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Medina Community Band to Appear at 2015 Ohio Music Education Association Professional Conference – Friday, February 6th, Cleveland Convention Center – Grand Ballroom
Medina: The Medina Community Band, under the baton of Marcus Neiman, has been selected to perform as a featured ensemble at the 2015 Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) Professional Conference to be held in Cleveland on Friday, February 6th, at 3:45p in the Cleveland Convention Center Ballroom "C."
Mark Hensler, director of professional development for the OMEA conference said, Medina Community Band has been selected to appear at the conference as our featured community band offering. They will be the only community band to perform at the conference from the state of Ohio. Over 130 CDs were submitted through "blind" audition by each of the sub-committees (band, choral, orchestra, and jazz). Hensler continued, we can assure you that great care was taken to listen to each CD and to select groups that will represent not only quality, but also the great diversity of performing ensembles in our state.
Conductor Neiman said, We are honored and excited to be selected to perform at the OMEA conference. Having been a member of OMEA since the 1960s, and having attended yearly conferences, I realize not only what a great honor it is to be selected to perform, but also what an honor it is for our community band members, the city of Medina, and Medina County! This will be our first appearance as a featured ensemble at the conference!
Performing groups are permitted approximately 30 to 35 minutes of music to be performed during each of the concert hours. Wadsworth resident and a featured favorite vocal soloist with Medina Community Band, Denise Milner-Howell will be featured mezzo-soprano, singing Rossini's Barber of Seville: Una Voce Poco Fa. Flutist Amy Muhl, from Wadsworth, will be joined by clarinetist Mary Ann Grof-Neiman, from Medina, as featured instrumental ensemble performing Delibes Flower Song from Lakmé. Guest conductors who will join Maestro Neiman will be Frank Cosenza, from Mentor, associate conductor of Medina Community Band, conducting Galante's Cry of the Last Unicorn and Gene Milford, senior lecturer in music education at The University of Akron, conducting his own arrangement of the Karl King march The Huntress.
Neiman will conduct the Dale Grotenhuis arrangement of Franz von Suppé's overture Tantalusqualen; clarinet feature Pie in the Face Polka by Mancini from the movie The Great Race; and Lovrien's Minor Alterations, in addition to the Rossini and Delibes.
Former Medina County Commissioner and newly elected Ohio House of Representative The Honorable Steve Hambley commented: Medina County has every reason to be proud that the Medina Community Band has been selected to perform at the 2015 OMEA Professional Development Conference. Summers in Medina would not be the same without the band's Friday night concerts in Medina's Uptown Park Square. The band's hard work, patience and practice required to make such cultural contributions to the performing arts are of immeasurable importance to the very life in our community. The immense crowds that always form in attendance of their various concerts are indeed a testament to the talent and vision of the Medina Community Band and supporting association.
Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell said: When I was doing the welcome to guests for the summer concerts on our Square, I was stopped by a retired couple who lived in Pennsylvania, but stopped in Medina for dinner. They observed people bringing their lawn chairs and blankets to sit on the Square. They came over after dinner to see what the gathering was about. The man told me the two of them have travelled across the country and have never seen such a hometown event as the Friday night band concerts and were very complimentary of the community and band for continuing to promote and host such events.
I have personally witnessed the dedication, commitment, and preparation the individual band members undertake weekly to prepare for their performances. I want to express my thanks, appreciation, and gratitude for all the events the band presents in our fine community, and especially thank Conductor Marcus Neiman for his leadership. We are truly blessed to have such a talented group of musicians among us.
Medina Community Band Association president and bass clarinet player in the community band, Dr. Thomas Kenat said: The Medina Community Band is living proof that there IS life after high school and college band! As a 30+ year member of the band, Kenat continued; Our members come from a great variety of vocations, including quite a few music professionals, ranging from outstanding high school students to those of us seniors who have been playing for most of our lives. We look forward to our weekly rehearsals, where we come together to rehearse a wide variety of challenging wind band music to perform before our very loyal and appreciative audience, who see us as their "home town band." We have weekly summer concerts on Medina's Town Square, continuing a tradition that began in 1859, and also present indoor concerts through the rest of the year.
For many of us, rehearsal is the high point of our week, and most of us have been with the band not for years, but for decades! Our band is family, and we share a lot of our lives with fellow band members. We also have multiple members of many families in our band, and provide life-long playing opportunities for the students that you inspire.
Marcus Neiman has been our conductor for over 40 years, Kenat continued. He is honored to be called our maestro by many in our community. He is a bandmaster in the classical tradition of Sousa, Goldman and Bourgeois, and frequently conducts concerts in the style of Sousa, in costume. As our maestro, he is a true music educator and a demanding taskmaster, and constantly inspires to do our best with challenging music that will be appreciated by both our audiences and those of us who perform it. This season, we have also welcomed our new associate conductor Frank Cosenza to our musical family. We have quickly grown to appreciate him as a great addition to our band.
The 60 member musical ensemble has twice performed at Severance Music Hall; annually performs at the EHOVE Career Center in Milan, in addition their Winter, Spring, and Summer concerts in Medina.
The concert is free and open to the public. For additional information on the OMEA conference, visit their website at: http://www.omea-ohio.org/index.html. For additional information about Medina Community Band visit their website at: http://www.medinacommunityband.org/.
Medina Community Band is sponsored by the Medina Community Band Association composed of members of Medina Community Band proudly supports the community band. The board of directors for the association consists of Dr. Thomas Kenat, president; Gail Sigmund, vice-president; Amy Muhl, treasurer; Sue McLaughlin, secretary; Lee Harper, financial secretary; directors Lu Ann Gresh, Alan Parkhurst, Paul Rocco, and, Kyle Snyder.
Membership is open and there are no dues or auditions; however, members are expected to maintain a regular attendance. The band rehearses on Wednesday evening from 7p through 9p in the band room of the Highland High School (4150 Ridge Road, Medina) September through the end of July; providing three to four concerts during the fall, winter, and spring months both at home and on the road. The band also presents their popular summer series every Friday, June through July, in Medina's Uptown Park Gazebo. Each year the band presents at a holiday season concert, spring concert, and the popular "Sousa Concert" at EHOVE Career Center (Milan, OH).
For additional information on the 2015 concert season or Medina Community Band, contact Neiman at 330.725.8198 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Conducting Staff & Guest Conductor
Marcus L. Neiman has been conductor of Medina Community Band since the Fall of 1972 and has served as conductor of the ensemble longer than any previous conductor in the ensemble's history. He attended the Akron Public Schools, received his bachelor of science in music education degree from The University of Akron, master of music in music education degree from The University of Michigan, postgraduate hours at The Kent State University, and The University of Akron.
Neiman retired from posts held with the Medina County Schools Educational Service Center in 2010 (1980 through 2000 as fine arts consultant and 2000 through 2010 as director of fine arts tours and festivals). He was formerly director of bands at Medina High School (1972 through 1980). He was appointed as the interim assistant director of bands and administrator for the division of bands at the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music at Kent State University in May of 2010 and held that position through May of 2011. Currently, he teaches their "Music Teaching as a Profession," "Instrumental Methods for Choral and General Music Majors," and, "Instrumental Methods II" courses, and supervises music education student teachers. In addition, he has chaired the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) district six junior high-middle school large group adjudicated event for the 2013 and 2014 seasons at Kent State. Prior to his arrival at Kent State University, Neiman was a part-time lecturer for the music department at Case Western Reserve University with major responsibilities of teaching their "Foundations of Music Education" course and supervising music education student teachers from April 2004 through May of 2010. He also supervised visual arts education student teachers for The University of Akron.
Neiman is a founding trustee and past president of both the Medina County Arts Council and Medina County Performing Arts Foundation and has served as music director for productions by both Medina County Show Biz Company and Brunswick Entertainment Company. He has served as a committee member on the City of Medina Uptown Park Committee and Arts Under the Stars committee. A past member of Medina Noon Kiwanis Club he was a member of the class of '94 Leadership Medina County. He was awarded the Leadership Medina County "Excellence in Education Leadership" in June of 2014, the sixth recipient of the award in Leadership Medina County's history and the only recipient not a superintendent of a school district.
Neiman has served OMEA as a member of the adjudicated events flute solo and ensemble required list selection committee, communications, governmental relations, music in our schools, and public relations committees, district president, vice-president, state chair for Music In Our Schools and public relations, state editor of their professional journal TRIAD, and state chair for their council of supervisors. He was elected by OMEAs membership to serve as state president from July 1, 1998 through July 1, 2000, and is currently OMEAs state historian. He was awarded OMEAs highest honor, the "Distinguished Service Award" on January 29th, 2010 at the Professional Development Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. Neiman has been published in Music Educators National Conference journal MEJ, The Instrumentalist, The School Musician, The Music Educator, OMEAs TRIAD, FANFARE magazine, and Bands of America Newsletter. His first book, edited for MENC, entitled Life in the Music Classroom, was published by MENC in April 1992. He is listed in Marquis "Who's Who in America" (58th Edition).
Neiman has appeared with junior high/middle and high school, college and university, community bands, and American Federation of Musicians union professional bands as a guest conductor and in his characterization of famed bandmaster John Philip Sousa in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, (state of) Washington, and Wisconsin. On October 15, 2004, Neiman conducted the Volga Concert Band in Saratov, Russia in a Sousa-style concert following a week's residence in Moscow and Saratov. In addition to conducting the Medina Community Band (since 1972), he formed his own professional touring band -- The Sounds of Sousa Band -- (in 1992) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the formation of Sousa's first non-military band. To this date he has performed for over 200,000 people in the role of Sousa.
Neiman's goal has always been to preserve the presence and character of the traditional "town-band." In addition, Neiman has encouraged composers to write for the band. Over the years the band has commissioned works by Douglas Court, Robert Feldbush, Stuart Ling, Edmund J. Siennicki, Tadd Russo, and David Shaffer. Neiman is a member of numerous professional organizations including the National Association for Music Education and Ohio Music Education Association, National Band Association, Ohio Alliance for Arts Education and Ohio Citizens for the Arts. Neiman is a member of Kappa Kappa Psi (University of Michigan Nu chapter, and honorary Beta Pi at Kent State University). He is also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa (national leadership society – The University of Akron - Theta Circle). He and his wife Mary Ann, who is a professional clarinetist and program administrator - preparatory and continuing education department for the Cleveland Institute of Music, reside in Medina with their two cats Sasha and Dmitri.
Frank T. Cosenza, associate conductor, received a bachelor of music from Bowling Green State University and a master of music from The University of Akron. He is a veteran band director of 32 years and retired from the West Geauga Local Schools where he was a four-time recipient of the Excellence in Education Award. He was called from retirement to serve as interim director of Athletic Bands/Concert Band at Kent State University for the 2012-2013 academic year where the Marching Golden Flashes performed in the MAC Conference Championship and the Go Daddy.com Bowl.
His groups have performed at Severance Hall for the Northeast Ohio Wind Band Invitational, the Ohio Music Education Association State Conference, the American School Band Directors Association State Conference, Lincoln Center in New York City, and the Ohio School Boards Association Conference. Additionally, his groups have performed at The University of Akron Band Clinic, Hiram College, Cleveland Browns halftime, the Cleveland Indians and performances in Florida, Michigan, Georgia a
nd Canada. Concert bands under his direction have received consistent superior ratings at large group contests. He has served on the Content Validation Panel for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and has been on the staff of American Music Abroad taking student musicians to Europe and performing in numerous countries.
Mr. Cosenza is an elected member of Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters Fraternity and the American School Band Director's Association. As a member of the Ohio Music Education Association, he has served as state treasurer/trustee, district president, 2015 professional conference all-state coordinator; member of music selection committees, contest chairman and current adjudicator for large group and solo & ensemble events. Additionally, he is an adjudicator for Music in the Parks. He has served as a clinician in Nevada and throughout Ohio and is currently an assistant director of the All-Ohio State Fair Band, Sounds of Sousa Band, Medina Community Band. Mr. Cosenza is co-principal trumpet with the W.D. Packard Concert Band and Big Band Sound of Warren, and has played with many artists including Frankie Avalon, The Manhattan Transfer, Wayne Newton, Johnny Math
is, Holiday On Ice, and the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. He is a Conn-Selmer artist and maintains a private brass studio.
Gene F. Milford, a native of Canton, Ohio, is a senior lecturer in music education at The University of Akron. An instrumental music teacher with over 30 years of experience including 23 at Edgewood High School in Ashtabula, Ohio, he conducted bands which consistently received superior ratings at Ohio Music Education Association sponsored events and performed at state and national professional conferences. Dr. Milford earned his Ph.D. in music education from Kent State University and was the recipient of a University Fellowship (1998). He has served as guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the state, and his articles on music education have appeared in Triad, Dialogues in Instrumental Music Education and Contributions to Music Education. As a composer and arranger Dr. Milford has received numerous commissions, was the recipient of a grant from the Ohio Arts Council (1995) and an ASCAP award. Several of his compositions are currently on state required lists. He was the 2006 inductee to the Ohio Band Director's Hall of Fame.
Featured SoloistsMary Ann Grof-Neiman, clarinetist is currently the program administrator of the Cleveland Institute of Music's Preparatory and Continuing Education Division. She received her bachelor of science in music education degree from the Bowling Green State University. Ms. Grof-Neiman has served as clarinetist for the Blossom Festival Band, Lakeland Civic Band, Lakeside Symphony Orchestra, Youngstown Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, the Chagrin Falls Studio Orchestra and currently performs with the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, Lakewood Home Town Band, Medina Community Band, the Cleveland Winds, and is principal clarinetist with the Sounds of Sousa Band. She maintains private studios at Baldwin Wallace College through their Conservatory Outreach Program as well as her home in Medina. She has served the Ohio Music Education Association as a Woodwind Adjudicator for the last 25 years and is a member of AFM Local 4. She resides in Medina with her husband Marcus and their cats Dmitri and Sasha.
In addition to performing, Ms. Howell is an active voice teacher. She currently teaches at Ashland University, and has served on the voice faculties of the University of Akron School of Music, and the State University of New York College at Fredonia. Ms. Howell earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in music education from Long Island University/CW Post College, and a Master of Music degree in vocal performance from New England Conservatory of Music. She lives in Sharon Township, Ohio with her husband, Gregg, and their three children.
Amy Muhl, flute soloist, originally from Lyme, Connecticut, moved to Ohio to study music education at Oberlin Conservatory in 1991. She graduated in 1995 and taught orchestra for two years at Willard City Schools. Amy received her masters of music education from Kent State University on a scholarship, in 1998. She then taught instrumental music at Buckeye High School, in Medina (OH) and in the fall of 1999, became the elementary band teacher for Buckeye Local Schools. In the fall of 2001, she began teaching elementary instrumental music at Central Intermediate School in Wadsworth. Amy also plays flute/piccolo and piano and teaches private lessons, in addition to being a member of Medina Community Band and Sounds of Sousa Band. Amy resides in Wadsworth with her husband Frank, and two children Kenneth and Eva.
Medina Community Band
Banding together to celebrate a new land. The Medina Community Band traces its beginnings back to 1859, when a group of local people got together (some with formal training - others without) to perform music for the community. That first "community band" was called The Medina Silver Cornet Band, probably since the instruments the musicians used were primarily "silver" cornets or percussion. Then, as now, the band performed on the public square. Medina's uptown park was set aside in 1817 and cleared in 1819.
During the next two decades, the park was used as a parade ground for local militia and for town celebrations. In the 1840s, the square was enclosed with a white picket fence to keep cattle being driven to market off the square.During the 136-years that the band has been in existence there have been 20 directors. The band probably existed at the pleasure of the square's business community, who often funded the season and encouraged patrons to attend the concerts. The performance night has changed over the years, in most cases at the urging of the business community, and season concerts have been given on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings.
It should be stated that the Medina Community Band was only one of many bands in Medina Community. Almost every town had its own band, and a just a few to mention were the Litchfield, Lodi, Seville, Spencer, and Wadsworth bands. There were also school bands (from both the city and county districts) and even a Boy Scout band (in Westfield Center). The Medina Community Band's name evolved over the years as the Medina Silver Cornet Band, Medina Band, Grand Army of the Republic Band, Knights of Pythias Band, and now the Medina Community Band.
The size of the band varied from 15 to 20 musicians through the end of last century, into the 50 and 60s through the 1940-1960s, and now boasts almost 100 members on its personnel roster. It should be understood that the "band" did not always perform in the Gazebo. During those early years, the band played on various corners of the square. There was for a few years a band stand, which was destroyed by fire. The "bandstand" on the north side of the square was large enough to seat a 100 piece band (somewhat tightly, but would accommodate that size group), which the current Gazebo will only allow 30 to 35 players. The band itself determines "who will play" based on attendance at practice or business and vacation schedules.
It is interesting to note that members of the band travel from all parts of Northeastern Ohio to play with the group. Entire families (from grandparents to grandchildren are members of the band and it is most common to find husbands and wives, or parents and children playing in the group. The Medina Community Band's membership is open and there are no dues or auditions; however, members are expected to maintain a regular attendance. The band rehearses on Wednesday evenings September through July, providing three to four concerts during the fall, winter, and spring months both at home and on the road. The band also presents an 8 to 10 concert summer season in Medina's Uptown Park Gazebo.
Medina Community Band is sponsored by the Medina Community Band Association composed of members of The Medina Community Band proudly supports the community band. Membership in Medina Community Band is open and there are no dues or auditions; however, members are expected to maintain a regular attendance. The band rehearses on Wednesday evening from 7p until 9p in the band room of the Medina High School (777 East Union Street, Medina) during the summer (June through July) and from 7p until 9p in the band room of the Highland High School (4150 Ridge Road, Medina) September through the end of May; providing three to four concerts during the fall, winter, and spring months both at home and on the road. The band also presents their popular summer series every Friday, June through July, in Medina's Uptown Park Gazebo. Each year the band presents at a winter and spring concert, and the popular "Sousa Concert" at EHOVE Career Center (Milan, OH).


