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Monday, September 03, 2007
Conservative controversy update
Incidentally, if anyone's been following the debate on Jonathan McCalmont's blog about the article I wrote a few days ago, it would seem that the response he's had has been so distressing to him that he's decided to stop talking about fantasy altogether for a while. I hope that isn't my fault, but I don't think it is; actually, calling it a debate about my article is not really accurate, as most of the debate seems to have been people arguing over whether one of the examples he used when talking about conservative fantasy, George R.R. Martin's books, as a fair one. As I said nothing about Martin - I've read a few of his books, years ago, and have very few opinions about them and none at all about his politics - I suspect that I may have acted more as the spark to a barrel that had been filled with gunpowder by his previous comments on Martin's work. Oh well. Let me once again take the opportunity to thank all the lovely people who post on my blog for always being so polite to me. (And, indeed, to all the lovely lurkers for at least failing to write in and tell me I suck.)
A couple of people on the thread pointed out that 'authoritarianism' wasn't being properly defined on McCalmont's blog. As I'm the one who brought the word into the discussion - his word was 'conservatism', which has a somewhat different ring - I figured I ought to clarify it, so I've pasted a definition to the original post I wrote, in case anyone wants to read it over and update themselves.
Don't worry Kit... your article was neither here nor there really. The only thing it did was allow me to draw attention back to my old aesthetics of fantasy pieces and therein lay the seeds of my own undoing :-)
From previous: Having finally read the whole, exhaustive, fascinating, and at times very uncomfortable discussion, rather than doing any work at work (slow day :-), I think I'm actually less troubled. I'm inclined to defend GRR Martin with verbal guns blazing and such, because I like him (and despise Goodkind and Jordan, for different reasons) and did take the sheep comment pretty personally. Even objectively, that particular accusation seemed unfair and unfounded, but I can't dispute Jonathan's main, if carelessly-stated, premise -- that a lot of high fantasy is the same old same old and can easily be read as stagnant (for me the term "conservative" is too vague and too loaded, and I find it difficult right now to divorce it from its political baggage what with the #$&*((&*#$(&(# depressing US primary elections coming up). Perhaps the cessation was a good idea, as it got to be going in circles toward the end, but a lot of points were made nearly all around.
Was it Norman Spinrad who wrote that parody fantasy ("parody" isn't the word I want, as the work was not funny in the least; nor is "satire"): a novel within a novel, about young man writing a quite typical fantasy book about a shining knight of a protagonist going forth to exterminate the dark orcish hordes that threatened the bright hilltop kingdom of righteousness with their insidious orcishness (or whatever) -- the big reveal being, the young author is Adolf Hitler making plans for the future, shall we say.
So this Eurocentrism and aristo-centrism (is that a word?) is definitely a dusty-hoary trope in fantasy that more people should try to disturb. But I think that a good 90 percent of most genres, including "mainstream," is comprised of cotton-fluff works. So it's not fair to pick on fantasy as being somehow more plebian than any other genre -- one should just admit it's a milieu that doesn't appeal to one's particular entertainment tastes. (I love Neal Stephenson to death, I kid you not -- the man actually managed to write an engrossing, humorous, and accessible book about computer operating systems -- but I have been trying to finish "The Baroque Cycle" for about five years. It's good stuff, and the man is very, very smart -- and L'il Isaac Newton will never not captivate me -- but about 40% of his more recent books are treatise and not fiction and dangit, I am trying to relax. It's "interruptus," is what it is. Takes you out of the tale. He could do with James Morrow's editor.) And to keep insisting Martin fits the naughty "authoritarian" bill despite 1. So many examples to the contrary given in the posts and 2.The fact that the series ain't over yet -- and add to that 3. We're four books in and to be quite honest, the ultimate protagonist hasn't been established yet -- everyone I think is going to fill the role winds up dead (I'm beginning to suspect there simply won't be one; rocks will fall, and everyone will die) -- and I have to chalk that up to just stubbornness on the part of the blogger. Especially when it's just one author that winds up being the bone of contention.
And it's a firm belief of mine that, lit-wise at least, anything that can be done can be done well. It might be hard, it might be unlikely, but it's not impossible. So I don't like to write off a trope, or -- especially -- a subgenre, wholesale.
(I may have to read Scott Bakker now. I think I like him. Plus... er... I already own three of his books. I need to get on that.)
So it's interesting. I'm finding validity in a variety of the comments, and while reading I find myself feeling righteous and embarrassed by turns. I became the SF/fantasy geek I am via CS Lewis and Tolkien and Terry Brooks (although, from age 12 to now, I've never managed to slog through "Return of the King.") When I was 14 I totally wrote one of those dreadful "fat fantasies," complete with a lost boy prince, a sorcerous girl, and a Quest to Find Her Father and Dethrone the Despot. Also, there were "gypsies." I am particularly humiliated by the "gypsies." I oppressed them and everything. (Yah -- so here I am, a little Caribbean girl in New York City writing about green-eyed, raven-haired beauties and "gypsies" in Medieval Quasi England. And then feeling really guilty about writing them. And then feeling imprisoned and bitter about the guilt. It's complex. As well as a complex, probably.) I pacify myself by insisting, to myself at least, that anyone who ever learned to do anything started out by imitating. :-)
But what I tend to read today... Well, I'll read anything (unless it's terrifying), but the knights and castles tend to be low, low down on my list.
Except for Martin. :-)
So, I don't know. I took great comfort in your anti "guilty pleasures" post, I think for this very reason -- I'm grown. Why the guilt? And why cut myself off from entire worlds of new and possibly great stories for the sake of my sour little inner snob?
(I have a very healthy sour little inner snob. I am beating her with sticks.)
I would muddy the waters a bit because I'm stubborn like that -- but something I've tried to argue since my senior thesis days is that fantasy really isn't even a genre. It's a mode of writing that can be applied across genre, in contrast with Aristotelian mimesis -- he argued that Art by definition was a frivolous and unworthy pursuit and could only be redeemed by attempting to imitate or portray the real world as closely as possible. As a fantasist and supporter thereof I'd say hell with that. What drew me to the genre as a child was the very fact that you could take fantasy and throw it upon the bones of any genre -- romance, detective, political, thriller -- and have a viable work. IMO sci-fi is a subgenre of the fantastic, as is horror, as is alternate history, as is half of Twain's writing and all of Poe's...
So I desperately want a new terminology for the Jordans of the world, please (as distinct from, say, the Samuel Delanys and U.K. LeGuins).
I am aware that I'm pretty much having a different argument, all by myself over here, though. :-)
Hm, very interesting. Lot of points, lot of thoughts... I'll try to answer them in chunks, in the vain hope of some kind of comprehensibility.
Fit the first: politics
I thought it needed to be emphasised that 'conservative', which was Jonathan's word, and 'authoritarian', which was mine, are two entirely different things. The former's political, the latter psychological. It can be difficult to divorce the two in the current political climate, as most of the authoritarians seem to be voting Republican - but I personally think that's largely because the Republican pundits are better at writing rhetoric that appeals to authoritarians, rather than because authoritarians are always politically conservative. (Frankly, as a foreigner, I think it's high time the Democrats got their heads around that fact and improved their rhetoric.)
So yes, I think you're right to say that small-c conservative, meaning artistically middle-of-the-road, is a concept best kept separate from politics. That's one reason why I talked about authoritarianism instead - the other being that I always believe that an author's psychology influences their work more than their politics.
Re 'Euro-centrism': just in defence of Europe - it's not our fault if American writers write bad books based on garbled versions of our history! Right at this point in history, we're hella less authoritarian than America. (Not that you were saying we weren't, but when patriotism calls...)
Fit the second: art
I agree, anything can be done well, and that's the only thing that really matters. Quality is self-justifying. I do think it's an interesting question to wonder whether a particular story structure lends itself to a particular worldview; a difficult one to resolve, but still perhaps worth asking. But in any case, 'authoritarian' doesn't necessarily mean badly-done.
(That last sentence sticks horribly in my throat, but as a non-authoritarian liberal I have to respect other people's abilities, otherwise I'm just a hypocrite. I don't like authoritarian art, but it can be well executed.)
Fit the third: the actual blog stuff
I thought it was a shame that a potentially interesting discussion got sidetracked so fast into a single-issue argument about whether a fairly throwaway example was legitimate or not. I think it was the commenters as much as McCalmont who were responsible for that, in fairness: he kept disputing the Martin comments, which kept the Martin debate open, but nobody else seemed interested in discussing anything but Martin. It's an amusing lesson in relative celebrity, from my perspective, because boy were people more interested in discussing Martin than in anything I had to say! Oh well. :-)
Actually, I think there was a reasonable way to resolve the Martin argument. I didn't bring it up because it isn't my place to tell other people what to say, but what I'd have said in McCalmont's position was this: the basic point he was making with his Martin example was that morality in high fantasy is generally a matter of alliances rather than codes, ('We oppose the Dark Lord' rather than 'We believe killing is never justified even in wartime', for instance) - and the reason is that whenever you have a specific example of morality, it's likely to divide reader opinions as to whether the behaviour depicted is actually moral or not. He cited the fact that a character of Martin's beheads with his own hands everyone he sentences to death, on the grounds that you should take responsibility for your decisions. McCalmont said that he personally found that creepy, and others disagreed - but the fact that McCalmont found it creepy and other people didn't only supports the original point: examples are divisive. That one, in fact, was so divisive that it distracted everyone from the point it was proving.
