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Actress Scarlett Johansson's new ad for beverage firm SodaStream has been banned from the Super Bowl telecast this weekend because it mocks the event's main sponsor, Pepsi.
The Avengers beauty recently signed on as the face of the brand and filmed a TV spot, in which she uses the SodaStream machine to make herself a fizzy drink and seductively sips the beverage through a straw.
The Super Bowl ad bosses had no problems with sexy Scarlett, but they didn't like the end of the ad, when the actress utters an apology to SodaStream's competitors: "Sorry Coke and Pepsi", and now the 30-second clip has been rejected by broadcasting bosses at Fox, the network which will air Sunday's big football game.
Johansson's deal with SodaStream has already attracted headlines for other reasons – this week, the actress was forced to defend her decision to represent the Israel-based firm while maintaining her role as an Oxfam Ambassador amid the ongoing unrest in the Middle East.
Addressing criticism from political activists, she stated: "I remain a supporter of economic co-operation and social interaction between a democratic Israel and Palestine. SodaStream is a company that is not only committed to the environment but to building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine, supporting neighbors working alongside each other, receiving equal pay, equal benefits and equal rights…
"I believe in conscious consumerism and transparency and I trust that the consumer will make their own educated choice that is right for them. I stand behind the SodaStream product and am proud of the work that I have accomplished at Oxfam as an Ambassador for over eight years.
"Even though it is a side effect of representing SodaStream, I am happy that light is being shed on this issue in hopes that a greater number of voices will contribute to the conversation of a peaceful two state solution in the near future."
Actress Scarlett Johansson's new ad for beverage firm SodaStream has been banned from the Super Bowl telecast this weekend because it mocks the event's main sponsor, Pepsi.


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Somebody told me to start watching more my little pony, so this is the first episode I started watching.
It describes my life exactly, however the only difference is I never get a happy ending, and noone will ever love me. Other than that, it's basically the same as my life.
The world couldn't possibly understand Why I enjoy watching this, the world has no emotions and cannot possibly understand what goes through the mind of a real person. They lack the discipline to sit through a 20 minute cartoon because remember the entire world revolves around men balls and garbage. If there is a tv show with real people in it who act like human beings, they dont understand, people hate what they dont understand. But they will sit and Watch NBA, hockey etc for hours of just apes chasing around circles and balls.

subset: commoncrawl


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- 1.0
Definitely a friday after 5pm production
By nomorecadillac4me on Sunday, October 29, 2017I kept every service invoice for the 26 breakdowns . The car handled well .but feels toyish because of how light it is. overall very big disappointment for a 50g performance model. But Gm to their credit bought it back.
- 5.0
Best in Class! Must buy!
By Pghgator on Tuesday, December 25, 2012First let me say, I own a MB C300 and have owned a Lexus IS, and BMW 5 Series. Previously I would have NEVER considered this car. I researched the BMW 1's &3's, Audi A4, and MB C300 and found this car to offer more for the money. Finally Cadillac has what I believe a car to be superior to those above. I'm still not a fan of the hard angle exterior, but the interior treatments match and IMO are better than the competition. I believe you will find the same things I found. I purchased the entry level model as it is for my wife's commute. I would have purchased the Luxury line, but she was satisfied with the entry level and the price was right. The base engine is sufficient, but not impressive. I'd recommend you test drive the turbo and decide for yourself. We both love the car and it is expected to hold its value to match the imports. T me, this purchase is a no brainer and as someone who has owned nearly every German made vehicle, this one has me sold
- 5.0
A car that compete BMW, Mercedes, Audi
By AJ on Saturday, April 02, 2016I searched a lot about ATS 2.0T. I viewed about 15 youtube videos, and drove ATS, Merc, BMW, Audi. ATS really competes with its sisters. Great performance, great brakes (Brembo), great acceleration. Mileage is not that great, 20mpg. The drawbacks are: small trunk, small rear compartment, but doesn't bother me as I use the car for commuting. Cue is a little annoying. I wish it was like other sisters, a control next to the gear to be handy. Chair is comfortable. There are few settings that don't work even I talked with the dealers. Passive door unlocked and remote heated seat. I turned them on and they do nothing. I like passive door lock, you just get out and walk away from the car and it locks itself. Moon roof is designed in stupid way. There is a small lid pops out when moon roof is open which has a filter that cause loud noise when driving above 35MPH. Pricing is very good, just search for deals. I got mine about $100 monthly less than BMW, Audi, Merc.
* The advertised price does not include sales tax, vehicle registration fees, other fees required by law, finance charges and any documentation charges. A negotiable administration fee, up to $115, may be added to the price of the vehicle.
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The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is a federal agency that works hand-in-hand with the people of Rhode Island to improve and protect their soil, water and other natural resources. For decades, private landowners have voluntarily worked with NRCS specialists to prevent erosion, improve water quality and promote sustainable agriculture.
NRCS employs soil conservationists, soil scientists, agronomists, biologists, engineers, geologists and resource planners. These experts help landowners develop conservation plans, create and restore wetlands, restore and manage other natural ecosystems as well as advise on storm water remediation, nutrient and animal waste management and watershed planning.
NRCS, formerly called the Soil Conservation Service, was initially focused on preventing soil erosion on America's farmland. Over the years Americans have become concerned with a broader array of natural resource issues. In response, NRCS has broadened its technical services in order to provide science-based solutions to address America's ever-changing environmental concerns. While farmers remain the primary client of NRCS, the agency also provides technical assistance to city planners, watershed groups, state and local governments, civic organizations and individual homeowners.
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The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides conservation planning and technical assistance to individuals, groups and units of government. These clients develop and implement conservation plans to protect, conserve and enhance their natural resources.
When providing assistance, NRCS focuses on the sound use and management of soil, water, air, plant and animal resources. NRCS helps clients manage their resources in a way that prevents resource degradation, ensures sustainability, allows for productivity and respects the client's needs. Conservation planning can make improvements to livestock operations, crop production, soil quality, water quality, hay land, forestland and wildlife habitats. The process also integrates ecological and economic considerations in order to address private and public concerns.
The success of conservation planning depends upon the voluntary participation of clients. The planning process used by NRCS is based on the premise that clients will make and implement sound decisions if they understand their resources, natural resource problems and opportunities as well as the effects of their decisions.
When the conservation pioneers created the Natural Resources Conservation Service it put in place a Federal, State, and Local government partnership for delivering conservation assistance to the landowners. They had concluded that the Federal agency could best deliver technical and financial assistance to the land owners while State governments and local conservation districts could more effectively connect with the individual landowners and set local pursuits for action.
In Rhode Island the partnership includes the Rhode Island Conservation Districts, the Rhode Island State Conservation Committee and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. A conservation district is a subdivision of local government, established under state law to carry out programs for the conservation and wise management of soil, water, and related resources.
There are three conservation districts in Rhode Island. The Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District consists of Bristol and Newport Counties; the Northern Rhode Island Conservation District consists of Providence County; and the Southern Rhode Island Conservation District consists of Kent and Washington Counties. Each district is governed by a board of directors elected and appointed citizens who volunteer their time and leadership to the conservation effort.
Conservation district directors work hand-in-hand with the Natural Resources Conservation Service to deliver technical assistance to the people of Rhode Island. NRCS provides technical services while the districts provide representation from the local community and the leadership to set priorities for conservation activities and develop new programs.
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Ante wrote:Way back then we had game demos, now we have game trailers! Syberia trailer didn't have gameplay and now that I think, the closest game to the Dreamfall, Beyond Good and Evil, had a trailer too, and yes, it didn't have any gameplay. Well, let's see.
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The "Golden Chiefs" of Panama
In 700–900 ce, political organization in central Panama took the form of chiefdoms. According to Spanish accounts from the early 1500s, Panama was divided into a series of related, densely populated chiefdoms organized into three basic social levels: an elite group that controlled most of the wealth and power; a more numerous commoner group; and slaves. Each chiefdom was said to have been ruled by a paramount chief (queví) assisted by secondary chiefs (sacos), who made up a hereditary noble class.
The chiefs settled disputes and maintained order in their territories, led in battle, and supervised a network of trade relationships. The elite were distinguished by their wealth and privileges, and their most important, permanent symbol of status was gold, including the chief's arm cuff. According to early Spanish accounts, only paramount chiefs had the right to wear certain types of gold ornaments, such as the breastplate. They alone had supernatural power as well as political authority.
Early Spanish sources indicate that gold plaques and other gold adornments were worn to war and to the grave. They were symbolically as well as visually important signifiers of the power of the individual they adorned. It has been suggested that ancient chiefs selected predatory animals for use as insignias, which would be embossed on gold cuffs and plaques that served as breastplates. It is also possible that these motifs were related to origin myths of descent groups or used as family emblems.
The gold plaque of ca. 700–900 ce (pictured on the right), is embossed with a bird-human motif and reptilian features. The figures on the gold plaques in the exhibition have been identified by scholars as a "Crocodile God" or a saurian-human. They are represented as single or paired figures, combining other animal attributes or traits, including those of a bat (below).
Image Top: Gold bell pendant. Sitio Conte, ca. 700–900 ce. 1.2 x .98 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA (40-13-198). Bottom Right: Embossed gold plaque. Sitio Conte, ca. 700–900 ce. 8.6 x 8.5 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA (40-13-2). Bottom Left: Embossed gold plaque. Sitio Conte, ca. 700–900 ce. 8.7 x 9.0 in. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, PA (40-13-4). Photos: Penn Museum.


