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"The event was overpowering," composer Ken Ueno says. "It was so shocking it became a catalyst. It hyperextended my senses."
Ueno is talking about the devastating 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, and the meltdown of the Daiichi Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor. But he could just as easily be Voltaire, talking about the earthquake in 1755 that destroyed Lisbon.
What he really means, and what he explores in his opera "Gallo," which the intrepid Guerilla Opera troupe stages through May 31 in the Zack Box Theatre at Boston Conservatory, is the essence of the human reaction to out-of-scale natural events. "Gallo"- with a countertenor dressed as a rooster, a soprano character called the Shopper, a beach-front landscape made of Cheerios, adventurous instrumentalists using extended techniques, recorded video and audio tracks - takes an alternately historical, serious and absurd take on the overwhelming and defining natural events that mark changes in human thinking.
The landscape is a character in "Gallo," as Ueno puts it, "a repository of memories. I wanted a beach front feeling, and so I used Cheerios" - 400 boxes of them - "the childhood comfort food, to create the set."
The Cheerios are not only part of the alternately serious and absurdist methods in this world premiere. The central character - "he�s a rooster/18th century country gentleman," Ueno says, portrayed by countertenor Douglas Dodson, sings one aria in Chickenese, a contrived language veering between vulgarity and ontology. And he dances a ballet interlude. Video footage of the Fukushima disaster - which happened not far from the village of Sendai where Ueno spent part of his peripatetic childhood - and documents of the Lisbon earthquake, accompany the opening scenes. Audio recordings of a nightclub district in Beijing float through.
"Our sense of identity as a people, and as ourselves, might be buffoon-ed in the rooster, in the Chickenese and made-up sounds waxing profanely about philosophy," Ueno says. "But nature is still a more powerful force than we can conceive, and these shocking events become catalysts.
"The Lisbon earthquake marked the beginning of modern times. It marked the reliance on science to explain the world, rather than God. The kind of hubris that comes from science, which led to nuclear power, made the Fukushima disaster much worse. And there are personal cataclysms, in the landscape of the body, that cause changes in our sense of self.
"I use elements of the past, the structures and sounds of Baroque opera, to help frame these ideas," Ueno says. "It�s my twisting of the Baroque forms: passacaglias, arias, an instrumental interlude and a ballet. Even the environmental sounds are a kind of musique concr�te, in place of a toccata.
"I think the central question is not only how we shape the landscape, but how the landscape shapes us," he says. "The landscape holds memories, but it also confounds our ability to control it."
Guerilla Opera stages "Gallo" from May 22-31 in the Zack Box Theatre at Boston Conservatory. The troupe has assembled a "dream team," as Ueno puts it, of collaborators for the project.
Sarah Meyers of the Metropolitan Opera stage directs. "Gallo" stars countertenor Douglas Dodson as the rooster, and soprano Aliana de la Guardia as the Shopper. Instrumentalists include saxophonist Kent O�Doherty, percussionist Mike Williams, Nicole Cariglia on cello, and Amy Advocat on clarinets. Julia Noulin-M�rat designs the scenes. A free live stream of the opening night performance can be viewed at 8 p.m. on May 22 at https://new.livestream.com/guerillaopera/gallo.
WHEN: May 22-24, 29-31
WHERE: Zack Box Theatre at Boston Conservatory, 8 the Fenway, Boston
TICKETS: $15; $10 for seniors; and free for students with I.D.
INFO: 617-912-9222; www.bostonconservatory.edu/tickets
An opera of cataclysmic proportions
"The event was overpowering," composer Ken Ueno says. "It was so shocking it became a catalyst. It hyperextended my senses."


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The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose above its record closing level, wiping out losses from the financial crisis, as economic growth slowed less than previously estimated and concern about Europe's debt crisis eased.
McDonald's Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. jumped at least 0.6% to pace advances among the biggest companies. GameStop Corp. rallied 4.9% after quarterly profit topped estimates. Deckers Outdoor Corp. increased 6.4% after Jefferies Group Inc. raised its price target. BlackBerry climbed 2.2% after reporting fourth-quarter results. Banks retreated, as Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley lost at least 0.7%.
The S&P 500 increased 0.3% to 1,567.23 at 2:42 p.m. in New York, above its all-time closing high of 1,565.15 from Oct. 9, 2007. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 34.51 points, or 0.2%, to 14,560.67. Trading in S&P 500 shares was 22% below the 30-day average at this time of day. U.S. markets will be closed tomorrow for a holiday.
"It's about time," said Robert Lutts, the president and chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management Inc., which oversees $500 million in Salem, Massachusetts. "We've gone through two bear markets in the last decade and equity investors have been really challenged in their conviction to hold through that period of time, but I think that we're at the beginning of a very strong phase for equities, not at the end."
The S&P 500's advance above its record close marks a recovery from a bear market that wiped out more than $10 trillion of value from the world's largest stock market. The gauge is up 9.9% for the quarter, its best performance in a year. It still remains below an all-time intraday high of 1,576.09. The Dow first surpassed its 2007 high on March 5.
Profits Expand
Shares of American companies are rallying as their profits expand for a third straight year and the Federal Reserve commits to continuing its unprecedented monetary stimulus. Reports this week showing a 5.7% jump in durable goods orders and the biggest increase since 2006 for the S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 cities were among the latest data points to fuel optimism in the economy.
Gains today came as gross domestic product rose at a 0.4% annual rate in the last three months of 2012, up from a 0.1% prior estimate and following a 3.1% pace in the third quarter, revised Commerce Department figures showed today. The reopening of banks in Cyprus after being closed since March 16 eased concern about Europe's debt crisis. German retail sales, adjusted for inflation and seasonal swings, gained 0.4% last month from January.
Copyright 2014 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

subset: commoncrawl


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A Miracle Diet for Brake Rotors: High-Strength, High-Temp Aluminum
By Marcia Goodrich | Published
Weight loss is a big fat deal in America, and not just for people. Auto manufacturers are always looking for ways to shave a few pounds off their cars and trucks. Just as losing weight can improve your health, slimming down your vehicle can lighten its appetite for fuel, which is good for both your wallet and the environment.
Despite manufacturers' best efforts, some parts have remained persistently porky. Among them are brake rotors, those cast iron discs that make you stop when you hit the brakes.
If you could make rotors out of aluminum, says Paul Sanders, the average car would lose about 50 pounds. "That's a big number on a car," says Sanders, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Michigan Technological University. "Every 10 percent saved in weight on a vehicle equals roughly 4 percent in fuel economy. You could save 0.8 percent in fuel. It doesn't sound like much, but it can be huge for the fleet."
Manufacturers haven't made the switch because aluminum starts losing strength at relatively low temperatures, 250 degrees Celsius (about 480 degrees Fahrenheit). "If you had aluminum brakes, driving down Pike's Peak would do you in," Sanders says. "We wanted to design aluminum alloys which maintain their strength up to 400 degrees."A
To do that, Sanders and his team of graduate students and undergraduates are using different elements in making the aluminum alloy. Traditionally, silicon, copper and magnesium are added to aluminum to improve its properties. Sanders is replacing them with minute quantities of an exotic blend of zirconium and rare earths, including scandium.
So far, his strategy is working: the hardness of the new alloy peaks at the magic 400 degrees. Now, the team is preparing to run tensile tests on the metal in cooperation with students from Northwestern University, where Sanders earned his PhD. "We suspect that it will be good in both areas—strong and stretchy," said Sanders. "Typically, materials are good in one but not the other."
A high-strength, high-temp aluminum might also replace iron and steel parts in turbochargers, which can get up to 500 degrees and hotter. And it could supplant the standard aluminum alloy used in most pistons. As engines get more efficient, they generate so much heat that pistons made with conventional aluminum have to be sprayed with oil to prevent overheating and strength loss . "We could replace that entire mechanism, and we would like to collaborate with Tech's mechanical engineering department to incorporate these new alloys in new engine designs ," Sanders said.
The team is also experimenting with a variety of rare earths to replace the scandium, which has one disadvantage: it costs about $3,500 a kilogram.
It's a welcome challenge. Sanders loves to fiddle around with materials, especially metals, and it's hard to find a better place to do that than Tech. "We kept a lot of old-school metallurgy capabilities," he says. "Most universities don't have them anymore. We have tremendous space and can do things others can't do in melting, casting, rolling of sheets, and more."
In particular, the University still has a foundry. If the team needs to cast something, "all we need to do is go downstairs," he said.
With its facilities and students eager for hands-on experience, the University is providing an ideal matrix for that effort. "I'm in a terrific position to do my research here," Sanders said. "Tech is an ideal place to make a difference."
Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 54 countries. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our campus in Michigan's Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior.


