text:
The privacy of our visitors to is important to us.
Here at GiftsforGamersandGeeks.com, we recognize that privacy of your personal information is important. Here is information on what types of personal information we receive and collect when you use and visit our site, and how we safeguard your information. We never sell your personal information to third parties.
Log Files
As with most other websites, we collect and use the data contained in log files. The information in the log files include your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AOL or Shaw Cable), the browser you used to visit our site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited our site and which pages you visited throughout our site. This information does not personally identify you to us, it merely aids statistical data collection.
Email Address
This is a free content site. We do not require any information from you (not even a user name or password). We do not sell any information from our site to any outside party. The only e-mail sent from our website is in response to an inquiry that you may send us or as a result of joining our double opt-in e-mail list. If anything comes to your attention which could potentially be a violation of this policy, please let us know immediately so that we can investigate it and try to correct it.
Cookies and Web Beacons
We do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site. This includes only showing you a popup once in your visit.
We also use third party advertisements to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP , the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed. This is generally used for geotargeting purposes (showing New York real estate ads to someone in New York, for example) or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited (such as showing cooking ads to someone who frequents cooking sites).
You can chose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in programs such as Norton Internet Security. However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites. This could include the inability to login to services or programs, such as logging into forums or accounts.
About Google and the DoubleClick DART cookie:
Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on your site.
Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to our users based on their visit to your sites and other sites on the Internet.
Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy .
For more information on cookies visit here.


text:
The entire periodic table mixed together is one of those awesome what if scenarios so out there that not even scientists know for sure. Their guess? Anything from "a quark-gluon plasma" (!) to "flaming plutonium." Do not try at home!
Luckily, you could never try this at home, as NYU theoretical chemist Mark Tuckerman says attempting to fuse all of the known elements would require "118 [Large Hadron Colliders]-one to accelerate each element." Sounds a bit pricy! And even then, the results would be fleeting. Quark-gluon plasma, the cosmic stuff theorized to have existed immediately after the Big Bang, "would last for a fraction of a second before degrading." Bummer.
Part of the reason it's so hard to predict what would go down is due to the unpredictably reactive nature of the elements. Random stuff happens depending on which elements happen to be closer to which. "You could run this experiment 100 times and get 100 different combinations," says Tuckerman. One hundred experiments! One hundred and eighteen Large Hadron Colliders! And to what end, besides some split second primordial plasma?
If you tried combining powdered forms of all 118 elements in a sealed container, it wouldn't be pretty—"All hell would break loose," says John Stanton, director of the Institute for Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Texas. "Flaming plutonium is a very bad thing. Inhaling airborne radioactive material can cause rapid death." But after some temporary terror and waves of flaming radioactive chaos, it'd get pretty boring—just a bunch of lame old carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. A lot of the elements wouldn't even react. "Thermodynamics wins again," Stanton smirks. Damn you, laws of the physical world! [PopSci]

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Greater Atlantic City
Once a desolate area of sand, marshes and wilderness, the Atlantic City region is now one of New Jersey's most vibrant and recognizable areas. The famed Atlantic City Boardwalk is one of the state's most iconic images, stretching nearly 4 miles along the city's waterfront. The boardwalk's evolution from simple sand barrier to a hotspot of shopping, amusement parks and casinos helped bring Atlantic City from its sleepy beginnings to its current status as New Jersey's premier resort city.
The 24-foot wide boardwalk is a great place to stroll and the best place to try Atlantic City's world-famous specialty foods: saltwater taffy or fresh roasted peanuts. For those who enjoy shopping, the waterfront offers 60 colonial-era shops and specialty vendors. And perhaps nothing symbolizes Atlantic City more than the midway games and amusement rides that line much of the boardwalk.
Atlantic City also offers the complete casino gaming experience. With 12 casino resorts and countless clubs, bars and excellent restaurants, the city provides 24-hour entertainment. The only thing that can compare with a perfect Atlantic City day is an unforgettable Atlantic City night.
The boardwalk also includes Ripley's "Believe It or Not!" Museum, which houses an odd collection of "artifacts" including a lock of George Washington's hair and a 27-room miniature wooden castle. One of the most unusual museums is "Lucy the Elephant" in Margate, a 65-foot high wooden elephant that stands looking out to sea. Built in 1881 by an eccentric land speculator, the structure has become one of the area's most notable landmarks.
One of Atlantic City's most popular attractions is the Absecon Lighthouse, a 171-foot tower that was built in 1857. Over the years, thousands of visitors have ventured here to climb the 228 steps and see the spectacular view from the top of New Jersey's tallest lighthouse.
The Atlantic City Art Center overlooks the beach and features three exhibition galleries that change monthly. The Noyes Museum of Art houses 19th and 20th century American fine art, craft and folk art with an emphasis on regional artists. At Historic Boardwalk Hall one can see everything from family shows and concerts to professional boxing and hockey.


