallow Lower Shotover River, which is also near the adventure playground of Queenstown.
We heed his advice about the sunglasses, but are satisfied that our own waterproof jackets and pants are up to the challenge. We'd been warned that in late November, it can still be overcast, rainy and cool in this part of the world, but by 11 a.m., it's already more than 24 C and the visibility is picture-postcard perfect.
We zip and weave our way through an intricate network of shallow, ever-changing channels on the Dart River to glimpse unspoiled areas inaccessible by other means -the waterfalls, breathtaking alps, ancient beech and podocarp forests, ferns and glacial valleys of Mount Aspiring National Park, all part of the Te Wahipounamu ("the place of greenstone") UNESCO World Heritage site.
The park's unique geographical features date back some 80 million years, when the country was part of the ancient supercontinent known as Gondwanaland. When what's now New Zealand became detached from that great land mass, many of its ancient plants and animals were able to survive and evolve in relative isolation. Today, the country boasts the world's biggest flightless parrot, the nocturnal kakapo; the only alpine parrot, the mischievous, olive-green kea; and the oldest reptile, the spinybacked, lizard-like tuatara.
Sadly, the ecosystem has been dramatically affected by the introduction of wild pigs, possums, rabbits, stoats and other creatures. Even the natural vegetation is being choked out by gorse, broom and various weeds that now infest vast tracts of land. Stoat traps back onshore are evidence that even this park is not immune.
It wasn't until we signed on for the jet-boat trip that I discovered the craft itself had been perfected by a New Zealander, a farmer and self-taught engineer named Bill Hamilton, back in 1954. A shallow river coursed through his land, and he needed a faster way to survey the property. He came up with a boat propelled by a jet of water ejected from the stern. His simple technology has evolved, much to the delight of adventure-seekers the world over. Today, these 1,000-horsepower machines are speedier than Formula One cars. In scant centimetres of water, they can execute hairpin turns, treacherously close to some rather sharp-looking rocks. Then there's the famous 360-degree Hamilton Turn, which puts the jet boat to its ultimate test and soaks at least half the craft's occupants in the process.
Hamilton never took credit for the invention, once saying, "I do not claim to have invented marine jet propulsion. The honour belongs to a gentleman named Archimedes, who lived some years ago."
There's no commercial film testament to Hamilton's creativity or humility, but there is to his fellow South Islander, Burt Munro. Just a few days earlier, Steve and I were fortunate enough to be in Munro's hometown, Invercargill, for the Burt Munro Challenge, an annual event that draws motorcycle enthusiasts from both hemispheres for five days of road, beach and speedway racing.
Munro's world records and somewhat unorthodox methods in modifying his 1920 Indian Scout were the subject of the 2005 film The World's Fastest Indian, starring Anthony Hopkins.
In 1962 at the Bonneville salt flats in northwestern Utah, Munro set a world record of 178.971 m.p.h. with his engine upgraded to 51 cubic inches (850 cc).
The following year, his bike malfunctioned while he was travelling at an estimated 195 m.p.h. Again at Bonneville in 1967, he set an under-1,000 cc record that still stands today -his engine was bored out to 58 cubic inches (950 cc) and he notched a speed of 183.59 m.p.h. At the time, Munro was 68 years old, riding a 47-year-old machine.
I don't know if they ever met, but it's curious to note these two paragons of Kiwi ingenuity were born within four months of each other in 1899 and died within three months of each other in 1978.
Abundant adventure
To this day, New Zealand is considered a mecca for adrenalin sports. (Perhaps that youthful adventureseeking is part and parcel of being the youngest country on Earth, the last land mass to be discovered.)
Though bungee jumping was practised in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu for centuries -using vines instead of sturdy elastic cords -the first commercial bungee jump was perfected by New Zealander A.J. Hackett in the late 1980s. Skydiving, white-water rafting, zip-lining and paragliding are other popular activities here.
And then there's Zorbing. A Zorb is a large, transparent plastic ball with two skins, one inside the other. An adventure seeker, or Zorbonaut, climbs in between those skins, in an area pumped up with air to act as a shock absorber, and the three-metre ball is then rolled down the hill on a zigzag course.
