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Thought I'd take running notes on how the American Sociological Association conference is proceeding – for me, that is. I could wait and do a single wrap-up once the whole thing packs up and leaves town, but I probably just won't remember anything. So, it's just as well to jot things down as they take place.
Even though the New York Hilton, where most of the conference proceedings are taking place, is only seven subway stops away from me on the Q train from Park Slope, I managed to be late on the first day – even taking into account the fact that I had decided to skip the 8:30am sessions. I tossed and turned the whole night before, getting little sleep which caused me to spend most of the day in a hazy, addled state. Of course, the Q decided to stop at Times Square rather than run full through to 57th Street, which wasn't the worst thing to happen and not entirely unexpected, but I hated having to run to get to the first session, for which I was about 10 minutes late.
There are almost 600 scheduled sections over 4 days of presentations, not including special workshops, social events and receptions, plenaries, business group meetings, and so on. At this scale, it's hardly an intimate experience, so I decided to do what I did at last week's conference in Tokyo – pick out a a couple of people I wanted to see and hear, a couple of sessions that sounded really interesting, a session or two outside of my field, and relax and enjoy the rest. What I miss is the lack of a strong cohort from our school; there are only a few of us here (there are only a few of us in our program, faculty included) so this isn't a collective experience for us but rather an individual one. I bullied my classmate Rebecca into coming in for a couple of days to attend a few sessions, even though she's not a sociologist and has a million things to do.
So, I went to three sessions: one on the social/cultural construction of HIV/AIDS; charter schools and school choice movements in education; and finally economic globalization and its impact on income inequality. Discussing them in reverse order: the last of these was dominated by economic socioloigsts, obviously, and after attempting to look at a welter of charts and graphs from a distance discussing GINI coefficients and other data relating to income inequality, I sort of gave up – by then the lack of sleep, and my lack of familiarity with statistical and econometric models, took its toll and I started to nod off. The presentations were remarkable for their technical sophistication and for the fact that no one defined for us how they were defining and measuring globalization. So by the end when one person argued that globalization accounted for a significant percentage of variation in explaining inequality while another argued that it accounted for very little, there was some suspicion that they were measuring quite different things. I didn't stick around for the Q&A, which likely didn't last very long since there were five speakers on a panel scheduled for 1 hour and 40 minutes.
I went to the presentation on school choice mainly to listen to two speakers: Jennifer, a student from CU's sociology department who also does a lot of work at TC, and my old org theory professor, who writes on charter schools. Jennifer spoke about the fact that schools here in NYC that ostensibly admit students 'unscreened' in fact do find ways of screening the admissions process. Principals, she found, widely share in the belief that it's simply organizational suicide not to monitor admissions very carefully, and they resort to a variety of means to game the system and choose the best students they can while deflecting the students they don't want. There are a variety of tactics that principals draw upon to get an optimal student body, and Jennifer argues that it has less to do with a lack of morality and ethics on the part of the principals than the structure of a system which gives principals little incentive to take on 'troubled' students, especially given that accountability regimes are placing increasing importance on getting high test scores, graduating kids, and so on. I think her larger point is absolutely right: school choice is not only about families choosing schools but also schools choosing students, and from that perspective one has to proceed cautiously before valorizing the efficiency of school choice. I'm not clear, though, whether one has to attribute principals' behaviors (convincingly documented by Jennifer) to a kind of mutual or networked learning process that evolved under certain structural conditions, as she suggests; or as a reflection of standard organizational decision-making where learning how to 'game' admission, employment, or any kind of membership rules in the face of external environmental constraints is to be expected. The discussant sort of pointed to this, I think; my own take is that institutional theory might be of some use in this context.
I don't want to say much about my professor's paper – I've been promising to deliver some critical reactions to his paper for a long while now. In brief, the paper uses some classical work in institutional theory – particularly the Meyer & Rowan pieces from the 1970s – to revive the institutional/technical environments distinction, arguing that the supposed potential represented by charter schools comes under broader institutional-environmental pressures, leading charter schools to gradually reincorporate familiar forms and practices that make them not very different from regular public schools. This is taken to confirm the strength and robustness of institutional environments in schooling, with qualitative data being used to back this up. For my part, I'm not sure how useful the institutional/technical environment distinction is, even in the context of schooling, which provided the empirical material for the original Meyer & Rowan articles. It simply breaks down once we approach the microlevel, doesn't it, so that it becomes hard to distinguish between what counts as an institutional versus a technical element of organizational structure. I haven't clearly thought through my views about this approach, which I have to present carefully given that it's for a paper developed by a faculty member. Well, I've said enough already.
Finally, the cultural and social construction of HIV/AIDS session. I originally went to hear about the papers on African AIDS: there was one talk on Uganda, and another on South Africa. The Uganda talk I missed in part because I was late, but the point the speaker seemed to be raising was the fact that conceptions of masculinity which emphasize both marriage and once 'continuing ability' to engage in occasional and/or concurrent outside relationships, seems to be 'in flux' in part because of the AIDS crisis. It's not that masculinity has changed, but that the crisis has exerted pressures on previously stable practices of masculinity such that a variety of pragmatic responses can be observed. Methodologically, the interesting point that emerged in the discussion is that there are discrepancies in what people say and what they actually do and the complex of frontstage/backstage coordinations have to be taken into account to get a holistic ethnographic picture. Hardly a startlingly original observation, but an important one nevertheless.
