text:
So, I got started by creating a file in the Cricut Craft Room using Plantin Schoolbook that cuts 12 tags on a 12" x 24" mat - they come out to be about 5" tall. I just used plain white paper. You could just do autofill if you want to use the cartridge alone. Then, I numbered the tags.
Below is a close up of the Cuttlebug box. I separate out all the Christmas folders so I don't have to keep going by them all year long. The glue in the front is primarily a way to prop up the folders.
Below, I like to store my small dies in ziploc bags by manufacturer. I also put those Tim Holtz Sizzix folders with their matching edges in a ziploc bag also.
This allows you to create your own custom Cuttlebug embossing folder. It's very easy to do.
How can you win?
1) Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite Cuttlebug folder is and/or how you store them.
2) Subscribe or follow the blog.
Winner will be announced on Monday, April 9, 2012. Winner has two weeks to claim prize. Allow four weeks for delivery.
Here are some of the questions I've gotten from yesterday's post about my craft room reorganization:
1) Where did you get your desk? Ikea. I measured my space and then figured out what pieces I needed to buy to get the U shape configuration. It took some thinking but I LOVE this desk!
2) Where did you get those pink and black containers that you put your paper in? I got those at Michaels. I don't think they have this pattern anymore but I do think they have other patterns. I got the biggest sizes when they were on sale.
3) Did you do this in one day? Ha ha - no! It took like 2 weeks.
4) What are the dimensions of the cabinet that holds the ribbon, stamps, etc. that's on the wall? 31.5" tall x 25.5" wide x 3.75" deep. I got mine at Michaels when they were 50% (they run this sale frequently). Click HERE to see the details. Their dimensions on the link seem different - you may want to go into the store to check. I measured mine, though.
5) What happened to the bookmark feature in Cricut Craft Room? I don't know - I will look into it.
Want to see more of my projects?
Click HERE to see my gallery!
Subscribe to Obsessed with Scrapbooking to learn more about ways to use the Cricut in your scrapbooking!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Harper and I had such a fun day today! Nonny, Harper and I headed out this morning and went to Tulsa. (There are so many of you in Tulsa that I would love to have called to see but we had a very quick whirlwind trip so there just wasn't time this time!)
We made a quick stop at the NICU at St. Francis. It felt weird to be at the hospital on a 100 degree day since we had been there during very cold weather and a snow storm. All of our nurses and Harper's doctor were either off or in classes so we didn't see anyone we knew but it was bittersweet to be back where we spent so many hours.
Then we went for a quick lunch at Pei Wei. YUMMY!!!! Dummy me ordered Kung Pou Chicken which I love but then I got it and remembered that I can't eat peanuts (which it has) or anything cooked in peanut oil (which I was scared it was) so I had to make mom trade meals with me. I'm still getting used to avoiding foods for Harper's allergies.
And then the reason for our trip - we got to meet BOOMAMA and BIGMAMA!!!!!!!!!
They had just spent the last few days at Pioneer Woman's ranch and Ree sent two pans of her famous cinnamon rolls - one each for me and my mom. I can't believe I actually have in my possession cinnamon rolls made by THE pioneer woman. And OH SWEET GOODNESS HEAVENS TO BETSY they are some kind of good. I'm pretty sure I will eat the entire pan myself in 2 days. You can get the recipe here and if you read it - you can imagine why they are over the moon good. I will be making some soon.
Yep - it's been one fun day!


text:
How to Change the Oil in Your Riding Lawn Mower
Changing the lawn mower oil is an essential part of regular maintenance for your Cub Cadet rider. In addition to helping it run smoothly and efficiently, replacing the oil can also maximize its lifespan.
Keep in mind that the steps for changing your riding lawn tractor's oil may vary slightly from the ones listed below. Check your operator's manual to get instructions tailored to your model, including information about which lawn mower oil type you should use.
Step 1
Before you change the oil in a lawn mower, place the mower on a flat, level surface.
Step 2
Make sure the engine is cool then disconnect the spark plug ignition wire.
Step 3
Clean the lawn mower's oil fill and drain area of any debris.
Step 4
Remove the dip stick from the lawn mower's oil fill tube then using the Arnold Siphon Pump, place the black tube into the dip stick hole on the engine and the orange tube into the oil pan.
Step 5
Prime the pump by pumping the handle three to four times. Once the liquid begins to flow, it will continue without further pumping.
Step 6
Remove the Arnold Siphon Pump.
Step 7
To remove the lawn mower oil using the drain plug, position the catch basin then snap the small end of the oil drain sleeve onto the oil sump. Remove the drain plug and drain the lawn mower oil into the catch basin.
Step 8
Replace the drain plug and remove the drain sleeve.
Step 9
Remove the oil filter. Using lawn mower oil, lubricate the gasket of the new filter and then install the filter.
Step 10
Add new lawn mower oil type indicated in your operator's manual. Follow the instructions in your manual for how to change the lawn mower oil in your specific model.
Step 11
Replace the dip stick. Wait several minutes, then use the dip stick to check the lawn mower's oil level.
Step 12
Reconnect the spark plug ignition wire.
Step 13
Once you've changed the oil in your lawn mower, make sure you properly dispose of the old oil.


text:
Hobbit' sequels wrap up filming in New Zealand
In this Friday, July 12, 2013 photo taken and released by Peter Jackson, actor Martin Freeman waves after he finished his last filming shot as Bilbo Baggins on the set of The Hobbit in Wellington, New Zealand. AP photo
Peter Jackson has wrapped up filming "The Hobbit" trilogy and shared pictures of his last day on the set with his Facebook fans.The New Zealand filmmaker provided a steady stream of updates and photos from the set of the final film, "The Hobbit: There And Back Again," on Friday. The second film, "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug," will be released in December, and the finale appears in 2014.
The director posted pictures of dwarves, crew members and actor Martin Freeman, who plays the protagonist, hobbit Bilbo Baggins. The photo updates began and ended with pictures of Jackson's cat, Mr. Smudge. The final photo shows the director and feline cuddling, along with the caption: "A long day. A great day. Thank you all for being part of it! Now for some sleep!"
"The Hobbit," based on J.R.R. Tolkien's novel of the same name, is the prequel to Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings." It follows Baggins' adventures as he tries to help a group of dwarves regain their wealth and stature from the dragon Smaug.
The first film in the trilogy, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," opened in December 2012 and surpassed $1 billion in box-office receipts worldwide.


text:
NEW YORK (AP) — Super Bowl ads this year morphed into mini soap operas.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson shrugged off aliens so he could get more milk for his kids in a Super Bowl spot for the Milk Processor Education Program. Anheuser-Busch's commercial told the story of a baby Clydesdale growing up and returning to his owner for a heartfelt hug years later. And a Jeep ad portrayed the trials and triumphs of families waiting for their return of family members.
The reason for all the drama off the field? With 30-second spots going for as much as $4 million and more than 111 million viewers expected to tune in, marketers are constantly looking for ways to make their ads stand out. And it's increasingly difficult to captivate viewers with short-form plots involving babies, celebrities, sex and humor — unless there's a compelling story attached.
"A lot of advertisers are running long commercials to tell these stories that engage people often in a very emotional way," said Tim Calkins, clinical professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. "These spots that tell stories really stand out in the clutter."
Chrysler started the long-format commercial trend last year, with a two-minute spot starring Clint Eastwood that became very popular.
This year, Chrysler led the trend again with its two-minute salute to troops and their families. The ad featured Oprah Winfrey reading a letter from the Jeep brand to encourage families to stay hopeful.
Wendy Ochoa, a high school teacher who lives in Novi, Mich., said the ad was very emotional. "It tugs on your heartstrings," Ochoa, 44, said. "How can it not?"
Anheuser-Busch also pulled at heartstrings with a spot about a baby Clydesdale growing up and moving away from his farm and his trainer. Years later, the horse remembered the trainer after returning for a parade. He raced down a street to hug him.
"The Budweiser commercial with the Clydesdale made me cry," said Wendy Ponzo, 49, who was watching the game in Pont Pleasant, N.J.
Lincoln's 90-second ad was inspired by tweets by fans about road trips. The company asked people to send their stories, and Jimmy Fallon, host of NBC's "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," decided on which tales would be used.
The ad, which was based on more than 6,000 tweets from fans, shows adventures during a fictional road trip. A woman picks up a German hitchhiker, and they go to an alpaca farm, get stopped by turtles crossing the road, and drive through a movie set.
Rap pioneer Joseph "Rev Run" Simmons and Wil Wheaton, who acted in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," made cameos in the spot.
Coca-Cola created an ad based on an online campaign that pit three groups — a troupe of showgirls, biker style badlanders and cowboys — against each other in a race through a desert for a Coke.
Starting Jan. 23 and continuing through the end of the Super Bowl, viewers voted online for their favorite group. The group with the most votes — the showgirls — were revealed when the Super Bowl ended.
Audi also went with an ad that told a story — and was inspired by viewers. The company's 60-second ad featured an ending that was voted on by viewers prior to the game.
In the ad, a boy gains confidence from driving his father's Audi to the prom, kisses the prom queen once he arrives at the dance and gets decked by the prom king. In the end, he drives back home with a smile on his face.
The Audi mini-epic was a favorite of Super Bowl viewer Stephanie Bice, 39, a business development director in Oklahoma City.
"It was fun and whimsical," Bice said.
Not all of the storytelling ads were dramatic, though.
Samsung's two-minute ad showed Seth Rogen ("The Guilt Trip") and Paul Rudd ("Role Models") getting called in to do a "Next Big Thing" ad for Samsung. But they're agitated once they realize that they're sharing the spotlight. LeBron James, an NBA basketball player for the Miami Heat, makes a cameo, appearing on the screen of a tablet.
The ad won over some fans in the ad world.
"I could watch the Samsung ad over and over again," said David Berkowitz, vice president at digital marketing agency 360i. "It's as good as any Seth Rogen movie."
Budweiser, a long-time Super Bowl advertiser, also told a continuing story in two of its ads. One showed rival 49ers and Ravens fans each creating a voodoo doll for the other team with the help of R&B legend Stevie Wonder. In the other ad, fans go to great lengths to curse a rival fan's "lucky chair."
"It's only weird if it doesn't work," the words in the ad read.
Mercedes-Benz's 90-second ad had a Faustian plot.
A devilish Willem Dafoe ("Spider-Man") shows a man everything that comes with a Mercedes-Benz CLX: A date with supermodel Kate Upton, dancing with Usher, driving around with beautiful girls, getting on the cover of magazines including Vanity Fair and GQ, getting to drive on a racetrack.
The man almost signs his soul away for the car. But then he sees a billboard that says the car starts at $29,900, and doesn't sign.
Although many advertisers tried to pull people in with lengthy story lines, there were a few that stuck with short, quirky spots with no particular plot.
GoDaddy.com's ad was one of them. It showed a close up, extended kiss between supermodel Bar Refaeli and a nerdy guy wearing glasses to illustrate GoDaddy's combo of "sexy" and "smart."
Some viewers thought the ad was too explicit for the Super Bowl.
"I don't care who wins the game. I just don't want to see that commercial again, ever," said Stephen G. Smith, 63, an editor at The Washington Times in Washington, D.C.
Stephanie Malone from DeKalb, Ill., agreed: "GoDaddy should be ashamed."
Striking a less controversial note, Best Buy's 30-second ad in the first quarter starred Amy Poehler, of NBC's "Parks and Recreation," asking a Best Buy employee endless questions about electronics.
"Will this one read '50 Shades of Grey' to me in a sexy voice?" Poehler asks about an e-book reader. Then, when the staffer says no she asks, "Will you?"
M&M's spot showed its red spokescharacter singing Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything For Love," and wooing beautiful women. But the M&M stopped short when the women try to eat him.
And Oreo's ad featured a showdown in a library between people fighting over whether the cookie or the cream is the best part of the cookie. The punch-line? The fight escalates into thrown chairs and other destruction, but because the fight is in a library, everyone still has to whisper.
The ad directed users to follow Oreo on Instagram photo-sharing site, where they could continue the "cookie vs. cream" debate. Meanwhile, Oreo was quick to capitalize on the blackout that hit the game for about 30 minutes in the third quarter. It tweeted a picture of an Oreo in the half-dark with the words: "You can still dunk in the dark."


