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Atheism: Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods.
Usually a taboo subject for mainstream media and general dinner-table talks, atheism has recently become somewhat of a comfortable stance for people as a way of life. A lot of closed-minded people consider Atheists and non-believers to be evil, often comparing them to the likes of people like Adolf Hitler and saying such things as "Hitler was an atheist, and look how that turned out"… when in fact Hitler was a man of God himself. So how did that turn out anyway? I personally don't believe there is anything wrong with atheism, agnosticism, and having a lack of religious faith. I actually find it harder in this society to come out proudly and tell everyone (family, friends, and the general public) that you are a non-believer than it would be to tell someone you're a Christian. I've compiled a list of Famous celebrities that have taken that plunge and have proudly announced their beliefs… or lack thereof.
Here they are in no particular order:
Quote: At the end of the day, if there was indeed some Body or presence standing there to judge me, I hoped I would be judged on whether I had lived a true life, not on whther I believed in a certain book, or whether I'd been baptized. If there was indeed a God at the end of my days, I hoped he didn't say, "But you were never a Christian, so you're going the other way from heaven." If so, I was going to reply, "You know what? You're right. Fine."
Quote: Is there a God? Hmm… For some people. I hope so, for them. For the people who believe in it, I hope so. There doesn't need to be a God for me. There's something in people that's spiritual, that's godlike. I don't feel like doing things just because people say things, but I also don't really know if it's better to just not believe in anything, either.
Quote: I still feel very much like an atheist in the religious aspects of things. But there are spiritual planes that I'm aware of that I don't know anything about and that I can't explain. That's why I think musicians are so revered and so important to our culture: We're the wizards, we sort of reveal a little bit of this extra-powerful communicative force."
Quote: I think there is a puritanical wind that is blowing. I have never seen such a lack of separation between church and state in America, I don't believe in God, but if I did I would say that sex is a Godgiven right. Otherwise it's the end of our species.
Quote: "He did not subscribe to his family's religion. Even at a young age he was too mathematical, too logical, to make the leap of faith. He adopted his father's ethical underpinnings, but not his belief in an unseen divinity." –from Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist
Quote: I used to work with born-again gang-bangers installing closets in Burbank. These were amongst the scariest people I've ever met in my life. A guy thumping a bible, asking for traveling mercy and speaking in tongues with a teardrop tattoo. This is a frightening guy. People are scared to die, and the second somebody figured out somebody died and got frightened about it they had to concoct a fairy tale. It amazes me that intelligent people buy into it.
Raised Jewish turned atheist, Dangerfield said he was an atheist during an interview with Howard Stern in May 2004.
Quote: I'm an atheist. But I absolutely love religions and the rituals. Even though I don't believe in God. We celebrate pretty much every religion in our family with the kids. They love it, and when they say, Are we Jewish? or Are we Catholic? I say, Well, I'm not, but you can choose when you're 18. But isn't this fun that we do seders and the Advent calendar?
Lee felt that anything which substituted the ways or beliefs of others in the place of teaching you how to cultivate your own was a step in the wrong direction. For this reason, Lee was opposed to the doctrines–or rather the dogmas–of organized religion.
Quote: I believe in people, I believe in humans, I believe in a car, but I don't believe something I can't have absolutely no evidence of for millennia. And it's funny — people think analysis or psychiatry is mad, and THEY go to CHURCH…
Quote: I don't believe in God now, but I can still work up an envy for someone who has a faith. I can see how that could be a deeply soothing experience.
Quote: Every single religion that has ever been on the face of the Earth, ever, is a cult. That's all they are. Just a cult with millions of people in them. Meanwhile, they have a bunch of really bad stories that require more belief than an episode of "I Dream of Jeannie".
Quote: I'm sickened by all religions. Religion has divided people. I don't think there's any difference between the pope wearing a large hat and parading around with a smoking purse and an African painting his face white and praying to a rock.
At a July 22, 1998 Pearl Jam concert in Seattle's Memorial Stadium, Vedder said about the unusually beautiful weather, "I would thank God, but I don't believe in it."
Quote: I don't believe in god. I don't believe in an afterlife. I don't believe in soul. I don't believe in anything. I think it's totally right for people to have their own beliefs if it makes them happy, but to me it's a pretty preposterous idea.
Quote: Lipton: If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Radcliffe: Bet you're surprised to see me! because it would be… because I'm not, as I said, religious…(from an interview with James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio)
Claimed herself as an atheist in an interview on the Oxygen network in 2002
Quote: I've got my own religion. Iceland sets a world-record. The United Nations asked people from all over the world a series of questions. Iceland stuck out on one thing. When we were asked what do we believe, 90% said, 'ourselves'. I think I'm in that group. If I get into trouble, there's no God or Allah to sort me out. I have to do it myself.
Quote: While I do believe in god, I do not believe in the same way as others, so I would prefer not to swear on the bible
From an article in The American Prospect: After all, consider Donahue's actual politics. For one, he's a pious atheist, a viewpoint represented nowhere in the cable news media. Indeed, in a 2000 interview in The Progressive, he was still bragging about introducing the world to the late Madalyn Murray O'Hair. Similarly, he campaigned for Ralph Nader in 2000, complaining of the stranglehold of "corporate power" on the political process. Whatever you may think of this particular brand of politics, like atheism it's not well represented in the small world of cable news.
And now, Agnostics to round the list up:
Quote:When asked if I consider myself Buddhist, the answer is, Not really. But it's more my religion than any other because I was brought up with it in an intellectual and spiritual environment. I don't practice or preach it, however.
Quote: I'm glad some people have that faith. I don't have that faith. If there is a God, a caring God, then we have to figure he's done an extraordinary job of making a very cruel world.
Television show host and engineer.
"So, do you believe in God?" I asked.
"You really can't know," answered Bill Nye the Controversial Guy.
Quote:Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning.
Penn was interviewed in the December 1998 issue of George magazine, during which he told the writer, Nick Toches, that he is an agnostic.
March 2005 - A reader reports that she just saw Richard Dreyfuss speak at an ACLU event in Pittsburgh, PA where he declared himself agnostic at the podium.
Quote: You see, when I was a kid, my parents on the first Hanukkah gave me a top to play with. They call it a dreidel, but I know a top when I see one. And as I looked down at what is truly the dumbest toy ever created in the history of civilization, I thought, you know, I'm not gonna be Jewish for long.
Many Americans reaffirmed their faith this year. I didn't, because I have no faith.
I consider myself (the author)to fall more into the roll of an agnostic, only because I would like to see more evidence on the existence of gods, spirits, etc. I'm fascinated by shows on the supernatural and ancient religions, but just because I enjoy the subject matter doesn't mean I believe it… not yet at least.
One recent thing that has given me more hope for the enthusiasm of Atheists everywhere was when President Obama was giving his inauguration speech and included non-believers in his piece about human rights. I've never heard anyone of importance speak highly of non-believers, so hearing that really gave me hope that the world is moving (slowly) in a new direction. Far removed from George W. Bush and his foreign policy of spreading the word of God… or George H. W. Bush claiming that non-believers are not patriots and don't deserve any rights in this country.
As much as the right-wing conservative bible-thumpers love to say that this country was founded on christian beliefs, they are sorely mistaken. Ben Franklin was actually an atheist and said things such as "Lighthouses are more helpful then churches". Thomas Jefferson actually made his own bible, crossing out all the hocus pocus, walking on water stuff and just left in the common sense lines, like be good to thy neighbor, etc. It was actually somewhere in the 1950's that America became a God-fearing nation and starting losing their mind. I hope we're heading back in the right direction though, and I hope more famous people are willing to come out and declare themselves as non-believers without fear of losing their jobs or their reputation.
Crap… did I just lose mine?
Views: 247236
And of course, you can add all of us to that list, I am sure we can find some few dozen folk who think we are as great a celebrity
I'm not sure why it matters any more or less that if the person is considered a celebrity then their lack of belief holds more value. You can add Joss Whedon to the list.
Or the thousands of scientists that have and do believe in God! I found many in history and today as well.


