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I have lost a favorite Aunt this week and I am in a sea of religion right now. I loved her so very much and for the most part the religious stuff does not bother me, in fact it is helping me understand my position better. In the past I would be viewing this phenom from the church pew but as an atheist this is new uncharted terriroty.
I am torn between deference and respect and the need to scream at the top of my lungs that I do not believe that I am an atheist. It would not do to hang all this laundry out on the day of th funeral however I am getting that itch you get when you are supposed to behave but you have no means at your disposal to do so.
The physician who took care of my Aunt sent a card chocked full of Bible verse and he explained how no matter what we mere humans can do that GOD is in charge ultimately and we should just be content with that explanation. Oh how I wish I could get that man alone in a room for a couple of hours. I could beat him over the head with my intellectual muscle because despite that fact that he went to medical school and I did not I do believe that his citing bible and verse to my grieving cousins as reasons for my Aunt's untimely death is at the very least cowardly.
Okay maybe I am a bit angry, however things happened in my Aunt's case that leaves me a little bit confused as to what actually happened to her. Okay she had a carotid endarterectomy on Monday and she was dead by Tuesday evening. This is not unusual the first 1-2 days post surgery is often the time when bad things happen. She was not producing enough urine so she had started to retain water her heart went and then she had a bowl infarct and that was the end.
I want to tell my cousins my Uncle and my Mom, who lost her very best friend in the world, that it was not God, it was biology and years of wear and tear on the body, through hypertension and weight gain and loss and age. It is what happens it is unfortunate and I nearly hit the ground when I heard she was gone but the truth at least to me is that her body just failed to survive the surgery.
Why can't the surgeon see this? Why can't people understand this? Why do we have to give some innocent non existent being the blame and the credit?
It is so much easier for me to accept her death when I can look at it from the biological side. To try and make sense using god and the bible and religion only causes more confusion for me. It always did. I could never understand why a god would choose to lay so much crap on us and then take away those we love, if he "so loved the world" then why doesn't he just get on with it and act like it? Why? Because he does not exist, this thing this entity, deity thing is not there and that is what I want to yell, I am pissed she is gone. She deserved so many more years, the kindest most gentle soul I will ever know. I must attend a funeral mass tomorrow and if any of you have ever done this please feel free to advise in any way you can because I don't know if I can keep my mouth shut.
Views: 164
Thanks that is a great idea...in fact you all are helping me more than you know.
When my uncle (mom's brother) died a few years ago, she went on this rampage of telling everyone that "God waited until he was ripe" (meaning that he'd been kind of an ass until the last decade or so, when he'd become a really awesome person), "and then plucked him."
How could she not see how offensive that was? How in any way was that supposed to be a comforting thought? If God DID take him because he'd finally become a good person, what does that say except that apparently God is a spiteful bastard punishing him for... I guess for his youthful indiscretions?
Meaningless, maybe. Offensive, definitely.
Yeah, continuous brainwashing. It's why they feel like they need to meet in groups and "encourage" each other not to fall away from the faith. Because the bullshit will only hold up if they remind each other that there are dire consequences if they question it.
In my experience, questions almost always lead, at best, to an ineffectual, deistic kind of god that one only believes in for cultural reasons, and at worst, to atheism.
Even within a religious framework, they don't have to think like that. The Christians I know believe in a god, but not in one who constantly interferes in people's life. Don't ask me why they bother praying then, but when someone dies they acknowledge that their body failed or that it was a tragic accident. But they don't blame their god for it.
I think that's because it's more of a cultural Christianity as opposed to the hardcore fundie kind. The people who are into Bible study and really into, overthink things. And when you actually think about religion it makes little sense. So they inevitably come with this twisted "logic" and horrendous thinking.
I much prefer the ones who just follow along without having given it much though than the ones who have convinced themselves that everything makes sense
And what makes it worse is that it seems to me that the surgeon was using god as an excuse to explain why she died. He did not want to admit that he could have just lost a patient and not necessarily to his inability or neglect, but simply that this is what happens from time to time.
Her body just couldn't handle the assault upon it. She died and it is nobody's fault, period.
Thanks your words are a great comfort. You are right and I now understand something about the grief process for an atheist. It is that which I need most from this is friendship and a helping hand and I thank you for that....you can never know how much this helps.
Thank you, again, very much for your kind words.


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Prince of Persia Creator Reviving Karateka
"There actually is a plan to bring back Karateka," Mechner revealed during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, as reported by Gamasutra. "It's a project I'm going to be involved in. I can safely say it's not going to be in the way you expect."
The designer later confirmed that the project will indeed be a video game, but offered no details on platforms, development studio, or a possible release date.
Released in 1984, Karateka featured fluid animations similar to those that defined Prince of Persia, which first arrived in 1989. Prince of Persia was then brought into the modern era by Ubisoft Montreal and Mechner with 2003's Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, the success of which resulted in a number of sequels and a feature film.

subset: commoncrawl


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News broke this week that Spider-Man will no longer be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where he has resided since 2016.
That's the fallout after Disney and Sony, which previously had agreed to share the character, couldn't reach an agreement about how to continue the deal that had Spider-Man living in the same universe as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and other superheroes.
The mechanism that allows this to happen is called continuity. It was one of the company's hallmarks when Marvel Comics started inventing its own superhero milieu in the early 1960s.
It allows different characters to inhabit a shared universe and also governs how time passes in comics. Fans appreciate continuity. It also drives them nuts when Marvel's editors tamper with it — which happens a lot.
Continuity dictates that the rules of cause and effect apply to superheroes, too. Except when they don't.
If Spider-Man punches Doctor Octopus on the chin in one panel of a comic book, in the next panel the many-limbed villain will have a broken jaw. That's a simple example of continuity at work.
Continuity gives rise to one of the great paradoxes of comic books. Fans will complain loudly about continuity errors, while at the same time overlooking much larger fictions.
If Spider-Man rips the left arm of his costume, yet a panel later, his costume is ripped on the right side, fans will scream with rage that Marvel has screwed up its continuity. It's a transgression of the laws of nature and science.
Yet never once has a fan written an angry email or letter telling Marvel's bosses, "You know, a bite from a radioactive spider won't give a person the proportionate powers of a spider."
DC has its own continuity as well, although the company didn't have a rigid continuity until fairly recently. In its early decades, DC editors had individual fiefdoms within the company and were loathe to loan out their characters to other editors.
Now it seems DC presses reboot on its universe every year.
Soap operas have continuity. So does a movie series like the James Bond films. Each has its own unique texture.
Was it a mistake for Sony to reclaim sole ownership of Spider-Man? Probably. And it will be interesting to see if, in the next Avengers film, an attempt is made to explain why the web-slinger all of a sudden no longer exists.


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Kara Lynn Joyce is a swimmer for Team USA and won four silver medals between the Beijing 2008 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
Life Since London
September 13, 2012
| Opening Ceremony
Today is exactly one month to the day that I flew home from London. How appropriate that I celebrate this day by being reunited with all my teammates from this summer!
I'm headed to Washington, D.C. right now to pay a special visit to the White House and President Obama with the rest of the 2012 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team. To say I'm excited would be a serious understatement. I told someone yesterday that I have been looking forward to this visit for 4 years now - pretty much since Beijing ended. I have only been to the White House once before and it was with my 2005 National Championship college swim team (GO DAWGS!) when President George W. Bush was in office.
The Olympics always end in a blur. Once the swimming is over, the athletes head out with their families and friends to travel or sightsee, or some just go home. In London after swimming was over, my most fun days/nights out were the ones where I would run into other Team USA athletes or swimmers by chance and just celebrate! The environment at the Olympics is something that can never be recreated again, not even in DC, but it's a life moment we will always share and I'm looking forward to reliving some of it in the next two days.
People always ask me what I loved most about this Olympics. Hard question to answer... there are so many incredible and magical things about representing the USA and competing in the Olympics. I am fairly certain though my favorite moment of London 2012 was participating in the Opening Ceremony. Easily one of the coolest things I've ever done. I didn't walk in Opening in Athens 2004 or Beijing 2008 because I had to race the next day, but in London my race wasn't until the 7th day of the meet so I had plenty of time to recover from the 4-5 hours of walking and standing that participating in Opening requires. I will never forget the feeling of walking into that stadium surrounded by Team USA and the electricity, excitement and anticipation in the air. My family ended up lucking out with tickets and sat in the fifth row of the stadium - so cool to see them all waving and equally excited as I walked by with tears of joy running down my cheeks.
Life since London has been amazing. Life has really been unbelievable since I qualified for London. The Olympic Swimming Trials are held so close to the start of the Olympics that once you make it you're swept up in a whirlwind of camp, travel, media, processing, training, making viral videos, and becoming a family with your team! It's great.
| Missy Franklin and me at a homecoming celebration
Coming home is always a weird feeling for me. I've been away for 5+ weeks and in that time every little want or need has been taken care of for me, someone has made ALL my meals, I've had a printed schedule under my door when I wake every morning... and all of a sudden it's over. I've done a pretty good job of reacquainting myself back into my normal life in Denver, CO - aside from not knowing where anything in my kitchen is or accidentally leaving my house keys in the door for 3 days while I visited a friend.
My reception back home has been so wonderful. My neighborhood was decorated in red, white & blue, I attended the Colorado Olympians welcome home ceremony and I've visited with lots of friends and family all over the country. I also got my Olympic rings tattoo with my fellow Colorado swimmer, Missy Franklin. My first and only tattoo and I love it!


