text:
Gerry Crammer & Rob Jones – Overnight Super Affiliate
Original price was: $1,997.00.$127.00Current price is: $127.00.
Product Delivery – You will receive Content Access Via Email.
Email – [email protected]
Gerry Crammer & Rob Jones – Overnight Super Affiliate 2017
Price : $1997
Sale Page : adcloaker.clickfunnels.com/order-form
Archive Sale Page: archive.is/WFf7i
See the webinar here
"Before today, Gerry has only shared this method with a small group of people at an exclusive, live, in-person training in San Diego. Attendees shelled out $5,000 to attend. Sixty percent of the attendees made money within 3 weeks, including a 72-year old retired teacher who didn't even have a Facebook account before. For the last 8 months, he's been pulling in $500/day, and he barely even understands the system. He just follows the steps. So please don't take this training lightly. We recommend you approach this session just as seriously AS IF you just paid $5,000 to attend."
When you've paid more for something, you tend to be more committed. So, looking at it this way will help you to achieve the right mindset. Now that's this has been stated, let's begin. It's likely that you know what a super affiliate is, as opposed to an affiliate, but if you don't, here's the difference. A super affiliate is an affiliate who:
Top 1% of affiliates
Sell other people's products
No creating products
No customer support
No creating sales pages, etc.
Drive traffic, get paid (that's it)
The screenshot below provides a breakdown of Gerry's Simple "No Product Funnel". As you can see, this is dead simple, only requiring three steps, and it is responsible for making Gerry the #1 affiliate on Clickbank several times over. Furthermore, it allows him to rake in upwards of $100k per week.
You are about to be given some very powerful information. It is very possible to use this method for evil. Gerry says that he sees people scamming people and lying to them, and he wants you to promise that if he shares his methods, you won't use it this way. At the same time, this technique is not for the timid. It's important to note that Rob and Gerry do market aggressively.
Introducing Rise Academy – Overnight Superaffiliate Program.
Rob and Gerry put together the Overnight Superaffiliate Program in order to help people who want to be more successful, or get a great start, in affiliate marketing. If you join today, you're going to receive:
6 Weeks of Live Coaching
Everything from A-Z
Which offers to Promote
Crafting Ads that Convert
Presell Pages that Work
High CTR Image File & Checklist
Gerry has only taught this system once before, but he charged $5,000 for this training. Sixty percent of the people who attended went on to make money within 3 weeks. This wasn't just a couple of hundred dollars a day either. On average, they were making about $2,000 a day, at the very least. They were telling the other students about this too, but for one reason or another, those people just couldn't take action. This kind of frustrated Gerry because, honestly, some people were just getting in their own way.
There were also some people in the group at first because they were overcomplicating it. Gerry commented on this by saying, "Yeah. They were trying to reinvent the wheel, and I said, 'Hey, listen. I've already showed you exactly what to do. So, have you done exactly what I showed you?'" People would often reply with, "Well, not exactly. I was trying to do it this way for my niche." Gerry would get on the phone with them after that and show them how to fix things, and they couldn't believe that it was really that simple.
You're going to be taught everything from A-Z. That's the full system from start to finish. You'll get an inside look at what exactly what to do, including what offers to promote and how to craft ads that convert. You're going to be able to look over their shoulder as they go through everything that you need to set up.
In addition, you'll get to see which pre-sell pages work and which don't. Gerry has discovered a handful of pages that work really well. Of course, what you use will depend on your niche, but once you get into the system, it will be easy to figure out which type of pre-sell page would work best for what you're promoting. After that, creating a pre-sell page for yourself will be very easy because you can just base yours off of what has already been done successfully in the past.
As part of this package, you're also going to receive a high CTR image file and a checklist. This is very valuable; a lot of work, time, and testing went into this. You can go out and test 1,000 images for yourself, if you like. By investing enough money and time, you might be able to figure out what works the best. Wouldn't it be wiser just to look at the image file that Gerry has already compiled, see the types of images that convert, and use the same checklist Gerry uses when he is choosing images? That way, you can be confident that your ads will get better click through rates from the beginning, and you won't have to continually test stuff that's just not going to work.
Gerry and Rob have been approached by people who want to drive traffic to this offer, and it's been decided that they are going to sell this package, to cold traffic, for $6,997. Rob says that he actually wanted to sell it for more than this, but Gerry wanted to give their existing customers a deal. Again, the last time they sold this training, people paid $5,000 for it, and the success rates these folks had with it was amazingly high. Rob says, "I think most gurus out there are lucky to have 10% of people even try out their product, let alone have a 60% success rate. They are lucky to have 30%, even consume their product."
This is a real value. Rob and Gerry will be selling this for $6,997. However, since you are a customer on Gerry and Rob's lists, you have the chance to purchase this incredible system for just $1,997. That's phenomenal when you consider that you are going to learn exactly how Gerry's making $100,000+ per week. You're going to be able to see right inside what he's doing, and he'll be able to critique what you're doing. In fact, these men are going to hold your hand and show you exactly how you can do this too.
5 reviews for Gerry Crammer & Rob Jones – Overnight Super Affiliate
This course is a must-have for anyone looking to learn this topic.
I feel more confident in my skills after taking this course.
The instructor's passion for the subject is contagious.
The content was engaging and easy to follow.
A valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their skills.


text:
Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.
--Crash Davis, Bull Durham

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Friday, November 1, 2013
Tuscaloosa's Deontay Wilder could be in line for heavyweight title shot
By D.C. Reeves
Sports Writer | The Tuscaloosa News
Published: Monday, October 28, 2013 at 5:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, October 27, 2013 at 11:39 p.m.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. | After 30 wins and 30 knockouts, a world title shot could be next for Tuscaloosa's Deontay Wilder.
Richard Schaefer, the CEO of Wilder's promotional company, Golden Boy Promotions, said he is working on a fight between Wilder (30-0, 30 KO) and Canadian Bermane Stiverne (22-1-1, 20 KO) for the WBC heavyweight title.
Schaefer made the announcement following Wilder's fourth-round TKO of Nicolai Firtha at Boardwalk Hall on Saturday night.
Schaefer said discussions between Golden Boy and Stiverne's representatives about a potential match are ongoing.
"(Wilder-Stiverne) was the plan, that is the plan," Schaefer said. "I'm going to do whatever is in my power to get it done because I know (Wilder) is going to do everything in the ring to make that plan come true."
The opportunity for a world championship arises because current WBC champion Vitali Klitschko, 42, plans to run for president in his home country of Ukraine in 2015 and will likely vacate the belt.
There are a couple of hurdles, however.
First, Klitschko will have to officially notify the WBC that he is vacating the title. Schaefer believes that announcement will come in December.
The second hurdle is the WBC will have to agree to award the vacated belt to the Wilder-Steverne winner. Discussions between Schaefer and the WBC are ongoing.
Stiverne, 34, is the No. 1 contender in the WBC rankings and was scheduled to fight Klitschko for the title in August. The fight was postponed when Klitschko suffered a hand injury.
Wilder is the WBC's No. 3 contender behind Chris Arreola in the WBC's latest rankings, causing uncertainty about whether the WBC would agree to give the Stiverne-Wilder winner the title outright.
A Stiverne-Wilder bout carries more intrigue because Stiverne just beat Arreola by unanimous decision in April. Schaefer said there is the possibility for a "doubleheader," to crown a champion; Arreola could be allowed to fight the Stiverne-Wilder winner for the belt or the less likely scenario that Wilder would get the winner of a Stivern-Arreola rematch.
"The fact is that Deontay and Arreola are both in position to fight for the heavyweight title of the world, there's no doubt about it. We'll just have to see," Schaefer said. "I think it might be easier and more sellable from the first get-go to have Stiverne fight Wilder because they haven't fought yet."
