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Pacifism is the refusal to participate in any wars. "Conscientious objector" laws usually permit pacifists to avoid a draft (mandatory enlistment) in war. Some are assigned to non-combat military service (with pay and veteran's benefits); some are assigned to civilian work in hospitals (without pay and without veteran's benefits). Those who refuse to participate in any way are imprisoned.
Pacifism is supported by peace churches, such as the Quakers, Mennonites, Amish, Brethren (Dunkers), Schwenkfelders, and Jehovah's Witnesses
American Revolution
The peace churches - Quakers, Mennonites, Brethrens, Schwenkfelders, and Moravians - attempted to take no position during the American Revolution. Claiming a higher sovereign than either Parliament or Congress, they sought to remain aloof from the dispute. Such a position was impossible without persecution, however. Those who refused to bear arms were taxed, and the tax money was used to support the war effort. Thus there was no escape from involvement in the secular issue of Independence.[1]
World War I
Pacifism was badly handled in World War I; many men were drafted and severely hazed or punished by the military for their pacifism.
At its founding in 1880, the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) viewed pacifism as an expression of holiness, but it was unable to sustain this view through World War I and the pressures of Americanism. The church's commitment to pacifism was never securely grounded.
World War II
In 1940, as war seemed imminent, the historic peace churches - the Mennonites, the Church of the Brethren, and the Society of Friends - formed the National Service Board for Religious Objectors (NSBRO) to serve as the administrator for the projects of the Civilian Public Service (CPS). The CPS was used by the federal draft agency (the Selective Service System) as a program that provided nonviolent work alternatives for persons conscientiously opposed to participating in the military. There were conflicts among the peace churches along with the issue of the separation of church and state in the administration of the program.
In World War II there were 135 Catholics among 11,887 individuals who registered their dissent within the law and were granted conscientious objector (CO) status. These men were placed in Civilian Public Service (CPS) camps. The CPS was created by the Historic Peace Churches as a means of alternative service. The only Catholic group to support CO's was the Catholic Worker. A special group which emerged from the Catholic Worker for this purpose was the Association of Catholic Conscientious Objectors (ACCO). During the war, the ACCO operated two CPS camps for Catholic CO's, published a newspaper, and also worked with 61 Catholics who were imprisoned because they refused to register their dissent within the law. There is no way to show the precise relationship of the Catholic faith to the personal decisions of these men, but 73% contended that their faith had a bearing on their decision.[2]
Other movements
There is a small but slowly increasing concern for replacing war and violence with peaceful methods of conflict resolution. Recently, many Christian denominations have recognized the validity of the pacifist option for their members who are conscientiously opposed to participation in military operations. Since pacifism has come to be associated with left-wing movements, pacifists and conservative church members tend to locate toward opposite ends of the liberal-conservative socioreligious-political continuum. Although a majority of Mennonites adhere to their traditional pacifism rooted in a conservative biblicism, a minority do not. A major survey of Mennonite church members reveals their pacifist and political leanings, and rejects the hypothesis that conservatives would accept pacifism more strongly than liberals would.[3]
Quakers have gradually reversed their position on nonresistance. During the Civil War a few were 'disowned' for bearing arms. A change began during World War I when many served in combat units, although more than twice their number worked in alternative civilian relief and rehabilitation tasks. World War II found those in combat units held a four-to-one margin over those in civilian alternate service, to which they were legally entitled as members of a 'historic peace church.' A study of Quakers in Kansas showed that in 1950 only three men registered a protest against combat service.[4]
Biblical references about Christian nonviolence
The following verses and interpretations are used by some Biblical scholars as evidence for Christian nonviolence.
- "Love does no harm to its neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:10 NIV)
- "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV)
- "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." (Matthew 5:38-42 NIV)
- "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:43-48 NIV)
See also
- Hippocratic Oath and Oath of the Hindu Physician
- Ethics and Morality
- Nonviolence
- Ahimsa Dharma
- Five Precepts and Ten Commandments - "Thou Shalt Not Kill"
- ↑ Richard K. MacMaster, "Neither Whig Nor Tory: the Peace Churches in the American Revolution," Fides et Historia 1977 9(2): 8-24,
- ↑ Patricia McNeal, "Catholic Conscientious Objection During World War II," Catholic Historical Review 1975 61(2): 222-242,
- ↑ J. Howard Kauffman, "Dilemmas of Christian Pacifism Within a Historic Peace Church," Sociological Analysis 1989 49(4): 368-385,
- ↑ Cecil B.Curry, "The Devolution of Quaker Pacifism: a Kansas Case Study, 1860-1955," Kansas History 1983 6(2): 120-133, 1
Further reading
- MacMaster, Richard K. Conscience in Crisis: Mennonites and Other Peace Churches in America, 1739-1789. Interpretation and Documents Scottdale, Pa.: Herald, 1979. 575 pp.


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Llanddwyn in mono
Under the Bridge
A different perspective to a familiar bridge in North Wales.
Britannia Bridge, taken underneath the Bangor side. That is the road deck above which carries the North Wales Express Way across to Anglesey, the rail deck peels off behind me.
Olympus OM-D E-M1ii
1/45sec at f11
Mono conversion in DXO Photolab.
#bridge #graffiti #monochrome #blackandwhite #shadow #leadinglines #dxolabs #road #rail #travelwales
Llanberis Mountain Goat
A heard of 20 or so mountain goats blocking our path.
Box pyramids
These fabulous topiery pyramids at Cadnant Hidden Gardens are the first thing you see
Hidden falls
Cadnant Hidden gardens near Menai Bridge have many streams and water falls that flow down to Afon Cadnant (River Cadnant)
Little Orme, Storms are Coming
Looking towards the Little Orme and Gwynt Y Mor Wind Farm located about 10 miles off the Llandudno and Conwy coast.
Llandudno Pier
One of those accidental shots and by no means perfect. I was shooting the promenade when these two lads turned and clinked cups in a cheers greeting.
Gone for a Swim
Prom Lights
Caught in the Act
Ball of Glass
King Street
Taken in King Street, Chester
Water Power
The not so glamerous side of the old hydro electric power station built on the site of the Dee Mills around 1913. decommissioned in 1939
Angry Clouds over the Dee
Taken looking down the River Dee from the Old Dee Bridge in Chester
Far Away to Pen Y Gogarth
Pen Y Gogarth (The Great Orme), Llandudno taken from Pen Mon, Ynys Mon (Anglesey)
Egerton Bridge
Egerton Bridge is situated between Egerton Dock and Morpeth Dock and is a working example of a bascule bridge. It was built between 1928 and 1931, as one of four similar bascule bridges in the Merseyside docks, replacing an earlier swing bridge. The bridge and the machine house were completely restored in 1993 and opened to the public in 1995
A Bascule Bridge
Egerton Bridge is situated between Egerton Dock and Morpeth Dock and is a working example of a bascule bridge.
All From My Travels
Photography styles
©2000-2022 Neil A. Stevens, All rights reserved
Site operated by Peak XV Consulting Ltd
Rope-work around the pontoon at the Chinese Garden, Portmeirion
At the Chinese Garden, Portmeirion