text:
Business & Development
Who has it. Who's lost it. And how to get it.
Edited by Max Weiss. Written by Jess Blumberg, Ken Iglehart, Suzanne Loudermilk, John Lewis, Amy Mulvihill, Evan Serpick, and Max Weiss
Delegate Keiffer Mitchell Jr. is at a cafe, being interviewed for this story, when his cell phone rings. "Hang on a sec, I've got to take this," he says. He leans away and answers the phone. He's discussing the Baltimore Grand Prix —the upcoming Indy car race that Mitchell was a key player in bringing to Baltimore. All of downtown will be affected by the race, and whomever Mitchell is talking to is clearly concerned about logistics.
The delegate's omelet arrives and sits untouched as Mitchell continues to talk in a cheerful and reassuring manner. More than 10 minutes later, he's off the phone. He looks up sheepishly. "Sorry, that was Brian Rogers," he says, referring to the chairman of T. Rowe Price, who is on our list (under Finance Power). "Speaking of power. . . ."
Mitchell digs into his (now cold) omelet and resumes the interview.
The moment was not staged for the benefit of this story, but it very well could've been. Rogers has access (he was calling Mitchell's cell) and influence (Mitchell was bending over backwards to accommodate him) and probably could've interrupted the breakfast (or lunch or family dinner) of just about any politician in town.
This story is our attempt to explore Baltimore power and the various ways it manifests itself in the region. Political power and financial power are perhaps the most obvious kinds, but there are other, less conspicuous types of power at play in such arenas as culture, health care, sports, and technology. What follows is our examination of power in all of its incarnations—from the boardrooms to the chatrooms and beyond.
The position comes with power. But it's how you wield it that really counts.
Governor Martin O'Malley
He spends a lot of time in Annapolis, but Governor O'Malley is still a Baltimore guy, and he wields an enormous amount of power here. For one thing, the former Baltimore mayor was a mentor to Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and the two frequently acknowledge their close working relationship. Further, the road-tested, iron-tough Democratic political machine that O'Malley built (or rebuilt) endures. And every time he has an important moment, whether launching a reelection campaign or declaring victory, O'Malley is in Baltimore, flanked by the city's political elite, including Rawlings-Blake and Rep. Elijah Cummings. O'Malley is still captain of Baltimore's Democratic ship.
Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
When fiery Sheila Dixon resigned last year, Rawlings-Blake's low-key technocratic style was a welcome change. Now, the quiet machinations of her power are bearing fruit. After capably managing the biggest back-to-back blizzards in local history, she balanced an out-of-control budget, overhauling the police and fire department pension systems, making huge spending cuts, and passing a bottle tax—all without raising public ire too broadly. She announced ambitious new projects, like the 2011 Grand Prix race, and moved to renovate vast swaths of vacant housing. With all due to respect to Dixon, Rawlings-Blake demonstrates that one doesn't have to wave a shoe to demonstrate power.
Rep. Elijah Cummings
Like all of Maryland's U.S. Senators and Representatives, Cummings spends a lot of time in D.C. But more than any of the others, Cummings is a fixture in Baltimore. He fights for local interests, defending the fishing industry (maritimeprofessional.com calls him "the domestic maritime industry's biggest advocate in Congress") and proposing $2.25 billion in federal funds to clean up the bay. He sits on the board of trustees for the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore and the National Aquarium, and generally weighs in thoughtfully and impactfully on every issue of consequence, from slots to education funding.
And don't count out:
- New Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein upset incumbent Pat Jessamy with support from police commissioner Frederick Bealefeld and a tough-on-crime approach that resonated with voters and could elevate him to higher office.
- Otis Rolley, Frank Conaway Sr., Councilman Carl Stokes, and Council President Jack Young have all been mentioned as potential 2011 mayoral candidates, but for our money, former Congressman and NAACP President Kweisi Mfume seems ripe for a return to prominence.
- As deputy mayor for Economic and Neighborhood Development, Kaliope Parthemos oversees the Baltimore Development Corporation, Board of Estimates, and Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals. More importantly, she's the Mayor's most trusted consigliere.
For the faithful of all stripes, these men of the cloth carry the most clout.
Frank M. Reid III
Rev. Frank Reid, 59, is senior pastor and CEO of northwest Baltimore's Bethel AME Church, the largest congregation in the city at over 10,000 worshippers and the choice for a number of politicians and other movers and shakers in the African-American community like Sheila Dixon.
Archbishop Edwin Frederick O'Brien
As if being the spiritual leader of half a million Catholics in central Maryland wasn't enough, the O'Brien-led Archdiocese of Baltimore oversees five hospitals, 70 schools, two seminaries, a food kitchen that serves 250,000 meals a year, plus countless other social service programs. O'Brien's military background—he was an army chaplain with the rank of captain who served in Vietnam—has undoubtedly served him well in dealing with the challenges of leading his flock in what have been difficult times for the Catholic Church.
Rabbi Mitchell Wohlberg
For 32 years, Rabbi Wohlberg has been the guiding light of 1,400-member Beth Tfiloh, the largest modern orthodox synagogue in the United States, serving both as rabbi of the congregation and as dean of Beth Tfiloh's 1,000-student, K-12 school. Dubbed "the master of the sermon" by the Baltimore Jewish Times, he is an author and regular panelist on WMAR-TV's Square Off.
And don't count out:
- Bishop Walter S. Thomas Sr., 60, is longtime pastor of the 7,000-strong New Psalmist Baptist Church in northwest Baltimore. Like Bethel AME, New Psalmist claims its own VIP members (like Rep. Elijah Cummings), and Rev. Thomas's live Internet broadcasts and regular radio services are followed by thousands.
- Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg, 34, the charismatic new rabbi at Beth Am synagogue, is packing the pews.
"He is already the talk of the town," says one member of the congregation.
They've built this town, and, very often, they call the shots (and slots).
John Paterakis Sr.
Paterakis, 81, made his money as president of the family-owned H&S Bakery, the largest privately owned bakery in the U.S. H&S and its sister companies supply McDonald's, as well as house brands for Giant Foods, SuperFresh, and others. But he's as well known now for his H&S Properties, which has developed the $600 million waterfront Harbor East district, which includes high-end condos, office towers, restaurants, hotels, and retail space. Financing, schminancing: In the early years, his Harbor East vision was largely kept alive by Paterakis's own checkbook, which also has bankrolled numerous political campaigns. And now he's developing Harbor Point, a former industrial site just to the east that will be an $800 million complex of homes, offices, hotels and shops.
David S. Cordish
The 70-year-old president of The Cordish Companies is from a family that's been doing urban redevelopment for more than a century (his sons are now VPs). He's been behind Harborplace-esque urban renewal projects all over the U.S. that include entertainment venues, retailing, restaurants, gaming, residences, and hotels. His big new roll of the dice? The gaming casino at Arundel Mills shopping mall that voters signed off on in a November referendum. Cordish went door to door to make his case. Was there ever any doubt that he'd hit the jackpot?
Edward Miller
What's the top guy at arguably the best hospital in the world doing under "developers"? Because Johns Hopkins Medicine Dean and CEO Edward Miller is the man behind the curtain for entire medical mini-cities, including the massive renovation projects that have transformed East Baltimore. The two new state-of-the-art hospitals for adult and pediatric patients represent one of the largest hospital construction projects in the nation. In his 13-year tenure as dean, he's been the driving force for dozens of other Hopkins projects, too, and was a key mover in the Baltimore City-initiated biotech park north of the campus on a once-blighted 80-acre tract. We're guessing Miller isn't anywhere near done with his ceremonial hardhat and gold shovel.
And don't count out:
- Michael S. Beatty, president of H&S Properties Development, is the guy who's made John Paterakis's ambitious and complex projects look like a cake walk.
- Edward St. John's company, St. John Properties, has built more than 13 million square feet of apartments, offices, retail, and warehouses worth over $1 billion. But St. John, 72, is also known for his generosity—he's given more than $43 million to various causes through personal, corporate, and foundation donations.
Money is power and these financiers manage it, spend it, and control it.
Mark R. Fetting
Fetting, 56, the president and CEO of Legg Mason, was the board's choice three years ago to fill the shoes of retiring founder Raymond A. "Chip" Mason, who in 40 years grew the global firm to nearly $700 billion in assets under management. Fetting was an executive senior VP at Legg for seven years prior to his appointment. He serves on several community boards, including Mercy Hospital and Gilman School.
James A. C. Kennedy and Brian Rogers
T. Rowe Price Group CEO/president Kennedy and chairman Rogers oversee a global investment firm that manages $440 billion in assets. Besides employing 5,000 people, the most noticeable impact that the duo has on the region is the culture they promote of community involvement by T. Rowe staffers, who contribute heavily to local education, arts, and social causes.
Charles Newhall
Got a great business idea? Wouldn't you love to bend the ear of venture-capital giant Charles "Chuck" Newhall, cofounder (with Dick Kramlich and the storied Frank Bonsal Jr.) of New Enterprise Associates (NEA)? In the past 30 years, NEA has committed more than $11 billion to bankroll some 650 new information-technology, health care, and energy-technology companies here and abroad, of which more than 165 have gone public and more than 265 have been acquired.
And don't count out:
- Since relocating to Baltimore from New York in 2002 to oversee the takeover of the former Allfirst Financial, Atwood "Woody" Collins III, the M&T Bank Mid-Atlantic Region president, has gotten involved in everything from mayoral task forces and the Greater Baltimore Committee to the city's economic development board and the Babe Ruth Museum.
Traditional media may not be as omnipotent as it once was, but it still has plenty of juice in this town.
Mary Corey
Corey has been at The Baltimore Sun for more than 23 years, starting as an intern. Over that time, she's risen up the paper's masthead, earning allies and kudos. In May, she took over as director of content, the first woman in the paper's 173-year history to lead the newsroom, replacing Monty Cook, an out-of-towner brought in by the paper's owners at The Tribune Company who oversaw massive layoffs and downsizing. Under Corey's leadership, the paper has stepped up coverage of breaking news—evident in its coverage of the September shooting at The Johns Hopkins Hospital—and added new sections, including The Sun Magazine.
Jayne Miller
There is one journalist in Baltimore that virtually every public figure is afraid of: WBAL-TV reporter Jayne Miller. Her investigative reports have exposed corruption in public officials and failures of the criminal justice system. Her 2003 coverage of irregularities at mortgage servicing company Fairbanks Capital was picked up nationally, as one of the first stories to expose problems in the subprime lending industry. These days, whenever there is an important story in Baltimore—from Sheila Dixon's trial in January to the November elections—everyone looks to Miller for the most decisive analysis, which impacts how everyone else reports the story.
Bob Philips
Philips, the market manager for all CBS radio stations in Baltimore, including The Fan, WLIF, and WWMX, plays a subtle but powerful role in determining the stories, events, and topics that become major in the area. By directing the news departments that Marylanders listen to in drive time, even on a non-news station like WLIF (which is often the number-one rated station), Philips helps to set the agenda for other outlets in town and directs the conversations at water coolers throughout the region.
Mark Miller
Miller has long led the WBAL-AM's comprehensive news operation, and when longtime program director Jeff Beauchamp left the station last year, the unassuming Miller took on that role, too, playing a quiet but powerful role in the way Baltimore gets news. Over the last year, Miller has made WBAL more news-oriented—launching anchored news programs during morning and afternoon drive times—while still leaving it opinionated, installing right-leaning talk-show host Shari Elliker as anchor for the afternoon program and keeping former First Lady of Maryland Kendall Ehrlich on the air through the elections. It's the kind of formula that has worked on national outlets like Fox News, and time will tell if it works locally and affects the way other stations in town operate.
And don't count out:
- Larry Young's talk show on WOLB (1010-AM) is a powerful voice on national and local affairs, particularly in the African-American community.
- Local NPR affiliate WYPR, led by president and general manager Tony Brandon, has probably the second biggest radio news operation in town, after WBAL (with more in-depth features), and an audience of affluent movers and shakers.
- Dogged Sun reporter Justin Fenton has been behind some of the biggest stories in town, scrambling to get to the bottom of the Hopkins shooting and breaking the news that Ehrlich operative Julius Henson was behind election-day robocalls.
The ever-strengthening arts community has some of its most high-profile leadership ever.
Fred Lazarus
Lazarus, the president of Maryland Institute College of Art, could vie for the top spot in the education category—MICA is, after all, one of the best art schools in the country—but that designation is too narrow for such a visionary leader. Lazarus has fostered strong ties with the business and nonprofit communities and gracefully shepherded an expansion of the school's footprint that's utterly transformed the Station North Arts District and enhanced the city's cultural riches.
Marin Alsop
Alsop, the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, has set the bar high for leaders of the city's major arts organizations. Not content with being a programming genius and a captivating presence on the podium, Alsop isn't shy about flexing some marketing muscle—putting the BSO in front of new audiences, whenever possible—partnering with non-classical artists, and reaching out to the community at large.
David Simon
Simon's work (The Corner, Homicide, The Wire, and Treme) has resonated far beyond Baltimore to shape an ongoing dialogue about urban America. Its been the subject of college courses and even won him a MacArthur grant last year. As if that weren't enough, he's also married to author Laura Lippman, no minor powerhouse herself.
John Waters
Baltimore's bonafide cultural icon continues to evolve beyond film, with art exhibits at A-list venues like the Gagosian Gallery in L.A., a witty memoir (Role Models), and speaking gigs around the world. Whether trading quips with Letterman or hobnobbing at an Oscars party, Waters is our most enduring and effective ambassador.
Doreen Bolger
Under Bolger's leadership, The Baltimore Museum of Art has shed its old image as an insular organization and forged stronger relationships with other arts institutions and community groups. While spearheading ambitious capitol campaigns and renovation projects, The BMA director is just as liable to turn up at a warehouse gallery opening as she is a corporate boardroom.
And don't count out:
- Bill Gilmore, executive director of Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, oversees a $6.4 million budget and local events such as Artscape, the Baltimore Book Festival, and the Preakness Parade.
- Carla Hayden, executive director, Enoch Pratt Free Library, has reinvigorated the Pratt as a vital cultural center and been named by President Obama to the National Museum and Library Services Board and the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities.
- Jed Dietz, director of the Maryland Film Festival, also serves on the board of Centerstage, where he's heading the search for Irene Lewis's replacement.
They're the toughest——and most important——jobs in Baltimore. These leaders are making a difference.
Andrés Alonso
Since coming to the Baltimore as CEO of public schools in 2007, Alonso has turned the system upside down, decentralizing power from North Avenue, closing failing schools, and opening more than a dozen new ones, with the intention of giving parents more choices. In the process, test scores and graduation rates have gone up, drop-out rates have declined, and many families who had previously fled public schools are taking a second look. With this year's new contract between the city and the Baltimore Teachers Union, Alonso took on an even more prominent role as a reformer on the national stage.