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If you've ever slipped on the ice while ice fishing or doing any other outdoor activity, you know the feeling, but it's never too late to get ice grippers for shoes and boots. Usually, footwear for ice fishing have particular soles for walking on ice, but most times those are not enough, you need ice traction slip-ons. Choosing the right ice cleats for shoes and boots is pretty difficult task, because all the ice cleat reviews assure the same, but usually fail. Some products get worse in quality, some unpopular ones get better, or new products beat them both.
Let's dig in and see which are the best ice cleats for boots and shoes on Amazon.
First of all, you need to take a look at the customer reviews and rating. If product has 3 stars or less on online stores, you can move along right away, because you need to look for top rated ice cleats for boots and shoes. Quality products usually have 4 stars out of 5, and i would start checking every product that meets this criteria manually.
By this time, you need to have your goals : what do you need ice cleats for? Do you need them just for walking hundreds of meters every day for your work, running, or planning on going to ice fishing trip? You have to decide this because some ice cleats for boots are meant for outdoor activities such as ice fishing, climbing the mountain, during snowstorm and that kind of cleats are very effective, but noisy and somewhat uncomfortable. You need to know that those will scratch any hardwood, including your floor, if you go inside wearing them. While there are another type of products that are less damaging and more comfortable, but you can't wear those in extremal conditions.
If you want to use ice cleats for your work, your choice is easy. You need to look for nice ice grips for shoes and boots, which have very high level of traction and are comfortable – you don't want to hurt your knee, wrist or anything during your work. You need to make sure to pick ice grippers that fit for both – boots and shoes. Later in this article, we will review best ice cleats for walking. You need to do your work assured that nothing will happen.
If you want to keep your sports activities in the winter, you'll need ice cleats for running. In this case, you need to focus to pick something really comfortable and effective – Those slip on ice cleats must not disturb you, or cause you to fall and break something. Picking such ice grippers for running shoes and sneakers won't be easy, but you're lucky you landed on this page. We've listed some best ice grippers for shoes in our article.
If you like to go outside in the extreme cold and ice fish, welcome to the club. Depending on what are you planning to wear, famous brands have some nice ice grippers for shoes and boots for people like us. But i would recommend wearing a boots with ice cleats on them, unless you're planning to fish in snow or anything else but ice. When you're planning to go ice fishing with boots and ice cleats on them, you need to make sure A. they're comfortable B. they are durable C. you can rely on ice spikes for boots you're wearing.
A. Usually ice fishers have to cover some decent long distances, and with uncomfortable ice grips for boots, you're making your trips harder. You need to make sure you won't even feel wearing ice grippers of yours. But you should not only target for comfort, but grip as well. You need to pick products loved by customers based on particular ice cleats for boots reviews.
B. To avoid going to unsuccessful ice fishing trip, you need to pick hard-boiled ice creepers for boots to make sure they don't leave you in the middle of trip all by yourself. Well most ice fishing boots listed in my another article have great grip for walking on ice, but i would definitely make sure and wear good ice cleats for boots. You will need to read our ice cleats' reviews very carefully to avoid something that will probably get rusty after a few trips. You don't want to buy new pairs every month, do you? I will guess, NO. So decide carefully, do you need some junk for a cheap price or best ice cleats for ice fishing on market? . If you're too lazy to follow all these steps, at least you'll need to take a look at our comparison table.
C. As i mentioned above, you need to pick trusted and most reviewed products. To make sure you don't make the wrong choice, potential buyer must carefully read customer reviews under that product, and look at it's date to indicate it's relevancy. I've seen plenty of products that were good at some point, but after a few years and stable sales, got dramatically worse. You need to be very careful while picking ice grippers for boots and shoes.
But if you are lazy enough to ignore researching yourself and trust us enough to do it for you, take a look at our best picks.
With a decent online rating of 4.8 / 5, these are one of the best ice spikes for boots if you are planning to go ice fishing or hike on the icy surface. Twelve 3/8 inch long stainless steel spikes makes these ideal for outdoor activities. If you are looking for ice traction slip-ons for just walking on slippery surfaces, you should look further. These can be unsuitable for every day wear – they make voices and are not as comfortable as other products in the same market. You can't use these while driving as well and it's highly recommended to avoid entering your home or any other buildings while wearing these, because they may cause huge damage on floors.
If you are looking for super flexible ice cleats for running, YakTrax Pro is definitely the way to go. These are Combination of superior traction and flexibility. Ice cleats for books and shoes are easy to install or remove, and have a great grip and traction on ice and packed snow. You can even drive a car or enter the house with proper security measures. And they are very lightweight and easy to pack in your backpack or your handbag. Even though these are the best shoe cleats for walking on ice or any other pedestrian activities, you should not reckon on these while climbing a slippery mountain or ice fishing.
If you work outside in the winter and walk slippery surfaces, you'll need Stabilicers Lite as it is one of the best ice cleats for walking. Multi-directional and case hardened cleats offer unbeatable grip for walking and comfort. If you don't want to wear these all the time, folding these is still an option. You can fit them to be kept in your pocket, and if you encounter ice or other slippery surface, get them out of the pocket and install on your boots or shoes. According to customer reviews, these are one of the easiest ice cleats for boots to install. Most of the reviews recommend ordering bigger size than you usually wear.
Being an advanced version of lite version, Heavy Duty Stabilicers are a quality, durable product for walking on slippery surfaces. Their grip is way better than the lite version, but they have drawbacks as well – they make noises, are slightly more difficult to put on, and can't be folded, unlike the lite version. But if you just want enhanced grip for walking on ice, these will work like a charm. Heavy Duty Stabilicers have a great value for the money, because you are able to replace it's cleats any time you want, so these will serve you for a long time.
Best Ice Cleats for Boots like this one are not cheap, but you always get what you pay for. With it's gripping diamond heads, doesn't matter the surface – light snow, packed snow, slippery ice or stairs – these will keep you from slipping. With it's self-cleaning design, it prevents having snow buildups on your boots or shoes. And these traction cleats will stick with your footwear even in the subzero temperatures and won't fall of in deep snow. Plenty of reviews state that IceTrekkers are best ice cleats for shoes and boots they've ever worn. Few negative reviews talk about these turning rusty after a few seasons, but usually, even in rusty conditions, these will work fine.