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The name of My Humble House Restaurant is ever so slightly disingenuous and self-satisfied, but false modesty is no sin, and this not so humble temple of "new Cantonese cuisine" has little it needs to be shy about. The first thing you notice as you run through the menu is that it has vast ambitions to span ancient heritage and modern culinary trends. Many dishes, from main meat dishes such as roast duck down to tiny little dumplings, seek to mediate classic techniques and flavors through an understanding of contemporary gastronomy and Western fine dining, providing guests with something unexpected at every turn.
The restaurant is located on the second floor of Le Meridien Hotel in Taipei's swank East District. The decor, with its sleek minimalist finish and its luxurious black and red color scheme, might be described as "contemporary oriental luxury," and while it has plenty of sophistication, it does not provide much in the way of surprises. It would not be out of place as a Chinese restaurant in any five-star international hotel.
But as stated above, the food is quite another matter. There are pleasant surprises at every turn. The roast duck is a fine example. This is a Cantonese dish that is boringly familiar to most regular visitors to Chinese restaurants, and it is often indifferently prepared. What particularly distinguished the dish at My Humble House Restaurant is the use of "cherry ducks" (宜蘭櫻桃鴨) from Yilan, a small but high quality bird with delicious meat. Served under the label of chef's special spice marinated roasted duck (貝琵琶鴨仔, NT$1,500), the dish has many attractions. There is of course the contrast between the firm yet tender meat and the crisp skin, but the surprise was in the subtle flavors of the flesh, hinting at a wide range of Chinese medicinal herbs and spices but with the base note flavor of the duck never in danger of being overwhelmed. The neck, which is something of an acquired taste, and which is often removed, can be served separately on request. If you have the time, and the meal is not a formal one, there is nothing better than picking through the flavorsome morsels.
Address: Le Meridien Hotel (台北寒舍艾美酒店), 38 Songren Rd, Taipei City (台北市松仁路38號)
Telephone: (02) 2321-1818
Open: 11:30am to 2pm; 6pm to 9:30pm
Average meal: From NT$1,000 per person
Details: Chinese and English menu; credit cards accepted; 10 percent service charge
With the roast duck, the surprise comes with the choice of bird which provides a vehicle for the chef's skill. In other instances on the menu, the restaurant tries to offer attempts at various east-meets-west dishes. Its high level of success is due to a willingness to hold firm to authentic Cantonese techniques, so that dishes rarely if ever wander off into the mishmash of undefinable fusion cuisine found elsewhere. A fine example is the wok-fried beef with cilantro and goose liver (香根拌鵝肝和牛粒, NT$1,080), which is really nothing more than a beef stir-fry, but through the use of prime US beef and rich foie gras, the dish becomes something unique, while remaining immediately recognizable.
Abalone is often regarded as a banquet dish, but at My Humble House Restaurant, it is served, unusually for a Chinese restaurant, as an individual portion. Fried abalone tossed with crispy minced garlic (蒜香南非活鮑, NT$680 per person) presents the diner with a single whole South African abalone, lightly deep fried and then seasoned with garlic, chili and salt. Nothing could be simpler; nothing could be more difficult to get just exactly right.
Even with the dim sum dishes, which start at around NT$150 a plate, there is plenty of innovation. Most eye catching of all is the steamed herb and mushroom dumplings (香草素菌蒸粉果, NT$150) with a kind of taichi black-and-white coloration. Although the lightness of texture, which for me at least is the critical element of such dishes, wasn't blow-you-away amazing, the use of ingredients such as squid ink to color the casing, and clever presentation as well as the unusual flavor of herbs and mushrooms was more than enough to make up for this.


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Venturing Bronze Award
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
|Venturing Bronze Award has been discontinued. (See Discontinued awards.)
Upon completion of a bronze award, a medal is awarded with a miniature device that pins to the medal and a bar that is worn above the left pocket of the uniform for daily wear. Venturers may earn one or all five Venturing Bronze Awards.
The photo to the right shows the:
- 1. Venturing Bronze Award Medal shown with Sports, Religious and Community Life, Arts and Hobbies, Outdoor, and Sea Scout miniature device pins.
- 2. The Bronze Award ribbon devices worn above the left pocket of the uniform for daily wear:
Basic advancement
At least one bronze award is a prerequisite to earning the Venturing Gold Award and the Venturing Silver Award.
Expert-level awards
In addition, four of the five bronze awards fulfill partial requirements for Venturers continuing on and earning expert-level awards:
- The Sports Bronze Award requirements are part of the Quest Award.
- The Religious and Community Life Bronze Award part of the TRUST Award.
- The Outdoor Bronze Award part of the Ranger Award.
- The Sea Scout Bronze Award is a duplicate of the Sea Scout Ordinary rank requirements, and is necessary on the trail to earning the Quartermaster Award.
December 31, 2014 was the last day that a Venturer could earn any of the legacy Venturing awards (Bronze, Gold, Silver). See Map to Venturing brochure. The current award, which is roughly equivalent is called the Discovery Award.


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Angered By The NSA, But Confused By Acronyms, Brazilian Hacker Defaces NASA Websites
from the take-that,-surveillancestronauts! dept
If you're going to go after the world leader in untargeted data collections, you might as well be just as unfocused. After details of the NSA's spying efforts in Brazil drove the president to cancel her trip to the US, some of that anger spilled over to the public. And a certain member of the Brazilian public, one "BMPoc," decided to lash out in the most internet of ways -- by defacing websites linked with the intelligence agency. The only problem was BMPoC was one letter off.
Multiple NASA websites were defaced last week by a Brazilian hacktivist who may have misread the sites' URLs, because he wasn't protesting about the US space agency giving joyrides to inhuman stowaways – he was protesting against NSA spying.Ah, NASA. The non-spy agency whose efforts over the years have resulted in a number of technological advancements we take for granted. NASA is a very, very, VERY outwardly focused agency, which perhaps explains why its internal controls are so lax it's referred to as the "low hanging fruit" of the government website defacement field.
"BMPoC" hit kepler.arc.nasa.gov and 13 other sites with messages protesting against US spying on Brazil, as well as a possible US military intervention in Syria.
What the hacker lacked in accuracy, he made up for in successful hits and enthusiasm. The following warning graced unsuspecting NASA aficionados for several hours earlier this week.
NASA HACKED! BY #BMPoCWe! Stop spy on us! The Brazilian population do not support your attitude! The Illuminati are now visibly acting!Coherent, it is not, thanks to the language barrier, a fundamental misunderstanding that all acronyms are not created equal, and the obligatory Illuminati reference. NASA, duly chastened by orders to cease all "spy" and change its unsupported attitude, released the following statement.
Obama heartless! Inhumane! you have no family? the point in the entire global population is supporting you. NOBODY! We do not want war, we want peace!!! Do not attack the Syrians.
"A Brazilian hacker group posted a political message on a number of NASA websites. ... Within hours of the initial posting, information technology staff at the Ames Research Center discovered the message and immediately started an investigation, which is ongoing," he said. "At no point were any of the agency's primary websites, missions or classified systems compromised."In other words, the attack was about as harmful as graffiti. Perhaps even safer considering it wasn't scrubbed off the "walls" by a group of low-level criminals putting in community service hours.
Other than the wrong acronym and the Illuminati, BMPoC is absolutely correct. Brazilians do not support the NSA's spying or attitude and most of the world is very definitely not supportive of the US engaging with Syria. (Well, "engaging" by way of bombs, missiles and boots on the ground, anyway.)
If the secret to fighting a successful battle is knowing your enemy, BMPoC is no Sun Tzu (or even Ambrose Burnside, for that matter). On the plus side, website defacing is much more anonymous and less prone to crippling embarrassment than an in-person protest -- especially one that finds the protester a few blocks away from his or her intended target, yelling at equally confused people about actions they never took and things they never said.
Filed Under: brazil, hackers, nasa, nsa, nsa surveillance, protest


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Devourer of Words 007: What We Take Away
So, what did we learn from Comic-Con International 2013?
It is almost a full month after the event, which is plenty of time to put it in perspective. (However, it's not plenty of time to ditch this lingering cough. One of these years I will pretend to be a germophobe and refuse to shake anyone's hand. Fist bumps all around.)
Naturally, SDCC is the very definition of a "your mileage may vary" event: Everyone goes to the Gaslamp looking for something different. For me, as a writer, here's what I took away from Comic-Con:
Hanging Out With Other Writers Is Fantastic.
Writers, for the most part, are solitary creatures. While, yes, the actual process of writing doesn't always involve fingers on keys, eyes glued to a screen, we usually need to be alone with our brains to do it. Our work is done, usually, without any other people involved. We don't work in offices. We don't have cubicle-mates. It is just us and the story. What's more, since there are so few other people who do this work, it's impossible to really share any details of it with anyone else who might understand, in a meaningful way, what's going on. So to find yourself spending a long weekend with, basically, everyone else in your chosen profession is refreshing. We've all spilled the same blood in the same mud. We're all veterans of the same war against the blinking cursor. It's good to renew those bonds of fellowship, even for a little while, before going back to the front lines. Because no one knows writers like a writer.
Leave Yourself Open to the Amazing.
I spoke about this a bit on the Toucan panel at SDCC, but one of the most incredible things I've seen at any convention was running into three deaf teenagers in the Convention Center's lobby. Grinning ear to ear. Signing excitedly. They had found their tribe. Watching their sheer joy at making it to Comic-Con with friends to share it with made my San Diego.
Love The Convention You're Going To.
Because Comic-Con is different for everyone. My convention experience was different from yours as yours was different from everyone else's. And it's easy—especially if you're a pro or press—to become ornery about the ways navigating a convention of this size can be difficult. Yes, making it to your signings can be a pain the rear because of all of these people who came to love all the things. Yes, spending the night in line to get into Hall H to share a unique experience can be a bit extreme. Of course, not being able to hit all the awesome parties you were invited to can be frustrating. But all of those things are also wonderful. As my Dad says, they're all high-class problems to have. And it's worth taking the time out of every con to remember how incredibly lucky we all are to be able to do a convention like this at all.
There Is No One You Can't Talk To.
Comic-Con affords so many of us the opportunity to meet people we would never, in the course of our normal lives, ever come in contact with. From celebrities to editors, from TV showrunners to fans of your work. Here's the thing you need to remember: Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid. Never be afraid to engage someone. In various times during SDCC, I found myself, through odd fortune and bizarre happenstance, in the middle of conversations with George R.R. Martin, Giancarlo Esposito, Zachary Levi, Jim Lee, Clark Gregg, Adam Savage, and Bear McCreary. (And a Joss Whedon dance party … I know, me and my crazy life.) And, at the end of the day, they're just people. And you have as much a right to an equal conversational playing field as anyone. I know, you're a writer. You might not be Captain Social. But if you keep a level head, and remember not to spray your "fan" all over the place, you'll do fine.
Marc Bernardin's Devourer of Words appears the third Tuesday of every month here on Toucan.


