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Thursday, April 22, 2010
a labor of love
I recently finished the wedding gown of a friend that I have known since childhood. I have known Erica since I was probably about 10 or 11 years old. We were in all the same dance classes and pretty much inseparable during and out of class, sometimes having to be separated by our teacher for giggling too much.
Erica was a dream client to make a dress for. She trusted me completely, and let me have total freedom with just a couple of guidelines: She wanted a low back, and no rhinestones or sparkles. Imagine that! After all those years of dance where costumes could never have enough sparkle or glitter, we've both decided we've had enough rhinestones for a lifetime. Ha!
The dress that we ended up with, is my favorite wedding gown of all, I think. I'm glad it went to a good friend. I was lucky enough to come out to California and attend the wedding up in wine country on one of the most beautiful days. Such a lovely couple and a beautiful wedding!
This was the first time, that I have actually been able to see one of my wedding dresses walk down the aisle. Well, any of my dresses walk down any aisle, actually. I never have gotten to sit in the audience during one of my fashion shows either. It was so nice to be able to enjoy this rare occasion.
I also did the bridesmaid dresses as well, and will talk about those in a following post. I took tons of pictures! Enjoy!
27 comments:
- amber said...
Just stunning. Your friend is a very lucky lady. :)
- April 22, 2010 at 11:46 AM
- Erica B. said...
GORGEOUS! I wish I could have seen it move. It looks like a dream!
- April 22, 2010 at 12:12 PM
- ...love Maegan said...
wow ....GORGEOUS!!!
- April 22, 2010 at 12:26 PM
- ediot said...
ah you fantastic leanne. youre beyond magically talented. i adore your work. this is brilliant. if i get married i want to buy a dress from you- no matter the cost--
are you selling any pieces in any shops or online right now?
xx ediot
- April 22, 2010 at 12:46 PM
- Betsy said...
That is gorgeous and she looks gorgeous in it!
That's great that you were able to design for a friend for such an occasion!!
- April 22, 2010 at 1:30 PM
- meredith cheng - munaluna said...
absolutely gorgeous! I hope to one day have a beautiful wedding dress like that when I get married :)
- April 22, 2010 at 2:01 PM
- Hungarican Chick said...
Okay, yeah. BEAUTIFUL. I can actually see how much you love your friend when I look at that dress! I can't wait to see the bridesmaids dresses!
- April 22, 2010 at 3:10 PM
- Irene said...
- April 22, 2010 at 3:56 PM
- Pigglywinks said...
That is so wonderful! She looks absolutely amazing. Great job.
- April 22, 2010 at 4:00 PM
- Fuu said...
Oh god! That dress is absolutely beautiful! Leanne, you always do amazing dresses, but that dress really surprise me, if I get married I have to wear a dress created by you! :)!
- April 22, 2010 at 5:35 PM
- chickens and hens said...
you were on the west coast???!
it's beautiful, by the way...and so are you!
- April 22, 2010 at 5:59 PM
- OliTa said...
Absolutely stunning dress !
- April 22, 2010 at 6:45 PM
- chantel said...
- April 23, 2010 at 10:03 AM
- L said...
Leanne, I've been such a big fan of your architecturally-driven work, and in the last few collections you've won me over and over again. Keep up the great work, and I absolutely can't wait to see what you'll crank up next! - Elizabeth S (pleatfarm.com)
- April 23, 2010 at 10:24 AM
- Colleen MacDonald said...
What a beautiful dress for a stunning woman! I love the back, but the front is incredible! Can't wait to see those bridesmaid's dresses!
- April 23, 2010 at 11:59 AM
- Cheryl said...
- April 23, 2010 at 2:54 PM
- April 24, 2010 at 3:48 AM
- Megan V said...
Leanne, it is so beautiful!!! I bet it was actually quite emotional watching her walk down the aisle in it. It looks like it would have such great movement. Fantastic work!! You amaze me each and every time :)
- April 25, 2010 at 1:44 PM
- Gail said...
I think there is something very special about making a wedding or formal dress for someone close. She will always appreciate the effort you made.
- April 25, 2010 at 3:10 PM
- Real(ly) Old Housewife said...
Beautiful! And the bride looked absolutely gorgeous wearing your gown. Wonderful work,,,
- April 26, 2010 at 3:12 PM
- Flor M. said...
Leanne! You are great! Every dress you make is a piece of art. It would be an honor if you visit my blog one day..I'll be waiting for your visit..
- April 27, 2010 at 7:36 PM
- Mrs.H said...
LOVE the dress!
- April 27, 2010 at 10:18 PM
- glam.spoon said...
beautiful... what a lucky bride!
- April 28, 2010 at 9:33 AM
- April 30, 2010 at 10:28 AM
- writing4612 said...
Simply stunning!!
- May 2, 2010 at 3:14 PM
this is just amazing ♥ I bet it looked just perfect when she walked! I loved it, leanne, awsome work ♥
- May 2, 2010 at 7:13 PM
- pamela said...
probably the most beautiful wedding dress i've ever seen. stunning.
- August 10, 2010 at 11:30 PM


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STANDISH, Maine – Led by Chris Adams (Whitman, Mass.) 3-for-4 day and a shutdown ninth inning by Matt Dziok (Southampton, Mass.) baseball earned a huge win over regionally-ranked St. Joseph's College (Maine) as the Beacons (15-20) defeated the Monks (24-13) by the final of 6-5 at Mahaney Diamond.
Adams also recorded an RBI and a run scored in his career day as the Beacons ended a three-game skid. Dziok's four save of the year, came after allowing just one hit in the bottom of the ninth. Freshman Daniel Mantoni (Northbridge, Mass.) picked-up his second win of the year after going six complete innings. The Northbridge native allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits and struck out four.
The Beacons never once trailed in Wednesday's contest, but it was a two-run top of the eighth that pushed them over the top. Senior Jose Pena (Boston, Mass.) led off the inning with a huge double down the left field line. Adams then moved Pena to third on a single to the left field. The Beacons would then score their fifth run of the afternoon on an error by the first baseman. UMass Boston would then take advantage of the Monks second error in the inning to take a 6-3 lead, with Jason Cholish (Exton, Pa.) scoring the Beacons game-winning run.
Now trailing by three, St. Joseph's cut the deficit back to one in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI double and a sac-fly to right field. The Monk's nearly scored the tying run with only two outs, but the Beacons got out of the inning as they threw out a runner at home.
In the ninth Dziok retired the first two batters, before surrendering a single up the middle. He would then get the third and final out on a lineout to left.
The Beacons recorded their first run of the day in the opening inning on a sac-fly by Jamill Moquete (Boston, Mass.), which plated Anthony Gomes-Sirianni (San Francisco, Calif.). St. Joseph's then tied the game in the bottom of the first. After a scoreless second, the Beacons scored a pair of runs in the top of the third to take a 3-1 lead, with Adams driving in one of the big runs.
Neither team would score a run until the top of the sixth, with the Beacons striking first again, this time on a pass ball which plated Adams. St. Joseph's produced a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning, but were never able to take the lead.
Moquete finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Kyle Szatrowski and Pena recorded the other two Beacons hits.
Nic Lops led the Monks as he went 3-for-4 with two RBI, while also reach home twice in the non-conference loss.
Nick Whittaker despite going seven complete, was handed the loss (5-2). On the hill, Whittaker allowed four of the Beacons six runs, two earned, on five hits. He did manage eight strikeouts and gave-up three walks. Riley Cox stepped on the hill for the Monks in the eighth and allowed two unearned runs on two hits.
Baseball returns to action on Friday when they host Rhode Island College in a Little East Conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Beacons will also honor their nine senior members as part of their doubleheader.