Nancy Grasmick
As Maryland's Superintendent of Schools, Grasmick led the charge to win some of the $4.3 billion in federal "Race to the Top" funds. With 19 years in the position, Grasmick was able to quickly mobilize the legislature and education officials across the state to overhaul tenure and evaluation systems, set new curriculum standards, and design a new way to collect student data. As a result, Maryland was one of nine states (along with D.C.) to win funding, earning $250 million that will go toward implementing reforms and creating new schools.
Ron Goldblatt
Tough economic times have meant that many private schools have struggled to maintain enrollment, but the Association of Independent Maryland Schools (AIMS) and executive director Goldblatt have provided a steely backbone for its 115 members. This year, the organization flexed its muscle to help shoot down new legislation that would have required greater state regulation of independent schools and held a steady stream of workshops to help increase enrollment.
Marietta English
The Baltimore Teachers Union took a bold step this year, approving a new contract that includes pay increases, but also ties salary to student performance, making it one of the most reform-minded contracts in the country. After the membership initially voted down the deal, union president English worked with schools administrators to nail down more specifics and held information sessions in every school in the city, which resulted in an overwhelming 1,902-1,045 vote.
And don't count out:
- Alonso's hand-picked Baltimore City Public Schools' new chief academic officer Sonja Brookins Santelises is already getting attention for talk of increasing standards in city schools and raising elite schools to the level of the top public schools in the country.
- Cheryl Bost, president of the Teachers Association of Baltimore County (TABCO), led the fight against a cumbersome new student evaluation tool, the Articulated Instruction Module (AIM), delaying its implementation and putting county superintendent Joe Hairston on the hot seat for granting the program's copyright to an employee.
These are the 800-pound gorillas of Baltimore's law scene, and their firms have the revenue to prove it.
Peter G. Angelos
A honcho among honchos, Angelos, 81, could obviously fit into a number of our categories, including sports (as CEO and chairman of the board of the Orioles) and philanthropy. He's made his millions representing the victims of faulty products, medical malpractice, and personal injury, but is best known for class-action suits against manufacturers of asbestos and tobacco.
Francis B. Burch Jr.
Frank Burch helped turn the regional law firm Piper & Marbury, with its 250 lawyers, into DLA Piper, an international practice with more than 3,500 lawyers and revenue of $2 billion. And he's a trustee of The Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Medicine, and the Carey Business School of Johns Hopkins University, as well as past board chairman of the Greater Baltimore Committee and the University of Maryland School of Law.
James L. Shea
Shea, 58, is chairman of the board of law firm Venable LLP, with 600 lawyers based mostly in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and New York. He's also on the boards of the Greater Baltimore Committee and the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.
And don't count out:
- Senior Venable partner Benjamin Richard Civiletti, probably the best-known name in American law, was U.S. Attorney General during the Carter administration, and recently became the first U.S. lawyer to charge $1,000 an hour.
Baltimore has become a national center for underground culture. Below, the leaders of the artists, hipsters, and tastemakers who make the scene.
Dan Deacon
In 2004, musician Deacon moved to Baltimore with a mantra: "The future surrounds us. Let us begin." Setting up camp in the Copycat building on Guilford Ave., he and some friends founded Wham City, an arts collective bursting with creativity. Wham City threw massive dance parties in industrial spaces, drawing artists, musicians, and patrons from local colleges, especially MICA, and beyond. In 2006, they founded Whartscape—a more D.I.Y. answer to Artscape—giving a platform to local bands like Beach House and Ponytail, who would go on to gain national followings. They staged theatrical programs like Shoot Her! Jurassic Park: The Play. The excitement around the scene helped spur an arts renaissance in Station North. After a successful Whartscape in July, he announced that it would be no more. "Part of the fun was making it grow," he said. "But we'd like to move on and try something new." At the photo shoot for the cover of this magazine, Deacon huddled with BSO maestra Marin Alsop about a potential collaboration. Later that day, a BSO rep called the office looking for Deacon's contact number. We can only imagine what he has in store for Baltimore next.
Matt Porterfield
Porterfield has a legit shot at being mentioned in the same breath as Levinson and Waters as one of the city's finest filmmakers. Porterfield's latest movie, Putty Hill, has been a hit on the festival circuit—screening in Berlin, Lisbon, Copenhagen, and Austin's SXSW—and elicited raves from The New Yorker's Richard Brody, who opined that "if there's an independent cinema, [Putty Hill] is it, and if there's a new director, here he is." Porterfield gets extra credit for crafting music videos for local bands such as Double Dagger and teaching film at Hopkins.
Scott Berzofsky, Dane Nester, and Nicholas Wisniewski
These three MICA grads formed the arts collective Baltimore Development Cooperative (BDC), which addresses urban issues with a powerful mix of creative moxie and grassroots organizing. Their recent The Food Network exhibit at the Creative Alliance included installations by community groups such as Hamilton Crop Circle and info-sharing forays into city neighborhoods. The BDC also cosponsors STEW, a dinner (held three or four times a year) that raises money for various social justice projects.
And don't count out:
- The folks at Red Emma's present talks and performances at their Mt. Vernon bookstore/coffeehouse and at 2640 in Charles Village, and they operate The Baltimore Free School.
- Program director Megan Hamilton books a wide range of events at the Creative Alliance—a recent run of shows included Ethel Ennis, the Baltimore Men's Chorus, Mink Stole, Maria Broom, a klezmer band, and a burlesque performance—and is a tireless advocate for the local arts scene.
These impresarios of commerce provide the tax base that is the lifeblood the city.
Jack B. Dunn
The man behind the success of the $1 billion-a-year FTI Consulting has been CEO and president Dunn, a lawyer and former officer at Legg Mason (and current Orioles partner). Besides its corporate consulting services, FTI has some unusual skill areas, especially "forensic accounting," or the science of finding out where the money went. (Investors hire FTI when a company fails——so that part of the business had been booming.) He's also a board member at several major corporations.
Fred Festa
Yes, Festa, the chairman, president, and CEO of W.R. Grace, heads a company that went Chapter 11 after facing millions of dollars worth of awards in asbestos suits filed by the likes of Peter Angelos. But the Columbia-based Grace is back, selling close to $3 billion in specialty chemicals, catalysts, sealants, and construction materials worldwide. Better yet, both the company and its thousands of employees donate significantly every year to education, health, and human services causes.
Kevin A. Plank
Under Armour President and CEO Kevin Plank's big idea (to create a synthetic, moisture-wicking fabric) sells close to $1 billion a year and has gone public. Now Plank is going after the industry giant Nike, with a foray into athletic footwear. (Don't be too surprised if Nike tries to buy them.) Plank sits on the UM's board of trustees, as well as serving on the board of directors for the Baltimore City Fire Foundation, the Greater Baltimore Committee, and Living Classrooms Foundation.
And don't count out:
- Allegis, founded 27 years ago (as Aerotek) by Steve Bisciotti and James Davis, and now controlled by Davis, is a mammoth staffing company with more than $4 billion in revenues in 2005.
- Willard Hackerman, president and CEO of construction giant Whiting-Turner, may be 92 now, but he shows up at the office every day and still wields considerable influence in commerce, philanthropy, and politics.
- Mayo Shattuck, president and CEO of Constellation Energy, took his shareholders for a queasy ride after the market collapse in late 2008, but he's stayed on the job because he's making money again and even growing the $16 billion energy giant.
Meet the eco-warriors who are fighting the good fight——and winning.
Malcolm Woolf
Anyone who doesn't think finding sustainable ways to meet our society's energy needs is the challenge of the 21st century hasn't been paying attention. In Maryland, the man with the plan is Malcolm Woolf, head of the Maryland Energy Administration. He's been instrumental in toughening up the state's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, which requires reducing statewide energy consumption by 15 percent by the year 2015 and generating 20 percent of energy from renewable sources (including two percent from solar) by 2022. "He knows how and when to push and when to 'play ball' in crafting legislation," praises Jim Pierobon, the communications director with the Maryland Clean Energy Center.
Michael D. Smith
Giving a Constellation Energy executive props for green power seems counterintuitive, to put it mildly. But who's better poised to transform the energy industry than someone on the inside? Enter Michael D. Smith who, two years ago, became the chief sustainability officer for retail energy at Constellation NewEnergy, a subsidiary of the Fortune 500 company/utility that handles development and installation of sustainable product offerings, including its burgeoning solar business. If you want to go green, save money, or both in the future, chances are you'll be buying what he's selling.
William C. Baker
William C. Baker is the president of the 200,000-member-strong nonprofit Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which boasts a $22 million annual operating budget, 160 full-time employees, and offices in three states plus D.C. Because of these resources, the CBF is a player on both the state and federal level. They deal with "the big picture," acknowledges Jana Davis, associate director of The Chesapeake Bay Trust, which contributes funding to some of CBF's programs. Baker is "organizing their priorities the right way, and he's getting a lot of big wins for the bay," she adds, citing CBF's role in strengthening storm water runoff regulations and Maryland's new environmental literacy high school graduation requirement.
Beth Strommen
As manager of the Baltimore City Office of Sustainability, Beth Strommen is the city's green guru, heavily involved in drafting and editing many of our metro's most important environmental and land use regulations, including the Forest Conservation Program, the Baltimore Bicycle Master Plan, and the Maritime Master Plan. Says Prescott Gaylord, the owner of Baltimore Green Construction, "Beth is highly effective and may be the most well-known face of green in the city."
And don't count out:
- David Borinsky, CEO of nonprofit One Green Home at A Time, oversees green rehabs in some of Baltimore's most blighted neighborhoods.
- Thanks to president and CEO Chickie Grayson's leadership, Enterprise Homes has already built 1,275 green, affordable homes in the area and is committed to creating or preserving 5,000 more by 2013.
- As chair of the House of Delegates' Environmental Matters Committee, Del. Maggie McIntosh (D-Baltimore City), holds sway over a matrix of issues ranging from agriculture to motor vehicles.
These tech titans heard the 21st-century bell——and answered it.
Dave Troy
Even those not too involved in tech circles know about Bmore Fiber, last year's initiative to bring Google's ultra-high-speed broadband network to Baltimore. Troy was one of the leaders of the movement, not to mention he has 25 years of experience in technology and design. "Dave is hugely influential in the startup scene," says programmer Mike Subelsky. "He is definitely the man for our times."
Sid Meier
Sid Meier has been called "the godfather of computer gaming"—and rightfully so. He's had 26 years of experience and has helped create the popular simulation game genre. As current director of creative development for Firaxis Games, Meier established Hunt Valley as the gaming capital of Maryland when he started in the early 1980s.
Heather Sarkissian
Heather Sarkissian is somewhat of a tech renaissance woman. She was the CEO of mp3car.com, a local company that builds sophisticated mobile computers for corporate and government clients. She helped found Betascape, which is the tech version of Artscape. She also heads BmoreSmart, a group of social entrepreneurs in Baltimore aiming to make the city a better place. "Heather really knows how to get things done," says programmer Mike Subelsky.
Jay Steinmetz
Steinmetz is CEO of Barcoding, a company that sells and programs inventory-tracking systems and has been included on several of Inc. magazine's coveted top business lists. As chair of the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, which provides funding for local programs, Steinmetz is also helping the next generation of techies.
And don't count out:
- Mike Subelsky is cofounder of Ignite Baltimore and web startup OtherInbox.com.
- Brian Reynolds was mentored by Sid Meier, and is now chief designer at Zynga East (creator of the infamous Farmville).
- Jennifer Gunner, the interim executive director of the Greater Baltimore Tech Council, is known for bridging "old" and "new" tech circles.
Where government and the corporate world fall short, these captains of charity fill the gap.
William J. McCarthy Jr.
There are foundations and charitable organizations with more money and equally worthy causes, but few are more visible to average Baltimoreans than Catholic Charities, headed by executive director McCarthy. With 2,000 employees and 15,000 volunteers, Maryland's largest private provider of human services, with an annual budget of $127 million, answered more than 600,000 requests for food and emergency services last year and served 350,000 meals to the hungry, as well as operating 80 other programs.
Marc B. Terrill
Since 2003, Marc B. Terrill has been the face of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, a 90-year-old foundation whose charitable reach extends far beyond the Jewish community through partnered initiatives in the region with Catholic Charities of Baltimore, the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation, and other groups.
As president, Terrill, who is also on the Baltimore Community Foundation board, oversees 20 agencies that meet educational, religious, humanitarian, health, and social service needs locally, nationally, in Israel, and throughout the world. And The Associated has financial clout: It raised $31 million last year and has a $500 million trust. (Among other Jewish Federations across North America, Baltimore's boasts the highest per-capita giving.)
Deborah Flateman
Deborah Flateman oversees 80 employees, two warehouses, and $32 million a year at the Maryland Food Bank, all resources that are focused on gathering food donations from manufacturers, growers, retailers, and individuals and getting it to the needy through 600 soup kitchens, shelters, and other providers in central Maryland and the Eastern Shore. Economic times have increased the need for food assistance by more than a third.
Donn Weinberg
With total assets of $2 billion, the Weinberg Foundation is one of the largest private charitable foundations in the United States, funding nonprofits that provide services to economically disadvantaged people, primarily in the U.S. and Israel. Under the chairmanship of former trial lawyer Donn Weinberg, the foundation's roughly $100 million annual grantmaking goes to programs to help seniors, the disabled, education, children, and basic human needs and health. And he can sing and dance, too: As a hobby, Weinberg is a volunteer singer-entertainer at older-adult facilities in the Baltimore area and for nonprofit fundraisers.
And don't count out:
- James Piper Bond is president of the $16 million-a-year, 300-employee Living Classrooms Foundation, which uses boats and the bay to educate inner-city youth, and also provides job training, neighborhood rehab, and management of once-failing charter schools.
- Tim Kelly is director of Fells Point's Esperanza Center, funded by Catholic Charities of Baltimore, which provides legal and social services to the city's growing Hispanic population.
- Terry M. Rubenstein is executive vice president of the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds, a $100 million group of family funds that doles out roughly $5 million a year to cultural causes here and in Israel, as well as meeting middle-class needs with library and school computers, city parks improvements, and scholarships for families with average incomes.