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And what erudition. He can even read stone. Only he never figures out that the veins in the marble of Diocletian's baths are the burst blood vessels of slaves from the stone quarries.—Zbigniew Herbert, "Classic."1
|Carol M. Highsmith, Smithsonian Institution "Castle," Washington, DC, between 1980 and 2006. Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-HS503- 4211.
Were enslaved persons involved in the construction of the original Smithsonian building, known today as "The Castle"? As is well established, enslaved African Americans worked on the construction of many buildings in antebellum Washington, DC, including the US Capitol and the White House, rarely receiving any monetary compensation.2 Was this true for the Smithsonian as well?
First, a little background. Slavery was an active presence in Washington during the years that the first Smithsonian building was under construction, from 1847 to 1855. To the immediate south of the Smithsonian grounds lay two of the most notorious 'slave pens' in the region, where persons of color, many of them kidnapped or arrested on the flimsiest of pretexts, were held under horrific conditions pending their sale to points south.3 One of these, the Williams House or "Yellow House" was located on the south side of "B" street (now Independence Avenue), more or less across the street from the present location of the Hirshhorn Museum. In 1850, Smithsonian regent Jefferson Davis, future president of the Confederacy, remarked of this structure, "It is the house by which all must go who wish to reach the building of the Smithsonian Institution." Davis, a defender of slavery, claimed the building looked quite benign to him, but many abolitionist commentators circulated detailed narratives of the horrors that occurred within it.
|Balloon view of Washington, DC, Harper's Weekly, July 27, 1861, p. 476. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-71022. Smithsonian Institution Building can be seen at the top center east of the Potomac River and Virginia, Washington Canal visible, proceeding from the Potomac River due east and then southeast.
A block away, at 7th and Maryland (the area now occupied by a park in front of Capital Gallery) stood the equally notorious Robey Tavern and Slave Pen. Coffles of chained enslaved people were regularly marched through the streets of downtown Washington, attracting a series of outraged petitions by anti-slavery advocates across the nation and inspiring passionate Congressional speeches by abolitionist representatives, appalled that slavery and the slave trade were openly conducted in the nation's capital. The spring that construction began in earnest on the Smithsonian building saw one of the most dramatic incidents in the local history of slavery; in April 1848, over seventy enslaved persons attempted to escape Washington on board the schooner Pearl. They were soon recaptured. Most were taken to the New Orleans slave markets to be sold into plantations in the Deep South; some were transferred back to Alexandria, Virginia, to be sold there. The freedom of the two most prominent escapees, the Edmonson sisters, was purchased by Reverend Henry Ward Beecher's Plymouth Congregational Church in Brooklyn, New York, where Reverend Beecher famously staged a mock "auction" of the two young women to raise funds.4
|A slave coffle in Washington, DC, possibly marching to auction, from William S. Dorr, Slave market of America, published by the American Anti-Slavery Society, 1836. Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division, LC-DIG-ppmsca-19705. The J. W. Neal slave house was near the city's center market.
Even free people of color did not feel safe on DC's streets. From 1852 until 1906, the celebrated free African American Solomon G. Brown had a remarkable career in many different departments of the Smithsonian. He was deeply trusted by the first Smithsonian secretary, Joseph Henry, who left the building under Brown's supervision during his absences from Washington. Yet, Brown, whose parents were free residents of Washington City, was clearly apprehensive of local slave merchants, who often kidnapped free persons of color and sold them into slavery. On July 21, 1858, six years after he began work at the Smithsonian, Brown took the precautionary step of obtaining a certificate of freedom, in which his white friend and former employer at the post office, Lambert Tree, swore in front of a justice of the peace that Brown had always been free.
During this early period, did enslaved people actively contribute to the making of the Smithsonian? Our strongest evidence comes from records associated with the Seneca quarry, about twenty-three miles up the C & O Canal from the capital city. After extensive field research and laboratory tests on local stone deposits, geologist David Dale Owen, brother of Congressman Robert Dale Owen, head of the Smithsonian building committee, recommended that the Potomac "freestone" in the vicinity of Seneca was the most promising building material. The quarry's owner, John Parke Custis Peter, wrote the building committee on March 22, 1847 that he would charge "twenty-five cents a perch for all stone intended for face or cut work, and twelve and a half cents per perch for all calculated for backing or rubble work."
Simon J. Martenet, Detail of Martenet and Bond's Map of Montgomery County, 1865. Library of Congress Geography and Map Division, 2002620533. A white box shows John P. C. Peter's sandstone quarry and residence at Seneca Mills, just north of the Potomac River in Virginia.
John P. C. Peter, the quarry owner, was a great-grandson of Martha Custis Washington, the wife of George Washington, and a slaveowner. Present-day African American residents of Seneca share oral historical accounts, passed down through the generations, that before the Civil War, the quarry was mainly worked by enslaved men.5 (After the Civil War, the quarry was worked by Irish and African American laborers.) The 1840 census records that John P. C. Peter, then residing at his mansion Montevideo, owned twenty-three slaves.
The "back story" of these enslaved people is in itself a fascinating chapter in early American history. The Peter slaves were closely connected, through kinship and common servitude, with the enslaved people owned by George Washington and Martha Custis Washington. Around 1795, eleven families of enslaved people were transferred to Martha Custis Washington's grand-daughter Martha Custis Peter, as her "patrimony" or "dower slaves." In the ensuing months, Mrs. Peter's husband, the prominent Georgetown merchant Thomas Peter, sold away many of these slaves, realizing several thousands dollars in revenue. It appears that the proceeds from some of these slave sales helped to pay for the construction of Tudor Place in Georgetown, one of the nation's most magnificent private residences. In his book, An Imperfect God, historian Henry Wiencek speculates that George Washington's decision to free his own slaves in his will was partly inspired by these slave sales, which broke up enslaved families related to the Mount Vernon enslaved community.6 Manumission was to be effective following the death of his wife, Martha Custis Washington.
After Mrs. Washington's death in 1802, a number of her slaves at Mount Vernon were inherited by Martha Custis Peter, adding to the Peter family holdings. (George Washington's will stipulated that his slaves would be freed upon Martha's death. The will did not impact the legal status of the "dower slaves" which Martha had brought into their 1759 marriage, who were eventually passed onto her first husband's heirs.)
Over the next several decades, some of the remaining enslaved people in "Mrs. Peter's patrimony," and their offspring, were transferred to the son of Thomas and Martha Custis Peter, John Parke Custis Peter, owner of a farm and quarry in Seneca, near lock twenty-four of the C & O Canal. (An 1835 court petition notes that prior to the death of Thomas Peter, he transferred forty-six slaves to his two sons, John Parke Custis Peter and George Washington Peter, and a family associate.)7
Through a "lucky" historical accident we can determine the names of the enslaved people owned by John P. C. Peter at the time he sold the Smithsonian the sandstone for the Castle. Since he died without a will in early 1848, the Montgomery County Court of Orphans ordered an inventory of his property. This document records the names, ages, and monetary values of the twenty-four people John Peter held as human property at the time of his death:
Inventory of the Goods chattels and personal estate of John P C Peter, late of Montgomery Co, decd.
Negro man Sandy over 50 years [valued at] $175
Negro man Dave over 50 years $200
Negro man George (?) over 50, $225
Negro man John over 50, $225
Negro man Daniel 33, $410
Ned, 30, $500
Morris (?) 24, $600
George? (?) 14, $350
Sandy, 7, $200
Joseph very old, $100
Woman Celia old, (?) $40
Betsey and child, (?) $400
Harriet and child, (?) $350
Hinta (?) $100
Eliza and 3 children, (?) $625
Anna (?) $150
Mary 35, (?), $200
Girl Mary 12, (?) $250
Cornelia, (?) 150
Of these persons, it seems probable that two or more had numbered among the "Dower slaves" brought by Martha Dandridge Custis into her marriage to George Washington in 1759. These slaves labored at Mount Vernon and its associated farms, prior to the death of Martha Washington in 1802. 8 Our principal evidence for this is the detailed 1799 inventory made of the Mount Vernon slaves at George Washington's command. The most likely matches are as follows:
The man Sandy, listed as "over 50" in the 1848 inventory, could be the eighteen month old Sandy, son of Ann, listed in 1799 as residing in the Mount Vernon Mansion House.
George, "over 50" in 1848, could well be the one-year-old George, residing in the Dogue Run Farm, brother of Barby, Abbay, Hannah, and son of Sall T.
Davy, "over 50" in 1848, might be the six-year-old Davy residing in 1799 in the River Farm, son of Cornelia, and brother of Lewis, four, and Alec, two. Or he might be the same person as the eight-year-old Davy, Son to Rachel, living in the Union Farm.
John, "over 50" in 1848, might be in 1799 either John, age unknown, son to Mima and brother to Randolph, living in the Mount Vernon Mansion House, or John, age sixteen son of the sixty-two-year-old Betty, residing in the Union Farm.
Celia, listed simply as "old' in 1848, might be the same person in the 1799 inventory as Cecelia, age fourteen, unmarried, in the River Farm. Cecilia was the daughter of Agnes, who was married to the carpenter Sambo; Cecilia was thus the sister or half sister of Heuky, age seventeen, Anderson, age eleven, and Guy, age two.
Finally, Eliza, listed with her three children in 1848, might have been the same person as Elizabeth, age nine, Daughter to Doll, at the Union Farm (sister to Sucky and Elias) or she might have been Eliza, daughter to Charlotte, no age given, residing in the Mount Vernon Mansion House. She was the sister of Elvey and Jenny.
In any event, after 1802 about one quarter of Martha Washington's slaves from the Mount Vernon farms, amounting to about thirty people, were transferred to Martha and Thomas Peter in Georgetown. At some later point many were moved out to the Peter family holdings in Seneca, which included the Bull Run sandstone quarry.9 It would appear that a number of Thomas and Martha Peter's slaves were transferred to John Parke Custis Peter well before Thomas' death. A year after Thomas died, an 1835 petition seeks to recover debts from his estate. The plaintiffs allude to an 1820 deed through which Thomas Peter transferred forty-six slaves to John Parke Custis Peter and other persons, along with six hundred acres of land in Montgomery County.10 Records indicate that John Peter in the 1820s and 1830s continued to hold multiple residences, in Georgetown, Tenleytown in Washington, DC, and Seneca in Montgomery County, Maryland, and that he held slaves at these locations.
|"150 Dollars Reward," Daily National Intelligencer, July 28, 1831. John P. C. Peter offered a reward for the return of three enslaved men, who had escaped from Seneca Mill.
It seems likely that a number of the adult men enumerated in the 1848 inventory worked in the Seneca quarry during the months the triassic sandstone (ironically, often termed "freestone") blocks were quarried for the Smithsonian contract from the rockface and milled in preparation for barge transport down the canal to the Smithsonian building site, evidently in the spring of 1848.
We can surmise that work in the quarry was extremely difficult, but we know very little of the precise conditions under which the Peter slaves worked and lived. Standing near the Montevideo mansion are remnants of a stone slave quarters, in more recent years used as a youth hostel; we do not know if the enslaved quarry workers resided there or closer to the quarry, near the canal and the Potomac River. From a runaway slave advertisement placed by John P. C. Peter in 1831 we know that three enslaved men—Peter Bowman, George Bowman, and Beverly Davis—escaped from the Seneca property, presumably heading for Pennsylvania and freedom. (None of these three are listed in the 1848 inventory, so it is possible that their escape attempt was successful.11
Many descendants of Seneca African American quarrymen continue to live in the Seneca area near Darnestown and Germantown in Montgomery County, and continue to pass on stories of the quarry and the canal.12 I recently participated in worship services with many of these descendants at the Seneca Community Church, where stories of African American contributions to the first Smithsonian building are proudly remembered.
Edward Sachse, Detail of Panoramic view of Washington City from the new dome of the Capitol, looking west, published by E. Sachse and Company, c. 1856. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-DIG-pga-02582.
After they had been milled, the blocks of Seneca sandstone were transported down the canal to Georgetown and along the canal that then ran beside the National Mall.13 (The rather isolated terrain on which the Smithsonian was located, bounded by the canal and the Potomac River, was often referred to as "the Island.")14 Once the materials reached the Smithsonian site, did enslaved workers aid in the construction of the new building and the creation of the Smithsonian grounds?
While many antebellum US institutions, including colleges, universities, and railroads, owned slaves, the Smithsonian Institution never owned human property. However, there is some suggestive evidence that contractors compensated by the Institution may have rented enslaved persons for labor. For instance, according to the Smithsonian Day Book, in which the Institution's financial expenditures were recorded, a payment was made on January 15, 1850 in reference to the labor of hauling trees from Georgetown and replanting them on the Smithsonian grounds:
|Ledger entry for January 15, 1850, Smithsonian Institution Day Book, 1846–1856, p. 578. Courtesy Smithsonian Institution Archives. On Jan. 15, 1850, either the white gardener and florist John Howlett or Jonathan Clark were compensated for the labor (one half day each) of "two colored men", at a total of one dollar, working on the Smithsonian grounds.
Digging trees for Smithsonian
3 days self & man, $2
1/2 day each for 2 col'd (colored) men, $1
3 days excavating trees self and man, $6
We cannot be sure if "man" in this entry refers to a free or enslaved person, but given the usage of the day, "col'd" or "colored" most likely refers to enslaved men. The ledger entry is a little ambiguous as to who precisely was compensated for this labor. It falls under a larger entry for John Howlett, an English-born gardener and florist who worked for the Smithsonian, but concludes with a line on which the word "for" is struck out and replaced with "by", followed by "Jno. Clark, $36.50," evidently indicating that a Jonathan Clark was compensated for the above-mentioned labor by the "colored men."
The gardener John Howlett is not listed as a slaveowner in the 1850 slave schedule in Washington. A white man identified in the 1850 slave schedule for the District of Columbia as "J. Clarke" (Ward 3, Washington) is listed as owning one eighteen-year-old male slave. The Day Book, under February 16, 1850 next makes reference to a "W. Clark" arranging for a "driver" and "man" to haul trees from Georgetown to the Smithsonian Grounds.15 In 1850, William Clarke of Washington, DC, owned eight slaves, including four males between the ages of sixteen and sixty. It is possible that one or more of these enslaved men was tasked with hauling trees from Georgetown.16
Also in January 1850, the Smithsonian compensated the upholsterer D. A. Baird for the work of "a man 2 1/2 days papering screens @ $2," for a total of $5.00. In July of the same year, contractor William Harrover, working on the building's east wing, installing air flues and pipes, billed for the following labor, "three days work man and boy" at the rate of $2.75 per day for a total of $8.25. William H. Harrover, born in Virginia, was a well-known Washington stove and hardware merchant. Although William Harrover is not listed as a slaveowner, a David Harrover, evidently his brother or cousin, resided in nearby Fairfax, Virginia, and in 1850 owned a thirty-five-year-old man and a twelve-year-old boy. Perhaps William rented these two "colored men" from David and was paid by the Smithsonian for this expense.
Old Smithsonian Institution Building (now known as the "Castle"), in upper left, viewed from downtown Washington. Washington Canal visible in upper right, c. 1855. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution Archives.
The principal contractor for the Smithsonian construction project was the Scottish stonecutter and master builder Gilbert Cameron. Cameron was not a slaveowner but it is possible that he or his subcontractors rented the labor of enslaved people during the 1847–1855 period. Some payments to Cameron are suggestive along these lines. On May 12, 1851, he was reimbursed for the work of "16 1/2 days work bricklayers at $2.50, 2 days carpenters at $3.00 per day and 16 1/2 days work of laborers, at 1.25 per day" and "8 days stonecutters" at 2.00 per day." In November of the same year Cameron was paid for "12 days laborers putting in coal," at $1.25 per day. It is possible, given the nature of the Washington labor market at the time, that some of these skilled and unskilled laborers were enslaved. (Many District of Columbia slaveowners during this period earned significant income from renting out slaves with artisinal skils.)
|The Smithsonian Institution, from a stereograph, 1859. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-55101.
