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Joe sez: Robert Swartwood wrote this for me at my request a few weeks ago, and time got away from me (finishing Haunted House and Hit.)
Here's Rob:
The term "bestselling author" is bandied around a lot these days. I've seen a large portion of writers online call themselves bestselling authors. Many of them are self-published. Their books have been ranked on an Amazon Top 100 genre bestseller list, or on a sub genre bestseller list, or even a sub sub genre bestseller list. I've seen writers joyously announce that their latest book is #X on Amazon, which sounds great, but most times it turns out that that particular book is really ranked #X on a genre bestseller list, and some genre bestseller lists are slower than others. It's possible to have an Amazon ranking of over 100,000 and still be ranked on a sub genre list.
I've even seen several writers proclaim themselves #1 Amazon Bestselling Authors, which, quite honestly, is very disingenuous. Sure, it looks nice on the cover of your book, but is it true? Maybe #1 of a genre list, or a sub genre list, but #1 in the entire Amazon store? Hardly. If that were the case, it's a very good chance the book would also have been a New York Times bestseller, and if that's the case, it would make more sense to call yourself a New York Times Bestselling Author, no?
But these are all things we struggle with as writers, no matter if we're traditionally published or self-published. We have to take whatever we can get. We have to make ourselves -- well, our books -- as appealing as possible to potential readers. Because, let's face it, there are a lot of books out there -- a lot -- and we need to do whatever it takes to set our books apart from all the rest.
About a year and a half ago Joe let me ramble on his blog for a bit about why I decided to self-publish. I was doing pretty well then, and I'm doing even better now. But this being publishing, sales are always up and down. My bestselling book last year is far from being my bestselling book this year. Speaking of bestselling, my supernatural thriller The Calling was in the Kindle Top 100 for horror in both the US and UK for several months. It was, by that definition, a bestseller -- hell, an international bestseller -- and yet I just couldn't bring myself to add "bestselling author" to my bio.
One of the titles I mentioned in that blog post was The Serial Killer's Wife, which is the book that my agent was going to shop around and which I ultimately told him no, don't bother, I want to try it on my own instead. Blake Crouch was instrumental in talking me into self-publishing, and he was even kind enough to contribute a foreword, and so I released the book out into the world on June 12, 2011.
That's nearly two years ago.
And just the other week it became a USA TODAY bestseller.
Now let me backtrack a bit.
In the past two years The Serial Killer's Wife has sold pretty well. Nothing crazy like Joe and Blake are used to, but well enough (along with the rest of my books) that I made enough money last year that I ended up owing the IRS quite a bit of cash. When I first released the book, it had a rather pulpy cover, with a woman holding a gun and some blood-spatter on the corner of the cover. Several months later I decided to make the cover more mainstream and appropriate for the particular genre, so I told my designer -- the ever-awesome Jeroen ten Berge -- what I had in mind and eventually he came up with something perfect.
Anyway, Joe mentioned Bookbub a while back. I've used them three times so far, and have been happy each time. The first two titles I had featured were in the horror and science fiction genres. They sold well, but those particular lists have just over 100,000 subscribers. The biggest list by far is mystery and thriller at over 400,000 subscribers. That one, however, costs quite a bit more to use, but I put it off because I didn't have the extra cash and wanted to see how the other titles did in their respected genres. Finally I bit the bullet and submitted a listing for The Serial Killer's Wife and was lucky enough to get approved.
My deal date was for Wednesday, April 24. I chose to include Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes. I didn't include Kobo because on one of my previous deals when I lowered the price, there was a "glitch" that inadvertently deleted my book from the system. I tried -- quite leery -- to do the same on my second Bookbub deal, and while this time my book wasn't deleted, I only sold maybe a half dozen books from the deal, so I decided not to include Kobo in this promotion. (One of the main reasons, I think, is that while Kobo has been making a push here in the United States, the majority of Kobo readers are in other countries, and Bookbub newsletters are mostly sent to US readers.)
The thing about Bookbub is that, the morning of your promotion, they check all platforms which are supposed to be lowered, and if any price isn't changed, they don't list the book. In the past, I had cut it very close before that I didn't want to take a chance this time, so I lowered the price of The Serial Killer's Wife on Amazon and Barnes & Noble Monday night from $4.99 to 99 cents. (iTunes changes their prices pretty quickly, plus you can schedule when you want to create promos, so I wasn't worried.)
The next day the prices changed and I didn't think much about it -- until later in the day I realized I had begun selling a lot of copies on Kindle. Like, a lot of copies. As I hadn't made any announcement yet about the sale, I did a quick Google search and found that the good people at Pixel of Ink had been kind enough to pick up the book. This was something that I hadn't even sent to them -- they had just noticed a drop in price and decided to list it as one of their deals.
Well, later that night, I had sold over 600 copies and was #1 in the Amazon Top 100 horror list (my author rank in horror was #2, just under Stephen King; it would take another day to dethrone him). By the next morning, my book was ranked #121 in the overall Kindle store. And keep in mind, the Bookbub newsletters hadn't even been sent out yet, so I had a nice head-start.
(When I initially submitted my listing, I wanted to do just one day. I had been watching the titles in the mystery and thriller listings and saw that many reached the Kindle Top 100. That's where I wanted my book to be. But I also noticed that many of these authors then reverted the prices back to regular, causing their books to then quickly drop out of the Top 100. I wanted to try to stay up there as long as possible -- assuming, of course, my book even made it -- and had contacted Bookbub asking them to make a note that my sale would be extended by an extra day. They said no problem.)
And so then Wednesday came and The Serial Killer's Wife was already near the Kindle Top 100. It didn't make it there immediately, but by the evening it had cracked the Top 100 in the Kindle, Nook and iTunes stores. Like any writer running a promotion like this, I was checking the rankings every hour but not keeping very good track of how many copies I sold per day and how high the book got because a) I didn't think it would ever be worth mentioning and b) I certainly didn't anticipate what would eventually happen.
By Thursday, The Serial Killer's Wife was still in the Kindle and Nook and iTunes Top 100 -- but in the Kindle and Nook stores, its ranking had gone up. It went as high as 20-something in the Kindle store, but in the Nook store it was at one time #4 and right above Nora Roberts' latest book. (Yes, yes, my book was priced at 99 cents and hers is at $12.99, but still ... NORA ROBERTS!)
The book was doing so well that I -- as the author and publisher -- decided to extend the 99 cent sale another day to see how long it could stay in the Top 100 of these stores. Could I have reverted the price back to regular and tried to make more money? Certainly. But by this point I was more concerned with selling as many copies as I could -- and, more importantly, reaching as many readers as possible.
So Friday the book kept selling well, and as it started to drop out of the Top 100 stores, I switched the price to $3.99 and it sold well all weekend. In fact, right now it's still selling pretty well. I had read about an author who managed to crack the USA TODAY bestseller list with one of her backlist titles (she, too, had used Bookbub) and had joked with some writer friends that wouldn't it be awesome if I could do the same?
The next week began and it was business as usual. I had a great run for the deal, which sold well over 5,000 copies across all platforms at 99 cents. GalleyCat has a self-published bestseller list that they post weekly and which did not include The Serial Killer's Wife, so I figured oh well, maybe next time. Then, late Thursday night before I went to bed, I for some reason thought about the USA TODAY bestseller list. I remembered a few of the other titles that had been selling well those few days my book was high in the charts and wondered if any of them had managed to make the list. So I opened the browser on my phone and brought up the website and started scrolling through the list ...
And had one of those surreal moments when I spotted The Serial Killer's Wife listed there.
Granted, it was #139, and they had messed up the description a bit (the book never takes place in Maine), but still, it was my friggin book on the USA TODAY bestseller list!
As you can imagine, I was pretty wired and didn't get much sleep that night.
Barry and Joe have talked about how the one major thing traditional publishers still have is print distribution, and it's true. I would never be able to compete with Stephen King and Dean Koontz when it comes to print. But digital? Digital is a level playing field. There's nothing stopping me or anybody else from selling as many copies as Dan Brown (though, admittedly, that would be pretty difficult).
Self-published titles have begun creeping onto major bestseller lists for a while now -- remember back when the New York Times refused to include self-pubbed titles? -- and the novelty has begun to wear off. Before it was shocking to see a self-published author beat out traditionally published authors. Now it's becoming commonplace.
As I told Joe, I believe that The Serial Killer's Wife would not have made the USA TODAY bestseller list had it been traditionally published. Certainly, two years ago, my agent could have shopped it around, and who knows, maybe a publisher would have paid a lot of money for it, enough money that it would have guaranteed me a spot on some bestseller lists. Then again, it's even more likely (and much more probable) that, had we sold the book, it would have received a modest advance and then came out with little fanfare. It maybe could have gotten some decent trade reviews, and maybe have been eligible for awards, but then sales would taper off and the marketing team would move on to the next book (or several hundred books) and the book would wallow away in digital obscurity. Yes, the publisher might include it in a promo one day, and it might sell a lot of copies, but I wouldn't have much control over any of it, would I? Not like here where I chose what book I wanted to promote, what promotional price I wanted to set it at, what date I wanted to pick. Even when my "deal" was to expire, I didn't need anyone's permission but my own to keep the deal going an extra day. And hey, look at the outcome. From now until the day I die I can call myself a USA TODAY bestselling author.
Of course, luck played a major factor, as it does in almost everything else. Had I run the deal a month before, a week before, even a day before, things may not have turned out as well as they did -- or who knows, maybe they would have been better. One thing I do believe, however, is this would not have happened had I had my book in KDP Select. Keep in mind that I'm not disparaging Select (I currently have a few titles in the program, as a matter of fact), but I believe it was having my title high up in the Top 100 lists of multiple platforms that helped get it onto the USA TODAY bestseller list. After all, how do they even compile the list? Amazon is usually pretty hush-hush about numbers, but do they provide sales data to major newspapers? What about Barnes & Noble? If anything, these newspapers base their lists where books are ranked on major sales channels, and had my book only been on Amazon, it would have barely gotten any notice (after all, it never even reached the Kindle Top 20).
