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I've come to the conclusion that I'd be much happier if Work of Art were a PBS style reality show a la Frontier House with a series of art historians and critics discussing the realities of art world as we watch the struggling members of the art world. I like drama as much as the next person, but I found Bravo's focus on artistic disputes at the expense the art particularly disheartening in this week's public art challenge. Too many of its participants will be left scarred by this show.
Wearer of fine furs, Yvonne Force Villareal, was the guest judge this week, though her position as President and Co-Founder of the Art Production Fund didn't do much to illuminate the field. Aside from showing and introducing her own work she said virtually nothing during the show. Please bring Richard Phillips back.
Once the challenge was introduced, the artists were split into two teams and audiences waited to see who Erik wouldn't get along with. The Blue team members were Miles, Peregrine, Eric and Jaclyn, and Red were Nicole, Ryan, Abdi and Mark. It took all of two seconds before we hear him talk about how nervous he is to work with Jaclyn due to past arguments, but when she attempts to mend bridges Erik very much appreciates the gesture. Erik's hair-trigger for making a lot of ill-considered statements when he feels his own skills are either being negated or challenged is a shame, because it puts into question what often seem to be good intentions.
Like other challenges in this program, this one would have benefited from further consideration on the part of the producers. Work of Art has anarchy decide who's going to be a team leader, and then evaluates contestants on who won what arguments. Better would have been a Project Runway type model where artists sketch proposals, the guest judge chooses the best two, and then teams executing the projects are evaluated on their execution. At least this way, the audience can maintain the illusion that quality matters. It would have also cut out a lot of misguided discussion about how grouping the artists in teams is counter intuitive to their practice. The concept of lone artistic genius doesn't make a lot of sense in a time when countless artists outsource manufacturing and frequently work collaboratively.
As per usual the judging in this week's episode makes no sense whatsoever. I realize these scenes are intensely edited, but even knowing this the judges seemed to respond better to the blue team before they went back to the gallery. In the park we hear about the beeswax cedar scent of the blue team's sleigh and watch people happily climbing into its perch. By contrast the red team hears criticism about how its piece doesn't have the relationship to the sky the group claims, and is too new age-y. Even when they return to Bravo's gallery, gallerist Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn rightly complains that the work "is too close to all the bad sixties and seventies works."
Strangely she changes her tune when discussing what they enjoyed about the work. "I really liked the poetry behind it" says Greenberg Rohatyn. Please. The dealer was undoubtedly referring to the title of the work The Noumenom, which suggests seeking out the hidden magic in the world, a place presumably located in the center of a corporate lobby somewhere. Past this, making a small object big, as they did with those stones is the oldest trick in the art book.
Meanwhile the blue team gets it. "To the Red Team's credit, they presented a piece that was much easier to interact with" says Bill Powers, an argument about an uninviting geometric form I don't buy for a second. Suddenly the safety of the structure was an issue and art critic Jerry Saltz notes the place in the sky the sculpture points towards, "That's exactly the hole in the sky that the twin towers left". Bravo makes this look like a giant mistake on their part, but that's just ridiculous. A new building is being constructed as we speak, so why should the interpretation of that hole necessarily be negative? It could in fact be quite hopeful.
In any event, lets sum up this weeks results.
THE WINNER – The kind of art that gives art a bad name – Jerry Saltz
Based on the quality of the art alone, Nicole should have been eliminated as the Red Team's leader.
Yeah sure.
No one. With the exception of Honig every member of The Blue Team issued sentiments about their team members that will ensure they'll have nightmares for years to come. The Red Team made a horrible sculpture.
Erik Johnson deserved to go home several times over before this challenge, so while I'm not sorry to see him go, it should have been connected to his art. In a confrontation at the studio over artistic direction Johnson told Miles "I'm not your helper". He wasn't exaggerating his position, (even if he might have sucked it up like the rest of them) but if Erik's full of bad ideas and poor instincts his team should have let him hang himself with his planted vine idea or snake scales. UPDATE: Jaclyn Santos writes about Bravo's outright manipulation of cast to create a more "compelling" story line. UPDATE 2: I'm hearing accounts from Work of Art Contestants that this account is not accurate. Easier said than done when elimination is on the line, but at least that way they wouldn't have been dealing with his hostility. "I've been around too long and been through too much to have some stuck up art pussy tell me life lessons" Johnson complains of Miles as he stops work all together. Even if he hadn't gone home sulking "here ends my last ditch effort at art," statements about pussies are likely to seal the deal. The art world is full of them and we like it that way.


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With the Deeg fully ensconced in the game of American Throw, Catch & Run Ball, and with fatherly duties perhaps keeping me away from my obviously more important duties here at the Deeg, it would be easy to coast a little bit with my contributions. Yet, if last Saturday night's "live" blog and the subsequent opportunities to watch a little more soccer than usual while on a slice of paternity leave, it's that I fucking love this sport. Sure, the NFL is tons of capitalist fun, but good Christ - there is little in the world that compares to watching the uninterrupted action of a game of soccer played at the highest levels of the sport.
So, for those of you who share that love or who like what I write enough to suffer through posts about one of your least favorite sports, I'll be trying to re-settle into a niche here at the Deeg while everyone else is talking about CJ "Blue Jesus" Spiller and the Bills' two lines of monster football players who remind us all (a little bit too much, probably) of what went down in Orchard Park about 20 years ago. (Not that this will keep me from chiming in on the Bills, since it is game day...)
The format for these forays into footy, if you give a shit, will be a breakdown of the handful of games that I got a chance to watch or follow closely over the course of the last week, followed by a sprinkle of quick thoughts about the squads that matter to me, whether it be Liverpool, the Red Bulls, (mostly because I love Michael Bradley) Roma or the US Senior National Teams. With the kiddo and my waning attention span, your guess is as good as mine as to how long I keep at this with any frequency. Finger crossing, as with all things, is encouraged.
Click "Read More" to, you guessed it! -- READ MORE.

