text:
Dirty Little Secret of Success
A longing for love and approval. That's the dirty little secret of success.
Yes, you must make something people want. Of course, you must improve and extend it. Certainly, you must give 110% where customer satisfaction is concerned. Definitely, you must convert your customers to evangelists. All of that is true, always has been and will be.
But you won't be able to do those things, not really, not all the way, not as they must be done, unless there is a brokenness in you that continually craves attention and affection you somehow missed out on.
You have to have been abandoned, betrayed, ridiculed, unsupported at some point when you needed it most.
This sounds terrible and it is. But it's the facts.
A contented person with a whole heart, who has never doubted for a moment that she is loved by God and the universe, should not bother trying to succeed as a creative entrepreneur. She should get a job working for someone else, turn it off at 6:00 PM, and come home to the people who love her.
Only a restless, broken heart can drive you to do what is necessary.
And that's how to succeed in business without really crying.
Filed under: business, Career, glamorous
147 Responses to "Dirty Little Secret of Success"
J. Adam Moore said on 22 October 2009 at 7:50 am:
Preach it! Don't forget that you also need the arrogance to believe you will succeed in the first place and that you deserve other people's love and attention. Darn it! Now I wish I was successful so people would love me. :(
Amateur Blogger said on 22 October 2009 at 7:51 am:
Only a restless, broken heart can drive you to do what is necessary.
Brilliant. Enough said.
Gilbert said on 22 October 2009 at 7:52 am:
Wow bold statement… but probably very true.
Zeeshan said on 22 October 2009 at 7:52 am:
Well said ! a restless state of mind has more chances to take risks as nothing to loose ideology works which a contented person might not and as business is all about taking the risk and hoping it works out great.
John said on 22 October 2009 at 7:55 am:
Says the guy going through a divorce. Seems a pretty cynical outlook.
Ryan Brunsvold said on 22 October 2009 at 7:55 am:
So that's why my inner voice compels me to annually attend AEA. Knowing is half the battle. ;)
Jason O'Brien said on 22 October 2009 at 7:57 am:
I partly agree, because I think it describes me. However, as an absolute statement I think it's wrong. What you're saying is that someone who has found peace (or enlightenment, nibbana, nirvana… whatever) can't be an entrepreneur (the creative part is redundant… no matter what kind of entrepreneur you are you have to be creative to be truly successful), and I think as a fundamental statement that's missing the mark. Someone who has found theoretical enlightenment should see the inherit beauty of everything and thus be in a better position to communicate it than someone who has an inherit "brokenness" and a potentially distorted view of reality.
Of course, I would say that more people fall into the "broken" category than in the "enlightened" category, but I know that the latter exists.
Robert Banh said on 22 October 2009 at 8:02 am:
So true. It's easier to take risks when you're broken.
kunter ilalan said on 22 October 2009 at 8:03 am:
You mean PSYCHO MOD.. I think I'm understanding it better now :s
Yet, I fail to see any
gutsheart possibly existing on that "female" ..err .. whatever. Feeling irresponsible towards your own art, craft, colleagues, business, the real people other than you… sounds "too sour" to me
p.s. SHARE WITH THE CLASS :-D that is LIVE that is succeeding without being mean and spreading positive radiation – you see? I loved that in a matter of seconds just seeing the SUBMIT BUTTON – that "successful" female shall keep returning to a home where she's being loved until the retirement. Then she'd be told how ugly she had been
Simon Ljungberg said on 22 October 2009 at 8:13 am:
I agree with Jason O'Brien.
I'm never as creative as when I feel happy and satisfied with my life.
I'm not saying I'm "unbroken". Because I certainly haven't reached enlightenment. However I am doing pretty well right _AND_ I feel loved by the universe ;)
Ryan Brunsvold said on 22 October 2009 at 8:18 am:
I believe the moral of the story here is that you have to want something so bad that you'll put yourself though damn near anything to get it. Being happy, relaxed, and at ease with yourself isn't very conducive to being a hard-nosed bastard who'll stop at nothing.
Great post, Papa Web.
Alan Bristow said on 22 October 2009 at 8:23 am:
Another truth from Mr Zeldman, this one makes me feel better about myself too :) Thanks Jeffrey.
Jason Robb said on 22 October 2009 at 8:23 am:
A restless broken heart is a negative motivational force. Someone with positive encouragement is far better off (and less likely to cry about life) than someone motivated by their sadness.
That said, being motivated by something positive doesn't preclude someone from being broken and feeling abandoned. They don't derive their motivation from their problems, but the hope in the solution.
It's like someone who has cancer that wallows in self-pity and never recovers. It's foolish to be defined by your sickness. I'll take being defined by hope any day.
Bryan said on 22 October 2009 at 8:29 am:
Now I understand why my mom is an entrepreneur and I am not.
Natalie Jost said on 22 October 2009 at 8:44 am:
I find it difficult to believe anyone–even one "enlightened"–has lived a life worthy of another day without some bit of ridicule or broken-heartedness that haunts them just a little bit, even when it irks them to admit it.
I also don't believe it's possible to be "at peace" and simultaneously separate from one's past pain. Maybe it's not the driving force behind creativity, but it's there, snapping the reins now and then.
We're all broken, but some are like a certain Monty Python character who just can't be stopped, who don't want to see the "appendages" missing in their life. :)
And I've never been clear on what exactly it means to be "loved by the universe" — sounds more like loved by myself to me — but it's a start. ;)
Thanks for making me smile this morning. I can't know the circumstances of your divorce, but it's a difficult thing for anyone to go through, particularly if it's public. So I'll continue to pray for wisdom and peace for everyone involved (even though that is probably not what this is about).
robomalo said on 22 October 2009 at 8:46 am:
This explains everything!
Elliott Munoz said on 22 October 2009 at 8:53 am:
I think the only person who could disagree with that statement is the person for whom it does not apply.
Mandy Brown said on 22 October 2009 at 8:58 am:
A contented person with a whole heart, who has never doubted for a moment that she is loved by God and the universe…
This person you speak of: I do not believe she exists. Also, this is relevant.
Simon Griffee said on 22 October 2009 at 9:04 am:
"We all want to be famous people – and the moment we want to be something, we are no longer free"
"Can you and I, who are simple, ordinary people, live creatively in this world without the drive of ambition which shows itself in various ways as the desire for power, position? You will find the right answer when you love what you are doing. If you are an engineer merely because you must earn a livelihood, or because your father or society expects it of you, that is another form of compulsion; and compulsion in any form creates a contradiction, conflict. Whereas if you really love to be an engineer, or a scientist, or if you can plant a tree, or paint a picture, or write a poem, not to gain recognition but just because you love to do it, then you will find that you never compete with another. I think this is the real key: to love what you do."
— J. Krishnamurti in Think on These Things
Zak said on 22 October 2009 at 9:05 am:
So very true. I've always thought this about myself.
unnikrishna menon damodaran said on 22 October 2009 at 9:09 am:
To succeed in business you have to keep all your personal principles in a locker and do not think about anything but money! And smile even when you do not like to.
Amy Mahon said on 22 October 2009 at 9:09 am:
The whole middle child thing works pretty well.
Christopher Fahey said on 22 October 2009 at 9:15 am:
I do hope you are not encouraging people to actively seek out or invite heartbreak into their lives.
Carole Guevin said on 22 October 2009 at 9:16 am:
Well although title is somewhat deceptive da man makes a good point: The (Dirty) Little Secret of Success. It does take humility and determination. Vision and vigilance. A hungriness to make a difference.
Like a mentor once said: "You fail till you succeed!"
James said on 22 October 2009 at 9:18 am:
I used to think this was true, but I disagree now. I always find I'm more productive when I'm contented and balanced (and I run my own business).
Aren't there other reasons for success than wanting to be loved? Providing for loved ones; making a difference in the world? You can be contented and still want to achieve these things.
supernovia said on 22 October 2009 at 9:18 am:
No wonder I'm so freakin awesome! ;-)
Tiago Dias said on 22 October 2009 at 9:25 am:
I think what Mr. Zeldman's point is that a person who does not normally have many objectives is easier sometimes to risk when you're injured or no longer have anything to lose. However, I believe that a happy, creative and really love what they do person, will bring more income for many would-be entrepreneur.
Brian said on 22 October 2009 at 9:27 am:
I totally hear you but I would say there is something else rather than desperate longing for approval that drives a person to success. I personally have no unusual desire to impress people, if anything I have the opposite problem! Yet I push myself and obsess over minutiae just like many great designers. I would suggest that there is something about a creative forerunner and a spirit if excellence that sets some apart from the crowd.
Jason Beaird said on 22 October 2009 at 9:33 am:
That's quite a bold statement and I couldn't disagree more, Jeffrey. I'm a "contented person with a whole heart, who has never doubted for a moment that I am loved by God and the universe", but I try every day to succeed as a creative person. While I do have a regular 9-5, that doesn't mean I don't bust my own balls after hours organizing a Refresh group, writing & preparing presentations to further this industry the way you have. I work hard because I love what I do. That's my secret of success.
Matty G said on 22 October 2009 at 9:37 am:
Wow. Either this is completely in the eye of the beholder (i.e. wrong for me) or I am in the wrong business. Or maybe, I still long for love and attention even though I am loved by God and, well, a slim majority of the universe.
Alan Pinstein said on 22 October 2009 at 9:42 am:
While it might be true that "broken" people are pushed to succeed and be creative to fill a psychological gap, I don't think it's a necessary or sufficient condtion for success.
I had a pretty normal upbrinding; parents never really fought, they are still married today. I am an only child (defintely did *not* suffer lack of attention), I had a lot of friends and have pretty much enjoyed my entire life.
Yet I love building things. It's fun, and it's what drives me to build companies that make things better for my customers.
Just wanted to toss out a contrarian opinion.
Trev said on 22 October 2009 at 9:44 am:
I can understand your sentiment here, but I'd challenge you to examine some less recent historical examples of great people. I don't think all of them where motivated simply by a need for love. Ghandi, Lincoln, Mother Teresa. Many people who accomplished great things appear to have been motivated by things deeper than themselves.
You are right though, I think a broken heart is a big part of it. A lack of acceptance over the state of the world, and sorrow for the condition we find ourselves in is the first step on a journey towards seeking ways to make things better. Being secure in the fact that you are loved by God doesn't destroy your motivation: it gives you faith that the world can be made a better place.