text:
Uncover budget-friendly plumbing firms featuring skilled and adept plumbing experts providing top-tier plumbing solutions in murfreesboro city. Our verified plumbers are all prescreened and a majority extend Free Estimates, sewer and drain cleaning services, water heater repairs, 24/7 emergency plumbing assistance, cost-effective plumbing packages, valuable coupons, quality plumbing supplies, and an assurance of impeccable workmanship.
Plumbersbyzip.com ensures a high quality of local Murfreesboro plumbers in 71958 zip code search, streamlining your decision-making process with swift and effortless choices. Our results are consistently unbiased, guaranteeing a selection of reliable local plumbers in your vicinity.
At Plumbersbyzip.com, you can rest assured that you'll discover proficient and qualified plumbers adept at providing an array of plumbing repairs and services including: Residential Plumbing, Commercial Plumbing, 24/7 Emergency Plumbing in murfreesboro, and an extensive range of murfreesboro Plumbing & Rooter Services! Prominent Plumbing Brands that our members install, service, and mend in murfreesboro encompass: Kohler,Moen, American Standard, Delta Faucet, Grohe, TOTO, Elkay, Rinnai, Rheem, Bradford White, Navien, A.O. Smith, Insinkerator, Mansfield Plumbing, Gerber Plumbing, Pfister, Danze, Jacuzzi, Sloan Valve, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, Grundfos, Uponor, Viega,Liberty Pumps, Zoeller, Oatey, SharkBite, NIBCO, Apollo Valves, Wilkins, Watts Water Technologies, Zurn, Anvil International, Fernco, SharkBite,John Guest, BrassCraft Mueller Industries, Legend Valve, Uponor & many more.
1. Register a member account 2. Create a searchable listing 3. Connect with more clients


text:
Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests, 58297 [E7-20256]
Download as PDFAgencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 198 (Monday, October 15, 2007)] [Notices] [Page 58297] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: E7-20256] [[Page 58297]] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests AGENCY: Department of Education. SUMMARY: The IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before December 14, 2007. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity to comment on information collection requests. OMB may amend or waive the requirement for public consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's ability to perform its statutory obligations. The IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, publishes that notice containing proposed information collection requests prior to submission of these requests to OMB. Each proposed information collection, grouped by office, contains the following: (1) Type of review requested, e.g. new, revision, extension, existing or reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4) Description of the need for, and proposed use of, the information; (5) Respondents and frequency of collection; and (6) Reporting and/or Recordkeeping burden. OMB invites public comment. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Dated: October 10, 2007. Angela C. Arrington, IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management. Institute of Education Sciences Type of Review: Extension. Title: Impact Evaluation of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program. Frequency: Annually. Affected Public: State, Local, or Tribal Gov't, SEAs or LEAs. Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: Responses: 8,377. Burden Hours: 8,279. Abstract: The DC Opportunity Scholarship Program is a five year school choice program that provides scholarships for children in low- income families in Washington DC. This evaluation uses a randomized control trial to compare the outcomes of eligible applicants who received scholarships to eligible applicants who did not receive a scholarship. Requests for copies of the proposed information collection request may be accessed from https://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the ``Browse Pending Collections'' link and by clicking on link number 3509. When you access the information collection, click on ``Download Attachments'' to view. Written requests for information should be addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Potomac Center, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20202-4700. Requests may also be electronically mailed to email@example.com or faxed to 202-245- 6623. Please specify the complete title of the information collection when making your request. Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity requirements should be electronically mailed to firstname.lastname@example.com. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339. [FR Doc. E7-20256 Filed 10-12-07; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.


text:
First up, "Oscar Lends a Hand:"
"Wasted Windmills:"
[Seth: Really?]
[Amy: Really! Really?]
[Seth: I mean, Reeeeally.]
"Something Vaguely Obscene on Something Vaguely Hat-Like:"
"The Right Hook:"
"The Thing I'm Told is a Shamrock But I'm Not Buying It:"
Maia G., Meg K., Lori B., Carrie M., Misty B., Trisha D., & Alex, I want you to know that my little Guinness joke does NOT mean I think Irish people are all alcoholics, and I would hate to have any of you lovely Irish readers think that. Especially considering your hair-trigger tempers and all.
- Related Wreckage: Rockin' Shams
UPDATE: Today I learned that there is a difference between clovers and shamrocks. As I understand it from your comments, clovers can have either 3 or 4 leaves, but shamrocks can only have three Epcots. [nodding seriously] Good to know, good to know.


text:
Like other healthcare providers, your dentist keeps records of your ongoing care. These include not only their written notes but also x-ray imaging, frequency of visits and cleanings, and any medical information that could affect your care. What's more, they have a legal obligation to maintain these records.
Your dental records help guide decisions about your care. In that regard, you should consider something else—you may need to change providers: your dentist retires or you move; your dentist isn't in your new insurance network; or, unfortunately, you have an "irreconcilable" difference with your provider.
If that happens, it's very important your dental records find their way to your new provider. Here are 3 reasons why.
Your individual dental history. Each person's dental situation and needs are unique. Your past records help clue in your new dentist about your past history and current needs, which will help guide how they treat you.
Time and money. Your dental records contain x-rays or other diagnostic information about your oral condition, including preparations for any upcoming dental work. If you change dentists before completing that treatment, your new dentist may have to start over with new diagnostic tests if they don't have this previous data. It could cost you more money and make you wait longer for a needed procedure.
Coordinating dental care with your general health. Your mouth isn't isolated from the rest of your body, and some dental treatment measures could affect other health conditions (and vice-versa). If your new dentist knows other health issues you may have from your previous records, it can help ensure you're getting dental treatment appropriate to your overall health.
For the most streamlined transition between providers, it's important your dental records follow you. You're entitled to having those records transferred, and, if you're uncomfortable asking yourself, your new provider can obtain them for you. Just be sure to ask.
If you would like more information on your rights regarding your dental care records, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article "Why Your Dental Records Should Follow You."
Our goal is to get the perfect smile option in Columbia, MD and we are proudly accepting new patients across the following areas:


