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I am not anti-hunting. I won't pick a fight with hunters, as long as they eat what they shoot and don't use lead ammunition. However, I will pick a fight with the Rip Van Winkle Rod and Gun Club in Palenville, New York, which is sponsoring their fourth annual "Crow Down" March 29-30, 2014.
The "Crow Down" is a "hunting contest" where both adults and children slaughter as many crows as they possibly can in two days. Why do they do this? Look at the Maryland-based website Crow Busters, although I warn you you'll need a strong stomach for the photographs. Here is a direct (and unedited) quote:
"… keep in mind the main reason why experienced crow hunters got into the sport in the first place, Fun. Plain old fashioned Fun."
Some people think it's just plain fun to kill enormous numbers of animals and pile up their bodies, and when there's no "bag limit" it's legal to do so. These people are overwhelmingly undereducated (and I don't mean formal education) males, although occasionally you'll find a comparable female going along for the ride (think Sarah Palin – no relation to Palenville, although for this particular event the nearly identical name is both handy and appropriate).
A hero of the Rip Van Winkle Rod & Gun Club is – no doubt – Bob Aronsohn, who lives in Kansas and in December 2013 celebrated killing his 150,000th crow. On the website he reminisces fondly about his "best hunt," where he killed 3,125 crows in 9 days, bringing to mind the days when people slaughtered seemingly endless flocks of passenger pigeons and herds of buffalo.
Is this hunting, or is it simply a bloody massacre? How do you classify these contests? And what do you do about events like the one sponsored by the Rip van Winkle Rod and Gun Club, where participants bring their children, supply them with guns, and actually instruct them in the art of stack-the-corpses slaughter?
The infamous Labor Day Pigeon Shoot was held in Hegins, Pennsylvania from 1921 until it was closed down in 1998. Live pigeons were trapped on city streets or bought at auction, held for days without food or water, then catapulted into the air as live skeet. Wounded birds were left to crawl away into the woods; sometimes, during breaks, children were encouraged to run across the field, scoop them up, and tear their heads off.
Eventually the operators of the shoot were sued, the case climbed through the courts, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled unanimously against it, calling it "cruel and moronic." It was sent back to trial court, but by then the yearly event had become such a media circus – with live TV coverage and protesters taking down the license plates of shooters' vehicles – that the sponsors ended it.
One hopes this is the direction in which all killing contests are headed.
"People say there are too many crows and they eat all the crops," says Missy Runyan, director of the Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center in nearby Hunter, NY. "This is baloney. There are as many crows as the land can support, and they gather because people leave their garbage all over the place."
Runyan has no problem with hunting; she gives wildlife and gun safety presentations to Rod and Gun clubs across the state. She owns an arsenal of rifles, and has been licensed to carry a handgun for 17 years.
"What I want to know is: a hundred feet away, how can these people tell the difference between a crow and a raven, which is a protected species?" she asks. "And how do you keep the kids safe when you've got dozens of people in the woods, blasting away? You shoot a bullet up, sooner or later it has to come down. How do you know it's not going to come down on some kid's head?"
The Crow Down does not require non-toxic ammunition, either, which means soon the woods will be filled with lead.
Outlawing these contests is within the purview of state government, not the Department of Environmental Conservation. New York Senators Jack Martins (R-Mineola) and Tony Avella (D-Queens) have co-sponsored a bill (#S.4074) which would make it unlawful for "any person to organize, conduct, promote or participate in any contest or competition where the objective of such contest or competition is to take the greatest number of wildlife." I urge everyone concerned about the concept of mass slaughter in this day and age – especially when it's being taught to children – to contact them and express support for this bill, which would protect not only crows, but all the unfairly maligned species that have been targeted for hundreds of years. Groups across the country, including Project Coyote in California, are fighting similar battles.
I have friends who hunt, and every one of them is disgusted by events like "Crow Down" and consider them bad publicity for true hunters. The poster for this event shows a dozen cartoon birds on their backs, feet in the air, and trumpets the headline, "Wanted: Dead or Alive."
Read your own headline, take a look at the buffalo skulls pictured at right, and wake up, Rip Van Winkle. It's not the 1800s anymore.
It's a pretty pathetic form of hunting, kinda reminds me of grind quests in computer game quests whee you have to bring twenty newt tails. At least in a game you build up your stats! . I've never understood quite why so many people are hostile to corvids (this even includes some birders!).
That said, I'm not sure what comparing hunters to serial killers adds to the conversation.
"I was simply raising a point about why crow hunting is necessary. " Where'd this come from, that line in Bible that says something about the 2-legged Killer Ape 'having dominion' over all other species?
What about hunter's bible that says, u eat what u kill? Most ludicrous & amusing of all is the idea that the one species totally incapable of controlling it's own over-population, gets to decide what other species need to be controlled. However we all know that's something only promoted by Govt.Wildlife Agencies looking to the dollar they can make off the blood of un-owned free life.
So much for evolution. So much for mercy. So much for respect for life.
Suzy Heck has the right idea: What you shoot, you kill. What you kill, you eat. Otherwise, you're just one more caveman who refuses to move forward, not only in your thinking, but also your actions.
That is totally pathological and unbelievable in this day and age.
Hello Suzie,
I just saw a photo of you, you are a very nice looking young gal.
On the subject of Ted Bundy, Ted Bundy was a psychopath who came from a very dysfunctional family. It turns my stomach as well when I think of people who torture animals; we are on the same page in this regard.
My two dogs are like my kids since my wife of 31 years passed away 9 years ago.
Anyone who would derive any pleasure from torturing an animal is a very twisted person with a lot of problems. I can see how they could make the transition to committing homicide.
The vast majority of hunters are very decent people they just have a different life style than the folks that think they are all just killers.
I happen to love volume shooting where you have to maintain your focus in order to keep hitting the flying birds. It's also a test of endurance firing hundreds of rounds of ammo during the course of several hours or more. It all boils down to what a person likes to do.
In closing I would like to say that it's not personnel when I shoot flying crows out of the air, they are just a target, I don't get hung up on which family member of a crow family I have just taken out. We are talking about "vermin" not domestic animals or birds!
If I lived close to you I would be happy to lend a hand in any way I could when it came to helping injured birds or animals get back on there feet. I think what you do is a noble endeavor.
I am a licensed wild bird rehabilitator, you have personally killed over 150,000 wild birds, and you respond to my outrage by saying I'm a "very nice looking young gal"? Seriously?
I cannot get a single crow hunter to answer my direct questions/statements, including you.
I say am not anti-hunting, you respond "the majority of hunters are very decent people." I question the toxic lead you leave in the environment, you do not respond at all. Secondary lead poisoning kills enormous numbers of protected wildlife each year. How much lead do you think you've personally left behind?
You say crows are not birds. Actually, they are. History is filled with cautionary tales of people who re-classify others – be they animals or fellow humans – as "vermin." They believe that killing great numbers of them will solve all kinds of problems. Inevitably, it doesn't.
My hunting friends go out, shoot a deer, bring it home, and use every part of it. They have respect for the animal and for the environment. Many of them have switched to copper ammunition after seeing x-rays of lead fragments scattered throughout a deer or a wild boar. They are repulsed by killing contests.
If you were lending me a hand in my noble endeavor and someone brought me a gunshot crow, what would you do? If you helped me treat the injuries of "vermin," wouldn't you be a hypocrite?
You say it "all boils down to what you like to do." With enough luck and perseverance, eventually it will all boil down to what you are legally allowed to do.
Sick Mother Fuckers.
Hello Suzie,
I meant what I said, you are a very attractive gal.
I will answer your questions that you have been unable to get thus far.
1. shooting lead shot. I hunt in very remote areas where lead shot is not an issue. I have eaten waterfowl killed with lead shot for almost half my life when it was still legal to shoot it and I'm still kicking!
2. Yes, I have shot over 150,000 crows over a 40 year period. I just love to hunt crows because they are very smart and you don't do well all the time on them. I make no apology for this because it's perfectly legal.
3. I can understand your outrage because this rubs you wrong I'm well aware. I know you will find this hard to believe but I had a pet crow when I lived in South Dakota in high school. Yup, I hunted crows then too but still liked my pet because he was a pet, he was not wild. A neighbor's kid killed him with a pellet rifle while he was sitting in my uncles garage. The next day I found that sob after school and we had a real meeting of the minds to put it mildly. For the rest of the year that kid would walk on the other side of the street when he saw me coming! So, I know where your coming from with your outrage. You more than likely find my logic rather strange and perhaps it is to some people.
4. Yup, I've left more lead in the toolies than most but have seen no drop in the wildlife over the past 40 odd years.
5. I don't hunt crows to solve any problems, I just like to hunt them. Crows are vermin, they kill countless song birds still in the nest. They fly back to there own nest with the young of other birds where they tear them apart and feed them to there young. Would you describe this as torture? They do the same to waterfowl when they are nesting. They eat turtle eggs as well. Getting back to the crows eating song birds the way they do is repulsive but that is just the way it is, same as me killing the crows for sport.
6. You bet I would help you if you had a crow with a broken wing and I would not feel like a hypocrite at all. What percentage of birds with broken wings that you treat ever fly again?
7. Yup you are right about legally allowed to do. To many lawyers, judges and people with big bucks like to sport hunt so I don't see it going away any time soon.
8. I am not patronizing you when I said I would enjoy helping you helping birds and animals that have been hurt and in need of help, and yes, most hunters are decent people.
9. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.
Bob Aronsohn
Bob, Just curious;
What makes you think that shooting in very remote locations magically negates the effects of lead ammo?
The fact that you have consumed animals killed by lead shot with no negative effects means zero to me or anyone else with a brain. We have all met the occasional person that has smoked their whole lives and yet seems fine. But, that doesn't erase the thousands of people who die everyday from smoking related illnesses. The scientific studies are pretty clear on the devastating effects of lead ammo, your own conclusions notwithstanding.
You say you make no apologies for killing crows and admit that you don't kill them to solve any problems. This is the first statement you have made that rings true, but of course you later add that you are really killing them to protect songbirds.
Here you are, just a selfless man working to protect our nations songbirds from evil crows.
Very brave of you.
Furthermore you describe being very angry when your pet crow (a species you call vermin in the very next paragraph)) is shot and killed by a neighbors kid. You say this bothered you because the crow was a pet, not wild. Maybe you have neglected to consider that the wild crows that you kill are capable of feeling the same fear, love, pain, joy and grief, that your pet crow was.
You are right, crows are very intelligent. In fact, they are thought to be one of the smartest species on earth.
However, if you really need to kill a crow to prove that you can best one in a battle of wits, you're probably not all that bright to begin with.
If you really want to demonstrate your mental superiority over an animal, you could start by understanding why you shouldn't feel the need to kill them.
The fact that killing them is legal is not the issue that I am addressing here. I am addressing the moral and ethical considerations of your actions, and maybe you need to as well.
Wild animals have a difficult existence. On a daily basis they face life and death situations that are difficult for humans to relate to. We rarely face a life and death situation and if we do, we become front page news and are lauded as heros. No human would survive even a week as a wild animal before we ran home crying to our mommies. Wild animals deal with exposure, starvation, disease, territory disputes, loss of habitat, predators and more, all while trying to find mates and raise their young.
The last thing they need is some emotionally stunted jackass with a fragile ego blasting away at them.
So remember that the bird you kill for 'fun' feels the same trauma and heartache that you would if intruders ran into your home and began shooting your family.
Also keep in mind that it's pretty obvious who the real vermin is on this planet, and it's certainly not the crows.
Do you realize you are writing to me in a public forum?
As Keli pointed out in her eloquent and passionate response, just because you personally do not see the effects of lead does not mean it doesn't exist. If you eat a duck shot with lead and a two-pound hawk eats a duck shot with lead, the hawk will suffer more than you. Do the math.
Here is a video made by Anthony Prieto, a life-long hunter for whom I have great respect and admiration:
I would be interested to hear your reaction to it.
You say, "I have eaten waterfowl killed with lead shot for almost half my life when it was still legal to shoot it and I'm still kicking!
Assuming because u know the lead shot is in the carcass u eat, u make a concentrated effort not to ingest the actual lead whereas the unsuspecting (naïve) other predator doesn't know & therefore inadvertently ingests the actual shot & suffers. OK?
I hate this type of contest. Where I live, gun shops keep having coyote and prairie dog hunts, both of which I find apalling.
Ahhhhhh lead poisoning explains the lack of empathy, you should be ashamed if yourself bob.
Your reasoning is not based on fact or science.
Sorry, Bob, but the data IS there concerning lead poisoning caused by scavenging. Last year in NYS, the conservation department collected 10 Bald Eagles that had died duet to elevated lead from scavenging on carcasses. The last one had TRIPLE the lethal level in its system and was found on carcasses in which lead was found. Instead of arguing about this, it would be better for all involved to change over to copper ammunition. A concerted effort by all sportsmen (and sportswomen) and conservationists to affect this change is needed.
If you are interested in seeing some piebald crows in different colors I could e-mail you some photos. Very few people ever get to see a piebald crow in the wild.
If you ever make it to Kansas I would be happy to buy you lunch. If you met me in person you would see I'm not the cold hearted kind of guy you think I am.
With what is going on in the world right now there are far more pressing issues than lead shot.
You like ribs? They make the best damn ribs you ever had at Roy's Rib Shack here in Hutchinson.
So tell me, on average how many birds do you help recover each year? Any particular species ?
My wife & I had a pair of Cockatiel's named Honky (because he was white) and Shmidlapp. They were nice birds, they would always do a wolf whistle whenever the Andy Griffith show came on the air.
I give you irrefutable evidence that lead is poisoning our environment – gathered by a hunter, no less – and you quickly switch the subject to Roy's Rib Shack. When cornered, you say "there are far more pressing issues than lead shot."
Lead poisoning is not a quick, clean death. It is long and agonizing. You have no doubt killed thousands of species not on your "vermin" list by leaving them lead-filled "smorgasbords" and areas filled with shot.
You describe yourself as a goodhearted, animal-loving man. Watch this very short video of a lead poisoned Bald Eagle, taken at the SOAR (Saving Our Avian Resources) facilities in Iowa:
Are you man enough to take scientific evidence, think about it, process it, and come to the conclusion that you are personally causing this kind of suffering? Or do you hang on to your Old West Maverick image at all costs, and truly believe ethics apply to everyone but you?
I was reading Larry's post about lead poisoning and he stated that there were 10 Bald Eagles that died from it in New York State. He does not mention if this was this past year or not, no time frame was mentioned.
While very regrettable having these Bald Eagles die from lead poisoning you are over looking the fact that 10 dead Bald Eagles represent 1/10th of one percent of the total population! It is estimated that there are 10,000 Bald Eagles in the lower 48 United States! So you are getting knots in your rope for nothing, I'll take a 1/10th of one percent loss any day, it could be far worse. Are you woman enough to accept these facts!
Your evidence is anything but irrefutable. Am I to believe we should ban lead shot because 1/10th of one percent of Bald Eagles die from lead poisoning, You don't have a leg to stand on with these facts.
Hey, I was not trying to change the subject when you refer to me being cornered. I was merely holding out an olive branch to you if you ever ventured this way with your family.
Suzie, sorry but I can't watch stuff like that, it's very depressing.
So tell me what are the most common bird injuries? Do you get many fledglings in your line of work? How many birds do you have at any one time in your home?
No Suzie I don't feel cornered now when I ask you once again if you like good ribs? If you are ever down this way with your family come on ahead. You are an intelligent woman, I like that because you stand for something and are passionate about it. We have had a spirited debate and as hard as it is for you to accept even 1/10th of one percent I feel like those are damn good odds in the Bald Eagles favor .
Bob –
10 Bald Eagles died from lead poisoning in New York? 10 RECOVERED Bald Eagles. 10 eagles who happened to be found, taken to DEC or a rehabber, and tested. You say you know so much about wildlife – what would a sick eagle do? Would she head for the deep woods, since all wild animals know that any sign of weakness is the dinner bell for predators? Or would she drag herself to the nearest human, hoping for help?
In 1991 lead shot was federally banned for use in hunting waterfowl because of documented lead poisoning of waterfowl and Bald Eagles. Lead poisoning is a significant mortality factor for endangered Trumpeter Swans. Wisconsin's a bit closer to you: http://www.wisconsinbirds.orleadpoisoningpaper.htm
You find watching dying eagles depressing – but it's your fault they're dying. Lead is toxic to wildlife. You leave lead behind whenever you shoot. You and your cronies shoot a lot. Conclusion?
Sorry, folksy little chats about my work are out. I'd have lunch with Anthony Prieto anytime. You – no. Mass killers disgust me.
If your mind ever opens, let me know and I'll take another shot at saving Kansas wildlife agonizing poisoning deaths. For now, this discussion is a waste of valuable site space.
My post did indeed say "last year". And even 1 dead eagle is unacceptable when there is a viable alternative. And Bald Eagle is just one of many species negatively affected by lead left in the field. If banning lead shot is OK for waterfowl, it should be banned from all hunting use.
I was curious how you feel about the film clip you wanted me to watch. If this is film footage about watching a Bald Eagle dying my response is why? If the people that filmed this had any compassion at all they would have dispatched the eagle and put it out of it's misery; and you think I'm cold hearted!
Ok, I grant you only 10 found dead Bald Eagles that they know of. Well Alaska has 50,000 Bald Eagles and Canada an additional 40 odd thousand more so you are getting upset over nothing in my opinion.
Suzie, you just said " if my mind ever opens " well don't you think that perhaps your mind is pretty closed as well when you say mass killers disgust me? I mean what I say when I say I'm sorry you feel that way.
Bob Aronsohn
Aronsohn, you keep referring to populations of species to try & justify you wanton slaughtering in terms of a small percentage.
Again, how do you look at yourself in terms of 7 billion of you. Do you think your life or personal suffering is worth anything? Wildlife is something to be cherished & respected for how they manage to survive against all the persecution they suffer at the hands of man since the beginning of time until this day. Surely it's time long past for us to begin to appreciate their presence on this earth & even if you cant accept the fact, each individual of them wants to live as much as you, & suffers the same as you if someone did unto you as you do to them without any mercy.
M Leybra,
7 billion of me?
Ah lets talk about suffering & anxiety when cattle, lambs and hogs are slaughtered at a slaughter house. If you eat beef, pork or lamb you are contributing to what you accuse me of, just because your hands remain clean does not mean you don't contribute to the slaughter. Those animals have no chance whereas crows do in the field when I hunt them.
Even tomatoes, grapes, melons, potatoes and lettuce all have feelings and have brothers & sisters that mourn there loss when they are ripped & cut from the vine. So what are you going to do, give up eating?
We as a people have been far removed from for quite some time when it comes to putting food on the table. It was not very long ago when you sent your son outside to chop the heads off of the chickens because family was coming over for Sunday dinner! People also have more time on there hands now to ponder the fate of living creatures.
Hunting is my pursuet of happiness, so I'll just keep at it.
Suppose that you had a mouse problem in your house. What would you do? Here are four options.
1) You could let the mouse live in your house, but then it would undoubtedly cause problems, some of which could be quite expensive to repair. No matter how pro-animal you are, I doubt this would happen.
2) You could use the traditional method and simply set a mouse trap, but then it looks like mouse stew would be on the menu, because remember, "if you kill it, then you eat it". And besides that, you would be a murder. Can't have that. Next.
3) You could use mouse problem, but then you would still be a murderer. And besides that, think of this- if the mouse would happen to wander outside before it died, it is always possible that another animal could eat it and in turn get poisoned. Now you would have multiple deaths on your hands, which might even put you right up there with serial killers. This option is out.
4) You could use a live trap to catch the mouse and move it to another location, but that would only be relocating the problem (which doesn't work- besides, think of the emotional distress the mouse might suffer due to being ousted from it's home). And what if the mouse happened to find it's way into the home of someone less kind? If they would trap it, you would be partly responsible for it's death, all because you were to selfish to let the little guy live in your house.
The same goes for crows. They cause problems. Their population must be kept under control. The idea that 'if you kill it, then you eat it' is simply ridiculous. Looks like everybody better stop trapping mice and rats, not to mention other pests that are killed when they cause problems, such as squirrels, and yes, crows. The reason people hunt these animals is not only for the sport, which is an added bonus, but because the population needs to be controlled. If people can kill this many crows every year and there is still such a large American crow population, it sounds to me like more people should take up crow hunting.
One other comment. In your second article, you were advocating a bill in New York that would ban contest killing in New York state. If passed, you would expect others to obey this law, even if they disagree with it. Yet when you disagree with a law, you put yourself above the law and openly write about breaking that law, just because you didn't like it (http://10000birds.com/shutting-your-trap.htm)! You didn't like the fact that the trapper wasn't going to get in to any trouble (when he was doing absolutely nothing illegal) like you thought he should have, so you destroyed his trap on purpose (not to mention you didn't know the law in the first place and stole it before you ruined it)! Before you advocate another law, try learning to obey the ones that already exist.
Mr. T,
I have had many mouse problems in my house. I create tunnels on either side of the mouse trap using books or boxes, so the mouse goes straight into the trap and is killed instantly, and there is no way it can end up caught by one leg and maimed. I then feed the mouse to the recovering hawks, owls, vultures, and, yes, crows in my care.
I do not use poison. Poison is documented as causing secondary poisoning in predators, just like lead ammunition is documented as causing lead poisoning in the wildlife who ingest it.
You seem to be confusing me with extreme animal rights activists, even though I have stated over and over again that I am not anti-hunting. This is a common reaction from hunters who do not do their research and simply want to argue. There are extremists who want to ban hunting, fishing, keeping animals as pets, etc., and who have no chance of reaching their agenda; then there are those, like me, who simply want to 1) ban killing contests, especially those which, in the era of Sandy Hook, teach children that mass slaughter is fun; and 2) ban lead ammunition. Please do not tell me that hunters who spend thousands and thousands of dollars per year on equipment and licenses cannot afford a few dollars more for copper ammo, when California Condors are on the brink of extinction thanks to all the lead in the environment, and when a shooting range monitored by the Coast Guard in Petaluma qualified as a Superfund site because of all the lead.
Yes, I put myself above the law when I stole and destroyed the trapper's trap. As I said in my blog, I told the DEC officer he should arrest me. However, the trap did not suffer fear, pain, and the loss of its family group. I did not invite my friends to join me, nor did I hand their children my sledgehammer and encourage them to take a few whacks at it while it was struggling to drag itself away.
And what was the result? The trapper ended up in court, and had to pay a fine. He became infamous in our small town, and no one has reported seeing any of his traps since then. This is good news for our wildlife, but not for those in neighboring towns.
I am advocating not one, but two more laws. Bombs away.
Mr. T:
Contests where children are taught that mass killing of wildlife is acceptable/admirable/fun, and incidents where children stockpile weapons and shoot up their schools – what a leap! Who would ever have connected the two?
You don't kill wounded crows as they try to escape? You mean you leave them there, to suffer long and agonizing deaths? You have just shot yourself in the foot, so to speak.
Evidently you believe I think steel traps are living, breathing beings, and was not simply using a writer's device called a "metaphor." Go ahead, you can Google the word.
The rest of this has been covered.
Those of you who condemn "crow killings" have never heard the plaintive cries of a pair of hawks trying to defend their nest from 200 crows in a frenzy–or seen an owl run out of its tree in bright daylight, fleeing for it's life. Never saw crows rob song birds nest of the eggs or the baby birds. Crows are a danger to ALL other birds and it is heartbreaking to watch and listen to their attacks.
Greetings Keli & Suzie,
If you knew me Keli you would know that I am pretty down to earth and don't have a fragile ego as you suspect. I'm an out going type of guy who loves people, unless they shoot my pet crow and then things can get ugly lol.
You talk about lead poisoning in regard to wildlife, the only evidence I have seen where lead shot is a problem is in areas where puddle ducks dabble in shallow water with a hard bottom and they ingest the lead in this manner. In the wild your theory (far from shallow water with a hard bottom) is full of hot air. If either of you spent as much time in the field as I have you and the pinheads that do these studies would realize that the undergrowth covers up any lead for any bird or animal to eat. In regard to hawks that might perish while eating dead crows is more hot air in my opinion. To the contrary, I see more hawks now than I did 20 years ago. In fact the hawks come to the hunting area when they hear the sound of the shooting because they have become conditioned to know a free meal is on the way.
Keli, I just like to hunt them, it's true that every crow you kill you do save other wildlife in the process. I'm not on any crusade I just enjoy the thrill of the chase is all.
Wholly cow Keli, when you mention crows feeling love, pain, joy & grief I think you are over thinking this subject way to much. I can tell by the way you write that you are a kind hearted person, you too Suzie. I'm kind hearted as well, it was only yesterday that an olive sparrow flew into the window of my home and knocked himself out. I was sitting on the back porch when I heard the thud. The two dogs ran over to investigate and I could see the sparrow was still blinking his eyes but could not move after impact. I got him up so he would not go into shock and held him in my hand while stroking his head and neck to calm him down. He pooped in my hand so I knew he was starting to come around. After about 25 minutes I took him outside and he flew away with a very explosive start headed west. That made me feel good to save the little guy. The thing that both of you fail to grasp is that a person can love wildlife and also kill it at the same time. Suzie's friends who deer hunt love seeing the white tails but also enjoy hunting them.
Crows have no problem at all when habitat changes they are far to smart, they just move to a different area.
Keli, emotionally stunted and a fragile ego, it is quite clear to me that you talk about things you know nothing about. You don't know me so how can you make such an asinine statement.
© 2013 10,000 Birds. All words, images, and opinions are the property of their respective authors unless stated otherwise.