- He didn't want to be on this list because he's fairly new at the job, but we can't totally ignore Annie E. Casey Foundation president and CEO Patrick McCarthy, whose Baltimore-based foundation, with its roughly $2.6 billion in assets, gives away close to $150 million nationally every year.
It's not just our favorite pastime (and obsession), it's one of the driving forces of the local economy.
Steve Bisciotti
There's really no disputing it anymore: Baltimore is a football town. Last year, Forbes magazine estimated the Ravens' worth as $1.1 billion (as compared to the Orioles' $376 million). And owner Bisciotti has a low-key, hands-off leadership style that appeals to the local fan base. Pressbox's Stan "The Fan" Charles praises Bisciotti for "being smart enough to know what he doesn't know." Says WNST's Nasty Nestor Aparicio: "The Ravens have become the most important binding element in our local society—across race, color, creed, gender, age. When they do well, the city feels good. That's a lot of power."
Ozzie Newsome
Ravens' GM Newsome's ability to "gauge talent" is unsurpassed, says Pressbox's Stan "The Fan" Charles, but he also knows when to give up draft picks and pull the trigger on a great trade. "He's the prime [force] in making the Ravens great," says WNST's Nasty Aparicio. And since much of the Ravens' enormous value stems from its on-field success, it's no surprise that Steve Bisciotti told The Baltimore Sun last year: "We want Oz to be here as long as Ozzie wants to be here." Looks like the owner can evaluate talent almost as well as his GM.
Andy MacPhail/Buck Showalter
Both these men represent a sea change in the Orioles organization: President Andy MacPhail was the first person under Peter Angelos to be given some measure of control. "Though he'll always answer to Peter, there's no question that Andy has been given total leeway to do his job as he sees fit," says WJZ sports director Mark Viviano. As for Showalter? "Buck brought credibility to the position that it hadn't had in 10 years," Viviano says. "And it was immediately reflected in how the players responded."
Cal Ripken Jr.
From introducing baseball in China to building little league stadiums, Cal Ripken Jr. is using his power as an ex-Oriole for good. "One of the greatest reflections of Cal's power is that the mere mention of his involvement in something uplifts its potential," WJZ's Marc Viviano says. "He's one of those personalities you just trust and believe."
And don't count out:
- Linebacker Ray Lewis "ultimately has the most power to change our city over the next 20 years," says WNST's Aparicio, "with his brand, star, and transcendence."
- Jay Davidson, the president of Baltimore Racing Development, leads the team that took the exciting gamble of bringing Grand Prix racing to Baltimore.
- Terrance Hasseltine, the director of the Maryland Office of Sports Marketing, was responsible for bringing the 2009 World Football Challenge to M&T Bank Stadium.
- The Sun's Mike Preston is the most influential sports columnist in Baltimore. Many believe that Preston's relentless criticism led to the firing of Ravens coach Brian Billick.
If there is a single dominant field in the Greater Metropolitan area, it's health care. These are the scions of the industry.
Robert Chrencik
Chrencik served as the financial officer at the University of Maryland Medical System for more than 20 years before being named UMMS president and CEO in 2008. He serves on the board of each of the 12 UMMS hospitals (which have 15,000 employees), and gets out of the office, too: He's on the board of the Greater Baltimore Committee, The Center Club, and is a past president of the Maryland Chapter of the Health Care Financial Management Association.
Ronald R. Peterson
As president of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, Peterson oversees Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Howard County General Hospital, Suburban Hospital, and Sibley Memorial Hospital, as well as The Johns Hopkins Hospital. How big a job is that? Hopkins hospital, consistently ranked America's best, includes more than 2,200 beds, employs 22,000 people, treats more than 800,000 patients from all over the world, and brings in $1.3 billion in revenue (plus the value of $161 million in uncompensated care).
Robert Murray
Every spring, hospital administrators, doctors, and insurance companies around the state wait with bated breath to hear what Murray will say. As executive director of the Health Services Cost Review Commission, Murray leads a process that determines how much health care providers can charge for services. The Commission's decisions directly affect virtually every doctor and patient in the state, and, in a state where health care is the largest industry, that makes Murray our local equivalent of Fed chairman Ben Bernanke.
And don't count out:
- As president and CEO of Sinai Hospital and, after the 1998 merger with Northwest Hospital, of Lifebridge Health, Warren Green has been a leader in the world of community hospitals for 19 years, providing a perspective to balance the big university institutions downtown.
- Chester "Chet" Burrell is president and CEO of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, the top medical insurer in the state. The company's decisions—such as recent ones to include nurse practitioners in its network as primary care providers or to maintain child-only plans—have a huge impact.
Here are the forces behind everything that goes bump (and grind) in the night.
Heidi Klotzman
Klotzman owns special event firm HeidnSeek Entertainment, which specializes in event coordination, marketing, and runs an online entertainment guide with more than 30,000 subscribers. Beyond promoting parties at Red Maple and Milan, Klotzman advertises charity events and hosts networking functions. "She's a promoter with a conscience," says Sam Sessa, The Sun's entertainment editor.
Cullen Stalin
Long before Baltimore's nightlife scene was on the map, Cullen Stalin was drawing a crowd. He and Simon Phoenix are resident DJs of TaxLo, the city's biggest dance party for nearly a decade (attracting such famous acts as M.I.A). Last year, he helped start "No Rule"—a hugely popular dance party at the Metro Gallery—that bridges the hipster and hip-hop scenes. Cullen has helped developed TaxLo into "one of the most powerful nightlife brands in the city," says City Paper's music editor Michael Byrne.
Bill Muehlhauser
As the owner of the Rams Head Group, Muehlhauser owns five spaces in Stevensville, Annapolis, and Baltimore—including Rams Head Live! and Pier Six. He was smart enough to partner with promoter Seth Hurwitz of I.M.P. to bring big-time national acts to Rams Head Live! (like the Beastie Boys and Smashing Pumpkins), and is currently working with David Cordish to plan a new live music venue in the Arundel Mills slots parlor.
And don't count out:
- Casey Hard, beer manager at Max's Taphouse, helps organize beer festivals and built the bar into what it is today.
- Marc McFaul is growing a little bar empire with two Ropewalk Taverns (in Federal Hill and Bel Air), The Stalking Horse, and McFaul's.
- Frank Remesch, general manager of 1st Mariner Arena, has brought huge names to Baltimore, like Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z.
These restaurant royals are at the top of the Charm City food chain.
Tony Foreman and Cindy Wolf
The formidable restaurant team—Foreman's a restaurant visionary; Wolf's a world-class chef—came to the forefront of the city's dining scene in 1995 and haven't stopped since. The business partners have since formed the Foreman Wolf group to oversee their four restaurants: Charleston, Cinghiale, Petite Louis, and Pazo (they also have two wine stores). It's no surprise that this duo is planning another business venture this year. Their empire grows.
Eddie Dopkin
Dopkin is probably best known for transforming a stretch of W. Cold Spring Lane into a mini restaurant row with Miss Shirley's Cafe, S'ghetti Eddie's, and Roland Park Bagel Co. (He also owned Loco Hombre and Alonso's until selling them about a year ago.) His Crazy Man Restaurant Group now has another Miss Shirley's at the Inner Harbor, and Dopkin is grooming his son David in the business. Dopkin is also exploring locations for one, possibly two, Miss Shirley's in the next year.
Vasilios Keramidas
Keramidas, who heads up Kali's Restaurant Group, has carved out a dining stronghold in Fells Point. The elegant Kali's Court started the buzz, followed by Mezze, Meli American Bistro, and Tapas Adela. Now, he and his partners—Karen Patten, Eric Losin, and Theodore Losin—are gutting and renovating the old Admiral's Cup Cafe.
Qayum and Pat Karzai
The Karzais, along with son Helmand, didn't stop with their success at The Helmand, Baltimore's go-to place for delicious, authentic Afghan food. The couple added Tapas Teatro and b bistro to their restaurant roster and are planning to open a tapas place at the reinvigorated Senator Theatre. They're also eyeing the long-shuttered and once esteemed Chesapeake Restaurant on North Charles Street as a location for a seafood venue.
Patrick Russell
When Russell opened Kooper¹s Tavern in Fells Point, naming it after his yellow Lab, he had no idea he was embarking on a mini restaurant conglomerate. Now, he and his wife, Katie, operate Sláinte Irish Pub and Restaurant, Woody¹s Rum Bar and Island Grill, and Kooper¹s Chowhound Burger Wagon. Patrick Russell has also joined forces with Bill Irvin, the restaurants¹ director of operations, to form the Fells Point Hospitality Management group. So far, they have acquired Celie¹s Waterfront Inn in Fells Point and plan to open a wine bar in Fells Point and another restaurant in Baltimore County in the future. They also brought in a top-notch chef, Bill Crouse, to deliver the best possible cuisine at the current restaurants.
And don't count out:
- Although the Food Network has announced that this will be Ace of Cake's final season, they're already looking to develop new shows for Duff Goldman, who has brought national attention to our fair city.
- Spike Gjerde's three-year-old Woodberry Kitchen has raised the bar for everyone else in the field.
- The Vitales—Aldo and Regina and sons Sergio and Alessandro—exert their influence at Aldo's Ristorante Italiano in Little Italy by entertaining local bigwigs and hosting political fundraisers. The younger Vitales plan to open an upscale pizzeria in Harbor East.
Two couples rule the gala scene with their philanthropy——and their rolodexes.
Eddie C. and C. Sylvia Brown
The generous Browns could neatly fit into several of the power categories on this list, but they most conspicuously wield their power in the social arena. They were feted at galas at MICA and The Reginald F. Lewis Museum and have been coveted guests and honorees at nearly every big society event in town, including the Arthritis Foundation and the Living Classrooms Foundation.
"They're the most influential African American couple in the state of Maryland," says talk show host Anthony McCarthy. "Everyone is knocking on their door. White, black, and in between."
And when the Browns chair a party—or, even more often, are honored guests at one—the A-list of Baltimore is at their beck and call.
"They go to the right parties, they chair the right galas, they show up at the right dinner parties," says McCarthy.
"They are the quintessential power couple," agrees Del. Keiffer Mitchell Jr.
Says McCarthy: "Their legend continues to grow."
Art and Pat Modell
The Modells are the 3 Rs: Rich, retired, and revered. In a relatively short period of time (by Baltimore standards at least), they have become significant patrons of both the arts and local charities.
"They have given so many wonderful philanthropic gifts to so many institutions around town," says Sandy Richmond, the executive director of the newly renamed The Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric. "There's no way to say thanks."
And when the Modells chair a party, "people show up," says one high-ranking society observer.
"Art and Pat Modell do not take their commitments lightly," says Lori D. Mulligan, director of development and marketing for Gilchrist Hospice Care. (The Modells recently chaired its
Holly Ball.) "Their name alone is associated with good judgment and impeccable taste."
And don't count out:
- Look out for David and Michel Modell. After chairing parties for Pam Shriver and MAP, the couple are clearly following in Art and Pat's (gilded) footsteps.
- Rising stars Jennifer and George Reynolds recently chaired the Walters Gala and are big contributors to St. Joseph Medical Center. She's also the next National Aquarium board chair. "They cut a wide swath among all sectors," says one insider.
- Aris Melissaratos, the former DBED secretary (now at Hopkins), has become a serious player on the social scene, chairing galas for Cystic Fibrosis and the American Heart Association.
The Power Vacuum
How Baltimore's power has shifted—and why that may not be such a bad thing.
By Max Weiss
Once was, it was easy to identify the powerful people. They were the CEOs of local firms like Alex. Brown, the Maryland Jockey Club, and Mercantile Safe Deposit. They were the political apparatchiks of William Donald Schaefer and later, Kurt Schmoke. They were graduates of the big urban public schools—like City or Poly—or the big private ones, like Gilman, Boys' Latin, and Calvert School.
But now, as more local headquarters are closing (or being bought out), and as the old guard is retiring (or dead), there's a bit of confusion in this town.
Who's running Baltimore?
John Willis, the former Secretary of State of Maryland under Parris Glendening, now the director of the government and public policy program at the University of Baltimore, puts it like this: "No one knows who to call anymore."
The Irv Kovens of this world—he was famously the kingmaker behind Schaefer—are gone, as are likes of H. Furlong Baldwin (the former Mercantile chief), Joe DeFrancis (from the Maryland Jockey Club), and Buzzy Krongard (of Alex. Brown). And while H&S's John Paterakis and Orioles owner/superlawyer Peter Angelos are still enormously powerful, they have become less hands-on with time.
"We've run out of the kind of people who used to sit on the board of the GBC [Greater Baltimore Committee]," says Aris Melissaratos, the former head of the Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) and now an adviser to the president of Hopkins.
And while Larry Gibson, the political adviser who helped put Kurt Schmoke in office, still has some measure of power, he wasn't able to mobilize the vote behind the candidate he most recently supported, Pat Jessamy. (She lost her city State's Attorney seat to newcomer Gregg Bernstein, largely because voter turnout was historically low.)
"Large groups of people just aren't being controlled like they used to," says WEAA talk show host Anthony McCarthy, the former spokesperson for Mayor Sheila Dixon. "It used to be easier to turn out voters."
And that's at least partly because of the waning influence of The Baltimore Sun.
"The media market is fractured," notes Willis. "Makes it that much more difficult to reach large numbers of people."
Of course, there are people who have power—the mayor, the governor, the county executives—just by virtue of their postions. But elected power isn't the same as personal power. And everyone agrees that the personal power in this town has become splintered. But here's the rub: Most feel that's not necessarily a bad thing.
"There's been a generational shift," says Del. Keiffer Mitchell Jr., who himself hails from a long-serving political family. "Power these days can be influenced by the number of friends you have on Facebook."
Adds Kathy Sher, the deputy director for external affairs at the National Aquarium, "It feels like the thirtysomething and fortysomethings have as much cachet as the old guard. And that seems like a very healthy and positive dynamic."
As for the notion that you had to have been born and raised in this town to rise to power? Not necessarily true, our observers say, but Baltimoreans are still wary of outsiders.
"You can't just fly in and have a Tea Party member [as CEO] and expect it to work," chuckles Willis. "There has to be a certain amount of awareness."
"You have to get involved with your community," adds Mitchell. He points to Atwood "Woody" Collins, the high-ranking M&T Bank exec, who has become a local leader. "He doesn't drive around in a limo. He walks to M&T. People like that."
Worshipping at the right churches is still a factor, as is knowing the right opinion makers, what Mitchell calls the "chattering class." But Melissaratos points out that even those folks are less easy to identify. "Who's calling the shots right now?" he muses.
All agree that the best part of this power shortage is that it gives an opportunity for new leadership to emerge in rising populations, like the Latino community, the green community, and both the new technology and health care sectors. And power is also materializing from increasingly diverse pockets (which is why we broke up our larger feature into categories).
"Now it seems like there are different segments of power and they're all very unique," says Kathy Sher. "And they reflect the business and social complexities that are going on in Baltimore."
For now, we have shifted from what Willis calls an "elite" power structure to a "pluralistic" one. But he's not sure it's going to last.
"Politics abhors a vacuum," he says. "The question is, who's going to emerge?"


