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South African Journal of Education
versão On-line ISSN 2076-3433
versão impressa ISSN 0256-0100
S. Afr. j. educ. vol.30 no.4 Pretoria Jan. 2010
Constructing principals' professional identities through life stories: an exploration
Jabulani Mpungose*
Adopting a humanistic perspective to the study of leadership, I discuss and describe how school principals adapt to their new roles, owing to the new education policies and educational restructuring within the South African Department of Education. The Life History approach was used to collect data from six selected school principals in KwaZulu-Natal. On the basis of the analysis of data, I conclude that leaders create their provisional selves and construct their professional identities from their personal and professional knowledge. Provisional selves, in this context, are temporary solutions principals use to close the gap between their current capacities and self-concepts, and the ideas they hold about what attitudes and behaviours are expected in their new roles.
Keywords: leadership style; life history; life stories; principals; professional identity; structure and agency
Several studies that examine leadership roles of school principals (Gergen, 1971; Brott & Kajs, 2001; Abrahao, 2002) see policy role prescription and experience as the most significant leadership factors that influence principals' abilities and/or capacities. Within the context of this paper, the central argument is that the principals' source of influence is their professional identity. Such identity is constructed and developed over an extended period of time, ranging from their entry into the teaching profession to their appointment as school managers and leaders. This argument emanates partly from the fact that the feedback that principals receive from interacting with their staff, in formal settings or otherwise, is one of the major factors that largely influence ways in which they build their self-concepts and therefore reinforce their leadership styles.
Many school principals, who have no previous management or leadership experience, find it difficult to function in their new roles if they do not share meanings and values with their staff. This was confirmed by one of the principals who said, "When I took over as principal, I did not have an idea of what my roles were, but working with and among my staff and tapping in their beliefs and values have made me grow and be a good leader". It is in such circumstances that principals need to interact with each other frequently. This would create opportunities for them to share experiences and therefore re-define their identities and roles in line with the policy and structural changes. After all, identity is created for a particular position or role one holds within a group or organization and leaders use this identity in their behaviour over a wide variety of circumstances (Gergen, 1971).
Principals, however, are also expected to play roles, like facilitating the appraisal process or cooperating with school governing body processes, that are largely pre-determined, and this is reflected in various policy documents such as the National Education Policy Act No. 27 of 1996, the Employment of Educators Act No. 76 of 1998 and the South African Schools Act (SASA) No. 76 of 1996. While this is the case, principals can make behavioural choices and decisions on how to perform their duties, which may not necessarily conform to the expectations linked to their prescribed roles. These choices and decisions are based on personal values, interests, beliefs and expectations that the principals bring with them and I refer to these, in this paper, as personal or private knowledge. It must be acknowledged though that in general, principals address both, social behaviour as spelled out in policies "social structure", and personal behaviour "agency" in their day-to-day leadership roles (Giddens, 2005).
Constructing professional identity
Individuals who intend to define themselves and their roles within an organization would first ask themselves the question: 'Who am I?' This question assists them in setting their personal identities in the context of the expectation of the group members. In order for individuals to define themselves, they need to first be in possession of the self concept. In order for them to understand who they really are (Antikainen et al., 1996:20), they have to own an idea about how they became what they are, and also where they are going. Answers to these very important questions in leadership serve as a foundation for organizing and establishing relationships with peers, both in the personal and interpersonal fields (Lessard, 1986; Rousseau & Van der Veen, 2001).
The identities that the principals construct in their day-to-day activities and relations at schools have three dimensions, namely: the personal, professional and socio-political. Abrahao (2002:8) argues that in education we cannot separate the personal from the professional self, particularly in a profession that is impregnated with values and ideals and that is very demanding from the standpoint of commitment to human relations.
The answer that the principals give to the question 'who am I?' gives a definition of themselves, which eventually influences how they respond to their professional and social demands. Thus, professional identity involves professional socialization and development which "... is a social learning process that includes the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills that are required in a professional role and the development of new values, attitudes, and self-identity components" (Brott & Kajs, 2001:2). This is the reason the manner in which the principals respond to their immediate socio-political and cultural environment results into building and accumulation of knowledge about themselves. During this process, each individual principal allocates his or her acquired knowledge, values and energies to shape his or her professional identity (Abrahao, 2002).
For Schein (1978), the experiences and meaningful feedback that allows people to gain insight into their central and enduring preferences, talents, and values make professional identity more adaptable and mutable early in their careers. The processes by which an individual selectively acquires knowledge, skills and dispositions needed to perform effectively the role of a school leader may range from carefully planned formal education programmes, for example, through less formal, but still planned experiences, like working with a mentor, to informal usually unplanned, on-the-job leadership experiences. Such processes may also yield positive and/or negative results, depending on the manner in which they are organized and offered to the principals (Leithwood et al., 1992:148).
Burke and Reitzes (1981), for example, maintain that the meanings and expectations associated with the role of an individual form a set of rules or standards that guide behaviour. Given the fact that the leadership role of the principals require them to work among people in an organization, the process of professional identity construction cannot only be categorized as 'personal', but as both personal and social. It is in this context that I argue that individual principals construct meaningful descriptions of themselves in the context of the expectations and the use of collective values and meanings acquired during the interaction and socialization with 'relevant others' (Stets & Burke, 2000).
Life stories and professional identity
Qualitative researchers use the life history approach to gather events and happenings in people's lives as their data and then use its analytical procedures to produce explanatory stories (Polkinghorne, 1995:5). The advantages of using life history as a methodological tool in the process of researching for this paper are that its data illustrate the relationship between the selected principals and the communities they serve; they demonstrate how the principals continually negotiate their leadership roles in their daily activities; and they make possible the examination of the links between structure and agency and the construction of professional identity (Bloom & Munro, 1995: 100). In this paper, the concept of structure refers to the rules, roles and policy that principals are faced with in their daily activities. Agency refers to the intentions principals have in doing things and their ability and power to do these things (Musolf, 2003; Giddens, 2005).
The stories that the principals tell are professional life stories made up of events that take place in their professional lives that are defined by their leadership roles and responsibilities. These stories reflect on their confusions, indecisions, insecurities, contradictions, fears, joys, successes, fateful moments, and most of all, their complex lives as leaders of schools in the democratic dispensation (Hatch & Wisniewski, 1995). These give an idea to the educators about what to expect from the principal during the socialization process and what kind of support they can give to him or her. The principal's transparent nature sometimes motivates the educators to open up to him or her, and therefore work together towards the common goals of the organization. This limits the incidents of misunderstandings and conflict.
This paper is based on an inquiry that was guided by the following objectives:
To examine the professional life stories of selected principals to determine the extent to which they reflect the construction of professional identities.
To explore the complex interplay between structure and agency
To establish the extent to which school leadership is determined by personal values, interests, beliefs, professional expectations and social influence.