Finally, the next day was filled with emails and texts and phone calls from writer friends congratulating me. There was even some emails back and forth between me and my agent. When it was over, though, you know what I did? I went back to work on my latest novel-in-progress. Because in the end, these little victories are great and help boost morale, but they won't keep things going forever. No matter how much we worry about important things like editing and cover art and reviews and silly things like branding and platform, in the end it's the book that matters most. It's the book that readers will ultimately judge us on, and it's best we never forget that.
Just the other day some yahoo wrote an article on Salon how self-publishing is the worst. Apparently he published a few books traditionally in the past and is now doing it on his own and whining because it's hard.
Well, yeah, it's hard.
Nobody ever said it would be easy.
But hey, what do I know? I'm just now a USA TODAY bestselling author thanks to a book I self-published two years ago. An extreme outlier, one person said of me recently. Sure. And before last week, I had thought the same about other authors, who no doubt thought the same about other authors before their books, too, became bestsellers.
That's the thing -- you just never know. You have to keep writing and publishing and hoping for the best.
The publishing world is going through a lot of tumultuous changes right now.
I'm just glad that, when it comes to my books, I'm in control.
Joe sez: First of all, it must be said that The Serial Killer's Wife is a good book. Writing a good book doesn't mean it will find success, but it helps, and Rob has shown it is possible for a book to keep finding readers even years after it was published.
This is a Very Cool Thing.
I stayed a night at Rob's house when I was on my Rusty Nail 500 tour. He was a gracious host, and as we chatted over beer we talked of the someday he would eventually break into the world of publishing.
Well, he did, editing a fun collection of hint fiction. Then this Kindle thing came along and Rob dove in.
My career path was different. When I was legacy published, I would have eaten my own arm raw in order to get on one of the two big bestseller lists (USA Today or NYT) because that would have ensured my books would have stayed in print, and I'd keep getting new contracts.
Years ago, being a USA Today Bestseller or a NYT Bestseller had a lot of cache with readers and publishers. It meant the book had sold a lot of copies, and was probably worth reading. I spent many book launches with fingers crossed, hoping to sneak onto a list.
It never happened. And it may never. And now, after years of wanting desperately to be a bestseller, I'm okay with not being one.
Joe sez: First of all, it must be said that The Serial Killer's Wife is a good book. Writing a good book doesn't mean it will find success, but it helps, and Rob has shown it is possible for a book to keep finding readers even years after it was published.
This is a Very Cool Thing.
I stayed a night at Rob's house when I was on my Rusty Nail 500 tour. He was a gracious host, and as we chatted over beer we talked of the someday he would eventually break into the world of publishing.
Well, he did, editing a fun collection of hint fiction. Then this Kindle thing came along and Rob dove in.
My career path was different. When I was legacy published, I would have eaten my own arm raw in order to get on one of the two big bestseller lists (USA Today or NYT) because that would have ensured my books would have stayed in print, and I'd keep getting new contracts.
Years ago, being a USA Today Bestseller or a NYT Bestseller had a lot of cache with readers and publishers. It meant the book had sold a lot of copies, and was probably worth reading. I spent many book launches with fingers crossed, hoping to sneak onto a list.
It never happened. And it may never. And now, after years of wanting desperately to be a bestseller, I'm okay with not being one.
In the past, being a USA Today bestseller helped your career by allowing you to sell more copies and garner bigger advances from publishers.
It still has some of that power. Rob got some foreign offers for his bestselling title, and a savvy agent could get Hollywood interest because of it, or parlay it into a legacy deal if that was something Rob wanted.
But I've also have foreign deals and movie options without ever being anything other than an Amazon bestseller and having a smart agent.
I'm not trying to take the wind out of Rob's sails here--I'm very happy for him. It's a very real success story and Rob is an inspiration to self-pubbed authors everywhere. He has shown that it is possible to find mainstream success being an indie author. I've never broken through that glass ceiling, and he has.
If you want to do as Rob has done, follow his example and publish on all ebook platforms, because these are all weighed and counted when USA Today and the New York Times compile their bestseller lists. And make sure you have an agent who is able to exploit a bestseller announcement by making you more money because of it.
Also, it's pretty sweet to be able to put A USA TODAY BESTSELLER on your book covers and in your book descriptions. That can't hurt sales.
My point?
It's one of the same points I've always made. Figure out what your goals are, and adjust your strategy accordingly. Making a bestseller list isn't a goal, because it outside of your control. But you can certainly follow Rob's example and give it a shot.
Four years ago, it was damn near impossible to become a bestseller without a legacy publisher behind you.
What was once impossible, is now possible. Pretty damn cool.


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What's all this about robots?
Heard this one yet?
"While Westerners harbor cultural fears toward robots, Japanese culture fosters a special relationship with robots, welcoming them into society as equal partners."
Oy vey. It's time to send this goofy myth to the scrapyard, once and for all.
I've got a whole laundry list of culturology (that's "culture-ology") myths to slap down. Among those, you'd think that a myth as trivial as "special cultural view of robots" would have to wait a while to reach its turn in the list, but I'm moving it to the front of the line – both because it pops up so frequently, and because it's so blatantly wrong.
Here's the general form of this particular wackiness:
- Japan has a "love affair" with robots going back to 18th century wind-up dolls.
- Japan's Shinto religion fosters acceptance of "spirits" in objects, including robots; "Western" religion discourages or even prohibits viewing of objects as animate.
- Japanese popular culture has long portrayed robots as friendly helpers; "Western" popular culture portrays them as rebellious or violent machines.
- In Japan, people welcome robots; in "the West", people feel threatened by them and even fear robots "taking over".
- Proof of Japan's love of robots is the popular Tetsuwan Atom (a.k.a. Astro Boy), a friendly robotic hero. Proof of "the West's" fear of robots is Hollywood movies with robot villains, like The Terminator.
(I'm not joking about that last one; it's almost always the centerpiece of panegyrics over the "special relationship"!)
Here's the latest in a long, long, long line of offenders, which sparked me to finally sit down and write. Take a read if you're not up on the topic:
Japanese robots enter daily life (USA Today)
First, let's be clear on some facts. Yes, Japan boasts the world's highest use of industrial robots. Yes, there's a lot of cutting-edge research in Japan on humanoid robots. Yes, there are fascinating projects in Japan involving use of robots in roles interfacing with humans. Yes, there are some cool robotic toys coming out of Japan. Those are all easily observable facts. No argument there.
Rather, it's the bullet-point list above – the psycho-socio-quasi-religious claptrap, i.e., the culturology – that's flat-out wrong.
If odes to "Japan's special relationship with robots" all seem to be fairly consistent, there's a reason: they parrot and re-parrot the same tropes, never adding a whit of evidence, critical examination, or a glance at possible counter-arguments.
I don't recall how many years ago I first saw the myth pop up; I brushed it off as yet another culturology dropping, and didn't expect to see it again. Yet this one's got more lives than a Hollywood slasher maniac; it keeps jumping back up. (Though unlike the slasher, it never changes through the sequels.)
(Readers, if you know where and when the trope first appeared, please send me a line. I'd like to know whom to blame. : )
Time to shatter a myth in its infancy. Let's pull out the clubs, shall we?
Reality checking
Where to begin?
History time.
Robots and AI came out of "the West". Westinghouse's Elektro walked and talked in 1939. Autonomous (if not humanoid) robots appeared in 1940s England. Looking at more current research, there's Festo AG's dancing TRON-X android, University of Texas's cutting-edge work on robot facial expressions, Cornell University's research into self-aware robots, MIT's contextual clue-recognizing robot Jerry and its gesturing, learning robot Leonardo (aptly named after the Renaissance inventor who was designing windup men as far back as 1495)...
Stop. I won't even try to go on; I couldn't begin to do justice to a review of the state of modern robotics (especially when it's developing so quickly). Hit the Googles yourself, and you'll find tons of "Western" research, inventions, and advances (all without the "Christian hangups" that culturologists – honest! – say are hindering robot development in "the West"). Or see the articles linked to at the end of this one, detailing more "Western" advances in friendly, thinking, personable robots than you can shake a remote control at.
To keep things only slightly over-long, let me pick on just a few key myth-conceptions:
"Japan's robots go back to the karakuri dolls of the 18th century."
Yes, some folks in Japan did start making clever windup dolls over 200 years ago. Welcome to the party, Japan. What took you so long?
Karakuri is a mundane word for "mechanical", in the sense of "clockwork" or "wind-up". An artfully-made wind-up doll that moves forward with a tray of tea, stops, and then turns around and goes back when the tea is lifted from the tray, is indeed a nifty party gadget for the well-heeled. But it had a long, long line of predecessors on this planet.
Human-shaped automatons go back to Greek mythology, which gives us Hepaehestus's automated helpers and Daedalus's talking statues. The poet Pindar wrote in 464 BC that moving, talking statues lined the streets of Rhodes. Whether or not the ancient Greeks actually built such automatons is open to debate, but those "Westerners" certainly showed fascination with the possibilities.
A 3rd-century BC text from China describes a life-sized automaton that walked, sang, danced, and interacted with people. Whether that was real or not, something amazing did take place in the 13th century: Arab genius Al-Jazari created mechanical entertainers (similar to the much-later karakuri dolls) whose movements could be programmed. And no one should be surprised to find that Leonardo da Vinci, rather than fearing automatons as "Westerners" are supposed to, went and designed a moving humanoid robot – which, when built in modern times, worked. (That's Leo for you.)