text:
BioWare's Casey Hudson, the project director for Mass Effect 2, acknowledged a "tremendous amount of interest" from Hollywood in a Mass Effect film but vows such a movie, if done, will be done right or not at all.
"Obviously we have a tremendous amount of interest from people in Hollywood to make a major motion picture about 'Mass Effect,'" Hudson told the MTV Movies Blog. "The most important thing for us is, we don't just want to see a movie get made. We want to see a great movie get made, if it's going to get done at all."
Way back in the middle of 2008, Avi Arad, best known for several successful (and some less so) comic-book adaptations, optioned the rights to a Mass Effect film. But there has been no news of such a project since then. This may be deliberate. Hudson's comments make it apparent that BioWare isn't in a hurry and wants to be sure the film has a story worthy of this franchise.
"We're just looking at our options there, but waiting to make sure we have something really right before we do it," he told MTV Movies.
EXCLUSIVE: There's 'A Tremendous Amount Of Interest' In Developing A 'Mass Effect' Film [MTV Movies Blog]


text:
Lyrics: Hart, Melton
Music: Hart, Melton
Recorded for Mickey Hart's unreleased album Fire On The Mountain.
Speed Racer
Speed Racer, my kind of girl
Speed Racer, out of this world
Speed Racer, take all you got
On a cold winter's night, she makes you feel hot
She makes you feel hot
Lived every minute
Trying not to fight in the night
Walking, talking
Running, flying
[?] not now, well that wouldn't be right
First time we met, we was high on a hill
She almost passed me right by
Then I noticed her wings, we got into some things
And I asked her to teach me to fly
Won't you teach me to fly
Drank all my brandy
Ate my candy
[Fell] right in his arms
Came to an end
Meets new friends
Found herself alone
In the zone
|Recorded By
|Fire On The Mountain
|Mickey Hart (unreleased)
|The Fish
|Barry Melton