On South Africa, I came away feeling slightly disturbed. Like the presenter, I used to read about South Africa's turbulent HIV/AIDS policy environment and make distinctions in my own mind between Western 'biomedical science' and traditional 'healing' practices (both of which are to be distinguished from the burgeoning snake oil industry that has emerged to take advantage of the vast number of ill and sick in the country). But listening to the presentation, I realized that I was making the common mistake of constructing a sharp ideological opposition between 'science' and 'healing' only to slap it down by confronting it with complex and messy realities. The speaker pointed out – without really ever stating her stance on AIDS denialism and the sharp oppositions that South Africans themselves sometimes make – that the ideology obscures diverse interconnections at the practical level. Sometimes pointing this out is necessary, but I think we're moving beyond the stage – as the discussant kindly and gently suggested – where these complex realities are 'invisible'; rather, we've started to acknowledge them, which undercuts the need for this kind of ideology critique and rather forces us to develop more sophisticated models of behavior. What came into my mind after listening to the diversity of medical practices (people draw upon both types of medicine/medical knowledge) is a kind of emerging 'medical self-fashioning' to use a term from Clifford James that's utterly hybrid in nature. This idea of a medical self-fashioning is intriguing, and I think I'll have to pursue it further.
The idea that we use medical knowledge to 'fashion' or 'shape' ourselves in ways that both protect our identity while exposing us to HIV/AIDS risk also came up in Chang-suk Han's fascinating talk about HIV/AIDS incidence among gay Asian men. He pointed out two facts, which I found surprising and counterintuitive. Among minorities, rates of HIV infection are highest among gay Asian men (GAMs); and it's the US-born rather than foreign-born GAMs who are especially prone to engaging in unsafe sex. It runs against the stereotype of Asian men as prone to sexually risky or uninformed behavior. And yet this is a stereotype: it's not the lack of information per se that is contributing to unsafe sex practices but something else. GAMs, in other words, know when they are engaging in unsafe sex, but do it anyway. Why?
The presenter surmised that the politics of race and sexual attraction, buttressed by media images even within the gay community, support a feminization of gay Asian males who then see their sexual attractiveness as dependent upon acting the role of wife and concubine to a white male husband. The Madame Butterly effect, in other words. GAMs, he says, are overwhelmingly interested in dating caucasians rather than other Asians, and they tend to see one another as competitors rather than as potential partners.
There are complicated causalities at work here that he was only able to hint at in a 15-minute presentation. First, there are demographic factors at work; the # of GAMs is so small that the search for partners very often must extend beyond the gay Asian community itself, making the presentation of self to cultural others a significant problem and task. Racial but not ethnic categories are dominant in this context: a white gay man typically want an 'Asian' man without really taking into account whether he's Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, etc. (although I would imagine that there are differentiations drawn here between southeast, east, south Asians, etc.). Second, Asian men are not interested in dating other Asian men in part because they relate to other Asians as members of a family, raising a kind of peculiar incest taboo; it's as if dating another Asian is dating a brother or a sister. That happens particularly for gays, although the dynamics underyling this were not explored.
This is all very interesting, but it's not clear to me how these kinds of dynamics still translate into higher exposure to HIV/AIDS, unless the suggestion is that the 'feminization' of the GAM role is positively correlated with certain types of especially risky sexual practices (you'll use a condom with another guy, but not with a woman?). This can't be the only reason, although I agree with Han that the typical 'cultural' and 'self-esteem' arguments – Asians don't like condoms or don't have a lot of self-esteem – to be deeply unsatisfactory.
My own uninformed thought on this, after thinking about the outcome and discussions following this summer's HIV/AIDS class, is that there are a combination of factors at work (of course, one is never wrong by saying that things are complicated and that there are a combination of factors at work in a given situation). What struck me is that the second generation of youth coming up through the AIDS crisis aren't uninformed of risks; while they do engage in a fair degree of mythmaking they have a basic knowledge of STD transmission and AIDS risk. Yet sexual practices and behavior aren't supervening upon that knowledge, and it came to me that the collective learning experiences that the 1st generation exposed to the AIDS crisis (i.e., people of my age or older) were instrumental in affecting behavior. Fear and learning to overcome fear, in other words, is not the same thing as being ignorant and overcoming ignorance. It would be interesting to see correlations between rates of GAM infection, age, and levels of education and knowledgeability regarding HIV transmission.
Also, what was emphasized in the discussion was the performative or dramaturgical aspect of sexual interaction: my reference to Madame Butterfly was not fortuitous or accidental. The extensive degree of feminization and submissiveness in dyadic interactions and relationships between GAMs and other non-Asian GMs reflects the possibility that there is a very narrow range of variation in the kind of dramaturgical self-fashioning that GAMs engage in when interacting with others. This might change, I suggested, as the increasing diversity and variation in aesthetic exemplars coming out of the burgeoning and increasingly interlocked Asian culture industries (movies, music, art, TV, etc.) are made available to Asian-American kids. What lessons are they going to learn if they can, through the few clicks of the internet, start accessing movies – some of which depict same-sex relations – and shows where Asians are members of dominant, rather than vastly minority, cultures?