Europeans in the Renaissance Age went nuts with automatons. Most of us are familiar with examples of clever European clocks parading out mechanical musicians, woodcutters, saints, etc., to mark the hours with intricate performances; those are as much robots as are karakuri dolls. Nobles in Europe were also entertained by the likes of a life-like flute player (built by Jacques de Vaucanson, said to be the father of the first true robots), an automaton boy that could write messages, and even an automaton that could draw pictures. Louis XIV played with automated people and horses in a miniature coach.
(One famous 18th-century example, the Turk, was a hoax. A humanoid automaton that amazed audiences with its apparent skill at chess, it actually concealed a human operator within. The point: "Westerners" were fascinated, not frightened, by the machine, which toured Europe and the US.)
And on and on. While wonderful devices, Japan's karakuri dolls were but a drop in the ocean of worldwide fascination with automatons (and a late drop, at that). Why do the culturologists tell us otherwise?
"The Japanese love of robots goes back to Tetsuwan Atom."
Yes, there was a cartoon hero in Japan named Tetsuwan Atom, a construct with human emotions. And... so what?
Atom was another latecomer. Pinocchio had the same schtick – boy construct with human emotions – years earlier: Disney movie, 1940; original book, 1883. Think back to the movie: Besides the very "human" Jiminy Cricket and other animals, there's a home filled with delightful clockwork automatons, where a kindly man wishes life into a wooden puppet, who in turn wants nothing more than to become a real boy. Have you seen any movie more welcoming of love for an animated mechanism? Have you ever seen a "Westerner" turn from Pinocchio in fear or disgust?
(Trivia note: Atom is even related to Pinocchio, as his justly-renowned creator, Osamu Tezuka, readily acknowledged Pinocchio and other Disney works as inspirations for his cartoons.)
The film Pinocchio alone could dispel any and all rubbish about "Western" antipathy toward "spirits" in non-human objects, but it's not even the tip of the tip of the iceberg's tip. Pinocchio himself was beaten to the screen a year earlier by The Wizard of Oz's Tin Man, a construct who like Pinocchio wanted to be more like us. Again, quiz time: Did "Westerners" love or fear that clanky, lovable non-human? (Hint: I just said "lovable".)
And later on? Let's see: Every American kid in the 60s wanted to be pals with the robot B-9 from Lost in Space. Then came two of the most popular robots ever, in the 70s: 'Droids C-3PO and R2-D2. One's humanoid, one's not; "Western" audiences don't care, they love 'em both, even now.
Next, we have the cute robot hero from the Short Circuit movie (okay, not so memorable, but that's the movie's fault, not the 'bot's), the Jetsons' sassy metallic maid Rosie, Knight Rider's talking car KITT, Star Trek's gentle Lt. Data, DC Comics' heroes Red Tornado and Metal Men, and Superman's army of secret identity-protecting robot doubles. Recent films like AI and Centennial Man sympathetically depict humanoid robots and their interactions with humans. It goes on and on. If you want loveable, friendly robots, often in deep, two-way emotional relationships with humans, "Western" pop culture will bury you with examples. (It's strange, though; the "Japan and robots" culturology pieces never, never mention any of this.)
"But don't forget The Terminator! Robots are scary monsters in Hollywood movies!"
Yes – because everything gets to guest star as a scary monster in Hollywood movies. There are Hollywood movies about killer cars. Killer tomatoes. Giant man-eating rabbits. (Night of the Lepus. I am not joking.) There are movies featuring serial murders in the guise of Santa Claus. Now, how many of you are willing to believe that "Westerners" have some innate cultural fear of bunnies, Saint Nick, automobiles and tomatoes?
Sure, there are movies with bad-guy robots, too. So what? Where's the deep psychic resonance? Funny, when the culturologists watch Godzilla destroy Tokyo, they fail to read into it some primal Japanese discomfort with bipedal lizards. Why the one-way street?
Why ignore the legion of friendly Hollywood robots? Or the fun robots populating the rest of the entertainment world, like amusement parks? Disney has been working with its Audio-Animatronics robot creations for 50 years. Its parks have the Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, The Country Bears, any and every attraction in which mechanical characters jump and move... heck, Disney theme parks could just be renamed Robotland, and the name would fit.
("Westerners", were you scared by the talking Lincoln in Disneyland's Hall of Presidents? Bored, yes, but were you scared? I thought not.)
We can even look outside of amusement parks. Robotic Santas, large and small, are everywhere in stores at year-end. (These are the friendly Santas, not the killer ones.) Then there's the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant chain and its entertainer robots... okay, not a very proud example, but there it is. Let's move on.
(Oh, one more thing to consider: cybernetics, the merging of actual humans with robotic parts. That should scare the "Westerners" silly, right? Surely they wouldn't cheer such hybrid abominations as... uh, RoboCop... or Luke Skywalker and his robot hand... or the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman... which were huge hits, spawning toys galore, and... Oh, never mind.)
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"Shinto is especially accepting of animated objects. "Western" religion is not."
Absolute rubbish. Pinocchio – and all the friendly constructs, robots, and androids that followed – smash that one to pieces. But again, that's barely a start.
Ever see Toy Story? Remember all the "Western" dismay over its depiction of plastic and cloth toys with animated spirits? You don't? That's right – because there wasn't any. "Westerners" not only made the movie, they – kids and parents alike – made it one of the most popular movies ever. They love this stuff about talking, animated, spirited, live objects.
"Western" dolls revel in robots and animism. Teddy Ruxpin and Furby toys were hugely successful talking play pals. For decades, girls have cared for mechanical infants that talk, cry, wet and walk – robot babies, really. Then came a mechanical Barney and mechanical Tickle Me Elmo and lord knows what's next.
That's to say nothing of more robot-like toy robots. Toy stores have had wind-up dolls, soldiers, etc. for ages; that includes wind-up "sci-fi robots", for as long as that character concept has existed. Now the stores are packed with computer-controlled robots of every conceivable shape. LEGO's Mindstorms invites kids to design and program "real" robots, and the humanoid RoboSapiens toy has been a big hit.
There are far, far too many such toys to even begin discussing here. "Westerners" don't run from this stuff. They run to it, the kids screaming for more and the parents tugging out wallets. Batteries may be required, but Shintoism sure isn't.
Talk of mechanical "animated" toys is a bit moot, anyway; give a child – any child on the planet – a non-mechanical, non-moving toy doll or animal, and the kid will happily imagine it to be a living, animated pal. Meanwhile, his parents, even "Westerners", will see that animistic reverence as just the cutest thing.
In the same way, humans everywhere have always gleefully ascribed "spirit" to just about anything. We have talking animals in a zillion fables and children's stories... faerie spirits in rocks and streams... Frosty the Snowman and the Little Engine That Could... talking swords, genies in lamps, and 'mirror, mirror, on the wall'... Middle-Earth's walking trees and Hogwarts' Sorting Hat... Howdy Doody and Thomas the Tank Engine... Mr Peanut and the Pillsbury Doughboy... It goes on forever. (This news just in: The dish ran away with the spoon. Film at eleven.)
Modern people interacting with real objects are no exception: who doesn't ascribe feelings to old cars, toys, tools, anything we've interacted with for a long time? What "Western" sailor doesn't mourn an old ship as she is decommissioned? Are you going to tell B.B. King that he can't see a soul in his beloved Lucille's six strings, because the bluesman doesn't have the prescribed nationality or religion?
I'm running out of energy here. I won't even discuss the form of animated life most celebrated in "the West" and every corner of the globe: animation – from the Latin for "instill with life" – whether on film or via computer. Speaking of which, where did the personal computer gain a "humanlike" personality and voice? Cupertino, not Kanagawa. And on that topic of machine personality, I'm also too tired to get into artificial intelligence, a "Western"-born-and-led field seeking to imbue – or discover – real human intelligence, emotion, even "soul", in silicon minds. I'll have to leave all that for later.
In short, the claim of some national/ethnic monopoly on the concept of animating spirits is probably the most embarassingly ridiculous thing culturology has come up with. And that's saying a lot.
So what can we say about Shintoism? Well, I'll grant that Shintoism doesn't present any particular obstacle to acceptance of robots – but that's because it has no connection to the discussion whatsoever.
So there.
Meanwhile, back in Japan...
To give credit to the otherwise-uncritical USA Today article, it does bother to point out some non-successes of robots in Japan:
For all its research, Japan has yet to come up with a commercially successful consumer robot. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. failed to sell even one of its pricey toddler-sized Wakamaru robots, launched in 2003 as domestic helpers.
Though initially popular, Sony Corp. pulled the plug on its robot dog, Aibo, in 2006, just seven years after its launch. With a price tag of a whopping $2,000, Aibo never managed to break into the mass market.
One of the only commercially successful consumer robots so far is made by an American company, iRobot Corp. The Roomba vacuum cleaner robot is self-propelled and can clean rooms without supervision.
Those are important points. Contrary to what you'll often read in the press, robots do not regularly act as receptionists and tea servers and senior care buddies in Japan; such rare robots are constrained to experimental programs here and there, or show-off pieces in the lobbies of a few big companies. As of this day, the average Japanese has no more contact with home robots or humanoid robots than you do (probably even less, if you're into things like Roomba, Mindstorms, or RoboSapiens).
It's a wrap
Let's close shop already. As I noted toward the beginning, Japan does lead the world in use of industrial robots, and there's a lot of research – and results – coming out of Japan involving more human-like robots in interactive roles. Without question, many of the leading companies and researchers in the field are in Japan. There may very well be greater interest in robotic workers in Japan than elsewhere, too, thanks to that research prowess coupled with a shrinking workforce and resistance to immigrant labor.