I think the issue got a bit smudged in that discussion, but to answer what you said about picking on a genre: I think there's a difference between picking on fantasy as a genre and talking about a certain kind of story, which is a common one in fantasy but not the whole picture. In a way, people in that thread seemed to keep confusing the two: I thought there was some sense among some people that by saying he didn't like quest narratives, McCalmont was saying that every fantastical story ever was no good, which I don't think was his intention.
To take minor issue with you on something - I have to say, I've never understood the argument that you can't judge a series unless it's completed and you've read all of it. Of course, you can't judge how well it ends, but you can judge whether it's well-written, with good characters, suspenseful plot handling, perceptive insights and all the rest of the things that go towards making a book good or bad. If someone doesn't like how the first book in a series handles those things, I wouldn't blame them for taking an educated guess that they wouldn't like the other books either. I noticed that some of Martin's defenders seemed to feel that you had to read all his books before you were allowed to call his writing good or bad, and I thought that was unreasonable. To paraphrase Teresa Nielsen Hayden, you don't have to drink the whole pint of milk to know whether it's sour or fresh.
I feel at a bit of a disadvantage with the examples you cite, as all of them fall under the headings of authors that I either haven't read or don't like ... But frankly, if you enjoy Martin, that's reason enough to read him. It's the only reason ever to read anything. He's never been my cup of tea, but stuff it, everyone's entitled to enjoy reading whatever they please.
And hey, everybody writes nonsense when they're fourteen! It's like gawkiness: most people get it then grow out of it.
Ah, my last post crossed yours. Personally, I'd like to see the whole concept of genre abolished, so anything that chips away at it is good for me... The head of my agency once asked me if I was a fantasy writer or a mainstream writer, and I said I was a fantastical mainstream writer. Frankly, the idea of getting called a fantasy writer, and only a fantasy writer, because I happened to include something non-realistic in my book, is one I find frustrating.
The thing is, you can apply the same argument to other genres too. You can have a romance structure in any setting, for example.
I don't mind you having a one-woman argument; it's an interesting one! Maybe other people will come along to join us...
Mmp. I'm up past my bedtime, so I'll have to think about this one a bit more and see if I have anything more to say about it tomorrow, as it sounds like something worth discussing.
I haven't read Jordan's novels, but if you don't like them, I'd try 'bad books'. That's at least clear about your opinion!
Yah, I did find myself falling into the same trap there of harping on Martin instead of the main point. (But Maaaaaaaa, all the other kids were doing it! ^__^ And c'mon, the "sheep" comment was just bait; it even snagged me and I think I more or less AGREE with the guy.)
I have to disagree very slightly -- I'm with you inasmuch as I don't feel I should need to read an entire series in order to tell you whether or not I like it or am willing to put up with it, but if I'm going to write a treatise on its moral merits, overall message, and world view -- well, frankly I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that even now, and I have read all the existing books in the series so far. So it depends on how we define the word "judge" and exactly what it is we're judging -- and hoo boy, was that the Comp Lit major in me talking. I promise not to try to redefine the word "is." But yeah, I can cite some literary works (and films) that I personally can't stand, but have to admit are still skillfully done, as well as some deeply flawed crap that I still have unreasonable affection for. I'm not keen to conflate "I don't like" with "this is objectively and unequivocally bad," or vice versa. I'm not convinced this is what McCalmont is doing, but in certain places early on (e.g. "There is nothing clever about Martin"), it did come across that way, and for anyone who has read the whole thing (I can't even remember, really, where the first book left off) it's going to sound unfounded.
Now, I did like the series intensely from the first book; to me it did seem different and not derivative. Not so much with the wizards and magic, for one, and for two, I liked the realization that I didn't at all know who to "root" for right off the bat. I'm oversimplifying, as it's been a while -- those gaps being the biggest drawback to all these serials, to my mind.
Jordan I find annoying less because his fantasy is heroic or "fat," and more because he is purposefully stretching a five-book series into eleventy million, plus re-releasing old bits of it under new covers, all for the sake of milking as much cash out of it as possible. His literary morality or lack thereof aside, that sort of behavior (and to be fair, it's very likely his publisher and not Jordan alone behind all this stretching) makes for lousy, padded, clunky filler-writing by default. I mean, I started reading his series back when I was seventeen. And now...er... I am not. (Oh, hell with it: I am thirty-three.) There are limits.
I did, once upon a time, like the fact that his conflict setup seemed to be one of, I don't know, ultimate religion? that is to say, a quest to fix the way the world works at an objective, fundamental level, as opposed to defeating ideologically different "bad guys." Unfortunately, the "bad guys" soon showed up and it became same old same old.
(As for Goodkind, I find his politics abhorrent via hearsay, but really I gave up on him because his debut novel bored the crap out of me after about three chapters. Make. It. New!)
But McCalmont is absolutely right that people should read Neal Stephenson. Just in case I obfuscated that point, before.
And DRAT, I've gotten off onto harping on specific examples again.
What's becoming clearer to me the more I type this is that I'm less concerned with whether an author embraces my politics (in a broad sense of that word) and more with derivative versus original -- is this fresh, is this creative, or is this being done in exactly the same way using exactly the same words I've seen a million times? Even some possibly delightful works fail on that score with me, as I've been voraciously immersed in this genre for... oh god, way too long. So every time I'm reading the words "authoritarian" or "conservative" my brain is replacing them with "been there, done that." I do understand the difference being discussed, but I find myself unintentionally juggling three concepts here, and the one resonating most with me is "the story is all" -- do whatever you like, but do it well.
But in any case, 'authoritarian' doesn't necessarily mean badly-done.
(That last sentence sticks horribly in my throat, but as a non-authoritarian liberal I have to respect other people's abilities, otherwise I'm just a hypocrite. I don't like authoritarian art, but it can be well executed.)
What you said, there. Kind of how I feel about, say, the movie "Hero" -- it's beautiful, and transporting, and possibly a work of genius, and also one of the most intensely upsetting and angering films I've ever seen. (I can think of US films that piss me off equally, but I'm not a big enough film buff to also think of ones that are "genius" at the same time.)
Just to clarify -- setting the relative merits and detriments of our respective twenty-first-century societies totally aside, when I said "eurocentric," the actual political-body/continent of Europe was the farthest thing from my mind!! It's hard to be politically correct and accurate simultaneously, sometimes! I was trying to find a diplomatic way to say that in fantasy, perhaps even particularly in fantasy, the default race of people more often than not is white (or... having the physical characteristics associated with "white" in our world), and the default mindset is Western (although I'm not convinced it is the job of Western writers to remedy this. Possibly Western publishers). This has nothing to do with America versus Europe and more to do with who is producing most of the genre today, or at least the stuff available to me in the languages I can either speak or muddle through. And also something to do with the way the genre is defined and not defined in various regions of the world (I don't think French bookstores even bother to separate speculative fiction from "mainstream" unless things have changed recently -- and that's without even getting into how Caribbean, African, and South American etc narratives often incorporate religion and other supernatural tropes into all kinds of stories without having that define the work's genre at all -- I'm pretty sure "magic realism" is a Western-, "first-world"-imposed term. (German?) Not to mention, there's just not a heck of a lot of, say, Bulgarian and Burkina Fasan spec-fic being translated into English nowadays, and English is for better or worse the international language. I'm overjoyed we finally got some Andreas Eschbach up in here.)
I touched on this in a comment earlier, when new to your blog -- I forget where, but I was being a bit flippant about it -- the way that within the literary tradition to which I, frankly, belong (the western one), the tendency is that people are people, but nonwhite people have that nonwhite caveat attached -- you get sentences like "a skinny boy in spiked hair and parachute pants stood near the door, while at the bar, an Asian couple were making out" (what KIND of Asian at the very least??) or "a petite, elderly brown-eyed woman in a worn tweed coat stared across the street at a black man with a briefcase," and that's the end of the description. As if the visual were complete! But for some people, it is complete, and unless some qualifier is attached there is no doubt that the elderly woman in question is white, brown eyes notwithstanding.
A couple of years ago, I was on a binge, so to speak, where I refused to read anything that was originally written in English. (Yes, I have book binges.) Part of the intrigue, for me, in reading translated Japanese works, for example, is witnessing that same blithe assumption of default, but having the default be different -- seeing, for example, how a Japanese author describes facial features and differences between individuals when there's no easy shortcut of hair and eye color.
I should have been clearer, but I also don't want to seem like the strident angry black woman, because I don't think I am (I could be wrong), and because frankly I find the whole strident angry thing to be counterproductive, boring, and cringeworthy, not to mention it forces people to be excessively careful around you (and who wants that to be their defining Internet characteristic?). If I am honest with myself I don't necessarily believe white authors should have to twist themselves into pretzels to have main-characters-of-color; I think it would actually be nicer and more natural-sounding to have more writers of color doing fantasy and sci-fi, and we are getting there, but I am just one person and can't remedy this sort of thing all by myself.