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At DMA, we don't just give you reports. We build solutions that help you understand your data and make data-powered decisions. You'll work with DMA consultants who dig deep into your strategies and goals, and then create solutions to optimize your supply chain, control costs, and give you the information and insights you need.
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Training on data interpretation, processes and decision-making
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Off-duty trooper injured in Denton traffic incident
3 teens taken in for questioning, later released
An off-duty Maryland State Police trooper was seriously injured during an incident in Caroline County that started when he confronted a car full of teens who he thought may have been tampering with a trash can.
Police said the off-duty officer, who has only been identified as an eight-year veteran of the force, was in the area of 7th and Market streets in Denton around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday when he noticed three teens in a car acting suspiciously.
Officials said the trooper got out of his car and began talking to the teens. Investigators said the 17-year-old driver was startled by the trooper, who was in plain clothes and didn't show his badge or ID. The teen drove away, possibly out of concern for his own safety.
The trooper was dragged down the road a bit. He eventually broke free, and the teens got away.
The trooper, who is assigned to the Easton Barrack, was flown to Shock Trauma in Baltimore in critical condition. His condition was improved Thursday to serious.
Police said they eventually located the vehicle and took the three teenagers into custody. The teens told officers they tried to push a trash can out of the roadway using their car. One of the passengers also tried to grab the can to move it, police said.
Investigators said the trooper drove up when the teens were doing that, and he thought the teens may have been tampering with the cans and possibly moving them into the road.
The teens were eventually released. No charges have been filed at this time, but officials said they are still investigating.
Stay with WBALTV.com and 11 News for more details as they become available.


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1 Bedroom Premium. WHAT THIS APARTMENT HAS TO OFFER
This apartment has its own balcony.
Media and Technology
You are able to enjoy digital tv in your apartment! It is included in the rate, just use the remote control to watch one of the channels.
Every apartment has a fully equipped kitchen. Things you can find in the kitchen are a dishwasher, a toaster, a microwave and oven combination, a juicer, a coffee machine and an electric kettle besides pots & pans, plates, glasses and cutlery.
Living area
The living room in every apartment is provided with a comfortable sitting and dining area. The style of the living area can change slightly per apartment.
The bedroom has a double bed out of two single beds (size 210 x 90 cm). There is enough storage space in the big wardrobe and hangers are provided.
The bathroom contains a shower and a double sink. The toilet is separated from the bathroom.
Each apartment is non-smoking. If available you are allowed to smoke on the balcony.
Washing Machine & Dryer
In most apartments a washing machine and dryer are available. If required, please check with the commercial desk when making the booking for availability


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The 18-volume Old Testament Hermeneutics Collection features comprehensive discussion on interpretive and literary criticism from international experts.
Biblical scholars from universities in Italy, Australia, Guatemala, England, Amsterdam, and the United States cover a broad tapestry of issues related to hermeneutics—issues like:
- Ideological criticism
- The effect of social sciences on biblical interpretation
- Rhetorical biblical interpretation
- The use of color and language in the Old Testament
- And much more
Many of the volumes in the Old Testament Hermeneutics Collection are in honor of influential biblical scholars. Gift of God in Due Season pays tribute to American Old Testament scholar and Dead Sea Scroll editor James W. Sanders, Sense and Sensitivity is written to memorialize Glasgow University Professor of Hebrew Bible and Semitic Studies Robert Carroll, and In Search of Wisdom is written in honor of Ronald E. Clements, Samuel Davidson professor of Old Testament at Kings College University of London. Other volumes written to honor biblical scholars include:
- Pursuing the Text: Studies in Honor of Ben Zion Wacholder on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday
- Reading from Right to Left: Essays on the Hebrew Bible in Honour of David J. A. Clines
- Imagining Biblical Words: Studies in Spatial, Social and Historical Constructs in Honour of James W. Flanagan
The Pre-Pub price for this collection offers you an incredible savings. Many of the volumes in this collection fetch prices well above $150. At Logos, pre-orders for this collection are only $199.95 (a savings of $800), and you get these titles tagged and working in tandem with the rest of your library.
If you're looking for deep, penetrating studies on Old Testament interpretation, the Old Testament Hermeneutics Collection will be a valuable addition—at an astonishing value.


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Eggs Baked in Avocado Recipe
Breakfast and Brunch
- Cusine
What do you need?
How to make?
4 avocados
8 eggs
2 limes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped cilantro, optional
Sliced scallions, optional
Sliced chilies, optional
Warm flour or corn tortillas
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 450 degrees F. Cut each avocado in half and remove the pit. Using a spoon, scrape out the center of each halved avocado so that it is large enough to accommodate an egg (about 1 1/2 tablespoons). Squeeze lime juice over the avocados and season with salt, then place on baking sheet. Break an egg into the center of each avocado. Don't worry if some of the white spills out as long as the yolk is intact. Bake in the oven until whites are set and yolk is runny, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and garnish with cilantro, scallions, and chilies and serve with tortillas.