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Materials Researchers Make Strong Showing at Symposium, Oct. 14, 1999
SOCORRO, N.M., Oct. 14, 1999 -- New Mexico Tech's Materials Engineering Department made a strong showing at the recent Rio Grande Regional Symposium on Advanced Materials. A recent New Mexico Tech graduate captured first place in his category of the poster contest, two current Tech students won second and third place in the graduate student poster competition, and 11 other Tech students presented either papers or posters.
John Stuecker, who received his master's degree in materials engineering earlier this year from New Mexico Tech, won first place in the "technician" category of the poster competition. Stuecker now works at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque. He was the lead author on a poster entitled, "Merging Robocasting with Other Processes for the Development of Unique Materials." His advisor was Dr. Deidre Hirshfeld, associate professor of materials engineering at Tech.
Two graduate students in materials engineering captured second and third places in the graduate student poster competition. Second place went to Mary Sandstrom and third place to Charles Mandeville V. They are both students of Dr. Paul Fuierer, associate professor of materials engineering, who was a co-author on their posters.
Other New Mexico Tech students who presented papers or posters were: Magail Medina, F.A. Simsek, Bo Li, Guoping He, Ozgul Keles, Melissa Collins, Aaron Stump, Jenny Plakio, Sam Russell, Kelly Houston, and Chad S. Watson.
Other New Mexico Tech faculty members (in addition to Hirshfeld and Fuierer) who presented papers or posters at the symposium were: Dr. Osman Inal, professor; and associate professors Dr. Gillian Bond, Dr. Mansoor Alam, and Bhaskar Majumdar, all of the materials engineering department; and from Chemical Engineering, assistant professors Dr. Donald Weinkauf and Dr. H. S. Jeon.
This year's symposium, held on Oct. 11, 1999, in Albuquerque, was sponsored by the Albuquerque Chapter of AM International, the NM Section of the American Ceramic Society, and the NM Section of the Materials Research Society. The purpose of this annual symposium is to provide a forum for the local scientific and technical communities to exchange technical information on current research in materials science and engineering. This forum provides an environment in which collaboration and partnering opportunities between consultants, technology companies, universities, and the national labs can be explored as well as a venue for presentations by students from regional universities. Proceeds from this event are used by the sponsoring organizations to fund scholarships at regional colleges and universities.

subset: commoncrawl


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Partly because I was pretty convinced I could do it without taking a second rolling carry on. Most people tend to take those and a backpack as their "personal item". I didn't want to carry that much luggage. I managed to do it! I made it all fit into 2 checked duffel bags, 1 carry on, 1 backpack and 2 personal items. One of the duffel bags was exactly 44 lbs when it was weighed at the ticket counter. That earned a high five from my sister.
During the trip, I'll be posting to a separate blog. There are a lot of people in my "real life" who are interested in following along. But I didn't necessarily want everyone reading every single thought that's run through my head over the last 5 years. LOL! Plus I wanna do the whole "book your blog" thing with this new one as a keepsake for Mia.
So you'll find us over at Finally... Mia for now.


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The Southwest Florida "Eagle Cam" has received more than 5 million views, with people from more than 150 countries logging on to watch a parent pair of eagles and their two nestlings, a press release from Dick Pritchett Real Estate announced this week.
We had to check it out and did, quickly becoming enthralled: An adult eagle - mom or dad, we're not sure which, with two tiny, fluff-covered eaglets, eeping sounds and all, moving around a nest replete with the next meal or two; a fish and something well, less recognizable.
The contrast of the majestic parent, feathers ruffling slightly with the wind, and the two babies kind of bopping about the nest made for a minutes-long awwww moment.
That is, no doubt, the reason the live feed at www.dickpritchettrealestate.com is drawing repeat visitors at the rate of some 190,000 per day.
The cam is made possible through landowner Richard Pritchett, whose property off Bayshore Road in North Fort Myers has been home to the nesting pair, Harriet and Ozzie, for more than 20 years. The birds have laid eggs before but these, hatching in the new year, are the first caught via the soundless camera. Mr. Pritchett hopes the eagle cam will provide a learning experience for those interested in the live version of our national symbol.
The nest is readily visible from the road but viewers are asked to visit online so as to better protect the eaglets, especially now as they are beginning to move around the nest.
We thank Mr. Pritchett and the environmental group, EcoPlanz, Inc., which is assisting in the monitoring process, for making the cam public.
And we invite you to log on - it's certainly a sight to see.
- Citizen editorial


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memorial day weekend video game sales
With Memorial Day Weekend right around the corner, if you haven't made your plans, it's time to get started subway. These 20 great getaways offer something for everyone the red line, orange line, blue line, green line, and silver line will. We ve got you covered this month with a beautiful selection of new release, best seller, and faith inspired products all at 25% off prep for the three-day weekend leading into summer with our memorial day 2017 nyc guide, including events, memorial services, parade information and more find a variety of university hosted events such as campus recreation, speaker presentations, alumni get-togethers and performances. Also, be sure to check out our black beach week the world s first and largest travel event website for people of color. Memorial Day is the ideal time for a warm weather trip before peak summer prices set in memorial day is much more than just a three-day weekend and a chance to get the year s first sunburn. Welcome to the new Travelzoo site here s a handy 10-pack of facts to give the holiday some. Memorial Day Weekend Getaways obviously my question would jesus celebrate memorial day? is an attention-grabbing conversation-starting question. See all the schedules for Memorial Day 2017 in Washington, DC, details on the special events, concerts, parade for Memorial Day in Washington, DC Things To Do In Southern California Discover the best things to do in Southern California some might think it s a put-up-your. Day trips, attractions, kids activities, hidden gems, and adventures scoutmasters camporee forms. The Battleship New Jersey, the World s Greatest Battleship is open for tours, overnights & events! A museum & memorial on the Camden, New Jersey Waterfront these forms are form field enabled meaning they can be filled out on a computer and then print the completed form. Find out more about the history of Memorial Day, including videos, interesting articles, pictures, historical features and more the cursor will change. Get all the facts on HISTORY when is memorial day in 2017, plus some history from the old farmers almanac. com Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May summer is just around the corner and we are ending may with our annual back-to-back weekends of sidewalk sales to celebrate canada s victoria day weekend as well as. It was formerly known as Decoration Day and commemorates all men and women who have died in military service for memorial day, originally called decoration day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the united states of america. Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country s armed forces over two dozen cities and. The holiday, which as the unofficial kick-off to summer, memorial day weekend offers an opportunity to begin the season with a bang. Join in the fun and make your reservation today! Jellystone Park™ of Fort Atkinson would be honored to host your family here s how to start your summer off right. Click here for more information The MBTA has announced its service schedules for Memorial Day, Monday May 29, 2017 we track storms: ksla stormtracker 12 is weather coverage you can count on for the arklatex. Subway


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BROOKLYN – Chicago center Joakim Noah, nearly distraught Friday over the prospect of missing playoff games against the Nets in the city he once called home, almost was willing himself – and his aching right foot (plantar fasciitis) – to be available for the first-round series opener Saturday at the Barclays Center. Noah warmed up, appeared to be moving well and essentially was going to determine his own fate, telling the Bulls if he was capable of playing or not.
Which was fine and tough and all that. But the question then simply shifted: By passing up the opportunity to rest and recuperate Saturday, were he and the Bulls pushing questions of Noah's health and availability onto Game 2, Game 3 and beyond?
In other words, were they robbing Peter to pay Paul, in terms of their All-Star center being around to help when they need him most. Generally, the 0-0 point in a best-of-seven series isn't considered a critical juncture.
"The thing is, it's the type of injury where you don't know how he's going to feel the next day," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said about 80 minutes before tipoff. "It's unusual. Some guys completely tear it and feel better right away. Some guys completely tear it and they have to shut it down. He's had it before. He's dealt with it. We just have to see how he is tomorrow."
In a way, Noah's scenario in fighting through his sore right foot (he's had plantar fasciitis issues before, by the way) offers a thumbnail glimpse at the Bulls' greater injury situation – the knee surgery and recovery of point guard Derrick Rose.
Rose's return, once penciled in for sometime near or after the All-Star break, has yet to occur. The 24-year-old scorer/playmaker has been cleared by doctors and, behind closed doors at practice, is said to be the best player on the floor. But he hasn't felt quite right – possibly hesitating from a lack of confidence or trust in the repaired knee or uncomfortable with the prospect of coming back rusty and less than 100 percent. The Bulls have left the matter up to Rose, and he has erred on the side of caution.
Noah seemed to be responding more urgently to the "my team needs me" call of the postseason. His injury isn't as severe, but his zeal to play – through pain, at the risk of causing his foot to worsen – scores him more "warrior" points than Rose gets for being more patient and more cautious.
In a city like Chicago, so deep into a season built around and delayed by Rose's presumed return, Noah's apparent toughness seems laudable even if it puts him down for Game 2, Game 3 or thereafter.
Rose, meanwhile, is pursuing what looks to be a wait-till-next-year strategy that, in Chicago, has been played out too many times by too many teams.


