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The sacred connection between food and Judaism is powerfully displayed in Parshat Toldot.
In the early part of the story, Jacob tricks his brother Essau into giving up his birthright in exchange for a bowl of red lentils, which Essau mistook for meat. And later, Isaac is tricked by Jacob and his mother Rebecca into giving his blessing to Jacob instead of his brother, thanks to a meal.


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Monday, June 22, 2009
Nightmare Authors Make Virtual Book Tours Hell
I love virtual book tours.
They are a fantastic way for authors to promote themselves online in posts that will appear for as long as the Internet exists. It is a ton of fun for readers and writers like myself to network with other authors, learn from them, grow from their experiences and share them with other readers and writers.
We don't charge authors a dime for appearing at Pop Syndicate. It is our privilege to host authors at Book Addict.
In turn, myself and our contributors don't get paid a dime for all the hours we put in to booking authors, doing biography research (not always easy), asking questions, tracking down and resizing photos, coding and posting the final product - and praying the servers sync on time for the tour dates.
I don't think a lot of people realize this is a hard truth for most review and interview sites. These are not major money-making schemes, but labors of love.
However, some authors and publicists have decided to treat our site - and many, many other free sites - like they are paying a million bucks for a day-only slot. The work they expect is sometimes outrageous. Some demands would rival the diva-like behavior of Oprah.
And the egos - my goodness, the egos! I've discovered through experience that the author with the fewest sales, who self-published their work, have the biggest egos of all. They tend to be the worst people to deal with - and the peskiest. I can guarantee that each one of these authors I've dealt with was never satisfied with what we did for them - FOR FREE - even if everything was correct in the post. They send a slew of e-mails with ridiculous questions that never had to be asked if they'd just READ the information I sent to them.
I'm to the point now where I can spot trouble within the second email. There is a difference in the approach of the Bad Author than an author who truly has questions because they forgot what they read, or, for some reason, did not receive the information I sent to them.
Bad Authors are condescending, downright rude at times, act like YOU should be selling your site to THEM (even if they pursued you hard in the first place), book a slot and then act like your site won't be worth their time, they start making demands like we are their virtual book tour publicist....
The list goes on and on.
One author actually sent me a questionaire with about 25 questions asking how I planned to promote the one day stop and a bunch of other nonsense. I had to fill out the questionaire BEFORE the author would consider the site for the tour, the email said. And I had a deadline to meet for the answers.
That email ended up in my virtual File 13.
Another author's post didn't show up and the author immediately started talking badly about our site. This author didn't bother emailing right away about what happened. They took it upon themselves to be our nemesis without getting the facts.
Luckily, Pop Syndicate has a good reputation and many folks knew right away something else was amiss. However, what if our site was new and fresh? That would have ruined our credibility. Imagine if an author were to do this to an individual who just wants to help them out? As a former journalist, I have thicker skin than most individuals. Keep that in mind before you send out scathing messages about virtual book tour hosts.
Luckily, most of the authors I host for virtual book tour stops are incredible. They promote their stops, they thank me for hosting them, they refer other incredible authors to the site. These authors are so cool, I can never do enough for them. They make my full-time, no-pay job a joy. They remind me why I do what I do on the days I get a Bad Author. They are the reason I do what I do.
When you set out to promote your books online, don't expect someone else to do all the work for you. Be kind and respectful to your virtual book tour hosts. Most of these folks are doing you a favor - for free.
When you can, return the favor. Be sure to tell others about your best experiences and refer them to the host site. Hosts will love you for it.
Emily here again: Words to live by! Do unto others, karma, whatever you want to call it, sounds like just being decent to each other makes the cyber-world run much more smoothly. Thanks for being here with us, Angela.
If you have questions for Angela, please leave them here and I'll track her down! And pop by Pop Syndicate when you get a minute and check it out!
22 comments:
- Teddyree said...
Thanks, that was a really interesting post. Common courtesy on both sides of the fence goes a long way doesn't it?
- June 22, 2009 at 5:47 AM
- EmilyBryan said...
You're right. I still think problems often crop up because we writers simply don't know what to do. Promotion is a whole different skill set from writing a novel. When people are feeling overwhelmed, they are never at their best.
Teddy, I couldn't have been better treated by my blog hosts than I was by you and the rest of the Royal Court last week at Royal Reviews. EMILY BRYAN WEEK was such fun! Thanks again for having me.
PS. Everybody else--Be sure to check out Teddy's personal blog The Eclectic Reader for more of her insights! - June 22, 2009 at 7:44 AM
- EmilyBryan said...
Ooops! Bad link. Try this one instead: The Eclectic Reader
- June 22, 2009 at 7:55 AM
- Penny Watson said...
Thank you Angela and Emily for continuing with the "good manners in cyberspace" discussion. I am a big supporter of good manners, being polite in public, and generally acting in a civilized way. In fact, my biggest gripe about moving to Boston after living in Vermont for 5 years was the complete lack of civilized behavior I encountered, on the roadways and in public. I, too, have been shocked by the open hostility and lack of respect from readers and writers both...but I must happily admit that all of the writers I have dealt with on my blogs (so far!) have been extremely gracious and thankful. I even got a hand-written thank you note from a very well known author for one of my reviews...how old-fashioned and delightful! Angela, thanks for this post...Pop Syndicate looks like a fabulous site.
Graciously yours, Penelope
p.s. Emily, I also totally agree with your "do unto others" advice...you are a wise woman! - June 22, 2009 at 10:31 AM
- Christie Craig said...
Hi Emily and Angela!!
It's so great to see familiar faces here. As my grandma always said, "You get more flies with honey than vinegar."
When I guest blog I see it as free PR.
CC - June 22, 2009 at 11:17 AM
- Donna Marie Rogers said...
Thanks Angela & Emily! Wow, I cannot believe the egos some people have, it boggles my mind. I'm always worried about coming across arrogant, to the point I'm half afraid to post a good review or reader response. LOL Good manners definitely go a long way.
I'm doing a virtual blog tour through Goddess Fish from July 15-31 for the release of MEANT TO BE, my sequel to THERE'S ONLY BEEN YOU. I'm extremely grateful to all the blog owners who offered to host me...though it sure is hard trying to make 15 different interviews sound fresh and new...LOL - June 22, 2009 at 11:24 AM
- Barbara Monajem said...
I can totally relate to the overwhelmed-author syndrome (my first romance comes out next year, and it's a struggle to embrace the promo thingy) but it's no excuse for bad manners. I had a teeny tantrum a few weeks ago on a loop I belong to, and I felt TERRIBLE afterward. Gotta stop, breathe, think clearly, and always, always assume everyone's doing their best.
Question for Emily - however did you come up with 50 days worth of blog topics? I'm hoarding blog topics for my launch next spring... Not sure how many I'll do, but I can't imagine 50!!! How did you manage it? - June 22, 2009 at 11:29 AM
- Barb H said...
Thanks, Angela and Emily, for a really interesting post. I'm always surprised at the rudeness of others, certainly of people I think should know better--creative authors!!
With the increased presence of online promotions, blog tours are becoming so very important. Sites like Book Addict are a boon. I discovered too late that Emily was at Royal Reviews. Would loved to have dropped in on that. - June 22, 2009 at 11:50 AM
Emily and Angela,
It is so true using a few good manners and reading and asking key questions, will save the author and the bog hostess/host a lot of bad feelings down the road. I think sometimes in our blogs,emails any on-line conversation we need to be mindful of how we write it and how another reads it, may be two different things. So a little consideration goes along way! Thanks for the advise ladies! Have a wonderful week!! - June 22, 2009 at 12:31 PM
- EmilyBryan said...
Penelope--I'm sorry to hear that you too have experienced hostility from authors and readers on Penelope's Romance Reviews. Of course, we'd all love to have "out of the park" reviews all the time, but life just isn't like that.
I too have been impressed by Bostonian expressiveness. Every time I get behind the wheel, I receive welcoming honks and friendly hand gestures.
Christie--You have a wise Grandma! (Except I always wonder about that saying. Why do I want more flies?)
Donna Marie--I know how you feel. I was extremely grateful to the hosts of my tour. Good luck on yours. The best advice I can give you is be yourself and have fun.
Ok, Barbara, I can so relate. I tend to stress about what I need to do to promote my books, but the truth is, we can only do so much. And don't let it take you away from your real job, which is writing the next book.
How to do 50 blogs--by the time I was 10 days into it, I was ready to kiss the feet of the blog owners who sent me questions to answer instead of expecting an original post. Then later on, as I settled into daily blogging and I had developed a faithful following of "blog touristas" (bless your hearts--YOU know who you are!) I began to realize it's not about hyping my book. It's more about letting readers see who I am and being interested in who they are.
So let your readers get to know you. And have some fun together. (Check out Christie Craig and the rest of the gang at Killer Fiction for an example of crazy fun!) No blog post is going to make or break you. Breathe.
Barb H--Sorry you missed joining me Down Under with the Royals. We had a great time! I'm always sure I'm promo-ing over the top on my loops, but maybe not.
Jane--You are so right. So much of our communication is non-verbal and that's all lost online. Wish I had a fun little emoticon creator here on my blog. That might help. - June 22, 2009 at 2:00 PM
- Adele Dubois said...