(So I didn't mean to ruffle your patriotism at all!! Some of my best friends are European... ;-)
That's what I was getting at before, a little bit -- the fact that first, I wanted to be a fantasy writer (okay, first I wanted to be Judy Blume, and then Kenneth Grahame, but I mean after that), and second, that without even thinking about it, I started right in, writing medieval Europe land, even though at 14 the closest to "Europe" I'd ever been was the old bits of Quebec City, because that is how the fantasy genre was defined in my head, without my even realizing it. Even more, it took maybe more than a decade for me to see it differently. And even more twisted, I had to deal with the flip side, the feeling of guilt and restraint, that I should somehow feel obligated to write only black people and feel bad if characters who were not black popped into my head in that form. (So to some extent, my love of the fantasy genre might be it's the arena where I get to write purple plaid people and not get castigated for it.)
(And on that note, at some point I am going to send you a detailed treatise on exactly why I think your book is so awesome. It's related to the previous.) (But only if you promise not to be freaked out.)
It's why people liked "Firefly," somewhat -- it wasn't about the big-shots, the grand and stately governmental movers and shakers; it was about the little guys whose main concern was a paycheck and dinner. Dudes like me. :-)
'The default setting is white/Western'.
That's probably right - and you don't sound strident, I think it's a fair point. As a white Westerner myself, it's an issue I have to keep an eye on in my own writing; people tend to use themselves as a yardstick, and that extends to race. My own copyeditor pointed out in Bareback that there were a couple of points where I was doing the 'so and so is black' thing - explaining as she did so that being black herself made her more conscious of it. (Actually, I did it once, and the other occasion was a reference to the character's black-framed glasses combined with some very slipshod grammar, oops.) It was very useful to hear from her perspective.
I think that, with the more liberal-minded writers at least, it may come less from the assumption that 'black' or 'Asian' covers everything than from the sense that you can't have every character in a modern setting be white - but it takes some complicated phrasing to express that without continually naming races.
I mean, you can say someone has skin the colour of antique oak, and that conveys that they're probably black, but there's a lot of middling-brown skin tones that could equally apply to Latino, Indian Subcontinent, Oriental, Middle Eastern and Spends-Way-Too-Much-Money-On-Sunbeds. If someone has black hair, cork-coloured skin and is called Mohammed, then most people will be able to work it out - but with a lot of the examples you've given, part of the problem is that they're walk-on parts. I think sometimes naming the race is an attempt at avoiding overcomplicated description - which of course, can tip over into sounding as if you're saying, 'Well, heck, the guy was Arabic, what more is there to say?' - because the character just isn't onstage enough to justify too much verbiage.
I can think of at least one walk-on character in Bareback who was non-Caucasian in my own mind, but I never mentioned it because I wasn't mentioning anybody else's appearance in that scene either. The result may well have been a scene that sounded all-white, but I couldn't think of a better solution that wouldn't end up sounding like a conversation between John, Don and Bob The Token Black Man.
It's a linguistic problem, partly. Words for race are heavily contaminated by misuse, and words are all you've got at your disposal. Which ones do you use? It's an ongoing problem.
Have I said all this before? I remember saying something to this effect, but it was in a comment so my Blogger search function doesn't turn it up...
The do-you-have-to-read-it-all-to-judge-it question is an interesting one. I think what I'll do is take some time to sort out my own opinions, write another post, and then we can argue happily, possibly with lots of other people weighing in too!
Incidentally, there's an intereting discussion thread here:
... about the psychological implications of return-of-the-king stories, in which some very sensible observations are made.
"I can think of at least one walk-on character in Bareback who was non-Caucasian in my own mind, but I never mentioned it because I wasn't mentioning anybody else's appearance in that scene either. The result may well have been a scene that sounded all-white, but I couldn't think of a better solution that wouldn't end up sounding like a conversation between John, Don and Bob The Token Black Man."
And you know what -- I wouldn't consider that very much your fault at all. There are assumptions that any reader brings to a narrative that 1. makes it inherently a dialogue and 2. that they have to take responsibility for.
Ursula Le Guin went on at some length about how she envisioned her Earthsea characters' appearance -- some deep russet, some quite dark, some pale white -- and how these things were indeed indicated in the text even if racial code words weren't used. So it's hard to fault her if, say, the televised version (or several incarnation of the jacket illustrations) made everyone, for example, a dishwater blond.
(I don't think I should be allowed to use "very much" and "at all" in the same sentence that way, actually. I'm claiming my wishy-washy Libra status on that one -- it has to be good for SOMETHING. :-)
Oh, and you're dead right -- it's a linguistic problem, and an ongoing quest, for me.
This leads to unfortunate things like my staring really intently at strangers on the New York subway, trying to compare and contrast their respective nose-to-upper-lip ratios and to calculate the various deviations from a 90 degree angle, there. I'm going to get myself in trouble one of these days...
But that's the challenge, isn't it?
Now that's got to be an interesting way to pass a train ride! I think I'm going to try it next time the Tube goes haywire on me. (Probably next time I get on the Tube, in other words...)
(I'm giggling at my desk now -- the fact that New Yorkers don't make eye contact, especially in the subway, is the one thing saving me from bodily harm, probably.)
The really interesting thing -- even though it's completely not new and it's what anthropologists and the like keep saying, over and over again -- is that there really is always more deviation and range within any given race than between the races themselves...
I love finding out the different types of language and phraseology people use, too. I'm reading a North Korean novelist right now who talks about people's "long eyes" versus "tall eyes."
'Tall' being what we'd call 'round' and 'long' what we'd call 'almond-shaped'? Or the other way round?
I think "tall" does equate with "round." As far as I can tell from context, though, she seemed to be saying that the young woman with "long" eyes has a double eyelid crease. She also calls the character "clear eyed" and calls her creased lids "thick."
I hate to say it, but at some point you end up wondering what exactly "is" means.
When "is" something authoritarian, whether you're defining this in terms of politics or psychology? Especially when discussing fiction, where the authorial intention and the reader understanding can be hugely different?
I know that, philosophically, Terry Goodkind's work is avowedly Objectivist. I know that, politically, Dan Simmons's controversial message is obviously reactionary. I suppose that, psychologically, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings has something of the authoritarian in it (there's a quote of his, which I can only paraphrase poorly, along the lines of the fact that a farmer doffing his cap to a passing member of the gentry does nothing for the gentleman, but it's good for the farmer; a particularly British way, I think, of expressing a worldview that was very much concerned with class and authority).
But whether the genre of epic fantasy can be described as "conservative" (in a political sense, as opposed, I suppose, to the more artistic sense of 'small-c conservatism') or "authoritarian" (in either political or psychological senses), I'm not sure.
In the end, I think it comes down to the author.
The one part of the worldview of epic fantasy that does seem to be consistent is that it has, as Bakker has put it, epic stakes -- fate of the world and so on. These are big things well-removed from the real world, which tends to move in very small causal steps with myriad interpretations. Some epic fantasies partake in this sense of crisis more (Donaldson's Thomas Convenant series is concerned with the "dark lord" wanting to destroy time itself) and some less (Martin, where a big part of the narrative is the fact that political feuding has led to people ignoring the looming hostile ecological change), but still, there's some sort of big, major thing going on that will decide the fate of the world, etc.
Is that psychological? I can see the idea that people who tend to construe the world as a series of crises having some particular psychological cast. I am not sure that this is necessarily only an authoritarian cast, but I can buy that authoritarians (or maybe some authoritarians) are one particular group who do see the world in these terms.
Maybe it's better to say that authoritarianism tends to come out of crisis, but I'm not sure that choosing to write about crisis is inherently authoritarian.
Yes, that sounds like a reasonable way of putting it. As a mild modifier, I'd say that based on the research Altemeyer's book reports, it's a feature of authoritarianism to see crisis where other people will see the mixed blessings of normality, so while authoritarianism sometimes comes out of real crises, it can also come out of a false sense of crisis when actually nothing much is wrong...
I wouldn't say it's inherently authoritarian to choose to write about crisis - you need the story to be interesting, and crisis makes for drama. I think it's more that a crisis-ridden, everything's-about-to-collapse plot ends up being closer, perhaps inadvertently, to an authoritarian mindset to a more free-thinking one.
But how that translates in the real world? That's an extremely tricky question. Does it attract more authoritarian authors? More authoritarian readers? Influence people's levels of authoritarianism? Frankly, those are such big questions that I think you'd need to do some proper research in order to be able to say with any kind of - well, um, authority.
So does writing about massive world change automatically equal authoritarian writing? Or is it that there are certain factors within the portrayal of that massive societal change that euqal authoritarianism (in which case you could do the societal change but avoid the authoritarianism)?
I'm going on the assumption that authoritarian writing is something to be avoided, at least for purposes of this discussion.
That's a very interesting question. I think there's a difference between massive world change and 'the world will end if we don't destroy the Dark Thingamabob and all its followers', which is the stereotypical quest structure. 'Massive societal change' could involve more or less anything.