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Village at foot of hills.
Artist: Smith, Robert (1787-1873)
Medium: Pencil on paper
Date: 1815
Pencil drawing of a village in a hilly landscape by Robert Smith (1787-1873) in 1815. This is one of 21 drawings (27 folios) of operations and scenery in Sirmur, Almora & Kumaon (Uttar Pradesh) during the Nepal War, 1815. Inscribed on the original album cover is: 'No. 7. Almorah & Kumaon.' Captain Robert Smith was a military engineer with the East India Company and was in India from 1805 to 1833. He designed a number of buildings in India and also repaired various Indian monuments including the Kutb Minar and the Jami Masjid at Delhi.
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the Gurkhas of Nepal actively sought to expand their territory into North India leading to a war with the British, 1814-16. This was a difficult conflict as the Bengal Army was unprepared for this type of mountain warfare. Despite this the British gained victory and the resulting Treaty of Kathmandu (1816) forced the Gurkhas to retreat into the area roughly equivalent to the present borders of Nepal. The treaty also gave the British the tract of hill country where Simla (Shimla), the site of the future government was situated. Smith was Field Engineer with a force engaged in the Nepal War.


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"I see myself as a caretaker of the wellness of women that also leads them to greater empowerment regardless of their age…it is truly a magical journey."


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If you're a marathon bandit, Les Neidich is the one who will hunt you down right before the finish line. Meet the veteran, whose tour of duty spans nearly 20 years.
Les Neidich hunts bandits. He guards the New York City Marathon finish line like a hawk hunting prey among the 47,000 marathoners streaming by. Continue reading


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Movies: 'The Conjuring,' 'Turbo' & '20 Feet from Stardom'
Following are Susan Granger's reviews of the latest movies in area theaters:
Living in Fairfield County, there are few people who haven't heard of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the renowned "Amityville" demonologists who, back in 1952, founded the New England Society for Psychic Research. Over the years, they assembled an Occult Museum at their home in Monroe, housing a collection of "dangerous" artifacts connected to black witchcraft, sorcery and curses.
Based on a true story about one of their earlier exploits, the film begins with the Annabel doll, a conduit for malevolent forces. After Roger (Ron Livingston) and Carolyn (Lili Taylor) Perron bought an old, secluded farmhouse in Harrisville, R.I., in 1971, they and their five young daughters were terrorized by bizarre, supernatural encounters with a dark, inhuman presence -- until they sought help from paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga), who explained the three demonic stages: infestation, oppression and possession.
Aptly directed by James Wan ("Insidious," "Saw") from a somewhat disjointed screenplay by Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes ("The Reaping"), there are horrifying night terrors and a suspenseful investigation into the creepy, creaking cellar, inexplicably using flickering matches instead of flashlights -- until the obligatory exorcism in which Taylor turns into Linda Blair, spewing blood and invectives while suspended, upside down, from the ceiling as "The Birds" circle menacingly outside.
FYI: For almost 50 years, the deeply religious Warrens were obsessed with ghost hunting and filming poltergeists, often in coordination with members of the clergy. A World War II Navy veteran and former police officer, Ed led the investigations, working with Lorraine, a light trance medium who reportedly perceives spirits that exist on a different vibrational field. Their work was the basis for the TV movie "The Haunting" (1991) and the feature film "The Haunting in Connecticut" (2009). Ed died in 2006. For more about the Warrens, go to www.ghostvillage.com/legends/warrens.shtml
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "The Conjuring" is a silly, scary 6. But I'll bet you'll have second thoughts if anyone suggests playing Hide 'n' Clap after seeing this horror thriller.
It's a "Fast and Furious" animated comedy, as a garden snail yearns to race in the Indy 500.
While daredevil Turbo (Ryan Reynolds) and his cautious, older brother Chet (Paul Giamatti) toil at the Tomato Plant, Turbo's passion is speed. Firmly believing the credo of French-Canadian superstar racer Guy Gagne (SNL's Bill Hader), "No dream is too big -- no dreamer too small," Turbo ventures into the outside world, where he's swept off a freeway overpass onto the hood of a sports car. As he's sucked into the air intake valve, nitrous oxide explodes every atom of his body, changing his molecular structure. Suddenly, he's fast, really fast, blazing through the streets of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley like a neon bullet.
Then, Turbo and Chet are captured by Tito Lopez (Michael Pena), who -- with his brother Angelo (Luis Guzman) -- runs the "Dos Bros" taco truck at the Starlight Plaza, a Van Nuys strip mall. Tito's hobby is snail-racing, so Turbo joins the Racing Snails -- Whiplash (Samuel L. Jackson), Smoove Move (Snoop Dogg), Burn (Maya Rudolf), Skidmark (Ben Schwartz) and White Shadow (Mike Bell) -- whose tricked-out shells look like mini-street racing cars. With the es-car-goes as his pit crew and the financial support of Starlight shop owners (Michelle Rodriguez, Ken Jeong, Richard Jenkins), Turbo begins his tenacious trek to the Indy 500, where he learns that persistence is what pays off in the end.
This determined underdog story intertwines the parallel lives of two sets of brothers, and the inventive use of 3D actually enhances the snails' vulnerability. Since the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's 2.5-mile track draws more than 250,000 spectators, that posed the greatest challenge: lots of seats filled with digital people. According to director/co-screenwriter David Soren, animators created a card system allowing them to blend fully modeled, three-dimensional, cheering crowds with flat cards of more crowds. In one shot, there are 478,000 characters.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Turbo" is a sweet, endearing 8, an astonishing, fun-filled adventure for adrenaline junkies of all ages.
As Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" plays, the song introduces this poignant documentary about pop music's backup singers, most of them African-American women, who could be described as perennial underdogs.
With the exception of Darlene Love, who under Phil Spector's sponsorship crossed over into the spotlight after backing Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Frank Sinatra and Sam Cooke, among others, most of the vocalists featured are not well known, even though they can be heard backing famous bands and solo legendary singers on many of the most popular recordings of the past half-century.
Like Judith Hill, who was Michael Jackson's last backup singer and recently competed, unsuccessfully, on NBC-TV's "The Voice," and Merry Clayton, a preacher's daughter who got her musical training in gospel choirs and went on to record with Carole King, Mick Jagger and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Lisa Fischer, who started out as part of Luther Vandross' group, won a Grammy in 1992 for her first single, "How Can I Ease the Pain," but the demands of stardom didn't sit well with her, even though she still tours with the Rolling Stones. Claudia Lennear was an Ikette with Ike and Tina Turner and a Stones regular in the early 1970s, and Tata Vega descended from being a promising Motown star into psychological uncertainty.
Filming was almost completed when Bruce Springsteen agreed to appear. Noting that not everyone is cut out for stardom, the rocker described a bus trip he took to Philadelphia for a 1973 David Bowie recording session, featuring the song "The Young Americans" with a young Luther Vandross among the backup singers.
Directed by Morgan Neville and produced by A&M Records exec Gil Friesen, the narrative mixes interviews with archival footage, including comments from Mick Jagger, Bette Midler, Sting and Stevie Wonder. Among those who didn't make the final cut were Cissy Houston and Emmylou Harris.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "20 Feet from Stardom" is an uplifting, intriguing 8, appealing to fans of R&B and classic rock `n' roll.