If being strapped inside a Dry Zorb isn't to your liking, then slosh around unfettered inside the Wet Zorb. Not surprisingly, Zorbing was invented by North Islanders Andrew Akers and Dwane van der Sluis in 2000.
But with just 17 days to visit friends and tour all three major islands -North, South and Stewart -we opt to put any further thrill-seeking on hold and see as much of the countryside as possible, starting in Dunedin. With its Scottish place names and tartan shops, this quaint little South Island city out-Scotlands Scotland. In fact, Dunedin was the ancient name for Edinburgh.
Its much-photographed railway station alternates dark basalt with lighter Oamaru stone facings that earned its architect, George Troup, the nickname "Gingerbread George." Speaking of sweet treats, the city also offers a Cadbury chocolate factory tour.
Despite being warned against getting our hopes up for wildlifespotting, the drive from Dunedin to Invercargill through the picturesque southeastern region known as the Catlins provides us glimpses of fur seals, sea lions and Hector's dolphins, as well as birds -tuis, black oystercatchers and rare yellow-eyed penguins.
Our greatest desire is to find the iconic kiwi bird, and our best chance for spying one is on Stewart Island, where we spend one night. The hourlong passage across Foveaux Strait to Oban is notoriously rough, but we've managed a relatively smooth trip, eyes firmly glued to the horizon. The island itself is home to a scant 400 people, and more than 80 per cent of the land mass is part of Rakiura National Park ("land of the glowing skies").
The late-evening beach trip to see the kiwis is oversubscribed, but we're able to book an afternoon trip to tiny, nearby Ulva Island, a 260-hectare haven for flightless birds in general. New Zealand is home to more varieties of flightless birds than anywhere in the world. Since they had no natural predators -the country was home to just one indigenous mammal -the birds outgrew or lost the ability to fly. Thanks in large part to conservation efforts, Ulva remains a predator-free sanctuary for melodious bellbirds and tuis, as well as the more raucous kakariki and kaka, and other feathered creatures. All we have to do is scrape a foot along the mossy ground to uncover worms and insects, and the birds hop straight over to greet us.
Alas, the only kiwi we would encounter was a stuffed one in a nature display later in our journey.
Back on the South Island, we check out the glow-worm caves near Te Anau -a much smaller facsimile of the renowned Waitomo caves on the North Island -before driving 120 km to Milford Sound. The old saw about getting there being half the fun holds true this time, as the overland route is considered one of the finest alpine drives in the world. Soon we're treated to meadows filled with pink and purple lupins, forests of mountain beech, and the aptly named Mirror Lakes and Cascade Creek. Along the way, we're warned about the aforementioned parrots, the keas. You can't dismiss these intelligent and somewhat comical creatures as birdbrains, but you might want to make sure they don't strip the rubber from your vehicle's windshield wipers just the same.
Beyond the Homer Tunnel emerges the stunning Cleddau Canyon, and just 10 km from Milford is the Chasm Walk, featuring breathtaking waterfalls. Sheer, towering cliffs spring up straight from the sea.
Our cruise through Milford Sound (it's technically a fiord, rather than a sound, because it was glacially carved) features glimpses of blue penguins, and views of iconic Pembroke Glacier and Mitre Peak. The latter -which really does resemble papal headgear -is 1,682 metres, one of the highest mountains to rise directly from the ocean floor.
A match for Mordor
Maori legend has it that fiords were created not by rivers of ice, but by Tu Te Raki Whanoa, a demigod who wielded a magical adze and uttered a few incantations. New Zealand itself is known as Aoteoroa, the land of the long white cloud, and the closer we get to the open waters of the Tasman Sea, the more this description applies.
During both the drive through Fiordland National Park and our later flight from Milford to Queenstown over dark valleys and jagged summits, it becomes abundantly clear why The Lord of the Rings movies couldn't possibly have been filmed anywhere else. From my experience, no Alps, Rockies or Andes could hope to serve quite so well for double duty as Mordor or Middle-earth.
As our journey winds down, we forsake the snow and glacial ice of the South Island for the boiling mud pools, hissing geysers and sulphuric smells of Rotorua on the North Island.