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Classic project cars can sometimes be perpetual money pits, and one area that can be surprisingly expensive is paint and body work. Although some believe it's a job best left to the professionals, if you're willing to invest a little time and elbow grease, you can get a professional-looking paint job without breaking the budget. The staff of Hot Rod magazine got together to re-paint this 1967 Chevrolet Impala with a do-it-yourself paint kit from Summit Racing to prove high style doesn't have to mean high-dollar.
If you've ever visited a professional paint shop, they're equipped with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of specialized equipment, from sprayers, mixers, ovens, and other equipment to deal with the high volume of custom and repair work they have to deal with. But when you're only doing a one-shot or occasional paintjob, a temporary setup will do the trick. Just following some simple prep tips will ensure a professional-looking job for a reasonable price.
After an unpopular vinyl flame wrap over white, then followed by an even more unpopular yellow-green matte finish, the Impala finally got the look it deserved all along, a classic hot rod red. Kiser and the Hot Rod crew couldn't be happier.
Be sure to watch Hot Rod Unlimited on the Motor Trend YouTube channel, and stay tuned for fresh enthusiast content added regularly.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hong Kong's Intimacy of Creativity
Hong Kong's Intimacy of Creativity Re-ignites the Process of Making Concert Music
by guest writer Karissa Krenz
As a recovering composer–turned music writer, it's been years since I've sat through anything resembling a chamber music workshop. But last month, the representatives of a new project enticed me to fly halfway around the world to check one out. Now that I've returned home, conquered jet-lag, and have had some time to ponder, I've realized that these all-too-rare programs highlight the importance of community, and illustrate how, if the Classical music industry wants to remain a relevant, it needs to focus the shared experience of creation—which might just inject some new life to into the genre.
The Intimacy of Creativity (IC), which just completed its second year at the Hong Kong Institute of Science and Technology (HKUST), is an annual gathering that brings together emerging composers, master composers, and chamber musicians for an unusual type of workshop. The brainchild of composer, performer, and Artistic Director Bright Sheng, IC hopes to re-ignite the kinds of intensive partnerships between composers and performers that, according to Sheng, don't exist in the concert music world as much as they did over a century ago, when people working as "composer/performer" was the norm.
Six emerging composers participated in the two week long workshop: Britain's Emma-Ruth Richards, Hong Kong's Austin Yip, Portugal'sPedro Faria Gomes, and America's Michael Djupsrom, Matt Van Brink, and Matthew Tommasini, who also served as IC's Associate Artistic Director. IC's three "master" composers—who also had works under the knife—were Sheng, violinist/composer Mark O'Connor, and composer/pianist Joan Tower, and the invited artists included Canto-pop star Jonathan Wong (who worked on transforming one of his songs), Ensemble-in-Residence Camerata Pacifica, Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Haochen Chang, cellist Trey Lee, and violist Sophie Stanley.
The process itself divided a grueling schedule of 11 works (plus an additional two by Beethoven) into two week-long segments. After an initial rehearsal, each piece was presented in a discussion (also open to HKUST students), during which all of the participants chimed in with suggested improvements. The composers had a day or so to edit (depending on the schedule) before another closed rehearsal and final open discussion. The works were rehearsed again —and tweaked, if necessary—before the HKUST preview performance, which was followed the next night by the World Premiere Concert at Hong Kong's City Hall Theatre. Add jet-lag to the mix, and it was an exhausting—yet apparently exhilarating—experience that made the whole thing seem a bit like "Composition Workshop: The Reality Show."
Philadelphia-based composer and pianist Michael Djupstrom participated in IC as both performer and composer. The harried pace was at times frustrating for him—he never felt quite prepared enough when performing others' works, and he only had only one night to make the initial edits to his own piece before its next open discussion.
"Practically, I can't think of any better way to do it," says Djupstrom. "It's not like you're going to be able to get performers of that caliber who are going to have the time or take more time to travel to Hong Kong and do that, or the composers for that matter. But I wish we would have been able to fully prepare the work as it was pre-existing on the page, and then present that "finished version" to the whole group, and then get their feedback."
On the other hand, Britain's Emma-Ruth Richards handled the tight schedule remarkably well.
" I have an affliction of writing too fast," says Richards. "I think if I would've found myself in this position maybe two or three years ago, I would've been, not out of my depth, but I would have been far more stressed about it. But actually, an afternoon in my room to make changes and things is totally fine. And to see them change the next day, is far better than waiting two weeks or having to have this conversation over the phone with the performer that's miles away."
Sheng encouraged the composers and performers to make changes right up until the World Premiere performances, and while on one hand it made the whole experience a bit of a nail-biter for some, it also illustrated Sheng's belief that music is a living, breathing entity.
"There is only one rule," said Sheng, "that you have to make beautiful music, and whether you write it down or improvise it, or at the last minute you change something, or the players are adding something—this is all part of music making and creativity."
While this kind of discussion and working-out process is the norm in most other genres of music, it's not as common in the concert music world. Having the players chime in, too, was vital: Beyond the obvious technique advice they could offer, they often made interesting suggestions that approached compositional problem solving from another angle.
"Having performers articulate the same problems we would see in a totally different language," says Djupstrom, "reinforces, for composers, that if person has that musical sensibility—and has developed it into a professional situation—you should trust them to bring a lot to the piece. I learned that their point of view was just as valid as all of the other composers sitting in those workshops."
And when you're working on something that's as abstract as new "Classical" music, the discussions can be challenging—especially when everything happens within such a condensed schedule.
"In chamber music, where there aren't any words—there might be a program or a story, but no words—we have to dig a little deeper to find out what the hidden syntax of the music is," says Brooklyn-based composer Matt Van Brink, who, when the group realized his ten-year-old piece's title was actually hindering its interpretation, decided to change its name. "On that level, conversation can get very theoretical, from the composer's standpoint. From the performer's standpoint, it's very expressive and emotional—I think it's very concrete. But for the composers—all of a sudden everyone has their own idea of what the piece is supposed to be doing."
In addition to bringing people together and exposing each other to new music and new ways of thinking, they discover everyone's capabilities, and form lasting artistic partnerships—Camerata Pacifica's Artistic Director Adrian Spence even mentioned that he was thinking about commissioning some of the composers in the program.
In spite of numerous problems that still need to be worked out—it is a young program with some built-in challenges—IC's participants ultimately seemed to take away a majority of positives from the experience, from improved pieces to performances by incredible chamber musicians.
"The most important thing I took away is that the piece is never done," said Djupstrom. "The piece on the page exists kind of abstractly, but it doesn't exist for any practical reason until you hear it. Even Beethoven doesn't exist until someone plays it, which means that, every time it's performed, in a sense, the performers are recreating the piece…and we're always making decisions that really do shape the piece."
In addition to reviving the true ensemble spirit of music making, the players, performers, and repertoire in general stand to receive other benefits from projects such as the Intimacy of Creativity. And by illustrating the importance of making music together in Hong Kong, all of the participants have hopefully returned home to spread the love of living music—and one hopes future IC participants will do the same.
"It's an admirable process," says Djupstrom, "and I think it's something that we can use a lot more of."
Karissa Krenz is a New York City–based editor, writer, and communications professional specializing in the arts and entertainment. Her articles have appeared in a variety of publications including Time Out New York, Muso, and Playbill, and she is the former Editor of Chamber Music magazine. She regularly works on projects for a variety of organizations, including The Actors Fund, The New York Philharmonic, and Lincoln Center, for which she edits the special Playbill for the White Light Festival.