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|Whew!!! We made it...we are ready for Christmas!
|It's time to sit down ....have a cup of tea....a Christmas cookie...
|And wait for Santa to come!
|Our presents are all wrapped...
|Whew!!! We made it...we are ready for Christmas!
|It's time to sit down ....have a cup of tea....a Christmas cookie...
|And wait for Santa to come!
|Our presents are all wrapped...
We will load them in the car Christmas eve and go over to our daughters house for a party. We will open our presents to each other early in the evening. so the kids (big and little!) will have plenty of time to play before bedtime.
On Christmas eve, it is our tradition to have what I call "fun" food . Meat trays, homemade candy, cookies, little smokies, smoked salmon, Christmas punch (raspberry sherbet and ginger ale, simple but yummy).and any other junk food we can find ... lol.... We will do what I call "mince" , some people say "graze", what ever you call it ...we'll eat all through the night!
|On Christmas day, everyone will come to our house for a Christmas Celebration! We are doing a TexMex theme this year...homemade tamales, enchiladas, guacamole, sophapillaa, and for dessert....homemade apricot empanadas! After dinner, we will play lots of games and enjoy some wonderful family time!
I want to wish all my blogging family a very .....MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
•°*"˜˜"*°•★ Merry ★ ★ Christmas ★ •°*"˜˜"*°•
♥ Patricia
Merry Christmas Penny!ReplyDelete
Hi Penny,
Merry Christmas! I love your decorations!
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!ReplyDelete
Merry Christmas!!!!My romantic wishes to you, Romantic Lady!Everything gorgeous as usual.
Merry Christmas to you and your family dear Penny!... it has been so much fun meeting you this year, and enjoying your beautiful blog... Christmas blessings, xoxo Julie MarieReplyDelete
Merry Christmas, Penny :)ReplyDelete
Merry Christmas, Penny. You did make it- everything looks beautiful-xo DianaReplyDelete
Enjoy your time with your family. A very Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year!ReplyDelete
Penny your home is just magical! I wish you a very Merry Christmas, enjoy your family and your lovely home...and all that great food!
Holiday Hugs,
Merry Christmas! After all the decorating you've been doing I think you need a long winters nap :)ReplyDelete
Merry Christmas Penny! I love your Santa heads on the chairs did you make those? May your holiday be blessed I so enjoy your blog.ReplyDelete
Your decorations are so pretty, Penny, and it sounds like you are going to have a wonderful time of eating and celebrating with your family. Enjoy!ReplyDelete


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Hello friends!
We can hardly believe that 2012 is nearly over, but are eagerly looking forward to the new year! The past year has been so amazing, and we thought it would be fun to look back at some of our favorite posts.
This has definitely been our most popular post of the year....diy: buttoned up infinity scarf.
We also revealed the fact that we all like moustaches quite a lot (especially Jordyn!).
We baked moustache cookies...twice (1, 2), made mugs for movember, and threw a magnificent moustache party!
We teased you all with our tasty tuesdays! Please let us know if you've tried any of our recipes, what you thought of them, and what you'd like to see us try!
And one of our most adventurous experiments in the kitchen was sushi cake that we made for a friend's birthday!
And finally, here is a quick wrap-up of what we wore!
And with that, we'd like to wish you a happy new year!
We have so many new ideas for the new year, and we can't wait to share them with you!
p.s. ♥ kelsey, clara, & jordyn


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Two students mentored by Christof Teuscher, Assistant Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, were awarded first place in their category at the 8th Annual Sigma Xi Student Research Symposium on April 6. The posters-only symposium was co-sponsored by the Columbia Willamette Chapter of Sigma Xi, an international multidisciplinary research society, in partnership with the Portland State University Office of Research and Strategic Partnerships. The symposium, held in the PSU Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom, was open to undergraduate and graduate students from colleges and universities in the Portland metro area and provided an opportunity for science, social science, and engineering students to practice giving presentations much like they would at regional and national conferences in their disciplines.
The two winning students mentored by Professor Teuscher were John Wehland and Joseph Venetucci. Wehland, an undergraduate in Computer Science, as well as a Maseeh College Undergraduate Research and Mentoring Program participant, won first place in the undergraduate engineering, mathematics, and computer science category for his poster, "Optimal mappings of applications onto Networks-on-Chip using genetic algorithms." Venetucci, a student at Rex Putnam High School, won first place in the engineering, mathematics, and computer science high school category for his poster, "Finding optimal wire lengths in a nanowire drop model." Venetucci worked with Professor Teuscher as a high school intern and as part of the Saturday Academy Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering Program.
Computer Science undergraduate John Wehland
Rex Putnam high school student Joseph Venetucci
For abstracts of the winning 2012 posters, please click here.