text:
Having worked with wood as his primary medium for more than 50 years, local artist Steve Sinner has mastered the art of woodturning. Woodturning is the process of fastening wood to a lathe that rotates around a centralized axis, allowing artists to use a series of chisels, gouges and other implements to carve away portions of the raw wood to create symmetrical forms. Traditionally, this process was used to create furniture legs, tool handles and other household implements. Sinner is one of a number of artists who use this technique to create finely crafted vessels. These vessels often have walls thinner than 1/8 inch, transforming rough blocks of wood into elegant forms.
The surface of Sinner's vessels range from meticulously rendered geometric forms based on algorithms to figurative allegories. These designs are created from a combination of mediums, including acrylic paint, gold leaf, ink and urethane. Other surfaces are embellished by selectively removing sections of the vessel, producing a screen of perforations that allow light to permeate the form.
In addition to his independent work, Sinner seeks out local artists like Katie Kiley and Joe Meirhaeghe with whom to collaborate. The resulting works are remarkable combinations of form, material and surface decoration.
Steve Sinner: Master Woodturner highlights nearly 30 examples of Sinner's solo work and collaborations as well as his innovations within the art form.
image: Steve Sinner, (American, b.1942), Ant Farm III, #1335, 2003, maple, gold leaf and pigment, Gift of the Artist, 2005.74
- The exhibition was made possible by the support of the OSherenko Young Foundation
Contributing sponsors include the William Butterworth Foundation, Rock Island Art Guild, and the Quad City International Airport
- Media Sponsor KWQC TV6
Image Credit: Steve Sinner, (American, b.1942), Ant Farm III, #1335, 2003, maple, gold leaf and pigment, Gift of the Artist, 2005.74


text:
Pretty Red Floral Basket!
Red Valentine's Day Gift Basket!
Mother's Day Gift Basket! just fill with some candy!
1 Artisan Quilted Fabric Basket Measures:
3"High, top 8.5" diameter
Lovely Pink Spring Decoration!
I hand wrapped these high quality red fabrics around cotton line, which I then hand coiled and machine quilted to make it sturdy. I used the raw edge technique with some fray to add a wonderful shabby chic texture. So festive! The pretty flower on the basket is included for a nice accent.
Makes a great Hostess Gift Basket,
candy bowl
Mail Holder!
Remote Control Bin
napkin basket,
fruit bowl
Bread Basket
I designed and created this lovely basket in my smoke-free home studio.
Please see the picture with the pen to help gauge the basket size.
Red beads and other props not included.
Handmade by me! OOAK!
Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Custom orders welcome!
For more lovely basket choices, please visit:
For wonderful large baskets:
Spot clean!
Thanks for visiting!
1-2 business days
I'll do my best to meet these shipping estimates, but can't guarantee them. Actual delivery time will depend on the shipping method you choose.
Buyers are responsible for any customs and import taxes that may apply. I'm not responsible for delays due to customs.
Just contact me within: 3 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 7 days of delivery
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
Buyers are responsible for return shipping costs. If the item is not returned in its original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value.
I offer gift wrapping at an extra charge of $8. I ship in clean recycled boxes to keep costs low.


text:
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
On acting white…
I can not stand it when people refer to a person's manner of speech as "talking white" or their ways as "acting white".
Black is not a monolith and we do not all think, act, talk, eat, pray, fuck, sing, dance, vote or manifest anger the exact same motherfucking way.
If a black person is running for office that does not automatically mean that she or he is going to make affirmative action, poverty and pay-day loan scams the foundation of their platform. For the record – black America is also complex and there are a lot of policy issues that impact the lives of a majority of black people, which include but are not limited to poverty, affirmative action and pay-day loan scams.
Pause…breath in and then exhale…continue.
All people running for office…any office...should be expected to build a platform that addresses the needs of the people they wish to serve.
Black candidates…being human (gasp!) and therefore people (shock and awe!!)…should be held to that same standard.
That isn't acting white…speeches about the shit are not examples of talking white…and this bitch is going to move past anger into some serious rage if one more motherfucker insults me and mine through the assertion that only white people discuss the economy, healthcare, the war and international diplomacy.
Ralph Nader ought to be ashamed of himself for high-jacking legitimate important policy issues and telling the American people that those are black issues.
He ought to be ashamed of himself for putting forth the notion that a black person isn't fully black if they don't act like he expects them to and society has instructed them to.
And he should have checked himself before he wrecked himself by jumping onto the 'I can say this ig'nant, insulting and racially stereotyping bullshit because I've spent years channeling my white guilt into black people issues!' platform with Geraldine Ferarro and the rest of the I'm-not-a-bigot-I-just-play-one-on-t.v. crowd that lurks within all political parties.
For the record, this is an example of a race card this bitch is familiar with…the one that has so-called allies maintaining low expectations and out-dated assumptions that they dress up in the language of the Civil Rights Era but which are actually built on a foundation of bigotry that's been masquerading as tolerance far too long.
I leave you with the words of the fantabulous Aretha Franklin…
Let's go back, let's go back, let's go way on back when
I didn't even know you, you came to me and too much you wouldn't take
I ain't no psychiatrist, I ain't no doctor with degree
It don't take too much high IQ's to see what you're doing to me
You better think
Think about what you're trying to do to me
Yeah, think
Think, think
Let your mind go, let yourself be free
Oh freedom…freedom…freedom…
26 comments:
Having gone back and re-read the interview, I think what Mr Nader was trying to say was that Mr Obama is not far enough to the left to suit him (big surprise there). The interviewer introduced the concept of "acting white", for who knows what reason or purpose except that hey, it's Colorado. And yeah, ol' Ralph ran with it because he was on a roll and that man has never been one to go with a nuanced opinion when a flamethrower was handy.
Doesn't negate your point, but it bears mentioning anyway. - 10:55 AM
The original piece has "acting white" in the headline but all the Nader quotes are about Obama "talking white". And as far as I can tell, Nader is referring to Obama directing his talk (his speeches, political agenda, etc.) to white people, not that he actually "sounds white". I do think that Nader is hinting that Obama is somehow not 'black enough' (whatever that means). Frankly, I think any candidate advocating real change should be promoting the ideas Nader finds lacking in the current political debates. Why is it that only a black candidate should be concerned with the poor and underserved?
It sounds like Mr. Nader is advocating for separate presidencies-- a Black president to deal with things like poverty and payday loans and a white president to deal with... I don't know, the economy, the war and all those things that (apparently) only white people care about?
When John Edwards was talking about poverty, did Nader say he was "talking black?" - 1:24 PM
- PuckFinn said...
Anyway you slice it, Mr. Nader's comments show a blatant disregard for the community that he purports to be concerned about.
Personally, I don't care what he meant.
What he said paints us all as victims.
What he said shows his belief that he sees Barack as the possible president of the United States of Black America and that really plays into the fears of a lot of Americans.
What he said places burdens on Barack's future administration to do things all of the previous presidents should have done and that all presidents should do.
And also just makes me wonder if he, as a White American, would do the job as predident that he thinks that a Black man ought to do.
It's devise. It's reductive. It's insulting and it's racist.
(And I question his use of language. If he cares so much about the plight of Black Americans he should know how incendiary it is to even remotely appear to be acting a person's authenticity.) - 1:27 PM
- PuckFinn said...
@ myself: I meant "questioning a person's authenticity."
- midwesterntransport said...
let's not underplay the racism of mr. nader's statements, Other Commenters.
that shit was jacked. no two or three ways about it.
sheesh, nader. i can't even look at you today. - 1:59 PM
snarkishly - which white did he mean?
NancyP, who wishes Nader would just go away. - 2:01 PM
- midwesterntransport said...
i mean, out of the many things that are wrong with what he said, what is for me the most presumptuous is "the first thing a black candidate should do..."
um, ralph? black people don't need us to tell them what to do. no really. i know that's hard to believe, and that in your anti-corporate rah-rah-rah you think you can say anything about anybody, but really dude...the thing about working against racism is acknowledging that poc don't need your permission or approval in any arena.
he...um...didn't get the memo. - 2:07 PM
(flips rapidly through O.E.D. for definition of "acting white".... hmm. No joy. Maybe wikipedia?)
Nader is such a tool. If you substitute "Democrat" for "black" in the quotes in the article, you'd see a pretty good illustration of how/why the Green Party separates itself from the Democratic Party. But he didn't go there. Instead, by referring to race, he shows himself as an idiot bigot. What an ass. Hopefully this will keep everyone and anyone from thinking that Nader is an acceptable choice for president.
- Melody said...
Ralph Nader is a tool. For years he paints himself as a person free from bigotry and yet he feels that this viewpoint of his is acceptable, no, commendable. Fuck you, Ralph Nader. And according to his theory of race based policy concerns, shouldn't Ralph Nader be soley concerned with Arab issues. What a complete DICK!
But I gotta say, I love that Ralph is scared of Obama. You know he's thinking, "aw damn all I ever got was a Native American woman on my ticket, I knew I shudda got a ..." - 3:38 PM
I am amazed at how unnuanced many whites view blacks.
The differences between Bill Cosby and Redd Foxx seem obvious to me, but since both are black,their points of view must be identical.
Nader and Ferraro may never have met any blacks socially before they were adults, but both Clintons' and John Edwards sure did.
Romney,McCain,Paul and Huckabee not so much...
My education about this matter was cemented when after establishing a cordial telephone relationship with an individual, upon our meeting, there was visible shock.
I apparently sounded so "articulate" that the idea that I may have been a person of color never entered their mind.
Hey, I'm American and I speak English sometimes with multiple syllables!
How long will we be expected to meet the stereotypes of the majority community? - 3:45 PM
* just a sidenote - i don't think Nader is white. He's Lebanese. Not to take away from your point - I def. think that speech has issues.
WTF is up with Nader??? Is his brain whacked from huffing all those Green fumes?
Last time I checked, Obama didn't sound White or Black. He sounded AMERICAN.
Which is why I'm voting for him come November. Looking forwards to his first Address to the Nation... - 6:44 PM
- Mac Daddy Tribute Blog said...
I read the entire thing. It wasn't just the statement itself but the arrogant tone of it as well. This arrogance speaks to the superiority complex of a white male who has never been able to pull many votes just to play spoiler in politics. His presumption of knowledge of black people and what any of them should do is pathetic. He's lost all respect from me.
Thank you. We were just boggling over Nader's comment when this popped up in my feed reader.
Perfect. - 8:53 PM
- KBO said...
I really can't believe you are talking about this today, because we talked about it in my Critical Pedagogy class today, not in relation to Nader, but just discussing white privilege. There's nothing that irks me more than someone saying "acting/talking black/white".
Comes back to Paulo Friere discussing oppressed people rightly rejecting anything that could be linked to the oppressors. We're talking about dominant hegemonies fucking shit up. It makes me sick. - 11:36 PM
- Homer said...
And in the gay community you have people who claim they are "straight-acting." Exactly how that works, I don't know.
I'm a huge fan of your blog and I am kicking myself for not commenting before now but...I have to ask for a pause and reconsider on this one.
We have been talking about this over on Racialicious so I'll just quote my post from there:
Ralph Nader is arguably the most successful American progressive activist of the late 20th century. The next time you stop short when you are driving and your kid doesn't shoot through the windshield like a cannon ball you can thank Mr. Nader. He single-handedly took on one of the most powerful corporate cabals of 60's America–the auto industry–and won. He is the reason your car is not a deathtrap. In the process of winning that fight they did everything they could to entrap and discredit him: investigations, phone taps, even trying to set him up with hookers.
None of it worked. He couldn't be bought or silenced through these kind of Pink Panther machinations. So he knows a little something about moving within and against the white power structure in America.
When someone like Ralph Nader, a first generation Arab-American (in other words, a person of color)who grew up in the 1930s and 40s and has had to negotiate white America his entire life says the phrase "talk white" he knows exactly what that means.
I cosign Anonymous (#2) who wrote
"...Nader is referring to Obama directing his talk (his speeches, political agenda, etc.) to white people, not that he actually "sounds white". - 12:34 AM
- Matthew said...
Still waiting for the outrage at Hillary's insistence that a man pay her way.
She and that pathetic Geraldine Ferraro have set the women's movement back forty years.
So much for the Clintonista so-called support for women's equality.
http://elizabitch-ez.blogspot.com/ - 12:59 AM
- Shark-Fu said...
Thank you for the comment.
As a person of color, he more than others should know the impact of his words and how they will be interpreted by others. And as a person of color he, more than others, should know the damage done when one connects the responsibilities held by all politicians to their race.
Because he navigated America through some of our most turbulent years, Nader's actions are even more worthy of condemnation.
Such is the burden of an enlightened mind...to whom much is given much is expected.
Sadly, Nader has damaged his legacy and his message when we need it most and he need only look in the mirror to find the source. - 7:36 AM
- Avedon said...
Just for the record, Nader has always been an arrogant dick, and one reason he has failed as a movement-builder is that he doesn't talk much about those "issues that are important to blacks", either.
It's obvious to any observer that one of the things that makes Obama attractive is that he talks middle class - while a white politician can not only get away with a southern accent (even promote it into a positive), black people with that accent get pegged as "sounding black". Obama sounds like white people on American sitcoms. Of course, so do a lot of other black people from the north or army brats or whatever, but white people do have their stereotypes.
But a lot of people have allowed the right-wing to get away with the kind of stereotyping Nader is doing for so long that many liberals have fallen for it, demoting issues of class and poverty to the back-burner and pretending it's just a "black" thing. Now they're reaping the diseased crop as they find that even people who were comfortably white middle-class not so long ago are getting closer and closer to the poverty line - or falling right over it.
The right-wing wanted us to think of all of these things as "special interest" issues, when, of course, they are everyone's issues. Childcare, healthcare, workers' wages and safety - it's not just about poor black folk, or women, or single-moms, is it? But somehow that all just became someone else's problem. Until it becomes yours. - 9:24 AM
- Unknown said...
I have never been a Nader fan first off. I believe he enters the fray for several reasons..but most not good or valid reasons.
Lately I have noticed that the..cough..media is baiting these guys. Charlie Black's dumbass fell for it and so it Naders the other day.
But there is no excuse when you take the 'ball' and run with it as Nader did. He and Geraldine Ferraro are peering out of the same cesspool in my humble but very vocal opinion.
Both are nothing more than attention whores like that 3 year old who throws a huge hissy fit in the middle of the store. As the parent you want to die or smack the taste righ out of that child's mouth.
But you can't do either so how do you handle it?
I would just walk away from my son when he pulled that shit. I would get as far down the aisle as I could where I could still see him, but I wasn't in his sphere. He would suddenly stop when he noticed I wasn't there and coming running down the aisle looking for me. Wherein I would tell him if he didn't cool his jets he was going to find himself sitting in a corner at home all by his lonesome and he wouldn't like it one damn bit.
Sometimes I think we all need to walk away from the Naders, the Ferraros and their ilk..refuse to give them what they want..publicity and another 15 mins of that fleeting fame they so desperately crave. - 12:43 PM
Joseph, confrontational protest and effective Presidential political dealings with the House and Senate take two different sorts of personalities and two different skill sets.
Nader did a good job in the 1960s and 1970s.
Obama talks to the lower and upper middle class because those are the people who get out and vote. The lower middle class, and for that matter some of the upper middle class, are seriously worried about health care to the point where single-payer, long termed "socialistic", looks attractive (especially when it is phrased as making medicare available for all).
The very poor generally don't vote, either because they don't think their vote counts, or because they are too busy juggling minimum wage jobs, child raising, and so on, and simply don't have time. If you have 4 kids and no reliable free sitter, you end up dragging all the kids to the voting station, doctor's appointments, and so on.
NancyP - 5:32 PM
- Dixie said...
payday loan scams? LOL.
we should all have enough humility to be able to laugh at our own stereotypes. not everyone does. :) - 1:25 PM
- The Truffle said...
IIRC, someone criticized Oprah for talking "white." A black friend of mine said, "No, the term is not white. The term is EDUCATED."
There's a really unpleasant racism to claiming that a black person "talks/acts white." The underlying message is: "The uppity Negro should stay in his place." - 10:43 PM
The Gumdrop Stage of Grief ...
So many of you have shared condolences and support after the death of my beloved brother Bill from COVID-19. I wish I could thank you indiv...
I was slightly illish this weekend and took to my bed Saturday, but I did rally for Brother Rob Thurman's fantabulous cookie decorating part...
Okay, so most of you know that this bitch has some evil assed fibroids . Most of them were successfully murdered with full premeditation se...
So many of you have shared condolences and support after the death of my beloved brother Bill from COVID-19. I wish I could thank you indiv...


