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There is something about the successful incorporation of water in the composition that makes a wildlife photo or video clip have special appeal, whether it be of animals drinking from a stream or pond, or crossing a stream that passes through a picturesque setting. As I noted in the last post, I spend little time near the river when in Pennsylvania elk country, but I frequently think about the outstanding photographs and video I have seen taken there, such as video segments taken by Billie Cromwell in the late 1990's and stills by Ron Saffer from that time and earlier. Another outstanding example that I think of frequently is "Water Fight", which features two bulls in fierce combat in the river near Driftwood. It was taken by the late Terry Younkin and is featured on a sign at the Hicks Run Viewing Area.
At any rate, as promised here is the video of the herd of elk crossing Bennetts Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek, which most persons I know simply refer to as "the river".
This video was taken with the Canon T3i DSLR, a Manfrotto 516 fluid head, and a Canon 100-400mm L lens at varying focal lengths. All clips were taken at ISO 100. It is always a tough choice between using this and the Canon XL-H1. The H1 is sharper and as long as one uses the normal lens the auto focus works well, but once one shifts to the longer lenses it is easier to obtain accurate focus with the DSLR as both must be focus manually when taking video with these lenses.
Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard HIll.
Late February In Elk Country
For the past several years I have spent a substantial portion of either the last week in February or the first week in March in Pennsylvania elk country. I decided to do so again this year, so late Monday morning found me traveling up I-99 under sunny skies with the goal in mind of arriving in Benezette in time to photograph the evening's elk activity. The ground is usually covered with snow at this time of year, but today conditions were more like mid to late March, with most of the fields being bare.
There was some snow cover in wooded areas--especially in areas protected from the direct rays of the sun, and some portions of back roads were treacherous as well. There was light snowfall on a few occasions during the week, but there was only minimal accumulation and that melted quickly. All in all it was more like early spring than winter.
I did see quite a few elk, but not as many as usual, and bull sightings were few and far between. I checked out Gray Hill several times, which is where many have seen bulls lately, but I did not see one elk let alone a bull. Two young bulls were sighted at Devil's Elbow on Monday evening, but I filmed them with the Canon XL-H1 and have no still photos to post of this encounter.
After checking Gray Hill and Winslow Hill at dawn on Tuesday, I traveled to Hick's Run where I found a herd between RT 555 and Bennetts Branch. Eventually most of the elk crossed the river and again I concentrated on filming them, rather than taking stills, but I did pause at times to fire a few still frames. It is always a special treat to film and photograph elk in the water.
A beautiful 6x6 was with the herd. He is not really a large bull, but is impressive enough to make an excellent photographic subject. This was evidently one of the most commonly seen bulls this week as I have seen his photo posted several times on Facebook and on blogs. Again I concentrated on video rather than stills as I have not filmed a bull crossing the river in my many years of going to elk country (I spend most of my time in the meadows and mountains, instead of the low-lands). Of course I would love to have still photos of a river crossing also, but since video is my primary focus, I wanted video clips much worse. Eventually he walked to the edge of the river and paused to drink, and I took a still at this point.
One only needs to push a separate button the remote to take a full 18 meg-pixel still while in video mode, but the main problem is that one needs to use a shutter speed of between 1/30 and 1/100 when filming, with 1/60 being recommended in most cases. It is of course possible to shift to higher speeds to take stills, but one cannot resume filming until they drop back to a more acceptable speed, or they end up with unnatural looking motion. I took the still without boosting the shutter speed as it seemed likely he could take off across the river at any moment and catch me changing settings in which case a wonderful opportunity would be wasted while I fumbled with camera settings. This resulted in a bit of softness in the image, due to either camera vibration, subject movement or both. As it turned out, I successfully film him crossing the river, which made an otherwise lackluster trip into one that I will not forget.
Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
|View From Gilbert Viewing Area-Usually Snow Covered In February
I did see quite a few elk, but not as many as usual, and bull sightings were few and far between. I checked out Gray Hill several times, which is where many have seen bulls lately, but I did not see one elk let alone a bull. Two young bulls were sighted at Devil's Elbow on Monday evening, but I filmed them with the Canon XL-H1 and have no still photos to post of this encounter.
After checking Gray Hill and Winslow Hill at dawn on Tuesday, I traveled to Hick's Run where I found a herd between RT 555 and Bennetts Branch. Eventually most of the elk crossed the river and again I concentrated on filming them, rather than taking stills, but I did pause at times to fire a few still frames. It is always a special treat to film and photograph elk in the water.
|Cows Crossing Bennetts Branch
|Bull Drinking From River
Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
Supplemental & Recreational Wildlife Feeding-A Deeper Look
|Bull 36 Spring 2005: He lived over 17 years.
In the last post we briefly mentioned the controversial subjects of supplemental and recreational feeding, and linked to a previous post on the matter. What has always bothered me most is the lack of honesty in discussing this subject. Critics of feeding often seize on the worst possible case scenario, in which a large amount of corn is suddenly made available to an animal that has been subsisting on a diet of grasses and woody browse, which may result in the death of the animal from rumen acidosis.
While researching this subject some time ago I came upon an interesting exchange between two ex members of the Pennsylvania Game Commission Board of Directors. In the case at hand, Roxane Palone, past president, and former board member addressed the subject in a March 31, 2011 post on the Skunk In The Woodpile Blog, " PA Game Commission response to CWD threat". While this post is mostly focused on CWD (chronic wasting disease) it does address several other factors as well, including rumen acidosis. It is recommended that you read this post in its' entirety.
Ms. Palone states, "There are several risk factors that will cause a state to become CWD positive. These include an area's proximity to deer farms or wild populations that have been infected, areas with a history of receiving imports from CWD infected regions, and areas allowing imports of hunter-killed carcasses from CWD infected regions. Risks of CWD becoming established in an area are magnified where there are high deer densities, a history of CWD animals or contaminated soil, and where artificial feeding occurs.'
She then goes on to advance the case for a ban on feeding whitetail deer.
"Pennsylvania has banned the feeding of bears and elk, but the law is hard to enforce because feeding of deer is allowed. Residents who are caught feeding can use the fall back excuse that they are feeding deer. In some cases where the feeding of elk has been proven, district justices have been unwilling to pass a guilty verdict."
Another former commissioner, Russ Schleiden weighed in on the matter in a comment also dated March 31, 2011, in which he states "Everytime I hear people from the PGC, AG field and Vets included, talk about CWD they invariably hint at vicinity of captive deer or feeding of wild deer. Think about it, PA has been the most agressive of all states about getting a CWD monitouring program started. We've been testing both wild and captive deer for over 7 years now and haven't found any yet. PA has more registared deer farmers than most of the other states combined, that have the disease. I would guess that 10s of thousands of PA whitetails ( wild & captive) have tested for CWD and none have been positive yet. In fact I'm certain there have been far more captive deer tested in PA than wild. I just sent 10 deer to the lab, ages 1yr thru 10 yrs. Captive deer are fed by humans in a concentrated area…yet no CWD thus far. I suspect that those who don't want wild feeding are using the CWD as an additional excuse. That is the very thing that give our people in the science field a reason to be doubted."
Schleiden goes on to say, "In the interest of disclosure. I have been raising captive deer and elk since about 1993. I was one of the first to volunteer for CWD testing before it was made mandatory and have been complying ever since. I also have a hunting camp with a feeder about 2 miles from my home. I love to go there and watch the wild deer come into the feeder during the Jan, Feb. and March months".
At this point I posted a comment, which I will re-post today in its' entirety as it does a decent job of covering many of my thoughts about the feeding issue.
This is a subject that has troubled me greatly for the last few years. At the level at which much feeding is done, I do not think that it attracts vast numbers of deer, but in my experience it is anywhere from one to three extended family groups and these are deer that are ordinarily in the general area anyway, it simply makes them more visible for observation. In my experience the bucks that are usually seen at a feeding area are the yearlings and sometimes 2 yr olds that do not disperse as most do by that time, but in most cases these bucks are traveling with their extended family group and would likely be doing so regardless of feeding.
When the rut arrives a mature buck is likely going to cover a lot of ground searching for does in heat which gives the potential for him to carry disease into an area, but the does are going to be there whether they are browsing in the forest, eating supplemental feed, or eating in food plots and deer are going to be interacting socially by nuzzling, grooming, etc. wherever they might be.
As far as disease goes, I have not seen one deer die from rumen acidosis or any other disease, as a result of modest feeding. It may be different where large truck loads of corn are dumped, but I don't think that most feeding is done at this level. Artificial feeding does have the potential to concentrate animals, but so does food plots--although possibly not to as great of an extent. Are we going to outlaw food plots and stop land management practices on SGLs as well?
In my mind such legislation simply creates another area for contention, and another class of game law violator. Many would likely ignore the law as a substantial amount seems to do with the elk feeding. In the case of the elk, it seems that the disease issue is simply the "smoking gun" so as to speak that was used to reinforce the "need" for a feeding ban. There seems to be no doubt that some elk have died from rumen acidosis, but when I first went to Elk County a gentleman fed elk near what is now the Gilbert Viewing Area. He did not feed by the truck load, but he fed daily and I never heard about dead elk being found there. Also the famous town bull that was put down after he fell on the ice this winter, ate a lot of corn during his life and lived more than 17 years. The biggest problem really seemed to be that the feeding attracted the elk to town and made them less fearful of humans.
Like Mr. Schleiden I will state for the record that I do feed deer and I enjoy observing, and photographing them more than any thing I have ever done in the outdoors, yet by the stroke of a pen this enjoyment can be substantially curtailed. I could support this if it would make a major difference in protecting the herd from CWD, but I have serious reservations about such a law for the reasons I stated above.
For the record, I am not advocating that anyone rush out and start feeding wildlife, but the activity should be considered in the proper perspective and the circumstances under which it takes place. I recall reading comments on an article where the author touted the likelihood that deer would die or become seriously ill from eating corn placed for them. This garnered several comments covering a wide spectrum of opinion. Some were genuinely sickened that they had probably killed the animals they were trying to help and enjoyed watching, which of course is the point I am trying to make. The author had these people upset and worrying about something that was not likely going to happen--at least for the reason that he said. On the other hand many of the same persons who oppose feeding in any form or degree, are in favor of more and longer hunting seasons, liberalized bag limits, and more special seasons for various types of weapons. While it is never spelled out that plainly, it is not too hard to come away with the idea that the only acceptable use of wildlife is to shoot as much as the law legally permits.
Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
Posted by Willard 1 comment:
News From The PA Wilds
Dr. Walter Cottrell To Discuss Hazards Of Illegal Elk Feeding
According to PGC News Release #001-12: Dr. Walter Cottrell, Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife veterinarian, will discuss the harmful effects of winter feeding of elk at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11, at the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Elk Country Visitor's Center at 134 Homestead Dr., in Benezette Township, Elk County.
|Elk At Feeder
Paul Staniszewski Featured Artist
According to a Press Release by the Elk County Council on the Arts sent to us by Paul Staniszewski, "a solo art exhibition is being planned at the gallery on Saturday, February 18th from 10:00AM until 5:00PM to coincide with the 13th Annual Ridgway Chainsaw Carvers Rendezvous. The featured artist for the month of February is Paul Staniszewski and he will be available to meet and greet visitors to the gallery on that day. Paul currently resides in Troutville, PA and spends a lot of time roaming the hills around Benezette looking for elk to photograph. His work will be on display and he will discuss the equipment, techniques employed, and share tips on how to successfully approach and photograph the elk."
The ECCOTA Gallery is located at 237 Main St. Ridgway, PA.
Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
|Ron "Buckwheat" Saffer and Paul Staniszewski Photographing Elk
The ECCOTA Gallery is located at 237 Main St. Ridgway, PA.
Originally posted at Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
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LAGUNA HILLS, CA (BRAIN) — Bicycle Retailer & Industry News' staff is now working on its annual Industry Directory. The annual Directory is the most complete industry list, with more than 1,900 companies and nonprofit groups serving the industry's retailers.
This year's Directory will feature a new dedicated section for distributors, including a list of their house brands and main product lines. This will be another useful resource for retailers who rely on distributors to consolidate orders of multiple brand-name products.
"Retailers rely on distributors to fill in products and place special orders. This distributor listing will be a valuable resource for retailers who need to know if their favorite distributor stocks a particular brand, and how best to reach them," said Julie Kelly, the publication's manager.
This season's Directory will again feature a general category index, introduced last year. The index lists products by category, making it easier for dealers to find companies manufacturing or distributing specific products. "Retailers have praised this addition to the index, as it helps them find and research suppliers within a specific product category," Kelly said. "Plus, this year we'll add triathlon as a new category and break out electric bikes as its own main heading as well."
As in years past, every retailer in the U.S. and Canada will receive a directory free of charge with the January issue of the magazine. It is a separate publication included with the January issue and comes in a standard magazine-size format that puts contact information right at retailers' fingertips.
Now is the time to send in updated contact information to be included in the 2014 Directory. Companies should submit their information on our online form by Nov. 22. If you have questions or problems with the form, contact Kelly at email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Date: 20/11/2012 13:09:27
Category: Car tracking
Author: Joe Elvin
The Land Rover Defender is the UK's most stolen car, according to a new study.
A report by swiftcover.com has indicated that thieves are more likely to target this brand of vehicle than any other in Britain.
Luxury cars were more found to be targeted more often by car thieves despite there being far less of them in the UK. The BMW 7 Series was named as the second most popular target for car thieves, with the Audi A5 placing third.
In an interview with derbyshiretimes.co.uk, Derbyshire Police community support officer Jonathan Taylor urged Land Rover drivers to install some form of anti-theft technology in order to improve vehicle security.
He admitted: "When a Land Rover Defender is targeted, it can be extremely difficult to retrieve it if it is stripped into parts and then moved on."
Swiftcover.com researchers analysed more than 2,300 theft claims in order to generate a list of the UK's top ten most commonly stolen cars. According to aol.co.uk, other vehicles on the list included the BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz ML, Range Rover, Audi TT, BMW Z4 and Audi A3.
The only non-luxury car to make the top ten was the Renault Laguna, which was found to be the tenth most stolen car in the UK.
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The gunman in the Connecticut shooting rampage committed suicide as first responders closed in, the governor said Sunday, raising the specter that Adam Lanza had planned an even more gruesome massacre and was stopped short.
The more I read about the shootings, the more I think this kid might have been a fan of Anders Breivik, Norway's maniac shooter. Hence, the similar targets.