It's all fascinating and impressive stuff. But a leading role in robotic research and deployment no more requires some psycho-cultural-religious "special relationship" with robots, than Japan's prominent position in television production necessitates a spiritual ethnic bond with LCD panels. No more than the US's current leadership in MP3 players suggests a special American psychic affinity for... uh, click wheels, and hard drives. No more than France's record-setting TGV calls for an inexplicably French emotional resonance with... er, train-ish stuff, like rails, and...
You get the picture.
(A grand tangent: All this talk of countries is patently silly to begin with. If you astutely recognize that humanity's inventions are the accomplishments of individual organizations and people, not countries and nationalities, you are far, far ahead of the game. But that's yet another big topic for later.)
The big summary
There's nothing unique about Japan's interest in automatons and robots, now or 300 years ago. Neither Shinto nor any religion is remotely a requirement for humanity's universal embracing of animated objects, robot or otherwise. Tetsuwan Atom points to no special pro-robot predilection whatsoever; he's barely even visible among a sea of human-like constructs and robot buddies in non-Japanese pop culture. "Westerners" do not fear robots; they're utterly ga-ga over the things. (I assume this applies to all non-"Westerners" as well.)
Finis. So let's all stop being silly, shall we?
You may now ask, "You wrote all that over such a trivial matter?" Yeah, I did spill some words, didn't I? It is trivial stuff, too; trust me, I don't lose any sleep over mis-depictions of views on robots. It's just that, after hearing this ridiculous goofiness for the nth time, I had to let the steam out.
I'm done, and I'm feeling much better now, thank you. : )
A request, dear Reader!
Please do us all a favor or two:
1. When you see the ridiculous "special relationship with robots" meme chucked up again, set the claimant straight. All you need to do is respond with a dose of reality.
2. If you see an appropriate venue, let people know about this page. Digg it, Reddit it, etc., if you think it deserving. Your links to this page are very welcome, too!
3. Please add to the arguments above with additional examples, facts, and corrections. Do so on your own site, or send me whatever you've got (email or comments).
Thank you. Now you'll excuse me while I take off to perform some mundane chores – chores that, like most anyone, I'd prefer to have handled by a robot buddy. Oh well, until that day –
Additional reading
Uncritical thinking
Japanese robots enter daily life
The USA Today article mentioned earlier. A look at the amazing state of robotics in Japan is a fine topic for a report, but this article buries facts under unsupported nonsense like "To the Japanese psyche, the idea of a humanoid robot with feelings doesn't feel as creepy — or as threatening — as it might do in other cultures."
Why can't American consumers handle the future that robotics is willing to offer?
A confusing article that claims "Americans will never overcome their cultural aversion to humanoid robots", without offering a whit of evidence for the existence of such an "aversion".
In Japan, robots are people, too
Interview with a writer who parrots every stereotype on the books, with neither writer nor interviewer displaying a hint of critical skepticism. "The thing is, [Astro Boy] really wanted to be human as much as possible. He really wanted parents like the human school children that he went to class with."
Think the article gives Pinocchio credit for doing the same thing, earlier? Not a chance.
Karakuri info: Robot Perspectives
Beautiful! A mother-lode of psycho-socio-religious yammerings about Japan's "unique" views of robots and dolls and spirits and whatever else fits in there, without a smidgen of evidence to show that the rest of the world is any different. Hook, line, and sinker!
(Saving Japan) Robots the Future of Japan?
To its credit, this short article spends most of its text on real, structural aspects of interest in robots in Japan (aging population, changing workforce). Unfortunately, there's also nonsense about a historical "love affair" and the special role of Shinto, naturally without backing evidence.
Reality check: News items from the real world
Luna Personal Robot Brings You Telepresence and More for $3k
California-based RoboDynamics is closing in on the first affordable, personal robot. It's a beauty, too!
In New Study, Babies Think A Silvery Robot Is Human, As Long As It Acts Friendly
No surprise here. It's a human thing, not an ethnic thing.
Popeye, the robot with brains not brawn
Europeans give robots the ability to read human body language...
AMARSi project could see robots learn from co-workers
... and to learn from humans, and to act as caretakers for humans, and to appear more natural than ever.
Humanoid robots to gain advanced social skills
"We think that robots will be part of the family. If you cannot communicate easily with the humanoid robot you have at home, it will never be accepted", says one of those "Western" researchers living in the real world.
Disney Launches Global Research & Development Labs With Carnegie Mellon And Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich)
Egads, that's a lot of "Westerners"! And they'll be creating "autonomous interactive characters"! FOOLS! Don't they know they're supposed to be cowering in fear?
Guitarist Hopes To Play Again With The Help of Bionic Hand
A good thing, too, that "Westerners" aren't running away from robotics, even cybernetics. Their work is helping real people with real problems.
New robotic hand 'can feel'
Like the above, from Italy and Sweden.
Robot Hand from Shadow Continues to Impress (Video)
British researchers further the state of the art in robotic and cybernetic prosthetics.
DaVinci Robotic Surgical System
"Western" robots helping doctors save lives. (And appropriately named after a robotics pioneer.)
Texas Student Attends School as a Robot – A Sign of Things to Come
Robot uniquely improves a life in... Texas? Yes, Texas. A robot stand-in lets a boy with health issues "attend" school with classmates. Wow!
Robotic firefighting team debuts
Robots work to save lives in London.
Berkeley Gets Willow Garage Robot to Fold Towels
Of course, not all robot work aims for goals as high as saving lives...
In this months-long experiment, a tiny, cute robot was set loose in a New York park, asking for human aid in reaching a destination. "Westerners" responded unfailingly with friendly assistance - no fear, no panic, no religious hang-ups. "...this ad-hoc crowdsourcing was driven primarily by human empathy for an anthropomorphized object. The journey the Tweenbots take each time they are released in the city becomes a story of people's willingness to engage with a creature that mirrors human characteristics of vulnerability, of being lost, and of having intention without the means of achieving its goal alone."
Future Watch: A.I. comes of age
"[Stanford's] Stair represents a new wave of AI, one that integrates learning, vision, navigation, manipulation, planning, reasoning, speech and natural-language processing." We're going to have "thinking" robots sooner than many expect – and goofy fantasies about national proclivities won't factor into it.
The Gundersons get us ready for Basil, the robot of our dreams
American couple build amazing robot helper. "Our motivation is, 'Where is my robot?" explains Jim. "For fifty years, sixty years, they've been promising us our robots. The personal servants who are going to clean our house, walk the dog, do all that kind of stuff. We want Rosie from the Jetsons." Yes!
US university students build robot wedding photographer
"We know that people ascribe feelings and states of mind to robots... If he began beeping, people would say, 'Oh, he's talking to us!' " Now Lieberg is experimenting with using Lewis' existing code and capabilities to interface with a computerized talking face.
In short: More "Westerners" doing what "Westerners" don't do.
Dutch unveil robot to fill car gas tank
"I was on a farm and I saw a robotic arm milking a cow. If a robot can do that then why can't it fill a car tank, I thought."
Nicely practical, and somehow utterly lacking in "cultural fears" or "Christian hangups".
Robot 'plays back' dreams
Another humanoid, interactive robot from "Westerners" who haven't yet been informed that they're not supposed to be doing this.
Robot love: South Korea to build robot theme parks
"Developing such theme parks are not big surprise as South Korea loves its robots."
What? How can that be, without karakuri dolls, Shinto, and Tetsuwan Atom!?
Meet Mr Wu's wonderful robots and Farmer builds robot army
Uh-oh, a walking, cigarette-lighting, tea-serving robot not from Japan. Oddly, the culturologists never mention these.
Zou Renti and His Robot Clone
Yet another non-Japanese human 'bot that the culturologists won't point out to you.
Humans will love, marry robots by 2050
An AI researcher – i.e., someone knowledgeable on the topic, not a passing reporter – foresees fascinating changes in human/robot interaction. All without culturology nonsense.
Top 10 robots that we'd marry
Those silly "Westerners" are at it again: getting all misty-eyed over robots, instead of cowering. Didn't they get the memo?
Linux-powered robots from France? Oui!
Shhh, don't tell les culturologistes.
NAO Humanoid Robot Set to Hit the Market
Yet again: "Westerners" making cool humanoid robots available to all – and beating some of the big-name Japanese commercial 'bots in price, too.
In the Field of Battle (Or Even Above It), Robots Are a Soldier's Best Friend
This one's about military 'bots, but war doesn't stop "Western" soldiers from getting emotionally attached to their mechanical buddies.
NASA fashions mountain climbing robot
Does this mean that Americans have a "special relationship" with robots, mountain-climbing, or both?
The ROBOTS Are Coming! (Dec, 1953)
"Yes, the robot is here and more are coming. They will make your life easier, better, freer. It is one invasion civilization welcomes."
Sorry, culturologists; this piece from Modern Mechanix, over 50 years past, is salivating over the prospects of robot buddies.
Don't be rude to this robot
Yet another fun, emotionally-aware robot pal from "the West". Hmm, this is all becoming old news!
Building A Robotic Beckham
Virginia Tech's Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory aims for more human-like robots.
Dancing microrobots waltz on a pin's head
True, these aren't humanoid 'bots, but give them a break – they're microscopic. Noteworthy because these Duke U "Westerners" are playing with two of the things that culturologists tell us "Westerners" don't do (but are always doing anyway): robotics and miniaturization. (I sense another debunking article coming on...)
Exclusive: Inside the LEGO factory
Fascinating look inside the birthplace of the famed LEGO bricks, where autonomous robots travel nearly human-free aisles delivering materials and troubleshooting problems. Robots in the service of fun, with no "Western fear" in sight.