Todd Dominey said on 22 October 2009 at 9:46 am:
I've considered the same point quite often, and believe manic-depression — sometimes just a tinge of it — can be a contributing factor as well. Some of the most successful business entrepreneurs of our time (e.g., Ted Turner) have achieved the seemingly insurmountable thanks in-part to the condition. I think many successful people, regardless of whether they'd be diagnosed as bi-polar or manic depressive or something similar, have similar mental traits that push them on. And once these people do achieve their goals, they rarely revel in their conquest. Instead, they push on to the next obstacle (whether actual or placed in front of themselves). It's the struggle — not victory or the fear of defeat — that can sometimes define the person.
Philip Barron said on 22 October 2009 at 10:06 am:
You have to have been abandoned, betrayed, ridiculed, unsupported at some point when you needed it most.
Done and done!
All that's needed now is the actual work.
Chad M said on 22 October 2009 at 10:18 am:
I appreciate the vulnerability and honest, sober self-reflection that are a clear part of what makes you who you are Jeffrey Zeldman. This has been very encouraging to me.
It's important to recognize the ugliness that can drive our ambitions. When we seek validation from the world it is a never ending chase of temporary fixes.
It's not really important with whether it is globally true that one should be broken in this way to succeed in creative business, there is a kernel of truth in it that one can see in themselves and others, if they are being honest. The fact is, we ARE all "broken". We all have blindsides. That is the nature of what it means to be human. I'm thankful that by God's mercy our weaknesses can simultaneously become strengths if turned to their true purpose.
Thanks for sharing like you do Jeffrey.
onno said on 22 October 2009 at 10:25 am:
Sorry you are broken.
Natalie Jost said on 22 October 2009 at 10:28 am:
I find it difficult to believe anyone–even one "enlightened"–has lived a life worthy of another day without some bit of ridicule or broken-heartedness that haunts them just a little bit, even when it irks them to admit it.
I also don't believe it's possible to be "at peace" and simultaneously separate from one's past pain. Maybe it's not the driving force behind creativity, but it's there, snapping the reins now and then.
We're all broken, but some are like a certain Monty Python character who just can't be stopped, who don't want to see the "appendages" missing in their life. :)
And I've never been clear on what exactly it means to be "loved by the universe" — sounds more like loved by myself to me — but it's a start. ;) I won't take you too seriously though, I suspect a bit of this post is tongue-in-cheek, maybe a little sarcastic.
Thanks for making me smile this morning.
Oh, and thanks, Todd D, for that perspective–manic-depression is a whole other topic, but a perceived struggle IS an important (and destructive) motivator.
Milan said on 22 October 2009 at 10:31 am:
I agree with you here- the starving artist mentality echoes in your words.
I don't mean to be petty or feminist, but why does it have to be a "she" who does the 9-5?
Spencer Fry said on 22 October 2009 at 10:38 am:
You're so spot on it's scary. This is exactly how I feel and why I've been doing this for 14 years now. I'm constantly searching for love and approval from everyone around me.
RayMcK said on 22 October 2009 at 10:39 am:
Just read other note. Like a big brother you are. Thanks
Vas Kottas said on 22 October 2009 at 10:44 am:
This reminds me of the Gladwell piece on Ivy League admissions.
Questioning all the different factors that the schools select for, he poses the question 'what happens when you select for aptitude alone?' and as a response cites a study on an elementary magnet school in NYC:
Hunter College Elementary School…required simply that applicants take an exam, and if they scored in the top fifty they got in…educational researchers surveyed the students who attended between 1948 and 1960…a group with an average I.Q. of 157…who had been given…one of the finest classroom experiences in the world. As graduates, though, they weren't nearly as distinguished as they were expected to be.
"Although most of our study participants are successful and fairly content with their lives and accomplishments," the authors conclude, "there are no superstars . . . and only one or two familiar names." The researchers spend a great deal of time trying to figure out why Hunter graduates are so disappointing, and end up sounding very much like Wilbur Bender. Being a smart child isn't a terribly good predictor of success in later life, they conclude. "Non-intellective" factors—like motivation and social skills—probably matter more. Perhaps, the study suggests, "after noting the sacrifices involved in trying for national or world-class leadership in a field, H.C.E.S. graduates decided that the intelligent thing to do was to choose relatively happy and successful lives."
There's definitely a drive, often to the point of obsession, that is needed to get beyond a certain level in any field. I don't think it absolutely has to come from somewhere negative. But to Todd Dominey's point, an obsession at the level of a Ted Turner or a Bill Gates has an insatiable, consuming life of its own that supersedes the typical hierarchy of human needs.
Truth said on 22 October 2009 at 10:47 am:
None of you want to "help people" or "change the world."
What you really want is to enhance your self-image, stroke your ego, win fame or fortune by grand acts, and ultimately _be seen by others_ as one who helps people.
If you really want to help people and change the world then go pick up litter in your neighborhood, volunteer in a hospital or food kitchen, or something else hands-on that actually changes lives.
If that takes too much effort or cuts too much into your TV time then just stop being so aggressive toward other people on the road and in line at the supermarket. Changing the world happens one-to-one through simple courtesy, kindness and respect.
But then there's no glory in that, is there?
Chad M said on 22 October 2009 at 11:02 am:
I was wondering when the Truth would show up and give us all that well deserved public shaming beat down. Of course there are incredibly huge assumptions that we ALL don't already serve others in any of the capacities mentioned, or more.
Thanks Truth. It's a good thing you already know what we're all really like.
I hope you're also taking part in doing the things you suggest. Sounds like it's worked for you.
Dan Wroblewski said on 22 October 2009 at 11:24 am:
Very well-put… you should stay up all night more often!
» Why I am not an entrepeneur… Filter Your Input said on
22 October 2009 at 11:27 am:
[...] to Jeffrey Zeldman, at least… [...]
Woody Allen said on 22 October 2009 at 11:30 am:
I agree that this may be true in some cases…but, I have to wonder about Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, and the host of Olympian athletes who are driven to be great. Ridicule, false starts, difficulties are part of being human. And so are resiliency, having an indomitable spirit and strength of character.
I'm not sure you have to be broken to achieve greatness. I guess it depends on how you define success.
tinabeans said on 22 October 2009 at 11:36 am:
Mandy Brown is right; where are these "whole hearts?" Everyone is a little broken, and it's not the brokenness that makes someone awesome.
Though it's comforting to think that being fired in the crucible of hardship makes you a superlative human being, I feel like that might just be an excuse to be bitter. At least it has been for me, and I am a certified Broken Person ™ =)
Erik Vorhes said on 22 October 2009 at 11:45 am:
I immediately thought of Augustine when I read "Only a restless, broken heart can drive you to do what is necessary." From the first book of his Confessions:
Inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te.
Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.
Thanks for warming the heart of a failed medievalist. :)
david karapetyan said on 22 October 2009 at 11:50 am:
Kyle Steed said on 22 October 2009 at 11:55 am:
I don't know whether to feel sad or agree with this.
Can't having a heart which is fulfilled not lead to bigger and greater things? Can't that "love of God" which you mention be a passion in which you find your drive and desire to succeed? Or have we become so biased that anyone who speaks the name of God or Jesus must have ulterior motives?
That's something I'm wrestling with right now even. I have my good and bad days just like everyone else.
António P. P. Almeida (perusio) 's status on Thursday, 22-Oct-09 15:58:12 UTC - Identi.ca said on
22 October 2009 at 11:58 am:
[...] Previous !q by Jeffrey Zeldman from here: http://www.zeldman.com/2009/10/22/dirty-little-secret-of-success/ [...]
Erik Swedberg said on 22 October 2009 at 11:59 am:
If you decoupled attention-needing from discontent I might agree with you.
I think the drive from the restless desire to do better or be awesome is quite different than the condition of needing to be all "hey everybody, look at me". That encourages people to be noisy and prolific, but not necessarily good.
I would also say this is a slant on the starving creator theory. A graph exists for people pursuing a creative field (writing, music, movies, painting) where there work can be really awesome at the beginning when they're unproven, hungry, and have something to get out. the quality of their work during this phase increases as they get better at their craft. When they've made it, a lot if that early drive is gone (or they've used up all their good ideas) and their work suffers.
Jim Bob said on 22 October 2009 at 12:03 pm:
'Splains why I'm a failure, I guess.
uberVU - social comments said on
22 October 2009 at 12:14 pm:
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by boxkite: Amen. RT @zeldman: Ladies and gentlemen, The Dirty Little Secret of Success. http://j.mp/3pAIjt…
Katy said on 22 October 2009 at 12:32 pm:
I believe people think this because they don't want to do the work to make themselves happy. So much easier to decide you have to be "broken" to be a successful creative entrepreneur than it is to take a good hard look at yourself and change.
zephyr said on 22 October 2009 at 12:46 pm:
Ego is a powerful driving force. The desire for love and approval fits right in there.
David said on 22 October 2009 at 12:47 pm:
Someone define "success" please.
Trevor van Gorp said on 22 October 2009 at 1:18 pm:
Yes, pain is a much stronger driver and motivator than pleasure, as it naturally commands more attention and is more stimulating. For example, all the change that has been spurred by the current recession would not have occurred had everything been going well.
Jorge M Machado said on 22 October 2009 at 1:22 pm:
Cogent and resonant, Mr. Zeldman. This short piece really speaks to me. Thank you.
"Only a restless, broken heart can drive you to do what is necessary."
I agree. You probably did not have that in mind, but this pretty much sums up any major protagonist in fiction throughout the ages.
You've probably read Hagakure by Yamamoto Tsunetomo. If you haven't, you might like it. Give it a try. I couldn't help but think of that book after reading your thoughts today.
Ryan Graves said on 22 October 2009 at 1:25 pm:
So that's why I'm always so unhappy.
Dirty Little Secret of Success – Jeffrey Zeldman — Jack Baty said on
22 October 2009 at 1:29 pm:
[...] Only a restless, broken heart can drive you to do what is necessary. via zeldman.com [...]
beto said on 22 October 2009 at 1:41 pm:
Human nature is strange. As much as we long for the eternal comfort zone, the truth is that being between a rock and a hard place is what usually brings our best efforts forward. It is hard to become truly driven and creative when everything seems to go right in your life.
Epicurus said on 22 October 2009 at 1:44 pm:
I can't tell if this is a troll or not. If it's sincere, then it's really good display of ignorance and a lack of imagination. "I can't imagine X happening any other way than Y. Ergo, it cannot happen in any other way."
Kevin said on 22 October 2009 at 1:54 pm:
I would not be to quick to say that hard times inspire, but only that that hope can be derived from them and thus inspire the creative cognitive.
However, I will agree and say that comfort is the ultimate creative and inspirational killer! What goal can be reached if there is no race to be won?