subset: commoncrawl


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Wellness Warrior Program« Back to Events
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At each monthly workshop, you will learn about the subtle changes that you can make to improve your health and well being. Let's switch the focus from being a cancer patient to being a wellness warrior!
Making healthy Lifestyle changes will inspire you to take control of your health, lose weight, gain more energy, and have an overall feeling of wellness. The Wellness Warrior Program will include discussions on nutrition, weight loss, self-care, stress, and healing. Each class will be approximately 1 ½ hours and will include demonstrations and reference material.
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|Gildor Inglorion
|Biographical Information
|Of the House of Finrod
|First Age
|Physical Description
|Images of Gildor Inglorion
- "Elves seldom give unguarded advice, for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill."
- ― Gildor Inglorion[1]
Gildor Inglorion was a Noldorin Elf of the House of Finrod, who in the Third Age lived in Rivendell.
Gildor was one of the Exiles of the House of Finrod. He could have been born on Valinor and then followed Fëanor under Finrod, or simply born later on Beleriand during the First Age. During the Second or Third Age, he followed Elrond and lived in Rivendell.[source?]
In September T.A. 3018, he traveled with a company to Rivendell. They returned from the Emyn Beraid, where they went to see Elbereth in the palantír that was kept there. On the 24th, they met Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee and Peregrin Took on the road near the Woody End. They ate and sang, and Gildor discussed the peril that haunted the three hobbits. This peril, a Black Rider, was near, but fled as he heard the Elves chant of Elbereth.
After separating from the hobbits, he went to the house of Tom Bombadil, probably before the 26th. He also sent a message to Elrond.[1]
Nothing else is known to have befallen him, and two years later, on September 22, T.A. 3021, he met the Hobbits once again. He accompanied a riding of great Lords and Ladies, that planned to sail West on board the White Ship. Whether Gildor joined them is uncertain.[2]
Gildor is one of the less prominently featured Elves, yet he seems important enough to raise questions concerning his lineage, or the identity of this character. Gildor calls himself "Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod". He also says: "We are Exiles, and most of our kindred have long departed and we too are only tarrying here a while, ere we return over the Great Sea."[1]
It should be noted that Tolkien initially used names from his (unpublished) The Silmarillion writings rather at random in The Hobbit and the first drafts of the sequel which would become The Lord of the Rings: other examples are the mention of Gondolin and the appearance of Elrond in The Hobbit, which were only later brought into alignment with The Lord of the Rings and the unpublished mythology by a third edition of the book.[3] This therefore is the case of the reference to the name "Finrod".
The name "Gildor" first appeared in the outlines of The Lord of the Rings in February 1938,[4] and in Tolkien's notes of that time, "Finrod" still meant the character later known as Finarfin[5] and his son had the older name "Inglor".
Son of Finrod?
It could be argued that the name "Inglorion", which means "son of Inglor", suggests that he was in fact the son of Finrod Felagund himself, who at the time of writing still had the name Inglor. There are, however, strong arguments against it:
- There were only two children — Idril and Orodreth — of "the third generation from Finwë to go with the exiles".[source?]. While on Middle-earth]], Finrod Felagund had no wife since he loved Amarië of the Vanyar, who refused to go with him to the exile,[6] and did not meet her again until after his reincarnation on Valinor.
- If Gildor were Finrod's son, he would have right to claim High Kingship of the Noldor instead of Gil-galad after Turgon's death.
- Since Gildor mentions he is of the Exiles[1] (meaning those who originally followed Fëanor), it is very unlikely that he was reincarnated Finrod's son born in Valinor and allowed to visit Middle-earth in a later time. Only one "return" to Middle-earth is explicitly mentioned - that of Glorfindel.[7]
Connection to Finarfin
However the name Inglor reappeared, in Quenya form, for Finarfin (who in the earlier legendarium, was named Finrod). Finarfin's mother-name was Ingalaurë.[8] If Ingalaurë is to be translated in Sindarin according to the sound-changing rules, this would become Inglor. Thus, the connection of Gildor to the house of Finrod/Finarfin still remains in the updated legendarium.
This all suggests that, while Gildor might have been initially intended to be Felagund's son, in the final version he probably became a member of the House of Finrod as one of its servants, not one of its sons — perhaps one of the knights of Nargothrond.
It is also possible that he was a son of a supposed "Inglor" — a character unconnected to Finrod Felagund.
Portrayal in Adaptations
Gildor is generally left out of adaptations. This may cause some problems when two characters the hobbits meet later - Bombadil and Glorfindel (or his replacement) - are introduced.
1978: Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings:
- Legolas, here an Elf of Rivendell, tells Strider that Elrond had received news of the burden, but it is left unexplained how.
1981: BBC Radio's The Lord of the Rings:
- Adapter Brian Sibley wanted to use as much of the original Elvish lines as possible. This ment that the heavily wounded Frodo told the line Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo to Glorfindel instead.
2001: Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring:
- A scene that was shot on the third day of principal photography, "The Passing of the Elves", is a reference to this passage in the book. It was eventually cut from the theatrical release to postpone the introduction of Elves to Rivendell.[9] In the scene, Frodo and Sam have a meal when Frodo notices Elves in the distance. No interaction is made, and the Elves travel to the Grey Havens, not from the Emyn Beraid to Rivendell.[10] They overhear the Elves singing a sad song, which is in fact a translation into Sindarin of Tolkien's Elven Hymn to Elbereth.[11] Jackson meant for this scene to invoke the sadness of the Elves leaving Middle-earth.[9]
2002: Vivendi's The Fellowship of the Ring:
- This video game features both Tom Bombadil and Glorfindel. Tom apparently knows nothing of Frodo carrying the Ring, yet Glorfindel does - he is sent out by Elrond. Elrond had received a message, but from whom this message came is left untold.
2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:
- Gildor makes a brief appearance in the Hobbit introduction to the Shadows of Angmar driving out a Black Rider in the Shire.
- He is also the representative for the elves for the Council of the North in the third book to the Shadows of Angmar: The Council of the North and appears in Chapter five, "Tending the Glade".
- Besides the epic story line, players can find him in Esteldín in the North Downs.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "'Three is Company"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "'The Grey Havens"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 257 (dated July 16, 1964)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Return of the Shadow, "From Hobbiton to the Woody End", page 45
- ↑ Wayne G. Hammond, Christina Scull, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "Three is Company", pages 103-4
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien, The Silmarillion, "Of the Noldor in Beleriand"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "Last Writings"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien, The Peoples of Middle-earth, "The Shibboleth of Fëanor", note 30
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens (adaptors), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Special Extended DVD Edition, "The Passing of the Elves", Directors' Commentary
- ↑ Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens (adaptors), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Special Extended DVD Edition, "The Passing of the Elves"
- ↑ Ryszard Derdzinski (ed.), "The Fellowship of the Ring Soundtrack Analysis", Gwaith i-Phethdain


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Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Time of Poss.
WESTERVILLE, OHIO—Heidelberg took advantage of six Otterbein turnovers, stunning the host Cardinals, 41-20, at Homecoming Saturday in Westerville.
The game marked the 20th meeting between the two schools in the Rhine River Cup series with the Student Princes taking home the trophy for the first time since 2002. Otterbein had won the last eight meetings in the series that began with a 7-7 tie in Frankfort, Germany in 1992.
Heidelberg, which scored 24 of its 41 points off Otterbein turnovers, tallied the first two scores of the game and led, 14-0, early in the second period.
The Cardinals finally got on the board when junior quarterback Rocco Pentello ran the ball in from 4 yards out to make it 14-7 with 9:06 to play in the first half, capping off a 9-play, 62-yard drive that consumed 5:41.
That was about as close as the game would get. Heidelberg scored the next 24 points to lead, 38-7, with 3:53 to play in the third quarter.
Otterbein added two more scores—a 2-yard run by senior quarterback Austin Schlosser with 8 seconds left in the third quarter, and a 2-yard reception by graduate wide receiver Steve Kuzyk with 3:25 to play in the game.
Heidelberg generated 496 yards of offense with 303 yards coming on the ground. Otterbein rolled up 355 yards of offense with 257 yards passing.
Heidelberg sophomore running back Germany Woods rushed for 101 yards on 24 carries while freshman quarterback Mike Mees completed 14 of 25 pass attempts for 187 yards and three touchdowns.
Otterbein senior wide receiver Trey Fairchild went over the 100-yard receiving mark for the second time this season. He made eight catches for 127 yards. Schlosser completed 16 of 25 pass attempts for 244 yards and one touchdown. He threw two interceptions. Junior running back Cody Green rushed for 66 yards on nine carries.
Defensively, senior linebacker Shane Centers led the Cardinals for the third-straight game, making 11 stops, including 1.5 tackles for a loss of 3 yards.
Otterbein dropped to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play. Heidelberg improved to 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the OAC.
The Cardinals hit the road next, traveling to John Carroll Oct. 1. Kickoff is 2 p.m. Otterbein will return to Westerville Oct. 8 to take on Baldwin-Wallace under the lights. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.


