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(Back to: Departments, Book Reviews)
Edited by David S. Stevenson
Books published in 2008 and reviewed in the 2009 AAJ:
- Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes. By Maurice Isserman & Stewart Weaver.
- Dark Summit: the True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season. By Nick Heil.
- High Crimes: the Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed. By Michael Kodas.
- Dead Lucky: My Journey Home from Everest. By Lincoln Hall.
- Thin White Line. By Andy Cave.
- Explorers of the Infinite: The Secret Spiritual Lives of Extreme Athletes—and What They Reveal About Near-Death Experiences, Psychic Communication, and Touching the Beyond. By Maria Coffey
- Forget Me Not: A Memoir. By Jennifer Lowe-Anker.
- Tomaz Humar. By Bernadette McDonald
- Vertical Ethiopia: Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa. By Majka Burhardt, with color photography by Gabe Rogel.
- First Ascent: Pioneering Mountain Climbs. By Stephen Venables.
- Through a Land of Extremes: The Littledales of Central Asia. By Elizabeth and Nicholas Clinch.
Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes. Maurice Isserman & Stewart Weaver.
Yale University Press. 579 pages. Black and white photos. Hardcover $ 39.95.
When two professional historians venture into our domain, one might hope for something a little different from the stuff written by climbers. But this is a conventional narrative and an old-fashioned history of great men and their greatest hits, heavy on nostalgia for the glory days of Himalayan climbing. In the introduction the authors unveil their chief theme: the eclipse of the "genuinely admirable qualities [of these mountaineers], including a strong sense of fellowship and responsibility to others in the pursuit of common goals in the face of danger," which has, alas, been supplanted by "hypertrophied commercial individualism."
The first half of the book reflects the authors' enthrallment with the founding patriarchs. Here the research is first rate, the narrative pacing good, the character studies nuanced. True, for many readers the pioneering and eventual conquest of K2, Nanga Parbat, Everest, Kanch, Nanda Devi, etc. are more than thrice-told tales. Ditto the legend of Shipton and Tilman. But Isserman and Weaver often update the old yarns with a fresh eye and data: for example, the recent Lachenal material on the French ascent of Annapurna in 1950 and Mallory's relationship with Bloomsbury and his homosexuality.
Their disenchantment begins with the advent of the let-it-all-hang-out confessional expeditionary narrative—specimen expletives and candor from Rowell, Ridgeway, and Roskelley are offered—which they contrast with the old l'amitié de la corde and the gentlemanly code of bottling up of expeditionary rage, envy, and loathing—except as it leaked out in the rooms of the London- and New York–based alpine clubs, of course. More than once they have Charles Houston declare, "We entered the mountain as strangers, but we left as brothers." The alleged loss of brotherhood continues in slow-motion through the 1980s and '90s, and the book concludes with the commercialization of the 8,000-meter giants and the 1996 Everest fiasco documented by Jon Krakauer.
Valid or not (there are historiographies of a lot of things "fallen" in the 20th century), this thesis does not give good value in the book's closing chapters. The authors consume all of 350 pages to advance their prelapsarian story to 1960. Then, with only 100 to go, their pace strangely slackens, and the digressions range far from the business of climbing. The account of the Americans on Everest in 1963 dwells heavily on the climbers' prestige-mongering with President Kennedy. The action of the 1978 Annapurna Women's Expedition is freighted with a long reprise of the attacks back home on its feminism, faux or authentic. There is a divagation on the invention of the trekking industry, another on the CIA-sponsored nuclear-powered listening station on Nanda Devi.
Then it dawned on me. These guys are running out the clock. At the historical moment when there is a spawn of expeditions coming from all corners of the earth, at the inflection point where there is a major leap forward in technical standards, just where there is a crying need for a comprehensive history of the Himalaya, they unaccountably give up the chase. Who knows, maybe the newer people and their projects weren't sufficiently interesting to them. On their telling, one could never imagine that since the mid-70s the Himalayan expeditions pages of this journal have tripled, nor that high-altitude technical rock or mixed climbing has been the scene of fantastic endeavors for the last 30 years. (Not a mention of firsts on Latok, Uli Biaho, Shivling, ….)
Another failure in the historians' responsibility is their disregard of non-Anglophone achievements. The Japanese first all-women's ascent of Everest in 1975 is kissed off with a paragraph, compared to five pages for the American women on Annapurna three years later. A paragraph is all they can spare for the path-breaking Polish first winter ascent of Everest in 1973, but they have four for the ascent of Changabang by Brits in 1974. French, Italian, and German climbers of the edenic period (K2, Nanga Parbat, Annapurna) are well covered, but after 1960 they disappear. As to the Himalayan triumphs of Slavs, Czechs, Russians, etc., these vanish into thin air.
John Thackray
Dark Summit: the True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season. Nick Heil.
Henry Holt, 2008. Pp. 271. $26.00.
High Crimes: the Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed. Michael Kodas.
Hyperion, 2008. Pp. 357. $24.95.
The 2006 season thrust Everest back into the public spotlight, in a way that was eerily reminiscent of a decade earlier. During spring 1996, so ably chronicled by Jon Krakauer, 12 climbers died; in 2006, 11 died, with the miraculous survival of Lincoln Hall preventing the equaling of a grisly record. In 2006 the drama took place on Everest's north side and swirled around the ethics of mountaineering. Journalists labeled Everest a "circus," populated by rich, spoiled pseudo-mountaineers obsessed with glory and unconcerned with its costs, financial or moral. Sir Edmund Hillary famously weighed in to castigate the state of climbing on the mountain.
Nick Heil, a freelance journalist, first covered the 2006 season in a piece for Men's Journal. He uses his article as a springboard to writing Dark Summit: the True Story of Everest's Most Controversial Season. Michael Kodas, also a journalist, explores the 2006 season in his book High Crimes: the Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed; yet for Kodas, 2006 was the postscript to an established pattern of poor behavior of climbers on the world's highest peaks.
While Into Thin Air remains the benchmark for literature on Everest, Heil's Dark Summit is an offering worthy of mention in the same sentence. Heil meticulously re-creates the events of 2006, piecing together his story from an extensive body of interviews with the climbers involved. Heil has a way with words, and his narrative moves smoothly and effortlessly. Dark Summit is split into two sections: Part One tells the story of David Sharp, a British climber attempting Everest for the third time. Sharp, climbing on an extremely low budget, ran into trouble on his descent from close to the summit. He hunkered down in "Green Boots Cave" above the Exit Cracks on the northeast ridge, where, close to death, he was passed by approximately 40 climbers the following morning. Heil weaves together Sharp's story with that of Russell Brice's Himalayan Experience guide service, whose two summit teams encountered Sharp at differing stages of his debilitation on 14-15 May. Part Two tells the stories of Lincoln Hall and Thomas Weber. Hall—given up for dead by his Sherpa companion—survived a night at 8,500 meters before miraculously walking down the following day [see the following review, Dead Lucky]. Weber—a semi-blind climber guided by Dutchman Harry Kikstra—died at the Second Step. The circumstances surrounding Weber's death—and whether he should even have been climbing Everest in the first place—are somewhat unclear, and Heil tries to untangle differing recollections of the incident.
As Heil notes, "My intent … was not to try to render any final judgment…. If anything, I set out to try to illustrate, explain and clarify a series of incidents about which so much judgment has already been issued." For the most part, he achieves his goal, yet, while it would be wrong to regard Dark Summit as a defense of the ever-controversial Brice, Heil does end up sympathizing with the position in which Brice finds himself as the "main man" on the north side. That said, while gathering information for the book, Heil spent six weeks at Brice's base camp on Everest in 2007 as part of a North Col trekking expedition; he also visited Brice at his homes in Kathmandu and Chamonix, a position from which it would have been difficult to be objective. But due to Heil's carefully reasoned prose, the average reader ends up generally convinced by his conclusion that little could have been done to help Sharp: "The more I learned about the particulars surrounding Sharp's death, the less controversial it seemed to be."
Michael Kodas attempted Everest in 2004 (and again in 2006), and covered his 2004 expedition as a journalist for the Hartford Courant, a Connecticut newspaper. In High Crimes, he weaves together two stories: that of his own expedition in 2004, led by George Dijmarescu, and that of Nils Antezana, an American doctor of Bolivian origin whose death Kodas lays at the feet of his—according to Kodas—dishonest guide, Gustavo Lisi. Kodas' argument for this charge is convincing. Describing scenes of corruption, theft, violence, and possible murder, Kodas lambastes the Everest "scene" and the way the mountain is climbed and guided today. Though his focus is Everest, he also seems to extend his attack to the wider community of high-altitude mountaineers; they appear as little more than a cadre of thieves and criminals, as Kodas provides a laundry list of every piece of dirt he could dredge up on the subject. Kodas' qualifications to make these assertions, however—with his two abject failures on Everest, in 2004 and 2006, the only Himalayan peak he has attempted—is certainly open to debate.
Kodas has something of a "bee in his bonnet" about Everest, and indeed high-altitude mountaineering. He makes no attempt to produce a balanced work, preferring to repeatedly hammer home his single point, aiming for maximum shock value: "Prostitutes and pimps propositioned climbers walking through base camp" and "There is a growing tendency to use drugs to reach the summit of Everest." These are examples of Kodas' favored "method" of analysis: taking individual instances and conveying the impression that they are endemic. The problem with Kodas' approach, as every good historian or lawyer knows, is that providing a thoroughly one-sided story, and failing to suggest that actuality could be even slightly different, leads to a weak argument. One is left with the impression that Kodas was poorly equipped to be on Everest in the first place, had difficulty fitting in with his teammates, and has taken this opportunity to fire off his vitriol in print, where they can offer no defense. Describing the problems he faced on his own expedition, he is often petty and childish; this undercuts the gravitas of certain incidents which clearly were extremely serious.
Kodas' writing style is somewhat graceless, and his prose lacks fluidity. At certain points, his sentences are downright cringe-inducing ("David [Sharp] knew that there was one disease that he could not provide medication for: summit fever"). High Crimes also feels disjointed; Kodas jumps from South America to the Himalaya to the United States and back, in different years. This is in striking contrast to Dark Summit, in which Heil moves seamlessly through his tale, elegantly interweaving his stories. Dark Summit is a carefully written, reasoned, skillfully told tale; I found myself savoring each chapter. Kodas' High Crimes is an awkward, angry polemic; I rushed to get through it.
Myles Osborne
Dead Lucky: My Journey Home from Everest. Lincoln Hall.
Tarcher/Penguin, 2008. 309 pages. $24.95.
Dead Lucky enters into the already very crowded field of Everest disaster stories. In many ways the book follows the typical narrative arc so familiar to readers of these works: the invitation to climb, the training, the preparations, the walk in, the questioning, and then the climb itself with the ensuing success or disaster. Hall, however, is an experienced writer—this is his eighth book—and Dead Lucky exerts a narrative pull on the reader that makes it a valuable contribution to the genre.
Hall's troubles on his 2006 Everest climb began when he suffered a cerebral edema about an hour after leaving the summit. Hall noticed his own erratic behavior: He wanted "to climb up the mountain, not down it." He wanted to jump off the Kangshung Face. He "continually rejected" his oxygen mask. Eventually, after losing consciousness and having been pronounced dead, he was left by his Sherpas at Mushroom Rock, 8,600 meters up the northeast ridge.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of Dead Lucky is the way in which Hall describes his hallucinations of that night. At one point he believed that "three women were camped in a little space amongst the rocks." He could hear them "chattering and laughing" but "couldn't be bothered visiting them." Later, a climber appeared to Hall from the direction of the Second Step, and Hall "gestured for him to follow me down the narrow path, which now ran alongside a wall built from rough-cut but well-fitted stones." The women, the climber, the path, and the wall are all the products of Hall's oxygen-starved imagination. Hall incorporates these moments into the narrative without introduction or explanation, which is disorientating for the reader until we realize that we are in his hypoxia. It is a deft and disturbing way to convey his mental state.
Miraculously, Hall survived the night. The following morning, as the news of his supposed death filtered to the media and his family in Sydney, he was found by climbers and a Sherpa. His first words to them—"I imagine you are surprised to see me here"—are strikingly straightforward and indicative of the understated tone of the whole book. Hall then recounts his rescue, including shocking verbal and physical abuse from two Sherpas who were unwilling participants.