Nick Smith said on 22 October 2009 at 2:04 pm:
For your assertion to be true you would have to deny the possibility that anyone did anything just for the joy of doing it.
I, for one, do many things solely for the fun/love/joy of it. :)
Wagner Matos said on 22 October 2009 at 2:09 pm:
I have to disagree. I believe being "broken" can be motivational. I also believe that to be successful you need a lot determination, dedication, insanity and obsessiveness that might be easier found in a "broken" person. However, one must not forget that are many strong motivational factors and each individual respond differently to different stimulations. I think you can be very happy and still have a profound passion for something, a passion that border insanity which drives you uncontrollably to seek "perfection", to push that little bit harder and everyone and everything tells you to give up. And the simple satisfaction of pursuing that passion is enough to make considerably happy.
Rick said on 22 October 2009 at 2:38 pm:
You have to have been abandoned, betrayed, ridiculed, unsupported at some point when you needed it most.
You've just described 99+% of the world population.
Stephanie Sawchenko said on 22 October 2009 at 3:14 pm:
So… you have have to be an angst ridden masochist with low confidence in order to advance your vision at work?
Neil Kandalgaonkar said on 22 October 2009 at 3:17 pm:
I think you've hit on something here, and you're brave to acknowledge it. And maybe this is something our whole generation has issues with, particularly the nerds-turned-cool-kids of the Web 2.0 world.
But, the most successful investor of all time, Warren Buffett, exhibits none of the traits you describe. And I can think of lots of other examples from my personal life.
You assert that one won't do the tasks well unless driven by such deep emotional needs. Are you sure this isn't backwards? Who said that customers had to love you all the time? Why is it so necessary to be their most perfect best friend? Maybe they just want good service for the money. Maybe this whole culture of customer-codependent marketing is collective fantasy from marketers who have such emotional needs.
Commentor said on 22 October 2009 at 3:26 pm:
I'll take the 'turn it off at 6 pm' job. Where can I find one of those? All my bosses want me to work at least 11 hours a day.
Epicurus said on 22 October 2009 at 3:40 pm:
I chose this moniker because my criticism was in line with his philosophy. Choosing Epicurus doesn't reflect on my imagination – or lack thereof. In fact, I can imagine at least one other cause for success – sense of purpose. And I further feel no need to preemptively exclude every other possible cause by over-committing to one cause.
Upon further reflection, I can't say absolutely that you lack imagination. You may simply have been unable or unwilling to exercise it in your thinking on the matter.
matt said on 22 October 2009 at 4:05 pm:
A dark, but very true statement and not something I want to dwell on.
Eelco said on 22 October 2009 at 4:14 pm:
Feelings control our lives! Every attitude we adopt, every thought we have, every decision we make, everything we say or don't say and everything we do or don't do is directly attributed to our feelings.
If you felt contended and loved do you think you would be less succesfull?
Thank you for sharing. Cheerio.
Alan Storm said on 22 October 2009 at 4:15 pm:
I've been following your work online for about a decade, never quite sure what it was about your voice that kept me listening. Thank you for taking 200 words to explain what resonates and keeps us coming back.
The Truth said on 22 October 2009 at 7:16 pm:
What a bunch of bullshit. You're a loser and so is everyone agreeing with you .
Stig said on 22 October 2009 at 7:44 pm:
Well spoken, -reminds me of the infamous film "Citizen Kane" about a very ambitious man, eager to be loved for what he does, who too late finds out what it is all about.
Carlos said on 22 October 2009 at 8:52 pm:
That makes a lot of sense Mr. Zeldman. Well at least to me it does and explains quite a bit of the restlessness in just about everything I do. But I do wonder if it ever comes a time that the whole is fulfilled. But then again why would you want that when it has taken you so many places were it not for the feeling of wanting to reach success, accomplishment, or attention.
Gabe da Silveira said on 22 October 2009 at 9:11 pm:
Incredibly thought-provoking post. My first thoughts are:
It seems exceedingly unlikely that any person could make it to adulthood with 100% of their psychological needs met. The physical world is trauma-inducing by its very nature. Therefore everyone has the potential to be "broken" in this sense.
Yet not everyone is, or at least not outwardly. Everyone has sensitive spots, but they vary. Defense mechanisms vary. Mental health varies. The things that traumatize people vary. People are pretty resilient. So it seems (to me anyway) that driven individuals are not really broken. They just happen to be molded a certain way by life's forces.
SD said on 23 October 2009 at 1:18 am:
I knew this but you have explained it in the words…its awesome and it only TRUTH……great..thanks…
Richard Fink said on 23 October 2009 at 1:47 am:
Many years ago I read an interview with Woody Allen. He said, without in any way trying to be humorous, "I think happiness is overrated".
Me too.
From the oyster comes the pearl.
» And the broken places will be made straight Filter Your Input said on
23 October 2009 at 3:01 am:
[...] very thought-provoking post from Zeldman today on what it takes to succeed as a "creative entrepreneur" Yes, you must make [...]
Pete Shaw said on 23 October 2009 at 4:53 am:
What "the fuck" ever!
Portlandhead said on 23 October 2009 at 6:30 am:
I will testify on behalf of this man: he speaks the truth.
You've got to suffer if you want to sing the bluez.
zeriusly said on 23 October 2009 at 9:28 am:
It's amusing that many of the contrarians' replies are simultaneously doubting Jeffrey's statement and displaying the very insecurity and defensive need for approval he is illustrating.
Happiness is a peak, sadness is a valley. The need for constant approval is something a perfectly 'happy' person can become addicted to, and let it drive them. Peel back just a few layers of happy and there just might be more valleys there than they thought.
» A dirty little secret about Entrepreneurship & success said on
23 October 2009 at 10:34 am:
[...] the entire thing here, it's quick and dirty Zeldman Subscribe to comments Comment | Trackback | Post [...]
EA said on 23 October 2009 at 11:42 am:
Long time reader, first time commenter, love the show.
This post blows me away and I had to say so. You've articulated something that I've just nibbled around the edges of, never fully rendering like this. I think it's a slightly bleaker outlook than my own and hope the same is true for you, Jeffrey, for your own sake. Maybe you shaded it a little darkly after a bad day, who knows.
I think it's unbelievably brave to put something like this out there. I'd never dare. I sincerely salute and thank you for it.
Maybe there's a little Pittsburgh in that philosophy (I grew up there, too). Something about those gray days and grimy tumbledown houses on steep hills put the ache of life into me, too.
Wayne State Web Communications Blog » Blog Archive » [Friday Links] The TEDxDetroit Edition said on
23 October 2009 at 2:03 pm:
[...] Dirty Little Secret of Success [...]
In Response to Zeldman said on
23 October 2009 at 2:16 pm:
[...] I read this article, "Dirty Little Secret of Success", by Jeffrey Zeldman. It struck a nerve in me right away because it deals with the human [...]
Chris Wallace said on 23 October 2009 at 2:19 pm:
It's easy to make generalizations about things that drive people. Love is something all people have an innate longing for. Approval is something every person craves. If they say otherwise, they're lying. So sure, you are correct in your broad statement about the causality of success.
However, there are a myriad of other contributing factors that need to be tossed in as well. These are different for everyone. It is this combination of driving forces that increase your probability of success.
In addition, I don't think your ability to provide your customers with the highest quality service relies upon you having had
a brokenness in you that continually craves attention and affection you somehow missed out on.
Paul Boag said on 23 October 2009 at 3:01 pm:
I am sorry Jeffrey, I couldn't disagree more.
Eleana Whitesell said on 23 October 2009 at 4:47 pm:
I think someone else probably said it better earlier up, but if you get it, you get it. If you don't, consider yourself lucky.
Doug Fentiman said on 23 October 2009 at 5:04 pm:
I disagree! Enduring hardship and unhappiness does not create lasting motivation and entrepreneurial success. Passion is a much better determinant of business success!
Jason O'Brien said on 23 October 2009 at 6:12 pm:
Doug, I think you're forgetting the original meaning of the word 'passion.' Passion isn't all flowers and sunshine. Passion has its' roots in violence, pain, and suffering.
Jesse Gardner said on 23 October 2009 at 7:03 pm:
Hey Jeffrey,
I think I know where you're coming from… some of my best work has been born out of frustration and sadness. But I don't think the frustration is the inspiration for creative success, I think it's merely a catalyst. In other words, when things are going well we often just want to sit back and soak it up; it's those angst-y moments that often push us to pursue creative madness.
I'm a person who believes in a Good God, but that doesn't precludes me from being able to partake in the beauty of Creation. Instead of creating out of some frantic sense of detachment, I create as an expression of—and perhaps even a tribute to—the beauty I see around me.
I've noticed you've been in a bit of a tailspin lately because of some rotten circumstances… just wanted to let you know (for whatever it's worth to you) that I'm praying for you. You've done a lot of good for the web, thanks.
Joe Barstow said on 23 October 2009 at 7:07 pm:
Ouch Mr. Zeldman, this article really got dissected. All I can say is you are right! A person who is content or is at a state of peace/enlightenment should not need anything! Life is to live, if you feel something is missing then sieze it! If your HAPPY then for F's sake JUST BE HAPPY!!! :) Although, America does like to bite off more than they chew :P
RD. said on 23 October 2009 at 7:14 pm:
This is demonstrably false. I realize this isn't necessarily a quantitative audience, but there's a tremendous body of solid research on these topics.
"Unhappy childhood" or "poor parent-child relationship" is not a key theme.
adam qureshi said on 23 October 2009 at 7:45 pm:
I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life, that there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Ray Blake said on 24 October 2009 at 2:27 am:
Problematic here is the undefined, yet culturally embedded idea of "success". Does it mean peer acknowledgement, wealth, political power, victory over the competition? Certainly the driven individual is someone, who like most people, is impacted by these cultural values. Think of the suffering caused by perceived failure. Ambition is certainly anti-social, it demands a hierarchy in which others are defeated. It's really a form of revenge.
Planner Reads » Blog Archive » "A longing for love and approval. That's the dirty little secret of success. Yes, you must make…" said on
24 October 2009 at 8:32 am:
[...] Jeffrey Zeldman is intense. Read his full post: Dirty Little Secret of Success. http://fascinated.fm/post/220936508 October 23rd, [...]
Brian R. Parris said on 24 October 2009 at 11:31 am:
You are so bang on right that it is scary!
"I have been abandoned, betrayed, ridiculed, unsupported at some point that was when I needed it most. " To coin a phrase.
