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War Games: A Word From Our Soldiers
In this feature, we hand over the soapbox to members of the armed forces, who share their thoughts on the exploration of war in video games.
War is a controversial topic. Following the community's response to two GameSpot articles discussing the portrayal of war in video games--regenerating health in Medal of Honor: Warfighter and EA's decision to link to real-life weapons manufacturers--GameSpot asked five United States armed forces servicemen to share their perspective on the topic of war in video games.
This is what they had to say.
Nathaniel Dietrick // Combat Medic // US Army
I joined the army right out of high school in 2006. I enlisted as a combat medic and went to the army's licensed vocational nurse school. As a nurse, I have spent some time at major medical installations in San Antonio, Washington DC, and Hawaii. I witnessed the burn units, orthopedic wards (which provided care to the amputees), and ICUs. I was deployed to Iraq from 2009-10, with a Combat Support Hospital (CHS) during my last year in service. I had, by most standards, a pretty tame deployment--a few mortar strikes here and there but nothing terrible. One of the hardest parts for me was witnessing the loss that everyone experiences at some point. Whether it is a close friend, a son, or husband/wife, war eventually impacts everyone who serves.
We played plenty of video games while deployed. It was always too hot in the afternoon to do anything, so a few of us would always crowd around a PS3. God of War and BioShock 2 were definitely our fan favorites while we were there. Military games and first-person shooters, along with sports titles, are very popular for a lot of people I have known within the army. Games like Battlefield and Call of Duty can be heard blaring in any barracks across the US. I think these games are usually far enough from reality that it doesn't bother most soldiers, although I can easily see how it could affect some.
I don't think soldiers play military games for different reasons compared to most people. They are fun and entertaining, and provide engaging competitive opportunities. Some soldiers may have difficulty if they witness something in-game that resembles a real-life event too closely. However, I feel like most soldiers are able to separate themselves from the game and realize there is nothing threatening about the experience. I also think most soldiers are tough to offend. Soldiers tend to be pretty proud of their service and the job they have done, so games that do not truly portray warfare tend to be overlooked by service members.
"Most soldiers can tell you that [military shooters] are nothing like the war that they have experienced. Military life is full of tedium and drudgery that is unfit for an action-packed game. The hard work, the pounding heat…"
I think most developers miss the authenticity mark when it comes to the emotional content of the game. Sure, the guns look real and the vehicles match the real thing, but most games are flashy set pieces that lead players from one explosion to the next. Most soldiers can tell you that this is nothing like the war that they have experienced. Military life is full of tedium and drudgery that is unfit for an action-packed game. The hard work, the pounding heat, the sweat and fatigue is something that games have difficulty conveying. Often the bonds between soldiers and the pain that is felt if they die are overlooked. Many games have even featured allies that will spawn infinitely with randomized names until an objective is taken. One game I thought really nailed the price of war was the Mass Effect series. Many of the choices and events you are presented with really drive home the unavoidable cost that everyone must face. When a character dies you understand the seriousness of the event, and this is something many games fail to portray.
It seems that there is a structural component to first-person shooter games that leads to the trivialization of war. The single-player campaigns and fast-paced action tend to lead to players seeing war as something that can be undertaken casually. I would like to see many of the major installments like Battlefield or Call of Duty take their time and release a game with a serious and thoughtful look at what being a soldier is really about, rather than continue to release the same adrenaline rush rehash. Military games will always be popular, and I hope that the developers making them will continually try to hold themselves to higher standards.
James Marr* // Submariner // US Navy
I've been active duty for two years now, and actually am still in training. In the military we are taught from day one that it doesn't matter whether you're an officer or enlisted man/woman, that attention to detail will save your life or your buddy's life. The inspections we go through in our initial training are ridiculous, but they serve that purpose. For example, we have what is referred to as the "Room, Locker, and Personnel" inspection in the fourth week of training. To prepare for this, the trainees literally spend dozens of hours folding, refolding, ironing, and removing loose strands from every required item to be inspected. It is a two-person job to fold socks the correct way to pass the inspection, as they must be done a certain way and meet a measurement exactly. If you are off by 1/16th of an inch, you're wrong and get no credit for your effort. And this is just a pair of socks, mind you.
What does this have to do with games? When the television show Last Resort first came on, I immediately started using that attention to detail to pick apart things like uniforms not being properly worn, the size of the captain's stateroom, and so on. If the writers of the show had just asked a former submariner, these things could have been easily addressed. But all this being said, I can remove my Navy cap and enjoy the show for what it is: entertainment. I would argue that my feelings about this show are similar enough to how soldiers feel about military shooters. They'll pick apart how wrong certain things are, but at the end of the day, they know it's just a game and can enjoy it as such.
For example, the team at Danger Close must have spent a lot of time trying to get those little details right in Medal of Honor: Warfighter. Your character wears Mechanix brand gloves. The guns feature brand-name manufacturers with little details like canted iron sights in addition to higher-power scopes. All these little things that we in the military instinctively notice from our training are what to me add up to make Medal of Honor the most "authentic" experience out there. The other thing that the game seems to do is tell the human side of service. No other game that I've ever seen goes into how service impacts the home life at all. Warfighter shows the awkward phone calls with the wife because you've drifted apart.
What is the point of a game? Ultimately it is to entertain, and maybe enlighten. But you're certainly not giving people the full experience. It's not possible. You can't convey or accurately make a player feel the intense pride we feel when the flag gets raised up the pole every morning at 0800. You can't really give a player an appreciation for all of the specialized training every person in service gets, no matter what their job is, so that they can excel at that job. You can't really tell a player what it means to us to serve, or make them understand why we do it. This is what most people will probably never get. Our job, ostensibly, is war. We protect our country, no matter the cost. We don't wish for war. We don't want war. But if there is a war, we want to be the ones in it. It's our job.
I don't think military shooters trivialize war. War is really a bunch of people doing what they can to help out the guy next to them. Games like Brothers in Arms and Medal of Honor do great justice to that camaraderie. I think the game would have to denigrate the soldier himself or his sacrifice to trivialize war, and I've never seen a game do that. Even Call of Duty doesn't, and you can play most of those games without knowing your character's name by the time you're done with it. Your character is really a nobody, just a gun on a screen.
*Name has been changed to protect individual's identity.
Jef Palframan // Lieutenant, Canadian Army // Sergeant, US Army
I was deployed to Afghanistan in 2008-9. I participated in some engagements and experienced rocket attacks. I have seen the costs of war and our current conflicts. I have had two friends killed in combat and have had the privilege of serving with heroes who have done much more than I. Upon returning to school after the military, I founded a veteran support group at my university that seeks to raise awareness about veterans' issues. I am discovering that there are many challenges (mostly unknown) that soldiers face when returning to civilian life.
I think a lot of military games depict soldiers as mindless killing machines who possess some magical power to regenerate their health and kill hundreds of people. We have enough problems with getting soldiers to recognize the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder that we don't need some unrealistic expectation of what a soldier can and cannot endure. Also, the last time I checked, my veteran friends and I were not homicidal killers bent on racking up the biggest body count. Most soldiers avoid speaking about engagements where they were forced to take a life. This is not something that needs to be celebrated. War is a disgusting human behavior, if not the most disgusting. As a soldier I accept that it is part of the sacrifice I am willing to make in losing my innocence by taking another human's life. We are willing to do this on our nation's behalf. Anyone who wants to join the military so that they can kill other human beings has no business in uniform.
My main problem with military shooters is that they seem to be less about celebrating the soldier and more about celebrating killing. I have to admit that I used to play these games as well, but I have seen enough to know that they are fantasy. I don't think that the average gamer realizes what they are seeing. They are given an augmented reality that rewards them for killing, not for serving, and they think that that is reality. Being in the infantry is 99 percent boredom and sacrifice and 1 percent what you see in games. And even then what you see in the game is not what it is like at all. I do believe these games trivialize war: they make it something fun and adventurous.
I think the fact that a soldier can use these games as an escape is telling. A soldier can recognize that they are not real, but the gaming public, the industry's target audience, does not. On more than one occasion I have had civilians ask me if war is really like it is in Call of Duty. My typical answer is to tell them that these guns look real, and that place looks like Afghanistan, but that is not what happens in real life. Then there is an awkward moment where I realize that they are not hearing what they want to hear. They want some kind of affirmation about the $65 they just spent.
I have since stopped playing these games. Military service has given me some of the best years of my life, and I would not trade them for anything, but there were some really horrible memories that I would not wish on anyone. It kind of makes me sick when I see promos like the most recent one for Call of Duty: Black Ops II where the promotion line was something like "There is a soldier in all of us," and the last scene in one of the trailers is some dude casually dropping a nuke on a city. If games are going to be culturally relevant, then they will need to start feeding something other than a base inhuman urge to kill.
Steven Beynon // Specialist, Cavalry Scout // National Guard
I have been serving in Afghanistan as a rifleman since November 2011. I've been in several dozen firefights and have seen both my comrades and enemy die. I feel as if I see a reoccurring theme among journalists (both in gaming and mainstream) assuming people will be offended by certain content. But soldiers are probably the hardest group to offend. Every combat veteran I know plays Call of Duty and loves the movie Black Hawk Down.
Yes, war is a big deal. I had some truly traumatic moments during my tour. But in combat, we crack jokes and trivialize the situation. You can't be super serious all the time. You'd have a heart attack. It's how we cope. If I ever really analyzed what I was doing, I would stop moving and probably die.
Let me tell you a story to illustrate.
It was my second day in Afghanistan. My platoon was conducting a dismounted patrol down a known Taliban supply route. Suddenly, I heard the snap of a traveling bullet and saw one of our Afghan Army allies go down. It quickly turned into the loudest firing range I've ever been on. I immediately jumped into a ditch.
"Happy Halloween and welcome to Afghanistan!" said the soldier next to me. While our medic was working on the fallen Afghan soldier, I returned fire with my SAW (machine gun) to allow the safe evacuation of the wounded. It was then that I had the realization that I'm living a cliche. I've spent my whole life watching war movies, playing guns as a kid, and enjoying shooters. That evening, some of us gathered around the television set to play a few rounds of Call of Duty. I thought to myself that this should be f***ing weird. I mean, I just fired real weapons at real people in a real war. But it wasn't. Playing Call of Duty that evening felt as natural as any other play session. Why? Because no game about war can possibly come even close to what it's really like.
"Most blockbuster shooters are so cartoonish it's impossible to take them seriously."
The bulk of shooters are so disconnected from reality. I get really put off anytime someone claims these titles are glorifying war or that they're disrespectful to the troops. I can't speak for the entire armed forces community, but every soldier I know plays these games or respects them from a distance. Most blockbuster shooters are so cartoonish it's impossible to take them seriously, and those that claim to be "military simulators" don't go far enough. We live in a world in which one to three American soldiers are shipped home in boxes every day.
EA bowing to pressure to take the Taliban out of Medal of Honor's multiplayer and Konami walking away from Six Days in Fallujah are examples of publishers cowering from a vocal minority. If a developer wants to make a Call of Duty-style video game based on my experiences, I would be flattered. And while it would be inaccurate, games are supposed to be fun.'
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President Obama kicked off his second term with a call for government to play a supporting role to civic activism and problem solving by average Americans.
After taking his second oath of office Monday, Obama said in his inaugural address that government could not solve all the nation's problems on its own.
"Through it all," Obama said of America's history, "we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society's ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise; our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, are constants in our character."
He said America must cultivate novel solutions to fix outstanding problems.
"We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time," Obama said. "We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher."
In laying out his second term priorities, Obama made strong calls for immigration reform and legislation to address climate change. He emphasized a foreign policy agenda built on diplomatic engagement alongside military "strength of arms." As he did throughout his re-election campaign, he called for giving all Americans an equal opportunity and for an expansion of the middle class, including fulfilling promises to the older generation while not sacrificing the nation's long-term investments.
Obama outlined a vision for the role government plays in realizing these ideas.
"We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few," he said. "We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other -- through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security -- these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great."
He did not address the debt ceiling or sequestration directly, but said that "we must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit."
The government's work will never be complete -- and the nation's politics may always be polarizing -- but that should not stand in the way of progress, Obama said.
"Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time -- but it does require us to act in our time," he said. "For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect."
Obama's speech came before a crowd that was approximately half the size of the 1.8 million people that crowded onto the National Mall during his first inauguration. Many braved the chilly and windy January air to see the president present a vision of governance, one that has been noticeably shaped by four years of tough economic conditions and bitter partisanship in Washington.
As the president spoke, employees from a range of federal agencies directed crowds and ensured the safety of the thousands of tourists near the Capitol Hill. According to one count, 23 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies were involved in the day's planning and operations.
The gravity of the day was not lost on Obama. Before leaving for a lunch with congressional leaders, Obama told family members "I'm not going to see this again," and poignantly stood and watched the cheering crowd.
Obama calls for new ideas and technology to 'remake' government
Gönderen leyla keser berber on 22 Ocak 2013 Salı
Etiketler: Technology and Innovation