Hall places his story within the wider controversies of Everest in 2006, especially the death of David Sharp, the British climber who was also thought to be dead, then seen alive, but was not rescued and did not survive. Instead, as Hall writes, "forty people had walked past David Sharp … as he lay alive but unmoving on the trail," and the circumstances of his death prompted a media outcry. Sharp's story becomes an affecting background to Hall's, and Hall explores the two very different outcomes, the "simplistic" attitude of the media to these events, and the bigger question of why some live, but others die. Another touchstone here is the death of Sue Fear, another well-known Australian alpinist and a good friend of Hall's, who died on Manaslu while Hall was on his way down to base camp. The first thing Hall does after arriving home in Australia is to attend her memorial service.
Dead Lucky is in many ways as much a story of tragedy as it is of survival. Indeed, "It is the tragedies more than the triumphs that maintain Everest's aura," writes Hall. This is certainly true of Everest publishing, but it is a credit to Hall's talents as a writer that Dead Lucky contributes to that aura of Everest in such a singular and arresting way.
Clare Chesher
Hutchinson, 2008. 230 pages. Hardcover. $48.50.
In 1997, during his descent from the north face of Changabang, in the Garwhal Himalaya, Andy Cave heard a quiet sound. High above, a series of snow slides merged into a single flood, surging toward him and his climbing partners. Initially "the whiteness," he wrote in his first, award-winning memoir, Learning to Breathe, seemed to take "an eternity." Then time began again, and with it, "so quietly and softly [the avalanche] took Brendan away."
That same sense of a muted blast, stilled time, and erased presence suffuses Cave's second book, Thin White Line. Near the opening Cave arrives at the Piolet d'Or award ceremony in Chamonix; their Changabang ascent has just been nominated for the prize. Still in shock, months after the avalanche and Brendan Murphy's death, Cave depicts the town with words that fall like eerie, muffled echoes: "All day snow fell like feathers, until the only colour left… was white, milk white, over pavements, cars, trees, hats and hair. In the evening it continued, a slow descent, graceful and noiseless, so that with closed eyes the only sensation was a gentle trickle and burn as the flakes slid from your cheeks. It was as if the snow normally reserved for high summits had become lost and decided to rest here on the street."
Throughout the book, his descriptive passages possess a ghostly, poignant beauty—alluding to loss, separation, disconnection—as if the invisible and the unspoken are what matter most, as if the author is searching to express an idea that lies just beyond the edges of his vision. Indeed, like many introspective climbing writers, Cave attempts to resolve that familiar existential question in its risk-heightened form: How do we accept a world that includes suffering and violent death?
At times that quest appears almost contrived, as though Cave is trying to force form and resolution onto subject matter most defined by its elusiveness and inexpressibility. Now and then his more explicit statements—explaining to readers the value of committing to the unknown—lack the emotional conviction of his oblique, poetic evocations of that same lifestyle.
Ultimately the book becomes most powerful in its hints and glimpses, rather than in its moments of willed clarity. For his first expedition after Murphy's death, Cave goes with Dave Hesleden to attempt the West Face of Fitzroy. They bring Andy Parkin's hand-drawn, deliberately incomplete map: "He [Parkin] openly questioned authorities or organizations that made access to the mountains too easy, arguing that individuals should use imagination to travel in wild places and take responsibility for their actions. I glanced at his treasure map again, wondering what he had left out."
Gradually that blank space transforms from a memento of absence into a field of endless imaginative possibilities. Cave wanders from Patagonia to Norway to Scotland to Alaska, encountering again and again that "the thin line between here and darkness," those threshold states from which the most intense creativity arises. Such as on Fitzroy, where, about to fall from precarious axe placements, he stabs his crampon points against the rock and makes a rapid knee jam in a blank corner, delighting in a desperation-induced inventiveness, "I had never done it before, but the manoeuvre worked…. [S]kill, luck, madness."
By the end of the book, the reader begins to feel that, for Cave, the activity is, on its deepest level, about its peripheries. During the approach with Hesleden to pioneer a wildly tenuous Scottish winter climb, Genesis on Beinn Bhàn, they pause below the 800-foot Der Riesenwand: "Alone beneath one of the most dramatically steep winter walls in Scotland, I thought: These are the moments that make a climber's life…. I felt it inside: timeless, enduring beauty. A light so special and tender that it stunned you and you almost forgot why you were here, that you had vertical things to perform."
Along his journey Cave encounters other aesthetic wanderers, from the injured climbing artist Parkin, who crafts his sculptures from glacier detritus; to the 19-year-old prodigy Leo Houlding, who yells at Cave during a delicate traverse on their first free ascent of Norway's Shield to stop and smell a white buddleia flower; to the relentless humorist Mick Fowler, who declaims after a strenuous mixed pitch on the first alpine-style ascent of Mt. Kennedy's North Buttress, Alaska, "Excellent challenging exercise, Andrew. Nothing better." It's such rich portraits of unexpected characters and experiences that turn what could have been cliché—the search for the meaning of climbing—into something profoundly personal and original.
For above all else, Cave's prose generates the reader's delighted sympathy toward a protagonist who actually stops, mid-pitch and mid-narrative, to remember "the poetry from the control of crampons" or to compare "fragile slivers of ice" to "half promises." Or who, facing the potential of a death fall on Genesis, stares "at the green of the moss and the clear veneers of water" and calls them "miniature works of art."
In such instances Thin White Line conjures up the essential numinousness of climbing as few other books have: portraying those successive revelations of inscapes, beneath our hands and feet, that seem at times to glow with reflected, metaphysical longings. Our vertical pursuits, as Cave explains them, ignite "fire" within us because they convey "the flicker of romance and the visual suggestion of a world unknown."
And in response to the avalanche that sets off the writer's travels, in the gaps and in half-spoken silences of the text, the reader hears another, far quieter sound: within this wild and uncertain life, beauty is the only answer we can know.
Katie Ives
Explorers of the Infinite: The Secret Spiritual Lives of Extreme Athletes—and What They Reveal About Near-Death Experiences, Psychic Communication, and Touching the Beyond. Maria Coffey
New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2008. Hardcover 288 pages. $26.95.
One of the tragic aspects of being human is that our most vital experiences often happen long before our conscious mind takes notice. A premonition, a hunch, a prophetic dream, a curious "coincidence"—how easily such wayward occurrences are dismissed as mere figments or superstitions, only later to be recognized as genuine omens—and thus we suffer from the familiar lament: "Oh, if only I had listened…." That extreme athletes—mountaineers, kayakers, surfers, BASE jumpers, and others—should exhibit no immunity to this all-too-human foible comes as no surprise. What is surprising is that it took this long for a book to come along that investigates the matter.
The subtitle of Explorers of the Infinite aptly describes its subject matter, though I'm not sure how secret the spiritual lives of these people actually are. Maria Coffey begins with an interesting question: What drives these extreme athletes to risk their lives in order to push past human limits, and what do they discover when they do so? Well, they discover the same thing that ordinary people discover when they have a profound spiritual experience: mystery and wonder.
In ascending the spiritual heights, Coffey leads her reader along a well-established route. More than a century ago the venerable American philosopher and psychologist William James—himself somewhat of a mountaineer—took up the same question regarding the nature of these extraordinary moments. In fact, the inspiration for his greatest work, The Varieties of Religious Experience, came to him one night while camping high on Mt. Marcy in the Adirondacks. Like James, Coffey approaches her numinous subject by taking a look at an assortment of curious episodes drawn from various lives.
One of the more fascinating cases reported in Explorers of the Infinite is that of Diane Perry, an English woman born in 1943 who changed her name to Tenzin Palmo and spent 13 years living by herself in a cave at 13,200 feet in the Himalayas. "Tenzin Palmo believes we're not on this earth to be comfortable," Coffey writes. "We're here to learn and grow, she says, and facing problems and challenges is an essential part of growth and knowledge." As Coffey deftly concludes, this "is essentially what every extreme athlete would say about their sport." The other stories in this book certainly support this claim. Consider the case of John Porter, whose dreams of falling rocks at Annapurna Base Camp in 1982 seemed to have presaged the death of Alex Macintyre. When asked what he made of such spookiness, Porter replied: "I think the starting point for any sort of weirdness is life itself…. If we're here, then it seems to me that anything is possible." No philosopher has stated it more clearly or more accurately. And perhaps the most compelling account in the book is the author's own story of a harrowing kayak journey of six weeks on the River Ganges, with all its pollution, rotting corpses, and hordes of bandits lying in wait, a voyage that "turned me inside out, challenged and exhausted me on every level."
Explorers of the Infinite is most engaging when its author is simply recounting the peculiar tales of the extreme athletes she interviewed. The book is far less successful when Coffey starts grasping for explanations of the mystery by pilfering ideas from the social sciences and unconvincing New Age philosophy. Worst of all, the writing too often lapses into what might charitably be described as well-written book reports. Such explanations, ill-fitted and uninspired, simply get in the way of her ascent. They don't belong on this particular expedition.
John P. O'Grady
Forget Me Not: A Memoir. Jennifer Lowe-Anker.
The Mountaineers Books, 2009. Eight pages of black and white photos. 276 Pages. Hardcover. $24.95.
When I picked up Forget Me Not, I anticipated a mediocre book with adequate writing and a one-dimensional presentation of the legendary climber Alex Lowe. Instead, Forget Me Not is one of the most honestly written and engaging books I have read. The writing is clear and descriptive and manages to make readers feel as if they are actually present during the scenes described. Because Alex is presented comprehensively, that is, as an imperfect man, as opposed to a legendary climber, the memoir succeeds in making clear why Jennifer and so many others loved Alex so.
Forget Me Not does not merely spotlight Alex as a climber from his high school days to becoming one of the greatest; instead it offers an intimate look at the 18 years that Alex Lowe and Jennifer Lowe-Anker shared as adventurers, climbers, lovers, parents, and friends. Lowe-Anker adeptly portrays the tension that resided in Alex—an endlessly gnawing tension between his need to climb in faraway places for months at a time, and his need to be with his wife and children.
While there is much to be praised about this memoir, its greatest strength is its honesty in presenting a comprehensive and candid portrayal of Alex. This includes an Alex who is charismatic, loving, driven, and passionate. These characteristics are evident via snippets of letters written by Alex. In Alex's own words, readers learn of his love of nature, his family, and his friends. Jennifer's candid portrayal is comprehensive in that it also covers Alex's darker times. The reader learns of Alex's quick temper and his habit of becoming distracted and distant when things did not go as he wished. The memoir is not afraid to note times when Alex drank too much, when he lost patience with his children, and when he worried that people would learn he was only "really mediocre."
The most emotionally charged example of this honesty is an account of the argument Jennifer and Alex had as he departed for the Shishapangma trip that eventually took his life. This argument still haunts her—an argument in which she raged to Alex about his lack of dedication to his family. She admits that questioning his dedication was the lowest of blows, one that brought tears to his eyes. As if the rawness of this argument is not difficult enough to endure, this episode is soon followed by news of Alex's death in an avalanche. Only one hour before the news was broadcast internationally, she learned on the phone that she'd lost the man she loved—while her three-year-old played happily out back. This section of the memoir gave rise to such intense emotions that I was forced to put it down. I grieved deeply for Alex and all who loved him as if we were just learning of his death.
Though perhaps unintentionally, the memoir makes clear why Alex loved Jennifer as well. She is adventuresome, talented, loyal, committed, and one who is able to love deeply. Perhaps her greatest characteristic, though, is that she understands others. She understood that Alex, like Albert the great horned owl described elsewhere in the memoir, was tamed but could not be caged. Alex "Owlex" Lowe was fortunate to have a wife who understood this and loved him for it. We readers are fortunate she chose to share this beautiful and tragic story with us.
Callie Rennison
Tomaz Humar. Bernadette McDonald
Hutchinson, 2008. Hardcover 244 pages. $45.95.
In The Sun Also Rises Hemingway describes the bullfighter Romero as a man who "never made any contortions, always it was straight and pure and natural in line." What Romero achieves in the bullfight is what the great alpinist achieves on the mountain, not thrill-seeking, but an aesthetic merger of life and death that intensifies existence. To understand, we have to put away our pedestrian notions of a pejorative death and see a quest requiring courage and driven by an uncompromising spirit. Critical to this quest, according to Hemingway, is solitude of self.