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Guest Blogger: Sarah Rawson
If you've just completed your college degree or are about to, despite the sense of accomplishment you feel, you might wonder, "What now?"
Even if you achieve successfully employment, you may still want to consider continuing your education. However, with student loans to be paid and other ongoing life responsibilities that may seem a daunting prospect, despite the obvious advantages. Online learning is an excellent solution as it allows you to pursue an advanced degree while still enabling you to get on with your life.
Don't be left behind
The online market in higher education has grown at an incredible rate and more than two million Americans took college level courses online in the last year alone. The advantages for a student are obvious when compared to traditional teaching methods, especially someone who is already in the workplace and wants to improve their skills and job prospects by taking a further degree. Online learning enables the student to be free from geographical constraints and they can fit a course around their work schedule, which is a huge advantage and an obvious reason why the trend for E-Learning is growing year on year. Before you enrol on any online course you should check their accreditation details and ensure that the qualification that you are considering is recognised and accepted widely, especially by your potential or existing employer.
Career change
One of the aspects of our working life that seems to be changing is the fact that many of us now experience not just one but a series of careers in sometimes altogether different environments and pursuits. Quite often people will re-evaluate their life goals and also maybe consider changing the work that they do in order to gain more job satisfaction or simply to take on a new challenge. Online learning gives you the opportunity to gain a new set of skills and qualifications that you can then use to find a new career, whilst still maintaining that all important regular pay check in your existing work.
Keeping a lid on costs
A key consideration in many choices that we make in our life relates to the costs involved and affordability is certainly an issue when considering further education. Many online courses are less expensive than traditional schooling as the provider does not have the same overheads of maintaining a building etc that they would have to pass on to the student. Another good point is that many courses offer digital textbooks which of course can enable you to make substantial savings compared to the cost of buying textbooks. Many of the courses available offer an inclusive price that includes all the modules and coursework materials, so you will very often have no unexpected or hidden costs to contend with. You should bear in mind that whilst there are obvious benefits and savings to digital textbooks, they are unlikely in certain circumstances to offer the same comprehensive level of information as a purchased text book and some people prefer having the hard copy to refer to as a n aid for revision and sometimes for ease of reference, so you should consider what is best for you.
The fact that you can complete your course online and within a timeframe that works for you is excellent flexibility in itself, but you can also enjoy the benefit of being able to transfer course credits in certain circumstances and even if for some reason you decide that an online course you have chosen is not right for you, there are a good number of colleges who will accept what credits you have gained rather than make you start all over again. You should make every effort to check the acceptability level of the course that you are considering online and it is unwise to assume that all courses have the same level of acceptance and recognition, if you fail to research this aspect thoroughly you could in some circumstances paying for a course that will not be accepted by you potential employer of by a traditional college if you are moving on to them afterwards.
The key to online learning is that you always have a fair degree of control. With the added control comes the ability to achieve your goals at a pace suitable to your own personal circumstances and finances.
Sarah Rawson is an avid blogger and independent researcher of distance learning programs. She has recently been researching various Pharmacy courses and the benefits of studying for a Doctorate of Pharmacy online. She reports her findings to various higher education blogs.