I just completed the first leg of an extensive blog tour to promote my new release, which I planned and executed totally on my own. The time and effort put into the tour was astronomical. Sixteen to eighteen hour days were not unusual.
Our friend, Emily Bryan, was one of my gracious hosts. If I had help like yours putting my tour together, I'd be ecstatic. Send you a year's worth of chocolate.
I appreciate everyone who has helped me along my career path. Kudos to you for the work you do.
Best--Adele Dubois - June 22, 2009 at 3:17 PM
- EmilyBryan said...
Adele- You were a great guest, but a funny thing happened. One of my writer friends saw your post and for some reason thought that I had acquired yet another pen name (Adele DuBois!)and was writing for Ellora's Cave now. (LOL! As if I had that kind of heat in me!) Everyone loved the hot pics of your Native American hero, but from now on when I have guest authors, I'm going insist on a headshot of them--just so no one thinks it's me hyping my own books under a new pen name!
- June 22, 2009 at 5:39 PM
- Rowena Cherry said...
Thank you Diana, and Emily, and Angela. Some of Angela's excellent points about courtesy really do need to be made.
- June 22, 2009 at 6:02 PM
- Adele Dubois said...
When I return to promote my print release, I'll include my pic. :)
Thanks for hosting me! 'Twas fun!
Best--Adele Dubois - June 22, 2009 at 6:06 PM
- Sandy said...
Thanks, Emily, for allowing us a chance to get to know Angela.
It's hard to realize that people can be so rude when someone is willing to help them for free.
Sandy - June 22, 2009 at 8:41 PM
- EmilyBryan said...
Rowena--Thanks so much for stopping by. I've always appreciated being on your internet radio show. Bet you have a few tales you're too well bred to tell on some of your guests there. Check out Rowena's books here!
Adele--LOL! I'll look for your pic when you come back in Sept!
Sandy-- I bet lots of problems would be solved if people just counted to 10 before they hit "send." - June 22, 2009 at 8:59 PM
- Hot Ash Romance Novels said...
Holy Cow,
I'm suprised by how poorly you've been treated by a few Divas and I hope they don't ruin it for the rest of us who've learned how to play nice!
It really should be automatic, but as my f-i-l says, "It takes many different blades of grass to make up a lawn."
Ash - June 23, 2009 at 6:35 AM
- Angela said...
Emily -
Thanks so much for hosting me!
I had such a terrific time writing that post, and sharing info (hopefully in a way that doesn't terrify newbie VBT authors!).
You guys left some terrific comments. Authors get overwhelmed a lot, and I think most VBT hosts get that and try to work with them when things seem to bottleneck. We can usually tell the difference between a diva and someone feeling the pinch of promotions.
I write a lot about promotions (and manners) at my personal blog, http://www.MarketMyNovel.com.
For the most part, authors are terrific to host. (Emily and Christie!) And, I'm always accepting queries for more authors, so don't hesitate to contact me at angela AT popsyndicate DOT com.
You all take care!
(Please forgive me for not getting here yesterday. Rural Internet has been unreliable the past few weeks, so I got the bare minimum done yesterday before it pooped out once again.) - June 23, 2009 at 8:54 AM
- EmilyBryan said...
I'll be heading for rural areas myself later this week, so I empathize about slow connections. We city folk are pretty spoiled that way.
Thanks again for being here with us, Angela! - June 23, 2009 at 5:13 PM
- Teddyree said...
Thanks for your very sweet comments on your week with us 'Down Under'. We had the best time, putting you up in Royal Digs lol.
You have set high standards, I hope all our authors are as nice and as much fun as you!!
Thanks for giving my blog a toot
and also for the advice answering my author/blogger etiquette questions. {Hugs} - June 23, 2009 at 6:18 PM
- Terry Cordingley said...
Unfortunately, attitudes like these are far too common. Many people forget that no media outlet or bookstore owes them anything at all. In fact, they are doing the author and publisher a favor by helping them promote their book. Good manners and gratitude go a long way.
- June 26, 2009 at 1:18 AM
- Liane Spicer said...
Wow. Unbelievable. Thanks for this post, Emily and Angela.
- June 27, 2009 at 6:26 PM


text:
Most doctors don't ask you about your regularity. They may think it is not important to have a bowel movement every day. In fact, some doctors think its ok when you have 2-3 bowel movements a week.
If you have one, two or more bowel movements a day, you may still be constipated. If you are leaving fecal matter along your colon walls because you don?t eat enough fiber this is considered constipation. Remember constipation is really the elimination of all fecal matter that passes through your colon from the food that you ate in the previous meals.
If you sit on the toilet and have to stay there over 5-10 minutes pushing, straining, or paining to have a bowel movement, then you are constipated. Straining to have a bowel movement, overtime, leads to hemorrhoids, varicose veins, or fissures.
If you eat three meals a day, then you should have three bowel movements each day. The first bowel movement should take place in the morning when you wake up or soon after you have had breakfast. Typical you should experience the urge for a bowel movement 20-30 minutes after you eat. The other bowel movements should be during the day and just before bedtime.
In her book, Healthy Digestion the Natural way, 2000, D. Lindsey Berkson defines constipation as,
A healthy person should have at least one bowel movement a day. Medical textbooks state that individual variation goes from several times a day to several times a week. However, having worked with people for many years on improving their health, I would define constipation as not having one to several daily bowel movements, or having too long an intestinal-transit time.?
If you eat three meals a day and only have one or two bowel movements, then the second and third meal are backing up in your colon and staying there too long.
When your fecal matter stays too long in your colon, water and toxins are pulled out of the fecal matter and absorbed through your colon wall. This makes the fecal matter stiff and hard. Your colon will now have a hard time moving this hard fecal matter through its sections and out the rectum. The result is puffing and straining in the bathroom.


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Walk on Wales has been organised so that anyone who wants to participate can join in. From young to old, able-bodied or disabled there will be a stage of the walk that is accessible to you.
If you look on the Walk section of the website and click on any stage of the Walk, you will find a detailed breakdown of each day of each stage, with a fully interactive map, which shows the level of difficulty for both distance and ascent. You should be careful to select a day or stage that is commensurate with your level of physical ability.
Once you have decided when you want to join in please complete the online form below and we will be in touch with you as soon as we can.
We hope that everyone who joins in will get sponsorship from their friends and families to help us reach our fundraising target.
The sponsorship form can now be downloaded by clicking here. On the matter of sponsorship, we have set a very aspirational target of £1 million, which is a huge sum of money! This can be broken down into a more manageable sum, for example:
If 4,000 people walk a day and raise £250 (ie £10 from 25 friends and family) we will raise £1 million.
Alternatively, if one million people give £1 we will have reached our target! There is no mandatory sum to raise in sponsorship, we just want everyone to come along and have a really good time with us as we step out along the beautiful Welsh Coast Path, to remember those who have died while serving their country and to raise as much as we can for Combat Stress and the Welsh Guards Afghanistan Appeal. Whatever you can raise will be much appreciated, but the most important thing is to get as many walkers as we can taking part in the Walk.
We very much look forward to seeing you on the Walk.


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Source: Waging Nonviolence
Liberty Plaza (or Park or Square) looks an awful lot like Zuccotti Park again—aside from the damaged flower beds and a broken plastic peace sign lying in the gutter. At 1 in the morning, hundreds of police in riot gear stormed the plaza, shining floodlights and tearing down tents. Sanitation workers loaded occupiers' belongings into garbage trucks, including the books of the occupation's library. LRAD sound cannons were on the scene, and as many as five police helicopters hovered high overhead, where airspace was closed to media aircraft. On the ground, police cornered reporters out of view from the plaza during the eviction of the protesters, some of whom locked arms around the kitchen area and nonviolently resisted removal. They faced pepper spray and batons for doing so.
When I arrived at around 2:20 a.m., riot police were preventing anyone from getting closer than a block away from the site. By the time I returned there just after sunrise, after hours following marches and spontaneous assemblies and affinity groups meeting in the streets, the place had been completely cleared and washed. It was blocked off with barricades, despite a court order that the occupiers should be allowed to return. Back in Duarte Square on Canal Street, though, where hundreds had temporarily gathered, it was surprising how positive the mood actually was.
So, then, what next? What does the Occupy movement do when its flagship occupation is, at least for now, gone?
It happens that just hours before, Adbusters magazine—which originally called for the occupation—promulgated "Tactical Briefing #18: Occupy the High Ground." It suggested that perhaps the time has passed for the movement to be so focused on encampments, and that it might move on to bigger and better things instead. This is a notion that has come up repeatedly in my recent conversations with early organizers; after almost three months, they feel, the movement is starting to outgrow the occupation. Mostly in a good way—the working groups, websites, and other infrastructure are already at such a point that most of the occupation's business has been happening outside the crowded plaza for weeks. Organized resistance actions are taking place around the country without being specifically tied to occupation sites.
It's also true that the camps have suffered from problems of health, sanitation, and crime, which were the excuse for what appears to be a coordinated attack on occupations by the mayors of cities around the country. But the occupiers have insisted that they can resolve these problems themselves, and nonviolently, in contrast to their governments' policies of forced, armed eviction. Now that these coordinated attacks are happening, they seem to call for a coordinated response.