The nearby Orakei Korako ("the place of adorning") caves and thermal park are the antipodean version of Yellowstone National Park, with 20 million litres of hot water flowing over silica terraces every day. Created by hydrothermal eruptions between 8,000 and 14,000 BC, the Artist's Palette is one of the most dangerous areas in the park, and visitors are urged to not stray off the marked paths. Sporadic discharges of hot water create the perfect breeding ground for multicoloured algae growth, hence the name. Along some of the paths you can spot the silver fern, one of New Zealand's emblems. The topside of the leaves may be green, but the underside has a distinctive silvery sheen.
Just a few hours' drive north of Auckland, the country's largest city, is the Bay of Islands, accessible from the resort town of Paihia. Pods of dolphins follow alongside our boat, playfully leaping from time to time. We motor toward Hole in the Rock, a natural attraction on Piercy Island, but the water's too rough today for our craft to navigate through the 64-metre arch.
Farther north still, we stroll along a mist-shrouded portion of Ninety Mile Beach, where surf from the Tasman Sea eventually meets with the Pacific Ocean, generating waves of up to 10 metres in inclement weather.
While we also enjoy golfing at Carrington Resort at Kaitaia and snapper fishing at Whatuwhiwhi, the crowning glory of our North Island trip is crewing an America's Cup 80-foot yacht, NZL41, in Auckland's Waitemata Harbour. With more than 100,000 private yachts, Auckland lives up to its nickname, City of Sails. In 1995, Team New Zealand, led by the late Sir Peter Blake, was victorious in the prestigious America's Cup, a feat that was repeated in 2000.
Although our first choice would have been to take part in a match race, we're content to settle for a two-hour harbour sail. Our sailboat back in Alberta is a mere 23 feet and has never been out of fresh water, so we're immediately humbled -and awed.
When it's our turn, we get a good upper-body workout as "grinders," winding the winches in pairs to either raise or lower the sails. When sailing upwind, the loads are staggering -roughly four tonnes on the foresail sheet and up to six tonnes on the main -and we toil furiously to keep pace with the changing sail settings. Something brings to mind past yoga lessons and the admonition, "Don't forget to breathe." Mother Nature, of course, has the breathing part down pat, turning on a stiff breeze as we sail directly beneath the Auckland Bridge. At one point, we're even given the chance to take the helm for a few minutes.
Our sailing time, like our trip in general, flies by all too rapidly, leaving us with a long list of new destinations and places we'd like to revisit the next time. And there will definitely be a next time.
Karen Booth is copy desk chief at The Edmonton Journal.
Getting there: Both Air Canada and Air New Zealand fly non-stop from Vancouver to Auckland, which is the hub for domestic flights. Canadians require only a passport, not a visa, to enter the country.
When to go: As with Australia, the seasons are opposite to ours. So if you're keen to ski on the South Island, plan your visit for June through September. Summer is December through March. The country has no snakes or dangerous wild animals, making it safe to enjoy outdoor activities.
Why go in 2011: New Zealand plays host to the Rugby Union World Cup in various locations in September and October. Even if you're not much of a sports fan, check out a game involving New Zealand's All Blacks, if only to take in the pre-game haka, the traditional dance of the Maori, in all its foot-stomping, eye-bulging, tonguepoking glory.
Websites: Start by checking out newzealand.com/travel/Canada
Fiordland National Park, near Milford Sound on New Zealand's South Island


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Sheep Island is a finger-shaped rock pointing west off the extreme end of the South Pembrokeshire peninsula.
It has very little to commend it, no promontory fort, no particular geological significance, except for the fact that it is part of the Lower Old Red Sandstone belt which stretches north-west across Milford Haven Waterway to Dale and under the sea to Skokholm, the rich red earth and rocks being the give away.
There is, in fact, a single-banked Iron Age promontory fort on the mainland headland opposite, between Castle Bay and Whitedoles Bay, with the remains of a 1914 look-out built into it.
If Sheep Island has a claim to fame it is a sombre one, for it was close by that one of the worst maritime tragedies in the history of the Pembrokeshire coast occurred during World War 11.