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Alright alright! Santa has been answering my prayers in overdrive lately. The latest was my prayer to Santa Christ asking that he bring back my favorite reality character Laurieann Gibson, or more commonly known as, "boom kack" from Making the Band. Well thanks Santa because boom kack is coming back to Making the Band 4 in the new season that premieres on August 13th. Ch-ch-check out the 2 second clip of her. Hopefully they're not teasing me and she really is back for good. Me gusta boom boom kack.
P.S Sorry for all those times I called it "boom cat." I just assumed.


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I. Choose the correct answer by crossing a, b, c, or d!
1. The students can borrow some books in the ....
a. Pharmacy
b. Laboratory
c. Museum
d. Library
2. Mrs. Sunarti is an English teacher. She is writing on the ....
a. wall
b. paper
c. blackboard
d. note book
3. The instruction that suitable for the picture is ....
a. Lets play football
b. Lets basket ball
c. Lets paly doll
d. Lets play chess
4. My Hobby is ...
a. dancing
b. singing
c. fishing
d. hiking
5. He work in the hospital. He help a nurse. He is a ...
a. nurse
b. doctor
c. farmer
d. judge
6. Mom : The floor is dirty.
Do you know what do you have to do?
Kaka : Yes, .... .
a. Yes, I am
b. Yes, of course
c. Yes, do I
d. Yes, I do
7. Iman : May I borrow your book, please?
Noto : Of course, here you are!
Iman : I will back it to you tomorrow, thank you!
Noto : ........
Noto : Of course, here you are!
Iman : I will back it to you tomorrow, thank you!
Noto : ........
a. You are welcome
b. See you later
c. Thank's
d. Of course
8. Wahid : Would you open the window please?
John : ........
John : ........
a. Yes, of course
b. Yes, thanks you
c. You are welcome
d. Yes, I am
9. Student : "I am ........ sir, I come late."
Teacher : "That's ok, please sit down."
Teacher : "That's ok, please sit down."
a. Good
b. Fine
c. Sorry
d. Thank you
10. Shopkeper : Good morning, Rino!
Rino : ...
Shopkeper : Can I help you?
Rino : I want to some pencils
a. Good evening
b. Good afternon
c. Good morning
d. Good night
11. Dwi : May I use your ... , Toni?
Wahid : Sorry. I'am using it
Dwi : It is all right
a. pencil
b. pen
c. ruller
d. knife
12. Nina : Good Morning Mrs. Warti
Mrs. Warti : Good Morning Nina!
Nina : My teacher needs some chalk. Do you have any?
Mrs. Wari : ..... here you are
a. Yes, I do
b. Yes, I have
c. No, I do not
d. No, I have not
13. Jono : Mom, I will go to school
Mother : .....
Jono : Yes, I will
a. Watch out
b. Run
c. Lets go
d. Ride the bike carefully
14. Lia : " Happy birthday, Koko? ". Here's present for you
Koko : " thank you. Wow!
Lia : " I hope you like it "
Koko : " I ..... it. Red is my favorite colour "
a. Like
b. Dislike
c. Don't like
d. Happy
15. Teacher : "Would you close the door, please."
Students : " ........".
Students : " ........".
a. Yes, I am
b. Yes, thank you
c. Yes, of course
d. Yes, of course not
16. If you want to save your money, you have to go to ...
a. Post office
b. Hospital
c. Bank
d. Market
17. Koko : "Have you ever go to Sea World?"
"What is the smart fish in Sea World?"
Rono : "Yes, I have. The smart fish in Sea World is ........
"What is the smart fish in Sea World?"
Rono : "Yes, I have. The smart fish in Sea World is ........
a. Shark
b. Dolphin
c. Well
d. Goldfish
This text for number 18 - 22
On Sunday Ani doesn't go to school. She goes to market with her mother. She wants to buy some vegetables such as cabbage, carrot and potatoes. Then she goes to the fishmonger to buy some goldfish and cuttlefish. In the market is very crowded.
18. The appropriate tittle for the text above is ........
a. Going to the market
b. Going to the hospital
c. Going to the zoo
d. Going to the restaurant
19. ...... and ...... go to market
a. Ani and her sister
b. Ani and her brother
c. Ani and her mother
d. Ani and her father
20. She buys some ..... and ..... at the fishmonger.
a. Goldfish and crab
b. Goldfish and cuttlefish
c. Goldfish and potatos
d. Carrot and goldfish