text:
If you hate holiday shopping, this might make you feel just a little bit better about it. Research suggests that giving has multiple benefits, for both the recipient and the giver.
Consider this:
Giving makes you happy. A Harvard Business School study found that giving money to someone else lifted participants' happiness more that spending it on themselves. Happiness expert Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside, saw similar results when she asked people to perform five acts of kindness each week for six weeks.
Similarly, a study conducted at the National Institute of Health found that when people give to charities, it activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure, creating a "warm glow" effect. Scientists also believe that altruistic behavior releases endorphins in the brain, producing the positive feeling known as the "helper's high."
Giving is good for your health. Significant research has linked generosity to better health, even among the sick and elderly. Studies have shown that one reason giving may improve physical health and longevity is that it helps decrease stress, which is associated with a variety of health problems. In a study by Rachel Piferi of Johns Hopkins University and Kathleen Lawler of the University of Tennessee, people who provided social support to others had lower blood pressure than participants who didn't.
Giving leads to social connection. Several studies have shown that when you give to others, your generosity is likely to be rewarded by others down the line—sometimes by the person you gave to, sometimes by someone else. According to research, having positive social interactions is central to good mental and physical health. Additionally, when we give to others, we don't only make them feel closer to us; we also feel closer to them. "Being kind and generous leads you to perceive others more positively and more charitably," writes Lyubomirsky in her book The How of Happiness, and this "fosters a heightened sense of interdependence and cooperation in your social community."


text: The song appears on the Achtung Baby album. A separate remixed single was also released. A live version can also be found on the ZooTV: Live from Sydney DVD.U2 played the song live in concert on the ZOOTV tour opener on February 29, 1992 in Lakeland, Florida. While performing Even Better Than The Real Thing during the March 27, 1992 concert in Detroit, Bono called Speedy Pizza asking for 10,000 pizzas to be delivered. Later, during the encore, the deliverymen arrived with as many pizzas as they could make and they were thrown out to the audience.Even Better Than The Real Thing from the June 19, 1992 performance at the G-Mex Centre in Manchester can be found on the Stop Sellafield video. During the September 9, 1992 concert in Pontiac, U2 provided a satellite link-up with the MTV Video Awards, being held in Los Angeles. Garth of Wayne's World joined the band as drummer for Even Better Than The Real Thing.The following artists have recorded a version of the song: the groups Bang Tango and Dead Or Alive, both on We Will Follow: A Tribute To U2; the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on Pride: The RPO Plays U2; Studio 99 on The Best of U2-A Tribute; and Sharp Kiddie on Zoovenir-A Tribute To U2.