In Bernadette McDonald's biography of Tomaž Humar we find a talented, even visionary, alpinist who is more conflicted: a Kosovo veteran who escapes harsh treatment to make his way home to Slovenia; a man who logs impressive climbs on Bobaye (1996), Ama Dablam (Piolet d'Or 1996), and Dhaulagiri (1999), among others; a man who abandons his young family to pursue climbing; a man who survives deplorable conditions on some of the most unforgiving mountains in the world but mangles himself in a fall while framing his house; a man who cloaks himself in spirituality but never seems to probe to a deeper understanding of his own psychology; a man who brings along thousands to witness, via the internet, his "pure-alpine" suicide attempt on Nanga Parbat's Rupal Face (2005), and then changes his mind, instigating one of the most dangerous rescues in Himalayan history. Humar is a little larger than life and, as his trip to Yosemite (1998) attests, walks with a swagger.
Other alpinists question the difficulties of Humar's climbs and his need for media attention, perhaps suspicious of that drive for admiration and love, found and lost and found again through this surrogate of extreme alpinism. According to McDonald, Humar thinks "the public makes a fundamental mistake in confusing his climbing style with his public face." Hemingway might suggest that it is Humar who is mistaken. A person cannot be bifurcated, a naturalness of line depends upon a man reconciled to himself in all things. Humar's quiet, solo climb of Annapurna (2007) will likely do little to silence his detractors, even though it seems exactly the right move to repair the damage that the Rupal Face rescue did to his reputation.
Humar is a fascinating character because he is conflicted, and McDonald clearly has unprecedented access to a wide range of materials and notable personalities, and manages to weave together her diverse research and anecdotal material. However, as biographer, McDonald should provide the insight that Humar and the climbing community cannot. McDonald's is the "authorized" biography, a gossipy and well-researched conglomerate that leaves more questions than it answers. McDonald shows us enough to let us know it's there: the heart of a talented alpinist, certainly compulsive, certainly remarkable, and certainly flawed. But she never quite uncovers it
The aficionado might yearn too for more nuts and bolts: technical insight into Humar's route-finding, his training, preparation, and execution—even logistics. The book depends too much on a structure that punctuates Humar's life with a blow-by-blow description of the Rupal Face rescue, laboring a tension that might not be there. We do know, fundamentally, the end of that story. Still the reader will be gripped by transcript-like radio communications between Humar deep in his ice hole on the Rupal Face and his base camp and intrigued by the intricacies of Humar's air rescue. Casual readers will certainly turn the pages, not slowed by inconsistency of detail or a style that favors melodrama over exactitude.
Otis Haschmeyer
Vertical Ethiopia: Climbing Toward Possibility in the Horn of Africa. Majka Burhardt, with color photography by Gabe Rogel.
Addis Ababa: Shama Books, 2008.
Vertical Ethiopia chronicles the fascinating journey of a team of climbers who seek untouched lines in a region of the world rich in rock and beauty yet "off the radar" of climbers. Curiously, the book is less about climbing than Ethiopia's cultural geography, celebrated in the well-crafted narrative as well as the images, which receive equal billing—good-looking enough to be placed on the proverbial coffee table. Accordingly, Vertical Ethiopia is a great read, less guidebook and more reflections about climbing in a land unfamiliar to climbers and most Westerners.
Burhardt, both author and protagonist, shares main billing with a few other climbers, Rogel (the photographer), and a handful of Ethiopians who make the trip logistically possible. Essentially the book is a travelogue of Burhardt's 2007 trip to climb the sandstone cliffs of Gheralta, in far northern Ethiopia. She describes searching for possible climbs, interacting with local people, and getting to know her travel companions—though it would have been nice to learn more of her actual climbs. In fact, she spends more time discussing a day spent scrambling and admiring one of Ethiopia's many amazing sandstone cliff-side churches than she does on any single climb. We learn about the ancient, beautiful, and still-practiced rituals of Ethiopian Christians. We do not learn as much about the quality of the rock, protection, or descents.
Significantly, the primary audience of this book does not seem to be climbers. Burhardt presents the requisite, if personalized, rationale for climbing—to be in touch with ourselves by pushing minds and bodies to their limits. Though for her it's not just the climbing but also the adventure of travel that proves attractive. There are very basic descriptions of technical rock-climbing skills, rating systems, and even several pages, laden with pictures, that explain rockcraft and climbing protection (think Freedom of the Hills). These are quite good, though unnecessary were the intended audience climbers. Moreover, Burhardt does not describe many of the climbs, generally does not rate them (almost all of their routes are first ascents, well worth mentioning), and provides no topos. In short, a climber who wants to repeat any of the routes climbed by Burhardt needs far more beta than provided in the book.
What climbers do get out of this book is a much-needed reminder that a "climbing trip" is more than just the climbs. Burhardt spends much space describing the country's geology and geography, Ethiopian culture, and the travails and joys of traveling in a place far different from North America. Burhardt encourages us to journey to Ethiopia not primarily because the climbing is so amazing—though the mountains are spectacular—but because we will find joy in pushing our limits where no climbing guidebook exists. Burhardt always treats the natives with respect and courtesy, even when some of her possessions are stolen (and quickly recovered).
The wonderful and plentiful photography of Rogel ranks among the book's best features. Numerous one- and two-page photographs of the rocks, climbers, and local people adorn this gorgeous book. If you are familiar with the size, feel, and images of Alpinist, then you can imagine the photography in Vertical Ethiopia.
I commend the author for collaborating with an Ethiopian publisher to ensure that local peoples profit from foreign tourists and guidebooks. Unmentioned in the book—but noted on her website—were the strict limits placed on topics Burhardt could discuss, including kidnappings of foreigners and ongoing military conflict with neighboring Eritrea. Still, I cannot help but wonder whom the market audience is, assuming that the Ethiopian copies also are printed in English.
Part climbing story, part travelogue, part primer in Ethiopian history and culture, part introduction to technical rock-climbing, and all coffee-table book, this work does many things, most quite well. I hope that Burhardt and Rogel produce other books as interesting and awe-inspiring.
Peter Cole
First Ascent: Pioneering Mountain Climbs. Stephen Venables.
Firefly Books, 2008. Numerous color and black and white photographs. 192 pages. $45.
In this lavish coffee-table book we read about the first ascent of Mont Blanc, the tragedy on the Matterhorn, the epics on the Eiger's north face. Sound familiar? How about the struggles up Annapurna and Everest? Yes, these legendary climbs are old hat to most members of our club, weaned as we are by the fine writers of yesteryear. But young readers, innocent of mountaineering's engaging history, will be fascinated by this book. I hope it inspires kids to heave the earbuds and head for the hills.
Stephen Venables ably describes the scope of the book late in his introduction, telling us that he will deal with "groundbreaking" ascents, "esoteric oddities," and "less well-trodden paths." And, indeed, we find lots of this material in addition to the familiar stories.
Venables is honest when he admits inclusion of "an unrealistically high proportion of first ascents by British climbers." This is certainly true, the best example being the 400-word description of the first ascent of Napes Needle, a sexy little spire in England, all of 100 feet high, climbed way back when. Yet the Cassin Ridge on Denali is not mentioned, nor is the 1965 ascent of the Hummingbird Ridge on Mt. Logan, never fully repeated and feared to this day. Talk about groundbreaking climbs! You can't have it all. This is a problem shared by writers who purport to cover the globe but who are essentially provincial.
Venables' chapter titles give a good indication of his subject material. Here are a few: "Pilgrims, Kings, & Prophets" deals with the first "mountaineer," Moses on Mount Sinai, then leaps forward to French kings and the first English tourist/climbers. "Himalayan Renaissance" ably relates the beginnings of "modern" mountaineering: climbs on walls, not ridges; speedy ascents; and high adventures without using bottled oxygen. Other chapter titles need little explanation: "Mont Blanc, 1786" and "The Golden Age of Alpine Climbing."
In this handsome book there's much good writing and a plethora of outstanding photos, many, to my knowledge, published for the first time and therefore appealing. The splendid reproduction of many of the large pics is a testimonial to modern technology.
Venables is usually a professional wordsmith, but I have rarely seen a book so full of mistakes, many of which can be traced to the copy-editor and/or designer. Still, Venables should have proofread the book near completion. We have a legion of misspelled names—"Vittoria" Sella, "Emile" Comici, Fred "Beckley," "Rattim" Cassin, Toni "Kurtz," "John" Krakauer, Nick "Clench," and dozens of others. We have Mount "Huntingdon" and "Venezuala." We have Washburn's Museum of Science located in Washington. We find that the North Cascades have migrated south into Oregon. We gaze upon a magnificent photo of an indolent George Mallory, but the caption refers only to a Welsh cliff. I wish Venables and his publisher had heeded A. E. Housman's advice of 1930: "Accuracy is a duty and not a virtue."
Steve Roper
Through a Land of Extremes: The Littledales of Central Asia. Elizabeth and Nicholas Clinch. Foreword by Christian Bonington.
Sutton Publishing. 2008. 324 pages. $75.00.
Never heard of the Littledales? Neither had anyone else. They were apparently indifferent to whether anyone heard of them or not; they left no public writings and very little else. Elizabeth and Nick Clinch practically extrapolated the whole story from the Littledale's fox terrier's silver collar, which resides in the Royal Geographical Society archives. If you wonder what the collar is doing there, you're beginning to think like the Clinches.
The Littledales, a married couple—St. George and Teresa—made three major journeys through Central Asia between 1890 and 1895. The first crossed the Pamirs over a period of about five months in 1890; the second crossed central Asia from Samarkand to Peking over about 11 months; the third, a journey across Tibet, lasted a year. The latter two would tally some 4,000 miles each—not that the Littledales were tracking their own mileage (and neither do the Clinches). It's the character of the journeys one is drawn to: traveling in small, sparsely supported parties, traveling as a married couple, and, probably the most enthralling: doing it so far from the public eye.
St. George was a world-class hunter, true, and he supplied numerous "trophies" to museums worldwide, and yet one never gets the sense that the journeys were made for this purpose. These are true explorers, adventurers of the ilk of Younghusband and Hedin (whom they knew, of course) but for whom the idea of fame meant absolutely nothing. No wonder the Clinches admire them so. In their later years hunting for its own sake had given way to collecting zoological specimens and later still to map-making and "intelligence." Many of the Littledales' journeys were through sensitive or "forbidden" lands and took place during the waning years of the Great Game, the rivalry between England and Russia for control and influence in Central Asia.
As their lives wound down they developed a ritual: the winding of their grandfather clock, which ran for 13-months on a single winding. They invited guest winders, who signed a special book. The list of winders features statesmen (including, gasp, Benito Mussolini!), but also Kipling, four Prime Ministers, and King George V; also Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who wrote in the winder book: "Rooted deep in the nature of every one of us is the spirit of adventure, the call of the wild—vibrating under all our actions, making life deeper, higher and nobler."
The introduction is a truly fascinating account of the authors' research, which in essence starts with a conversation Nick had with, appropriately enough, Eric Shipton, who recommended to him the "unknown" Tibetan peak, Ulugh Muztagh, at 25,340 feet. It had been Littledale who had determined the height. The lengths the authors went to are a great story in itself. Let's just say that if they had relied on Google, the book would have been shorter than this review. This was very determined, very thorough, and very patient work, and one can't help think that if the Clinches had not done it, the Littledales would have been lost to history forever.
We live in an age wherein the details of heretofore unimaginable personal tediousness are publicly broadcast to the Twitterati. In the Littledales we have the opposite scenario: truly epic undertakings (I think the Littledales would abjure the word "heroic"), expeditions that might have filled volumes—even in their own day—but were instead done for private satisfactions. For this reason alone I'm grateful that this lacunae in the public record has been so carefully recovered. In addition, as Chris Bonington says in his foreword: the book is "particularly appropriate today when the ruthless pace of modernisation is penetrating the most distant valley of this vast, once untamed, area." The Littledales, I think, would be flattered by the Clinches' portrait, but may well have wondered what all the fuss was about. The closing sentence of the book is "The Littledales did it right." And, at the risk of stating the obvious: so have the Clinches.
David Stevenson