Open Source Roboticists On a Path to C3P0
US-based, open-source initiative to build Personal Robots - including iCub, who resembles a human two-year-old. Another fascinating look at robotic developments in the real world.
Robots Take To The Stairs - This Is Just The Beginning (videos)
From France to Japan, from the US to Israel, robots increasingly master difficult physical tasks.
Skiing Robot Not Very Useful But Totally Fun To Watch
Slovenian robot is fun.
Yet another US initiative to create helpful humanoid 'bots for the home.
Robots turn off senior citizens in aging Japan
"Most (elderly) people are not interested in robots. They see robots as overly-complicated and unpractical. They want to be able to get around their house, take a bath, get to the toilet and that's about it".
Huh. Maybe they didn't watch enough Tetsuwan Atom.
No, robot: Japan's elderly fail to welcome their robot overlords
Another look at the troubles faced by would-be robot vendors in Japan, where the populace just isn't displaying that "special relationship" so beloved of the media. (Despite that theme, note how the BBC still insists on cluelessly injecting the idiotic "Robots outside Japan are the Terminator!" meme into its story. Reporters just gotta be lazy.)
Robots Make the Coins Go 'Round, Down Under
Aussies put robots to good practical use. "We are finding that the AGVs are much safer and more reliable. Robots are never affected by having a bad night with the baby and falling asleep at the wheel. They are extremely accurate and they always do the same task in the same way."
Taiwan University Students Build Tour-Guide Robot
Hsiao Mei, robot, offers guided tours and uses facial expressions.
Robotic fish school the rest
Robofish: "UK biologists have infiltrated underwater society with a computer-controlled fish that recruits and leads other fish in a school."
History of Robotics
Quick global overview.
Everything Old is Still Not New
While the linked blog post takes aim at the mistaken reporting of old stuff as new, and not at robotics issues per se, the video (below) fits my article nicely. At the same time Tetsuwan Atom was doing his thing on paper, Disney engineers were building real humanoids. Amazingly lifelike, too.
Willow Garage Robot Fetches Beer, Engineers Rejoice (Video)
Students, Meet Your New Teacher, Mr. Robot
The New Face of Autism Therapy
(The links are getting overwhelming, so time to consolidate...) In the above links, humans go about exploring the human fascination (and increasing friendship) with robots, all without hint of ethnocentric "special relationships".

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Shelley Fine
Real Estate Sales Representative
Contact information
Email: email@example.com
Office: 416-363-3473
Direct: 416-566-5612
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Office: 416-363-3473
Direct: 416-566-5612
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text:
A couple of weeks ago, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer promoted SVP of advertising and data platforms, Scott Burke.
Mayer put Burke in charge of all advertising technology at Yahoo. She also elevated him to her senior staff, where he will report directly to her.
After Kara Swisher of All Things D broke the news, we reached out to a number of Burke's former colleagues, ex-Yahoos still in the industry.
Most of the people we talked to believe Mayer made a mistake, though one applauded the hire.
First, the naysayers...
One former Yahoo executive said the promotion was a "bizarre" move on Mayer's part.
"[Burke] has been in charge for all the [screw] ups at Yahoo across ad tech and he keeps getting promoted. He's a professor not an operator."
This source said Burke is responsible for three failures at Yahoo in particular.
This source said: "APT is a disaster. RMX is a disaster. Zero non-direct video monetization. Start there."
That's a lot of jargon that might not make sense to most people.
So let's go over each of these "disasters" from a broader perspective.
"RMX is a disaster."
In 2007, Yahoo spent $680 million buying the Right Media Exchange (RMX). At the time RMX was the world's leading advertising exchange, a place where publishers could sell inventory and advertiser could buy it.
Google, which had acquired its own ad tech firm, DoubleClick, didn't even have an advertising exchange to compete with RMX.
Six years later, that acquisition is widely regarded as a failure. All of RMX's senior executives are out of the company.
Meanwhile, the DoubleClick team is still at Google, where they built a new ad exchange that dominates the industry.
"APT is a disaster."
In 2008, Yahoo announced - in very grand fashion - that it would reinvent the way online advertising was sold across the Internet. It said it had "intentions" to build a platform, called AMP!, that all online publishers and advertisers could use to buy and sell ad inventory wherever, whenever.
It would, according to a press release, "take the pain and complexity out of advertising online by providing an integrated, web-based solution that allows unprecedented ease of cross-selling across a large ecosystem of buyers and sellers."
Sounds amazing, right?
Didn't happen.
AMP! eventually became APT, a product with much lower ambitions and little use.
"Zero non-direct video monetization."
Yahoo makes almost all of its money selling ads.
Two of the biggest trends changing online advertising right now are video and something called "programmatic ad buying."
"Programmatic ad buying" is a kind of a catch-all phrase meant to describe a modern world where advertisers can set criteria for the kinds of consumers they want to reach, and set a price they are willing to pay to reach them. In this world, publishers accept offers from the highest bidders for their ad inventory.
One advantage of programmatic ad-buying is that selling ads this way doesn't require a big sales force. All of this happens through a computer, in real time, and across the entire Internet.
"Programmatic ad buying" is already big and it's going to get even bigger - online and off.
Meanwhile, video.
What's going on with video is that online publishers, like Yahoo, have discovered that advertisers are willing to pay much higher rates to run video ads than they are to run banner ads. So, these publishers have, over the past couple years, starting producing a lot more video.
The future, obviously, is in combining these trends. Publishers will produce videos, and, sell their commercial slots programmatic-ally.
(Publishers won't always sell ads, video or not, programmatically. In fact, they'll probably prefer to sell them directly, as sponsorships, for very high rates. But programmatic selling will be a nice baseline.)
Pretty obvious vision, right? Lots of people think so. But under Burke, Yahoo hasn't managed to make any progress down that road.
Another former colleague of Burke's tells us Yahoo's failure to launch RMX, AMP/APT, or programmatic video ad-selling is not a reflection of his character.
"Historically he hasn't been known for delivering - but he is well liked and well respected regardless."
"He's been an SVP of Product who has been quite visible for some time having his hands all over failed products."
"While he's been there they have squandered RMX, APT has been a huge waste, all of their ad-targeting products fell way behind the market."
"Behind the scenes, all of the things like creating standards required for scalable solutions have been screwed up.
"Granted he's limited by the roster of minor league talent - but great players make everyone around them better and he's never done that."
"Scott is a smart guy that's likable, but I wouldn't want him running product."
By the way, we did manage to find one self-described "Scott Burke fan" who approves of Mayer's promoting him.
This person said: "He is smart, level-headed, and was always one level removed from real decision-making. He made his mark as head of data."
"I just hope the past 6 years doesn't preclude him from being aggressive and bold."
We emailed the views of our sources to Yahoo PR and asked for comment. The company declined to comment on internal matters.
Now Watch: Why Marissa Mayer Needs Yahoo Mail To Be A Success// OO.ready(function() { OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer', 'luOXZrNzpQBYcDFLEyCbatij0a_9FeIk'); }); //
Get the latest Yahoo stock price here.


text:
Devart has recently announced the release of dotConnect products for Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite -- ADO.NET providers that offer Entity Framework support, LINQ to SQL support, and contain an ORM model designer for developing LINQ to SQL and EF models based on different database engines.
New dotConnect ADO.NET providers offer complete support for Visual Studio 2010 and Entity Framework 4 release version.
Entity Developer 2.80, a designer for modeling and code generation for ADO.NET Entity Framework and LINQ to SQL, included in Professional Edition of every dotConnect, has been greatly improved. Now Entity Developer seamlessly integrates with Visual Studio 2008 and Visual Studio 2010 release version. Entity Developer LINQ to SQL and Entity Framework models can be edited inside Visual Studio without any need to open the model in a separate Entity Developer application. You can use Entity Developer for creating models for both Entity Framework 1 and Entity Framework 4 release version. For example, such feature as Lazy Loading is now supported for Entity Framework 4 release version models.


text:
The Chargers' new head coach Mike McCoy has settled on his defensive coordinator.
It's the same guy who ran things on that side of the ball for Norv Turner. The Chargers announced Friday that John Pagano will stay with the team for the 2013 season. Pagano reportedly generated some interest from Cleveland, but won't be joining Turner and head coach Rob Chudzinski in Cleveland.
"I want to thank the Spanos family, Coach McCoy and the entire organization for believing in me," Pagano said in a statement from the team. "These are very exciting times for the Chargers and I look forward to keep building our defense to where we want it to be."
San Diego finished the 2012 season ranked ninth overall in total defense, up from 16th in his first season as coordinator in 2011. Pagano has been with the Chargers since 2002, which makes him the longest-tenured member of the coaching staff.
The Chargers also announced that defensive line coach Don Johnson, linebackers coach Joe Barry and assistant linebackers coach Greg Williams will remain with the team as well.


text:
The Fire Prevention Bureau is located at 3900 Main St., on the 3rd floor of City Hall. The Bureau is headed by Fire Marshal Jennifer McDowell and consists of two plan check engineers, six fire inspectors, an administrative assistant/hazardous materials clerk and a senior office specialist.
The Bureau currently enforces the 2016 California Fire, Building, Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing and Residential Codes, as amended by the Riverside Municipal Code, in addition to National Fire Protection Association standards; Title 19, of the California Public Safety Code; and, the California Health and Safety Code.
In March 1993, the City of Riverside implemented an Automatic Fire Sprinkler Ordinance. All new construction, including single family homes, are required to install an automatic fire sprinkler system when the structure is being built.
|Business Emergency Plans
|Electronic Filing
Other programs the bureau implements include the hazardous materials Business Emergency Plan (BEP) and investigating environmental crimes in conjunction with the Riverside County District Attorney's Environmental Crimes Task Force and the APSA (Aboveground Petroleum Storage Act) program.
