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Did "The Wire" Presage Politics Post-2008? January 20, 2010Posted by Aymar Jean Christian in Uncategorized.
Tags: cable, politics, TV
Thanks to Racialicious for reposting this!
Get ready for reason #573 why The Wire was the best television show of the aughts. In the wake of Scott Brown's upset in the Massachusetts special election for the U.S. Senate, I've been thinking a lot about the cycle of politics. I've been a pretty steady proponent of the politics of idealism and, borrowing from Tony Kushner, the ethical responsibility to hope, but the aftermath of Martha Coakley's defeat may test my resolve. Where can I find the blueprint for my incipient cynicism? The Wire, of course!
The Wire's central thesis was simple: short-term politics and the quest for power kills long-term progress and social justice. From gangs to government, the media to schools, the same rule applies. Everyone, sadly, violates the rule. They think about themselves and the system never gets fixed. This is the fundamental cynicism of The Wire: it perfectly diagnoses how groups and institutions kill hope.
But it appears Washington has few Wire fans.
Democrats are already backing away from healthcare reform, declaring it over, and plotting to effectively kill reform by promising to wait to seat Brown. Majority leaders Pelosi and Reid are pledging to press on, but it's uncertain whether they hold the party together for the 15-20 day window before Brown has to be seated.
Why back away from reform? In fact, the way to political viability and social justice is to pass legislation, and there's a clear path to (pseudo)-victory. In order to avoid a replay of 1994 — which has been the mantra since negotiations began last year — Democrats have to act. In fact, had they acted faster and more decisively last year, they probably could have avoided this whole mess (Maybe. Unemployment, after all, is high. This is complicated argument and besides the point anyway).
But each legislator is acting in self-interest and self-preservation. Conservative Dems think they can avoid the Republican tidal wave in the fall by doing nothing on healthcare (do no harm by doing nothing). Liberal Dems want to "kill the bill" out of principle and spite.
What The Wire Tells Us About How Promising Politicians Fail Society
This is the kind of short-term thinking and power plays The Wire dramatized so astutely.
In the first part of the series, we get to know Democratic Mayor Royce (top, above), an embattled politician beset by crime and struggling schools. What's his solution? Instead of striving for real reform, he asks bureaucrats to cook the books. Raise the crime stats artificially — as opposed to investing in lengthy, slow, deep police work and building community relationships — to improve his chances at reelection. Mayor Royce is weak and calculating, just like Democrats now.
The Wire gives us a great (white) hope in Democrat Thomas Carcetti (bottom, above). The outsider Carcetti promises to fully fund the police and encourage smart police work. No more cooking the books solely to produce the right crime numbers for reelection. No more focusing on political self-preservation: do instead what's good for the people of Baltimore.
In many ways, Carcetti is the Obama to Royce's Bush. Where Royce is an ideological vacuum, Carcetti is impassioned and principled. He promises a new politics and real results.
Yet by the end of the series, Carcetti has become Royce, obsessed with reelection and cooking the books. Naturally so: he wants to get elected to do more, but, paradoxically, in order to do more you have to do something first.
How Real Democrats Are Imitating HBO's Flawed Democrats
I won't argue that Obama has lost his conviction, but he certainly has lost his way. His inability to argue for real reform (half the stimulus in tax cuts; inadequately advocating for real Democratic principles in healthcare reform, like the public option) worsened what would've been a bad year already for his party. Sure, he has no control over Congress, but he set the tone. Meanwhile, legislators, already programmed for self-preservation, dragged their feet on reform, enervating the public, making Washington seem inefficient, out-of-touch and bloated.
They're still doing it. The only reason to kill health reform is a silly plea to save themselves in the fall. Except, like in The Wire, the actual solution is to do the job right. It's hard at first but pays off later.
If the Democrats squander a golden opportunity — again — over their chronic short-sightedness, not only will they doom themselves, they will also squander all the hope and idealism that brought them there in the first place.
The Wire Predicts a Post-Idealist Politics, or How Milennials Will Become Boomers
It's a historical cliche (and probably only half-factual) that the Boomers became politically hardened and cynical after the hope and idealism of the sixties gave way to the deaths of Bobby Kennedy and MLK, the election of Nixon in 1968 and reelection in 1972. Among friends, I've quietly criticized such bitterness (the kind of bitterness at the root of Clinton's triangulation in the 1990s) as short-sighted.
But I'm starting to feel the pangs of mounting cynicism. I'd chock it up to political maturation, but I don't want to. Is it inevitable that the heights of optimism (2008) give way to startling disappointment (2009) and the eventual return of the status quo (2010)? That certainly isn't my preferred view of history. Still, I can already see the throngs of young idealists who voted for Obama in 2008 turning into hardened realists. For some, this is a good thing; it's about experience. Life is cruel, after all. But as Boomer politics shows us, it doesn't necessarily lead to better policy (has there been any Democratic legislation as meaningful as that of 1960s? Welfare reform? DoMA? Don't Ask, Don't Tell? Clinton's "realistic" politics were hardly progressive).
Once again, The Wire offers no solutions, only a clear narrative of the problem. In some ways, it is extremely hopeful: if we know what's wrong we can fix it. That's how I interpreted it.
As real life begins to mimic art (again), though, I'm starting to think maybe The Wire was right. By the last episode, the police have solved the big case and broken the drug ring, but little else has changed. Politicians are still the same. Deals are made in exclusive rooms on the waterfront. Drugs still pollute the streets (no more Hamsterdam!).
The Wire ends with plus ça change. It's too premature to see if history (1992) will repeat itself this year, but it may just. The people, many of them Democrats, who say "America is fundamentally conservative" may just win.
Are they just being real or have they simply lost hope?
- 1. Did "The Wire" Presage Politics Post-2008? | Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture - January 26, 2010
[…] by Guest Contributor Aymar Jean Christian, originally published at Televisual […]
- 3. Tweets that mention Did "The Wire" Presage Politics Post-2008? « Televisual -- Topsy.com - January 30, 2010
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Vid Salomon, alumiere. alumiere said: http://blog.ajchristian.org/2010/01/20/did-the-wire-presage-politics-post-2008/ Brilliant essay, unfortunately he may well be correct. […]
- 4. contemporary art - December 28, 2012
n resurrected nt popular style n hair tattoos. You're probably also hoping that this location is not far away and you don't have to spend a
lot of money to get there. Leading online stores like Indiantag are
offering huge collections of kurtis with wholesale prices.


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A Bold EU Move Against Vladimir Putin?
Just when you thought Europe would never take strong action against Russian policy in Ukraine, something big is in the works. The $20 billion South Stream pipeline, long sought by Moscow as a way to export natural gas to Europe without going through Ukraine, is hanging by a thread. Losing it would be a real setback for Vladimir Putin. Yet the reason it is in jeopardy says even more about why it's so hard to counter Russian policy.

subset: commoncrawl


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According to the legend, the son of the Attic hero Sounion was called "Sifnos". His name was given to this island. In another version, the name Sifnos came from the adjective "Sifnos" meaning empty, which refers to the ancient mining tunnels.
Most historians though, state that Sifnos was inhabited by the Pelasgians and later by the Phoenicians, the Leleges and the Cares. According to the myths these people were expelled by King Minos of Crete and settled in the Cyclades under his sons, as rulers.
Hotel Alexandros is one of the most vital hotels in Sifnos. This is because it is there for a long time, honoring the traditions of the island and its inhabitants. Hotel Alexandros is a family business that provides a familiar and friendly atmosphere that makes you relax and get rid of any notions you may have, taking you far away, to the Ancient Greek life.
The complex consists of about 50 rooms built on several levels and scattered in 6 buildings, giving the feeling of being in a small cycladic village, with traditional balconies, terraces and the blue-white of the Aegean.
In the lovely pool area you can enjoy cold dishes, salads, home-made deserts, a coffee or a drink and enjoy the relaxing atmosphere. Breakfast is unforgettable! Buffet on the terrace of the reception with the best view of Platis Gialos, with local delicacies, fruits, marmelade, delicious traditional pastries and more.
All external areas will impress you with its many elegant items. Many kserolithies (traditional dry stone walls), gardens always fragrant and beautiful and the general style of the hotel that merges with the landscape of Sifnos.
Apart from the services a hotel could offer, Alexandros Hotel offers a family atmosphere with utmost willingness to serve you. This is our special care that makes the most pivotal difference between a hotel as a business and a hotel as a service. They think that Sifnos is characterized not just as a tourist destination but as a place that above all has open-handedly received the love of the world, both visitors and residents.
Alexandros Hotel is in Platis Gialos of Sifnos island, just 150 meters from the best sandy beach of the island and 15km from the port, Kamares. The main way to visit it, is from the port of Piraeus, in Athens. What is more, there are some internal Cycladic connections with the other islands around, like Folegandros, Kimolos, Milos, Paros and Serifos.
The Hotel's facilities include two parking areas, a playground, a swimming-pool with sunbeds and umbrellas, a pool and snack bar, a reception, room-service, services of washing-machines, breakfast buffet, Fax, free wi-fi and on top of all a friendly personnel willing to serve you as good as it gets.
The room's facilities of Alexandros Hotel include a telephone, music, satellite television, a mini-bar, air conditioning, hair-dryers, verandas or balconys with view to the sea, pool or the beautiful gardens of the hotel.
You can find available single, double, triple, quadruple, pentax and suites. All the hospitality you need!
Hotel Alexandros, a True Greek in Sifnos …