It was in April 1943 that two landing craft were caught in a violent gale off this corner of the coast as they voyaged from Belfast bound for Falmouth. They were LCGs (Landing Craft Gun), each weighing 627 tons, which were converted in a Belfast shipyard for their top secret role to engage the enemy's shore defences during the impending invasion of Sicily. Because time was of the essence, they had not been completely converted, only a partial deck having been fitted, leaving a large open space behind the seal-off bow ramp, originally designed to allow tanks and other military vehicles to roll ashore on the beaches. This was to prove a fatal error. The two craft. LCGs 15 and 16, called in Holyhead to take on supplies, before heading down the Welsh coast towards Falmouth. Each vessel carried a Royal Naval Commander and crew, and a large contingent of Royal Marines to operate the two 4.7-inch guns and twin Oerlikon cannons, the total complement of both craft being 75 officers and men. The weather deteriorated swiftly on Easter Sunday (April 25th) with a full onshore gale blowing, and the masters of the two craft decided to make for the shelter of Milford Haven harbour. The vessels were by this time out of sight of each other and both had shipped tons of seawater which had half filled the open area behind the blunt bow. This made them very unstable and the confused seas in the approaches to the Haven made them virtually impossible to control. LCG 15 foundered on rocks near Sheep island late in the afternoon and hundreds of would-be rescuers could only watch helplessly as the men aboard died in the maelstrom. Six sailors from the escort sloop HMS Rosemary also died when their whaler was swamped as they attempted to get a line aboard LCG 16. which foundered after midnight following a search for survivors by St Davids Lifeboat as Angle Lifeboat was off service under overhaul. Only three men survived, The disaster shocked the nation, but wartime censorship meant the full facts were only known years later.


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The new 5:4 mixtape is a celebration of the art of the remix. However, i should stress immediately that the emphasis here is not simply on that word's implied legacy of beats and dance-based forms of music. The scope for this particular mixtape is altogether more broad and open-minded, exploring some of the most unusual, unpredictable and unhinged ways that musicians have rethought, rearranged and reimagined both their own and others' existing musical material.
Some tracks are more closely associated with the diverse songworlds of pop, rock and electronica – including Gazelle Twin, Nine Inch Nails, Björk, Kate Havnevik, The Irrepressibles, Marina & the Diamonds, Beastie Boys, Erotic Market, Susanne Sundfør and Belle and Sebastian – though in some cases the ways that their music has been remixed establishes a sizeable distance from the original. Indeed, in the case of Björk's 'Crave (Odd Duck Mix)' – a remix created by Matmos that was made available as a download from Björk's website in 2001, and is no longer available – it's by no means immediately obvious that the track is actually a remix of her song (from Vespertine) 'An Echo, a Stain'.
Away from songs, i've included a number of tracks that occupy dream-like soundworlds of varying levels of stability, comfort and drift. At the more abrasive and/or disquieted end of the spectrum are the likes of Fovea Hex, AM and the UV, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Shinkei + Mise_en_scene, The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, Brian Reitzell, Kim Cascone and Ektoise, while more sublime environments are found in the music of Ryuichi Sakamoto, Andrew Liles, Jonathan Coleclough & Colin Potter, Carl Sagan's Ghost, Missy Mazzoli, Ben Frost, Sylvain Pohu and Christina Vantzou. Something of an odd one out in the mix as a whole is the track by World's End Girlfriend, a wonderfully bonkers oddity by an artist whose work i've never managed properly to get my head around.
Structurally, it's pretty much a stream of consciousness, with me more than usually just following my nose, and as a consequence the mixtape veers quite wildly between periods of calmness and seriously ramped-up intensity. Having said that, i've started and ended with a pair of tracks that complement each other as an effective overture and finale to the mix as a whole. Access to Arasaka's remix of Klangstabil marries elements of dark ambient with glitched beats and electronics, whereas Techdiff's grime and dubstep-infused remix of Hecq & Exillon's 'Spheres of Fury' is quite simply the most accomplished and downright exhilarating remix i've ever heard by anyone, retaining an obvious connection to the original while transmogrifying it into a structurally dramatic foray through a series of rhythmically discrete episodes, culminating in the equivalent of a firework display of beats triggered by a barrage of interconnected machine guns. Just amazing.