Thank you for those heart felt words of encouragement. It makes me realize that I am doing the right thing with my career change; here in the middle of my life!
Brian R. Parris
WWD Weekend Reading List said on
24 October 2009 at 3:01 pm:
[...] zeldman.com: "Dirty Little Secret of Success" [...]
Sometimes the big boys get it wrong « Intel Designer said on
24 October 2009 at 7:32 pm:
[...] week Jeffrey Zeldman made the statement that, "a longing for love and approval" is the secret of success, which is true in its own [...]
monika hardy said on 25 October 2009 at 12:44 am:
A contented person with a whole heart, who has never doubted for a moment that she is loved by God and the universe, should not bother trying to succeed as a creative entrepreneur.
i don't think anyone fits that bill. so i'm thinking the blockage of creativity is more from a denial/dishonesty about reality than some puritism…
just saying.
Jay Robinson said on 25 October 2009 at 12:52 am:
Happiness or sadness notwithstanding, we all derive our motivation from where we will.
Jim Pietrangelo said on 25 October 2009 at 9:39 am:
Thoughts such as this might feel, or sound, true when you're in the middle of some emotional crisis, but really, wouldn't this be sad if it were true? Happily, it's not.
Leroy Kids said on 25 October 2009 at 1:35 pm:
Monika, you are absolutely right. There are always opposition staring us in the fact, the creative ones are those who face it down and come to grips with it..or are in so much pain they can't help but come to grips with it.
I will quote from a writer whose name I cannot recall now. "the average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters with the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain."
Terry said on 25 October 2009 at 2:48 pm:
I can get with this argument, to an extent. It takes a person with real drive, hutzpah and a touch of craziness to build a successful business—especially a creative one. I am currently failing at this—but definitely not because I'm so "well adjusted"!
Although I do agree that most creative endeavors are part of some search for happiness or fulfillment—NOT because you were happy already!
At the end of the day, we're all "broken." Some of us are better at channeling that brokenness into something productive. And I think that's what makes all the difference…
flashMasterFlex said on 25 October 2009 at 11:21 pm:
The only post you've ever made that surprised me in a good way. Congratulations. You really are spot on the money. Who is really so driven that they will abandon their families, and their free time on this earth in a relentless pursuit of more, and more, money/power/fame? Isn't being a billionaire enough? Who makes a billion and keeps dreaming of the next billion? Psychotic people. Dangerous people IMHO. Look at our economy, dangerously, irrationally greedy people, taking everything for themselves, and not even close to an amount that they could realistically spend in a lifetime, but 100's of times beyond it…
Insanity is what it is, plain and simple. You are right, a good person with a whole heart is content by definition, content with the sky, the trees, the oceans, and animals of the earth, and the pleasant company of their friends and family. Content with being.
ds r4 said on 26 October 2009 at 8:33 am:
Wow. Great post. And great job linking to several further resources! I think you're absolutely right about needing others for success. The best promotion is when others promote you!
Jeff Hill said on 26 October 2009 at 8:42 am:
I mostly agree with this and it seems to ring true in my case as well, but the positive contrarian in me has to believe that even if I was completely content AND I knew what I had and was grateful, my desire to "give back" would become my fuel!
alican said on 26 October 2009 at 3:47 pm:
Çok Teşekkürler zeldman harikasın
nick fox said on 26 October 2009 at 7:57 pm:
Contentment is the enemy of invention.
Benjamin Reece said on 26 October 2009 at 8:05 pm:
You have qualified my existence. As un-fucking-important as it may be.
I resort to a simple purpose: to simply "dent the universe".
Because it's the most I can hope for.
So Here's What Happened (on October 26th) : Andrew Flynn said on
27 October 2009 at 6:38 am:
[...] Shared Dirty Little Secret of Success – Jeffrey Zeldman Presents The Daily Report. [...]
Darklg Web (darklgweb) 's status on Tuesday, 27-Oct-09 20:03:20 UTC - Identi.ca said on
27 October 2009 at 4:03 pm:
[...] http://www.zeldman.com/2009/10/22/dirty-little-secret-of-success/ a few seconds ago from web [...]
Mark Claudius Png said on 28 October 2009 at 1:19 am:
On a scale meant to range from 1 to 10 on brokenness, I'm a 1,000. Awesome post, I read it twice.
gladyo said on 28 October 2009 at 6:18 am:
tank you :)
Noel Jackson said on 28 October 2009 at 11:09 am:
But when I turn it off at 2am, I'm still allowed to cry, right? ;)
lexx said on 28 October 2009 at 7:56 pm:
Thats a wonderful post. Although I would like to disagree, I cant. In fact, I kind of feel this way sometimes.
vanaukendesign.com Blog » Blog Archive » Gurus Speaking said on
28 October 2009 at 8:18 pm:
[...] guru, Jeffrey Zeldman is saying that, "A contented person with a whole heart, who has never doubted for a moment that she is [...]
Lasse Heindorff said on 28 October 2009 at 8:59 pm:
I could easily fit the bill and agree, but I – like others it seems – suspect most people would.
@Jason Robb
"They don't derive their motivation from their problems, but the hope in the solution."
Very nicely put!
Having seen Coach Carter just a few days ago, an Marianne Williamson quote comes to mind…
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Catherine said on 29 October 2009 at 11:33 am:
That was a good post, and yes I do agree. I would like to include it on my term paper, I'm sure it'll be a hit on application essay help that I'm providing to others.
Berserk said on 30 October 2009 at 5:44 pm:
And here I was, thinking there was more to it than feeling miserable and needing revenge.
r4 firmware said on 31 October 2009 at 6:00 am:
Looks like u r writing ur own experience man…
I do agree… U can't have that passion to do something if u r not emotional…. and emotion of losing every thing will just take u to victory……
Web Solutions said on 3 November 2009 at 2:38 am:
It's true and this explanation is better.
Charles Roper said on 3 November 2009 at 3:39 am:
Very interesting Jeffrey. This idea is something I have often pondered myself; you have set it out both succinctly and beautifully.
Coincidentally, BBC Radio 4 recently ran a short documentary exploring the correlation between entrepreneurs and childhood trauma.
Sadly, only available in the UK, but a great listen if you're able to receive it.
Anne said on 3 November 2009 at 11:10 am:
oh my god, thanks for day-lighting this little nut. i"ve been pretending that i have a whole heart for as long as i can remember. maybe that's why i've had such a problem smiling daily in my cube and returning home happily each pm. i've been a fricken restless bitch masquerading as a nice girl for over 40 years…god i'm tired.
anonymous said on 5 November 2009 at 8:01 pm:
Fascinating topic. I hope you don't think this is pretentious,
or not apropos, or ill-intentioned or whatever, but I think a good portion of what you're saying is remarkably reflected in the life of one Agnese Gonxhe Bojaxhiu (aka Mother Theresa).
At the beginning of her "call" to start her work among the poorest
of the poor, she experienced an extraordinary closeness to God that
lasted for a number of months. But not long afterward, and
throughout most of her remaining years on earth, she went through
a spiritual "dark night of the soul".
Jeffrey said: "You have to have been abandoned, betrayed, ridiculed,
unsupported at some point when you needed it most.
Only a restless, broken heart can drive you to do what is necessary.
…you won't be able to do those things, not really,
not all the way, not as they must be done, unless
there is a brokenness in you."
From one of MT's letters: "I feel just that terrible pain of loss,
of God not wanting me, of God not being God, of God not really existing."
So maybe Mother Theresa would never have persevered with her incredible call and touched millions of lives were it not for the incredible abandonment she felt after the initial joy?
From a (crass) "business" perspective, you could call her a success:
she started alone, and now has over 4,500 sisters in 133 countries.
I started reading some of her letters, and it gets so heavy
at times that you have to take a break just to breathe again.
china calling said on 9 November 2009 at 9:02 am:
bull's eye, old friend. i liked the higher frequency of these tormented and deeply human insights of yours 10 years back. hope all is well.
Dirty Little Secret of Success | Lemaetech said on
10 November 2009 at 3:51 am:
[...] Dirty little secret of success. [...]
Leroy | for the kids said on 10 November 2009 at 2:13 pm:
This is my second time reading this post and it hit me like a bomb. I'm going to copy the text and past it on my bedroom wall. All the work I have done over the past year and a half that has lead to a lot of improvement in my skills and business life is due to the fact that exactly some of the stuff that you mentioned happend to me. Got hit by four major dissapointments over the course fo a couple months and I felt need to restore my dignity through achievement just to "show them." I doubt that I could have done this without the adversity.
Scott Lassiter said on 10 November 2009 at 10:35 pm:
Wow, this is the truth. Maybe this is why I am tired, I am still on the computer, and looking for some ZEN from the masters like JZ. Thanks Mr. Z for some inspiration…..since I am the one designer in group of several .NET developers. Remember it is always the designers fault, because…..if we did not make something beautiful and creative, it would be easy to develop, which would mean more time to develop…..right:)
Thanks JZ. Nighty Night.
Littlest, Yellowest, Differentest said on
18 November 2009 at 11:32 pm:
[...] By Zeldman. This rings truer to me than I would like to [...]
Hacker News | Dirty Little Secret of Success said on
19 November 2009 at 12:43 am:
[...] Hacker News | Dirty Little Secret of SuccessHacker Newsnew | comments | leaders | jobs | submitloginDirty Little Secret of Success (zeldman.com) 153 points by adamhowell 27 days ago | 69 [...]
A heart broken entrepreneur is a successful entrepreneur said on
22 November 2009 at 7:41 am:
[...] really drives a creative entrepreneur to succeed? A contented person with a whole heart, who has never doubted for a moment that she is loved by [...]
Trimming ignorance one frame at a time said on
23 November 2009 at 6:54 am:
[...] success Thu, Oct 22 2009 12:06 | Permalink The dirty little secret of success. I pretty much agree.http://www.zeldman.com/2009/10/22/dirty-little-secret-of-success/ ChrisB Comments (1) See Older Posts…var showComments=1; var reverseCommentEntries=1; var [...]
New Jack Librarian said on
25 November 2009 at 12:25 pm:
[...] posts. But I don't despair. Partly this is because I largely write for my own reasons (that and I'm fundamentally broken) and because I think I know why the reason behind The Blue Skunk Rule…We don't need any more [...]
Backstoryesque: Boys, girls, and posession said on
2 December 2009 at 7:18 am:
[...] girls, and posession Reading two rather curious posts (one on content, one on business) today, I was surprised, pleased, and slightly awed to see them referring quite naturally and [...]
