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A Response to David Wood, Part 2
In our debate, and in his review itself, Mr. Wood mentions this view without arguing for it, so there was nothing I had to respond to, even now. However, I still want to take a look at it.
I'll skip a critque of the classical concept of an eternally unchanging God, since Christians themselves are rejecting such a notion. Suffice it to say that the whole notion that God doesn't change seems to imply that God never has a new thought, or idea, since everything is an eternal NOW, and there is nothing he can learn. This is woodenly static. God would not be person, of course. But he would end up being a block of ice, a thing. To say he does nothing NEW, thinks nothing NEW, feels nothing NEW, basically means he does nothing, thinks nothing, feels nothing, for it's all been done. What would it mean for a such a being not to take risks (since the outcome is sure), not to plan (for it's already been planned), or to think (thinking involves weighing temporal alternatives, does it not?). But if God cannot have a new thought then he cannot think--he is analogous to a block of ice.
The classical theist's position is defended today by Brian Davies, in his book An Introduction the Philosophy of Religion (Oxford University Press, 1993). Davies questions "whether the theist is bound to regard God as morally good," and writes, "if the problem of evil depends on thinking of God as a morally good agent and if theists do not have to regard him as such, then the problem is not necessarily a problem for belief in God."(p. 48) Davies is correct, I think, to say that if the classical theist's God is not a morally good agent then the problem of evil is a "pseudo-problem," in exactly the same way that Process theologians do away with the problem of evil by arguing that God is not omnipotent. That's because in order for there to be a problem of evil theists must first believe that their God is morally good, omnipotent and omniscient in some sense. Lacking these characteristics in a God makes the problem of evil pretty much null and void, although, as I'll argue, there is a price to pay for this view.
Davies makes a distinction between God being known as "good" from God being known as "morally good." He argues God can be known to be good without also being morally good. What does the word "good" mean when applied to God? Davies writes that "it is implausible to hold that moral goodness is the only goodness there is. There are good chairs, good radios, good dinners, good essays, good books, good poems, good maps, good all sort of things." So the only way we can know whether or not God is morally good would be to understand the context of the word "good" when applied to God. Theists will typically claim God is a person, and like other persons he should at least be as good as we are when we act good. But Davies argues the phrase "God is a person" "does not occur anywhere in the Bible." And neither does the Bible say that the Trinity being made up of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are "persons" or a "person" either. Even if theists still want to say "God is personal" Davies claims there is something "odd" in thinking God is morally good, "for if we are talking of the maker and sustainer of creatures, must it not, rather, be true that God can be neither morally good nor morally bad?" "To deem an agent to be morally good, we need positive grounds for attributing to that agent virtue or obedience to duty or obligation. And this, of course, means that if something is such that virtue or obedience to duty or obligation cannot be intelligibly attributed to it, we have no reason to think of it as either morally good or morally bad. (p. 49). Davies goes on to argue that God has no obligations or duties to his creature since he is the creator of them all. Only creatures have obligations and duties to their creator and to each other. God is not bound by any moral laws to his creatures. "If anything, it should be said that God must be the cause of duties and obligations, for, if God is the creator, he must be the cause of there being situations in which people have such things. (p. 52).
Roy F. Holland argues in a similar fashion in his article, "On the Form of the Problem of Evil" Against Empiricism: On Education, Epistemology, and Value (Barnes & Nobles Books, 1980). Holland claims that "God is not a member of a moral community, or any community for that matter," and since moral obligations are only to be found within moral communities, God does not have any moral obligations.
What can be said about these responses to the problem of evil? In the first place, what must be understood about them are that they are all concessionary solutions, that is, they concede that the problem of evil is a powerful argument. So to escape the conclusion of the argument these theists must give up believing God has one or more of the characteristics traditionally ascribed to him, like moral agency, moral goodness, omnipotence and/or omniscience. That's quite a concession. It's a concession I'm very pleased to see them admit.
In the second place, the Christian theist has a new problem. It's one I expressed in the debate itself, and it comes from John Beversluis who has argued, that "If the word 'good' must mean approximately the same thing when we apply it to God as what it means when we apply it to human beings, then the fact of suffering provides a clear empirical refutation of the existence of a being who is both omnipotent and perfectly good. If on the other hand, we are prepared to give up the idea that 'good' in reference to God means anything like what it means when we refer to humans as good, then the problem of evil can be sidestepped, but any hope of a rational defense of the Christian God goes by the boards." [C.S. Lewis and the Search for Rational Religion (Eerdmans, 1985)].