subset: commoncrawl


text: May 3rd, 2004 Music: random NIN songs Mood: okay, sleepy I suppose this area will be for a diary type thing. Today I haven't done much except for making Thomas buy me something cool and working on my page. I think my page is looking pretty cool so far. Heh I don't really have that much context, but most personal pages don't.


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It is interesting to observe the different viewpoints of people in regards to design.
There are the ones which adhere strictly to what has been taught to them, the old class, the traditionalists and they feel that anything else has no class and no validity. And on the opposite you'll find the rebel of all. Some people approach design cool headed and a mind of a mathematician; the other again works form the guts. One insists that only adhering to the rules can produce beauty but the other believes that only breaking all rules will create uniqueness and evolution.
My personal standpoint is that both worlds are right but none exhibits an absolute truth. As an artist I have been labeled in the past to be an "expressionistic impressionist", which in some fashion might be true. But as I change and am nothing fixed, I do not like labels, they might be true today but wrong tomorrow. For this reason I a bit of a rebel when it comes to this, I do not like to be put into a pot and then archived in memory as [insert name] – because I might feel and express that at that very moment, but I am much, much more too. If you want to label a period of mine, fine. But don't try labeling me.
Some people believe that one finds one's own style early in life and from there on out sticks to this…, evolves it yes, but does not radically change. One can see it in many places and many big artists reflect this too. An art professor of mine insists that people who change "still haven't found themselves", but after many months of reflection how this could apply to me, I came to the conclusion that once again, I object.
Maybe part of finding oneself can be for some to realize how much one can change without losing oneself? What all can one do and be without losing the essence?
Parallels can be found in music preferences. I for example love a wide, wide range of music. My ear has been trained to enjoy classic music and old jazz too, including swinging tunes, such as the Andrew Sisters, which now are observed by most as cheese singers. On the other end of the spectrum I really enjoy Nine Inch Nails, Madonna, Depeche Mode, LittleDragon, Bitter:Sweet and Goldfrapp. Does this mean that I have not found myself, or rather could it be that I am no longer bound by group fads and boundaries and that I do not have to limit myself but can be wide and open to different worlds?
Yes, I believe to truly find your own style – may it be wild and chaotic or strict and ordered or everything in between and combined – you need to overcome to label yourself and to stop trying to fit in some group dynamic from which you want applause, but rather learn from them, turn around and make it your own.
How do you see it?


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The 2009 Yamaha TMAX 500 blurs the line between the scooter and motorcycle. By mating a Yoshimura R-77 exhaust system to the TMAX's four-stroke, fuel-injected Parallel Twin engine, you can unlock the MAXIMUM potential from your scooter!
The Yoshimura R77 stainless full system includes a stainless steel header and mid pipe, a stainless sleeve R77 muffler with stainless end cap for great performance and looks. The benefits are reduced weight, better acceleration and throttle response, but most of all the great Yoshimura sound.
Kit comes complete with all necessary mounting hardware and brackets.
Part Number: 1390006


text:
1972 Mercury Marquis station wagon
Photo courtesy owner
Brian McCann
of Wilmington, NC USA
More info from Brian: "It came with the standard Monterey engine at 400 cubic inches. We made some enhancements such as a four barrel carb, dual exhaust, and high performance cam. Otherwise we truly tried to keep it as stock as possible including the new exterior paint."
Copyright © 1999
Steve Manning
All Rights Reserved
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders.
Return to www.stationwagon.com home page.....