text:
Out of stock
Stay informed with the goings-on of this National Historic Landmark! We understand how much email our friends receive on a daily basis. As a rule we send one email per month–so we won't clog up your inbox. We promise, your contact information is always safe with us.
By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, 461 Piquette Avenue, POB 2127, Detroit, MI, 48386 United States, https://www.fordpiquetteplant.org. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact. Our Privacy Policy.
You will receive our electronic email, "The Model T Talkie"
We will get back to you shortly.
Your donation will support our efforts.
Your membership will support our efforts.
We will see you at the event.


text: V Net capital losses carried forward to later income yearsWarning: This information may not apply to the current year. Check the content carefully to ensure it is applicable to your circumstances. End of attention Show at V the total of any unapplied net capital losses from collectables and unapplied net capital losses from all other CGT assets and events. If this item applies to the fund, you must refer to the Guide to capital gains tax 2013 to complete this item. It also explains the special CGT rules that apply to foreign residents and trustees of foreign trusts. This information is calculated or transferred from: 3B in Table 5 and 3A in Table 9 of the CGT summary worksheet A and B in Item 3 of the CGT schedule, if one is required. If the fund is required to complete a Losses schedule 2013 the amount shown at V Net capital losses carried forward to later income years item 2 in part A of that schedule must be the same as the amount written at V on the tax return. Last modified: 13 Feb 2019QC 35420


text:
The Cedar Springs Public Library's summer reading club got off to a great start Monday, with over 600 people passing through the doors of the library to sign up, pick out books, get a book bag, and lots of other goodies.
New employee Rosann Gerhardt, commented, "(There was) great energy, a lot of excitement. People everywhere! I enjoyed watching children looking through our library's books, trying to pick just the right book."
Amber Hath, employee for 2 years, experienced her 3rd CSPL Summer Reading Program. She said, "This was my first time to work the program in the morning. I was not prepared for the onslaught when the doors opened."
Friends of the library held a book sale, summer reading club t-shirts were on sale, and kids enjoyed some tasty ice cream courtesy of Kelly's Restaurant, and Double K Farms was there with their petting zoo.
"We had 28 volunteers that made the day run smoothly," said Library Director Donna Clark.


text:
New Bedford St Lukes Hospital | Overview
101 Page Street
New Bedford, MA 02740
Boston Children's Hospital and Southcoast Health System provide convenient, local access to high-quality pediatric care to children and families across the South Coast region. For more information about pediatric services at St. Lukes, go to southcoastkids.org.
Services offered at St. Luke's Hospital include:
- Emergency Medicine
- Inpatient Services


text:
There's no double when it comes to the success of Us. The sophomore effort from Director Jordan Peele scored big at the box office, making $71.1 million in its opening weekend.
The film starring Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, and Elisabeth Moss broke a few records on its way to the top, most impressively having the largest opening for an original, R-rated film since Ted took in $54.4 million in 2012. That also makes it bigger than the breakout hit A Quiet Place, which held the title of top original horror film debut with $50.2 million when it premiered last year. It's also the third biggest R-rated horror opening ever, coming in behind last year's Halloween and 2017's edition of It.
The story of a family tormented by their doppelgängers is already off to quicker start than Peele's first film. Get Out debuted with $33.3 million in 2017, going on to total $176 million domestically and win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Us has had the second best opening weekend of the year after Captain Marvel. It will face a challenge from Disney's live-action version of Dumbo opening on Friday.