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Make sure you read my Welcome page [http://welcome.frank4cars.fotki.com/] for all of the relevant legal information about using these images.OK, last time I was at CC it rained and a Veyron showed up. No Veyron today, despite the rain, but what could possibly top a new Bug? Can anybody say Zonda? None showed up up, but isn't that a lovely sounding name? Zonda. Say it with me. Zon-da. Just rolls off the tongue, no? Anyway, there were some really cool cars at this week's show, but the highlight was finally getting a chance to drive Jordan's superb Gen V GTI! My fast wants one so bad. Great to see so many familiar faces and meet some new f-chatters too. Felt like a high school reunion.
Roll View
Fullscreen View


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Linsanity may have subsided a bit since the initial waves caused earlier this year by the New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin, but he's still doing his thing on the court and also in the world of merchandising. His jersey outsells even those of Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and if you picked one up for yourself, Nike is releasing this great looking Jeremy Lin Air Force 1 Quickstrike. The shoe comes in the Knicks colors and is made up of nubuck and chambray. Other touches include the JL initials on the heel and 'Lin' on the tongue tag. The shoes will be releasing sometime in June.
Take a further look after the jump.
Source: Solecollector


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Hi Jule, you don't think that the right side bottom is sort of empty? Hmmmm, on the other hand the diagonals formed by the palm trees do sort of balance the triangle there. Then there's the top right corner, sort of unbalanced. I don't know, maybe I'll let it stew for a while and see how I feel later.Thanks for the feedback,Bob.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=58787\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
It seems to need cropping, but I'm loathe to get rid of the chap in the suit bottom left.
The lighting is what really grabs me, along with all the people going about their business, all the stories they must have.
Another little point. I count 51 people in this picture and only 2 of them are clearly using a cellphone at the instant of capture. This alone dates the picture by at least 5 years... [a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=58864\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
recently reopened space near the 9/11 ground zero
There's another interesting thought. Just how much information can even the most accurate reproduction (digital or film) convey about the reality of what it purports to display? What about mood or context? In one sense it doesn't matter because the photograph stands by itself as something to be observed and to provoke a reaction.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=58906\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Great image , Bob. How about straightening the palm trees a bit? Note how the guy in the dark suit becomes a major player in the narrative when the image is straightened out and cropped because of it. It's a quick job right now, the trees would take a little more work than that - but I think it is already noticeable to show what I mean.
Yes, but he still looks like a distorted cardboard figure. I guess my reactions towards the guy would be more favourable if he seemed to have more than two dimensions and looked a bit more human.Another tip:Try evening out the noise in the dark suits.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=58972\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


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Webelos Scout Handbook
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
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|Webelos Scout Handbook
The Cub Scout Webelos Handbook is available at your local council service center or wherever Scouting merchandise is sold. Visit http://www.scoutshop.org to find a list of Scouting retailers near you.


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Tom Bell
Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue's feature story, HCN's founder fights his last fight, yet again.
Tom Bell:
"The issue of the proposed Altamont natural gas pipeline being constructed through historic South Pass in Wyoming should be a case study in how government should not work. Thanks to rogue agencies and rogues within agencies, the laws, rules and regulations governing us all can be bent, twisted, ignored and violated. And thanks to big money and the quest for power, weak individuals can be bought. It leaves one with a sense of rottenness running through the core of our vaunted governmental institutions.
"To fully understand the Altamont issue you have to realize that Altamont money influenced the present outcome from top to bottom. It all began in the Bush administration under Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan and Bureau of Land Management Director Cy Jamison. It carried right on over to President Clinton and Secretary Babbitt. It went right down through the ranks from the Washington office to the Wyoming state BLM office in Cheyenne and to the Worland BLM district office.
"There were exceptions. The Rawlins district office and the Rock Springs district office and the two resource area offices within those districts, Lander and Green River, did not go along with the program. Neither did newly appointed BLM Director Jim Baca when he came aboard. It was Baca who finally gave the order for BLM to do a "second look" analysis. By the time the analysis was finished, Baca was gone and there was no one with the clout and backbone to see that the analysis was released to the public as a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.
"Instead, the Wyoming state office buried the true analysis and all of the significant findings, wrote its own document to fit the original EIS findings, and said the second look endorsed the South Pass proposed route. Nothing could be further from the truth. The true second-look analysis documented that the preferred route should be through Jeffrey City.
"Altamont said it would cost $40 million more to go the alternative Jeffrey City route and refused to consider it. This was in spite of the fact that the National Environmental Policy Act requires that decisions not be made on the basis of cost alone, and, in spite of the fact that the Rawlins BLM District pointed out that 60 percent of the archaeological survey work along the Jeffrey City route had already been done, thereby saving millions of dollars.
"It is ironic that when the BLM did the second-look analysis, it was found that just one small section of the proposed pipeline corridor beyond South Pass in the Farson area could cost an estimated $9.5 million-$10.5 million for archaeological work. The famed Blue Forest area west of Farson would require extensive work. Of course, Altamont could treat that area and the laws governing it as they have already treated all the laws, rules and regulations up to now - just ignore them and have government lackeys and politicians cover up.
"In order to understand how this Altamont mess came about, former Wyoming Gov. Mike Sullivan must be brought into the picture. Sullivan made no bones of the fact that he was a "friend of Bill's' and was the first governor to endorse Bill Clinton for president. He evidently had direct access into the Oval Office. Early on he threw in with the Altamont crowd and whatever Altamont wanted, they were to get. That order was evidently conveyed to Secretary Babbitt and Director Baca. Jim Baca's demise as BLM director may have been as much a result of his stand on the Altamont issue as it was of the so-called "War on the West," a fraudulent and hokey issue in its own right.
"Baca was the only bulwark between the field men who were trying to do the right thing and the political forces arrayed against them. The BLM state office crumbled and made no attempt to defend their own people. In fact, there was some fear for a time that the honest, conscientious employees were in jeopardy.
"Nowhere in all of my experience with various issues have I experienced anything so outrageous, so contemptible, as the Altamont project. The company officials, a former state governor, paid consultants and hirelings, and stooges within the federal government have all perjured themselves, winked at existing law, and prostituted themselves before the shrine of greed and money.
"It is not at all difficult to see and experience the rising tide of disenchantment with federal government policies and actions. The vast majority of public employees are honest, conscientious, and capable, trying to do the right thing in a professional manner. We should defend them. Some fall into bureaucratic ways and work at cross purposes - but most are honest. In this case, the honest employees were made to look like bumbling fools because of behind-the-scenes maneuvering and deliberate obfuscations on the part of those whose personal interests are served.
"Altogether, the Altamont issue is a disgraceful example of government integrity gone awry. We expect the federal government to do the right thing, both for the public it is supposed to serve and for its own dedicated employees. That has not been the case here. It is a good example of why many people have come to feel they can no longer trust their government. It is a sad and troubling commentary on the times."


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DELAND -- A single-engine experimental plane sputtered after takeoff Monday night and crashed into the Publix on International Speedway Boulevard, sending a ball of fire through the store and five people to the hospital with burns, police said.
Two of the people, the plane's pilot and passenger, suffered critical injuries, police said.
Randy Felix had just finished ordering at the deli when he saw the flames shoot through the roof. A young man, later identified as a Stetson University student, was running toward him with his legs burned.
"It was horrific," said Felix, owner of Mix SalonSpa in downtown DeLand. "When I turned around, I saw the ceiling caving in. Once the tiles were down, there was just pure fire and then the fire was propelled towards the doors almost to the cash registers."
Felix estimated about 100 people were in the store at 299 E. International Speedway Blvd. when the plane crashed into the supermarket's roof near the meat market about 7:20 p.m. Monday.
"They (people in the store) were absolutely screaming. . . . Everything was happening so quickly," he said, adding that he and a store employee grabbed the student and carried him outside for help.
The college student was one of three customers who suffered burns, said DeLand police Sgt. Chris Estes.
The plane's pilot and passenger were taken to Orlando Regional Medical Central, where they were listed in critical condition late Monday. Their names were not released by authorities pending notification of family.
Brendan Beitler, 20, who attends Stetson, also was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was in stable condition. Lisa Cordova and April Morris, whose ages were not released, were treated at Florida Hospital DeLand and expected to be released, Estes said.
The student was conscious and alert and able to make a phone call, according to Cindi Brownfield, a Stetson University spokeswoman. His parents were with him at the hospital.
Rosalia Rebollar of DeLand was in the store with her son shopping and were walking out when the plane tore into the store's roof.
"There were sparks flying all over the store," Rebollar said in Spanish. "The plane fell in by the meat section."
Rebollar said she had just left the section where she had purchased chicken and some other meats. Everything was just black inside the store, Rebollar said.
"People were screaming and crying," she said.
DeLand Police Department Lt. Jack Waples said information they received also indicated that the meat manager saw the pilot and passenger on fire and rushed to put out the flames.
Police and fire responded about 10 minutes after crash, and firetrucks doused the smoking building as rescue workers combed the grocery store for victims. Witnesses described a chaotic scene outside the supermarket in the Northgate Shopping Center.
Witnesses said the plane appeared to have engine trouble after taking off from DeLand Municipal Airport. The engine sputtered and went silent before the plane dropped from the sky, they said.
Amanda Carr was at the check-out counter of the grocery store when the plane came through the roof.
"The lights went out and the building shook," an emotional Carr said. "I just saw a big ball of fire burning in the middle of the store, and I ran out."
As Carr was inside the store, her mother, Linda Carr, waited outside and saw the aircraft go down.
"The plane was coming from the direction of the airport, and it tried to make a U-turn while it was over the Publix," Linda Carr said. "The engine sputtered, and it died and the plane just fell through the roof."
Linda Carr said she then ran toward the store, met her daughter and embraced her with a hug.
Willie McGill of DeLand said he was entering a nearby Lowes home improvement store when he heard a low-flying airplane with a sputtering engine. He turned to his friend and remarked how the plane seemed to be struggling.
"As quickly as I said that, the plane disappeared," McGill said. "The next thing I saw was a puff of smoke."
Joseph Hope, 12, and a friend were tossing a tennis ball around in a lot next to the Airport Restaurant and Gin Mill when they noticed a small plane taxi along the runway.
"I saw the plane take off," Joseph said. "It made a grumbling noise. I saw it fall and just saw smoke."
His mother Kelly Hope said after the plane took off, it appeared to stop in mid-air and glide, not making any noise -- as if the engine had cut off.
DeLand Mayor Bob Apgar said city inspectors will be checking the building, which he heard sustained considerable damage.
Dwaine Stevens, a Publix spokesman, said all of the store's employees had been accounted for. Company officials will inspect the store to assess when it could be reopened, he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Safety Transportation Board have been notified and will be investigating, police said.
-- Staff Writers Clayton Park and Deborah Circelli contributed to this report.
Editor's note: In an earlier version of this story, the last names of Linda and Amanda Carr were incorrect.