subset: commoncrawl


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[Note: I'll update this post periodically (at the bottom of the page), adding photographers and links. We're now up to over 80 photographers!]
Last Saturday morning, I clicked on a link that took me to yet another photography list with only white guys on it. It wasn't the way that I wanted to start the weekend. (If you're looking for the 37 photographers you should know, scroll down.)
Don't get me wrong, some of my best friends are white guys. (Really.) But lists of various sorts with just white male photographers on them show up on my radar screen way too often. I don't get angry anymore, just annoyed.
The latest example is from a website called Digital Trends. A couple of days ago it published an article called "7 of the Most Captivating Photojournalists on Instagram Capturing Conflict Zones." You're not going to be surprised when I tell you that all seven are white men. This comes shortly after the Artsy website posted "A History of Photography in 12 Photographs." The creators of the photos? White Europeans and Americans, one and all -- 10 men and two women.
So, what's the problem? Let's start with the history of photography. First... Well, first, it's absurd to think that the history of photography can be summed up in 12 photographs. Second, it's equally foolish to believe that you can tell that history without including the likes of James Van Der Zee, Daido Moriyama, Dayanita Singh, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, or Malick Sidibe. A Frenchman and an Englishman may have invented photography, but it quickly spread around the world, where people innovated in hugely important ways.
Back to Instagram. There's no question that the white guys on Digital Trends' list are damn good photographers -- Ben Lowy, Marcus Bleasdale, and David Guttenfelder, among others. In fact, I happily follow several of them on Instagram. What annoys me is that the website ignores equally strong female photographers and photographers of color who photograph in conflict zones and show their work on Instagram.
I don't think that Digital Trends' writers created a whites-only list out of malice. A combination of journalistic laziness and ideological blinders is the far more likely cause. Laziness explains itself. By "ideological blinders" I mean the tendency for those of us who are the products of western culture to see the creative and intellectual output of white men as naturally better than that of women and of people who happen to be black or brown. It's a difficult habit to break. I wonder, for instance, how many people who saw the story noticed that the list was exclusively white and male.
It's hard to remove the blinders, but it's an important task. Lists like this are one of the small, insidious ways in which gender and racial inequality are normalized and reproduced.
David Campbell (a white guy, coincidentally) addresses similar questions these in a blog post from yesterday. He also includes a diverse list of photojournalists on Instagram who are all showing excellent work.
Below is my own list of women photographers and photographers of Asian, African, and Latino descent who are using Instagram in beautiful, creative, and powerful ways. Most of them are photojournalists or documentary photographers. Some work in conflict zones. There are also fine art photographers, editors, and a filmmaker or two in the mix.
This list is by no means definitive. I'd love to call it "The Best Asian, Black, Latino, and Female Photographers on Instagram," but it's far too provisional. It's made up entirely of people that I happen follow on Instagram, and I haven't been at all systematic in following. I tend to follow photographers that I know, friends of friends, photographers that I particularly admire, and those that I've somehow stumbled across. The point here is to show you the sort of people that Digital Trends' writers could easily have found, if they'd bothered to try.
I look forward to the day when exercises like this aren't necessary, to a day when photography lists routinely reflect photography's rich diversity.
37 Instagram Photographers That You Really Ought to Know. (Besides Ruddy Roye, the photographers are listed in the order they appear in my Instagram "following" list. I've linked to a photographer's website if it appears on the photographer's Instagram homepage.):
I started (above) with Ruddy Roye, one of the most creative photographers on Instagram. More than anyone else that I know about, he's exploring Instagram's potential, making new kinds of images, inventing new forms of story-telling, reaching new audiences. Roye's website.
Lynsey Addario. Addario's website.
Magda Rakita. Rakita's website.
Adriana Zehbrauskas. Zehbrauskas' website.
Andrew Esiebo. Esiebo's website.
Bettina Hansen. Hansen's website.
Ciara Leeming. Leeming's website.
Dean Hutton. Hutton's website.
Demetrius Freeman. Freeman's website.
Elaine McMillion. McMillion's website.
Emeka Okereke. Okereke's website.
Glenna Gordon. Gordon's website.
Hank Willis Thomas. Willis' website.
Ihsaan Haffejee. Haffejee's website.
Jared Soares. Soares' website.
Kendrick Brinson. Brinson's website.
Krisanne Johnson. Johnson's website.
Laura El-Tantawy. El-Tantawy's website.
Lauren DeCicca. DeCicca's website.
Manjari Sharma. Sharma's website.
Mary Beth Koeth. Koeth's website.
Melissa Lyttle. Lyttle's website.
Nana Kofi Acquah. Acquah's website.
Nina Berman. Berman's website.
Q. Sakamaki. Sakamaki's website.
Raymond Thompson, Jr. Thompson's website.
Russell Frederick. Frederick's website.
Samantha Reinders. Reinder's website.
Sim Chi Yin. Sim Chi Yin's website.
Stacy Kranitz. Kranitz's website.
Stephanie Sinclair. Sinclair's website.
Tammy Keefer. Keefer's website.
Teru Kuwayama. Kuwayama's website.
Wayne Lawrence. Lawrence's website.
Whitney Richardson. Richardson's website.
Updates (listed in the order that I receive suggestions):
Bethany Mollenkof. Mollenkof's website.
Ellie Pritts. Pritts' website.
Koci Hernandez. Hernandez's website.
Lori Grinker. Grinker's website.
Katrin Eismann (she's has recently rejoined Instagram). Eismann's webisite.
Jacquelyn Martin. Martin's website.
I owe the following suggestions to Melissa Lyttle (see above and in comments). She's amazing:
Everyday Africa (many different, excellent photographers).
Lisa Krantz. Krantz's website.
Eve Edelheit. Edelheit's website.
Carolina Hidalgo. Hidalgo's website.
Johnny Andrews. Andrew's website.
Rich-Joseph Facun. Facun's website.
Meredith Edlow. Edlow's website.
Carolyn Van Houten. Van Houten's website.
Carolyn Drake. Drake's website.
Kitra Cahana. Cahana's website.
Anastasia Taylor-Lind. Taylor-Lind's website.
Kiana Hayeri. Hayeri's website.
Katie Falkenberg. Falkenberg's website.
Maya Alleruzzo. Alleruzzo's website.
Kainaz Amaria. Amaria's website.
Erika Schultz. Schultz's website.
One more from Melissa. (A conflict photographer, by the way.):
Andrea Bruce. Bruce's website.
These suggestions are from Alet Pretorius. (Thanks!) They're all from South Africa, I'm delighted to say. There are also several South African photographers in my list above:
Pretorius on Instagram. Her website.
Musa N. Nxumalo. Nxumalo's website.
Alexia Webster. Webster's website.
As I said at the top, this list is far from complete. These are all terrific photographers, and you certainly should follow them, if you're on Instagram. But the list itself reflects the thoroughly un-systematic way that I've clicked on the "follow" button.
Point is, the list can be better -- with your help. If you've got photographers that you'd like me to add -- female photographers or photographers of Asian, African, Latino, or Native American descent who do superb work on Instagram -- leave a note in the comments, and I'll check them out.
Update, 14 October 2013: I missed this when it was published, but last week the New York Times' Lens blog published a story about a new exhibition, "Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment." Written by Whitney Richardson, "Women on the Front Lines and Behind the Lens" features Stephanie Sinclair and Lynsey Addario, among several others. Both Sinclair and Addario have worked extensively in conflict zones, and you'll find both in the list above. Richardson's there, too,
PS I'm on Instagram, too.
Update, 16 October 2013: Something seems to have gone wrong with Typepad's commenting system. Kate Knibbs, who wrote the Digital Trend story, let a comment. I approved it in the usual way, but it hasn't appeared in the comments section. Here's what she had to say:
"I'm the author of the original post on Digital Trends and I'd like to thank you for taking the time to put together this more inclusive list. I threw together that list of photojournalists as a bit of last minute content for the weekend and I didn't research it as well as I should have. I'm kicking myself for not even giving the homogenous makeup a second thought. This was certainly not done out of malice, but that doesn't really matter -- this is not a good list if it's all white men. As a technology journalist often upset at the gender/race/class dynamics in my field, I'm pretty appalled at myself. Even though the list is woefully unbalanced I'm happy it provoked discussion."


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Police are searching for the suspect that robbed the Admiral gas station in Cedar Springs early Saturday morning.
According to Cedar Springs Police, a man wearing a disguise entered the Admiral Gas station at the corner of Main and E. Muskegon Streets about 12:46 a.m. Saturday morning, November 26, and displayed a gun to the clerk. The man, described as about 5-foot 6-inches, with a husky build, and possibly wearing khaki pants, fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Police set up a perimeter and searched for the suspect. A tracking dog led police to the Meadow Creek Apartments at the end of Oak Street, but no suspect was apprehended.
Surveillance photos show a man with something pink or red covering his face, possibly a blue or purple hat over that, and he's wearing a blue or purple jacket with a picture on the back of a bear head with a fish in its mouth. If you have any info on who this might be, or if you've seen this coat before, please call Cedar Springs Police at 696-1311. You can also call or Silent Observer at (616) 774-2345. You can submit tips online by going to http://www.silentobserver.org/reportacrime.asp. Or you can text a tip to CRIMES (274637). TIP138 must appear in the first line of your message, then type your message. All tips to Silent Observer are anonymous.
Cedar Springs Police were assisted by the Kent County Sheriff Department, a Wyoming Police Canine Officer, and the Rockford Police.


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So here we are at the end, and pardon the use of cliches, but what a long, crazy ride it's been. BRINK started back in 2006, and it seems fitting we end just shy of the original date it started over the 4th July weekend after attending Anime Expo so many years ago. This comic has always been, from it's stat an experiment, one to test if I have the will power and dive to continuously update a story week to week, as well as push and play with visual story telling. Did everything turn out the way I had set it up in my mind almost 6 years later? Not perfectly, one thing I've taken away from this very long term test, is that I require a fully scripted comic to keep up with. If I could go back and redo a large portion of this story, I would have, there's a lot I'm not 100% happy with. Or course, on a more positive view, the improvement artwise from day one, all the way to the current, is something I don't think anything other than having to draw 600+ could have sparked.
So, what's next for BRINK, and my comic work? - Well first, I'm taking a nice break from the twice weekly need to update here, and work on some other side projects for a bit. - Once I've had some downtime, I want to re-script and finish the short feature with Five and Janus that suffered a lost of pages during my last move, and as such as sat in limbo the last year. - I'm also plotting to possible put out a small stand alone story focusing on the 'afterwards' to the comic. This is something I'd want to spend the needed time to write before I jump into it, so it might be awhile. - Get back into cleaning up the earlier lettering so I can get book two ready for print early next year. - And, finally continue the monthly updates on my other webcomic project, Asis.


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The first global map of the salinity, or saltiness, of Earth's ocean surface produced by NASA's new Aquarius instrument reveals a rich tapestry of global salinity patterns, demonstrating Aquarius' ability to resolve large-scale salinity distribution features clearly and with sharp contrast. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/JPL-Caltech
› Full image and caption
› See video
PASADENA, Calif. – NASA's new Aquarius instrument has produced its first global map of the salinity of the ocean surface, providing an early glimpse of the mission's anticipated discoveries.
Aquarius, which is aboard the Aquarius/SAC-D (Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas) observatory, is making NASA's first space observations of ocean surface salinity variations - a key component of Earth's climate. Salinity changes are linked to the cycling of freshwater around the planet and influence ocean circulation.
"Aquarius' salinity data are showing much higher quality than we expected to see this early in the mission," said Aquarius Principal Investigator Gary Lagerloef of Earth & Space Research in Seattle. "Aquarius soon will allow scientists to explore the connections between global rainfall, ocean currents and climate variations."
The new map, which shows a tapestry of salinity patterns, demonstrates Aquarius' ability to detect large-scale salinity distribution features clearly and with sharp contrast. The map is a composite of the data since Aquarius became operational on Aug. 25. The mission was launched June 10 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Aquarius/SAC-D is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space agency, Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE).
"Aquarius/SAC-D already is advancing our understanding of ocean surface salinity and Earth's water cycle," said Michael Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division at agency headquarters in Washington. "Aquarius is making continuous, consistent, global measurements of ocean salinity, including measurements from places we have never sampled before."
To produce the map, Aquarius scientists compared the early data with ocean surface salinity reference data. Although the early data contain some uncertainties, and months of additional calibration and validation work remain, scientists are impressed by the data's quality.
"Aquarius has exposed a pattern of ocean surface salinity that is rich in variability across a wide range of scales," said Aquarius science team member Arnold Gordon, professor of oceanography at Columbia University in Palisades, N.Y., and at the university's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. "This is a great moment in the history of oceanography. The first image raises many questions that oceanographers will be challenged to explain."
The map shows several well-known ocean salinity features such as higher salinity in the subtropics; higher average salinity in the Atlantic Ocean compared to the Pacific and Indian oceans; and lower salinity in rainy belts near the equator, in the northernmost Pacific Ocean and elsewhere. These features are related to large-scale patterns of rainfall and evaporation over the ocean, river outflow and ocean circulation. Aquarius will monitor how these features change and study their link to climate and weather variations.
Other important regional features are evident, including a sharp contrast between the arid, high-salinity Arabian Sea west of the Indian subcontinent, and the low-salinity Bay of Bengal to the east, which is dominated by the Ganges River and south Asia monsoon rains. The data also show important smaller details, such as a larger-than-expected extent of low-salinity water associated with outflow from the Amazon River.
Aquarius was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., for NASA's Earth Systems Science Pathfinder Program. JPL is managing Aquarius through its commissioning phase and will archive mission data. Goddard will manage Aquarius mission operations and process science data. CONAE provided the SAC-D spacecraft and the mission operations center.
The new map is available at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/aquarius/multimedia/gallery/pia14786.html .
For more information about Aquarius/SAC-D, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/aquarius and http://www.conae.gov.ar/eng/principal.html .
JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Alan Buis 818-354-0474
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Steve Cole 202-358-0918
NASA Headquarters, Washington