text:
Dr. Andrew Kozlowski
B.S. Geology, minor in Geography (1995, SUNY Cortland)
M. S. Geoscience Hydrogeology (1998, Western Michigan University)
PhD. Geoscience emphasis: Glacial Geology & Geologic Mapping (2004, Western Michigan University)
My research focuses on geologic mapping of sediments deposited and landforms created during the Pleistocene epoch (2.6 million - 11,700 years ago), the most recent time that episodes of global cooling, or ice ages, took place. Much of the world's temperate zones were alternately covered by glaciers during cool periods and uncovered during the warmer interglacial periods when the glaciers retreated.
I utilize field mapping, exploratory drilling and coring, geophysical methods and age dating (geochronology) to better understanding of three-dimensional geologic frameworks of glacial deposits and reconstruct former positions and locations of glaciers in New York State. It is my long term research goal to provide better understanding and resolution of glacial stratigraphy and glacial chronology in New York State and the Great Lakes Region.
My work directing the geologic mapping program in the State Museum and Quaternary research helps to address societal and land use issues for example geologic hazards such as landslides, water quality & resources, and aggregate resources, etc. most of which are the direct result of repeated glaciations.
My Research Projects
- 1 of 8
- next ›


text:
A Princeton University student has been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis. The student is receiving treatment at a local hospital.
The student was taken to the hospital Monday night while experiencing symptoms of meningitis, and test results this morning confirmed that he had bacterial meningitis.
Bacterial meningitis is contagious, but generally is transmitted through direct exchange of respiratory and throat secretions by close personal contact, such as coughing, sharing drinks, kissing and being in close proximity for an extended period. Fortunately, none of the bacteria that cause meningitis are as contagious as the common cold or the flu, and they are not spread by casual contact or by simply breathing the air where a person with meningitis has been.
Once diagnosed, bacterial meningitis is treatable with common antibiotics. Signs and symptoms of bacterial meningitis could include high fever, headache and stiff neck. These symptoms can develop over several hours, or they may take one to two days. State law requires all Princeton students living in dorms to have received the meningitis vaccine, which protects against most strains of the bacteria.
The University is coordinating its response with regional and state health officials, and those who had close contact with the student are being notified so they can receive any needed medical attention.
University Health Services and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety are encouraging members of the University community to pay increased attention to personal hygienic practices in light of this confirmed case.
Members of the University community who experience symptoms or have health concerns may visit the University's McCosh Health Center or call (609) 258-3141 during business hours, and (609) 258-3139 after hours.
More information about bacterial meningitis is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. The University has additional information online.


text:
From Favell Lee Mortimer's, Reading Without Tears: or A Pleasant Mode of Learning to Read (London 1857):
I particularly like this ur-Ted Hughes poem:
And poor old Sally!
'Could a rule be given from without, poetry would cease to be poetry, and sink into a mechanical art. It would be μóρφωσις, not ποίησις. The rules of the IMAGINATION are themselves the very powers of growth and production. The words to which they are reducible, present only the outlines and external appearance of the fruit. A deceptive counterfeit of the superficial form and colours may be elaborated; but the marble peach feels cold and heavy, and children only put it to their mouths.' [Coleridge, Biographia ch. 18]
'ποίησις' (poiēsis) means 'a making, a creation, a production' and is used of poetry in Aristotle and Plato. 'μóρφωσις' (morphōsis) in essence means the same thing: 'a shaping, a bringing into shape.' But Coleridge has in mind the New Testament use of the word as 'semblance' or 'outward appearance', which the KJV translates as 'form': 'An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form [μóρφωσις] of knowledge and of the truth in the law' [Romans 2:20]; 'Having a form [μóρφωσις] of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away' [2 Timothy 3:5]. I trust that's clear.
There is much more on Coleridge at my other, Coleridgean blog.


text:
ULocksmiths offers 24 Hour Professional Locksmith Services for Residential Commercial and Automobile Locksmith needs. We are a full service locksmith company with Licensed and Insured Technicians offering Residential Locksmith Services Commercial Locksmith Services Automobile Locksmith Service and 24/7 Emergency Lockouts near the following major cities: Albuquerque Anchorage Atlanta Baltimore Birmingham Boston Buffalo Charlotte Chicago Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Dallas Denver Des Moines Detroit El Paso Fresno Greensboro Hartford Honolulu Houston Indianapolis Jackson Jacksonville Kansas City Las Vegas Little Rock Los Angeles Louisville Memphis Miami Milwaukee Minneapolis Nashville New Orleans New York City Virginia Beach Oklahoma City Omaha Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Pittsburgh Portland Portland Providence Richmond Rochester Sacramento Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco Scranton Seattle Springfield St. Louis Syracuse Tampa Trenton Tucson, Arizona Washington D.C.Wichita and the surround US cities. Out Car Locksmith Services include lost car keys transponder keys vat chip car keys ignition key replacement auto lock repair car doors unlocked high security locks in following states: Alabama AL Alaska AK Arizona AZ Arkansas AR California CA Colorado CO Connecticut CT Delaware DE Florida FL Georgia GA Hawaii HI Idaho ID Illinois IL Indiana IN Iowa IA Kansas KS Kentucky KY Louisiana LA Maine ME Maryland MD Massachusetts MA Michigan MI Minnesota MN Mississippi MS Missouri MO Montana MT Nebraska NE Nevada NV New Hampshire NH New Jersey NJ New Mexico NM New York NY North Carolina NC North Dakota ND Ohio OH Oklahoma OK Oregon OR Pennsylvania PA Rhode Island RI South Carolina SC South Dakota SD Tennessee TN Texas Utah UT Vermont VT Virginia VA Washington WA West Virginia WV Wisconsin WI Wyoming WY. Lost house keys lost office keys lock repair safe opening automotive locks commercial grade lock repair keyless entry break in repairs pop-a-lock deadbolts broken key removal by the Professional Locksmiths at U Locksmiths. Automobile Locksmith services are available 24 hours a day for the following types of vehicles: Acura Aston martin Audi Bentley BMW Buick Cadillac Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Ford GMC Honda Hummer Hyundai Infiniti Isuzu Jaguar Jeep Kia Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lotus Maserati Mayback Mazda Mercedes Benz Mercury Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pontiac Porsche Rolls Royce Saab Saturn Scion Smart Car Subaru Suzuki Tesla Toyota Volkswagen and Volvo. We offer ignition key replacement transponder keys vat chip car keys auto lock repair car doors unlocked high security automotive locks pop-a-lock professional car locksmith services Emergency car lockouts any where in the United States. Lost car keys transponder keys vat chip car keys change automotive locks high security locks open car doors trunck opening make new car keys by the Professional Car Locksmith by U Locksmiths.
Kia Ignition Key Replacement
Kia Amanti
Kia Borrego
Kia Optima
Kia Rio
Kia Rio5
Kia Rondo
Kia Sedona
Kia Sorento
Kia Soul
Kia Spectra
Kia Spectra5
Kia Sportage
Automobile Locksmith
Emergency Lockouts
Lost Car Keys
Transponder Keys
VAT?Chip Car Keys
Doors Unlocked
Trunk Opening
Auto Lock Repair
Broken Car Key Removal
Broken Key Removal
Make New Keys
Change Locks
Doors Opened
Lock Repair
Car Keys
Emergency Lockouts
2010 © U Locksmiths. All Rights Reserved.
Automobile Locksmith
Residential Locksmith
Commercial Locksmith
Emergency Lockouts
Kia Professional Locksmiths


text:
Because eye allergies are very common, we would like to share with you some background information regarding eye allergies.
An allergy is an overreaction by the immune system by normally harmless subjects called allergens. Most people will suffer from at least one allergic reaction at some point in their life.
The most common allergens are pollen, dust mites, pet dander, insect venom and food. When a person encounters an allergen for the first time the immune system mistakenly believes the allergen is a threat and responds by producing anti-bodies to fight them.
These allergic reactions occur because the body produces white blood cells, which bind together to create mast cells. When the body is re-exposed to the same allergen, the mast cell releases chemicals to fight the allergen and protect the body. This results in an allergic response, which can range from uncomfortable to dangerous.
Symptoms may include red, watery and itchy eyes, a runny or stuffed nose, sneezing, sinus pressure, a sore throat, coughing, shortness of breath, chest tightening, and in severe cases, an asthma attack.
While there is no cure, there are ways to prevent or relieve allergy symptoms, such as avoiding specific allergens, taking medication, or immunotherapy.