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Festive store displays mean the holiday shopping season is in full swing. While a recent survey by the National Retail Federation is estimating that consumer spending will be conservative this year, the group predicts that the average shopper is planning to dole out $421.82 on family members, $75.13 on friends and $23.48 on co-workers.
"The holidays bring on a feeling of consumption on the part of individuals to provide gifts to families and friends," said Charles W. Miller, associate professor of finance at Marymount University in Arlington. "Often, when monies are not available, people turn to the path of least resistance which is the credit card."
While the holidays mean increased spending for many, financial setbacks can be avoided. Local money experts offer strategies for those determined to emerge from the season with minimal or no debt.
McLean-based financial advisor Kristan Anderson said, "Avoiding holiday debt is all about setting a budget and being creative about gifting options," she said. "The budget should be an amount that does not require the additional use of credit cards for short-term financing."
Potomac, Md. resident Linda Berg-Cross, a researcher and professor of psychology at Howard University suggests, "Avoid developing a consuming style based on what the media is selling. Media literacy is critical for financial savvy in today's world."
Berg-Cross recommends that consumers use money-saving tactics like "holiday shopping at resale stores, waiting for sales, cutting coupons, and [internet] surfing to comparison shop."
Theresia Wansi, Ph.D., professor of finance at Marymount University adds, "You can go to a store like Bloomingdales and look around and then go to a discount store and find the same items at a much lower price."
"Avoiding holiday debt is all about setting a budget and being creative about gifting options,"
Kristan Anderson, McLean-based financial advisor
Anderson says avoid waiting until the last minute to purchase gifts. "Starting early…allows you to spread the costs out over a few months or more," she said. "Some stores are offering layaway, which is another option that avoids increasing credit card debt.
Steve Pillof, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance at George Mason University advises consumers against going shopping without a methodical plan. "Stores have colorful displays and holiday lights that lure shoppers," he said. "Before going shopping you have to sit down and decide how much money you are going to spend on each person. Make a list and take it with you to help resist overspending. Don't charge more on credit cards than you can afford to pay off easily in three months."
For those having financial difficulties Anderson says, "It is worth having a discussion with family members and opting to not exchange gifts outside the immediate family. Or just have a simple gift exchange where each person has only one person to buy a gift for. Don't underestimate the value of a homemade gift, either."


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Life on the Edge
The OBX is a 130-mile stretch of barrier islands just off the coast of North Carolina. Made up of quaint towns and sleepy fishing villages, each wonderfully weather worn to a varying degree. Even spanning hundreds of years and despite millions of visitors, each town retains its own individual character#outerbankssoul


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Online admissions details for Academic year
Documents required to be submitted electronically (jpeg or pdf files of size less than 1Mb each)
Details of the process and how to fill the form are available at this link: http://intelliadmissions.org/process. You can also go to the application form by clicking on the Apply Now link
Applications forms can be filled at any time, however the school link will only open and close at the specified time in this announcement.
Selection Process:
The School will contact the applicants for a document review meeting via SMS. Please do not contact the school until then.
- donePlease do not disturb the school authorities during the entire application process.
- doneThere are very few seats available, so your cooperation will be appreciated.
- doneYou will be informed of the status of your application via SMS on the mobile numbers submitted online as part of the application.
- doneRetain the SMS/Email with your form nos and only print them when the school calls you for a meeting.
Contact Details
Kangaroo Kids 133/59-B,Kanpur City,Munshipurwa 208023
- email firstname.lastname@example.com
Note : The below mentioned schools may or may not be under same trust/management
- BILLABONG HIGH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL Juhi Primary : Primary


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B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: email@example.com
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 14, 2011) – Clay Stanley (Honolulu) has been named the USA Volleyball Indoor Male Athlete of the Year.
Stanley helped the U.S. Men's National Team to a 26-15 record this season, including a silver medal at the NORCECA Continental Championship and a spot in the Final Round of the FIVB World League. The 33-year-old opposite took over as the U.S. Men's team captain after Reid Priddy (Richmond Va.) suffered a serious injury to his face prior to the NORCECA Championship.
"I am proud to be named USA Volleyball's Indoor Male Athlete of the Year for 2011," Stanley said. "But my teammates and I know that next year will be even more important as we work to qualify for and compete at the 2012 Olympic Games in London."
Stanley (6-foot-9, 230 pounds) had his best tournament of the season at the FIVB World Cup, where the U.S. Men finished sixth. Even though he missed the last three matches, Stanley led the team in aces (18/.69 per set) and blocks (22/.85 per set). He was second on the team in attacks (85/48.6 kill percentage/.429 hitting efficiency), digs (43/1.65 per set) and total points (125/4.81 per set).
He was just a few percentage points from winning the Best Server title.
"It's the best I've seen him play. I've played with him 11 years now. Hands down it's the best I've seen him play," Priddy said on The NET Live. "He was doing everything. He was serving well, playing defense, stuffing seven balls a match and showing tremendous range. He was exploding to the ball and hitting with a ton of range.
"He's wearing the captain's bar now…. I'm really seeing a concerted effort from him to step up in that role. He's very vocal and a great leader for all of us. It's great to see that."
Stanley finished the season second on the team in scoring with 373 points (3.85 points per set), kills with 265 (2.73 kills per set/42.4 kill percentage/.344 hitting efficiency), blocks with 55 (.57 blocks per set) and digs with 138 (1.42 digs per set). He led the team in aces with 53 (.55 per set).
At the 2011 FIVB World League, Clay was one of three players to compete in all 58 sets for the U.S. He was the team's second-leading scorer with 208 points on 152 kills (39.2 kill percent), 28 blocks and 28 aces. He finished pool play first among all servers with 25 aces.
Stanley suffered an ankle injury in the first set of the first match of the NORCECA Men's Continental Championship, but came back to help the United States defeat Cuba in pool play and started against Puerto Rico in the semifinals and Cuba in the final. He ended up scoring 40 points in 13 sets played on 28 successful attacks (44.4 kill percent), five blocks and seven aces.
Stanley is the second Hawaii resident to win the award this year after Lindsey Berg was named the Women's Indoor Player of the Year on Tuesday.
Stanley is playing for Ural Ufa in the Russian Super League this winter. The U.S. Men's Team will be back in action in April to prepare for the NORCECA Continental Olympic Qualifier, which will be in May in Puerto Rico.


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Browse: Home / social crm session
social crm session
For the First Ever Social Customer Relationship Management is Coming to Blog World Expo!
By Jacob Morgan on September 23, 2010
I'm very excited to announce that for the first time Blog World Expo (the world's largest social media conference) is going to be introducing Social CRM into their agenda mix and I was fortunate enough to be asked to lead that session. I'm also very excited to announce that joining me on stage will be […]
Posted in Marketing | Tagged blog world expo, blogworld, brent leary, Events, las vegas, social crm session | 1 Response


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Snapshots from Greece: Assyrtiko Wine from Santorini
Note: Our own Erin Zimmer just returned from ten days eating and drinking her way around Greece and will be sharing her adventures with us all week as Snapshots from Greece. —Ed.
When most people think of Greek wines—that is, if they ever think about Greek wines—they think retsina. Sadly, it's been nicknamed alcoholic Pine-Sol since it was first created with pine resin to help boost the shelf life 2,000 years ago. This hasn't been so great for the rest of Greek wines, especially the non-piney, non-sucky ones.
What's New On Serious Eats
On Santorini, one of the Cyclades islands and a hot tourist magnet, Assyrtiko grapes grow all over, creating some of Greece's best white wine. People might not notice the grapes with all those distracting black sand beaches and deep-blue waters. You've probably seen a postcard (or watched Mamma Mia or Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants). The grapevines were hiding somewhere behind the amazing white sugar cube-shaped architecture built into the cliffs.
It's pretty incredible that Santorini can produce wine, especially since it experienced a volcanic eruption around 1500 B.C., leaving the island all ripped apart. Because of the little rainfall, big winds, and sunny skies, Santorini vintners have been forced to grow the Assyrtiko grapes a certain way. To protect them from the tough natural conditions, the plants are pruned low to the ground in a basket shape, where the protected grapes grow at the center. This means no nifty machine can swing by and pick them all in one clean sweep during harvest season—they have to be hand-plucked.
Assyrtiko wine usually has a full-bodied, acidic flavor with refreshing aromas, and pairs well with seafood. The island's salty air and natural volcanic soil (made of pumice and lava bits) infuses it with a nice, crisp minerality. About ninety-percent of Santorini's wine-making comes from the Assyrtiko grape, and as it becomes more popular internationally, wineries on mainland Greece have started planting it too, adding Assyrtiko to blends to give them a nice acidic oomph.
Try looking for Assyrtiko varieties from Santorini wineries such as Sigalas, Gaia, and Boutari.
Snapshots from Greece: Koulouri, the Thessaloniki Street Food
Snapshots from Greece: The Modiano Market in Thessaloniki
Snapshots from Greece: Fage Yogurt
Snapshots from Greece: Souvlaki from O Thanasis in Athens
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Transforming Teaching: Connecting Professional Responsibility with Student Learning - 2011 Report from CETT
In December 2010, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel created a national, independent commission to study the teaching profession and make recommendations on maximizing teacher and teaching effectiveness.
Drawing on the wisdom and experience of accomplished teachers, expert researchers, policymakers, and academicians, the Commission on Effective Teachers and Teaching (CETT) examined the policies and practices governing the teaching profession and crafted a teacher-centered vision of teaching and the teaching profession.
On December 8, 2011, CETT presented the NEA with its final report, Transforming Teaching: Connecting Professional Responsibility with Student Learning (PDF, 848 KB, 46pp), which outlines the Commission's vision and recommendations for the teaching profession.
For more resources, see NEA web page Leading the Profession.


