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The Paulsons were nice enough to host the 3 McWeavers for dinner and Oly got to meet dear friends Jeff and Lauren. Amy and I have known Jeff for a very, very long time so it was so very special to share our son with him. We had a delicious burger feast and then all 6 adults got to be a part of night-time book reading with Jace and Trey. Jace picked the books and the readers. Amy was chosen for Skippy John Jones, I got Stop Snoring Bernard. It was a great night to get out and catch up with friends.
2/19/12 – Dinner with Good Friends
Oly Meets More Family
Oly has had non-stop visitors and the parade has continued over the last few weeks. Jack come over for a quick 2 day visit, Heidi stayed with us for a few days as well, then Mary journeyed off the farm for a nice long visit, Veronica and Justin stopped in to meet there nephew, Mac and Mary brought us teryaki, Grama Kris has come down the hill regularly, and the Paulsons have hosted us a few times already. Oly is so lucky to have such an amazing village of family and friends in his young life.
02/05/12 – Super Bowl XLI
Another football season was coming to a close which must mean Super Bowl at the Barneys! Once again we packed up our giant pot of chili, but this time we had to pack up a few new items…like our son! Oly's first Super Bowl was a grand affair. Barney had purchased me an Eli Manning Giants shirt (matching his own) to add good luck as we cheered on the Giants. In what seemed like a replay of the epic game a few years ago, the Giants pulled it out late and we rejoiced heartily. Oly was a great house guest, though we were glad we had 3 outfits for him as we needed each one 🙂
As our first true football watching experience together, this is one dad that hopes it is the first of many, many games I get to watch with my son.
And so it begins…
Oly's birth brought lots of family and visitors over to say hello. It has only been a couple weeks but our lives are becoming more entwined everyday. It is already difficult remembering our lives before Oly joined our family. We can't wait for the adventures ahead…stay tuned!
01/15/12 – Welcome Oly Strode Weaver
Well our adventure in life has taken a serious turn as our son finally arrived. It was a wild ride getting through labor and delivery, but he is happy and healthy and Amy is on the mend. Welcome Oly!
Any Day Now Baby McWeaver!
Well we have passed our due date and still no signs of our baby boy! We are attempting to stay patient but as you can tell by the pictures below Amy is getting pretty uncomfortable as her passenger continues to grow! But she is a trooper and haging in there. We are ready baby…let's get this show on the road!
Here is a progression for those who have not seen Amy's path towards motherhood 🙂
Favorites of 2011 – Books
Amy read lots of good books in 2011 and believe it or not John did some reading as well!
Having seen all of the Harry Potter movies leading up to the final installment, I made the committment to read the series before the last movie came out. I had heard how awesome the books were, so I was not surprised at all how much I enjoyed them. Great writing, wonderful characters, quick reads…loved them all. Definitely ranks as my favorite book(s) of 2011 even if they came out earlier.
Amy's favorite – Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. This was a long awaited 13th book of a series of 14. Amy has been reading this series since 1990 and she is VERY excited to see how it will be finished up. This book ties up lots of loose end as one of Amy's favorite fantasy epics comes to a close.
Favorites of 2011 – Commercial
I thought a nice way to close the year, and prove my dedication to the blog :), would be to recap some of my favorites from 2011.
I saw this ad again last night and it is definitely my favorite of the year…
What's that? You love that song and want to rock out to it? You got it!
A close second has to be the VW Darth Vader Ad:
Finishing out 2011
Well, Amy and I discovered that it is difficult to keep up with a blog of our adventures when the adventures get to be a bit too much. For that we apologize, our readers deserve better! If you are in fact still reading, I want to get you caught up on what we have been up to before our new addition arrives…which could be any day now!
So here are some highlights of the late summer and fall that have lead up to this point at the beginning of a new year…
- Amy made it out to Spokane to spend time with the McEachran kids and visit the Spokane family.
- The 2011 JWI Volleyball Tournament was a big success
- We made it to Spokane together to celebrate Nonnie's 90th Birthday! On the way back we stopped at the Rosman farm for the annual McKenna Mania football draft
- We pulled the condo off the market and instead found a 12 month renter
- We moved in with Kris McKenna who was amazing and showered us with love (and food) at every step of the way
- Momma Weaver was in town in October and helped throw a baby shower for Amy at the Paulsons house
- The Sounders hosted a thrilling playoff game but had a disppointing end to a great season
- We bought a new house and with Jesse's help we were able to move the first week of December. The work force which needs thanking included: Kris, Jack, Heidi, Barney, Craig (and Lucas), Staci Imwalle, Jesse, Todd, Matt, Janelle, Mom, and Dad Weaver.
- We hosted our first holiday feasts for some wonderful time with family.
And now here we are waiting for a baby! I will post some pics of our adventures if we have some time before the baby gets here. In the meantime, welcome back! And don't worry this will be the hub for more baby boy Weaver pics then you can possibly imagine. Keep your eye out for an announcement soon!
8-1-11 Weaver Family Reunion 2011
Well, Fall is officially here and we haven't even finished updating Summer! Uh oh. If we don't get this blog updated before the baby gets here there might be a riot! So off we go!
Two years ago the Judy and Strode Weaver family tree gathered in San Diego for a mini-reunion. At the time we decided if we could do it every other year that would be fantastic. Well guess what? Early August we were off to meet up with the fam once more. The Houghtons from Des Moines; Units from Denver; Matt, Jannelle, Camille, Amy and I from Seattle; all joined up in Gerhart, OR. A cool little town just north of Seaside. Mom found a great house rental plenty big for our mob and we enjoyed incredible weather all week long.
Highlights included:
- Playing/relaxing on the beach
- Kubb in the yard
- Flying kites
- The Seaside Aquarium
- Day trip to the Portland Zoo
- Tillamook Cheese Factory
- The Nike Employee Store
- Puzzle making
- Lots of hugs and laughter
It was just wonderful to reconnect with family. See you all again in 2 years!
Posted in Uncategorized


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History is full of instances where a rising power, aggrieved and dissatisfied, acts aggressively to obtain new borders or other international concessions. In Russia today we see a much more unusual case: This increasingly menacing and ambitious geopolitical actor is a state in decline.
Notwithstanding Russia's nuclear arsenal and its vast territories, the distinguishing feature of the country today is its striking economic underdevelopment and weakness. For all Russia's oil and gas, the country's international sales of goods and services last year only barely edged out Belgium's—and were positively dwarfed by the Netherlands'. Remember, there has never been an "energy superpower"—anywhere, ever. In the modern era, the ultimate source of national wealth and power is not natural resources: It is human resources. And unfortunately for Russia, its human-resource situation is almost unrelievedly dismal—with worse likely in the years to come.
Click on post title to read more…
Let's start with the "good" demographic news for Moscow: Russia's post-Soviet population decline has halted. Thanks to immigration chiefly from the "near abroad" of former Soviet states, a rebound in births from their 1999 nadir and a drift downward of the death rate, Russia's total population today is officially estimated to be nearly a million higher than five years ago. For the first time in the post-Soviet era, Russia saw more births than deaths last year.
Yet even this seemingly bright news isn't as promising as it seems. First: Russia's present modest surfeit of births over deaths comes entirely from historically Muslim areas like Chechnya and Dagestan, and from heavily tribal regions like the Tuva Republic. Take the North Caucasus Federal District out of the picture—Chechnya, Dagestan, etc.—and the rest of Russia today remains a net-mortality society.
Second: Despite its baby surge, which takes Russia's fertility level from below the average to just above the average for the rest of Europe, the 1.7 births per Russian woman in 2012 was still 20% below replacement level. According to the most recent official Russian calculations, on current trajectories the country's population, absent immigration, is still set to shrink by almost 20% from one generation to the next.
But while Russia's childbearing patterns today look entirely European, its mortality patterns look Third World—and in some ways worse. According to estimates by the World Health Organization, life expectancy in 2012 for a 15-year-old male was three years lower in Russia than in Haiti. By WHO's reckoning, a 15-year-old youth has worse survival chances today in Russia than in 33 of the 48 places the United Nations designates as "least developed countries," including such impoverished locales as Mali, Yemen and even Afghanistan. Though health levels are distinctly better for women than men in Russia, even the life expectancy of 61 years for a 15-year-old Russian female in 2012 was an estimated three years lower than for her counterpart in Cambodia, another of the U.N.'s least-developed countries.
How is this possible in an urbanized and educated society? In least-developed countries, life is foreshortened by such killers as malnutrition and communicable "diseases of poverty" such as tuberculosis, malaria and cholera. Data from WHO in 2010 show that in Russia the major threats are cardiovascular disease (resulting in heart attacks, strokes and the like) and injuries (homicides, suicides, traffic fatalities, deadly accidents).
For decades, Russia's death rates from cardiovascular disease have been higher than the highest levels ever recorded in any Western country. For Russian women in 2010, the rate was over five times higher than for European women. In 2008—the latest such global figures available from the World Health Organization—working-age Russian men had the worst cardiovascular-disease death levels in the world.
As for injuries, death rates for working-age Russian men were four times higher than would have been predicted for their income level—with absolute levels of violent death exceeded only in a handful of places, civil-war-riven Iraq and Sri Lanka among them. Violent death is overwhelmingly a male problem more or less everywhere, but in today's Russia the injury death rates are higher for Russian women than they are for Western European men.
Russia's "high education, low human capital" paradox also shows up in Russia's extreme "knowledge production" deficit. Long-term economic progress depends on improving productivity through new knowledge—but this is something Russia appears mysteriously unable to do.
Patent awards and applications provide a crude but telling picture. Consider trends in international patent awards by the U.S. Patent and Trade Office, the world economy's most important national patent office. Of the 1.3 million overseas patents awarded since 2000, applicants from Russia have taken home about 3,200—a mere 0.2% of the overseas total. In this tally Russia is behind Austria and Norway, barely ahead of Ireland. The Russian Federation's total annual awards from the Patent Office regularly lag behind the state of Alabama's.
Or consider applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the international convention associated with the World Intellectual Property Organization. Once again Russia's performance is miserable. In 2012, the latest such data available, Russia comes in No. 21—after Austria—racking up less than 0.6% of the world's total. The population of Russia is more than 15 times that of Austria. Russia's "yield" of patents per university graduate is vastly lower than Austria's—35 times lower. By this particular metric Russia is only fractionally better placed than Gabon.
And sure enough, Russia performs like a knowledge-poor economy. With about 2% of the world's population, 3% of its GDP and 5% of its college grads, Russia generates only just over 1% of the globe's service exports—which is essentially a trade in human skills. Russia fares the worst in the most knowledge-intensive sectors, such as exports of computer and information services, where its share of the global market is only slightly ahead of the Philippines'.
Grim as Russia's current human-resource inventory may appear, the outlook is worse. Given the birth slump of the past two decades, Russia's labor force will be smaller in 2030 than it is today. The U.N. Population Division's projections suggest that the country's life expectancy will remain below Third World averages through at least 2030. Moreover, there is reason to expect that Russia's depopulation will resume. Thanks to the post-Soviet baby crash of the 1990s and the early 2000s, the pool of Russian women entering their 20s will shrink sharply for the next decade and more, while the overall population gets grayer.
These trends promise pressures for fewer births and more deaths—and thus for what demographers inelegantly call "negative natural increase." Projections by international demographic authorities—the U.N. Development Program, the U.S. Census Bureau and the like—all see Russia as a net-mortality society in the years ahead. Strikingly, this vision is shared by Russia's official statistical service, Goskomtat, even in its most optimistic demographic scenario.
If all this were not bad enough for Moscow, Russia's geopolitical potential is being squeezed further by the rapid world-wide growth of skilled manpower pools. According to the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, in 1990 Russia accounted for nearly 9% of the world's working-age college graduates; that share is declining and by 2030 will have dropped to 3%. On this front, as on many others, Russia is simply being left behind by the rest of the world.
Despite Vladimir Putin's posturing, he is leading a country in serious decline. If his dangerous new brinkmanship is a response to that bad news, then we should expect more of it in the future, possibly much more.
Mr. Eberstadt is a political economist at the American Enterprise Institute. His books include "Russia's Peacetime Demographic Crisis" (National Bureau of Asian Research, 2010).