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Have you ever thought to yourself, I can't seem to grasp the way my arm should move under water when I swim, how should my legs move when I swim freestyle, I wish there was a way to see someone swim slow motion, I'd like to see how it looks from different angle in order to understand. Well, don't think much longer and meet Mr. Smooth. Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, advanced or a competitive swimmer, Mr. Smooth can help you with your freestyle stroke. The guys at SwimSmooth have developed an application which is downloaded to your computer (PC or Mac) where you can watch Mr. Smooth's perfect stroke at the comfort of your home and at your leisure. There is a free Mr. Smooth console to download, which shows you slow motion freestyle stroke of Mr. Smooth. Then there is also a Pro edition which allows you to view Mr. Smooth from many angles at once. The Pro version will allow you to use the main feature "the jog wheel". Jog Wheel allows you to control the speed and position with a very high accuracy and it even let's you remove the water for clarity.
Free Mr. Smooth Console Version:
Since it is free, you might think that it will not have many features, but this is not the case. The free version of the Mr. Smooth console let's you view the symmetrical stroke in many angles (from the side, from the top, from below, from the back, from the front, from an angle from the top/front and from an angle from a side/top). The capacity to view a swimmer from all these angles does not leave any flaws hidden, so you can fully explore the freestyle stroke. Furthermore, you can stop and play again the freestyle motion and to top it off you can increase and decrease the stroke rate (number of strokes per minute). And as a fun feature, you can hide the water for increasing the clarity of the stroke. The console should be a must for every swimmer who wants to improve, so don't wait a second and download the free version to help you visualize the swim technique. (Note: the free version does not give you a license to use it in coaching your team)
Pro Mr. Smooth Console Version:
The pro version has a much better video quality, greater control over the swimmer animation and more view rotations and also combination of views on one screen. The Pro version is only for 23USD, so a pretty good value for a small buck. View more differences on the product comparision page.
So whether you are ok with free or opt in for more powerful Pro version, Mr. Smooth is here to help you with your swimming style.
And you can also get the Mr. Smooth Console for your iPhone or iPod, so you can show your colleagues how great your stroke looks like :).
Jul 29, 2009
Want to swim smooth? Check out Mr. Smooth, Perfect Swimming Mentor
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Jul 29, 2009
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Are you feelin it? Dreams come true, yes they do, in SANTA FE! I had this song in my head all the way to Santa Fe last saturday. We braved the 1 hour 45 minute train ride on the Railrunner and it was pretty fun! If we didn't have kids it would have obviously been much more peaceful, we kept saying how nice it would be to commute to work that way, reading, surfing the internet, no driving... Anyway, highlights from the trip included to DIE for goat cheese and artisan garlic bread at the farmer's market, lots of dandelion bouquets, the BEST sopapillas, trying on a beautiful $65,000 diamond ring, giggling as the train doors went "meepmeep" just like the roadrunner, and offending the living daylights out of a gallery owner when I said to Ben, "I could paint that," about a $3000 painting. I swear the painting really wasn't that great, so unlike Santa Fe, which is very great, I think.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
First of all, push play
Posted by Carrie at 10:35 AM 17 comments Links to this post
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Earth Day Dinner
We dined alfresco last night. So fun! And wow, clean up was way easier.
Salmon with orzo and ricotta (uh, sorry about the half eaten food, I couldn't force myself to stop eating it until this point)
Caramel macaro(o)ns!
Recipes for you today, dear readers. But first let me ask, have you dined out of doors lately? And I don't mean on a picnic blanket, which is also nice but completely different. I mean have you set a table (or in our case a computer desk) with your usual dishes and such and enjoy your dinner alfresco? Because if you haven't, you should. It's awesome and the kids thought they had died and gone to heaven. Plus our chickens were there to eat anything that fell. I'm now looking for a cheap card table so we can do this pretty much every night. Also, those of you who have been part of the rosemary saga, I'm happy to say that we are still alive today after having eaten some last night so I suppose we really can assume that those huge bushes in the backyard that look and smell like rosemary are, in fact, rosemary. Anyway, recipes:
Salmon with Rosemary and Lemon (from Suzanne Tracy)
This is so freaking good. I'm not joking. Best fish I've ever had, hands down. And my salmon had been chillin (haha) in my freezer for quite some time, so I don't think it was the quality of the fish that made it yummy.
You'll need:
Salmon with skin on one side {fillet, maybe?} (however much you want, and I just buy the frozen junk from walmart)
Fresh rosemary
Red onion, sliced (or if you don't have red, whatever color you have lying around)
1 or 2 lemons, sliced (depending on how much fish you have)
Olive oil
Garlic salt
Lemon pepper
Fresh Thyme (completely optional, i just had it lying around so I used it but you could just use more rosemary)
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and place a bed of rosemary down the center of the pan. Cover with sliced onions. Lay fish on top of the onions/rosemary with skin side down. Drizzle with olive oil (I used extra virgin). Sprinkle with garlic salt, then sprinkle generously with lemon pepper and either more rosemary or fresh thyme. Cover with lemon slices. Bake on center rack of oven for 18-20 minutes.
Orzo with Baby Spinach and Ricotta
This is adapted from an America's Test Kitchen recipe to resemble a dish I had recently at my fav restaurant, Zinc
1 Tbs butter or olive oil
1/4 of one onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
8 oz orzo (this is a pasta that looks like rice)
2 1/4 cups chicken stock
1-2 cups baby spinach (depending on how much you like it)
1/3 cup ricotta
Saute onion and 1/8 tsp salt in butter until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and let heat until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add orzo and saute until browned, 3-5 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, until orzo is tender and liquid is absorbed. Add baby spinach and toss to wilt the spinach slightly. Put on plates and top each serving with a large dollop of ricotta.
And finally, the macaro(o)ns are from Martha, and I just added my favorite homemade caramel ice cream topping to the centers. Mine went everywhere because I didn't wait for it to cool, but if you refrigerate it beforehand, it stays in the center quite nicely.
Posted by Carrie at 9:11 AM 5 comments Links to this post
Labels: recipes
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Posted by Carrie at 8:04 AM 3 comments
Monday, April 20, 2009
I ate my very first artichoke today. I mean, I've had hearts from a jar in dishes, but this was my very first start-to-finish artichoke experience.
Have you tried? Do you love?
I told Ben after eating it that someday I'm going to plant of lots of artichoke plants and when it's time to harvest I'm going to have an artichoke party. It will be a few months before my hot coca/homemade marshmallows party.
I'm taking RSVP's now. You in?
Posted by Carrie at 5:15 PM 8 comments
Thursday, April 16, 2009
i've resorted to talking about the weather
What's this stuff?!
Later, the report to mom will be, "Daddy let me eat little tiny ice balls while you were gone!" With, interestingly, no mention of how this was done sans pants.
The weather has been crazy here in the past couple of weeks. One day we are in the 70's and the next, hail, rain, or wind wind wind. Although usually even the nice days are accompanied by wind (quite delightful when you live next to a vast field of dirt).
Perhaps this is the reason that Benson has become sort of obsessed with tornadoes. He draws pictures of them and knows all about them: they come from the sky, they spin really really fast, and they can suck you up and kill you. When I asked him where he learned this stuff from he said, "I don't know. I just kind of figured it out, I guess." And then he added, "But mom, you know what's even more dangerous than tornadoes? Black holes." This he learned from cousin Spencer (along with the fact that we are made up of meat.)
And you know what Banksy likes to do and say lately? "Dang it!" while smacking himself in the face. These kids are like sponges. Which reminds me of an online class i took once that spoke of children having internal chalkboards, and everything you say and do is written on them for good. yikes.
Posted by Carrie at 12:12 PM 8 comments Links to this post
Sunday, April 12, 2009
the easter bunny skipped our house
I told Benson that the Easter Bunny was too tired to come to our house this year. Benson said, "What's the Easter Bunny?" Obviously my lack of get-it-doneness is still acceptable at age 4. Whew. I have one more year to get my act together and then it's traditions (traditions! do dee do dee do, traditions!) from now until the end of time.
Thanks to my lovely go get'em friends the littlies did at least have an Easter egg hunt. Which was super fun. AND they've already forgotten about the candy, which is super awesome. And today we had a lovely Christ-centered Sunday, full of church, and dinner with friends (thanks again, Natalie!), and missionary discussions. And that's the most important part so maybe I'm not too bad a mom after all.
Posted by Carrie at 7:09 PM 12 comments Links to this post
Monday, April 6, 2009
I totally stole this cute quiz from my sister in law, Rachel. Thanks, Rachel! It's so funny to see into the mind of a four year old.
Kid Quiz
Ask your child(ren) to answer the questions and type their answers in.
1. What is something mom always says?
"mmm I don't know" editor's note: I am SHOCKED he didn't say, "Choose to be nice." Good insight here.. apparently it hasn't sunk in yet even though I say it 25 times a day.
2. What makes mom happy?
"giving her hugs and kisses"
3. What makes mom sad?
"hitting my brother"
4. How does mom make you laugh?
"tickle me in my arm pit"
5. What do you think your mom was like as a child?
"a baby"
6. How tall is your mom?
Benson- (arm in air to show how tall) Banks says, "big"
7. How old is your mom?
"I don't know, can you tell me?"
8. What is your mom's favorite thing to watch on TV?
9. What does your mom do when you are not around?
"go on a date"
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
"mm I don't know, that's what I know, I don't know"
11. What is your mom really good at?
"I don't know"
12. What is your mom not very good at?
"playing baseball"
13. What does your mom do for her job?
"Hmm.. Make food"
14. What is your mom's favorite food?
15. What makes you proud of your mom?
"giving me presents"
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
"a fireman"
17. What do you and your mom do together?
"Hmmm I don't really know"
18. How are you and your mom the same?
"when we wear the same shirts"
19. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
"Old Navy"
Posted by Carrie at 9:31 AM 7 comments Links to this post
Saturday, April 4, 2009
baby banks
Little Banksy. I remember when Benson was 2 and we really thought he was so big. He seemed so capable and we expected so much from him. I wonder now how I ever thought that, as I still see Banks as the baby he is. He weighed in yesterday at 22 lbs and 33 1/4 inches. That puts him below the 5th percentile for weight and between 10th and 25th for height. Maybe it's because he really is so much smaller that he still seems like a baby. I don't know, but either way I kind of hope he never gets bigger.
Posted by Carrie at 8:02 AM 4 comments Links to this post


text:
Some months ago, I received a copy of a marvelous email.
Stephanie Peterson, who teaches courses in relationship-management and prospecting for Bill Good Marketing, forwarded it to me. It's from Elyse Ellison, client and event coordinator for EH Shum Financial Solutions.
According to Ellison's LinkedIn profile, her duties include managing all events for a 400-plus client base, developing and driving prospecting; exceeding her firm's client goal for 2012; managing, coordinating and facilitating public seminars, marketing events, marketing partners and sponsorships; as well as working side by side with the CEO to expand and maintain client relationships.
I'm not going to say anything else about the letter sent by Ellison, since it speaks too well for itself:
Dear Stephanie,
It was such a pleasure meeting you last week; I found your relationship-management course to be not only career changing, but also a valuable life lesson.
First off, I wanted to thank you. I'm really glad I came to Utah; to be perfectly honest, I was initially afraid that the material would be way over my head. I know now that this training will be a huge benefit to whatever field of business I choose to pursue in life. In addition to thanking you, there is something else that I wanted to share. It was one of the last Bill Good letters we read together, 'Run in The Rain' and an experience on my plane ride home that inspired me to share this story with you.
I do apologize for this being long and perhaps scattered, but I promise there's a point…
About a year ago my dad was diagnosed with two cancers, and these last few months have been a real struggle. The hardest part about it for me is seeing my father—my hero, my best friend, and my parent—feel as though he has been defeated and will struggle to be happy again. Because I've always been a daddy's girl, I tend to make him number one, just to make sure he's happy. And it's not because he's sick now, it's because my whole entire life, he's done just the same for me.
One thing I'll never forget, was when I was 13, my dad took me out to Modesto to buy me my first dog. Stephanie, this dog became my world. He was there for every birthday, every Christmas, every boyfriend break up and broken heart. He was the one I cried on, laughed with, bragged about—this dog stole not only my world but also my dad's. Over the years, he's become the light of our lives, and ever since my dad became ill, I've always thought, Winston will be part of his cure.
As I was getting on the plane to fly back home last Friday, my father called to tell me that Winston had passed away. My world stopped. There I was on a small plane, listening to my dad tell me something that I just couldn't imagine had happened. I couldn't grasp it. I lost it and completely fell apart.
Just as my dad was telling me what happened, the flight attendants were walking up and down the aisles making sure all cell phones are off because we were literally approaching the runway and about to take flight. I could barely put words together, let alone get off the phone with my dad. At that moment, all I could think was "This didn't happen … not my dog … not my dog."
Seconds later, a gentle hand reached across my lap, with a tissue and a voice said: "… I don't know what happened, but I am so sorry. Are you ok?"
My hands were shaking, and I couldn't catch my breath. I politely accepted her tissue and without responding, just continued to break down and cry.
About 45 minutes into the flight, I finally took a deep breath and tapped that lady on the shoulder to say, "I'm really sorry … thank you for the tissue".
She said back to me with this look of concern on her face, "Don't be sorry, I don't know what happened, but you made me cry."
I finally built up some courage to tell her what had happened, and low and behold she shared a very similar story with me about her husband and a pet they had. We both got to talking, I slowly started to calm down and to my surprise, I began to feel safe with this complete stranger.
I told her, "You know, you've really helped me. I don't know what I would have done for two hours, alone on this plane, feeling the emotions that I was feeling—if I didn't have someone to talk to."
I let her know that her words were really touching and asked her what she did for a living, because she was really good with people.
She said, "I work at a financial firm for an insurance company … thought I was going to be a teacher, but I've been doing this for years now. I'm in part an advisor/client manager; I basically deal with all the client and customer-service issues".
This is when I thought of you, Stephanie.
We got to talking, and she actually knew who my father was because she had been the insurance advisor for the company he used to work for about 15 years. First thought was—small world. I told her all about my Utah training and then she shared something with me that brought this whole entire experience full circle.
She looked at me and said "People are loyal to people. Just like your pet was loyal to you and your father. When you learn to master a relationship, whether the relationship is just a couple of moments old or 10 years old—if there is trust, loyalty will come. People don't become loyal to the "name" or to the "title of the company" they become loyal to that person (the advisor). People are loyal … to people".
And she's right. Trust is a very valuable component in life. I trusted this lady enough to open up to her, without a thought or fear that she wouldn't understand because she was a stranger. She listened to me and talked me through (honest to God) one of the most difficult moments in my life.
Stephanie, your training moved me the same way. It delivered and set the same example. You gave a lot of really good advice, and I also sensed that you're a very passionate individual. Don't ever lose that trait, your compassion for other people and what you do is inspiring. Thank you again for a wonderful experience. I look forward to staying in touch.
Happy Holidays,
Elyse Ellison
Client and Event Coordinator
EH Shum Financial Solutions


