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Bloody hell it's tough keeping up with Gloucestershire this off-season, with the clubs financial position seemingly more precarious than a pensioner under George Osborne's chancellorship. Last week the club announced that the city council have granted Glos a loan of £400,000 to cover running costs until the planning dispute is resolved (that will be the same city council that rejected our planning proposal). Everybody understand? No. Well, quite. We haven't got a bloody clue. Why do we need this loan? We presume that it's because all our money is tied up in the ground redevelopment, hence the mess made of poor Chris Taylor's contract. This really is a mess, and not exactly helped by the lack of information made available to us long distance fans. If we hadn't been granted this loan then what would have happened? Precarious indeed.
The clubs appeal against the original rejection of the ground redevelopment plan has seen the 7 storey block of flats reduced to a six storey block, but with the same number of properties. Since the original decision was a fairly close vote this small tweak might well do the trick. The club remain convinced that maintaining Nevil Road as an international ground provides the most viable means for the club to prosper, but we are not the only ones questioning this and wondering whether Nevil Road might become a white elephant. (We're not entirely sure about the white elephant analogy, but if you were a Cricinfo writer asked to pen something about Gloucestershire cricket you'd probably be pretty lazy too)
In more positive news, King John has signed a 3 year extension strapping him to the sinking ship until she goes completley under, or 2015. We're not sure which will come first. Whilst Bracewell might not have brought the success of his first spell with the club, he did a good job last year and in such turbulent times having an experienced man signed up for the long term can only bring some sort of stability.
In less positive news, Hamish O'Marshall has been appointed vice-captain. However, to put a positive spin on this, O'Mish is still taking in the last few rays of Kiwi sun before heading back to the Shire to mentor our young players about how all you have to do is have one good year and you'll pretty much have a contract for life.
With the new season now only a matter of weeks away, the Jessop Tavern View will head off to draw up some sort of season preview, but will leave the final positive words to King John,
"I hope everyone associated with Gloucestershire cricket will be prepared to show a degree of patience.
"We have lost a lot of experience from our playing ranks during the winter and must therefore reassess our goals.
"There has to be realism because the average age of the team had plummeted to around 22 and we have a comparatively small squad.
"It's a time for getting behind these young guys and supporting them so that they have every chance to become the good cricketers they can be."
We'll ignore the next part of the article that described Dan Housego as 'one of the best 4 batsmen in second XI cricket'. His 36 ball 4 against a bunch of Welsh students yesterday, in a game where even Jon Batty got to 50, probably proves King John's point.


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I exaggerate for effect a lot on this blog, so when I implied that I get no break from child care I was leaving out the fact that Attic Man is an incredibly involved father. He does everything a non-lactating parent who works outside the home can do, and thanks to him I do get to use the bathroom or blog or eat dinner with two hands quite often. He is hands-down the best father I know.
My intent with the post on becoming re-radicalized was not that I personally have an awful life, but that the challenging aspects of it make me realize how far we have to go before women get some justice.

subset: commoncrawl


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During the Middle Kingdom, the Pharaohs extended their rule beyond their homeland. They crossed the Sinai and entered the Levant where they put all the peoples of that land under their yoke. Their power was unstoppable and the Chariot Kings moved north to the mountains of modern day Turkey and east to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Their Empire was vast, stopped only by the Hittites to the north.
To protect their Empire the Egyptians created a series of fortress towns, sprawled along the frontiers and along the trade routes. They've just unearthed another one. Read on.
What followed was a series of battles with the Hittites as the two peoples wrestled for control of the rich and prosperous lands between them. After the Middle Kingdom was overthrown and the New Kingdom rose the Egyptians put forward their might and war spread, culminating in the largest chariot battle in the history of the world: Kadesh. At Kadesh some 5000 chariots thundered across the fertile plains as the two empire sought to master on the other. It was a day long battle in which both forces soaked the fields in the blood of their foes and both claimed victory when all was done.


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Friday, February 03, 2012
By Manoj Kumawat
New Maruti diesel cars launching in India
One of the senior officials of leading car maker in India, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (MSIL) stated that the company would launch more diesel models in the domestic auto-market in order to stabilize its market share which has been inconsistent for last few months. The company already has 4 diesel powered cars in India viz., Maruti Swift Dzire, Maruti Swift, Maruti SX4 and Maruti Ritz with 1.3 L diesel powertrains.
Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director and Chief Executive, Maruti Suzuki remarked that MSIL's market share dropped to 40 percent in 2011 due to lesser sales of petrol car models in comparison to diesel cars production and slowdown in the automobile industry. He added that MSIL would now stress on manufacturing more diesel models. Suzuki Powertrain, alliance between Maruti and Suzuki Motor's will enable the company to manufacture 3, 00,000 lakh diesel engines yearly, through its Gurgaon facility.
|See More Maruti Swift Dzire Pictures
|Get Maruti Swift Dzire Price
Nakashi further commented that Maruti Suzuki will also purchase around 1,00,000 diesel engines annually for next three years from the Italian car maker, Fiat as per a contract signed between Fiat and Maruti's parental unit, Suzuki Motor Corp, which would help the car maker to produce more diesel vehicles.
|See More Maruti Swift Pictures
|Get Maruti Swift Price
The official added that the car buyers now prefer diesel cars as diesel is quite cheaper than petrol which has led the auto-biggies to bring in new diesel variants and mount up the production of continuing diesel variants. On the other hand, car manufacturers like Ford Motors have also declared their intentions to exhale their diesel engine production.
|See More Maruti Ritz Pictures
|Get Maruti Ritz Price
Last month, Maruti Suzuki got sales hike that accounted for selling 115,433 units, after seven months continuous market decline of 5.18 percent, last year. In January, 2011, the company was able to sell 109,743 units, while in December, 2011, it sold 92,161 units with a drop down of 7.1 percent.
|See More Maruti SX4 Photos
|Get Maruti SX4 Price
Speaking on the turn-around, Nakanishi commented that they are now projecting to attain a quick growth of 10 – 11 percent, as they had decline market share in April-December in 2011.


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Which Social Media is for you?
Now that you've thought about what you want to achieve with social media and who your target audience is it's time to start deciding what social media platforms your company should use. Each platform has their own characteristics and their users expect to see different types of content and create different types of relationships depending on … More Which Social Media is for you?


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When I was doing some research about women and makeup I came across a blog called Modern Mechanix that had an interesting article called '"Beauty Micrometer" Analyzes Facial Flaws for Makeup" which dates back from January, 1935. What struck me the most about this article was the image of a caged like machine covering the whole head and face of a women to detect flaws. The man in the image was a famous beauty guru, Max Factor who invented the flaw detecting tool. The flaw detecting tool would help Factor put makeup on women where needed for example, if the tool detected that the women's nose was too big Factor can make the nose appear smaller by applying makeup. After reading the article I feel that society right now strongly sees a certain image of how women should look like and women would go to great lengths to perfect that image, even if it means to go into surgery. (Photo credit: Modern Mechanix)
Applying makeup is a ritual I do mostly every day. Even when I go to the gym I would have no makeup up on however, I would apply a little colour on my lips to make it appear more pink. For me makeup makes me feel more confident in myself just because I know I look more presentable than my natural face. On my daily ritual the process of applying makeup varies depending on the event I am going to for example, a day time look I'd apply on foundation (which covers the whole face for an even colour), blush and bronzer (for my cheeks), neutral shades of eye shadow (so that my eyes appear a little bigger), mascara on the eyelashes (to make them longer and thicker), eyeliner, lipstick, and define my eyebrows by applying a dark powder. My daily ritual of applying makeup would be different from my special event ritual of applying makeup because I would want my face to be more glammed with applying fake eyelashes so that my eyes appear more bigger.
For my ritual project I propose to document my process of applying makeup and then taking it all off at the end of the day. I am going to document the process through photography and video. Photography and video are both mediums that I would like to explore more through my art practice. There will only be shots and short clips of myself applying makeup in my room at different angles. There will be 5 photographs taken of myself going through makeup ritual in the same style as the video. The video will be under 5 minutes long with footage of the variety of different makeup rituals on loop. I will present the photographs on the wall along with the video on my iPad for better viewing purposes.
I am just in a process of documenting my makeup ritual and will be posting up progress pictures.
"Beauty Micrometer" Analyzes Facial Flaws for Makeup. (1935, January). In Modern Mechanix. Retrieved October 21, 2013, from http://blog.modernmechanix.com/beauty-micrometer-analyzes-facial-flaws-for-makeup/
Why Women Wear Makeup – Stuff Dad Never Told You. (2013, May 17). In YouTube. Retrieved October 21, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bx9-ZadbuOA
Edmonds, M. (2011, May 31). How Makeup Works. In HowStuffWorks. Retrieved October 21, 2013, from http://people.howstuffworks.com/about-makeup.htm