text:
At the heart of the traditional approach to strategy lies the assumption that executives, by applying a set of powerful analytic tools, can predict the future of any business accurately enough to choose a clear strategic direction for it. The process often involves underestimating uncertainty in order to lay out a vision of future events sufficiently precise to be captured in a discounted-cash-flow (DCF) analysis. When the future is truly uncertain, this approach is at best marginally helpful and at worst downright dangerous: underestimating uncertainty can lead to strategies that neither defend a company against the threats nor take advantage of the opportunities that higher levels of uncertainty provide. Another danger lies at the other extreme: if managers can't find a strategy that works under traditional analysis, they may abandon the analytical rigor of their planning process altogether and base their decisions on gut instinct.
Making systematically sound strategic decisions under uncertainty requires an approach that avoids this dangerous binary view. Rarely do managers know absolutely nothing of strategic importance, even in the most uncertain environments. What follows is a framework for determining the level of uncertainty surrounding strategic decisions and for tailoring strategy to that uncertainty.
Four levels of uncertainty
Available strategically relevant information tends to fall into two categories. First, it is often possible to identify clear trends, such as market demographics, that can help define potential demand for a company's future products or services. Second, if the right analyses are performed, many factors that are currently unknown to a company's management are in fact knowable—for instance, performance attributes for current technologies, the elasticity of demand for certain stable categories of products, and competitors' plans to expand capacity.
The uncertainty that remains after the best possible analysis has been undertaken is what we call residual uncertainty—for example, the outcome of an ongoing regulatory debate or the performance attributes of a technology still in development. But quite a bit can often be known despite this. In practice, we have found that the residual uncertainty facing most strategic-decision makers falls into one of four broad levels (Exhibit 1).
Level one: A clear enough future
The residual uncertainty is irrelevant to making strategic decisions at level one, so managers can develop a single forecast that is a sufficiently precise basis for their strategies. To help generate this usefully precise prediction of the future, managers can use the standard strategy tool kit: market research, analyses of competitors' costs and capacity, value chain analysis, Michael Porter's five-forces framework, and so on. A DCF model that incorporates those predictions can then be used to determine the value of alternative strategies.
Level two: Alternative futures
The future can be described as one of a few discrete scenarios at level two. Analysis can't identify which outcome will actually come to pass, though it may help establish probabilities. Most important, some, if not all, elements of the strategy would change if the outcome were predictable.
Many businesses facing major regulatory or legislative change confront level two uncertainty. Consider US long-distance telephone providers in late 1995, as they began developing strategies for entering local telephone markets. Legislation that would fundamentally deregulate the industry was pending in Congress, and the broad form that new regulations would take was fairly clear to most industry observers. But whether the legislation was going to pass and how quickly it would be implemented if it did were still uncertain. No amount of analysis would allow the long-distance carriers to predict those outcomes, and the correct course of action—for example, the timing of investments in network infrastructure—depended on which one materialized.
In another common level two situation, the value of a strategy depends mainly on competitors' strategies, which cannot yet be observed or predicted. For example, in oligopoly markets, such as those for pulp and paper, chemicals, and basic raw materials, the primary uncertainty is often competitors' plans for expanding capacity. Economies of scale often dictate that any plant built would be quite large and would be likely to have a significant impact on industry prices and profitability. Therefore, any one company's decision to build a plant is often contingent on competitors' decisions. This is a classic level two situation: the possible outcomes are discrete and clear, and it is difficult to predict which will occur. The best strategy depends on which one does.
Here, managers must develop a set of discrete scenarios based on their understanding of how the key residual uncertainties might play out. Each scenario may require a different valuation model. Getting information that helps establish the relative probabilities of the alternative outcomes should be a high priority. After establishing an appropriate valuation model for—and determining the probability of—each possible outcome, the risks and returns of alternative strategies can be evaluated with a classic decision analysis framework. Particular attention should be paid to the likely paths the industry might take to reach the alternative futures, so that the company can determine which possible trigger points to monitor closely.
Level three: A range of futures
A range of potential futures can be identified at level three. A limited number of key variables define that range, but the actual outcome may lie anywhere within it. There are no natural discrete scenarios. As in level two, some, and possibly all, elements of the strategy would change if the outcome were predictable.
Companies in emerging industries or entering new geographic markets often face level three uncertainty. Consider a European consumer goods company deciding whether to introduce its products to the Indian market. The best possible market research might identify only a broad range of potential customer penetration rates—say, from 10 percent to 30 percent—and there would be no obvious scenarios within that range, making it very difficult to determine the level of latent demand. Analogous problems exist for companies in technologically driven fields, such as the semiconductor industry. When deciding whether to invest in a new technology, producers can often estimate only a broad range of potential cost and performance attributes for it, and the overall profitability of the investment depends on those attributes.
The analysis in level three is similar to that in level two: a set of scenarios describing alternative future outcomes must be identified, and analysis should focus on the trigger events indicating that the market is moving toward one or another scenario. Developing a meaningful set of scenarios, however, is less straightforward in level three. Scenarios that describe the extreme points in the range of possible outcomes are often relatively easy to develop but rarely provide much concrete guidance for current strategic decisions. Since there are no other natural discrete scenarios in level three, deciding which possible outcomes should be fully developed into alternative scenarios is a real art. But there are a few general rules. First, develop only a limited number of alternative scenarios—the complexity of juggling more than four or five tends to hinder decision making. Second, avoid developing redundant scenarios that have no unique implications for strategic decision making. Third, develop a set of scenarios that collectively account for the probable range of future outcomes and not necessarily the entire possible range. Establishing the range of scenarios should allow managers to decide how robust their strategies are, to identify likely winners and losers, and to determine, at least roughly, the risk of following status quo strategies.
Level four: True ambiguity
A number of dimensions of uncertainty interact to create an environment that is virtually impossible to predict at level four. In contrast to level three situations, it is impossible to identify a range of potential outcomes, let alone scenarios within a range. It might not even be possible to identify, much less predict, all the relevant variables that will define the future.
Level four situations are quite rare, and they tend to migrate toward one of the others over time. Nevertheless, they do exist. Consider a telecommunications company deciding where and how to compete in the emerging consumer multimedia market. The company will confront a number of uncertainties concerning technology, demand, and relations between hardware and content providers. All of these uncertainties may interact in ways so unpredictable that no plausible range of scenarios can be identified.
Companies considering major investments in postcommunist Russia in 1992 faced level four uncertainty. They could not predict the laws or regulations that would govern property rights and transactions—a central uncertainty compounded by additional uncertainty about the viability of supply chains and about the demand for previously unavailable consumer goods and services. Shocks such as a political assassination or a currency default could have spun the whole system toward completely unforeseen outcomes.
This example illustrates how difficult it can be to make strategic decisions at level four but also underscores the transitory nature of level four situations. Greater political and regulatory stability has turned decisions about whether to enter Russian markets into level three problems for most industries today. Similarly, uncertainty about strategic decisions in the consumer multi- media market will migrate to level three or to level two as the industry begins to take shape over the next several years.
Situation analysis at level four is highly qualitative. Still, it is critical to avoid the urge to throw up your hands and act purely on instinct. Instead, managers need to catalog systematically what they know and what it is possible to know. Even if it is impossible to develop a meaningful set of probable, or even possible, outcomes, managers can gain a valuable strategic perspective. Usually, they can identify at least a subset of the variables determining how the market will evolve over time. They can also identify favorable and unfavorable indicators of these variables—indicators that will let them track the market's evolution over time and adapt their strategy as new information becomes available. By studying how analogous markets developed in other level four situations, by determining the key attributes of the winners and losers, and by identifying the strategies they employed, managers can also identify patterns that show how the market may evolve. Finally, although it will be impossible to quantify the risks and returns of different strategies, managers should be able to identify what information about the future they must believe to justify the investments they are considering. Early market indicators and analogies from similar markets will help sort out whether such beliefs are realistic (see sidebar, "Postures and moves").
Strategy in level one's clear enough future
In predictable business environments, most companies are adapters. Analysis is designed to predict an industry's future landscape, and strategy involves making positioning choices about where and how to compete. When the underlying analysis is sound, such strategies by definition consist of a series of no-regrets moves.
Adapter strategies in level one situations are not necessarily incremental or boring. For example, Southwest Airlines' no-frills, point-to-point service is a highly innovative, value-creating adapter strategy, as was Gateway 2000's low-cost assembly and direct-mail distribution strategy when it entered the personal-computer market in the late 1980s. In both cases, managers identified opportunities, in low-uncertainty environments, that could be developed within the existing market structure. The best level one adapters create value through innovations in their products or services or through improvements in their business systems, without fundamentally changing the industry.
It is also possible to be a shaper in level one situations, but that is risky and rare, since level one shapers, hoping fundamentally to alter long-standing industry structures and conduct, increase the amount of residual uncertainty—for themselves and their competitors—in otherwise predictable markets. Consider the overnight delivery strategy of Federal Express. When the company entered the mail-and-package delivery industry, a stable level one business, FedEx's strategy in effect created level three uncertainty for itself. In other words, even though the chief executive officer, Frederick W. Smith, commissioned detailed consulting reports that confirmed the feasibility of his business concept, only a broad range of potential demand for overnight services could be identified at the time. For the industry incumbents, such as United Parcel Service, FedEx created level two uncertainty. FedEx's move raised two questions for UPS: Will the overnight delivery strategy succeed? And will UPS have to offer a similar service to remain a viable competitor in the market?
Over time, the industry returned to level one stability but with a fundamentally new structure. FedEx's bet paid off, forcing the rest of the industry to adapt to the new demand for overnight services.
Strategy in level two's alternative futures
If shapers in level one try to raise uncertainty, in levels two through four they try to lower it and create order out of chaos. In level two, a shaping strategy is designed to increase the probability that a favored industry scenario will unfold. A shaper in a capital-intensive industry, such as pulp and paper, for example, wants to prevent competitors from creating excess capacity that would destroy the industry's profitability. Consequently, shapers in such cases might commit their companies to preempting competition by building new capacity far in advance of an upturn in demand, or they might consolidate the industry through mergers and acquisitions. But even the best shapers must be prepared to adapt. Consider the Microsoft Network (MSN). It began as a shaping strategy, but in the battle between proprietary and open networks, certain trigger variables—growth in the number of Internet and MSN subscribers, for example, and the activity profiles of early MSN subscribers—provided valuable insight into how the market was evolving. When it became clear that open networks would prevail, Microsoft refocused the MSN concept on the Internet. Microsoft's shift shows that choices of strategic posture are not carved in stone and underscores the value of maintaining strategic flexibility under uncertainty.
The best companies supplement their shaping bets with options that allow them to change course quickly if necessary. Because trigger variables are often fairly simple to monitor in level two, it can be easy to adapt or reserve the right to play.
Strategy in level three's range of futures
Shaping takes a different form in level three. If at level two shapers are trying to promote a discrete outcome, at level three they are simply trying to move the market in a general direction because they can identify only a range of possible outcomes. Consider the battle over standards for electronic-cash transactions. Mondex International, a consortium of financial-services providers and technology companies, is attempting to shape the future by establishing what it hopes will become universal e-cash standards. Its shaping posture is backed by big-bet investments in product development, infrastructure, and pilot experiments to speed customer acceptance. In contrast, regional banks, which don't yet have the deep pockets and skills necessary to set standards for the e-payment market but want to be able to offer their customers the latest electronic services, are mainly choosing adapter strategies. An adapter posture at uncertainty levels three or four is often achieved primarily through investments in organizational capabilities designed to keep options open (Exhibit 2).
Reserving the right to play is a common posture in level three. Consider a telecommunications company trying to decide whether to make a $1 billion investment in broadband cable networks in the early 1990s. The decision hinged on level three uncertainties, such as the demand for interactive TV service. No amount of solid market research could precisely forecast consumer demand for services that didn't even exist yet. However, incremental investments in broadband network trials could provide useful information and would put the company in a privileged position to expand the business in the future should that prove attractive.
Strategy in level four's true ambiguity
Paradoxically, though level four situations involve the greatest uncertainty, they may offer higher returns and lower risks for companies seeking to shape the market than situations in levels two or three. Recall that level four situations are transitional by nature, often emerging after major technological, macroeconomic, or legislative shocks. Since no player necessarily knows the best strategy in these environments, the shaper's role is to provide a vision of an industry structure and standards that will coordinate the strategies of other players and drive the market toward a more stable and favorable outcome.
Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's prime minister, is trying to shape the future of the multimedia industry in Asia's Pacific Rim. This is truly a level four strategy problem: potential products are undefined, as are such factors as the players, the level of customer demand, and the technology standards. The Malaysian government is trying to create order out of this chaos by investing at least $15 billion to create a Multimedia Super Corridor, a 750-square-kilometer zone, south of Kuala Lumpur, that will include state-of-the-art "smart" buildings for software companies, regional headquarters for multinational corporations, a "multimedia university," a paperless government center called Putrajaya, and a new city called Cyberjaya. By leveraging incentives such as a ten-year exemption from the tax on profits, the corridor has so far received commitments from more than 40 Malaysian and foreign companies, including such powerhouses as Intel, Microsoft, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems. Mahathir's shaping strategy is predicated on the notions that the corridor will create a web of relationships between content and hardware providers and that this web will generate clear industry standards and a set of complementary multimedia products and services.
Shapers need not make bets as enormous as the Malaysian government's to be successful in level three or four situations. All that is required is the credibility to coordinate the strategies of different players in line with the preferred outcome. Netscape Communications, for example, didn't rely on deep pockets to shape Internet browser standards; instead, it leveraged the credibility of its leadership team in the industry so that other players thought, "If these guys think this is the way to go, it must be right for us."
Reserving the right to play is common but potentially dangerous in level four situations. A few general rules apply. First, look for a high degree of leverage. Say, for example, that an oil company is thinking of reserving the right to compete in China by buying an option to establish a beachhead and has a choice of maintaining a small but expensive local operation or developing a limited joint venture with a local distributor. All else being equal, the oil company should go for the low-cost option. Second, don't get locked into one position through neglect. Options should be rigorously reevaluated whenever important uncertainties are clarified and at least every six months. Remember, level four situations are transitional, and most will quickly move toward levels three and two. The difficulty of managing options in level four situations often drives players toward adapter postures. As in level three, such a posture in level four is frequently implemented by making investments in organizational capabilities.
The approach we have outlined offers a discipline for thinking rigorously and systematically about uncertainty. On one plane, this discipline makes it possible for companies to judge which analytic tools can and can't help them make decisions at various levels of uncertainty. On a broader plane, our framework provides a way to tackle the most challenging decisions executives have to make, offering a more complete and sophisticated understanding of the uncertainty they face and its implications for strategy.