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Keep Vegetables and Whole Grains on the Holiday Dinner Table
Donna Quirk, MBA RD LD
LMC Clinical Nutrition Manager
Planning on ham, roast turkey, or a beef roast for your Holiday dinner? Then, help keep your meal lower in calories and higher on the "good for you" scale with vegetable and whole grain side dishes. Remember, the more colorful the plate is, the more antioxidants you are getting!
Try some of these recipes:
Barley Mushroom and Herb Risotto – this is fabulous with beef or pork loin
Roasted Root Vegetables – you could definitely experiment with adding celery root and red onions
Wild Rice Stuffing – wild rice is a whole grain!
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Zest
So, while you enjoy your holiday meal with your friends and family, try a new vegetable or whole grain side dish. They are good for you and tasty too!
Happy Holidays!


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Four local young men officially became Eagle Scouts during a special Court of Honor ceremony at the Sanford Armory on Sunday, Nov. 11. Kevin Marchant, of West Newfield, Benjamin Polcaro, of Newfield, Jacob Lanoue, of Waterboro, and Dylan Tremblay, of Sanford, joined the ranks of 30 other fellow scouts in Shapleigh Troop 320 to reach the pinnacle rank.
Commissioner Clinton Staples, of the Pine Tree Council in South Portland, opened the ceremony, calling it a "historic event" to have four individuals receive their Eagle Scout rank at once. The four scouts all entered Troop 320 back in 2001.
Each one of the Eagle Scouts delivered a speech about what he has learned from scouting.
Lanoue said that "attitude was the most important, being in control." For his Eagle Scout project, he worked on local trails and built benches for the Sydney Emery Trails in Lyman.
Polcaro said the scouting was "working as a team and that scouts are held to a higher standard in society." For his project, he cleaned up the town beach at Poverty Pond and repaired the picnic table there.
Marchant said that he would never be able "to replace the scouting memories." For his project, he created accurate GPS coordinates for seven LifeFlight landing zones in Newfield and surrounding towns.
Tremblay said, "I learned so much." He built a handicapped-accessible ramp at the Newfield Historical Society Headquarters at 64 Elm Street and worked on other community service projects.
All four scouts thanked their families and friends for being there. Fourteen other Eagle Scouts also attended.
State Senator Ron Collins and State Representative James Campbell were also on hand to congratulate the four young men and award them with certificates.
Approximately 100 people gathered at the Newfield Town Office at 637 Water Street on Sunday, Nov. 11, to honor those who have served in the armed forces of the United States.
Members of Boy Scout Troop 320 and Cub Scout Pack 329 started the ceremony off by raising the flag.
Jim Campbell spoke of the American flag and the symbolism behind folding it thirteen times to be put away. Veteran Ray Parent, who was instrumental in establishing the new Southern Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Springvale, spoke and noted that currently there are 300 veterans buried in the cemetery; however, the cemetery has space for 20,000 veterans from the York County area.
Kathy Goodwin, a representative from Sen. Susan Collins' office, and State Sen. Ron Collins also spoke at the annual ceremony.
Cheryl Ring, the owner of Always and Forever Florists in Waterboro, donated the wreath for the monument.
Residents of New York and New Jersey need the basic essentials of life following the disasters created by Hurrican Sandy last month. Aubuchon Hardware, partnering with Spark Relief.org, will be sending trucks with donated items down to the hardest hit areas, as soon as they have full pallet loads.
According to the Springvale Aubuchon store, the basic list of needed items includes clean and gently used clothing, shoes, winter coats and hats, flashlights, batteries and canned goods. The store will not be accepting any small appliances, televisions or kitchenware.
I rummaged through my closets and came up with four boxes of items. If any Newfield residents have clothing, coats, shoes or any of the other necessities from the list, please contact me and I will make sure that the load is delivered to Aubuchon Hardware. Call me at 793-8760, and I can pick up the donation, or we can make arrangements to meet. You may also call Thelma at 793-2128.
I would like to make a delivery by Thanksgiving week, if possible. And, if necessary, I will make more than one delivery.
Aubuchon Hardware has 121 locations that will accept donations, so if you would like to drop any of the above items off while you are in town, the store will accept them.
Let's make Newfield proud and support others that were less fortunate than us.
York County Shelter Programs at 147 Shaker Hill Road in Alfred will once again be handing out Thanksgiving boxes for those in need. The need is even greater this year than in previous years, and the shelter expects to hand out over 1,652 boxes.
Organizers are asking for the donation of a turkey or the donation of $10. Thanksgiving boxes contain a turkey, gravy, two cans of vegetables, one can of fruit, one box of stuffing, one can of cranberry sauce, a soup or canned meal, rice or pasta, fresh potatoes, winter squash, bread or rolls, and a dessert.
The shelter is able to purchase bulk food at a discounted rate, making the money go further; however, either a turkey or money is acceptable.
The shelter also needs boxes to put the dinners in, and those may be dropped off at 147 Shaker Hill Road in Alfred.
To send a donation for the turkey fund, please mail the check to York County Shelter Programs, P.O. Box 820, Alfred, Maine 04002, and mark the check "turkey fund." All help is greatly appreciated.
■ The school district's Curriculum Committee will meet on Monday, Nov. 19, at the Massabesic East Training Center at 86 West Road at 5:30 p.m.
■ The Transportation Committee also will meet on Monday, Nov. 19, at the Central Office at 86 West Road at 5:30 p.m.
■ RSU 57 will be closed from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23 for the holiday break. All classes in the district will resume on Nov. 26 at their regular hours.
Congratulations to Jim Campbell, of West Newfield, who was elected on Nov. 6 to represent District 138 for a two-year term in the state's House of Representatives. Campbell ran as an Independent.
District 138 encompasses Alfred, Limerick, Newfield, and Shapleigh.
Campbell ran against Judee Meyer, of Alfred.
■ The Seniors Luncheon will be held today, Thursday, Nov. 15, at Mary Ann Manor at 109 Washington Street in Limerick at 11 a.m. All seniors are welcome. Bring your own lunch.
■ The Newfield Rescue Squad will have its monthly meeting tonight, Nov. 15, at the Newfield Public Safety Building at 85 Water Street at 7 p.m.
■ The Streakers will meet at Gerry & Sons Snowmobile on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 4 p.m.
■ The Newfield Historical Society will have its monthly meeting on Monday, Nov. 19, at the headquarters at 64 Elm Street at 7 p.m.
■ Newfield selectmen will meet on Tuesday, Nov. 20, at the Newfield Town Office at 637 Water Street at 7 p.m.
■ Newfield firefighters will have a training session on Tuesday, Nov. 20, at the Public Safety Building at 85 Water Street in West Newfield at 7 p.m. New members are welcome to attend.
■ Tea Time will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 21, at the Newfield Village Library at 637 Water Street at 3 p.m.
Thanksgiving is near. There is less than a week to go before we can fill our tummies with all those goodies that most of us enjoy just once or twice a year. This week's recipe for Nutty Pumpkin Cherry Bread comes from "Baking with Love."
Nutty Pumpkin Cherry Bread
2 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup shortening
4 eggs
1 -16 ounce can pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup sunflower nuts or walnuts
2/3 cups dried cherries or cranberries
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans, 9" x 5" x 3". Mix sugar and shortening in large bowl. Mix in eggs, pumpkin and water. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and baking powder until blended. Stir in sunflower nuts and dried cherries. Pour into pans. Bake about 1 hour and 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack before slicing.
Four local Scouts achieve Eagle rank
Four local young men officially became Eagle Scouts during a special Court of Honor ceremony at the Sanford Armory on Sunday, Nov. 11. Kevin Marchant, of West Newfield, Benjamin Polcaro, of Newfield, Jacob Lanoue, of Waterboro, and Dylan Tremblay, of Sanford, joined the ranks of 30 other fellow scouts in Shapleigh Troop 320 to reach the pinnacle rank.