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Glen Stombaugh - January 08, 2014Glen G. Stombaugh, 74, of Eustis passed away Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney.
Services will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 11 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Eustis. Burial will be conducted at the Westview Cemetery at Eustis.
A visitation will be on Tuesday, Jan. 14, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Eustis with family present from 6 to 8 p.m.
Stombaugh was born Jan. 28, 1939, at Buhl, ID, to Clifford and Helen (Heater) Stombaugh. He attended school at Eustis until the eighth grade and then returned to work on the family farm.
He was united in marriage to Wilma Hazen on Sept. 11, 1960, at the Farnam United Methodist Church. The couple farmed south of Farnam and then moved to Eustis in 1969.
Stombaugh was first employed at Coop Elevators and KW Motors. He and his wife owned and operated Glen's Garage from 1971 until 1979, then he worked at KN Energy until his retirement in 2001.
Although retired, he had continued to work daily for fertilizer companies and area farmers.
His wife preceded him in death on Feb. 23, 2001.
On Aug. 20, 2005, he married Shirley Horn at the Evangelical Free Church of Lexington. The couple resided at Eustis.
Stombaugh had been a long-term member of the Eustis Volunteer Fire Department & Rescue Squad. He and his wife attended Parkview Baptist Church in Lexington.
He was preceded in death by: his parents, Clifford and Helen; his first wife, Wilma; sisters—Lila Whaley and Verna Ercoli; brother-in-law, Bill Hilker.
Survivors include: his wife, Shirley of Eustis; his children—Keith (Tami) Stombaugh of Cozad, Nancy (Ray) Westphal of Farnam and Cheri (Jeff) Bromander of Eustis; grandchildren—Ann (DJ), Ranae (Kevin), Randy, Tristan, Hannah and Dannyl; great-grandchildren—Kylee, Donald, Jessa, Mickala, Ryann, Whitney and Wyatt; three brothers—Clyde (Laveda) Stombaugh of Cozad, Earl (Judy) Stombaugh of Buffalo Gap, SD, and Jay (Sharon) Stombaugh of Lexington; sisters—June Easterday of Eustis and Opal Easterday of Buhl, ID; sister-in-law, Irene Hilker of Axtell; his step-children and grandchildren—Connie (Ron) Lousberg of Greeley, CO, Rhonda (Roger) Shaner of Lexington, Tammy (Todd) Schultz of Brady and Angie (Neil) Jones of Kearney, Ethan, Evan, Anthony, Tara (Robert), Justin (Christyne), Alex and Roree.
Memorials are suggested to the Eustis Volunteer Fire & Rescue Squad.
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Silk Phuk Siew Festival and Red Cross Fair
By admin • Oct 10th, 2012• Category: Shopping, Fashion & Apparel
Phuk Siew or Friendship Making, an ancient and beautiful event for the people of I-san has been practiced for over a century. As it is considered a very important event, Phuk Siew has therefore been organised together with the silk festival. As a result, this has become an annual ceremony of the people of Khon Kaen since 1980. "Siew" (a word for "friend" in Northeastern dialect) refers to 2 people who are full of great loyalty, sincerity and share a close relationship with one another. Nothing, even death, will put them apart. This relationship is not only supposed to happen among those 2 "friends", but also that true relationship will be shared with others in their families, among relatives and siblings of the "friend". During this festival, visitors will enjoy the opening ceremony procession, local silk weaving exhibitions, Red Cross Fair, silk pavilion, sales of OTOP products, join the friendship making ritual and Northeastern style dinner, beauty contest, local folk performances, etc. The outstanding and unforgotten spot of the event is an "arts and cultural corner" that will be full of various kinds of activities and entertainment.
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The following article is provided by Rolling Stone.
By PAT PEMBERTON
When YouTube banned David Bowie's music video for "The Next Day," it seemed ironic, since the site is normally the best place to see once-banned videos. But YouTube says it's cool with Bowie now – that banning his racy, bloody, religious-themed video was a mistake. While the video has been reinstated, the flap reminds us of other music videos that were initially banned. Here are some of our favorites:
"Dead End Street" by the Kinks
In 1966, an early music video depicting the band members as top hat-wearing pallbearers was deemed tasteless by the BBC – even though the "corpse" jumped out of the coffin, apparently alive and well – resulting in the BBC's first pop video ban.
PLUS: David Bowie's 'The Next Day' Clip Attacked by Catholic League
"Girls on Film" by Duran Duran
During MTV's infancy, efforts to appear hip and edgy didn't include airing the racy mud-wrestling scene in this 1981 video. Eventually, an edited version – featuring roughly half the footage and exactly none of the boobs – made the cut.
PLUS: The 10 Most Annoying Concert Behaviors
"Killed by Death" by Motörhead
An Island Records stunt – having two female executives deliver the video to MTV while dressed in chains and biker gear – didn't help get this video on air. Citing "excessive and senseless violence," including a scene depicting lead singer Lemmy Kilminster zapped in an electric chair, MTV sentenced this metal video to death by obscurity.
PLUS: The 10 Messiest Band Breakups
"This Note's for You" by Neil Young
Young's satirical video singled out big-money TV sponsors including Coke, Pepsi and Budweiser. So when MTV decided to ban the video in 1988, it gave the uncool impression that it was kowtowing to corporate sponsors. Even though the video was reinstated – and won Video of the Year – the damage to MTV ("spineless twerps," according to Young) could've made even Spuds MacKenzie hang his head in shame.
PLUS: The 30 Greatest Rock & Roll Movie Moments
"The Thunder Rolls" by Garth Brooks
At the peak of his power, Brooks portrayed a cheating husband with bad hair and an even worse temper in this 1991 video banned by The Nashville Network and Country Music Television for its depiction of domestic violence. TNN wanted Brooks to add a spoken message explaining the violent subject matter, but Brooks refused, saying it would appear that he was trying to make money off of spousal abuse.
PLUS: Rolling Stone's List of Immortal Artists
"What It Feels Like for a Girl" by Madonna
On the heels of his hit Snatch and during the throes of his marriage to Madonna, slick filmmaker Guy Ritchie produced this 2001 video featuring the "Vogue" girl living on the edge. While Madonna has had other videos ("Justify My Love" and "Erotica," as well as the more recent "Girl Gone Wild") banned or limited for saucy content, in this case MTV and VH1 didn't approve of a fictional crime spree that ends with a suicidal bang.
"Low" by Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl said the six hours of film he shot with actor Jack Black included sex toys, but discretion led them to edit those out of the video. Still, scenes of Black taking a dump, Grohl fondling himself and a cross-dressed spanking were evidently too much for MTV, which deemed the 2003 video unsuitable for all ages.
"Just Lose It" by Eminem
After Michael Jackson personally called Eminem's depiction of him "inappropriate and disrespectful," Black Entertainment Television decided to ban the 2004 video, which at one point depicted a noseless Jackson on a bed full of children. While Pee-wee Herman, Vanilla Ice and Madonna are also lampooned, the timing was worse for Jackson, who was then battling child molestation charges.
"Born Free" by M.I.A.
One young male gets shot in the head and another blown to pieces in this shocking 2010 video depicting redhead genocide. The violence (along with some nudity that paled by comparison) prompted YouTube to ban the video, though it has since appeared on the site, encouraging thousands to debate racism.
"Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke
Thicke's wife gave him permission to shoot a video surrounded by topless models, but YouTube wouldn't be so charitable. The 2013 video – also featuring helium balloons spelling out "Robin Thicke has a big dick" – quickly surpassed a million views after its Vevo debut.