subset: commoncrawl


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Here is a selection from the PS22 Chorus performance at the World Trade Center Museum. It was truly an emotional day, and the wonderful folks at Tribute WTC made us feel right at home. The song was beautifully filmed by professional videographer Jonathan Rivera, uncle of Carmelo, the former chorus member (current headbanger!) who sang at the museum with us.
The song is "We're N.Y.C." originally "It's Gonna Be Me" by N'Sync. The song was rewritten by one of our fifth grade classes as their contribution to our Sept. 11 tribute movie, THE CONFERENCE that is currently being featured as part of an exhibit at the museum.
The chorus checking out PS22's video entry at Tribute's Children's exhibit!
The PS22 Chorus with the incredible museum staff!
PS22 Chorus alumnus Carmelo striking his best rock star pose!
Altos singing soulfully...
...and the Sopranos following suit....
When Angela and Isaac sing, "Time" stops to listen....
Mrs. Burns & Mr. B posin' with Jarred
Robert stops a moment to take it all in.
Matthew having a good ol' time!
Tribute curator Lee Ielpe with the chorus
Carmelo laughing it up with Museum Curator Meriam Lobel
Alexandra performing her amazing rendition of "Amazing Grace" Isaiah singing with his usual soulfulness.
The men of the chorus making their presence known!
Groupies Mrs. Johnson & Mrs. Burns hangin' with the sopranos!
Wessede, Mr. B, and Aminah beaming after a great performance and a great day!
For more on the PS22 Chorus's Affiliation With Tribute WTC museum, click on the following links:
PS22 Receives An Award From Tribute WTC Museum
Tribute WTC Museum Exhibit Opens Featuring PS22's September 11th Docu-Drama
See Excerpts From PS22's September 11th Docu-Drama Currently Featured In Tribute WTC Museum Exhibit


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'No Hunting #7' original painting
Acrylics on vintage, screen printed "No Hunting" cardboard sign (300gsm).
These signs were found in a farmer's barn, in Arizona (US) and are approximately 50-60 yrs old.
23 X 30.5 cm (9 x 12 inches)
Signed and dated on reverse
Free recorded delivery within the UK. Please allow up to 10 working days for delivery. International deliveries may take up to 3 weeks.


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Rivets are generally acknowledged as the most versatile fastening method available with the benefits of secure fixing from one side.
The Faithfull Pop or Blind rivets are manufactured from quality aluminium with a steel pulling mandrel. These rivets are suitable for use with most hand riveters and are RoHS compliant for use in electrical appliances.


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New York, February 29, 2000—CPJ is investigating reports that a Russian photographer kidnapped by Chechen rebels has been murdered. ITAR-TASS news agency photographer Vladimir Yatsina, 51, had been missing since July 19, 1999, following his arrival in the Ingushetian border town of Nazran. According to reports, he was then kidnapped and taken to Chechnya.
At a Federal Security Service briefing in Moscow yesterday, Kazakh businessman Alisher Orazaliyev, who was recently released from captivity in Chechnya and claims to have been held by the same people who kidnapped Yatsina, says he witnessed the photographer's death on February 20.
According to Orazaliyev, Yatsina, who had health problems and was unable to move quickly, was shot by his Chechen captors five miles outside the Chechen village of Shatoi.
In August 1999, according to ITAR-TASS, the kidnappers contacted Yatsina's family and demanded US$2 million in ransom. The news agency claims the kidnappers demanded the same amount from them in November.
ITAR-TASS officials say they had been working with Russian government officials and others to secure Yatsina's release. On February 9, a special Interior Ministry task force was created to investigate the case.
Yatsina had worked for ITAR-TASS since 1979. "Volodya's fate was a topic of discussion not only in the cabinets of Russian politicians and military commanders. It was also discussed with United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan," the agency's management said in a written statement released yesterday.
In November, Yatsina was allowed a one-minute phone conversation with his wife. He told her that he was being moved a safer location. Reportedly, Yatsina was last seen alive in early February by a Russian Air Force officer, who claimed to have been held captive with the journalist.
For more information please contact CPJ at (212) 465-1004 or by e-mail at [email protected]


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Genital and Oral Herpes Treatments*†
- Gene-Eden-VIR and Novirin decrease and even stop the genital and oral herpes outbreaks caused by the herpes virus (see clinical studies here, here, and here, and details below). †
- Gene-Eden-VIR and Novirin are safe (see study here, here, and here, and details below). †
- The ingredients of Gene-Eden-VIR and Novirin are all natural.
- Gene-Eden-VIR and Novirin come in a capsule taken orally.
- Gene-Eden-VIR and Novirin target the latent herpes virus (HSV1 and HSV2). †
- Gene-Eden-VIR and Novirin come with a 90 Days Money-Back Guarantee.
- The Gene-Eden-VIR and Novirin formula was developed by analyzing thousands of scientific studies using artificial intelligence (AI).
- Gene-Eden-VIR was launched at the end of 2009, and Novirin in 2014.
- You can choose to take either Gene-Eden-VIR or Novirin. There is no need to take both treatments at the same time.
FREE Shipping inside the United States
FREE Shipping inside the United States
Why take Gene-Eden-VIR or Novirin?
Since clinical studies showed that Gene-Eden-VIR/Novirin decrease and even stop the herpes outbreaks. The studies also showed that Gene-Eden-VIR/Novirin is safer and more effective than acyclovir, valacyclovir, and famciclovir, the three leading drugs used in the treatment of genital herpes. The clinical studies were conducted by Dr. Hanan Polansky, Dr. Edan Itzkovitz, and Adrian Javaherian from the Center for the Biology of Chronic Disease (CBCD). The studies were published in the medical journal Drug Design, Development and Therapy, the medical journals Clinical and Translational Medicine, and the Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine. (Click here to read a more detailed description of these studies.) The studies are listed on Pubmed, the most selective and prestigious database of medical papers in the world. Pubmed is developed and maintained by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), located at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Such listing indicates that the clinical studies are of high quality and can be trusted in making decisions about your health. *†
What are Gene-Eden-VIR and Novirin?
Gene-Eden-VIR and Novirin are patented herbal treatments for herpes. Gene-Eden-VIR and Novirin are unique treatments developed by our own scientists. The patented formula of both treatments includes 100 mg of a quercetin extract, 150 mg of a green tea extract, 50 mg of a cinnamon extract, 25 mg of a licorice extract, and 100 mcg of selenium. Gene-Eden-VIR was launched at the end of 2009, and Novirin in 2014. The difference between the two products is that Novirin has higher quality, more expensive ingredients. *†
In addition to Gene-Eden-VIR and Novirin, what other treatments are available?
The three leading drugs against genital herpes are acyclovir (Zovirax), famciclovir (Famvir), and valacyclovir (Valtrex). Acyclovir was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1984, valacyclovir in 1995, and famciclovir in 1994. All drugs are used in both episodic and suppressive treatment of the disease. In episodic treatment the patient administers the drug during outbreaks. The main objective of episodic treatment is to decrease the duration of the outbreaks, that is, the time it takes the sores to heal. Clinical studies showed that episodic treatment with these drugs decease the time it takes a sore to heal by 1–2 days. In suppressive treatment the patients take the drugs daily, that is, even when there are no outbreaks. The most common objective of suppressive treatment is to decrease the number of outbreaks. Clinical studies showed that suppressive treatment with these drugs for a period of 4-12 months decreases the number of outbreaks such that about 50% of the patients have no outbreaks during the treatment, and the other 50% have a 70%–80% decrease in the number of their outbreaks. *†
What is genital herpes?
There are two types of viruses which cause herpes, HSV-1 and HSV-2. Both viruses are spread through direct contact with an infected person, and cause sores on the body. HSV-1 typically causes cold sores and blisters around the mouth area, while HSV-2 causes outbreaks in the genital area. However, HSV-1 can also cause outbreaks in the genital area, and HSV-2 can cause blisters around the mouth area. *†
How did I get infected with genital herpes?
Genital herpes is a contagious disease that spreads by contact with an infected person. HSV-1 is generally caused by casual interactions, like eating from the same utensils, sharing lip balm, or kissing. HSV-2 is sexually transmitted, and is mainly spread through vaginal and anal sex.
HSV-1 can be transmitted even when the infected person isn't experiencing any symptoms. 30-95% of adults test positive for HSV-1, although many never experience an outbreak.
HSV-2 is most contagious when an infected person is experiencing an outbreak. Around 20% of sexually active adults in the United States are estimated to have HSV-2. *†
How do I know if I have genital herpes?
Although someone can become infected with the herpes virus and have no visible symptoms, common signs of the onset of the disease include blistering sores (in the mouth or on the genitals), pain during urination, vaginal discharge, and a general feeling of being unwell (similar to flu-symptoms.)
Symptoms of recurring infections include painful red blisters that burst and leave sores around the lips, mouth, genitals, rectum, buttocks, and thighs.
Herpes sores can also occur in the eyes and cause eye pain, discharge, and a gritty feeling in the eyes. *†