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Syria, Iran accuse U.S. of double standard
- Iran%27s foreign minister%3A %27Assad is Syria%27s legal president%27
- Syrian minister%3A sanctions are proof U.S. doesn%27t want political settlement
- European nations are expected to join U.S. in aiding rebels
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The Syrian and Iranian foreign ministers on Saturday accused the United States of double standards over the Obama administration's decision to provide aid to rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad, saying this will only prolong the conflict.
The remarks were the first official statements from Iran and Syria following U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's announcement this week that Washington will provide, for the first time, non-lethal aid directly to Syria's rebels, in addition to $60 million in assistance to Syria's political opposition.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Tehran, Syria's Walid al-Moallem and his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, stressed that whether Assad stays or goes will be decided in presidential elections scheduled for next year.
"Assad is Syria's legal president until the next elections. Individuals have the freedom to run as candidates. Until that time, Assad is Syria's president," Salehi said.
Iran is a staunch ally of the Syrian regime and has stood by the embattled Assad throughout the country's nearly 2-year-old conflict.
Kerry announced the aid at an international conference on Syria in Rome on Thursday. In the coming days, several European nations are expected to take similar steps in working with the military wing of the opposition to increase pressure on Assad to step down and pave the way for a democratic transition.
Al-Moallem said Syria is facing a crisis in which "most of the universe" is taking part.
He directly accused Turkey and Qatar and other countries he did not name of supporting and funding "armed terrorist groups" operating in Syria, using the terminology employed by the Damascus regime to refer to the rebels fighting to topple Assad.
Al-Moallem said it was it's inconceivable that Washington allocates $60 million in assistance to Syrian opposition groups while it continues to "kill the Syrian people" through economic sanctions imposed against the country.
"If they truly wanted a political settlement they wouldn't punish the Syrian people and finance (opposition) groups with so-called non-lethal aid," he said. "Who are they kidding?"
The Damascus official stressed that Syria's sovereignty is a "red line."
"No one is allowed to infringe on Syrian national sovereignty," he said, adding that that the Syrian people will decide their own leaders through the ballot box. "We refuse to be a piece of chess in the hands of the international community."
His Iranian host, Salehi, said "double standards were being applied by certain countries that serve to prolong and deepen the Syrian crisis" and lead to more bloodshed.


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Dame Shirley Bassey Donates to Barnardo's
By Admin Published: December 12, 2007
Dame Shirley Bassey has donated a collection of garments to Barnardo's London vintage 'pop up' store.
The 60's, 70's and80's retro store, which was recently visited by Peaches Geldof, also has other wares for sale to benefit the charity.
Dame Shirley Bassey's collection is available from the Barnardo's in Carnaby Street.
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With industry leading infection prevention and contamination control programs, Ecolab is uniquely positioned to help our customers minimize the risk of the Influenza, Ebola, and Enterovirus 68 (EV-D68). We offer an array of solutions that follow World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations including hand hygiene products, cleaning and disinfection products, training and more.
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The Grand Prairie Municipal Airport has a 4,000-foot-long, 75-foot-wide lighted, concrete runway, repair service and cargo handling, a helipad, and support facilities for training, private aviation and business flying activities.
The airport is a designated Reliever Airport and is in the FAA National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems and the Texas Aeronautical Facilities Plan.
The airport handles planes ranging from small piston planes to large business turboprop aircraft and helicopters. It lies three miles southwest of downtown.
There are 227 individual T-hangars at the airport. The new terminal is now open during the operating hours for the restaurant.
The airport conference room is available to rent for special events.
Airport Services Available
- Tie-down Space
- Fixed Base Operator: Aviator Air LLC, 972-988-8609
- A self-fueling island provides both Jet A (no additive) and 100LL. Visa© and MasterCard® are accepted
- Restaurant: Radial Café, 972-595-5420,
Open 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Saturday (Closed Sunday)
- Maintenance Operator: J&G Aviation, LLC, 817-881-5182


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South Salem man pilot of plane in N.Y. highway landing
A 53-year-old accountant from South Salem, N.Y., was identified Sunday as the pilot of the single-engine plane that made an emergency landing on a New York City highway Saturday afternoon.
Michael Schwartz, the registered owner of the Piper PA-28 that was returning to Danbury Municipal Airport after what officials said was a sightseeing trip around the Statue of Liberty, brought the plane down safely on the northbound side of the Major Deegan Expressway after the engine failed about 3:20 p.m.
Officials credited a quick-thinking group of New York Department of Transportation employees who were repairing potholes in the area with using their truck to block traffic and keep the highway clear for the descending aircraft.
Schwartz and a 25-year-old New Milford woman and a 40-year-old woman from Delaware, were on the plane, police said. The plane's landing gear collapsed on touchdown, and all were treated at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx for minor injuries, and later released.
Neither New York City Police nor a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman would name the pilot and his passengers, but news reports quoted Schwartz's wife, Giovanna as saying her husband was flying the plane, and a law enforcement source confirmed his identity on Sunday.
Giovanna Schwartz was not one of the women on the plane, according to the reports.
News media vehicles were lined up outside the Schwartz home on Sabbath Day Hill Road in South Salem on Sunday afternoon, awaiting his return. Several reporters said they had been there since early in the morning.
Danbury Municipal Airport Administrator Paul Estefan said the plane was based at the airport, but said he was not familiar with Schwartz. Estefan said it wasn't unusual for pilots to take off from Danbury for sightseeing trips to New York City.
FAA records indicate that the Piper was built in 1966. The FAA website shows that Schwartz earned a student pilot license last April.
FAA spokesman Kathleen Bergen said Sunday that the investigation of the accident is being handled by the National Transportation Safety Board, and NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said a preliminary report on the cause of the accident should be released within 10 days.
The aircraft was removed from the highway Saturday evening and taken to an "aviation facility" to be examined, officials said.
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Dental Crowns / Dental Caps
A dental crown covers and restores a tooth to its original size and shape following extensive dental breakdown, including fractures or advanced tooth decay.
Crowns can be made out of several types of materials. Porcelain dental crowns, in particular, are very durable and are popular among dental patients because they can be made to resemble the natural tooth.
When they need dental crowns, Houston, TX residents come to Legacy Dental Group.
Crowns are used for the following reasons:
- Decayed, broken, or cracked teeth will need dental crowns to restore form, function, and aesthetics.
- A tooth that has received root canal treatment will become brittle and need a crown to protect the tooth from possible fracture.
- Large fillings are prone to failure so crowns are often placed instead.
Crown placement
The procedure for placing a crown is usually done in two appointments:
- At the first appointment your dentist will numb the tooth and prepare the tooth by removing decay or fractures to create the ideal space for your future crown. The dentist will then create a digital scan of the tooth to send to the lab to create your custom crown. While the laboratory constructs your future crown you will be fitted with a temporary crown.
- At the second appointment, which is generally scheduled about two weeks after the first appointment, the temporary crown is removed and the dentist will place the custom crown. After verifying fit and making any necessary adjustments, the dentist permanently cements the crown in place.
Following your visit at our office in Houston, TX you will receive home care instructions for how to best care for your new dental crowns. Remember, regular dental visits combined with good eating habits and oral hygiene help lengthen the life of your crown and can even prevent you from needing additional dental crowns in the future.
Questions / concerns?
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding your oral health, we are more than happy to sit down with you and discuss how you can achieve a beautiful, healthy smile.


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[Note: This is the last in a series of entries on Windows 8, which goes on sale Friday. This week I've also looked at the tensions between Win8's two interfaces; navigating the new Metro-style Start Screen; changes to the "classic" Windows desktop.]
There have been early complaints about the dearth of apps available for Windows 8′s new interface, but one thing's for sure: The latest version of Microsoft's operating system comes with plenty of its own programs. Yes, there are the traditional desktop-style apps familiar to most Windows users, and now there are a slew of them made for the newer, Metro-style interface.
There are too many of them to outline here, so I'm going to focus on three you're most apt to use right away.
Mail – Microsoft didn't ship an email client with Windows 7, instead encouraging users to download its Windows Essentials package that included one called simply Mail. But Windows 8 comes with a Metro-style email program, and it has a surprising feature: Exchange support.
For the first time, you can connect a consumer-level, free Microsoft mail program to your company's Exchange server. While it's not as full-featured as Outlook, Mail on Windows 8 will be enough for basic users, particularly those who want to get their work email on their home PC or Windows tablet.
The look is clean, simple and great for reading, both on a desktop and a tablet. However, there's no unified inbox view – you'll have to manually view different accounts, which will annoy some folks.
The app supports IMAP, Exchange and POP mail, and can automatically connect you to Gmail, Yahoo, AOL and, of course, Hotmail. You also can have multiple accounts of the same type, so you can use both your company's Exchange server and the Exchange version of Gmail.
The biggest downside I've found to Mail is that it doesn't allow you to drag and drop message between folders. You'll have to right-click (or tap-and-hold) to bring up a toolbar and move messages that way.
Music – Microsoft has slapped the Xbox brand on its music app, a further indication that it sees its dominant game console as an entertainment hub. (There are apps that tie in with Xbox's games, too.) Users of the old Zune music software will recognize the design and the way the software works, but it's been dramatically updated.
The Xbox Music app integrates your music library with Microsoft's new music store, grouping tiles from artists you may or may not care about together. Microsoft is offering Windows 8 users six months of free, ad-supported music streams similar to Pandora or Spotify. After that, you're limited to 10 hours per month streaming unless you pay $10 a month, which gets you music in just about any form you like. You can also buy and download song files, if you're old-school.
The player app is, like all the Metro apps, simple and easy to navigate, but there's one aspect to it that shows Windows 8′s bipolar personality. If your music files aren't in the usual place on your PC, you have to manually add it to the Music Library folder on the classic desktop side of Windows 8. I keep my music on a separate internal hard drive on my desktop PC, and was initially surprised to find the Xbox Music app declaring my music library to be "lonely." Clicking on that brought up Internet Explorer and an online help file, which in turn directed me over to the desktop side. Very kludgy!
But once your library is populated, you can easily build playlists, which can be shared with your other Windows 8 PCs and your Xbox 360. There's also a Smart DJ feature, which finds artists similar to the ones you already like.
Frankly, this app is a lot better than the desktop-side Wndows Media Player, and I can tell I'll be spending lots of time here.
Photos – The new Photos apps is one of my favorites, despite the fact that it's fairly feature-limited. The Photos app ties together image collections from a variety of sources – your hard drive, Facebook, Flickr and Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage service. I've got pictures scattered in many different locations, and this puts in them all in one place. I found photos I had forgotten about, thanks to this app.
You can run slideshows from any of these sources, but unfortunately you can't combine them. You can sort by date as well. There's also very rudimentary editing – cropping and rotating. And, of course, you can use the app to import images from your various devices.
This is one app that is much more satisfying to use on a tablet. Being able to swipe between images and collections is more natural than clicking. But if you want to do more with your photos than viewing, you'll want a more full-featured photo application than this.