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AUSTIN, Texas – A U.S. court in Texas convicted the brother of one of Mexico's largest and most dangerous drug cartels leaders of buying racehorses to hide illegal drug profits.
A federal jury that deliberated for about nine hours over two days found José Treviño Morales, 46, guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Treviño faces up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors say his older brothers, Miguel Angel and Oscar Omar Treviño Morales, are the leaders of the Zetas, a Nuevo Leon-based organization that has expanded beyond the drug trade to become the biggest criminal group in Mexico.
The verdict represents an important step in curbing the violence and corruption generated by the cartels, said U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman.
"The government was able to show how the corrupting influence of drug cartels has extended into the United States, with cartel bosses using an otherwise legitimate domestic industry to launder proceeds from drug trafficking and other crimes," Pitman said.
Jose Treviño Morales was one of five defendants in the three-week trial, each charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. Three other defendants also were found guilty. A fifth was found not guilty.
Several other defendants remain at large, including Treviño's brothers. His wife and daughter have pleaded guilty to lesser charges.
Treviño watched silently Thursday as jurors delivered their verdict and were polled to confirm it. Several people in the gallery could be heard crying.
His attorney, David Finn, did not immediately comment afterward. Finn has previously accused the government of prosecuting Treviño and his family with the hope of extracting information about his brothers.
"He's honest. He's ethical. He's frugal. He's not in the dope business," Finn said.
But prosecutors accused Treviño of helping run a scheme that went through $16 million in 30 months to buy, train and race horses. Prosecutor Douglas Gardner told jurors at the start of the proceedings that the operation created fake companies and in some instances fixed races. Horse owners, trainers and others crafted bank deposits to mask the drug money being used to fund the operation, Gardner said.
"They hang themselves by their actions," Gardner said during closing arguments of Treviño and his co-defendants.
Francisco Antonio Colorado Cessa, Fernando Solis Garcia and Eusevio Maldonado Huitron also were convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Jesus Maldonado Huitron, Eusevio's older brother, was found not guilty.
The trial is being held in Austin because federal authorities in Central Texas took the lead in prosecuting the case.
The prosecution witnesses included a founder of the Zetas, Jesús Enrique Rejón Aguilar, known as "El Mamito." Other witnesses said they helped funnel drug money into the United States.
One witness, imprisoned former Zetas member Mario Cuellar, described Miguel Angel Treviño Morales, believed to be a top cartel leader, as an active participant in the enterprise who kept a listing of the horses' names and prices on his cellphone.
Finn accused prosecutors of trying to "tar and feather" his client by associating him with his brothers. He declined to call any witnesses.
The horses have been seized and auctioned by the government.
Mike DeGeurin, the attorney for Colorado Cessa, said after the verdict that his client did nothing illegal.
"He bought horses that ended up not in his possession," DeGeurin said. "Was his intent to help somebody commit a crime? No."
More than 400 of the horses have been seized and auctioned, and proceeds from the sales have netted the government $9 million, according to the U.S. attorney's office.
Based on reporting by The Associated Press.
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With the advent of DRM technologies in the past few years, it is amazing that companies have not embedded DRM in their latest marketing software.
Here are some of the benifits in embedding DRM in your companies marketing software:
1) More targeted advertisements: DRM can read memory and process information from the computer that the marketing software is installed on. This can provide targeting advertisements based on programs that the client is running on their computer
2) Ability to control users market decisions better: DRM can remove competitors programs from the clients computer, allowing you to provide "solutions" to their programs being removed.
3) User data gathering: DRM provides advanced "call home" features. This would allow your company to use the marketing program to collect information such as user's cookie contents, cache contents, visited pages, viewed DVDs (if client has Windows Media Player 9 or higher installed), played MP3s, and even software/music licenses on the client's computers.
4) Client control: Advanced DRM technologies even would allow you to connect to the client's computer as if it were a server and manually control what programs they open up and even delete files from the clients computer if they violate your companies objectives.
5) License control: Your company can use DRM to read and control licenses on the client's computer. This would enable you to void any licenses for competitors software programs.
6) Legal issues of circumventing DRM: Your company can sue the user or any other company that makes programs that remove the marketing software from the client's computer due to the fact that any circumvention of DRM is violating the DMCA.


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Kurt talks animals with legendary Australian comedian Wil Anderson. Topics include milking merry-go-rounds, ugliest animals, and letting cows urinate on you. Plus a great games of Who's Dumber.
See Kurt in these upcoming cities:
Aug 9-10 – Nashville – Zanies
Aug 16th – San Fran Record Release Show – The Verdi
Aug 19th – LA Record Release Show – The Virgil
Aug 27th – Brooklyn Record Release Show – The Bellhouse
Follow @Wil_Anderson on Twitter!
Thanks to Nick Thorburn from Islands for creating the theme song!
Follow @kurtbraunohler on Twitter!


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Under a tight deadline, innovative studio replaces disk arrays on projection systems to greatly improve productivity and system reliability.
The Challenge
Visual entertainment companies, like Prime Focus, that convert regular film to stereoscopic (3D) are reaping the benefits of the recent surge in 3D popularity. When Warner Brothers challenged Prime Focus to convert "Clash of the Titans" to 3D in just eight weeks, they were quick to accept, even in the face of the Hollywood community's skepticism. No stranger to innovation, Prime Focus was confident they could find a way to deliver quality work under the incredibly tight timeline.
At Prime Focus's California office, artists checked work into a central server. Three times a day, they copied "reels" or segments of footage to projection workstations for review sessions with supervisors and studio heads. The review sessions were critical to give artists feedback necessary to remain continuously productive. Turnaround times for typical VFX projects can vary significantly, but with only eight weeks to finish "Clash," Prime Focus artists would have to work more efficiently than ever.
Prime Focus' proprietary View-DTM process greatly improved conversion speeds and quality. However, they still needed to eliminate the following pipeline bottlenecks:
The SanDisk® Solution
Quadrupled Productivity
Sean Konrad, Project Manager for the conversion, told us, "With typical VFX projects, we complete about 20-30 shots per day. The Fusion ioMemoryTM ioDrive® cards scaled our data load capabilities by about 20 times. This improved our productivity about 2-4x."
The ioDrive cards made this possible by delivering the following improvements:
Sean Konrad,
Project Manager for Stereoscopic Conversion, Prime Focus
Eliminating Disk Maintenance and Improving Reliability
One of Prime Focus' primary reasons for replacing their disk arrays with ioDrive cards was to ensure that disk array problems did not threaten their schedule.
Disk defragmentation rendered machines unavailable for review sessions for about two hours—precious time Prime Focus could not afford to lose. Additionally, Prime Focus did not want to risk failures in disks or RAID controllers that could require hours to restore.
Sean told us, "We had 60 artists working in the LA office. Suppose the review session for a segment that 40 artists were working on was delayed by 2 hours due to an array going down and needing to be rebuilt or because a defrag took too long. This could potentially translate into 80 hours of lost work for artists who were waiting on feedback. This was something we simply could not afford."
SanDisk's ioDrive cards did not need to be defragmented and had no RAID controllers to fail, virtually eliminating maintenance as a threat to their schedule.
Easy Implementation
Prime Focus had no spare time to design and architect a complex system that could achieve their efficiency goals. Administrators simply plugged the ioDrive cards into the PCI slot of their playback station and configured them, after which they appeared just as any hard drive would.
In fact, Sean told us, "It took absolutely no time to set this up. The IT department figured out a workflow that allowed machines to be up and running in under an hour, whereas tweaking RAID array distribution can really bog down production. We had the idea to add three machines on a Thursday, and by the following Monday they were in full production."
Implementing Fusion ioMemory solutions gave Prime Focus the following benefits:
Sean told us that Prime Focus couldn't be happier. "The ioDrive cards really helped us meet a tough deadline. Each review session covered far more shots and we could continue cycling work in between sessions. We don't have to worry anymore about defragmenting disks, rebuilding RAIDs, or swapping out disks. We are buying many more cards to implement throughout our different locations."
About the Company
Prime Focus is a Global Visual Entertainment Services Group. With facilities in L.A., New York City, Vancouver, Winnipeg, London, Mumbai, Goa, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai, Prime Focus operates across 3 continents and 5 time zones. Prime Focus specializes in providing creative and technical services for the Film, Broadcast, Commercials, Gaming, Internet and Media industries, operating across the entire Visual Entertainment Services sector, in every major market and at every stage of the project's development. Prime Focus offers a unique proposition – a state of the art infrastructure and "Global Digital PipelineTM" working across three continents, giving access to industry-leading worldwide talent and global workflows, and allowing clients to realize substantial time and cost savings.
Whether you're a Fortune 500 or five person startup, SanDisk has solutions that will help you get the most out of your infrastructure.
Whether you'd like to ask a few initial questions or are ready to discuss a SanDisk solution tailored to your organizations's needs, the SanDisk sales team is standing by to help.
We're happy to answer your questions, so please fill out the form below so we can get started.
Thank you. We have received your request.