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It's a challenge for me to speak about The National, who has accompanied me over the past few years through various projects, including a feature-length film that I'm currently finishing. The film should be available for viewing within 2 or 3 months, just after the release of their new album Boxer (expected May 22nd). The new release promises to be a masterful artistic evolution from a band that has gone through their share of doubt and question. Always progressing.
Réal : Vincent Moon
Shot in Perpignan, September 2007
The times I've spent with The National have inspired countless stories, both personal and public. Their music has a capacity to fuse itself into the fabric of our daily lives more than any other, moving gently at first, in such a way that you don't initially notice the depth behind each song. But they'll tell you themselves that the melodies that stand out on the first listen won't be there on the tenth listen. That's the way they work, composing with the challenge of refining each song with unprecedented complexity. In the beginning there's an obvious melody line, in which each musician offers something particularly special. Then Matt Berninger arrives with his unique poetry, allowing the music to unravel into rare heights. The difference between the songs on these videos and the ones on their upcoming album is pretty striking.
The great flamenco guitarist Pedro Soler invited The National last September to play at a guitar festival in Perpignan, in southern France. Taking a break from the insanity of recording their new album, they had just come from a short respite in Banyuls, which is a tiny port town at the edge of the Mediterranean. They were staying in a small farmhouse owned by Pedro and Madeleine, isolated in the mountains and overlooking the sea. We agreed to hang out for a couple days and pass a special moment in the sunny south with a unique group of friends.
The concert in Perpignan was explosive and stunning–whoever's seen them live can attest that they have an astounding tendency to make the audience shudder. It would be difficult to say that Matt "makes the show", even if you find yourself latching onto his nervous and brusque gestures, which seem to appear as a testimony of unforeseen brilliance. He told me last summer, "What's easy about going onstage and singing, as opposed to just speaking publicly, is that you have music behind you just to cover you up a little bit. To hide in." It's all there.
"Start a War" is on the new album. It was late, nearing the end of a typically southern dinner beneath a huge tree. It was obvious that everyone there had to participate. I think it was Bryan who had the idea to have everyone play in rhythm with whatever he/she had in hand: glasses, plates, bottles, trunks of wood. Hands. This unfolded gently, moving subtly through the euphoric haze of alcohol, subtly through the heat of nearby Spain.
Réal : Vincent Moon
Shot in Perpignan, September 2007
Afterwards, we climbed high into the mountains where a glimmering chapel awaited, leaning out into the surrounding mountains. After countless requests and supplications for the song "Ada", the band played it twice: the first time with dancing, and the second with a beautiful choir of fifteen. It was a magical ending to the evening, the kind of evening that could have only happened in the south.