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Sheldon 41, Grant 21 - FINAL: Todd picks up 14 for Sheldon and it looks as though they will continue to go on the ground until time expires. The Irish rotate carries with Todd and Baker with Todd receiving the majority. Todd picks up another 2 here, which makes it 3rd and 8 with the final seconds ticking down. The carry goes to Baker, but he doesn't get too much.... 4th and 8 now, and they will simply let time run out on the game as well as Grant's season. Great job by both teams tonight here in the frigid weather. Conrgats to Grant on a great year, and we'll see Sheldon next week as they get set to take on the winner of our next game coming up here in the HS sports blog at 8pm.
Sheldon 41, Grant 21 - 2:40, 4th: 1st and 10, and Broadous can't find an open man. He'll run it and pick up 6 before being run out of bounds. 2nd and 4, and Broadous hits Butcher gliding over the middle, 1st down. 1st and 10 from the 22, and Broadous hits a receiver for a nice gain out to the 37. 1st and 10, and they will run the same play that earns the smae result. 1st down. 1st and 10 from the Sheldon 44, and Broadous will take it himself... but he won't pick up the 1st. 2nd and 3, and Broadous throws but the ball is tipped up into the air off of the foot of the receiver, and intercepted by John Campbell. excellent defensive play, and the Irish take over.
Sheldon 41, Grant 21 - 4:07, 4th: Despite the deficit, the Grant defense isn't giving up. They work hard on stopping th ball carrier on 2 straight plays until Johnson scrambles on 3rd down making it 4th and 2. Sheldon to punt, and it's a BEAUTY. The kick gives the coverage enough time to make it down the field and they down it at the 2 where Grant will take over.
Sheldon 41, Grant 21 - 5:37, 4th: Grant eventually gets the ball back on downs and looks to score quickly. Broadous rushes for a first down on the 1st play of the series. After that, Grant seems to be using the short pass to just put their receivers in position to break a couple of tackles on the outside. However, They blitz Broadous on a couple of plays to bring it to 4th and 13, and Broadous is sacked on the 4th down play. Ball goes to Sheldon on downs.
Sheldon 41, Grant 21 - 7:58, 4th: With possession in their hands, it looks like Sheldon is content simply to run the ball as Grant hasn't really been able to stop it consistently all night. Todd has been a machine thus far, and he will pick up another first down making it 1st and 10 from the Grant 27. Sheldon likes to use Baker in situations like this, and boy is he a big fella. He's not the type of ball carrier that DB's like to hit against because once he squares his shoulders, it's like trying to stop a steer headed to a fresh patch of grass.
Sheldon 41, Grant 21 - 10:15, 4th: After the TD, Grant takes the kick out to the 26. 1st and 10, and Broadous gets a ton of time from his offensive line... He fires a PERFECT pass to McCoy over the middle that is complete, 1st down. 1st and 10, Broadous throws again, this time to Butcher, and it's complete again for the 1st down. 1st and 10 from the Sheldon 38, and this Broadous pass is behind the receiver and low, incomplete. 2nd and 10, and Broadous is sacked for a loss of 4. 3rd and 14, but timeout is called. after the timeout, Broadous is again brought down behind the line. 4th and 21, the Gens will go for it. and Broadous can't find a receiver down field, so he tucks it and runs bu tis tripped up. You can see the frustration starting to show as he slams the ball on the turf. Possession to Sheldon.

subset: commoncrawl


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FashioNZ Loves
Featured Lookbook
Guide to vintage clothing
Why buy old clothes when you can get new ones?
1. It's fun!
2. You'll find clothing that will suit your body shape. Ever since companies began to mass produce garments in the 1950s we have fallen victim to "one style suits all", this is clearly NOT the case. Familiarising yourself with tricks
and styles from previous decades is a great way to discover a flattering style for you.
3. Quality. The reason it is still possible for us to scour the shops for vintage pieces is because they have been able to last the decades. Back before factory mass production most clothes were made by tailors, and HAND made by people at home. Quality over quantity I always say!
4. Being unique. When you're wearing vintage you know you can waltz your way into any party confidently knowing that no other girl will be wearing the same dress. In fact chances are no other girl in the world will be wearing the same frock.
5. It's a great hobby. Some people collect tea spoons, others hunt the stores for old records, I collect vintage. There is nothing like rummaging through your local thrift store on a Saturday morning and finding an authentic 1940s, New Zealand made dress. Collecting vintage is like collecting fragments of history.
Is there a difference between Vintage and Retro?
Yes! Yes! Yes! The term "vintage" is being thrown around so loosely these days that even last season's range is being deemed vintage. The term retro could be used to describe anything from the 1970s right up to the 1990s, so it's old, but not that old! Vintage generally means everything from around the 1920s to the 1960s. Anything over 100 years old might also be referred to as antique.
Where can I find vintage clothing in NZ?
This can be a little tricky because we are such a small country so you might stumble upon the odd New Zealand made garment - but most of it trickles in from overseas. Needless to say we do have a few great shops around Auckland that ooze vintage styles:
Victorian Gilt: (www.victoriangilt.co.nz): this little shop is just bursting at the seams with vintage from every era. It is a favorite place for film crews to get authentic vintage items for movies, stylists snag pieces for fashion shoots, and everyday vintage lovers like me can get lost in a musty heaven.
Peachy Keen: (www.peachy-keen.co.nz): not only does this place stock some great rockabilly style items, they are now selling custom made, vintage-inspired corsets!