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It is with enormous sadness that we announce the death of Martyn Bennett after a long struggle against cancer. Martyn died in Edinburgh on Sunday 30 January. He has left behind an extraordinary and seminal body of work – influential recordings and the memory outstanding live performances. His last album 'Grit' is an image of a struggle and endurance – both of the singers featured and of Martyn himself.
"On various levels this is an extraordinary album. The charismatic fiddler/bagpiper/dance innovator has endured an horrendous couple of years battling with cancer, and Grit – born of pain, passion, emotion and a very real sense of roots – is the immense response. Paradoxically it's tender yet explosive; ancient and futuristic; beautiful yet violent; scarred yet triumphant; quietly reflective yet full-on dance…. Remarkable stuff." ( fRoots Magazine)
Anyone wishing to pass on their condolences to Martyn's loved ones can do so by mailing firstname.lastname@example.com and we will pass them on.


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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned home to Venezuela early Monday after more than two months of medical treatment in Cuba following cancer surgery.
Chavez announced his return in a series of message on his Twitter account, saying "we will continue our treatment here."
They were the first messages to appear on Chavez's Twitter account since Nov. 1.
"I'm clinging to Christ and trusting in my doctors and nurses," Chavez said in another tweet. "Onward toward victory always!! We will live and we will triumph!!"
Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on television that Chavez at arrived at 2:30 a.m.


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You are here
An Evening in Honor of Taha Muhammad Ali
with Peter Cole, Peter Gizzi, Jim Haba, Edward Hirsch, Adina Hoffman, Naomi Shihab Nye, Gerald Stern, Eliot Weinberger, and Michael Wiegers
Date and Time:
October 16, 2012 - 7:00PM
Event Location:
Kray Hall
$10, $7 for students and seniors, free to Poets House Members
Born in the Galilee village of Saffuriyya in 1931, the self-taught and beloved Taha Muhammad Ali (1931-2011) wrote poems—direct, sometimes humorous, often devastating—that conflate the personal and political with details of village life and the upheaval of conflict.
On the first anniversary of the death of this major Palestinian writer, we celebrate his life and work with readings, reminiscences, and audio and video clips.
Event Sponsored By:
Poets House
Event Type:
Readings and Conversations


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User tips and maintenance
Like any valuable object, Breitling watches and precision instruments require particular care in terms of their use and maintenance. The tips listed here will enable you to prolong their life and functioning and preserve their beauty.
Perspiration and dust on watch cases and bracelets can result in skin irritations, and in the long term, oxidation of the steel. To avoid these deposits, clean the strap periodically using a toothbrush and liquid soap, and rinse the strap and the case under a gentle stream of water (not powerful) and dry with an absorbent cloth. For watches with a leather strap, follow the same rules but do not wet the strap. If the leather is splashed, absorb the liquid as fast as possible with a cloth.
Leather straps
Like all leather objects (shoes, gloves, etc) a leather strap needs to be carefully cared for in order to maintain its beauty in the long term. Protect leather straps from water, perspiration, damp, grease, perfume, cosmetics or chemicals, and avoid excessive exposure to the sun. The use of Breitling's care kit (available from brand retailers) will help increase the lifespan of leather straps and maintain their appearance and their supple feel.
Following every immersion in chlorinated or salt water, carefully rinse your watch under a thin stream of tap water (not powerful), and dry it with an absorbent cloth.
Choice of strap/bracelet
Leather does not like water. For aquatic activities, very humid or damp places, or climates that result in intense perspiration, a metal bracelet or rubber strap is better.


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It was a different world back in the go-go '90s, when the Firehouse Center for the Arts first opened. Before the Market Square venue opened for business in 1991, reborn, most theater in town was delivered to audiences in the old, ramshackle Theater of Newburyport building, in the wilds of Maudslay State Park with Theater in the Open or in impromptu, less-than-ideal and often problematic spaces in the city. The Firehouse changed all of that.
Editor's note: Patrons sometimes talk about the "magic" of theater, but this is a metaphor. The spell of theater, if any, comes not from any incantations, but lots of hard work. In "The Craft of Stage," the Newburyport Current follows the process of putting on a show, specifically "The 39 Steps," a red-hot spoof of the Alfred Hitchcock thriller, which will not open until June, but has been in the works for several months already.
It was a different world back in the go-go '90s, when the Firehouse Center for the Arts first opened. Before the Market Square venue opened for business in 1991, reborn, most theater in town was delivered to audiences in the old, ramshackle Theater of Newburyport building, in the wilds of Maudslay State Park with Theater in the Open or in impromptu, less-than-ideal and often problematic spaces in the city. The Firehouse changed all of that. The historic Market Square building, built as a market house and lyceum in 1823, hosted literary and political heavyweights like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Daniel Webster and Oliver Wendell Holmes, before being repurposed, as they say these days, as the Central Fire Station from the mid-19th century until 1980. Then, a decade later, thanks to a public-private financial partnership, the building began yet another incarnation: as emphatic exclamation point to the city's rebirth, artistic and otherwise.
Standing at the head of the Waterfront Park, the brick building has a majestic, stately feel, so much so that it won an "Honor Award for Architecture" from the American Institute of Architects. In addition to the 200-seat Arakelian Theater, it houses an art gallery and a restaurant spilling out into the square, the al fresco dining creating a European, ex-pat flavor. Managed by the nonprofit Society for the Development of Arts and Humanities, the arts hub opened a floodgate, especially at mid-decade, during the Michael Wainstein years as artistic director, when, if you stood between the Market Square venue's front door and an open date, you'd probably get trampled to death by a theater company, and there were close to two dozen of them, stampeding to grab the date. Those days are gone — way gone. Virtually all of those production companies have disappeared for all sorts of reasons, but one of the primary ones is financial, the ugly bottom line that arty people would like to, but cannot ignore. The cost of mounting a full production has skyrocketed over the years, and, in response, the Firehouse has pulled back from taking those kinds of financial risks.
"Mounting any full-out production has its risks and is much more expensive to present than our one-night musical performances," says SDAH co-president Maureen Daley, "but the opportunity to bring 'real' theater to the region is such an important part of the Firehouse mission" that the organization has come up with ways to do it a little more frugally, to come up with alternative means to finance the shows.
When the Firehouse produces a show, as it does with "The 39 Steps," a noir-ish spoof of the Alfred Hitchcock classic, which will take the stage in June, it controls the budget. It hires the director and then collaborates with that director on choosing the cast. Another piece of the puzzle, says Daley, is that the Firehouse has striven to keep its programming accessible to the community members it serves. "The balancing act of overseeing funds to provide quality programming while at the same time keeping ticket prices affordable and ensuring the financial health of the historic theater that occupies a prominent place in our community can at times be daunting," says Daley.
Which is why the SDAH is trying to boost its sponsors, as card-carrying members of the organization, as well as nailing down sponsorships of $250-$500 from local individuals and businesses to match donations from donors who would like to see the Firehouse present an on-going series of theater at the level of past productions like "Proof" and "Doubt." The organization is also looking locally for help. For example, with "The 39 Steps," Firehouse artistic director Kimm Wilkinson, playing the role of producing director, a job she describes as being "the nervous Nellie," the one who keeps track of everything, makes sure the thing stays on budget and, if it doesn't, has to play the role of the heavy, following the model of past productions, using local set design, set building and lighting experts, some of whom are donating their skills to the production. She is also partnering with local costume, hair and make-up folks.
Role reversal
The unusual thing about this show, still a couple of months off, is that they came at it almost in reverse. Instead of hashing out a show and then finding the team to pull it off, the Firehouse put together the production team before even scheduling auditions. That's because the show "is such a monster, technically, that you have to make sure you got the people to finesse the lights, set and sound," says Wilkinson — "and," she adds, "a director willing to spend the insane number of hours the production will take."
That would be Tim Diering, the Amesbury director who has logged three months of real work already, a figure that will jump to six months before the show takes the stage, the longest he's spent on any show, with the exception of "I Fall For You," seven shorts by Seacoast playwright Michael Kimball, which began in a Port playwriting group in May and had its final show in December, playing in Portland, at the Fringe Festival and Club Passim.
This is how it happened: Late last year, Diering, an in-demand Port director, approached Wilkinson about putting on the show, which had enjoyed wildly successful runs in London and New York. They talked turkey, what it would take to pull it off. Wilkinson pitched the idea to the SDAH Programming Committee, a group that, in its current incarnation, includes Daley and Terry Blanchard, co-presidents of the SDAH, both deeply involved in the Port theater scene, and who, in a perfect bit of casting, "know theater and love reading scripts," says Wilkinson. In addition to pitching the idea, she also brought a preliminary budget, and, more important, "the excitement" of the project. After getting that go-ahead it had to go to the full board.
Once everybody has signed off, most companies start thinking about auditioning actors, then getting the tech crew in place, but not with this production. This, after all is a show whose centerpiece is a furious chase scene with five characters, which, Diering says, "really tells the audience that this is going to be unlike anything they've experienced on stage before."
It's a complex, demanding show that puts a lot of weight on the behind-the-scenes crew. Before even thinking about casting, they wanted to lock down commitments from the behind-the-scenes folks.
"There were a lot of meetings. We talked about our vision and made sure we had all the right players," says Wilkinson .
Signing on was Bonnie Lake, who will be doing the costuming, a massive job in this production, which has some 120 characters, each of whom has to be costumed, or, at least, have some kind of signifier. "If we were not able to hire her, we would not be doing the show," says Wilkinson. James Atkins, the Firehouse tech guy, who grabbed a nomination for an Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theaters award for lighting in the Firehouse production of '"Proof," signed on. "The show is nothing without the lights," said Diering. "So much rides on it." David Stawasz, who has been designing sets since the mid-1970s, with some 75 sets under his belt before moving to the Port from Northampton and signing on as a Firehouse volunteer, will design the set. Fred LaRoche, the local builder who debuted as a set designer last year in 'Proof," will nail down the physical structure. Phillip Coleman, the Salem-based muralist, "who popped out of nowhere and wanted to work with us," Wilkinson says, will put the finishing touches on the set.
"It's just a great team. You know, you can be excited about a great script," says Wilkinson. "You can get excited about potential revenue, about box office, but the most exciting thing is when you put together a great team and really has as a common purpose, they excited and want to work together. That's when theater is really fun. And I thought, 'Great, now we have a solid foundation. Now we can finally get started."