text: Tony Cecchine Catch Wrestling - The Lost Art Of Hooking - Instructional DVDs Learn the devastating art of the oldest grappling style known, Catch Wrestling! This powerful and amazing DVD Video series stars Catch Wrestler Tony Cecchine, the only certified instructor of the ancient art of Hooking. Trained under Master Hooker and Catch Wrestler Lou Thesz, Tony will teach you the most devastating submissions and bone breaking techniques you will ever see. These techniques are new and highly effective for sport or street fighting. You will NOT want to miss this incredible video series! Check out the series by clicking below to recieve more info on this popular video series and to order yours today. You can also download free video clips demonstrating some of the devastating techniques and material available on this DVD set. |


text:
Happy Chinese New Year Signs | FREE Download
Free to download & Ready-To-Use Printable.
Downloads are subject to this site's term of use.
- Explore More Printable Sign.
Also Check:
This design template will be printed in CMYK Color Model & RGB Color Model. Learn more about CMYK.
PDF format: Paper size: US Letter. Dimensions: 8.5 x 11 inch. Orientation: portrait, vertical.


text:
I'm speaking at the SacFAN--Sacramento Freethinkers, Atheists, and Nonbelievers--meeting tonight at 7:00 pm. Details here: Sacramento Freethinkers, Atheists and Nonbelievers
My topic is "The F Word: An Atheist's Guide to Addressing Faith"
My Powerpoint slides are here: The F Word
I'll be writing up the lecture and posting it here shortly. Please come if you're in the area.


text:
An elegant wish for your dearest ones.
Wish good times on Hari Raya with this ecard.
A beautiful greeting for your loved ones.
A happy note to greet everyone.
Send bright wishes to friends and loved ones on Hari Raya.
Send warm wishes to all your near and dear ones.
Send Hari Raya greetings with this ecard.
Send Allah's blessings to your sweetheart.
Wish a Selamat Hari Raya with this ecard.
A warm message for your friends and dear ones.
A beautiful greeting card for all your loved ones.
Wish your friends, colleagues and dear ones on this special occasion, with this ecard.
Send this lovely ecard to your friends and dearest ones to wish them the blessings of...
Wish prosperous days with this ecard on Hari Raya.
Send this prayer to the wonderful person you know.
Please wait...
Please wait...
Get a weekly dose of stories on friendship, love, misadventures and special offers. It's free, read it once and you're hooked!
Read the latest newsletter or Editor Bob's Blog


text:
Twelve months ago Lexus slipped a few pre-production examples of this car out the back door and handed them around as sneak peeks of a new 2013 model they were proud of. Last February I wrote—
Late last night, about 200 miles into a 300-mile flog, I realized I was having one of those ecstatic automotive experiences, a drive where time and distance telescope, leaving just the sensation of boring weightlessly through the night into a tunnel carved by powerful headlamps.
It was a mostly interstate romp, and even big pickups fled the left lane before me. Steering and throttle seemed to be wired to my brain; slingshotting past traffic took the merest thought, accompanied by surging revs and a distant engine snarl.
The suspension might have been connected to the seat of my jeans. Brakes? Never touched them till it was time to exit.
The finish was 35 miles of empty, winding country two-lane. By then it was snowing and the tarmac was turning white. Worried? Not with all-wheel-drive grip on top of everything else.
At the house I sat for a moment, reveling in what we'd just done: Knocked off a long and normally arduous trip in one compressed blast, in complete comfort and safety and with no drama at all. I could have reversed out of the driveway and done it all over again.
Such periods of motoring Zen are rare reminders (in our traffic-choked, speed-repressed, cupholder-obsessed highway culture) of what driving can be.
So was this a Porsche? An M-sport BMW? An Aston Martin or a Maserati? No, no—it was a Lexus, that anodyne brand favored by One Percenters who regard driving as a chore.
On paper the GS 350 is not remarkable: a 306-horsepower V-6 and a 6-speed automatic, a posh and oh-so-tasteful cabin, stereo and computer systems better than what most of us have at home . . . that's standard for upper-shelf sedans from Japan.
But while several Acuras and Infinitis might have pulled off this midnight ride of the Valkyries, no previous Lexus cars that I am familiar with could have done it so well. They'd have been too squishy or too wooden.
Last year Toyota executives began to fret publicly that Lexus was a product that aroused no passion. Coincidentally or not, Lexus had earlier unwrapped its carbon-fiber V-10 supercar, the LFA, and set some record at the Nürburgring, that merciless track in Germany where carmakers go to bash their way to way to marketing glory. It's a long reach—about $330,000 and 250 horsepower—from the LFA down to this GS 350, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were some shared genes. (Lexus hasn't loaned me an LFA, so I can't say for certain.)
In town, however, the GS 350 has no better reflexes or maneuverability, or trickier features, than any other upper-end sedan. Inside, anyone who has suffered the proliferation of gadgets in luxury cars is soothed by the GS's comparatively simple array of buttons and knobs.
I can deal with this! But start it up and you're whacked in the eyeballs by a high-resolution computer monitor that's more than a foot across. It's a split screen, and the information overload is intimidating.
Then you discover the computer mouse-like controller in the center console. At first it seems way too sensitive, especially for use in a moving vehicle, but you do learn the touch.
You gingerly begin to feel your way through the computer menus, and decide it's not so bad after all. You can do it without a 14-year-old co-pilot.
The car is now filthy with long speed-streaks of road grime. I don't want to wash it because they remind me of last night's dash through the elements.
Mechanical perfection without soul is boring, and with the GS 350, Lexus finally offers some pepper to go along with its well-refined salt.
That was then. This GS 350, with a proper owner's manual in the glove box and a window sticker (with a price of $55,407), is the production version.
Without the benefit of a long midnight romp for comparison, it leaves me wanting to drive its two newer siblings, the GS 350 F Sport (starting price $52,590 and also available with all-wheel drive) and the GS 450H, a higher-performance, rear-drive-only gas-electric hybrid that runs about 10 grand more.