Two hours of radical reinterpretations; here's the tracklisting in full, together with links to obtain the music. As usual, the mixtape can be downloaded or streamed via MixCloud. Read more


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Tomorrow, Thursday, October 2nd, the San Francisco Media Arts Council (SFMAC) and the SFMOMA will host the panel 'Copy Art: The Impact of Copyright on New Media Art,' offering a welcome counter-balance to the litigious anti-pirates and ahistorical corporate view-points presently hogging public discussions of intellectual property rights. As copyright law is re-interpreted in relation to developing cultural practices and distribution technologies, this event promises to address the changes pertinent to new media artists and forms . A diverse group of artists and scholars will discuss, from progressive legal and art-historical perspectives, the history of appropriative art as well as legal strategies for the protection and sharing of creative works. Panelists include Lawrence Lessig of public domain activist organization Creative Commons; DJ, sound and visual artist Christian Marclay; and art historian/cultural theorist Jennifer Gonzalez. Moderator Linda Jacobson is chief officer of Glass House Studio, LLC (a provider of interactive visualization services) and a board member of SFMAC. The event begins at 7PM, and reservations are recommended. -- Johanna Fateman
Fakester Avatars
The Friendster craze is officially 'so five minutes ago.' The sentiment was confirmed when my college roommate, now a producer's assistant at ABC World News, propositioned me for an interview about the website. When the reporter asked me about fake profiles of ABC's anchor Peter Jennings, I replied, 'Everyone knows that Peter Jennings is a Fakester.' Friendster's network of profiles, pictures, and testimonials are attached through visible webs of mutual friendships. The site spins conventional online dating into an addictive form of social research that makes unexpected reunions possible for singles and couples alike. In Friendster's second wave of popularity, pranksters have created 'Fakesters,' charlatan profiles that serve up fandom, tributes, institutional affiliations, or conceptual identifications. Pop stars like Beyonce Knowles, not to mention celebrity dogs,have cultivated large circles of friends. For intelligensia-hounds, Guy Debord was recently spotted on Friendster using a 1000 word Situationalist manifesto in his 'About Me' column. Some of the most clever conceptual fakesters include the number Pi, who likes Dating both Men and Women, Gay Clich
Boyfriend in Latvia
The Canadian duo Boyfriend (Bernadette Houde and Maija Martin) spent last May at the RIXC New Media Centre in Riga, Latvia creating one song a day and keeping an online journal of the day's experiment. They included detailed technical notes, as the demystification of electronic music production was a stated aim of the project, but also offered a view into the aesthetic and personal quirks of their collaboration. On Day 6 angelic voices of feminist irritation float above a saccharine beat in a pauseless recitation of the 47 male names listed as participants in Mutek's conference 'Assessing the Current Status of Electronic Music in Canada.' This track found it's way on to the compilation CD accompanying the second issue of New York feminist art journal LTTR, along with a minimal-but-ravey cover of the Indigo Girls' 'Prince of Darkness' by another of Bernadette Houde's projects, the Montreal-based band Lesbians on Ectasy. -- Johanna Fateman
Unique Visits
American President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. In 2003, American artist Abe Linkoln offers his own form of dada-inspired data-emancipation with
Light Up the Sky
I heard from a friend who works in fashion that Ralph Lauren is aiming to 'brand the sky.' The firmament may not remain free from rampant commodification for long but at least artists are up there also, bringing the atmosphere to life in novel ways. Case in point, 'Amodal Suspension,' a large-scale installation by artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer to take place from 1-24 November in Yamaguchi, Japan. Project participants will send messages via cell phones or web browsers connected to www.amodal.net. Each message will be encoded as a unique set of flashes and redirected into Yamaguchi's celestial sphere by robotically-controlled lights. Lozano-Hemmer has engineered the project such that each transmitted message will be translated automatically between Japanese and English, acknowledging what the press release calls the 'irony of globalisation.' The clouds of data will indeed offer a number of coded messages, and besides visualizing the traffic of information, they also look stunningly beautiful. -- Rachel Greene
Take A Left at the Carlyle Group
If you feel lost just thinking about global culture, Bureau d'Etudes may have some navigational tools for you. An art collective based in France, BDE creates graphical maps of relationships of power, like those existing between financial institutions, nation states and military operations. The often complex flow charts, featuring jumbles of pictographs, texts, and connecting circuitry, offer visual representations of abstractions such as the 'military industrial complex' and 'world government.' Critic Brian Holmes' essay, 'Cartography of Excess,' available on the Bureau d'Etudes site, is recommended for further insight into the practice and relevance of mapping as a creative and resistant form of culture. Most maps are available as PDF files in both English and French. - Ryan Griffis
Balkanize It!