text:
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father,…of whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named, &c.
1. Of God as the sole Principle we have said enough to you yesterday960: by "enough" I mean, not what is worthy of the subject, (for to reach that is utterly impossible to mortal nature), but as much as was granted to our infirmity. I traversed also the bye-paths of the manifold error of the godless heretics: but now let us shake off their foul and soul-poisoning doctrine, and remembering what relates to them, not to our own hurt, but to our greater detestation of them, let us come back to ourselves, and receive the saving doctrines of the true Faith, connecting the dignity of Fatherhood with that of the Unity, and believing In One God the Father: for we must not only believe in one God; but this also let us devoutly receive, that He is the Father of the Only-begotten, our Lord Jesus Christ.
2. For thus shall we raise our thoughts higher than the Jews961, who admit indeed by their doctrines that there is One God, (for what if they often denied even this by their idolatries?); but that He is also the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, they admit not; being of a contrary mind to their own Prophets, who in the Divine Scriptures affirm, The Lord said unto me, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten thee962. And to this day they rage and gather themselves together against the Lord, and against His Anointed963, thinking that it is possible to be made friends of the Father apart from devotion towards the Son, being ignorant that no man cometh unto the Father but by964 the Son, who saith, I am the Door, and I am the Way965. He therefore that refuseth the Way which leadeth to the Father, and he that denieth the Door, how shall he be deemed worthy of entrance unto God? They contradict also what is written in the eighty-eighth Psalm, He shall call Me, Thou art my Father, my God, and the helper of my salvation. And I will make him my first-born, high among the kings of the earth966. For if they should insist that these things are said of David or Solomon or any of their successors, let them shew how the throne of him, who is in their judgment described in the prophecy, is as the days of heaven, and as the sun before God, and as the moon established for ever967. And how is it also that they are not abashed at that which is written, From the womb before the morning-star have I begotten thee968: also this, He shall endure with the sun, and before the moon, from generation to generation969. To refer these passages to a man is a proof of utter and extreme insensibility.
3. Let the Jews, however, since they so will, suffer their usual disorder of unbelief, both in these and the like statements. But let us adopt the godly doctrine of our Faith, worshipping one God the Father of the Christ, (for to deprive Him, who grants to all the gift of generation, of the like dignity would be impious): and let us Believe in One God the Father, in order that, before we touch upon our teaching concerning Christ, the faith concerning the Only-begotten may be implanted in the soul of the hearers, without being at all interrupted by the intervening doctrines concerning the Father.
4. For the name of the Father, with the very utterance of the title, suggests the thought of the Son: as in like manner one who names the Son thinks straightway of the Father also970. For if a Father, He is certainly the Father of a Son; and if a Son, certainly the Son of a Father. Lest therefore from our speaking thus, In One God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of All Things Visible and Invisible, and from our then adding this also, And in One Lord Jesus Christ, any one should irreverently suppose that the Only-begotten is second in rank to heaven and earth,—for this reason before naming them we named God the Father, that in thinking of the Father we might at the same time think also of the Son: for between the Son and the Father no being whatever comes.
5. God then is in an improper sense971 the Father of many, but by nature and in truth of One only, the Only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; not having attained in course of time to being a Father, but being ever the Father of the Only-begotten972. Not that being without a Son before, He has since by change of purpose become a Father: but before every substance and every intelligence, before times and all ages, God hath the dignity of Father, magnifying Himself in this more than in His other dignities; and having become a Father, not by passion973, or union, not in ignorance, not by effluence974, not by diminution, not by alteration, for every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow of turning975. Perfect Father, He begat a perfect Son, and delivered all things to Him who is begotten: (for all things, He saith, are delivered unto Me of My Father976:) and is honoured by the Only-begotten: for, I honour My Father977, saith the Son; and again, Even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love978. Therefore we also say like the Apostle, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all consolation979: and, We bow our knees unto the Father from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named980: glorifying Him with the Only-begotten: for he that denieth the Father, denieth the Son also981: and again, He that confesseth the Son, hath the Father also982; knowing that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father983.
6. We worship, therefore, as the Father of Christ, the Maker of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob984; to whose honour the former temple also, over against us here, was built. For we shall not tolerate the heretics who sever the Old Testament from the New985, but shall believe Christ, who says concerning the temple, Wist ye not that I must be in My Father's house986? and again, Take these things hence, and make not my Father's house a house of merchandise987, whereby He most clearly confessed that the former temple in Jerusalem was His own Father's house. But if any one from unbelief wishes to receive yet more proofs as to the Father of Christ being the same as the Maker of the world, let him hear Him say again, Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and not one of them shall fall on the ground without My Father which is in heaven988; this also, Behold the fowls of the heaven that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them989; and this, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work990.
7. But lest any one from simplicity or perverse ingenuity should suppose that Christ is but equal in honour to righteous men, from His saying, I ascend to My Father, and your991 Father, it is well to make this distinction beforehand, that the name of the Father is one, but the power of His operation992 manifold. And Christ Himself knowing this has spoken unerringly, I go to My Father, and your Father: not saying 'to our Father,' but distinguishing, and saying first what was proper to Himself, to My Father, which was by nature; then adding, and your Father, which was by adoption. For however high the privilege we have received of saying in our prayers, Our Father, which art in heaven, yet the gift is of loving-kindness. For we call Him Father, not as having been by nature begotten of Our Father which is in heaven; but having been transferred from servitude to sonship by the grace of the Father, through the Son and Holy Spirit, we are permitted so to speak by ineffable loving-kindness.
8. But if any one wishes to learn how we call God "Father," let him hear Moses, the excellent schoolmaster, saying, Did not this thy Father Himself buy thee, and make thee, and create thee993? Also Esaias the Prophet, And now, O Lord. Thou art our Father: and we all are clay, the works of Thine hands994. For most clearly has the prophetic gift declared that not according to nature, but according to God's grace, and by adoption, we call Him Father.
9. And that thou mayest learn more exactly that in the Divine Scriptures it is not by any means the natural father only that is called father, hear what Paul says:—For though ye should have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I begat you through the Gospel995. For Paul was father of the Corinthians, not by having begotten them after the flesh, but by having taught and begotten them again after the Spirit. Hear Job also saying, I was a father of the needy996: for he called himself a father, not as having begotten them all, but as caring for them. And God's Only-begotten Son Himself, when nailed in His flesh to the tree at the time of crucifixion, on seeing Mary, His own Mother according to the flesh, and John, the most beloved of His disciples, said to him, Behold! thy mother, and to her, Behold! thy Son997: teaching her the parental affection due to him998, and indirectly explaining that which is said in Luke, and His father and His mother marvelled at Him999: words which the tribe of heretics snatch up, saying that He was begotten of a man and a woman. For like as Mary was called the mother of John, because of her parental affection, not from having given him birth, so Joseph also was called the father of Christ, not from having begotten Him (for he knew her not, as the Gospel says, until she had brought forth her first-born Son1000 ), but because of the care bestowed on His nurture.
10. Thus much then at present, in the way of a digression, to put you in remembrance. Let me, however, add yet another testimony in proof that God is called the Father of men in an improper sense. For when in Esaias God is addressed thus, For Thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us1001, and Sarah travailed not with us1002, need we inquire further on this point? And if the Psalmist says, Let them be troubled from His countenance, the Father of the fatherless, and Judge of the widows1003, is it not manifest to all, that when God is called the Father of orphans who have lately lost their own fathers, He is so named not as begetting them of Himself, but as caring for them and shielding them. But whereas God, as we have said, is in an improper sense the Father of men, of Christ alone He is the Father by nature, not by adoption: and the Father of men in time, but of Christ before all time, as He saith, And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was1004.
11. We believe then In One God the Father the Unsearchable and Ineffable, Whom no man hath seen1005, but the Only-begotten alone hath declared Him1006. For He which is of God, He hath seen God1007: whose face the Angels do alway behold in heaven1008, behold, however, each according to the measure of his own rank. But the undimmed vision of the Father is reserved in its purity for the Son with the Holy Ghost.
12. Having reached this point of my discourse, and being reminded of the passages just before mentioned, in which God was addressed as the Father of men, I am greatly amazed at men's insensibility. For God with unspeakable loving-kindness deigned to be called the Father of men,—He in heaven, they on earth,—and He the Maker of Eternity, they made in time,—He who holdeth the earth in the hollow of His hand, they upon the earth as grasshoppers1009. Yet man forsook his heavenly Father, and said to the stock, Thou art my father, and to the stone, Thou hast begotten me1010. And for this reason, methinks, the Psalmist says to mankind, Forget also thine own people, and thy father's house1011, whom thou hast chosen for a father, whom thou hast drawn upon thyself to thy destruction.
13. And not only stocks and stones, but even Satan himself, the destroyer of souls, have some ere now chosen for a father; to whom the Lord said as a rebuke, Ye do the deeds of your father1012, that is of the devil, he being the father of men not by nature, but by fraud. For like as Paul by his godly teaching came to be called the father of the Corinthians, so the devil is called the father of those who of their own will consent unto him1013.
For we shall not tolerate those who give a wrong meaning to that saying, Hereby know we the children of God, and the children of the devil1014, as if there were by nature some men to be saved, and some to be lost. Whereas we come into such holy sonship not of necessity but by choice: nor was the traitor Judas by nature a son of the devil and of perdition; for certainly he would never have cast out devils at all in the name of Christ: for Satan casteth not out Satan1015. Nor on the other hand would Paul have turned from persecuting to preaching. But the adoption is in our own power, as John saith, But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God, even to them that believe in His name1016. For not before their believing, but from their believing they were counted worthy to become of their own choice the children of God.
14. Knowing this, therefore, let us walk spiritually, that we may be counted worthy of God's adoption. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God1017. For it profiteth us nothing to have gained the title of Christians, unless the works also follow; lest to us also it be said, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham1018. For if we call on Him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, let us pass the time of our sojourning here in fear1019, loving not the world, neither the things that are in the world: for if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him1020. Wherefore, my beloved children, let us by our works offer glory to our Father which is in heaven, that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in heaven1021. Let us cast all our care upon Him, for our Father knoweth what things we have need of1022.
15. But while honouring our heavenly Father let us honour also the fathers of our flesh1023: since the Lord Himself hath evidently so appointed in the Law and the Prophets, saying, Honour thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee, and thy days shall be long in the land1024. And let this commandment be especially observed by those here present who have fathers and mothers. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing to the Lord1025. For the Lord said not, He that loveth father or mother is not worthy of Me, lest thou from ignorance shouldest perversely mistake what was rightly written, but He added, more than Me1026. For when our fathers on earth are of a contrary mind to our Father in heaven, then we must obey Christ's word. But when they put no obstacle to godliness in our way, if we are ever carried away by ingratitude, and, forgetting their benefits to us, hold them in contempt, then the oracle will have place which says, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death1027.
16. The first virtue of godliness in Christians is to honour their parents, to requite the troubles of those who begat them1028, and with all their might to confer on them what tends to their comfort (for if we should repay them ever so much, yet we shall never be able to return their gift of life1029 ), that they also may enjoy the comfort provided by us, and may confirm us in those blessings which Jacob the supplanter shrewdly seized; and that our Father in heaven may accept1030 our good purpose, and judge us worthy to shine amid righteous as the sun in the kingdom of our Father1031 : To whom be the glory, with the Only-begotten our Saviour Jesus Christ, and with the Holy and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, to all eternity. Amen.
960 See Lecture VI. 1, and 5.
961 "In Athanasius, Quæstio i. ad Antiochum, tom. II. p. 331, Monarchia is opposed to Polytheism: 'If we worship One God, it is manifest that we agree with the Jews in believing in a Monarchia: but if we worship three gods, it is evident that we follow the Greeks by introducing Polytheism, instead of piously worshipping One Only God.'" (Suicer, Thesaurus, Μοναρχία.)
962 Ps. ii. 7.
963 Ib. ii. 2.
964 John xiv. 6.
965 Ib. x. 9.
966 Ps. lxxxix. 26, 27.
967 vv. 29, 36, 37.
968 Ps. cx. 3: "From the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth" (R.V.).
969 Ps. lxxii. 5.
970 Compare Athanasius (de Sententiâ Dionyssi, § 17): "Each of the names I have mentioned is inseparable and indivisible from that next to it. I spoke of the Father, and before bringing in the Son, I designated Him also in the Father. I brought in the Son, and even if I had not previously mentioned the Father, in any wise He would have been presupposed in the Son."
971 καταχρηστικῶς. A technical term in Grammar, applied to the use of a word in a derived or metaphorical sense. See Aristotle's description of the various kinds of metaphor, Poet. § xxi. 7–16. The opposite to καταχρηστικῶς is κυρίως, as used in a parallel passage by Athanasius, Oratio i. contra Arianos, § 21 fin. "It belongs to the Godhead alone, that the Father is properly (κυρίως) Father, and the Son properly Son."
972 "And in Them, and Them only, does it hold, that the Father is ever Father, and the Son ever Son." (Athan., as above.)
973 Compare vi. 6: ὁ γεννηθεὶς ἀπαθῶς. The importance attached to the assertion of a "passionless generation" arose from the objections offered by Eusebius of Nicomedia and others to the word ὁμοούσιος when proposed by Constantine at Nicæa. We learn from Eusebius of Cæsarea (Epist ad suæ parœciæ homines, § 4) that the Emperor himself explained that the word was used "not in the sense of the affections (πάθη) of bodies," because "the immaterial, and intellectual, and incorporeal nature could not be the subject of any corporeal affection." Again, in § 7, Eusebius admits that "there are grounds for saying that the Son is 'one in essence' with the Father, not in the way of bodies, nor like mortal beings, for He is not such by division of essence, or by severance, no, nor by any affection, or alteration, or changing of the Father's essence and power." (See the next note.)
974 Athanasius (Expos. Fidei, § 1): "Word not pronounced nor mental, nor an effluence of the Perfect, nor a dividing of the passionless nature." Also (de Decretis, § 11): "God being without parts is Father of the Son without partition or passion; for there is neither effluence of the Immaterial, nor influx from without, as among men."
975 James i. 17.
976 Matt. xi. 27.
977 John viii. 49.
978 John xv. 10.
979 2 Cor. i. 3.
980 Eph. iii. 14, 15.
981 1 John ii. 22: "This is the Antichrist, even he that denieth the Father and the Son" (R.V.).
982 v. 23, bracketed in the A.V. as spurious, but rightly restored in R.V.
983 Phil. ii. 11.
984 Ex. iii. 6.
985 Compare Lect. iv. 33.
986 Luke ii. 49.
987 John ii. 16.
988 Matt. x. 29. S. Cyril instead of "your Father" writes "my Father which is in heaven:" so Origen and Athanasius.
989 Matt. vi. 26.
990 John v. 17.
991 John xx. 17. On this text, quoted again in Cat. xi. 19, see the three Sermons of Bishop Andrewes On the Resurrection.
992 ἐνεργεία, meaning here, the operation of God, by nature in begetting His Son, by adoption in making many sons.
993 Deut. xxxii. 6.
994 Is. lxiv. 8.
995 1 Cor. iv. 15.
996 Job xxix. 16.
997 John xix. 26, 27.
998 φιλοστοργία might be applied to the mutual affection of mother and son, but the context shews that it refers here to parental love only; see Polybius, V. § 74, 5; Xenoph. Cyrop. I. § 3, 2.
999 Luke ii. 33.
1000 Matt. i. 25.
1001 Is. lxiii. 16.
1002 Ib. li. 2.
1003 Ps. lxviii. 5. Cyril quotes as usual from the Septuagint (Ps. lxvii. 6), where the clause ταραχθήσονται ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ, answering to nothing in the Hebrew, is evidently an interpolation, and may have crept in from a marginal quotation of Is. lxiv. 2.
1004 John xvii. 5.
1005 1 Tim. ii. 16.
1006 John i. 18.
1007 John vi. 46: He hath seen the Father. The weight of authority is against the reading (τὸν θεόν) which Cyril follows.
1008 Matt. xviii. 10.
1009 Is. xl. 12 and 22.
1010 Jer. ii. 27.
1011 Ps. xlv. 10.
1012 John viii. 41.
1013 Ps. l. 18.
1014 1 John iii. 10.
1015 Mark iii. 23.
1016 John i. 12.
1017 Rom. viii. 14.
1018 John viii. 39.
1019 1 Pet. i. 17.
1020 1 John ii. 15.
1021 Matt. v. 16.
1022 1 Pet. v. 7; Matt. vi. 8.
1023 Heb. xii. 9.
1024 Deut. v. 16.
1025 Col. iii. 20.
1026 Matt. x. 37.
1027 Ex. xxi. 17; Lev. xx. 9; Matt. xv. 4.
1028 Compare for the thought Euripides, Medea, 1029–1035.
1029 ἀντιγεννῆσαι. Jeremy Taylor (Ductor Dubitantium, Book III. cap. ii. §17) mentions several stories in which a parent is nourished from a daughter's breast, who thus 'saves the life she cannot give.'
1030 On the change of Moods, see Jelf, Greek Grammar, § 809. The second verb (καταξίωσειεν) expresses a wish and a consequence which might follow, if the first (στηρίξωσιν) wish be realized, as it probably may be. Cf. Herod. ix. 51.
1031 Matt. xiii. 43.
From: A SELECT LIBRARY OF THE NICENE AND POST-NICENE FATHERS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. SECOND SERIES TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH WITH PROLEGOMENA AND EXPLANATORY NOTES. VOLUMES I–VII. UNDER THE EDITORIAL SUPERVISION OF PHILIP SCHAFF, D.D., LL.D., PROFESSOR OF CHURCH HISTORY IN THE UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEW YORK. AND HENRY WACE, D.D., PRINCIPAL OF KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON. VOLUME VII CYRIL OF JERUSALEM, GREGORY NAZIANZEN T&T CLARK EDINBURGH WM. B. EERDMANS PUBLISHING COMPANY GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN
Archbishop Gregory
Dormition Skete
P.O. Box 3177
Buena Vista, CO 81211-3177
Contact: Archbishop Gregory
In a New Window.
Copyright 2005
All rights reserved.