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|Brian Bateman
July 1, 1751 – The first volume of Diderot's "Encyclopedia" was issued.
July 1, 1770 – Lexell's Comet passed closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of 0.0146 astronomical units.
July 1, 1775 - Francis Salvador earned the nickname "Southern Paul Revere" when he rode 30 miles to warn of a Cherokee attack on backcountry settlements of South Carolina.
July 1, 1775 - The New England Restraining Act went into effect and required New England colonies to trade exclusively with Great Britain.
July 1, 1775 - The Continental Congress resolved to recruit Indian nations to the American side in their dispute with the British if necessary, should the British take native allies of their own.
July 1, 1804 – French novelist George Sand was born Lucile Aurore Dupin in Paris.
July 1, 1818 - Josiah Gorgas was born in Dauphin County, Pa. He would go on to serve as a Confederate general and would head the Confederate artillery. He later served as the president of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
July 1, 1822 – David Moniac of Alabama graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 6th Infantry Regiment. He was the first Native American graduate of West Point.
July 1, 1830 – Edgar Allan Poe entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point as a cadet.
July 1, 1858 – A paper by Charles Darwin about his theory of evolution was first presented to a public audience.
July 1, 1859 – The first baseball game played between two colleges took place on this day when Amherst beat Pittsfield, 73-32. Only 35 feet separated the pitcher from the batter, and the bases were a mere 60 feet apart.
July 1, 1861 - John R. Baylor declared himself governor of the Confederate Territory of Arizona.
July 1, 1861 - Four members of the Baltimore, Md. Police Board were arrested by Federal authorities because of their alleged pro-Confederate activities within the city.
July 1, 1862 – During the Civil War, the Battle of Malvern Hill took place in Henrico County, Va. as Confederate General Robert E. Lee assaulted George B. McClellan's army and where Union artillery cut down Confederate attackers on the last of the Seven Days' battles. It was the final battle in the Seven Days Campaign, part of George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign. John Hodo and Emanuel Johnston, both of the Conecuh Guards were killed at Malvern Hill; Lt. William Lee was wounded there as well and G.R. Boulware was also slightly wounded.
July 1, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Booneville and Holly Springs, Mississippi; at Cherry Grove, in Schuyler County, Missouri; near Fort Furnace and Powell's Big Fort Valley in Virginia.
July 1, 1862 - The U.S. Government approved the building of a trans-continental railroad across the west, which would become the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific Railroad.
July 1, 1862 - The U.S. Government revised the Federal Income Tax Law with three percent on income between $600 and $10,000 and five percent on income above $10,000.
July 1, 1862 - President Lincoln announced to Northern governors he was calling for 300,000 more men to "bring this unnecessary and injurious civil war to a speedy and satisfactory end."
July 1, 1863 – The Battle of Gettysburg, the largest military conflict in North American history, began in Adams County, Pa. The epic battle lasted three days and resulted in a retreat to Virginia by Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Noah Dallas Peacock (Lewis Lavon Peacock's older brother) was in the thick of this climatic battle, serving with Co. F, 15th Ala. Inf., Army of Northern Virginia.
July 1, 1863 – Canadian-English captain and explorer William Grant Stairs was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
July 1, 1863 – During the Civil War, in the North, discontent was mounting over the draft. In the South, discontent was growing with the Davis administration in Richmond, between general officers in the field, and with economic hardships.
July 1, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Christiansburg, Kentucky; at Cabin Creek in the Indian Territory; at Baltimore Cross Roads, Maryland; at Carlisle, Pennsylvania; at Edwards Station, Mississippi; near Bethpage Bridge on the Elk River, Tennessee, and another near Bobo's Cross Roads, Tennessee.
July 1, 1863 – During the Civil War, the siege at Vicksburg, Miss. entered Day 45.
July 1, 1863 – During the Civil War, Tullahoma, Tennessee was occupied by Federal forces led by U.S. Major General William S. Rosecrans.
July 1, 1863 – During the Civil War, a Federal operation began between White House and South Anna River in Virginia.
July 1, 1864 – A month-long Federal operation on the west coast of Florida began.
July 1, 1864 – During the Civil War, multiple skirmishes were fought at Allatoona, Howell's Ferry and Lost Mountain, Georgia; and another skirmish was fought in the vicinity of Fayette, Missouri.
July 1, 1864 – During the Civil War, a 10-day Federal operation began against Sioux Indians in the District of Minnesota.
July 1, 1865 – During the Civil War, New Hampshire became the 21st state to ratify the 13th amendment which would abolish slavery.
July 1, 1867 - Former Union General Thomas F. Meagher died when he mysteriously fell from the deck of a riverboat on the Missouri River. His body was never recovered. President Andrew Johnson had appointed Meagher secretary of Montana Territory after the war.
July 1, 1869 – Cornell English professor William Strunk Jr., who published "The Elements of Style" in 1918, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio.
July 1, 1874 – Charley Ross of Philadelphia, age four, was abducted by men in a carriage and became the primary victim of the first kidnapping for ransom in America to receive widespread attention from the media.
July 1, 1886 - Miss Carlie Cater opened a school at Fork church, according to The Monroe Journal.
July 1, 1889 – Mrs. M.C. McLean began serving at Monroeville's new postmistress, replacing Mr. Seymour, who retired after seven years of service as Monroeville's postmaster.
July 1, 1889 – Luverne, Ala. was officially incorporated as a municipality.
July 1, 1898 – During the Spanish-America War, the Battle of San Juan Hill occurred when the U.S. Army's Fifth Corps engaged Spanish forces at El Caney and San Juan Hill as part of their campaign to capture Spanish-held Santiago de Cuba on the southern coast of Cuba. During the battle, Theodore Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" waged a victorious assault on San Juan Hill in Cuba.
July 1, 1905 – At a picnic near Axle, Ala. Andrew Broughton shot and killed Bill Henderson. Both men were "tanked up on Peruna or some similar concoction, and the killing was the result."
July 1, 1905 - Frank Owen of the Chicago White Sox pitched two complete games in one day.
July 1, 1909 – The Conecuh Record newspaper reported that E.C. Page had resigned as Evergreen, Alabama's mayor "owing to the press of business in law." Councilman I.F. Goodson was appointed to serve out the rest of Page's term. W.H. Wild was appointed to fill Goodson's place on the council.
July 1, 1910 - White Sox Park opened, and the park's name was later changed to Comiskey Park.
July 1, 1910 – Monroeville, Alabama's Rural Delivery Mail Route No. 2 was discontinued "because the patronage of people along the route did not justify continuance of the service."
July 1, 1911 – A regular meeting of Camp William Lee, United Confederate Veterans, was scheduled to be held on this Saturday in Evergreen, Ala. M.B. Salter was the camp's sergeant major.
July 1, 1912 - The annual meeting of the board of pension examiners was scheduled to be held at the Conecuh County Courthouse in Evergreen, Ala.
July 1, 1915 - Statewide prohibition went into effect in Alabama, five years before nationwide prohibition. The sale and regulation of alcohol has often been a bitter issue in Alabama politics, and the 1915 ban was first vetoed by Gov. Charles Henderson, but the legislature overrode his veto. Despite prohibition, 386 illegal stills were seized in Alabama in 1915.
July 1, 1915 – The local camp of Confederate Veterans was scheduled to meet at the Conecuh County Courthouse at 10 a.m. in Evergreen, Ala.
July 1, 1915 – Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jean Stafford was born in Covina, Calif.
July 1, 1915 – The Monroe Journal reported that local doctors were seeing "numerous" cases of typhoid fever in the vicinity of Monroeville, Ala., but no cases had developed within the city limits. Many citizens were taking the inoculation treatment as a preventative.
July 1, 1915 – Several young men from Jeddo attended the "baseball picnic" at Megargel on this day.
July 1, 1916 - Members of Camp Capt. Wm. Lee No. 338 were scheduled to meet at the courthouse at Evergreen, Ala. on this Saturday. G.R. Boulware was Commander, and T.A. Jones was Adjutant.
July 1, 1916 – The Battle of the Somme began at 7:30 a.m. as the British launched a massive offensive against German forces in the Somme River region of France. The battle was the first to use tanks. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,000 soldiers of the British Army were killed and 40,000 were wounded.
July 1, 1916 – The Brooklyn and Evergreen Chapters of the United Daughters of the Confederacy planned to entertain veterans at a picnic dinner on this Saturday on the lawn of the Conecuh County Courthouse in Evergreen, Ala. Every veteran in the county was cordially invited to be present.
July 1, 1916 - Beginning on this day, rural delivery mail service was to be established from the Monroeville post office to a considerable territory lying north and west of Monroeville. The communities to be served include Salem, Hamilton Hill and the Lower and Upper Ridge.
July 1, 1917 - Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds pitched two complete games in one day.
July 1, 1918 – "The Kaiser's Shadow," a movie version of Alabama author Octavus Roy Cohen's book "The Triple Cross," was released.
July 1, 1918 – A meeting of Camp Capt. Wm. Lee, United Confederate Veterans, was scheduled to be held in Evergreen on this Monday. J.T. Fincher was Camp Commander.
July 1, 1921 - J.I. McKinney, superintendent of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, who had been connected with the railroad in one way or another for the past 50 years, was scheduled to voluntarily retire on this date.