Tango: this shop is amazing, and whatever you do listen to the shop owner! This guy knows his stuff, ask him for a little advice and before you know it you'll have an armload of dresses that fit you like a second skin.
St Kevin's Arcade (on Karangahape Rd): here is an arcade not to be missed by vintage lovers, make sure you give yourself plenty of time because you're not going to want to leave in a hurry.
Trade Me (www.trademe.co.nz): it's not quite as good as eBay, but if you check in on a regular basis you are bound to find some treasures.
What if I find something I love, but it doesn't fit me?
If you love it that much, get a dressmaker to copy it for you in your size and in a fabric of your choice. Some designers, like Michael Pattison (www.fashionz.co.nz/michaelpattison/), also do tailoring.
What is "Vintage-inspired"?
Vintage-inspired is just that, new clothing inspired by vintage styles! Generally these clothes are reproductions of vintage pieces; in fact often they have been made from original vintage patterns. The up side to vintage-inspired clothing is that it's not as fragile, so you don't have to feel guilty for actually wearing it! Vintage-inspired has become very popular over the past few years, so all you need to do is Google it and you'll find more sites than you know what to do with. But here's a start:
Sable & Minx (www.fashionz.co.nz/sable&minx/): collections from this funky streetwear label are always inspired by vintage pieces.
Rita Sue (www.ritasue.co.nz): this site stocks everything from shoes, stockings, dresses, and lingerie, to hair accessories. AND they are based in New Zealand so you won't be spending a fortune on postage.
Devol Clothing (www.devolclothing.com): totally vintage/ rockabilly-inspired and can be made to measure. This is my favorite label in New Zealand. You can also check out their stuff at Frutti in Wellington.
Miss Illicit: The brand spanking new store from the Illicit crew is pin up heaven.
Stop Staring (www.stopstaringclothing.com): these guys are the king pins of vintage-inspired clothing and their dresses are just to die for.
Pin up girl clothing (www.pinupgirlclothing.com): this is like your one stop pin up shop, it stocks so many different brands with everything from pin up couture, to swimwear, to naughty Halloween costumes!
Where can I wear my vintage threads?
Well anywhere you like honey! Depending on your job there is absolutely no reason why you can't incorporate a little vintage into your everyday outfits. But if you really want a special excuse to get fancied up then consider Swing dances, Rock 'n' roll dances, Hot Rod shows, Nostalgia events, and the increasingly popular Burlesque shows that are popping up around town.
Tell me more, tell me more, tell me more!
If you've been left with a little taste for Vintage and you're curious to learn more than you NEED to, hunt down a copy of It's Vintage Darling by Christa Weil. This book is gold!
Other book suggestions include:
Shopping for Vintage: The Definitive Guide to Vintage Fashion by Funmi Odulate,
Secondhand Chic: Finding Fabulous Fashion at Consignment, Vintage, and Thrift Shops by Christa Weil
Vintage Fashion: Collecting and Wearing Designer Classics by Emma Baxter-Wright.


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Watch Best Student Council
Best Student Council is a television show that centers on the Best Student Council, an elite and secretive group which retains power and maintains the freedom of students at the Miyagami Private Academy. This academy, an all girls high school, is a place where the girls can study and live without restrictions placed upon them, and the Best Student Council helps to ensure that this remains true.
Rino Rando is a new student at the Miyagami Private Academy. She is a shy, quiet girl who carries her toy puppet everywhere she goes. This puppet is not quite normal, though. It has special powers that can be used for fighting. For this reason, and because the founder of the Best Student Council feels the need to protect her, Rino is asked to join the mysterious Best Student Council.
As the series progress, Rino learns more about the council. It is a completely secret organization. Other members are not always known to each other. The only person with all the facts about the council is the president and founder, Kanada Jinguuji. Kanade is also the founder of the Miyagami Private Academy.
Rino also learns that each member of the Best Student Council has a specific duty to perform. The council is divided into four sections, so as to cover every angle and protect the students as efficiently as possible. These sections include the Vehicle Squad, the Assault Squad, the Executive Squad and the Covert Squad. Each of the members also has a special power or weapon, such as Rino
- TV Tokyo
- 1 Season, 26 Episodes - Canceled
- April 6, 2005
- Anime, Science Fiction
Best Student Council Full Episode Guide
- Episode 26 - A Gokujo Day, As Usual
It is graudation day at Megumi Academy.
- Episode 25 - The Voice that Rode the Wind
All good things must come to an end or do they? Sometimes a girl can lead a double life or the most popular girl might suddenly leave school. But don't forget the Best Student Council has authority and will fight to get her back.
- Episode 24 - Wanting to See You
All good things must come to an end or do they? Sometimes a girl can lead a double life or the most popular girl might suddenly leave school. But don't forget the Best Student Council has authority and will fight to get her back.
- Episode 23 - Extraordinary Girl Detective Team
Pucchan decides he is going to unravel the mystery of Maachi the building manager.
- Episode 22 - Gokujou Card Battle
- Episode 21 - It Always "Reins" On Fine Days
- Episode 20 - Ayu-chan Becomes an Idol
- Episode 19 - Farewell My Beloved Friends
- Episode 18 - Hitoshi Satou, 28 years old, Occupati...
- Episode 17 - Uso wo Tsukitoose!