Authoriatarian writing to be avoided? I don't know. It would be ten kinds of wrong to say that authoritarian people are without worth; as a personality trait, as described by Altemeyer, we're talking about unquestioning obedience, lynch-mob aggression and personal hypocrisy, all of which are bad things; but as fiction? Probably it depends on the quality. The one thing I'd say is that as authoritarianism involves compartmentalised thinking, swallowing inconsistencies and double standards, that can't be good for art. It involves shutting down parts of your intelligence, and to produce good art, you always have to think with your whole mind.
Hmmm... you're reminding me, actually, of a couple of Sherri Tepper (sci-fi) novels in which there was massive societal change, but it's because the society in question was based on lies and/or exploitation. In the first example, there was exploitation, but it was based on misunderstanding of an alien culture, which eventually got bridged. In the second, there was exploitation based on a lie; the religious structure of a world was set up so that the humans wouldn't find out that something not so pleasant was happening to their dead. That second example set up the good versus evil/human vs other dichotomy more blantantly (it was also one of Tepper's earlier works), but I might still call it not-quite-authoritarian, because among other things the nonhumans were given a point of view: we saw that they were in an untenable situation either way, if I remember correctly. And the humans, particularly the ones in charge of the religious structure, weren't anything like bright heroes. It was an intensely disturbing book, really. Brr. I think I might reread it.Post a Comment
This gets back to the principle of "nearly anything that can be done can be done well -- but it might be hard" idea from before, I suppose.
Which is in turn taking me to the idea that (to simplify) the way to avoid authoritarianism is to produce quality work, which opens up a host of new questions and criteria.
(I have two half-baked novels in my life, set in the same world -- one of which is about The Common Man, so to speak, the other which is about Those Damned Nobles, and the idea of opening myself up to "authoritarian" criticisms is terrifying me -- not quite enough to abandon it but maybe change it radically. I know, I know, you can't avoid criticism. :-D)
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text:
When New York pastry chef Dominique Ansel created the Cronut, a croissant-donut hybrid that looks like a deep-fried croissant on steroids, he created a new medical condition: Cronut fever. We want that fever and we want it bad.
There is a little mayhem in New York City over the Cronut (for which the bakery has filed a trademark application). Ansel took to Twitter to let people know that one woman cried after hearing she was not getting one. He also wanted people to know, "It is not OK to flip off our baristas because we are out of cronuts!"
So what exactly is this breakfast pastry wonder? Ansel deep-fries raw croissant dough. Yes, deep-fries a croissant! For this month's flavor, he's filling them with a vanilla cream then topping with a rose-flavored frosting and candied rose petals.
Ansel, we're dying over here!
L.A. pastry chefs, we're looking at you. You can save us from Cronut fever envy. Come together as one group of apron-donning culinary heroes armed with rolling pins, flour, yeast and lots of butter and put us out of our misery.
Noubar Yessayan of Maison Giraud in the Pacific Palisades with those stellar croissants of yours, use your powers for the good of mankind.
Sumi Chang from Euro Pane in Pasadena, the pastry queen of the east, if anyone can make something that tops the Cronut, it's you.
Na Young Ma at Proof Bakery in Atwater Village, can't you just taste the glory?
We need someone to make an L.A. version of a Cronut or something better so we can stand outside your bakery for an hour before you open and throw a tantrum when you run out. We also want to cry over your layers of deep fried dough.
Help us out, will ya? And thanks for listening.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Coast Guard Mutual Assistance (CGMA) is the official relief society of the U.S. Coast Guard. CGMA is a non-profit charitable organization established to provide financial aid to the entire Coast Guard family. While CGMA works closely with the U.S. Coast Guard, it is an independent corporation. Its mission is to promote the financial stability and general well being of Coast Guard people through interest-free loans, grants, and financial counseling.
CGMA provides essential financial aid to the entire Coast Guard family, primarily through interest-free loans, grants, and financial counseling. Established and operated by Coast Guard people for Coast Guard people, CGMA provides a way to extend compassion to one another in times of need. It serves as a vital financial safety net, promoting financial stability and general well being, fostering high morale and encouraging a sense of loyalty to the Coast Guard.
The central purpose of Coast Guard Mutual Assistance is to assist our clients during their time of financial need. In general, assistance is provided through counseling, short-term interest-free loans, financial grants, referrals, and other related means. Assistance is provided under a large variety of conditions and situations usually involving everyday essentials including emergency, housing, and medical needs that are beyond the individual's ability to meet at the time assistance is requested. Coast Guard Mutual Assistance should be used to supplement, not replace other forms of available assistance.


text:
Arvind Kejriwal taken ill, decision on free water delayed
Delhi's new chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is unwell and not available in office today, he was about to make some important announcements on providing free 700 liters water a day to households.Chaotic morning outside Kejriwal's residenceindia Updated: Jan 24, 2014 13:52 IST
Hindustan Times
In the first major decision towards fulfilling its election manifesto promise, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Monday announced to provide up to 20 kilo litre water per month (approx 666 litres per day) free to the consumers with functional metres.
"This facility will be available from January 1, 2014," said Delhi Jal Board chief executive officer Vijay Kumar.
The government's decision, however, came with a rider that those consuming over this limit will have to pay as per tariff, enhanced by 10%, effective January 1.
The promise of 700 litres of free water to every Delhi household was made in the AAP poll manifesto.
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) made the announcement after a meeting with Kejriwal at his private house in Ghaziabad near Delhi.
The cost of providing the free water would be borne by the DJB for the first three months.
The Congress, which is offering support to the minority AAP government, questioned the AAP's free water move, saying that since half of Delhi does not get water at all, Kejriwal should ensure that these households get water first.
"He had promised that all citizens of Delhi would get free water. But around 50% of Delhi does not get water at all. He should ensure that every citizen of Delhi gets free 700 litres of water per day," Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit told reporters.
Kejriwal, who is not keeping well, had skipped office and held meetings at his residence.
This is Kejriwal government's first major policy decision for citizens after taking charge on Saturday.
Read: 20 kilolitres of free water but only if you don't exceed usage
The AAP had promised free water up to 700 litres per day for all households in its election manifesto and this along with the promise to cut power tariff by 50% had been a major draw for the citizens.
Kejriwal had earlier in March-April 2013 fasted as part of the civil disobedience movement against what the party called inflated power and water bills.
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal tweeted: "Running 102 fever since yesterday. Severe loose motions. Sad that I won't be able to attend office today."
In another tweet, the capital's new chief minister complained that he had fallen ill at such a time.
It was so imp to attend office today. We had planned the water announcement. God, bahut galat time par bimaar kiya.— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 30, 2013
Dear delhi citizens and well wishers. Please dont reach @ArvindKejriwal 's home and make the place crowded. Arvind needs rest @AamAadmiParty— Arvind Kejriwal 4 PM (@AKForPM) December 30, 2013
Dr Bipin Mittal, who is treating Kejriwal, said, "The chief minister has been administered antibiotics to contain his diarrhoea and advised complete rest."
"He will rest for the day. As the day progresses we will see. He was very keen on going to the secretariat because he has very important announcements to make. I strictly advised him against going out," Kejriwal's doctor said.
Hours after he took the oath of office on Saturday, Kejriwal had reshuffled top officials. Delhi Jal Board chief Debashree Mukherjee was transferred to the Delhi Transport Corporation and Vijay Kumar would replace her.
As people lined up at his residence in Kaushambi, Ghaziabad with their applications, Kejriwal sought 7-10 days time to put a grievance redress system in place.
"I don't want to give you false assurances. I will take the applications when we put a system in place to resolve the problems," said Kejriwal.
Read: Give us time to resolve problems in Delhi, says Kejriwal
Agenda for the week
Recent hike in the price of CNG will demand immediate attention as well. If the hike is not rolled back or subsidised, it may push up autorickshaw fares, which will not go down well with people.
Autorickshaw drivers form a sizeable chunk of the party's supporters and it can't afford to upset them.
A decision on power tariffs is expected on Tuesday. Later in the week, Kejriwal, who made around 100,000 people take a pledge against taking and giving bribes at Ramlila Maidan on Saturday, will give out the number of the helpline to report bribe-seekers.
Read: Kejriwal takes oath as Delhi CM, says there will be no witch-hunt against bureaucrats
First Published: Dec 30, 2013 10:41 IST


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text:
President Carl H. Lundquist greets Board of Education member Warren
Magnuson. See story page 2.
the CLARION All-School Social
Ends Welcome Week
Obtaining a bachelor in library
science from the University of
Chicago, Mr. Wezeman previously
had earned a bachelor of science
degree at Lewis institute in Chi-cago
and a master's degree in edu-cation
at Chicago Teachers college.
Currently, he is working on his
Ph.D. in library science at the
Pianist Rachel Koefod will per-form
in the college chapel, Tues-day,
September 20, at 8 p.m. The
cultural council is sponsoring the
Miss Koefod studied at the Juill-iard
School of Music, where she
Seminary Opens
With Retreat
Sept. 27, 28
Seminary registration is sched-uled
for September 26 and 27.
Orientation and testing of new stu-dents
will take place on September
Following registration, the sem-inary
students will conduct a two
day retreat on September 27 and
Classes will begin on Thursday,
September 29.
Graduate Library school of the
University of Chicago.