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It's been just over a year since Comedy Central, in the network's worst decision since airing "Battlebots," canceled "The Sarah Silverman Program."
We've had to make do without, at least in pseudo-sitcom form, the undisputed queen of the comedy of the uncomfortable. So we're heartened by The Hollywood Reporter's dispatch noting that Silverman has signed a script deal that could put her back on TV. Silverman reportedly is writing the new show with Jon Schroeder and Dan Sterling, who worked on her last program, which lasted three memorable seasons.
Silverman is an acquired taste, but one that's hard to shake after the escape of that first reluctant chuckle. Her brand of comedy doesn't necessarily transfer well to print description – she somehow gets laughs out of subjects like the Holocaust and pedophilia via her childishly self-absorbed and clueless character. For some folks, her humor doesn't translate even on TV and has been known to offend.
But we see Silverman at the vanguard of a comedy of ironic irreverence and unfettered honesty, in the company of fellow practitioners like Larry David, Ricky Gervais and Louis CK, all of whom are making welcome returns to the tube this summer (Gervais, fresh off his cameos on "The Office," is set to guest star on David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and has a recurring role on CK's "Louie").
As for Silverman, we've had to be satisfied with occasional TV appearances (she proved effective in a serio-comic role a couple weeks back on "The Good Wife"), web videos (we got a kick out of her gory animated Thanksgiving "special" on Funny or Die in November) and tweets ("Jesus died for our sins -- he'd be SO bummed to know how many of us killed in his name! Awkward!").
"Awkward!" might just sum up Silverman's comedy (in a good way) – and it's just what we've been missing. Here's hoping her new show, whatever the format, is a comfortable fit for a comic who excels at making us squirm as we laugh.
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.


text: As Washington prepares for a visit from Chinese President Hu Jintao this week, we take a look at what lies ahead in the shifting relationship between superpowers. Should we fear the "waking dragon"? We're joined by Gideon Rachman, chief foreign-affairs commentator for the Financial Times and author of "Zero-Sum Future: American Power in an Age of Anxiety," and Simon Tay, was an Asia Society 2009 Bernard Schwartz Fellow and is Chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. He is also the author of "Asia Alone: The Dangerous Post-Crisis Divide from America."


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1. Saffron, a spice grown worldwide, is derived from the saffron crocus flower. A pound of dry saffron (0.45 kg) requires 50,000–75,000 flowers to make, meaning an entire football field of these flowers. Requiring so much resources and labor, prices for the spice go around US$500/pound to US$5,000/pound (US$1100–US$11, 000 per kilogram).
2. The most expensive nut in the world is the Macadamia nut. The macadamia tree produces nuts only after it's 7-10 years old, requiring fertile soil and heavy rainfall. These nuts have a very hard seed, but once it's open it reveals a creamy white kernel containing up to 80% oil and 4% sugar. The cost of a kilogram of these nuts exceeds 30$.
3. The most expensive caviar in the world is not the black one, but the almas caviar! The word 'almas' is Iranian for diamond. Beluga caviar comes from a fish over 100 years old, that is virtually unchanged for 120 million years. The luxurious caviar comes from the oldest survivor of the Dinosaur era. Beluga caviar ranges in price from more than $5,000 per kilogram in the United States
4. The most expensive mushroom in the world is the white truffle. The mushroom has its origins in the Langhe area of the Piedmont region in northern Italy, it can reach 12 cm diameter and 500g. These truffles are sold at a amazing price of €2,000 and €4,000 per kilogram ($1350 - $2700 per pound). The record price for this truffle was paid last year, in December, when Stanley Ho, the owner of the Macau casino paid $330,000 for 1.5kg of truffles.
5. The most expensive potato in the world is a French one, "La Bonnotte". Annually, only 100 tons of this top quality potato are cultivated and collected only on the island Noirmoutier. The potato fields require to be fertilized only with seaweed in a climate shaped by the nearby sea. The cost of one single kilogram can reach €500 since this type of potato is almost extinct.
6. The most expensive beef in the world is the type of beef coming from the Wagyu cows. These Japanese cows are fed the best grass and provided the best treatment. That is why the meat is especially tender and particularly expensive. 200 grams of a fillet cost in Europe more than 100 dollars.
7. The most expensive sandwich in the world is the club sandwich from Essen aka von Essen Platinum Club Sandwich. This triple-decker delicacy contains the finest chicken, ham, hard-boiled quails' eggs and white truffles and it's currently sold at Cliveden, Berkshire. The chicken (poulet de Bresse) is referred to as the 'fourth gastronomic wonder of the world served with a topping of white truffles, sold at over a thousands ponds a month. At 1,182 calories, with 1.8oz of fat, it's not the healthiest dish but certainly one of the most expensive. Costing 100 pounds (almost 200 dollars), this is a must-try for the food fanatics.
8.The most expensive pizza in the world, valued at 8300 Eur can be tasted in Italy. With generous toppings of caviar and lobster, the pizza has a diameter of 20cm and Louis XIII Remy Martin cognac poured all over it.
9. The most expensive omelet in the world can be tasted at the Le Parker Meridien restaurant in New York. The $1,000 omelet consists of 10 ounces of sevruga caviar, a whole lobster, and six eggs. To make it in the privacy of your own home, the cost will be only $700.
10. Off to something sweet now with one of the most expensive deserts in the world, served at Serendipity 3, a popular restaurant in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The $1000 sundae was introduced in 2004 and was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive dessert. It's made up of 5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream, Madagascar vanilla, 23K edible gold leaf and one of the most expensive chocolates in the world, Amedei Porceleana.
11. The tastiest and most expensive chocolate in the world is Chocopologie by Knipschildt. At $2,600 per pound, this handmade chocolate truffle is available only if ordered. t contains a black truffle and 70% Valrhona cacao.
12. The world's finest and most expensive coffee is Kopi Luwak. The coffee comes from the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the total annual production is only around 500 pounds of beans. That is why the price of a pound is outrages - $300 or more.
13. The current record for the most expensive tea is held by a rare Chinese green tea called Tieguanyin, which costs 1,700 Yuan ($3,000) per kilo (per 2 lb 3 oz) approximately 8.50 Yuan ($15) for a single cup.
14. The world's most expensive tea bag for the PG company, to celebrate their 75th anniversary. Manually decorated with 280 diamonds, the bag made to remind people just how much they love the great British cup of tea is worth £7,500.
15. The most expensive champagne in the world is Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque Blanc de Blanc, made of specially selected grapes, sold in manually painted bottles and with a price tag of around $1,500.
16.. The most expensive whisky in the world is considered to be the Macallan Fine Rare Vintage. With only 85 bottles being released world-wide, tasting this 30 year old is a rare treat. Price for a single bottle? $38,000!
17. Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum is merely the top-selling high strength rum in the world, bottled in 1940. Only four bottles are left from this precious liquor, each being estimated at $53,000.
18. The most expensive cocktail in the world, "Diamonds-Are- Forever", has no special ingredients like we had so far. The only excuse for wearing the €11,000 price tag is that the olive is replaced by a 1.6 carat diamond. To be found in the hotel Ritz-Carlton in Tokyo.
19. The most expensive beer in the world costs around £500 (around $1,000) a bottle and is called Vielle Bon Secours. It can only be found in a bar called the Bierdrome in London.
20. The most expensive drinks list will eventually come to dovka. Diva Vodka, produced by the Blackwood Distillery in Scotland is the world's most expensive vodka. Depending on your choice of "crystal decoration" the price of a single varies from £35 to a staggering £540,000!
So how do you feel on the above foods eh? Mouth watering?
Self-pity isn't it?
Where do most of the world's wealth go to? Not a single item from our countries
Self-pity isn't it?
Where do most of the world's wealth go to? Not a single item from our countries


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ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell has reportedly interviewed for Detroit's coaching vacancy.
In a story posted on the Lions website, Caldwell says Detroit is an unusual opportunity because a talented quarterback and terrific receiver are already in place. Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson have raised expectations for the Lions, who fired coach Jim Schwartz after going 7-9 this season.
Caldwell went 26-22 in three seasons as the coach in Indianapolis, where he worked with Peyton Manning. The Colts reached the Super Bowl in Caldwell's first season as coach but lost to New Orleans in February 2010.
Schwartz was fired after Detroit dropped six of its last seven games, blowing a chance to win the NFC North.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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WoW+starcraft=COOL wrote:ya it because i dont take care very much of my english grammar but i was the best of my english class at school this year imagin the other
Warning: Rant ahead, feel free to skip it.
They stopped doing basic spelling/grammar, as well as proper basic math in public schools in the US in the 1980's ... low grades by losers were cutting into teacher's union pay and making them look bad. "A" grades for everyone also make the socialist twits feel all warm and fuzzy, so all standards got shitcanned.
Since then, if you are under 35 or so, and you didn't correct this deficiency on your own in college, on your own time, or by homeschooling on the part of your parents, you look like a retard on line, and have no clue that you do.
Sorry ... it probably ain't your fault. But you are the only one who can try to correct this problem.