In this paper the life history approach, combined with social phenomenology, form the research tool that was used to deconstruct the stories that make up lives of the selected principals. Social phenomenology was used as a theoretical framework of this paper because it covers both the sociological and educational aspects of this research by explaining how principals view or perceive their leadership roles and construct their identities through their life stories. It also seeks to understand each principal's personal and cultural values, knowledge, beliefs, perspectives and expectations as they are constructed within the principals' life histories (Munro, 1993).
Research design
This paper relies on a qualitative, interpretive research method also known as a narrative approach. The qualitative, interpretive approach was chosen because it describes and analyses people's individual and collective social actions, beliefs, thoughts, experiences, views, and perspectives. The use of the qualitative research method, furthermore, provided this paper direct, firsthand, and more contextual information about the principals' behaviour because the focus was on their feelings, perceptions and opinions. Another reason for the choice of this approach was that the research focused on the principals' everyday work-related activities and situations, which I was trying to understand.
A purposive or selective sampling procedure was used. Purposive sampling identifies those people who have relevant information about and have experienced the process under consideration (Symon & Hornby, 1994). The procedure was judgemental because it was more informed by my experience and knowledge of the area of study to select cases that are representative or typical (Fogelman, 2002). Six school principals were selected using this procedure, from 1,403 public schools in the eThekwini Region. The selected principals were aged between 40 and 50 years. Two of them were females while four were males. Only one primary school principal out the six participated in the research process because the others that were approached had full teaching schedules and could not spare any of their teaching time.
Data collection
The life history approach was selected from the broad qualitative, interpretive framework as the appropriate research strategy to collect and analyse data for this paper. Life stories were collected by means of interviews, and these were conducted with the principals at their schools. The purpose for interviewing was to find out how the selected principals interpreted or understood their lives, their roles, and the meaning they attach to what happens around them. In-depth semi-structured interviews were therefore used to access the perspectives of the principals, their experiences, feelings, thoughts, opinions, knowledge and intentions. The principals were allowed to tell their stories and then I would follow up interesting avenues that emerged. In order to capture the actual words of the principals accurately, I used a tape recorder. However, permission to tape-record the conversations was obtained in advance. Tape recording allows a much fuller record of the interview because the tape recorder does not lose or change what has been said, nor is it too slow to record all the spoken words.
An important factor in the interviews is respect between the participants and the researcher. Respect for one another in educational research helps to generate and test new, legitimate and valuable knowledge. This calls for a high moral awareness throughout, and an agreed framework of conduct (Whitehead, 2006). During the interview process, I tried to make sure that life stories did not lose their authentic meaning by maintaining a close and healthy relationship between the principals and myself. The principals were perceived and treated as the expert on the researched subject by allowing them a strong role in determining how the interview proceeded. Before the interviews, permission was requested from the principals and they were assured of confidentiality at all times.
Data analysis
My analysis draws from the responses of the selected principals to the interview questions and my attempts to respond to the critical questions of the study. In fact, the critical questions, which were influenced by the objectives of the study, were my beacon that guided me through my navigation into the selected principals' personal lives. The narrative approach, which is a component of the life history analysis, was used to analyse data that was obtained from the interviews. This approach was therefore useful since my research for this paper sought to explore the ways in which the public school principals understood their roles as leaders and professional managers of schools.
Life history analysis is about making sense of a story. It includes brooding and reflecting upon all the data that have been collected. When the raw data have been analysed, the key ideas and themes will flow from the story (Plummer, 2001). The analysis of data was arranged in themes which are regarded as important and relevant areas or events in the lives of the principals. The main aim for engaging in the thematic field analysis was to identify emerging trends and patterns in the responses of the principals and thus formulate general conclusions based on general patterns and trends.
Four major themes emerged from the principals' life stories:
Professional socialization and professional identity.
Coping with change in the new dispensation.
Complex interplay between structure and agency.
Interpretation of leadership roles.
The data analysis process aimed at determining if the data from the interviews with the six selected principals provided insight into their professional identity construction. The valuable, rich and authentic data from the principals' accounts are provided below in the form of direct extracts. The summary or interpretation of the principals' accounts is presented under the above four themes:
Professional socialization and professional identity
It became evident in the stories that the principals' socialization into the teaching profession had an influence on their professional identities:
I must say that my earlier experiences in my profession made me into the kind of a leader that I am today. I've come across a whole range of new experiences and I'm changing on a daily basis, thanks to my learners and teachers. I think I learnt from my principal to be strict but accommodating (Principal A).
When I started at this school, I joined the English department. We worked as a good team and that gave me a sense of belonging. I was a member of the teachers' union and that is where I gained hands-on leadership development, character development and conflict resolution skills, and interacting at high profile built my confidence (Principal F).
Issues of professional identity, which is an internal or subjective change of an individual in connection with a particular career role, stem from professional socialization and development. This, according to McGowen and Hart (1990), is a learning process that includes the acquisition of specific knowledge and skills that are required in a professional role and development of new values, attitudes, and self-identity components.
I was initiated into management through help, through experience and through professional socialization. When Ibecame principal, we would have meetings where the superintendent would share with us some strategies, but I think the other important platform that really helped me was the principals' forum. So I learned a lot from that forum because it was where we would share problems, challenges and expertise (Principal E).
Schwier et al. (2004) believe that prior personal experiences are shared through conversation, negotiation, and construction of new knowledge products. In other words, the individual principal's knowledge and practice will reflect his or her cultural values, norms and beliefs.
My whole background and personal experience really does play a significant impact in my job. One of the teachings I got when I grew up was that when people talk, you've got to listen and respect their opinions and views. Teachers at this school are fairly and actively involved in decision-making. We always sit down, share experiences and knowledge around educational issues, and agree on what action to take (Principal E). I prefer sharing information with my teachers, planning with them and involving them in decision-making. My Christian values guide me in performing my leadership duties and I've learnt not to exploit my colleagues misfortunes to my advantage so that I may be seen as an effective an efficient manager (Principal C).
The professional socialization into the teaching profession was not smooth for all of them because of the challenges that they encountered, but they all responded well to them and came out matured individuals. They learnt to be hard workers, focused and committed teachers, hence their promotions to leadership positions.
When I came to this school the attitudes were divided. I think it's normal when a new teacher comes that people become divided. I started as an HOD and the male teachers wouldn't accept to be managed by a female. The challenges I experienced made me strong and wise because I was prepared to face anything that would come my way. I worked my way up to this position through hard work and the support I received from other teachers and my former principal who was a strong and honest man (Principal C).
Coping with change in the new dispensation
In order for schools to be productive and effective and not to get stuck in a rut or become stale and reactive, principals need to change from being bosses to being leaders. The major challenge for most of the principals was coping with change in the legislative and policy framework after 1994:
Change is something that makes us uncomfortable. It takes us out of our comfort zones and therefore we are resistant to it because of that (Principal D).
The implementation of education policies was also a challenge to almost all the selected principals:
I think we have got excellent policies, like the FET policy, but there is not enough money, time and resources to implement and evaluate these policies. Some of our policies have shortcomings, like the monetary value that is attached to the IQMS, and lack of capacity to train people adequately on it (Principal E).