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I've decided to take a risk and share truthfully about a phase in my Christian life that I have been afraid to talk about. There's been a lot of debate in the evangelical blogosphere about the appropriateness of female pastors. Mark Driscoll suggested that British evangelicals are failing because they have female pastors. More recently, Rachel Held Evans asked for Christian men to share their thoughts on John Piper's assertion that "God has given a Christianity a masculine feel." I've got scriptural arguments for why I support women in ministry, but I've found before that making appeals to the Bible doesn't change "Biblical" minds who have already figured everything out and barricaded themselves behind their proof-texts. So I thought instead that I would share a real life story about Pastor Cheri, my first female pastor. I was only at her church for about nine months, but she had a decisive influence on my Christian identity.
From 2001 to 2002, I lived in a place called the Collingwood Arts Center in Toledo, Ohio. It was a partly dilapidated former convent with cheap, sparse cell-like accommodations for writers, painters, and musicians. For a 24 year old, it seemed like the perfect utopia, and there was a lot of cool creative synergy that happened in that place for me as a musician and poet. The problem was that it involved staying up late at night even on weekdays and doing a lot of unhealthy things I shouldn't have been doing. Combined with a high-stress job at a farmworker union, this quickly made my life into a train-wreck.
About a block up the street was Central Avenue United Methodist Church. I decided after a few months that I needed to go back to church so I went to check it out. The pastor's name was Cheri Holdridge. Another woman there named Tanya helped out a lot with worship and Bible study, but she wasn't allowed to be the official co-pastor because she was a lesbian. It turned out that the majority of people in the congregation were gay. Having grown up in a moderate Southern Baptist family, the only thing I knew about my faith at that point in my life was that I wasn't a fundamentalist, and a church with gay people in it couldn't possibly be fundamentalist. It made me feel safe. I felt dirty, and I figured people who had been judged all their lives couldn't possibly judge me.
So I decided to get involved with the church, but first I felt like I needed to tell Pastor Cheri what a mess I was. The only thing I remember about my first talk with her was when I told her that I was suffering from depression and the shrink wanted to put me on Zoloft, she said, "Oh really? I take Zoloft too!" That exchange kind of captured our relationship, and it's shaped my approach to pastoral care today (I try to be an "Oh really? I take Zoloft too!" kind of pastor). I told Cheri about other things including the bad stuff I was putting into my body and the unchaste, volatile relationship I was involved in. She didn't say, "Well, you know what you're doing is an abomination to God." She didn't make me sign a discipline contract. But somehow being able to confess my sins to her helped me to begin the process of healing.
Pastor Cheri planted a lot of seeds that didn't bear fruit until years later. She introduced me to Henri Nouwen, and the gospel that she preached was heavily influenced by him. It was a very different gospel than the one I had heard growing up in which the purpose of Jesus' death on the cross was to save us from His angry Father. What Cheri taught me is that it's a lot harder than we think to come to a true realization of how much God loves us. We can say it as an intellectual proposition all we like, but to really learn it in our hearts is something that can only happen by the grace of God. When we finally do accept God's unconditional love for us, then we're saved from our fearful dishonesty and defensiveness so that we can be vulnerable with other people, which is the only way to experience real community.
As a United Methodist pastor, I submit to our Book of Discipline's stance on homosexuality as well as the authority of scripture, but I will say that the mostly gay congregation with which I had fellowship at Pastor Cheri's church were some of the most compassionate, dedicated Christian disciples I've ever met. They took care of me for the brief season while I was there. No one in that church was an "in-crowd" Christian who had all the right answers and wore an impenetrable mask of self-assurance. They were all wounded people just trying to find Jesus together. In other words, they were truly a crowd of Samaritans and tax collectors, not a single Pharisee among them.
I'm not sure I would have become a pastor if I'd never met Pastor Cheri. I try to be the kind of pastor she was with the people in my congregation. I care very passionately about learning the truth about God, but I don't feel like for the sake of decorum that I'm supposed to pretend to know all the answers. I don't think I would have opened up to a male pastor in the same way that I opened up to Cheri, at least not a male pastor who carried himself with the kind of confident, unapproachable masculinity that Mark Driscoll and John Piper seem to think pastors are supposed to have. I have definitely needed a male role model and shepherd in different phases I've gone through, but there is no question that Pastor Cheri was exactly who I needed at one of the lowest points in my life. God used her in my life and for that I will be forever grateful.


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Kung Pao: Reflections on immigration and food
My husband and I visited my parents in Wisconsin last weekend. As we often do when we visit my hometown, we got Chinese take-out for lunch one day. And so I found myself glorious slurping a bowl of Hot and Sour Soup, and reflecting on one of life's greater mysteries. I grew up in Racine, Wisconsin. It is the first county south of Milwaukee. We are a town trying to grow past its industrial roots, famous for our Danish kringle and still home to Insinkerator® and Johnson's Wax®, so there's a good chance that most American households have a lot of Racine unknowingly clustered around their kitchen sink. We have about 90,000 folks. We are not, by any stretch of the imagination, a culinary tour de force. However, Racine has a relative embarrassment of riches when it comes to excellent hole-in-the-wall Chinese food. By contrast, Rogers Park, my neighborhood in Chicago, is one of the most diverse census tracks in the entire U.S., with a sizable Asian population including many immigrants. And the Chinese food stinks. As a sociologist by day, and a food blogger when I'm attempting to procrastinate, I thought I would turn my training to this perplexing and irksome culinary puzzle: why is there better Chinese food in Racine Wisconsin than Chicago?
I start my search with a simple, and perhaps incorrect assumption: the best Chinese food will be cooked by Chinese immigrants or Chinese Americans. This is certainly not exclusively true. There are plenty of examples of chefs who gained fame cooking from a tradition that was not theirs by birth (Rick Bayless and his love of Mexican food comes readily to mind). However, in the very non-systematic inventory of all of my Chinese dining experiences, the best were I was eating food prepared by folks who spoke and wrote in Chinese fluently. So I think its a decent place to start.
Working from this starting point, the first thing I did for my little investigation was hop on the US Census Bureau's homepage to find some quick facts. In the zip code where I was born and grew up until I was 18 years old, only 3.3% of our population was foreign born. Only 0.6% of residents are Asian. That works out to 155 people in the whole zip code. By contrast, it turns out that my zip code where I live now in Rogers Park (Chicago), 7.9% of the population is Asian, more than double the U.S. average. Fully 35% of our residents are foreign-born, which is more than three times the U.S. average. I thought that might be just an effect of being in a big city, but the Chicago average foreign born population is only 22%.
But "foreign born" and "Asian" population wasn't enough. So I went probing deeper into the pages of the Census Bureau, and found a file that listed all foreign-born individuals by state of admission and country of birth. Now we're cooking. Here I discover that the state of Illinois welcomed 2571 Chinese Immigrants in 2005, whereas all of Wisconsin received only 593. Only California, New York, and Texas received more Chinese immigrants than Illinois.
If anything, the population data just seems to make our culinary mystery more surprising. Lets just say one out of every hundred people is a good cook. That should mean that each year the entire state of Wisconsin receives just 6 good Chinese cooks, most of whom go to Milwaukee or Madison. But Illinois receives four times as many good cooks, most of whom are drawn to Chicago. But this huge population difference in favor of Chicago doesn't seem to produce local quality Chinese food. So I have to suspect that the way good cooks migrate, and then whether they decide to set up a restaurant, has some interesting pattern to it that helps explain why I can't get good Chinese food even in my highly diverse neighborhood.
After some thinking, this is what I believe is happening. Truly high-end great Chinese cooks are drawn to areas where they can get the highest profile for their cooking. According to the simple data, that means most of them are disproportionately likely to immigrate to New York City or somewhere in California. Those who don't go to California or New York City, who somehow find themselves in the Windy City, are then more likely to concentrate their wild talent in Chicago's Chinatown. This creates some sort of vaccuum: good (but not great) cooks also set up shop in Chinatown or decide the competition is too fierce and so they don't open a restaurant at all. Then, at some point, a number of very average Chinese cooks look around their various other neighborhoods and say to themselves, "Hey, there aren't enough Chinese restaurants here. We should open one up. There's almost no competition!" By contrast, in Racine the good (but not great) chefs know in advance that there isn't much stellar competition. The cost of starting a business (rent, supplies, ingredients) is relatively lower, the competition is lower, and so good cooks who might be nervous entrepreneurs also enter the market. They set up many small but delightful dining establishments. Most serve a variety of Americanized Chinese standards with a few regional or family favorites thrown in. One makes the best kung pao I have had anywhere.
So in the end, it is absolutely true that you can find more stellar, gourmet Chinese food in Chicago than in Racine, but that would require you to drive to Chicago's Chinatown. If you want to get local, delicious take-out in your own zip code, you would be better off in Racine.


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Eba Fotografi
Monday, April 13, 2015
Pasta - Moroccan Style Stuffed Acorn Squash
Vegetables, garbanzos, raisins and couscous in a lovely Moroccan broth taste delicious inside butter and brown sugar-brushed acorn squash. You can experiment with different vegetables, or add diced chicken. Feel free to be creative with your amounts - I usually freestyle and end up with leftover stuffing mixture, which tastes great on its own the next day. For vegetarians, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.
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Eugene Gibbons
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I do get on OKL about some of their pieces and prices, but I try and give them credit when they do it right.
Aerin Lauder is launching her home designs line later this spring, and she's going to be the speaker at the press breakfast at the High Point Furniture Market in mid-April. She comes by her style naturally, being the grand-daughter of the famed Estée Lauder, the make-up queen.
Her home has been photographed for numerous shelter magazines, always to great acclaim and many pins!
So when I saw she was having a sale on One King's Lane, I was looking forward to seeing what she'd picked for the sale. I have to mention that it was only after looking at some of the pieces in the sale, that I realized that she'd "picked" the pieces for the sale, and that most of them were not her things. Regardless, it was fun to see what she'd chosen. A vibrant Quadrille pillow.
A gorgeous lush Paul Lange print.
A fun book I remember reading ages ago.
I did take a look at another sale, and found this travesty:
Oh well.


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Last week I wrote about Californians' reluctance to face their earthquake risk and the many wrongheaded reasons people use for not buying earthquake insurance. Several readers wrote in to defend their decision to go "bare"--inadvertently providing even more examples of less-than-stellar thinking.
One woman said she dropped her earthquake insurance after her company delayed paying her 1994 Northridge claim. Although most claims were paid without incident, many consumers did indeed have trouble with their carriers after that massive quake, and the state wound up ordering several insurers to pay a total $11 million to settle consumer complaints that the companies improperly handled their claims.
That is definitely a reason to be a careful consumer, to know your rights and to stay on top of your claim; that may even be a reason to hire a lawyer to get the company's attention. It's not a reason to put at risk your entire financial investment in a house.
The excuse cited most often for forgoing coverage, however, was the structure of the California Earthquake Authority itself--particularly the provisions that could require policyholders to pay an additional assessment or accept less coverage if the state-run insurance pool runs out of money.