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And see those scissors in the picture above? Aren't those gorgeous?I found them and just had to have them. I do have a liking to the unusual. And those are unusual enough that I felt the need to add them to my collection. Plus I like the look of them of course.
Then there is an update on Amsterdam, where the green is driving me nuts....
My plans to start "Where my Heart Blooms" are on hold until the fabric arrives. The fabric I had in mind for it just didn't work and so I went ahead and ordered the recommended fabric. Which will take a bit to arrive here in Australia.
And I JUST got a surprise from Cindy. She sent me a lovely chart and some gorgeous fabrics. How nice is that? Thank you so very much Cindy. Loving it all. :)
Wishing everybody a fantastic week :)


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Duration: April 2012 – January 2014
Location: Cyprus
Aims of the Programme:
The aims of this research project are to: a) study ways and practices by which violence and conflicts are reflected in the informational content of the Cypriot television; and b)familiarise journalists and members of civil society with an open approach towards dealing with these issues. The ultimate goal is to foster and adopt new skills and for news coverage of issues of violence and conflict.
Cypriot society is undergoing a period of intense change – challenges to traditional values, changes in the family model, transformation of economic structures, increased migration and redistribution of demographic balances etc. In the midst of change is the rise of (a new form of) violence. According to information from the police and judicial authorities, crime, trafficking and exploitation of people and especially women (trafficking), sports and racist
violence occur with greater frequency than in the past. The media are the main vehicles of representation and mediation of key problems in Cypriot society incorporating these themes on a daily basis.
Within the mainstream media landscape, television is the most popular medium for Cypriots choose, and it predominates in the dissemination of information, entertainment, political and social orientation of Cypriot society. At the same time television is the medium that is routinely criticised for the treatment of news as a spectacle, for selective coverage of complex problems in modern societies. Television is considered that by systematically promoting issues of crime and violence that reinforces fear and the sense of threat of
citizens, contributing to a growing social intolerance towards heterogeneous components of modern societies.
The umbilical cord that joins journalism with 'official' sources, the joint co-formulation of frameworks of interpretation, but also the absence of citizens in the mediated public debate on the problems societies face highlight the need for a review of journalistic practices and the (re)connection of professional and citizen journalism.
Programme Activities:
- Content analysis of television coverage of domestic events of conflict and violence (crime, trafficking and exploitation, sport violence, racial violence, etc.)
- Laboratory participatory journalism for public service journalists and "amateur" journalists and active members of civil society (bloggers, active Internet users, members of social networks, etc.) inn collaborative news production to address issues of violence and conflict
- The creation of a platform for public participation in the production of, and
commentary on, the news
Cyprus University of Technology
Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation
CCMC Contact Person: Natasha Apostolidou - email@example.com
This project is co-funded by the Research Promotion Foundation of the Republic of Cyprus.


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© Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures
There Oughta Be More Otters
These days when you see the words "sluggish" and "recovery" paired in the same sentence, the story is almost always about the economy. But in California, the words hold true for sea otters, too.
During the spring census completed in June, U.S. Geological Survey scientists say 2,654 otters were counted. This brings the three-year average to 2,813, the lowest it has been since the late 1990s. And it means the population, categorized as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, is still struggling to survive.
Hunted for their luxuriant fur—the thickest of any mammal's—the southern sea otter was believed to be extinct until a small remnant population was discovered living off California's Big Sur coast in 1938.
"The population's recovery has hit a lot of roadblocks over the years—with the always-looming threat of oil spills, to fishing gear, to food-supply declines and life-threatening diseases possibly caused by agricultural run-off, heavy metal pollution and even parasites connected to cats and opossums," says Jim Curland, who leads Defenders' sea otter recovery efforts. "But we're still hopeful we can recover these magnificent animals."
In July a bill that would provide much-needed funding for sea otter research and conservation passed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a wide margin—thanks in part to Defenders' activists, who sent more than 63,000 messages in support of the bill to their representatives.
Find out more about Defenders' sea otter recovery efforts.
As the World Warms
When it comes to global warming news, what grabs the headlines are the dramatic and eye-catching: melting sea ice, more intense storms and droughts, starving polar bears. But behind the scenes, the changing climate is quietly wreaking havoc on all kinds of species, with consequences difficult to predict.
Take small mammals in Midwestern forests, for example. A team of researchers from the University of Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio's Miami University recently found that woodland deer mice, southern red-backed voles, northern flying squirrels, woodland jumping mice and least chipmunks are all scurrying to new grounds in the face of global warming. As they move out, historically southern species such as opossums and white-footed mice are moving in.
"We're talking about the commonest mammals there, mammals that have considerable ecological impact," says Philip Myers, from the University of Michigan, lead author of the study. "They disperse seeds, they eat seeds, they eat the insects that kill trees, they disperse the fungus that grows in tree roots that is necessary for trees to grow, and they're the prey base for a huge number of carnivorous birds, mammals and snakes. But we don't know enough about their natural history to know whether replacing a northern species with a southern equivalent is going to pass unnoticed or is going to be catastrophic."
Farther north, biologists from the University of Alberta have found that caribou populations have plunged 60 percent in the past 30 years from a combination of climate change and habitat destruction from resource development. For example, Peary caribou in Canada's high-Arctic islands face starvation when winter temperatures rise above freezing and rain soaks the snow cover. When cold temperatures return, ice encases the vegetation the caribou need to survive.
There's yet another worry on the horizon for the Arctic: Melting sea ice is not only altering animal habitat, it's potentially opening up new pathways for pathogens. Recently researchers from two California universities and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service documented a seal-killing distemper virus in a population of northern sea otters in Alaska. This particular virus killed 30,000 harbor seals in one 2002 outbreak in northern Europe and had previously affected harbor seals on the Atlantic coast, but it had never before been documented in the Pacific. The findings, published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also suggest that other predators and scavengers in the Pacific could become exposed to the disease.
Meanwhile, a study of fish populations in French rivers and streams and in the Baltic and North seas is showing that global warming is reducing body size, according to French and German researchers. The study found that aquatic animals have lost half their average body mass in the last 20 to 30 years, with smaller species now making up a larger proportion of fish populations. This phenomenon could affect the functioning of the entire ecosystem, because body size determines what animals can eat and what eats them, says Ulrich Sommer of the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences in Germany. If smaller zooplankton-eating fish species dominate, it could pave the way for massive and unpleasant algae blooms, he says. Smaller fish would also reduce the economic value of fisheries.
Want even more real-life evidence of carbon emissions? Ocean acidification is no longer a theory. In the Southern Ocean, Australian scientists have found the first field evidence that ocean acidification caused by too much carbon dioxide in the water has reduced the shell weight of a particular plankton by a third since pre-industrial times.
When carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves in the ocean it lowers the pH, altering the water's chemistry by making carbonate less available to organisms that need it for shell-building—in particular, a type of plankton that makes up an important part of the food chain. If the plankton population is severely affected, it could have devastating effects for marine life—and for us.
Check out Defenders' new video shorts about animals getting burned by global warming, hosted by Defenders' board member and Animal Planet star Jeff Corwin.
Original Twittering Still Popular
Here's a look at the faces on the other side of those birding binoculars, as revealed in a report released this summer by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
One out of every five Americans watches birds, and in doing so, contributed $36 billion to the United States economy in 2006.
Backyard birders number 42 million. Some 20 million people take bird-watching trips away from home.
The average birder is:
• 50 years old
• Female
• college-educated
• well-paid
• more likely to live in the urban South (33 percent) or the Midwest (27 percent).
Get a state-by-state breakdown and other fun statistics from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Expecting to Fly
Here's something to crow—or caw—about: Down to just 70 birds in 1987, the Lear's macaw, one of the world's most spectacular parrots, now numbers more than 750 birds. The rebound comes after the protection of the parrot's primary breeding habitat in Brazil, the only place in the world it is found.
Still threatened by hunting and the illegal pet trade, this bright blue bird isn't out of the woods yet. But thanks to concerted efforts by several groups, including the American Bird Conservancy, to acquire properties and increase vital habitat, the Lear's macaw population might just be on the mend.
Join Today
With engaging stories and spectacular photography, Defenders of Wildlife's magazine provides readers with a behind-the-scenes look at what biologists and conservationists are doing to protect imperiled wild animals and plants.