The reason why a rational defense of the Christian God goes by the boards is because of the kind of God they are left with by conceding the argument from evil. What kind of God are they left with? That's the question. They have a non-personal God who is not a moral agent. As such this God has no moral obligations to his creatures. This non-personal God can almost be equated with the "Force" of the Star Wars movie (which is neither good nor evil), and as such IT is amoral in our sense of the word, which is the only sense of the word we can rationally know.
This God does not have moral obligations toward his creatures and therefore he can do whatever he wants to us for his own ends and his own glory. If I were to ask whether this God has any obligation to love us, then the answer would be "No." If I were to ask whether this God has any obligation to tell us the truth, then the answer would be "No." If I were to ask if this God is under any obligation to help us when we suffer, then the answer would be "No." Why then does the believer think God loves us, or that he tells us the truth, or that he will help us when we suffer? The believer will answer that God freely chooses to do so. What reasons does the Christian believer have for answering this way? They will answer that God has shown us he loves us in Jesus Christ.
Now there are plenty of reasons for rejecting the claim that Jesus is God, or that his death atoned for our sins, and that he resurrected from the grave. But even if these superstitious claims can be accepted, which are implausible at best, what reason do we have for thinking that God tells us the truth in Jesus, or that Jesus' death on the cross helps us, or that he will come to our aid when we are suffering? If God has no obligations toward us then what reason does anyone have for thinking Jesus helped us, or that the Bible is a true account of why his death helps us, or why God will help us in our suffering, or keep any of his promises to us? By this very logic God does not have any obligation toward us at all, so even if he did freely choose to show us he cared for us in the ancient past, what reason do we have for supposing he still cares for us? I see none. None based upon the logic of the classical theists viewpoint, that is.
In the third place, what sense can be made that God is not a person when Christians try to understand the incarnation of a purported God-man, Jesus? What sense can be made of such a God-man who both had no moral obligations as a non-moral divine agent, and at the same time had human obligations? How can this purported God-man represent one being, who is both personal and impersonal, who has no obligations and yet has obligations?
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, such a concept of God is also inadequate as an object of worship. I might fear him, but then I fear a bully with a baseball bat in his hands too. Such a being is untrustworthy. I cannot believe a single word he speaks. For all that Christians would know, the Bible is not true, the events never occurred, and we would be deceived by this God if we believed it. Nor do I have any guarantees such a being loves me and will help me when I suffer, no matter what I hear him say or see him do. As far as I know from this world, I am just a rat in a maze, or an ant in an ant farm, or a human guinea pig. That's all, as far as I know, from the logic of the position espoused. I will never worship such a being. If I believed such a Being existed I would probably obey out of fear, but if such a Being could read my thoughts then he would also know I'm rebelling against him as I do.
There is one thing more about this classical view though. It admits what we actually find in the Bible. It admits what I see in the Bible, and the God in the Bible is barbaric.
No wonder then that Christian theologians beginning with Anselm have adopted what's called perfect being theology. Since a proper concept of God must entail he is "the greatest conceivable being," that means God must be omnibenelovent, omnipotent and omniscient. Anything less than this isn't a proper concept of God worthy of worship. However, as classical theology reminds us, maybe God's omnibenelovence cannot be found in the Bible after all! Therein lies the final problem for the Christian theist. Can he have it both ways?


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Pics: CMU Halloween Dance-Mania with SWITCH + StackinPaper
November 1st, 2010
This was thuroughly out of hand! Thanks CMU AB for having us and bringing a great guest. [nggallery id=31]
Pics: The Captain, B. Rich and LAZERCRUNK at Mexico City
August 16th, 2010
[nggallery id=29]
Pics: 4th of July Barge Party
July 9th, 2010
[nggallery id=28]
Pics: LAZERCRUNK Sophomore Party w/ Ace-C & EdUm
June 9th, 2010
to say this was out of hand is quite an understatement. 10000's of thanks to everybody to came and rocked out. awesome sets from ace-c and edgar – thanks tons for playing. there's some pics up now on yinzerparty.com. graduation monkey is now backpacking across […]
Pics: DEATHFACE!