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if you meeta brooklyn blackmore you one of the most lucky ass peoples in the world. theres only a few. they so pretty. commonly having blond hair and a charming outgoing personality. funniest most entertaining person ever and there too nice!! if you meet one, keep her in ya life, and neva get on her bad side, best guurl ya could eva meet.
"hey have you ever met a brooklyn blackmore?"
"damn yer some lucky!!"
"i know right"
"damn yer some lucky!!"
"i know right"
by killacandystrike November 24, 2010


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Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first AL.com user to add photos or videos of s And s Auto Repair
S & S Auto Repair is located at 910 Sutton Bridge Rd, Rainbow City, AL..
S S Auto Repair can be found at Sutton Bridge Rd 718. The following is offered: Auto Repairs. The entry is present with us since Sep 8, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Rainbow City there are 3 other Auto Repairs. An overview can be found here.


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We went hiking with the family this weekend at Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains. We did a short but fun trail called Abrams Falls. Every time we hike, the hubby is always on bear lookout. He really, really wants to see a bear. I really, really don't.
So we are driving back after the hike through the Cades Cove scenic loop, a one-way 11 mile drive that kind of feels like a redneck amusement ride at times. At one point, all the cars come to a dead stop. We were trying to get to a rest stop at the middle of the loop, so we were a bit annoyed. Finally, the cars moved and we approached the rest stop. "Got alot of traffic today cause of that bear in the field", says a man as we walk up.
Ooooh! A bear! So hubby and I run over to look. We are staring out in the field, not seeing anything. Suddenly, I notice – the bear is not in the field, it is walking along the fence not 10 yards from us!! There are people driving by in cars within 10 feet of the bear, and even bigger idiots walking along the fence right next to the bear. Then the bear casually hops the fence, taking no notice of the crowd.
Next someone mentioned it was a mama bear, and the cub was in the tree right in front of us. At that point, we hightailed it to the car.
I must say though, people are idiots. Entire families, with their kids, were walking up toward the bear. This is why people get attacked, and its not the bear's fault. People are so used to watching nature on TV, they have no fear when they see these things in real life. They think the camera or camera phone they are holding up will protect them when the bear decides to charge. So far, I haven't found any news articles about a bear attack this weekend. And to think, the Moose slept through the entire thing!


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I loved these lights outside the Museum! There was several sets of them and I just had to take a photo of them!
This photo (above) is NOT out of focus, believe me! It's actually a photo of the reflection of some flowers in a pond! It's different and I like it! So much I took several shots! It reminds me of a Monet water colour painting!
I have no idea what this flower/plant was but I liked it! There were several of these dotted around the gardens.
These purple and white flowers reminded me of my Nana. She had them in her garden too.
Okay I just had to post another one of these reflection in a pond photo's! I just like the effect even if does look a bit weird! Weird is good and it's okay to be different!
Thank you for visiting, {HUGS} from me to YOU:-)


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Le Bout de Monde, Kep, Cambodia
The Bhutan guide is polished. It should be up on talesofasia.com soon.
Here's the romantic bungalow article – criticism, as always, is welcome.
For food and romance, follow the French.
The most romantic bungalows in Southeast Asia are tucked high on a hillside overlooking the bullet scarred and abandoned villas of Kep, Cambodia. Kep, a seaside town near the Vietnamese border, was traditionally the favorite coastal retreat of French colonists and Cambodian royals. Tragically, the genocidal Khmer Rouge reserved their most fierce hatreds for the Vietnamese, the Cambodian elite, and the French. During Cambodia's prolonged hell of a civil war, Kep was wiped off the map.
Peace has come to Kep, but the crowds have not yet returned. A graceful palm-lined boulevard along the beach is empty and potholed. Cows graze in the ruins of grand old colonial mansions. Only a handful of new homes have been built. In Cambodia's more well-known destinations, the scars of war have been concealed by new development, but the destruction of Kep still feels recent and raw.
Today, Kep is slowly rising from the ashes. The atmosphere that attracted the French in the first place is stronger than ever. Graceful green hills give way to the sparkling blue waters of the Gulf of Thailand, where brightly painted fishing skiffs sail between blue misted islands. The fishermen supply local restaurants with fresh shrimp, fish, squid and crab, all sold at unbelievably low prices.
Several new hotels have opened on the hillside bordering Kep National Park. The most popular is Veranda Natural Resort, which boasts luxuries like hot-water and 24 hour electricity. The Canadian owners have poured money into marketing with great success; bungalows that once went for $4 a night now cost $20.
Veranda is a perfectly pleasant spot, but my pick for romance goes to Le Bout de Monde, the first guesthouse to open on the hill and still the most atmospheric. The bamboo bungalows are rickety, the staff barely speak English and large geckos patrol the veranda, but there is a graceful elegance to the simplicity. The bed sheets are fine cotton, flowers line the garden paths and bread with homemade jam and delicious coffee are served on fine china in the morning. Very few travelers stay in Kep for more than a few hours, but Le Bout de Monde is the sort of place best experienced at leisure, with enough time to soak in the peaceful rhythms of the days. At only $10 for the private bungalows, why not open a good book and let the hours float by.
The food at Le Bout de Monde is quite simply the best I have ever encountered. Order fish with tamarind sauce and the shy young waiter will sprint down to his moto-bike and return 5 minutes later with a flopping sea bream for his sister to prepare. Lightly wok-fried with young onions and local peppercorns, the fish is so succulent that even refined eaters are sure to lick their fingers. One fish is enough for two people and costs all of $4.50.
I heard about Le Bout de Monde from a French traveler, and indeed, the only other guests during the 4 nights I stayed there were French. I can hardly blame them for keeping the secret to themselves. Then again, the three people who read this blog are hardly the type to ruin the atmosphere.
If you go –
Getting to Kep is easier than ever. Comfortable buses leave twice daily from Phnom Penh and any guesthouse or hotel can arrange tickets. The bus stops at Kep Market, but it's best to ask the driver to let you out at Kep Beach, a few hundred meters beyond the white mermaid statue. From here, local moto drivers will run you up the hill.
If coming from the West, first get to Kampot, then take a taxi or moto on to Kep. The road is fairly good and the countryside picturesque. Motos cost $3.
If you call ahead for reservations at Le Bout de Monde, be patient and speak clearly. The staff is shy about speaking English, but eager to please. The number is 011 996 980.
The countryside around Kep was sympathetic to the Khmer Rouge even after the U.N. sponsored elections of the mid '90s. In 1993 guerillas kidnapped and murdered three backpackers who were riding the train near town. The area is now completely safe, much more so than tourist towns like Sihanoukville, but the people are poor. Don't tempt trouble by leaving valuables lying around.


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A vast subject difficult to begin and impossible to end.It is from time immemorial and will last up to eternity.
Many think it is not relevant today. This is because we are aping a very contrived and distorted form of it and trying to modernise without knowing its basic tenets. Yes all of them can be questioned; and may find lots of anomalies not suitable with time. This is because we are bombarded with other ideas through electronic media and are not offered any alternative. Some of the most simple concepts such women equality etc. touted as faults in ancient religion.
Let us see where we stand today. Politically followers of Communism and (its fellow traveler) socialistic concepts were the first to object to religion as it seemed to clash with their concepts of society. Communism was a costly experiment which is now almost buried. It's fellow traveler, simplistic socialistic society is dying in Europe as they have reached beyond their means. Socialitic ideas did not clash with religion per se but tinkered with it to suit their ends. The sudden death of Europe that is waiting to happen.But capitalistic society's end needs some explanation. It will die because there is not enough resource. The concept of capitalistic society was built on Colonialism. During colonialism resource was available for white man to take with no competition. Now with major high population countries such as India and china on the race for resources it is going to be impossible to sustain a capitalistic society which has only one mantra consumption. Consume even if you dont have else marginal cost theory wont work.
Now if you scan though Manumriti you will see lots of edicts which have come true in just 60 years of alternative form of society. It is easy to find fault in any system but difficult to make an alternative system fool proof. Let us not throw the baby with the bath water. Let us study and understand.
If you read you will be surprised almost 80 % of edicts are still being followed.
2.3 संकल्पमू लः कामो वै यज्ञाः संकल्पसं भवाः व्रतानि यमधर्मश् च सर्वें संकल्पजाः स्मृताः
2.3. The desire (for rewards), indeed, has its root in the conception that an act can yield them, and inconsequence of (that) conception sacrifices are performed; vows and the laws prescribing restraints are all stated to be kept through the idea that they will bear fruit.
Thus desire that caused somuch difficulty can be kept and will have to be kept under control if societies will have to survive
Hindu dharma is is not any rigid edicts but one where you can apply your mind and follow maintaing honesty to yourself
What more do you want and see what manusmriti says again
2.12 वेदः स्मृतिः सदाचारः स्वस्यचप्रियम् आत्मनः एतच् चतुर्विधं प्राहुःसक्षाद् धर्मस्य लक्षणम्||
2.12. The Veda, the sacred tradition, the customs of virtuous men, and one's own pleasure, they declare to be visibly the fourfold means of defining the sacred law.
No charity in Hinduism : Charity as defined is helping people in need. more
My father came as crow!! : Ladies without understanding the karmas give their own meaning more
Male Chauvinism not in Hindu Marriage : Many think the marriage functions is lots of mumbojumbo which is not relevant today. Surprise!!!!!!!!! more
Defined Process…. Follow Implicitly : All the steps are important and no deviation is acceptable.more
God is a Monkey or Cat? So now decide do you want to pray or not. more
Genesis in ManusmritiIn the Old Testament The creation of Universe is described so also in Manusmritimore
Genesis and Manusmriti on …….TIMEBut 1 conclusion is clear Manusmriti has a better concept on time. more
Knowledge Transfer………Ekalavya Story!! So infinity cannot be achieved through any action, neither good nor bad. Actions are Binding. more
Most Atheistic Religion……..Hinduism know that alone to be Brahman, not this whom people worship here more
12 Questions on Hindu shradhamif you don't believe don't do anything is my friendly advice more
35 Q&A on Hindu Dharmawho answers all the questions and thereby we can get a good idea of How a Hindu is suppoed to Live. more
|Contributions by M K Subramanian
Logic and Beyond…..By MKS Logic limits to 'Sequential' thinking.'Creative thinking' and 'Lateral thinking' more
Is my Fate and Destiny Same? ….No says MKS 'Karm theory is not a bondage! If the past actions result in the 'present' – we can 'choose' 'present' actions to make a different tomorrow more
Effect of Karma on Fate……..by MKS "The Future already surround us" (- Peter Drucker-Management Guru) more
Karma theory…… case study(1)…Ramayana Tolstoy titled a similar story…"God sees the truth, but waits…"more
Role of Ahalya in Ramayana Exam is for those who wish to 'pass' the exam and not for those who do not aspire for success. more
Karma theory…… case study(2)…Vishwamitra being born as a Kshatriya was result of "Fate". Attaining Brahminhood was 'Destiny' more
Karma theory(3)…… Bhagavatham He took hold of the feet of the saint and compelled him to bless for offspring.more
Karma Theory Reviewed (1)…. While riding in a car on the roads of life, make sure the wheels are pneumatic tyres.more
Karma theory reviewed(2)..DasharathaNo wonder Rama curses his father as sensuous person and bemoansmore
Karma theory …not a permanent Bindperson compensate by praying to God without studying? The answer is 'No' more
Third law of Motion and Karma Theory'Mass' represents that portion of the past 'Karma', which has not fructified. more
Karma Theory is Bane or a Boon? -1Attitudinal change and matching effort to overcome the impediments would be necessary to get rid of past burden of 'Karma'. more
Karma Theory is a Bane or a Boon? – 2The curse ('Karma') was a boon! Efficacy of Bhagavata Dharma was established to benefit all humanity! more