July 1, 1928 - John W. Baldwin of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints was scheduled to preach at the courthouse on this Sunday night. Services were scheduled to begin at 7:30 and the general public was invited to attend.
July 1, 1934 - The Federal Communications Commission replaced the Federal Radio Commission as the regulator of broadcasting in the United States.
July 1, 1936 – Baseball pitcher Paul Kardow, who would go on to manage the Evergreen (Ala.) Greenies, made his Major League debut with the Cleveland Indians.
July 1, 1939 – The Bureau of Vital Statistics of the State Department of Health estimated Monroe County, Alabama's population was 31,143, compared to 31,027 on July 1, 1938.
July 1, 1941 - Joe DiMaggio extended his hitting streak to 44 games.
July 1, 1943 – A dedication and christening ceremony for Dannelly Field (now Montgomery Regional Airport) was scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. The airfield was named in honor of Evergreen native, Navy Ensign Clarence Moore Dannelly Jr., the son of former Conecuh County Superintendent of Education C.M. Dannelly, who was killed in an airplane crash in Pensacola on Dec. 17, 1940. Dannelly, who was born on Feb. 3, 1916 in Evergreen, grew up in Montgomery and is considered to be the first casualty of World War II from Montgomery.
July 1, 1943 – The Evergreen Courant published a portion of a letter from Major J.P. Walker to Miss Lyndall Middleton, the sister of Lt. Laula Middleton, an Evergreen, Ala. pilot who was killed in action during World War II. Walker was the commanding officer of Lt. Middleton's squadron and told Miss Middleton that her brother was flying on his left wing at the time of the "accident." An enemy fighter "hit his ship, knocking off the tail," and it "spiraled down toward the ocean." Three parachutes were seen coming out of the plane and they landed near an enemy convoy," so Walker figured that Lt. Middleton had been taken prisoner.
July 1, 1944 – Knud Nielsen Jr. of Evergreen, Ala. was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army's field artillery at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma.
July 1, 1946 - U.S. President Harry Truman signed Public Law 476 that incorporated the Civil Air Patrol as a benevolent, nonprofit organization. The Civil Air Patrol was created on Dec. 1, 1941.
July 1, 1948 - Miss Ethel Coleman, County Health Nurse, announced in this day's edition of The Evergreen Courant, that five cases of scarlet fever, one case of typhoid and one case of small pox had been reported in the county in the previous two months. In addition to these there has been one death from diphtheria.
July 1, 1951 - Cleveland Indians ace Bob Feller pitched the third no-hit game of his career to lead the Indians over the Detroit Tigers, 2-1. This made him the first modern pitcher ever to throw three no-hitters.
July 1, 1951 - Alumni ticket sales for the University of Alabama's 1951 football season were scheduled to begin on this day, according to Athletic Business Manager Jeff Coleman. Public ticket sales were to begin on July 16. Alabama's 1951 home and away schedule was said to have been the most attractive offered to Crimson Tide followers in a number of years. Eight games were to be played within the state with Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa all listed as game sites. Eight conference games and an intersectional contest with Villanova highlighted the 11-game schedule. Complete ticket sale information and order blanks were to be mailed on June 20 to all alumni listed on University files. Non-alumni inquiries and requests were to be furnished full details on the public ticket sales which were to begin July 16. Priority allocations for 1951 football tickets were as follows: (1) students (2) faculty (3) alumni who are former lettermen in major varsity sports (4) alumni and (5) the public. Alumni orders received prior to July 1 were to be treated as having been received on the first sales day. No order was to be processed in more than one priority classification. All orders were to be handled according to the date received and each day's orders will be filled by lot. Alabama's complete 1951 schedule was as follows Sept. 21, v. Mississippi in Montgomery; Sept. 29, v. L.S.U. in Mobile; Oct. 6, v. Vanderbilt in Nashville; Oct. 12, v. Villanova (night) in Tuscaloosa; Oct. 20, v. Tennessee in Birmingham; Oct. 27, v. Mississippi State in Starkville; Nov. 3, v. Georgia in Athens; Nov. 10, v. Mississippi Southern in Tuscaloosa; Nov. 17, v. Georgia Tech in Birmingham; Nov. 24, v. Florida (homecoming) in Tuscaloosa; and Dec. 1, v. Auburn in Birmingham.
July 1, 1953 - Alabama author Harryette Mullen was born in Florence, Ala.
July 1, 1953 - The United States Post Office at Evergreen was to become an official first-class post office on this Wednesday, according to Postmaster Mary R. Cunningham. The class of office was based on stamp sales, box rents, etc. and first class was the highest grade. Cunningham pointed out that the local office's increase in grade followed a gradual increase of gross postal receipts. Since 1942, sales had nearly doubled with increase being registered each year during the period. The increase in postal sales was attributed to a gradual rise in business and growth in postal population and to the mailing of large quantities of parcel post of the Evergreen Garment Co. and Southern Coach Manufacturing Co., Inc.
July 1, 1961 – Morris T. Ward began serving as principal at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Ala, a position he would hold until his resignation on June 30, 1967. Prior to becoming principal at Evergreen, Ward had been a successful coach at Lyeffion High School and Thomaston High School.
July 1, 1961 - British troops landed in Kuwait to aid against Iraqi threats.
July 1, 1963 – The U.S. Postal Service introduced ZIP codes (Zoning Improvement Plan Codes) on this day. The first three digits represent the part of the country the mail is going to, and the last two identify the post office within that region. ZIP codes start with zero in the Northeast and get bigger as one moves south and west.
July 1, 1963 – In an incident attributed to the Bermuda Triangle, Sno' Boy, a 63-foot fishing boat with 40 aboard, sailed from Kingston, Jamaica to Northeast Cay, 80 miles to the south, but disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle with all hands.
July 1, 1964 - Army Pvt. Dennis E. Bailey Jr., whose father lived at Owassa, arrived in Germany, and was assigned to the 3rd Armored Division. Bailey, age 23, was a 1958 graduate of Evergreen High School.
July 1, 1965 - Undersecretary of State George Ball submitted a memo to President Lyndon B. Johnson titled "A Compromise Solution for South Vietnam." It began bluntly: "The South Vietnamese are losing the war to the Viet Cong. No one can assure you that we can beat the Viet Cong, or even force them to the conference table on our terms, no matter how many hundred thousand white, foreign (U.S.) troops we deploy." Ball advised that the United States not commit any more troops, restrict the combat role of those already in place, and seek to negotiate a way out of the war.
July 1, 1966 - U.S. Air Force and Navy jets carried out a series of raids on fuel installations in the Hanoi-Haiphong area. The Dong Nam fuel dump, 15 miles northeast of Hanoi, with nine percent of North Vietnam's storage capacity, was struck on this day.
July 1, 1973 – During the Sunday morning service, Dr. Sam Granade submitted his resignation from the position of pastor at Evergreen Baptist Church in Evergreen, Ala., where he'd been pastor for the past 25 years. He was to preach his final sermon as pastor on July 15 and his resignation was to take effect on Aug. 15.
July 1, 1973 - In New York City, "Jesus Christ Superstar" closed after 711 shows on Broadway.
July 1, 1975 - Banker-farmer Tal Stuart III killed a big rattlesnake while working in the "Brassell Field" of the Newton Plantation on this Tuesday afternoon. The rattler measured 4-1/2 feet and had eight rattles and a button.
July 1, 1979 – Sony introduced the Walkman portable cassette player.
July 1, 1982 - Cal Ripken began playing shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles.
July 1, 1984 – The PG-13 rating was introduced by the MPAA.
July 1, 1985 - Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers got the 1,800th hit of his career.
July 1, 1988 – Weather reporter Harry Ellis reported 1.33 inches of rain in Evergreen, Ala.
July 1, 1993 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Master Sgt. Larry D. Hessell had returned to Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska from a desert warfare training exercise at Fort Irwin, Barstow, Calif. The NTC, located in the Mojave Desert, was one of the Army's four combat training centers. Hessell was a 1974 graduate of Lyeffion High School.
July 1, 1993 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Maurice L. Jackson, the son of Leon Jackson of Evergreen, Ala., had recently reported for duty at Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity, Naval Station, Mayport, Fla.
July 1, 1996 - The Milwaukee Brewers ended a 19-game home run hitting streak.
July 1, 1996 - Frank Thomas of the Chicago White Sox got his 1,000th hit.
July 1, 1997 - Randy Myers of the Baltimore Orioles got his 300th career save.
July 1, 2000 - The Confederate flag was removed from atop South Carolina's Statehouse.
July 1, 2004 – The McIntosh Cemetery in Wilcox County, Ala. was added to the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register.
July 1, 2004 – Saturn orbit insertion of Cassini–Huygens begins at 01:12 UTC and ends at 02:48 UTC. Cassini-Huygens sent back the closest images yet of the planet's rings.
July 1, 2007 - Evergreen's 11- and 12-year-old all-stars started the Little League District 5 tournament on this Sunday in Evergreen with a 12-0 loss to Opp.
July 1, 2007 - Brian Bateman, 34, of Monroe, La. captured first place in the Buick Open pro golf tournament on in Warwick Hill, Mich. Bateman was the son of Dr. Bill Bateman, a 1961 graduate of Evergreen High School, and the grandson of Scotty and Bill Bateman, formerly of Evergreen. He was the great nephew of Virginia Key and the late Judge Robert E.L. Key of Evergreen. Bateman, who began his professional golfing career after graduating from Louisiana State University in 1996, took home $882,000 and a brand new Buick for his win in the Buick Open. The tournament's total purse amounted to $4.9 million. With his win at the Buick Open, Bateman became the first player to capture his first PGA TOUR win at the Buick Open since Tom Pernice Jr. in 1999.