I'm reminded of a conversation I had in the first week of Occupy Wall Street with Monica Lopez, a Spanish journalist who took part in the May 15 movement in Madrid (and who was featured in our video "The Demand Is a Process"). This occupation won't last forever, she predicted. It shouldn't. The time eventually came in Madrid that the movement decided it would be better off ending the occupation than keeping it going—on June 12, less than a month after it began. Since, as WNV's Ter Garcia has reported, the Spanish movement has shifted its attention to direct actions ranging from preventing evictions, to organizing a global day of protest, to engaging the political process. And, as I recently witnessed in Greece, those who occupied Athens' Syntagma Square are now focusing on cultivating neighborhood assemblies concerned with local issues.
For the rise of the Occupy movement so far, though, the tactic of occupation has been absolutely essential. Mayor Bloomberg suggested in his explanation for the eviction that the encampment was not included in the protesters' First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and assembly. However one interprets the law, though, from a strategic point of view, the encampment was precisely what made their free speech heard, allowing it to cut through the din of politics as usual and jump-start a public conversation about wealth and corruption.
Still, an encampment alone poses little real threat to the pillars upholding the power of the banks and the corporate elite that the Occupy movement hopes to undermine. Even the encampment in Cairo's Tahrir Square, for instance, likely couldn't have brought down Hosni Mubarak without the support of a coordinated general strike that threatened to bring down the Egyptian economy. If focusing too much on encampments distracts the movement from conducting more threatening actions like this, encampment is better left behind.
For those in it and those trying to understand it from the outside, the Occupy movement has never been easy to predict. As it enters this next phase, I'd bet we should be prepared to be surprised again.
Editor's note: The People's Library has not been thrown out and is in storage as of press time.
This article was originally published by Waging Nonviolence.


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August 8, 2019, Adrian, Michigan – "Embracing the Future; Encuentro con El Futuro; Pagyakap sa Hinaharap."
These words – chanted by more than 600 Adrian Dominican Sisters, Associates, Co-workers, and other Partners in Mission – rang out in joyful chant throughout a four-day gathering at the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse July 31-August 3, 2019. The words in English, Spanish and Tagalog, sung to a tune composed by Sister Gloria Korhonen, OP, captured the tone and the theme of the all-Congregation assembly.
Sister Patricia Siemen, OP, Prioress, called for Embracing the Future 18 months earlier "as an opportunity for remembering, transforming, gathering, embracing and deepening our Adrian Dominican story, Mission, and Vision."
The opening ritual called forth remembrance of three other gatherings of the Adrian Dominican Congregation. The ritual included the lighting of the Fire of Divine Love for Embracing the Future, as well as the lighting of candles representing each of the three previous gatherings. Readings during the ritual included opening remarks by the Prioress convening each gathering: Sister Rosemary Ferguson, OP, Re-Membering, 1977; Sister Nadine Foley, OP, Transformations, 1989; and Sister Janet Capone, OP, Gathering 2002.
"It has been 17 transformative years since 2002 when we last all gathered in one place at the same time," Sister Patricia noted in her opening address. She welcomed the Sisters and Associates who joined the Congregation since that last gathering, including members of two Dominican congregations that merged with the Adrian Dominican Sisters: the Edmonds Dominican Congregation of Edmonds, Washington, in 2003, and the Dominican Congregation of Our Lady of Remedies, based in Pampanga, the Philippines, in 2011.
Sister Patricia noted the challenges ahead as the Congregation faces a new way of life in the future. "The call and response of religious life is always a Spirit-filled narrative," she said, "so let us not be surprised, then, if Holy Wisdom leads us into new ways of responding as a community to the needs of the people of God."
In spite of the uncertainty and the shifts in our world, Sister Patricia urged the Sisters and Associates to trust in God's promise – and in the prayer of the Sisters who had gone before them in death. "We call on the holy women who have risked and journeyed before us," she said. "We stand on their shoulders – all 1,621 strong. They are our guides, our strength, our inspiration as we journey into the third decade of the 21st Century."
In the opening address of the first full day, Sister Teresa Maya, CCVI, Past President of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) spoke on "Encuentro con el Futuro – Our Charism as a Prism to Behold the Horizon."
A native of Mexico and a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Sister Teresa addressed the fears that many Sisters face as their numbers decrease. Congregations of religious Sisters have been watching the future for 50 years "and we've been doing it with the typical statistical obsession of the United States," she said. They have developed their own "narrative of diminishment."
Sister Teresa urged Sisters to have faith that they will be enough to accomplish God's mission for them, and to avoid the pitfalls of complacency, denial, and panic in facing the future of religious life. Communities such as the Benedictines have learned that they do not need to be in large numbers to make a difference. "They're not obsessed with numbers," Sister Teresa said. "We don't need to be 3,000 to be what God needs. We need to be who we are today. We are enough."
Sister Teresa focused much of her talk on charism – or spiritualty – as the real guide for religious life now and in the future. The Dominicans, the Order of Preachers, follow the spirituality of St. Dominic, who preached the truth and God's love to win the people of his time back to the Catholic Church. The Dominican charism also includes the four pillars of community, prayer, study, and ministry or preaching.
Sister Teresa noted the special need for the Dominican charism today as so many people need to hear of God's love for them. "Conversation is vital," she said. "You need to be you now more than ever before because you know with your Dominican preaching that you are called to a conversation that is an encounter with the future."
Sister Teresa told Sisters and Associates to stay true to their inner compass – the Gospel and the charism. "Have we truly allowed the charism to permeate us? If we have, we won't worry about the future."
Sister Zenaida Nacpil, OP, former Chapter Prioress of the Sisters in the Our Lady of Remedies Mission Chapter in the Philippines, turned the assembly's attention to Asia Pacific in her afternoon talk, "Four Faces of Asia Pacific – Embracing Prophetic Preaching with our Suffering Multitude."
Sister Zenaida began by introducing participants to her continent: the largest and most populous. Asia is plagued by globalization, which is transforming the values of many from harmony to consumerism and an emphasis on relationship to consumerism and from traditions to technology, she said. Asia has become a "big supplier of cheap labor to Western countries," and many have fallen prey to human trafficking in labor or as mail order brides. In addition, Sister Zenaida said, poor people in Asia became "victims of development" as corporations from the United States and other Western areas plunder the continent's natural resources.
The mission of Sisters in the Philippines, she added, is to read the "signs of the times" and to respond to the needs of the people. "We are awakened by the deafening cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor," she said. The Sisters also journey with the indigenous peoples of the Philippines and work with lay partners and people of other faith traditions. "Now today it is imperative for us to study other religions because we do not have a monopoly on truth," she said.
A panel of younger Dominican Sisters gave their response, each from her own experience. Sister Liberty Mendoza, OP, who ministers at the Dominican School of Apalit in Pampanga, the Philippines, spoke of her school's efforts to train teachers in the Dominican charism so they can share it when they move to other schools.
Sister Katherine Frazier, OP, Director of Mission Integration at Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette, Illinois, spoke of the language of the students and of the need to meet the students where they are.
Reflecting on her native Kenya, Sister Emmy Chelagat Choge, OP, used the rainbow as a symbol of the diversity of the tribes of Kenya.
Through a translator Sister Basilia De la Cruz, OP, principal of Espíritu Santo Fe y Alegría School in the Dominican Republic, spoke of the educational efforts in her country and of her own confidence in the future of religious life.
The day concluded with a procession to the Congregation's cemetery, where Sisters and Associates prayed in gratitude for the Sisters lying in rest there and asked for their guidance and prayers. After the service, Sister Patricia invited participants to wander through the cemetery and visit the graves of the Sisters they knew and loved.
Sisters and Associates process to the Adrian Dominican Cemetery to honor and remember and honor 1,621 deceased Adrian Dominican Sisters.
Friday was a turning point. After a full day of heavy input, participants began with small group communal sharing. They reflected on and discussed two questions: What is required of us (personally and communally) to welcome and co-create an unknown future? What strengthens and nourishes you to live well in our changing reality?
Each group submitted one or two words that captured the essence of their reflection. In large group sharing – and through the artistic efforts of graphic designer Dana Wright-Wasson – they discovered the common themes that emerged, including trust, curiosity, openness, and presence.
The afternoon brought another change as Partners in Mission – Co-workers from the Motherhouse Campus and the Congregation's sponsored institutions – joined the gathering. "Thank you for your generous self-offering in setting aside this time to be with us," Sister Patricia told the partners. "You bring vast experience of collaborating with others in your professional lives."
The emphasis during the afternoon was on collaborative partnership. The theme was drawn out during a discussion between Sister Patricia and Associate Dee Joyner, who ministers for the Congregation as Director of the Office of Resilient Communities.
After noting her involvement over the years with the Adrian Dominican Sisters, Dee reflected on her view of partnership. "If I'm going to establish a partnership I need to feel valued – that you really want to know what I think, that you're willing to listen for understanding," she said. "We have to act on the belief that our respective skills enhance the relationship and that the combination of our skills is needed to accomplish [our] goal."
During the evening, Partners in Mission gathered with invited Sisters and Associates for a special dinner at Siena Heights University's Dominican Hall to further discuss partnership both with the Congregation and one another. All participants were invited to a dessert social and tours of the new Performing Arts Center at Siena Heights University, which is beginning its centennial celebration.