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Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Bad Mommy!
Two weeks after her oral surgery, I am at the orthodontist with Eve, watching her anxiety level ratchet up like a car on a roller coaster heading for the tallest peak. Her cheeks redden, her eyes twitch from side to side and widen, the tears build inside her lower eyelids. At the same time I am becoming more and more embarrassed, knowing that at any moment she will reach for me and pull herself out of the chair, burying her face in my stomach and letting the sobs fly. I am paralyzed, feeling powerless, knowing that we've been here before time and time again. She is afraid of having the bands sized on her back molars. She hates the way the metal feels scraping against her teeth, hates the feeling of the too-tight bands and the too-loose ones pushing against her soft gums. Two years ago we made three successive appointments, each one attempting to get to this point and watching her fall apart more quickly each time. We decided to wait for her to get a bit older and hope that it would make a difference.
Here we are with the worst part (arguably) behind us. She's had the anesthesia, she's suffered through the pain and stitches and eating soft foods for ten days. We have to get past this point and Eve just can't do it. She's holding up the well-oiled machine that is this orthodontist's office by sobbing and refusing to let them do their job. The young man in the chair next to her opens his mouth and offers to let her see the bands around his back teeth but she's not buying it. She buries her head deeper. I am mortified. She's making such a scene! Lola is hungry and she jumps off her stool and grabs my free hand to whimper into as well.
Out in the parking lot I let fly. I know I should be the one who is comforting her, acknowledging her fears, rational or not, and helping her find a way past this. Instead, I am angry.
"We just spent a ton of money having those teeth removed!" (That's not the point at all. Why am I saying this?)
"You can't do this this time. You have to find a way to get into that chair and let them put the bands on. I had braces three times. I didn't die - it's not horrible!" (Not helping, Mom.)
"Why don't you trust me? Have I ever taken you to a place where you would be hurt? It's my job to keep you safe. I am not going to put you into a situation where you will get hurt. Why can't you trust me?" (Why am I making this about me?)
She is buckled in to her car seat, sobbing. Gulping huge gasps of air, tears rolling down her cheeks and dripping into her lap. She is frightened, embarrassed, frustrated. I am yelling at her. With every word that comes out of my mouth part of me is recoiling in disgust. Why am I so angry? Why am I embarrassed at her behavior? Why does this bother me so much?
I don't know. My instinct is to have Bubba take her from now on. I can't be rational about this. I can't find a way to get her past this and I can't remain dispassionate about it. By the time we get home she is calm and I am deep in shame and regret. I sit with her on the couch and hug her and tell her over and over again that I love her. It isn't enough to make up for the way I rubbed salt in her wounds today and I am afraid that this is one of those horrible moments from her childhood that she will always remember.
Tomorrow I will do better. I hope.
9 comments:
- Scott from Oregon said...
Nah.... She'll remember the part where you felt bad and apologized...
- Suzy said...
My guess is that you are so feeling her pain and fear. You're not a bad mom. Nothing is further from the truth.
My guess is that you could cry and scream and bolt out of there also, if you could. But you are the grownup.
You have just taken on her extreme sadness and debilitating fear.
You're the best mom.
Love you
As moms we all have those moments, believe me, I have had my fair share. Don't beat yourself up, your a great mom, you apologized, that is the part she will remember. She is so very loved, and she knows it.
- Jerri said...
I'm with Scott. She'll remember that you apologized.
My dad once apologized to me, and it's one of my strongest memories of childhood. My admiration for him grew unbelievably that day.
I'm sure you'll find better ways to express the simple truth: sometimes we just have to suck it up and get it done.
Teaching her that is a true kindness.
You're a wonderful mom, and true kindness is a huge part of your toolbox. You'll work it out.
Yup, she'll remember the worst bits of your worst meltdown. But she'll also remember quiet mommy-and-me moments. She'll remember how you are the best story reader on the planet. She'll remember that amazing birthday cake you baked your own special self. I know a little girl who remembers sitting in the aisle of a grocery store so we could work through a world class nine-year-old issue. Oops, I think she also remembers me kicking the counter stool across the room in a hormone-fueled moment. But she still loves me. So yes your girl will grow up with her own collection of memories, some so obscure that you won't have any recollection of them when you talk about this 38 years from now. That's how this process works. We don't get to choose for our Selves or our children what memories "stick." I guess that means they are all good!
- Jerri said...
Just checking in to see if "tomorrow" (which is now today) is better.
Love you.
- Carrie Wilson Link said...
Ditto everyone. ONE apology, heartfelt, abolishes 100 bad mommy moments. Here's my philosophy, you are teaching her you are not perfect, and when you make a mistake, you apologize and move on. What BETTER lesson is there for a mother to teach her daughter? Take an A and put away the horse hair vest!
BTW, I would get that girl some Valium, seriously, and load her up before all ortho. appointments. Just make them at the end of the school day and plan on her being useless the rest of the day. She has anxiety. Join the f'ing club. Anxiety needs to be treated. No judgment. Bands on the back teeth? Not an option. Debilitating anxiety? Optional. Remember, anxiety is not rational. All the kids in the other chairs don't make a lick of difference. She is anxious, period, and responding accordingly. Her anxiety makes you anxious, of course it does! Then that exacerbates her anxiety and around we go on the wheel of neurosis!
- Deb said...
It's all been said above. I love what Bubba said to you. Your daughter knows you're human now - if she didn't before. But I know for sure that there are no little girls anywhere who know better than yours just how loved they are.
Give yourself some slack - your dad is dying. I'll bet you have your own chorus of scared little girls inside.
Much much love to you. Sending light and grace your way.
One suggestion from someone who suffers anxiety attacks herself - have her come up with a mantra she can tell herself over and over to calm her racing mind. Mine is related to back pain and the fear of being immobilized - the mantra I use is "I'm okay, I can move, I can do this." Then I move to prove to myself that I really can move. It will help her focus on something other than her fear.


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Anxiety for creativity
Discussing the role of the brain in creativity is something like discussing the role of the carparts in riding. It usually leaves out the part of the one who steers the brain. But even so, with the use of technologies, e.g. MRI we can observe what parts of the brain are active when we make music or solve a problem. Howard Gardner discovered that specialisation of brain exists calling this different intelligences. A musical intelligent brain uses different parts of the brain more than a maths / reasonning brain. The question is, is this due to a preference of the soul that shapes the brain as it matures, is it shaped through nurture or is it innate? I know a psychiatrist and he is not too happy with my idea about the existence of the soul. We differ in opinion. Through meditation I've experienced some of the potential of the soul. I've seen this explained in an article on thinking. Thinking with the soul is another level of thinking that surpasses the rational and programmed and preference.
In this paper, the role of anxiety is discussed in performing music. In an anxious experience, I percieved myself outside of my body. As if I were a soul looking down at my body. Thoughts seemed to have endless time. I was in a place quiet. Untill I drew back into my body. But knew then what to do. Maybe playing music with the abilities of the soul is induced by some anxiety.