text:
I'd like to test out the gambler's fallacy, using random numbers, and 50/50 odds.
In my program I did 100 rolls for each test.
There are 3 specific tests I'd like to perform. I'm using a random number between 1 and 100 for each roll.
First, the chances of getting below 50 on the first roll.
Second, the number of rolls below 50 a third time after already getting below 50 two consecutive times. (each roll would have to have 2 consecutive below 50 numbers or that roll shouldn't count)
Third, the number of rolls below 50 a fourth time after already getting below 50 three consecutive times. (similar to second test)
Just for anyone who is bored or curious. I'm aware that it should be a 50% chance to roll below 50 on any given test as they are all independent events. However, since the odds of rolling 3 or 4 consecutive numbers below 50 is quite low, I was curious to see some actual numbers.
The first test is pretty obvious, here is what I've done for the second test (third test would be similar) and I'm not sure if I've thought this through correctly, so I'd like a second opinion. I'm getting on average roughly 50.
Code:Random rand = new Random((int)DateTime.Now.Ticks); int randomNumber = 0; int total = 0; for (int i = 0; i < 100; i++) { randomNumber = rand.Next(1, 101); if (randomNumber <= 50) { randomNumber = rand.Next(1, 101); if (randomNumber <= 50) { randomNumber = rand.Next(1, 101); if (randomNumber <= 50) { total++; } } else i--; } else i--; }


text:
The Virginia Dept. of Transportation has scrapped its original plan to close 25 of the state's 41 Interstate highway rest areas. Instead, the state will close just 19 and add 225 truck parking spaces at the remaining locations. The VDOT will also replace its two-hour time limit with a "no overnight parking" policy and ask Congress for permission to commercialize the rest areas.
I applaud VDOT, after taking heat from the American Trucking Assn., the Virginia Trucking Assn., and other trucking groups, for taking steps necessary to ensure truck drivers have a safe and readily accessible place to rest. The addition of 225 parking spaces is also a positive move. Let's hope that more spaces will be added in the future.
"Creating new parking and removing two-hour parking restrictions at the remaining safety rest areas is critical for preventing driver fatigue and helping drivers meet federal Hours of Service regulations," said ATA senior vp and general counsel Richard Holcomb.
Another positive move, in my eyes, is the move to commercialize the rest areas. Quite likely, a private enterprise could and would run the areas more effectively than any state does. And help address budget shortfalls. In addition, more services may be added and that is a win-win for drivers of any vehicle.


text: 4th March 2014 - Justice for Iran (JFI) and Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) condemn the hanging of Farzaneh Moradi, a 26-year-old woman charged with the murder of her husband. She was hanged this morning in Isfahan, Iran without the knowledge of her lawyer. Her final request to see her young daughter was not granted.


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Thanks for your reply. I accept WG's argumentation and decision. Vlad Trakhtenberg. John Boyer/CanWest/IBM@IBMCA Sent by: firstname.lastname@example.com 11/06/2009 08:02 To Vlad Trakhtenberg/CanWest/IBM@IBMCA cc firstname.lastname@example.com, email@example.com, email@example.com Subject Re: XForms 1.1 - repeat relevance & editorial tweaks. Hi Vlad, Per our verbal discussion, the repeat itself does not get the enabled/disabled events because it does not have a single node binding. However, each of the implicit groups representing rows of the table would receive these events because they do have a single node binding. And those events would bubble up to the repeat. Regarding the typo in 8.1.1, it is fixed. Regarding the link, it is intended to work when the document is officially published by the W3C, so it does not work when the document is placed at the working group editorial location. Can you please reply to this email to indicate whether you are satisfied with the reply or whether you have any further concerns. Thanks, John M. Boyer, Ph.D. STSM, Interactive Documents and Web 2.0 Applications Chair, W3C Forms Working Group Workplace, Portal and Collaboration Software IBM Victoria Software Lab E-Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Blog: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/page/JohnBoyer Blog RSS feed: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/rss/JohnBoyer?flavor=rssdw From: Vlad Trakhtenberg/CanWest/IBM To: firstname.lastname@example.com, email@example.com Cc: firstname.lastname@example.com, John Boyer/CanWest/IBM@IBMCA Date: 03/12/2009 05:13 PM Subject: XForms 1.1 - repeat relevance & editorial tweaks. Dear WG, Is there a compelling reason for the provision that xforms-disabled/enabled event cannot target repeat (4.4.1 -4.4.11) and repeat control cannot be relevant or non-relevant (8.1.1)? Perhaps a repeat can become non-relevant'(relevant) and the xforms-disabled (enabled ) fire when it does not have any (has at least one) relevant repeat items (item)? And a couple of minor issues: 1. Typo in 8.1.1: Second bullet: ... Note: Form controls that read or write simpleContent produce this exception whenever and as soon as they are bound to an element node that an element child node. 2. The very first link: (not terribly useful ;) http://www.w3.org/TR/2009/CR-xforms11-20090311/ does not work. Regards, Vlad Trakhtenberg.Received on Thursday, 11 June 2009 15:46:59 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 20:25:12 UTC


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Brittany Murphy's final film "Something Wicked" finally has a release date four years after her death.
The "Clueless" star passed away in 2009 and her final project will debut on April 4 at the Regal Theater in Eugene, Ore., the city where the movie was filmed.
"Something Wicked" is described as a "hauntingly seductive thriller about obsession and young love gone wrong," and Murphy appeared opposite "One Tree Hill's" Shantel VanSanten and "Lords of Dogtown"
actor John Robinson.
The movie is slated to open in more theatres across the U.S. shortly after the premiere.
In 2011, "Something Wicked" producer and screenwriter Joe Colleran praised Murphy's final role, telling USA Today, "Brittany pulled off one of the spookiest scenes in the movie. There's an important scene where her character is unraveling and she spent a long time getting ready and focused and went for it. Personally, I think it's one of the best scenes of her career."
Murphy died at the age of 32 from pneumonia, anemia and excessive use of prescription medications.