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One of the best and easiest ways to start investing.
My first-ever individual stock holding was a Duke Power (now Duke Energy) share that I acquired through its Dividend Reinvestment Plan or DRIP. I don't recall every detail but at the time, Duke Power was my utility company, sent me a bill every month, and enclosed a notice about its DRIP, which was available to its customers.
Signing up and becoming a shareholder was easy. Presumably, I requested, received, and read a prospectus so that I could understand the risks of owning this particular stock. Then, I filled out a form and sent checks of $25 or $50 every month or so. The company sent me statements, confirming receipt of my checks and showing me the value of my holdings.
Just a side note: at the time of my investment in the mid-80s, Duke Power was a public utility in a regulated industry so profits were nearly guaranteed and dividends were steady. Jumps in the stock value or sudden declines were unlikely in such a controlled environment. Duke Power has since morphed into Duke Energy, "a diversified energy company with gas and electric businesses, both regulated and unregulated, and an affiliated real estate company." http://www.duke-energy.com/about-us/businesses.asp, June 17, 2007. Today, there is more risk associated with owning the stock because its businesses are no longer all regulated.
With a DRIP, you can accumulate shares by making periodic purchases and authorizing the reinvestment of dividends. For example, Stock A is selling for $25 and the company declares a dividend of $.05 per share. If you have 100 shares of Stock A, you will receive a dividend of $5, which is then reinvested automatically with the purchase of .20 shares. It doesn't seem like much but, over time, your account grows in value if you reinvest the dividends rather than spend them on something else. (A note about taxes: if the shares are held in a regular taxable account, you will have to pay taxes on the dividends, whether you reinvest the dividends or not.)
The main catch to this program is that you can not control the exact price you pay for the stock. You send in your money (either via regular mail or electronically) and the stock is purchased on your behalf, typically at the market price on a day designated by the company or its agent. For example, if you send money on January 15, the stock may be purchased on January 30 for whatever the market price was on that day. If the stock price was $35 on Jan. 15 and $45 on Jan. 30 then the stock would cost $45. If you sent $50, then you will receive 1.11 shares ($50 payment/$45 per share).
I started my DRIP in the pre-Internet, pre-discount brokerage, and pre-ShareBuilder days when these plans were especially very attractive compared to full-service brokerage accounts. The fees for starting a plan, purchasing shares, reinvesting dividends, receiving statements, selling shares, maintaining an account, and closing an account were zero to nominal. The advent of ShareBuilder (to be covered in another post) and online brokerage services (also, more later) make DRIPs less attractive than 20 or so years ago. Still, these plans offer an easy, simple way to get started in investing.
To find out if a company has a DRIP, do a search using the company name and investor relations; then starting looking for Shareholder Services, Investor FAQs, DRIPs, Direct Stock Purchase plans, etc. I searched for Duke Energy, Lowe's Companies, and AT&T as well as Amazon, Target, and Starbucks and quickly found whether these companies pay dividends and/or whether they offer DRIPs or similar plans. Following the links, I also found pages that listed fees associated with transactions and some way of actually starting an account. Here is what I found:
Amazon.com does not pay dividends or have a Direct Stock Purchase Plan (similar to the DRIP but sans the dividend reinvestment component).
You can only buy Starbucks through a stockbroker or brokerage firm
Target offers a Direct Investment Program and you can purchase stock through a transfer agent
Please know that I am not endorsing or recommending the purchase of any of these stocks just using them as examples. I mentioned them because they are household names in my part of the world and investing in companies you already know about is often a good way to get started in building wealth. As always, read the prospectus before investing.
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.


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By Judy Reed
The FFA club at Cedar Springs High School and several farmers in the area worked together to create a completely new project for the students to learn about agriculture—they tapped maple trees and boiled it down into maple syrup to sell.
According to teacher Larry Reyburn, who leads the FFA, Dave Dunavan and Steve Schmidt approached him about the project, and about six students signed on for it. Dunavan owns property next to Cedar Springs Middle School on 16 Mile, so he tapped several of his trees, and others there on the school property.
"We had about 125-150 taps in," said Dunavan.
The students hauled the buckets of sap away and another farmer, Rick Sevey, boiled it down into maple syrup for them.
"They caught on quick," said Dunavan. "It was a learning process and everyone had a good time. " He said the busiest time for the sap occurred during spring break, but several of the students showed up anyway.
Reyburn said they ended up with about 10 gallons of syrup to sell to raise money for the group. They sold some at community night, and have been selling it at school. The cost is $12 per pint.
If anyone is interested in buying some to help support the FFA, they can call Larry Reyburn at the high school at 696-1200.


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At a Glance: While browsing through the cobweb-infested "$20 and under" section at one of the several Gamestops that are spreading through the downtown Tukwila area like a contagious disease (symptoms include low prices and fantastic savings), I happened upon a game called "K. Hawk – Survival Instinct." Now I'd seen a lot of stupid-looking budget software boxes, but none that featured a muddy, pixellated forest being gazed upon by a freakishly tall plastic woman with a gun stapled to her ass. Intrigued, I opened the box flap to discover that K. Hawk was a third-person stealth game along the lines of Metal Gear Solid, and that the box gives some great tactical advice, like "Do not be seen. Do not underestimate the enemy. Do not surrender." This meant it was probably a bad idea to stick with my original plan to beat every level by running out right in front of each enemy and flicking him in the eye while chanting "You can't hit me, dummy! In fact, you're such a dummy that I SURRENDER!" Clearly I would need to purchase the game and find a new tactic to use if I ever wanted to reach the final level and find the ass-shaped staple remover.
Developer: Similis Game Development (Warning: Do not visit their website under any circumstances.)
Publisher: JoWood Productions
The training budget has been slashed so badly that they can't afford to texture their walls.
This is a perfect example of why budget companies almost always stick to first-person shooters – creating a second-rate FPS is incredibly easy. Open up Pie in the Sky, spend an hour dragging boxes next to each other, steal a few enemy models from other games or from Poser, make a few MP3s with the trial version of FruityLoops, and you've got another smash-hit FPS ready to send off to Valu-Soft's pain factory. Creating a stealth game like Tenchu or Metal Gear Solid, on the other hand, requires you to spend time crafting a natural control scheme, detailed maps and most importantly, intelligent enemy AI. I really wish someone had mentioned this to the people at Similis, since their concept of a stealth FPS seems to be exactly like a normal FPS, except you can only take a few hits before you die and the enemies all have nothing better to do than patrol endlessly between two points while failing to notice when a woman loaded down with 80 pounds of weapons stumbles noisily past them while they stare intently at the wall.
This game chronicles the incredibly stupid life story of an incredibly stupid helicopter pilot named Kitty Hawk. But before I jumped into the main game to begin the story, I decided ol' Kitty should spend some time in the tutorial level. The tutorial level is just a series of boxes awkwardly joined together, much like the rest of the game. The difference is that the tutorial level features a poorly voiced drill sergeant who tells you "not to embarrass our beloved corps." His training program consists of the following:
Stand in one spot with his arms folded barking out orders while swinging his head around like he's trying to swat a bug with his nose.
Turn around and take off running at full speed, usually running into a wall.
Turn back around and tell you to follow him while a security camera swivels around and tries to film you. Sometimes the camera doesn't actually film you, and when it cuts to the camera view you don't show up anywhere on the screen, but the game still decides that you failed. If you fail, he says you only have one more chance and then "sets everything back up again" by continuing to stand there swivelling his head around. You can try as many times as you want.
Repeat until the player escapes the tutorial level with the help of the Quit command.
I was caught red handed! Well, actually I'm not in the camera's field of vision, but my drill sergeant says it was close enough!
With the highly informative tutorial over, I bravely embarked upon my journey to do whatever it is "Kitty Hawk" was supposed to do. The opening movie shows the Hawkmeister flying a dirty helicopter over an ocean of blue cellophane. There's a whiny guy in the backseat wearing black face paint, and at the beginning of the opening movie he complains about his mission by declaring "This is actually complete insanity!" The dialogue in the opening cutscene, by the way, is made far more awkward by the fact that they never hired a voice actor for Kitty, so she has to respond to everything with nods and gestures. When Captain Dirtyface describes his mission, she responds with a very slow, clumsy thumbs-up, which would look more like a thumbs-up if her hand didn't look like a lumpy glazed ham that lost several chunks of meat in a scissor attack. Suddenly, catastrophe strikes! Someone on the nearby island, annoyed about the foolish Americans flying big noisy helicopters around for their stealth missions, fires off a missile from an anti-aircraft battery. The missile slowly slides out with no noise whatsoever, then slowly accelerates as it heads for Kitty Hawk and her annoying blackfaced sidekick.
Something Awful is in the process of changing hands to a new owner. In the meantime we're pausing all updates and halting production on our propaganda comic partnership with Northrop Grumman.
Dear god this was an embarrassment to not only this site, but to all mankind
Landmarks and statues around the world: old, boring and could use an update.
Join the SA Forum photoshop goons in their quest to make horror wholesome!
Yes, there are finally enough games for a new round of One Sentence Reviews
Something Awful reviews the worst video games out there.
Copyright ©2023 Jeffrey "of" YOSPOS & Something Awful