Zeldman | Silicon Meadow said on
2 December 2009 at 8:06 am:
[...] Dirty Little Secret of Success Thu, 2009-10-22 12:44 [...]
How do i acquire a low-cost uk business coach? This is really pretty cool. Not too shabby for my first post. « Ali's awesomeblogs.org said on
10 March 2010 at 8:53 am:
[...] People who "get you" and support you in achieving the big goals you have for yourself. I wonder where you find this? Businesses, like yours, at various times need guidance. The ultimate question is do you know how to [...]
Comments off.


text:
Sorry folks, but with the exhibition game tonight I used the morning to get some yard work done and get a hair cut. Now, we're ready.
With the game not on television, let me know if you want me to blog live. I could try again since I didn't think it worked that well when I tried it once last season. Maybe I will be better this time.
So, like you, I've spent the first few days of camp going for the roster and trying to figure out just how many roster spots are available. There really aren't many. Goaltenders are set. Top six defensemen are set, leaving one reserve spot. Most of the forwards spots are taken. I see one center position and one, maybe two, wings to fill. Quite a bit of competition for those spots.
After practice yesterday, I asked coach Craig Ramsay how he saw it. Here is what he had to say:
"There are a few. There are some. It's hard right now we don't even see [Nik Antropov] play. We know he's going to play. Same with [Niclas] Bergfors, but until we see them play it's hard to compare one against the other. There are spots, without question. We have more National Hockey League players trying out for this team than perhaps they've had in the past. I don't know that for sure. I know we are going to have some tough decisions. There are going to be some guys that won't make the team that could play somewhere else. Also take [Alexander] Burmistrov, he looked better today. He looked more like a player today. It's a hard adjustment with the time frame. He stepped up today so now you have [look closely at him again]. It's a long way to go, but there are definitely some open positions."
The Thrashers trimmed their training camp roster by six players Tuesday as forward Ian McKenzie, defensemen Ben Chiarot, Sebastian Owuya and Cody Sol and goaltenders Chris Carrozzi and Edward Pasquale were re-assigned. McKenzie, Carrozzi and Pasquale were set the AHL Chicago. The Wolves begin training camp Monday. Chiarot (Sudbury, OHL), Owuya (Medicine Hat, WHL) and Sol (Saginaw, OHL) went to their respective junior teams.
September 21st, 2010
1:36 pm
Burmistrov may get the spot that opened up when Cormier broke his foot
September 21st, 2010
1:37 pm
September 21st, 2010
1:52 pm
I would imagine that they would really like for Burmistrov to give them a reason to keep him, just to cut down the possibility of future drama. Allegedly he still owes Ak Bars Kazan a year (interestingly the same team that won't release Kirill Petrov to the Islanders).
September 21st, 2010
2:00 pm
Yes…they want at least one developmental player on the squad. Cormier will be in Chicago so Burmistrov should be in the NHL
September 21st, 2010
2:11 pm
How is Andre Deveaux looking he lead the Marlies in scoring and pim"s would be a good 4th liner
September 21st, 2010
2:20 pm
RS… Burmistrov owes nothing to the KHL contractually.
September 21st, 2010
2:30 pm
Chris-Maybe you can blog for us by period, focusing on how the young guys look? Don't sweat it too much on the first preseason game.
September 21st, 2010
3:16 pm
Burmistrov is getting a big time opportunity to make the club with Cormier`s broken foot………….I just have a gut feeling that he is going to make the team……………Ramsey seems to think he has taken a big step foward…………
September 21st, 2010
3:20 pm
Yeah I agree with Darkhorse, maybe just give updates in between periods. I'd hate for you to miss a lot of the action on the ice because you're continually trying to keep us up to date on what's happening. But hey it's up to you, and we'll appreciate whatever you decide to do.
September 21st, 2010
3:22 pm
I agree about Burmistrov making the team. Put him on a line with Pettersson and then sit back and watch the magic happen.
September 21st, 2010
3:26 pm
You can listen to the game online through the Blue Jackets website: http://bluejackets.nhl.com/
September 21st, 2010
3:35 pm
Thanks Rhythm! It would be nice if the game was on t.v. but radio is better than nothing.
September 21st, 2010
3:40 pm
The TSN "Flight Risk" profile on Burmistrov from before the draft. At 2:10 he says in broken English,
"I have one year contract more with KHL Team" I don't think he ever intends to actually play it out, but buy out his contract if it ever came down to it.
September 21st, 2010
3:57 pm
RS… I believe Kasan has his rights, but he has no contract.
September 21st, 2010
4:00 pm
From his Yahoo interview…
Where will you spend the next season?
I will be here in North America. I don't need to have any agreements with the KHL because Ak Bars has already let me go. Everything is great and decided with Ak Bars. I do have a year left on my KHL contract, but this year does not matter. Ak Bars let me go. That's it.
September 21st, 2010
4:02 pm
RS… I think we're saying the same thing, but essentially, I don't think it's an issue… I don't think he'll go back to Ak Bars if he doesn't make the team.
September 21st, 2010
4:12 pm
Chris – I believe you meant "sense" rather than "since" in the last paragraph.
I'm watching you…
September 21st, 2010
4:51 pm
I read the entire blog and didn't understand a word of it – until I read Grammer's post. What would we do without good samaritans to point out typos on blogs. Thank you, Grammer
September 21st, 2010
6:31 pm
Grammer PO-lice – You do realize grammar is spelled with an 'ar' not an 'er' right?
September 21st, 2010
7:03 pm
All logical choices for the roster that we're going with in tonight's game.
September 21st, 2010
7:06 pm
Nate – nice catch
September 21st, 2010
7:45 pm
Thanks for the updates Chris.
Hopefully that's the first of at least 25 goals for Little this season.
September 21st, 2010
9:08 pm
C'mon guys! Where's that preseason spunk? Win one for Donny and he may get generous.
And I mean actually-returning-emails generous, if you catch my meaning. Thanks, bros.
September 21st, 2010
10:27 pm
Here is my take on tonight's game. Hainsey needs to pretend he's interested in playing hockey (as i recall, he was a -2 on one shift, as well as was on the ice on PK goal). Pav's looks worse than last year. Boris at times looked much improved from last year, but other times continued to make stupid turnovers. I was also disappointed with Aliu – he was never able to finish off a play. Eager did not stand out at all.
On the positive side, Kulda was our best d-man tonight. Also, Zubarev made a number of smart plays. Little was the best player on the ice, while Kane shows a lot of energy (perhaps too much – he took a lot of hits). Pettersson certainly improved his chance of making the team. Not sure about Dawes – but he is certainly not afraid to step in a take a hit.
September 21st, 2010
11:08 pm
Hey, easy, mr. d! Hainsey is a sure lock to be a captain. He talks a lot. What else do you need?
September 22nd, 2010
12:27 am
I know I'm asking for it but here goes…..looked at the game summary….saw that Paquette got a major for fighting Commodore….what happenned there? How did the rest of the game for him? I saw he was paired up with Aliu…
September 22nd, 2010
12:28 am
oh and…when will they announce the next cuts???

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Marathon - Roll Towel Dispenser, Manually Operated, Smoke - 350 Ft. Capacity
by Marathon | Item #: 968622 |Model #: 6406001 | (6) |
View a video of this product.
Easy to install and maintain, the Marathon Manually Operated Towel Dispenser is a hands-free towel dispenser that helps reduce the spread of germs. Its see-through cover makes monitoring refills easy. The dispenser provides up to 350 feet of paper towel (when used with Marathon Dispenser Roll Towels). Each pull of the towel delivers 11 inches of a soft, absorbent towel.
View information manual here. (PDF)
View a refill instructional video of this product.
Compatible Towels:
Assembled Country
Assembled Size
9.63"L x 16.06"H x 11.81"W
Component Country
Ask & Answer
Shipping Information
Warranty InformationThis product is covered by the Sam's Club Member Satisfaction Guarantee.
There is no additional information available for this item.


text:
Investigators are continuing to gather evidence in the Boston Marathon bombings case. Today, the parents of the suspects spoke out in an emotional press conference where the mother made several surprising claims.
The mother of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects broke down in tears at a press conference in Russia today, saying she now regrets moving her family to the United States.Law enforcement sources told CBS NEWS that 19 year old suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev confessed to the bombings but his mother denies it, claiming investigators have not questioned him since he was taken into custody.Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is under police guard in this hospital, recovering from gunshot wounds. Meanwhile, another stunning allegation from his mother; that her older son Tamerlan was captured alive and died in police custody. Police say he was killed in a gun battle. The father of the suspects is trying to return to the U.S. hoping to bring Tamerlan's body back to Russia for burial.The parents denied that a family friend named Misha, steered Tamerlan towards radical Islam.FBI agents in hazmat suits continue to search a landfill near UMASS Dartmouth, where Dzhokhar was spotted after the bombings. They're looking for bomb parts, and sales receipts for ammunition. Sources tell CBS News, the brothers only had one gun when they got into a shootout with police, and that the younger suspect was unarmed when he was captured in a boat.
3221 South Evans StreetGreenville N.C. 27834
Telephone: 252.355.8500
Fax: 252.355.8568
Email: email@example.com


text:
Learn cutting edge leadership skills that foster collaboration, help people contribute their best, and overcome the complex challenges organizations face today.
Our highly regarded and pioneering M.A. in Leadership degree provides you the flexibility, practical skills, and personal enrichment you seek in a graduate education program. You learn contemporary leadership theory and practice in peer networks of working professionals from public, private, and non-profit sectors. As a graduate, you acquire a wide range of competencies and skills that allow you to advance and succeed in today's dynamic and complex world.
To find out more about how this highly regarded Graduate Leadership program can fulfill your personal and professional goals, check out the links below:
Upcoming Events
Oct7Financial Aid Workshop for Graduate & Professional Studentsat 5:30PM, Filippi Academic Hall, Rm. 115, Saint Mary's College, 1928 St. Mary's Rd., Moraga
Oct11Dr. Cornel West (Prophetic Imagination: Confronting the new Jim Crow and income inequality in America)at 3:30PM, Soda Center, Saint Mary's College of California Moraga Campus, 1928 St. Mary's Road, Moraga.
Oct16Erin Gruwell on "Becoming a Catalyst for Change"at 6:00PM, Soda Center, Saint Mary's College of California Moraga Campus, 1928 St. Mary's Road, Moraga
Maps & Directories
Mailing Address
Saint Mary's College of California
1928 Saint Mary's Road
Moraga, CA 94575
(925) 631-4000
Google Map | Campus Map | PO Boxes


text:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
^^ This! WoW has so many non-shiny things to offer us...and to me the holiday events are just fun to do. They're things that break up the "must kill boss here for their fancy shinies. I think people who get "bored" at the end of an expansion could benefit from a few days of stopping to smell the cranberry chutney.