text:
While it may seem hard for most of us to look beyond the economy right now, there are legions of young people with their eyes fixed on the planet's future. In Chicago, high-school students wearing respirator masks are hurdling over coal piles and racing past power plants in the 2009 Coal-Olympics competition. These community-minded young people are urging President Barack Obama to do something about the two coal plants nearby that are making their families sick and causing global warming.
"This may seem like an odd time to take to the streets," notes climate activist and author Bill McKibben. "After all, the new administration has done more in a month to fight global warming than all the presidents of the past 20 years." Climate activists across the country are hoping the new administration may actually listen and act to curb climate change and move beyond fossil fuels. A recent statement by President Obama announcing that his administration will base its decisions on sound science is heartening for scientists who were shut out and censored by the previous administration.
Among those scientists is NASA climatologist James Hansen, who has been warning our government for the past 20 years that carbon dioxide levels at more than 350 parts per million are "incompatible with the planet on which civilization developed." Right now, the carbon dioxide level is at 387 parts per million and rising. The window of opportunity to reverse this trend is closing quickly, and many people, including Hansen, believe we need to stop talking and start doing.
On the morning after President Obama's inauguration, 40 climate groups launched 100 Days of Action to Power Past Coal. Until the end of April, participants are lobbying their members of Congress to halt mountaintop removal, marching to stop new coal plants, and risking arrest in acts of civil disobedience. The Power Past Coal project culminated March 2, when 12,000 students convened on Capitol Hill for Power Shift 2009. Young people shut down the Capitol's coal-fired power plant for hours in "the largest climate demonstration in our nation's history," according to organizers.
The transition from coal to renewable energy sources needs to be complete by 2030 if we are to return the atmospheric carbon level to 350 ppm anytime soon.
But in communities built by coal, these statements have yet to make a difference.
In Wise County, Virginia, residents protested a 1,300-acre mountaintop removal permit that would allow strip mining on Ison Rock Ridge, which would threaten six nearby communities.
"How much yelling is it going to take us before Obama admits coal is just plain dirty?" said Judy Bonds, the director of Coal River Mountain Watch in Whitesville, W.Va. "We're still fighting the same fight as we were 10 years ago. But now we have a chance to win." Bonds, a 52-year-old grandmother, turned into an activist when she watched her grandson, who was wading in a stream, scoop up a handful of fish killed by toxic coal slurry runoff. Bonds went on to form Coal River Mountain Watch.
This toxic runoff is generated by mountaintop removal mining to reach tiny capillaries of coal deep in the oldest mountains on Earth, the Appalachians. The process of mining the coal generates almost as much pollution as burning the coal. Forests are clear-cut; mountains are blasted open; and streams are clogged with toxic slurry. When you factor in the mining, there is no such thing as clean coal. It is time to make coal a thing of the past and embrace clean renewable energy, such as wind power, solar power, geothermal power and hydropower.
Here's what you can do to end the use of coal:
-Join Power Past Coal and organize or join an action in your community, at http://www.PowerPastCoal.org.
-Write letters to the editors of local newspapers encouraging people to think beyond coal and to support renewable energy projects in your community.
-Cut your electricity consumption, because most electric providers get half their power from coal that comes from mountaintop removal mines.
-Support renewable energy by purchasing wind energy through your utility company. In some areas, it only would cost $7 more per 300 kilowatt hours to get all of your energy from wind instead of polluting sources. You can sign up by logging on to http://www.NewWindEnergy.com or by calling your utility company.
-Go solar, and feed your excess energy back into the national grid!


text:
94 N. Main Street, Jasper, GA - (706) 253-2457
Cleo Richardson
Mrs. Cleo S. Richardson, age 88, passed away Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at her residence.
Mrs. Richardson was a member of Hickory Flat United Methodist Church. She was a nurse?s aide at R.T. Jones Hospital for 35 years.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Garnett Richardson; and son-in-law Martin Fox. Survivors include her children Martha (J.C.) Wright, Holly Springs, Mary Fox, Parma, Oh., Jonnie (Ronnie) Mitchell and Garnett ?Sonny? (Pam) Richardson, all of Ball Ground, Emma (Larry) Ingle, Jasper, Sarah (Randy) Owen, Winston, and Wesley (Carolyn) Richardson, McCaysville; and sister, Margaret Fricks, Woodstock. Seventeen grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great-grandchild and several nieces and nephews also survive.
The funeral service was held at 2 p.m. Friday, April 16 from Sosebee Memorial Chapel with the Rev. Charles Davis officiating. Interment followed in Hickory Flat Cemetery.
www.sosebeefuneralhome. com
Margie Holladay
Margie C. Holladay, age 72 of Jasper, Ga., died April 12, 2010 after a 25-month battle with brain cancer. She was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, William Francis Holladay.
Margie was a loving and devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She graduated in 1954 from Simpsonville High School, Simpsonville, S.C. where she excelled in academics, played basketball and was Homecoming Queen her senior year. She attended Anderson College, and while there, she met her future husband Francis, a Clemson cadet. She worked as an administrative assistant for several companies in Charlotte, N.C. and Atlanta, Ga. before retiring with her husband to Jasper.
She was a devout born-again Christian and an active member of Foothills Community Church in Marble Hill, and active in the Bent Tree Ladies Bible Study. She served the community volunteering at Piedmont Mountainside Hospital and as an election pollster.
Survivors include her son and daughter-in-law, Mike and Joan Holladay, Dunwoody, Ga.; and daughter and son-in-law, Teresa and David Rutland, Cumming, Ga.; grandchildren, Sarah, Kristen and John Holladay and Austin and Will Rutland; and brother, Furman (Ann) Campbell, Simpsonville, S.C. A number of nieces and nephews also survive.
The funeral service was held at Foothills Community Church on Saturday, April 17 at 11 a.m. with interment at Arlington Memorial Park in Atlanta. Pallbearers were: David Campbell, Neal Fondren, John and Scott Holladay and Austin and Will Rutledge. Honorary pallbearers were the Explorers Sunday School Class. The family did receive flowers, but contributions may be made to the Building Fund of Foothills Community Church, 13724 Hwy. 53E, Marble Hill, Ga. 30148, or Embracing Hospice, 8013 Majors Road, Cumming, Ga. 30041. Cagle Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Peggy Lawson
Peggy W. Lawson, age 74 of Lawrenceville, Ga., formerly of Nelson, passed away Thursday, April 15, 2010 at Embracing Hospice in Snellville, Ga.
Survivors include her son and daughter-in-law, Frankie and Morgan Lawson, Cartersville; daughters and sons-in-law, Karen and Jackie Jordan, Ball Ground, Deborah Williams, Lawrenceville, and Donna and Danny Edwards, Nelson. Seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren also survive. She was preceded in death by her husband, Billy Lawson.
The funeral service was held Saturday, April 17 at 11 a.m. from the Darby Huey Funeral Home Chapel in Canton with the Revs. Brian Blalock and James Rich officiating. Interment was in Bethesda Baptist Church Cemetery in Nelson.
William Hayes
Mr. William C. ?Dub? Hayes, age 82 of Tate, Ga., passed away at Wildwood Healthcare.
He was a member of Sharp Mountain Baptist Church and a Mason at Ball Ground Masonic Lodge. He retired from Lockheed Aircraft Corp. in 1989. He also was a veteran of WW II.
Survivors include his wife, Glenda Hayes, Tate; sons and daughters-in-law, Joe and Cheryl Hayes, Morganton, Ken and Louise Hayes, Jasper, Mike Hayes, Alamo, Ga., and Bryan and Anita Hayes, Tate; and sisters, Myrtle Collins, Blue Ridge, and Opal Boling, Tate. Nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren also survive.
The funeral service was held Friday, April 16 from the Chapel of Cagle Funeral Home with the Revs. Larry Waddell, James Page and J.T. Padgett officiating. Interment was in Sunrise Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers were: James Hayes, Danny, Kip and Barry Page, Eric Franklin and John Heard.
Ronald Jones
Mr. Ronald Jones age 42 of Jasper, passed away on Friday, April 16, 2010.
Survivors include his wife, Nancy Jones, Waleska; children, Felicia Jones, Canton, and William Jones, Waleska; grandson, Hayden Jones, Canton; mother, Betty Jones, Jasper; brothers, Ricky Jones, Fairmount, and Bobby Jones, Jasper; and sisters, Diane Stout and Robin Jones, both of Jasper. Several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins also survive.
The funeral service was held at 2 p.m. Monday, April 19 from Sosebee Memorial Chapel with the Rev. Robert Jarvis officiating. Interment followed in the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery in Lumpkin County.
www.sosebeefuneralhome. com
Carol Gallagher
Mrs. Carol Fasick Gallagher, age 86 of Jasper, Ga., died Friday, April 16, 2010, at Piedmont Mountainside Hospital in Jasper following a period of declining health.
Born Feb. 14, 1924 in Scranton, Pa., she was the daughter of the late Clyde and Nellie Bachman Fasick. She had been employed as the director of nursing at Philadelphia Methodist Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa. Mrs. Gallagher was a co-member of the Jasper United Methodist Church in Jasper and the Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Mifflintown, Pa.
Survivors include her sons and daughter-in-law, Patrick and Lea Gallagher, Jasper, and John Gallagher, Turnersville, N.J.; granddaughters, Patricia Gallagher, Jasper, Hayley Gallagher, Athens, Ga., and Liz Delaney, Turnersville, N.J.; grandson, Shaun Gallagher, Turnersville, N.J.
At her request, Mrs. Gallagher was cremated and a memorial service will be announced at the later date and time. Roper Funeral Home of Jasper in charge of the arrangements.
Linda Gibson
Mrs. Linda Gibson, age 56 of Marble Hill, passed away Friday, April 16, 2010 at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta.
Survivors include her mother, Lillie Bell Shoemaker, Yellow Creek Community; sons and daughters-in-law, Tony and Angel Gibson, Ball Ground, and Terry and Julia Gibson, Marble Hill; daughter and son-in-law, Michelle and William Bell, Marble Hill; brother, J.W. Shoemaker, Canton; sisters, Carolyn Beck, Marble Hill, and Martha Pearson, Acworth; and grandchildren, Lane and Owen Gibson, Summer and Kyler Bell and Jake and Jordan Gibson. Linda was preceded in death by her husband, Alvin Gibson; father, Willard Shoemaker; and sisters, Inez Wofford, Claudine Blackwell and Betty Ann Gibson.
The funeral service was held at 2 p.m. Monday, April 19 from Yellow Creek Baptist Church with the Revs. Sylvester Ridings, Gene Hyde and Jeff Wilkie officiating. Interment was in the church cemetery. Pallbearers were: Tony, Terry and Greg Gibson, William Bell, Tommy Page and Jason Cantrell. Honorary pallbearers were Josh Cantrell, Lane, Jake and Owen Gibson and Summer Bell. Cagle Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.