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Free Holiday Events at San Francisco Public Library
Visit the San Francisco Public Library for free holiday events this season, from the annual Holiday Train display to concerts, crafts and even a tamale-making workshop.
Holiday Train
The Library's 5th annual Holiday Train exhibit returns to the display cases outside the Fisher Children's Center at the Main Library, 100 Larkin St., and this year it's bigger than ever. Look for three separate tracks carrying three of literature's favorite trains -- the Polar Express, from the book by Chris Van Allsburg, Thomas the Tank Engine, from the book series by W. Awdry, and the Hogwarts Express from the Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling. Children love visiting the interactive display which features buttons that they can push to power the electric toy trains.
The trains will be on view from Dec. 3, 2010 through Jan. 7, 2011, at the Main Library, 100 Larkin St.
The Library's Annual Books Arts Holiday Lecture
SFPL's Marjorie G. and Carl W. Stern Book Arts & Special Collections Center, 2010 Annual Holiday Lecture is: "And I Stole This From …": Sources of Inspiration, a slide lecture by Carl Rohrs.
The Book Arts lecture is Saturday, Dec. 11, 2-4 p.m., at the Main Library, 100 Larkin St.
Rohrs is a lettering artist, graphic designer and typographer. The program will feature an eclectic collection of lettering from a wide variety of calligraphers, lettering artists, graphic designers and typographers. With examples drawn from research in libraries, museums and artists' studios around the world, Rohrs traces the sources of inspiration which have influenced his own work and the resulting transformation into a highly original personal expression.
Tamale Making Workshop
The Ingleside Branch Library will host a Mexican Food cooking and demonstration program. Learn how to prepare, cook and serve tamales, as well as to discover the history, culture, and traditions behind the food. Samples of the food will be served. All adults are welcome.
Dec. 16, at 4:30 p.m., Ingleside Branch Library, 1298 Ocean Avenue (at Plymouth)
Gingerbread Cookie Decorating Workshops
Children can listen to holiday-themed stories and decorate tasty gingerbread cookies with Felicia Martin at three branch libraries this month.
- Dec. 15, at 4 p.m., Visitacion Valley Branch Library, 45 Leland Ave.
- Dec. 18, at 4 p.m., Potrero Branch Library, 1616 20th St.
- Dec. 21, at 3:30 p.m., Ocean View Branch Library, 345 Randolph St.
Family Kwanzaa Night
Celebrate the fifth principle of Kwanzaa with friends, family and neighbors in a program featuring food, musical performance and an explanation of the Nguzo Saba, the seven principles of Kwanzaa.
Dec. 28, 3-6 p.m., Bayview Branch Library, 5075 3rd St.
Holiday Concerts
The San Francisco Forest Choir will perform English and Japanese holiday songs and chorale songs with tone chimes. The Forest Choir is a female chorus group founded in 2003. This concert will be at the
Dec. 18 at 4 p.m., Western Addition Branch Library, 1550 Scott St.
The San Francisco Conservatory of Music is offering special holiday concerts for children of all ages at the Mission Bay and Chinatown Branch Libraries.
- Dec. 11, at 4 p.m., Mission Bay Branch Library, 960 Fourth St.
- Dec. 8, at 11 a.m., Chinatown Branch Library, 1135 Powell St.
Children of all ages can enjoy the harmonies and holiday sounds presented by Excelsior Children's Librarians Marianne and Karla.
Dec. 14, at 3 p.m. Excelsior Branch Library, 4400 Mission St.
Family music night featuring original and classic tunes from around the world with singer Bonnie Lockhart.
Dec. 15, at 7 p.m., Parkside Branch Library, 1200 Taraval St.
A Christmas Carol
British actor Martin Harris plays Charles Dickens in a dramatic reading of this beloved story. Mr. Harris also appears as Ebenezer Scrooge at the annual Dickens Christmas Fair while on his American Tour. For ages 8 and older. Space limited, call (415) 557-4549 for class reservations.
Dec. 9, at 10:30 a.m., Main Library, Fisher Children's Center, 100 Larkin St.
Holiday Craft Workshops
Card Workshop: Children can create unique holiday cards.
- Dec. 3, at 3 p.m., Bernal Heights Branch Library, 500 Cortland Ave.
- Dec. 9 at 3:30 p.m., Ocean View Branch Library, 345 Randolph St.
Make & Take Crafts: Make crepe paper flower wreaths and needle-felted angels or ornaments. Take your masterpiece home in a new Glen Park reusable bag (while supplies last). Refreshments served.
Dec. 4, 2-4 p.m. Glen Park Branch Library, 2825 Diamond St.
Jewelry-making with Chelsee Robinson: A fun, hands-on, jewelry workshop with local designer and entrepreneur Chelsee Robinson to create a beautiful bracelet, necklace, or earrings for the holidays. Materials provided. Pre-registration is required. For teens & tweens, ages 8 to 18. For more information, please contact Jewel at (415) 355-2888 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
- Dec. 4, 3-4:30 p.m., Chinatown Branch Library, 1135 Powell St.
- Dec. 21, 3:30-5 p.m., North Beach Branch Library, held at DiMaggio Playground Clubhouse, 661 Lombard St.
- Dec. 22, 3-4:30 p.m., Chinatown Branch Library, 1135 Powell St.
Pens with Bling: Fashion and decorate your own pen and paper set. Great for holiday gifts! For ages 12-18. For information or to register, contact Marla at (415) 355-2868 or email@example.com.
Dec. 8, 4-5:30 p.m., Excelsior Branch Library, 4400 Mission St.
Recycled paper wreath: Use recycled paper to make a tiny stars paper wreath or a knot paper wreath. Materials provided or bring your own sturdy recycled paper. For teens and tweens, ages 8 to 18.
Dec. 10, 3:30-5:30 p.m., Chinatown Branch Library, 1135 Powell St.
Charms & Ornaments: Children can make shrink charms and ornaments with Mary Jane's Attic.
Dec. 14, at 4 p.m., Ocean View Branch Library, 345 Randolph St.
Drop-in craft program: Children 7 and under can make something nice to give away as a gift or to decorate their home.
Dec. 17, 3:30-5 p.m., Western Addition Branch Library, 1550 Scott St.
Trash mash-up crafts: The creative wizards from Trash Mash-Up show children how to make cool holiday crafts using recycled materials.
Dec. 18, at 1:15 p.m., Bernal Heights Branch Library, 500 Cortland Ave.
Holiday craft workshop: Last minute present? Need something to do now that school's closed for vacation? Come to the children's room and make something! For children ages 4-up.
Dec. 21, 2-5 p.m., Bernal Heights Branch Library, 500 Cortland Ave.
Needle-Felted Ornaments: Learn how to needle-felt, a fun and easy dry-felting method. Use a needle, wool and other basic tools to make a lovely holiday ornament. For ages 8 and older; tweens & teens welcome. Limited enrollment: call the children's librarian to reserve a space, (415) 355-5616.
Dec. 21, 4-5 p.m., Eureka Valley Branch Library, 1 Jose Sarria Court
Holiday Game Night
Celebrate the holidays with Game Night at the Excelsior Branch Library! Lots of games to play, for families and individuals of all ages, plus light holiday refreshments.
Dec. 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Excelsior Branch Library, 4400 Mission St.
Teen Winter Reading Contest
How it works: Beginning Saturday, Dec. 18, 2010, teens can visit a participating library and pick up a reading log. One reading log for every five hours read, then return the logs to a participating library by Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011. For every five hours read, a name will be automatically entered into a raffle for cool prizes! The more books that teens read, the more chances they have to win! Teens must be between 12 and 18 and have a San Francisco Public Library card to enter. Participation is free and prizes are funded by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.
Participating Branches: Bayview, Chinatown, Main Teen Center, North Beach, Parkside, Portola, Richmond, Visitacion Valley and West Portal. December 18 – January 8.
All programs at the Library are free. For more information, contact (415) 557-4277 or sfpl.org.


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If you've played the game, the title should make sense. If not... what are you waiting for? Dragon Age is set in a quasi-medieval world known as Thedas. It always reminds me of if JRR Tolkein and GRR Martin did a book together. You've got your standard races (Elf, Dwarf, Human) plus Qunari which is.. totally different. Humans and Elves can both be mages and go to a sort of Hogwarts, if Hogwarts was a prison instead of a school. You have the politics of the world which play a huge role in the story,
(this post is somewhat tongue in cheek, with some serious points. Also, much of this will be more applicable to weeklongs rather than the weekends, although some points will carry over.)
1. Heat
You're not ready for Texas, especially if it's summer. I don't care where in the world you're coming from, you're not ready for Texas. Dress appropriately. Don't be like some woman who forgot to pack her shorts and walked around in jeans for the first few days. Cars turn into ovens
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is a Japanese animated movie by the studio Madhouse. It is a loose adaptation/direct sequel to the book of the same name by Yasutaka Tsutsui.
Let me preface this by saying that if you like Ghibli movies, particularly Poppy Hill and Whisper of the Heart, you'll probably like this movie too. It's a cute coming-of-age tale, with a decent helping of comedy, drama and romance and a bittersweet ending. It can feel a little cliche in places, but I find it


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Megischus bicolor
Silhouetted against the dusk sky, a parasitic wasp lays her egg in the dead trunk of a redbud tree. Her target is probably wood-boring beetles. Urbana, Illinois, USA.
Strategus sp.
Male (right) and female ox beetles showing the dimorphism between sexes. Males use their impressive horns to fight each other over access to females.
Arizona, USA
Xylocopa virginica
A male Xylocopa virginica carpenter bee hovers in place to defend his territory.
Urbana, Illinois, USA
Aedes aegypti
The eclosion of a female mosquito. Mosquito larvae and pupae live underwater, but the mature pupal casing spilts on a seam at the air/water boundary, releasing the adult to the atmosphere. Laboratory culture at Rockefeller University.
Aphaenogaster fulva
Some plants have come to rely so heavily on ants to spread their seeds about that they offer the insects a tasty treat in exchange for the dispersal service. Seeds of these species bear a lipid-filled structure called an elaiosome, whose sole function appears to be the attraction of ants.
Here, Aphaenogaster disperse bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) seeds.
Urbana, Illinois, USA
Rhytidoponera victoriae & Amblyopone ferruginea
The worst enemies of ants are often other ants. Here, a Rhytidoponera victoriae scout (at left) has discovered an Amblyopone ferruginea worker and attempts to wrestle it back to her nest. If successful, she will kill the Amblyopone and feed her to the larvae. Amblyopone is too specialized as an underground predator to be good at general fighting, so is at a disadvantage here.
Diamond Creek, Victoria, Australia
Lasioglossum sp.
Lasioglossum sweat bees gather pollen from sideoats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula).
Urbana, Illinois, USA
Macrosiphum rosae
Rose aphids, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Drosophila pseudoobscura
Drosophila (Sophophora) pseudoobscura is a species of vinegar fly native to western North America. It is an important model organism for studies of population genetics, and was the second Drosophila to have its genome sequenced, after the common D. melanogaster.
Laboratory stock at the University of California, San Diego.
Polistes exclamans
A paper wasp foundress stands guard over her nascent colony. Austin, Texas, USA.
Atta texana
Atta texana, the Texas Leafcutter Ant.
Austin, Texas, USA
Cicindela sexguttata - six spotted tiger beetle.
Urbana, Illinois, USA
Chrysina lecontei
Leconte's Scarab.
Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, USA.
Veromessor pergandei
Seed-harvester ant.
Palm Desert, California, USA
Tenodera sinensis
Chinese mantis, in silhouette.
Urbana, Illinois, USA
Apis mellifera
Castes of the western honey bee: worker, queen, and drone.
Photinus pyralis
A male big dipper firefly, Photinus pyralis, signals to females with an illuminated upward swoop.
Urbana, Illinois, USA
A 10 minute night exposure in a restored Illinois prairie reveals the signals of several different species of fireflies, each with a unique pattern. Homer Lake, Illinois, USA.
Cicadellidae: Ledrinae
A leafhopper is perfectly colored for camouflage against Eucalyptus bark.
Harrietville, Victoria, Australia
Apis mellifera - comb
The various colors of pollen in a honey bee nest indicate different source plant species.
A hornworm rears up when attacked by a parasitic Cotesia wasp.
Laboratory animals at the University of Illinois.
Pseudacteon solenopsidis
An ant-decapitating fly attempts to separate a fire ant (Solenopsis macdonaghi) from her nestmates. Lone ants make easier targets.
Parque Nacional El Palmar, Entre Rios, Argentina
Myrmecologist Jack Longino takes a good look at a male Dorylus driver ant. These enormous insects are specialized for dispersal and mating, looking very little like their more typically ant-like sisters.
Kibale Forest, Uganda
Triatoma sanguisuga, the eastern bloodsucking conenose.
Gray Summit, Missouri, USA
Messor pergandei
This black harvester ant carries an old battle ornament on her antennae: a Solenopsis xyloni fire ant head capsule. Presumably the fire ant was killed in a fight, but her mandibles had latched so firmly to her opponent that it remains attached even as the rest of her body has fallen away. Anza Borrego, California, USA.
Magicicada cassini
Portrait of a periodical cicada, Magicicada cassini. Panther Creek State Conservation Area, Illinois, USA.
Dineutus sublineatus
Whirligig Beetle.
Arizona, USA
Heteronotus spp.
Tree hopper.
Maquipucuna reserve, Pichincha, Ecuador
Apioscelis jumping stick insect
Jatun Sacha reserve, Napo, Ecuador
Arilus cristatus
Wheel bug (Reduviidae).
Urbana, Illinois, USA
Anolis biporcatus
Portrait of a Neotropical Tree Anole, Anolis biporcatus, taken in a Belizean forest. Green Hills Butterfly Ranch, Belize.
Jumping spiders such as this Phidippus audax have excellent vision
An Aedes triseriatus eastern treehole mosquito takes a blood meal.
Urbana, Illinois, USA
A honey bee covered in dandelion pollen. Urbana, Illinois, USA
Portrait of a Leptomyrmex ruficeps spider ant, so named for her physical resemblance to leggy arachnids.
Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia
Danaus plexippus
Monarch butterfly egg. Urbana, Illinois, USA.
Antheraea polyphemus
A first instar larva, with hatched and unhatched eggs, of the polyphemus moth. This species is one of North America's largest and most beautiful insects. Urbana, Illinois, USA.
A Halictus ligatus sweat bee covered in Rudbeckia pollen, which the bee gathers to feed to her larvae.
Urbana, Illinois, USA
An Eciton hamatum army ant soldier takes a bite of the offending photographer.
Jatun Sacha reserve, Napo, Ecuador
A mating swarm of Acromyrmex versicolor leafcutter ants takes flight over the Sonoran Desert.
Tucson, Arizona, USA