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Moving in the summer when a lot of people do can be such a challenge. But if you prepare well, moving will be definitely easier for you.
Here are ten tips you can follow for an easier move:
- Think about this: Can I handle the move alone? or do I need to hire a licensed moving company for a full-service or partial-service move? The answer to this depends on your family's budget, available time and lifestyle. Before you choose a moving company to help you, get quotes from atleast three companies so you can compare and get the best deal. Packing calculators can help you gauge the number of boxes and packing materials you will need.
- Plan where each box or furniture will be placed in your new home before you pack them. Taking pictures of each room in the new house can make this task easier. Write down where each item should go and what needs to be assemled first. Make sure to bring this list with you on moving day. Cross out from the list each item as it is placed in its new room. This will making moving orderly and smooth.
- Create a system when packing and start early. This will enable you to move within your time frame in an organized manner. Go to Moving.com to complete a free change of address and to schedule utilities. Go through your things one at a time – one cabinet, one storage box, one room at a time. Divide your things among these categories: for charity, give to a friend, recycle, trash, pack now, or keep handy until moving day. With each room or bin you clear out, the task of packing becomes less overwhelming.
- Plan on what to do with the kids on moving day. Think if you'll leave them in daycare or if you'll have a friend or family member take care of them. Dont forget to thank them or give them a thank you gift. Another option would be to set up a corner where they could play or entertain themselves on your new home on moving day.
- If you have a pet, make plans for them too. All the hustle and bustle can be stressful for man's bestfriend. Bring them to a pet daycare or leave them with a willing friend on moving day.
- Secure small items. Some big things (furniture, appliance) need to be disassembled. You'll need to have a container for small parts like screws. Make sure they're sealed and marked so nothing gets lost.
- Packing cleaning products and toxins (such as pesticides or bleach) can be quite hard to manage. Get rid of as much as you can But be careful in doing this. Dispose of them in an eco-friendly way. If you don't know how, get information from your city's waste disposal department. For those that need to go with you, pack them securely. Put them in a sealed container and make sure they're marked clearly. Keep them away from other stuff especially like your children or pet's stuff.
- Think about getting full value insurance. This insures the protection of your belongings. In the event that something will be lost or damaged, that item will be replaced or there will be cash settlement based on the current market value regardless of the age of the item. It may cost more with a professional mover but the peace of mind that it can give you will be worth it. Do not settle for the required minimum coverage of 60 cents per pound. If something bad happens, it won't be able to cover what was damaged or lost.
- Know your rights as a consumer. For interstate moves, do you research in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) or contact the state agency in your state. FMCSA requires interstate movers to offer arbitration to settle disputed claims. If you're having a hard time with the moving company or they threaten to hold your belongings for an illegal reason, report them to the Better Business Bureau (BBB).


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Confessions of a Guidebook Writer
By Rick StevesLet me pack you along for a day on the road to help demystify what goes into the making of a guidebook.
While working in Europe, a guidebook writer's entire day's experiences are dedicated to research. I need to be a lint brush, picking up local tips, leads, and feedback. My secret research weapon is taking time to interview people running the hotels and restaurants already listed in my guidebook. They think I'm friendly and gracious to take time to chat, and while I truly enjoy it, it's also the best way for me to learn what works and what doesn't, along with the pitfalls and frustrations experienced by people traveling with my guidebooks.
In Madrid, my hotel didn't serve breakfast so I needed to find a place to eat. If it's a problem for me…it's a problem for my readers, too. I asked the receptionist to recommend a good churros place (cigar-shaped doughnuts Spaniards dunk in hot chocolate for breakfast). He said, "Americans want Starbucks…it's over there." I need to balance my interest in having people enjoy the old-fashioned cliché and the modern reality. I track down the churros place and dunk a few churros (it's a chain café…not much local energy), and treat myself to a latte and blueberry muffin (we're all just human) at Starbucks. Next year, both options — with frank appraisals — will be in the book.
Over coffee I review my goals for the day. A smart schedule is critical. Checking hotels before 10:00 is bad news — people haven't checked out yet — and the staff is still busy with breakfast. It's hard to see a room. Checking late in the afternoon is also bad — everyone's checked in for the day and places are reluctant to show rooms. Prime hotel-checking time is 10:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Restaurants are a big priority for any guidebook researcher. There are two hours of prime restaurant review time each evening. I take a minute to locate the places on a map and consider all the reader feedback I've received (both for existing places and tips on new places). Then it's off to drop in at as many eateries as possible. I can't eat everywhere…but I can talk to customers in each place. My reward — just before the kitchens close — is to eat at my favorite place.
Menus and the mechanics of ordering can be frustrating and need to be sorted out. If a stew is a local must-eat experience and big enough for two, I learn if splitting is allowed. If the place is mobbed after 8:30 p.m., I'll suggest ways to avoid the line. If the ambience is great on the ground floor and lousy downstairs, I'll say so. If it's dead on hot evenings (as many indoor places are), I make a note.
A researcher needs to physically visit the sights and do the walks. When I researched Madrid, I dropped by the cloistered nuns (just as I propose in the guidebook). Without being able to see anyone, I talked into the dark wood of their lazy Susan (me in English, them in Spanish), and ordered their cheapest cookies. This year the sisters spun out lemon shortcake. I measured the experience and affirmed that it'll work for my English-speaking readers.
I balance time between the major sights all travelers will do, and obscure and new sights. On that same Madrid visit I dropped by the ancient temple Egypt gave to Franco for helping save antiquities from the rising Nile while building the Aswan Dam. Everyone says it has the best city view in town. My experience: The temple is underrated, and the view overrated. A big wide view of Madrid only makes you wonder why anyone would build a city in this nondescript piece of Iberia. But nowhere else in Europe can you see an actual Egyptian temple standing in a park.
I filter out information on temporary exhibits and special events that will be gone next year. I don't care if the Queen's sharing her box at the Royal Albert Hall…if my readers can't do it next year, it doesn't exist, as far as I'm concerned.
After 30 years of this work, it stays fresh and there's always something new to learn. I still pull doors that say push and bump my nose on doors that say pull. When I get ripped off, I celebrate — I learned a scam and can now share it with my readers. And, somehow, I'm still as thrilled as ever to ride the train across the causeway approaching Venice…to step out of a cable car on the tip of a Swiss Alp…and to dunk those churros into my hot Spanish chocolate.