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Jeana of Dwell Studio in Martha Stewart Living
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I'm so glad I started following Dwell Studio on Twitter. Otherwise, I might have missed the blog post about Dwell Studio partner Jenna Chused's feature in Martha Stewart Living! Her apartment is impeccable without being intimidating; for example, I love the way she used this school chart as art:
And I have some serious kitchen envy over this one. Wow, the power of a rug! This kitchen is strong like bull (as my father would say):
Check out the rest of the slideshow over at Martha's place – I promise it will be worth your while! Also, you can get your own Dwell Studio style by browsing over here.
Photographs via marthastewartliving.com. Photographer name was not listed; if you know it, please comment so that I can add it to this post.


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Zing!" the ads said. "And out sails the target. Bang, goes the gun — a puff of powdery black appears against the sky as the pellets find their mark — and there's the top-notch thrill for every shooter!" Thus in Fall 1940 did Mossberg introduce Targo, the latest craze in clay shooting.
Can't you feel the excitement?
As a hopeless dub at the trap range, I find it difficult to hit a moving clay bird with a cylinder-bore 31/2-inch 10-gauge loaded with 2 ounces of cubed No. 9 shot over a spreader wad. I shudder at the thought of playing Targo, a game of mini-skeet, in which you tried to hit a 2 11/16-inch flying disc with a .22 shotshell. But for some clay shooters who couldn't get enough of a good thing, Targo must have seemed a godsend.
History doesn't record who thought up Targo, but Mossberg must take some of the responsibility. They promoted the game, marketed the Targo trap thrower and made the guns for it. The basic idea must have been inspired by that red-headed stepchild of American rimfire cartridges, the .22 shotshell.
The lowly .22 shotshell has always pouted on the edge of respectability. Many shooters probably didn't even notice it in the 1900 Sears, Roebuck Wish Book, where it made an early appearance. Almost lost in a snarl of cornets, gramophones, celluloid collars and buggy whips, it peeped up from the sporting-goods section, banished to a corner of the page reserved for pinfires and other losers, priced at $5.25 per thousand, Cash On Delivery.
We don't know who invented it or why. It might have been developed for pest shooting or for use in shot-out rifles that wouldn't shoot straight, anyway. Apparently, the Stevens No. 161/2 "Favorite" smoothbore was the first factory gun chambered for it.
At the time, Targo was just a glimmer in Mossberg's eye.
The first .22 shotshell was based on the .22 Long case. A cardboard-over-powder wad separated the powder from the No. 12 shot — one size larger than dust — and a greased overshot wad was crimped in place at the neck. Those stubby rounds must not have cut the mustard, because manufacturers soon began offering the .22 shotshell in the elongated, pucker-crimped case we know today.
In shotgun terms, the .22 shotshell is a ridiculous 430-gauge, since it takes about that many .22-caliber roundballs to weigh 1 pound. The typical .22 shotshell contains 175 No. 12 pellets, give or take. (I know. I have counted them.) Each pellet has a diameter of only .005-inch, just about the size of the period at the end of this sentence.


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Where Are the Best Places to Shoot Guns in the Mid-Columbia?
Who else remembers going to the shooting range with their dad at eleven years old? I do. We would head down to Hole in the Wall and he would show me how to use his Glock -- or sometimes we would head out to Badger Canyon and up into the hills to find a nice spot to unleash the double barrel on an old broke-down computer monitor we didn't need anymore. Needless to say they were good times and great bonding moments with my father. Now I'd like to take my kids out to a good range and show them how to shoot too, but the times have changed. Where are the best places to go shooting and take your family?
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Hope College will host the second annual "Michigan Small Private School RA Conference" on Saturday, April 12.
Approximately 100 from eight colleges and universities in Michigan will attend.
The event is geared toward current student resident assistants (RAs) or students who will be serving as RAs during the 2008-09 school year and the students' advisors. The day-long conference will include presentations by students and advisors, roundtable discussions and other networking opportunities for participants in the schools' residential life and housing programs.
The attendees will include students and advisors from Aquinas College, Baker College of Muskegon, Baker College of Owosso, Calvin College, Davenport University, Hope College, Kalamazoo College and Olivet College.
The conference was initiated by and first held at Kalamazoo College in 2007.
This year's conference is chaired by two Hope students: junior Emily Mannenbach of Rochester, Minn., and senior Sara Stevenson of Three Rivers. Mannenbach and Stevenson are each resident assistants themselves, and are additionally serving as members of the Hope residence life program's Student Leadership Team as neighborhood coordinators. They are being advised by staff members Sara Dickey, assistant director of housing, and Matthew D'Oyly, residential life coordinator.


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Learn the basics of knitting and crocheting from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday at the East Gadsden Branch of the Gadsden Public Library. Bring your own knitting/crocheting needles and yarn.
NORTHSIDE COMMUNITY CLUB (A.P.T.T.) meets at 4 p.m. at 411 N. Ninth St.
MANNA will have a pancake supper from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at McDonald's in Southside.
DWIGHT MASONIC LODGE NO. 550 meets at 7 p.m. for regular communication.
Learn the basics of knitting and crocheting from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the East Gadsden Branch of the Gadsden Public Library. Bring your own knitting/crocheting needles and yarn.
ATTALLA LODGE NO. 383 FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS meets at 9 a.m. for practice.
GADSDEN BOY SCOUT TROOP 54 meets at 6:30 p.m. in the Scout cabin at Noccalula Falls. Call Larry Sitz, 256-538-5720.
BOY SCOUT TROOP 58 meets at 6 p.m. at East Gadsden United Methodist Church. Call Scoutmaster Rudy Borgersrode, 256-547-8008.
HOKES BLUFF BOY SCOUT TROOP 82 meets at 7 p.m. in the Scout cabin. Call 256-492-3535.
RAINBOW CITY BOY SCOUT TROOP 92 meets at 7 p.m. in the Scout cabin at the corner of Williams Avenue and Park Lane. Call Scoutmaster Darrell Norton, 256-490-3695.
MAH JONGG CLUB meets at 12:30 p.m. every Monday at Southside Community Center. For information, call Barbara, 256-295-1014.
SOUTHSIDE BAND BOOSTERS meet at 6:30 p.m. The executive board meets at 6 p.m.
DISTRICT 1 Councilman Billy Harris will conduct a community meeting at 6 p.m. at East Gadsden Community Center.
RAINBOW CITY LIONS CLUB meets at 6:30 p.m. at the Rainbow City Community Club.
QUEEN CITY CHAPTER NO. 135 OES meets at 7 p.m. at Gadsden Masonic Temple.
WEST END LIONS CLUB will have a Thanksgiving cake walk and bake sale at 5:30 p.m. at Altoona Fire Hall. There will be turkey, ham, chicken nuggets and drummettes, cakes, pies and fried pies. All proceeds go to the West End Lions Club.
Moscow Ballet's "Great Russian Nutcracker" will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Gadsden State Community College's Wallace Hall. Call 256-543-2787; groups of 10 or more call 800-320-1733. Visit www.nutcracker.com.
GADSDEN REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER VOLUNTEERS will have a bake sale from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Mirror Room at GRMC.
Mah-jongg will be played at 1 p.m. in the Senior Circle Suite, first floor of Gadsden Regional Medical Center.
TUESDAY TINY TOT TIME is at 10 a.m. at the East Gadsden branch of the Gadsden Public Library. This week, "If You're Happy and You Know It: Jungle Edition" by James Warhola.
GADSDEN LODGE NO. 236 FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS will meet at 7 p.m. for regular communication.
TUESDAY TALES STORY TIME meets at 10:30 a.m. at the Alabama City branch of the Gadsden Public Library. This week, "The Very First Thanksgiving Day" by Rhonda Gowler Greene
ATTALLA LODGE NO. 383 F&AM meets at 5:30 p.m. for practice followed by regular communication.
GADSDEN-RAINBOW CITY COIN CLUB meets at 6:30 p.m. in Rainbow City Hall.
COOSA VALLEY MODEL RAILROAD CLUB meets at 6 p.m. upstairs in the Hardin Center.
CEDAR BEND LODGE NO. 583, Southside, will have an EA Degree at 7 p.m.
AMERICAN LEGION POST NO. 62 has karaoke every Tuesday and Thursday beginning at 6 p.m. at Bay Springs Marina, Centre.
ETOWAH COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT MEMORIAL COMMITTEE meets at 6:30 p.m. at 128 S. Eighth St. Call 256-547-1117.
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS POST 10408 meets at 6 p.m. at the George Wallace Senior Citizen Center in Glencoe.
WHORTON DYKE POST 2760, 233 N. 3rd Street, meets at 7 p.m.
EAST GADSDEN CHAPTER NO. 532 OES meets at 7 p.m. in Glencoe Lodge.
OHATCHEE MASONIC LODGE NO. 380 meets at 7 p.m.
HOKES BLUFF MASONIC LODGE NO. 470 meets at 7 p.m.
CEDAR BEND LODGE NO. 583 F&AM meets at 7 p.m. for regular communication.
WHORTON-DYKES VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS POST NO. 2760 has karaoke from 5 p.m. until closing each week. A double-elimination pool tournament starts at 7 p.m. Entrants must be signed up by 6:45 p.m. to participate.
An American Red Cross blood drive will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Etowah Chapter, 405 S. First St. A person must weigh at least 110 pounds, must be at least 17 years old (16 with parental consent) and must be in general good health. All donors must have a photo ID or American Red Cross donor card.
An American Red Cross blood drive will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Gadsden Regional Medical Center, 1007 Goodyear Ave. A person must weigh at least 110 pounds, must be at least 17 years old (16 with parental consent) and must be in general good health. All donors must have a photo ID or American Red Cross donor card.
GADSDEN KIWANIS CLUB meets at noon.
YMCA-ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION WATER CLASS is at 10 a.m. at the YMCA.
SOUTHSIDE SENIORS CLUB meets at 10 a.m. each Wednesday at Southside Community Center. This is covered dish day.
ATTALLA GOLDEN AGE SENIOR CITIZEN CLUB meets at 10 a.m. each week at the Attalla Community Center.
USING MICROSOFT WORD will be taught from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Gadsden Public Library. A $5 refundable deposit is required to reserve your spot in the free class. A valid library card is required. Register in person at the computer center desk. Call 256-549-4699 for more information.
NORTHEAST ETOWAH SENIOR CITIZENS meet at 10:30 a.m. in the community center.
STORY TIME will not meet because the Gadsden Public Library will be closed Thursday through Saturday in honor of Thanksgiving.
BOY SCOUT TROOP 4080 meets at 7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church, Attalla.
COLLINSVILLE CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING will be at 5 p.m. at the decorated area on the corner of Alabama Highway 68 and U.S. Highway 11. There will be Christmas caroling, music, hot cider and a visit from Santa. The Collinsville Christmas parade will be at 2 p.m. Dec. 8.
Drake White will perform at 7:30 p.m. the Music Center at Temple Beth Israel. Tickets are $25 and are available at www.brownpapertickets.com. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/TheMusicCenterAtTempleBethIsrael
WHORTON-DYKES VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS POST 2760 will have a dance from 8 p.m. until midnight every Friday. Call 256-546-5072.
AMERICAN LEGION POST NO. 62 has a dance every Friday and Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. at Bay Springs Marina, Centre. There will be a live band.
HOKES BLUFF SENIORS AND FRIENDS meet at 10:30 a.m. at Hokes Bluff Community Center.
VFW POST 8600 has a dance from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Gadsden Regional Medical Center needs men, women and teens to volunteer. Call Natalie Fleming at 256-494-4179.
CONSTRUCTION VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED on Wednesdays and Saturdays to help build houses with Gadsden-Etowah Habitat for Humanity. Skilled and unskilled volunteers, groups from churches and businesses are welcome. Volunteers must be at least 16 to work on an active building site. There are needs in carpentry, site preparation, concrete work, painting and more. Those interested are asked to email email@example.com or call 256-543-1898.
CARING PEOPLE ARE NEEDED to become volunteers for Comfort Care Hospice. Call Kim Bradford, 256-547-3050.
VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED for Horses Offering People Hope. Call Mary Kay Tortoriello, 256-892-9267 or visit footprintsofhope.com.