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As some of you may know, I've recently transitioned over from the fabulous life of being a production DBA to joining the ranks of the BI developers with Pragmatic Works. In the years I've been a DBA I've often took a quick look and learned stuff from the BI stack here and there simply because it was there and quite frankly it's pretty cool. Now, as a BI developer, it's time to buck up and ascend the face of the Microsoft BI stack!
Part of my transition from production DBA to BI developer is learning the stack from top to bottom. As I journey through the different challenges of getting familiar with this side of SQL Server I'll bring you, my handful of readers, along for the ride. While I was a DBA I'll admit the BI stack always kind of intimidated me so I always shied away from it. Hopefully this series of posts will help future DBA's turned BI developer (or just DBA's looking to learn the stack) identify with my challenges and learn along with me.
As with anything, you've gotta have the right tools for the job and with this journey we'll have to pack accordingly. First up we'll need a guide book to help traverse the mountain. The guidebook of choice for this trip will be Professional Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Integration Services (Wrox Programmer to Programmer). Next there's basic equipment we'll be working with. I've created a virtual machine and loaded it with Windows 2008 Standard Edition, SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition (Database Engine, SSIS, SSAS, SSRS), Sharepoint 2007. Wait did he say Sharepoint 2007? Yes, I'll be installing the older version for few reasons. One, most companies are still on 2007 so it's best to learn at the majority target. Two, I'll be doing an upgrade at some point of the SharePoint instance to 2010 so as to get experience with that part and then playing with more goodies there.
In addition to those tools we'll need some other supplies, mainly that being data. That's where you fine folks come in! I've created a sample form so as to seed some flat files for some SSIS fun later. Every so often I'll update the data dump file so that you guys can play along with the same sample data you're generating! To get to the form simply click here and have fun. Fill it out as many times as you want, the more data the better!
This should be a fun journey to take and I hope you guys enjoy coming along for the ride!


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Puffer with Stripe
Thank You
We will email you at
if this item becomes available.
You're All Set!
You will no longer receive email notifications for size if more become available.CONTINUE SHOPPING
Founded in 2007 on the image of being casual and laid-back yet also rich and luxurious, Los Angeles-based JOYRICH creates clothing for luxe-minded men and women. By collaborating with other brands and artists, JOYRICH is able to produce exclusive designs and keep a finger on the fashion pulse of L.A.
If an item you would like to purchase is out of stock, you can place a Special Order Inquiry. REVOLVE will then check the availability and obtain an approximate arrival date for the item, if available. Typically, it takes up to 3-4 weeks to verify this information.
Placing a Special Order Inquiry is absolutely free and there is no obligation to follow through with a purchase.
- You will be notified by email once we receive the item.
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Another operation involving the object is currently in progress
If any VM shows error "Another operation involving the object is currently in progress" during a reboot/shutdown on Citrix Xen (XCP) based host, please perform following actions to fix the issue
- Get the VM UUID: Use the command "xe vm-list name-label=<VM NAME LABEL>". Output of the command will show the UUID, name-label and power-state of the VM.
- List of Domains running: Now execute the command "list_domains" which will show the list of domains/VM's hosted on the server.
- Search the domain having problem using command "list_domains | grep <UUID of the VM (step 1)>"
- Destory the domain: Destroy the domain facing issue. Command: /opt/xensource/debug/destroy_domain -domid <DOMAIN ID>
Now try to shutdown or reboot the VM.


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Take your running to the next level by following these steps:
To the person who has had no exposure to serious competitive distance running, the sport may appear very simple-nothing more than putting one foot in front of the other for an extended period of time. To the committed competitor, however, running is a complex activity involving a myriad of dynamic and interrelated mental, physical, emotional and spiritual challenges. After more than 40 years of facing such challenges, I have categorized the responses they evoke into what I call the 25 Dynamic Ds. These create a path to success that I believe every runner must follow, in some manner, in order to reach his or her potential in the sport.
1. Desire
It should go without saying that you must want to be a distance runner if you are going to succeed. A child who is pushed into it by his parents, no matter how physically gifted, will probably not go far if there is no desire to do well. The fitness jogger will not achieve competitive success if she has no interest in pushing beyond basic conditioning. Baseball great Rod Carew once commented that natural ability was not necessary to succeed in his sport. Rather, he said, it was work, driven by desire. "It doesn't mean doing what you have to do, it's doing what you want to do. You have to want to do that work." That is even more true of distance running.
2. Definition
If the desire is there, the next step is to define your goals. You have to spell out exactly what you hope to achieve. It should be specific, not just a general goal such as "wanting to be a good runner" or "getting faster." You need a target so that you will know if you have succeeded. "… people fail because they shoot at nothing," former mile-great Jim Ryun has said. "Even if your goal is only to get up at 6 in the morning, it gives you direction and a sense of self-esteem if you accomplish it. Lots of people get muddled and are aimless, and don't know what they want to achieve."
3. Destiny
Now that you've defined your goal, ask yourself if you really have what it takes to achieve it. Maybe you're too big, too young, too old, too busy or too challenged with other things to carry it out. There's something to be said for believing that you can do anything once you set your mind to it, but there's more to be said for being realistic. If you are big-boned and have the musculature of a Mr. America, you'll probably never break 30 minutes at 10K or 2:20 in the marathon. That's fine, so long as you accept your probable limitations. Not everyone is physically capable of becoming a champion distance runner. Nearly everyone, however, has what it takes to be a much better distance runner.
4. Determination
Determination is burning desire. Wanting success is one thing; being prepared to make all the necessary sacrifices to achieve it is something else. You've got to be hungry, ravenously hungry, for greatness. Desire alone will get you out on the track and through the first eight of your planned 16-quarter interval workout, but it's determination that will push you through the last eight. As English philosopher Thomas Carlyle put it: "A man with a half-volition goes backwards and forwards, and makes no way on the smoothest road; a man with a whole volition advances on the roughest, and will reach his purpose, if there even be a little wisdom to it."
5. Dedication
You may be determined, but are you ready to dedicate yourself to the pursuit of your goal? This means making adjustments to your lifestyle and eliminating as many conflicts as possible. In the words of 1960 and '64 Olympic gold medalist Peter Snell, "There is more to training than merely allocating two hours a day to be spent at it. The whole life revolves around it. The conscientious athlete has to moderate his approach to everything." Perhaps your job or family situation will not permit you the freedom or luxury of such dedication. If so, you might have to rethink your goals.
6. Daring
As in nearly every pursuit, you must assume risks. There are physical risks involving injuries, of course. You also may have to risk telling your boss that you don't want to put in late hours on the job, or your family that you want to spend three hours doing a long run on Sunday morning. You'll definitely have to take some chances and be prepared to come out on the losing end now and then. The rewards, of course, make the sacrifices worthwhile. "I think that people who are unwilling to live on the fringe of their soul and their heart and their compassion and their passions really miss a lot of life," said the great masters runner Alex Ratelle. Still, don't downplay the chances you may be forced to take.
7. Direction
This means making a decision to either go for it now or to retreat and think about it. Said miler Mary Liquori: "A commitment to serious training means that no matter what else you are in this world-doctor, lawyer, Indian chief-first of all you are a runner. If you are unable to live up to that standard, your running is not truly serious, and you can expect your race results to show it." The legendary football coach Vince Lombardi offered this: "I will demand a commitment to excellence and to victory, and that is what life is all about."
8. Design
Having a plan is one thing; developing a program to carry out that plan is something else. You have to design a day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month program. "I was honest with myself in estimating my potential. I made a written plan for reaching my goals and then I fit that plan between a 40-hour week and my family duties," said Derek Clayton, the first man to break both 2:10 and 2:09 in the marathon.
9. Division
OK, you've set your overall goals. Now you must establish intermediate goals so that you won't lose interest or momentum as you pursue the ultimate goals. If you know where you are now and where you want to be a year from now, then you should be able to approximate where you should be at points in between. If not, find a coach or adviser who can help you. Make each intermediate goal a milestone.
10. Discipline
It's time now to begin exercising self control in ways that correct, mold or strengthen your habits. This may mean giving up harmful activities or acquiring beneficial ones. "If an athlete can't handle discipline, or take advice, he won't do well with us and I doubt very much he can be successful in athletics anywhere," said Jumbo Elliott, the great Villanova track coach.
11. Defiance
You must be prepared to stand up to or challenge those who obstruct your way. Some people will tell you that your pursuit is not a worthy one, that running is for kids, that you are passing up material gain, that you are chasing a dream. You can defy them silently or attempt to enlighten them, but the most important thing is that you see the value in what you are doing and remain firm in your commitment to your goals.
12. Diligence
While assuming risks and standing up to the objections of those who get in your way are often necessary, wanton disregard for your own safety, health, well-being and important relationships is not. You must be able to walk the line between recklessness and superfluous caution. Don't make divorce one of the Ds if you can help it. Retired tennis champion Chris Evert Lloyd offered this: "As a tennis player, you have to be selfish, but you can't be selfish in a marriage. It's taken me a long time to figure out how to separate the two."
13. Development
All of the ephemeral elements of great running mean nothing if you don't do the work. This means long, arduous training-miles of running and hours of supplemental exercises. Depending on your goals, you're probably going to have to figure on nothing less than an hour a day and possibly up to four or even five hours a day for the champion runner. "There are no shortcuts. It's just day after day, month after month," said former Olympian and current masters standout Ruth Wysocki.
14. Drive
You can't effectively develop in a plodding manner. You must pursue your goal with vigor, spirit and intensity. This is a manifestation of determination, which as we've said will get you through those last eight quarters in that interval workout. It's your drive, however, that will keep you doing them just as fast as the first eight. Drive means not backing off and not surrendering to the fatigue that you're beginning to feel.
15. Depth
This involves going beyond the drive gear to a place where you learn to continue on even when you are hurting. It involves digging deeper into your physical reserves and your soul, and pushing yourself beyond whatever barriers you perceive. Depth is what allows you to kick it in, to lift those knees high in spite of the extreme oxygen debt and muscular fatigue. In training, you might call upon this only on the last 100 meters of the final quarter. In racing, you'll probably need to sustain it for longer periods.
16. Distance
This is the quantity aspect of your training, which fosters the development of your endurance. It comes as the result of many hours and miles. Most champion distance runners have found that they need to run somewhere between 90 and 120 miles per week to develop the cardiovascular reserve necessary to maximize their potential. "The initial key to successful training is the amount of time you spend running each week and the distance you cover, rather than the speed at which you run," says renowned running research scientist Tim Noakes, M.D.
17. Dash
Quality is the other side of the training coin. Interval training on the track, fartlek on the roads or trails, hill repeats and various types of crosstraining all can be an integral part of a champion runner's speed-building regimen.
18. Distribution
You must learn to distribute your energy and effort in an economical and efficient manner by developing pacing, patience and balance. Pace yourself in training just as you do in a race, being sure not to do too much too soon or, conversely, not to save it all for the end of the workout. Use patience to work through the gradual build-up phase and a tapering and rest phase that are part of just about every successful runner's training cycle. Balance has to do with the trade-off between quantity and quality training. Too much of one and not enough of the other does not make for optimum results.
19. Dream
At some point, you have to visualize yourself running perfectly: your form flawless, your pacing precisely timed, your winning move planned and executed seamlessly. Olympic heptathlon champion Jackie Joyner Kersee put it this way: "I concentrate on visualizing specific movements. I visualize myself being successful, what I should be doing at the start of the race, going over the hurdles, coming off the hurdles, between the hurdles, and how I should run through the finish line." In training, the distance runner should visualize efficient running form and make the actual movements fit the imagery.
20. Diet
You don't run a high-powered engine on low-grade gasoline. A runner can get only so far on nutritionless food. Intelligent training calls for attention to the amounts and proportions of carbohydrates, protein and fat in the diet, as well as essential vitamins and minerals. Educate yourself and make a consistent effort to fuel yourself well. Don't forget about proper hydration, something overlooked by too many runners.
21. Dwelling
This means having concentration and focus, not allowing yourself to stray from the path that leads to your goal. We all face temptations along the way. When asked why he had been so dominant in his event, Olympic 400-meter hurdle gold medalist Edwin Moses replied, "I know what I'm doing. I concentrate on this as much as I would on engineering or physics." Golfer Sam Snead put it this way: "Concentration means different things to different people, but to me it means keeping yourself on an even keel no matter what happens. Don't get too high when things are going good; don't get too low when things go wrong.
22. Documentation
Most successful runners keep a log or journal in which they record their workouts, noting distances, times and how they feel before, during and after a workout or race. Some go into more detail, plotting their progress on graphs or even posting charts on the wall. The important thing is to find a format that works for you and use it as a tool to adjust your training and lifestyle factors as needed.
23. Discernment
From time to time, you must stop and ask yourself what's working and what isn't. This is the only way to effectively monitor your progress and be prepared to make changes in your program. Sometimes this means modifying your training, perhaps experimenting with something new or revising goals or target dates. It might even mean retreating for a time before tackling the next intermediate goal with renewed vigor.
24. Delight
Sure, achieving success is going to mean a lot of hard work with a certain amount of discomfort and inconvenience, but you should be able to take pleasure in the pursuit. Drudgery is not one of the Ds! You must be able to savor those moments of complete release that follow a hard workout. Don't forget to reward yourself with little treats now and then.
25. Divine
Running is not a religion, but it can be a spiritual undertaking. The well-conditioned runner should experience a oneness with the universe and with other humans. Certainly, the sport teaches perseverance and humility. But the underlying metaphysics of the sport-the lessons often confined to the subconscious-entails learning how to die, an experience that comes with pushing our limits. The well-conditioned runner who reflects on those moments of extreme exhaustion will no doubt recall the release and ecstasy that follow and perhaps see an analogy with the death that we all will face.
Two final Ds, as a bonus: Don't procrastinate. Do it now.