In 1862, by a special act of Congress, all enslaved persons within the District of Columbia were manumitted, and their owners financially compensated for the loss of their human property. Free African American workers at the Smithsonian, however, continued to face racial discrimination and hostility. Consider an event that took place soon after a fire swept through the Smithsonian building on January 24, 1865, collapsing the roof and severely damaging the interior. Professor Joseph Henry, the Smithsonian secretary, observed in his desk diary on January 27: "Today, a large number of carpenters commenced the putting on the roof—a gang of colored men were also engaged to assist in handling the boards—but as soon as the Irishmen saw the negroes they all cleared out without giving notice." We do not know the identities of these free African American workers, whose presence so upset the Irish carpenters, but we presume they continued with the repairs of the building roof.
Solomon Brown, his colleague James Gant (who worked at the Smithsonian from the 1850s until 1900), and these unnamed African American restorers of the Castle roof inaugurated a long and proud history of free African American employment at the Smithsonian, a history that dates from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. In addition to these free persons of color, we should recognize the likely contributions of enslaved persons, names known and unknown, to the early years of the Institution. The evidence does seem strong that at least some of the enslaved African American men listed above—the adult men Joseph, Sandy, Dave, George, John, Daniel, Ned, Morris, and perhaps the fourteen-year-old George—labored to extract and mill the sandstone blocks that still adorn the Castle building. The unnamed "two colored men" and perhaps the other "men" and "boy" listed in the Daybook in 1850–51 may quite likely have been enslaved as well.
Early photograph of Washington, DC, from the Capitol looking west-southwest, c. 1863. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-127632.
In 1862, the very year that all enslaved men and women in the District of Columbia were at last freed, the Smithsonian was at the heart of the bitter national debate over slavery. Abolitionist lectures in the Smithsonian lecture hall, by such prominent figures as Horace Greeley and Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, were fiercely denounced by pro-slavery advocates, including those on the Union side of the Civil War. Secretary Joseph Henry, no friend of abolitionism, became infuriated when the Washington Lecture Association attempted to schedule a lecture in the Castle by Frederick Douglass. Secretary Henry blocked Douglass' lecture and then moved to ban all subsequent public lectures at the Institution for the remainder of his tenure.17
In 1902, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of his employment at the Smithsonian Institution, Solomon Brown composed a poem, looking back on his many years of service. The poem concluded:
Since eighteen hundred and fifty-two,
This may seem far back to you;
But much has passed I have not told-
Then I was young but now I'm old,
But still I am observing.
What, we may wonder, did Brown, a constant and keen observer of all aspects of the Institution, not tell us in the poem and in his other written records? Working at the Smithsonian for a decade before Emancipation came to the District of Columbia, did he observe enslaved men and women working at the Institution? Although we may never know for certain, we can with confidence assert that the Smithsonian, while formally dedicated to the highest principles of democracy and scientific inquiry celebrated by the young republic, emerged out of an economic and cultural context predicated on slave labor. The legacies of this contradictory history remain with us to this day at the Smithsonian and in our nation. In seeking to uncover, and to honor, the early contributions of enslaved laborers to the institution, we hold up a mirror to ourselves, confronting enduring challenges of race, power, and the quest for human liberation.
This essay was updated on December 18, 2012 to incorporate corrections.
Research for this project was supported by a senior fellowship from the Smithsonian's Office of Fellowships and Internships at the National Museum of African Art, and by the Office of the Dean, College of the Sciences, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington. The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of the following persons and organizations: Pamela Henson, Historian, and the staff at the Smithsonian Institution Archives; Rick Stamm, Keeper, Castle Collection, Architectural History and Historic Preservation Division, Smithsonian Institution; Wendy Kail, archivist, Tudor Place Foundation; Julie Miller, Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress; Special Collection Archivist Jerry A. McLeod and staff at the Washingtonia Division, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library; the Washington Historical Society; the staff of the Jane C. Sween Library, Montgomery County Historical Society; and Rev. Kenneth H. Nelson and the congregation of Seneca Community Church, Germantown, Maryland. Special thanks to Lonnie Bunch, Rex Ellis, John Franklin, Johnnetta Cole, Mary Jo Arnoldi, Christine Mullen Kreamer, Jessica Martinez, Fath Davis Ruffins, Ellen Schattschneider, Judith Knight, Ruth Auslander, and Tracey Cones for their guidance, support, and encouragement in this project. This essay is dedicated to the memory of the late Herb Shapiro (1929–2012), who always encouraged us to uncover legacies of slavery, liberation struggles, and African American historical agency in the most diverse of spaces.
To join the discussion on this piece, please visit "Seneca Quarry," a response on the Southern Spaces blog by Garrett Peck, and add your comment.
- 1. Zbigniew Herbert, Collected Poems, 1956–1968 (New York: HarperCollins, 2007), 141. Thanks to Allen Tullos for suggesting this apt quote.
- 2. The contributions of enslaved African American workers to the construction of the US Capitol are detailed in: William C. Allen, "History of Slave Laborers in the Construction of the United States Capitol, Report by the Architect of the Capitol," June 1, 2005, https://emancipation.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/emancipation/publication/attachments/History_of_Slave_Laborers_in_the_Construction_of_the_US_Capitol.pdf.
- 3. Kirk Savage evocatively writes, ". . . slave pens sat right on the edge of the Mall, and slave coffles—groups of slaves chained together—shuffled across the Mall's "waste" on their way to loading docks on the river. What L'Enfant had imagined as a glorious avenue leading to the equestrian image of Washington was now a scrubland pockmarked by the visible traces of the slave trade." Kirk Savage, Monument Wars: Washington DC, The National Mall, and the Transformation of the Memorial Landscape (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009), 46.
- 4. Josephine F. Pacheco, The Pearl: A Failed Slave Escape Attempt on the Potomac (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2005); Mary Kay Ricks, Escape on the Pearl: The Heroic Bid for Freedom on the Underground Railroad (New York: Harper Collins, 2007). As part of the great compromise of 1850, centered on the Fugitive Slave Law, Congress in September 1850 prohibited the slave trade within the District of Columbia. Slavery itself continued in the District until April 16, 1862, when Congress provided that all slaveowners in the city would be compensated financially for the loss of their human property. Nonetheless, the Fugitive Slave Law was still, in principle, in force throughout the Civil War in the District of Columbia for enslaved persons who escaped from non-Confederate states and sought refuge in the city.
- 5. It would appear that few free persons, white or African American, labored in the quarry during this period. The 1850 census, enumerated two years after the Smithsonian sandstone was quarried, records only one white stonecutter residing in the entire Medleys District of Montgomery County, Maryland. Charlesworth Wood, age forty seven, born in England, lived adjacent to the widow of John P. C. Peter and her new husband Rev. Charles Nourse. Of the approximately one hundred free persons of color residing in the Medleys district in 1850, nearly all are accounted for in terms of employment in farm labor or other trades, such as plastering. It thus seems a fair conclusion that, as oral history accounts by Seneca's current African American community members attest, the majority of labor in the quarry was done by enslaved men possessed by quarry owner John Parke Custis Peter, or by slaves that he rented from fellow slaveowners in the area.
- 6. Henry Wiencek, An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America (New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2003), 335–339.
- 7. The use of enslaved labor at the Peter family's Seneca quarry definitively dates to as early as 1823. In that year the Federal government undertook excavations at Seneca quarry, then under the ownership of Thomas Peter, the father of John P.C. Peter. A ledger book recording payments for this enterprise has been located in the National Archives by historian Garrett Peck, who has generously shared its contents. The ledger book indicates the presence of at least eighteen enslaved workers in Seneca quarry. Three men, Benjamin Delahey, Benjamin Bird, and "James," are identified as "Boy." Thirteen men--Alexander, Frank, Harry, Hall, Hillary , Ishmael, Luke, Martin, Nace (evidently also referred to as Ignatius), Rezin, Salsbury, Thomas, William--are identified only by first name. Of those thirteen, two are specifically identified by race, "Negro Martin" and "Negro Frank." It is not clear if these enslaved men were directly compensated for their labor in the quarry or if only their owners were paid. In the case of two workers, Harry and a Leonard Mattingly, the name, "Anthony B. Smith," is listed besides their names, suggesting that Mr. Smith may have been their owner, renting them out for quarry labor. Rachael Cheney is also listed as a "cook"; it is not clear is she was enslaved or free. (For more information on Seneca quarry, and a discussion of this ledger book, see the forthcoming book, Garrett Peck, Seneca Castle and the Smithsonian Castle, Charleston, S.C.: The History Press, 2013.)
Two of the enslaved quarry workers may be the same as persons listed in the 1795 inventory of Mrs. Peter's Patrimony, currently held at Tudor Place. William, who worked at the quarry in April and May 1823, may be the same person as Will, age seventeen, son of Bob and Sal, in the 1795 list. Harry, who worked in the quarry in June 1823, may be the same person as the seven-year-old Harry, son of Joe and Patty, in the 1795 list.
- 8. Strictly speaking, Martha Custis Washington did not own the dower slaves, which were to be held by the Custis Estate until her son, John "Jacky" Custis, attained majority and assumed ownership. Since John died during the American Revolution, these slaves then passed to his heirs, including Martha Custis Peter, the wife of Thomas Peter of Georgetown. Upon the death of her first husband in 1757, Martha was guaranteed life use of one third of her husband's lands and slaves. This dower share was the source of much of Mount Vernon's income, resources which in turn made it possible for George Washington to expand Mount Vernon's land and slave holdings. For a more detailed discussion, see Henry Wiencek, An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America (New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2003).
- 9. There are four possible matches between the names in the 1848 Peter estate inventory, and a list of slaves brought to the marriage by Martha Parke Custis in 1795, held in the Archives of Tudor Place in Georgetown. (Most of these 1795 slaves would appear not to have come from Mount Vernon, but rather from the outlying Custis plantations in York and New Kent.) The possible matches are as follows: Joseph, "very old" in the 1848 inventory, may be the same person as Joe, age twenty-seven in 1795, the husband of Patty and father of Tom and Harry; George, over fifty in 1848, may be the same person as George, age seven, in 1795, the son of Bob and Sall ; Anna (age not given) in the 1848 inventory may be the same person as the four year old Anna (child of Molly) or the eight year old Anna (child of Rose) in 1795; John, "over fiffty" in 1848, may be the same person as the two year old John in 1795. Many thanks to Henry Wiencek for generously sharing his transcription of the 1795 inventory.
- 10. Loren Schweninger, ed., Race, Slavery, and Free Blacks: Series II, Petitions to Southern County Courts, 1775–1867 (Bethesda, MD: LexisNexis, 2005), microform. The petition asserts that Thomas Peter on "[illeg.] day of August in the year 1820 did convey to the said Robert Pick and P. P. C. Peter part of a tract of land called Conclusion containing about six hundred acres at that time in the possession of said Thomas Peter, and the management of one Wm Robbin and also forty six negroes the slaves of said Thomas who are named in the same copy, a copy of which is herewith exhibited marked No. 3." As of this writing I have not been able to locate the August 1820 deed.
- 11. Perhaps twenty-three-year-old George Boman, mentioned in the 1831 Runaway Ad, is the same person as the "George," over fifty years of age, listed in the inventory of John P. C. Peter's estate.
- 12. After Peter's death, some slaves from the John P. C. Peter estate were retained by Peter's widow Elizabeth and her second husband, the clergyman and educator Charles Nourse. The Nourses relocated to Virginia, Elizabeth's home state, in the late 1850s with several slaves. (Rev. Nourse served as a Confederate courier during the Civil War and was for a period imprisoned by the Union military in Washington, DC, until he was exchanged for pro-Union detainees.) Other slaves from the estate were apparently conveyed to John P. C. Peter's children as they reached the age of majority. Still others may have been sold off to settle the estate's debts or raise cash for other purposes. At least two of the enslaved people listed in the 1848 inventory evidently obtained their freedom soon after the death of John P. C. Peter. In the 1850 census for Medleys, Montgomery County, Maryland, a free woman of color, Harriet Beale, age thirty-one, and her thirteen-year-old daughter Nelly, are listed as living next door to Elizabeth Nourse, the widow of John P. C. Peter and her new husband, Charles Nourse. These Beales presumably are the same two people as "Harriet and child", valued at $350.00 in the 1848 slave inventory of the late John P. C. Peter's estate. Harriet continued to reside in Medleys as a freewoman until at least 1860. Her daughter Nelly appears to have married a George Green and settled after the Civil War in Sandy Spring, on the other side of Gaithersburg from the Medleys district.
- 13. Members of the African American descendant community in Seneca, Maryland (associated with the Seneca Community Church congregation) recall oral historical accounts, passed down from elders, that enslaved people at the quarry were tasked with transporting quarried stone down the canal to Washington, DC, and to the Smithsonian site. I have not been able to confirm this assertion from the extant documentary record.
- 14. At the time of the construction of the original Smithsonian building (1847–1855). Pierre L'Enfant's original plan that the Mall would serve as a grand national park had not yet been realized. The Mall area was used for farming, horticulture and the storage of lumber and trash; the area on which the Castle was built was a marshy floodplain, difficult to traverse. The Tiber Creek, running along the Mall's northern boundary, had been transformed into the Washington Canal, running east from the Potomac River (where it entered the city at the area of the present-day "Watergate" complex). Present-day Constitution Avenue is built atop the remnants of the old Washington Canal, which was filled in, in the early 1870s, as a health and sanitation hazard. See: Richard Longstreth, ed. The Mall in Washington, 1791–1991, 2nd edition (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003); Kenneth Hafertepe, America's Castle: The Evolution of the Smithsonian Building and its Institution, 1840–1878 (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984); Cynthia Field, Richard Stamm, and Heather Ewing, The Castle: An Illustrated History of the Smithsonian Building, 2nd edition (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2012).
- 15. Smithsonian Institution Day Book, 1846–1856, p. 578.
- 16. It appears possible to reconstruct the names of these enslaved men. The slaveowner William Clark died July 7, 1855. In 1862, his widow petitioned for compensation for a group of slaves that had been freed by the act of Congress. These included three adult men, whose ages roughly match with those of the unnamed male slaves enumerated in the 1850 slave schedule for the William Clark household: Benjamin Marler, age seventy; William Butler, thirty-two; Frank Joyce, thirty. It seems quite possible that one or more of these men, as slaves, hauled the trees to the Smithsonian grounds. At least two of these men continued to live in Washington: Eight years later, in the 1870 census, William Butler, age forty, is listed as a brick maker, living near seventh street. Residing in the same neighborhood is Frank Joyce, "expressman," age thirty-eight. In the mid-nineteenth century, an "expressman" referred to a wagon driver; speculatively, perhaps Frank Joyce was the "driver" referred to in the Day Book's entry for February 16, 1850.
- 17. The controversy over the Washington Lecture Series is detailed in Michael F. Conlin, "The Smithsonian Abolition Lecture Controversy: The Clash of Antislavery Politics with American Science in Wartime Washington," Civil War History 48, no. 4 (December 2000), 301–323. Secretary Henry, a firm believer in scientific racism, argued for the natural inferiority of persons of African descent. A close friend of Senator John C. Calhoun (no friend of the Smithsonian), Henry maintained that blacks could only co-exist with whites in the United States if maintained in a state of slavery. During the Civil War, Henry attempted to maintain the Smithsonian's neutrality in the conflict, refusing to authorize the flying of the Stars and Stripes over the Castle building. He was suspected in some Union quarters of pro-confederate sympathies; he did, however, serve as a trusted scientific and technical advisor to Lincoln on military matters throughout the War. Henry's second in command and successor at the Smithsonian, Spencer Baird, was a noted anti-racist and served as an important advocate for African American Smithsonian employees during his tenure as Secretary (1878–1887).