May 25th, 2010
this past weekend was SECRET WEAPONS, which after a bunch of issues, ended up at the L-VILLE MOOSE, and was a great party by all accounts. some media from that forthcoming. in the meanwhile, here's another great set of pics from Andrew, from the may […]
Pictures: April 1st LAZERCRUNK with DJ Nugget (…and Pickeback!)
April 6th, 2010
super fun. thanks to sneaky for the impromptu "rockstar" cover. nugget killed it on the decks. special thanks to riley for doing bang up visuals and the whole decorations crew for putting in balloon work. pickle juice shots aren't that bad. not that great either. […]
Pictures: March LazerCrunk with Lando Kal of LAZERSWORD
March 8th, 2010
Awesome night! Lando really killed it with the massive, chopped up beats and hyphy jams. One of my favorite sets, especially with the live elements. Here's a set of pics from the night thanks to Andrew Platt and Ashley of Yinzerparty! [nggallery id=23] Here's my […]
Pictures: LAZERCRUNK Feb 4th 2010 with Tighten Up
February 5th, 2010
[nggallery id=21] More to come, but these are courtesy of Drew! Fun night! Here's my setlists from the night – cutups *early* Team Teamwork – Kool Keith + Tom Waits – Spacious Thoughts (The Prelude) Team Teamwork – M.O.P. – Ante Up (Battle!) Team Teamwork […]
Pictures: LAZERCRUNK January 2010 with Trey Told Em
January 12th, 2010
[nggallery id=20] Totally wow'd by the crowd that made it out dispite the shitty weather and us not announcing the guest. Thanks to everybody who came out and rocked out, and to Frank and Greg for playing. Insane night. Thanks to Ashley of Yinzerparty.com for […]
Pictures: LAZERCRUNK December with Designer Drugs
December 10th, 2009
Yah! This past Lazercrunk was definitely one of our biggest. Thanks tons to Designer Drugs for coming out and rocking it, and for everybody for coming out and having a blast. Super fun night. Keep an eye out for our January announcement plus some other […]

subset: commoncrawl


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Article content
CANTON, Oh. — First-year candidates Warren Sapp, Michael Strahan, Jonathan Ogden and Larry Allen are among the finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013.
Joining the four first-year eligibles are 11 others from the modern era and two senior nominees. All 17 will be considered for election when the Hall of Fame's Selection Committee meets on Feb. 2 in New Orleans, the day before Super Bowl XLVII.
The other modern-era finalists are wide receivers Cris Carter, Tim Brown and Andre Reed, running back Jerome Bettis, defensive end/linebackers Kevin Greene and Charles Haley, guard Will Shields, cornerback Aeneas Williams, coach Bill Parcells and owners Art Modell and Eddie DeBartolo Jr. Defensive tackle Curley Culp and linebacker Dave Robinson are the senior nominees.
An original list of 127 preliminary nominees was whittled to 27 semifinalists in November. Among the semifinalists that did not make the cut were first-time eligible players John Lynch and Morten Andersen, as well as running backs Roger Craig and Terrell Davis, and former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
The Class of 2013 will consist of between four and seven members, although only five modern-era finalists can be elected in a given year. To be elected, a finalist must receive 80 percent of the vote from the 46-member committee.
tap here to see other videos from our team.


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Members of the U.S. Women's Sitting Team pose at the end of the Paralympic Games.
B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Communications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: email@example.com
@USA_Volleyball - USAV Facebook
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 19, 2012) – The U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team has been named USA Volleyball's Sitting Team of the Year for 2012.
The 2012 U.S. Women's Sitting Team, which is based at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond and ranked No. 2 in the world, won the silver medal at the Paralympic Games in London after taking gold at the Volleyball Masters Tournament in Netherland. The team also played exhibition tournaments against China and Ukraine in Shanghai and against the Netherlands in the United States.
U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Head Coach and Program Director Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.) complimented the team on its competitiveness.
"What makes it special is there are some pretty high-level athletes on that team," Hamiter said. "As a whole, they're a very competitive group. They've been in situations where maybe they're not playing at the level they would like, but they still figure out a way to win."
Players on the team earned individual honors along the way.
Katie Holloway (Lake Stevens, Wash.) was named Best Spiker at the Paralympic Games and Most Valuable Player of the Volleyball Masters in Netherlands. Kari Miller (Washington, D.C.) was named Best Receiver and Best Libero at the Paralympic Games.