text:
When reports surfaced that the Minnesota Vikings were interested in Morris Claiborne with the 3rd pick, I was worried about the future of the franchise. Fortunately for Vikings fans, Rick Spielman got it right, and put together a reasonably solid draft class.
Matt Kalil was absolutely the right choice, and the fact that they picked up some extra draft picks from Cleveland was just icing on the cake. He'll anchor their offensive line for the next decade, hopefully protecting Christian Ponder's blind side.
I hate when rebuilding teams trade up in the draft, and the issue is compounded when they then reach for a specific position of need, which is exactly what the Vikings did by moving up to select Harrison Smith. I like Smith, but he's not a 1st-round talent. He has the ability to start, but he won't be a difference maker at the next level. I think Smith needs to play strong safety to be effective, but it sounds like the Vikings will be using him at free safety.
Josh Robinson was nice pick in the 3rd round and should compete for a starting job immediatelly. His impressive showing at the combine made him slightly overrated, but his speed should allow him to be a valuable cover corner against some of the league's faster receivers. He's a solid second option at cornerback.
I like the selection of Jarius Wright in the 4th round. He was one of the best deep threats still on the board and should be able to contribute in that capacity from day one.
Rhett Ellison is a fullback/tight end 'tweener but I'm not sure how he fits in Minnesota. The Vikings already have Kyle Rudolph and John Carlson at tight end and recently signed fullback Jerome Felton. Ellison may have to fight just to stay on the roster.
Greg Childs was a great sleeper pickup in the late 4th round. If healthy, he could have been a 2nd-round selection, but injuries concerns caused him to plummet down draft boards. He has more upside than Wright, but is definitely a bigger risk.
Robert Blanton played cornerback at Notre Dame but is simply too slow to play the position at the next level, and may even be too slow to play safety. But he'll be given an opportunity to win the starting strong safety job, and may actually be the favorite heading into camp.
Blair Walsh is a talented kicker but is coming off a terrible season. There was no reason his name should have been called before the late 7th round at the earliest. I don't like his chances of beating out Ryan Longwell for the starting job, but he could catch on elsewhere if he can put his 2011 season behind him.
Audie Cole was a great 7th-round pick. He has the ability to provide some depth at inside or weak-side linebacker and I like his chances of making the final roster cuts.
Trevor Guyton may have been my favorite 7th-round pick of the draft. I had a late 4th-round grade on Guyton and I think he could be a quality backup at right defensive end or as a three-technique tackle. He has a potential to be one of the better steals of the draft.
While I don't agree with every move the Vikings made, this was still a solid draft class. Rick Spielman did a nice job finding good value at all points of the draft and may have come away with at least three immediate starters (Kalil, Smith, Blanton).
About the author
3 Responses to Draft Grades: Minnesota Vikings
The reason they picked Rhett Ellison is he can play both tightend and fullback and has great hands. He will keep the other team guessing if he is staying in for blocking or going out for a pass. The other fullbacks do not have the same abilty and versatility that Rhett has.
they picked rhett ellison cuz he he played next to mat kalil, its the fact they know how each other react right away, and wont have to work hard at working well next to each other, its a good pick for a offensive that needs everything they can get on the o-line
This was one of the best Vikings drafts (at least on paper so far) in recent history. The Kalil pick was absolutely the right choice and netting a bunch of extra picks was a great bonus.
I wasn't overly excited by the Smith pick but disagree about your assessment that trading up was a terrible move. Safety has been a massive hole for several years and he was one of two options that had legitimate immediate starter potential in this class. Just about every team in that range needed a safety too and could have easily scooped him up out from under us. The trade with Cleveland gave us back a 4th moving up to the first really only meant we moved down a few spots in the fourth. Smith will help this team more than whoever we could have gotten with our original fourth.
I didn't care for the Ellison pick but I get it. He fits the role of the H-Back/FB/blocking TE that was filled by Jim Kleinsasser so well for the last decade plus.
I'm uncertain about the Walsh pick too but his upside is about as high a any recent kicker.
Love the Cole pick too. Hoped we would address this sooner but all the good linebackers were reached for in the 2nd round. He will almost certainly make the team because LB depth is very poor.
The Vikings also managed to trade a 5th and 7th round pick for a 2013 4th and 6th respectively. I know you don't count that sort of thing but it is just another bonus of this great draft.
There were many other players I would have preferred in certain situations but nearly every pick was a decent value and filled an immediate need.


text:
2012-01-17 / Farm News
Daily Grain Prices
Courtesy Graham Grain Company, Terre HauteOffice Closed Monday, January 16, 2012
The full version of this story is only available to online subscribers.
© 2009-2014 Spencer Evening World, Inc.
No commercial reproduction without written consent.
Electronic reproduction of any kind forbidden without written consent.


text:
The Democrat and Chronicle Editorial Board has been conducting a listening tour in conjunction with the Unite Rochester project on race and economics in the greater Rochester region.
Sherry Walker-Cowart, executive director of the Center for Dispute Settlement, will facilitate the next discussion on April 9 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. in the Palladoro Lounge in the Nazareth College Arts Center.
Event Info
Office of Multicultural Affairs (585) 389-2073 or firstname.lastname@example.com
This event is FREE and OPEN to the public. Please park in Parking Lot A. See attached campus map.
View more: Multicultural, Homepage


text:
The first The Whole Megillah Seminar on Jewish Story, co-sponsored by the Association of Jewish Libraries, is planned for Sunday, May 18, 2014 at Temple Emanu-El in New York City, and you are invited! The full-day event features several panels:
Children's books:
Special Features:
On Monday, May 19, interested attendees are welcome to visit the Jewish Museum for special events:
An extra $35 fee applies.
Cost of Seminar: $125, includes kosher lunch - temporarily reduced to $99!
Barbara Krasner is a member of AJL's Sydney Taylor Book Award committee, and blogs at The Whole Megillah. She conducted this interview with author Austin Ratner about his new book, In the Land of the Living, the story of a Jewish family, "fathers, sons, and brothers - bound by love, divided by history."
Barbara Krasner (BK): On behalf of the Association of Jewish Libraries, hello and welcome, Austin. Thanks for joining me in this cyber discussion about your second novel, In the Land of the Living.
Austin Ratner (AR): I appreciate the opportunity for an interview and for your thoughtful questions.
BK: What inspired the idea for this book?
AR: When I was in college, I consulted my creative writing teacher about a problem I imagined was unique to me: I had lost my father when I was so young I could not remember him, yet I had a recurring urge to write about him, his death, and how he lingered in my thoughts and feelings. I asked my teacher if he had any advice and I was surprised by his response. He told me that he too had lost his father in his earliest years and that everything he wrote related in some way to this loss, but he cautioned me against trying to write about it directly. As I get older and more experienced with the difficulties of writing and selling fiction, his advice seems only more sensible. Nonetheless, I could never quite exorcise the urge to write directly on this topic. That is what In the Land of the Living is about: a traumatic loss in early childhood and how it can dominate the thoughts of a person for the rest of his life.
BK: In what ways was writing In the Land of the Living different from writing The Jump Artist?
AR: While The Jump Artist also dealt with the lingering effects of emotional injury, it was in many ways a more straightforward story. It was about one discrete period of an adult man's life. The premise of In the Land of the Living meant linking together two lives—a father and a son—that only intersected on earth for a few years. That posed technical challenges to me as a novelist.
BK: What was the greatest challenge? The greatest satisfaction?
AR: For all the lip-service paid to the importance of child development in our society, I do not find most people to be particularly psychologically literate about it or particularly interested in thinking about it. I view it as a personal victory that I was able to write directly and truthfully about the underserved theme of childhood loss and its residua, and to get it into print with a major publisher in both the U.S. and France. It's the most civilized response I think I could mount against this particularly helpless experience. Several years ago, when I wrote about the theme more autobiographically in The New York Times Magazine, I heard from all kinds of people who felt as I did. I hope I speak for them as well as to them.
BK: What thought process did you use to set up Isidore as a knight (and the chapter headings)?
AR: Picaresque medieval romances like Le Morte D'Arthur use grandiose chapter titles that confer legendary significance upon everything the knights do. I used such titles in Part I of my novel in the same spirit that Cervantes uses them in Don Quixote: to satirize quixotic, heroic, romantic ideals—or at least to draw a contrast between them and the more sordid and brutal reality. Whereas Don Quixote often undermines the heroic ideal by comic failures, the brutal reality of what happens to Isidore undermines the heroic ideal in a particularly tragic way.
BK: The relationship between Leo and Mack fascinates me—how one event can shift the foundation of a relationship. How did this come about? Was it difficult or easy to write? What led to the choice of Leo as your protagonist?
AR: The relationship between the brothers I think is really important to help aerate the protagonist Leo's internal warfare with his own past. With Mack in it, the narrative is not only about Leo and his past but about another person too, and Leo's interactions with his brother are a narrative strategy for telling the story of Leo's relation to his own past in a dynamic, living, present-tense sort of way. Brothers share a certain history, and so a brother can be a living representative of one's own past, and a way of interacting with one's own past in an external way.
BK: One of the characteristics I've noticed about your writing is your specificity, for example, the scene in the New Haven Public Library: "But this library couldn't save him, with its shabby little collections, its early closing time, its oblivious teenage librarian doing her homework, making fat redundant loops of blue ballpoint ink on some wide-ruled notebook paper." Does this come naturally to you or do you insert these details strategically?
AR: We recently started reading Charlotte's Web to my younger son. Its details create a persuasive fictional dream in a way that many other children's stories don't. Charlotte's Web is of course by E.B. White, the master himself, co-author of Elements of Style. That classic writing primer says: "The greatest writers—Homer, Dante, Shakespeare—are effective largely because they deal in particulars and report the details that matter. Their words call up pictures."
BK: What do you want readers to take away from In the Land of the Living?
AR: If I've emulated E.B. White's use of detail, I couldn't aspire to the beautiful simplicity of his story structure—and the reason perhaps goes back to the decision not to back away from a direct, realistic treatment of childhood loss despite this subject's enormous psychological complexity. Literature has perhaps moved on from the deep introspection of modernism, but the emotional terrain of childhood loss requires such deep modernist introspection, wherein a persuasive fictional dream of inner life occupies the foreground and a diverting story the background. I hope readers enjoy the story and the humor in In the Land of the Living, but the more important thing to me is whether readers experience a persuasive fictional dream and feel they've encountered another real consciousness in the book. A persuasive fictional dream is always more diverting to me than a conventional story anyway.