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When resources are scheduled, it is possible to track the cost of those resources against your projects – independently of any service related costs. This guide explains how to set that up.
Each resource in iCFM holds values for
rate and
currency. By entering this information you are telling the software how much it costs per day to use that resource.
By knowing this information, we can add costs to a Project as it is scheduled. We know how many hours / days an item is scheduled for – so we can then take that information and multiply it by the rate.
On Projects where the Resource currency is different to the Project currency – we use the most current exchange rate to figure out the correct value.
Entering Rates
To add Rates to a Resource:
- From the main menu, select "Admin Tools".
- Select "Resource List".
- Using the search criteria, find the resource you want to enter a rate for.
- Click the yellow paper and pen icon to open the Resource editor.
- Enter values for the Rate and Currency boxes. Note that the Rate is per day.
- Save the resource.
Tracking Costs
There are some configuration changes that may need to happen before the next process will work. There is a setting within the iCFM software code named
TRACK_RESOURCE_COSTS_IN_GEKKOwhich will need to be enabled. Ask CETA to do this for you if you want to start using this feature.
Once enabled, adding, removing or updating Resources on Jobs will create some additional records in the Gekko table. These records will be defined as "Cost" in the category – and the "Service" used will be as per the
resource.overheadcode field.
There are some processes to improve the calculations of long-form bookings. eg. A Job that spans a week is not really happening 24 hours per day, although a simple calculation would think it was. In fact – just 5 days are billable – and of those 5 days, only 10 hours per day are to be counted.
The iCFM software knows how many 'working hours per day' there are, and it can check to see if a Job spans a weekend. If any part of the Job starts of finishes on a weekend, it will assume that that particular weekend is to be included in the calculation. Otherwise, weekends are ignored.
Where you can see this data?
If you open a Project you can see these costs in the Margins report – as well as in the Project Ribbon (type E is the best for showing costs).
You can also see these values in the Gekko Reports application – or any other report that makes use of the Gekko table.
You can also see a breakdown of each cost on a Project by looking at the Cross Site report.


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Dr Kidd & Dr Cosgrove Antrim Health CentreStation RoadAntrim, BT41 4BSTel: 028 9441 3950
Please allow 48 hours for all prescription requests.
'Self-Care' please click on to the link for further information
Dr Kidd runs a specialised contraception clinic, please make an appointment if you wish to discuss options.
The treatment room operates an appointment system - you need to contact them directly in person or by phoning them on 028 94413977.
Routine appointments are 10minutes per patient. If you require a longer consultation, please book a double appointment.
Please switch off mobile phones during your appointment.
If you wish to speak to a GP by telephone, please ring the surgery before 11am and the GP will ring you back between 12pm and 2pm. Please keep your telephone line free.
Please inform us immediately if you change your address, contact number or email address. You can do this by completing the on-line form (see change of address) or contacting the practice directly. It is your responsibility to contact relevant hospitals, health care organisations or professionals, if you or a family member are waiting for a hospital appointment. Failure to do so could result in you or your family member missing an appointment due to an incorrect address.
We aim to provide a high quality medical service to our patients with the help of other members of our practice team - by working with patients to optimise health, medical treatment and disease prevention
We hope to use our surgery website as a way of presenting all our patients with an up to date resource for all information relating to our practice. We will keep it current with any news, developments & details that are relevant to the practice & our patients.
As well as a source of information about our Practice, the staff & the services we provide, we hope you use the website as a useful resource with links to other reliable websites for health related information. If there is topical health information we will also add this to the website.
We would like to encourage all patients to update their contact details regularly. This includes email addresses. Please note no information is shared with any outside parties.
You can now order your repeat prescriptions and book your appointments online, via this website. To use this service you must first register your interest in person. Please come to reception and they will supply you with the necessary forms to fill out and then you can begin using our online services.
The surgery will be closed on Monday 6th May and Monday 27th May. Please ensure you order your prescription in good time, to ensure you do not run out of your medicines when the surgery is closed.
In the event of a medical emergency please contact Dalriada Urgent Care on 028 25 663500.
MenACWY Leaflet
Please contact reception to book an appointment.
The Pain Toolkit...is for people who live with persistent pain. The Pain Toolkit is a simple information booklet that could provide you with some handy tips and skills to support you along the way to manage your pain. For more information please click on the link www.paintoolkit.org
Do you really need a prescription for over the counter medicines like paracetamol and ibuprofen? When required for short term minor illnesses, it is better for the health service if you buy these medicines without a prescription.
Talk to your local pharmacist if you need some advice for minor ailments. You don't need an appointment!
Please click on the link below for further information.
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Please click on the link below to access information on cancer screening. This information has been produced by the Public Health Agency.
Copyright 2006 - 2019 My Surgery Website | Privacy & Usage | Edit | Staff Home | Site Map | Accessibility | Site T&C's | Service T&C's


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About midday on Sunday, December 26, known to some as Boxing Day, snow began to fall in New York City. It continued overnight and into Monday morning. This snow was a true blizzard, with lots of wind and some thunder and lightning, too. Quite a show.
I was working on Sunday, and was relieved to be granted permission to have the shop close a bit early. We had shoveled the sidewalk and entrance way leading to the shop several times during the afternoon, but our efforts were quickly covered by those energetic flakes.
All of us who were working on Sunday were fortunate to have access to public transportation in the form of our underground subway trains. I had an easy time getting home, and was so glad to be indoors as the storm really got going.
I woke several times during the night to peek out my front window and was amazed that wind was so strong, bending the trees along the street, and swirling the snow to create a curtain blocking a northern view past the brownstone houses just across the street. Remarkable. The occasional thunder surprised me every time.
Morning arrived. The light was that unusual glow of snowy ground cover mixing with falling snow, and muted sunlight shining from way above the clouds.
The following picture shows the view from my bathroom window, where my fledgling paperwhite bulbs were backed by a drift of snow on the other side of the glass. I thought that drift made a strange little miniature landscape.
Ah, but below the rooftops the view was very changed. The brownstone's front steps were smoothly covered. No one had entered or left that building overnight. The little garbage cans to the left of the steps were covered with their polka dots of snow. It was clear that at least one New York City snow plough had scraped some snow from the actual street, but not many vehicles were brave enough to venture down the block.
Here is another photo of the same view that indicates just how quiet and still and even was that snow.
When I slipped and slid my way to the subway for the ride home, I saw something I have never seen in all my years in New York. There was actually an accumulation of snow along the platform where we travelers wait for the next arriving train. The snow had be able to force its way underground through the grating in the street above.
Once again, it was relatively easy to get home. And again on Tuesday, I was scheduled to work. Again, all staff scheduled for Tuesday got to work.
By the time I got home I was pretty tired, and little sore. I stopped by my neighborhood pharmacy to ask the wise pharmacist what he recommended for someone who had my symptoms. He made a wise recommendation.
The magical glow of our blizzard has now been transformed to the inevitable slushy aftermath.
The staff of the large building across the street has kindly cut a channel through the ice-coated drift to allow access to the street. Their channel is larger than mine, but strong men created their channel!


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If I give you information that you are not interested in, you are going to forget it. Undesired information has little value. However, information that is provided in response to a question has ongoing value and activates our learning and reasoning.
Walking In The SpiritYou will find that questions are a powerful mechanism that God uses throughout the scriptures. Why? To activate our thinking. To reveal information that we would not otherwise discover or realize. Did you ever notice that Jesus answered questions with questions? It was to activate the other persons thinking.
The Holy Spirit works in a similar way. Here's how. Have you ever had a question come to mind about something in the scriptures or about God? Of course. We all have. Did you take the time to get that question answered? If not, you missed an opportunity to walk in the spirit.
Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. - Galatians 5:25 NLT
The Lord wants us to know Him and His ways and He is always moving us to learn of Him. However, He doesn't make us do anything. He draws us. So if we want more information we need to go get it.
For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. - John 6:44 NLT
Tips for asking good questions:
- Define what you are trying to learn.
- Take notes.
- Stay on topic.
- Be an expert listener.
- Rephrase and repeat back what you understood.
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. - Matthew 7:7-8 NLT
Benefits of asking good questions:
- It's a fantastic way to clarify something that was said.
- It's a great way to get to the truth of a matter.
- It's a great way to teach.
- It's a great way to activate thinking in yourself and in others.
- It's a great way to steer conversations to the Gospel.
Take Action!
Do you have difficulty understanding when the Holy Spirit is communicating with you?
If you have a question about the Lord or have a scripture pop into your head, that is the Holy Spirit in you trying to teach you. Let your curiosity pique and get those questions answered. Get excited about the questions the Lord gives you.
There are a few good ways to get those questions answered.
- Read the Bible daily. The Lord works with the Word.
Have you ever been in a discussion/debate/argument where someone is making the conversation confusing or trying to "win the argument" rather than seek out the truth of a matter?
There is a great way to get control of the conversation and move it back to seeking the truth. Start asking questions about how what is being said, pertains to the topic.
Many times in an effort to bulldoze through a conversation, so as not to lose the argument, folks will find themselves off topic very quickly. Help them get back on track by asking questions... even if they don't want to. :-)
Asking questions is a fantastic mechanism to pivoting almost any conversation into the Gospel.
Please, add your thoughts in the comment section.