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Book Review
Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, Time Travel, Paranormal Romance
1997 BEST HISTORICAL TIME-TRAVEL ROMANCE Nominee
UNFORGOTTEN is a tale that readers wish would never end. Ms. Leigh makes her characters human and lovable, and her ending utterly satisfying. This is definitely a "keeper."
Collier Marrow has just lost his beloved, Aryn Viscott. When Collier sees a portrait of Catherine Algeron, who fought to the death for her home and for the doomed Lancaster King Henry during England's War of the Roses, Collier is struck by her resemblance to Aryn.
As he approaches the painting, he is pulled into a vortex and is sent back to the 15th century. When Collier finds himself in the midst of the War of the Roses, he must choose sides and adjusts to the time he has been thrust into.
Believing that Aryn is the reincarnation of Catherine, Collier feels that fate has given him a second chance. As Collier Gilchrist, a common soldier who becomes a knight, he can show his passion and love to Catherine. But will he be able to leave his past in the future?
(Mar., 385 pp., $5.99)
Reviewed By: Cyndie Dennis-Greer
Publisher: HarperMonogram
Published: March 1997

subset: commoncrawl


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I'm sure everyone knows about Rachel Alexandra right now
If not, go here.
Honestly, this is why sometimes horse breeding makes me nervous. I've had enough negatives to balance out the positives in my own personal experience being around broodmares at foaling time. Some minor complications are expected when a big baby is foaled, and my folks even had a mare die after an artificial insemination went poorly.
But enough of my harping. I hope to God that Rachel will be ok. She is receiving the best of care and we all know how much of a fighter she is.


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One of Louisiana's few Fortune 500 companies is going away. The Shaw group out of Baton Rouge was aquired by the Dutch company CB&I. CB&I, formerly known as Chicago Bridge & Iron, has it's U S operations based out of Houston, meaning dozens, if not hundreds of high paying, 6 figure salaried employees will be gone. At least from Baton Rouge.
Shaw has 27,000 employees worldwide including 4000 right here in Louisiana. Although CB&I says that won't change, as a matter of fact both CB&I and Shaw say more jobs will be added in Louisiana. I'm a little bit skeptical on that one. I hope I'm wrong, but I see Shaw's Louisiana presence dwindling with the acquisition.
The new company will become one of the largest in the western hemisphere with annual revenue at more than $10 billion and a project backlog of nearly $30 billion, and will have over 50,000 employees worldwide. I just hope the 1000+ in Baton Rouge and the other 3000 Shaw employees around the state keep their well-paying jobs. Losing one of Louisiana's few Fortune 500 companies is bad enough.