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Hat trick
Page 2 of 2 | Previous page
Semper Ubi Sub Ubi
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A "hat trick" in baseball is when a player hits three HRs in a single game. The feat you referred to above (single, double, triple, HR) is called "hitting for the cycle".
Did you spot that the Wikipedia entry for "mopery" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mopery) referred to The Word Detective,Issue of January 15, 2002, as a source?
I didn't check it out, but it seems pretty cool to be named as a source in Wiki…


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Train Responds to Online Petition Denouncing Boy Scouts' Ban on Gays
(NEW YORK) -- After over 3,000 people signed an online petition urging musical acts Train and Carly Rae Jepsen to denounce the Boy Scouts of America's national ban on gay Scouts and gay Scout leaders, Train issued a statement Friday urging the organization to end their national ban on gay membership.
Gay Eagle Scout Derek Nance launched a petition on Change.org Thursday. Train and Carly Rae Jepsen are slated to perform at the Boy Scouts of America's 2013 National Jamboree. In Train's statement, they said they would not perform unless the organization ends its national ban on gay Scouts and gay Scout leaders.
"When we booked this show for the Boy Scouts of America we were not aware of any policy barring openly gay people from participation within the organization," Train said in the statement posted to their website. "Train strongly opposes any kind of policy that questions the equality of any American citizen. We have always seen the BSA as a great and noble organization. We look forward to participating in the Jamboree this summer, as long as they make the right decision before then."
Carly Rae Jepsen has not yet responded to the petition or requests from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
"I'm thrilled that my petition brought the Boy Scouts' hurtful anti-gay policy to Train's attention," Nance said."More than 3,000 people are wondering, will Carly Rae Jepsen do the same?"
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio


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We like guns. Real guns. Not some airsoft, or paintball stuff... Just the things that make a big boom and makes the television you set up down range pop. You can talk about airsoft and paintball here, but lets try to keep the focus on the REAL thing here, please.
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.


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Monday, Jan. 21, marked the 10th anniversary of the By Hand column. How did all that time go by so quickly?
When I began this column on Jan. 21, 2003, knitting was being rediscovered by a new generation and interest in sewing, crocheting, embroidery and other needle arts was on the rise. With that came a new focus on sheep, alpaca and other fiber producing animals, which dovetailed neatly with interest in raising them.
Commercial yarn producers began to add natural fibers to their inventory, giving knitters "real" yarn to work with instead of only synthetic fibers. Soon, the fiber industry became infused with ideas held by a more "green minded" younger generation, and manufacturers began making yarns of cotton, bamboo, corn and even milk. In addition, linen and silk made a big comeback. Suddenly, it was possible to buy yarn made of those fibers or blended with wool. Knitters found themselves all snarled up — in a REALLY good way — in thread heaven. The choice of yarns became rich and wide and continues to be so today.
The renaissance of knitting saw the rise of the Pine Kneedlers knitting guild in Bangor, Fiber College in Searsport, the Fiber Frolic in Windsor, and yarn bombing in Skowhegan and at John Bapst Memorial High School in Bangor. Knitting in public caught on and was used to raise funds for and bring attention to the Orono Bog Boardwalk and other causes, including shaken baby syndrome and women's heart health. It also caused many of us to go through our stashes of yarn and donate oddballs to programs that teach others to knit — here or in other countries. It saw knitters and crocheters knitting for causes of all kinds including scarves for Special Olympics athletes, helmet liners for soldiers, slippers for personnel aboard U.S. Navy ships, lap robes for residents of veterans and nursing homes, caps and clothing for premature babies, caps for those undergoing treatment for cancer and even mats for cats waiting for adoption at animal shelters.
Quilters created beautiful bed covers they donated to raise funds for special causes. They arranged retreats in remote places to share quilting lore and have a good time. They organized quilt shows to give the public a chance to view the artistry of their work and get rare glimpses of vintage quilts handed down in families. And throughout Maine, chapters of the Pine Tree Quilters Guild still keep the art of quilting alive and well.
I am especially indebted to Mary Bird of the Friday Fiber Friends for sharing over the years so much information about fiber-related events. The Friends, open to anyone who knits, crochets or does other kinds of stitching, meet at noon Fridays at the Page Farm and Home Museum at the University of Maine. I am also indebted to Christine Macchi of Maine Fiberarts in Topsham for sharing information about exhibits, workshops and other events taking place there.
The longevity of the By Hand column is because of you, dear readers, who share stitching stories; histories of handmade family quilts and clothing; provide information about needlework activities, groups and events; and who hand the needlearts on to those — child or grown up — who want to learn.
In the coming year I am looking forward to hearing more of your stitching news, letting you know about stitching events and exhibits, and telling you about some of the many new books that find their way to my desk.
Thank you for 10 lovely years of nimble fingers, busy hands and the kindness of your hearts.
A Wool Applique Workshop under the auspices of the SAD 22 Adult Education program will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays, starting Feb. 27, for four weeks at Reeds Brook Middle School in Hampden. For information or to register, call the adult education office at 862-6545 or go to sad22.us/adulteducation.
"Fransje Killaars: Color at the Center" will be on display Jan. 25 through March 22 at the Bates College Museum of Art in Lewiston. Killaars' installations focus on textiles and may combine fabrics from Japan, blankets of her own design and hand woven in India, and draped figures that conjure women both present and past. Killaars, who was born and trained in art in the Netherlands, sometimes uses carpets and bedspreads in her work. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, and until 7 p.m. Wednesdays during the academic year. For information, call 786-6158 or go to firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Canoe City Quilters will host a Blanket Day, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Old Town Knights of Columbus Hall, 5 Gilman Falls Ave. The event is open to the public. Volunteers with many skills are needed. Bring a sewing machine, power strip and sewing supplies. Fabric and batting will be available, but donations are invited. Volunteer for several hours or bring a lunch and stay all day. The goal is to make 100 blankets to donate to Project Linus. For information, contact Merlene Sanborn, Penobscot County coordinator, at 561-9225 or firstname.lastname@example.com. A drop box will be available for previously made items. Monetary gifts, and donations of new cotton or flannel fabric, fleece in 2-yard lengths, yarn, batting or other supplies will be accepted.
The Blue Hill Library's knitting group will begin again 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, at the library in the main reading room near the fireplace. Also invited are crocheters, spinners and other fiber artists. The group is open to all. Bring current projects to work on, get help learning to knit or bring a problem that needs solving. For information, call the library at 374-5515.
Call Ardeana Hamlin at 990-8153 or email firstname.lastname@example.com. Don't forget to visit her blog at byhand.bangordailynews.com.


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Budget-writing Committee has New Leadership
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - Lawmakers in Pierre are seeing some changes as the budget-writing committee takes on new leadership.
The Joint Appropriations Committee has changed from last year, when Rep. Dean Wink was chairman of the House panel and Sen. Corey Brown was chairman of the Senate panel.
A Republican from Howes, Wink has been elected speaker pro-tem and is next in line to be House speaker.
A Gettysburg Republican, Brown has been elected Senate president pro-tem and handles administrative work while presiding over the Senate when the lieutenant governor is absent.
Those jobs require a lot of time, so Wink and Brown are no longer on the time-consuming Joint Appropriations Committee. The new chairs are Sen. Deb Peters of Hartford and Rep. Fred Romkema of Spearfish. Both are Republicans.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Quo Vadis
Quo Vadis
All of our books are rescued from discard and upcycled into a unique journal. Each journal has 60 blank (unlined) pages and a selection of pages from the original book.
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For customers in Winnipeg, I have a local pickup option so you can save on shipping.