But the team's success was definitely a group effort.
Eight of the players on the 2012 Paralympic Sitting Volleyball Team had competed in at least one past Paralympics: Holloway, Miller, Heather Erickson (Fayetteville, N.C.), Lora (Webster) Bargellini (Phoenix, Ariz.), Brenda (Maymon) Jensen (Charlestown, Ind.), Allison Aldrich (Schuyler, Neb.), Nichole Millage (Champaign, Ill.) and Kendra Lancaster (Westfield, Ind.).
Three Paralympic novices played important roles: Michelle (Gerlosky) Schiffler (Lake Wales, Fla.), Monique Burkland (Ardmore, Okla.) and Kaleo Kanahele (Oklahoma City, Okla.).
Other athletes who competed and trained with the team in 2012, but did not play in the Paralympic Games, are Nicole Nieves (Kissimmee, Fla.), Bethany Zummo (Dublin, Calif.) and Angela DeHaan (Yuba City, Calif.).
"It was a good mix of experienced players with one or two Paralympics under their belt," Hamiter said. "Combine that with several younger players energized with enthusiasm and excitement. All those things combined put it into where it's a really solid team."
The season was not entirely smooth sailing for the U.S. Women's Sitting Team, which won only one match in its exhibition series with China, the No. 1 –ranked team in the world, and Ukraine, the No. 3 team, in Shanghai.
Hamiter said some of the losses were due to the fatigue of travel and some were from rotations and substitutions that Hamiter made to see how the team would react.
"Certainly we would have liked to play better consistently," he said. "But when we got back, we had the information we needed on China and ourselves."
It didn't take long for the team to pull itself together and look forward to the Paralympic Games for another chance to play China, the team that beat the United States in the finals of the 2008 Paralympic Games and the 2010 World Championships.
In London, China defeated the United States in the first match of pool play (22-25, 32-30, 25-23, 25-17). The U.S. won its next three matches to advance to the gold medal match, where it lost a hard-fought contest, 22-25, 25-15, 32-30, 25-15.
"In the finals, both teams were playing their best," Hamiter said. "I've heard it from officials and male players, a lot of different people. They felt like that was the best women's sitting match ever played."
The future looks bright for the team, which should have a core group of veterans back to try to qualify for the 2014 WOVD Sitting Volleyball World Championships in Poland and the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Only Jensen has officially retired from the team. However, several may take time off to put time into careers and family life.
"I think we will have a good group of experienced, hungry players," Hamiter said. "We also have some new players who will chip in and make the roster."


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Private-sector rentals
The private rental market offers a wide choice of options, such as living close to the social and cultural attractions of France's lively city centers. Private rentals are most suited to students who are independent and already well-adapted to French life.
You may rent space directly from a property owner or through a rental agency.
If you rent through an agency, you will have to pay fees equal to a little more than a month's rent. Apartments may be rented empty or furnished. Unless you have a friend, family member, or other contact in the area in which you intend to live, it is usually very difficult, and in some cases impossible, to find a suitable rental before you arrive in France.
Once you arrive, you can ask the housing office at your new institution or one of the international student support services found in many university cities to help you in your search for housing.
You can expected to be asked to sign a 1-year rental contract. You may cancel your contract early provided you give at least 3 month's notice for unfurnished apartment or 1 month for a furnished apartment.
The need for a guarantor is a problem for many international students. In some cities and regions, nonprofit organizations and local governments have devised arrangements that provide property owners with the necessary guarantee.
Property owners with space available often post notices in the housing offices of local educational institutions, with the city's international student service office, or with CROUS, the regional student service agency.
Shared rentals
Shared rentals, in which groups of students get together to rent a house or apartment, are becoming increasingly common. Such arrangements are often cheaper than individual rentals and may make it easier to meet French students and other international students.
Each participant in a shared rental is eligible to apply for housing assistance, provided his or her name appears on the rental contract.
Basic facts about renting on the private housing market
Rent: Rents vary widely depending on the quality and location of the lodging and on the presence of related services. In Paris, monthly rents are at least €20 per square meter. Rents are generally lower in other French cities.
Security deposit: One month's rent
Co-signer/guarantor: Students are required to have a guarantor who resides in France. To secure a private rental, the guarantor must make a deposit that guarantees payment of the rent. The guarantor's monthly income must be 3 times the amount of the rent. On behalf of recipients of French government grants and doctoral candidates who have signed a doctoral contract, the national government will advance the security deposit and guarantee payment of rent and related charges.