The Balkans has often been constructed as Europe's heart of darkness - barbarian, exotic, anarchic, with constantly shifting geographical and political borders. Like a virus, Balkanism can flow upstream along the Danube to infect Austria, Germany - perhaps the entire civilised world. Last April, 7 Austrian artists undertook a tour of the Balkans, accompanied by 2 Serbian artists. Their travels are documented in a web site, an 'interactive map of the mental Balkans,' and a live multimedia performance to take place in Graz, Austria on Saturday, 18 October. To add your own thoughts about the Balkans, visit the web site and chose an area on the map to Balkanize by uploading an image, text or sound; or browse through the diverse Balkanistic experiences and opinions of others. - Helen Varley Jamieson
Swoosh, They Did It Again
Now that most sports arenas and events have been tagged by sponsors, what else is left to brand for the mobile and hip transnational corporation? Always a pioneer in PR, Nike has uncovered a yet untapped frontier for name placement: the historic squares of urban Europe. The first location for Nike's new campaign is Vienna's Karlsplatz, now known as 'Nikeplatz.' In order to promote the Nike lifestyle to the Viennese public, a seductive 'Info Box' has been installed in the square. There, visitors can learn about the 18 m high monumental swoosh to be built on the square (soon) and the commemorative Turbulence III sneaker (both in celebration of Nikeplatz). Part of a campaign named 'Nikeground,' Nikeplatz is just the first of many international cities that will be upgraded to a Nike City. OK, in case you are filled with dread and fear, you can relax: Nikeground is actually a new project by the always provocative European art group 0100101110101101.ORG in cooperation with Vienna's Public Netbase. But, I bet Phil Knight is thinking... -Ryan Griffis
The Loughton Candidate's Homepage
While the Cremaster Cycle by Matthew Barney is so sprawling that it requires museum-scale installation, the web site for the five part project reveals that the opus actually lends itself to online aesthetics. As gorgeous and designed as each element seems, their rhetorical and narrative contexts are complex and often hermetic, and therefore the features of the web site -- the diagramming of characters (family tree style), identification of key sculptures and the provision of synopses, video trailers, and supplemental information -- are all helpful in penetrating Barney's deliberately complex oeuvre. Makeup, prosthetics, gonadal perversity, ascension, descent -- all the Barney hallmarks are represented in this online version. Highly recommended as a supplement and learning tool for those who want to move beyond the Cremaster-hype and engage the artist's socio-biological, post-human, and occasionally Vaudevillian, mythology. -- Rachel Greene
Poll Position
Rhizome.org has been publishing Net Art News three times a week for the last couple of months and before restoring our former publication schedule of five days per week, we thought we should poll readers and consider their preferences. Our aim is to find a publication frequency in line with our readers' habits. Please take a moment to let us know how many times per week you would like to receive Net Art News. Thanks in advance for your participation. -- Rhizome Staff


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On average, payments in the Indian steel/metals industry have remained unchanged since last year, taking between 60 and 90 days.
- Production expected to rebound due to government initiatives
- Payments take between 60 and 90 days
- No increase in payment delays expected
According to the Joint Plant Committee (a unit set up by the Indian Ministry of Steel), India´s steel consumption in the fiscal year 2013-14 (in India the financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March) increased only 0.6% year-on-year, to 73.93 million tons: the slowest growth rate for four fiscal years. Exports grew 4.1% helped by rupee depreciation, while imports decreased 31.3%. Steel consumption remained subdued in the period April-July, with a growth rate of just 0.6%, while production increased 0.9%: unsurprising, in view of the slowdown in Indian economic growth. The industry has been hit by lower demand from end-user industries such as construction and automotive, which between them account for almost 75% of domestic steel demand. As a consequence, profit margins have shrunk over the last 12 months.