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A top psychologist has been getting a lot of attention this Christmas after suggesting that Santa Claus is NOT real.
Dr Christopher Boyle said parents could be doing their children long-term damage by telling them about Father Christmas, and he described the concept of an all-seeing North Pole intelligence agency that judges whether children have been good or bad as "terrifying".
"The morality of making children believe in such myths has to be questioned. If parents are capable of lying about something so special and magical, can they be relied upon to continue as the guardians of wisdom and truth?"
His study accepts it may sometimes be right to lie to protect kids from uncomfortable truths, but not for Christmas.
"All children will eventually find out they've been consistently lied to for years, and this might make them wonder what other lies they've been told."
The study's co-author Dr Kathy McKay, said there is evidence in TV and film that adults create make-believe worlds because they want to be kids again.
She said "The persistence of fandom in stories like Harry Potter, Star Wars and Doctor Who in adulthood demonstrates a desire to briefly re-enter childhood. Many people may yearn for a time when imagination was accepted and encouraged, which may not be the case in adult life."
Santa Claus was approached for an interview but said he was too busy making gifts to comment.


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Hold the Date
Race to the Top
Assessment Grants
Bus Tour
Constitution Day
Odds and Ends
Quote to Note
Upcoming Events
Hold the Date
President Obama will deliver his second annual Back to School speech on September 14. The speech is an opportunity for the President to speak directly to students across the nation. Last year, he encouraged students to stay in school, study hard, and take responsibility for their education. His speech will be broadcast live online. More details will be announced shortly. (Note: Relevant details, including time and location, will be posted on ED.gov and WhiteHouse.gov.)
Race to the Top
On August 24, Secretary Duncan announced that nine states and the District of Columbia had won grants in Phase 2 of the Race to the Top competition. Along with Phase 1 winners Delaware and Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia will be awarded significant funding under the Administration's groundbreaking reform program that will directly impact 13.6 million students and 980,000 teachers in 25,000 schools. As with any federal grant, budgets will be finalized after discussions between the grantees and the Department, and the money will be distributed over time as the grantees meet benchmarks. "These states show what is possible when adults come together to do the right thing for children," the Secretary declared. "Every state that applied showed a tremendous amount of leadership and a bold commitment to reform. The creativity and innovation in each of these applications is breathtaking." While peer reviewers rated these 10 as having the highest-scoring plans, few points separated them from the remaining applications. The number of winners selected hinged on both the quality of the applications and the funding available. "We had many more competitive applications than money to fund them this round," the Secretary noted. "We're hopeful there will be a Phase 3 of Race to the Top and have requested $1.35 billion in next year's budget. In the meantime, we will partner with every state that applied, to help them find ways to carry out the bold reforms they've proposed in their applications."
A total of 46 states and the District of Columbia put together comprehensive reform plans to apply for Race to the Top in Phases 1 and 2. During the competition, 35 states and the District of Columbia adopted common core college- and career-ready standards in reading and math, and 34 states altered laws or policies to improve education. Every state that applied has already done the hard work of collaboratively creating an education reform agenda. In the coming months, the Department plans to convene all states to help ensure the success of their work implementing reforms around college- and career-ready standards, quality data systems, great teachers and leaders, and school turnarounds. In addition to Race to the Top, the Department has made unprecedented resources available through reform programs like the Investing in Innovation Fund, the Teacher Incentive Fund, and Title I School Improvement Grants. Through all of these programs, the agency will be distributing almost $10 billion to support education reform in states and local communities.
As it did for Phase 1, the Department has made states' Phase 2 applications, reviewers' comments and scores, and videos of states' presentations available online.
Assessment Grants
In an effort to provide ongoing feedback to teachers throughout the course of the school year, measure annual student growth, and move beyond narrowly focused "bubble tests," the Department has awarded two groups of states substantial grants to develop a new generation of tests. The new tests will be aligned to the higher standards that were devised by the nation's governors and Chief State School Officers. "As I travel around the country, the number one complaint I hear from teachers is that bubble tests pressure teachers to teach to a test that doesn't measure what really matters," Secretary Duncan stated. "Both of these winning applicants are planning to develop new assessments that will move us far beyond this and measure real student knowledge and skills." The tests, to be ready for use by the 2014-15 school year, will assess students' knowledge of language arts and math from third-grade through high school.
The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) is a coalition of 26 states. PARCC will test students' ability to read complex text, complete research projects, excel at classroom speaking and listening assignments, and work with digital media. PARCC will also replace the one end-of-year high stakes test with a series of assessments during the year that will be averaged into one score for accountability purposes, reducing the weight given to a single test administered on a single day and providing valuable information to students and teachers throughout the year.
The SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) is a coalition of 31 states. SBAC will test students using computer adaptive technology that will ask students tailored questions based on previous answers. SBAC will also continue to use one test at the end of the school year for accountability purposes but will create a series of interim tests used to inform students, parents, and teachers about whether students are "on track."
The grant requests, totaling approximately $330 million, are part of the Race to the Top competition.
A variety of related materials, such as Secretary Duncan's remarks at Achieve's American Diploma Project (ADP) Leadership Team meeting, are listed in a new blog entry.
Bus Tour
Secretary Duncan just concluded his "Courage in the Classroom: Honoring America's Teachers" bus tour, spanning eights states, 14 cities, and more than 800 miles. Along the way, he heard from teachers and other educators about the vital work they are doing to educate America's young people and talked with students, parents, and community leaders about their goals for the new school year and beyond. He was joined by some of the Department's Teaching Ambassador Fellows. (Note: A detailed trip report, including links to blog entries and videos from each stop, is available online.)
- Before departing on the tour, the Secretary joined more than 100 students and their parents, grandparents, and younger siblings for a strolla walking school busfrom a park to an elementary school in a neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
- Then, on the eve of his tour, the Secretary delivered remarks at the Little Rock Convention Center in Arkansas. "As I said in a speech a few weeks ago, no one thinks [student] test scores should be the only factor in teacher evaluations, and no one wants to evaluate teachers based on a single test on a single day," he stated. "But looking at student progress over time, in combination with other factors like peer review and principal observation, can lead to a culture shift in our schools where we finally take good teaching as seriously as the profession deserves." He was responding to a recent report by the Los Angeles Times that used students' performance on standardized tests to determine which teachers get the greatest gains out of their students.
- And, in between legs of the tour, the Secretary participated in the "Reclaim the Dream" rally at Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. and appeared on "This Week with Christiane Amanpour" to discuss the need to recognize great teaching.
Constitution Day
September 17 is Constitution Day/Citizenship Day, commemorating the September 17, 1787, signing of the U.S. Constitution. In recognition, Congress has mandated that every educational institution receiving federal funds take a day to teach the seminal document. To assist students and educators in their studies, free online resources are available from the Department's Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (FREE) web site, the National History Education Clearinghouse, and the National Archives.
Odds and Ends
Thirteen states and American Samoa have received new federal funding to support education jobs.
In advance of the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Administration announced a final agreement for the obligation of $1.84 billion to repair and replace public schools damaged by the hurricane. The Governor of Louisiana's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), Orleans Parish School Board, Recovery School District, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developed a project agreement to repair, replace, and rehabilitate 127 damaged campuses and, over an eight year period, return the two districts to operation with a total of 87 campuses. The Administration recognizes that high-quality schools help provide a critical foundation for stable and prosperous communities, a foundation that is especially crucial in communities working to recover from disasters. (Note: The Secretary's personal blog entry on the agreement and a White House fact sheet on Gulf Coast hurricane recovery and nationwide disaster preparedness and responses efforts are available online.
The Investing in Innovation program, which announced its 49 highest-rated applicants last month, has released its list of peer reviewers and six examples of the type of documentation that would be deemed as "adequate evidence" of a private sector match.
A First Look report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), presents findings from three different postsecondary education data collections: institutional characteristics for the 2009-10 academic year; student completions from July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009; and student enrollment for the 2008-09 academic year.
According to NCES' new "Back to School Statistics for 2010," America's schools and colleges will welcome back large numbers of students this fall, as population increases and high enrollment rates continue to be reflected in more students in America's schools than ever.
The long-running Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, launching on September 15 (in conjunction with Arts in Education Week), offer teens in grades 7-12 the opportunity earn recognition and scholarships, as well as have their works exhibited and published, in 30 distinct categories of art and writing.
Quote to Note
"You [teachers] are our national unsung heroes. Not only do we trust you, but we hold you in the very highest esteem. We understand that you are doing society's most important work. We will support you in your work, and we will work together with you to elevate and strengthen the teaching profession, because nothing less than America's future rests on your collective shoulders."
|Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (8/25/10), framing the "Courage in the Classroom" bus tour
Upcoming Events
On September 13, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the Department is offering a special webinar on procuring goods and services with federal education grant funds. With the major increase in federal funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), grantees have a heightened responsibility to ensure that procurements using ARRA funds are conducted in full compliance with federal rules, such as the Department's General Administration Regulations (EDGAR) requirements, and in accordance with sound business practices. This webinar will provide the audience with a review of EDGAR procurement requirements; a discussion on the commonly identified procurement weaknesses found in audits and reviews; and best practices used to avoid procurement problems and for the overall improvement of an organization's procurement system and processes.
Planning is underway for the annual International Education Week (November 15-19, coinciding with American Education Week). The week provides educational institutions and communities the opportunity to promote and celebrate the benefits of international education worldwide. This year's theme is "International Education: Striving for a Sustainable Future." Both individuals and entities are encouraged to join the listserv and submit a report on planned activities.
On September 11, the Department will exhibit at the National Council on Negro Women's Black Family Reunion Celebration on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. If you are attending this event, please visit the Department's booth.
Credits, Subscribe & Unsubscribe
Please feel free to contact the Office of Communications and Outreach with any questions:
Director, Intergovernmental AffairsStacey Jordan, (202) 401-0026, firstname.lastname@example.com
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To be added or removed from distribution, or submit comments (we welcome your feedback!), please contact Adam Honeysett. Or, visit http://www2.ed.gov/news/newsletters/edreview/index.html.
This newsletter contains hypertext links to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user's convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Furthermore, the inclusion of links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered, on these sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites.