Left: Associate Dee Joyner, right, speaks as part of a panel of presenters. From left, the panel includes Sister Patricia Siemen, OP, Prioress; Dr. M. Shawn Copeland, theologian; Teresa Maya, CCVI, Past-President of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious; and Sister Zenaida Nacpil, OP, past Chapter Prioress of Our Lady of Remedies Mission Chapter based in the Philippines. Right: Partners in Mission and other invited guests enjoy a reception before dinner, held at Siena Heights University's Dominican Hall.
In the opening talk of August 3, theologian Dr. M. Shawn Copeland gave a "graduate-level presentation," titled, "Embracing the Future: Authenticity in a Time of Impasse." She summarized the worldwide challenges facing Christians and others of good will: poverty, injustice, disease, misogyny, racism and bigotry, and the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. "As global community, as nation, as society, as church, as members and associates, as persons in relationship with the Adrian Dominicans – we are undergoing a time of questioning and uncertainty," she said.
Shawn, a former Adrian Dominican Sister, focused the first part of her talk on Authenticity as Human Praxis. Specifically, she spoke of how Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates live authentically as Dominicans when they live out the pillars of prayer, study, community, and ministry or service.
In discussing the Adrian Dominican Sisters' authenticity, Shawn pointed to two of the four Enactments that are guiding the Congregation through 2022. The Enactment on Sustainability has already seen "explicit actions on the Motherhouse campus," including tracking waste, reducing plastics, and planting trees, while still other actions – such as the use of solar or wind power – are being explored for the future, Shawn said. "Theologically these plans reflect the desire and drive to incarnate authenticity as fruit of religious, intellectual, and moral conversion in service of God and love of neighbor," she said.
However, Shawn found less explicit proof of actions toward the Enactment in which the Congregation pledges to "confront our racist attitudes and root out racist practices in our lives and systems." She questioned whether the Congregation had made "specific sacrificial plans … to help white people confront, examine, and change attitudes of white racist supremacy" and challenged them to confront racist attitudes in sponsored institutions.
Shawn noted that becoming authentic is a life-long process. "Incarnating authenticity is never simple, never finished – not for you, not for me," she said.
In the second section of her talk, Shawn focused on the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, made possible by a culture of clericalism, which "devalues and dismisses the common baptism [of] all Christians." All too often, she said, the "drive for achievement displaces the drive for sanctity."
Yet, Shawn encouraged the Sisters and Associates not to abandon the Church, nor to idolize it – but to work inside the Church and help to reform it. She quoted the directive by the new Master of the Dominican Order, Father Gerard Francisco Timoner III, OP: "We Dominicans must serve the Church. We must help to save and build [it]."
Finally, Shawn spoke of Basic Ecclesial Communities as one way to help Christians authentically live out their faith. Popular in Latin America, the Philippines, and other regions, Basic Ecclesial Communities are composed of a diverse group of Catholics who meet together regularly as a community to share their faith. She pointed to Mission Groups – small groups of Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates who meet regularly for Congregation responsibilities but also as communities – as examples of Basic Ecclesial Communities.
The afternoon brought together all of the speakers for a panel discussion to share their thoughts on and learnings from the gathering as a whole.
The formal time of Embracing the Future came to an end that afternoon with a closing ritual in which the candles representing the three previous gatherings were extinguished one by one, until finally the Fire of Divine Love representing the current gathering was formally extinguished.
In her closing remarks, Sister Patricia spoke through a "heart filled to overflowing" with gratitude to all who had participated in the event and to others who made it possible: the many Co-workers at the Motherhouse who prepared for and served throughout the event; the speakers, presenters, and panelists; the Planning Committee, chaired by Sisters Marilín Llanes, OP, and Mariane Fahlman, OP; the Programming Committee, chaired by Sister Janet Schaeffler; Father Marcelo Solózano, OP, Presider at Liturgies; Sisters Esther Kennedy, OP, and Kathleen Schanz, OP, who planned and created the rituals and prayers; and the many Motherhouse Co-workers who prepared for and served during the event.
Sister Patricia compared the end of an event such as Embracing the Future to the waves of the ocean. "The ending of this Encuentro is only one wave coming to completion. The momentum and form of the next wave is already taking shape."
As participants prepared to leave the mountaintop of the experience, Sister Patricia reminded them of the work still ahead. "Together, we will continue carrying forth Gospel responses to those most in need," she said. "Together, we will continue to create ways to influence the world through our exercise of authentic discipleship, as followers of the reign of the Jewish Jesus."
The Sisters of Our Lady of Remedies Mission Chapter will host a second experience of "Embracing the Future / Encuentro con el Futuro / Pagyakap sa Hinaharap" in the Philippines with 300 Partners in Mission October 5-6, 2019.
Feature photo (top): Sister Patricia Siemen, OP, Prioress, lights the Fire of Divine Love to open Embracing the Future / Encuentro con el Futuro / Pagyakap sa Hinaharap, a gathering of Sisters, Associates, and Partners in Mission.
January 3, 2019, San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines – The street children of San Fernando are gaining the literacy and numeracy skills that they need for a better life, thanks to the Adrian Dominican Sisters' (ADS) School on Wheels program. The program, established in 2017, meets the specific needs of street children who, with other children, had benefited from the Sisters' religious education and feeding program.
The ADS School on Wheels was established to develop a culture of acceptance and equality among children from disadvantaged environments, strengthen their social functioning potentials through basic education, and change the negative impressions of society toward street children. Basic literacy and numeracy are a priority of the program.
The School on Wheels transport van was named Esperanza, or HOPE (Help Overcome Poverty through Education) in honor of the late Sister Esperanza Bonifacio, OP, who initiated the first feeding and catechetical program for street children around the San Fernando marketplace.
Sister Zenaida S. Nacpil, OP, Director, and Sister Jolyn L. (Jules) Dungo, OP, a registered social worker, meet the children in the marketplace. "They have time for reading, writing, art appreciation and some basic catechetical instructions" as well as a hot lunch, Sister Jules said. On Saturdays, the Sisters and volunteers travel to the disadvantaged community to teach literacy and numeracy to the street children and other interested school children.
"The daily struggles of street children are challenging and really serious," Sister Jules explained. The street children try to work through socially acceptable ways, such as selling eco-bags, flower garlands, fruit, and fish; working in parking lots; and washing cars. "Young as they are – 6 to 13 years old – they are forced to earn in order to survive."
Sister Zenaida said that the street children have already learned the value of responsibility to their families, bringing to them the money that they have earned on the streets. They eat some of the food that they receive through the feeding program or other means, "but most of them will bring home half for a younger sibling or parents," Sister Zenaida said. "What a beautiful attitude!"
Sister Jules added that ministering to the street children is very demanding. "It takes a lot of patience and endurance to survive the day-to-day encounter with them," she said. At the same time, "living one's passion for mission makes this ministry enjoyable."
She also spoke of the vulnerability of the street children. "Many of them are emotionally broken but project a tough front as a means to survive," Sister Jules said. "But they easily respond to acts of kindness and love. We want to protect lives from all forms of abuse: human trafficking, sexual and domestic violence … It is our responsibility as Christian adults to guide these children to discover what God has in store for them."
Listening to the street children is easy and "could actually make them feel visible and accepted," Sister Jules said. "Praising their little good deeds makes them believe in themselves and builds their self-confidence. They need to receive a lot of encouragement to enable them to pursue their dreams."
Submitted by Sister Jules L. Dungo, OP Feature photo: Sister Jolyn "Jules" Dungo, OP, stops to talk to street children in San Fernando.


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Gaza (Heb. 'Azzah, the strong), a titular see of Palaestina Prima, in the a Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Gaza is one of the oldest cities in the world. Its first inhabitants were the Hevites (Deut. ii, 23). The Rephaïm and the Enacim, expelled later by Josue, inhabited the surrounding mountains (Josue xi, 22). The Hevites were driven forth by the Philistines who came from Caphtor (D. V., Cappadocia; Deut., ii, 23; Amos, ix, 7; Jer., xlvii, 4). Little else is known as to the origin of this warlike people, who occupied the whole Mediterranean coast between Phoenicia and Egypt, and whom the Hebrews could never wholly subdue. It is agreed, however, that they came from the southern coast of Asia Minor and the islands of the Aegean. Jeremias (xlvii, 4) speaks of the island of Caphtor, the isle of Cappadocia in D. V. According to Stephen of Byzantium ("De Urbibus", s. vv. Gaza, Minoa) the city of Gaza was a colony from Crete (cf. Soph., ii, 5). This statement is in accordance with the Biblical narrative which tells of reprisals made by the "Cerethi" (Cretans), a Philistine tribe. Philistines were established in the vicinity of Gaza as early as the time of Abraham; their leader, Abimelech, who bore the title of king, resided at Gerara (Gen., xxi, 33; xxvi, 1). Some critics, however, hold that the title of "King of the Philistines" was given to Abimelech, not because he was himself a Philistine, but because he dwelt in the country afterwards inhabited by that people. In any case the Philistines certainly possessed Gaza when Moses and the Hebrews arrived in the Holy Land. Though it was assigned to the tribe of Juda, the city could never be conquered by Josue on account of its high wall (Gen., xv, 18; Jos. xv, 47; Amos, i, 7). The tribe of Juda possessed the city by right but not in fact.