The purpose of the City of Riverside's Fire Prevention Program is to prevent injuries, deaths, business interruption and property damages resulting from fires. In accordance with the California Fire Code and the Riverside Municipal Code, the Riverside Fire Department is required to inspect all Riverside businesses for fire safety. The frequency of the inspections depends on state laws, industry standards and general life safety hazards.
If fire code violations are found, an inspector will issue a written inspection report and schedule a reinspection to confirm that the violations have been corrected. Most violations must be corrected within 10-15 days.
Download the Inspection Fee Brochure
3900 Main St. 3rd Floor
Riverside, CA 92522
Phone: (951) 826-5737
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
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Wednesday is all about the AFC West on PFT Live.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid will talk to Mike Floiro about how he's settling into his new job after such a long run with the Eagles. The Chiefs have been active in free agency, keeping their own players and adding others in hopes of improving on the 2-14 record they turned in last year. We'll hear what else is on tap in K.C. and try to get some insight on their thoughts about the first overall pick.
Raiders coach Dennis Allen will also be a guest on the show. The Raiders haven't made any particularly splashy moves, but they've added several players to add depth to a defense that promises to look much different next season. The team announced that right tackle Khalif Barnes will be back in 2013 and we'll see what else Allen wants to do during the offseason.
You can watch it all live at noon ET.


text:
By all accounts, the exhaustive and redefining Willem de Kooning retrospective on the Museum of Modern Art's entire sixth floor is a blockbuster, and an opportunity to come to terms with the artist's unique contribution to 20th-century art.
MoMA's interpretive scholarship is exhaustively informative on its own. Yet, it was a treat to explore the show on more intimate terms with someone who was as acquainted with the artist's working methods as anyone could be. In this respect and others, Athos Zacharias, an artist who has lived in Springs for several decades and became friends with de Kooning in the early 1950s, was an excellent tour guide for the show, which closes on Monday.
In a 1965 letter of recommendation for Mr. Zacharias for a teaching position, de Kooning wrote: "I have known Zacharias for more than 12 years personally. During those years he was, I can say, 'one of us.' "
"He was, of course, much younger than most of the artist[s] who were then so very much involved with one another. But since that period, there was little self-consciousness about who was younger or older. Zacharias was as much in the middle of it as anyone."
By "middle of it," de Kooning meant the intellectual and critical scene surrounding the Eighth Street artists' club (known familiarly as "The Club") and the attendant socializing and posturing that centered around the Cedar Bar just down the street. But Mr. Zacharias, as a young artist recently arrived from the Rhode Island Institute of Design, also became close to a number of artists, as an assistant first to Elaine de Kooning, then to de Kooning himself, and ultimately to Lee Krasner, who kept him around as a workmate but also as a friend and companion. In between, he helped other artists and they, in turn, helped him.
On Dec. 14, Mr. Zacharias agreed to serve as a chaperone for the retrospective and offered some insights into what he saw in de Kooning's paintings and his development as an artist as well as some anecdotes about what kind of person he was and what he chose to share about his art.
Mr. Zacharias recalled first meeting de Kooning at the Cedar Bar, having a discussion with him as others tried to get him to go to a table. De Kooning waved them off for the better part of an hour as the two talked about various things. Then, de Kooning said at last that he had enjoyed speaking to him. "Now, I will go join my friends," Mr. Zacharias recalled him saying.
He moved slowly through the exhibit, passing through the early academic works and heading straight to the surrealist explorations and early figurative dissections that would become the "Woman" series, a theme he would return to repeatedly throughout his career. There was a lot of Joan Miro in those early works, he observed.
A few paintings from the mid-1930s had a similar composition and paint application to that of Stuart Davis. Mr. Zacharias said he remembered Davis visiting de Kooning's studio. Of the oil paintings on view at the time, "Bill said that Stuart Davis called them the biggest watercolors he had ever seen," a quip, "because Davis himself painted so thickly." For de Kooning, whose early life as a painter was often a struggle, using more fluid and thinner paints was a way to save money, just as many used house paints as well.
During this period, Mr. Zacharias said, "You have to know he's painting with his mind, exploring, but always painting the figure" in these early abstractions. "The straight lines, curved lines, and angled lines of his work would reveal an arm or a breast," but he took them out of context in some of the first "Women" paintings, and that would become a recurrent theme throughout his career.
Of those works, Mr. Zacharias said, "In my mind, it's all figurative painting. It's the human form, but he's giving it to you as a number of pieces, like a list: Here's a breast, here's a mouth, there's an arm. Otherwise, why bother to tell us what it is." The balance of the simultaneous flatness and three-dimensionality of the works were one of the powerful elements of his art, said Mr. Zacharias. In a later painting of two women he said "it's wonderful to see how flat he gets the two figures. A teacher can't show you how to do that. It must come from an understanding of other work, beginning with Cezanne."
The later "Women" paintings, he thought, included elements of the comics in them. The extreme expressions and sometimes frenzied style and exaggerated lines, could have been early forebears of the more literal translations of comics used by Roy Lichtenstein. While the series continues to inspire controversy, Mr. Zacharias said "he was not a violent person, he was just having some fun with it."
Although he served as de Kooning's assistant in New York and was then his friend "I rarely talked to Bill about his art. I once asked him a question and his answer was three words. He had all these books about his paintings, works I had never seen. I asked him, 'Bill, did you mean to paint these faces?' He said 'yes and no' and walked away. It was the only question I ever asked him."
On approaching "Excavation," from 1950, Mr. Zacharias remarked on its airiness. "It looks a bit like Pollock. Bill would usually give you flatness, but here it's like those aspects of space that Pollock would look at." It reminded him of a "whole obsession with the flatness of the picture plane, the idea not to make too many holes in the plane, otherwise it would just be illustration" that dominated American art at midcentury.
Channeling influences and cross-pollination from other artists' work was an issue when the community of artists was so tight and there was such a demand on breakthrough creativity. Mr. Zacharias said he stopped painting for a time, because he felt his work was becoming too derivative of de Kooning's paintings.
"Soon after that, I went to his studio and he asked me 'Why aren't you painting?' I had told Elaine that I found I was painting a lot like him and felt funny about it." De Kooning brought out a book of his work and stood over Mr. Zacharias, pointing out his paintings. "Here you see I'm influenced by Picasso, here I am influenced by Soutine, here I am influenced by Miro. You are influenced by me and I am influenced by you," de Kooning told him.
"That's a great teacher," Mr. Zacharias said. "It didn't sink in at the time, but he was saying 'It's okay kid, you have talent, too. Learn from us.' " What Mr. Zacharias took away from de Kooning's paintings was their variety, spontaneity, and dynamism. He also adopted one of the artist's primary tools, a liner brush, typically used by sign painters, which he used in many of his paintings. "The long hairs hold a lot of paint. It's the control of the hand that determines whether the lines are thick or thin." Mr. Zacharias said de Kooning gave Arshile Gorky a liner brush and it was how he developed the long oil lines that characterized his later work.
The exhibit is difficult on some levels. There are so many knockouts that those works that would normally attract interest seem diminished in comparison. "Some hit you right away, others he's just giving people a laundry list of objects and effects." A painting like "Police Gazette" with its varied lines and forms in color prompted Mr. Zacharias to say "What more could you ask for?" But "Interchanged" nearby did not impress him so much. "I don't think with this one he quite nailed it."
De Kooning was an artist who "worked so hard, over and over the canvas," Mr. Zacharias said. At a certain point a painting becomes a puzzle, "interlocked so that you can't change one thing without affecting the other. He said he never knew when it was done. He would just walk away."


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Stanton, Marlins try to rally, but can't contain Giants
MIAMI -- Giancarlo Stanton's home run swing returned on Saturday night, but the Marlins' inability to shut down the Giants continued.
Gregor Blanco delivered a two-run triple and Matt Cain allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings to lift the Giants to a 6-4 win over Miami at Marlins Park.View Full Game Coverage
MIAMI -- Giancarlo Stanton's home run swing returned on Saturday night, but the Marlins' inability to shut down the Giants continued.
Gregor Blanco delivered a two-run triple and Matt Cain allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings to lift the Giants to a 6-4 win over Miami at Marlins Park.View Full Game Coverage
A night after being outslugged, 14-10, by the Giants, the Marlins couldn't keep San Francisco in check again on Saturday. And a couple of plays not executed in the field, combined with four walks in the eighth inning, resulted in a sloppy loss.
"We kind of gave that one away," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "I haven't said that too often this year. We didn't execute a fundamental there, and that cost us."
Miami right-hander Henderson Alvarez had his night ruined by a rough fourth inning, a frustrating frame that featured two of his four walks and a close play that went the Giants' way at first base.
Logan Morrison gave Miami a chance in the eighth inning with a two-run double that made it a two-run game. But the Marlins ended up dropping two straight, and they look to avoid being swept in the series finale on Sunday.
"I'm happy with the way we battled offensively," Redmond said. "Guys continue to put together good at-bats."
The positive sign on the night was the return of the home run by Stanton. He crushed his first homer since July 28 against the Pirates, a span of 59 at-bats.
"His batting practices have been a lot better," Redmond said. "His approach is getting a lot better. It looks like he's more confident, and the swing has been a lot better."
In the sixth inning, the 23-year-old blasted a two-run shot off Cain that sailed a estimated 446 feet into the Budweiser Bar located beyond the wall in left. Donovan Solano, who singled to open the inning, also scored on Stanton's 14th homer of the season.
Stanton's homer came on a full count -- one pitch after he was knocked to the dirt by a rising inside fastball. While scampering out of the way, Stanton nearly inadvertently swung, and the Giants appealed to first-base umpire Larry Vanover, who said no.
Stanton says the inside pitch glanced his left wrist, but it was not detected.