Mr. Wezeman has written num-erous
articles for library journals
and periodicals in the past 15
years. He has presented many
papers at various conferences, in-stitutes
and meetings for librar-ians.
received the Graduate School dip-loma.
She studied piano with James
Friskin, violin and piano sonatas
with Louis Persinger; and trios
with Felix Salmond. As as accom-panist,
she worked with the cello
students of Leonard Rose and the
violin students of Joseph Fuchs.
Her tours include solo and en-semble
concerts throughout the
midwestern states and two trips
through Europe in violin and piano
In 1954, she studied in Norway
under a Fulbright award. While in
Norway, she appeared as a soloist
with the Oslo Philharmonic Sym-phony
Spring semester, 1959, she was
acting head of the piano depart-ment
at Duke university.
Last fall she toured the United
States as a pianist with the Ralph
Hunter Dramatic chorus.
BWA Banquet
Slated Sept. 26
In Minneapolis
"On to Victory" is the theme
of the annual Big and Little Sis
banquet which will be held Mon-day
evening, Sept. 26. The banquet
setting is the First Christian
Church in Minneapolis. Buses will
leave Bodien residence at 6 p.m.
The banquet, under the auspices
of the Bethel Women's association,
will serve as an introduction to the
B.W.A. cabinet and activities.
Planned entertainment will feature
freshmen talent, a male quartet,
and a skit on Nik Dag.
Banquet tickets are $1.75 and
Big Sisters may purchase them
from Annette Larson. New women
students may contact Joyce Wess-man,
B.W.A. president, p.o. box
217, if they have not been contact-ed
by a Big Sis.
Foreign Study
Grants Available
Only two months remain to ap-ply
for some 800 Fulbrigh " schol-arshins
for cfradnate strd' or re-search
in 30 countries, the Insti-tute
of International education re-minded
prospective applicants re-cently.
Applications are being ac-cepted
until November 1.
Inter-American Cultural conven-tion
awards for study in 17 Latin
American countries have the same
filing deadline.
Recipients of Fulbright awards
for study in Europe, Latin Amer-ica,
and the Asia-Pacific area will
receive tuition, maintenance and
round-trip travel. IACC scholar-ships
cover transportation, tuition,
and partial maintenance costs. IIE
administers both of these student
( continued p. 3)
Welcome Week for incoming
freshmen and transfer students
will be climaxed tomorrow night,
September 18, with an all-school
social in the fieldhouse after the
football game with Mason City.
Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Norton
field, Hamline university.
Completing the schedule of acti-vities
for the week will be an all-school
picnic tonight at 5:45 p.m.
at Como Park and freshmen "com-mencement"
tomorrow morning in
the fieldhouse.
Since arriving on campus Wed-nesday,
September 7, the new stu-
A soap box forum, political in
nature, will be held each evening
from 6:30 to 7 p.m., beginning Sep-tember
19. The forums will con-tinue,
Monday through Friday, un-til
the November 8 general elec-tion.
The first student senate meet-ing
will be in the form of an
all-day workshop on Saturday,
September 17.
Bethlehem Baptist church in
Minneapolis will be the site of
the meeting which is scheduled
to begin at 8:30 a.m.
According to Bruce Leafblad,
student senate president, all
senate members are required to
attend the session.
Meals will be served at the
dents have attended activities plan-ned
by John Carlson, student sen-ate
vice-president, and his com-mittee.
Members of the vice-president's
committee are Lee Bajuniemi, Mar-ilyn
Benson, Darrel Johnson, and
Joyce Wessman. Retreat counselors
were John Bohlen, Bobbye Dris-kell,
Ann Friberg, Louise Holden,
John Holmberg, Geraldine Laid-law,
Bruce Leafblad, Bud Malm-sten,
Emily Mattson, Vern Olson,
Cliff Patterson, Steve Peterson,
Ron Pierson, Shirley Stearns, and
Grace Seffens.
According to Gary Scull, chair-man
of the forum and member of
the cultural council, the purpose
of the project is to stir up political
awareness on campus. The Repub-lican
and Democratic - Farmer - La-bor
Central committees have been
contacted and will supply the for-um
with speakers. Mr. Scull added,
that there is a possibility of
Hubert H. Humphrey, U.S. Sena-tor,
speaking one evening.
The forum will be held either in
the center of campus or near the
back door of the fieldhouse.
Friday evenings there will be a
scheduled speaker and students will
have an opportunity to voice their
opinions on the political situation.
The forum is sponsored by the
cultural council.
Volume X X XVII—No. 1 Bethel College and Seminary, St. Paul, Minn. Thursday, September 15, 1960
Librarian Wezeman
To Speak in Convo
Frederick Wezeman, associate professor of library science at the
University of Minnesota, will speak at convocation, September 26. "Books
in Abundance—Eggheads Unlimited" is the title of his speech, scheduled
to begin at 10 a.m. in the fieldhouse.
Fall Concert to Star
R. Koefod at Piano
Cultural Council Announces
Political Soap Box Forum
Nineteen Instructors Added to Faculty
Among the new faces on Bethel's
campus at the beginning of the
1960-61 school year are those of
nineteen new full and part-time
staff members.
Three full-time faculty mem-bers
have been added to the col-lege.
Philip Carlson will be in-structor
in mathematics and phy-sics.
He is a graduate of Bethel
college and the University of Min-nesota
and has completed two
years in the seminary. Mr. Carlson
did full-time graduate work last
year at the University of Minne-sota
on a National Science Foun-dation
Changing from part-time to full-time
basis is Donald Lantz, M.A.,
assistant professor of biology.
Currently a Ph.D. candidate at the
University of Minnesota, he is a
graduate of Wheaton college and
Bethel seminary. Mr. Lantz has
also taught at the University of
Minnesota, Whittier Union high
school and St. Cloud State college.
Coming as instructor in physi-cal
education is Owen Halleen, M.
Ed., who was in Elsinore, Calif.,
last year, serving as instructor in
English and football and basket-ball
coach. A graduate of Wheaton
college, Mr. Halleen holds his mas-ter's
degree from the University
of Illinois.
Part-time members of the col-lege
faculty, new this year, are
Richard Birkebak, M.A., physics;
Frank Bonn, M.A., political sci-ence;
Marvin Anderson, graduate
student on leave of absence from
the University of Washington, his-tory;
Mrs. Shirley Short, gradu-ate
student at the University of
Minnesota, biology; Robert Peter-son,
music education.
E. Earle Ellis, Ph.D., Dwight
Ericsson, M.A., and Alton G. Sny-der,
M. Rel. Ed, join the seminary
faculty for the current year re-placing
regular staff members on
leave of absence Dr. Ellis holds
degrees from the University of
Virginia, Wheaton college and the
University of Edinburgh and has
been associated with Southern Bap-tist
Theological seminary for the
past two years. Dr. Ellis comes to
Bethel as assistant professor of
church history. Teaching Greek
grammar and exegesis, Mr. Eric-sson
graduated from San Diego
State college and Bethel seminary
and is now completing work for
his doctorate in New Testament
at the University of Chicago. Cur-rently
pastor of First Baptist
church of St. Paul, Dr. Snyder
will teach courses in religious edu-cation.
He holds degrees from
Wheaton college and Easter Bap-tist
Theological seminary.
Other full-time additions to the
Bethel staff include Eunice Peter-son,
R.N. and B.S., director of the
health service; Nils Friberg, B.A.,
assistant to the director of public-relations;
William Malam, B.A.,
manager of the book store; Anna
Husmann, cashier; Margaret Int-
Veld, switchboard operator; Mrs.
Mariel Perry, library secretary;
Beverly Pipal, secretary to the
business manager; Clifford Ny-lander,
supervisor of custodial ser-vices,
and Keith Tekautz, custod-ian.
Administrative changes find
Webster C. Muck, Jr., associate
professor of psychology, serving as
acting dean of students, and Edna
Schultz, executive secretary in the
college office, acting registrar.
the CLARION
Editor Lois Bradshaw
Assistant Editor Sharon Dickau
Business Manager Richard Kreider
Feature Editor Sharon Bergstrom
Circulation Manager Karen Mollet
Advisor Lewis Barrett
5'3 Po 305, 4, EPKHAFEI" KA.4 " MC) YOU CAN'T TAKE ENGLIGH AS FULFILLMENT OF
Faculty-Board Dinner
Climaxes Fall Meeting
N.S.A. Stresses Student Leadership;
What is a Student?
Students Act on Major Issues at Congress
This phrase was discussed at length in 1959,
when the 12th Congress had difficulty deciding
whether or not to make an anti-Communist state-ment.
In contrast, the 13th Congress hardly ques-tioned
what non-violent protest at lunch counters
had to do with the "student in his role as student."
The idea of the NSA as a specific political or
social force is not new. Indeed, student leaders often
spur the American student movement by pointing
to other countries in which students are active, even
influential, in such things as the overthrow of gov-ernments.
However, it is questionable that students in the
United States are acting intelligently if they do
so, to emulate other student groups. The NSA
exists to maintain a spirit of academic freedom
and the promotion of the educated society. For
the educated society makes for the most perfect
NSA, in its 13th assembly took a step towards
leadership in the student movement. The resolu-tions
indicated a desire on the part of students to
speak their piece as a body, rather than as indi-viduals
in our democratic society. The question, in
trying to evaluate NSA's step is this: Is the best
interest of democracy and, as the American stu-dent
affirms, the subsequent freedom and equality
of man, served best by an active group of students
rendering opinions and active as a political and
social force, or is democracy best served by the
individual educated mind and voice within society?