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One of the first things to figure out when you, or your family, get the itch to try skiing is where to go. If you plan to ski in Switzerland, you are in luck because there are plenty of ski resorts to choose from!
Vacation Rental Homes for the Young Traveler
Our vacation rental offers access to some of the best ski resorts in top Alps ski destinations. Here you can enjoy a fun ski vacation whether you're headed for a double black diamond or the bunny slope.
Continue reading "Vacation Rental Homes for the Young Traveler"
5 Budget Travel Tips Every Digital Nomad Should Know
First of all, travel off-season. Check with the local tourism office to find out when their off-season starts when flying, either plan well in advance (ideally, 10 months to a year ahead) or at the last minute (two weeks or less before you leave) – these will give you the cheapest pricing.
Continue reading "5 Budget Travel Tips Every Digital Nomad Should Know"
How to Stay Healthy While Traveling for Business
It can be challenging to stay healthy while traveling for business. You're likely adjusting to a new time zone, managing a hectic schedule and eating several meals out.
Continue reading "How to Stay Healthy While Traveling for Business"


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Orangutans (Pongo) are great apes belonging to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. There are two species of orangutan. They are from Southeast Asia. There are very few of them left, because loss of the jungle has reduced their habitat. There are orangutans on view at the Singapore zoo.
Orangutan Temporal range:
| |
Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Primates |
Suborder: | Haplorhini |
Infraorder: | Simiiformes |
Family: | Hominidae |
Subfamily: | Ponginae |
Genus: | Pongo Lacépède, 1799 |
Type species | |
Pongo pygmaeus | |
Species | |
Pongo pygmaeus | |
Range of the three extant species | |
Synonyms | |
Faunus Oken, 1816 |
The name orangutan comes from two Malay words, orang which means person, and hutan which means forest; so orangutan means person of the forest.[1]
change- Genus Pongo
- Bornean orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus
- Sumatran orangutan, Pongo abelii
- Tapanuli orangutan, Pongo tapanuliensis [2]
Sumatran Orangutan
Tapanuli Orangutan
changeOrangutans have red-brown hair. They have long arms, and short legs. They can be strong like chimpanzees, gorillas and humans. They also have hands that are good for climbing. The Sumatran Orangutan is smaller and has longer hair than the Bornean orangutan. Orangutans have suffered from forest loss and are on the very edge of extinction.
changeOrangutans are from the rainforests on the islands Borneo and Sumatra in Southeast Asia. They mostly live up in the trees. They eat fruit, leaves and bark and also insects and bird eggs. They drink water from rain that has been collected in leaves. Orangutans are not comfortable on the ground since they have to push themselves along with fists. Heavy adults move carefully through the trees, using their flexible feet to grasp the tree branches. Smaller orangutans swing with more ease.
changeAn orangutan's diet consists mainly of fruit, they like ripe fruit. If they cannot find fruit they will eat bark, leaves and termites, rather than move to somewhere else to get food. About 60% of an orangutan's diet is fruit, 25% is leaves, 10% is bark and flowers, and 5% is termites and other insects.[3]
changeAfter a pregnancy of 230–260 days the female gives birth to usually one baby, but sometimes two, every eight to nine years. The little ones stay with their mother for years, riding on the mother backend and learning to move through the forest. The young orangutans are playful and affectionate. When they are five or six years old, they become more independent and eventually go off on their own.[4]
Related pages
change- ↑ "Orangutan Facts –". orangutans-sos.org. Sumatran Orangutan Society. 2011. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
- ↑ The Tapanuli Orangutan was discovered in Sumatra in 2017.
- ↑ "What do Wild Orangutans Eat?". Archived from the original on 2015-11-07. Retrieved 2015-11-26.
- ↑ Blue Planet Level 5, written by Dinorah Pous p.70
Other websites
change- Primate Info Net Pongo Factsheet
- Information from Grungy Ape on the difference between the two Orang-utan species Archived 2010-01-05 at the Wayback Machine
- OrionSociety.org Archived 2007-02-08 at the Wayback Machine - 'Does an orangutan find Freedom in the Gift of Words? Do We?'
- Orang utan language project Archived 2009-03-18 at the Wayback Machine
- Facial Expression & Vocalizations
- Orangutan Foundation International non-profit organization dedicated to "support the conservation and understanding of the orangutan and its rain forest habitat while caring for ex-captive individuals as they make their way back to the forest."
- Orang Utan Republik Education Initiative non-profit organization whose mission is to secure the future of the orangutan through programs of education and outreach in Indonesia.
- The Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation
- Sumatran Orangutan Society International non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of Sumatran orangutans