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Time for an update...
Jan 13, 2012 by Tony So
People have been telling me I need to update my page... so... here you go.
First... thanks so much to everyone for helping me reach my fundraising minimum!
But, I'm not done yet. It is my goal to reach $5000 above my minimum. This is kind of a special season, so it warranted more than just the minimum.
My dad is doing well. He's been relaxing in San Diego for the past month. He heads home on Sunday and will begin his new treatment (immuno vs. chemo therapy) next week. He and my mom remain in good spirits and already have company lined up for next month. <3
The New Year has started off pretty slow from a training perspective. My training mostly consisted of ultimate frisbee with the cousins (lots of running, and i was sore... but so not zone 1-2 training... haha).
And then... since the holidays, I've been sick. A cold I think. It has tapered down to some chest congestion and a nagging cough. I'm going to say that all the coughing has been a substitue for my core work... ;)
Anyways... a couple of pics of me and some of my Teammates in our New Zealand Team kits...
Team gear doesn't quite match the stars and stripes on my bike... oh well.
My Fundraising Page
Jul 01, 2011
Saving lives on my road to Ironman...
Welcome to my Team In Training home page.
Have you ever watched the televised programs of the Ironman World Championships in Kona Hawaii? I don't remember when I saw my first. But everytime I do, I can't help but be moved and inspired.
Have you ever had the opportunity to hear a cancer survivor's story? I don't remember when I heard my first. But, everytime I do, I can't help but be moved and inspired.
So, what better pairing than triathlon training and the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.
Yes, I am at it again. Taking that next step towards Ironman by participating in my very first Half-Ironman with Team: Vineman. But, I can't do it without your help.
Please come back often to see how I'm doing.
And, to get updates on my status.
Oh... and... I forgot...
My favorite part about team:
The Team.
But I can't forgot the most important part...
The reason we're here:
In support of:
Kum Man Pang
MAJ John Udani
In memory of:
Tom Gay
Bill Sorrells


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Obama To Republicans: Drop Dead.
Vera Andrus 1936
Remember this, just a week ago, when Representative Jim Oberstar expained why water infrastructure, sewers and Amtrak were gutted out of the stimulus package to make room for the tax cuts in the interest of "bipartisan support"?
So much for building bridges
The reason for the reduction in overall funding — we took money out of Amtrak and out of aviation; we took money out of the Corps of Engineers, reduced the water infrastructure program, the drinking water and the wastewater treatment facilities and sewer lines, reduced that from $14 billion to roughly $9 billion — was the tax cut initiative that had to be paid for in some way by keeping the entire package in the range of $850 billion.
Well, there was no bipartisan support. So why are there still tax cuts in the plan?
Tax cuts are wonderful things, everyone loves them. But if you are trying to stimulate the economy, they can be iffy things. People are either rational, and in these times sock it under the mattress and reduce debt, (a good thing, but that does nothing to stimulate the economy) or irrational, and perhaps blow it on flat screen TVs, which is great for Korea but doesn't do much here. What we still do in America is build things, since it is hard to offshore a house or a bridge.
But Obama needed a sop to get Republicans onside to make this a bipartisan plan, and took 300 billion from rail and transit for a dubious tax reduction. And they told him to drop dead. So why not turn around and take it back? Put the money back where one can be certain it will do something useful, like building rapid transit and light rail.
Let the Republicans own the fact President Obama offered $300 Billion dollars to them and they blew it.
More stimuli in TreeHugger:
Quote of the Day: Why Obama Admin Wimped Out on Water, Transit
Architects Go After Infrastructure Investment
No Infrastructure Investment for Concrete!


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Blank wooden pig dolls russian dolls paint your own pig money box, coin box Free worldwide shipping
Blank wooden pig doll
You may paint your own money box (coin box)
Handmade from Russian linden wood
The height is 15 cm.
It is an excellent creative idea for yourself , your family, your friend or your child! It is an excellent gift!
Explore your talants and creativity.