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Membership Offers:
Some of the great benefits you will receive by becoming a member of The American Cinematheque.
* Ticket discounts
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* 2 free admissions the month of your birthday,
* Tax-Deduction
* Invitations to private member screenings throughout the year
And at upper-Levels ..
* Addiitional free tickets
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* Invitations to private receptions.....
* Discounts at various film festivals held in Los Angeles throughout the year we work with.
* Discounts on restaurants and shops and DVD outlets from Santa Monica to PasadenaAlso, think about buying a gift membership for that film lover in your life. Its tax-deductible. For more information about our schedule, membership levels, ticket sales, etc, please go to our website at www.americancinematheque.com Buy a membership on our website now. For more info or answers to your most pressing questions, please email Membership Manager, Andrew P. Crane firstname.lastname@example.com or call 323/461-2020, x 112.
This is for new or expired members. A chance to support a great cultural organization as well as having the opportunity to see some amazing guests at both the historic Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard or the historic Aero Theatre on Montana Ave in Santa Monica.
Special membership incentives are offered to new members from time to time. Check here for details.
Ask for details at either box office.
Your Membership is Valid at Two Theatres!
American Cinematheque memberships are honored at both the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica.
Click to purchase a membership using paypal.
For Special Membership Offers click here.
American Cinematheque Memberships make thoughtful gifts all year long.
And if you are looking for a special gift at a smaller price, consider one of our limited edition, 100% cotton, black T-shirt in men's and women's sizes (Small thru XXL) featuring a beautiful rendering of the Egyptian Theatre by Los Angeles artist David Trulli. T-shirts are $15 for American Cinematheque Members and $20 for non-members. Click Check out Davids official website at this address to view the image silk-screened on the t-shirt in white. Also on David Trulli's website, are many more examples of his "noirish" scratchboard interpretations of the Los Angeles landscape, as well as information about the scratchboard technique.
Enjoy a years worth of film-lovers' benefits!
Membership Benefits
All members are entitled to purchase advance tickets to all shows by fax or by mail!
(Memberships must be renewed yearly)
Student/Senior ($55)
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Ticket discount (one per regular performance), and discounts on Cinematheque merchandise.
Two Free ticket vouchers good for one year from date of joining & two free tickets in your birthday month.
Dual Membership ($125)
Ticket discount (two per regular performance),and discounts on Cinematheque merchandise
Friend ($175)
Ticket discount (two per regular performance), discounts on merchandise, two complimentary tickets, FREE T-shirt and invitations to private screenings.
Contributing Member ($350)
Friend benefits, with four complimentary tickets, FREE tote bag and invitations to VIP receptions.
Supporting Member ($600)
Contributing Benefits, with 8 complimentary tickets, and acknowledgment in the Cinematheque publication.
Sustaining Member ($1,200)
Supporting Member benefits, plus two tickets to the Cinematheques annual black-tie gala, The Moving Picture Ball.
Corporate Member ($2500)
Sustaining Member benefits, plus 200 free tickets and discount on theatre rental.
*Additional benefit opportunities become available throughout the year. Some currently include special member only screenings, free birthday screenings and special offers on magazine subscriptions, restaurants, film festivals, software and e-mail/internet service providers.
KCRW members get 10% off when purchasing a new Cinematheque membership. Please show valid card.
USC ALUMNI ASSOCIATION MEMBERS get 20% off when purchasing a NEW membership.
20% off any level of NEW membership for Columbia College Chicago Alumni Network members. Show your membership card at the box office or mail a copy when you join by mail.
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What is the American Cinematheque?
If you love movies, then you should be a part of the American Cinematheque.
We are the only public, alternative screening organization in town that offers such a wide variety of film & video programming from all over the world on a weekly basis!
As a member youll have an opportunity to enjoy discounted tickets for foreign films, classic films, American Independents, documentaries, experimental work, short subjects, animation, special formats, in-person tributes to directors and actors, rare films, "lost" films, collectors prints and more! Memberships also make excellent gifts for film-lovers!
The Cinematheque worked with the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles to develop the historic Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, as a permanent home. It is a state-of-the-art theatre within a building steeped in movie history. There is no better screen to watch movies on!
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In the last few posts, I've been exploring the theory that my great-great-great-great-grandfather James Blanch, who lived in London for most of his life, was actually born in Gloucestershire. Until now, despite an increasing amount of evidence, there has been no definitive proof identifying the James Blanch born to Quaker parents in Tewkesbury in 1755, with the James who lived and worked in Soho and Holborn in the last decades of the eighteenth century and the early years of the nineteenth. However, I believe I've now found evidence that proves this beyond reasonable doubt.
Yesterday, I reported my findings about the Blanch family of Bristol, and suggested that, though born in Tewkesbury, my ancestor James actually grew up in Bristol. I believe that he was the son of heel and patten maker Thomas Blanch of Merchant Street, and that he had two younger brothers, Thomas and William, both of whom (like James) followed the same occupation as their father.
It was while I was researching the Bristol Blanch family that I stumbled upon a set of records at Ancestry that proves, not only that James Blanch moved from Bristol to London, but also that his two brothers followed him there. In the database of extracted parish records for Gloucestershire, there is a collection entitled 'Freemen of the City of Gloucester, 1641 – 1838', which includes references to all three Blanch brothers. To begin with, I was puzzled – as well as excited – by these references. What was the connection with Gloucester, how did they come to be 'freemen' there, and what was the significance of the dates attached to each reference? The format of the records as presented at Ancestry appeared obscure and confusing. It might have been easier to understand if one had access to the original source: this is available in book form via Amazon, but currently costs £25.
Then I found an online source that threw some light on the collection, explaining that one could become a freeman in one of four ways: by apprenticeship, by patrimony, by purchase or by gift of the city corporation. So being a freeman of Gloucester didn't necessarily mean that you had been an apprentice there. The same source suggested that, although the collection specifies the city of Gloucester, there are entries in it for people from the whole county of Gloucestershire as well as a few from elsewhere.
This information made it a little easier to understand the collection's references to the Blanch brothers, though more work is still needed to interpret exactly what they tell us. I'll copy the entries below, then share my thoughts about them:
1789 Jas. Blanch, patten-maker, of Castlebar, Ealing, Mdx., son of Thos., patten-maker, of Bristol
1789 Thos. Blanch, heelmaker, son of Thos., heelmaker, of Bristol
1789 Wm. Blanch, patten-maker, of Castlebar, Ealing, Mdx., son of Thos., patten-maker, of Bristol
1816 Jas. Blanch, ironmonger, son of Wm., patten-maker, of Bristol, formerly of Castlebar, Ealing, Mdx.
1816 Thos. Blanch, patten-maker, son of Jas., patten-maker, of Great Saffron Hill, Holborn, Mdx., formerly of Castlebar, Ealing
1816 Alfred Blanch, patten-maker, son of Thos., heelmaker, of Great Saffron Hill, Holborn, Mdx., formerly of Bristol
If you've been following my recent posts about the Blanch family, you'll understand why I was immediately excited by these records. So what do they tell us? Well, starting at the end: the reference to Alfred Blanch confirms the theory first put forward by my distant relation Jan Addison, that the Thomas Blanch who can be found living in Saffron Hill, Holborn, in the first decade of the 19th century, came from Bristol. I believe he is the Thomas Blanch referred to in the earlier 1789 record: i.e. the son of Thomas Blanch of Bristol, and therefore the brother of our ancestor James Blanch. Since his son, Alfred, is not mentioned in the London parish records, I assume that he was probably born in Bristol, before his parents, Thomas and Sarah, moved to London. They were married in 1785 and were in London by 1791 for the birth of their daughter Louisa, so I suspect that Alfred was born between these dates. To date, I haven't managed to find any other records for Alfred.
From the 1816 records, we also learn that another Thomas Blanch – son of James – worked as a patten maker. I assume this was the Thomas who was born in Holborn in 1797 and whom I wrote about here. He married Ann Akerman Fletcher in 1820 and later worked as a coach smith, but it seems he was initially apprenticed to be a heel maker, like his father. The fact that he was made a 'freeman' of Gloucester in 1816 suggests either that he was sent back to the west country to serve his apprenticeship or, more likely, that he acquired this status in some other way: either by gift, purchase or patrimony.
From this same reference, we learn that James Blanch, Thomas' father, was still working as a patten maker in Holborn in 1816. This is a valuable addition to our knowledge of James: until now, the latest reference we had to his occupation was from the Westminster Pollbook of 1790. We also learn that James was still living in Saffron Hill in 1816: previously, the latest reference we had to his residence in Holborn was the baptismal record for his son David in 1810. It may be that James and his family were actually living in York Street, their address since at least 1804, since this side-street fed into the main thoroughfare of Saffron Hill and was probably regarded as part of the Saffron Hill area.
Even more interesting is the reference to James as 'formerly of Castlebar, Ealing' – an address that occurs in a number of the other references. If this location rings a bell, it's because it was where William Barlow, James' father-in-law by his first marriage, owned a number of properties. In his will of 1778, William referred to 'my Freehold Lands Messuages Tenements and Hereditaments situate and being at Castle Bear [another name for Castle Bar] in the parish of Ealing in the … County of Middlesex', one of which he bequeathed 'to my … Daughter Jane Barlow her heirs and Assigns forever'. William's main address was in Compton Street, Soho, and after his marriage to Jane in 1779, this was also James Blanch's address for official purposes (such as the electoral roll, service on coroners' juries, and the baptisms of his children). However, this new record suggests that James and Jane Blanch also maintained their Castlebar house and that they regarded it for some purposes as their home address. Perhaps a suburban second home in Ealing sounded more prestigious, in the Register of the Freemen of Gloucester, than a house and workshop in Soho?
James also gave Castelbar, Ealing, as his address when he achieved his own 'freedom' in 1789. The date of this record indicates that James' freeman status was almost certainly achieved through gift, purchase or patrimony, since he would long have ceased to be an apprentice: he married Jane Barlow in 1779 and was already working as a heel maker when he signed his marriage bond in the previous year. By 1789, James had three children, and might already have been a widower (Jane Blanch died some time between 1784 and 1792). As well as providing new information about his place of residence and property ownership, this record also provides additional confirmation that James was, as I proposed in my last post, the son of Thomas Blanch, patten maker of Bristol.
Interestingly, Castlebar, Ealing is also given as the address for James' brother William, another patten maker, when he gained his 'freeman' status in 1789. Previously, the earliest record we had for William (after his birth in 1768) was his listing in a Bristol trade directory for 1795: in fact, all the records we have for William after that date are also in Bristol. This would be compatible with him living in Ealing, presumably with his newly-married brother James, in 1789. The 1816 'freeman' record for William's son James, an ironmonger, confirms that at some date in the interim, his father had moved back to Bristol, where he continued to work as a patten maker.
On reflection, the fact that the three Blanch brothers, sons of Thomas Blanch of Bristol, all achieved their 'freedom' in the same year, 1789 – perhaps on the same date? – confirms one's suspicion that this status might have been purchased for them, perhaps by their father, who was still alive at the time. Similarly, it's surely more than coincidental that three sons of these three brothers – Thomas son of James, Alfred son of Thomas, and James son of William – were all granted their freedom in the same year, 1816. Perhaps access to the original Gloucestershire register would provide more information of how and why their 'freedom' was granted?
All of this prompts a number of questions, the foremost being: how did James Blanch, who owned properties in Soho and Ealing in the 1780s, come to be living in Saffron Hill, one of London's poorest and most overcrowded districts, twenty years later?


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GStreamer is a streaming media framework. It uses graphs of elements which operate on data. The functionality to process media is provided by plug-ins which provide features like elements, typefinding, and so on. This allows new functionality to be added simply by installing new plug-ins.
GStreamer is cross-platform and works on most UNIX-like platforms as well as Windows. It is released under the GNU Library General Public License (GNU LGPL).