Gaza appears to have been the metropolis of the five satrapies which formed the territory of the Philistines; and like the four other cities, Ascalon, Accaron, Azotus, and Geth, it had a king whose power extended to all the cities and villages of the region. Samson, to escape from the hands of the Philistines, bore the gates of the city away on his shoulders during the night to the neighboring mountain (Judges xvi, 3); it was at Gaza that, blind and a prisoner of the Philistines, he pulled down the temple of Dagon on himself and his enemies (Judges xvi, 21-30). Dagon was not the special deity of Gaza. He is to be met with also at Ascalon, Azotus, and the other Philistine cities to which the term "Beth-dagon" is applied. To a certain extent the Philistines had transformed into a national deity this god of Assyrian origin, a monster having in part the shape of a fish, in part also the form of a man. The Israelites, who had captured Gaza shortly before the time of Samson (Judges i, 18), were still in possession of it in the time of Solomon (III Kings, iv, 24). It is probable, however, that at this later date the city merely paid tribute, retaining its autonomy.
The people of Gaza continued to manifest their hatred for the Jews, and carried on a brisk commerce in Jewish slaves (Amos, i, 6), which drew upon them the terrible maledictions of the prophets of Israel (Amos, i, 6-7; Zach., ix, 5; Jer., xxv, 20; xlvii, 5). The evils foretold began when the rulers of Egypt and those of Assyria or Chaldea engaged in their long and eventful struggle for the domination of Asia and world-supremacy. Being on the great highway of the conquering armies, Gaza was destined to special suffering. About 734 B.C., Theglathphalasar III numbered among his vassals Hanon, the King of Gaza, who had joined Rasin and Phacee, Kings of Syria and Israel, in revolt against the Assyrian monarch. On the approach of the Assyrian army Hanon fled to Egypt and the city was taken and sacked. But the victors had scarcely departed when Hanon returned to Gaza; and in 720 we find him on the battlefield of Raphia, among the allies of Pharao Shabaka, where he was defeated and taken prisoner. Shortly after this the—Philistines of Gaza were defeated by Ezechias, King of Jude, (IV K, xviii, 8), and were forced to revolt with him against the Assyrians; the latter, however, returned and again compelled the Philistines to submit. Asarhaddon and Assurbanipal numbered among their tributaries Tsilbel, King of Gaza. When the Assyrian empire had been destroyed Egypt sought to enrich itself from the spoils, and Pharao Necho II captured Gaza (Jer., xlvii, 1; Herodotus II, clix) on his way towards Carchemish, where he was defeated by the Babylonians, who, under the leadership of Nabuchodonosor (Nebuchadnezzar), took the offensive and recaptured Gaza. The city was especially ill-treated, and had afterwards to pay tribute to King Nabonides for the building of the great temple of Sin at Haran. Later the Babylonians gave way to the Persians. Cambyses, on the occasion of his expedition to Egypt in 525, besieged Gaza, which alone dared to resist his march (Polybius, XVI, 40). It submitted, nevertheless, and under the Persian dominion, according to Herodotus (III, xv), who compares it to Sardis, one of the most beautiful cities of Asia, it enjoyed great prosperity. The people of Gaza, who seem to have been very courageous and very loyal to their masters, whoever they might be, refused to open the gates to the army of Alexander the Great (332). He was forced to begin a regular siege, which lasted two months and cost him many men. After storming the city, Alexander laid waste to Gaza, put the men to the sword, and sold the women and children into slavery. He afterwards allowed the place to be recolonized; but the new-corners were of a different stock from the old inhabitants. The Philistine stronghold made way for an Hellenic city (Diodorus Siculus, XVII, xlviii, 7; Arrian, II, xxxvi; Quintus Curtius, IV, xxxiii). Henceforth there is little peace for Gaza. For several centuries it was the battlefield for Egyptian, Syrian, and Jewish armies. It was taken three times by Ptolemy I, King of Egypt (320, 312, and 302 B.C.), and twice by Antigonus (315 and 306). Finally it fell to the Lagidae, who retained it for almost a century. In 219 Antiochus of Syria took possession of it, and organized there the invasion of Egypt; but he was defeated at Raphia in 217, and compelled to abandon his conquest to the Egyptians. In 198 he again took Gaza, routed the Egyptians in the following year, and this time was able to retain his conquest Jonathan Machabeus appeared with his army before Gaza, which refused to open its gates, so the suburbs were burnt, and the inhabitants compelled to give hostages, 145-143 B.C. (I Mach., xi, 60-62).
Alexander Jannaeus besieged the city for a whole year (98) and finally captured it through treachery, sacked it and slew a large number of the inhabitants (Josephus, "Ant. Jud.", XIII, xiii, 3; "Bel. Jud.", I, iv, 2). It was rebuilt later by Pompey and by Gabinius (Josephus, "Ant. Jud.", XIV, iv, 4; Appian,. "Syr.", 51). Anthony ceded to Cleopatra the whole of the Mediterranean coast between Egypt and Phoenicia, and Augustus gave Gaza to Herod the Great (30 B.C.). At Herod's death it became subject to the governor of Syria. In A.D. 66 the revolted Jews sacked the city, which was of course soon recaptured by the Romans (Josephus, "Bel. Jud.", II, xviii, 1). The era of Gaza, found on its coins and on numerous pagan and Christian inscriptions, dates from a journey of Pompey through Palestine, October 28, 61 B.C. Gaza is mentioned only once in the New Testament (Acts, viii, 26), in connection with the route followed by the eunuch of Queen Candace. The Hellenistic city had transformed its Oriental deities into Graeco-Roman gods, and was long hostile to Christianity, which as late as the first quarter of the fourth century had scarcely secured a foothold there. It is true that Philemon, to whom St. Paul addressed an epistle, is spoken of as its first bishop; but this is merely an unreliable tradition. St. Sylvanus, its first bishop, martyred (310) at the mines of Phaeno, is called "bishop of the churches about Gaza" (Eusebius—"Hist. Eccl.", VIII, xiii; "De Mart. Palst.", xiii, iv); Asclepas, his successor, is also called "bishop of the churches about Gaza". He assisted at the Council of Nicaea in 325, and was one of the Catholic bishops most feared by the Arians. He is always found among those who suffered the most severely in the Arian conflict, with men like St. Athanasius, Marcellus of Ancyra, and others of that type.
Constantine the Great forcibly introduced Christianity into Gaza, but such was the hostility of the pagan population that Bishop Asclepas deemed it prudent to build the church outside the city. Near the church, but likewise without the walls, arose later the oratory of the martyr St. Timothy; in the same place were relics of the martyrs St. Major and St. Thea. Christianity, however, spread rapidly in Majuma, the port of Gaza, between two and three miles from the city and owing dependence to it. The citizens of the port obtained from Constantine the privilege of municipal independence for their city, under the name of Constantia, with the right to have its own bishops. When, later, Julian the Apostate withdrew its civic rights from Majuma, it still retained its bishops, the most famous of whom were Peter the Iberian, a Monophysite ascetic, and St. Cosmas, foster brother and friend of St. John Damascene. In the neighboring cities, e.g. Anthedon, Bethelia, and Menois, Christianity was also introduced with difficulty. Under Julian the Apostate three brothers, Eusebius, Nestabos, and Zeno, were put to death at Gaza by the populace. St. Hilarion, born in the neighboring Thabatha, a small village, was compelled to flee to Sicily to escape persecution by the pagans (Sozom., "Hist. Eccl.", V, ix; Greg. Naz., "Invect. I in Jul.", 66-67). The first church built in Gaza itself was the work of St. Irenion (d. 393) whose feast is December 16. He was succeeded by Aeneas, and later by St. Porphyry (395-420), the true restorer of Christianity in Gaza. This holy bishop first sent Marcus, his deacon and historian, to Constantinople to obtain an order to close the pagan temples. The Christians then scarcely numbered 200 in Gaza; though the rest of the empire was gradually abandoning its idols, Gaza was stubborn in its opposition to Christianity. The decree was granted by the emperor, and the temples closed, with the exception of the Marneion, the temple sacred to Zeus Mamas, which had replaced that of Dagon. There was no great change, however, in the sentiments of the people; so St. Porphyry decided to strike a decisive blow. He went himself to Constantinople during the winter of 401-402 and obtained from Arcadius a decree for the destruction of the pagan temples, which Cynegius, a special imperial envoy, executed in May, 402. Eight temples, those of Aphrodite, Hecate, the Sun, Apollo, Core, Fortune, the Heroeion, and even the Marneion, were either pulled down or burnt. Simultaneously soldiers visited every house, seizing and burning the idols and books of magic. On the ruins of the Marneion was erected, at the expense of the empress, a large church called the Eudoxiana in her honor, and dedicated April 14, 407. Paganism had thus ceased to exist officially.