subset: commoncrawl


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Chapter 22 – the very short version Catherine feels silly, gets a tour of the Abbey grounds
Chapter 22
As promised, Catherine awakes to discover that the papers she found were a farrier's bill and some laundry bills listing articles of clothing belonging to a man, and a list of purchases including "hair-powder, shoe-string, and breeches-ball*" – all the sorts of things a visiting gentleman of fashion might use (although by the time the novel was written, hair powder had fallen out of favor due largely to a tax imposed in 1795, when Pitt tried to recoup Treasury losses – many men responded by tossing aside their wigs and wearing their hair short, in the style one sees in so many Regency adaptations). Catherine is duly mortified to find out she stayed up tossing and turning over these papers, and further figures out that the diabolical locks were a figment of her imagination as well – in fact, the cabinet had been unlocked; her actions had resulted in the cabinet becoming locked.
*breeches-ball was a special soap used to clean stains off of men's breeches. As best I can tell, it was a combination of soap and dye. Here's a handy recipe with which one can make their own breeches-ball, assuming one has ox galls and the other ingredients at hand. It's taken from the Household Cyclopedia, an online reproduction of a practical text dated 1881:
"Mix 1 lb. of Bath brick, 2 lbs. of pipe-clay, 4 oz. of pumice-stone powder, and 6 oz. of ox galls; color them with rose-pink, yellow ochre, umber, Irish slate, etc., to any desired shade." One – or rather, one's valet – would moisten the stain, then rub the eraser-like breeches ball on the stain. Et voilà.
Before I move away from the cabinet and out of the room, I want to point out this particular bit of foreshadowing: "Heaven forbid that Henry Tilney should ever know her folly!" Indeed, Catherine blames Henry for her interest in the cabinet in the first place, "for had not the cabinet appeared so exactly to agree with his description of her adventures, she should never have felt the smallest curiosity about it."
Breakfast with Henry Catherine rushes down to the breakfast room (a less formal dining salon than the grand room used for dinner) to find Henry alone. As has already been established, Henry really does understand Catherine; therefore, he makes an arch reference to the storm and the Abbey and hopes she wasn't too terrified. In her haste to change the subject, Catherine declares that she has "just learnt to love a hyacinth", thanks to Eleanor. Henry's further conversation on the matter flirts with matters of love:
"But now you love a hyacinth. So much the better. You have gained a new source of enjoyment, and it is well to have as many holds upon happiness as possible. Besides, a taste for flowers is always desirable in your sex, as a means of getting you out of doors, and tempting you to more frequent exercise than you would otherwise take. And though the love of a hyacinth may be rather domestic, who can tell, the sentiment once raised, but you may in time come to love a rose?"
"But I do not want any such pursuit to get me out of doors. The pleasure of walking and breathing fresh air is enough for me, and in fine weather I am out more than half my time. -- Mamma says, I am never within."
"At any rate, however, I am pleased that you have learnt to love a hyacinth. The mere habit of learning to love is the thing; and a teachableness of disposition in a young lady is a great blessing. -- Has my sister a pleasant mode of instruction?"
Austen's multitasking is once again brilliant. Henry manages, through double meanings, to speak of love at the same time that he is praising Catherine for characteristics he applauds, all while encouraging her to keep developing herself along the same lines. Catherine manages to reveal more of her background and nature to Henry, and her embarrassment is an indicator that she understands his intended second meaning. It's all obscurely swoon-worthy, once you slow it down and parse it.
The General's tea set, or how to read his tea cup. And yes, I meant "tea cup" and not "tea leaves". Allow me to 'splain:
1. The General's insistence on claiming to support English manufacturers and his reference to the tea in them tasting the same as from cups made in Dresden or Sêvres shows that he is patriotic, although the way he couches his comment implies that the craftsmanship of Staffordshire manufacturers (which even then would have included Wedgewood and Spode) may or may not be as fine as the others; it also tells us that he is quite particular about the way his tea tastes (although as we shall later see, Catherine takes him at his word, not understanding his double-speak). In the case of Sêvres, his comment probably reflects an antipathy towards the French based on the ongoing war between Britain and France.
2. His comment about it being an old set shows his fondness for displaying his wealth. The tea set is a mere two years old, and although he states things in the negative, it's clear that he toyed with the idea of replacing it already with whatever is currently a la mode.
3. His comment about needing to buy one soon, but not for himself, flies over Catherine's head, although he probably intended for her to pick up on it as approval of her as a mate for Henry. He undoubtedly intended for Henry to understand it that way, and to encourage and/or command Henry to form the match.
First mention of Woodston, Henry's own home Alas, Henry is off for a few days. The way the General claims to defer to Eleanor for an opinion, then barrels along without giving her any opportunity at all to chime in tells us still more about the General, and the items he feels impelled to describe it in terms that make it clear who's the
And now the house tour? Catherine desperately wants to tour the house. From an authorial perspective, it is therefore logical to frustrate the main character's wishes, and so Austen does.
The General offers her a tour of the house, which she accepts with alacrity, and then says he'll tour her around the gardens as well, and then he decides to walk out of doors first, all the while saying that he's acceding to Catherine's wishes, which (of course) he's not. It's a heavy-handed form of manipulation, but Catherine, who's not familiar with the tactic in general and with the General in particular, believes she has displeased the General by opting to go outside (even though she hasn't) rather than touring the house. Eleanor is, as one might expect, embarrassed, because her father has ridden roughshod over their guest all because he wants to keep to his usual routine.
To the gardens, in which Miss Austen becomes very political indeed If you are scratching your head at the title of this section, it is because we live – and have always live – in a post-enclosure society. In 1801, Parliament passed the General Inclosure Act, which enclosed open fields and common lands in the country, thereby depriving many small landholders and workers of space in which to graze their sheep and cattle or in which they could gather wood. As a result, numerous country workers who could no longer eke out a living on the land moved to urban areas in search of industrial jobs, thereby becoming wage laborers. When General Tilney shows off his vast enclosures, it is because Austen means to point out how he has been enriched by the enclosure movement, and – quite possibly – how he is oblivious to or unconcerned with any hardship it causes to others. Also, greenhouses were particularly expensive to maintain, and the general doesn't just have one or two. No, we are told that "The walls seemed countless in number, endless in length; a village of hot-houses seemed to arise among them, and a whole parish to be at work within the enclosure."
The General's obvious pride in his hothouses and gardens – and his triumph in having again "bested" Mr. Allen (whom he doesn't really know, by the way, but whom he obviously imagines to be tremendously wealthy) – is immense. At a time in England when large numbers of people were having difficulty finding food (because of the enclosure movement), he has the nerve to complain that his "pinery" (hothouse dedicated to growing pineapples) had only produce 100 of them in the prior year. I think it's all worth mentioning so that we, as modern readers, can better appreciate precisely what sort of rich man the General is: he's not the millionaire next door. In a modern interpretation, he'd be more of a mogul: amassing wealth, commanding legions, showing little regard for the hardships his needs impose on others. And he wants his ego to be constantly stroked – something for which naive, kind-hearted Catherine Morland is particularly well-suited, since she really and truly has never seen anything like it before, and says so.
Mrs. Tilney's favorite walk Eleanor and Catherine manage to escape the General by heading into a shaded walk. The irony of this is wonderful. An ordinary Gothic heroine would enter a winding path through a gloomy grove only because she was being chased into it. Here, the General "chases" them into the path with his offer (or threat) of continued examination of greenhouses. He intends to keep to the sunshine. They willingly flee into the shade.
An ordinary Gothic heroine would feel nothing but oppression and trepidation while in such a secluded grove; Catherine and Eleanor, however, feel happy and light-hearted and fall easily into conversation once they are out of the General's domineering presence. Dear Miss Austen: I c what u did thar.
The General's unkindness to Mrs. Tilney In case you hadn't realized what the trajectory of our next Gothic arc is, you ought now to have an inkling that it has to do with the General and Mrs. Tilney. The interesting thing will be to note what Catherine gets right, and what she gets wrong. She determines from her conversation with Eleanor that Mrs. Tilney was not happy in her marriage to the General, and that the General was not in love with her – if he did not love his wife's favorite walk and did not care for the portrait that was painted of her, he must not have loved her. On the one hand, her logic is a bit hinky. On the other hand, her intuition on these two points will prove to be 100% correct. Her decision to consider the General as a villainous character, however, is where the final Gothic arc lies in this book. (Discussion of prior arcs can be found in yesterday's post.
Catherine attempted no longer to hide from herself the nature of the feelings which, in spite of all his attentions, he had previously excited; and what had been terror and dislike before, was now absolute aversion. Yes, aversion! His cruelty to such a charming woman made him odious to her. She had often read of such characters, characters which Mr. Allen had been used to call unnatural and overdrawn; but here was proof positive of the contrary.(Italics added)
I italicized the phrase about Mr. Allen in the above sentence for the following reasons.
Having already been proved to be a sensible, kind-hearted gentleman who has his head properly affixed (as to everything except, perhaps, his choice of spouse, which was based on looks alone), Mr. Allen's opinion is one we ought to respect. If he says this sort of character does not exist in real life, we – and Catherine – ought to believe him. We are now on notice that Catherine is deviating from a rational path in her imaginings about the General. Not in her observations, mind you, or in some of her conclusions, but once she starts to imagine what may have transpired between the General and Mrs. Tilney.
That the General is so observant of Catherine as to notice her losing interest, which he immediately assumes has to do with her becoming tired, shows us that he is not, in general, inattentive. That he immediately sends her back to the Abbey with Eleanor shows that he is solicitous, and not entirely unkind. Whether his exhortation to Eleanor not to show Catherine around the Abbey until he gets back is motivated by concern for her health or something else (and possibly something nefarious) is left open.
Tomorrow: Finally – a house tour! Plus, some details about Mrs. Tilney's death