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What you need to know before you go
Poland is a thriving Eastern European country, with medieval cities and lush southerly mountain ranges. Its diverse history has provided it with many important monuments, buildings, churches and castles. Warsaw and Krakow are among Poland's top destinations, both offering diverse sightseeing spots and hedonistic nightlife scenes.
Poland's south-eastern regions are especially mountainous, particularly around Zakopane. This resort town lies at the base of the Tatra Mountains, and is excellent for winter sports and summer hikes. Catholicism thrives in Poland, with religious monuments and artefacts attracting pilgrims from all over the world. Devotees come to Częstochowa for the Marian shrine in the Pauline monastery and the famed Black Madonna of Częstochowa.


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At first sight: a simple story written in brief sentences, what appears to be a chance, thrilling encounter with a celebrity, with the vague hope of something that might have evolved into an adventure, but abandoned in favor of a common middle-class life. And then, out of nowhere, the punch blown by the passing of time—that everything is fundamentally sick and sad. Love is not where it might have been; and where love is impossible, perhaps its illusion exists. But it is too late, everything is too late. Everything that seems clean and innocent is a heavy price that crystalizes into a sense of missed opportunity.
The sense of opportunity lost is the Gordian knot that life ties around those who try to avoid it, who attempt to live life with practical simplicity. Something like: your love does not exist, perhaps had never existed, and will certainly not exist again. July's men and women find themselves in extreme situations, squirm into them and inside them, and as if comply with the fate that rises against them; the fragments of light penetrating the spaces of the occurrences create bloody burn stains, or turn into scars with an ugly presence. July makes her protagonists experiment with bizarre, even ludicrous sexual relations, bestows upon them moments of grace and terror, and still manages to make us feel that their movements in space is similar to ours, driven by longing for a connection, for understanding and intimacy, and there lies the magic of her writing.
Traveling with a movie star
Twice I have sat next to a famous man on an airplane. The first man was Jason Kidd, of the New Jersey Nets. I asked him why he didn't fly first class, and he said that it was because his cousin worked for United.
"Wouldn't that be all the more reason to get first class?"
"It's cool," he said, unfurling his legs into the aisle.
I let it go, because what do I know about the ins and outs of being a sports celebrity? We didn't talk for the rest of the flight.
I can't say the name of the second famous person, but I will tell you that he is a Hollywood heartthrob who is married to a starlet. Also, he has the letter "V" in his first name. That's all—I can't say anything more than that. Think espionage. O.K., the end—that really is all. I'll call him Roy Spivey, which is almost an anagram of his name.
If I were a more self-assured person I would not have volunteered to give up my seat on an overcrowded flight, would not have been upgraded to first class, would not have been seated beside him. This was my reward for being a pushover. He slept for the first hour, and it was startling to see such a famous face look so vulnerable and empty. He had the window seat and I had the aisle, and I felt as though I were watching over him, protecting him from the bright lights and the paparazzi. Sleep, little spy, sleep. He's actually not little, but we're all children when we sleep. For this reason, I always let men see me asleep early on in a relationship. It makes them realize that even though I am five feet eleven I am fragile and need to be taken care of. A man who can see the weakness of a giant knows that he is a man indeed. Soon, small women make him feel almost fey—and, lo, he now has a thing for tall women.
Roy Spivey shifted in his seat, waking. I quickly shut my own eyes, and then slowly opened them, as if I, too, had been sleeping. Oh, but he hadn't quite opened his yet. I shut mine again and right away opened them, slowly, and he opened his, slowly, and our eyes met, and it seemed as if we had woken from a single sleep, from the dream of our entire lives. Me, a tall but otherwise undistinguished woman; he a distinguished spy, but not really, just an actor, but not really, just a man, maybe even just a boy. That's the other way that my height can work on men, the more common way: I become their mother.
We talked ceaselessly for the next two hours, having the conversation that is specifically about everything. He told me intimate details about his wife, the beautiful Ms. M. Who would have guessed that she was so troubled?
"Oh, yeah, everything in the tabloids is true."
"It is?"
"Yeah, especially about her eating disorder."
"But the affairs?"
"No, not the affairs, of course not. You can't believe the 'bloids.
'" Bloids"?
"We call them 'bloid. Or tabs."
When the meals were served, it felt as if we were eating breakfast in bed together, and when I got up to use the bathroom he joked, "You're leaving me!"
And I said, "I'll be back!"
As I walked up the aisle, many of the passengers stared at me, especially the women. Word had travelled fast in this tiny flying village. Perhaps there were even some 'bloid writers on the flight. There were definitely some 'bloid readers. Had we been talking loudly? It seemed to me that we were whispering. I looked in the mirror while I was peeing and wondered if I was the plainest person he had ever talked to. I took off my blouse and tried to wash under my arms, which isn't really possible in such a small bathroom. I tossed handfuls of water toward my armpits and they landed on my skirt. It was made from the kind of fabric that turns much darker when it is wet. This was a real situation I had got myself into. I acted quickly, taking off my skirt and soaking the whole thing in the sink, then wringing it out and putting it back on. I smoothed it out with my hands. There. It was all a shade darker now. I walked back down the aisle, being careful not to touch anyone with my dark skirt.
When Roy Spivey saw me, he shouted, "You came back!"
And I laughed and he said, "What happened to your skirt?"
I sat down and explained the whole thing, starting with the armpits. He listened quietly until I was done.
"So were you able to wash your armpits in the end?"
"Are they smelly?"
"I think so."
"I can smell them and tell you."
"It's O.K. It's part of showbiz."
"Yeah. Here."
He leaned over and pressed his nose against my shirt.
"It's smelly."
"Oh. Well, I tried to wash it."
But he was standing up now, climbing past me to the aisle and rummaging around in the overhead bin. He fell back into his seat dramatically, holding a pump bottle.
"It's Febreze."
"Oh, I've heard about that."
"It dries in seconds, taking odor with it. Lift up your arms."
I lifted my arms, and with great focus he pumped three hard sprays under each sleeve.
"It's best if you keep your arms out until it dries."
I held them out. One arm extended into the aisle and the other arm crossed his chest, my hand pressing against the window. It was suddenly obvious how tall I was. Only a very tall woman could shoulder such a wingspan. He stared at my arm in front of his chest for a moment, then he growled and bit it. Then he laughed. I laughed, too, but I did not know what this was, this biting of my arm.
"What was that?"
"That means I like you!"
"Do you want to bite me?"
"You don't like me?"
"No, I do."
"Is it because I'm famous?"
"Just because I'm famous doesn't mean I don't need what everyone else needs. Here, bite me anywhere. Bite my shoulder."
He slid back his jacket, unbuttoned the first four buttons on his shirt, and pulled it back, exposing a large, tanned shoulder. I leaned over and very quickly bit it lightly, and then picked up my SkyMall catalogue and began reading. After a minute, he rebuttoned himself and slowly picked up his copy of SkyMall. We read like this for a good half hour.
During this time I was careful not to think about my life. My life was far below us, in an orangey-pink stucco apartment building. It seemed as though I might never have to return to it now. The salt of his shoulder buzzed on the tip of my tongue. I might never again stand in the middle of the living room and wonder what to do next. I sometimes stood there for up to two hours, unable to generate enough momentum to eat, to go out, to clean, to sleep. It seemed unlikely that someone who had just bitten and been bitten by a celebrity would have this kind of problem.
I read about vacuum cleaners designed to suck insects out of the air. I studied self-heating towel racks, and fake rocks that could hide a key. We were beginning our descent. We adjusted our seat backs and tray tables. Roy Spivey suddenly turned to me and said, "Hey."
"Hey", I said.
"Hey, I had an amazing time with you."
"I did, too."
"I'm going to write down a number, and I want you to guard it with your life."
"This phone number falls into the wrong hands and I'll have to get someone to change it, and that is a big headache."