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Posted by Editoress on 01/18/12
The BMX scene in Canada has just improved, thanks the new expansion of the Canada Cup Series to the cycling sport of BMX.
In 2012, Canada's BMX scene will showcase an expansion of the Canada Cup Series for BMX, with five Canada Cup events, including three Class 5 events held in three provinces - Québec, Alberta and British Columbia. The Canada Cup Series was launched 21 years ago, to promote the growth of Mountain biking in Canada.
"The new Canada Cup Series for BMX was introduced as an action to answer the strong growth this sport has seen since its inception to the Olympic program. We have had outstanding BMX events in the past year, and we are ready to step it up and offer a new competitive BMX stream to young, up-and-coming riders who are making their way up to the international ranks," said Mathieu Boucher, Director of Development at the Canadian Cycling Association.
St-Augustin-de-Desmaures in Québec will be hosting two Canada Cup races this season, after hosting very successful Canadian BMX Championships last season on an upgraded and safer track. The Alberta BMX Club will welcome two Canada Cup races in St-Albert, Alberta, while the Abbotsford BMX Club will organize one Canada Cup race the day following the 2012 Canadian BMX Championships.
In addition to announcing the Canada Cup Series for BMX, the Canadian Cycling Association also unveiled the dates of the 2012 Canadian BMX Championships, which will be held August 30th to September 1st in Abbotsford, BC. The best Canadian riders will battle it out on the improved track in Abbotsford to win the ultimate prize - the coveted Red and White Jersey.
BMX has seen an impressive growth in popularity since 2008, when it was first presented at the Olympic Games in China.
2012 National Calendar
July 7: Canada Cup - Saint-Augustin-De-Desmaures, QC
July 8: Canada Cup - Saint-Augustin-De-Desmaures, QC
August 25: Canada Cup - St-Albert, AB
August 26: Canada Cup - St-Albert, AB
August 31-September 1: 2012 Canadian National Championships - Abbotsford, BC
September 2: Canada Cup - Abbotsford, BC
Courtesy CCA
|Return to Canadian Cyclist homepage | Back to Top


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PRSA North Pacific District
Thursday, December 5, 2013 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM (PST)
Event Details
Making the List: What's Hot and What's Not
in Technology for 2014
Produced by PRSA Silicon Valley at the Computer History Museum,
attendees include Silicon Valley business leaders, marketing and PR professionals,
venture capitalists, authors, analysts, journalists and bloggers.
Visit the Media Predicts website for details!
Cocktails 5-6pm
Dinner Event 6-7pm
Featured Speakers 7-8:30pm
Q&A, Networking 8:30-9pm
Black-tie optional.
Register online in advance.
Onsite regsitration: Members $109, Partners $119, Non-members $129
Sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact us at email@example.com.
When & Where
Computer History Museum
1401 N Shoreline Blvd
Mountain View,
Thursday, December 5, 2013 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM (PST)
Add to my calendar
PRSA North Pacific District
PRSA Silicon Valley provides a forum in which communications and public relations professionals exchange ideas and experiences and collect and disseminate information to improve the professional knowledge, standards, ethics and standing of the membership. We advance the art and science of public relations in the public interest by encouraging research, discussion and study of the problems and techniques of the profession. We serve to strengthen and maintain the highest standards of service and ethical conduct by all members and promote community within the profession.


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We know the importance of having the right resources to help you plan your personal financial goals and stay on track to achieving them. So, for your convenience, we've provided three different worksheets for you to download and use at home. You can personalize these to help you better achieve your savings, debt management and overall financial goals.
Successful debt management and financial planning requires you to determine short or long term goals for you and your family. To help plan those, use our goals worksheet to outline what your financial priorities are and how you would like to achieve them. We've also incorporated the S.M.A.R.T. plan for goal-setting so that you can ensure your goals are specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and have timelines.
One of the best ways to ensure you achieve the financial goals you have set for yourself is to create a budget plan that is clearly outlined and written down. To start planning your family budget, start by filling out our comprehensive budgeting worksheet. Using this helpful tool, you will get a detailed breakdown of your expenses, what you are budgeting, and how much you're actually spending, so you can better determine if you are meeting your budget limits. This will then enable you to determine where you might want to reduce some expenses to help you reduce your debt faster, or meet other financial goals.
Having determined your budget, you can then plan your spending with our bi-weekly paycheque planner worksheet to stay on track. Use this form to list your necessary expenses, like credit card and utility bills by their due date, as they correspond with your payday. This will help you keep your mandatory monthly expenses noted as planned for their payment throughout the month. It can be expanded to include debt repayments, or maybe even savings, so you have a clear idea of what money is available for discretionary spending.


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Thursday, February 28, 2013
How To Take A Professional Profile Pic (Video)
Posted by Jay at 12:00 PM
The concept of the Facebook profile pic began with the earliest popular social networking sites like Friendster and Myspace. Although these websites like these have come and gone, the concept of the profile picture has stayed the same: an image that users imagine represents them best to other people. Usually, these profile photos are snapshots taken by friends, or self portraits done with a pocket camera. A few years ago, this concept was formalized into this parody video on how to take a professional profile pic.
Labels: Facebook, Myspace, Profile Pic, Video
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The 2013 World Press Photo Winners
Posted by Jay at 10:09 PM
Two years ago, it was a haunting picture of an Afghan teenager who had had her ears and nose cut off. Last year it was a portrait of a Yemeni mother clutching her son in the style of La Pieta. This year, it's a dramatic burial march of two Palestinian toddlers. These are the 2013 World Press Photo Winners.
Monday, February 18, 2013
The First Photograph Taken From Outer Space
Posted by Jay at 8:00 AM
This black-and-white image might not look like much, but it represent the first step towards the creation of a new field of photography. What looks like random patches of black, grey and white are actually the earth's horizon as seen from above the planet's atmosphere. This is actually the first photograph ever taken from outer space.
Labels: Outer Space, Space
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Michael Benson: Planetfall and the Edge of Space
Posted by Jay at 9:27 PM
Images of spacemen floating in the middle of nowhere can be quite awe-inspiring, but even barren outer landscapes can illicit the same response. Outer space offers hundred of thousands of great photo possibilities, but it's actually finding great images that's the tricky part. Fortunately, Michael Benson has saved everyone else plenty of time and trouble by going through the best photographs currently available on the edge of space, and collecting them in his book, Planetfall.
Labels: Artists, Michael Benson, NASA, Outer Space, Space
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Bruce McCandless: Floating Astronaut in Space
Posted by Jay at 2:50 PM
NASA has had a great knack for producing awe-inspiring images. In its history of space exploration, the most jaw-dropping photographs are usually those that involve stars and galaxies thousands of light-years away. A few other great images, however, are much closer to home. In this iconic image of a lonely spaceman stuck between earth and nothingness, NASA was able to successfully perform a free spacewalk for the very first time. This is the story of Bruce McCandless and the photograph of the floating astronaut in space.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Dragan Markovic: Stones & Skies Cityscapes
Posted by Jay at 5:39 PM
Sometimes, the best subjects are those that are most often ignored. Landscapes have often been a great source of inspiration for artists and photographers alike, but the urban jungle also offers plenty of great scenes. Streets, buildings and shadows can all combine to make for great compositions when taken with the right light and at the right angle. Dragan Markovic proves this with his Stones & Skies cityscapes.
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Community House honors 'Unsung Heroes,' Feb. 25
Local families who opened their hearts and homes to black students attending Princeton University in the late 1960s and early 1970s will be honored at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25, during a reception at the Fields Center.
The University's Community House is sponsoring the "Unsung Heroes" event, which is free and open to the public, in recognition of Black History Month. The ceremony will recognize 10 couples that formed the Princeton University Parent Sponsor Program, a volunteer group that acted as "foster parents" to black students to provide them with a support system while attending Princeton from 1966 to 1972.
"We wanted to honor those who had the fortitude to share their homes and lives with students so they could feel comfortable on campus and in the greater Princeton community," said Marjorie Young, director of Community House.
President Emeritus Robert F. Goheen, who led the University when the parent program began, will attend the reception and give opening remarks. Some of the families and alumni who participated in the program will return to campus for the event, which will feature a presentation of certificates to each family, written remarks from President Shirley M. Tilghman and a closing speech by Janet Dickerson, vice president for campus life.
For the past three years, Community House has organized the "Unsung Heroes" reception -- sometimes in partnership with the Princeton Public Library -- to honor African American residents of the Princeton area who have served as role models or community leaders.
"We started honoring unsung heroes to acknowledge people who in their own way have contributed to the community through their professions, community service and life example," Young said.
She said the Feb. 25 event is an extension of Community House's work over the past 38 years to bridge gaps between the University and disadvantaged people of color in the Princeton area through community service and social justice projects. Community House works with volunteers to offer mentoring and tutoring; health awareness training; English as a second language; academic enrichment and summer programs; and other services to students and residents in the local area.
"It's very fitting for us to honor people who are role models and have a real legacy of service with Community House, and have demonstrated a commitment to the Princeton University student through their involvement in our programs," Young said.
The 10 couples who will be recognized this month for their participation in the Parent Sponsor Program are: James Floyd Sr., who became Princeton's first black mayor, and Fannie Floyd; Lankford Bolling, deceased, and Aurelia Bolling; Fred Burrell, deceased, and Doris Burrell; Floyd Campbell, deceased, and Consuelo Campbell; George Geary and Helen Geary, both deceased; Chester Peterson, deceased, and Burnetta Peterson; Al Price and Terry Price; David Taylor and Helen Taylor, both deceased; James Ward and Mary Ward, deceased; and Howard Waxwood and Susie Waxwood, both deceased.
The Parent Sponsor Program began in the fall of 1966 when Carl Fields, the first African American dean at Princeton and in the Ivy League, paired the families with 14 freshmen after some black students told Fields their studies were hampered because they felt isolated on the mostly white campus.
Retired lawyer and Baptist minister George Bates, a 1976 University alumnus who will speak at the reception, nominated the families to be recognized by Community House as unsung heroes. By the time Bates arrived on campus, Fields had left Princeton to work at the University of Zambia under a Ford Foundation Fellowship, and the formal parent sponsor program ended, but Bates said many of the families who had participated continued to provide a "home away from home" for black students.
"From the agape love of these black families has grown a thriving populace of 3,800-plus black Princeton University alumni," Bates said.
Daphne Campbell Williams, who worked as Fields' assistant and is the daughter of Consuelo and Fred Campbell, said black students benefited socially and academically by having a support system within the greater Princeton community.
"It was a time when a number of black students enrolled at the University felt out of place," said Williams, who will attend the Community House ceremony honoring her parents. "The families provided a connection between the University and the African American community, much like Community House does now."
The public is invited to attend the "Unsung Heroes" reception from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 25, at the Fields Center, 86 Olden St. The event will feature food and music, including a solo sung by Kenny Grayson, second cousin of the late Fields and a foreman at the University electric shop. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP to Community House by calling (609) 258-6136 or e-mailing email@example.com by Tuesday, Feb. 20.