text:
Welcome to Erlang/OTP, a complete
development environment
for concurrent programming.
Some hints that may get you started faster
The complete Erlang language is described in the
Erlang Reference Manual.
An Erlang tutorial can be found in
Getting Started With Erlang.
In addition to the documentation here Erlang is described in the book "Programming Erlang", ISBN 978-1-934356-00-5, which we highly recommend as a start.
- Erlang/OTP is divided into a number of OTP applications. An application normally contains
Erlang modules. Some OTP applications,
such as the C interface erl_interface, are written in other languages and have no Erlang
Note that functions that are not imported or prefixed with a module name belong to the module erlang (in the Kernel application).
- On a Unix system you can view the manual pages from the command
line using
% erl -man <module>
- You can of course use any editor you like to write Erlang
programs, but if you use Emacs there exists editing support such as
indentation, syntax highlighting, electric commands, module name
verification, comment support including paragraph filling, skeletons,
tags support and more. See the
Tools application for details.
There is also an Erlang plugin (ErlIde) for Eclipse if you prefer a more graphical environment. ErlIde is under development and should at the time of writing be quite stable and useful.
- When developing with Erlang/OTP you usually test your programs
from the interactive shell (see
Getting Started With Erlang) where you can call individual
functions. There is also a number of tools available, such as the graphical Debugger, the process
manager Pman and table
viewer TV.
Also note that there are some shell features like history list (control-p and control-n), in line editing (emacs key bindings) and module and function name completion (tab) if the module is loaded.
- OpenSource users can ask questions
and share experiences on the
Erlang questions mailing list.
- Before asking a question you can browse the
mailing list archive and read the Frequently
Asked Questions.
- Additional information and links of interest for Erlang programmers can be found on the Erlang Open Source site


text:
Jacquelyne Lidded Barrel Basket
Earn $25 back in rewards* for every $250 spent with your Pottery Barn Credit Card.Learn More
- Overview
An antique market vessel we found in our travels lent its rounded form and hinged lid to our basket. Artisans weave each one by hand, using two sizes of rattan to create a distinctive banded pattern.
- Made of hand-woven rattan wicker; bronze metal buckle.
- Latches are for decorative use, does not secure product.
- Ethically handcrafted to Nest standards to directly support the workers behind it.
- Imported.
- Dimensions & Care
- Overall: 21" diameter, 16.5" high
- Wipe with a soft, dry cloth.
- Shipping & Returns
UPS can deliver most in-stock items within 3-5 business days.
Next Day Delivery and Processing
We can arrange for next day delivery to most destinations within the contiguous 48 states, for an extra charge of $26.00 per address. If we receive your order by 6pm PT Monday through Friday, you'll receive your order the next business day; orders placed on Friday after 6pm PT through Sunday will arrive on Tuesday. Note: Next Day Delivery service is not available for some oversized items, White Glove Delivery, out of stock items, personalized items or for items shipped directly from the manufacturer.
View the complete Shipping and Delivery Information page.
You can return eligible item(s) within 30 days of receiving an order or 7 days for Quick Ship upholstery items for a refund of the merchandise value. An original receipt or gift receipt is required. Monogrammed items and Made to Order furniture or rugs are not eligible for returns. Review the full list of ineligible items and our refund policy below before starting the process.
Easy Ways to Return:
- Stores - You can return most non-furniture items to your local Pottery Barn store for free.
- Bring to UPS Location (under 70 lbs) – See our full Easy Returns Policy to start the process.
Ineligible Items
Items non-eligible for returns or exchanges:
- Monogrammed items
- Mattresses
- Gift cards
- Made to Order items, including custom rugs and furniture
- Final sale items (with prices ending in $.X7 or $.X9)
- Items damaged through normal wear and tear
Questions? See our full Easy Returns Policy.


text:
The Unhappy Ministerial Career of the Rev. John Carnes
John Carnes was born in Boston in 1723. His father was a pewterer who improved his social position through militia service. During the Big Dig, archeologists explored his land in the North End and discovered wine bottles personalized with the man's name in the wax seals. Carnes had many children, but only young John was apparently interested in becoming a minister, so his father sent him off to Harvard, paying the tuition in pewter tableware.
While John was at college in 1740, the Rev. George Whitefield (shown here) made his first visit to Cambridge, reportedly preaching under an elm on the common. John felt inspired by this "New Light" religious revival, though the professors and tutors were more suspicious.
John Carnes graduated in 1742, earned his master's degree, and was ordained as the new minister at Stoneham in December 1746. The following July, he married Mary Lewis of Lynn, three years his senior and from a comfortably wealthy family. John and Mary Carnes looked like they were in for a typical rural Massachusetts minister's career: many uneventful years in the pulpit, children every two or three years, &c.
But the Stoneham congregation came to dislike and disrespect Carnes. They never raised his salary, and didn't pay what they promised in a timely way, and finally drove him to resign in July 1757. He published his side of the dispute in the Boston Gazette the next month.
Carnes and his family moved back to his wife's home town of Lynn. After preaching in various meetings, he accepted the job of minister at Rehoboth's Seekonk parish in April 1759. Almost immediately some congregants started to complain. Their objections may not have been about Carnes so much as how people were taxed for his salary. The grousers appear to have been a minority of the congregation, but a loud one.
In 1763 a council of men from eight other churches met to arbitrate the dispute. They questioned Carnes and his opponents and concluded:
nothing has appeared inconsistent with either his christian or ministerial character. We have reason to conclude that he hath been uncommonly supported under his continued trials and temptations, discovered a serious spirit, and endeavoured in the midst of numberless discouragements, to carry on the great design of his ministry.But his opponents still weren't satisfied, and asked the Massachusetts General Court to intervene. A committee of the legislature investigated the situation in Reheboth and decided once again that Carnes had done nothing wrong. But they found "an unhappy alienation of affection in his people to him, and incurable."
In December 1764, at the Rev. John Carnes's request, the Seekonk congregation dismissed him from their pulpit. He was forty-one years old, had a wife and five children to maintain, and had failed twice at the only profession he was trained for.
TOMORROW: John Carnes comes home to Boston.