text:
Two senior Republican lawmakers said Thursday that terrorists are already changing their behavior after leaks about classified U.S. data gathering programs, but they offered no details.
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said it's part of the damage from disclosures by National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden of two NSA programs, which collect millions of telephone records and track foreign Internet activity on U.S. networks. Snowden fled to Hong Kong in May and has granted some interviews since then, saying he hopes to stay there and fight any charges that may yet be filed against him.
Rogers said there are "changes we can already see being made by the folks who wish to do us harm, and our allies harm" and that the revelations might also "make it harder to track bad guys trying to harm U.S. citizens in the United States."
Later Thursday, Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, used similar language in criticizing Snowden.
"The bad guys are now changing their methods of operation," Chambliss said. "His disclosures are ultimately going to lead to us being less safe in America because bad guys will be able to figure out a way around some of the methods we use, and it's likely to cost lives down the road."
Rogers and Chambliss spoke after closed briefings with top administration officials on the matter.
The ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, said he's concerned that Snowden fled to Hong Kong, a part of China, "a country that's cyberattacking us every single day."
"It seems unusual that he would be in China and asking for the protection of the Chinese government … but we're going to investigate," Ruppersberger said.
"He's obviously now decided that he wants to relay information about foreign-type (intelligence) collection," Rogers said. "Clearly, we're going to make a thorough scrub of what his China connections are," or whether he has a connection to any other foreign government, the congressman added.
The NSA's director, Gen. Keith Alexander, who was part of the closed briefings to Senate and House members, said he hopes to declassify details of dozens of attacks disrupted by the programs. Alexander said officials don't want to "cause another terror attack by giving out too much information."
Officials have thrown out widely varying numbers of the attacks they say the broad surveillance of Americans' phone and online usage has thwarted. On Wednesday, Alexander said dozens have been stopped. Ruppersberger said the surveillance "has thwarted 10 possible terrorist attacks," then amended that number to be in line with Alexander's statement. In the initial days after the disclosures of the programs, officials cited one case.
Two senators and longtime critics of the program challenged Alexander's claim Thursday.
"We have not yet seen any evidence showing that the NSA's dragnet collection of Americans' phone records has produced any uniquely valuable intelligence," Sens. Mark Udall, D-Colo. and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., both members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. "All of the plots that he mentioned appear to have been identified using other collection methods."
The disclosures raised privacy concerns as Americans — some of them members of Congress — learned for the first time the extent of surveillance powers granted by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to help U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies track terrorists.
Investigators have been trying to determine which facilities the 29-year-old Snowden visited during his intelligence career to decide how much classified data he had access to as a computer systems analyst for the NSA and earlier for the CIA, according to two congressional staffers. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to describe the investigation publicly.
"It's clear he attempted to go places he was not authorized to go," within the classified systems, Rogers said. He called Snowden "a fairly low-level individual, but because of his position in the IT system had access to certain pieces of information that, candidly, he did not understand, or had the full scope of what these programs where, who decided on his own he was going to release this information."
Snowden's access to secret programs is spurring lawmakers to consider imposing new limits on contractors who work in the intelligence field. The head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Thursday that her committee would draft legislation to limit or prevent contractors from handling highly classified technical data.
Feinstein spoke after a closed-door briefing Thursday on the NSA leaks open to all senators, by officials including Alexander and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce. Feinstein said 47 attended — almost half the Senate.
FBI Director Robert Mueller defended the programs in testimony to Congress on Thursday. In what is likely his final appearance as FBI director before the House Judiciary Committee, Mueller said that terrorists track leaked information "very, very closely" and that because of leaks "we lose our ability to get their communications" and "we are exceptionally vulnerable."
Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, the Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat, said, "It's my fear that we are on the verge of becoming a surveillance state."
In defending the programs, Mueller called attention to the run-up to the 2001 terrorist attacks, saying that if the controversial surveillance efforts had been in place back then, they might have uncovered the hijackers' plot. The 9/11 Commission found that among the major U.S. failures before the attack was that agencies didn't share information they already had about suspected terrorists with the FBI.
"If we had had this program, that opportunity would have been there," Mueller said.
"I am not persuaded that that makes it OK to collect every call," Conyers replied.
Associated Press writers Pete Yost and Eileen Sullivan in Washington contributed to this report.
Follow Dozier on Twitter at https://twitter.com/kimberlydozier
Copyright © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2013 Capitol Hill Blue


text:
Fill out the following form to share this page
Discover Ciot's boundless creativity, showcased in various featured projects ranging from private residences to boutique hotels in Miami, from remote ski cottages to trendy New York City restaurants.
Every project, no matter the scope, starts with a source of inspiration. Discover the interior design style that suits you best and get inspired by a myriad of ideas for various spaces in your home. Whether you're completely renovating a bathroom or simply upgrading your kitchen countertop, your dream design project starts here.
See all residential inspiration
See all commercial inspiration
See all rooms
See all styles
Create a custom mosaic for your home with our Ciot Studio team – a service available exclusively at Ciot.
At Fabbrica, we are passionate about natural stone. Our highly skilled artisans combine century-old knowhow and state-of-the-art technology to precision carve and polish stone in any size, scale or application for both commercial and residential use.
Are you about to start a major commercial project? Our experts at Ciot will accompany you through every step of the process and help make your dream project a reality.


text:
On Friday I was signed up for no classes and drifted lazily about, stringless as Pinocchio, enjoying whatever and whoever was in the vicinity.
My few idle moments during last year's Stitches weren't what you would call social. I was terrified to open my mouth. I didn't know anybody, felt like I knew nothing; and this blog was barely six months old. When I wasn't with Jon, I mostly stood in corners and watched. This year, to my delighted surprise, people spoke to me. Lots of people. Nice nice people, most of whom I'd never met.
Indeed, even while we waited in line before the Market Preview on Thursday night, a darling woman thirty feet away waved to me and mouthed, "I love your blog." I just blushed and waved back. I never found you to say thanks in person, darling woman, so thanks.
Thanks to every single one of you. I am still glowing. Being spoken to without having to speak first was a shy person's delight. It took all the pressure off. I've never felt so at ease in a crowd in my life.*
Of course, one does make a few friends in the course of a year. Busy as the Market was, I still bumped into Meg and Jonathan, the Two Sock Knitters; and Chicago's own fab designer Bonne Marie Burns. While I was chatting with Marcy from Arcadia Knitting and her delightful pal Susan (from Colorado), Karen happened by and I got the three of them into a photograph.
I was pretty nervous about having my camera confiscated** by the Mondragoons, so here's my only other photo from that day, of Susan. I found Susan's knitting notebook captivating. She doesn't like white, so before she began using it she painted all the pages with watercolors. Her color charts and sketches are laid on top of them. The book itself is a work of art.
Still Not Buying Yarn
If you read my account of Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp, you know I succumbed to the siren song of Bavarian Twisted Stitch. At the Market, the good ol' Yarn Barn o' Kansas was selling all three volumes of Lisl Fanderl's Bäuerliches Stricken in one cosy set, and I decided it would be prudent to procure them at this time. Bäuerliches Stricken is German for "stitch patterns that will make you rip off your eyebrows in frustration and eat them."
So I'm something of a masochist. So what?
I also bought a little sock yarn. Buying sock yarn doesn't count as buying yarn. Everybody knows that. Stephanie said so in her book.
Pissed Off
Friday was also the day we discovered that XRX had turned the men's bathroom in the classroom area into a second women's bathroom. No signs indicated where men ought to go, nor was the Stitches map in the registration materials any help.
Upon inquiry at the registration desk, we were directed to follow a complicated path to a remote men's room in another part of the building. It was, said the woman at registration, "right over there." And so it was, in much the same way that when you are standing in downtown Chicago, the west suburbs are "right over there."
I try like the dickens to keep my temper, I truly do, but this was unfair and I object. Apparently women complained last year of needing more restroom space, and so it was decided that the men must give up theirs, since there aren't so many of us.
I asked the women at the registration desk: would you mind if you arrived at a male-dominated event and found the women's room had been commandeered, with no convenient, alternative accommodations available? Would that not be considered sexist? They admitted I had a point, but they didn't do anything about it.
XRX already makes Stitches a needlessly gender-biased affair. The lone man who ever shows up in the promotional materials is Mondragon, and he only counts on a technicality. If he wishes to be the only rooster in his henhouse, that's his prerogative. I'll simply withhold my business in future. I paid full price for my admission, and I expect equal treatment.
Meat, Men
Jon, the soul of generosity, provided the highlight of the evening's entertainment for us: a trip to Morton's Steak House. I've only been to Morton's once, for a birthday years ago with Mr. Ex. That visit paled in comparison.
I was so caught up in the gemütlichkeit I even had a drink. My first in more than a year. And I've toughened up. I downed the entire rum and pineapple juice over the course of three hours and didn't
- pass out cold,
- proposition the waiter,
- tell everybody at the table what they should do to be better people, or
- throw up.
Morton's is Chicago at its best. A handsome room, good service, excellent food. We three were in solid agreement about such vital matters as which side dishes to order. I consumed my own weight in creamed spinach while talking about knitting with two handsome men. I was happy. It don't take much.
*Except while talking to the lady who seemed truly, seriously suprised that Dolores was not walking around the Market with me. That was a little freaky. Honey, I'm so glad you like her, and I hate to spoil the illusion even for a moment, but have you ever noticed the dark black line around Dolores in all the pictures? That's India ink.
**Photography was tricky this year. After the Market Preview was over, a sign went up threatening anybody caught with a camera with explusion from the premises. Apparently in spite of the cost of attendance, XRX doesn't feel we're entitled to take snapshots.