On a positive note, the new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently announced some initiatives that could help the sector: large infrastructure projects, including city and sea port development, power plants, pipelines, metro for tier 2 cities, a revival of Special Economic Zones and incentives for housing. The government has also announced an increase in import duties on flat-rolled steel products from 5% to 7.5% which is expected to provide major relief to the domestic stainless steel industry, which suffers from underutilisation of capacity and increased imports from foreign competition.
The Finance Minister also made a commitment to amend the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act of 1957 in order to resolve the existing impasse in the coal and mining sectors.
However, the government has also proposed an increase of 2.5% in the basic customs duty for coking, steam and bituminous coal. Since over 90% of India's demand for coking coal is met through imports, a hike in import duty on coal is likely to increase production costs in the steel industry, which could be difficult to pass on to customers. As a result, steel industry leaders have demanded a reconsideration of the import duty initiative. While international coking coal contract prices have decreased, this benefit has been largely offset by last year's steep rupee depreciation. Although the exchange rate has stabilised somewhat in recent months, any further rupee depreciation could increase production costs, thus driving down margins.
Domestic steel demand in India is expected to increase in the 2014-15 financial year on the back of a gradual economic rebound and the infrastructural improvements planned by the new government. The World Steel Association has forecast that steel demand in India will grow 4.5% in 2015. However, steel prices are not expected to increase due to persistent overcapacity in the domestic steel market. Other major challenges for the Indian steel and metal industry remain land acquisition issues in setting up Greenfield projects, delays in environmental clearances for mining activities, logistics support, security of raw material supply, higher raw material costs, and the increase in cheaper imports.
On average, payments in the Indian steel/metals industry have remained unchanged since last year, taking between 60 and 90 days. We have received very few credit insurance claims in the last three years and, based on our experience to date, we do not plan any imminent major change in our underwriting approach as we do not expect any major increase in payment delays or insolvencies. We are of course prudent in underwriting this sector: to accurately assess credit limit applications we always require up to date financial information and, more importantly, details of up to date trading experience with buyers in order to assess actual requirements and monitor any changes in payment behaviour. We also assess the strength of the customer/buyer relationship.
On those occasions when the amount of our customer's credit limit application exceeds our assessment of the buyer's creditworthiness, we still try to approve as high a credit limit as is reasonable. As securities in the form of guarantees to trade suppliers are fairly unusual in India, we would not expect our customers to take on the difficult or even impossible task of seeking such security. Instead, we would tend to agree to a proportion of amount applied for, and always explain to our customer our areas of concern and the information we would need to reassess the application. We would generally not encourage customers to lengthen their normal terms of payment.
Industry performance
Changes since July 2014
Automotive/Transport: Up from Poor to Fair
Growth in the Indian car sector has returned after two years of slowdown, and sales are expected to increase further with higher demand from the automotive sector. A proposed elimination of customs duty on auto components should benefit the sector.


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Book Sale
The Friends of DAML hold an annual book sale on the 4th of July at the Williston Central School. The Library accepts donations the month before the sale. Look for announcements at the Library, on the library website and in the Williston Observer regarding the sale. We accept: hardcover and softcover books in good condition, CD's, DVD's, and audio books on CD.
We do not accept: magazines, textbooks, reference or travel books over five years old, puzzles, games, condensed books (Reader's Digest) VHS or cassette tapes, computer software, encyclopedias, sheet music, maps, dirty or damaged materials.
Giving Tree
Throughout December and January the library has its annual Giving Tree donation program. Ornaments decorate the tree throughout the holiday season, representing items that we would like to add to the library collection. Select an item for the library to be given in the name of a loved one. We'll provide a gift enclosure card for the recipient and put a brief dedication inside the item.
Donations to the Library
The library welcomes donations. They are a wonderful way to remember loved ones, mark special occassions such as births, graduations and weddings or just help the library.
Anyone wishing to make a donation can contact the Library at (802)878-4918.