Gaza, now a Christian city, became rich and prosperous; and during the fifth and sixth centuries was the seat of a famous school of Christian rhetoricians. Monasticism also flourished there; and the Church recognizes as saints many religious of Gaza, e.g. Dorotheus, Dositheus, Barsanuphius, and John the Prophet; the Monophysite monks were also, for a time, actively engaged in its environs. At the Arab invasion, about 637, the city fell before General Amr. The Eudoxiana was converted into a mosque, and the Roman garrison, consisting of sixty soldiers under the command of Callinicus, having refused to apostatize, was slain at Eleutheropolis and Jerusalem ("Analecta Bollandiana", XXIII, 289-307; "Echos d'Orient", VIII, 1905, 40-43). The Arabs venerate the city as the burial-place of Hachem, the grandfather of Mahomet. When the Crusaders came, Gaza was almost in ruins; owing, however, to its situation on the way from Egypt to Syria, it soon regained prosperity. Baldwin III built a fortress there (1149) and confided it to the Templars. Saladin pillaged the city in 1170, but the fortress did not fall until 1187. Richard the Lionhearted held it for a brief time. In 1244 the combined forces of Christians and Saracens were defeated by the Kharezmians. The Turks finally took Gaza in 1516; and in 1799 Bonaparte held it for a few days. It is now known as Ghazzeh and is a kaimakamat in the sandjak of Jerusalem. It numbers over 40,000 inhabitants, nearly all Mussulmans. There are only 1000 Greek schismatics, 150 Jews, 50 Protestants, and 150 Catholics. The latter have a Catholic pastor under the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Greek Church contains the tomb of St. Porphyry. Mosques are very numerous, among the most remarkable being Djamiael-Kebir, the ancient cathedral of the crusaders, dedicated to St. John the Baptist; also Nebi-Hachem, in which is the tomb of the grandfather of Mahomet. The city is unclean, and its streets narrow and crooked. But seen from a distance, amid its surrounding vegetation, it appears magnificent. The entire district is well irrigated and cultivated; the soil is extremely rich, and the trade of the city rather prosperous.


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Life-Hacks of the Poor and Aimless
Late capitalism is like your love life: it looks a lot less bleak through an Instagram filter. The slow collapse of the social contract is the backdrop for a modern mania for clean eating, healthy living, personal productivity, and "radical self-love"—the insistence that, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, we can achieve a meaningful existence by maintaining a positive outlook, following our bliss, and doing a few hamstring stretches as the planet burns. The more frightening the economic outlook and the more floodwaters rise, the more the public conversation is turning toward individual fulfillment as if in a desperate attempt to make us feel like we still have some control over our lives.
Coca-Cola encourages us to "choose happiness." Politicians take time out from building careers in the debris of democracy to remind us of the importance of regular exercise. Lifestyle bloggers insist to hundreds of thousands of followers that freedom looks like a white woman practicing yoga alone on a beach. One such image (on the @selflovemantras Instagram) informs us that "the deeper the self love, the richer you are." That's a charming sentiment, but landlords are not currently collecting rent in self-love.
Can all this positive thinking be actively harmful? Carl Cederström and André Spicer, authors of The Wellness Syndrome, certainly think so, arguing that obsessive ritualization of self-care comes at the expense of collective engagement, collapsing every social problem into a personal quest for the good life. "Wellness," they declare, "has become an ideology."
The lexis of abuse and gas-lighting is appropriate here: Society is not mad or messed up, you are.
There is an obvious political dimension to the claim that wellbeing, with the right attitude, can be produced spontaneously. Months after being elected leader of the most right-wing government in recent British history, yogurt-featured erstwhile PR man David Cameron launched an ill-fated "happiness agenda." The scheme may have been better received if the former prime minister were not simultaneously engaged in decimating health care, welfare, and higher education—the very social structures that make life manageable for ordinary British people. As part of Cameron's changes to the welfare system, unemployment was rebranded as a psychological disorder. According to a study in the Medical Humanities journal, in the teeth of the longest and deepest recession in living memory, the jobless were encouraged to treat their "psychological resistance" to work by way of obligatory courses that encouraged them to adopt a jollier attitude toward their own immiseration. They were harangued with motivational text messages telling them to "smile at life" and that "success is the only option."
This mode of coercion has been adopted by employers, too, as Cederström and Spicer note. Zero-hour-contract laborers in an Amazon warehouse, "although they are in a precarious situation . . . are required to hide these feelings and project a confident, upbeat, employable self." All of which begs the question: Who exactly are we being well for?
The wellbeing ideology is a symptom of a broader political disease. The rigors of both work and worklessness, the colonization of every public space by private money, the precarity of daily living, and the growing impossibility of building any sort of community maroon each of us in our lonely struggle to survive. We are supposed to believe that we can only work to improve our lives on that same individual level. Chris Maisano concludes that while "the appeal of individualistic and therapeutic approaches to the problems of our time is not difficult to apprehend . . . it is only through the creation of solidarities that rebuild confidence in our collective capacity to change the world that their grip can be broken."
The isolating ideology of wellness works against this sort of social change in two important ways. First, it persuades all us that if we are sick, sad, and exhausted, the problem isn't one of economics. There is no structural imbalance, according to this view—there is only individual maladaption, requiring an individual response. The lexis of abuse and gas-lighting is appropriate here: if you are miserable or angry because your life is a constant struggle against privation or prejudice, the problem is always and only with you. Society is not mad, or messed up: you are.
Secondly, it prevents us from even considering a broader, more collective reaction to the crises of work, poverty, and injustice. That's the logic exposed by personal productivity gurus like Mark Fritz, who tells us, in The Truth About Getting Things Done, that:
The biggest barrier to achieving the success you have defined for your life is never anyone else or the circumstances you encounter. Your biggest barrier is almost always you. . . . Dr Maxwell Maltz, author of Psycho-Cybernetics [ETA: sounds legit to me!], put it best when he said, "Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you as soon as you can change your beliefs.
This, of course, is a cyclopean lie—but it's a seductive one nonetheless. It would be nice to believe that all it takes to change your life is to repeat some affirmations and buy a planner, just as it was once comforting for many of us to trust that the hardships of this plane of existence would be rewarded by an eternity of bliss in heaven. There is a reason that the rituals of wellbeing and self-care are followed with the precision of a cult (do this and you will be saved; do this and you will be safe): It is a practice of faith. It's worth remembering that Marx's description of religion as the opiate of the masses is often misinterpreted—opium, at the time when Marx was writing, was not just known as an addictive drug, but as a painkiller, a solace when the work of survival became unbearable.
With the language of self-care and wellbeing almost entirely colonized by the political right, it is not surprising that progressives, liberals, and left-wing groups have begun to fetishize a species of abject hopelessness. Positive thinking has become deeply unfashionable. The American punk kids I know describe it, disparagingly, as "posi." The British ones, of course, describe it as "American." Whatever you call it, it feels a lot like giving in.
In a scintillating essay at Open Democracy, activist Chloe King writes that
changing your attitude is not going to change or help to dismantle structural injustice and a failed and unsustainable economic model which serves only the elite rich of this world, and exploits the rest of us, particularly the working class and those living in poverty. As far as I am concerned positive thinking will fucking ruin your life. "Just think positive" is a precursor to "it gets better," and the hard reality is it is only going to get much, much worse for our most vulnerable.
There is truth here. What is also true, however, is that the young people I know who are, in general, the very worst at taking basic care of themselves as individuals—the people whose problem is not that they don't drink enough asparagus water, but that they don't drink enough of anything that isn't day-old wine from a foil bag—are those who went through the student and Occupy uprisings of 2010–2012 and experienced, briefly, what it meant to live a different sort of life. What it meant to be part of a community with common goals of which mutual aid and support were not the least. What it meant to experience that sudden, brief respite from individual striving and build a prefigurative society together. The lonely work of taking basic care of yourself as you wait for the world to change is a poor substitute. When you're washed up and burned out from putting your body on the line to fight the state, it's especially galling to be told to share a smile and eat more whole grains.
Anxious millennials now seem to have a choice between desperate narcissism and crushing misery.
When modernity teaches us to loathe ourselves and then sells us quick fixes for despair, we can be forgiven for balking at the cash register. Anxious millennials now seem to have a choice between desperate narcissism and crushing misery. Which is better? The question is not rhetorical. On the one hand, Instagram happiness gurus make me want to drown myself in a kale smoothie. On the other, I'm sick and tired of seeing the most brilliant people I know, the fighters and artists and mad radical thinkers whose lives' work might actually improve the world, treat themselves and each other in ludicrously awful ways with the excuse, implicit or explicit, that any other approach to life is counterrevolutionary.
Some of the left critique of self-care as a neoliberal conspiracy has to do with dismissing the work that women and queer people do to survive. "I have heard feminism be dismissed as a form of self-indulgence," writes Professor Sara Ahmed of Goldsmiths, University of London. So have I. I've heard men on the left write off anti-sexist, anti-racist politics as hopelessly individualistic, whilst also refusing to do the basic work of self-care and mutual care that keeps hope alive and health possible, because that work is women's work, undignified in comparison to watching your life fall apart while you wait for the revolution or for some girl to pick up the pieces, whichever comes first.
The left has a special talent for counterproductive, theory-enabled wallowing. "Neoliberalism sweeps up too much when all forms of self-care become symptoms of neoliberalism," writes Ahmed. "When feminist, queer, and anti-racist work that involves sharing our feelings, our hurt and grief, recognizing that power gets right to the bone, is called neoliberalism, we have to hear what is not being heard. . . . A world against you can be experienced as your body turning against you. You might be worn down, worn out, by what you are required to take in."
It is at this point that I confess to you that I've been doing yoga for two years and it's changed my life to an extent that I almost resent. I have trained myself, through dedicated practice on and off the mat, to find enough inner strength not to burst out laughing when the instructor ends the class by declaring "let the light in me honor the light in you." The instructor is a very nice person who smiles all the time like a drunk kindergarten teacher and could probably kill me with her abs alone, so I have refrained from informing her that the light in me is sometimes a government building on fire.