However, other principals supported democracy:
I enjoy being a principal in the current democratic dispensation. I mean the challenges are there but it allows so much more for you to be creative and innovative. A lot depends on the principal's interpretation of things and applications (Principal F).
Complex interplay between structure and agency
There is a set of departmental rules in the form of policy which guide the principals in their daily leadership activities, and there are personal leadership experiences which one uses to deal with matters that are not covered in the policies. There has been a lot of debate among the principals about the combination of policy and personal experiences and values in the running of the schools:
I think policy acts as a framework and a guideline. However, there are times when you have got to use your discretion. There is nowhere where the policy says do not use your discretion. So, we have got to integrate the policy with personal experience and values to respond to the prevailing circumstances at the time, but act within the guidelines or the framework of the policy (Principal D).
Leadership roles and styles
One of the objectives of the study was to discuss how the principals' beliefs, personal values and interests shape or influence their leadership styles. As much as the leadership style of the principal may be influenced by what he or she believes in and what he or she values, in most instances it is influenced by the circumstances that prevail at the time and place.
I do have values and beliefs, and when I came here I had some ideas of what I'd like to do but at first I had to learn from the situation that I found myself in, get to know and learn from the teachers and learners, and their needs, then over the years I've built up my own view of leadership and attitude and self-worth (Principal B).
The above statement is supported by Principal F when he says:
I'd say values, interests and beliefs will influence the leadership style, but it's not a definite factor. Leadership also depends on the circumstances that prevail at that time. We do things differently because our behavior and actions are determined by the way in which we view the different situations at our schools.
It is the needs and expectations of learners and teachers that are most important in determining a leadership style.
I get my direction from the staff, their problems, their shortcomings, their influence and the decisions that we take together, and also from their needs and expectations (Principal B).
The leadership style is also determined by how the leader looks at the needs of the followers, their interests, commitments, and their expectations (Principal F).
The different situations at schools have taught the principals to be flexible in order to respond to the values and beliefs of their organizations. Successful and effective leadership in most of the schools has been a result of principals 'responding from within their daily realities at their schools', that is, drawing from their past experiences.
I subscribe to the policy of situation and leadership. I believe in responding to situational demands. I've grown as a person because of what I learnt from my teachers' experiences and my own (Principal D).
My analysis of the stories show that although some of the principals may have sometimes responded in a way that would make them look transformative and transparent, most of their responses were genuine. Their stories were constructed based on their experiences and the true reflection of the situations in the education system and their schools. The stories reflect transformed leaders of the learning institutions who understand their roles and the expectations of the people they lead. They have turned to be good listeners and change agents who promote participative decision-making and sharing of knowledge and information among all stakeholders.
In their stories, the principals speak of themselves and give meaning to their experiences, which makes these stories more subjective (personal) than objective (social). The questions that arise are, 'To what extent are the stories themselves constructed, and to what extent are the experiences and events appearing in these stories merely expressions with no connections to the past reality'? In order to address the gaps between reality, experience and expressions, life-stories have to reflect the past life and realise its events and parts of reality filtering through the principals' consciousness (Antikainen et al., 1996).
Another question that comes up is, 'to what extent do these stories reflect the construction of professional identities?' The life-stories of these principals provide us with an understanding of various personal and professional changes in their lives. Personal changes are linked to behavioural change; while professional changes are externally induced, resulting from new and revised policies. These changes result in the reconstruction of identity and redefinition of the roles of the principals. A significant change in the lives of the principals was after the introduction of the post 1994 democratic education legislation and policies.
The events and experiences the principals chose to tell in their life-stories reflect their self-concepts and their concept of leadership, which guided them in enacting their leadership roles (Shamir & Eilam, 2005). The stories reveal that the principals were inspired by role models of various types in their social and professional development, which is one of the things that helped them to define themselves in terms of their roles as leaders. Furthermore, the life-stories are not only about who the principals are but also about how they became principals, why they were at their schools, what their roles are and how they should relate to their colleagues, learners and communities they are serving.
The analysis of the life stories of the principals revealed that constructing their identities as leaders of schools, the principals combined what they knew and could deliver, with what the stakeholders (teachers, learners and parents) expected from them. The stakeholders' expectations of the principals are related to how they interpret his or her position within the larger social structure. My suggestion would be for the principals to clarify their personal values and beliefs to the stakeholders in order for them to associate with. They should also ensure that the experiences that they choose to use to address the expectations of the stakeholders reflect their self-concepts and their professional identity.The combination of the principals' experiences with what is expected of them could help to create awareness of their strengths and weaknesses.
The sharing of experiences and qualities between the principals and teachers led to the acquisition of new behavioural skills which were constantly refined and perfected during the process of development and learning. It is therefore my belief that if all the principals could be driven and inspired by the ideas of democracy and participative leadership in their roles and duties, they will always receive positive and meaningful feedback from their staff which would assist them in maturing in their behaviour and constructing their professional identity.
While learning from their teachers, the principals also improved on their performance and attitudes toward the new policies and their work as a whole. Further improvement in the principals' performance would be influenced by the choice of a suitable leadership style. A combination of education policies and personal experiences, and consideration of circumstances that prevail at the time, would allow the principal to be flexible in responding to the values and beliefs of the school.
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Jabulani Mpungose is an Assistant Director in the Biodiversity Education and Human Capital Development Unit at the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). He is responsible for coordinating and facilitating environmental education activities for schools and was previously a school principal.


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Full name Gary Gold
Born date unknown
Major teams London Irish, Newcastle Falcons, Stormers, South Africa
Other Coach
Renowned for his academic and precise approach to coaching, Gold has considerable experience having worked with leading clubs in both the northern and southern hemispheres and at international level.
A two-year spell with English Premiership side London Irish between 2003-05 was followed by a stint with WP Rugby that saw him serve as head coach of Western Province and later as the Stormers' technical director and then assistant coach.
Gold joined Peter de Villiers' South Africa support staff in 2008 as one of two assistants alongside Dick Muir. Gold looked after the Springbok forwards during their series win over the British & Irish Lions in 2009 and also helped orchestrate their Tri-Nations triumph the same year.
He parted company with the Boks following the 2011 Rugby World Cup and would return to the Premiership stage in 2012 at interim director of rugby of the Newcastle Falcons. He was tasked with keeping them in the top flight but despite a significant revival, they still finished at the foot of the table.
Having parted company with the Falcons at the end of the season, he made a swift return to the Premiership as Bath's new director of rugby.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
500 free: swim smart or be the crowd pleaser?
by, April 3rd, 2013 at 11:46 AM (1367 Views)
Well, Easter eating really pounded me up! I am an absolute whopping 144 lbs but the 2 chocolate bunnies, sour lemonheads, and low grade tummy ache were worth it.
SCM, Baylor Fitness Center.