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I like juxtapositions. They make you pause and think, jolt you out of the mundane.
One of the reasons I love travelling is that it constantly throws up bizarre contrasts. Like washing with Jo Malone shower gel and cold water from a bucket in the middle of the jungle. Or saying to the children, "If the boat starts sinking, grab one of the chairs to help you float", and meaning it, when you've just spent months lugging car seats tens of thousands of miles.
You move from five star luxury (OK we only did that once) to tarantulas in the bedroom and no running water in the space of a week. Or emerge, filthy, dusty and flyblown from weeks in the virtually uninhabited desert, shops a rarity, traffic lights non-existent, to wander dazed round one of the richest cities in the world, people hurrying like ants, sun glinting off sparkly buildings.
Some places are so rammed full of contrasts they're a sensory overload waiting to happen. Singapore with its beautiful, shiny, modern museums, and its Sunday pet bird showing off session, largely unchanged since the Island was more trees than concrete. Bangkok is perhaps the pinnacle of juxtapositions, with it's jaw-dropping temples to shopping sitting on top of the smoky, prayer filled temples where ancient rituals are performed in a continuous conversation with the past.
There's nothing like lying in the dark on a sweaty mattress, in a bamboo hut in the jungle, watching The Good Life on a tiny iPhone screen, turning the volume up to hear Tom and Barbara over the cacophony of the jungle at night, to make you laugh at the ridiculousness of life.
Victoria Wallop is a confirmed Londoner, with a love of travelling to far-flung places. She writes, tweets and solders silver for a living. She's useful in a pub quiz and adept at pulling leeches off small people.
Blog: Victoria Wallop
Twitter: @vwallop


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Ranthambore is one of the largest national parks in Northern India that is a sought after destination for wildlife lovers. Ranthambore is a little hill town that received its name from two hills namely Ran and Thambor. It is a sanctuary to many exotic species of the animal kingdom. Spread across an area of 392 sq km., Ranthambore National Park is famous for being a Project Tiger Reserve. It is a major wildlife tourist attraction of India. A number of wildlife lovers turn up to the destination every year to have a sight of these majestic creatures. The best time to visit this dry deciduous forest is in the month of Mayand November. This magnificent jungle that was once a part of the forests of central India is bounded by Banas river to the north and Chambal river to the south. It has been named after the historic Ranthambore fortress, which lies within the national park.
Ranthambore National Park is famous for its tigers and will surely acquire a top spot in your favourites if you are a photographer . For a relatively small area, the park has a rich diversity of fauna and flora and the species list includes 300 trees, 50 aquatic plants, 272 birds, 12 reptiles including the Marsh Crocodile & amphibians and 30 mammals. Ranthambore National Park is open from 1st October to 30th June (July - September closed to visitors). Ranthambore also houses one of the largest banyan trees in India.


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Sunday, February 12, 2017
Valentine's Week Giveaway #5
24 comments:
The tea-pot on the towel is so cute. Enter me, please. DebReplyDelete
Enter me! Thanks you!!!ReplyDelete
Please enter me. just adorable. Thanks.ReplyDelete
Enter me! I Love the vintage valentine too!ReplyDelete
Enter me. Delightful.ReplyDelete
Enter me. MaxineReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 12, 2017 at 3:01 PM
Enter me pleaseReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 12, 2017 at 3:25 PM
Please enter me.ReplyDelete
So cute! Please enter me too.ReplyDelete
Email entry from Susan K.ReplyDelete
Enter me please. The towel is so cute! Thank you for the chance to win. Dmskrug3 at hotmail dot comReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 12, 2017 at 7:17 PM
Enter me please! thanks Angela. I'm so enjoying your valentines this week.ReplyDelete
Kim M
So cute. Enter me please.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 12, 2017 at 7:26 PM
Please enter me. You can never have too many tea towels.ReplyDelete
Laura L.
Do not enter me since I have already won the stickers. But I had to tell you I love your adorable Valentine giveaways this week as well as the cute cards.ReplyDelete
Thanks again,
Sandy G
What a sweet little Valentine and what an adorable tea towel! I would love to win. Please enter me. Thanks for the opportunity!😊ReplyDelete
I remember sending that valentine to you! :-)ReplyDeleteReplies
Yes! Thank you again for one of the most unique valentines in my collection. I couldn't rest until I found it again! :)Delete
- AnonymousFebruary 12, 2017 at 10:24 PM
Please enter me for the cute Valentine tea towel! I have enjoyed seeing your vintage Valentines this week.ReplyDelete
Sherry R. in PA
Cute valentine. Please enter meReplyDelete
Enter me please - and as always, I love your writing and the lovely cards!ReplyDelete
Please enter me! What a lovely and so sweet giveaway!ReplyDelete
We served hearts on platters all day yesterday at our Valentine's Day tea. No teddy bears present though.ReplyDelete
It does look like you have been having fun with give aways and vintage Valentine's. Like the teddy bear tea party.ReplyDelete


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biophase brauchte ein neues Anderes Design und hat einen Wettbewerb auf 99designs gestartet.
Aus 102 Designs von 29 Designern wurde eine Gewinner gewählt.
We are looking for a banner image for the front page of our website.
Bluefire Poker
We are looking for a banner image for the front page of our website. The image should be 893 x 235 (shown in red box on image2). It should be contain blue, black and whites.
Looking for an image that ties in blue flames, blue fire with holdem poker. Poker can be expressed as chips or cards. If using cards, please use only 2 cards. If including any poker tables or poker related objects, please make sure it is related to texas holdem poker and not any other poker.
The banner should have the text "Welcome to BluefirePoker.com"
Looking to end this contest quickly (3-4 days)
Current website images: (sorry for the poor quality gif) Please make gradients nice and smooth, not like what I'm posting. :)
No need to make "click here to create account" button. That is generated over the image. Please take this into account when creating your submissions.
Second image shows that when someone logs in, the "Click here to create your account" button disappears.
These are just suggestions
- blue fire
- blue flame
- poker chips (if using chips, use only white or blue chips)
- chip stacks
- poker cards
- photos of people playing poker
- non white or blue colored chips


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Food2Fork makes it easy to find great recipes.
Search by name or ingredients. View Top Socially Ranked Recipes.
Raspberry Chocolate Supremes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup raspberry jam
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 2 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 tablespoon shortening
Directions:View on All Recipes
Why don't we display directions?
|Nutrition Facts
|Serving Size 1/12 of a recipe
|Amount Per Serving
|Calories 294
|Total Fat 18.1g
|Saturated Fat 10.7g
|Cholesterol 32mg
|Sodium 93mg
|Total Carbohydrate 31.1g
|Dietary Fiber 0.6g
|Sugars 21.9g
|Protein 3.2g
|* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.
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Some secrets shouldn't be kept...
Until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades, an okay relationship with her parents, and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown. But when a mysterious boy named Ben starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes anything but ordinary.
Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe he's trouble, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. Instead, she's inexplicably drawn to Ben and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help--but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret.
I gave this poor little attempt at the paranormal teen genre two stars out of five because while I find it to be a shallow (and transparent) ripoff of several novels cobbled into one, it wasn't a completely horrible one on the level with, say, Tris & Izzie. I did like Kimmie, the Goth cliche best friend, and was mostly amused by her dialogue. I was certainly more drawn to that colorfulish character than Camelia, who just made me insane. I hated the "relationship" between Ben and Camelia. Several words spring to mind to describe it in all its youthful glory: Manufactured. Dumb. Baseless. Ridiculous. And I'm just going off the top of my head here, kids. Basically, this novel is just not good. I called the twists, I called the overall antagonist (and couldn't believe when Camelia didn't and walked off willingly with her stalker after mistrusting everyone right and left...) I just fail to see the point of this novel: why exactly was there a need for this to be written, published, continued in several sequels?
Like I've said


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The end of the semester, that is. I won't bore you will all of the gory details, but here are some of the crafty/arty things I've been working on:
1. I had to buy wool for a class project. I only needed a little out of the 1 lb package, so the rest has been dyed and turned into roving (or is waiting to become roving). It's for sale in my etsy shop.
Here's a sample of one of them:
2. I started my Christmas presents. I'll post pictures when I'm done with all of them, but I have about 1 and a half sets finished.
3. I made a shirt for my construction class. Pictures of that and the stuff I've been dying will come shortly--I've been meaning to take pictures for over two weeks, but things have been really crazy with finals, so it hasn't happened yet. Maybe tonight.
4. I've really been enjoying working with paper, especially embroidering and embellishing it. Here are two of my latest pieces. As you can see, my photography skills have not improved. (In my defense, the lighting in our school studios is terrible.)
5. The student art sale was last weekend. I made $85, double what I would have made at work in the same amount of time (more, actually). I also sold some scarves and things that I've been trying to get rid of for a couple of years. I'll be back in the spring, with loads of silk to sell, hopefully.
Well, I think that's all the really major stuff. The Peace Project is coming along, but not as quickly as I'd hoped. I'm revising the construction (again) so that I can use my machine for at least part of the work and speed things up.


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::Lemony Sweet Tea::
I discovered this recipe from Martha Stewart...it's the perfect drink for a typical California day! When the temperatures are getting close to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees celsius) you will do anything for a cold refreshment....and why not a tasty one! This recipe is great with fresh mint! Hope you try it sometime, it's simple and delicious.
- 7 cups water
- 6 orange pekoe tea bags
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/3 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
1. Bring 4 cups of the water to a boil in a medium saucepan and add the tea bags. Remove the pan from the heat, cover it, and allow the tea bags to steep for 5 minutes
2. Remove and discard the tea bags. Add the sugar to the saucepan and stir until dissolved. Add the remaining 3 cups water and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to a pitcher, and add the lemon juice. Chill thoroughly before serving.
3. Serve over ice, in tall glasses garnished with mint sprigs.