World title or not, a fight with Stiverne would be Wilder's biggest test to date. A win could help quiet criticism that Wilder's resume lacks a quality opponent.
"We don't really care about what people think about us or what they are saying about us," Wilder said. "We've got a goal, we've got a plan, we're on a mission. We're going through the orders that we've got and we're keeping the plan that we have until the mission is complete."
Schaefer believes the 28-year-old Wilder is ready for the next step.
"He has impressed me immensely. I think he really has an opportunity to become the heavyweight champion," Schafer said. "He's terrific, he's a very charismatic guy outside of the ring, he's exactly the kind of person and personality we have been waiting (on) in the United States and hoping for to carry on the rich tradition we have for the heavyweight championship of the world.
"He is the guy I think who can do it."
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Ryan Gosling is a celebrity actor who got a start to his professional career at the age of 12 by beating out 17,000 other actors for a spot on the television show "The Mickey Mouse Club."
Other television roles followed and with his continued success he broke into feature film with the movie "Remember The Titans." The next year his breakthrough role came in the movie "The Believer," for which he received very positive reviews.
Ryan gosling new movies?
Ryan gosling seems to be very active recently and he is filming the following movies which will be on cinemas soon.
Lawless (filming)
Year: 2013
Role: Two intersecting love triangles. Sexual obsession and betrayal set against the music scene in Austin, Texas.
The Gangster Squad (post-production)
Year: 2012
Plot: A chronicle of the LAPD's fight to keep East Coast Mafia types out of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s.
Role: Sgt. Jerry Wooters
The Place Beyond the Pines (post-production)
Year: 2012
Movie Title/Year/Character
Justin Timberlake has taken part as an actor in the following movies :
Now 2011 Will Salas
Friends with Benefits 2011 Dylan
Bad Teacher 2011 Scott Delacorte
Yogi Bear 2010 Boo Boo
The Social Network 2010 Sean Parker
The Open Road 2009 Carlton Garrett
The Love Guru 2008 Jacques Grande
Shrek the Third 2007 Artie
In Drive, Gosling plays a character known only as 'Driver,' a man of few words who repairs cars and does stunt work for films by day, and by night he's a getaway driver for criminals with enough cash to pay for his services.
Movie Title/Year/Character
Ryan Gosling has played in the following movies
The Ides of March 2011 Stephen Myers
Crazy, Stupid, Love. 2011 Jacob Palmer
Drive 2011 Driver
All Good Things 2010 David Marks
Blue Valentine 2010 Dean
Lars and the Real Girl 2007 Lars Lindstrom
Fracture 2007 Willy Beachum
Half Nelson 2006 Dan Dunne
Stay 2005 Henry Letham


text:
Net::Bluetooth - Perl Bluetooth Interface
use Net::Bluetooth;
#### list all remote devices in the area
my $device_ref = get_remote_devices();
foreach $addr (keys %$device_ref) {
print "Address: $addr Name: $device_ref->{$addr}\n";
#### search for a specific service (0x1101) on a remote device
my @sdp_array = sdp_search($addr, "1101", "");
#### foreach service record
foreach $rec_ref (@sdp_array) {
#### Print all available information for service
foreach $attr (keys %$rec_ref) {
print "Attribute: $attr Value: $rec_ref->{$attr}\n";
#### Create a RFCOMM client
$obj = Net::Bluetooth->newsocket("RFCOMM");
die "socket error $!\n" unless(defined($obj));
if($obj->connect($addr, $port) != 0) {
die "connect error: $!\n";
#### create a Perl filehandle for reading and writing
*SERVER = $obj->perlfh();
$amount = read(SERVER, $buf, 256);
#### create a RFCOMM server
$obj = Net::Bluetooth->newsocket("RFCOMM");
#### bind to port 1
if($obj->bind(1) != 0) {
die "bind error: $!\n";
#### listen with a backlog of 2
if($obj->listen(2) != 0) {
die "listen error: $!\n";
#### register a service
#### $obj must be a open and bound socket
my $service_obj = Net::Bluetooth->newservice($obj, "1101", "GPS", "GPS Receiver");
unless(defined($service_obj)) {
#### couldn't register service
#### accept a client connection
$client_obj = $obj->accept();
unless(defined($client_obj)) {
die "client accept failed: $!\n";
#### get client information
my ($caddr, $port) = $client_obj->getpeername();
#### create a Perl filehandle for reading and writing
*CLIENT = $client_obj->perlfh();
print CLIENT "stuff";
#### close client connection
#### stop advertising service
#### close server connection
This module creates a Bluetooth interface for Perl.
Net::Bluetooth works with the BlueZ libs as well as with Microsoft Windows.
If you are going to be using a Unix system, the Bluez libs can be obtained at www.bluez.org. Please make sure these are installed and working properly before you install the module. Depending on your system BlueZ maybe already installed, or you may have to build it yourself and do some configuration. You can verify that BlueZ can detect devices and services with the utilities that are included with it (hciconfig, sdptool, hcitool, etc).
If you are using Windows, please make sure you have Service Pack 2 installed and the Microsoft Platform SDK. Also please make sure the "$win_include" variable at the top of Makfile.PL is set properly. This needs to point to the SDK include directory for SP2. This is where the module will look for all the Bluetooth header files (ws2bth.h, etc).
Please check out the samples included in the samples directory for more general information.
- get_remote_devices()
Searches for remote Bluetooth devices. The search will take approximately 5 - 10 seconds (This will be a configurable value in the future.). When finished, it will return a hash reference that contains the device address and name. The address is the key and the name is the value. Name will be set to "[unknown]" if the name could not be resolved. See the NOTES section of this document for more information about this.
- sdp_search($addr, $uuid, $name)
This searches a specific device for service records. The first argument is the device address which is not optional. The uuid argument can be a valid uuid or "0". The name argument can be a valid service name or "". It will return services that match the uuid or service name if supplied, otherwise it will return all public service records for the device.
The return value is a list which contains a hash reference for each service record found. The key/values for the hash are as follows:
: Service NameSERVICE_DESC
: Service DescriptionSERVICE_PROV
: Service ProviderRFCOMM
: RFCOMM PortL2CAP
: L2CAP PortUNKNOWN
: Unknown Protocol PortIf any of the values are unavailable, the keys will not exist.
If $addr is "localhost" the call will use the local SDP server.
The bluetooth socket object is used to create bluetooth sockets and interface with them. There are two types of sockets supported, RFCOMM and L2CAP. The methods are listed below.
- newsocket("RFCOMM")
This constructs a socket object for a RFCOMM socket or L2CAP socket.
- connect($addr, $port)
This calls the connect() system call with the address and port you supply. You can use this to connect to a server. Returns 0 on success.
- bind($port)
This calls the bind() system call with the port you provide. You can use this to bind to a port if you are creating a server. Returns 0 on success. As a side note, RFCOMM ports can only range from 1 - 31.
- listen($backlog)
This calls the listen() system call with the backlog you provide. Returns 0 on success.
- accept()
This calls the accept() system call and creates a new bluetooth socket object which is returned. On failure it will return undef.
- perlfh()
This call returns a Perl filehandle for a open socket. You can use the Perl filehandle as you would any other filehandle, except with Perl functions that use the socket address structure. This provides a easy way to do socket IO instead of doing it through the socket object. Currently this is the only way to do socket IO, although soon I will provide read/write calls through the object interface.
- close()
This closes the socket object. This can also be done through the Perl close() call on a created Perl filehandle.
- getpeername()
This returns the address and name for a open bluetooth socket. (BlueZ only for now)
The service object allows you to register a service with your local SDP server. The methods are as follows:
- newservice($obj, $service_uuid, $service_name, $service_desc)
This registers a service with your local SDP server. The first argument is a open and bound socket that you created with newsocket(). The second argument is the service uuid. The third argument is the service name. The fourth argument is the service description.