If the latter is correct, NSA should concern itself
with those programs more specifically aimed at
maintaining academic freedom and the furthering
of education.
by Bruce Leafblad
Student Senate President
Words of welcome have been
echoing through the rooms and
corridors of Bethel during the past
week as faces old and new have
made their appearance on the cam-pus.
To add to these many greet-ings,
the senate wishes to express
a special welcome to the host of
new students who are enrolled here
this year. It is the desire of the
senate that you feel right at home
in the new atmosphere. Your sen-ate
will do its best to see that your
stay at Bethel will be an enjoyable
and worthwhile experience.
Welcome Week, which is plan-ned
and directed by the student
senate, is the initial product of
senate work each year. From this
point on the senate wheels start
turning, as your student govern-ment
goes to work in striving to
make Bethel a more valuable place
for you in every area of your life.
The senate is composed of an
executive council which is elected
by the student body, the class presi-dents,
and the senate-appointed
chairmen of the various councils
(i.e., athletic council, religious
council, etc.) During the first
months of school, the senate will
be meeting each Monday night. All
meetings are open to the entire
student body, so we invite—in fact,
we encourage you to attend. The
time and place will be posted on
campus bulletin boards.
Be sure to take an interest in
what your senate is doing because
the senate is your voice on the
Bethel campus.
by Conrad Woodall
N.S.A. Coordinator
The Board of Education climaxed
its fall meeting with a faculty-board
of education dinner last
evening. The topic of discussion
at that time was "The Obligation
of the School to Give Leadership
to Its Constituency."
Preceding last evening's dinner,
the 15 member board, which comes
from both coasts, held meetings
for two days.
Members of the board include
two physicians, five pastors, two
business managers, one professor,
and five business executives.
The doctors are Wilford F. Wi-den,
Minneapolis; and Ray Magnu-son,
Cambridge, Minnesota.
Clayton Bolinder, Des Moines,
Iowa; J. Leonard Carroll, St. Paul;
James L. Mason, Duluth; Warren
Magnuson, St. Paul; and Robert
J. Daley, Seattle, Washington, com-prise
the list of pastors, who serve
on the board of education.
Business managers of a public
school system and a Conference
church are Arthur Hoehl, Sioux
Falls, South Dakota and Ray An-derson,
Long Beach, California,
Samuel J. Schultz, professor of
Bible and Theology and depart-mental
chairman at Wheaton col-lege,
Wheaton, Illinois, is a newly
elected board member. Also new
to the board are the Rev. Mr. Daley
and Lawrence Benson, a business
( continued p. 3)
Carlson Wants
Math Education
Program Soon
by Marilyn Benson
A desire to begin a mathematics
education program at Bethel is one
of the reasons that brings Philip
Carlson to our campus. This fall
Mr. Carlson begins his first year
at Bethel as instructor in mathe-matics
and physics.
Mr. Carlson is a graduate of
Bethel. After attending Bethel
seminary for two years, he decided
to continue his studies at the Uni-versity
of Minnesota, where he re-ceived
his degree in mathematics
education. He spent two years
teaching at Hopkins high school;
after which he returned to the Uni-versity
of Minnesota to do full-time
graduate work on a National
Science Foundation scholarship.
Most of his work is completed for
the masters degree which he plans
to receive in February, 1961.
While Mr. Carlson was a student
at Bethel, he participated in inter-collegiate
athletics. This avid in-terest
in sports has been put to
use on campus this year. In addi-tion
to serving on the athletic
committee, Mr. Carlson is advisor
of the "B" club. The latter organi-zation
is quite familiar to him
since he was president of the club
while he was a student at Bethel.
Mr. Carlson lives in St. Louis
Park with his wife, Ardis, and
their four year old daughter, Kath-leen.
Mrs. Carlson, a graduate of
Mounds-Midway school of nursing
in St. Paul, also attended Bethel.
Next CLARION Deadline
is Sept. 24, 1960
Editor's Note : The background and quotations in this editorial
come from a speech by Carey McWilliams, Jr. which was given at
the 13th Annual National Student Congress on Aug. 19.
Registration has been completed and classes have begun. The cam-pus
is more than buildings and grounds; it is an interrelation of the
personalities that make up Bethel. This is quite often referred to as
the student community. What, if anything, is a student community ?
The one most common factor among students is that they are called
students. But to quote Mr. McWilliams, "there is more than that to
community. It is not a single factor, like registration in an accredited
college, and it is more than interdependence or the ability to provide
service. It is a relation of whole personalities, one to another, in such
a way that men say, 'part of my being, of myself, is in the bond be-tween
us.' There is a language of community in which men do not refer
to belonging or being affiliated to organizations; they say "I am a
Baptist," or "I am a Presbyterian," or an American or what have you.
They use the language of being and of self—if you will, community
is identity of persons, or identity of important things, separated from
these matters of which St. Thomas said, "De fustibus, non disputandum"
(In matters of taste there is no dispute)."
Now that we have defined community, our second consideration is
to ask, what is a student. On the surface, we would say one who stud-ies.
This tends to imply one who has a thirst for knowledge, one who is
aware of what he does not know and asks questions which probe to the
"roots of ignorance and wisdom, and perhaps life itself." Mr. McWilliams
declared, "The student is the man who questions because he doubts and
doubts because he does not know. He is the man who doubts and asks
because he would rather be uncertain than be wrong."
The student community is not only the enrolled students; many of
these do not meet the qualifications. It includes all of those who are
enrolled in institutions and all of those outside of institutions of higher
learning who possess that certain desire to know. Membership in the
student community is determined by the individual's character and not
by enrollment in a school. It is unfortunate that it has to be said; but
not everyone registered at Bethel is a student or a member of the stu-dent
For the few who possess this rare quality, Mr. McWilliams said
that their first responsibility is: "to realize that we must walk gently
with what we feel are the illusions of others, to accept men as we find
them, and to bring them toward a better realization of self realizing
where we begin . . . in the world of illusion. Plato, in the often -cited
analogy of the cave, suggested that the philosopher, after his lifelong
struggle to attain the good, a struggle of leadership and labor, often
of despair, would, as soon as he had attained the good, return immed-iately
to the cave . . . And this responsibility, seen as an obvious mat-ter
of course by the Greeks, may be ours as well." LE B
`Words of Welcome .. 7
The Thirteenth Annual National Student Con-gress
of the National Student Association (N.S.A.)
met during the latter part of August at the Uni-versity
of Minnesota.
This meeting of the NSA was, in its resolution
and climate, an outstanding example of the powers
of dynamic leadership. The congress concerned it-self
with the matters, which the NSA leaders
thought to be the major issues.
The general emphasis of the association's con-cern,
as compared with the 12th Congress, demon-strates
this power of leadership.
In 1959, at the University of Illinois, the 12th
Congress was concerned on the international level.
Several students had been in Vienna during the
Communist-organized youth festival. The leaders
of the association had recently attended an inter-national
student congress, so their interests were
international. Consequently, the topics of discus-sion
and the resolutions that were the most inter-estedly
considered involved nuclear disarmament,
anti-Communism, and the like.
Between the 12th and 13th congresses, NSA's
most energetic program was in conjunction with,
if not an initial force behind the sit-in movements
in the South. So, the 13th congress concerned it-self
with desegregation.
So much for the powers of leadership, for demo-cratically
elected leaders should be powerful.
An important element to note about the two
congresses is the amount of concern for acting
within the realm of the "student in his role as
the CLARION
Page 2
Worship, 11
Sunday School, 10
Evening service, 7:30
Singspiration following C)
7101 Nicollet
Richfield 1Z.7
Peter Unruh, 1MM
9:45 a.m.
11 a.m.
7 p.m.
Bible school
Morning worship
Evening service
9:00 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m.
7:15 p.m.
8:30 p.m.
Morning Worship
College Bible Class
Morning Worship
— Gospel Service
— Senior CYF
Welcome to
Bethany Baptist Church
Bible School 9:45
Morning Worship 11:00
Evening Worship 7:00
Walfred Johnson, pastor
2025 W. Skillman Ave., near Cleveland
Elim Baptist Church
685 Thirteenth Ave. N.E., Minneapolis
A Home Away From Home
Elim bus leaves at 9:15
Emmett V. Johnson, pastor Frank Shindo, assistant pastor
We pick up and deliver at Central
Bus leaves Bodien Hall at 9:20 a.m., and 6:30 p.m.
Warren Magnuson, Pastor
Bud Lee, Christian Education Director
Marie Schultz, Parish Worker
Central Baptist Church
1 Block South and 1 Block West of University and Snelling
Totacetaptce, Sactiola Pto9tamd,
David Johnson
On Campus Representative
P.O. 630 Sp. 7-6453
Let me help you obtain the most protection for the
least cost. Information gladly given with no obligation.
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presents the essentials of entire courses in
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Perfect for learning and reviewing ... truly the
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Get An Outline for Each One of Your Subjects.