Pre-arrival rentals: It is sometimes possible to reach agreement with a property owner, usually upon payment of a certain amount to guarantee the reservation, but securing a pre-arrival rental is usually difficult and seldom worth the risk. You may forfeit your deposit if you change your mind after arriving in France.
Housing assistance (ALE): Possible as long as the property meets regulatory requirements. (It must be at least 9 square meters in size.


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It was great running the TIMEX Run 16k yesterday, almost identical to the festive mood i had running the 21k Go Natural Run the week before. Two back-to-back races organized by Run Rio and both were challenging and tough, although yesterday's race required a bit more effort for me to run that i had nothing left of a finisher's kick at the last straight before the finish.
There were a few odd things about yesterday's run. For starters, there were already a sizable crowd of runners milling around the race area when i arrived at 4:00am. You don't see that much crowd gathered as early as 4 when the first race, the 16k event starts at 5:10am. Maybe, the presence of heartthrob Piolo Pascual piqued many to come this early?
Secondly, Riovana was already buzzing with customers even before i arrived and you'd think that there was a post-Christmas sale going on inside as the store was nearly jam-packed! Thirdly, the run started going towards 5th Avenue instead of towards Serendra, a nice change of direction.
Lastly, it was nice seeing the friendly Chinggay Andrada, professional fitness trainer of Pinoy Biggest Loser fame doing the warm-up exercises. I met her during one of Skechers' shoe launching a few months back and she was just so warm, friendly and chummy that she immediately recognized me at the press tent during the awards ceremony yesterday.
Yesterday morning's weather was pleasant, not so cool but not humid either. Piolo was up stage to fire the starting gun and as he went up the podium, shrieks and screams were heard, which was expected from the crowd. The starting line was abuzz with runners trying to shake off all stiffness in them. When the gun was fired, we were off and i settled of nicely and was with a bunch of runners who were trying to overtake the slower ones. This was just a 16k race so i thought of revving it up a little bit too and go on with the flow.
I finally settled into a more relaxed rhythm and as the route was a familiar one, it was just my mind and body getting into sync while enjoying the festive aura surrounding me. I didn't see Piolo along the route although i knew that he was running the shorter 10k distance with Coach Rio, i was still hoping that we would cross paths and get a glimpse of his running…form, cadence and all. He was trying to go below his standard 10k time of 47:53 something which i found out later that he was able too accomplish.
Before i knew it, we reached the turn-around mark along Buendia, just before reaching the corner of Ayala Avenue and at that instance i really felt awful already, struggling to keep pace with the runners i was pacing with. Before that, i even saw running buddy Betty who was in good form and ahead of me by a few hundred meters. Reaching the base of the Kalayaan bridge going back BGC, i was able to coast along the whole uphill span without stopping and those hill training at Meralco might have done a lot of good.
Cruising along Rizal Drive, i saw i sign that read last 2 kms and was skeptic at first because i knew that we were going to turn right when reaching 5th Avenue and that would be a few hundred meters more. Turns out that we would skip that part and turn left instead on the way to the finish.
I crossed the finish line, looked on top for the time and read 1:48. Not exactly a good time but one that i can live with.:-)
Note: Seems that i did a 1:50 according to the official race results which you can find here: http://runrio.com/2012/01/2012-timex-run-race-results/
It has been a great 2 weekends of running for me and the start of the year seems to be steps in the right direction. Big kudos to Gemma Pagsibigin of Timex for a great race and to Coach Rio for a job well done!
A quick glimpse on the press tent in pictures:


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Information architecture is the science of figuring out what you want your site to do and then constructing a blueprint before you dive in and put the thing together. It's more important than you might think, and John Shiple, aka Squishy, tells you why.
Squishy first looks at how to define your site's goals, shedding light on the all-important art of collecting clients' or co-workers' opinions and assembling them in a coherent, weighted order of importance. He also shares his scheme for documenting everything so that all parties can keep up.
The next step is figuring out who the heck your audiences are going to be. Once that's out of the way, you can start organizing your future site into pages of content and functions that the site will need to have.
Next, Squishy gets into creativityland, where you start to build the beast:form a skeleton, pick your metaphors, map out your navigation. Then it's time to break out the graphics program, come up with layout grids, design sketches, and mock-ups, and get ready to build!