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Several of the world's leading international economic organizations announced on Tuesday that they would join forces to confront the various tax issues illuminated by the recent Panama Papers scandal. These organizations include the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), among others.
They will develop new processes, tools, strategies, and standards designed to halt tax base erosion and prevent tax evasion by individuals and corporations.
The new conglomeration will focus particularly on developing economies, as they may be most prone to the temptations of functioning as tax havens. This is what occurred in Panama, where wealthy individuals and corporations from around the world funneled assets through a law firm to avoid paying taxes in their home country.
The information of the financial wrongdoing was uncovered by hackers who posted millions of pages of documents pilfered from the servers of the Panamanian law firm on the Internet (i.e., the so-called "Panama Papers").
While the Panama Papers sparked international outrage, and set off more than a few scandals around the world, the U.S. Treasury Department Deputy Assistant Secretary, Robert Stack, sees it as an opportunity. In a statement on Tuesday, he credited the Panama Papers with creating an opportunity to break down the walls of secrecy surrounding many of these known, but rarely challenged, tax haven nations.
"I don't think one could underestimate the at least short-term impact that the release of the Panama Papers has on the issue of transparency," Stack said. He did call, however, the United States' own position "funny" when it comes to criticizing Panama, given its own lack of transparency.
The IMF and World Bank conducted a spring meeting last week in Washington at which – not surprisingly – the issue of the Panama Papers and financial transparency figured prominently. The two organizations pledged to take steps against tax evasion and base erosion. They saw one of the best ways to do this as fighting tax law mismatches through the sharing of tax information between nations.
Similarly, the Group of 20 (G20) also came together last week to discuss these issues. That meeting resulted in a promise to penalize nations that fail to cooperate in tax information sharing initiatives by implementing "defensive measures." What those measures may be was not specified.