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Movie Maker for Mac: How to Make a Movie on Mac
If you want to share a collection of pictures and videos on your Mac with others, make them into a personalized movie. Although you have iMovie, you may find it's hard to use. Well, to help you make a movie in Mac easily and quickly, I recommend another movie maker for Mac - Filmroa for Mac(Originally Wondershare Video Editor for Mac) . This software enables you to create custom movies with pictures, music and effects. You can then watch the movie on your computer, email it to friends or family members, post it on a social networking site or burn it to a DVD. Now check out the steps below to see how to make a movie in Mac. Check the video tutorial about how to edit videos on Mac first.
How to make a movie on Mac
1 Import video/photo/music files to the program
Install and run Filmroa for Mac(Originally Wondershare Video Editor for Mac). Then click "File"> "Add Files" or directly drag and drop your video, photo or music files to the corresponding tracks. You can also use a media browser to get files from your iTunes library, iMovie, ect.. Or directly drag and drop files to the program. Recording video is also available in iMovie. You can either use a video capture device or the built-in iSight.
2 Start making your movie
Now it's time to take your movie to the next level by adding personalizing and special touches, such as intro/credit, transitions and effects.
Intro/credit: just like you see in movie theaters and on DVDs, you may want to add intro at the beginning of your movie that tells people a little bit about your movie, and add credits at the end to tell the world who created and starred in it. To do this, just switch to the Intro/Credit tab and drag the effects to the place where you want it appear. Then double click and go to "Title" to enter your words or change the Font, Size and Color of the texts.
Transition: You can also add transitions between video and audio clips to make your movie more professional. Just go to the Transition tab and choose from 60+ transition effects.
Effects: add special effects to videos and pictures on the storyboard will make your movie nicer. To add effects, click the "Power Tool" button in the tool bar to apply effects such as Tilt-Shift, Mosaic and Face off.
3 Preview and share your movie
When you're done, save your own movie and share with others. To do so, hit "Export" and select an output method. For your convenience, you can directly upload your shows to YouTube or Facebook, burn to DVD, or watch on iPod, iPhone, iPad and another mobile devices.
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My July Socks
Here's my brother's elderly cat who's come to live with me and who helped me finish the socks he's modeling.
Plain socks to complement my Mystery Stole 3 knit with Regia Mini Ringel Color in colorway 5219 (if Ferbe means color). Knit on US zeros, the strips line up nearly perfectly until the very tip of the toes, where one ends in dark blue and the other in red.
This knit-along has been great fun. Thanks everyone! VBG
Labels: July Socks


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As we move into these last three sections, we move into oversimplification. Each subject heading contains ideas and theses which can take whole books to properly present, and here I am attempting to do so in under a page each. In this regard, I ask for a little leniency, that if you find something questionable, it probably simply needs finer articulation. So I fully encourage any questions to what I say here as well as, of course, challenges.
By satisfying, what I mean is that it answers the various theological questions that are being dealt with in a superior way. In the end, that is what theology is all about. Once we have heard the gospel, we naturally have questions, and we ask these questions of Scripture. Some of these questions Scripture answers directly. Some it does not. In the end, our theology is shaped by our questions: what concerns we come to the Scriptures with. Inappropriate questions result in poor theology. Poorly balanced priorities in our questions lead to poor theology. Forcing Scripture to answer questions that it is unconcerned with leads to poor theology. And, of course, an unwillingness to listen to Scripture leads to... well poor theology.
The Arminianism/Calvinism debate revolves around a certain set of questions, many that have to do with the core of Christianity: the gospel. This is one reason why we get so passionate about it. In this post, I'm going to address these issues in terms of the questions asked, and attempt to show why I believe Arminianism gives more satisfying answers than Calvinism does.
This list of questions is meant to be representative of the debate, not exhaustive, so please keep that in mind in your responses. I am hoping that this post can generate a lot of discussion, since I am sure some of you can point out other questions that we can discuss, as well as being sure that some of you may feel differently about how satisfactory the answers are.
Sovereignty: What does it mean for God to be sovereign over creation?
2.Everything that God decrees must come to pass_____
3.Therefore, everything that God wants comes to pass
4.Or: Therefore whatever comes to pass God wants.
If you ask an Arminian what is the primary thing that is on the line in this debate, he/she would say God's character. In this, I would have to agree, though I am sure my Calvinist brothers and sisters would disagree. This is, in part, because it appears that God would be the cause of sin within deterministic thinking, but I'll talk more about that under responsibility. Here I want to talk more about the doctrine of Unconditional Election.
But this goes directly against the character of God as described in the Bible: God is a God of love. Love does not mean that He is soft, and would never condemn anybody. But it does mean that fundamentally God desires the salvation of all, and works toward the salvation of all. Love is a statement of value. You cannot claim that God truly loves something which He arbitrarily disregards.
To some degree, the call to salvation is unconditional, as Calvinists say, in that God calls to those based on His love for them, not based on their actions, thoughts, or qualities. However, this call is also universal, for He loves all and desires to save all. To believe otherwise, in my opinion goes against the qualities of goodness and love as God describes them in the biblical witness.
Responsibility: Who is responsible for sin, and who is responsible for salvation?
Responsibility is an issue that both Calvinists and Arminians are attempting to defend something on. On the one side, we need to recognize that man is responsible for sin and God is not. On the other hand, we need to recognize that God is responsible for salvation and man is not. Both Arminians and Calvinists agree on these points. Directly tied to the issue of responsibility is causation, which is why the subject of determinism and free will come out.
By responsibility, I mean the state of being "chargeable with being the author, cause, or occasion of something". I have found it difficult to nail down precisely how to define 'responsibility' theologically, but I believe it is important so I have given it my best shot. First, it is important to remember that 'responsibility' is not the same thing as cause. However responsibility is related to causation, and causation needs to be discussed along side it.
[Aside: Many Calvinists claim that Arminianism isn't any better since prevenient grace is merely contextual. I disagree since I see prevenient grace as active, as I will argue below.]
In my opinion, this all comes down to grace. My SEA colleague, Eric Landstrom whom I highly respect, claims the same thing. In the end, this isn't an argument over faith and works, or over sovereignty, or over goodness. Those are the reasons why we get passionate; those things are why we care. The principle difference theologically is how we understand God's dispensation of His grace.
Here is where both Calvinists and Arminians agree:
- Humanity is depraved beyond the hope of achieving any good left to its own devices
- Humanity is incapable of reconciling itself to God
- In order for a human to turn towards God, God must enable that human
- Such an enabling is undeserved, and is thus grace.
- Due to how God dispenses this grace, He alone can be considered responsible for a person's salvation.
Therefore, the true issue here is how God accomplishes this task.
Now, I don't have a particular problem with irresistible grace per-se. Indeed, there are graces which God dispenses which are irresistible. God has the power and the right to do such. Therefore, the question is: does He do such in this circumstance? Is it necessary for salvational grace to be irresistible if God is to be considered responsible for the act of salvation (so that no man may boast)?
On the other side of things though, Calvinists reject Arminianism because of our view of grace. The claim is that such a view makes God not sovereign and turns faith into a work by which a man may boast. I've already explained why I believe the first point is unfounded (see above), but the second makes even less sense to me.
However, the God of Scriptures is highly personable, as is the working out of grace. It doesn't work in one sorta way. Prevenient grace isn't just one action that God does and which accomplishes one particular thing (i.e. free will). Prevenient grace is the full account of all the personal actions which God does prior to salvation of which the freeing of the will is only a part.
All in all, I feel that the Arminian view of grace is robust and more than sufficient to account for the fullness of God's role in salvation. Thus, I find that a Calvinist's insistence on the irresistiblity of grace to be unnecessary, and not worth the sacrifice in other areas of soteriology.
However, there are a plethora of passages that do stress the assurance in one's current position with God. Indeed, the whole book of I John is devoted to the subject. This tells me that this is the more important question, and therefore, that is the question we should really be asking. And if we are pursuing the answer to that question in our personal lives, I believe that will result in the eventual rejection of a guaranteed perseverance of the saints.
On top of this, I also believe that this is the more spiritually important answer. The Bible talks about the need for us to maintain our walk, and when we understand that maintenance in terms of faith instead of works, it is not very oppressive (when it is understood as works it is quite oppressive). One's spiritual walk doesn't seem to be diminished from this. Meanwhile, a lack of confidence in our present position with the Lord creates huge trust issues with God. How can we find true spiritual security if we cannot be sure that the spirit that enlivens us is the Holy Spirit? Indeed a couple of months ago, a Calvinist by the name of C. Michael Patton, wrote a post admitting that it is Calvinism that tends to develop spiritual insecurity. So not only is it good exegesis, and not only is it good theology, but it is good spirituality as well.
However, which is the biblically superior position? We'll look at that in the next two posts.


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Obsessing over planning a holiday menu to appease your vegan brother-in-law? Wondering how to keep the egg nog away from Uncle Bill? Fretting about picking the perfect gift for your spoiled niece?
Grab a pair of snowshoes and a companion—furry or otherwise—and head for the hills.
It's the perfect antidote for those holiday headaches.
|Merry Christmas from Annie, Rita and Tim.