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Made some progess today with this project only I never thought It would take this long to just get this far. I've kinda been bouncing around not just doing one task or another but the table core has caused little sleep with worry on the mind so I worked on it.
Started by priming the edging :
then later i painted it black
I cut the laminate to size 2 sheets for the table core and 2 sheets for the ext wing.
I forgot to photo me applying the laminate compound but addeded it to the core and the laminate before carefully laying the sheet into place.
The cores consist of 2 3/4"mdf glued together with 2 sheets of laminate on top and bottom.
Both cores were then beveled with a 7 degree laminate edge router bit.
Cores completed and ready for fabrication.
I attemped to rip more of the MDF stock down but I kept making mistakes on the cuts. Working with a straight edge,cir saw,and table saw I'm not happy how there not coming out square and much is getting wasted when making crosscuts to get a good edge on final pieces. I really need a jointer dammit! ,These factory edges are not really all that straight. I attemped to work on the complex fence base and I trashed it too. I'm not convinced that MDF is a good choice for the base alone the angles on it make it weak until the frame goes on. After trashing 3 more not square 13×15" piece I called it quits for tonight. Tierd mean loss of product and possible loss of fingers or worse so shut down until tommorow.
-- "If the Universe is Infinite, Then all dreams are real."


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3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 & 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 & 1/4 cup veg. oil (You can lighten it by using 1 c. applesauce and only 1/4 c. oil)
2 cups fresh chopped strawberries
1 cup chopped walnuts
In large bowl, combine first 5 ingredients. Add egg and oil; mix well.
Stir in berries and nuts until evenly distributed - batter will be
thick. Grease & flour two 9" loaf pans and divide batter evenly into
each. Bake at 350 approx. 1 hour. Cool in pans 10 min. Invert onto
wire rack to cool completely.
**This makes two loaves


text:
Tom Phillips
- English Art and Modernism 1900-1939 by Charles Harrison
Allen Lane, 416 pp, £20.00, February 1981, ISBN 0 7139 0792 4
If that famous omnibus has not yet reached Clapham, its poor browbeaten passenger, the unwitting touchstone of our century's discourse, should he turn his thoughts towards art, might reasonably assume that Modernism and Modern Art were acceptable ways of referring to what is going on at the moment. He would perhaps be bewildered and dismayed to learn that we are so well into Post-Modernism that Neo-Modernism must be just over the hill. Indeed, according to Frank Kermode, we passed out of Palaeo-Modernism some time ago (imperceptibly, one presumes, as through the tail of a comet). He might, however, be consoled by the knowledge that artists themselves are confused, though themselves in turn consoled by remembering Barnett Newman's aphorism: 'Aesthetics is to the artist as ornithology is to the birds.' It is not difficult to imagine a painter, like some character in Borges, looking himself up to find out what to call what he was doing; the isms grow in quick and dull profusion, and a week is beginning to be a long time in art as well.
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Vol. 3 No. 6 · 2 April 1981 » Tom Phillips » Echoes
pages 13-14 | 1707 words


text:
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 1/2 cup Earth Balance non-dairy butter
- 1/2 cup all-natural unsalted peanut butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large bowl cream butter, peanut butter and both sugars until smooth. Beat eggs in one at a time. Stir in water and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt.
- Slowly mix the dry mixture into the peanut butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Spoon teaspoonfuls of batter about 3 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven for about 12-15 minutes or until edges are slightly brown.
- Let cool on a wire rack for a few minutes and enjoy!


text:
You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'Misunderstood' category.
Today is my birthday. Yay.
Happy my birthday to my mom.
I read that in a book; The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I remember being struck with Charlie's realization that his mother had been there too, and from then on he would remind himself of that every year and do something nice for her too.
That has always lingered in my mind.
I always thought it was the sweetest thing. And I wished that I could do it.
But I couldn't do it.
It's not that, if I did, I feared she would ignore/ridicule/patronize me. I couldn't do it because the depth of the emotion that I would need to express something like that to her is just not there. It's too grand a scale expression than what I feel.
How's that for fucked up?
I can't make a nice gesture on the day she birthed me because even the smallest thing is "too nice" for how if eel? But no, it's not nice. It's not about the emotion, really, is it? I feel that we don't have the sort of relationship where that kind of closeness lives. i'm not ready yet.
or maybe it's that i'm worried that she just won't get it. that sh won't appreciate what i'm trying to say if I did. Because I feel that a lot. I feel that any emotion I did express would be misunderstood or just simply missed; not noticed at all.
Because I feel that a lot.
She doesn't "get" my gestures. I feel like my odd little interactiosn with the world are such a part of me that people have learned to expect them. my off-kilter not quite sensible skew on everything is so much of what I am and in interacting with her the same way I do everyone else i'm trying so hard to include her; to teach her me, to let her in.
I don't think she gets why I wish her a Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day on her birthday instead. It's the same reason I give my dad a fancy loaf of wheat bread and those candy orange slices every year on his Birthday/Father's Day Extravaganza (it's not really an extravaganza, just usually more of a low-key sitting around and talking about books) because that's what I do.
Dad looks forward to it. I've never heard a peep from mom. does she like it? does she hate it? she never told me to stop but there's not even a wink and a nudge. "Hey, that's what you said last year, ha-ha," to it. Silence.
And so I feel that I've been out of line. Not that its gonna stop me, being out of line. when has it ever? it's not going to stop me from doing my brand of reaching-out things; these things, while strange, express the emotions I have without the discomfort of the grander things that I wish I could do… hoping that one day I will feel comfortable with those wished for exchanges…
Because i'm not going to be someone else for her to like me and accept me and finally get to know me. I'm not imaginary.
"Do you think you are the only one to feel pain and abandonment?"
I want to stand at the top of a mountain and scream over and over with a voice drawing strength from the very depths of my soul; No, No, No, No, NO!
No. I don't think that. I am perfectly aware that there are others in the world who have experienced pain. are some of them in more pain than me? Yes. Are some of them in less pain than me? Yes. Is their pain, no matter how large or small, no matter how real or superficial valid?
I am an empathetic person. I have empathy coming out of my ears. I am a cancer, it's what we do. And while I don't allow astrology to dictate my life I do accept the fact that everything matters. Nature and nurture, DNA and the stars' alignment at the moment you were born. Everything matters.
Speaking of pain. it's not just the understanding of overall, worldly pain in far-off wars, starving children, mourning families of shootings and bombings and natural disasters. Empathy out my ears; I try not to pay too close attention to those stories, but for the bare facts, or I would sit around and cry all day. That's no way to live.
No, I understand pain of others on a close-up scale.
I have a friend who has been transitioning from one gender to another and I was right there with her, spiritually if not physically, during what she says now was the hardest part of her transition. She tells me over and over how much she loves and appreciates me and what I have done for her. My reaction is, "Me!? I am in part responsible for the beautiful person I see before me now? But I didn't do anything!" Still it fills me with joy and pride and light to know that I've been so important to her.
I have a friend who is searching her own soul and the confusing and often misleading government documents to find out who she is and who she should have been if not for her trans-racial adoption. she has educated me deeply and in doing so has opened up to me with incredible amounts of emotion and information. We have known each other for at least six years. Only the past two, since she's been married and I first saw her family, did I know that she was even adopted. And those two years have meant the world to me as she has allowed me a glimpse into her soul and truth.
That's what I do. Part of it, yes, is these different human experiences that I will never have for myself, and I like to collect these stories and learn about people. But people are made up of ropes of strength braided of what we dredge from the waters of pain that are home to the buoys of hope, silver darting schools of knowledge, and a bright shining sun of joy overhead lighting the way so at least if you do not feel its warmth today, you can see where you're going for tomorrow.
I jump into those great oceans of pain belonging to other people. I am a large, sturdy hunk of driftwood; not impervious to the waters, but still apart from them. I float about, here and there, just waiting for these people I love to swim by and grab hold; take a few moments' rest to unburden some of what they're carrying and then dive back in to do some more searching.
"Do you think you are the only one to feel pain and abandonment?"
I've already said no, but there's another point i'd like to make about that statement, most especially because it was the first words I saw following the exposure of my hurt.
No, i'm not the only one hurt or abandoned, but the mere fact that you know that pain as well does not justify your ignoring it in others. It does not justify your willingness to inflict it, even unknowingly, on others. knowing that sort of pain actually gives you a special and particular gift; the gift of helping others respond and heal from those wounds and perhaps finding your own healing.
"Do you think you are the only one to feel pain and abandonment?"
the more I look at it, the more sure I am of the abusiveness of this relationship. Fired off without thought, without pause between this idea and the next, but still not even the first time I've heard it.
My emotions don't matter because you were hurt first. I don't think that's how it works.
I would be a piece of driftwood in your ocean but that body of water has been put away in a tight mason jar and forgotten. to suggest I do the same is to suggest that I tear apart the very fiber of my being I have spent a life time creating.
"Do you think you are the only one to feel pain and abandonment?"
For the final time, no. We are all the same and we are all unique. Every thought, action, word, feeling, voice and expression is valid no matter what the age, gender, race, creed, relationship or opinion of the person its being expressed to thinks. Everything matters.
"feel all this, because it's real, and it really hurts, but remain true to the most part of it, and the most part of it is that this is not your fault … and you are then to continue on, in your open, loving and brutally honest way of living (and learning) … do not dwell, beyond feeling these initial emotions and processing them. this will all lead somewhere, my lovely one …" my anti-mommy
Mom's on her way here for a visit. I'm straightening my hair, doing the dishes and watering the plants. Those are not things that are being done because i am expecting my mother. Those are things done because it's Sunday (well, not the hair straightening part, that comes simply when the mood descends).
This is actually the second visit in a short amount of time. Late last month we finally made it to her house for Christmas… I had planned to be there much earlier, but she had decided to go back to school. Again. Our original plans fell through as my husband and my days off are weekdays for the most part.
I don't remember what the conversation was about at "Christmas" something about "if i ever turn into that sort of person, shoot me"
to which she added.
"Because lord knows you'd shoot me without provocation anyway."
No. no, that's not it at all. not without provocation. That. that right there. that's provocation for me to shoot you. the provocation of consistantly, repeatedly, wantonly ignoring the fact that you say horrible things to me and then expect me to be your best friend afterwards.
alright, that wasn't so horrible. that was an offhand comment. She's said worse.
but then again, they are all offhand comments. every single one of them hurts. and what cuts even deeper is the fact that when i try to express it i get rebuffed. dragged back into the past and told to get over it. but i've said all this before.
Anyway, the dishes are done soaking. I'm totally gonna ruin my St Patty's Day day-glo orange nails, but whatevs.
I've been meaning to write this post for a while. First it took some time to find the courage to do so and then after that simply finding the time and the words i needed to use.
I was a tantrumy kid and i think in the end it will make it easier for me to cope with and comfort my tantrumy croc. my parents did not do well in handling my tantrums, in my opinion at least. maybe it was because they did not have the experience to draw from of being unaccountably upset by something that you can't control your reaction to; of passing that point of upset into a realm where you can neither stop crying without some comfort nor comfort yourself. a vicious catch-22 for a child who's decades from discovering Joseph Heller.
I feel i was deprived pretty consistently of that comfort i didn't know how to express i needed. hell, i still don't exactly know how to express what it was i needed back then or the emotions or events that led to the tantrums in the first place. maybe that's why i'm so diligent about listening for the change in the croc's cries from tantrumy to just needing comfort to settle down. when i hear it i hug her and talk to her and maybe when she's older we'll talk to each other about what set her off and how to avoid it next time.
I needed that, i know that much. it would have made it easier over the years. it would have improved me over the years. but instead i feel i got worse and worse until i grew to an age old enough to understand myself. old enough to exert the amount of restraint and control that was required… which is a lot. I have always said i am a ball of chaos covered in a thin layer of sanity. That thin layer has only been in existence since my early teens but it could have been there earlier and been a thicker coat of that calm sanity that i so desire.
But as it was i was a wild terror when things weren't exactly the way i wanted. I guess i can undertand how, out of frustration, my mother hit me the way she did that ended with me living with dad. (though if we're being completely honest, dad spanked me too. Though i still have not figured out the logic of inflicting pain as a means to get a child to stop crying) but that's all on them, not me. I didn't fully understand what was out of tune with me, and i never was given a chance to find out.
But there is one thing that lands on me. because just a few weeks ago i hit the croc. it was a slap to the belly with just my fingers and no harder than the bottom spanks i gave her a few months previous when she was in her biting stage. but the look of confusion on her face, because unlike the biting episodes she hadn't been doing anything wrong. she was so surprised; her laughing, bouncing, goofing around-ness ceased abruptly and i was finally able to finish changing the severely dirty diaper which had been in danger of getting everywhere the way she was acting.
She would not stop no matter how i raised my voice, but i shouldn't have hit her for laughing. even though the precise image of the expression on her face has faded, i remember how shocked i was at her shock. she forgave me; was chattering and laughing a few moments later, and has probably forgotten. But luckily for her, i have not. i cannot and i should not.
There is this show i loved on USA that was cancelled at the end of its second season. this fact still brings me gripping pains in my Tv-watcher's guts. It's not just because of the second season's wonderfully angsty, mistake-ridden not-quite love affair between the main character and the new addition; a slick, cocky-haired fella who could've kissed her or rolled his eyes at her… yeah, he did both. The reason i really loved the show was because the main character was a laywer turned mediator and that aspect, mediation, finding compromise; that speaks to me.
My biggest wish in the world is that i had more time to write but that too is actually a story for another blog… my other blog, in fact. i wax on about it constantly there but have never really mentioned my blood-and-bones love of writing here. i feel i express myself most clearly in writing. some may think it a cowardly way to operate but i know that if i need to express something very specific, every emotional in a well thought-out, un-tantrumy kinda way i have to do it in writing. and though these letters have been referred to as being "told off" or that i'm talking in circles and passing judgements it has only been said by my mother and Bennie (okay, my step-mom also. but i have realized that she too fits into the same mentality as mom and bennie, just does not have the maliciousness to go with it).
As long as i can remember i have been in the middle. I don't hold grudges and i don't take part in others' grudges so i am always the one who speaks to both side of pair who are not speaking to each other. I think nothing of simply passing along information between these people, or of listening to their problems. For months and months before Bennie stopped speaking to me i did exactly that for him and for his girlfriend… but this is getting into Bennie, and that's not where i want to go right now. I try to mediate a little, i listen, i give my support but i try not to take sides.
I know that God cast out those who refused to choose a side in the war against his fallen angels too. I don't take too much stock in religions themselves, but the moral behind it is solid. to put it in pop culture terms: "Why me? Every time Metsler says, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way," I get out of the way." -Joe of Idiocracy. i keep this in mind when overcome by these foreign wars that threaten my boundries. i do not stand by and wait to support the victor. i would fight both sides to the death (oxymoronic, i know) just to show them that there is an equatable solution to this horrible battle that has begun. I will fight them to prove that niether of them is exactly right (so would say "E" of the Pale Skin; a rejoinder of "Yes, but neither is exactly wrong either," from "E" of the Dark).
And this is where my writing comes in. i belive that my ability to create stories and relationships on a page of paper has given me this ability to step away from a situation and see it from both perspectives. sometimes i can even do this just knowing a person well; i don't even need to hear their side (But i always do; every gritty, gruesome detail). So i listen. and i follow my own collection of mediation laws i impose on myself regarding what i can repeat, what i say, how i say it. what i suggest for resolutions are always just that; suggestions, never commandments. Never judgemental (though privately i do have my personal opinions as well. of course i do. I feel that i stood behind and supported my brother long past the point where i actually thought he had a leg to stand on in the supposed wrongs towards him…)
*They* want my ear. *They* are the ones who say to me, "I don't mean to put you in the middle but…" and i do my god damned best.
These letters are a last resort (But in actuality, this blog is my lastest last resort). they come when i realize that they want only my ear but none of the suggestions i can offer. When it becomes clear to me that they want to fill me up like an empty steamer trunk with their convoluted angers and arguments and simply walk away, that is when i explain to them what it has felt like for them to do that to me. Because emotions, i has them. treating me as a garbage can for yours disrupts my zen.
These letters are crafted with care. they are revised half a dozen times and i remove my angry judgements that get in there on accident. I tell only the truth and i will make one more plea for compromise. They are not accusations. the people who read them that way simply don't have any other mindset than a general "fuck you" to and from everyone they come in contact with. They read it with a ready-to-be-pissed off attitude and if i simply do not agree with everything they say when they say it then my opinion and my feelings don't matter.
I'm seeing more and more that i don't need people like that in my life, even though i just want to reunite with my brother and have something stable with my mother. I'm so torn between the Wanting and the What's Bad For Me. these people who take and take and consider no one else. These people who insult me when i don't even know what i've done wrong because all i want in the world, really, is for all of the people i love to go on loving each other because and in spite of all the wonderful things that make us different people in a wide and varied population.