text:
View all posts from Paul Griffin on the Progress blog. Connect with us about all things application development and deployment, data integration and digital business.
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Copyright © 2019 Progress Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates.All Rights Reserved.
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text:
Moccamaster by Technivorm Grand Coffee Maker with Thermal Carafe
Easy, hassle-free returns online and in-store for eligible items.Learn More
Earn 5% Back in rewards4 plus free standard shipping3every day when you shop with your Williams Sonoma credit card at Williams Sonoma.Apply Now Learn More
- Summary
Hand made and individually tested in the Netherlands, the Moccamaster coffeemaker brews a perfect cup of coffee in only eight minutes. A copper heating element ensures water stays at the perfect temperature from the brew cycle's beginning to its end. The ample 64-oz.-cap. thermal carafe on this machine makes this model perfect for large households and frequent entertainers.
- Perfectly synchronizing brew time and temperature, this fast, consistent machine quietly produces a perfect pot of coffee in just 8 minutes.
- Special copper heating element keeps water temperature at 195°–205°F throughout brewing for optimum flavor and less bitterness.
- An innovative 9-hole spray arm disperses the water over the entire grind for a remarkably even soak prior to extraction.
- Copper lining along the spray arm keeps the water temperature consistent throughout the wetting stage.
- To ensure a precise coffee/water contact time, a basket-shaped filter funnels the grind to the perfect bed depth.
- Insulated steel carafe keeps coffee hot.
- Includes a travel lid.
- All parts that come into contact with water or coffee are BPA-free.
- Several removable parts for cleaning to avoid oil and residue build up, ensuring a great tasting coffee every time.
- Illuminated power button is easily seen in the dark.
- Made in the Netherlands.
- Dimensions & More Info
- 11" x 6 3/4" x 17 3/4" high.
- 64-fl.-oz. cap.
Additional Information
- Model #39340.
- This product is intended for use in the United States and Canada, and is built to U.S. electrical standards.
- Made in the Netherlands.
- Use & Care
- For use with basket-type #6 paper filters.
- Shipping
Shipping Information
UPS can deliver most in-stock items within 3–5 business days. UPS is unable to deliver to P.O. boxes.
Shipping Rates
The shipping rate varies depending on your order total and shipping destination. View Shipping Options and Charges.
Next Day Delivery
For an additional charge of $26 per address, we can expedite delivery to most destinations. This service is not available for some oversize items, items shipped directly from the supplier (including perishable and custom-manufactured items), out-of-stock items and items to be shipped outside the contiguous 48 states.
Orders received by 9:00 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday will arrive the next business day; orders placed Friday through Sunday will arrive on the following Tuesday.
Return Policy
At Williams Sonoma, we take great pride in the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Attention to design, materials, safety and construction are our priority. Upon receipt, please inspect your purchase and notify us of any damage; we will arrange for a prompt replacement.
If within 30 days, you are dissatisfied for any reason, you may return your purchase for a refund of the merchandise value. An original receipt or gift receipt is required for all returns and exchanges. Returns with a gift receipt will be refunded in the form of a Merchandise Credit for the amount indicated on the gift receipt. Returns with original receipt will be refunded in the original form of payment, cash and check refunds over $100 will be issued as a company check (may take 14 business days from time of request).
For all cutlery returns (knife sets, single knives, cutting boards, knife sharpeners and knife storage), please contact us at 888.922.4108 to initiate the return.
We cannot accept returns on monogrammed, personalized, special-order items, custom upholstery, food, items shipped direct from the vendor or on items damaged through normal wear and tear. Final sale items ending in .97 or .99 cannot be returned.
Made to Order and Final Sale Furniture items are non-returnable and cannot be cancelled once the order is placed.
For returns of items purchased from your Williams Sonoma Gift Registry, we will gladly provide a refund or exchange for the merchandise within 90 days of your event or within 90 days of purchase, whichever date is later. View Full Returns Policy.
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Rated 5 out of 5 by Chef to my famy from Best coffee ever!!! I purchased the Mocca Master 6 years ago. My husband and I got hooked on great coffee while traveling in Ireland. This is the best coffee next to a real expresso machine. I always hand wash the unit and I run a white vinegar solution through every six months. No problems. Guests always comment on how delicious our coffee is! note: I use dark roast or expresso beans. Love this product!!Date published: 2018-12-14Rated 5 out of 5 by Brdpj from Best coffee maker on the market I've had a Technivorm for over 11 yrs. I replaced the basic model with the Grand model because of the larger capacity. I've not experienced any of the issues such as carafe leakage other reviewers have described. Quite simply the coffee is the best tasting because the unit is one of only a few that will brew the coffee hot enough (200*) to get the full flavor that commercial restaurant brewers are capable of. The price may be on the high side but for real coffee lovers this is the real deal.Date published: 2017-03-05Rated 1 out of 5 by fcarothers from Extremely poor customer support Technivorm advertises a 5 year warranty. Don't believe it. The thermal carafes have a serious defect and Technivorm will not honor the warranty. We bought a Technivorm Grand coffee model in 7 months ago. Now the carafe is leaking old coffee from under the handle support band. Believing the carafe was covered by a 5 year warranty, we contacted Technivorm and requested repair or replacement. To our great surprise, the replied with the following quote: "As stated in the owners guide on page 16, the carafe is not covered under the warranty." Technivorm pictures the coffee maker with the thermal carafe and state that the coffee maker has a 5 year warranty. They do not state that the carafe is not included in the warranty. This carafe problem is not new: 3 out of 4 carafes that we've owned have developed the same problem. Old black coffee leaking from under the handle band and dripping into the cup. Disgusting situation & extraordinarily poor customer support.Date published: 2016-03-09Rated 2 out of 5 by KevinJ from Great Coffee But Disappointed in Quality Have been using the Grand Coffee Maker for just a little over a year and I have to admit, it makes great tasting coffee. Unfortunately there's already a problem with the brew basket - the gasket underneath has come loose so that the coffee can't drain into the carafe. Thankfully I was making just a half pot, or there would have been coffee all over the place. In searching the web for a replacement basket, it seems this is a fairly common problem. Very disappointed. Considering the price paid, I expected much better quality than this.Date published: 2015-11-24Rated 5 out of 5 by TCTITANS from Best Home Drip Coffee Maker Made The new Kitchen Aid drip maker here on Williams Sonoma is a close second, but it doesn't have the copper heating element. This is the ONLY home drip coffee maker with a COPPER HEATING ELEMENT! Enough said! Heats coffee fast to the right Temperature. I suggest that that you use 32oz's of water and 4 scoops of coffee beans grinded. Heat the water in the microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds to take the chill of the water. This helps create a warmer brew. Well made with a quality Stainless steel carafe . Everything described about this maker in the profile is correct. Here is the paper filter to buy for this machine at the best price Bunn 1000 Paper Regular Coffee Filter for 12-Cup Commercial Brewers (Case of 1,000)Date published: 2015-09-11Rated 5 out of 5 by Lilian from Best Coffee Maker we've ever had this is the 2nd Technivorm I bought in 3 months. The first one was the smaller one but was not big enough. It says 10 cups, but 10 cups European is only like 5-6 cups U.S. I always have to make a 2nd batch of coffee. So we decided to get this Grand one. These are the best best coffee makers we've had. However, the size is wrong in the description. It is 17 1/2 inches tall, not 15. I have to take out the cover of the water reservoir in order for it to fit under my cabinet, I just pull it back out when I brew and put the cover back. I Love the way these coffee makers look. Very neat and contemporary looking and yet uses basic technology when it comes to brewing. Excellent tasting coffee and it is hot!Date published: 2014-10-23Rated 2 out of 5 by heather21 from taller than advertised the actual height of this coffee maker is just shy of 18" when fully assembled with the lid on. If i want this to fit under my standard height cabinets, i have to lean it so it will slide under. This is not a good user experience. I don't know how it works and won't find out because I got shut down before I started. The two stars are because it looks very nice and the parts are very solid. Nothing flimsy. If you have an open countertop or more space between your countertop and the overhead cabinets, then you'll have better luck than me!Date published: 2014-03-26Rated 2 out of 5 by skater from An okay but expensive coffee maker Christmas Day, 2013: We used the Technivorm Grand Coffee Maker with Thermal Carafe for the first time, this morning. It's a decent machine but makes coffee that seems no better and no worse than other, much cheaper units. For the price, we expected much improved flavor. We didn't recommend it due to the excessively high price for a coffee maker that isn't much better, if at all, from our old Cuisinart.Date published: 2013-12-25


text:
This is Merle Dixon (played brilliantly by Michael Rooker). This infamous redneck commando type is Daryl's brother. What a difference. Having abused his brother, isolating him from social interaction, he has now kidnapped Glenn and Maggie, a prize for the Governor. In the 2nd episode of this show, he was left behind cuffed on a storefront's rooftop. To set himself free, he cut off his hand only for Daryl to discover when the group went back to rescue him. Strange thing is Merle seemed to have adapted, always brandishing his handless arm, literally armed to the teeth with a blade and a huge arm cover protection! I think the group has to be more afraid of the living! With this very popular comic book, game, and TV show, you either love it or hate it. And I absolutely love this show. Let me know what you think of this more simplified tut by commenting, faving or clicking on "Love It"! Peace n love to ya!
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


text:
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Wild-horse advocates may be unified in opposition to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, but they're split over President Barack Obama's choice to replace him.
Horse defenders have sharply criticized Salazar, saying nearly 40,000 mustangs have been removed from the range across the West during his four-year tenure, which ends in March.
Suzanne Roy of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign says her group "responded optimistically" to Obama's nomination of Recreational Equipment Inc. chief Sally Jewell. Roy notes Jewell's background as a conservationist and outdoor enthusiast.
But Anne Novak of California-based Protect Mustangs says she's skeptical because of Jewell's background as a Mobil Oil engineer and commercial banker.
Madeleine Pickens of Saving America's Mustangs says she "welcomes the change," and is hopeful Jewell's background means she has empathy for mustangs.


text:
Department of Art & Design
In time for November's presidential election, the FLC Art Gallery explores the theme of "Political Humor." Showcasing emerging artists who use satire, mockery, and mirth, this exhibition invites viewers to reflect on democracy and its discontents on the eve of the 2012 elections. The lineup includes: Roya Farassat, Eric J. Garcia, Katie Hargrave, Andrew Ellis Johnson, Carrie Kaser, George Lorio, Jason Noushin, Brian Piana, Paul Shortt, and Shan Wells.
Political Humor inaugurates our new State of the Art series of theme-based exhibitions, intended to raise thought-provoking questions about the role of contemporary art in today's rapidly changing world.
This exhibition was made possible through the generous support of Friends of the Fort Lewis College Art Gallery.
For more information on the artists please visit their websites by clicking on their name below:
Eric J. Garcia
Carrie Kaser
Jason Noushin
Brian Piana
Paul Shortt
Shan Wells