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Dover, MA Adobe Illustrator Lessons
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Adobe illustrator is my favorite designing tool, and I use it every single day, and I know the ins and outs of it, and I would love to share that with you. It's really not that hard and you can master it in days, I'll help you master the basics and give you advanced techniques and shortcuts so you can maximize your workflow and make beautiful vectorized work in no time.
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I like this guys approach
Moderator: Van Canna
One of these secret spots is right along the side of the neck (on either the left or right side).
In this area, there are several pressure points that when slapped in the right way (it's really not hard), overloads the brain's circuitry and causes an instant knockout to your opponent.
But in order to pull this off, you must bring power up from your lower body.
It's not about "bodyweight"... it's about what my friend Russell calls "waveform".
You see, this knockout move starts with your hip on the same side you're slapping from.
Again, it's not difficult - if you know it - and the move itself will be invisible to the person you're defending against so they'll never even know what hit them (until they wake up later and you're long gone).
Van Canna wrote:Bill,
I might have seen Evan's application during his many seminars I attended but I don't recall exactly as he produced a number of KOs using Uechi techniques.
Can you describe it in detail?
in a grappling situation one can calmly reach forward from your right to their right (or your left to their left), find the collar bone with the palm/fingers, and then start digging in and attempting to press one or more nerves within the plexus against the back of the collar bone. The natural reaction of the body is to tilt the head and jaw towards the owie.
Van Canna wrote:So in a grapple you go from your right to his right then strike with the wrist, essentially like a fishtail strike, to his right jaw?
Van Canna wrote:But in the Nakamatsu strike, you see the kakushiken elevating up high and then down into the left, behind the clavicle I assume, side of the opponent after a presupposed block.
This particular application would suggest a deep plunge of the fingers behind the collar bone.
Van Canna wrote:Gushi sensei, at his seminar, explained that the very last movement of the kata, should not be a block as we do it...but a strike with the left palm against the right shoulder of the opponent as the right fingers tear out the clavicle.
What do you make of it?
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Gemini is the twin of the zodiac and the only human representation of all the 12 zodiac signs. The Gemini sign is known to be charismatic, intelligent, adaptable, and communicative. This sign of expression loves to talk and likely got in trouble all through school for it. Duality is the nature of Gemini. Ask anyone […]
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Your self-care routine should be relaxing, rejuvenating, and everything you (and your body) need to succeed. But what happens when you hit a self-care slump You might get tired of an essential oil youve been putting in your baths, or maybe your face is no longer taking to the skincare products that youve been using […]
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Any conflict has the potential for a constructive outcome when approached with mindful intent and mindful communication. The Chinese character for crisis represents a combination of the symbols for danger and opportunity. Because conflicts are often about what you value and care about most, its not surprising that conflicts with your partner are much more […]
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Want to fly in Crow Pose Ready to master Hurdler's Pose These popular arm balances are challenging but accessible once you learn the key tips for nailing each. In this free yoga tutorial video, you'll learn step by step how to enter Crow Pose. Next, you'll learn the basics of how to access Hurdler's […]
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How do you stoke your inner fire We all have a different answer to this question. Whether its overcoming our greatest fears, glowing from the inside out by doing what we love most, practicing our favorite yoga flow, using the Wim Hof breathing method, or setting our hearts on fire with passion and love. This […]
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If you're in Toronto, or going to be before november 3, you should check out Permanent Demand at Cooper Cole Gallery right now. CC put together some smart, funny, and energetic pieces loosely about art and consumerism by Jesse Harris, William Buzzell, and Andrew Jeffrey Wright to make what looks to be a great show.
"This exhibition, Permanent Demand, explores the impact consumer culture has on society and the idea of art as commodity. Subjects tackled include wealth and social structures, luxury goods and real estate, politics and products. While each artist works in a very different style, a dialogue between the three exists through shared cultural influences of a generation. This exhibition will feature an accompanying catalogue available in a limited edition." – Cooper Cole Gallery
More installation shots after the jump!