Suggested readings
Information Architecture Tutorial
Information Architecture Tutorial – Lesson 1
Information Architecture Tutorial – Lesson 2
Information Architecture Tutorial – Lesson 3
Information Architecture Tutorial – Lesson 4


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Refreshing, light chilled soup. Great also as a snack or dessert!
Preparation Time: 10 mins
Extra Time: 20 mins
(for chilling in the freezer)
Yield: 3 x 1 cup servings
Thinly slice 1 apricot half. Reserve to use as a garnish.
In food processor, purée remaining apricots with yogurt. Add enough reserved juice to make a thick soup, up to about 1/2 cup juice. Add spice and/or liqueur, and process just to blend.
Pour into bowl, and place in freezer for 20 minutes, or refrigerate about 1 hour until chilled. Ladle into shallow soup bowls, and garnish with reserved sliced apricot and mint, if desired.
* Ground spices, such as nutmeg, mace or cinnamon may be substituted for ginger. Liqueur is optional, but rum, kirsch or brandy may be substituted.
Serving suggestions are not included in the nutritional analysis.


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Melissa Etheridge took the stage Tuesday night at the Louisville Palace along 4th Street completing her final show pushing the release of her 12th studio album, 4th Street Feeling. Decked in black boots and a shiny guitar strap, she sneaks onto the lava lamp littered garage of a stage and comes out with a bang, cranking into the new tune "Shout Now" complete with a harmonica and a filthy, gritty shuffle. "Are you ready?" she asks the crowd to loud applause before strapping on a 12-string banjitar, a guitar-banjo hybrid, and grooving into "Falling Up," an upbeat fun, folky rock song. As most seasoned artists do, she sprinkles her hits throughout her set list, and eventually moves into "I Wanna Come Over," a crowd favorite vocally in which she strips down into an acapella glimpse of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire."
"When I was younger I had a 1964 blue Chevy Impala and I miss putting in those 8 tracks and cruising around 4th Street back home," she told the crowd while discussing the new songs. 4th Street Feeling is based around her journey back to Leavenworth, Kansas where she grew up and it's not the same Impala but the famed car is featured on the new album cover. "Even more so, I miss not only the car but the back seat that car had, " she said with a grin while flowing into the tune "You Can Sleep While I Drive," a song she wrote which was later covered by country music artist Trisha Yearwood. Etheridge continues to do what she loves to do and a highlighted moment came when she swore to Louisville fans that she would never retire after discussing an interview she did earlier in the day at 91.9 WFPK. "People are using words now like legendary and retire in interviews," she laughed. Nonetheless she can still hit the high notes and she continues to do it with ease in front of her trippy, psychedelic 70's stage set.
Overall, the concert was great. Etheridge's new songs are throwbacks to the music she loved growing up. You can hear sprinkles of Motown and blues-soul flavors hidden within the songs, meanwhile she sings her heart out on stage and it is obvious that she has a blast doing so. She's in better shape now than ever due to healthy living after fighting off cancer. "I'm now cancer free," she tells the crowd while encouraging attending cancer survivors to raise their hands from their seats. The last stop of her 4th Street Feeling tour went out with a bang, and included screaming guitars, drum solos, and a personally autographed copy of her cd which she handed down to super fan Angie Eberhardt. What does Melissa have planned since this is the end of her latest tour? She plans to go back home and enjoy the holidays with her family and something tells me that we haven't heard the last of her yet.
photo courtesy Brandie Story


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Highway crashes: 'Economist' bureau chief among two killed
Two people including an internationally renowned magazine writer died in separate incidents on Albemarle roads May 10.
The first of the Thursday accidents occurred around 2:50pm on U.S. 29 South near Covesville when a southbound pickup truck crossed the median and slammed into a northbound tractor-trailer, according to a police release.
Pickup driver Correy O. Morris, 34, of North Garden was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash is still under investigation, says Albemarle police spokesman Darrell Byers. Morris was not wearing a seatbelt, he adds.
Seven hours later, a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 64 near the Keswick exit left one man dead and three others injured.
According to Virginia State Police, around 9:30pm a westbound 1995 Lincoln Town Car rear-ended a 2000 Subaru Outback, causing the Subaru to hit the guardrail and roll over onto its roof.