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Sophie Wenzlau, Senior Fellow
Sophie Wenzlau joined the Food and Agriculture research staff in June 2012. Her research centers on the intersection between sustainable agriculture, food security, water security, and development. Before coming to Worldwatch, Sophie worked with Sustainable Connections in Bellingham, Washington and the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation in India; she also spent time studying agriculture and food security in Switzerland and Madagascar. She holds a B.A. in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Western Washington University, as well as a teaching certificate in permaculture, a form of sustainable agriculture.


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2nd March 2007, 06:49 PM
Well, Ruby has won. She is now contentedly sleeping through the night in the bed with her mommy and daddy. She starts out in the kennel, but around midnight we have to go out for a potty break, and going back in the kennel is out of the question. Oh well, she's a pretty good little snuggler!! She's doing much better with the potty training, even going to the door sometimes and whining when she needs to go...still the occasional accident if we're not watching her as well as we should. We still have the biting issue, but that's expected with her age and all. She's also doing much better with the harness and leash. She still resists sometimes, but a Charlee Bear treat (which by the way, is the BEST treat I've ever had for a dog) coaxes her along. Oh, and a question about fruits....how much do you usually give your puppy? She LOVES bananas and peaches, so I'll give her a little when I'm eating some, and she sometimes gets it mixed in with her food. I just don't want to feed her too much so she won't eat her puppy food.