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#329 27 min 22 sec Return to Eden?: How we "consume" nature and what it says about us
Robin Canniford is co-director of the Cluster for Organisation, Society and Markets (COSM). His research investigates the intersections of community, nature and markets. Recently he has written about the everyday practices of consuming 'nature'; the politics of 'primitivism' as a way of portraying 'man in nature'; and the ways in which nature can be understood by superimposing 'voices' from a variety of sources, both human and non-human. His work is informed by archival, arts-based, and ethnographic methods. Theoretically, he is interested in material-semiotic approaches. Robin is co-editor of the 2015 book Assembling consumption: Researching actors, networks and markets.
Host: Elisabeth Lopez
Producers: Eric van Bemmel, Kelvin Param
Audio Engineers: Gavin Nebauer
Voiceover: Nerissa Hannink
Series Creators: Kelvin Param & Eric van Bemmel
Producers: Eric van Bemmel, Kelvin Param
Audio Engineers: Jeremy Taylor and Gavin Nebauer
Voiceover: Nerissa Hannink
Series Creators: Kelvin Param & Eric van Bemmel - See more at: http://upclose.unimelb.edu.au/episode/327-great-expectations-millennial-generation-makes-its-mark-workplace#sthash.Wso3p7vm.dpuf
Producers: Eric van Bemmel, Kelvin Param
Audio Engineers: Jeremy Taylor and Gavin Nebauer
Voiceover: Nerissa Hannink
Series Creators: Kelvin Param & Eric van Bemmel - See more at: http://upclose.unimelb.edu.au/episode/327-great-expectations-millennial-generation-makes-its-mark-workplace#sthash.Wso3p7vm.dpuf
Producers: Eric van Bemmel, Kelvin Param
Audio Engineers: Jeremy Taylor and Gavin Nebauer
Voiceover: Nerissa Hannink
Series Creators: Kelvin Param & Eric van Bemmel - See more at: http://upclose.unimelb.edu.au/episode/327-great-expectations-millennial-generation-makes-its-mark-workplace#sthash.Wso3p7vm.dpuf
Read Transcript show transcript | print transcript | download pdf
This is Up Close, the research talk show from the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Hi. I'm Elisabeth Lopez. Thanks for joining us. Given that most of us live among the lights, noise and crazy pace of city life, it's not surprising that nature is held up as the antithesis of and the antidote to all of that. The idea of getting away from it all underpins a large part of what's called the experience economy, nature based tourism, sports like white water rafting and corporate development programs that pit people against the elements.
When we think about nature, or when marketers want us to think about nature, we often turn to the idea of wilderness as a place to recharge, to be spiritually transformed, to test one's surroundings and one's self to really find ourselves. What does that say about us, and do we really find what we're looking for?
Our guest on Up Close is interested in how businesses and consumers converse with the natural world. Dr Robin Canniford is Co-Director of the Cluster for Organization, Society and Markets at the University of Melbourne. He's been researching surfing culture to find out how consumers assemble romantic experiences of nature.
Welcome to Up Close, Robin.
Thank you very much for having me.
You spent eight years studying surf culture. What did that tell you about what people are looking from nature?
Well, I think people tend to like to and do these things, whether it be surfing, climbing, white water rafting, hang gliding, for that sense of challenge and, certainly, for a little bit of a sense of uncontrollability, losing ourselves in a place which can't be exactly controlled on a daily basis. Sometimes these sublime experiences can be so awe inspiring that they lead almost to a nature worship, perhaps, we might call magical.
And if you think about the origins of magic we might say that those are culturally developed to control the uncontrollable in nature; whereas we traditionally associate magic, perhaps, with traditional societies. I think the investigations into how people consume nature - be they surfers or climbers - often we find forms of new age spirituality emerging amongst those consumption practices.
Yeah. You've collected things like diary entries from people, talking about surfing in terms of consummation and almost a marriage-like experience.
Yes. I think the perspective I took to this research was a long term project where I tried to embed myself quite deeply amongst the people who are doing these kinds of consumption activities, and also to participate in them myself and collecting multiple kinds of data from poetry to, as you say, diary entries, to the paintings that people are doing on beaches or in the mountains. Really, it became instructive in the multiple ways that people use nature and, at times, on quite a deep level for people; quite touching to collect that data.
What really emerges is that, I think, many people feel that they've lost touch with the sacred, and being in nature is, perhaps, one way to re-achieve that link without having to resort to religion, organised religion, as such.
So a god shaped hole or a surf shaped hole?
Yes, I think so.
Were there any challenges in embedding yourself into this subculture because, as you've noted, there are many different types of surfers with different, almost competing, desires about what they want from surf?
Well, surfing for me was an easy choice because I've been a surfer since I was a teenager growing up in the south-west of England with the chilly North Atlantic; [It] was always very attractive to me. But yes, I think this is one of the interesting things about doing this kind of research, is observing the sometimes competing stories that people tell themselves in the same geographic spaces.
As an example, with climbing: different interpretations of climbing have always existed around how much gear, metal gear, we should place into the rocks as safety devices. Some climbers have a tradition of leaving the rock as untouched as possible. Other climbers are more concerned with safety and those stories that build around the geographic use of nature, along with the technology, that is applied to those geographies tend to lead to different stories that people tell themselves.
There's an interesting irony, isn't there, in that, often, marketers sell the latest in technology with the message you have to have this incredibly sophisticated technology in order to recreate a truly authentic experience in the wild.
Yeah. I think it's where these technologies and these stories come together with material geographies that we begin to see some of the most interesting connections and interpretations of nature and, indeed, some of the paradoxes that begin to emerge.
Robin, how far does this romantic thinking or yearning go back? Is it inherent in people? Or does it have a history?
I think that's a very good question, Liz. Certainly, in terms of what I'm talking about here, it goes back to at least the industrial revolution, when a variety of social commentators and artists bemoaned the dark satanic mills and, instead, began looking to the crags and the forests and the mountains for models of a better way of life.
Equally, in some senses, I think we can trace this back into biblical terms as well of the wilderness as a place of healing, and hermits and saints going off and living in the wilds to redevelop those lost virtues again. So a lot of these stories that people tell themselves now by consuming nature - and, perhaps, some of the ways in which brands sell experiences in nature - draw on these quite aged, quite longstanding cultural interpretations of nature as a space outside of culture.
So you've mentioned brands like Patagonia and Billabong. How hooked in are they to the lineage that these ideas have?
So, in a sense, nature offers us the opposite of modern culture and a chance to undo the damage of urban life to undo those civilised restraints that we've built up over time. If you think about just wandering around a city or existing at work, there are numerous tacit rules and norms and codes of behaviour that we have to obey.
When people go to nature they can undo these things. Historically, this has been called primitivism. Primitivism is a pretty important story that relates to romanticism in a lot of ways, but its results are much more interesting to my mind. It's such a partial Janus-faced concept, such a double edged way of labelling things, and the meaning of primitive is always incomplete.
We can think of concepts like the savage as the indigenous populations of uncharted continents, and it's been a figure of fear. But, at the same time, there's the noble savage, the opposite of that figure, which is a model for the life that we've lost. I think, from early exploration literature and ethnographies from Shaftesbury, Diderot - certainly, the stories that returned with the South Seas explorers - Louis Antoine de Bougainville and John Hawkesworth - these were tales of sex and indulgence that happened in nature. Primitivism became a pretty popular consumable product in the 19th century for reasons that allowed people to contemplate the excitement, sexuality, all kinds of stereotypes of the other, that we ourselves, in European society, had, to some extent, lost.
I guess the main difference between then and now is that most people didn't have a hope of going to the South Seas in those days.
Well, I think that's very true. For those people ethnography itself - the stories that came back with those early explorers and their scientific counterparts in the 19th century - became a very popular consumable product, and in film and literature, stories of these indigenous populations and their primitive lifestyles were consumed quite popularly. And that entered equally into anthologies, comics, reviews and even pornography as well, that primitivism became a trope and a theme in all of these consumable products at that time.
You're listening to Up Close. I'm Elisabeth Lopez, and our guest today is Dr Robin Canniford. Robin, let's talk about the way in which the corporate world uses nature.
Yeah, sure.
Programs like Outward Bound test the limits of physical endurance to flush out true leaders and how we really could be at work. Profits aside, how much value is there in this idea?
Outward Bound has been running for many years, perhaps develops in educational principles of the 19th and early 20th centuries as a way to harden particularly young men for service towards the economy and the military and overseas colonial services. Outward Bound, in a sense, is education in nature, to develop virtues that, perhaps, we wouldn't get in culture. So in similar ways this harks back to trying to make us more primitive through education in order to allow young men who will serve nations to become more effective in their jobs. Now, fast forward a hundred years, and companies still want to develop these lost virtues of hardness and reliability and roughness and toughness.
This all sounds very well if you're trying to capture a male market, but does any of this resonate with women?
Well, I think phenomena like Tough Mudder, Tough Guy, these events where we set up, if you like, very artificial natures, have been popular across the gender divide. Equally, if you look at consumption practices like surfing and sailing and climbing, the gender divide - certainly, for me - is not, perhaps, as marked as it is in other more traditional sports like football or rugby.
Certainly, in surfing, the sponsorships and the salaries and the prizes that women can win in competitive surfing are not comparable to men. But, rather like horse riding or rock climbing, there's no reason why women shouldn't or can't participate on the same levels. I think nature is gendered. The stories that we tell ourselves in nature and that are used to sell things by brands through nature are both gendered and they are constructed by nationhood as well.
The way that Australia traditionally done nature is reflected in the Australian landscape, which is incredibly hard and harsh. The only option, really, in the desert - certainly, for the western explorers - was battle, such a harsh landscape is it; whereas the stories that we, perhaps, tell ourselves when we're in the English countryside - epitomised by, say, the Cotswolds, the green rolling hills and the beautiful dry stone walls - they're quite different. So nature is done by nationhood, and nature is done by gender as well, I think.
So, Robin, you've observed that people behave very differently in their expectations of nature and how they see it, according to whether they live in a natural environment that they have been able to subdue or whether it is yet to be subdued. Tell us a bit about that.
I think this is very interesting from a historical perspective. Some of the research that I've done with regards to how Hawaii was framed from first contact through to the middle of the 20th century, especially around this activity of surfing, we see an application of these stories of nature, in particular, again, primitivism, this chance to escape culture and redevelop our lost virtues and recontact nature and become ourselves, more natural people.
I think we see the way that is framed changing according to the status of Hawaii as an emerging colony and as an emerging economy as well. On first contact - and, subsequently, with the arrival of missionaries from New England in the early 19th century - we find that Hawaii is painted with a variety of classical primitive stereotypes which are not particularly positive, especially for missionaries. So Hawaii was a place of unbridled sexual indulgence. Hawaii was a place of indolence and paradise connotations that, perhaps, we had lost in western societies.
But through institutions of education, economy, military service and religion, Hawaii was, if you like, in inverted commas, civilised, and sports like surfing - part of the old ways were really expunged from Hawaii. What's interesting is what happens when these institutions of economy, school, religion and military service have been really firmly emplaced in the new colony.
When Hawaii is sending soldiers out to mainland America, when all of these churches of the peculiar New England pattern have sprung up all over the Hawaiian islands, surfing and Hawaiian culture is reframed, not as something to be looked on as a bad primitivism, but something much more exotic, a good kind of primitivism, and a chance, importantly, for white wealthy tourists to go to Hawaii and redevelop that lost spirituality and that lost contact with nature, primitivism and surfing become something that uphold a tourism economy.
So once these ideologies are no longer competing on a level playing field - someone has won - suddenly, the other becomes quite exotic.
Yeah. This is what's so interesting about those stories we tell ourselves in nature. Nature can be anything our psychologies demand, based on what we need to know at any particular time. Now, this introduces us to a very interesting idea in business called marketplace mythologies, which is the idea that - as individuals with personal psychologies and as societies with various tensions and problems - mythologies are ways of solving those problems, and nature emerges again and again, and primitivism in nature, contact with nature, emerges again and again as a way of framing a way out of our cultural problems. This is how you can leave.
So that would be a nice example of nature being problematic at one period in history, and then opportunistic at another time in history. It's supporting tourist economies. The meaning of entering nature and being at one with nature completely changes according to those economic principles.
You've written about the betrayals that nature itself offers up. Betrayal is quite a strong word to describe what happens when nature simply doesn't co-operate with our expectations.
Well, at a very concrete level, nature just doesn't do what we want it to do. That is a foundational principle in ideas of magic, the sublime and, indeed, the primitive. Nature just sometimes doesn't obey what we want to do and forces us to react spontaneously and redevelop those lost virtues of adaptability and, perhaps, even spirituality. Nature constantly reminds us that we're not in charge. That's probably quite good for us but, at the same time, the idea of a betrayal is that nature can thwart or stop our agency, our abilities to act and develop economies and businesses in the ways that we'd like.
There was a nice study by Michel Collon in the mid-'80s where he went and looked at a fishing economy on the west coast of France. And his study has influenced me in the variety of data that he tries to collect to understand this fishing economy. He looks at the traditional stuff, the supply and demand of, in this case, shellfish, which are being grown off the coast of Brittany. He also interviews the fishermen and, at some stage, he goes and interviews the scallops themselves, these shellfish living on the bottom of the sea. His conclusion is that, well, the scallops just aren't going to play ball. The scallops just weren't fastening on the scallop farms and they weren't breeding properly. In this sense, from there he develops the idea that nature has its own will, if you like, its own agency, its own ability to act on economies and betray them, if it feels like it.
You're on Up Close. I'm Elisabeth Lopez, and we're talking to Dr Robin Canniford about how we consume nature. Robin, you say that nature is often treated as an externality in business research and in business schools which focus on green branding and the benefits of corporate social responsibility, regulations, things like that. Tell me about the uneasy relationship brands have with nature.
In some senses, the way that nature is treated through branding practice is still quite crude and not necessarily helpful. Brands, in some senses, use a particular story to frame natural landscapes in a way that allows consumers to live out a particular marketplace mythology, live out a story that makes them feel better in their lives.
So brands like Patagonia offer consumers the opportunity to tell themselves stories about their effectiveness in nature and their ability to live and contact nature in effective ways. This does - the symbolic violence to nature, a stereotype's nature, in the same way that primitivism has stereotyped indigenous populations. It's just something for us to frame in an exciting way and then use.
Now, that, for me, sits quite uneasily with what we find when we look at nature in more detail and see that it's very contingent. It depends on the varieties of technologies large and small that we bring to nature. It depends on the variety of stories that we tell ourselves in nature; some of them very positive, some of them not so positive.
So what model of marketing should brands be moving to?
I think the quite crude ways of looking at nature - even by a brand like Patagonia - have been, to some extent, pulled back in favour of much more complex views of nature as hybrid. Nature and culture is constantly imbricated, like in these scallop example - nature and culture tied together through various networks - is something that is shouting at us from the rooftops these days. We simply can't sustain the idea that nature is somehow separate from culture these days.
From the largest levels of climate change and what are becoming known as hyperobjects - things like rubber, car tyres, polystyrene - these are consumable objects that will far outstrip our current civilisation. They will be around for many millions of years, floating around in the Pacific Ocean.
And, as you've acutely observed, it's difficult for a surfer, for instance, to reconcile the fact that they're using a board that uses unsustainably harvested - or produced resources - reconciling that with a love of just deep nature.
This is where things get really interesting. The idea that nature and culture are tied together is becoming much more apparent. Now, at a very concrete level I think surfers have started a lot of charity organisations and social movements to try and clean beaches. I've got friends back in the United Kingdom - the Widemouth Task Force - who go and do beach cleans regularly to try and purge these very cultural industrial factors from the beach. Patagonia themselves have tried to make their products less harmful to nature. There is an increasing awareness at quite a wide level, I think.
And but the myth will endure in the marketing itself, won't it, of being able to separate off pristine nature that is not contaminated by culture.
Here's the problem. That story of pristine nature, as not contaminated by culture, underpins so many economies, be they tourism economies or the ability to advertise four wheel drives effectively. People want to tell themselves the story of leaving culture and becoming more primitive, at one with nature.
But I think that's actually very damaging to the natural environments that we seek to support. It's only through recognising the hybridity and, perhaps, abandoning these false stories, that we can begin to move forward, think of nature and culture as deeply connected. And then, at a micro level - the level of yours and my everyday lives - start thinking about how we can redress some of these problems and redesign economies, redesign markets and marketing, to work with nature, co-operate with nature in ways that leave natural environments, perhaps, a little less damaged.
What about those who say that in order to preserve nature we need to consume it?
I think that's a very interesting and quite a difficult question. For me, it's how we consume nature that will determine the preservation of what we call nature. Now, I think that nature itself is a constructed concept. Part of that construction comes from the stories that we tell ourselves around nature but, equally, part of that construction comes from the natural geographies themselves, these ideas of betrayals, these ideas of nature not doing what we want.
So I think that the necessity to consume nature is always there. What are the ways that we can try and improve how we consume nature? Well, a concept I'm working on is this idea of redress. This is to say that we can continue to use natural geographies and environments, but the way that we use those geographies has to change, both in the technologies that we develop and bring there, and in the stories that we tell ourselves.
So an idea of redress would be thinking about if we're building in - take the south-west of England, where I'm from. My little house in the south-west of England is built out of cob, which is a traditional material made out of stone, clay type mud, straw and cow manure. This building has been standing for some 200 years; very simple building material, very reliable building material, using straw bales as well, good insulation qualities, and it comes from right there. So it's a technology that's short on supply chains.
Supply chains in business research, they're not the sexy end of business research but, actually, they're very, very interesting. Again, tracking back to that brand Patagonia that I keep talking about, Patagonia have been quite responsible in trying to shorten, or at least be honest about, supply chains globally. This is one way of thinking about nature and using nature, brining different technologies to bear in ways that leave natural environments, perhaps, a little less touched or use natural environments more efficiently, indeed.
Now, the stories that we tell ourselves when we're consuming nature, this is slightly more complex and, possibly, more controversial. I think it's time to stop telling ourselves that nature is the opposite of culture. I think it's time to stop telling ourselves that we can be, if you like, modern primitives when we go back to nature. The Australian literary theorist, David Tacey, talks about regarding nature through poetry.
If we've lost spirituality in our lives, I think one way that people, perhaps, feel comfortable expressing spirituality, especially around nature, is through poetry. But rather than trying to contact the stereotypical versions of nature as a place to be primitive by co-opting and doing symbolic violence to other cultures, I think all of us in our own cultures have our own myths and poetries around the landscapes that we grew up in.
One particular wonderful example of this poetic way of looking at nature that has changed my life, possibly, is Alice Oswald's T S Eliot prize winning poem, Dart, which is a poem about a river in Devon, the county where I'm from. In researching this poem she tied together multiple voices from the source of the River Dart all the way to the sea. And she interviewed hill walkers and canoeists and a guy who runs a hydroelectric plant, a fisherman. But at some point in this poem the voices of local myths, folk tales, start to emerge. And then, at one stage, incredibly movingly, the voice of the river speaks to us from the poem as well.
You know this might sound like complete madness, but I think in terms of developing business models, ways that we politically, ethically and poetically contact nature, I think we need to be tying together multiple voices, voices of engineers, voices of business people, voices of politicians, but, equally, voices of artists and children, mapping these voices together and, in this way, I see ourselves building more all-encompassing, hopefully, more positive environmentally conscious ways of seeing nature and culture not as separate, but as tied together.
Robin, would you be able to read us a few lines from that poem?
Yeah, sure. Here's an extract from Alice Oswald's book long poem, Dart.
the West Dart speaks a wonderful dark fall
from Cut Hill through Wystman's Wood
put your ear to it, you can hear water
cooped up in moss and moving
slowly uphill through lean-to trees
where every day the sun gets twisted and shut
with the weak sound of the wind
rubbing one indolent twig upon another
and the West Dart speaks roots in a pinch of clitters
the East Dart speaks coppice and standards
the East Dart speaks the Gawler Brook and the
the West Dart speaks the Blackabrook that runs by the
at loggerheads, lying next to one another on the
wrangling away into this valley of oaks
We've been speaking to Dr Robin Canniford, Co-Director of the Cluster for Organization Society and Markets at the University of Melbourne. Robin is the author and co-author of a number of articles on surfing culture and consumer tribes. Robin Canniford, thanks so much for coming in.
Thank you very much for having me on.
If you'd like more information or a transcript of this episode, head to the Up Close website. Up Close is a production of the University of Melbourne, Australia, created by Eric van Bemmel and Kelvin Param. This episode was recorded on 26 November 2014. Producers were Kelvin Param and Eric van Bemmel. Audio engineering by Gavin Nebauer. I'm Elisabeth Lopez. Until next time, goodbye.
You've been listening to Up Close. We're also on Twitter and Facebook. For more information visit upclose.unimelb.edu.au. Copyright 2014, the University of Melbourne.
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It's not exactly uncommon for a funnyman to transition into dramatic roles once enough orphanages have been saved or, uh, late-life high school diplomas have been obtained. The list of comedians-turned-tragedians is practically endless. It includes Adam Sandler, Peter Sellers, Bill Murray, and even the great one himself, Jackie Gleason. However, for a myriad of possible reasons, the opposite is rarely true.
The exception to the rule is a genial, white-haired man who for several decades was considered to be one of the funniest guys alive. Leslie Nielsen sure didn't start out that way, though. Nielsen had an astoundingly long career in Hollywood before he ever slipped on a banana peel or confused the word "surely" with the name "Shirley." His days as a stone-faced heavy came to an abrupt end when he appeared in a little comedy called "Airplane!"
Before his legendary tenure as Lt. Frank Drebin in "Police Squad!" on TV and the "Naked Gun" film series, Nielsen was cast as Dr. Rumack in the immensely popular takedown of the 1970s disaster movie. Created by the sultans of spoof—David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams—"Airplane!" virtually created the joke-a-second format that has come to typify the genre.
The Zuckers and Abrahams insisted on using actors who had never done comedy before, noting that serious people taking stupid stuff at face value was much funnier than comedians hamming it up. This accounts for a cast that included dour-faced legends such as Robert Stack, Peter Graves, and Lloyd Bridges (although Bridges would go on to do more comedy later in his career). It also accounts for Leslie Nielsen putting the kibosh on more than three decades of playing parts that did not require acting opposite a blow-up sex doll.
This was no small feat as Nielsen was not a bit player during his, up to that point, 30-year career. He was the leading man in several blockbusters, including the 1956 smash "Forbidden Planet." Funnily enough, he also had a large role in "The Poseidon Adventure," a serious disaster movie that bears more than a striking resemblance to "Airplane!"
The secret to Nielsen's comedic success here is his perfectly deadpan delivery. Throughout the entire film, and his later work, he acts as if every absurd thing going on around him is completely normal. Of course, in typical Inspector Clouseau fashion, he often adds to the absurdity through ridiculous dialogue and actions. It's almost as if his characters, deep down, still think they are roving around one of his earlier dramatic films. The juxtaposition works, turning simple wordplay into laugh-out-loud moments.
On paper, the term "just play it straight" seems easy enough, as that was the direction given to the actors from the creative team. However, only someone like Nielsen, who freely admitted to never being comfortable as a dramatic leading man, could transform the script's words into something truly iconic. His "best of" list from this film reads like a "best of" list of comedy scenes from the era itself. Whether patiently explaining what a hospital was to a bewildered Julie Hagerty or verbally sparring with Peter Graves, each time Nielsen appears in the film it is truly unforgettable. There is a reason, after all, he managed to parlay this into a major late-stage career resurgence.
Oh, and in case you were wondering which era of his career Nielsen may have preferred, his gravestone includes a fart joke. Bravo, good sir. Bravo.
Lawrence Bonk is a writer whose work has appeared in the Village Voice, Huffington Post, and a bunch of weird websites that make pop-up filters work overtime.