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I am told Moshe Ben Maimon authored, "Truth does not become more true by virtue of the fact that the entire world agrees with it, nor less so even if the whole world disagrees with it"
Moreh Nevuchim 2:15
Looking for the olam haba and a world of only truth. thank you, Daniel. RP
"Obama is a real disaster..."
Yes and the huge very real tragedy is that he has broken the law numerous times and Congress does nothing because they are also out of touch.
It seems to me that ultimately the citizens of the US, despite multiple warnings over the years, have allowed themselves to be mesmerized by the media. We no longer have newspapers or news magazines that have real journalists recounting the facts. We get opinion passing for news, pseudoscience and factoids passed off for facts, and op-eds that ignore the truth. On bubblevision we get newsmercials and entertainews, sound bites, and rehashed stock videos. If you flip quick enough between channels you can get the same ad on at the same time, and the same story, just a different bimbo or plastic face. At the same time, many of us are lucky to have a job and something that resemble benefits and we spend so much time at work, we do not have time to really investigate the truth behind a story. The rest of the population seems to have said to hell with it and every weekend fill the freeways trying to escape to some kind of party place or fantasy island to get away from it all. So it becomes a matter of perception. Who ever can convince enough brain-numbed sheeple to vote a certain way wins the soundbite and photo-op contest. Lucky us. Welcome to the once great land of opportunity, now running on empty and run by those devoid of common sense or ethics.
Great food for thought, Mr. G, unfortunately those that should read it are too busy tweeting, twittering, texting, or maybe even working.
Every time I read here it is like a physical beating.
It is entirely possible that what is considered fiction (and is in fact such) preceeds the requirement to provide the stimuli necessary to get people to innovate.
Just a disjointed opine.
Every thing that exists in fact was first conceived in fiction.
Every person who ran ahead of the pack before their manifestion became fact was denounced.
After their death... those who enjoy the benefit of their wisdom lionize their corpse.
So Cal discounts the value of the individual to discern crep from icecram.
The assumption that one is surrounded by unethical troglodytes is the necessary base point to get ethical, moral individuals to accept totalitarian rule without a squeek.
Not everyone is stupid.
As Ayn Rand once wrote about the fallacy of believing something because a consensus claimed it was true: "Fifty million Frenchmen can be as wrong as one." And look at France today. The bubbles finally popped that socialism is feasible and that mass Muslim immigration isn't a problem. Or, look at Greece. Or the U.K. Or the U.S. All sorts of bubbles are popping and the news media scrambles to blow more. Obama isn't to blame for the country's troubles, it's that pesky gremlin, reality, manipulated by those devils the Republicans. It could probably be proved that Romney's ancestors blew up the Maine and assassinated Lincoln. Jefferson and Madison and Washington were all tools of the Illuminati. John Locke and Albert Einstein were closet Muslims. The Curiosity Rover took pictures of flying saucers and a fossilized human thumb on Mars; never mind missing pixels, that's just a NASA con job, counter those who want there to be alien space ships.
But then anyone who believes that Romney and Ryan are hard-core advocates of capitalism and laissez-faire and the inviolability of individual rights who are going to disassemble Obamacare and fire all the Czars are also buying Brooklyn Bridge and the Chrysler Building.
"Political correctness is communist propaganda writ small. In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, nor to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is to co-operate with evil, and in some small way to become evil oneself. One's standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control. I think if you examine political correctness, it has the same effect and is intended to. "
Theodore Dalrymple
The problem is worse than this. Recently a column in Alternet.org about the 2012 election (and make no mistake, the far left loathes Obama too but they've convinced themselves that a second term Obama will be Mao-Stalin-Pol Pot all rolled into one glorious black man), and the writer actually said this election isn't about facts or reality. That running for or against Obama's record of non accomplishments doesn't matter because outcomes don't matter. Reality itself doesn't matter. What matters is noise, rhetoric and ideology. That's all that matters to them. If Obama announced a plan to start cannibalism, these people would cheer. Not because they're in favor of cannibalism, because lord knows that's an un PC un Vegan thing to do. No, because Obama said it. Obama is a cult like Leninism or Scientology and his glint eyed acolytes are dying to drink the Kool Aid once and for all.ReplyDelete
Very good article. Also the anon who wrote about politcal correctness is right on. It kind of reminds me of a concentration camp--nothing makes sense and you can't plan anything to survive, its all random.ReplyDelete
Another great essay Daniel. Thanks you so much. The understanding of the power of the lie is not new to men craving power.
Quotes of Joseph Goebbels (1897 – 1945 Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945)
"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
The ability for the "little guy" to believe in the most improbable, illogical and demonstrably false premises and postulates proffered by the Libfilth who control the media is astounding. The little JournOlista ReifenStalinist criminals busy themselves with creating and maintaining the artifice of a Liberalism that actually works, fully expecting those little guy citizens to willfully and silently imbibe their swill of lies and patently false "reports" that *prove* that Liberalism can and does work.
The truth is, unless the Libfilth media machine is brought to heel and the journOlista propagandists are removed from their pulpits permanently, there is little chance of genuine healthy change in America. That includes the criminal Hollywood Libfilth who weave together nihilism and trendy pop rebellion against, well, against anything good and decent.
read havels "the power of the powerless"
Excellent article!
"Reality hasn't gone away, but we have gone away from it. Enough of us have gone down into the dream, grasped a thread of the story and allowed it to sweep us away.'
Because less and less people have restraint.
mmerciar. So true, but man people don't bother to discern until it's relatively too late.
The problem goes beyond the repetition of lies. Two of the most effective means of mind control are repeating lies frequently and also making situations unpreidctable.
"Television is no longer a thing into which people step into and then step out of again. It no longer has that sense of being a passing moment where an appearance is insubstantial because it is temporary."
Sad but true:( The broadcast day say never ends for the most part and people ignore the Emgergency Broadcast alert. "This is a test of the Emergency Broadcasting System. Had this been an actual emergency..."
Interesting that the word pravda supposedly means true or truth. The media senses that their readers and viewers don't believe them entirely and has to out of their way to convince them that they're telling the truth. Hammer that into our heads to hard that we no longer question the veracity of what the media and politicians tell us.
Sure they could stick to facts but that would result in people trying to connect the dots for themselves.
Sorry but if you're taken in by TV, the talking heads and this sewer culture, I don't have an ounce of pity for you. The problem is there are so many of them and they're pissing in our punch bowl.
There's going to be a huge reckoning and their ranks will be thinned out considerably.
Good essay... but pretty much the argument that Baudrillard made in "Simulacra and Simulation," i.e. we live in an "artificial reality" in which "reality," or, more accurately, symbols we regard as reality even though they are in fact fake, is manufactured and is infinitely plastic.
Knish's line about people relating to movies first and then connecting actual reality to a movie scene is exactly what this is about. I noticed this after Sept. 11; the common reaction to the reality of thousands of deaths was "dude, it was just like a movie."
Of course, the problem with this is that the United States was founded on, and based on, contact with "real" reality: conquering a wilderness inhabited by Stone-Age savages, and applying the Scientific Method to create a modern, civilized environment.
But today's "artificial reality" or "fake reality" is that we are not at war with Islam, diversity is our greatest strength, the Afghans are our allies, the dollar is worth something, our cars are causing global warming (but Barack's 747 is not), the Europeans are our allies, we can push a "reset" button with Russia, abortion is not murder, and that it's all Bush's fault.
When the bubble bursts.... it's gonna be ugly.
G-d, I miss Andrew Breitbart. He was able to take the tools of unreality and turn them against their own purpose, tearing through to the actuality underlying the system of lies, fantasies, and bogus reassurances. What might he have accomplished even in these last six months?
Your blog is energizing, my lord Sultan (may you live forever), but also uncompromising, and as such often depressing. I am not looking forward to growing old over the next couple of decades, but the alternative is worse...
As I'm fond of saying, the difference between the Soviet media and the American media is that Pravda's reporters and editors spread lies and propaganda for fear of being sent to the gulag. The American media does it willingly.ReplyDelete
My first visit to the Sultan and I am delighted. This article is a jewel. Beautiful and long-lasting. David, you will be able to republish it four years from now irrespective of the election outcome with only name changes to make or not however it turns out.
Cataclysmic events may take place between now and them which would moot that opinion. In this real universe, you never know.
Are you sure about your concluding paragraph? Have you not considered that people's tolerance for failure might be incredibly high so long as the unreal remains sufficiently appealing? Could it not turn out tha we can fall far lower than anyone today--nay, 50 years ago--would find even remotely tolerable so long as iGadget prices continue to decline?ReplyDelete
An outstanding piece of writing. You should try to get this run in the MSN as well.
You know - get paid. You built it.
What better example of racism than seeing over 95% of African Americans vote for Obama. The media, to this day has never recognized or decried this a racism. We are expected to believe they all agree on the issues. Now, having this aggrieved class in the bag, Obama stabs them in the back by for all purposes: legalizing a zillion illegals under 30 and giving them work permits, thereby buying the Hispanic vote, while the official unemployment rate for Blacks is over 14%. Guess who's jobs they're going to take? Mostly from Blacks, and some from othe American citizens, already hurting for work. Will the mainstream media report or comment on this obviously racist story? No way, Jose.ReplyDelete
This is nothing new. Fake has been the new reality for the left since at least as far back as 1964. It's just that more and more people are seeing through it now. I'm not worried.ReplyDelete
My family gave up TV for Lent 17 years ago and hasn't watched it since. Try it; you'll like it.ReplyDelete
Excellent article and underlying thesis.
One of the truths of our age is that the candidate who spends the most campaign money will almost always win.
This means that many people will cast their vote based primarily upon which candidate appears most frequently in the midst their television viewing.
Doesn't seem to matter what the candidates do or say in those purchased campaign videos - voters are swayed by the frequency, not by the value, of sightings of the candidate's face.
All of which firmly supports the point of this article. Those voters are allowing the intended fictional self-portrayal served up by the candidates to substitute for their own judgment of the candidates.
It's so much work to investigate what a candidate has done or has professed and then meld the results of that investigation into an overall personal approval or rejection of that candidate.
It's far easier to just jump to the endpoint, and watch videos that provide unsupported but comforting labels of "good" and "bad", and then let "feelings" guide us from there.
Or, one could just cite the quip, "Something so stupid only a college professor could believe it."
But even so, the Dick comment still carries weight--it may take longer now, with so many people cut off from reality and the media so aggressively constructing false universes, but in the end things like math and dollars have a way of forcing themselves on you. You may not anticipate it, or understand it when it happens because of all the lies, but sooner or later you will have to deal with it.
I get what you're saying, but the piece has kind of a passivity that isn't warranted. We can break through the false narrative, but part of that is supporting people who get it. You can break through the media with a grin (a la Reagan) or a sledgehammer, but for whatever reason, we keep picking candidates that just take it, and seem constantly surprised that the media is lying about them. And then when someone does something truly radical and pointed enough to break through the false consciousness, as Eastwood attempted, it's our own people that are on the front lines to crucify him.ReplyDelete
KNISH: So how about injecting some "reality" into your commentary by dealing with the issue of Obama's ineligibility for the office he holds? Virtually all conservative bloggers have chosen to remain silent about the Elephant in the Room, Obama's ineligibilty. Their criticism of Obama is camouflage for their spineless need to protect their employment or their status by remaining silent. Your/their silence risks a second illegal term for Obama and the irreparable harm that will result. So show some spine and get "real."ReplyDelete
You began with a quote from Philip K. Dick and one of the readers mentioned Jean Baudrillard. Both of them were guilty of some very bad writing, but both of them dealt with ideas that just won't go away (to paraphrase Dick). Our rising standard of living and the increasing sphere of telecommunications and distractions make it possible for more people to avoid reality more than ever. The "left", if you can call them that, are people determined to hold on to their belief system as long as they can.ReplyDelete
Brilliant essay. I've been thinking about these ideas quite a bit but I could never flesh it out this well.
I think we are less free, less knowledgeable, and more calcified in the brain than at any time in our nation's history. Media and life have merged into one big, dumb, boring lie. We're a nation of tattoo-covered "rebels" who can be made to get in line like lemmings for anything.
I actually think what's described here is the most urgently dangerous, critical issue of our time - our constructed, false reality and its manipulation for power. It's what will define as future historians look back on us. It drives me crazy that so few people are conscious of it much less concerned about it.
- Django
With regards to your final paragraph I think Beck's post is worth noting. But reality may never be realized by the masses. Nothing close to a reality of non-reality consequences hitting everyone in the face like a splash of cold water. It will be a more insidious playing out, protecting and insulating many who pull the strings. They will continue to establish scapegoat blame (demons on the right) toward anything and anyone that threatens to expose and/or act counter. People will believe but with greater passion reasons for financial and civil degradation. Reality will be all the more affirmed through blindness and mindless hate. As deterioration continues there will be more willingness to turn it over to a government enacting 'justice' and tyrannical order in the midst of the pains and loss of liberty.ReplyDelete
Dear Mr. Knish: I come not to praise the Sultan but to bury him. The literary style is suggestive of those dreams you have when your influenza fever is at its peak and there are lumberjacks and smiling faces suddenly crying, and a bowl of strawberries.
When Bryce Harper confidently waves off the center fielder, snags a fly and throws a one-hopper on a rope from 260 feet to nail the thief at home, all is well in the world. Hey Nineteen.
Methinks thou doth protesteth too much. Wanna join my fantasy league? S'all good, homes...
Art is about the imagination. Art and life are related in this way: art bubbles within life, the strength of the imagination indicates the size of the bubble. Bubbles don't last long and down a timeline, old bubbles burst to give way to new bubbles, this froth is called modernity. Art is not life, it is a holiday from life, a lens on life. Each burst is the intrusion or restoration of reality, of life.
From this perspective, the problem that you are identifying here, the fake overlaid over the real, is the resistance of the bubble to burst, a pause in the froth. Art history can be described as the erasure of the boundary of one bubble and a new enlarged boundary is redrawn. But the mandarins of art and philosophy and culture have told us that history is over, that all that is possible and permissible is the addition of end notes and bibliography, but no new chapters can be written. Everything is fake now because reality is prevented from intruding, from popping the bubble, from the prevention of the formation of new bubbles, frozen, the cessation of froth.
"None are so blind, than those that refuse to see." Somebody
It is all an illusion, you just have to decide what is imagined and what is real.
President Lincoln: "If you call a tail a leg, how many legs does a dog have?"
Boy: "Five!"
President Lincoln: "No. A dog has four legs. Calling a tail a leg does not make it into a leg."
There are a lot of five-legged dogs on 'The News' these days.
Postmodernism (nihilism)--the source of which is the belief that reality is a product of consciousness--is the culmination of several thousands of years of bad philosophy, beginning with the Idealism of Plato.
Plato's Idealism posited a supernatural realm of perfect Forms and counseled folks to "get together" to form the ideal State, which would represent that "perfect" realm:
"The best ordered state will be one in which the largest number of persons ... most nearly resembles a single person. The first and highest form of the State ... is a condition in which the private and the individual is altogether banished from life, and things which are by nature private, such as eyes and ears and hands, have become common, and in some way see and hear and act in common, and all men express praise and blame and feel joy and sorrow on the same occasion, and whatever laws there are unite the city to the utmost ..." (Plato's _Republic_ & _Laws_ c. 370 BCE)
Later, Plato's metaphysics would help Augustine of Hippo forge the formal philosophical structure of Christianity--a philosophy that was rooted in the belief that the thoughts of a deity created the Universe (i.e., everything).
During the Age of Enlightenment, David Hume would destroy (in men's minds) the immutability of the Law of Causality. Most critically, though, Hume would divorce (in men's minds) fact from value (is-ought dichotomy), thus placing morality outside the realm of reason.
Thanking Hume for his cue, German Idealist, Immanuel Kant, would go on to destroy (in men's minds) the immutability of the Law of Identity. As well, he would distill Judeo-Christian ethics into a lethal brew: self-immolation in the name of nihilism.
(Kant's philosophy, though he had help, is, more than any other, responsible for the madness into which the West is sinking today.)
Finally, Hegel (the patron saint of the Nazis, communists and New Left) would provide the nuts & bolts of totalitarianism (rooted in Plato's collectivist "republik"; later, pragmatists like James & Dewey would add the icing of expediency, which they claimed was the standard by which one measured what was "true" and "what worked."
The result?
1. A primacy of consciousness metaphysics, which consciousness was either the super-consciousness of a deity (religion) or the collective consciousness of a super organism called, society (Hegel).
2. An emotionalist epistemology, which emotionalism--whether religious or "secular"--was faith.
3. A Self destroying morality, to achieve either immortality or to gain prosperity--for the generation-after-next.
4. A political system of tyranny, either a religious one--monarchical or theocratic (e.g., Islamic)--or a "secular" one (e.g., fascist, Nazi, communist).
All that adds up to a single hard fact: Religion makes socialism not only possible, but--most importantly--gives it its moral sheen.
More precisely, if you like:
"The religious metaphysics of Neo-Platonic Idealism (evasion), the religious epistemology of faith (emotionalism) and the Judeo-Christian ethics of self-sacrifice (rationalization) make possible the irrational politics of socialism."
"The mind never fully accepts any
convictions that it does not owe to
its own efforts." -- Frederic Bastiat
During the Age of Enlightenment, David Hume would destroy (in men's minds) the immutability of the Law of Causality. Most critically, though, Hume would divorce (in men's minds) fact from value (is-ought dichotomy), thus placing morality outside the realm of reason.--Anon
We can both agree as to the ruinous effects of Plato's conceptual realism and Augustine's embrace of Neoplatonism was the vehicle through which paganism was introduced to the early church but you are too hasty in denouncing Hume.
"Thus upon the whole, 'tis impossible, that the distinction betwixt moral good and evil, can be made by reason; since that distinction has an influence upon our actions, of which reason alone is incapable.--David Hume
Whatever the shortcomings of Hume's empiricism (and they are legion) there can be no debate as to the essential soundness of this agument: the force of moral law is suprarational; it does not depend on man's advise, consent or predisposition. It is nonpolitical and nondenominational.
Put down your dog-eared copy of Atlas Shrugged and give Hume another chance. He has much to say.
Great essay....my own ruminations about the slippage of television fantasy into the real world has led me here. They used to call belief in the unreal psychosis. Are we all psychotic now?
Jeez, this is scary.
Imagine murdering a number of people and then having government make it difficult to turn yourself in. Reality is no one cares(See Detroilet Crime news). LarsReplyDelete
This is an excellent insightful article obviously written by a person who understands that the media work in a pack, savage a subject and then move on having dealt with that matter. Period.
The last comment reflects my own experience of knowing the identity of a mass killer who terrorised the north of England for five years. He became known as the Yorkshire Ripper and the authorities framed a lunatic copycat killer as the main man and the media sold that lie to the public ever since. No amount of writing or talking could get them to budge from their established position and the reality is that the public have been at risk ever since, nobody would put the record straight and they stick to their unreality. The public also are unwilling to even consider that they might be wrong and the murders go on except that they are not called Ripper murders and nobody in England wants to face the facts. http://www.yorkshireripper.com/
Very tragic Anony:(
OT but I still have nagging doubts about the Atlanta child murders. I still believe the KKK was involved in those.
It is with sorrow that I find I am so late to this blog post.
Daniel describes a perception of reality that is more commonly believed by people with a well socialized and educated mind.
In 1966 Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann wrote about a reality that is culturally evolved and understood. (The Social Construction of Reality), the basis for Social Constructionism (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_constructionism). The problem with this concept is that it is only half true, the human mind is composed of two distinct parts, one that is social and another that is not. The "non social" part of our minds is also usually non-verbal, thus is difficult to access by those who are highly educated (and thus socialized).
Blaine, it's never too late to read The Sultan: what he writes about never goes away. Sadly.ReplyDelete