Downward-facing dog is not a radical position. Nonetheless, that particular asana is among a few small concessions I make to self-care while I wait for the end of patriarchy and the destruction of the money system. Overpriced charcoal health drinks aren't good for liberating anything except your wallet and your colon in short succession, but walks in the park are free, so I occasionally go out in the sunshine and try to soak up a bit of Vitamin D without worrying about skin cancer, melting ice-caps, and millions of people drowning in Bangladesh. I no longer subsist entirely on chicken nuggets, cigarettes, and spite. I sometimes take a day off, because it became apparent that the revolution was not being driven any faster by my being sick and sad all the time. Late Capitalism is as good an excuse of any for not getting out of bed, but huddling under the covers worrying about Donald Trump is a very inefficient way of sticking it to the man.
Late Capitalism is as good an excuse of any for not getting out of bed, but huddling under the covers worrying about Donald Trump is a very inefficient way of sticking it to the man.
The problem with self-love as we currently understand it is in our view of love itself, defined, too simply and too often, as an extraordinary feeling that we respond to with hearts and flowers and fantasy, ritual consumption and affectless passion. Modernity would have us mooning after ourselves like heartsick, slightly creepy teenagers, taking selfies and telling ourselves how special and perfect we are. This is not real self-love, no more than a catcaller loves the woman whose backside he's loudly admiring in the street.
The harder, duller work of self-care is about the everyday, impossible effort of getting up and getting through your life in a world that would prefer you cowed and compliant. A world whose abusive logic wants you to see no structural problems, but only problems with yourself, or with those more marginalized and vulnerable than you are. Real love, the kind that soothes and lasts, is not a feeling, but a verb, an action. It's about what you do for another person over the course of days and weeks and years, the work put in to care and cathexis. That's the kind of love we're terribly bad at giving ourselves, especially on the left.
The broader left could learn a great deal from the queer community, which has long taken the attitude that caring for oneself and one's friends in a world of prejudice is not an optional part of the struggle—in many ways, it is the struggle. Writer and trans icon Kate Bornstein's rule number one is "Do whatever it takes to make your life more worth living. Just don't be mean." It's more than likely that one of the reasons that the trans and queer communities continue to make such gains in culture, despite a violent backlash, is the broad recognition that self-care, mutual aid, and gentle support can be tools of resistance, too. After the Orlando massacre, LGBTQ people across the world started posting selfies under the hashtag #queerselflove. In the midst of the horror, the public mourning, and the fear, queer people of all ages and backgrounds across the world engaged in some light-hearted celebration of ourselves, of one another.
The ideology of wellbeing may be exploitative, and the tendency of the left to fetishize despair is understandable, but it is not acceptable—and if we waste energy hating ourselves, nothing's ever going to change. If hope is too hard to manage, the least we can do is take basic care of ourselves. On my greyest days, I remind myself of the words of the poet and activist Audre Lorde, who knew a thing or two about survival in an inhuman world, and wrote that self care "is not self-indulgence—it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare."


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Gertrude Stein taunts Hitler in 1934 and 1945
(Sieg heil, sieg heil, right in der Fuehrer's face.)
On May 6, 1934, The New York Times published an interview by Lansing Warren, entitled "Gertrude Stein Views Life and Politics." The full piece is available online at the Times site. A pdf of the article, as it appeared in the paper, in available here (useful given that the OCR version on the Times site has a few minor errors). Because of a remark made in this interview, Stein has been accused of being pro-Hitler in a number of recent articles. The accusation about Stein's view of Hitler has been made by Bill Berkowitz in The Buzzflash Blog, Alan Dershowitz in the Huffington Post; Allen Ellenzweig in Tablet; Michael Kimmelman in the New York Review of Books; Sonia Melnikova-Raich, in JWeekly.com, Alexander Nazaryan in the New York Daily News; Natasha Mozgovaya in Haaretz; and Barbara Will in Humanities / NEH. Even the Anti-Defamation League has repeated this defamation. [Addendum 6/9/12: The defamation still ciruclates: Peter Worthington in Toronto Sun and Emily Greenhouse in The New Yorker.]
Saying that Stein endorsed Hitler for the Nobel Prize in the 1934 interview is like saying that Mel Brooks includes a tribute to Hitler in The Producers. In Stein's remarks about Hitler and the Nobel Prize, she associates Hitler with all that is bad in Germany. Her remarks constitute an attack on Hitler.
This is what is quoted by Stein's detractors: "I say that Hitler ought to have the peace prize," she says, "because he is removing all elements of contest and struggle from Germany. By driving out the Jews and the democratic and Left elements, he is driving out everything that conduces to activity. That means peace." What is left out is Stein's explicit claim that "activity," "struggle," and contest (which she later calls competition) are necessarily good. According to Stein, Hitler's "driving out everything that conduces to activity," that is, to "contest and struggle" — by means of the ethnic cleansing of Jews and others — would result in a deathly peace, what she calls "dullness and stagnation." In other words, it would be a bad thing. "What matters" in government, she says, "is competition, struggle, interest, activity that keeps a people alive and excited in accordance with the instincts which best provide excitement for the individual people." In the interview Stein strongly endorses more open immigration — "constant activity, new blood;" indeed, immigration of the kind that allowed the Jews, including her family, to become Americans, the subject of her monumental work The Making of Americans. Stein's views about immigration directly contest the ethnic cleaning (of non-Aryan, "new blood") of Hitler's Germany. In the 1934 interview, Stein also, explicitly, expresses her distaste for Germans and her preference for the Americans and the French.
It shouldn't be necessary to say this, but I hope those who wish to quote Stein on this matter will not take my word for what she says, or the mischaracterizations of Stein's detractors, but rather will read the full interview. And keep in mind that the interview begins with a disclaimer that Stein's remarks should not be taken at face value (a warning not taken by those who denounce her for her comments in the interview). Here are a few relevant excerpts from the interview:
Many of Miss Stein's statements have an irrefutable terseness, though that terseness may conceal mystifying ambiguity such as characterized the utterances.
"There really are only two wholly sincere democracies, and those are the American and the French."
"The Saxon element is always destined to be dominated. The Germans have no gift at organizing. They can only obey. And obedience is not organization. Organization comes from community of will as well as community of action. And in America our democracy has been based on community of will and effort."
"When I say government does not matter, I do not mean that it cannot have bad effects. I mean that any form of government may be good, and any form of government may be bad. What matters is competition, struggle, interest, activity that keeps a people alive and excited in accordance with the instincts which best provide excitement for the individual people."
"Building a Chinese wall is always bad. Protection, paternalism and suppression of natural activity and competition lead to dullness and stagnation. It is true in politics, in literature, in art. Everything in life needs constant stimulation. It needs activity, new blood. To the young people who, wanting to become writers, ask me for advice, I always say, 'Don't think it isn't possible to be senile at 22.' It is even very difficult to keep from becoming senile in youth. It is hard to keep one's self open and receptive to stimulation. Doing what other people tell you and being protected from this and from that is not so good, is not stimulating. You must face life and struggle. Satisfaction comes from overcoming opposition and sometimes from enduring things that are not supposed to be good for one."
"That is the reason why I do not approve of the stringent immigration laws in America today. We need the stimulation of new blood. It is best to favor healthy competition. There is no reason why we should not select our immigrants with greater care, nor why we should not bar certain peoples and preserve the color line for instance. But if we shut down on immigration completely we shall become stagnant. The French may not like the competition of foreigners, but they let them in. They accept the challenge and derive the stimulus. I am surprised that there is not more discussion of immigration in the United States than there is. We have got rid of prohibition restrictions, and it seems to me the next thing we should do is to relax the severity of immigration restrictions."
A related charge made against Stein is that she later actually nominated Hitler for a Nobel Prize. Edward Burns, in his essay for the Stein dossier, reports that the Nobel Prize Committee has denied that any such recommendation was made (see also page 414 of the Burns/Dydo appendix to the Stein/Wilder letters).
In her National Endowment for the Humanities essay, Barbara Will writes: "Yet surprisingly, most of Stein's critics have given her a relatively free pass on her Vichy sympathies. Others have tried to ignore or justify equally inexplicable events: for example, Stein's endorsement of Adolf Hitler for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934, or her performance of the Hitler salute at his bunker in Berchtesgaden after the Allied victory in 1945." Edward Burns and Joan Retallack give a full response to Stein's complicated relation with Vichy. Will's denunciation of Stein for her ironic comment about Hitler and the Nobel Prize is mistaken. But there is one more issue, the Stein salute in 1945, which Will grossly mischaracterizes.
Stein's "Hitler salute" refers to the August 6, 1945 issue of Life magazine, which featured an essay by Stein called "'Off We All Went to See Germany': Germans Should Learn to Be Disobedient and GIs Should Not Like Them No They Shouldn't." Stein's essays appears along with a photo-spread of Stein and Toklas. The photo referred to by Will appears on page 46 of the issue, with a caption, "We all did Hitler's Pose on Hitler's Balcony at Berchtesgaden. Miss Stein liked Hitler's radiators, wanted to take one home as a flowerpot but was talked out of it."