- Episode 16 - I Want You to Come Here
- Episode 15 - The Reason I'm Here
- Episode 14 - Destitution Student Council
- Episode 13 - Is Minamo-chan an Enemy or an Ally?
- Episode 12 - It Happened on a Rainy Day
- Episode 11 - Winning Five
- Episode 10 - She Won't Put On Her Swimsuit
- Episode 9 - Love Never Ends
- Episode 8 - Farewell! Best Student Council
- Episode 7 - We Love to Help Out
- Episode 6 - A Great Terror! Pucchan's Curse
- Episode 5 - Spectacular Showdown
- Episode 4 - A Brilliantly Clear-Headed Way
- Episode 3 - Payapaya in the Gokujou Dorms
- Episode 2 - Surging With Youth
- Episode 1 - Dear Mister Popitt


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Share your thoughts about veggies & CafeMom will donate up to $2000 to Feeding America!!
Getting your little ones to eat more veggies can be a tough job but it
doesn't have to be.
Tell us how important veggies are to you and your family's diet & CafeMom will donate $1 (up to $2000) to Feeding America for every mom that shares a comment below!
Don't forget to take the One Giant Pledge to serve more veggies to your family for a chance to win a $200 American Express gift card!
>< The CafeMom Team
It's very important to my husband and I, Next year we are starting a huge garden and I am going to learn how to can our fruits and veggies. Plus I came up with and idea, if we have a great abundance of fruits and veggies i will put baskets together and take them to our neaighbors on my street and all so put baskets on our fence for people who are just passing through our street.
Veggies are very important to our family. It is the power my kids need to learn an be active
my hubby and I eats veggies everyday , my kids are gettin there- seeing us eat them.
We have vegetables with 85% of our meals. They like some more than others but they are used to having them.
My kids love vegetables, even lima beans and spinach. I suppose that's because they saw me eating them.


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Saginaw County took the right tack last week when the Board of Commissioners banned lawn fertilizer that contains phosphorus.
Phosphorus feeds algae, getting it to overgrow. That, in turn, squeezes out underwater oxygen. That kills plants. And that leaves fish with nothing to eat. They die.
Given the spiderweb of waterways in the Saginaw Watershed that ultimately empty into the Saginaw Bay, it makes sense to eliminate environmental threats to our own ecosystem.
Bay County is the tip of the spear here. It saw the dangers of phosphorus last year and enacted the same rule Jan. 1.
The Saginaw County measure, which should go into effect in late June, includes fines: $50 per individual and $150 to $300 for a commercial developer, depending on the number of offenses. The county Department of Public Health is the heavy, the enforcer.
It's unlikely, however, anyone will see ax-wielding Health Department workers breaking down doors in the middle of night to chop open phosphorus tanks and containers in homes, hardware stores or at lawn care companies. In truth, the ban is pretty much a paper tiger.
For one, there's no prohibition on phosphorus lawn fertilizer sales, which are cheaper than phosphorus-free alternatives. It also exempts turf and lawns in their first growing season, along with vegetable and flower gardens, trees and shrubs.
Enforcement is complaint-driven, and then it initially only results in a warning phone call or letter. Further complaints might bring on fines.
And, the big immunity clause: It doesn't affect farmers.
What the ban does do is this: It tells everyone what happens with phosphorus overuse, which includes your yard. Some of it runs off, and it's ultimately harmful. It says there's a better way. And it gives everyone the option of going that better way.
It also assumes a moral inclination: That good people will make the good -- and better and right -- decision. And then, with a little luck and enlightenment, perhaps they might even consider carrying it a couple steps further, to quit using phosphorus cleaners, detergents and some pesticides.
Eventually, if an economically feasible substitute is found, maybe farmers -- some of the biggest phosphorus fertilizer contributors -- can get off the stuff. But for homeowners, as Bryant J. Wilke, the Health Department's environmental health director, says, existing lawns don't really need the chemical.
People who want to can get around the ban quite easily, for whatever reason they choose: Expense, contrariness or simply to have a nice phosphorus-fed lawn. Just don't tell anyone you're using it.
Compared to our nation's poverty, military conflicts, its economy, crime and the rest of the roll call, phosphorus is small potatoes.
But as insignificant as it seems, this is still our state, our watershed, our county, our community, our environment. And anyone who cares a whit about any of them should want to comply with the ban.
Give the county board credit for making the right move. The ban's a baby step, sure. But you have to start somewhere.


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Weld could make inroads in Japanese market with new DIA direct flight
July 5, 2013
A little more than a year ago, Greeley brewer Jeff Crabtree forged a relationship with a Japanese distributor to ship his beers across the globe.
Most of his dealings with the distributor were on the phone, though, in a culture that thrives on a personal business touch over long periods of time.
Now, thanks to a collective Denver economic and tourism effort to create a nonstop flight from Denver International Airport directly to Japan, Crabtree can make the most of the Asian market for his brewery.
"I'd be able to enhance that relationship by making it more feasible for the brewmaster to leave the brewery and leave business behind for a short jump to build business relations and shake hands and make sure our product is being sold the way we want it, and be the face of Greeley, Colorado, and for our brewery," Crabtree said, upon learning of the new nonstop 12-hour flight to Japan.
By reaching out across the globe, Denver and Weld County officials see great bridges built among business and tourism lines. It's a relationship that took them 25 years to build and one that could reap several rewards in the future.