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A perfectly balanced and fair dice for the gamer with distinguished taste, this transparent precision 24-sided D24 dice is diamond clear with blue numbers. The clear color means you can really see the quality and precision which went into engineering this random number generator. Accurately made and a great addition to any dice collection.
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One 24 Sided D24 Transparent Diamond Clear Dice with Blue Numbers
Made in the USA!


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Suriname, country located on the northern coast of South America. Suriname is one of the smallest countries in South America, yet its population is one of the most ethnically diverse in the region. Its economy is dependent on its extensive supply of natural resources, most notably bauxite, of which it is one of the top producers in the world. The southern four-fifths of the country is almost entirely covered with pristine tropical rainforest.
Formerly known as Dutch Guiana, Suriname was a plantation colony of the Netherlands that gained its independence on November 25, 1975. From 1980 to 1987 the country was governed by a succession of military regimes. A new civilian constitution was approved in 1987. Another military coup took place in 1990, but the country returned to civilian rule the following year. The capital, Paramaribo, lies 9 miles (15 km) from the Atlantic Ocean on the Suriname River.
Suriname is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, by French Guiana to the east, by Brazil to the south, and by Guyana to the west. Suriname is involved in territorial disputes with both Guyana and French Guiana that are legacies of colonial rule. The dispute with Guyana centres on the New River Triangle, a 6,000-square-mile (15,600-square-km) area between two tributaries of the Courantyne River in southern Guyana. In addition to claiming the New River Triangle, Suriname also contests its border with Guyana along the Courantyne: Suriname claims sovereignty over the entire river and thus views its west bank as the border, while Guyana claims that the thalweg, or deepest channel of the river, is the boundary. In 2007 a United Nations international tribunal settled another long-standing boundary dispute between the two countries, in which Suriname was awarded one-third of a disputed area of the Caribbean Sea. The area in contention with French Guiana is the 5,000-square-mile (13,000-square-km) region between the Itany and Marouini rivers in the southwestern corner of French Guiana.
The narrow coastal zone, some 226 miles (364 km) long, consists of sandbanks and mudbanks deposited by the southern equatorial currents from the area surrounding the mouth of the Amazon River (located to the east of Suriname, in Brazil). South of the mudbanks begins the New Coastal Plain, also formed from sand and clay from the mouth of the Amazon. The region, covering some 6,600 square miles (17,000 square km), consists of swampland. The soil of the swamps is clay, in which a great deal of peat has formed. The region is traversed by sandy ridges that run parallel to the coast.
South of the New Coastal Plain is the Old Coastal Plain, which covers some 1,550 square miles (4,000 square km). It consists largely of fine clays and sands and contains a variety of topographies, including old ridges, clay flats, and swamps.
South of the Old Coastal Plain is the Zanderij formation, a 40-mile- (64-km-) wide landscape of rolling hills. This formation rests on bleached sand sediments, which are rich in quartz. Most of the region is covered by tropical rainforest, but swamps and areas of savanna grassland are also found.
Farther to the south, bordering Brazil, is an area consisting largely of a central mountain range, its various branches, and scattered hilly areas; a vast tropical rainforest covers these highlands. The highest summit, at 4,035 feet (1,230 metres), is Juliana Top, in the Wilhelmina Mountains. In the southwest near the Brazilian border is the Sipaliwini Plain, another savanna area.
Drainage and soils
Suriname's major rivers flow northward into the Atlantic. They include the Courantyne, which forms part of the boundary with Guyana; the Coppename; the Suriname; and the Maroni, which forms part of the border with French Guiana. Suriname's most fertile soils occur in the inundated lands reclaimed by diking and drainage (polders), which are principally in the New Coastal Plain.
Suriname has a tropical climate. The populated area in the north has four seasons: a minor rainy season from early December to early February, a minor dry season from early February to late April, a major rainy season from late April to mid-August, and a major dry season from mid-August to early December. Daytime temperatures in Paramaribo range between 70 and 90 °F (21 and 32 °C). In the interior, diurnal temperature extremes can vary by as much as about 20 degrees. However, the range in average temperatures between the warmest month, September, and the coldest, January, is only about 3 degrees. Rainfall is highest in the central and southeastern parts of the country. Annual rainfall averages about 75 inches (1,900 mm) in the west and 95 inches (2,400 mm) in Paramaribo.
Plant and animal life
The flora of the coastal area is better known than that of the interior. It consists of some 4,000 species of ferns and seed plants and a large number of mosses, weeds, and mildews. About nine-tenths of Suriname's area is covered with heterogeneous forest consisting of more than 1,000 species of trees. The baboen (Virola surinamensis), which grows in the coastal area, is used to make plywood. The kapok (Ceiba pentandra) reaches a height of more than 150 feet (45 metres). The Central Suriname Nature Reserve, covering nearly 3,950,000 acres (1,600,000 hectares), was established in June 1998 in west-central Suriname. It is one of the largest protected areas of rainforest in the world and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.
There are some 150 species of mammals, including monkeys, wild pigs, deer, manatees, jaguars, ocelots, armadillos, sloths, and anteaters. The tapir is the largest land mammal. Reptiles include caimans, iguanas, and the boa constrictor. The beaches on the eastern part of the coast are breeding grounds for marine turtles, which are protected by law. About 650 species of birds, including hummingbirds, vultures, and parrots, have been identified. Some 350 species of fish occupy coastal and inland waters.
Ethnic groups
South Asians, descendants of contract labourers from India, are the largest ethnic group in Suriname, making up more than one-fourth of the population. The second major ethnic group, accounting for about one-fifth of the population, is the Maroons (descendants of escaped slaves of African origin). Creoles, who in Suriname are people of mainly African descent, constitute between one-tenth and one-fifth of the population. The descendants of Javanese (people from the island of Java in Indonesia) contract labourers and people of mixed ethnicity each make up almost one-seventh of the population.
Indians, descendants of the original inhabitants of Suriname, make up only a tiny fraction of the population. The coastal groups include the Carib and Arawak, while the Trio (Tiriyo), Wayana-Aparai, Warao (Warrau), Wayarekule (Akuriyo), Tucayana, and Akurio live in the interior. Minor ethnic groups in Suriname include descendants of Chinese, Lebanese, Portuguese, and Dutch immigrants; Creoles from the West Indies; and U.S. citizens. More-recent immigrants include Chinese—known in Suriname as "New Chinese" to distinguish them from the descendants of those Chinese who were brought over as labourers in the 19th century—and Brazilians who arrived in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Dutch is the official language of Suriname, but the extent to which members of the various ethnic groups are able to use the language differs. Most of the population learns Dutch as a second language. Additional languages include Sranan and other creole languages; English; Sarnami, which originated from Hindi and Urdu; Javanese; and a number of Maroon and South American Indian languages.
The principal religion is Christianity, brought to Suriname by European colonizers. Nearly half of the people are Christians, mainly Roman Catholics and Moravians. Hindus, nearly all of whom are South Asians, account for about one-fifth of the population. Between one-tenth and one-fifth of Surinamese are Muslim, mostly the Javanese and a small South Asian group. Judaism, present in Suriname since the early 16th century, is still practiced, while many of the Chinese are Confucians. African and Indian religions are still widely followed.
Settlement patterns
About two-thirds of the Surinamese population resides in urban areas. Some two-fifths of them are concentrated in the capital, Paramaribo, and its surrounding area. The capital city is spread out along the Suriname River. Many of its Dutch colonial buildings remain intact, and its historic centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2002. Smaller urban centres include Nieuw Nickerie, in the northwest near the Guyanese border; Albina, in the northeast on the border with French Guiana; Moengo, in the centre of the bauxite-mining region in northeastern Suriname; and Paranam, in the bauxite-mining and bauxite-processing region on the Suriname River south of Paramaribo. Small settlements of Maroons and Indians make up almost the entire population of the interior. Some Indian villages are located in the coastal area, and nomadic groups live along the Brazilian border in the south.
Demographic trends
The birth rate in Suriname has steadily decreased since independence; indeed, from 1970 to 2007 it dropped by about half, to below the world average. More than one-fourth of the population is under age 15. After 1973, when it was announced that Suriname would become independent, a large number of people emigrated to the Netherlands. By 1980, according to some estimates, one-third of the population had left the country; many of those who left were professionals and skilled workers. In the early 21st century, migration to the Netherlands had decreased significantly, and many retired workers had returned to Suriname. Meanwhile, starting in the late 20th century, significant numbers of Chinese immigrated to Suriname. In addition, during the early 21st century there was an influx of Brazilians, who came to the country mainly to work in gold-mining activities.
Suriname's economy is dependent on mineral resources, mainly oil, gold, and bauxite, from which alumina (used in the smelting of aluminum metal) is made. Aside from natural resources, the chief sources of income are from agriculture and remittances, mostly from the Netherlands, French Guiana, and the United States. Suriname is a member of the Caribbean Community, an organization of Caribbean countries and dependencies.
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Less than 1 percent of Suriname's land is arable, and about half of this is cultivated. Most of the farmland is on the New Coastal Plain. In this region drainage is necessary most of the year, owing to a surplus of precipitation. During dry periods evaporation exceeds precipitation, and thus irrigation is necessary.
More than half of the cultivated land in Suriname is planted with rice, the basic food staple. There are two rice harvests every year—the principal one in the spring and a second crop in the autumn. Some rice is exported, as are bananas, citrus fruits, coconuts, and palm oil. Sugar, coffee, and cocoa, formerly important export items, are produced mainly for domestic consumption.