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Tuscon, Ariz., manufacturer Kick'in Kampers Inc. is now converting travel trailers, fifth-wheels, vans and motorhomes to make them accessible to the disabled, according to a report in the Arizona Daily Star.
Roll-in tile showers, chair-lift systems, widened entry doors and altered counter heights are just a few of the modifications that owner Lorenzo Caracciolo and his employees offer to customers.
"We build them from the ground up, so we can pretty much take anything and modify it," Caracciolo said.
Caracciolo and his father, who has been in the RV business for nearly 40 years, previously owned an RV dealership until four years ago when they began designing and building their custom line of truck "kampers" and travel trailers.
They found that their willingness to modify existing RVs appealed to customers with specific customization needs, such as wheelchair- or walking-aid users.
Kick'in Kampers recently modified a fifth-wheel for a paraplegic man from New Mexico. The back of his coach originally had bunk beds and a corner bathroom, but after the conversion the area became a wheelchair-accessible bathroom covered in ceramic tile that both he and his wife could use.
Currently, Kick'in Kampers is working on an existing motorhome in which it put a hospital bed and medical equipment where a bedroom had been before. It also added a bed that drops from the ceiling and hovers above the hospital bed for the customer's wife.
Kick'in Kampers designs and builds a line of truck campers called Trail Dust and two lines of truck trailers. Its Bamboo Ultra-Lite Trailers range from 14- to 21-feet and its Toucan Trailers from 23- to 30-feet.
It's not just customers looking for a handicapped-accessible vehicle who come to Kick'in Kampers. Some, like Tom and Pam Sanor, are looking for a custom-built camper for other reasons.
The Sanors, originally from Ohio, have been traveling and volunteering around the country for nine years while living out of their fifth-wheel.
In hopes of spending a summer in Alaska and completing their goal of driving to all the states, except Hawaii, the Sanors purchased a smaller truck trailer from Kick'in Kampers' Trail Dust line. They cited the quality of customer service and the amount of customization offered.
"They work with you," Pam Sanor said. "They do it your way."
Tom Sanor said one of his favorite elements of his new RV is the extendable bathroom that Kick'in Kampers has patented. When the camper is parked, the bathroom can slide out, making a spacious and separate shower and toilet area.
The cost for modifications depends on the customer's requests. Caracciolo says prices start around $5,000 for smaller alterations and a complete remodel would be more expensive.