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I love Goodreads for a lot of reasons, and here's one: it created a little link on the side of the "My Books" page with my Most Read Authors. Fun! I clicked on it and was shocked to discover Jane Sorenson at the top. A little known secret about me is that as an adolescent I devoured her series of twelve books about Jennifer Green, in all its ridiculous, born-again-Christian, totally cheese-tacular, intermediate fiction glory. These books were terrible, and yet great, and they taught me all about Haiti. They are kind of from the Brady Bunch school of kids' art/entertainment. Despite the greatness of the so-sappy-they're-awesome "Jennifer Books," I really was appalled to see Jane Sorenson's name at the top of my list of most-read authors. I realized that although her series had a dozen books, if nothing else I had read at least as many Beverly Cleary and Dr. Seuss books when I was a child but just hadn't rated them on Goodreads. So I promptly went through adding and rating a few more books from those two authors. With no further ado, then, here are my top 13 most read authors:
1. Dr. Seuss & Beverly Cleary (tie)
2. Jane Sorenson
3. Sandra Scoppettone
4. Elizabeth Berg & Virginia Woolf (tie)
5. William Shakespeare
6. Nelson DeMille & Douglas Adams (tie)
7. Margaret Atwood, Anna Quindlen, Judy Blume & Nick Hornby (4-way tie)
I'm good with the gender balance of the list, but my goodness, it's certainly very white-Anglo-American, isn't it? But, hey, naysayers! Check out all that genre fiction!
Who are your most read authors?
"After one has read War and Peace for a bit, great chords begin to sound,
and we cannot say exactly what has struck them."
--E.M. Forster, in Aspects of the Novel
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Honest Abe, Rail-Splittin' and Constitution Splittin'
(but not nation-splittin')
now finished: Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and The War Years by Carl Sandburg
next up: The Beach by Alex Garland
So, Abraham Lincoln: a benchmark, it would seem, in my prez bios project. I mean, Abraham Lincoln is a president that other people read bios of, even people who aren't doing a wonderfully dorky read-a-bio-of-every-president-in-order-to-see-where-we-went-wrong project. That means I had a lot of choices, for the first time since Thomas Jefferson, but we settled on the Carl Sandburg.
Have I mentioned that it was originally published in six volumes? This is one big bio. You can find just The Prairie Years or just The War Years, but I opted for the all-in-one combined volume that Sandburg himself abridged from the six volumes. It was very in depth, and I definitely feel that I spent a great deal of time with Lincoln and learned more about the Civil War than I ever came close to doing in my history classes over the years. I mean, there just isn't time to focus that deeply (unless you're a history major) as Sandburg did in researching and really becoming one with Lincoln's life.
The book has a strange style: it's a little folksy, like Lincoln himself, in relating the anecdotes of Lincoln's way with people, always able to smooth a ruffled feather or talk to anyone or get done what he wanted done without ever strong-arming people or even sometimes letting them realize they were being persuaded to give Abe his way.
Of course, nowadays it's all the rage to reconsider Lincoln's greatness by comparing him to the evil, monstrous, tragic-joke-of-a-president Dubya, because both kind of tossed habeas corpus to the wind during their wars. It's an interesting comparison (I first studied it intensively in my Foreign Affairs and the Constitution class in law school, so it's no surprise to me) but I'm not sure it's exactly spot on.
At any rate, though, the Civil War sure was a bloody mess.
I really, really hate how inevitable so many people thought it was. There should have been some kind of human decency that rose above the sectional slavery struggle. Look, I understand the need to adhere to the Constitution. And I understand that Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan, aka presidents numbers 13, 14, and 15, basically did not solve the slavery issue because they disliked it but understood legally that they "couldn't" do anything about it under the Constitution. And it was true, in its way, that the Constitution protected slavery in the South. But then, simply, the Constitution was flawed. OK? It was flawed. It needed to not protect slavery, just as countries and governments and constitutions and leaders today should not protect slavery (including human trafficking!) or oppression. And the idea that Lincoln (and Grant) knew they needed to open up wholesale slaughter of the Confederate soldiers (also, of course, leading to slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Union soldiers) in order to stop this evil from happening is just so tragic, so...so...Hiroshima of them.
WHEN will there ever be a generation that stands up and says war is murder, and war is wrong, and we are going to solve our problems in a different way? WHEN will we have a leader do that?
It certainly isn't our Nobel Peace Prize winner, Obama. And my god it was not that lunatic clown murderer from Texas before him.
I agree with the man who so eloquently stated in the documentary The Good Soldier that the generation that finds a way to solve problems peacefully will actually be the "greatest generation."
And then, at the end of the horrible war, after so many have suffered so much, the night of Lincoln's death makes for one of the most gripping episodes I have yet read in any president biography.Well done, Carl Sandburg.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Finally, Abe Lincoln. Is he great?
now reading: Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years and the War Years by Carl Sandburg
So I'm reading this bio of Abraham Lincoln, as I continue along with my prez bios project (reading a biography of every president in order to see where we went wrong, a project that was obviously started during the Dubya administration). I realize that for some people Abraham Lincoln has been "next" ever since I finished Thomas Jefferson, or possibly James Madison, since many of us tend to give little thought to the likes of Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk, or Zachary Taylor. And, let's not even get started about Millard Fillmore, who is solidly in my top three along with James Madison and my boy, JQA. (That would be John Quincy Adams).
But you see, if you don't read a biography of every president in order to see where we went wrong, then you might find yourself reading a book about ol' Abe without any idea what Franklin Pierce (#14) and James Buchanan (#15) did in the decade before the Civil War. I must say that reading these presidential stories has been even more interesting than I thought it was going to be. The early-to-mid 1800s are a seriously incredible time in U.S. history, with so much going on, and HUGE problems to solve, and so many potentially mad events on the horizon, and the presidents are fascinating. I have found my study of Abe enhanced by knowing the details of what came before.
I am totally not prepared to launch into any slavery diatribe right now, but my god was that a problem for the nation. Very few saints in the whole ending-slavery thing. For example, Lincoln: not a radical abolitionist. He was much more concerned with keeping the union together, etc., at least as president. It is interesting to read about the folksy, humorous, humble man, as presented by Carl Sandburg. Obviously most of us know Carl Sandburg for his poetry, but he dug deep and spent years creating this six-volume portrait of Lincoln, which he then himself abridged into a six-in-one 800-page volume (that I am now reading).
Obviously, I know how things are going to end, but it is nonetheless a gripping saga getting there.
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Monthly Archives: October 2014
Planning the future of UK science – 'the best job in government'?
By Dr Supatra Marsh, BBSRC Policy Fellow at the Society of Biology At a Science and Technology Committee meeting last week, Chair Andrew Miller MP introduced the new Minister for Universities, Science and Cities, Rt Hon Greg Clark MP as having 'the best job in government'. Greg Clark spoke passionately about his desire to 'bring … Continue reading
Biology Week 2014 – was it all worth it?
Jon Kudlick is director of membership, marketing and communications at the Society of Biology The last time I blogged about Biology Week was two weeks before the start of our second one in 2013. Now with our third Biology Week in the bag, and before planning gets under way for next year, we need to … Continue reading
Dual-use for Dummies
Dr Supatra Marsh, BBSRC Policy Fellow at the Society of Biology, is organising Policy Lates: Dodging a biological bullet – what can we learn from the US and Europe about Biosecurity? During my BBSRC science policy fellowship at the Society of Biology I have been organising the next Policy Lates event focussing on dual-use research. … Continue reading
How do you know if a PhD is right for you?
Rudi Verspoor, a PhD student at the University of Liverpool shared his volunteering experiences, which convinced him to pursue a PhD, at the Life Sciences Careers conference in Liverpool. Further conferences will be taking place in London and Staffordshire later this month. You might wonder what makes some students pursue a PhD and not others. … Continue reading
Get Up, Stand Up for Science!
Written by Dr Supatra Marsh, BBSRC Policy Fellow at the Society of Biology, founder of Art Neuro, and member of the Voice of Young Science network. Sense About Science is a charity that works to ensure science is reported accurately in the media. They hold many workshops including the 'Standing up for Science' media workshop for … Continue reading
Society of Biology visits Party Conferences
Dr Laura Bellingan FSB is Director of Science Policy at the Society of Biology. This evening, the Society of Biology will host their Biology Week Reception at the House of Commons. This follows the Society's experts' participation in panel discussions, arranged by the Science Council, at the three main political party conferences this season. Labour … Continue reading
Chemistry Nobel Winners are Asset to Biology
Amanda Hardy AMSB is schools and colleges officer at the Society of Biology. She writes about this year's Nobel Prize for Chemistry, and its impact on biology. The 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and William E. Moerner "for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy". All three … Continue reading
Malaria control drains financial and human resources
Professor Robert Sinden is head of malaria cell biology at The Jenner Institute, University of Oxford. He will be speaking at the Biology Week Debate: 'Malaria eradication – Can we do it? Should we do it?' at the Royal Institution on Thursday 16th October. Together with HIV and tuberculosis, malaria imposes one of the highest … Continue reading
Practical skills set job candidates apart at AstraZeneca
Donna Watkin is the Global Graduate Programme Manager at AstraZeneca, where she is responsible for the recruitment of biology graduates. At AstraZeneca we recruit from a broad range of chemical and biological disciplines – we look for much more than whether job candidates have a relevant degree title. In order to be successful in our … Continue reading
How green is your routine?
Ahead of the Natural Capital Initiative summit Valuing our Life Support Systems in London this November, Jules Pretty FSB, Professor of Environment and Society at the University of Essex, explores the links between our health and the environment. Physical activity improves both mental and physical health, yet annually inactivity results in 1.9 million deaths worldwide annually, … Continue reading


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The dark night casts its shadow across broken lands,
from frozen peaks to bottomless gorge,
sifting between the cracks
towards the unknowing kingdoms three below.
They await dawn in silence,
in fear,
for the new day is a curse
no matter the victor or promised spoils.
The great Kings fail to dream,
an ignorance of their heavy eyes as hearts beat uneasy,
words of warning echo,
but turning back is worse than death itself.
The prize stands tall,
the Mountain of Quinwol,
older than the seas and the sun, so the Lords say,
where the Gods themselves called it home.
Through light and dark,
myst and shadow, they came
upon the unknown rock as it drifted,
here and there,
amongst the stars, alone,
and shaped it from their knowledge of life.
Many songs are sung,
of Quinwol, the spark of creation,
a prize that defines a Kingdom
and makes a man of a King,
or King in waiting.
So Kingdoms fight their battles,
across generations,
to claim the power of Quinwol as their own
whilst spilling blood of enemies numerous.
Now a new war awaits,
Kings prepare for what forefather's failed to see,
of bitter winds and beating sun
that boils the blood of the dead
and blows away what ash remains.
But there's indifference,
a strange chill in the air,
as the true enemy of Kingdoms three awaits,
unbeknownst, in wait,
for the right time to strike
and to claim Quinwol in the name of the true Lord.
May death be swift,
to those who dare not fight.