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Martinsville Speedway founder H. Clay Earles, driver Bobby Isaac, NASCAR executive Les Richter, driver/owner Cotton Owens and crew chief/co-owner Leonard Wood were announced as the five new members of the 25-person pool to be considered for induction into the 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class.
Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore, David Pearson and Lee Petty will be enshrined this spring.
The 2012 class will be voted upon by a 54-member panel on June 14, and obvious choices remain in the third installment. Cale Yarborough, the first to win three straight titles and a stunning omission from the 2011 class, and three-time champion Darrell Waltrip would figure to be locks. After that, it's a bedeviling mix of legends -- Red Byron, Fireball Roberts, Joe Weatherly, among other -- and uber successful people still involved in the sport, like team owner Rick Hendrick.
Bad news: 'Breaking In' is not an outstanding television show.
Good news: It was a wise vehicle -- get it? -- for Jimmie Johnson's foray into acting, because even with minimal screen time, he was one of the more entertaining aspects of the 30-minute Fox comedy on Wednesday night.
Johnson played himself in the episode, enlisting the help of a security firm -- whose characters are too reminiscent but less well-developed as those of 'Leverage' -- to crack the caper of the mystery music which has invaded his radio frequency with crew chief Chad Knaus during a recent race. The apparent sabotage had caused Johnson to finish second, and as Christian Slater's character Oz put it, "For Jimmie, there is no second."
The caper, a backdrop to a labored romantic plotline, was finally resolved in an awkward last few minutes of the show as interference from a boom box was found to be the culprit.
Johnson who seemed at ease, and quite his normal self in his few on screen moments, likely didn't seal an Emmy, but neither did any of the full-time actors around him, and none of them have won five consecutive Sprint Cup titles. His best exchange was a follows:
Soon to be unemployed character: "Mr. Johnson, I will get'er done."
Johnson: "(Pause) No one says that."
And .... scene!
Johnson called filming the show a "very cool experience."
Slater came out looking like father of the year.
"Jimmie was just as smooth on the set as he is on the track," Slater said. "Everyone was excited to have him be part of the episode. It was even more special for me as he made my son's birthday by autographing a pair of racing shoes."
Richard Childress Racing Truck series driver Austin Dillon will make his first start in the Kevin Harvick Inc. No. 33 Chevrolet Nationwide Series car this weekend at Nashville.
Dillon has made just seven Nationwide starts, none at Nashville, but finished second there last season in Trucks. Harvick won at Nashville in the No. 33 last season.
"It's going to be a learning experience for sure," Dillon said.
Randy Moss Motorsports, formerly known as Dollar Motorsports before the NFL All-Pro wide receiver bought the team in 2008, this weekend at Nashville will become just the fourth NASCAR Truck Series team to field at least one truck in 300 consecutive races.
The team has competed in all but one of the series' 16 race this season.
"I can sleep every night knowing David (Dollar) really cares about the sport, making it better and educating me; that has made the transition a lot smoother," said Randy Moss.
The current entry streak began March 20, 1999 at Homestead-Miami Speedway with a 26th-place finish by Rob Morgan. Dennis Setzer won the team's first race on June 23, 2001 at Memphis Motorsports Park. He leads the organization with 11 wins and finished second in driver points in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Drivers such as Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Scott Speed and Tony Stewart have contributed to the team's 70 top-5s and 164 top-10 finishes.
Michael Waltrip and Sprint Cup team co-owner Robert Kauffmann will compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car race June 11-12 with Rui Aguas, prompting the two-time Daytona 500 to make a trip to France this week for some testing. The trio will drive a Ferrari for the Italian team AF Corse.
In an analysis sure to rankle sports car enthusiasts, Waltrip described Circuit des 24 Heures thusly: "Le Mans is a circle with a whole bunch of quirky turns stuck in the middle of it like a chicane and then two lefts and a right. That means one thing, there is going to be a whole lot of speed. Every time you get to a corner you're going to be hauling ass. The challenge for me is learning the circuit. There are a lot of turns, there's very few places where there is just one turn. It's like you get there and there are three or four turns right when you get there and then you fly down another mile or so to hit another set of turns."


text:
Jul 18, 2014
No Firewall Pretense
8 comments:
No one is watching.
Did you hear about the flooding in the arena this week? At least 3" of water in the building, water pouring from AC vents.
And no further reports on what it actually cost. Last reported number $272 million which means, assuming a modest 10% cost overrun, it'll actually cost at $300 million.
The Banker
- July 18, 2014 at 9:23 AM
- Ron Beitler said...
Maybe I just dont understand this enough. Maybe there is something to the fact Mcall has been a cheerleader for the NIZ from the beginning. I count myself as one now, but it's after struggling with it for awhile.
But with this, isn't this just basically an advertising relationship?
Haven't papers always had to cover those who advertised with them? I'm not a journalist..... I don't know the ethics of it. But that's my initial thought.
- July 18, 2014 at 9:58 AM
Flooding couldn't have happened in the srena. I didn't read anything about it in the Call.
Oh wait, I guess that's the point of the post.
- July 18, 2014 at 10:10 AM
- michael molovinsky said...
ron@9:58, i would think just the contrary, that journalistically a paper should attempt to maintain a firewall between the news and the advertising departments. favoritism was courted by the NIZ when the Morning Call was included in the district, although it's located on the north side of linden street.
- July 18, 2014 at 10:45 AM
Great, now the front page can be shared with the Sands Casino. Correct me if I am wrong, however, isn't the Mcall property a NIZ parcel?
- July 18, 2014 at 12:29 PM
Follow the "Money Trail" people!!
Where is it coming from??, and where is it going?? More importantly WHO will benefit the most??
Remember you cannot have "critical thinking" without " cognitive reflective reasoning" Use your "noodles" carefully, and there is your answer.....PJF
- July 18, 2014 at 3:29 PM
It is simply not a good idea for a newspaper to 'sponsor' any local organization. Will we get truthful news when a player is accused of a crime? How about when team ownership/management are not acting ethiclally. If MC simply worked out an advertising 'trade' agreement (signage in the arena in exchange for ads in the paper) I could buy into this. MC has similar 'deal' with Iron Pigs. Someday the journalistic judgement will be held to question.
- July 18, 2014 at 10:44 PM
Corruption, that's what that smell is.
The best antiseptic is daylight.
- July 20, 2014 at 12:15 AM