Four people were in the overturned car, and passenger Peter H. David, 60, of Washington, DC, died at the hospital. Afton resident John A. Woodward, 70, was the driver, and he and the other occupants were seriously injured, say State Police.
David was the Washington bureau chief of The Economist magazine, the author of the weekly column on American politics entitled "Lexington."
Lindsey L. Copley, 25, of Richmond, the driver of the Lincoln, was charged with reckless driving. Both he and the people in the Subaru were wearing seatbelts.
Last year, 21 people died on Albemarle County roads, and police say speed, the non-wearing of seatbelts, and alcohol are the most common factors in fatal accidents.
The two new deaths mark the fifth and sixth traffic fatalities in the county.
"It will take more investigation," says police spokesperson Byers, "to figure out the causation factors."
–updated 10:43pm Saturday, May 12 with occupation of Peter David and corrected age; new sub-headline replaces "2 dead in 7 hours in Albemarle." Updated again at 2:49pm on Tuesday the 15th to better clarify the name of the magazine by italicizing it. Also, at this time, a question from the narrator which seemed to point merely to a probable coincidence, was removed.
14 comments
My bet suburu driver texting or looking at phone while driving -
Can you imagine what it would feel like to kill someone while you were texting ?
Even if this wasn't the cause distracted driving is on the rise, and may soon surpass alcohol as the cause of vehicular homicide.
First, it was the driver of the lincoln who caused the accident, not the subaru driver
And not too many 70 year olds (the age of the subaru driver) text, let alone while diving
Now was he 25-year old driver of the lincoln texting - could be...
Sorry I meant driver of the Lincoln
There's an excellent video produced in Wales that
depicts a car accident resulting from texting
hopefully to serve as a deterrent. It's easy to
find on google but it's appropriately grim.
Kinda went off topic with this text messaging dribble, didn't we? Video this, video that. Do this, don't do that. Just random thoughts that end up passing by the moon on the way out of this galaxy. You're not going to change people's behavior much, laws or no laws. Every red traffic light I have stopped at this past week there has been somebody sitting there text messaging. Often people have to blow their horns to let the people know the traffic light has turned green. Even when pulling away on a green traffic signal, they just keep on finishing that last text message. And the vast majority seem to be 17 to 25 year old females. Combined with the fact that the law is extremely hard to enforce in the first place. The only way to enforce text messaging while driving is to ban cell phone use in vehicles totally. If a cop sees a cell phone in your hand, automatic ticket!! And the law should apply to ANY vehicle moving on a public roadway. There should be no exemptions for anybody.
Surprised none of the local media reported that the 70 year old killed was the Washington bureau chief at The Economist. Doesn't make any of these accidents less horrific. Distracted drinking needs to be stopped. Agree Gasbag.
yes, and Peter David was only 60, not 70....
GSOE- that would include the cops too- correct? They may be among the greatest offenders............
Shouldn't there be a stylebook rule for the font used for the proper name "The Economist?" For example, should it be italicized so people do not wonder if the headline meant "an economist who is a bureau chief" or "a bureau chief from a magazine?" Lots of people would not understand that headline (unless they knew of the publication). See, the proper name of the magazine is "The Economist." The converse of that would be if I called the group "The Cheap Trick" when, in fact, the proper name of the Rockford, Ill.-based rock quartet is "Cheap Trick."
Oh, and while I like Lisa's work, that last paragraph is patently silly. We have an interstate involved and a hilly, high speed state highway involved. Wrecks will happen. I think Byers (who should really be patrolling streets instead of doing Lee Catlin's job) would agree that the cause of two deaths within a few hours is called coincidence.
I hope I have provided a pleasant diversion from an otherwise gruesome story.
R.I.P.: Big Pun
SkipD - you took the words right out of my post!! There isn't a day that goes by that I don't see a police officer (State included gassy) that are on their cell phones driving down the road. Really a shame, too, they should be setting an example.
I said..... "And the law should apply to ANY vehicle moving on a public roadway. There should be no exemptions for anybody."
It includes any motor vehicle driven by any person. I don't think any study will ever prove a person in uniform is a better driver than others while using a cell phone. I fear people using cell phones now more than drunk drivers.
If you find yourself in Fort Lee, New Jersey, put your cell phone away while you amble down the city's sidewalks. It is now illegal to text and walk in Fort Lee, and if the cops catch you doing that, they'll issue an $85 jaywalking ticket.