text:
On achievement tests given last spring, Virginia students consistently scored above the national norm.
If you think that means Virginia's children outdid their peers across the nation, think again.
Schools across the nation use a variety of standardized tests to measure achievement. Only five other states used the same exams as Virginia, and the great majority of their averages were also above the national norm.


text:
The rules:
Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random and some weird. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blog. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog or email them.
1.) I have a tiny scar on the tip of my nose. My one remembrance from a bout with Chicken Pox as a toddler (so my late Mom told me).
2.) My Dad nicknamed me CLING-CLING (the sound of bells) because I was baptized on Christmas Day.
3.) As a child, I joined the English Dramatics Club and joined a school Musical where I had to sing my dialogues several times (of course, since it's a Musical, ha ha ha). It had been called the Sampaguita Vendors. I was invited (along with other cast members to join the PETA in Manila) by our DRAMA instructors (who were PETA members) but, my parents didn't want me living far from them. :(
4.) This is embarrassing for me, and I don't mean to boast, but I only spent one schoolyear to finish both Grades 5 and 6. I belonged to an "accelerated class" and we were all accelerated from Grades 4 to 5 and then again, from Grades 5 to 6. It was a nice experience, but no fun at all-- not when you're already taking High School subjects even when you're only in Grade School.
5.) I was a huge fan of Charlie's Angels (the old tv series which starred Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith, and Farrah Fawcett who was later replaced by Cheryl Ladd) so much that I wanted to be a detective when I grew up, ha ha ha. Then came QUINCY (Medical Examiner) and then I also wanted to be a Medical Examiner, hee hee.
6.) I am scared of heights. I can take the escalator going up but I have trouble using it going down. I dunno. I hate having to look down at times, ha ha ha. But, I sure have been working to face this fear and deal with it. So far, I've been making progress.
7.) I may be in my late 30's now, but I'm still a child-at-heart. I'm the Resident Clown of my family and my workplace, ha ha ha. Well, laughter is always the best medicine and it does make you feel younger:)


text:
Well! Well! Well! So Cardinal O'Brien, the most senior Roman Catholic in the UK, and one of our most outspoken and vituperative opponents, has resigned over allegations of "inappropriate" behaviour towards young priests under his tutelage. The allegations have yet to be corroborated, and are under investigation by the Vatican, though I have little confidence that we will ever get to the bottom of them. The Vatican, as we all know, is very good at cover ups. However the fact that Cardinal O'Brien has resigned and will no longer have a vote in the selection of the next Pope speaks volumes.
Coming so soon after the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the first Pope to resign in over 600 years remember, what does all this mean for the Catholic Church? Well it certainly exposes the hypocrisy that exists within.
Responding to the news of O'Brien's resignation, Stonewall's Ben Summerskill said, "We trust there will now be a full investigation into the serious allegations made against Cardinal O'Brien. We hope his successor will show a little more Christian charity towards openly gay people than the Cardinal will himself." If the rest of the Catholic hierarchy is anything to go by, I'm not holding out much hope.
Cardinal O'Brien is not an isolated incident of course. For a while now, there have been allegations of a secret gay mafia within the Vatican, including Cardinals, participating in gay bars, saunas, chat rooms and using the services of male prostitutes. According to Peter Tatchell, "The Vatican is shamelessly championing homophobia and the denial of legal equality to gay people, while hosting a hotbed of secret, guilt-ridden clerical homosexuality." Tatchell hopes that Cardinal O'Brien's resignation will result in "the Catholic church turning over a new leaf by selecting a more caring, compassionate replacement who respects LGBT equality and human rights." I would like to think so too, but, call me cynical, somehow I doubt it. With an African Cardinal being touted as a possible new Pope, there's more chance that the Vatican will close ranks, and, if anything, go back on the attack. The Church certainly doesn't seem to be able to learn from its mistakes.
Bit by bit over the last few years, scandals have been emerging in various countries. There have been countless allegations of child abuse by priests, some covered up by Ratzinger himself, the victims silenced, whilst the real criminals, those paedophile priests were just moved on so they could carry on their crimes elsewhere. In 2011, it was discovered that up to 300,000 Spanish babies were stolen from their parents and sold for adoption over a period of five decades. The children were trafficked by a secret network of doctors, nurses, priests and nuns in a widespread practice that began during General Franco's dictatorship and continued until the early Nineties. The present Pope cannot personally be blamed for that of course, but it is just another example of the rotten core that exists within the heart of the Catholic Church. I rather hope that it means that the Church is gradually imploding and sinking into a cesspit of its own making. No doubt I am wrong and it will rise phoenix like from the ashes, but at the moment it's a very nice thought.