text:
1 listings
List it for Free on The Nation and find a buyer or tenant!List your Home
The average price per square meter for a Home For Sale in Bangkok is ฿159,160, which is 43% above the average price per square meter in Thailand that is ฿111,359.
As the political, economic, cultural, culinary, and spiritual capital of Thailand, Bangkok offer plenty of employment opportunities and features both old-world charm and modern convenience, at times served up in an apparently chaotic manner, but always with a gracious smile. The city is a mesmerizing blend of old and new, East and West, and dizzying contradictions. Many tourists who travel to Bangkok are immediately overwhelmed by the sheer size of the city and the vast number of attractions Bangkok has to offer. The boat-filled Chao Phraya River feeds its network of canals, flowing past the Rattanakosin royal district, home to opulent Grand Palace and its sacred Wat Phra Kaew Temple. Whether, the purpose of your Thailand stay is to immerse yourself in Thailand's unique culture, to splurge in Bangkok shopping malls or to get a cosmetic surgery done, when you travel to Bangkok you are guaranteed a fascinating experience of both old-world charm and modern convenience and luxury. Finding homes or jobs in Bangkok has never been easier.
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text:
The Accounting Historians Journal Vol. 8, No. 2 Fall 1981
Rick Elam
Abstract: DR Scott was an economist, historian, philosopher, and accountant. Most of all he was a scholar who merged some of the most up-to-date ideas of the 1920s into his book The Cultural Significance of Accounts. He concluded that our culture was in a time of relative turmoil because the market was no longer the primary controlling force within our institutions. Accounting as the vehicle of the scientific method would replace the market as the synthesis of institutions which make up our culture.
Evidence suggests that the outcome foretold by DR Scott in 1931—that American society would witness the use of Accounting as a principal means of political and economic control—seems to have come to pass in the contemporary "Bottom-Line" culture of the 1970s.1
The purpose of this article is to explain how DR Scotta reached the conclusion quoted above. DR Scott can fairly be described as an economist, historian, philosopher, and accountant. Most of all he was a scholar who brought together knowledge from all those disciplines and merged them into a new view of accounting. The discussion which follows is a synopsis of his most important con-tribution, The Cultural Significance of Accounts. In reading the following, one must remember the ideas were expressed during the late 1920s. The reader should not expect revelations from the following because Scott, by his own statement, was only suggest-ing a way of thinking about accounting.
Scott joined the faculty of the newly established College of Com-merce at the University of Missouri in 1914 as an Assistant Pro-fessor of Economics. By 1920 he had been promoted through the ranks to Professor of Economics. In 1930 his title changed to Pro-fessor of Accounting and Statistics and he was appointed Chair-
aTypists and copy editors always have problems with the fact that Mr. and Mrs. Scott named their son DR, spelled with two capital letters not separated by punc-uation or blanks.


text:
Husson lost the first game of the 2011 season 77-7 to Adrian. The Eagles welcomed Adrian to Bangor by opening the flood gates, letting up 667 yards to the visiting Bulldogs. The Eagle offense was stagnant for most of the game, picking up just over a hundred yards of total offense in the game. The lone Husson highlight came with 2:30 left to go in the game, when Kash Keezer (Orono, ME) found Audie Murphy (Biddeford, ME) in the back corner of the end zone for a 17 yard touchdown reception on a 4th and goal.
Adrian scored on their first three possessions of the game and took a 21-0 lead out of the 1st quarter. They put up four more scores in the second half to take a 49 point lead into the locker room. The Bulldogs scored another TD on their first possession of the third to stretch their lead to 56 before Husson got on the board. Adrian added another in the third and two more in the final period to close the game out 77-7.
The Bulldogs had 4 backs over 45 yards of rushing for 280 on the game and 5 rushing touchdowns. Freshman tailback Ce'Juwon McFerrin (Kalamazoo, MI) led the way with 3 touchdowns on 9 carries for 58 yards. Junior QB Brandon Miller (Rochester Hills, MI) racked up 320 yards passing, going 16-23 and connecting on 4 TD passes.
Husson's defense was led by Kyle Vanidestine (Bangor, ME) who had 10 solo tackles and 4 assists on the night for the Eagles. Keezer finished the game with and even 100 yards passing, two of them found first year TE Caleb King (Cumberland, ME) who finished with 37 yards to lead the Eagle receivers.
Head Coach Sean Murphy talked about his team's performance after the game, "Adrian was a very good team. From a talent perspective, I think they're the best team we've seen since I've been here. We have a very young team, and our youth and inexperience showed out there tonight. We made quite a few mistakes, but we'll correct those over the next couple weeks and be ready to come back and play better in our next game."
Husson has a bye week next week, before returning to action on September 17th when the travel to Springfield, MA to take on the Springfield College Panthers at 1:00pm. Adrian plays again next Saturday when they travel to Defiance College for a 1:30 kickoff.


text:
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Counterfeit Products Warning
Due to the discovery of counterfeit Snooper products being sold on auction websites, we strongly recommend that Snooper products are purchased from an Official Snooper Authorised dealer. All units supplied from Snooperdirect.com are Guaranteed to be 100% Genuine Snooper models, in addition to this all units supplied are the latest 2019 models preloaded with the latest available software unless otherwise stated and are supplied with full manufacturers warranty, back up and product support.
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We Guarantee you the very latest Snooper mapping available. Register your unit within 30 days of first use and if a more recent map is available you can download it for free! See user manual for further details, terms & conditions.


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Membership in the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) is required for all classified and unclassified staff members who are appointed to work less than 75% Full-time Equivalency. Classified and unclassified staff members who are appointed to work at least 75% Full-time Equivalency can elect to be members of OPERS or to participate in the Alternative Retirement Plan.
Classified and unclassified staff members are given the option of participating in one of three plans within OPERS. The three plans are the:
- Traditional Pension Plan: Retirement, disability, and survivor benefits are determined by formulas using the employee's age, service credit, and final average salary
- Member-Directed Plan: Retirement benefits are determined by the value of the account, including investment earnings, which the employee accumulates
- Combined Plan: Retirement, disability, and survivor benefits are combined with some elements of the other two plans
OPERS has made available an online Plan Selection Workbook , a New Hire video and a Pension and Healthcare Eligibility Guide to give an overview of the benefits provided by each of the three plans. Employees are given 180 days to indicate their plan selection to OPERS.
Regardless of the plan selected within OPERS, an employee contribution of 10.00% is deducted on a pre-tax basis from the employee's earnings and is deposited into the employee's personal OPERS account. The university makes an employer contribution in an amount equal to 14.00% of a classified or unclassified staff member's pay. The percentage of the employer contribution to be deposited into the employee's OPERS account depends on which plan is selected.
Additional information about the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) is available online at www.opers.org or via phone, (800) 222-7377.
Attention New Employees:
Members of OPERS are given 180 days from the date of hire to select one of three retirement plans within OPERS: Traditional Pension Plan, Member Directed Plan, or Combined Plan. To help explain the three plans and aide in your selection, each quarter an OPERS representative conducts a "How to Select Your OPERS Retirement Plan" seminar on campus. Please see below for a schedule of the 2018 seminars. Please note, registration is not required for these on-campus seminars.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
163 Discovery Room - Student Union
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
163 Discovery Room - Student Union
If you would like help deciding which OPERS retirement plan is best for your career and retirement goals, but cannot attend a scheduled on-campus seminar within your 180-day election period, visit www.opers.org and select "New Hires: Pick a Plan" to view a video presentation or sign-up for a live webinar.
OPERS – Update: Changes to Mitigating Rate Effective June 30, 2015 (PDF) - Emailed Aug 3, 2015
OPERS – Changes to Mitigating Rate Effective January 1, 2018 (PDF) – Emailed April 11, 2017