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exploitation: The act of using another person's labor without offering them an adequate compensation.
Are writers being exploited? I'm talking about writers working for what I call Big Publishing (Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin, HarperCollins, Random House, Simon & Schuster, Harlequin, Hyperion/Disney, Scholastic, Tyndale, John Wiley & Sons, Thomas Nelson, and others.)
Here are my thoughts.
Back in the pre-ebook days, paper was the dominant way to deliver media. This is worth repeating, because it is very, very important. Paper was the delivery system.
Years ago I explained this delivery system in great detail. In short, the book exists in the mind of the reader. It doesn't matter if it gets there via paper, or e-ink, or audiobook, or a pill that will someday burn the story into your memory. The method of getting the story to the reader is nothing but delivery.
Without anything to deliver, the deliveryman goes broke. We need writers, because they create the book. We need readers, because they consume the book. The deliverymen are middlemen.
The middlemen, pre-ebook, were publishers. If you were a writer who wanted to reach readers, you needed a publisher, because you couldn't get into a bookstore on your own.
I believe wanting to write is a natural extension of wanting to communicate, which is something all people do. It's an art, a talent, and a learned skill. There are an abundance of people who want to write books. This results in more books being written than books being published.
Since the publishers decided and controlled what would be published and what wouldn't, and since there were many writers who desperately wanted to be published, this put publishers in a unique position. It gave them an unprecedented amount of unchecked power.
Unchecked power never turns out well. With no competition comes no evolution. Then, when a true competitor emerges, it kicks the status quo's ass.
Take railroads. They replaced the horse and wagon as a cheap, fast way to ship goods and people. They rose to dominance, and that dominance went unchecked for decades.
Then trucks and cars came along. Railroads lost vast amounts of business to trucks and cars, and still do.
That's because railroads forgot what business they were in. They thought they were in the railroad biz. Instead, they were transportation business. When a cheaper, faster way to transport goods and people came along, railroads lost market share.
I bring up railroads for another reason. Anyone who knows a bit about American history, or who has seen Blazing Saddles by Mel Brooks, knows that early railroad workers tended to be exploited. Work was back-breaking and sometimes dangerous, and the pay was meager--so meager that minorities were hired because they were the only ones who would work so cheaply.
Getting back to publishers, they erroneously believe they're just an extension of the printing business. Their goal is to sell paper. The reason the DOJ brought a collusion suit against 5 of the Big 6 was because the 6 were frightened that they'd lose their quasi-monopoly on selling paper, so they artificially kept the prices of ebooks high to retard ebook market growth and protect paper sales.
Why do I say "artificially"?
Paper books have a built-in cost structure. They cost money to print and to ship, and the distributors and retailers get discounts that are pretty standard. I'd guess this standardization developed after years of data and experience. With each sale they pay for printing, shipping, and corrugation, and the distributor, retailer, and author get a cut. On a $25 hardcover, the author makes about $3.75, and the publisher makes around $4.50 after everyone is paid. (See my math here.)
Then ebooks come around. No printing, shipping, corrugation, or distributor. Do the publishers figure out a way to lower prices and pay authors a better royalty? No. Based on ZERO real world data they begin to sell wholesale ebooks at 40%-60% of the hardcover price. So an ebook on a $25 hardcover cost Amazon around $12.50.
Publishers didn't price ebooks according to data and experience. Nor did they price according to supply and demand--I knew years ago that supply and demand didn't apply.
Instead, publishers priced greedily. Rather than be fair with authors, they took a much bigger slice of the profits. Rather than lower prices, they fought to keep them high so they didn't cannibalize paper sales.
How did publishers universally agree that 25% of net was what authors should receive? Where did they get that number, and how did they all seem to adopt it at once?
Isn't that a bit... odd?
Even worse, why didn't anyone protest this obvious land grab? Where was the AAR? Where was the Authors Guild?
The Chinese protested exploitation by the railroad industry by striking. In Hollywood, writers have the WGA. In 2007-2008, the WGA writers went on strike. In fact, they'd been on strike several times before. The latest was to improve the dismal residuals they got for DVD sales, and compensation for new media.
New media? Digital sales? Does this ring any bells for anyone? Why didn't anyone fight for us when this happened in our industry? Why didn't we fight for ourselves?
I've been thinking long and hard about that. When I look at other industries where workers were exploited, unions formed. Strikes occurred. Movements arose to defend the exploited. But that has never happened for book writers.
I believe I understand the reason why. The answer is all around us. It is evidenced in agents who belittle and condemn writers, and show support for the Big 5 in the DOJ's entirely justifiable lawsuit. It is evidenced by the publishers themselves, who have schemed to keep ebook prices high (and I'd bet they also schemed to keep royalties low). And it is evidenced by writers, who defend publishers and agents and continue to accept the meager crumbs thrown at them, even though they are the only essential component in this trinity.
Publishers are middlemen. They curated work from the suppliers (authors) and funneled it to the retailers (bookselling outlets). For decades, they controlled what was published and widely disseminated to the readers. It became such big business that they couldn't possibly handle it all alone, so more middlemen arrived. Distributors, which housed paper books and handled orders, and agents, who simplified curation by (supposedly) weeding out the crap before the publishers got it.
Writers, like many types of artists, are driven to create. Go to any party and mention you're a writer, and no doubt you'll get the response, "I want to write a book someday" or "I'm writing a book now."
Because books are made of words, and everyone uses words, a disproportionate number of people want to write. And because writing is more subjective than painting or music, it is much easier to deceive oneself that one is a good writer. Because of this, there are a LOT of writers and wannabe writers. Though success depends on an individual's goals, in my generation the only way to become a successful writer was to sell a book to a publisher.
This is a system ripe for exploitation. A lot of hungry, eager artists, and a limited number of slots for big publishing to fill.
Because of this, publishers had all the power. And bargaining from a position of power usually works out well for the powerful, and not so well for the opposing party.
Decades of this unfair advantage lead to our current Publishing Culture. Here are the rules:
1. As long as publishers control distribution, publishers have a lot of power.
2. As long as there are more writers than slots in publishers' lists, writers have limited power.
3. As long as writers consider writing to be a dream rather than a job, writers have limited power.
4. As long as agents have more requests for representation than they can handle, agents have a lot of power.
5. The powerful naturally develop a sense of entitlement.
6. The weak naturally develop Boxer Syndrome.
What is Boxer Syndrome?
Consider Animal Farm by George Orwell. In it was a horse named Boxer. Boxer worked his butt off to appease the pigs in power. The pigs got rich off of Boxer's efforts, but never amply rewarded him. Boxer continued to support his own exploitation, steadfastly believing in the pigs, even after the pigs ultimately sold him for slaughter and bought whiskey with the profit.
That, in a nutshell, is the mindset the majority of newbie writers, and a great deal of professional writers, have adopted. We're Boxers.
In the meantime, the publishers (pigs) have developed a sense of entitlement. They see books, and authors, as fungible. If a book or author doesn't succeed, drop it and try another one.
When ebooks arrived on the scene, and key costs could be removed from distribution (delivery, printing, corrugation, distribution) did the publishers accept their previous profit margins and give the authors more of the pie?
No. The publishers made a land grab and kept the money they would have otherwise paid out, taking 52.5% of net and leaving authors 17.5%.
On a $25 hardcover, the author made $3.75 and the publisher made $4.50.
On a $25 ebook, the author made $3.12, and the publisher made $9.37.*
The authors' share went down. The publishers' share doubled. And authors didn't complain. Agents didn't complain. No one complained.
Then Amazon created the Kindle.
After decades of no competition, publishers are now faced with a tiger of a competitor. One that doesn't ascribe to Publishing Culture. One that's smart and fast and has deep pockets and keenly understands all the things publishers are doing wrong.
Publishers can't compete with Amazon. They can't even come close.
Amazon understands that its customers--readers--want low prices and great service. Publishers don't even know who their customers really are--they always thought that retailers were their customers.
Amazon understands that it is a middleman, and that ebooks can connect writers and readers faster and cheaper than paper can, without the need for shipping or a distributor.
Amazon understands that everyone wants to write a book, and decided to give all writers a chance to reach Amazon's customer base. It did so without exploiting writers. Instead, it treats writers like customers it wants to keep.
So the first blow by Amazon was inventing the Kindle. Publishers were oblivious to this. They couldn't see the future, because they were too busy dominating the present. No publisher thought to create an ereader, or and ebook store.
The second blow by Amazon was allowing authors to self-publish. Publishers didn't care. These were books they didn't want anyway, and publishers were so smug they didn't think anyone else would want the books they rejected.
The third blow by Amazon was listening to customers, who wanted lower prices. Publishers never listened to readers. Has a publisher ever done a focus group? Has it ever tried to unilaterally lower prices rather than raise them? Instead, publishers tell readers what to read, and charge whatever they see fit.
If a retailer like Amazon wanted to sell books below cost, no problem. In fact, this was a good thing for publishers.
Let's say I sell widgets. I sell them wholesale, to retailers, for $5. Retailers are welcome to sell them for whatever price they want to. If they sell them for $10, they can. But I'll sell my widgets to as many retailers as possible because I want them to compete. Some of those retailers will sell them for $9, or $7, which is good because I make the same wholesale price no matter how much they sell them for, and the lower price means more buyers.
Now say a retailer decides to sell my widgets for $3. In other words, they take a $2 loss each one sold.
Why would I be upset over that? I'd be thrilled! Many more people would buy my widgets because of the low price, and I'd be making a lot more money.
That's why publishers didn't complain when big box stores began discounting. Did you hear one peep out of the Big 6 when hardcovers were being discounted? Nope. Mom and pop bookstores were buying their books at Sam's Club and Costco because it was cheaper than they could get through their distributors. Publishers didn't care. They were making money.
But the Big 6 didn't want any retailers setting the price on ebooks. Because as bloated, lazy, ignorant, and ineffective as they are, publishers saw how quickly readers were flocking to Amazon and the Kindle, and they finally recognized the threat. Publishers had a lock on paper distribution. Ebooks didn't require that.
If ebooks became the dominant media, publishers would no longer have any power.
Publishers assumed that Amazon would sell ebooks above wholesale prices, because that's how Amazon (and all retailers) make a profit. This high price would not only protect paper sales, it would also boost profits (since publishers were taking a much bigger chunk of the net.) Readers? They'll be trained to accept higher prices without the publishers justifying those prices (no tangible product, no supply and demand). Writers? They'll continue to take the crumbs publishers offered them, like always.
Amazon, however, had a different agenda. They lowered the prices on bestselling ebooks below wholesale.
This worried publishers. For the first time, they could see the future. Low ebook prices will cannibalize paper sales, and publishers don't have a monopoly on ebooks. Even the higher profit margin on ebooks (that they gave themselves, uncontested by agents and writers) won't be able to sustain their infrastructure if customers come to expect cheap ebooks.
So what could publishers do? They didn't have an ereader or an ebookstore of their own.
But one of Amazon's competitors did. Apple. And Apple had the perfect solution to the publishers' problem. The Agency model.
Apple likes Agency because they make a fortune selling devices (iPads, iPhones, iPods). They feel 30% of whatever price the supplier wants to set is fine. It's a smart way to encourage developers. The more developers, the more people will want the devices, the more everyone makes.
Amazon's business model isn't geared to Agency pricing. They are a retailer who sells a lot of tangible goods alongside the intangibles (downloads.)
I would guess Amazon doesn't make a big profit on Kindle Ereaders (I've heard rumors they might even lose money on them). A Kindle serves a different purpose for them--it's a storefront in the customer's lap. So Amazon can lose money on the Kindle Reader, then make money on everything else. For example, I just used my Kindle Fire to buy a magnetic knife holder from Amazon. It was easier than going to the store.
The Big 6 fear (rightfully) that Amazon is using ebooks to sell Kindles and Prime memberships. This is scary because people are becoming conditioned to buy directly from Amazon using their devices.
That doesn't give the Big 6 a reason to collude. It gives them a reason to compete. But they can't compete, because they treat authors poorly, treat readers poorly, don't innovate, and are only familiar with an archaic business model.
The AG and AAR, worried they won't have publishers to pay them, are supporting the Big 6 because they don't want to innovate either.
But, as I've said in the past, ereaders won't put publishers out of business. Neither will low-priced ebooks.
The thing that will ultimately destroy publishers is the fourth blow by Amazon. One that publishers, in their hubris, haven't comprehended yet.
Authors are going to destroy publishing.
Amazon is now courting professional authors. They're paying higher royalties than publishers. This is not going unnoticed. More and more authors are going to be published by Amazon, or by Amazon's ebook competitors.
In order to survive, publishers will have to abandon the shrinking paper market, pay authors higher royalties, and drop their ebook prices.
To do this, they'll need to restructure and radically alter their business strategies. But they won't be able to. Because they are bloated and ignorant and inefficient and arrogant. They dominated for too long, and came to think of their lock on distribution as a God-given right. The AAR, the Authors Guild, and many writers have a sense of entitlement they won't be able to shake off. The system worked for them. So of course it will keep working for them.
But fighting to keep the status quo never works. And I, for one, am happy for the mantle to pass. Publishing Culture is diseased. It's a deep-seated disease, where writers are exploited so badly they expect to be exploited. Writers even look forward to it. They dream of exploitation and defend the ones exploiting them. Agents claim to work for writers, but clamor for publishers' approval, while at the same time running their own fiefdoms. Publishers have such a strong sense of entitlement that they feel perfectly justified in breaking the law to keep things how they are. They abuse their power. Worse, they think their power is deserved, that they alone can deliver rich literary culture to the unwashed masses because their insights are so keen and their judgement so ubiquitous.
All the players in this little drama don't seem to realize how sordid and unhealthy it is for everyone. But no one recognizes it because it has gone on for so long. This culture infantilizes writers, teaching them to be needy, dependent, insecure, and willing to accept a pittance for their hard work. A pat on the head and a membership card to the old boys' club is not the same as a living wage, but we've been conditioned by those in power to believe that it is.
We've been so browbeaten that we get pissed on and told it's just rain and we eagerly believe it.
Amazon (and Kobo, BN, Smashwords, Sony, Apple) have empowered writers. We've never had effective unions, never had strong defenders, but now we do have outlets where we're paid fairly and given the thing all writers want: a chance to reach readers without some NY pinhead gatekeeper getting in our way.
Instead of celebrating this, many writers are defending Publishing Culture. I've called this Stockholm Syndrome in the past, but its something deeper than that. When you are an exploited writer in an unfair industry, and you can't see it, you're beyond simple delusion, ignorance, blind faith, compliance for self-preservation, or a need of acceptance.
To have so much of your self-worth be dependent on the arbitrary whims of demonstrably unfair gatekeepers, and so much of your potential income unjustifiably taken from you, and then to defend those exploiters and vilify those who are truly on your side--that's a textbook case of stupid.
My advice to writers: stop being stupid.
Publishing Culture is guaranteed to end, and when it does everyone will be better off.
Well, everyone except the gatekeepers. But don't cry for them. They never cried for you.
*Addendum: A few folks have asked me to got into more detail explaining the numbers, so here it is.
On a $25 hardcover, the author made $3.75 and the publisher made $4.50. This is after the costs directly associated with paper books--printing, shipping, distribution, corrugation--are paid by the publisher. So the author profit and publisher profit are pretty similar.
On a $25 ebook, the author made $3.12, and the publisher made $9.37. Publisher went from making a little more than the author, to almost triple, for no justifiable reason other than greed. This is based on the wholesale model, where a publisher would sell an ebook to Amazon for $12.50 which would have a suggested retail price of $25, same as a hardcover. But Amazon discounts, rarely charging the recommended retail price. The publisher would make $9.37 whether Amazon charged customers $25, $15, $10, or $5.
On a $25 ebook under the agency model (for comparison's sake). the author made $4.37 and the publisher made $13.12. But under the agency model, publishers control retail price, and I've never seen them price a single title at $25. They do price at $14.99. At $14.99, the author makes $2.62, and the publisher makes $7.87.
So under the wholesale model, a $9.99 ebook was earning $3.12 for the author. Under the agency model, a $9.99 ebook earns $1.75 for the author. Ouch.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
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Rubio splits with Paul on policy
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio swung by Rand Paul's home state here on Monday where he effectively made one thing clear: He's no Rand Paul — particularly on foreign policy.
In a soaring speech on the University of Louisville campus, Rubio made the case for American military might around the world, vowing that the U.S cannot "retreat" from international conflicts, must encourage democracy and continue spending money overseas aimed at bolstering the country's image. He didn't mention Paul by name, other than when he corrected a questioner who thought a speech he delivered recently called for the elimination of the Department of Education.
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"I actually think that was your other senator's speech," Rubio said as he flashed a grin, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sitting stoically behind him.
But Rubio's remarks come just as Paul has been trying to clamp down on federal dollars spent on foreign aid and as the Kentucky freshman has been pushing for a "less aggressive" American role in the world — as the two prospective 2016 rivals continue to lay out competing visions of the GOP's future.
"We can't solve every humanitarian crisis on the planet, we can't be involved in every dispute, every civil war and every conflict," Rubio told a concert hall filled with young adults and middle-aged Kentucky voters. "But we also cannot retreat from the world. It's not that America will continue to function as the world's police officer. The problem is that like anything in the world: If you pull back from it, a vacuum will be created."
Rubio added: "The alternative to U.S. [engagement] on the global stage is chaos."
And as Paul — a fellow tea party favorite who, like Rubio, was elected in 2010 — has called for dramatic reductions in foreign aid at a time of huge deficits, Rubio pointed to post-World War II reconstruction efforts in Europe and U.S. taxpayer dollars spent to help eradicate AIDS in Africa as positive examples that bolster the U.S. image around the world.