text:
Monday, February 28, 2011
on my nightstand.
there is just something awesome about a good book. and luckily, i have 3 awesome books on the go that i just had to share. sometimes in a world that can feel so isolating at times, especially when you can feel like there is no one out there that really get's where you are coming from or thinking the thoughts that you do, it is so comforting to find a book that speaks your language, mirrors your thoughts and just makes you feel NOT alone. so for anyone out there looking for an amazing book or something to bring comfort, entertainment, peace of mind, escape and moments of bliss these 3 books of mine are just perfect for that. "a new earth, by ekhart tolle", "committed, by elizabeth gilbert" and "the happiness project, by gretchen rubin". all different types of stories, all different types of topics but one commonality...and that is embracing and celebrating life. all it's quirks, it's ups, it's downs, it's adventures. all of it. such good stuff. thankful, so thankful for that.
Posted by Lindsay Bateman at 6:48 PM 1 comments
Monday, February 21, 2011
loved this.
GRATITUDE: "there is not enough room in the human heart for depression and gratitude at the same time."
Posted by Lindsay Bateman at 7:31 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
thank you.
right now i am so tired. just tired. like many of you can relate i am sure it has been a long winter. i am not only tired for me, but just tired for everyone else too who has been struggling and dealing with so many challenges. i am tired for you too. i just keep praying that tomorrow will be a better day and that we are only to look forward to bigger and brighter days ahead right? right now i am also thankful. for so many things. i do not think there is anything more powerful out there than just being grateful and feeling the moment. this week my amazing husband and best friend surprised me with a wonderful valentines day. usually i am not one to really emphasize a "holiday" (if that's what you call it) such as valentines day. however it was really sweet and just made me feel SO thankful to observe and appreciate and embrace what my husband took time to do for me. even on his last day off before starting a VERY long work shift, instead of spending his last hours on himself he spent them preparing me supper and surprises and well...let's just say we all learn valuable lessons often and he taught me a BIG one that day. actions TRULY speak louder than words and things, and i am so so so appreciative of it all. he never ceases to amaze me. even after all of these years. beautiful things come from his heart. that is what captivates me every day. so amidst all of my tiredness, and feelings of being overwhelmed at times life is GOOD, oh so good...and i never take that for granted. thank YOU for loving me.
Posted by Lindsay Bateman at 7:30 PM 0 comments
Thursday, February 3, 2011
little reflections.
welcome february. i am really looking forward to this month. no specific reason why, i just am excited. maybe because that means one more winter month is just that further behind, or that perhaps spring is one month closer. in any case, i am optimistic that it is going to be a great month of 'embracing'. january for me ended on a very high note. matt surprised me with a jacuzzi suite at the fantasy land hotel. we had the best time just shopping around, treating ourselves, sharing an awesome meal at moxies restaurant and simple reconnecting. for both of us the winter is such a busy and stressful time at work so it is nice to just escape for a few days and enjoy some real treats and simple pleasures. we had such a nice time. we also helped celebrate a new beginning and attended a beautiful wedding. we literally danced the night away and had so much fun. i am also looking forward to a wonderful weekend ahead as my amazing and beautiful cousins are coming down to spend some quality time. i absolutely adore times like these.
Posted by Lindsay Bateman at 5:35 PM 0 comments
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About Me
- Lindsay Bateman
- Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada
- I am just a simple girl with an absolute passion for life. I love celebrating this passion through my photography, scrapbooking, relationships...whatever it may be that makes me happy! I just want to live everyday with meaning and purpose and a great sense of gratitude for everything I have been blessed to have and experience!


text:
Let me paint you a picture. It's November 2015 and I am on holiday in Florence. Over breakfast one morning my friend asks me if I've bought tickets to go see Harry Potter & the Cursed Child yet. 'No', I say, 'is it hard to get tickets?'.
When my friend eventually stopped laughing, I went back to my hotel room, fired up my iPad and commenced the search for tickets. I wasn't in any great rush, and when I saw tickets were available around my birthday, I bought them.
Oh, not for my birthday 2016. Hell no. We're talking 2017. This years birthday celebration was 15 months in the making.
And so, for my 38th birthday, I went to go see Harry Potter & the Cursed Child, parts one & two. Part one on Thursday night and part two on Friday night.
I'm not a monster, so this post is totally spoiler-free, what I am going to do is give you some tips for when you go see the plays, because you should do. If you're a Potter nerd, you have to. You know when you went to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the cinema last year and you felt like you got a big hug because you'd missed this world so much? It's that but with thousands of other people in the room, sat next to you, happy to start conversations about the Potter fandom and what house you got sorted into. It's like a convention in a theatre.
(EDIT: Oh god, this was such a good birthday treat, thorough pat on the back for 2015 Alex.)
Having spoken to a couple of people who have already seen the play, I knew the basics. Arrive early, you will need to be in your seat 15 minutes before curtain up and if you want merch, get there early. However, I'm going to expand on all these points because there's a bit more to it than that.
Arrive Early
Doors open at 6.30pm but you can start queuing to get in the doors from around 5.45pm. The queue will run down the right hand side as you look at the front of the theatre. Handily, there are two pubs opposite the theatre (The Cambridge and The Spice of Life), I recommend The Spice of Life as you can look out of the window and wait to see the queue forming before leaving your pint and joining the queue. They also do really nice food in there and the ladies toilets are next to the side door, which exits right into the theatre queue (also useful if you're in the queue and desperate to pee). The doors will not open until 6.30pm though, and only half the queue is under the cover of the theatre awnings, so bear that in mind if England is being English with the weather and it's chucking it down with rain.
This is why you're queuing. You cannot set foot in the theatre without a ticket because the first thing you see is merchandise and the merch contains spoilers. Parts one & two both have different merch and they're only for sale during each of the relevant parts. So if you spot something you want for Part one, BUY IT. By the time Part two happens, it won't be there (yes, even if you see both plays on the same day, you have to leave the theatre between shows and the merch switches). Merch is also on limited quantities to what is there in the shop on the day, so when it's gone, you've missed your chance. I was in the first 15 people in the doors each day and therefore had no trouble getting what I wanted to buy, but things go fast. By the time the play is over, it's slim pickings.
Also, some tills are cash only, so make sure you ask before you get things rung through.
You also can get one of these badges as you leave the theatre, they're free and only available at the end of Part One, so make sure you look for the people with the baskets as you're leaving through the main doors.
Everyone is excited as you are so it's easy to strike up a conversation with the people around you. I was sat next to two ladies on holiday from California and Virgina, one of which was there for her birthday celebration (because all be best people are born in March, obvs), and sat behind a mum and daughter on Spring Break from Florida. If they've bought tickets the same way you have, you'll be sat with them for 6 or so hours that day, or you'll be seeing them again tomorrow night, so have a chat. Actually, do this in the queue as well. I spoke to many tourists from the US that were under the impression that the Studio Tours in Watford were 4 hours away and had decided not to go based on that bad information. (Note: it takes 25 minutes to get to Watford Junction from London Euston and the bus to get to the Studios is free from there, and only takes about 15-20 minutes, it's easily doable in a day from anywhere in London, please don't miss out!)
Go to the Stage Door afterwards
It always seems strange to me that stage doors for shows in London can be so quiet when there's no big names in the production. Not only is this a great way to meet the cast and get your programme signed, it's a great opportunity to tell the cast how much you enjoyed the show, which I'm sure they never tire of hearing.
The guy playing Albus was the most enthusiastic stage-door-signer ever, when I told him how much I enjoyed the plays and it must be the best job he could have he responded with 'I get to be a wizard every time, my job is great!'. Right on.
Some of the cast will do selfies, some won't. I'm more of an autograph and a chat gal, anyway. I told the actor playing Hermione that she was my new favourite Hermione and she genuinely lit up. This cast love their job; if you get chance go tell them what you thought of the show, they seems genuinely happy to stand and sign, chat and pose for selfies for as long as they are able to.
The House of MinaLima
Word is slowly spreading about this little place on Greek Street (just behind the theatre), which is an exhibition and shop of the graphic art of the Harry Potter films. Free entry, anyone can wonder in and you will want to wander in as it's so colourful. You know the Marauders Map? These are the folks who designed it.
It's a nice stop off point if you want something to do between the shows if you're seeing them all on one day, or I went in the afternoon on Friday to get me in the mood.
It's open from 12pm to 7pm every day. Even if you're just in London for a jolly, go and have a look around.
It's also right next door to Maison Bertaux, who do most excellent tea and cakes.
Unless you manage to get some on release, you might have some trouble here. There's a returns queue that you can join at the theatre on the day that allocate returns on a first come-first served basis but you will pay face value for them. Remember the birthday holiday ladies from the US? They paid £400 for their tickets for the two nights. If you want them, you can get them, but my gosh, you will pay for them.
But there's also the Friday Forty lottery, which is helpful if you're a little more flexible. Every Friday at 1pm, the website release 40 tickets for every performance over the following week at £40 (£20 per part). You're limited to buying two, and you can only buy them on the website on Fridays at 1pm. It's worth bookmarking this link if you want to have a go at this.
Honestly, I waited 15 months to see these plays and I didn't mind at all. It was worth it.
Obviously, I had a great time seeing these shows and loved them. The only way I've been able to describe them to people is it's like watching brilliant West End Theatre with Vegas-level magic making it happen in front of you. It can't be explained well and it can't be imagined (albeit we all tried when reading the script but nope, you can't). The cast are all wonderful, the production is incredible and it was worth every penny and every day of waiting.
No spoilers, as agreed, but I'll tell you one thing, and it's something I never thought I'd say ...
... I frigging love the Malfoys.


text:
in the room when my mom died
she would do this thing
where she would inhale
then stop
and everyone in the room
would hold their breath with her
(you are doing it right now aren't you?)
and a few seconds later
after what felt like an eternity
she would exhale
this one last time
she inhaled
and nothing
no exhale
but dad said
while waiting for that exhale
he heard a baby cry down the hall
it was just after midnight
in hospice at st joe
not a lot of babies up and about
but he heard this one loud and clear
just as mom left this world...
dad always said they should put
the oldest
sickest patients
on the same floor as the newborn babies
nothing like a
brand new
no hate
no prejudices
little thing
to put things into perspective...
i have been blessed to have 8
yes eight
of these little things come into my life
in just the past year
i don't get to see all of them
as much as i'd like
and one
one who was just born a few days ago
he'll be seeing a lot of his aunt Bee
but no matter where they fall
in big Rhonda's life
they are all loved
and precious
and i look forward to watching them
all grow up
i look forward to high school graduation announcements
and standing in my kitchen
after opening it
saying to heather
can you believe this
how old are we???
|ian and hudson
beautiful boys
which is great because when we visit
heather and i don't fight over getting to hold/play with the baby
you know you want to chew on those cheeks...
i work with his dad
used to work with his mom
don't get to see him in person very much
but see pics and hear stories from his dad all the time
he's gonna be a heartbreaker...
i work with his mom
this pic was taken about a month ago
he has grown so much in just a month
he still doesn't know what to make of me
laugh or cry...
big Z
his dad is a server at the pub
his mom is a bartender at the pub
so of course
he's family
beautiful blonde Blonde BLONDE hair
and he loves lemons
keeps him from getting too fussy...
my cousin's little boy
still can't believe that she's old enough
to have one of these
but here he is
strutting his stuff
hello ladies...
i work with mia's mom
she's just a month old
she's already got her dukes up
she's ready to grow up surrounded
by these boys...
|coleson jay
i will admit
i am a little biased on this guy
he's the brand new baby boy
of two of my very best friends
and i love them both so much
and now
there's this little guy
look at those lips...
i was little
and cute
something about the fresh start
these little things
don't know anything
but what we teach them
and i'm happy to know
there are 8 new little humans
in big Rhonda's world
that are being taught
nothing but love...
i'll be waiting for my graduation invitation...