The return value is a new service object. This will be undefined if there was an error.
- stop_service()
This unregisters your service with the local SDP server. The service will be unregistered without this call when the application exits.
All uuids used with this module can either be 128 bit values: "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000" or 16 bit values: "0000". All values must be represented as strings (enclosed in quotes), and must be hexadecimal values.
Windows will not immediately return the device name if it is not already cached. Also there is no mechinism to alert the system when it has acquired the device name. Therefore you may have to call get_remote_devices() twice before the name shows up. I'll see if this can be handled better in the future.
Currently on Windows the service name and description returned by sdp_search() are not setting their terminating NULL character properly. This can result in some garbage characters at the end of the string. I am looking at parsing the raw record to fix this problem.
You need BlueZ or Microsoft Service Pack 2 installed and the Microsoft Platform SDK. Windows needs at least Perl 5.8.
Ian Guthrie email@example.com
Copyright (c) 2006 Ian Guthrie. All rights reserved. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.


text:
- The small version of our classic throws, kantha minis are six layers of muslin sari cloth, hand-quilted together by women in Bangladesh using a traditional, kantha stitch.
- Made of 100% reclaimed cotton sari cloth.
- This blanket took about 12 hours to create by hand.
- Handcrafted by women who are survivors of (or vulnerable to) exploitation, now employed in work that brings dignity & livelihood. A beautiful redemption story, sewn into every stitch.
1 only like this!
This mini blanket is approximately 3'4"x 3'4" feet (40 x 40 inches, 100 x 100cm)
Size (feet) | Shape | |
Mini Kantha | 3'4" x 3'4" | Square |
Classic Throw | 3'4" x 6'8" | Long rectangle |
Large Throw | 6'8" x 6'8" | Square |
Silk Blend Throw | 3'4" x 6'8" | Long rectangle |
We may have up to 4 blankets in each style (from the same match of 2 saris).
Photos are an accurate representation of the cloth & colours, but each of the 4 blankets will feature unique variations.
Cotton kantha mini blankets are 100% machine washable. You will not warp or damage a mini by washing or drying in a machine.
To extend the life of your kantha we recommend: limit full washing, use cold settings, and hang dry or tumble on low.
Shipping & Returns
Shipping is $6 for one mini kantha, $10 flat rate for multiple minis or additional blankets.
Returns are welcomed within 90 days, but shipping costs will be your responsibility. See our FAQ page for more details.


text:
south carolina cancer research centers
Sorry, but we currently have no businesses in the Cancer Research Centers section of our directory who reside in South Carolina. If you fall in the category of Cancer Research Centers and are in South Carolina (SC), you can Join the Directory for free!
Finding a cure to cancer begins with research! Browse the Directory of Cancer Research Centers in South Carolina (SC) specializing in breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer & more. Locating the right South Carolina based Cancer Research Center, Institute or Foundation is just a click away!


text:
No Products in the Cart
16 oz.
Only Available During Passover 4/16-4/28
Fresh and thoroughly inspected shredded cabbage & carrots begging to be turned into your favorite cole slaw!
Ingredients: Fresh Cabbage & Fresh Carrots. These vegetables have been checked under the supervision of Rabbi Avrohom Marmorstein.
Product Information Disclaimer: We aim to present accurate and complete product information but content on this site is for reference purposes only. On occasion, manufacturers of the groceries we carry may improve or change their product formulas and update their labels, as does the KMP with our homemade items. We recommend that you do not rely solely on the information presented on our website and that you review the physical product's label or contact the manufacturer directly if you have specific product concerns or questions.
Allergens & Dietary Restrictions Disclaimer: Prepared foods marked as gluten-free or vegan are not prepared in a gluten-free or vegan environment; they are prepared in the same environment as other foods that contain gluten, eggs and other animal products so cross-contamination may occur. We are not a nut-free facility, nor are we allergen-friendly. KMP Homemade items that don't list nuts or other allergens as an ingredient were prepared in the same environment as other foods containing those allergens so cross-contamination may occur.
Only Available Wednesday - Friday
Only Available Wednesday - Friday
Only Available Wednesday - Friday


text:
Mortgage rates often dance to the Federal Reserve's tune, and today's news of the Fed pausing interest rate hikes could mean good things for anyone eyeing a home purchase or considering refinancing.
Mortgage Rates Might Fall:
Whenever the Fed takes a breather on hiking rates, mortgage rates usually follow suit. After the last two pauses, mortgage rates did drop. And there's a chance they might continue to do so. So, if you're planning to buy, this could be an advantageous moment to keep an eye on rates.
A Hint of Future Cuts:
The big news is that the Fed chair hinted at potential rate cuts in 2024. This could mean even more favorable rates down the road. Imagine interest rates dropping across various types of loans, potentially making it more affordable for many to buy a home or refinance.
Possible Relief for Homeowners:
For those who recently bought homes amidst higher rates, there's hope. As rates decrease, refinancing could become more appealing. It might involve some expenses, sure, but the chance to shrink your monthly payment could outweigh those costs.
The Fed's decision today sets the stage for potential drops in mortgage rates and hints at further cuts down the line. If you've been holding off due to high rates, this could be your window to hop back into the market or consider refinancing for better terms.
The Takeaway
The Fed's pause in hiking interest rates could signal a positive shift in the mortgage market. It's possible that rates might continue to decrease, potentially making homeownership or refinancing more feasible for many. So, if you've been waiting for the right time, this might just be it.


text:
Thursday, March 13, 2014
The New Wine Fairy Tales: The Apple Farmer and the Talking Owl
Once there was an apple farmer who was very poor. He worked very long hours tending to his orchards, and his apples were of the finest quality. But every year the prices for apples kept falling. Apples from far off lands were much cheaper, and the apple farmer couldn't compete. The apple farmer's wife was very unhappy. The couple was poor and nearly starving.
"I'm sick of eating apples," she told her husband. "Applesauce for breakfast, apple strudel for lunch, apple pie for dinner, all served with apple cider. You know what apple cider is? Mouthwash for pigs."
One day the apple farmer was out pruning his orchards. He was pruning one of his apple trees when the tree suddenly said, "Hey, fucker, that hurt!"
The apple farmer was astonished, and nearly fell off his ladder. He'd never had a tree talk to him before, only bark. Get it? Yes, even apple farmers have stupid occupational jokes.
"Apple trees can't talk," the apple farmer said, despite evidence to the contrary.
"Oh, we can talk alright, dipshit," the apple tree said, "we just choose not to. We're not chatty like stinkin' cherry trees. Cherry trees won't ever shut the fuck up. We only talk when we have to."
Then the whole orchard started talking to the apple farmer. It had been many years since the apple trees had spoken, and now they wouldn't stop talking. And it was the kind of talk that would drive anyone batshit crazy, just random noise. It was like being on the set of "The View." Bad enough, the apple farmer thought, that I'm going broke taking care of these apple trees, now I have to listen to their stupid conversations all day.
"That's it!" the apple farmer shouted. "I've had it! Tomorrow, I'm chopping down every last one of you. I'm done with apples!" And with that, the apple farmer marched back to his cottage.
"Nice going, asshole," the apple trees said to the first apple tree that had spoken, "now what are we going to do?"
"Well," the first apple tree said, "Don't axe me."
The apple farmer stormed home and told his wife about his plans to chop down the orchard. "I'll sell the wood to the local pork smoker, and I'll use the money to plant a new crop, a crop of something worth some actual money. Though I don't know what that is yet. Maybe marijuana. That shit talks to you and you just don't care."
That night the apple farmer couldn't sleep. He was determined to take out his orchard, but he didn't know what to plant in its place. He decided to go for a walk, clear his head with some cold night air, and look to the stars for some guidance.