text:
The Week from Hell: Every parent's worst nightmare | Daniel's memorial home page
by Gordon Lewin
(Father of one of Dan's high school buddies)
The message was waiting when I walked in the door. It was not about my son. It was from my son. It was about his best friend from childhood. It was not at Virginia Tech. It was at MIT. There was no violence, no evil. A boating accident. A well-prepared former Eagle Scout had been found strapped to what remained of his inflatable and a tied-up bailing bucket. Precautions, but not sufficient for the unusually cold water this spring. I once lived in Boston. Calm waters can quickly become treacherous. Massachusetts was, after all, the real life setting for The Perfect Storm.
Who am I to judge someone else's judgment? We all make miscalculations. Most of the time we are lucky. We slam on the brakes and then take a deep breath. I think back to last summer, at a remote beach in Hawaii, where I got caught in an undertow. The surf had changed during a 30 minute swim. A stranger spotted me and helped me out. I sat on the beach, out of breath and a bit battered. My ego shattered. There had been a surf warning, but it was calm when I went in. Bad judgment at age 54.
Trying to make sense of a tragedy does not lead to a good night's sleep. The next day, the phone rings. The parents are flying home. A relative asks if we could prepare a dinner, and be there for them if an empty house is too much to bear. We rush to the grocery store for ingredients. My wife cooks up a homemade chicken soup. It was the same dish prepared for us a decade early by the boy's mother after we were in a car accident. At the boy's home, there are hugs and tears and other friends. Yes, please stay. And so we do, setting the table for dinner for a couple who had been planning to attend a college graduation but instead brought home a son's personal belongings.
The family seeks privacy. No press calls, please. Yet they are grateful to the Boston media for its alerts and to the Coast Guard and the local police for their efforts. The father describes what it was like having to identify a son at a funeral home. I listen. I feel pain running up my neck to my head. I hold it in. I nod, trying not to make things worse. I finally understand emotionally the Chinese saying that "Tragedy is not when a child buries a parent, but when a parent buries a child." We head home.
My wife reminds me of a memento in our garage. It was a joint project the boys had completed in fifth grade. They had fought over who would keep it. I suggested they toss a coin and take turns. They ask for how long? I quipped, the winner will give it to the loser at his wedding. They laugh. My son wins. Now, there will no wedding.
Three weeks ago, we visited our son in Washington, DC. We drove to Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. We walked around the historic village, listening to guides describe life at the time of the American Revolution. In some ways, it was so simple...no computers, no cars, no phones. There was also no medicine, as we know it. Mothers routinely died in childbirth. Most families would have lost a least one child to illness. Presumably, these losses were the expected part of what life would provide. Across the street from Colonial Williamsburg, we walked around the tranquil campus of the College of William and Mary, which has been educating students for hundreds of years.
Today, we can presume that this college, along with every college in America, will be reviewing procedures and plans to try and prevent another Virginia Tech from happening. No wonder so many parents are anxious today about all sorts of things. Our expectations about what life can bring are so high, perhaps unrealistically high. At the same time, we see events--terrible events, random events leaving us with so little feeling of control. Loving parents worry about their children. That is our reality.
Yet, we all know that too much worry is not a good thing. So we figure that somehow, if we worry just the right amount, do the right thing, develop the right plans, prep for getting into the right college, that somehow our children will grow up and live happily ever after. We know our parents always wanted the best for us, as we do for our children. But we also know our lives have been mixed with joy and loss. If we look to our former high school classmates, we know there are stories of lives sorting out differently and at times tragically. Somehow, we think it will be different for our children. And perhaps, to retain sanity, we must live with the illusion that it can never happen to us. So at a subconscious level, we fret about the little things because we have no control over the things that really count.
While walking around Williamsburg, my son reminisced about his childhood. I asked him what we had done right raising him. As a teenager, he had certainly let us know what we had done wrong. I thought his response would be about some things we had done for him. I was wrong After some silence, he commented, "You were always there for me. Maybe that's all we can ever do."


text:
Explore the help topics, and if you can't find your answer or just want to say 'hi', please come by the forums (which are filled with friendly folk, we promise!) or email us.
Top questions
Getting system status...
Visit status for more updates
Quick question?
Tweet @rememberthemilk
How do I print search results?
After performing a search:
- Click the print icon located next to the Incomplete and Completed view switcher at the top of the list.
Your tasks will be displayed in a printer-friendly format in a new window.
Still need help? Contact a human


text:
- Baby Bedding(48)
- Baby Feeding(148)
- Baby Healthcare(179)
- Clothes(531)
- Safety(188)
- Toys & Hobbies(134)
We are proud to offer international shipping services that currently operate in over 200 countries and islands world wide. Nothing means more to us than bringing our customers great value and service. We will continue to grow to meet the needs of all our customers, delivering a service beyond all expectation anywhere in the world.
Packages from our warehouse in China will be shipped by ePacket or EMS depending on the weight and size of the product. Packages shipped from our US warehouse are shipped through USPS.
Yes. We provide free shipping to over 200 countries around the world. However, there are some locations we are unable to ship to. If you happen to be located in one of those countries we will contact you.
We are not responsible for any custom fees once the items have shipped. By purchasing our products, you consent that one or more packages may be shipped to you and may get custom fees when they arrive to your country.
|*Estimated Shipping Time
|United States
|10-20 Business days
|Canada, Europe
|10-20 Business days
|Australia, New Zealand
|10-30 Business days
|Central & South America
|15-30 Business days
|10-20 Business days
|15-45 Business days
Yes, you will receive an email once your order ships that contains your tracking information. If you haven't received tracking info within 5 days, please contact us.
For some shipping companies, it takes 2-5 business days for the tracking information to update on the system. If your order was placed more than 5 business days ago and there is still no information on your tracking number, please contact us.
For logistical reasons, items in the same purchase will sometimes be sent in separate packages, even if you've specified combined shipping.
If you have any other questions, please contact us and we will do our best to help you out.
All orders can be cancelled until they are shipped. If your order has been paid and you need to make a change or cancel an order, you must contact us within 12 hours. Once the packaging and shipping process has started, it can no longer be cancelled.
Your satisfaction is our #1 priority. Therefore, you can request a refund or reshipment for ordered products if:
We do not issue the refund if:
*You can submit refund requests within 15 days after the guaranteed period for delivery (45 days) has expired. You can do it by sending a message on Contact Us page
If you are approved for a refund, then your refund will be processed, and a credit will automatically be applied to your credit card or original method of payment, within 14 days.
If for any reason you would like to exchange your product, perhaps for a different size in clothing. You must contact us first and we will guide you through the steps.
Please do not send your purchase back to us unless we authorise you to do so.
5 Star (17)
4 Star (0)
3 Star (0)
2 Star (0)
1 Star (0)
Very much what the item says- I will be ordering more shortly. Good for families with kids to make a child proof house.
14.04 ordered 29.04 received. all as in description. Thank you
Good product
Came all fast! thanks to the store :)
it work good!
Soft, but they do not glue very well and tear, if you pull. But the black ones look perfect on the black furniture, invisible.
Delivery month to Rostov-on-Don. It sticks perfectly. Thank you!
Thank you. now the children are safe)))
They 've come very well.
Good soft corners! Firmly stick!!!
All good. Arrived quickly.
Good corners
They are glued to a double-sided Scotch, which comes with corners. At first he seemed flimsy, but glued and, like, nothing-hold on. In the extreme case, if they fall off, you can glue on a more solid double-sided Scotch.
Many thanks dear friends!
We offer best service and great prices on high quality products
Our store operates worldwide and you can enjoy free delivery of all orders
Buy with confidence using the world's most popular and secure payment methods
Our Buyer Protection covers your purchase from click to delivery


text:
La Bocca Opens North Phoenix Location
La Bocca Urban Pizzeria & Wine Bar added another location last month to north Phoenix, where the restaurant offers a smaller, more intimate experience than its Mill Avenue location in Tempe.
Julian Wright of Fork & Dagger, a bar and restaurant development company, opened the north Phoenix location to tap into a market that is saturated with chain restaurants.
La Bocca offers a wine list with 100 choices stored in an on-site wine cellar. Mark Pope, who
worked the wine program at Boulders Resort in Carefree in the early 2000s, prepared the wine list at the new location. Pope and Wright trained the servers so that they could expertly suggest a wine from their eclectic list for whatever mood a customer is in. Pope is on the floor, too, making himself available to help out customers with their wine choices.
"What's unique," Wright said. "Is we've relied less on name brands and went with high quality wines."
In order to make the wine really pop out there, La Bocca also uses Riedel Glassware for the wine, they make sure that the customer is given the right type of glass for the right type of wine.
"I learned the glass really makes the difference," Wright said.
The expanded wine list and perfect glass isn't the only thing different at the new La Bocca, the North Phoenix location looks different too, with a more rustic look and black and white photos emulating European fashion from the '60s hanging on the walls.
The place is a throwback to the past, Wright says, along with the different interior the north location has an outdoor community patio with a fireplace.
"The place in general has a more sophisticated feel," Wright said.
La Bocca in north Phoenix is going to be as linked with the local community as the Mill Avenue
location. Wright says that they're outreaching to the local community and doing charity events with schools, too.
And the community is embracing La Bocca. Wright says it's becoming the spot where neighbors bump into neighbors as cheers of greetings come from the customers as more fellow customers come on in through the door.
"A lot of them thank us for opening," Wright said. "They like the new independent place in the area."