text:
|Property type
|Minimum Stay
|1 - 3 nights
Vallum cottage is a ground floor level property, with electric heating throughout, comprising of
Open plan Lounge/Dining/ Kitchen: With TV, DVD, radio/ipod dock and dining table and chairs
Kitchen: With electric oven and hob, fridge, dishwasher and microwave
Bedroom 1: With double bed and TV/DVD
Bedroom 2: With adult size bunk beds and TV/DVD
Bathroom: With shower over bath, WC and wash basin
Private patio area, accessed via the lounge with BBQ and patio furniture
Private parking
All fuel, bed linen and towels are included.
Cot / high chair / additional guest beds available.
Wi-fi internet access.
2 Well behaved dogs welcome.
A short drive away is the historic border city of Carlisle. Traditionally the gateway to Scotland, Carlisle is steeped in a rich history with its castle, cathedral and award-winning museum as well as modern and stylish shopping facilities. A forty five minute drive to the south will bring you to the Northern lake district to Ullswater and Keswick, the main tourist centre in the North Lakes. The cottages themselves are equipped to a very high standard, with modern kitchens and comfortable furnishings.
I am a married mother of two teenage daughters, enjoying the country life with our array of pets [pony, sheep, dog, cats]. I look forward to welcoming you!
Anne Jordan purchased this cottage in 1949
Bleatarn Park has been in family ownership for over a hundred years.
Formerly a redundant barn, its has been our dream to renovate and convert this beautiful building into holiday cottages for many years - a dream which we turned into reality in 2011.
Bleatarn's peaceful location is a haven for nature lovers and we made the original farmhouse [adjacent] our own home nearly 20 years ago.
What we love about the location is that despite the fact it is so peaceful, it is far from remote. A fifteen minute drive will bring you right into the city centre of Carlisle
The property's location is absolutely unique - if you want to be close to Hadrians Wall, you wont get any closer than this! We are literally a stones-throw from the line of the wall and the now world famous pathway that stretches its entire length.
Residents enjoy exclusive access to the wall path, via a private pathway
'Couldn't have asked for anything better – lovely people, beautiful surroundings & great accommodation and a great welcome . Will recommend and hopefully be back'
Chris & Eddie Johnson – January 2014
'Lovely cottage, peaceful location, great to explore the lakes and other locations. Cottage really well apportioned, immaculate too. Thoughtful owners with all the kitchen items you need as we love to cook. We've stayed at many satisfactory places before and brought loads of items such as tea towels, cleaning items etc – no need to here, as they have thought of everything. Definitely better than other places stayed. We would visit again and recommend – Thank you'
Stuart & Jane Ridgeway – August 2013
'Fabulous accommodation with great attention to detail – so well equipped. Great base for all sorts of days out. Had a lovely time – thanks'
Samantha & Harry – September 2013
Booking Notes:
Please email or telephone to confirm availability.
We ask for a non-refundable deposit of £100 (which also acts as your damages deposit) with the balance payable a two weeks before your holiday
Well behaved dogs welcome in Vallum & Fortress Cottages - add £15 per booking
Changeover Day:
Changeover day - Friday
Arrival time 4pm
Departure time 10am
Notes on prices:
All prices quoted weekly
An additional £100-per-property damages deposit (to cover damage / excessive cleaning requirement] is payable - this will be refunded within 2 weeks of departure date
For short break prices [if available] - please phone / email for details
This was by far the nicest, cleanest, most peaceful, home away stay that my kids and I stayed at during our UK trip this past summer! The owners paid a lot of attention to detail - down to the statue of Hadrian who greets you as you arrive! The rooms are clean and comfortable, the kitchen has everything you need, and you are literally a stones throw from Hadrian's wall - just watch out for cow pies!
Would come back anytime and would recommend this cottage to anyone. Clean and comfortable and a friendly welcome too. Within easy distance of the Lake District and lots for families to do.
We totally enjoyed out break in Vallum Cottage, the premises are beautifully well kept with a well equipped kitchen. We would highly recommend this accomodation.
A modern and well equipped rural holiday cottage, that allows the traveler to relax and enjoy the peaceful setting. The wine and fresh eggs on arrival were a welcome touch and other than a few internet issues we thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We would definitely return and recommend this property to anyone wishing to explore the surrounding area. Thanks Anne.
Very well presented with some nice additional touches . Beautiful location and not to far away from many attractions
Our hosts were Very accommodating and friendly.
A 40 minute drive brings you to the beautiful Solway coast
Alllonby is a mecca for sea windsurfing and kite surfing, miles of golden sand and home to the famous Icecream parlour 'Twentyman's'.
The Victorian seaside town of Silloth - where you can but some of the finest fish and chips in the north of England
The grassy salt marshes of Burgh by Sands, where you can ramble amongst grazing sheep and cattle
Distance from Newcastle airport - 48miles
Distance from mainline rail station [Carlisle] - 6 miles
Distance from motorway [M6 J44] - 4 miles
Nearest villages - Irthington / Crosby 2m [pub]
Nearest town - Brampton 4m [shops, doctor, pubs, bistro, rail station]
Nearest city - Carlisle 6m [shopping, restaurants castle, cathedral, museum, racecourse, cinema, nightlife, mainline rail station etc]
Further Details:
Talkin Tarn Country Park - 7m [nature walks, rowing, fishing]
Walby Farm Park 2m [Farm animals, indoor play area]
Roman Fortress [Birdoswald] - 15m
Roman Fortress [Vindolanda] - 15m
Ullswater [Northern Lake District] - 33m
Scottish Borders - 10m
Gretna Gateway Outlet Village- 13m


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I was asked at a branding conference whether it is advisable to change the name of a business when it no longer seems to convey a strong, compelling meaning to the target consumer.
While this seems like an odd question, marketers like to rename things. Brand names are names – that is all. The power of a brand is in the relationship,the associated meanings attached to the name -- not the name itself. Changing a name erases all associations in an instant. In 90% of cases, therefore, the answer to the subject question is no.
Would you rename your dog after a few years because she no longer had a contemporary name that conveys a benefit? I am warmly reminded of my old family pet lab, Speed, aptly named when he was a pup. When he was 12, and rested in the yard of every third home, we laughed about his name, but he was still 'Speed'.
However, it might be appropriate to consider changing a brand or company name when:
- A significantly large set of consumers overwhelmingly associate a name with a negative attribute or incorrect offering that would take unrealistic resources to correct.
- A business has completely changed its line of business – and consumers would be confused by use of the old name (I still think of Singer as a company that makes sewing machines, although I am not their customer).
- A business wants to stand for something new and can afford losing a substantial percentage of current customers.
It is NOT appropriate to rename a company based only on the following:
- The current name is not seen as modern and contemporary. The purpose of a brand name is to be longer lasting.
- The current name is not descriptive enough.
- While descriptive names are widely used, they can be poor brand name choices as they limit evolving consumer needs.
- Business cycles change the fortunes of businesses over time, both good and bad. Trading in loyalty because of being temporarily out of favor is not always wise.
- many great names are silly…and silly names benefit by being memorable.
- Still not a good reason to change. While customers might see the logic in the change, the equity is in the associated qualities, not the name itself. Ray Kroc did not rename McDonalds to Kroc's when he bought a 4 store burger chain in the 1950s.
I once re-branded and re-launched a line of products with a modern name and new packaging. The brand was old and not very well known and was a low risk of losing loyal consumers. The result was significant loss in distribution as our category was put up for immediate competitive review by most of our retailers. They figured if we didn't believe in our brand, then why should they? I realized that even in a low awareness category, a bad name is better than the no name – which is sometimes the result.
In a nutshell, the benefit of new business with a new name will usually not outweigh the risk of lost identity and resulting loss of loyal customers and consumers.
Door photo courtesy of Same Indifference


text:
American film "400 Years of The Telescope" documents the last 4 centuries of astronomy. The film was shown at the Pariscience Scientific Film Festival (held recently in Paris France).
400 Years of the Telescope
Now Reading:
400 Years of the Telescope
Says Fris Koenig, the director of the film: "A lot of people think that we have solved all the mysteries of the universe, that there are no more mysteries. In a lot of ways we are the same way Galileo was, just with bigger mysteries: dark energy and dark matter. We call them dark because we don't know where they are, but we can see the effects. Dark energy is the expansion of the universe, we though that the universe should be slowing down at this point, it is not, it is actually accelerating into the expansion. The second mystery is dark matter, the glue that holds galaxies together. We can see its effects, but we can't see it in itself. So if we take dark matter and dark energy and add them up: it equals 96% of the Universe. It means that 96% of our cosmos is unknown to us." Catherine Cesarsky is the French High Commissioner for Atomic Energy. She says: "In 10 years we have been able to sweep all the space that we can see in the Universe and you know that when we look at galaxies which are very far away, we see them as they were at the time they emitted their light, which means we see them as they were a long time ago, and so we can understand the history of the Universe." The film is not on general release but more information is available at:


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Tuesday, September 16, 2014
That Dog!
It can only be the work of George. That dog!!
10 comments:
He is probably saving for bones... Now if can only let him know that ripping it might reduce the value... Lol!ReplyDeleteReplies
After reading your comment, I decided to tape it up and see if the local pet store will accept it as payment for something for him...the big spoiled goofball!Delete
If you wear a beret; hide it.ReplyDeleteReplies
And anything else you value! Ha!Delete
Dogs do save in deed. It's really hilarious.ReplyDeleteReplies
Haha. I KNEW I had lost a $10 bill somewhere....turns out George had it.Delete
Ah if that was only what Bear has chewed..ReplyDeleteReplies
Trust me, John, George has chewed up TONS of stuff. :)Delete
Ha! I'm impressed he stopped after that one rip! I had a dog who would hide food in her bed. I found rotten potatoes, cheese, and all sorts of stuff.ReplyDeleteReplies
George hides toys, bones, and bits of garbage in his bed....but not food. Food doesn't stick around long enough to be hoarded!Delete