Because more than nine-tenths of Suriname is forested, great timber resources exist, but they have not been fully exploited. Plywood and timber are exported. There is a small fishing industry, centred in Paramaribo, that exports shrimp to North America.
Resources and power
Bauxite is the leading mineral in Suriname, with mines near Paranam and Overdacht. Gold mining has grown in importance. Reserves of chromium, clay, copper, diamonds, iron ore, manganese, nickel, platinum, and tin are also found in Suriname.
The State Oil Company of Suriname (Staatsolie) produces a significant amount of oil from wells in the Tambaredjo area, from which some crude oil is exported, and production activities began at the neighbouring Calcutta field in 2006. A small refinery was established there in the 1990s. Offshore oil exploration of the Guyana-Suriname Basin, which was stalled for decades because of the maritime boundary dispute with Guyana, began again in 2008.
The Brokopondo Dam and a hydroelectric power plant on the Suriname River produce electricity for the bauxite-refining operations in Paranam. The dam impounds the 600-square-mile (1,550-square-km) W.J. van Blommestein Lake.
The main industry in Suriname is the mining and processing of bauxite. There are an aluminum smelter and an alumina refinery in Paranam. Apart from the bauxite and wood-processing industries, manufacturing is limited to small import-substitution enterprises. Processed foods, clothing, cigarettes, and construction material are produced for the domestic market.
Finance, trade, and services
Local banks and insurance companies either are subsidiaries of or cooperate with foreign companies, mostly from the Netherlands and the United States. Monetary policy is controlled by the minister of finance and the president of the Central Bank of Suriname (established 1957), the bank of issue. The national currency is the Suriname dollar, which replaced the guilder in 2004.
Bauxite, alumina, and gold account for almost three-fourths of total exports. Imports consist mostly of machinery and transport equipment, fuels, food products, and chemical products. Suriname's main trade partners are the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, the Netherlands, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Nearly two-fifths of the population is employed in the service sector, which employs a larger proportion of the labour force than any other sector. Tourism began to develop only in the early 21st century and is centred on the country's environmental features.
Surface transport systems are for the most part limited to the coastal area. The East-West Highway connects Paramaribo with Albina on the eastern border and with Nieuw Nickerie on the western border. There is a road from Paramaribo to Afobaka near the Brokopondo Dam. Only one-fourth of the roads are paved. Rivers and canals are an important means of transport. The lower courses of the larger rivers are accessible to oceangoing vessels. Paramaribo is the chief port. An international airport is located about 25 miles (40 km) south of the capital city in the town of Zanderij.
Government and society
Constitutional framework
Under the 1987 constitution, legislative power is exercised by the popularly elected 51-member unicameral National Assembly, which in turn elects a president and vice president. The president, vice president, and members of the National Assembly serve five-year terms. The president is the chairman of a nonelective, military-influenced Council of State, which ensures that the government's actions conform to the law. It has constitutional powers to annul laws passed by the National Assembly. The judicial system consists of a Court of Justice and cantonal courts. Suriname is a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice, the final court of appeal for Caribbean Community members.
Local government
Local government was established in Suriname in 1987. It is divided into distrikten (districts) and ressorten (subdistricts). Each district has a representative and an executive branch of government. The former are run by district raden (district councils), and the latter are administered by districtsbestuur (district administrations). At the subdistrict level there is only a representative branch managed by ressort raad (subdistrict councils). Both the district and subdistrict councils are elected every five years at the country's general elections.
Political process
Universal suffrage was introduced in 1948; Surinamese citizens age 18 and older are allowed to vote. Political mobilization and party affiliation have evolved along strongly ethnic lines. South Asians, Creoles, and Javanese all have played major roles in the development of the country's constitutional democracy. The Progressive Reform Party (Vooruitstrvende Hervormde Partij; VHP) is a leading Hindu party; the Suriname National Party (Nationale Partij Suriname; NPS) was founded by Creoles; and the Pendawa Lima ("Five Sons of King Pandu") is a predominately Javanese party.
The Surinamese Liberation Army (SLA), a guerrilla group better known as the Jungle Commando and consisting mainly of Maroons, formed in 1986 with the intent to overthrow the standing government. In retaliation, the National Army carried out raids in Maroon villages. The killing and detaining of many Maroons resulted in the flight of many to French Guiana. After a formal peace agreement was reached in 1992, most of them returned to Suriname, where they control economic activity on their lands.
Health and welfare
Health conditions are relatively good in Suriname. Most tropical diseases are combated effectively. Medical care in the interior is provided by the Foundation for Medical Mission of the Evangelical Brethren in Suriname, which operates medical centres in the larger Maroon and Indian settlements.
Most of the population has health insurance. All collective labour agreements include medical care. The unemployed and workers in the informal sector, however, must obtain a special certificate from the government to receive free medical care. Unemployment benefits and other social provisions are almost nonexistent.
About nine-tenths of Surinamese age 15 and older are literate. Suriname's system of education is modeled on that of the Netherlands, and Dutch is the language of instruction. School attendance is compulsory for children up to age 12, and education at all levels is free. More than nine-tenths of the children in the coastal areas attend primary school. Suriname has secondary schools, junior colleges, a teacher's college, and vocational and technical schools. The Anton de Kom University of Suriname, founded in 1968 as the University of Suriname, has faculties of law, medicine, social science and economics, engineering, and natural resources.
Cultural life
Cultural milieu
Suriname is a culturally diverse society, with harmonious contact between its ethnic groups in the cultural sphere. Fine arts, such as painting and sculpture, were traditionally middle-class concerns dominated by Western cultural standards, but since independence the works of artists from different ethnic groups have received more recognition. Culinary traditions cross ethnic lines, and elements from South Asian, Javanese, Creole, Western African, and Chinese cuisine are often blended.
The arts
Suriname's art forms derive from several ethnic traditions. Those of Javanese descent, for example, support a number of gamelan (Indonesian orchestra) troupes. Suriname's Indians and Maroons developed a strong crafts industry, producing colourful textiles, baskets, and wood carvings for export.
Most Surinamese writing is in the Dutch, Sranan, and Hindi languages. Among the country's leading writers are Albert Helman, whose published works include dozens of volumes of fiction and plays; Martinus Haridat Luchtman, who, under the pen name Shrinivasi, is the author of several books of poems; Astrid Roemer, a popular novelist; and Cynthia McLeod, who has written several historical novels that have earned a wide readership in both Suriname and the Netherlands.
Surinamese music is represented by musical groups such as Fra Fra Bigband, an orchestra from Paramaribo that blends indigenous forms of kaseko (dance music combining Western march, jazz, and calypso), kawina (a type of Creole pop music), and winti (ritual music) to form a distinctly Surinamese brand of Afro-Caribbean jazz. In recent years, Suriname-based groups also have collaborated with Western African musicians, adding talking drums and thumb pianos (lamellaphones) to their instrumentation.
Sports and recreation
The country's most popular sports are football (soccer), basketball, and volleyball. Although Suriname has no professional sports teams, several Surinamese players have become members of well-known European soccer clubs. Suriname made its Olympic debut at the 1968 Mexico City Games. Suriname's Anthony Nesty won the gold medal in the 100-metre butterfly competition at the 1988 Seoul Games and later earned a bronze in the same event at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Fishing is a common recreational sport, particularly from August to October, when many people fish with bamboo poles in freshwater swamps and creeks. Hunting is also popular. A traditional Surinamese activity is birdkeeping. The most commonly caught birds are the large-billed seed finches (Oryzoborus crassirostris) known in the country as twa-twas. A competition among these whistling birds takes place Sunday mornings at Independence Square in Paramaribo and in other cities throughout Suriname.
Media and publishing
All non-government-owned media were shut down in 1982. However, since then several private entities resumed operation. The major independent daily newspapers are De Ware Tijd ("The True Times") and De West ("The West"); both are printed in Dutch. Most of the government-owned television and radio stations broadcast in Dutch, and some also air in local languages. There are a large number of smaller commercial radio stations.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
South American forest Indian…the Guianas (French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and the adjacent regions of Venezuela and Brazil) as well as in other parts of the northern Amazon, but the former have representatives as far south as the Chaco and the latter as far south as the upper Xingu. The Tupí tribes extend to…
UNASURParaguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Panama and Mexico hold observer status.…
flag of Suriname…survive into the 20th century, Suriname (formerly known as Dutch Guiana) has a unique ethnic and cultural mix that sets it off from its Latin American neighbours. The Suriname national flag is consequently different from those of surrounding countries, although it generally resembles other new flags of the Caribbean region.…
Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby…brought about the settlement of Suriname (then nominally Spanish territory) by immigrants from Caribbean and other South American colonies. Originally a supporter of Parliament in the English Civil War, he joined the Royalist side in 1648 and was appointed governor of Barbados by Charles II in 1650. He left Barbados…
South America
South America, fourth largest of the world's continents. It is the southern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere, or simply the Americas. The continent is compact and roughly triangular in shape, being broad in the north and tapering to a point—Cape Horn,…
More About Suriname6 references found in Britannica articles
Assorted References
- flag history
- physical geography
- population
- settlement by Willoughby
- tropical forest cultures
- In UNASUR