According to the caption, she and six GIs are mocking Hitler and his gang saluting on the step of Berchtesgaden. But if Stein is indeed pledging her allegiance to the Fuehrer in this picture, as Will suggests, that would also go for the five GIs making the same gesture as she is. And it would mean Life magazine was publishing a picture of pro-Nazi GIs at the moment of liberation in 1945. When Will says that Stein's motives in this picture are suspect, she is also casting aspersions on Life and the American soldiers that liberated Germany from fascism. In this photo, Stein appears to be illustrating the point made in the subtitle of the Life spread: "Germans Should Learn to Be Disobedient and GIs Should Not Like Them No They Shouldn't." (We'll leave aside the fact the Stein and the GIs seem to be pointing to the field rather than saluting.)
The Life spread is filled with Stein's enthusiasm for the American liberators, the GIs that are the subject of her affectionate and patriotic late work, Brewsie and Willie, which was published in 1946. The next time someone wants to talk about this photo of Stein with the GIs, let them quote what she told their general (as reported in the article on page 56):
When General Osborne came to see me just after the victory, he asked me what I thought should be done to educate the Germans. I said there is only one thing to be done and that is to teach them disobedience, as long as they are obedient so long sooner or later they will be ordered around by a bad man and there will be trouble. Teach them disobedience, I said, make every German child know that it is its duty at least once a day to do its good deed and not believe something its father or its teacher tells them, confuse their minds, get their minds confused and perhaps they will be disobedient and the world will be at peace.
Lest someone accuse me of a pro-Hitler gesture in my subtitle, "Seig heil, seig heil, right in der Fuehrer's face" — it's from "Der Fuehrer's Face," the 1942 anti-Nazi parody by Spike Jones and His City Slickers (featuring the inimitable Mickey Katz). (See the Movietone News short on YouTube.) The song, by Oliver Wallace, was taken from Der Fuehrer's Face, the Academy-Award-Winning Walt Disney Donald Duck cartoon, which originally entitled "Donald Duck in Nuzi Land" (according to the Wikipedia article on the film). The cartoon was made in 1942 and released in 1943. In the cartoon, Donald Duck also gives the fascist salute, which may be why Disney kept the cartoon out of circulation, fearing what is happening to Gertrude would happen to Donald. (See the full film on YouTube.)
"Why a duck?," says Chico Marx in The Cocoanuts.
"It's deep water, that's why a duck. It's deep water."
"All I know is that it's a viaduct."
"Now look, alright, I catch on: why a horse, why a chicken, why a this, why a that …"
"I no catch on: why a duck?"
I no catch on.
Why Gertrude Stein?
Why now?


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Proceeds of Crime and Confiscation
UNICRI is carrying out two research projects on the following issues:
- the possible application of Proceeds of Crime (PoC) legislation to the case of counterfeiting
- the use of confiscation as a tool to fight organized crime involved in counterfeiting activities.
The first project was initiated by the Institute in collaboration with the International Chamber of Commerce (BASCAP - Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy). It sought to explore how sound legislation on confiscation of proceeds of crime and asset recovery can serve as an effective tool in counterfeiting cases. An analysis of the legislation in Australia, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom was carried out to identify existing best practices to effectively confiscate proceeds of intellectual property crime.
The second project is part of a wider cooperation between UNICRI and the Italian Ministry of Economic Development that is looking to evaluate confiscation as a tool to fight organized crime beyond the scope of PoC laws.


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Online Estate Sale Auctions in Fairfax County
Online estate sale auctions have become increasingly popular due to their ability to reach a wider audience while fulfilling the needs of the seller by completely liquidating all items for sale and leaving the residence almost completely empty! There is no need to open the home or residence to hundreds of shoppers, as individuals who are interested in particular items can conveniently search online and competitively bid on them from their phone or computer. Learn more about our online estate sale auctions in Fairfax County.
Selling Estate Items in Fairfax County
Interested in conducting your own seller-managed online auction? Our innovative online auction software is specifically designed to enable you to create, manage and execute your very own online auction. Whether it's an estate sale online auction, benefit online auction, or even a yard/garage sale online auction, we will provide you with the necessary training and tools to make you look and feel like a pro! Learn more about selling estate items in Fairfax County.
Consignment Services in Fairfax County
We have professional appraisers on staff who can assess and accept your items by appointment for inclusion into one of our gallery auctions. If you are looking to sell your personal items for our gallery auctions, contact our professional team. Learn more about our consignment services in Fairfax County.
Home Downsizing in Fairfax County
Downsizing or liquidating an estate can be a daunting task. Whether you're the owner, executor of an estate, heir, fiduciary or attorney, you'll want to start by speaking with an experienced, licensed, bonded, and insured professional. Taking advantage of ezDownsizing.com's free in-home consultation service will provide you with information and recommendations tailored to your particular circumstances. Learn more about our home downsizing services in Fairfax County.
Home Clean-out Services in Fairfax County
Many estate sale companies offer a clean-out service for an added fee of anywhere from $1000.00 to several thousand depending on the quantity of items to be removed. Clean-outs include the removal of everything remaining, usually leaving the residence broom clean. Items that are useful should be donated, and the owner provided with a donation receipt. Items that have value should be taken to auction and you should receive the lion's share of the revenue generated by them. Learn more about our home clean-out services in Fairfax County.


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Giuseppi's Pizza & Pasta House - Bluffton
25 Bluffton Road Suite 601, Bluffton, SC 29910
Maps & DirectionsAt Giuseppi's, it's all about the food. For more than 20 years we've been living out our passion for food by serving up the freshest pizza, pasta, and hoagies in a neighborhood atmosphere like the ones we knew in Pittsburgh.
Whether you want to bring the whole neighborhood in, or bring Giuseppi's home to the whole neighborhood, we have just what you need. From Original Products like our Homemade ToGo, catering for parties and events at your place, or dinner for the whole family at our place, we have the menu and the atmosphere you've been looking for.
- Kids Menu
- Outdoor seating
- Pet friendly


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Kirk Hammett Still Believes Metallica 'Were Right' to Sue Napster
The dawn of the file-sharing era for mainstream music fans came with a lot of messiness between hardcore consumers and the record industry — a conflict that will forever be symbolized by the lawsuit filed by the members of Metallica against the early peer-to-peer network Napster.
That suit, filed in April of 2000, was just one of many ways that artists and labels tried stemming the tide of freely available music, but it became one of the biggest lightning rods in the passionate debate over the tension between the technological evolution of a medium and the protection of the artists responsible for creating it. To this day, there remain people who argue Metallica made a mistake by going after Napster — and effectively targeting some of their own fans in the bargain — but looking back, guitarist Kirk Hammett remains secure in his belief that the band did the right thing.
"It didn't do us any favors whatsoever. But you know what? We're still in the right on that — we're still right about Napster, no matter who's out there who's saying, 'Metallica was wrong,'" Hammett explained during an appearance on the Swedish program Nyhetsmorgon. "All you have to do is look at the state of the music industry, and that kind of explains the whole situation right there."
You can watch the interview below.
Even though they did what they could to bring some sense of legal order to what was then a rapidly growing free-for-all, the members of Metallica have since made their peace with digital distribution — even though, as Hammett pointed out, he still believes there's a trade-off in terms of audio fidelity between compressed files and old-fashioned physical analog media.
"There was a time when the streaming thing was kind of weird, and it's not ... great quality," he added. "I don't care what anyone says about modern streaming and whatnot, and all these bits and whatnot, it's never going to sound better than vinyl. Having said that, we want to be accessible, and you need to make sure that you're accessible on all the modern fronts."


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Reduce Lung Cancer Risk in 2013 by Testing Your Home for Radon Gas / Elevated radon levels found in roughly 1 in 15 homes nationwide
WASHINGTON, DC – January 14, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — As part of National Radon Action Month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today steps the public can take to test, fix and save a life from dangerous radon gas.
"Testing for radon is one of the easiest and smartest things people can do to protect their homes and families from this serious health risk," said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. "Addressing high radon levels greatly reduces exposure to the second leading cause of lung cancer."
Radon occurs naturally from the decay of uranium in the soil and can accumulate to dangerous levels inside the home. Elevated levels of the colorless, odorless gas are the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers.
Elevated levels of this health hazard in homes, schools, workplaces, and other buildings can be prevented through these simple steps:
Test: All buildings with or without basements should be tested for radon. Affordable Do-It-Yourself radon test kits are available online and at home improvement and hardware stores, or a qualified radon tester can be hired.
Fix: EPA recommends taking action to fix radon levels at or above 4 picoCuries per Liter (pCi/L) and contacting a qualified radon-reduction contractor.
Save a Life: 21,000 Americans die from radon related lung cancer each year, but by addressing elevated levels, you can help prevent lung cancer while creating a healthier home and community.
EPA continues to work with Federal, State and local partners on the Federal Radon Action Plan to educate the public about the dangers of radon exposure.
More on how to test, find a qualified radon professional, obtain a test kit or contact your state radon office: http://www.epa.gov/radon or call 1-800-SOS-RADON
More information on the Federal Radon Action Plan: http://www.epa.gov/radon/action_plan.html
Radon Public Service Announcements (PSAs): http://www.epa.gov/radon/media_campaigns.html
Molly Hooven, , 202-564-2313, 202-564-4355. En español: Lina Younes, , 202-564-9924, 202-464-4355