"Having a daily nonstop to Tokyo will open up numerous opportunities for companies doing business in Metro Denver and Colorado," Tom Clark, CEO of Metro Denver EDC, said in a news release announcing the trip. "We will now be on the radar for more company expansions and headquarters locations and our companies will benefit with more efficient access" to an entire Asian market.
Already, the flight has kept a couple of Japanese companies in Colorado, such as Pentax and Hitachi's software division, Clark said.
Eric Berglund, president and CEO of Upstate Colorado Economic Development, was on the inaugural flight on United's new 787 Dreamliner with a host of Denver area big-leaguers to establish new relations with the country. Berglund went on his own dime, figuring he'd never again have this chance. He came back with a pocket full of business cards.
"The two biggest things they talked about was energy and agriculture," Berglund said of the Japanese interest in Colorado.
According to the Metro Denver EDC, Japan is Colorado's fourth-largest export market. Colorado's annual manufactured and agricultural exports to Japan totaled more than $427 million last year.
Weld County already has a Japanese connection with JBS exporting beef to the tiny Asian country, and two Japanese firms buying stakes in the Niobrara shale acreage in 2010 and 2011 for oil and gas development. Crabtree jumped into the market in 2012 with his home brews. The country also has interested in Weld's dairies.
"In the near term for northern Colorado, particularly Weld, occupying a great space as it relates to ag exports and oil and gas-related Japanese firms and ancillary industries that go around that, we'll see how that plays out over time," Clark said. "It truly is a great opportunity for employment clusters."
Weld could be ripe for some of the residual effects of that trip. It has the space, it has the infrastructure in terms of major transportation route, which have helped bring in international companies such as Vestas, followed by ancillary companies, such as Bach Composites. It's a model Berglund hopes can be repeated with Japanese interest across the miles. Clark said that will be inevitable, as Japan does not allow in-migration, so as their businesses grow, they'll have to grow on foreign soil because they won't have the workforce.
"I think that's going to be part of our very strategically targeted effort to say what strengths do we have in Weld that would be of use in the Asian markets," Berglund said. "We're trying very hard to target industries that make sense for us and the assets we have here."
As an example, he said, Great Western Industrial Park in Windsor is ripe for another international company to locate. And Weld has the space necessary for any large manufacturing plants or distribution centers, Berglund said.
"There will be some short-term success in trying to identify companies that have an interest in doing business in Colorado," he said. "It's maybe more of an opportunity for our companies to enter someone's supply chain or open the market to sell goods and services."
Crabtree, who has had to scale back on international production while he grows his brewery at his new site in southwest Greeley, said a flight would have been perfect months back. His last shipment to Japan was a couple of months ago, cementing a year of business with his distributor. But they had originally scheduled one shipment a month.
"How phenomenal would it have been to have boarded a plane, spent a couple of nights in Tokyo and met with them face to face, and discussed my plans, instead of letting them down over the phone? … But having a direct flight will help my business. I even have some frequent flyer miles."
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- UCHealth Greeley will provide NCMC's first direct competition


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NORTHAMPTON – Four Northampton residents and one from Agawam are among the 46 people graduating Friday from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, according to state Department of Fire Services.
The graduation is planned for 3:30 p.m. at the Assabet Vocational Regional High School in Marlborough.
The 46 graduates, 44 men and two women, represent 20 fire departments.
Local graduates are Ethan A. Ledoux, Michael X. Mascio, James M. Mulkerin Jr., and Natalie R. Stollmeyer of Northampton, and Andrew Paschenko of Agawam.


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All hotels in Tokyo, Japan
1 room, 2 adults
6-35-8 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Tokyo-to, 111-0032, Japan, 1-877-214-4288
Smile Hotel Asakusa - Tokyo
Lowest price$34
Situated in Asakusa, steps from Sumida Park and within a short walk of Sensoji Temple, Smile Hotel Asakusa offers 3-star Tokyo hotel accommodations. You'll also be within a 20-minute walk of Tokyo Sky Tree and Asakusa Shrine.
This hotel offers dry cleaning/laundry, an elevator (lift) and laundry facilities. Whether you are visiting Tokyo for business or on holiday, make sure you take time out to relax as there are massage and treatment rooms available. Free high-speed (wired) Internet access is available.
This hotel offers dry cleaning/laundry, an elevator (lift) and laundry facilities. Whether you are visiting Tokyo for business or on holiday, make sure you take time out to relax as there are massage and treatment rooms available. Free high-speed (wired) Internet access is available.