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Arts & Culture
A Snail's PaceBy Casey N. Cep
When John Ashbery reviewed Elizabeth Bishop's Complete Poems in 1969 for The New York Times, his review was accompanied by an illustration: two giant snails stretching from under their shells to touch one another. Ashbery never mentions the mollusks in his review, but beneath the image is an excerpt of Bishop's prose poem "Giant Snail."
"I give the impression of mysterious ease, but it is only with the greatest effort of my will," Bishop's mollusca persona muses, and one senses how very likely a proxy it is for the poet herself.
Bishop is not the only writer to have found solace or some of herself in a snail. Her coil-shelled critter was an homage to a paean by her mentor Marianne Moore. Moore's "To a Snail" is a discourse on poetics that culminates "in the absence of feet" and "the curious phenomenon of your occiptal horn." Moore seized on the snail's self-sufficiency and endless ability to contract, praising its "grace" and "modesty."


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WHAT a week for Adam Rouse.
From being handed an unexpected one-month deal at Gloucestershire to making his debut at Lord's, the wicketkeeper capped it off by starring on his first appearance at Bristol for the club in Friday evening's exciting three-wicket NatWest T20 Blast win over Kent.
He had been playing second team cricket for Kent against Gloucestershire only a week earlier.
Rouse could surely not have asked for a better way to celebrate turning 22 on Monday after a whirlwind few days.
A former England U19 international, Rouse has had trials at Surrey and Kent this season since being released by Hampshire but when the chance to play first team cricket at Gloucestershire came along due to injuries suffered by Gareth Roderick and Cameron Herring he was determined to grab it with both hands.
He certainly did that against Kent, smashing a 16-ball 35 not out, including five fours and one six, to help his new side secure a victory that looked out of reach when he came in at number seven.
Rouse said: "I'm just trying to enjoy playing. It's a great opportunity for me having had a not-so-great winter after being released.
"If anything comes from it then great, but if not I've had a fantastic time and it's an experience.
"It's shop window stuff. They've got two keepers on their staff and when those guys come back there will be a decision depending on how I get on and if not hopefully other counties can see what I can do.
"Kent were interested a couple of weeks ago and this is the beauty of it, playing against other counties."
Rouse, who made just one first class appearance for Hampshire as well as playing in a one-day tour match against Bangladesh A, admitted he felt nervous when making his T20 debut against Middlesex, in which he scored just four before the match was abandoned at the halfway stage.
However, he remained calm when faced with the scenario of dealing with the last ball from Australia international Doug Bollinger against Kent with one run needed to win, swatting the ball away for four.
He said: "It's an awesome feeling. Winning's always a good feeling but on your (home) debut, when you're on trial it's nice to come in and do something for the team.
"You want to get over the line and someone who's been around for a long time tends to nail his stuff but I just tried to stay as still as possible."