text: The Mariinsky Theatre Stradivari Ensemble is a group of musicians who perform on the worldÆs most famous and unique-sounding string instruments in the world. The ensemble was founded on the initiative of Valery Gergiev, Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre. The Stradivari Ensemble includes the finest instrumentalists and lead soloists in the Mariinsky Orchestra. Popular and well-loved classical works sound completely different when performed by them than at an average concert thanks to the incredibly rich and beautiful timbres of the instruments of Amati, Stradivari, Guarneri, Guadanini and Gofriller.


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Does President-elect Obama represent the change we need? His mainstream appointments — largely veterans of the Clinton administration — have sparked a clamor from worried supporters. But in one of the critical challenges facing the country — how to get the country out of what will be the worst downturn since the Great Depression — Obama is calling for dramatic and long overdue change. While President Bush continues to oppose any major plan for Main Street, Obama has been calling for a substantial recovery program, focused on public investments rather than tax cuts.
His chief economic advisor, Clinton's former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, suggests a "speedy, substantial and sustained" fiscal stimulus, at levels of $350 billion a year or more. A key question is whether the stimulus will be strategic — investing in areas vital to our future, rather than in simple one-off expenditures for temporary effect.
On this Obama seems clear. The centerpiece of his plan is a down payment towards moving to energy independence and dealing with global warming. He'll generate green jobs by investing in retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency, in modernizing the electric grid, in pushing renewable energy, mass transit, and retooling the auto industry.
He could also sensibly use the crisis to make college more affordable again. The cost of college has doubled under President Bush. Grant programs haven't kept pace. States have been limiting their support. Students have had to take on more and more debt to pay the bill.
Now in the crisis, all will get much worse. Tuitions and costs are increasing, as states cut even more costs. Teachers are getting laid off; construction projects stalled; class sizes will increase. As private lenders abandon the student loan area, loans are still available — but the costs and debt burdens are likely to rise.
For this country to prosper as a high wage society in a global economy, we will need greater education for students, particularly in the skill oriented community colleges that are being hit hardest in the downturn. Obama would be wise to raise Pell grants — the grants that go to neediest students back to the level they once were, when the maximum grant covered about 75% of college costs. That would cost $35 billion a year. The money would be spent immediately — and it would keep kids in college and off the unemployment rolls.
Critics argue that the spending program should be temporary — one-time tax rebates, or one-off investments that involve no long term commitments, and can be ended when the economy starts to grow. If we make a downpayment on strategic investments now, they warn, we'll have to find a way to pay for them when the economy recovers.
Exactly. The fact is that we've been starving vital public investments for decades. Just as conservatives pushed for massive tax cuts as a back door way to force cuts in government spending, Obama should be making vital investments as part of the deficit-funded stimulus as a backdoor way to strengthen the argument for paying for these investments in the long run.
A big time recovery plan for Main Street focused on the investments we need is one key element of the change we need. And one that President-elect Obama surely supports.


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Rush Offense: 7.0% (5th)
O-Line Adjusted Line Yards: 4.16 Yards (10th)
O-Line Adj. Sack Rate: 3.4% (2nd)
Analysis: Where to start? The Texans offense is firing on all cylinders. The line is doing enough for it's skill players and QB Matt Schaub, RB Arian Foster, WR Andre Johnson and TE Owen Daniels are all playing great football. For the Jets defense it's going to come down to playing sound fundamental football, controlling the line of scrimmage and solid tackling. The Jets might be in some trouble when it comes to defending the pass with as many options as Schaub seems to have in the passing game. Cromartie might have a tough game against Andre Johnson, but if he and Kyle Wilson can play man coverage and play physically, they might have a shot to slow the passing game. Of course that means that with most teams worrying about their receivers, Owen Daniels and former Jet Joel Dreesen seem to be able to make the most of it across the middle of the field.
Pass Defense: -30.3% (2nd)
Rush Defense: -15.3% (13th)
Defensive Adjusted Line Yards: 4.20 Yards (23rd)
Defensive Adj. Sack Rate: 9.1% (4th)
Analysis: The Jets one convincing win this season came against a defense that has some of the same flaws as this group, but the big difference is that overall the Texans secondary is much better than the Bills were. The point is, that if the Jets can run the ball, specifically right up the middle of the Texans defense they might have a chance to move the chains that way while also negating the pass rush and coverage skills of the Texans. In the passing game Jonathan Joseph is playing great football and the Jets would be wise to steer far clear of him or away from passing the ball at the slot receiver, where the Texans seem to be world-class at breaking up the pass. More than anything, the Jets can't turn the ball over as losing the turnover battle will ruin any chances they might have in this game.
Special Teams: -10.0% (29th)
Analysis: The Jets would be wise to try and take advantage of the Texans special teams unit by trying to sneak a possession or two away from them. Look for Westy to try and dial it up against Houston Monday night.


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When protests broke out in Iran this week over the devaluation of the nation's currency, Khosrow Semnani saw the possible start of a solution.
Change Iran from within and you have a better chance of ending its nuclear weapons program than you ever would from a military strike, he said.
That is, of course, easier said than done. Groups within Iran have tried this before, but the Arab Spring seems always to wither under the foot of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
If anyone has the passion to move the United States and its allies to deal positively with Middle East's most troubling nation, however, it is Semnani, a Salt Lake resident who came here from Iran virtually penniless in the late 1960s and has since amassed a fortune.
Semnani has several good reasons for his passion. For one, he still has siblings and other close relatives living in Tehran. For another, he has just authored a report that uses science and best evidence to put a human toll on what a military strike would mean.
Titled, "The Ayatollah's Nuclear Gamble," the report conservatively estimates that 70,000 people might be hurt or killed in one key site alone. And in a nation where "the historical record suggests poor disaster management and inadequate emergency preparation," that casualty list could be magnified by a factor of 10.
The numbers aren't just pulled out of a hat. As Semnani reminded me when we spoke about this, matters of radiation and nuclear fallout are right in his wheelhouse.
If you've heard of Semnani at all, chances are it is in connection with the radioactive waste repository he founded in Utah's west desert many years ago. It was Envirocare when he owned it. Today it is EnergySolutions. Semnani himself has degrees in chemistry and physics, as well as an honorary Doctorate of Science degree from Southern Utah University.
He spent two years putting together the report, which was released at an opportune time. Only a few days ago, world leaders, including Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, met at the United Nations to argue over Iran, Israel, sanctions or worse. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a forceful plea for immediate action, calling for a "red line" beyond which Iran should not be allowed to go.
There is talk of a strategic military strike, similar to what Israel did against the Osirak nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981. No one — not the Iranians, the Israelis or the United States — is talking about the human toll such a strike would take.
No one but Semnani, that is. His report says the thought of such a strike being similar to Osirak is a fantasy. He calculates strikes against four nuclear facilities, estimating shift workers of between 3,500 and 5,500 at any one time, and resulting toxic chemical plumes that reach tens of thousands of civilians or more.
Attacking a uranium conversion facility at Isfahan and an enrichment plant at Natanz would unleash hydrofluoric acid that, quoting a scientist in the study, would make people "drown in their lungs."
The report already has made a mark. Time Magazine featured it, as did the French publication Le Point. A BBC broadcast about it reached Iran where, Semnani told me, the regime managed to quickly stop access to it. Other reports, however, also have reached Iran, where people are hungry for information about a situation that might affect them.
I'm guessing most Americans share Semnani's goal, which is to see Iran become free and democratic. Then, as he told me, the government would be more worried about meeting its people's everyday needs than preserving power at the expense of the economy and public safety.
But Americans, he believes, need to envision the end goal and understand how best to get there.
"This is a nation of 75 million people," he said of Iran. "You don't want to lose those people. You don't want to make them rally around the people making the bombs."
That would happen if the U.S. unleashed death and mayhem, he said. It's a position that makes good sense, but the trick is getting Iranians to change before Iran itself does something desperate and destructive to the rest of the world.
Jay Evensen is associate editor of the Deseret News editorial page. Email him at [email protected]. For more content, visit his website, www.jayevensen.com.