The apple farmer hadn't gone very far when an owl landed on a branch just over his head and spoke to him.
"What's the trouble?" the owl asked. "Shouldn't you be home in bed with your wife? OK, I've seen your wife. Your wife is so ugly, when the dogs in the animal shelter see her, they volunteer to be spayed or neutered."
"Oh, Owl, I don't know what to do. I'm going to tear out my apple orchard and plant another crop, but I don't know what to plant that will make money."
The owl thought for a minute, and then he said, "Why don't you plant grapes for wine? Everybody likes wine. And nobody from far-off lands can grow wine grapes like you can grow wine grapes here, so you won't have any competition."
"That makes sense, Owl," the apple farmer said, "you're very wise."
"Oh for God's sake," the owl said, "that old chestnut. Just stand there a minute while I crap on your head."
Soon after his meeting with the talking owl, the apple farmer tore out his apple orchard with the help of his wife and many of his neighbors. As quickly as he could, the apple farmer put in a vineyard. Way before the county where he lived could complain that he'd never filed an Environmental Impact Report. He'd received more sound advice about that from the talking owl. "Fuck them," the owl said. It was a very special vineyard, intended to make the finest wine grapes. Almost 2500 plants were planted to the acre. Oh, shit, I forgot. Almost 6250 plants were planted to the hectare. Fairy tales are on the metric system. Duh. The vines were tighter than a Tokyo subway car at rush hour. Why this makes better fruit, no one knows. But it cost the apple farmer all of his savings.
The apple farmer's wife was not happy. "Are you crazy?" she asked her husband. "The wine business is worse than the apple business. At least you don't have to talk to the people who buy the apples. Have you ever MET any winemakers?"
Yet the vineyard thrived, and the apple farmer's grapes were soon in big demand. He added more and more vineyards, meticulously farmed them, and sold the fruit for premium prices. Soon the apple farmer and his wife were living in a big house on the property. The apple farmer wasn't home much. After his vineyard became famous, the apple farmer had started making his own wine. Wine the apple farmer spent a lot of time trying to sell in the marketplace, to little avail. But the apple farmer was happy. And since he was never home, the apple farmer's wife was happy too.
One day, after a long trip trying to sell his own wine, the apple farmer returned home to a quiet house. Tired from his trip, the apple farmer climbed the stairs to his bedroom. He was about to open the bedroom door when he heard a familiar voice.
"Don't worry about me, Baby, I'm always up all night."
The apple farmer recognized the talking owl's voice. He burst into the bedroom. The talking owl was making love to the apple farmer's wife. And she was obviously enjoying it. "Wow," she said, "you are a great horned owl. Do that thing with your eyelashes again."
The apple farmer lunged for the talking owl, but the owl was quick, and flew out the bedroom window. "She's ugly," he said, "but a talking owl can't be that fucking picky."
A few months later, the apple farmer and his wife were divorced. The vineyard had to be sold in the divorce settlement. And sold at a loss, to a wine company that specialized in buying vineyards with money problems caused by divorce.
"I'm a damned good predator," the talking owl said, "but those guys make me look like a pussy."
13 comments:
- Marcia Macomber said...
Hysterical, as always! That's some fairy tale and obviously completely true (which all the best fairy tales are). I think this was my favorite:
"Fairy tales are on the metric system." - March 13, 2014 at 9:58 AM
- Steve Lay said...
All industries have their horned owl's and other predators. Even moonshiners have issues with predators. But is there karma in the wine/vineyard predators market? Next question: Ron you forgot that sometimes the apple farmer has kids and siblings who are also predators. Those predators are called leeches.
- March 13, 2014 at 10:14 AM
- Quizicat said...
Dr Seuss has nothing on you. This will no doubt be taught in schools very soon.
- March 13, 2014 at 10:31 AM
- Unknown said...
I thought you said you were going to start being funny on Thursday. Actually, this is, but I liked even more the Ramey post on Monday. It solved a big question for me: When I'm on a panel at the Wine Bloggers Conference this summer, what am I to say to give them encouraging advice? Now all I have to do is pull out the Ramey post, say, "This is how it is to be done," and read it. I'll run over my given time, but what the hell.
- March 13, 2014 at 11:40 AM
- Unknown said...
You might have just convinced me to plant an apple orchard
- March 13, 2014 at 12:42 PM
- Dean Tudor said...
Sounds like our apple industry in Canada, specifically Ontario. Everything here in Canada is imported from China, even pot....and ice wines...
- March 13, 2014 at 1:07 PM
- Steve Lay said...
Dean, not much different here, we get most of our pot from Mexico. We ban smoking however. Even CA bans smoking outdoors or within 5,000 miles of a school yet we vote to encourage smoking (pot) anywhere and there are no restrictions. If you eat pot it is considered veggies. Go figure. I am a little tired of bending over also. Government says they will be gentle but they lie.
- March 13, 2014 at 1:14 PM
- Ron Washam, HMW said...
Marcia Love,
Well, the best fairy tales are from the Old World and would have to be on the metric system. Narrators often forget and slip into the stupid American system. I always wondered why Ray Bradbury called it "Fahrenheit 451" instead of "Celsius 232.777" Oh.
This apple farmer didn't have any kids. I think he was seedless.
Well, Dr. Seuss has Death on me. And way more talent. That guy was a genius. I can't carry his Hat.
Yeah, that's how to be a hit at the WBC, pull out the HoseMaster--they love me! Thanks for the kind words, Mike. Coming from you, well, that's high praise. I always think too many bloggers lose sight of the fact that without something interesting to say, your audience quickly tunes out. A long list of descriptions, and scores, is simple laziness. And complicated arrogance.
I'll have to check out your panel at the WBC. How did they talk you into that? Oh boy, I hope you get to meet some celebrity Poodles! Have fun, Mike.
Single Vineyard Cider is the next big thing! You could start a new tasting for cider dweebs called "In Pursuit of Braeburn." It could be your calling, my friend.
Why do people live in Canada? Is it the curling? Ice wine from China sounds interesting. Is it frozen on a stick? Or are those Potsicles? I'm confused. - March 13, 2014 at 1:36 PM
- Unknown said...
Hipster wine tastings are the worst example of worlds colliding since my parents joined facebook
- March 13, 2014 at 3:59 PM
- Ron Washam, HMW said...
Hell, at least they didn't join OKCupid.
I think of those hipster tastings as more akin to Amway parties, or maybe the ones where women buy sex toys. Everyone is there mostly to be seen, and to walk out feeling cleaner, or anxious to get home and play with themselves. - March 13, 2014 at 4:11 PM
- Unknown said...
i just moved back to Portland, and was introduced to the urban wine scene. I never realized how much "networking" was involved in the fermentation process. I want to go to a wine tasting called "In Pursuit of Farmers"
- March 13, 2014 at 6:33 PM
- Samantha Dugan said...
"Don't axe Me"?
Oh no you di-int.
I still love you though and I am with Marcia, I think I'm falling in love with the fairy tales, but not nearly as much as with you! - March 13, 2014 at 8:42 PM
- Ron Washam, HMW said...
My Gorgeous Samantha,
The fairy tales are fun to write, but also some of the most difficult. I never really know where I'm going with them when I start, I just let the stories find their way. That can't take a lot of time, and doesn't always work. I've had many false starts. But once I can see the ending, it gets fun.
And they're a nice break from my usual ranting and raving. Bedtime stories...care to join me?
I love you! - March 14, 2014 at 8:22 AM


text:
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.
Nurses at one hospital in southeastern Washington state have alleged that, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they were ordered by supervisors to use one protective mask per shift, potentially exposing themselves to the novel coronavirus.
At another hospital, just east of Seattle, nurses had to use face shields indefinitely.