My joints actually HURT. And that would be knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, and wrists. It is also amazing how emotionally fragile I am after a 4 day school vacation and holiday festivities. I had to take it super easy and do short sprints. That said, I did about 6 dives off the blocks. I did 1 fast 50 and lanemates said it was a 28 low, but I thought it was so bad I didn't look at the clock right away, and when I did it was on the :30 so I think that it true I did a 28 high.
MUCH BETTER! No sharp stabbing pains or tummy ache today. But I didn't want to do any dives nor any blast-o sprints. So I did a fast 200/150/100 backstroke and went 2:48/2:04 and 1:19.
Wednesday: That's today!
Major goofing off!
HOORAY! Pysche sheets are up and the timeline. I am really excited to do the 500 free. Everyone is telling me not to do my usual sprinty MO and go easy at the beginning. However, I am really toying with just going as fast I can - even if it's too fast. I'm not sure if I would feel very happy to have a lot left in the tank and go a mediocre time. I'd rather blast it out and die a horrible swim-death. Honestly! It would be like, dramatic irony where everyone in the natatorium knows what's going to happen except the person swimming way too fast in the 500. Then the climax to the anvil. But before then, i'd enjoy the absolute THRILL of being so far ahead of everyone else! I'm not sure I want to be on the leader's feet and then just slowly fall back further and further....why not add drama and spice to heat 1 of the 2013 south central zone meet! I'm also not sure about the other events. I think no matter what I do the 500 will take so much out of me. I may skip the 200 back, split the 100 free (50) and do the the 50 back. The next day, I might split the 200 free (50 free), swim the 100 back and then decide to stick around for 2 more 50's or to go home. I'm not that excited about swimming anything beyond the 500 free and at least 1 peppy 50 free.


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Williamson Provides Offense With Two-Run Triple
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – With Yale and Sacred Heart combining for 11 runs and 16 hits, including three home runs, in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader, it looked like newly renovated Pioneer Park might be extremely hitter friendly. Chelsey Dunham, though, showed in the second game it's a little early to jump to that conclusion. Dunham tossed a three-hitter as Yale earned a split with a 3-0 victory. The Pioneers won the first game 7-4.
The games were the first in the gorgeous facility.
Kylie Williamson provided all the offense Yale would need in the second game with a two-run triple in the top of the first. Jennifer Ong had led off with a single and advanced to second on Johnson's single up the middle. Williamson followed with a drive to the left center-field gap.
Dunham took it from there. She finished with three strikeouts in posting her first shutout of the season.
The Bulldogs (8-28) added an insurance run in the seventh. Sarah Onorato drew a leadoff walk and alertly advanced all the way to third on Hughes' sacrifice bunt. Ong then drove Onorato home with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Sacred Heart (17-26) threatened in the bottom of the seventh, but Dunham retired Nicole Sidor on a slow roller to first base with the bases loaded to end the game.
Yale outhit the Pioneers 6-3.
Riley Hughes and Chelsea Janes each had two hits, and Christy Nelson homered in the opener for the Bulldogs.
After falling behind 1-0, Yale scored twice in the second to take the lead. Kelsey Warkentine started the rally with a one-out single, and Hughes followed with a single up the middle. Janes then singled to right. Warkentine scored easily from second and Hughes came around to score as well when a relay throw to third was wild.
A fine defensive play by Nelson at third base in the third kept the Pioneers off the board. With runners on first and second, Nelson dove to her left to snare Annie Dreher's hard ground ball and made a strong throw to first from her knees to record the out.
Liz Tsipouras, though, hit the first home run in the new facility and Alyssa Garza added an RBI single in the fourth to give Sacred Heart the lead.
Kate Nadler's grand slam increased Sacred Heart's lead to 7-2 in the fifth.
Nelson belted a two-run homer for the Bulldogs in the sixth to cut the deficit to three. Ong doubled in the seventh for the Bulldogs but was left stranded.
Yale plays a four-game series at Dartmouth this weekend. The doubleheaders on both Saturday and Sunday begin at 12:30 p.m.
Report filed by Tim Bennett, Yale Sports Publicity


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Author Notes: I figured if I was going to pay top dollar for a bag of beautiful local apples at the farmer's market, I wanted them to be the star of my pie. So, I skipped the (potentially overwhelming) traditional spices and just tossed the apples with sugar and browned butter, not unlike the filling for Nancy Silverton's apple crumble in her great baking book Pastries from the La Brea Bakery. Next, I turned to Frank Mentesana and Jerome Audureau's Once Upon a Tart cookbook to riff on their killer tart crust, adding a handful of grated cheddar cheese and a bit of lard (yep, lard) for good measure. - Midge —Midge
Food52 Review: Midge's pie is an homage to apples in their purest form. She employs no cinnamon or nutmeg to cloak their sweet perfume; instead she browns some butter, which complements the apples with a faint nuttiness. The crust is tender and flaky, with a muted burst of cheddar breaking through towards the end of each bite. It's crucial to chill the dough as Midge directs -- then you're sure to end up with a perfect, and perfectly gorgeous, fall apple pie. - A&M —The Editors
Serves: 8 to 10
Prep time: 1 hrs 20 min
Cook time: 1 hrs
pounds apples, preferably a combo of Cortland and Honey Crisp, peeled and roughly chopped
cup granulated sugar
tablespoons dark brown sugar
tablespoons unsalted butter
tablespoons cornstarch
tablespoons water
pie crust
2 1/2
cups AP flour
tablespoons semolina flour
teaspoon salt
tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
tablespoons cold lard [Editors' note: we swapped in butter with success]
cup grated sharp yellow cheddar
small glass ice water
egg, beaten for egg wash
- Toss apples and sugars together in large bowl. Set aside for an hour to allow apples to break down.
- Sift flours and salt together by hand or in bowl of food processor.
- Add butter, along with the lard and cheese, to flour mixture. Pulse food processor (or cut into flour quickly by hand) just until fat and flours turn into a pebbly mixture.
- Remove blade from processor and sprinkle about 6 tablespoons of ice water on pebbly mixture. Using your hands, gently combine until the dough starts to hold together. Add more water as needed.
- Cut dough in half and form into disks, one a bit bigger than the other. Wrap with wax paper and chill for about 30 minutes.
- Roll out larger disk of dough on floured surface. Gently fit into pie dish, crimping the edges. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 400.
- Poke dough in pie dish with fork to ventilate. Line with parchment or foil and add pie weights (or beans and/or rice). Bake for 10 minutes. Remove parchment and pie weights and bake for another 5-10 minutes until pie shell starts to look dry-ish on the bottom. Cool.
- Meanwhile, onto the filling: Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over med-high heat. Swirl until the foam subsides and the butter turns a nut brown color. Watch closely - this can burn quickly. Toss with apples.
- Dissolve the cornstarch in the 2 tablespoons of water and toss into apple mixture.
- Roll out second disk of dough on floured surface to fit the top of your pie.