BK: Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you go from med school to the Iowa Workshop?
AR: This question always makes me think of Gonzo in The Muppet Movie. He tells Kermit and Fozzie he's going to Bombay, India to become a movie star. They tell him: you don't go to Bombay, India to become a movie star, you go to Hollywood, where we're going. Gonzo says, sure, if you want to do it the easy way. I always wanted to be a writer, but I did not take a direct path. There are worse paths, though, than the one that leads through a medical career. Somerset Maugham said that medical school was the ideal preparation for any fiction writer.
BK: What's your typical writing schedule? In other words, how do you write?
AR: When I am not crippled by self-doubt, I write automatically, like I eat and breathe and sleep. The trick for me is to combat the doubt. Then the words come and work gets done and something gets created.
BK: Thanks, Austin, for a great interview. I can't wait to read your next work.
On this final day of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour, awards committee member Barbara Krasner hosts a roundtable wrap-up at her blog, The Whole Megillah. Read responses from various winners, as if they were participating in a panel presentation at a conference!
Thanks to all the winners for their participation in the blog tour, to all the bloggers for hosting, and to you, the readers, for your enthusiasm and attention!
Read an interview with Linda Leopold Strauss, author of The Elijah Door: A Passover Tale (Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category) at Pen and Prose! A highlight: "As I was writing the story, I kept hearing the cadence of my grandparents' Yiddish-speaking voices in my head. The repetition of phrases, the rhythms, the word combinations. And I think their voices also very much informed the way I wrote the story."
Read an interview with Alexi Natchev, illustrator of The Elijah Door: A Passover Tale(Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category) at Madelyn Rosenberg's Virtual Living Room! A highlight: "In my artistic education, illustration was really not just for children. In my formative years, art was part of the idealogical system. We were living at that time on the other side of the Iron Curtain so everything was very ideological and politicized. But in the illustration field you could be a little more creative, not so rigidly following certain requirements of clichés and artistic concepts with which you didn't necessarily always agree."
Read an interview with Sheri Sinykin, author of Zayde Comes to Live (Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category) at Read, Write, Repeat! A highlight: "My dearest wish is that Zayde will bring reassurance, peace, and completeness — shalom! — to children just discovering the circle of life they've heard sung about in the popular animated movie."
Read an interview with Kristina Swarner, illustrator of Zayde Comes to Live (Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Younger Readers Category) at Writing and Illustrating! A highlight: "I really didn't want to make the art too sad or pensive. The ideas evolved as I sketched, and the more I sketched, the more the tenderness and joyfulness of the story came out in the art."
Read an interview with Linda Glaser, author of Hannah's Way (Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Younger Readers Category) at This Messy Life! A highlight: "This is a story about staying true to one's traditions but still wanting to "belong." It's also a story about ordinary children who, through a simple act of kindness, become heroes. I hope that with the help of the Sydney Taylor Award, Hannah's Way will reach many more kids and will do its small part to encourage tolerance, acceptance, and kindness."
Read an interview with Adam Gustavson, illustrator of Hannah's Way (Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Younger Readers Category) at Here in HP! A highlight: "I've always drawn; my mother was an artist when I was growing up, and my brothers and I drew like most other kids would play ball. It was a big part of how we played together. My father, an engineer, used to come home with art supplies he'd picked up for us on his way home from work. I grew up in the only household for miles and miles where a crisis consisted of my mother trying to find out just who took her kneaded eraser."
Read an interview with Louise Borden, author of His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg (Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Older Readers Category) at Randomly Reading! A highlight: "Young readers have much longer lives ahead of them. I want them to be inspired by this man and by his character and actions. I want kids to know that they too can make a positive difference in the world. I want them to find their own heroes. And I want readers to remember Raoul Wallenberg and to carry his story into their own futures. We are all storytellers - kids will remember a great story and I hope they will tell others and use its power for good in their own lives."
Read an interview with Deborah Heiligman, author of Intentions (Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Teen Readers Category) at The Fourth Musketeer! A highlight: "I wanted to capture that moment in a teen's life when she realizes that someone she adores and even idolizes is flawed. That happened to me in a pretty spectacular way in my community growing up (though not quite as spectacularly as in the book!) and it was a truly painful time. That moment informs who you become I think--because how you deal with it can shape the rest of your life."
Read an interview with Ann Redisch Stampler, author of The Wooden Sword (Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category) at Shelf-Employed! A highlight: "as I researched the Afghani story, learning more about the culture of the Jews who lived with their Muslim neighbors in Afghanistan for a thousand years, I loved it. It was hilarious, but at the same time, its message was profound."
Read an interview with Carol Liddiment, illustrator of The Wooden Sword (Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Older Readers Category) at Ann Koffsky's Blog! A highlight: "This is a warm story about the Shah's desire to understand the poor man's faith. It is a story about tolerance and understanding… I hope that message can be embraced by all."
Read an interview with Doreen Rappaport, author of Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust (Sydney Taylor Honor Book in the Teen Readers Category) at Bildungsroman! A highlight: "I feel I was privileged to learn about so many Jewish children, men and women, who exhibited extraordinary courage and foresight during the nightmare of the Holocaust. I had the privilege of speaking directly with three survivors and forging a friendship with one of them. My research led me into a world I knew nothing about and filled me with enormous pride about these courageous Jews."
Jean Naggar, author of the memoir Sipping from the Nile: My Exodus from Egypt, shares with us some thoughts on the art of the memoir. Enter our drawing for a free copy of Sipping from the Nile by leaving a comment on AJL's Facebook page at facebook.com/jewishlibraries by April 30, 2012! And now, let's hear from Jean, herself:
I never planned to write a memoir. Fiction was my passion, and if I was ever granted time to write, I knew it would be a novel. The catalyst that started the process of writing my memoir came zooming out of left field soon after the births of my first grandchildren. I realized then that they would be growing up so distant from me in generation, time, and space, that they would never be able to imagine the childhood I had experienced, or to know the people who had woven the magical fabric of my young years. Looking back, I realized that the community and the world I had known had completely disappeared. It began to seem increasingly important to write them back into being, to preserve their vibrant personalities and idiosyncrasies, along with the rich and complicated world in which they flourished.
I had grown up in a large extended Sephardic family in Egypt, before the Suez crisis of 1956 put an end to that life and that world. This newborn generation sending billows of joy to my heart held the key to the future, but I held the key to their past. They were entitled to find it, if they ever went seeking.
So I thought I should jot down a few memories of my childhood in moments stolen from a busy life. I never meant to share my reflections with the world. I wrote for my family. But as I began to open locked doors and allow the past back in, more and more memories, more scenes, more scents and sounds of a lost world swelled into being and jostled in my mind for attention. Soon, I began to write for the immense pleasure in the craft, and the satisfaction of feeling that I was rendering homage to those who came before me, and laying a path for those in search of themselves to follow. I began to see that I, myself, was a mere fragment in time, the sum of choices made by unknown ancestors, in a distant past.
The more I worked on draft after draft, the more I came to an understanding that memoir is both unique, and universal. As readers began to respond to what I had written, I learned that each personal memoir holds truths and commonalities way beyond those experienced by the writer. Every life, whatever the circumstances, turns out to be a universal tale of reversals and transformations, shaped by the storms of politics, economics, wars, and losses; the prism through which each tale is viewed is what bends the experience into widely differing shapes for each individual. Every memoir is an attempt to make sense of it all, to seek out a vanished past that leaves its faint footprint in the present.
We live in an era of emails and text messages that leave little possibility for future generations to discover a bundle of letters bound with blue ribbon in an attic. History and biography are always colored by the politics of the day. So I believe that personal memoir will probably be the only true witness for future generations to learn how we really lived, and who we were.
In striving to make sense of our own lives, we are drawn to read about the lives of others. Whether those lives mirror our own or offer a taste of exotica or trauma we have not shared, we enter them for a brief time, taking pleasure or pain in the sharing, and always finding a common humanity.
For me, writing my memoir, Sipping From the Nile, was a transformational experience. I laid the past to rest. The echo of my life bounced back to me across the topography of decades, bringing resolution, self-knowledge, meaning, and substance to the present.
About Jean Naggar
Jean Naggar was born in Alexandria, Egypt. She grew up in Cairo, moving to England, and then New York City, where she currently resides. She is the founder of the prominent Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, Inc. Her work has been published in the New York Times, the Village Voice and Publishers Weekly. She is the mother of three adult children and grandmother of seven. Now, she is at last exploring her childhood dreams: to write.
Her memoir of a magical childhood, SIPPING FROM THE NILE, My Exodus from Egypt, is available in print, Kindle and audio versions at the following link: Amazon, or you can visit her at: www.jeannaggar.com and www.JVNLA.com.
Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2012
gold and silver medalists and a few selected Notables with a Blog Tour,
February 5-10, 2012! Interviews with winning authors and illustrators
will appear on a wide variety of Jewish and kidlit blogs. For those of
you who have not yet experienced a Blog Tour, it's basically a virtual
book tour. Instead of going to a library or bookstore to see an author
or illustrator speak, you go to a website on or after the advertised
date to read an author's or illustrator's interview.
Later this spring, we'll follow up with an episode of Katie Davis's Brain Burps About Books devoted to the Sydney Taylor Book Award!
is the schedule for the 2012 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour. Please
follow the links to visit the hosting blogs on or after their tour
dates, and be sure to leave them plenty of comments!