"It skinned my wrist," Stanton said. "But you can't make an argument with that, if you can't see [a mark]. Did I swing at it? Or did I try to get out of the way more? That looked like a quick check swing, then [release the bat]. I'll take it, instead of a hit by pitch."
The Marlins certainly weren't complaining. They were relieved with the final result of the at-bat.
"I think we caught a break there, because it looked like he swung at that ball," Redmond said.
The home run reduced Miami's deficit to 4-2.
The Giants did their big damage in the fourth, scoring four runs with two outs. The inning slipped away from Alvarez after Pablo Sandoval was credited with an infield RBI single on a play that could have been the third out.
Brandon Belt walked with one out to open the fourth, and Buster Posey singled to center. Hunter Pence struck out, but the ball skipped away from catcher Koyie Hill for a wild pitch.
The inning changed when Sandoval ripped a hard ground ball that Morrison made a diving stop on at first base. Alvarez got a late jump, but sprinted to cover first. By that time, Morrison opted to race to the bag himself. He was unable to beat the head-first-sliding Sandoval.
"I started a little late," Alvarez said in Spanish. "I thought I had a little time, so maybe if LoMo threw it, we would have got him out. But that's baseball. Stuff happens."
The play nearly resulted in a three-way collision, with Morrison sliding feet first, and Sandoval flopping head first. Alvarez jumped over them both. Sandoval was shaken up a few seconds, but he remained in the game.
"On that play, you have a split-second to decide," Redmond said. "Henderson was definitely late getting off the mound, but he did make up the ground. But once LoMo saw Henderson was late, he just put his head down and tried to see if he could beat him to the bag.
"Henderson did look like he got over there in time. You have about a half-second to decide what you're going to do there. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for us."
Rather than being out of the inning with no runs, the Giants were on the board, and they tacked on three more.
"Great hustle, first of all," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "That probably won the game for us, kept the rally going."
The inning unraveled when Alvarez balked, allowing Posey to score. After Roger Kieschnick walked, Blanco delivered a two-run triple on a ball rookie center fielder Jake Marisnick missed while attempting to make a diving catch.
In the eighth inning, the Giants tacked on two insurance runs, capitalizing on four walks. It was a crucial add on, because it padded San Francisco's lead to four runs. And Miami chipped back in its half of the inning on Morrison's two-run double.
A.J. Ramos walked the bases loaded, and with two outs, Mike Dunn entered and walked Sandoval to force in a run. The second run of the inning scored on Kieschnick's infield single.
"Ramos came in and got into a huge jam," Redmond said. "He's been so good this year, limiting baserunners and limiting walks. Those two runs ended up being pretty big."
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. He writes a blog, called The Fish Pond. Follow him on Twitter @JoeFrisaro.


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Photographical journey through story telling combinations.
vistos por un joven fotógrafo
People, places and photography
Perspectives on Nature Photography
Une princesse frenchie "en ville"
Nature Photography by Jeffrey Foltice
We declare the world as our canvas
"I take pictures. Sometimes I get lucky." ~ Kenn Shapiro
Wonderful views of life captured by the camera's eye
Painting With Light
"Photographier, c'est une attitude, une façon d'être, une manière de vivre." – Henri Cartier-Bresson.
in words, sights and sounds
"The Earth is Art, The Photographer is only a Witness " ― Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Copyright 2010 - 2018 Elena Levon photography. All rights reserved.
This is my new photography page. All the photos with my Iphone 4.
Cake Stories - I make them! Children's Cupcake Parties, Adult Classes and Events
This is where I have to write something creative to capture your imagination. And I will. One day.
As you start to walk out on the way, the way appears
Steve's body of work spans conflicts, vanishing cultures, ancient traditions and contemporary culture alike - yet always retains the human element.


text:
Eganville is located in Ontario, Canada. The map of Eganville and the nearby locations indicated below provide direct links to various recreational, sporting and leisure activities from websites, clubs, associations, parks, videos and more information sources across Eganville, Ontario.
Home - Videos - About Us - Contact
Activities in Eganville, Ontario
Government Information
City/County Government
Provincial Government
Canadian Government


text:
94 N. Main Street, Jasper, GA - (706) 253-2457
Brian Howell
Mr. Brian ?Wade? Howell, age 47 of Jasper, Ga., died Monday, July 27, 2009 at his residence following his battle with cancer.
Born Jan. 18, 1962 in Cherokee County, Ga., he was preceded in death by his mother, Mary Ann Jarrett Howell Crowe. Mr. Howell was a carpenter having worked with Quinton Beasley Builders and was a member of the Opher Baptist Church in Cherokee County.
Survivors include his wife, Libby Howell, Ball Ground; daughter, Crystal Howell, Woodstock, Ga.; granddaughter, Brianna Elizabeth Palm, Woodstock; father, Donald Howell, Ball Ground; and brother, Bill Howell, Ball Ground. Several other relatives also survive.
Visitation was held on Wednesday, July 29 at Roper Funeral Home. Cremation followed the visitation. The interment of the cremains was held at 2 p.m. Saturday, August 1 in Bethesda Baptist Church Cemetery in Nelson, Ga. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Wade Howell Memorial Fund at Roper Funeral Home.
Thelma Cantrell
Mrs. Thelma Mae Eaton Cantrell, age 71 of Tate, passed Tuesday afternoon, July 28, 2009 at her residence.
Surviving are the husband, Tommy Cantrell; son and daughter-in-law, Harold and Missy Cantrell, Tate; grandchildren, Haley and Griffin Cantrell; brothers, Weldon and Arnold Eaton, both of Tate, Auldon Eaton, Keithburg Community, and Donald Eaton, Macedonia Community; and sister, Wilma Childres, Clayton Community.
The funeral service was held Friday, July 31 at 2 p.m. from the Chapel of Cagle Funeral Home with the Revs. Charles Hammontree and Randy Weaver officiating. Interment followed in Free Hope Baptist Church Cemetery with Harrison Estes, Nicholas and Joey Jones, William Payne, Wayne Eaton and Melvin Watson serving as pallbearers.
Brenda Conner
Mrs. Brenda D. Conner, age 65 of Jasper, passed late Wednesday afternoon, July 29, 2009 at Wellstar-Kennestone Hospital, Marietta.
She was a long time resident of Cobb County where she taught for 14 years before retiring to Jasper. Mrs. Conner was a graduate of Georgia State University and received her Master?s degree from Kennesaw State University.
She was the beloved wife of William (Bill) Conner, Jr.; mother of Laura and Kathy Conner; and grandmother of Chelsea Conner. She was a cherished friend of many. Others surviving are a brother, Greg Durham.
The funeral service was held Friday, July 31 at 11 a.m. from Jasper United Methodist Church with the Rev. Chip Wilson officiating. Interment followed Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Douglasville, Ga. at Sunrise Memorial Gardens with the Rev. Elizabeth Lobello officiating. Pallbearers were: Jake Waller, Nato Singletary, Michael Moreland, Michael Cowen, Allen Wigington, David Schute, Phil Herron and Joel Austin. The family did accept flowers; however, memorials may be made to The American Diabetes Association, Atlanta Office, 17 Executive Park, Ste. 115, Atlanta, Ga. 30329-2012. Cagle Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.
Frankie Bruce
Mrs. Frankie Mae Bruce, age 91 of Jasper passed away Saturday, August 1, 2009 at Wildwood Health Care Center.
Survivors include her daughter, Barbara Bruce, Jasper; son, Michael Bruce; and grandchildren, Sophina and Janese Thomas, New Jersey.
The funeral service was held at 11 a.m. Tuesday from the Chapel of Roper Funeral Home with the Rev. Terry Dean officiating. Interment followed in Sunrise Memorial Gardens.
Remington Stanford
Remington Cheyenne Charm Stanford, infant daughter of Robert Clay and Chasity Stanford, passed away August 1, 2009.
Survivors include grandparents, Mae and Ricky Lingerfelt, Bridget and Wayne Sams and Dennis Stanford, all of Cumming; great-grandparents, Clayton Mooney and Cloyse and JoAnne Stanford, all of Cumming; great-great-grandmothers, Eula Grant, Cumming, and Rachel Higgins, Gainesville; aunts and uncle, Patricia and Anselmo Torres and Leah Lingerfelt, all of Cumming; numerous cousins and other relatives also survive.
A graveside service was held Tuesday, August 4 at 2 p.m. from Zion Hill Baptist Church Cemetery with the Revs. Gerald Blackburn and Danny Baker officiating. Ingram Funeral Home & Crematory, Cumming, Ga., in charge of the arrangements.
www.ingramfuneralhome. com


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I'm exploring the web to find sites I like
Virtudes No. 164 esq. a Galiano, Centro Habana, Havana, Cuba
"Unfortunately a bad impression of the hotel Lincoln and its service"
Posted by: Peter Janzon on Apr 26, 2012
see all reviews
Budget hotel in the heart of Havana, just a few steps from Havana's Malecon seaside promenade. Racing car driver Fangio stayed here.
Share your experiences with others. Don't forget to send your review to Debbie by using an easy form.
"Unfortunately a bad impression of the hotel Lincoln and its service"
Posted by:
Peter Janzon on Apr 26, 2012 >
1 contribution(s) SWEDEN
Visited on: Apr, 2012 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
654 people found this review helpful
The cleaning up in general areas , like corridors to the elevator is very bad.
- At our departure after one week´s stay we say the same dead cockroach and cigarette butts in a corner nera the elavtot at 5th floor.
- The breakfast is very poor. And the man serving the fried eggs or omelette openly asked for money for his sevices.
- The coffee machine makes good coffee.
- The service at the front desk with only ONE person on duty is not sufficient for all items.