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Endangered sharks in the waters of the United Kingdom (UK) and its overseas territories will be given greater protection following the signing of an international agreement on the conservation of sharks, UK Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon announced last week.
The agreement, the first of its kind to address the global conservation of sharks, was signed by Richard Benyon on behalf of the UK and a number of its Overseas Territories.
Adopted under the Convention of Migratory Species it will help develop management measures to protect threatened species such as basking, longfin mako and whale sharks.
Under the agreement, work will focus on improving fisheries data for threatened shark species to help inform conservation and management actions. It will see better co-ordination of shark management and conservation measures at regional and international levels, including proposals to limit the catch or trade in endangered species of shark.
The full press release of the UK Deparment for Environent, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), an IUCN State Member, can be found here.


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Jewel Print from The Gift with Slate, Glass and Twine {Broken}
Jewel Print from The Gift with Slate, Glass and Twine {Broken}
These beautiful jewel prints (3"x2") from The Gift Series are pressed between slate and glass and bound together with twine.
Each piece is one of a kind and signed on the front. They're also ready to hang with twine on the backside.
I put together each piece myself from start to finish. We even cut the slate and drilled all the holes. It was quite an undertaking. The slate came from the old Watson School where I went to kindergarten. It was torn down many years ago and my parents salvaged all the chalkboards from the classrooms. Its been sitting on the farm for over 30 years now and I thought it was high time to give it a new life.
Having said that, these pieces aren't perfect but perfectly imperfect. Some of the pieces have numbers and letters scratched into the surface by a small child from years past, some have scrapes and chips, but I love the history of it all and hope you will too. If you're a fan of imperfections like I am, you'll love them.
**Please look over all the photos from the piece you choose to make sure there is no imperfection you can't live with.


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Thank you, Brian Urlacher.
If the Bears can't be in the Super Bowl, if the Bears can't get themselves to this week, then at least an ex-Bear can offer us some entertaining cattiness.
And believe me, this season's Bears could never be in this Super Bowl, could never be relevant this week.
The thinking is that you just need to get into the playoffs to have a chance because look at what the wild cards have done lately, but guess what? Sit down and shut up, is what.
After watching the Bears throw up on themselves down the stretch and then watching actual playoff teams earn the right to play this Sunday, you know the Bears never had a chance.
Further, you know the Bears were lucky to spare themselves an embarrassment worse than Philadelphia or Green Bay.
So, the Bears aren't in New York this week, but Urlacher is, and I guess we're not tired of whatever shots he wants to take at his former team.
He seems to be more newsworthy as an ex-Bear than Julius Pepper is as a Bear-for-now. But then, neither of them played last season.
Urlacher was part of the media during Super Bowl media day Tuesday, but he became a story anyway.
Since refusing to take the Bears' offer last year, Urlacher has been working for one or several of the Fox Sports outlets that you can never find. Still, that makes him newsworthy, or at least gives him a platform to fire on his former team, even though his former team made him the best offer to play last season -- maybe the only offer.
He really ought to hate the rest of the league as much as he hates the Bears, but I guess we don't care whether he hates anybody except the only team he played for.
And he does hate the Bears, or at least the quarterback and general manager. We know this because he didn't use the quarterback's or general manager's name when talking about Phil Emery's decision to give Jay Cutler that seven-year, $126 million contract.
"The thinking is, if you have a franchise quarterback, you hold onto them'' Urlacher said. "It's hard to find them in the NFL, and I think the GM there thought he had one, so he paid him like one.''
The only thing Urlacher missed was "Fredo, you're nothing to me now.''
If you're keeping score at home, not only did Urlacher refuse to utter either person's name, but he refused to say that Cutler is a franchise quarterback, just that the GM thought he had one.
That's code for no, Urlacher does not believe The Quarterback Who Must Not Be Named is elite at that position.
That's also code for no, the General Manager Who Must Not Be Named doesn't know what he's doing at that position.
Pretty slick talk, actually. Surprising finesse from a once-feared hitter. Urlacher offered his answer without sneer or sarcasm, but the words and sentiment pounded the target like it was some fool trying to run up the middle.
What's worse for Bears fans is, Urlacher is right. So far, anyway.
Urlacher didn't detail reasons for his obvious feelings, but if he started with Cutler's postseason win total that ties him with Tim Tebow and still leaves him behind Rex Grossman, game's over.
Cutler always has been more hype and hope than hallelujah. He might've just turned in his best season as a Bear, but then, he just had to inch up over medicore to do it, and he still suffered his regularly scheduled injury.
Cutler remains the most talented Bears quarterback ever. Which has been worth almost nothing when it matters. Which only encourages giving voice to grudges. Which, frankly, is entertaining for us, but probably not so much for Cutler and the Bears.
We've heard such sounds before, former Bears talking about the current regime and roster. When the results aren't pretty, the shots get fired more often and at greater volume, an amusing combination of gravitas and and anger, if not also the need to vomit.
There's a simple way for Cutler and the Bears to mute it: Get to this week and win on that Sunday.


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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Hiring Bruce Pearl to coach a basketball team just got harder and messier for any NCAA school.
The NCAA announced Wednesday it had hit the former Tennessee men's basketball coach with a three-year show-cause penalty, punishing him for lying to investigators about improperly hosting recruits at his home and urging others to do the same.
What the ruling means is that before Pearl can be hired, a school must tell the NCAA why it wants him and be prepared to face its own penalties for giving him a job. Former Pearl assistants Tony Jones, Jason Shay and Steve Forbes face the same sanctions, except they were only given one-year show-cause penalties for their own roles in misleading the NCAA.
"The most serious allegations in this case involved the former men's basketball coaching staff and their conduct in the commission of violations, the provision of false and misleading information about them, and the inducement of others to do the same," the NCAA's report says.
The sanctions do not include further penalties against Tennessee beyond those self-imposed in response to the two-year investigation into recruiting by Pearl's program and the football program under then-coach Lane Kiffin.
Volunteers officials had self-imposed a two-year probationary period, which begins Wednesday, and have placed additional recruiting restrictions on current basketball coach Cuonzo Martin and football coach Derek Dooley, neither of whom have been accused of any wrongdoing. Tennessee had previously docked the basketball staff's pay, and the Southeastern Conference suspended Pearl from eight league games during the 2010-11 season.
The NCAA concluded that 12 recruiting violations committed by former coach Lane Kiffin, who left Tennessee in January 2010 to coach Southern California, and his staff were minor in nature and did not warrant punishment. Those violations included 16 improper recruiting phone calls and impermissible contact between football staff interns and recruits.
"However, the committee was troubled by the number and nature of the secondary infractions by the football coaching staff during its one-year tenure at the institution," the report says. "Some of the violations received nationwide publicity and brought the football program into public controversy. This is not a record of which to be proud."
Pearl misleadingly told NCAA enforcement staff during a June 14, 2010, interview that he did not know where a photo of him and then-high school junior Aaron Craft was taken. The photo had been sent anonymously to the NCAA.
Pearl later confirmed in a follow-up interview two months later that the photo was taken at a cookout at his home, where he was hosting several recruits on unofficial visits, an NCAA violation. A Volunteers basketball player transported the recruits to Pearl's home, where free food and drink were provided to the recruits, which constituted two more violations.
"I brought them all together. I told them that, you know, we were thrilled obviously that they were there and that they were coming to Tennessee but that this part of their visit was not appropriate, not right, and not allowed," Pearl said, according to a transcript of his interview with NCAA investigators. "And two things: one, you're going to have to leave shortly, and I'm sorry, and two, please don't repeat this."
The NCAA enforcement staff interviewed Craft's father, John Craft, on July 9, 2010, about the photo, and John Craft told investigators that Pearl had phoned him after his own interview with the NCAA to see what the Crafts' story would be about the photo and the cookout.
Those actions led to the NCAA's charge of unethical conduct against Pearl. Jones, Shay and Forbes were charged with failing to cooperate with the NCAA for neglecting to reveal information about the cookout at Pearl's house.
Pearl and the assistants were also charged with making 94 improper phone calls to recruits, which resulted in a charge of failure to monitor against Tennessee.