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CARTOONS FROM THE REVMarch 3rd, 2013
SERMON: "A Final Word" from the not-so-reverend bobMarch 3rd, 2013
Here's what reality seems to be.
We live on a planet that is spinning as it orbits around the sun that is the center of our particular solar system. All living things on Earth appear to have begun their life on earth. Life is made up of the elements that were manufactured by the formation of the universe and the deaths of stars , and those elements eventually found their way to a young, coalescing earth. Once on earth, minerals were formed from these elements and liquid water, and here life began, fueled by the energy that blasts out from the ongoing nuclear furnace that is our sun.
Once life took hold, it rapidly diversified through a process we describe as evolution through the process of natural selection, where the ever-changing challenges to survival favored the continuation of one species over another (as well as heritable traits within species), and geographic isolation (combined with random genetic coding errors) led to ever more varieties of living things, each suited to it's own environment, each occupying a certain niche in nature. This process has continued to this very moment, and will continue as long as the Earth remains a habitable planet.
Humans are a product of this process. We are a species of animal that is related to every other living thing on this planet. We are classified as mammals, and as primates. Our closest living relatives are the Chimpanzees and Bonobos, with whom we share 99% of our DNA. (We also "share" almost as much DNA with mice and about 40% with lettuce).
We humans are clever toolmakers who have developed both verbal and written language, which has allowed us to operate in a conceptual as well as an animal world. Our brains have allowed us to develop technology that has dramatically altered any landscape that we have occupied. We have, in a remarkably short time, grown from a collection of tribes of hunter-gatherers into huge, complex societies and nations.
A most notable feat of human intelligence has been the creation of the scientific method, which has, over the last few hundred years, allowed us to come to a fairly deep understanding of the reality of our biology, our world, and the universe we float in. It is through the investigations of science that we know most of what I have just cataloged.
And yet humans also believe in the existence of God. We have built entire civilizations and cultural institutions around our belief in gods that both created us and who control our fate. Our first explanations of reality were mythological in nature. (Before science gave us a means of testing propositions, one person's guess was as good as another's). It would seem fair to say, at this point, that all of the early religious claims about nature and physical reality have been proven false by subsequent scientific discovery. Yet religion and religious belief persists.
And though science has not (and can not) ever disprove the existence of God, science has shown us that there is nothing about our existence on Earth that necessitates the intervention, direction or supervision of any sort of divine agent, supreme deity, or intelligent god. And yet the natural state of a human being appears to include a belief in such a being or force, along with a feeling that all of creation is somehow here for (primarily) our benefit.
But not all humans believe in God.
Perhaps tellingly, it is among scientists that we find the highest percentage of humans who do not believe in god(s) or magic. Which means it is those who know the most about reality that believe the least in what we might call the "unreal". Yet the number of such unbelievers (including non-believing non-scientists as well) still represents a minority among the human population. This hints at the proposition that magical belief flourishes best in ignorance. But, since belief is coming to be understood as a sort of "default" setting of the human brain, ignorance of reality cannot be seen as the only factor in the continuation of belief in magical things.
Over these last years, I have explored this continuing reality of the believing human in an age of science. Using my own experience as a means of both discovery and explanation, I've experienced a rather intensive period of learning and thinking that I have then turned into my weekly "sermons". And I find myself, now, in the rather interesting position of having "answered" the most basic questions we humans seem to have about life: Where did I come from? Where am I going? Why am I here? And though I could probably go on writing a new "sermon" every week for the rest of my life (because there is always going to be a new scientific discovery, or a new popular science book, or a new personal experience to write about), I've realized that it's time to re-direct the energy I've been putting in to this blog into other projects. Because understanding that I am here as the result of natural processes more begs than answers the question of how best to live the life I have (though it does, I think, offer some helpful clues).
I am primarily an artist and performer. I can now see "the not so reverend bob" as one of my creations — a champion for humane reason and science. But playing the extroverted evangelist for evolution has been a bit of a strain on this natural introvert (a bit like a submarine doing battle on the surface). And I think the answer to how to live my life (in this next stage of that life) comes in the form of a recognition that this artist is most effective operating below the surface (like the submarine). And, for now, trite as it may sound, I want more love and less argument in my life. And holding the view I do — that we only have this one life to live — I have only so much time to write my next musical or paint my next painting. (And, besides: it's not as if anyone's chances at eternal life will be jeopardized by me not reaching them with the "gospel" of the church of bob)!
So let this be my final sermon on the boblog of the not-so-reverend bob. I'll keep the site up for those who might want to read one of my 166 sermons (167 counting this one. Yikes!). And I'll always be ready, like a Minuteman with his musket hanging over the cabin door, to answer the call when needed. But for the foreseeable future I'll be directing my energies elsewhere. I have other lost creative sheep, as it were, to gather up while the sun still shines.
I want to thank each of you that has visited this blog, and especially my "faithful" readers. I hope that I have given you something worthwhile.
Bob Bless!
the "retiring" not so reverend Bob Diven
CARTOONS FROM THE REVFebruary 24th, 2013
SERMON: "Bad Arguments Against Evolution" by the not-so-reverend bobFebruary 24th, 2013
I was listening to a preacher on the radio the other day, making what he thought was a good case against evolution. He spent some time scoffing at the idea that "lots of time" was in any way a key to understanding Darwin's theory. He gave this example: "Suppose I take all the parts that make up a watch, and put them in a bag, and just shake them up. They won't just assemble themselves into a watch. Now, suppose I shake that bag for a long, long time. See what I mean? It just doesn't work."
No, Barney, it doesn't work. But then, again, this is a popular creationist argument (a version of Hoyle's self-assembling 747 argument — listen to Richard Dawkin's refutation of this argument here).
When confronted with this kind of "argument", it's difficult to know where to begin, as the weeds of ignorance are so thick and so tall that they almost have to be attacked in multiple directions at once. But writing (like conversation and argument) is linear, so I must take them on one at a time.
Let's take the most glaring example of bad logic employed in this argument (so bad, in fact, I wonder if it's fair to call it "logic" at all). The preacher is using a mechanical device (a watch — presumably a classic "wind-up" watch) to stand in for a biological process. Now, to be clear, there are mechanical processes to be found and described in biology, and there are chemical processes to be found in machinery (at least on the level of the metal parts of the watch being acted upon by the corrosive effects of exposure to air, or the energy stored and released by a main spring, or the transfer of electrons that can occur between dissimilar metals) but none of these processes have much of anything to do with the physical act of actually assembling a wound-up and functioning watch.
And biology can build "machines", in the sense that an organ such as the heart works in a manner similar to a mechanical pump, or bacterium grow flagellum that can "corkscrew" their bodies forward through fluids. And it is also true that both the metal gears of a pocket watch and the living heart are built up out of the same storehouse of elements that make up our planet. But, again, these are not the kinds of things the radio preacher is considering. For no matter how clever the analogy sounds, the gears of a pocket watch are never going to be the product of biological actions. They are manufactured by humans through a series of mechanical steps, from mining to smelting to design then machining or casting, to polishing and final assembly.
The dubious intellectual leap that almost always accompanies the crap analogies that are the bread and butter of the anti-science crowd is this fallacious assumption of equivalency between human technological creation and biological processes. Perhaps this error is rendered too easy for us because science almost always has to draw on metaphor to communicate it's discoveries. Hence the heart is the "pump", the venous system the "pipes", the brain the "computer", the bones the "levers" and the muscles the "pulleys", but always only in a metaphorical sense. Too many of us, it would seem, invest too heavily in the metaphor — we take the description of the thing for the thing itself.
Regardless, this is what this flavor of fallacious argument does: it conveniently substitutes one kind of thing for another, then breezily jumps to a false conclusion. In this case, the preacher touches on one of the genuine conditions for the theory of evolution to work, namely: time. But he then jumps from evolution (the mutational changes over life forms over time) to "origin of life" questions (where did the parts of the watch come from in the first place?), something that evolution has nothing to do with. Evolution is the description of how (once begun) biological life blossomed into so many different forms over time. Evolution has nothing to say about how, when, or where biological life began. But that is of no concern to this kind of creationist, as he or she has the ability to leap back and forth between arguments with no regard to whether they are addressing genuine science or not (frequently "moving the goalposts" of their "argument" in the process).
So let's get back to the watch analogy. Clearly, the dismembered pocket watch is a stand-in for the "primordial stew" that is thought to have produced life. But the comparison does not hold. For the primordial stew involves liquid water, elements, chemical reactions and the input of energy (be it solar or terrestrial heat, or the energy of lightning — all of these produced by processes that science has been able to describe). And in this area, experiments have shown that rudimentary life could, indeed, begin this way. (In fact, the way the research seems to be going, I have the sense that we are going to find out that the starting up of life is not really all that hard, given the right circumstances. We already suspect that life had to begin untold numbers of times on the planet, most all of which were short-lived events — ended by the various catastrophes that have befallen our globe since it cooled enough to form a crust).
But the preacher ignores this key difference, and sincerely thinks that the "soup of life" is the same as a collection of manufactured and machined metal gears, pins, screws and glass. True, the parts-in-a-bag scenario does at least include the input of some energy (you or I "shaking" the bag), but that is hardly the same as solar or thermal energy working on dissolved elements within a watery environment, fueling chain after chain of chemical reactions. (If, on the other hand, the preacher were to put the actual elements of life into his rhetorical "bag" and shake it with some solar energy, he might be very surprised to open it up and find it filled with the slime of early "life").
Why do people buy these illogical anti-science arguments? I don't think that question is all that hard to answer, as we see examples of this every day. We humans are deeply susceptible to false positives when it comes to causal relationships. We are, in fact, crap at making the kinds of distinctions between "causal" and "casual" that is the very basis of science. But, then, that is why we developed science: to finally figure reality out. After centuries of making guesses about why this or that occurred, we finally found a way to reliably outwit our own intellectual limitations.
But science is challenging to our natural (and cherished) intuitive faculties, not least of all because it is really good at giving very specific answers to very specific questions under very specific conditions (which, it should be noted, is not the way most of us frame our questions about "life"). And this is as it should be. After all, to eliminate the possibility of bias or interference (a huge issue for humans), conditions that might affect an experiment must be tightly controlled, and all possible inputs carefully limited. And, hence, a new scientific discovery might be hailed as a sweeping new truth by the media, even as the scientific community remains deeply circumspect, qualifying their discoveries with "Well, we now know that under conditions x or y, this or that can occur".
A lot of people, I think, find this kind of qualification (and precision) damn frustrating. This is perhaps most prevalent in "health news", where we are often left asking: "Well, should I drink soda or not???" And the answer is generally a qualified one, with a mix of yes and no, depending.
And so there will always be those who can preach the simple path to certainty that unqualified assertions can pave for the frustrated human psyche. You can see this with almost any article having to do with evolution, where you can count on someone posting a variation of the comment that "There is absolutely zero proof for evolution. None."
This, of course, is just about as absurd as a modern human can get. Like the radio preacher who then went on to say that no "missing link" had ever been found, going down the "cherry-picking" laundry list of the most notorious scientific frauds (such as the "Piltdown Man" and others), ignoring the reality that for every one of those frauds, there are, literally, millions of fossils that are genuine (not to mention the fact that it was other scientists who discovered the frauds). Again, the most glaring flaw in this argument is that every single fossil ever found is a "missing link" between at two different species (with the exception of a specimen of a species preserved at the moment it went extinct). If evolution is understood on even the most rudimentary level, then you must realize that every living thing is a transitional species between it's ancestors and future descendants. (Even the preacher himself)!