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The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) at WSU promotes student learning through engagement in community service, service learning, advocacy, public education and civic leadership. Student civic engagement includes the exploration of "self in society" through enhanced self awareness, knowledge of community issues and development of civic responsibility.The CCE is a resource for students seeking to make stronger connections with community and faculty seeking to incorporate community-based learning and civic development into the academic curriculum. Established partnerships with local, regional, national and international organizations provide students with diverse opportunities for learning the skills necessary to make positive changes in the world.
Undergraduates interested in applying for a position should apply through WSU CougLink, the WSU employment opportunities website. Graduate assistant candidates should submit a cover letter, resume, and three references with contact information to Ben Calabretta, Assistant Director, at email@example.com. Openings are typically advertised at the end of the academic year in spring, but openings are posted throughout the year as they become available.
2014-2015 Openings
Please check back
Center for Civic Engagement, PO Box 647204, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164-7204 | 509-335-7708 | fax: 509-335-3400|
CUB L45/L48 | M-W 8-7/Th-F 8-5 | email@example.com


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There are many reasons for wanting to come into the presence of God, but here the emphasis is on our relationship with Him. It is about enjoying His fellowship in the Holy Place, but more importantly, giving Him our love.
Can anything compare with being in the Holy and Majestic presence of the Almighty God? There is nothing in all creation that can compare with this experience. The purpose of this page is to hopefully encourage and help those who have not had, or have seldom had, this amazing experience to find out what it's all about.
We are talking about coming into the very presence of God, our Heavenly Father, so the first thing that needs to happen is to make sure we've 'cleaned up'. Our Father is Holy and Righteous, so we need to make sure that there are no unresolved issues. I know that relationships with people can get pretty messed up sometimes, but we need to forgive those who need forgiving and ask for forgiveness from those whom we have offended, either intentionally or unintentionally. Often offence can come because our actions or words are misunderstood or misinterpreted. Where possible, this should be sorted out before attempting to come into our Father's presence.
It is sin that seperates us from God, so having cleared the air with other people, we need to clear the air with Him. We are all guilty of sin, whether it be by deed or thought. Saying sorry to our Father is sufficient to clear things up. This is not to be confused with repentance. That is a whole different story.
There are no hard and fast rules. Personally I find an hour too short to enter into His presence and fellowship with Him, but it's a good place to start. Look at the clock and note the time. Choose to give Him a full hour, not one minute less. In that time you can sing, pray, read the Bible, talk to Him, whatever. If you haven't done this sort of thing before it can be really hard to fill the hour, but don't give up! Perseverence is the key to building up a relationship with God that will enable you to really enter into His presence.
If you can't manage it on your own, find someone who knows how to enter into His presence and go there together.
I love Psalm 100.
Look at verse 4. It starts off "Enter His gates with thanksgiving" and goes on to say "and into His courts with praise."
Let's look at it this way, giving thanks gets us into the gates. This is the only way into the courtyard.
In the picture below we see a Tabernacle in a courtyard. The courtyard is where the people and animals are but, in this exercise, we are going to imagine God being in the Tabernacle. This is our destination.
A thankful heart is a real key. Being thankful to our Father in Heaven for being the awesome God that He is. Being thankful that Jesus came and gave His all, that we can know God. Thankful for health, parents, possessions, life, the stars in the night sky, the warmth of the sun, the beauty of nature. The list is endless. If you don't feel thankful, just start thanking Him anyway because He deserves it. As you thank Him your heart will respond.
When someone comes and thanks you for something you've done, don't you feel appreciated? The feelings we experience are the same sort of feelings God has. We have been created in His likeness and share the same sort of feelings that He has. When we thank God, He feels appreciated and He responds to us. This is the beginning of getting close to Him, or if you like, entering the gates.
Having entered the gates with thanksgiving, we enter His courts. Praise is a natural progression from thanksgiving. It wells up inside of us as a result of having a thankful heart. How awesome is our God who knows our very hearts and loves us so completely! Praise Him who is so full of understanding and grace!
There is much joy to be found in the courts of the Lord. A closeness which warms the very depths of our being, but this is not our final destination!
In the Old Testament times the Tabernacle was the Holy Place that only the High Priest went into once a year to seek forgiveness on behalf of the people. When Jesus died on the cross the veil (door) of the temple (Tabernacle) was ripped on two.
In other words, when Jesus died He paid the price, once and for all for our sin. In so doing He gave as many as believe access to the Tabernacle, or the very presence of God.
It is our love for our Father that takes us into the Holy Place. This is not the place for prayer. It is not the place for making your requests known to the Lord. It is not the place for questions and intercession. It is not a place to get, but rather to give.
It is a place of intimacy. A place where hearts touch and love is shared. A place of mutual appreciation and giving of onesself wholeheatedly to the other. This is a place where we can reach out and touch the very heart of our Heavenly Father, giving Him the love and intimate fellowship He deserves and desires!
How tempting it can be, once in His presence, to ask for the things we want, or to pray for someone else, but to do so is to destroy the moment. This isn't about us or what we want. This is about giving our all to Him. Giving Him our undivided attention, giving Him our love. Let nothing detract from that beautiful intimacy that is so precious and beautiful.
I feel reluctant to mention the rewards that come from spending time with our Father in His Holy Place. It seems, to my mind, to detract from what it's all about. But the fact is that there are rewards for taking the time and making the effort to spend time with Him. The rewards are things like the wonderful Presence of Him who loves us remaining with us. The utter contentment of being loved. These things permeate through our very being, affecting everything we touch and everyone we see.


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Based in Winsford, Cheshire, Careersat Ltd is a full recruitment solutions provider. We are one of the leading North West recruitment agencies targeting many businesses in Manchester and nationwide. We offer temporary or permanent recruitment solutions tailored to your needs. We specialise in call centre personnel, from lead generators to call centre managers. Careersat have learnt, through our long-term involvement in recruitment, how to meet and exceed each client/candidates expectations by providing a service that sells. We understand, through experience, that acquiring and maintaining loyal repeat business as well as spreading the word of our business through these loyal patrons is of the utmost importance for every company. We believe in placing people rather than just filling jobs, we ensure a complex telephone assessment is completed for each candidate we work with. This is to make certain we provide the highest calibre of candidates for our clients and we are pointing our candidates in the right direction for their career.
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Pico de Gallo is best when made the day you plan to serve it. Prepare it early the morning of the party and spoon atop a fried egg or in an omelet; just be sure to save enough for the pork.
This recipe goes with Tortilla-Crusted Pork
Southern Living MAY 2008
1. Toss together first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Cover and chill 1 hour. Season with salt to taste.
Go to full version of


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Manila Travel Articles
- Binondo Revisited – Manila, Philippines, Asia
- A day in the life of a newbie travel writer/photographer, Jo Uygongco.
- Madeline and the Kooky Cakes – Manila, Philippines
- Jarrah Dundler discovers that sometimes the best audience is that which is left unseen.
- Cock-a-Doodle-Die! – Manila, Philippines
- Far from being shunned and secretive, Erik Trinida