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We had our 33-week checkup last week, and everything looks good. We also got a few things confirmed: 1) I'm still big, and I weigh a lot. Glad we got that squared away. 2) My blood pressure was high, but seconds later when they re-took it, it was back to normal. So that makes a lot of sense. And 3) The baby is clocking in at 5 pounds 3 ounces, in the 80th percentile, and they're estimating (just an estimation, this is never totally scientific) that she could be almost 9 pounds at birth.
Excuse me!?
The reason I seem to be carrying so big is because I have a lot of fluids inside me—more so than what's typical, I guess. My doctor isn't worried about my weight gain and didn't advise me to cut back on anything in particular, so I took that to mean that I should continue eating ice cream Snicker bars late at night. (And thanks to my husband, we now have a box of them in our freezer for convenience.)
The baby's head is already down, nestled on my right side, which I'm told is where the babies like to snuggle their heads. It makes sense now, because I've been feeling body parts up near my belly button and rib cage—she's hanging out upside down, kicking the crap out of me where it counts. I swear, if I didn't know better, I'd think I was giving birth to an alien. You can see her moving, somewhat frantically at times, from just looking at my stomach—it looks as though it's going to split open at any moment and a crazy, acrobatic baby is going to come bursting out doing Krav Maga self-defense moves.
That's how it feels anyway.
The topic du jour during this appointment was—naturally—our "birth plan." I put that in quotes because it feels silly to say that; I'm not really someone who would usually come up with a birth plan. I've actually never used that term before, but I'm not sure what else to call it. We scheduled a C-section for June 6, but if I go into labor before that I can still decide to deliver vaginally. Or, if that happens, I can have an "unscheduled" C-section (it's not the same as an emergency C-section, which I'd like to avoid).
So if you can call that a "birth plan," that's ours. One friend called it a "walk-in birth." I'm hoping it goes down a little more naturally than that—how perfect would that be if I went into labor the night before my scheduled C-section? Probably not likely, but that's exactly how it happened for my "walk-in birth" friend with her second baby, who was born less than a month ago.
Though I know a post-cesarian vaginal birth is safe these days, there is a little risk involved and I'm not sure I'm up for taking those risks—even if they're only 1 percent. (My luck with all things fertility, I'll be that 1 percent.) Bottom line for my husband and me: We want what's safest for the baby and my OB explained that a scheduled C-section is what's safest for someone who's already had one. So I'm fairly certain that's the route I'll end up going—but a girl can fantasize about her options, right?
I spent the last 7 months talking to my OB and every mom I could get my hands on—you could say I've been a little obsessed with the topic of vaginal deliveries lately. When I pinged my network of girlfriends, who've all had vastly different deliveries, it helped me weigh some of the pros and cons.
Their experiences run the gamut—from a friend who pushed for nearly seven hours at home without drugs (the longest pushing phase for a home birth in her midwife's 15 years of practice); to a friend who labored for 40 hours with her first and ended up having an emergency C-section (and then a scheduled C with her second); to yet another friend who pushed for 10 minutes with her first (had three pushes with her second, and one push with her third!).
Then there's my mom, who was in labor for two days with my brother, but only labored in the hospital for two hours with me (sans drugs, and out I came with two easy pushes). Not sure if that's an indication of how my labor and delivery would go, but I can say with one thousand percent certainty, either way I do this, I will be doing it with a helluva lot of drugs. (I'm a Say Yes to Drugs kind of gal.)
When I went in for my scheduled C-section with Preston, which had to be done two weeks early because I had placenta previa, I asked the anesthesiologist if they ever put women under a general anesthetic for the surgery. "Don't you want to be awake for the birth of your baby?" he asked. "Of course," I said, "But I don't want to be awake for major abdominal surgery." Alas, I was awake.
I know no two vaginal deliveries are exactly the same, or birth stories for that matter. I'm so curious about what to expect with labor and delivery, and that unknown is so exciting and cool, especially because I didn't get to experience it with Preston. There's still a big part of me that wants to know what contractions really feel like—but then there's another part of me that doesn't want to leave anything up for chance.
I'd love to hear from you. What was your birth experience like?


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2017-18 Academic Calendar: Graduate Studies in Business
*The deadline to add an accelerated-format course is the first night of class. All accelerated-format sessions begin on Monday of the first week, unless otherwise noted. After the seventh calendar day of the session, any course that is dropped will be recorded on the student's transcript, and an appropriate grade will be assigned.
**For accelerated courses, the last day to file for Pass/No Credit is the end of the second week of each session. Only one Pass/No Credit is allowed in an academic year.
For 2017-18 traditional academic calendar, click here.


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Florida should raise its training standards for gun owners who seek concealed-carry- weapon permits.
Florida should raise its training standards for gun owners who seek concealed-carry- weapon permits.
This is a matter of common sense, not constitutional law. While Floridians have the right to request a concealed-carry license, they are not guaranteed to receive one. Unlike the basic right to own a firearm, the state has discretion on concealed-carry.
Florida's concealed-carry laws set a number of eligibility rules, require background checks and fingerprinting, and require permit seekers to demonstrate "competence with a firearm."
Those safeguards sound reasonable, but there's a problem:
Under state law, applicants are deemed to have gun proficiency once they prove that they have passed a firearms course. But the statute offers no specifics on how extensive this instruction should be; what gun skills the training should cover; whether it must include pistol practice on a gun range; and whether students ultimately learn to shoot accurately.
The law also fails to mention whether instructors are required to cover the crucial issue of when not to shoot.
In the absence of such standards, the quality of gun courses can vary greatly, reported the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on Sunday. Excellent, thorough instruction and testing are available, but Williams also found other cases, in which applicants received only 90 minutes of training and underwent tests that were far from rigorous.
That is too low a bar for this critical prerequisite to a concealed-weapon permit — a license that allows people to carry handguns in many public places, unbeknownst to the crowds around them.
Florida can and should raise the gun-course standards, and do so by putting them in state law. If a concealed-carry permit hinges on the training, then this instruction must be comprehensive enough to ensure that an applicant can do the following:
Safely handle a concealed handgun.
Shoot accurately from a set distance.
Understand when you can and can't use the weapon, under self-defense and deadly-force laws. (Discharging a weapon in public is illegal except under prescribed circumstances.)