text:
Dongfeng Race Team, has registered into the VolvoOceanRace 2017-2018 as 2nd team, after the new Team AkzoNobel.
|Dongfeng, the first Boat that was upgraded and ready to sail.
Dongfeng a New Team during the previous VOR version, performed remarkable well, by taking the 3rd place in the Overall End Ranking. Under the skipper, Charles Caudrelier, they sailed often different strategy that brought their surprise success in the VOR 2014-15. Had they not suffered a demasting, Dongfeng could possible have ended higher up.
With 11 Month to go till the Start on 22 October 2017 in Alicante, there are now 2 Boats confirmed; still 5 less than in previous VOR. Lets hope that more Boats has started their preparations and on the point of confirmation.
VOR is now sailing the OneDesign VO65 Boat, of which 7 were build before and sailed before. One More Boat is under construction and ready before next VOR, but would this also bring us a "8 Boat" race?; lets hope for.


text:
This is the final post in my five-part series about aqua yoga.
Before you read this post, take a deep breath.
If you're one of those people who is interested in yoga but feel intimidated by all of the buff and bendy folks you see on the slick yoga magazines and the internet, I have a fabulous secret for you.
Yoga, at it's heart, is about breathing.
It doesn't matter how long your legs are or what the scale says or even if you can touch your toes; if you can breathe, you can do yoga.
(And since you're reading this, I know you can breathe. So no excuses!)
The yogic breath practice is called pranyama. I must admit that I practiced yoga for years– mostly in fitness-oriented studios– and never encountered pranyama. It was only when I started studying to teach yoga that I learned about pranyama. And now it is one of the key parts of my practice.
But what does all of this have to do with aqua yoga?
I find pranyama practice in the pool especially effective at settling my mind and cooling my body. Because I teach aqua yoga outdoors during the summer in Austin, integrating the cooling practices of pranyama are a key part of my classes.
Here are two types of cooling pranyama I use regularly:
Sitali breath
- Form a "taco tongue" and inhale through the mouth. (If you can't make a taco, purse the lips for the inhale.)
- Place the tip of the tongue on the roof of the mouth, close the lips, and exhale through the nose.
- Aim to make the exhale longer than the inhale.
- Repeat for 10-20 breaths.
I usually stand with my feet about 6 inches from the pool wall, back to the wall, and my fingertips lightly pressing in to the wall. This helps me keep my shoulders low and chest open.
Single-Nostril Breath
- Stand with your feet grounded under your hips
- Use the right pinky to close off the right nostril.
- Inhale and exhale with the left nostril only.
- Repeat for 10-20 breaths.
The left side of the body is associated with the lunar tendencies. The left nostril is considered the subtle channel, responsible for cooling the body. I like this pranyama for the pool because water is also a lunar element.
Hey, Swimmers….
You're well aware of the importance of breathing while you're in the water. Pranyama can help you become even more in tune with the inhale-hold-exhale-hold pattern we always have while breathing, but getting the timing right in the pool means breathing air rather than choking on water.
If you've ever tried lap swimming but struggled with regulating your breath, take a yogic approach. First, establish a breathing pattern that feels comfortable to you– that may mean breathing every other stroke (so you're always breathing to the same side) or every third stroke (alternate-side breathing). Next, ensure that you're exhaling into the water–aka blowing bubbles– when you're swimming. Finally, add a "hum" to your exhale. Not only does this give you something to focus on to keep your rhythm steady, but it also creates a bodily vibration similar to chanting "om" in a yoga class. The vibration is steadying and centering.
I hope you'll take some of these ideas and play around with them next time you're in the pool. Breath work is one of the few silver bullets in the wellness world– breathe deeply and fully, and you'll be amazed at how much better you feel.


text:
I won't over-dramatise about how hard it was to write. It wasn't like some artist suffering for their art sort of thing! Yeah, time was the only struggle I had because of work commitments. But I enjoyed the whole process. ... It's like having a really long two-way conversation with yourself!Ripples author Shih-Li Kow is interviewed by Intan Maizura Ahmad Kamal in The New Sunday Times today.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Shih-Li Talks with Herself!
1 comment:
- Damyanti said...
I absolutely love the stories in this collection.
She is so self-effacing, but has incredible talent, something that was also visible in News from Home--her stories absolutely stood out in that anthology as well.
- March 29, 2009 9:01 pm
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Vitamin D grows hair, prevents the flu and reduces arthritis pain - NaturalNews.com
Vitamin D prevents flu. Vitamin D has been shown to help prevent hair loss, reduce back pain, grow bones, prevent osteoporosis, and even prevent dozens of types of cancer. Vitamin D has been called the "antibiotic vitamin" by the journal, Science News, because of its recognized ability to build immunity.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031522_vitamin_D_arthritis_pain.html#ixzz3OzyQChHE


text:
First thing in the morning and late at night, Singapore's tree-lined highways are full of lorries and trucks carrying a vital cargo: the migrant workers from Bangladesh and India who are the backbone of the Lion City's economic miracle.
Crammed into the rear deck, the only protection they have from the scorching sun and the perpetual downpours is a bit of plastic sheeting. But the weather is the least of their worries.
Before sunrise on Monday morning, four workers from India and Bangladesh set off from their humble quarters for the shipyard where they were employed. But none of them arrived at work after the lorry they were travelling in hit the back of a larger truck parked by the roadside and they were killed in the collision.
One of the victims had been travelling in the front passenger seat but the other three had been sitting in the back of their vehicle. Six others were injured but survived.
The fatal accident has once more brought the shoddy treatment of migrant workers in Singapore to public attention.
While cattle are transported in comfortable air-conditioned surroundings, Singapore's construction and shipping workers are afforded no such luxury.
The authorities only stipulate that each worker has at least 0.372 square metres of floor space and that lorries do not carry more people than they are licensed to.
210 people were injured while traveling in the back of lorries in Singapore last year and two killed. 186 were hurt in 2007 and two killed.
So long as unscrupulous companies are allowed to carry people in worse conditions than animals, the deaths and injuries will continue.
The Gulf state of Bahrain, which does not exactly have a reputation as a haven of workers' rights, has introduced a ban on using trucks to transport labourers.
But Singapore seems to have no intention of altering the status quo, largely because of the purported costs to business in a state that is dependent on external trade and investment. (It's obviously cheaper to pay the odd hospital bill and coffin shipping costs than it is to hire a mini-bus.)
It's a pretty despicable situation that reflects a xenophobic attitude to foreign labour. People are happy to milk the economic benefits of cheaply imported workers but are not so willing to accord them rights and respect.
Nimby-ist Singaporeans complain whenever a foreign workers' hostel is built in their vicinity and, according to one earnest writer in the Straits Times today, if migrant labourers were to be given public transport passes instead of being thrown onto the back of trucks, "some segments of the local population may complain about having to share standing space in trains and buses with foreign workers".
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The unacceptable cost of cheap labour
Posted by Ben Bland at 9:23 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
This evening we are having a little "Before Christmas" party with my friends. I really had some trouble in thinking what should I bake and bring there. When I remembered I had bought finnish Fazer's Geisha chocolate for baking I decided to make these wonderfully big and delicious cookies. The original recipe is from a GoodFood magazine, but I've changed it a bit. I used different chocolate, sugar and nuts. The original recipe is good too, but I wanted to try something new. These cookies are really easy to make, and I love the ingredients (what could be better than chocolate and nuts?) and I love the way the cookies look (so BIG and beautiful and of course they taste just great. So you can change the recipe using different nuts or chocolate if you want, just keep the amounts of the ingredients the same. I really recommend these, it's impossible to fail with this recipe!
about 200g Geisha chocolate
100g butter, chopped (I used 1 dl baking margarine made from rape oil)
1 dl dark muscovado sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar
1 egg
100g whole almonds
1 1/2 dl plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1. Heat oven to 180°C degrees. Melt 130g of Geisha chocolate in a small kettle which is inside a bigger kettle with simmering water, until the chocolate is a smooth liquid.
2. Beat the egg with a mixer until it's fluffy.
3. Add the butter and the sugars to the chocolate mixture and combine the two mixtures, mix well until smooth.
4. In a bigger bowl combine the flour, 1/3 of the almonds and the bicarbonate of soda.
5. Mix well, then beat in the chocolate-egg mixture.
6. Mix well, then add the rest of the chocolate (65g, chop it into smaller chunks first) and mix again.
7. Take two baking sheets, heap about 12 spoonfuls of the cookie mixture on them spaced apart (the dough spreads a lot, so you can make quite tiny spoonfuls) and don't spread the mixture.
8. Then poke in the reserved 2/3 of the almonds.
9. Bake for about 12 minutes, and let the cookies cool on the sheets for at least 20 minutes. If you try to take them away from the sheets too early you easily break them.