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A dynamic, integrated hydration solution created for hardcore runners, hikers and cyclist, the Fusion 3L Reservoir with Tru Zip Waterproof Zipper is ready for the long haul. Enjoy convenient compatibility thanks to a universal hanger that will fit any hydration-compatible packs. Our Quicklink System ensures easy on-the-go reservoir removal from the pack. Keep it clean with Hydroguard technology to limit bacteria in the reservoir and tube. Even better, the rigid backplate eliminates need for baffle for easier cleaning and drying. Repurpose Green Sustainability Badge: Made with safer chemicals.
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This post comes to you from Culture|Futures
New pathways for locating culture as an integral part of sustainable development will be explored and highlighted when a World Culture in Development Forum is held in Bali, Indonesia, on 24-29 November 2013.
The aim of the World Culture in Development Forum is to create a space to discuss, debate and contest established ideas and approaches, and in doing so to recommend:
• new pathways for locating culture as an integral part of sustainable development,
• ethical frameworks for ensuring community engagement and stakeholder benefits,
• qualitative and quantitative cultural indicators for measuring sustainable development, and
• inputs into the framing of Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
It is envisaged that the World Culture in Development Forum will result in strategic initiatives to:
• promote knowledge communities for intercultural, intergenerational and interfaith dialogue,
• further ethical investment and business practices for cultural industries,
• establish clearing houses for people-centred projects and practices, emphasising local knowledge systems, and
• develop conceptual frameworks informing the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
Leading international agencies and critical thinkers, notably Nobel Laureates, will challenge the participants on four seminal themes that will form the overarching framework of World Culture in Development Forum 2013:
• Culture, Freedom and Social Sustainability,
• Culture and Economic Sustainability,
• Cultural Convergence in a Global Context, and
• Culture and Environmental Sustainability
Gender mainstreaming, active youth engagement and children of today and tomorrow will be the cross cutting themes woven across the entire Forum. A series of discussions, debates, performances and symposia will be programmed with the participation of experts and practitioners from across the world. An inspirational and leading edge cultural programme will be part of the hospitality spectrum.
The UN General Assembly (2011) has called for a more visible and effective integration and mainstreaming of culture into development policies and strategies at all levels. It is important to note that despite the recent global financial crisis there has been continuous growth and prosperity in the domain of culture among the countries of the South. This is the most significant indicator in considering the paradigm shift from the persistent deficit model of culture in development to an affirmative and empowering approach where creativity, knowledge, culture and technology are drivers of job creation, innovation and social inclusion.
The Common Statement on the Outcome of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20) calls for innovative and entrepreneurial ways of moving forward. We have learned from the successes and failures attaining of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is acknowledged that there remains much to be done including ensuring that culture in all its dimensions needs to be integrated more forcefully in development. Culture must become an integral part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the post-2015 Development Agenda.
For more information please contact:
WCF Secretariat, Ministry of Education and Culture, Republic of Indonesia,
Building A, 2nd Floor, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman, Senayan, Jakarta 10270, Indonesia
Tel: +62 21 3611 3104 • email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Web site:Â wcf-bali.com
Culture|Futures is an international collaboration of organizations and individuals who are concerned with shaping and delivering a proactive cultural agenda to support the necessary transition towards an Ecological Age by 2050.
The Cultural sector that we refer to is an interdisciplinary, inter-sectoral, inter-genre collaboration, which encompasses policy-making, intercultural dialogue/cultural relations, creative cities/cultural planning, creative industries and research and development. It is those decision-makers and practitioners who can reach people in a direct way, through diverse messages and mediums.
Affecting the thinking and behaviour of people and communities is about the dissemination of stories which will profoundly impact cultural values, beliefs and thereby actions. The stories can open people's eyes to a way of thinking that has not been considered before, challenge a preconceived notion of the past, or a vision of the future that had not been envisioned as possible. As a sector which is viewed as imbued with creativity and cultural values, rather than purely financial motivations, the cultural sector's stories maintain the trust of people and society.
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In my long career at IBM I have held a number of interesting positions, perhaps none more interesting than general manager of the Internet Division. The Internet Division was created ten years ago right around this time, so I have been reflecting on what those times were like for me personally, and more generally, what their impact was on me and IBM as a whole.
While the Internet had been around as a DARPA-sponsored project in the research community for a number of years, interest was building up in the general public culminating with the Netscape IPO on August 9, 1995, whose very high valuation took the world by storm, including us in IBM. Former IBM Chairman and CEO Lou Gerstner wrote about this period in IBM in his excellent book "Who Says Elephants Can't Dance?". "By the fall of 1995 ... I decided to make network-centric computing the centerpiece of IBM's strategic vision," he says on page 171. Lou commissioned a team to recommend how IBM should best pursue such a network-centric computing strategy. It was led by Dennie Welsh, who enjoyed tremendous respect within IBM as leader of our services business. As Lou says, "the single most important outcome of Dennie's task force was a recommendation to commit the resources of the entire company to lead this next wave of computing -- to mobilize on every front." Lou then decided to form a new, cross-IBM group to lead this strategy.
At the time, I was general manager of the RS/6000 division, our UNIX systems business, which has since been renamed pSeries. On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving 1995, I was having a strategy meeting with the RS/6000 executive team in Armonk when I got a message that Lou wanted to meet with me the following Monday. When we met that Monday, we talked about Dennie's task force, with which I was familiar, having participated in some of its work. Lou then told me about his plan to create a new division to coordinate our efforts across the company and asked me to lead it, reporting to John M. Thompson, then head of our Software Group and a top strategist in the company. I pointed out to Lou that I had been in my RS/6000 job for only six months, that we were going through some very rough times because our Power micros had fallen behind those of our competitors in the UNIX market and that I was worried about stepping out at such a sensitive time. He said that he had thought of all that and still wanted me to head this new division.
So I did, and shortly after that meeting we announced the formation of the Internet Division in IBM. One of my first calls as soon as I left the meeting with Lou had been to John Patrick to ask him to work with me in organizing the new division and our Internet strategy. John understood the power of the Internet and the impact of the near-universal connectivity it was ushering in better than just about anyone else, and he had been working tirelessly for a number of years to get IBM involved with the Internet. John became VP of Internet Technology and was a crucial partner in everything we did over the next several years.
A lot was starting to happen around the Internet, but it was not clear where things were heading, and in particular what the implications would be to the world of business. Our job was to figure out the business value around the Internet, what we should advise our clients to do and what new products needed to get developed. Equally important, we needed to come up with an Internet business model for IBM that made sense and was financially sound. We worked through 1996 to figure out what our strategy should be, and towards the end of the year the picture began to emerge. Let me summarize what we did and the lessons we learned by discussing the three major directions we took.
Learning in the Marketplace
What made the Internet job different from just about any other I had had until then is that there was no one technology or product you could work on in the labs that would make you a success in the marketplace. In fact, we developed several Internet-specific products, a number of which we eventually gave up on. We had a browser for a while, but early in 1996 decided not to get involved in the browser wars then raging between Netscape and Microsoft. We had our own implementation of the http protocol for a while, but eventually gave it up and embraced the open Apache http server and built our very successful WebSphere family of offerings around it. We built a number of security offerings, content distribution services and IBM-branded commerce sites, but it became clear in the course of 1996 that while some of them could enjoy limited success, they would not lead us into the leadership position we were after.
This time around, the strategy had to come from the marketplace, not the labs. This was new for us -- and for me personally. Watching what our customers were doing, it started to become clear that the Internet was going to have a profound impact on business. The universal reach and connectivity of the Internet were enabling access to information and transactions of all sorts for anyone with a browser and an Internet connection. Any business, by integrating its existing databases and applications with a web front end, could now reach its customers, employees, suppliers and partners at any time of the day or night, no matter where they were. Businesses were thus able to engage in their core transactional activities in a much more productive and efficient way. And they could start very simply, initially just web-enabling specific applications and databases.
Thus was born our e-business strategy. We truly came up with it by watching and learning from what was going on in the marketplace, and adjusting our products and services to make sure that we were helping our customers leverage the Internet for business value. In fall 1997 we also launched a very creative marketing campaign to get the message out and encourage every enterprise to become an e-business.
Every business would benefit from embracing the Internet - not just startups
Of course, the Net didn't just make existing business processes more efficient; it also made new business models possible. As the Internet frenzy started to pick up intensity, people were experimenting with many new models -- some of which turned out to be very innovative, and some rather silly. Part of the buzz in the air was that in the Internet-based "new economy," born-on-the-Net startups had an inherent advantage over existing,"brick-and-mortar" businesses. Because of their grounding in the physical world, it was thought they could not possibly compete in this fast-moving digital space and were therefore headed for extinction. I still remember a conversation in Paris in 1997 with the CIO of a major European retail chain who told me that they had just spent a lot of money remodeling their stores and were wondering if they had done the right thing, given all this "new economy" talk. We were at a meeting in a very nice hotel, built in the mid - 19th century, and I remember answering as I stared at the beautiful painted ceilings in the conference room, that in my opinion the digital world would not at all replace the physical one, but that they would both nicely co-exist for a long time to come.
In our e-business strategy we said that the brand reputation, customer base and IT infrastructure that businesses had built over the years were even greater assets when properly combined with the new capabilities offered by the Internet. We really believed then, and continue to believe now, that the Internet was the beginning of a profound business and societal revolution with the potential to alter the shape of businesses, industries and economies over time. But it was a transformative, not a rip-and-replace, revolution. After the dot-com bubble burst and the IT industry went into a deep funk, we continued acting on our beliefs and embracing Internet-based technologies and services, as we have been doing with our On Demand strategy.
Embracing the Internet "Culture"
IBM, like many large businesses, used to be very inward-looking, preferring to do everything by ourselves if at all possible. Embracing the Internet, its open standards and overall outside-in approach turned out to be much more than a technology change for us. I think it had a very big impact on the overall culture in IBM, as it did in many other companies. It truly made us much more open -- e.g., embracing new technology ideas from external communities, as we did with Apache, Linux and Grid. It paved the way for a much more collaborative approach to innovation, as exemplified by some of our recent announcements around the management of our intellectual property. It helped us better integrate our people and activities around the world, to become more productive and to better support our clients. In short, embracing the Internet turned IBM, as it did so many other businesses, into an open, globally integrated enterprise, far more ready for business in the 21st century than we ever were before.
For me personally, my career has most definitely taken an "Internet culture" turn ever since those days. My next position after the Internet division was leading IBM's Linux initiative in 2000. While many were initially baffled by IBM's embrace of Linux and open source in general, I viewed them as a natural consequence of the Internet and WWW, which made it possible for smart people all over the world to work as a community to develop and support different aspects of the shared IT infrastructure that the Internet and open standards have made possible.
In my present position I spend a lot of time focusing on the forces of innovation, which I view as a natural consequence of our Internet age, as I wrote in this blog story: "Ever since the Internet hit the mainstream in the mid 1990s, we have seen more and more innovation coming from people working together in open communities, something we have been calling Collaborative Innovation. This is no accident, as the Internet and everything around it have proven to be a wonderful platform for people to come together from all over the world and collaborate on whatever problem they all agree to work on."
This very blog, which has become such an important part of my life in the last six months, is another example of the power of the Internet and WWW. "The rise of blogging needs to be viewed in the context of individuals now being able to much more easily contribute content to the growing Web," I wrote in a recent posting on the subject.
Getting involved with the Internet, and the technologies, standards and culture around it ten years ago, turned out to be not just a really good market-facing decision, but one that ended up having a very positive, transformative impact on IBM itself -- as well as on my own professional career.