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(Warning: this is a loooong one.)
Back in good old Philadelphia, I had a doctor who assisted me in the removing of Sam from my nether parts. I trusted him. He was a bit old school, but in a good way. He never pulled any punches, and he was always honest and up front with me. When I would freak out over something fairly mundane, he would gently put me in my place. He explained the necessity of every test and procedure and the frivolity of others. When he suggested an episiotomy in lieu of the possibility of a nasty tear, I said go for it. Is there any better way to say 'I trust you' than letting someone cut your vagina? With scissors?
Now it's the second time around. I've been to see two different doctors, and I'm not sure that either one has instilled in me the same level of confidence.
My issue? Both doctors have strongly recommended that I undergo supplemental testing for genetic abnormalities. Even though I'm young, healthy, and have no family history of any heredity diseases. The first doctor I went to see tried to sell me on an additional ultrasound, the results of which would be evaluated in conjunction with some blood work to determine the likelihood of my baby having down syndrome. This test would be performed at 12 weeks, only slightly earlier than the triple screen or quad screen. Oh and this additional ultrasound? It isn't covered by most insurance companies, so you have to pay cash. I politely declined, and if that had been the end, I would have no problems with this guy. But no, he decided to get all George Bush on me by starting in on the scare tactics. When I still declined (a little less politely) he tried to appeal to my soft side by pointing out that at 12 weeks the baby would be much more developed and wouldn't I just love to take an extra peek at my growing little boy or girl? At that point I was sick of being manipulated and I was done being polite. I simply said a very firm 'No thank you' and changed the subject.
Now I am seeing a new doctor. There was some sort of insurance snafu which, had it remained un-noticed, would have made us 100% responsible financially for my hospital stay. I saw the bill from Sam's delivery. It was large enough to scare me silly. While I wasn't thrilled to be changing hospitals, getting a new doctor didn't seem all that bad. SOB got a recommendation from a fellow fellow and I made an appointment.
During my first visit the guy seemed nice. Down here, people are much more into scheduling their deliveries, so the doctor's willingness to do just that was mentioned to me about 724 times. I made it pretty clear that I was not interested, and we moved on. At this point I was fairly content with my care.
Yesterday I went in for my detailed anatomy ultrasound, which for most people is a fun and exciting day. While I was in with the tech, she started telling me a story about a woman who freaked out because there was a teeny detail in her baby's heart that she couldn't see clearly. Because of that the doctor wanted her to see a perinatologist, which sent her into a tizzy. I though it was a little odd, because she kind of told me this story out of nowhere, but whatever. She probably scans dozens of women a day, so I'm sure she has an arsenal of small talk. Then I went to see the doctor.
Guess what he told me?
He said that because the images of one section of our baby girl's heart weren't too clear, he's worried that there might be something there indicating a 1 in 3,900 chance of association with a genetic abnormality. Even though my quad screen results, which we had just discussed, were completely normal. He then proceeded to start flinging a bunch of technical terms around before suggesting that I go see a perinatologist for an additional scan. I stopped him and asked him to spell out every single term that had just spewed from his mouth. He got all fatherly on me and suggested that I avoid looking these things up online as it will probably just scare me. I tried to maintain my composure as I explained to him that the main reason I wanted to get all the details is because my husband is a physician and would be interested in the specifics, so would he just spell the damn words, please.
Throughout all of this, he kept repeating that I shouldn't be worried because he was sure there was nothing wrong. Finally, I asked him why, then, should I even bother to get the 'emergency' scan he was recommending? I couldn't get a straight answer from him. Just more gentle bullying and the information that he said he sends 10% to 15% of his patients to this doctor for follow up scans. He did make a point, however, of informing me that my 'diagnosis' would ensure that everything would be covered by my insurance.
I got a call later in the afternoon informing me of the time and date of my 'emergency' scan. This whole thing feels wrong and dirty to me, and pisses me off for so many reasons. First of all, there are a lot of people who don't have the resource of a doctor in the family. By the time SOB came home last night he had already read several journal articles on this very subject, all of which essentially said there is no true correlation between what they may or may not have been able to see and any genetic conditions. Without this information, I'm sure I would be a total wreck, as would many people I know. It is shitty beyond compare this man would put his patients in a state of hyper-anxiety over something insignificant. If you've been following what Liz over at Mom-101 has been going through during her pregnancy, then you have a glimpse into how harrowing things like this can be.
Secondly, it seems like either this doctor is doing everything he can to cover his own ass, or he's in bed with this perinatologist. Either way, I blame the system as much as I blame the doctors. Obstetricians can be sued up to 18 years after performing a delivery, a law which was written by lawyers, not doctors. I'm sure that this leads many docs to order non-essential tests for their own protection. Also, insurance reimbursement rates are lower than they've ever been. Coupled with skyrocketing malpractice premiums, most OBs are finding it tough on their bottom line. An extra test here and there equals a little more in their pockets at the end of the month.
I wish I could say, after all of this, that I told them where to shove their 'emergency' scan, but I can't. I'm having it done next Thursday. SOB pointed out to me that if we are the 1 out of 3,900, we would want to know so that at the time of delivery the hospital can be adequately prepared. Which is true. I just feel so manipulated and worried that I'm not going to be able to trust this guy when it does come time for me to squeeze this baby out.
Whew. That was a head/heart/mouth full. Let me leave you with some sweets to cleanse your palate, in honor of the final day of Snap Happy week from Picture This!
Friday, April 06, 2007
The Sorry State of American Health Care, or Why I Don't Like My New OB
(Warning: this is a loooong one.)
5 comments:
- Mom101 said...
Oh geez, I'm sorry to hear about all the added stresses. Like pregnancy isn't a mental burden enough as it is. If I can say one thing it's that my OB rocks the house in every sense. I am so totally at ease with her and her whole practice - I feel very very very fortunate.
Of course I'm paying through the nose for that luxury. Indeed it is a luxury. I haven't forgotten it.
- natalie said...
I'm married to a health care professional, so I can totally agree with your perspective of "thank goodness I have someone who will give me the straight shot and help me keep my head on straight." I also COMPLETELY agree with your take on why all these additional tests are "necessary." Health insurance is getting too expensive for the private citizen (hence I have to work instead of being a stay-at-home mother), but it's not covering enough of our health care needs. And it's not paying my husband enough, so he's struggling to keep his healthcare business open independently (I'm being cryptic here so there is no repercussion). The healthcare industry needs a major overhaul so it will continue to work.
Now on to the issue you dealt with today. I am SO sorry for you. It's hard work growing babies in our wombs. I feel so frustrated for you. I hate that you have to worry about the baby you are carrying and I hate that you have so much stress.
Good luck...I'll check back for the result.
I love your "sweet" picture!
- super des said...
I hate switching doctors. And I hate doing it because you're not sure your dr can be trusted.
Hope it gets better for you.
- Amy Jo said...
Thanks for all the niceness. I know that come thursday everything is going to be fine. I just wish I didn't require three different people telling me so.
- susan said...
Wow and wow. The whole "better safe than sorry" has kinda turned into "damned if you don't, damned if you do", hasn't it. If you had chosen to not go along with the additional tests/whatever, you would have to deal with that niggle of doubt that you hadn't done everything in your power to give your little one the best beginning you possibly could. But, now, if all the stress turns out to be for naught, you're stuck with the frustration of having undergone unnecessary tests/stress/whatever. Yuck.
Oh, and wow to the pic as well -- I love ribbon candy!!!


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The Edge, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney and many other stars are in a documentary about Glen Campbell's farewell tour called I'll Be Me.
The pop-country legend was diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer's disease in 2011. The film shows live performances from his Goodbye Tour along with moments from his career and battle against the disease.
The Edge shares his admiration for the singer, who continued to perform despite his health problems: "The audience being there somehow triggers his ability to access that other part of his brain, which is incredible."
I'll Be Me, directed by James Keach, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Nashville Festival and will be in theaters on Oct. 24.


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Console War: 120 million Wiis served
"Nintendo's market strategy of attracting the casual gaming audience is having continued success. According to figures released by ELSPA and Chart-Track at the beginning of this month, over a million Wii units were sold in the UK over the last half year. [The Wii] accounts for over 50% of the overall market share in hardware units including the PS3 and Xbox 360."
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata is so happy he thinks the Wii could outsell the PS2's 120 million consoles sold record.
What does this mean? This means that the Wii's transformation of what gaming is - is well underway. Just as Sony changed gaming forever by marketing games to the cool joe, the average jock, the Wii will have a similar or greater impact.
It also means that all this stuff you read from videogame "journalists", and I use the term loosely, wherein they deride the Wii or cast it in an ill light, unsure of what it means, portraying it as a family, silly affair, is complete and utter crap.
Sony is struggling to keep the PS3 from becoming the next Sega Saturn. The 60GB PS3 is already dead - they aren't making any more.
There are many people who may be so stubborn as to never get buy a Wii just because, well, it's a Wii, or it was made by Nintendo. I find that silly. I have no brand loyalty. I left Nintendo when the N64 came out and never looked back, not even for the NDS (I acquired two after my kids got their Wii). Gamers can ride the revolution now or - wait.
There are two good reasons (for a gamer) to not get a Wii right now:
- Not enough games you like, depending on your favorite genre(s), such as Roll-Playing Games, First-Person Shooters, Basketball, Soccer, Tennis, Hokey, Strategy Games, etc. Name your must-have genre that is absent on the Wii, and you have a good reason.
- The best is on the horizon. Most gaming developers are playing catch-up, so if the plan is to wait until the menu becomes enticing, and you're well handled in the mean-time, then that makes sense.
- If you miss out on a Wii deliberately, you are in effect, if this thing sells as many units as a PS2 one day, or even comes close, writing yourself off from a large portion of gaming history.
120 million? I'm no optimist (I'm a realist), but I can see why Iwata had the balls to say that the Wii could break that record. I just think he should have had Reggie say it.
If there are 80 million PS2 owners out there (I'm sure some folks bought 2 PS2's, I have no idea how many), the current generation hasn't made much of a dent in them, and therein lies the reasoning: the current game console generational war is bigger than folks imagined, because I'm willing to bet that there are a lot of Wii owners who never had a PS2. And folks - they aren't gamers.
And what of the people who avoid the Wii? If this thing outsells the PS2, can they say they're a gamer? Or a knight of some forgone era? We call them platformists. They're great knights. They stick to what they believe in, and if an image or a line doesn't fit them, they don't wear it. There are Nintendo fanboys as well as Nintendo Haters, they're both knights with different banners to wear. Microsoft is corruption, they don't have knights that hold aloft their cause, they have mercenaries who hold up their XBOX Live banner. No one believes Microsoft is out to make the world a better place, but Nintendo and Sony fanboys do believe that, roughly - whatever their respected camp gives them speaks to a need within them that jives with their internal structure of how things ought to be.
Gamers, by our nature, are promiscuous. If it's a game and it's good, we'll try it. We're gypsies, neither knight nor mercenary. We're ignoble, cheap, easy, and frowned upon by the old guard. Do you know what I'm describing? I'll give you a hint:
I'm not describing today's definition of gamers, I am describing what's coming.
Human nature demands that there will always be Knights (fanboys, loyalists, whatever) to a given market brand. Humans like to look at something (such as a label) and feel safe in our purchase of it. Sony used to thrive on this - people paid more to have the Sony name on their TV, it used to mean quality.
But if you stay in the game long enough you begin to realize: It's not about the console, it's about the games. Every gamer knows this, yet so few live it.