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Eight weeks! I'm two months pregnant now. This feels like an incredible milestone, four more weeks until I'm done first trimester.
I'm already starting my "graduation" process from the fertility clinic. My clinic, Create, cares for their pregnant patients through their first trimester, but then you move on to a regular OBGYN. Well, I already have my first appointment next week with my OBGYN who will eventually deliver this little sprout in November. It was great to get the appointment booked, I'm excited to meet him and see the hospital where our care will be. I'm still seeing my fertility doctor weekly as well for now.
For pregnancy symptoms, today was the WORST "morning" sickness I've had so far. It started at 5am and settled down about 3pm. I hadn't even really had much in the way of nausea the past few days and foolishly thought maybe I was past that point. Oddly, I don't mind the mild nausea; it's a reminder things are working and it's manageable throughout the day. And I promised I wouldn't complain about pregnancy symptoms because it was SO difficult getting to this point. Today was tough though. I was very late for work (good thing I have flex hours and late is relative) but I threw up on the commute in and it was difficult sitting at my desk all day. I ate crackers and drank ginger ale at my desk.
Its eased up now, but I'm taking it easy tonight to keep myself calm and still. Plus, I'm tired from having been up so early and having such a rough go with my stomach today. I'm glad most days aren't like this, but I can handle some days like this, it's all worth it to get to be a mom <3
Did I mention that DH lost our 2nd ultrasound photo? That's why it's not posted. He's in a bit of trouble for that :P He promises to get a replacement when we go to our next appointment (hopefully they have one), but you better believe I'll be carrying the photos home from now on ;)
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Talking of the north-east, Guwahati is definitely the big boss of the region from all perspectives; be it commerce, connectivity, offices, economy, population or related parameters (except education where Mizoram ranks first) and thus channels is no exception.
With a population of 60 lakh, Assam has a well-structured channels hierarchy in place ranging right from the tier 1 to tier 4. Distribution and sub-distribution business, so far comprises of the major revenue spinners in the region as Guwahati caters to 5 of the 7 north-eastern states. The strategic location of the state' capital places Assam atop the list as the entire connectivity to north-east India depends on the functioning of Guwahati.
National distributors operate from the region at ease and 5 major houses have their own warehouse in the city. The total channels strength in Assam comprises of nearly 400 of which about half of the number has a mix of business with automation, light electrical, stationery and consumer electronics. The only city in the state where IT doesn't feature as a sub-strata is Guwahati which houses 94 channel partners. In the entire channel eco-system in Assam, only 18 firms majorly control the IT channels market and fluctuations within these company market-shares leads to turmoil and imbalances in the market.
Although the state is the stronghold for distribution, solutions business too has become important generating Rs. 68 crores of annual business. Majorly the solution segments becoming important are network integration, LAN connectivity solutions, web hosting and integrated external security. Advanced concepts and other revenue spinners are still at a nascent stage in the state.
Distribution and retail business, on the other hand accounts for Rs. 357 crores annually. On the aggregate, channel strength of all the other 6 states combined wouldn't even come near to that of Assam.
In terms of verticals, retail and distribution (combined) takes up the majority of the slot followed by the state government and SMB projects. Revenues, however, often overlap between retail and distribution as each of the regional and sub-distributors have their own retail outlet. Also, the corporate segment has evolved into a revenue generator in the region but supplies and contracts to these firms are limited to just 5 channel companies only.
"Although the market is distribution driven, retail takes up a majority of the revenue earnings. A distribution line ensures growth and retail ensures a good profit", said Kishore Agarwal of Infotech Solutions.
The boon for solution partners as well as distributors, however, is state contracts from Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh where Guwahati firms enjoy a near monopolistic situation. However, in their own state, channel partners are not able to fully leverage the government projects.
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I agree 100% I think Armon Johnson could be a starter with a little more court time
If we were to start Aldridge at center we become mismatched against a lot of teams in the NBA. We saw this against LA a team with size and length. It all depends on the match up for McMillan. You can't simply throw Wallace into the starting line up and throw somebody else out of that line up that has better chemistry together. When Wallace begins to grow with the team I am sure he will become a starter. But with the end of the season approaching you can't simply play around with your starters because every game becomes crucial for Playoff position. I would like to see Miller, Matthews, Batum, Aldridge and Camby starting. You have strong defense and good offensive weapons. Then you bring Roy and Wallace in together off the bench for Matthews and Batum. When Miller needs a rest let Fernandez run point or him and Roy switch running point. This extends our shooting range and lets us have a strong offensive team going into halftime. Miller will be ready for the start of the 3rd along with Batum and Matthews. In the end it is experience that wins games and playoffs and ultimately championships. I would much rather have Roy and Wallace in together in at the end of the game then Batum and Matthews. Matthews is great but his decision making skills are spotty at times and he lacks a true ability to create his own shot. He can hit the big shot but he can't create it when its in the clutch as well as Roy has shown he can even after an injury. Ultimately though you do need to have a true center to replace Aldridge to put him at Power Forward. You don't want Aldridge picking up two stupid fouls at the beginning of the game and have him sitting half the first part of the game. We have seen this before and it never works out right for the Blazers. With Oden back if that ever happens maybe your starting lineup would change haha. What do you think?
i agree with BlazerGrant (except for about wesley matthews)...just don't forget about Patty! (great game for him last night!)
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Found July 03, 2013 on CLNS Radio:
TEAMS: Boston Red Sox
Were you one of the Boston Red Sox fans that detested the signing of Shane Victorino? Were you one of those people who thought the Red Sox overpaid for him, or he was past his prime and could no longer provide a good bat and excellent defense in the outfield? If you were, then you were absolutely wrong. The Red Sox are 85 games into the 2013 season and Victorino is having one of his better seasons in the major leagues. The outfielder is hitting .286, with a .335 on-base percentage and an OPS of .721. Victornio, along with centerfield Jacoby Ellsbury have provided the Red Sox with a great one-two lineup at the top of the order. Victorino's offense is hardly his best access. Victorino has one of the best gloves the major leagues. He has a .991 fielding percentage and he is the American League leader among right fielders in the Defensive Wins Above Replacement Player category, with a 1.2 rating. His incredible range in right field has won games for the Red Sox and made it easier fo...
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'You know, when you care about someone, er… sometimes it's hard to er… be eloquent, you know. About how you feel. Er… to-to tell them how much… how much they mean… meant er… to you. How… how i— how important they are in your life, and how special…'
Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie during a break on the set of The Hunger, photographed by Tony Scott, 1982
Top 6 Skins Ships: Mini McGuinness & Franky Fitzgerald
"The moment I saw you I knew you'd be trouble."
remember when this happened and then everyone pretended it didn't? ugh
still upset about that >:E
Caroline Bingley
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
"You think you hit bottom, Rick? You have no idea how far down this goes, do you? You think you're bad? You think you got a demon inside of you? You don't even know what that means."
Five, six, seven, eight
God is good, God is straight


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Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson is playing through significant pain, and it was obvious that his groin injury had a noticeably negative effect on his performance in last week's loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Peterson and Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier remained steadfast in stating that Peterson would play against the Seahawks despite never practicing that week, and AP did suit up. However, he ran for just 65 yards on 21 carries and clearly didn't look as explosive as normal. His offensive line didn't do him any favors against an excellent Seahawks defense, but both Peterson and Frazier admitted that the groin injury severely hampered him in that game.
Peterson is also listed as questionable on the Vikings injury report this week for today's big rivalry game against the Green Bay Packers. With a win today, the Vikings would send the Packers playoff candidacy into severe doubt, so there is still plenty of motivation for winning this game.
The best running back in the game has always expected to play today, and this is something he relayed to reporters both on Thursday and Friday. Although AP didn't start practicing until Friday, he told reporters that he expects to play. Now, the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport is tweeting that Adrian Peterson also told reporters that he'll be "OK" and that the injury is "not that severe". That's solid Sunday morning confirmation, and nobody should expect Peterson to miss today's game against the Packers. He plans on playing, he'll play, he'll start, and Toby Gerhart will probably end up being a fantasy afterthought again.