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There are two such days:
The object of these feasts is the spiritual martyrdom of the Mother of God and her compassion with the sufferings of her Divine Son.
(1) The seven founders of the Servite Order, in 1239, five years after they established themselves on Monte Senario, took up the sorrows of Mary, standing under the Cross, as the principal devotion of their order. The corresponding feast, however, did not originate with them; its celebration was enacted by a provincial synod of Cologne (1413) to expiate the crimes of the iconoclast Hussites; it was to be kept on the Friday after the third Sunday after Easter under the title: "Commemoratio augustix et doloris B. Marix V.". Its object was exclusively the sorrow of Mary during the Crucifixion and Death of Christ. Before the sixteenth century this feast was limited to the dioceses of North Germany, Scandinavia, and Scotland. Being termed "Compassio" or "Transfixio", "Commendatio, Lamentatio B.M.V.", it was kept at a great variety of dates, mostly during Eastertide or shortly after Pentacost, or on some fixed day of a month (18 July, Merseburg; 19 July, Halberstadt, Lxbeck, Meissen; 20 July, Naumberg; cf. Grotefend, "Zeitrechnung", II, 2, 166). Dreves and Blume (Analecta hymnica) have published a large number of rhythmical offices, sequences and hymns for the feast of the Compassion, which show that from the end of the fifteenth century in several dioceses the scope of this feast was widened to commemorate either five dolours, from the imprisonment to the burial of Christ, or seven dolours, extending over the entire life of Mary (cf. XXIV, 122-53; VIII, 51 sq.; X, 79 sq., etc.). Towards the end of the end of the sixteenth century the feast spread over part of the south of Europe; in 1506 it was granted to the nuns of the Annunciation under the title "Spasmi B.M.V.", Monday after Passion Sunday; in 1600 to the Servite nuns of Valencia, "B.M.V. sub pede Crucis", Friday before Palm Sunday. After 1600 it became popular in France and was termed "Dominx N. de Pietate", Friday before Palm Sunday. To this latter date the feast was assigned for the whole German Empire (1674). By a Decree of 22 April 1727, Benedict XIII extended it to the entire Latin Church, under the title "Septem dolorum B.M.V.", although the Office and Mass retain the original character of the feast, the Compassion of Mary at the foot of the Cross. At both Mass and Office the "Stabat Mater" of Giacopone da Todi (1306) is sung.
(2) The second feast was granted to the Servites, 9 June and 15 September, 1668, double with an octave for the third Sunday in September. Its object of the seven dolours of Mary (according to the responsories of Matins: the sorrow
This feast was extended to Spain (1735); to Tuscany (double of the second class with an octave, 1807). After his return from his exile in France Pius VII extended the feast to the Latin Church (18 September, 1814), major double); it was raised to the rank of a double of the second class, 13 May, 1908. The Servites celebrate it as a double of the first class with an octave and a vigil. Also in the Passionate Order, at Florence and Granada (N.S. de las Angustias), its rank is double of the first class with an octave. The hymns which are now used in the Office of this feast were probably composed by the Servite Callisto Palumbella (eighteenth century). On the devotion, cf. Kellner, "Heortology", p. 271. The old title of the "Compassio" is preserved by the Diocese of Hildesheim in a simple feast, Saturday after the octave of Corpus Christi. A feast, "B.M.V. de pietate", with a beautiful medieval office, is kept in honour of the sorrowful mother at Goa in India and Braga in Portugal, on the third Sunday of October; in the ecclesiastical province of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, last Sunday of May, etc. (cf. the corresponding calendars). A special form of devotion is practised in Spanish-speaking countries under the term of "N.S. de la Soledad", to commemorate the solitude of Mary on Holy Saturday. Its origin goes back to Queen Juana, lamenting the early death of her husband Philip I, King of Spain (1506).
To the oriental churches these feasts are unknown; the Catholic Ruthenians keep a feast of the sorrowful Mother on Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi.
APA citation. (1912). Feasts of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14151b.htm
MLA citation. "Feasts of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14151b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Christine J. Murray. Dedicated to Fr. Charles M. Mangan.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.