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Buccaneers begin 2012-13 indoor season
CLEMSON, S.C. (Nov. 30, 2012) – The ETSU men's and women's track and field teams take to their first meet of the 2012-13 indoor season on Saturday, as they head to Clemson for the Orange and Purple Winter Classic at the Clemson Indoor Track & Field Complex.
The meet is scheduled for just one day, beginning at 10 a.m., with the 60m hurdles portion of the pentathlon. The men's shot put gets the field events underway at 10 a.m., as well, with the women's portion to follow. The meet concludes with the men's and women's 4x400m relays at 3:20 and 3:45 p.m., respectively.
Fourteen other schools will be joining the Buccaneers and Clemson on Saturday, including Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt. League foe USC Upstate will also be competing.
For Director of ETSU Cross Country/Track & Field George Watts, Saturday will also be the first time he has led his new squads to a meet. Watts was named to his position on Aug. 9, and led the men's cross country team to a second place finish at the Atlantic Sun Championships, its best since 2009. The women's team took fifth at the conference meet, which was its best result in eight all-time meets since joining the league in 2005.
As for the track and field side of things, the ETSU men are coming off a second-place finish at last year's A-Sun Indoor Championships. Kennesaw State barely edged the Bucs by five points, 177-172, after holding a 26-point lead following the meet's opening day. The ETSU women took fourth at the conference meet, but put together its highest-ever point total in seven years of competing with 107 points.
Complete information of the Orange & Purple Winter Classic can be found by visiting www.ClemsonTigers.com.
For more information on ETSU track & field, please visit ETSUBucs.com.


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Message Board
Gus Weill Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Weill has written!
Author Weill's Book Reviews
The Cajuns
Simon & Schuster, Aug 2004, 24.00, 292 pp. ISBN: 0743249798 In 1956 in Richelieu, Louisiana the local Cajuns love eating gumbo and gossiping about sexual scandals, political corruption and kickbacks. In fact most residents are proud of those who get away with cheating, which has made State Senator Papoot Gaspard a graft legend. Everyone in town knows that if it ain't broke leave it alone; graft is a way of life and not considered broken so keep...


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Feb 17, 2019 Michael Hallisey Spotlight On Business 0SCHENECTADY — The Falvo family has been fixing cars for about 80 years. When Nick Falvo's grandfather started Schenectady Auto Service in the 1940s it was located across the street from its...
Feb 17, 2019 Diego Cagara Spotlight On Business 0DELMAR — "Building an oral health home for families where comprehensive, top-of-the-line dental services were easily accessible was my goal," said Dr. Thomas Abele, who, since 1969, has been a...
Capital District Transportation Authority - CDTA
23 hours ago
CEO Carm Basile talks about a national trend that will be piloted right here in the Capital Region and how it will change the mobility landscape. ... See MoreSee Less
It sounds expensive. Will this be a way of subsidizing sprawl at the expense of denser urban areas that more efficiently support transit? Would there be more benefit to providing greater service to urban routes, instead?
Great idea Carm
Carmen a blast from the past
And would these vehicles be accessible? That would be a HUGE plus since STAR does not serve Clifton Park.
I always wished there was a bus between Latham and Clifton park
It's something that's LONG overdue! I think it's gonna be a huge plus!
Take a ride on our complimentary Electric City Trolley in Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation this weekend!🚎🚎
Trolley will run from 4 p.m. - 1 a.m. this Friday and Saturday!
Download the Cityfinder app for stop locations and real-time arrivals!📱 ... See MoreSee Less
1 day ago
Due to high winds, there will be no #EmpireStatePlaza Farmers Market today. ... See MoreSee Less
Capital District Transportation Authority - CDTA is at The Glen Sanders Mansion.
1 day ago
Congratulations to our Transportation Superintendent Gary Guy on his recognition for outstanding service and community leadership for Human Rights in Schenectady County at the annual Schenectady County Human Rights Commission awards ceremony. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 ... See MoreSee Less
Well deserved god bless 🤓
Congratulations boss such an honor to witness this awesome event!
Awesome Gary! Congratulations You deserve it and many more.
Congratulations Gary!!!
Great job Gary!
Congratulations family
Congratulations Gary. GREAT JOB!
This is awesome!! Congratulations Gary 😊
Way to go!! You have a great team.
Good job i miss working over there.
Congrats to my boss , one of the many reasons , i love my job
Congratulations Gary!!!!!
Congratulations Gary!! Well-deserved! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Congrats Gary Guy on your well deserved award!! Proud that CDTA is a major sponsor and you are part of the MLK Coalition!
Congratulations to Gary Guy
Congrats Gary P. GuyGary, outstanding
Congrats Gary!
Awwww Gary P. Guy there you go!! Congratulations❤🎉🙏🏼
Way to go Gary
Congrats Gary P. Guy
Congratulations 🎈
Congrats Gary Guy !!!! Well deserved for sure !!
Extraordinary men do extraordinary things. Congratulations Gary Guy and well deserved!
Proud to work for you Boss!! Gary Guy is a staple for CDTA!!
2 days ago
#TBT to #SummerAtThePlaza 2018! Big announcement coming next week! Stay tuned 👀 ☀ ... See MoreSee Less
I was at this show!! En Vogue, phenomenal.
2 days ago
It's almost Memorial Day weekend which means our pool is opening soon! Will you be taking a dip this weekend? ... See MoreSee Less
I think the water will be too cold for me. But I will enjoy the BBQ on the patio.
If I lived there! I must come for a tour and to put my name in your long wait list!
If the water is not too cold.
3 days ago
The #EmpireStatePlaza Farmers Market is looking colorful! Stop by and #ShopLocal until 2p 😍 ... See MoreSee Less
The Spinney at Pond View added 4 new photos.
1 month ago
Activities that our residents participated in this year! ... See MoreSee Less
A great party
The Spinney at Van Dyke shared a post.
1 month ago
This is a great reminder for all of our residents! Stop by Bethlehem Senior Projects, Inc. at the Bethlehem Town Hall to get a File of Life for your refrigerator - it may greatly help in a time of need. ... See MoreSee Less
Thanks for sharing this important information with your residents!
The Spinney at Van Dyke added a new photo — at The Spinney at Van Dyke.
2 months ago
Residents enjoying a spring concert in the Clubhouse! Happy Spring Equinox! ... See MoreSee Less


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We're really sorry. You see, it's taking us so long to get everything sorted for the new website that we've had to get it out there with a few (actually, it's a few more than a few) pages still to be knocked up. Like this one.
So, whilst we're beavering away to finish things off, feel free to check out some gorgeous flower shots or order flowers on-line.
Thanks so much for your patience, we'll have this all finished in a jiffy.
Best, Jodie
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- "Thanks sooo much for putting together 2 gorgeous bouquets for me today. They look beautiful. Just what I was after & amazing considering I ordered over the phone :-) Georgia" October 2012
- "Hi Jodie, I just want to say thank you for the flowers they were amazing, she loved them, I have never seen anything like them before. Looking forward to using you again for future requirements. Thanks" David, October 2012
- "Your flowers were absolutely amazing. Everybody commented on how beautiful they were – so thank you very much! Cheers, Ellyse" October 2012
- "Hi people, Just to let you know that Erika loved the flowers. She's a hard marker so well done. Cheers + thanks, Daniel" October 2012
- "I just wanted to thank Jess for the work she did on my Wedding back in March. The flowers were perfect and really brought some fun and colour to the day. Her ideas were great and the end result was better than I had even imagined. Best, Mollie" July 2012
- "Hi Jodie, Thank you so much for the beautiful flowers you did for our wedding, they were perfect and exactly what we wanted, different and beautiful! They looked amazing!!! Thank you again so much, Naomi & Andrew" May 2012
- "Dear Jodie McGregor Flowers, I received my spectacular flowers from my beautiful friends for my birthday last Tuesday. My flowers overwhelmed me and continue to do so – they are vibrant and fresh and smell amazing and were presented beautifully. Every year my darling friend sends me flowers for my birthday but you have surpassed all other years so thank you. Sincerely, Jenny." July 2012
- "Hi Jodie, I just wanted to say thank you so much for the beautiful flowers you provided for my mother's funeral. I started crying when I saw them because they were just so perfect and suited my Mum exactly - soft, gentle and beautiful. Looking at them made a very hard day a lot easier to deal with. Fond regards, Ruth." March 2012
Exquisite, divine, sumptuous, amazing... just some of the words used to describe our wedding flowers.
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Customized background graphics :)
Can not complain because the site is amazing and it is FREE which is this brides favorite word! However, I did hire a Graphic Artist to do the artwork for my wedding invites (used tapa which is part of our Samoan culture) and would have loved to have used the graphics as a customized background theme. Would've been great to just resize and upload the graphics! Perhaps in the future, but maybe not in my bridal term lol apart from that great stuff! Thank you for making everything so easy!
Hi and thank you so much for your idea!
We will definitely take this into consideration. We're always trying to improve the Wedding Website experience for couples so we welcome all of your great ideas.
We will keep this forum updated as we make improvements!
Enjoy your planning!
1 comment
Anonymous commented
And thank you for your response Meuy! Blessed day to you & your team! :)