Bethel Book Store
Take Place
In Summer
Changes in the Bethel campus
during the summer months are
apparent to returning upperclass-men.
Renovations have included the
redecoration of the seminary
chapel, rebuilding in the library
stacks, installation of an air-con-ditioning
unit in the dean's office,
sanding and refinishing of chapel
and sideroom floors, repainting in
the college building, redecoration
and some remodeling of the din-ing
hall and installation of new
ovens in the kitchen.
Gospel teams and other forms
of Christian service are beginning
this fall under the supervision of
Foreign Grants
(continued p. 1)
programs for the U.S. Department
of State.
General eligibility requirements
for both categories of awards are:
1) U.S. citizenship at time of ap-plication;
2) a bachelor's degree
or its equivalent by 1961; 3) know-ledge
of the language of the host
country; and 4) good health. A
demonstrated capacity for inde-pendent
study and a good academic
record are also expected.
Interested students should con-sult
Dean Clifford Larson for in-formation
and applications.
Requests for application forms
must be postmarked before October
15. Completed applications must be
submitted by November 1.
Wally Buer, student director and
Mr. Julius Whitinger, faculty ad-visor.
According to Mr. Whitinger,
"work in Christian service is a
very important aspect of Bethel's
religious emphasis."
A gospel team workshop lun-cheon
will be held on October 3.
Students may participate as speak-ers,
readers, song leaders, singers
or instrumentalists.
Masterpiece Series
The Royal Danish Ballet will
open the 1950-61 edition of the
University Artists course—Master-piece
series. The Danish company
will perform in Northrop audi-torium
on Tuesday, October 4. An
extra performance, with an entire-ly
different program, will be pre-sented
on Wednesday, October 5.
This will be the first perform-ance
in the Twin City area by the
company, and is part of the com-pany's
second tour of the United
States. The first tour in 1956
SPIRE pictures will be
taken on SEPTEMBER 27
the Faculty Lounge
sub - basement
the college building
covered cities in the Eastern sec-tion
of the country.
The Branko Krsmanovich chorus
from Yugoslavia will be the second
major attraction on the Master-piece
series. The largest foreign
chorus ever to tour the United
States, the Yugoslav chorus will
perform for Masterpiece series
patrons on Thursday, October 20.
The chorus will include as part
of its program folk songs of Yugo-slavia
performed in colorful na-tive
The Israel Philharmonic orches-
Board Members
(continued p. 2)
executive at Mutual Service In-surance
company. His home is in
Other business executives include
Wilford Anderson, president, W. A.
Anderson Manufacturing company,
Minneapolis; G. Leonard Erickson,
president, Broden - Sutphen Ink
company, Cleveland, Ohio; Robert
M. Anderson, president, Anderson
Copper and Brass company, Chi-cago;
and Bert Carlson, vice presi-dent
A. C. Nielson Company, Ver-ona,
New Jersey.
Officers of the board are J. Leo-nard
Carroll, chairman; W. F. Wi-den,
vice chairman; Warren Mag-nuson,
secretary; and Wilford An-derson,
tra will appear on the Masterpiece
series on Monday, November 14.
The orchestra will be conducted
here by Carlo Maria Guilini who,
for the past nine years, has been
associated with La Scala in Milan.
Pianist Glenn Gould, will make
his recital debut on the Master-piece
series on Thursday, Decem-ber
Violinist Isaac Stern will be pre-sented
in recital on the Master-piece
series on Monday, January
16. A veteran of performances in
Northrop auditorium, this concert
will mark Stern's third appearance
here under Artists course sponsor-ship.
Mary Costa, soprano, will present
her first recital in the Twin Cities
on the Masterpiece series Wednes-day,
January 25.
According to James S. Lombard,
director of concerts and lectures
at the University of Minnesota,
season tickets for this forty-sec-ond
annual series of the Univer-sity
Artists course — Masterpiece
series are still available. Season
tickets priced at $5.00, $7.50,
$10.00, $12.50, $15.00 and a few
single tickets at $17.50 may be
purchased at the University Art-ists
course ticket office, 105 Nor-throp
Memorial auditorium. Sea-son
ticket buyers will save from
34% to 57% of the cost of tickets
for the seven individual concerts.
J. Whitinger Advises
Christian Service Teams
Ballet Set for Oct. 4 and 5
Page 3 the CLARION
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Bethel Book Store
Royal Team Opens Against
Mason City Friday Night
A Hearty Welcome to You from
Olivet Baptist Church
3233 Abbott Avenue North
1 block west of traffic circle
Worship 9:00 and 11:00 a.m.
Sunday School 10:00 a.m.
Evening Service 7:00 p.m.
CYF 8:15 p.m.
Dr. Robert Mounce, Interim Pastor
John F. Anderson, Youth Pastor
team. Among the returning play-ers
are: Dave Hagfeldt, Stu Luck-man,
Ray Shepherd, Ken Baird,
Captain; Tuffy Bryant, Bill Holz-worth,
and Don McKelvy, who re-turned
last Monday. Also five
freshmen are expected to be call-ed
upon for starting duty on Fri-day
Although Coach Halleen, who is
new to Bethel, is young (the
youngest coach in the conference),
this doesn't hinder his leadership
and knowledge of the game of
Assisting Coach Halleen, who is
a graduate of Wheaton college, are
Jerry Thompson, former head
coach at Ripon college, and Paul
Evan, captain of last year's Royals.
Sept. 16, Fri. Mason City H 7:30
Sept. 24, Sat. *Lakeland H 2:00
Sept. 30, Fri. Mayville T 7:30
Oct. 8, Sat. *Northland 2:00
Oct. 14, Fri. Valley City T 7:30
Oct. 22, Sat. *Milton T 7:30
Oct. 29, Sat. N.W.W. T 2:00
Nov. 5, Sat. General Beadle Homecoming 2:00
*Badger-Gopher Conference
All home games will be played at Hamline university
by Don McKelvy
After a week of strenuous drills
at training camp, the Bethel Royal
football team is anxiously await-ing
the opening of the 1960 foot-ball
season. The opener for the
Royals will be under the lights at
Norton Field, Hamline university,
Friday night at 7:30.
This year the schedule is ex-tremely
rough and Coach Owen
Halleen will be calling on his seven
returning lettermen for the back-bone
of strength in this year's
A Church Home While at School
First Baptist - North St. Paul
College Class 9:45
Morning Worship 11:00
Evening Gospel 7:00
Prayer Meeting, Wed. 7:30
Calvin Merritt, Pastor
107 14th Ave. N.E.
Highway 36 east, turn left at light in N. St. Paul
We invite you to attend
Payne Avenue Baptist Church
Payne and Sims, St. Paul
9:45 a.m. Bible school
11 a.m. Morning worship
7 p.m. Evening service
8:30 p.m. Youth meeting
bus leaves Bodien at 9:15 a.m.
J. Leonard Carroll.
Gordon Sundberg
Youth Director
Minnehaha Baptist Church
4155 41st Avenue South
Bible School 9:45 a.m.
Morning Service 10:50 a.m.
Evening Service 7:00 p.m.
Senior CYF 8:15 p.m.
Prayer Meeting 7:30 p.m.
"A Warm Welcome to Bethel Students"
Harvey R. Hill, Pastor
Pastor Stanley George L. Johnson and
Park Baptist Church
invite you to attend
Sunday School 9:45
Morning Worship 11:00
Evening Service 7:00
College Fellowship 8:30
4Ist St. and Highway 100
St. Louis Park
1. Obviously
a Sports
2, A Layout
3. Sports
4. News
5. Typists
6. Ad
A Welcome From
Johnson Parkway
Baptist Church
1301 Beech
Worship 11:00 & 7;30
Wed. 7:30
Robert McNaughton, pastor
7. Copy
Lois Bradshaw
The football team prepares for a victory over Mason City Junior
college tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.
the CLARION Page 4
Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.


text:
We all know that summer is all about the dress, but what about the summer skirt? A cute summer skirt is just as easy to wear. Plus, you can transition it to fall (just add tights). And for those of us who aren't big fans of shorts (personally, I DESPISE shorts, for no other reason than that they remind me of summer camp), skirts are a perfect warm-weather alternative.
So, check out my picks for cute summer skirts, especially for those of us who don't like shorts.
Cute Summer Skirts
Cute Skirts: The White Skirt
White skirts are the summer's go to bottom as it's easy to wear. The key is to make sure to look for the skirt in a lightweight cotton with a bit of detail.
Cute Skirts: The Mini
If you've got the legs, why not show off a bit of skin with a mini. Note: if you're going to go this short, make sure to lotion up the legs. (just sayin').
Cute Skirts: The Chambray
Lightweight Washed Chambray Skirt, $65.00 from J.Crew
Chambray is like denim's thinner, cuter cousin and is the perfect way to add the "denim look" into your summer look without all the heat.
Cute Skirts: The Neon
My affinity for Rainbow Brite is well-known, which explains my attraction to neon pieces like this skirt. The key to wearing this is to NOT overthink it–pair it with a black, orange or even a bright blue top and be on your way.