"It's a big distraction. Pedestrians aren't watching where they are going, and they are not aware," Thomas Ripoli, chief of the Fort Lee Police Department, told ABC.
The new law was inspired by tragedy. In 2012, the small town of just 35,000 residents has experienced three accidents in which pedestrians who were walking while texting were killed.
Some avid texters disagree with the law. Fort Lee resident Sue Choe who admits to walking while texting, told ABC, "When I walk, I still look around. I'm not like constantly looking down the whole time." An unnamed texter complained about the high cost of the tickets.
Meanwhile, the police consider such people "dangerous walkers," and have issued 117 tickets--so far.
From all accounts Peter David,who died in this accident was a remarkable man. I appreciated this tribute and find here the account of a life we could all aspire to.
Driving is boring. I can text, email or talk while I am driving just fine, thanks. I am 24 and have been using this technology my whole life. It is the older folks who don't have the ability to multi task and are dangerous. Maybe people over 40 should just take the bus.


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"Loveable Levar Burton takes a look at Burroughs' ode to addicting fluids, control, and giant aquatic black centipedes in this episode of Reading Rainbow suitable for children of all ages," says Andre Perkowski who is making me reconsider my no-no position on breeding, just you know, out of curiosity's sake. What would that one turn out like, huh?
Andre "makes films, books, art, & trash pop noise," whatever. The disintegrated, hauntingly, janky theme song treatment is the jam. The rest blends surprisingly well. Also, spoilers. Yeah, you should have seen it/read it by now anyway, no pity for you. Go suck a gigantic insectoid tit.


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This is actually just a fancy name for an animated GIF, but specially designed with a purposeful artistic goal. One photographer, Fernando J Baez, describes the technique as "more than a photo, but not quite a video." The intent is to augment, or draw attention to, certain aspects of an image through localized animation — for example, a breeze blowing through a subject's hair — and masking the remainder of the animation to appear static. It's by no means a new phenomena, but the technique is a little more involved than creating your average meme-worthy GIF, and can produce some incredibly cool results.
Photoshop. That's because Adobe's powerful image manipulation software actually allows us to edit more than just images — there's support for certain video formats too, which is what we'll be using to create our final image. Sound good? Let's get started.
Vimeo is the best place to go looking for beautifully shot, high-quality videos, so we're going to start there, though you can also shoot your own! For this example, we've used a short video of people on an escalator, which should be easy to mask and loop.
Motion workspace is active (found under Window > Workspace). This will give us a simple timeline. Using the blue guides to the left and right of the timeline, select a 1-2 second segment that will form the basis of your cinemagraph. You don't need to be exact, since we can trim some of those extra frames in the next step.
FIle > Export > Render Video, and accept the default settings. Now, close your document, and choose File > Import > Video Frames to Layers, selecting the video file you just exported. This will import each frame as a new layer, which is crucial for the masking process.
In our sample video, there's lots of motion, with people moving up and down the various escalators —except for one. This escalator is empty, and thus, perfect for animating, while freezing the rest of the busy people pictured in this scene. In the Layers palette, the first layer is going to serve as our animation's anchor frame. With the first layer selected, ensure that "Unify Layer Visibility" is activated. This ensures our static anchor frame will repeat itself in each successive frame.
Depending on the framerate of your source material, the animation might not be as smooth as you'd like. This can be fixed by selecting every frame in the timeline, right-clicking, and and choosing a new delay value. Try experimenting with different settings to see what works best. Also, you might find that your chosen subject or animation doesn't loop all that smoothly. In some cases, it's a simple matter of copy/pasting all your frames to the end of the timeline, and choosing Reverse Frames from the timeline bar's options menu. This won't work in all instances, however, and could actually produce a robotic/mechanical repetition effect — not exactly the artistic effect we're looking for here.
When that's done, click File > Save for Web & Devices. Make sure that GIF is your selected export format. You an even preview the final image if you'd like. Fernando J Baez recommends running your image through a cross-processing or duo-tone filter, which limits the number of colors in your image to take advantage of the GIF format's shortcomings. Jamie Beck also has a few tips on optimizing the size and color you can get from your final image too. You can try both and see what looks best, though it's not exactly mandatory.
final product, but we hope you can produce something much more impressive! Just be sure to share your results and tips below.


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