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By estherschindler
via blog.smartbear.com
Published: Aug 07 2013 / 14:39
Many organizations use the .NET Entity Framework to create database applications because of the automation it provides and because developers can create a model that everyone can understand using tools provided as part of Visual Studio. However, some overlook the fact that the Entity Framework supports three workflows: code first, model first, and database first. Using the right model can save developers a lot of time and effort, especially when creating a complex database design.
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text:
Tempestoso [11'21]
Vivo e fresco [9'07]
Affettuoso [4'12]
Quasi grave e commosso [3'52]
Appassionato [4'04]
Prologo: Moderato e pensoso [6'40]
Epilogo: Calmo [7'08]
Andantino (Pan ed Eco) [3'10]
Hagai Shaham and Arnon Erez continue their exploration of the early twentieth-century violin repertoire, turning this time to Italy. These musicians are noted for their full-blooded performances: here they revel exuberantly in the music's operatic passion.
Pizzetti was at the height of his fame at a time when Italian music was all the rage; his pupil Castelnuovo-Tedesco eventually fled Italian anti-semitism to embark on a successful career in Hollywood.
Pizzetti's Violin Sonata in A major was described by the late John C G Waterhouse, Britain's leading authority on twentieth-century Italian music, as 'much the most impressive sonata for violin and piano that has ever been written by an Italian'. His Tre canti were written in 1924, originally for cello and piano, then transcribed by the composer for violin.
Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Sonata quasi una fantasia, Op 56, was composed in 1929, with a dedication to the Hungarian violinist Adila Fachiri (also the dedicatee of Bartók's two violin sonatas). The Tre vocalizzi were originally written in 1928 as vocalises for wordless voice and piano. They were subsequently arranged for violin and piano by Mario Corti, who saw the potential in these pieces for transcriptions that used violin techniques to imaginative effect, with extensive use of double-stopping and harmonics, as well as a greatly expanded compass, using octave transpositions to exploit the instrument's entire range.
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In December 1921, Guido M Gatti declared in The Musical Times that Ildebrando Pizzetti is doubtless the greatest musician in Italy today This fine figure of an artist stands out clearly on the national horizon: and advances surely and steadily, full of study and love for his art.
Gatti wrote this at a time when Italian music was achieving considerable international renown: Puccini was at the height of his fame; in 1918 Il Trittico had been given its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera, and in 1920 he started composing Turandot. Respighis Fountains of Rome (the first of his Roman Trilogy) was completed in 1916 and La boutique fantasque (after Rossini) was given its premiere at Londons Alhambra Theatre by Diaghilevs Ballets Russes in 1919. Given the widespread success of composers such as Puccini and Respighi in the years just after World War Oneand the emergence of Malipiero and Casellait is fascinating that Gatti chose Ildebrando Pizzetti as the finest of them all. Pizzettis most ambitious work from before World War One was the opera Fedra (with a libretto by Gabriele DAnnunzio) in which his declared aim was to reform Italian opera by learning from the examples of Monteverdi on the one hand, and of Wagner on the other. With a score of sometimes startling austerity, when Fedra was staged at La Scala in 1915 it was a failure, and was dropped from the repertoire after just four performances. Pizzettis long career included a number of other operatic projects, notably Débora e Jaéle and Assassinio nella cattedrale, based on an Italian version of T S Eliots Murder in the Cathedral (and introduced at La Scala in 1958). Pizzetti worked on Débora e Jaéle from 1915 until 1921the time of the Violin Sonata recorded hereand it was first produced at La Scala on 16 December 1922, conducted by Arturo Toscanini. Puccini was in the audience, and wrote about the opera to his friend Riccardo Schabl: For me it doesnt work, but surely (I want to listen to it again) there are things of the highest interest. What bothered Puccini was the lack of strong melodic contentsomething he felt was likely to doom the work to a short life in the theatre. But it was just this side of Pizzettis musical charactersomewhat austere, ascetic, and rigorousthat had such a strong appeal for progressive commentators such as Gatti, and for younger composers.
Pizzettis Violin Sonata in A major was started in September 1918 and completed a year later. Gatti certainly wasnt alone in considering it a major addition to the Italian chamber music repertoire, and Pizzettis pupil Castelnuovo-Tedesco devoted a long article to it in the Turin journal Il Pianoforte (July 1920, pp.15). However, at least one contemporary critic was less convinced. In The New Age (21 October 1920) Ezra Pound reviewed the first London performance of the work, given at the Aeolian Hall on 1 October 1920 by Kathleen Parlow and Charlton Keith. Pound wrote:
Pizzetti has attained a style, or at least a personal idiosyncrasysomething to bind his various works together in Pizzettis case it often causes one to wonder just why, if he is so anti-classical, he retains certain classical phrasings, on what grounds he accepts, on what grounds he rejects this or that part of the tradition. Here he has joined piano and violin so that the combination is not annoying, but he has hardly discovered a unified musical dialect. The second movement did not retain ones attention; the third demonstrated Pizzettis capacity for dance tune.
Reporting on the same concert, The Times was rather more enthusiastic:
There is a severe reliance on the plain statement of ideas which shows the matured mind. The emotional sequence of the three movements is described by headings, Tempestoso, Preghiera per glinnocenti and Vivo e fresco, and, though a more detailed programme has been put forward connecting it with the war, it is as music and not as musical description that the hearer is asked to perceive its impressions The influences of ecclesiastical plainchant are felt in several themes of the first two movements, and the lilt of a folksong rhythm is strong in the finale . His most interesting moments are generally found in the entries of the violin, the first one of all, for example, where its long-drawn notes and the rise of a semitone make a remarkable contrast with the reiterated rhythm which the piano has been developing.
The Sonata was published by the British firm of J & W Chester and it was welcomed enthusiastically by Ferruccio Bonavia in The Musical Times (May 1921):
Pizzettis Sonata has had already an exceptionally favourable reception. Time alone will prove whether its qualities are enduringthey are undoubtedly striking Pizzetti seems to have drawn his inspiration and his strength from the popular national formopera. There is nothing theatrical in the usual sense, yet he does give us the atmosphere of the drama of the theatre, but with the power, freedom and art that are essentially of the classicist.
These early reviews allude to three significant aspects of the work: its programme, specifically its link with the war; its dramatic, almost vocal style of writing in places; and Pizzettis individual amalgam of earlier music (particularly plainchant) with a more progressive harmonic languageall within a classical framework. The first movement is marked Tempestoso and begins with a terse piano theme, characterized by falling fourths; this rises to a climax before the first entry of the violin which plays a long phrase marked by rising and falling semitones, over the obsessive, agitated piano writing. Throughout this opening section, the violin and piano stick strictly to their own musical ideas. Following the introduction of a more solemn, chant-like melody in the pianos lower register, the violin again answers with contrasting material: only later in the movement does it take up the piano theme. As this long, motivically rich movement draws to a close, fragments of the falling fourth idea from the start, and the violins plangent falling semitones push the music towards a strong close in A minor.
The second movement is the emotional heart of the work, a Prayer for the Innocents. In an article about Pizzetti for Musical Quarterly in 1923, Gatti described its programmatic outline in poetic terms: Here the tempest is stilled; man again finds his faith, and clings to it with every fibre of his being; that peace which his fellow men are unable or unwilling to grant him, he humbly implores of God, while from his lips fall the tenderest, the simplest, the most heartfelt words that he has spoken since childhood. In a form that feels spontaneous and fluid, Pizzettis music in this Prayer is sometimes declamatory, but always intensely melodic. Theres an explicitly song-like character to the aristocratic opening theme in C major: Gatti noted that the composer imagined this melody being sung to the words O Signor Iddio nostro, o Signore, abbi pietà di tutti gli innocenti che non sanno perchè si deve soffrire (O Lord our God, O Lord, have pity on all the innocent ones who know not why they have to suffer). The same theme makes an intense and passionate return later in the movement (now in E major, and on the violin).
The finale brings with it a sense of optimism and renewal, though in purely musical terms it is not perhaps as imaginative and resourceful as the first two movements. But it bristles with dance-like vitality, leading to a broad and noble close.
The late John C G Waterhouse, Britains leading authority on twentieth-century Italian music, was in no doubt about the quality of Pizzettis Violin Sonata, describing it as much the most impressive sonata for violin and piano that has ever been written by an Italian. It was regularly played abroad, and the composer himself included it in a concert of his chamber music at the Library of Congress in Washington DC on 5 March 1930, during his first visit to the United States. He was already a familiar name to American concert audiences: announcing the 1930 visit, Time magazine described Pizzetti as the famed Italian composer and hailed his stay as a major musical eventits patrons included Pizzettis friend Toscanini, the Director of the Metropolitan Opera Giulio Gatti-Casazza, Helen Astor, and Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, who had commissioned Pizzettis Piano Trio in 1925 and would later commission his Second String Quartet. Yehudi Menuhin recorded the Violin Sonata with his sister Hephzibah in May 1938a remarkable but well-deserved vote of confidence from a British record company in a modern Italian instrumental work lasting almost half an hour.
Pizzettis Tre canti were written in 1924, originally for cello and piano, then transcribed by the composer for violin. This is much less ambitious music, conceived on a smaller scale and at a lower emotional temperature than the Violin Sonata, but exuding considerable charm in the first two pieces, and becoming more dramatic in the third.
Among Pizzettis pupils, the most distinguished was Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, scion of a Jewish banking family in Florence. The Sonata quasi una fantasia, Op 56, was composed in 1929, with a dedication to the Hungarian violinist Adila Fachiri (who was also the dedicatee of Bartóks two violin sonatas). The autograph manuscript formerly in Adila Fachiris collection is dated 30 October 1929, and it appears that she played the piece shortly afterwards: an announcement in The Times (18 November 1929) stated that on Saturday (23 November), Miss Adila Fachiri will give a violin recital (Wigmore Hall) at which she will play a new sonata by Castelnuovo-Tedesco. However, it is likely that this didnt take place as planned, since a subequent announcement appeared on 24 February 1930, promising the same new sonata by Castelnuovo-Tedesco in Fachiris forthcoming Wigmore Hall concert on 1 March. This performancepossibly the works firstwas reported by the Italian periodical Musica doggi: Castelnuovo-Tedescos Sonata quasi una fantasia has recently been played in London with excellent results by Adila Fachiri and the pianist Maurice Cole. Even though the sonata was published by Ricordi in 1930, it seems to have attracted little interest from performers. But after Castelnuovo-Tedesco was forced by rising anti-Semitism to flee Italy for the United States, he found this very piece being ridiculed in the journal Modern Music as a variegated assortment of left-over impressionisms, chord streams, lush moods, chinoiseries, and motives, thrown together in a half-baked manner. This was an extraordinarily harsh verdict on a work that is both harmonically alluring and quite concise, lasting just over quarter of an hour.
The three linked movements are a Prologo marked Moderato e pensoso (ending with a magnificent flourish, with rising violin semiquavers and a double glissando in the piano), leading to the second movement, a lively Intermezzo, Vivace e danzante, with a slower central section, and finally an Epilogo, Calmo and marked cupo e grave (dark and serious), which later returns to the tempo of the Prologo before a delicately coloured coda (with a fleeting reference to the Intermezzo) brings the work to a peaceful close.
Castelnuovo-Tedescos Tre vocalizzi were originally written in 1928 as vocalises for wordless voice and piano. They were subsequently arranged in 1930 for violin and piano by Mario Corti, a distinguished Italian violinist, and one of the most devoted early advocates of the violin sonatas by Pizzetti and Respighi. Corti saw the potential in these pieces for transcriptions that used violin techniques to imaginative effect, with extensive use of double-stopping and harmonics, as well as a greatly expanded compass, using octave transpositions to exploit the instruments entire range. Each of the vocalises has a subtitle. The first is a rhapsodic Andantino entitled Pan ed Eco; the second is solemn and melancholy, Come una nenia marinaresca (like a maritime lament); and the third, marked Tempo di Fox Trot is subtitled American Musicsomething Castelnuovo-Tedesco was to experience at first hand a decade later, when he embarked on a successful career in Hollywood.
Nigel Simeone © 2014


text:
- Presenter
- Ellie Taylor
- Producer
- Steven Handley
- Producer
- Oliver Wright
Snog Marry Avoid?, Series 5 Episode 6 of 10
Duration: 29 minutes
Ellie discovers why Essex girls (and boys) love cosmetic surgery when she tries out a 'trout pout'. First to face POD is Kiya, a pole dancing accountant with a mountain of matted hair. Then it's Adele, a Derby lass who is addicted to dressing up. Can POD turn them both back into natural beauties?
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MADISON (WKOW) -- 2012 was a busy year for politics in Wisconsin.
It was a year of firsts for the Badger State: the first gubernatorial recall election and the first vice presidential candidate from our area.
As we turn the corner to 2013, we look back on a busy year in Wisconsin politics.
Check out the attached video report for the story.
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text:
It's fantastic… we're all together, here. Just like the good old days.
And now I just want to cry, because I always thought these four would be family in the future.
"It's kind of like, 'To a dusty shelf, we aspire', y'know? And this is a pretty cool way to be remembered."
favorite tv shows ✖ glee
"Being a part of something special makes you special."
How The Glee Cast Is Remembering Cory Monteith (x)
Proof that Benedict can actually do a heart with his hands for those that doubt it it… ;)
(Now please go and repost it like it was done with the other one, because obviously I appreciate that *heavy sarcasm*)


text:
Next, you'll be asked to connect with Twitter. Rest assured, we will never send a tweet from your account without your permission.
Cooper Union Protesters Living High Life Out of President's Office
The Lede: Former President of Iran Disqualified From Race to Succeed Ahmadinejad, State TV Says
Ex-Iran President Seeks Comeback Against Odds
Barbara Bush says she doesn't want her son Jeb to run for president in 2016:
Italian President to Designate New Prime Minister
In Gun Bill Defeat, a President Who Hesitates to Twist Arms
Princeton Names Provost Eisgruber as President
Italian Lawmakers, Hoping for Coalition, Urge President for Re-election
Breaking News: Nicolás Maduro, Heir to Hugo Chávez, Wins Close Election for President of Venezuela
Kenyatta Sworn In as President of Kenya
Uhuru Kenyatta Sworn In as President of Kenya
Christie Condemns Rutgers Coach but Stands by President
Italian President May Step Down Amid Deadlock
Palestinian president pardons journalist who was sentenced to prison for insulting him on Facebook
Pervez Musharraf, the Former President, Returns to Pakistan
Shalom, Mr. President
RT @fernandaNYT: In #Brazil, one minute of silence for Hugo Chávez. President Rousseff says his death "will sadden every heart in Latin America."
Breaking News: President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela Has Died, Vice President Says
Biden Tells Pro-Israel Group That President 'Is Not Bluffing' on Iran
Obama Picks Foundation President for Budget Chief
See what's Trending Now for @nytimes


text:
My promise to you:
If all you want is a cheap "wipe the dirt off the surface" cleaning, I respectfully ask that you call someone else. We want you to feel that my cleaning process is the most thorough cleaning you have ever had. The contaminants and allergens that live in the high traffic areas of your carpet will be gone and your home will be healthier. Spots will not return and if they do I will reclean them for free.
Please watch the CARPET CLEANING BAIT & SWITCH Dateline video about scams used to fool the consumer. If you are not careful, this could happen to you. Select your carpet cleaner carefully!
Our mission is to help make you, our customers and friends, healthier and happier because you used one of our valuable services in your home or office!