At a third hospital, on Washington's border with Oregon, nurses reported that respirators were expired. The hospital responded, the nurses said, by ordering staff to remove stickers showing that the respirators might be as much as three years out of date.
The accounts these nurses provided are drawn from nine complaints filed by the Washington State Nurses Association with the state Department of Labor & Industries since March 11. They paint a picture of how the first state hit by COVID-19 continues to struggle to provide adequate safety measures for medical workers.
Their struggle may well preview what medical providers in other states could face amid a national shortage of personal protective equipment, or PPE. The complaints from Washington also show the increasing sense of fear, frustration and powerlessness many nurses and other medical workers feel as COVID-19 pummels the health care system.
As of this weekend, the Washington Department of Health has reported 3,700 known COVID-19 cases in the state and 175 deaths.
ProPublica contacted all nine hospitals that were the subject of a nursing association complaint. Four responded. They said they were taking measures to protect their employees, but emphasized the unprecedented crisis in which their hospital staffs are now working. In a press briefing Thursday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the federal government had supplied the state with "significant shipments of personal protective equipment" but added that he had "profound long-term concerns about being able to procure these necessities." Inslee, a vocal critic of the Trump administration, reportedly clashed with the president in a conference call with governors Thursday, according to The Washington Post, pleading with him to take more action.
Some nurses in Washington state told ProPublica that they feel caught between their responsibility to care for patients and their own safety. They believe they have no choice but to keep working, at great personal risk and with limited means to raise concerns within their chains of command. They could be disciplined for talking to the media, and some said they had been explicitly warned about that in emails sent by hospital administrators. To refuse an assignment on safety grounds, they said, could find them ostracized by colleagues or, worse, fired for insubordination.
"It's a health care war zone," said a critical care nurse who works at one of the nine hospitals named in the complaints and, like all nurses interviewed for this story, asked to remain anonymous.
She told ProPublica that she has had to reuse masks and other PPE, if she can obtain it at all. She uses a simple surgical mask — a paper cover with ear loops, no eye cover — even when working with patients waiting for COVID-19 tests, because that's all that's available. Community members have been asked to donate handmade masks. She wears one over her surgical mask; it doesn't protect from viruses but at least is one more layer. Every night when she comes home, she strips down in the garage and throws her dirty hospital scrubs in the washer before rushing in to take a shower.
"Never in a million years did we think when we were in nursing school that our employer would not provide us with the PPE they are legally obligated to provide us with, to care for those patients," she said.
Her supervisors acknowledge the shortage, she said, but have told staff members that unless they make do, they could run out of all protective gear, making their situation even more precarious.
"We take an oath of 'do no harm,'" the nurse said. "Would we be willing to take care of these patients with nothing?" She has a family, some of whom would be especially susceptible to the disease.
"I don't know what I would do," she said. "We are continuing to reuse this equipment so hopefully we don't have to make that choice."
"This Is What You Signed Up For"
Nurses in Washington, where the virus first surfaced in the U.S., believe their early experience can help prepare health care workers elsewhere. The Washington State Nurses Association has even produced a list of recommendations for other states, called "Lessons learned from the front lines." Those lessons include, "Know your employer's plan for PPE (personal protective equipment)," and "Know the testing and treatment protocols now."
When the novel coronavirus spread across Washington in February and March, the lack of supplies in hospitals, coupled with uncertainty over what protective measures were needed, presented many nurses with a difficult choice. Nurses given a dangerous job could accept the assignment and its attendant risks, or refuse and face possible discipline. The WSNA, a union that represents more than 17,000 nurses, advised members who refused an assignment to stay and do other jobs. For those nurses who accepted an "abnormally dangerous" assignment, the union advised filling out what is called an ADO form. ADO stands for Assignment Despite Objection.
When ProPublica mentioned ADO forms to some nurses in Washington, they did not react with enthusiasm. "It's the stuff of fairytales," said one nurse in the Seattle area who specializes in mental health. "Nurses, administratively, are strongly discouraged to use the forms or outright shamed for documenting what they are uncomfortable with in a caregiving situation."
Under collective bargaining agreements, nurses disciplined for refusing an assignment can push back, arguing that the discipline lacked "just cause." But the WSNA has warned its members that given the current national and state emergency declarations, the resolution of any such objection "would likely be delayed and the outcome may be uncertain."
Ruth Schubert, the association's communications director, said the WSNA has received about 70 Assignment Despite Objection forms related to the coronavirus. She declined to provide copies, citing confidentiality, but did share excerpts, including one that said: "Continue to be asked to reuse single use masks for COVID-19 modified droplet patients and wear ill-fitting gowns that fall off shoulders. Goggles not available." Some nurses are unlikely to fill out an ADO for fear "that management will see them as complainers," Schubert wrote in an email.
The WSNA said nurses fear being disciplined for talking with the media. A doctor from PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, close to the Canadian border, told The Seattle Times on Friday that he was fired after he raised multiple concerns about the hospital's lack of protective measures against COVID-19. A spokesperson for PeaceHealth St. Joseph confirmed the doctor was fired but had no comment because the physician was employed by another company, called TeamHealth.
PeaceHealth St. Joseph is one of the nine hospitals the state nursing association has filed a complaint against, for allegedly asking nurses to reuse and share their protective equipment without proper cleaning. As of Saturday morning, PeaceHealth had not responded to ProPublica's inquiries about this incident or the complaints. TeamHealth, the doctor's primary employer, told ProPublica that the physician has "not been terminated," and that TeamHealth is "committed to engaging with him to try to find a path forward. Now more than ever, we need every available doctor, and we will work with [him] to find the right location for him."
A Seattle nurse who specializes in oncology said her hospital's administration initially downplayed the risks: "I had a manager come in and tell me, 'This is just like the common cold.'" The nurse added, "We're being told, business as usual, this is what you signed up for."
Some nurses in Washington have turned to Facebook to express their frustrations. (ProPublica isn't identifying the nurses in these threads, but did confirm their nursing credentials through state licensing records.)
Commenting on a Facebook post that warned against using cloth masks, one registered nurse wrote, "We need to be able to wear something!!!"
A different post linked to a Bloomberg story about hospital workers making masks from supplies bought at craft stores and Home Depot, including industrial tape and foam. "No offense but I'm not wearing someone's arts and crafts project with this thing," wrote one registered nurse.
Facebook posts linking to a Tacoma News Tribune story about nurses reusing disposable masks generated multiple me-too threads. "We are doing this," wrote a nurse in Everett. "Our hospital ... also," wrote a nursing assistant southeast of Seattle. "It's everywhere," one RN wrote, followed by a second RN, "This is everywhere," followed by a third RN, "Yep."
One nurse told ProPublica that she wrote on Facebook that she had decided to take a break from her job because she could no longer deal with what she considered an unsafe environment.
She was met with criticism by another nurse, who commented that they didn't get into this field to "cut and run." That devastated the nurse who spoke to ProPublica, who responded she didn't "sign up to die."
The nurse, who works in an eastern Washington hospital, started to get concerned when, on March 10, her hospital loosened some of its PPE guidelines. She is now using up all her vacation and sick leave because she's nervous to return to work. If she isn't approved for an extended leave of absence, she said, she is "100 percent prepared to resign."
"These Are Not Normal Times"
The most recent complaint filed by the state nurses association was on March 23 against Overlake Medical Center. Based in Bellevue, just east of Seattle, Overlake has had dozens of patients with COVID-19 on any given day. On Friday, the number was 40, said Morgan Brice, a hospital spokeswoman. At least 11 patients have died at Overlake from COVID-19, according to Brice. A number of them arrived at the hospital under "comfort care," meaning their death was imminent and the hospital made efforts to keep them comfortable in their final days.