Susan Campbell Bartoletti, author of Naamah and the Ark at Night
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Ima On & Off the Bima
Holly Meade, illustrator of Naamah and the Ark at Night
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Into the Wardrobe
Shelley Sommer, author of Hammerin' Hank Greenberg, Baseball Pioneer
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Great Kid Books
Marcia Vaughan, author of Irena's Jar of Secrets
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Shelf-Employed
Ron Mazellan, illustrator of Irena's Jar of Secrets
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at The Children's War
Trina Robbins, author of Lily Renee, Escape Artist: From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Bildungsroman
Anne Timmons (and possibly Mo Oh), illustrators of of Lily Renee, Escape Artist: From Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Gathering Books
Morris Gleitzman, author of Then
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
at The 3 R's
Michael Rosen, author of Chanukah Lights
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at A Chair, a Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy
Robert Sabuda, illustrator/paper engineer of Chanukah Lights
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Practically Paradise
Susan Goldman Rubin, author of Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Cynsations
Robert Sharenow, author of The Berlin Boxing Club
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
at Jewish Books for Children
Durga Yael Bernhard, author & illustrator of Around the World in One Shabbat
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Frume Sarah's World
Shirley Vernick, author of The Blood Lie
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
at The Fourth Musketeer
Eric Kimmel, author of The Golem's Latkes
Sydney Taylor Notable Book, and winner of the National Jewish Book Award
at Ann Koffsky's Blog
Gloria Spielman, author of Marcel Marceau, Master of Mime
Sydney Taylor Notable Book, and finalist for the National Jewish Book Award
at Shannon and the Sunshine Band
Richard Michelson, author of Lipman Pike: America's First Home Run King
Sydney Taylor Notable Book, and finalist for the National Jewish Book Award
at Blue Thread
Sydney Taylor Award Winners – Wrap-Up
All winners, all categories
at The Whole Megillah
Recently I had the opportunity to interview Booker-Prize winning author Yann Martel, author of the new novel Beatrice and Virgil. Beatrice and Virgil is a fascinating novel that takes an unconventional approach to one of the most challenging subjects available to literature- the Holocaust.
[caption id="attachment_225" align="alignleft" width="140" caption="Beatrice and Virgil, by Yann Martel"][/caption]
I had the privilege of speaking to Mr. Martel during the second leg of his American tour to promote the book, which has been widely, and variously, reviewed.
Text Publishing offers a roundup of some of the reviews that have come in, and an analysis of the controversy surrounding this most unusual book.
Martel won the Man Booker Prize in 2002 for Life of Pi. He is also the author of several other books as well as the blog What is Stephen Harper Reading, a document of his ongoing project to share his passion for literature with the Prime Minister of Canada.
The interview is approximately 30 minutes in length and is presented here in four parts.
Yann Martel Interview Part 1 of 4
Yann Martel Interview Part 2 of 4
Yann Martel Interview Part 3 of 4
Yann Martel Interview Part 4 of 4
Enter the Mention Convention weekly drawing for a $10 Amazon gift card by linking back to this interview on your blog, on Facebook, or on Twitter (hashtag #AJL10) — just email email@example.com to show us what you did!


text:
UTICA — A graveside service for Maurice J. Cote, 83, of Utica, will be held Thursday, Sept. 30, at 1:30 p.m. at Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery, Rittman. The family will receive friends Thursday from 9 to 11 a.m. at Law-Baker Funeral Home.
Maurice died Sept. 28, 2010, at Licking Memorial Hospital, Newark. He was born March 10, 1927, in Lowell, Mass., to the late Armand and Aurora Cote. He was a former co-owner with his wife of Cote's Jewelry on Broadway in Lorain and a World War II Coast Guard veteran. Maurice was plant manager for Certified International in Cleveland and was a realtor/broker and auctioneer.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Beverly J. (Penson) Cote of Utica; daughter, Linda Cote of Newark; brother and sister-in-law, Ray and Karen Cote of Barton, Vt.; sisters and brother-in-law, Pauline and Carl Rosso of Lorain, Roland Carbonneau of Lowell, Mass., and Florence Shakir of Connecticut.
He was preceded in death by brothers, Donald Cote and Rene Cote; and sister, Doris Lebell.
Law-Baker Funeral Home, 34 N. Main St., Utica, is assisting the family with arrangements.
Visit www.law-bakerfuneralhome.com to extend condolences to the family.


text:
Joe Biden gets his biker on — literally
**Written by Doug Powers
On a slow news day, we can all be thankful for Joe Biden, who appeared in an interesting photograph on Sunday.
The Hill has as much as we dare to want to know:
Vice President Joe Biden got caught in a stunning photo with a female biker sitting on his lap.
The Associated Press snapped the shot at Cruisers Diner in Seaman, Ohio on Sunday.
A White House pool report says the bikers may be part of a group called the "Shaddowmen." No details were available on their real names or what discussion led to the lap incident.
Caption away:
"The best motorcycle? A simple five-letter name: Harley. Fact check it!"
Biden's only regret was that he didn't bring along his "Gaffe to live, live to gaffe" leather jacket.
Twitchy has the full size photo. Love the look on the face of the guy on the right.
#JoeBidenBikerGangs is born.
Also, President Obama got a post convention lift. Read the story and then sit back and wait for the campaign's "Republican pizza shop owners for Obama" ads to come out.
Update: Obama also paid stirring tribute to Joe Biden today.
**Written by Doug Powers
Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
Ohio woman indicted for vote fraud in 2012 and previous elections
March 11, 2013 08:51 PM by Doug Powers
Jimmy Carter: Obama 'ran across the room' to thank my grandson for finding the '47 percent' video
February 22, 2013 10:58 AM by Doug Powers
Ohio woman being investigated for possibly casting two six votes for Obama in 2012 election
February 19, 2013 12:20 PM by Doug Powers
Elizabeth Warren campaign seeks donations to cover $400k debt for 'last minute pizza and coffee'
December 10, 2012 05:15 AM by Doug Powers
Detroit councilwoman to mayor: We supported Obama overwhelmingly, so go get a bailout from him because he owes us
December 5, 2012 12:22 PM by Doug Powers
Categories: 2012 Campaign, Barack Obama, Public Officials


text:
Mutant jellyfish terrorize beachgoers in Patrick Longstreth's sci-fi short, Hellyfish
We talk to Art Director, Concept Artist and Matte Painter Francesco Corvino about his work on Sin City 2
Territory have created a 50 second trailer to promote the long awaited Steam release of Heroes & Generals
Scott Brisbane talks about how he creates the stunning Matte Paintings found in many of today's biggest movies
Trojan Horse was a Unicorn (THU/2014) celebrates the light at the end of the tunnel in a revival of the golden era of VFX and animation
Cantina Creative's Tony Lupoi on creating VFX for Need for Speed
CGSociety talks to the directing partnership of Alex & Steffen about their commercial work, and their upcoming feature film Botwars.
Siggraph 2014 Presentations Now Available
NVIDIA have introduced the version of SHIELD tablet with 32 GB storage and 4G LTE, for just $399.
VFX Experts of X MEN, GODZILLA, MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, IRON MAN 3 will be guests
NVIDIA and the PC gaming industry are kicking off an unprecedented 24-hour event.
Leonard Teo interviews Jason Schleifer, Senior Animator/Creature Technical Director for Lord of the Rings, Weta Digital. Read More
Electric Image announces they're now accepting advanced orders for Universe 5. New features include, Radiosity, Multi-processor support, and much more. Read More
Poser 5 introduces many new features including, FireFly™ Renderer, Dynamic Hair, Cloth, and Photo-based Facial Mapping and much more. Read More
New 3D hardware-assisted renderer targets virtual photography requirements of architects and industrial designers. Read More
Blur Studio will be producing a 3D/CGI simulator ride film based on the TV series Stargate for Bremen Space Park in Germany. Read More
Tour brings the best in LightWave 3D training to 26 cities in North America and Hawaii. Read More
Artist-presenters provide insight into film's glowing set of visual effects Read More


text:
Here we go again. This is basically how it started with the hysteria about Aiden's lyrics, but then some unethical journalism spun it out of control. Now it's right on the Fort Bragg official facebook post about Rock Beyond Belief. I was wondering how long it would take for fundies to turn on another musician in our lineup. Someone discovered the intensely intellectual pop-gems that David Combs a.k.a. Spoonboy belts out.But they didn't attack the atheist stuff. It got weird. Instead they at … [Read more...]
Do you need a messiah?
This cool music video was made by Spoonboy (unasked!) to promote the Rock Beyond Belief Festival at the Fort Bragg army post in North Carolina. The event is being held to counter recent efforts by the U.S. military to encourage soldiers to attend evangelical Christian events.www.youtube.com/embed/nDsIi6_fqWs?Spoonboy - "Do You Need A Messiah?"...(lyrics below the fold) ... … [Read more...]
Richard Dawkins issues Statement of Intent to Fort Bragg
I've been approached by a number of reporters asking a peculiar question. About half the time they only ask about our headliner, Richard Dawkins."Fort Bragg says that the people in your lineup didn't issue a Statement of Intent to them, a letter saying that they were actually coming. Why not?"Well, they never asked for one. In fact I had never even heard of one until a reporter asked me that question. And I had been assured that our submitted packet had all the pertinent information by early … [Read more...]
RBB Performer Spoonboy's Atheist Anthems Hit YouTube
Are you a nonbeliever? Do you also love music? You probably didn't know it, but Spoonboy is about to blow your mind.Underground singer/songwriter David Combs records his solo work under the Spoonboy moniker. Despite, or perhaps because of, his youth, Spoonboy's socially conscious songs remain energetic and urgent. He might not have meant to do it, but he wrote one of the greatest Atheist anthems of all time, What You Want, from his solo debut album 'I Love You This Is A Robbery'. I highly … [Read more...]
Spoonboy to play Rock Beyond Belief
Press play. This might be your new favorite song. Spoonboy - What You WantSpoonboy is the under-appreciated solo project of David Combs, of the Max Levine Ensemble. His album, "I Love You This Is A Robbery" is in my top 10 albums of all time. The entire album has punky folk songs about self-empowerment, finding your own identity, standing up for what is right, and over-all optimism even in the face of the dark social problems facing all of us.As a whole, it functions as an everyman's … [Read more...]


text:
Guardian House Project a MAJOR Success!
With over 90 volunteers contributing more than 613 hours of labor, Rebuilding Together Saratoga completed the conversion of a seasonal porch into a permanent Day Room at the Guardian House-on time and within budget. The Guardian House in Ballston Spa is a transitional shelter for homeless women veterans. None of this would be possible without our community's participation in the Sears Operation Rebuild grant award contest on Facebook which took place in October. Because of your support, we received the first place award of $20,000 which enabled us to accomplish all that we dreamed of. We are proud to say our women veterans now have a space that is their own - warm, safe and dry and most importantly - serene and comforting. We thank all of our volunteers who worked so hard day in and day out. They were driven, focused and intent on giving back to the women veterans who served our country with honor. We also want to thank the following local businesses who provided the needed materials, goods and specialized services essential to the project:
Allerdice Building Supply
Ballston Carpet and Tile
Correct Energy Environments, Spray Foam Insulation
Saratoga Fireplace and Stove
Taft Furniture and Showroom Warehouse
MNJ Services, Electrical Contracting
A. Little, Custom Carpentry
Video produced by Kim Smithgall, Tom Robinson and Bonnie Minick
Thank You from Budd Mazurek, Guardian House Exec. Director
Click here to view the Still Photo Collection