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As posted yesterday, today was my birthday. To celebrate, we had a large family gathering at my uncle's house. My grandfather's younger sister (my great-aunt), Eva, was there, and I asked her where she got married. I noticed the last time I was at the St. Clair County Courthouse in Michigan that I had found most of her siblings' marriage records, including my grandfather's marriage to his second wife, but I had never found Aunt Eva's marriage record. She said that she and Uncle Karl had gone down to Angola, Steuben County, Indiana, to get married because they did not have to wait there to get married. They could get the marriage license and get married all in one day. Uncle Karl was working seven days a week at that time, so they did not have a lot of time. Based on their ages, I'm assuming this was in the early 1950's (forgot to ask the date). But this struck a bell. I remembered that my great-grandaunt, Alvina Florence Pemberton, had married her second husband, Arnold Frederick Distelrath, in Angola on 21 Jan 1956. I would not think this so strange if Angola were right on the border of St. Clair County, but it is several hours away. Then I found this article on the Albion, Michigan, website, which confirmed what my Aunt Eva said about couples flocking there to get married because of the no-wait marriage laws. I also know that my Uncle Jim's mother, Christine Elizabeth Chatterson, married her second husband, George Edward Mason, in South Bend, Saint Joseph, Indiana, on 21 Apr 1954. According to usmarriagelaws.com, the whole state of Indiana has no waiting period.
The point of this is that if you have Michigan ancestors and have exhausted your search for their marriage record in Michigan, maybe it is worth checking out the Indiana border counties. The border counties are LaPorte, St. Joseph, Elkhart, Lagrange, and Steuben. I'm not exactly sure how long the no-wait law has been in effect, but according to the Albion, Michigan, article, it was in effect at least as early as the 1930s.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Posted by Jennifer at 11:54 PM
Labels: Chatterson, Michigan, Pemberton
2 comments:
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- Genres
- Tickets & Theaters
- Content Rating
- IMDb Rating
- Release Year
The Predator (2018)
R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Horror
When a young boy accidentally triggers the universe's most lethal hunters' return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.
Director: Shane Black | Stars: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key
Votes: 26,219 | Gross: $41.65M
A Simple Favor (2018)
R | 117 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A woman seeks to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of her best friend.
Director: Paul Feig | Stars: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells
Votes: 10,756 | Gross: $33.24M
The Nun (2018)
R | 96 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A priest with a haunted past and a novice on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate the death of a young nun in Romania and confront a malevolent force in the form of a demonic nun.
Director: Corin Hardy | Stars: Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, Bonnie Aarons
Votes: 36,745 | Gross: $101.32M
The Meg (2018)
PG-13 | 113 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
After escaping an attack by what he claims was a 70-foot shark, Jonas Taylor must confront his fears to save those trapped in a sunken submersible.
Director: Jon Turteltaub | Stars: Jason Statham, Bingbing Li, Rainn Wilson, Cliff Curtis
Votes: 44,834 | Gross: $140.57M
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
PG-13 | 120 min | Comedy, Romance
This contemporary romantic comedy, based on a global bestseller, follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family.
Director: Jon M. Chu | Stars: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan
Votes: 26,675 | Gross: $159.83M
Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
PG-13 | 147 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Ethan Hunt and his IMF team, along with some familiar allies, race against time after a mission gone wrong.
Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg
Votes: 133,406 | Gross: $218.24M
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A young orphan named Lewis Barnavelt aids his magical uncle in locating a clock with the power to bring about the end of the world.
Director: Eli Roth | Stars: Jack Black, Cate Blanchett, Owen Vaccaro, Kyle MacLachlan
Votes: 3,035 | Gross: $27.84M
Ocean's Eight (2018)
PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Debbie Ocean gathers an all-female crew to attempt an impossible heist at New York City's yearly Met Gala.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling
Votes: 84,056 | Gross: $139.38M
Searching (III) (2018)
PG-13 | 102 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
After his 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a desperate father breaks into her laptop to look for clues to find her.
Director: Aneesh Chaganty | Stars: John Cho, Debra Messing, Joseph Lee, Michelle La
Votes: 16,913 | Gross: $23.27M
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
R | 135 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
Ron Stallworth, an African-American police officer from Colorado, successfully manages to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan with the help of a white surrogate, who eventually becomes head of the local branch.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace
Votes: 31,297 | Gross: $47.19M
Incredibles 2 (2018)
PG | 118 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible) is left to care for the kids while Helen (Elastigirl) is out saving the world.
Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner
Votes: 100,183 | Gross: $606.40M
The Equalizer 2 (2018)
R | 121 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Robert McCall serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed, but how far will he go when that is someone he loves?
Director: Antoine Fuqua | Stars: Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders, Orson Bean
Votes: 26,545 | Gross: $102.08M
Mile 22 (2018)
R | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
An elite American intelligence officer, aided by a top-secret tactical command unit, tries to smuggle a mysterious police officer with sensitive information out of the country.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Lauren Cohan, Iko Uwais, John Malkovich
Votes: 9,134 | Gross: $36.04M
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
As Scott Lang balances being both a Super Hero and a father, Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym present an urgent new mission that finds the Ant-Man fighting alongside The Wasp to uncover secrets from their past.
Director: Peyton Reed | Stars: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Peña, Walton Goggins
Votes: 96,796 | Gross: $215.83M
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018)
PG | 97 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Count Dracula and company participate in a cruise for sea-loving monsters, unaware that their boat is being commandeered by the monster-hating Van Helsing family.
Director: Genndy Tartakovsky | Stars: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James
Votes: 15,175 | Gross: $166.08M
Christopher Robin (2018)
PG | 104 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A working-class family man, Christopher Robin, encounters his childhood friend Winnie-the-Pooh, who helps him to rediscover the joys of life.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael, Mark Gatiss
Votes: 18,344 | Gross: $96.98M
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)
PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Five years after the events of Mamma Mia! (2008), Sophie prepares for the grand reopening of the Hotel Bella Donna as she learns more about her mother's past.
Director: Ol Parker | Stars: Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Cher
Votes: 32,246 | Gross: $120.28M
American Animals (2018)
R | 116 min | Crime, Drama
Four young men mistake their lives for a movie and attempt one of the most audacious heists in U.S. history.
Director: Bart Layton | Stars: Spencer Reinhard, Warren Lipka, Eric Borsuk, Chas Allen
Votes: 15,363 | Gross: $2.86M
Manmarziyaan (2018)
156 min | Romance
The film is a love story set in Punjab where Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, and Vicky Kaushal will be seen in prominent roles.
Director: Anurag Kashyap | Stars: Tapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, Abhishek Bachchan, Abdul Quadir Amin
Votes: 1,674 | Gross: $0.51M
King of Thieves (2018)
108 min | Crime, Drama
A true crime film about a crew of retired crooks who pull off a major heist in London's jewelry district. What starts off as their last criminal hurrah quickly turns into a brutal nightmare due to greed. Based on infamous true events.
Director: James Marsh | Stars: Michael Caine, Charlie Cox, Michael Gambon, Jim Broadbent
Votes: 933
Slender Man (2018)
PG-13 | 93 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
In a small town in Massachusetts, a group of friends, fascinated by the internet lore of the Slender Man, attempt to prove that he doesn't actually exist - until one of them mysteriously goes missing.
Director: Sylvain White | Stars: Joey King, Julia Goldani Telles, Jaz Sinclair, Annalise Basso
Votes: 7,242 | Gross: $30.39M
Climax (2018)
R | 95 min | Drama, Horror, Musical
French dancers gather in a remote, empty school building to rehearse on a wintry night. The all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD.
Director: Gaspar Noé | Stars: Sofia Boutella, Romain Guillermic, Souheila Yacoub, Kiddy Smile
Votes: 1,032
The Happytime Murders (2018)
R | 91 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
When the puppet cast of a '90s children's TV show begin to get murdered one by one, a disgraced LAPD detective-turned-private eye puppet takes on the case.
Director: Brian Henson | Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Maya Rudolph, Leslie David Baker
Votes: 6,108 | Gross: $20.70M
The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)
R | 117 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Audrey and Morgan are best friends who unwittingly become entangled in an international conspiracy when one of the women discovers the boyfriend who dumped her was actually a spy.
Director: Susanna Fogel | Stars: Justin Theroux, Blanka Györfi-Tóth, Vilma Szécsi, Mila Kunis
Votes: 12,348 | Gross: $33.55M
The Children Act (2017)
R | 105 min | Drama
As her marriage crumbles, a judge must decide a case involving a teenage boy who is refusing a blood transfusion on religious principle.
Director: Richard Eyre | Stars: Emma Thompson, Stanley Tucci, Ben Chaplin, Fionn Whitehead
Votes: 2,260 | Gross: $0.08M
The Little Stranger (2018)
R | 111 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
After a doctor is called to visit a crumbling manor, strange things begin to occur.
Director: Lenny Abrahamson | Stars: Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson, Will Poulter, Charlotte Rampling
Votes: 817 | Gross: $0.71M
The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, Romance
In 1993, a teenage girl is forced into a gay conversion therapy center by her conservative guardians.
Director: Desiree Akhavan | Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Steven Hauck, Quinn Shephard, Kerry Butler
Votes: 2,472 | Gross: $0.90M
Cold War (2018)
88 min | Drama, Music, Romance
A passionate love story between two people of different backgrounds and temperaments, who are fatefully mismatched, set against the background of the Cold War in the 1950s in Poland, Berlin, Yugoslavia and Paris.
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski | Stars: Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc, Agata Kulesza
Votes: 2,326
Batti Gul Meter Chalu (2018)
161 min | Drama
A social movie about escalating electric bills.
Director: Shree Narayan Singh | Stars: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyendu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Votes: 1,210 | Gross: $0.15M
The Rider (2017)
R | 104 min | Drama, Western
After suffering a near fatal head injury, a young cowboy undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.
Director: Chloé Zhao | Stars: Brady Jandreau, Mooney, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau
Votes: 4,286 | Gross: $2.39M
Lucky (2017)
Not Rated | 88 min | Comedy, Drama
The spiritual journey of a ninety-year-old atheist.
Director: John Carroll Lynch | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, David Lynch, Ron Livingston, Ed Begley Jr.
Votes: 10,899 | Gross: $0.96M
The Seagull (I) (2018)
PG-13 | 98 min | Drama
In the early 20th century, an aging actress and her lover visit the estate of her elderly brother.
Director: Michael Mayer | Stars: Elisabeth Moss, Saoirse Ronan, Michael Zegen, Annette Bening
Votes: 627 | Gross: $1.25M
Yardie (2018)
101 min | Crime
Set in '70s Kingston and '80s Hackney, Yardie centres on the life of a young Jamaican man named D (Aml Ameen), who has never fully recovered from the murder, committed during his childhood,... See full summary »
Director: Idris Elba | Stars: Antwayne Eccleston, Fraser James, Aml Ameen, Rayon McLean
Votes: 777
Whitney (2018)
R | 120 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
An in-depth look at the life and music of Whitney Houston.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Bobby Brown
Votes: 1,477 | Gross: $3.03M
The Intent 2: The Come Up (2018)
103 min | Crime
Prequel the the successful 2016 film 'The Intent'
Directors: Femi Oyeniran, Nicky Slimting Walker | Stars: Adam Deacon, Karen Bryson, Ashley Chin, Femi Oyeniran
Votes: 31
The Festival (2018)
98 min | Comedy
After Nick's girlfriend dumps him, his best mate Shane has the perfect antidote to his break-up blues: three days at an epic music festival.
Director: Iain Morris | Stars: Joe Thomas, Hannah Tointon, Hammed Animashaun, Hugh Coles
Votes: 1,171
C'est la vie! (I) (2017)
117 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A hectic wedding party held in an 17th century French palace comes together with the help of the behind-the-scenes staff.
Directors: Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano | Stars: Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jean-Paul Rouve, Gilles Lellouche, Vincent Macaigne
Votes: 5,771
Saamy² (2018)
152 min | Action
The son of Aarusaamy becomes a cop and takes on the criminal who murdered his parents.
Director: Hari | Stars: Vikram, Keerthi Suresh, Aishwarya Rajesh, Prabhu
Votes: 298
Faces Places (2017)
PG | 94 min | Documentary
Director Agnes Varda and photographer/muralist J.R. journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.
Directors: JR, Agnès Varda | Stars: Agnès Varda, JR, Jeannine Carpentier, Clemens Van Dungern
Votes: 6,117 | Gross: $0.95M
Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. (2018)
96 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Drawn from a never-before-seen cache of personal footage spanning decades, this is an intimate portrait of the Sri Lankan artist and musician who continues to shatter conventions.
Director: Steve Loveridge | Star: M.I.A.
Votes: 288
Qismat (2018)
137 min | Drama, Romance
Qismat is a Punjabi movie starring Ammy Virk and Sargun Mehta in prominent roles. It is a romantic comedy directed by Jagdeep Sidhu.
Director: Jagdeep Sidhu | Stars: Ammy Virk, Sargun Mehta Dubey, Guggu Gill, Harby Sangha
Votes: 374
Pope Francis: A Man of His Word (2018)
PG | 96 min | Documentary, Biography
Pope Francis travels the world speaking to those in need and delivering a message of hope.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Pope Francis, Joe Biden, Daniele De Angelis, Carlo Falconetti
Votes: 750 | Gross: $1.82M
Theevandi (2018)
144 min | Comedy
Theevandi is a political satire depicted through light humor where the protagonist Bineesh hardly knows a thing even about himself.
Director: Fellini T.P. | Stars: Tovino Thomas, Samyuktha Menon, Suraaj Venjarammoodu, Vijilesh Karayad
Votes: 425
Edie (2017)
102 min | Drama
83 year old Edie believes that it is never too late - packing an old camping bag, leaving her life behind and embarking on an adventure she never got to have - climbing the imposing Mount Suilven in Scotland.
Director: Simon Hunter | Stars: Sheila Hancock, Kevin Guthrie, Paul Brannigan, Amy Manson
Votes: 250
Wajib (2017)
96 min | Drama
A father and his estranged son must come together to hand deliver his daughter's wedding invitations to each guest as per local Palestinian custom, in this rousing family drama from Annemarie Jacir (When I Saw You).
Director: Annemarie Jacir | Stars: Mohammad Bakri, Saleh Bakri, Tarik Kopty, Monera Shehadeh
Votes: 472
The More You Ignore Me (2018)
98 min | Comedy
Mental illness, Morrissey and guinea pigs.
Director: Keith English | Stars: Sheridan Smith, Mark Addy, Sally Phillips, Ella Hunt
Votes: 72
The Man from Mo'Wax (2016)
116 min | Documentary, Music
A pulsating documentary charting the extraordinary life and career of underground DJ icon, music producer and global trip hop mogul, James Lavelle. Starring DJ Shadow, 3D of Massive Attack,... See full summary »
Director: Matthew Jones | Stars: James Lavelle, DJ Shadow, Ian Brown, Josh Homme
Votes: 91
Arcadia (2012)
91 min | Drama
Greta's dad Tom is moving the family cross-country in a dented station wagon, promising a California paradise to his kids. All that's missing is Mom.
Director: Olivia Silver | Stars: Ryan Simpkins, Ty Simpkins, Kendall Toole, Kim Reid
Votes: 499