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Super speedy (20 minute) hot vegetarian noodle soup
I seldom have time off. I am constantly tired and submerged. But I am not complaining because the rewards are infinite and I am my happiest when I am with my boy. I do get the occasional moments of liberation into the friday night world when I see the girls and I only got my wings four or five months ago, so the excitement is a bit like the thrills I felt as a fresh and novice teenager venturing out into the bright lights.
So our last, enjoyable and tasty dinner out was at wagamama and behold, it was my first time. I was a wagamama virgin. When I've mentioned this to my friends they've all raised their eyebrows and given me an understated and polite chuckle. I cant say I haven't considered going in recent years but I make a lot of noodle soup at home; it's so easy and fresh as well as thoroughly tantalising.
It regularly surprises me when people tell me that they don't make noodle soup, even when they like it. It isn't much of a leap from a simple stir fry, all you need is a good stock. My recipe may stir a little bit of argument for the following reasons;
1. Curry powder- insult or enhancement?
I know a lot of foodies detest curry powder. I quite enjoyed watching faces aghast at the mention of it when I watched Rick Stein in India. It's isn't balanced creatively, it has one taste and isn't fresh. I agree. I would never, ever use it in curries as they deserve proper layering of goods spices and each curry should be cooked in consideration of the vegetables in that curry. This noodle soup is a quick recipe and curry powder works. Simple.
2. I've called it a super quick 20 minute recipe, naturally this will be contested.
3. It's hot.
4. Tomato purée – in a noodle soup? Yes. It is true. It adds colour and sweetness which I feel is important given that some of the other flavours are pungent.
Today I got my cosy socks on, thought about hot water bottles and made noodle soup. It's my comfort food that doesn't make me fat.
Here are my pointers for making noodle soups work
1. Be careful with chilli bean sauce and soya pastes. They add wonderful background depth and aroma, but if you over do it, you will taste bitterness and that's not nice.
2. Don't go crazy with noodles, they tend to swell in the soup.
3. Use exotic mushrooms rather than woods ones, they are soft and absorb juices well and the noodle soup is cooked for just a few minutes so work well with the delicate nature of exotic mushrooms like oysters.
4. Use salt sparingly, vegetable stock is salty. I didn't add any to this recipe.
5. Use sesame oil or groundnut oil. Nutty oils are delicious in noodle soup. They are the vehicle for enhancing the other flavours.
I'm not an overly tidy Eater, I had splutters of the hot and spicy stock on my phone today. Luckily it has a cover on it, but this soup is drinkably, suckably, flaming good.
100g baby corn chopped into bite sized pieces
100g green beans cut into bite sized pieces
2l vegetable stock
2 pak choi, roughly chopped
One bay leaf
1 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp tomato purée
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1tbsp chilli bean paste
4 spring onion chopped into bite sized chunks
75g exotic mushrooms (I've used largely grey oysters) torn
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 tsp pounded schiuan peppercorns
75g Amoy vermicelli
2tbsp sesame oil for cooking
1. Heat the oil for a few seconds before adding the garlic, ginger and spring onion. Sauté for a minute before adding the curry powder. Stir through until the colour deepens (it should take a minute or so).
2. Add the vegetables and coat well.
3. Stir in the vegetable stock, bay leaf, peppercorns, rice wine vinegar, chilli bean paste and tomato purée.
4. Bring the soup to a simmer and then add the noodles.
5. Cook for 3-4 minutes before serving.


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Federal Liberal leadership candidate Marc Garneau says Enbridge has not treated the people of British Columbia respectfully in its push to build the Northern Gateway pipeline.
"Enbridge needs to learn about public relations. You don't come in and treat people that way," said Garneau in an interview On the Coast with Stephen Quinn on CBC Radio One in Vancouver.
The former astronaut and current member of parliament for Westmount-Ville-Marie also criticized the Conservative government for being "bulls in a china shop" in its support for the pipeline that would stretch nearly 1,200 kilometres between Bruderheim, Alberta and Kitimat, B.C.
Garneau says there's still scientific work to be done in assessing potential risks associated with the pipeline project, adding that the Conservative government should not look at environmental assessments like the Joint Review Panel as a burden, but as a necessity.
His comments come as five protesters were arrested and charged with trespassing Tuesday for sneaking into and disrupting the federal review panel's Vancouver community hearings into the Northern Gateway Pipeline, which are closed to the public.
Preparing for upcoming debate
Garneau is in Vancouver for the first Liberal leadership debate, which is set for Sunday, Jan. 20 at 1:00 p.m. PT at the Westin Bayshore.
He is running against Justin Trudeau, Martha Hall Findlay and six other candidates in the race to replace Interim Leader Bob Rae.
Earlier in the day, Garneau unveiled his national economic strategy, saying the world's economic focus is shifting to Asia and the Canadian economy will stagnate unless it works harder to improve trade with the region, including China, India, Singapore and Vietnam.
Garneau laid out a four-point plan to increase Asian trade, including clear rules on foreign investment, improving road and rail lines to help the movement of goods, and protecting the environment through science and evidence-based research.
He also said Canada must partner with aboriginal communities on the understanding that the country's economic success is tied to the success of First Nations.
Also on HuffPost


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We nurture both sides of the brain
Our unique philosophy takes students beyond the pursuit of academic excellence.
Brock is a place where left-brain and right-brain thinking come together. Students develop rational/analytical thinking in concert with their emotional/creative sides. We view community involvement as crucial to developing intelligent, well-rounded members of society.
Our rigorous undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs include experiential learning opportunities and one of Canada's largest co-op programs. Our cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary programs offer multi-faceted degrees that help students build careers and get jobs.
We're growing
For a decade, Brock has had the second-highest growth of students of any Ontario university.
More than $300 million in construction has been committed or commissioned to expand the campus. In recent years, we've constructed:
- new student residences;
- the Plaza building, home of a new campus store and academic space;
- the Jack and Nora Walker Canadian Centre for Lifespan Development Research, a facility unique in Canada
- a new International Centre
Construction is ongoing for the Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex, a state-of-the-art facility where students and professors will explore new frontiers in green science and health and wellness.
And in downtown St. Catharines, work has started on the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, a landmark campus that will support digital media and creativity, and help revitalize downtown St. Catharines.
We're green
Brock has a park-like setting atop the Niagara Escarpment in Ontario's Niagara peninsula. Brock's campus is part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
We have the numbers to back it up
Consider the following:
- When students from across our seven faculties gave their ratings to the Globe and Mail 2009 Canadian University Report, Brock was one of Canada's top medium-size institutions in terms of quality of education, quality of teaching and most satisfied students.
- With 17,000 full-time students and nearly 600 faculty, we're small enough to be intimate, big enough to be world-class and in demand among international students.
We care
Brock provides opportunities for social and academic growth that don't exist at larger universities, like access to professors. Our emphasis on moderate class sizes in seminar settings makes more students full participants in the learning experience.
Brock University is a special place that's worth a visit.