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Welcome to Donegal, one of the prettiest counties of Ireland! And what's more: it's one of the most remote ones as well! Despite the Wild Atlantic Way ( a 2600km coastal route along the West of Ireland) running through it, most tourists still seem to leave this part of the country untouched. More space and less crowds for the few that do venture there!
And by all means, go! Amazing beaches, traditional thatched cottages and of course the friendly locals are reasons enough to spend a few days there! Donegal is +/- 4800 km², so you'll be spoilt for choice, but there are a few spots you can not miss under any circumstances! These are the best places to visit in Donegal:
1. Malin Head
The official start of the "Wild Atlantic Way", Malin Head is also the most northern point of Ireland. Take in the views over the remote country side and the Atlantic Ocean, feel the howling wind and look out for the thriving birdlife and historical plaques that are scattered around the site.
2. Portsalon Beach
Choosing your favourite beach in Donegal is like choosing your favourite child: impossible! Well, nearly… Portsalon would definitely be in my Top 3. It is situated on scenic Lough Swilly and is probably Donegal's most famous beach. Bigger crowds in summer and a few holiday homes, but still very low-key compared to any other beach resort in the world!
3. Assarancagh waterfall
Out of the way, but my oh my, does it deserve the detour! This is the place I chose to set up my tent for the night: BEST decision ever! Situated near the town of Ardara and close to Maghera beach, this is one hell of a place to wake up!
4. Malin Beg Beach
Yes another beach, but look at the pictures and tell me you don't want to visit it, I dare you! Portsalon A series of steps brings you to a picture-perfect beach and if the sun is shining (yes, that does happen occasionally in Ireland) you could easily be forgiven for thinking you're in southern Europe!
5. Slieve League
At 600m, Slieve League is one of the highest sea cliffs in Europe! Amazing scenery, astonishing panoramas and countless sheep are awaiting you! You can drive up to the main viewing point, but it would be a shame to end there. Get out of your car and set off on one of the trails for ever better views and that "I'm on top of the world"-feeling!
6. Glenveagh National Park
Donegal is not only about beaches. Did you know it also has its own national park? Glenveagh is a mixture of mountains, lakes and valleys and deserves a daytrip. Walk up to the castle or along the lake and enjoy Irish nature at its best!
Have you been to Donegal? What remote areas did you discover on your travels?


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Monday, March 13, 2017
Music On Monday: Be Thou My Vision
St. Patrick's Day is later this week, and so it seems like a perfect time to write a post on a favorite hymn, Be Thou My Vision. I'm willing to bet that this is one of the most-sung traditional hymns apart from Amazing Grace. Legends abound about this song, and they are charming stories that add to my enjoyment of the hymn, but we don't know much about their veracity. Here's what we know for sure. The Old Irish text predates the song itself by centuries, and we have copies of manuscripts from the 10th or 11th centuries. There's a good chance that the text existed long before that time within the Irish monastic tradition. Mary Byrne wrote a modern English translation of the poem in 1905 and just a bit later, Eleanor Hull wrote a translation in metric verse. The first published version of the song set to the Irish folk tune Slane (which has charming legends of its own) was in 1909 in a collection called Old Irish Folk Tunes and Songs. The title leads me to believe that the text had been paired with that tune for some time.
The original poem has been attributed to a blind Irish monk named Dallán Forgaill. The request that God would be his vision is even more poignant if this is true.
I wish I could read it in Old Irish, but since I can't, I enjoy Mary Byrne's translation - it's much richer than the metrified verses we sing in the hymn.
Be thou my vision O Lord of my heart
None other is aught but the King of the seven heavens.
Be thou my meditation by day and night.
May it be thou that I behold even in my sleep.
Be thou my speech, be thou my understanding.
Be thou with me, be I with thee
Be thou my father, be I thy son.
Mayst thou be mine, may I be thine.
Be thou my battle-shield, be thou my sword.
Be thou my dignity, be thou my delight.
Be thou my shelter, be thou my stronghold.
Mayst thou raise me up to the company of the angels.
Be thou every good to my body and soul.
Be thou my kingdom in heaven and on earth.
Be thou solely chief love of my heart.
Let there be none other, O high King of Heaven.
Till I am able to pass into thy hands,
My treasure, my beloved through the greatness of thy love
Be thou alone my noble and wondrous estate.
I seek not men nor lifeless wealth.
Be thou the constant guardian of every possession and every life.
For our corrupt desires are dead at the mere sight of thee.
Thy love in my soul and in my heart --
Grant this to me, O King of the seven heavens.
O King of the seven heavens grant me this --
Thy love to be in my heart and in my soul.
With the King of all, with him after victory won by piety,
May I be in the kingdom of heaven O brightness of the son.
Beloved Father, hear, hear my lamentations.
Timely is the cry of woe of this miserable wretch.
O heart of my heart, whatever befall me,
O ruler of all, be thou my vision.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Words on Wednesday: The Light and Lightness of Ash Wednesday
|Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel
It's Ash Wednesday, the day on the liturgical calendar when we begin the season of Lent. Lent commemorates Jesus' 40 days of fasting in the wilderness, and on Ash Wednesday, the church encourages us to remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return. It's a time for self-examination and repentance. Of course, we are called to do these things daily, but I think we believe that in Lent we are supposed to repent... harder. Instead, what I feel today is relief and thankfulness to be mere dust. It means that I can give up the burden of saving the world and saving me and trust that God is doing both of those things. The great thing is that the examined life can become the unburdened life, if you're healthy about it. But for some, the call to self-examination can result in self-blame and a failure to truly experience the joy of being forgiven. While I appreciate the liturgical calendar and the rhythm it can supply to worship, I also think we need to guard against allowing the culture of an institution to suggest extra-biblical practices that seem to be more dark and heavy than light. If we're not careful, lent and Ash Wed observance can make us turn in on ourselves and try to repent harder than is necessary.
I'm protestant, but blessed to have served in a variety of denominations, including Catholic. They have a term that touches on what I'm trying to describe as over-repentance: scrupulosity. It's a sort of religious perfectionism in which someone feels they can never stop confessing or feel able to enjoy forgiveness. It's a sort of spiritual OCD. I think that at times, I've been like this. So, this year's Ash Wednesday when I feel relieved to be dust - feels like a victory.
The pressure to participate in church programs can result in a sort of scrupulosity, too. I have in the past felt a duty to participate in as much as my time would allow. I've cut back. WAY back. Right now, I'm attending only one thing - a spiritual formation class that has been like manna from heaven. We have great discussions, and yesterday we talked about the difference between doing "great things for God" versus simply living fully into every moment being fully ourselves as God created us and sharing the gifts of the Spirit's fruits - love, joy, patience, goodness, kindness, self-control, etc. These are greater gifts than any earthly skill or talent. We talked about the ripple effect something as small as a smile can have - the ministry of welcome and love to those we encounter. We talked about Jesus' lack of an agenda or program. He had no schedule like this: 9:00 am: Woman at the well. 1:00: Take on some Pharisees. 3:00: start a ministry to the leper colony. Instead, God incarnate walked through life ready to encounter whatever came his way. I'm not knocking ministry or relief programs. They do good work. I'm just giving up the idea that I have to adopt an agenda or join a program out of duty. God will put in front of me what he wants me to do in his time. I don't have to get ahead of him.
It's easy to elevate the value of the program or the institution and fail to embrace the wildness of the Spirit. Today, I could easily allow the cultural and institutional weight of Lent to weigh me down. But, I don't feel heavy today. I feel light. I don't feel dark. I feel light. I think it's appropriate. So does this poet.
Ash Wednesday
by Louis Untermeyer
Shut out the light or let it filter through
These frowning aisles as penitentially
As though it walked in sackcloth. Let it be
Laid at the feet of all that ever grew
Twisted and false, like this rococo shrine
Where cupids smirk from candy clouds and where
The Lord, with polished nails and perfumed hair,
Performs a parody of the divine.
The candles hiss; the organ-pedals storm;
Writhing and dark, the columns leave the earth
To find a lonelier and darker height.
The church grows dingy while the human swarm
Struggles against the impenitent body's mirth.
Ashes to ashes. . . . Go. . . . Shut out the light.
And so the light runs laughing from the town,
Pulling the sun with him along the roads
That shed their muddy rivers as he goads
Each blade of grass the ice had flattened down.
At every empty bush he stops to fling
Handfuls of birds with green and yellow throats;
While even the hens, uncertain of their notes,
Stir rusty vowels in attempts to sing.
He daubs the chestnut-tips with sudden reds
And throws an olive blush on naked hills
That hoped, somehow, to keep themselves in white.
Who calls for sackcloth now? He leaps and spreads
A carnival of color, gladly spills
His blood: the resurrection—and the light.
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Biochemical changes in the brain and body have been observed in majority of people diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. In laboratory studies it was seen that cortisol secretion in the urine is decreased, while catecholamine (norepineprine and epinephrine) is elevated in PTSD cases. Consequently, norepinephrine/cortisol level is higher than in normal individuals. On the other hand, catecholamine level in the brain is low, whereas corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) concentration is high. These findings suggest abnormality in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.
The key areas of the brain that are implicated in the development of PTSD are amygdala, prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.
- Amygdala is associated with the formation of emotional memories, especially fear-related. Research has shown that traumatic stimuli lead to fear conditioning which results to activation of amygdala, hypothalamus, locus cereleus, periaqueductal gray and parabrachial nucleus and its accompanying neurotransmitters. Thus, the symptoms of PTSD are produced.
- The Vietnam Head Injury Study showed that damage to the prefrontal cortex may actually be protective against later development of PTSD.
- Gurvits et al found out that combat veterans who suffered from PTSD had 20% reduction in the volume of their hippocampus compared to veterans who were not afflicted with it.
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Wikipedia
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Overview. Medscape
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Diagnosis. Medscape
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Overview
How to diagnose Post-traumatic Stress Disorder