The complaint filed with the Department of Labor & Industries said nurses were being required to reuse face shields "indefinitely." "They must clean them themselves and ... store in their own locker for reuse day after day, until the chinstrap is loose," the complaint says, adding: "RNs report the chinstrap is loose after one 12-hr shift." The complaint also said the hospital was failing to make sure that notification of exposure was reaching nurses on their days off, "thus prompting additional community and family exposure."
Brice, in an email, told ProPublica that Overlake had yet to receive a copy of the complaint and would not respond to the specific allegations until it has. But the hospital, she wrote, is "committed to investigating the facts related to any complaint and acting appropriately." She outlined some steps Overlake has taken during the outbreak, including having a team of nurses "committed to the health of our employees."
"We have dedicated extensive resources to training staff on how to use and maintain their PPE," Brice wrote. "We have posted videos, daily FAQs for staff, formed a PPE float team to help guide employees, along with our managers rounding the floors on a consistent basis. We know we have taken extraordinary and proper measures to protect the health and safety of our staff, while we respond to the medical challenges being presented on a daily basis."
The complaints filed with Labor & Industries use a fill-in-the-blank form, with a narrative section to describe alleged hazards.
On March 11, the nurses association filed a complaint against St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma, saying nurses were being directed to reuse and share protective equipment. The complaint also alleged that nurses weren't being fit-tested for N95 masks, a protective respiratory device worn over the face. Masks that aren't properly fitted to a person's face can admit contaminated air.
CHI Franciscan, the medical system that includes Tacoma's St. Joseph, said it is cooperating with the investigation but was told by the Department of Labor & Industries that no action is required at this time. The system denied that nurses "have been or will be asked to use PPE in a manner not in compliance with CDC, FDA and DOH guidelines," according to an emailed statement from Cary Evans, the company's vice president for communications and government affairs.
The hospital is operating with "7-12 days of PPE" and said it has not had a situation where demand for PPE exceeded supply. Administrators have expanded fit testing for N95 masks. They are also accepting donations of PPE gear from the community. Normally, a 30-day PPE supply is preferred, according to the Washington State Hospital Association.
"These are not normal times," Evans' statement said, "and we are doing everything we can to keep our staff and patients safe, while also conserving masks under the latest local CDC guidelines."
The same day it filed the St. Joseph complaint, the nurses association submitted seven others, two against hospitals within the same medical system: Multicare Tacoma General Hospital and Multicare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, a community southeast of Tacoma. A spokesperson for the system wrote that all employees "have the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) they need today to do their jobs safely" and noted that hospital staff are allowed "to preserve PPE resources needed to care for our most critical patients."
"Due to supply chain disruptions, health systems worldwide are dealing with shortages of PPE," the statement read.
Another complaint, filed against PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, a hospital in Vancouver, across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon, said nurses were reporting lack of access to masks and respirators. When the nurses reported that respirators were outdated, the hospital "directed staff to remove outdated 2017 and 2019 'service by' stickers on equipment," the complaint said.
The hospital did not respond to requests for comment from ProPublica as of Saturday morning.
Beth Zborowski, senior vice president of membership engagement and communications for the Washington State Hospital Association, said a lack of PPE is probably the medical community's top problem in the state, in terms of its efforts to fight COVID-19. The association advises hospitals to follow Department of Health and CDC recommendations, though many nurses say the latter keeps changing.
"Prior to the pandemic, masks were available on carts outside of rooms," Zborowski said. "What started happening is those things started disappearing pretty quick. People had to put conservation measures in." It's one reason the state canceled elective procedures in recent weeks.
It's unclear how many health care workers in the state may have become ill as a result of COVID-19, though a doctor at EvergreenHealth near Seattle has been infected and Schubert, of the state nursing association, said she knows of nurses who have become sick. Zborowski said the state hospital association does not have a formal record but added she has not heard about many front-line medical workers becoming ill, as they have in New York and Italy. She hopes that means the conservation and safety measures hospitals are taking are working. The goal is to preserve the PPE; otherwise, "I think we will start to see health care workers getting sick."
Eileen Ravella, a physician assistant at an urgent care facility in Olympia, said her employer is doing well under the circumstances, trying to keep COVID-19 cases cordoned off from other patients and using a drive-through testing area they set up to meet the need. This is helping them preserve PPE, but she knows the system is breaking under the weight of the pandemic.
"I think we all have to step up and do our best despite the obstacles," Ravella said. "Those patients need us."
A nurse who works in a western Washington emergency room said that a few weeks into the pandemic, the crisis conditions had begun to feel normal, "which is kind of horrible, too."
Now she's advising nurses in other states about what she's experienced. Initially, many of them refused to take her seriously.
She admits that she downplayed COVID-19 at first. Then, in mid-March, she found out about the EvergreenHealth doctor who had contracted the virus.
"It became really real then that some of us may not make it out of here alive," she said.
A few days later, she and her colleagues received a message from their hospital administrator, advising them to complete their advanced directives — basically a living will.
"[N]ow with COVID-19 making who gets sick an unpredictable event," the message read, "it's an important time to get this done."


text:
Ha! If only. It's more like I'm butchering the language, particularly since I've been away from Cambodia for almost 3 weeks. But, indulge me in my choice of slightly obscure title. When I came up with it before Christmas, it seemed like the perfect lead into giving you an update on my language learning and include a Christmas mincemeat recipe, or two, at the same time. Then my NZ holiday scuppered the timings, ever so slightly…
Well, 3 months into learning khmer and my efforts have been paying off to varying degrees of success. It's nice to get comments from people who kindly tell me that I speak khmer well, or that I know a lot. I realise that we are generally our worst critics when we are learning language, but honestly, their feedback couldn't feel further from the truth. I make a lot of Khmers laugh at how I trip over words, mix up words that sound similar (think bye and bike), struggle with the pronunciation of peculiar sounds that are foreign to the english and korean tongue. To illustrate the kinds of mistakes that I've made, look below:
mürl (10 000) and mürn (to watch)
toe'it (small) and doe'it (similar/like)
ban cha'oo (Vietnamese pancake) and ban ???? I still don't know what it is that I say. But when I say it, it's a swear word apparently. Can you imagine how nervous I am about asking for one from a seller?
It's not just the laughs that make language learning so enjoyable. I think that I've said before how I'm really enjoying learning this very literal language. The other day, I learnt that the khmer for the colour burgundy is poah chreuk chee'um. The literal translation is 'the colour of pig's blood'; not quite as majestic sounding as burgundy, the word we use to describe a regal red colour!
More recently, my improved language skills has meant that more and more Khmers feel able to have a 'proper' conversation with me. Unfortunately, I only understand 50% of what they are saying! So, I have to make up the rest of what they have said because I don't want to break the flow of the conversation. As you can imagine, this could lead to all sorts of misunderstandings. I think that the real problem is with me not wanting to lose face. I've been doing this in korean for such a long time that it's become some sort of default setting in me. In korean, we call this pretending, 아는척 – ah-neun-chug.
Some people are much braver than me and stop to clarify meaning. I'm going to have to adopt some of their bravery to force myself out of this habit. You'll have to imagine my big sigh, just now, in this realisation and resolution.
Nevertheless, even with all my bad behaviour and language, the Friday before Christmas, I sat an exam, passed and graduated from the Survival Khmer language course. Hurrah! So, I celebrated by getting on a plane and going on holiday to New Zealand for a few weeks! Yeah 🙂 because that'll really consolidate my language learning!
But my time here isn't all about language learning is it? I bake a lot too. Simon had asked me to make some Christmas refreshments and baking for the church's Christmas service. So, I made two versions of mincemeat based on the availability of ingredients I found, or lack thereof! Andrew gave me this recipe and normally I make this recipe with sultanas, currants, citrus peel and most importantly fresh cranberries. But my efforts to locate any cranberries, fresh, dried or frozen, in Phnom Penh have yet to bear fruit. Pun unintended. 😛 Even with the deviation from the original recipe, these mincemeat recipes were a hit and I was asked for the recipe – particularly for version 2.