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BERLIN – The future of live racing at Ocean Downs seems a little more secure this week as track officials and the horsemen who use the facility jointly announced late last week they have reached an agreement in principle providing for the continuation of a live meet at the Berlin track for at least the next 15 years, which would coincide with the length of a potential slots license.
For just about a month, the historic track near Ocean Pines has been largely dark as contract negotiations stalled, with the track owners accusing the horsemen of holding out for a larger share of the potential slots proceeds, and the horsemen accusing the owners of closing down training areas as part of a long-term effort to eliminate live racing. Track officials announced on December 31 they would be forced to suspend simulcast wagering at the racetrack on Route 589 in Berlin, and at the company's off-track betting location, the Cambridge Turf Club, as of January 1, pending the resolution of a contract issue with the Ocean Downs horsemen.
The contract impasse arose when track owner William Rickman, Jr. informed the horsemen, allegedly in the 11th hour of the negotiations, the "Backstretch" area of the facility, including the sandy practice track and some of the barn areas would close at the end of August 2009. When Ocean Downs included the closure of the backstretch areas in the new contract in late December, talks broke off between the track owners and the horsemen. The Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association, which represents the horsemen, then withdrew its consent for simulcasting at Ocean Downs and the offsite betting venue, the Cambridge Turf Club, also owned by Rickman.
The wedge between owners and the horsemen widened two weeks ago when track owner William Rickman, Jr. accused Cloverleaf of holding the track's feet to his fire for a larger share of the potential slots revenue. Cloverleaf countered that the potential for slots at the Berlin track were never part of the contract discussions or the assurances live racing would continue at Ocean Downs. Late last week, however, the two parties issued a brief joint statement that an agreement had been reached in principle that will guarantee live racing continues for the next 15 years, ironically the life of a slots license for Ocean Downs should the track be the successful bidder for the Worcester Count location.
"Ocean Downs Racetrack and the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association jointly announced today they have reached an agreement in principle governing racing at Ocean Downs for a 15-year period," the one paragraph statement reads. "Details of the agreement and specific conditions related to a potential Maryland slots license at Ocean Downs will be released next week after a contract is signed."
As of late yesterday, a further formal statement from the parties had not been released, nor would officials from either side make additional comments. A representative from Cloverleaf said yesterday the contract had not been formalized and any further details about the agreement would likely not be made until it is signed.
Meanwhile, with an informal agreement in hand, simulcasting and training for the horsemen resumed at Ocean Downs last Saturday in the spirit of cooperation. While reluctant to address the specifics of the pending contract, Ocean Downs general manager Peter Syzmanski said yesterday it was business as usual at the facility this week.
"We're back in business," he said. "We're happy and the horsemen are happy."


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Hetepu Family,
I just happened to be watching a documentary on the science of the soul and they were talking about this kid named James Leininger. For years I recall my parents, grandparents and others saying that a child was an old soul returned, but this was the best example I have seen proven that the soul reincarnates. While I could not find the documentary, I was able to find similar post of this kid. Enjoy.
Hope this helps.


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jasonhwells needed a new print or packaging design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 40 designs submitted by 17 freelance designers.
I need a postcard based on a design that is already created on my website: http://www.retiredat32.com
I need a postcard that incorporates the theme on my website. It should include RetiredAt32.com and Where will YOU be one year from now? It can include the photo of my wife and I so they have the picture recognition.
The back of the card must conform to US postal standards for delivery.
- Item 1...
- Item 1...


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Diamond and Bespoke Jewellery is our passion and we want to share that passion with you.
Diamond Jewellers in Glasgow, The Diamond Studio, provides a service which is highly personal, sharing our knowledge and expertise in diamond jewellery. Our products are exclusive and our bespoke jewellery service is unique to you. Affordable Luxury is the vision we live by, working with you to create beautiful, quality pieces to suit your style and budget, in jewellery, in our collaborations and in our corporate range.
We are highly respected Diamond Jewellers within the business and charitable sector.
We live by the ethos of building a reputable brand at the forefront of innovation and to putting back into society, making a difference in all that we do.