- Only ONE elevator of two was working , that is poor for an hotel with more than 100 rooms!! And it had been like that for weeks according to people we asked.
- The location of the hotel is very good near the Malecón and the Old Town of Havana.
- But service and standard are very poor for a 3 star hotel and price!!
Room Number:
14 april to 21 april
Restaurants and Bars:
Cold food at dinner twice on the terrace of the hotel- then we stopped eating at the hotel
Central location near Habana Vieja
Other Comments:
Water supply in bathroom at 8th floor was not available- so we had to move doen to 5th floor
"2 Stars Hotel"
Posted by:
GEARDO HERRERA on Apr 19, 2012 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Apr, 2012 | Leisure | With friend
617 people found this review helpful
It is a 2 Stars Hotel and do not expect better, it is not.
We had 2 rooms, the 0ne on the 6th floor had no hot water but it was clean. The one on the 2nd floor had the safe box not working but they provided us one at the reception. The room needed renovation, paint is peeling badly.
Breakfast was a 2 stars thing. Very busy street but ok, personal are friendly. The 9th floor show finish early and We missed it so I can not comment on that. It is a good stop over if you in Havana to visit without looking for much comfort execept for a place to crash.
"Bad water supply"
Posted by:
Csordas Szabolcs on Feb 16, 2012 >
1 contribution(s) HUNGARY
Visited on: Feb, 2012 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
606 people found this review helpful
The Hotel & room quality fits to the price level, modest but let's say clean. The biggest problem was the lack of hot water during our whole stay (3 nights) and the water flow is also very weak which makes the showering pretty unconformable!
On the uppermost level there is a club with dancing class so the rooms benieth can suffer from some noise during evening and even morning.
The surrounding area is not the nicest however the location is not bad to discover the historical city and Malecon.
"No hot water"
Posted by:
Bryan Beaulieu on Jan 23, 2012 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Jan, 2012 | Leisure | With friend
602 people found this review helpful
The good: clean, good location, friendly staff, breakfast was good. The not so good: no hot water, housekeeping walking in to the room at 8:30am to clean the room!!! We stayed just one night as we were staying in Varadero for the rest of the week. It's a good place to stay for an overnight visit to Havana. Easily can walk to all that needs to be seen in Havana.
Room Number:
"Cheap, but basic"
Posted by:
Leendert Kruizinga on Nov 11, 2011 >
1 contribution(s) The Netherlands
Visited on: Nov, 2011 | Leisure | Solo
629 people found this review helpful
It's a cheap hotel, just near the central part of Havana.
Not all the aquipment in the hotel was good working, like the TV, and the shower had only cold water, while temperatures outside were decreasing.
The AC was working perfect.
The service was more or less correct and depends what you are expecting.
Good value compare to price and quality.
Room Number:
Room Block:
3d floor
Restaurants and Bars:
Very basic
Not present
"Obtienes lo que pagas."
Posted by:
Luis Alejandro Alberto Contreras Parker on Aug 31, 2011 >
4 contribution(s) El Salvador
Visited on: Aug, 2011 | Leisure | Solo
681 people found this review helpful
Me gusto que estubiera cerca de Centro-Habana y cerca del Malecón, sin embargo, esa area del malecón no es muy buena. La vista fue excelente. EL servicio y la comida tienen relación directa al precio.
Room Number:
"Limpio pero demasiado... simples. Podría restaurarse los cuartos"
Posted by: Pedro Francisco González
on Aug 20, 2011 >
4 contribution(s) PORTUGAL
Visited on: Aug, 2011 | Leisure | Solo
653 people found this review helpful
El personal simpático. El cuarto limpio, pero demasiado antiguo y sin haber pasado por una remodelación más recientemente. El desayuno muy elemental. Podría haber más frutas (tropicales).
Room Number:
buena atención en la recepción
"Petit prix"
Posted by:
Firmin Lo Wing on Aug 8, 2011 >
1 contribution(s) FRANCE
Visited on: Aug, 2011 | Leisure | With friend
863 people found this review helpful
L'hôtel lincoln correspond aux prix demandé. Le service est normal mais les chambres sont très moyenne. Il ne faut pas être exigeant lorsque vous payez 28 € par nuit pour une chambre. La climatisation fonctionnait normalement mais l'eau chaude dans tout l'hôtel manquait dès le 2éme jour. La situation géographique m'a persuadé de réserver ce lieu qui est très proche de la casa de la musica de Galiano (havane) pour les concerts et à 6 cuc en taxi de celle de Miramar. Ensuite, à pieds, vous avez la possibilité de visiter la vieille Havane, le nuevo, le Barrio Chino et la fabrique Partagas pour y acheter des cigares.
Room Number:
Room Block:
Restaurants and Bars:
Le petit déjeuner est très basique, à éviter dès que possible et il n'y a pas de déjeuner ni de dîner.
Près du Malécon donc facile à visiter
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Se résume à rien
"Don't book your stay at Lincoln"
Posted by: Mirza Ahmetagic
on Jul 31, 2011 >
1 contribution(s) DENMARK
Visited on: Jul, 2011 | Leisure | With Spouse/Partner
682 people found this review helpful
This is the VERY FIRST time I ever write a review, I'm not the type that is unsatisfied, but after visiting 30 countries divided on 3 continents. I have to say this was the WORSE hotel ever.
1. Receptionits were very rude, and unhelpful
2. The rooms weren't what you'd expect from 3 stars
3. Cleaning was VERY good though..!
4. The "buffet" breakfast, was the worste food I've EVER ate at a "restaurant" no one of the guests seemed to enjoy the food, the bread was old, the fruit rotten, and the buffet was only for 1 day, the other days you could a toast and 1 egg.
Room Number:
"Travel fever"
Posted by: Hermann Szigat
on Jul 7, 2008 >
1 contribution(s) GERMANY
Visited on: Jul, 2008
1126 people found this review helpful
Unfortunately, I can only write in German. Approximately 10 years ago I had the pleasure of getting to know Havana from this hotel. I have pleasant memories of my stay with you and I am thinking of booking a room for when I visit Havana soon. I hope the quality of the services has been maintained. See you soon. Warm greetings, Hermann Szigat


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The Benghazi debacle may yet make Mitt Romney president.
Barely 10 days before the election, the persistent whiff of scandal surrounding Barack Obama exploded into the banner headlines of a cover-up – at least among certain press outlets. Everything changed Friday afternoon with the stunning revelations by Fox News that CIA operatives defending the embattled consulate in Benghazi, Libya, called three times for emergency assistance while the attack was in progress. Each time, they were shamefully turned down. One of those defenders, Navy SEAL Tyrone Woods, was apparently able to use a laser designator to pin-point the location of the mortar that eventually killed him. It would have been an easy shot for American pilots had any been ordered to respond. Another new and critical detail: An American drone was overhead transmitting live video of the battle scene below.
Only days before, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton airily dismissed new revelations of incriminating emails, also uncovered by Fox. Yet those messages provided startling proof of how Washington decision-makers – from the Pentagon to the White House Situation Room – must have known within minutes or hours that the incident in Benghazi was 9/11.2, the second successful al Qaeda attack on American soil. They also would have known that this well-coordinated assault killed the American ambassador to Libya, as well as three other Americans who fought valiantly to save him.
With all this information – from frantic messages sent by operators on the ground to highly detailed overhead battle-scene video – who invented the asinine idea that the attack was collateral damage from a flash-mob reacting to a provocative video? The record there is incriminating. For weeks afterward, the administration party-line was that the video, not al Qaeda, was responsible for the disaster, a major point of President Obama's September speech to the United Nations. But when that story had morphed into an indefensible fiction, the party line shifted again, memorably summarized by Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. during his debate with Congressman Paul Ryan: "We didn't know" because the intelligence establishment was still beavering away.
With all due respect, Mr. Vice President and Madam Secretary: You did know, and so did the horse-holders you rode in on. You also knew that the night-time battle in far-off Benghazi made mincemeat out of the prevailing Obama campaign narrative, "Osama is dead and General Motors is alive!" You realized too late that inconvenient questions were certain to be raised about embassy security in Libya. After all, hadn't the Library of Congress raised just those questions in an unclassified study only a month before? Worse yet, you also recognized that, wanting to keep a low profile on the anniversary of September 11, no American forces had been placed on alert, despite the Libyan power vacuum.
So you concocted the next best and the most politically correct cover story: the flash-mob video. With unrest everywhere in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, the flash-mob story must have been seized upon with all the fervor of a drowning man grasping at oars – or straws. You could make all the right noises about deploring mob violence and anything critical of Islam. We're the good guys, remember? To make sure everyone understood, you even sent out U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to spread the cover story on the usual TV talk shows. An ambassador is classically thought of as an honest man sent abroad to lie for his country. In her assigned role, Ms. Rice reached a new gender frontier right here at home.
What could go wrong, especially since the mainstream media was munching like well-fed bovines on anything White House spokesman Jay Carney obligingly dished out? Well, nothing, except that Americans had died at the hands of terrorists and our intelligence establishment knew the truth the Obama administration was trying so hard to conceal. With too many people in too many headquarters, the truth has an inconvenient way of leaking, especially when you're dumb enough to blame those self-same spooks.
The president keeps trying to cover up his mistakes, and the press establishment is determined to look away, despite the cascading contradictions. Fortunately, Fox News, derided by the media establishment as Faux News, investigated what others ignored. And on a Friday afternoon, just when we were contemplating hurricanes, World Series and a deadlocked electoral race, they may have even changed American history.
The president must now answer for the misdeeds his subordinates and his media allies tried so hard to cover up.
Col. Ken Allard, retired from the Army, is a former NBC News military analyst and author on national security issues.
Copyright © 2019 The Washington Times, LLC.


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