He wrote the number on a page from the SkyMall catalogue and ripped it out and pressed it into my palm.
"This is my kids' nanny's personal line. The only people who call her on this line are her boyfriend and her son. So she'll always answer it. You'll always get through. And she'll know where I am."
I looked at the number.
"It's missing a digit."
"I know. I want you to just memorize the last number, O.K?"
"It's four."
We turned our faces to the front of the plane, and Roy Spivey gently took my hand. I was still holding the paper with the number, so he held it with me. I felt warm and simple. Nothing bad could ever happen to me while I was holding hands with him, and when he let go I would have the number that ended in four. I'd wanted a number like this my whole life. The plane landed gracefully, like an easily drawn line. He helped me pull my carry-on bag down from the bin; it looked obscenely familiar.
"My people are going to be waiting for me out there, so I won't be able to say goodbye properly."
"I know. That's all right."
"No, it really isn't. It's a travesty."
"But I understand."
"O.K., here's what I'm going to do. Just before I leave the airport, I'm going to come up to you and say, 'Do you work here?" '
"It's O.K. I really do understand."
"No, this is important to me. I'll say, 'Do you work here?' And then you say your part."
"What's my part?"
"You say, 'No. "'
"And I'll know what you mean. We'll know the secret meaning."
We looked into each other's eyes in a way that said that nothing else mattered as much as us. I asked myself if I would kill my parents to save his life, a question I had been posing since I was fifteen. The answer always used to be yes. But in time all those boys had faded away and my parents were still there. I was now less and less willing to kill them for anyone; in fact, I worried for their health. In this case, however, I had to say yes. Yes, I would.
We walked down the tunnel between the plane and real life, and then, without so much as a look in my direction, he glided away from me.
I tried not to look for him in the baggage-claim area. He would find me before he left. I went to the bathroom. I claimed my bag. I drank from the water fountain. I watched children hit each other. Finally, I let my eyes crawl over everyone. They were all not him, every single one of them. But they all knew his name. Those who were talented at drawing could have drawn him from memory, and everyone else could certainly have described him, if they'd had to, say, to a blind person—the blind being the only people who wouldn't know what he looked like. And even the blind would have known his wife's name, and a few of them would have known the name of the boutique where his wife had bought a lavender tank top and matching boy shorts. Roy Spivey was both nowhere to be found and everywhere. Someone tapped me on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, do you work here?"
It was him. Except that it wasn't him, because there was no voice in his eyes; his eyes were mute. He was acting. I said my line.
A pretty young airport attendant appeared beside me.
"I work here. I can help you", she said enthusiastically.
He paused for a fraction of a second and then said, "Great". I waited to see what he would come up with, but the attendant glared at me, as if I were rubbernecking, and then rolled her eyes at him, as if she were protecting him from people like me. I wanted to yell, "It was a code! It had a secret meaning!" But I knew how this would look, so I moved along.
That evening, I found myself standing in the middle of my living-room floor. I had made dinner and eaten it, and then I had an idea that I might clean the house. But halfway to the broom I stopped on a whim, flirting with the emptiness in the center of the room. I wanted to see if I could start again. But, of course, I knew what the answer would be. The longer I stood there, the longer I had to stand there. It was intricate and exponential. I looked like I was doing nothing, but really I was as busy as a physicist or a politician. I was strategizing my next move. That my next move was always not to move didn't make it any easier.
I let go of the idea of cleaning and just hoped that I would get to bed at a reasonable hour. I thought of Roy Spivey in bed with Ms. M. And then I remembered the number. I took it out of my pocket. He had written it across a picture of pink curtains. They were made out of a fabric that was originally designed for the space shuttle; they changed density in reaction to fluctuations of light and heat. I mouthed all the numbers and then said the missing one out loud: "Four." It felt risky and illicit. I yelled, "FOUR!" And moved easily into the bedroom. I put on my nightgown, brushed my teeth, and went to bed.
Over the course of my life, I've used the number many times. Not the telephone number, just the four. When I first met my husband, I used to whisper "four" while we had intercourse, because it was so painful. Then I learned about a tiny operation that I could have to enlarge myself. I whispered "four" when my dad died of lung cancer. When my daughter got into trouble doing God knows what in Mexico City, I said "four" to myself as I gave her my credit-card number over the phone. Which was confusing—thinking one number and saying another. My husband jokes about my lucky number, but I've never told him about Roy. You shouldn't underestimate a man's capacity for feeling threatened. You don't have to be a great beauty for men to come to blows over you. At my high-school reunion, I pointed out a teacher I'd once had a crush on, and by the end of the night this teacher and my husband were wrestling in a hotel parking garage. My husband said that it was about issues of race, but I knew. Some things are best left unsaid.
This morning, I was cleaning out my jewelry box when I came upon a little slip of paper with pink curtains on it. I thought I had lost it long ago, but, no, there it was, folded underneath a dried-up carnation and some impractically heavy bracelets. I hadn't whispered "four" in years. The idea of luck made me feel a little weary now, like Christmas when you're not in the mood.
I stood by the window and studied Roy Spivey's handwriting in the light. He was older now—we all were—but he was still working. He had his own TV show. He wasn't a spy anymore; he played the father of twelve rascally kids. It occurred to me now that I had missed the point entirely. He had wanted me to call him. I looked out the window: my husband was in the driveway, vacuuming out the car. I sat on the bed with the number in my lap and the phone in my hands. I dialled all the digits, including the invisible one that had shepherded me through my adult life. It was no longer in service. Of course it wasn't. It was preposterous for me to have thought that it would still be his nanny's private line. Roy Spivey's children had long since grown up. The nanny was probably working for someone else, or maybe she'd done well for herself—put herself through nursing school or business school. Good for her. I looked down at the number and felt a tidal swell of loss. It was too late. I had waited too long.
I listened to the sound of my husband beating the car mats on the sidewalk. Our ancient cat pressed against my legs, wanting food. But I couldn't seem to stand up. Minutes passed, almost an hour. Now it was starting to get dark. My husband was downstairs making a drink and I was about to stand up. Crickets were chirping in the yard and I was about to stand up.
*"Roy Spivey" by Miranda July. Copyright Cl Miranda July. used by permission of The Wylie Agency (UK) Limited.
Image: Jim Darling
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Braves legend Murphy to coach first for USA
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- As Dale Murphy watched the Braves take batting practice before Friday's Spring Training opener at Champion Stadium, he was reminded that he will be pretty close to the plate when he serves as Team USA's first base coach in this year's World Baseball Classic.
"I was looking down at that first base coaching box and thinking that isn't that far away for an old man," the 56-year-old Murphy said with a laugh.
Still one of the most beloved players in Atlanta history, Murphy will handle double duties through the first four games of the Braves' Grapefruit League schedule. He will don the uniform to serve as a guest instructor during batting practice. Once the game begins, he will be in the press box providing analysis on the radio broadcast.
Murphy's baseball tour will take him back to his Utah home early next week and then to Phoenix a few days later for the start of Team USA's training camp. He is hoping to remain on the road until the Classic finals are played in San Francisco on March 19.
The U.S. team will be managed by Joe Torre, who served as Atlanta's manager when Murphy won his consecutive National League Most Valuable Player Awards in 1982 and '83. Other former Braves on the staff include pitching coach Greg Maddux and hitting coach Gerald Perry.
"It's going to be a really neat experience," Murphy said of being on the U.S. coaching staff. "I haven't been in that capacity for years. When Joe asked me to do it, I couldn't be more excited. The guys are excited and the players are excited. We want to do better. We want to compete. It's going to be fun. I'm really looking forward to it."