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Product Description
12″ Victoria is made from white alpaca and burgundy fabric with cream and black airbrush accents. She wears a lace colllar studded with blue rhinestones and gold hearts and a burgundy velvet hat decorated with antiqued flowers.
She is a one of a kind, handmade design by Sandy Hudson of the Red Land Bear Company.


text: Friday, December 06, 2013 Marketing Tips Emphasize Diverse, Thoughtful Approach When it comes to marketing your physical therapist practice, don't get so caught up in all the new delivery methods that you forget the basics of knowing your audience, understanding yourself, and figuring out how you'll know when you've succeeded. That's 1 of the guiding principles of a special feature on "Marketing and Public Relations for the Physical Therapist" in the latest issue of PT In Motion, APTA's member magazine. In the article, APTA Director of Marketing and Creative Services Chanté Sedwick and Senior Public Relations Specialist Jennifer Rondon provide both big-picture considerations and practical tips on how to approach the sometimes-dizzying array of marketing options available. According to the authors, no single approach should be ruled out: social media is hot right now, but seemingly old-fashioned direct mail campaigns are still at least scanned by 78% of recipients. Sedwick and Rondon warn against rushing into any marketing or public relations effort without first taking the time to assess who the physical therapist (PT) wants to reach and the specific values that differentiate the PT from other providers—and, possibly, other physical therapist practices. While possibly not as exciting as diving into a Facebook-fueled ad campaign, developing a few basic operating assumptions can save time and money, and generate results. The authors offer several tips on how to get started on the process and move on to an overview of delivery methods. PT in Motion is a monthly magazine focused on hot issues in physical therapy and health care. The magazine is free to APTA members, and available in both hardcopy and online formats. Additional practical information on marketing your physical therapist practice and yourself can be found in APTA's Business Skills in Physical Therapy: Strategic Marketing, 2nd Ed, a home-study course by Peter Kovacek, PT, DPT, MSA. Comments It's important to not just simply jump on the bandwagon, but to weigh out each option and see what would work best for your company specifically. Thanks for sharing! Posted by Catherine Marshall on 11/22/2014 6:50 PM


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Holland America Evening at Le Cirque Diningby David Yeskel | January 7. 2011
According to Holland America, I was the first writer to experience "An Evening at Le Cirque" aboard the Oosterdam in mid-November.
It's all about the food. As cruise lines across all market segments ratchet up the quality of their cuisine in a never-ending quest for culinary supremacy, the battlefield has become a gourmet zone. And in this modern-day epicurean sea scuffle, Holland America Line has fired the latest shot across the bow of the competition. In a recently-announced partnership with the celebrated Le Cirque restaurant, the line aims to impress foodies, jaded veteran cruisers and plain folks alike with a culinary experience heretofore available only in New York or Las Vegas. According to Holland America, I was the first writer to experience "An Evening at Le Cirque" aboard the Oosterdam in mid-November.
So, you ask, do I have the chops to weigh in on this subject? You bet. I've been covering the cruise industry for over twenty years for several publications, including travel trade magazines TravelAge West and Travel Weekly, paying particular interest to cruise cuisine. I'm also a frequent contributor to Travel Weekly's Las Vegas beat, where, as you probably know, celebrity chefs now outnumber Elvis impersonators. And I've had the pleasure of dining at Le Cirque (Bellagio) in Las Vegas, which enables me to use that experience as a basis for comparison.
Although Holland America (HAL) has vastly improved the quality and presentation of their cuisine since I last sailed the line several years ago, I was initially skeptical about the authenticity of a seagoing Le Cirque. After all, owner Sirio Maccioni's famed French restaurant has achieved legend-in-its-own-time status, and pulling off the experience at sea - in the relatively confined environment of a shipboard galley - was an ambitious goal.
Although the logistics were challenging, HAL's Master Chef Rudi Sodamin (himself a wunderkind in the cruise industry), worked diligently with Le Cirque Executive Chef Craig Hopson - at sea and ashore - to recreate the legendary eatery's award-winning dining experience onboard the line's vessels.
For now, "An Evening at Le Cirque" is offered at least once per cruise aboard HAL's ships. The venue is the Pinnacle Grill, the ship's alternative restaurant, where, on the other nights, passengers pay a $20 cover charge to dine in a more intimate setting than the ship's grand Dining Room. Although the standard Pinnacle Grill menu delivers on good quality cuisine and personalized service, the Le Cirque experience notches both up substantially.
Beginning with table settings featuring Le Cirque's whimsical orange Bernardaud china (on loan from New York), the meal that unfolds here is a study in perfection and authenticity.
In order to maintain product standards while remaining true to the cuisine, Sodamin and Hopson wisely agreed to limit the onboard menu to a select set of Le Cirque signature dishes. The wisdom of that strategy is validated by the lone menu appetizer, Lobster Salad "Le Cirque." Plated gorgeously, the half poached lobster sits atop a nest of green beans, surrounded by avocado, potato and grapefruit slices. Softly drizzled with citrus vinaigrette, the dish is sublime.
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|Lobster Salad
|Sweet Corn Soup
The 2nd course, Sweet Corn Soup, is gently decanted from a kettle into a bowl already laced with mushrooms and a corn fritter. Rich but not too sweet, the soup is a fitting prelude to the 3 choices offered as mains.
While the wild halibut will likely satisfy non-carnivores, the meat-of-the-matter takes center stage here. Double-thick cut Rack of Lamb is seasoned perfectly and served medium-rare - just as God intended. But it's the signature Cote de Boeuf, a 40-oz., aged prime rib strip steak, carved tableside, that's the star of this show. Marbled with just the right percentage of fat, this juicy steak for two makes the transition from plank to plate to palate like a queen ascending the throne. And she's a beauty, too. Accompanied by sides of perfectly prepared and seasoned vegetables and lighter-than-air Pommes Dauphine, the main courses all achieve perfection.
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|Beef Presentation
|Cote De Boeuf
Wine selections -sourced from Le Cirque's cellars - complement the meal. We enjoyed two Sicilian vintages, both reasonably priced: Feudi Del Pisciotto Chardonnay and Feudi Del Pisciotto Merlot ( both $8 glass/ $39 bottle).
After such a marvelous meal, dessert can often be anticlimactic. Not here. While the chocolate souffl� is passable, the Cr�me Brulee Le Cirque matches up to the menu's brilliance. It's creamy consistency - richer and silkier than typical for this dish - along with its smooth, sweet flavor cap off the night perfectly.
click on pictures below for larger images:
Topping off the good news is the restaurant's surcharge. Guests enjoy "An Evening at Le Cirque" for only $39 per person. It's the culinary steal of the century. If this wasn't a floating resort, it might be considered highway robbery.
As of late December, Holland America Line had deployed "An Evening at Le Cirque" to all 15 ships in the fleet.


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ABC of Stroke
ABC of Stroke
ISBN: 978-1-444-39779-6 May 2011 BMJ Books 72 Pages
Download Product Flyer
This brand new title in the ABC series covers the entire patient journey, from prevention through to long-term support. It includes primary prevention and management of risk factors for stroke and secondary prevention including pharmaceutical, lifestyle and surgical intervention. The general principles of stroke rehabilitation are also addressed as well as mobility, communication and psychological problems, as is stroke in younger people. It also covers long-term support for stroke survivors and their carers.
This is an invaluable and practical guide to all aspects of stroke for both health care professionals and lay audiences. It is of particular relevance to general practitioners, junior doctors, nurses and therapists working with stroke patients and their carers, and to people with stroke and their families.
This title is also available as a mobile App from MedHand Mobile Libraries. Buy it now from Google Play or the MedHand Store.
Table of contents
Contributors vii
Preface ix
1 Introduction to Stroke 1
Jonathan Mant
2 Primary Prevention of Stroke 6
Jonathan Mant
3 Transient Ischaemic Attack 12
Jonathan Mant
4 Acute Stroke 16
Damian Jenkinson and Clare Gordon
5 Medical Complications of Stroke 22
Clare Gordon and Damian Jenkinson
6 Stroke Rehabilitation 27
Marion F Walker
7 Stroke in Younger People 31
Marion F Walker
8 Mobility 34
Marion F Walker
9 Communication and Swallowing 38
Pam Enderby
10 Psychological Problems after Stroke 41
Jane Barton
11 Secondary Prevention of Stroke 44
Duncan Edwards and Jonathan Mant
12 Long-term Support for Stroke Survivors and their Carers 49
Marion F Walker
Index 53
"This book provides an accurate, concise, up-to-date understanding of stroke and transient ischaemic attack (TIA), emphasising risk factors and presenting current best evidence based treatments regarding lifestyle modification and drug therapy in the primary and secondary prevention setting." (Australian Family Physician, 4 April 2012)
"This is a great addition to the stroke literature. What sets it apart is the concise manner in which each chapter is written to assist the multidisciplinary team member, the caregiver, or survivor." (Doody's, 18 November 2011)
"In 12 concise chapters, a group of UK stroke, rehabilitation, and psychology specialists summarize aspects of prevention, transient ischemic attack, acute stroke, medical complications, rehabilitation, stroke in younger people, mobility, communication and swallowing, psychological problems, and long-term support for survivors and carers." (Booknews, 1 June 2011)
"In spite of the limiations of this book, it would be a useful addition to any ward, team or department library as an introductory text." (Nursing Older People, 1 June 2011)


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Steamed Vegetable Salad with Lemon Sesame Dressing
This steamed vegetable salad is a light, refreshing, and healthy meal. Plus, it's a quick and easy week night dinner. If you cannot find different colored carrots, of course you can use all orange. I just like the variety of colors. Serve warm or cold, with a side of wheat berries, quinoa or slice roast chicken. Leftovers make a great lunch the next day.


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Nelly's Echo Wins Over Christina Aguilera With His Rendition of 'Ain't No Sunshine' on 'The Voice'
Every episode of 'The Voice' has one feel good story, and tonight -- the third round of blind auditions -- we met Nelson Emokpae. Better known by his stage name Nelly's Echo, the humble singer blew away Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine with his performance of 'Ain't No Sunshine.'
32-year-old Nelson has been living with his family in Baltimore for the last 16 years, but not without a struggle. His family became refugees, leaving Nigeria after his father was erroneously incarcerated. With just two suitcases, his mother and three brothers were forced to leave the country and start a new life.
He stated that music was always something that kept him going, and that he hoped his music would would one day inspire people.
Taking the stage with a guitar, his simplistic strumming matched perfectly with his smooth falsetto, just before he took flight on the "I know, I know, I know" lyrics of Bill Withers' 1971 hit. That got Adam Levine to turn his chair around, but not after Christina Aguilera did.
Adam Levine wanted him so, so bad, stating that he thought he would be a better fit as a mentor for Nelson. It will be interesting to see how Christina can push him to that next level. We'll have to wait and see!