See all 121 Venere.com reviews
Fantastic service
Location is ok
Quite clean
TripAdvisor Traveller Rating: 3.5
From 101 reviews
Smile Hotel Asakusa - Tokyo
Hotel Info: 1-877-214-4288from $34
- Twin Room, 2 Single Beds
- Standard Single Room
- Economy Double Room
Also popular with travelers from the USA
At a glance
Key facts
Hotel size
- This hotel has 96 rooms
- This hotel is arranged over 10 floors
- Check-in time starts at 4 PM
- Check-out time is 10 AM
Required at check in
- Credit card or cash deposit required
- Government-issued photo ID required
Travelling with others
- No cribs (infant beds)
- Pets not allowed
- Free wired Internet access in public areas
- Free wired Internet access in rooms
In the hotel
Food and drink
- Breakfast (surcharge)
Things to do
- Spa treatment room(s)
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Laundry facilities
- Multilingual staff
- Elevator/lift
In the room
Home comforts
- Air conditioning
- Coffee/tea maker
- Slippers
- Iron/ironing board (on request)
Things to enjoy
- In-room massage available
Freshen up
- Partially open bathroom
- Shower only
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
Be entertained
- Digital TV channels
Stay connected
- Desk
- Free wired high-speed Internet
- Phone
Food and drink
- Refrigerator
- Daily housekeeping
Smile Hotel Asakusa - Tokyo's small print
Also known as
- Asakusa Smile
- Smile Hotel Asakusa Tokyo, Japan
- Asakusa Smile Hotel
- Hotel Smile
- Hotel Smile Asakusa
- Smile Asakusa
- Smile Asakusa Hotel
- Smile Hotel
- Smile Hotel Asakusa
- Skycourt Asakusa Hotel
The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare requires all international visitors to submit their passport number and nationality when registering at any lodging facility (inns, hotels, motels, etc. ). Additionally, lodging proprietors are required to photocopy passports for all registering guests and keep the photocopy on file.
Parking height restrictions apply.
Optional extras
Breakfast is offered for an extra charge of JPY 900 per person (approximately)
We have included all charges provided to us by this hotel. However, charges can vary, for example, based on length of stay or the room you book.


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Founders Journal · Fall 2000 · pp. 23-26, 28
A Doctrinal Study: God's Love
The following study is adapted from Chapter 10 of Boyce's Abstract of Systematic Theology. This book is based primarily on Boyce's classroom lectures on systematic theology delivered at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary during the first twenty-five years of its existence.
The Holiness of God
Holiness is, however, not a distinctive attribute, but rather the combination of all these attributes. We may suppose a being in whom there may be love without justice, or truth, or any one of these to the exclusion of the other two; but no being can be holy, who does not combine in himself all of these, and all other moral perfections. Nor, when we have such a combination, is there anything to be added to constitute holy character. It is evident, therefore, that holiness is the sum of all excellence and the combination of all the attributes which constitute perfection of character.
In the study of these constituents, we first consider
The Goodness of God
In one aspect of this word, it is merely equivalent to holiness. If we look at it as marking the excellence of God's nature, as we often use it with reference to man, we mean by it simply holiness. Thus, when we say of any one, he is a good man, we mean to assert the combination of traits of character, such as have just been pointed out as constituting holiness. This is the goodness which terminates in God himself.
On the other hand, the goodness of God may be spoken of as kindness, benevolence, or beneficence towards others, in which it is seen to terminate outside of himself. Thus we speak of him, as being very good to us. Thus the Psalmist says: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." Ps. 23: 6.
It is on account of this ambiguity in this word, that it is best to consider it, in its first aspect, as merely holiness, and, therefore, as disposed of in what we have said of that, and to refer it in this second respect to one of the divisions into which the love of God naturally falls.
We therefore take up next
The Love of God
Of this there are five kinds, which vary according to the object upon which love is exercised. The attribute in God is the same; but it is in its exit, or in its termination, that it assumes these different forms.
1. There is the love of complacency or approbation. This is exercised towards a worthy object in which excellencies are perceived. It is of the nature of tile love of the beautiful, or the good, or the useful in us. It complacently or approvingly regards, because there is in the object something worthy of' such regard.
This is exercised by God, in its highest degree, in the love of himself, of his own nature and character, because the infinitely excellent must be to God the highest object of complacent love.
Were God but one person, in this way only could such love be exercised. But in the Trinity of the Godhead, there is found, in the love of the separate persons towards each other, another mode in which this love of complacency may in this highest sense be exercised.
Such love is also felt by God for his purposes. As he perceives them to be just, wise and gracious, he approves and regards them with complacent love.
But this love extends itself also to the creations, which result from this purpose.
This is true of inanimate creation. It is perfect, as far as conformed to his will, and fitted to accomplish his end, and as such God can regard it and pronounce it good. Thus we find that he did in the creation, Genesis, Chap. 1:10, 12.
The same record is made, in verse 25, as to the animal creation, before that of man; and after the creation, and investiture of man with the dominion over the earth, with its plants and animals, we are told, verse 31, "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."
The complacent love of God, therefore, extends not only to himself and his will, but to all his innocent creation and even to inanimate nature.
This love of complacency, however, as it is exercised in its highest degree towards himself, so also is it exhibited, in the nearest approach to that, towards those beings who are most like himself, having been made in his nature and likeness. An innocent angel, or an innocent man is therefore by nature a joy to God, as is the child to the father who sees in it a peculiar likeness to himself.
But the guilty cannot thus be loved. Sinful man cannot receive such love, so long as sinful. Even the penitent believer in Jesus, until the time of his perfect sanctification in the life to come, and doubtless even then, has access to God only through Christ, and, of himself, can in no respect secure the approbation of God.
2. The second kind of love, is the love of benevolence, which corresponds to the idea of God's goodness towards his creatures.
This is the product of his wishes for their happiness. It is not dependent on their character, as is the love of complacency, but is exercised towards both innocent and guilty.
It is general in its nature, not special, and exists towards all, even towards devils, and wicked men, because God's nature is benevolent, and, therefore, he must wish for the happiness of his creatures
That that happiness is not attained, nor attainable, is due, not to him, but to their own sin.