- Fill par-baked pie shell with apple mixture. Gently fit top over the filling, crimping the edges. With a sharp knife, cut slits or poke with fork to vent.
- Beat egg with one tablespoon of water. Brush egg wash on top of pie.
- Bake at 350 for about 50-60 minutes, until filling is bubbly.
- Your Best Autumn Pie Contest Finalist!
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Fair Food
- This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Recipe With Apples
More Great Recipes:
Pie|American|Butter|Cheddar|Cheese|Fruit|Apple|Serves a Crowd|Fall|Thanksgiving|Breakfast|Dessert


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Solid wood furniture is highly sought after for its strength, durability, and inherent beauty.
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The Maple Road collection is handcrafted in the USA from solid maple. Understated in style with high quality construction, the bedroom furniture available will be cherished in your home and decades down the road.
The Maple Road collection is a great option if you are looking for Casual furniture in the Orland Park, Chicago, IL area.
Browse other items in the Maple Road collection from Darvin Furniture in the Orland Park, Chicago, IL area.
Nothing on this page may be copied or reproduced without explicit permission.


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Jake Owen Is Doing His Part to Help Newborn Babies
It's always great to see country artists teaming up with causes they believe in, and for rising star Jake Owen, the birth of his daughter Pearl gives him more than enough incentive to team up with Saint Thomas Health for the annual Rock the Cradle charity event.
Presented by the Academy of Country Music (ACM), the event benefits newborns in need at Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital in Nashville, Tenn. at the infamous Loveless Barn. Along with cocktails, dinner and a live auction, the special benefit will feature a performance by Owen.
"Lacey and I are so thankful everyday for our daughter Pearl. She has changed our lives for the better," says the 'Days of Gold' hitmaker. "What Rock the Cradle does to help newborns in need is incredible. I'm honored to give back and be a part of this event."
Just as sweet baby Pearl has changed Owen's life in incredible ways, Rock the Cradle does the same for thousands of tiny patients and their families. In the past three years, more than $500,000 has been raised to support obstetrics care and the Beaman Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital. Cutting-edge technology, financial assistance, life-changing and life-saving care is given to newborns with urgent needs.
In the past, Big and Rich and Daryle Singletary have performed for the event, and we expect attendees to be just as excited about Owen's high energy stage presence.
Owen is known for his giving heart, and Tiffany Moon, Executive Vice President/Managing Director of the Academy of Country Music raves, "Jake is a friend to the Academy and has consistently given his time to ACM charitable endeavors, including participating in ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp in June. We are delighted to support Jake's generous spirit by sponsoring Rock the Cradle."
The event will be held on Oct. 29 at 6:30PM CT at the Loveless Barn in Nashville. If you live in the area, be sure to support this great cause and catch a great performance by the handsome hitmaker. You can find ticket information here.
Along with being a new dad and participating in this charity event, Owen will also be releasing a new album in early December.


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Welcome to edition20!
edition20 displays 20th-century design classics from the world of furniture and interiors which are still being produced. edition20 offers a comprehensive and fascinating free research platform for architects, private property owners, interior designers and all other aficionados of classic design.
What edition20 doesn't show are pirated replicas or long-since unavailable vintage classic items. All the design classics presented on edition20 are still being made today to the finest standards under the original licence, either by renowned premium vendors or at smaller workshops by superior craftsmen.
Even knowledgeable lovers of fine design will be astounded to learn how many classics are still in production under the original licence…
…Be they Gio Ponti's cutlery or Oscar Niemeyer's timeless creations as well, of course, as celebrated Bauhaus and mid-century items among countless other less-feted 20th-century design classics. All of them, however, have one thing in common – every single piece counts deservedly among the finest designs of the period 1900 to 1999.
edition20 allows you to carry out refined searches for specific design classics or simply to leaf through the assiduously-prepared range of topics and gather inspiration. The multifarious product categories, themes and interior styles featured guarantee that you'll find precisely the design classics you're after!
20th-century design classics – still in production
Enjoy browsing through edition20!


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The John Main Seminar 2012 - Spirituality and Environment
21 June 2012 | General Interest
The John Main Seminar is an annual event designed to broaden & deepen the teaching of Christian Meditation. It brings together meditators from around the world & those wishing to discover the practice.
Pre-Seminar Retreat
Be Who You are
Led by Fr Laurence Freeman OSB / 13th-16th August
The Christian understanding of Jesus as the Word made flesh transforms the way we see our own humanity and also the natural world we are part of. "Nothing that is not against nature is against Christ" (Clement of Alexandria) - this liberating insight has to be more courageously embraced in our own time so that the mystery of Christ can become fully transformative. But this is not only a theological project. It begins - and finds its culmination - at the deeply personal level of experience. And this is why meditation in our own tradition is such a blessing and necessity - it opens us to the mystery of the inner Christ and to the cosmic Christ simultaneously. Our daily meditation leads us to self-knowledge and also gives us new words with which to understand and communicat the Word itself.
For further info and registrations download the PDF Flyer HERE


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Yellowstone National Park exists today much to the credit of American landscape painter Thomas Moran, whose 1870s renderings of its geysers, waterfalls, and hot springs helped convince Congress to create the United States first national park. In his usual fashion, Moran had loosely sketched and painted field studies of the environment, which he translated in his studio to structured watercolors. Known best for these wilderness studies, Moran belonged to both the Hudson River and the Rocky Mountain Schools, who defined the 19th-century imagery of the American landscape.
Moran's initial instruction came after disinterest in a wood-engraving internship in Philadelphia led him to study watercolor from local painters, which he practiced by sketching in forests surrounding the city. Later, Moran traveled to England to study the work of J.M.W. Turner, whose British landscapes would be a major influence.
American (English born), 1837–1926, Bolton, United Kingdom


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Utahn and computer programmer Daniel Burton became the first person to bike all the way from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole, Tuesday, in an effort to honor his mother's memory and inspire others to improve their health.
As Burton sees it, cycling saved him when his health had deteriorated. He wanted to inspire others to turn their health around, so he put that life at risk on a continent of ice to do what had never been done.
Daniel Burton's 730-mile journey had three main legs: the first was the steep climb inland and upward from Hercules Inlet, the coast. The middle stretch was easier, flattening out from Patriot Hills to the Thiels mountains. The last leg was a long, hard climb to the pole, which lies about 9,300 feet above sea level.
Burton isn't the first to attempt the feat. Helen Skelton, of England, set the first cycling record on the continent in 2012 when she biked part of the way to the pole — 103 miles; she snow-kited and snowshoed the rest of the way, according to Men's Fitness Magazine. American Eric Larsen broke her record the same year with 335 miles on a bike during an unsuccessful attempt to reach the bottom of the world on only two wheels.
Burton originally planned to roughly double the trip's length by biking back, but opted to fly instead.
Born again on a banana seat
Though Burton had a healthy, active childhood, he slumped into a sedentary life as a computer programmer. Twenty-three years into his career, out of shape and new to his 40s, he went to get his blood checked.