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Dear Arti
This is a great posting. I can recognize the Churanwala ..used to buy varieties for my daughters..
Have a nice weekend
Thanks you so much for leaving a comment in my perfectly pink site recently.
It's a pleasure to 'meet' you and to browse through your interesting blog.
As I scrolled through your photos I could almost feel and smell the delights and sights.
that is a super account of 'where to eat' in Jaipur....ReplyDelete
My sweet tooth likes the sound of all these great shops....A couple of big stars just flew into Jaipur for a big wedding....Keep your eyes open for Hollywood types.....ReplyDelete
nice post
with great pics
This makes me hungry!ReplyDelete
Hmmmm, all this lovely food looks so yummy! i love indian cuisine, with chutneys, dals, curries and delicous fried things. Got used to cooking with Ghee - everything tastes better fried in it! Enjoy every bite!ReplyDelete
The ghewar looks wonderful, wish I could taste it! Such a wonderful variety of everything. Is the pushcart food good, have you had any? Are the sandwiches hot or cold?ReplyDelete
Nice pics arti,food looks very tempting....ReplyDelete
@ Ginny
The street food in India is great, very tasty indeed... In some cases, I would say better than the restaurants!!
I definitely love street food and have it often...the sandwiches were cold...
beautiful blog. Wud love to visit more often. good job. gr8 clicks too!!!ReplyDelete
Great to read your blog! Especially before our December trip to India, to Kerala.ReplyDelete
Wonderful shots. I do love lassi!ReplyDelete
appreciate the suggestion, i hv a friend going in feb will advice them of ur site.ReplyDelete
I love this post on eateries . I am drooling you know. I love kachoris and when I make the trip I will definitely taste the food from local eateries.ReplyDelete
Coming to your blog is always refreshing..it is always great to read about the food of a place and how it defines the local culture..lot of those dishes evoked some sweet memories!
US Masala
I would like to try everything! Really great pics too!ReplyDelete
Street food -- my favorite :-DReplyDelete
Stop it, oh please stop it. All this amazing food, you are making my mouth water.ReplyDelete
I remember at Chowki Dhani, Jaipur, I did not want the person serving to dip the roti in ghee. He had a disgusted look on his face and said... if you are not dipping it in ghee it would be better if you do not eat the roti!! Food in Jaipur is deliciousReplyDelete
Jaipur would be a perfect place for breakfast...your post made me hungry .
An awesome post !
Would love to beam myself over and share a lassi and some delicious baked thing with you now. Thank you for your sweet visit and have a beautiful day!ReplyDelete
wow so many mouth watering dishes ...i am drooling here arti ...
Great stuff. I remember tasting some of this.ReplyDelete
interesting and informative!ReplyDelete
Very nicely presented. great.ReplyDelete
yumm mouth watering dishes ...feel like to visit that place.great post arti.ReplyDelete
hehe. Yum dishes. I love to quell my sugar cravings sometimes ;) but very fattening.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.ReplyDelete
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.ReplyDelete


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NEW YORK (REUTERS) - New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's controversial plan to keep large sugary drinks out of restaurants and other eateries was rejected by a state appeals court on Tuesday, which said he had overstepped his authority in trying to impose the ban.
The law, which would have prohibited those businesses from selling sodas and other sugary beverages larger than 16 ounce (4s73 ml), "violated the state principle of separation of powers," the First Department of the state Supreme Court's Appellate Division said.
The decision, upholding a lower court ruling in March that struck down the law, dealt a blow to Mr Bloomberg's attempt to advance the pioneering regulation as a way to combat obesity.
Beverage makers and business groups, however, challenged it in court, arguing that the mayoral-appointed health board had gone too far when it approved the law.
A unanimous four-judge panel at the appeals court agreed, finding that the board had stepped beyond its power to regulate public health and usurped the policy-making role of the legislature.
In particular, the court focused on the law's loopholes, which exempted businesses not under the auspices of the city's health department and left certain drinks, such as milk-based beverages, unaffected.
As a result, grocery and convenience stores - such as 7 Eleven and its 64-ounce Big Gulp - were protected from the ban's reach, even as restaurants, sandwich shops and movie theatres were not. Meanwhile, milkshakes and high-calorie coffee drinks like Starbucks' Frappucinos would have remained unfettered.
"The exceptions did not... reflect the agency's charge to protect public health but instead reflected the agency's own policy decisions regarding balancing the relative importance of protecting public health with ensuring the economic viability of certain industries," Justice Dianne Renwick wrote for the court.
In a statement, Mr Bloomberg said the decision was a "temporary setback" and vowed to appeal to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals. If the court declines to hear the city's appeal, the case would come to an end.
Mr Bloomberg also said that more than 2,000 New Yorkers had died from diabetes since March 12, when the law was struck down just one day before it was to take effect.
The proposed ban, the first of its kind, drew national attention, as public health advocates praised the plan while critics decried Mr Bloomberg for trying to create a "nanny state."
A spokesman for the American Beverage Association, an industry group that served as the lead plaintiff in challenging the law, said, "With this ruling behind us, we look forward to collaborating with city leaders on solutions that will have a meaningful and lasting impact on the people of New York City."
During his three terms, Mr Bloomberg has made public health a signature issue, prohibiting smoking in restaurants, bars and parks; banning trans fats; and requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts.
He is set to leave office at year's end, and it remains unclear whether his successor will take up the sugary soda issue.
City Council President Christine Quinn, a leading Democratic candidate, opposed the ban, while Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, another Democratic candidate, said he supports the law.
Other Democratic candidates, including Mr William Thompson Jr and Mr Anthony Weiner, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In its decision, the appeals court emphasised that it was not expressing an opinion on the "wisdom" of regulations curtailing large sodas, "provided that they are enacted by the government body with the authority to do so."
Asked whether Mr Bloomberg might now seek to pass legislation through the City Council, a mayoral spokesman said, "The route that we have gone is through the Board of Health."
The ruling is a victory for companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Dr Pepper Snapple, which argued that the law would do little to address obesity while imposing unnecessary costs.
The restaurant industry and several business groups also had filed papers in support of the lawsuit.
State Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling struck down the law in March. At the time, Mr Bloomberg said the ruling was "totally in error" and expressed confidence that the city would prevail on appeal.


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Hi ladies!
It's been awhile since I have actively participated here due to a major state to state move in the last 6 months….I'm working on my blog again and working with some companies for some upcoming reviews and promotions of special needs parenting books and goods….
I am really wanting a new blog header. The person who last re-did my blog is an I.T. guru but not necessarily a designer. I used to know how to do some of this but have really gotten away from it and well, when you don't use it - you lose it….and technology moves faster than I've been able to in the last year….
Am looking for a blog header only I think….something that goes with my color scheme but that looks more catchy, retro and cute. Something with vector images maybe??
Would love to hear from someone who can create such a header….and log in and install without messing up my template (like I would LOL). Please see my blog at www.retrogirl.net and email me at firstname.lastname@example.com
Views: 32
Hey there, you may want to check out baileydesigns.org. She does great work. She redesigned my blog AND she's hosting a giveaway for a free blog header custom designed for the winner!! (ends in 3 days so hurry and enter)
To enter just go to my blog http://www.OKDani.com
Good Luck!