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America's next style icon: Malia Obama?
The tall 14-year-old's look is accessible for the average adolescent.
At age 14, most girls are clamoring to wear designer duds. Malia Obama, on the other hand, has designers clamoring to dress her.
Glowing in her shiny sapphire ASOS circle skirt and neon pink Zara belt, Malia was yet one more winner on election night, taking another step, in her black J.Crew flats, toward becoming "a real style icon," as Lucky executive fashion director Alexis Bryan Morgan puts it.
"I'm hard pressed to think of anyone, period, who had such great style potential at 14. She has all the elements that make a great fashionista" — the ability to play with patterns and colors in a range of prices and the poise to pull it off. "It's really exceptional."
When it comes to fashion, the elder first daughter is following in the first lady's kitten-heeled footsteps. And the industry is as eager to embrace Malia Obama as they have Michelle.
"I don't know how her parents feel about it, but I think it's going to be the countdown until she has a fashion magazine cover," Morgan says. "It's going to be a huge thing."
"She would be, like, the perfect fashion plate for the fashion industry," says designer Rebecca Taylor, who recently dressed Kate Middleton for the first time and likens the duchess' style to Malia's. Taylor says she would "absolutely" love to see one of the world's most-watched teenagers in her clothes. "She has a similar sort of vibe (to Middleton): a quiet reserve but projects a sort of magnetism. And look at the length of those legs! That's unfair."
Indeed, largely through dint of genetic lottery, it seems, Malia Obama has managed to all but avoid an awkward adolescence. At her age, standing nearly as tall as her 5-foot-11 mother is more than a literal boost, says designer Nanette Lepore (Michelle Obama wore a polka-dot cardigan by Lepore to an Olympic event this summer). "It helps avoid the geeky stage."
Still, there's something more ineffable about her style success, industry insiders say. "It's amazing to me that (she and sister Sasha, 11) can still function in that crazy world and still come off as cool and elegant," says Lepore, who dreams of seeing the girls sitting front row at New York Fashion Week.
Thank their mom, says Seventeen fashion director Gina Kelly. "How her mother dresses is obviously rubbing off on" Malia: the fit-and-flare silhouettes, the vintage-esque outfits. Kelly compares Malia to Taylor Swift. "It's very pretty and feminine. It's a little bit preppy-classic, but it's never boring."
And it's a sophisticated contrast to the short-and-tight look paraded by other teens under intense scrutiny, such as Miley Cyrus. "A red-and-white striped T-shirt and green shorts (what Malia wore during a Hawaiian vacation) — that's more interesting than a pair of denim cutoffs and a half-shirt," Kelly says.
"Sometimes kids in the public eye can grow up too quickly — they're very fashion-y or too mature or too sexy," says Taylor. "There's a nice conservativeness to what (Malia is) wearing, but it's still fresh and young," and, for the teens wanting to emulate her, highly accessible.
"That's inspiring to girls," Kelly says. "Especially when they're that age, they're not too confident in trying new trends or putting together clothes in a different way," such as pairing a casual scoopneck top with a party skirt, as Malia did election night. "Girls are really hungry for, 'Gosh, how do I wear it?' and I think she can show them that."
Of course, as a prominent political daughter, appropriateness is paramount when it comes to her wardrobe. And in contrast to 1993, when a 12-year-old Chelsea Clinton moved into the White House, "we have access to pictures all the time of the first family," Kelly points out. As a result, "I don't know if (the first daughter's look) is a little more studied now. When (Malia) goes out, she knows she's going to be photographed."
But she's playing with the cameras precociously. "She's smart in that she seems to be aware so many eyes are on her," Morgan says. "Her style seems very genuine. It doesn't look like somebody just put something on her on election night. She's adding her own twist and having fun. You can't really have style unless you're being true to herself."
Factor in "that big smile," Morgan says, and "she's completely a home run."


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LAWNDALE, CA – A California city is considering removing the local garlic plants, but one councilman is firmly against it.
Lawndale, Cali. spent millions of dollars about eight years ago to redevelop the main boulevard area. This included flying in and planting garlic plants, to line the block of 147th Street and Hawthorne Boulevard.
Why the city council picked such an odd plant is unclear. But now, city residents are sick of the disgusting smell and want them removed, at a cost of $35,000.
However, city councilman Jim Ramsey has a very good argument for keeping the plants.
Watch below to hear his case:


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Friday, November 12, 2010
Friday Bits and Bytes
José Bautista's trophy case is fuller
It shouldn't be a surprise that José Bautista added a Silver Slugger to his Hank Aaron Award for his unbelievable 2010 rakefest. What is a little unbelievable is the way that the announcement was pushed well past afternoon deadlines yesterday. It's as though someone has a grudge against awesome hitting.
Because of the way that Bautista has gleaned these awards here and there over a period of weeks, it would be nice for the organization to bring him back to Toronto to have a little dog and pony show for the fans and media to remind them of how JoBau is being celebrated across the baseball world. (You do this as season-ticket renewals are arriving in people's mailboxes, and bingo bango - you gots yourself some communications and outreach strategery right there. Or at least some tactics. We trust that Jay Stenhouse has the strategy down pat.)
Luis Rivera is moving on up
The New Hampshire Union Leader reports that the Jays have essentially created a new spot on the coaching staff for former Fisher Cats manager Luis Rivera. And considering that our choices for the managerial job a few months back were Rivera and Butterfield, we can certainly sign off on the highly-touted Rivera as the Latin King amongst the coaches.
Greinke stuff
Of course the Jays have asked about Zack Greinke (and dreamy dreamboat Alex Gordon). As will most everyone else. But whenever you hear that a player has a list of teams to whom he cannot be traded, we pretty much assume that the Jays and Expos are on that list. (Yes, the Expos. Even now.)
Greinke's HR rate went up this year (0.43 to 0.74), which spooks us out a little bit when considering him as your ace. Besides, we just assume that Brandon Morrow is going to be better than Greinke this year anyhow.
Sure, you kids are all focused on the potential draft picks. But with the news that the Red Sox are sniffing around John Buck (who'll pull the shit out of shit in that little ballpark), we would be completely amenable to the Jays hanging onto Miguel Olivo for next season. (And yeah, we're kinda obsessed with him, we'll confess. Still, we like to combo of offense and defense that he brings, and at the right price, he could be an excellent complement to JPA.)
15 comments:
- William Tasker - Caribou, ME said...
The Red Sox don't seem very committed to signing Victor Martinez, thus the Buck query.
And yeah, I'm with you on the Greinke story. Just because a team asked, that doesn't mean it's a story. The Blue Jays have plenty of killer starters.
Bautista deserves every piece of hardware he can accumulate. I voted for him for MVP on my BBO ballot but apparently was the only one that did so.
- November 12, 2010 at 10:41 AM
- The Ack said...
MLBTR tells me that the White Sox might be inclined to listen on offers for Gordon Beckham. Now there's a transaction I could get behind. Seems to be the type that would more than pique AA's interest too...
- November 12, 2010 at 10:49 AM
- Tao of Stieb said...
I'd be intrigued by Beckham. Question is, do you put him at third and keep Hill at 2B?
I suppose I shouldn't get ahead of myself...
- November 12, 2010 at 10:54 AM
- Ty said...
I really like the idea of Beckham. MLBTR suggested yesterday that the Jays would use him as a 3B if they trade for him, and I think that'd make sense given that he played 102 games there last season and put up a UZR of exactly 0 (which is actually slightly better than his UZR as a second baseman in 2010, and infinitely better than a certain somebody who's been patrolling the hot corner in Toronto for the past year and a half).
This seems like exactly the type of thing AA would (and should) consider trading some of his young pitching depth for.
Just a fun hypothetical: if it were possible, would you trade Aaron Hill straight up for Gordon Beckham?
- November 12, 2010 at 11:15 AM
- Tao of Stieb said...
I'd really down on Aaron Hill right now (a .665 OPS will do that.)
- November 12, 2010 at 11:27 AM
- Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...
Have all of you closed the books on the Edwin Encarnacion era?
- November 12, 2010 at 11:34 AM
- The Ack said...
I'll endorse his return if it comes with the Nacho Libre clip after every longball.
(but really, his price tag and defense is sure to make him persona non grata next season, I would think?.....)
- November 12, 2010 at 11:47 AM
E5 is definitely not one of the high upside/potential guys that AA talks about needing to acquire. If he accepts arbitration, he's also going to be too expensive to trade for anyone useful. So why bring him back?
- November 12, 2010 at 12:21 PM
Looks like we're keeping Wak! http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/11/collins-hurdle-melvin-leading-candidates-for-mets.html
- November 12, 2010 at 12:22 PM
- Tao of Stieb said...
I like EE, but I was fairly certain that his ship had sailed, and that he'd go hit 30 HRs somewhere else.
- November 12, 2010 at 1:10 PM
- The 5th Starter said...
I'm still on that sinking ship (keeping Encarnacion) but only as a DH or 1B platoon partner. His arm is what limits his defense, and I'd welcome him back for one more kick at the can.
- November 12, 2010 at 1:27 PM
- Bombastic Dave said...
You don't think putting E5 at 1B migth make him E3? And wouldn't doing so balloon our team's ERA?
I hope, for pitching's sake, our 1B can work some defensive magic. The type opposite of what Encarnacion can perform.
- November 12, 2010 at 2:44 PM
I'd love to keep Encarnacion, but he's not a good third baseman, and realistically, he's not worth the money he'd cost the team as a part-time DH, as much as I think he'd thrive in that role.
- November 12, 2010 at 3:52 PM
Aaaaaaannnnnddddd, E5 is gone!
- November 12, 2010 at 4:12 PM
- Ty said...
Tao: I know Hill was awful this year, but Beckham also posted a sub-.700 OPS. Beckham has toms of potential but hasn't actually done anything yet at the MLB level; Hill has proven that he can succeed, but he's older and has a lower ceiling.
Personally, I'd make that trade, but I can't help but wonder how much of that is based on the bad memories of 2010 Aaron Hill and the grass being greener on the other side.
- November 12, 2010 at 8:58 PM