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Beautiful Words from Jessica Jackson
Forget your shade of colour, and your size, These are all things that can be put aside. People are not what they wear. It's the feelings in their heart, the part of them that cares. Every human is beautiful, in their own way. People shouldn't judge by appearance, but rather what a person has to say. For every smile you give, and get in return, Is sharing love around, and love isn't something you learn. Love is a positive feeling, that can be easily shared. It's usually the people that are themselves, that show how much they care. You should never hide yourself away, Out of fear of what others may have to say. Just be who you are, when no one else is around, You should never worry, just be yourself, you are allowed. People that cause drama and pain, Don't bother comparing, because you're not the same. People act differently, based on their life experiences. I believe we are all here together. We shouldn't judge based on our differences. As good as it is to love who you are on the outside, Love who you are within yourself, there is no downside. Everyone is different, and we are all unique. We are like many different flowers, And the world is the boutique. The people you surround yourself with, is your choice to make. Just as long as no one makes you feel as if you need to be fake. We all as humans, have so much to learn. Sometimes your best friend, can easily turn. Just remember everyone's life experience is different. But we are quite capable of helping each other get through it. I believe we were given our lives because we are strong enough to live them. Our experiences are what makes us, but for yourself, don't give in. Everyone has good and bad days, But it is completely up to you, as to what pays. Money is not happiness, but love really is, I myself, can only hope that people wake up to this. For a day without a smile, really is a day lost. Eye contact and a smile, comes without a cost.