text:
Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > American Girl.
American Girl Chapter 2310 Reviews
Dun dun dun!
American Girl.
(#) paralove13 2011-07-03 09:59:00 AMHUH!!!! GASP!!!! DUN DUN DUN! STUPID JAY! UGH :/ MORE NOW! I LIKE THE CAPS LOCK BUTTON!
Author's responsebetcha weren't expecting that one huh?:D
American Girl.
(#) Bitch-Bot 2011-07-03 12:14:50 PMwhat. the. balls!
i certainly didnt see it!!!
Author's responseI don't think anyone did, at least I hope they didn't
American Girl.
(#) midnightblackparade 2011-07-03 12:33:26 PMHOLY SHITTT !!! THAT MADE GASP I SO WAS NOT EXSPECTING THAT ONE.... AND I THOUGHT THE IDEA OF ZARIA AND JAY WAS CUTE huhhhhNOT ANYMORE.......
really catching carry on :D XoXoXo
Author's responseyay! I shocked you all:-D
American Girl.
(#) ONotz 2011-07-03 01:06:56 PMAwwwww Shut!
Author's responseI know:(
American Girl.
(#) Truthchild8 2011-07-03 01:24:39 PMI fucking LOVE it when I see things coming! Not that it was obvious I'm just good like that :) Love it Doll MMOOORRRREEEEEEE PPLLLEEEAAASSSEEEE! :)
Author's responseI hate you! There's no way you knew that was coming! You're just evil Sarah! Evil!:(
glad you loved it though:3
American Girl.
(#) DestructionBattery 2011-07-03 01:32:36 PMoh god I fucking hatee jay with a bit of passion thrown in there!
Author's responseI know... and I thought he was cute:')
American Girl.
(#) Truthchild8 2011-07-03 09:18:54 PMI am an Evil Mastermind Doll! I think of what could go wrong then everything better than that no matter how bad seem not so bad ;-) confusing Huh? And I love ya too :)
~Sarah aka the non-bald, hot, female, version of Dr. Evil from Austin Powers!
Author's responseyeah... totally confusing:')
~Caitlin aka a female version of Gerard Way ;) (yeah; i'm that sexy;D joking, joking:3 )
American Girl.
(#) MrsWayandIero 2011-07-03 09:41:26 PMWow. Nice story! Love it!
Author's responseThanks :3
American Girl.
(#) CantFindTheWay 2011-07-04 01:28:14 AMThat was COMPLETELY shocking. WHAT THE?!
Author's responseoh i'm good at that;D
American Girl.
(#) bethanyr 2011-07-05 06:03:33 AMMOAR!
(So apparently I can't express my need for more story with just one word... Never knew you had to have so many words on here. lol)
This is seriously good.
Author's responsethanks, I was gonna do more tonight but my mum said I had to clean my room so:-/ sorry


text:
How's this for a class act to save jobs?
Worried about possible layoffs, school principal Michele Miller spotted a potential solution in her own home, Associated Press writes.
The principal of Jackson Elementary in El Dorado Hills, a suburb east of Sacramento, decided to part with most of a shoe collection gathered over the past 15 years, AP reports.
She is selling 285 pairs to help close a district budget gap of up to $2.2 million, AP writes. She's asking for a donation of $1,000 a pair to help save the jobs of 17 teachers, three vice principals, library technicians and others.
Miller felt the urge to act after leaving a late-night school board meeting March 8, when she learned the district faces a budget deficit of no less than $1.4 million, AP writes.
Volunteers are uploading photos of the size 7-7½ high-tops, cowboy boots, leopard-print rain boots, sandals, platforms and high heels to a website.
This is real leadership, in my view. More bosses in the public and private sectors could take a lesson from the principal here.
What do you think?
- Henry Unger, The Biz Beat
For instant updates, follow me on Twitter.
March 25th, 2011
7:20 am
I think she bought too many shoes over the years, but it's a great way to get rid of them. I also think a lot of people aren't paying their taxes. But what would you expect when officials that disdain government are in charge?
March 25th, 2011
9:50 am
Kudo's to her for trying to think of ways to help. I do agree she has WAY too many shoes. I wish her luck. It will take alot more than her shoes to solve the financial crisis CA is in.
March 25th, 2011
10:13 am
I admire here drive, but like Steve said, CA is a mess and it will take a lot more than her selling shoes to save those jobs.
March 25th, 2011
11:02 am
Selling shoes to support public education!?
Are you kidding me? Is this a joke/rhetorical question and assertion? It's inspired me to have a bake sale so we can buy more F-22's for our three wars. How about selling one of my many flat-screen TVs, smart phones, or other over-indulgences consumerism items to help bail-out some more banks.
This saddens me for a lot of reasons includ'n:
- public education needs this type of guilt-driven "everyone needs to chip in (you know… for the kids)" support,
- a principal somehow thinks it is inspiring to sell an over-indulgence vanity item like shoes (wow, her Sex and the City fantasy is truly inspiring),
- this cynical display can be spun as an example of good business leadership.
March 25th, 2011
12:46 pm
Having that many shoes is insane and a complete waste of money. She needs to be medicated…
March 25th, 2011
1:33 pm
Henry I dont see leadership in this action ..This person has ridden the system with blatant hoarder's tendencies to accumulate, abused common sense in an ostentatious way by buying 250 pairs of shoes then feels despair and remorse when the reality of pending job eliminations begin. Inspired? I think most would be appalled that she had the audacity to request $1,000.00 per paid donation for lightly used shoes.? Perhaps a benevolent over the hill Democrat who believes in public trough feeding in California who had not hidden all her or his $ offshore will come to bat.. In my opinion too ittle too late. Take the shoes to Goodwill and get a tax deduction!!!
March 25th, 2011
1:52 pm
I respect her for thinking outside the box, but come on, a public school taking donations to combat a revenue shortfall? The real issue is wise spending of taxpayer dollars to avoid shortfalls. I attended public school and my kids will go to public school, so I do not have any public-private issue. My thought is that our tax dollars are enought donation……
March 25th, 2011
2:20 pm
It's California, sounds about right for them. Now if she was sellilng something that was worth a $1,000 then I might actually think about it.
March 25th, 2011
2:32 pm
Where is Imelda Marcos when you need her?
Folks, that's less than 20 pairs of shoes a year. Doesn't everybody buy that many?
March 25th, 2011
3:47 pm
I think this educator (administrator) just shot herself in the foot! (pun intended)
If an educator living in California can afford to spend that much money on shoes, she either is overpaid or does not live within her means.
This gal is not a leader, she is doing it to get attention. Bets are some designer like Jimmy Choo or Manolo Blahnik is going to "reward" her for being so civic minded.
You bet I am cynical. Stories of people doing such "heroic" things are all the rage and the media is happy to oblige them. Is our society plagued with that many mentally unstable people that crave attention?
March 27th, 2011
2:40 pm
Henry, I don't see any leadership in this action. This person is advertising for 15 minutes of frame. I am appalled that she had the audacity to request $1,000 per paid donation for lightly used shoes. She has wasted her salary on material things.
Take the shoes down to Goodwill and get a tax deduction !!!


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Sometimes we Oles, as praised as we are by the administration for our over-achieving ways and our accomplishments, feel very ordinary. But maybe it is just me. Maybe I just feel like an ordinary person who is trying to accomplish many things, all of them important to me and hopefully meaningful to those around me as well.
As an ordinary person trying to do so many things, it becomes frustrating and stressful when we cannot accomplish the things we want to, when we run into what may seem to be insurmountable obstacles. It is disappointing to study for hours for a test to receive only a mediocre grade. At least if we hadnt tried, there would be a reason. As an over-achieving Ole, settling for a B+ is maddening. It feels like, Thanks for playing, but you just missed the prize. But the truth is a B+ is not a bad grade. Why cant we all realize this?
The Ole secretly feeling ordinary and overwhelmed is only discouraged by the example of peers. How does it seem that some people never do homework and always get A grades? What is their secret? The competition may be good for some but only spawns despair in others. If they can do it, why cant I?
William Carlos Williams was a multi-tasker. He was not only a modernist poet of some renown, but also a practicing physician who delivered over 3,000 children during his years of practice. He had a wife and two sons and was an active community member in Rutherford, N.J. And he published poetry, books, exchanged letters with other writers, and constantly edited his own writing as well as the writing of others. But he too felt inadequate in ways, that some areas of his life had been sacrificed in the pursuit of others.
Why are we set on a path to overextend ourselves? Are we bred this way, raised to believe that if we are not getting A grades we are not trying hard enough? And were we like this before St. Olaf or did St. Olaf make us this way?
I think that St. Olaf did not make us this way. However, St. Olaf nurtures the competitive, rewards those that sleep three hours a night and study all day and gives accolades to those who will not accept any less than the highest grade in the class. While I am not saying we shouldnt reward those that achieve, but at what point should we say the demands are too great?
I would advise people to take a little time for themselves. As tempting as it is to go out after working hard all day, dont do it. Keeping up social appearances is part of the multitasking Ole persona, but at some point, you owe it to yourself to skip Froggys and just go to bed. Go read a magazine in the library and go to bed. Watch a movie and fall asleep while watching it. And wash your hands so that you dont get sick.


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