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Beautiful reversible dress. Print on one side; plain with embroidered pocket on the reverse By Pigeon Organics.
Please allow 2-4 days.
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Obama's Second Term Transformation PlansThe 2012 election has often been described as the most pivotal since 1860.This statement is not hyperbole. If Barack Obama is re-elected the United States will never be the same, nor will it be able to re-capture its once lofty status as the most dominant nation in the history of mankind.The overwhelming majority of Americans do not understand that Obama's first term was dedicated to putting in place executive power to enable him and the administration to fulfill the campaign promise of "transforming America " in his second term regardless of which political party controls Congress. That is why his re-election team is virtually ignoring the plight of incumbent or prospective Democratic Party office holders.The most significant accomplishment of Obama's first term is to make Congress irrelevant. Under the myopic and blindly loyal leadership of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats have succeeded in creating an imperial and, in a second term, a potential dictatorial presidency. During the first two years of the Obama administration when the Democrats overwhelming controlled both Houses of Congress and the media was in an Obama worshipping stupor, a myriad of laws were passed and actions taken which transferred virtually unlimited power to the executive branch.The birth of multi-thousand page laws was not an aberration. This tactic was adopted so the bureaucracy controlled by Obama appointees would have sole discretion in interpreting vaguely written laws and enforcing thousands of pages of regulations they and not Congress would subsequently write.For example, in the 2,700 pages of ObamaCare there are more than 2,500 references to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.There are more than 700 instances when he or she is instructed that they "shall" do something and more than 200 times when they "may" take at their sole discretion some form of regulatory action. On 139 occasions, the law mentions that the "Secretary determines." In essence one person, appointed by and reporting to the president, will be in charge of the health care of 310 million Americans once ObamaCare is fully operational in 2014.The same is true in the 2,319 pages of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act which confers nearly unlimited power on various agencies to control by fiat the nation's financial, banking and investment sectors. The bill also creates new agencies, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, not subject to any oversight by Congress. This overall process was repeated numerous times with other legislation all with the intent of granting unfettered power to the executive branch controlled Barack Obama and his radical associates.Additionally, the Obama administration has, through its unilaterally determined rule making and regulatory powers, created laws out of whole cloth. The Environmental Protection Agency on a near daily basis issues new regulations clearly out of their purview in order to modify and change environmental laws previously passed and to impose a radical green agenda never approved by Congress. The same is true of the Energy and Interior Departments among many others. None of these extra-constitutional actions have been challenged by Congress. The left in America knows this usurpation of power is nearly impossible to reverse unless stopped in its early stages.It is clearly the mindset of this administration and its appointees that Congress is merely a nuisance and can be ignored after they were able to take full advantage of the useful idiots in the Democrat controlled House and Senate in 2009-2010 and the Democrat Senate in the current Congress.Additionally, Barack Obama knows after his re-election a Republican controlled House and Senate will not be able to enact any legislation to roll back the power previously granted to the Executive Branch or usurped by them. His veto will not be overridden as there will always be at least 145 Democratic members of the House or 34 in the Senate in agreement with or intimidated by an administration more than willing to use Chicago style political tactics. The stalemate between the Executive and Legislative Branches will inure to the benefit of Barack Obama and his fellow leftists.The most significant power Congress has is the control of the purse-strings as all spending must be approved by them. However, once re-elected, Barack Obama, as confirmed by his willingness to do or say anything and his unscrupulous re-election tactics, would not only threaten government shutdowns but would deliberately withhold payments to those dependent on government support as a means of intimidating and forcing a Republican controlled Congress to surrender to his demands, thus neutering their ability to control the administration through spending constraints.Further, this administration has shown contempt for the courts by ignoring various court orders, e.g. the Gulf of Mexico oil drilling moratorium, as well as stonewalling subpoenas and requests issued by Congress. The Eric Holder Justice Department has become the epitome of corruption as part of the most dishonest and deceitful administration in American history. In a second term the arrogance of Barack Obama and his minions will become more blatant as he will not have to be concerned with re-election.Who will be there to enforce the rule of law, a Supreme Court ruling or the Constitution? No one. Barack Obama and his fellow-travelers will be unchallenged as they run roughshod over the American people.Many Republicans and conservatives dissatisfied with the prospect of Mitt Romney as the nominee for president are instead focused on re-taking the House and Senate. That goal, while worthy and necessary, is meaningless unless Barack Obama is defeated.The nation is not dealing with a person of character and integrity but someone of single-minded purpose and overwhelming narcissism.Judging by his actions, words and deeds during his first term, he does not intend to work with Congress either Republican or Democrat in his second term but rather to force his radical agenda on the American people through the power he has usurped or been granted.The governmental structure of the United States was set up by the foundersin the hope that over the years only those people of high moral character and integrity would assume the reins of power. However, knowing that was not always possible, they dispersed power over three distinct and independent branches as a check on each other. What they could not imagine is the surrender and abdication of its constitutional duty by the preeminent governmental branch, the Congress, to a chief executive devoid of any character or integrity coupled with a judiciary essentially powerless to enforce the law when the chief executive ignores them.Conservatives, Libertarians, the Republican Party and Mitt Romney must come to grips with this moment in time and their historical role in denying Barack Obama and his minions their ultimate goal. All resources must be directed at that end-game and not merely controlling Congress and the various committee chairmanships.Steve McCannMay 12, 2012I would add but 6 words to those above mentioned, Conservatives, Libertarians, the Republican Party and Mitt Romney, to say "and we the American people also", must come to grips with this moment in time and our role in denying Barack Obama his life long goal of "transforming" us into his slaves working on his government plantation==================
Smashwords.com https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/142287
AND GO SEE THE WEB SITE to see the Chapter titles and much more information:
John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, http://www.mariotti.net, http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/


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Rio de Janeiro
I hope all my readers are well. I particularly hope that in the last week none of you have had any kidney problems, because if you did, your would have been up Corcovado without a nephrologist. I should know, because we have spent the last few days with thousands of them in Rio. It turns out that Rio has been the proud host of the 2007 World Congress of Nephrology. I'm sure nephrologists are nice people but they have been a pain in my side (geddit, side, kidney - fuggedaboutit). They have taken every room in every decent hotel in Rio. They also seemed to be at every tourist spot and every restaurant that we went to. They were easily identifiable with their polo shirts, shorts, trainers and white socks, whereas the locals favour tiny speedos, flip-flops and a six-pack. Those who have met me will appreciate just how well I fitted in.
Despite the influx of kidney specialists we had a fantastic time. We were a bit flummoxed by the whole safety thing. On the one hand we kept hearing Rio was no more dangerous than any big city, on the other, everyone told us we'd probably be mugged and not to walk by the beach late at night. I was deeply confused by the mixed messages, especially as we didn't see any trouble and didn't experience anything ourselves - although that could have been because we were cocooned in a cab for most of the time. The one bit of trouble we did have was with a shifty taxi driver trying to charge the wrong fare. With her acerbic tongue, Silverbrowess swiftly put him in his place.
The safety issue was put in stark relief when we visited a favela. This was a truly astounding tour around Vila Canoas and Rocinha, two of the city's favelas. Both of us felt far safer there than we did in the city - although as our guide pointed out that could have been because all the dodgy geezers had gone to fleece everyone on Copacabana beach. On the tour we were privileged to meet a few of the locals and in particular, visit a project for kids called Para Ti. We saw a side of Rio that people think they know thanks to fear-mongering or film. Both of us felt far safer in Rio that night, having had some of the myth of the favelas burst. Don't get me wrong, these places are exceptionally dangerous, our guide regaled us with stories of gun-fights, but they are not lawless and the people aren't all monsters.
We did the touristy stuff, went up Corcovada (home of Cristo Redentor) and Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf Mountain) and were constantly wowed at the beauty of the city. The food was generally pretty mediocre, although we had a fun and decent lunch at Gula Gula, near the beach in Ipanema. I had a salad, Silverbrowess had some salmon teryiaki, it was fine, more enjoyable was watching the cariocas. We also had quite a pissed evening at Rio Scenarium. It reminded us of quite a hip TGI Fridays, with great music, decent cocktails and lots of deep fried food. The nephrologists in the house seemed to be enjoying themselves, which was nice.
Finally, as you might be able to tell from the photo above, we got the sun we needed and are now turning a very British shade of ruby.