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Quantum information and quantum metrology can be used to study gravitational effects such as gravitational waves and the universality of the equivalence principle. On one hand, the possibility of carrying out experiments to probe gravity using quantum systems opens an avenue to deepen our understanding of the overlap of these theories. On the other hand, incorporating relativity in quantum technologies promises the development of a new generation of relativistic quantum applications of relevance in Earth-based and space-based setups. In this talk, I will introduce a framework for the application of quantum information and quantum metrology techniques to relativistic quantum fields. I will show how, using this framework, we have been able to develop an accelerometer and a gravitational wave detector which exploit both quantum and relativistic effects. Moreover, our framework can be used to estimate with high precision spacetime parameters such as the Earth's Schwarzchild radius and the gravitational constant.


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Stead's interest in Spiritualism seems to have begun in his final year at the Northern Echo, probably through his association with Mark Fooks, his assistant editor, who "had some knowledge of the matter." But it was not until he moved to London that he began to take a serious interest. In 1881, he attended his first seance where, he later claimed, he was hailed as the future "St. Paul of Spiritualism." Though he continued to dabble in spiritualism during his time at the Pall Mall Gazette, political and editorial contraints prevented him from over-indulging, and it was not until he became his own boss as owner and editor of the Review of Reviews in 1890, that he was able to pursue his interest further. In 1891, he published Real Ghost Stories as the Review of Reviews Christmas annual, and a year later, he followed this up with More Ghost Stories, again as a Christmas Annual.
By this time, Stead was almost completely engrossed with matters supernatural, and in 1893, he founded the spiritualism quarterly, Borderland, with himself as editor. Sadly, massive work commitments forced him to abandon this venture four years later, but he continued publishing on the supernatural, becoming something of a spiritualist guru in the process. Stead's most famous work on spiritualism is Letters from Julia, a record of apparent "conversations" between himself and departed American journalist, Julia Amis, achieved by means of "automatic" writing. Stead later republished the work as After Death and even set up "Julia's Bureau", a seance circle that met each morning. Another notable work attributed to Stead is The blue island (1922), an alleged account of his after death experiences as "written" by him through the hand of a medium during several seances. Stead's reputation as a clairvoyant seems to have grown after his death, due to his two fictional stories, "How the Mail Steamer went Down in Mid Atlantic" (1886) and "From the Old World to the New" (1892), both of which suggest the Titanic disaster in which, years later, he would ultimately perish. Inevitably, Stead's absorption in spiritualism fatally eroded his political reputation, so much so that, by the time of his death, he was derided in many circles as a fanatic and a crank.
© Owen Mulpetre 2012