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Please read ahead for the best damn cheese plate I've ever received.
Going clockwise on my plate, here is every last creamy detail....please note these are the descriptions of their cheese expert and not myself - except for the first one.
Pave d'Affinois - France
~This was one of the first cheeses to be made comercially using ultrafiltration, a method that results in a higher yield of solids. This cows milk cheese is allowed to ripen in a warm, humid cellar for two or three weeks. Similarities are to Brie. (Also my favorite of the seven)
Sofia - Indiana - USA
~ This is a beautiful and very unique Goats milk cheese made on Capriole Farms, located in Greenville Indiana, right over the Kentucky border. Sofia has a layer of wrinkled mold on the outside that comes from the particular starter culture that Capriole Farms uses. The curds are hand ladled into molds along with vegetable ash. The ash coats the outside and is marbled throughout the cheese which contributes to its tangy and salty quality.
Queso de Mano - Colorado - USA
~This raw Goat's milk cheese from Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy, it was given this name because it is made entirely by hand at the creamery. Its white interior has a robust, nutty flavor with herbal hints. The texture of it is reminiscent of the Spanish Garrotxa from the Catalonia region, but it has its own distinctive taste. It is aged for a minimum of four months.
Winchester Gouda - Winchester - California
~Jules Wesselink is the cheese maker for Winchester Cheese Company which makes this mild Gouda that is aged for 60 days. This cheese is made with raw milk, from Holstein cows. The style "Boere Kaas" which means "Homemade on the farm" is the same way their families have been making Goudas in Holland for generations.
Bandage Cheddar 18 month - California - USA
~This is a cow's milk cheese from Fiscalini Family Creamery in Modesto, California. The flavor of the cheese is nutty with many floral notes as well as a natural sweetness and refreshing clean tasting attributes. The Fiscalini family is rich in California dairy tradition that dates back four generations, that's over 100 years here in California.
Pennsylvania Noble Amish White Cheddar - Pennsylvania - USA
~This happens to be the most interesting cheeses that I have found in a long time. The Cheddar, is beautifully crafted with a light, bloomy rind and Cave aged for 1 years. It has all of the sharpness that a mature cheddar should have plus some wonderful sweet notes characteristic of great Pennsylvania Organic Grass Fed Raw Cow's Milk Cheese.
Mine Shaft Blue - California - USA
~Aged in goldmines up around Placerville, this cow's milk blue is fruity and has just the right amount of salt. This blue is strong but not overly aggressive in flavor and has somewhat a creamy texture. It is injected with the same mold strain as Gorgonzola.
Rogue Creamery "Reserve" Blue - Oregon - USA
~This creamery started in Oregon 1957. This particular blue is made from raw cow's milk wrapped with grape leaves and allowed to age for a year. It has a semi soft, creamy texture with a subtle, sweet flavor. This cheese is very hard to find, we had to order it one year in advance.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Diligently Selected Cheese from Napa Rose
at 12:02 AM
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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 OregonLive.com user to add photos or videos of Laundry Joyce
I swear that I am not a negative person. Even though the majority of my reviews have only 1 star I am not a negative person.That being said, I'm only giving this laundromat a one star review....
Yep, I'm reviewing a laundromat....courtesy of my Labrador who got soaked in the rain and dried off on my comforter. (grrr...). This place is clean, newer looking machines. Definitely designed...
Laundry Joyce is located at 11310 Ne 49th St Ste 104 in Vancouver and has been in the business of Laundry And Garment Services, Nec since 2009.
Joyce Laundry serves Vancouver, WA and is located in the 98682 ZIP code. Joyce Laundry falls under the following categories: laundromats self service, laundry services.


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Comfort Publishing has been in business for over a decade, producing both a range of periodicals and a rapidly expanding books division. Our books span a wide range of categories, from science fiction and fantasy to non-fiction biographies and suspense. Since launching our book division in 2008, Comfort Publishing has received numerous awards and accolades, including 2009 and 2010 Bronze IPPY awards in the romance category, a 2009 USA News Best Book Finalist award, a 2010 Foreword Magazine "Book of the Year" nomination and a PreditorsandEditors.com 2010 "Book of the Year" reader's choice award in the fantasy category.
Comfort Publishing has also been an exhibitor at the Book Expo America in New York City for the past two years, and will be an exhibitor at the 2011 Christian Writer's Conference in Atlanta. These appearances have been integral in establishing our brand in the publishing sector on both the consumer and retailer ends.
As a mid-sized publisher, we believe we can work together with independent booksellers to tailor an experience for book lovers that cannot be matched by large chain distributors.


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Alder Mark Clear
Contact Information
Home Address:110 Shiloh Dr
Madison , WI 53705
- Phone: 608-695-5709
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- Contact Alder Mark Clear
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Council Office
210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd
Room 417
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: (608) 266-4071
Fax: (608) 267-8669
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Alder Clear's Blog
Winter storm Saturday update
Hi folks, here are some important updates on the continuing cleanup efforts:
Snow removal
It took over 24 hours for all of the city's side streets to be cleared, and some still need more work. The complicating factors were the heavy, wet snow, a lot of down trees and limbs, stuck vehicles blocking the streets, and, most significantly for our part of town, some contractors that bailed before their routes were done. (Most of the residential streets in our area are cleared by contractors, while city crews do the collector and arterial streets.) While we can't change the snow, we can and will demand better performance from our contractors.
The Streets Division had crews working overnight Friday on residential streets completing work on cul de sacs and circles and doing push backs and alternate side plow backs. During the day on Saturday they have two shifts concentrating on opening up salt routes and continuing operations on sidewalks and bus stops.
Starting at midnight on Sunday crews will again focus on clean up of residential streets and more alternate side plow backs. They will also continue clean up on cul de sacs, circles, sidewalks and bus stops.
If your street has not been cleared, please let me know.
Refuse and Recycling Collection
Missed the Friday collection? You're not alone! Crews will return on Monday (normally a holiday) to cover missed areas. Please put your cart(s) out by 7am and dig them out if needed. Report your address here to ensure you get serviced.
Large item collection ("the claw") is suspended until further notice.
Curb Cut blow-outs
I've had several reports of plows overdoing it on pushing back curb cuts on corners, resulting in turf damage and big piles of snow on the sidewalk. If this happened to you, please let me know.
Thank you
This was an extraordinary storm and has required extraordinary efforts and time to clean up. Please join me in thanking our hard-working city crews. I also thank all of you for your patience with the progress of their work. Stay safe and happy holidays.
I welcome your questions and comments about this or any other city issue. Please contact me at firstname.lastname@example.com or 608-695-5709.
Subscribe to this blog and get e-mail updates on many other city topics by joining my.cityofmadison.com at the link below.
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Tuesday, August 11, 2015
'Back In Time'--Gravitas Acquires Rights to 'Back to the Future' Doc
The Definitive Chronicle of the Iconic Trilogy Hits VOD and Select Theaters
on "Future Day," October 21, 2015
El Segundo, CA (August 10, 2015) – Gravitas Ventures has announced the acquisition of all North American rights to BACK IN TIME, directed by Jason Aron, featuring interviews with Michael J. Fox, Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, Bob Gale, Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd. 'Back in Time' looks at both the making of the original film and the fan culture that has developed over the years. It will be available on VOD, DVD/Blu-ray and select theaters on the very day Marty McFly (Fox) arrived in 'Back to the Future 2' – on "Future Day," October 21, 2015.
In 'Back in Time,' cast, crew, and fans explore the classic time-travel trilogy's resonance throughout pop culture. As the project evolved it took them from the joyous nostalgia at a massive London fan event to the living rooms of Michael J. Fox, Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, Bob Gale, Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd as well as Huey Lewis, James Tolkan ("Mr. Strickland") Claudia Wells ("Jennifer Parker") and more. Nothing is overlooked as they explore everything from Eric Stoltz's casting to the invention of the hoverboard. Travelling throughout the world and leaving no stone unturned brings unparalleled behind-the-scenes access to the "BTTF" lexicon.
"Iconic documentaries, like a bolt of lightning, only come around so often," said Nolan Gallagher, Founder and CEO of Gravitas Ventures, "we are honored to be a part of the 'Back to the Future' mythology and bring this must-have film to the millions of fans who have loved the trilogy all these years."
Filmmakers Jason Aron and Lee Leshen add, "As both fans of the trilogy and filmmakers, it was extremely important for us to have this documentary seen by as many people as possible. We knew within minutes of meeting Nolan that the team at Gravitas would make that dream a possibility."
In addition to original cast and crew support, 'Back in Time' was directed by Jason Aron, who also served as Executive Producer with Louis Krubich, Akrum Sheikh and Ronald Ferguson. Adam F. Goldberg ("The Goldberg's") served as Co-Executive Producer. Lee Leshen produced.
The deal for 'Back in Time" was negotiated by Nolan Gallagher for Gravitas and Josh Braun and Matt Burke from Submarine on behalf of the filmmakers.
Gravitas Ventures is a leading all rights distributor of independent cinema. Founded in 2006, Gravitas connects independent filmmakers and producers with distribution opportunities across the globe. Working with more than 500 content partners, Gravitas Ventures has distributed thousands of films into over 100 million homes. Recent releases include Sundance smash PING PONG SUMMER with Susan Sarandon, THE LONGEST WEEK starring Jason Bateman and Olivia Wilde, FELONY, starring Joel Edgerton and Tom Wilkinson, MANNY, BACKSTREET BOYS: SHOW 'EM WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF and Spike Lee's DA SWEET BLOOD OF JESUS. Upcoming titles include ADDICTED TO FRESNO starring Judy Greer and Natasha Lyonne, Colin Hanks' ALL THINGS MUST PASS and the SXSW Grand Jury and Audience Award winning documentary PEACE OFFICER. For more information, please visit www.gravitasventures.com and follow @GravitasVOD.
Submarine Entertainment, founded and run by twin brothers Josh and Dan Braun, is a hybrid sales and production company, consulting and strategizing on the sale and distribution of feature films and documentaries andproducing unique and high quality feature films, documentaries and television properties. Submarine Deluxe is the company's distribution label, which recently released the Academy Award nominated Chasing Ice, GMO OMG and PUMP. www.submarine.com
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It's the eve of the highly anticipated Twilight Eclipse premiere so I thought a beauty story on Kristen Stewart would be fitting! Rave reviews of Eclipse have been buzzing all over Twitter so it's definitely on my to-see list!
K-stew debuted her strawberry do for last night's Letterman appearance and I'm totally diggin' it. Her lighter locks make her skin look more peaches 'n cream and her eyes just pop so much more. Just days before at the L.A. premiere of Eclipse, Kristen still had her dark brown hair. I find her dark hair pales out her skin and the colour of her eyes just don't stand out as much.
What do you guys think? Love it? Hate it?
Photo credit: InStyle.com & JustJared.com