text:
mini-Annals of Improbable Research ("mini-AIR")
January 2012, issue number 2012-01. ISSN 1076-500X.
Monthly mini update/alert from the Annals of Improbable Research
This issue is at
Archive at <http://improbable.com/airchives/miniair/>
2012-01-02 Imminent Events
2012-01-03 The Magazine: Special Body Parts Issue
2012-01-04 Front-Brain & Rear-Brain Learners
2012-01-05 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Chewing Sounds
2012-01-06 Crawler Sandwich Damping Competition
2012-01-07 Salt-On-Salt Poet
2012-01-08 Mark the Calendar: This Year's Ig Nobel Ceremony
2012-01-09 MORE IMPROBABLE: Eye on the spider, and vice versa
2012-01-10 MAY WE RECOMMEND: Crispy,Crunchy, Crackly
2012-01-11 Improbable Research Events
2012-01-12 -- How to Subscribe to the Magazine (*)
2012-01-13 -- Our Address (*)
2012-01-14 -- Please Forward/Post This Issue! (*)
2012-01-15 -- How to Receive mini-AIR, etc. (*)
Items marked (*) are reprinted in every issue.
2012-01-02 Imminent Events
ARISIA, Boston Jan 14, 2012
AAAS, Vancouver Feb 18, 2012
UK Tour Mar, 2012
BITS, Pilani, India Mar, 2012
Scandinavia Tour Mar, 2012
2012-01-03 The Magazine: Special Body Parts Issue
The special Body Parts issue of the magazine Is in preparation now, soon to be going off to visit the printer.
Read back issues online (including the special Ig Nobel issue) and/or subscribe to the fully tangible paper version, at: <http://www.improbable.com/magazine/>.
2012-01-04 Front-Brain & Rear-Brain Learners
Some professional educators go on about "left-brain" learners and "right-brain" learners. See, for example, <http://bit.ly/wdVoyV>. (Thanks to Mo Costandi for bringing it to our attention.)
There is controversy about the notion of left-brain learners and right-brain learners. Much of that controversy is between — on the one hand (the left, or maybe the right) — people who have spent much of their time studying brains and learning, and — on the other hand — people who have spent much of their time talking about right-brain learners and left-brain learners. Those on one of the hands tend to think the idea is nonsense. Those on the other hand like to like the idea.
We propose a new controversy. Henceforth let us all speak confidently, arbitrarily, about a new concept:
Some people are FRONT-BRAIN LEARNERS.
Other people are REAR-BRAIN LEARNERS.
Please help us spread this confounding notion.
This is one more in our series of Cogno-Intellectual activities.
For Cogno-Intellectual background, see <http://bit.ly/xVTVIk>
2012-01-05 RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT: Chewing Sounds
This month's research spotlight focuses on chewing sounds as heard by W.E. Lee III and various colleagues of W.E. Lee III at the University of South Florida:
"Analysis of Food Crushing Sounds During Mastication: Frequency-Time Studies," W.E. Lee III, A.E. Deibel, C.T. Glembin and E.G. Munday, Journal of Texture Studies, vol. 19, vol. 1, 1988, pp. 27–38. <http://bit.ly/ed1yzB>
"Analysis of Food Crushing Sound During Mastication: Total Sound Level Studies," W.E. Lee III, M.A. Schweitzer, G.M. Morgan and D.C. Shepherd, Journal of Texture Studies, vol. 21, no. 2, 1990, pp. 165–78. <http://bit.ly/zzocpW> The researchers report:
"The total sound level of airborne noise was measured continuously during consecutive chews of fresh and stale samples of potato chips and tortilla chips.... Samples were evaluated using both an open mouth and a closed mouth procedure. Analysis showed that the total sound level decreased as chewing progressed. Significant differences were observed between open mouth and closed mouth chewing, with the former displaying higher sound levels."
2012-01-06 Crawler Sandwich Damping Competition
Damping inspires this month's limerick competition. To enter, compose an original limerick that illuminates the nature of this report:
"Optimization for Sandwich Damping Composite Structure: Used in Sprockets of Crawler Vehicles," Dagang Sun, Xin Zhang, Yong Song, and Bijuan Yan, Journal of Sandwich Structures and Materials, epub December 11, 2011. (Thanks to Sheila Stone for bringing this to our attention.) <http://bit.ly/uuTToc> The authors, at Xian University of Technology and Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, China, report:
"A parametric study of dynamic optimization is carried out for a vibration absorber which consists of sandwich composites with a tube configuration and be used in the sprocket of crawler vehicles.... the testing data show good agreement with the optimized theoretical results."
PRIZE: The winning poet will receive (if we manage to send it to the correct address) a free, possibly crawled upon, sandwiched and damped, hi-res PDF issue of the Annals of Improbable Research. Send your limerick to:
Crawler Sandwich Damping LIMERICK COMPETITION
c/o <email@example.com>
2012-01-07 Salt-On-Salt Poet
The judges have chosen a winner in the Salt-On-Salt Limerick Competition, which asked for a limerick to honor the study "Genetic and physiological basis of adaptive salt tolerance divergence between coastal and inland Mimulus guttatus," David B. Lowry, Megan C. Hall, David E. Salt and John H. Willis, New Phytologist, vol. 183, no. 3, August 2009, pp. 776–88. <http://bit.ly/uDvfAi>
This was an unusual competition. Competitors were required to write not just one, but a COUPLED-PAIR of original limericks.
Here's the winning limerick, by INVESTIGATOR TONY VILA:
Take a monkeyflow'r plant and its daughter —
One from inland and one from the water.
If they're hit with salt spray,
One will wither away,
Just like you'd think that it oughter.
Here's the offering from LIMERICK LAUREATE MARTIN EIGER:
Some are inland, and some, on the coast.
David Salt et al. wonder how most
Monkey flowers adjust
To the salt, as they must,
Because any that fail to are toast.
2012-01-08 Mark the Calendar: This Year's Ig Nobel Ceremony
This year's Ig Nobel Prize ceremony will happen on
THURSDAY NIGHT, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012, at Sanders Theatre, Harvard University. (Tickets for the ceremony will go on sale in early August.)
The Ig Informal Lectures will happen on
Saturday afternoon, September 22, 2012, at MIT.
This will be a week earlier than we usually do it, because of some calendar quirks,
2012-01-09 MORE IMPROBABLE: Eye on the spider, and vice versa
Recent improbable bits you may or may not have missed:
twitter: @ImprobResearch, @IgNobel
facebook: "Improbable Research"
BLOG <http://improbable.com/>
<> Keep your eye on the spider, and the spider off your eye
<> Troxel's Cow pieology – The study of cow pie
<> Humming in Academia
And many more...
NEWSPAPER <http://improbable.com/category/newspaper-column>
<> The ergonomics of wok-flipping
<> "And his hair turned white overnight" — Well,...
<> A Comprehensive Look at Dandruff in Pakistan's Army
And more...
HAIR CLUBS: Video of ambidextrous, luxuriant-flowing-haired Professor Kumar, LFHCfS <http://bit.ly/w1Goiu>
2012-01-10 MAY WE RECOMMEND: Crispy,Crunchy, Crackly
"Spectral Composition of Eating Sounds Generated by Crispy, Crunchy and Crackly Foods," C. Dacremont, Journal of Texture Studies, vol. 26, no. 1, February 1995, pp. 27–43, The author is at the Université de Bourgogne. <http://bit.ly/zmec2F>
2012-01-11 Improbable Research Events
For details and additional events, see
ARISIA, Boston, MA, USA — Jan 14, 2012
AAAS, Vancouver, Canada - Feb 18, 2012
Ig Nobel UK Tour — Mar 8-17, 2012
BITS, Pilani, India — Mar 18, 2012
Ig Nobel Tour of Scandinavia — Mar 22-28, 2012
The Netherlands — Jun 2012
Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony — Sep 20, 2012
Ig Informal Lectures — Sep 22, 2012
2012-01-12 -- How to Subscribe to the Magazine (*)
The Annals of Improbable Research is a 6-issues-per-year magazine. (It's much bigger, and maybe better, than the little bits of overflow material you've been reading in this newsletter.)
To subscribe to the paper-and-ink version, go to <http://improbable.com/subscribe/> or send in this form:
City and State:
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Phone: FAX: E-mail:
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Send payment (US bank check, or international money order, or Visa, Mastercard or Discover info) to:
Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)
PO Box 380853, Cambridge, MA 02238 USA
617-491-4437 FAX:617-661-0927 <email@example.com>
2012-01-13 -- Our Address (*)
Annals of Improbable Research (AIR)
PO Box 380853, Cambridge, MA 02238 USA
EDITORIAL: email@example.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS: firstname.lastname@example.com
Web Site: <http://www.improbable.com>
Blog: <http://www.improbable.com>
Twitter: ImprobResearch
2012-01-14 -- Please Forward/Post This Issue! (*)
Please distribute copies of mini-AIR (or excerpts!) wherever appropriate. The only limitations are: A) Please indicate that the material comes from mini-AIR. B) You may NOT distribute mini-AIR for commercial purposes.
------------- mini-AIRheads -------------
EDITOR: Marc Abrahams
MINI-PROOFREADER AND PICKER OF NITS (before we introduce the last
few at the last moment): Wendy Mattson
CO-CONSPIRATORS: Kees Moeliker, Alice Shirrell Kaswell, Gary Dryfoos, Ernest Ersatz, Stephen Drew
MAITRE DE COMPUTATION: Jerry Lotto
AUTHORITY FIGURES: Nobel Laureates Dudley Herschbach, Sheldon Glashow, Richard Roberts
Key words: improbable research, science humor, Ig Nobel, AIR, the
(c) copyright 2012, Annals of Improbable Research
2012-01-15 -- How to Receive mini-AIR, etc. (*)
Mini-AIR is a (free!) tiny monthly *supplement* to the bi-monthly print magazine AIR.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit <http://chem.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/mini-air>


text:
It's been quite a long time since I posted an installment of Awful 80s Fashion for you. If you'd like to see the first 8 posts, simply type "awful 80s" in the search box down there in the left column.
Yes, my friends. We really did wear this stuff. If you're too young to have lived through the 80s, have a laugh at our expense. If you did live through it with me, let me jog your memory a bit. Lest you think these styles were only worn by "youngsters" or only sold by trendy shops, all these images came from Summer 1985 mail order catalogs sent out by Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Bonwit Teller. Oh, yes. Yes, we did.
I confess. I had several of these sets that consisted of "cutesy" oversized t-shirts worn over matching "cutesy" tights. No, I won't show you a picture. You can't make me! This set by James Berry had a fish print tee with cropped tights printed with fish scales. Sold at Bergdorf Goodman in 1985 for $106 (about $217 in today's dollar.)
If you weren't wearing a t-shirt over your tights, you were wearing a huge plaid shirt with linebacker shoulder pads. And ankle socks. And jazz shoes. Admit it, yes you were. Both pieces by Diane B. Sold at Bergdorf Goodman in 1985 for $148 (about $303 in today's dollar.)
In 1985, we wore flowered pants with elastic waists and tapered legs. Diversions cotton separates. Sold at Bonwit Teller in 1985 for $34 (about $70 in today's dollar.)
We wore jumpsuits.....big oversized jumpsuits. We wore them with scrunchy socks and Keds. Pure white would do, but blinding neon colors were better. It was not easy to go to the bathroom wearing these things. And how many times did you drop your sleeve in the toilet, hmmmm? Both jumpsuits here by Naf Naf. Sold at Bergdorf Goodman in 1985 for $98 (about $201 in today's dollar.)
I shudder to remember this. Weren't we sexy in our stretch lace catsuits? I don't think I need to elaborate. Lily of France stretch nylon lace unitard. Sold at Saks Fifth Avenue in 1985 for $25 (about $51 in today's dollar.)