"My cholesterol numbers were real bad, my blood pressure was high, and I was a few pounds overweight. I panicked, thinking I might die early," Burton wrote on his blog, Epic South Pole, which he used to chronicle his expedition.
So Burton got into mountain biking, restored his health, bought a bike shop in 2008 and finished the 206-mile, three state Lotoja Classic, a ride from Logan, Utah to Jackson, Wyo.– six times. It's the longest single-day race in the country that is sanctioned by USA Cycling.
Then Burton was inspired to do more. His Antarctic ride is not only meant to inspire people and encourage donations to the American Diabetes Association, but he rides in honor of his mother as well. High cholesterol contributed to her death Nov. 30, 2012.
So last fall, Burton left the bike shop in the care of his family, booked a trip to Hercules Inlet on the Antarctic west coast and, on Dec. 2, 2013, almost a year to the day after his mother's death, Burton started pedaling onto the ice shelf. Ahead of him: hundreds of miles of persistent winds, deadly crevasses, silent plains, steep mountains, dense fog and blinding snow.
"Well, I guess it is time to try riding in the worst blizzard you can imagine," he wrote on his blog.
The bottom of the world
Antarctica seems otherworldly. A windy continent buried under a mile of ice and — at this time of year — basked in eternal sunlight. It's the middle of summer there now, and the highs are still below freezing.
Expedition organizers set up a few caches of freeze-dried food for Burton along the way, but he would have to melt snow for water. While he would occasionally catch a brief sight of another traveler in the distance, no one would be there to meet him; until he was done, he was alone.
After 11 days, he was so exhausted that he lost his balance and fell over several times. Imagine that, plus freezing temperatures, blinding fogs and blizzards and the constant risk of falling into a gaping crevasse, while dragging two sleds of supplies behind you.
"My grandmother would see a beautiful sunset and say it was the most beautiful she had ever seen, and she meant it. So when I say that each day was the hardest of my life, it is in honor of her, because it really is the hardest day of my life every day of this expedition," Burton wrote Dec. 19. He surpassed Larsen's record about the same day.
Burton brought his iPod so that Rihanna, P!nk and Green Day could keep him company. On Sundays, he would listen to scripture (Burton is Mormon).
Burton also brought a satellite phone that he used once a day to call his family, update his blog and touch base with the expedition organizers. The phone allowed him to call his daughter on Christmas, the first he had ever spent away from home. "It was great to be able to hear her voice," he wrote.
The day after Christmas, Burton saw the first person that he had seen in what seemed like forever — a truck heading back from its trip to the pole. "They waved as they flew past … then a [fog] moved in and I lost the ability to see anything."
On his last leg
On Dec. 28, he began the last of three major legs of the expedition. Ahead of him lay another steep climb up 4,500 feet of elevation. The weight of his supply sleds had "killed" him in the first days of the expedition, when he had to climb other steep slopes.
"If [this] next section goes as bad as the first," he wrote, "I will never make it."
So Burton ditched all the extra weight he could: his brakes, the water bottle cages, the racks, the side bags, charging wires and other electronics.
He weaved around and over enormous wavelike ridges of snow called sastrugi, which you find only on the polar plains.
While they look spectacular, "when you bike over them, you can't see, it's very scary and treacherous," Burton wrote. "You'll be going along and all of a sudden you'll have a [4-foot] drop that you didn't even see coming, which is very painful, even if you don't crash."
The morning of Jan. 8, Burton found a cache, a late Christmas card and holiday treats. "I think being alone for so long is messing with my emotions. I was overcome with joy at getting those."
During the last leg, Burton felt "so ready to be done." But he kept his spirits up. "We only get to live each day once," he wrote, "so enjoy where you are."
In his final days of the expedition, gales blowing out of the south slowed him down to a crawl. "Everything is so cold that if I touch things with my hands, I get instant frostbite," Burton wrote. On the upside, "with the strong winds and blowing snow, navigation was easy — head straight into the blowing wind."
On Jan. 21, about 10 a.m. Mountain Standard Time, he made it.
Home again
There is an actual candy-cane-striped pole marking the spot. He was as far from the North Pole as he could be, but it may have felt a lot like Christmas.
Burton wants to celebrate the much-belated yuletide holiday when he gets home. His wife and teenage son left the tree up for him all these weeks.
Right behind the ceremonial stick in the ground is the research station that Americans have occupied since 1956. At this time of year, about 150 people work at the facility— which is about 150 more than Burton had seen in a long time.
"When I saw it, I was so overcome with joy! I called home to my wife and lost all control of my emotions," Burton wrote in his triumphant blog entry. "The black dots on the horizon were the most wonderful thing I have ever seen."
Burton's family said they were never all that worried about him. He was in good hands with the expedition's organizers, the Salt Lake City-based Adventure Network International, who would have triggered a search-and-rescue if he failed to call each day. His daily calls to his family kept them reassured, too.
Media Burton thought her husband was joking when he first mentioned biking to the South Pole, inspired by Larsen's attempt. She said it's amazing what he has accomplished while competing against professionals, "being just an average guy off the streets who was a computer programmer a few years ago."
When he returns — he is being flown back to the coast in a ski plane — Burton wants to start a foundation to get teens into cycling. The teens would receive a mountain bike, and if they complete the program by riding a certain number of times, they get to keep the ride. Burton has set up a GoFundMe page to raise $50,000 to back the new endeavour.


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According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Astros centerfielder Jordan Schafer was arrested on a felony marijuana charge at 12:38am Tuesday morning at a Tampa Cheesecake Factory (this detail simply cannot be made up).
The AJC's Jeff Schultz:
Let me just say this about Schafer: I've always liked him personally, and he was well-liked in the Braves' clubhouse this season. Veterans, most notably Chipper Jones, believed he had turned the corner in his life and career after originally seeming too cocky when he first came up from the minors a few years ago.
In the St. Pete Times article, Schafer declined to give police the name of his employer. Because no one would EVER find that out.
UPDATE: Zach Levine says that Schafer was carrying 25.9 grams of marijuana (the felony cut-off is 20 grams), was stopped for an expired Mississippi plate, had a joint in his hand, and three marijuana peanut butter cups.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Jordan Schafer arrested on felony marijuana charge
4 comments:
Or maybe he was too ashamed to admit that he's an Astro...
- October 4, 2011 at 10:22 AM
I thought I recently read about his old teammates keeping in contact with him. Well, with 29 oz, it is starting to become clear.
Expired plates. Lots of pot. Joint in hand. Dude is a moron.
- October 4, 2011 at 10:59 AM
25 grams, not ounces ... makes a bid difference.
- October 4, 2011 at 11:04 AM
Wait. After reading the Levine article, it is grams, not oz. The guy is still a moron, but probably not a dealer.
- October 4, 2011 at 11:10 AM
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In an age of online banking and smartphone apps, many consumers no longer bother to balance or reconcile their checking accounts. But there are still some good reasons to go through these seemingly outmoded exercises.