And that was my astonishing discovery whilst recipe testing. The vast majority of Khmers like mincemeat, even amongst children. Of my Khmer taste testers, I found that only 1 in 20 didn't like how it tasted. Is that the same in the UK too? Have I been long under the wrong impression that 50% of UK population don't like mincemeat?
Or is it, just that this is just one of the tastiest mincemeat recipes out there? Lol. I'll let you decide in due course.
I don't use suet in these recipes. Instead, I use grated apple to give moisture and bulk. The advantages of this approach are that you don't have to cook it and you can use it immediately. Taste-wise, I think that it's superb. It's fresh from the apples (it's even better with the cranberries) and zingy from the limes. The only spice I added was nutmeg. The nutmeg I used was ground already and thus, I used more than I expected. Using freshly, grated nutmeg will have a much stronger flavour so add to taste. You could always add cinnamon, cloves or a hint of ginger. In future versions, I would like to add some alcohol of a sort, like rum or brandy. This time, however, I had a budget to stick to.
Ingredients for Mincemeat v.1
Makes about 650-700g
2 green apples, grated (preferably cooking apples, but any tart green apple will do)
150g seedless raisins
250g mixed dried fruit – the pack I found had glacé cherries, raisins and citrus peel
75g roughly chopped blanched almonds
60g dark brown sugar or muscovado sugar also works. I used light brown sugar because that's what I had then added 2 tbsp of dark brown sugar later for flavour. If I made this again, I'd only use dark brown sugar.
Zest and juice of 1 or 2 limes, depending on their size
2 tbsp orange marmalade or 50g of chopped candied citrus peel
Ground nutmeg to taste – I added 1tbsp in the end but do add it 1 tsp at a time
Ingredients for Mincemeat v.2
Makes about 650-700g
2 green apples, grated (preferably cooking apples, but any tart green apple will do)
150g seedless raisins
150g mixed dried cambodian fruit – pineapple, papaya and mango
75g roughly chopped blanched almonds
50g sunflower seeds
60g dark brown sugar or muscovado sugar also works
Zest and juice of 1 or 2 limes, depending on size
2 tbsp orange marmalade
Ground nutmeg to taste – I added 1tbsp in the end but do add it 1 tsp at a time
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. You can use it straightaway or store in sterilised jars in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.


text:
Alexander Stream … Warren William |
Hettie Stream … Mary Astor |
Lilly Linda … Ginger Rogers |
Oscar … Andy Devine |
Lou … J. Carrol Naish |
Moran … Sidney Toler |
Upperworld: Taking It From the Top
I've watched a number of movies from 1934 now, but it still surprises me how completely schizoid many of them are. A few months ago I talked about Search for Beauty, a film that painfully embodied both the sleazier aspects of the Pre-Code era as well as the holier-than-though moral attitude that came to define the films in the last half of the decade.
Upperworld manages much of the same feat, but whereas Search for Beauty blended the two elements into one frightening cocktail of madness, Upperworld is a different breed: one half pure Pre-Code immorality and salaciousness, one half prim and proper.
In fact, the disparity is so jarring that it wouldn't surprise me if enforcement of the Production Code simply happened halfway through its running time.
Well noted scoundrel of the Pre-Code era Warren William stars as locomotive tycoon Alexander Stream. He sleeps in late, stays up late, and still manages to make deals that changes the course of nations. He feels a little left out by his wife, Hattie, and her burgeoning social life, but he's still got a darling son and an obscene amount of money to play with.
This goes in the crapper once he meets Lilly, a beautiful chorus girl who swam out too far from shore. He rescues her, and soon the seduction is on. He visits a burlesque to watch her perform, and then flies her around in his airplane– a pretty impressive trip for the early 1930's.
Unfortunately, she has a scummy manager named Lou who wants to force Lilly into blackmailing Stream for all he's worth. Lilly resists, and when he's confronted by Stream, he shoots Lilly and Stream shoots him.
The title, Upperworld, is a play on the common idea of the 'underworld'. It sounds goofy, but you quickly see how it plays into the film at large. While the crime film output of the 1930's focused on the gangsters and the thugs, as we all know, the people with all of the money make the rules.
Up until Stream pulls the trigger is the first half of the picture, which plays with a lot of ideas of the rich and lazy and a number of interesting nods towards looking at how libertarianism defines Stream's lackadaisical moral code. His boat's captain rallies against public beaches, Stream complains about taxes, and he even has a police officer fired for daring to pull him over, etc. While he's a butterball whenever Lilly shows up, one can't shake the impression that there's something nastier that's going to emerge.
There's even one boisterous scene where Warren William dons the disguise of the Big Bad Wolf and sings along to Lilly's excited piano playing. "Here he is," the movie says. "One sadistic immoral bastard!"
Then the gunfight. And then we're in a different film. Nothing set up in the first half pays off, and, in fact, rarely does it make sense.
Spoilers begin.
Immediately after the murder, the film switches gears and becomes about the cop that Stream had fired trying to pin the murder on him. Stream bungles things almost immediately, switching ammunition between guns and trying to make it look like an inexplicable murder suicide. The cop has his number, and even has proof that Stream is covering it up.
Alex Stream is arrested. He turns to his wife, who had recently repledged her love to him… and Alex squarely puts all of the blame on her.
Suddenly, the film is no longer about how childish Alex is. It's not about him carrying the affair on behind his wife's back, or the man he killed. He puts the blame for all of his actions at Hattie's feet because she was too busy to have time for him, and, outrageously, the movie seems to go along with it.
This is an extremely Code enforced sensibility muscling into the film. The brief early 1930's era of liberated women was quickly coming to a close, and the films shift from blaming Stream's uncomplicated and unsavory personality to Hattie's desire for fun comes across as reductionist. Especially since Hattie had suffered no moral lapses in the course of the picture!
Worse, the film's premise about corruption and power is also quickly jettisoned. Police Officer Moran's investigation is clearly based on getting revenge on Stream for getting him demoted and essentially ruining his life, but since the point of his revenge is to prove the man guilty of murder which the audience knows Stream did commit, it becomes simply aggravating when the film ends with the officer in a jail cell and Stream contently going on his way as if nothing had happened.
Even worse yet, the film's themes of power and corruption going hand in hand absolutely dispels by this point, so when Moran's commanding officer accidentally destroys the evidence needed to prove Stream's coverup, it's not the film furthering the themes of collusion, but lacks any overt indication one way or another.
"You're as much of a child as Tommy is!" Stream is told in the film. What Upperworld ends up being about is neither a bully getting his comeuppance nor an adolescent growing up. It's a kid getting smacked on the hands for stealing a cookie, him claiming he never wanted the cookie in the first place, and everyone praising him for it.
Spoilers end.
Even if Upperworld is schizophrenic, there is some enjoyment to be had. Ginger Rogers, in one of her earliest roles, is fun as the carefree but loving Lilly. She never comes across as cheap or disingenuous, and her enthusiasm is infectious. Warren William also manages the best he can, and could certainly play a cad with a heart of gold in his sleep by this point.
The other actors are game too, with Andy Devine as the inept chauffeur getting a couple of fun moments. He becomes Stream's confidant, and explains his theory of picking up women at libraries; there they read too many romance novels and it goes to their head.
Again, all of that being said, the movie is just a mess. If the movie were a joke, the first half would encompass, "Guess what?" and the second half would proudly announce, "Chicken butt." That's what you get from Upperworld.