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Archive for December 2006
Mike White
Last night's bedtime movie was "The Good Girl".
I noticed Mike White in the film – how could you not? – and I appreciated the simple yet convoluted story, but I hadn't put the two together. Yeah, he wrote it.
He appears in most of the movies he writes: "Chuck and Buck"; "School of Rock"; "Orange County"; and more. I first noticed him in "Chuck and Buck", appropriately since that was his first lead.
In general, White's movies are small-scale stories of off-kilter individuals. "School of Rock" is the most famous, probably had the best box office as well. He hasn't yet written anything that hasn't drawn me into his world. I'd call "Nacho Libre" the worst thing to come out of his head so far. That's a pretty good record.
But why doesn't White's name come up more often in discussions of today's best screenwriters? I'd put him up there in the top 20 certainly, maybe the top ten. Why does Charlie Kaufman get all the press?
Beats me. Maybe White needs to seek out the press more often. Anybody else as big a fan as me?
Bonus movie-watching update:
We saw "A Night at the Museum" between the time I started this post and the time I finished. I'd forgotten that Steve Coogan was in it. I just look at him and chuckle.
Well, we didn't get to see "A Night at the Museum".
I made lunch for the kids and asked the younger two to clean up a game they'd been playing while I cleaned up and got dressed. Oddly, Child Three complied and Child Two procrastinated. She and Child One wrestled or something.
The movie was scheduled to start at 2:00. At 1:45, I noticed that the game was still out. We waited for Child Two to clean up. The theatre (AMC Saratoga) is about a ten minute drive from here in Santa Clara.
Child Two put the game away and we were off. We lost five minutes to traffic. Then we lost another five minutes trying to find the theatre, and five more looking for parking. It was 2:05 by the time I parked the minivan.
We ran to the theatre, only to find a long line of people waiting to buy tickets. Sigh.
There was no other movie that appealed to us in terms of content and start time, so I thought we'd drive and look for cool stuff to do. We left the Westgate Mall area (the mall's across the street) and drove south on Saratoga. I though D&J; Hobby was down this way, but I didn't know exactly where. (My 12-year-old memories were very, very close, but not quite good enough – the theatre is roughly where Hamilton and Campbell join.)
I drove down dull Saratoga to 85, then headed over to take 17 north, but changed my mind and took Bascom, which was a street that I liked to shop on when I lived here. It has a Cosentino and a Trader Joe. As I drove by the Pruneyard, I noticed another movie theatre, so we stopped to check the show times. No dice.
I drove up Bascom to 280, then east to the Bird exit. I showed the kids the Willow Glen we lived in on Fuller. Child One, the only one to really live in that house, was the only one who was even mildly interested. The house looked the same, but had considerably more Christmas decorations on it than we ever put up.
I headed north to show Child Three the Shark Tank (a.k.a. the HP Pavilion these days). It was 3:15 by now, so I figured the crowd and parking lot at Valley Fair would be subsiding.
Nope. Not even close. We spent a nervous half-hour in the Valley Fair parking lot looking for a parking spot. I say nervous because Child Three had to pee so badly that we considered having him use an empty water bottle. There was no place even to pull over and let him go outside.
I somehow found myself in an exit-only lane, so I exited. I spotted a strip mall with the Train Store and figured that was as good a place to pee as any.
Child Three's moan of relief could be heard from down the hall. All four of us went.
The kids voted 2-1 to walk around a mall rather than go home, so I drove back to Westgate Mall, thus completing a circuit of Campbell, more or less.
We window-shopped, mostly (Child One bought a game) then came home.
Late at night, Elvi and I watched "Hellboy". No plot holes there….
So Technorati ain't perfect
Technorati doesn't seem to gather in all the updates it ought to. As a result, some of the favourites listed on my Technorati Favorites page appear to have been last updated months before the actual last update.
I put a plain old link to those blogs I like to read regularly but which Technorati seems to miss. I see no pattern. I can offer no advice.
Technorati does offer code to plug-in and make the updates appear on my blog, but it's too ugly.
I'm going to take the kids to see "A Night at the Museum" this afternoon.
Blogrolling gets the ax
Blogrolling was a great idea, and still when it works which these days means not anymore.
I've fired Blogrolling.
There doesn't seem to be a replacement that will do all it used to do, so I've opted for a Technorati Favorites page, which lists blogs in chronological update order, but which can't be displayed on this here blog. I can link to it, but that reduces the ego value of any fellow blogger who wants to see his blog in RAF red on Avia green.
I've only just started adding blogs to the Technorati page, but doing so's easy with the automated "Add to Technorati Favorites" browser button.
I could use a feed reader, but I'm trying to simplify my life, not overwhelm it.
Bonus child fun:
So we're in California, staying with Elvi's sister and her children. Her sister runs a spiritual household and tries to ground her children in propriety. She also sends her kids to a Waldorf school. Waldorf education de-emphasizes reading and as a result, her eight-year-old girl (or is it seven?) – let's call her "M" – can't read or write.
M and my six-year-old Child Three got into a minor spat. M wanted to hurt Child Three with an insult but for some reason wanted to write it down. She drafted my Child Two to do the writing and dictated the insult.
M delivered the note, which said "You are the Devil, Jacob", to Child Three.
Elvi's sister found the note and was not amused. I laughed, and chuckled a while after that. I'm still smiling. This was the worst possible insult that M could think up, but out in the real world, it's fairly innocuous. Child Two, the poor girl, is such a sweetheart and only tried to do her cousin a favour. She didn't realize this was such an awful thing to say in this house. She didn't know where to turn.
Child Three, meanwhile, was upset at first but soon shrugged off the note.
But, man, was it funny.
Two-day wrap-up
I spent seven hours visiting with fellow 101 Squadron enthusiast Alex Yofe. I thought I had a decent library and research but his stuff puts mine to shame. He's been collecting and interviewing for three times the amount of time I have, so that's understandable – expected, even. But to see it….
We spent the time looking through photos and telling stories of the fantastic people we've met and now miss.
Alex presented me with a free copy of his latest book, "Spitfire Mk. IX in the Israeli Air Force Service 1948-1956" as well as a poster of a 101 Squadron victory over the RAF on January 7, 1949. (He'd sent one to me years ago that was damaged in transport.)
Alex wasn't pleased with the text he wrote for this Spitfire book – English is his third language – so he asked me to write the upcoming book on the Avia S-199. To the detriment of my earning power as a freelancer, I couldn't agree fast enough. Most of the photos and illustrations will come from Alex, and we will collaborate on the text. I'm honoured. The book should be out by April.
And the South African sausage at dinner chez Alex was superb. It was a slim, homemade beef (?) sausage seasoned with a South African spice mix that tasted a lot like Montreal steak spice.
Bonus hint that "Futurama" has affected your child – well, my child:
Child Three and I were discussing my sister-in-law's Christmas tree and he asked, "Is the Christmas tree going to stay alive?"
"No," I said. "It's been cut down. What would happen if your head were cut off? Wouldn't you die?"
"I know where I was cut," he answered. I prompted him with a raised eyebrow. "On my lower horn."
Packing it in
The suitcase, that is. We're off to Santa Clara, Calif., after a drive and sleepover in Albany, N.Y. Santa Clara, part of the Silicon Valley complex, has been about as warm as Montreal lately, although historical weather trends should hold in the long term. Still, it's a green and brown Chanukah in Montreal this year.
I asked for and received a one-week extension on my travel article, which will help make up for the number of people who either don;t return calls in December or take the month off. that left me with some Webs time yesterday. I reworked the beginning of "Sheep's End" from those notes I'd written in November. I like it more and more. I do have to boost some stakes in there, but I need to finesse that somehow. I could have the villain beat up the female lead, but that wouldn't be in the spirit of the thing. She is already kidnapped, but offscreen. Perhaps I can put that in front of the audience. Ah, I'll figure it out. It's a goal for the next three weeks.
Other goals include reading at least seven TriggerStreet screenplays, reading Cornelius Ryan's "A Bridge Too Far", work on "By the Book", and finishing this "Sheep's End" boost. At some point, I'm going to grab a coffee with fellow 101 Squadron researcher and author Alex Yofe. And if I can convince myself to drive three and a half hours, I might go take a look at this tarted up Mustang replica.
Holiday-scented potpourri
Craig Silverman's Regret the Error blog reports on corrections in journalism. I visit once in a while, but at year end, Craig notes what he considers the best of the year in whichever categories he deems necessary.
I read his annual wrap-up last night and I laughed so hard I was in tears. It was just one of those episodes where you can't stop laughing. Here are two examples of work that needed correcting:
I'd like to see Helen Mirren try that!
This one is pure anti-genius, from the kids at the Exponent, a student newspaper at Purdue University:
The Queen Elizabeth gaffe is a case of misuse of automated spell-check. This one shows why you need to be extra careful when you copy and paste text or use a template to maintain a style. Make sure you remove all the old text. Better yet, use stylesheets.
Bonus holiday treat tangentially related to screenwriting:
Industrial Light and Magic has a Web site that reveals in gory detail how the company produced the special effects for "Pirates of the Caribbean 2". It's heavy duty Flash, but fantastic.
And you learn that Davy Jones has exactly 46 tentacles on his face.
Dishwasher succumbs
To us!
Elvi and I decided to try to fix the dishwasher ourselves. A bit of Web research revealed that this was probably one of two problems. Either the plastic valve that the drainage hose hooks up to was clogged or the motor/pump had ceased pumping in the proper direction. We figured there was a clog in it, because that we stood a chance of fixing.
Thursday, we tried to get at the drainage hose from the side, but we couldn't reach it. In moving the dishwasher out from under the counter, we stressed the copper pipe that brings the thing fresh water and it started to drip.
I worried that we'd split the pipe. I turned its water feed off and Elvi put a towel own. She's more optimistic than me and she thought we just loosened the nut that keeps the pipe attached.
We then tried to follow the drainage path, essentially. We started taking parts off inside the dishwasher. We got as far as the spray arms and a water propeller, but we were stymied by a nut and rubber cover.
We stopped there and called Art, a plumber-savvy sort of fellow. He agreed with the diagnosis told us the right way to do this – he was too busy to come over. The way to get at that drainage valve is from the front, after removing the kickplate. While Elvi did that, I cleaned the gunk out of the parts we'd removed.
When you know what you're doing and how to do it, repairs are easier. Elvi handed me the valve she removed and I used a skewer to push out the end of a chicken wing bone and the detritus that had agglomerated around it to seal off the passage.
Art said he'd seen these valves clogged with lemon seeds. I smell a design flaw.
Victory is sweet.
More Spit love
IWC, the high-end watch company, produced a film to advertise its Pilot watch. The film stars two clipped-wing Spitfires, a LF IX E and a XIV. And a Junkers Ju 52. And John Malkovich. I fell in love all over again. Not with John Malkovich.
Watch here.
Then, watch the "making of" film here.
I think those two gorgeous creatures both belong to the Planes of Fame in Chino, Calif. That museum's LF IX spent its career with Canadians, shooting down two Bf 109s with a third probable and a probable FW 190.
Bonus thought of the day:
If dogs had reached the levels of intelligence and technology that characterize modern humans, would they urinate in toilets? Or would scent still be so important to them that they'd pee on their homes' walls?
Minor "Futurama" news
Wizard Entertainment has a brief interview with "Futurama" showrunner David X. Cohen.
Even though the bastard didn't invite me to the room, I thought I should point you to the piece. The new season is halfway written and in production.