Continue Reading Below
To understand why that's the case, it's helpful to define two terms that might be unfamiliar to consumers who don't use paper checks or cash withdrawals or a check register to record their transactions.
Balancing. Balancing a checking account shows how much money is available. To balance an account, add all your deposits to the beginning balance for an account's statement period and subtract from the subtotal checks you've written, ATM and debit card transactions, cash withdrawals and bank fees. This will determine the ending balance on a given date. A current balance can be calculated at any time.
Reconciling. Reconciling a checking account compares the bank's records to the account holder's check register to discover errors or unauthorized activity. Your check register should contain a running total of all the transactions.
To reconcile an account, add all of the deposits the bank has not yet credited to the bank's balance and subtract all the payments, withdrawals and bank fees the bank has not yet cleared from the subtotal to confirm that the bank's records match the check register. Accounts typically are reconciled on a monthly basis.
In the old days, these tasks required paper, a pencil and some mathematical calculations. Today, an account can be balanced and reconciled much more easily with computer software or a banking app on a smartphone.
Still, plenty of people don't take the time to balance or reconcile their account because they're busy with other priorities or they simply don't know what a check register is or how to use it, says Tracy St. John, founder of Financial Avenues LLC, a fee-only financial planning firm in Kansas City, Mo.
Keeping Track
So why bother doing these exercises?
Traditionally, balancing was crucial to keep track of checks that had been written but could take a week or longer to be processed through the banking system, while reconciling was important to check that the bank had not made any errors, such as double-posting a check so the amount was withdrawn twice for the same payment.
Both of those purposes are now archaic because technology has speeded up check processing, and bank errors are rare.
Still, consumers can derive other benefits from balancing and reconciling -- or at least reviewing -- all the transactions that flow through a checking account, says Frank Boucher, owner of Boucher Financial Planning Services in Reston, Va.
"Because we have the electronic means, we don't feel compelled to balance our checkbook. But by not looking at what you're doing on a monthly basis, you're not keeping a good track of what's going on with your finances," Boucher says. "To me, there is as much value in that as in making sure the arithmetic is right."
Money Management
St. John offers two real-life examples.
She says one client of hers wrote a check to purchase gymnastics lessons for her child after having confirmed she had enough funds in her account, but also after having forgotten she already had written and neglected to record another check for another purpose. The extra spending exhausted funds that had been earmarked for the child's gymnastics tuition, an account that later went to collections.
Another of St. John's clients had been taking cash advances from his credit card to support his excessive spending habits. When St. John reviewed his bank statement, she found that he'd spent more than $200 on music, apps and other digital media during one four-month period, an expenditure that wasn't a necessity or priority, given his financial situation.
In both instances, St. John suggested that paying attention to the checking account statement and balance would have helped those people manage their money better.
Fraud and Fees
Other reasons to go through the exercise of balancing, reconciling and reviewing an account are to spot financial management mistakes and fraudulent activity, says Alan Moore, a Certified Financial Planner professional with Serenity Financial Consulting LLC in Milwaukee.
Look for unfamiliar transactions, forgotten expenditures, recurring deductions for unwanted products or services, and bank fees. Moore says most people aren't naturally wired to want to examine their spending habits. The hunt might be painful, but it's worth the effort.
Moore points to bank fees as an example of an expense that might well go unnoticed without close examination of a checking account.
"People will pull $20 out of an ATM and get hit with a $3 fee. A lot of banks report that as a $23 withdrawal, so that fee can get kind of hidden," he says. "Spend this much every time you take cash out, and it can add up."
Copyright 2013, Bankrate Inc.


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Mansfield woman injured in roll over accident
A Mansfield, Ark., woman received minor injuries after she lost control of her vehicle and rolled down an embankment.According to the accident report released by the Poteau Police Department, Stephine Lee Gavelis, 26, was driving a gray 2000 Mercury Cougar north on the Cavanal Scenic Expressway approximately half a mile south of the Walmart exit when Gavelis lost control of her vehicle. Gavelis' vehicle entered into a broadslide after leaving the road and traveled 80 feet into a ditch. The vehicle struck and embankment and the impact cause the car to roll over and travel 28 feet before coming to rest upright. Gavelis suffered injuries to her torso, arm and legs. She was taken to Eastern Oklahoma Medical Center by LeFlore County Emergency Medical Services.


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Israel News - Stay Informed, Pray Informed
US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was apparently the recipient of nearly $30,000 in campaign contributions from a pair of Palestinian Arabs in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
While recently investigating online campaign contribution logs, Pamela Geller of the blog Atlas Shrugs discovered a curious set of entries from mid-2007 showing a series of contributions from two Arab men who listed their place of residence as "Rafah, GA."
Skeptical about the existence of a town in Georgia called Rafah, Geller did some digging and discovered that the contributions had in fact come from the Gaza Strip border town of Rafah.
It is illegal for a US presidential candidate to receive contributions from non-US citizens, or to receive in excess of $2,300 from a single individual.
Curious for more information, WorldNetDaily correspondent Aaron Klein tracked down the two Gaza Arabs, brothers Monir and Hosam Edwan.
The Edwan brothers said that they and many other Palestinians love Obama, and are confident he will be the US president to force Israel to surrender land for the birth of a Palestinian Arab state.
When pressed about their illegal contribution, the brothers altered their story and insisted that they had not made an online donation, but had rather purchased $30,000 worth of t-shirts from the Obama campaign website.
WorldNetDaily also learned that while Monir and Hosam are themselves believed to be non-religious, their clan is known for supporting Hamas.
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Los Angeles Opera's new season includes a new Figaro trilogy, and works by English, Hungarian and Mexican composers. There will be 41 performances of six operas, a mix of old and new works.
"Our mainstage season features works by composers of six nationalities that trace the course of operatic history for more than 300 years, including adaptations of Beaumarchais' three Figaro plays retold in three different operatic genres: classical, bel canto and contemporary," said Placido Domingo, the opera's general director.
The season launches on Sept. 13 with a revival of the company's 2006 production of Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata," conducted by James Conlon, directed by Marta Domingo and starring Placido Domingo. It plays through Sept. 28.
From Oct. 25 through Nov. 15, two operas written two centuries apart will be paired in performance by director Barrie Kosky. Henry Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas" and Bela Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle" explore the fine line between devotion and obsession.
"Florencia en el Amazonas" by the late Mexican-born composer Daniel Catan, whose final opera "Il Postino" premiered in Los Angeles in 2010, will take the stage from Nov. 22 to Dec. 20. Grant Gershon will conduct an updated revival of a production by Francesca Zambello that was first presented in Los Angeles in 1997.