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Tuesday, February 26, 2013
That Annoying Facebook Sound.
Are you annoyed at the beep you get when you receive a new notification?
This is how you turn it off.
1) Go to the gear on the top right of your screen.
2) Select "Account Settings"
3) Click on the Notifications Tab
4) Uncheck the box that says, "Play a sound"
5) Save Changes!
You are now saved.
-- Robin Low
Monday, February 25, 2013
Candy Crush Saga
Candy Crush Saga is one of the biggest games currently. Available on Facebook and Mobile devices, you can play the game and your progress will be shared among your devices.
I have about 1400 friends on Facebook, and this is the first game where I have more than 140 friends playing! That is 10% of the people I know on Facebook!
I could say that the game hits a lot of good Gamification principles.
1) The game has an easy onboarding. The first 20 levels are rather easy, and although it gets progressively difficult, it did not seem impossible.
2) The game is interesting, colorful and catchy music. Its not too cheaply made, and the graphics and gameplay is actually pretty good.
3) The game gets challenging. As the level progresses, it does get increasingly difficult.
4) The game encourages social gaming. With 5 lives to start with, you do get stuck on some levels, and you can ask your friends to give you lives, or you can wait 25 minutes for a life. So the game does benefit people with a lot of friends playing and many of my friends invited me to the game. Otherwise you can always pay for more lives.
There are parts of the game that require friends to give you a ticket to continue, so you need to invite friends and connect with Facebook, which in turn promote the game and get more people to play it.
6) The game is free! Joining the game, getting the app on your phone is free. Progressing in levels is also free!
7) The paid parts of the game is tempting but not essential. I think this is a strong model as some competitive gamers that want to advance WILL pay to move forward, but for casual games to continue playing and attracting more people to play, they can do it for free.
8) Good use of PBLs. There is a good use of the points, badges and levels. You get to see how you do compared to your friends in each level which may encourage you to replay a same level to beat your friend's scores. You also get to see which levels your friends are and your friend's progress.
I really like the implementation of the game, and I think is it one of the most downloaded game on the Android store and it is also the top game now.
I wish for all its success, and unlike a lot of annoyed folks on Facebook when they receive a Candy Crush Saga Request, free free to send me lives or tickets to help me move up the levels!
-- Robin Low
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So this morning I was doing research on male vs. female communication styles and I got thinking about the Westminster Dog show. (stick with me here – I am going somewhere with this) I wonder what happened back stage after they awarded Best in Show.
Did "Rufus" the Colored Bull Terrier put on a male athlete kind of status strut saying "yeah, you guys thought I couldn't hang - with this egg shaped face and squatty body. In your face Mr. Popular Golden Retriever. And Dalmatian – I may not be starring in any hit movies, but my mug's going to be plastered on more magazines websites and publications than you can shake a tail at. 'Best in Show' – that's right – sniff my butt losers. Word."
Or – did the Bull Terrier display more of a female communication style after winning – something a little closer to a Miss America Pageant. "Hey – Dalmatian – nice showing. Pug – us 'so ugly we're cute' types need to hang together. Let's all go grab a bowl of water and some Milk Bones and Celebrate. Butt sniffs all around."
At the end of the day – both men and women (and perhaps even dogs) crave status. Men and women can be equally competitive. But the more I study communication styles the more I see the two sexes have a definite different approach.


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You either love "The Ballad of Jack & Rose"(**** out of ****) or you hate it. I loved it, but I hated watching it the first time because it is a genuine work of art with shocks and surprise that you cannot prepare yourself for and you shutter when you see what is going to happen. Furthermore, I can understand why some people would heap praise on this quirky bit of avant-garde filmmaking while others would condemn it to oblivion. The characters lack sympathy. They are all very selfish. The protagonist turns over a new leaf toward the end, but you don't see it coming. "The Ballad of Jack & Rose" is for people who take movies seriously and have no time to waste on Hollywood hokum. You don't watch this film to relax and unwind. The story of the destruction of family is serious business despite some humorous interludes. Imagine watching a soap opera that could masquerade as social commentary about America after the 1960s. It is the kind of movie that would be terrific as the epilogue to class about the Hippie movement, Free Love, return to the wilderness, and it segues into the environmentalist movement. This movie is not suitable for children and if you cannot watch it in a single sitting, you are liable to feel like you are serving time just to get through its one hour and fifty-one minutes. The cast is extraordinary with Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis delivering a slam bang performance while Catherine Keener. Writer & director Rebecca Miller has helmed a film that is the American equivalent to an Ingmar Bergman film. Subtlety is the order of the day in "The Ballad of Jack & Rose." The characters are neither stereotype nor are they unrealistic. There are times, perhaps best described as uncomfortable, when lenser Ellen Kuras makes her camera such an integral part of the setting with the characters that you feel like you're eavesdropping on these two families and their troubles.
"The Ballad of Jack & Rose" takes place in the year 1986 on an island off the East Coast of the United States. Essentially, this is a soap opera about the theme of jealousy. Jack Slavin (Daniel Day-Lewis of "My Left Foot") is a naturalized Scotsman who was once an engineer. Now, he is an ex-hippie turned environmentalist who sees no salvation in a future hard-wired by technology and growth has settled on this anonymous island where he lives now with his 16-year old daughter Rose (Camilla Belle of "Push") since his wife went away. You can catch glimpses of the Slavins' earlier lives during a scene about three-fourths of the way through it when Rose shows 8mm home movies about them. Jack's wife left him and he has been raising Rose. Every quarter our protagonist leaves the island for the mainland and hooks up with Kathleen (Catherine Keener of "Living in Oblivion") to satisfy his sexual needs. Recently, Jack has learned that he has heart disease and he isn't getting around as agilely as he used to so he invites Kathleen and her two sons, Rodney (Ryan MacDonald of "Halloween: Resurrection") and Thaddius (Paul Dano of "The Girl Next Door") to join them.
Aside from an occasional guest, such as Gray (Jason Lee of "Mallrats"), nobody visits the Slavins. Gray shows up to bring Rose her flowers, otherwise, Jack and Rose are left alone entirely to themselves. This unconventional lifestyle has turned Rose into a near-sighted illusionist. She doesn't want to share anybody with Jack. Indeed, when her father raises the subject of his imminent death, Rose notifies him that she plans to commit suicide after he dies because life won't be worth living without him. Of course, Rose's confession horrifies Jack, and he asks her to recant. The only other interlopers on the island are the construction workers who are building a series of apartments for a land developer, Marty Rance (Beau Bridges of "Norma Rose") and Jack has a running feud with Marty. Marty knows that Jack is responsible for harassing his workers and creating acts of vandalism against his property, but he hasn't called in the authorities. Jack holds the issue of wetlands over Marty's head. You see, Marty is building his real estate on government protected marshlands and Jack threatens to expose him if he doesn't cease and desist.
Meanwhile, matters reach a boil when Kathleen and her teenage sons arrive and set up house with them. Jack assures Rose that the presence of these outsiders is nothing more than an experiment. Reluctantly, Rose accepts them. Initially, nothing untoward occurs until Rose behaves like a voyeur and watches Jack and Kathleen hope in the sack for sex. As Jack and Kathleen have sex, Rose approaches Rodney with an invitation to have sex with her. Rose is a virgin. In fact, she has never been kissed and earlier she tried to persuade Gray to kiss her but he refused. Unfortunately, for Rose, she cannot seduce the paunchy Rodney who never removes his windbreaker jacket and has decided to become a hairstylist for women. Rodney agrees to cut her hair. Deliberately, she arms herself with a double-barrel shotgun and invades their privacy. When they pause to recognize her, she discharges the shotgun more out of shock than design. Indeed, Rose wants to share her father with nobody.
Later, Rose has a tryst with Thaddius who is a diametrical opposite of his younger brother Rodney. They have sex in her room in her bed. The next day Jack sees the sheets waving in the breeze with a blood stain on it and the words "This is an experiment" with an arrow pointing at the blood stain. Of course, Jack is furious. Rose is still trying to get back at her father for having sex with Kathleen. In fact, she has stolen one of Thaddeus's cages to trap copperhead snakes and has put it under her bed. During her rendezvous with Thaddius, their bumping and grinding released the door to the cage and snake got out. Later, Kathleen freaks out when she sees the copperhead. Jack cannot find it. Jack has a showdown with Thaddius on the site of an old commune and they fight about his having sex with Rose. Jack knocks Thaddius out of a tree and breaks both legs and an arm. Kathleen takes her son back to the mainland, but before they leave, Thaddius tells her that Rose tried to kill her by releasing the snake in the house.
Writer & director Rebecca Miller doesn't flinch at tackling uncomfortable themes. During one scene, Jack winds up being kissed by his daughter on the lips and he feels guilty. Eventually, Jack dies and Rose turns their house (they shun television) into a floral arrangement and sets it on fire while she curls up next to her death father. Just when you think that she is going to die with her dad, she breaks out and goes off on her own to make a life.