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If you are an experienced professional wanting the flexibility to leverage your skills and knowledge into a diverse and rewarding assignment or someone who is not sure what industry or specialty you want to focus your career in, check out our contract assignments. We know contracting and can assist with setting yourself up as an independent contractor as well as provide insight into compliance and opportunity generation. If you want the control and advantage of self-directing your career then give contract work a try!
Deciding what you want to do for the next 3 to 5 years is an important decision. Add to that deciding who you want to work for without a real understanding of the culture and make-up of a new company can be daunting. At CTSNA we are interested in you. Not just how you will fit into a particular job, but what skills you want to leverage, or what you want to learn, do and become. By all means check out our permanent employment opportunities, but don't be surprised if we ask about you before we tell you about the culture and expectations of the companies we represent.


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Popular Economics Weekly
As we celebrate another Labor Day, a national holiday, how do we remember it? I would like to remember it as some other developed countries celebrate it. France, for instance, has enshrined the one-hour lunch, whereas a 2012 survey of North American workers by Right Management found that only one in five reported taking a real break for lunch. Thirty-nine percent even reported they take lunch at their desks in the survey cited by columnist Robyn Blumner in the Tampa Bay Times.
The French don't have to worry, for they work less and actually produce more per worker. A new survey touted by The Business Insider from UBS has shown that the French continue to work the least amount of hours per year in the world. Once again, the French have blown away the competition. Nationmaster ranks France as #18 in terms of GDP per capita, at $36,500 per person, yet France works much less than most developed nations.
France, for instance, with $36,500 GDP/Capita and works 1,453 hours per year, said the UBS study. This equates to a GDP/Capita/Hour of $25.10. Americans, on the other hand, have $44,150 GDP/Capita but work 1,792 hours per year. Thus Americans only achieve $24.60 of GDP/Capita/Hour.
And a recent visit to Amsterdam in The Netherlands, floored me. Stores can only stay open from 10-5pm, except for Thursday when they are allowed to be open to 9pm, and this in one of the commercial capitals of Europe!
Many economists and policy experts blame the loss of workers' income on globalization, the exporting of jobs overseas to cheaper climes. But there is a much simpler explanation for the loss of workers' incomes—record corporate profits that have enabled corporations to suppress their workers' incomes, mostly via legislative and judicial means
As a percentage of national income, corporate profits stood at 14.2 percent in the third quarter of 2012, the largest share at any time since 1950, while the portion of income that went to employees was 61.7 percent, near its lowest point since 1966, according to the New York Times. In recent years, the shift has accelerated during the slow recovery that followed the financial crisis and ensuing recession of 2008 and 2009.
Graph: EPI
The legislative means are clear. Some 24 right-leaning Republican state legislatures have enacted right-to-work laws that actually prevent unions from either organizing, or requiring them to pay union dues, even though they receive all the benefits of unionization. This is not to mention the outright voter suppression tactics of ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, a lobbying organization that has written many of those state laws
Judicially, we know that the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens vs. United allowed corporations to contribute unlimited amounts to elections, and with their record profits they have not hesitated to back those right-to-work laws.
So who is the richest country in terms of human capital? Perhaps, France that has the best health care and pension systems in the world, or The Netherlands with 10 to 5 working hours, or the country that diverts most of its profits to corporations, their CEOs and investors?
Harlan Green © 2013
Follow Harlan Green on Twitter: www.twitter.com/HarlanGreen


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FARMINGTON — The white gazebo at Fernald Park was vandalized and police are coordinating with The Department of Public Works to find the culprits, after approaching the Board of Selectmen Monday night.
Director of Public Works Scott Hazelton told selectmen he discovered the gazebo, located off Central Street, was marked up recently with blue ink on its floor and had chunks of wood cut out of the side beams. A panel was also pulled from the ceiling.
The structure, known as the "Community Band Stand" was built in 1996 and dedicated to Robert Elliott, a local musician. Above a plaque that read "dedicated to the community of Farmington" were stick figures, which appeared to be etched into the wooden siding with a sharp object. A sign currently hangs above one side of the gazebo, demanding skateboards, scooters and other devices not be used on its premises.
Police Chief Kevin Willey said he had only learned of the incident that Monday evening, but planned to send officers around to talk to neighbors for more information. Hazelton requested an installation of lights and cameras to secure the outdoor structure.
Hazelton made a similar request for the town garage, which was vandalized and burglarized this past June. He said he could not confirm what kinds of safety measures were installed at the town garage to prevent further incidents on Monday.
Selectman Jim Horgan insisted the police find those responsible for the gazebo damage, stressing "we will prosecute."
"Every time you drive by there, there's group of kids," Selectman Paula Proulx added. "Probably, with a bit more encouragement of the police department, that would probably take care of some of it."
Hazelton said he would like to ban teenagers from hanging out on the gazebo, speculating youth were responsible for the actions, but Chairman of the Board of Selectman Charlie King said it would be difficult to prevent teenagers from using property designated for public use.
"Not everyone under 18 is there in a negative capacity," King said.
"So let's get the couple that are, and nail them," Horgan responded.
Hazelton said the discovery was "upsetting," and said it would take some work by his department to repair the "significant" damages.
"You can print this…, they will be prosecuted," he added, following the discussion.
Farmington police investigate gazebo vandalism
FARMINGTON — The white gazebo at Fernald Park was vandalized and police are coordinating with The Department of Public Works to find the culprits, after approaching the Board of Selectmen Monday night.


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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Authorities in southwest Idaho are investigating the theft of 220 bales of hay worth nearly $3,000.
The Ada County Sheriff's Office tells the Idaho Statesman (http://bit.ly/1igJzI4) the owner discovered the hay missing from a haystack on his property.
Police say the each bale weighs about 90 pounds so whoever took the hay likely used a truck and trailer.
Police say the theft occurred sometime between Jan. 12 and Jan. 26.
Information from: Idaho Statesman, http://www.idahostatesman.com


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In his latest film documentarian Alex Gibney proclaims a desire to get at the root of how scapegoats are anointed. Ironically, Gibney's repeated declaration of his question is the film's biggest weakness, because he never really tackles it. But what he does offer is a Warren Commission-like breakdown of the infamous Chicago Cubs "Steve Bartman Incident," and its links to the equally infamous Buckner incident.
As a fan of the Boston Red Sox, Gibney knows all to well how Bill Buckner's name became a regional profanity across New England after Mookie Wilson's groundball squirted through his legs, allowing the Mets to score the tying run in the 6th game of the 1986 World Series, which the Mets would eventually win in Game 7.
Seventeen years later, the Chicago Cubs, the only team in baseball to suffer a longer World Series victory drought than Boston's, found themselves in Game Six of the National League Championship Series, just five outs away from their first World Series visit in 95 years. But then a high fly ball floated off the bat of Luis Castillo, drifting toward the leftfield stands. Just as it appeared to be ready to settle into the glove of Moises Alou, a scrum rose in the stands and the hands of a young man name Steve Bartman disrupted the catch. He was so instantly vilified that he was showered with beer and chants of "A**hole," had to be escorted out of the ballpark by security and lives in hiding to this day.
Gibney dissects the circumstances surrounding Bartman's darkest moment with interviews of several of the people who were sitting around him, collecting video shot by a number of fans who were in attendance and even traveling down to the Dominican Republic to talk to Moises Alou. It's as thorough a look at the act and the actors as one could hope for. It's a remarkably robust history of a single moment in time.
For Red Sox fans, who have enjoyed two World Championships since 1986, and others, "Catching Hell" is a fascinating look back at one of the most notorious meltdowns in sports history. For Cubs fan, "Catching Hell" will be hell.
"Catching Hell" is showing April 30 as at the Tribeca Film Festival


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VIDEO DOWNLOAD - The Kevin Steen Show with Young Bucks
At 2:37 am to be exact, Kevin shares a conversation and a pizza with the Young Bucks. Several controversial topics are covered such as their obsession with Super Kicks and their relationship with PWG referee Rick Knox. Also, something about not shaking hands with someone is brought up. I can't remember...it was pretty late and pizza makes me sleepy.
This interview contains a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla love-fest. So, if you hate PWG, not only are you a awful person but this interview isn't for you. Which is fine...Chances are we don't like you either. I mean, come on! PWG!!! IT'S THE BEST!!!Running Time: 2 hrs 18 mins
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