When the benevolence of God is exercised actively in the bestowment of good things upon his creatures, it is called his beneficence. By the former, he wishes them happiness, by the latter, he confers blessings to make them so.
This is done to the wicked also, as well as to the righteous. It is to this that Christ refers, Matt. 5:45, "He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust."
3. The third form of love is the love of compassion.
This corresponds to our idea of pity. It is benevolent disposition to those who are suffering or in distress.
This also may be exercised towards the guilty or the innocent, if it be possible to suppose that guilt and suffering are separable.
It has been very commonly held that they are inseparable. Pain, suffering and distress have been believed to be the result of sin, and consequently inseparable from guilt.
But this is a mistaken notion. Man in a state of innocence was made capable of physical suffering. That capacity was necessary to the protection of his physical organism.
The lower animals also suffer.
Whatever addition to the capacity of suffering has, therefore, been made by the fall, and is the consequence of sin, we are not, on that account ,forced to the conclusion that there can be no suffering where there has been no sin.
The capacity to suffer may so belong to a higher organism, that we would naturally choose that organism, with that capacity, rather than a lower one without it. If so God can justly so create us.
If misery, then, may be the lot of the innocent, God's love of compassion can be exercised toward such.
It can be and is also exercised toward the guilty. We see this in the forbearance with which he delays their punishment, in his constant offers of mercy, in his yearnings after their salvation, and most signally, in the gift of his only begotten Son, "that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16.
4. A fourth form of the love of God corresponds to what we call mercy.
This can be exercised only toward sinners.
Its very nature contemplates guilt in its objects.
It consists, not only in the desire not to inflict the punishment due to sin, and the neglect and refusal to do so, but in the actual pardon of the offender.
It cannot be exercised towards a righteous being, because in him is no sin or guilt to be pardoned.
It is, however, no new attribute in God, which has arisen because of the existence of sin, and which is, therefore, an addition to his attributes.
It is a virtue inherent in his nature, and is especially only one form in which his love exhibits itself, the same love as that benevolence which innocent creatures call forth, and the same love which in another form of complacency has been eternally exercised in the Godhead.
When we say that this mercy must be exercised in accordance with the truth and justice of God, we say no more than is true of every attribute of God. No one can be exercised in such a way as to destroy another. Every one must be in harmony with the others. Or, remembering what we have before stated, that these attributes are not separate faculties, all that is meant in this case, as in all others, is that God must act in harmony with his nature.
The objects of the exercise of this attribute are all those to whom God pardons offenses of any kind.
They are not to be confined to redeemed sinners, although this is the most signal exhibition.
Under the ancient economy, God ruled as theocratic ruler over Israel. Sins of the nation and sins of individuals in their capacity of citizens of the nation, were pardoned.
Under that dispensation God occupied to that people the position of an earthly ruler, and consequently could pardon sins against his government at will, upon repentance, and upon merely governmental principle–that is, such as would secure obedience to the law, and peace and order, and the welfare of the nation. These were offences against the mere person of the king or the laws of his state, and not against the fundamental principles of holiness and righteousness; hence sovereignty and expediency could decide in each case what might be done, and mercy was exercised and justice dispensed accordingly.
But this is very different from the case of God, the righteous judge, the dispenser, not of arbitrary law, but of a law based upon his own nature and that of man, essential obedience to which is necessary, not for maintaining government, but for preserving and maintaining the right and preventing the violation with impunity of eternal law.
In both cases God must act in harmony with his whole nature.
But in that of Israel no obstacle was presented by that nature to the pardon of individual and national sins against the theocratic king.
Hence mercy was extended, apparently at least, without compensation to justice.
Yet amid it all, there was, in the sacrificial offerings with which the people were required to approach God, seeking pardon for both individual and national political sins, such a typical relation to the atonement made by Christ as shows that in some way in that atonement, may, after all, be found the reason why God, even in those cases, could be just and yet justify the offenders.
5. The fifth form of love is that of affection.
This differs from that of complacency inasmuch as it does not always demand a worthy object. This is exhibited in the parable of the "Prodigal Son."
It differs from that of benevolence, inasmuch as its object is not viewed in general with all others, but is one of special interest.
It differs from that of compassion and that of mercy, because the object may neither be in distress, nor sinful.
It arises from,
(1.) Mutual relationship; as of the Father to the Son, and of all the persons in the Trinity toward each other; of God to Israel, of Christ to his apostles, his disciples and his church, and of the adopted sons to God the Father.
(2.) From dependence; as of creatures on the creator, and of the redeemed upon the redeemer.
(3.) From ownership; as of God over man of God over Israel, and of Christ over the redeemed. This is illustrated in the lost coin in Luke 15:8, 9.
This kind of love originates in each of these ways in man, and, as the Scriptures show, is also found in God.
It is from this aspect of God's love that proceeds grace, which is to be distinguished from love, and pity, and mercy.
Love, as we have seen, is the general characteristic, exhibiting itself in these five different forms.
Mercy is one of these, but is given to the guilty only.
Pity is given to guilty or innocent, who may be in distress, pain or suffering.
Grace is also given to guilty, or innocent, and does not necessarily suppose distress in the object, but involves an affectionate interest in it, arising either from peculiar relation to it, or ownership of it, or compassion for its dependence.
Grace is undeserved favour to innocent or guilty arising from affection.
Mercy is undeserved compassion to the guilty only.


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