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Linden – Finding calm the natural way
Last month it was Stinging Nettles, this month I want to tell you about another of my favourites – Linden. Linden flowers, also known as Lime and Lime Flowers (although I dont know why since it does not grow limes).
Linden – Tilia cordata – Is a tall, hardy tree, growing between 20 – 40m with dark green, shiny, heart shaped leaves and clusters of small, pale yellow blossoms. A native to Europe it likes moist, well drained soil in full sun or partial shade. The flowers are the only parts used in a herbal sense , being collected when they first open, and have many medicinal and culinary uses. The wood and bark are used in the manufacture of furniture, piano keys and matting and baskets.
Linden flowers are popular throughout Europe, particularly France. In the times of the Romans, linden tress were planted in their squares as they were thought to induce calm. This is actually not all that wrong as the flowers are a soothing herb which eases anxiety and calms the mind. In The British Herb Pharmacopoeia linden is listed as a sedative for treating nervous tension and headaches. There may also be some evidence that it heals migraines by improving blood circulation. German research has found that linden flowers improve iron absorption and as such suggested that anyone with an iron deficiency should drink linden flower tea. In France, linden blossom tea is given to children as an afternoon drink to help settle down hyperactive behaviour. I grew up with linden flower honey, which we were given as children for sore throats.In Germany where a tipple is rather popular – purely for medicinal purposes of course 🙂 – a digestive is made from linden flower to aid digestion after a meal. Unlike a liqueur, a digestive is not sweet and not always the most tasty. Of course there are ways to turn a digestive into a liqueur and make it much more palatable. Having said that, linden flowers actually lend a pleasant flavour to remedies and are often included in food recipes as well.
You can use linden blossoms to make lemonade, jelly, honey, liqueur, add to fruit salad, flavour custards, make linden fritters…. there are so many ways to use it – only limited by your imagination.
Stay herbal
2 Responses to Linden – Finding calm the natural way
I have beautiful memories from my childhood when I was going with my family and friends to gather linden in the middle of June.
At night, the wind brought from the forest a sweet smell of linden flowers.
Everytime I felt agitated, my mother prepared a cup of linden tea and I was already feeling better.
Now, over the years, I wonder if the effect of linden was so powerful, or it was more like a placebo effect because my mother was always telling me I will feel better after drinking a cup of tea.
Oh yes, the smell definitely brings back many sweet childhood memories.
You might be right with your placebo question. It is well documented that the very act of taking time out, sit and sip your tea is very relaxing, regardless of what is in the cup.


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Solar Power at Open Arms Village
Hot water - It's an important part of everyday life. Just think about how often you use it to bathe, wash your hands, clean your house, and prepare food! The same is true in Kenya. Each of our children's homes has seven bathrooms and one kitchen. Children often bathe two times a day, wash their clothes after school, help sweep and mop the floors, and help their house parents prepare meals. Open Arms Village currently has electricity and small electric water heaters, but our need for a reliable, sustainable, and affordable source of energy is growing exponentially as we add more children to our family!
Solar water heating will use plentiful sun to replace expensive and unreliable electricity - making other important purchases possible.
Solar water heating will use plentiful sun to replace expensive and unreliable electricity - making other important purchases possible.
As we install these new solar water heaters, other updates must be done at the same time. Several homes at Open Arms Village need updated faucets and shower hardware, and new hot-water pipes must be run to the sinks and showers.
Solar water heaterS will reduce the electricity bills at Open Arms Village, FREEING UP FUNDS FOR OTHER CRUCIAL OUTREACH AND MINISTRY NEEDS.
Our homes are currently equipped with electric, instant hot water systems that drive the Village's electric bill to upwards of $2,000 per month. A team of volunteers raised the funds and did the work to update three children's homes already.
While in Kenya, Rachel Gallagher, Co-Founder of Open Arms International, asked one of the boys what he liked about living there. Without hesitation he said "hot water".
The rest of the kids are waiting for funding to provide hot water for them, too. Today, you can provide updated plumbing AND a hot water heater, when you partner with OAI!


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Children stage Cromer-to-Mundesley onesie walk to help friend with brain tumour
PUBLISHED: 07:00 03 January 2013
Archant Norfolk 2013
Caring classmates of a north Norfolk boy diagnosed with a brain tumour have been sea-dipping and walking over the Christmas period to raise money for a children's cancer ward.
10-year-old James Parsons visited Cromer beach last week to wave off a group of his schoolfriends as they set out on a 7.3 mile sponsored beach walk to Mundesley, wearing onesies.
Their sponsorship cash will help buy games and other distractions and amusements for James and his fellow young patients on the C2 Ward at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge.
The majority of the walkers were friends from Antingham and Southrepps Primary School where James is a pupil.
Brave James, from Thorpe Market, near Cromer, has undergone five operations to remove the tumour since he was diagnosed in September last year, according to his mum, Anne-Marie.
He had started getting headaches and sickness over the summer which gradually got worse and which doctors at first diagnosed as migraine.
But an optician raised the alarm while examining James, realising that there was high pressure behind one eye and something was blocking a nerve, said Mrs Parsons.
"They rushed him straight to Addenbrookes. He's been remarkable through it all. Quite strong and matter of fact," she added.
James, who has an older sister Jemma, 12, has already undergone chemotherapy treatment and is due for another course, plus radiotherapy.
His family hope he will have finished all his treatment in the spring.
Meanwhile his friends have already raised about £1,000 for Addenbrooke's. Some took part in the Boxing Day dip off Cromer beach and a bigger group set off on Wednesday's sponsored walk.
Aimee Powell, 10, and her cousin Poppy Spencer-Powell, 12, said they had got the walk idea while watching the BBC's Children in Need appeal in November.
"We thought we'd like to help our friend so I thought of the onesie walk," said Aimee.
The pair had joined forces with Boxing Day dippers Fred Cooper and Jess Loose, both 10, to pool their fund raising, said Aimee's mum, Hayley Powell.
She added: "It's really hit them. It has a big affect when it's someone so close. We're so proud of them. It's so lovely that it's all come from them. All we have done as adults is facilitate it."
Mrs Parsons said the children's response had been "fantastic." They had visited James at home and brought him drawings.
"It's so good that they wanted to do something not only to help James, but other children in hospital too," she added.
● To support the appeal visit: www.justgiving.com/Hayley-Powell3


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