That preacher also expresses the familiar misconception that the fossil preservation of past life works like a scrapbook you might keep of your children's growth — with page after sequential page of photos and clippings of all of the years of that child's growth. And therefore (if evolution is true) we should find all sorts of "missing links" in the fossil record. Well, of course, this is just what we find when we are lucky enough to explore sedimentary deposits that have occurred in perfect conditions (which generally means landscapes that are subsiding at the edges of bodies of water — where sediments eroded from land can be laid down on the sea floor, burying dead critters, layer upon layer that are not then lifted up again to be eroded away by water and weather — at least not until scientists find them eons later). But, the Earth being as geologically active as it is, these "perfect" conditions can only exist in certain locations for a limited period of time — like strips of images torn from a much longer movie (or from thousands and thousands of movies of all of the different ecosystems and locales that are filled with life). And we will never know how many fine fossil deposits have been worn away into dust, or remain buried too deep underground for us to find.
I recently visited the La Brea Tar Pits in central Los Angeles. Those natural tar seeps were almost perfect traps for every kind of living thing that lived in the local environment for the last 40,000 years. They have pulled thousands and thousands of fossils out of that site, including sloths, mammoths and saber-toothed cats, but also birds and bugs and micro-fossils. But that was one small site in one locale that only got into the "scrapbook" game after the last ice age. It is a wonderful window into Southern California's recent past, but it doesn't tell us what was happening just over the mountains to the east, or further north or south.
But this is how fossilization works: the conditions have to be right, and then the fossils have to be exposed again through later geologic action or human digging. Most animals die in places where their carcasses are consumed by other life forms or broken down to nothing by the corrosive effects of air, sun and water. Even with our practice of human burial, look how few human remains we have found of our ancient ancestors (and we know there were a lot more humans alive in history than we have ever found).
The hard truth is that, despite the ever-increasing number and variety of fossilized species that come to light every year, most of every lion, tiger, bear, dinosaur or ancestral human that ever lived will never be found. Creationists see this as a dodge, but only because they have such an astoundingly simplistic view of the way the earth (and biology) actually work (as well an apparent ignorance of the sheer volume of fossils residing in the museums of the world). This ignorance is unfortunate, and difficult to eradicate, as I get the sense that a lot of public school teachers aren't all that enthused about the workings of evolution themselves (I know that my education on that score was mostly a self-guided adult exercise). Add into that the active campaign to oppose the acceptance of evolution (and science in general), and there remains a ready audience for the radio preacher I have used as my example today.
(This is why I support The National Center for Science Education).
I think that part of what we are really discovering is that the process of evolution (as well as the wide variety of life forms it "creates") is not so strange or incomprehensible is it is made out to be. It is actually a very simple process that appears complicated only because we are so used to seeing ourselves as different from all other life forms. I can tell you that dinosaurs no longer look strange at all to my eyes. To me a Hadrosaur is pretty much the "wild cow of the Cretaceous", and the T-Rex is a giant toothed bird sort of thing. Look up pictures of the strange-looking animals that live today (you can Google "ugliest animals"), and you will see any number of living critters whose weirdness tests both our intellect and stomach.
But, of course, these strange critters exist. Just like you and I exist. And this is the greatest testimony the the reality of evolution: it happened.
The preacher said that evolution is not a "fact" like gravity is a "fact" (because he could see gravity in action in a way he could not witness evolution at work). I'm sorry his imaginative capacity is so limited, because evolution is on display all around us. True, we can't see it happening (like we can see ice melt or gravity break the glass we drop on the kitchen floor) but the simple fact that we need a different flu shot every year should tell us something about the mutations ("guided" by natural selection) that allow species to adapt to changing life conditions. Plus, I hate to tell the preacher that gravity, like evolution, is also a descriptive theory of a certain physical reality, and that gravity is no more (or no less) a fact than Darwin's theory of evolution.
t.n.s.r. bob
CARTOONS FROM THE REVFebruary 17th, 2013
REVIEWS FROM THE REV: The Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits.February 17th, 2013
This is a remarkable museum. For one, it's a beautiful (and beautifully organized) building. For another, it has the distinction of sitting on top of the very deposits that have yielded the countless fossils that occupy the displays.
As you approach the museum you pass by a water-filled pond that was once a tar quarry. There are life-sized replicas of a Columbia Mammoth family — one of whom has been "caught" in the tar hidden beneath the water. This tableau is artifice, of course, but the sulfurous gasses that continue to bubble up into this still-active "asphalt seep" are the real deal, and provide a quietly stunning reminder of a still very active Earth.
Inside the circular museum, one walks past display after display of the mounted fossils that make up a rich catalog of extinct fauna that once roamed the Los Angeles area. The tar pits (in their time) captured every kind of organism, from the truly stupendous Columbian Mammoth to delicate dragon flies. All of the La Brea fossils show the distinctive chocolate patina of their time in the tar. There are sloths, mastodons, condors, ancient buffalo, horses, sabre-toothed cats and dire wolves. Lots and lots of dire wolves.
Did I mention there are lots of dire wolves? One of the more stunning displays is a lighted wall made up of row after row of dire wolf skulls. There could easily be a hundred of them, filling an entire wall, floor to ceiling. (Watch the informational videos in the two museum theaters, and you'll learn that these skulls are only a hint of the bounty of fossils that continue to come from ongoing excavations on the site).
There are not dinosaurs, of course. The tar pits began their life-capturing career only forty-thousand years ago (which turns out to be an important time-span in the story of the extinction of much of North America's megafauna). And though there is likely a connection between the arrival of humans on the continent and the subsequent extinction of these large animals, there has only been one human fossil recovered from the pits: a woman from about ten thousand years ago.
I can't say enough nice things about this museum. It is a fine blend of location, collection and architecture. Everything one could want in a museum experience.
The Page Museum is located in central Los Angeles, right next to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (hint: if you're planning to visit both, do The Page Museum first — LACMA is a vast and overwhelming campus of buildings and collections).
t.n.s.r. bob
CARTOONS FROM THE REVFebruary 9th, 2013
SERMON: "A Tyranny of Choice" by the not-so-reverend bobFebruary 9th, 2013
More than once I have stood in my local public library and considered all of the knowledge contained on all of the pages of all of the books that reside there. Even in our modest municipal facility, I can feel the weight of the hundreds of volumes that I will never read, the stories I will never know, and the concepts I will never understand. It is a rather stark reminder of the constraining power of time as it forces us to choose which opportunities we will spend the minutes and hours of our mortality upon.
And now we have the internet, and with it an amplification of an entire industry dedicated to the idea that what we human consumers lack is enough choice. Every new personal device must now not only belong to us, but adapt to us, using algorithms to mimic an intelligence that can study and absorb our interests, needs and desires. I wouldn't say I find it terrifying, but it is troubling. We have achieved a level of ease, affluence and convenience where each individual can be a petty tyrant of his own digital entertainment and informational domain.
Like all "progress" this is troubling in a paradoxical way: I do not like my options to be forcibly limited by anyone or anything, but at the same time, when are we going to recognize that we are doing to ourselves something not unlike training a bear to ride a bicycle or a chimp to talk in sign language. Sure, with enough effort something that passes for rudimentary success can be achieved in either of those examples, but could it be argued that we had even modestly improved the quality of life for either the bicycling bear or the signing chimp?
Those who work in the technological fields (it would seem safe to assume) understand, or at least appreciate, science. But science tells us that we are evolved mammals with quirky, limited brains. True, we are not limited like a dog or a cow, but just because we operate on a higher cognitive level does not in any way mean that we have found a way to transcend our evolved biology (though there are those hoping to achieve just that through technology).
Sometimes when I open my laptop I sense the presence of a vast collection of human creative and intellectual output (and a lot of cat videos) spread out before me, and I feel it's seductive siren-song of limitless possibility as I choose the one item (at a time) to give my full attention to. (And make no mistake: we are not hard-wired to multi-task in anything like the way that we imagine we can. No. The best we can do is switch back and forth between competing stimuli, it's just that some of us are a little bit better at rapid switching than others). And I have something like my experience of standing in the information ocean of my library described above, only on steroids.
I think we are rushing down a road of rapidly diminishing returns when it comes to choice. This doesn't mean that we can do anything to stop it, really. But it does mean that our yearning for ever more choice is bringing with it challenges that evolution has not prepared us for. And this is the challenge of plenty.
Admittedly, there is a certain kind of pleasure in excess — in having way more than we can eat, or watch or listen to. But this is perhaps an artifact of the many episodes of want that we've experienced in our evolution (this could be a cognitive analogue to our "Ice Age" body's propensity to store fat so easily). But despite our constant yearning for ease and plenty, ease and plenty in larger doses do not fit well with our lean, animal natures (physical or cognitive). For isn't it true that we appreciate the company of others most when we've experienced loneliness; food when we've been hungry; safety when we've been in danger?
We humans are unique in being the animals that are both aware of their existential dilemma (mortality) and have a superior technical ability that allows us to build ways to satisfy almost any desire we can generate (money may not buy you love, but it can buy a lot of things that are pretty darn close). In essence, we create machines first for work, and then for pleasure. The first creates wealth and leisure time, the second is the way we spend our newly-acquired (in historic terms) time and money.
This is the point where I should wrap things up with an answer to our dilemma of choice, but I don't think there is one. Each of us has to negotiate our own balance between the competing tensions of want and plenty — between our imagined ideal of ease and the biological reality of our physical minds and bodies. (I, for example, pay money to belong to a gym where I exercise my body as a separate activity to make up for the ease of my daily work that would otherwise allow my frame of bone and muscle to degrade into a fatty, unhealthy lump). And just to spice things up a bit, we have to work these things out in an environment where it is not just our money, but our time and attention and desires that are the most sought-after commodities.
We are drawn to attractive stimuli as much as any raven or laboratory mouse, but we are no longer dependent upon the whims of nature to provide the things that we crave the most (for their rarity, at least in nature — in our case, fats, sugars and produced entertainment). It is actually an odd state of affairs for a human such as I to be able to sit down, turn on a machine, and search out a thousand videos of only that one thing I really, really like watching, and then watch it over and over and over as much as I want to, until I don't want to anymore, and have to find something else that tickles my fancy.
I'm not one of those wags who will decry such a state as inferior to some other, more noble way of living. Who am I to say? This is just how things are in our lives right now (in our society, anyway). In that way, we are no different from our ancestors who adapted to a life among domesticated plants and animals, where for the first time humans had the chance to get fat from eating too much.
Evolution has not stopped with us. We may have found ways to protect ourselves from the more basic ravages of natural selection, but in doing so we have only created other evolutionary pressures in the form of our own manufactured technology.
The grand experiment of life on Earth continues and, like each of our ancestors that came before, it remains for us to make our own choices of how we spend our time here. It's just that the act of choosing itself has become much more complicated for more humans than it has ever been before.
t.n.s.r. bob


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Jorge Luís Cantú Guzmán (born January 30, 1982, in McAllen, Texas) is a Major League Baseball first baseman/third baseman with the San Diego Padres.
Cantú bats and throws right-handed. He was born in McAllen, Texas, and makes his home in nearby Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Cantú was spotted by a scout while playing in a Junior Olympic tournament in Mexico City while in high school, and offered a contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at age 16. In 2003, Cantú played for the Mexican national team in the regional Olympic qualifying tournament. His team defeated the U.S. team, eliminating them from the 2004 summer games in Athens.


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Lung cancer is a malignant tumor that forms in the tissues of the lungs, usually in the cells lining air passages. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are the two main types of lung cancer.
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