The second half of the season will be devoted to operas based on plays by one of France's greatest playwrights and one of opera's most beloved characters. The adventures of Figaro originally were told in a series of three stage comedies by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. Operatic adaptations of the first two plays, Gioachino Rossini's "The Barber of Seville" and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro," are repertoire staples, and composer John Corigliano incorporated plot elements from the third play into his 1991 opera "The Ghosts of Versailles." With this "Figaro Trilogy"— LA Opera's presentation of three Figaro operas in one season — audiences have the rare opportunity to follow the complete antics of Figaro, Count Almaviva and Rosina.
The trilogy will be accompanied by "Figaro Unbound: Culture, Power and Revolution at Play," a three-month celebration of the revolutionary spirit and the legacy of Beaumarchais.
"The Ghosts of Versailles" will run from Feb. 7 to March 1, 2015. "The Barber of Seville" follows, from Feb. 28 to March 22, 2015. The mainstage season concludes with "The Marriage of Figaro" from March 21 to April 12, 2015.
LA Opera's season at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion also will include a recital by soprano Sondra Radvanovsky on Nov. 8.
The opera's Off Grand program will include free performances of a community opera for families, "Noah's Flood" by Benjamin Britten, conducted by James Conlon and performed at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in March 2015.
A mash-up of opera and film, "Hercules vs. Vampires" by Patrick Morganelli will be performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in April 2015.
The West Coast premiere of "Dog Days" by composer David T. Little and librettist Royce Vavrek, will be presented in partnership with Beth Morrison Projects and REDCAT, where it will be performed in June 2015.
Season subscriptions for the 2014-15 season are now available, starting at $102 for all six mainstage operas. For more information, call the box office at 213-972-8001 or go to www.laopera.org.
— From staff reports


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That Danny Boyle directed a film amid preparations for last year's mammoth Olympic opening ceremony is impressive enough; that it's his sleekest outing yet is at least as brain-boggling as 'Trance' imagines itself to be. If Christopher Nolan had much feeling below the waist he could have cooked up this circuitous, psycho-sexy heist thriller, the engagingly silly plot mechanics of which are tricky to describe without giving the game away.
This much you can know: sharp-suited London auctioneer Simon (James McAvoy) is the inside man for art thief Franck (Vincent Cassel). When his planned double-cross during the theft of a prized Goya goes awry, Simon loses all memory of where he's hidden the painting. Enter alluring hypnotherapist Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson), who may or may not know more than she's letting on. Adapted from Joe Ahearne's 2001 TV film, it's essentially 'Eternal Inception of the Spellbound Mind', though its shallow mind games are strictly disconnected from the heart. Like a jigsaw puzzle of a priceless painting, the fun lies in putting it together, not contemplating the fractured final product.
Still, after 'Slumdog Millionaire' and the stifling '127 Hours', it's a kick to see Boyle back in lickety-split genre mode. Reunited with screenwriter John Hodge, and with a game, sideburned McAvoy as a Ewan McGregor proxy, this is the kind of film he might have made in the '90s, only flashing all the technical elan he's gained since then. Due respect to McAvoy, but it's cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle and his gorgeous, radioactive vision of our city that are the true stars here. It's a different London celebration to the one Boyle directed last summer, but no less enticing
Release details
Cast and crew
Rosario Dawson
Vincent Cassel
Average User Rating
3.3 / 5
Rating Breakdown
- 5 star:5
- 4 star:0
- 3 star:2
- 2 star:4
- 1 star:1
A bit of a chaotic mess, but there's plenty to enjoy. The ludicrous final third makes it worthwhile. My full review – http://shelfheroes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/trance.html
Although there were some interesting twists it was an easily forgettable movie.
Stylishly directed, boomingly soundtracked nonsense. Rosario Dawson is incredibly annoying.
Promising first 15-20 minutes, but after that it descended into an incomprehensible shambles. The cimematography and music was good, but that's no substitute for the confused "plot" and poor script. I had no idea what was going on and I don't think the cast or crew did either! The gory violence and pointless nudity were just gratuitous and frankly exploitative. Don'w waste your money - go see Side Effects instead.
Went to see this cos expected good things of Danny Boyle after the Olympics etc but it was a bit of a waste of time really. If you want to see an intelligent psychological thriller go and see Side Effects. This just didnt add up. Too many flashbacks used in the plot. Violent too.
Promising first 20 minutes, then nose-dived into an incomprehensible train-wreck of a film. No idea what the hell was going on, and I don't think the production team or the actors did either. Cinematography good, that's about the only positive you can take away.
Brilliant, absolutely loved this film. I'm not keen on McAvoy either, but he's bearable in this, thank goodness, and it's not the cinematographer that's the star of the film, it's Vincent Cassel being mean, moody and marvellous. I don't know how TO review could only manage 3 stars for Trance and give a real bummer like Arbitrage 4.
Brilliant, absolutely loved this film. I'm not keen on McAvoy either, but he's bearable in this, thank goodness, and it's not the cinematographer that's the star of the film, it's Vincent Cassel being mean, moody and marvellous. I don't know how TO review could only manage 3 stars for Trance and give a real bummer like Arbitrage 4.
Amazing movie, like nothing I've seen before. McAvoy truly great, and gorgeous, in this. Well done Boyle.
Amazing movie, like nothing I've seen before. McAvoy truly great, and gorgeous, in this. Well done Boyle.
The most amazing thing about this total nonsense of a film is how only Danny Boyle could get away with it. The plot is absolutely ludicrous, the acting in parts awkward and the entire film really IS one of the silliest I've seen in ages. To Boyle's credit here the pace is good and the music at times better than the film content itself. But it's a weak weak film and some scenes (especially the shaving scene towards the end) had me laughing out loud they were so stupid.


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In 2010, Gemma Green-Hope's grandmother died; scanning a flimsy memorial service program, the illustrator desired a more intimate way to remember her grandmother. After inheriting her beloved relative's old possessions, she animated them in search of traces of permanence left behind by a mortal soul. In this stop-motion video, titled Gan Gan, viewers see an entire life literally flash before our eyes; both mundane and exquisite objects are transformed into momento mori, as if we ourselves were at the moment of our death.
The whimsical, nostalgic animation elegantly draws upon literary and artistic themes of womanhood, so that in the wake of Gan Gan's passing, a fertile, creative and distinctly feminine presence remains unharmed. Green-Hope recites the "Eternal Father, Strong to Save" hymn, a poem associated both with funerals and the sea. The sea remains a theme throughout the entire short film, and bodies of water are often seen as female, powerful, penetrable yet containing mysterious depths. The countryside, fairies, and the hearth—all iconographically seen as the woman—skip mirthfully in and out of the video. Left with the shot a books written about the sea, pulsating like waves, viewers are encouraged to see the matrilineal thread as something permanent and endlessly magical.
For Green-Hope, the cosmic and the personal are intertwined; amidst religious and natural icons, we see photographs that are poignantly unique to the deceased. Similarly, we are told in Gree-Hope's sing-song voice specific things like "she rode a blue bicycle" and "she once shot a spider." Unlike the mortal life, this video can be played over and over, forever preserving a memory that might otherwise fade away. (via Colossal)