Cute Summer Skirts: The Pencil
This is the workhorse skirt that you will wear…and wear…and wear…all summer long. We love this version in bright orange (also available in neutral colors like dark blue) with nautical button details as it adds a nice pop to an otherwise basic skirt.
Cute Skirts: The Striped Skirt
Most of us tend to shy away from horizontal stripes on our backside, so try a horizontal stripped skirt.
Cute Summer Skirt: The High-Low (aka Mullet Skirt)
The jury is still out on whether or not the high low skirt is a summer "must have", which is why I'm drawn to this updated version from the Gap. This skirt is all business in the back and party in the front (plus it's on sale for $29.99)
Cute Summer Skirts: The Floral
Florals, like stripes, instill fear into the heart of those of us with a bit of extra junk in our trunks. But here's the thing: a well-placed floral print can cover up a multitude of sins.
Cute Summer Skirts: The Weekend Skirt
This is the skirt you will LIVE in on the weekends (and we all need a skirt like this). It's dressy enough that you won't be embarrassed when you see someone you know while out shopping, and comfortable enough to lounge around the house in.
Cute Skirt: The Handkerchief Skirt
This is the skirt that you wear when you need a bit of happiness in your life. It's long enough to provide coverage, but stylish enough to not be boring. Remember to keep your top basic and let the skirt lead the outfit.
Cute Skirts: The Maxi Skirt
There's nothing like a good maxi skirt to take you through your day. Easy to wear and to wash, this, along with your weekend skirt, is your go-to piece.
Cute Summer Skirts: The Trendy Maxi
This is the type of skirt you wear when you're looking to step up your game at a casual summer wedding and/or pool party. It's sheer enough that it gives "summer", but provides enough coverage that no one will notice you forgot to shave.


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Anthony Harrison necesitaba un nuevo diseño de impreso o envases y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 36 diseños de 9 diseñadores freelance.
Cricket Victoria
We're a not-for-profit organisation that administers the game of cricket in the Australian state of Victoria. We also manage the Victorian Bushrangers elite men's cricket team (think household names like Cameron White, Peter Siddle and Brad Hodge)!
The program that we need help with is called 'Diamonds in the Bush'. It is a talent identification program aimed at finding the next 'big thing' in terms of future cricket champions.
More information on the program available here: http://www.cricketvictoria.com.au/p…_bush.html
This program is aimed at rural Victorians (both male and female) aged anywhere between 15 and 25.
1. We need a basic logo for the program 'Diamonds in the Bush'
- This logo shouldn't be too complex - just want something that instantly identifies the program and works well in the below flyer. Should look professional and heroic.
2. Incorporate the logo into a one page A4 flyer (that can be used at a later date for other purposes)
- The flyer must include the Cricket Victoria and Cricket Coaches Australia logos (as well as the newly designed Diamonds in the Bush logo)
- Must include areas for When, Where, Audience, More Info
- Must have a intro heading
- Must have room for body copy
- Can include photos (a few sample pics have been attached)
See attached document for an example of what we currently use.
* No Cartoons - we want it to be youthful but at the same time professional
* The typeface should be clear and simple. We want something that stands out but at the same time looks clean and professional.
* The flyer will be emailed so please keep in mind file size.
We'll require an EPS of the final logo and original artwork of the final flyer.


text:
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Courtyard by Marriott Saratoga Springs
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Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
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BOSTON -- The focus of the probation trial shifted Friday from the judicial branch to the Legislature, as an aide to Senate President Therese Murray described lobbying for and tracking the hiring of Patrick Lawton, who lost his probation job two years after he was hired because of a drug arrest.
Testifying with an Aug. 12, 2011 court order granting her immunity, Murray aide Francine Gannon said "one of my responsibilities" handling constituent services for the Senate president was helping constituents obtain state jobs.
Gannon kept detailed notes on the status of the job-seekers. In written correspondence introduced at court, Lawton was effusive praising Murray and her aide as he sought work at a variety of state agencies, settling on a probation officer job at a family court where his grandfather had been a presiding judge.
"I just wanted to stop by and personally thank you for your assistance with my job search. Your kindness will always be remembered by me. I wish you all the best!" Lawton said in a handwritten note to Murray dated March 26, 2008.
Judge William Young has periodically reminded the jury in the federal racketeering and mail fraud case that patronage is not illegal, and is not the subject of the mail fraud and racketeering charges. Prosecutors are attempting to show that a sham hiring process was mere cover for a system where jobs were offered to the powerful in exchange for "political currency."
Former Probation Commissioner John O'Brien and two of his former deputies, Elizabeth Tavares and William Burke, have pled not guilty.
Earlier in the day Friday, Plymouth Probate and Family Court Judge Catherine Sabaitis testified that she had previously misremembered her chief probation officer in 2008, Michael LaFrance, inflating Lawton's score.
"I had thought he did. I stand corrected after reading my notes," said Sabaitis. Both Sabaitis and LaFrance said Lawton appeared anxious and unprepared in his interview, and after not making a list of eight finalists, Frank Campbell, a former probation official, allegedly said the list of finalists should be expanded to 10 to include him. Lawton was eventually hired.
Though Sabaitis said she had known Lawton since he was a baby, was friendly with his parents and received the endorsement of his grandfather when she was up for a judgeship, none of Lawton's family members reached out to her as he was seeking a job at the Brockton court where she presided.
Mark Lawton, who was then a judge and former representative, had channeled his support through Murray's office.
"I know that Jack O'Brien takes very seriously calls from your office where there's a strong interest on the part of the Senate President. Francine, I need your help & assistance," Mark Lawton wrote to Gannon in a March 11, 2008 email. Mark Lawton had earlier written, "Please accept my deep appreciation for your genuine kindness and willingness to reach out and touch our lives. You're great!"
Gannon, who said she believes Murray and Lawton's mother, Patricia, were friends, responded a day later, writing Murray "will do all she can do" to assist the job search. Gannon said the request had been referred to her by Kevin O'Reilly, a former Murray aide. Gannon said she believes O'Reilly was Murray's campaign manager at the time.
Originally Lawton expressed interest in a range of state jobs, with his first choice being a hearing officer in the Brockton Registry of Motor Vehicles. A law school graduate, Lawton expressed interest in job openings in the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Labor Relations, the Department of Correction and the Trial Court, among others, according to a court document.
Lawton was appointed as a probation officer at the family court in 2008. Sabaitis said she complained about what she saw as favoritism for Lawton and her concerns were relayed to Chief Justice of Administration and Management Robert Mulligan. Mulligan signed off on the hire after the concerns were raised, Sabaitis said under cross-examination.
Murray appears to have inquired about Lawton's progress. Gannon said handwriting on a note in Lawton's file looks like Murray's. It says, "How are we doing on him?"
Murray's office found out that Lawton would be appointed on the Friday before he was supposed to be offered the job, according to notes Gannon kept on a call from Edward Ryan, who was the legislative liaison for probation. Ryan wrote that Murray will tell "the judge's wife" about it.
"I wanted to stop by and thank you for your generosity & kindness. It will never be forgotten. I hope you enjoy the flowers!" Lawton wrote to Gannon after he was offered the job in May. Gannon said Friday she did not specifically recall the flowers. Later in the month, Mulligan signed off on the hire, and an inter-office memo read "He should be all set."
Gannon, who is being represented by famed defense attorney J.W. Carney, has a long history of constituent service work beginning with Thomas "Tip" O'Neill, the North Cambridge congressman who was speaker of the U.S. House from the Carter administration into much of the Reagan administration.
A lifelong Boston resident, Gannon said she had worked for O'Neill from 1967 until his death in 1994. After that she worked for South Boston Congressman Joe Moakley, then East Boston Sen. Robert Travaglini, following him into the president's office. When Murray became president in 2007, Gannon stayed on in the office.
Lawton's resume, which was also presented Friday, shows a work history that includes time as a patrolman on Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard, a sales representative for the State Lottery about a decade ago, and W.B. Mason.
Lawton was suspended from his probation department job in May 2010 after he was arrested in Taunton on drug charges and later resigned, LaFrance testified previously.
Aide to Senate President Therese Murray describes role in hiring at probation trial
BOSTON -- The focus of the probation trial shifted Friday from the judicial branch to the Legislature, as an aide to Senate President Therese Murray described lobbying for and tracking the hiring of Patrick Lawton, who lost his probation job two years after he was hired because of a drug arrest.


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Everytime I try to post, if I go below the writing box length, it jumps back up to the top of the post when I press one letter. Every letter, it jumps back up, and it makes it almost impossible to write longer posts. I wondered if anyone else has this problem, and if so, when it will be fixed.
Thank You


text:
Dayenu on the Way to EmmausSunday, May 8th, 2011
Homily preached the Third Sunday of Easter, May 8, 2001 at the Church of the Good Shepherd
You may have noticed that the banners outside the front door of our church have a Hebrew word at the bottom. Probably a lot of you figured out that the Hebrew is a sort of subtitle to the word above it: "Alleluia." If that's what you think, you're right. Alleluia is a Latin transliteration of the Hebrew hallelujah, which means "Praise the Lord."
Like hallelujah, this season of Easter and Passover is also associated with another important Hebrew word that has a special significance for today's Gospel reading.
That word is dayenu. (more…)