Mary Astor: Most Certainly in This Film
I picked this movie to discuss for the Mary Astor Blog-A-Thon hosted by R.A. at Silver Screenings and Dorian at Tales for the Easily Distracted. Astor is second listed in the cast, and even gets a number of fun outfits
And that's about all I've got for her. She plays the dutiful but frivolous wife, and does about the best that can be done with such an undercooked part. She's sweet when she wants to be but mostly just an obstacle and hindrance here, shocking considering she preoccupies so little of the movie's attentions. She probably has less than ten minutes of screen time in the 73 minute film, with Ginger Rogers and her bubbly enthusiasm running away with the film's best parts.
I've seen Astor in other parts– Red Dust and Other Men's Women come immediately to mind– and she's always a reliable presence, someone who embodies grace and generosity in her roles.
When Upperworld was made, her personal life was preparing for a turbulent change of course. She was a year away from being sued for divorce by her second husband, whom she had met when he had been the therapist attending her after the death of her first husband. This would result in a huge scandal as many of her affairs would be publicly revealed, but the publicity also helped promote her next picture (and one of her best remembered), Dodsworth.
Dodsworth is also worth mentioning here as it follows the same plot outline as Upperworld, though in that case Astor is playing the woman who makes the rich man sit up and appreciate life. If you want a studied measure in contrasts between intelligent and sloppy film making, it may be worth to put the these two films together.
Proof That It's Pre-Code
- A very blatant extramarital affair is at the center of the story.
- The murders in the film aren't gory or horrific, though showing how Stream tried to get away with it would be a no-no later on.
- Skeezy Lou smacks Lilly around when she pulls a gun on him. From my readings, Ginger Rogers fans don't seem to like this very much.
- Lastly, the Burlesque show is really… burlesque-y. Here they are rocking out to "Shake Your Powder Puff":
Here are some extra screenshots I took. Click on any picture to enlarge!
Trivia & Links
- As noted above, this post is a part of the Mary Astor Blog-A-Thon, which probably has many much more distinctive entries about Astor herself available.
- WarrenWilliam.com (run by some joker named Cliff Aliperti) goes into the details on this one, but even he admits that Rogers waltzes off with the show.
- TCM, in fact, bases their entire essay on the film on Rogers and how she was on the cusp of stardom with this role.
- Andrew Wickliffe at The Stop Button gets right down to the brass tacks and hammers this one good. He, too, likes the William and Devine chemistry, but also agrees with Cliff that the film feels split in two.
- Glenn Erickson over at DVD Savant smells a mystery in the air and tries to figure out just why the film has such a schizophrenic ending. He points out that IMDB lists several parts that were cut, and theorizes about different ways the plot could have gone in. It's entertaining and interesting, even if it's a long shot.
- Andre Sennwald's contemporary review in the New York Times calls it "a bit fuzzy thematically" and notes that the cast "are too agreeable for satire", which I think I agree with.
- Mondo 70 calls the film William's last great Pre-Code role, and is one of the few people to agree with me on Officer Moran's character arc and Toler's performance. See, I'm not completely nuts. Usually.
- The Warren William page on Facebook (which I know I follow) pointed out a cute in-joke: during Stream's drive around the city early in the film, he passes a billboard for the 1933 comedy Goodbye Again— which Warren William also starred in.
Awards, Accolades & Availability
- This film is available on Amazon and Warner Archive, and can be rented from Classicflix.
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Donations To CMRF
Financial Aid for Medical
Financial Aid for Natural Calamities And Un-Natural Deaths
List of Empanel Hospitals Under CMRF
The Chief Minister Relief Fund (CMRF) is a Trust registered under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950; managed by the State of Maharashtra under the chairmanship of the Honourable Chief Minister of Maharashtra who exercises overall supervision and control of the Chief Minister Relief Fund.
The Government vide its resolution no CRF-2001/PC 117/2001/25 dated 15.11.2001 has set the objects of the Trust. The objects of the trust are as under - -


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Maine Part II
September 28th, 2008 by: cheyenneRonin has slept downright "well†these past few nights. I'm amazed and quite relieved; I'd be a lot more enthusiastic about it if she managed to sleep beyond 6am this morning. It's still DARK at 6am. It's just not right. Previously, she was taking upwards of two and a half hours to get down at night, nearly every moment of which was a whine or all out shriekfest and naps were no better. You would think we were killing her instead of laying peacefully on the bed with her, rubbing her tummy or whatever. It may have been the discomfort of growing teeth or maybe she's about to break out a new milestone for us. Crawling maybe. Or ordering clothes online with my credit card.
Back to Maine:
Does anyone remember the Ashland band Dead River? Doug Hill, some other guys… Anyway, we were amused so see a Dead River company (and convenience store) in Maine. Except instead of being an alcohol-steeped college band from the early 90s, it is an oil and gas company. Dead River. An oil and gas company. Is this not weird? *
We sped by at 45 mph, because all the roads in Maine are small two-lane affairs and windy, and caught sight of this… thing on the side of the road. We turned around and drove back to check it out. The lintel had engraved, "Jefferson Cattle Pound Built by Silas Noyes in 1828 for $28.†We then spent hours pondering how exactly $28 1828 dollars had been spent to make the thing. Labor? Materials? Buying off officials? Why did they bother to mention the price tag; was $28 an astoundingly great deal for a cattle pound? Was Silas Noyes ripped off and now nobody would ever forget it? We had no answers.
Coffee on the east coast is sub-par. I'm sorry all you Dunkin Donuts fans, but that shit is nasty. Whatever it is they use for cream (and you don't even know what it is because they don't actually allow you to self-administer your own coffee accoutrements) leaves an evil pasty-gritty feel in your mouth after drinking. The donuts are just ho-hum donuts (in their defense I have only Voodoo doughnuts to compare) but I have to warn everyone: what they call an "Old fashioned†on the east coast is NOT what they call an "Old fashioned†here on the west. Basically I was left gritty-mouthed and hugely dissatisfied after my Dunkin Donuts experience.
What everyone else in the world calls a "Lake†is called a "Pond†in Maine. I always equated ponds with green scummy water, ducks, and quaint willow-clad islands in the middle. Maine's ponds are crystal clear, swimably warm (mostly), and surrounded by lush mosquito-clad foliage.
We got lucky in that the weeks before our arrival were rainy and dreary. During our stay, the weather was brilliant and clear and the mushrooms were popping up all over the place. Generally when we go mushrooming in Oregon, we set out with a target species and find perhaps three or four predominant species, maybe a few randoms, and that's pretty much it. In Maine, we found an incredible variety of different species, the most notable of which was the Amanita bisporigera, or "Angel of deathâ€/"Destroying angel.†While we have seen zillions of Amanita phalloides ("Death capâ€) on the west coast, we maybe have seen only one Angel of death (the species generally found on the west coast is Amanita ocreata, which looks about the same but a bit more robust). The ones on our walk at Jamie's Pond were numerous and pristine. They are really a very beautiful mushroom, perfectly clean and snow-white.
[Some identifying characteristics are that they are entirely white (gills, spores, stalk, cap), they grow from a bulb or volva (ball at base of stalk), they have a ring (annulus; the skirt-like thing dangling off the stalk).]
[Big pretty Amanita muscarias were around too. We never saw the red variety on the east coast.]
[I don't know what this is but it's cool.]
[We didn't have our book with us this day; we thought this might be a grisette of some kind.]
[A great big bolete of some sort; there is a bitter-tasting eastern bolete we though it might be.]
[Another unidentified gilled, scaley-topped mushroom. Clean and pretty.]
["Dyer's polypore," Phaeolus schweinitzii. I think.]
[We saw a lot of different corals, mostly these two. I wish I knew more about corals because when we find them, we generally find a LOT of them. Unfortunately, they are tricky to identify and many are not good to eat.]
* Okay – I googled "dead river†hoping I'd come up with something about the very famous and well known band from Ashland and all I found were river rafting trips on the Dead River in Maine. So it's not as weird as I initially thought but it's a creepy thing to call a gas and oil company.