text:
Which I'm both excited about and scared about, as I generally am with anything new (like the weather, every-flippin'-day-in-Chicago!)
I do feel that it's important for me to state my criticisms of the entire movement of Evangelicalism (particularly, I should note, of the American strain). If you love something, you're going to ask questions of it, but I understand that many in my EV family do not share my concerns and would thus question my belonging (some not just within the frame of the Evangelical movement, but as a legitimate Christian. Sigh...). So before I begin the semi-weekly series (come early next week), I want to be able to have a point of reference for those who will question my membership.
This, in short, are the points where I agree with Evangelicalism:
- I agree with the ancient Creeds (such as the Nicene and Apostle's).
- I agree that the Bible is the revealed word of God, is fully true, and is the final authority on the created order and reveals God to us (in other words, if I had a vision wherein "God" were to tell me to shoot an abortion doctor in the face because "God detests abortion", I would know that is a false spirit because it contradicts one of the prominent messages of the Bible, that we should Love our enemies and pray for those that persecute us.)
- I agree that the Son of God (100% God and yet 100% man) came to earth in the person of a Galilean named Jesus barJoseph, loved and taught and healed (literally and figuratively), died at a fairly young age in an embarrassing manner on a heap of trash, took away the sins of the world, was buried and literally rose back from the dead (and not at all in a zombie way). I also concur that he is the firstborn from among the dead, meaning that those who follow him will also follow him through the chasm of death.
- I agree that Jesus left his Spirit to comfort and lead us. And that the Spirit in us (the Third Person of the Trinity) testifies of the saving, healing work of Jesus (which is still continuing).
- I believe in a literal heaven and even a literal hell.
- I believe that there are spiritual forces (ie., angels and demons) above and beyond our grasp in the material world.
- I agree that Jesus is the good shepherd and is the sole way to God the Father (there is a massive paradox in this exclusivity, I am aware and would like to expand on this in a future post as well).
- I believe that Jesus' followers should distinguish themselves from those who follow the Way of the World (and more on that in another post also. But here's a four-letter tease: Love).
- I agree that it is the responsibility/privilege of each individual follower of Jesus to testify of the Way of Jesus.
- I agree that Christians need to be involved in the world around them.


text:
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
9 comments:
- Lady Munter said...
Hi. You might be all for 'keeping it real, mighty real', but are you FOR real? I know this isn't your club, but since this is a public forum, I'm gonna air my views on here:
Whilst I appreciate that imitation is apparently the sincerest form of flattery, I'm pretty sure that doesn't extend to lifting the image directly off of one of our club's old flyers (http://menergyuk.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/menergyflyerfront.jpg) and simply changing the typeface! Obviously I get that we both must have a love of Patrick Cowley and his song – and we don't have a problem with that at all - but the fact as well that you too bill yourself as a 'gay dance party' playing 'hi-NRG and Italo disco' really does smack of a real lack of imagination. What I find more laughable is that you'd think we'd never find out! We have a LOT of big name DJ and musician friends ALL OVER the world, so that was a mistake on your part. Shady.
- Thu Feb 09, 04:35:00 AM 2012
- Niall said...
We're not the only club in the world playing hi-nrg, and of course"Menergy" is the title of a song, but the similarities between those two flyers is ridiculous. Did you honestly think we wouldn't find out?
- Thu Feb 09, 08:46:00 AM 2012
- Supergay Detroit said...
Ladies, please. Calm down.
While it is utterly beyond me why or how you even care what is going on in Detroit all the way from Glasgow, I have a few thoughts in return.
First of all, don't shoot the messenger. I just report the facts, I don't make them.
Secondly, it appears that apologies are indeed due about the one poster image, with an explanation. The DJ behind our Menergy had a designer put together several images to promote the night, and the image you cite was an early "save the date" one. The DJ didn't know it had come from your party. As for me, I just grabbed it off the internet because it was the most visual/least textual of the bunch and I like that. Now I'm not saying you guys cribbed this particular image from somewhere else too, but your Sylvester and Grace Jones flyers started out someplace before they ended up in your Photoshop and I think you could perhaps chill a little bit about this use that in no way impacts your clientele. Still, I have changed the image in the post to a newer poster, but if you tell me you've got dibs on Tom of Finland then maybe Supergay Detroit isn't the place to start your intellectual property litigation.
Which does bring me to my final point (addressed to Lady Munter): in what year do you live where Hi-NRG and Italo-Disco are not being rediscovered by urban faglets of a new generation the world over? And a name like Menergy, you think you are the first to use it for a gay dance party? You should perhaps bone up on your gay history, starting with Crowley's own "Menergy" gay dance parties at the EndUp in San Francisco thirty years ago.
Mike, the DJ behind this, has great musical history chops and for three years has had a party called Macho City (a party with the same name recently started in Glasgow and you'll hear no complaints from him) which played underground disco and Italo-disco, and the music here is a natural evolution of that. I can assure you, Mike does not scour the internet for ideas for gay dance parties. For all I know he's already got one planned for a 90s Masterbeat circuit revival to debut in 2016.
So really, please try to keep it all in perspective and realize that sometimes similar ideas evolve simultaneously as our little gay world digests popular culture of the past. And since it is highly unlikely anyone from Detroit can make it to Glasgow for your party, why don't you just let us have our fun.
- Thu Feb 09, 11:49:00 AM 2012
- Andy said...
It's kind of cool that people in Glaswegians are paying enough attention to the D to get a bug up their asses about this.
- Thu Feb 09, 12:28:00 PM 2012
- Lady Munter said...
Also, I'm fully aware of digesting and recycling aesthetics - I'm a drag queen, after all. ;-)
I get and agree with a lot of your points, but it was the fact that this image was a direct lift of ours. If it had been the original b/w ToF image that'd have been one (spooky) coincidence, but it was the same colour-tinted gradient idea, same position of the logo, composition, and the similar wording in the description.
Now I know we don't have monopoly over the name or Tom of Finland's artwork, but it does smack of laziness on your part to just jack our flyer, even if you don't know where it came from. Personally, I'm surprised that you don't get where we're coming from or why we'd be taken aback by seeing this with no prior warning. We've spent 2 and a half years building our brand and not just within Glasgow, but in the UK and soon Europe too. Rightly or wrongly, when you see what appears to be someone riding on your coattails - you planning meetings, your image choices - it's galling.
We probably wouldn't have even been miffed if we'd just been approached and asked even.
Also, is this purely a coincidence too?
Ours: http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/395719_290011991061730_101889349873996_807395_678912840_n.jpg
Yours: http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/426871_10150675763525649_675205648_11044231_604102134_n.jpg
I'm not interested in litigation obviously - we're not THAT bothered or anal and we are nice people, really. We're very much into getting on well and having strong relationships with other clubs who do similar stuff as we do, all over the world. We're clearly doing something right if our artwork design is being deemed good to enough to be used by others.
No shade, but please don't patronise us. I think we were justifiably upset.
- Thu Feb 09, 01:03:00 PM 2012
- Supergay Detroit said...
I'm not sure I'd use "galling" to describe the situation, it's just a flyer for a dance party, but I do think you've made your point well about the imagery. The Tom of Finland estate is probably having an aneurysm about all these graphics as we speak. "Making Time," a big Philadelphia club, uses that Madonna quote too by the way. And it seems that flyer was another one sent in the batch by the designer, and Mike did take that one down as well once this was brought to his attention. Although thank you for saving it as evidence in the civil trial. I guess the bottom line is, I get what you're saying, and it looks like the designer cast a pretty wide net in his search for inspiration, to put it mildly. In his defense, I think his approach was he was doing a favor for a friend who was throwing a local dance party in the Cass Corridor of Detroit.
Regarding the rest of it though, I know the guy throwing the party pretty well and I can guarantee his Menergy party idea evolved on its own, independent of yours. I think the fact he provided that list of over forty cultural influences for the party - many of them local to Detroit - plays to that point.
As for my being taken aback if this happened to me - honestly, if someone halfway around the world jacked some flyer I made for my night, I think after the initial shock I'd not feel too threatened, knowing that no one in my part of the world would have any idea about it unless I pointed it out.
And finally, just to clarify again, it's not my night. But I do give you mad props on your night, because clearly your graphic design is good, and from my googling it sounds like a good time too! I hope we can Menergize our respective parts of the world together.
- Thu Feb 09, 02:21:00 PM 2012
Wait. You're not that anal? Well... that's no fun! :-) Planning a trip to Glasgow in August. Looking forward to seeing your fair city.
- Thu Feb 09, 02:44:00 PM 2012
Okay, so I feel a lot better having slept on it. :-) Sorry if I was a bit ratty initially, and I totally get your points and that it was just a misunderstanding. We're all just creative types trying to do our thang, which just happens to be pull from the same sources after all, and I do actually think it's quite cool that it was a club in Detroit that this happened with, and not some rubbishy backwater, y'know? ;-) Everybody say love! :-D And mmmmmaybe we should hook up when you do come here. Menergy UK vs Menergy US, similar to what Trannyshack US & UK did with one another in the past.
On a side note, when the guy above said about having a bug up my ass, is it really awful that the first thing that came to mind was AIDS? Oh dear. :-D
- Fri Feb 10, 06:31:00 AM 2012
- Supergay Detroit said...
Yay! I'm happy you feel better. Wouldn't a Detroit-Glasgow mashup be amazing? Dare to dream ...
Lady Munter, I'm glad we've met.
- Fri Feb 10, 12:07:00 PM 2012


text:
Waddaleeatcha Slap knees twice, clap twice
Waddaleeatcha Double scissor cross hands left over right, right over left
Doodleydoo Right hand touches right shoulder, nose, lands on left shoulder
Doodleydoo Left hand touches left shoulder, nose, lands on right shoulder
Simplest song there isn't much to it
All ya gotta do is doodley doo it
I like the rest but the part I like the best goes
Doodley doodley doo
Quack! Quack!
Draw and Tell: "Cicada" using Singing Fingers App
Listened to different Cicadas songs from The Songs of Insects by Lang Elliott; Wil Hershberger
Showed some pictures and highlighted facts from Cicadas!: Strange and Wonderful by Mr. Laurence Pringle and Meryl Henderson
Insect Parts 1 (http://www.atozkidsstuff.com/bugs.html)
(tune: Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes)
Head, thorax abdomen, six legs
Head, thorax abdomen, six legs
And eyes and ears and antennae
Head, thorax abdomen, six legs
Point to the appropriate parts on your body for each of the insect parts. Put up index fingers and waggle them for antenna, and put three fingers out on each side for 6 legs!!
Showed a dead Cicada that I had found on my porch! (The inspiration for the program!!!)