text:
Samoa News Editorial: A Fairy Tale Legacy
There's a great 19th century fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson titled "The Emperor's New Clothes" that I first read at the Feleti Barstow Library when I attended elementary school in Utulei. It's one of those great cautionary tales that remain in your mind, because it highlights what happens when you don't speak up — about things or issues that you consider wrong.
The tale is essentially the story of a Ruler in a distant land who loved his appearance so much he had a different suit for every hour of the day.
One day two rogues arrived in town, claiming to be gifted weavers. They convinced the Emperor/ Ruler that they could weave the most wonderful cloth in the world. The cloth, they said, had a magical property — and clothes made with this cloth were only visible to those who were completely pure in heart and spirit.
To make the tale short — the Emperor was never told by his advisors and ministers they could not see the new clothes, even going as far as to extoll the beauty of the cloth they couldn't see.
The Emperor, himself, when he viewed his new clothes, said absolutely nothing. Instead, he pretended to admire the fabulous cloth, inspecting the clothes with awe, and, after disrobing, going through the motions of carefully putting on the new garments.
He then appeared before his people in a grand procession, all of whom cheered and clapped because they all knew the rogue weavers' tale and did not want to be seen as less than pure of heart and spirit.
But, then amid the cheering and clapping, a little child sitting on his father's shoulders, was heard to loudly exclaim, for all the people to hear, that the Emperor had nothing 'on' at all —"Daddy, the emperor has no clothes!"
This tale seems to define the legacy Gov. Togiola Tulafono leaves us after ten years at the helm of our government. (He's barred, by law, from running again after two full 4-year terms.)
His delivery on his Saturday radio program highlights it — his insistence on being 'the boss' (pule) with no room for public dialogue — but oh by the way, he says, "in a democracy, you have the right to say what you want," ...just don't waste his time.
Togiola's phrases of "it's just the same 4 - 7 people speaking out", "they did it to just make the government look bad", "they wasted space in my office","they were an eyesore", "they always show the negative, not the positive of my administration", "they talk without offering solutions", "my government is doing fine", and so on… are actually great fodder for Togi-bashing, and elicits laughter around the kava bowl, but not much else.
The kava bowl laughers see through the 'new clothes' phrases the governor drapes over reality. Thankfully there are some voices, crying like the child in the crowd — questioning this reality— through public dialogue.
Public dialogue, at its best, is the peaceful 'march' by the LBJ protesters with petitions and signs in hand; it is the petition signed by those who are against the StarKist cold storage site; and it is the Fagatele Bay Sanctuary expansion proposal public forum and comments solicited by NOAA, to name a few issues the governor has gone on about.
This is the reality of democratic government in American Samoa or anywhere. It's government by the people, for the people — it's about the people… not about a governor, not about a person, not about special interest groups — it's about good governance.
It's about keeping the questions, the discussions, the protests — petitions, forums and marches going — as a part of our public dialogue about our government. What we want it to be and what we want it to do. Public dialogue holds those we elect, and those who they 'hire', to acts of accountability, transparency and honesty — the tenets of good government —the real 'clothes' of democracy.
When we go to the polls come November — let's keep this in mind, and go in with our eyes wide open searching for the truth or reality of what's best for our territory and its people.
Let's wear our 'Sunday best'.