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Days 1 & 2 Budapest, Hungary - Embark PM
Cast your eye over the Budapest skyline, and you'll see all the makings of a world-class city and striking photograph: domes and spires, bridges and lampposts, splendid architecture in the foreground, rolling hills in the back, and the Danube River placidly curving through it, providing a reflective surface for sunsets and city lights. Look closer, and the treasures of Budapest—Hungary's capital and the largest metropolis—really come to light. Castle Hill is at the top of most visitors' lists, a UNESCO-listed district hosting Buda Castle, Trinity Square, Matthias Church and Fishermen's Bastion. The area is also residential, with 18th-century houses, cobblestone streets and few cars, thanks to a strict vehicular ordinance, giving you a real sense of what the city must have been like ages ago. Budapest is full of history, originally a Roman settlement, formed as a unified city when Buda and Pest joined in 1873, overtaken by various invading forces over the centuries, and today an interesting goulash of local culture and foreign influences. Take a seat in a Turkish-era bath or savor rich Esterházy torte in a genteel coffee house to experience the many sides of a city that charms from both sides of the Danube. Overnight on Day 1.
Day 3 Cruising the Danube River - Bratislava, Slovakia
Slovakia's capital city may be the country's buzzing political and economic center, but it is also a historic gem that stirs the imagination. A maze of narrow, cobblestone streets wind around colorful 18th-century buildings, and shade-covered sidewalk cafes beckon weary—or simply hungry—travelers to linger over a meal and enjoy people watching. Museums, cathedrals and palaces are edifying locales to spend some time, while photography buffs will want to snap images of the medieval castle that looms over the city with a majestic grace. For those looking for more contemporary sights, Bratislava boasts a pulsating modern art scene, as well as some outstanding examples of Communist-era architecture.
Day 4 Durnstein, Austria - Danube Scenic Cruising - Melk, Austria
Considered as one of the most visited tourist spots in Wachau Valley, Durnstein is a robust wine-growing region that sits perfectly alongside the Danube river. Durnstein Castle, the region's famous architectural highlight derives its name from duerr meaning "dry" and stein meaning "stone". This landmark sits atop a rocky mountain, high above the damp conditions of the Danube at its base as it overlooks the town. With its picture-perfect scenery, Durnstein's beauty is enhanced by verdant forests, rolling hills, and thriving vineyards that ensconce the town. Take in the sights, sip some of the region's local wines and simply enjoy a leisurely day in this classic, postcard-worthy European town.
Best known for its fortified baroque Benedictine monastery, Melk Abbey, the town of Melk boasts an assortment of smaller gems. Among them, the city's riverside location, serene and regal with a ribbon of wooded groves giving way to the lovely village. Cobbled lanes and a petite size make for a pleasant stroll with a chance to discover its 16th-century Town Hall, or Rathaus, in the center of town, and Haus am Stein, or House at the Rock. Built in the 15th century, the vine-covered abode is Melk's oldest building.
Day 5 Linz, Austria
Named the European Capital of Culture in 2009 and added to the roster of UNESCO Creative Cities as a City of Media Arts in 2014, Linz embraces the present and future, even as it remains reverential to its past. There is much to be proud of: Here on the gentle curve of the Danube, Linz rose to power as a political and economic hub for the Holy Roman Empire. Trade and influence extended in all four directions, from Hungary and Germany to the east and west and Poland and Italy to the north and south. Later, Linz sparkled as a city of the Habsburgs, the last home to German Emperor, Friedrich III. The city's layout reflects its history, with an ancient medieval center encircled by neoclassical, neo-baroque and neo-Renaissance neighborhoods, a kind of tree-rings of age and architectural styles. Highpoints of old traditions and impressive landmarks include the Linzer torte, dating to 1653 and thought to be the oldest cake in the world, and St. Martin's church, the oldest church in Austria.
Day 6 Weissenkirchen, Austria - Krems, Austria
Situated at the confluence of the Danube and Krems rivers 43 miles west of Vienna, Krems marks the beginning of the Wachau Valley (if traveling upstream) and showcases a true crisscross of old and new. The Steiner Tor, or Stoney Gate, combines architectural styles, with its original 15th-century construction later refashioned into a fanciful Baroque style. Putting the old and new literally side by side is a preserved length of the old city walls, which is snugged up against a newer chrome-and-glass section – similar in height and purpose, and entirely different in appearance and feel. Putting the new within the old are the designer shops housed in the regal 18th-century buildings of the Altstadt. In the upper Old Town, you'll find one of the oldest parish churches in Lower Austria. Old traditions also stand the test of time: In cozy heurigen, or wine bars, wine is consumed with a relaxed conviviality. Storybook beautiful in its steep-roofed architecture and Danube setting, Krems is perhaps neither old nor new, but timeless.
Days 7 & 8 Vienna, Austria - Disembark AM
Layered and elegant, with elements of cozy and grand, musical and visual might be the best way to characterize Vienna—or one of many ways, as this imperial city surely can inspire endless lines of poetic descriptions. Once the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and forever known for its distinguished roster of composers who either were born or lived and worked here—including Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, both Strausses, Liszt and Brahms—Vienna finds itself at the very center of European culture, even as it sits near the border of the Czech republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Turn to a blank page to memorialize your own impressions of this grand city, remarking on its manicured gardens, ornate architecture—especially that of the famed Ringstrasse—intimate bistro pubs called beisln and a certain flourish that can only be called Vienna. Overnight on Day 7. Disembark on Day 8.
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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval on Tuesday defended his state against a report that a Las Vegas psychiatric hospital improperly sent hundreds of discharged patients by bus to California and other states, a practice known as patient dumping.
The Republican governor acknowledged that the state-run Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital improperly discharged at least one mentally ill man but said a new discharge policy put in place in recent weeks would prevent future missteps.
A state investigation led to disciplinary action against two employees, health officials said.
The Nevada governor's comments came a day after San Francisco's city attorney said he had opened an investigation into reports by the Sacramento Bee that Rawson-Neal gave bus tickets to as many as 1,500 patients without adequate provisions for food, medication, housing or medical treatment in a practice dating back to July 2008.
Sandoval said in a statement that when he learned in early March that in at least one instance "discharge policies and procedures were not followed" at the hospital, his administration began an inquiry.
"Let me be clear, improperly discharging one patient is one patient too many," Sandoval said. "I take the concerns regarding Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital very seriously, and it is not the policy of the state of Nevada to engage in 'patient dumping' as (has) been alleged."
San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said he welcomed the governor's measures to stop patient dumping, but that his office's probe would continue.
"Nothing changes my intention to pursue all legal options against the state of Nevada," Herrera said.
Herrera has asked Nevada for public records relating to what the Sacramento Bee investigative series reported.
An ongoing investigation by the hospital has so far found only four or five of its discharges were made in violation of hospital policy, said Mary Woods, a Nevada health and human services spokeswoman.
Nevada State Health Officer Dr. Tracey Green denied the state dumps patients. "We do not practice, nor do we support, patient dumping," she said.
San Francisco health director Barbara Garcia said outreach workers in the past year identified two psychiatric patients who arrived in the city on buses after being discharged from Rawson-Neal with neither relatives nor treatment plans awaiting them in San Francisco.
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is investigating the procedures at Rawson-Neal, and the Nevada Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance recently completed a probe, Woods said.
Built at a cost of $35.5 million, Rawson-Neal opened in 2006 with 190 beds.
(Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Lisa Shumaker)


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We Chat With: Chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin
"I'm having fun, you know? As a chef and as a restaurateur I'm having fun. I love being creative and I love what we do here."
On the morning we go to visit Chef Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin, midtown is a bustle with the Rockefeller tree lighting taking place that evening. There's an excited energy and a hustle outside. But in the great expanse of Le Bernardin's dining room—with a painting of the rolling ocean stretching across the back wall and warm, dark wood defining the space—it's easy to feel calm and steady.
This grounded focus extends, of course, onto the plate, where a piece of fish is treated with reverence and elevated to its fullest potential, fulfilling their mantra, "the fish is the star of the plate". It also extends into Ripert's show Avec Eric, where his focus on food and creating it is refreshingly absent of competition or induced drama. As well as with his intricate work with City Harvest, for which he is the Food Council chairperson. And it is apparent in Ripert himself, who seems calm and is very present while we speak, though another long day is ahead of him.
Maybe it's his practice in Buddhism that provides the basis for the restaurant's focused passion. Maybe it's Ripert's many years in fine dining that have brought him to a place of confident continuity. Several chefs I respect have shared their belief that you must be a happy person to create good food. As we begin to move about the space taking photos, my "how are you today, Chef?" is met with, "Today I am happy. Today when I woke up, I was smiling."
For you personally, why does food at your level of luxury have value? I always had a passion for good food from my background: my mom was not a "foodie," but she was very passionate about food and what was going on with nouvelle cuisine and chefs like Michel Guerard and Paul Bocuse. My mom would every day do breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a lot of effort into what we would have for each meal. Lunch and dinner would have different china and a different tablecloth, for instance. There was always a good bottle of wine. She would do appetizers, main course, and dessert. So I grew up thinking that everybody was like me in the world! That experience from a young age created a passion in me about fine dining. About great ingredients, prepared the way we prepare them in a fine-dining restaurant. And then I really had a passion for eating. At age 15 I was a bad student, so I went to culinary school because it was a vocational school. I was delighted!
Decades later, has the significant changed? I'm having fun, you know? As a chef and as a restaurateur I'm having fun. I love being creative and I love what we do here, which is striving for excellence. Although we know that perfection doesn't exist, we strive for perfection every day.
Why do you think we support fine dining in New York despite economic decline in recent years? Most luxury restaurants haven't seen too much of a dip, correct? It's strange because fine dining lives in parallel with a different world that is very popular. People have a passion today, in this country especially, about food and restaurants.
A big city like New York has a lot of single people who like to go out, or people who have little apartments and tiny kitchens, and they go out because sometimes they just want to have an experience. Sometimes it's a celebration, and sometimes it's just to be pampered or discover something different. That's what makes our restaurant special.
You come from a food culture whose roots go much deeper than ours. Have you seen a progression in our understanding and appreciation of food in your time here? It's a true revolution. It's a renaissance. I came to the U.S. for the first time as a tourist in 1986. You couldn't find fresh basil—you just couldn't find it. Right!? Some restaurants had some good ingredients but they were very hard to find. 1986-2012 is not very long. With the help of the media—especially I think with the influence of the New York Times, magazines like Bon Appetite, Food & Wine and Saveur, and then with television and Food Network (for the good and the bad!), and all the shows focusing on food—people are interested in food, and people are interested in cooking. You have stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and Dean and Deluca that have fresh products; they don't just sell things out of the box, in a can or frozen.
Even outside New York you see huge stores like Wal-Mart with an aisle of organic fresh produce. They don't sell organic fresh products just to show off—it's a business. So people cook more, they have more of an interest in quality. I love that we have this kind of true revolution about food. And the young audience is even more passionate than what I call "the loyal clients" about where food comes from, about sustainability, about humanely raised animals and so on.
So we're moving in the right direction? We are not only moving in the right direction; we have seen a lot of progress.
We're in a season of thanks and reflection, but so many restaurants are still dealing with hurricane cleanup. Though Le Bernardin wasn't devastatingly affected, did the hurricane strike you personally? We are a high-end restaurant and feel we are lucky because we live with our passion—we are happy and lucky to work in this environment. So we don't wait for a catastrophe to arrive to be involved with the community. We do it on a daily basis, mostly through City Harvest—I can't be successful and feed lucky people and have others who are hungry.
So when Sandy destroyed our coast, everybody had a sense of compassion here. What we decided to do is help City Harvest as much as we could: we cooked full meals for 300 people at a time for them to pick up and deliver. On a personal level, some people volunteered and made donations. So we helped a little bit more than we do usually but, again, for us it's a daily thought—to help people who are hungry.
Now that the year is almost coming to a close, do you reflect much upon the past or start planning the future shape of your work here? Obviously you have to have a vision, but what I really try to do everyday as a practice is to be in the present as much as I can, and to try to share that with the staff. Then we have meetings (I like to call them "sessions," but they're meetings) about where we want to go with our service and menu—where we want to go and what we want to explore. But being in the present is so important.
For more chats at Le Bernardin, check out our piece with pastry chef Laurie Jon Moran.
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Spring Whites That Deserve the Hype: Rueda
Call it what you'd like: An old routine, a daily pattern, your go-to basics. You're stuck in a rut, and it can happen with your white wine choices, too. It's ok, though, we can get through this together. Shake awake your sleepy palate with value-packed...Read more »